#outdoor enthusiast seemed more suited to the challenge | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

rheallsim · 3 years

Photo

Who will be the last sim standing? Place your bets now…!

Thousands applied, but only eight were chosen… these are the sims hoping to be the Last Sim Standing!

Deep in the Strangerville Desert lies a derelict plane, left exposed to the elements since it crashed there of unknown causes over fifty years ago. The rusted remains of sun-bleached metal hide a dark secret, however… deep beneath the wreck lies a massive complex filled with dastardly tasks meant to challenge our contestants to determine- through luck and sheer force of will- which one is worthy of the title of Last Sim Standing.

But more on the compound later. Just what is it these sims are competing for?

It’s not just glory that awaits them, though that would definitely be enough of a prize on its own. The winner will also receive §1,000,000 (tax-free!), a lavishly furnished mansion in Del Sol Valley, and the chance to live out their lives as they see fit in the background of a frequently played save file. What more could a sim ask for? ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Without further ado, let’s meet our eight contestants! Like our compound, many of them also hide dark secrets of their own. They are…

1: Mimi LeBeurre

Mimi is a neat, erratic foodie with a passion for baking. Don’t let her sweet looks fool you though… not all who have tasted her goodies survived it… She’s a tough cookie and ready to rock this challenge!

(Sim and blurb by @kimbr3)

2: Penelope Garcia

Her official title is “Technical Analyst”, but some say her talents are better suited to more… anonymous pursuits. Under the alias “The Black Queen” she used her hacking skills to reroute millions of dollars from shady off-shore corporate accounts into the coffers of charities and non-profits. Some call her a modern-day Robin Hood, but they don’t know about the hundreds of thousands she skimmed to line her own pockets (and fund her obsessive Funko Pop collection)… She managed to avoid jail-time by becoming a consultant for the FBI, and now uses her skills to track down and convict cyber criminals just like herself. She’s become the thing she once hated most, but she seems totally fine with that.

(Sim by ACMWhitney (Origin ID), blurb by me.)

3: Rufus Dunbrow

If there’s a health fad out there, Rufus was probably a part of it at one point. Juicing? Been there. Enemas? He’s had so many he’s lost a lot of feeling down there and now needs to wear adult diapers to bed. Detoxifying, cleansing, miracle pills, homeopathic cure-alls, IV “therapies”… he’s done it all, so much so that if he donated his body to science they’d probably turn it down.

It may be obvious, but he’s obsessed with his body image. This has lead him in recent years to start working out; a noble goal, except the results weren’t as instantaneous as he would have liked. So, he got a little help from a friend- and their magic syringe filled with steroids, hormones, and other chemicals- to help him instantly “bulk up”.

He probably couldn’t lift a baby if you asked him, but hey, at least he looks good. He spends his time strutting around trying to pick people up at the beach in Del Sol Valley. He’s rarely successful, but that doesn’t stop him from trying. Who wouldn’t want a ride on the Dunbrow Train to Boneville?

(Sim by @shoobysims, blurb by me.)

4: Kristie Sewell

This is Kristie. She’s a “famous” simstagram model who thinks the world revolves around her and she’s allowed to do anything just because she has a couple followers. Her traits are snob, mean and jealous and she really acts like it!

She’s a vegan but doesn’t realize that vegans shouldn’t wear real fur, she also eats chicken because it’s “not real meat”. She wears dreads and will bring up vikings when you try to educate her about cultural appropriation. She also wears a saree as formal wear because her simdian yoga guru said “You can wear anything you want!” and she didn’t realize he meant she could wear any athletic wear for the yoga class.

She uses slurs on the regular and if you call her out on any of this? She will post a teary-eyed snapchat non-apology rant and if you don’t accept that as an apology she’ll claim that you’re just jealous of her.

(Sim and blurb by @mooodlet)

5: Jacob Daramus

This is Jacob. How to describe him? An outdoor enthusiast, avid mountaineer, kombucha master, possibly a serial killer…

Well, many who have gone mountain climbing with him have never returned. He claims it’s just a coincidence, but locals think differently.

Who knows, maybe all the hardships of this challenge will loosen his lips, and he will confess his crimes.

He’s innocent until proven otherwise.

(Sim and blurb by @bakersimmer)

6: Monica Rawls

Monica always loved animals. Growing up on a farm in the boonies meant she was always surrounded by them. Whenever she found a sick or injured animal she would bring it home and beg her parents to let her nurse it back to health. Despite her good intentions, however, few of her charges ever made a full recovery… and being a good farmer’s daughter, she always thought: “Why let them go to waste?” 🤔

Nowadays she self-publishes a cookbook on how to make that perfect “Memorial Meal” for your pet- after they’ve passed, of course. From Parakeet Parmesan to Rotisserie Horse Legs, she’s got you covered for when the only way to move on from the loss of your pet is to make them into a Grand Meal worth remembering.

(Sim by by TheTazzaful (Origin ID), blurb by me.)

7: Kellissa Miller

Kelly Miller always thought she was too good for college. So, she dropped out, changed her name to Kellissa - with two L’s and two S’s, she’ll get mad if you misspell it - and went to pursue her true goal: being famous. She’s tried some acting, singing, playing instruments, but so far nothing. It’s not only the lack of talent: surprisingly, she’s quite a decent musician, but her personality… Oh, she’s rally nice and friendly. As long as you don’t stand in her spotlight. You DO NOT wanna stand in her spotlight. When she heard somebody was organizing a Last sim standing challenge, she had to sign in: becoming famous is worth dying for!

(Sim and blurb by @oswanily)

8: Milo Rees

Milo Rees is the son of two extremely rich and wealthy sims who appears to be a successful artist. One problem, though… he doesn’t actually want to do any of the work needed to be an artist. He just wants to party and enjoy the finer things in life without having to work for them, so his parents forge artworks for him and sell them under his name. Honestly, his number one reason for signing up for this challenge is that it gets his parents off his back about actually working on his painting skills for a while.

(Sim and blurb by @blackfern)

Those are our contestants! Which begs the question… who do you think will be the Last Sim Standing?

Vote here!

(You won’t win anything if you guess correctly, I’m just super interested in who the fan favourite will be. :D You can vote as often as you like, no restrictions!)

The game starts soon… ⏱

[Review the challenge rules here!]

#TS4 Last Sim Standing Challenge #Last Sim Standing Challenge #TS4 LSSC #LSSC #TS4 Challenge #TS4 Gameplay #TS4 #S4 #The Sims 4 #Sims 4 #tw: death

32 notes · View notes

2manyfandoms2count · 3 years

Text

I love you (not) - Chapter 4

Slightly late for @marichatmay day 4, yesterday was kind of a long day and this chapter just kept getting longer. Oops. Ft. real cats, and a nod to Star Wars day (belated May the Fourth be with you). Enjoy!

First | Previous | AO3 | Next

---

Chapter 4: In which the flirting continues and an attempt to break up is thwarted. Again.

Marinette almost turned around the moment she saw Chat Noir standing next to the café, looking at the cats on the other side of the window.

Well, had it just been her partner, she would have walked straight up to him without a second thought, and diligently sat through their date, only to apologise at the end of it, saying that she’d fallen in love with an image, and that she didn’t think they belonged together.

What (for ‘who’ was a little presumptuous a pronoun) stood in front of her was a figure in a cardboard rendering of Chat Noir’s suit, complete with paper bell, tail, and cardboard baton. She would have forgiven its use as a disguise, even though the details kind of defeated the purpose, had the reflection of the headpiece’s eye hole not revealed that he was actually transformed underneath.

Nope , she thought at the sight. Can’t do this, nope, nope, nop-

“Marinette!” Chat Noir spotted her just as she was about to leave, and started enthusiastically waving at her.

She plastered a smile on her face, and clutched her purse as she made her way towards him. Kwami, give me strength . She wondered if ridicule was a good enough excuse to break up with someone. It wasn’t very nice, but she was getting desperate for an excuse.

“Cardboard Noir, I presume?” Her voice had an exasperated edge to it, which Chat didn’t pick up on.

“The one and only!” He twirled around to give her the full 360° view of the costume. She could tell that he was grinning under the helmet.

“To what do I owe the… pleasure?”

“Anonymity, obviously.” He rolled his eyes. “Wouldn’t want this date to finish in the tabloids, am I right?”

Sure, because somebody in a piece of cardboard is so much more inconspicuous than somebody who might be wearing a Chat Noir cosplay in a cat café , she rolled her eyes as she saw people passing by and doing double takes as they walked past him, but kept her point to herself.

“How... thoughtful of you.” She smiled slightly tensely.

“Isn’t it?” Chat Noir extended his kraft paper-covered arm and she took it awkwardly for the couple of steps that separated them from the café’s door.

Chat hurried forward to open the door for her. “After you, my… Princess.” He bowed.

She bit back a smug smile as the bells jingled above her head. The nickname "my Lady" would totally have been justified in this situation, yet he’d refrained from using it. She deduced that it must be too attached to Ladybug; maybe there was hope that he still had a crush on her alter ego. She could work with that.

She walked into the shop, and almost tripped on an orange tabby cat who’d apparently been making the most of the sunspot on the other side of the door. It looked up at her indignantly even as she petted him to apologise, but didn’t move.

Behind her, a grey sphynx tried to make a run for it, but Chat picked it up and closed the door before he could cross the threshold.

“Hi there! Welcome to the C afé des Chats . How can I help you today?” A woman emerged from the back room, wiping her hands on her cat-themed apron. Her name, Cathy, was embroidered on it.

“Hello! Could we get a table for two, please?” Marinette smiled.

“Of course! Pick a spot!”

Marinette looked around the room. Apart from a small group of friends sitting near the window, and who were too engrossed in laughing and taking pictures of the cats to acknowledge their presence, all the seats were empty.

“How about that table over there?” Chat leaned towards her ear and pointed towards a cozy booth at the back of the room. She jumped slightly at the sudden proximity. He didn’t notice, as the cat in his arms started meowing, and Cathy came out from behind the counter to take it in her arms.

“Oh, let me take Yoda off your hands. Did he try running away again?” She cradled him, the cat purring as she did.

“Yes, I feel like he might take after his namesake and like the outdoors more.” Chat joked.

“Maybe I should have picked another name for him, then. It would save me a lot of time looking for him around the neighborhood.” Cathy laughed. “I’ll let you two get installed, I’ll be right with you.”

The pair made their way towards their table, Chat letting Marinette take the couch while he pulled out the chair facing her. He sat on the very edge of his seat, the cardboard taking up most of the space. They both picked up the menu, and ordered their drinks (and a lightsaber-themed pistachio éclair for Chat), when Cathy came around.

Marinette tapped her fingers together as they waited, trying to find a conversation topic. She decided to acknowledge the smaller elephant in the room.

“You know, I think we’re okay now, you can take off your costume.” Marinette pointed out. He looked like he could fall off his chair at any moment.

“Are you ashamed of me?” His hand flew to his chest, almost knocking his paper bell off.

“Me? Never!” she scoffed.

“Good, because this isn’t coming off anytime soon.” Chat Noir crossed his arms over his chest. She could tell he was smirking under his headpiece.

“I wouldn’t be so sure about that…” It was Marinette’s turn to smirk, as Cathy arrived and put down two cups of hot chocolate, and Chat’s pâtisserie, in front of them.

“Is that a challenge?” Chat’s eyebrow shot up, and he turned towards Cathy. “Excuse me, Ma’am, would you happen to have a straw I could use?”

The lady blinked at him a couple of times, perplexed, before realising he was serious. “I probably do, let me go check in the pantry.”

“You’re not seriously doing this.” Marinette facepalmed.

“I’m just showing the one thing you should know about me if you want to date me; I don’t back down from challenges.” He thanked Cathy, who’d returned, and started poking a hole in his headset.

Trust me, I know that , Marinette sighed. “I take it back. It’s not a challenge. Just take your… mask off, and enjoy your order. Please?”

Chat Noir squinted at her suspiciously. “You pawmise that you’re fine with this?”

“Absolutely. I just want you to be more comfortable.”

“Fine.” He took off his headpiece, making his hair stick up from static electricity.

Marinette stifled a giggle.

“What?”

“Nothing,” she cleared her throat, pulled her phone out and snapped a picture, before showing the screen to him. “I just like what you did to your hair.”

“Ah, yes. Beautiful,” her partner laughed. “I wonder what Gabriel Agreste would think about it.”

“I actually think he’d love it. It kind of looks like his haircut.” Marinette snorted.

“Yeah, that won’t do.” Some colour drained from his cheeks as he shook his head and tried to flatten his hair. The real bell under his costume jingled as he did so.

Marinette was about to ask why he seemed so upset about the comparison when a black cat jumped up on their table, looking at Chat’s éclair with interest.

“Hey, Chat Noir? Looks like you have some competition for your tea…” She took a sip of her hot chocolate and sighed happily as the rich aroma hit her taste buds.

“What?” He stopped wiggling around, his hair having regained its normal appearance. “Oh. No, no, kitty, this isn’t for you.” He slid the plate away from it. The cat tilted its head and meowed. “Being all cute won’t work on me, I’m cuter. Meow .”

“Hmm, I’m not sure about that.” Marinette stroked the cat’s head, making it walk towards her and purr. “This one is pretty adorable. Pincushion,” she read off its tag. “How original.”

“You’re not even saying it’s a claw-se call? You wound me, Marinette.” Chat gasped, before taking a bite of his éclair. “You know, I’m not sure I could be with someone who doesn’t think I’m cute.”

Marinette rolled her eyes affectionately. “Kitty, I think you know very well what I think,” she replied, putting a hand over his on the table. He gulped down the rest of his éclair, and stared into her eyes.

Pincushion meowed again after what she knew was too long for friends to gaze at each other, and Marinette jolted, feeling herself blush. Why had she done that? She should have just gone with it, it would have made everything easier. You know, Chat Noir, I definitely don’t think you’re cute. Let’s get the bill and be on our way…

Chat Noir cleared his throat, and waved towards Cathy. “Well, this was nice, but it’s getting a little late, isn’t it? Could I have the bill, please?”

“Yes, you’re right, we should probably get going… Wait a second, what do you mean could I have the bill? We’re splitting this.”

“No we’re not. I ordered the most.” Chat shot her a pointed look.

“Fine, then let me pay for my own drink, then.”

“Meow way! I invited you! I meant it when I said my treat!”

“Yes, but…” Marinette scrambled for an excuse, cursing her brain which had decided to notice that Chat’s cheeks seemed quite pink, and that she thought it looked good on him, especially combined to his slightly dishevelled hair.

“I’ll tell you what; if you really think I don’t owe you anything, then just consider this an advance for my birthday. You can pay me back in macarons.” Chat’s eyes lit up hungrily as he interrupted her.

“Your birthday?” Marinette tilted her head quizzically. “Is that soon?”

Chat froze in his seat. Ladybug had warned him about this. They weren’t supposed to share anything about their personal lives, with anyone. Just in case it landed in the wrong ears.

Besides, his birthday wasn’t until September. Which, since he’d invited her on this date, she could interpret as him thinking their relationship would last that long. Which he really hoped it wouldn’t (the romantic one, that is - he still wanted to be friends with Marinette behind the mask).

“Erm, yeah, it’s… Next week?” He scratched the back of his neck nervously. That seemed alright in terms of timeline.

“So soon…” Marinette trailed off, looking at the empty cup before her. Her partner’s birthday seemed like something she should know, yet as much as she raked her brain, she couldn’t recall a single conversation they’d had on the topic. “Does Ladybug know?”

“Oh, no. I wouldn’t want her to make a fuss.” He waved her concern away, and swiftly stole the credit card machine from Cathy as she returned with it. He tapped his card on it, looking Marinette straight in the eye as he did.

“Chat Noir!” She cried out indignantly. She’d been too engrossed in the consideration that she couldn’t decently break up with him now when his birthday was just around the corner, to anticipate his next move.

“Sorry, Princess.” He smiled smugly as he thanked the café owner and took his receipt. “In my defence, it makes me feel better about eating so much when I came over to your place for lunch, when I’d only brought a flower as a present.”

Marinette held his gaze for a bit, and, seeing his earnestness, she sighed. “Fine.”

“Thank you.” He nodded, and then turned towards Cathy, who was awkwardly shuffling next to their table.

“Is everything alright, Ma’am?”

“I’m sorry, I don’t want to intrude, but… are you really Chat Noir?” She asked hopefully.

“See, the costume is inconspicuous!” Chat Noir exclaimed, sticking his tongue out at Marinette. “I mean, yes, I am.”

“I’d totally understand if you said no, but would you mind taking a picture with some of the cats? I’m happy to keep it to myself, and not put it up with the other cat pictures if you’d prefer, it’s just that I’m such a huge fan…”

“I’d love to!” Chat Noir jumped to his feet and started peeling his disguise off. “Would it be okay if my… Marinette was in the picture with me?” He winced at the formulation of his question. He wasn’t sure if it was worse than if he’d called her his girlfriend.

“Yes, of course! Here, let me grab Yoda, and maybe Pincushion and…”

Marinette didn’t have time to explore the warm feeling Chat calling her “his” Marinette, in a very excited and pure way, had elicited in her chest, as Cathy shoved a cat in her arms and pushed Chat next to her on the couch. She grinned for the photographer, feeling a blush creep up her cheeks.

“Purr-fect!” Chat beamed as Cathy showed them the picture.

She melted a little at how happy he looked, chatting away to figure out a way to get a copy of the picture. I can’t hurt him, not now , she thought as she nodded along and gave her number to Cathy so she could send her the shot.

What she could do, though, was try to figure out a birthday present for him. Something useful, that he’d be able to keep when she broke up with him after they broke up, probably a week after she gave it to him.

She thought about it all the way Home.

#yoda is actually a real cat from a parisian cat café #he was cute #marichat may 2021 #marichat may #miraculous ladybug #the miraculous tales of ladybug and cat noir #ml #miraculous fanfiction #miraculous fanfic #marichat #marinette dupain-cheng #chat noir #day 4: café #elle writes #love you (not)

32 notes · View notes

imjeralee · 4 years

Text

Request: Holiday (Part 1), Raihan x Reader

Requested by elisanice.

This was a pretty big request so I've had to split it up. The first part is essentially -

Summary: Raihan has 4 days off so you and Raihan go on holiday.

Whenever I write requests I end up feeling like its some sort of extension to Wallflower haha. Like when reader and Raihan are more advanced in their relationship...maybe when a few years have passed.

Format: Drabble/one (two-shot, potentially lol)

Notes: SFW

It was another peaceful day in your house in Hammerlocke when you hear the front door opening and you look up from the book you were reading to head over; you see your boyfriend at the doorway, removing his shoes.

“Welcome home!” you say excitedly as you dash towards him, and as he looks up, he greets you with a wide grin.

“Babe!” he exclaims, grabbing you by the waist and lifting you high in the air (but still being careful so you would not smack your head against the ceiling) before he spins you around in a circle.

This is usually how you greet your boyfriend when he comes home from work at the stadium but he seems to be in an elevated mood and you wonder if something’s happened.

“I have four days off,” he proceeds to tell you excitedly, “Let’s go on holiday.”

“Holiday?”

“Yeah,” he replies, “There are no scheduled matches until for two weeks and I wanna spend time with you.”

Your lip wobbles at once as you contemplate his words; true, Raihan could spend this precious time perfecting some battle strategies or training his pokemon to prepare for his next exhibition match with Leon but he wants to go with you on vacation so you appreciate the thought; wrapping your arms around his head, you snuggle him against your bosom and he chuckles when you let go to clasp his cheeks together, leaning over to smother him with kisses all over his cheeks and nose.

“C’mon, let’s look at plane tickets and hotels,” he murmurs with a grin.

With an enthusiastic nod and smile, Raihan lets you down and you head into the lounge where you both huddle on the couch over your Rotom phones with your feet up and your toes rubbing together as you look up information and details.

In a very short amount of time, you and Raihan have decided to book two return tickets to Unova; you’ll be staying at one of the popular resorts in Undella Town.

You’ve both always wanted to go and it would be good to venture out and see what it’s like in the region. Unfortunately, your credit card limit is too low to cover the price of the flights and resort for two people so it’s up to Raihan to complete the bookings which he’s more than happy to do so anyway.

You will handle the itinerary; it appears Nimbasa City will take up most your time since it’s so large and there are so many things to do. Raihan is a big shopper so there are many department stores he wants to visit. You will also attend one of the baseball games in the stadiums and you also recall there are Pokemon Musicals to watch so you book tickets for a showing in the late evening.

Due to the short notice, you’re taking a flight at dawn so you and Raihan pack as quickly and efficiently as you can before you head off to bed after a quick meal with your pokemon.

In a few hours, you wake up to make your way to Galar International Airport.

For you, it’s a bit of a challenge since you are so sleepy and the flight is quite long, and it doesn’t improve when you have arrived at Mistralton, you’re both feeling extremely weary so you make your way to Undella Town as hastily as possible; this is where the Corviknight taxi would really come in handy but unfortunately Unova and many other regions advocate flying on your own pokemon so you and Raihan have no choice but to fly on Flygon.

Whilst Raihan seats you snugly in front of him on his pokemon, he battles to stay awake for the brief flight whilst you snore and drool over his arm as he holds you tightly around the waist to stop you from falling off along the way.

Thankfully, the concierges at Mistralton airport will send your luggage to the resort in Undella Town for a fee which Raihan paid of course.

You eventually stir awake and you open your eyes to see Raihan and Flygon have taken you to the resort and you yawn and rub your eyes as Raihan slips off the dragon and hoists you up and into his arms.

You cling to him like a baby as he recalls Flygon and carries you up the steps with a grin; a bellboy comes running up to open the doors for you and Raihan enters the establishment, still with you snuggling against him.

“Is she okay?” one of the bellboys ask, but Raihan merely rubs your back soothingly.

“She’s just a little airsick.”

You are most certainly not but it seems Raihan enjoys carrying you like this, and in public too. Regardless, the early hour means there’s not a single soul in sight so he can get away with it.

He checks in at the front desk and the receptionist hands over the hotel room key and bids you both a warm welcome after she goes over the amenities which were already advertised on the website. Raihan also asks for a wakeup call in the afternoon.

“Have a great stay!” the receptionist exclaims once everything is accounted for, “Enjoy your honeymoon!”

As Raihan carries you towards the directions of the elevators, you groggily open your eyes. “Did she just say….honeymoon?”

“Yep. I told ‘em we’re on our honeymoon and we got upgraded at no extra cost.”

With widened eyes, Raihan carries you into the elevator as you splutter and go pink in the cheeks. He lets you down and once the lift arrives at your floor, you find the honeymoon suite hand-in-hand and Raihan unlocks it where you emit a gasp of awe at the luxuriousness of it all.

The room is huge! There’s a king-sized bed in the middle of the room facing the beach, the covers are sprinkled with rose petals with towels folded into swans. There is also a bottle of chilled champagne on the bedside table along with two glasses. To the left of the room is an outdoor area sectioned by glass and curtains controlled by electric remote control that leads to a jacuzzi and infinity pool.

“Holy shit, Rai!” you squawk, realizing your boyfriend has gone all out for you.

“Hehe, you like it?” he says with a grin.

“I love it!” you exclaim before you turn round to throw your arms around him tightly.

Raihan immediately plucks you off the ground again, scooping his large hands under your ass and you wrap your legs around his waist; leaning forwards, he presses his lips tightly against yours and walks you over to the bed where he drops you over the duvet and keeps you pinned to the mattress with his hands gripping your wrists before he attacks your cheeks, lips and neck with deep kisses, causing you to giggle.

As he peppers you with kisses, you turn your head to the side as he lets go of you and you glance up to see the massive TV to your right and the plushy couches. There is also a door that leads to the bathroom where a pristine, white marble tub sits in the middle lined with unlit candles.

You hoot with excitement, giddily pointing to the bath but Raihan takes your chin with his hand, forcing you to look at him and his blue eyes meet yours for a brief second before he crushes his lips over yours once more.

You smile as you slide your arms around the back of his neck, kissing him passionately in return. Grinning against your mouth, Raihan begins trailing his lips down and over your collarbone and to your stomach, attempting to lift your shirt up; when he arrives at your pants, he’s keen to get you out of them until he hears a light snore from the back of your throat and he swerves his gaze back up to see that your eyes are closed, mouth half-open.

You’re fast asleep.

Raihan stops and blinks owlishly, before he smiles at you haplessly and lifts you gently into his arms; once you’re propped up in his lap, he peels back the covers and tucks you inside.

You have a long day ahead.

…

The ringing of the phone forces you to stir and you open your eyes only to be met with darkness - the curtains has been drawn - and Raihan is spooning you from behind on the bed.

You yawn, stretch and grasp blindly for the phone which should be placed on top of the bedside table, picking up the phone and bringing the receiver to your ear only for an automated voice telling you it’s the wake up call that was ordered.

“Rai…” you mutter as you put the phone down. “It’s time to get up…”

You hear him groaning incoherently behind you before he squeezes you tightly around the waist and buries his nose into your hair and neck. “Mmphh…”

Reaching behind you, you gently pat him on the arm and the side of his face. “C’mon…”

“Nmm…fine…” he finally pulls his face out of your neck and grabs your hand, and you both sit up in bed side-by-side, emitting huge yawns.

Nimbasa City is your destination today so after getting ready, you fly on your pokemon to the electric city.

In an effort not to be recognized, Raihan has changed into a casual, oversized hoodie with gaping pockets and matching baggy pants along with a white pair of sneakers. He thinks he’ll get spotted easily if he wears his statement orange headband so he swaps it for a black cap which he places neatly over his head though they do hold his dreadlocks down. He even dons a pair of expensive, designer shades in order to remain anonymous as possible.

When you go out with him, this is something you’re rather used to so you think nothing of it and once you arrive at the city, you stare at the huge and towering buildings that are lit up with huge billboards and adverts with all sorts of pokemon on them before you spot the ferris wheel and rollercoasters in the distance. It appears to be a complete entertainment zone itself which could even rival Wyndon.

You and Raihan walk around aimlessly for a few minutes or so just to get a feel of the area until Raihan spots the nearest department store.

“Let’s go,” he says, and you walk hand-in-hand towards the building; Raihan is quite the shopaholic compared to you.

In fact, you’re hardly into fashion and designer labels, what’s in season and what’s not. All you need is a pair of comfy shoes and sweater and you’d be fine.

The moment you step in and you realise it’s a totally different world inside and that it is rather high class; Raihan still blends in well with his height and the airy confidence he carries whereas you find yourself dawdling by his side, looking left and right and clearly not at home.

You feel the shop assistants can tell you are working class from your clothes, the dowdy bag you’re carrying and also the dirt on your shoes – you clearly cannot afford anything here and they wonder why you are here in the first instance. They regard you from head to toe along the way as you and Raihan check out some of the items for sale, oblivious to their judgemental stares.

“Isn’t that Raihan?” you hear one of the staff members muttering to themselves, “And is that his girlfriend?”

Despite the effort to blend in, you didn’t realise you and Raihan would still be recognizable. You stick by your boyfriend’s side as much as possible but he’s still oblivious to the growing whispers and murmurs that surround you. It’s possibly because he’s so used to the attention; whilst you notice a few girls staring at your direction inquisitively, Raihan busily looks through the clothing racks and barely bats an eyelid to them.

As you continue shopping, he tries on several hats and sunglasses and asks you how he looks whilst you merely show him a thumbs up. You have not been inside the store for an hour and Raihan has already purchased a few statement articles.

He’s got good taste and he has the money, whereas you obviously don’t so you’re left trailing after him as he picks out random hoodies and t-shirts and shirts and pants and trying them on and asking for your opinion along the way. The shopping bags begin to pile up and you help, balancing one in each hand and some hanging over the bend of your elbows.

You wonder if you will ever see something you like and it happens when you spot a few dresses along the way which are very pretty and as you stop to stare and subtly find the price tag, your eyes widen when you see that it costs eight hundred thousand pokedollars.….holy Furret…if that dress costs eight thundred thousand, you cannot fathom how much everything else here costs.

Raihan is loaded. You kind of knew Raihan was rich from his work and sponsors but you didn’t realise he was that filthy stinking rich!

With that money, you can think of many other items or things to do with that money… and you immediately let go of the dress to return to his side; Raihan grins as you linger by his side, staring longingly at the dress on display.

“What’s wrong? Did you like that dress?” he asks, noticing your glum expression.

“Yeah, but it’s way too expensive.”

“If you want anything, let me know. I’ll get it for you.”

You shake your head firmly. “No, it’s okay, Rai.”

He observes you carefully, noticing how you slide your gaze to your shoes, looking rather forlorn. “It’s okay, babe, I’ll get it for you. You really like it, right?”

“Yeah, but it’s way too pricey,” you shake your head adamantly when he doesn’t look convinced. “It’s fine, Rai, I don’t want it.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yeah-“

“Raihan??? Raihan of Hammerlocke?!”

You cringe and you both turn round to see a small group of Unovian Lasses standing near you in the store, grinning giddily at your boyfriend. They’re all clutching pens and books in hand and you blink widely.

“Can we get your autograph?” one of asks.

Raihan blinks wide-eyed; he looks a little stuck, partially because you’re with him.

However, you give him a reassuring nudge and he’s quickly swarmed by the groups of girls who come charging forwards, waving their pens and booklets in the air and wanting his signature and photo. You hastily step backwards to let them through and your boyfriend is swarmed in seconds. It’s funny how tall he is as he towers over the majority of them.

Raihan glances at you and you playfully wave at him, “Have fun!” you mouth at him and he shoots you a helpless grin. You nod at him knowingly; you’re all too aware that this happens more often than necessary so you’re used to this and so is he.

You use this time to slink past and away and leave the store.

It’s about time you had some space for yourself to browse on your own so you find a new store called ‘Noir’; it appears to be cheaper and less high end than the other boutiques in this mall and you haven’t heard of this label before either but when you’re greeted warmly by the staff, you feel much, much better.

You respond to them with polite smiles, knowing they haven’t judged you in any way or manner, and you head to the women’s section, glancing around and looking at the shirts and dresses for sale; you know Raihan will take a while so you pick up some items that captures your eye – for instance, a black dress which is a tad cheaper than the other ones you saw in that other store – you also pick up a nice skirt and matching top…and it’s then you spot the most beautiful black leather jacket you have ever seen that is displayed on a dummy at the very middle of the section.

It’s a very eye-catching display and you stare for a few seconds or so before you wander over, your eyes drawn to the garment like a moth to a flame.

Circling round, you wonder if you’re even allowed to touch it so you glance left and right quickly before reaching over and rubbing your fingertips carefully over the black fabric. It’s better than you realized!!! So silky and soft and smooth! It’s love at first sight! It does exist after all!

Enamored, you head to another aisle where a few of the same leather jackets are put on display and see if you can check if you can see the price label and you’re kind of too embarrassed but all in all, you could be checking if it’s your size... You meticulously hunt for the jacket with your right size and pull it out of the rack, grasp the label gently and glance at the price.

Your eyes bulge.

Five hundred thousand pokedollars.

You gulp for you cannot justify the price so you let go of the price tag and take a few steps back until a pair of strong and sturdy arms wrap around you from behind and someone’s lips find the shell of your ear.

“Grrr ~ gotcha.”

It’s Raihan and you inwardly breathe a sigh of relief and giggle as he bites and nips at your ear playfully before he begins to nuzzle the side of your neck.

“Did you finish giving out autographs?” you ask, smiling widely as he presses deep kisses over your nape.

“Yeah,” he pauses to reply - he sounds tired - before he nibbles on your neck again.

“Poor baby,” you reach over to pat him on the head.

He grins in response, tightening his grip on you. “What’re those?” he murmurs, noticing you’re holding several items in hands.

“Oh, uh…nothing. I’m not going to buy these.”

“You can try them on at least.”

You ponder for a few seconds or so; Raihan’s right...you may as well. You got nothing to lose. You want to try something at least…

“Okay,” you agree, and you grab the jacket too for good measure.

Raihan guides you to the direction of the changing rooms where he waits outside with Rotom; you pull the curtain behind you and set out your selected items on the hooks provided before you get changed out of your own clothes.

You’ve chosen a black cocktail dress which you can wear should you and Raihan decide to go partying; Raihan likes to go partying a lot so party dresses like these are a must. You carefully slip into the dress to discover it’s a great fit – fits like a glove - and you gulp when you realise it’s love at first sight all over the again as you stand and look at your reflection in the mirror...what will Raihan think?

“Um…Rai?”

“Yeah?”

“I’m coming out now.”

“Okay.”

You take a deep breath, your heart thundering as you nervously peel back the curtains, stepping out of the cubicle and Raihan’s put away his phone to wait for you but you certainly weren’t expecting this kind of response.

His eyes widen briefly as he gets a good look at you, and you’re stunned yourself when you realise you have actually stolen his breath away because Raihan cannot take his eyes off you… and you swallow down the lump in your throat as his lips curl into a grin that almost reaches his ears.

“So…um…what do you think?”

He likes what he’s seeing, and you blush heavily and pull down on the bottom of your dress because somehow it feels a little too short now.

“It’s perfect,” he murmurs, rising off the couch to stand before he approaches you.

“I’m not gonna buy it though.”

His grin drops. “Why not?”

“Too expensive.”

You quickly rush back into the cubicle to get changed into the next items you picked out where you pretty much elicit the same reassuring response from Raihan but again, it’s way too over your budget so you have no choice but to put them to the side.

It’s finally the jacket’s turn and you feel your heart dropping heavily when you slide your arms through the rich and silky materials of the sleeves and pull the lapels together over your chest.

The jacket is so perfect and the material is so luxurious and beautiful and you put your hand to your mouth; you almost want to cry out in agony that you cannot afford such a gorgeous item and you’ve never seen anything like this for sale in any of the Galar’s boutiques. You try to think of the practicality of it all and realise it can be mixed and matched with so many different outfits – dresses, denims and white or grey shirts, sweaters, skirts…everything. If you had a choice, you would probably invest in this.

Regardless, you step out of the cubicle once more with the jacket for Raihan’s approval, and he grins and nods.

“Suits you,” he comments, and you smile to yourself as you glance at your reflection at the floor to ceiling mirror outside the cubicles; Raihan joins your side, peering over your shoulder and you realise you and Raihan make quite the good couple and it’s all thanks to the jacket and its wondrous durability. It also makes you look pretty badass. No-one would mess with you, that’s for sure.

You croak, “I really like this.”

Yet you sigh and take it off.

Raihan looks at you expectantly but you shake your head.

“It’s fine…”

As you plod towards the direction of the cubicle to grab your things, Raihan scoops the unwanted clothes into his arms.

“I’ll put these back for you.” He says, and you nod. “I’m also gonna pop to the restroom so…”

“It’s fine, I’ll just take another look around the shop.”

With plans in place, you and Raihan split ways; you leave the changing room and continue browsing through the clothing racks until you realise quite a while has passed and he hasn’t called you or messaged you. You hope nothing’s happened to him.

You’re about to leave the shop to head to the restroom area until you spot a familiar figure standing at the counter; it’s Raihan…? What is he doing here? He’s chatting to the sales assistant who’s pulling out bag after bag and plopping them over the counter. Has he bought something???

You head over quickly and stop by his side. “Rai?”

He sounds surprised by the sound of your voice and turns round before grinning widely at you. “Hey babe,”

“What’re you doing here? I was looking for you; I thought you went to the restroom.”

“Sorry, did I make you worry?”

You nod and he coos at you, reaching for you and bringing you into his embrace. “Ah…I’m so sorry, babe,”

You close your eyes, rubbing your cheek against his chest as the sales assistant piles up to six bags and begins to press her fingers rapidly over the cash register and the total comes up. Your eyes bulge but Raihan delves a hand into his pockets for his wallet and promptly pays.

He must have bought something for himself.

You’re done with the shopping spree, so you leave the store hand-in-hand and you wonder what he’s bought until your stomach gurgles loudly and unfortunately, Raihan hears.

He laughs and your cheeks redden thoroughly; you’re hungry so you head up to the top floor where all the restaurants are and after a brief search on Rotom, Raihan finds a highly-reviewed rooftop bar and restaurant where he asks for a seat with a good view of Nimbasa City.

You’re both directed to a booth in the corner with comfy sofas; the view is breathtaking and you stare in awe as you make your way up to the glass and peer at the horizon. It’s absolutely stunning; the lights in the city are so bright and vibrant...

And after you both settle down and order your food, Raihan places all the shopping bags on the spare seat and sighs, rubbing his temples. It’s been a long day but hell, you only managed to go shopping today.

As you wait for the food to arrive, you can’t help but wonder what he’s bought so you casually reach over and peep into one of the bags. Eyes wide, you see it is none other than the leather jacket you had tried on.

“Huh?” you gasp, and Raihan starts to chuckle.

“Do you like it?” he murmurs as you whip your head to him in shock.

“I…Rai, you…I didn’t know…you didn’t have to - !! Oh, babe…” you squeak out and as he chuckles louder, you leave your seat and head over to him.

You could hardly care less about the fact that you’re in public. You inch towards him with open arms and he reaches for you as well; Raihan pulls you into his chest, enveloping you into a tight hug. You settle yourself into his lap on the sofa as he draws you into his embrace before you snuggle into him affectionately, closing your eyes as he chuckles again and presses a kiss over your forehead.

“Rai, you really didn’t have to.”

“Think of it as a gift.”

“....Now I feel bad.”

“Don’t. You know I’ll always get anything you want,” he murmurs in your ear, and you smile widely in response.

Arceus, Raihan spoils you so, so much.

You let out a chuckle at this thought, wrapping your arms around him securely.

Part 1 - Holiday (end)

#raihan #kibana #pkmn #pokemon #pokemonshield #pokemonsword #pokemon shield and sword #reader #request #raihan x reader #Raihan x you #Raihan being a sugar daddy

67 notes · View notes

rokutouxei · 4 years

Text

so, baby, tonight just be the death of me

ikemen vampire: temptation in the dark

theodorus van gogh / mc | E | 4616 | [ao3]

warning/tags: creepy guy behavior, jealousy, outdoor sex, oral sex, fingering, vaginal sex, exhibitionism, vampire bite, multiple orgasms, using the lord’s name in vain, and dom behavior. (yes, all of that.)

You jolt. “Wait, what? On the first of May?”

“Yes, seven at night. In the Marquis’ mansion, a big party, several potential clients, the paintings on display,” Theo confirms, checking his notebook. He turns to look up at you. “Why? Did you have something planned? I can go alone.”

You frown. Of course you did! “No, I want to go with you. It’s just—it’s your birthday night, and I thought we could spend some time together.”

“If you go, we can,” he says, a little too matter-of-factly that you flinch.

“Yeah, we will, but we’ll be doing work.” He reaches out to put a hand on your shoulder, and you relax. A little. “I’m just a little disappointed.”

“We can always celebrate afterwards,” Theo says. His hand moves to cup your cheek, and you lean against his touch. “Besides, what matters is that I’m with you. Late or early, it doesn’t make much difference to me.”

Your heart is warm at how he poured his heart out, but you still pout. “It does to me though.”

“Then,” Theo begins, the gears in his mind working, knowing exactly what he needed to do to raise your spirits even a little—“I’m sure you can think of one or two things that’ll make that birthday night interesting, work aside.”

You raise your eyebrow, but grin back when you see him smirking. “Well, if that’s what you want.”

Oh, his big fat mouth. Theo cannot say it’s not his fault when it definitely is. He should have known what was coming when he challenged you.

Theo has on a sleek black suit, one step more formal than his usual work clothes. He’d asked you to dress extra nicely, but decided not to interfere with your fashion choices for the night—you’d spent enough time in this era to figure out which both flattered you and matched the tastes of the current age. But he hadn’t expected you to push those boundaries.

You walk down the hallway in a beautiful deep blue gown that skimmed your curves so deliciously. Beautiful intricate blue lace lined along the front. There were even jewels sewn onto the fabric. There’s a beautiful gradient to deep purple at the bottom. It’s long enough for decency, but has a slit high enough that your ankles peep discreetly with every step. It has a beautiful Grecian neckline too, revealing your shoulders, your collarbones—Theo holds in a breath at the thought of leaving very visible marks on them before you even get to the ball. He’s a little thankful for the conservative front of the dress, because even through the fabric, he can nearly feel the plush of your breasts, pushed up wonderfully by your corset.

Oh, Theo can already see all the men he’ll have to glare off of you.

The words slip out of his mouth before he can stop it, something that only happens when he’s already on the edge of your teasing. A bad sign for him, you think to yourself. “You look enticing.”

You grin. “A hundred years into the future this’ll be tighter and have a slit all the way up my thigh.”

Theo licks his lips before he takes your arm in his. “I can’t wait to get there, then.”

The thing is, Theo doesn’t need that thigh-high slit to feel hot for you.

It’s the little things—if he were to be honest with you. The way you bite your lower lip when someone says something flattering about you. The way you hide your face with your hands when you’re embarrassed: like you’re not even trying, you little tease. The little squeeze you make against the firm muscle of his forearm when you cling to him. The nearly-imperceptible shiver that runs up your spine when he pulls you close to him defensively. Possessively.

Tonight, it’s all of the above. But not at him.

The host of the party, the Marquis, was one of high social status—he knew lots of big-shot names of not only rich generals and officials but also philanthropists, with much money to spend and eyes for art. Not great eyes, Theo would argue, but definitely a taste for it that he could use to further his agenda with his artists. This made the party very, very important to attend. The both of you had one goal: to make important, useful connections. To convince them, to persuade them, to get them to listen and to believe in this new dawn of art that Theo dreams of seeing. The strategy was simple: charm as many prospective clients as possible, and, as much as possible, secure future meetings and deals.

Theo doesn’t like dealing with women clients, if he were to be honest. He prefers talking to the men because they usually talked straight business, and Theo—while he was good at it—doesn’t really enjoy the little banter the women liked to do around him, skirting around art, complimenting his looks, his attitude, his suit. But the women here know that he came with another woman, and to get you to convince them was a trickier card to play.

That left you to take care of the most important client of the night: the nephew of the great Marquis, Major General Lowell. Unwed, but rumored to have had many children out of wedlock, the Major General was famous for his, say, interest in women, particularly those half his age. And you were definitely at least half his age.

The two of you stand across the room from Theo, a distance away, champagne glasses in hand. Theo can’t hear what the Major General is talking about, but he’s talking animatedly at you. Probably bragging about the spoils of war. Theo can see that you’re hardly listening: just enough to keep conversation flowing. He watches you closely, the way you tip the champagne glass just to press teasingly on your lower lip, the touch of your shoulder against his to respond to a joke.

Anger begins to simmer underneath Theo until you turn to look at him, your eyes filled with heat.

Just for him.

“Sir Theodore,” one of the ladies around him say, calling his attention back. Countess Ysabella. She insisted that he call her Ivy, though, perhaps a nickname from childhood—an effort to create some semblance of familiarity. She’s well-known in events like these, a beauty, someone desirable in high society for her wealth and her smarts. Invested in both the arts and sciences. And in him as well. Boldly, she touches a hand to his chest to call his attention. “Were you listening?”

Theo feels your stare digging into the back of his neck. Well. Two can play at this game.

Work, you remind yourself, swirling the champagne in your glass. Work. But you can’t seem to focus. Major General Lowell is still talking non-stop into your ear about the glories of war: his fame, his wealth, his power; the bloody trenches, stepping over corpses—you were almost 100% sure he made up at least half of what he was telling, or had blown it up to a degree that was near unrecognizable. You take another sip of your champagne, turning your head toward Theo, who you’d much rather be with. He’s engaged in conversation with a wealthy-looking woman, in a half-slow dance, her hands on his shoulders, and maybe he’ll reach out and put his hand on—

“A fast drinker. You better take care of yourself, miss, wouldn’t want something to happen to you,” the Major General chides, sliding a hand over your waist. You feel the instinct to tense up, but remind yourself this is work, and relax into his arms.

You cock your head toward him, a teasing smile on your face. He’s too close for comfort, but you have to do it. “Oh, what’s a little liquor. Even a lady such as me is up for a little fun, just like you, sir.”

“You smart ones, so rare. Valuable little treasures. Makes you so much more worth it to find.” You want to gag a little. He releases you (you sigh in relief) just to move in front of you and press a kiss to your knuckles. “However did a beautiful lady such as you end up in this drab party all alone?”

Jackpot.

“Oh, I have a beautiful little manor. We can definitely host your exhibits there, if you’d like,” the Countess says. “I would want to see the pieces first, of course, as it is my residence, but oh, I have a ballroom. Of course there’s a ballroom, with beautiful sunlight in the afternoon. It would be a nice place to hold it in.”

“It would be an honor,” Theo says, as politely as he can muster, when really he just wants this to be over. The Countess is lovely, he can’t deny that—quick-witted, has an answer to his every quip, knows what questions to ask to keep the conversation going. That was exactly the problem. She was so good at keeping the conversation going, it wouldn’t end. He could probably get her to agree to host a hundred of his exhibits and she still will not stop trying to talk to him. Why did she have to be so good at this? He turns toward your direction in the ballroom, to find that you’re already pointing at the paintings on the wall. Your eyes sparkle with excitement now, when you talk about art, and Theo can see it. He can also see the Major General’s hand on your waist.

Then, bringing him back to reality, Countess Ysabella presses herself as flush as she can to him, forcing his hand on her hip. “But of course, it’s really still up to your approval, of course. You’re welcome to visit anytime. I’d love to have you over, a cup of tea, maybe dinner.”

Theo nods. “That would be great. I would have to bring my assistant with me, however. If you don’t mind.”

“An assistant!” she gasps. “Oh, to think you’d have another young man so enthusiastic and brilliant at the dealings of art with you. Lovely, just lovely. Bring him over, of course. I would love to hear his thoughts as well.”

Is she just so used to getting whoever she wants?

“A woman, Countess Ivy,” Theo corrects. She jumps at his use of her provided nickname, but also at the revelation. “My assistant is a woman.”

Her face instantly falls. She doesn’t do it quickly, as if she’s hesitating, but Theo feels her slowly distancing herself from him. “Is that so?” she murmurs, mouth a thin line. “Very well, that would be interesting. Still, bring her over. It’d be great to meet her, another woman in the arts. See what she’d made of, if you know what I mean.”

“Very well,” Theo says, bows as she lets go. “Looking forward to business with you, Countess.”

If only she knew she’d never match up to you.

Finally, after what seems like an eternity, you sidle up next to Theo at your designated meeting spot with a smile on your face. Your eyes are a little hazy, perhaps from the alcohol. Theo puts on a frown. “Well?”

You raise a hand to reveal a business card between your fingers; then slide them to show you have two. “The Major General and his Lieutenant friend. They promised to buy, but they’d like to talk more about the pieces. You?”

Something flares in Theo, knowing it’s not just the pieces they want a bit of. But that’s for later. “The Countess agreed to hosting a show or two in her manor, but she gets to veto the pieces. Seems interested in art nouveau. We can handle that.”

“We can handle that,” you echo, tucking the business cards into his coat pocket, if an excuse to pull closer to him. “So, let’s get out of here?”

“Yes,” Theo says, breathy. “It’s my turn now.”

You expect Theo to hail a carriage as soon as you got out of the fancy mansion, but instead he asks if you’re up for a little walk. You think it’s a little weird—typically, after a night of “associating” with his female clients all he wants is to shut down and rest—but you humor him. The both of you walk down the street in companionable silence.

The streets of France at night is a sight you enjoy seeing. Cobblestone paths lit by orange lamplight, laughter and conversation and music coming out from bars and cafes still open for the night crowd. It must have rained a little, because the stone paths glimmered lightly in the dim light, making the city seem almost dream-like.

You’re just about to bring this up to Theo when you feel his strong grip around your wrist, and he pulls you into a back alley with what seems like all the restrained force he can muster. When he carries you up onto something—a stack of crates—you see his pupils are blown wide. His mouth is on you before you can even react.

The kiss is messy and rushed and searing: a mash of teeth and tongue. It’s like he’s trying to take back something that has been lost to him. Theo groans when you wind a hand into his brown hair; and he snarls when you tug on it. He bites your lower lip before his kisses begin their downward path, the line of your jaw, the column of your neck. When he pauses at the juncture of your shoulder and neck you feel his fangs graze the skin lightly; you moan when he refuses to bite.

“Feeling like admitting I’m a way better lover than Mister Major General?” he asks, forehead pressed against yours. Of course he is, you know that. He doesn’t have to ask. Hell, he probably knows that too. Why’s he even messing with you like this?

You decide to play with him too. “Hmm, can’t be sure yet. He seemed like someone good with his… gun.”

“I’ll show you something better than gun,” he growls. “I’m going to make you cum so hard you’ll regret making me jealous.”

He steals your lips for another burning kiss before he descends, hiding underneath the fluff of your long skirt. The moment he’s out of your sight, the situation finally sinks in: here you are, fucking in the back alley in the middle of a still-awake city! You turn your head both sides to check if anyone’s around, thankful to find both ends of the alley empty. Oh, but you remember that one side—that’s the street where Isaac and Napoleon go to teach the children some afternoons, and Isaac said that morning he was going to tutor some children at night with a girl named Aliza, because she could only go after work, and Napoleon had teased him for it, because—

“Hondje.” Theo’s voice snaps you back to the present. He’s rubbing circles along your inner thighs, and only then do you realize you were tense from all the worry of getting caught. Relax, you can nearly hear him say, as he presses a kiss on the inside of your calf, your thigh. Let go.

You hum in acknowledgement, taking a deep breath, and in a moment, Theo is on you.

You’re already damp where he touches you with his fingers, caressing the outer lips gently like prying open a flower. That slow, gentle torture he reserves from when he really wants to wreck you out of your mind. You buck against his hand and he only laughs, a deep sound coming from the bottom of his throat, as he traces his fang against your inner thigh. Two fingers press against your entrance but don’t enter, just circling. You shudder.

“Theo,” you beg, canting your hips towards his mouth. You try to keep your voice level, quiet enough to hide in this dark alley, but you’re not sure your best is soft enough. “God, just do something. Bite me, touch me, please—”

You feel his tongue graze against the soft bud of your clit and you gasp. His breath is hot and your body is on fire. You feel him smile against your folds before he drags his tongue over you, slowly, near-reverently, like doing this with you is holy. He slips his tongue inside of you like you’re the sweetest thing he’s ever had. A low moan rolls out of you, your fingers bunching in the fabric of your skirt.

Theo’s already gotten the act of going down on you like an art. He knows your every weak spot, knows which strokes you like, which ones make you shake and shudder the most. He uses every bit of information to his advantage. He suckles on your clit until you’re shivering, your slick cold down your legs, then, still not satisfied, slips two of his fingers into you. You lift a hand to your mouth and bite, knowing if you don’t, you would be screaming. He pumps you slowly, fingers curling, trying to find that one spot that—

“Fuck!” The cry rolls out of your mouth when he hits it. Theo emerges from under your skirt, his hand still firmly between your legs. You try to turn away from him but the way he seeks your eyes is something you can’t resist. When you finally make eye contact with him he smirks, his sea-blue eyes darkening with hunger.

Theo moves closer to you, making sure to keep his hand on the right spot, and asks: “Think you can cum on my fingers alone?”

Your ragged breath almost prevents you from speaking, but you have to. You want to. “I can, yes, oh, I can,” you say. “I can, but I don’t— I want—”

He nibbles on the shell of your ear. “Want what?”

“Theo!” you say, trying to sound angry at his meanness. But you only sound desperate. Theo presses harder against you, the palm of his hand heavy against your clit. You feel electric. You decide to surrender. “Want to cum on your mouth, please.”

He’s on his knees again. You swear his mouth is magic: everywhere it touches feels set on fire. He rolls your clit with his tongue, teasing, timing it with the pump of his fingers inside you—he listens to you sing. Half-praises, half-curses, the strained vowels of his name. Then finally he pulls your clit between his lips. Harshly. You let out a cry that goes straight to his cock.

He calls out your name, groaning, with his face still between your already-shaking thighs—then he says, an order, a command—“Cum.”

So you do. The rest of the city disappears: there’s only Theo and you in this little universe. You orgasm so hard any semblance of voice control you have on you melts into thin air, forcing Theo to scramble up and press a hand on your open mouth. It smells like you. Your insides pulse against his intruding fingers for what seems like forever. Your vision spins, head lolled back upwards. You see the endless night sky hovering above. Theo always makes you feel like you own the world.

Theo hears the passersby long before they cross the small alley. Your dress is now unceremoniously popped open, corset out of the way; he’s fucking you from behind with your once-fixed-up hair twined in his fists, a mumble of “ah ah ah” falling out of your lips with every thrust. The both of you aren’t too close to the adjoining streets, but the low lamplight would make the both of you a tad visible if someone passing by tried hard enough to look. The footsteps get closer; he hears the sound of a woman’s laughter. He pulls your head up by your hair, then covers your mouth with his hand.

You make a sound of confusion, and Theo shushes you. You strain your ears until you finally hear it too: the sound of a couple walking by, maybe for a late night romp. Why does that voice seem awfully familiar…

Theo whispers against your ear: “You’ll have to be quiet if you don’t want to get caught.”

Then, remorselessly, he begins thrusting up against you once more. You think you might be able to do what he asked pretty easily, but the new angle let him reach way deeper, that spot that makes your knees weak. And it felt good. Your knees buckle with the pleasure and Theo has to hold you up by the waist so you don’t collapse. You try to trap your cry in your throat but it comes out as a shuddering sigh into his hand.

Theo chuckles, a low sound that sends fire down your belly. Theo’s not usually one for dirty talk, not this much, but today feels like a whole different timeline altogether anyway, fucking in a back alley. He continues to aggravate you, whispering, “You got tight. You like this, don’t you? That we might get caught. Maybe you want to get caught.”

You sigh softly into his hand but he’s relentless. The footsteps get closer. In a few more seconds you might just hear their conversation. The girl is questioning why the hell her partner is at a bar if, out of everything he could order, he drinks coffee. Wait—

Theo grins into your shoulder. “Don’t let Arthur hear you.”

Before the realization even hits, Theo snakes his hand on your waist downward until his fingers rest on your clit, circling. Your eyes suddenly focus, laser-sharp, to the shadows crossing the alley.

Arthur laughs, that flirty laugh he’s long perfected. “Oh, my dear Roxy, my luv. I don’t want to leave a bad expression on beautiful ladies like you, you know? Alcohol, they make men sloppy.”

Theo squeezes your clit. You shiver and nearly cry at the effort of not making a sound. You buck your hips backward toward his hand.

“You certainly know your way around then,” the girl says. Her voice has that low dip that sounds hungry. You’d know what that sounds like. “Experienced lovers are a delight.”

Theo slumps his head on your shoulder and shakily sighs, the sigh he makes when he’s close to the end. God, can’t Arthur just walk any faster?

“Yes, they certainly—” Arthur turns his head to the alley, and you duck your head down, praying you’re out of the light. Your heart is pounding so hard in your chest and in your ears and everywhere you don’t know if it’s from the sex or from the fear or excitement or all. “They certainly are,” Arthur finally says after a brief pause, wrapping an arm around the girl’s waist. “They’re the ones with the most surprises.”

As their footsteps slowly disappear to the distance (you half-mindedly remember there’s an inn down the road) Theo returns to work full force. His hand on your clit, one on your mouth, his cock deep inside you. Bite, you want to tell, bite me, please, but without your voice—

You sink your blunt teeth into the skin of his fingers, and Theo instantly understands. Face nuzzled into the crook of your neck, you hear him moan likely in relief as he finally sinks his fangs into your skin. The pain sears but it is gone in a moment, and then suddenly, there is only the white-hot of pleasure. It takes mere seconds for you to collapse, dizzy from his teasing and the tension of nearly getting caught pushing you right over the end. Your moan is muffled into Theo’s warm hand as you go rigid then limp into his arms, your cheek pressing into the damp wood of the crates.

Theo laughs, a deep rumble full of pride. He is still inside you, reveling in your post-orgasm pulsing. He massages gentle circles on the small of your back. “I can’t believe you actually enjoyed that.”

You huff, a little laugh through your nose. “I thought I would die,” you admit. “You are ruthless.”

“And you love it.” He brushes away your hair and presses kisses down the nape of your neck until your breathing evens out a little bit. “Think you can take a bit more?”

“Yes, please,” you say, your voice faltering at the end when Theo moves to hits that spot you love once more. “Oh, fuck, come on, Theo, cum.”

That’s all the permission he needs. His hand returns to your hair, tugging sharply, as his thrusts become messier, harder. Your insides, your thighs, your hands, your entire body is still sensitive and everything feels too much. You sob desperately as you stutter out his name between each thrust; “Shit!” he growls, his fingers grasping at your hips so hard you’re sure they’re bruised. He nuzzles the crook of your neck, fangs just gently scraping, not enough for the skin to break. You feel the mess dripping down your thighs.

“Christ, Theo,” you start to say, but then he flips you over and kisses you softly, like you’re the first flower of spring, as if he hadn’t just fucked your brains into goo—and the words disappear from your mouth.

The two of you hailed a carriage and spent the ride home in silence. As much silence as “still hearing your heart pound through your ears” could be. Theo had one hand on your thigh and you leaned against his shoulder until you got back to the mansion.

You’re about to turn the corridor to head off to your room to rest, mouth open to tell Theo goodnight, when once again he catches you by the wrist.

“You think I’m done with you tonight?”

You wonder if you were ever going to get used to this, his lips on yours, his hand on your thigh. Your hand in his hair, your tongue in his mouth. The both of you hadn’t even bothered to turn on the light—just crashed on the bed in a mess of limbs, Theo hurriedly disassembling his perfectly-worn suit. You felt a little bad (because you sure enjoyed the sight) but the sight of his flushed skin sure was a little treat. He’d helped you out of your dress too, cloth fluttering to the ground, accessories haphazardly hanging on the edge of the bedside table. Now, there was a little tent in his pants and there was no hiding how wet you are through your thin underwear.

“You were doing it on purpose, weren’t you?” Theo asks against your throat, voice muffled. One hand of his has snaked up your side, cupping the curve of your waist. The same side Major General Lowell had placed his hand on you much earlier that night—so far back it felt like centuries.

You want to tease him a little for being jealous, but you figured you’d had enough fun for today. He freezes a little when he feels you brush his messy bangs aside and press a kiss against his forehead. “Just to rile you up. You know there’s no one else I’d want, Theo.”

Instead of words, he answers by grazing his lips against your neck again, the sensation making you shiver. When he reaches the part where he’d bitten you earlier, he presses a kiss on it. It’s the same as him telling you I love you.

You turn and take his face in your hands. “Happy Birthday, Theo,” you say, sneaking a kiss to his nose before flipping him over and straddling his waist, hands already on the hem of his pants. You remember the Countess’ hands all over him at the party.

Time to get revenge.

#ikevamp #ikemen vampire #ikemen vampire theo #ikevamp theo #ikevamp theodorus #HAPPY BIRTHDAY THEO #TY 2 MY FRIENDS WHO HELPED ME W THIS ONE TOOO #namely aliza ivy and roxy #yes #putting back the link because it didnt return to the tag anyway #fic #rating:E

156 notes · View notes

lezliefaithwade · 3 years

Text

A Breath of Fresh Air

The summer after my first year of theatre school, I was sleeping on the living room floor of my cousin's apartment in Toronto, trying to figure out what to do with my life. My cousin had been an actor before he became a quadriplegic in a car accident, and as I unadvisedly bemoaned my unemployment status, he said something like, "Seriously? You're complaining about your life? Don't make me burst a colostomy bag." He was right, of course. I wasn't in a wheelchair, though I did have a stepmother who had rendered me homeless because of her dislike for me. She was always saying things like, "Your hair can't be as ugly as that hat you're wearing." Or simply refusing to invite me to things like Christmas dinner. I always admired people with families. My boyfriend at the time was one of five kids who were always doing things together. Their house was always full of noise and activities. Even as a shiksa, I felt more at home there than with my stepbrothers and sisters, who never lost an opportunity to point out that I was weird. I wanted to stand up to them, but not wanting to cause my father any grief, I held my tongue and sought refuge elsewhere. It occurred to me that perhaps I was using the theatre as an opportunity to say things through characters that I couldn't find the courage to express myself.

The Toronto Star was still open on the kitchen table, and I rummage through the Want Ads, that dirty part of the newspaper near the back where complete strangers will soon become complete assholes in your life by forcing you to work menial jobs in humiliating uniforms for minimum wage.

"Find anything?" my cousin called from the bedroom, where two attendants helped wash and dress him.

"Social services are advertising for camp councilors to work with emotionally challenged kids."

"Oh yeah," He said. "That might suit you."

I'm not sure I knew what he meant but, I was beginning to think I'd outgrown my welcome. My cousin probably would have encouraged me to join the circus if the option had been available. Knowing my living room days were numbered, I thought it best to make an effort and apply.

I had no experience teaching drama—no experience working with kids and no experience going to or working at a camp. Despite all that, I was hired. It's worth noting that it's probably not a good sign if you get a job with no qualifications whatsoever.

My official position was Drama Councillor, and I prided myself that with only a year and half of theatre training behind me, I was well equipped to help others benefit from the wealth of my experience. I imagined myself, Maria Von Trapp, teaching children how to sing while they looked at me adoringly. Somehow, I conveniently blocked out the rebellious early stages she experienced and skipped straight to the good parts. Also, I might add, forgetting about the Nazis and having to climb over a mountain. Still, visions of me biking around camp with a group of happy campers behind me filled me with a sense of self-satisfaction.

As I packed my knapsack with deet and a secret stash of Twinkies, I thought of how only three weeks earlier I'd been in New York walking through Central Park and savoring Cappuccinos at outdoor cafés on Columbus. Now, here I was, ready for something different. The wilderness, I imagined, would be a welcome change—fresh air and loons instead of smog and sirens. I thought smugly about my classmates sweating behind visors at take-out windows shoveling fries into cardboard cups or wrapping sandwiches in tinfoil. Thumbs up to adventure, I told myself. The fact that I'd never once in my life enjoyed the great outdoors didn't factor into my mind. All of this changed with each accumulated minute of the 391 Kilometer drive north.

It was late afternoon when I arrived at the compound. Overcast, sullen, it was a place so secluded you'd need flares to find it. It had that distinct aura of someplace time forgot. A place left behind and neglected. In the brochure, the sun was shining, flowers filled the meadow, and you could practically hear laughter floating off the page. What I was looking at bore more of a resemblance to a situation in a Stephen King novel where camp councilors discover a pack of hungry teenage zombies have lured them to a seemingly idyllic retreat. Situated right in the heart of black fly country, I spent most of my days swatting insects so big they seem Jurassic.

During our orientation, child care workers warned us that children with mental health needs tend to run away - a lot and to keep strict attendance records and all eyes on them at all times. "These kids are resourceful and clever," they cautioned. I couldn't imagine being so determined you'd risk your life by escaping through the woods that surrounded us, but then again, I'd never been around children who weren't allowed cutlery before either

I shared my cabin with three other women with who I had absolutely nothing in common. Delia, a humorless 27-year-old cooking instructor who answered every question with a monosyllabic grunt, Jennifer, a 26-year old tennis instructor with massive blond ringlets who talked so quickly she sounded like a record on high speed, and an older aboriginal woman named Sunny who made us all dream catchers and offered advice about how to heal ourselves on days when we'd feel spent. "Remember, these kids need us," she said while purifying our cabin with sage. As I glanced around my assigned bunk, taking in the spider webs and loose floorboards, I had that sinking feeling that comes when you know you've made a terrible mistake. Before long, I was eating copious amounts of peanut butter on stale bagels amid a never-ending supply of starch. I'm not sure who thought it was a good idea to feed children with challenges like anxiety, depression, hyperactivity, and eating disorders copious amounts of sugar and carbs. It certainly did nothing to help them or me.

On the first day of class, I sat everyone in a circle. "Welcome to drama class," I said with a smile. "Let's begin by sharing with everyone a little bit about ourselves. Anything at all you'd like us to know?" A hand went up.

"I'm Tracy, and I hate my stupid ass brother. He can go straight to hell."

"Okay," I said, "That's a start. Who's next?"

Another hand. "I'm Jonathan, and this place sucks so much I wish it would burn to the ground!"

"Fair enough. Anyone else?"

"I'm Jo. I'm schizophrenic. So sometimes I'm Rachel and Julia. You'll know the difference because Rachel has a British dialect, and Julia talks slang."

"O-kay." I glanced at the social workers who sat on the edge of the room and looked at me with an expression that basically said, "We can't wait to see what you do next."

"Let's write a play," I suggested. "Write anything you want. Once you're happy with the work, I'll shape it into a cohesive piece that we'll rehearse and then present at the end of the season talent showcase."

The kids liked this idea. The showcase was a big deal. It was an opportunity for them to blow off some steam and express themselves to friends and family in a creative way. My only stipulation was not to use profanity. As the weeks passed, I was impressed with how well they all threw themselves into this project—all except Eric, the oldest boy in my 12 to 15-year-olds. Eric often wandered around the rehearsal space, unfocused and sullen.

"Any ideas for your piece?" I ask, checking in to see if I could help.

"I'm thinking," he'd say and then pace.

With three weeks left in the summer, I took my well-deserved week off to decompress. My boyfriend came up from Toronto and drove me to his parent's house at Post and Bayview, where caterers were preparing the tennis courts for an outdoor party. I walked into his mother's living room, and she gasped. "What happened to you?"

I didn't blame her. I hadn't spent much time looking at a mirror the past four weeks, but one glance at the large one in their bathroom told the full story. My hair was ratty; I had scabs on my knees, bruises on my arms and legs, and I was sunburnt. I was wearing a vintage skirt and blouse that was probably more Value Village than vintage and a pair of worn, scuffed purple moccasins; in essence, I was wearing slippers on my feet.

"Please take her to the mall and at least buy her a pair of shoes," his mother said, handing me her credit card and then rushing off to make sure the stuffed alligator would float in the pool. That week I ate my way through rugelach, hamantaschen, brisket, and bagels while his family watched me with awe and disgust.

Back at camp, the smell of burning insect repellent greeted me along with the news that the sailing and tennis instructors were sacked for disorderly conduct. Never mind, I had renewed energy and a sense of purpose. There were costumes and props to make. Sound and lighting effects to create. And we needed to rehearse. It was only a tiny stage somewhere on a remote camp in Northern Ontario, but the excitement was palpable. I was excited. This would be the best talent show ever, and my kids were going to blow the socks off everyone there!!!

"Eric," I said, "How's your piece coming along?"

"I finished it," he mentioned casually

"That's great. Can I see it?"

"I want to surprise you. You're going to love it, though. I promise."

I patted myself on the back. Eric had a breakthrough. All my encouragement and patience had paid off. Perhaps I'd helped him have a developmental breakthrough.

"Can you tell me what it's about?" I asked.

"The Beatles."

"Great. Okay," and left it at that.

Talent Night arrived along with parents and family friends. The lights dimmed, the kids performed, and the audience enthusiastically applauded as each "Mighty Mite" or "Spirit of Paradise" breezed across the stage, acting out skits about fairies and monsters and assorted escapades. Finally, it was Eric's turn. Out he came, looking serious and theatrical. He cleared his throat and addressed the audience.

"This is called, The Beatles Last Recording Session. By, Me."

Three of his closest camp friends filed out and took a space on the stage. The audience was silent.

There was a dramatic pause, then the piece began.

"Fuck you, Ringo,"

"Fuck you, Paul."

"Fuck you, George."

"Well fuck you, John."

Then they bowed and left the stage.

Personally, I thought it was kind of brilliant. Needless to say, I wasn't showered with accolades about my teaching methods or the effect I had on kids. I left there having no catharsis about mental health except that giving people the opportunity to express themselves without censor is probably a lot healthier than insisting they stay quiet. I admired the honesty displayed in the kid's work. If only, I thought to myself, I could be half as brave. Wasn't that what I was spending time and money learning how to do?

A week after being home, I found myself packing, once more, for school in New York. Our term letters had arrived with instructions on where to buy character shoes, leotards, copies of The Children's Hour, and Death of a Salesman. The camp already felt like it was 391 kilometers away - soon to be 659. My father drove me to the train station with my stepmother beside him; she was there, no doubt, to ensure I boarded.

"You going to be okay?" my father asked, giving me a hug and slipping a $50 bill into my pocket.

"She'll be fine." Elsie chimed in. "You don't have to worry about her. Let's go."

But I wanted my father to worry about me. Not all the time and to the exclusion of all else, but certainly the appropriate fatherly amount.

As I settled myself on the train, I watched my stepmother pull from father from the platform to the car and thought of Eric's brilliant play. Under my breath, I whispered the immortal words of the Beatles, "Fuck you."

#stepmother #mental health #children #young people #summer camp

3 notes · View notes

antiquecompass · 4 years

Text

Untamed Spring Fest Day 9: Shower

Jiang Cheng always knew Lan Academy fostered a healthy appetite for competition among its students, urging them to do their best in an attempt to be their best, but even he didn’t expect their take on field day to be so brutal.

Jiang Cheng thought Andover was bad but this---he’d been attending these events at Xichen’s side for over ten years now and somehow each year kept getting more and more competitive, more and more challenging. It was as if, with all the increased free time he had in his semi-retirement, Lan Qiren had become the ultimate obstacle course taskmaster.

Then again, this was nothing compared to the mud pile tug of wars and any rugby match ever at the Cloud Recesses, so he shouldn’t have been surprised.

But this was madness.

And apparently Lan Academy.

It was raining in sheets, windy, sideways, turning the formerly bright and sunny obstacle course into an actual mud pit. Any sensible person would’ve called it off, but neither rain nor sleet nor snow seemed to stop the students of Lan Academy on Field Day.

Especially not when Lan Qiren had the whistle.

“It’s---this is like Hell Week. For SEALS,” Jiang Cheng said as he stared out among the gathered group of Lan Academy Seniors in their official gym clothes, all ready to go as soon as the whistle blew.

“Isn’t it great,” Mingjue said. He had a clipboard and a stopwatch in his hand. Slap the man into a track suit and he’d look like a professional coach and was acting like one as well. “My money’s on Jingyi this year, but that Ramos kid is pretty tough, and Sizhui’s the quiet and devious type. Ava’s my dark horse--tiny, but dangerous.”

Jiang Cheng turned to his husband. “Where’s all your peace and love school community spirit now?” he asked.

The venerated Headmaster Lan shrugged from his safe place under one of the large white tents. He waved a little Lan Academy flag and gave an undignified whoop.

Field Day at Lan Academy was clearly in the Twilight Zone.

“You see this rain, yes?” Jiang Cheng asked. He’d never seen it rain like this at Lan Academy before. “Actual rain showers. Sideways rain showers.” He held up his phone. “Flash Flood Watch rain showers. Aren't you worried about possible injuries?” Jiang Cheng said.

“Everyone’s consent form is signed and they’re always offered the chance to leave the course at any moment. There’s no shame in using good sense,” Xichen said.

“Do you hear the bullshit coming out of your mouth right now?” Jiang Cheng asked.

Xichen slapped him in the stomach. “Language, my heart. There are children about.”

“And our nephews are about to inhale at least three liters of mud,” Jiang Cheng said, pointing out to the field.

“Not if they keep their balance,” Xichen said.

“You’re enjoying this,” Jiang Cheng said.

Xichen grinned. “Just reminds me of my final field day as a student here. Had to scale Gusu Hill in rain just like this--we got up it, with teamwork.”

Jiang Cheng shook his head and cursed again. “This is just like Hell Week.”

“Not even a little bit,” Xichen said. “Except for the learning to work as a team part.”

He raised his hand and signaled the start of the race. Lan Qiren blew his whistle. And the seniors were off in a mad, mud-filled scramble.

**********

“You have a fan club.”

Jin Ling looked up from where he was preparing his bow to turn and see his parents and siblings all in the middle row of the bleachers, waving and cheering him on, big, glittery signs, and Lan Academy flags, and even his father shaking a white and blue pom-pom.

At a normal archery match they couldn’t be so enthusiastic, but here, in the old Lan Academy gym turned into an indoor range on one side of and a rock-climbing wall on the other, they were free to show their support.

Jin Chan scoffed from the other end of the range.

Jin Ling ignored his cousin. His uncles were right; Jin Chan wasn’t even worth a single breath.

Coach Wen raised his hand and the crowd silenced. Jin Ling could still hear whispers of some members of the crowd; most of the Jins, the ones who remained loyal to his grandfather; the ones who disapproved of his father staying home to raise his children and being far more involved in the business of the Jiangs and the Nies than the Jins, were there to support Jin Chan. And Jin Chan knew it, which was why he was being extra-arrogant today.

Jin Ling couldn’t give a fuck.

He had his immediate family--the best of the Jins here. He had the Lans. He had Lan Academy. He had the Song-Xiao clan (though, to be fair, they were also here for Yating). He had Mrs. Ouyang, who had made a rare trip to visit this time, on the last of Zizhen’s Lan Academy Field Days. He had his cousins and uncles. He had the Delaneys. He had Zizhen himself.

Jin Ling remembered all of this as he prepared to take his shot. He’d done this over and over again for years, indoor and outdoor ranges, all over the world.

The signal sounded.

Arrows flew.

Jin Ling was the only to hit dead center.

They repeated it over and over again until the competition was done. Jin Ling was the only one to manage to keep a center grouping. April was a close second. Yating a close third. Jin Chan was at the very bottom of the results.

“It’s not like this is a real competition anyway,” Jin Chan sneered.

It still felt damn good to Jin Ling when that Lan Academy gold medal went around his neck.

**********

Ouyang Zizhen laughed at the two mud monsters who were once his best friends. The track events had been pushed back to the later afternoon. Luckily the rain showers had finally stopped, and while the track was still wet, it was manageable. Jingyi and Sizhui had obviously not been so lucky.

“You two tied, didn’t you?” he asked as he continued his warm-up.

“We had to sacrifice Ari,” Jingyi said. “But it was a worthy sacrifice in the end. Ava nearly got us, but she came in fifteen seconds behind us..”

“Congratulations,” Zizhen said. “But please go let one of the coaches power-wash you two. If you get mud on the track, Sophie will yell at you.”

Even under the mud, he could see Sizhui wince. Sophie McKim’s wrath was a thing to be feared. Especially on the track. Especially during the relay.

“Do your dorm team proud,” Jingyi said, reaching up to pat him on the shoulder.

Zizhen smoothly stepped back. “I’ll take that show of support and spirit. Please go de-earthify yourselves.”

“It’s not like we aren’t going to get just as dirty during the final event,” Jingyi said. “I’m pretty sure they’re adding mud to the field at this point.”

“Lans! Get your muddy asses off my track! Now!” Sophie yelled, her ponytail up high, her face screaming that a murder was about to happen.

“Shit,” Jingyi said as he scrambled away.

Zizhen laughed as Jingyi managed to clear three entire hurdles before cutting across the center to the other end of the bleachers and towards the locker room where Molly Lan stood with a hose at the ready.

“And that’s the love of your life,” Zizhen said, looking at Sizhui’s stupid grin.

“Yeah, yeah it is,” Sizhui agreed. He nodded at Zizhen one last time and then followed in Jingyi’s footsteps, minus the hurdles and the enraged Sophie McKim.

Zizhen was in his final set of stretches when someone tossed a water bottle at his feet. It landed perfectly--perfect toss, perfect aim, perfect landing. He looked up and saw Jin Ling waving from the stands.

“How?” Zizhen asked.

“I’m just that good,” Jin Ling said. “Do us all proud and don’t suck at this,” he said, before going back up into the stands, sitting down next to Zizhen’s mom.

**********

After the final awards ceremony; after the final bell signalling the end of the day; after many tired students and proud parents left for family dinners out to enjoy the start of the long weekend, the true--though unofficial--final event of Lan Academy Field Day took place.

It was a tradition almost as old as the school.

A rugby match free-for-all featuring the seniors, some of the staff, and a few chosen alumni. It always ended in mud and grass stains, torn shirts, cuts and bruises. The rugby game took the teamwork required for the obstacle course and relays, the patience of the archery competition, the reflexes of the tennis and fencing matches, the cheering crowds from the soccer, dodgeball, basketball, and baseball games, the strategy of the chess matches, and combined them all together and ended in this one final match.

It was also one of the few times of year anyone saw Headmaster Lan out of his Lan traditional outfit or one of his suits. Their kind, supportive, caring headmaster looked like a giant on the rugby field, his broad shoulders on display as he leaned on his best friend, and stared out over the other players.

“I swear he never looks that intimidating at home,” Jingyi said as he lounged on the bench next to Sizhui.

“It’s because we hardly ever see his competitive side,” Sizhui said.

And Lans, for all their beliefs and teachings, abhorred losing.

“It’s probably the one time of year he can get his aggression out against the staff,” Zizhen said.

That was the one catch: the Headmaster would participate, but only on the students’ team, and only if they formerly asked him to before the match.

Not a year had passed since becoming headmaster that Lan Xichen wasn’t asked.

At the end of the bench, in between the tub of Gatorade and another of ice water, Jiang Cheng sat with his head in his hands, for once united with Meng Yao, as they both glared down their foolish husbands.

“What are you assholes trying to prove?” Jiang Cheng finally yelled.

“Cursing is forbidden at Lan Academy!” an entire chorus answered him.

#long post #fic: camp fire tales from cloud recesses #fandom: the untamed #verse: lahl #untamed spring fest #my ridic writing

38 notes · View notes

yadesghostninja · 4 years

Photo

Ninjago Characters as Zodiac Sings

“I wake up today thinking on this for us uwu// so just have fun, let me know what you think about”

Note : some characters have an alternative sugestion because some descriptions on the sings didn’t suit them at all.

TAKE IT JUST FOR FUN! ok?

-Yade

Explanation

Kai Smith (Aries : March 21 – April 19)

Strengths: Courageous, determined, confident, enthusiastic, optimistic, honest, passionate

Weaknesses: Impatient, moody, short-tempered, impulsive, aggressive

Aries likes: Comfortable clothes, taking on leadership roles, physical challenges, individual sports

Aries dislikes: Inactivity, delays, work that does not use one's his talents

- Fire!- Rash and hot-head ninja is the best example to represent Aries energy. There’s well know that Kai has a protective and pathernal side specially whit Nya and Lloyd so I was not really sure at the beginig if Leo can be treated as his secondary sing. (Curiously it suits whit some alike whit Sensei Garmadon)

Cole Brookstone (Taurus: April 20 – May 20)

Strengths: Reliable, patient, practical, devoted, responsible, stable,Persistance

Weaknesses: Stubborn,Slowly,Jealous.

Taurus likes: Gardening, cooking, music, romance, high quality clothes, working with hands

Taurus dislikes: Sudden changes, complications, insecurity of any kind, synthetic fabrics

Earth!- Strong and Friendly, Cole is the Taurus ninja. Food lover even if your body is a temple and good music at the order of the day! Practical and well-grounded to work whit nature. It is sayed that Taurus is a good sing for artists and artisans, but it is too for hardworkers and anything how needs constance and patience like take care of your young baby master

Jay Walker (Gemini: May 21 – June 20)

Strengths: Gentle, affectionate, curious, adaptable, ability to learn quickly and exchange ideas

Weaknesses: Nervous, inconsistent, indecisive

Gemini likes: Music, books, magazines, chats with nearly anyone, short trips around the town

Gemini dislikes: Being alone, being confined, repetition and routine

Thunder! Expressive, whit a fun word over his mouth Jay can suit Gemini sing, no matter what Gemini allways have something to say if it is serious or not. as Jay, Gemini thinks,create and acts fast as lightning! but needs some serene-Tea to clear your ideas.

Skylor Chen (Cancer: June 21 – July 22)

Strengths: Tenacious, highly imaginative, loyal, emotional, sympathetic, persuasive

Weaknesses: Moody, pessimistic, suspicious, manipulative, insecure

Cancer likes: Art, home-based hobbies, relaxing near or in water, helping loved ones, a good meal with friends

Cancer dislikes: Strangers, any criticism of Mom, revealing of personal life

Deeply intuitive and sentimental, can be apparently selfish or cold whit people how distrust. Familly and friends are his life! As Skylor disguse herself, or help in the ressistance, She do anything nessesary to take care from they most close circle people. his heart is a real treasure!

Lord/Sensei Garmadon (Leo: July 32 – August 22)

Strengths: Creative, passionate, generous, warm-hearted, cheerful, humorous

Weaknesses: Arrogant, stubborn, self-centered, inflexible

Leo likes: Theater, taking holidays, being admired, expensive things, bright colors, fun with friends

Leo dislikes: Being ignored or underestimated, not being treated like a Most Important Person.

Leo allways want to be MIGHT AND GREAT AS LORD GARMADON!!!

Allways looking for something to conquer! Leo needs to be at the top, or being noticed by his most important persons. But, as Garmadon, Leo have a fatherly golden heart inside that Oni self-centered personality they’ll carry somethimes They just want to have something at his own image and share it whit the whole world!

P.I.X.A.L. Vorg (Virgo: August 23 – September 22)

Strengths: Loyal, analytical, kind, hardworking, practical

Weaknesses: Shyness, worry, overly critical of self and others, all work and no play

Virgo likes: Learn new things, A&Q, nature, cleanliness,order

Virgo dislikes: Rudeness, asking for help to others, taking center stage

For sure, P.I.X.A.L. is allways ready to be your personal asistance, You can trust a Virgo any research or servicial task, this things makes them feel alive and less unusless. Virgo is pround to saves the day being useful and caring! Take care of you is his strong and weak point at the same time. Is not bad think on you somethimes Virgo, you’re more special than you think

Sensei Wu (Libra September 23 – October 22)

Strengths: Cooperative,diplomatic, gracious, fair-minded, social

Weaknesses: avoids confrontations, will carry a grudge, self-pity

Libra likes: Harmony, gentleness, sharing with others, the outdoors

Libra dislikes: Violence, injustice, loudmouths, conformity

There’s something you must know about Libra! They’re the Masters of wathever they loves! The secret of Sensei Wu as any Libra is that their focus in whatching a balance in anything they’re doing or done and seeing diferent point of views of all. Libra is in the bottom of his soul a person how looks for peace for everyone and in his own, however he is going to tend to feeling misunderstood to “doing the right thing”. (a secondary sing for Wu is sagittarius, because is the sing of “great wisdom” and a never-ending student of life itself)

Morro (Scorpio: October 23 – November 21)/ Ophiuchus:November 21 to December 21)

Strengths: Resourceful, brave, passionate, stubborn, a true friend

Weaknesses: Distrusting, jealous, secretive, violent

Scorpio likes: Truth, facts, being right, longtime friends, teasing, a grand passion

Scorpio dislikes: Dishonesty, revealing secrets, passive people

Scorpio are famous for being too possesive and obstinate people. Well the thing is that Scorpios, as Morro, they’re strong belivers and dreamers, so they’ll do ANYTHING to reach they objetives, good or bad, in the hard or the easy way. Never lied or break a promise that you’re not certaion you can carry at all, because Scorpio is going to take it SO SERIOUS! FOR REAL!, Inside a scorpio is an unexplored world talking about feelings and thoughts. However is a very loyal, and GREAT confident and protective person and deeeep deep inside a lovely heart.

(Capricorn and Leo was considerate to being the morro’s alternative sings by his perseverance and pridely Imthegreenninja mood, but I’m sure there’s more things to tell about him so the thend to be confident of scorpio suits him very well)

Lloyd Garmadon (Sagittarius: November 22 – December 21/ Ophiuchus:November 21 to December 21)

Strengths: Generous, idealistic, great sense of humor

Weaknesses: Promises more than can deliver, very impatient, will say anything no matter how undiplomatic

Sagittarius likes: Freedom, travel, philosophy, being outdoors

Sagittarius dislikes: Clingy people, being constrained, off-the-wall theories, details

The Green Ninja! Sagittarius is that kind of people how can join strangers to his cause as Lloyd keeps assembled the ninja team! Your’re a person how have a great inner vision of things and allways looking to found a place in the endless way of life, a sagittarius whitout a propouse or a challenge is lost. your sense of honor makes you a formal person, but you can somethimes get relaxed enjoing whit your friends or social ambientance. ah but you can be a littel EXTRAAAA!! As Lloyd and Sagittarius your challenge in life is being able to keep the way you chosse, you’re going to be a very sage person or a relentless child.

Theory Note: If you’re Ophiuchus, is not a sing (sorry if you belive it) is really betwen Saguittarius and Scorpio (and even reaches part of Acuarius far in the constellation), so if you’re from Nov 30 – Dec 10 you can be treated as a mix of them (?)

Ronin (Capricorn: December 22 – January 19)

Strengths: Responsible, disciplined, self-control, good managers

Weaknesses: Know-it-all, unforgiving, condescending, expecting the worst

Capricorn likes: Family, tradition, music, understated status, quality craftsmanship

Capricorn dislikes: Almost everything at some pointCapricorn is a sign that represents time and responsibility, and its representatives are traditional and often very serious by nature.

Ronin the bounty hunter Is and ambitious and stiff person as much as Capricorns can be! there’s no anything how can be to difficult or to risky to do from them If you pay enough cash to them of course! If you’re Capricorn you know that nothing is free and there’s allways a price to pay for, maybe you as Ronin can’t trust in much people because you have your own rules and self-point of view, others can learn from you how to manage themselves and being independant and self trusted and maybe you can learn from others to have some free time! As Ronin do, Capricorns allways have a business, a deal or something to do. There’s allways a plan whit Capricorn ahead.Sucsses is Life! From all how deals whit Capricorn (I first think that Capricorn was a good sing from Crox & Acronix (but not sure), but Ronin describes the sing very well,and side sing from Lord Garmadon)

Zane Julien (Aquarius: January 20 – February 18) at some point Ophiuchus too

Strengths: Progressive, original, independent, humanitarian

Weaknesses: Runs from emotional expression, temperamental, uncompromising, aloof

Aquarius likes: Fun with friends, helping others, fighting for causes, intellectual conversation, a good listener

Aquarius dislikes: Limitations, broken promises, being lonely, dull or boring situations, people who disagree with them

Deep thinkers and highly intellectual Zane as Aquarius are created to protect those how can’t protect themselves!, as Master of Ice,Aquarius seems to be “c o l d” and wierd person. But Aquarius is allways in mood to help someone, somehow how is on his cause, maybe you’re not an nindroid but maybe for some people you have no sense of humor, but you can have original and inovative ideas how noobody would ever think. Aquarius as the new era, there’s sayed that Aquarius have a special connection whit any kind of technolgy and Electricity (by some of these facts, I considerate Aquarius as an Alternative sing from Jay). Aquarius is a great tactical thinker and scientific, secretly a genius! but you’re true potential is in turn on your emotions button (Zane has Virgo and Sagittarius as side sings, by his belives in visions and analityc system mind (right a nindroid duh))

Nya Smith (Pisces:February 19 – March 20)

Strengths: Compassionate, artistic, intuitive, gentle, wise, musical

Weaknesses: Fearful, overly trusting, sad, desire to escape reality, can be a victim or a martyr, feeling useless.

Pisces likes: Being alone, sleeping, music, romance, visual media, swimming, spiritual themes

Pisces dislikes: Know-it-all, being criticized, the past coming back to haunt, cruelty of any kind

Pisces are very friendly, so they often find themselves in a company of very different people.

Samurai and master of water! Strong and mild As Nya, Pisces are Very creative persons! Allways being your reinforcements no matter what! Piscies is happy whit friends and people how follow them or a place to shape his skills. Allways worried from others but they’ll never show to someone their problems, just when it becomes great, can make a great drama for it.

As a Water master, you feel really good staying close of you element. because somethimes you can be some hot-headed as you bro Aries Kai (but worse) Let you flow and trust yourself as Nya did it and world would be more easy to carry on (It was too hard to me suit P.I.X.A.L. and Nya just in Virgo or Psicies because they have some similar personalities, but Psicies wins Nya by his emotive nature)

Hope that you like it guys, have fun! Let me know what was your character and what you think! Reblogs are very appreciated! not repost plz I have all the day correcting it and writing PLZ (YES I’M EXTRAA)

yes, some descriptions are not properly mines but I correct some things

SOURCES https://www.astrology-zodiac-signs.com/

https://astrologiapsicologiaholistica.blogspot.com/

http://zodiacbooks.com/signs-ophiuchus.html

https://earthsky.org/astronomy-essentials/born-between-november-29-and-december-18-heres-your-constellatio

Derek & Julia Parker’s Encyclopedia of Astrology’s 3rd edition 1982

ISBN:84-226-1196-1196-1

My bro helping me whit my bad english grammar @mazapancajetosoxd

and Our Ninjago Wiki source and watching some chapters again Lol! to be sure from correctly write some things (you know I’m really insecure sometimes about my knowlendge u_u)

#astrology #ninjago #zodiac #sings #madejustforfun

6 notes · View notes

gloamsims · 6 years

Text

Colors of Nature Legacy Challenge

I’ve always loved the concept of color-themed legacies but have yet to find one that I really like, so I decided to make my own! The concept is simple: each generation is based on a color named after something nature-y and its color-corresponding traits. At the moment it’s only eight generations because I wanted to leave room for additional content that’s added to the game in the future. I hope you all have fun, and I look forward to seeing your gameplay!

Basic Rules:

each generation should represent the color they’re based on

(this is optional but fun! this challenge can be played with vanilla, banilla, or berry sims)

no money cheats, etc.

normal lifespan is recommended

have fun—if you don’t abide by this, you fail the challenge

Gen 1 – Boysenberry

You’ve always been told to live your life to the fullest, and you have no intention of living it any other way. You follow your heart in every aspect of your life and never view any dream to be out of your reach. You strive to live a balanced lifestyle and never deprive yourself of the simple pleasures.

Traits: Self-Assured, Childish, Romantic Aspiration: Grilled Cheese Career: Astronaut (any branch)

Goals:

eat grilled cheese for every meal (birthday cakes, etc., excluded)

master the wellness skill

accept at least one social invitation every week

have one self-care day every week

complete at least one whim every day

complete your aspiration

Gen 2 – Charcoal

Your parent(s) taught you to always follow your dreams, no matter how intimidating they may seem. Once you’re old enough, you move to San Myshuno to follow your dream of becoming a world-renowned musician but realize that being a starving artist in the big city is not as glamorous as it had seemed.

Traits: Gloomy, Music-Lover, Insider Aspiration: Musical Genius Career: Entertainer (Musician)

Goals:

live your entire adult life in San Myshuno

master two of the musical skills (guitar, piano, violin, singing)

busk for tips daily until you reach level five in the entertainer career

write five songs

be a part a club with at least three members for thirty sim-days

reach level eight in your career

Gen 3 – Evergreen

You spent your entire childhood in the big city but longed to live amongst the trees and take in all that nature has to offer. As an adult you move away from San Myshuno to live somewhere more rural and secluded. You live a very simple lifestyle and take pleasure in being one with the natural world around you.

Traits: Loves Outdoors, Vegetarian, Jealous Aspiration: Outdoor Enthusiast Career: None

Goals:

never eat quick meals/use a microwave—prepare everything from scratch

live off the land—only income is from collecting, gardening, fishing, woodworking etc.

adopt a stray

marry your best friend

complete a collection

master the handiness skill

Gen 4 – Mocha

Your parents had a very laid back lifestyle, but you always dreamed of more. You believe that the best way to live life is to work hard at what you love and happiness will follow. You never cared for the superficial fulfillment of family life and instead put every bit of your heart into your business—that is until a rather unexpected surprise. Although your child was unplanned, you love them will all your heart and ensure that they have a happy upbringing.

Traits: Foodie, Hates Children, Outgoing Aspiration: Fabulously Wealthy, but change to Super Parent once your child is born Career: None, own a restaurant/retail business

Goals:

own a restaurant/retail business

achieve a five-star rating (restaurant)

earn §30,000 in total profits (retail)

have only one child

be a single parent—have no new romantic partners until your child is a teen

have a good relationship with your child

complete your aspiration

Gen 5 – Sunshine

You and your parent had a wonderful relationship growing up, and you were always grateful for the opportunities their guidance opened up for you. There are so many things you are capable of accomplishing so you decide, why not try a few? You approach every obstacle in your life with unprecedented positivity and don’t let anything keep you down for long—even your own clumsiness!

Traits: Goofball, Ambitious, Clumsy Aspiration: Renaissance Sim Career: Any

Goals:

have a part-time job as a teen

complete your aspiration

have at least three different careers as an adult

marry a coworker

reach level eight in six skills

adopt at least one child

Gen 6 – Seafoam

Your parents led a very chaotic life without any clear direction or goal, which you look down on them for. You strive for success, both in your career and in your personal life. You are wholey devoted to your work, and try to build the “perfect” family, while bringing your children up to have equally successful lives.

Traits: Perfectionist, Squeamish, Family-Orientated Aspiration: Big Happy Family Career: Writer (Journalist)

Goals:

no woohoo until marriage

never get divorced

have at least three children

have all children achieve and maintain As in school

reach level eight in your career

complete the first two tiers of your aspiration

Gen 7 – Violet

You and your siblings were incredibly competitive growing up, and continue to be so as adults. You plan to show them up when you land a job as a secret agent, but encounter a flaw in your plan; you cannot reveal your true career (because it’s secret, duh!). Instead, you are forced to pretend to have a mundane job and to endure the scorn of your famiy regarding your apparent “failure.”

Traits: Creative, Genius, Bookworm Aspiration: Soulmate Career: Secret Agent (Diamond Agent)

Goals:

have a poor relationship with a sibling as a child

reach level ten in your career

don’t reveal your career to anyone until you are retired

complete your aspiration

master logic, programming, and baking skills

Gen 8 – Coral

You recognize that the world is a wonderful place and wish to explore every part of it! You travel the world and explore the culture of each new place you visit, documenting your exploration on a blog. You enjoy meeting the myriad of diverse and interesting people you encounter during your travels and make many friends as you go.

Traits: Unflirty, Art-Lover, Glutton Aspiration: Friend of the World Career: Social Media (Internet Personality)

Goals:

live in at least three different worlds during your lifetime

meet your partner is a world different to the one(s) you were raised in

reach level eight in your career

complete the experimental food photos collection

max the photography skill

That’s it! I hope you enjoy this challenge if you decide to play through it as I worked really hard to bring it to life. Feel free to change any rules to suit your own gameplay; this is all about fun, after all! Thanks for checking it out, and happy simming!

#ts4 challenge #colors of nature #colors of nature legacy challenge #ts4 challenge rules #ts4 legacy challenge #ts4 legacy challenge rules

713 notes · View notes

keenobservationtiger · 3 years

Text

8 Benefits of Spin Class That’ll Convince You to Finally Try One

One of the many reasons we love cycling is that it allows us to get outside and explore. But with winter at our doorstep, sometimes the weather is just plain awful or there’s just not enough time in the day. The next best option? A Spin class, of course.

Most studios offer a variety of class options—some as short as 20 minutes or as long as 90 minutes—so you’re always able to fit a workout into your schedule. Nowadays, there are even at-home magnetic spinning bike available that stream classes directly into your living room from companies like Peloton, NordicTrack, and Technogym. Peloton’s beginner-friendly classes, for example, teach participants the correct form and technique that will translate to every other level.

Plus, the work you do in a class—whether that’s at home or in a gym—complements your on-the-road training perfectly, according to Peloton instructor Jess King. “It’s an opportunity for you to play around with your training—there’s something for you to hear, learn, and experience that you can take with you back on the road. So why not dip into both worlds?” she says.

Spinning is one of those things that seems a bit intimidating if you’ve never done it before. But as long as you have access to a gym or a bike, you can take classes that range from beginner to expert, King says, each of which helps build the main muscle groups used for cycling and your cardiovascular system.

“We have this unique opportunity to create something for everyone,” King says. But most studios and instructors offer a variety of options that will suit your needs or experience level.

And if you’ve already got the stamina to climb hills and ride long outside, you’re that much more ready to conquer a Spin class. Both studios and at-home options offer longer, more advanced classes as well.

This content is imported from {embed-name}. You may be able to find the same content in another format, or you may be able to find more information, at their web site.

It goes without saying that taking a Spin class is not the same as riding outside. While you can still experience similar terrain (hills and flat ground), King says in-studio and virtual Spin classes can feel more like a party than a workout.

“There’s music from all different decades—from classic rock to EDM—and we use interval training, tabata training, and heart rate training, so it’s still a great workout,” she says about Peloton, though competitors offer a similar experience.

A lot of times when you’re out on the road, it’s just you and the voice that’s in your head. That can be a good thing when you want to escape to nature and clear your mind, but it can be a bad thing when the voice is telling you to turn home. Being in a class setting changes things up—especially when you have the motivation of an instructor cheering you on. (Because let’s be real, there are times when you just really don’t want to do that interval workout on your own.)

“Spin gives you a new perspective on how to ride, breathe, and think about your body,” King says.

When you take an indoor cycling class, everyone from the instructor to the other participants are there to encourage and support you.

“Everyone is rooting for you—you’re not alone in this experience,” King says. “We’re using the bike as the medium for that connection and energy.”

And Charlee Atkins, C.S.C.S., former master instructor at SoulCycle and founder of Le Sweat, agrees. “[Everyone] is very supportive—they hold each other accountable and celebrate each other’s wins and losses,” she says. “They oftentimes can become an ‘extended family’ of sorts.”

It can be really tough to be out on your indoor cycle spinning bike alone, struggling to finish a particularly challenging ride. Sometimes your first instinct is to give up. But when there are other people around you, it makes you want to keep going and prove you can finish what you started. That’s exactly what taking a Spin class does. And that mindset can and will benefit you on the road, too.

If you’ve already found a great community of riders outdoors, indoor classes offer the same camaraderie and accountability, just in a different setting.

4. It’s a great total-body workout.

Not only does a Spin class benefit your muscles—everything from your legs to your core—but it’s also a great low-impact cardiovascular workout, which improves your blood flow, increases your stamina, boosts your mood, and prevents against chronic issues such as high blood pressure, heart disease, stroke, and diabetes, according to Mayo Clinic.

And because of this intense cardio workout, you’ll burn a ton of calories, too. While King says the average is about 400 to 600 calories per class, she’s seen some riders burn more if they’re going particularly hard and long.

Some indoor cycling classes even incorporate the use of hand weights to “promote upper-body work, since cycling is a predominantly lower-body workout,” Atkins adds. So in one 45-minute session, you can challenge your upper body, lower body, and core.

5. It’s convenient.

Riding outside can take a couple of hours to complete, and most people don’t have that kind of time during the week. So taking an indoor cycling class either at home, at a gym, or in a studio is a great option for when your schedule is packed, and you only have an hour or less to work out.

But don’t worry—exercising for a shorter amount of time doesn’t mean you aren’t reaping the same benefits as a longer workout. Many classes feature high-intensity intervals which help you build increased cardiovascular and muscular fitness in less time than a longer but steady-state ride out on the road.

6. It’s low impact.

Indoor cycling won’t beat up your joints like other forms of cardio such as running. “It’s great for people who are coming back from an injury,” says Atkins, because your hips, knees, and ankles won’t take all the impact. This makes it a great choice for those who aren’t yet functioning at 100 percent after getting hurt, older adults looking for a way to stay active without putting extra pressure on their joints, or those who suffer from arthritis.

7. You can make it your own.

Out on the roads, you can’t lower the grade of a mountain if you’re not up for climbing it that day. But the beauty of a Spin class is that you can customize it to your own needs. The Spin instructor is there to guide you, but you can always modify the workout.

For example, you don’t have to stay on the bike during the upper-body workout portion of the class if you feel safer on solid ground. You can also go slower if you need to—you don’t have to worry about getting dropped. And if the class motivates you to push yourself even harder, maybe try racing your friend next to you. Everyone in class is there to work out to the best of their ability while enjoying the motivational vibes of the group. So whatever you’re feeling, go ahead and do your thing.

8. It gives your bike a break.

Switching it up with some Spin classes will also give your commercial spinning bike a break from the elements, not just your body. Rain, dirt, and snow will take their toll on your components over time. Replacing just some of your workouts with Spin classes will give you the opportunity to buy and install new parts, or time to take your bike into the shop for a tuneup.

Spinning might look about the same as outdoor cycling or riding a stationary bike, but in many ways, it’s a far more intense workout—and one of the easiest to overdo.

First, there aren’t many (if any) breaks in spin class. “When you’re biking outside, you have to be aware of road dangers like water and cars, so you have to slow down at times,” says Dr. Maureen Brogan, an assistant professor of medicine at New York Medical College who has conducted research into spinning. Especially if you’re a novice road rider, it’s going to take some time before you’re comfortable enough on two wheels to really push yourself hard for long distances. That’s not the case on a spinning bike, where newbies can hop on and ride hard from the start.

Popular spinning studios like Flywheel and SoulCycle have their riders clip their feet into the stationary bikes. As long as the wheels turn, legs keep pumping. Combine this always-working aspect with the thumping music, enthusiastic instructors and energetic group atmosphere of most spinning studios, and it’s easy to get intense exercise and burn calories by the bucketful.

“The muscles you use on spinning bikes, the gluteus maximus and the quadriceps, are some of the largest in your body, so you’re using a lot of energy,” Brogan says—600 calories an hour, and sometimes more.

This puts spinning near the top of the list when it comes to high-intensity workouts. A study from Sweden found that one hour of spinning was enough to trigger the release of blood chemicals associated with heart stress or changes. While that may sound like a bad thing, these blood chemicals—or biomarkers—signal the heart is getting a good workout. “These kinds of findings have also been seen with prolonged exertion such as marathons,” says study author Dr. Smita Dutta Roy of Sahlgrenska University Hospital in Sweden. While more research is needed to tease out the risks or benefits associated with exercise of this intensity, she says that some of the biomarker shifts her team observed could lead to blood vessel repair and renewal.

It can also help improve body composition, decrease fat mass and lower blood pressure and cholesterol, says Jinger Gottschall, an associate professor of kinesiology at Penn State University. Some of her research has shown that high-intensity spinning can increase fitness levels even in trained athletes. “In every study we’ve done, we’ve seen increases in heart and lung capacity,” she says. She calls spinning “the optimal cardio workout,” and says you can get all the intensity of a treadmill or stair-climber without the impact.

The low-impact nature of spinning makes it great exercise for older adults or people recovering from orthopedic injuries, she adds. “Because you can adjust the resistance and moderate the pace and intensity of your ride, it opens the door for many people to participate,” she says.

But it’s also easy for people who are new to spinning to overexert themselves. “If you’re not used to vigorous exercise, or to exercising the large lower-body muscles involved in spinning, you can overdo it,” Brogan says. She’s a kidney expert by training, and some of her research has linked spinning to rhabdomyolysis, a condition in which muscles break down to the point that they release a protein that can poison the kidneys. “People have swollen legs or trouble walking, and sometimes they take aspirin or NSAIDs for the muscle pain, which is the last thing they should do because those can also damage the kidneys,” she says. Problems like this can set in a day or two after spin class, she says.

While overexertion is possible with any form of exercise, she says the risks during spinning may be higher—especially when you consider that some spinners lose up to a liter of water during an hour-long session.

Even for trained athletes, there’s some evidence that spinning too often may lead to trouble. A study in the Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research concluded that spinning may push some people past the threshold at which the exercise is beneficial. “If indoor cycling were used as an everyday training activity, it is possible that the overall intensity would be too high and possibly contribute to developing nonfunctional overreaching,” the authors of that study write. (“Nonfunctional overreaching” is sports science lingo for a workout that’s so strenuous it leads to fatigue and performance declines, rather than fitness improvements.)

Overall, spinning is exceptional exercise. But if you’re new to it, you need to ease in and give your muscles time to adapt to its intensity. Even if you’re an experienced athlete, pushing yourself to your limit the first or second time you get on a spinning bike may be risky, Brogan says. Even once you’ve found your spinning legs, daily sessions may still be overkill.

But if you’re looking for a high-intensity workout a few days a week—and especially if running or other forms of vigorous aerobic exercise hurt your joints—spinning may be the ideal way to keep your heart and body in shape.

0 notes

digitalarpit · 3 years

Text

Benevo: Providing Essential Life Skills

Today, we got to speak with Ms. Soumya Jitendra Baniwal. She is the founder of Benevo Management, providing a comprehensive suite of training and advisory services.

How they managed it, what issues and challenges they faced and where they are headed in the future were some queries that we had and Ms. Soumya Jitendra Baniwal enthusiastically shares about her work with us.

With a rigour in her voice, she says “Being a woman entrepreneur, people don’t take you seriously. This is the first issue I face whenever I go and speak to the clients.”

Read ahead to know more about her journey as a woman entrepreneur.

Anu Jain:

Who all were the founding members, and who all were there in the founding team of Benevo?

Soumya Jitendra Baniwal:

Two! There were only two members—the founder and co-founder. Soumya Baniwal, that’s me, and the other is Ashish Baniwal.

Anu Jain:

What was your idea behind getting into this business?

Soumya Jitendra Baniwal:

I wanted people across the nation to understand the laws. A lot of people in the country do not know about their rights, which we believe are very much required for every individual. For example, we see that many laws which have been made for the common man, like the consumer protection rights, rights and welfare of senior citizens, rights and welfare of people with disabilities (PWDs), women protection rights, crime against women, child protection rights, POCSO, POSH but people aren’t aware about them. I am into paralegal training programmes and individual counselling and felt a strong need to develop a platform to cater to this need. The basic idea behind starting this company is hidden in the name itself, Benevo, derived from ‘Benevolence’ meaning ‘a humanistic and kind approach towards people.’

Anu Jain:

How do you target your customers, and how do you segment them?

Soumya Jitendra Baniwal:

Our major client is the government of India. We are already working in three states, Delhi, Uttrakhand, and Uttar Pradesh. We don’t have to do much for our branding as we are renowned already in these places. We give weekly and monthly trainings, have a team of tele-callers, write letters, talk to corporates and the government. Post which we schedule a meeting and crack the deals. Sometimes it takes five days, sometimes three and sometimes the same day itself. There is no fix timeline to conversion

Anu Jain:

What is your go-to-market strategy? And is there any difference in your approach and the approach of other organisations that provide similar services?

Soumya Jitendra Baniwal:

Well, yes! We have a USP. I have seen that people who train think that they have knowledge, so they can train, but there is a model for training that you must follow. LSRW i.e., Listening, Speaking, Reading, Writing for their language. Additionally, we involve our participants in our training and design games for each and every training that we conduct. These are a mix of classroom games, classroom activities, and sometimes outdoor activities.

Anu Jain:

For sales, do you approach your customers offline, online, or both?

Soumya Jitendra Baniwal:

We utilize both the channels as using just one is not enough in today’s scenario.

Anu Jain:

Did you face any major challenges in doing sales? It has been just three years since Benevo’s inception. In the initial phases, start-ups usually face challenges. So, are there any challenges that you faced?

Soumya Jitendra Baniwal:

Yes, we do face! Firstly being a woman entrepreneur, people don’t take you seriously. This is the first issue I face whenever I go and speak to the clients. Initially I started the company alone and was the only one working for it. I was designing the content, delivering the training, doing marketing, sales, and everything. Now, I have an office and a team. But initially, nothing was there. So, people don’t take women seriously. This is point one.

And another is travelling. Travelling independently, alone, PAN India is again an issue. Apart from this, there are many other issues. People don’t take these trainings seriously. People feel that trainings are a non-productive segment of the corporates or any organisation. So, pushing them to release funds for trainings and employee development, instead of spending it all on AC and fancy furniture is actually very difficult. Honestly!

Anu Jain:

Could you tell us something about your revenue streams and what portion of it do you spend on sales and marketing?

Soumya Jitendra Baniwal:

I would not be able to tell you the exact figure as usually the CA takes care of these things. But what best I can tell you, in terms of accounts, is that we do not come under tax audit right now. Maybe we will start coming in for an audit from this year, so we are hoping to touch that 1 Crore mark.

Anu Jain:

Who all do you consider your major competitors? Any other companies which provide similar services?

Soumya Jitendra Baniwal:

Yes! Mentora, apart from them nobody as of now.

Anu Jain:

Do you feel that there are any other substitutes for your services which customers can cater to?

Soumya Jitendra Baniwal:

Yes! Nowadays, people also do freelance training, and at times, customers prefer to hire them. Thus, freelance trainers are a big challenge for us. We have multimedia content and games for our training. In a male dominant society, at times, I am asked to explain to a male crowd, topics like ‘Sexual Harassment of women at workplaces must be stopped’. That becomes difficult for me as well. Still, I do my work, and I design games for that purpose.

Freelancers offer to do the work for lesser pay, say, Rs. 5,000, and the companies do it only to fulfil the mandatory requirement set by the Supreme Court. They calculate that if the guidelines can be met by spending just Rs. 5,000, then not to spend, say, Rs. 10,000 or Rs. 15,000 for the same. And they end up compromising on the quality and thus the target of employee awareness is lost. The problem is that people don’t want to create awareness about such issues. We live in a society where we wear helmets just to avoid the fines rather than being bothered about our safety. But the end target for us at Benevo is public awareness and therefore we welcome the freelancers working in this sector in our company. We work together in panels and design platforms aiming to provide actual trainings to the customers instead of just doing it for formality. Actual trainings must be conducted at the workplace.

Anu Jain:

What are your future business plans? Do you have any growth plans? And where do you think the industry is headed in the near future?

Soumya Jitendra Baniwal:

As post-COVID, everything is in digital form only, so we are doing the same programs online as well. These are paid programs. For example, I conduct online trainings for Delhi Development Authority, SPIU Uttrakhand, and Uttar Pradesh. All of these are conducted online. But yes, being honest with my profile; I am in this profile for the past 10-11 years; I can say that the offline trainings for teaching cannot be replaced by technology. We are just running our business right now. However, our business is still not back on track due to COVID-19.

Anu Jain:

Do you have any plans to outsource any verticals like sales, marketing, or finance anytime in the future?

Soumya Jitendra Baniwal:

We are already doing that.

Anu Jain:

So, do you think that outsourcing was fruitful for Benevo?

Soumya Jitendra Baniwal:

It’s a bit difficult to answer it right now as we are yet to check and measure the output.

Insellers

’ View on Benevo

Benevo serves a niche segment of customers who want to get trainings through professional organisations. It does not have many competitors per se. However, the freelancers act as substitutes for the training and advisory services provided by Benevo. Moreover, customers seem to be less aware and concerned about the need for such training and mostly do it just to meet the government’s mandatory requirements. Even the companies who take the trainings for their employees are sceptical about spending a large sum of cash on them.

Right now the challenge for Benevo is two-fold. Increasing awareness about the importance of trainings among the companies along with increasing their brand’s awareness and the second challenge is from the freelancers that provide the trainings at lower costs even if it is sometimes not up to the mark.

The first problem can be addressed by – Benevo could increase the awareness about its trainings through market research. They could conduct researches for the companies, highlighting the percentage of employees who think that they are aware about the laws and who think that these trainings are important for them. They could then use this data to increase the awareness among the stakeholders and persuade the HR department to conduct such trainings for their employees. This way, they could get the relevant data as well as a foot in the door in their target companies’ offices. Also, they could provide free demo trainings initially to those companies that might provide large business in the future.

The second problem can be addressed by – Benevo could also initiate different trainings at different price points catering to specific customer segments, to match or even beat the prices set by freelancers. Customised trainings for each of the segments may be done. As Benevo has already started with online training, it may leverage it to increase its reach and cater to a much larger customer base.

We wish Soumya Jitendra Baniwal and Ashish Baniwal luck for their future and hope that they accomplish all their endeavours.

0 notes

bhavanipendem · 3 years

Text

Benevo: Essential Life Skills for your career

Today, we got to speak with Ms. Soumya Jitendra Baniwal. She is the founder of Benevo Management, providing a comprehensive suite of training and advisory services.

With a rigour in her voice, she says “Being a woman entrepreneur, people don’t take you seriously. This is the first issue I face whenever I go and speak to the clients.”

Read ahead to know more about her journey as a woman entrepreneur.

Anu Jain:

Who all were the founding members, and who all were there in the founding team of Benevo?

Soumya Jitendra Baniwal:

Two! There were only two members — the founder and co-founder. Soumya Baniwal, that’s me, and the other is Ashish Baniwal.

Anu Jain:

What was your idea behind getting into this business?

Soumya Jitendra Baniwal:

Anu Jain:

How do you target your customers, and how do you segment them?

Soumya Jitendra Baniwal:

Anu Jain:

What is your go-to-market strategy? And is there any difference in your approach and the approach of other organisations that provide similar services?

Soumya Jitendra Baniwal:

Anu Jain:

For sales, do you approach your customers offline, online, or both?

Soumya Jitendra Baniwal:

We utilize both the channels as using just one is not enough in today’s scenario.

Anu Jain:

Soumya Jitendra Baniwal:

Anu Jain:

Could you tell us something about your revenue streams and what portion of it do you spend on sales and marketing?

Soumya Jitendra Baniwal:

Anu Jain:

Who all do you consider your major competitors? Any other companies which provide similar services?

Soumya Jitendra Baniwal:

Yes! Mentora, apart from them nobody as of now.

Anu Jain:

Do you feel that there are any other substitutes for your services which customers can cater to?

Soumya Jitendra Baniwal:

Anu Jain:

What are your future business plans? Do you have any growth plans? And where do you think the industry is headed in the near future?

Soumya Jitendra Baniwal:

As post-COVID, everything is in digital form only, so we are doing the same programs online as well. These are paid programs. For example, I conduct online trainings for Delhi Development Authority, SPIU Uttrakhand, and Uttar Pradesh. All of these are conducted online. But yes, being honest with my profile; I am in this profile for the past 10–11 years; I can say that the offline trainings for teaching cannot be replaced by technology. We are just running our business right now. However, our business is still not back on track due to COVID-19.

Anu Jain:

Do you have any plans to outsource any verticals like sales, marketing, or finance anytime in the future?

Soumya Jitendra Baniwal:

We are already doing that.

Anu Jain:

So, do you think that outsourcing was fruitful for Benevo?

Soumya Jitendra Baniwal:

It’s a bit difficult to answer it right now as we are yet to check and measure the output.

Insellers

’ View on Benevo

The first problem can be addressed by — Benevo could increase the awareness about its trainings through market research. They could conduct researches for the companies, highlighting the percentage of employees who think that they are aware about the laws and who think that these trainings are important for them. They could then use this data to increase the awareness among the stakeholders and persuade the HR department to conduct such trainings for their employees. This way, they could get the relevant data as well as a foot in the door in their target companies’ offices. Also, they could provide free demo trainings initially to those companies that might provide large business in the future.

The second problem can be addressed by — Benevo could also initiate different trainings at different price points catering to specific customer segments, to match or even beat the prices set by freelancers. Customised trainings for each of the segments may be done. As Benevo has already started with online training, it may leverage it to increase its reach and cater to a much larger customer base.

We wish Soumya Jitendra Baniwal and Ashish Baniwal luck for their future and hope that they accomplish all their endeavours.

Now the market is overflowing with the business people who are in race to become famous in the game. hence, there is a huge load of rival rout there you better need yourself to be in front of others. We at insellers have just done all the examination and going around for you. We disclose to you the not all that regularly discussed moving dream to reality accounts of SMEs and new companies, to move the Entrepreneur in you. And we insellers are read to share your stories and experiences just Contact Us and be first.

#benevo #trending

0 notes

mariaclaragomez276 · 4 years

Text

Independent Minds: Gertrud Schneider, Kristiania Lech

Originally built by Olympic ski champion Othmar Schneider as a private chalet to entertain his friends on their adventures in the Arlberg mountains, Kristiania Lech has retained its intimate feel thanks to Gertrud Schneider and her tailor-made team. Like father, like daughter, Gertrud continues to make international guests feel instantly at home in what feels more like staying at a relative’s eclectic residence from the sixties than a hotel.

The 29 bedrooms and suites at Kristiania Lech have all been individually decorated with antiques and original pieces of art, but it is not just the charming aesthetic which Gertrud has carefully styled – “we are all experience curators at Kristiania Lech.” From a contemporary art summer pop-up to picnics in the snow, fondue parties and personal ski guides, Kristiania Lech immerses guests in local experiences which celebrate the culture, history and heritage of Austria. Instilled with a strong sense of her grandparents’ slow travel – staying longer and looking deeper into destinations – Gertrud’s nostalgic yet forward-thinking approach epitomises both the considered host and the considerate traveller.

What does being ‘Independently Minded’ as an hotel owner mean to you?

Firstly, I did not know that I would love the hospitality industry. Selling beds and meals sounded quite boring to me. I got to love the hospitality industry during my first internship at hotel school. It was at a five-star hotel and I found that I could do whatever I wanted to orchestrate experiences for my guests. I fell in love with this world. I read HIP Hotels (Highly Individual Places) by photographer Herbert Ypma, one of the very first books about boutique hotels. In this book, I discovered, for example, Costes Hotel – one of the first boutique hotels in Paris that opened around 1995. It’s still an iconic destination for expert travellers, and I knew immediately that Kristiania Lech needed to be a boutique-style hotel full of personality, contemporary art, artists or writers in residence, creating the feeling of sense of place, of staying at a friend’s eclectic home from the 1960s, but with much better, bespoke service.

What was the inspiration behind the hotel, and where do you continue to find sources of inspiration?

We are a family affair – my father, Othmar Schneider, Austria’s first male ski Olympic champion, planned Kristiania Lech to be a private house to welcome his friends from around the world to enjoy wonderful ski adventures in the Arlberg mountains and to host many private parties. His vision was a private chalet full of personality, a private club with a sense of place. He was not a hotelier.

I compare Four Seasons, Dorchester Group or Oetker Collection hotels to designers like Gucci, Prada and Armani. While Kristiania Lech is more like the tailor you find in a little side street in Milan, who is specialised in making custom suits. This tailor is Kristiania Lech and the hotel team are the tailor’s assistants who are part of creating this bespoke suit.

This is why the bespoke Kristiania Lech experience is a different kind of experience. It is not like we are trying to be different, we are just trying to be ourselves in a way that matters to our guests. We do have personality. We want to interact and engage with guests in a sensible and meaningful way.

When visiting a tailor, you spend time picking out fabric and creating your own style. I want to create the same experience with guests when they engage with Kristiania Lech from the first telephone call to the thank you note they will find at home after their departure.

How do you think your hotel stands apart from other boutique hotels?

Guests staying at Kristiania Lech are looking for tailor-made service. We can’t necessarily offer them a hotel room nicer than what they have at home. Some have private jets, yachts and mansions bigger than Kristiania Lech.

The design of the hotel has to be beautiful, elegant and tasteful, however guests do experience the difference in service. It might still be a smaller room than their closet. They can still go somewhere else. Nevertheless, they would be missing the human part of it and that is where the people working here come in, the Kristiania Lech Family. These people make all the difference and they make the travel experience matter to our guests.

At Kristiania Lech, nothing comes as ‘standard.’ Kristiania Lech is about surpassing expectations. We do not want SOPs (‘standard operating procedures’). There are no standardised rooms, no standardised dimensions or designs. Everything is different, everything is unique.

If you only had 24 hours to get a taste for your hotel experience, what would you recommend a guest must do?

My preferred room is Number 45 ‘Puccini’, a little duplex suite with a magical view of Lech and a peaceful bedroom on the second floor. I sleep excellently in this room. All suites at Kristiania Lech are inspired by the ‘Grand Tour’ of the 18th and 19th centuries, influenced by our love of travel. My recommendation is to choose your room depending on your mood and individual preferences. Travel the world, while staying in the Alps.

For breakfast, I choose my everyday favorite: Darjeeling Tea, Curcuma shot, Greenlife juice, soft boiled egg from the hens of our former gardener, Sladjana’s famous muesli and a slice of Lech bread with homemade butter. For lunch, I love our chef’s ceviche of our locally sourced char from Zug, a paillard of veal with some homemade noodles is my all time favourite…or a risotto. Of course – a glass of Gruener Veltliner from Gobelsburg Vinery and an espresso is part of my lunch.

I would never miss a fondue party for dinner, and I love our chef’s Asian-inspired options. But my new recommendation is our Separée private dining – new for winter 2021, we will offer private dining in our travel inspired suites. I can’t wait to experience a dinner for two in our Turkish Suite with a private butler – tout privé. An aperitivo in the living room of the suite, followed by dinner including ‘Salzburger Nocker’, one of our Austrian dessert specialties, in the newly set-up dining rooms of the suites and a little ‘powdering the nose’ in the privacy of the bedroom. To drink, I would opt for an Alpine Negroni while listing to the fine sound created by our DJ in Residence.

My go-to spa treatment is a facial with Susanne Kaufmann’s organic products to help my skin to adjust to the dry mountain air. It is all about ‘me time’ and über-relaxation. Do not miss out on the cross-country skiing along the river Lech, it is a pure winter wonderland experience and time for meditation. Pristine nature at its best – forget about a gym, this is far better for the body and soul.

In terms of art, my must-see is the Skyspace Lech by the world-famous American artist James Turrell. I love to combine it with snowshoeing. The best time of the day is either during sunrise or sunset. James Turrell has designed a ‘lightroom of the mountain’ where the sky and earth seem to encounter one another from a new point of view in the high alpine landscape of Lech.

Do you have a vision for the future of the hotel?

People nowadays are really looking for experiences that matter – not just a hotel room, a spa treatment or a restaurant meal. They also need to trust you as a hotel and destination in these very challenging times, with a renewed focus on health and safety. I believe luxury is a question of space and privacy as well as a meaningful experience, and this experience is essential. It is about private luxury moments and definitely sustainability and considered travel.

Everything we do and offer at Kristiania Lech is part of the meaningful and magical guest experience we like to create. We will limit our availability to offer more privacy and support the local community as well as contemporary art. And of course, people like to experience. Therefore, we need to be very strong in delivering experiences, and we need to organise very special things as well as little meaningful moments for our guests. So, everyone at Kristiania Lech (no matter what department) needs to be very well prepared to suggest and create experiences that matter to our guests. We are all experience curators at Kristiania Lech.

A great example is our focus on contemporary art. We created a summer-pop-up to support art and culture, and our guests supported with their summer stay artists, dancers and musicians. They had the opportunity to mingle with the artists, interact with contemporary art, including performances in a mountain meadow and an art gallery pop-up in our garage. The three salon dinners for 12 with a curator, a gallerist and an artist attracted like-minded locals and guests, who enjoyed discussing contemporary art and culture. A project close to my heart, my grandmother’s family have been art enthusiasts for generations, making the experience one which cannot be found anywhere else – that’s what makes an experience spectacular and unique.

My newest vision is to start an art week for galleries similar to Frieze London, but hosted in Lech – much more intimate with an Alpine feel, but sophisticated and low-key including a symposium for curators and collectors. For this upcoming winter at the hotel, I am planning another gallery-pop-up, involving an outdoor art installation alongside installations in five of our guest rooms. As we will limit our inventory to be able to offer even more space and privacy, we are happy to offer these rooms to artists.

How would you describe your own perfect luxury experience?

At Kristiania Lech, I like to have a hotel that is a hotel I dream to find everywhere I travel. The people working at Kristiania Lech are “the bones of the hotel”. I call them the Kristiania Lech Family. You can have a beautiful face but if the “bones” – the people that run it – are not right, you immediately feel and see it.

The way I judge a hotel is on what the experience is like, before I get there and until I am back home. It just has to be perfect all the way down the line – very bespoke, very tailor-made. And finally, this experience has to matter to me and tell me something important that is good for the world. The only problem should be that I don’t want to leave.

Do you see any new trends emerging for 2021 in luxury hotels?

For me, the new trend emerging is a ‘considered’ versus ‘consumptive’ approach to travel and within luxury hotels. While Covid-19 is still with us and we are navigating new protocols and assessing the safest way to run a hotel and the safest opportunities for travel in the months ahead, I feel certain that how you travel will matter more than ever.

These very extraordinary times without travelling and re-thinking the Kristiania Lech experience have made me think a lot about past travels, about the way we used to travel. A potent combination of access, ease, familiarity and habit had gradually accelerated the pace of travel, pushing us into a frenetic, consumptive frame of mind. London for a long weekend? Hamburg for a concert? St. Tropez for a party? Why not? The tickets weren’t too expensive, so we jumped on planes, with less fanfare or anticipation than my grandparents devoted to going out to dine in a restaurant. Looking back on that makes me wonder how – in the excessive casualness of the way we approached these incredible opportunities to cross borders and could be plunged into new cultures and communities in mere hours – we so often lost something.

Back when it was harder to get places, you stayed longer, you looked deeper, you expected fewer habitual comforts and you brought less of your routine with you – instead you surrendered to the foreign. My grandparents knew they weren’t likely to be in the places they visited again. They understood that each trip was a rare, once-in-a-lifetime experience, so they savored each moment and tried to slow down time. The word – considered – comes to mind. And if this slower, more thoughtful approach is considered travel, then what we were all doing, before Covid-19 grounded us, can only be described as consumptive.

I love the idea of looking at hotels as sacred spaces that bring residents and guests together to give and to receive and to honour something greater than the living. This is why I created the ‘experience curators’ at Kristiania Lech. Travel, to me, has always been about communion, the exchanging of intimate thoughts and feelings, and reverence for beauty and the unknown that makes us all more human and aware of what connects or binds us. But the first step in that vision involves the traveller adopting a different, more considered and considerate attitude. That would certainly kill the consumptive approach at the core and replace it with compassion.

We regard each other across the decades and generations of an utterly changed world, but I know that I carry the understanding of travel of my grandparents and that it has never been as important as it is now. My grandparents weren’t looking for the comforts of home when they left home; rather, they were thrilled to settle into a place and fall into its rhythms. I believe there is hope in that approach. A future where we all think of ourselves as people joining a community for a time, offering gratitude and appreciation, mingling meaningfully with local residents, contributing something of benefit and taking only memories and a broader view to share when we reach home.

The post Independent Minds: Gertrud Schneider, Kristiania Lech appeared first on Small Luxury Hotels.

from Small Luxury Hotels https://ift.tt/38v8Pwy Publish First on

0 notes