#and we'll finish the meal with tea <3

[an-aura-about-you]

I fucking love my new schedule. I work three days at the office and two days at home, which is not as good as working at home all the time but also is not as bad as going there every other week. And now I go in a little earlier, leave a little earlier, and have an hour long lunch.

Right now, the only flaw is whenever I'm working from home, it feels like It's The Weekend Already. And THIS weekend I'm meeting up with friends for Indian food and hanging out/a chill games night, and I Am So Fucking Ready For That.

[alienzil]

Grandfathered In

There, a job well done. Alfred thought to himself as he put the last grocery bag in the back of the car. Meal planning and shopping for a family as large as his own (and their semi frequent unexpected guests) did take quite a bit of his time but he'd managed to finish a bit early this week.

Alfred was thinking fondly of spending his extra time with a nice cup of tea and a book when he heard a noise from the nearby alley.

He stilled and listened intently. That was the sound of someone in pain. A child in pain if he wasn't mistaken (a sound he would rather he wasn't so familiar with). Well then, the tea would have to wait.

Alfred quietly moved into the alleyway, his hand inside his coat gripping the pistol hidden there. Hurt child or not, it never hurts to be cautious in Gotham.

"Good Heavens!"

There was a boy with pure white hair and bright, barely open, luminous green eyes. He was curled up, partially hidden by the dumpster, clearly barely clinging to consciousness and was oozing bright green blood from a large abdominal wound as well as several smaller cuts and burns.

He approached slowly and held out his hands to try to appear as friendly and non threatening as possible. "You appear to be in a bit of trouble young sir, perhaps I can help?"

The boy nodded weakly and Alfred knelt down and reached to pick him up. Best to get him into the car quickly and make use of his emergency first aid kit to stabilize the boy then get him home for further treatment. The hospital clearly wasn't an option for the young Meta... or alien perhaps? Something to ask once the boy was up to it.

Alfred carefully cradled the child and briskly moved back towards the car. He appeared to be a young teenager but he weighed so little, Alfred almost felt as though he was holding a toddler rather than a teen.

He lay the boy down in the back seat and leaned over to reassure him, gently moving his hair out of his eyes and petting is head in a soothing gesture. "There now, we'll have you right as rain in no time."

"Ha" the injured young Meta tried to laugh. "Might take...some time.. Don't ya think?"

Oh he'd fit right in, Alfred couldn't help thinking. Sassing even as he lay there bleeding. Well, in spirit if not quite the usual appearance, Alfred considered, eyeing the white hair and bright green eyes but-

A bright white suddenly light filled the car. Alfred blinked away the spots from his vision then stared in astonishment at the now black haired, blue eyed boy before him. Well then, fit right in indeed.

*****

Bruce blearily wandered into the kitchen and sat down at the table just barely holding in a yawn. He'd been in space on a mission with the Justice League for over 3 weeks and had only just gotten back to Earth in time to crash into bed and get a few hours of sleep before he had to be back up.

He reached for his coffee and looked around the table at his children. Tired as he was, it was good to be home. It even looked like everyone had made it for breakfast, a rare event for their family. Dick, Jason, Tim, Cass, Stephanie, Barbara, Damian, Duke and...

"Who's this?" Bruce asked with friendly smile. Did one of his kids make a new friend?

Alfred silently appeared next to him. "That is your son."

"My son?" What was happening? Bruce was too tired for this. He counted again, Dick, Jason, Tim, Cass, Stephanie, Barbara, Damian, Duke and...he looked closely at the last one. Black hair, blue eyes. Looks like one of his... He had no idea who this child was.

"Your son." Alfred said firmly as he sat some papers next to Bruce's plate.

Bruce looked down. Those were adoption papers.

"Oh. My. God." Stephanie whisper screamed from across the table. "That's where B got the adoption habit from!"

Bruce's attention was diverted from the multiple children trying to shush Stephanie as an uncapped pen was placed in front of him. He looked up as Alfred raised a single eyebrow and gave him a pointed look.

"Right, of course. My son."

He quickly scanned the adoption papers as he signed them then looked over at his latest child.

"Welcome to the family, Danny."

Note: I don't currently have plans to continue this. Anyone can add on if they would like to :-)

[thelaughtercafe]

Hello! I'm very happy to found your blog... since you said you accept darker content request... would you mind doing something related to "bullying" with lee kageyama and ler oikawa? I feel like only Oikawa strong enough to bully Kageyama, because Kageyama itself was already intimidating in my opinion... Thank you so much in advance! P.S. please avoid foot tickles hehe

Tea Type: Black Coffee

Potential Triggers: Bullying using tickling, I'm gonna give a non-con warning for tickling too, some trauma responses and panicked behavior

Pairing: Oikawa/Kageyama

Length: 1.6k+

Summary: A chance meeting leads to familiar feelings and anxieties thought long forgotten.

A/N: Hope you enjoy this anon, apologies for the wait! I was a little unsure just how dark I wanted to go with it so it took a bit to finish it but I hope you enjoy the final product! Definitely let me know whatcha think <3

Chance Meetings*

“Is that who I think it is?”

Kageyama froze in place; a long forgotten feeling of dread settling in his stomach. He felt his heart beat faster, heat flooding his cheeks as his eyes darted around, looking for an escape. He knew he shouldn't have gone to the sports store today. If he ran- he just knew he wouldn't get far. Not with him. 

A familiar arm slung around his shoulder and he whirled to lock eyes, still frozen. 

Oikawa laughed, eyes glittering in amusement at Kageyama's shock. 

“I should've known if I'd catch you anywhere it'd be here; heard you've been doing pretty well for yourself nowadays. Your team is pretty good.”

Kageyama nodded stiffly, wanting nothing more than for this to be over with. Maybe if he just told him what he wanted to hear he'd leave without a fuss. He cleared his throat and shrugged off Oikawa's arm, turning his face away as he headed towards the doors, trying to make it look casual. He tried to ignore the lump in his throat as he followed just behind him, a cheerful grin on his face. 

“Yeah, yours too. You're just as strategic as ever.”

“What can I say? Got to keep my opponents guessing~”

He tried not to remember his old encouragement methods, but failed, feeling more heat in his cheeks as he reached his car. He felt the weight in his chest begin to subside, a bit of genuine happiness making a small smile spread across his lips. 

“Sorry to cut the conversation short, I've actually got to meal prep for this week, but it was great seeing you again.”

Kageyama turned to try and open his car door but inhaled as Oikawa leaned over him, one arm over his head, subtly keeping the door closed and drawing his attention back his way. He tried not to flinch at the way Oikawa's once playful, light expression darkened, but only in his eyes. His voice and words remained bubbly. They were still in public after all. 

“Aww but I haven’t seen you in soo long Tobio~ I can help you! You don't mind me tagging along do you?”

Kageyama debated his options, nibbling his bottom lip and came to a decision. There really wasn't one. Oikawa was nothing if not resourceful, and stubborn. If he didn't agree now? He'd just get it worse later. Oikawa had never had any issues biding his time. He'd once said it gave him time to think up more “fun ideas”. For him, of course. 

So, Kageyama nodded with a sigh. 

“Sure, fine, whatever.”

He rubbed the back of his neck uncomfortably and Oikawa giggled, his eyes lighting right back up at his agreeance and poked Kageyama's unguarded midsection, making him jump and cover his stomach. 

“Aww c'mon cheer up Tobio! We'll have so much fun!”

Kageyama grumbled and got into his car as Oikawa moved over to his own after a cheerful wave to follow him home. 

Once there, things were nicer than Kageyama expected honestly. He helped him meal prep, talking animatedly about setting strategies that he too couldn't help but get passionate about, and their favorite college teams. Kageyama was finally relaxing from being jumpy at Oikawa’s surprise attack earlier when he struck while they were relaxing in the living room. 

Kageyama had sat on the other end of the couch when Oikawa eagerly bounded forward and straddled his waist. Kageyama grappled with him but quickly found himself overpowered, with his hands pinned under Oikawa's legs as he straddled his waist.

Oikawa laughed gleefully and cooed at him as Kageyama glowered up at him. 

“Aww, you didn't really think I'd letcha off the hook, how did ya? What kind of friend would I be if I didn't test your endurance? You know; for old times sake~”

Kageyama's heart beat wildly and he growled, trying to make himself more threatening. It worked on everyone in Karasuno, and even with his current team. Most normal people would've cowered, and apologized- but Oikawa was the one bastard that had never worked on. Not ever since he found out this stupid, downright humiliating weakness of his. 

It was kind of hard to be taken seriously when you were laughing your head off, and squealing like a child. 

“Now where to start, where to start? Any volunteers?”

Oikawa sounded sadistic as ever, eyes scanning his body for the slightest movement now that they were alone and Kageyama discreetly tried to squirm. No dice. He was stuck. Unfortunately he bucked his hips in the process and Oikawa’s eyes lit up. 

“I never took you to be so eager Tobio~ But if you insist!” 

Kageyama threw his head back in mirth as Oikawa drilled his thumbs into his hipbones, making him really buck, for all the good it did him.  

“Hhehehehey! Cut it ohohout, get off mehehehe!” 

“Nah, you must be having fun. Look at that beaming smile you’ve got! So cute~”

Kageyama groaned in annoyance at that, feeling his blush darken. 

“Ugh! I am nhahahahat! I swear when you let me up you’re dehehehead!! You hehehear me!? Dead!”

Oikawa’s eyes sparkled with mirth as he jeered down at him, his fingers ruthlessly toying with his hips before one jumped to scribble at his tummy, his shirt having ridden up from his struggling.

“Oho? Still have it in you to threaten me? That’s not very sportsmanlike of you Tobio! Besides, we both know you’d never be able to overpower moi!”

Kageyama wished he had the strength to fight back, to prove him wrong but tickling had always made him helpless, unable to do anything but laugh. He’d tried to get him back later, give him a taste of his own medicine once, back in college. 

It hadn’t gone well- Iwaizumi had walked in and all chances had evaporated in front of his eyes. Two on one was hardly fair, but seeing the momentary panic in Oikawa’s eyes and the snort he’d let out had been worth it. At least till he had been wrecked to tears for the attempt. 

His struggling finally bore fruit as he bucked particularly aggressively when Oikawa moved suddenly from his hip to the bottom of his ribs, finally allowing one of his hands freedom. He grabbed his wrist, tugging the offending hand up and off of him, panting and glaring. It wasn’t very threatening apparently, as Oikawa merely giggled at him, the fingers spidering along his stomach pausing. He cocked his head at him, brown eyes glittering with amusement.

“Oho? I’m impressed Tobio! You’ve bulked up since our school days!”

The hand at his tummy jumped to his exposed underarm and Kageyama yelped, air leaving him in a rush. Now that’s he’d gotten one of his hands, he had some leverage and strength and knowing he didn’t have much time, he acted. He raised his knee so it was flush against his captor’s side and brought both their hands down against the couch to push off his tricep to turn. Oikawa wasn’t expecting his sudden movements, and tumbled to the ground beside the couch, freeing his other hand in the process. He quickly released Oikawa’s wrist and jolted up, and over him seeking refuge in his bedroom and slammed it behind him, locking it just as a body slammed against it, causing it to jump back in surprise. 

He panted, swallowing harshly, hands trembling as he tried to think rationally. Oikawa wouldn’t break his door down. That was too direct for a scheming bastard like him. His eyes scanned the room for his phone and he felt his blood turn to ice as he realized it wasn’t here. Shit. The banging stopped, and Oikawa’s too sweet voice came through. 

“Aw c’mon Tobio, we were just playing~ I guess you’re a tad more sensitive than I remember. Sorry if I pushed you too much; if you come out, I promise I’ll play nice~”

Kageyama snorted, glaring at the door. He felt bolder, now that he was safe from his old “friend”.

“I’m not the same naive college kid you tormented, just leave, alright? I’m not gonna fall for your sweet words anymore!”

There was stony silence and Kageyama immediately regretted his speaking out, but it was too late to take it back now. 

So instead, he listened, backing up to sit on his bed and try to process. He couldn’t believe he’d been so stupid. Why did he bring him here? Now he knew his address. Maybe…Maybe he really hadn’t changed that much after all. If he was honest with himself, he’d always known some part of him missed Oikawa. For all his faults, his lack of listening sometimes…those good moments were still good. Maybe he was over-reacting-

He shook his head, holding his head in his hands. He was doing it again. Falling back on old habits to cope with Oikawa being in his life. 

“Tobio, I’m going to head out now! I put your meals in the fridge. And…I’m sorry. Really.”

Kageyama looked at the door with wide eyes. Oikawa actually sounded…remorseful. He sounded serious. Still, he didn’t move until he heard his door slam, and even then he held his breath and put his ear to his door, listening for any sign of footsteps, just in case. He twisted the knob and then headed back to the living room, letting out a breath as he realized he was truly gone. 

Everything was cleaned up, his living room just as it was, as if he was never there to begin with. 

He jumped in place at a sound, and his eyes flew to his phone, making him sigh. Just a text message. Stupid body. Why was he still so on edge? 

He grabbed his phone and swiped it open.

His eyes widened and his grip tightened, his other hand moving to cover his mouth. 

An unknown number.

The message?

‘Let’s meet up again sometime Tobio~’

[crystalsnow95z]

Part 2 to my Taejin story. So..it's gonna need a part 3. I cut a lot from it.

Jin takes a break from taking care of Taehyung boiling some water to make himself a quick meal. His nose started developing an itch, similar to Taehyung's a quiet sneeze escaping him. "Hehtigh.."

I sure hope that's the only one..

Jin poured the boiled water into the instant Ramen cup. I should try to give Taehyungie a steamy shower when his fever lowers a bit. It should help with his clogged nose.

Jin continued to think of ways to help the younger vocalist while he tried to eat his noodles as quietly as possible, trying not to wake him. He only makes it halfway through the cup before his stomach feels uncomfortably full.

"Heh..Hah...heitchi..!" Taehyung wakes himself up with his own sneezes, the itch building up again. "He'itxchi!"

"Aiish..You scared me.." Jin places his hand over his racing heart.

Sorry Hyung..

Taehyung texts with a sniffle.

"It's okay. I didn't expect you to be up so soon.. are you hungry? I made some ramen, but I can't finish it.." Jin offers the half eaten ramen, but Taehyung shakes his head searching for his phone.

I'm not hungry.. my stomach still hurts..

"That's okay, Voo.. I'll make you some tea for now. We have to do something for your voice.." Jin uses some leftover water from the pot pouring into a cup adding ginger teabags. "Namjoon got you gingseng, so it might be a little bitter.."

"heh'tixhti!" Taehyung sneezes into the blanket, sniffling, trying to rub away the itch, but without success "HEHTICHIH! Heh..he..Heitchis!"

I don't want bitter..

Taehyung types with a frown, wiping his nose with the back if his hand.

"Tete, please just try for me?" Jin asks gently, steeping the tea. "I'll even drink some with you."

But you don't mind it..

Taehyung pouts, but takes the cup Jin offers him, but as soon as the steam reaches his nose it triggers a series of sneezes quickly shoving it back into Jin's hands.

"Heh'tixhi.. Heh'itch..HEH'TICHI!" Taehyung whimpers with the last one wiping his nose with the side of his hand.

"Aiigo, use a tissue.." Seokjin tuts at him, cleaning off his hand with the wash cloth. "What am I going to do with you? You're like a little baby." He smiles fondly, getting him a tissue.

"Sorry..habit.." Taehyung whispers, trying to clear his nose once more facing away from Jin. More thick mucus comes out, giving him momentary relief, but he knew it'll only be minutes until it's right back where it started. He went to complain to Jin, but when he tried talking again, only a cough came.

"No talking Tae. Okay?" Jin takes a seat next to him tapping Taehyung's phone.

I hate this.. I can't make up my mind if I'm hot or cold, I can't breathe, my head hurts, I keep feeling dizzy, and I can't even talk.. There's no point of using a tissue..it just comes back a minute later.. how am I going to perform?

Taehyung types up his frustrations, feeling tears trying to form with the last sentence. He blinks quickly, looking up to try to stop them, but one still rolls down his cheek.

"Vuu, come here.. don't cry. We'll figure this out.." Jin pulls him close, gently scratching his nails across his back, clenching his jaw when he feels the sweat soaking his shirt. "You can't stress yourself out baby, you'll only make yourself worse.."

Taehyung wraps around Seokjin, burying his face in his shoulder. He tries to fight off the tears by closing his eyes tightly, but they still find their way out, landing on Jin's shoulder.

"Shh..it's okay baby..it's okay.." Jin pulls Taehyung closer, trying to calm the sick vocalist. I need to distract him..

"Hey Taehyungie, do you want to watch something together? We can watch a Ghibli movie like old times. Would you like that?"

Taehyung nods slightly, slowly letting go of Jin so he can get up.

Jin feels the itch in his nose, pursing his lips together as he fights off the urge to sneeze scruching up his nose. I can't sneeze with Taehyung already being so sensitive..

"Hang on, Vuu, I gotta go wash my hands, okay?" Jin dismisses himself to the bathroom, turning on the water to try to mask his sneezes.

"Hehitch!" Jin covers his face with both hands. "Hehitcgh!" He takes some toliet paper to blow his nose. "This isn't good.." Jin speaks to himself, looking at the cloudy white goo in the tissue before folding it up and throwing it away, pushing it to the bottom of the trash can.

"Heh'tixhich!" Taehyung's sneeze is heard over the water, Jin quickly washing his hands and turning it off to go to the sick dongsaeng. "Heh'heh..Heh.HEHTITCGHDH.." Taehyung tried to stop it from coming by pinching the bridge of his nose, but it came anyway. "Ugh.."

"Are you okay, Vuu?" Jin offers him the tea cup.

Taehyung shakes his head, pressing his palms into his forehead. His head was throbbing, making him feel dizzy. "Spinning.." He whispers.

"Come here, baby, let me try help.."Jin comes behind Taehyung, gently moving him to lean against his chest, finding his temples and rubbing his thumbs across with small circles.

Taehyung relaxes underneath Jin's touch, ebbing away some of the pain, the dizziness fading. "Than-" Taehyung coughs, being reminded about how raw his throat was.

"Shh.. you don't have to thank me Tae-yah. Move for a minute, I'm going to go get the tea. At least try to drink a little for me?"

Taehyung sits up, moving off of Jin. "Okay.."

Jin gets the tea, handing it to his dongsaeng. "Here Vuu."

Taehyung sips it, face distorting at the bitter taste. "Hyung.." He tries to shove it back into Jin's hands, but he doesn't accept it.

"I know, I know. I'll ask for sugar next time, just drink as much as you can." Jin puts his hand on Taehyungs head, giving him an applogetic smile. "Just a bit?"

Taehyung drinks a quarter of it before the annoying itch returns. "I gotta sneeze.." he whispers hoarsely, barely getting it into Jin's hand before a wet sneeze comes. "HEHTICHIH!"

"Bless you, Tae. Here. Wipe your nose." Jin gets him a tissue.

"Heh..tichizh..!" Taehyung sneezes quickly grabbing the tissue to try to clean up the snot that leaked down his face.

"The medicine should've kicked in.." Jin says softly, heart tightening when he hears Taehyung coughing again. He didn't seem any better than before he took it, besides his cheeks looking less flushed than before.

"I'm feeling better, I am.. my head doesn't hurt as much.." Taehyung tries to reassure Jin, but his voice doesn't come out louder than a whisper, sniffling as another sneeze tries to come.

"Voo, you don't need to lie to me." Jin says, gently rubbing Taehyung's back before getting up to set up his laptop. "It's okay.. we'll figure this out. Let's watch that movie. After we'll get you in the shower."

Taehyung cuddles up to Jin as soon as he sits down again, nodding. He's warm.. Was he always this warm, or am I just running a fever still?

Taehyung quickly types on his phone.

If my fever is gone by practice can I go?

"Practice? Oh Vuu I don't think that's a good idea." Jin's jaw clenched when he sees Taehyung's shiny eyes, not wanting to upset him. "If you do go, you wouldn't be able to sing and you'd have to take it easy."

We usually take it easy during practices close to a concert. I'll be okay..

"I'll ask the others when it's closer to that time. Right now we all need to focus on resting up." Jin gently runs his fingers through Taehyung's hair. "You're still sweating, baby.. Try to sleep a little more. I'll text Namjoon-ah about practice okay?"

Taehyung nods, nuzzling into Jin's neck, the older man wrapping his arms around him watching the brightly colored movie on the screen. He only made it halfway through before drifting to sleep.

"Kim Taehyung, Kim Taehyung!" Army cheered for him, laying flat on the set bed, the music to Stigma playing in his in-ear.

Taehyung goes to sing, but he can't make a sound. The more he tried, the more pain it caused, only coughing.

No..no I have to sing..I have to..

Taehyung sat up to try to make it easier to sing, but the coughing didn't stop scarlet droplets spraying out. He covers his face, trying to stand to leave the stage, but his knees collapse underneath him. He could hear all the voices of Army crying to see him that way hurt even more than his throat, that felt like it was being ripped from the inside.

"Vuu!" Jin runs to the stage to his side, but as soon as he touches Taehyung, he starts coughing, his skin losing all its color. "I..i.."

No.. no Hyung... Taehyung reached to touch Jin, feeling the blistering fever that made him unbearable to touch. He'll die if i don't bring it down..

Taehyung forces himself to endure Jin's body heat. It felt like he was hugging fire to his chest. His blood ran cold when he saw the others rushing to help him.

He tried to scream, but no sound came. No, no please don't touch, you'll get sick too..

Taehyung's silent scream filled the hotel room.

"Woah, Woah Taehyungie, Taehyung it's okay, it's okay!" Jin hugs Taehyung closer to his chest, cursing himself for falling asleep. "Vuu wake up.."

Taehyung's eyes fly open, clinging to the oldest member tears flooding down his cheeks. "Hyung.. I'm sorry..I'm so 'ry..I din nt mean..." Coughs cut off his incoherent sobbing, Jin stroking his hair.

"Shh, its okay, its okay it was only a dream.. Taehyung please you need to breathe. Deep breaths Vuu." Jin strokes his hand down his back. "Y-your making your fever worse.."

Taehyung holds his breath to try to stop himself from coughing, trying to shake the memory of the dream away, cuddling into Jin's cold clammy collarbone.

He's in a cold sweat because I scared him.. he's not burning up, he's fine.. it was just a dream.. only a dream.. Taehyung takes deep shaky breaths.

"That's it..Good.." Jin takes deep breaths along with him. "It was only a dream.. everything is fine except that you're not well.. Vuu we need to cool you down. We need to get you in the bath."

"Will you bathe with me?" Taehyung mouths the words.

"Of course Voo." Jin gently gets him to his feet, letting him lead on him. "Slowly, slowly.." he takes a few steps before Taehyung stops moving. "What's wrong?"

"I..ah..heh'itch! HETHIXH!" Taehyung sneezes, making them fall forward, Jin helping them to their knees. "Hah..hah..etichiff!" He tries to muffle them.

"Don't try to stop them, you'll only feel worse.." Jin scolds him.

"I don't want you to get sick.." Taehyung whispers.

It's too late for that. I'm feeling too weak to even help support your full weight..

"Don't worry about me.. just worry about getting better." Jin helps Taehyung back to his feet, making him to the bathroom. "I'll fill the tub, you get.." Jin felt the itch of a sneeze come, relieved to have his back to Taehyung as he forced the sneeze away.

Taehyung looks at him with confusion.

"Just get undressed. I'll find us clothes." He quickly leaves the room, hoping the running bathtub will cover the sneezes that built up again. "Hehtichih! Heh..itchish!" He sniffles, using a tissue to try to blow his nose as quietly as possible.

Taehyung couldn't hear Jin over his own coughing, filling up a cup of water to try to soothe the pain in his throat. I need to get better. Jin.. he looks so tired, I'm keeping him up..

Jin quickly returns to the room. "Tae I told you to get undressed. What am I going to do with you?"

Taehyung pouts. "Couldn't.."

"It's okay, I know. I'm only teasing you. Let me help." Jin gently pulls the shirt over Taehyung's head. "You're doing your best. Come on, pants.." Jin coughs. "Ah, I'm really thirsty.." he quickly gets a cup of water.

I'm sorry.. you've been too busy with me. I'll try to be easier.

"Don't be sorry. I chose to do this. Get in the bath honey.." Jin gently leads him into the water, getting undressed himself.

Taehyung whines when he gets in the water, curling up into a ball. Jin gets a wash cloth and joins him, wrapping around him. "Cold.." He whispers.

"I know, I know.. its cold for me too.." Jin admits, gently rubbing the wet cloth over Taehyung's body. "We won't stay in too long okay? Just enough to wash you up a bit." He rubs the bar of soap in the cloth, creating a white lather. "Lean against me while I wash your back, okay?"

Taehyung nods, wrapping his arms around Jin's waist as he rubs the cloth down his spine, leaning against his chest, suppressing a cough. His heart is racing.. I'm stressing him out..

Jin washes him quickly, wanting to get out of the water as soon as possible. "Now your hair. Keep your eyes closed tigh..heh'tichi!"

Taehyung quickly picks up his head, giving Jin a concerned look.

"It was only a sneeze, don't worry. I'll be fine. Head down, I have to wet your hair." Jin pushes his head back down, not wanting their eyes to meet.

Jin hummed softly as he washes Taehyung's hair, trying to keep the mood light. "There all...Aiish Taehyung-ah!" He shouts in surprise when the younger member poured water on his head. "What was that for?"

Taehyung smiles softly, taking some shampoo and squeezing it into his palm.

"You don't have to wash me Vuu.."

Taehyung nods, continuing to massage the lather into Jin's hair. It's the least I can do..

The two boys finish washing up, Jin takes Taehyung back to bed. "Here.. you can have your phone back so you can talk."

Taehyung shakes his head, eyes watering.

"Are you feeling okay Tae-yah?" Jin asks, towel drying his hair. "Are you crying?"

Taehyung quickly wipes his eyes,nodding. He takes the phone from Jin, quickly typing.

don't want to miss the concert hyung, but I can hardly talk.. how will I sing..?

"I know, i know. I don’t want you to miss it either.. Don't cry Taehyung, please?" Jin panicks, quickly trying to think of a new distraction. "Oh! Taehyungie..the movie,it reminds me of a fanart I saw of you. You want to see?" Jin quickly searches his phone, pulling up a photo of Taehyung drawn as blonde haired Howl. "I also saw one of Gukkie. See?" Jin tries drawing his attention. Taehyung looks with a sad smile.

Army are super talented. They show us so much love, that's why I want to get better so I can put on a good show..

Taehyung sniffles, wiping his eyes. He's trying his best to cheer me up.. I can't cry about it..I have to be srrong..

"I'll get you well enough by the concert, but you'll probably have to sit. Okay? Even if I have to carry you to a doctor."

Taehyung nods, taking the phone to scroll through the photos, showing him his favorites.

Hyung?

"Yeah?"

"I love you.." Taehyung whispers, sounding clear."Thank you.."

Thank you for trying to cheer me up. I'm sorry you're missing your exploration time..

"You're sounding a bit better Tae." Jin smiles, ignoring his apology. "I can't find as many for me. Jungkookie says it's because I'm too old to be Howl." Jin says with mock offense, getting a giggle out of his ailing teammate.

"I'll draw you as Howl."Taehyung whispers, coughing out the words.

"Vuu shh, don't push it and no drawing me. Your art is weird." Jin teases, stifling a cough, quickly laughing to cover it up.

Are you laughing at my art style? I know I'm not good like Jungkook, but I'll try really hard.

Jin smiles. "I like your art, anyway. I still have a picture you made me in my room."

I didn't see it in your room.

"That's because it's in a memory box, along with other precious gifts."

Taehyung goes to type a response, scolding him for not putting it in a frame, but the sneezes build up again. "He..heh'tichi! Heh'itchugh...HEH'TICHIUGH..augh..hurts.." He whines, covering his face.

"Aiigo, I jinxed it.. I'm sorry.." Jin checks the time. "It's been four hours since the last time I gave you medicine, I'll get you some.. after you need to try to sleep okay?"

Taehyung nods slightly, hiding his face underneath the blanket to cough. Jin looks back at him, taking the opportunity to quickly take a dose of medicine himself, quickly pouring another cup and bringing it to the bed.

Taehyung accepts it with a hiss at the awful taste.

"I know, here, drink some tea." Jin offers, Taehyung looking offended, laughing. "Fine, fine I'll get you water, but after, you should go to sleep.. I'll restart the movie, since we both fell asleep halfway through." Jin sets the laptop back up,gently rubbing his hand down Taehyung's side, suppressing a cough as he gets up to get some water.

He doesn't allow himself to show any signs of sickness until he the was sure he was asleep, getting him a drink of water. "Sleep well Tae.." He whispers, wrapping around him. Jin waits a few minutes to hear Taehyung's soft snores before texting Namjoon.

Me and Taehyung won't be going to practice..I'm not feeling well either..

(To be continued... sorry I didn't edit this.)

[aniron48]

Love Letters - Day 5

Welcome to Day 5 (!!!) of Love Letters, a 00q choose your own adventure! We're in the home stretch, friends--as a reminder, we'll wrap up on the evening of 2/14, around 9ish EST. If you're joining for the first time, you can catch up here: Day 1 Day 2 Day 3 Day 4

And for those who have been here for the long haul, come see how your voting turned out! Day 5 starts below the cut. 😁

He just had to make one more stop.

Bond arrived in Q Branch to find Q underneath the hood of one of his cars.

“James,” Q said, straightening up at his approach. He rubbed ineffectually at the engine grease on his cheek, only succeeding in smearing it further. “I didn’t know you were stopping by.”

“Why in god’s name do we have a Ford Fiesta?” Bond asked, leaning against one of the work benches.

“Believe it or not, some of the agents actually appreciate being inconspicuous on their missions. You should try it some time.” Q reached for a rag to clean off his hands. “Are you here just to see me, or...?”

“Just to see you,” Bond confirmed. He held up a bag from the Thai place down the block. “I’ve brought lunch.”

It had been meals like this one that brought them together in the first place. Bond had learned early on that Q, in many respects, was not dissimilar to a giant panda: both of them had to eat almost constantly in order to survive, and like the panda, if left to his own devices, Q’s natural diet was almost entirely devoid of nutritional value, consisting of sour gummy worms, liters of tea, and whatever biscuits he could scrounge from the break room. 

He and Bond had barely been friends, in those early weeks after Skyfall—there was a newly-forged trust, and a certain grudging respect, but that had been it. But one afternoon, Q had nearly fainted while fitting Bond for a holster. Bond had stormed down the street to the nearest Tesco, returned to throw a sandwich, an apple, and a packet of digestives at Q’s head, and had stayed in his office until he’d finished them. Before he knew it, he’d fallen into a pattern of bringing Q meals whenever he was in London.

Bond couldn’t pinpoint exactly when these lunches with Q had become the thing that felt most like home to him—more than his empty flat, more than the ruins of Skyfall, more, even, than the halls of MI6 itself. It had happened gradually, a slow thawing of the frozen earth under the relentless advance of spring. And then one day, a few months back, he’d leaned in to wipe a bit of curry from Q’s face, and Q, misreading Bond’s intention, had kissed him.

Bond had never been a selfless man. Self-sacrificing, maybe; reckless with his life and well-being, certainly. But he was selfish at his core, incapable of denying himself the things he wanted most—first MI6; then Vesper; and now Q—curling around them instead like a dragon with his secret hoard. And so he’d kissed Q back, that night, instead of letting him go; kissed him, and gone home with him, and stayed.

Bond lingered over the takeaway containers after lunch, gathering them up to take them to the bins.

“Is everything all right?” Q asked.

“Yes. Everything’s fine. Why do you ask?”

Q smiled, but didn’t answer, reaching out to smooth at the furrow between Bond’s eyebrows with his thumb.

“I’m all right. I just wanted to say…” Bond scrubbed a hand over his face, the words he’d planned suddenly out of reach.

Q sat down on the edge of his desk, his grey-green eyes on Bond as he continued.

“It’s about what you said, the other night, after the movie. I know you didn’t want to talk about it, then—maybe you still don’t. But I wanted you to know—it isn’t just you. I’ve never had a love letter, either, as it happens. I should have told you that night, but I’m telling you now, because I need you to know that any—any lack that you’ve experienced has nothing to do with you. It’s certainly nothing to do with who you are. It’s not a fair world, nor a particularly kind one, in my experience. And if it comes down to whether there’s something wrong with you or something wrong with the world, then the answer is the world. Unquestionably.”

He’d had more to say—at least, he thought he did. But Q was on him, then, knocking the empty takeaway containers out of his hands and kissing him within an inch of his life, and anything else was forgotten.

He wrote the letter in Q’s flat that night, sneaking out of bed while Q slept, the cats curled around his feet. He sat at the kitchen table, the light from the moon coming in the window, and wrote until he’d said all he had to say. He had one last surprise up his sleeve, however, and for that, he needed to go to Bath.

You've probably noticed that Bond did, in fact, write the letter at the end of this segment! If you're wondering how this outcome differs from if you'd picked "sit down and write the letter," the spoiler-free answer is that you would have gotten to read the text of Bond's letter to Q a little bit earlier. You'll just have to wait a little bit longer... 👀

[singsweetmelodies]

tagged by lovely @car-bo-hydrate to try this <3333

star sign: virgo

favourite holiday: new year

last meal: a hot mug of tea and some south african buttermilk rusks (comfort food breakfast!!! ❤️☕)

current favourite musician: probably taylor swift, but as always, it's hard to choose just one. OOOH! lately, dove cameron is high up on the list too

last music listened to: confetti (acoustic version) by little mix - LISTEN. ever since ms perrie edwards put out a tease that her solo music is coming soon, i have been on a big little mix high again, listening to all my old favourites and hyping myself up sooooo much for that perrie music drop 👀👀👀😍

last movie watched: my girlfriend and i rewatched shang-chi and the legend of the ten rings again last night for movie night <3 LOVE that movie, omfg. both my gf and i firmly declared all michelle yeoh's scenes our favourites 🤭

last tv show watched: you know, it's actually been really long since i've properly watched a TV show, so the answer to this is probably something silly like reruns of FRIENDS

last book/fic finished: 2 different answers here!! last book was iron flame by rebecca yarros (yes, i caved to all the hype and read it on the plane - yes, there were bits that pissed me off, but i mostly enjoyed it) and last fic was one of AO3 user venerat's landoscar masterpieces, "i'll kiss you first" <3

last book/fic abandoned: hmm... i tried to read this rom-com called "you & me: a mlm single dads romance" while on holiday in SA, and i just... couldn't make it more than 5 chapters in. the cringe (& the VERY american focus of... everything...) was just too much for me, especially because i tried to read this right after a super delightful wlw rom-com recommended to me by darling @duquesademiel. after that, this one just... couldn't compare. at all.

currently reading: well, i'm back to work, so my time for books has unfortunately dropped exponentially... all i'm actively reading rn is a bunch of f1 rpf fics, to be perfectly honest

last thing researched for writing/art/hyperfixation: "WHAT COULD CAUSE A SCANDAL IN THE REGENCY ERA" 🤣🤭

favourite online fandom memory: storytime sundays where we tell those long DM fics with @boxboxbrioche and @welightitup <3333

favourite old fandom you wish would drag you back in/have a resurgence: HMMM! i am mostly over all my old fandoms by now, to be fair, but if i really had to choose one... probably one direction?? because a proper resurgence would mean the reunion, right? (right?) ((so maybe i'm not quite as "over it" as i pretend 🤭))

favourite thing that you enjoyed that never had an active fandom: ohhhh, i can't think of a name immediately now, but it's definitely some or other book series that, if it had a fandom at all, was so tiny that i was practically the only person in it 🥲

tempting project that you're trying to rein in/don't have time for: LISTEN. i have had the most awful writer's block for months, and now that i can finally write again, somewhat, all that i want to write are the things that i should NOT be focusing on rn, because those things don't have deadlines but other things do *charles_wtf discord react*

prime example: about 2838474829 piarles smut WIPs and a/b/o and chussyverse explorations, instead of... my PWFE fic. some belated birthday fics. some celebration fics i promised nearly half a bloody YEAR ago. oops 😭😭 but, we'll get there. we will! just like this will be ferrari's year (i am delulu) xD

no idea who's done this yet and who hasn't, so i'm just going to tag some friends and hope i'm not double-tagging anyone - also, if i miss anyone, please feel free to say i tagged you anyway, because i'd love to see your answers <3 @boxboxbrioche @welightitup @hourcat @teamnick @sedicii @francophones @radiocheck, if any of you feel like giving this a go <3333

[krispyarcadetyphoon]

Mardi Himal Trek

##https://eternalhimalaya.com/mardi-himal-trek##

##https://eternalhimalaya.com/mardi-himal-trek##

Mardi Himal Trek

Mardi Himal Trek is a 10-day trek and is a fantastic alternative to the crowded Poonhill trail. It is one of the most popular off-beaten trekking routes in the shadows of the Annapurna Himalayas.

Thus, it is perfect for travellers looking for isolated trekking trails. The trail goes from one base camp to the other in a gradual manner while exploring the Annapurna Conservation Area.

The Mardi Himal Trek is an interesting experience that covers the off-beat trails which offer sublime views of the Annapurna Himalayas. It combines the serenity of several villages with lush forests and hills.

The bio-diversity along the trail is also a praiseworthy highlight. Similarly, the Mardi Himal Trek also offers a close-up into the Gurung culture on visits to villages like Siding.

The Mardi Himal Trek starts with a drive from Kathmandu to Pokhara. Another drive from Pokhara leads to the trailhead of the trek at Kande. The actual trek starts here as you head to Low Camp.

Theron, the trek continues further north towards Forest Camp. Next, you ascend to the High Camp. A diverse set of vegetation covers the entire trekking trail.

These forests also shelter a number of wildlife species. Lastly, you trek to Upper View Point which is also the highest point of the trek.

The viewpoint offers great vistas of Mt. Fishtail (6997m), Mardi Himal (5553m), Annapurna (8091m), and Hiunchuli (6441m). On the return trip, you head to Siding village which provides a chance to explore the Gurung culture.

Highlights

Explore the major landmarks of the Pokhara Valley

Head to the Mardi Himal Base Camp and observe the Himalayan panorama

Observe surreal views of mountains like Annapurna (8091m), Lamjung (6983m), and Machhapuchhre (6997m)

Explore the Annapurna Conservation Area

Itinerary

Expand All

Day 1:

Arrival at Kathmandu

The journey begins with your arrival at the Tribhuvan International Airport in Kathmandu. Here, our company representative will receive you and take you to the hotel. After you freshen up, you can explore some of the Newari heritage.

Accommodation

3 Star Hotel

Meals

Welcome Dinner

Maximum Altitude

1300m

Day 2:

Drive to Pokhara

Day 3:

Drive to Kande, trek to Forest Camp

Day 4:

Trek to Low Camp

Day 5:

Trek to High Camp

Day 6:

Hike up to Upper View Point, back to High Camp

Day 7:

Trek to Siding Village

Day 8:

Siding Village to Pokhara

Day 9:

Drive to Kathmandu

Day 10:

Departure to International Airport

Cost Details

Airport picks up and drop by private vehicle.

3 nights’ accommodation in Kathmandu with bed and breakfast basis.

Kathmandu sightseeing by Private guide and private transportation

Kathmandu – Pokhara – Kathmandu transportation.

Your standard meals (Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner) during the trekking.

All necessary paper works and conservation entry permits.

All accommodations in hotel, lodges/tea houses

An experienced Government licensed guide and porters (1 porter for 2 peoples).

Medical supplies (first aid kit will be available).

Farewell dinner with typical Nepali restaurant

All government taxes.

Map & Photos

Mardi Himal Trek map

Useful Info

A Day on a Hike

Each morning we'll wake up early, freshen up, get ready and pack our bags before having breakfast. After a hearty meal, we will be on the trails by 7 or 8 am which varies according to the nature of the trek. Around midday, we will be taking a lunch break and resting after walking for 2-3 hours. Then we’ll be walking towards our last destination of the day and reach our destination usually in the afternoon. For the rest of the afternoon, we will explore the village and nearby places.

At about 6 or 7 pm we’ll have dinner. Once we finished our supper we spent our evening interacting with others, playing games, watching videos, reading books, etc. Before going to sleep, the trek leader/guide will give us a briefing about the next day’s plan.

The difficulty, Physical Fitness, and Health

Mardi Himal is rated as a medium-difficult trek (moderate grade) by novice trekkers because of long tiring walks and steep uphill climbs. However, it is relatively easy as it is one of the shortest treks, has a very low risk of altitude sickness and the route doesn’t lead to arduous locations. Every single day you hike for about 5 to 6 hrs and take a rest between walks.

It would be an easy trek as you will be trekking more in lowlands and short distances in high elevations. The trekking route consists of straight paths, steep long ascends, and descends. Also, note that you do not need any experience or technical expertise for the Mardi Himal trek. Moreover, being physically fit and preparing for this journey enhance the stamina and strength of your body. In Order to achieve that you should regularly jog and exercise for 2 weeks before the trek.

It is advisable to carry a positive attitude and strong determination alongside being healthy with a fit body. Before booking this trek make sure to inform us if trekkers have pre-existing medical conditions related to heart, lungs, and blood diseases.

Accommodation Details

Our clients will be accommodated in 3-star hotels in Kathmandu (3nights) and Pokhara (2nights) where you will have a twin shared a room with an attached bathroom, free Wi-Fi, T.V, power, laundry facilities, and 24hrs hot shower as well.

During the trek you'll be accommodated in teahouses (also known as lodges) with a very basic facility as the trails of Mardi Himal is not often visited by tourist compared to other treks of Everest and Annapurna region. This trek package comprises six overnight stays from the lodge to lodge while trekking. Although single rooms are easily available in Kathmandu and Pokhara on request by our clients it might be very difficult to find them in trekking regions (except during off-seasons).

At the lower altitude, you may get better quality lodges with all the necessary facilities like in cities but as you reach higher altitudes the lodges are far more basic with bare necessities. Generally, you'll be staying in a twin sharing room at Low camp, High camp, and Forest camp.

Meals and Drinking Water During the trek

Despite being graded a moderate trip the trek to Mardi Himal could be taxing at some point, after all, trekkers are going to trek through the Himalayas of Nepal. Trekkers will require a lot of energy to climb steep uphill and downhill and long straight routes. There are nutritious and delicious foods served by the tea houses/lodges on trekking routes to keep refueling your body with all necessary nutrients. These lodges serve authentic Nepalese food as well as more common international cuisine (Continental, Italian, Tibetan, Indian, etc) but at high elevations, the menu options get shorter.

Here are some the of menu items served at tea houses/lodges:

Breakfast

Pancakes, Eggs, Corn Flakes, Tibetan bread or chapati, Oatmeal, French toast, Toast with peanut butter, butter, jam, honey, cheese, Muesli, Bread, Local Tsampa porridge, Vegetables, Fruits, Hot drinks (varieties of coffee, teas, hot chocolate, etc)

Lunch and Dinner

Steaks, Macaroni dishes, Momo (dumpling), Sandwiches, Dhal, bhat (rice)and Tarkari, Pasta, Sherpa stew, Tibetan bread, Variety of Soups, Thenthuk Spaghetti Noodle, Fried rice, Potatoes items, Thukpa, Vegetable curry, Snacks (Papad, Prawn), Desserts (Rice pudding, Apple pie, etc), pizza (Tomato, Mushroom, Mixed), Korean ramen, Hard drinks, egg/chicken/meat dishes, etc

All standard meals (Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner) during the trek are included in the package except the table drinks (alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages) and snacks are excluded from the package. Therefore, you have to pay for it.

We highly advised you to eat fresh vegetables and drink a liquid (lemon tea, hot lemon, green tea, ginger tea, and garlic soup which is a must ) at high altitude. Although there are plenty of non-veg items in lodges, we don't recommend them for hygiene purposes. Also, avoid alcohol, dairy, cheese, hot chocolate, and caffeinated items.

Drinking water is available at lodges at a cost. Since plastic bottles are banned in the Annapurna region, you cannot buy or take bottled water (mineral water). Moreover, you can either buy and fill your water bottle with boiled water from lodges or filter it with water purifying pills or gadgets.

Best season to visit Mardi Himal

Weather is the key element in determining a favorable time to trek to Mardi Himal. Even though trekking to Mardi Himal is possible throughout the year, there are advantages and disadvantages to trekking in every season.

Trek to Mardi Himal is most suitable during the spring and autumn seasons because at this time the clear blue sky plays a great part in highlighting the amazing views. However, the treks become a little bit difficult in summer and winter. During winter it gets freezing cold and may receive snowfall, whereas the summer season clashes with monsoon season, which makes the trails wet and slippery to trek.

Spring season (March-May)

Weather is at its best during this season with a mild temperature and low rainfall creating a perfect trekking environment. After the month of March trekking season begins and various colors of rhododendron flowers bloom by April making the forest more vibrant. During these months you can enjoy the unhindered spectacular view of Mountain scenery as the sky is unclouded. From mid-March, up to mid-May, the temperature starts to rise.

Summer season (June-August)

Summer comes along with the monsoon due to which the trekking route becomes wet and slippery. The temperature will rise simultaneously making the Annapurna region very hot. Even though rain may hinder you, the trekking region will be full of various green vegetation at this time, adding greenery to the landscape. During the afternoon clouds gather up but disappear at night and mornings are usually clear.

Autumn season (September-November)

The best time of the year for Mardi Himal Trek is Autumn. In Nepal, it is one of the peak seasons for trekking as autumn provides the perfect conditions for trekking such as low perspiration, moderate temperature, and mild wind. Because of the summer rainfall, the skies become clear as Autumn is a post-monsoon period. You get to see a magnificent vista of mountains on a sunny day and enjoy amazing starry skies at night.

Winter season (December-February)

In the Annapurna region winter's trek is less popular among trekkers due to extreme cold yet some adventurous trekkers are thrilled to trek even in winter. Although being cold, winter usually offers quite clear skies with a spectacular view of snow-capped peaks of mountains. The winter treks are challenging because of snowfall. However, the trails are less crowded during winter. We don’t recommend the winter trek to beginner trekkers.

Travel Insurance for Mardi Himal Trek

Mardi Himal is a short, easy trek with very little chance of altitude sickness as Mardi Himal is not that high. Nonetheless, trekkers should take extra measures to be prepared because they may get injured, face sudden climate change, encounter unforeseen events, fall ill, natural disasters may occur such as landslide floods, etc therefore travel insurance is necessary. To back up yourself in case of emergency travel insurance is mandatory for every traveler.

Trekkers have to send a copy of their travel insurance policy certificate after booking the trek. Moreover, the insurance policy must cover helicopter rescue, evacuation expenses, and medical and emergency repatriation at high elevations.

Make sure to double-check the company policy whether they cover helicopter rescue and evacuation up to 5000m before buying the travel insurance.

Immunization Certificate/Vaccinations

Vaccination against malaria, cholera, yellow fever, tetanus, typhoid/paratyphoid, BCG tuberculosis, hepatitis, meningitis, rabies, dengue fever, giardia, and polio are recommended by us. However, the requirements for the vaccination keep changing depending upon the situation. In case of any current changes on vaccination requirements, you have to be up to date and check the situation of the place before traveling. Consult your doctor or GP at least 2 months before the trek about the immunization you require to travel safely.

It is obligatory for the travelers to submit the ‘Fully Vaccinated Covid-19' immunization certificate.

Nepal Tourist Visa Info

All Mardi Himal Trek foreigners, excluding Indian nationals, will require a visa to enter Nepal. However, European countries can obtain visa-on-arrival at the Tribhuvan International Airport, Ktm, Nepal.

Passport validity is required for at least 6 months and should be beyond the total duration of the trip. Also, require a passport size photo for visa application. The cost of a Nepal Tourist Visa differs according to the number of days it is issued for. The Nepal Tourist Visa fee is USD 30 for up to 15 days. For up to 30 days, the visa costs USD 50 whereas the visa fee for 90 days costs USD 125.

Citizens of SAARC and China will receive a free visa. Some countries' citizens may not receive an on-arrival visa and these countries are Ghana, Swaziland, Cameroon, Liberia, Ethiopia, Palestine, Nigeria, Zimbabwe, Somalia, Afghanistan, and Iraq. Therefore, nationals from these countries can contact their local Nepalese embassy.

For more information related to visas search at https://www.immigration.gov.np/

Currency Exchange in Nepal

Nepali currency (Rupee) is a closed currency; therefore, you can only exchange your foreign currency upon arrival in Nepal. Since US dollars are widely accepted, we suggest traveling with US dollars. The majority of banks do not accept that foreign currency which is old, torn, or faded. It is advisable to carry new, clean and untorn notes to obtain the local currency ‘Nepali Rupees (NPR)’.

The foreign currency can be converted through local banks or a bank ATM and authorized ‘’Money Changers’’ or ‘’Foreign Exchangers (FOREX)’’ around Thamel in Kathmandu. Alternatively, you can exchange a small amount of cash at all the hotels in Kathmandu too. Every morning the money changers will post the ongoing rates on their board which is placed outside of the store. The rates don't vary that much from store to store.

Some of the ATMs are open 24 hrs a day and accepts international card; moreover, most ATMs will charge a usage fee on each transaction. Cash from ATMs is given out in Nepali currency (NPR) only. In Nepal, there is a limit on how much amount of cash you can withdraw per transaction. If you are using a foreign card, the maximum limit of withdrawal amount will be 35,000 for a 500 rupees processing fee. However, the withdrawal amount varies depending on the bank and the limits often range from 10,000 NPR to 30,000 NPR.

A service fee charge of 4% or more will be imposed depending upon the banks if you utilize the money exchange facility at financial institutions and banks.

On the trek, there are no money exchange services and banks. Furthermore, there are some ATMs available in Jomsom on the Annapurna circuit trek but are not reliable. So, we suggest you exchange your foreign currency in Kathmandu or Pokhara before you depart for the trek, as you will get a more favorable exchange rate. Plus, it is a far more convenient, easier, and safer option. Since the tea houses/lodges of trekking regions prefer local currency, we recommend you to take a sufficient amount of Nepali currency on the trek for personal expenses.

# We advised you to avoid the airports and hotels to make your currency exchanges, for the best rate.

Trekking in-group/singles

We handle all group sizes whether it be small (private trek) or large size trekking groups. Group discount is applicable when your group consists of more than 5 people and should have your own person (family, friends, or colleagues) in the team otherwise the price remains the same for private touring or group joining. If you are interested in joining the fixed group for this trip please keep checking the departure link when it's available we will send you complete info (date and price) related to the trek or you can book an entire private trip at a reasonable cost. Each and every group will be led by a team leader/ guide and one porter for two trekkers. In case your group exceeds more than 10 people we will provide an assistant guide.

Personal expenses on the trek

We request our clients to carry extra cash (Nepali currency) during the trek as the package won't cover some of the trip expenses including snacks, alcoholic/non-alcoholic beverages (table drinks), souvenirs, tips for guides, porters and drivers, hot shower, Wi-Fi, mineral/boil water for drinking, recharge, etc. Other additional personal expenses include international airfare, visa application, travel insurance policy purchase, extra accommodation, and food charges in Kathmandu.

Wi-Fi/Internet, Communication, and Electricity

Wi-Fi/Internet is available at lodges, however, you are required to pay an extra charge. There is also electricity available in lodges/tea houses as well, from there you can charge your devices by paying a certain amount. To communicate at high altitudes we use mobile phones for that you have to buy a local sim from Kathmandu before the trek. Although you will get a signal, it might not be strong enough. At least once a day Eternal Himalaya will contact a team leader to know about the whereabouts of the trek team and keep notifying us about the team.

Eternal Himalaya Hiking Team

Our expert guides will escort you throughout the trek with the aim of making your journey enjoyable and comfortable. Every single guide of our company is well experienced, trained, and licensed. They have been climbing and trekking by leading a group for many years.

All of our crew members have what it takes to lead a successful trek. We value our staff members and take good care of them. Each staff member is provided with good payment, insurance coverage, necessary equipment, gear, meals, transportation, and accommodation during the trek. Medical care is also provided by us in case of an injury and illness.

Our crew members' qualities are:

Excellent interacting skills and fluent in English and other major languages)

A certified Trekking Guide

Knowledgeable about the facts and keep track of weather forecast

Well trained in Rock climbing

Undertook the Biodiversity and Conservation course

Wilderness First Aid Training

Luggage

Weight allowance for Nepal’s internal flight is 15 kg as domestic airlines operate strict limits of a maximum of 10 kg for main luggage and 5 kg for a backpack. If your luggage exceeds 15 kg, you have to pay for the excess baggage weight which will cost USD 1 or more per kg depending on the region.

Normally, we assign one porter to carry the main luggage of two trekkers during the trek. The weight limit for the luggage is 9kg per trekker. As one porter will be carrying the weight of the two trekkers, the combined weight will be 18kg. We care for the porters and

[musingsofamystic]

*cherus smiles at dime from across the table. he can tell they want more; living with a constantly-hungry kid made him more aware of these things. he finishes his meal before scooping more on his own and dime's plate so they're not the only one getting seconds*

thank you. you're very important to us now, too. you're part of our family. that means we take care of each other, no matter what - 🍒

yea!! part of the family!!! we one big family! :3 - 🐁 *they're still eating, helping karnie get a few licks of tea from their cup. they both seem a lot better now, if a bit clingy*

Exactly, Dear. /p We'll Always Be Here For You, No Matter What. I'm So Happy We Got You Back In One Piece. We'll Never Let You Get Hurt Again, Not Without A Fight -R

//They're surprised as they get seconds, not used to having enough left to even do so. They quickly clear their plate once more, this time having enough as they do so. Once they're done, they clean their mouth before softly putting a hand on Mortys back to ensure them that they’re still there. They softly pet Karnie, happy now. They nodded as they listened along.//

It's nice to have people to rely on. You can rely on me as well, if it is ever needed. I am more than willing to help in anything you all need help with. Especially if it's something that needs help and quick.

We are a big family now. I'm very happy to be a part of it. I'm happy to be seen as part of a family, to have people to rely on.

If we do get into a fight, I will have your back. That is one thing I can ensure you.

[xiaosmoon]

CAGED HEART — PROLOGUE

pairings: ayato & thoma x fem!reader

warnings: none!

link to series masterlist

note: ahhh!!! i can't believe i'm finally starting this series! grab a cup of tea and enjoy <3

The first thing you noticed about him were his piercing blue eyes. Eyes that held so much status and power, status and power you could only begin to imagine. He held himself with such a cool confidence. It wasn't loud or arrogant, it was subtle. You suppose that's what made Kamisato Ayato so intimidating and good at his work.

"You know, the quicker you finish your meal the quicker we can get out of here." His whisper sent chills down your spine, and not the good kind. You snap your neck to face the blue haired devil.

He wasn't wrong. Your family and his family were all dining and chatting together, excited about the marriage. His sister Ayaka was gushing to your aunt about how grand the wedding will be while your father was laughing away with his grandfather.

"I don't want to go anywhere with you. And who says I'm not enjoying myself?" Oh but you didn't need to, the distaste in your words and the furrowing in your eyebrows was enough to tell Ayato all he needed to know.

He didn't want this marriage anymore than you did but you don't see him making it anymore harder than it needs to be. Ayato only flashes the fakest smile to avoid making a scene before getting back to his dessert.

You sigh, pushing the sad pudding around with your spoon. Quite on the contrary, you're willing to do anything to leave this hell of a room. As you move your pudding around, you conspire a plan.

You "accidentally" spill some pudding onto your lap before letting out a gasp that caught everyone's attention.

"My dress! Apologies, I can be so clumsy. Please excuse me." You display an apologetic smile before wiping away what you can with a napkin. You begin to stand up, ready to bolt out of the room before Ayato wraps his hand around your wrist.

"I shall escort you. I doubt you know where the restroom is, right?"

Damn him. You snap your gaze down to his, trying to maintain your cool. You keep your fake sweet demeanor, reminding yourself there's an audience. "Of course."

Ayato excuses himself from the table as well, getting up from the floor. "We'll be back momentarily."

"Oh please," Ayato's grandmother waves her hand in the air. "Take your time, take your time!"

You're assuming there's a innuendo in her words, but you'd much rather not find out. Ayato keeps his hand wrapped gently around your wrist as he leads you out of the dinning room.

It wasn't until the two of you reached outdoors you snapped your hand away. "What's your problem?"

Ayato raised his eyebrows. "My problem? I haven't done anything."

"You didn't have to come with me. I wanted some fresh air and clearly you didn't get the hint."

Ayato crosses his arms. "I assure you I got the hint. I wanted some too."

You decide that you don't need to waste your time arguing with him. "I'm going to the restroom to actually clean up. I don't assume you need to follow me there too, do you?"

Ayato's eyes narrow. "Come back when you're done. Make it quick."

You don't spare him a second glance before heading for the restroom.

You didn't actually have to use the restroom of course, but anything to get you out of that stuffy room— and away from your soon to be fiancé.

The mere thought of calling him your fiancé put a distaste in your mouth. How could you be sold away so quickly? Did you truly mean nothing to your father? You shake off the thoughts, not wanting to spoil this evening any further. As you tread further and further, you realize you don't actually know where the restroom is.

"You look lost, can I help?"

The new voice caught you off guard. You snap your head in the direction of the source. A tall blond fellow stood a few feet away from you. His green eyes watched you carefully.

"Oh, I'm just looking for the restroom."

Thoma smiles, gesturing his hand to the building in front of him. "These are the outdoor ones, although judging by your attire I think you should be using the ones inside the estate."

"Oh, no no! Please, I'll use these ones." Your bashful reaction sent Thoma into even more confusion.

"I'm y/n by the way, I just arrived here tonight."

Thoma felt stupid for not realizing sooner. The daughter of one of the most powerful commissioners was standing before him and he didn't even know. Immediately, Thoma bowed down, asking for forgiveness.

"Please accept my humblest apologies m'lady, I had no idea!"

You quickly wave your hands frantically at him, walking closer to him. "Oh no, please don't! I promise I don't mind."

When Thoma rose from his bow, he realized how much closer you were to him. He finally got to notice your facial features much closely now.

The moonlight illuminated you just perfectly. Your traditional attire was undeniably beautiful, just making you stand out even more.

Thoma mentally slapped himself. He shouldn't— he couldn't be thinking about someone with such status like this.

"My name is Thoma. I work as the caretaker at the Kamisato estate, if you need any help please don't hesitate to ask me! I have to get going, but enjoy the rest of your time here."

You smile, thanking Thoma before entering the restroom. The rest of your time here? Thoma must not know about the engagement. In fact, you don't think Ayato has announced the engagement yet.

You walk into the restroom, freshening yourself up before staring into the mirror.

The stress and disgust you felt earlier washed away slowly. Something about the aura at this estate tells you that everything will be okay.

Right?

taglist: @sunny-star021 @xiaos-wrld @how-simpy @icecappa @clemmywrites @urujiako @xiaophobic @zhongchi14 @leoriominaj @k-l-a-w-s

series taglist: @archivistea @3rachachoo @bookuya

(let me know if you would like to be added!)

[afandommultiverse]

Enemies - Zora Ideale

word count - 2.5k

request - Z3ll0us

warnings - uhh none really, language probably, just some fluff

a/n - ya'll, my bad, I'm not dead just not creative, I somehow came up with this in the matter of like 5 months, and it's still shit I'm sorry guys, but I hope you all enjoy! Btw I'm going to be trying my best to come back!💕

~~~

It seemed no matter where he went, no matter what job it was if they were there, there was no chance for him. How many bounties had he lost? How many relics had they stolen right from under him for contracts? Zora was sick of it and made it a rule to himself that he would drop everything and turn the other way when he saw them, but what was even the point? Because no matter where he went, they were always there.

Even now, a member of the Black Bulls, he was having a hard time holding back from releasing magic spells. He wanted them gone, at least that is what he thought. Why else would he get this burning feeling looking at them to speak to Magna like they have been friends for years? But, of course, Zora could never tell them. However, he wanted them to talk to him like that, not like he was just some scum on the bottom of their shoes, but it is not like all he has done has exactly helped his relationship with them, which brought him to his current predicament.

"With who?" Zora could not believe his luck. Of course, he was going to be with them. What else would the fates do but trick and play with him? His suffering must be amusing. Yami puffed on his cigarette as he handed Zora a pack of mission information.

"You are with Y/n. Now go find them and get on; I forgot about that one under some stacks of papers, due dates in 3 days." Yami kicked Zora out of his office and left him there to stare at the door as he thought about how fucked the next four days would be for him.

~~~

It was a cave expedition. Some wild animals had been going in there and coming out with big mana. It was beginning to make it dangerous for the surrounding villages who hunted wild game to put dinner on the table. But, thank the gods, Yami had cleaned off his desk; if not, who knows what kind of trouble the guild would have been in the next few days.

Walking to their room, Zora had heavy feet, which seemed only to get more weighted and weighted as he got closer to their door. Then he heard their laugh vibrating through the walls and ringing out to the hall where he could listen, halting his step and his heartbeat. Zora swallowed a knot before bringing his hand up to the door and knocking heavily. He heard their steps before the door opened, and they stared at him, sitting into their hip and glaring.

"What?" They seethed, narrowing their eyes as if looking for a trick. He sighed and handed them the folder, not even bothering to mess with them right now; they will prove him wrong later anyways.

"Be ready in thirty minutes." And then he walked away.

Y/n P.O.V

I watched Zora skulk away, a different air around him, almost defeated. I frowned before closing the door and turning back to the guest.

"Who was that?" A friend of mine from hell, a tiny demoness who specialized in brews and potions. Aliza was her name, and she was a stout little thing with filled-out curves and gorgeous maroon skin that glowed. Her nails were sharp and black, seeming to glitter in the light as she lifted her cup, which was much more prominent in her little red hands. Red swirly horns curled around her ears before pointing up in effortless black points that seemed to drip back down her horns like minor oil spills. Most enticing were her pink eyes, slit-like a cat and equally as sharp.

"Zora, a team member." I settled back down in my seat in front of her and sipped my tea. Her tail swished around her curiously as she stared at me pointedly. Since she was so short, she had to stand on the table to see eye to eye; she looked adorable under the flowers in the vase sitting at the center of the table.

"Just a team member?" Her pink eyes seemed to glint in knowing, knowing what? I did not know. I eyed her suspiciously as I finished up my meal.

"Yeah. Just a team member who, by the way, gets on my nerves sometimes and is a huge asshole." I took the final sip from my tea and gathered the dishes before throwing them through a portal to hell. Aliza looked unimpressed as she watched me close the said portal. "What?"

"You cannot keep expecting Helltower to keep doing your dishes." I grinned, dusting off my hands and moving to change.

"Of course I can! He loves me! Plus, I always repay him with little trinkets from the middle world." I mused, throwing on my guild cape and walking out of the room, Aliza following me. Her heels clicked on the stone hall as she followed me, surprisingly keeping up for being so small.

"Where are you going?" She continued to drink her tea, which she had reheated with a small flame in her hand.

"Some mission, talk shit later, okay?" She laughed before slipping through a small red vortex in front of her effortlessly, and I continued to meet Zora.

It has been silent ever since we started walking, stale moods rising from both of us. Yami had mentioned that the mission would be within walking distance. What he had failed to mention was that he thought thirty-five miles was within walking distance, which brought us here, stumbling on the only trail that would lead us to the village in need. Wind around us blew softly, whistling through the trees and making the leaves above our heads shutter and shake. Orange and yellow leaves were falling overhead to frame our little journey. Now and then, deer or a rabbit would hop across a few feet ahead of us, some even stopping to stare at us with their beady eyes before walking off.

As silent as it was between us, the forest made up plenty of sounds, birds chirping tiny tunes to each other from the high treetops. We had even heard the roars of hogs fighting by a pond over a mate. We stopped to watch them for a second but continued a little after. Eventually, Zora let out an irritated sigh and walked over to a tall, thick tree, probably hundreds of old- and kicked it so hard, the roots ripped out from the ground, well, mostly. Before any dirt or rocks could hit us, Zora quickly set up a magic circle and reflected it all. I watched in astonishment and confusion. What the hell was he doing? Then, as dozens of birds flew away from the scene, scared of such commotion, he spoke.

"Cut this for me, dear?" I scoffed at the nickname, trying to ignore the sweet pound of my heart that followed after his raspy voice wrapped around that word in an unreasonable amount of attractiveness. Then I thought of a particular pair of pink cat eyes glinting at me. So I shuffled forward, opting instead of asking questions to pull an ax out of a small portal. "I always forget your weapons are double the size of Cap'n Yami." He muttered off to the side, watching as I walked up to the top of the tree and measured up the ax to swing. As I swung down on the trunk, cutting it just as it began to branch out, I heard a low whistle, and secondly, his footsteps walking along the tree trunk back to me.

"Clean shot, doll." He grinned down at me, then looked back at the severed trunks. "We'll take the long one for the rest of the ride, whaddya say?" He asked, reaching down to pull me up. What the hell is going on? As I gripped his hand, I was almost in a trance, confused and running through millions of thoughts. Setting my body on auto-pilot as I tried to figure out why the hell he was so lovely. Which, in the end, was a bad idea, or maybe a good one.

My foot slipped, and just when I thought I was going to eat shit, a specific pair of hands gripped me, pulling me up fast. We fell back, landing against the wood hard; well, Zora did at least.

"Fuck." He groaned, rubbing his head before looking up at me, his mischievous eyes and smile gone, there laid concern. "Are you okay?" He moved me off of him gently, surprisingly not making any inappropriate comments on our position.

"You saved me," I spoke, still flabbergasted with what happened and the events leading up to it.

"Yeah, it didn't look like it was gonna be a soft fall, sweetheart." He stood up, convinced that I was all right, and gave me a hand again, this time watching me intensely as if I would misstep again. After I was up, he walked away, going to the head of the tree to fill it with mana. Slowly, the trunk began to rise, higher and higher, until we were above the surrounding trees. Green leaves blocking the view of the forest floor we once stood on, and a soft sunset began in front of us. The trunk began to move forward, slowly speeding up before staying steady. The wind whipped my hair around, along with a few of my things, making me hold on to them tightly after tying up what I could of my hair. I walked up to Zora again, coming to sit beside him. The trunk was thick enough for us to sit side by side, but it was a tight fit nonetheless. So as I settled beside him, he moved slightly for me, but our legs stayed glued to each other.

"If you could just do this the entire time, why didn't you just leave me back there?" I laughed it off, so used to him being a pain in the ass, and it is not like it would not be the first time he screwed me over in some way. Our relationship was not one of the niceties or cordial words. So often, you would find us fighting or screaming to see the other because of something they did, which eventually leads to a fight. Zora did not look at me for a bit, but when he did, I wished he had never turned his head. His eyes were sullen, sad, and overthinking, foggy with millions of thoughts that looked to be running through his head. The evident frown that towed down his face bothered me, so used to the shit-eating grin he pranked me or others, or when after putting someone in their place.

"I guess I can be really mean sometimes, huh?" I did not know his voice could be so soft. Honestly, I was surprised I heard him at all, but I did and could not stop thinking about it. I did not feel it necessary to talk after that, instead finally shutting my trap and moving on to watch the sunset. Colors blurred and blended across the sky, framing the mountains and trees rising to kiss the sky. It was quite the sight with bright pinks, oranges, and even some purple painted across the blue sky. When we reached the village, the sun was long gone, replaced by the moon, just as bright and beautiful with specks of stars across the sky. At some point, I remember getting bored and searching for the different zodiacs and patterns defined by the stars. As soon as I had found my sign, the tree trunk began to descend.

The trees we once flew over surrounded us and shut us off from the sky once again as we settled on the forest floor. The tiny little path we had been following earlier continued beside us, looking as it had when we left it hours ago. Up ahead, I could see the village glowing lively. Its name is written proudly on a wooden sign almost overcome at the bottom in ivy. However, before we got there, I opened my big mouth again.

"I don't blame you for being so mean; I mean, I would be mean too if my guild partner beat me at everything." That is not how it was supposed to come out, I mean, I was genuinely trying to be nice, but I did not filter the words that left my mouth before. Zora's head turned to me, eyes gaunt and eerie, his brilliant smile no longer on display.

"You wanna run that by me again, Doll?" The venom that surrounded the once cheery nickname made my stomach drop. I felt backed against a corner with miles surrounding me to run off. Quickly I tried to explain what I meant.

"Wait, Zora, that's not what I meant- not how I-"

"No, I think I got it doll, you just think you're that much better than me, huh? So what, you got to some quests before me, stolen relics under my nose, and joined my guild, passing me up in less than four months. I don't care, Honey, 'cause ain't nobody better than me- 'cause ain't no one like me! I don't care how much mana you have, how many spells you cast, how skilled you are, or how fucking perfect you are! None of that is gonna change no matter how gorgeous you are!" Zora's eyes widen, and he clenched his mouth shut, turning away with a growl and turning to walk off toward the village ahead of us.

"You think I'm perfect?" I called out, watching him stop and turn back to look at me. Zora's face was blank as he spoke.

"Are you telling me that out of ALL that, that is the only thing that stuck?" He scoffed, and his eyes narrowed slightly, sharp jaws sent in a deep frown. I walked up to him and stopped a step ahead of him. I held out my hand slowly, making sure I held eye contact with him.

"Truce?" Zora looked at my hand, astonished, which slowly melted away and revealed mixed relief and annoyance. Then, finally, he moved to grip my hand and shake it firmly.

"Truce. Whoa-" I yanked Zora forward, pulling him close, catching his surprised blue eyes before closing my own and going in for a kiss. Fortunately, Zora fell into it almost too easily, slipping his arms around me tight and returning the kiss with a bottled fever. However, after a few seconds, he pushed back, letting me go.

"W-What was that for?" I stared at him, lips still buzzing slightly from the contact.

"I don't know; it felt like the right thing to do. I think you're perfect, handsome too."

[sirro85-blog]

Dark Horses 5

Kovac hoved into view, his face caked in congealed with blood, his eyes bright through the grime, his mouth split into a grin.

"Do you feel the joy of it? The everliving fucking joy," his voice was animated and loud, "I tell you now, you'll never feel as alive as you do right now!"

Kovac looked around, his movements feral, "I love this job," another mad grin, "you'll never feel alive again!"

Costa jerked awake and looked around, he was slumped in a chair, around him soldiers worked. Staff Sergeant Frank King was binding Butlanska's wounds.

"You doing ok trooper?" Asked a voice.

Costa looked up feeling dazed, "uh, yes ma'am," he responded.

"Very good trooper, come with me," said the Quartermaster.

Something sparked in Costa's numb brain, "you called me trooper, ma'am."

"I did, would you rather I change?" Came the response.

"No, no trooper is good, ma'am" Costa said stumbling after the large woman, he'd never enjoyed being called "Cherub"

Ten minutes later Costa was sat at a table tucking into a plate of food, he had clean clothes and had enjoyed a brief shower, now the Quartermaster had produced cottage pie and vimto seemingly by magic and he was filling up on his favourite meal. The Quartemaster stood nearby, he could tell she wasn't watching him.

Captain Dorman and Sergeant Webb approached, they both stopped a distance off as the Qm's baleful glare turned to them, "evening Qm, I wanted a chat with Trooper Costa, debrief him after his escapades with the Major."

"Later."

"I was rather, er hoping, he's in our command...welfare," the Captain trailed off.

"I've got him right now, Major told me, you can talk later Hero, take Plank and get about your day," spoke the Qm.

Costa, feeling more alert and less dazed appreciated the peace, he respected his Troop commander and his sergeant but this period of calm made him feel whole again, he watched the two men walk away. He felt even better when Ty was brought across to sit with him.

"Here you go Mouth," said the Qm handing a bottle of iced tea to Ty, it was his favourite brand.

His meal finished Costa felt renewed, The Qm gave him a nod and walked away. A minute or so later Major Kovac appeared and patted Ty on his uninjured arm.

"Damn good to see you in one piece trooper," Costa here went through the ringer keeping you alive, would've been a damn shame to waste that effort," he turned to Costa, "Costa, tell Sergeant Webb I said you can carry that kukri anywhere you want." The Major nodded to them both and walked off. Ty placed his hand over Costa's and they sat in silence for a while.

"Cherub, Mouth stop lazing about holding hands and piss off back to work the pair of you," yelled the Qm and the two troopers ran for it.

The Dark Horses fortified their positions and scouts were sent out to check the secondary Bartuq positions.

Barbie stopped running and lay down on the floor, "It's too much, it's too damn wet, this isn't air this is soup!"

Becca turned back and jogged over to her, "struggling Baps?"

"Fuck your skinny ass Becca, this is too damn hot. Its a jungle, its like 1000% humidity," gasped Panther dropping to her knees beside the prone Barbie.

"Come on, it's not so bad, we round this headland and comeback down by the river, one of the rivers, we'll make it about 12k back to base." Becca said jogging round her two friends.

Knickers slowed to a stop and bent at the waist, gasping for breath, "If we, kill her here, we can, dump the body, in the river, and claim, she went on, ahead."

"Oh come on, it's not all that bad we're over 2/3 done. Only a little more suffering left," Becca encouraged.

"Listen bitch," Barbie said rolling onto her knees, "you think just because you like pain the rest of us want this?"

"I don't like pain?"

"Really!? Hurt-me-Daddy-Becca doesn't like pain? Choke-me-Daddy-Becca isn't enjoying being short of breath?" Scoffed Panther.

Becca stopped jogging on the spot, "I don't call Kovac Daddy."

"No? What do you call him? Master?" Panther hooted, "Major!!?"

"Oh Major, yes sir, I'll do anything you order Major, do you salute?"

Becca pouted and rounded on Panther, "what about you? Do you call Wolf sir while on your knees?"

Panther gave a peal of laugher, "fuck off, he calls me a goddess before we even start, he only outranks me out here, we all know Kovac is the big dog everywhere."

"Speaking of the big-dog, has the Major made a decision about this second position we need to capture?" Asked Barbie looking from her troop commander to her Sergeant.

"Nothing yet, but you can trust the Major will have a plan," answered Knickers.

Barbie nodded accepting this fact and gestured to the path, "shall we get this over with?" They started to jog down the track.

Kovac was sitting with Wolf in his office, "the plan has to be simple Wolf, there is no magic trick to this, we breech and we force them south onto the savannah and any survivors get mopped up by Towoli security forces at a later date, once the second defensive structure is captured they're finished as a power," Kovac spread his hands.

Wolf nodded, "look, overall it's a good plan but the idea of this being a rapid breech entry job, it's a bit...old fashioned."

"RBE is a classic because it works, long and short of it is, we need to get in and we need to do it fast, Dorman will breech, Becca will push in and you will sweep. I'll have Gilly set up the gunners to drive any escaping frogs south." Kovac stood, "once the Qm has the ordinance redistributed we'll give orders."

The Dark Horses were a unique force in the galaxy, taken wholesale from a regiment that had taken heavy losses they had all been trained to the same standard and even for human military were considered highly trained. I found during my time with these humans that I took their training for granted, these were not the human standard, these were the heights humanity could reach in this area. Twinned with this complacency was an amazement that humans could train, could learn a skill and develop it to a level of brilliance even to other humans. Most races known were born to their specific tasks in society.

Of course all species could develop or enhance a skill but none could break a typecast like humans could.

When the Dark Horses attacked the Bartuq defence, I realised I was watching military unit that had been working together and been led by the same officers for over a decade.

It looked like the fluid parts of a machine, 3 troop stole forwards in the gloom and placed their charges, they breached the outer perimeter and Becca led 2 troop forward, flooding the breach and securing a position. Fortified by Dorman's 3 Troop Becca pushed on and Wolf came behind to support them. Within the hour the Bartuq compound was captured.

I joined Becca and Kovac on the ridge watching the Bartuq stream out into the grasslands, their numbers greatly diminished.

"Tough bit of work that," Becca muttered.

"Butchers bill mercifully short," replied Kovac.

"Won't have to listen to Grey's guitar practice for a while," Becca said.

"Aye, hopefully Frank won't be able to save all his function in that arm."

This is a human habit, making cruel comments to alleviate a situation, they call it humour, or friendship.

Armoured vehicles poured out of a group of hills attacking the Bartuq.

"Oh fuck, what's this fart-waffle?" Asked Gilly as he joined the two officers.

Kovac cursed softly, "It's the Earth Defence Corps."

"What are the EDC doing? What are they doing here? Fucking cowboys," Becca asked.

"Forget that, that's, what? Three squadrons? Of bloody interceptor class Chimera armoured light cav, that means they must have deployed at batallion level, so they have at least a regiment of support infantry, two? They must have more armour and combat support arms to support that too...they've either deployed a goddamn Brigade of troops to this rock or they're even more incompetent than I give credit." Kovac said, his voice stunned.

"So the cannon fodder have come in strength, what else is new? If they didn't deploy a brigade to do a platoon's job they wouldn't be able to lose as many men as they like to do," Becca said shrugging.

"No, they've deployed a brigade of human troops on the border of Xhost held territory!" Kovac said, turning around and looking at the sky, "you can't do that quietly."

"Kov, does it matter? I mean..." Gilly was turning to Kovac but cut off as the Major turned and ran down the slope.

I've seen human panic and fear, I've also seen humans overcome that fear and direct it. This seemed to be what Kovac was doing

The Major was using his communicator, "all units return to the FOB, immediate withdrawal."

Gilly turned to Becca and gave a questioning gesture after Kovac, but Becca wasn't looking. She was staring at the sky.

Half a dozen Xhost warbirds were dropping in from low orbit, they dropped low over the EDC and began firing into the Chimera squadrons.

Becca had turned and streaked away, Gilly opened his communicator up and started calling instructions to Griffin Battery.

A dreadnought class Xhost ship broke atmospher and I looked up on time to see a cloudburst, a dark, stinking rain fell across the savannah and onto the foliage the Dark Horses were retreating into, I felt it hit my exterior and it burned, I slowed and as more drops hit I blacked out.

I could hear voices, human voices.

"You both look ridiculous," laughed a familiar voice.

"Good to see you weren't caught in it."

"Listen, the implication that I had found somewhere to take a nap is a vicious rumour spread by my political enemies," that voice again.

"So you avoided it and Kovac avoided it but the rest of us got soaked, including the professor," said a third voice.

"Did it have any effect on you lot?"

"Made my eyes stream," said the second voice, a woman's.

The first voice, must be Wolf I realised, "lot of red eyes."

"Stinks and makes you cry, hardly a dangerous weapon," the third vice said.

"Killed the Bartuq survivors and a few drops overwhelmed the professor," said Gilly.

"So...what is it?" Asked Becca.

"Kovac says it's propenyl sulfenic acid, according to Petra."

"Sulfenic...onion juice!?"

"Basically," Wolf said apologetically.

"Explains why I'm craving hotdogs," said Gilly.

"So, what? They've used their bio-weapons and it gave me cravings, the Xhost aren't as tough as I remember them," Wolf said.

"Except, they've landed and formed a beachhead. Kovac has contacted the general for support...till then we're on our own, the onion juice devastated the Towoli numbers."

It should come as no shock that some of the galaxy's most potent biochemical weapons have been harnessed by humans for food, drink and recreation. Nicotinoid, cannabinoid, capsaicin ethanol and goitrin and thyocyanates. All accepted toxins in the human diet.

[inevitablekickline]

Day 2 - August 2

Bit of a scraggly start this morning. I set my alarm for 6am, but I ended up actually waking up around 6:45. No biggie! As soon as I got downstairs, I got out the air fryer and cooked up that fish fillet I forgot to thaw yesterday. Barely took ten minutes, so there we go! Lunch and dinner are now both prepared and all packed in nice containers, so I'll be ready for breaks today.

Berry smoothie (blackberries, blueberries, strawberries, spinach, banana, and cranberry grape juice) yes in a Shrek glass we need to wash dishes okay and a chocolate chip muffin for breakfast this morning, and I'm planning on making some tea to take with me so my voice can be warm by the time we start at 9am. Gotta prep for a long day of singing pop music!

OOTD: grey tank and blue/white/red striped pants! No makeup because what's the point, I'm just singing all day, and my face will be going through enough as-is once we start adding technical stuff for the show!

The morning rehearsal went pretty well! We're starting to get into some of the more technical songs, but we've now sung through all of the ensemble pieces! That's exciting. It's still just the greatest feeling, hitting the three part harmonies with the other two girls in my trio. I don't think I'll get over that any time soon.

No lunch pic because I got too excited and ate all of my food without even thinking about actually snapping a picture. I had fettuccine alfredo with mushrooms, and broccoli. Ya girl's been hydrating, with a whole cup of tea that lasted most of the morning rehearsal, and now water, water, water! Here's hoping we manage to get through all the songs in the afternoon, so that after dinner break, we can sing the entire show full voice!

Afternoon practice was interesting. We all ran out of things to rehearse, and didn't want to over-practice anything, so they actually ended up letting a lot of us go early for dinner break. I went to a friend's house for dinner, so I forgot to snap a pic of my dinner too. Oops. I shouldn't plan to post my meals every day, mostly because they'll start looking similar LOLOL. But the choreographer arrived, so that means starting tomorrow I will be sore 24/7!

So we got let go a bit early, AFTER singing through the entire show at full voice. Second day of rehearsals, hell yeah! I made it home fine, and I think I'm just gonna check up on social media, prep my meals for tomorrow, and then shower and head to bed. Not super interesting today, we'll see if anything is big fun tomorrow, as it turns out that I may be doing LESS than I did today. Who knows! All I know is I need to finish memorizing my music, as we're to be off book tomorrow. Wheeee!

Here's to Day 3!

[decorishing]

[gallery] Color:Blonde | Pattern Name:Tables & ChairsProduct DescriptionPull one of the two durable chairs up to the child-size table--they're sized just right for kids, but strong enough to hold grown-ups, too, This sturdy wood table-and-chairs set comes in natural, white, or espresso finish to fit with any home dcor, and wipes clean to stay looking crisp and clean. The three wooden pieces are simple to construct with just a Phillips-head screwdriver, and incredibly sturdy once assembled. Top the table with a child's favorite puzzles or use it for arts and crafts, tea parties, puzzle play, lunch and snacks, and so much more. Two chairs have an 11-in seat height. Assemble with a Phillips-head screwdriver, not included. Chairs maximum load 100 lbs.Brand StoryBy Melissa & DougP.when('A').execute(function(A) A.on('a:expander:toggle_description:toggle:collapse', function(data) window.scroll(0, data.expander.$expander[0].offsetTop-100);););From the ManufacturerFrom classic wooden toys to crafts, pretend play, and games, Melissa & Doug products provide a launch pad to ignite imagination and a sense of wonder in all children so they can discover themselves, their passions, and their purpose. Since the company’s founding more than 25 years ago, Melissa & Doug has consistently delivered innovative products that inspire open-ended thinking, encourage kids to see new possibilities, and offer Countless Ways to Play. It’s part of a bigger vision to Take Back Childhood. Because by giving children a true childhood with the space and freedom to explore their world, we give them a path to realizing their full potential!See more Make sure this fitsby entering your model number. Easy to assemble kids furniture sets: The Melissa & doug solid wood table & chairs set is an easy to assemble set that has been sized for kids from ages 3 to 8 years Sturdy wooden furniture: Melissa & doug focuses on making high quality furniture sets for kids; we’ve built this sturdy wooden table and chairs set from durable wood; the 2 chairs stand 24.75 inches high with an 11 inch seat height Great for screen free play: Our table and chairs set is ideal for playing games, working on puzzles, creating arts and crafts, enjoying real and pretend meals, and more Great gift for ages 3 and up: The Food Groups Wooden Play Food set makes a great gift for kids ages 3 to 6; The Melissa & Doug Play Time Produce and Vegetables Play Food set is a great accompaniment The gold standard in childhood play: for more than 30 years, Melissa & Doug have created beautifully designed imagination- and creativity-sparking products that NBC news called “the gold standard in early childhood play.” We design every toy to the highest quality standards, and to nurture minds and hearts; if your child is not inspired, give us a call and we'll make it right; our phone number is on every product [amz_corss_sell asin="B00CE69IGA"] https://www.decorishing.com/product/melissa-doug-wooden-table-and-2-chairs-natural/?feed_id=29599&_unique_id=626dbb421d211

[canaryatlaw]

okay, today was pretty good. I woke up at like noon originally but much like last saturday roommate was taking a nap, so I went back to bed until like 3 lol. at that point I got up, roommate wanted to go to an outdoor mall thing a bit north of us because they had a nordstrom's, and they had just launched a new bts collection we wanted to see, so we got ready and stopped at mcdonalds on the way since I hadn't eaten yet (fries and a shamrock oreo mcflurry, because those are my jam) and drove up there. went to nordstrom's first, not gonna lie the collection had some very ugly pieces haha mostly these sweatshirts that were basically two sweatshirts jammed together, with the sides from one of them sewn onto the middle of the other....not attractive and very expensive lol. roommate ended up getting a cute mug. we walked around a bit after that (legs were cooperating thankfully) and hit up a few other stores, then went to the buffalo wild wings they had there, that I'm occasionally okay with going to since they've recently expanded their menu to include things I can actually eat, instead of just wings I definitely can't eat lol. I ended up getting a chicken wrap thing that was pretty good. our waiter was either like very new or just very distracted, because the service was not good and we waited like 15 minutes from when we finished the meal until we could get his attention to get the check....I don't believe in under tipping on principle, but I did give him slightly less than my usual fairly generous tips. from there we got bubble tea, and were going to drive over to the forever 21 that's near there since I lost my hat (boo) yesterday and wanted a new one, but the parking lot was totally full, and roommate wanted to stop at target anyway, so I just said fuck it I'd get one at target. so we drove back to the target by us, I did get a hat, along with a container of hair dye that I'll get around to using at some point, my hair color is just very inconsistent at the moment so I'd like to go for a more solid red color. I also got a bottle of cute bright pink nail polish since I haven't done my nails in a while. went home after that and had a chill night, just doing our usual stuff. I eventually showered and got ready for bed, and now I'm here. Church in the morning and then with the babies for the second service, trying to convince myself to attempt taking public transit in the morning (the real issue isn't taking public transit itself, but more that it would require me to wake up earlier than taking a uber, but I don't want to waste money), but we'll see what happens. and yeah, on that note I'm going to go to bed now. Goodnight babes. Hope you had a great Saturday.

[eleventhgrace]

what it means to be tired

The year-end break has commenced officially today, well, I took it upon myself to start it earlier lol. I dropped studying 3 days ago, I'm now at my desk getting ready to study some EU law.

The focus for this break (approx. 2 weeks) is to finish watching the lectures I've missed. I won't be going out much for this break or for the next few months until I've completed my exams hopefully.

I know y'all don't know me personally, but I guess it's fine to confide here anyway. I'm taking a break from my current relationship, for serious reasons not just to refocus. I'm not sure if we'll make it or we'll rekindle to how we used to be. I'm hoping not? Even if we do reconcile, I'd like some changes, it's why I wanted this break in the first place.

I had never been the one to ask for an out in relationships, but I'm content with loving them dearly but still asking for space. I think it's the best I can do for myself at this point.

Anyways, that's why I won't be going out much, nobody to see lol. I will go to campus and maybe spend some time having meals with friends, but besides that, it's back to huddling at the corner of the campus KFC or the cold-ass library to study.

More so than a routine, I think I just want my days out to be purposeful. So, being well-rested and going to class, having enough energy to hit the library for a while before taking the commute home. Instead of the purgatory, I've been putting myself through up until this break. Just going to campus, with not an ounce of sleep, too many things of my mind and plans I can never wrap my head around.

The decision fatigue is just not what it's chalked up to be, I like my days simple. I just want some peace of mind.

So yeah, thanks for hearing me out I guess? Time to do my makeup and get to work. I have tea beside me, it's a pretty cold day in Malaysia. There have been flash floods in my state and across the neighbouring state, the situation is subsiding but many people have incurred property damage and some even lost their lives. I'm still grateful to see fellow Malaysians helping each other out (our government doesn't do jack). Send the victims of flash floods your best wishes. Bye, guys.