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#bc the meetings that are scheduled into my calendar are making me wonder if it can possibly get worse
becca-e-barnes · 1 year
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Not to be too filthy but the thought of dbf!bucky warning you that he's not going to pull out?? 🤤
I've been thinking about this a lot today and I really like imagining the way he'd position you however he wants you. He doesn't tell you what he wants you to do, he just guides you instead.
Because I love the thought of him pressing gently on your shoulders while he's kissing you, urging you to sink to your knees for him. You take the hint, opening your mouth while watching him undo his belt but he swears he might lose it when you press your tongue over your bottom lip.
"Good girl." He tries not to sound too breathless when he presses his slick tip to your lips, letting you taste his precum, smearing it over your waiting tongue. It's not long before you're eagerly taking all of him, sucking and licking and enjoying the weight of him in your mouth. You feel the tip press to the back of your throat and you do your very best to remember to breathe, trying to ignore your own growing arousal.
The hand on the back of your head keeps you in place while he thrusts in and out of your mouth and it's nice to just let him take for a little while. When you need to, you can press back against his hand and give yourself a break but the praise he showers you with makes it's hard to focus on anything other than the throbbing between your own legs.
"Fuck, look at you." He groans, applying a little more pressure to the back of your head and you try to stifle your gag reflex when he nudges the back of your throat once more. "Such a perfect mouth. Feels like you were made for this, weren't you, baby? You take me like such a good girl."
God, you want to agree. Something about being his good girl leaves your panties soaked and your body desperate. He treats you right. He cares about more than just your pleasure; he cares about how you're feeling, inside and outside of the bedroom. He's good to you and that simple fact makes the sex even better.
Before too long, he's pulled back from your mouth and he's holding your chin gently, encouraging you to stand up again before he presses you back onto the bed.
You whimper quietly at the feeling of his thick fingers grazing the little soaked lace panties you're wearing before he takes them off and lets them drop to the floor.
"Please." You gasp, letting your fingers drift over your soaked sex with an urgency that surprises your partner. Bucky watches as two of your own fingers slip into your cunt before you trail them up to circle your clit. He doesn't miss how they glisten, coated in evidence of your overwhelming arousal.
Relief floods you when you feel him press his tip to your entrance, letting him sink slowly into you. Nothing compares to the feeling of that first glide into your body. It's intimate but it's downright filthy at the same time.
"Best fucking girl for me." Bucky groans the words between kisses to your neck, slowly pulling out before pressing back where he belongs.
You can only whimper, fingernails digging into his back, forever urging him to fuck you harder.
"I hope you know I'm not pulling out tonight." The words make your cunt flutter with excitement and you almost wonder if he can feel it. "Feels too good. I'm going to stuff this pretty pussy full." He cradles your face in one hand, his eyes locked on yours and you're acutely aware that there's nothing you want to feel more than the gush of his cum into your body.
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mattynmarns · 2 years
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Hi! So I'm about to enter my first year of college this fall and I was wondering if you had any tips and advice? Thank you!
hey!!! first of all, congrats!!! something i HIGHLY recommend is using google calendar or some other calendar app for all your classes, assignments, work, etc. being organized and time management is super helpful and it's really nice to put everything from the syllabus into a calendar asap (i also color code everything so i can see at a glance what classes/things i have to do) another thing is making sure you choose classes that are helpful towards graduating but also interesting! idk about any other schools but my college has a degree audit system where you can plan out all of your schedules for the next however many years and i use it all the time. generally the system I've had so far for choosing classes is to do one for your major, one for a grad requirement, and then one for whatever you want (i usually pick classes that are entirely out of my major range like art or health) also pay attention to the credits! i stick to 12-15 credits per semester. the other thing that I've personally had a really tough time doing (lol) is talking to people!! join clubs that sound interesting!! (or at least go to a few meetings and see if its any good) participate in events!! study outside your dorm!! party!! (if that's your thing) there's really no right way or wrong way to do college! it all just depends on what you want to get out of it and who you are! balance your work/life (bc if you live on campus you will literally LIVE at your WORK and it can get rough mentally) college is a great time to find yourself and figure out who you are away from your family and old friends but its also important that you make sure you're staying on top of class work since that's literally the reason you're there lol but yeah!!! good luck!!!! if you have any questions you can send another ask or feel free to shoot me a dm!! :D
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zackcrazyvalentine · 2 years
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I decided to create this little game just out of curiosity! Let's play an alternate reality! Think of at least 2 TWST boys to ship or interact with your Sona/MC/Yuu or OC! Let's see the park burn and have fun! (〃゚3゚〃)/💗
First off.... AAAAAAAAAAAAGDKDGRKWGFKDBKSVSKF W-WHAT ?!?!?!?!!!!?!?? YOU IN MY ASK BOX!!!!!!!
HOW COME ?!?!?!?!!??!???!!???
HOW DID I SOMEHOW GET SOMEONE SO TALENTED AND WHO I ADMIRE IN MY BOX????!!!?!?!?!???!
AAAAAAAAAAAA THANK YOU FOR THE BLESSING!!!!
Now, to actually answer the question (sorry it took me some time aaaa)...
.
Pretty much my main OC (and self-insert) is Thais, my soft gentle goat girl 🥺💖
The two Twst guys I can see interacting with her are Riddle and Jamil (after writing everything: I got carried away AAAAAAAAAA)
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🌹Riddle Rosehearts ❤️
They're in the same dorm
It was Riddle who helped her out a whole bunch after suddenly appearing in an all boy's school, specially sorting out a room for her and appropriate uniforms for her
They have similar ways of thinking and analyzing things to get the desired outcome. They vibe when working together bc they enrich each other's ideas
Thais and Riddle would be wonderful friends. She understands how stern and to-the-point he is, and brings some needed gentleness to his bubble. Riddle knows Thais is trustworthy and intelligent, she just needs to learn how to stand her ground better, he can provide that for her/teach through example
Over all, a well tuned and balanced friendship!!
They would only be friends, romance wouldn't enter the scene
PLATONIC SHIP FTW!!!!
What exactly made Riddle click with Thais?
A tea party was to be held in the dorm. It was the monthly dorm "check up" to see the students' spirits and concerns, but preparations were lacking... severely lacking...
The gathering was to be held in the weekend right after projects week, and before exams week started. Everyone in Heartslabyul panicked after looking at their calendar and noticing the scheduled party.
Riddle and Trey ransacked their brains trying to make ends meet with what ingredients they had. Cater worked overtime trying to keep the nervous 1st years calm "Don't you worry! Dorm leader understands the situation, he won't punish you too harshly if you mess up! ...I hope..."
Thais, being the one in charge of the rose maze and gardens in the dorm, was called into Riddle's room to discuss what flower arrangements could be done in such short notice, if the roses could be adequately painted in a single day for the occasion.
Seeing the distress on her dorm leader and vice leader, she spoke her mind...
"Wouldn't it be best for us to postpone the party?"
Trey looked at her in disbelief, shaking his head slightly to stop her from talking again. Riddle's head shoot up to look pointedly at the girl, eye twitching. "Pardon?" The redhead said, indignantly.
Although she was scared now after seeing both boys' reactions, she continued. "Well, everyone is going around like headless chickens... Don't you think that would be the best solution?"
Riddle took a deep breath, rubbing the bridge of his nose in an attempt to quell the irritation building up on him. Who would've thought someone he saw as admirable would demolish that image with something so--?
Thais took this moment of silence to complete her idea. "Rule #XYZ of The Queen of Hearts states tea party etiquette. Addendum three - Occasions in which a gathering is to be postponed - Bullet one: When all homemade jams run low, leaving attendees' scones and cookies dull and unsweetened." The hands she held behind her back brought forth an empty glass jar. "Jar #30 is now empty, and a new batch has yet to be prepared."
Trey stared at the jar stumped. Riddle kept his eyes on his desk, hand still on his face.
"Come again?"
"A rule," The goat nodded, "One of the Queen of Heart's rules states gatherings should be held back if jam runs out. We have run out of jams. That's why I suggested... postponing the party." She hugged the glass container to her chest, feeling shy all of a sudden. Had it not occurred to others?
Ever so quietly, the dorm leader searched in one of his drawers. He pulled out a beautiful maroon leather bound book, and quickly flipped through the pages until he reached the part he desired.
Silence carried on for a while, leaving the other two occupants of the room to hold a silent conversation through staring at each other.
Rosehearts sighed loudly before slumping on his seat. "You're right..." He admitted. "I was unaware of our jams, this hadn't crossed my mind as a possibility." His shoulders relaxed and Thais could swear she saw a ghost of a smile on his face.
All tension in the room disappeared that instant.
"So... Shall we reschedule?" The girl asked.
Riddle straightened up, smiling faintly her way. "I do believe that is the best course of action. What do you think, Trey? A week. Is that enough time to restock on ingredients and bake all needed pastries?"
The bespectacled student nodded, feeling a lightness on his chest. "Yes, that is plenty of time. Plenty enough to refill all the marmalade jars, too." A small chuckle left him at that.
The redhead agreed with his head. "Very well. Thais," He now turned to address her again, "I trust the dorm will be vibrant and lush with plants in a week's time? Do surprise us with the arrangements the garden supervisors will put together for out meeting."
"Of course! Leave it to us!" She answered with cheer.
"Perfect. Both of you are dismissed. Trey, I will need you here in 20 to go through the new chores schedule I'll set up, now that the party is held back."
The 3rd year nodded, "Understood. In anything I can help, don't doubt calling me."
"Thank you. I leave it in both your hands to tell everyone to stop their panic and wait for new instructions." The last ordered was delivered.
"Yes, dorm leader!" The duo exclaimed before exiting the room.
Once out and a couple of feet away from the door, Trey chuckled again. Thais looked up with an embarrassed flush on her cheeks. "W-What is it, Trey?"
"Jar 30 was still halfway full of apricot jam. Now, where did it all go?"
All she needed to do was look down at the crowd surrounding the foot of the staircase.
A multitude of students, all gulping down the last bites of scones or toast with jam in a hurry, rushing to clean the crumbs from their faces and fingers after hearing footsteps approaching.
"Uh... Desperate times call for desperate measures?" The goat uttered.
Clover snorted softly at the scene while letting a hand fall on Thais' head affectionately. "Good thinking."
Cater pushed through the crowd to be at the head of the crowd, looking expectantly up at the horned girl and his fellow 3rd year.
"The tea party has been postponed. Wait for further instructions given by dorm leader Rosehearts." Trey spoke loud and clear.
A communal sigh of relief resounded through the hall along with controlled cheers within the student body. Everyone left to wherever they needed to be next, leaving only a couple of Heartslabyul members hanging around.
Blake (another OC of mine) approached his friend. "I take it the plan worked?"
Thais allowed herself to slump into his arms. "Sufficiently so... I think."
The bunny beastman giggled and pushed his friend off to procure half of a toasted scone, decorated with melting butter and a spoonful of apricot jam. "I say you deserve a treat for what you've done."
The goat smiled and accepted the food.
Meanwhile, Riddle was left pondering the situation in his room. He soon worked out it was probably planned, but then again Adamante had a knack of memorizing all exceptions to the rule to save friends and acquaintances from getting collared. "Whatever reason, it worked. It's better to give the party more time to be prepared... Just this once, Thais, just this once."
He had to admit, it was quite an impressive feat. To organize a handful of students, tricksters and followers alike, for the benefit of everyone is not easy to attain, Riddle knows it very well. "Is that what you've learned in order to be a proper Scholar?"
[[ This all happened after his Overblot. While they were good classmates, Riddle was still doubtful of Thais' trustworthiness as a dorm member due to her trick of always jumping to save people's hide with exceptions to the rules and whatnot. In this scenario, now that Riddle is a bit lax with rules post-OB, he can admire and appreciate her way of thinking. It was for everyone's benefit, the best decision to make. A plan that pleased everyone: uniting the dorm with a good enough reason (a breather from chores) with a good enough incentive (food), her gentle delivery to him with the rules he enforces as backup, all to reach a goal everyone desired (push back the gathering so chores can be done carefully and their attention can remain on upcoming exams). He now sees her as a useful asset in the dorm, trusts her decision making. ]]
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🐍 Jamil Viper ❤
Thais hesitantly approached the cauldron. Sparing a glance back, Xeron (another OC of mine lol) gave her a shy thumbs up to encourage her.
With a deep breath, she stood by the Scarabia student. "Sorry for interrupting you, Jamil, but I wanted to ask for some insight? If you can... lend a hand right now... That'd be cool... Please?" Her words turned awkward as she tried to ignore the intimidation she felt from those sharp eyes.
Viper simply ordered his teamate to keep an eye on the bubbling potion-in-the-making before turning to the girl. "Make it quick." She could see some irritation on his face. The slight furrow to his eyebrows spoke for him.
"Right! So..." Thais hurried to show him her notes, "My partner and I are on potion #4 and there seems to be something wrong with the process, even if we're following Crewel's instructions exactly right."
"This is the list of ingredients we deduce, and I'm certain those are it... yet something is wrong. We're redone it three times already." She explained in a soft voice to prevent eavesdroppers from cheating.
"You're one of the most skilled students in class, that's why we wanted to check in with you to try and find out the mistake."
Jamil, upon hearing that compliment, looked directly at her in a flash. Startled by the quick motion, Thais blinked rapidly to dissipate her surprise. "I hope we aren't... bothering you much." The heat of shame light up her face. "Did I say something wrong? Please tell me I didn't offend him in some way..."
Jamil was about to refute her comment, he had to keep a low profile to let Kalim shine. However, her stiffness and nervous blush deterred him. "Let's not make her more awkward."
"Eh? Ah, no... 's fine." He cleared his throat and looked away.
Silence followed for a few awkward seconds as they looked at the notes jotted down about the potion.
"Wait, you're in potion 4 already?" He looked at her with some disvelief.
Thais nodded. "Yeah, the first two were easy to figure out, three was a bit more challenging but we got it thanks to Xeron's observation. Four though..." Soon, his tone caught up with her. "Ah, are you having trouble with one of the first potions? Where are you two?" She inquired.
"Finishing the last details of #2 and I'm deciphering #3, got stuck for a bit."
The lightbulb went off on Thais' head. A smile shaped her lips and excitement colored her face. "Howe about this!" She proposed, "Xeron and I route you to 3's formula and explain why those ingredients for 4, and you help us find what's missing in the process for the 4th potion. It definitely is something wrong with the preparation, not the ingredients, I know... Sounds good to you?"
Jamil gave it a thought. From what he could see, the other two potions were correct, and what he had so far for the third one was, too. "Adamante is one of the best one for alchemy. Crewel does appear impressed by her skills."
He took a deep breath. "Very well, I'll help. Let's get this done quick."
"Thank you!" She breathed out with a brighter smile. "Okay okay! So, here it is." Thais began explaining the reasons why this and that plant, moss, mushroom, mineral or whatever was chosen for the formulation. Everything was kept on secret by standing close together and whispering very lowly all the information.
"Hold on," Jamil checked his notes from a few classes before and read everything carefully. "Look at this."
"The spores' key active ingredient is nullified by one of the secondary metabolites of the moss. Crewel purposefully left out the step of making a specific extraction of the moss to avoid the other metabolites."
The goat carefully read the noted he had about the purple velvet moss and the crystalline mushroom's spores. She gasped, heart leaping with realization and amazement. "Oh! Oh stars! Jamil... you're right! Absolutely right!"
"It didn't cross my mind to check for nullifiers! Oh, thank you so much! You're amazing!"
"Like, really really amazing! Safe to say, you've given me a new perspective, something I'll be checking for from now on."
"You're the best!"
Thais complimented, trying to keep her voice low to not alert surrounding students or Crewel himself.
She was astounded! It absolutely flew over her head to check for nullifiers! The potions they've been preparing so far were simple ones, but Profesor Divus was a man of challenges to urge critical and rational thinking. This was one of the first challenges in this first term at NRC the strict teacher assigned them.
and Jamil helped solve it!
"HE'S SO COOL!!" She screamed inside her skull. You could practically see her vibrating from admiration and joy.
The Scarabia student gently shushed her rain of nice words. "Head on the assignment, Thais. About the guidance you offered..."
"Oh! Yes! Just a moment!" She rushed back to her station where her partner waited for her. After explaining Xeron what to do to proceed with the extraction, she rushed back to Jamil's cauldron.
"Right, right, for the 3rd potion. You have three of the main ingredients now. You gotta think about the stabilizers to prevent secondary effects. So, you'd want to search for..." Thais went on her explanation to help him find the missing ingredients.
Once class ended, everyone had to deliver whatever they managed to solve and concoct. Thais' team, Jamil's duo, and two more pairs were the only ones to deliver all five potions.
As they exited the experimentation room, Thais and Xeron approached their helpful classmate.
"Viper, thank you." Xeron said in his ever serious voice. This time, however, he had a faint smile on his face.
Thais was the next one to speak. "You really saved us there. Thanks a bunch! And, uh..." She produced a small bouquet of plants, "It may not be much, but take it as a token of our gratitude."
"Xeron told me you're in charge of cooking for your dorm leader, and sometimes for the entire? It's just some basil, thyme, and oregano... They could come in helpful, maybe. They have their roots, you can plant them. At least they could save you a trip to the store." She laughed softly.
With one last bow and "thank you", fae and goat went on their way to their next class.
Jamil was left alone for moment.
"You're the best!" Thais' compliment echoed in his mind.
"Guh, shut it..." He told himself, trying to calm down the strange beating of his heart.
[[ RIFJRIOEJRIW I'VE HAD THIS SCENARIO IN MY MIND FOR A WHILE NOW AHAHA FINALLY GOT TO WRITE IT DOWN!!!! So yeah! They!! They met through alchemy class after Thais had to ask someone for help with an assignment bc she couldn't figure what was wrong (couldn't rely much on her alchemy partner because he isn't good at it). I really don't have explanations for this ship other than I like it fnjksgd and I think that should suffice for now :b ]]
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AND THERE WE HAVE IT!!!!!!!! OH MY GOD THAT WAS LENGTHY AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA
Again, sorry for taking my time answering this! You really caught me offguard here, I couldn't think of someone other than Riddle and Deuce to "ship" in a platonic way with Thais
I like to ship her with Jamil bc I sometimes get hit with feels for him, but don't really have many reasons why they would be good together?? Had my doubts writing her and Jamil because of this, but we're here to have fun, right? So there it is!! :D
Thank you for your ask, Nicoli!!
Hope you enjoyed reading this, too, maybe ?? asdfgfdgh
Thank you 💖
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jpegjade · 3 years
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Physical Therapy - Ch. 1 (Spencer)
WELCOME TO PHYSICAL THERAPY!! in honor of this bish starting physical therapy in real life (and missing it bc i can’t drive and my mom and i’s schedules not being synched on google calendar all the time) i’ve decided to write a fic about it. it will be a little series with a goal (yes, an end game) and it’ll be cute. some of it is based on actual things that happen and some is literally just the story. ENJOY.
gender: neutral
tw: nothing that i can think of
genre: fluff | angst
Description: After getting shot in the leg, spencer goes through physical therapy before he can get back in the field completely. What happens when he starts to fall for his physical therapy assistant? 
__________________
Two honks at 6am meant that it was time for Spencer to get going. Derek was downstairs, in the car, waiting on boy wonder to crutch his way out of the apartment complex. Derek wasn’t sure how to feel about this trip considering he missed his early morning run for this but he knew how nervous Spencer was for his evaluation today so he didn’t mind as much as he could have minded. 
Spencer was patiently waiting in a pair of very short shorts, mismatched socks, and running shoes. He threw on a t-shirt and looked in the mirror, noting how tired he looked. He hadn’t been sleeping well lately for some reason but he couldn’t be sure why. He combed out his hair one more time before he and his crutches headed to the elevators. 
“Ready, kid?” Derek said, opening the front door for Spencer like a world class chauffeur would if Spencer was a celebrity. 
“Ready as I’ll ever be,” Spencer mumbled.
In truth, Spencer was more than ready to get started on his physical therapy journey. He wanted to get back in the field full time, adrenaline pumping, connecting with victims, walking again. He didn’t mind the assisted mobility but it was hard for him to know that the best he could do sometimes was stay back in the office or hang out in Garcia’s batcave. 
The car ride was filled with a comfortable silence between the two men. Derek was thinking about how he could make up his missed morning run by doing another type of high cardio workout while Spencer was just trying to figure out why it had to be him. He wouldn’t wish the frustration of his recovery process on anyone else on the team but the frustration of the recovery process just got to him on some days. Today was one of those days. 
Derek pulled up to the physical therapy clinic sooner than Spencer hoped. Part of that was because Derek was a very fast driver while the other part was because Spencer wasn’t paying attention for most of the drive. 
“You owe me one.” Derek said, completely joking. Well… Partially. That morning run was what kept him awake during the day, energizing him for work. 
“Do you want to come in?” Spencer said, looking down at his hands in his lap. 
Spencer’s hands were tapping his leg as he awaited Derek’s answer. He was nothing short of a nervous wreck on the inside. All he could think about was how much pain he would be in once the evaluation was over and the physical therapist had finished poking and prodding at his knee. He hated to think that it would be worse than everything else going on. Plus he still had to go to work today. 
“Sure, kid.” Derek said. 
Derek wasn’t going to sit in the car and do nothing the whole time so he might as well support his friend. 
Climbing out of the car, the boys slowly made it to the sliding glass doors of the physical therapy clinic. Much to Spencer’s surprise, it was nothing like he originally imagined it to be. Some part of him thought it would somewhat resemble the clinic where his mother resided but it was completely different. There were floor to ceiling walls for over half of the first floor building. High tech equipment was stationed everywhere from anti gravity treadmills to hand bike motors, medicine balls and so much more. Spencer stood in the doorway, leaning on his crutches, while he took everything in. There was so much light in the air, it was almost like the feeling of recovery was airy and not meant to bog him down. This was a strange feeling for him to comprehend...
“You coming, pretty boy?” Derek called, taking a break from chatting with the pretty receptionist. 
Spencer and his crutches walked over to the front desk and grabbed the paperwork that covered how much pain he was in today. He filled it out quickly, hoping to get everything over with sooner than later. He was already here so he might as well just finish everything quickly so he could get out of the place. 
When he finished writing everything down, he returned the paperwork to the receptionist who slipped him a piece of paper and pointed to Derek. Spencer already knew it was the receptionist’s personal phone number and he didn’t even need to look at the paper. Sitting down, Spencer handed Derek to a very confused Derek before it hit him what it was. Derek winked at the receptionist, who blushed before answering the phone. 
“Spencer?” A voice called his name shortly after he sat down. 
It was nice to know that here, he didn’t have to be a doctor. He was just another person healing. He didn’t have to be smart, he could just exist. 
“Good luck.” Derek said, noticing that Spencer’s hand was shaking in the slightest bit. 
“My name is Nora and I will be your lead physical therapist.” The woman said, walking Spencer to a vacant padded table. It reminded Spencer of the types of tables you lay on when you get a massage. 
He only got a massage once when Garcia got stood up on a couples’ massage date. He spent half of his part of the massage giving the masseuse facts about how their job could actually give them an infection from the amount of germs in the air and on the table. His delivery of facts caused the room to be incredibly uncomfortable and bleach the table very thoroughly. By the time he and the masseuse finished, only 5 minutes were left in the massage and Garcia was left horrified and amused at the same time. 
“Don’t worry. We bleach the tables every time someone finishes a session.” Nora said, noticing the look on Spencer’s face. Spencer visibly relaxed and sat on the table. 
“So, Spencer, tell me a little bit about yourself.” Nora followed up, pulling up a backless roller chair. 
“Well, I was on a case and the unsub, unknown subject, shot at a dad but it ended up hitting me in the leg instead and…” Spencer paused, looking at Nora’s amused face. 
“No, I mean tell me about you. Your hobbies, what you do for fun, things like that. I need to do a complete profile for you so I know how your quality of life has been affected and which exercises you can do at home so we aren’t pushing too fast.” Nora smiled at Spencer. 
“I work.” Spencer said in a matter-of-fact tone. He didn’t really have anything else to say. 
“Okay. So you’re a workaholic.” Nora wrote. She was about to ask a new question when you came quickly walking to Nora. 
Spencer was left dumbfounded. There seemed to be a halo of light radiating around you, making you glow. He knew it was the sun finally rising but his brain short circuited as he continued to gaze at you. 
“Hey Nora?” You said, looking down at your boss. “Mrs. Gillespi wants to know why you haven’t come back to check her form. She doesn’t trust me because, her words here, I ‘look like a child who doesn’t know their left foot from the color orange.’” 
“Sure. Here, you can take over Spencer’s evaluation.” She handed you her clipboard.
You looked at the detailed notes on the paper and then up at Spencer, who looked like one of the youngest people here. 
“It’s not often we get cute guys in this place. Other than Kyle. But Kyle’s an asshole who could almost be my dad.” You blurted, not realizing you said it outloud as soon as Nora left. 
You noticed that he started blushing and looking at his converse and you realized that you said something. You usually spoke your thoughts out loud but the people you worked with were used to it so no one bothered to say anything.
“What?” You asked, confused. 
“You called me cute.” Spencer said. “Which is fine. I don’t understand the appeal but I do believe that your blurting of what you perceive as a fact is a coping mechanism. It can also be tied to ADHD, which is a common mental disorder that causes your brain to impulsively say things.” Spencer paused, looking at your face. 
“What?” You asked, again, confused. 
“I’m not saying you have ADHD. I’m a doctor but not that kind of doctor. Although I could get another Ph. D. Prove my father wrong. And…” Spencer realized he was rambling. 
“Cute and a talker.” You said, writing that down. 
You wrote something down on the paper that Spencer couldn’t see but he was curious about. 
“Let’s check out that leg.” You said, pulling out an instrument that looked like a compass. 
You asked Spencer to move his knee certain ways and it wasn’t as bad as Spencer thought. You were gentle, soft even. Your hands were delicate and you ended the session massaging his leg and smiling at him. 
“You were a good patient today, doctor Spencer.” You said, smiling at him. 
Spencer blushed, unable to meet your eyes. 
“You… I mean… I enjoyed our session.” Spencer said. “Which I don’t normally enjoy. Not that I’ve been shot before. Or had physical therapy. Or been here. Or even worked out really.”
“You’re funny, doc.” You smiled. “Your next appointment is Tuesday of next week according to the schedule so I guess I’ll see you then. I can’t wait.” 
Spencer stared at you as he wondered why you were so excited. 
“Why?” Spencer asked. 
“It’s not every day I get the case for a cute guy who is smart and awkward. It’s almost like the heavens have answered my hopes and prayers.” You joked, looking up at the ceiling and putting your hand on your heart. 
“I believe in science.” Spencer stated, grabbing his crutches. 
“A man of science. Does it get any better? What’s your star sign?” You joked. 
“Scorpio.” Spencer stated. 
“Oop. All the scorpios I know have been some hoes. You better not be a hoe, doc.” 
“I’m definitely not a gardening tool, if that’s what you’re referring to. Otherwise, I’d like to thing my lack of dating skills doesn’t qualify as being a… hoe? Although, I don’t believe in the use of the word to describe someone who enjoys spending time with multiple people. I’d like to think the use of the word is meant in jest and fun for a term of endearment.” Spencer stood up, balancing on his crutches. 
“I’ll be the judge of that.” You said, walking slowly with Spencer to the front desk. 
“What’s your name?” Spencer asked, turning to you. He realized that he never got your name.
“Y/n.” You smiled. 
The clouds must have parted again because as soon as you turned to walk away from him, towards Nora, you were covered in another halo. And just like that, you were gone again.
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Future tag list: 
@ellvswriting @sageandberries-png @l0ve-0f-my-life @rexorangecouny @kennedywxlsh
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generalfoolish · 3 years
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Feel The Heat
Part Two: Something More
Pairing: Frankie Morales x OC Juniper Collins
Rating: 18+ (b/c minors shouldn't lurk, it is illegal and not polite.) But this is big fluff, just more exposition and pining and world building. I do curse, so there's that.
Word Count: 4k+
Summary: June and Frankie are big idiots, and they keep bumping into each other in the wildest of places. Again, and I can't overstate this: they’re both MASSIVE idiots.
A/N: Hey babes! This is going a little slower bc I want to give more with each update, I normally keep around 1K and these are little beasts. But I'm excited with the story, some threads are exposing themselves, and there will be more Frankie X OC time in the next part. For now, enjoy this little taste of yearning and pining and overthinking and general angst over meeting a cute new somebody. 💕
Masterlist | Part One | Part Three
June checked her phone as she stirred the pot, and groaned at the email count. More than half were parents who “couldn’t” make the conference, and the rest were from her principal wanting to reiterate the importance of those meetings. She dropped the phone back to the counter, and focused on her pot. She had googled what to do with Brandywines, and had decided on a slowly simmered tomato sauce. It paired beautifully with the fresh garlic and basil she had picked up, and the whole house smelled like an Italian restaurant.
This was her favorite way to use up produce in the summer. She spent hours simmering and canning, and got to enjoy the fruits of her labor in the dead of winter. She knew she could easily gift the sauce made from those beautiful tomatoes, and she had every intention of doing so.
Sundays passed so quickly, she hardly had time to dwell on the farmer, but when she caught a whiff of her stove she had to find something to do. She worked through the emails, sending reminders that the conferences were mandatory, and that if the parents couldn’t make it during the week before or after school, she was available to meet online. She fought the temptation to open her weekends. She was working on work boundaries with her therapist.
June had an easier time fighting off thoughts of the farmer as the day waned on, and she thought, foolishly, that she could just forget the brown eyed grump she had met.
--
Frankie was having a hard time focusing on anything. Liv was a bundle of energy, and he tried not to snap at her. He had her come help him in the garden, but he ended up sending her to dig for worms after she trampled another vine.
“Ew! Worms are gross.” She argued.
“I know, but didn’t you want to go fishing? Fish eat worms, it’s how we can get them out of the water.” He explained, carefully. She considered him, then bounded off, calling out to the worms. He chuckled watching her, and went back to pulling weeds. With a moment of quiet, his mind flitted back to the woman. He couldn’t help it. He had dreamt of her. She was lounging in the back of his mind, waiting for him to stumble into the memory. Liv was a good distraction, but she only held the woman at bay for so long. He grumbled and wiped his brow. He decided to give it up for now, the woman and the weeding.
“Princess, I think we have some hotdogs. Let’s try those.” He called over to Liv, who excitedly left behind her freshly dug hole.
“Daddy, Mrs. Becka wanted me to remind you about the school stuff.” Liv told him, grabbing his hand as they walked. He exhaled sharply. He had forgotten the meetings. He pulled his phone from his pocket and scrolled through Becka’s texts. She had sent him the teacher’s number at some point, he knew, the trouble was finding it. Finally, he clicked the blue hyper-linked number and called it. Liv ran inside ahead of him, looking for the hot dogs, and he waited at the door as the phone rang.
“Hello?” Ms. Collins answered breathlessly, and he cleared his throat.
“Ms. Collins? It’s Olivia Morales’ dad, calling about the meeting?” He heard something clatter on the other end. “Is now an okay time?”
“Yes, sorry, Mr. Morales, I was just...it doesn’t matter. My schedule is a little tight, when did you have in mind?”
“Something early, maybe before drop-off?”
“Sure, uhm, let me check my calendar,” She sounded distant, he thought, probably on speaker. “Yeah, Tuesday morning? I know that’s quick, it is all I have though.”
“Yeah, I can be there. Like 7am?”
“Yes, that’s great. See you then.” The line disconnected and he couldn’t shake the feeling that he’d heard her voice before. He rolled his eyes at himself, of course he had. She was his daughter’s teacher. As if on cue, Liv ran out with a hot dog. He smiled brightly and ruffled her hair.
“‘Kay, kiddo, let’s go catch some fish.” She grinned at him brightly, showing off the hole her first lost tooth had made. His heart caught as he realized she was growing up so fast.
--
“Monday’s really are the worst.” June laughed. She had her mom on the phone, connected through Bluetooth. “I’m just leaving the school now!”
“I just don’t see why you’re having to set these meetings up now. The kids have hardly been in school for a couple of weeks.” June sighed as she merged on the highway to head home.
“I know, it's just something my district does. The hard part is wrangling parents.”
“Well, if you had any children, you’d know how much they require of you.” June rolled her eyes and exhaled through her nose. Her mom was always quick to bring up her lack of a partner and children. Not that June didn’t want those things, they just haven't panned out for her yet.
“Yeah, Mom, I’m sure you’re right.” She acquiesced, knowing the argument wasn’t worth the effort.
“Have you met anyone? You’re only getting older, you know.”
“Thanks Mom. Uh, I have a date tomorrow night, actually.”
“Well, what’s his name, do I know him? What does he do for work?” June rolled her eyes, and wondered why she had answered the call.
“I don’t know anything about him. It’s a blind date.”
“Not even a name?” June bit her lip, debating telling her Mom the nickname.
“He’s ex-Army, goes by Fish. That’s all I know. Oh, and he’s single. A new teacher sat it up for me.” June explained, hoping her Mom wouldn’t have much to say.
“Fish? Oh, wow. Terrence really messed you up, huh.”
“I’m getting a call from a parent, I’ll talk to you later.” June lied, ending the call. Terrence had really messed her up. Not that that was of any importance to her dating life, or this blind date’s name. She sighed hard as she pulled into her driveway.
“Monday’s really are the worst.” She told the empty space of her car. She grabbed her bag and hurried inside. It had been a long day, and she was ready to polish off her bottle of wine from the night before. She walked in and let her bag drop to the floor, and crossed to the staircase. She groaned as she climbed the stairs. She was exhausted and still had a ton left to do.
June stripped quickly and threw on her yard work clothes. She stopped by the kitchen and poured some wine into a cup with a lid, before making her way outside. The day before she had started a small garden, and she was determined to make something grow out of it. She had no idea what she was doing, though. The wine wasn’t really helping either.
She had been short with a few parents while she was tending the fragile plants. It was a little late in the season to try and start anything, but she had picked up some discount plants that she wanted to help limp along for a little longer. She hoped she hadn’t put any of the parents off, and tried to remember who all had called.
June wiped her forehead with her gloved hand and tried to sort them out. Steven’s mom, Cynthia, was meeting her during lunch. That would be short, thankfully. Steven was a good kid, quiet. Graham and Ginger’s grandma was coming Wednesday afternoon, the parents were out of the country for something. Mia’s dad was going to call during the planning period. Ashley’s mom was coming Tuesday afternoon. And Olivia’s dad was coming Tuesday morning. June felt her shoulders sag, and she drained her wine. That wasn’t even half of the parents left.
She gave up on the garden and stalked inside. She wanted to scare up something for dinner, but didn’t really feel like making anything. She gave in and called the local Indian place. They knew her order, and said they’d be there soon. She grimaced, wondering how much money she had spent on Vindaloo over the years, and decided not to think about it. She had enough time to slip in the shower to wash the sweat off, before the delivery guy knocked on her door. She tipped him generously, and sat down on the couch.
June clicked the tv on and scrolled through her watch list. She settled on some mind-numbing detective show, and ate half of the curry. She put the rest away, and grabbed her bag by the door. The bag was a mess, but she managed to find her red pen and the papers that needed grading, and she settled back in.
Soon, the mindless task paired with a full stomach and the wine had her falling into a deep sleep.
--
Frankie was pissed. He was giving up the best time of the day for harvesting to meet with Liv’s teacher, and Ms. Collins couldn’t be bothered to show up. His thoughts went back to the phone call the day before, and he gritted his teeth as he realized she had put him off twice. Over something she had wanted to set up. He’d gotten the bundles of paper she had sent home on it. Yet, here he was, and she was nowhere to be found. He pulled his phone out, and considered punching in her number, but stopped himself.
Frankie had to exhale deeply four times before he could lay his phone down. He had gotten here a little early, and it was just now 7 am, and he didn’t have a set schedule. Liv was with Ashley, Becka had insisted on taking them to drop off so he could have plenty of time with Ms. Collins. Not that it mattered now, he thought, dryly. At ten past, he pulled his phone back out, and brought her name up. He was angry again, and had every intention of calling. But before he could press her name, the door swung open, and his heart dropped.
~~
June woke with a start. The birds were singing outside, the light was all wrong, and she was on the couch. Shit, she thought, jumping up. Shit, shit, shit. She had overslept. She hurried up the stairs and threw on something presentable, and didn’t even check herself in the mirror. She could do her makeup in the class. She grabbed up the half graded papers and shoved them in her bag, and ran out the door. She dumped everything in the passenger seat and drove much faster than usual. She was about halfway to the school when she realized she was meeting a student’s parent this morning. She hadn’t had any coffee, and her brain was starting to slow down from the adrenaline of being late, and she could not remember who she was meeting. She parked, and popped her vanity mirror down and grimaced. She looked like she was having a bad morning. She decided to throw her hair up in a messy bun, and grabbed the mess up from her passenger seat.
She basically ran into the building, her flats ricocheting sound off the concrete walls. She swung her door open, apologies already falling from her lips, when she looked at the parent. The apologies died on her lips, and her mouth fell open.
“You?” She asked, dumbly. “Frankie?” He looked like he had seen a ghost, a bitchy ghost, she grimaced.
“You?” He stood now, and started to move to her.
“Uhm, you can’t be here. I’m meeting a student’s parent, and how’d you even know where to find me?” She started rambling, but when the words were out she realized how stupid they were. “Oh my god, you’re the parent?” She barked out a laugh, and dumped her bag on her desk. He grinned, and wiped the back of his neck.
“Liv’s dad. I’m Frankie Morales.” He told her, faltering from shaking her hand.
“Perfect. I’m Juniper Collins, you can call me June, or Ms. Collins, whatever you prefer. I’m sorry I’m late, I...I started a garden yesterday and wore myself out. That’s what I was doing when we spoke on the phone,” She told him, laughing. June had only tried gardening because she wanted a common foot with him. She didn’t want to tell him that yet, though. “Anyway, let’s get to Liv. Liv is a great girl, Mr. Morales.”
“Frankie.” He interrupted, with a small smile.
“Okay, Frankie. Look, Liv is great, she really is. She struggles in class sometimes, though. She is smart as hell, but she seems to struggle. I wanted to give you some information about ADD or ADHD. It presents differently in girls, and is often overlooked. I haven’t known her long, obviously, but I actually was diagnosed much later in life, and I remember doing some of the things she’s doing. Would you be interested in some info on that?” June asked carefully, their relationship was rocky and weird, and she didn’t want to overstep. This was her job, though. It was a little bit not her job, actually. But she always wanted to look out for her girls, especially when they were as smart and incredible as Liv.
“Oh, wow. I had no idea she was struggling.” Frankie muttered, and removed his cap. June sucked in a sharp breath at his light brown, bouncy curls as they spilled out. He was beautiful. She distracted herself by moving behind her desk and grabbing a folder she had laid out for Liv, for this exact reason, and she thanked her past self for being put together. Then she went and sat beside him at the small activity table. She felt comical sitting next to him in the small chairs, he was spilling over his own. She laid down the folder and put a hand on his arm.
“Look, it isn’t a struggle that she notices yet. It’s her recall, her attention span, and her ability to focus. That sounds like a lot, I know, but there’s a simple test, and there are effective alternatives to stimulants. I’m on one, and it really helped me. Life is only going to get harder for her, if she has it and it remains untreated, but she has no idea. She isn’t “different” yet, and she’s doing so, so well in class. She is a model student. I just want to help, that’s all.” She watched his face as she spoke, and by the end, he seemed defeated.
“I should have noticed. I’m her dad. I...I’ve been worried I’m not around enough, and now you drop this on me.” He laughed dryly. She patted his arm.
“Liv talks about you all the time. She loves you, Frankie. She tells us all the time about her pilot dad.” June said it before she had time to think, before she connected “Liv’s Dad” with Frankie, the man before her. And then, her big mouth spit out something she wanted to take back immediately. “But you’re a farmer, right?” He looked up into her eyes, and his face was hard.
“Anything else you wanted to tell me about Liv?” His words were right, but the tone was too harsh. June flinched back from him, and dropped her gaze from his suddenly hard face.
“Liv is a great girl. She’s great to have in class. I have nothing else for you.” June told him monotonically, going on autopilot so as not to cry. She had spent the whole weekend thinking about him, then she had planted a stupid garden to have more in common with him, and then fate brought them back together, and she screwed it up again. She decided it was done, then. Frankie Morales was not in the cards for her. Sure, she might see him again because she taught his daughter, but she was through thinking of him like that.
“Good. I have to get going, next time try to be on time.” He scolded, as he stood abruptly and left without another word. Slowly, June followed and shut the door behind him. Alone, at last, she started crying.
~~~
“Idiot. You fucking idiot.” Frankie berated himself in his truck. He couldn’t believe it when she swept into the room. He had found her. Not her, he thought with a grimace, Juniper. The name felt so appropriate. It was an old name, but it suited her so perfectly. He exhaled roughly and tried to rewrite the scene. She was looking out for Liv. She wanted Liv to be happy and succeed. This woman cared more about his daughter than Liv’s own mother. And as soon as she tried to get to know him, he bit her head off and made her feel bad for being late. Jesus, what a dick. He had found her, and in a single moment, he had managed to ruin it again.
He put the truck in drive and headed home. Nothing left to do here, he thought bitterly. He was pulling up the driveway when he remembered that she had started a garden. It wasn’t a coincidence, he realized. She had started a garden because of him. He parked the truck and laid his head against the steering wheel. He had pushed her away at every turn. The market, the bar, and now at the school. He had seen her face before he left, and knew it was done. He had pushed too far, too fast. Of course, she would want nothing more to do with him. He had done nothing but treat her like shit.
He got out of the truck and threw his hat. It didn’t do much except get his cap dirty, but it was all he could do. He pulled his phone out, and pulled her name up. He typed a long message, and erased it. Then he tried again, and erased it again. His pride was getting in the way. He couldn’t tell her about his piloting years. The army, spec ops, Colombia, the coke, or any of it. She could just hate him, and then he couldn’t hurt her anymore.
~~~~
June paced up and down her classroom. Her face was puffy, still, and she had been struggling to focus all day. She couldn’t meet anyone new for dinner; she wasn’t in the right headspace for a date. Let alone one where she would have to leave a lasting impression. She chewed her thumb nail before heading down the hall.
Samantha's classroom was pretty close to her own, and June was glad for it. If she had had to walk further she would have lost her nerve. June knocked tentatively on the door, before pulling it open. Samantha looked up and grinned.
"Hey girl! Are you excited for your big date tonight?" June’s own smile fell from her face.
"Actually, that's why I'm here. I want to cancel." Samantha's smile pulled down quickly.
"Why?"
"I'm having kind of a bad day for impressions," June told her flatly.
"Well, I couldn't if I wanted to. Santiago is out of town, no reception. I don't have the friend's number." June groaned.
"Okay, alright. Ugh, probably for the best. Do you know anything else about him? I’ve had kind of a rough day. You said, ex-military right?”
“Yeah, Santi doesn’t really talk about that time, and I haven’t pushed it. I met him a while back, Fish. He’s sweet. I think he’ll be your type. You like tan brunettes?” June nodded, laughing and thinking about Frankie Morales again.
“He’ll be perfect. Doesn’t say much and likes beer, that’s all I know.” Samantha gave a small shrug.
“Alright, thanks. I’ll let you finish eating.” June said, excusing herself.
She left feeling defeated. A parent was going to be late this afternoon, she had gotten the email after the Frankie disaster. Which meant that she was going to be late to dinner. She wasn't killing it in the men department so she hoped that despite a military background he wouldn't mind her tardiness. She couldn't handle another horrible scene like the one from this morning.
The rest of the day was uneventful, which she was glad for. Her nerves were on the edge. She tried to ignore how much Liv favored her dad, and how she loudly told the class about their upcoming camping trip. She found herself listening intently, despite herself. And even chuckled at the girl’s memories of the last trip. June’s mood improved with the day, too. She even played a little music in the background while the kids worked on their worksheets.
By the time she had hauled herself into her car, the last thing she wanted to do was go to dinner. But she swiped on her favorite lipstick and drove to the restaurant. If she broke the speed limit, she would only be about five minutes late, and she pushed it. She wanted to drink some wine, and forget about Frankie Morales. Another tan brunette in her life would do her good, she thought happily. She was tired, but she wanted to make the most of it.
---
Frankie was looking back and forth between the menu and his watch. He couldn't believe that another woman was about to be late on him. He was trying hard to get June out of his mind, and his blind date wasn't making it easy on him. He chuckled when he realized what he was doing. Just meeting a total stranger for dinner. He didn't have much choice in the matter, he thought, remembering how Pope had basically told him where and when, without asking if Frankie was even interested.
She had good taste, he conceded. This was his favorite spot. They made amazing, fresh pasta. He was eyeing the cocktail menu, when she rushed in. He couldn't believe he was running into her again.
It was June, because of course it was. She was flushed, probably late again, he huffed, but she had put on a bright red lipstick that made his heart stutter. He lowered his gaze back to the menu. He hoped she wouldn't see him out on a date, even if he saw her. The hope was short lived because she made her way to him, her eyes glinting with an emotion he couldn't place, and she exhaled deeply.
"Let me guess, your call sign is Fish, right?" His eyes snapped to hers and she laughed while nodding. It was her. He had found her again. The waiter walked over and she told him to bring a bottle of red, and a beer for him. He told the waiter his brand, and raked his eyes over her.
"Sorry I'm late, I had a crazy day." She mused once she had taken two deep sips of her wine.
"Yeah? What is it you do?" He asked, hoping beyond hope that this was their start over. Their fourth, or so, start over.
"Teacher. Yeah, I teach. Most days it's easy, but some days there are parents." She told him, her cheeks flushed.
"Hopefully, no jerks?" He asked, quickly taking a sip of his beer. She held her head to the side before she sighed.
"I don't know what's going on here, Frankie. It's kind of exhausting. I think you're pretty handsome, you grow amazing food, you have a beautiful daughter, but I think we just keep messing up. How about, just for now, we enjoy this meal and the company, and tomorrow we can talk about what it means that we can't keep away from each other?" He searched her eyes. She was tired, he could tell, but she was so sincere. He wanted desperately to know why she sat down instead of just leaving. He wanted to know why they were seemingly so connected. He wanted to know if he'd been on her mind too.
"I'm thinking the carbonara." He answered, and she smiled before looking the menu over herself. The rest could wait. He had found her again.”
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ahgastae · 3 years
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worst chefs in seoul (outline) – kim seokjin x gn!reader
➥ word count: 3.9k | reality/cooking show au | crack | fluff
➥ m.list
➥ a/n: we’re back at it again with another wip i never finished lol. this one is the outline for what was intended to be a social media au (as evidenced by some of the notes i left for myself), though it’s likely that’s not how it actually would’ve come out. i’d love to hear some of your thoughts/reactions, and i hope you enjoy ♡
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day ???
start w y/n and yoongi goofing off on twitter
the whole y/n eating a moldy grape thinking it’s a kiwi thing
and yoongi panicking bc of it
could transition into them talking about the finale episode of their favorite show: worst chefs in seoul
they’re both huge fans, and equally complete disasters when it comes to culinary skill
yoongi likes the show bc he likes the competition aspect and tbh he got addicted after y/n forced him to watch the first season w them
y/n also likes it for that reason, but the main reason they watch it is bc of a certain kim seokjin
anyway, they talk about the finale, and then yoongi says something about the next season’s ‘nominations’ coming up soon
y/n jokingly says they’re going to nominate yoongi bc of that one time he made tacos with dog food
and yoongi fires back w the time they managed to light the microwave on fire making cup o’ noodles
they agree to let each other live
…..for now
sike!
the two actually do end up nominating each other w/o the other knowing
y/n honestly just thought it would be funny if yoongi got picked and yoongi was like “fuck it why not”
little did they know…..
while the nomination guidelines assure that the selection process is completely random, this is a reality show
meaning for anyone w a brain that’s obviously not the case
contestants are actually chosen by the show’s assistant producers and approved by the chefs themselves and then the higher ups
but who are those assistant producers??
none other than park jimin and kim taehyung
neither of them keep their involvement with the show a secret, and one takes it a teensy bit more seriously than the other
anyway, they’re usually told to find a batch of contestants (that they feel) would conjure up the most drama for the show
it is tv, after all, and they have to keep people watching
and that part is crucial
to their credit, they do (somewhat) succeed for the most part
jimin selects yoongi and namjoon from the nomination pool bc he thinks joon’s clumsiness w yoongi’s nonchalant nature will work for max chaos
and taehyung chooses y/n and jungkook bc while their competitive drives are similar, y/n’s subdued nature has a big chance for conflict w jk’s out-there attitude
(how do they know all this? they’re experts at what they do leave me alone)
day ??? 2.0
y/n (and yoongi, secretly) is ecstatic when they get the emails/DM/whatever that they’ve been “chosen for the next hot season of worst chefs in seoul!”
but then yoongi asks if it’s allowed for them to know each other and accept the nomination
like they’re best friends. is that going to present some kinda problem that’ll get them both kicked off??
should only one of them accept it?
(he’s immediately ready to sacrifice his own nomination bc he knows how much y/n cares about this stupid show)
y/n says they’re not going to let him do that bc they were both chosen, meaning they both should get to go
but—
“it’s fine!! we can just pretend we don’t know each other when we’re on set!”
and so they’re off
to some undisclosed location in seoul
day 0
jimin and taehyung are the first to greet everyone, collecting all four contestants together for a tour of the dorms
and y/n starts texting yoongi in a panic bc both of their dumbasses forgot that the contestants are separated into teams as soon as they arrive
yoongi prolly says smth like i’m two feet away from you why are you texting me
(y/n reminds him they can’t make it seem like they know each other)
yoongi acts like it’s not that big of a deal
prolly says there’s a good chance they’ll end up on the same team
and if they don’t they can just hang out in the dorms when the cameras are off and away
which is when jimin loudly announces that this season, each team is getting their own dormitory
and that contestants will be required to stay in their dorm while filming the season, except for approved ‘outings’ for the show
he moves on before anyone can ask what that means
they’ll be allowed to pick whichever dorm they want to stay in for the first night, since they want to get the contestants’ reactions on camera when they reveal the teams
but after they’re revealed tomorrow, it’s your dorm and your dorm only
y/n and yoongi automatically gravitate towards each other
they end up together in the ‘new’ dorm, which yoongi grumpily notes is practically bigger than their whole apartment
y/n wonders if they ended up in seokjin’s dorm, and gets excited at the thought of this being a ‘test’ to see which chef’s team they’ll be on
to which yoongi asks what makes this dorm his?
“idk i just...feel his aura in here”
“.......okay, weirdo. i’m gonna go ‘feel his aura’ in the bathroom and take a—”
“yoongi!!”
y/n can either ask what yoongi thinks of the other contestants or they can both pretty much blow them off entirely for the time being
idk which yet
day 1
next morning, the contestants are woken up bright and early by none other than our favorite assistant producers
the wake up call comes in the form of a new group chat between the six of them
along with a link to ‘download’ the calendar for the shooting schedule
(which is really an app/virus that disables certain functions on their phones)
((such as most social media and texting numbers outside their ‘parameters’))
after that’s all hashed out, jm & t explain that this group chat is for any and all notifications and updates about the show, as well as any questions and/or concerns the contestants might have
like
“can i just vote to eliminate myself now and go home?” and
“how do i get this fucking thing off my phone” and
“when do we find out what team we’re on??”
the answers to which are
no
you’ll find out when filming is finished
and right now!
they tell the contestants to get up and get dressed as their first day on set officially starts now
y/n and kook immediately jump into action and leave the gc
joon lags behind a little confused but follows the flow
yoongi, ever the people person, gets aggressive when they don’t answer his questions about their goddamn malware
“is this even legal?? are you even fucking allowed to just disable our devices like this?”
“what if there’s an emergency??”
“looks like you’ll just have to find out, huh?”
yoongi’s phone then crashes and won’t let him unlock it until the first block of filming is finished
jm: “oops ƪ(˘⌣˘)ʃ”
day 1 recap
we find out through our superfan what happens during the first episode
(maybe do something like this person is some kinda press/‘news’ account dedicated entirely to w.c.i.s. and the two chefs)
((mayhaps they leak the contestant list before it goes public??))
((jimin and tae could have some kinda unspoken rivalry w them lol))
anyway the story is told through them in a series of twitter threads
(plus a few messages from y/n to yoongi freaking out about the teams they get put on)
first event of the day is: the team announcements
yoongi and joon end up on team kim seokjin and y/n is on team jyp w kook
being split up puts a bit of a damper on their plans, and with this stupid cell block they don’t know if they’ll even be allowed to talk to each other
none of them get much time to react, though, as they’re then shuffled off to their respective kitchens
where they finally meet their respective chefs
and, lo and behold, y/n is goddamn terrified
jinyoung is even scarier in person than he is on tv
“don’t laugh at me yoongi!! this is the guy who made a girl sob on live television!”
“and now ur gonna be the next person what’s the problem lmao”
while y/n tries to get past their fear, they’re given their first official task: work together with their new partner to create a meal of their choice
the catch is that they aren’t allowed any help from their chef yet
and since the teams were just announced literally like 10 minutes ago, none of them have had much of a chance to get to know each other
(the network knows this, and does this on purpose since most of the seasons’ first episodes are spent either arguing or being completely lost)
things go about as well (read: badly) as expected
y/n and kook soon discover their very conflicting personalities and spend the majority of the round bickering back and forth about what to make/how to do it
meanwhile yoongi slaps a piece of sliced cheese directly on the stove while joon runs around like a chicken w its head cut off
in the end, team jyp somehow manages to come out victorious
they cobble together some (semi) edible banana milkshakes to present to the judges
(‘together’ meaning y/n wanted to make plain vanilla milkshakes and kook switched it for banana milk when they weren’t looking)
yoongi and joon tried (keyword being tried) to make grilled cheese
but between yoongi’s cheese-to-stove method and joon dropping their two pieces of burnt toast right before the timer rang
they didn’t get many points
as their reward, team jyp has the honor of picking what they’ll be making tomorrow
they’re given the rest of the day to think and talk it over while team ksj is told to reflect on what went wrong in today’s trial
back at the dorms (now in their separate teams), y/n finds that yoongi finally graces them w a response
(and that they were right about which one was ‘seokjin’s’ dorm)
yoongi tells them about ‘that little shit’ locking him out of his phone and that he honestly just wants to get tf out of there contract or not
y/n convinces him to stay and stick it out, if not for them then for the prize money at the end
yoongi then asks what dish they’re going to pick for tomorrow, and asks if they can pick something he at least has an idea how to make
cue y/n saying that they were thinking of suggesting one of seokjin’s signature dishes but not knowing if kook would go along w the idea
“he kept trying to switch out our ingredients for banana milk and i don’t know how to tell him to knock that shit off”
“honestly you know i’m not one to take charge but he wasn’t even listening to me!! what’s to say he’s actually going to listen to the PROFESSIONAL chef here to help us??”
“aNd SPeAkINg oF THaT”
cue y/n whining about how they wanted to be on jin’s team and it’s not fair that they both got stuck w jinyoung AND a bratty kid on their team
yoongi sympathizes since he was looking forward to them being on the same team, but makes y/n agree that if he has to give the competition a chance then they have to give kook one too
“i mean yeah he seems like a bit of a dumbass but isn’t that why we’re all here? bc we have no fuckin clue what to do in the kitchen?”
hmm...fine they’ll give him a chance
but they still think he’s a lil shit and don’t really wanna talk to him at all, let alone reach some kinda compromise on what to make
they don’t get much or a choice, though, as they both receive a mysterious message from...jungkook? in another group chat?
the contestants find that they have all been manually added to another gc
except this one is missing the two assistant producers who love to breathe down their necks
everyone but jk is immediately suspicious
is this some of trick to get them to screw up?
to break some kinda hidden clause in the contract none of them actually read?
wasn’t that thing they downloaded supposed to block incoming messages like this?
“but wait, yoongi, then how were we able to…?”
but as of right now, they don’t get any answers
and they’re all too afraid to ask anyone but each other
“well we’re all here so...we might as well get to know each other right?? :D”
this is where we get our first in-depth look at the four people stuck on this show together, who in their lives nominated them and why
(y/n and yoongi’s lying skills are put to a bit of a test as they each rush to pull stories right out of their asses)
kook talks about bambam and says his nomination said smth about “adding banana milk to everything f*ckin thing he makes”
he doesn’t really get why that was enough to land him a spot on the show but he thought it would be pretty cool to be on tv and just went along with it
namjoon talks about hobi and emphasizes that he’s not that bad of a cook
he just gets nervous and confused when it comes to recipes and cooking which expresses itself in the form of his unabashed clumsiness
joon then asks if they’ll really be prevented from having any outside communication until filming is finished
he, like yoongi, questions the legality of deceitfully installing the block on their phones
y/n says there probably was some kind of hidden clause that allowed them to do that, as they “can’t imagine seokjin would take part in a competition that abuses its contestants”
to which joon replies that they don’t actually know seokjin so they can’t really ‘imagine’ anything about how he will or won’t act
right as yoongi is about to jump in and tell him to back off, jungkook decides that that’s way too much legal talk for him
he forces changes the subject back to the gc as a whole and says that even if they’re prevented from talking to their friends he’s happy they’ll “at least have each other :D”
y/n feels like part of that is directed at them and feels bad for how they thought he was ‘just a dumb kid’ before
namjoon, however, is still hesitant
he’s not sure if this chat could get them in trouble in regards to the show and their contract and what not and says that they all should probably delete it just to be safe
but that is unanimously vetoed by y/n and kook (and yoongi, reluctantly) and they decide that if the block allowed it to pass through then it must be allowed
before joon can argue anymore, they all receive a message from tae in the ‘official’ gc
he briefly explains the lights out policy of the dorms and tells them that they’re probably going to want a good night's sleep for their ‘big day’ tomorrow
yoongi then says smth like “well...guess that’s lights out then” and jk responds excited as ever w “night guys!! see you all in the morning! :)”
and y/n can feel their soul leaving their body for even thinking anything ill about him
day 2
contestants are woken up bright and early by alarms they didn’t set
(“oh great, so they just hijacked every app on our fucking phones then”
jimin tells them all to hurry up, get dressed, and meet the chauffeur outside bc they can’t afford to be late
(“literally! every second you waste is money docked from the network’s wallet! so get your asses in gear, guppies!”)
y/n and kook get outside first, but yoongi and joon are nowhere to be seen
y/n decides to text the q & a gc to get the dirt on seokjin
they kinda start sucking up to jimin and tae to see if they’ll reveal any info, particularly about what the chef is like and if it’s possible for him to talk to the ‘other’ team’s contestants
and while the producers are pleasantly surprised that one of the contestants actually want to use that gc for something other than yelling at them
they unfortunately can’t give much info besides what most people already know
and confirm that one of the chefs talking to the other’s students was probably not allowed, but that it’s also never really happened before so they’re not really sure lmao
(“taehyung!!” “what? was i not supposed to say that?”)
jimin cuts the conversation short there as yoongi and joon arrive and they all get on the shuttle for the set
taehyung does say one last thing tho
“good luck!! hopefully they don’t tear u up too bad!”
but first
our superfan gives us the downlow on the competition and how it works
after being split into teams, the contestants will rotate between ‘training’ w their chef and competing against each other in timed trial rounds
prizes can be won for both events, but the ones for the trial rounds are generally more competition based while the ones for the training rounds are more about luxury/quality of life while filming
each trial round win counts as a point towards the team’s score in the competition
only trial rounds affect this score
once a certain number of points has been reached (5), that team moves into the next phase of the competition
instead of working as a team, they are split up and now have to work against each other to win the favor of their chef
and in the finale, after one last big cookout competition, an individual winner is chosen and crowned a ‘former’ worst chef in seoul
once the contestants arrive on set, the chefs reiterate that today is just a training round
(they all let out a collective sigh of relief)
and it’s a good thing everyone woke up so early bc they’re just in time to learn how to make breakfast!!
“it’s not like we had much of a choice-oof.”
“anyway! team jyp, since you won the pretrial round yesterday, you get to decide what both teams will be learning how to make today. so, y/n, jungkook. think carefully. what do you want for breakfast?”
y/n is about to suggest seokjin’s signature strawberry and cream crepes when jungkook, who is still half asleep, blurts out “omelette”
(also i’ve decided that jackson is the host of the show now and i’m not changing my mind)
and it’s decided. they’re makin’ omelettes
(y/n is only a little bit peeved)
shuffled off to their separate kitchens, y/n is reminded of just how terrified they are of jinyoung
sure, they thought he was scary yesterday when they realized they were on his team, but now he has to actually teach them and they can’t help but think he’s going to make them into an idiot sandwich by the end of the day
as such, they try to keep half-asleep kook in between them and jinyoung at all costs, even if it meant running around the kitchen like a lost puppy
jinyoung, fully aware of how the show portrays him and how fans view him, notices this almost instantaneously
but he unfortunately doesn’t get to pull y/n aside to address it before jungkook starts digging through the fridge for banana milk and almost throws the entire carton of eggs on the floor
professional chef jyp mode: on
and they’re off
it’s a little difficult with y/n dancing around the kitchen anxiously and jungkook’s absolute aversion to being told what to do (as y/n predicted), but jinyoung manages to whip them into shape long enough to (barely) make a ham, cheese, and “green onion? wtf is that?” omelette
team seokjin, however, does not favor as well
yoongi apparently doesn’t know what tf a green onion is either and just throws in whatever green vegetable he can find while jin is struggling to keep namjoon from setting himself on fire
….and it turned out to be celery
that, plus joon somehow managing to burn the omelette to a crisp, costs them the training round
y/n and kook start to celebrate their victory and actually working as a team when jackson informs them that their ‘prize’ is they get to eat what they cooked while the other team gets whatever is left over on the catering table
“i hope you listened to your chef!”
“...jungkook, please tell me you used actual milk in this”
“um…”
back at the dorms, the contestants share their thoughts on their first day of training, as well as their first official day w their chefs
(also include y/n saying something about their banana milk omelettes actually not being half bad)
y/n immediately recalls how much they were terrified of jinyoung, almost cutting their finger off when he glanced over their shoulder when they were slicing the green onions
jk agrees, adding smth about how he didn’t think a scowl could ever be so intimidating
“it reminded me of my mom’s face when she found out i tried to pierce my own ears in the bathroom in middle school!! i was too afraid to push the needle all the way through and walked around with it in my ear all day until one of my teachers finally noticed and sent me to the office!”
...ok jungkook
during all of this, yoongi and joon are both like...wtf
“seokjin was literally nothing but nice to us. even when namjoon almost set his sleeve on fire lmao”
“hyung how did u manage that” “doesn’t matter”
jungkook thinks the difference in the chefs is hilarious, but y/n is only upsetti spaghetti
they go on a bit of a rant about how badly they wanted to be on jin’s team
saying something about how jinyoung is scary and mean and they’re almost positive he can sense their fear or something and probably use it against them while jin’s team would be so much better on the sole fact that they wouldn’t feel like he would turn them into an omelette for getting something wrong
cue jk being all babey asking “you...don’t wanna be on a team with me? :((“
and y/n immediately PANICS and tries to explain that NO, it’s not HIM but yoongi saves their ass by saying that seokjin is just their favorite and that’s all
jungkook feels better, but then namjoon is like “hol up. we all just met. how could you possibly know that?”
insert more y/n fumbling and jk confusion
yoongi (once again) covers w some bullshit story that he was able to just guess that based on what y/n’s said in the gc so far
joon wants to question it further, but jungkook informs them that the lights out call just came in before he can
another yoony/n sigh of relief
in private, y/n freaks out to yoongi for almost blowing their cover to the others
prompting a short conversation over whether they think they can trust them or not
y/n admits that they’re warming up to kook, but is a little suspicious if namjoon will keep their secret yet
convo ends with yoongi saying something like “well, the kid’s right about one thing. at least we know we have each other”
end.
29 notes · View notes
mymanskabu · 4 years
Text
Kabu One-Shot:
A Kiss in Ten Seconds
Anonie requested: ❝Idk if I can req anything for the holidays or if it's too late but, just in case. Can you do something for Kabu finding out his champion!s/o will be too busy on New Years Eve and New Years Day bc of all the events that are going on? Then how would he react, when people are literally doing the 10 second count down right before midnight and he sees his s/o burst into the room/wherever he is, panting, out of breath, looking for him just so they could be there to kiss him when the countdown's over?❞
× IM UPLOADING THIS AT 11:59PM Or at least that's the time it is for me as I post this! I know its 2020 already for many of you! I wish you guys a good New Years!
× sorry some of y'alls requests will have taken a year to get done. Please don't unfollow, I am a hard-working person with one brain cell.
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No one told you just how tedious and time consuming being a Champion would be. No wonder the former one appears much less stressed, the poor guy barely had time for his family on this schedule. You were constantly on the move and everyone wanted to talk to you. Leon came around to check on you after you had sent him a text saying, "Help, why are they coming for my life, I have a shit to do."
"Your schedule is very full," He said, looking at you apologetically. "There should be a warning before people try to become Champion, this is a workload that would surely scare off a lot of trainers."
"I don't even have time for my hobbies!" You flip the page to your schedule and half of next month was already full. "I'm lucky enough to manage a call to my mom and one of the only times I see Kabu is when I am going home in the middle of the night." You were surprised the man hasn't decided to leave you. You would completely understand if he couldn't handle being with someone so busy.
"I was undefeated for a very long time," Leon starts explaining. "Your schedule is much fuller than mine was because you beat someone that no one else could for many years. Even those older than me and with perhaps more experience couldn't defeat me."
"You're telling me your schedule wasn't this hectic?" You stared down at the calendar, realizing that talking to Leon was going to get cut short anytime soon.
"It was hectic definitely. Not like this." Leon gave you a comforting pat on your shoulder. "The workload will lessen later on, not sure by how much but you can only repeat a story for so long before people get bored. Then you have to worry about people trying to force a story to happen. At least you have off time when the Gym Challenge is not at large."
"I'm going to lose to the next challenger on purpose," You said. It got a chuckle out of Leon who raised a brow at you, questioning the honesty of your statement. "Or not." You sighed. "Too many benefits outweighing the negatives right now. Well, I'm happy you're able to have more time for other projects Leon!"
"Thank you... Champion."
You were getting many challengers nowadays. People who couldn't defeat Leon come back thinking they can defeat you, plenty of Challengers coming for your title, and new ones in the making. You had a lot of paperwork as well, surprisingly enough. A lot of interviews, so many damn interviews, and your privacy? Almost completely gone. You were grateful for having been with Kabu since before you even challenged the Gyms to attempt being Champion.
Unfortunately your relationship with him was outed rather quickly because of that though. Even if it was a secret, the ring on a specific finger would have also given you away. That was quite recent, it was his surprise for when you became Champion so now wedding planning is somewhere quite far in the schedule. Your management didn't consider it as important as you did, it's something you had to force into your schedule. They only care about managing your public image, personal problems don't rank high on their list of priorities when they're organizing your calendar.
Champions also have to be very involved with Galar and it's people. You had to understand the public opinion, the government opinion, and manage almost any incoming threat. That was terrifying, they sent you to anything just because you happen to be strongest around right now. You had to suck it up and protect the people, show them that their Champion can do probably anything.
You read over your schedule with Leon for a bit longer until you saw something in it that was irritating. "Leon. Why in the world do I have interviews for both New Years Eve and New Years. They can't take those days! I wanted to... I need to be..." You were fuming. You told them not to fill the holidays and they didn't for the past ones, but for some reason they filled those two dates.
"There isn't much you can do about that," He says. "You can try but I remember trying and they... if its urgent, its unlikely." Leon continued with saying that they probably gave you the prior holidays so that you didn't have room to completely complain about your management.
Your phone started ringing. You hesitated to pick up the phone knowing that it'll be someone to take you away for another interview, photoshoot, or fan meet. You didn't hate the people that wanted to meet you, your anger was mostly directed towards the people that were stuffing so much into your schedule. Leon was right though, they can't keep this up forever and hopefully later on it will get more tolerable.
"Are you alright?" His familiar voice caused your shoulders to ease up. You were crossing your arms on the table with your head laid on them. You had came home tired of socializing and still having to do some paperwork having to do with former Chairman Rose.
"Yes, I'm fine. I'm tired though, mentally tired to tell you the truth." You stretched your arms upwards then felt two arms wrap around your shoulders when you put them down. "Kabu, I can't be with you during New Years Eve or New Years. It says its urgent but I very much doubt these Talk Shows need me that badly."
You didn't hear anything from behind you for a long moment. He was most likely thinking, you were too, and depending on what he says, you might just consider the idea of letting him go. It hurt you to ponder upon such a thing, but there's other people out there that could give Kabu much more of their time.
"I understand," He finally said, "I'll open up the Stadium for those that need a warm place to be on those days and I will be thinking of you when the countdown starts."
"You don't have to be like that, you know? You don't have to understand, you can be mad at me, you can be frustrated at me, I won't... I won't blame you!" You got up from where you were sitting to face him. He held your hands and promptly shook his head in response.
"I'm not sure you knew this, love but you do not plan your schedule." He kisses your knuckles to comfort you. "If I am to be frustrated at anyone it will be whoever made you busy on those two days. Was there anything you could do about it?"
"I tried, but they just repeatedly tell me that it's an urgent thing I need to be at," You reply, a frustrated sigh escaping past your lips.
"You do what you have to, and think of me as I will think of you during the countdown." With a hand gently on the back of your neck he guides your mouth to his in a much needed relaxing kiss that made your body melt.
"Of course, you're right... you're right," You mumbled. Your eyes remained closed for a bit after the kiss before you were able to open them without feeling like they held sadness in them. "I love you, you know that?"
"I love you too."
Your stylist dressed you up nicely for the interviews, these events to celebrate a new Champion and a New Year. This is wrong, why does it feel like you were just rubbing it in everyone's face that you were now Champion? You were backstage waiting to be introduced, slouching in a nearby couch with your elbow on your thigh and your hand holding your chin. Finally you heard your name, you could see the crowd cheering on the screen, all anticipating your presence through the hall that all guests walk through.
Kabu opened the Stadium as he said he would, a lot more people came than he thought would. He had announced that it would be open to celebrate the New Year and there would be food and drinks. It wasn't going to be like that at first but you offered the funds and he couldn't say no. It was open for people and Pokemon alike and that brought his heart a pleasant feeling.
He missed you a lot though. He understood that you had things to do but he didn't realize just how attached he had grown to you for your lacking presence to impact him so much. His Stadium was playing the interview for everyone to see and the people that came; majority of them knew Kabu was engaged to the new Champion of Galar. He wondered if you were going to complete your end of the promise and think of him.
"Here's our new magnificent Champion, (Name)!" The cheers were loud, the "I love you's" came from all directions, and so did flowers. Roses, vibrant red roses that reminded you of Kabu. You sat down, a big smile on your face that only managed to be genuine knowing Kabu would see it. "How are you on this beautiful night, Champ?" The interviewer asked.
"I'm doing great, thank you! I actually have somethin' to say real quick, is that alright?" The interviewer furrowed his brows and pointed towards the camera you should speak to.
"Let's hear what (Name) needs to say folks! I wonder what it is! Sounds mysterious!"
"Perhaps it would be mysterious if paparazzi didn't exist," You responded. "I want to say I'm thinking about you, I'll see you soon!"
"Would my guess be wrong if I say that message was for your to-be husband and Fire Type Gym Leader Kabu!?" The interviewer raises your hand, the one that had the ring. "How is the wedding planning going anyway? Any progress?"
"Its somewhere in my schedule, we have ideas we hope to bring to life." The answer was simple and clearly not to the interviewers' taste. They had to remain unaffected though and continued smiling.
"We have a few fan questions we would like you to answer! First one being, would you date a fan?!"
"Absolutely not. I'm engaged, are you people not getting the memo?" You said this sarcastically, but with a tone of seriousness. It got you a laugh from the audience and you laughed along with them as truthfully as you could. "Not to be inappropriate or anything but I think— no. I know I'll be with Kabu for the rest of my life."
Kabu was almost as red as Gym outfit shirt, hearing the "Aww" from both the crowd in the Stadium and the ones where you were. In all honesty though, he would have said the exact same thing about you.
"A curious fan has asked: Do you sing in the shower?" You didn't think for long and answered it with a brief nod.
"I do sing in the shower, Kabu says it sounds good but I think he may just be losing hearing." Once again, the crowd laughed. "Who knows though, only he has ever heard me sing and no, I'm not singing!"
"You and Kabu live together as you've implied multiple times, has there been any mishaps in the kitchen by one of you?" You pondered on this question for a few seconds.
"Not yet, Kabu is a pretty good cook and surprisingly good baker!" You tried to think of an incident once again but nothing came to mind as of now.
"Have you used the 'Is your Dad a baker' pick up line on him yet?" You chuckled at the question and so did the crowd. You covered half your face as you nodded, confirming that you have used a pick up line on him. "I didn't expect that! How'd that go?"
"He still has no idea what I meant by the line and I suppose now is a good time to get it out in the open." It took you a moment or two to compose yourself. "When I said you had a nice set of buns, I was talking about your butt, Kabu!"
He was sitting in the middle of his Stadium, on the ground and when you said that, he fell back laughing much more than he usually would allow himself to in front of a crowd. He should have known that's what you meant then, all he wished to say in response was that he felt the same way. He knows you would have playfully hit him on the arm or something and thank him for the compliment.
A few more questions passed until it was getting close to the countdown. There was an ad break a few minutes before it started. You didn't want to be here, your heart was telling you to leave, take a flying taxi, find Kabu, find home, and be where you know you want to be. You slowly got up from the waiting area, ignoring the calling security, interviewer, and anyone else you just left.
Ten.
You ran, forgetting you had a flying taxi even though you thought about it moments ago. You only had one thing on your mind and that was reaching Kabu before the countdown was over. You ran, your legs wanting to stop but you wouldn't allow it, your lungs trying to take in all the cold air, and the fancy shoes on your feet making it even more difficult. You stopped and took them off, hastily picking them up then running again. No rock on the ground was stopping you from being where you wanted to be tonight.
Nine.
When the show came back on, you weren't there and he was confused. Apparently you had left abruptly, this caused him to worry and tried getting a hold of you through a text then called you.
Eight.
Kabu didn't know you ran off, leaving your items behind with only one goal in mind. His destination was within your line of sight and it made you push forward much faster, pushing your legs harder to make it before the time ran out.
Seven.
He wanted to be able to at least to see you through the screen as the countdown started. Where did you go? Why did you leave? Were you even okay? Now all he could think about was your well-being.
Six.
You were jogging past the hair salon, the many small stores on the sides, some which had people. People watching the Champion run to the elevator that would take you to Motostoke Stadium.
Five.
No one asked questions as you walked in, your legs almost wanting to give in. You continued, waving off others that wanted to help you walk towards the doors to the Stadium itself.
Four.
You stood in the tunnel for a couple of seconds, your eyes searching for Kabu. He who was watching the screen, hoping for your appearance or any news on your location.
Three.
The crowd spotted you first, the loud cheers startling Kabu as his eyes met yours when he turned his head in your direction. He never felt more relieved to see you there, why you had disappeared made much more sense to a lot people now that you were here.
Two.
With all the strength you could muster in your legs, you practically limped forward. Absolutely tired by the run and feeling like a whole idiot for not using a taxi when you could have at any point on your way here. He saw you panting, no shoes on your feet, you looked like quite the beautiful mess.
One.
No words are exchanged as you throw your arms around his neck, holding him in a tight embrace before your lips passionately meet his. He was slightly taken aback by the roughness of the kiss, you had his body right against yours, and a hand clutching the hair on the back his head. How long had it been since he has had something like this? He had forgotten how amazing this physical contact could feel and experiencing this made him feel as if it was a first kiss. Then the clock strikes twelve, your hold on him loosens, and its just you and him.
Your forehead was on his, you two were sharing breaths because of how long and sudden it was. Embarrassment hit you randomly when you realized there was a crowd, you left an interview, and Kabu was probably staring at you while you didn't dare open your eyes. Not until you could look at him and say something that didn't sound like you didn't know how to form sentences.
You could hear the crowd now, the whistling, the clapping, the stomping of their feet, any form of cheering the could make they did it.
"Another year of you and me," He said. "I am looking forward to another one." He gave you one chaste kiss for his own pleasure and you smiled.
"I look forward to another one too."
51 notes · View notes
quinlinkin · 4 years
Text
take it from me ( i’d be lost without you ) ↳ Q’s twdg writing challenge
character(s): willy, mitch, ruby, aasim, louis, violet, omar, rosie, aj, tenn, clementine ship(s): aasim/ruby ( rusim ), clementine/violet ( violentine ) word count: 1462 author’s note: i mean, when aren’t we all in need of some pure, wholesome willy moments? takes place in the spring after the events of tfs ( in which everyone is alive bc to hell with canon sometimes amirite )
[   ao3 link   ]
*credits to the wonderful @stop-breaking-my-heart-telltale​​​​​​​​​ for creating this challenge! you can view the entire prompt list + further details here. happy writing!!
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                                                         ― ☼ ―
                                          day thirteen ; hug.
It’s on an early, sunny spring day in which Willy declares a brand new, totally legitimate holiday.
National Hug Day. Well- Ericson Resident Hug Day, at the very least. He also realizes that he doesn’t actually know what the current date is, but he’s fairly certain Aasim does. He’ll be sure to not only ask him about it later, but request that he write down this new holiday so they can remember it every single year from now on.
The idea is promptly born as Willy sits upon the admin building’s front staircase, idly practicing the knife tricks that Mitch had taught him over the long winter months. Though his attention only remains focused on twirling the blade around between his fingertips for so long, and eventually, he finds himself looking out across the expanse of the courtyard.
Today is the first nice day they’ve had since the cold weather had finally begun to lessen. The sun is bright and warm, just enough for them to safely ditch their heavy winter gear in favor of lighter, more comfortable clothes. Louis isn’t wearing his trench coat anymore, the sleeves of his baseball tee rolled up past his elbows as he cleans arrows from their earlier hunting trip. Mitch leaves the admin building in a simple t-shirt, ruffling Willy’s already wild hair as he passes him on the steps.
Though, even with how normal everything appears to finally be, Willy can’t help but feel as if there’s a certain something missing. Winter, as always, had taken its toll on everyone. They’d only barely scraped by on their dangerously low food supply, suffered through the bitter cold and heaping snow, forced to all sleep in the common room to conserve body heat that ultimately left everyone largely irritated with one another for several different reasons.
Willy may be used to Mitch’s snoring, but that certainly doesn’t mean anyone else is.
Yet, even as the weather steadily improves and everyone is slowly but surely able to return back to a far more comfortable schedule, they all still seem… off.
There’s not enough happiness around here, Willy eventually decides. And so, he sparks the plan to change that. Besides, everyone likes hugs, right? They’re supposed to make people feel better, and that’s exactly what he intends to do.
He starts with an easy one. While he and Mitch don’t exactly hug each other on a regular basis, they are brothers. It wouldn’t be the strangest thing in the world. Willy approaches him as he’s stacking up freshly chopped firewood, and wordlessly wraps his arms around his waist.
Mitch tenses for a fraction of a second, before realizing it’s just Willy.
“Uh… what’s the hug for, man?” he rasps, patting Willy on the back as he returns it anyway. His voice has improved somewhat over the past few months, but it still sounds different. Scratchy and hoarse, like someone with a really bad flu.
Not that Willy minds, of course. The main thing that matters to him is that he’s here , and not dead like Lilly had very nearly succeeded in achieving. It doesn’t bother him in the least if his voice sounds a little funny, now.
“I decided today is hug day,” Willy explains simply, letting him go after a moment. “I think everyone really needs one. Y’know, after the winter and… everything.”
Mitch instantly gives him a warm smile. “Sounds like a great idea to me.”
Willy nods affirmatively. “Totally! So, you can go hug someone too, if you want.”
Then, before Mitch can formulate a response, Willy is off once again in search of the nearest person. Which, happens to be Ruby as she tends to the horse they’d brought back from the Delta. As usual, Aasim is right there with her, though he keeps a safe distance from the animal. He refuses to admit it, but Willy knows he’s definitely scared of it.
“Hi, Ruby,” Willy chirps, and again, without waiting for a reply, simply goes in to hug her as well.
“Oh- ” she exclaims in mild surprise, but is quick to recover. She hugs him back sincerely, one hand still grasping the rope attached to the horse’s halter.
Willy wastes no time between his rounds. Once releasing Ruby, he heads straight for Aasim.
“Wait, wha-” Aasim manages to utter before Willy is enveloping him, next. He may not be much of a hugger - well, towards anyone that isn’t Ruby, of course - but today, Willy vows to make sure everyone is.
Squeezing his arms around Aasim briefly, he steps back in order to clarify, “Today is hug day.”
Aasim quirks an inquisitive brow. “According to…?”
“Me,” Willy states proudly, beaming a big smile.
“Is that so?” Ruby says, wearing a smile of her own that’s incredibly fond around the edges. “Well, in that case… We’d better participate, right, hon?”
And with that, she’s leaning up on her toes and wrapping her arms around Aasim’s neck to pull him into another hug of their own. Unlike with Willy, he doesn’t remain stiff and awkward towards the contact, having no apparent problems with returning it in earnest.
Perfect! Willy thinks, grinning even wider. It’s working!
With his trend now catching on, Willy enthusiastically moves onward. Louis gets a hug next, where he’s still cleaning arrows, and it seems to immensely brightens his day judging by how he cheerfully laughs and thanks him. Then, it’s Violet’s turn, who, much like Aasim, isn’t the biggest fan of hugs even though she returns it all the same.
Omar receives his hug as he prepares dinner, Willy even making sure to include Rosie as she begs for scraps next to the large, steaming pot of food.
Finally, Willy reaches AJ and Tenn where they sit upon the ground as they color together. Willy kneels down in order to reach AJ’s level, making sure not to sneak up on him as he remembers the younger’s particular response to such sudden actions.
“It’s national hug day,” Willy tells him as he gives him a quick embrace around the shoulders. “That means everyone gets a hug.”
As he turns to Tenn, however, he finds himself hesitating. While he’s long since expressed his forgiveness towards what happened with Mitch, sometimes, he can’t help but still feel as if it’s technically his fault. It’s taken Willy a long time to come to terms with his big brother’s injury, and after watching him be taken away by Lilly and her people without knowing whether he was even alive or not, it remains a frightening memory.
But, like he said: everyone gets a hug. It’s not like he’s still mad at him, at least.
Tenn tentatively returns the gesture when Willy wraps his arms around him. When they pull back, he’s smiling genuinely, and Willy suddenly feels better about including him. They all deserve to be happy in his opinion, and that most definitely includes Tenn.
“Um, thank you…” Tenn murmurs quietly. Willy gives him a friendly nod.
And as he turns to survey the courtyard once again, he’s met with a promising sight. Louis can be seen moving in to dramatically hug an obviously annoyed Violet, and Willy laughs to himself as he catches sight of her one-eyed glare from around her eye patch.
There’s still one person left, however. As if right on cue, he spots her hobbling out from the dorm building, and Willy races forward to meet her.
He spares a fleeting look towards the prosthetic leg she’s currently balancing on. It’s the newest model, worked painstakingly hard on by himself, Mitch, Aasim, and AJ. He’s happy to see her getting used to it, and he’s sure she’s happy to finally be rid of those pesky crutches.
“Hey, Willy,” Clem greets with a smile.
This time, Willy does at least manage to spare a quick “Hi ” before moving in. He makes sure to be extra careful, however, not wanting to knock her over with an overly forceful hug. Yet even as slow as he winds his arms around her waist, he makes sure to squeeze with an equal amount of force as he showed towards everyone else.
“Today is hug day,” he explains again, for one last time. “We can all celebrate it every year.”
He can hear Clem chuckle softly as she returns the sentiment. “Every year, huh? Then I guess we’d better make sure to have Aasim write it down on his calendar.”
“Yeah! That’s what I was thinking!” Willy exclaims as he backs away.
And with that, his task is done. He and Clementine part ways, and he watches with bright, sparkling eyes as the first thing she does upon approaching Violet, is hug her.
Their first ever hug day? He thinks it’s safe to call it a smashing success.
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hayesit · 4 years
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matt’s 2019 year in review
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here it is! and it’s late because i had other/better things to do (and procrastinating), was recovering from hangovers (also procrastinating), and recovering from being sick (procrastinating).
i’ve been doing these year in review posts since 2016, so here is my fourth installment. every year i look back through my google calendar, my camera roll, and my bullet journal as a gratitude exercise and to chart my own development as an adult. 
here is my spotify wrapped 2019!
the beginning of this year was off to a good start: i met two friends that i know through the internet! i met my friend riley when she visited boston (i met her through a mutual friend and through overwatch league twitter) and my friend jimmy that i’ve known for…. 6 or 7 years (?!) through tumblr and designed the logo for me and alex’s late podcast, hardly tea, may she rest in peace. 
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i moved dorm rooms in between the fall and spring semester, and once again i was not happy with where i lived. i lived with 4 rando’s that i was placed with and the 5 of us barely even talked with each other. my direct roommate i saw for only two weeks, and for the nights he slept over in the bed (that he was paying room and board for) and had the worst snoring humanly possible that not even earplugs could kill (video below). i hardly slept while he was there and roamed the halls of riverview suites like a ghost due to the anxiety i felt about my lack of sleep (we love a vicious circle)! he disappeared after those two weeks without notice and i lived in fear of him returning for the rest of the semester (which he didn’t), but returned to my normal sleep schedule. 
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that semester was my first semester of full-time grad school. i got a poor grade on an assignment that had a note from the professor that said she knew i could do better and it hit me how much different grad school is from undergrad and how much more effort and dedication it requires. after crying in my professor’s office, my work ethic has improved since then, but it’s not anywhere near where i’d like it to be (more on that later). 
now to more positive things for the spring semester: i met some friends that semester both ~on and offline~ that made the semester far more bearable AND i did however truly pop off in every last one of my powerpoint presentations for class. i looooove making powerpoints and just fuckin telling jokes about my research topic and have ppl tell me that they are looking forward to my presentation & that i should teach college classes :)!
me and 4 friends had a social group in which we’d drink and play board games and forget about the board game and drunkenly talk shit called cabam after all our first initials! i always looked forward to that and dug the group chemistry a lot.
during this semester i grew a   “ beard “, otherwise known as i chose not to shave just to  “ see what would happen “ (praythatitfilledin). sorry about that!
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the overwatch league was something that i had to look forward to watch every week and i had my experience enhanced through sideshow and avast’s unofficial companion streams, which guaranteed lots of laughs. i have bought tickets to two boston home games in 2020 which i am very excited about! analysts have predicted boston to be in 20th place this year (there are 20 teams) but i’m still excited for the 2020 season anyway!!
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i can’t have a year-in-review of 2019 without mentioning game of thrones. due to the show’s final season being undeniably weak, i enjoyed the camaraderie with the other people that watched thrones during those six weeks. i haven’t thought about the show or its universe for quite a while, unfortunately. i truly was quite into the world of westeros, but the weakness of the end of the story cheapened the journey of each of the characters, in a way. such a shame.
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while i got my diploma in december 2018, i walked across the stage of umass lowell’s tsongas arena with my bachelor of arts in psychology (and minor in theatre arts). it wasn’t as emotional or triumphant of an experience and just felt weird, considering i had already gotten my diploma and was going to remain in the clutches of rowdy the riverhawk as i am staying for my masters degree in applied behavior analysis/autism studies. i brought a ceramic monkey to graduation. it didn’t have any symbolism, but i just wanted to see if they’d stop me (which they didn’t)
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 this summer was better than most summers of mine go, i hung out with alex nearly every weekend, got my very first iphone, and got a data plan. the combination of these three things got me back into playing pokemon go, an unexpectedly fun pastime! went on lots of walks!
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my favorite day of summer was going to a lake with alex and our friend gianna, who i grew closer to after meeting her during macbeth last year. fond 2019 memories with gianna include: doing simulation patients with her, watching movies with her and alex, and the halloween party. what a great gd person and a great gd friend! big fan and eternally rooting for her. 
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fire emblem: three houses came out on the switch in august and is, without a doubt, my game of the year. there’s truly so much to love about the game: the world, the characters, new changes made to the series, things that were gone but returned, interesting micromanaging, and best of all, how huge my brain feels when playing it. 
i got a 6-week summer job as a paraprofessional at an extended-school-year program for children with developmental disabilities at a preschool in haverhill which taught me a lot of lessons, such as: i hate cleaning shit off of children.
then i had feelings that didn’t make much sense for about a month! whoops!
my full-time job i currently have is working at my old high school as a behavior specialist. i provide consultation and work on programs to lead to more appropriate behavior in students, primarily ones with developmental disabilities. so far it’s been fairly rewarding, some days are more challenging than others, some days are a lot of sitting in meetings, and some days are a lot of running around. some days there is not much to do at all, which has its obvious upsides and downsides. working at the high school isn’t something that i want to do forever, but it’s a good place to start with. i’m definitely learning a lot and there are a lot of benefits to working here. sometimes i can work on my grad school work (which is all online until the 2020 summer semester) which is definitely huge. and my commute is either a 15 minute walk or 3 minutes if my mom drives me! 
a ~complex~ thing about working in my hometown is that it makes the most financial sense to live at home because it’s so close to work. this is my first time living at home full-time since high school and i’m not enjoying that part too much. most weekends i visit alex in lowell, but being stuck at home with no car (going to retake the license test in the spring when the ice melts!) and having to go to bed so early definitely hurts. sure, i have what is likely the lowest amount of expenses i’ll ever have in my life (no car-related payments, no rent, no groceries), but i feel landlocked. i feel like a teenager with minimal freedom, which is in part because my mom doesn’t quite understand yet that i’m a 22 year-old that should have a lot more freedom than i do now. the most i really do on weekdays after work gets out (2:30p) is go to savers with my mom if it’s tuesday (senior citizen day), maybe go for a walk if it’s nice out (which for most of the school year, it isn’t), or be on the computer watching bon appetit videos and playing overwatch, fire emblem, or pokemon, eat a bland dinner at 6, go to bed at around 9:30. sad! truly not a situation that i want to be trapped in that much that much longer!
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i think the best and most important part of this year was becoming closer with alex. as i mentioned before, we see each other most weekends, to our great benefit. our living situations have flip-flopped, with me living at home and alex living in an apartment near campus, which in both similar and different ways have taken their respective tolls on us. having each other while going through changes and stagnations in our lives has been immeasurably important. thank you alex for providing a place to be myself other than my own head. thank you for being my best friend. 
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now i come to the thing that i’m most excited about for 2020. not 2 suck my own horn but i have cobbled together a fuckin dream team of five friends (me, alex, chris, kelly, and molly). the two times we have all gotten together it has been so satisfying in such a wonderful and otherworldly way that i am filled to the brim of happiness being around them. the craziest thing is that i met chris and kelly through twitter! TWITTER. and they’re real-ass people and my real-ass friends! i haven’t been so pleased with something in my life like this for so long and it feels so good to have adult friends that i have chosen rather than friends by circumstance. it’s truly a crime that we can’t see each other more often, but we already have a day picked out for the next time we all do something together. feeling emotional writing this paragraph bc i love me gd friends so much!
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there is a lot of uncertainty about this new year for me. i sure as fuck don’t want to live at home more than i have to but don’t know where to go, my practicum class starts for me this summer which means i’ll most likely have to change jobs (fine by me, but will be exhausting), i recently began my search for therapists and hope to find one soon to help me ~unpack things~, my thesis begins in the fall semester and i don’t know what to do for it, and i’m not 100% dead-set on working in special education. it’s been hard transitioning from living on campus and going to school full-time to the life i have now. 
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chellesdiary-blog · 5 years
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Random after work thoughts 05/21/19
I guess this is my first post. Not in the mood to make this long or super in depth but I think just doing a quick jot of what’s on my mind will help me de-stress.
I am currently sitting on the end of the dining room table, sipping on my Green Mountain decaf k-cup coffee with a splash of cold almond milk and 1 splenda: BOMB with my refrigerator chilled lemon bars which my best friend made for my Game of Thrones finale viewing party.
Song mood: “Another Lifetime” by Nao
I think another reason why blogging is therapeutic for me is because I believe I am S K I L L E D at typing, and so this comes so easy. Texting has become a chore. Also, Macbook life is where it’s at!!!!
I can’t help but feel stressed. Trying so hard to balance out my life so that I don’t feel so burnt out but I do.
Running list of things that need to be done:
-Make my boyfriend and cousin’s graduation money leis
-Book plans for 7 year anniversary with bae
-Get an anniversary gift for bae??? I’m his present..shooo..
-Book airbnb/stay for Street Fest in August
-Make sure my boss doesn’t fuck up my work schedule for next month..or for the next few months
-STOP SPENDING MY DAMN MONEY lol
-get my colon right BC MILK ALLERGY AF
-finish packing
-organize my time to be able to gym three times this week to meet my minimum 3 times/week workout quota 
-organize my google calendar
...sigh, no wonder I feel so stressed :)
okay, that’s all for now <3
& I’m ever reading this again in the future..
don’t forget to make time for yourself. you need it.
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sumergosuigeneris · 5 years
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February 12, 2019 Part I
Boss got home around midnight. So he’ll be in today. That is both good and bad. It’s eh b/c he’s back, but very good that I don’t have to reschedule everything for today. In between around 6pm last night and 6 am this morning, the mofo had the nerve to add a couple meetings to his calendar AND offer up a shit ton of time next week for a meeting, most of which were meetings that were hard to schedule. It is an interesting request though. Either he got offered a job that would require him to leave the university, or he didn’t get it and he wants help getting to that next step. The thing for me is, he’s kind of in the same boat as me. At our levels, it’s really hard to make it up to the next step, simply because there are so many fewer jobs as you go higher. Unless they create a new job, I don’t see how they can match it if he did get the offer. Unless there’s a few people retiring in the next couple years....Although, now that I think about it, there were a couple of jobs here that, while not exactly his expertise, would have moved him up. I wonder if he applied or not. As someone who works for him, and understands the drive, I want him to succeed. As someone who works for him, he’s not a good manager or leader, so I only want him to move up into a position where he wouldn’t make things worse, but could contribute in his way to make things thrive. Bureaucracies are good for that. Wow, my spelling is really terrible lately. I couldn’t even spell bureaucracy without looking it up online. However, along the way, I did invent the word ‘brocracy.’ It makes sense as a word.
Didn’t sleep well last night. Didn’t do my laundry last night. Did it this morning, but somehow everyone was using the machines this morning, so it’s a late to work day. When the boss flew in at midnight. You know he’s gonna think some kind of way.
I made my first real apartment building friend in the laundry room today. We started talking bc I was wearing a Kentucky tshirt. He went to UK. And he knew where my tiny first college was. And he’s moving in April. That’s my life lol. Three of us were talking and it was lovely. We talked about racism. We  talked about the grammys, we talked about rachel doozer. I’m going to watch a doc they have on net flicks about her and we shall then discuss lol. The other person we were chatting with is currently working on her masters kind of sort of  in the field my dept is in. What a small world.
Highlight of my day so far: finding out a meeting I worked on was being held in a bad location for my people, and getting them to agree to move it for me. As long as I do all the work.
The girl in fresh off the boat who asked Evan if he liked her, was so freaking brave! I got anxious watching her lol.
I was walking in between work offices today, and I had some really good thoughts. Which I forgot. This is why I don’t make progress on things. This, and about a billion other reasons. But one thing I do remember is that I started thinking that my career doesn’t necessarily need to be over and dead-end. I could commit to growing and becoming an expert in something. I don’t know. It was a thought. And hell, maybe I can try to get my phd after I retire! I know, I know. It was just an idle thought b/c I’m surrounded by academia. Oh yes, another thing I was thinking was maybe I should reconsider not trying to stay here. lol. I had to remind myself that - no!
I went a decent part of the day without headphones in. At one point, I was talking to myself when my boss walked by and he thought I was talking to him. It occurs to me that I speak to myself more when I don’t have music or tv going on. What’s up with that?
Please god do not let biden or sanders win.
For a minute during work I was energized and excited to get home and do stuff. Got home and I’m exhausted. And this is why I never get anywhere with anything.
There are about a bazillion points where I see I went wrong. Normally, I say I wouldn’t go back in time to change anything if I didn’t maintain my knowledge of all this. Today I’m not feeling it. I’d go back in a heartbeat and just cross my fingers that I’d make different choices.
A congressperson made a comment about a jewish org funding pro-isreal stuff in the government. I don’t know anything about that particular organization, but it says something that both parties quickly disavowed her remarks. Other than the whole batshit crazy people trying to foment wwiii so they can start armageddon, I don’t understand what the other reasons are that politicians are so afraid to say anything negative about the country. Why they’re so beholden and afraid. Besides the fact that people are quick to consider anyone who’s anti-israel to be an antisemite. As a pro-jew, antiisrael person I don’t get it. But then again, I’m not old enough to be close to the founding and all the conflict back then. I just see it as a country/government doing whatever it’s doing, in the same way other countries are primarily catholic or primarily protestant or primarily muslim, without those countries’ actions reflecting on the religion. Don’t get me wrong, I know very well that many people/governments pervert religion for their own ends. But I don’t see that as the religions themselves, just yucky people.
Random thought popped into my head. A while ago, I tried to start watching last man standing. I couldn’t understand how it could be a conservative show when the mother (an actress I’ve been fond of for years) was a working woman and an engineer. Just now it occurred to me that I don’t understand how I could have been perplexed? Because I tried watching it AFTER I spent a couple of years working with sexist, racist, homophobic, etc, chemists. Wow. Sometimes I am real slow.
#me
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noheroes-allowed · 4 years
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week 3:
day 15: worked on cti and it felt nice to get work done, pm meeting. I got jittery presenting even though it was literally to five people. I wish I could not be like that, played uke for like 2 hours bc it’s finally starting to be fun and is not as frustrating depending on how hard of a song I play but so many songs are just c am f and g chords so it’s not bad, ran into Cat on my run and we did an extra lap so I had to shower really quickly and eat in like 5 min, called keith. he didn’t call early by a minute this time so I called him, ft Cat after to groan lmao 
day 16: woke up really late. I really need to stop grabbing my phone first thing after I wake up bc I end up spending like an hour in bed procrastinating getting up and working out and doing work, didn’t work on my essay like I planned and played uke for 2 hours again, started a 1000 piece puzzle with my brother instead of working on my essay, worked on cti stuff instead of working on my essay, texting :), idk how to get my 5k time down. like in the beginning I’m scared to push myself bc I don't wanna die at the end but I feel like I’m being really complacent with my pace which isn’t helping, ate dinner really late, played piano instead of working on my essay, trying to work on 4520 hw but it’s really hard fuck. this class is what I was always most worried about but now it just seems impossible. maybe I’ll work on my essay lmao
day 17: it’s so hard to get out of bed, finally finished editing the first 1/3 of my essay and mailed it today. now I just gotta write like 25 more pages hopefully in the next week before everything picks up again oof, filled out the census, emailed my recruiter and hopefully my background check is ok, cannot find the motivation to do 4520, I wanna watch little america but also am really not finding enjoyment from entertainment forms recently. idk maybe it’ll get me out of my slump, my internship is officially not cancelled and it’s gonna be virtual!!! I’m just excited I don’t have to be applying for things again, jaja texted me about 4660 again and I still haven’t started it, ended up watching 4 eps of little america and I really liked the first two eps, also after my run I watched half an ep of married at first sight lmao. the people were so toxic
day 18: I need to get out of bed sooner, wrote 4 pages of my econ essay and wrote down notes for the next two writers. I’m finally making progress but I’m also so stupid. I should’ve started doing this literally last week and now I’m stressed bc I haven’t started 4520 and I idiotically deleted 4660 from my google calendar and didn’t realize the pset is due in a week. so I haven’t started that either, had a dream this morning that my offer got rescinded al;sdkfnasldka it was fucking scary but I woke up to an email saying everything is going the way it should be, haven’t played uke in 2 days bc I’ve been actually doing work and it makes me sad, worked on refactored for the past two hours jesus fuck. IBM emails really suck bc there is no uniform format and it makes me hate everything. keith save me, my mom is annoying me. I need to like schedule hours in my day where I can handle talking to her and tell her not to bother me unless it’s that time bc I literally have so much work I need to do. stop disturbing me and opening my door whenever you want. also she thinks my fucking neighbors will call the cops if I talk to someone and they see? what the actual fuck??????? my brain is melting again, keep eating way too much after my run. I need to figure out when I eat dinner bc if I eat before then I get side stitches but I can’t keep going on like this and reversing my workout progress, also I watched an ep of some food truck show on food network. it was fine I guess
day 19: yeah I got out of bed really late again and I couldn’t fit in my workout before noon, eagle day, everyone else interning in my department is a non-undergrad and I was surprised. also the guy was like you probably talked to two or three people when you were applying. which I did not. which just makes me feel like they think I’m someone else. like they gave the wrong person an offer. yikes, only finished 1.5 writers today instead of 3 like I intended bc I ended up playing uke after showering instead of finishing the rest of it, ft Cat and we talked about books and movies and hayden lmao
day 20: finished the mercantilists portion of my essay, idk today is mon and it’s been two days since sat and I literally do not remember what I did? fuck, got woken up by my neighbors lawnmowers at 9am but I refused to get out of bed until noon oops, wasn’t gonna run bc I started getting a weird cramp in my calf but then my call got rescheduled so I went running and it got worse sigh, watched portrait of a lady on fire. I liked it, watched the chinese ep of little america, watched little fires everywhere. the main character does not hide her disgust for other people and tbh that makes me really uncomfortable. and I know she has a haunted past and I won’t fully understand the intricacies of the race dynamics but I have difficulties sympathizing with her. also I don’t know if it’s residual hate from scandal or residual love for reese but I feel like I’m very biased watching this show, texted the crosbys bc they said they would answer everyone but then they said they couldn’t get to all of them bc they underestimated :( 
day 21: I literally took the day off lmao. I was gonna work on 4520 all day bc I’ve literally been procrastinating this assignment for the past like 14 days bc I know it’s gonna take some time and some brain energy but I just. kept putting it off and doing other work or not doing work at all. and then I literally just took the day off. and watched little fires everywhere and called and ft and took a walk to the reservoir. if he’s really a pat fitz then that freaks me out. he scares me more now and he’s out of my league so much socially :( I wonder how many people he talks to. I wonder if he says yes to our calls bc he’s ‘too nice’ to say no the way that he’s too nice to say no to girls who would ask him to go to dances and he got the reputation that he’d never say no, chatted with my mom about the state of things and groceries and tried to not get annoyed or lose my patience. taking a break from work made me calm down a little and be less agitated I think, hung out with my brother and watched cut videos with him
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itshyejung · 5 years
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Coffeehouse Angel - Zhu Zhengting
Type: Scenario
(Not gonna do genres bc tbh idk how to categorize my scenarios? I guess they’re fluff I mean they’re not rly angsty and def not smut so... just cute? Who even knows lmao)
Characters: Nine Percent Zhu Zhengting x you
(Pics are edited by me so pls give credit. Scenarios are not requested, I came up with all these a long time ago but never really shared them publicly, so hope you guys enjoy! I tried to be creative with each scenario and not do super cliche or boring ones but I think all of them are still kinda cliche lmao...)
P.S Sorry if there are any typos on the last two and this one! 
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The crowded counterspace was so small, it was uncomfortable to breathe in the area especially when your co-worker, Zhu Zhengting, was always squishing behind you to get around you as you rang up customers’ orders. The satisfying sound of steaming coffee falling into a cup made you realx as Zhengting’s quick and skillful hands expertly mixed a raspberry mocha for the tall lady in a red leather coat. You adjusted the hat you wore on your head and wiped off a bit of sweat before turning on your super smile for the next customer in line. Your hands worked quickly at the cash register, occasionally glancing to the side to see if Zhengting was squeezing by. You made sure to let him have plenty of space when he would. You blushed insanely at the thought of bumping rear ends, so. you were carefuly to make sure it wouldn’t happen. Little did you know of Zhengting’s expression on the other side, secretly smiling at the way you cutely tried to move out of his way. But, he thought, a little skinship wouldn’t be too bad, would it?
“Oh it’s 9:30am. Position switch,” Zhengting noted as he glanced at the small clock on the left wall of the shop. You nodded and traded places with him, ashamed at the fact that you would now have to openly perform your coffeemaking skills, which weren’t nearly as skillful and exciting as Zhengting’s. You also kind of enived the way he confidently took over your job. Your boss had told you that you were better suited for cashier management and customer service, but as Zhengting has been working here longer than you had, he obviously had more experience and was good at just about everything.
You rubbed your hands together, untied and retied your apron, and set your elbows on top of the coffee machine as you waited for Zhengting to call orders out to you. From there, you got a nice view of his straight back and long fingers, handling cash just as expertly as you did and typing away on the touch screen of the cash register. However, he seemed to handle everything with ease, unlike the way you had scurried around, handing a pile of orders to him, shuffling left and right, and fingers shakily typing out orders onto the touch screen that you sometimes made typos (no one saw, so that was okay, right?). 
“Hey. Are you listening?” Zhengting’s large hand waved in front of your face rapidly as the customers in line laughed. “I know I’m good looking, but if you stare too long, you might lose your job.”
You flushed madly, which Zhengting smiled cutely at. He thought you were generally pretty, but prettiest when you were modest. He had a strong attraction to girls who were just the way they were, not hidden under layers of disguise that supposedly made them “pretty” but rather, he liked the pretty nature of them. He thought the best kind of person was one who always stayed their true self, and sometimes they were crazy or weird, and it entertained him to meet those people. He was very outgoing in meeting all kinds of people, and one of the reasons he liked working at a coffee shop was because it also amused him to see all the slack faces of people who were having shitty days, desperate for a kick of caffeine to wake them up. 
You hastily yanked down on a lever on the coffee machine to fill up one of the styrofoam cups. The calm brown liquid flowed into the bottom of the cup and pooled to fill the container. Just like how many people like the sound of rushing or running water, the sound of coffee hitting the bottom of a cup calmed you the same way. You quickly capped the cup after it was filled and handed the steaming beverage to the customer. A few coins fell from his hand into the glass jar on the side of the counter.
“Thank you, sir!” you waved at him as he stepped out of the coffeeshop, the bell on top of the door jingling as it swung open and closed.
You shook the glass jar a bit to loosen up the coins inside. This week, you and Zhengting had collected a good amount of tips. Not great, but what would you expect? Indeed you were an amateur. Seventy-five percent of those tips were probably the college girls going crazy over how cute Zhengting was. He looked like an adorable little mouse or cat with really fluffy fur.
“Seriously, if you’re going to keep doing that, I’m going to have to go work back there.” Zhengting pointed towards the back kitchen, where a few cooks worked making orders for people who had stopped by for a bite. Although it was mostly known for coffee, the shop was also partially a cafe where you could dine in. “And I’d be washing dishes. Now, I don’t want to do that, with you out here having all the fun, right?” He pushed on your forehead gently with two fingers. “Focus.”
You rolled your eyes. “Sure, boss.”
The day rolled by quickly, but you were kept busy for the rest of the day and surprisingly rarely thought about Zhengting as you served sandwiches and handled to-go customers who pulled up at the window. “I think it’s your turn to wipe down tables,” Zhengting said to you as you flipped over the sign on the front door.
“Right.” You walked over to the small calendar that hung off a pushpin in the wall. “It says ‘JUNGJUNG’ in giant letters. And obviously my name is not Jungjung.”
“Ugh, I hate going by that nickname,” Zhengting groaned. “And contrary to wait it says, it’s actually your turn anyways. Boss said so, because he saw you staring off ‘into space’ during work today.”
“Whaaaaaat,” you tried not to blush at how he had sarcastically covered up what (or who) you were actually staring at. “Alright, I guess this makes up for that then,” you sighed, and headed to the kitchen to grab the dish towel. You and Zhengting both detested wiping the gunk off the tables. The cookies and muffins many people requested for were especially crumbly, and there were messes all over the tables. You tied your apron tighter around your waist and began wiping the crumbs off the table, sweeping them onto the floor which you would later make Zhengting sweep up. You wiped ugly, sticky smudges of coffee off the tabletops, secretly making faces at them.
Meanwhile, Zhengting hid his smile behind his hand. Actually, the boss had never spoken a word of what he’d just told you to him. In fact, it was 100% true to say that Zhengting loved watching you work, especially when you wiped off tables. It wasn’t that he was a pervert who just liked staring at nice asses, definitely not. He especially liked your figure from the back. He thought that even your derpiest moments were done with at least some beauty and grace; you just looked beautiful to him. And he loved viewing your hard-working self from a distance, where you were completely clueless about it. After all, anything pretty should be looked at from a distance. You didn’t suspect a thing, just begrudgingly worked at making each table spotless. When you were done, you wiped sweat off your forehead with the backs of your hands and threw the towel at Zhengting, who caught it perfectly in the center of his chest.
“Whoa there, calm down. Hey, if you’re mad about wiping down twice in a row, I’ll take it tomorrow and the day after. Coffee?” Zhengting held out a hot cup of the liquid as you approached the counter, fingers already fumbling to untie the knot on the back of your apron. You folded it up neatly and hung it on your apron hook.
“Don’t mind if I do,” you grinned, accepting it halfheartedly. To be honest, all you wanted to do was go home and sleep all day, every day. Yet something about Zhengting’s attitude and personality made you stay later than your shift every night. Perhaps it was the way he joked humorously, but then was sincere at other times. Maybe it was the way he had voluntarily taught you all that he’d learned working here so that you wouldn’t be behind all the other employees. Or maybe it was because he had been the one that proposed the idea of “coffee dates” each night.
It wasn’t that you two were dating or anything. In fact, you’d never thought of him as more than a best friend and a long time co-worker. However, you didn’t think you’d rather have a coffee date with anyone else other than Zhengting. You enjoyed these a lot because they were especially refreshing after a tiring and long work day. They definitely stretched longer than the amount of time you’d been scheduled for. Three hours a day felt like three years. Besides, there was something about Zhengting’s smiling face that always left you relaxed at the end of the day.
“School’s ending pretty quickly, don’t you think? Soon all of us seniors will move onto uni,” Zhengting suddenly brought up, staring out the window while propping himself up against the counter. He gulped down a big sip of his coffee. You swirled your own raspberry mocha in your cup absentmindedly. There was something eating at the back of your mind that you didn’t really have the heart to tell Zhengting. However, it was not something you could avoid.
“It has been a pretty fast year,” you agreed, finally consuming a bit of your coffee. “Sometimes I wonder if everything really happened that fast or if I’m just terrible at paying attention.”
“Worried?” Zhengting grinned. “Don’t worry, star student. Didn’t you tell me you sent a lot of college applications out? I bet all of them are going to fight over you.”
Heat flushed through you and colored your cheeks warm. “Don’t say that,” you brushed it off. “I haven’t gotten any letters yet. Where are you planning on going to college?”
Zhengting’s head snapped up to look at you and grinned when he caught you off guard. Returning his gaze outside, he said, “I just applied for the local university. Nothing too extravagant. I think staying here will be just find for me.”
You nodded in understanding. “The safer choice, of course.”
“Are you saying I’m not a risk taker?”
“W-what? No… well, it’s not that it makes me one, obviously…” 
“I think asking you to prom was probably the biggest risk I ever took,” Zhengting made a face and downed the rest of his drink, tossing the empty cup into the trash can with a loud clutter. “Don’t you think?”
You set your cup down with a clunk as you thought back to the clumsy but fun mess that night had been. “You punk! I’m not as difficult as you are to deal with!”
“Perhaps not, but you have to agree that I’m better at dancing.”
Aish, this kid. You grabbed a bunch of his coffee-brown locks in one hand and dragged his towering head to your eye level. “Say one more word and you won’t be able to dance anymore, you got it?”
“Ouch! The f-” Zhengting began, trying to yank his hair out of your grasp. Then his gummy smile suddenly returned. “Yes, ma’am.”
Your stomach was full of hot coffee but you weren’t ready to leave yet. Although Zhengting was an annoying kid a lot of the time, you had to admit you had a lot more fun if he was around. You two had somehow become close a long time ago when you had been swinging int he backyard. A grubby, sweaty little brown-haired kid barreled through, trying to keep a slippery frog in his grasp. You had jumped off the swing and joined him in the chase, always seeking adventure.
“Do you think… that Seoul University will accept me?” you wondered aloud as Zhengting watched you carefully. There. You had said it aloud, but unbeknownst to you, he had long ago known about your desires to study in South Korea. He was your childhood best friend, after all.
“Idiot.” Zhengting pressed two of his fingers to your forehead again and pushed gently. You feigned pain and flopped down on the counter. “You know smartasses like you will get in. You just wanted to rub it in my face.”
“That hurt!” you complained, but was secretly grateful that Zhengting supported you and gave you encouraging words, even if it was in a rough way.
“Ah, true love always does, doesn’t it?” Zhengting joked nonchalantly, but his cheeks flamed up at what he’d just said.
You choked. “Whoa, where’d that come from?”
“I was just thinking.” Zhengting dragged his finger around on the counter and said nothing more. You looked at him funny and then proceeded to finish your coffee as if nothing had happened.
“That’s never a good thing for you,” you joked back.
“Yah! Your smartass is showing too much!”
“Or maybe it’s because you’re too much of a dumbass.”
“Ugh, forget this. I’m going home.” Zhengting laughed a little and swiped your car keys from you, pretending to head off with them.
“What about me, you inconsiderate punk?” You jumped on his back and yanked his arm down, desperately prying athis fingers. What was with him today?
“There! Now I really get to go home.” You smiled triumphantly, walking out of the door with a huge new ego.
Zhengting just chuckled and turned off the lights, locking the doors before heading home himself. It was true, he loved annoying you. But he loved it more when he made you smile.
_______________________________________________________________________
You couldn’t help it. Your smile would just not disappear. It had to be completely normal, right? How could one’s smile disappear when they had received an acceptance letter from Seoul University as a foreigner? You almost jumped out your bedroom window, wanting to show Zhengting the letter, but miraculously refrained from pitching yourself out 50 ft into the air onto gravel down below and waited with close to no patience until your shift had started.
At five o’clock in the morning, you raced to the coffeeshop with more speed than you had ever run in gym class and probably more speed than you will ever run in a zombi apocalypse and burst into the staff room, banging the door so loudly that it ricocheted and almost hit you back in the face.
“ZHENGTING!” you yelled, jumping on him again.
“Whoa there, tiger. Calm the hell down. Did you get into Seoul U or something?”
“See for yourself!” You shoved the envelope in his face excitedly.
“I can’t see anything,” Zhengting said in a muffled voice. “Lemme see this.” He tore the envelope from your hand.
“Don’t crinkle it!”
“I’m guessing you got in then,” Zhengting smiled genuinely and opened the envelope carefully, skimming over the letter and stopping at the last sentence. “You smartass. I knew you would make it.” He ruffled your hair affectionately, but it ended up looking like a wild bird’s nest.
“Yah! You-” you protested, trying to fix your hair. “So this is how you congratulate me?”
“I’m proud of you, smartass. Let’s get back to work,” Zhengting winked.
You smiled at him, knowing that he was sincerely happy for you. You two had been friends for years, so of course you could read that on his face. However, you could also hint that there was a bit of disappointment on his face. What could he possibly be worrying about? Did he not get into the college he wanted? You dismissed it temporarily and stepped out the doors feeling more confident and ready for work than you had ever been in your career there. You made sure to give your absolute best in customer service today, and even surprised yourself when you volunteered to wipe down tables and wash the dishes.
Zhengting watched you with a longing expression. He knew this would be one of the last moments he would ever get to spend with you before you left for Seoul. You didn’t know that he would miss you so much he would never have the same work attitude again just because you weren’t there. Zhengting watched you nonchalantly wipe down the tables and hum a familiar tune, admiring your figure for the last time and making sure to remember it forever. He had wanted to confess to you soon, but apparently “soon” wasn’t soon enough. Now you were leaving even sooner.
You lazily dragged the towel across the countertop when you were finished and proceeded to head back into the kitchen to start washing the dishes. As this was probably your last day here, you wanted to be of as much help as you could to the coffeeshop you loved working in so much, mainly because of Zhengting. You admit that you had to thank him in the first place for giving you such great memories throughout your childhood.
If it weren’t for him, you might not have even gotten a job here. And finally the feeling of missing him terribly slapped you in the face. How could you have been so blind? You were so excited about getting into the school of your choice that you had completely forgotten about the reason why you had the confidence and the potential to be accepted into such a school: Zhu Zhengting. You shook your head in disbelief.
“Hey.” Zhengting pushed a small styrofoam cup your way. The last coffee date you’d ever have with him was beginning, and somehow you wished it would never end. You smiled and picked it up, suddenly feeling silly for wanted to keep the cup as a memory to reminisce the days you’d worked here.
“Thanks.”
“And I have something else for you too.” He drew out a box from behind his back and slid it across the counter towards you. Surprised, you turned over the box in your hands a couple of times.
“What’s this for?” You unlocked the clasp that locked the box together and found yourself looking at something you knew would touch your heart forever.
“Remember this?” Zhengting smiled the instantly he saw you smile at the pair of star earrings that used to belong to your mother. Perhaps she had gone off with another man ever since the divorce, but you knew that she never forgot about you. She’d left those earrings just for you, but then a month later you had lost them and gone to Zhengting to cry about it. This was when you were ten years old. Now you had to confess that you’d never really thought about them again. You’d never expect that they would turn up again, much less in the hands of Zhengting.
“But how did you get these?” you asked him, closing the box finally.
“I have my secrets,” he said slyly.
You were confused at his sudden generosity. Zhengting had always been one to play around, throw around a couple of jokes, and tease you in every possible way he could. For him to be this sincere was a completely different image to you. For the first time since the two of you had been friends, you saw Zhengting as other than just the little kid who used to push you on the swings in the neighborhood playground every day. You saw him as someone who had really matured and grown up.
“What are you staring at?” Zhengting wondered in amusement.
“You- uh, I mean thank you, Zhengting. I definitely won’t lose these ever again, and I’ll wear them all the time in Seoul.” You just smiled back at him, refusing to admit that he looked different to you now. How could he possibly have known where your mom kept her valuable things even after she died if he wasn’t interested in it, and how was he that dedicated to find those for you? And for what reasons?
_______________________________________________________________________
It had been a year since you’d moved out of the country for Seoul University. She really left. The idea had hit him harder than a car accident probably would. Without you, working at the coffeeshop had obviously never been the same.
Zhengting didn’t really pay attention to the shifts of new co-workers that came in and out to replace you over the past year. He hid his friendly, outgoing self with a more modest mask. As he turned over the dirtied “Open/Close” sign on the door one night, the new co-worker began wiping down tables.
He knew that she, too, was one who had feelings for him but he ignored that fact. Even the way she wiped down the tables was not as appealing to him as the way you had done it. It was a whole other level of missing somebody that he had. He missed the way you and him always had soap fights when washing dishes. He missed the way you always walked into work with a smile on your face and kept it that way as you handled customer service. He missed the way your beautiful, long fingers tapped on the touch-screen cash register.
He missed coffee dates with you.
He knew it was against the rules to suddenly pull out his phone during work, but his fingers were itching to get in contact with you again. He’d done the same only a few days after you left, remembering that he had worried about seeming desperate since you didn’t know about his silly crush on you still.
You hadn’t had the chance to come back over the holidays you’d had that year, and he was even more devastated but generously understood how busy you were. You were studying at one of the top universities in eastern Asia. Just as he was opening the chat you guys had, the co-worker called out, “I’ll be going, Jungjung!” 
Zhengting didn’t even look up at his subtley rolled his eyes while she hung up the towel. “Can you please not call me that?” Ever since you used to scribble his weird nickname on the schedule, all the other workers had seen it as well and loved to tease him. But he’d only allow you to call him that. “Just call me Zhengting.”
“Okay,” she said, not seeming to pay any attention to what he’d just said. Zhengting sighed as she finally left the shop.
He walked to the counter where you two always had your coffee dates. Something was different about the counter. Although it was pretty much empty, he saw on the end of the counter that there was a small green box sitting there, with one of the shop’s lights shining on it like a spotlight on a main actor in a play. Curious, he reached for the box and almost made a noise of surprise when he saw his name on the back.
“This must be a gift from the boss for all the hard work I’ve done,” he jokingly praised himself. 
With hesitant fingers, he untied the ribbon and lifted the lid. Surprised, he found a silver and bronze chain, the kind he had always wanted to attach to his black pants. He couldn’t think of anyone who could’ve possibly known that he had wanted it, except…
His fingers hit something papery at the bottom of the box. His eyes breezed over the words and his breath caught in his throat as he read the words over and over again, feeling that what was happening now was completely unbelievable. He looked around quickly, but as usual, he was the only worker left in the shop. Suddenly, a sliding sound across the counter startled him. A cup of his favorite espresso was being pushed towards him. As the familiar smell met his nose, his smile brightened.
He pushed himself up onto the counter and peered at the person crouched below the counter, trying to hide herself. “You’re finally back.”
Zhu Zhengting,
First, I apologize for not acknowledging your feelings earlier. I think I knew in myself that I had those feelings for you as well. At first, Seoul University seemed like a good idea. But as I went through this past year, I found that I didn’t really enjoy studying far away from you after all. I haven’t been doing too well because of being homesick. If I can’t be where you are, I don’t think I would be able to live my life very well. So I transferred to Anhui University, where we can be reunited again. I chose to come back to you, because I love you. I hope you’re not disappointed in me.
Zhengting felt your beautiful, long fingers against his broad back as he engulfed you in the biggest bear hug he could ever give someone. When he breathed in your scent, it was just like waking up and smelling the coffee. 
1 note · View note
pisati · 4 years
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well I wanted to put off writing about it bc I probably need some time to calm the fuck down but it needs out.
as we were closing up and starting to clean at the end of the day today my co-receptionist told me she and the head vet wanted to talk to me when we were done; nothing bad, but, you know. talk. I know I’m not fucking up that bad, but I still wondered how bad it might’ve been to warrant a meeting. 
and it wasn’t that bad. the vet even opened with the fact that I’m doing a good job and I’m learning a lot despite this not being my field. but they did have some concerns about a few things. namely 1. the other team got two complaints from clients who had had questions and food things and didn’t get answers. they saw that the clients had spoken to me and I had told them they’d hear back and there was apparently no note in a doctor’s list or anything, 2. I’ve apparently told people doctors on the other team would be getting back to them thursdays when they’re back in (though I swear I’m wording it like “they’re next in the office on thursday”, I really try not to make promises on when the doctors can get to clients’ concerns because I have no idea when they’ll be able to and I really am trying to not put undue pressure on them; apparently I have been?? somehow??), and 3. I’ve been scheduling things as tech appointments that should be doctor appointments and it’s causing delays and schedule overload. 
these are all valid concerns and are things that I’m aware are problems and am specifically trying to avoid, so it’s upsetting to me that it’s still happening despite my trying to avoid them and that it’s upsetting the other doctors and putting unnecessary pressure on the other team. firstly it was hard enough learning the ropes when we still had the team together, but nobody really gave us guidelines on how to deal with having half the doctors only available on days we’re not. with having potential gaps of days before clients can hear back from the doctor they want to hear back from. some clients are doctor-specific. I’m not trying to create an us-vs-them split here, I’m trying to help with continuity of care but also get people’s needs met within reasonable time. I offer quite a bit to ask a doctor currently on staff if they’d like an answer promptly. like these things are at the forefront of my mind all day every day and I’m honestly beating myself up because I still can’t seem to make that happen.
and this isn’t constant, thankfully, but it’s enough that it was brought to the managers’ attention, likely by multiple people, and the office manager, both head receptionists, and head vet drafted up a memo with specific instances of my fuck-ups and basically wrote prompts for me to explain what happened and what I can do to avoid doing things like that again. like... that’s honestly embarrassing. I know I can’t be perfect, but I don’t feel like this is a thing that happens to most people. I don’t know how I always end up fucking up badly enough at just about everything I do for this to keep happening. 
the worst part, especially about the client complaints, is that it’s an honest mistake that I am not aware of having made until a client calls upset that their needs weren’t met. by that point it’s too late, the damage is done. the two biggest things with things like that for me are 1. memory and 2. knowing what information to field where. it’s hard on mondays when clients have questions for their specific doctors that they saw the thursday/friday/saturday before and their doctor won’t be back in the office again until thursday. I do offer to follow up with a doctor on-staff if their questions need to be answered, of course, I’m not going to make an owner wait 4+ days for a response to a problem. some of them decline this, they say it can wait. many of them I do leave in a doctor-on-staff’s worklist, because I want someone to get back to this person about this issue. I also have left multiple notes, both in the worklist for a doctor on-staff AND for the doctor they wanted to speak to, so when that doctor comes back they know what happened and who this information went to. like, I really am trying to be good about that. but then comes the problem of memory. we’re being pulled in at least 3 different directions all day for 12 hours a day now. it’s hard and sometimes near-impossible to remember everything, every detail of every conversation you have with people, and I’m not even aware of what goes on inside exam rooms so when clients call about issues specific to their pet and the case that the doctors/techs are the only ones with direct knowledge about, it’s really hard to gather relevant information at lightning speed and either get questions answered or appointments booked. everyone else is going through the same thing, we all understand that feeling. I try to keep sticky notes, so I can get back to the thing I was doing if I got interrupted. they are really helpful, and most of the time I can keep track of the things. but occasionally there’ll be a time when I think I’m getting something done, forget to write it down if I get interrupted, and then forget the thing entirely. sometimes I’m VERY lucky and I remember later. I had a moment like that yesterday; I remembered a double new-patient appointment that I had spoken with earlier in the day; one of our clients was adopting two new pug puppies and since she booked online and they’re new pets, the system just blocked off the calendar spot as “unknown”. so I had to call her, get profiles set up for the new pets, and replace the appointments. she had asked me a question while I was putting in one of the appointments, and thankfully I thought to at LEAST block off the time slot for that pet. but then I got distracted and another thing came up and it took me til the end of the day to realize I’d put in one incomplete appointment for one of two pets. for a doctor on the other team. I didn’t want to know how many things I haven’t been lucky enough to remember, but I guess these are a few of them. what sucks, again, is that I don’t know I’ve fucked up until someone gets upset. 
I accept full responsibility for those fuck-ups. I really am trying to be better about writing things on sticky notes. but I guess I need to double and triple check everything I do now to make sure all these batons have been successfully passed. for many things it’s a case-by-case issue, and that’s where a lot of my challenges are, still. I have been improving on knowing what information to pass to what person, what information is urgent, and what I need to place more urgency on than the owner is letting on. it’s hard not being from a vet med background. I’ve had to learn all of this over the last 8 months and I learn new things literally every day. I think they know that, and the head vet says she’s reminded people of that fact. but it still bothers me that this is continuing to happen. mostly that I’m not always sure what to do with an owner’s request or what exactly they want from me. sometimes they’re clear, sometimes they’re not, and I try to get what information I can so I can get a better idea of what to do. but that doesn’t always happen. I’m still trying to think of how I can do better with that. 
the other ones are really getting to me, though. I know in the past people have given clients narrower time windows as far as hearing back from doctors about things, and I know to avoid that. it’s common sense; I try to be vague when letting owners know when doctors can get back to them. I don’t know their schedules, and most times doctors can’t get back to clients until the evenings after their last appointments leave. I know this. it’s not something I need to be told. it may have happened once or twice that I don’t remember, telling someone their doctor would be back thursday and could get back to them then, but that just means I need to be better about verbiage. because I never mean that the doctor will absolutely get back to them that day, least of all that morning. 
the one about scheduling things as tech appointments that should be doctor appointments... some of that I know where it’s my fault. when I get an owner calling to schedule a nail trim or a booster shot that can be done as a tech appointment, I go ahead and do what they ask of me. it’s been pointed out to me a few times that sometimes there are reminders on a pet’s chart that they’re either coming up due for or are overdue for services that should be doctor appointments, and I admit that is a fault I need to work on, that I should be doing better about by now. there’s a lot to juggle and it’s going to take a perspective change. but it’s a simple habit change to glance over at the reminders box when I pull up a chart, note what needs to be done, ask the owners about it, and that will result in fewer doctors and techs being mad at me. the only issue I think I’ve run into with that is that I’ll tell owners they’re due for something they don’t want, but that might be a matter of me understanding what requires an exam in what window of time. there’s some I know; like we can’t prescribe gabapentin without having seen the pet for an exam within 6 months. no preventatives without a heartworm test within a year. but the doctor mentioned one today about someone who’d booked a nail trim appointment and hadn’t been seen for an exam in a year or so and that’s entirely my fault for not noting that. again, it’s a matter of looking at the reminders. I need to stop myself before just doing what a person asks me to do (i.e. “my pet needs a nail trim, when can I bring him in?”). I know this has happened a number of times and I’m really not happy with myself that it keeps happening. 
I’ve learned from being burned on this a few times to ask first before I schedule, or before I move online appointments to tech slots. I have been trying to do better about that. there was one today that the doctor brought up to me specifically, because it really did end up backlogging her whole day. if I had known that would happen I wouldn’t have moved one of this lady’s two dogs to a tech appointment. this particular client apparently is a tricky one, so the doctor doesn’t entirely fault me for not knowing better, but apparently when this lady brings both her dogs in at the same time they both should be doctor appointments. the one dog just needed a lyme and lepto shot, which can be done as a tech. I swear I asked someone if that was a move I should make, and when I called the owner I swear I asked if there was anything that dog needed to see the doctor for. that’s literally what I ask if an appointment can be done as a tech; “I can move it over, unless there’s something you’d like for them to see the doctor about”. I can’t remember the details of this one though. so maybe I did manage to fuck it up myself.  there was another one they brought up, though, and I can’t for the life of me remember the details of that interaction. I’d have to go into the chart and see what exactly I said. but apparently I’d booked a pet for a tech appointment when the owner had questions about the dog’s teeth and medications and either it’s my fault for not making that an exam because I figured the tech could make a quick determination on whether we should book an exam (stupid idea, now that I think about it, because it could just be an exam??), or because I misunderstood what the owner wanted. I was about to be annoyed that maybe the owner suddenly brought these doctor issues up at her appointment, but I’m sure I wrote a note in the chart about my interaction with her and therefore it’s my fault. one of those is an easy fix. I just need to ask the owner to be clear about what they want. do they want a doctor to look at this? a lot of clients are concerned about the exam fees, and I would be too; especially if I just wanted a doctor to have a quick look at my pet’s teeth and ended up charged $90 for an exam. I might need some clarification on appointments like that. it doesn’t happen often, but I do know I need to do better about knowing what exactly the techs can do and what needs to be an exam. what I need to be insistent on, even if an owner doesn’t want an exam. at what point I should offer alternative options, and what those might be. 
I know the head vet knows I’m trying and knows I mean well, that I want to help people best I can. she’s understanding of my issues with memory and I hope I don’t seem like I’m not trying hard enough to do better. or like I don’t want to. I know these are simple issues and they can be fixed with time and a little more self-discipline and taking the time to step back, even when interacting with clients, look at a chart for a few more seconds, and make sure I’m doing the right thing. but this all still feels shitty.
I think part of my issue is that I really am trying to be more independent at my job. I do have a number of things down pretty well (the doctor and even some of the techs have told me I enter really good, detailed notes about interactions into charts), but obviously there’s areas I can improve on. and in trying to be independent and not lean so much on my co-receptionist with questions about every little thing, I’m apparently fucking up. I know when I need to ask for help, and I try to do that when I know I need it, but some of these things I feel like I shouldn’t need help on. and so I do what I do, and apparently I’m still fucking up. 
like, I know what I have to do. I know there’s phrases I need to practice, like “the doctor is in with a patient right now, can I get a good number for her to call you back when she can?” shit like that. those are minor fixes. the other things, I think I just need clearer guidance on what things need to go what places. we did already have a meeting on that a few months ago, and I was embarrassed then that I knew it was my fault for fucking up on fielding information to the wrong people. I’ve improved, but still not well enough apparently. there are some real grey-area cases that I sometimes struggle with. I might have to talk to my co-receptionist and ask if it’s okay to ask her about them as they come up. I usually do anyway, I think, but ugh.
doc also mentioned that sometimes some people get overwhelmed with so many things in a day, and I’m really not trying to overwhelm people with “what should this owner do” because they’re expecting an answer, but I like to think I’m doing a decent job at balancing cases? if there’s a thing that should be addressed by a doctor that day, I try to put it in the worklist for the doctor that has the least in theirs. I try not to go to the head vet too much unless it’s a particularly difficult client or someone who’s specifically requesting her or something; I know she’s got a ton on her plate and I really don’t want to overwhelm her. but there are times when the other doctor(s) are on the phone or in with a patient and I have no other doctor to go to. I might need to lean more on the techs if I can, let them decide if it’s an issue that needs to go to a doctor. I just don’t like running around looking for the right person to talk to when I have an owner holding on the phone and their pet is having an issue, and I end up getting passed around to multiple people. I also might need to ask the head vet what’s appropriate to put in her worklist, because as far as she’s concerned it’s a dead zone. there’s too many things to get to and she likely won’t see it. I know that urgent things for her need to be written on a sticky note and put on her desk so she knows to get to it, but what things are okay to sit in the worklist? I’m not going to write a sticky note for every cytology result of hers that comes back, but I also don’t want those things to float into the ether where they don’t get addressed.  
as I’m sitting here I’m thinking I might need to come up with a list of things I hear a lot on the phone and make like... a chart or something. ask the doctors questions about what they would ideally like to see as far as information flow, and make a chart for myself of what needs to go where, or what I’m allowed to tell people. like, if a dog’s only thrown up once but it worried the owner, what should they feed it? what answers am I as a receptionist with no medical license and limited experience allowed to give them? what exact questions to ask for what scenarios so I have enough info for the tech or doctor? how urgently does this issue need to be addressed, because sometimes the owner’s tone is misleading or their sense of urgency is bad? what exactly can a tech do and when is it time to hand it to a doctor? (and this one I think I do have a pretty good sense on, but there are a few borderline cases I could use some guidance on without having to put a client on hold and go bother someone to ask). if it should be a doctor visit but the owner doesn’t want an exam fee because someone can just look at the thing real quick, what do I tell them? obviously medical questions need to go to doctors, some tech questions can go to techs, but then what exactly can wait? how long should it be allowed to wait? it really is case-by-case and I don’t want to have to go back to putting everyone on hold and asking someone because I’m not sure; obviously the point is to do my job better. 
I hate that I get involuntarily teary when I talk about my health, but I had to bring it up today. and of course I started crying, and I was like “I don’t even know why I’m doing this”, lmao. I know everyone struggles to remember things but for me this is not normal. I struggle so hard to pull shit out of my brain and it’s so much effort every single day, I’m amazed I get as much done as I do. that I can remember even what I do. I really am trying to work around it, do the best I can with sticky notes, and really trying to listen and commit things to memory. but there’s only so much I can do. it gets to me when things slip through the cracks, and I fear that that’s inevitable, even if I push to work out a better system for myself. I can’t expect perfection, nobody can. but even improving feels like it’ll be a struggle. and it just can’t be. 
I told the doctor about my physical health, how it’s been deteriorating over time and I don’t know what to do. I’ve seen every specialist, I’ve tried different meds, yes I’m seeing a psychiatrist, yes I know I need a therapist and it’s on the back burner for right now because I just don’t have the energy or the money to find a good one. I’ve tried to exercise, I’ve tried to go on walks fairly regularly, I’ve tried to rest up and get my head back on right. I’m just never any less tired and I can never predict what’s going to cause a crash or how bad the crash will be. I told her about how I went on a 2m walk a few weeks ago and crashed so hard I couldn’t move, but then the next week I did the same walk and was definitely tired, but could still sit up. I walked 3-4 days a week last year, 1-2 miles each, and some days I’d have to peel myself off the floor when I got home, some days I’d just need to lie in bed for 30-60 minutes or so until I felt more able to get up and do things. I started crying harder than I wanted to when I told her I had a whole year off of work and thought I would be able to spend that time recovering and I just don’t feel any better. I wanted to go to grad school, but I just can’t make my brain work right and I don’t know if it’ll ever be possible for me. she put a hand on my knee and told me she knew it was hard, and therapy would definitely help with the emotional part of this. and we’re a team, we care about each other and want to help each other do the best we can, so I shouldn’t be afraid to ask for what help I need. I already know that, and I am trying. I think I just need to figure out exactly what I need first. 
she did mention it, but I already know that this is grief. I’m grieving a future I don’t think I’ll ever be able to have, but I’m also trying to remedy it by finding things I can do and letting that be enough. I told her I’ve spent a lot of time alone and needing to force myself into doing things that help me, because I knew that’s just what I had to do. I told her I’m on meds and am doing a lot better than I used to be. she said she’s glad I’m working on it. I am too, honestly. I know I’ve come a long way and I’m really in-tune with myself and my emotions and I know what works for me. I do still deal with some things in unhealthy ways. all the self-loathing I’ve been feeling over this all evening is making me wish I drank, or that klonopin would shut my brain up instead of just fucking me up the entire next day. I just want to forget I exist for a bit. I’m sick of being sick of myself. this is all fixable and I know it, but I’m taking it so hard even though they tried to assure me it wasn’t a bad thing and that everyone has things they can work on. I know that’s the truth. but I still struggle with knowing I’m messing up.
it did help writing it out. I do have to fill out that fucking packet they gave me. but at least working through my thoughts on it now while I’m still kind of upset gives me a better sense of what I want to say. what I can try to do, what I can ask for to help me do better within my limits. 
I know all this, and it still feels shitty. the doctor told me not to go home and beat myself up over it, and I joked oh, I absolutely will. and I am. I knew it would happen. but I also told her that despite hating criticism I know I need it. that’s how you do better. know what you’re doing wrong first. maybe I hate the wrist-slap more than knowing I need to improve. I always think I suck and I’m not good enough at anything or for anything, I always want to do better. I mostly hate how this was brought to my attention. a bunch of things all at once. granted they have brought up individual things to me in the past and I really have been trying to work on them. maybe it slips my mind, I don’t know. I really don’t. I’ve gotten into the habits I’ve gotten into and they just need some tweaking. it’s shitty knowing that people have been talking about me and my performance without me knowing. I hate feeling watched like that, like people have been making mental checklists of the things I’ve done wrong. I know why I needed to hear this. I know all of it. I just hate it.
part of my brain even wants to go to the extreme of “guess I can never do a fucking job because I always fuck something up, might as well either do something completely on my own or just straight-up die bc I’ll never be good enough for anyone or anything” and that’s so shitty because they literally just told me it’s not the end of the world. I’m sure it’d be a fireable offense if it kept happening and I made no effort to fix it but. I clearly want to fix it. I don’t know why I’m just nonstop berating myself and jumping to that nonsense.
even though I got a lot of it out and managed to calm myself down a little, I’m sure I’m going to forget everything I just wrote and have to come back to this a few times so my asshole brain doesn’t spiral again and again. this doesn’t warrant hating myself, and yet here I am. I’m glad they chose to tell me this before I had a few days off to gather my thoughts but I’m also a little upset because I know it’s going to ruin my entire weekend mood-wise. it shouldn’t, but I know it will. I know I’m going to go back in on monday with my tail between my legs. maybe it’ll help to have a plan with what I need and set aside time with the doctors to get that information. I do think I just need a little more clarification on a few things, and if I’ve already gotten it and keep forgetting, I need to have an accessible place for that information so it’s not vanished into the sludge bucket that is my brain. I hate having to ask people to repeat things I feel like I should know. maybe I really am the type of person that needs a step-by-step flowchart kind of deal, at least for the most general of interactions. if this, then do this. if client says this, then say one of these things. I know it’s not always that cut-and-dry, but I do feel like having that at a basic level and then “anything outside this? ask a doctor/tech” would be really helpful for me. I’m not sure if that’s too much to ask. at least until I can manage to get those things habitual enough to not need to consult a reference.
ok I need to stop. the more I keep sitting here writing about it the worse I feel. again. I hate that I can’t stop dwelling on stupid shit like this either. it’s only going to ruin my whole weekend because I can’t just work out what I need to change and move the fuck on with my life.
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garynsmith · 6 years
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Spring Forward: David Smith on building appreciation and trust
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This Spring, Inman is obsessing over helping you to tune-up your listings business with actionable insights, the best advice from top agents and hundreds of helpful stories from all over the world. Interested in sharing your advice and insights with us? Reach out to me at [email protected].
Don’t forget that we’ll also be focusing on how agents and brokerages can all move Faster, Better, Together this July at Inman Connect San Francisco. Not got your ticket yet? Buy it here, and remember that Select members get a $100 discount. Thinking of bringing your team? There are special onsite perks and discounts when you buy those tickets together too. Just contact us to find out more.
Save My Seat for ICSF Now
We recently had the opportunity to chat with David Smith, an agent out of Langley, British Columbia, Canada. David generously shared with us his perspective on how to win listings and how to work effectively with sellers, and he gave us some insights into what he does every day to keep his sales momentum going.
What are the three most effective things you do every day to grow your business?
1. Get face-to-face or “belly-to-belly” with someone. I love hearing people’s stories, what makes them tick, what they’re passionate about, what their struggles are. The fact this occasionally benefits my business is a wonderful bi-product! In a crowded real estate environment, it’s easy for Realtors to become commodified, but our personalities are what really cause us to stand out — nobody can get a sense of who we are if we never sit down with them.
2. I do exactly what my google calendar tells me to do — every day. My schedule tends to develop in the days and weeks prior to the present, so I know each morning I just have to open it up, look at what’s there, and execute on it.
What your lead follow-up is missing
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I also record everything I do as I go, that way I can data mine my calendar to see what’s working and what’s not, both in my business and personal life. At all times, I can tell you how many family dinners and bedtimes I was home for that week, how many work hours I put in, what my weight was doing and how many steps I took daily, among a host of other metrics.
Over time, this helps me track trends, both positive and negative, and allows me to tweak different elements of my schedule to better reflect where I’d like to be.
3. Not to get too “woowoo,” but I do attempt to meditate daily. I tend to be a bit of a people-pleaser and, in spite of my best efforts, I don’t always succeed. That can too often lead to disproportionate worry and anxiety. I’m a baby in this realm, and still depend on a few meditation aids, like the Calm App.
After a few days of meditation in succession I notice a drastic improvement in my resiliency, which helps me continue to focus on the people in front of me in that moment, which is essential in this often stressful business.
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David Smith: The Advocate Agent (Inman Connect San Francisco 2017)
What tactics do you use for driving referrals and winning listing presentations?
I was recently in a listing presentation where I knew I was competing with more experienced, more local agents. Of course I prepared in advance by researching the property and market, which proved beneficial as I presented to the family, but it seems to have been my demeanor toward an elderly relative involved in the transaction that led to my “winning the listing.”
It was important to her that we acknowledge the fact that she had been able to care for her ailing husband until just a few days before he passed away, and she needed to hear if there was a way to market the property to a family in a similar situation.
I had a couple creative ideas that could potentially identify such a buyer, and just this small effort to patiently listen and then thoughtfully respond seemed to make all the difference for the family.
For the most part, our clients want to know less about our awards, marketing strategies and social media influence, and more that we will listen to them attentively and respond thoughtfully. As it turns out, treating clients this way tends to build appreciation and trust, which occasionally “drives referrals” — bonus!
How do you handle working with sellers on pricing?
We’re in a very strong seller’s market up here in Metro Vancouver, with sales ratios often over 100 percent and an average time on the market of one week. In that environment, pricing at or slightly below market value is the ideal strategy as the best price will inevitably be reached in a competitive multiple-offer situation.
Overpricing leads to the home potentially sitting on the market, causing unnecessary concern that there may be issues with the property or that the seller is unreasonable. It may eventually sell, but it will sell for less than could have been achieved by pricing at market value and driving the property into multiples.
Most clients understand this reasoning, but some haven’t sold in a seller’s market before and are used to a buyer’s market with sale prices generally being lower than list prices. Such clients are often concerned they will “have to” accept an offer lower than list price, which simply requires some encouragement that they need not accept any offer, never mind one they are unhappy with.
I usually come prepared with as many comparables and statistics as I can, and often “open up the back end of the MLS [multiple listing service]” on my laptop with the client to show them exactly what those comparables are and where the statistics are coming from.
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David Smith, The Local: Cloverdale Community Kitchen
What’s the best piece of advice you ever heard?
“Unrealistic expectations are just planned disappointments.” This is true both in life and real estate. I tend to be someone with very high expectations of myself and of others, and those expectations often cross the line into being unrealistic. Almost without fail when that happens, I am disappointed and even resentful at times toward others who fail to meet my unfair expectations.
I’m very guilty of not heeding this advice, but when I do, it sure benefits me.
In the real estate world, I remember one client who had been told she could achieve an entirely unrealistic price for her home. The night we signed an offer, which represented a record for the area, I asked her how she felt and her word was “disappointed.” This really saddened me, as we never want to hear that from our clients, but it was based purely on that original unrealistic expectation, and I had to comfort myself with the understanding that those unrealistic expectations were just planned disappointments.
If an agent should stop doing one thing today, what would it be?
Making ourselves the center of attention.
A significant portion of agents are naturally extroverted with more than a touch of narcissism, and I find myself in that breed. One way I’ve tried to combat the shadow side of that personality type is by finding other people and organizations I can wholeheartedly promote. Instead of constantly advocating for myself, I lean toward advocating for others — whether it be refugees, a local community kitchen, the brewery down the street or simply my clients.
It’s not that difficult, it just requires us to look beyond ourselves and to become truly passionate about what others are trying to achieve. Sometimes this even means publicly celebrating another local Realtor for their advocacy work, and doing so without fear that it will somehow negatively impact our business.
I’m so proud to serve alongside some Realtors in my community who are using their platforms to build schools in the Dominican Republic, organize fundraising music festivals, support women’s shelters and so much more. Some days when I’m feeling insecure or worried, this can be a discipline, but with practice it’s become one of the most fulfilling elements of my life and business.
Save My Seat for ICSF Now
Want to connect with David? You can find him on Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat and YouTube.
You can also contact David at his office address:
Royal LePage Wolstencroft, 19925 Willowbrook Dr, Langley, BC, Canada
Email Matthew Shadbolt
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