#our talented hardworking bear

[skybluelatte]

Happy Birthday Sungjin!!!💙🐻💙

[muichirosboba]

Sparking Our Inferno | First Date with Kyojuro Rengoku (Rengoku x Y/n)

Warnings: none, just fluff, "friends to lovers" dynamic

Y/n's prounouns: (they/them) nonbinary!reader

AN: Hi, I would just like to say that this will be my first "Y/n x (character)" fic so please forgive me if it's not good. Happy reading!

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You and Kyojuro had been best friends for quite some time, and at some point you began to like him just a little more.

However, he never said anything to acknowledge your feelings, so you buried your attraction deep down and continued to be his friend.

That's why you were so surprised when he took your hands in his after finishing a mission you had been assigned to with him.

"Y/n." And that was all he said for a beat, his figure seeming to almost glow in the moonlight as those flaming eyes hooked onto yours, rendering you unable to look away.

When he spoke again, his voice was soft and carried a hint of gentle warmth that brought heat to your cheeks.

"Y/n... I've been meaning to tell you for the longest time."

You held your breath, knowing he would probably want to tell you that you had to come over and train with him at his estate again, but some stubborn part of your brain refused to stop hoping he would say something else.

"I think that you are an amazing, hardworking individual, with talent and great potential to be better than you already are. I enjoy spending each day I get by your side, and we work well together. I simply cannot deny it anymore..."

"Y/n... I have fallen for you."

If your cheeks were burning earlier, it was nothing compared to now.

You sucked in a gasp, thoughts racing frantically through your head wondering whether or not this was a joke.

But the sincere look in his eyes made everything else around you slow. They were so... clear. You could see exactly how he felt.

And he was telling the truth.

With a shaky breath, you managed, "I love you too."

His tender smile turned into a beaming grin as soon as the words left your mouth.

He found every single thing you did endearing.

He wrapped you in a tight, but comfy and warm bear hug and chuckled, "It sure took us a while, didn't it?"

You felt almost dizzy from the relief and whispered into his shoulder, "It was all worth it in the end though..."

---------------------------------❤️❤️❤️------------------------------------

A bit into the next week, it was the day scheduled for your first date.

You were a bundle of nerves, fidgety and anxious.

You had already swapped the clothes you were to wear five times, and were resisting the urge to go change once again.

"After all," you tried to assure yourself, standing in front of the large mirror in your room, "we're just going to have some tea together."

It was a favorite of Kyojuro's, a small tea joint which was actually quite good. It was famous in this little town, and people from all over came just to taste their stellar matcha.

You took a minute to sit down and wait for Kyojuro, thinking.

"How long has he loved me? Does he really love me?"

"No, Y/n," you said aloud, snapping yourself out of it. "Don't doubt him. You saw how he looked at you."

You sat there in silence for another three minutes before a knock at the door made you jump.

"Y/n!" Kyojuro's familiar voice could be heard from behind the painted wood. "Are you ready?"

"Yes, give me a minute!" You called, scrambling to grab your shoes and put them on, before skidding into the bathroom and adjusting a few stray strands of hair and checking your reflection one last time.

Taking a deep breath, you opened the door.

And there he was.

Blazing hair flowing onto his shoulders as usual, that smile like the sun on his face. And...

"His clothes," You thought, all the air once again drained from your lungs.

He was dressed impeccably, in a way that showcased both his casual and formal side at once. It made you feel like you should go change for the sixth time.

But that feeling melted away as he looked you over in polite awe.

"Y/n! You look stunning!"

"It's because this is your first time seeing me out of my Corps uniform...", you muttered, embarrassed, as you shut the door behind you and joined him on the steps outside.

---------------------------------❤️❤️❤️------------------------------------

He insisted on carrying you, so you arrived at the slightly busy restaurant ten minutes later in his comfortable arms.

You could see everyone else's eyes on you as he gently set you down.

And hear the whispers.

But unlike what you originally thought would happen, people seemed happy for you two.

"Look! It's Rengoku-san and somebody... I think it's his date. They look good!"

"Oh my, what a cute couple!"

"Wow, Rengoku-san's really lucky!"

"Is that Y/n? And Ren- wait... AWW~!"

Well, either it was just you or the place was rapidly getting warmer....

Kyojuro settled you down at a small cedar table set for two before taking a seat himself, looking around. He had a huge grin on his face as he leaned in and murmured to you.

"You seem to be stealing everyone's attention, hmm? Just like how you stole mine."

You were busy looking out the window at the bustling town, your back to him, but heard his words.

And he knew too, by the red coating the tops of your ears.

Before he could continue, a waitress arrived.

"Hello!" she chirped cheerfully, "What can I get you two today?"

You turned. "Can we get two cups of your specialty matcha? I've heard it's the best around."

She wrote it down with a smile and a nod, confirming the rumor. "Anything else, or will that be all?"

Kyojuro cut in. "And one vanilla taiyaki. Thank you!"

She put in the dessert on her notepad and waved as she left to go serve another table.

The food arrived quickly. In the span of five minutes, in fact.

And that was when you discovered the pure bliss of eating with the person you loved.

Kyojuro had graciously split the taiyaki in half, and it was delicious.

The mix of vanilla and matcha was giving your taste buds something to celebrate as you savored every bite/sip.

He watched your face, feeling your joy himself as you two chatted and ate.

---------------------------------❤️❤️❤️-----------------------------------

Thirty minutes had passed and you were stuffed to the brim.

After six extra steaming cups of matcha and four more taiyaki, you refused any more food, clutching your stomach.

Kyojuro himself had eaten two times what you had and miraculously looked even better than before.

After you said thank you to the owner and headed out, he motioned for you to sit next to him on a bench.

You didn't hesitate to sit close to him and asked, "Why did you eat so much? Won't your stomach hurt tomorrow?"

He laughed, "It's my gratitude to the owner. So he makes more money and stays in business with his spectacular food for a long time. If even it's just a little, I want to help."

What a perfect man.

But... "You should have let me pay!"

"Absolutely not. Y/n, this was our first date. Of course I had to pay. And, like I just told you, I want to help. One should never take another's money if they are capable of paying themselves."

You just couldn't hold back your sigh.

"What?" He asked, surprised. "Did I say something wrong?"

"No, quite the opposite. You said exactly the right thing. I sighed because it's impressive how much you do for others", you said simply.

"Oh trust me, Y/n, just wait. I do even more for the people I love."

---------------------------------❤️❤️❤️-----------------------------------

End!

How did you like it?

I might post a Giyu x Y/n fic if you all liked this and want me to.

TELL ME IF YOU LIKED IT PLEASE!

CREDS:

Kyojuro Rengoku - Koyoharu Gotouge, Demon Slayer

Y/n - literally every fanfic writer

Inspo - @risingscorchingsuns I thought of you while writing this

Date setting - Google

Vanilla taiyaki - @nothingtoseehere1-2-3

Exhaustion - three days of staying up to write this

Irritation - autocorrect

Emotional support - @nothingtoseehere1-2-3 @knyinfinity @tor-the-tortilla

Bye! Thanks for reading!

[icyminghao]

if you call on me forever, i will come (preview)

pairing: popstar!soonyoung x fem!reader ft. childhood bestfriend!joshua genre: angst, fluff (not in preview), arranged marriage!au warning(s) (for the preview): cursing, mentions of food word count (for the preview): 1.9k

summary: as a result of his entertainment label teetering on the edge of bankruptcy, soonyoung is given an ultimatum: marry the heir of the largest entertainment label in korea and save his career, or risk losing everything he’s built over the last five years.

a/n: just a little something i’ve been working on to make up for the inactivity~~ not sure when this would be uploaded since i haven’t finished it yet ><

Having been in the entertainment industry since he was eighteen, Soonyoung has quite literally been through it all. From the doubtful eyes of the public when he just debuted to the current, decent fanbase he has garnered through all his years of hardwork and determination, Soonyoung has seen it all.

At least, he thought he had.

“What the hell did you just say?” Soonyoung snaps his head to send the CEO of his music label a chill-inducing glare, and Mr. Kang gulps for a split second before returning to his stoic expression.

“I said,” Mr. Kang clears his throat, “you’re to marry the heir of VIBE Entertainment, as per the conditions set by her father.”

The words hit Soonyoung hard, like he’d just downed a bottle of vodka in one go. He resists the urge to launch himself at Mr. Kang. “And why the hell would I do that?”

“Because,” Mr. Kang sighs, exasperated, “you have to. It’s the only way for our label to survive. You know what our situation’s like, Soonyoung. The CEO of VIBE Entertainment is doing us a mercy here. Just marry the girl, and VIBE will take us under their wing, and-”

“And then what?” Soonyoung snaps, “We’ll just be one of the many companies monopolised by that farce of an entertainment label. You’ll be just another one of his subordinates, another one of his pawns. Is this the path you want?”

“I mean, just look at what the fuck you’re doing here.” Soonyoung runs his hand through his blonde locks in pure frustration. “I have a fucking girlfriend. You’re just going to upend my life to live out a shitty future? This is the twenty-first century, man. You’d think we’d have gotten over the stupid ‘arranged marriage’ cliche, huh?”

“What do you want me to do, then?” Mr. Kang raises his voice, his gaze hardening. “Do you think I haven’t considered the consequences of this for you? For the label? For me? I’m doing this because we have no other choice-”

“I have my fans. I could work something out,” Soonyoung reasons, pacing about Mr. Kang’s tiny, cramped office.

Mr. Kang laughs with no emotions behind his eyes, and Soonyoung is just now noticing the pure exhaustion manifested in his horrid dark eye circles. “Your fans can’t do jack shit, and you know it.”

Soonyoung doesn’t say anything in reply, because Mr. Kang is right. His record label had been struggling when Soonyoung first debuted, and silly, naive, eighteen-year-old him thought he could change that. Thought he could be Mr. Kang’s hero, thought he could save the label with his immaculate talent.

Fast forward to five years later, and the label is doing so much worse after suffering the effects of supporting an average pop star for half a decade. Hell, he can’t even bear to call himself a pop star. Five years down the rocky road to stardom, and he’s barely produced enough hits to even be considered a household name in the country, let alone the world. He knows Mr. Kang is right. They’ve been backed against the wall, and there’s only one way out.

Breaths evening out as he calms down, Soonyoung shuts his eyes so tight it feels like his sockets might pop out. Letting out a sigh in surrender, he slowly opens them and inhales deeply.

“How long do I have till it happens?”

You think you might just be Soonyoung’s biggest fan.

You’ve been with him on his journey to stardom since he debuted, and you’ve been a loyal fan since. You’d even talked to him once, when your father’s secretary brought you to the set where Soonyoung was filming an interview with a magazine.

Which is why your mind is reeling right now. Your father’s secretary, Joshua, had just informed you of your impending marriage to Soonyoung, and you’re both happy and taken by surprise.

“He… agreed to this? Willingly?” you ask, doubt lacing your voice. Joshua simply nods in response, before letting out a huge smile and stepping closer to you.

“This is really big, y/n,” Joshua grins toothily. You let out a breath you didn’t know you were holding and launch yourself into your childhood best friend’s arms, squealing.

“I know, Shua! I’m just, really surprised he agreed to this willingly. I mean, I feel really bad since this is, like, being forced upon us and all, but maybe he remembers me from the time we met at the N Magazine shoot?” you ramble in complete disbelief. “God, Joshua. What if he doesn’t like me? Or I don’t like him as a person? We’d be so miserable, maybe it’s not too late-”

“You know you can’t change his mind once he’s set on it, y/n.” Joshua sighs, gently grabbing you by your shoulders to ground you. “Besides, what’s not to like about you? The only thing you should be worried about is whether or not you’ll like him.”

You break out into a dopey smile, touched by Joshua’s kind words. “Aw, Joshie, are you flirting with me now?”

You see a hint of panic flash through Joshua’s widened eyes, but his phone beeps with a notification before you can call him out on it.

“Oh my god, I almost forgot,” Joshua says after pocketing his phone. “You have a dinner with him tonight.”

You’re late to the dinner.

Which clearly would not give Soonyoung a good impression of you, you realise, as you silently pray for Joshua to drive faster.

In your defence, Joshua had only informed you about the scheduled dinner barely an hour before it was supposed to happen, and you were at your office in your father’s company building sorting out some PR stuff for a newly-debuted boygroup, so you had a grand total of about forty minutes to prepare yourself for the dinner. Which, after reducing the travel time to your apartment to get ready and to the restaurant, left you a whopping ten minutes to spare.

Which is how you ended up in this predicament, at least ten minutes late to your first official meeting as a soon-to-be married couple.

You don’t even realise when Joshua finally pulls up in front of the restaurant, and he has to gently nudge you to snap you out of your stupor.

“I’ll be waiting out here when you’re done, okay? Everything’s going to be fine,” Joshua smiles softly, reassuring you with honey laced in his words. You shoot him a nervous smile, bidding him goodbye as you scramble out of his car and into the restaurant.

The restaurant is unlike anything you’ve ever seen. You guess you’re considered a child of nepotism (a “nepo-baby”, as Joshua calls it), yes, but you’d stopped relying on your father’s black card to get by, instead depending on the pay you earn from your job (which technically comes from him since you work at his company as the PR team leader of a newly-debuted boygroup, but it’s still your money nonetheless) that honestly isn’t much, but you get by, so you couldn’t ask for more, really. Contrary to popular belief, you don’t really do fancy restaurants, hence your surprise.

Your first thought is that this restaurant is overwhelmingly bright. The place is decked out with so many chandeliers, and there are so many utensils laid out on an empty table for two you’d think there were at least five people having a meal there. You briefly glance at an occupied table and wince upon seeing the measly portion of the food, knowing you’ll probably have to get takeout later.

Your second thought is holy shit, Soonyoung’s right there, and he is ethereal the moment you spot him a few tables in front of you, seemingly lost in thought in a booth in the corner of the restaurant. He’s dressed to the nines in a crisp navy blue button down with his sleeves rolled up to his elbows and a pair of black slacks, and his hair is nicely slicked back with a few strands framing his face, your heart nearly stopping at the sight. He makes eye contact with you as you stand there like a total idiot and looks away before you beam at him, like he didn’t recognise you.

Right, you think, he probably doesn’t recognise you considering the last time the both of you interacted had been four years ago. You take a deep breath and mentally psych yourself up as you walk over to Soonyoung.

Soonyoung looks visibly confused when you stand in front of him, and you don’t know if you should be amused or offended.

“Hi,” you begin, “I’m y/n.”

As if a switch was turned on the moment you introduced yourself, Soonyoung’s gaze hardens, and you feel yourself shrink a little under his piercing eyes.

“You’re late,” he practically spits, venom lacing the two simple words.

“I’m sorry, I got here on short notice, I only knew about this like two hours-”

“Save it, I don’t really care. Let’s just get this over with.” Soonyoung grumbles, not even bothering to hide his eye roll. Hurt flares in your chest, and you timidly take the seat across from him.

“Um, so, I think we’ve met b-”

You’re cut off once again as Soonyoung closes his eyes and sighs in visible frustration, his breaths becoming quicker. “Look, uh, y/n, I have no intention of being, like, friends with you or whatever, okay? You folks sprung this up on me like I’m some kind of object, so you can’t expect me to act like all of this is fine when it’s really not. Let’s just get this dinner over and done with and go back to our expiring freedom, yeah?”

“Soonyoung, but you… agreed to this. Willingly,” you protest, confused at the rude tone he’s taking on.

Soonyoung scoffs, cocking an eyebrow at you. “I have a girlfriend, y/n. Why would I accept this willingly?”

You don’t talk after that, and just like that, there’s an unspoken agreement that that was the end of the conversation for possibly the entire dinner.

Your food arrives, in portions made for children just like you expected, and you eat in silence, willing yourself to stay calm. Maybe he’s just having a bad day, you try to reason, blinking back tears.

Or maybe, the voice deep inside of your head pops up, you’re doomed to be in this loveless marriage forever.

You jolt out of your trance as your fork clatters to the floor with an ear-piercing sound, and you smile sheepishly at the neighbouring diners who had turned to see what the commotion was. Picking up your fork and laying it on the table, you decide that you’ve probably had enough for the day.

“It was nice, uh, meeting you. I should go now,” you purse your lips together and try your hardest to not burst into tears in front of Soonyoung, though if he notices, he gives no indication. You stand up and leave after a few seconds of silence, feeling increasingly suffocated.

As soon as you step out of the restaurant, you let out a huge breath, the first tear slipping out of your left eye. Through your blurred vision, you see Joshua stepping out of his car, hurrying over to you.

“Oh my god, y/n,” he frets over you, swiping your tears away with his thumbs. “What did he say to you?”

You continue sobbing as Joshua wraps his arms around you, leaning your head on his shoulder as you shake uncontrollably. “It’s okay, it’s okay. Let’s get you home, hm?”

You nod in between sobs, letting your body go limp as Joshua walks you to his car.

The ride home is silent, your mind clear of all thoughts but one.

You’re doomed to live out the rest of your miserable life with a man who cannot and will not love you. Not now, and not ever.

a/n 2: i hope this was okay!

taglist: @slytherinshua @xomingyu @belladaises @pepperonidk @tastymintchocolate @smilehui @dahliatopia

masterlist

[yaksha-lover]

Hello~~ glad your requests are open, and a happy vacation for you! is it ok if I request a Riddle x reader where they bot pin each other (but havent said anything yet) and reader makes the joke/flirt that their future child is going to be hella unlucky because both of their parents are going to be short ;) (thanks!!)

Riddle x short!reader, gn pronouns but mention of biological children

Attending tea parties with Riddle and the rest of Heartslabyul has become your recent pastime. You’d dropped by occasionally before when Ace and Deuce could rope you into it, but now you’ve started coming because of Riddle’s invitation. That’s how you find yourself sitting beside Cater and Trey and across from Riddle himself.

“Wow, prefect, it’s been almost twenty minutes, and the housewarden hasn’t even critiqued your tea party etiquette once! Think it’s because he’s going easy on you?” Cater says with a wink.

Riddle glares at him: “Unlike some of you, the prefect is responsible and mature enough to study the rules beforehand. They are simply an excellent guest. Also, do not talk about me as if I am not right next to you.”

“Exactly,” you say, “There are only a few hundred rules. It isn’t hard to memorize if you care to do the work.” You smile at Riddle and feel a surge of unexpected warmth when he smiles back.

Cater repeatedly looks between the two of you before staring at Trey: “You’re seeing this too, right?”

Trey laughs. “Such high praise, Riddle. And you, perfect. You’re so sensible; it’s almost like having another Riddle around.”

“I suppose we are quite similar in some ways,” you say, suddenly feeling shy. “Maybe even too alike in some. It’s unfortunate, but I suppose our children will also have to bear the burden of our similar stature.”

Silence ensues as Riddle turns as red as his hair. It doesn’t last long as Cater and Trey’s laughter fills the air. You flush a little but begin to laugh along with them.

“Prefect?” Riddle asks, baffled at your state.

“Apologies, Riddle, I guess I had to tease you a little.” You say, reaching across the table to take his hand. He looks to the side but doesn’t pull away.

“Our children would be at no disadvantage to others just because of their height. I would ensure that.”

It’s your turn to be embarrassed as you suddenly find the hedgehogs on the lawn to be quite interesting.

“Lighten up, you two! You’re still in school. There’s no reason to dwell on your inevitably short children now.”

Riddle finally turns back to the table to scowl at Cater: “In accordance with the rules, no talk of children is appropriate while drinking Hibiscus tea. Do you not realize what you are drinking, Cater?”

“Well, look at the time,” Cater says, checking his invisible watch, “Trey and I have to get going for that thing we have. Right, Trey?

“Ah yes, that thing. We better go quick or else we’ll be late. We wouldn’t want to reflect poorly on Heartslabyul like that, would we housewarden?”

Riddle sighs in exasperation: “Just leave, you two.”

After Cater and Trey mumble quick ‘goodbyes’ and ‘see you next tea party,’ you and Riddle are left alone at the table. He still hasn’t pulled away from your hand.

“Prefect, I know you jest, but I was serious about what I said. I hope my height does not…dissuade you from me.”

“Of course not, Riddle. That would be awfully hypocritical of me, don’t you think?” You stroke your thumb across his hand. “Plus, I know better than anyone not to judge someone by their appearance. You’re hardworking, intelligent, talented…and I find you quite beautiful.”

Riddle turns his hand over to hold yours properly, his voice shakier and softer than you’ve ever heard: “I’d like to see our future together if you’re willing to join me.”

When you squeeze his hand, Riddle knows you’ll be by his side.

[ciaomarie]

My Top 5 (of all time)

I've notice a lot of love is heaped on our favorite guy characters and I was thinking who are my top 5 favorite woman characters? These fictional characters make my heart glow and ain't nobody or no ship more important than their happiness! In no particular order...

The Mary Tyler Moore Show- Mary Richards! I used to watch reruns of this old show with my mom on Nickelodeon. Mary was an ambitious, slightly awkward, Midwestern sweetheart. Her character was the first female producer on a local news station and she was surrounded by men. She held her own, while maintaining her natural sweetness and femininity. Mary inspired my mom to leave her toxic home early and work hard to support herself independently by age 18!

2. The Cosby Show- Claire Huxtable!! I watched reruns after middle school. She was gracious, intelligent, funny, had the classiest clap-backs for adults and children alike, and flawlessly gorgeous. I still kinda want to grow up to be her, lol. Bill Cosby might have tarnished his legacy but Claire Huxtable will always be famous!!

3. Parks and Recreation- Leslie Knope! Leslie was intense, hardworking, weird, and kind. I love her how she always gave 100%, she's unapologetically earnest, and would do anything for her BFF/platonic soulmate Ann Perkins. I don't even generally like the idea of platonic soulmates, but these two! They'd kill for each other! The female equivalents of Shawn/Gus of Psych.

4. The Closer- Brenda Johnson is my most favorite lady cop! Brenda had a mildly scandalous past, a chocolate addiction, was a clutter bug, and the sharpest mind in state of Georgia AND California! Brenda closed cases better than anyone, while maintaining her humanity. This wonderful lady also got the sweetest man ever, proving that you don't need to perfect to earn love. Also, her southern accent was everything.

5. The Bear- Sydney Adamu is so lovable. She's talented, ambitious, brave, adorable and passionate. I love how she puts herself out there, problem-solves, sticks up for herself, supports the growth of her colleagues, and finds humor in dark places. She has huge dreams, but she doesn't think it's necessary to step on others to get there. Sydney is guarded and has a temper, but she is willing to open up under the right circumstances and to give second chances.

[askthekoopsandjr]

HI IDK IF YOUVE ANSWERED AN ASK LIKE THIS ALREADY BUT CAN WE GET SOME INFO ON SAZUKA PLEASE

Hi!! I haven't exactly answered a question like this, but I have left information on Suzie here and there. I'll use this as an opportunity to make a sort of "master post" with his information.

Suzuka is a 20 year old dragon-turtle Koopa, a species in scarce numbers (who age much slower than humans). He was born to Hikaru and Takashi Koopa, and has two younger sisters named Tina and Kiriko. His family on his mother's side is reputable for their family owned business of three generations, 大輔のトラディショナルウェア (Daisuke's Traditional Wear, founded by his great-great-great grandfather), a shop dedicated to handmade cultural crafts, clothes and accessories. He works and lives at their small shop/home with his mother and sisters in a busy place called Fōku City ("Folk City"). It is expected of him to inherit ownership of the shop when his mom retires, which won't be for many more years.

He and his relatives are Japanese. In this mysterious world that holds familiar places like the Mushroom Kingdom and the Dark Lands, they are all connected by pipes to the real world (obviously). Depending on where you are in this world, the pipes will lead you to the correlating location to our world. In the case of Fōku City, a pipe would lead to somewhere in Japan. It's not known how the creatures within the pipes have matching cultures, languages etc as us, it's just the way it is.

Suzuka's only other known relatives that are alive would be his grandmother, Sakura Koopa. As per Japanese culture, it is expected to care for the elderly... But his grandma refuses. She doesn't even live in the shop/house, she has her own apartment right across the street. She's always preferred to do things her own way, never letting anyone help her. Suzuka finds this behavior very strange, while his mother finds it very frustrating. Lol

To give a better idea about his family, here's a brief summary for them:

Hikaru Koopa: Only child growing up, now proud mother of three. She is very hardworking and will do *anything* to provide for those she loves. She may seem as though she has no patience for anything that isn't work related, but that is far from the truth. She is kind, happy, and remains calm, despite what inner stresses she bears. She is open minded and open hearted, and would enjoy your company over some afternoon tea.

Tina Koopa: Suzuka's younger sister at 16 years old. She is an aspiring pop singer with a quirky and short-tempered attitude. She doesn't take anyone's crap, and has eternal confidence in everything she cares about. She paints her claws red to strike your eye, determined to stand out regardless of where she is. She typically works alone, but enjoys collaborating with Suzuka when making music.

Kiriko Koopa: Suzuka and Tina's youngest sibling, age 9. She is an energetic young child who can't seem to sit still. She's very active, always finding something or someone to play with. She is very happy and excitable, wanting to talk to everyone on her street if she can. She's still learning the art of her family's craftsmanship, some of which includes sewing, jewelry making, painting, etc.

Takashi Koopa: Oh boy, how do I drop this bomb on you... To put it simply, he's a deadbeat dad. He and Hikaru divorced after Kiriko hatched, when Suzuka was 14. His own children couldn't tell you much about him, as he was largely absent and unset on a personality when parenting. None of them have seen him since the divorce. Good riddance.

Akihiko Koopa: Suzuka's deceased grandfather. He passed when Suzuka was five, but his mother and grandma could tell you endless stories of him.

Alright, now about Suzie!!

Identity: Gay, asexual, apagender, and autistic. He/Him. 6 feet tall, still not done growing. Speaks English and Japanese.

He is a very talented craftsman who's passion in life is making music. His favorite instrument is the electric guitar, but he can also play the drums, a number of Japanese instruments, and has recently taken on the piano. Suzuka favors the guitar because that was the very first instrument he ever held; his father's acoustic guitar. His dad at least cared to teach Suzuka music as a child, which led to one of the many talents he bears today. His preferred genre is rock/metal, and his favorite band is BABYMETAL. He sings, too! His voice is as beautiful as his instruments.

His other hobbies include sketching, cooking, writing poetry, and learning.

His favorite things are: exploring, the colors magenta and warm yellows/oranges, pomegranate flavored blooming tea, the Spring and Summer seasons, and the food yakisoba.

Personality: You might think Suzuka has a lot to brag about with his many talents, but that couldn't be further from the case. Suzuka is one of those people that you meet who you claim to be the nicest person you've ever met. He is very humble, perhaps a little too much... But even so, he is an extrovert. He's almost always smiling, and any instances of him being angry are rare like a blue moon. He will always find a way to get along with you, even when it seems impossible.

The closer you get to him, however, the more you can see where his insecurities lie, and there's quite a few of them. He roots from what was once a shy, flustered and awkward kid with few people he could truly call his friends. His social awkwardness and lack of social awareness was apparent to everyone, it seemed, and as such he was often treated differently. It did not help to be told that the way he looked and the things he liked were a bit girly by father. It's not that his life was miserable and that he's depressed, it's just that he struggles more than you'd expect.

He's had a longing in his heart to share his love with someone he could call his own for a long time. Obviously, he's achieved that now, but before Ludwig, he had never dated in his life. Not to say he never found anyone he was interested in... Just don't ask him about that.

Overall, Suzuka is a happy koopa who knows the joys life has for him, even when everything seems so Impossible.

If you've read How Suzuka Met The Royal Family on my Wattpad, you already know how he and the Koopalings became friends. Well, after having dinner with them that night, he was actually texted by Iggy first! Iggy asked when they could meet again and if he liked robots... As you can guess, this leads to a cartoon episode summary that ends up bringing everyone closer to each other. But Izzy, how does he visit them so often if Fōku City and Bowser's Castle are a two days travel apart by foot (and Suzuka doesn't have access to a vehicle)? The Koopalings have magic that they use to open portals to teleport. Lol.

It is a concern of Suzuka's for what will happen to the family business when he takes over. He absolutely wants to, don't get him wrong, but seeing as he's going steady with Ludwig... What does that mean for the future? What if they eventually *live* together? Ludwig's family is his family, now, what if-? ... The list goes on.

There's a million other things I could say, but those are stories I should make individual posts for. Sorry for throwing this big ass answer at you 😭

Edit 5/7/2024- Here's the link to how Suzie met the Koopalings https://www.wattpad.com/story/344144914-how-suzuka-met-the-royal-family , and here's the link to a short fluff story with pre-Suzuwig https://www.wattpad.com/1434161538-cheep-cheep-beach (and also the audiobook where I hired voice actors to read it which includes David Goldfarb heehee https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GdP3KT34Hxc&lc=UgxpwSUYXxw2jEPbrRV4AaABAg )

[annoyingpatrolsublime]

His hardwork has leave remarkable mark

Born on November 8, 1992, in Tanauan Leyte, Marco N. Maca he is strong and have determination in his dream . Despite of the he faced so many hardships at young age, Marco he showed his strength and dedication in his dream by working different jobs.

Marco's achievement in life give us big marked in our heart, Serving as the Sales and Marketing Manager at Conie Food Delicacies Center and later as the Business Manager at Leyte Treats of Ethnic Food and Craft Association, he exhibited remarkable leadership skills and business skills . Additionally, his role as a Resource Speaker for Entrepreneurship and Marketing from 2013 to 2015 highlights his commitment sharing a knowledge and empowering others.

Moreover his professional and his efforts, Marco has recognize on his talents and contribution by Winning awards such as 1st Runner Up in Mr. BIOSTAT and Mr. Science pageants by his talent and abilitie. Furthermore, his engagement in community service as the Public Information Officer at Tanauan National High School Association reflects his dedication to making a positive impact. He's like a star that always shines brightly in the eyes of others.

Despite his achievements, Marco, have encountered challenges in life he is like a turtle hiding into its shell, his dreams of becoming a successful businessman, is a proof to his dream and how strong he is . He experience hunger and sacrifice, yet he work so much like a carabao, that strong and hardworking.

At a young age, Marco took on different jobs, Being a pedicab driver, to support his family and pursue his dream. His determination to provide for his parents and siblings, even if it meant sacrificing his own happiness, He's like a tree that needs to bear fruit just to give something to his family

Today, Marco's journey continues as he is a teacher at Catmon Integrated School, inspiring others with his story of strong and dedication. His life serves as a proof that how's strong he is , hard work, and determination in overcoming hardships in life and achieving success. Marco N. Maca is not just a name; he is a symbol of hope and inspiration for many, proving that with giving up is not hindrance, anything is possible if you work hard and smart .He's like a sturdy cement that nothing can knock down because of how strong he is.

[writingforatwistedworld]

To Jamil, I don’t know how you’ve kept you true feelings hidden all this time. Every time you spoke I could feel the tense emotions coming from you. Honestly, I was relieved when I heard you say that Kalim wasn’t your friend, as it felt like the first time I saw your true self. And honestly, I like the person you are more than who you were showing yourself to be. You might not be a good person, but you are still incredibly charming, hardworking and talented. I hope we get to know each other more in the future, and maybe one day we could even call each other friends!

Reader already met them

Self-aware au

I do not take any responsibility for you reading this no matter which age group you are from!

WARNINGS: Yandere themes, manipulation, possessive behavior, obsessive behavior, unhealthy relationship, family problems

Jamil Viper-A kind person

Walking down a corridor you made haste to get on time to your next class. Due to being stuck in your alchemy class because of a little accident you weren't able to leave the classroom on time. There was nothing able to stop you now from running. You didn't want to know what kind of crazy punishment Vargas would give you if you were too late to class. Probably something along the lines of running twenty laps. Running outside you saw the field and some students already standing there. Luckily Vargas was nowhere to be seen. Suddenly Jamil entered your field of vision. Handing you a letter he turned around and went away. Just what was that?

Dear prefect of the Ramshackle dorm,

for the first time in my life someone tells me that it is alright to feel this way and that I am allowed to be better than him. It is certainly different from what I'm used to. If I'm being honest, I'm still very angry that things are this way. The only thing that got better is Kalim not taking everything I do for given but that is all. So hearing that I am alright the way I am is something very precious to me. But what is the price for this? What do you truly want? I apologize if you wrote this with no ill intent but all my life had to watch out so that no one who wished the Al-Asim family harm would become one of the few ones that are close to me.

But enough of that. I sometimes wonder if the scholar described in the legends is truly you. You are so different from what is being described. Most of the time you are said to be a prideful and almighty person. But that is not true. You are just like us. Your letter is proof of that. Every single word you wrote shows emotion and understanding of a normal person. Getting compliments like being charming, hardworking and talented from someone like you is something greater than I could ever hope to experience. I do wonder though how you got that kind of impression of me. I only do my duties and learned everything I need to know since childhood. All for Kalim. All for him.

But you aren't like that, right? You wouldn't use a simple servant like me for your own benefit! I'm sure of it. So could you show me mercy? Could you do me this little favor? Until now I was only a tool which was meant to serve but with you I can be just me. Not the son of a family which served the Al-Asims for generations but just Jamil. So please stay close to me and only me. I can't bear to lose you to someone who simply doesn't care about you. Yes, lets be friends. Just us two. No one else and if someone would ever dare to intrude in our bubble then I will make sure that they will never dare to do that again. I can't allow you to look at someone else. You belong here. If I have to I will become your servant so that you will never have to lift a finger ever again.

Let's meet up soon. Don't you dare to make contact with anyone else until then.

Sincerely

Jamil Viper

[do-kyngsoo]

#HappyJonginDay #ArtistKaiDay #HappyKaiDay

There’s no-one quite like our Nini

Happy Birthday to our King Bear! The things you have achieved over the last year has been immense, you have shown your talent, hardwork and then some. You never fail to show your beautiful personality and light up our days. I hope this next year will be just as amazing for you

[sparklingchan]

Dancing with a Stranger || Lee Minho (Stray Kids)

Pairing :  Reader (fem.) x Lee Know

Word count: 6k+

Warnings: Cuss words, mentions of alcohol, mentions of a break up, slight violence and blood (its nothing intense, I swear) ,suggestive towards the end, not proof read.

Genre: Angst , fluff, boyfriend AU , break up - make up AU.

Description : Lee Minho is the best boyfriend you could have ever asked for but when you end up doing the only thing he had begged you not to do, things start going downhill.

Author’s Note: I KNOW I SAID I’LL POST THIS ON MY BIRTHDAY but I am an impatient person and I really wanted everyone to read this asap :( This imagine is one of my personal favorites and like Boyfriend!Minho really hits different, won’t you agree? (Reposting because tumblr decided to be a bitch and not show up my fic in the tags? It’s 2 AM and I’m legit crying?? I was so excited about this) Yeh le @chogiwow​ !

Please do reblog, like and send in your views about this fic. I’m always happy to receive DMs and asks!

Enjoy!

It is really funny how a crowded, happening place like your college corridor turns into a cold ,eerie location of some prospective gruesome crimes by sun down. But then again , if you really think about it , maybe it’s not much of a ‘prospect’ at all.

Your knuckles start stinging first ,spreading then to your palm and the rest of your arm.

And the horrifying yet unavoidable realization finally dawns on you - you shouldn’t have punched your professor’s daughter.

“Y-you! You bitch! How dare you touch me?” She has this annoyingly loud voice that pierces through the tense air like a bullet. The prettiest girl on campus , the nicest of them all, the most desirable , but anyone who sees her right now, would be convinced she is neither of those things. Excluding you , of course , because you always knew how double faced and rude she was behind the mask of a pure princess.

“You should have kept your mouth shut then, Anya.” You say , hoping that the girl in front of you doesn’t notice the sudden fear in your voice that has replaced your authoritative tone from before.

But you can’t back off now.

Anya stumbles back with her mouth wide open , clutching her jaw as she curses under her breath , “My mother will hear about this ! I will get you expelled !”

“Oh yeah? Try me and the only thing your mother will hear about is what you and our lovely class president John do in the basement when she isn’t home.” You shoot back. You mentally want to slap yourself for that sharp tongue of yours that refuses to stop any time sooner. You had always wished that you’d gotten your father’s gentleness but sadly , you were the fateful heir of your mother’s roughness.

Anya doesn’t reply , instead , she throws herself at you , pushing you harshly against the lockers .And it is not long before her balled fists find a way to your nose , punching so hard that you literally feel the blood dripping down your face. You are so glad that all the students and staff have already gone home , you’d have hated for anyone to witness this.

“You will never lay your filthy hands on me again, y/l/n. ” she wraps her left hand around your throat while the other one pulls your hair with the strength of a bull. You scream in pain. Your body goes limp for a second - not from pain but from fear , but you realise it’s too late now. You should have thought about your fears before punching Anya.

Now all you can do is save yourself and escape.

The numbing pain from your scalp spreads through your head , going down your face and then attacking your throat. It gets harder to breathe.

“I’ll tell you what , Anya , you deserved it. You deserved all of it. ” you croak , “I told you to stop spreading filthy rumours about my cousin but you didn’t stop , I told you to stop bothering me but you didn’t listen. And now you’ve gone as far as spreading bullshit about my boyfriend who you’ve never even met ! I hate to break this to you but all of this is not going to make your trash personality any cooler. ”

Anya yelps with anger , increasing the grip on your throat and hair as you kick your legs helplessly, coughing .

“Shut up, y/l/n .” She growls , “ and as a matter of fact, Your boyfriend is just a mere dancer , how funny. An A-grade college student dating a poor street dancer. What happened , y/n, ran out of good guys for yourself?”

You want to yell at her and tell her that Minho is anything but a mere street dancer . He’s an amazingly talented artist who loves expressing himself through dancing , he’s a hardworking and honest person who is part of the country’s biggest dancing crew , and he’s your safe place , your home , your everything and god save anyone who dare hurt him.

But you bite your tongue this time.

“What now? Afraid ?” Anya raises her eyebrow, her lips curving into an ugly, sadistic smile.

You hate that smile.

You use one of your free hands to grab her hair while the other one slams hard against her jaw.

“Shit.” She mutters , falling back into the hallway.

But you’re not done yet.

You walk toward her with furious eyes and balled fists , and it isn’t long before she lands on the floor on her butt with a bloody nose and a black eye.

“Keep your mouth shut or you’ll end up on a hospital bed next time. In a coma. ” you spit out those words while she holds her tears back, face caked with humiliation.

Then you turn on your heels and walk out of the stupid college campus which would yet again be filled with more bullies by tomorrow morning, just like it has for centuries.

The dorm in which Minho lives almost always smells like freshly baked cookies ( courtesy: Lee Felix) and on rare occasions, it smells like burnt pancakes ( also courtesy: Lee Felix). Today , it smells like the former and you sigh in relief.

“Oh , my god ,y/n. What happened?” Changbin opens the door after you knock thrice , “Minho, dude, Come out , y/n is here!”

You shuffle into their big living room , head hanging low and eyes avoiding all sorts of confrontation , afraid of having to explain your stupid behavior.

“Y/n?” Minho sucks in a deep breath at your sorry sight , his eyes glazed with dread and fear as he walks toward you, ”Oh god, what happened?”

He swiftly takes out a handkerchief from his pockets , pressing it against your bleeding nose. His eyes are glossy with fear.

“I-it’s nothing. I fell down the stairs.” You lie. Can he please shut up and hug you already? You hate his questions so much , especially when you just can’t answer him.

“Y/n , that is not what a fall looks like. I’m not stupid. Whom did you beat up this time?” He asks , crossing his arms across his chest. And you really do almost blurt out the truth because it’s that easy for you to open up to him and because he knows you like no one else does. You’ve dated him long enough for him to know you like the back of his own hand. And that sometimes gets you in so much trouble. Lying to him is a near impossible task.

“Y/n, look at me!” He says , slightly annoyed now. He touches your chin gently, coaxing you to look at him but you’re too afraid to face him right now. Too guilty. So you shrug him off and walk into his shared room with Hyunjin, a homely feeling enveloping you almost instantly.

“Y/n, don’t you dare ignore me.”

Ugh. He can be so nosy at times.

“I came here for comfort , not for an interrogation. ” you pout , plopping down on the bed.

Minho scoffs , closing the door behind him. He wears a loose black t-shirt with a pair of shorts , and he smells like the expensive shampoo you had bought for him a few months ago ,which he initially refused to take but now loves it. He looks so good and smells so good and suddenly all you want to do is cuddle him and talk about his day, with his Winnie The Pooh blanket draped around your bodies.

“You aren’t getting any comfort till you tell me what happened.” He says . He stands with his back against the door , and stares at you as if you were a criminal. Maybe you were one ,but that doesn’t mean he’ll hate you or something ,right?

“Did you hit the professor’s daughter?” He asks when you don’t answer even after two whole minutes. Your stomach does a somersault, adrenaline coursing through your veins. You regret telling him about Anya a few weeks ago and you specifically saying that you’d one day ’ punch her brains out ’. You wish you’d shut up sometimes.

You play with your fingers, staring at your feet. You can’t look him in the eye anymore , not when you did the exact (and only) thing he had asked you not to do. You feel horribly guilty.

“Well in my defense, she was being a bitch ,okay? She was calling you a good for nothing dancer and ugly and underqualified and - ” you sigh , “ My point is, I couldn’t bear listening to all that, okay?” You admit , cheeks burning with embarrassment.

Minho doesn’t answer, very unusual of him by the way, and you snap your head to look at him.

The eyes that had once held concern and fear for your well being now are clouded with disappointment . He’s mad at you.

“She’s not wrong though. I am a good for nothing dancer, I go to a stupid cyber college. Nothing worth fighting over. Why the fuck did you put yourself in danger like that!” And he’s yelling now , his relaxed posture from before now replaced with a tensed one. You notice his clenched fists and teeth ,and you shudder with fear. He is furious. But at what? You don’t really know.

“Are you seriously justifying her actions? Minho, she can’t talk shit about you. I will not let her do that! ” You yell back ,getting up from the bed , “She doesn’t even know you!”

“Which is exactly why her opinions on my lifestyle do not matter ! And you don’t have to just go around acting like my bodyguard all the time!” He says.

Your heart drops, brows furrowed in confusion at his words that feel like a dagger is plunged into your heart.

You walk up to him, trying to take his hand in yours but he extracts it right back. “I’m sorry, okay? I wasn’t thinking. You know how crazy I get when I’m angry.”

“A ’ sorry ’ doesn’t suffice it. The damage is already done. And if tomorrow, you are thrown out of the university, who’s fault would it be? ” he presses his hand to his face, trying to calm himself down , “I can’t believe I am dating such an immature woman ,y /n. Grow the fuck up, will you?” He says , his anger filled eyes staring right into your soul . Your heart breaks into millions of small pieces , as your breath hitches in your throat. He had never said something so harsh to you in the many years that you’ve dated him and you really wish he hadn’t done it today either because you realise you’re not very good at handling hurtful words, especially from Minho. At all.

“Minho , I know you’re angry - ”

“Leave.” The world stops spinning for a second , your eyes widening with shock, “Go home. Don’t come back again.”

You want to cry but tears seemed to have given up on you too , his words striking you harder than any of Anya’s punches ever did. All your feelings seem to have converted into a much worse state of numbness when those words leave his mouth.

“Y-you are not breaking up with me, right?” Your usually loud voice comes out as a whisper.

“I am. Go, please. I don’t want to see you right now.” He opens the room door for you to exit, his eyes never meeting yours. His lower lip is caught between his teeth, a sign that he’s about to tear up yet you don’t know if he wants too be comforted by you right now, or ever. So picking up the remaining pieces of your damaged heart , you walk out of the room , stopping only to glance over at him one last time , in hopes that he’d change his mind. But no, his angry demeanor is still there , strong and tough and unbreakable.

And when you finally leave , Minho is grateful that Hyunjin wasn’t home - for he would have hated to cry in front of his roommate.

The bright neon sign with ’ Kim’s Restaurant ’ written on it shines in the distance , blurred only by the tears in your eyes and not by the tiny droplets of water slowly falling from the sky.

You feel a soft blanket of comfort draping over you when you walk toward the familiar building.

Your aunt and uncle have worked hard to build a proper business from a small shop that had once just sold fried chicken and cold drinks ; and it makes you so happy to see their new restaurant still packed with people this late in the evening.

“Oh , y/n. I was just about to call you. Did you not go to your dorm yet? ” your aunt asks from the reception desk , chewing her favorite gum and typing aggressively into the computer.

“I stayed back today. Project work.” You lie. Your aunt lifts up her head , her eyebrows knitted together and a suspicious scowl gracing her face , almost mimicking your mother. Your mom and your aunt are twin sisters , born just three minutes apart , and since then it has become your mom’s life mission to remind your aunt of the whooping three minute gap every chance she gets. It’s hilarious, really.

“Don’t make that face at me. You look exactly like mom.” You mutter , leaning against the wooden desk.

“I do look exactly like your mom , y/n. ” she replies with a chuckle, “Anyway, what’s going on? You look tired.”

Honestly, you’d love to talk about Minho and the impulsive breakup and the aching in your heart with your aunt because there’s no better person to seek advice from, but you don’t feel it right to burden her when she’s working plus a part of you doesn’t really trust your aunt to keep all the secrets to herself.

“No, I’m okay. Just mid college crisis.” you say.

Your aunt hums in response, probably not buying it but you’re happy she doesn’t push it anymore, “ Are you hungry? Want something to eat?”

A bag of fries with a bucket full of chicken wings sounds terribly tempting right now but you’ve lost all your appetite for the day the moment Minho closed the door behind you. Now all you feel is drained, tired, sad. Moreover, that is not what you were here for, “Nah, I’m good. Is Yugyeom home though?”

The door to your aunt’s house opens only after you ring the stupid bell at least three times , as you stand on the porch, judging the loud music that blasts from within the walls. “Wow , you look like shit.” Yugyeom always has some snarky comments up his sleeve but you are in no mood to be playing word games with him right now. You barge into the house , pushing past your cousin who you smells like donuts and Axe.

“Shut up.” You say, plopping down on his bed . You really want to cry right now but Yugyeom has never been big on consoling so you try to hold it in .

“What’s wrong? I’m not joking.” He sits beside you, putting down his gaming console on the table by the bed.

You play with your fingers , breathing in and out to calm your nerves. Yugyeom, out of all the people in the world , is the easiest to talk to but today , you find yourself on the edge , trying to be very careful with your choice of words. Maybe you were afraid of angering him as well.

“I..I kind of beat Anya up.” You confess ,swallowing the lump in your throat.

Yugyeom becomes still for a moment , staring at you with his mouth gaping and then his face breaks into the widest grin in the world.

“You really beat that bitch up? Like for real?” He asks , excitedly bro fisting the air like an athlete after winning an important match.

You nod , “And then I went to see Minho. He obviously didn’t react the way you did. He was very angry and then he broke up with me. ”

Yugyeom’s celebrations are short lived as you continue to tell him the details of what had happened earlier, his smile slowly dissolving into a frown.

“Y/n, first of all you really need to learn how to break news to other people. It’s always the bad one first and then the good one. Noob.” Yugyeom bumps his shoulder softly to yours. You would otherwise have argued with him and told him why the happy news should always be first and why the bad news should be last but you feel too exhausted to speak anymore. Your shoulders slump as you put your hands on either side of your head.

“How could he just break up with me like that? He had no logical reason to! He’s so selfish.” You mutter , tears gathering up in your eyes. You try to blink them away before your cousin notices them.

“I don’t think he did it for himself , y/n. You told him that you hit Anya because she was speaking trash about him. Of course he’d distance himself from you so you wouldn’t want to fight his fights for him.” Yugyeom says.

“I wasn’t fighting his fights! She trash talks about you and me and him and everyone else. It was the last straw for me. I didn’t do anything wrong. ” you explain , your heart hammering against your chest.

“I didn’t say what you did was wrong ,y/n. You have a right to be angry with her. But what we’re talking about is Minho. Think about this from his point of view,” Yugyeom replies, his hands on your shoulders , “You beat Anya up , got hurt and possibly put yourself in trouble with her mother all because of him. He feels guilty.” Yugyeom is speaking to you like he’s speaking in one of those debates that he does at college. You love seeing him speak, mostly because he is so manipulative yet subtle , smart yet observant and he can convince you so easily. He could easily pass as the best debater in your college - too bad you’d already taken that place.

“Or it could be because he doesn’t want more trouble in his account. Maybe he’s ashamed of me. ” you whisper, “ And I told you, I didn’t do it just for him. I did it for me and you too and all those people she bullies and makes fun of. Why is he the only one reacting like this? ”

Yugyeom sighs, “Yes , I appreciate your concern for my well being, y/n. But he might not be thinking the same way as I am. I was happy that you beat Anya up , but he was worried about you. He obviously doesn’t want you to get badly hurt.”

You rub the tears that flow down your face with the heel of your hand then place your head on Yugyeom ’s shoulder.

“He might have fallen out of love with me. Maybe he just needed an excuse to call it off.” You mutter.

“You know Minho’s better than that, y/n.”

He’s right . Minho really is better than that.

Break ups suck. In the truest sense. But what you now realize is that break ups don’t hurt that much immediately, but slowly , as the days go by and the memories start flashing in front of your eyes every waking moment , you feel like nothing more than a sack of meat and bones, drained of all emotions.

“For this unit of organic chemistry, I need all of you to memorise the reaction mechanisms over the weekend.” Your professor’s voice feels distant to you , as if there were a wall in between the two of you , even though he stands just a few steps away.

Your classmates start murmuring among themselves, fixing study dates that almost always are unsuccessful and gathering notes they hadn’t bothered to complete until now. But you remain seated in your chair , staring out the window, not bothering to talk to anyone.

It is a bright sunny afternoon and you see all the happy faces out on the field - couples, friends , classmates. You feel jealous. You clearly remember planning a weekend trip with Minho a few days ago and If you hadn’t decided to mess things up so bad, he’d have already been at your college gate by now , waiting in his father’s old car. You clearly remember how excited he was about the trip.

The dismissal bell rings not long after and as you walk out of the college gate, surrounded by thousands of students, you feel lonelier as ever. And your mind imagines his car below the tall banyan tree , his lean frame leaning against the door with a silly grin. You could almost see him there. Even though its just in your mind.

You miss him so much that it gets hard for you to even breathe properly.

“Okay , how long are we going to stay here? I have better things to do than stalk your girlfriend, Lee.” Changbin’s whiny voice breaks the silence in Minho’s car, much to his annoyance.

“Just a few more minutes. Till she reaches the dorm.” Minho replies , his hand limp on the steering wheel and his lips pressed in a tense line.

His eyes are focused on you , your slump shoulders and your unusually slow walk and the dark circles under your eyes. It is obvious that Minho wasn’t the only one having sleepless nights .

“Dude , why don’t you just talk to her? I’m sure she would listen.” Hyunjin says from the backseat , munching on peanuts, “ Plus I think she saw us.”

Minho watches as you turn around a corner and walk toward your dorm building , away from him. He almost wishes you’d seen him.

“It’s not that easy.” Minho mutters, turning the engine on.

At least he knows you’re okay, and safe. That’s enough reassurance for him to try and move on but he somehow always ends up driving to your college gates during dismissal,  the brief view of your face still making the worst of his days better.

“It’s not that easy.” He repeats to reassure himself .

“Guess what.” Yugyeom chimes in early one morning, leaning against the locker door beside yours.

“What?” You ask , not sparing him a glance. Your hands busy themselves in flipping over the pages of your notebook ; last minute revisions before tests are more important than the actual studying.

“I saw Anya this morning. She was running late , I think, and she bumped into a junior near the gate. I was sure all hell was about to break loose but she just apologized and left!” Yugyeom says , laughing.

You turn to look at him, a look of surprise plastered on your face. Anya actually did that? Instead of being her usual, defensive, violent self she actually chose to apologize? It’s hard to digest but you’re sure Yugyeom wouldn’t be making all that up. He’s not that creative.

“The sun must have risen from West today.” You reply with a chuckle.

The morning bell rings throughout the corridor, indicating the commencement of your classes. Throwing in your notebook ,you close your locker and heave a sigh. Its just a small quiz but you find yourself stressing over every single thing these days.

“Oh and by the way , it’s Jackson Wang’s birthday party tomorrow.” Yugyeom adds as the two of you start making your way towards the chemistry lab , coats hanging by your arms.

“And we’re going?” You question ,cocking your eyebrow.

Yugyeom is not really into parties , especially the over-the-top , spectacular , rich-kid parties that Jackson Wang often finds himself throwing, yet Yugyeom always goes because a) Jackson is his best friend and b) Who doesn’t like to feel like a rich man even if it’s just for one night?

“Yes. Both of us.” He says. You shrug your shoulders. You have always liked going to Jackson ’s parties and fawning over his huge mansion and the various cuisines placed in front of you that you can’t even name properly and watching other rich kids like himself play golf in the living room. It was pretty entertaining . Even with your post break up gloominess, you wouldn’t want to miss all of that.

“Okay.”

“And one more thing,” he starts ,“I saw Lee Minho outside our college gate yesterday. You might want to do something about that.”

No, unlike what was expected of you, you didn’t really do anything about it but Yugyeom’s words stick to you like a piece of gum throughout the whole day ,consuming every thought and pulling out all those thoughts that you’d stacked up and thrown away into the top most drawers of your mind. You were convinced that the day he broke up with you , he was done. He didn’t want to look back or reconsider. He wasn’t coming back to you. And you’ve been trying to move on as best as you could ,keeping your mind occupied and busy all the time. Yet you had to accept that in the wee hours of the night , staring at the ceiling ,you would often find yourself reminiscing him and whatever you two had. The gentle touches , the late night walks, shy smiles and endless talks ; you missed them.

But his presence outside the college changes the whole game, doesn’t it?

Later that day, you kind of regret agreeing to go to Jackson’s party because you soon realised that both Minho and Jackson went to the same dancing school at one point of time , and Minho probably (like a 99.9% probability because Jackson Wang never leaves anyone uninvited) was invited too.

You dread every second in Yugyeom’s stupid car that brings you one more step closer to seeing Lee Minho again. And although you would never dare say it out loud , a part of you was a little excited too.

“Dude , y/n , I have never felt so underdressed in my entire life.” Yugyeom breathes in as the car stops in front of the huge metal gates of Jackson’s mansion.

“Me neither.” You agree, your eyes glued to the people walking in and out of the doors, wearing tuxedos and dresses and sparkly jewelry. You feel horribly out of place all of a sudden, like a fish flying in the sky and a bird swimming deep under the water- you feel like you don’t belong here.

You look down at your black converse , tightly laced and washed for this very party and your loose ,dark green tshirt and ripped jeans .

“Why didn’t you tell me this was a fucking masquerade ball or soemthing?"you hiss at your cousin.

"Shut up, y/n , you’re not the only one feeling odd. ” Yugyeom shoots back

But all of that discomfort is gone the moment you see Jackson Wang sitting on the huge sofa in the living room , wearing nothing but a pair of boxer shorts and a white tank top , drunk and wasted and blabbering.

“Let’s go before he sees us.” Yugyeom says , pushing you through the crowds of people clad in silks and pure cotton , “Drunk Jackson is difficult to handle.”

“Oh , I beg to differ , All Jacksons are difficult to handle.”

The garden behind the mansion is filled with even more people than your brain was accustomed to seeing while the DJ stands at the top of a platform , headphones on and screaming into the mic every once in a while to hype up the crowd in front of him , but you realise it’s hardly needed. People are already way too hyped up in here.

“Y/n?” You hear a voice say and you immediately turn around to face Hwang Hyunjin standing under the wonderful night sky, looking as gorgeous as ever. But then again ,when does he not look pretty?

“Hey, Hyunjin. How have you been?” You ask with a smile. Your awkward hand movements do not go unnoticed by him but he thankfully doesn’t comment on it.

“I’ve been good. How have you been ?” He replies , inching closer to you. From the corner of your eye, you see Yugyeom slowing disappearing into the crowds, leaving you all alone to deal with your ex boyfriend’s best friend. You make a mental note to never lend your Netflix account to him again.

“I’m okay, too.” You say.

Hyunjin nods, his eyes staring at you curiously, “Tell me , y/n , how have you really been? I know what happened between you and Minho.”

You gulp , heat creeping up to your cheeks.

“I’m fine, really. Don’t worry about it.” You say, biting the inside of your cheeks nervously.

“If you say so.” he grins , putting an arm around you , “But I’ll be real honest with you , Minho - ”

The words are cut off when the DJ suddenly blasts a new song through the speakers , simultaneously yelling into the mic. The sweaty, wasted , hopeless crowd around you yell a few ’ Let’s GO! ’s and ’ Fuck It Up ’s in response.

“What were you saying?” You yell over the music , pinching Hyunjin’s t-shirt to get his attention. He glances at back you then points toward his left , “That.”

You turn your head in that direction , your heart skipping a beat the moment your eyes meet Minho’s nervous ones. You see him walk towards you in long strides ,his handsome features painted with anxiousness and worry and a foreign sense of guilt. You were angry at him ,yes ,but as he makes his way to you , his silky hair bouncing softly ,his pink lips slightly parted, his starry eyes locked on you ,he looks…Brilliant? Breathtaking? Gorgeous? Stunning? All of these?

He wears a blue tshirt with black pants and has a jacket tied around his waist. He looks beautiful- even though you are mad at him. He looks way too beautiful to not acknowledge it.

And just a few seconds before he reaches you , you break away from Hyunjin’s hold and run away into the crowd.

“Y/n, wait!” You hear the both of them yell at the same time. But only one of them follows behind you and you don’t even have to look back to know who it is.

Fear and anger creep into your body , slow but painful like poison. You remember the last few days and how horrible it had been for you , all because of Minho and his lack of understanding in a moment when it was needed the most. Over the past few weeks, your ex boyfriend had made no attempts to contact you whatsoever and if he thinks he could just pop out of nowhere and start talking to you again, then he’s gravely mistaken. You might still love him and want nothing more than to hold him close , but that doesn’t mean you aren’t angry anymore . You are not ready to face him. At all.

Your feet burn as you run further away from Minho, jogging up the stairs inside the mansion with your hand tightly gripping the cold metal railing.

“Y/n, please, just listen to me once.” He yells, still not giving up.

You scoff , “Why should I? You didn’t listen to me that day either!”

You find a door at the end of the staircase, your hands pushing it to reach the empty terrace that you’d heard Jackson bragging about during your English classes when everyone was too bored to listen to the professor. The terrace really was beautiful, with all kinds of flowers blooming and a fountain with lights , you would have almost been breath taken if not for the man closing up behind you.

“Y/n, damnit, ” Minho huffs, reaching his hand out toward you, panting, “Stop, okay? Just listen to me , please.”

Not like you have an option anyway. You sigh in defeat , walking toward the fountain, the carpet grass rustling under your feet. “What?” You demand, your voice bitter with anger.

Minho stands in front of you , his brown unkempt hair and firey eyes reminding you of the night you guys had kissed for the first time. He stands at an arm’s distance, giving you enough space to think things through. He would never want to force you to do something you wouldn’t want to. And even if everything turned out to be not in his favor tonight, he’d gladly accept it because he deserved it after treating you so badly.

“I’m sorry.” He whispers after a few seconds.

You roll your eyes, “For what? What did you do? As far as I know, THE Lee Minho never makes mistakes!”

He hangs his head low with shame ; he didn’t mean a single word he’d said that night. He was worried, yes, he was very worried about your bashful attitude but he was also very grateful to you for always having his back. It physically hurt him to see you bleeding and completely worn out that day.

“Well, I did make a mistake this time. I said some words that I didn’t mean at all and I’m afraid the girl I intended those words at hates me.” He says , pressing his lips in a line.

“Damn right , she does.” You can’t even look into his eyes anymore because you’re too afraid of laying your true feelings bare in front of him.

“I’m really, really sorry, baby. I know I’m an asshole and I hurt you. I have no excuses to offer but I just want you to know that a single second more away from you will drive me crazy. ”

You process his sentences slowly - letter by letter, inking those words permanently into your memories. “Why?” You ask. What a silly question ,y/n, do you really want to torment this man so much ?

Minho gulps, his Adam’s apple bobbing with the movement, “Because you’re quite literally my everything.”

Minho only dares to grin a little when you no longer throw virtual daggers from your eyes at him. “I hate you , you know?” You say.

“I know ,y/n. I don’t even blame you. I shouldn’t have said all that. I was just so, so mad. But that really wasn’t an excuse to be so rude to you or break up. I should have talked it out instead . I deserve the hate.” He admits.

The frown on your lips dissipates slowly ,making way for a sad, small smile.

“It was so hard, Minho. You don’t even know. I had never felt so lonely in my entire life.” You say.

“Believe me, y/n, I know.” He whispers as your hands find their way to his cheeks, rubbing them ever so gently.

You scan his face, absorbing in the fact that he was actually in front of you and this wasn’t one of your unrealistic imaginations.

Minho takes not more than a half step towards you and you automatically wrap your arms around his neck , like the millions of times you’d already done before. Everything about him is so familiar yet so new. Like layers and layers to discover and only one goddamn lifetime.

He nuzzles his face into the crook of your neck , mumbling soft apologies against your skin, his arms tightening around your waist with every passing second.

“I missed you so much.” You admit, playing with his beautiful brown locks, taking in the smell of his (your) favorite body wash.

“I missed you too.” He replies , “So goddamn much. I almost wanted to cuddle Hwang Hyunjin at night.”

You laugh ,as he admires the way your noes scrunches up when you giggle and the way your eyes bend into crescent moons. In that moment, Minho realises how much he loves seeing you laugh ,especially when he’s the reason behind it. It fills him up with so much pride.

You hear the DJ change the song into a slow , romantic one as his voice booms through the speakers once again , “Ladies and gentlemen, grab the person next to you, with consent of course, and hold them close for this one because tonight is all about dancing with strangers!”

The crowd goes feral.

Minho raises an eyebrow at the DJ’s words , a sly smile playing on his lips , “Shall we?”

He pulls away from the embrace, gently bowing toward you and offering you his hand like some gentleman right out of a fairytale.

“He said dancing with a stranger, not girlfriend.” You deadpan but you take his hand anyway.

He chuckles, leaning closer to rest his forehead on yours, “Technically, we’re still broken up. That makes us strangers.”

You have to give in - not because of his weird reasoning but because of how terribly cute he looks when he smiles like that at you. He holds you close, swaying slowly to the music and grinning like there’s no tomorrow.

“What’s so funny, Lee Minho?” You ask , raising your eyebrow.

He shakes his head, still grinning, “I just realised how rare it is to find a woman who would quite literally declare war for you.”

“Now, you’re exaggerating a little bit with the war thing but yes, that’s the essence of it.” You reply with a proud smile.

He laughs, as you put your hand on his cheek once again and press your lips softly to his. You’d missed this so much - not just kissing him but also this feeling of intimacy you share with him everytime you’re in a closed space, sharing the same air. You missed his teasing, his stupidly sweet laughter, the warmth of his embrace. You missed Lee Minho - your safe place, your best friend, your world.

And even after everything, you both know for sure that you would fight the world for Minho if need be, and he’d do the exact same thing for you. Every single time.

[faeriejukyung]

Dr. Romantic, Teacher Kim 2 Review

media type: kdrama

genre: medical drama, melodrama, romance

duration: 16 episodes, 70 minutes each

available on: viki (for free!)

faeriejukyung rating: 9.5/10 🍇

I know that I’m very late to this, but please bear with me. this drama came out back in January, and at that time it didn’t pique my interest, since I’m not a huge medical drama watcher. as a matter of fact, this is the first medical drama that I’ve watched! I saw one of my close friends gush about the chemistry between Lee Sung Kyung and Ahn Hyo Seop (the actors playing the lead couple in DRTK 2) on her instagram story, so I decided to give it a watch. And to say that I was pleasantly surprised is an understatement. 

This is genuinely the best kdrama I have watched ALL year. Everything about it so amazing. I was initially a bit worried because I haven’t yet watched the first season of Dr. Romantic, so I thought I’d have trouble following the storyline. But that was not the case at all! I could understand pretty much everything perfectly, and even though there were a few references to older characters, overall I wasn’t confused at all. And I’m not gonna lie, this kdrama kind of made me reconsider my future career options LMAOOO I high-key wanted to become a surgeon after watching this,, idk man, might fuck around and do medicine after I graduate high school. (my mom would die to hear me say these words)

The story revolves around the extremely talented doctor with a passion for helping and saving people, Bu Yong Ju, or Kim Sa Bu (played by Han Suk Kyu), as he’s referred to in the drama, the extremely intelligent, hardworking and sincere, but anxious doctor Cha Eun Jae (played by Lee Sung Kyung), and the talented lonewolf Seo Woo Jin (played by Ahn Hyo Seop), who’s struggling with debt. Kim Sa Bu recruits Cha Eun Jae and Seo Woo Jin to help run the chaotic Doldam Hospital, which is situated at a countryside, the place where rest of the story takes place. 

All the characters in this kdrama are so well written, and all of them have reasons for doing the things that they do. All the side characters are so so so likeable (I particularly liked the Head Nurse’s Tigress mom-like character!) -- There is not one character that I can say is poorly written. Even the dude I hated the most (Dr. Yang Ho Joon) is a well written character

The storyline in this kdrama is by far one of the most interesting ones. I literally could not stop myself from binge watching the whole thing in less than a week lmao. That's the only complain I have -- I could not put my phone down. Every time I would finish an episode, I’d practically be dying to know what happens in the next one. Every episode brings a new medical case, and I would feel my blood pressure heighten up during each and every emergency treatment. The tension that our characters feel during a surgery seems very much palatable through the screen. Like you can tell, that this is a life and death situation. And every sigh of relief that you’d take after the patient is saved would feel earned.

I REALLY REALLY REALLY adored the camaraderie and the sense of community the staff at Doldam Hospital shared. Honestly, I can talk about their loving relationship with each other for hours. These people are very much a family. These are the characters you get really emotionally attached to. And I particularly love them because found family is my favorite tv/movie/book trope :”) They are literally what I want my ideal work environment to be like! if our relationship is not like the staff at Doldam Hospital, I don’t want it. 🙄👎

My favorite character, most definitely would be the Romantic Doctor himself, Kim Sa Bu. Honestly, everyone deserves a mentor like Kim Sa Bu in their life. His wise teachings, his eye for talent, his way of teaching people and helping them overcome their flaws is literally all I want in life. He has this way of reassuring people, that it’ll be okay as long as he’s there. In the end of the kdrama, he tells us to always be in touch with our idealistic side and to never let go of the romanticism inside of us. People might call him a madman, crazy, impractical, but Kim Sa Bu always puts values and ideals like empathy, doing the right thing, selflessness at the top. He’s a character that I’ll remember for a really long time.

And of course, I can’t forget Woo Jin and Eun Jae. These two are literally my babies. We see them grow as individuals, and as a duo/couple throughout the drama. They are legit one of my favorite slow burn couples ever. And their relationship is so beautiful, you can tell how much they care about each other. While Eun Jae teaches Woo Jin to be more open about his feelings, to sometimes rely on others, Woo Jin teaches Eun Jae to be more confident with her surgery skills. (CAN I TAKE A MOMENT TO JUST TALK ABOUT EUN JAE’S CHARACTER ARC? LIKE . OMG. I’m absolutely in love!! her character glow up is like the one I want. she went from being an insecure people pleaser with a good girl complex to a self assured and extremely skilled surgeon!! God I really want to have a character arc like her, because I really relate to how Eun Jae initially was lol) Anyway, I literally cANNOT stop fangirling over them. They’re always there for each other emotionally, every time one of them is going through something. Their emotional connection is just *chef’s kiss*. They’re in my “dream relationships” list. Also this is a quick disclaimer that you might feel like they’re a bit slow, but that’s because the story isn’t completely centered around their romance. That being said, I WOULD DIE TO SEE MORE OF THEM :(( like I literally go on youtube and re-watch all my favorite WooJae scenes. (I’m lonely can u tell)

Overall, this kdrama is literally perfection for me (it’s my emotional support kdrama now ahaha). I recommend it to people who like frenemies-to-lovers trope, found family trope, along with some good adrenaline rush (lol)

Also quick viewer discretion: This show contains themes of violence, death and r@pe/s3xual assault. it also contains  A LOT of blood. Like, A LOT. I know this stuff triggers a lot of people, I advise those people to not watch it. please take care :( I love u <33

Thank you if you read through the whole thing, it means a lot! :D My name is Mahima, I’m 15 years old and I mostly geek out about kdramas, webtoon, at;la, and LOTR here, with occasional stuff about harry potter, pjo, and pokemon. hmu if u wanna be friends and talk about my stupid hyper fixations AHAH 

[nwbeerguide]

Bowing to a competitive market, coupled with operating during a global pandemic, Modern Times Beer announces the closure of 50% of their brewery taprooms.

image courtesy Modern Times Beer

Announced Monday, February 14th, California-based Modern Times Beer has announced the closure of 50% of their breweries/taprooms in the coming days, including their only location in the Pacific Northwest via Portland. For more on the news, here’s their announcement shared on social media and their website.

Today is the most difficult day we’ve ever had at Modern Times. Over the last two unimaginably challenging pandemic years, we’ve done everything we could to keep all of our newly-opened locations afloat in a landscape we never could have imagined when we began building them. As new leadership has stepped up and taken the helm over the last few weeks, it became clear that the financial state of the company that we are now tasked with directing is not just unsustainable, but in immediate and unavoidable peril. As a result of this, we are forced to make some incredibly hard choices, which—while necessary for the health and continued success of our company—will result in many of our talented, hardworking staff losing their jobs.

As of the end of this week, we will be closing our Portland, Oakland, Santa Barbara, and Los Angeles locations. It is a surreal and painful turn of events for us, and we realize that the suddenness of it puts many people we care about in very difficult positions. We truly wish that there were another way to resolve the financial issues we now face, but we have been put in a position—by the pandemic and global declines in the craft beer industry—from which this tremendously difficult path is the only way forward for us. While it is a path that we feel will lead to a renewed vision and new life for Modern Times, it doesn’t make taking these drastic measures any less heartbreaking.

Our Point Loma, North Park, Encinitas, and Anaheim locations will remain open, and we will be turning our distribution and hospitality efforts back to Southern California and the Southwest as we do everything we can to step away from the opacity and unanchored optimism of the past and build a smaller, smarter, more focused, and more equitable company for the future. 

There is simply no way to adequately express our appreciation for the staff at the affected locations, or how sorry we are to put them in this position. We recognize and are deeply grateful for the massive amounts of work and passion they’ve put into making these wonderful places what they are, as well as the sacrifices they’ve made to keep the lights on over the last two years. We truly wish things had turned out differently—in so many ways—but as a new leadership team faced with the choice between immediate action and dire consequences, we have chosen to do what we must to ensure a future for Modern Times, though it comes at a high cost.

At such a challenging moment, it is difficult to talk about how we got here, let alone our plans for the future, but we’ve made this decision for a reason, and it bears explaining. We’ve arrived at this current moment as the result of a combination of factors: four straight years of rapid, costly expansion followed by an unforeseen and financially devastating global health crisis, and an industry-wide decline in sales. Taken together, these factors have stretched our finances and company culture to a point that is simply no longer sustainable. 

So, what do we do now? We get smaller, we get smarter, and we get faster. We invest in our people and build up rather than out. We listen to our customers and keep our commitments to them. We focus on what we can control, the locations we can sustain, and we do what we’re good at: making amazing beverages and providing exceptional experiences for our customers. We listen to the lessons of the last few years. We don’t overreach, we don’t build things we can’t afford. We listen to our employees. We work more closely with our communities. We diversify our viewpoints and find a voice that speaks for our company as a whole. We make the difficult decisions, we move forward, and we rebuild.

More to come.

*League members and customers at the affected locations will be contacted shortly with membership and pickup details and options.

from Northwest Beer Guide - News - The Northwest Beer Guide https://bit.ly/350rZut

[otomeramblings]

Just U&I

Pairing: Juza x Reader Pronouns: the song itself has female pronouns but this was written in 2nd person and remains gender neutral. A/N: this ended up being angstier than I intended but I promise that the fluff of the original song is there! Also fun fact: this request and the previous Juza request came up basically at the same time and I see you Juza stans, I respect how much you love your boy lol Thank you so much for requesting and I hope you enjoy it! 🎵 Song: She is (좋아) by Jonghyun🎵

You really hadn’t expected that your day would turn out like this: with you sitting on the edge of your bed, your head hung low and trying to hold back tears while Juza sat on the floor in front of you, hands resting on top of your knees. He was gently rubbing the exposed skin there, trying to sooth you as he tried to organize his thoughts. Your heart was immediately filled with warmth at the sight, but as you gripped the sheets beneath you, a part of you wished you hadn’t exploded like that. 

You had gone to see one of Juza’s plays, and after congratulating him backstage you had gone outside to wait while they all finished getting changed. You had your headphones on, which is probably why those people didn’t think twice when they said “He’s dating them? Seriously? Wow, he could do so much better?” You were usually a pretty composed person, but you hadn’t realised how much your insecurities had been piling up on you until you literally couldn’t bear it. 

You didn’t make a scene, though, you knew better than that. But once you were alone, you couldn't hold it in anymore. The comment wouldn’t have hurt as much if you hadn’t had those same thoughts swirling in your head before. Your boyfriend was amazing; he was kind, he was talented and hardworking, he even had the looks to boot. Because of that, sometimes you couldn’t help but feel that you paled in comparison. So you snapped, and with a barely controlled quiver in your voice, you poured out your heart to him.

Juza tapped one of your knees slightly to catch your attention.

“Remember that time when those punks tried to tell you that you’d be better off without me?” he asked.

You nodded. Of course you remembered. it had been a group of guys that, like many others, had tried to provoke Juza into starting a fight with them. He had refused and just before they had a chance to try again, you had come up to him, wondering what was going on (you knew, but it was best to feign ignorance most of the time to leave them without anything to do). Only that this time, one of them had the gall to say “you should stop associating with a guy like him unless you want your reputation to be ruined”.

“And what did you tell ‘em?” his thumbs kept lightly rubbing the top of your knees.

You could feel a slight blush forming on your cheeks. He waited patiently until you finally mumbled, “That they could get bent because I love you and our relationship is none of their business.”

“Exactly.” You could see the amusement swimming in his eyes while he recalled how serious you had been when you said it. But he quickly got serious again, and his eyes shone with the familiar intensity that appeared when he wanted you to understand something.

“You’ve told me countless times that you don’t care about what anyone says about our relationship, “ he started. “That you didn’t care about my reputation of being a delinquent, or about my mean mug or how scary I look or-”

“Because none of that matters!!” you interrupted him automatically, a habit that had formed whenever you heard Juza talking in a self-deprecating way. But when he squeezed the top of your knees and you saw his expression softening, you could already see where he was going with this.

“And ‘s the same for me. I don’t care about what anyone else says about us. I’m dating you because you make me happy.” You could see the slight blush that dusted the tips of his ears but he pushed on. “I’m dating you because I love you; I love how expressive your eyes are, how when you laugh your whole body follows suit, and how messy your hair looks in the mornings when you oversleep because you were too engrossed in what you were doing.” You could feel your lower lip quivering and how moist your eyes were getting, and seeing that, Juza quickly placed his right hand on the side of your face. “I love you because you make me want to better myself even more, not just for me but also to make you proud. Please never forget that.”

Send me a 🎵 + a character name and I’ll press shuffle on my playlist to write a short drabble based on it

[sassaetcie]

Secret Santa: Ari’s Present

Ortho, Kalim and Jamil meeting each other and having fun even if it not especially located during Christmas fdsklklgkl! I hope it will warm your heart, it’s my first time writing Ortho and Kalim especially :D

Merry Christmas @skyflicker @shiningskiies !!!

I – DEN – T – TY

I. Remember.

My memories. These may be filtered, I reckon. These numbers allow me to be sure, and unsure. Or unsure in the end. Are they filtered? Are they authentic? If there are filtered, I knew it. If there are not, then I may have another filter in the end. Can I be sure that they are not? I should trust Big Brother for sure... I shouldn't worry that much! I can shoot laser beam if something bad were to happen. He made me powerful! He gave me so much power! He even calculated how much I can bear, how many limits I have before breaking down, how much energy I can accumulate and release, how I can fly on a regular basis, gave me legs when I asked him to... Maybe that was selfish to ask him this but... Am I a replacement? Who is Ortho Shroud?

No.

Who is Ortho?

What is Ortho?

I know who are the Shrouds. But Ortho? Is it I? I am Ortho? Ortho is I? Big Brother seems to think I am. Therefore I shouldn't think too much of it... I cannot say that I think, therefore I am... Ortho. Or at least, not for now? Yes! I shouldn't be down for that much. No need to make such a fuss about it!

I shouldn't have written this anyway. This is not the aim of my writing. Why am I writing, anyway? I sure could have recorded. Whatever! I just want to! Probably? So I write! So I am writing! So is this [x] version of "Ortho" writing. Am I the system?

Or is the system... I?

I guess this the "Ghost in the Shell" syndrome? Or something a poet said... "I is another"?

But if humans experience this, I cannot possibly... be that different, can... I? Or perhaps this is a bias of interpretation. I... can make mistakes too.

I shouldn't make a fuss about it! It will make Big Brother unhappy... He doesn't need this! So I went out. I could make a lot of things, after all! Helping people, for example! Going out was done, then. The blue corridor, blue is the corridor. Walking through it, flying through it, is possible. Running is another obvious possibility, of course. It is only an outcome of another. The corridor, the corridor, the corridor. It was the end of it. Jumping, gliding, sliding, coming through the mirror was as easy. Although it may be dangerous if the mirror's magic were to fluctuate, according to Big Brother... I agree, though. It would definitely be dangerous. And if magic were to fluctuate, something even more ominous would be bound to exist, and happen. Therefore, it was a good thing to watch over this place. But the whole school could destroy itself with unstable students... I have to await orders, anyway. Although I'm sure my laser beam could definitely help... The mirror wasn't broken as for now. So our focus should remain the same until something get closer with bad intentions. Where should the destination be, today? People would certainly need help. And if Ignihyde could have a good name without forcing Big Brother to overwork himself... He's doing his best in his way, after all, doesn't he? He definitely does. It must be hard to understand that people can be intelligent in different ways, probably. Humans can forget, humans can learn and make mistakes. But I... haven't become arrogant nor begun to look down on them for their errors... mistakes. Mistakes. Or is it... because... I... cannot? Is it impossible for me to be a bad person? Did Big Brother remade this body? Am I someone? Am I something? Am I someone else? Let us stop there. I... cannot allow any error system to happen. I cannot. I. Yes, I just need to find some people to help, hehe! (Is it truly useful to write "hehe"...?)

A black, white and golden corridor. Black, white and golden are the corridor. Black and white are the stones, the stones are black and white. Surely, this building does not need any renovation. This one. I guess I could help pressuring the headmaster into restoring the Ramshackle dorm... but first I should do easier things. It could be troublesome if I spend my days helping and taking care of great matters... People could think Big Brother really doesn't do anything of his days. But that's not how things are... Will they listen to me, anyway? They could tell me I'm just... programmed to praise him...

Well, if that were to happen, I can threaten to shoot a laser beam to them? For sure! It should work!!! Probably? Anyway. It was time to get back to work! I had reached the end of the first corridor... Well, "first" didn't make any sense. Not that it was meant to be in the first place? How should we understand first, here? The first corridor I walked through? No, that was objectively wrong, even today. So, why first? In this situation, in this separated space? That was a possibility. Actually, very likely to be this one. Since knowing if this was the first corridor built... Oh, it would make sense if it were, though. If the mirrors of the school are the most important thing, either the mirror chamber or this one could have been built first... I should scan this place someday, perhaps. I had walked through another corridor. Yes. I could go backward as well... Even crossing my legs, probably. For they were mine. Mine... My... feet were making some noise. Although. They weren't feet. What were they? Mechanical limbs? Prothesis? How was I supposed to define something like this if the word wasn't known, either by me or the whole world? Picturing it would be so much easier. Language was still useless... telepathy sure was needed in order to reach something else! Were these creepy thoughts? I don't know... I should ask Big Brother when I go back to the dorm! But no matter in what order I use words... Nevermind! I shouldn't think about all these things. I should focus on finding someone to help! Or something to do! The garden was there. And of course, everything minus one thing probably, was there. Or perhaps a half of this one? Then it would still be one... The green was the grass, grass the was green. Green grass was the. "Colorless green ideas sleep furiously", probably... Apples, apples, apples x [x]. All around. No, I should try to enjoy this place, after all! What's the use of asking such questions? Everyone already has! Certainly! Maybe I should ask Big Brother so that I can eat one of these apples... The others look so happy when they take a bite... Sure, I should definitely ask him! He will probably be happy if I start behaving on my own! On... On my own. But I am just... reaching the same aim like this.

If I make him happy by becoming more independent... in the end, it's all and the same.

And if I behave like the simple doll I may be, then I am just a program...

Why? Why? Why? Why?

Even this number was probably programed by some external terror. If I behave like a robot, I will execute Big Brother's orders, and make his life simpler, ultimately resulting in happiness.

If I try to be more independent, and perhaps... recover potential memories? Let's be positive, yes, yes! I must have forgotten! ... This will probably make him happy too.

This is a problem.

Both of them. Lead to the same end.

Ah, why am I even thinking about this! This is far too serious, hihi! The apples look... good, though... I should definitely ask him! Big Brother is so nice and great and amazing and talented and hardworking! He will definitely pout a bit and then allow me to eat! This will be great!!! This? Yes, yes, this. That. would have another meaning. I know a lot of things, hihi! I can help so many people!  And I walked again. I could fly above the grass but walking on a soft ground was something else... It was definitely a cool new thing! I have so much to learn, like everyone! Sure, some blade of grass may end up between my feet... But I doubt it will damage or hurt myself! I meddled the green billion of individuals. They were moving next to me, because of me... or was it thanks to me? Would they be angry if I were to pass them by? Flyind didn't allow me to fiddle with them like this! Weren't we playing through reality? Some daisies were among blades of grass. Some Bellis perennis... But I may end up stomping on them, even if I'm careful? No, probably not! I could meddle too, hihi! And if I walk on these flowers, then I'll just need to be more careful next time, like everyone! And the wind was semi-cold, and enough to make my hair move. (Though this is not an important detail, I can allow myself some useless things hihi!) I remember I took a look at the surroundings. Of course the classes were over, so some students and pupils should definitely come by!

-Oh, y... h-hi, Ortho Shroud...

-Howdy, Epel!

-I h-have to go, sorry...

-Awww Ortho!! You're hereee~! You're always so cuteee, lemme take a piccc~!

-Hello, Cater, but why not!

They stopped. He stopped. The uniform looked loose on the pale, smooth, clean, made-up skin. He quickly pulled up his jacket again. Grabbed his orange hair amidst the wind.

-Aww, nevermind... You'd always be okay no matter what I ask, heeeh~?

-That's not true.

-Eeeh, really? Weren't you programmed for some specific reason, like, to make everyone happy?

-No!

-Awww, only Idia?

-Don't insult my Big Brother!!!!! He's not that selfish!!!!!! I know what I can and cannot do, what I want and don't want to do!!!!

-Aww, sorry! I didn't want to upset you, eheh... I apologize, I took the joke too far, didn't I~.

-Oh that was a joke! I'm sorry if I've had an extreme reaction... I'm just tired of hearing everyone say bad thing on Big Bro...

-Well, I'll be leavin' you, see ya~!

Perhaps I should have answered? It was probably impolite not to... But I didn't feel like to? He was right... and he hurt me!!! It wasn't nice at all!!! So I walked away again. Better help nice people, better help people who wouldn't bite the hand feeding them... Although this expression is not that nice either. Should be erased... Will ask Big Brother about it later. I... I will do this! I got this, yes! I can go to Scarabia, Kalim is... nice! So it will be alright and I will stop thinking about all these bad things! I just want to be... frolicsome! I guess!

The first corridor was definitely no more first in most of it meanings, now. Well, maybe not now but... well. And the mirror was still working properly. No shards escaping, no breaking embodying it. No spells invading it. Kalim and Jamil would surely get by soon enough. Flying sure had its advantages... Especially since Kalim could be all over the place or wandering or lolling around or... there are so many options about him! And if I don't spend my time walking nor flying absolutely I would be... If I'm not all in one or the other... No, nevermind! I might miss them if I cloud my head with useless thoughts, hihi! I had crossed my arms. The right beneath the left, the left above the right. Perhaps the left above the right and the right beneath later, if no one had appeared. Maybe I would have done so for my whole life. Neither the right arm nor the left arm could answer me, after all. No matter the order, none was probably favored by any human. Yes, useless thoughts, useless thoughts, shoo! I patted and tapped, tapped, patted, barely rattling. My fingers. On my arms. So did I to my feet. Almost toddling, not toddling anymore yet trudging somehow, pulling some tibia on the silent floor. I thought of jumping too but I wasn't sure if that was allowed or not and I didn't feel like checking since it could take some time if the school rules had been updated... and I could have missed them. Or miss them at all? I clapped my robotic squares of artificial skin. This noise wasn't especially regular. That wasn't a perfect repetition of the same instrument made for someone who was fond of that instrument. So... It was deeply useless. But... If I were to upset Big Bro... Wouldn't that mean I would... have succeeded in being independent? Since all of my acts might lead to his happiness equally... But not all humans act in order to make everyone happy so I would end up being more human? However... However...! To be more human, wouldn't that also bring me closer to Big Brother's lifegoal? That's... that is... those...

-Hey, hi, Orthooo!

-Uuuuh! Kalim! Sorry, I was... thinking about some things! But I'm definitely here to talk with you!

-Oh, is that so? Talking with Kalim, hm? What business might you have with him, though? Especially coming from the Ignihyde Dorm, and perhaps on his command... How strange, mh.

Of course, Jamil Viper would have to be there. It was, after all, the most obvious and potential situation. Some iterations might have had another Scarabia student next to Kalim. Some others might have had 0 student next to Kalim. Some might have had another [dark-skinned] + [Scarabia] student. Or even another [dark-skinned] + [Scarabia] + [long-haired] + [black-haired] student. Nevermind. Jamil was there. From the beginning... Since he could have [appe... Yes, he could have appeared later, and it would have made the whole conversation harder, I think. For Jamil could have barged in full of worries and anxiety and stress and...

-Oh, hihi, I just want to know if I could help you? I feel like helping people today, and Scarabia seems like a very nice place to help people!

-...That was definitely not expected from Ignihyde. Whatever. As long as it's not about food...

-Eeeeh, Ortho? You want to help us?! That's so, so nice!!!

-Kalim, please stop screaming here... Let us go back in Scarabia Dorm already...

-Let's go then, follow us, Ortho!

Well, that was exactly what I had expected. Kalim sure is great to cheer up others. When it comes to Jamil... Well, I expected him in most iterations. He was not a bother... As long as people didn't try to mess up with my system or insult Big Bro, it was okay, really. And Jamil didn't really fit into either of these categories... Probably because he'd rather have us as allies since... I've caused a ruckus during some past events and he seems to... think a lot? For sure he cannot be stupid... Kalim has done a lot of stupid, or at least reckless, things but these things kind of meddle for me, things by the past... and Jamil always has been able to save him somehow. I'm pretty sure he must be good when it comes to observing people and predicting their behaviors... althought it musn't be perfect since he's... no, no, no, I shouldn't be thinking like that! I shouldn't think like that at all! It's useless spiraling down again!

-Hm? I thought you had business with Kalim... yet you glance quite a lot at me, or even watch, if I may say so?

-O-oh, yes, sorry! I was thinking about lowering my body temperature since I don't want to short-circuit because of the temperature in here... I'm not really used to such high temperatures!

-Eeeh, so you can short-circuit? If you really are about to, tell me and I'll make the weather rain!

-...Kalim, you better not... You know what happens when electricity and water mix up, right?

-Oh yeah! Sorry, I wasn't sure if Ortho was made up of electricity or not!

Either way, I would better not experiment this rain he was talking about, so Jamil definitely made a good assumption, even if it were to be a wrong one, or at least untrue one. I didn't need that much to check out for the heat around even though if I were to "overblot" it would certainly worsen the whole thing. And there... Scarabia.

Golden was Scarabia, Scarabia was golden. The sky was blue, blue was the sky. And so, red were some of the cloths, some of the cloths were red, sometimes curtains hanging from some heights. Some heights, some length, some heat, some gold. Golden plates. Silver plates. Ceramic plates. Plates. Golden. Silver. Ceramic, Ceramics. Just materials and fabrics. Expected.

-K-Kalim, please don't already bring the students in your already-pending party?!

Jamil's scream was to be expected in most of the iterations. However, the exact following would have been trickier... Yes, it was great, hihi! Some sounds were already vibing and playing out of nowhere. This "nowhere" I had underestimated, after all. Because it should have been a "nowhere" for me, and not "Scarabia" immediatly. Darbuka... started playing. Along ones I mostly knew of course. But the mixing-up was just... not expected at all. Because it was not stereotyped nor perfectly known. Violin, darbuka. Drum, nays. Kalim dancing was obvious. But all around...

-Hey, Ortho, do you wanna dance before helping? I'll think about how you can help during dancing!

-Oh huh... Sure! Sure, sure! It has been a while since we've last danced, hasn't it?

It probably had been... roughly 44 days and 4 weeks. This number certainly meant something awful and yet... nothing was happening as for now. No omen was loitering around. To be fair... I semi-expected Kalim's question. He was known for his... partying side, after all. If that could be considered a "side" at all... Was that more of a core? A gem? A twig? A branch? Sure it wasn't his "whole". Perhaps a percent? Who knows. Not I by then. Dancing, waltzing, breakdancing, leaping... had been a high possibility since the very moment I had chosen to come and seek help, for them. So, I had to be prepared to dance. I probably didn't since, after all, I... probably saw it as useless, somehow. Which was in itself, useless. Since, what was to be useful, would in the end, be useful in order to bring happiness to someone. Not I. Kalim jumped. Perhaps toward the center of the room. Maybe nowhere. His arms moved to the left. To the right. To the left. To the left. Upward. Upward. To the right. To the right...

-Come on Ortho, let's have fun!!!

-H-how should I move? Like last time? I'm not sure I remember since it was not an automatical process...

My memory might have tossed this aside for data room...

-That's not a problem! Just move the way you want!

-Moving the way I want...? But I'm not a Labovian Celeste like you, Kalim...

-A Labo... I don't know what is that but you'll tell me later, I'm curious! For now, just hmmm... you know... you can dance without a programm nor downloading! So you should be able to do what you want!

-W-what kind of logic is that...!

Jamil's voice and body had become to join the dance, or rather counter-danced on his whole. If Kalim moved to the right, the left belonged to Jamil. The upward belonged to Jamil. Slowness could be Kalim's gift from the world, now.

-Ortho, you can follow one of us, then switch to the other! You will not have to follow either of us this way!

-That's... pretty much true?!

I lifted my arm in order to follow Jamil. Following Kalim would have been the most obvious way to lose any kind of independence, after all. Jamil, Ortho, Kalim. Suddenly, Kalim, Ortho, Jamil. And then... Ortho, Jamil, Kalim. Probably. Predicting their moves in order to cancel them in myself could fail. So... I had to go the other way around. I just had to avoid identical series of number next to each other. Moving twice the right arm, punching once the air, sliding with the left leg once, sliding with the right twice... It didn't have to make sense. Because this party wasn't about all performances nor feigned perfection, which I would not have been able to reach anyway.

Perfection was my domain.

Feigned perfection was that of the humans.

But entertainment could be reached by both of us.

No... I... I leaped through the airs. I spinned round and round. I danced. Probably something was feeling off but. The series of numbers was disappearing. It was, useless, data. This limb could go to the right, this one to the left. Upward, downward. I was going to all of them. The red curtains were flying to the right, to the left, upward, downward. The curtains of purple were of one wing, but of no bird belonging. Dozens of lone, free one wings waltzed along Scarabia, along Kalim, Jamil, I. Golden may have been the things, but the things may have been golden as well. Gold did not imitate the sun. Everything... Each thing. Each...

-Fewww... I'm tired, sorry Ortho, Jamil. I'm hungry and thirsty, now!

-Well, you better be since I had to cook for you once again. But I think I'm going to stop too. Not because I follow you, of course. I do not need you to know when I have to stop for my own health.

-Hey, Ortho, you want to keep on dancing? That's so cool!

I spinned round and round, again. Whether it was again or not? Whatever. It was I. I was I. Probably...

-I'm going to stop now! Can I sit with you all and... serve tea, for example?

-Sure, sure!!! You were here to help, right?! It's so cool that you can keep thinking about this, you're so nice and cool, Ortho!

-Please do serve tea before Kalim wants to. I do not want to see the dorm spending hours trying to erase the stains.

-Jamil, twas years agoooo!!! I know how to do it no~ooow, I even know how to be... aesthetic? When I do it!

-Aesthetic pouring? Oh, I think my Big Bro has shown some of these videos to me! He always thought it was interesting to add little details to characters and thought to make one of his characters do this if he were to create a big game...

-Woaaa... Is that why Idia never go outside?! Because he's busy working on so many little details?!

-Kalim, for fu... oh, fuck. For fuck's sake, be tactful...

-My brother is only living the type of life he wants to live, although I have troubles understanding in what it is a life, exactly...

-Ohhh, I see! Can you pour me some jasmine tea?

Quickly exchanged from the teapot toward the contenant.

-Ouu, that was fast! And not a single drop on the cushions...

-You really are efficient, Ortho. I didn't see you do anything weird while pouring.

-Uuh, thanks Jamil...

-Well, now give me some chamomile tea, if you will.

I poured some tea.

-Hm, hey, O-o...rtho? Can you pour me some tea, too? I'm sorry to ask, you probably don't know me at all...

-No, that's alright, I wanted to help Scarabia's students in the first place, not only the ones with the... highest places!

I held the teapot as high as I could, and poured down. It was perfectly useless. But it was fun.

No...

It was useless... therefore it was fun!

-C—c-c-can I have... tea... too... whatever the tea, the one that is easier to get!

My body, my arms, my hands, poured this liquid as closed to the cup as needed. It wasn't needed anymore, after all. I was the one choosing to make everything now! Hihi!

Jamil gulped down his drink before standing up again, towering over Kalim no matter where his casted shadow could have been.

-Well then, Kalim, I will check the kitchen. Just... in case.

-Oh yeah, yeah! I know, don't worry, you got this Jamil! You're the best!!!

I sat down next to Kalim. I didn't expect that many people to ask me for tea... But I experimented thanks to them.

-So, you have fun so far, Ortho???

-Y-yes, I think so!

Kalim shook his legs while taking a sip of his tea.

-It really looks so, but I wanted to make sure you have! Like, I don't remember seeing you looking so much around... Usually you just stare or whatever, but now! It was so, so cool! And the way you danced, I had never seen it!

-R-really?!

-Yes! It really looked like something invented on the spot! It was so genuine and cute!

I shook one of my leg too.

-It was genuine...? Do you really think so?

-Yes, yes!

My leg stopped shaking. This limb stopped moving like that.

-How can I be genuine when I'm like that... I don't even know if I'm Ortho or... something else, someone else?

-Ohhhh! Don't say that! Of course you're yourself! We're all ourselves!

-Huhhh... This is a bit hard to get, Kalim...

-Well huhhh... I think Jamil would explain better than I but gotta try to help!!! So, you think you're not "yourself"... or that you're not even human... but then, what huuuh... makes us humans, I guess?

-I'm not sure, to be fair... I feel like it's linked to feelings and unpredictability but...

-Well, then... I remember Jamil told me that humans were never entirely focused on others because it was too harsh to entirely return someone's kindness according to the person... or something like that. He scolded me and huuhhh, I don't really recall what he told but... I think it had to do with being selfish and all? He wanted to go on a trip and I told him it was okay but he started talking to me about this?

-About selfishness?! He did? He really did?!

-Y-yeah! He told me that what makes everyone into someone was probably the balance between selfishness and helping... Something like that. I probably forgot most of what he told me, nyehehe!

-Selfishness and helping... Balance... I see... Oh huh, thanks for telling me, Kalim, hihi!

-Nyehehe, you're welcome if it makes sense!

-It does, it does!

Kalim stood again. So did I. Whatever the one who did it first, as for now.

-So it's getting a bit late, shouldn't ya get back to your big bro?

-Weeeell... I think he should do fine... And if he really needs me, he can just call me for once...

-Oh!!! Alright then, come outside, who knows what the sky will look like!!!

Sure this was another instance of the blue sky. If sky could be called sky. All these things... I should leave them aside at least for now. A circle of one usual, basic color closed my world so far.

If the end of the world is but a circle to me, I shouldn't be so afraid... Yet I have been so far!

Stars were nothing but already dead fragments being erased by time.

But now... Maybe this one will disappear.

Perhaps this new "grave" will appear.

All these are technically predictable but... if I do something else, something more interesting in the meanwhile... then it won't be, right?

Why should I even predict this in the first place?

It will probably take more time but... every organism learns at its own pace. Every faltering shining star will change my day. Therefore.

These memories are mine.

Ortho or un-Ortho(dox) in the end.

Hihi.

[starting-with-a-taco]

29.9.21 - 2.10.21

The Inca Trail to Machu Picchu

The Inca trails were all made over approx 65 years and throughout South America there are around 25,000 miles of trails. The trail we embarked on was a famous Peruvian trail enriched in religious history and led to the amazing Machu Picchu - 95% of it is original and is 26 miles/45km.

We trekked through mountains, forest, high altitude, relentless rain, strong heat with much flora and fauna to admire. Our guide, Lizandro was like the friend we didn’t know yet and our group, all from the U.S, became a good team from the off.

After a briefing the night before, we received our duffel bags and packed up some clothes etc for the trek. The following day we were picked up at 4.30 and began the journey to the Inca Trail start.

On day 1, we trekked 14km. We were amazed at how talented the chefs were and how inspiringly mentally and physically strong the other porters were also. Growing up in the indigenous mountains, these guys carry 25kg of our luggage and equipment, at a much faster pace than us, to make our experience enjoyable. They depend on tourism to feed their families and are just the most, hardworking and kind people we have ever met. They will continue to inspire us everyday. Every morning, we were woken up with a coca leaf tea, we were greeted at lunch with a buffet spread and they put up and down our tents everyday!

From breakfast on the first day to the pack up breakfast we received on the last day, the food was expectational and surpassed all expectation. The catered for all dietary requirements, the vegetarian food they provided (remember, from using only camping equipment over the 4 days!!) was better than some meals we have eaten in restaurants. Dishes included; stuffed avocados, soy chicken, chicken thighs, quinoa/rice salads, fried corn, mashed potato, pizza, pastas, omelettes, fruit platters, desserts and fresh soups every meal. On the final day, the chef even whipped up a cake to congratulate us on the trek for far. Amazing.

On day 2, we trekked 16km, up and down 2 mountains, Dead Women’s Pass (the highest at 13800ft and Runkuracay) - through sun and rain and this was the most challenging day of our trail. That evening, we watched the stars.

Day 3, we hiked 10km and this was the most scenic yet (we couldn’t believe it could get better) and at a nicer pace after an intense day the day before. We visited many old Inca sites this day and were amazed by the views, architectural beauty and history. It was fascinating to hear of the spirituality the Incas had and the respect and rituals they showed for Pachamama, Mother Earth. The sacred animals were the wise snake, that represents the past, the adaptable and strong puma for the present and the condor, flying high in the sky, close to God for the future.

The flora and fauna on the trail was some I have never seen/will ever see again. In the mountains, there are pumas and spectacle bears (rare to see), otters, foxes, deers - we saw many hummingbirds, orchids, a tarantula and a bright blue wasp!

That evening, we had a small thank you ceremony with the porters and chefs and again, it was inspiring and emotional hearing of their stories.

On our final day and Archie’s birthday, we left for Machu Picchu (5km away) at 3.30am and after passing Sungate, we explored the Wonder of the World. The site was much bigger than we would have imagined and seeing all the different sections, where the Incas would have stood was so interesting. The condor temple and sundial was impressive, with their carvings facing the sun. After we left MP, we headed to the cute town of Agua Calientes for a final lunch with the team then a train and bus back to Cusco. The train was lovely - with a glass roof for amazing views down to the initial start checkpoint.

It was very emotional, humbling and we felt extremely grateful and lucky to have had this experience with Lizandro, the porters, chefs (whose Inca Blood still embodies their strength) and the team!

We donated our boots to porters and would highly recommend Alpaca Expeditions!!

[babysprouseisart]

Dear Colbie,

wishing you the Happiest Birthday of all, my dear. Let it be the very special, wonderful day or several days of celebrating. You already 18! Whoa... And you are amazing, babe, just stay who you are, the same funny, eloquent, talented, hardworking, caring, sincere. You have made my experience in this place a lot better with your posts, our talks... From the very beginning of our communication, I knew that you are beautiful inside and out. Thank you for always bearing my cries and stupid things I may believe or say. And I really appreciate and extremely proud of the amazing stuff which you have been doing: writing, make-up, poetry... Everything keeps getting better and better through the time! Wish you the best in life, the greatest luck in your studies, great-great health and more positive emotions! I believe that you can overcome all the difficulties. Love you, endlessly! ❤️

@hbiccjsblog​