#everybody ride her just like a bus route

[lovelytsunoda]

crying over it all // clement novalak

summary: there are few things in this world more mortifying than failing your drivers test when everyone else your age has a license. it’s made even worse when your boyfriend is a racing driver

pairing: clement novalak x female reader

warnings: reader fails her driving test, which leads to significant self loathing, clem is just trying to be supportive and god I need someone like him right now

authors note: guess who failed her drivers test 🙃 I’ve rebooked it but now I have to commute by way of three buses to my college campus :( and don't even get me started on field placement...i wish i had never left it this long but at this point i need to trust to process and find some sort of way to move past it.

“I’m sorry, but you will need to retake your road driving test. I understand that’s not what you wanted to hear, but you need some more practice. you can see the full list of mistakes inside.”

it had been twenty minutes since she’s heard those words, and she still felt shaky on her feet. her hands had shook and tears fell down her face as she went inside, taking a number and waiting in a notoriously long dmv line to admit to the woman at the desk that she needed to rebook her test.

she didn’t want clement to see her like this, utterly defeated and trying not to scream her lungs out as she watched four teenagers in line in front of her get their licenses.

she was twenty one, for god sakes. she should have been driving by now.

she was sitting on the wooden bench, slouched I gracefully and letting the tears fall as she played with her car keys when clement found her.

what was the point of even owning a fucking car if she couldn’t drive it?

“oh, love." clem frowned, feeling his own stomach sink when he saw how distraught she was. "i take it that things didn't go well."

"could you tell?" she sobbed, trying to wipe her eyes. "was it that obvious? i hate myself, clement. how is it that i can't do something that pretty much everybody my age has been able to do since they were sixteen."

his heart ached as he heard her words. he'd passed his test on the first try, and he drove things for a living, so he's never really thought about what it must have been like for her, having to bum rides off her friends and family or to be bound to the transit schedule. while she was in college, it hadn't been the biggest deal, although it was a minor inconvenience. now that she would be working full time, the stakes were higher.

"i'm sorry, pretty girl." he frowned, pulling her closer, allowing her rest her head on his shoulder. "but you can take it again, and you know what you did wrong, right?"

"i start work next week, clem. i've looked up the commute and if i take public transit, it's almost two hours each way. and i feel like i'm a burden by constantly asking people for rides, or telling them that if they can't pick me up, we can't hang out. hell, my mother had to drive to my first date with you!"

clem chuckled at the memory, the image of a frazzled y/n stepping out of her mother's suv and frantically scanning the parking lot for clement. moments later, her mother had insisted to getting out of the car and introducing herself to clem. y/n thought that she would combust then and there.

"your mother loves me!"

"yeah, but imagine being a grown-ass adult and still having to get your mother to drive you to appointments because you don;t want to chance the bus route not aligning with your appointment time? i feel like my grandmother, and she's ninety, clement. she had her license revoked because she has cataracts."

"i know it hurts right now, but you are never a burden, y/n. your friends love having you in the car when they drive. hell, i feel like i drive better when you're next to me. i don't mind driving you places, you know. it means that i get to spend more time with you."

she smiled at the gesture, turning to allow clem to cup her chin and wipe some of her tears away. her face was flushed, eyes red and puffy. she couldn't shake the idea that she might have made a scene inside the testing center.

"i know. i just wish i could be more independent. transiting gives me so much fucking anxiety. i went over the curb when i three=point-turned and an old lady on a mobility scooter started yelling at me."

"but you never go over the curb."

"exactly! i think i was nervous, when i practiced the route with my dad, there were never any cars on the road. and i think after that happened, i got into my head and it screwed everything else up. i'm such a fuck up. i feel like i've let everybody down, especially you, since you helped pay for my fucking car."

'"hey, hey, don;t talk like that. you'll get it. i promise you. you know jenson button didn't pass his road test on his first try, right?"

she snorted, sitting up straighter, but still clutching clem's hand. "did he really?"

"yeah, and i think lando failed as well."

"yeah well, i've seen how lando drives. that doesn't surprise me at all."

having a laugh seemed to help, and at least now if people mwere staring at her it was because of the f2 driver sitting next to her, not because she was a grown woman who still couldn't drive and decided to cry about it, and then fling her keys onto the grass.

"i have some plans i might have to move around, and then i need to call my parents, and then my dad can take me out to practice a bit more but i have to trust that when i take it again in october, something goes right. because i know exactly what i fucked up."

she moved to get up from the bench, clm following closely behind as she shamefacedly handed him the keys to her volkswagen. well, the volkswagen now, since she couldn't drive it without someone who'd had their license for five years present.

"i'm proud of you for trying. i know that this was something you put off for a long time because of your anxiety, and even though it didn't work out, at least you tried." clem encouraged, his arms comfortably slung around her shoulders as she laced her fingers with his. "hey, it could be worse. you could have had your dad drive you here."

"clement, don't even joke!" she laughed. "you know that i hate taking transit, and that i don't always feel safe going places alone."

"i know. and if you ever feel unsafe, or too anxious to function, or just like you want to see my gorgeous face, call me. as long as im in the country, i will come and get you. and if im not, i'll send someone i trust."

"like who? max fewtrell? his driving is worse than landos."

clem snorted. "i meant ria. or pietra.

"thank you, clement." she sighed, leaning into him as he unlocked the car. "i love you."

"i love you more, pretty girl." he kissed the top of her head softly. "it will all work itself out, love. just you wait. and then you'll be the one driving me places."

TAGS:

@httpiastri @magnummagnussen @oconso @thatsdemko @scuderiamh @libraryofloveletters @diorleclerc @sidcrosbyspuck @cartierre @clemswrld @love4lando

[mthguy]

“Empire State of Mind” - Jay Z featuring Alicia Keys

Yeah, I'm out that Brooklyn, now I'm down in Tribeca Right next to De Niro, but I'll be hood forever I'm the new Sinatra, and since I made it here I can make it anywhere, yeah, they love me everywhere I used to cop in Harlem – hola, my Dominicanos (Dinero!) Right there up on Broadway, brought me back to that McDonald's Took it to my stash spot, 560 State Street Catch me in the kitchen, like a Simmons whipping pastry Cruising down 8th Street, off-white Lexus Driving so slow, but BK is from Texas Me? I'm out that Bed-Stuy, home of that boy Biggie Now I live on Billboard and I brought my boys with me Say what up to Ty Ty, still sipping Mai Tais Sitting courtside, Knicks and Nets give me high fives Nigga, I be spiked out, I could trip a referee Tell by my attitude that I'm most definitely from In New York (Ay, aha) (Uh, yeah) Concrete jungle (Yeah) where dreams are made of There's nothing you can't do (Yeah) (OK) Now you're in New York (Aha, aha, aha) (Uh, yeah) These streets will make you feel brand-new (New) Big lights will inspire you (Come on) (OK) Let's hear it for New York (You welcome, OG) (Uh) New York (Yeah), New York (Uh) (I made you hot, nigga) Catch me at the X with OG at a Yankee game Shit, I made the Yankee hat more famous than a Yankee can You should know I bleed blue, but I ain't a Crip though But I got a gang of niggas walking with my clique though Welcome to the melting pot, corners where we're selling rock Africa Bambaataa shit, home of the hip-hop Yellow cab, gypsy cab, dollar cab, holler back For foreigners, it ain't fair, they act like they forgot how to add Eight million stories out there in the naked City, it's a pity half of y'all won't make it Me? I gotta plug Special Ed, "I Got It Made" If Jeezy's paying LeBron, I'm paying Dwyane Wade Three dice cee-lo, three-card Marley Labor Day Parade—rest in peace, Bob Marley Statue of Liberty, long live the World Trade Long live the king, yo—I'm from the Empire State, that's In New York (Ay) (Uh, yeah) Concrete jungle where dreams are made of There's nothing you can't do (That boy good) (OK) Now you're in New York (Welcome to the bright lights, baby) (Uh, yeah) These streets will make you feel brand-new Big lights will inspire you (OK) Let's hear it for New York (Uh) New York (Yeah), New York (Uh) Lights is blinding, girls need blinders So they can step out of bounds quick, the side lines is Lined with casualties who sip the life casually Then gradually become worse – don't bite the apple, Eve! Caught up in the in-crowd, now you're in-style Into the winter gets cold, en vogue with your skin out City of sin is a pity on a whim Good girls gone bad, the city's filled with them Mami, took a bus trip, now she got her bust out Everybody ride her, just like a bus route "Hail Mary" to the city, you're a virgin And Jesus can't save you, life starts when the church end Came here for school, graduated to the high life Ball players, rap stars, addicted to the limelight MDMA got you feeling like a champion The city never sleeps, better slip you're a Ambien In New York (Ay, ow) (Uh, yeah) Concrete jungle where dreams are made of There's nothing you can't do (OK) Now you're in New York (Uh, yeah) These streets will make you feel brand-new Big lights will inspire you (OK) Let's hear it for New York (Uh) New York (Yeah), New York (Uh) One hand in the air for the big city (Oh) Street lights, big dreams, all looking pretty (Oh) No place in the world that could compare (Nah) Put your lighters in the air, everybody say "Yeah, yeah" (Come on, come on) "Yeah, yeah" (Come on) In New York (Uh, yeah) Concrete jungle where dreams are made of There's nothing you can't do (OK) Now you're in New York (Uh, yeah) These streets will make you feel brand-new Big lights will inspire you (OK) Let's hear it for New York (Uh) New York (Yeah), New York (Uh)

[my-chaos-radio]

Release: October 20, 2009

Lyrics:

Yeah, I'm out that Brooklyn, now I'm down in Tribeca

Right next to De Niro, but I'll be hood forever

I'm the new Sinatra, and since I made it here

I can make it anywhere, yeah, they love me everywhere

I used to cop in Harlem – hola, my Dominicanos (Dinero!)

Right there up on Broadway, brought me back to that McDonald's

Took it to my stash spot, 560 State Street

Catch me in the kitchen, like a Simmons whipping pastry

Cruising down 8th Street, off-white Lexus

Driving so slow, but BK is from Texas

Me? I'm out that Bed-Stuy, home of that boy Biggie

Now I live on Billboard and I brought my boys with me

Say what up to Ty Ty, still sipping Mai Tais

Sitting courtside, Knicks and Nets give me high fives

Nigga, I be spiked out, I could trip a referee

Tell by my attitude that I'm most definitely from

In New York (Ay, aha) (Uh, yeah)

Concrete jungle (Yeah) where dreams are made of

There's nothing you can't do (Yeah) (OK)

Now you're in New York (Aha, aha, aha) (Uh, yeah)

These streets will make you feel brand-new (New)

Big lights will inspire you (Come on) (OK)

Let's hear it for New York (You welcome, OG) (Uh)

New York (Yeah), New York (Uh) (I made you hot, nigga)

Catch me at the X with OG at a Yankee game

Shit, I made the Yankee hat more famous than a Yankee can

You should know I bleed blue, but I ain't a Crip though

But I got a gang of niggas walking with my clique though

Welcome to the melting pot, corners where we're selling rock

Africa Bambaataa shit, home of the hip-hop

Yellow cab, gypsy cab, dollar cab, holler back

For foreigners, it ain't fair, they act like they forgot how to add

Eight million stories out there in the naked

City, it's a pity half of y'all won't make it

Me? I gotta plug Special Ed, "I Got It Made"

If Jeezy's paying LeBron, I'm paying Dwyane Wade

Three dice cee-lo, three-card Marley

Labor Day Parade—rest in peace, Bob Marley

Statue of Liberty, long live the World Trade

Long live the king, yo—I'm from the Empire State, that's

In New York (Ay) (Uh, yeah)

Concrete jungle where dreams are made of

There's nothing you can't do (That boy good) (OK)

Now you're in New York (Welcome to the bright lights, baby) (Uh, yeah)

These streets will make you feel brand-new

Big lights will inspire you (OK)

Let's hear it for New York (Uh)

New York (Yeah), New York (Uh)

Lights is blinding, girls need blinders

So they can step out of bounds quick, the side lines is

Lined with casualties who sip the life casually

Then gradually become worse – don't bite the apple, Eve!

Caught up in the in-crowd, now you're in-style

Into the winter gets cold, en vogue with your skin out

City of sin is a pity on a whim

Good girls gone bad, the city's filled with them

Mami, took a bus trip, now she got her bust out

Everybody ride her, just like a bus route

"Hail Mary" to the city, you're a virgin

And Jesus can't save you, life starts when the church end

Came here for school, graduated to the high life

Ball players, rap stars, addicted to the limelight

MDMA got you feeling like a champion

The city never sleeps, better slip you're a Ambien

In New York (Ay, ow) (Uh, yeah)

Concrete jungle where dreams are made of

There's nothing you can't do (OK)

Now you're in New York (Uh, yeah)

These streets will make you feel brand-new

Big lights will inspire you (OK)

Let's hear it for New York (Uh)

New York (Yeah), New York (Uh)

One hand in the air for the big city (Oh)

Street lights, big dreams, all looking pretty (Oh)

No place in the world that could compare (Nah)

Put your lighters in the air, everybody say

"Yeah, yeah" (Come on, come on)

"Yeah, yeah" (Come on)

Songwriter:

In New York (Uh, yeah)

Concrete jungle where dreams are made of

There's nothing you can't do (OK)

Now you're in New York (Uh, yeah)

These streets will make you feel brand-new

Big lights will inspire you (OK)

Let's hear it for New York (Uh)

New York (Yeah), New York (Uh)

Al Shuckburgh / Sylvia Robinson / Alicia Augello-cook / Bert Keyes / Shawn Carter / Jane't Sewell / Angela Hunte

SongFacts:

👉📖

[thessalian]

Thess vs the 168 Bus

Quite apart from worrying about the truly ugly state of the world at the moment, today’s commute was a fairly large slice of hell.

Something’s been going on with the 168 bus to Hampstead Heath. As in, one won’t show up for, like, half an hour no matter what the live-update system says. Two days in a row now, I’ve ended up at the very start of that bus route, waiting, while the live-update system said that the bus was due for twenty minutes before it deigned to show up. Hasn’t been great going the opposite way either, but at least then it’s not a “late for work” thing.

So anyway, today I got on the bus fairly late, but since I arrange things so I get into work early, I figured I’d be okay.

Except then there was an ambulance blocking the bus lane somewhere around Holborn. Which, y’know, shit happens, but still aggravating, especially when the traffic’s bad and none of the drivers will allow the bus to merge into the one remaining lane just long enough to get around the ambulance. Because no, that would be civil.

Then there were the roadworks around Russell Square. Again, single lane, no one letting us merge... By the time I got as far as Euston, it was 10:55am, I already knew the bus would be on diversion around Camden High Street because Thames Water has apparently decided to rip up all the streets at once, and honestly, much as I didn’t want the expenditure of the Tube, I wanted to be as close to on time as I could and avoid this traffic bullshit. So I got off at Euston to catch the Tube.

I forgot a few things about Euston. Like, how it’s a pretty big station, both on the horizontal and vertical planes. And of course, the platform I wanted was down, like, three escalators and across the station from the entrance. And then I had to get off at Belsize Park, which isn’t particularly step-free on the underground levels (at least it has elevators), and then walk the quarter-mile to work on top of all the other walking I had to do. Which was slow going because I already hurt like you wouldn’t believe.

So I got into work twenty minutes late, aching and frustrated. Thankfully, no one made an issue of it - I guess when you routinely get in 10-15 minutes early, you can be forgiven for lateness of that type. Besides, everybody knows what public transport is like.

One good thing - we’re slightly less understaffed now. The elderly lady who always tells me I’m looking well no matter how shit I actually feel came back! Apparently she was away so long because of a couple of slip-and-fall accidents immediately after a pretty bad case of Covid, so it’s not surprising she’s been away so long. No word on the lady away for maternity leave, though. And honestly, Scruffman’s starting to piss everybody off with his lack of communication. I’m used to Temp sounding off about him (and she definitely had every right to today, since he apparently threw her under the bus when someone complained about one small, easy-to-miss transposition error in a bit of typing, when she’d been basically perfect for an entire year and didn’t deserve what the complainer was saying), but Milady? I have never heard Milady go off like that before. Anyway, we’ve made a reasonable dent in the backlog to the point where we actually got to some of today’s typing today. Though I have discovered that while Temp is at least easing off the “Leave all the long shit for someone else to deal with” bullshit, Goblin has taken up that mantle with a vengeance.

Anyway. Got through the day, was looking forward to just having a nap on the long bus ride from Hampstead to Elephant and Castle, where I switch buses on the way home. And, just as we hit Euston, we get the recorded announcement of, “Destination change. Please listen for further announcements”.

Oh fuck, think I.

Then we get the ‘further announcement’, to wit: “168 ... to ... Russell Square”.

Russell Square is only like two stops from Euston. So basically we were going to be thrown off the bus sooner rather than later. Which ... well, fuck, here we go again. Given my options, I thought I’d cross the road and go over to Euston bus station, where I could get a 68 either to Elephant and Castle or just off to Tulse Hill where I could get a different connecting bus home. Except when I got there, the bus had just left the station and was on the main road, waiting at the intersection. The next one wasn’t supposed to come for another fifteen minutes, so I had a snack and considered my options.

When I was done with my snack, the bus still had not moved, nor had any of the other traffic at that intersection, which indicated an accident or other road-closing situation. I considered the rest of my options and, with a grumble and a sigh, went back to Euston for the Tube.

Euston’s bad enough to navigate as a station. Elephant and Castle is worse. There are two separate entrances for two separate lines - I mean, you can access both no matter which line you took, but if, say, you travelled there on the Northern Line but wanted to leave via the Bakerloo Line entrance because that’s closer to your bus stop (and the stop you could use that’s nearest the Northern Line entrance is shut for yet more fucking roadworks), you have to walk through the station to the Bakerloo Line platform - again, long hike plus stairs - to get to the right elevator to get out.

And by the time I’d done all that, I was tired, in serious pain, and had missed my bus. Thankfully another wasn’t too far behind, but still. This was shit I did not need.

I don’t know what I’m going to do about the 168. If it keeps being unreliable like this, how the hell am I supposed to get to work? I can’t just leave a half-hour earlier. I might as well not be part-time at all if I do that. The Tube is expensive and I hate it, and I don’t like relying on the Overground because they’re always involved in the strike action (I support the strike; I’m just not going to be a scab). They really need to get a move on with this work from home thing.

[wander-over-the-words]

Random silly question..what’s it like in the UK? 😃

It’s. nice? I mean I like it lmao. I’ve never had any plans to move elsewhere in the world (or in the country really) cause I’m perfectly happy where I am. 

But UH to be more specific! I can’t speak for the entire UK, obviously, but the part where I live is. satisfyingly in the middle of ‘in the city’ and ‘in the country’. It’s ‘in the city’ enough that anything we could really need isn’t at all far - got the essentials like schools, a hospital, a GP, fire station, entire streets of shops, even got a goddamn crematorium, and then the more entertaining stuff like parks, cinema, bowling alley/arcade, takeaway places, all that sort of stuff, and they’re all a short distance away. But it’s also out of the city enough that there’s just. space y’know? We don’t get the hustle and bustle of traffic, there’s tons of room for especially dog owners to take their pets cause all the parks are massive, and nothing really. happens around here, heh. I hear the occasional shouting from people in the street (either happy drunk shouting or loud argument shouting; I won’t try and claim everybody around here is super chill or ‘we all know each other’ or anything like that), but we rarely ever have anything ‘big’ happen around here. 

Not to mention, where I live is just easy to be in. It’s not uncommon to go out and for there to be next to nobody else in the street. Easy to navigate and find things you need. Lots of buses have routes through the place, so, hey, if riding on the trademark double decker buses is at all an appeal of being in England to you, well *gestures to the bus stop* there they are lmao

It’s worth mentioning that London is. ehhhh nrgnrng. Like I do get why people go there, especially since it’s the Big Guy in terms of locations in England, but personally? Meh. London’s just very…busy. Everything’s expensive, it’s noisy, it can be a BITCH to navigate, and - in my opinion - it just feels…claustrophobic. Not to mention, London at night is like. borderline dangerous ngnrgnr. I don’t mean to discourage anyone from going, but London just ain’t for me, personally

HOWEVER, there are still locations in London that are pretty cool. If you go there for anything, go there for the theatres. I won’t lie to you; I dunno how it is elsewhere, but theatres in London are known for being aahhhh pricey, especially when it comes to stuff you can buy in there (eat before you go, and bring water), but there’s lots of cool theatres in London and they sell awesome merch for the plays you go and see (my favourite hoodie is the one my mama bought me when she went to see Wicked with her sister). The Globe and the O2 are obviously big names amongst them (and are cool af; I’ve been to both), but my favourites are the Hammersmith Apollo and the Shaftesbury Theatre. Have some good memories of those places.

(Special mention to the Shaftesbury for having a pop culture shop around the corner from it that has. fuckin anything comic book fans could ever need like holy shit. Has an entire floor dedicated to printed comic books and another dedicated to the merch. I could’ve spent hours in there if Mum and I didn’t have a musical to go and see)

And as much a reputation as the River Thames has (because, yes, the water isn’t great; people are trying to work on it), it really is nice to just sit and chill by it, and there’re plenty of places in London to do that. One of my favourite memories with my friends is when we sat on a small hill by the Thames after going to the Tate Modern (art museum), ate pizza and just talked for ages. Was a very calm time.

But, hey, if more ‘touristy’ things appeal to you, you can always listen to Big Ben once they finish up fixing everything in the tower (Big Ben, by the by, is the bell; Elizabeth Tower is the clock tower it’s in) or go on the London Eye or into the Shard. If you’re scared of heights, ahhhhh don’t go on the London Eye or into the Shard nrgnng

Weather-wise: obviously, we have a reputation for it being very. rainy in England, but honestly? It’s not that bad. If anything, it’s just cloudy more often than most, but it’s not like we frequently have the ‘dark storm clouds’ or anything like that. Still bright out. And maybe it’s because I’ve lived here all my life, but the weather is perfect for a guy who in a game of Would You Rather would say he prefers to be cold than hot because yeah England is rarely hot. It’s why those heatwaves took us the fuck out.

Our summers - not counting the most recent one - can be pretty bad by our own standards, but they’re manageable, and nice to people who look forward to em. Winters are pretty harsh when it comes to temperature; we used to get pretty deep snow when I was a kid, but nowadays we more often get just. slush and ice and sometimes hail. The wind can get pretty bad some years too - we’ve had it knock down trees and one time it destroyed the fence between us and our neighbours. But, again, it’s all manageable. Floods are really the only natural disaster we get, and even then, I’ve never experienced one; we don’t get earthquakes and we’ve had like two hurricanes in the last three decades or so (which lemme tell you, for someone with a fear of natural disasters, is fuckin great). 

The part of England where I live is, unfortunately, one of those that doesn’t really get stars. I’m lucky if I look up and see the smallest lil dots of stars at night, but I still enjoy the atmosphere that nighttime around here gives me. It’s cool and quiet. Most noise you'll hear is maybe the odd get-together in a neighbour's garden, and even that's the soft beat of whatever music they're playing and the distant chatter. Can sometimes hear owls hooting from the park nearby. There’s something very comforting about the glow from a bus at night, when it’s opening its doors to let people on.

But, uh, yeah! That’s what it’s like in my neck of the woods, at least c: We definitely have our problems over here (*SIDE EYES OUR GOVERNMENT REAL HARD*), but I’ve honestly never rly wanted to live elsewhere. Maybe it is just because I’ve been here since I was born, but it really is just kinda. perfect for me, y’know? c:

[geminiamethyst]

Skyline Gang: Trial of Darkness. Chapter 11

Chapter 1: click HERE

Chapter 10: click HERE

Chapter 12: click HERE

It took about two weeks for everything to be put together. It turned out that the Gang were allowed to leave the Skyline to go travelling. It wasn’t uncommon for it to happen. The previous Skyline Gang also travelled a lot. They would get inspiration and even based their shows based on all their travels. What they need to do was give notice and temporarily hand over the Skyline to the Redcoats to take care of everything. They needed to give a reason. They just said that they needed new ideas for a show. They couldn’t exactly explain the full reason. There might be a panic. Funding? Turns out that’s taken care of too. Whatever money came into the Skyline was split evening between two different accounts. One for the upkeep of the park and staff pay, while the other was funding for travelling. When everyone found out how much was in there, they believed that they could travel the entire world on one trip and still have some money left over. And passports? In a surprising twist, after snooping around the house, Pip was able to find passports for everyone. Even Rainbow and Misty had their own passports. Stroke of luck? Or was it the magic of the Skyline? Maybe the Gang will never know. The only thing that took time was getting tickets for an immediate as possible flight.

During those two weeks, Bud worked hard to build a vessel to carry the Sceptre of Shadows in. With a lot of materials that he was able to acquire, it was trial and error. If Dude or any of the others were to carry it, they can’t risk getting affected by it. Thankfully, all that hard worked paid off. Whenever Dude held it, he wasn’t affected. Same rang true for everyone else. If customs asked what it was, he’ll just say that it was a prop that they were returning. It wasn’t technically a lie, but he desperately hoped that there wouldn’t be any further suspicions. There didn’t appear to be any time crunch. That had to be a good sign, right? This “darkness” was probably still coming, building up like a bottle of fizzy drink ready to explode. This bomb won’t stay unexploded forever.

Everyone was ready when the time finally came. It just took Mimi some convincing to not pack the equivalent of a high end shopping mall. Essentials only. Not the amount that she had originally tried to bring with her. It was ridiculous to say the least. Thankfully as the time got closer to the time to leave, the less of a fight she put up. In the end, she miraculously ended up having to take the same amount as everybody else. The flight would be long, so everyone made sure that they were prepped for sitting still for the equivalent of twelve hours. Again Mimi kicked up a small fuss about not sitting in first class, but given the urgency of the situation, she quickly surrendered in that fight as well.

Misty, much to everyone’s surprise, behaved on the plane. If anything she was just looking around curiously and even paid attention to the safety talk. It was her first time on a plane, so no one decided to question her. The only trouble she caused was messing around with Sprout’s movie when he used the seat screen in front of him. Dude quickly put a stop to that, which thankfully was enough. Misty remained to be curious and even watched the world outside the window. Nothing eventful happened after that. Just a peaceful flight.

The bus ride from the airport could’ve been better. At least they’ve arrived to where they needed to go. Or at least close enough. No direct route to the temple, but this small village will do for the time being. Just a quick stop. Pick up what they need. Then go into the jungle. That’s the plan at least. Non perishable food? Check! Extra water? Check! Rainbow being found after he ran off when the bus stopped? Check! Trying to pull Mimi away from the market and stop her from buying unnecessary stuff? Erm…not quite…

Map? Not yet either.

Bud did calculate a general area for the temple, but it’s still a wide area. Better get a map that might have a more definitive location, otherwise the Gang will be stumbling through the jungle forever. The Gang had split up. One half search one part of the market, while the others check the other side of it. They meet in the middle and hopefully have something worth while. Dude split off with Pip, Misty and Sprout. Meanwhile Rainbow followed after Bud, Candi and Mimi. Dude carried the Sceptre for the time being. It was strapped to his rucksack, with Pip keeping an eye on it in case someone got too curious about it. As much as it would affect him the most, he’d rather be the first to catch it until he couldn’t anymore. Bud’s container worked like a charm for now, but there was no way to tell if it’s permanent. For the time being, look around, get any last minute essentials, and stay out of trouble.

“Uh oh…I smell trouble.” Pip announced suddenly, pointing at something. Dude whipped his head around and let out a loud groan.

“Sorry, that might have been me.” Sprout added cheekily before he was suddenly abandoned by Dude and Pip as they went to the chaos. He looked around and chased after them. He let out a loud groan as well once he saw the trouble. Misty was arguing with an elderly man. He looked to be another vendor but he was haggling with Misty about something in Spanish. Meanwhile Misty was shouting at him that she didn’t understand what he was saying and to speak English. This only caused the man to shout at her even more and the cycle just repeated in five seconds flat.

“You little-” Misty shouted, looking like she was getting ready to punch something.

“Misty! That’s enough!” Dude scolded, pulling Misty back immediately. He carefully pushed her towards the others, acting like a barrier between her and the man. The man meanwhile continued to shout obscenities in Spanish.

“He’s the one that started it!” Misty hissed, her voice barely heard over the Spanish. This was starting to get nowhere. Dude decided to take charge again, calmly turning to the man. He kept his hands up, keeping his posture steady.

“Señor, cálmate.” He suddenly spoke up. This caused the man to freeze mid sentence. He wasn’t the only one that was surprised. Sprout had his jaw dropped so much that it might as well be hitting the floor. And Pip and Misty were scratching their heads in disbelief.

“¿Sabes español?” The man asked after recovering from his shock.

“Sí, puedo hablar español.” Dude replied, keeping his voice as calm as he could. “Pido disculpas por mi amigo. Ella no lo sabe mejor.”

The elderly man looked up and down at Dude, still in disbelief as to what he was hearing. Given how rude Misty was to him, Dude could understand that. The faster he can find out what Misty did, the easier it might be to fix her mess. And the second that mess was cleared up, they can get back on track to finding a map of the jungle and possibly a direct location to the temple.

“Dude!” Sprout exclaimed, grabbing Dude’s shoulder.

“What?” Dude asked as he was turned around.

“I’m going to ask this as calmly as I can here: since when do you know Spanish?!” Sprout shouted, flailing his arms around like a windmill.

“That’s you being calm?” Pip grumbled, looking at Sprout disapprovingly.

“My dad’s side of the family came from Mexico. I learned from them.” Dude shrugged, not seeing what the big deal was. His attention was broken when the elder tapped his shoulder. Both proceeded to have a conversation in Spanish. It started with the man gesturing to Misty and going back on a tangent, while Dude tried to calm him down as best he could. He made a subtle gesture to Pip. If Misty was around and ready to start up drama, it would be best to get her away from the embers before she burns them again.

“Let’s just let Dude handle this.” Pip reasoned, recognising the signs thrown at her and gently pushing Misty away. Sprout was quick to follow. Dude spared a quick glance at his friends before he refocused his attention back to the elder. They continued to speak, and once they were out of earshot, Pip started to hiss at Misty. “And you promised to stay out of trouble.”

“I was!” Misty protested.

“Then what was that?” Pip asked, crossing her arms. Sprout was standing behind her, trying his best not to laugh at Misty’s misfortune. If he was caught, he’d be in the doghouse too.

“I don’t know!” Misty exclaimed, shrugging so hard that she almost fell over. “I was just walking around, minding my own business, and then the geezer just started shouting at me!”

“Did you try to take something from his stall?” Pip asked, raising her eyebrow.

“No! Honest! I wasn’t doing anything!” Misty shouted, face turning a little dark. Pip increased the gesture twice over as she stepped a little closer to Misty. It made her falter a little bit. “I mean, I might have picked something up, but I put it back when he started shouting at me. I didn’t know what he was saying so I shouted back. That’s when you lot showed up.”

Okay, so Misty probably touched something that she wasn’t supposed to. And there was a language barrier that neither party could settle on a treaty. Deciding that it was hopeless to say anything else to Misty, Pip turned her attention back to where Dude continued to speak to the old man. Now the man was much calmer and appeared to be a bit more understanding. After a minute, Dude made a couple of gestures but with his back to them, the others couldn’t make out what his body language was stating. The man looked calm to scared in almost a two seconds flat. Dude continued to try keeping him calm. This didn’t feel good. Did the elder know something that they don’t? Maybe he did…

After a couple of minutes, the old man slumped a little. Had he given up? He turned back to his stall, beckoning Dude to follow. Anticipation rose as the three watched. This might be promising. Excitement rose a little bit as Dude was handed something and he made a thankful gesture to the man. The elder didn’t respond in an all too positive manner. He waved Dude off as he seemed to ask a couple, more questions. Not wanting to accidentally repeat Misty’s mistake, Dude quickly said goodbye and jogged back to the three waiting for him. He had something in his hand that continued to look more promising.

“What did he say?” Sprout was the first to ask.

“He better have an apology!” Misty interjected.

“He gave me this map.” Dude explained, ignoring Misty completely. Unfolding the map, Dude showed a portion of the jungle that they would be going in. There were different branched paths but there was an X that appear and to be miles off the beaten path. “He said that the temple should be right here where he marked it. He must’ve known about the Sceptre because when I asked him more about it, he looked absolutely terrified. He warned us not to go but…”

“We need to return that thing…where…” Sprout said before growing pale. Dude felt a chill run through his spine. He checked the case. The lid was off and it was empty. Ignoring the bad feeling lingering over them, Dude, Pip and Sprout looked around in a panic. If someone had stolen it, maybe they can catch them. They had to before something terrible happens. Thankfully, they found it right away! In Misty’s hands! How did she grab it so quickly?!

“Misty, give it here!” Dude shouted, snatching the Sceptre from the girl’s hands. He bit back the feeling he got as best he could. He really hated the feeling this relic gave him. He was so quick to shove it back in the case that he nearly dropped it. “We can’t let people see it!”

“I don’t see what the point of that is.” Misty shrugged carelessly. Why can’t she take things seriously for once?! At least her actions didn’t draw any attention from the people around them. It could’ve been a whole lot worse.

“The less people see it, the less of panic it could cause.” Pip tired to reason. Misty only responded by poking her tongue out. She’s not going to change her mind over not causing trouble anytime soon. Pinching the Sceptre at whatever chance she got was her favourite pastime. There’s no way that she was going to change her mind over it.

“Let’s go find the others. The sooner we find them, the better.” Dude sighed, just wanting to move on from this. He really can’t wait to get this weight off of his back. Once this is over, things can go back to normal. Who knows? Maybe it’ll lead to a clue as to how they can go home at last? It was something to be hopeful for. Even if they don’t have a way home, at least this “darkness” that the Sceptre warns about won’t be coming.

“¿Señor?” A voice called out. The four turned to see the old man coming towards them again. He looked calm, but there was something else about him. Did he see the Sceptre after all? Misty was quick to run off, getting away from a potential round two of a shouting match. Sprout ran after her, hoping to keep her from causing any more trouble in the market.

“¿Sí?” Dude responded. The old man pulled he down a little before whispering in his ear. Pip wouldn’t have known what he was saying anyway, but telling how Dude’s eyes went a little wide and he looked a bit ashamed spoke volumes. When he was let go, her friend just had a bit of a shaky response to give as he started to back away a little. “Comprendido. Le pasaré el mensaje. Que tenga un buen día, señor.”

“What did he just say?” Pip asked once she and Dude were a good distance away.

“Something I dare not repeat in English.” Dude replied, wincing a little as he recalled what was said to him. “All I can say is that it’s about Misty and her attitude.”

[emcant]

Rambling through the avenues of time

Thanks for the attention, in advance.

Going to SoCal in a few weeks because my hometown best friend's mom is getting married, so Hometown Best Friend, who currently lives in Asia, will be over for a long while. The county fair is on and neither of us have been in a decade or more, and we're planning some smaller cornball stops around LA. Partying like it's the 90s boiiii

I love a train and an excuse to read for hours, so normally I love the trip down there, but this time I'm absolutely dreading it. We grew up in a relatively sizeable suburb that peaked as a 1950s surf town. I didn't really realize how big it was until just this week, when I looked at the route map and saw all the nothing surrounding it. I always felt so isolated out there: the nearest other "cool spots" (read: larger towns than ours) are all a good hour away, and no matter how you travel to them, you get to look at mostly empty fields for the majority of the trip.

When I was a kid, I always imagined all the blank spots along the freeway filled in with a rainforest. I was a deeply introverted baby conservationist and that was the exact flavor of life I wanted to be surrounded by. Now I live in a much larger city with housing almost constantly in my line of sight, and I find that extremely comforting. Signs of life! Friends, maybe! I'll never meet most of the people living here, but I have this exceptional urge to protect them, based on this singular thing we have in common. I've apparently been craving neighbors to ride or die for, sight unseen, this entire time.

And I guess I'm kind of afraid of stepping away from them, even for a little while. In between the infrequent gorgeous ranch that's probably fully dependent on migrant labor, I'm going to see a ton of mid-sized shopping centers that I know are inaccessible without public transit. I don't want to be neighbors with people who would scoff at taking a bus; who consider it shameful to not have a car, house, recent phone, etc, but not shameful to use public storage and outlet malls; who are too paranoid to even occasionally walk to get their necessities. Yes, the farms self-sustain, to a certain degree - but the ability to "disconnect" like that smacks of privilege to me now.

I'm admittedly making a lot of assumptions, but I grew up mostly around the type I just summarized. I don't think I like that part of the world anymore. The land and the glimpses of the ocean can be gorgeous, but they damn sure don't make a place seem welcoming. Cities aren't for anybody until they're for everybody. Seeing CenCal and SoCal from the freeway is like peeping over the fences of an endless chain of gated communities.

So that's the shot, and the chaser is:

All the media I cling to as an adult has something that makes me feel like I'm literally there. I'm not going to shut up about Opal anytime soon because I jump every time I see Claire trying to wriggle out of her mom's grasp. I'll also probably never shut up about BTAS because I grew up with at least one parent with NPD, and that particular Joker doesn't crush it so much as he runs it through a hydraulic press.

When I Make It, I hope I capture the isolation I've been talking about. Boyfriend's been saying "alone in a crowd", but that's not quite it. It's more like getting out into the open world to realize that it's almost completely blank. The Allegory of the Cave, but it's actually a space capsule, and once you escape, you find yourself floating in the void. But with none of that imagery, of course. It'll be white walls and concrete and a constant cool fog that neither touches the ground nor lifts. While everyone you know tells you what a privilege it is to live somewhere warm and colorful and sunny.

My version of hell, crafted with love for the people who see it and say "same".

[hpoxfordprogram]

A Helluva Good Time

~by Brendan Coyne      

Throughout my time participating in the Oxford Program I had an astounding amount of learning experiences both inside and outside of the classroom. I could never have imagined that I’d get the opportunity to learn and interact with so many cultures and people in my life. These experiences taught me so much and I believed that I’ve come out of this program a more wise and mature person. Some of my favorite parts of these globally engaged experiences were getting to eat traditional and local cuisine, making new friends both in and out of our travel group, and being blown away by such beautiful cultural and historic sites.

       Getting into it let’s start with a wonderful globally engaged experience I had during the travel portion. While the travel portion is amazing, one of its caveats is how structured our schedule is. From concerts to museums to check-ins and check-outs we are on a very tight schedule. Within this restriction though, we found ways to maximize our free time to visit beautiful historic and natural sites that we weren’t in the itinerary and find wonderful restaurants through recommendations. For specifically the restaurants, they often felt like a treasure hunt because on most occasions they took a lot of time and effort to get to, but the treasure was always delicious. One of these occasions that sticks in my mind the most is from when we were in Rome. We had received a recommendation from our Italian professor from her friend, a Rome native. All we got was a name so we plugged it in our maps and went on our way. Rome’s public transport system was our first hurdle and the heat made it even worse. Our last bus even stopped in the middle of its route for some reason, and we had to walk the rest of the way. Instead of the big city we were now walking through a residential area with kids playing soccer and people buying groceries. Luckily along the way we found an adorable, fluffy white dog that we politely asked to pet and were allowed to. Once we got there we were exhausted and we just wanted to eat. The restaurant seemed very local, like a “mom & pop” style place, and we were not met with very much enthusiasm. After we were seated, it naturally it took a while for us to finally order and get our food because European service is much slower and more lax compared to the States. We all had to order in Italian too because the waiters and waitresses barely spoke any English. After all the trials and tribulations, when I finally put a fork-full of spaghetti carbonate in my mouth and took a sip of my white wine, it was worth it. Both were incredible, like an oasis after an hour of dredging through the desert. Unsurprisingly, everybody else enjoyed their meal as well and we all said “grazie” when we left to show our gratitude and appreciation. Through this experience I was humbled and learned the importance of politeness and respect for the customs and language of other cultures. When we entered the restaurant, I immediately lowered my tone and opened up my Google Translate app to read the menu and learn how to say what I wanted to order. To this day, it was one of the best meals I ever had.

       Next I’ll go over a great experience I had during the Oxford portion. One of the greatest aspects of the Oxford part of the program is that you do not have class on Friday, which gives you the opportunity to plan and go on weekend or day trips to travel around the U.K. or fly to a country or city you may not have had the chance to visit during the travel portion. On one of these trips, a couple of friends and I went to visit Cardiff, the capitol of Wales. The train ride there was like any other going through the countryside of the U.K., that being very pleasant. Once we got to Cardiff we first went a pub for lunch, where we learned an interesting little tidbit about the Welsh vernacular. When the Welsh are referring to what Americans and other English speakers would call a pickle, they call it a “gherkin.” We got to visit the Cardiff Castle and courtyard and Bute Park right beside it which were magnificent and beautiful respectively. After that, we decided to take a detour to Cardiff Bay to see if there was anything fun to do there. Much to our surprise, when we got out of the taxi we laid our eyes upon a fair. This fair had everything you’d expect prize games, small-scale thrill rides, a fun house, and a Ferris wheel to top it all of. We had such a great time trying out all of the fun activities. It was a really great thing to see that even though this program allows you to see so many different things throughout the ridiculous amount of unique places, there are still so many similarities so that you can feel a little bit at home even when you’re so far away.

       If you are considering taking on this program in a future summer, which I strongly recommend to everyone capable of doing so, here are some small tips that might prove helpful. First, is to know about and get comfortable with public transportation as fast as possible either before or at the very beginning of the travel portion as that is how you’ll likely be getting from place to place. Second, is to try and plan for free days and weekend trips as far in advance as possible, the price and availability of travel tickets and event/site tickets both skyrocket and plummet respectively the longer you wait. Thirdly, I’d recommend you order or have a credit card that works broad, typically Visa or Mastercard, because many other cards that would normally work fine in the U.S. do not work at many places abroad, and it’s also a good idea to find a bank or currency exchange location with a low fee for places that only except their local currency in cash for payments. And lastly, if it was not obvious in the previous stories, EXPLORE! while staying safe of course. So many of my favorite moments of this program occurred in places I never would have expected.

[eurekq]

i really vividly remember listening to empire state of mind by jay-z during grade school P.E. but whenever i go back and actually listen to it im always just like... how did they even censor this for five year olds. or did my pe teacher really just give absolutely no shits

[blackfemmecharacterdependency]

We’re Not Friends 01

Idek where I wanna put this. It was gonna be part of a bigger story, but idk if it'll fit, and also, don't write as much without a laptop. So, I guess for now, it's just an Hournite drabble.

Edit: It's now a series called We're Not Friends

First Day of High School!

Beth took several photos with her parents and made a few collages of them, including the breakfast she'd made this morning and all of her brand new fun and funky school supplies! She even had a fresh helmet for the journey on her bike, as she was now going to be allowed to go on her own, instead of being dropped off.

Her father had insisted she rode the school bus, but her mother agreed with her that she was old enough to ride the bike and through a tight lipped smile and clenched teeth, added, "It'll be good for her to do more on her own." James rolled his eyes, but Beth knew that he had to concede. 2 against 1, after all. Besides, if it was too tiring or something, she could always have the option of the bus.

She had practiced the route over the summer, anyways. A few times with James tailing, just in case and a couple of times on her own when her mom was supposed to be shadowing, but work stuff came up. Beth felt pretty secure on the trip to school.

Whenever she got there, she went to the bike racks to secure her bicycle. A few upperclassmen in letterman jackets were leaning against them and didn't seem to be leaving any room for actual bicycles. One boy rolled up, looked at the boys taking up space, exchanged uneasy looks with Beth and decided to just lean his bike near the racks and go. She frowned. She'd hoped that he'd be the one to ask them for room, but guessed not now.

"Hi!" She said. The boys didn't hear her. She tried to squeeze through, sliding her bike into place and one of them finally noticed and moved aside, wordlessly as she secured her bike. "Thanks," she cheered. He didn't hear her. She shrugged and moved on.

There were a few kids she recognized from middle school that she didn't know well enough to go stand with, a few she was a little terrified of, and a few that she thought might be her friend, if she went to say hello. She was wrong. At best, they said "hi," awkwardly and then proceeded to ignore her presence and at worst, well.. a couple of kids laughed in her face.

Jenny Williams even asked, "Didn't you upload photos of your parents this morning?" earning cackles that were much more potent than Beth felt like that question warranted.

Beth headed for the entrance, and saw Joey Zarick, surrounded by kids and talking. She opted out of saying hi. If the nicest boy she'd ever met was mean to her this morning, she might just cry. Better to recalibrate and hopefully say hi to him later. Luckily, the bell rang.

She rushed inside and made her way through her requirements. She had gone through the early option of having her ID, schedule, etc already, and was finally able to get to her locker. It was a bottom locker, which wouldn't be so bad, but the boy uptop was leaning on his and talking to a group of girls and didn't seem to hear her try to excuse herself or notice her trying to open it beneath his butt.

By the time he got out of her way, she checked the time and just knew she'd be late to first period. Rick Harris was across the hall, observing. He shook his head and kept going. What was THAT about? What was she supposed to do? Fight a kid for being in her way? Everybody isn't a ruffian, Rick! Why was she having a mental argument with Rick Harris? For all she knew, he was shaking his head about something totally different.

She enjoyed classes, at least. Her morning teachers seemed nice, and she had gotten a good seat everywhere but homeroom, because she only JUST made it. The only available seat was in the back… next to Rick. She sighed and took it as the bell rang. The teacher noted that all students should be IN class and seated at the start of class. She felt attacked, but swallowed it down and hid it behind an apologetic smile.

The smile faded as the teacher turned her back to write on the markerboard and Beth noticed that Rick was vandalizing the desk with a knife! That went against two blatant school rules already and at least one criminal act. She covered her mouth with both hands and he looked up at her.

"Is there a problem, Ms. Chapel?" The teacher asked. Beth lowered her hands and attempted a lie, but the teacher had already noticed and snarled, "Mr. Harris! They TOLD me about you…" moments later, Rick was removed from the class and Beth felt awful. Sure, he shouldn't have been doing that, but she didn't mean to get him in trouble. He'd hate her, probably.

Lunchtime rolled around. Beth saw Joey again and this time made her way towards him. "Joey, hi!" She called. He smiled brightly and waved. "Can I sit here?" She wondered.

He looked at the seat next to him, "Oh, I'm sorry, Beth. I told someone that I'd save them a seat…" and in the time frame it took for his friend to join, other kids that she'd seen around him early had settled too.

"No prob! See you later!" She said with her heart hammering away.

She found a table that was empty, and called her mom, but soon, a few of those bicycle rack boys came over and took the spots. It was too loud to keep talking to Dr. Chapel, so the woman encouraged her to talk to them and ended the call

They weren't mean to Beth, but they weren't talking to her either. It got uncomfortable and she got up to move. The seat was immediately filled.

Beth looked around and most of the tables were full and teachers were helping students find some of the seats at mostly full tables. Beth noticed that there was one that nobody was going to. Rick was sitting there. He wasn't eating and the principal was standing near it, eyeballing him. She wondered if he was on some type of restriction, but went to the table anyway, since Principal Bowen didn't seem to be stopping her and she just wanted to eat, now.

"Sorry about this morning…" Beth started.

But Principal Bowen quickly told her, "He's not allowed to chatter at lunch today." Rick hadn't turned his eyes from the table top anyway.

Beth stared at him as she ate in silence. He looked so angry and she just hoped it wasn't directed at her...

[ladykissingfish]

Driving with the Akatsuki

Itachi

Driving with this guy is ... nerve-wracking, to say the very least. It’s not as though he’s a reckless automobile operator; he observes all the laws of traffic, the radio is at a reasonable volume ((he’s the type to listen to podcasts rather than music)), he follows the speed limits, he actually slows down at a yellow light — but it’s the near-misses that are daunting. The just barely stopping in time before hitting the old lady crossing the street. The running up on the curb while parking. And then there was that incident with the tree — Itachi legally has to wear glasses when driving, but his passengers often wonder whether the glasses actually HELP him. Even with them on, he squints A LOT. And only someone with nerves of absolute steel, like Kisame or Kakuzu, will be in a car with him at night. However he is with driving, one thing he’s not blind in, is his car’s cleanliness. Will make passengers wipe feet before getting in, and after everyone is gone he’ll carefully scour the seats to remove even the faintest trace of lint or gum wrappers or any disturbance at all. Can be a bit of a “mom” driver; a holdover from his teenage years of constantly having to chauffeur around his younger brother and his brother’s rambunctious friends.

Kakuzu

Anyone getting into a vehicle with Kakuzu is in for a surprise. 91 years old? Surely he drives slow and steady, like a typical little old man, right? WRONG. Kakuzu is a goddamn speed-demon. He barrels down streets, he flies through intersections. Not many know this about him, but he was very much into drag-racing as a (much) young(er) man, and his current proclivity for quickness is a holdover from those days. Luck always seems to be on his side, as he’s gotten caught/received speeding tickets far less than he deserves. To make matters scarier, Kakuzu’s radio system has been broken for two years (and of course he’s too cheap to get it fixed), and the back left window doesn’t roll up to the top; so the only sound his passengers will hear is the wind rushing past the glass and Kakuzu’s deep, sinister chuckles as he sees other drivers (and pedestrians) scramble to get out of his way. Also, unless you’re a CLOSE-close friend, don’t expect a ride from him unless you have gas money.

Deidara

In all honesty, the blonde prefers to be the passenger rather than the driver, even in his own car. He gets his best inspirations for future art pieces when he’s traveling around, and it’s hard to pick up a sketch book when you need to be paying attention to the road. When he does have to be behind the wheel himself, he’s a fairly average driver. His passengers are always at risk of a case of auditory whiplash, as Deidara’s (loudly played) music tastes switch from one extreme to the other; and the guy isn’t exactly shy about singing along to his favorites. He’s also one of those eat-on-the-go guys, and his backseat will almost always be buried under a myriad of candy wrappers, empty plastic soda bottles and discarded burger wrappers. In the summer he prefers the wild and free feeling of having all the windows down, rather than turning the AC on, and he’ll have to remember to firmly tie up his long hair and keep it from blowing in his eyes or else everyone in the car will be taking an unscheduled trip into the nearest tree.

Zetsu

His car always has that calm, natural, “special plant” scent to it. The kind of smell that causes a panic when Zetsu sees a police officer anywhere in the area. A very relaxed driver; seat almost all the way back, one hand barely on the steering wheel. Obeys the speed limit but can put the pedal to the metal when in a hurry. Likes to listen to mostly reggae or jazz, and taps his fingers on he dashboard along to the beat. Water-bottle hoarder; has at least 1000 plastic water bottles, in varying staging of fullness, all over the front and back seats. The type to keep driving around the block until the song ends. Also the type to have really deep conversations with his passengers, and drive them out to really far away and scenic locations.

Hidan

If you have somewhere important to go, and need a ride, it’s best not to ask Hidan. He is the sort who always insists he knows a shortcut or a quicker route to every destination ... and ends up hopelessly lost. Can’t read a map to save his life and for some reason won’t trust a car’s gps system to guide him ((has some pretty crazy conspiracy theories about the voice behind the system)). Easily distracted by any and everything (both inside and outside of car), which makes being his passenger a bit daunting. Like Kakuzu, is a very fast driver, but infinitely more cautious as he has a LOT of tickets wracked up and isn’t looking to add more.

Really loves Led Zeppelin and Johnny Cash; has a visor full of those CD’s and will play those rather than listen to the radio. Also has a butt-load of swear word laden and inappropriate humor bumper stickers.

Pein

Who needs a car when motorcycles exist? This guy has a classic hog that he keeps in mint condition, that he rides around wherever he goes. Every year he’ll try and convince his close friends to ditch their boring cars for something more sublime, only to be met sure emphatic No’s each time. Is very protective over his baby and will go ballistic over even the tiniest nick or scrape. Drives at a normal speed when by himself, but will drive just a bit faster when carting around a friend (especially if it’s a female friend). Doesn’t really like to wear a helmet himself but will insist on any passengers putting one on. Prefers the quiet of the open road but if in a musical mood it’s always 80’s hair bands; a lot of Def Leppard, Quiet Riot, Van Halen. Can do a variety of tricks on his bike but doesn’t do them often as he doesn’t like to “mess up” his baby any more than necessary.

Sasori

Absolutely 100% HATES driving. Has massive anxiety anytime he has to get behind the wheel, almost to the point where he’d need to take a sedative just to relax. Drives slower than the slowest driver you can think of. Yellow light? Slow down. Green light? Still slow down. Will drive himself to and from work, but any other time would prefer being a passenger in someone else’s car ((in which case he becomes the worst backseat driver in history)), or simply taking the bus. Doesn’t like giving rides to others but if he must, it’ll be a very tense, silent drive (forget about him turning on the radio and ‘breaking his concentration’), and he’ll freak out if a passenger takes their seatbelt off before the car comes to a complete stop. Also has a hyper-awareness to anything that might possibly be wrong with his car; if that check engine light comes on you can bet he’ll be at the mechanic in a heartbeat. Also the type who feels “uncomfortable” if gas tank is below 3/4 full.

Konan

The type who’s always heading somewhere/running errands, and will ask if you need a ride. Very neat and organized car, and always suspiciously shiny (as if she visits the carwash every other day). Seems to know absolutely everybody; is always waving at or honking to people in other cars. Keeps the radio volume down when she has passengers, but when alone she loves to sing at the top of her lungs to 90’s boy bands (her rendition of I Want It That Way by The Backstreet Boys is American-Idol worthy). Is always prepared for anything, especially in the winter; in her trunk is a shovel, an extra blanket, water bottles and protein bars, even emergency flares. May be pretty and delicate but definitely knows her way around a car; can change a tire or check the oil with the best of them.

Kisame

Has very long legs, so needs a car or truck that provides him ample room to stretch. A very relaxed and mellow driver, always puts whoever’s with him immediately at ease. Doesn’t use air fresheners in his car but inside always smells like whatever his cologne is, which is always yummy. Gets a lot of fast-food but always keeps the bags and wrappers stored neatly in a little garbage bag that he empties out daily. Will let his passengers do pretty much anything in his car EXCEPT smoke; he can’t stand the smell of tobacco. Isn’t really a Point A to Point B driver; will always think of other places to stop or visit en-route to his destination. Big fan of Musical music; his all-time favorite cd is the soundtrack to Grease. Also (when by himself) is a car-emoter; Kisame doesn’t let most people see anything but his cheerful side. Bring alone in his car is the only time he’ll cry, or scream, or express anger regarding events or people.

Obito

The type of driver who very often spaces out and “forgets” that he’s driving. Prefers traveling more with animals than with people; most likely to take his dog on a weeklong broad trip. Has been a smoker since his teenage years but is trying to quit, so in his car is the only place he “allows” himself a cigarette (but only when he’s completely alone). Almost started a fire once when he threw a still-lit cigarette out the window, but it flew into the backseat instead. Drives fairly slow unless he’s in a hurry for something (but even then his foot doesn’t press the gas pedal THAT much harder). His musical tastes depend on his mood but whatever he ends up listening to is always car-shakingly loud. Seems to have a new (and interesting) trinket hanging from his rear-view mirror every week. The kind who drives around for several days with his gas tank close to/touching on E because ”he knows his car, it’s fine”.

[rmbabydoll]

Dastardly Dating Chapter 3: Their Song

This was another favorite chapter to write. Songfics can be superfluous when the lyrics take up space, but I can’t help but love them! Enjoy!

Gentle and La Brava were in the kitchen, washing the dishes after lunch. Gentle was washing and rinsing while La Brava was drying and putting away the dishes.

Music on Pandora was playing on a Bluetooth speaker on the table.

They were discussing their escape plan for their latest caper.

“So if we take a shortcut near the store, do you think we can hide out on the 1 o’clock bus towards the opposite route?” La Brava asked.

“Absolutely!” Gentle exclaimed. “The authorities wont bother to look for us if we head to the next town over from the scene of the crime.”

La Brava nodded at his explanation.

“We’ll probably be out for hours before we can head back home.” She pointed out.

“Not to worry. There are several shops that way so we can occupy our time with some shopping and grab something to eat.” Gentle explained.

“Hmm, hijinks and a date? Sounds like a busy day.” La Brava considered.

“I hope you don’t mind.” Gentle told her.

“Not at all! Any time with you is quality time I spend with you.” La Brava teased, mimicking his words from their first date.

Gentle smiled and kissed her cheek.

Ba da bum bum Ba da bum bum

Stand by Me by Ben E. King started to play in the background. Noticing the song playing, Gentle took the dish from her hands, placed it away and lifted La Brava up in his arms.

When the night has come,

And the land is dark

And the moon,

Is the only light we see

La Brava squealed in surprise. Gentle had her place her hand on his shoulder and her other hand in his free hand. They began slow dancing in the kitchen even though she was suspended in his arms.

No, I won’t be afraid

No, I~ won’t be afraid

Just as long as you stand

Stand by me

“I love this song.” La Brava said softly.

“Me too.” Gentle responded softly. “Surprising how most covers I hear of this songs are pretty good.”

“I know!” La Brava replied. “Imagine Dragon’s version is pretty nice. Along with Prince Royce’s!”

So darling, darling stand by me

Won't you stand by me

Just as long as you stand

Stand by me

Gentle spun them around. That’s when La Brava had an idea.

“We need a song!” She exclaimed.

“A song?” He asked.

“Yeah, a song to call our own.” La Brava clarified.

Gentle let her down as she grabbed her phone to search YouTube. As she clicked a video, Hamilton started to play.

Ooo-oo-oo I do I do I do~

“Oh this is a good one!” La Brava remarked as she sang along.

Boy, you got me helpless~

Gentle started to laugh as La Brava started to dance as well.

Look into your eyes and the sky’s the limit, I’m helpless~

Down for the count and I’m drowning in it

“I like it!” Gentle exclaimed. “Let me choose a song.”

Gentle chose a random video and dramatic instrumentals started to play.

Saaayy you’ll share with me one love, one lifetime~

Gentle lip-synced dramatically, making La Brava laugh as well.

Say the word and I will follow you~

“Very nice.” La Brava commented. “I got another one!”

La Brava searched for a new song. “How about “The World will Remember Us?”

The song started to play as La Brava lip synced and moved with the song.

No need to rush! Everybody gets our autographs.

"Hell of a Ride!" Will be the words on our epitaphs.

La Brava pointed to herself and Gentle for the next lyric.

Two livin' legends, that's what we will be.

And thats okay with me!

Every place that we go, folks will turn their heads.

They'll be hollerin' from Dodge to Denver.

We are the pair that they'll discuss.

Yes, this world will remember us.

We are makin' dang sure that we leave our mark.

You don't leave your mark by digging ditches.

No wonder we're who they'll discuss.

Yes, this world will remember us.

This dag world will remember us.

This cold world will remember us.

No way they won't remember us!

“I like that song!” Gentle praised.

“It’s from a Bonnie and Clyde musical.” La Brava explained.

“Very appropriate for a criminal duo like ourselves!” Gentle noted.

“Uh-huh! Though sad to say it does end with their infamous deaths.” La Brava lamented.

“Well, I suppose you have to end the show with a bang.” Gentle joked.

La Brava gave a slight laugh.

“Do you have any other suggestions?” Gentle asked.

“Oh yeah.” La Brava piped. She searched for another song and found “I’ll cover you” from RENT.

I've longed to discover

Something as true as this is

So with a thousand sweet kisses

(If you're cold and you're lonely) I'll cover you

With a thousand sweet kisses

(You've got one nickel only) I'll cover you

With a thousand sweet kisses

(When you're worn out and tired) I'll cover you

With a thousand sweet kisses

(When your heart has expired) I'll cover you

Oh lover, I'll cover you, yeah

Oh lover, I'll cover you

“Very sweet.” Gentle commented.

“Yeah, I cried so much during the reprise when he was singing for Angel.” La Brava said, starting to feel a little down.

“Let’s try another one.” She said quickly as the next song played on Autoplay.

Because you matter to me

Simple and plain and not much to ask from somebody

You matter to me

I promise you do, you, you matter too

I promise you do, you see?

You matter to me

“Kinda somber but nice.” Gentle said thoughtfully.

“It’s sung by a man and a woman who are having an affair.” La Brava clarified.

“Oh...” Gentle noted, leading to an awkward silence for the moment.

“You know, why don’t we move away from the show tunes and look for a different song?”

La Brava hastily tried to pick another song but Autoplay chose something else.

Celine Dion blared on the speaker.

You're here, there's nothing I fear

And I know that my heart will go on

We'll stay forever this way

You are safe in my heart and

My heart will go on and on

Gentle let out a laugh at the dramatic lyrics and instrumentals being played on the speaker.

La Brava immediately stopped the song playing.

“I...think that should be enough today.” She said as she headed to the living room to go work at the computer.

Gentle’s laughter started to subside slowly as he watched La Brava walk away. His brow furrowed as he started to realize she was upset, following her to the living room.

“Hey…” Gentle muttered as he grabbed her hand and led her to the nearby sofa. “What’s wrong? I thought we were having fun.”

“I am!” she tried to assure before pausing. “I was... It’s just the stories behind the songs made me feel...sorta sad.”

“La Brava, they’re just songs.” He reassured her. “Our lives don’t coincide with the characters from those musicals.”

“I know, but...it just gets me thinking that maybe they’re trying to tell us something.” She confessed with hesitation.

“Like what?” He asked.

“That maybe we won’t last long.” She muttered.

Gentle was taken back by her revelation. “La Brava, you don’t think—”

“What if something goes wrong during one of our sprees? What if one of us gets seriously injured? What if you…don’t want me anymore?” La Brava rambled.

“That is…many what ifs you’ve determined.” Gentle said carefully.

La Brava looked down to avoid eye contact with Gentle.

Gentle took a moment to process before speaking. “May I say something?”

La Brava nodded

“You are being very unfair.” He told her pointedly.

“Unfair? I am not!” La Brava denied.

“Yes. You are. You are jumping to conclusions about our relationship when it has barely begun.” He rebutted with slight annoyance.

Gentle gave a deep sigh.

“Honey, I wish you would give me a little more credit than that. You know how I feel about you, and I won’t cast you aside so easily. Nor do I plan to.” He continued, pulling La Brava into his arms. “No amount of melodramatic melodies will change that.”

Despite being held in his arms, La Brava shifted so her back was facing Gentle in his embrace.

They stayed silent, still relaxing against each other until Gentle spoke up.

“Would you like to hear a song I chose?”

“What’s it from?” She asked.

Gentle paused. “...Dear Evan Hansen.”

La Brava sighed softly in exasperation. “Gentle...”

“Hear me out.” He assured her. “I’m aware it comes from a very somber musical…”

Seriously, why are so many of these musicals so sad? He thought to himself.

“But this bittersweet song is something I want you to hear.” He continued as he searched his phone for the song to play on their speaker.

Piano music started to softly play before Gentle started to sing along, looking forward and holding La Brava.

I don't need you to sell me on reasons to want you

I don't need you to search for the proof that I should

You don't have to convince me

You don't have to be scared you're not enough

'Cause what we've got going is good

Gentle held La Brava closer, taking a breath during the next set of lyrics.

I don't need more reminders of all that's been broken

I don't need you to fix what I'd rather forget

Clear the slate and start over

Gentle looked down at La Brava with a soft smile, placing his hands over her ears. She looked back up at him.

Try to quiet the noises in your head

We can't compete with all that

He then went back to holding her.

So what if it's us?

What if it's us

And only us

And what came before won't count anymore or matter?

Can we try that?

What if it's you

And what if it's me

And what if that's all that we need it to be

And the rest of the world falls away?

What do you say?

La Brava gave a small chuckle and decided to sing along as well.

I never thought there'd be someone like you who would want me

Gentle smiled as she turned towards him, hugging him and continued to sing.

So I give you ten thousand reasons to not let me go

A slight break in her voice appeared, singing the next lyric.

But if you really see me

If you like me for me and nothing else

Well, that's all that I've wanted for longer that you could possibly know

From there, they let the song play out as is as they got and resumed their dance from earlier, with Gentle lifting La Brava in his arms.

It'll be us

It'll be us

And only us

And what came before won't count anymore

We can try that

You and me

That's all that we need it to be

And the rest of the world falls away

And the rest of the world falls away

The world falls away

The world falls away

And it's only us

The song ended and Gentle sat back down with La Brava.

“You want to know what I think? We don’t need a song. We need a playlist!” Gentle announced. “Clearly, our magnificence cannot be constrained to one song! We require a series of songs that match with our brilliance...and our feelings for one another.”

“Well, other than “You Matter to Me”, I think all the songs we heard were pretty good.” La Brava considered, beaming and feeling much better.

“Even “My Heart will Go on?”” Gentle inquired.

“Maybe.” La Brava replied. “You gonna hold me like Jack did when he and Rose stood at the front of the Titanic?”

“I could, but it might feel more like when Rafiki held Simba at Pride Rock.” He teased.

“Gentle!” La Brava shouted.

Gentle laughed as he shielded himself with a pillow as La Brava tried to hit him with her small fists.

It’s the Circle of Life~! He sang.

“You are so mean!” She exclaimed amused and indignantly.

“Can you feel the love tonight?” Gentle asked teasingly.

“No, because I have a rude boyfriend!” La Brava shot back with a laugh and slight snort.

“Well, know that he loves you very much.” He said lovingly, touching her cheek with his hand.

La Brava started to tear up a bit before smiling and going in for a kiss.

“Where words fail, music speaks.”—Hans Christian Anderson

Previous Chapter Next Chapter

[atlanticcanada]

Nova Scotia taxi driver leaves $1.68 million to local hospital in his will

It was no surprise that beloved Antigonish, N.S., taxi driver John MacLellan gave what money he had to the local hospital in his will, family friend Margie Zinck said.

"But we were very surprised by the amount," Zinck said, reached by phone Wednesday at her home in Antigonish, in the province's northeast.

MacLellan, who went by Johnny, left $1.68 million to St. Martha's Regional Hospital, marking the largest single donation in its history.

He spent 63 years as a taxi driver in Antigonish before retiring at 89 after a stroke. MacLellan was always frugal, Zinck said, adding that she believes he made some of his money in the stock market.

"He always kept saying he'd leave a lot of money to the hospital; he was always saying that," Zinck said, adding that she never imagined how much money he would give.

MacLellan died in 2018 at age 96, and he gifted $1.68 million to the hospital in increments spread over several months. The hospital received the final payment from MacLellan's estate in June 2021. The generous gift was only made public earlier this month, however, when the St. Martha's Hospital Foundation released a video tribute to MacLellan.

Foundation chair Meghan MacGillivray-Case said her group didn't realize the true size of the donation until it received the last payment.

"We are so very grateful to John MacLellan," she said in an interview Wednesday. "It's just so impactful to the community here."

Zinck said she met MacLellan when she was 13 years old. He worked most of his career for Zinck Taxi, the company owned by the father of her husband, Donald Zinck. She said MacLellan drove her and a few classmates to school before there was a bus route.

"He was very kind and he always talked to us," she said. "He'd find out everything about everybody. He'd find out where you came from and who your parents are."

Zinck said it was well known that MacLellan loved being a taxi driver and took pride in doing the job well. "I think he knew most of the history of Antigonish and people's problems."

Residents in the community knew they could call him for a ride, she said, even if they were without money. He would often help his riders bring in groceries and offer a hand in whatever way he could, she added.

MacLellan joined Zinck Taxi in 1946, and for years after it got rid of its uniform for drivers, he stood out among his colleagues because he continued to wear the company-issued blue driving cap and personalized belt.

"He was more like family," Zinck said of MacLellan. "And I think Donny, my husband, always thought of him more like a father figure."

Zinck says the pair, who went by Donny and Johnny, remained close friends throughout their lives. She and her husband found out about the generous donation before Donny died in January.

"I'm sure my husband is smiling down because he really wanted to make sure Johnny got recognized for this."

The $1.68 million has been put into an endowment fund that will be used to purchase new hospital equipment and for medical training. The palliative care unit where MacLellan spent a short period of time before his death has been named the John MacLellan Palliative Care Unit.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 21, 2022.

from CTV News - Atlantic https://ift.tt/lDq5Mcj

[ofstarsandvibranium]

Save A Spot For Me

Fandom: Marvel (College AU)

Pairing: Bucky Barnes x F!Reader

As requested by anonymous: Bucky Barnes x reader where he always saves a spot for her in their one uni class and everyone noticed and ships them

You: sooooo...here’s the thing..

Bucky: late again.

You: yup. save a seat for me?

Bucky: of course

You: 😁 thanks!

Bucky shakes his head with a fond look on his face. He pulls open the door to his next class, one that you share with him. When he entered the lecture hall, there were already a few students in their preferred seats. 

Bucky made his way to one of the middle rows, choosing a seat for him and then proceeding to place his things in the seat beside him, a place for you. As he dug out his supplies for the class, his buddy, Sam, waltzed into the room, heading straight for the seat next to Bucky, the one he was saving for you. 

As soon as Sam grabbed for Bucky’s bag, he was stopped, “Hey, hey! Woah! That’s Y/N’s seat!”

Sam snorted, “And where’s Y/N right now?”

Bucky shrugged, “Said she was gonna be late.”

Sam shook his head, “Snooze, you lose!” he proceeds to move Bucky’s bag to the floor and sits in the seat that was preserved for you.

The brunette frowned, “You couldn’t have just sat in the other chair beside me?” with a shake of his head, Bucky moved his things to the other chair next to him. He then pulled out his notes and began to read the content from last lecture. 

Soon enough, more and more students began to file into the hall. Whenever one would come up to Bucky, they’d ask, “Y/N’s seat?” to which he’d give them a sorry look accompanied with a nod. However, many didn’t seem too upset. Oddly enough, people would smirk at him or give him a knowing look. 

“Why are people looking at me weird whenever I say that I’m saving a seat for Y/N?”

Sam chuckled, “Probably because we can all see how much you like her?”

Bucky scoffed, “What? No! I-I don’t like her! We’re just friends!”

“Mhmmmmm, keep tellin’ yourself that, man,” Sam gave a looking showing that he was unconvinced by Bucky’s words. 

Bucky frowned. He opened his mouth to retort, but was interrupted when Professor Coulson entered the room. His mouth shut immediately and he picked up his pen, ready to take notes. 

____________

You absolutely hated living off campus. Well, no, that’s not entirely true. Living off campus meant you didn’t have to deal with the RAs, campus police, annoying floor mates, sharing bathrooms with 50+ people, etc. You had more privacy, a bathroom you had to shared with 3 people, and amazing roommates. The downside was not having the convenience of being closer to your classes. Instead, you had to take the bus to campus and the bus was never reliable. Like today. The bus driver decided to take a different route to the college than the usual and it’s going to make you late. Again! This will be your fourth tardy to class and you’re really hoping Coulson doesn’t rip you a new one in front of everybody. 

At least Bucky said he’ll save you a seat. He’s a nice person like that. A nice person with gorgeous blue eyes, a beautiful smile, soft chocolate brown hair-UGH! Get it together, Y/N! You can’t crush on your friend like that. Was he a friend? You don’t really hang out outside of class. And you two usually only text about school. Maybe he’s not a friend then. But you’d like to be his friend...maybe more. 

The bus finally arrives to campus and you mutter, “Finally!” under your breath as you practically hop off the vehicle and run towards the lecture hall. You’re twenty minutes late. 

You head towards the back door of the lecture hall, slipping in as quietly as you can. You look down to see Bucky and you tip toe over to his row, whispering apologies to the students you pass. Bucky spots you and shoots a smile, removing his bag from your spot. You’re grateful that Coulson’s back is to you as he’s drawing a graph onto the board. 

Just as you’re about to sit down, Coulson calls out your name, “Y/N, you know the rules.”

Everyone’s eyes turn to you, staring expectedly. You sigh, straightening your form as you stand, “I’m Y/N L/N and I’m late because my bus driver thought it was a good idea to take a different route to campus, which made me twenty-five minutes late to class.”

Coulson nodded when you sat down, “Alright. Now as I was saying-”

You drown out Coulson’s voice as you hurriedly open your notebook to write down all of the notes he’d put on the board. When he begins to erase them, you open your mouth to tell him to wait, but Bucky’s hand lands on your arm. He scribbles down something at the corner of his page. You lean in and read it:

Don’t worry. You can copy my notes later. ;)

Your shoulders deflate with relief and you mouth, “Thank you,” to him. 

He shrugs and mouths back, “You’re welcome,” then goes back to writing out his notes. 

After class, Coulson calls you up to his desk and you feel yourself tense as you approach, “Yes, sir?”

“So, I hate to do this, because you’re actually a really great student and you’re doing so well in my class, but I do have to give you a warning that if you’re late again, that’s an automatic absence.”

You nod understandingly, “I know, sir. I don’t mean to be late, you know. It’s just the bus-”

“I understand, but why doesn’t your boyfriend give you a ride?”

You look at him confusedly, “Boyfriend?”

“Barnes,” he says with a smirk, “The guy who always saves you a seat and secretly gives you heart eyes whenever you speak up in class?”

You honestly didn’t know what to say to that, “O-Oh, uh, Bucky and I-”

“Babe, you ready to go?” you look to the door and see Bucky’s head popping in. 

“Uh, yeah?” you say unsurely. 

He nods, “Let’s go then! Sam and Steve are waiting for us so we can head to lunch!”

“O-Okay!” you say and shoot a nervous smile to Coulson, who’s practically beaming at you. You wave at your professor and exit the lecture hall. 

You then frown at Bucky, “Why’d you do that? Now he thinks we’re dating!”

He chuckles, “You make it sound like a bad thing.” you follow him as he continues to walk towards the cafe, “Besides, you don’t wanna embarrass the guy, do ya?”

You snort, “Why not? He embarrasses me all the time!”

“Which is you fault, by the way,” Bucky says with a pointed look.

You feign offense and point a finger at him, “It’s not my fault and you know it, Barnes!”

_______________________

The day after that, you get to campus early, as you told Bucky via texting him a selfie of you on campus. He proceeds to send you a selfie back showing you he’s already at the hall with a seat saved for you. 

He waits patiently as you make your way over, doodling in his sketchbook yet another picture of you. So deep into his doodling, he doesn’t notice one of his classmates settling in the seat next to him, until another classmate from behind speaks up. 

“Hey, blondie! You better take a different spot! Barnes doesn’t like anyone else sitting next to him other than his tardy girlfriend!” 

Bucky grunts in dismay when he realizes Brock Rumlow, the campus asshole, is speaking. He looks over his shoulder with a frown, “Shut up, Rumlow, before you dumb down everyone’s IQ!” he then turns to his classmate with a sorry expression, “Sorry about him...Sharon, right?”

She nods, “Yeah, and sorry. I didn’t know this was Y/N’s seat. I usually sit up front, but my neck is starting to hurt since he’s been using the overhead lately. I’ll move down a seat.”

“I really am sorry.”

She shakes his head, “Don’t be. I think it’s cute that you do that for Y/N. You really like her, huh?”

Bucky feels his face start to heat up, “Well, uh, yeah.”

“You guys would make such a cute couple. You should ask her out! In fact, bring her to movie night that my sorority is holding for the school! It’s a thriller movie so if she gets scared, you can hold her and stuff.”

He nervously chuckles, “Yeah, I’ll, uh, I’ll think about it.”

“I hope you mean about the movie and not asking her out. Because you should definitely do it,” she sends him a wink and then moves down a seat. 

A few minutes later, you burst into the room, earning a few playful hollers and applause from some students. You take a bow and then continue to climb the steps towards your seat. You carefully place a coffee cup onto Bucky’s desk, “Here.”

He takes it with a scrunch of his nose, “What’s this for?”

You settle in your seat and gave a shrug, “I mean, you save me a spot for every class. You don’t have to, but you do. So thanks for saving me the effort of looking like a dumbass for searching the room for an empty spot.”

“You’re welcome, but it’s not a big deal.”

“Still. I wanna thank you.”

“While I appreciate the coffee, maybe you can thank me another way?” he then slaps himself on the forehead, “Wait! I just realized how that sounds and that’s not what I meant!”

You throw your head back with a cackle, “I didn’t think of it that way at first, but now that you pointed it out, yeah, it sounds wrong.”

Bucky groans, “Sorry. Sorry. Anyway, what I meant was that...maybe you wanna...go on a date sometime?”

“S-Sure!” you say surprisingly. 

“Great!” Bucky says with much relief, “I hear there’s a movie night comin’ up. Wanna go?”

“I heard it’s a scary movie so I’ll definitely be covering my eyes for most of the film, but sure.”

“Don’t worry, I’ll hold your hand and protect you if need be,” he says with a smirk. 

“HALLELUJAH! PRAISE THE LORD!” a booming voice echoes throughout the lecture hall. All eyes land on Sam, who’s standing on the other side of Bucky. He cups his hands around his mouth and hollers, “LADIES, GENTLEMEN, AND THOSE IN-BETWEEN, JAMES BUCHANAN BARNES HAS FINALLY ASKED Y/N L/N OUT!” students from all over the room burst into applause and cheers which makes you and Bucky want the ground to open up and eat you both. 

[czec-hoslo-vak-ians]

This episode is definitely in my top 7 of the season

Michael and Maria💜

Scene goes👽

When it shows just a bus like that or one vehicle it means that the people inside are up to no good. Isabel upset destroying a race of people buyt where they really people though? Max knows something else is bothering Isabel show the bus again not a good sign. Hey we haven't seen Valenti in a few episodes. It's nice to see him just hanging out with his son we haven't had a father-son moments in a while. Valenti wanted to eat it he was looking forward to it Kyle turning to mush and sent it back into the water. That's right Liz is back to working at Cafe now. Well you can clearly tell that that glow stick does not belong on that billboard it looks out of place however since it glows it kind of looks like it belongs. That's kind of creepy when your mom vanishes like that in front of you however it's a great way to get out of talking about something you don't want to talk about. I would be freaked out to if I hit a carriage like that and there was no baby inside and saw a lawn mower going off by yourself with no one riding it( Maria hitting the baby carriage reminds me of the scene in speed where Sandra Bullock hits the baby carriage because she couldn't stop and it was just filled with cans). Totally knew that bus has some shady people on it. They are definitely the reason why all humans are gone.

Of course the sheriff would definitely know that the green stick didn't belong in the billboard. Kyle's dad definitely know that Kyle's changing sometimes the mumbo jumbo he does need to lay off a little bit his father has a point. Courtney really say their lives and copper Summit? I mean all she did was just destroyed the other husk. It seems like Michael and Courtney are getting a little bit too close for comfort.

I wonder why the skin Maria held up didn't disintegrate but anytime anybody else held up the skin it disintegrated really quickly. I really like how Isabel went to try to console ways and of course Maria standing next to Michael side. I do not like the fact that Max grabbed Tess away from Courtney like that however I do not blame test for being upset at Courtney she does seem a little shady that again Tess seems a little shady too so. Did you see how fast Michael jumped to Courtney's defense saying that she's on our side now. There is no freaking way all of them fit into that tiny bathroom. I do guys say test probably has the coolest power that she could make them think what they need to think. That is gross Nicholas eating someone else's bitten in food and drinking out there cup. I think Nicholas knows that something is not right with that mirror. Max consoling Tess rubbing her back like that not a fan of it. You can totally see that Liz saw Max rubbing her back I think that's why Liz left.

Max gift guilty and wants to consolas however the flashbacks keep running in his face her and Kyle together. You can tell that Max is debating if he should help Courtney or not. I love how Isabelle pushes Michael and max out of the bathroom door cause they are Just watching them strip Courtney's clothes off. I don't play Maria for having all those those because she's right she was dating Michael Guerin. However last episode she referred Michael as her boyfriend this episode it's past tense. Why is Michael so worried for Courtney this is unlike him to be worried about somebody.

I don't blame Tess for being suspicious of Courtney, after all she is somewhat the enemy. I've never seen Liz so worried about her parents before this is the first time she's actually seem like he cares for them and she says our friends most of her friends are in that room is that bathroom the only friend that really is missing is Alex so why is she really so upset?. Thank goodness Valenti to the rescue, if it wasn't for him Liz would have been a goner. Wow the Skins can fight pretty good it seems like they don't die easily.

Well now we know how to kill them, Max is so bitter towards Kyle and Kyle is the innocent person in this whole situation. You can tell that Isabel feels guilty about what is happening she wants to tell Max everything but she can't. I totally knew that she was going to give Max the slip oh, and of course Max is going to go after her and look for her. Nicholas totally knows that Isabel is there.

Michael seems really worried and upset that Courtney is dying it's frustrating he doesn't behave this way towards Maria. Finding the isn't a bad idea turning it off excellent idea. You can tell Valenti going to disappear next because he's trying to say goodbye to without saying goodbye. I feel bad for Maria because Michael is too busy with Courtney when Maria needs Consulting right now I bet she feels all alone. I'm so glad that Tess was there to help Maria she's being attacked by some skin. I totally would ship Maria's and Tess friendship from this point on if I didn't have such a distaste for Tess. Kyle's dad disappearing in front of him really sucks. I understand Kyle's frustration however I understand Max wanting everybody to stick together. Max's eyes said he wanted to tell Kyle something completely different but he looked at Liz and decided to go against it👽 of course it's Courtney would be missing.

The way Nicholas says valandra makes me want to vomit but however I love the name. It makes no sense that this little punk kid is in charge of all the skins. How did the mom know what she watching through the window.

I love it when Maria is freaking out because she Rants and her rants are funny. Three humans down to two poor Liz just vanished. Kyle is the only one he's not freaking out. I really like that Kyle got to do some butt kicking right before he disappeared. Poor Maria she's all alone to do this and she's the one who's freaking out the most.

Nicholas is such a punk I can't take him anymore. Courtney is definitely dying the husk isn't working. I'm so glad Courtney killed herself before Nicholas got the information on where the granilith is, that would have been disastrous if he got that information.

Wouldn't you think seeing Isabel knocked out like that that something is off smell trap Maybe. They are so outnumbered right now. Cat is out of bag now about valandra being Isabel. Someone needs to shut Nicholas mouth right now. I do agree with Nicholas Michael does have nice hair. Me cheering for Maria YOU CAN DO TTHIS GIRL! That's my girl Maria SHE DID IT. I'm not crazy that it was Tess that killed all the skins I think it would have been better story line if it was Isabel to show the skins that she will never choose their side. Or to have Michael Kill Them All to show that he is a good commander and 2nd. But the has Tess do it because Max is getting hurt just seems like the weaker route to take( it's just my opinion) but I guess to move the story of Tess and Max getting closer Tess would have to be the one to Kill Them All so Max can console her.

It's nice to see all the humans back, Alex looks so confused that Valenti is talking to him the way that he is. Isabel hugging her mother is a touching moment because Isabel really needs a mother right now and this is the closest one she's going to get. Kyle looks really awkward standing there while the girls were hugging he's like hey I'm back to. I totally think that Tess captain into that Source on purpose I think she knew what she was doing. Was that kid on the scooter supposed to make us think that that is Nicholas?

Well you guys that's the end of the episode I had fun I hope you had fun I'll see you on the other side.

💜 Michael does not like saying goodbye so I'll see you soon does just as good I'm so glad that he hugged her she really needed that.

Quote of the episode "oh please don't let me die like Elvis"

Coming up next: meet the Dupes pt1

Pic NOT mine

[ask-flip-frost]

Day 7: Gruesome

Nobody wanted the Winchester route. That much was a fact. When Flip had been setting up the schedules for the upcoming week, she knew that it was impossible not to put it on task, though. She was going to have to suck it up. Silt was getting too old to handle the energy output it would take, and Slope wasn't much use in their case because he was already partially Turned as it was. No chance at trusting a job like this to the temps. No matter how much the Sprite hemmed and hawed over the ramifications of letting them stew a little longer, it would always be difficult to steel herself for what it took to do a brain clearing of that magnitude. No sense in putting it off. For most Humans, even particularly disturbed ones, a Nightmare cleansing was no big thing to fuss over. Repeated dippings into billions of minds left an effect like a trickling water torture over time, but delving into the brains of creatures who held residence in Hell for extended periods was akin to being waterboarded with liquid rage and despair. Sam and Dean Winchester were buckets. They had need to be emptied periodically or they'd go mad and take a huge chunk of the world with them.

No avoiding it. With a resigned chirp, Flip closed her twinkling work ledger and opened a Portal for that evening's route to begin.

~

Dean Winchester snorted loudly, jolted from the deepest sleep he'd managed to curl up to in months by a light too bright to ignore. His personal quarters in the bunker had been flooded in the halo effect of an artificial bulb on his bedside table.

"Dammit, Sammy!" the man groused into his pillow. "I'm not goin' on a stupid jog. I told you. Go away."

"Did you know that butterflies can taste with their feet?" a very NOT Sam voice asked conversationally. "I thought that very odd, but THEN I found out that Humans can do it, too! Not with everything, but garlic can be rubbed on your foot, and because of the allicin in it, it gets into your bloodstream from the oil and water properties it has. Travels all the way to your mouth and nose. Incredible, ne?"

An annoyed glance was fired over Dean's shoulder at the Fairy on his nightstand, but the effect seemed lost on her. He'd met her very briefly before on sparse occasions, but someone who was barely an acquaintance had no business being in the Men of Letters bunker. No matter who she was bumping wings with.

"But that's not what we're here to talk about. Nay. Today, kids, we're talking about our FEELINGS, and how repressing can-"

"I'm fine, twinkle toes. Now get outta my room." Dean cut her off and scrubbed his palms over his tired eyes before reaching out blindly for the light switch. "Go peddle your emotional wack-a-doo shtick on someone else."

"Fine? That's a very abstract interpretation of what you are, I assure you. And I'm not in your room. You're in mine." Flip corrected, arms akimbo as she rocked on her heels knowingly.

"The hell are you talking about? My bed. My lamp. My-"

"Window?" Flip interrupted, gesturing to a medium box window with purple blackout curtains.

There were no windows in his real bedroom. A moment of slow growing denial passed before Dean rolled up off the bed, pillow gun at the ready, and jerked the curtains wide.

Outside was a sulfurus landscape, parched and cracked with forlorn wishes of moisture. Great hairless beasts with gouged sockets snuffled the dust, blood and pus oozing from their disfigured maws. A symphony of screams echoed in the distance. Dean knew those screams. He'd lived them. He'd given and received them. They must have been on an outer rim of a torture circle, as you could not directly witness the seas of agony. A clap of deepest thunder triggered a jerking sense memory lurching in the recesses of his chest. Meat hooks and chains, whips and knives and whimpering taunts and burning and-

"Dean... close the curtains."

Brought back to the moment, Dean's white knuckle grip on the curtain fabric loosened. He tugged the window dressings shut, but didn't dare turn away, lest the horrid creatures crash in to take him by surprise. He was back. Had he died in his sleep? Was it that apnea thing he kept hearing about? Sam complained about him snoring sometimes, so... maybe? He didn't remember getting hurt or sick. What was going to happen when Sam found his body?

"You're not dead. Not today. You can come away from there, I promise they can't get in." Flip waved him closer. "We don't have a lot of time to talk, but it's important that we do."

Never one to take things at face value, the eldest Winchester kept his eyes locked on the window.

"Where am I?" he demanded.

"Right now, you and I are in a pretty little safe space in your dirty little mind."

"...I'm asleep. And you're brain-invading." Dean worked it out and lowered his gun. "Not cool."

"You're sleeping, I'm working. Usually I don't make myself known because it's a pain in my glittering ass to make a prolonged stop in anyone's mind, but yours takes some time to clear out anyway, so why not have a chat?" Flip shrugged. "A captive audience. All that."

Dean groaned and tucked his gun away. Why couldn't he even dream without being nagged? Too many people knew how to push into his thoughts, and it pissed him off to a special degree that he couldn't even have autonomy of his own brain to keep them out. Was he going to have to keep getting warding tatoos or bone carvings until his entire body was a graffiti wall just for a little time to himself?

"Fine. What do you want?"

Flip blinked. It wasn't obvious, she supposed. One little talon pointed to the window.

"Do you know what that is?" she returned a question with a question.

"Hell. A memory of Hell that I'm dreaming about, I dunno." Dean crossed his arms over his chest and looked up at the ceiling in annoyance. "You wanted to see what Hell looks like, is that it? That's why you're here?"

"I've seen it. I don't need to look at a memory for a reminder. So no. That," she pointed again. "Is trauma manifesting as a bad memory. Nightmares Creatures feed on good Dreams, and are drawn to people with an excess of Gloom. Gloom is a residue that can't be seen by the Human eye, and it's my job to scrub it out of people periodically. So what I want is for you to produce less of it. You have Hell roots in your brain. We've been trying for years to dig them out, but we can't. If we pull any deeper, you'll die. Best we can do is starve them by emptying your wells of upset from time to time and dry them out a little."

"Yeah, well. You do what I do for a living, you can't help but pick up the flavors of the road. You can't expect me to quit my job just because it complicates your job." Dean gave her a patronizing smirk, which was returned with an exasperated trill. "We done here?"

"I'm not asking you to quit your job, twat waffle. I'm asking you to work on your feelings. Your job shows you Bad Things, but your repressive nature is making it harder on you than it has to be, which in turn is making it harder on us." Flip retorted. "Me, and my coworkers when they have you on rotation. You're difficult."

"Cry me a river. It's not like I've got easy work, either."

"Of course not. Because the way you go about it is to work with one foot in the grave and the other on a banana peel." Flip deadpanned. "Why are you so against getting better?"

"Hey, I'm not against the whole feeling better thing, alright? It just doesn't happen. Think I want to be mad all the time?" Dean snapped. "Think I don't know it's screwing things up? Hurting people? I've got a lot riding on how I handle things and everybody I care about is still getting the raw end of the deal no matter what I do! It's not as easy as 'cheer up', okay? I can't."

Flip watched Dean pace around the room like a caged tiger, silently daring her to say anything to to contrary. Instead, she sat down on the nightstand and swung her little feet back and forth idly over the edge, just waiting. For what, he had no freaking clue.

"And it's-" he gestured around the room at nothing. "It's everything. It's getting caught at a red light. It's finding out Sammy made a decision without me. Realizing I went over 3,000 without getting an oil change. It's things that bug the living hell outta me, and I know they shouldn't, and there isn't a damn thing I can do about it. Everything blows up."

"Trauma." Flip repeated.

"Yeah, I get it. You said that." Dean huffed.

"Your mind is used to constantly being in danger, being scared that people you care about will be tortured and killed. It's wired that way now, so that even little amounts of stress feel like huge threats, ne~" Flip pointed to the bed and waited for Dean to sit. "You block people out because you don't want to burden them, and then feel betrayed when they do the same. You're going straight to anger because it's familiar. Easier than being vulnerable and risking someone making fun or pitying you."

The man just glared. He hated accusations like this. Especially if they were right and stung his sense of pride.

"Easy for you to say, Tinkerbell. What do you have to lose? I have... I've got almost nobody. Wh- Are you smiling?"

"This is good, keep going." Flip flapped a hand.

"This funny to you?" Dean frowned.

"No. On the outside I'm pulling out a lot of grime from your brain, and you venting in here is loosening some of it. It's a good thing. Look out the window." she shook her head.

Dean grimaced uncertainly, but crossed to open the curtains just enough for a peek. The creatures were splintering apart, carried away on the wind like so many dust particles. The landscape had sparse patches of grass and the sky had begun to clear enough to bring shafts of light through, dancing with sun motes.

"You should talk. To your brother. To your friends. You might be surprised how much it helps."

"It's not gonna change anything." Dean replied, his voice far more hoarse than he expected it to be.

"If you do nothing, nothing changes. If you try trusting people not to throw you under a bus... it just might." Flip offered gently. "You're good at being angry. Try getting good at other emotions. It's an uphill walk, but you know there are at least a few people who want you to feel okay. Let them help you. Stop acting like you don't deserve it, and maybe one day you'll feel that you do."

He didn't, though. He didn't deserve to feel better. Not to his mind, anyway. He stared out the window and watched the outside world changing for the better in ways he knew he never could. Time kept marching, and he kept drinking and internalizing. He'd do it until the day he died. A forever death. Not a Winchester death.

"You're crying."

"What? Bullshit." Dean scoffed.

"Not in here. Outside." Flip amended.

"How do you know?"

"It's my job. I can't stay in your mind much longer before it starts being a detriment to your person. I'm almost done. The bucket is empty, so this is as good as it's going to get." Flip fluttered over to the window sill, not looking at Dean but straight ahead to a wispy field of oats. "Where are you, Dean?"

"...I'm fishing." Dean replied, swallowing. "Waiting on Sammy to get back with a six pack and some half decent snacks. Spicy jerky. Combos... the ones with the pretzel and cheese deals, you know. Gummy lifesavers. He likes the berry ones..." he trailed off, mind catching up with his body in shallow breaths and burning eyes. "What if something bad happens?"

"What if something good happens?" Flip patted his index finger.

Ah, there it was. Finally the man began to cry, hanging his head in shame. When he lifted it after a shuddering sob, she was gone and he was sitting in a folding chair on a pier with a large hand patting his shoulder.

"Catch anything yet?" Sam asked.

"No. Uh. No. Nibbles, but nothing good." Dean caught a bag of Combos tossed in his direction and cracked open a Budweiser.

~

When he sat up in bed, it was no surprise that his pillow was soaked, but he was still annoyed about it. The air smelled like bacon, though. That was nice. He shuffled out to the galley, yawning wide, and poured himself a cup of coffee.

"I was gonna come get you." Sam sat two plates on the table, piled high with waffles and bacon.

"Somebody woke up chipper." Dean rubbed his face, but couldn't refuse the siren call of the porcine perfection.

"Slept better than I have in a while, I guess..." Sam trailed off.

"Yeah. About that," Dean took a sip and sat down, drumming his fingers on the tabletop. "Can we, uh... can we talk? About... stuff?"

Sam passed the syrup to his brother and tried not to look too excited over the prospect of having a real meat and potatoes conversation.

"Yeah. I'd like that."