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implexedactions · 4 years

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Do Not Fight Back - Yandere Purge AU

Hey! So this was part of a server wide event I did with other members of Lovesick! They’re all super amazing and you should DEF check out the others who took part! This is inspired by the yandere purge AU created by @yanderemommabean (we have permission to use the AU). Read the linked post to find out more, but to cut things short. Yandere’s are legally free to capture their darlings, and it lasts from 6pm to 6am!

Beta’d by the best person ever: @drxwsyni

This contain YANDERE CONTENT!!!

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It’s yandere purge night and you’re accidentally outside when it starts. It would be a shame if a certain flame hero was watching...

--- Your job ran late today, because of course it fucking did. It was yandere purge night, not that your boss seemed all that concerned. Although, from the look on his face…well, best not think about that. He probably wasn’t after you, hopefully. You walked down the urban street, past the closed shops and locked buildings. You glanced towards the sunset, the sun's orange glow disappearing over the horizon. Wait, what? It wasn’t THAT late, right? Sure, work ran late, but you finished at 5 PM, not 6 PM?

You opened your phone, you had…a minute before the sirens…fuck.

You dashed into an alley, crouching next to a vending machine, it wasn’t ideal, but staying out there could mean certain death. You’re an idiot for even letting this happen to you. You’re NEVER meant to remain outside during tonight. A yandere could kill you if they even THINK you’re trying to interfere. You rummage through your pockets...nothing except a phone and some loose coins.

The sirens ring throughout the city

No weapon, no quirk, no safety, no chance. You hold your head in your hands, freaking out. No one would think of helping you, you could be a yandere trying to get at them. Your best bet is to stay here until it is over, potentially using the vending machine for dinner.

Your phone buzzes.

---6:01PM---

[HellFire]: Hello.

[HellFire]: You do not know who I am, but I have been keeping my eye on you for a long time.

[You]: Oh god…please don’t say you’re after me…

[HellFire]: I propose a hunt.

[HellFire]: I catch you, the obvious happens.

[HellFire]: You evade me for the next 12 hours? You go free.

[HellFire]: The rules? Always keep your phone on you and online, I will be sending messages. Respond to my messages, or you will pay dearly. Do not worry about other people, if they try to hurt you, I will burn them to ash. If I catch you, no fighting back. Break any of the rules, and there will be hell to pay.

[You]: What?! Can I at least ask some questions? Is my phone bugged? Do you know where I am now? Can I hide or do I have to keep running? Why me?

[HellFire]: Mind, I do not expect you to win. I am the number one hero for a reason.

[HellFire]: The hunt begins. Do try to have fun tonight, my dear.

…Endeavor?! Enji Todoroki, the number one hero, was after you?! You’d be flattered if you weren’t shaking with fear. You try to take some deep breaths.

---6:03PM---

[HellFire]: I would run, my darling… I doubt hiding behind a vending machine will do you any favours….

[You]: How do you know my location already?!

You run out of the alley; the street illuminated poorly by streetlights. Enji knew where you were, specifically that you were behind a vending machine. He’s either got cameras, or he was right in your line of sight. You sprint down the street, most people aren’t stupid enough to be out, and you give most yanderes a wide berth. You see one with a darling, you force your eyes away and continue to run.

Your lungs are burning, exercise isn’t your strong point, and one can’t operate on adrenaline alone.

---6:09PM---

[HellFire]: Tired already? I did not realise you were so weak…such a pity, I expected a fight from you…

[You]: No one expects to be running down a street from a goddamn villain?!

[HellFire]: …disrespect?

[HellFire]: Unacceptable.

As you’re running, a car behind you blows up, fire scattering onto the street. You still can’t see him.

You notice a mall still open. None of the shops would be in business, but the area might provide a suitable hiding place. You run into it, sliding doors opening to let you into the air-conditioned space. You steal a glance behind you, no one visible on the street or rooftops.

---6:11PM---

[HellFire]: A shopping centre? I hope you do not expect a gaudy fountain to save you.

[You]: Fuck you, honestly.

[HellFire]: That is quite a bold statement for someone in your position.

[HellFire]: Most criminals at this point are kissing my boots, begging for mercy, and yet, you show defiance. Breaking you should be fun.

You run down a corridor, reaching an entirely empty circular food court. Fast food shops line the walls, with two, opposite facing exits to the area, both leading onto streets. Silence is abundant as you run through, dodging chairs and tables, desperate to make it to the other side.

The sound of an electronic sliding door reaches your ears. Panicking, you dive over a business’s countertop, hiding behind it as you try not to breathe too loudly. You hastily switch your notifications off, so him texting you won’t reveal your location.

---6:15PM---

[HellFire]: You know something I learnt from my job?

[You]: What?

[HellFire]: Someone can know they are being hunted, but not know they are already trapped. The villains are overburdened by fear and hope, of both capture and escape. They desperately reach their hands out to touch a goal you know is impossible to reach.

[HellFire]: That feeling… of knowing their entire future is at my mercy…

[HellFire]: is sublime.

[HellFire]: …

[HellFire]: Say, how are you finding that uncomfortable food stall floor?

“Hello, darling…”

“No! Get away from me!”

You bound over the counter, avoiding his hands, and desperately try to reach the exit. You turn around, and he is just…standing there. Looking at you. With a smirking grin on his face. He’s wearing his hero suit, flames dancing up his body. He loves this, he likes thinking you’re some object to be captured. You run out onto the street, cold night air hitting you in the face, the sun has entirely disappeared now, all traces of it gone.

Where the hell can you go that you’ll be safe?! It hasn’t even been 30 minutes of this torture; you’ve got so much time left! Panting, you notice he has exited the building too, but he just stands there, looking at you, grin adorning his face. You spot a train station.

You run towards the train station and don’t look back. You jump the ticket gate, feeling that your life matters more than a civic duty. You run up the stairs onto the platform. The trains won’t be running, but maybe you can run along the tracks if it comes down to it? As you try to catch your breath, you realise something…you turned your phone notifications off in the mall, which means he could be messaging you, and you wouldn’t know.

Scrambling you pull out your phone.

---6:22---

[HellFire]: If I were you, I would not take another step towards that train station.

[HellFire]: ...?

[HellFire]: Oh, are you not checking your messages now?

[HellFire]: I warned you, remember that…

---6:30---

[You]: I’m sorry! I swear, I didn’t mean to ignore it! It was my phone

[HellFire]: I can not believe what I just saw.

[HellFire]: You leapt over that gate like a common criminal.

[HellFire]: So, now I have to punish you for multiple reasons. You ignored so many rules…

[You]: I didn’t mean to, I swear! I’m sorry! Please don’t hurt me!

[HellFire]: You fought back when you were captured.

[You]: It wasn’t fighting back?! It was escaping, capture would be grabbing me.

[HellFire]: You didn’t check your messages.

[You]: Like I said, my phone was off, it was an accident!

[HellFire]: You IGNORED my commands.

[You]: My phone was off! I didn’t KNOW there were commands!

[HellFire]: You broke the law.

[You]: I was going to go back and pay the $1.50 tomorrow!

[HellFire]: And we are only 30 minutes into this hunt.

[HellFire]: Tell me, darling.

[HellFire]: Did you really think you could outrun me?

[HellFire]: The top hero?

[HellFire]: I knew you were not the smartest person, considering, well, everything about you.

[HellFire]: But this really takes the cake.

[You]: Oh, honestly, fuck you. Why do you even WANT me?! We’ve NEVER met!

[HellFire]: …you’re quite disrespectful…

[HellFire]: I will have to fix that.

“Face me.”

You whip around to see him staring at you, sadistic grin adorning his face. You turn to run, but his large hands grab your arms, holding you in place. He picks you up and turns you around, so you’re facing him. His hands are noticeably warmer than they should be.

“There. Captured enough for you?” He says with a smirk.

“Please! Just let me go!” You shout, struggling against his arms fruitlessly. You scream and kick, managing to bring a foot against his knee. He noticeably winces.

“I warned you about fighting back, you insolent brat!” His face steels as his hands become warmer. You can now feel his breath down your face as your squirm, desperate to escape the burning hands and singing clothes.

“I…I…Why me?!” Tears start to fall down your face as you realise this might be your fate.

“Because you shouldn’t be anyone else’s. Do you recall that train villain? Such a stupid villain, but I digress. I saw you try to help people, helping people off the train when it arrived at the station and calming that little kid. It was so…kind, so generous. You were a true hero. I need that in my life, so you are mine.” He at least has the decency to not look you directly in the eyes. His hands cooled down a bit while he was speaking. He seems somewhat ashamed by what he’s done.

Somewhat.

“You could’ve just approached me! Hell, I’m not going to turn down a meeting with the number one hero?! You’re a fucking idiot!”

“Attacking someone while they are vulnerable is usually considered bad form, brat. But I see you have no qualms attacking me.” His palms heat up again, but he seems to have a looser grip on you. Maybe if you…

“I’m sorry, okay? This is just a lot to take in. I…I do admire you, as a hero y’know? I always considered you so calming. You made the city feel so much s-safer, you made ME feel safer.” You look him in the eyes, trying to act as small and gentle as possible. His warm breath washes over your body as he seems to re-examine you. Just a little bit further and…

You bring your knee into his lungs as he is breathing in, winding him. He drops you and you turn on your heel and jump onto the train tracks, running off down the tracks.

He shouts after you.

“Bad idea brat! You want to be punished? Fine then!”

You stare ahead, no trains seem to be running, so you won’t have to make a choice between death and getting run over by a train. You follow the train tracks until you reach a tunnel. You turn around and see him merely walking menacingly toward you, not even running. He has such an angry look on his face, flame beard shooting out in rage. The fire touches a signal box, and it melts to the ground almost instantly. Yeah, no, you aren’t dealing with that. You turn and run inside the tunnel, desperate to escape him. You hear a roar from behind you as fire shoots past your head, hitting the cylindrical wall and dissipating.

“I missed on purpose, stop at once! I will not hesitate you ungrateful bitch!”

You stop and turn around to face him, tremors running through your body.

“Stop approaching me, please?! Can’t we just talk?!” You say shuffling back with each step he takes towards you.

He raises an eyebrow, and astonishingly, he stops, about 8 paces away.

“Fine.”

“I…please, just let me go! I don’t want this!” you say, tears running down your face.

“And why would I care what YOU want, bitch?”

“Because y-you love me o-or ..desire me or something?!”

“Pfft. Maybe, but you know how this works by now.” He takes a step forward, you stand still. His flames cast flickering shadows against the tunnel walls.

“I’m sure you have co-workers, family, friends, who disappeared never to be seen again, OR have a pet of their own.” He takes a step forward, you stand still. His feet leave the rocks red hot.

“You know you cannot escape me. It has not even been an hour.” He steps forward, you stand still. You can feel his heat now.

“Do you expect to run all over the city, making daring escapes and just barely being able to stay out of my grasp for 12 hours? To evade capture from the number one hero?” He steps forward, you stand still. His flames die down, but your body feels like it’s overheating.

“You woke up at 5:12 AM today and had a shift from 7 AM to 5:45 PM. You are not going to be able to keep up this adrenaline and energy til 6AM tomorrow. Being awake for 24 hours is not an easy feat, my dear.“ He steps forward, you stand still. Your tears on your face start to evaporate.

“Oh, do remind me to thank your boss for keeping you late. Money does wonders to people's sense of ethics.” He steps forward, you stand still. He chuckles quietly at the situation and examines your body.

“You cannot escape me, you have no quirk, no talents, no skills. This is not a fair fight because it is not a fight, my dear. It is a hunt, and you seem to have this silly notion that the fox can escape the hound.” He steps forward, you stand still. His hand reaches out to grab your arm, and you do nothing to stop it.

“Advice for your new life, when I give a command, my dear, it helps to oblige. So, hear me when I say: Do. Not. Fight. Back.”

You do not fight back.

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janaikam · 5 years

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It’s Just the Start

This is my @mlsecretsanta gift for @theluckiestwitchathogwarts. I hope you enjoy it! Thank you so much @chatnoirinette for beta reading this!

Happy Holidays!

FFnet. Ao3.

Word Count: 4101

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From a young age, Marinette Dupain-Cheng has been well aware of the meaning of soulmate tattoos. Soulmate tattoos don’t just mean romantic soulmates. The tattoos are the names of important people in a person’s life, like best friends, romantic partners, or even a person’s worst enemy.

The number of these tattoos always differs from person to person. Some people get one tattoo, meaning their romantic soulmate is also their platonic one. Most people tend to get two tattoos—usually one for their romantic/platonic soulmate and one for their soul enemy. Others get three. One soulmate for each of the main types, plus one soul enemy. However, Marinette was an odd case; she had four soulmate tattoos.

Adrien, Alya, Lila, Luka

Adrien’s and Luka’s names are on her right wrist, while Alya’s and Lila’s are on her right ankle. Ever since she was able to understand the meanings behind the tattoos on her wrist, Marinette has been searching for an answer to why she has four names. Marinette visited many tattoo experts to try and figure out the meaning behind her four tattoos. Everyone had a different answer. Some people said she had another soul she was connected to. Others said that she didn’t truly have a soulmate and the names were people she could potentially be soulmates with.

For years, Marinette used long sleeves and makeup to hide her tattoos for fear of being made fun of because she wasn’t normal. Especially around Chloe Bourgeois. That girl would torment Marinette if she knew there was something remotely different about her. So Marinette hid her names and never spoke of it until she saw an interesting post online.

The post was made by a user named Chat Noir and read: Anyone have four soulmate tattoos? I’m just a curious kitty :).

Under the post, there were a lot of people who commented that four soulmate tattoos weren’t possible. Someone even joked that “curiosity killed the cat.” The specificness of the post sparked something in Marinette, which caused her to click on Chat Noir’s profile. With her cursor over the private message, Marinette debated responding to his original post.

Well, it’s not like he could ever find out that I’m the person behind Ladybug’s account. With that thought, Marinette clicked on the button and typed out a quick message to Chat.

LB: Do you have four soulmate tattoos?

After about five minutes with no response, Marinette chose to work on her sketch for a dress she was working on. When she finished up her design, she went down to eat dinner with her parents. By the time she got back to the computer, Marinette had forgotten all about the message she had sent earlier in the day. Thus Marinette was surprised to see a little red notification telling her she had a message.

CN: Maybe I do. Maybe I don’t. It all depends on who’s asking.

Frustrated by the vague answer, Marinette went to the user’s profile to block him, but before she could, another message popped up.

CN: I’m not all too comfortable sharing these purr-ivate secrets with a stranger.

LB: You’re the one who decided to post an oddly specific question on a PUBLIC website.

CN: Fair point. So let’s assume I have four soulmate tattoos. Is it okay for me to assume that you have four tattoos?

Marinette paused, considering how she should answer the question. On one hand, Chat Noir could have two and just be trying to out some weirdo. On the other hand, he could just genuinely be curious.

LB: Well if I’m assuming that you have four soulmate tattoos, I guess it’s only fair you can assume that I have four.

CN: Well my lady, it seems we have reached a good understanding of where the other stands. May I ask what do you think it would mean if a person does have four soulmate tattoos?

LB: I guess I would think that they might have two best friend soulmates and one of the other.

CN: Interesting theory Miss Bug. Got any more?

Marinette was surprised by how quickly he responded given that the last response took a couple of hours to come through. However, what Marinette found more surprising was the fact that she wanted to just keep talking with this stranger on the computer. And that’s exactly what she did late into the night until both of them had to go to sleep.

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Marinette found that she and Chat Noir got along very well despite not really knowing who the other was. For the rest of her summer break, Marinette found herself messaging Chat Noir and getting to know him behind the screen. Though Marinette did make sure that they did not share anything too personal so that Chat could never figure out it was Marinette who had four tattoos.

Throughout their chats, Marinette learned that Chat was the same age as her (or so he claimed), he was a piano genius, and he had the cutest black cat named Plagg.

After about a month, the time came for school to start for Marinette, which in turn meant less time for her and Chat to talk online. Since she didn’t want to leave Chat in the dark, Marinette decided to let him know about the upcoming shift in her schedule.

LB: Hey Chat, I just wanted to let you know that I’m going to be starting school soon, which means that I won’t be on all the time.

CN: Thanks for letting me know Bugaboo :)! If you don’t mind me asking, what is public school like?

The question surprised Marinette mostly because she had assumed that Chat Noir had attended public school.

LB: Uhh. It’s alright. The teachers are fairly nice and try to help with what they can, and the other students are pretty cool. I’m good friends with most of them.

CN: That sounds cool. I wish my father would let me go.

LB: Why won’t he let you go?

CN: He thinks the world is too dangerous and he keeps me in our house unless it’s for a photoshoot or something. It sucks :(.

LB: That’s dumb reasoning. He can’t protect you from the world forever.

CN: Well he’s sure gonna try.

LB: You should sneak out to go to school

Marinette half meant it as a joke, definitely not expecting the next slew of messages from Chat Noir.

CN: I totally should.

CN: So I just messaged one of my friends. She goes to Francois Dupont and they start tomorrow as well.

CN: She said she can get me enrolled without my father filling out all the forms.

CN: Wanna help me figure a plan of escape?

Not being able to say no, Marinette ended up spending the next three hours helping Chat plan a way to escape a home where there was a bodyguard and a personal assistant that could ruin the entire plan. Since too many specifics couldn’t be shared without risking Chat’s identity, Marinette was very lost during most of the planning, which distracted her from the fact that the user Chat Noir was going to try and show up at her school the next day.

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Despite setting her alarm super early, Marinette still manages to be running late for the first day of classes. After quickly throwing on her clothes, she runs downstairs to their kitchen, where her mother was cleaning the things from her breakfast.

“Good morning, Maman,” Marinette greets, giving her mother a quick kiss on the cheek.

“Good morning, Marinette,” Sabine Cheng responds, watching with amusement as Marinette grabbed a banana and her school bag and rushed out the door.

When Marinette gets down to the bakery, she gives her dad a kiss on his cheek and grabbed the box of macarons he made for her class.

“Have a good first day of lycée!” Tom Dupain yells to his daughter as she runs out of the bakery. Marinette quickly rounds the corner, preparing to dash across the street, only to have to stop abruptly because the light is red. The sudden stop causes Marinette to lose her grip on the macaron box and drop it on the sidewalk.

“Oh no!” Marinette exclaims, leaning down and picking up the remains of the macaron box and its contents. “Why am I so clumsy?” By the time Marinette gets back up, the light is green and people start walking across. Marinette sighs and starts running towards the school.

Thankfully, when Marinette enters the classroom, Mme. Bustier is still moving students around. “Nino, why don’t you come sit in the front this year?” Mme. Bustier says, prompting the boy in the back to move to the desk at the front of the classroom.

As Nino is moving, Marinette quickly takes her usual seat in the second row, breathing a sigh of relief now that she is in class.

Unfortunately, she can’t relax for too long, as a perfectly manicured hand slams down on the desk. “Marinette Dupain-Cheng,” Chloe says, grabbing Marinette’s attention.

“Here we go again,” Marinette mumbles underneath her breath.

“That’s my seat,” Chloe states as if it were common knowledge.

“But Chloe, this has always been my seat,” Marinette responds, hoping Chloe will leave her alone.

“Not anymore.” Marinette is startled when Sabrina, Chloe’s lackey, speaks from the seat next to her. “New school year, new seats.”

“So go and sit beside that new girl over there,” Chloe demands, pointing towards a dark-haired girl with dark red highlights. Marinette starts to protest, but Chloe cuts her off. “Adrien is coming today and since that’s his seat”—Chloe points to the spot in front of Marinette—“this is going to be my seat. Get it?”

“Who’s Adrien?” Marinette asks. She tries to keep her hopes down because despite the fact that one of her soulmates is named Adrien, it doesn’t mean this Adrien is the same person.

In response to Marinette’s question, Chloe and Sabrina laugh. “I can’t believe you don’t know who Adrien is. He’s only a famous model and my best friend. He adores me,” Chloe brags. “So go on and move.”

Marinette starts to move only for the new girl to stop her.

“Hey, who elected you the queen of seats?” the girl asks Chloe.

“Oh, look, Sabrina, we’ve got a little do-gooder this year,” Chloe mocks the girl. “What are you gonna do, shoot laser beams at me with your glasses?”

Instead of backing down like other people would have, the new girl says, “Wouldn’t you like to know.”

Chloe takes a step back with surprise etched on her face, allowing the dark-haired girl to grab Marinette’s arm and drag her to the desk at the front of the classroom. Unfortunately, the sudden, unexpected movement causes Marinette to spill the remaining macarons on the floor.

“Sorry, sorry, sorry,” Marinette says, picking up the box and quickly taking her seat.

“Alright, does everyone have a seat?” Mme. Bustier asks, looking up from some papers on her desk.

Marinette stares down at the box with the lone macaron with a frown on her face.

“Chillax, girl,” says the new girl. “It’s no biggie.”

“I so wish I could handle Chloe like you do, ” Marinette says as a way of thanking her.

“You mean like the way Majestia does it. She says, ‘All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that the good people do nothing.’” The girl turns and points towards Chloe. “That girl over there is evil, and we’re the good people. We can’t let her get away with it.”

“Well, that’s easier said than done. She likes to make my life miserable. It’s a wonder she isn’t my enemy soulmate,” Marinette says dejectedly.

“That’s because you let her, girl. You need more confidence.”

Smiling, Marinette grabs the sole surviving macaron and splits it in half.

“Marinette,” she says, holding out the macaron half.

“Alya.”

The two girls share a moment of understanding as they both realize what the other’s name could mean for them both. Before they can address it, Mme. Bustier starts class.

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“Adrien, where do you think you’re going?”

Adrien cringes as he turns to see Nathalie on top of the steps in the foyer. He quickly tries to think up a reason as to why he is attempting to sneak out the front door with a school bag.

“Uhh...I was going to go visit Chloe,” Adrien half lies while turning around and putting on a fake smile.

“Mlle. Bourgeois is currently at school, Adrien. I know you remember that your father does not want you attending public school,” Nathalie reminds Adrien. She walks down the stairs and meets Adrien near the door. “Please go upstairs and practice your piano. I will finish preparing our lessons for today.”

With that, Adrien heads upstairs towards his room. Once Adrien enters his room, he brings his piano up from underneath the floor and plays pre-recorded music from his iPod. After setting everything up, Adrien lies down on his bed. Plagg, Adrien’s cat, comes up and sits right next to him.

Adrien pulls out his phone, opening one of his favorite messaging threads.

CN: Plan A failed :(. I guess I’m glad you had me make a plan B.

LB: Well you can never be too prepared.

Smiling to himself, Adrien sends a quick message to one of his other close friends.

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“Adrien, it would seem Mlle. Tsurugi would like to spend the afternoon with you. I have cleared your schedule, but please make sure you are back by 5 for your Chinese tutoring lesson.” By the time Nathalie is finished, Adrien is practically out the door into Kagami Tsurugi’s cherry-red car.

“Thank you so much for doing this, Kagami!” Adrien thanks, practically squeezing Kagami to death as soon as he’s in the vehicle. Once Adrien lets go, he turns to put his seat belt on so the car can start moving.

“It was no problem at all, Adrien. You are my best friend, and this seemed to be something you really wanted,” Kagami replies, unfazed by Adrien’s excitement.

“To make this up to you, I’m going to introduce you to Chloe the first chance I get,” Adrien decides.

This prompts Kagami to sigh. “Adrien, while I appreciate your efforts, who is to say that Mlle. Bourgeois is the same Chloe that is on my wrist? Not everyone is as lucky as you to have unique names for their soulmate tattoos.”

“Hey, Gabriel isn’t a unique name!” Adrien protests. “That’s my dad’s name, and I wouldn’t say there’s any strong connection there.”

“True, but Marinette, Nino, and my name are unique.”

Adrien goes to argue, but the car stops, announcing their arrival at Francois Dupont.

“I will see you at 3, Adrien,” Kagami says. “Try not to be late.”

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Once it is time for their lunch break, Marinette takes Alya to the park across the street from the school. Marinette leads Alya towards a bench in a secluded area of the park so they could talk with relative privacy.

Once the two girls get settled, it’s Alya who breaks the silence first. “Okay, so we’re soulmates in some way. And I would like to assume that we’re meant to be best friends because you seem really chill, but you’re not exactly my type romantically.”

Marinette releases a breath she didn’t know she was holding. “Well, that makes two of us.”

“Okay, so if you don’t mind me asking, what other names do you have?” Alya asks, getting excited. “I always promised myself that whenever I found my best friend I was always going to help them if they hadn’t found their soulmates. So may I see your names?”

Marinette hesitates. For all she knows, this girl is pretending to be her friend to lull her into a false sense of security and turn her soulmates against her. Before Marinette can get too lost in her inner ramblings, she looks into Alya’s eager and curious face, noticing that there is not any sign of malice in the girl’s features.

Taking a deep breath, Marinette takes off her dark jacket. “So, my tattoos are a little weird. I, umm...I have four of them.” With that, Marinette shows Alya the two tattoos on her wrist and lifts her right leg so she can show her the other two names on her ankle.

For a bit, Alya doesn’t say anything. Then she suddenly shouts, “NO WAY!” Marinette immediately jumps up and covers the girl’s mouth, silently praying that no one will come over.

“Please don’t yell. I don’t want a lot of people to know this specific information,” Marinette pleads, with her hands still covering Alya’s mouth. Slowly, Marinette removes her hands and sits back down.

“Okay, so my new best friend just told me the best thing I’ve ever heard. Girl, I didn’t even know it was possible to have more than three tattoos. That’s amazing!” Alya exclaims.

“Really?”

Alya nods her head furiously.

“Wow, I guess I never really saw this as a good thing.”

“It totally is, girl. Now, who are the lucky people? Besides myself, of course,” Alya questions, barely containing her excitement.

“Luka, Adrien, and Lila.”

“Interesting names. Have you met any of them?”

“Only Luka. He’s Juleka’s brother. He’s very sweet, but I’m not really into him like that.”

“So I’m on the lookout for an Adrien and a Lila. Good to know.” Alya pretends to write the names on her hand, causing Marinette to giggle.

“Hey, do you have any other soulmates?” Marinette questions.

“Just one other. I’m boring like everyone else.”

Marinette giggles.

“Their name is Nino and hopefully he or she is nice and not a jerk.”

“You know, there’s a Nino in our class. I should totally introduce you guys. Maybe you’ll hit it off!” Marinette teases.

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“Hey, Chloe,” Adrien greets as he walks up to her in the school’s courtyard.

“Adrikins! You came!” Chloe runs and jumps into his arms as other students in the courtyard start to recognize who he is and crowd around him.

Thankfully, Chloe manages to shoo most of them away as she leads him upstairs towards the classroom. Still, Adrien does sign a few autographs for some students.

Once they get to the classroom, Chloe shows him to a seat in the front row. “This is your seat, Adrikins. I saved it for you, right in front of me.” As Adrien walks in, he notices his deskmate, a boy in a blue shirt with a red cap, sitting in the seat next to the one Chloe saved for him.

“Thanks, Chloe.” Adrien walks up and takes the seat in the front. He stretches out his hand toward his deskmate. “Uhh…hey….Adrien.”

The boy seems to react to Adrien’s name, but instead of responding with his name, he says, “So you’re friends with Chloe then, huh?”

Adrien looks over in the direction of where the boy was looking and sees Chloe taking out the gum that was in her mouth and giving it to her red-headed friend. The girl then puts the piece of gum on the seat right across from Adrien.

“Hey, what’s that all about?” Adrien questions the two girls with a disgusted look on his face.

“The brats that sat here this morning need a little attitude adjustment,” Chloe states as if it makes perfect sense why she’s doing what she’s doing. “I’m just commanding a bit of respect, that’s all.”

“Do you think that’s really necessary?” Adrien says, moving to try and remove the gum from the seat.

Chloe laughs, walking towards her desk behind Adrien. “You’ve got a lot to learn about school culture, Adrikins. Watch the master.” Chloe leans back in her seat with a confident smirk on her face while the redhead comes up next to her, mimicking Chloe’s pose.

Adrien continues to try to remove the gum until a feminine voice from behind him stops him. “Hey, what are you doing!?”

“Uhh...I…” Adrien attempts to explain himself, but he is at a loss for words as he takes in the beauty of the blue-haired girl behind him. Then, when Chloe and her friend start laughing from their seats, Adrien becomes even more flustered as he reaches for an explanation. An angry look of understanding flashes across her face.

“Okay, I get it. Good job, you three. Very funny,” she congratulates sarcastically.

“No, no. I was trying to take it off,” Adrien attempts to explain, not wanting to ruin his chance at making friends at school.

“Oh really?” the girl questions, getting in his face while Chloe and her friend continue to laugh. The blue-haired girl attempts to remove the gum herself but instead chooses to cover it with a tissue from her bag. “You’re friends with Chloe, right?” she asks, turning back towards him.

“Why do people keep saying that?” Adrien mumbles under his breath. The girl gives him one last dirty look before sitting down in her seat, prompting Adrien to take his own seat.

“Now do you see what I mean about respect?” Chloe comments from behind him. Adrien sighs, looking down at his desk.

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“I know I’ve seen him somewhere before,” Marinette comments, staring at the blond boy sitting across from her. Alya gasps from beside her, showing Marinette what she found on her phone,

“Of course! Adrien Agreste,” Marinette gasps. “He’s the son of my fave designer, Gabriel Agreste!”

“Daddy’s boy, teen supermodel, and Chloe’s buddy? Ha! Forget it.” Alya points to Adrien. “If that boy is your soulmate, it’s probably not good news.”

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Adrien’s deskmate stares at him for a good minute. “Why didn’t you tell her it was Chloe’s idea?” he questions.

“I’ve known Chloe since I was a kid. I know she’s not perfect, but I can’t throw her under the bus. She’s one of my only friends,” Adrien explains.

“I’m Nino. It’s time for you to make some new friends, dude.” The boy smiles and offers out his hand. Recognizing the name, Adrien gasps before understanding the implications of this new friendship. Adrien takes the boy’s hand and shakes it.

“Just some helpful advice. Marinette over there is a pretty chill dude. I’m sure if you just explain to her what happened, she’d be very understanding.”

“Wait, did you say Marinette?” Adrien questions quickly, looking back over to the bluenette. Before Nino could reply, Mme. Bustier starts class by taking attendance, stalling the curiousness stirring in Adrien’s mind.

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Marinette walks out to the front of the school with her bags prepared to leave only to see it pouring outside. She considers making a run for it to the bakery, but after seeing how hard it’s pouring decides to wait out the rain for a bit.

Hearing another student approaching from behind her, Marinette moves to the side of the entrance so she wouldn’t block them. Unfortunately for her, it is Chloe’s friend who just started.

“Hey,” he greets. Marinette turns away, trying to ignore him so he would just go away and leave her alone. A red car pulls up to the front with a young girl in the backseat. The boy sighs and looks at his umbrella, then opens it and takes a step out in the rain. “I just wanted you to know that I was only trying to take the gum off your seat. I swear.”

Marinette gasps and turns towards the blond. “I’ve never been to school before. I’ve never had many friends outside of my father’s associates’ kids. Everything here is all sort of new to me.” The boy turns around and offers Marinette his umbrella. Marinette stares into his eyes, searching for any sign of malice, and realizes that the boy in front of her is truly being genuine. She reaches out for the offered umbrella, hesitating a bit. Still staring in awe, Marinette doesn’t realize she has pressed the close button on the umbrella until it closes on top of her head.

Not a second later, Marinette hears the sweetest and most innocent laugh she has ever heard in her life. She peels back part of the umbrella to see the teen supermodel smiling a genuine smile, causing her to laugh a bit as well.

“Well, Marinette, I hope we can become great friends. See you tomorrow!” Adrien waves good-bye, heading into the red car.

“Maybe we could be something more,” Marinette whispers as his car drives away.

Marinette pauses to pull out her phone and opens her chat with Chat Noir.

LB: I think I just met my romantic soulmate...

CN: I think I did too…

#miraculous ladybug #miraculous #Marinette #marinette cheng #marinette dupain cheng #adrien #adrien agreste #soulmate au #plagg #alya #nino #adrienette #mlsecretsanta2k19 #tattoo soulmate au

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crescentmoon223 · 5 years

Text

When This is Over

As promised, my Stella/Scully quarantine fic. Heads up, it’s SUPER SMUTTY - you’ve been warned lol.

Tensions run high when Stella and Scully are forced to self-isolate together at home during a global pandemic. How far will Scully go to convince Stella to take her on a belated honeymoon once this is over? (Hint: bedroom hijinks!)

Read it on AO3 Note: This is set in present day (spring 2020), post Two Worlds Collide and after their wedding. When I write the sequel to TWC, it will be set during the summer and fall of 2019, directly after the epilogue (and yes, it will include their wedding!) Sorry if this is confusing, but it’s the only way the timeline made sense in my head lol. Obviously, I would rather write the TWC sequel first (and I do hope to write it next month!) but the idea for this quarantine fic hit last weekend, and I decided to go for it while it was relevant. I hope you enjoy! xx

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There were certain sounds that Scully associated with this new chapter in their lives. The clatter of fingers on a keyboard. The murmur of newscasters from the television in the kitchen. The flute music Stella listened to while she did yoga. And currently, the bump and clatter of her obsessively cleaning their flat. Scully looked up from her laptop with a smile as Stella entered her line of vision. She wore gray yoga pants with a black tank top, her hair tied back with a red polka-dot bandana. She wiped down their already sparkling countertops, spraying and scrubbing at spots only she could see. Everyday Stella was a neat freak and a bit of a germophobe. Stella during a viral pandemic was next level. “Nice ass,” Scully called as Stella bent to wipe down the front of one of the cabinets. Stella shot her an exasperated look, but she turned, leaning over the sink to rinse her cleaning cloth in a way that pressed her breasts together, emphasizing her cleavage beneath the snug-fitting tank top, and it certainly wasn’t accidental.

Read the rest on AO3

Scully closed out of the software the university was using for its virtual classroom. She’d been teaching forensics online for a week now, and it had gone relatively smoothly, although she missed the face-to-face interaction with her students. Setting her laptop on the table, she returned her attention to her wife. “Planning to stop cleaning anytime soon?” Another sharp look from Stella. “I’ll stop when it’s clean.” Scully knew better than to argue with her. She fought a smile as she remembered the abject horror on Stella’s face after she’d been told that as Detective Chief Superintendent, a position which required little to no field work, she was one of the non-essential Met personnel who would be expected to work from home until the self-isolation period had passed. In the days since, she had quickly demonstrated why she was not a good candidate to work from home. Unable to go to the office—or the pool—she’d covered the living room table with Met paperwork, file folders and notebooks filled with her ingenious musings. When she wasn’t working, she alternated between cleaning fits, ill-fated yoga sessions that tended to end in a lot of swearing and whiskey drinking, and watching entirely too much news BBC coverage on COVID-19. In short, she was driving Scully crazy. For her part, Scully had a more pragmatic approach. She’d suffered through many less pleasant quarantine situations than this one during her time on the X Files, and she’d already faced the potential end of the world as she knew it…more than once. She was perfectly content now to teach from her home office, run her own data on the progression of the virus, and spend plenty of time with her wife. If only she could get Stella to settle. “I need to check on my mom, and then we should start thinking about dinner,” Scully told her. “There are steaks in the freezer,” Stella said. “I’ll put them in the sink to thaw.” “Perfect.” Scully picked up her laptop and opened FaceTime to dial her mom. Maggie’s face appeared on the screen, and Scully felt something deep inside her relax. Probably the hardest part of this mandatory self-isolation was being trapped an ocean away from her mom, who was in a high-risk category due to her age. Thankfully, Maggie had lots of people checking on her. “Dana, I was just thinking about you,” she said with a smile. “How are you today, Mom?” “Oh, I’m just fine. Fox dropped by earlier. He brought me groceries, that sweet man.” Scully’s heart clenched. Mulder was a sweet man to check on her mom for her, not that she’d ever doubted this about him. They were family, in every way that mattered. She made a mental note to call him in the morning to thank him, and to make sure he was taking care of himself too. “He didn’t come in, did he?” “No. He left the groceries on the porch and then sat and talked with me for a while through the window.” Scully smiled. “That was nice of him.” “He talked a lot about increased UFO sightings, particularly in areas with the highest rate of infection.” Maggie’s eyes widened. “Mom.” Scully shook her head in exasperation. “It’s not an alien virus. In fact, it originated from bats.” “Well, he was very convincing, is all I’m saying,” Maggie told her. “He always is,” Scully agreed. “You’re still feeling fine? No symptoms?” “I’m as healthy as a seventy-six-year-old woman could expect to be,” Maggie said. “I even went for a walk around the neighborhood earlier, and before you ask, yes, I kept my distance from everyone else.” “Good,” Scully said, wishing more than anything that she could reach through the screen and give her mom a hug. “Remember, there’s no reason to panic if you do develop symptoms, but it’s extremely important that you get tested right away. Tests are hard to come by in the US, but I know people who can pull strings for you.” “I know, I know,” Maggie said, waving her hands impatiently. “How are you and Stella?” “We’re fine,” Scully told her, glancing toward the kitchen, but Stella was nowhere in sight. “Just a bit stir crazy, but who isn’t?” “I imagine this is very difficult for Stella,” Maggie said with a knowing smile. Scully grinned. “You got that right.” “Did I hear my name?” Stella emerged from the hallway, having changed into a white T-shirt and drawstring pants, her hair loose over her shoulders. She sat on the couch beside Scully, waving politely at Maggie. “Hi, Stella,” Maggie said warmly. “How are you?” “I’m fine, despite what Dana may be telling you,” she said, giving Scully a look. “And how are you, Maggie?” “The very same,” Maggie said with a laugh. Stella joined the conversation for a few minutes before excusing herself to the kitchen to check on the steaks. “I’ll talk to you again tomorrow, Mom,” Scully said. “And call me anytime, for any reason, no matter the hour. Promise?” “Will do,” Maggie said. “Good night, Dana. I love you.” “Love you too, Mom.” She ended the call and closed her laptop. Her gaze caught on the gold band glinting on her left ring finger. She was thankful for it for so many reasons, but right now, it symbolized a vitally important connection between her and Stella. If the worst were to happen and one of them became sick, they would have spousal privileges at the hospital. Stella was her next of kin, with visitation rights and the power to make any difficult decisions that might need to be made. And Scully would do the same for Stella. Both of them had living wills and all their wishes already clearly defined, but it gave her an extra sense of peace knowing they had each other. She touched the ring with a smile. “What do you want to do until dinner?” Stella asked, rejoining her on the couch. “Oh, I’m sure we can think of something.” She smiled as Stella’s fingers traced the seam of Scully’s jeans from her knee slowly up her thigh. They’d always enjoyed an active sex life, but being stuck at home together had made them even more insatiable than usual. She reached for Stella, sliding one hand into her hair as she pulled her in for a kiss. Stella smelled like lemons and soap, her lips soft and pliant against Scully’s. She stared into the azure depths of Stella’s eyes as her mind flipped all the way back to their first kiss against the side of Stella’s car over twenty years ago. They’d shared a lifetime of kisses since, two continents worth, from London to Maryland to Wyoming. Lately, she’d been wanting to add someplace new to that list. She pressed her lips against a sensitive spot on Stella’s jaw, feeling the shudder that ran through her. “You still owe me a honeymoon, you know.” “This isn’t enough for you?” Stella quipped, hands roaming beneath Scully’s shirt. “Endless weeks trapped here at home, fucking each other senseless?” She shook her head, gasping as Stella sucked at the spot beneath her ear that had always been her undoing. “I’m serious. If we survive this pandemic—” “If?” Stella interrupted, her tone sharp. “When,” Scully corrected. “When this is over, we owe it to ourselves to take a real vacation, one that has nothing to do with work or family. Just you and me, celebrating our marriage somewhere special.” Stella said nothing, instead swirling her tongue over Scully’s neck while she teased her through her jeans. But despite her already-wet panties, Scully persisted, because seduction as a form of distraction was the oldest rule in Stella’s book. “Paris,” she said, sliding into Stella’s lap. “There are so many museums we could explore, so much art. The Mona Lisa…” Stella arched her hips so Scully could move against her, friction building through their clothes. “I’ve seen the Mona Lisa.” “But I haven’t.” She slipped a hand between them, touching Stella through her pants, pleased as Stella’s breath hitched, nipples hardening beneath her T-shirt. “Take me, Stel.” “Yes,” Stella said throatily. “Take me to Paris,” she clarified, fingers moving over the soft cotton of Stella’s pants, already damp with her arousal. “We’ll see,” Stella hedged. She thought vacations were a waste of time and money, an extravagance that could be better indulged in fine liquors, fabrics, and other luxuries right here at home. Scully was generally inclined to agree with her. They both worked hard and traveled often enough for work or to visit family that a separate vacation just for the two of them sometimes felt like too much effort. But this was different. She’d already lost too many years to unpredictable viruses and quarantine protocols. She deserved a trip to Paris, at the very least. They both did. But if sex was Stella’s preferred means of communication at the moment, maybe she could use that to her advantage. Scully bent her head and kissed Stella, hands sliding behind her back to hold her close. Her tongue slid into the welcome heat of Stella’s mouth, tasting whiskey. “Picture it, Stella,” she murmured against her lips. “Sidewalk cafés, wine and cheese and melt-in-your-mouth pastries on our balcony.” “Mm,” Stella said noncommittally, hands gripping Scully’s ass. “Versailles,” Scully whispered against the pulse point on Stella’s neck, watching as goose bumps rose on her skin. “Gardens. Flowers. So many beautiful churches.” “I hate church,” Stella said breathlessly. “I’m not asking you to sit through a service with me, just admire the architecture and the stained glass.” She swirled her tongue over Stella’s collarbone, rewarded by a sharp inhale. “Let’s go, when this is over.” “Dana…” Stella’s body stilled beneath Scully’s. “We don’t know when that will be or what the world will look like.” “I know that.” She sat up, taking Stella’s chin in her hand to force her to meet her eyes. “I know that better than almost anyone.” “Then why are you pushing me for a trip right now of all times?” There was a fragility to the fierceness in Stella’s gaze. She was afraid. Scully softened at the realization. “The world will look different when this is over, and it will be a while before we can go to Paris, but it’s good for morale to have something to look forward to, and I would imagine the economy will need a boost from tourism when all is said and done.” “I can find you plenty of architecture and stained glass right here in London.” Stella popped the button on Scully’s jeans, pushing down the zipper with a soft metallic hiss. Scully pressed closer. “Not the point.” “Agree to disagree?” Stella’s fingers dove down the front of Scully’s underwear. Her hips rolled against Stella’s hand as a soft whimper escaped her throat, and a wicked idea took hold in her mind. “I’ll play you for it.” “What?” An adorable wrinkle appeared in Stella’s brow. Scully sat up straighter, grinning. “Sex games are your specialty, are they not?” Stella’s eyebrows lifted. “What kind of game?” “If I can make you come first, we go to Paris. If you make me come first, we stay home.” She dangled the bait, knowing Stella would be unable to refuse, even as she also knew her chances of winning were slim. Stella’s self-control was legendary, after all. But it would be fun to try, and it might even distract Stella from the reality of their situation for a little while. Sure enough, the flame in Stella’s eyes lit. “You’re on.” * * * Stella pushed Scully onto the bed and climbed on top of her, both of them still fully clothed. Now that Scully had made this a game with their honeymoon as the prize, they were both eager to take things slow. Frankly, Stella couldn’t imagine a better way to spend what remained of the afternoon than to slowly and relentlessly tease Scully right over the edge…repeatedly. “You smell good,” Scully murmured, shifting beneath her so that Stella’s right thigh slid between her own. “I took a quick shower while you were talking to your mother.” Stella pressed her thigh more firmly against Scully, rewarded by a little moan. She liked this position, being on top, in control, a feeling that had been in short supply since she’d been sent home from work. Stella hated laying low, waiting the threat to pass. Her every instinct screamed for her to get out there on the frontlines and fight this thing. She’d fearlessly stared down every kind of evil imaginable over the years, but this one was different. There was no bravery in going outside now, nothing but her own stupidity to blame if she allowed the virus to catch her. There was a helplessness to being trapped at home that was slowly eating her alive. She’d cleaned everything she could get her hands on, the only way she knew to fight this faceless threat. She’d checked on Fran nearly as often as Scully called her mother. She’d watched while Scully analyzed articles and data, showing her graphs that scared the fuck out of her, while Scully herself faced their uncertain future with a kind of serenity that made Stella want to scream. Distantly, she wondered if Scully knew all of this, if she’d manufactured this sex game to get Stella out of her head for a little while, to give her a sense of power here that she couldn’t find elsewhere right now. It wouldn’t surprise her, but she wasn’t going to let it ruin this moment either. She slid a hand beneath Scully’s top—a crisp black button-down she’d worn for her online teaching earlier that day—and cupped her over her bra. She brushed her thumb back and forth, feeling Scully’s nipples harden beneath her touch. Scully deftly untied the drawstring on Stella’s pants, slipping a hand inside. “Stella,” she said in a scandalized tone. “Did you FaceTime my mother without underwear?” “Easier to get undressed afterward.” She swallowed a whimper as Scully’s fingers slid over her bare skin before retreating to palm her equally bare breasts. “I’ll say.” Scully pushed Stella’s shirt up, helping her slide it over her head. Stella straightened, tits bouncing as she rocked her hips against Scully’s. The coronavirus was outside her control, but this—her body, her pleasure—this she controlled. That she would win was already a forgone conclusion. She could hardly believe Scully had even offered the challenge. “This might be a better view than anything I would find in the Louvre,” Scully said, gaze locked on Stella’s tits. “All the more reason not to go.” Stella began unbuttoning Scully’s blouse, pausing after each button to kiss the newly exposed skin, leaving a wet trail down the center of her chest and over the clasp of her bra. She continued all the way to the waistband of Scully’s jeans, her shirt now hanging open at her sides. Scully looked down at her, chest heaving, bottom lip pinched between her teeth. “Well, don’t stop there.” “Wasn’t planning to.” Stella eased the shirt down Scully’s left arm and then the right before tossing it to the floor. She helped Scully wiggle out of her jeans, dipping her head to kiss her through her underwear before she stripped those away too, followed by her own pants. Once they were both naked, Stella turned her attention to worshipping every inch of Scully’s bare skin. She kissed her breasts, teasing Scully’s nipples until they had tightened into tight rosy buds, which she flicked with her tongue until Scully moaned. Stella looked up and caught her gaze as she began to kiss her way down Scully’s stomach, making sure to pay special attention to all of her most sensitive spots, like that little patch of skin just below her left hipbone, the one that made her whimper and squirm as Stella’s tongue swirled over it. “God, Stella,” Scully groaned, hands fisted in the sheet. “Mm,” she murmured as she flicked her tongue against Scully’s clit, causing her hips to buck upward with a gasp of surprise. Stella was torn between the desire to drive Scully straight over the edge or to hold herself back a bit and at least give Scully a fighting chance. In the end, she wanted this to last as long as possible. Power games in bed were a huge fucking turn on. Just thinking about what was to come had her throbbing in anticipation. She teased Scully with her tongue, licking and sucking but never giving her as much pressure as she knew Scully preferred. She pushed a single finger inside her, thrusting in time with her tongue, toying with her. Scully’s gasping breaths became increasingly labored, her hips shifting restlessly, her arousal fueling Stella’s. She reached between her own thighs, pressing two fingers against her aching clit. She stroked herself once, twice, just enough to give herself momentary relief from the tension building there before returning her hand to Scully’s body, letting her own need drive her as she focused on her wife. She nipped Scully’s clit, drawing a strangled cry from her lips, before trailing a string of wet, open-mouthed kisses down her inner thighs until Scully was writhing beneath her. “Stop,” she mumbled, pushing at Stella’s shoulders. Stella smiled as she complied, sliding up Scully’s body to kiss her on the mouth, tongues tangling, bodies pressed together from head to toe, spreading heat with every movement. They kissed for what felt like hours, and Stella was lost in the sensations, the warmth of Scully’s breath on her cheeks, the weight of Scully’s breasts against her own, the teasing rub of her skin against the parts of Stella that ached for release. And then Scully was moving, shimmying down to position herself between Stella’s thighs. She inhaled sharply, everything inside her tensing in anticipation. Scully was talented in too many ways to name, but the wicked pleasure of her mouth was something that still overwhelmed Stella in the best possible way. She began with one long, slow lick, and Stella felt herself arching off the bed, her body instinctively seeking more. Scully centered the heat of her mouth over Stella’s clit, swirling there until Stella was dizzy with desire, unaware of anything but the hot press of Scully’s tongue and the powerful need coiling inside her. She moved her hips, rocking against Scully’s mouth, allowing herself this moment of surrender before she slid sideways, rolling to face Scully. Need pulsed wickedly inside her, invigorating her, burning away the ugly things that had built in her chest during the day. “Touch yourself,” she demanded, feeling a shiver of excitement as she watched Scully push a hand between her thighs in response. Scully stroked herself, slowly at first, gradually picking up speed. Her lips parted in silent pleasure, and Stella watched, entranced. Scully stared straight into her eyes as she moved, pleasure apparent in the flush on her cheeks and the slightly dazed expression on her face. “You too,” Scully said breathlessly. “Touch yourself.” Stella did, bringing a hand between her thighs, which were already slick with a combination of her own arousal and Scully’s recent attention. She kept her touch light, careful not to give herself too much stimulation, not when Scully had already brought her so close to the edge. She skimmed her fingers over herself as her core clenched, seeking the release she so relentlessly denied herself. “How close are you?” Scully asked, gaze dropping to Stella’s hand, watching as she touched herself. “Not very,” Stella told her, which was technically true, although she could get herself there quickly enough if she allowed it. “On a scale of one to ten,” Scully persisted, her own fingers still moving, stroking. “One being barely aroused, and ten being the point of no return.” Stella smirked. “Six.” “Oh.” Scully slowed her fingers, looking pained to do so. “And you?” Stella couldn’t help asking. “Eight.” She whimpered slightly. “Maybe a nine.” “Interesting.” Stella reached for her, drawing her close. She pushed Scully’s hand aside, replacing it with her own, and fuck, Scully was so wet. It sent a hot thrill through Stella’s body, shooting straight to her clit. Swiftly, she rolled, sliding a thigh between Scully’s in a move streamlined by years of practice, intimate knowledge of exactly how to position herself so that their pussies pressed together for optimal pleasure. Immediately, Scully began to move, grinding vigorously against Stella. “Nine,” Scully gasped. “Definitely a nine.” Stella was headed there pretty quickly herself, her clit thrumming with need beneath the hot, wet slide of Scully’s body. She watched as Scully surrendered, shuddering in her arms, her pussy pulsing against Stella’s as she came, whimpering, hips jerking, and it was so powerful, she nearly took Stella over the edge with her. She began to move against Scully in earnest now, chasing her own release. She arched her hips so that her clit rubbed against Scully’s pelvic bone with each thrust, and yes, this was it. This was perfect. So fucking perfect. Need coiled hot and tight in her core. Scully rolled away with a wicked grin. “I demand a rematch.” “Well, that’s hardly fair,” Stella said, attempting to steady her voice as her thighs pressed together uncomfortably. “Not exactly a level playing field now, is it?” “It’s perfectly fair,” Scully told her. “You deserved to start with a handicap.” And well, she had a point. Even in her current state, Stella could probably still win their bet. She blew out a long, slow breath. Strike that. She could definitely still win their bet. She could win it three times over if she had to. The game was all part of the thrill for her, and as long as it lasted, she didn’t have to think about what was happening outside their flat, the invisible threat she didn’t know how to fight. “All right.” Scully gave her a smug smile, but Stella kissed it right off her face as she moved in, getting right down to business this time. She fucked Scully hard and fast with her fingers, not letting up until Scully was writhing against her all over again. Once she had her sufficiently worked up, Stella withdrew her hand, trailing her glistening fingers over Scully’s stomach, thrilled with the way she trembled beneath Stella’s touch. “And now?” she asked. “Where are you on your little scale?” “At least a seven.” She pressed a thigh between Stella’s legs, angling her hips to give them both some much-needed friction. “You?” “Same.” Stella pressed herself firmly against Scully’s thigh, attempting to hold still, but Scully stymied her with her own movements, causing her thigh to rub rhythmically against Stella’s already hyper-sensitive clit. She gripped tighter with her thighs, allowing it…for now. “You’re so gorgeous when you’re this turned on,” Scully said reverently, tracing a hand over the contour of Stella’s face. “Makes me want to tease you like this forever.” Stella exhaled, hearing the hitch in her breath. Her thighs, still clamped around Scully’s, began to shake. Scully’s hips stilled, bringing them both to a gasping halt. Stella unthreaded their legs, channeling the energy inside her into a blistering kiss, her lips devouring Scully’s, tongues thrusting in an imitation of the act their bodies craved. This kiss was deep and ravenous, feeding a hunger that only grew with each passing moment. Stella could lose herself here, every cell in her body achingly, breathtakingly alive, adrenaline coursing through her veins, all centered in the pulsing ache between her thighs. They moved together, never quite allowing their bodies to touch the way they needed, instead letting the whisper soft brush of skin against skin stoke the fire blazing between them. “Stella,” Scully gasped, fingernails biting into Stella’s back, causing her to exhale sharply in pleasure. “Do that again,” Stella demanded, her voice low and hoarse. Scully’s nails bit into her skin, dragging slowly down her back to dig into her ass, hauling her up against the welcome heat of Scully’s body. Their hips pressed together more firmly now, and Stella couldn’t help but gasp as Scully thrust against her. “Fuck,” Scully mumbled, and Stella grinned against her lips. Despite her best intentions, Scully had very little willpower when it came to postponing her pleasure. “Nine again, hm?” Stella asked. “Yes.” Scully’s movements became increasingly frantic. Stella arched her back, separating their hips, causing Scully to swear. But Stella wasn’t quite ready for this to be over. Not to mention, Scully was also incredibly, impossibly beautiful when she was this turned on. Her blue eyes gleamed with desire, cheeks flushed, breath coming in irregular gasps. Stella slid down to lavish her breasts, licking and sucking as Scully writhed beneath her. And then, Scully rose, flipping Stella beneath her and pinning her to the bed before she’d realized what was happening. “Time to get you to a nine,” Scully panted, and Stella shifted restlessly against the bed. Truthfully, she’d already been there a few times, and it wouldn’t take much to bring her back…or to carry her over the edge. She held herself still as Scully crawled down her body, giving her a heated look before she closed her mouth directly over Stella’s clit, sucking hard. Stella’s hips bucked, and she held her breath against the urge to beg for more. Scully was on a mission, her tongue licking, flicking, swirling with such an intensity that for several long moments, Stella completely lost her wits, grinding shamelessly against Scully’s mouth. Scully pushed two fingers inside her, expertly stroking her upper wall, and just like that… “Nine,” Stella gasped, pushing Scully away as her core clenched desperately against the emptiness left behind. “Oh, I definitely like you like this,” Scully said, eyes burning hot as they raked over Stella’s body, scorching her everywhere they touched. It was all she could do not to bring her hand between her thighs and let Scully watch as she fucked herself right over the edge. Instead, she pounced, hands gripping Scully’s hips as she evened the score. She held nothing back, nipping and sucking at Scully’s clit as she pushed two fingers inside her, followed quickly by a third. She showed no mercy, working Scully hard and fast, dimly aware that she wasn’t even trying to slow Stella down this time. Scully came in a wet rush, her pussy clenching around Stella’s fingers as her body shook and her hips bucked, followed by a long, low cry of relief. Stella rolled to the side, one hand already between her legs, fucking herself as hard as she’d just fucked Scully. “Wait,” Scully gasped, rising unsteadily as a smile stretched her cheeks. “No,” Stella protested, even as her hand stilled. She could wait. She could keep this up as long as Scully wanted to play. But she was ready to come. Her body shook with the effort not to. “I won fair and square. Twice.” “Yes, you did.” Scully planted a hot kiss against her lips. “And you deserve to be rewarded properly for your efforts.” “Do I?” she asked, one hand still pressed firmly between her legs but not moving, holding herself on the brink of release. “Yes,” Scully said with a brisk nod. “Hands off.” Stella complied, desperately curious as to what Scully had in mind. She steadied her breathing, trying to relax, pushing back her need so that she’d last long enough to properly enjoy her reward, whatever it was. Scully scooted to the edge of the bed and opened the drawer where they kept their toys. A fresh wave of arousal rushed through Stella, and she pressed her thighs together. As she watched, Scully took out the hot pink strap-on that was possibly Stella’s favorite possession. Scully slipped into the harness before turning to face Stella, pink cock jutting in her direction, and she couldn’t help it. She moaned. If it was possible to come from anticipation alone, this would be the moment. Scully squirted lube onto one palm and slicked it over the cock, warming it beneath her palms with long, sweeping strokes while Stella clenched her fists in the sheet to keep from touching herself. She ached to be filled, desperation making her weak. “Ready?” Scully asked as she crawled onto the bed, and Stella nodded, thighs parting in anticipation. “You’re so wet for me, Stella,” Scully said as she allowed the head of the cock to brush against Stella’s entrance. “Mm,” she agreed, gripping Scully’s ass, pulling her closer. “Impatient, are we?” Scully quipped, rocking her hips so that the head of the cock slipped inside Stella. She whimpered, too far gone to argue. Scully pressed forward, testing Stella as her body adjusted to the toy before she drew back and slid home, filling Stella completely. She moaned in relief, falling back against the mattress as Scully straddled her, thrusting into her hard and fast, just the way Stella liked. Scully reached between them, stroking Stella’s clit in time with the movement of her hips, and Stella was done for. Her eyes fell shut as she rocked up to meet Scully, barely able to breathe past the need rising inside her, throbbing in her core, building hotter and stronger with each thrust until she thought she might burst from the power of it. “More,” she gasped. Scully picked up the pace, pounding into her as her fingers circled Stella’s clit, harder, faster, and then she was coming, arching off the bed with a moan as the orgasm rushed through her, leaving her hot and tingly in its wake. She lay there, gasping for breath, still impossibly aroused by the feel of the cock inside her and the woman on top of her. Scully paused, allowing Stella a moment to catch her breath before she resumed her movements, this time tilting her hips so that the head of the cock rubbed against Stella’s G-spot on every stroke. She swore as need rose inside her again, impossible stronger and more urgent than before, so intense she could only writhe and swear beneath Scully as she carried Stella swiftly toward a second orgasm. “Come for me,” Scully whispered, and Stella did. Her core ignited with release, pulsing through her with such an intensity, she almost thought she was having an out of body experience. A high, keening cry tore from her throat as wave after wave of pleasure rolled through her. It kept coming, she kept coming, as her body released all the tension she’d built up during their game. When she regained her senses, she was limp and shaky, her body covered in sweat, her pussy still tingling with aftershocks of pleasure. “Wow,” Scully whispered. “I don’t know if I’ve ever seen you come that hard.” Rather than answering, Stella pulled her in for a deep, drunken kiss. She wasn’t entirely sure she could form words just yet, let alone move, so she just lay there, panting for breath, as Scully climbed off the bed and went into the bathroom to clean their toy. She returned a few minutes later and tucked the dildo back into its drawer before sliding into bed, a pink cloth in her hands. She pressed it against Stella’s flushed face. The cloth was warm and damp, and it felt so good as Scully gently wiped the sweat from her skin. She worked her way down Stella’s body, washing away sweat and sex. When she’d finished, she tossed the cloth toward the bathroom and crawled in beside Stella, one arm thrown over her stomach. They lay like that for a while, both of them calm and sated. Scully’s fingers traced lazy patterns on Stella’s skin. “We’ll have a lovely honeymoon here in London when this is over,” she said softly without a trace of disappointment in her tone, true to her word. Stella looked down at the gold band on her finger. She tightened her arms protectively around Scully as teared pooled in her eyes. Despite their self-isolation, what if the virus managed to penetrate their home? What if something happened to Scully? Stella couldn’t bear the thought. Scully closed her eyes, resting peacefully in Stella’s arms. Was she daydreaming about their honeymoon? Stella tried to imagine it, but she found herself picturing Scully sipping champagne on the Eiffel Tower, eating pastries at a sidewalk café, spouting scientific details as Stella showed her magnificent stained glass in Saint Chappelle and Notre Dame, so much stained glass it would take her breath away. If they survived this—when they survived this—how could Stella possibly deny her the honeymoon of her dreams? How could she deny either of them that chance? She held Scully tightly, burying her face in the floral-scented depths of Scully’s hair. “But not as lovely as Paris.” Scully pulled back to give her a baffled look. “You were right,” Stella whispered. “We should go to Paris.” Scully beamed at her with a joy so pure, it warmed even the darkest, most fearful parts of Stella’s heart. “Really?” “Really.” She drew in a breath. “But it will be a while before we can go, Dana, and I don’t—” “I know.” Scully brought their lips together for a gentle kiss. “It took us twenty years to get married. However long we have to wait for our honeymoon, it will be worth it.” Stella nodded as a tear slipped over her cheek, knowing in her heart that it was true.

#fanfic #Two Worlds Collide #scullyxstella #stella and scully #scully/stella #Stella Gibson #Dana Scully #quarantine #quarantine fic

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coolpolarbear123 · 4 years

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Band Camp Day 1

Yes, we’re having band camp in the midst of a global pandemic

Wednesday, August 12th, 2020

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I explained last year the origins of this, so if you’re curious, you can check that out:

Essentially: I use tumblr as an actual blog for a week. Or a diary. Whichever.

Now I know what you’re thinking: band camp? We’re literally at the height of coronavirus

You’re right, we are. It is way less of a problem where I go to university, but it’s still not the best idea, I know

We are all taking bets on how long this lasts and when the uni is gonna switch us back to fully online, and my bet is a little less than a month. My friends have all said 2-3 weeks.

The uni is also testing all of us, I got tested on the 8th because band kids needed to be tested at least two days prior (it takes two days to process)

Except that’s a lie because my results aren’t in and neither are anyone elses

Okay that’s an exaggeration, half of them are probably back

Anyway, onto how the band is handling this

Band camp was shortened by a couple days to allow for testing, so we started today instead of Sunday/Monday. Leadership started this morning, and the rest of us started at 12:30pm.

We were supposed to start yesterday, but covid results weren’t coming in fast enough, so we had to postpone another day

I definitely needed the extra practice time, though, I guess

Not that I used it properly, but spoiler alert: I’m third chair out of twelve

Okay but I guess I went to Biggbby before practice instead of practicing but a n y w a y

Got there, got in a circle, seeing our freshmen for the first time and old friends for the “first time”

Because we definitely Did Not all see each other several times in the days leading up to band camp

We all checked it, which was super quick

So in the past, the band gets into an entire block, and that’s called “block” and we sorta just figure it out by section, and then we use that same configuration for the rest of the year, but this year we got assigned seats, essentially

I was put in the back, moved to the front, then put so far back I’m only by one person??

Does that sound like a block to you??

And then we did auditions

Outside

We walked so far away from the practice field, we may as well have been in a different timezone

All of band camp is outside this year. Playing rehearsals, meetings, everything.

Social distancing, of course

“Social distancing”

Masks on whenever we aren’t playing

That, we actually are managing to do

And yeah, I’ll keep you updated on how much of a dumpster fire this becomes

In the meantime, my friends and I are all in two apartments, living together, so if one of us gets it, the entire section goes down, and speaking of the section, we have 4 freshmen!

We were supposed to have, like, 9, but our band director literally kept urging them to switch instruments until 5 of them did

It made us really mad, it was a whole ordeal

Like we were specifically targeted, and yeah we were one of the biggest sections, but there are others just as big

And the drumline didn’t even need anyone else

It’s so maddening—all of the returning piccolos are angry

Like one of them went to colorguard, and our band director practically asked right in front of our drill instructor

Again, it’s a whole, very maddening, thing

Back to the program: after the auditions (we were the last to finish, but #notlast) we headed back to the practice field where our band director started without us

But the worst part is that he started right as we were walking across to put our stuff down? Like if felt like an extra “f*ck you” because he could have waited five more seconds but no

“but the piccolos aren’t unappreciated or disregarded or anything”

Ugh anyway

We played scales, went home for dinner, met at the music building (outside because of covid), marched down to the practice field as we always do

Spaced out a Ton Extra because covid (part 87648687)

People shouted “you’re doing great” which my compliment-deprived husk liked

Our band director said “looking good” when he looked at our section, and $1 million says he didn’t know we were the piccolos

We learned how to march until the end of practice (9pm), then we sang the alma mater and fight song as we usually do, but not really

We usually all form lines of side hugs (is there a name for that?) and sway back and forth, but because of covid, we had to stay still

It made it a lot harder, actually

Oh, during our one (1) break, we made our groupchat and Immediately memes and shenanigans began. This is a good section this year, folks. We’re close already, which is amazing

Other sections could never

Our after band activity was the scavenger hunt, which if you don’t know, we won two years ago, when our section chant became “Not Last” (which we still chant to this day)

It’s a very important night for the piccolos, to say the very least

We got 6th out of 7th, so I guess that’s not last, but also we suspect the judging was very biased even though they said it wasn’t

Reading this, you might be like “anni, you’re paranoid, they aren’t treating the piccs that badly” but I promise you, I can pull pages of receipts that I don’t really want to say on a public tumblr post, so sorry

The only people who read these are my friends, anyway, so I trust that you guys believe me

The scavenger hunt was fun though! It involves a lot of waiting, and we really bonded during that, too

We played ninja, which made other sections start playing ninja

But the piccolos aren’t close or anything

We sang country roads for a hot second

We did a bajillion dumb ice breakers

“everyone say what pet you have”

I said “I have a little brother, a dog, and a fish”

“if you could go anywhere, where would you go?”

I said “the grave”

Apparently that one isn’t wholesome like everyone else’s

Got home, my section leader called me because even more Piccolo Hatred happened, which I’m definitely not typing out here, sorry, and now it’s time for me to sleep!

This may get posted late depending on my wi-fi situation, but theoretically, I’ll see you guys tomorrow

okay but also

“maybe if the piccs didn’t distance themselves from other sections...”

me, when I stepped onto the practice field for the first time, having tons of people from different sections waving at me,

anyway anyway

#band camp #2k20 bc adventures #rant #marching band #band #cpb speaks #cbc

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basketofverbiage · 5 years

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Candy and Tradition

So, I decided to challenge myself to write and post 25 drabbles between now and Christmas. Here is the first (also, all the recipes listed are real things my family makes, so if you are curious about them, let me know and I can post some of them)!

For 90% of the year, Y/n was perfectly happy with her life in Seoul. While she did get a little bit homesick from time to time, her beautiful boyfriends made everything better on those days. Namjoon and Jungkook were the perfect mix of brains and brawn, art and sport, sweet and spicy, and kept life interesting enough that Y/n really didn’t miss her home country. However, the 10% of the time where homesickness was paramount was the holiday season. Since she grew up in America, Y/n’s family all celebrated Thanksgiving, and she’d grown used to not being able to do the same in Korea. Her family had never been traditional about the turkey and all the trimmings, so that part was easily displaced for Y/n. In fact, one year, her family had had a taco bar instead; however, the tradition that they kept without fail was that the entire family came together the Saturday after Thanksgiving to make homemade candy of all varieties. While other families baked Christmas cookies together, Y/n’s family spent 8-12 hours making all kinds of confections; if it wasn’t nailed down, it got covered in chocolate that day.

Y/n usually would fly home for a few days to participate in the candy making festivities, but this year it just wasn’t feasible due to her work schedule. Her family was okay with it, and her mom had promised to video call her so that she could see her nieces and nephews experience the day for the first time, but it just wasn’t the same. So, when the week of Thanksgiving came, Namjoon and Jungkook noticed how upset she was becoming.

“Hyung, we need to do something to help Noona. She’s so sad about not seeing her family,” Jungkook told Namjoon as he brought the elder a cup of coffee to his studio.

Namjoon accepted the steaming cup of coffee with a tender kiss to the younger’s lips before speaking. “I know. I’ve been thinking about it all morning and I think I have a solution. What if we call and get some of Y/n’s favorite recipes from her mom and we have our own candy making day here in Seoul? We have this weekend off for a change, and maybe Jin-hyung would be okay with us taking over the kitchen for the day.”

“I’m sure he would because he’d get to eat some of the things we make,” Jungkook said thoughtfully. “When can we call for those recipes? It might be hard to get some of the ingredients so we might have to overnight them from online.”

“I’ll reach out by text since it’s the middle of the night there. Maybe we can tell Y/n that we can’t come over to her apartment tonight because something came up here, and we can stay late here and video chat her then.”

After getting a goodbye kiss for the road, Jungkook headed off to record some vocals for their new album. He felt a bit better now that he had a plan in place to cheer up their girlfriend, and he knew that she’d love the surprise. He’d loved Namjoon since he was 15 but was still amazed at how intuitive the man was and how quickly he could come up with a solution to nearly any problem. He trusted that Namjoon would let him know when their important call was, so he threw himself into his work to finish in plenty of time.

Y/n’s mother was a morning person and responded excitedly at 5 am her own time and scheduled a time to call the boys. They would call her at 10 pm KST; it would still be morning for Y/n’s mom, but it would give her time to get some recipes together. She wanted to scan them in and email them to Namjoon.

Jungkook knew that Namjoon would probably work on music right up until the call, so he called Y/n himself.

“Hello, my Love!” she answered.

“Hi Noona. Have you had a good day at work today?” he asked through the biggest smile. Just hearing her voice squeezed his heart in the best way.

“Oh, you know. It’s been work,” she giggled. “Have my amazing boyfriends been working hard?”

“Yeah, we have. And that’s part of why I called. Something has come up, and we won’t be able to come over tonight, Noona. We have to re-record all over our vocals for 3 songs. The computer they were on crashed and the vocals were lost, so we have to stay late to catch back up. I know you have to work tomorrow, and we don’t want you to stay up too late waiting on us. I don’t know what time we will be finished.”

Jungkook felt guilty lying to one of the loves of his life, but hopefully the surprise they were coordinating would make up for it. It tugged his heartstrings at the way she sounded so sad not to see them.

“I’m so sorry, Noona. We will make it up to you this weekend when we are off,” Jungkook promised.

After talking for a few more minutes, Jungkook made Y/n promise to text him when she got home safely after work so that he could order dinner to be delivered to her. Even if they weren’t physically going to be there, he could make sure that she ate well. He pondered over their plan a bit more as he returned to Namjoon’s studio.

“I talked to Noona. I told her we had to re-record all the vocals for like 3 songs so we wouldn’t be over. We should tell the others so if she asks they will play along until Saturday,” Jungkook told him. “I hated lying to her.”

“I know. I talked to her earlier today after we heard back from her mom, and I couldn’t bring myself to tell her we couldn’t come, so I’m glad you did. When I tried, my voice just stopped,” Namjoon replied.

They curled up on the sofa in the studio and ordered dinner for themselves as well as dinner for Y/n once she arrived home. After they ate, Jungkook curled up into Namjoon’s arms for a bit, just loving the warmth and love radiating off of him. The recipes that Y/n’s mom had emailed came through, so they looked them over and started a grocery list. All the recipes had either standard names or weird Christmasy names; Jungkook didn’t have any idea what the hell an Elf Bite was, but it sounded super good. Y/n’s mom called right on schedule and let them know that if they needed her to she could ship some of the ingredients that they might not be able to find in Korea from America. Namjoon pre-paid the postage for a package since they figured even sending a package second day from America would be expensive and since this was their idea, they wanted to cover the cost of everything.

“Boys, you have to have someone record her reaction to this for me please. I know we were a bit hesitant about your relationship at first, but I’m so happy you found my little girl. You are both wonderful for her,” Y/n’s mom said to Namjoon and Jungkook before ending the call. “You really do bring so much light and love into her world. Thank you for doing this for her.”

The next few days were a whirlwind as the boys worked hard and also spent a lot of time searching out the rest of the ingredients that they needed. Y/n mom had shipped nearly everything they needed for a few of the recipes, and with the help of some of the staff, they were able to get everything together. Jin helped hide everything in the dorm and was wholeheartedly supportive of their endeavor. So much so that he offered to help with the plan.

Namjoon and Jungkook were going to get everything out and get started on the peanut butter ball recipe that Y/n’s mom had sent. She had been very specific about how some of the ingredients couldn’t be measured, but that Y/n would just know if it was right by taste. Jin was going to call Y/n at 6 am on Saturday morning and beg her to come over. He was going to say that he was trying to make waffles and he just couldn’t figure out what was going wrong and beg her to come help him. Y/n loved to cook and to share her recipes with others, and this wouldn’t be the first time that Jin called her at a random time of the day begging for her help in recreating something they had eaten in America. Hopefully, by the time Namjoon and Jungkook had stumbled through the first part of the unfamiliar recipe, Y/n would be there to make the special adjustments to make the recipe complete.

They had stayed at the dorm Friday night so that they would be in place to spring their surprise. Y/n had had to work late so it worked out all around. Once they had showered after dance practice that day, they curled up in Namjoon’s bed and facetimed their girl. She looked so sad and tired, but Jungkook hoped that the next day would lift some of that sadness. Jungkook slept wrapped around Namjoon, their bare chests pressed together, until their alarm went off. At 5 am, Namjoon and Jungkook were sleepily getting ready for their day. Jungkook felt like he had barely slept from his anxiety that they would fail at the surprise, but it was go time. Jungkook made coffee and a light breakfast for them while Namjoon got dressed.

Namjoon came down the hall with Seokjin following behind. They were talking quietly amongst themselves as Jungkook put eggs and toast onto 3 plates and poured three cups of coffee.

“Are you guys ready for this?” Jin asked between bites of eggs.

“Yes, hyung,” Namjoon smiled softy. “Call our baby over.”

Nearly 30 minutes later, Y/n finally arrived. They had left the door unlocked so she could get in with no issues.

“Jinnie?” she called softly as she removed her shoes.

“In here, Y/n,” Jin called from the kitchen.

When Y/n rounded the corner into the kitchen, her mouth dropped open. Seokjin was standing against the back countertop with his phone raised, filming her reaction. Namjoon had both hands buried in a bowl, with powdered sugar streaked up his cheek. Jungkook was laughing as he stirred something in a bowl placed over a boiling pot while still watching Namjoon struggle.

“We’re not making waffles, are we?” she finally gasped out.

Jungkook turned off the eye of the cooktop before coming over and wrapping her in his arms. “No, Noona, we’re not making waffles. We know you were so sad you couldn’t be with your family for making candy with them. So we talked to your mom, and brought candy making to you. Your mom even shipped some ingredients from America for us.”

“Um…my loves, I hate to interrupt this beautiful moment, but I have no idea what I’m doing. Please help me,” Namjoon whined.

After she finally recovered from the shock, Y/n jumped right into showing the loves of her life and her best friend how to make the recipe that her grandmother showed her how to make as a toddler. No one was surprise when Namjoon dropped the first peanut butter ball he dipped in melted chocolate onto the floor while Jungkook lived up to his golden maknae nickname by making a peanut butter ball that was perfectly dipped and looked better than Y/n’s example. As time went on, the other members started getting out of bed and following the smell of peanut butter and chocolate until the entire group was standing around in various states of dress, rolling dough into balls and dipping into chocolate. Even Yoongi got into it.

They made so many different recipes of candy. Y/n’s mom had sent over several different recipes: Mounds balls, peanut butter balls, peanut butter Elf Bites, S’mores balls, chocolate covered pretzels, turtles, and peppermint bark. Half of the group was nearly sick from all the sugar, so they ordered pizza. Everyone else took turns in the shower while Y/n, Namjoon, and Jungkook curled up on the couch together. Y/n was sitting in Jungkook’s lap with her legs draped over Namjoon’s gorgeous thighs.

“Thank you both so much for today. I can’t explain how much this means to me,” she murmured to them through tears. “It made me feel less like I was a thousand miles from my family. It was so amazing that you were able to make my family’s recipes with me. Some time it would be amazing to merge the two, but even if that can never happen, I feel like it will be okay. The world won’t end if we start our own traditions here in Seoul.”

#bts fluff #bts fic #bts imagine #bts imagination #bts imagines #bts namkook #jungkook #namjoon #jeon jungkook #kim namjoon #bts poly #bts poly au #bts poly imagine #bts poly fanfic #bts christmas drabble #day 1

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cywscross · 5 years

Note

Any recs from fandoms you don't follow that closely or just fandoms you've only read a few fics from?

Hmm.. some. I can rec a few fics from a handful of fandoms.

LUCIFER

Devil's Bargain by WolftheForsaken (WIP)

Trixie gets kidnapped. Lucifer disapproves.

-0-

NIRVANA IN FIRE

implacable tide by forbiddenstars for One_Hundred_Zeros

When Lin Shu turns ten, he is fostered into the household of the Empress. Jinghuan grows up alongside his new, irrepressible foster brother. This changes everything.

Like Thunder Under Earth by troubleinmind

"Once I have my official post in the military, I will ask General Mei to appoint me as your personal guard.”

Lin Chen at Meiling in four portraits, and a long apology.

Events As They Happened by aboxthecolourofheartache

Xiao Jingrui and Yan Yujin get themselves into a scrape. Lin Chen saves the day. Mei Changsu brings everyone back from the edge.

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JURASSIC WORLD

Pushing Boundaries by Macx (WIP)

Owen Grady had always had a talent for animals. Like his grandfather. It was a talent that ran in the families.

Masrani Global recruited him to train raptors. It was an intriguing, novel idea, something only a crazy or insane person would attempt.

Owen wasn't crazy or insane. He knew he could do this.

He just didn't know how deep he would get into it, how strong the connection to the pack would become, how close... they, the four of them, would become to him.

His grandfather had always warned him: don't get too close. Don't let them connect. Well, it was too late for that now.

-0-

KUROKO NO BASKET

Designation: Miracle by umisabaku (WIP)

It's been three years since seven human experiments, called "Miracles," escaped Teiko Industries, alerting the world to the presence of super-powered children. Now they're finally integrating into society-- going to normal high schools, playing basketball, falling in love-- and trying to find out if it's possible to truly escape their past.

-0-

LOG HORIZON

Begin and End by Rikkamaru (xHP crossover)

This is how it begins: a boy rejected by his family, a boy reunited with his brother by his sister-in-law's intervention. A boy who found a family in an online game. But how will it end?

-0-

X-MEN

your head caught in a waking dream by addandsubtract

in which charles is sent to a mental institution as a child and by the time raven breaks him out, he's irreparably damaged. because this is me, there's also a road trip involved.

and these, from atoms by kay_cricketed (WIP)

Five years after the Cuban Missile Crisis, Charles and Erik find themselves in a situation where they must rely on each other for survival. Trapped in a coal mine deep beneath the earth's surface, and having lost his wheelchair to a disaster, Charles fights the nature of his physical limitations while Erik struggles to remain distant. Ironically, in the dark, it is impossible to hide your heart.

-0-

GOOD OMENS

Open your eyes, look up to the skies and see by Azzy

For some entirely unfathomable reason, after the end of the world hadn’t happened, Crowley didn’t go back to his flat for a solid month.

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THE MENTALIST

the dead outside my window by pprfaith

In one world, the lie Patrick Jane tells is, "I am not a psychic."

-0-

GINTAMA

Pandemonium by Xparrot

The Yorozuya trio gets an unexpected reward. They really should've checked their daily horoscope before accepting: Beware of old women bearing gifts, don't count your lizards before they're hatched, and be careful when life seems too good to be true, because it might be a sign that everything is soon going to go very, very badly.

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HAMILTON

177(6) by ashilrak, lol-phan-af (lol_phan_af)

Reincarnation is normal in this verse.The Hamilsquad is at college guys, and guess what, they all fucking remember lol

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DELTORA QUEST

On Paths Unseen by lovelyleias

It was supposed to be a temporary secret, but it tore them all to pieces.

(Or; what would happen if Faith was real, and Lief and Doom knew).

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LEGENDS OF TOMORROW

The Saga of Kollr by oneiriad (xVikings crossover)

One minute Leonard Snart is standing with his arm deep in the Oculus, waiting to die in a temporal explosion. The next he's stuck in the Scandinavian winter at the beginning of the 9th century.

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HUNGER GAMES

The Avalanche And Little Pebbles by Dyce (WIP)

What if someone else caught the eye of the public and the revolution before Katniss? When a boy from District Seven wins the Games and captures hearts everywhere, the revolution comes when Katniss is only fourteen. Tiny, poor District Twelve may be an afterthought for everyone during and after the revolution, but to Katniss, it's all that matters.

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K-PROJECT

Building Up Walls by DarkrystalSky (WIP)

Deviates from episode 7: Shiro decides to let himself to be captured by SCEPTER 4 at the stadium, in a twist of events that will bring him face to face with the Gold King himself.

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KEYS TO THE KINGDOM

Arthur in the House by taywen (WIP)

The AU where the Trustees decide to raise Arthur.

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CRAZY RICH ASIANS

Siege by Ashling

“Either you meant it when you asked me to marry you,” she says, “or you didn’t.”

Love and loyalty, war and witchery, Nick and Rachel.

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XXXHOLIC

The Professor's Wife by foolish_mortal

The students all said that Professor Doumeki had a wife who made him lunches and impeccably pressed his shirts. Watanuki found this hilarious. For the wtfholic fest prompt: "The only people who can see Watanuki are customers with wishes."

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TWILIGHT

Swansong by pprfaith

She's Swan and she's just passing through, accumulation of all you never knew.

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HOWL’S MOVING CASTLE

Hearts and Their Consumption by setepenre_set (SO MUCH LOVE FOR THIS TBH)

Wizard Howl eats hearts. This isn't just a metaphor.

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TEMERAIRE

All True-Hearted Souls by mardia

"For God's sake, if someone doesn't talk Laurence out of these constant heroics, I wouldn't bet a farthing on his chances; no, and not ours either.” Four times that John Granby helped save William Laurence's life.

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ME BEFORE YOU

but I'm not ready to say good night by violentdarlings

Before Louisa has to face a world without Will, Will has to live in a world without Louisa.

Or: bizarre twist of fate = happy ending. Happyish ending.

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THE MARTIAN

i'm coming home by kearlyn (WIP)

Mark Watney never manages to make contact with Earth and NASA never realizes that he survived the storm and evacuation on Sol 6. So, needless to say, the crew of the Ares IV is incredibly surprised when they land on Mars to find a scruffy, malnourished, mentally unbalanced, but still-alive astronaut waiting for them.

These are the stories of Mark's long journey home and the lives of the people he touches along the way. (Mostly told from not-Mark POVs.)

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FAST AND THE FURIOUS

Along the Way by nightrider101 (WIP, very very old, prob long abandoned, but this was my first F&F fic I ever read and I loved it)

Dom has questions. He hopes Brian has answers.

The Next Quarter Mile by astolat

“We going to get somewhere anytime soon?” Dom said.

Brian was staring out the windshield. “Do you trust me?”

“What the fuck kind of question is that?” Dom said.

“If you say yes, I’m going to take you on the worst fucking ride of your life,” Brian said. “Do you trust me?”

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KINGSMAN

Care and Custody by esama

Eggsy takes out the medal in slightly worse circumstances, asking for a miracle.

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HIKARU NO GO

Watch and Learn by Trial and Error by esama (wip/abandoned)

When God gives Hikaru his wish, he begins his journey again with a new goal in life, to prevent Sai from fading.

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STAR WARS

Re-Entry by flamethrower

Re-Entry is an alternate universe epic that spans time and possibility. Obi-Wan Kenobi, while still a young Padawan, suffers an injury and wakes up with all of the memories, experience, training, and Force-strength of Old Ben Kenobi. It isn't long before the Jedi discover that Anakin Skywalker, a five-year-old slave from the Outer Rim, has undergone the exact same change. Obi-Wan and Anakin bear the scars of harsh lessons learned; those who love them must learn those lessons quickly, before the mistakes of old are repeated.

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YOWAMUSHI PEDAL

One of the Better Days by heihua

Based off the anime post-ending scenes: Imaizumi, tired of having to watch Love Hime but unwilling to hurt Onoda’s feelings, ends up asking Onoda for anime recommendations. Everything goes downhill from there.

147 notes · View notes

peachymess · 5 years

Text

I just got through a 10hour long shift after only sleeping for two hours last night. Woke up just in time to put my clothes on in a hurry and run to the bus stop. It was... rough. Not terrible, just rough. It’s my own fault for having such a messed up sleeping schedule but it was still a rough day to get through.

I actually had a good day, over all. We were hosting a kid’s show in the morning so started out greeting and entertaining kids, which is nice because I love kids! And they were all so well behaved today, it went like a dream! I also got to prep candy bags that we’re selling tomorrow for the show, and it was truly a labor of love because I was just imagining how much happiness this pile of neatly bundled candy would spread. Then there’s the usual small interactions with good customers that just make your day, you know. If you can help them find something they’ve lost and they thank you, or they make a point out of telling you how good you are at your job, etc. Guys, it’s amazing how just little things like a sincere thank you and a smile can make such a difference for people who work with customers! Then my favorite coworker showed up for the last third of the shift and yeah.. too many things to list, honestly. There were just a bunch of small things that made my day great! ... It was just kinda rough because I was tired as fuck and my stomach was upset all day haha.

Anywyas. Pointless ramble I guess. I guess I’m just... grateful? Yeah, grateful. I’m having a depression spell lately, but at least life is actually taking a turn for the pleasant (depression and life situation isn’t linked, so things can go well and yet you feel like dying; that’s what’s going on for me rn)! Yesterday was so great; I think I truly made a new good IRL friend. I actually think she might become prominent in my life for the next chapter of my journey. After SNK.

... speaking of SNK. I did record the snk voice meme I was tagged in. I’m very on the fence about posting it, because.. I’m afab and my voice gives that away. That’s why I don’t like showing my face or voice online, because this is the only place I can be separate from my mismatching physical existence... Yet, the voice meme has been so much fun to follow these past few days, and I feel so much closer to everyone, hearing the people behind these blogs I’ve co-fanboyed with for years... So I’m really on the fence about posting it. I also realize I speak super slowly so it’s kinda boring. I just want you guys to be aware in advance, if I post, that my voice is feminine... I hope you guys will accept me for it.

#personal

18 notes · View notes

cluttermind · 4 years

Text

Without A Parachute (3/?) - No Judgment

Summary: Emma worked tremendously hard to give herself a better chance. From group homes, to living in her car, to ivy league student, this English Major’s only solace was escaping her reality through books. One night, Emma comes home to find a small package with only her name on it written in beautiful calligraphy. The package contains a thick, brown leather journal. Emma soon learns that the fiction she writes in the journal eventually becomes reality. Will Emma learn to control this gift, or will she fall too fast into the temptation to change too much? With the help of her good friends August, Robin, and Elsa, and the mysterious, intriguing bartender of The Jolly Roger, Emma discovers just how easy it is to lose control, and how difficult it is to pick up the pieces.

Rating: M

Words: 10,482 total / 3,335 Ch 3

Read on ao3: Beginning | Current

Note: Thought it was time to finally post this here! Thanks for reading friends! I hope you like this one - I had a lot of fun (maybe too much fun) writing it. Here's a little fun fluff and sweetness and lots of pop culture references before things get ~interesting~ Next week will probably be a hiatus while I finish up some [online] finals but a LOT happens in ch 4 so I hope you stay with me. I’d love to hear your thoughts!

Chapter 3

“No Judgment”

I can be your lover or your shoulder to cry on

You can be whoever you like

When you're with me, no judgement

You can get that from everyone else

You don't have to prove nothing

- Nial Horan, No Judgement

Emma worked at the bookstore all day on Friday. Being there always made her feel a little better. She was surrounded by books and all the things Belle brought back from her excursions. Bell had recently gotten a new shipment from an independent publisher she had recently found. Rose and Petal Books, while stocking many popular titles, had an extensive collection of lesser-known novels from independent publishers along with a plethora of local authors.

One book in particular caught her eye and there was only one copy sent in the box. The book was bound in a soft, brown leather with its title engraved and filled with gold foil on the cover in beautiful cursive. Into The Page . There was no barcode to scan for inventory.

“That’s odd.” Emma commented to herself, turning the thick book over in her hands. She opened it up to skim the pages and noticed that it was a journal filled with handwritten content. Something about the book felt faintly familiar. While the title was beautiful, there wasn’t anything remarkable about it. She figured it might have been someone’s manuscript that was sent to the publisher that got mixed in by accident.

“Hey Belle,” she called to her boss who was at the register, reading.

“Find something interesting?” Belle asked as she walked over to where Emma was in the back room.

“I think they accidentally sent us someone’s manuscript?” Emma handed her the journal.

“Hm. That is interesting.” Belle gently flipped through the book. “I’ll call the publisher tomorrow. It’s getting late, why don’t you head home for the night.”

Emma looked at the clock. It was 8:00, only an hour till closing anyway. “Sure. I’ll see you next week?” Belle nodded and gave Emma a quick hug. Before leaving, she hung up her apron and turned her phone back on. Emma usually turns her phone off during work and uses the time as an escape from everything. There were a few texts coming into her group chat about the meeting Elsa and Robin were at. Essentially the meeting was going to run long, lots of signs needed to be made before Sunday’s protest about something or other. Emma wasn’t really up-to-date on this particular one. August offered to come help because he was bored.

There was a text from her roommate Sarah to her and Claire that came in half an hour ago.

Sarah to group: Hey, Josh is coming over to cook me dinner and you know ;) can y’all stay out till like midnight? Maybe 1 if things go really well ;) Don’t want any distractions tonight ladies

Claire to group: Yeah I’m staying with Danielle tonight - we’re hitting up the Alpha Delta Pi party tonight

Emma sighed. Her friends were busy and she wasn't in the mood to spend hours making posters and signs after working all day. But the library would be open for a while longer. She could use the computers and scroll through Reddit for a few hours.

Emma to group: Sure thing. Have fun :)

Then she remembered someone she could waste some time with. She walked towards The Jolly Roger and opened the door. It was starting to get crowded but it wasn’t too hectic yet. Emma made her way to the bar and noticed Ruby there along with a man she hadn’t met yet.

“Hey Ruby,” Emma said, smiling. She and Ruby had gotten to know each other since they had first met at the pub. Ruby was a junior majoring in art. She also hated Macroeconomics, the class they were in together, but it was filling a graduation requirement. They studied together a few times and always ended up begging Killian for free food. Emma always ended up paying though, sneaking the money under the plate before she left.

“Hey! Looks like you’re in better spirits today. You okay?” Ruby responded, referencing the previous night that Emma would very much like to forget.

“Nothing that sleep couldn’t fix,” she lied. While the initial shock of yesterday was gone, the pain, the anger, the self-doubt still lingered.

“If you’re looking for the Captain he’s upstairs.”

“What?” Blush rose to Emma’s face.

“Killian. He’s upstairs. Took the night off. Just take the stairs behind the bar, walk two floors up and you’ll be at his door. I’m sure he won’t mind!” Ruby explained.

“Oh. Thanks.” Emma headed up the stairs, and hesitated at the door. Through it she could hear the sound of a guitar strumming. Maybe he didn’t want company. Maybe he’d rather be alone. Maybe he didn’t want to see her . She could just go back and sit at the bar and talk to Ruby for a while. They weren’t super close but she could find things for them to talk about. It was also getting busy downstairs though. Pull it together Emma. She knocked on the door.

The sound of the guitar stopped and seconds later Killian opened the door. He was surprised and happy to see her. “Hello, Swan. What brings you here? A little early for a booty call no?” Killian grinned, raising an eyebrow at her.

“Oh it’s never too early,” Emma played along staring right at Killian who was leaning against the doorframe with his arms crossed at his chest. “My roommate sexiled me and I needed somewhere to crash for a while.”

Killian stepped aside to let her in. He was wearing just a plain black v-neck t-shirt and grey joggers. It was odd seeing him out of his work attire - a black button down with two buttons undone at the top and dark, a black vest, and slim-fitted jeans. He watched her as she walked in and closed the door, distracted by her being.

“Sexiled?” Killian teased. “Well if you insist, love. Can’t leave a beautiful woman unsatisfied now, could we?” Emma slapped his arm.

“You know what it means. Sarah kicked me out so she could fuck her boyfriend without interruption. Honestly the warning was appreciated because even my ear buds can’t tune her out.” Emma explained. She took her jacket off and draped it over a stool at Killian’s kitchen Island. His apartment was beautiful. It was an open concept with a gorgeous kitchen, a beautiful island, a ridiculously comfortable sectional, with an oversized chase at one end and a large TV mounted to the wall. Speakers were all over. The doors to his bedroom with glass french doors, making the one-bedroom apartment look bigger than it is. “Sorry for not texting before, I thought you’d be working and was coming to sit at the bar for a while. Ruby told me you were up here.”

“No worries, love. I quite enjoy the company,” Killian said, moving to flop down on the chaise part of the couch. “And it’s clear that you find me so irresistible that you just had to see me tonight instead of one of your other friends.”

Emma rolled her eyes. “Oh I can resist you just fine. Everyone else was busy.”

“Ouch!” Killian feigned pain, his hand going to his heart. “So I was your second choice.”

“4th actually.” Emma teased.

“Keep telling yourself that.” He winked and patted the spot next to him. “How about a movie? Anything in particular you’re interested in watching?”

Emma kicked her boots off and flopped down next to him. They were so close their arms and legs were touching. He nudged her foot playfully and he turned on the TV and opened Netflix. She shrugged against him. “Whatever you’re watching is fine. I don’t want to disrupt your evening.”

“You’re not disrupting anything, love.” Killian responded, handing her the remote. “Snacks?” He got up, taking the warmth of his body with him and Emma suddenly missed the closeness.

“When have I ever turned down food?” Killian laughed. She adored the sound of his laugh. It always made her smile. Emma scrolled through Killian’s watch list on Netflix. Ozark, The Witcher, The West Wing, Grey’s Anatomy . The last one made Emma giggle under her breath. So Mr. Bartender is a Grey’s fan. She made a mental note to tease him about that later. Not like she was the one to speak though. Ever since August let her use his Netflix account she’s been on that binge as well. Killian tossed a bag of popcorn in the microwave. “How was your day?” Emma asked, genuinely caring about the answer.

Killian groaned. “Infuriating. It was a lot of inventory and ordering and arguing to get things here on time. I prefer working the bar to that any day. How was yours?”

“Eh, it was fine. I spent all day working down at The Rose and Petal.”

“The bookstore?”

“Yup.”

“Aye, my grandad loved it there. Belle still owns it?”

“She does. Your grandfather lives here? What’s his name? Maybe I’ve seen him.”

Killian leaned back against the island, gripping it a little tighter as his eyes moved from Emma to the floor. “Nah, love. He used to live here. He passed away 2 years ago, just after I opened the pub.”

Emma’s face softened. “Killian, I’m so sorry.”

He looked up at Emma. “He was a professor at Cornell. In the English department actually.” He tilted his head and smiled a bit. “You remind me a bit of him.”

Emma smiled back. “How so?”

“He loved academia and his research and teaching. He always had a book in his hand. Sometimes he’d lose all track of the world around him when he was working or reading. He was a fountain of useless knowledge. He knew little about music but always asked me what I was listening to, only took his coffee black except for at the pub, and asked me how my day was every time I saw him and always cared about what the answer was.” Killian reminisced. He had spent nearly every summer growing up in Ithaca with his grandma and granddad. Killian still couldn’t believe that he’s gone. “He always made me smile and loved telling me about what he was reading. He was my best friend.”

“He sounds wonderful.” Emma noted, blush creeping to her cheeks feeling both sad for Killian’s loss and flattered at the sentiment that she reminded me of someone he clearly loved so deeply. When Emma wasn’t physically at The Jolly Roger or with her friends or at work, she was usually texting Killian. They talked about nonsense most of the time but there was something comforting seeing his name pop up on her phone after long days. In retrospect, she wasn’t surprised that it was him she made her way to last night when life had shaken her to her core. Emma knew he’d be the one to help her hold the broken pieces together. If she was being honest with herself, it still felt as if those pieces were scattered on the floor. And from the look in his eyes, she could tell he had some pieces there as well.

“Aye. Wonderful.” Killian said. Although it was unclear who exactly he was talking about as he looked at her. Just then the microwave went off, breaking his trance. He opened the hot bag and poured the popcorn into a bowl. “So what’re we watching?” He asked, reaching to grab and open a bottle of wine.

“Well I saw this really fascinating documentary on sharks the other day that I wanted to show you.” Emma explained.

“Sharks, huh? What about them?” KIllian asked, intrigued.

Emma brightened, and animatedly explained the general plot. “So there’s this group of sharks that are living in the water around New York City. And there’s this big storm that’s coming, but no one is listening to the people telling them about the storm so of course no one prepares for the storm. So two tornadoes form over the water picking up all the sharks -”

“Emma.” Killian interrupts her, turning to look at her. “That’s the plot of Sharknado.”

“Sharknado 2: The Second One actually.” She corrects him.

“We are not watching Sharknado 2.” Killian says, chuckling. He hands her a glass of white wine which she accepts as he takes his place on the couch next to her.

“Sharknado 1?”

“Swan.”

“You mean to tell me you have no desire to watch Ian Ziering fight some flying CGI sharks?” She joked. She was clearly teasing him, enjoying the way he laughed at her ridiculous suggestions. Truth be told she’s seen all the movies multiple times. Who doesn’t love a flying CGI shark and an awful romance plot? Emma and her friends had multiple drunk movie nights last semester to watch them all. They provided a good laugh.

Killian laughed. “Aye, how about a real movie?”

“A REAL movie?” Emma feigned offense. “Clearly you have no respect for low-budget disaster films.” She grabbed a handful of popcorn, popping some into her mouth.

Killian nudged her playfully. “I think the low budget disaster movies have no respect for the viewers.”

“That’s the point! But fine.” Emma paused, thinking of a movie. “How about Sharknado 3: Oh Hell No?”

“Again with the flying sharks! You know that you have not listed a single shark documentary yet, love.” Killian jokes, taking a sip of wine.

“What about The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society?” Emma said, taking some popcorn. “It’s one of my favorites. Also Sharknado 4: The 4th Awakens, Sharknado 5: Global Swarming, and The Last Sharknado: It’s About Time are just not as good as the first three so I’m out of flying shark suggestions.” Killian stared at her, jaw nearly hitting the floor at the absurdity of the existence of 6 Sharknado movies and the fact that Emma has clearly seen them all. But her actual suggestion was sincere. It was an intriguing story of love and war and literature that Emma had seen at least 10 times. It reminded her of the power that books had.

“Now we’re getting somewhere.” Killian said eventually, choosing to let the Sharknado movies go. He searched for the film on Netflix and hit play when he found it.

About 20 minutes and a glass of wine later, Emma had snuggled closer to Killian. Partially for warmth, partially because her body reacted instinctively to his being so close. Killian, feeling that Emma was cold against him, reached behind them to grab a blanket, tossing it over them and wrapping an arm around her shoulders. She leaned in closer to him, resting her head against his shoulder.

Her favorite film about writers and readers and the power of literature and love pulled all of the pain of the events of yesterday back to the surface. The weight of her professor’s words were sitting on her chest like a boulder and she couldn’t bear that weight alone anymore Eventually, Emma spoke softly. “I didn’t tell you the whole story last night.” The words spilled effortlessly out of her mouth. There was something about Killian that made her feel safe.

Killians eyes stayed on the movie as he rubbed his thumb reassuringly over her shoulder. “Aye, I figured.” He wasn’t about to push her to tell him. He wanted to let her know that he saw her and that she could some to him on her own terms.

“Professor Gold told me I shouldn’t be a writer. That I don’t have what it takes and that I should consider another career.” This caught Killian’s attention. He shifted so he was looking right at her.

“What?!” Killian’s accent was thick with concern.

“He was apparently doing me a favor.” Her eyes were wet. Control was slipping from her grasp. She desperately needed to let go. Emma had tried so desperately to tell herself that none of her professor’s words mattered, to pretend like they didn’t affect her. Truth be told, she barely slept last night, constantly being woken up by recurring thoughts that he was right, that she wasn’t good enough, that she was a fraud.

“What kind of person thinks that’s a bloody favor?” Killian interrupted the tightening spiral of her thoughts.

Emma paused, letting the spiral start to slowly unwind. “What if he’s right?” She whispered. The question she’d been asking herself she had finally said out loud. A single tear escaped from her eye that Killian was quick to wipe away.

“He’s wrong. And you’re too stubborn to let him be right.”

“I just - I don’t know if I can do this.” Emma fell apart. She had held everything together until this moment. She didn’t know if she had what it took to survive Cornell. She didn’t have the support system most people had and she certainly didn’t have the resources others did growing up. Her average grades weren’t helping her imposter syndrome. What if she was here by mistake? What if she would never be good enough? What if she didn’t deserve to be here? Tears escaped her eyes faster than Killian could wipe them away.

Killian pulled her close, rubbing her back. “Shhh, love. Shhh. Yes you can.” He kissed the top of her head. Why? He had absolutely no idea. He hoped it would comfort her. “You made it this far. You got here. You got to this point. Fuck what Gold says. Fuck what anyone says.” Emma let herself relax into his arms locked tightly around her as she choked on sobs, tears falling to his shirt.

Then Killian remembered what his brother used to say to him when he was struggling. “You get to make your own choices. Make them based on what makes you happy.” He gently brushed her hair away from her face, tucking it behind her ear. “Does writing make you happy?”

Emma looked up at him. “It’s the only thing that makes me happy.”

“Oi, now I’m slightly offended!” He joked, smiling at her.

Emma tried to fight the smile pulling at her lips. “Your ego is ridiculous.”

“But I got you to smile, no?”

“You always do.” Emma wasn’t joking anymore. The way he looked at her made her heart skip beats and the way he cared for her scared the hell out of her. Something about Killian drew her to him and she didn’t doubt he felt the same. He ensured she was fed during late night studying and provided distractions when she needed a break. It was Killian she found herself going to when she needed to scream to someone.

They returned their attention to the film. While Killian had no idea what was going on, Emma was mesmerized, whispering some of her favorite lines under her breath along with the movie. Killian spent more time watching her than the move, enamored by the way she memorized her favorite parts, the way her brow furrowed when characters she didn’t like appeared, the way she gently hit his chest to shush him every time he attempted to ask what was happening or who a particular character was.

Eventually the movie ended. Emma reluctantly sat up, sighing as she removed herself from Killian’s arms and the warmth of his body.

“Thank you for letting me interrupt your evening. It was nice to be in a bubble for a bit and feel something other then . . . I don’t even know.” Emma said quietly. Killian turned to look at her.

“Then stay in the bubble for a while longer, love.” He held his arm out to her and she settled against him. Emma rested her head on Killian’s chest, draping her arm around his waist. His fingers traced lazy circles on her back. He wanted to be her escape, her bubble where things were good and where she could cry if she needed to. And she had the urge to be his.

For a while they laid like that - content in each other’s arms, clueless to the world around them, shutting out all the pain they both felt. In time they fell asleep for the most restful night either of them had in a long time.

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eponymous-rose · 5 years

Note

Weird question, but you seem really productive despite seeming to have a constantly fluctuating routine, with both your work and your hobbies. Most people think having a solid routine is the only way to increase your productivity but I've pretty much given up on having a routine since my life seems similar to yours--a lot of travel, weird and always changing work hours. Do you have any advice on how you deal with routine and productivity in spite of that?

Oh gosh, this is definitely something I struggle with a LOT, and I’m not sure I’ve found a coping strategy that works for me yet. But the small things that have been helping have been (1) keeping a routine in my planning even if the stuff I do changes dramatically (even if I’m traveling, I have a notebook where, every Sunday, I list all the stuff that has specific dates/times for the following week, I list the stuff where I still have to come up with a date/time, and I list the stuff I’ve gotta do that week for sure), and (2) finding multiple ways to approach the same goals that I can tailor to my level of energy/spare time on any given week (so this week I’m just not in a super exercisey mindset and can’t rely on having the motivation to run every day, but instead I’m making an extra effort not to eat out this week—lower-effort for my current state of mind, but all toward the same goal of feeling a bit healthier overall).

I’m also very cognizant of how little time at work is actually spent working, so I try not to feel guilty if the total number of hours worked is low as long as the work’s getting done. I’m an incredibly routine-oriented person, but it’s been a bit freeing to slowly and steadily teach myself that stuff just has to get finished one way or another, and the easiest way to do that is to just focus on specific goals and let the rest be flexible.

Anyway, yesterday I was thinking of this ask and was like, “You know, I’ll just write up what I do on Monday as an example, and I bet things will go hilariously awry.” And so they did.

So here’s what my weekly planning list looked like last night:

Dated Events:

Call with paper coauthor at 9AM Monday

Call with leadership academy planning committee at 10AM Monday

Call with peer mentoring group at 9AM Tuesday

Sit in on class at 11:30AM Tuesday and Thursday

Seminars Wednesday at 3PM, Thursday at 4PM, and Friday at 3PM

D&D Saturday at 6PM

Undated Events:

Coordinating abstract submission for an upcoming conference (early week)

Setting up Skype calls with a couple friends I haven’t talked to in a while (late week)

Assorted Priorities:

Book hotel for work travel in July

Accept journal article review request and scope out how long that’ll take

Review some materials sent out for my peer mentoring call

Revise my paper and submit the revisions before the Monday deadline

Get my driver’s license renewed (the joys of yearly visa renewal… your license has to be renewed yearly as well)

Put together a schedule for a biweekly Twitter feature highlighting new publications for the account I run for a subcommittee in my field

Respond to an e-mail about a conference in January about some weird deadline that popped up for next week

Come up with conference abstract ideas before the as-yet-unscheduled meeting

Fill out some action items in advance of my 10AM Monday call

And some more specific checklists for four research projects I’m focusing on this week

I purposely try to group conference calls together, because I currently share my office and feel weird doing video calls when she’s stuck in frame five feet away from me while she tries to work. So Monday seems like a good day to work from home, and I can squeeze in Tuesday’s call before heading to the office that morning. I’ll be in the office Tuesday-Friday, which means I’ll be able to attend those seminars and classes with no problem. I have most of my D&D prep done already because we ended early last game, so I can leave that until Saturday. The only thing I might have to shuffle to next week is the driver’s license thing, because it’ll take three hours and I have to account for finding a Lyft there and back. Okay. Aces.

Wake up this morning to find my internet’s out, and I also somehow left the hard drive with all my research on it at work. Hoo boy. But staring over my to-do list, I think I can set today up as a “big picture” day and not have to do any actual coding, so I’m still okay to work from home. I can also phone in to the conference calls instead of using the video call software. All good.

Luckily, the internet comes back right before my first call of the day. Said call is with someone who also happens to be a dean, so she has a tendency to get held up at meetings, so I take that delay to look at the action items for my second call (I mean… if you send me action items at 8PM on a Sunday I am not gonna touch them until Monday morning).

When she did make it online, we chatted about the new paper, and she strongly encouraged me to send it to our other coauthors in case they have suggestions. We’re submitting on Monday, which is way too short-notice to read a 20-page research paper, but they already read the pre-revision version in great detail, so I shot them an e-mail that included a summary of the substantial changes and a note to the effect that if any of them want more time to look at this stuff, I can beg the editor for an extension on their behalf. Minor crisis averted.

Second meeting is very intense and structured. Everyone has to volunteer to organize and lead two webinars in the next three months, so I go ahead and volunteer for the two April ones so I’ll get it out of the way early. Aaand the first webinar is at 1PM this Friday. Okay. I’ll work from home that morning so I can do last-minute prep, then head into the office in time for the 3PM seminar. No biggie. One organizer puts together a draft schedule, and I send a quick e-mail suggesting a different use of one of the ten-minute time slots. One of the other organizers requests another conference call tomorrow instead of e-mails. I tell them I can only do after 4PM, if I leave work early. Eh. We’ll see how that works out.

After the call, I get through a bunch of small tasks in maybe 20 minutes: hotel booked, Twitter posts prepped, review request accepted (not due until May 20, so plenty of time on that), conference deadline e-mail chain started. I spend the rest of the time before noon getting sucked into an article someone sent me about the myths surrounding undergraduate grade inflation and then reading up on the peer mentoring materials for our call tomorrow. A couple other minor e-mails pop up (scheduling the precise date of a conference mixer in January, that kind of thing) and I manage to deal with them right away.

Lunch! Clearly working from home means I should take the opportunity to indulge in some fine cuisine, some leisurely cooking that highlights—

I heat up a microwave meal (chicken couscous) and watch YouTube videos for an hour.

Back in it! I write up some abstract submission ideas and make a valiant attempt at setting up a time to talk about them, but it looks like that might have to wait until next week. We’re still a ways before the deadline, so that’s okay.

Mmmmmmm someone on Twitter mentions a conference in Germany in September and a workshop in Colorado in July that both look like a good fit for my research. I’m in a situation where I have a big chunk of travel funding that’s going to disappear unless it gets spent in the next year. Oh no. But also oh yes.

Just in case, I put together a couple point-form ideas for stuff to propose that I can bring to the people holding the purse strings.

The rest of the afternoon is spent putting together weekly goals for four of my research projects: each one involves a collaboration with a different person, so I’d like to be able to send each of them an e-mail with at least one new thing to share about that project this week. Just in case that doesn’t happen, though, I rank them from most to least important. Worst-case scenario, I don’t have to send any of them this week, but it’ll make next week tougher if I don’t.

It’s only about 3:30 at this point, but honestly, I’m feeling a bit exhausted and overwhelmed (some of the e-mail chains have gone through five or six replies at this point and keeping it all straight is giving me a headache), so I opt to get some groceries and call it a day.

I may have added some stuff, but I got a lot crossed off today! Here’s how that last checklist looks at the end of the day:

Assorted Priorities:

Revise my paper and submit the revisions before the Monday deadline

Project #1: come up with a new exploratory figure and send to Person A.

Project #2: summarize the early results I started last week and send to Person B, along with an ask to see whether he’d be up for me presenting this stuff in Europe in November.

Project #3: improve on figures I showed last month and send to Person C.

Project #4: prepare a rough outline of the next paper to send to Person D.

Not having my work hard drive means I was able to just focus on the stuff that wasn’t specific to research today. In all the chaos of today, I’ve set myself up well for a research-heavy rest of the week where I (hopefully) won’t have to worry about non-research stuff or big changes to the schedule and can just burrow into research, emerging for occasional seminar/webinar breaks. A good Monday, all around.

#eponymous academia tag #karionwriting

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lazuliblade · 6 years

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Japanese Nationals 2018 Ladies SP - live report

This is incredibly late, but I did want to post this before Worlds because originally I was supposed to go to the Ladies’ SP, but now I can’t because I have some sudden final classes to teach. So this will at least give some idea of my live impressions of the Ladies Short, and I can scaffold off this when I watch on a stream tomorrow. I’ll make short posts after each day that I’m at the Worlds venue too.

I wrote this the weekend of JP Nationals, and most of it was written before the Ladies’ FS happened, so I didn’t know how things would turn out. As always, all the editing to word things right took up a lot of time, and then...well. Lots of things happened. Anyway, this is really long, so I’m putting most of it behind a cut.

On Friday, December 21st I was at Japanese Nationals, watching the Ladies SP live. My seat was in the stands fourth row from the edge, so I had a really great view and could see the skater’s expressions as they skated by. I was on the side of the rink opposite the judges and near the corner, which means a lot of the jumps were done right in front of me. It was my first time seeing skaters live, so I kind of teared up realizing that I was actually THERE watching skating LIVE.

(The lines were super short and it was easy to get in, since this was like 5 minutes before the first skater was scheduled to start.) I made it just in time for the first skater’s name to be called and stood at the board by the entrance overlooking the rink watching her program until her turn was done, at which point those of us who had just arrived could go find our seats.

(I took these following photos after the broadcasting was over because I didn’t want to risk getting yelled at by staff. You’re not supposed to take pictures at the competition, but I saw some people take pics afterward, so I figured it was OK then.)

The stadium was actually smaller than I thought it would be. It wasn’t a small arena per say, but I feel like even at the very top the skater wouldn’t be too small. It felt sort of intimate, which was nice. Looking at the seating capacity afterward, it seems it seats 6000 people. Because I was near the front, I could see when some skaters took the stairs to get up to the lobby and around to the stands. The skater’s section (unofficial section) was some rows behind me in the same section I was in – a bunch of them went to the top of the section to stay out of the way. I saw Miki Ando (who is gorgeous), legendary coach Sato, and a really cute moment after the 4th group when Kaori and Mai ran up the stairs and hugged another skater (I didn’t catch who it was). All of us in the section turned to see them hugging and smiling - they were SO happy for each other skating well. It was really heartwarming to see.

(This is the view from my seat in the stands. The stairway there actually leads down to the rinkside and the premium Arena Seats. Only people in those seats were allowed to throw gifts. This will also apply for Worlds.)

The sound system was amazing and you could hear each note so clearly. The sound reverberated throughout the arena and was almost a tangible thing (it made me wonder what Otonal, Origin, or Seimei would sound like with such a good system). I feel like videos don’t catch how all-encompassing the sound is. If I was an audiophile skater, I would go to competitions just to hear how my music sounds over the loudspeakers. I know people can complain about how long these events are, and some people don’t come until the final groups for the “good stuff,” but even the early groups were enjoyable to watch, and there were some high scores already in the first group. However, the difference when the 4th group came out was very notable. Their speed on the ice during the 6 minute warm-up was markedly faster, and they threw out jumps like nothing. In that group we had:

Rika Hongo, Mai Mihara, Kaori Sakamoto, Akari Matsubara, Mako Yamashita, and Sui Takeuchi.

My notes for Rika Hongo are sadly very sparse... all I managed to note down was 3T3Tfall, step-out, 2A OK, super cool StSq. And her score of 55.93. I remember thinking that her skating was nice, but the mistakes on her jumps detracted from the performance and I felt bad that it’s been really rough for her.

Mai Mihara - she flows so smoothly across the ice. It was such a joy to watch her skate cleanly. Her spiral was my favorite thing, but her jumps were quite good as well. One moment that really stood out was one of her spins. She does this thing where she drops the catchfoot to a simple upright when the music has an accent and then a momentary breath. The drop of her leg matches the accent dropping into the lull, and her rotation speed sharply increases to fill the empty space (kind of like a top that was given a yank with a string), before she drops into a slower sit spin with the return of the lackadaisical musical phrase. It looked like the music flowed through her and she rose and fell with it. Having Mai and Kaori back-to-back you could feel their differences, especially since they had similar tones of music. Kaori Sakamoto - she’s powerful across the ice but flows smoothly. Where Mai has this lovely and sweet quality to her skating, Kaori is charming. One of the strongest memories I have of the program is actually a jump. Her jump technique is amazing. I honestly thought she tripped on her 3F3T combo (and I’m not the only one who thought so). Her toe pick barely lifts from the ice to strike down, so it almost looked like she tripped on it when setting her leg back for a step, or tripped in preparation. I thought she was tripping backward from the momentum of her speed, but then she’s up in the air, turning 3 times, and then links her 3T cleanly and I couldn’t believe what I was seeing until she was halfway through it. Seeing good jump technique in person is something else. Also! The spiral into turns into 3Lo was so seamless.

5th group - Hina Takeno, Wakaba Higuchi, Marin Honda, Rika Kihira, Yuna Shiraiwa, Satoko Miyahara.

6 minute warm-up: During warm-up, there were so many jumps landed in front of me. Rika landed like four or five 3As and the crowd cheered and clapped so hard after each one. Everyone skated so powerfully and fast around the rink. Wakaba looked like she was on a mission. Yuna was landing multiple good jumps. Marin looked good and the crowd cheered loudly when the introduction came. The crowd went WILD for Satoko when she was introduced. A lot of people around me shouted “Satton” (her nickname), and wow Satoko is incredibly beautiful. Her dress is gorgeous, her skating is smooth, and she felt like a mature multiple time national champion. Also, I was so prepared to gush over how tiny she is in real life, but she’s actually not??? She doesn’t look much smaller than other skaters, and her jumps didn’t seem small either - they seemed average. I had a moment feeling this jarring sense of people over-exaggerating all this time (you *lied* to me!), but then, maybe when she’s next to Men’s skaters she looks tiny. Which means I definitely have to go to another competition now to see Men and then Ladies.

Wakaba Higuchi - I think this was one of the most enjoyable skates to be present for. The audience really got into it, clapping along to the beat for the entire thing, and it was SUCH a refreshing program after all the classical pieces and sweet pieces. It was quirky, it was cool, she skated like she enjoyed the music and had flair. This was really one of those programs where experiencing it live makes such a difference from watching online. The sound reverberating through the arena made it as if you could feel the music with your body. Take me to the club, Wakaba! There’s the one moment I really love where she pauses on the right side (from judges POV) and does this thing with her arms while lifting her legs in a “walk.” There were some moments where it felt like she could link more in between sections, or like the choreo needed a bit more confidence, so that might be why she didn’t score as high (she was in 4th by the end of the night, but only 0.25 points from Mai in 3rd place), but even being nitpicky about those parts where she could flow better, man was this great and so satisfying to watch. The atmosphere was electric especially after she completed her jumps. Her jumps were strong and her final 3F looked effortless. Her final spin reminded me of a record spinning - the rotations looked timed to the music tempo and the arm movement was cool. She’s not a lovely or delicate skater– she has a different charm, and it was wonderful to see that something different.

Marin Honda - This was devastating to watch because I wished the best for her after this season so far, and the crowd was so supportive. She seemed to start off well, but with her 3F-fall, and then 2A-step out, the performance felt incomplete - like she couldn’t express the casual confidence that the music called for. Her 3Lo2T at the end was good - you could feel her holding on until the end - and the entire audience cheered her on, but the atmosphere also felt like everyone was holding their breath. From my angle opposite the judges, at the end when she turned away from them for a moment, it looked like Marin was trying to keep her expression together, and my heart went out to her. People murmured in sympathy when the scores came out. Actually, the audience deserves a shout-out too. They clapped to encourage a skater after a fall, they knew what was a good score and what was a rough skate, I heard various times throughout the night people muttering “kibishii (strict/tough)” about the scores. It was a really supportive crowd. There was also this one dude who shouted his undying love for “Marin-chaaaan!” and other skaters. Rika Kihira - you can tell her skating skills aren’t as polished as Mai or Kaori, but it doesn’t mean she’s not smooth, and her jumps were so nice. Her 3F2T and 3Lz looked easy, and even though she fell in the program, her 3A was so cool to see. I prefer her FS, but I think this SP was a calming program skated well. When she was warming up on the ice while Marin was waiting for her score, Rika did a 1A and took off some tape from around a boot while skating around, then confirmed a 2A, took off tape from her other boot, and confirmed the jump again. I wonder if she felt she needed more room for her ankles to bend? The ladies next to me were talking to each other and the one I know hadn’t followed the season closely (she asked which skater was in which costume) commented to her neighbor prior to Rika’s skate “she’s mentally weak, isn’t she?” which… came across a bit dismissive. She had the reputation in the past - even as recent as last season - but this season she’s been pretty amazing and holding up under pressure. An aside, the following day I saw the newspapers, and rather than mention Satoko (4 time and defending national champion) leading in 1st after the SP, they had a huge picture of Rika and how she messed up to land in 5th. Talk about pressure.

(Not a picture of the newspapers, but this was one of those electronic advertisement signs in the lobby of Grand Front Osaka - a major high-class shopping mall in central Osaka. Taken that following Saturday.)

Yuna Shiraiwa - I love this program and how strange and fun it is. “A conductor… on a boat?” (her program is about riding a boat…but the music is “all aboard!” and has train whistles, so the interviews during the GP series were funny). Not the best skate, and there were moments where she didn’t connect with the music probably because of the jump mistakes, but overall it was a good skate to watch. The first jumping pass planned combo was done right in front of me and it was obvious that the landing on the first jump wasn’t secure, so she didn’t follow through with the combo. However, she went for it in the second half of her program and it looked like she made it– until she couldn’t hold the edge and fell. The audience all collectively made a noise of sympathy and then clapped for her gutsy effort. When the scores came out, and she was in 11th (with Satoko left to skate, meaning she would end up in 12th), people gasped and muttered about how strict and unexpected this turned out.

Satoko Miyahara - so powerful! I can’t explain how powerful this was live - I wouldn’t have thought I would call this program powerful, but it was. It was intense. The atmosphere near the end was like being in a trance as you watch something amazing unfold. That final bit of choreo, when the music swells, sent a chill up my spine. Then the final spin was so centered it looked unreal. Her jumps didn’t seem small live. They’re not huge like Kaori and Wakaba’s, but they were a decent size and she got the rotations in. She fills the entire rink skating-wise. During the 6 minute warmup she kept confirming her combo in the area in front of me. Near the end, she popped a jump, smiled sheepishly and then went around again and did it correctly. So seeing her skate clean was a relief and a joy. During her skate, there were some breathtaking moments where she used her arms and fingertips for the nuances of the music and it seemed so natural. It was on the right side of the rink going towards center (judges’ POV), I think right before a falling leaf, where she uses her arms and I was just in awe with how it captured the music.

Lots of people started leaving immediately after she hit her final pose, before the scores came out. They wanted to catch the train and bus before everyone started leaving, so I don’t blame them, but yeah. If you see that on a video, that’s why everyone left. To be fair, it was a backed up mess and they had to close the turnstiles when a certain amount of people got through until the next train arrived, so people were stuck outside in a huge blob as we waited to slowly make our way underground. It’s a 3-4 minute walk from the station to RACTAB dome, but on the way back it took 30 minutes to walk the final 100 ft to get underground. Even with both sides of the platform running the same way, it was a wait.

(This is before you get to the bridge that crosses over the busy street below...)

(...and this is at the very foot of the stairs on the other side of the street. That rectangle in the center of the photo is the entrance to the subway. Also, it started sparsely raining partway.)

Other stuff:

I got a program for 1500 yen and a large figure skating design tote bag for 2000 yen.

Only the arena seats (the ones right by the ice, opposite the judges) were allowed to throw flowers and presents. No banners were allowed to be hung, but you could bring a banner/poster to hold over your head.

There was one dude who LOVED Marin, and shouted how much he loved her and “we still love you!” and shouting to other skaters too, it was so great and the audience laughed at the guy.

The video screen didn’t show the green/yellow/red boxes or GOE calculations, or the I-Scope. We did see replays and slowmos, and the Kiss&Cry.

Random commercials while waiting for ice resurfacing - lots of Lotte Ghana commercials featuring Yuzu “OK, OK!” and the girls in the penguin suits drinking hot chocolate in a train and their respective stories.

The latest Figure Skating Life magazine being sold, with a big poster of it taped to a pillar so everyone could see Yuzuru in his Origin costume and it could draw in customers.

Some fancy flower arrangements you could throw for 7000 yen (or hand off to a flower girl I suppose). Smaller flower arrangements and single wrapped flowers were also on sale.

EDEA had their booth and you could see the Piano model of skates there.

Another booth with other various skating goods and clothing for working out.

On the booth selling programs, they had to tape a disclaimer stating that Yuzuru wouldn’t be competing.

You could bring in food and drinks from outside -- people literally bought food from the convenience store right across the street, and brought the bag in without hiding it at all.

Food was on sale in the venue, but I didn’t bother checking the prices.

#figure skating #laz talks #japanese nationals 2018 #jpnats 2018 #jpnationals2018 #satoko miyahara #kaori sakamoto #rika kihira #mai mihara #wakaba higuchi #yuna shiraiwa #rika hongo #marin honda #this was my first competition #after having tickets but not being able to go to ACI or the GPF #so i'll try my best to focus more when i'm at Worlds #so i can write good reports #fan report

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igumdrop · 5 years

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:OO WELCOME EVERYONE!!

okay okay, I know what you guys are thinking -- Jaime, WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!?! HOW CAN YOU MAKE THE SUB-BLOG GO PUBLIC?!?! WHAT HAPPENED TO *THAT* LIST... THE *YOU KNOW WHAT* LIST...

and my response is... I don’t know what you’re talking about. I never had such a list.

okay, real talk though, I decided to let my sub-blog go public for multiple reasons:

♡ no one wants to enter a password that I change constantly

♡ most of what I say I would love to share with my regular viewers who can’t afford to sub, and this is my main source of updating you guys on a more personal basis for those who follow me more on social media and not my stream

♡ I’m incorporating a lot more sub-only things into the community, so I figured I could let one go!

we’ll see how it goes and if it does start to feel uncomfortable, we can always bring it back :) but there’s little to nothing that I can think of that would make this weird because I don’t overshare that much... I think... HAHA we’ll see

ANYWAYS, REALLY GOOD NEWS! for the past few months I’ve had a little team of subs working on our community Minecraft server! (SO MUCH THANKS TO GOLDEYE, WATTEHMS, MATTY, MAXWELL, BRADLEY, JOSTER <3) I’ll try to log on everyday and just have a habit of keeping it online. I think it’d be cute to be able to log onto something and see everyone in the same world!

if you’re a sub, please fill out the form that I linked in the discord! it’s also the same form you use to join the gummie gang stream team, and also for me to know what your discord usernames are (a lot of times when you guys message me, your discord username is different from your twitch and I have no idea LOL) there’s also a little response section where you can give me any suggestions you want! (stream ideas, sub emotes, etc) ~ HAVE FUN!

AND EVEENNNN MORE GOOD NEWS!!!

WE’LL BE ON FRONT PAGE OF TWITCH THIS THURSDAY!! WEEE!!

I’ll probably be doing a sit-down cooking stream into a mukbang :) TIME IS TO BE ANNOUNCED BUT IT SHOULD BE AROUND THE TIME FRAME OF 12PM - 2PM OR 2PM - 4PM! I’ll let you guys know as soon as possible on discord. I’ll also be streaming tomorrow/Tuesday and Wednesday so I’ll let you guys know on stream too!

OK THAT’S IT FOR ANNOUNCEMENTS!~ here are my own personal lil updates

BENJI HAS GROWN SOOO MUCH! okay not gonna lie, he was kinda dying for a bit during the winter, I don’t think he really did well in the cold... his leaves would fall off sometimes and yellow at the ends. I was getting really scared and to be honest I’m so attached to this god damn plant that it was taking a sad mental toll on me. LMFAO. WHY AM I LIKE THIS. anyway, I gave him some fertilizer and stayed consistent with him, watered him whenever I needed to and tried to keep him in warm yet sunny areas of my house. and YAY, SPRING ROLLS AROUND AND HE’S GROWN BIGGER THAN I HAVE EVER SEEN HIM GROW!!!

before (when I first got him) and now! I’m so proud... only I can write a paragraph raving about my pet plant... jeez it’ll be crazy once I get an actual cat or something...

there was a really busy week in march where I spent all my leftover time planning Aria’s birthday. it was honestly the cutest thing ever seeing all her friends get together and work on stuff for her. I remember being insanely tired during it but once I saw her reaction for her surprise party, my heart melted and I just told myself wow that was soooo worth it LOL. here’s some pictures from my end <3

we got these GIANT balloons that spelled out ARIA and it took forever to get into the car and out LMAO... excuse my janky no makeup face but it was so funny seeing us struggle so hard with the balloons T_T LOL

we spent hours late at night working on her scrapbook and baking stuff for her. I was working on strawberry cheesecake shoots and I remember cutting 10+ strawberries and thinking, “wow, it would suck if I dropped these,” and then guess what happened...

I dropped them lmao

anyways it turned out so wholesome and cute <3

I found the airbnb on this website called peerspace and when I saw it, it SCREAMED ARIA...

you’re welcome for me blessing your eyes

we seriously worked our *aesthetic* muscle for this because we knew aria would appreciate the heck out of it

OKAY ANYWAYS MOVING ON!! yesterday I went to h-mart and got a shit ton of groceries. and I realized it’s STRAWBERRY SEASON!!! there’s still a lot of stuff that I want to buy that isn’t available here though, so my mom tries to send me all that she can :D

I love her so much I miss her so much wahhh I can’t even talk about my parents because I’ll just start crying because I miss them so much ... ok also I was supposed to stream yesterday but I took a nap... and... didn’t... haha... jaimewhatswrongwithyou.exe.... here’s a post-nap selfie though...

I looked heckin janky but snow saved my ass

ANYWAY I spent the rest of the night just reading and I finished my monthly book read! here are my two recommendations for you guys :)

I absolutely love love love this book! it will really help if you’re an overthinker like me. tl;dr, it talks about the inside voice in your head that constantly battles with itself and refers to it as an “annoying roommate.” with consistent reading (a chapter or two before sleeping at night) it really helped me clear my mind and become super aware of how the voice in my head could be more harmful than helfpul. if you’re new to reading it is quite a bit to read though so if you want something easier then I suggest this:

gosh, my life became so simple when I read this book consistently. it basically shares four simple agreements that you should always be conscious of in life. this book just really helped me not take things as personally, to not make assumptions, and it just gave me a much more simple and clear perspective on things and issues. SUPER SUPER EASY TO READ!!! downfall is, it kinda talks about religion a lot at the end, which might make it uncomfortable for some of you guys. I couldn’t really enjoy the last bits of it that much because of that sole reason but it’s still a great read and taught me lots of fundamentals I never knew I needed for my own mindset :)

I went to LCS the day before yesterday and it was really fun because I brought a portable cut-out of scarra LMAOOOOOO the thread is really funny so you guys should go read it: https://twitter.com/iGumdrop/status/1114687260434124801

I also did my taxes yesterday (well I finished up what was left of it) during the games LOL and then I went to annie’s place afterwards because her mom is an accountant and she helped me file them. I’m soooo happy I got them over with because I feel so free now!

hm ok ending these are always hard because it always seem so abrupt, mainly because even my 200 WPM fingers get tired of typing. I guess all I have to say is, hello new readers of my sub-blog, I hope you enjoy your time here! and thank you so much to everybody who supports me. it really means the world to me and I never go one day without insanely appreciating you guys. this month I’ma hit you guys with that dudududuududud GOOD CONTENT! <3

and alas, a few of my favorite cute lil drawings this month from chibird~

(+ my community)

WELL, FAREWELL FRIENDS! TILL NEXT TIME <3

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canaryatlaw · 5 years

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OKAY. It’s Sunday night, I’m on the plane back to Chicago from Clexacon in Las Vegas. What a weekend man. I had such an amazing time with friends I already knew and ones I just met for the first time. However, much of how the con was run was an absolute shit show. I must’ve said a hundred times that being that they’d done this for like 3 years already, they should know better than to do the stupid kind of shit they were doing, and yet there we were. So that led to some crappy situations, but I still had a great time do to the awesome people around me. I can’t say I’d go again though, because it was just a very poorly run event and I’m (obviously) not afraid to call them out on it in public, because it’s clearly needed when they’re prioritizing getting every last dollar out of everyone rather than the safety/wellbeing of the guests and the experience of the congoers (and the sanity of their volunteers, for that matter. But I should start from the beginning.

I left off Thursday night right before trying to fall asleep. I say trying because sadly it did not come easy, I think I fell asleep finally some time around 4, which put me at like 3-4 hours of sleep for the night, which made me feel a lot more exhausted through all of the very long day I had. I think I woke up at 7:30 am on Friday, that sounds right. Threw the last of things together and got an Uber, picked up Jess and was on our way to the airport. Got through everything okay, for one reason or another they let us go through just the metal detector instead of the full scan machine thing which was nice because the whole machine is a giant pain. We got to our gate and waited, and got somewhat delayed but eventually got in the air. Landed about 1 pm Las Vegas time, so 3 pm for us, so it already felt like it’s been forever and we wanted to get there as soon as we could. We ended up taking a taxi to the place instead of dealing with their airport’s Uber procedures, whatever those were. It was a pretty short drive, so we got there and walked into the casino part, and proceeded to get very lost until we saw someone that looked like they would be going (take that to mean whatever you’d like) and begged them to help us which they readily did thankfully lol.

So with some help we got to the actual part the con was taking place at, and found our friends who were in line for the Avalance panel that was at 3 pm. They were fairly close to the front for the regular admissions at least, so we got fairly good seats. I was going to live tweet but since getting off the plane my signal had been very poor (apparently Verizon doesn’t get good reception in Nevada) and not only did the place not have WiFi, but some people were saying they actively dampened the cell phone signal to “keep people focused on gambling” or something like that which is wild, really, all of this leading to the conclusion that my battery was gonna die a lot quicker than normal and I couldn’t afford to live tweet. Clexacon is also really good about putting their whole panel’s online though (one thing to their credit at least) so I didn’t feel too bad about it. The panel was great though, Jes and Caity together are always fucking hilarious and they were honestly so bad at paying attention and staying on topic it was really funny. They definitely like, hinted heavily at several things upcoming in the rest of the season, I won’t get into it because I know some people don’t like spoilers so I’ll leave it there and say if you want to know more go watch the panel. It was really great though, and as was suspected, Katrina Law crashed it and it was hilarious.

After the panel we rushed over to Jes’ table as soon as we could, which took a minute because instead of the normal con set up where each celebrity has their own table, they were switching off tables in shifts more or less (a dumb mistake which led to issues when they needed the table for the next guest but still had a mile long line, one of many things they totally should’ve known better than to do). So we had to wait a minute and then get in line and wait for her to head over, which wasn’t too long. Jess got a photo signed because she had a nice new one and it let us talk to her lol. She was doing selfies but that wasn’t quite established yet, since the con had put out a whole statement saying there would be no selfies (and then the guests were like yeah right we’re gonna do them anyway, bless). So we talked to her for a few minutes about some spoilery stuff we had gotten told about and then moved on since she had quite a line already.

After that we walked around the merch hall for a few minutes before heading over to the photo ops, and oh what a chaotic mess that was! After a while we managed to get in the right place with the right people and then had to wait a while longer lol. But for that night we had a duo op with Caity and Jes with Season, Jayne, Jess and I, with a pose inspired by the breakfast club (I’ll post my crappy quality picture of the print out since they don’t have the digital downloads yet and don’t know when they will after this) which involved me lying on the floor lol so that was amusing, got to say hi to Jes and told Caity I’d see her tomorrow.

Once we were done with that we waited for a bit for other people that had different ops since they were all clumped together (singles for any of the three including Katrina, duos with any of them, or trios with all three) and then once we were all done we left to go to the Taco Bell, the infamous Vegas Taco Bell that you can get married in and was famously featured in Jess’ social media au that I didn’t read 😂 but it had become quite a big deal, so we walked for about 15 minutes till we got there. They were blasting music inside at like a way too loud volume, so after ordering and getting our food we ended up sitting at their little outside portion, where we could still hear the music but it wasn’t quite so bad, lol. So that was certainly an experience.

When we walked back to the con place we met up with some friends who had brought along some games and such for a game night, and we ended up playing games with them for several hours, which was very fun. We played one called The Resistance which is kind of like Mafia and whenever we play any game like that I will ALWAYS end up being the “spy” as it was in this case, and it happened both rounds we played 😂 it’s just more fun that way. We played a few different fun ones. It was getting late though and I was like high key tired, and since we weren’t actually staying at the hotel there because it was very expensive (though the rooms were very nice) so after a while Jess, Melissa, and I ubered back to the holiday inn where Melissa had gotten a room and was letting us crash with her lol. Our Uber that night was a red hummer, so that was wild. I was like getting deliriously tired at that point but I knew if I didn’t wash my hair it would look like shit in photo ops the next day so I forced myself to wash it quickly and then go to bed right afterwards.

I set my alarm for 8 or 8:30, I’m not sure which, but I got up and got ready for the day, grabbing a quick breakfast at the hotel before heading over to the con. The Nyssara panel was first thing that day but since we knew it was gonna be online anyway we decided to skip it in favor of Jes’ line on a hope that most people would be at the panel instead (there were actually a good number of people there, but I’m sure there would’ve been a lot more without the panel). So we waited a bit for her to show up and she started signing, then we had to wait a few minutes while she went and crashed the Nyssara panel of course in payback for Katrina crashing the Avalance one the day before, which we fully expected to occur lol. Then she came back and we got to her pretty quickly. I had her sign the op of her and Caity that we got the night before.

Once that was done we headed to the photo ops since they were shortly afterwards, also a shit show but no surprise at that point. I just had a Jes op, and I decided since I was wearing my Captain Marvel tank top I got from hot topic a few weeks ago I decided we should do the pose with our arms extended since that was their kinda thing, and it came out really well, I was happy with it. Once everyone was done with photo ops, which took a while longer, we went to the autograph/merch hall and decided to hit up Caity’s line while we could, I had her sign her side of the duo op from the night before and got some selfies, it’s always great to talk to her, Sara’s always gonna be my favorite character and a big part of why I love the fandom as much as I do so I always love getting to interact with Caity, and she seems like she remembers me pretty consistently at this point so that’s always nice.

Once we all got through Caity’s line Jes’ was still really long so we decided to go to the Black Lightning/ThunderGrace panel with Nafessa and Chantal, who were both super awesome and the panel was great. They were so much fun to get to talk to and it was good to hear the writers were playing the long game with their relationship since at the beginning of season 2 it looked like that might not be the case. Towards the end of the panel we were informed that Jes’ line had been capped, which was very weird because she was supposed to be signing till 5 and it was only like 3:45 at that point which is WAY too early to cap a line. So after the panel we headed straight over there to figure out what was going on. One of the other stupid things the con was doing was overpromising things to their VIPs and basically just letting them through over the regular admissions at a rate that was impractical and frankly just didn’t make sense. So there was a VIP line that was very long and looked like it might be being added to, and a shorter regular admission line. We basically decided to be stubborn though and see if we could play it out on the hope that if they tried to end it before we got there Jes would see us and want to talk to us basically, which I’m not sure how successful we would’ve been and did not at all know if it would work or not. But basically we planted ourselves at the end of the regular admission line on the premise that we were talking to our friend who had managed to get added to the line, and then as things evolved basically more people started getting in behind us which the volunteers were not happy about (I want to make it clear though, I’m not at all blaming the volunteers for the shittier parts of this weekend, that blame lies solely with the con and the decisions they made, including not training their volunteers for all the situations they should’ve been trained on, but the volunteers were just doing their job and I would never fault them for that) which was understandable but we were gonna try.

We eventually more or less got added to the line but there was zero guarantee we were actually going to get to see her.

At some point around 5 Jes wanted to stay through the line so she had to get moved to a different table since they were still doing their shitty system with the tables, and then had to lead the whole line over behind her, which we think they basically just put the entire VIP line in front of the regular admission people, even those who had arrived clearly after us, so we ended up waiting quite a while there with seeming little to no movement. After we had been waiting a little while they Black Lightning girls had come to the tables nearby and Nafessa didn’t have a line, so I ducked out quickly (with plenty of friends to save my spot ofc) to her table because I’ve wanted to meet her for a while now but never had the chance, and thankfully she was doing selfies so I got to talk to her for a bit and then take some selfies with her, she was really really great and I basically cried talking to her about how much I love the show and the character of Anissa so much and just how iconic it was to see the image of her standing there in her superhero outfits and having the bullets just fucking bouncing off of her after so many LGBT female characters were killed off often for very shitty reasons, I’m like tearing up just thinking about it now lol so I was really glad I got to meet her.

Once I finished there I ducked back into Jes’ line, which had finally seemed to move some so we were a little closer, but still had to wait a bit longer. Jes was a total champ because she absolutely did not have to stay for everyone there, but she chose to do so despite being super tired and worn out herself, so she gets major credit here. We got to see her finally though after going through way too much shit to get there lol, I got my op from earlier that day signed, but had to forego a selfie because I was out of cash lol. Oh well. It was sad because the only con coming up she has scheduled is the love fanfest which is in Barcelona this summer (and in case you were wondering flights to Barcelona for those dates are sitting solidly around $800) and we’re ofc not planning on attending that so having to say goodbye without knowing when we’d see her next was kinda sad (and of course we’ll be bugging HVFF like crazy to fucking invite her to their cons, ugh) but I was still really glad we got to see her.

When we finally finished there god we were all so wiped and hungry since it was almost 7 pm at this point and we hadn’t really eaten since breakfast, so we ended up taking an Uber to the closest In-N-Out which was of course a must whenever we’re somewhere there is one (usually California but in this case Vegas). It wasn’t terribly crowded so we were able to get a table and food fairly quickly, god their strawberry shake was so fucking good and their burgers and fries were great too. We stayed there for a while and just talked and had a good time before deciding to walk back since we now had food in our stomachs, lol (we were originally going to walk there but my stomach was already like mmmMNOPE and walking for 20 minutes would’ve been high key bad). Once we got back to the con place we met up with the game friends again and played for the rest of the night. We started with a game called joking hazards which is like cards against humanity but based on cyanide and happiness comics which I read religiously for years and you basically had to build the funniest comic strip and my entries had everyone cackling basically the whole time even if I didn’t win the round, it was just all really hilarious and fun. We moved on to some other games which were fun, around 10 or so Jess had to head to the airport because she had been planning on going to Star Wars Celebration Sunday (plans which got thwarted by unexpected snow in Chicago) so she was flying out that night and arriving at like 6 am Sunday morning. We kept playing till like 1 or so at which point everyone was just really tired so Melissa and I headed back to our hotel. I washed my hair again quickly and got ready for bed. One thing we messed up on was forgetting to bring any makeup remover wipes or otherwise makeup remover, and there’s only so much you can get off in the shower, so when I get home tonight I need to like, douse my face in makeup remover and get off all the damn mascara that I couldn’t get off for three fucking days. We headed to bed though, Melissa’s flight was early Sunday morning so we said our goodbyes and went to bed.

I was set to wake up to my alarm at 10 to an empty hotel room which did in fact occur, but it took a little longer for me to actually get out of bed because I was very tired lol, I don’t think I actually fell back asleep but I rested my eyes a bit more until like 10:26 at which point I convinced myself to get out of bed. I got ready and officially checked out of the hotel room (which just involved telling the front desk the room number and that we were checked out) and headed over to the con place, messaging a few various friends I had made since arriving since my original friends were now gone, lol. I met up with them shortly afterwards in the merch hall where we wandered around for a bit and I did buy some stuff, mostly small art stuff and a few buttons, before we headed to the short film festival that was taking place from 12 to 2. I grabbed a sandwich quickly from the little cafe they had and headed in. The films ranged between comedies and dramas of different subjects, they were all really good and several made me cry, one had me like on the verge of sobs at the end lol so yeah they were very good I’d say. Once those were finished they had a little talk with some of the film creators and actors that were there which was fun.

Once that event was done I headed back to the merch hall with one of my friends to find a few things, and once we were satisfied there we ended up walking out across the street to the New York, New York casino which had a shake shack, where I got a burger and a root beer float which was very good. So we ate and talked and had a nice time. We walked back to the con area after, my friend went to a pitch session and I went back to the merch hall for a final round before finding another friend and sticking with them for a bit, one of the tables had been doing a raffle so we waited for the results of that which was entertaining, then talked to a few vendors we knew, and ended up going back to my friend’s hotel room for a little bit. My flight was supposed to leave at 7:25 so I was planning on leaving the con for the airport around 5, but I had gotten an email from southwest saying it had been delayed half an hour, so I ended up staying until around 5:30 before saying my final goodbyes and getting an Uber to the airport.

The Uber ride was quick, check in was very easy and I breezed through security, again only having to do the metal detector, so I made it to the gate shortly after 6 and then had plenty of time lol. So I just sat and listened to podcasts and went on my phone while having it plugged into one of the outlets they had under the seats for about an hour or so until I got up and grabbed some Burger King for dinner, then returning and eating that while we started the boarding process, the flight before us ended up getting in a little late so I think our ultimate take off time ended up being like 8:10 or so. We’re supposed to get in a bit before 2 am Chicago time, which should be fairly soon since my phone is currently reading 11:25 pm Vegas time, which would be 1:25 am Chicago time. Of course I packed super light since I was carrying my backpack around all day for two of the days I was there, so I just have the shorts I wore today which was great for the 80 degree Vegas weather, but being that it FUCKING SNOWED in Chicago today I’m guessing they’re gonna be a bit less than adequate. Since I flew Southwest we’re getting into the airport that’s further from me, but the roads will at least be clear and you can just take the expressway up so it doesn’t take too much longer than the one that’s closer to me (which is always just a pain in the ass because it’s O’Hare but it’s where pretty much everyone flies out of except Southwest). So now I’m here, sitting on the plane and typing this. As things stand right now, Jess had gotten off of work tomorrow for Star Wars Celebration which she wasn’t sure she was gonna do on Monday but since today didn’t end up working out she’s gonna go, I was able to get a single day Monday ticket to go with her so we’re gonna get brunch at 10 and then head down to that con, lol, probably stay mostly in their merch hall and maybe meet up with some people, before going home to watch the Legends episode of course. And yeah, that should be fun. I’m running low on battery so I’m gonna stop typing for now, I’ll probably write a final few sentences once I’m home or almost home and about to go to sleep.

Okay, flight landed at 1:49 am, it’s now 3:08 am and I’m lying on my bed about to go to sleep. Goodnight peeps. Hope you had a good weekend too.

#daily journal #April 2019 #Clexacon #Jess tag

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scandinaviacroatiaengbergs · 5 years

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Saturday Evening and Sunday: Saying Goodbye to Zadar, and Hello to Plitvice Lakes, Badovinci, and Zagreb

On Saturday evening, we spent an extra hour at the seashore chatting with the Austrians before heading home to the apartment for our last dinner there and what we hoped would be an earlier bedtime; it wasn’t. I did mention a few posts ago the guy who takes the money at the gate to the beach (it wasn’t very expensive to go in) everyday; I think I noted that Rowan befriended him. Well, this guy’s name is Ivan Vladimir and he’s actually an MMA fighter -- and that is such a crazy sport! He told us to look him up online, and we did, and we saw some of his fight results and clips. He was so nice to our kids and they took a picture with him, and we’ll share that to him via Facebook. He was from Dubrovnik and, after having been in a car accident earlier this year, was about to get back in the MMA ring for some new fights. It is so interesting the people you meet while traveling. We met an American friend of his too, a veteran of our U.S. Army who fought in Afghanistan but was discharged due to injury after four years, and this guy is also an MMA guy who trains in Las Vegas, but in Croatia, he trains with Ivan and wants to move to Croatia full time. Anyway, I really need to get to what we did today, Sunday! We had the craziest, longest day. I am writing this, finally, at 10 p.m. from the Airbnb we’ll be in for two nights in central Zagreb.

So, we started off from Zadar this morning, leaving there just before 10 a.m. We had some snacks packed, but nothing substantial, which was kind of Error Number One. It didn’t end up going too badly, but that was really poor planning on our part. We drove a few hours to Plitvice Lakes National Park, which my friend Kristin actually visited just a few weeks ago, so we’d seen her photos online, after we’d already decided we really wanted to go there on this trip. It’s Unesco World Heritage site and it is so obvious why. It was amazing. After our drive, on which we saw some beautiful farms and lots of roadside stands (seriously, like 20 of them) selling honey and cheese, we parked and bought our tickets into the park. It wasn’t cheap; I wasn’t sure how much it would be, but it actually ended up being about $100 for our family of four. There were tons of tourists there, lots from Europe and so many from China. So, once you park and walk across a bridge (over the highway), you follow whatever trail your time will allow you to do. We followed trail “E” because we had about three hours. Trail “E” was going to allow us to see about 12 lakes.

After the little path after crossing the bridge, you get on a boat of about 4-minute’s length and then you start hiking. The beautiful, stunning turquoise water starts immediately, with waterfalls over mossy boulders everywhere, and then larger waterfalls further on. In all, we hiked 2.5 miles, with Cece doing some shoulder-riding after a while. There were many hazards for children, ranging from slats too far apart on the boardwalk through all of the lakes to just the general fact that many of the boardwalks had no railings on the sides, and there were so many people that jostling was happening all the time, and a kid could’ve easily plunked in the water.

For the second half of our hike, when the crowds had thinned a bit, it turned out that we were right before a two-dad couple with their two sons (one was a 9-month-old baby in a hiking, child-carrying backpack). The second son, Ansel, was about 11 months younger than Rowan, and that family was from California, and they were so cool. Our kids were like a team with Ansel for the second half of the hike. It was great chatting with them. Both of that dads were in software (one in data analysis, like Eric). We also saw some goon—a young teen who was maybe a YouTuber because he had someone following him with a really nice camera, filming—strip down to swim trunks and dive into one of the pools, then hop quickly back out. It was totally stealth and super fast, because I am nearly 100% sure that is not allowed in the National Park. It was probably some stunt for online distribution. Anyway, I will just have to post pictures here of the lakes. I can’t even do them justice with a description. They were amazing. The only part that was not amazing was the ladies bathroom, which had like holes in the ground with a stainless steel plate, with treads where you were to put your feet. I might sound like a total delicate flower to say this, but I did not like that set-up. It turns out that the men’s bathroom was like a regular bathroom! With urinals and standard toilets in stalls! I can’t figure out why the women got holes in the ground. After Plitvice Lakes, we decided to tack on our 1.5-hour drive north to Badovinci, the town my Great-Grandmother Mary Badovinac left to come to the United States, as a very young bride. She actually came to the U.S. with her husband, had maybe one or two babies, and then took the babies and went back to Croatia, where she stayed for several years, and then her mom (Mara) was like, “You have to go back to your husband in the U.S.” and so she did. And, after she returned to the U.S., she had my Grandma Marion. Now, getting to Badovinci was 1) ABSOLUTELY BEAUTIFUL, and 2) an adventure because we nearly ended up in Slovenia ;) OK, so, driving from Plitvice Lakes, as I said, we drove North, and about halfway there, the landscape changed a bit, and it really got hilly, there were amazing farms as well as people’s home gardens just bountifully producing. It was a lovely, sunny afternoon, too, with big, fluffy clouds that were doing some periodic sprinkling. Anyway, our journey to Badovinci, which has a population of maybe 20 people right now, was super curvy. The hills (or maybe I should call them mountains) and the valley were winding around, creating some amazing panoramas, but also lots of switchbacks. We got to a point where we only had about 10K to go before e got there, and on a one-lane road (most roads were, though people used them as two-lane roads) we encountered two boys who gestured to us that we couldn’t go further. There were a bunch of men working to clear the road of maybe some fallen tree, which they were doing some serious work with, with heavy machinery, and we had to rely on Google Translate to get through that encounter. We learned that if we waited 20 minutes, we could get through.

So, the kids and Eric got out and checked out the work, and then, soon enough, we were on our way. Not too long after that, because I thing we took a wrong turn, we were at the Slovenian border! The guard, who spoke English perfectly, told us that we couldn’t use that checkpoint, as it was only for locals and they didn’t stamp passports there, so we’d have to go to a different checkpoint. Badovinci is so close to the Slovenian border that you *could* get through by driving through Slovenia, but eventually, by backtracking and then following some random police officer who was driving by (mind you, this area is very sparsely populated), we got on the correct road.

So, it is a good thing I do not get car sick because these road were so narrow and there were so many twists and turns, that it wouldn’t be easy on a queasy person’s stomach. Finally, we got to the church at Badovinci and we went into the church yard and saw all of the family gravestones. Almost half of them were Badovinacs. We walked about a quarter mile to the village itself, and on the way, a car passed us twice, and on the second time, they stopped (which I would totally do, too, if some random family of four foreigners was ambling through my neighborhood on a Sunday evening) to ask if we were going to the village. We said we were and the driver introduced himself and his son (both Badovinacs) and they pointed the way; we were almost there. In the village, which I use loosely because it is only about four family houses and then some dilapidated old buildings (barns? Old homes overgrown now with shrubbery?), we saw a woman weed-whacking her farming plot and then the two people we saw in the car, and a lazy dog sleeping in front of another car at the end of the road. I took a few pictures and then we walked back to our car and took dozens of windy roads for another 1.5-hour drive, this time to Zagreb.

I can’t tell you how beautiful the region is where Badovinci is. From so many of the village streets, of all of the various villages there, all with their own Catholic church and many with roadside altars, you can see vast vistas and they are grape vines tidily spread out across the steep hillsides and just the lushest green panoramas you can imagine. The late afternoon light was incredible, too, and the photos surely won’t be able to convey that. We did not have a proper lunch or dinner, and this is where our lack of snack-packing became a particular problem. At one point en route to Zagreb, we stopped at a gas station and I bought a packet of crackers and some chocolate cookies and that is what my children had for dinner. They were such troopers the whole day. When we got to the Airbnb in Zagreb, I got them bathed and in bed in like twenty minutes. They were wild, exhausted creatures in those twenty minutes, but once we miraculously got their teeth brushed and got the lights out, they were probably asleep almost instantly. Tomorrow we have a full day to explore Zagreb! I am really excited to see what we will see.

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