#had to get from school city to home city then take a 2nd bus up to where i needed

[david-box]

FABRIC ACQUIRED

[joseimukeaddict]

Haikyuu and Public Transportation Headcanons: Karasuno 2012-2013 Team

I’m going to get these so wrong bc I only just got into Haikyuu and have just started watching season 3. I tried avoiding spoilers but Haikyuu-Bu was too funny… (got scared and ran away when the post-timeskip happened)

I’m also doing this on no research and just vibes 👍 (don’t kill me pls) (I know like nothing about non-regular 2nd years 😭 except Ennoshita is voiced by Toshiki Masuda who also voices Rei from EnStars!?)

Testing if I wanna make this a series:

——

Okay so these kids live basically on the outskirts so most of them don’t got any public transportation experience before high school. School-paid buses do NOT count.

Third Years:

Daichi Sawamura - Probably has ridden a bus or train to the city maybe once or twice; I heard he’s directionally challenged but he can probably get to places if he memorizes the path and sticks to it; his experiences on public transportation are fine, nothing that interesting happens but he likes the sights; people have gone up to him to ask for directions when it’s his first time ever at a stop

Kōshi Sugawara - Has never ridden public transportation before high school, doesn’t like the bus air smell but can tolerate it, reads or plays on his phone for long rides

Asahi Azumane - Probably has ridden once when he was younger for sth like a specialist doctor visit (so he can’t get out of it), came up with the worst possible scenarios the night before, if he were any younger than he was then his mom would escort him there (sadly she has work today), his fears were completely unfounded but he basically collapsed at his door from mental exhaustion when he got home; he’s probably the type to suffer from motion sickness too and needs to remember to take his meds; 80% will fumble when he taps or swipes his card

Kiyoko Shimizu - Absolute mystery if she’s ever taken it but she’s Shimizu so every experience is perfect for her; the type to like to ride with a buddy to chat with but will pull out a book otherwise (mostly to deter any men trying to hit on her, so she can just ignore)

Second years:

Yū Nishinoya - Never so he’s so pumped to try it out; bus is okay but the train? IT’S SO COOL this idiot will be standing up while the train is moving when there are available seats, will want to swing from pole to pole like Dancing in the Rain (has not seen the original); he gets stopped by a train worker one day when he’s bouncing from pole to pole to ask where his parents are; one of those people who want to ride to the end of a train or bus line only for this dumbass to realize his stop is the last stop

Ryūnosuke Tanaka - Has never had the need to ride on public transportation and is proud of it; 1000% willing to act as some sort of protector on the train for Kiyoko (Kiyoko has to keep track of the stations bc he’s going to forget); thinks the trains are cool too (and honestly much prefers it over Saeko’s driving but he would like to live thank you much); also one of those last stop dumbasses

Chikara Ennoshita - idk but I feel like this guy has rode buses more often and he honestly prefers it to trains; old ladies at the bus stops chat with him about stuff and he eventually becomes a regular with them; tries to read on the bus but he gets motion sickness and instead watches the window or the old ladies chat him up some more

Hisashi Kinoshita - probably never had an experience before high school; also the type to like to ride with a buddy; he honestly gives me mobile gamer vibes idk, it’s either really short bus rides or really long train rides; his mom probably worries about if he has enough money every time (he probably does)

Kazuhito Narita - Doesn’t like public transport and he doesn’t know exactly why but there’s always something off whenever he rides whether the seats are too dirty or the air is too smelly; he probably has the most experience riding public transport (relatives in the city or sth); sights watcher

First years:

Tobio Kageyama - once or twice for family; he likes the train more (bro gives off such his family gifted him model trains instead of Hot Wheels); yea he will sleep on the train even in that super uncomfortable position with his head back; HE WILL MISS HIS STOP WHEN HE SLEEPS and once he misses his stop he is now lost and requires someone to give him directions via call

Shōyō Hinata - no experience either and honestly it’s okay, he prefers his bike; the sights are cool tho, one of those who will put his face against that dirty glass to “get a closer look”; has been scolded before to seat properly on the seat instead of on his knees facing the window; holds his little sister’s hand when with her; always running to catch his ride

Kei Tsukishima - has past experience; prefers going alone or with Yamaguchi; listens to music via his headphones regardless; doesn’t like it when the trains get crowded and he’s squished between two people; does not give up his train seat to the elderly; never runs to catch a bus or train, if he misses it he misses it

Tadashi Yamaguchi - has past experience too; likes going with Tsukki although Tsukishima makes like no conversation and Yamaguchi talks for a bit and then it’s just silence (the comfortable kind dw); he’s the GPS and maps person when he’s with Tsukki; sights watcher too

Hitoka Yachi - def rides public transport to school and back; her mom has her card always filled to max; if my girl didn’t ride so often she would have debilitating thoughts about worst case scenarios like Asahi; she’s probably the person Kageyama calls when he gets lost and she will try to explain the best she can but the poor boy may still get lost and they will panic together; she’s rode public transport so many times it’s just a thing to her now but she enjoys when the rest of the team rides with her since they usually aren’t used to it and have the most excited outlooks on it

—

Bonus:

Keishin Ukai is always missing his rides and Ittetsu Takeda finds the vibrations of train rides relaxing

——

Was gonna do stuff if about the trains and buses being late but then I remembered this is Japan… yeah I originally made it bc I’m always pissed about when my rides are late and we need more silly shitpost headcanons for Haikyuu

If any of my headcanons just straight up contradict canon, just pretend they don’t exist 👍 thanks

[01tsubomi]

delete later but ok here's the deal: my city has a sports tournament for all the middle school sports teams held one weekend every june, and since most teachers at my school coach one of the sports teams and have to attend the tournament, they make the weekend mandatory work days and then give us the next thursday and friday off in return. so after working 10 days in a row we get a 4 day weekend. last year i didn't take any PTO and got on a train to kyoto literally immediately after finishing my 10th day of work and had a great time so i wasn't anticipating i'd have any problem with it at all this year and even took some cheeky hours off in the mornings so i could sleep in and eat breakfast at the bakery before clocking in and stuff, but for some reason the heat and lack of break caught up to me bc on monday (8th day in a row) i came home early w a fever. it's very clearly just exhaustion bc i'm not really sick other than feeling tired and out of it and hot whenever i walk around but it's like not calmed down and i'm now on my 2nd sick day in a row. and bc i didn't anticipate any issue i invited one of my best friends from college to come fly out and spend the 4 day weekend with me. her flight lands in 5 hours and i'm still lying in bed pretty much unable to walk to the bus stop for fear of aggravating things. and our plans for tomorrow are based around the fact that i said "hey wouldn't it be funny if on your first day in japan we climbed the mountain temple of 1,000 steps"

[fiadhaisteach]

My spouse & I straddle the Gen "X"/Millenial line (He's the very definition of a Xennial & I'm 4 years older).

13 years ago, I was pregnant and we were both laid off during the '08/'09 recession.

12 years ago we had run through our savings, had an eight month old, were on TANF, receiving SNAP & WIC benefits, & living with my mother in a different state. (We also, later, ended up filing for bankruptcy as our new income would never get us out of the hole we'd gotten into, trying to stay off assistance... don't do that. Use the benefits you have access to.)

We did some math and decided whichever of us found a job first would be the breadwinner and the other would be the homemaker, because there wasn't a job in our rural area that would cover the cost of daycare, let alone a second vehicle.

We were extremely glad we'd done the math and kept a parent at home, even though our house, now, is walking distance from highway bus stops, because it turned out that both kidlets (when we later added a 2nd) would need the extra care. (Frankly, the only reason we were able to buy a house, 7 years ago, is because I'm a disabled veteran in a rural area willing to buy in an "undesirable" location at just the right time so there was zero initial cost and mortgage/taxes/insurance came to about the same as rent. Couldn't do it now.)

I "won" the draw and it actually was pretty good. The prior owner was a shitty boss/supervisor, but an excellent employer (he had to be to retain employees). He provided raises that kept up with the cost of living, plus a little, & offered okay benefits. 

When his health failed and he sold the business, the new owners kept all the old employees on, though our benefits were considerably reduced, and in my case, workload near doubled because they didn't see the need for an outside bookkeeper and the old owner's workload was split between me & the new manager, but hey... steady employment. However, within 3 years I was the only one of the "old guard" left and in 6 years have received one, small, raise.

Now, my health has been deteriorating for a couple of decades, but has been getting significantly worse over the last 5 or so years and I'm finding that most of my energy is taken for "work" with very little left for the family, even as I'm falling further and further behind. So my spouse started to make a concerted effort at finding employment.

Even as a white cis-man who has two degrees and a winning personality, with a decade of stay-at-home parentness, it took three years (covid was a factor too), but he was able to find a job (and he does deserve it, never doubt) which should have minimal impact our take-home pay, while allowing me to expend my limited energy at home... and he'll have job/career mobility, where I had none (really, less than none since my wages have been effectively going down vs. cost of living).

Could we, technically, be "better off" if I kept this job? If you only considered income... sure. My spouse can, and will, bus to work (so I can have the vehicle for doctor appointments and picking the kids up from after school clubs), but if I kept working I'd still have no energy left for the family, my spouse would have less simply by virtue of working out of the home, the kids would have to give up after school activities, & everyone would be spending their free time doing all the household things that wouldn't be getting done during the work/school week... so no... not really.

Are we fortunate that we are able to have one parent at home? Absolutely! Though some of that is trade-off, not living where we'd prefer to live (we're both city mice living in the country), and limiting our mobility to a single vehicle & rural public transit. I realize some don't have even that much option, but it's still a choice we had to make.

We also had family to fall back on when we hit rock bottom (a mixed blessing I won't get into here) and used our government benefits to get back on our feet (late, but better than never).

Is there a point to this? *shrugs* Generational crap is crap. The Joneses are probably also trying to keep up with the Joneses, so just do the best for you. Fuck capitalism. Use the benefits you pay for. Take care of your health as best you can. Hair dye is cheap. Count your blessings.

[pixiedoodlein]

10 days until school and I’m no more decided than I was a week ago. I flip flop ten times day about what might be best. A is sick of hearing me talk about it. He doesn’t disagree with my risk assessment but he is sick of talking about it.

It caused an issue with his friend, a friend who is his best friend and is unvaccinated and works in a jail. Months ago we told friend he could only visit (this place is their boyhood dream) once he’s vaccinated. Friend typically believes in science and is very health conscious but his gf is a moron Trump lover and her family the same and that’s who he’s been spending all his time with since this all started. When I asked friend why he’s not vaccinated he said he’s young & healthy, didn’t trust the vaccines, would do it when they got full fda approval. Plenty of young healthy people are dead of this. Anyway then I asked ok so what if you give it to someone who isn’t and dies, people incarcerated in the jail he works in and don’t have the luxury of social distancing, and he was like eh whatever. So yes friend is an asshole, but his best friend for decades, friend has always been kind of an asshole but has many redeeming qualities too. So we said no visit. But then in July when there was no covid here and no covid where he lives and we were blissfully living our covid free lives we loosened up and said he could visit with two negative tests. But then covid got bad again and when asshole friend contacted A the other day to say he took time off in late Sept to visit, A said sorry, it’s fully fda approved now you have no excuses not to vaccinate, we’re worried about our unvaccinated kids, and as of now you can’t visit but hey maybe if you get vaccinated and the numbers look better we can reassess in a month and you can come. Friend was a total dick about it, didn’t understand our point of view at all, stressed A about it, who was in a bad mood about it for days afterward.

Then there’s the neighbors. I had a chat with the kids and a chat with the mom. I framed it as we love them so much and I know they’re careful but I think we should all be more careful while the numbers are so rising (aka only outdoor hangouts) and we are careful but I’ve heard terrifying stories from doctor friends about kids and babies getting very sick, and they have a baby who I don’t want us to make sick, and she said she agreed. The kids have been pretty good about making the adjustment from constant sleepovers to playing outside but M keeps asking me “the kids need to pee are they allowed to use the bathroom, the kids are hungry are they allowed to come inside even for one minute for a snack,” and I feel like the villain (I’ve been saying yes to pee, snacks I’ll bring out). Everyone’s been understanding but nobody is getting what I mean when I say only outdoor socializing. All the kids keep asking me when I’ll take them to town again for ice cream, “but it’s outside” (um yeah but the car’s not), asking their mom to ask me for sleepovers even though they know what the answer will be. The other day they were playing in our yard then it started raining and they were like “we can’t walk home in the rain”- I don’t want them to walk home in the rain, but again the car is indoors!- so I drove them home (but made M stay at our house). They’re not my kids so I can’t make them wear masks and it feels like now I am in the position of being the mean parent who’s psycho about covid, which in a way I am, but it would help me to stick to my guns and feel okay about sticking to them if the government policies matched the severity of the situation, ie mask mandates in public places (instead of stores posting polite recommendations), vaccine mandates, virtual learning options, etc.

Which brings me to school. After selling M hard on real school, then I sold her hard on home school. She already “did” 3rd grade last year (as much as me teaching her in my pajamas counts as doing), but this district has an earlier cut off than the city, so she’s in 3rd grade again here. Which is fine by me- her birthday is the same day as the very late nyc cut off (12/31) and I hated that she was the absolute youngest. I used to beg the school to hold her back and they’d say “but why she’s doing so well!” not understanding that I was thinking ahead to the teen years. But anyway, despite her haphazard pj’d professor, she seemed to learn a lot last year so homeschool this year could basically be unschool. She’d traipse around the forest identifying birds and trees with A and her brother, reading for pleasure, and I’d spend an hour here and there reviewing some worksheets with her so she’d be on track when she starts real school after she gets vaccinated. She was into the idea, until she found out she and one of the neighbor kids are in the same class. Now she absolutely wants to go to real school, AND ride the school bus. The school bus part makes me very nervous. While there is now a school mask mandate (but will it be enforced? what are their lunch procedures, what % of teachers are vaccinated, what % of the older kids in the same building as the little kids are vaccinated, did they actually really update their ventilation system?) and a bus mask rule, it’s a long rural route (15 min drive or 45 min bus) and I have no faith that bus windows will be open and all riders will be masked the whole time.

So just tell her she can go to school but has to be driven by a parent, right? Not so simple. I was offered a job at a (somewhat, commuting distance) nearby nonprofit- an easy low stress job in a bastion of liberalism with very very nice smart coworkers, excellent work life balance, a writing job that sounds made for me, like the job description is exactly what I would put together if I were putting together my dream job (except the pay, which is half what I was making at a fancy DC nonprofit, but high for this area, and our housing cost is half so it should be fine if A can get away from little guy long enough to bring in some money too). It’s mostly remote but approx one day a week in the office and some days there will be things I need to attend out in the community (not necessarily our community, they serve the whole region). It won’t always be the same day in the office and the office is an hour away- so on those days A would have no car to get her to and from school, since I’d need to leave before school starts and get home after it’s done. So I guess we need to buy a new car? Aside from this issue we really don’t need a second car now, were planning to get one eventually, but not until A’s business has enough projects to justify the cost.

Despite its many demands/challenges/ stressors, home school is sounding easier to me at this point (especially because she already did this grade), except she WANTS to go to school. Someone talk me out of putting some lipstick and a pantsuit on her and taking her to get vaccinated. I know, I know: the 5-11 dosage is 1/3 of the 12-adult dosage. The doctors I’ve spoken to are split on this hypothetical kamikaze mission. The doctors I’ve spoken to are also split on me and A going to a pharmacy now for booster. It’s been almost 6 months since our 2nd dose. We do not have compromised immune systems. This county has way more doses than demand and I would feel better sending M to school (bus or not) if we had our boosters and she had a first dose- moral and scientific quandaries aside- because there is A LOT of covid here now, a lot of covid everywhere now, and I feel like we are returning to regular life at the time when we should be most hunkered down.

Which brings me to the data. Per capita there are as many known cases here as in nyc, except nyc has a 50% higher vax rate, much more mask usage, better medical system. People are not getting enough tests here, there is a higher positivity rate, and so I think the actual number of cases is much higher than the reported number of cases. It seems like, friends here and in the city and in the suburbs (I just broke up with a friend in the suburbs because she professes to be a good democrat but is hosting a bonafide super spreader event and vacationing in a place with 39% positivity and a collapsed health care system), are thinking of covid as something you catch from strangers- they wear masks in stores- but aren’t careful at all around close friends and family (so many extended family gatherings, so many, cousins and grandparents and half-siblings and aunts and uncles and whoever), when this is a disease that kills via the people you love most, the ones who’d never intentionally hurt you.

[deliahscrush2003]

Fandom: Pacific Rim.

Face Claim: Teresa Palmer (I am Number Four, 2011)

Fic Series: True Blue.

Fic Playlist: True Blue Playlist.

Story Board: True Blue.

Pinterest Board: Indianna Taylor.

Headcannons: 1 | 2 | 3 |

Concept Art: N/A

Moodboard: 1 |

Full Name: Indianna Taylor.

Preferred Name: Indy.

Gender: Female.

DOB: April 2nd, 2001.

Star sign: Aries.

Age: 16 (2017) 17 (2018) 18 (2019) 19 (2020) 20 (2021) 21-24 (2022-2025).

Affiliation: Pan Pacific Defence Corps, Sydney Shatterdome, Mark IV Jaeger True Blue.

Occupation: Jaeger Co-Pilot to Mark IV Jaeger, True Blue.

Sexuality: Bisexual.

Nationality: Australian.

Species: Human.

Location:

Gold Coast, Queensland. Australia.

The Jaeger Academy, Kodiak Island, Alaska. Canada.

The Shatterdome, Sydney. Australia.

Moral Alignment: Chaotic Good.

MBTI: ENTJ - Commander.

Background:

Indianna "Indy" Taylor was only twelve years old when the first Kaiju came through the breach and attacked the US in 2013. Everyone around the world thought it was a freak accident, a fluke, especially as months went by and people stopped holding their breath that monsters were going to appear out of nowhere.

Until the Kaiju Hundun appeared in Manila, in 2014. Kaiceph four months after that.

September, 2014: Scissure happened and the world changed.

At least for Indy.

When Scissure attacked Sydney, Indy (13) and her twin sisters, Jess and Jaime (11), were curled up on the floor in front of their grandmother's television on the Gold Coast, wide-eyed and huddled together as the Kaiju wrecked havoc on the city.

The city where their parents were currently on holiday.

It took weeks before they received the news that their mother and father didn't make it. The funeral was a blur, one that Indy didn't quite remember except for the endless stream of apologies, black clothes, somber faces and legal matters that their grandmother handled on their behalf.

Their grandmother was their saving grace and Indy treasured her for all she did for them in those blurred-together months. After shaking herself out of the numbing state she had fallen into, she started stepping up.

She helped her grandmother in the kitchen, cleaned around the house, made errands to the post office and grocery store and as soon as she turned 14, she got a casual job at the local fast food restaurant.

However, she struggled in school, getting into fights with the trending Kaiju groupies who worshipped the monsters that razed cities to the ground and killed thousands of people.

The same monsters who killed her parents.

She was 15 when the fights grew past screaming matches and finally ended up with someone drawing first blood. She sat in the principal's office with a split lip and blood in her teeth. She repeated for the tenth time to the teachers that her grandmother couldn't pick her up because she didn't have a car.

They brought the guidance counsellor in to talk to her, to explain why it wasn't okay for her to just break people's noses, even if you didn't agree with them.

The guidance counsellor lost her husband to Scissure. She said she understood her anger but reminded her that the boy she punched was just a kid and that some people didn't know better.

The woman handed her an icepack and brought her a coke from tuckshop, cracking a joke that with passion like that, Indy would give the Jaeger pilots a run for their money.

It was joke but Indy was suddenly dead serious about the entire thing. She was finally allowed to take the public bus home and she did it feeling oddly vindicated, like something just clicked for her.

Jaeger Pilot.

The following year, at sixteen years old - the minumum age requirement for enlistment - Indy joined the Jaeger Pilot and enrolled at the Jaeger Academy, determined to prevent the deaths of others in the name of her parents.

It was in her class at the Jaeger Academy that she was met with her first obstacle.

It wasn't the harsh training conditions or how the training instructors seemed to be hell-bent on breaking their spirit.

No, it was the asshole jerkface known as Chuck Hansen.

-

Family:

Unnamed Mother (deceased) †

Unnamed Father (deceased) †

Beryl Jones (maternal grandmother and guardian)

Jaime Taylor (younger sister)

Jessica "Jess" Taylor (younger sister)

Friends: N/A

Frenemy: N/A

Enemies:

Kaiju (Scissure killed her parents so she's a bit sore about it)

Love Interest: Chuck Hansen (rival, co-pilot, drift compatiable).

-

FUN FACTS:

• scared of water • temper temper • fist fights are hot • left-handed • neon lights • bruised knees and ripped jeans • likes salty foods • can't sleep alone • orphaned • picked fights in the school yard • best taste in music • competitive as fuck • misses her parents • her grandmother is an angel • likes to walk everywhere • will wander off if she is drunk • takes everything as fighting words • her sisters are her best friends • once challenged Pentacost to an arm wrestle and was luckily not fired • is strictly a dog person •

[ [ If you have any questions about Indianna Taylor, don't be afraid to drop an asks in the inbox ] ]

[chilling-seavey]

Heartbreak Hotel (d.s.) - Chapter One

A/N Hey there, ladies and gents! It’s time to be swept away into an alternate universe where 1950s LA is the place to be. This is my first ever soulmate au and it took a lot of planning to make everything fit just right so I hope you all enjoy! 

Summary: It’s 1958 and summer has just begun, sending the teenagers of Los Angeles into warm weather freedoms and part time jobs. Eighteen-year-old Daniel finds himself spending his days trying to find his soulmate and he refuses to give up until he has her.

Los Angeles in 1958 was a thriving city of luxury and fame; housing many of the greats and certainly more to come in upscale Beverly Hills mansions with top dollar views. They lived in their own worlds in the coastal city; unbothered by the working class with 9-5 jobs and single-family bungalows in the suburbs. To the everyday person, life in Los Angeles was more than nice with the beach on one side, the mountains on the other, and enough cultural entertainment to hardly ever be bored. People were happy you could argue and, in a sense that was true. Happy that they were able to settle down in that warm American Dream with the one they were destined to be with. Their soulmate.

This wasn’t a world full of lonesome heartbreak – unless one would choose to live that way – as everyone was assigned someone that they were meant to be with. By their eighteenth birthday, strange habits started to arise where you could taste whatever your soulmate was eating at any given time. It started faintly the day of your eighteenth birthday, as just a light sensation on your tongue, sort of like what it feels like to have a craving for a specific type of food. As weeks progressed it became more pronounced until after a month or so you could taste nearly exactly what they were eating as if you were eating it yourself.

It was something to get used to at first, but it was reality, and everyone went about their day to day lives with this invisible connection to the one they were destined to be with. Some people never found their soulmate – after all, the world had a population of almost three billion, so the odds weren’t always on your side – but eighteen-year-old Daniel refused to let that be his fate.

The second the clock hit midnight on April 2nd, 1958, Daniel shut his eyes really tightly in his bed and swirled his tongue around his mouth to try and taste something. You see, he was in love with the idea of love for as long as he could remember, and he had been counting down the days until he turned eighteen since he was old enough to know what numbers were. His parents had that perfect love story; high school sweethearts in 1935 where his father knew she was the one from the first week he turned eighteen, married and expecting their first child by 1936 and had three boys with a baby girl on the way before his father was drafted into the war in 1942. His father returned home in 1945 just as in love with his mother than ever before and the rest was history. Daniel wanted a story just like his parents; one where it all just fell into place.

The two-and-a-half months from the day Daniel turned eighteen to his high school graduation gave him absolutely no clue as to who his soulmate was. He tried scrounging the cafeteria at lunch time to see if any of the girls were eating that turkey sandwich he could taste or drinking that cold bottle of Coca-Cola, but he was met with no luck again and again. His soulmate seemed to eat something different everyday for each meal, but he soon came to realize that the only consistent thing was strawberry milkshakes. Usually around the time Daniel got off the school bus at home he’d lick his lips with the sweet flavour of strawberry and whipped cream that was rolling its way along his tongue.

He was just glad it wasn’t chocolate. He hated chocolate.

On the first real day of summer vacation, after graduation and their final high school dance, Daniel was staring out his bedroom window towards the street, impatiently waiting to see his older brother’s shiny red Thunderbird turning onto their street. Sure enough, he got a glimpse of the shiny red sports car in the distance and with an excited gasp, Daniel took off for the stairs.

“Christian’s home!” he shouted through the house, hopping the last three stairs and whipped open the front door just as the car pulled into the driveway.

He jumped off the porch as his parents came out of the house behind him and Daniel rushed to set his hands on the pretty red hood of the car that was still warm from the long drive from upstate.

The tired nineteen-year-old stepped out from the driver’s side and pulled off his sunglasses to offer a dimpled smile to his family, “Hey, you guys. What’s shaking?”

“Christian! How was college?” Daniel asked with a grin.

“Just swell, little brother. Why don’t you come help me bring my things upstairs? I have something for you.”

Daniel absolutely idolized his older brother, so he didn’t need to be asked twice to carry his things. As Christian headed for the porch to greet his mother with a kiss to her cheek and his father with a handshake, Daniel opened the trunk of the car to unload the bags. Out of the four Seavey children, Christian and Daniel were closest in age; Christian was only four months old when their parents fell pregnant with Daniel; leaving the two boys at only thirteen months apart. This made them very close and they shared a bedroom up until their oldest brother Tyler moved out for college a few years before. It was safe to say that when Christian was next to leave for school, Daniel had a hard time adjusting to life in the house without him.

But he was finally back, dressed in his usual slicked back dark brown hair and finished with a leather jacket. Leather was never usually Christian’s choice and Daniel let his eyes linger on the back of his brother’s jacket as he helped him carry his things upstairs to his room.

Christian stopped in the doorway to the left at the top of the stairs, poking his head into the light pink painted room, “Hey, ankle biter, I’m back. Did ya miss me?”

Their younger sister, Anna - a moody force to be reckoned with at fifteen - glanced up from her magazine she was reading on her bed, her record player playing quietly from on top of her dresser, “Didn’t even notice you were gone.”

“Did you get that Elvis guy to marry you yet?”

“Oh, shut up, Chris.” Anna blushed, throwing one of her stuffed animals at him before getting up to slam the door in his face.

Christian glanced back at Daniel with a small smile before heading into the room adjacent to toss his bag on his bed. Daniel set his suitcase by his closet and leaned against the wall with his hands in his pockets.

“What’s with the new getup?” Daniel finally asked.

“Oh, this old thing?” Christian grinned, pulling at the hem of his leather jacket. “A buddy in the dorms threw this little bash back in the fall and there were all these swell guys there talking about this new fashion tread. Said it was what everyone’s doing now. I think it looks pretty good, don’t you?”

“I guess.”

“You guess?” Christian scoffed. “Well something’s coming to you of this whole business too.”

“Me?”

“Yeah. The guys got me a job at the car shop upstate for the year, I made a bit of dough, fixed up some wheels, and I’m even transferred to another shop down here for the summer. But with the big bucks I made since the fall I can afford a new car.”

“That’s great, Chris.” Daniel said slowly, unsure of where his brother was going with that.

“So I want you to have my T-Bird.” Christian tossed over the keys.

Daniel tried to grab them in his shock but fumbled them and they fell to the carpet. He bent down quickly to pick them up, “Are you pulling my leg?”

“Nope. Car’s all yours. That or I’ll resell it but I know you’ve had your eye on it since I first got it.”

“Yeah! Oh, boy! Thank you!” Daniel grinned.

“Only thing I ask is that you tell me how your birthday went.” Christian smirked, flopping back onto his bed. He leaned back against the headboard with his hands tucked behind his head and his shoes resting up on his bag.

Daniel bit back a small smile, sitting gently at the end of his older brother’s bed, the car keys still in hand, “It was nice. Mom made me a cake. Vanilla, of course. And I had a few friends over to watch a movie on tv and we ordered a pizza.”

“You know that’s not what I’m asking.” Christian kicked him with the toe of his shoe lightly.

Daniel’s whole family knew about how excited he was to turn eighteen, solely for the purpose of finally being able to find his soulmate. The younger brother blushed lightly through a smile.

“I haven’t found her yet. But she likes strawberry milkshakes.”

“Strawberry? Well, thank God it’s not chocolate or you’d be miserable.” Christian chuckled. “Think she goes to your school?”

“I dunno. High school’s over anyway. But I want to try and find her this summer. She’s gotta be in the city, right?”

“It’s a big city, little bro.” Christian said.

“You’ll help me, right?”

“I gotta work.” Christian shrugged. “Besides, I gave up on that junk.”

“That junk? Finding your soulmate?” Daniel frowned over at him. He thought back to the late-night talks in their shared bedroom when they were nine and ten, sitting up facing each other on their adjacent twin size beds, talking about what it would be like to grow up and find their soulmates.

Christian hummed, sliding his tongue over his lips and in his mouth, an obvious unaware habit that meant his soulmate was eating something right then. Daniel wondered what he could taste.

Christian clicked his tongue and sat up with a deep inhale as if to pull himself out of his own thoughts, “Yeah, no use stressing yourself over it. Plenty of swell birds around to find, right?”

“I guess.” Daniel mumbled.

“I gotta unpack my things. Why don’t you take the car for a spin before dinner?” Christian suggested, clapping his brother on the shoulder.

“Sure.” Daniel stood up, glancing down at the keys in his hand. “Thanks again.”

Christian only sent him a dimpled grin and Daniel left his brother’s room without another word. He walked down the stairs and to the front door, calling over his shoulder to his parents that he would be back in a little bit before heading for the driveway. Daniel hopped over the door of the convertible and settled into the red leather seats with his hands falling gently against the steering wheel. He let a small smile come to his lips as the engine roared to life and the familiar taste of strawberry milkshakes grazed his tongue.

[tiptoe39]

the time i kissed you

Reposting this because the LJ-cut didn’t work the first time.The prompt was “give me an AU and I’ll give you the first kiss for that AU,” wangxian, childhood friends, by @notenoughgatorade.

Disclaimer: feel free to think of this in america if i say a thing that wouldn’t happen in china, it’s a little kissy ficlet, chill out. props to @hils79 for the bunny!

2nd disclaimer: the LJ-cut doesn’t seem to be working for me so I apologize for the long post!

“Lan Zhan, do you remember the time I kissed you?”

Lan Zhan stops. Of course he remembers. He didn’t think Wei Ying remembered.

It’s their last night as college students. Tomorrow, they graduate, and it’s a whole new world. For tonight, they sit on the roof and drink. Well, Wei Ying drinks. Lan Zhan sits, and looks at Wei Ying, and yearns.

They’ve been talking about childhood memories. Playing in the back hills of Cloud Recesses in the snow. Trying, and failing, to smoke cigarettes when they were thirteen. Their field trip to the zoo as fifth graders, when Jin Zixuan threw up on the way back. And now … this.

He plays dumb. “You kissed me?”

“Oh, of course you don’t remember it!” Wei Ying laughs. “We were tiny. In first grade, we had, I guess it was a playdate? Our uncles took us to a park. There was a dog off its leash and I ran screaming. Don’t look at me like that, Lan Zhan, the dog was huge and I was six. Anyway, you got all angry and chased it off, and I was so happy and for some reason I had in my head that kissing someone was the best way to thank them, so I just popped one on your mouth.”

Lan Zhan puts a finger to his lips, remembering. The taste of it. The way Wei Ying had looked at him with those big, tear-filled eyes. The resolution that formed in his heart, with the certainty of childhood and more: I will always protect him.

And he has. Whenever Wei Ying has needed him, he has been there. He hid with Wei Ying in the forest the night Wei Ying ran away from home. In high school, he eased Wei Ying’s broken heart when the first girl he liked didn’t like him back. He lent him notes for tests, walked him home when he missed the last bus, helped him write his college admissions essay. Even came to this school, to be close to him. Just in case Wei Ying needed him.

Tomorrow all that might disappear. Wei Ying’s determined to move to the big city, make his living as an artist. Lan Zhan has obligations back at home. He’s invited Wei Ying to come back and live there; there’s plenty of room for him, even studio space, but Wei Ying is resolute. No, he wants to be where all the action is. He wants it more than he wants Lan Zhan and that’s just the way it is. The way it’s always been.

“The dog wasn’t that big,” Lan Zhan says.

“So you do remember!” Wei Ying turns to him with wide, sparkling eyes. “I was six,” he adds peevishly, “all dogs were big.”

“I was six too,” Lan Zhan reminds him. Wei Ying grumbles.

“Anyway! I think that’s the day we became best friends, don’t you?”

“Maybe.”

Wei Ying is flushed with the alcohol, and boldly, he scoots closer to Lan Zhan on the rooftop. “I should give you another kiss,” he says.

Lan Zhan’s heartbeat quickens. “Why?”

“As a thank-you!” Wei Ying. “You’ve been my best friend for so long, and I couldn’t have gotten here without you. Come here, Lan Zhan.” He slings an arm around him and presses his lips into an exaggerated pucker. “Let me lay one on you.”

Lan Zhan dodges. “Stop it,” he says. “You’re drunk.”

“So what? I’m always drunk. Doesn’t make me love you any less. Come on now, Lan Zhan, kiss me back. You should say thank-you to me, too!”

“For what?” Lan Zhan has to dodge another attack, as Wei Ying darts in to try to catch his mouth.

“For all the fun you’ve had with me all these years! Admit it, without me you’d be locked up studying all day and night. I got you in trouble for the first time, and it was the best thing to ever happen to you. Come on, thank me.”

Lan Zhan holds him at arm’s length. The warmth of him seeps into his hands, goes rushing up through his arms, makes his heart swell uncomfortably. “I’m not kissing you to say thank-you,” he insists.

“Then sit still and let me thank yo–oohh!” Lan Zhan dodges a final time, and loses his grip on Wei Ying, who goes sprawling across the roof tiles. He scrambles to get his bearings and grabs Lan Zhan’s shirt; Lan Zhan gasps as he loses his balance and falls over Wei Ying. He grabs the nearest thing he can find, which is Wei Ying’s waist, and just manages to keep from smashing their heads together.

So now here they are, Wei Ying lying on the roof on his back, with Lan Zhan over him, a breath away. Wei Ying won’t stop laughing. “Now you should definitely kiss me,” he says. “This is too good, this is like you see in the movies. You fell on top of me, now you have to kiss me. That’s the rule.”  

Lan Zhan fights for reason. “What rule?”

Wei Ying loops his arms around Lan Zhan’s neck. “The rule I just made up,” he says. “The rule that says if we lie like this, we have to–” Suddenly he cranes upward, trying to reach Lan Zhan’s lips. Lan Zhan pulls away, but Wei Ying still has him in a loose grip, and he can’t sit up or get away.

“Stop it.” Lan Zhan scowls down at him. His temperature is rising and his patience is fraying.

“Why? Is it that you don’t want to kiss me?” Wei Ying is still laughing. “Lan Zhan, don’t tell me it’s that you don’t want to kiss me. I promise my alcohol breath isn’t that bad. I’m only tipsy! Come on, pucker up.”

“No.”

“You’re being difficult!” Wei Ying yanks with both hands, pulls Lan Zhan’s head close. “Why can’t you just say thank-you like we did when we were six?”

“If I kiss you,” Lan Zhan warns, “it won’t be a thank-you.”

Wei Ying blinks, for once out of words. His lips go slack and his hands let go of their grip. If Lan Zhan moves now, he could get free, go back inside, get some distance and some sanity back.

He could. It’d be the wisest thing to do.

Instead, he kisses him.

His mouth comes down on Wei Ying’s with the suppressed passion of years and years spent wanting. It’s the last night of college and Lan Zhan might never see him again and he needs this now, to take one thing for himself, after years of giving and giving. He kisses Wei Ying greedily, grazing his teeth over Wei Ying’s lips, licking them apart.

Even with everything, all the pent-up frustration, if Wei Ying resisted for even a moment, Lan Zhan knows he would scramble back, apologize, and leave him alone. But Wei Ying isn’t pushing him away. No, Wei Ying is kissing back, one hand tangled in Lan Zhan’s hair, the other on his shoulder, pulling him closer. Wei Ying’s tongue licks at his, and he moans, Wei Ying moans, and the sound sends a red flare of heat down through Lan Zhan’s whole body.

He’s kissing back like he wants this. Like he’s wanted this since before. But Lan Zhan can’t be that lucky, can he?

He stops, pulls up, looks down at Wei Ying. His mouth is pink from kisses and bites, his eyes steady.

“You could have told me, Lan Zhan,” he says, running a hand through Lan Zhan’s hair. “You could have told me years ago.”

Lan Zhan shakes his head. “I couldn’t.”

“So shy.” Wei Ying tsks gently. His smile is small, understated for a man who often grins big as a planet, but it’s there. “Do you know how much time we’ve wasted? We should have been doing this in high school.”

“I–” Lan Zhan can’t get hold of his thoughts. “Then you–”

“Lan Wangji, you obtuse idiot,” Wei Ying says, “I’ve been in love with you since middle school.”

Lan Zhan can only stare.

“All through high school, your name over and over on the margins of my notes,” Wei Ying goes on. “Daydreaming about dancing with you at prom. So afraid you’d run off to another college without me. Wet dreams, Lan Zhan, the wet dreams!” He laughs, that wide smile back where it belongs.

“Then why didn’t you–?”

“Me? You were Lan Zhan! You were the straight-A student who had too much studying to do! I was lucky to get you out of your house for an hour! Everyone knew I was dragging you down. How could I demand any more of you than you already gave me? I knew I didn’t deserve you.”

“Wei Ying,” Lan Zhan says. They’re the only words he can get out out.

Wei Ying’s eyes shine as he looks up. “My beautiful Lan Zhan,” he murmurs. He trails a finger along the line of Lan Zhan’s jaw. “Please accept this kiss as a thank-you for everything you’ve done for me all my life.” He leans up, pecks Lan Zhan on the mouth once, and lies back down.

Lan Zhan’s eyes brim with tears. “And this kiss is my thank you to Wei Ying.” He gives Wei Ying an answering peck. They smile at each other in the moonlit night.

“And this kiss,” Wei Ying says, “and every other kiss from now on, is because I love you.”

He pulls Lan Zhan down again.

[softboyscully]

Public School Stuff I Wanted to Share

public school is both beautiful and horrifying am i right

so ill just go by the grades i guess

Kindergarten, first year

i did kindergartden at a catholic school in a relativly big city so this one’s got some shit

we went to church every wednesday, me and best friend (lost track of her when we moved, wish we’d stayed in touch, she was awesome) would giggle the whole time, pretty sure we made fun of jesus once, can’t remember why, possibly the hair

i had the nicest teacher, she was (as i remember her) young, blonde, and super sweet, that was the first and last year i ever had naptime

SPEAKING of naptime

i never slept during it

once i found what i remember being a nut of some sort on the ground, probably came off someone’s shoe

i grab it, turn to sarah (my best friend), say something about putting it up my nose

sarah, apparently having common sense, says, “no dont do it!! we’re supposed to be sleeping!!”

i put it up my fucking nose

try to get it out, just push it farther in

im crying a little bit now, that shit hurts

go up to my teacher

“you’re supposed to be asleep!”

“i have a nut up my nose and it wont come out”

teacher tries to get it out, but it wont budge

just. sends me back to my mat

that was it

the art room was tiny

like re-purposed broom closet tiny

there was a copy of the mona lisa in the hallway, someone had drawn ray bans on it with a pencil, never got replaced

there was a creepy-ass basement i went down to after school, we ate cheeseballs and sandwiches with some kind of meat, mayo, and that kinda yellow bread

someone broke his leg down there once, think an older kid threw him at the ceiling or something

we learned how to play Silver Bells with actual bells in music class

Kindergarten, second year

i remember these two teachers as the evil step sister-type look, but it might be my little kid imagination

but seriously they were horrible

we learned stuff in a room that was more middle-school styled, except everything was green or black and it was v dark

me and sarah attained a new friend, john

honestly i think we would’ve stayed friends for a while if i didnt move away

i have two vivid memories

one is of me really wanting to go home, so i walked by the teacher’s desk and did a fake sneeze

they laughed at me and told me to go sit back down

the other is  john leaning his chair back and then falling, so me and sarah went to help him back up

it was funny, so he did it again

and again

me and sarah were laughing, had the time of our lives

after the maybe fifth time the teachers said “john can get back up by himself. sit down and stay there.”

one of the reasons we moved was bc i got sent a letter from my fourth grade buddie

most of the words weren’t spelled correctly, many letters were backwards

my mother was horrified

ofc now we know it was probably a learning disability 

1st grade

this is when i moved

beginning of school i was ASTOUNDED we didnt have uniforms, one of the best things ever to happen to me

nothing wrong with this teacher, she was cool

thing is i was a little shit

told everyone my dogs died (they did but i was maybe three when it happened, i remember it not)

all my personal narratives were bullshit (only one sticks in my memory, wrote it about celebrating christmas AND hanukkah with my dad’s friends who were jewish, i have never even met those friends)

had a crush on this kid, best friend (she was terrible and helped wreck me emotionally) told me to kiss him in music class. me being a stupid ass bitch, i did it, aND HE GOES TO THE TEACHER AND CALLS ME OUT. at the end of class she gets both of us to stay for a bit, AND I DENYIED EVERYTHING. i walked across the fucking classroom, kissed him on the cheek, ran away giggling, told my teacher i didn’t do anything, AND GOT AWAY WITH IT. i’ve embarrassed myself further with this child but thats another story

2nd grade

i loved this teacher but honestly he was absolute shit

like. all he did was play the guitar and sing with us

never actually taught us stuff???

middle of the year, my mom goes in for a parent-teacher conference, he tells her i dont pay attention is math.

“what do you mean?”

“she doesn’t listen, she just takes out a book and starts reading.”

“........have you.... tried taking the book away?”

“sure, i could try that.”

“o....kay”

he also told her i’d be a girl who’d grow up to love spellcheck (which i do lmao)

like ???? why not just??? teach me to spell????

there was this one dude who one day showed up, gave me a pink stuffed cat, and then asked me where i lived

funniest thing was he lived on the same street as me

something that is vivid in my memory is showing up to class one day and realizing that i was wearing my regular clothes over my pajamas

also we had fish

every day someone else was in charge of feeding them

one of the times it was my job, i grab the fish food and walk over to the tank only to find all of the fish floating on the top

i screamed “THE FISH CAN FLY?!?!?!?!?!”

everyone ran over, all of us scarred for life when Mr. G walks over and goes in the most normal voice ever “no theyre dead”

we held a funeral

the cause of death is still undetermined

3rd grade

this year just draws a blank for me

all i know is that whoever the teacher was, they neglected to teach me how to tell time from a clock

also we learned the Cotten Eyed Joe dance in gym around here

4th grade

i had two teachers this year

one was the same one from 1st grade, the other one was a total bitch

made a girl named hannah ball her eyes out once, never apologized

i was (and am) and avid reader, so my reading skills were high above average

instead of being proud of me she told me i was weird, not normal, and too smart for a 4th grader, so i MUST be cheating. 

she was the start of a lot of self confidence issues for me ngl

this was around the time i went and got tested for ADHD (me and my grandmother almost broke down on the highway but thats another story), Mrs. M (the nice one) was super supportive when i told her why i was leaving early but Ms. S (bitch) told me ADHD wasn’t real and i just wanted to be special for once

she sucked, Ms. S

5th grade

this is getting super long so this’ll be the last one i do

but my teacher..... Mr. F was A+++++

he legitimately taught me math

we had i guess like,,, a buddie class we switched with sometimes

the teacher of that class was Mrs. R, who had crazy red hair and many freckles

at one point she referenced a meme and my entire class started screaming

also there was another Mrs. S (to differentiate this one will be called Mrs. Su)

she was kind of crazy

she was the astronomy teacher and she told us many times that the moon landing was faked

once she handed out sunscreen and had everyone put it on their whole body (this was in december, fyi)

Mr. F also hosted an ‘archeological dig’ which sounds cool but in reality he had a bunch of arcade prizes from his childhood buried in little flower pots we dug into with plastic spoons

also heres some stuff i cants pinpoint the time of/happened in multiple grades:

someone held a who-can-scream-the-most-like-a-goat contest

a guy named Makenzie won

remember we planned it while the teacher left the classroom so the teacher walks back in and one by one everyone in the room starts screaming, there was some applause, a few kids got a standing ovation

we cleaned out our desks in the middle of the year, i found 3 socks and a dog treat in mine

like how the fuck did any of those things get there

and where’s the fourth sock

b o t t l e f l i p p i n g

but no seriously there were at least five water bottles stuck in the ceiling in the cafeteria

my sorta friend charlie was obsessed with paper airplanes

one time he might’ve broken the world record for longest time in the air but he was counting in his head and it was at recess so there was no video

four square and gaga ball would be played no matter the setting, time, or conditions and it was super competitive

like if you could get to king in four square you got the everlasting respect of everyone

and everyone was super educated on four square special rules, special plays, that kinda shit

no but guys i grew up with bus stop, candy store, haunted house on mondays, haunted mansion on fridays, zombies was fair game unless it was Zach, Ryan, Chrissy or Vee

me and one other guy named andrew were the only known pjo fans, had the time of our LIVES making refrences

“HEY ANDREW IM NOBODY”

“I HAVE WAITED YEARS FOR YOU, NOBODY, COME HERE AND FACE YOUR DEATH”

“hey annabeth, i thought you looked like a princess when i first saw you. i printed out a picture you sent me casually and kept it with me. i snuck along on a quest so i could save you, endangering myself immensely. i held the sky for you. when you talk about your crush on luke, i get jealous. beckendorf understood, but hes dead.”

“ikr we’re literally the best of friends”

“RIGHT”  

also the first time we finished mark of athena we were in the same classroom and we individually dropped the book, stood up, looked at each other, and screamed “WELL FUCK YOU TOO RICK RIORDAN”

[hi-qu]

Karasuno Boys and Driving

Daichi

Worked part time to buy his car, so he’s very proud of it. Can’t tell him he aint got a Benz, (it a 02 Corolla lol). Car so old he feels like he gotta call it sir.

Cuz he earned, Daichi doesn’t mess around when it comes to his car.

You can’t borrow it, you better not throw any volleyballs near it, don’t even look at it funny.

But he’ll still gladly drive his teammates/friends around town so long as they follow the number 1 rule: You don’t eat in Daichi’s car.

He was driving the first years home after a late practice, and heard someone fidgeting with a wrapper. He whirled around and there was Tadashi, eyes getting misty while holding a cough drop.

“It’s a Halls, Daichi please. My throat is sore.”

He allowed it because he was glad it wasn’t actual food.

Because of his no food rule, his car is immaculate. Probably hasn’t been that spotless since it rolled off the line.

He cleans it every weekend after practice.

Daichi is a careful driver too. The kind who waves other drivers through even though he has the right a way. Truly a pedestrian’s best friend because he won’t block the crosswalks.

No real road rage, just abundantly cautious. Freeways freak him out especially if the lanes are narrow.

Won’t take the car out of park until everyone is buckled in. Will just wait and look at the back seat through the rear view mirror as everyone laughs and carries on. Eventually Suga or Asahi will notice and make sure everyone, Tanaka is buckled in.

Asahi is permanent shotgun, Noya or Hinata is in the middle, Suga to the left, and Tanaka on the right.

If Tsukki is riding, then he’s on the side with the best scenery so he can play his music and gaze dramatically.

He’s the kind of driver you tell your mom about when she asks who’s driving.

Kageyama:

It was his grandfather’s old car. It’s in decent shape.

Knows next to nothing about cars, is just like, “yeah, its blue with 4 doors.”

Thrilled it was 4 door just in case Hinata ever got a car. Best case scenario, Hinata got a 2-door making Kageyama the automatic winner. Slightly less best-case scenario, Hinata also got a 4 door but since Kageyama got his first he would still be the winner.

Didn’t want a car until he realized he could beat Hinata to school. Felt bad because the boy crossed a mountain every day, buuuut he was on a bike so TECHNICALLY Hinata already had an unfair advantage so this would just even the score.

Barely passed his driving test because he can’t parallel park. Doesn’t understand that precision on the court doesn’t translate to precision on the road.

One day he saw Tsukki and Tadashi walking home from school in the rain. He rode up to them slowly, rolled down his window and asked, “you want a lift?”

Tsukki immediately was on some, “oh ho? Us lowly peasants get to ride in the King’s Chariot-“

“Not you. Tadashi. Only. Tadashi.”

Next day Daichi had to have a talk about offering rides and courtesy.

But honestly, it’s probably safer to walk. Boy has no idea what he’s doing. The car’s a stick and he’s forever releasing the clutch too soon/late. The gears are stripping, he’s stalling at every stop sign.

oh no baby what is you doin??

Gets frustrated and just looks at his hands one day in the school parking lot like, “what’s wrong with me? Am I dumb? Is it the car who’s dumb??”

Got his answer when one day he was 15 mins late to weekend practice because his car stopped. After the team determined he didn’t stall it again, and it wasn’t the battery, Hinata is like,

“did you feed your car?”

Cue Kageyama looking like the confused math woman meme

“what do you mean ‘feed my car’?? Cars don’t eat fool.”

“Filling it with gas is like eating! We have to eat to fuel ourselves, so you have to feed a car fuel it, stupid.”

After that, he decided it was best to stick to walking.

 Asahi

2nd best driver on the team due to his anxiety.

Our boy doesn’t mess around with horsing around in his car. He gotta focus on the road.

Doesn’t like driving outside the city limits because remembering turns and exits is just too much. Though Noya helps him by warning him ahead of time. That’s why Noya has permanent shotgun dibs.

His car is mad small for a man his size. It’s a two door he got used, and like Daichi, its his baby so he takes care of it. Except he’s not as fussy as Daichi is. You may eat and drink inside his car.

He has to fold/unfold himself when getting in and out. Its hilarious to watch but painful to him.

Driver seat all the way in the back seat because long leg problems, so only Hinata can sit behind him.

In the summer, he and Noya go cruisin’. He had to be convinced to ride with shades on and hair down, but Noya said looking cool was a part of cruisin’.

Daichi and Suga often go for rides with Asahi and just talk. Maybe park somewhere with some food and reminisce like they’re old men remembering the, “good ol’ days.” Asahi treasures these moments with his friends.

Suga

It was his parent’s old car that they let him use. The largest car out of the group, probably a SUV.

Number one option for when the team wants to go on little excursions because thankfully, we have leg room.

A reliable driver you can depend on to not drive consistently. Sometimes, he is careful and considerate 10/10 driver.

Then sometimes he like, “lets press the gas while going downhill.” Just to scare the first years.

Kind of driver to be like, “I got it,” after the light has been yellow for over 30 seconds. No road too narrow, or parking space too complicated for Suga.

Doesn’t exactly speed, but also doesn’t go as slow as you would like.

Ask him for a ride and he’s like, “yeah, I’ll get you there.” 

But in what condition Suga? What condition??

Knows how to drive like he has some sense but will he use it??? Maybe if Daichi is there.

Doesn’t mind eating and drinking in the car. He’ll also chat away while driving. Only thing he refuses to do is drive the team to a game.

For one, they can’t all fit comfortably, and two, Hinta’s incident in the bus is still fresh in his mind. So, when Takeda brings it up again, Suga goes, “no can-do sensei <3”

Hinata

Baby was thrilled when he passed his drivers exam. Took pics of his license and shared it in the group chat. Then showed it off in person.

Drives his folk’s old car. It's too old for long distances but reliable enough for school and back.

It’s a 2 door, Kagayama is thrilled and it’s a stick, but Shoyo can drive a stick (can’t win em all Kageyama).

So cautious when he drives! Not out of anxiety rather he’s worried about hurting someone. Uses his blinker at the right time, lets kids and old ladies cross first. Really polite at a 4 way, but it’s his turn and he's gonna make himself late with all of this.

Knows how to change a tire and check the fluids because he lives in the country and just learned as he grew.

Car stays in good shape.

One of the few who can handle driving in snow, but he did panic some during his first snowstorm.

The kind of driver that if he even taps another car, he’s leaving a note stained with his tears, his phone number, email, home address facebook, AIM, his mom’s number, and Coach Uaki’s.

Tsukki and Kageyama roasted him about does he climb into his car, (it’s technically a little truck) or does he need a running start.

Still offers them ride because he's a good kid.

Doesn’t know if it’s worse having Kageyama in the back seat, or in the passenger seat. When Kageyama is in the car, Hinata low key flexes by smoothly shifting gears. Worst 15-minute drive of Kageyama’s life.

One time, it was just him and Noya on a snack run and they got pulled over. The cop thought 2 kids took their mom’s car for a joy ride. They called Hinata’s mom to verify his license and that he was 16.  It was low moment for both of them that not even meat buns could fix.

[meganshinsou-tm]

Vermilion. (m)

↳ chapter one: ridin the struggle bus

❧ genre:  pro-hero’s bakugou/kirishima, poly, happy ending

❧ chapter warnings: none

[multi-chap masterlist] [next chapter]

You sighed upon looking at the stack of paperwork that awaited you on your desk, sitting down with a huff and grabbing a pen. 

You had just started working at the same agency the former Symbol of Peace, All Might, once worked at about 2 months ago. Graduating at the top of your class from UA, All Might himself helped to get you the job. He seemed to take a liking to you and took you under his wing after his own mentee Izuku Midoriya had graduated a year before you.

You gladly took the job, hoping it would be exactly what you needed to jump-start your hero career, but just like everyone else, you had to start at the bottom and work your way up, which mostly meant lots of days and nights being the office dog. So to say you were a little bit stressed and overwhelmed at the moment was an understatement.

On top of work, living on your own wasn’t at all what you had hoped for. Not being part of all the action and major hero missions, meant your pay wasn’t the best and it was a struggle trying to get bills paid on time and still have enough left over to feed yourself.

Speaking of feeding yourself, the organ nestled inside your belly was growling relentlessly. You dropped the pen in your hand as your head fell onto the desk and your arms wrapped around your waist, groaning.

“Paperwork again?”

A cheery voice asked from behind you, you could hear someone rustling through the papers that were scattered across the desk. You knew that voice, not bothering looking up.

“Well of course Red, I live for this shit!” You mumbled into the cool wood of the desk, feeling it fog beneath your lips.

“Need help,” he asked.

Finally, you lifted your head and looked at the man talking to you, he was wearing a hoodie and some black shorts, which usually meant he just came back from patrolling the city and was heading home for the day. Your hands dismissed him, head shaking with soft eyes.

“Oh no Kiri, you look like you’re on your way out. There’s no telling what you had to do today, I’m not gonna add on to that!”

Kirishima chuckled and flashed you an enormous sharp toothed grin that made the corners of his red eyes crinkle and made your heart stop. “ So cute, ” you screamed internally.

“I was just patrolling today and there was no action. Plus, I don’t have any plans, just waiting on Bakugou to get off so we can go grab some food before heading home!”

You couldn’t help but smile back and thank him immensely as he grabbed a chair and sat next to you.

Oh yeah, there was a perk to working where you did, and that was Eijirou Kirishima and Katsuki Bakugou. You knew of them before hiring on at the agency, since you all attended the same school and they were only a year ahead of you. Every now and then you’d bump into each other in the hallways, Kirishima would apologize repeatedly while Bakugou would growl. Unknown to you though, you seemed to catch the pairs attention during their last Sports Festival, when you finished in 1st place during your 2nd year. Your quirk and strength alone amazed them, and it didn’t help that you were incredibly cute, which Kirishima would admit to but Bakugou would try to deny it.

So when Kiri found out that you would be joining the team at their own agency, he was more than stoked to get to know you more. That meant, staying late nights and helping with the paperwork that everyone else seemed to pile on you, and helping you on errands and coffee runs. It never bothered him a bit though, it only meant that he got to spend time with you alone and learn more about you.

Bakugou on the other hand had mixed feelings. You caught his attention during his last year, but his goal to become #1 was more important than some girl. When he found out from an overly excited Kirishima that the same girl that piqued his interest only a year ago would once again be coming back into his life, he didn’t know if he was excited or annoyed. When you weren’t doing paperwork or other duties, he’d catch you in the agency’s gym training alone. Your quirk and power drew him back in like it did before and out of nowhere he offered to train with you. At first it was just so he could see exactly what you were capable of, sizing you up, but it slowly grew to him genuinely enjoying the time with you. You never held back against him and always kept him on his toes, which he loved.

So yeah, work wasn’t exactly hell, you did have the friendship of two really amazing guys, who were also very easy on the eyes if you had to admit. It goes without saying, a lot of flirting went on between the three of you, making your heart do flips for both of them. The two were extremely close, and you really admired the bond they had with each other, and you were beyond grateful to have their help. Especially right now, as you and Kirishima worked through the stack of papers together rather quickly. Here and there your fingers would brush against each other or your faces would come into close proximity as you’d explain what information goes where, causing a blush to cross your cheeks and making him struggle when he talked. You loved the effect you had on one of the cities manliest heroes, always seeming to make him melt with just a bat of your lashes.

A few more minutes went by until the mountain of papers were gone. You sighed and laid your head on Kirishima’s shoulder beside you, making him tense at first but quickly relax.

“Thank you so much Kiri, not only for tonight but for all the other nights you’ve stayed behind to help me. You really are my hero!”

Kirishima chuckled and rubbed the back of his neck, then craned his head forward to look at your face. “It’s no problem (Y/N), honestly. I was in the same position when I first started so I know how overwhelming it can be. But, I’ll let you in on a secret. I’ve been hearing around the office that you’ll be going on your first sidekick mission soon!”

Your head immediately shot up from his shoulder and looked at him with a smile and wide eyes, but quickly that hint of happiness turned sour as your eyes dulled and your smile dissipated.

“Yeah right, apparently I'm only good enough for paperwork and coffee!”

Kirishima frowned at the lack of belief in yourself when he believed in you so much. The red-head then chuckled and placed his finger on your chin, making you look into his crimson eyes.

“You’re incredibly strong (Y/N) and All Might himself recommended you. If I had it my way, you would’ve been out there with me immediately instead of stuck here with paperwork!”

You felt a blush cross your cheeks as his red eyes gazed into your own. After all the relentless flirting between the two of you, you could never get over how sweet he was. You realized that his hand hadn’t moved from your chin as his thumb brushed your jaw. Your eyes wandered to his lips that looked surprisingly soft; he noticed and looked at your lips as well. They were now parted and plump, tinted with a blush colored lipstick, the only type of makeup he ever noticed you wearing and it was taking everything he had to resist touching them.

"Kiri - " your voice spoke softly, breaking the silence between you.

“Oi, the fuck are you two doing?” A loud and brash voice broke the moment, making the two of you jump back from each other, a red tint crossing your faces. “Tch, can’t finish your own paperwork princess?”

"And queue Katsuki Bakugou," your mind cursed. Quickly recovering from the sudden intrusion, you crossed your arms leaning on the desk and looked at the ash blond in front of you. “You’re just jealous I didn’t ask for your help, Baka-gou!”

“What the fuck did you just call me you little –“

“Hey buddy, finally done,” a cheerful Kirishima cut off.

The red-head was always the peacekeeper when it came to you and Katsuki, trying his best to put out the flames between the two of you before they emerged into enormous uncontrollable fires. Sure the explosive hero had his good days with you, but that didn’t mean he still wasn’t an asshole at times, but - you loved to push his buttons.

“Yeah, I’m fucking starving, now let’s go!” Katsuki replied as he turned on his heels to walk out.

Kirishima went to get up but turned to face you with another smile, “Wanna tag along (Y/N)? We’re gonna stop and grab some food before we go home.”

“No she doesn’t!” Bakugou suddenly growled as he turned around and glared at you.

You glared back with a smug grin and stood up, “I’d love to!”

[blainebigbang]

Blaine Big Bang 2020: Posting Schedule

It’s finally here! 

Tomorrow kicks off the Blaine Big Bang 2020!

Every other day, throughout the month of February, Blaine fans will be greeted with a new 25K+ fic of Blainey goodness from our 16 amazing authors and artists! Congrats to our participants!

Please see below the cut for the complete schedule:

February 1st - take my picture now (shake it 'til you see it) Author: Civillove Artist:  Kanversrph Blaine likes to call this part of his life as being 'the flavor of the month'. While he enjoys being a successful model, he feels like the industry keeps taking little pieces of him. When he meets Sebastian, a nature photographer, he feels like he might get those pieces back.

February 3rd - Nothing Can Keep Us Apart Author: TeddysHoney Artist:  Riverance Blaine is a Prince whose father was killed by King Burt's army. Blaine lives with his mother near King Burt's castle. One day, Prince Kurt sees him drawing water, and Kurt sneaks into the village to meet Blaine. They see one another in secret for a while. A war begins, however, and Blaine must go and fight. Kurt looks for him every day, waiting for him to return. He has no idea that Blaine has been captured by the enemy or that he's waiting for his brother to help him escape certain death. Once the war is over, Burt decides it is time for Kurt to find a mate. No one is good enough in Kurt's eyes, however. After realizing that Blaine may not be coming home and a pleasant evening spent in the arms of another man, Kurt sneaks off into the woods to cry, convinced he'll have to marry someone else and that Blaine is dead. Blaine surprises him in the forest, and, having convinces an indebted priest to marry them, the two are wed. Instead of returning to the castle, however, they decide to fend for themselves in the lawless forests surrounding the kingdoms. February 5th - Ships That Pass In The Night Author: Delightful_Fear Artist:  JudeAraya    Blaine has a great life, with people packing into his piano bar six nights a week as they sail to some of the most beautiful places in the world.  He’s not lacking for beautiful men to share his bed either.  Why would meeting the aloof counter-tenor in a touring Broadway group change anything?  

February 7th - Life in Repair Author: Room108 Artist:  SeblaineAddict  In the wake of his most recent break-up with Kurt, Blaine returns home to Lima to lick his wounds and reclaim some measure of happiness. An unexpected opportunity to travel to Thailand with former friend (and sometimes nemesis) Sebastian Smythe, proves to be just the salve he needs. As their bond strengthens through the ups and downs of life on the road, Sebastian and Blaine revisit their lingering spark from high school and must decide whether it’s worth re-igniting or if it will be snuffed out for good.

February 9th - Bicycle Patrol Unit Author: Carmelcoffeeaddict Artist:   Lallagoglee   When NYPD bicycle cop, Blaine Anderson, begins to fall for Kurt Hummel - the gorgeous man that he first notices jogging through the park during Blaine's patrol - it causes a rift between him and his patrol partner, Sebastian Smythe.

February 11th - The Silver-Scaled Mark Author: Jayhawkwrites Artist:  Michaelscribbles   Blaine is a half-elf living in a town of full-blooded elves. He doesn’t fit in and is bullied almost daily for his heritage. One day Blaine finds solace in the library and later finds a book that talks about the magic in his world. He is drawn to it and wants to learn all he can. After Blaine has consumed all of the books in his town, he goes off to college to become a wizard so that he can help protect those that are not able to adequately defend themselves. Once he has graduated, he finds that he and several companions are part of a prophecy that will help unite the races in his world. February 13th - Out of the Blue Author: Lilyvandersteen Artist: Redheadgleek Kurt organises a fake wedding for Brittana to get presents from random billionaires. Cooper is one of those invited, and he shows up with his brother in tow. Sparks fly, but not of the good kind. Enemies to lovers, anyone? With a slight Pride and Prejudice vibe? 

February 15th - Let It Be Me Author: Darriness Artist:  Usurix It's been three years since Blaine fell in love with Kurt but between college, jobs, social lives, and parenting his twelve-year-old sister, can Blaine manage it all? 

February 17th - Wouldn't Change A Thing Author: Slaydiest Artist:  Datshitrandom  One the eve of his junior year at Dalton, Blaine’s dad kicks him out of the house, dumping him at the bus stop, cutting him off, and leaving him homeless. This is the story of how he survives, meets Kurt, and ultimately triumphs.  February 19th - Here You Come Again Author: Kaianieves Artist:  Kanversrph It's senior for Blaine, and just when things should be falling into place, he finds them falling apart. He's got a crush- hopefully nothing more than that- on his best friend, and a dance that he would rather do anything other than plan. Blaine's conflicted- should he sit out, be miserable and hope that this year passes by in a blur? Or should he embrace it, enjoy it and maybe even shoot his shot? February 21st - A Very Seblaine Christmas Author: MrsTotten Artist:  SeblaineAddict Blaine loves his family and friends, he really does. But after a bad break up they just won’t leave him alone it doesn’t matter that everything else is going great, everyone is fixated on whether he is finally dating again. None of this is helped by his ex fiancé proposing to his new boyfriend at top of the rock and now all anyone can focus on is blaine love life or lack thereof. And now he’s heading home for the holidays. A whole week of crazy family, new directioners and so he tells a tiny white lie, that his new boyfriend his joining him for Christmas. Whilst waiting on a delayed flight and trying to figure out how to break the truth to everyone he bumps into the last person he expected to see, the flirty, charming green eyed ex warbler who was always able to find a way under his skin. Over a whiskey and a catch up an idea forms and Sebastian agrees to be his fake date for the holidays. But as Sebastian finds himself engulfed in the warm, happy madness of Blaine’s family and friends and warbler reunions, Blaine starts to see a new side to his old friends and as ex boyfriends, meddling friends and well meaning family start to get involved. This fake relationship could end up being the most real thing these crazy boys have.

February 23rd - broken glass sparkling Author: Merengs Artist:  Purpleyin   A year abroad. A chance to get away, put on hold all the issues he still needs to resolve and maybe find the bits of himself he thinks he’s lost. So Blaine takes it. February 25th - It's Not Easy (Being Stuck With Me Tonight) Author: Xhorizen Artist:  Thegreatgothamrewatch   Blaine had the perfect life – He was married to the man of his dreams, they lived with their best friend in the greatest city in the world, and he had everything he had ever dreamed of. Never mind the crippling depression and anxiety he dealt with each day he failed to book a job, and the lack of happiness he had in his marriage. One night, everything gets turned upside down and everything Blaine thought he knew was gone. How will he manage to pick up the pieces and try to make sense of his life again?  February 27th - Is There a Twelve Step Just For You? Author: Thenameisbritney Artist:  Datshitrandom   "He was still the same short, nerdy Blaine Anderson he’d always been. An easy target for school bullies everywhere. Kurt was the popular co-captain of the Cheerio’s, looking down on his kingdom like a fair but firm ruler. No one was on his level, certainly not a peasant like Blaine." Or Blaine tries to tell Kurt that he has a crush on him but accidentally ends up asking for a makeover instead. Oh, dear. February 29th - The Dalton Military Academy Warblers Author: Julia3132 Artist:  CinnamonT   Blaine Anderson is 2nd son of richest man in the world Winston Anderson. A devastating injury brought him back to Ohio where he disappeared into the family's massive estate. Society doesn't see him again until 2 years later, when after the death of Winston, he shows up at Dalton Military Academy, a place he is totally unsuited for. Sebastian Smythe is Captain of Dalton’s elite 1st Squadron and everything Blaine wants to be…dashing, debonair, comfortable in his own skin. A real James Bond. What Blaine doesn’t know is Sebastian is actually a member of the secret organization and Blaine is his mission...Find out the truth behind Blaine's arrival at Dalton and determine whether or not it has anything to do with his father's unexpected death. March 2nd - Love, Blaine Author: Gleefuldarrencrissfan Artist:  Klainiac Blaine Anderson is a typical teenager.  Except he’s not because he’s hiding a huge secret.  He’s gay.  But after reading a confession on the informal Dalton blog, he discovers that he’s not the only closeted boy at Dalton.  After a moment of courage, he emails him and ultimately starts up a friendship that will change life as he knows it. Loosely based on the movie Love, Simon. 

[hhemeraa-a]

Update / Haitus

I’ve been a ghost the last two weeks and I know that my last post was very succinct - which I had to delete because apparently porn blogs started reblogging it for some reason????????? And I’m just?? not in the place to deal with that.

I really hope to get back into a place where I can be here again, I know before I said I was on discord but I’ve had zero (zero) time to do literally anything else other than deal with my current situation so I’m barely even there. I do read all of your messages and I’m really sorry I haven’t responded. 

A lot of people had or have questions and wanted to know how I am, etc etc so under the cut will be a quick explanation of my absence and everything that’s happened within the last few weeks.

As some of you know, I am a Peace Corps volunteer servicing in China. I had been serving as a university English teacher for the last near 2 years. This was a very very very important and huge opportunity for me. 

Years ago when I was in college, my Mom was taking student loans out in my name while I was living with her. I went from having $54k in student debt (which is a lot already) to having about $108k in student debt in private loans. She shirked all responsibility on me, I had to graduate college early with a degree in something that I had credits in (International Studies with a focus on Chinese language and history), I was homeless for a while working random jobs, trying to join the Marine Officer program, etc etc -- needless to say, things were really really messy for a few years there. I ended up getting a really nice job for a logistics company getting paid about 2200 a month, but I was paying about 1600 a month in student loans. I had a lot of support from a friend who let me live with her and to this day I literally cannot thank her enough for everything she provided to me while I was suffering through all of this. 

After working that soul sucking job for nearly 4 years, I took a chance and applied for Peace Corps because it was an opportunity to finally make it to China. I was supposed to study abroad in college, but when my mother maxed out my debt, it was no longer feasible. I never thought I was going to get in because I had been out of school for years at that point, I had never taught English before besides 1-on-1s during college and I kind of thought I was too old???  

BUT LOW AND BEHOLD I GOT IN.  This shit meant everything to me. I was finally going to study abroad, I was finally going to have a chance to use my degree, I was finally going to have the chance to learn a language, I had an opportunity to have a complete career change. 

It was so incredibly hard though. I worked my ass off during training, I worked really really hard to integrate into my site, but if anyone has ever heard any of my horror stories of being the only foreigner in the middle of south east China, you’ll understand that it’s not always fun 😅 I even had a whole mental break down and had to be sent back to the States for 45 days so I could stop stressing, but I got my ass right back on that plane and came to finish the job I started. The low were low, but the highs were so incredibly high that it made up for every bad moment.

This program meant everything to me.  My first semester sucked ass, it was harder than I ever thought it would be. My second semester was so much better, my third semester I was over loaded with about 450+ students and 8 classes, but I was finally getting the hang of the language, the school, the people, and I had gotten the ‘ok’ from my school to work there as a full time teacher once my Peace Corps contract was finished. This?? Was such an opportunity?? I literally had started making the moves to start a life here -- at least temporarily. Work at my school as contracted teacher for a year, pass the HSK Chinese language test above a 4, use the money to find a better job in Taiwan -- there was a whole plan. 

Every year, Peace Corps meets for 1-2 weeks for In Service Training. We met from Jan. 12 - 17. Usually it’s just to reconnect and make sure all the volunteers are doing their jobs, medical check ups, etc etc etc. It’s a good time to see how other volunteers are doing. 

Jan. 17th we were formally told that the Peace Corps China program was being closed. After 2020, there would no longer be any new volunteers and that we needed to start preparing our schools for the transition. They called it a graduation, but we all knew it was a political move. For five hours, a room of 200 people ripped into the US PC HQ staff as to why they were “”graduating”” the program. They said it was because the budget didn’t call for it and that China no longer needed volunteers in their schools. Which is a lie. Tensions were already really really high, the answers kept gettin more vague, and we finally flat out asked if this was a political decision to remove Peace Corps from China. 

We didn’t get an answer. 

Needless to say, all the volunteers are livid. The information spread like wild fire to all of the schools and volunteers were faced with having to be the representative of a shitty political decision. It was extremely difficult to have to face students and try to explain that Americans don’t hate them when the political system there does. 

Chinese New Year was from Jan 25th - Jan 27th this year. I lived in Chongqing city in the Chongqing province/municipality, a city that has about 32 million people in it. During this time, the city becomes a ghost town due to the holiday being similar to Christmas/Thanksgiving where everyone goes back to their hometowns to be with family. All the shops close and for foreigners it can be difficult to find food because everything isn’t open lol. 

However on Jan. 25th was when news about the corona virus started getting around. It wasn’t very big, but the news was starting to spread. The Hubei province touches Chongqing province, so whispers were starting to come through and most information volunteers got were through foreign sources, but even my Chinese friends were telling me that I shouldn’t go out or if I do, I need to be sure to wear a mask. 

Sunday Jan. 26th, notices are starting to go up on store fronts saying that they are required by law to be closed, but I managed to find a place that was still open. News about the virus is starting to gain traction and more and more information about what is happening in Wuhan is starting to spread. My friend who is staying with me who lives in a small town near the border of Hubei (where Wuhan is placed) gets a call from his school telling him that it is safer for him to not come back to site. We are starting to hear that small towns are shutting down travel in and out, bus systems are starting to shut down and certain areas in the city are no longer allowing taxi or Didi (Chinese Uber)  services. 

Monday Jan. 27th, my friend leaves because all train and bus tickets out of the city were being canceled. My city was slowly starting to quarantine everyone. I live on campus, and when I tried to return after walking my friend to the metro, security took my temperature (with those neat little temp guns) and then wouldn’t let me in because they thought I was too warm. After arguing with them in my broken Chinese and convinced them that I lived there, they finally let me back on campus. They told me that no cars or people are allowed to go in and out anymore. 

I lived near city center and it was obvious that the government was slowly locking everyone away to try and prevent the spread, but it was so eerie and apocalyptic. We had been receiving emails from the PCChina director giving us daily updates that were inching towards the idea that all volunteers were going to be ‘consolidated’, so everyone just needed to be prepared. 

Tuesday Jan. 28th, the notice went out that the volunteers were being ‘consolidated’ to Thailand because China made it illegal for any group of 4 or more people to be together. We were only allowed 1 check in bag and we weren’t sure if we were ever going to be allowed to come back into country. People who were not at their sites were not allowed to go back to their sites. Wherever a volunteer was in that moment that we got the notice was required to get their ticket to Bangkok and leave immediately. I had to pack 2 years of my life up into a single suitcase not knowing if I was ever going to come back. 

Wednesday Jan 29th, I was on a plane and landed in Bangkok. I am a safety warden of my province and the first warden to arrive so I was in charge of all safety until staff arrived. 

But after that, things were very much in the air. We had no idea what was going to happen and every day things just got weirder and more serious and we didn’t know if at all we were going to be able to go back. We speculated a lot, as the news got worse and worse and worse. By Friday, all USA government employees were told to evacuate. No gov employee is allowed to enter China until the travel restrictions were let up, which meant that many PCChina staff - if they were to leave, would be allowed back in until China decided that it was safe enough or... if they wanted them back. 

Sunday, Feb. 2nd, all the volunteers who were at the hotel had a skype meeting with the head of the PCChina program and were told that due to the severity of the situation, all currently serving China volunteers would be forced to COS (Close of Service) by Thursday. The program was ending and we would all be sent back to our respective homes between Wednesday and Thursday. 

When I say it was the shittiest delivery of news imaginable, I cannot even put it into words. After we were all told that we could no longer return to China, we had lost our jobs, and couldn’t even say goodbye to anyone; HQ Staff had the balls to tell us that in order to get our final service allowance, we were still required to fill out paperwork and that we shouldn’t be sad. We should be happy we served at all. 

They gave no time for mourning, many of us put two years of our lives on hold to do this program, some of us don’t even have homes to go back too and they want us to make decisions in 4 days. After Thursday, they will no longer provide any assistance with travel, we do not get health insurance, the moment we COS, PC shrugs off complete responsibility of over 100+ volunteers. 

I have been so busy filling out paperwork and I have been so incredibly angry and sad and resentful that the only person I’ve told is my Dad. Returning to the USA isn’t really an option and the plan I had set into motion is now nonexistent because I’m no longer allowed in the country I gave two years of my life to until they decide that this virus has been resolved. 

I have been spending a lot of time trying to figure out where I’m going to live, what job I’m going to have, how I can get a cellphone plan, where I can go because I’m being quarantined for having been in China within the last 14 days, how to manage the money I’m getting -- everything has been changing so rapidly that I still don’t know where I’m going to be by Friday since Peace Corps is only paying for the hotel up until then. 

I promise I’m not ignoring any of you, I really really want to be in a place where I can RP and chat with y’all, but life for me right now is moving so fucking fast and I have to make so many decisions that will affect my future that I literally have not stopped going since Sunday night. 

I still stand by my last message: I really appreciate all the messages you guys have been sending me. I do read them. I just don’t want to talk. I don’t have the emotional capacity to and I haven’t even been given time to just... process and be mad. 

I promise I’ll be back, just give me some time. 

[steveramsdale]

10.11 MyLastEverBlog(?)Blog?

Think back to November or December in 2015. You’d never heard of Tashkent and your Saturday mornings were your own. If you had heard of Tashkent, you probably knew little about it and could not imagine what daily life there might be like. Those things were about to change. I was about to find out about daily like in Tashkent and, through me, so were you. I think I’ve said before, I didn’t expect to be writing a blog every week. I didn’t think anyone would be interested in reading such a document. But here we are. It is not ending how I expected, this year has not turned out in a way anyone expected. This will be, almost certainly (!!!) my last Saturday as a economic migrant in Uzbekistan. So, find a comfortable seat. Grab your favourite Saturday morning beverage. Settle for the final edition of the blog no-one needed! Therefore, this is (almost certainly) the last blog from Teaching on the Naughty Steppe. By the way, that blog title is made of the five best words I have ever written, probably the only good, clever, interesting words over the four and a half years. Anyway, you will be getting back your Saturday mornings, so start planning for what that freedom could mean to you.

On Saturday, I went out for tea, back with Wendy, Malek and Maya, and it was hot. Just as I arrived back at NBU, the theme of the week emerged - The Ticket Crisis. I received at text message telling me that my flight on 1st July had been cancelled. It advised that I could change the ticket. This was in the context of news that Turkish Airlines had not been given permission to resume operations to and from Tashkent. There was also news of additional repatriation flights operated by Uzbekistan Airways to various locations, including Istanbul. I tried using my phone to re-book the ticket. I tried using a laptop at Wendy’s house. I kept getting an error message at the same stage. I downloaded the Turkish app. It worked. I was able to rebook for the 2nd July and was able to relax and enjoy the evening (for a while). Various colleagues said ‘hi’ as they left the compound and when a group of three returned, they came into the garden. They came to let us know that they had just been to the main office of Uzbekistan Airways as they had been told that the last 5 tickets out of the city were available. They had bought them for a flight the next day. They had all sorts of rumours available to share. There would be a few more flights but commercial flights were shut down until August. The whole of Central Asia was shutting down until October (because a Kazakh government minister contracted the virus). There were, however, more tickets on the flight than the five they had told me about. It was a wild ride. I had my tickets. There were three more days of school. I had things I needed to do. I was sceptical about the stories. That was not the end, however.

On Sunday, I had my last Russian lesson(?). I had managed to ‘sell’ most of my spare Uzbek currency via UK bank transfers, which was good. Then I realized I owed for one Russian lesson and had this last one so I didn’t now have enough money - maybe. I can use a Visa card if I really have to.

On Sunday morning, I got another text message about the flight. At first I thought it was another cancellation and thought: ‘Is this going to keep happening for the rest of my life?’. It was, in fact, just a change -10 minutes earlier. By about 10:30am on Sunday, I was organised to such an extent that I could have been out of the flat, on my way to an airport, in m 15 minutes. This was my intended state of readiness for the next 11 days or so.

I made my last ever bus journey. Early Monday I walked to school - or I set off walking. I saw a couple of almost empty buses go past and decided I should take one last ride. Early adopters of the blog will remember our fun getting on different buses when we first came to Tashkent. It was the 24, fittingly.

By the end of Monday afternoon, the classroom was almost packed up. I would go in again on Wednesday for a final check - but it was almost the end. On Monday I also received another text message about the flight - again just a ten minute change to the the departure - the second flight this time.

Tuesday morning saw no changes to my ticket. Unusual times. Discussions were still ongoing in the message group. I was, once more, working from home. Between lessons, I decided to go and get some different drinks, via the bin to Ben’s little shop. I went downstairs and got to the corner, only to realise I had forgotten a face mask. I went back and got one. When I got back to the exact same point, I noticed something strange in the rubbish bag. It was a kitchen knife. I stopped and thought about going back again. I could not bear the thought of that. I put the knife in my little bag and went down to the bins. As I headed towards the shop, I thought about the fact that they sometimes check bags. I did not want to try to explain why I was carrying a knife, so I went home!

Wednesday morning saw the arrival of an email saying that Turkish Airlines resumption of flights had not, in fact, yet received official Uzbek government approval. So, the date of 2nd July was still ‘up in the air’. I genuinely apologise for that phrase. Would I be flying on the following Thursday?

All of this uncertainly (keep reading) may mean, there may need to be at least one more blog to resolve this part of the story. I cannot tell you that I will definitely not be here next Saturday. I think you might want to know how (and even if) this ends! Anyway, if I’m going to suffer, you can, too.

Here’s a strange little story to change the mood for a moment. As I was drifting off to sleep on Tuesday evening, I thought about someone and decided I would ask Mairi, the next day, if she had heard from this person. I was awake in the middle of the night and knew that I would not be getting straight back to sleep. So, I got up and checked my messages and there was a message from this person. I know that is a coincidence, but still slightly cool and spooky.

Wednesday was our last day. I saw one of my students in person as she came to return her iPad and collect her belongings. That was really nice. She was the only one I saw. It was a very strange end to then year but I think it was ‘easier’ for me that a proper end would have been.

A few staff arranged to have a get-together on Wednesday evening and I decided to go. It was not too far from me so I walked round and it was very pleasant. I made this note - ‘The girl selling tissues who took the money but didn’t give the tissues.’ It was Mark who was persuaded to buy them. I think she just forgot to hand them over, but it was funny. I then saw her again later as I walked home . She was walking along counting her money.

On Thursday I had my flat inspection, a ‘hospital appointment’ my telephone with my consultant and an interview with a supply agency.

Friday was also an unexpectedly busy/exciting day. The next flight chaos arrived. A message saying my flight from Tashkent to Istanbul had been cancelled. It was time to see if the Uzbek repatriation flights were on. As I set off, Dave got in touch and I told him to join me. It was quite early, but there was already quite a gathering outside the office. I won’t say queue because this is Tashkent. I stood at the back of the scrum. A man asked me if I needed help. I said I was here for a ticket to England. He said I could go straight in. I was unsure, but others waved me forward. I was allowed in and soon after, Dave arrived. Within about 20 minutes, we both had tickets to Istanbul and a reasonable price. Now to check the UK leg.

When I got home, I called Turkish airlines. The app was not letting me do anything. I explained the situation and said that I now had an alternative flight to Istanbul. I wanted to know if I could still use the Manchester ticket. He said I could not. After some back and forth, he told me I could cancel the whole ticket and book a new flight. He told me about the one at 13:40, I pointed out that I knew about that flight as I HAD A TICKET FOR IT. We cancelled and re-booked. He also told me I could only arrange a refund via email. I sent the email. I also filled in a claim on the website. A little while later, a call came to my phone from an Uzbek number. It was a woman ringing to give me a number to call to claim my refund. I wrote the number down and then called it. I got in to a hold queue and decided not to wait. When I looked at the number of the incoming call it was the same as the one the woman had given me. So she called to give me the number she was calling from for me to call to get the refund! A little while later, someone else called and they sorted the refund. The outstanding one from Emirates is still outstanding. But, I (hopefully) have a route home with only 24 hours at Istanbul airport.

My final activity on Friday was to meet two wonderful people at Ecorn. We made a video call to Mairi, too, so she was ‘there’ as well.

The government here is trying to encourage people to continue to be vigilant and sensible. They have sent out police and national guards to check hygiene methods are being observed at shops and markets. Also, the cars making announcements are back out.

And that is my last week (probably). It has been quite a ride. By next Saturday, I should be home home! I will let you know either way! Good Bye.

[hope-for-olicity]

Fabulous Olicity Fanfic Friday - August 2nd, 2019

Happy Friday! So this is my attempt to both thank awesome fanfic writers for their amazing work and offer my recommendations to anyone who is interested. Here are the fantastic fanfic stories I read this week! They are posted in the order I read them. This and all previous Fabulous Olicity Fanfic posts can be found on my blog.

SleepingQueens by @cruzrogue - Part 2 of the Who Knew? Series Oliver and Felicity are married... well the world knows they're married but to each other this is all fake. https://archiveofourown.org/works/19981492

Wait for Me to Come Home multi-chapter WIP by @wanderingmmries - AU. Oliver and Felicity are together before the Gambit goes down and their lives are forever changed. How does life go on after such a tragedy? https://archiveofourown.org/works/5766997/chapters/13289047

Forget Me Not multi-chapter WIP by @mindramblingsfics - Felicity was presumed dead after The Gambit was shipwrecked and she went missing. As the one year anniversary of her death approaches, a miracle happens and she is found. Just when Oliver thinks the universe has given them a second chance, he learns Felicity barely remembers him and the memories of their love together are gone entirely. Oliver and Felicity’s journey after they reunite prove to be a tough road ahead, and then they learn that Felicity’s accident may have had a more sinister motive behind it. https://archiveofourown.org/works/18392291/chapters/43556987

Helplessly Wrecked multi-chapter WIP by @cruzrogue - A very smart, passionate, woman. Worked to get her dual masters from MIT, it may have taken longer being a mother of triplets but at least she has her mother’s support. Oliver Queen still has a yacht incident and was marooned for shorter time frame on a real deserted island. He never flunked out of his Ivy League schooling and is a very sought-after bachelor. His relationships never last more than half a year and is known to throw himself into his work. His motto ‘work hard play harder’. https://archiveofourown.org/works/19194103/chapters/45628978

Time for a Story multi-chapter WIP by @smkkbert - This fic shows Olicity and their life as a (married) couple with family. Although Olicity (and their kids) are the protagonists, other characters of Arrow and Flash make appearances. YOU NEED THIS STORY IN YOUR LIFE. https://archiveofourown.org/works/3912157/chapters/8757172

Providence multi-chapter WIP by @so-caffeinated - Will Queen has struggled in silence in the year since he was shot. But when a shadowy crime lord known as Domino targets the only woman Will’s ever truly loved, fate forces him to confront his demons in ways he never could have imagined… Whether he wants to or not. Amelia Prescott has fought to take control of her life since learning two years ago that her personal and professional worlds were manipulated by others. But nothing can prepare her for just how hard she'll have to fight to set her own course, especially when her heart belongs to a damaged man and a crime lord threatens her every professional move... And her life. Destiny brings them together, but as chaos reigns and personal demons haunt Will and Amelia both, it may also threaten to tear them apart. https://archiveofourown.org/works/17919056/chapters/42308753

little wonders (twists and turns of fate) multi-chapter WIP by @alexiablackbriar13 - Oliver and Felicity's drunken mistake of a hook-up in the bunker comes with unexpected consequences in the form of a... souvenir. Deciding to remain romantically uninvolved, the two of them will have to battle all the trials and tribulations of maintaining a platonic relationship while Felicity is pregnant and the two of them are living together, coping with all the emotional baggage that they both bring to the table - and dealing with the fact that they are still very much in love with each other, but scarred by the events that broke them apart in the first place. https://archiveofourown.org/works/19436164/chapters/46256896

Somewhere With You multi-chapter WIP by @imusuallyobsessed - The cure for anything is saltwater: sweat, tears, or the sea. Felicity Smoak is on the run. She took a bus cross-country from Vegas to Star Beach, a tiny town on the East Coast that's the summer and weekend getaway for Star City's rich and famous. There, she vows to lay low for a couple weeks and then move on. Her plan lasts for about twenty minutes until she meets John Diggle. Then, her already shaky plan goes to hell when she meets Oliver Queen. - I'm finally catching up on this delightful story! http://archiveofourown.org/works/8762650/chapters/20085367

Post its and Promises by @yet-i-remain-quiet - Felicity is feeling as if there is never time for her and Oliver to get married. Oliver comes up with a compromise. Inspired by the Grey's Anatomy season where Derek and Meredith get married via post it note. https://archiveofourown.org/works/12252486

(Thank you for) Being There multi-chapter WIP by @3431jessica - There's always been something between Felicity and Oliver, a complicated relationship status of some sort. They were more than friends but not quite a couple. When the trial for William's custody intensified and Oliver was almost certain he would lose the battle, Felicity boldly came to his rescue, even when it involved surrendering her ‘Smoak’ surname. https://archiveofourown.org/works/11639799/chapters/26180820jj

Arrow Out of Context multi-chapter WIP by @smoaking-greenarrow - "Did I leave you with the impression that I was a rational guy?" Baseball Part 2 https://archiveofourown.org/works/14957309/chapters/47474989

When Did It All Go Wrong multi-chapter WIP by @wrldtravler - After a mission with A.R.G.U.S. goes south, agent Oliver Queen learns something he shouldn't about Director Amanda Waller. Sent on the run when A.R.G.U.S. turns against him, he’s forced to seek out the one person that never wanted to see him again but whom he trusts with his life: his ex, Felicity Smoak. Putting their past behind them, the estranged pair come together along with John Diggle and Lyla Michaels to stop the looming threat. However, the past never stays buried for long. With their renewed connection comes great strength. But where there is strength, there is also great weakness – one that may cost them everything they worked to prevent. https://archiveofourown.org/works/19019845/chapters/45169432

Mothers Know Best multi-chapter WIP by @smkkbert - Since they have been kids, they have been best friends. Since they have been friends, their mothers wanted them to be together. After coming back from the east coast, Felicity takes over a position at Queen Consolidated, the company her best friend will soon take over from his father. Their mothers still jjpush for them to be together, and they seem closer to that goal than ever because wedding bells are ringing. The only problem is that they both plan to get married to someone else. https://archiveofourown.org/works/18921118/chapters/44918146

The Voyage to You multi-chapter WIP by @obibalwin - Felicity Smoak didn’t want a complicated life. She enjoyed helping people as a nurse at Starling City General Hospital and spending time with her best friend Sara. When a John Doe arrives on the fifth floor of the hospital, she finds herself being dragged into a world of mysterious oaths and visions. The only thing she can hope is to stay strong enough to resist the man who has traveled to find her. https://archiveofourown.org/works/16596788/chapters/38895977

// @emmaamelia95 // @mel-loves-all // @oliverfel4 // @green-arrows-of-karamel // @coal000 // @miriam1779 // @memcjo// @captainolicitysbedroom // @tdgal1 // @spaztronautwriter // @lalawo1// @quiveringbunny // @wrongshipper // @thebookjumper // @vaelisamaza // @myhauntedblacksoul // @lovelycssefan // @laurabelle2930 // @laxit21 // - let me know if you want to be tagged or untagged!

[airariaira]

Troisième - 12/02/20

It’s been more than a month, and holy heck time has truly flown. Yet somehow I feel like I have been here for a while, too. I’m feeling more settled and comfortable here in Troyes - I can get to and from school fine, and I don’t jump up with fright at every bus stop on the way home alone, worried about missing my stop! I couldn’t even imagine getting lost now. I feel confident enough to explore a bit more, and this afternoon I took a walk a little in town and along the Seine, because the weather was gorgeous. That was of course until i was 15 minutes away from home and the wind picked up, then suddenly there was needles of rain soaking through my jacket and my bag and my jeans. Honestly, I felt very personally attacked by the weather at that point. On a day that only a few hours earlier had looked like this from my window?:

It was so gorgeous outside with my window open, I could hear the traffic and the birds and the breeze - the air coming in was a little cold, but in that nice fresh winter way. I couldn’t possibly not go outside. So, after my two hours of school this morning (Philosophy and English Literature), I decided to go on a little walk exploring:

^A padlock fence I saw while walking along the river

^This is one of the ol chimneys from the 19th-century factories in Troyes. Troyes has been a city famous for producing clothing and goods for hundreds of years, and you can see these bad boys pop up all around. I also met some cute new friends:

So what if these new friends are paintings of cats on the streets? This is MY blong, you’re not allowed to judge me.

Since my last blog post, a fair amount has happened, I’ll catch you all up... Which won’t be too hard for me to do, seeing as I started writing a travel diary to keep up to date with what I’ve been doing - unlike Mr Alex Gasson it seems, as he wrote in his blog (which, by the way, you can find on this link here) Lets go all the way back to Saturday the 26th of January, the morning of which I wrote my last blog post. That afternoon we took a trip out to my host family’s house by the lake (called La Lac d’Orient) in the pretty, historic village of Géraudot only a little while away from Troyes. We went for a walk around the nearby forest, which was gorgeous. We heard a woodpecker, too.

The lake is man-made, not natural, and is where water from the Seine is redirected to avoid flooding out Paris each year. On the shore, there’s a small plastic path down to the water to make the lake more accessible for those with disabilities. I thought that was good, I’m surprised I’ve never seen anythign like it before. 

Following the walk, we went back to the house for a coffee and a board game. That evening on the way back to the city, we stopped by the outlet store shopping centre. I found a little bit of home there...

(I pinkie promise that the bag has gifts in it! For other people!) Sunday the 26th was a slightly warmer day, which I suppose was a bit of a last hurrah, because the forcast for the following week was not so good. On that day I went out with my host mother Marie, we went to another museum. This is in a building called Hôtel de Vauluisant, which houses both the Musée d’Art Champenois, and the Musée de la Bonneterie. The art section was so phenomenally beautiful - filled with old paintings and sculptures and stained glass from the many many churches in Troyes. The section on Troyes’ factory and bonneterie history had many machines from the early factories of the city. This is the area outside of the building:

After that, we went to a beautiful church just across the road from the museum. The inside of the church took me aback for two reasons. One, because if was so incredibly beautiful inside, filled to abundance with enormous paintings, sculptures, and flowers. Two, because it was so freaking cold inside. I coud see my breath cloud out probabaly more dramatically than it has during any winter commute to school in New Zealand. That said though, it was definitely worth the visit. I never knew churches could be so decked-out in beautiful things. I don’t think a picture could capture how pretty it was, but here you go anyway:

Monday the 27th was a pretty standard French school day. I ended up with a bit of a migraine so had a quiet day. That evening we (my host siblings Lola and Antoine, and my host mother Marie) did some English revision for Antoine’s upcoming English exam, which was fun. Tuesday the following day was another good school day. I had a lot of free hours, so I went into town for a while. Wednesday was of course my short day. That afternoon I went out with two new friends, Cheyenne and Alicia, to the museum and town. It was good fun! Cheyenne and I at the museum:

The weekend of the 1st/2nd was good. On Sunday in the afternoon we went bowling. The cousin of my host siblings, who’s from Boston and living in Paris for a year, came and joined us. Her name is Noa, and she stayed from Sunday to Wednesday to celebrate her birthday. On Monday I finally handed out the rest of my New Zealand souvenirs in my English class. At lunchtime I sat with Juliette and some others. Juliette lived in Christchurch for a year a little while ago! Tuesday the 4th was Noa’s birthday. School was interesting, with lots of free periods spaced out throughout the day (awkward timing!) We couldn’t find a spare classroom for French Literature which was weird?? That evening, we celebrated Noa’s birthday with raclette and then cake. On Wednesday she left back for Paris - I wonder if one day we’ll meet again in this big old world? That evening I went wandering around town with Marie for a while again, and I got a photo in front of the famous Cœur de Troyes:

It lights up at night and the red light beats like a heart. I’ll be interested to see how many couples will be taking their pictures in front of it on Friday for Valentine’s Day! Last Friday I walked to the bus stop with a new appreciation for how pretty the city is. I start school at 9, so get to see the way the morning sun hits the old buildings so beautifully. The sky was so blue and the light so nice, I don’t know if a camera could capture it quite so perfectly:

And on Saturday the 8th... Paris!!! I travelled over with my host sister Lola, and we met Marie there. The day seemed to last for so long while it was happening, but somehow I found myself suddenly sitting on the train back to Troyes again. Now, it feels like it went by so fast. We started with the Tour Eiffel, naturally, where I took a video - and unintentionally caught someone proposing! Everything there was so big and old and impressive - it sumultaneously felt surreal, and like it was exactly where I was meant to be. 

Following the Eiffel Tower, we took a short cruise on the Seine on the Bateau Mouches to sightsee a little bit. It was so bitterly cold and windy on the water, but the sculptures and cuildings and bridges were pretty enough to make up for it. Here’s a picture of a scaled-down model of the Statue of Liberty, and the Eiffel Tower in the same frame:

After lunch, we had our little indulgence in consumerism by going to the Galleries Lafayette, where all the expensive brands and rich are piled into one big, pretty shopping centre. It was sparkly and dazzling, and I don’t think I’ve every been surrounded by so many expensive things in my life before. It smelled like money and every kind of perfume all at once. Just how Jay Gatsby would have liked it. Here’s me on the roof:

It was such a long way down! After that, we went to the Arc de Triomphe. It’s so incredibly huge in person. It was wonderful to see all of the avenues surrounding me while on the roof (getting rained on... am I making a habit of that?) The rain didn’t drain my spirits, however. It was so cool to admire the bustle of Parisian life happening all below me. 

The view from the top:

(I think the stairs were worth it... I’m not sure what the other two think though...   🤔)

I was so tired after that big day that on the train ride back home I just stared into space for the entire hour and a half! Throughout the day, I kept waiting for one of those slack-jawed tourist moments to hit me, a feeling of helpless amazement when I looked at some monument or the like. But it didn’t - perhaps I’m just better at enjoying travel in a slow, contented kind of way. The rain in Paris on Saturday would prove to be the beginning of a storm that would last a few days. On Monday the 10thI was very happy to be sitting inside, writing my travel diary, rather than outside in that rain and wind I could hear against the roof and walls. All in all, I’ve been really enjoying my time on exchange. Sometimes I do truly feel a little out of my depth - like I’m wasting my time here is I speak much English, but I just can’t always articulate myself fully in French. Sometimes I feel a little out of place and behind when I’m around my peers and they’re speaking such rapic French. However, it does get easier each day. I feel happy and comfortable here.

Here’s some more photos, just so I can flex on my people back in New Zealand about how pretty this city is...

^A fountain the bus goes past each day, taken on one of the rare occasions that the bus isn’t packed to the brim and I manage to grab a seat!

^A pretty sculpture in town

^A church with a gorgeous roof that’s just behind the house

^Some more pretty houses (gosh I must look like such a weirdo taking pictures of all these buildings)

^A pretty street in pretty afternoon light

^A very ~zenn~ little square nestled in buildings in town

Aaand last but not least...

A prime example of the memes and doodles that are copied onto the blackboard during recreation. (Shh - don’t tell the teacher who drew what!) Until next time!