#and on that note it is 12:00am i am going to bed right now immediately

[threnodians]

so i purchased a commission of kaeya and i (shocking) about two weeks or so ago and earlier this evening i got sent the result from the artist!

[sweetness47]

The Shaman’s Choice Ch. 3

Pairing Alpha!Sam x Omega!Reader

Characters of the series include: Alpha!Dean x Omega!Jo, reader’s parents, Reader’s grandmother, Reader’s brothers (Darren OC & Michael OC), Mary, Jack, Apocalypse Archangel!Michael

Chapter 3:

@spnkinkbingo square filled (Cock warming)

@spnabobingo square filled (Rose/lemon/pine)

@samwinchesterbingo square filled (huddle for warmth)

Word Count: 1904

Summary: So this is an SPN fic, but contains a lot of wild AU ideas. Bear with me while the story unfolds, and enjoy it.

Warnings for all chapters just in case: MATURE 18+ READERS ONLY! smut, sex, unprotected sex, abo dynamics, knotting, mating bites, claiming, oral, shower sex, sibling arguments, swearing, violence, mentions of brother in love with sister (unhealthy obsession, jealousy)

“You marked me?” Sam mused as they lay there.

YN blushed and lowered her lashes. “I…forgive me Alpha, I meant no disrespect. I just felt like I needed to. I can’t explain it, Sam. And besides, no every Omega out there will know you’re mine.”

Sam chuckled. “Minx.”

“Yeah I am. But I’m your minx. Only yours.” She breathed.

“Damn right, Omega. You Are Mine!”

They mated once more before nodding off, Sam’s knot still buried deep in his Omega. He never realized till now what he’d been missing, and now he never wanted it to end. He hoped one day to earn her full trust, then she might finally tell him what was bothering her. True they had only just met, but he knew she was keeping something from him. YN hadn’t directly implied anything was wrong, but he could see it, he could feel it emanating from her. The only thing he was 100% certain of was the issues weren’t related to his lovemaking, if her responses were any indication.

Morning came and sunlight peeked through the curtains and onto the bed. YN woke first, smiling as she felt Sam’s cock still inside, and it was hard. She made the mistake of trying to slip out of bed without waking him. It didn’t work.

He nuzzled the back of her neck. “Morning.”

She leaned back into his strong embrace. “Morning.”

Sam thrust into her. “Going somewhere, Omega?”

YN shrugged. “I was going to surprise you with breakfast Sam. We haven’t eaten much since yesterday.”

Sam licked her earlobe as he thrust his cock into her again. “Food sounds great, but…” he pumped again, “we have something more pressing to take care of first.”

She giggled. “I gotta ask, why were you inside me all night? Not that I’m complaining or anything. Just mildly curious.”

His pelvis rocked forward, pounding his erection in and out of her 3 more times, and was rewarded with YN’s climax coating his cock with her juices. “Because I happen to like being inside you. And I get the added bonus of keeping warm while I sleep.” He laughed as he finished the last sentence, amused even further when YN joined in.

“Hmmm.” She mused. “If you continue that, I may have to start charging you rent.”

Sam nipped at her neck in response. “I see. Tell me, Omega, what would I be paying?”

She smirked. “Evening sex, morning sex, shower sex, oral, fingering, mating. All with me and no one else.”

The bed shook as he roared with amusement. “That’s a pretty hefty fee. But,” he ground into her again, “I think it can work.”

With that he pushed her onto her stomach, then pulled her hips up to meet his. His pace was brutal, intense, and YN’s body shuddered as numerous orgasms hit her all at once. Every thrust hit her sweet spot. Then his knot began to swell, and he screamed her name as his load filled her belly once more. The couple then gently went back to their original spoon position to give the knot time to shrink.

When they were finally able to move, YN excused herself and threw on some sweats and a tee. There was cum soaking into the pants, but they needed washing anyways. In 30 minutes, Sam was sitting down to eggs, bacon, hash browns, and coffee. YN made tea for herself before sitting beside her Alpha. The room was silent for the entire meal as Sam shoveled food in fast, as though it were his last meal. YN found herself famished as well, both had worked up quite the appetite in the last 12 hours.

Once they were full, Sam helped clean up the dishes, then both made their way to the shower. The couple spent a copious amount of time ‘cleaning up’, but eventually finished dressing, then made their way to the living room. There they began to make a list of things they needed to do for her transition from apartment to bunker.

About halfway through the list, a knock sounded at the door. Sam looked up. “Don’t worry, it’s just Dean, and he brought Jo.”

YN went to unlock the door, and was greeted by a beautiful blonde woman, with a gigantic hug. “Oh, I’m so happy for you both! Hi, I’m Jo.” She held her hand out after releasing YN from the hug.

YN immediately decided she liked Jo. “Nice to meet you. I’m YN.”

Another hug and an excited squeal hit before she bounded over to Sam for his congratulations hug. YN watched the family interact, after a hug from Dean, hoping her family would be this accepting.

The cell in YN’s pocket vibrated, and she groaned when she saw the call ID.

“Hi mom.” She said, holding the phone away as shouts and questions came all at once. It was on speaker, with both her parents, and her brothers.

“What’s this I hear about you and some Alpha?” her father started. “Where is he? We’re coming over there right now!”

“Wait…” Too late, the line went dead. YN silently cursed cell phones and turned to her new family. “Well, my parents are on their way over.”

“Fun.” This from Dean. “Want Jo and I to vacate?”

YN shook her head. “No, god no! if there are others present, then they will be more civil. Jo, would you like to help me do some baking? Dean, can you and Sam start packing my stuff please?”

The two alphas nodded, and headed toward the bedroom, while Jo and YN went to the kitchen and soon the apartment was filled with the aroma of chocolate chip cookies. True to their word, YN’s parents were pounding on their daughter’s door in no time. YN invited them in and offered refreshments. Introductions were made once everyone had taken a seat.

“Mom, Dad, this is Sam Winchester, my Maritus. This,” she gestured toward Dean and Jo, “is Sam’s older brother Dean, and his Omega, Jo.”

Then she reversed. “Sam, Dean, Jo, these are my parents, Mr. & Mrs. (Parents’ names).”

Surprisingly, her mom and dad greeted Sam warmly, then did the same with Dean and Jo. It was (Mom’s name) that noticed the surprised expression on YN’s face.

“We aren’t mad, YN, if that’s what you thought. We were just a bit shocked that the news came from Michael, and not from you. From the description of the events your brother relayed, I expected to meet a monster, not this nice young man beside you.”

YN gently squeezed Sam’s hand, noting that he had relaxed upon hearing the compliment. (Father’s name) spoke up next, addressing the Alpha in question directly.

“Sam, is it? You seem like a fine strong Alpha, but before I give you my blessing, I need to ask you a question. Your answer will determine if your feelings for my daughter are true, and how far you would go to ensure her well-being. Think carefully before you answer.”

Sam nodded. “Ask away.”

The room went quiet. “How much do you love YN?”

Sam blinked. “Sir, never in my life have I felt this kind of love. YN brings out the best side of me, and for the first time, my life feels complete. I would give my life to protect her.”

(Father’s name) stood and motioned for Sam to do the same. The remaining 4 people in the room held their breath in anticipation. The two Alphas stared at each other for what seemed like ages, then YN’s dad smiled, and reached into his pocket for the family crest ring. “Welcome to the family Sam. While we still expect an actual wedding, this ring will signify to all that I approve of this union.”

Sam’s smile lit up the room as he hugged his new father-in-law, followed by his new mother-in-law. YN leapt into Sam’s arms, kissing her Alpha with gusto.

Sam spoke to YN’s dad when things had settled. “Thank you, sir, and I meant every single word I said earlier.”

“I know you did son, otherwise I wouldn’t have approved.”

Dean pulled (father’s name) aside quietly as the rest went to sample the cookies and iced tea that YN and Jo had whipped up. Soon all six were talking and learning more about each other. Three hours and too many cookies later, YN’s parents bid farewell, leaving the others to pack up her things. The ordered pizza and, by 1:00am, everything was ready to go.

Dean and Jo stayed the night, using the fold out bed YN had, while the newly mated couple went to the bedroom. The whole apartment sounded much like an orgy party, as echoes of pants, moans climactic screams, grunts, and ball slapping filled the living area. In the early morning, two satisfied Alphas and two satisfied Omegas were sitting to a rather scrumptious meal of flapjacks, hash brown patties, sausages and scrambled eggs. Two pots of coffee later, the boxes were ready for transport, the two couples were exhausted, and the loading truck arrived with Cas, Jack, and Mary. The three newcomers all greeted YN with warmth and immediately took a shine to the young Omega. They packed the truck and YN was on her way to her new home.

The first week took some getting used to, but her new family were very accommodating, so the adjustment was fairly easy. Sam and YN spent near all of the first two days mating, as their heat/rut were still strong. YN was pretty sure that was the whole soulmate thing, but she still needed to research that more. Soulmates were rare, even more rare than the Signum Flaminis being given to, or appearing to an Omega.

It was three weeks to the day when the first signs appeared. YN woke feeling off, then made a beeline for the nearest toilet. Once she had voided her stomach contents into the porcelain bowl, she mentally scanned her body for a cause. She had never been sick in her life. She found double surprises when she discovered she was carrying pups, two of them. Holy shit! Her eyes widened with the realization. Scrambling off the floor and down the hall, she ran straight to her Alpha, nearly spilling his coffee.

“YN? What…?”

He never got a chance to finish. “Sam, we’re pregnant!”

The entire bunker was echoing as Sam let out a loud “Whoop!!” and kissed his Omega. Well wishes came from all, but none more thrilled than the expectant parents. YN put in a call to her own parents, not giving details, but asking if she and Sam could come by for a visit. (Mom & Dad) were happy to hear from their daughter, and even more thrilled to have them visit.

[deluxedolans]

Numbers 93,53, and 149 pleaseeeeee

hi, baby! thank you so much for wanting to see my takes on these prompts💙 I love you and hope you’re having a good weekend!! also sorry this ended up being really long!

A/N: I know absolutely nothing about Fortnite other than Victory Royales, so sorry for any inaccuracies hehe.

I am not currently taking requests for any of the drabble prompts. 💙

Prompts: #93. “You didn’t just wake me up at 2am because you were ‘in the mood’”, #53. “That wasn’t very subtle.” & #149. “I just need ten minutes.”

The sun beamed down on your bikini clad body, as you reclined back in your lounge chair, the cool ocean breeze running through your hair. One hand dangled over the side of the chair, your fingers grazing the sand, while the other held a refreshing piña colada. You threw your head back in bliss, your cheeks facing upwards to soak in the heat of the sun. Suddenly, your hand that hung over the side of the chair was embraced by a larger one. You looked down to see Ethan’s hand enveloping your own, rubbing it back and forth as his lips were saying words that you couldn’t understand.

“What?” You asked him, asking him to clarify his words, or speak up so you could hear him. 

In response to  your expression,  he then began to tap your hand in urgency. “Babe, what are you saying?”

“Y/N, wake up! Wake up!” Wake up? You thought you were already awake. Then you felt two pairs of fingers begin to poke into your side …

“Babe, wake up! I have to show you something!” Ethan’s voice rang out throughout the bedroom, his excitement evident.

“Hmmm? I just need ten minutes.” You still weren’t fully awake yet, and to be honest, you didn’t really want to be. From behind your eyelids you could tell it was still dark out and definitely way too early to be woken up.

“Babe, babe, can I just show you something for one second, open your eyes, please!” Ethan shook you gently, and grabbed at your hands, encouraging you to sit up in bed.

“I swear to God if it’s your dick, Ethan, I’m gonna deck you,” you warned, your voice thick with sleep.

“I’m not naked, but if I were, would that be so bad?” Ethan inquired. “I can take you any place, anywhere, anytime–.”

“The time is not now, Ethan!” Since you had yet to make any movements, Ethan scooped you up in his arms. Your eyes popped open at his actions, annoyed at his persistence.

“Look, baby, I got a victory royale again! I played in advanced mode too, so all the guys I placed against were amazing. It was touch and go for awhile but–.”

“So you didn’t just wake me up at 2am because you were ‘in the mood?” you interrupted, pushing your hair back from your face.

The big grin on Ethan’s face brought warmth to your heart at his happiness, but also disappointment  at the realization that his desperation to wake you up wasn’t because he wanted to fuck you.

“No! See! I won, babe, I won–.” You smiled softly at him, settling back into the pillows. “I’m very happy for you, babe,” you said as you rubbed your eyes, glancing at the TV screen at the front of the room decorated in bright colors indicating Ethan’s victory.

“You gonna come to bed now?” You asked, raising a brow, and patting the space beside you.

Ethan shook his head, reaching back for the controller that was left on his gaming chair, “Nah, I’m probably gonna play for a bit more. I’m sorry for waking you, babe, I just got excited.” Ethan’s smile displayed all of his teeth, his enthusiasm for his PlayStation clear in his facial expression.

“After all that, you’re not coming to bed?” You were incredulous; Ethan literally woke you up in the middle of the night to tell you about him winning a round of Fortnite, (which was not surprising in the slightest), but the fact that he woke you up and wouldn’t come cuddle was a little annoying.

“Nope, I’m gonna play a few more rounds. You can go back to bed, though, baby.” You ran a hand over your face at Ethan’s words; you were wide awake now. You always had a hard time sleeping when Ethan wasn’t right there next to you; when you had laid in bed hours earlier, your head was settled on Ethan’s bare chest, and his arm was wrapped around you tightly, but now the space next to you felt cold and lonely, the need for your boyfriend growing stronger with each passing moment.

You sighed softly, trying to cuddle down under the covers. You slid open your phone, and noticed you’d received a few texts while you were asleep. One was from your mom saying good night and that she missed you, the other was from your best friend, Annie, responding to a meme you had sent, and the other was from an unknown number. Curious, you clicked the contents of the text to see what this mystery person had said:

Unknown (11:32 PM):

Hey Y/N, it’s Mike. I’m drybk rn, and just wanted to say I miss u

You internally rolled your eyes. Mike was a guy from your Intro to World History class that you had to do a year long project with last semester. Mike was very nice at the beginning of the year; always offering for you two to work on the project at his place, and buying supplies for the assignment. However, whenever you and Mike would go to the house you shared with the twins to work on your project, you could feel Ethan attempting to contain his possessiveness from a mile away; constantly interrupting the conversations you two would have regarding any class notes, his eyes narrowing whenever you’d laugh at a joke Mike would make, and continuously walking by you two in the living room, making sure that nothing suspicious was occurring.

In spite of the fact that Ethan trusted you, he always had gotten bad vibes off of Mike; Ethan claimed that he could just tell that Mike had a crush on you. However, you were fully, and completely in love with Ethan and you were deeply convinced that Mike didn’t see you that way; all things that you reiterated to Ethan time and time again, but still, his concerns surrounding your history project partner persisted.

You scrolled on to the next message,

Unknown (11:35PM):

I miss when we’d order pizza and hang out

Hang out? You guys were working on your history project …  you weren’t “hanging out”.

Unknown (11:36PM):

Are u ignoring mw????

Unknown (11:40PM):

Answer me

Your eyes widened at his urgency; maybe Ethan was right about Mike having a crush on you.

“Babe?” You called out, attempting to drag his attention away from the flashing television screen. Ethan ignored you; too engrossed in his game to hear what you were saying.

“Babe, I have to show you something.” You cringed internally, your current words sounding so familiar to what he said only thirty minutes ago.

“Hang on a sec, babe, I’ll be there in a minute,” Ethan murmured, his fingers punching into the controller furiously as he attempted to shoot down the enemy.

Unknown (12:00AM):

I jsut wanna see ur beautiful fsce and then I’ll be good

The messages went on and on all the way up until one ‘o clock when they stopped.

“Babe, I really need to show you something,” you urged, your eyes practically bugging out of your head as you saw the texts escalate.

“Just let me finish this round, and I promise then I’ll snuggle with you, baby.”

You sighed. Then, your phone began to ring, of course, the number popping up unknown. At first, you thought of ignoring it; clearly you had zero interest in Mike. However, maybe this phone call would finally snap Ethan out of his gaming trance.  

“Hello?”

“Y/N? I’m so glad you answered! I misssss you so much. I need to talk to you,” Mike slurred, his voice loud as he attempted to make his voice heard among the wild background noise.

“Listen, you’re drunk, please stop texting me–..”

Upon hearing your command, Mike’s voice immediately dropped several octaves, “No, you listen to me. Eddie is no good for you, I can be so much better for you.”

“His name is Ethan, you jackass, and I don’t like you that way, please stop contacting me,” you pleaded, your voice raising as you yourself became frustrated. He knew you were in a relationship, and still he was being an asshole.

Ethan’s head turned back quickly when he heard his name, and he paused the game as soon as he saw you were on the phone. He took his headset off, now giving you his full attention.

“Who are you talking to?” Ethan mouthed, his eyebrows scrunched up in confusion.

You put your phone to your shoulder, blocking the speaker from your mouth, “Just guess.” You responded, hitting a button so the call was on speakerphone.

“He treats you like shit, I bet he can’t even fuck you right with his chode dick. You deserve so much better than him, Y/N, and I can give you that. Come over here and I’ll make you scream just by looking at me–.”

Ethan’s eyes turned dark as soon as he heard Mike’s drunken voice come through the speakers. “You have got to be kidding me right now. I fuckin’ knew it!”

Ethan took the phone out of your hands, his hands shaking with rage, “The only way she’s gonna be screamin’ is when she’s running away from your ugly ass. Don’t you dare call her again. In fact, don’t call my girl, don’t look at my girl, don’t even breathe near my girl. There’s a reason she’s with me and not with you, asshole. I knew you were a fucking prick from the moment I met you–.”

“Y/N, call me when you’re ready for a real man.”

“You motherfucker, you call me when you’re ready to handle this like a real man. Fuck you, you motherfucker, take a hint, she doesn’t want you. We have more fun together in one second than you’ll ever have in your miserable life. If I ever see you even inhale in her direction, I’ll wreck you. Leave her the fuck alone.” And with that, Ethan hung up the phone, his chest heaving, and his free hand balled in a fist.

Ethan’s mouth open and shut several times in both anger and shock.

“I told you so.” Ethan whispered, his eyes narrowed in anger. “Have I mentioned I hate that guy?” EThan growled, pacing around them room.

“Well, no shit. That wasn’t very subtle,” you said flatly, walking after Ethan.

You sighed, “baby, I’m sorry I–.”

Ethan whipped around suddenly, grabbing your hips and pulling you in so your foreheads were touching. “No, you tried to tell me; don’t you dare apologize to me. I’ll be spending the rest of this night making it up to you, and I don’t care if it’s three AM.” Ethan smirked, picking you up by the back of your thighs and walking you back to bed.

[working-on-becoming-a-better-me]

Day 6– July 18, 2020

Today was incredible.  I periodically had to keep marvelling at the fact that I woke up so early.  I woke at 6:50, but it took ages (fifteen minutes) for me to feel awake.  It’s gotten harder each day (only been three...) to stay awake, but each time I do, I feel so strong and amazing.

I started my day with the news (and then immediately shut it off because it was putting me back to sleep).  I really started my day off with another chapter of htrllap!  I made my bed– I actually have been for the past few days!  I typically don’t do this since we don’t have guests over often and, since I’m on the third floor with my sister, my parents don’t typically visit.

(skin care routine + sunblock!  wow!)

I made plans with my mom to go shopping in the morning, but when I went down she wasn’t awake.  I wanted to walk in the cool weather, though, so I went without.  It was an hour long journey– I ended up purchasing breakfast for me and my parents (sister too, but we ended up eating it all because she never came down) and, while waiting for the food, my mom texted that she needed more things from the store (she woke up!  woah!); I had to finish waiting on the food and then walk back to the store and purchase items and– what a way to start my morning!

I made it home by 9:00am, served the food to my family, went up for a shower (lotion on after!  I didn’t reapply sunscreen... booo!), and then brewed myself a cup of tea.  I had an eye appointment, so we rushed out the door for that.  In the car, I ended up spilling hot tea all over my leg, but it only burned temporarily and no marks were left!

We got back home past 12:00pm and, originally, my sister and I were going to paint together, but she came down at 1:30 and had zero energy.  I asked if she had set up the stuff like I asked (she’s the artist and the supplies are hers– she knows what she’s doing + I wrote on the note I slid under her door this morning that I’d be willing to help if she didn’t want to do it alone), and she just said no.  She lazed around and it was really frustrating for me.

I made mac and cheese (I am so scared of stoves + fires + getting burned (already happened!  but not by fire!) and so... pretty big deal B).  I loved it so much it was hard to not stuff myself.  I ate until I wasn’t hungry and for that I’m proud!

I read another chapter of my book (can’t even be bothered to type the acronym I made for it...).  I’d been planning on going up to take a practice test for the SAT on Khan Academy since I wouldn’t be painting, but my mom insisted I stay down (I didn’t tell her why I wanted to go up).

Finally, I told her.  She was so surprised and happy and so let me go up.  I almost cried telling her because of the pressure I feel when I let others know that I’m trying.  Since the tests themselves take about three hours total, I had to come up by a certain time to be able to complete them and go to bed by my newly designated bedtime (just devices off before 9:00pm, in bed by 8:30pm).

Currently, I’ve finished the English section.  I’m going to go down to eat dinner (it’s 6:16pm right now), and then come back up to finish math.  And then, I will go back down, tell my sister and mom my score (Dad’s at poker) (hopefully the score will be good), and then leave my phone down– Mom instilled a new rule beginning of July that we couldn’t have our phone upstairs at night.  Honestly has been helpful to my goals :)

I ended up going down to eat (20 minute break) and then finished the math section.

I did pretty well on the English section (86/92 questions right) but awfully on the math section.  Thankfully though, it was an outlier to previous tests I’ve taken (about seven more questions wrong than I typically miss)– if this were my first practice test and this was the only result I’d ever gotten, I’d be panicking.  I think I was just tired though, but math is something to work on, for sure!

I caught up with that same friend I spoke to a while ago (I don’t have many people in my life I actually want to talk to– plenty of friends, but not enough people I’ll go out of my way to converse with)!  I put my laptop away before 9:15– I prefer to have tech out of the way before 9:00, but considering the SAT practice test took a lot of time and some time away from my 8-9pm designated downtime, I’ll let it slide!

I don’t want this to be like torture for myself, but in order to establish good habits for myself, I need to be tough on the rules.  Later on, once I’m used to going to bed around nine, I can give up the procedures I currently have eNaCtEd– eg. tech off at a certain time, in bed by 8:30, etc.

According to my fitbit I went to bed at: 

[putting that in once I get my phone back (I haven’t yet gone down) it’s July 19 already), but I feel like posting so I won’t forget later!]

[sight-seeking]

Day 2

June 223rd 2017 Friday

Also known as the day I nearly ruined my trip in break-neck speed.

8:00pm EST-7:00am GMT: The plane ride is a blur of typical plane things. Some of the food is good, some is questionable. Whenever the flight attendant offers me a snack, I take it, saving whatever I don’t want to eat right then for later. Some of the food is good, some is Questionable. The was chicken and salad. I had something that looked like corn, but was kind of mushy like mash potatoes. Was it grits? It tasted that way. I’ll never know, it will forever remain a mystery. I watched three movies before being tired. I had a rough sleep on the plane, only because I was worried I would tip over in my sleep without a neck pillow.

7:30am: We arrive in England. I lose my mind a little bit. I made it! I get caught up in the joy of the moment--when we began our descent and the plane starts shaking. I accept my death a little too easily. “Greetings London, say hello to your doom.” They served breakfast on the plane, but I almost got food poisoning from bad yogurt, and am put off from eating everything else.

8:20am: I get through customs just fine. It took a while. I was in the non-UK line, with a wide collective of people. I glanced over at the UK line and tried to spot the differences between the people in the two. Clothing brands, obviously. But also, trivial things, like shoes and bag choices. People have a certain “look” about them. I wonder what people’s first impression of me will be.

8:30am: In the course of an hour after arriving in England, I experienced a series of unfortunate events. They went as follows:

My phone wouldn't charge on the plane and my laptop was already dead. The UK uses a different outlet and voltage than the USA, so I would have to buy an adapter from on of the airport shops.

I only had on me $8 cash, equaling to roughly 3.69 pounds. And the adapters were over 5 pounds. I tried to use the ATM, but my bank locked down my account because I forgot to tell them I was going to Europe.

My parents and aunt haven’t heard from me in 12 hours. They don’t know how I am.

I try to use one of the payphones at the airport, but the machines eat up most of my coins before I can make a full call. None of the employees are authorized to make international phone calls

I couldn’t call with the little bit of charge that I had because I didn’t have international data and I had no money for a sim card.

So here I am, I have call the bank so I can get money, but I can't call cause my phone's dead and I can't charge it. And I can't charge it, because I need money! Truly the catchiest of catch 22’s. I languish in the error of my ways.

9:30am: I ask a woman at the info desk for help. She tries, but also notes that my accent is very strong. I reel at the statement. Everyone’s accent is strong. As I sit in the airport I hear everyone’s voices, and they all sound very different. The rhythm is different, the intonations.

9:42am: After a round of panicking, I see computer kiosks with internet access. I hesitantly log onto my email and send my dad a message about what has happened. I then realize that I am 5 hours ahead of him, so I must wait until he wakes up to see the email. Cue more panicking.

Over the course of several hours, my dad wakes up, sees my email, contacts me, contacts my bank, I try to talk to every working person in the airport. Waiting at the kiosk for my dad to email me back in antagonizing. I have brought four books with me. I read through three of them over the course of four hours. They are some of my favorites, their worn pages and familiar chapters barely stifle the anxiety running through me. I thought the London airport would be busier, this is London we’re talking about. However, it’s nothing like the Atlanta airport. Atlanta is newer, bolder, flashier. Like Home.

I’m thinking of home already. How cut off from it I am.

Hearing from my dad is mildly comforting, until he tells me the only truth I could face: No one can call the bank to take off the block but me.

2:30pm: After A LOT of asking around, a woman of the Immigration Department lets me make an international call to contact my bank.

2:46pm: I put my card in the ATM and nearly cry when I see money come out. I immediately buy everything I need, and rush to get the heck out of there. When I said I wanted to come to England, I did not want to spend 7 hours of a day stuck at the airport.

3:00pm: I’ve never ridden a train before. I was about to take the London underground but I think, “NO! I came to see London, so I’m going to see London.” I take the Heathrow Express, and ride through the British-

Ok, so it’s not countryside, there was a lot of construction going on, and rail lines, and graffiti. But still! It was different, it was refreshing from that airport. I already picked up on my difference in expectations when I neglected to put my rolling bag in a designated spot. I just sighed and kept it with me, hoping that I could still get a bed at the hostel when I arrived.

3:15pm: I get to Paddington station. It’s a big, bustling hub of people. The design of the building is antiquities and expansive. There are a lot of nice shops around. THIS is what I expected when I first came to London.

3:40pm: After getting lost and mixed up within the station, I finally find my way and start my journey to Hyde park. I need to get to the Astor Hyde Park hostel, it’s where I planned to stay from Friday to Sunday. I think, “I’ve looked at the map enough, I can get there by memory.”

4:00pm: I end up going west instead of south. I’m lost again. I have to pull up the map and backtrack all the way to the park. My legs hate me and I’m bitter. But I really can’t stay mad. London really is beautiful. I know that If I wasn’t so weighed down with bags, I would be taking pictures of everything.

4:55pm: HYDE PARK IS BEAUTIFUL AND HUGE. I internally weep as I walk through it because there are so many amazing monuments and things to see. But I still got my heavy bags that weigh a ton, so I make a mental note to come back around. I see monuments of Victoria and Albert and my breath is just a little bit taken away. People do what they usually do. They picnic, they laugh. Children play, dogs run around. If I wasn’t so tired, I’d be elated.

5:45pm: I make it to the Hostel and check in. It’s a red-and white striped building. I love the design. Inside is a lot of rooms and stairs. The girl at the front desk is so nice! She gets me a bed in a spacious room with a windowed roof. The light pours in softly. There are caged lockers under the beds. I’ve brought a padlock with me, and proceed to break down my bags. I like the room a lot. The only downside is that my bed is under a slanted part of the ceiling. (Within 24, I bang my head on the ceiling twice.)

6:00pm: I have effectually chilled out.

8:00pm: I decide I want to eat out for dinner and experience the city. I go to the Queen Arm’s pub in Kensington, on recommendation of the girl up front. I order a burger, fries, and a (Note: Dad and Mom, it’s perfectly legal, I am adult, and it’s better if I’m honest and upfront now than wishy-washy later) vena otra beer. It’s all a little pricey, but I’m treating myself. I get the drink first.

8:10pm: Before, I thought I hated beer, now I am certain.

 It was bitter and upset my throat. Apologies to those who like beer, but it must be the most acquired of acquired taste. I sipped at it, waiting for my food. The place must have been popular, because there were no more available tables. I was outside standing for a while. I can tell that pubs are good places to go with friends, but I knew no one, and ended up standing alone with my phone, looking for wifi. Note to self: claim a seat before ordering food. I wished I could leave early, but I have wait for my food. The drink is only ¼ sipped.

9:00pm: I must come inside. My food is brought to the counter, and I eat it there. The burger and fries are Wonderful. Completely worth their price and the wait. I think the drink made them more delicious, it’s awful flavor made the food richer. But the beer tasted worse, and not worth the wait. After sipping it down to 4/5, I gave up. It was gross. I should’ve gotten water instead, or at least a soda.

9:49: I finish my plate and leave the pub. There is still light out. I make my way back to the hostel and plop into bed, exhausted. The rest of my time is spent relaxing, and clearing my mind of the day.

10:30pm: I fall asleep, having completely given up on staying awake. The night sky pours into my windowed room.

Welcome to London.