#is in the city and the supermarket is literally 1 block away

[apricotluvr]

May 2023 ☕️🕌🍃🍿🍓🗒

[puppypeter]

✨ All fics are complete! ✨

He Loves Me Cause I’m Cute, He Thinks I’m Pretty Funny | 2588 words 📱

He watches it back one more time after it posts, checking for typos in his subtitles and captions, and has to laugh again.

Steve fucking Rogers? His brain thought he could pull Captain America, literal superhero and America’s favorite sweetheart?

“Hello I’m a 35 year old amputee living in New York and I think that I could get Steve Rogers.”

OR

the one where bucky posts a tiktok and steve is utterly smitten.

Summer Slipped Us Underneath Her Tongue | 10712 words 🧳

Bucky is a tour guide who enjoys sharing the rich history and culture of each city they pass through with a bunch of early-20's college students who just want to know the cheapest place to get drunk.

Except for Steve, who asks Bucky for a personal tour around his hometown.

The rest is, as they say, history.

You Make My Heart Skip A Beet | 3853 words 🧑🏼‍🍳

“I made soda bread.” Steve lets out the 6’2” supersoldier equivalent of a squeak. “Oh, I love soda bread,” he says eagerly, rolling forward on the balls of his feet like he does when he gets excited. “My mom used to make it all the time when I was growing up.” The tips of Barnes’s ears turn red, and he mutters something that sounds suspiciously like, “I know.”

Ollie Meets Bagel | 5517 words 🥯

He was a skater boy, Steve said let's get bagels, boy.

Steve wants to start doing this twenty-first century thing properly. He gets help in the form of skateboarding, skateboarders, bagels, and Sam Wilson.

Taxi | 5113 words 🚕

Bucky Barnes was, he hoped, a good taxi driver.

He's so good, he actually tries to return lost property that ends up left in his car and... well. It has some unexpected consequences involving a National Icon.

Enough said.

Leg Day | 12157 words 🏋️‍♂️

“So talk to him,” Sam says.

“I can’t,” Bucky groans. “I can’t, Sam, I. He just.” He fluffs his hair up and stares at Sam, distraught. “I want him to bench press me.”

“Okay, so it’s serious,” Sam interprets. “Got it."

(Or: The one where Sam is Bucky's long-suffering roommate, Bucky is a hot mess of a millennial, and Hot Steve spends far too much time on the Lat Pull-Down machine.)

Love In Aisle Four | 2127 words 🛍️

When Bucky needs to swing by the supermarket after a long, hard day of work, the last thing he expects is to meet a cute grocery clerk named Steve…

Coming Up Easy | 45515 words ✍🏻

“Listen, I was just thinking,” Steve says, his face open, eyebrows raised in a tentatively hopeful expression. “Why don’t you come stay at my place for a while? I’ve got an office that I barely use, and a change of scenery might do you good, right? Help you beat that writer’s block?” With a crooked smile, he adds, “I promise I’m not a serial killer.”

While Bucky would normally crack a joke about how that’s exactly what a serial killer would say, right now, all he can do is blink at Steve in surprise, heart tripping over itself in his chest. Steve wants him to come and stay at his place. In Massachusetts. Just the two of them.

"Oh," Bucky croaks. "I- Wow."

“I mean, no pressure,” Steve says hastily. “Totally fine if you don’t wanna. I just thought I’d offer, in case it might help, y’know?”

“Yeah.” Bucky ignores the little voice in his head that sounds an awful lot Nat and Becca, telling him he’s setting himself up for heartbreak. “I mean, if you’re sure, that would be amazing.”

Anywhere The Wind Blows | 8845 words 👨‍🚒🎖️

After a catastrophic fire that shakes him to his core, Steve Rogers quits his job as a Brooklyn firefighter and relocates to a cabin in the remote Canadian wilderness, wanting quiet and solitude and to maybe never have to speak to another human being ever again. He gets his wish, more or less, until a recently injured Bucky Barnes is discharged from the Army and rents the cabin next door.

The Safer Course | 7918 words | Part 1 of Won’t You Be My Neighbor 🏡

When Steve moves to the suburbs in 2033, he intends to retire from superhero life.

He does not intend to fall in love with his pain-in-the-ass neighbor.

Every Year I Have You | 7064 words | Part 2 of Won’t You Be My Neighbor 🏡

Steve set the bar pretty high, as birthday presents go.

Bucky is determined to outdo him when July 4th comes around.

Beneath The Mistletoe | 21203 words 🎄

Bucky had a bet with his sister that if he didn’t have a boyfriend to bring home for Christmas by the time he was 25, he had to give her $200 and go blonde for a year. But now he's 25, it’s nearing December, and not only is Bucky as single as ever, but he’s also running low on cash. He doesn’t exactly want to bleach his hair, either.

At least Steve is willing to upgrade their relationship from best friends to fake boyfriends.

The Settler | 52203 words 🍞

“What do you want to do?”

Steve pauses and looks at them.

What he wants is to stay with them. He doesn't have any family left, they all died before he even joined the war and became... this. Captain America turned whatever he is now. But Natasha and Sam have become his family over the years. Not just because they're on the run together, fugitives and vigilantes, but way before that too.

He doesn't want to leave that.

But he knows that, realistically, he can't stay with them and they can't stay with him.

So he looks at them with a smile and lies. “I don't know.”

OR; In which Steve retires and finally finds a place to call home.

You Can’t Put Your Arms Around A Memory | 1148 words 🐈

"Alright, Bucky," Steve slows his steps, watches his neighbour stop at the bottom of the next flight of stairs. There's a canvas bag in his hand that Steve didn't notice earlier, cream coloured with the figure of a sleeping, black cat painted on it. "Have a good day."

He thinks Bucky's cheeks pink up a bit right then and there, but Steve can't tell. He's too distracted by his pounding, foolish heart, by the way Bucky smiles bashfully, and ducks his head. The way he seems like he wants to stay.

To Believe In Tomorrow | 3959 words 👨🏻‍🌾

Bucky's mornings at the community garden get a little more interesting when the new guy shows up.

Maybe This Christmas | 24873 words | Part 1 of Maybe ❄️

Bucky’s not going home for Christmas. But it’s fine. He’s spending Christmas alone in his apartment, but it’s cool. He’s not feeling up to seeing his family after his accident anyway, plus he has to work. He’s totally fine with it. But then he runs into Steve, literally, and suddenly his Christmas isn’t looking so empty after all.

-----

Hurrying was a bad idea. Bucky’s foot hits a patch of ice and slides out from under him in what would have been a comical cartoon banana-peel-like trip, if it wasn’t happening to him, and he braces himself to hit the ground. This is going to hurt.

“Fuck,” Bucky screeches, but as he lands on his back, it’s not the cold hard concrete he expected, but a solid mass beneath him. Oh god, Bucky thinks as he realises he smacked into the person behind him and took them down with him.

Maybe This Year (Will Be Better Than Last) | 133868 words | Part 2 of Maybe ❄️

Last year, Bucky Barnes met Steve Rogers. Well actually, he slipped and fell on him. What followed was the best Christmas either of them had ever had. But what happens when Christmas is over and life returns to normal? What happens after the Christmas miracle?

-----

Bucky should have known. He did know. When things seem too good to be true, they usually are. And Steve is the best thing that has happened to him in a long time, possibly ever, so of course it couldn’t last.

Maybe This Time (I Hope I Get The Chance To Say Goodbye) | 34561 words | Part 3 of Maybe ❄️

Steve and Bucky Barnes are happily married. They've made it through some hard times and come out stronger and happier, together. Then Steve gets called on to come out of retirement for the most important mission of his life and everything changes. Everything.

-----

“Have yourself a merry little Christmas…” Steve starts singing along softly, and Bucky chuckles, before leaning his head onto Steve’s shoulder, always happy when he’s in Steve’s arms.

“From now on, our troubles will be miles away…” Bucky joins in.

Dancing round their living room, just as in love as ever, their troubles seem light-years away, if not non-existent.

Sadly, they’re closer than they think.

The Unexpected Gift | 9504 words | Part 1 of When Winter Comes 🐕

Steve Rogers is fine.

After ending a long-term relationship with Sam Wilson, Steve moves back to New York. He's tired and lonely but depressed? No. At least, that's what he thinks.

From the window of his apartment, he watches a dark-haired man and his service dog sitting in the park, wondering what his story is.

The Winter Storm | 2218 words | Part 2 of When Winter Comes 🐕

"If I could give you one thing in life, I would give you the ability you see yourself through my eyes, only then would you realize how special you are to me."

After Bucky and Steve confessed their feelings for each other, life has its own twisted way to challenge the most profound love.

One January Night | 4213 words | Part 3 of When Winter Comes 🐕

Before going back to work, Steve Rogers still has things to learn: 1- Depression is a bitch and the battle against it isn't an easy one. 2- Dating a person with disabilities comes with its share of challenges.

Bucky Barnes Has His Shit Together (And Other Lies He Tells Himself) | 14159 words 🔒

You’d think a guy who owns one of the most successful bakeries in Brooklyn, has a million-dollar smile and that antiquated good ol’ boy charm, blond hair and blue eyes and biceps for days, would know what’s what.

But don’t let that fool you: Steve Rogers is a mess.

Obvious | 917 words ☕

"Oh, I have a prompt! So, it makes me laugh how painfully obvious Steve and Bucky's feelings are to everyone when they're in that pining, slowburn, does-he-doesn't-he phase. But imagine Steve and Bucky working in a coffee shop together and constantly bickering, nudging and playfully flirting with each other. And all the employees and patrons are so invested in their relationship and just want them to kiss already but no one realizes that Steve and Bucky have been married since they got out of HS."

[shijiujun]

I’m here with a zombie apocalypse (think Resident Evil level) + ABO danmei! I’m not usually a fan of ABOs tbh and I picked up this book for the zombie part and was surprised by the ABO part, but this one was a good nice balance between both. Surviving the zombie apocalypse still takes centre stage while the ABO part is more of a subplot/backdrop, but it’s cool all the same haha

Written by the author who wrote Swallowing the Sea (Tun Hai) & Breaking the Clouds (Po Yun)!

- Part of Min’s ‘Why You Should Read’ Series -

Summary:

In a world that has been overrun by a virus that turns people into zombies, Si Nan wakes up with no memory of who he is and what he’s doing in this rescue camp, only that he’s an omega that is scheduled to be air-lifted out of an affected zone to a safe sanctuary, where omegas are prized individuals meant to be protected so they can give birth and contribute to a new population, which has been decimated with attacking zombies globally. 

He’s not sure who he is and what he was supposed to be doing, but his instincts tell him to not go along with these people, and he flees into the crowd of attacking zombies. Much to everyone’s surprise, he has strong combat abilities (despite being an omega) and manages to escape from the team and also the zombies.

He chances upon Zhou Rong, Captain of the 118 Retrieval Special Unit and his team during another zombie attack in a nearby city, and joins them out after his escape route is blocked. Si Nan hides his omega scent with suppressants he finds in a supermarket, and unbeknownst to him, he has actually met Zhou Rong before when they were both much younger in a different setting, before zombies were even a thing. Zhou Rong leads a team of beta soldiers, which die one after the other as they flee, leaving the team down to its last bullet and six members.

Si Nan decides to follow them for a while, and due to his skilled fighting prowess, he gains the trust of this team and the civilians they’re protecting. Zhou Rong also takes a liking to him, and so does another team member Yan Hao, while Si Nan mistakenly thinks that Zhou Rong and Yan Hao are a couple together instead. As they flee from one city to another trying to get back to the 118 base, they realize the situation and virus is worser than they thought. They have to fight to survive while also figure out who Si Nan is, and why he’s a wanted individual by authorities from another country.

*A pretty accurate representation of a zombie apocalypse I have to say, I had Resident Evil flashbacks when I was reading this, people start dying right off the bat, but nothing hurts more than 2ha so I only teared up at minor character deaths

Read:

Novel (Online) | Novel (Print) - December 2020 Print | Novel Translations 

Characters:

1. 司南 Si Nan - Amazing pouty and fierce mix-blood blond-haired omega who has amnesia and doesn’t even know his own name. He sees some product in a convenience store where he meets Zhou Rong for the first time that has the words 司南 on it and decides that his name for now. Combat specialist and can take out a lot of zombies just on his own - he’s also immune to the zombie virus but they don’t know this until much later. He doesn’t go with the shady troop that rescued him initially, but with Zhou Rong because he’s intrigued by how brash and kind and a bit dumb this Captain is. Masquerades as a beta with the help of suppressants

He has a stepbrother (an alpha) who tortured him for many years due to Si Nan’s special condition and the mystery surrounding his childhood with his scientist mother and dead-but-terribly-revived father. Said stepbrother also wants to mate with him because he ‘loves’ him but is just insane af. 

Si Nan actually met Zhou Rong when they were much younger before this whole zombie thing came along, and Si Nan actually pretended to be a helpless participant of the competition they were in and lets Zhou Rong help him, only to steal away the prize at the very last moment. He liked Zhou Rong a lot then, but due to him being taken hostage technically by his stepbrother and also his allegiance to a Western state (he’s mixed blood, stepbrother is American-ish) they were unable to be together. 

He’s compassionate, but doesn’t show mercy to anyone who doesn’t deserve it. Like Zhou Rong, he wants to save everyone they possibly can, but they’re not dumb enough to think they can save everyone. As he travels with Zhou Rong and his team and other civilians, he starts to remember little things about himself and is caught by his stepbrother again midway through the novel, and just as he despairs that no one will ever save a monster like him, Zhou Rong turns up to do just that.

2. 周戎 Zhou Rong - Extremely confident, brash but handsome and strategic alpha Captain of the 118 unit, a special unit which was sent out a few months prior to the start of the book to clear out regions of civilians, but they lose touch with a major city and headquarters, and are forced to find ways to return to big HQ amidst unusual bursts of zombie attacks and a new strain of zombies who were infected without being bitten. Masquerades as a beta, like the rest of his team.

He loses a lot of his team along the way, and has to carry the burden of killing them before they turn at their requests, and also promising to find their families and take care of them for his dead team members. He wants to save everyone, but also knows that with dwindling supply to food, medicine etc. they can only choose their battles along the way. 

Takes a huge liking to strong Si Nan, unknowing that he’s the boy he met and fell in love with when they were younger. Because of the competition then, despite Si Nan winning over him, he decides to openly court Si Nan after the competition, and brings flowers to go see him, only to see Si Nan being given a temporary claiming bite on the back of his neck by another man (the stepbrother). Dejected and devastated, his first budding love kind of ended there, and from then on he openly disses omegas as he thinks that Si Nan basically seduced him to deceive him, and that all the affection they shared during the days of the competition in the wild were fake.

After the truth about Si Nan is out, he does a 180 hahahaha, and Si Nan forgives him XD 

3. 颜豪 Yan Hao - Another alpha-hiding-as-a-beta team member of Zhou Rong’s unit. After Si Nan saves him twice, he falls in love with Si Nan, not knowing that Si Nan thinks that Zhou Rong and himself are together. His feelings after are known to Si Nan, but Zhou Rong and he openly (and hilariously) fight for Si Nan’s affections. Zhou Rong is way more direct than Yan Hao is though, and Si Nan obviously likes Zhou Rong much more than he does Yan Hao, so naturally he was kicked out of the competition hahaha. He’s very sporting about it though!

Other Things I Like in the Novel:

Zhou Rong calls himself Rong-ge, asks everyone to call him that, he takes on the brotherly protector role in the team and amongst the civilians he rescued - Tells Si Nan to call for Rong-ge whenever he’s in danger and he’ll turn up - So there’s a part where Si Nan is bombarded with his memories while he’s about to be kidnapped by his stepbrother and also chased down by incoming hordes of zombies, and he yells out for Rong-ge, and Rong-ge really turns up ;-;

Si Nan is pouty and glowering all the time, a bit cold and aloof at other times, but he’s always drawn to Zhou Rong’s warmth

After they confirm their feelings for each other and spend his heat together, they are literally inseparable, like forever holding hands and looking out for each other like they go from flirty at 20% to 200% as a couple midway through the novel

Si Nan kicks ass, all the time! He’s super good at fighting

Zhou Rong promises to get Si Nan a huge rock as an engagement ring but he spends all his check on the families of his dead team members at the end of the novel, and Si Nan teases him, “So what are you going to use to afford my ring now huh?” Also, they’re just recovering from the zombie apocalypse so the commercialisation of marriages will once again have to wait, but Zhou Rong literally does turn up with a bigass ridiculous diamond ring (from where they raided a diamond ring story during a mission) and presents it to him

Yan Hao always teases Si Nan for how he thought him and Zhou Rong were together, because both men are always rough-housing and fighting like actual brothers than lovers XD

Yan Hao tells Zhou Rong that they should compete fairly for SI Nan’s affections, and Zhou Rong rolls his eyes and grabs Si Nan over and kisses him full on on the lips while Yan Hao splutters in defeat

The novel depicts deaths and helplessness really, really well. LIke seriously, I almost couldn’t finish it but it’s actually a pretty nice novel that doesn’t focus entirely on the doom and gloom of the apocalypse

[entirebodyexercise]

96 ways to keep your heart healthy and strong

1. Substitute puréed prunes or applesauce for butter in cooking recipes.

2. Workout! Study shows top aerobic athletes often tend to live 5 years longer.

3. Decrease your salt intake by replacing canned veggies with frozen.

4. See the glass as half full. Positivity is related to a more powerful heart.

5. Pick potassium! This mineral helps cancel sodium levels (a major wrongdoer in destructive our hearts).

6. Take pleasure in a square of 70 percent dark delicious chocolate. It has potent antioxidant as well as anti-clotting properties.

7. Do you recognize the signs and symptoms of high blood pressure? Trick concern: There aren't any! Have a pharmacologist or doctor check yours this week.

8. Replace your workdesk chair with a medicine ball. It's a terrific means to shed additional calories and also raise core strength.

9. What inspires you to stay healthy and balanced? Compose the factors on sticky notes as well as publish them at the workplace as well as at residence to remind and influence you.

10. Learn how to say no. Claiming yes to every little thing can result in anxiety as well as poor health.

11. Experiment with whole grains: Attempt hulled barley, teff, millet, buckwheat, quinoa as well as wheat bulgur or berries.

12. Go nuts! Studies discover a handful five times per week assists lower heart problem risk.

13. Maintain your cool. When your temper increases, your high blood pressure could also increase.

14. Serve lentils, beans or tofu as the primary rather than meat. With a little seasoning they really shine!

15. Grab a pedometer. Try including 100 steps to your overall every week.

16. Avoid sugarcoated. Flavour your coffee or tea with cinnamon instead.

17. Devote to health and fitness: Stroll any distance that's 10 mins away or less.

18. Supply your fridge with low-fat or skim milk products.

19. Lease a romcom. Science web links watching funny flicks with advantageous blood flow throughout your body.

20. Do exactly what you enjoy. A solid heart is emotionally and also literally fit.

21. Inning accordance with leading heart docs, workout is like sleep: you can't save it up. Rise, obtain going!

22. Stretch it out! Versatile muscle mass imply adaptable arteries.

23. LOL ASAP: Giggling actually is the finest medicine. It relieves anxiety as well as improves your immune system.

24. Start a brand-new practice this Thanksgiving. Make time for a stroll with buddies and also household to take pleasure in the colours of fall.

25. Eat out! Search for vital words like baked, broiled, grilled, poached or steamed on the menu.

26. Lift weights: For every single extra pound of muscular tissue you develop, you'll melt an added 10 calories each day.

27. Brighten a cool morning. Make a low-cal London Fog with Earl Grey tea, vanilla essence as well as steamed low-fat milk.

28. Huge up on B vitamins-- they increase good cholesterol by 15 to 35 percent.

29. Do a stress inventory. Take 5 mins to see where you hold stress and anxiety: jaws, shoulders, neck. Now breathe, stretch, relax!

30. Schedule much more suppers in. Households that dine with each other make much healthier selections together.

31. Allow go of stress and also perfectionism. Loosen up, as well as care for yourself.

32. Ditch that soft drink. A pop a day can add up to 15 extra pounds in a year!

33. Offer a dish of low-sodium, broth-based soup.

34. Treat on raw vegetables rather than chips when you're craving a little crunch.

35. Usage smaller sized bowls and layers in the house. Portion control secures your heart.

36. Moms-to-be that do low-impact workout provide babies a head start on heart health.

37. Stressed? Get a pen. Discussing difficult events could help you release negative feelings and feel better.

38. Create a hassle-free bedroom. Lower the thermostat as well as try ear plugs as well as light-blocking curtains.

39. Test new heart-healthy oils, like soybean, safflower and sesame.

40. Attempt an anytime, anywhere fitness break. Stash stretchbands as well as skipping ropes in your purse.

41. Today, have a cozy movie night. Serve low-fat cocoa as well as air-popped snacks seasoned with Cajun spices.

42. Feeling emphasized? Talk it out with a buddy. It'll make you feel much better as well as maintain harmful stress and anxiety degrees down!

43. Neglect frying! Try steaming, broiling, or cooking your food for healthier dishes, as a first program. It loads you up without adding mega calories!

44. Throw some chia seeds on your salad for a hit of heart-healthy fiber as well as omega-3s.

45. Set up an once a week exercise date with a close friend. Studies reveal you'll lose more weight together!

46. Easy on the salt! Go for no even more than 2,300 mg a day (that's one teaspoon).

47. Inflate the volume! Hearing songs releases feel-good hormones.

48. Release anger: Hanging on to aggravation injures your heart. Repetitive rounds can thicken artery walls.

49. Smile! When you beam on the outdoors, you beam on the inside also. Research links joy with solid hearts.

50. Change screen time with face time. Limit TV to 2 hours a day.

51. Reach out to friends and family. Interacting socially is fantastic for your heart!

52. Schedule leisure right into your week. Try tai chi, yoga exercise, reflection or a quiet stroll in the park.

53. Appreciate Loss's bounty: Get some fennel, okra, beans, corn, shallots and also late summertime squash on your plate.

54. To earn waiting less stressful, maintain Sodoku problems, weaving or a book in your bag.

55. Suppress cravings with healthy and balanced snacks: Low-fat cheese as well as grapes or celery, or a handful of nuts and a pear.

56. Leave the cars and truck in the house! Try strolling, biking, or public transportation to obtain where you have to go.

57. Window-shopping is good for you! When it's unpleasant outside, hit the shopping centers for Thirty Minutes of quick walking.

58. Even if it's margarine, doesn't imply it's heart-healthy. Examine the label: It must be non-hydrogenated as well as trans fat free.

59. Relocate your feet with motivation: Authorize up for an enjoyable run or a charity stroll for a good cause.

60. Can not state no to a friend? Pledge your BFF you'll obtain energetic with her - you'll be more probable to go!

61. Discover your city with a led walking tour, or take a mid-day to check out a new neighbourhood on foot.

62. Obtain examined! Half of females have high cholesterol.

63. Stress less regarding the future. Excess stress and anxiety might emphasize your heart.

64. State many thanks! Revealing gratitude reduces stress, which could help take added stress off your heart.

65. Replacement lean turkey for ground beef. It has less saturated fat.

66. Include more colour to your plate. You can boost heart wellness immediately by upping your fruit and veg intake.

67. Envision a much healthier you. It's the primary step towards making long-term changes.

68. Measure your blood pressure at the drug store. Fifty percent of people who have high blood stress do not know it.

69. Purée additional vegetables into sauces as well as soups for a sneaky health boost!

70. Adhere to low GI foods. They may trigger fewer spikes in blood sugar, which indicates much less strain on your heart.

71. Eat whole fruits, rather of alcohol consumption fruit juices, to get insoluble fibre.

72. Make it a practice when dining in a restaurant: constantly take home a dog bag.

73. Put on your own initially. Stay smoke-free, consume right and workout, these are some way of living changes that could reduce the danger of heart problem as well as stroke by up to 80 percent.

74. Relax. It's good for your heart and also soul.

75. Explore a brand-new Indian dahl recipe. Legumes never ever tasted so good!

76. Healthy sex lives create healthy hearts. An attractive session could be as good for your heart as a vigorous walk.

77. Try tabbouleh! It's a great means to obtain in even more yummy whole grains.

78. Experience new spreads: Attempt peanut, hazelnut or almond butter on bread.

79. Join a community yard in your area. Gardening minimizes stress and anxiety and also can shed 400 calories each hour!

80. Stopped cigarette smoking-- no butts about it! Smokers are three times most likely to pass away of heart disease.

81. Absorb the sunlight! A great dose of vitamin D keeps heart cells healthy.

82. Put sleep initial (go for a minimum of 7 hrs). Pleasant dreams produce satisfied hearts.

83. Brush and also floss! They do even more than freshen your breath. Great oral health and wellness could minimize cardiac arrest risk.

84. Inspect nourishment labels: If sugar is the initial or 2nd component, simply say no! It's not a healthy choice.

85. Work in workout whenever you can. At the workplace, squat till you're almost remaining on your chair. Do 15 reps. Easy!

86. Reside in a heart-healthy 'hood. Supermarket and also parks within strolling range encourage casual exercise.

87. Fret less concerning the future. Excess anxiety could worry your heart.

88. Ordinary popcorn is a heart-healthy snack!

89. Bear in mind every bite. Reduce down and also indulge in the flavour.

90. Ditch deep-fried foods as well as business baked products. They seriously increase the danger for heart disease!

91. Excel to your heart currently. The seeds of disease are planted early. Stop them prior to they take root.

92. Usage healthy fats like cold-pressed, extra-virgin olive oil on your salad.

93. Start roughing it! Fibre-rich foods are one of the finest methods to assist prevent heart disease.

94. Construct a far better brekkie. Oatmeal is a heart-healthy start (reward factors for sprinkling flax seeds ahead).

95. Make time for hugs. A limited capture could help reduce your high blood pressure and lower stress.

96. Play a sport you like! A fit heart is a delighted heart.

[lukeysgirl]

swallow me whole | c.t.h pt. 1

synopsis: nasty calum hood smut w a decent storyline?

word count: 10k+ (i got carried away but like) 

authors note: i know this is so long and intimidating bt its a good read (i think) and youll like it (maybe) !! 

PART ONE  I N V I T A T I O N 

“Y/N! Work better, not faster!” 

Your heart beats just a bit faster as you straighten your back and link eyes with your manager. That taunting demeanor never seems to ease up, causing you to gulp as you glue your arms to your sides. “I’m sorry-- I didn’t realize how fast I was being.” 

The witch who hired me gestured behind me, “then you should start noticing more, Ms. Y/L/N.” You slowly turn your body while listening to your managers heels clink away from the aisle you were working in. You emit an annoyed sigh when you see the cans (that you swore to have stacked perfectly) sprawled about the recently-mopped floor. 

You bring your fingers to your ears, using your indexes to see if you had your earbuds in. But you didn’t, causing you to frown. How did I not hear them fall behind me? You asked yourself in your head as you shake your head and reluctantly went back to re-stack them. 

XXX

“You should just quit already.” 

You glared over at your gorgeous friend beside you, “ah yes, and would you like to pay my bills until I finish my degree and get a better job?” The model could only roll her eyes and smile, knowing that you were a realist and she, in many aspects, was not. 

Merigold Leigh is one of the kindest souls that walks the earth. Although she is a Victoria Secret model, she couldn’t give less of a damn about it. ‘It pays the bills and keeps me healthy,’ she claims as she eats her least favorite vegetables. She listens and holds you whenever you’re at the very brink of tears. She comes around every single time you need her, and whenever she can’t, she calls and gives you every free second she has. 

“I mean, I always tell you to move in with me,” Meri begins with a shrug. She looks all around her lavish apartment and smiles. “You can ravish in my luxuries without worry so you can focus on your studies.” 

You smiled but shook your head. You hated to decline her, seeing as her apartment had way more than enough space to house the both of them. It was a large New York City penthouse, with everything you’d expect a millionaire to have. Paintings imported from Paris, wine bottles imported from Italy. Her entire home was furnished with the most expensive (yet simple) things. It was like walking into a small IKEA. She kept from placing photos of herself or the awards she has won all over the apartment, as she isn’t too bothered to flaunt about her worth. 

You pulled the shared quilt to cover your body more, “if only I didn’t have so much pride.” Meri giggles while taking another spoonful of Fage yogurt into her mouth. The two of you were very comfortable on her gray couch, with both pairs of legs up and both bodies curled up into balls. “Besides, all the excitement of sleeping over would be taken away if I moved in with you.” 

Meri rolls her eyes, “your first mistake was assuming that I could become boring.” You giggle, tossing a few pieces of popcorn at her before taking another bite. “You love taunting me with your ability to eat whatever your heart desires.” 

“Is’not on purpose,” you struggle to say through a full mouth. Chewing it down and swallowing, you glance over at her kitchen, “you don’t have food for regular humans here.” She rolls her eyes once again and threatens to catapult a bit of yogurt in your face. 

She begins to scrape the corners of the container, “I still think you should quit. That supermarket will be the death of you.” You shrug, staring distantly. It wasn’t a bad gig but you can certainly do with a better manager, better hours, and a better uniform. “Green doesn’t suit you well.” 

“But who else will get you discounts at Whole Foods?” You question slyly. Meri could only push some of her natural red locks off of her tanned shoulder. She places the empty container of yogurt on her coffee table and licks off any residue from her lips. 

“Forget the discount; I want you to be happy,” she insists warmly. Your smirk dissolves and you begin to grow distant again. She notices and quickly takes your hands into hers, forcing your attention to return to her. “Working and studying at the same time is bringing you stress and that is something I don’t want.” 

“But I need to work for money so I can pay for my apartment,” you begin somberly, “and I need to study so I can work a better job for more money to get the hell out of here.” 

“That’s so cruel, Y/N,” Meri pouts. “You’re in the city of dreams-- the city that never sleeps! Everyone would kill to live where you live.” 

“Yes, but will they kill for how I live?” You scoff at her words. “I pay almost $700 for a studio apartment that if I literally laid down on the floor and stretched all my limbs, I’d occupy the entire place.” 

Meri gently brings her hand up and flicks the very top of your forehead. “Your apartment is literally a block away from mine and we literally live next to Times Square.” You roll your eyes, still not persuaded. “And you’re studying at NYU-- that’s a dream that only so many people could live.” You still shrugged her words away. 

You didn’t feel special. There’s thousands of students studying at NYU, who live in an apartment similar to yours and have done the same amount of exploring as you have. You have walked around all the boroughs, have tried almost all the cuisines more than once and know the MTA system well. Those are not experiences or skills unique to you as this is one of the biggest cities in the world. 

“You know what you need?” Meri tugs your hands, bringing you back to earth quickly. You listen attentively, assuming she would be spewing wise words. “Some dick.” 

Immediately, you retract your hands, your sudden movement causing your bowl of popcorn to fall on the floor. You quickly get on the floor to clean up your mess, Meri following your motions. “I’m so sorry, Meri. I didn’t mean to make a mess.”

“It’s all good, sis, don’t fret so much,” the sweet ginger insists as you both pick up the pieces of popcorn and place them back into the bowl. Once the mess was done, you rose from the ground and headed straight to the kitchen to dispose of the fallen food. Meri tails after you, with full intention to continue entertaining the subject. “But am I wrong?”  

You open the silver trashcan and slowly dig out the popcorn from the bowl and into the mint-scented Glad bag. “Meri, I really don’t think dick is what I need.” 

“Okay, maybe I was a bit rash,” she hums behind you, taking a seat on her quartz kitchen island. “But I think you should finally go out with me and live a little bit.” Here she goes again… 

Every weekend since the day you met her, Meri has asked you to go out with her. Whether it be to Victoria Secret shows, bars, celebrity parties, or a random trip to Europe. She encourages the careless for you, even though she knows very well that you have many responsibilities that keep you strapped in. Although you definitely knew that your social life was in desperate need of some flavor, you could not just spontaneously add some flavor to it. You have school to attend to, homework to get done, and bread to get. It wasn’t your fault that you have to be an adult and Meri got to live her best life. 

“Maybe I can get another boyfriend to ruin my life again,” you began sarcastically. “Distract me from my studies and force me to call off days from work. Make me poor again and slack in my courses-- what a joy that would be.” 

Meri huffs, clearly irritated by your words. “You won’t meet another Chris, I pinky swear.” 

The very name she emitted made you want to vomit. Knowing alone that he existed erupted discomfort all over your body. There are days where you could be fine being reminded of him, but other days absolutely defeat you. Socializing would just lead to another Chris and although that’s very narrow-minded of you, you were just too afraid to risk it. 

“Even so,” you begin as you bring the empty bowl towards the kitchen sink. Turning the faucet on, you take the initiative and start washing the buttery dish. “Partying is your thing. I don’t necessarily fit in the party scene.” 

“That’s because you refuse to go to parties,” Meri pointed out a fact. You could feel her right behind her, her warm breath right on the back of your neck. She clung her hands on your shoulders and squeezed them gently. “Just one night and I’ll never ask you again.” 

...One night really couldn’t hurt, could it? Wait, no, stop. Meri was good at being persuasive but when it came to parties, you are extremely adamant. You didn’t favor being in the position of being surrounded by many drunk people, potentially being touched by them and then sweating out buckets due to the summer heat and the cramped space. That idea did not appeal in any way. 

“But Meri-eeeeee!” Whining was a very good tactic for you, as it typically worked. But Meri was not having it this time around. As soon as you finished washing your hands and shutting off the faucet, she turns you around and forces you to face her. 

“You’re sleeping over this weekend, right?” Merigold begins with facts. You nod, unsure as to where she was going with this. “That means you finished all your homework due for the coming week, yes?” You nod again. “That also means you don’t work this weekend?” Another nod. “Perfect. We’re going the fuck out, bitch.”

You accidentally nod from the pattern but completely shake your head when realizing it had actually been broken. “I-- wait, Meri, no. I’m not going out--” but she had shut you up with a finger pressed against your lips. 

“It’s Friday night and there's a party happening at one of my favorite bars,” Meri begins to fill you in. “It’s been booked for the night for the event so there won’t be anybody I don’t know. You’re going to let me doll you up like the Barbie doll you’re supposed to be.” 

“I’m not plastic, Meri,” you grumble in annoyance. But her face glistened from the triumph. She easily defeated you and there was nothing more you could do. Plus, seeing her so excited made you feel somewhat better about going out with her. 

She rubs her hands down your arms to weave her fingers between yours, “you’re much too beautiful for plastic, Y/N. I just want to dress you up and make you believe how gorgeous you really are. Live that fairy tale story just for one night.” 

Her green eyes were full of hope and excitement, with a hint of puppy eyes and begging. She knew you already lost, but this had to be the cherry on top. You weren’t going to deny her, seeing as she was so excited to finally go out with her best friend. And maybe it really was time to embrace just how attractive you were and show off. 

You let out a shaky sigh before nodding and giving her a small smile, “alright then; dress me up.” Meri widened her eyes and squealed so loudly, you had to look around to see if she broke any glass. 

XXX

Merigold might have gone a little overboard with the consent you gave her. 

She wanted you to look bold yet classy, bombastic yet very well put together. So she decided to flatten your hair with a steam-powered flat iron (to prevent damaging your hair, of course.) She parts your hair in half so each side of your head has enough hair to cover. Using the front parts of your hair, Meri pushes it behind your ears while pulling the rest of your hair a little forward to create that clean and nicely done hairdo. 

For your face, she didn’t want to do too much. She only wanted to highlight your features (which is everything about your face, according to her.) She lightly applies foundation and contour on your face, with a bit of concealer here and there to help with your stress marks. She fills in your eyebrows nicely and does a red/brown ombre eye shadow that isn’t too much but states its existence on its own. With small wings and a bit of mascara, Meri finishes with a cherry lip gloss on your cleaned and lip-scrubbed lips. 

Then, it was your outfit. And you didn’t keep yourself from vocalizing your opinion this time. 

“Meri, this is a bit much, isn’t it?” You quietly question, looking down at your outfit. Meri was body-deep into her shoe closet, sifting through for a pair of heels that you know you’re going to have some trouble walking in. You haven’t worn heels since your high school graduation. “Meri?” 

“Y/N, you look bitchin’,” Meri insisted while tossing shoes around. You looked over to see her frantically look through boxes of name brand shoes you’d never afford. “These shoes will make it come together.” 

Goosebumps crawled all around your body as your self-consciousness finally decided to scream at you. A lot of your skin had been showing and you were barely wearing much clothing to cover the others worth concealing. Much cleavage had been showing, as the skimpy dress stopped right above your knees. Your chest as pressed a bit, having the top of your breasts protrude. You instinctively hugged your body, attempting to cover as much as you can in the completely white walk-in closet. 

“Here they are!” Meri cheers in success as she returns to you and offers you these fairly low wedges. You took them hesitantly, taking a seat on one of her leather stools and easing in the golden-strapped shoes around your feet. “Are you cold?” Her warm hand begins to rub your upper arm. “Should I put the temperature up in here?” 

You shake your head as you finish up strapping the wedges. “I’m not cold-- just a little nervous…” Meri bent down before you, holding your chin between her fingers while giving you an encouraging smile.

“You actually haven’t looked at yourself yet, have you?” You shook your head, knowing that Meri wanted to complete the outfit before surprising you. She stands up straight once again and offers her hands. You take them and allow her to guide you over to her tall body mirror. It reached from the floor to the ceiling. But before you could stand in front of it, she gives you a good look and a squeeze. “You actually have no idea just how beautiful you are.” 

She pulls you gently while you sheepishly let her present yourself in front of the mirror. You look straight into your own eyes before allowing them to look at yourself up and down. This can’t be me, can it? You looked down at your forearms, seeing the golden accessories hang from your wrists, neck, and ears. 

“That’s… me?” You whisper to Merigold as you continued to scan yourself in the mirror. Your fingers trailed around your body, your skin glistening with gold sparkles ornate all over from all the luxurious products Meri let you use. “You’re kidding.” 

“I’m not,” Meri confirmed. She joined you in the mirror, still in her pajamas and unready but nonetheless beautiful. Meeting shoulders, she smiles widely and nudges you lightly. “Aren’t you a tall glass of water?” 

You were swallowed up by a completely crimson dress, which did wonders complimenting your body as well as your makeup. There were no words to say for it-- you weren’t Y/N anymore. Tonight, you were the woman you’ve been wondering about all your life but never let her out. 

“Wow,” you breathed out, unsure as to how to really react. You then turn over to her and begin to fret. “Wait, you have to get ready too! Is there enough time before the party?” 

“Girl, don’t you worry ‘bout a thing,” Meri hums quietly. “It’s only 6 and I’ve invited my favorite nail salonists so we can get mani-pedis.” You raised your eyebrows at her unnecessary amount of spending and she could only raise her hands shyly. “You’re finally letting me spoil you-- let me have my moment.” 

“Yeah, yeah…” you rolled your eyes while flattening any wrinkle on the dress. But the dresses fabric on the outside didn’t exactly wrinkle so you were all set. “Hey, I have a question,” you started, with Meri staring at you in fascination. “When did you get my outfit that’s exactly my size?” 

“I’ve been waiting for this moment, Y/N,” Meri stares at you wistfully. “Finally, my time has come and my purpose will soon be fulfilled.” 

“You’re so annoying,” you shove her playfully before the two of you go back downstairs to prepare for the nail salonists. Meri failed to mentioned that she also invited her hair stylist and makeup artist so everything could get done at the time. All you could do was shake her head as she begins to explain her outfit to you. 

XXX

“Can I back out now?”

“Absolutely not.” 

You bite down on your bottom trembling lip as you looked through the shaded window of Meri’s SUV. The flashing lights of the city night wasn’t foreign but could definitely burn your eyes. Lines were piled with people who clearly weren’t allowed in with an army of guards protecting not only the door of the bar, but the surrounding blocks. Paparazzi swarmed the area as well, and quickly had taken notice of Meri’s car. 

“Meri,” you begin quietly, “what other celebrities will be here?” 

She looks down and thinks for a moment before nodding, “other models, artists, producers, actors. You know, a typical party.” Your eyes widened, unsure if you heard her correctly. “It’s no biggie, Y/N. You’ll meet them and it’ll be like you’re talking to normal people.” 

“Ah yes,” you spat, “normal people with millions of fans and millions of dollars. Their faces are on the TV I watch and the magazines I barely read.” Meri shoves you lightly and pouts. “I’m just a little nervous, okay?” 

Meri smiles. Her hands carefully hold up the bottom of your head and meets with your eyes. “I promise you shouldn’t be nervous. They’re really just like us; super chill and just looking for a good time.” 

You swallowed harshly, letting out several sighs while keeping yourself calm. You begin to shake your hands, feeling your palms get clammy from the anxious sweating. “Do I look okay? Am I presentable?” 

Meri shakes her head, “you’re beautiful, okay?” She then straights up your back and pushes your chin up. “Be confident, okay? You’re going to shoot arrows directly into everyone's hearts, I promise you that.” 

You take her word and release a majority of the nerves. This was your moment after all. Why should you be nervous when you look like a million dollars? Tapping on the glass, Meri’s security opens the door for you and offer a hand to assist you out. 

Taking the hand, you were immediately blinded by camera flashes. They were deafening, with the added spouts and shouts of the paparazzi and fans stood on the side. You raise a hand above your eyes to protect them as you turned and waiting for Meri to come out. And she does, with a smile touching ear to ear. 

“Merigold Leigh! Look over here!” Desperate calls for her to look over sounded as Meri gave them looks and smiles. She looked beautiful, with her ginger hair in waves and blue makeup done very subtly. Her caramel body was hugged nicely with a cerulean blue dress, flaunting every inch of her curves. 

“Y/N, let me go first,” Meri suggested. You listened while letting her lead, but she offers her hand for you to hold so you don’t part from her. She didn’t see, but you were smiling so warmly from how sweet your best friend was. She’s really one in a million, and you weren’t willing to exchange for anybody else. “Pardon me, my best friend and I are coming through!” 

The two of you made the cement below you sound as paparazzi continue to call her name. But Merigold was focused on getting the both of you in as you and her stood before the bouncers. The bouncer looks down, clearly recognizing Meri but glancing curiously at you. “She’s my plus one, love.” The bouncer nods, not needing any explanation as another bouncer opens the door and allows the both of you in. 

Though getting through was difficult with several fans touching you guys, Meri managed to pull you two in with a fair amount of ease. The bass of ‘bad guy’ quickly coursed through your veins as Meri held your hand tightly while squeezing you through the crowd. You kept your eyes down, knowing that the people surrounding you were famous and owned a net worth higher than yours will ever be.  

Where are we going? You thought to yourself as Meri seemed to have known where she was dragging you. With each step you took, you could feel yourself get more embarrassed. Your legs were completely out and bare, as you felt your thighs rub gently against each other with every step you took. Thankfully, Meri had a solution to the chafing but the embarrassment had none. You just had to deal with the fact that you’re flaunting. 

“Ashley!” You were suddenly halted and lost hold of your best friends hand as you looked up and watched her hug another woman. You looked to see that it was a fellow model; Ashley Graham. Meri told you what you were to expect, but that didn’t stop your heart from running. 

“Meri, how are you?” The brunette model hums excitedly. You listened to the ‘duh’ of the song before the beat gently dropped. You watched their happy reunion as fellow models you were familiar with had joined in and exchanged hugs. But Meri made the exchange quick so she could pull you in and introduce you. 

“Ladies, this is my bestest friend, Y/N,” Meri begins while putting her arm around you. You smile shyly, recognizes the few faces you’ve met several times due to Meri’s work. But you respected Ashley Graham a lot and put out your hand. 

“It’s very nice to meet you,” you started as Ashley got closer to hear you more properly. “You look gorgeous tonight.” White pearls gleam as she returns the handshake. 

“Awh, thank you,” Ashley kindly takes the compliment and eyes you up and down. “You look just as beautiful-- I mean, look at you! Are you not a model as well?” You cheeks went hot as you waved your hands and shook your head. Meri shook her head to confirm it and Ashley remained wide-eyed. “That’s shocking. You’d be an amazing model.” 

You shook your head, “I think Meri should be the model between us. I’m too busy studying in NYU anyways.” Meri grinned, squeezing you a little closer as you listened to the next verse of the tune come in. 

“She’s my study bug.” Meri smiles warmly at you, “she tends to study a little too much but I love her all the same.” 

Everyone chimed in with giggles as you rolled your eyes. Words are flung all through the conversation until you and Meri divide. She went ahead to talk to her fellow models (likely about their work) as you decided to take a seat beside Ashley. The wedges, though comfortable, were finally starting to bother you. 

Ashley quickly spews a drink to the bartender and gives you a look while she waits. “Did you not bring a purse with you, Y/N?” 

You looked down at your crossed legs, placing your hand down where your phone is, “Meri told me I wouldn’t need to bring my wallet or anything so I only brought my phone with me.” She looks down to see where your hand was. “But my ID and credit card are in my case.”

“Do you have it strapped against your thigh?” You nod. “Y/N, you’re absolutely clever.” You laugh while doing a small bow. She joins in the laughter and you exchange a few more words until Meri comes and interrupts. 

“I feel terrible to cut this short, but Ash we’ve gotta go,” Meri informs. She gives her a puzzled face, “our managers are looking for us. Y/N, you stay here.” You nod, following through with your given instructions as you watch the beautiful women wave at you before being dissolved into the crowd of people. 

Subconsciously, your eyes began to scan the crowd and felt your eyebrows rise. The Jonas Brothers are here? What kind of event was this exactly? Feeling the intimidation from being surrounded by so many known people, you decide to turn back to face the bartenders. But as you did, you met eyes with the bartender that had finished making Ashley’s drink. 

“Oh, she had to go do something,” you explained as you began to reach for your phone, “how much is the drink? I’ll pay for her.” The bartender smiled warmly at you and waved his hand. He began walking away, having you assume it was on the house. 

You bring the small glass cup close to you, having you look down to see several cubes of eyes and a small amount of a transparent substance. You gave it a whiff before concluding it was vodka. Bringing it up to see the bottom, you squint your eyes to notice there were some sort of flakes in it. What in the world… 

“It's a shot of Gold Flakes Supreme,” the bartender returned with a rag and a small glass in his hands. You met with his azure eyes, nodding at the information before putting the drink down and pushing it slightly away from you. “You don’t want it?” 

“It wasn’t meant for me,” you reply simply, “plus, I don’t drink much.” The bartender nodded but gave the small glass a push. “Uh…?” 

“I wouldn’t want it to go to waste,” he begins with a smirk. “A beautiful girl like you deserves at least one expensive drink tonight.” You blush, looking down at the polished dark oak bar as he pushes it into your peripheral vision. With your elbows leaned against it, you support your head with your hands and wistfully stared down at the drink. “Though, you must be used to drinking such luxurious drinks like this one.” 

You kept blushing as you met his eyes again and shook your head, “o-oh no, I’m not famous!” His eyes widen but you laugh it off, “my best friend is a model and wanted me to come with.” The bartender comprehends and smiles a little cheekier. 

“That explains how kind you are,” the bartender begins, “many celebrities are more stuck up.” You shrugged. 

“I take it you’ve met many celebrities,” you put out. Right at your last word, someone calls for the bartender and he glances back. He winks at you before turning away to serve another customer. 

You felt your cheeks warm. No! You began to scold yourself. Cupping your cheeks, you tried cooling yourself off with your cold hands. For the sake of your career, you were not going to immediately fall for a man so easily. You didn’t even catch his name. 

While you were working away your thoughts, you felt an abrupt and harsh thud beside you. Turning slowly, you were met with a large man who seemed to be absolutely fuming. Your eyes scanned this man up and down, the sound of Eastside and his grown fusing together. And the man was very quick to notice your staring as he snapped his neck towards you, his brown orbs full of intimidation. “Can I help you?” 

You found yourself distracted by how attractive this man was. Though the strobe lights made it difficult to tell, his skin was clearly sun-kissed. His jawline was sharp and obvious, but those chubby cheeks of his made them slightly less daunting. His nose was fairly big with facial hair randomly ornate about his face-- but he was handsome. Dark circles sat under his eyes, but those brown orbs were absorbing you completely. 

“Hey!” A deep and strained voice brought you back to reality. You blink a few times before looking at the buzzed-cut man glaring down at you. “The fuck you lookin’ at?” Attitude. 

You quickly look away and mutter a small “nothing.” He nods and turns back towards the bar, snapping a bartender his way. You glanced over, noticing that this man was completely in black. A black dress shirt tucked into what seemed like a shinier (and darker) pair of black pants. You let your eyes wander away once again, your nerves collecting up and down your spine. 

A different bartender comes his way, in which he scoffs, “fucking finally. Can I have 8 shots of absinthe?” The bartender looked like her soul was just kicked out of her body. She nods anxiously before dissolving into the large wall of alcoholic drinks. 

You decide to put your focus on the bit of vodka meant for Ashley. The ice was watering up the drink, making you feel awful for wasting such an expensive drink. Then, like you had spoken your thoughts, the man beside you asked, “are you going to drink that?” His voice was deep, nasally, and sounded like a warfare between two accents. 

You meet with his eyes again and shake your head, “it isn’t mine.” He frowns. 

“Then whose is it?” 

Does it really matter? “Clearly not yours.” The man raised his eyebrows in shock. You, too, were shocked by the sass that left your tongue. You watched as he clicked his tongue against his bottom teeth. 

“Do I know you?” He asked condescendingly. 

You shook your head. “Do I know you?” The bartender returned to the man with the 8 shots he requested. The shots were full of this dark green liquid that made your liver already want to hurt. He nods away the bartender before returning to you with a smirk. 

“You’re not famous, are you?” You shake your head. “A plus one?” You nod. He nods slowly before preparing to pick up one of the shots he ordered. 

“I take it you aren’t a plus one?” He follows you and shakes his head. “Makes sense. I’m pretty sure I’m the only person without a net worth here.” You watched his plump, soft lips hold onto part of the shots rim and downs the shot with ease. He grimaces from the taste and shrugs. 

“And you don’t know who I am?” He asks while recuperating from the shot of poison he just drank. 

You shrug, “I’m sorry, am I supposed to?” The man chuckles and shakes his head. “Are you an actor, artist, producer-- model?”

He emits a raspy chuckle, “do I look attractive enough to be a model?” You could feel your cheeks tint pink. He smiles at this, having you notice that he has a very sweet smile. It makes him much more appealing compared to the angry expression he held when he first came over. “I’m in a band. I play bass.” 

“Oh, cool.” You were genuinely impressed. Though you have no other celebrity to compare to aside from Meri, this man must have talent if he’s at this bar right now. “I’m sorry if I was rude earlier.” 

“Ah no, it’s my fault,” the man admits as he waves off your apology. “I’ve been crabby all night and decided I wanted a drink.” 

“That’s not the best coping mechanism, you know,” you commented as he took another shot. He grimaces yet again and slams the empty shot glass on the table. The man suddenly got closer to you, causing you to back off slightly. “H-hey--” 

“I’m sorry,” he speaks a little louder, “I can’t hear you too well over the music.” Eastside was blaring pretty loudly, you had to admit. You eased up and nodded. “I know I shouldn’t drink, but my life feels like it's falling apart.” 

“Are you stressed out?” You asked politely, your voice much softer and kinder. “I can imagine being famous isn’t easy.” The man shrugged. 

“That’s always going to stress me out, you know?” You nodded. “But I’ve recently received some shitty news, which only brought shittier news.” You frowned. You felt his words completely. “I’m just kinda stuck between a rock and a hard place.” 

Aren’t we all? You felt kind of bad. Even though he’s famous and could have everything, he’s still human and has the potential of losing things, too. And drinking doesn’t seem like his best friend either. He must be having a pretty hard time. And you weren’t sure why, but you decided to take the shot of watering vodka and forced it down your throat. The man beside you sat and watched as you coughed from the disgusting and very warm drink. 

“My best friend brought me out here so I can try to get a better social life,” you admitted sheepishly, clinking the empty glass with your acrylic nails. “But I’m not famous so I don’t know what she expects from me.” 

The man keeps quiet for a moment before slowly sliding one of his shots to you, “you’re doing pretty good right now.” You look down at the shot and smile curtly. He seemed kind, even though his aura is pretty off-putting. “Have a shot with me.”

“I shouldn’t…” you murmur as you bring the shot glass between your hands. 

He holds up a shot near you and smiles, “I insist. You’re the only person I want to drink with right now.” You shook your head but he placed his hand on yours. You flushed up, feeling the hard and dry calluses ornate on his large hand. “Please.”

His voice emanated pure defeat, like he had nobody else but you. There was a touch of beg, and there was only so much you could do to resist such an irresistible man. With a shaky sigh, you pick up the shot and meet his eyes. “Fuck it.”

An hour passes, and each of you were full of shots and giggles. You two bounces off of each other from conversation with ease, like a perfectly made algorithm. He explained his broken accent, as he’s originally from Australia but had unfortunately been Americanized from fame. He told you of all the lovely experiences he’s had traveling all around Asian and Europe with his band mates who also happened to be his best friends. Listening to how content he was telling you these stories made you glad for his mood change. 

Even if the two of you were a bit too tipsy. 

“You know, you’re a really good listener,” Calum began seriously. He was a very chill drunk, extremely collected with very few slurred words. “Thank you for lending me your ears.” 

You nodded, feeling your head heavy from the motion, “I get that a lot.” You felt a little sluggish, your eyes barely keeping up with his. He notices this and quickly whistles over a bartender. Your eyes wandered to see that it was the male bartender from early. He asked for a water bottle and the bartender eyes you worriedly before fetching his request. 

“Let’s sober you up a bit,” the man insists as he takes the water bottle from the bartender and opens it up for you. You feel fingers lift your chin up as you felt the bottle gently sit between your lips. Cold water slowly entered your mouth as you swallowed a good amount. It was refreshing, and tasted so much better than the vodka and absinthe you drank. He pulls away the bottle after you wave it away and lets you go, “how you feeling?” 

“Mmm,” you nod, “better.” The man smiles warmly at you. He then squints a bit before he brings his hand up to your face. You backed off a bit but he stuck out his thumb and began to dab your bottom lip. You could only blink as he gently dabbed away the loose water that remained on your glossed lips.

“Good girl,” he breathed, putting his hand down slowly. His brown eyes were captivating; you couldn’t find yourself looking away. And hearing him call you a good girl made you feel a bit weird. A little bit hot. He seemed entranced, too, as his face gradually came closer to yours. “Hey stranger, can I ask for your name?” 

“I’m Y/N.” You stuck your hand out to him. 

“Calum.” His large hand shakes yours. But he holds onto it, your eyes still locked with his. You smiled goofy. Calum. 

“I like your name,” you slur out. 

“I like your lips,” Calum murmurs quietly. His hot breath tickled your lips, having you realize just how close he was to you. “Hey Y/N… can I kiss you?” 

It was a shot in the dark. But it was only one shot and it’s either a complete hit or a complete miss. Although you weren’t completely in your right mind and should probably be looking for Meri, you really wanted to seize this opportunity. After all, when would a very attractive man such as him come around again? 

You nodded and closed your eyes, bracing yourself for the interlocking. And, without wasting a second, the man by the name of Calum, pressed his lips firmly against yours. They were warm and soft and plump-- exactly what you expected. You felt the way his warm tongue dragged along your bottom lip, savoring the saccharine goodness of it. His teeth would gently graze along your bottom lip while calming it with his tongue. 

His hands quickly worked their way to your face, cupping your cheeks gently with his fingers fairly spread out. His thumbs were lightly denting your face while the other fingers had been gently massaging the back of your head and neck. Calum wanted more and more of you, as if you two weren’t locking lips, noses touching. Your hands found their way to his thighs, keeping you up as you two tried getting closer to one another. 

Calum smelled good. He smelled of clean clothes and cologne, but he wasn’t drowned in it. It made the taste of booze easier to bare from his lips. Your pussy kept clenching, your hormones clearly desiring this man. Subconsciously, your hands crawled over to find that his crotch was protruding and twitching desperately. He groaned into your mouth from your touch. 

“Fuck,” he growled against your lips. Your anxiety quickly rose as you pulled away. “Hey--” 

“N-no, we shouldn’t be kissing here,” you mumbled nervously, looking around the bar. “Others could be taking photos, or paparazzi--” 

“Y/N,” Calum spoke over you. “Paparazzi isn’t allowed in here and celebrities mind their own business among other celebrities.” You blinked a few times, still pretty drunk and attempting to understand his words. “Just like them, I want my privacy. So don’t stress, okay?” 

You nod shyly, causing Calum to smile widely again. “Okay but um…” You pressed your thighs closer together, feeling a bit wet between them. “Can we… change scenery?” 

Calum’s brown eyes glowed, offering his hands to you, “I was just about to ask the same thing. Come on.” He looks around before muttering an ‘um.’ You watch as he untucks his dress shirt and proceeds to unbutton it. 

“Calum?” 

Without answering you, Calum removes his dress shirt and begins to cover your head. Confused, you held the shirt down so it didn’t slide off. You were going to ask but Calum was quick to answer, “I don’t want the paparazzi taking photos of you when we step out.” Protecting my identity, you thought. Sick. 

Calum checked his pockets to make sure he had everything before standing up and offering his hand. You slowly rose from the stool, using Calum’s forearms to help you up. As you did, you glanced back to see the bartender watching you from afar while making a drink for another customer. You look back at Calum and allow him to guide you out the bar. 

“Cover as much of your face as you can, okay?” Calum instructs as he begins to lead you out of the bar. You take in your instructions as you slip through celebrities. You felt like you were going to get stuck with how crowded it was, but Calum had a very firm grip on you. “Excuse me!” 

In seconds, you felt fresh air coat you all over. Your lungs were celebrating from the warm yet refreshing air. But you couldn’t bask in the excitement of being outside as you two were quickly met with flashing lights and shouts. You heard the paparazzi scream ‘Calum Hood,’ allowing you to safely assume that that was the man's full name. 

“Miss!” Several of them then began beckoning to you, feeling hands attempting to reach you and reveal yourself. And they were close, but you had a pretty firm grip on the shirt. His smell was intoxicating and you looked like a nun covering your face with the shirt. But one more grab finally sparked some initiative from Calum. 

He pulled you into his arms, your body firmly against his built torso, “stop fucking touching her!” He spat at the paparazzi, who only ate this up and resumed taking more photos and videos. You noticed from the little hole you had to see that security quickly came and pushed them back. This gave you and Calum enough time to get to his car and escape. “In here, beautiful.” He opens the door to his black SUV. 

You struggle with your wedges but you get inside the car. As he closes the door, he rushes over to the driver's seat and joins you in the car. “You can take that off now.” Removing the shirt, you look around in paranoia. But his windows were shaded so nobody would be able to see the inside. “Are you okay? Did they hurt you?” 

You fold the shirt and hand it over to Calum, “I’m fine, don’t worry.” He smiles while taking the shirt and gently placing it in the back of the car. He looks straight again and presses the button to start his car, watching as everything turns on and lights up. His radio immediately blasted Slow Motion by Trey Songz and you giggled. 

“Shit, I’m so sorry--” Calum begins to apologize as his fingers try to lower the volume. But you loved this song and couldn’t help but jam out. 

“Baby, when I saw ya walking out the door,” you sung, your hands reaching up to touch the roof of the car. “I jus knew you needed somethin’ more.” 

Calum watched you in fascination as you sway your body to the sensual song. His boner had been getting worse and worse as you dragged your fingers down your collarbone and towards your chest. You notice that the car had been running but not moving. You look over at Calum. 

“Shouldn’t you be driving?” 

“Shit, yeah.” 

With that, Calum pulls away from the curb and begins to drive to his apartment. You watched him drive, noticing how muscular his arms were. They were bigger than your face. Your eyes guide down to his collarbone, noticing one of the two tattoos that sit just below it. You bring your hand to touch it, causing Calum to flinch. But his tension dissolves as you slowly trace the lines. 

“Like it?” He hummed quietly. 

“It’s fitting,” you reply with a nod. You begin to drag your fingers towards his shoulder and down his muscular arm. They barely grazed his skin, but it had done just enough to make goosebumps rise. “Does my touch make you nervous?” 

“Nah,” he replies unconvincingly. He quickly blasts the A/C and chuckles, “I’m just cold.” You giggle, continuing your adventure down his side. Your fingers reach his pants, causing you to bite your bottom lip. Your hand swiftly finds itself right on top of his boner, getting a “fuck!” out of him. 

“You seem to have a problem down there,” you mumbled quietly. Calum chuckled. 

“Amazing observation, Y/N,” Calum compliments sarcastically. You roll your eyes as you look up to see car lights glisten against Calum’s face. You look over to notice why he began sucking his teeth and sighing. “Fucking traffic,” Calum grumbles as he begins ot honk. “Fucking go!” 

You laugh at his rage before returning your focus down on his crotch. Gently, you rub his boner, feeling his limb gradually get larger. Calum lets go of the wheel as he’s taken his defeat in the traffic and begins to pay attention to your actions. You look up to see his brown eyes study your hand and his bottom lip firmly stuck between his pearly whites. 

You toy with the zipper of his pants before you halt and pout, “is this okay?” 

Calum nods, “it's way more than okay.” 

You resumed, pulling down the zipper slowly while Calum helped in pulled the pants down slightly. His black Calvin Klein's couldn’t do much as Calum’s boner immediately shot up. The tightness from the pants had been restricting his cock for too long as you heard Calum emit a relieving sigh. Your hands cling onto the waist of the boxers before pulling it completely down. You noticed that he was cleanly shaved before your eyes were on his bare cock. It immediately slapped against Calum’s stomach. 

Without any more delays, you move closer to the drivers while using Calum’s thigh to hold you up. Using your free hand, you hold the 7-inch limb to keep it from slapping his stomach. Veins danced up and down his cock, his tip a light hue of pink. You let out a nervous sigh before bringing your lips to his tip. A throaty moan escapes Calum’s lips as your lips wrap around the top of his cock. 

“Fuck,” Calum dragged, throwing his head back as you licked the man’s cock up and down. His dick was shiny from your saliva, making it easier for your hand to stroke it up and down while your mouth did the rest of the work. “That feels so fuckin good…” 

His large hand takes up your flattened hair, keeping it from distracting you as you slowly took in more of his cock. His dick slid in with ease, through his tip was somewhat rough on your throat. More moans ensued from the man’s mouth as you take him as deeply as you could. He began to thrust up, desperate to put his dick as far into your throat as he could. 

“Shit, Y/N,” Calum growled as he moved the car inches in the slow moving traffic. “Can I?” You felt his hand weave through your hair and massage the back of your scalp. He wanted to face fuck you. You used both hands to hold onto his thigh as a way to give consent. He bites down on his bottom lip harshly as he brought his other hand to hold your head. Slowly, he started to move your head up and down his cock. Your warm tongue swirled around his cock as he shoved it in and out your mouth. 

Your panties became wetter from being face fucked. Although your eyes were tearing up and likely ruining your makeup, you wanted Calum to use your body more. “Your mouth feels so fucking good, Princess.” Your new nickname made you hotter as you gagged uncontrollably around Calum’s cock. You swallowed down the piling up saliva in your mouth, and that made Calum high. “F-fuck, your throat is so tight…” 

He began to go a bit faster, tears quickly running down your cheeks. Your fingers and nails dent into his thigh, holding on tighter as Calum used your mouth the way he wished. A string of moans escape his lips-- he wants to cum soon. “I’m gonna cum right into your pretty little throat, okay Princess?” He informs you, his speed not relenting for a second as you felt his cock get bigger in your mouth. The tip of his cock hit the back of your throat so many times a minute that you knew it’ll be sore later. 

Calum loved the sound of your saliva all over his cock, going in and out your mouth. “Y/N, I’m cumming--” even though you were warned, your widened your eyes when you felt a warm liquid getting forced down your throat. Immediately, you shot up and released his cock with a pop! Sound. You began to cough, relieving your mouth of being stuffed. With that, a bit of his cum still sat on your tongue and dripped down your bottom lip. It was bitter and salty, but you licked the remaining bit into your mouth. You looked up at Calum, whose eyes were suddenly filled with rage. 

“Princess,” Calum begins darkly, pinching your chin with his fingers. His brown eyes were dim and haunting, causing goosebumps to rush all over your skin. “You let some of my cum drip into my car.” 

You gulped. “I’m sorry…” 

“Oh, I know,” Calum murmured quietly. “I’m gonna make you regret it anyways, Princess.” He then reverted back to driving mode as both hands clasped onto the wheel. You sat back into the passenger's seat properly, shifting uncomfortably from your juices leaking out of your pussy. Calum brought his hand to your thigh and kept it there, ensuing silence in the car as you mentally prepared for whatever the unpredictable Calum had in store for you. 

XXX

You looked out the window when Calum pulled up in front of an extremely fancy and expensive apartment building. You watch Calum turn off the car and exiting it. Walking around it, Calum opens your door and offers you a hand. You looked around curiously, “are you sure I can show my face?” 

Calum nodded, “the paparazzi hasn’t figured out where my city apartment is.” You take his hand and allow him to help you out as he shuts the door behind you and clicks a button to lock the car. Several security guards stood right before you as Calum tossed his ‘car key’ to one of them. You glanced back as one of them gets into the car and drives away to park it. 

Calum’s warm hand holds yours into the beautiful and expensive building. The intensity of the bright lights was blinding as you kept your head down and followed Calum. But when you were looking down, you noticed the inner legs glistening due to how horny you were. And you still weren’t quite that sober so you squeezed Calum’s hand tighter in desperation. 

He chuckles at you, “what’s wrong, Princess?” He glances back at you to see your face as red as a tomato. You bit your bottom lip and shook your head, too embarrassed to tell him your situation. Snickering, Calum guides you to an elevator and presses one of the buttons. You looked up slightly to see that they were going to the 48th floor. 

“C-Calum,” you stuttered, looking up at him. He looked of a sadist right then, knowing that you were wet beyond belief and that you were desperately seeking relief. “I need you.”

“You need me?” Calum repeats. You nod your head slowly and Calum was in a short fit of chuckles. “Alright, c’mere.” He pulls you into his body and holds you tightly at your waist. Your cheeks were burning, and you watched Calum dip down to kiss your lips once again. 

You clung onto his black tank top desperately, feeling his large hands slowly crawl down to your ass. Calum rubbed, grabbed, and spanked your ass as you two kissed through the floors. You listened to the sound of the elevator skipping each floor as Calum’s tongue breached into your mouth. It was clear he was the dominant, his tongue swirling around yours and eventually pressing it down before returning its focus to your upper lip. The gloss that was once on your lips were completely licked away by Calum. 

You felt Calum pull your dress up to tease his middle finger from between your cheeks down towards your pussy. You twitched a bit as Calum’s finger began rubbing between your labias through your panties. “Y/N,” Calum parts his lips from yours, “when did you get so wet?” 

You brought your hands up to his face and pulled it down to kiss him again. Calum’s finger pushed into your pussy, bringing your soaked panties along while rubbing the rim of it. You began clenching inside, desperate for this man to stick his finger completely inside. But before he could, the elevator had finally reached the 48th floor. 

“Let’s go.” Calum pulls your dress down and holds your hand once more to guide you to his apartment. You followed him through the lavish halls of the floor, taking a look out the window to see the mesmerizing sight that was New York City at night. 

“It’s beautiful,” you whispered. Calum looked over and nodded. You heard him fish out keys from his pocket with his free hand. He forced the key in to his apartment and opened it with ease. Calum lets you go as soon as you two enter, closing the door behind you two while you just begin to wander in. “Princess.”

“Mm?” 

Suddenly, two large (and now familiar) hands grab your hips and pull you back. Calum turns you and presses your back against the door. He grabs your wrists and hold them against the door as well, his large body surrounding you. “Finally,” Calum murmurs before he dips into the crook of your neck and drags his tongue on your neck. You let a moan slip, feeling Calum’s teeth begin to tug and tease your flesh with his tongue sliding on to ease the bit of pain. 

“C-Calum…” you force out. Calum’s tongue teased up your neck, his plump lips nibbling your ears. You clench your hands into fists, wiggling in his hold as his teeth grazed along your skin. But he halts to bring his lips to your ear. 

“Tonight,” Calum growls, “I’m Daddy.” Your eyes widen as he tugs your earlobe with his lips. “Do you understand, Princess?” 

You nod, “yes, Daddy.” Calum backs up a bit and holds your chin in his fingers. Although you two were in pitch black darkness, you knew he was smirking at you. He releases your wrists but takes your hand again to guide you through his apartment. You follow obediently, your heart pumping quickly from the rush. You weren’t foreign to one night stands, but this one feels different. This one was more exciting, with a thrill you haven’t felt in a long while. 

He brings you into a bedroom. That was clear as one of his walls were entirely of glass and allowed tonight's light to shine in. You notice a king sized bed with a bedside table and a few drawers. Any other detail was hard to tell from your gradual sobering as well as still being in a fair amount of darkness. He turns around and holds you gently by your neck. 

“Get on the bed,” Calum instructed. “I’m hungry.” 

Gulping, you quickly walk to the end of the bed and take a seat. Calum walks over and swallows you in his shadow, looking down at you as he grinned. He tells you to lay down, in which you listen and try to calm yourself down. You thanked yourself a million times for shaving before you went to Meri’s house tonight. As you tried slowing down your heart, you felt Calum unstrapping your shoes from your feet. 

“Mm?” You wiggled your toes to catch his attention. You heard him chuckle from the end of the bed as he frees your feet from your wedges. 

“I just wanted you to be more comfortable.” You knew that you two were supposed to be fucking, but his gesture was really endearing. You felt your heart warm up from how considerate he was to you. But that sweet moment quickly dissolves when Calum starts pulling your dress up and your panties down. “Spread your legs, Princess.” 

Obediently listening, you spread your legs apart. You cover your face with your hands, completely embarrassed by the situation. Calum’s breath tickled your inner thighs as he completely removed the panties from your body. The tip of his tongue first touches your clit lightly and you were already in shambles. 

“C-Calum…” you moaned. This made Calum stop to glare at you. 

“What’s my name?” He growled. 

“D-Daddy, it’s Daddy,” you pleaded with him. “I’m sorry, Daddy.” Calum nods in satisfaction after your apology and dips back into your pussy. You feel his tongue swirling around your clit, stimulating it. You felt waves of pleasure surge through your body, your hands returning to the bed to desperately grab the sheets. His large hands had to hold down your thighs to make you squirm less, his tongue rimming around the entrance of your pussy. 

But he quickly found that dull and brought one hand to your flower. Calum forces his middle finger in first, having you arch your back in pure bliss. Moans drip out from your lips as you hear the sipping and slurping sounds of Calum eating you out with his plump lips. He thumbed aggressively against your clit, beads of sweat began to collect on your forehead and neck. 

“Y-you’re going so f-fast,” you stutter, “it's t-too much…” 

Completely ignoring your breathless warnings, Calum laps his tongue around your clit. He digs two fingers into you, sending sparks all around. You pull at the sheets desperately, your breathing completely off tempo. He thrusts his long fingers in and out slowly, spraying some of your cum out onto the bed. “I’ll be the judge of that,” Calum’s hoarse voice speaks against your flower. 

Eventually, Calum bends his fingers at your g-spot right behind your clit and you writhe in pure euphoria. He smirks at your reaction and keeps doing it while circling around your clit (which had been gradually becoming swollen by his constant touch.) Your climax was closing in on you as Calum start leaving wet kisses all over your thighs, fingers still inside you. He slips his index finger in and you curl your toes. “S-so close…” you moan, thrusting a little bit to get his fingers deeper inside. 

He keeps going but immediately notices the thigh strap with your phone stuck in it. Carefully, he pulls it out of your thigh and puts it beside you on the bed. He’s intrigued by this and keeps it in his head while he continued to pleasure you. “D-Daddy, please,” you shrieked, your nails threatening to poke holes through his sheets. Then, seconds before reaching your climax, your euphoric state comes to a halt. 

Calum retracts all of his fingers and rises from the floor. You glance over to look at him, watching as he rids the tank top on his torso. Though it was still fairly dark, you could his flesh dent kindly to form his wondrous set of abs. You hear a soft snort before hands are offered before you. “Here’s your punishment.” 

Following his lead, he gets you on your feet and holds your face. Your toes adjust to the flatness of the ground as Calum purposely wipes away his lips drenched with your juices with his tongue. He continues to lick his fingers as well, stirring your insides just a painful bit more. This man isn’t human, you thought. He couldn’t be. “Get on your knees,” he murmurs. You widen your eyes, complaints already filing in your head.

“But you didn’t finish--” 

“Are you denying my order, Princess?” Calum growls. He pinches your chin and forces you to lock eyes with him. Goosebumps spread like wildfire as you shake your head. He smiles, “good. Now do as I told you.” 

Nodding, you slide down to the floor, your hands gliding down from his thighs. Your knees dug into the carpet, knowing that it’ll leave rug burns and bruises on them. Calum’s eagerness shows; his thick bulge was right before your very eyes. Your hands carefully undo the zipper like earlier, and your hands quickly pulled down the waist of both his pants and boxers. 

His cock hits his stomach and you could only bask in its largeness. Before you could indulge though, Calum pokes your forehead and reaches for something on the bed. You eye to notice your phone in his hands. “What are you…” 

Calum slides into camera mode and begins to take what you guessed was a video. As he smirked mischievously into the camera, his hand held the back of your head and encouraged you to begin. Both of your hands quickly wrap around his cock to help it into your mouth. A rough moan escapes his lips before switching the camera to record you sucking him off. You were somewhat anxious about it but the video was in your phone so nobody but you could access it. Plus it was dark, so how much could one really see? 

Calum watches wistfully at you as you suck him off the way you did in the car. But Calum was much rougher since he could dedicate his attention entirely to you. With his one hand, he forced his cock deep down your throat and sped up the tempo to his liking. Deja vu. Tears ensued once again, your hands holding onto his thighs so he could face fuck you with ease. 

You could feel his cock twitch inside your mouth, your eyes looking up at the camera above you. Calum had been smiling the entire time, knowing that his climax would be coming soon. Eating you out made his throb cock so hard for you and he wants nothing more but to fuck you. But he had to teach you a lesson. 

Precum slid down your throat, making you swallow around the tip of his cock. He stopped recording and tossed the phone back on the bad. He rested a hand on his forehead, euphoria completely taking him over. But he suddenly pulled you off his cock. 

“Mm.” A string of saliva kept your lips and his cock connected. You clear your throat, easing your throat from the face fucking. Calum grabs your hands and turns you around. With one hand holding the back of your neck and the other right above your ass, he bends you over the bed. 

“Do I have to use a condom?” He presses his body against your back to speak these words into your ear. 

“No, Daddy,” you reply. You were on the pill so there were no worries. Calum nipped at your ear happily before standing up straight. His large hands hold onto your hips, his fingers denting a bit for a good hold. He rubs his cock against your soaked pussy, his tip teasing your entrance dreadfully. “Fuck, please!” 

“Please what, Princess?” He’s a sadist. 

“Please Daddy.” 

You couldn’t see, but you knew for a fact he had a smirk painted across his lips. Without wasting another second, Calum thrusts right into your pussy. You hold onto the sheets, pushing them close together as you dig your face into them. His cock was stretching you harshly, but you wanted him deeper. Your insides clench around, hugging his cock happily to feel his length fuck you harder. 

“Fuck Princess,” Calum mutters. “I love the way your pussy wraps around my cock.” His waist slapped your ass, his hands instinctively going to give it a few spanks. It was too much-- you were seconds from cumming. Your squeals gave you away as Calum starts thrusting faster. “I’m gonna ruin you.” 

Your breathing couldn’t be controlled as you felt an exultant climax finally come. Your release coated Calum’s cock, but his cum was also filling you up. You moaned into the bed, trickles of sweat dripping down the both of you. The combined orgasms poured onto the bed and seeped into the sheets. Calum gave you every drop before pulling out. 

Exhaustion slowly began taking you over while you listened to Calum walk over to his bedside table. Your squinted eyes watch him retrieve two items from the drawer before walking over to the wall of glass. The last thing you saw was a cigarette being placed between his lips before you fell into a deep slumber. 

-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-

part 2 here

this is long as fuck but this is only the beginning. please let me know if it was any good or bad here and ill see yall in the next part

- gabby xo

[hellevator-mp3]

how it all went wrong (and what went right) || Part 1

Pairing(s): Woosan, Seongsang, Yungi

Genre: ?? Not even sure what to call this?? mild fluff and idk what else

Word Count: 3000+

Warnings: bc this is a zombie au, there will probably be some mildly gory descriptions, moderate violence, and who knows what else?? but everything will be tagged here!

Author Note: y’all,,,, i literally wrote this in one night,,,, and i’m so excited to actually be posting it!! i got inspired to write this after reading “kenopsia” by skz_jpeg on ao3, which i 100% recommend!! anyways this probably won’t be super long of a series, but it’ll probably be somewhere between 10 and 20 parts?? i’m not 100% sure yet tho!!

it’s hard to forget where you were when tragedy struck, even after years pass.

when it started, yeosang was at his favorite department store, browsing the racks one minute, and locked in the manager’s office the next.  his savior, a boy in red by the name of seonghwa, told him that he was mere feet away from the undead.  

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even at night, the city of seoul was almost always bustling with people.  whether they were just getting off work, or just going to work, just going shopping or coming home from a night of drinking, there were always people lining the streets.  bars would be open, music blasting onto the streets every time the front door opened.  businesses would have their lights on, workers dozing off behind desks and counters as they worked the midnight shift.  corner stores were always open, their bright signs flashing “open!” at anyone who happened to pass by.  

however, yeosang had never seen the seoul streets this empty and quiet.  then again, he had never walked home in the dead of night with a machete clutched in one hand, and a stranger’s hand in the other.  he had also never faced death in the face of the undead, but it turns out that there’s a first time for everything.  

it had been peaceful, the late night crowds in the underground mall slowly dissipating as yeosang leisurely browsed the racks of his favorite department store at a quarter to midnight, just a few hours before the store would close.  he had been in the underground mall for hours at this point, but had come out of nearly every store empty-handed, but he swore that that wouldn’t be the case with this one.  although the mall was clearing out, there was still loud chatter in the hallways that enveloped the building.  he assumed that the shrieks fading into the distance were due to a celebrity or something showing up, and continued on his search for new clothing.  because his paycheck had been rather large this time around and he had money to spare, he decided to treat himself for once.  he had an armful of clothes, and was just turning around to check out when a voice shouted “look out” not even a foot away from him, and he turned to see a person.  but no, it wasn’t just any person.  it was someone wearing the store’s uniform, presumably once an employee, but judging by the chunk of flesh missing from their neck, the sickly color of their skin, and the blood that stained their shirt, it could be assumed that they were no longer alive enough to be employed.  

there was a tug on his wrist, and he watched the person - zombie? undead? - lurch dangerously close to where he was just standing.  he was pulled back into a solid chest at the same time as a wooden pole appeared in the corner of his eye, smacking the undead on the side of the head, causing it to lose balance and tumble to the floor, which bought them just enough time to bolt for the manager's office.  they were lucky, yeosang thought, at the metal door swung open with ease and soon clicked closed behind them.  there was a small window up near the top of the door, which they watched through as the undead seemed to lose sight of them and wandered off.  for a brief moment, yeosang compared the being to a baby, considering that it seemed to have the same concept of object permanence as one.  he shook his head at the thought, watching the being stumble between the racks and out the front of the shop, presumably to look for another victim.  a loud sigh of relief made reminded him of the other presence in the room, a bleach blond boy slumping against the wall next to the door.  yeosang remained standing and studied him curiously, eyes raking over the unfamiliar face for a second before the boy looked up and they made eye contact -- and suddenly yeosang couldn’t look away.  piercing, almost ashy green eyes held his gaze, the color unnatural but suiting the stranger.  the firetruck red hoodie that covered his upper half was striking against his hair, the combo obviously very carefully put together to attract attention.  the two sat in silence for a few moments, just studying one another, before the stranger was hauling himself back to his feet with the help of the wooden pole still clutched in his hand.  his free hand was soon extended to yeosang, and he was introducing himself as seonghwa.  

yeosang soon learned that the country was in a state of emergency.  some sort of scientific outbreak had occurred, and soon, people were dying and coming back to life, but only halfway, resulting in beings like the one they had just seen.  seonghwa informed him that the mall was crawling with them, but that it would be good for them to get out as soon as possible.  yeosang nodded in response, before suggesting that the two of them stick together and go back to yeosang’s apartment, where they would likely be safer than out in the open.  seonghwa readily agreed, and soon they were setting out.  just before they left the store, however, yeosang headed to the back and grabbed one of the biggest backpacks he could find, and shoved some of the more useful clothes that he was planning on buying into it.  after looking around and making sure the store was clear, he ordered seonghwa to go find either a leather jacket or a denim one.  his only reply to the confused look he got was a deadpan one in return.  “denim and leather are hard to bite through, and these things are humans, with human teeth.”  he quietly informed him, getting an understanding nod in return.  they split up but stayed within a few feet of one another, as yeosang shoved his arms through the sleeves of a denim jacket, and tossed a leather one into the backpack.  just a few rows over, he saw seonghwa doing the same.  he hissed that they needed to hurry, and the other nodded, before they joined up to exit the store.  

they were lucky, somehow managing to make it to a camping supply store without seeing a single undead.  they ducked inside, splitting up to find supplies to take home, since yeosang had mentioned that he didn’t have a lot of things that they would need.  he figured that if the world ever sorted itself out, he’d keep a tally of what they stole - borrowed - and pay for it when everything was right again.  seonghwa came back with his own bag, full of things that they would need if the electricity went out, or they ran out of food, and supplies to purify water if they needed to.  yeosang was in the middle of unboxing a pocket knife, which he then used to cut the packaging on a machete.  the pocket knife was stuffed into his jacket pocket, and seonghwa shoved another packaged machete into his bag before saying they needed to leave.  

as they were navigating their way out of the mall, yeosang suddenly pulled seonghwa into a beauty supply store.  seonghwa went to question him, but yeosang just pulled him to the side of the door into a small cubby-like space, pressing the two of them together and pressing a finger to his lips.  they heard stumbling footsteps over the sound of their breathing, followed by a short moan that quickly dissipated as the figure passed.  yeosang checked quickly to make sure it had passed, before venturing further into the store and gesturing for seonghwa to follow him.  it wasn’t long before they stumbled across one of the undead at the back of the store, where yeosang was pulling down a box what appeared to be the same dye he used to achieve the blush colored hair he currently sported, as well as one that seonghwa assumed was his natural - or as close to natural as he could get - hair color to cover it up with.  after the undead was taken care of and the dyes were in yeosang’s backpack, and he had finally convinced seonghwa to grab what he needed to maintain his own platinum blond hair (“it looks good on you! you have to keep it!” yeosang had rambled on excitedly at the prospect of helping seonghwa with his hair), the two continued to make their way out, the contents of their bags rattling slightly with every step.  seonghwa cursed as they had to take out another undead before finally hitting the escalators, which hadn’t shut off just yet.  they rode in silence, standing as close to each other as they could and watching each other’s back.  

the sirens that blared got louder and louder the closer they got to the surface, and yeosang idly wondered why he couldn’t hear even a hint of them while he was in the store.  when they finally got out of the mall, they found the streets empty and near void of life.  the moans of the undead could be heard from where they were, so they decided to speed up their pace, even just a little bit.  just a few blocks from yeosang’s apartment building, they were just passing by a supermarket when seonghwa pulled them inside, pulling the same maneuver as yeosang had just a few hours before, at the sight of a zombie about a mile away.  he shushed yeosang quickly, keeping an eye out for the undead to pass them by.  they were lucky it hadn’t noticed the automatic doors that had slid open at their appearance, and remained open as they stood next to it.  

yeosang finally breathed a sigh of relief as seonghwa finally pulled himself away, before looking around, trying to ignore the flush on his cheeks from their proximity.  sure, it was okay when yeosang had done it to seonghwa, but the other way around had a feeling bubbling up in yeosang’s stomach that he didn’t like.  the building seemed quiet, and the two of them exchanged glances.  “should we grab a cart or two and take some of this back to your place? before somebody else raids it?” seonghwa suggested quietly, eying the carts just past the door to their right.  yeosang shrugged, agreeing that it might be a good idea.  

since it was the dead of night and the country was considered under a state of emergency, it was assumed that most people would be holed up inside their apartments and houses under morning, at the very least.  with a nod, they grabbed two of the shopping carts and started walking up and down the aisles.  seonghwa stocked his full of bottled water, checking it often to make sure that it wasn’t too heavy to push down the street and to get into an elevator.  yeosang’s was soon full of canned goods and other things that wouldn’t spoil quickly, along with little things for them to snack on in the meantime, things that they may not be able to enjoy for long.  he also stocked up on various vitamins, telling seonghwa that having a stronger immune system may help them in the long run.  seonghwa nodded in agreement, before also throwing bottles of shampoo into yeosang’s cart, “just in case”, he said.  just as their quiet ‘shopping trip’ was coming to an end, they heard the automatic doors open and froze in their spot.  footsteps echoed around the store, but there wasn’t a moan to be heard - therefore, it had to be somebody alive that was inhabiting the store with them.  yeosang and seonghwa were soon back to back, wielding their respective weapons as they watched either end of the aisle with bated breath, waiting for either friend or foe to pop out.  

a silver haired boy, and a black haired boy with red highlights appeared from behind the endcap, one of them holding a hand basket while the other wielded a kitchen knife.  with his free hand, seonghwa, who was facing the two boys, tapped yeosang’s upper thigh to signal for him to turn around.  the two groups finally took notice of one another, the silver haired boy nearly shrieking in surprise.  the black haired boy quickly covered his mouth, shushing him quietly.  “we’re not here to hurt you or raid you, we’re just trying to stock up before everyone else does.  we can’t get back into our apartment, our building is surrounded in the undead and they’re walking the hallways, too, so this is our only shot.”  the black haired boy explained quickly and quietly, letting his hand drop from the other boy’s mouth, and letting it drop to intertwine with the other’s.  before yeosang could reply, seonghwa had already blurted out that they could follow them to yeosang’s apartment, and they could figure it out in the morning.  the two boys exchanged glances, while yeosang was sputtering indignantly, yanking seonghwa to the end of the aisle and out of sight for a minute, completely disregarding their carts.  

seonghwa raised an eyebrow, and yeosang took a deep breath before finally speaking a proper sentence.  “you can't just invite people into my home!” he hissed, trying to make sure the others couldn't hear him.  seonghwa sent him a deadpan look, before gesturing down to himself.  at the realization that he was being slightly hypocritical, yeosang sighed, a hand drifting up and fingers rubbing at his temples.  “it's different with you.  you saved me, and i owe you.” he whispered, eyes closing as he tried to distract himself.  why exactly did he so willingly offer up his home to a stranger?

the answer came to him in the form of the butterflies that reeled in his stomach when seonghwa grabbed his hand with one of his own, pulling it away from his face at the same time that his free hand reached out to cup yeosang’s chin and make him face the other.  “then let them stay with us, and we'll be even.  tomorrow, when they leave, it'll just be us again and we'll be fine.” seonghwa tried to soothe him, rubbing his thumb over yeosang’s cheek, who leaned into the touch.  

it took a second for yeosang to relent, nodding into seonghwa’s palm.  he heard the other laugh, and allowed himself to be pulled closer into a tight embrace before they headed back to the other two, acting as though nothing had happened.  the two boys watched them nervously, the silver haired boy fiddling with his fiance's fingers to distract himself.  

“if you get a cart and help us stock up, you can come home with us.” yeosang relayed to them quickly, and the two rushed off to get a cart, only after introducing themselves.  the black haired boy was san, and the silver-haired boy was his fiance, wooyoung.  it turned out that they lived just a block or two away from yeosang, thankfully far enough that they didn’t worry about seeing the undead that flocked their building.  it wasn’t until nearly an hour later that they found themselves standing in front of yeosang’s apartment building.  they had to abandon their carts several times during the walk home, hiding in doorways and behind pillars until the threat had passed, somehow managing to make it back in one piece.  yeosang was the first to go up, taking the elevator to his floor and checking to make sure that it was clear before riding back down and guiding the rest up to his apartment.  soon enough, they had managed to fit the three carts in the doorway, and were unpacking the supplies.  “we need to find some way to board up the windows, just in case.”  yeosang piped up from the kitchen, where he was stacking canned food in the cabinets.  even though they were on the third floor, there was still a possibility of something - or someone - getting in through the window.  

“and we should figure out how to rig up the hallway so nothing else can get down here.”  san replied from the small dining room, where he was pushing the carts together near the window and going to join yeosang in the kitchen.  wooyoung and seonghwa were quietly conversing as they unpacked the other supplies that seonghwa and yeosang had collected, as well as some little things that they managed to save from their apartment.  soon enough, the four of them were gathered in the living room, where they quickly whipped up a list of things that they still needed, which included, but wasn’t limited to: sleeping bags, maybe air mattresses if they were lucky, along with other things like more matches and candles, batteries, a radio, and a few other things.  they made themselves comfortable, yeosang pulling a blanket down from his closet for san and wooyoung, who had taken refuge on the couch.  seonghwa had already said that he would be sleeping on the floor next to yeosang’s bed, “for safety reasons”.  yeosang had rolled his eyes, a bright flush painting his cheeks as he pushed seonghwa away.  moonlight still flooded in through the windows, signaling to them that sunrise was still a few hours away, and they had time to catch a little bit of shut-eye before it was time to figure out a plan.    

yeosang woke sometime a little bit later with a racing heart and a scream hovering in the back of his throat, one that he barely managed to hold back.  it seemed that either he had already made noise in his sleep, or seonghwa was just that light of a sleeper, considering that the other sat up quickly and glanced around, eyes falling on yeosang’s shiver ridden form.  with a small noise, he crawled into bed next to yeosang, pulled the boy to his chest and soothing the boy with gentle strokes of his hands over his hair and back.  seonghwa smiled as the boy melted into his chest, and found himself falling asleep again with yeosang’s fingers wrapped in his shirt.  

san and wooyoung slept peacefully in the living room, wooyoung pressed into the back of the sofa.  it was a good arrangement, considering that wooyoung got cold easily in the night, and san too hot.  

silence once again draped over the apartment like a blanket as the people inside finally all fell into a deep sleep, to ease the tired they felt in their bones.  

they were woken just a few hours later at the sound of frantic pounding on the door and screams for help.  

[jenvsworld-blog1]

🇬🇧 London, baby! 🇬🇧

Day 1: Sunday, 1st July

LONDON, England

So this was it, this was the beginning of our European adventure. All the excitement, planning and packing lead to this moment.

I said my goodbyes to the family in Sydney on Saturday 30th June and jumped on a 3:05pm Singapore Airways flight to London, with a 1:15 stop over in Singapore.

I arrived at Heathrow Airport, London, at about 5:30am (which in the grand scheme of things, I would highly recommend to reduce jet lag and increase site-seeing time), collected my bags and sat down outside arrivals for a couple of hours. Talz didn’t arrive until about 8:00am and I was super tempted to shout out across the airport when I saw her coming through the arrivals gate “ ‘Ello Gov’ner” in a real Londoner accent, but I knew she would probably turn around and head back home and I did need a friend for the rest of the stay.

We got Oyster Cards which meant we could jump on the Tube and head to our English home and we were both so excited and full of energy, despite the lack of sleep we both had on the way over.

Anyway we jumped on the tube and worked out how we were to head to Wimbledon (yes, like the Tennis...). After a slight issue with wrong keys not opening the front door, we got in to our super cute and super British home for the next couple of days. The tenants of the place, Karen and Lindsay, had set us up with our own room and double bed, which was so lovely. They weren’t home at the time but we met them later on.

We both had a quick shower, organised ourselves sat down for a little bit and planned when and where we were headed in London. We then went out to get some groceries which was an adventure in itself too: the weird supermarket layout, the prices being in Pounds, the funny names of foods...

We wanted to hit the city for the afternoon to get us out and about and to drive away the jet lag, but even just to make the most of the time that we have. So I decided (and I am definitely taking credit for the decision) to head to Westminster which looked like it was in the heart of the city, had a fair few attractions around it and definitely had the tick of approval for tourist attractions, including the very important, very photogenic, red telephone box.

We then literally just walked around London and saw a couple of big, famous and/or old sites. We literally just walked. Anything that looked remotely important we checked out. With no map, we had no idea the significance of any of the buildings, what they were or where we were, just enjoyed being immersed in the city life and enjoying everything around us.

So we came across a HUUUUGE sandstone building that had big black metal gates around it and had a couple of guards around it, but the gates were opened so we walked through it. Still to this moment, I have no idea what it was. It had a big sandstone arch under the building which we walked through and on the other side, there were a fair few LifeSize RAF planes and war planes on display. Opposite the building, there was lush green park. (*UPDATE* after having a quick look at a map, I think we walked through The Household Cavalry Museum, along The Birdcage Walk and beside St. James’ Park).

There was super long, super straight and super exciting-looking road (*UPDATE* The Birdcage Walk... only one of the most famous strips of road in England...). So we decided to head down this super straight road that had lots of UK flags on either side and was totally blocked off, because I knew that straight roads off a significant building often lead to another significant building/place/memorial. Anyway, I thought at the end of the road it was just going to be like a fountain or a famous lion statue or what not, and Talz thought it was going to be Trafalgar Square (*UPDATE* which as it turns out was super close to where we were but in the other direction). We literally had no idea where we were.... but as we got closer and and closer, IT WAS BUCKINGHAM PALACE! We literally stumbled across THE BUCKINGHAM PALACE. Total accident and total shock. Amazing.

So as your typical tourists, we had a photo shoot at the front (plus plenty along the way) but I can tell you, we had nothing in comparison to some of the other tourists who looked like they had spent all morning getting ready to impress the Queen (get it...). Talz reckons the Queen was in there, because there was a UK Flag, flying high on the top of the Palace, and she was quite possibly hidden in the HUGE castle...

We then wandered around a little bit more, headed through St James which looked very posh, prim and proper and jumped on the tube and started to head back home. We stopped on the way to get burgers for dinner and I can guarantee you that nothing tastes better when your hungry, tired and jet lagged.

We headed home to Wimbledon, ready to jump into bed, but ended up staying awake for a few more hours, talking to Lindsay and Karen, the lovely Kiwi couple who we are staying with about all things travel and family and life in Australia. The World Cup was also on, so we watched Croatia beat Denmark in penalty shoot outs. A pretty exciting end to a pretty exciting day.

[shadcatmastered]

Kid x Law - Fanfiction - Another world - Part 1

"Oh, no, I'm sorry. Dr. Trafalgar left about two hours ago. " Kid stared at the nurse. Second by second, before he tried a smile. "Oh, right. Then I must have messed up something. " She smiled as well, before continuing to work. The redhead, on the other hand, just felt his heart throb. He had not confused anything. Slowly he pulled out his smartphone and looked at the message Law had sent him less than ten minutes ago. 'I'll be home late tonight. I have to work longer. Love you.' Laws Message was exactly as he remembered it. Only that it was obviously a lie. The redhead put away his smartphone and sat down on the patient benches. He was so pale that another nurse addressed him in passing, if everything was alright. Kid just nodded. Even if he felt that nothing was alright. Why did Law lie to him? And what about all those other nights when Law had to attend work or conferences? Was that just lying? But ... but why should Law lie to him ...? Except he ... No. No, Law would never cheat on him. But why else ... It was two o'clock tomorrow when Kid heard the key turn in the lock. He was lying in bed, but he had not slept for a second. No, he'd been waiting the whole time for Law to come home. Silently he listened as he went to the kitchen. Law drank something, ate leftovers from the dinner Kid had cooked for them hours before. After that, he took a shower and Kid closed his eyes. Law would never cheat on him. There was something different behind it. Certainly. At some point, the bed wiggled beside him and Kid opened his eyes again. The look of his golden eyes was scrutinizing and hurt. Well, at least until he saw Law's face. Then he sat up, startled. "Law! What happened to you?!" His eye was swollen, as if someone had sunk his fist into it. And those scratches ...! The redhead's fingers trembled with concern as he reached out and laid his hands on Laws cheek. He noticed only now the thick bandage, which was around his arm. God! Law smiled as he snuggled his face into his hands. "Oh, some drunk thought he could steal money from me. The police are taking care of him now. " Law kissed Kids palms before he leaned forward and cupped his face against his chest. A loud sigh escaped him and Kid wrapped his arms around his back. Kids heart was pounding wildly. "But I'm so glad I have you. What would I do without you ... " The words of the black-haired were infinitely quiet and Kid looked down at him. And why are you lying to me then ...? But he could not say it. Not now. Law needed him. Instead, he just hugged him tightly before his wounded face reappeared in front of his. Law smiled before kissing him so tenderly. Kid felt tears in his eyes as he returned that beautiful kiss. Longing, almost desperate. His boyfriend's fingers went over his eyes and he took the tears with him before he said softly: "But, but ... my sweetheart, I'm fine. I did not mean to scare you. These are just a few scratches. " No, that was more than just scratches...! But instead of saying just that, he just kissed him deeper, more pleadingly. He did not want anything in the world, except Law. Since this evening, Law came home every day later and later. On some nights he did not come home at all. He always wrote, apologized. Kid did not call the co-workers with whom he would prepare surgery or exchange research results. He knew that Law was not there. He knew it, because Law came home every day with more and more injuries. Injuries that he could not explain to him. Sometimes it was animals, sometimes an accident. Yesterday, Kid had not even asked, and Law was sitting on his lap. With those big, blue eyes that had apologized to him so much. "I love you. Never forget that, yeah? " In the meantime, the redhead no longer believed that Law was cheating on him. Very well, it was possible that he was in trouble. In serious trouble. Someone seemed to be ambushing and threatening them almost every day. And Law did not want to talk to him. Why... Maybe he was just worried about him? That Kid would get the same treatment? But Kid was much more worried about Law than about himself! He was the love of his life! He would do anything for him! The next week, Kid secretly took a vacation from work. He would find out what was bothering him so much. And he would help Law! Whether he wanted it or not! It was an early Monday morning when the redhead said goodbye to Law with a kiss. He walked out of the house and took his motorcycle. Supposedly to drive to work. But he only waited a few blocks away. He felt guilty in his actions. But Kid really did not know how to help himself anymore. So he secretly followed the car of his boyfriend. Where nothing exciting happened. He actually drove to the clinic and went to work. But that did not matter. Kid was passing the time drinking coffee and playing mobile games. He leaned against the shady tree in the clinic park and waited. The day passed and Law did not leave the hospital. When his shift was over, he even came out very punctually. Smiling as he reached the car and unlocked it. At the sight, Kid smiled again. What? Was today one of those days that Law would just go home? That... that would be great...! Kid got up and thought about going shopping. Then he would have an excuse why he was not home when Law came home. Then he would cook something really great for them...! Well, at least until Law looked at his smartphone. Kid could see from a distance how much his facial expression froze. For a few seconds, he saw Law typing on the phone. Did he call someone? Whereupon the question was clarified when Kid saw his number on the display. With that, Kids' mood dropped as much as Law's. He accepted the call . "Darling? Where are you right now?" I spy on you. Kid closed his eyes briefly, thinking of the lie he had just had in his head. "Hey sweetie. Just in front of the supermarket. I wanted to buy some things to cook us a great meal. Will you come home then? " He himself heard how pleading his words were at the end. Suddenly he did not want to find out why Law always came home so late. He just wanted to dine with him at home in all comfort. Was this so much asking ...? The redhead literally thought he heard Law swallow at the other end of the line. Painfully. "No... I .. a colleague got sick. I must step in for him. Kid... Kid I'm really sorry. We'll catch up, will we? " “It’s okay.” Law hung up. Kid watched him. Watching Law slap his hands over his face and then sit in the car with such a suffering facial expression that Kid suddenly felt certainty. Law needed his help. With impetus he sat down on his motorcycle and drove after Laws car. He would save him! With such a few criminals he would still cope easily! Kid was surprised which direction Law took. He drove outside the city in an area, which belonged more to the homeless or young people. Dilapidated houses bordered on a large forest area, which was an official hunting area. As the cars were getting fewer and fewer in that direction, Kid took more and more distance and parked well two blocks away when Law finally stopped at the edge of the forest. Securing his motorcycle well, because damn, he loved his sweetheart, and putting in the shelter of a bush, he realized in fright that he had lost sight of Law. In his black leathery jacket he ran to his car and looked around in all directions. Where had Law gone now? Above all, the sun had gone down and the red of the sky was turning into a slow black. If he lost him now, the whole action would have been in vain! Oh, there! On the edge of the forest, he saw the figure of his boyfriend disappear between the houses, which made him run after him. How was Law so fast? Christ, he had never seen him run so fast! When Kid arrived at the borders of the big fir trees, he saw signs hanging everywhere that the hunting area started here. Images of guns exacerbated his sudden discomfort, even if he went in the forest anyway. The trees were thick and the ground was thick with scrub. Still, Kid thought he heard voices. Laws...! He hid behind a high spruce and was amazed when he not only discovered Law. No, next to him was Laws sister with her boyfriend and his father. Huh? What kind of a strange conference was that? Ah, he could not hear anything! The darkness reached its greatest magnitude, even if none of the four were somehow impressed. No, Laws father raised his hand and... and... a ball of light appeared. Full of disbelief, Kid stared in the direction, rubbing his eyes. Wh- what? And yet she was there. A ball of pure light that lit up their faces. They all looked incredibly serious and exchanged words. Kid was still staring at the sphere of light. What kind of technique was that? The next moment, Law raised his hand and... his tattoo glowed. The one on the palm that he Law already possessed the day she got to know each other. With a snap of his fingers, he did something. At least Kid thought he was doing something. For the next moment, it was like a portal over them and they were gone. His mouth opened. Completely surprised and disbelieving Kid stared into the darkness. Huh... HÄ?! He had expected many things. But really not ... that! Whatever that was! Was he just dreaming? Maybe he was asleep. At least he did not want anything more than just going home. Kid dug out his smartphone and turned on his flashlight app before finding his way back out of the forest. What... he had not seriously seen a portal open. And much less, how it worked?! Besides... how far had he actually gone into the woods?! Between rage and fear, Kid grabbed his way as he struggled through the foliage, then sighed in relief as he finally freed himself. Whereby the relief got stuck in his throat. Here it was as dark as in the forest. No street lamps, no house lights. The city was a few streets away from this long abandoned area. Kid simply got involved with something that was nothing but sheer fear of death. Suddenly he felt like a deer with the rifle barrel of the hunter on his neck. Only away here! He ran with great strides past Laws car to his motorcycle. He heard shouting voices but ignored them. At least until he heard Lamy's (Laws sister) voice. "LAW! Danger!" Law?! His heart was racing like crazy, but he stopped. Lamy had sounded so frantic, so startled... and before Kid knew what he was doing, he ran in the direction of the voices. No! If something happened to Law, Kid would never forgive himself! No way! The redhead ran around the corner of one of the dilapidated houses and what he saw there would kill him in another situation. Law and Lamy faced a group of people. Well 12 people, Kid would say spontaneously. Law held a sword in his hand, which was larger than himself and Lamy two firearms. Was that a fight?! Above all, their apparent opponents did not look a bit impressed. One of them threw herself downright amused against the siblings, with nothing more than her bare hands. And... and she was so fast...! Kids eyes could not even follow ...! Whereby the mood changed suddenly, when Law cut off a man's head with his sword. The redhead clapped his hands over his mouth and his knees were shaky. Law had someone... murdered someone...! The person who had lost his head fell to dust... no corpse, just dust! Kid was dizzy from all the new impressions, the things that should never have happened...! And yet, Kid was scary again when he saw a woman rushing from behind at Law. He looked in a different direction and Lamy as well...! NO! The redhead ran forward. As fast as if his own life depended on it. Kid threw himself on the woman. Her hand had been only inches from Laws collar. Kid had served in the military for two years. With a sudden intuition, Kid remembered his education and began to put the woman in the grip. His arm to her throat and squeeze. Even if his eyes fell on Law. Law, who looked at him with pure horror in his eyes. "... Kid ...?! No!" Law stormed in his direction and Kid noticed a second later why. The woman did not choke. She was not looking for air. She stood up and grabbed him by the upper arm as if he were as light as a straw doll. She then opened her mouth and hissed at him. A hiss... came to light with the two long fangs. Fangs like a... vampire. That thought was stupid. Just stupid. And yet, Kid had never screamed more loudly than ever before. The woman flung him away with one hand. Kid landed on the stony ground and felt his skin rip. Even when the force of the impact turned everything around in him and turned his world into a blurry, shaky mess. "Law... Law..." Groaning he called his name, worried about him... but Kid had at least two broken bones and he was feeling sick and dizzy. The next moment he was picked up by the collar again and looked into the eyes of a pale man who had almost completely black eyes. He grinned, broad and angry. "That's him , witch? Your little one? No wonder we could not find him! Who would have thought that your lover is just a worthless human! " A laugh escaped from his mouth and Kid raised his fists. He tried to beat him. But the pale man just laughed louder. "Oh, witch. This will hurt you, and especially your little one very badly. But remember, that's the punishment for you to interfere in our affairs!" Did he speak with Law ...? Witch...? Kid was confused, but more than anything he was scared. Especially when he noticed how the stranger opened his mouth and also exposed two long fangs. Law yelled his name. Loud, desperate! But Kid just watched with wide eyes as the man tore open his own fingertip. Black blood ran down. Kid screamed Law’s name. Kid had come to safe him... now Kid had to be saved! But Law failed. There were only those black eyes as the man pressed the tip of his finger into the wound of Kids arm, which he had torn open during the fall. It did not take a few seconds for Kid to feel a pain that made him scream. He screamed and topped with pain, screaming and shouting, before the gracious powerlessness enveloped him. His vision became black. Music. Droning music. Kids eyes were closed, but his slowly awakening mind was filled with music. The footsteps of many people, voices, screams... a nightclub...? Slowly Kid opened his eyes, then pinched them again. The light blinded him so much that his eyes started to scream and, yet he sat up. Kid was dizzy. At the same time he filled himself in infatuation. Colored lights danced behind his eyelids. Drugs. He felt like he was under drugs. "Well, did the princess wake up? Welcome! Welcome, in your new world!" A laughing voice greeted him and Kid recognized it. It was the man from the forest. The one with black eyes and black blood. Kid had to be scared. But he wasn’t. No. His brain mass seemed to dance with the quivering music. He also wobbled a bit while sitting. Whereupon a laugh sounded. "Don’t worry, all newbies feel that way. It will be over in a few hours. But feeling a few hours strange is nothing against the gift of immortality. " Kid did not really understand what the man wanted to tell him, but he did not really care. Slowly he managed to open his eyes and found himself lying on the floor. Pretty in the middle of a room that looked like the VIP launch of a club. Two wide leather sofas and several large, upholstered chairs were aligned to a small bar. Kids fingers almost felt enchanted by how soft the carpet was under him. On the couch in front of him sat the man with the black eyes. Two very lightly dressed women pressed against him. One of them drank a red cocktail that smelled wonderful and the other kissed the man's neck, showing her long fangs. Another one of those ... Kid almost opened his mouth like in a dream and let his tongue wander around. And it was struck by these sharp teeth, which had not been there before. He opened his mouth and embraced them with his fingers. A moment later he pulled on them. Ah! That hurt! Now was the moment Kid wanted to panic. But the only thing his brain could do was keep his fingers moving in rhythm with the new teeth. "Oh yes, they are real. And careful. You have a little more strength than before. Not that you rip them off. It hurts a lot when they regrow. " You could hear the amusement from his voice. But Kid thought of something else. Something that made him suddenly startled despite his intoxication. With wide eyes he looked to the man and breathed only croaking: "Where is Law?” Whereupon the man laughed. But not alone anymore. The redhead's gaze wandered around the room, and he did register the various men and women in the room. Not many, just a few. But they all had that fragrance. A sweet, fruity fragrance. And without opening their mouth, Kid knew they all had the same long teeth. "Oh, your witch is fine. We left yesterday after we picked you up. But I doubt he wants you anymore. " What...? Why should not Law want him anymore...? And... yesterday ...? Kid looked at it confusedly, feeling a sudden sadness that made him waver seated. What was going on here...? "Nonsense..." Where was Law? He wanted Law to pick him up. He was drunk. Badly drunk. He wanted to go home. The voice of the man sounded and suddenly his hand grabbed him. Within half a second he was on his feet, only to be pushed into the soft couch. Kid looked at the man who grinned at him before he even offered him a cocktail like his playmate had just drunk. "Drink. Then you feel better immediately. By the way, you can call me Lucio. " The man sat down again between the women and Kid looked after him. "I’m Kid." He softly called his name while looking at the contents of the cocktail. A reddish, thick liquid. With a wonderful smell. A light gasp came over his lips. Wow. It smelled so good. He had never smelled such a good thing ...! "Oh, the first sip of blood... remember Anastasia...? That was very special...! " The woman, who had now sat down on Lucio's lap, spoke her words and smiled downright at the second woman, who then dumped her cocktail all at once. "It is always special.” Blood...? He would not drink blood! With a look of transfigured horror, Kid put the glass away and stood swaying. "I go. I want to go home." At his words, a collective laugh sounded. Kid headed for the door. "You can do whatever you want. If you survive the next day, you're welcoming to come back. You belong to our club now, I would say. Oh, and make sure you have a roof over your head before the sun comes up. " More laughter sounded, which Kid carefully ignored. He did not want to belong. His interest in nightclubs had dropped sharply after he got into solid hands. And he would not fall asleep on any park bench. Indeed. When he opened the door, he was on the top floor of a club. Many dancing people pressed together and moved in time. It was terribly loud. The colors too bright. It was like a struggle to move through all the people, with so many of them smelling sweet. As sweet as he smelled. And the others... the others smelled so... so delicious! ...he wanted to get out of here...! It seemed like ages, but then he was in the cool air. The doormen glanced at him and Kid thought he saw a slightly mocking smile. But right now he also believed he saw many things. Actually, it was night, right? Why could he still see everything anyway...? It was all very greyish, but he could see as daylight. Even better. ...drugs... they had really given him drugs ... Kid staggered through the streets. He did not recognize anything. He could not tell if it was because he had never been here, or because his eyes were so different. So sharp, so clean, so far. Surely his head would have hurt him in another situation. The redhead did not know how long he was treading through the streets before realizing that he could not find his way home. Despair spread in him. He wanted it to stop...! Law was a doctor, this could certainly give him something against the effects of... whatever...! Law ... God, he was stupid! Killed by his own thoughtlessness, Kid sat down on the curb and pulled out his smartphone. His gaze wavered and yet he managed to choose his number. Like his last lifeline, he clung to his smartphone. It was not a few seconds before Law took off.

written by Shadcatmastered

-I’m sorry for mistakes. English is not my native language.-

[happiness-in-oblivion]

Senior Szn No. 2: Thoughts on Moving

~~ Full Disclosure: This post is quickly becoming an excuse to post all the beautiful parts of this state, so get ready for more pictures than actual words. But hey, a picture is worth a thousand words ;) ~~

I am 100% sure that when it comes down to pulling out of my driveway for the last time, I will bawl my freaking eyes out. That’s because despite being an Aquarius, I have emotions.

Let’s make this perfectly clear: these are my current thoughts on leaving New Mexico (AKA the land of enchantment). I am not saying that I currently hate my state or that I never had fun; on the contrary, I’ve enjoyed all eighteen years here. But it’s time to talk a bit about the current state of Albuquerque, NM. 

Yes, the same Albuquerque that brought the nation Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul. The same Albuquerque that has (don’t fight me on this) the best green chile around. 

Because I don’t want to make this a post that seems to be hating on my hometown, I will begin with all the positives.

Pros

1. diversity and mexican/latin@ empowerment

The OG homies and I at the local paleteria. Let me tell you, this is the place where I come to break my healthy eating. Also, that happens often.

In 2016, New Mexico was announced as having the largest Hispanic population at 47%, with California coming in second at 36%. So I guess you could say that we slay. 

From what I’ve mostly encountered in ABQ, being cultured is something to be extremely proud of. Albuquerque is filled with multiple perspectives, and we function. Now, I did say mostly, because I have encountered some dumbasses that thought calling me “lamb chops” and telling me my Greek father had to lower his standards to marry my Mexican mom was actually funny. But that kind of ideology is quickly shut down.

I thought this kind of inclusion was extremely common. In that sense, I guess I was in this naive bubble. When I spent the summer in California with my dad in 2016, I was a bit shocked by the state with the second highest population of Hispanics.

BTW, we were staying in Palo Alto, which is definitely important to mention. We had to drive to a separate city limit to eat flautas and Caldo de Rez, which we found weird. And then, as we drove down El Camino Real and took a random turn, we found a run down street that was filled with Spanish signs advertising hair salons, supermarkets, etc. The blatant street segregation was the biggest culture shock I’d ever received.

The only true purpose of that little rant was to emphasize how wonderful New Mexico is. Although there are definitely neighborhoods that are predominantly Hispanic, New Mexico’s roots proudly seep into culture and diversity. Good segway… :)

2. proud (albu)quirky culture

New Mexicans pride themselves when it comes to: breakfast burritos, green chile, luminarias, flamenco, and so on.

Now that I’ve stated the obvious, I’ll talk about my personal favorite part of Albu-quirky. Because of the diverse community that Albuquerque fosters, we have really cool and local spots to just chill and hangout. As I write this, I am thinking about the countless coffee shops and bookstores that display a bit it of our very common quirkiness.

Pretty rad mural outside of Zendo. I often come here when I am trying to wear my cool new glasses and baby blue turtleneck, if you know what I mean. This mural is one of countless examples of beautiful downtown art.

When it comes to coffee shops, I think Albuquerque has a very desired vibe. After taking a few classes, I usually end up at Winning Coffee. Located right across the street from campus, Winning is where hippies come with their wild dogs while they gain insightful stories from homeless people. I’m not lying. it’s also located next to a movie poster store that features classics (even from Audrey Hepburn!). When you walk inside, you’re greeted by refreshing and new art on the wall with every passing week, a calendar filled with poetry slams, and a makeshift bookstore by a retired man who sells amazing vintage cover books for cheap. I mean, c’mon, what is not to love?

You see, other than Starbucks, most coffee shops around here aren’t chains, so they each have their own unique style and vibe. Depending on the mood, I may end up at Winning, or I may go down one block and sit in the bucolic setting that is Limonata (yes, like the drink). Here, you can enjoy homemade crepes and empanadas. And I don’t usually drink caffeine, but their chai’s are to die for.

Limonata: “Good Food, Good Coffee, Good People”

Also, I can’t forget the fact that this obviously looks like a house, because it definitely was. The bathroom literally has a bath tub that they have expertly filled with plants to make you experience a jungle in a few minutes.

Heck, there’s a coffee shop in Taos called World Cup that has different currencies as its wallpaper. it’s literally a hole in the wall, and people simply pin new and refreshing culture on the wall for the heck of it.

That adobe architecture though, am I right?

4. cheap concerts

Although I have not been to a concert in a hot second, that does not correlate to a decline in awesome ass shows in this city. In fact, this past summer Khalid came on over, and most of my friends hopped into the venue with at most an $80 ticket. (Let me point out that I am upset that I didn’t go and had I not been in another state I would have quickly hopped in as well)

I will admit it’s not always fun when an artist you really enjoy didn’t include New Mexico in their tour because they don’t think we’re in the country. BUT, the ones that do include us experience a great crowd. And, not being New York does have its perks. Cheap tickets for an unforgettable night? Perfect bargain.

I was in seventh grade when I attended my first concert. The tickets were $35 to see Sara Bareilles and OneRepublic. I went with my little sister and my friend and her mom. The venue was in our local casino, which includes an open view of the beautiful sky and a scenic landscape as the background. Right after the opening band, Harper Blynn (check out their collab with Sara Bareilles too), my sister and I went to their bus in an attempt to meet them, and meet them we did.

When they found out it was our first concert ever, they gave us a free signed copy of their CD, took pictures with us, and signed their names all over my seven-year-old sister’s arm in Sharpie. It was AWESOME.

5. badass nationwide events 

If there is one thing that New Mexico is known for, it is for our rad balloons. You know, as in hot air balloons?

Every year, Albuquerque is home to the International Balloon Fiesta, where hot balloon aficionados can come and either display their artwork of a balloon, or sip some Piñon coffee and eat a breakfast burrito while watching each beautiful hot air ballon go up into the most spectacular sunrise.

Seriously, to come to this thing requires a lot of might from Burqueños. I mean, I enjoy watching the balloons over the interstate on my way to school, but I am never in the mood to wake up at four in the a.m. only to wait in an hour of traffic to battle for a parking spot a mile away from the park grounds. On top of that, you’re pretending not to freeze your ass off as you slyly inch closer to the balloons with fire.

This is not the only time Albuquerque is seen internationally. We also have the Lantern Festival in October, where people can enjoy a mini version of a hot air balloon (basically). But hey, that’s not all.

I had to talk about Festival Flamenco Internacional. OMG. What a week. Every June, the National Institute of Flamenco brings incredible flamenco artists to teach classes and perform. For a week in the year, people between New York and Japan fly to Albu-quirky to learn from the hottest (artistically and literally) artists.

This picture has an incredible story, so hear me out. So all summer, my friends and I fundraised to see these amazing people and their art. Well, the opening night of the week, our director managed to sneak us into the very prestigious gala as waitresses and servers. After the amazing show where I spent the entire time internally crying, we returned to the party only to find our dance idols on the dance floor. They were regular people jamming to salsa music. It was so surreal! And then, our amazing director asked them for a picture with all of us. I am hugging Claudia Cruz to my left, who was one of my teachers for the week. Throughout the week, we had genuine conversations, and she even told me I was a good dancer with a followed wink. She messages me on facebook to remind me that I’m awesome and she can’t wait for the day to come when I visit her in Spain. Like, are you kidding me?!

(Also picture from left to right: Claudia Cruz, me, Sage, Marco Flores, Agueda Saavedra, Madison, and Jose Manuel Alvarez)

6. nature

This is another given that comes hand in hand with living in New Mexico. Although I will admit sometimes I may not be a complete outdoorsy person, I do genuinely enjoy the beauty of NM. I mean, the mountains that surround Albuquerque prevent pollution from reaching the sky that blesses the citizens with orange and red hues with every sunrise and sunset. Also, there are countless hikes to go on, and the view is spectacular. It’s a tradition with family and friends of ours to go on a weekly hike during the summer. Then, we go to Marble Brewery and enjoy tacos and beer (I don’t get any beer; oh well).

This was the view after a hike on the mountains during Thanksgiving Break.

Just a casual picture taken by my friend while hiking around Tent Rocks. Nothing too unusual, right?

Current Cons

Now that I’ve extensively covered all the amazing things that NM has to offer and have probably already lost several readers, I will go into the initial motivation behind this post. Although I admit now that after writing all the things from above, it seems like the list below doesn’t deserve to be mentioned. But trust me, it needs to be.

1. violence

Albuquerque got recognition from the NYTimes, and not the good kind. BTW, this was published in 2014, and it claims that the “rate of violent crime in Albuquerque is nearly double the national average.”

Don’t get me wrong - violence in ABQ has always been present. Before, however, it was usually localized violence. By this, I guess I mean that if you knew the places to avoid, you didn’t ever have to actually witness the gang violence or the constant murders. In other words, you could live in Albuquerque reading of the violence but never having to ever witness it. 

Well, that has definitely changed.

During this past week, a homeless man has exposed himself to my dance class, my mom witnessed a man piss on the side of my neighbor’s house while walking our dog, and a lot more serious stuff (trigger warning ahead).

Specifically, a man was hanging onto the side of the bridge overlooking the major freeway for 13 hours. This happened literally right outside of my house. As we drove back form church, we saw a herd of policemen trying to calm this poor man down. He did not yield until 1 a.m., and he was transported to the hospital safely. It was absolutely horrible. Even worse?

Two days later, my friend told our group chat that her stepfather (who is a cop) had to respond to a call that a sixteen-year-old boy was on the side of a different bridge. As the cops approached the bridge, he jumped. He didn’t die; instead, he is faced with irrecoverable brain injury. 

Like you’ve got to be fucking kidding me right now. How the hell did Albuquerque become so violent? From the influx of desperate homeless people walking down Central, to the shooting that happened right outside of my dance institute, Albuquerque has definitely become a place where violence is beginning to occur on a regular basis. And the worst part? I think I am starting to become numb to it. It’s not normal to think these things are normal.

2. 49th in education

So, this report is from 2017. Believe it or not, this is actually a step up from 2016. We were a solid last in the country for education. And I genuinely didn’t think that education in my state was that bad. That’s because, despite me absolutely despising my school, we are number one in the state for education. That means that while I was receiving a buttload of homework and a ridiculously difficult education, other public high schools would rank as an F on academic abilities. But do you know what I think of all of this? It’s fucked. 

I don’t know if this is nationwide, but I didn’t know it was not normal to spend most of the day studying for statewide tests. In other words, New Mexico had the SBA (Standardized Based Assessment). Most of my school day involved multiple choice questions and answering reading comprehension questions that would be featured on the annual standardized test. And trust me, it’s not the teacher’s faults. Most teachers were forced to stick to this because if students did not receive good scores, teachers and schools would be in major jeopardy. 

This kind of thinking didn’t end in elementary school. While I was supposed to be reading a new chapter for a striking English book in sixth grade, we’d instead sit in front of our computers, reading pointless passages about horses and spaceships that we gave no fucks over and were expected to write an analytical essay comparing the breed of horses with the flight of spaceships. You’re thinking, wtf? Exactly. It’s pointless.

**I am now begging you to actually click the link I am posting here, because it’s definitely the most important one here. Enjoy this slam poem, “Love Letter to Albuquerque Public Schools.” In it is Olivia Gatwood, a personal inspiration of mine that I got to meet and speak with in September and will see again in April.**

3. “land of entrapment” / “university near mom”

This one is really silly and I guess I put this as a comedic conclusion. I guess in a gruesome way, because of the education many teenagers receive, we seem trapped (bringing the infamous nickname above). I know that personally, before I actually took college courses outside of the state, I did not picture myself at any top-ranked college. In fact, some people around me don’t even consider a college. Not because they’re too lazy or not into higher education, but because it is not practical. It is not practical to attend college courses if you have family  members that need an income from you now, not in four years.

I hate when people judge other’s circumstances. Genuinely, Albuquerque students will often end up at the University of New Mexico, which is not a bad university at all. And yet, in this land of entrapment, it is also humorously deemed the “university near mom.”

I guess what I mean is that after all this effort and living in this weird ass situation of shootings and standardized testing, my generation still feels trapped, constantly looking to move. And that’s what happened to me. I was given a glimpse of what independence looked like, and I immediately jumped at the opportunity to leave New Mexico.

I’m glad I wrote this post. At the end of this, I wonder if anyone is actually left after this long rant that was both good and evil. And yet, I already see the day I miss this place coming sooner rather than later.

Thanks for sticking around. :)

[crohnsdigest]

7 Ways Meditation Can Help You Stick To Healthy Habits During the Coronavirus Pandemic

1. You’ll Give Your Immune System a Boost

While it’s important to eat well and stay active during stressful times, it’s equally important to keep calm, because stress can literally make you sick. Not having an outlet to release stress can lead to an increase in bodily inflammation, which leaves you vulnerable to disease and common infections. A comprehensive review published in the journal PLoS One in 2014 looked at 34 studies to evaluate the effects of mind-body therapies (MBTs), including meditation, yoga, qi gong and tai chi, on the immune system. The researchers found that MBTs reduced markers of inflammation and influenced virus-specific immune responses to vaccination, which could be key to staying healthy in uncertain times.

2. You’ll Choose Salads Over Sweets

Stress can lead to overeating and eating too much of the wrong (unhealthy) foods. “In the midst of all the anxiety hanging in the air right now, we are becoming emotionally depleted, and that’s where the craving for comfort food comes in,” says Naomi Torres-Mackie, an advanced PhD candidate at Columbia University and an adjunct lecturer in psychology at the City College of New York. “Many of my therapy patients have told me that all of a sudden they feel unable to resist overeating.” Compounding the problem, the American Institute of Stress notes that increased stress increases levels of the stress hormone cortisol, which in turn increases abdominal fat deposits. The good news: Practicing mindfulness — both on your meditation mat and at the kitchen table — may help decrease deep belly fat, according to a study published in Obesity. The study recruited overweight and obese women who felt that stress influenced their eating behavior and weight. Participants were instructed in various mindful meditation and breathing exercises. They were also led through guided meditations that emphasized mindful eating practices, such as paying attention to physical sensations of hunger, stomach fullness, taste satisfaction, and food cravings. The more mindfulness the women practiced, the greater the drop in their anxiety, chronic stress, and deep belly fat. In addition, the women in the mindfulness program maintained their body weight, while the women in the control group increased their weight over the same time period. “Practicing meditation relaxes the sympathetic nervous system so that you become calmer, less impulsive, and more likely to make food decisions you won’t end up regretting,” says Torres-Mackie.

3. Your Outlook and Mood Will Improve

Staying indoors day in and day out can be a challenge, especially if you live with other people. “During times of high stress, conflicts or old resentments often become amplified," says Torres-Mackie. “Engaging in a mindfulness session can help move you into a space where you’re better able to tolerate the situation and react to others with more patience.” You may also find that your mood improves. A study published in the journal Mindfulness in December 2016 looked at the acute effects of mindfulness meditation and hatha yoga, a popular style of yoga that aims to cultivate mind-body awareness and higher states of consciousness, on mood. The researchers found that 25 minutes of hatha yoga and mindfulness meditation significantly improved overall mood.

4. You’ll Be Less Anxious

A small study published in FASEB Journal and presented at the American Physiological Society annual meeting in April 2018 found that a single 60-minute guided meditation session reduced anxiety for up to an hour post-meditation. But if you’re overseeing your kids’ studies or working at a hospital or supermarket during the pandemic, it may be difficult to steal even an hour away from the reality of the day. Leah Lagos, PsyD, a health and performance psychologist and the author of the forthcoming book Heart Breath Mind, encourages her patients to practice a mindfulness technique known as a “heart pivot” to shift from a negative to a positive emotional state no matter where they are. To do this, Dr. Lagos says to first think about a time in your life when you felt incredibly safe and grateful. Perhaps it was the first time you held your newborn or your first day of a dream job, she suggests. Find three such experiences, and practice bringing them to mind on demand. The next time you find yourself spinning post-apocalyptic scenarios in your head or you’re at the grocery store piling rolls of toilet paper into your cart out of fear you’ll run out, pivot your heart, she says. Focus on that past happy experience as you inhale, and then let go of any fear or anger as you exhale. For best results, Lagos suggests repeating this mental exercise five times.

5. Setting Up a Regular Practice Can Help Structure Your Day

As the world deals with the coronavirus pandemic, most countries where the virus is widespread have enacted shelter-in-place policies, and everyone’s normal routine has been thrown off balance. Torres-Mackie says that a lack of structure “can add to feelings of stress and panic in a big way.” To combat this, she suggests setting specific times to meditate once or twice a day. “Scheduling 5 or 10 minutes a day to meditate, and literally putting it on your calendar in order to commit to it, can go a long way.”  If you can’t find a quiet place in your crowded home or tiny apartment, Laube suggests taking your meditation outdoors. “Walking meditation, commonly performed on longer retreats, includes walking back and forth between two points, which are a specified distance, such as 10 feet apart,” he says. “This allows you to focus more on the body-mind relationship when moving through space.” There is also the option to walk and meander, letting the body and mind move wherever it prefers. Tied to your desk? Laube recommends standing up while you're on a conference call or while banging out a report. “Standing is useful when you're feeling tired and opens up awareness of the feet, posture, and more body awareness.”

6. It Will Help You Avoid Vices

In an effort to keep calm and carry on, some may turn to alcohol or other vices to blunt emotions or pain. “Many of us are feeling various degrees of fear in the current environment, and it's challenging to sit with this,” says Laube. “Partaking in alcohol initially brings calm. The challenge is that while it may help in the short term, in the longer term, it can lead to addiction and ill health.” In addition, your sleep quality may suffer, since alcohol blocks REM sleep, which is considered the most restorative kind, according to the National Sleep Foundation. Meditation can be an alternative. Research published in November 2017 in the International Journal of Neuropsychopharmacology found that just 11 minutes of mindful meditation may help even heavy drinkers cut back on alcohol. In the study, participants who listened to an 11-minute recording that taught basic mindfulness strategies, like thinking consciously about one’s feelings, drank 9.3 fewer units of alcohol (about three pints of beer) in the following week than they had the week before the study. “Mindfulness can help increase awareness of our behaviors, thoughts, emotions, and bodily sensations, and to recognize the limitations of addictive tendencies,” explains Laube.

7. You’ll Sleep Better

Fears of the unknown — Will I get coronavirus? Will my loved ones get it? Will I lose my job? — can keep you tossing and turning well into the night. And when you lose sleep, you’re more likely to feel emotionally untethered the next day. “Meditation can be useful to connect with our body, and if there is any bodily need for sleep, it commonly will take over,” says Laube, who adds that many of his patients use either guided imagery meditation or body scan meditation before bed to help initiate sleep. If you are older and tend to wake up during the night, a study published in 2015 in the Journal of the American Medical Association suggests that mindfulness meditation also improves sleep quality and, in turn, quality of life https://crohnsdigest.net/ Read the full article

[whereisalisa]

There she is again!

Right now I am in Topares in the South of Spain, I am here for my internship that is part of my studies International Land and Water Management at the Wageningen University and Research. Since I am here I am learning and experiencing a lot, the need came up to write about this and I remembered I still had this blog on my tumblr acount ;) for when I traveled to New Zealand and Nepal in my gap year, already 4 years ago.  The place I am living in is called Topares, it is a little village with around 1.000 inhabitants. In winter this decreases to 300, so together with my flatmates we will make 1% out of the population at the end of our stay. We live in the only house with a central heating and our landlord is, apart from our landlord also the mayor, the owner of the bakery and owns the only place you can buy cigarettes in town. His name is Fidel. Apart from this we have one supermarket, which is closed right now since the owners are on holidays, two bars (one of them is closed because also its owners are also on holidays) and a church bell that rings every 3 minutes before the hour and half an hour.  Last week we had a tremendous amount of rain here and in the region. Streets were flooded , roads were blocked, also more importantly the dam of the farm: La Junquera (www.regeneration-academy.org)  I am doing my internship at, was at risk. After 125 liters per m2 of rainfall in less than 2 days the consequences of the water were visible in every part of the land and also in our office. Big gullies have originated in the roads and in the fields, apart from that a lot of land has been flooded.  Because of the land use and climate (change) here, erosion is a massive problem. I heard somebody calling the South of Spain the dessert of Europe and I understand why. This also brings me to the reason why I am here, because of climate change and many, many other reasons we have to look for more adapted ways of farming. Conventional farming often exists out of mono cultures with a high dependence on fertilizers and pesticides, which deplete the soil and are a great host for plagues and pests. On the way to the closest biggest city around here, Caravaca de la Cruz, we always drive by a field of lettuce and broccoli. This cannot grow here without the usage of the water out of the aquifer. Of course this is unsustainable farming, the people that have the responsibility to take care of the aquifer; the government, are bribed what makes it possible for us in the Netherlands to eat lettuce and broccoli from Spain all year around. It really scares me that nowadays the knowledge of how are food is grown and where is comes from is often not present, I also miss this.   During my internship I learn about regenerative farming, which can also be referred to as agroecology. It exist out of a couple of principles and it can be recognized on the farm on several practices: examples are no tillage, agroforesty, mulching, inter-cropping, integrating livestock, using compost, hedges and borders, terraces, Swales and much, much more. The basic principle is, as far as I understood it correctly because many definitions can be found on the world wide web, restoring the land to what it was used to be. The soils in the south of Spain really can use this, because the majority of the plots have been used for conventional farming for many, many years what makes them vulnerable as they are right now.  During my days here we do a lot, we harvest vegetables (a lot of potatoes), design and plant our winter vegetable garden and learn among others how to process food for storage, how to dry seeds and what to grow in a greenhouse. Last week a film crew of Patagonia was here, making a movie on regenerative agriculture. I found it quite funny because they all live close to Santa Barbara in the U.S. where there is a famous regenerative farm, famous because of the movie: The Biggest Little Farm (must watch if you’d like to learn more about this topic), which they never heard of. Now they were flown in to make the movie. I think this issue of flying in the name of sustainability is a tricky subject, which I prefer not to say to much about because I don’t know what to say. Ideally I would like to never fly again, the last time I flew was 2 years ago, but I cannot say what the future will bring. I think it is a very difficult topic that we all need to be, at least, aware of, or even better act in line with.  Lastly, and I am quite sure I forgot a lot of things which I can write later of course, I am also doing research for my thesis here and so far I like it a lot. The topic of the thesis is knowledge sharing on agroecology. So how can we make sure that farmers in the region that might be willing to shift, partly or entirely, to regenerative farming have the right knowledge on how to do so. Last weekend I already visited my first event which was a big success. It was a farm 150 km away from here, it was the first regenerative farm in the region. Around 20 farmers gathered to get a tour on the farm, during the tour the farmers explained about their practices and the advantages they brought. Super cool to see how this actually worked, after seeing the results of the questionnaires and some informal talks it became clear to me that the event gave the farmers the possibility to change into a more regenerative direction. What I really like of course.  Hasta luego,

Besos Alisa

[artisticclusterfuck]

Ok, so I've had time to process yesterday's events after finally being able to go to bed at 1 in the morning. First, let me tell you that this was awful. Like I had never experienced such a strong earthquake (yes I know the one from 2 weeks ago was technically stronger, but the epicenter was very far away from my city, and this one literally happened next door). It was brutal. I was doing my scholarship job at the university's radio station in the main building when it happened. I was in an office with walls made of glass. The sound they made during the earthquake was awful. Also, said office was in the bottom part of the building, which is kind of underground as the main patio is a floor above it. The fountain in the mained entrance splashed water ouside of it. And a friend told me water was jumping out of the pool. As we were evacuating to the patio, I literally felt like the building was gonna collapse on me and my friend I was with, and let me tell you it really terrified me. (And believe me I was terrified because during the previous earthquake I didn't even phase). I went into full mom-mode after that and I dissociated. I started sending messages to my friends and family, tried to call but the lines were saturated. And I couldn't get a hold of my mom for like 30 minutes. I guided my friend to evacuation and found another friend as we left to the streets. We bought her a phone charger because she left hers at home and had almost no battery. Went to pick up my oldest sister because her high school is 10 blocks away from my college and my mom was stuck in the other side of the city. The city was chaos. The lights went out, the stoplights weren't working, there was a massive jam in the biggest street in the city (5 lanes on each side) and SOME PEOPLE HAD THE AUDACITY TO USE THE JAM TO ROB OTHER PEOPLE! The supermarket near to my college was severly hit. The windows and glass walls shattered, some lamps fell down, as well as some shelves. I saw my school's building I was in as it started getting cracks in the walls and floors, and they cancelled classes state-wide until further notice. Quite frankly I was terrified but I blocked everything, so I could look out for the people I love. And now that I'm having time to process it, I'm even breaking into tears because of stress. Especially because I see how bad the damage was in other parts of Puebla and also in Mexico City where some of my friends also live. I am thankful that so far I haven't gotten bad news regarding people I care about, but I'm still checking up on some people (especially those out of my city) because the internet is coming and going and the lines are still saturated. I just had to vent because I was repressing this and I needed to let it out. I'm fine, at least. And I'll see in which way I can help. I really wish I could go to Mexico City because way more buildings collapsed there, but at the same time it is dangerous, so I'll see what I can do here in Puebla.

[tripstations]

Ultimate budget travel guide in Scandinavia: Is it possible & how?, Lifestyle, Travel News

If you Google ‘the most expensive travel destinations in the world’, cities in Scandinavia will easily find a spot in the top 10. Norway, Denmark and Sweden have high costs of living and rightfully so because of their great welfare, infrastructure and quality of life.

Unfortunately, these expensive costs weigh upon visitors and travellers to these countries. A budget trip there could easily be the equivalent of excessively splurging in trips across Southeast Asia. However, some sights in Scandinavia are truly breathtaking and cannot be found anywhere else in the world.

So is it possible to really get by and execute a budget trip in Scandinavia? We think it’s possible.

FLIGHTS

Flights usually take up a bulk of your budget when planning a trip. Ever since Norwegian Airlines cancelled its budget route from Singapore to London, there has not been another alternative budget hack when booking flights to Scandinavia.

One reliable method of getting cheaper tickets to Northern Europe is simply to book early in advance. A good time would be around more than 6 months in advance.

ACCOMMODATION

Accommodation in Scandinavia is generally expensive no matter where you look. Rather than stay somewhere absurdly far away from the city centre, there are a few spots to stay in that go easy on the wallet.

NORWAY

1. COCHS PENSJONAT

Photo: Cochs Pensjonat

In the centre of Oslo lies Cochs Pensjonat, a guesthouse accommodation which is literally a block away from The Royal Palace.

Cochs is rather cosy with a wooden interior and charming appeal. There’s free WiFi and it is walking distance to the shopping district.

Photo: Cochs Pensjonat

If shopping doesn’t appeal to you, there are also parks, bars and restaurants near where you stay. This is definitely convenient if you want to fully explore Oslo.

90 bucks might seem steep but it is already considered rather affordable for accommodations in such a convenient location. Due to the location, you are bound to save on transport costs from travelling around the capital city.

Price: Approx. $90 per night (single room) Website

DENMARK

1. WOODAH HOSTEL

Photo: Woodah Hostel

Don’t mind bunking with other travellers? Woodah offers 30 bunk bed cabins in different dorm rooms for the backpacker. If all you require is a bed, Woodah should be your top choice. Each bed cabin is equipped with a privacy curtain, reading light and private locker.

The hostel is located in the area of Vesterbro where things are hip and happening. Parks, galleries and museums are also located nearby so you’ll always have things to explore and do.

Photo: Woodah Hostel

If you’re a yogi, Woodah has mats and other yoga equipment within the hostel free for you to use. Get discounts at local yoga schools as well if you happen to discover a class you fancy.

Price: From $65 per night (mixed dorm room) Website

2. COPENHAGEN BACKPACKERS

Photo: Copenhagen Backpackers

Easily access the city centre from Copenhagen Backpackers which is only a minute’s walk from Copenhagen Central Station.

The hostel is outfitted with dorms filled with bunk beds perfect for travellers who still want a comfortable stay. Bed curtains are included and there’s even a breakfast buffet for all guests!

Photo: Copenhagen Backpackers

Looking to explore beautiful Copenhagen more quickly? Rent a bike from the hostel for a small fee each day. The hostel promises to match the price of other bike rental stores if they come at a cheaper price as well. One way to go budget.

Price: From $60 per night (mixed dorm room) Website

3. BEDWOOD HOSTEL I NYHAVN

Photo: Bedwood Hostel

Feel at home at Bedwood Hostel. The backpacker hostel is simple and cosy, much like a bed and breakfast. The rooms consist of bunk beds with privacy curtains and reading lamps. If you happen to be on the tall side, the beds are also 2 metres long so you’ll have enough space.

Photo: Bedwood Hostel

At the common area, you’ll get to interact with other guests and get a hot drink to pass the night along. If you prefer some outdoor time, there is a courtyard where you can relax.

Top up $9 more to get a breakfast buffet to your stay which serves muesli, oatmeal, ham, sausage and home baked bread.

Price: From $69 per night (mixed dorm room) Website

SWEDEN

1. CITY BACKPACKERS

Photo: City Backpackers

This hostel opened its doors back in 1994 and has been thriving since. City Backpackers in Stockholm offers mixed dorm rooms as well as female-only ones. If you don’t mind spending a bit more, you can opt for double private rooms or private apartments.

If you want to cook your meals to save on your spending, City Backpackers has a guest kitchen for all your basic needs. There’s free WiFi throughout the hostel as well so you can Google recipes on the fly.

Photo: City Backpackers

Breakfast is the most important meal of the day arguably and you can’t start exploring Stockholm on an empty stomach. This hostel has got you covered with breakfast served at the reception every morning which includes yoghurt, fruit and sandwiches!

Price: From $90 per night (single room) Website

2. INTERHOSTEL (STOCKHOLM, SWEDEN)

Photo: Interhostel

This could possibly be the cheapest accommodation in Stockholm. Interhostel labels itself as a youth hostel which is comfortable and has the best location. Despite its price point, the hostel ensures quality for their beds and facilities.

Stockholm’s most popular shopping street is just a walk away and train stations are not too far off as well.

Photo: Interhostel

Another great thing about Interhostel is the guest kitchen. Since a cheap supermarket is only 5 minutes away, you can easily cook yourself meals and save your moolah.

If you’re too lazy, there’s also a microwave which can be used by guests. For $61 per night, this might seem like a steal in Scandinavia.

Price: From $61 per night (dorm room) Website

3. CAMPING

Photo: Unsplash

This is the ultimate budget accommodation choice you have when travelling in Sweden. There is a ‘freedom to roam’ law which allows people to camp in forested areas as long as they abide by certain rules.

You basically can only camp in forested areas even if it is on someone’s property. Crops, gardens and open fields of another person’s property is not allowed. It is encouraged that you only stay for two nights so others do not think you’re squatting in the area. Some areas also have exceptions which you need to take note of.

If you love camping and want to really save on that budget, go on right ahead.

CHEAP EATS

One tip we discovered about saving on food in Scandinavia is simply to cook most of your meals. Groceries are not too expensive and budget supermarkets can be found easily in major cities. All you need is a kitchen.

Even if you don’t have access to a kitchen, many travellers advised on putting together simple sandwiches which do not require cooking.

NORWAY

Photo: Facebook/coopprix

For Norway, there are a few options for discount groceries and ingredients. Our first recommendation is Coop Prix which is a discount store chain which sells ingredients and other types of groceries.

Other popular ones are Kiwi and REMA 1000 which are basically no frills supermarket chains which would work just fine for travellers looking for basic and simple ingredients for cooking.

DENMARK

Photo: Facebook/Dalle Valle (Bruun’s Galleri)

If you’re a big eater but don’t want to break the bank, Denmark has Dalle Valle which is a buffet restaurant which comes rather cheap, for buffets at least. You can get Western dishes and salad here for between $16 -20 depending on the meal and time of day.

SWEDEN

Photo: Facebook/goohgooh

There is an increase in popularity of Asian and Mediterranean cuisine across Sweden which come at wallet-friendly prices. We recommend trying kebabs or hotdogs from food trucks which usually have big portion meals at under $10.

Another Swedish fast food chain you could try is GOOH! which has meals all under $10 as well.

FREE OR CHEAP ATTRACTIONS

The only thing that is better than cheap is free. Visiting sights and attractions at no cost is the ultimate tip for keeping a low budget. Below are some recommendations for attractions that can be visited at no cost (with a few really cheap exceptions).

OSLO, NORWAY

Photo: UnsplashNational Ballet and Opera House Akerselva River National Gallery and National Museum Akershus Castle & Fortress Old Aker Church

COPENHAGEN, DENMARK

Photo: UnsplashBlack Diamond Library Christiansborg Palace Tower Frederiksberg Gardens Amager Beach Botanical Gardens

STOCKHOLM, SWEDEN

Photo: UnsplashGamla Stan Cybertown Courthouse Radhuset City Library Hagaparken

INTERCITY TRAVEL

Your starting point in Scandinavia will determine how you would be travelling from each country and city. But this also depends on your flight destination.

If you happen to travel from Copenhagen, we recommend looking for overnight cruises or boats to Oslo, Norway. They usually come very cheap and will minus one day’s spending on accommodation.

From Sweden, we recommend taking highway buses Swebus or Nettbuss to other cities or countries nearby. If you can find an overnight one, that would help a lot.

SHOULD I SEE THE NORTHERN LIGHTS?

Photo: Unsplash

To watch the Northern Lights, Aurora Borealis, you’d have to travel as close to the Arctic Circle as possible. Unfortunately, the cities up North in Scandinavia are pretty far from the capital cities and travelling there will take a portion of your budget.

If you do want to catch a sure glimpse of Aurora Borealis, travel up as far as Bodø in Norway. Any lower and there might not be a sure chance of catching the lights. If you can afford to set aside a portion of your budget, go on right ahead.

This article was first published in Shopback. 

The post Ultimate budget travel guide in Scandinavia: Is it possible & how?, Lifestyle, Travel News appeared first on Tripstations.

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[newstfionline]

Full extent of Harvey’s aftermath starts to come into chilling focus

By Kevin Sullivan, Robert Samuels and Emily Wax-Thibodeaux, Washington Post, August 28, 2017

HOUSTON--In the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey, Houston and an ever-expanding swath of cities and towns in the region remained under siege Monday morning by torrential rain and surging floodwaters that showed no signs of abating.

The already-dire circumstances were complicated by the release of water from two reservoirs opened to relieve the stress caused by a downpour that was threatening to equal or exceed in just a few days the area’s average rainfall for a full year. Parts of Harris County, which encompasses Houston, were pelted with 30 inches of rain in the past 72 hours, the National Weather Service reported early Monday.

Authorities also fielded scores of calls for help throughout the night from people stranded by water, though many areas had imposed curfew overnight Sunday in hopes of cutting down on the numbers in need of being rescued from vehicles. Help was pouring in from swift-water rescue teams from around the country.

The full extent of Harvey’s aftermath started to come into chilling focus Monday in Houston and across much of Central Texas, as rain measured in feet, not inches, overwhelmed lakes, rivers and bayous, leaving several people dead and thousands displaced in a weather disaster described as “beyond anything experienced.”

Across the nation’s fourth-largest city and suburbs many miles away, families scrambled to get out of their fast-flooding homes. Rescuers--in many cases neighbors helping neighbors--in fishing boats, huge dump trucks and even front-end loaders battled driving rains to move people to shelter. Some used inflatable toys to ferry their families out of inundated neighborhoods, wading through chest-deep water on foot while the region was under near-constant tornado watches.

By Sunday afternoon, the National Weather Service--which tweeted the “beyond anything experienced” description that morning--was predicting that parts of Texas could receive nearly 50 inches of rain, the largest recorded total in the state’s history. It also warned that Harvey’s relentless downpours were expected to continue until late in the week and that flooding could become much more severe. More than 82,000 homes were without electricity in the Houston area by Sunday night as airports shuttered and hospitals planned evacuations.

Thousands of rescue missions have been launched across a large swath of Texas, and Gov. Greg Abbott (R) said Sunday that more than 3,000 national and state guard troops had been deployed to assist with relief efforts. Another 1,000 National Guard members will be sent to Houston on Monday, Abbott announced late Sunday. The Federal Emergency Management Agency said federal agencies have more than 5,000 employees working in Texas, and the White House said President Trump plans to visit parts of the state on Tuesday.

Officials said Houston, a major center for the nation’s energy industry, had suffered billions of dollars in damage and would take years to fully recover. Oil and gas companies have shut down about a quarter of their production in the Gulf of Mexico. Spot prices for gasoline are expected to jump on Monday, but the full extent of damage will not be clear for days, companies and experts said.

Harvey’s sheer size also became apparent Sunday as heavy rains and flooding were reported as far away as Austin and even Dallas. What started with a direct impact on the tiny coastal town of Rockport on Friday night has turned into a weather disaster affecting thousands of square miles and millions of people.

In Austin, the Wilhelmina Delco Center, one of two Red Cross shelters in the city, had about 200 evacuees. Rain continued to fall steadily in Austin on Sunday, and river levels continued to rise. Precautionary sandbags were stacked against the shelter’s entrance.

Bristel Minsker, communications director for the Red Cross Central and South Texas region, said “things are changing quickly” as the organization prepares to scale up operations in the areas between Austin and Houston.

Still, much of the nation’s focus remained squarely on Houston, where the massive scale of the flooding and the potential for it to get much worse in the days ahead were reminding many spooked residents of the effects of Hurricane Katrina on New Orleans.

Mayor Sylvester Turner and other officials pleaded with residents to “shelter in place” and to make calls to overwhelmed 911 operators only in life-threatening emergencies. They urged people to climb to their roofs to await shelter if water was rising in their homes, and local TV news anchors reminded people to stay out of attics where they might be trapped by water--or to take an ax to hack their way to the roof.

Police began to ask people with high-water vehicles and boats to assist in rescue efforts on streets where abandoned cars were completely submerged. Brays Bayou, a huge waterway crossing the southwestern part of the city, rose between 10 and 20 feet overnight and by Sunday morning was flowing over bridges in its path.

As the extent of the disaster became clear at daylight Sunday, some criticized Houston officials for not calling for an evacuation of the city. Turner defended the decision not to evacuate, noting that it would be a “nightmare” to empty out the population of his city and the county all at once.

“You literally cannot put 6.5 million people on the road,” Turner said at a news conference.

The disaster unfolding in Houston appeared suddenly, starting with severe storms Saturday evening that came with slashing, sideways rain and almost uninterrupted lightning. By morning, a city that had been largely spared by Harvey’s initial pounding of coastal communities was flooded to devastating levels.

The Weather Service said Sunday that at least five people had been reported dead because of Harvey. Local officials have confirmed that at least three people have died as a result of the storm, and officials in the hardest-hit counties expect that as the waters recede the number of fatalities will rise.

Both of Houston’s major airports were closed, and many tourists and visitors found themselves stranded in hotels with no hope of leaving anytime soon.

Southwest Airlines flight attendant Allison Brown said at least 50 flight attendants, a number of pilots, airport staff and hundreds of passengers have been stranded at William P. Hobby Airport since at least 1 a.m. Sunday.

Brown said the airport flooded so quickly that shuttles were unable to get them out. They were told by police it would be unsafe to attempt to leave.

“Luckily, we have the restaurant staff, or else we would’ve been stuck with no food,” Brown said. “Waters in the road are around four feet--minimum--surrounding the airport.”

The Marriott Courtyard Hotel in southwest Houston, along the banks of Brays Bayou, was surrounded by floodwater when guests woke up Sunday morning.

All roads in the area were underwater, and a park across the bayou was completely flooded. A car nearby had been abandoned, its doors left open. City traffic lights were still blinking red and green over the empty and flooded bridge, but most buildings visible in the area seemed to be dark and without power.

Water covered about eight blocks on the edge of Houston’s downtown, entering the ground floors of the Wortham Center, a downtown theater, and the historic Lancaster Hotel, where staff members were still posted to ward off looters. A Chase bank branch was submerged in flowing water that reached almost to its roof.

By midmorning, Nichelle Mosby stood up to her knees in floodwater in the parking lot, grimacing with a towel over her head to block the rain. Mosby and six family members, including a 4-year-old girl, had come from Louisiana to visit relatives. When Harvey hit, they booked into the Courtyard. Now they were stranded with dozens of other guests.

“We went through Katrina, but this feels different,” she said. Instead of a gradual buildup of water, she said, “this was like a gush of water that came up too fast.”

In the lobby, John McMillian, 70, sat eating breakfast with his wife, Debbie McMillian, 64, and their daughter, Tara, 29.

They were in town so John McMillian could have five days of treatment for his leukemia at MD Anderson Cancer Center just down the road. He had three days of treatment and was supposed to have his fourth on Sunday, but now they were marooned.

“If push came to shove, we could always wade to the hospital,” he said.

“I’m not going to let him, don’t worry,” his wife added.

She said her new Acura was underwater in the parking lot.

“I haven’t even made the first payment on it yet,” she said.

In Katy, Michele and Joel Antonini were in line at a cavernous HEB supermarket with 20 sacks of groceries. They had come out in the rain to buy food for neighbors they would probably be taking in from Grand Lakes, where they used to live.

They bought a sheet cake, a roast, chips, hot dogs and hamburgers.

“We just want to be ready if they are hungry and can get out,” Michele said. “We just want to be ready to help.”