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thecassadilla · 4 years

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Change of Pace - Chapter 1

Pairing: Kristanna

Chapter 1 on AO3

Word Count: 3,292

Summary: With her sister’s blessing, Anna takes a step back from her royal duties and finds herself working for a ski resort nestled in the mountains. A chance encounter with the resort’s maintenance technician leads them down an unexpected path, as they must work together to plan the resort’s annual ball - and maybe fall in love in the process.

Author’s Note: Hi everyone! I’m trying something new here - I’m not really into writing multi-chap fics because I feel like my brain betrays me and I put it to the side and never look back. However, I’ve already managed to plan out the first 20ish chapters (and have written a ton of it), so I’m giving it a shot. This idea came to me back in September, when I was flipping through the television channels, and came across the summary for a Hallmark movie. Just from the description, I decided I wanted to write a fic based off of it. I did watch the first half of the movie and got some inspiration from that, too, though the ideas are mostly original. (If anyone’s interested the movie is called A Winter Princess). Rated T for the foreseeable future, but will eventually be M-rated. Anyway, I hope you enjoy!

In the two months since she had arrived at Valley Ski Resort, Princess Anna of Arendelle hadn’t stopped smiling. She greeted each day with a smile, worked with a smile, and whenever she thought about how thrilled she was to be experiencing life away from the castle and Arendelle, she smiled.

If she were being honest, she hadn’t stopped smiling since her older sister - and Queen of Arendelle - had approved her proposal of a sabbatical. She remembered the day she’d asked very clearly, as she was certain that her sister would reject her idea and she’d be stuck in Arendelle for the foreseeable future.

“Soooo,” she’d started.

“Yes?” Elsa had raised a questioning eyebrow.

“How would you say your mood is today?”

“My mood?”

“There’s something that I want to ask you, and I’m not sure how you’re going to react, so I’m trying to gauge if now is a good time or a bad time.”

Elsa had chuckled. “Anna, you can ask me whatever it is that you have to ask me.”

“Okay,” she’d breathed. “I wanted to know how you’d feel if I...went away for a while.”

“Went away? To where?”

“I was thinking of taking a sabbatical and finding work in another country - temporarily, of course. Just a few months where I could do something other than mope around the castle. I think it would be good to have some work experience under my belt, especially because your coronation is next year. I want to be able to do more than what I’ve been doing.”

Elsa had nodded. “I see. That makes...sense. Did you have something specific in mind?”

“Not yet,” she’d confessed. “I wanted to know what you thought about it before I committed to anything specific and got my hopes up.”

“There are a lot of factors to take into consideration. Your identity and your security are the first things that come to mind. But...as long as you’re back before the coronation, I really don’t see the harm in you -”

Before she could finish her sentence, Anna was throwing her arms around her sisters neck. “Thank you, thank you, thank you! You’re the best big sister, ever!”

It was some of the best news she’d received in her life. Not that her life had been dismal prior to her arrival at Valley Ski Resort, but it was rather...boring. Not boring in the traditional sense, as she had plenty of things to do. Horseback riding in the gardens, reading every romance book she could get her hands on in the library, and practicing piano at twilight. Regardless, her days felt empty, as if something was missing. She selfishly wished for more - travel, new friends, love.

So with her sister’s approval, the arrangements were made. With the exception of the general manager of the resort, her colleagues would remain unaware of her royal status, and would refer to her by her first name rather than by any titles or formalities. She’d stay on site, in one of the luxury “cabins” that the hotel rented to guests who wanted a more home-y experience, and set off to Valley in September, vastly unprepared for a life so different from the one she was accustomed to, but ready for anything. She had to learn how to do everything on her own; from cooking to cleaning to laundry, but she adapted fairly quickly to her new, “normal” routine and fell in love with her job as the assistant event planner for the resort. Two months in, and she was happier than she’d ever been in her entire life.

This particular morning had started the same as any other. In fact, when she woke up, she had a great feeling about how the day would go. She woke up feeling well rested before her alarm went off, had extra time to put on a little makeup, and was able to stop by the café on the first floor before making it to work with plenty of time to spare.

“Good morning,” she called, upon entering her office. She dropped her bag on the floor before shimmying out of her coat and hanging it on the rack by the door.

“Hey! Morning, Anna,” Holly, the administrative assistant, called back.

She glanced around and noticed that Holly was the only person there, which was rather unusual. Her boss always made it in before she did. “Jenny’s not here yet?”

“No,” Holly answered, running a hand through her chin length, raven-colored hair. “And it’s not like her to be late.”

She scooped her purse off the floor and walked over to her desk. “I know. Maybe she called out today?”

“She hasn’t been answering my calls or texts and I didn’t get an email from her.”

“Do you think Bonnie will know?”

“I’m sure she does, but she has more important things to worry about than one person calling out sick.”

“I’ll try texting her, too. I hope everything’s okay.”

“In the meantime,” Holly started, opening the top drawer of her desk and pulling out a box, “Look at what came in today!”

“Are those the invitations for the ball?”

“They are! Come look!”

Though she’d just sat down, she immediately hopped back up and ran over to Holly’s desk. She peered over her shoulder, at the silver and royal blue invitations. “Wow, those are gorgeous.”

“‘Valley Ski Resort cordially invites you to the twenty-fourth annual ball. Join us on Saturday, February sixth at seven in the evening for dinner, drinks, and dancing,’” Holly read. “Followed by the address to the hotel, of course, your extension and email for the RSVP, and the prices per head.”

“They’re perfect.”

“All you have to do now is finalize the guest list, print the name and address stickers, stick ‘em on and drop ‘em in the mailbox.”

“That’s it?” Anna teased.

“At least you don’t have to worry about hand-writing every name and address on five hundred envelopes.”

“It would give me an excuse to practice my penmanship,” Anna laughed. “My teachers always said my handwriting could go from neat to illegible in the same paper.”

“I know for a fact that your hand will be tired after sticking that many stickers to the envelopes, so don’t get too far ahead of yourself. At least the return address and stamp are already on there.”

“Less work for me,” Anna smiled, picking up the box and carrying it to her desk. “And I already have my work cut out for me.”

“Jenny is keeping you on your toes, huh?”

She sat down again, finally kicking off her snow boots and switching them for the flats she kept in her bag. “Just a little. I enjoy it though. I like keeping busy.”

“I know you haven’t been here very long, but you’re doing great,” Holly said. “Way better than any other assistant Jenny’s ever had.”

“Thank you, Holly. I really appreciate that.”

They kept up the small talk as they began their work for the day. As usual, Anna had plenty of emails to respond to and the talking helped to pass the time. A few hours into the day, the office door opened and they both turned around to see if Jenny had finally arrived for her shift. Instead, it was Bonnie, the general manager of the resort. “Good morning, ladies.”

“Good morning, Bonnie,” they responded in unison.

“How’s the planning for the ball coming along?”

“Excellent,” Anna spoke up. “We received the invitations this morning. The guest list will be finalized by early next week and the invitations will be sent out by the end of next week.”

“That’s wonderful,” Bonnie smiled. “Now, I’m afraid that I have good news and bad news for you both.”

“Oh,” Holly murmured, exchanging a worrisome look with Anna.

“I’m afraid that Jenny has resigned, effective immediately,” Bonnie stated matter-of-factly. “That’s part of the bad news. The good news is for Anna - congratulations, you’ve been promoted!”

Her eyes nearly popped out of her head. “I have?”

“Of course! Sure, you’ve only been here for two months, but you’ve been shadowing Jenny the entire time, you show excellent potential, you’ve never been late...I can go on and on, but it was one of the easiest hiring decisions that I’ve had to make in my entire career.”

Anna couldn’t help but wonder if she was being promoted out of sheer desperation, or if it was because Bonnie was the only person aware of her royal status and was trying to kiss up to her. “Thank you, Bonnie. I hope that I can exceed your expectations.”

“I don’t think you’ll have any trouble fitting into your new role. Now for the second part of the bad news - unfortunately, there won’t be enough time to hire a new event planning assistant in time for all of the upcoming events, between the Christmas season starting in three weeks, and then the ball the first week of February. I’m so sorry.”

Anna nodded slowly, trying to process everything that Bonnie had just told her. Not only had she been promoted, but now she’d have to take on the workload of two people by herself. “I’ll do my best.”

“That’s all I ask,” she remarked. “I know that you’re going to do great. Enjoy the rest of your day, ladies.”

Bonnie swiftly exited the office, and as soon as she was gone, Anna turned to face Holly. “What am I going to do?”

Holly stared for a moment, her mouth agape. “I...don’t know. This has never happened before.”

“I don’t think that I can do this alone! How am I supposed to do this alone?”

“Anna, I genuinely don’t know. I’m as stunned as you are. I mean, I’ll do my best to help you in any way that I can, but I only took this job because it came with a set, part-time schedule. I have a baby at home - I can’t be here for all of the events on the calendar.”

“Of course not,” Anna agreed. “That’s not fair to you or your husband or son.”

“Yeah, but this situation isn’t fair to you. Bonnie has plenty of time to find a new assistant, I bet she’s just being lazy.”

“I wonder why Jenny quit so abruptly.”

“I know! Jenny isn’t the type of person to do anything abruptly. I hope that she’s not sick or something.”

A wave of anxiety rolled through Anna’s body and she buried her face in her hands. “What am I gonna do?”

“Oh sweetie,” Holly cooed. “It’ll be alright. You’ll figure it out, I promise.”

Anna exhaled heavily and nodded.

“How about we go over everything we have to do for the rest of the season?” Holly suggested. “I know Jenny normally goes over the events on a week-by-week basis, but it may make you feel better to recall everything you’re dealing with in advance. Kind of like a quiz.”

“Okay,” she agreed. She got up from her desk and paced back and forth across the office; she often did her best thinking as she paced. The office was modest; the three desks were all lined up against the right wall, and the other walls were lined with filing cabinets, a bulletin board, and plants. Lots and lots of plants. Luckily, the plants were Holly’s responsibility, so Anna didn’t have to worry about keeping them alive - something she was sure that she’d fail at.

“So the cookie decorating is on the twenty-fourth. Do you remember the game plan for that?”

“Yes. We...I have to pick up the cookies at the bakery, bring them to the conference room - which I’ll try to set up in advance - and then sell the cookies until the event is over.”

“Do you remember how much each cookie costs?”

“Three dollars.”

Deciding to distract herself as she and Holly talked, she started to reorganize the bulletin board. A couple of the fliers were outdated, and they could use the extra room for the upcoming events.

“Take down the pictures with Jenny in them while you’re at it,” Holly replied. “Alright, what’s next?”

She began to collect the many photos of Jenny that had been posted onto the board. A few of them included her, from the events that they had worked on together. It was almost bittersweet to take them down; Jenny was her boss and mentor. They spent forty hours a week together for two months straight, and Jenny had taught her everything that she knew. “Um, that’s the last event that this office has planned for the month and December is maxed out.”

“Well, what events do we have in December?”

“So many,” Anna sighed, stacking the photos neatly into a pile. “Santa will be here every night in the lobby. A reindeer petting zoo will be set up outside. A few movie nights and Christmas caroling. On weekends there will be sleigh rides through the woods and hot beverage stands outside. Am I forgetting something?”

“There’s also going to be a story time and cookie decorating with Santa event on Christmas Eve,” Holly pointed out. “All of the kids will be wearing their pajamas.”

“Okay.”

“But other than that, that’s it.”

“Thank god,” Anna breathed, finally collapsing in her office chair and tossing the pile of pictures onto her desk.

“I’m actually really excited for the story time with Santa.”

“Are you bringing your son to that one?”

Holly nodded. “He’ll only be eight months old, but why not? It’ll be adorable.”

“I can’t wait to actually see him in person,” Anna smiled. “Now, is there anything that we have to do on Christmas Day or New Years Eve or Day?”

“No, not us. Culinary is going to have buffets - like the one they’re having for Thanksgiving - and then the hotel puts out extra televisions and passes out champagne for New Years. We actually have off on those days.”

“Really? I mean, Christmas Day makes sense, but New Years? That’s a little unexpected.”

“Well, we have put most of our energy into planning the ball, and there wouldn’t be enough time to throw three huge parties in a month. So, the holidays are ours.”

“I’m so thankful for the person who made that decision,” Anna laughed. “I may wind up here on those days, anyway, though.”

Holly clicked her tongue. “Don’t do that - enjoy your extra days off.”

“It’s not like I have anywhere better to be,” she shrugged.

“I’d offer for you to come over on Christmas, but I’ll be with my in-laws in the morning, and my parents at night. Baby’s first Christmas, and all.”

“Oh, no I wasn’t trying to invite myself or get you to pity me.”

“I know,” Holly nodded. “I just feel bad that you’ll be all alone.”

“Don’t worry about me. I’ll call my sister, like I always do when I have time off, and then I’ll come here and see what’s going on.”

“Maybe by then you’ll have a boyfriend and he’ll invite you to spend Christmas with him,” Holly teased, wiggling her eyebrows.

Anna felt her cheeks warm up at the thought. “Christmas is six weeks from today and I think we both know that that’s not going to happen. I’ve been here for two months and the dates I’ve been on haven’t been great.”

“I don’t think you’ve been looking in the right places.”

She rolled her eyes. “To be fair, I came here to work.”

“And now you have enough work for two people,” Holly reminded her. “You should try to have some fun in your free time.”

“I do have fun,” she remarked defensively.

“Oh yeah? Tell me what you do for fun.”

“I just got a Netflix account, so I’ve been trying to catch up on all of the shows that I’ve missed over the years.”

Holly cocked her head. “That’s not fun, that’s pathetic. Also - watch Grey’s Anatomy.”

“I’ll add it to my list. And I don’t think that you should judge what I do in my free time when you spend your free time tending to your infant.”

“Exactly! I don’t have any free time. I’m trying to live vicariously through you.”

“Don’t do that,” Anna laughed. “You’re only setting yourself up for disappointment.”

“What if we set you up on Tinder? Or Bumble?”

“Holly -”

“Ooh, I could set you up on a blind date! My husband works in the high school and he has a ton of young, single coworkers.”

“How about we stop talking about my dating life and finish talking about the rest of the events that are coming up?”

“Fine,” Holly groaned, looking down at the calendar. “January is pretty empty. A few movie nights scattered around, and two make-your-own hot chocolate nights.”

“Hot chocolate?”

“Yeah, the kids get a kick of being able to choose their own toppings and stuff.”

“Gotcha,” Anna nodded.

“And then the rest of our energy goes to the ball. January is crunch time. Making sure that everyone RSVP’d, making sure the menu is finalized, reaching out to the DJ, et cetera. It’s going to be a lot.”

“I’ll consider myself warned.”

“That’s the right attitude! Now for February - obviously, the ball is the first thing that month. There’s going to be a few events for Valentine’s Day - card and cookie decorating and a carnation sale.”

“Carnations? Why not roses?”

“Carnations are the flower of love,” Holly answered. “And they’re cheaper than roses.”

“Yeah, but roses are way more popular,” Anna pointed out. “Maybe we should consider ordering roses this year.”

“I’ll look into it,” Holly said, writing it down on her notepad. “Now for March. Easter is the first weekend in April, so the Easter Bunny will be in the lobby for the month. There will be egg hunts and egg decorating - basically, we’ll have eggs coming out of our ears - in the week leading up to the holiday.”

“Is that it?”

“Well, we hadn’t got that far for this upcoming year, but usually we throw in some cookie decorating, too.”

“Okay, that’s manageable,” Anna commented.

Holly frowned. “And then I believe we’re losing you, after that.”

“Yeah, I’m going home in April,” Anna sighed. “We can plan a few more events for that month, though. I won’t be leaving until late April.”

Holly smiled. “So I get a little more time with you than I thought.”

“Hopefully Bonnie will find her replacements by then. Or else you’ll be doing the work of three people.”

“Don’t remind me,” Holly groaned. “I don’t want to think of that as being a possibility.”

She wiggled the mouse of her computer and it turned back on. She signed onto her email, hoping to see an explanation from Jenny. Instead, she found an email from the manager of the bakery. She spun around to face her coworker. “Liz just emailed me and said that they were able to specially order the cookie kits that Jenny requested.”

“Finally, some good news today,” Holly remarked. “Not that the news of you being promoted was bad. But it was...a lot.”

“Tell me about it,” Anna laughed.

Holly’s phone rang, then, interrupting their conversation. “Hold on just a sec,” she started, before picking it up. “Hello, you’ve reached the event planning office, this is Holly speaking.”

Anna turned back to her computer and scrolled through her inbox, trying not to eavesdrop on Holly’s conversation.

“Oh, hi Bonnie! How can I help you?”

Bonnie? She glanced back at her coworker, who had a puzzled look on her face.

“I’m sorry...what? Are you kidding?...Okay, we’ll be right down,” Holly said, slamming the receiver down and standing up. “Come on, Anna, we have to go.”

“Wait, what happened? Where are we going?”

#kristanna #kristanna fanfic #anna #kristoff bjorgman #frozen #frozen fic #my writing

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samkat10423 · 6 years

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LTW Challenge - Bebe Hart - 02-21-2014, 04:55 AM

Bebe has finally completed her LTW. It took more time moving her from town to town, than actually completing this LTW. But she was fun to play. And no, she never did wise up. Am seeing a hitman in her future. She's just that good at making friends. Anyway, here's what happened to her in Bridgeport:

Got up bright and early and whipped out those two articles. Piece. Of. Cake. I'm just that good! Then, since I'm a little short on cash - damn Origin-usage taxes came due again! And, are higher than ever! - I opted to forgo the taxi - again, what's with these super-high fees? - and ride a bicycle to work instead. Thank the simgods my stupid neighbor left his outside, free for the taking. (After I cut through the chain, that is!)

Met a sim out in front of S....'s Business Complex - couldn't read the first part, since someone damaged the sign - attempting to stage a demonstration against some fatcat named Pete or Steve or something equally forgettable. The guy didn't have a clue as to what he was doing, so I graciously showed him how. And sims say I’m not a people-person! Whatever!

Anyway, later in the day, I learned through the grapevine that a certain new reporter is slated to be canned. Seems the twit turned in several negative reviews. And was even seen taking part in a protest against some big-shot in the community. On their very first day on the job! Which would be okay, except the venues are big - as in BIG - supporters of the paper. A couple are even owned by the same corporation - Steve's - that owns the paper. What a dweeb! Biting the hand that feeds you is NOT smart! But some sims never learn. I guess that old adage is true. You can’t fix stupid!

On another note, I decided to show my new boss that I am a go-getter. So I took the initiative, and reviewed the restaurant here in the Business Complex. Word of advice, Steve. Stick to business, 'cause you sure can't cook.

Anyway, after work, I decided to check out that Plasma club. Overheard some sims yakking at work about it, and apparently this is where all the 'vampires' hang out. Can you say, "Someone's watched Twilight one too many times?" Vampires! Yeah, whatever! Closest thing to a vampire, was the fake Goth girl working the bar. Would have been more believable if she didn't 'sparkle' all over the place. Girl really needs to rethink her body lotion. And maybe get a new tattoo artist. The "V" thing on the neck - soooo lame.

About as lame as the creep who kept giving me the 'evil' eye - as in fake, red contacts. What a loser! Trying to pass himself off as ‘vampire.’ Oooooo! So scary! Still, it'll make a good article. Can see the headline now: "Plasma 501: Even Vampires Aren't Caught Dead Here."

On the way out, two really creepy sims, kept giving me the eye. What's with this town with all these losers? The dorky, old fart in the cheap, red-velvet lounging jacket insisted that he was Alan Stanley, and offered to take me somewhere to buy me a drink. Well, HELLOOO! stupid! I'm leaving a bar! Time to get a better pickup line. Or change your meds.

Got called into HR today, and was told management had decided to steer my career in a different direction. So no more reporting. No, now I'm stuck behind a desk doing editing. They say it's a promotion, but I think some of the other reporters are jealous, because I set the bar soooo high, and they can't compete. So they went whining to management. Boohoo!

Anyway, I'm stuck here for the foreseeable future. But all is not lost. I can always sneak in a few of my articles, when no one's looking. Good thing about being an editor. You get to catch up on your reading. And pick and chose who's articles get printed. Today I slipped in my review of Alan Stanley's latest flop, starring has-been Matt Hamming and Botox queen Emmy Starr. 5-star flick my foot.

On another note, I got an email today, offering me a new position in a town out West. Not sure I want to relocate so soon. After all, working in Bridgeport has always been my dream. But it's a good idea to have a backup plan. Besides, I've noticed this city isn't as welcoming as I thought it would be. I was supposed to have lunch today, here in the building, with some of my coworkers, but the bimbo at the door refused to let me in. In front of my boss and several senior staff! Not only that, but when my secretary tried to make some reservations for me around town, he was informed that I'm no longer welcome on their premises. They are sooooo going to regret it! Think my previous reviews were bad? Wait 'til you read my new ones!

Well, it's official. The owners of the Bridgeport News are as stupid as the morons running The Sims Daily in Tickpaws - who, by the way, are demanding a retraction on behalf of their lame sports team. Instead of my boss telling TSD to, "bite me," - as I did, when the TSD mayor's office called me earlier today - these fools fired me! ME!!!! Bebe Hart. The old bat -aka: Mrs. Steve - said their advertising revenues have taken a big hit, ever since I came to town. And apparently legal is throwing a hissy fit, because of 1) the TSD issue, 2) a minor lawsuit from the local "vampire" community (Yeah. Get real sims. Vampires? Whatever.) and 3) a multi-million simoleon, defamation of character lawsuit filed by Plumbob Studios on behalf of Emmy Starr and Matt Hamming. Only one not complaining is Alan Stanley. Seems his movie has set new box-office records ever since my review came out. Which doesn't say much for the intelligence of Bridgeport sims. But hey! If they want to throw away their hard-earned simoleons on a crapola flick, so not my problem. Plus, the old biddy said my review of her sainted husband's restaurant has vilified his memory. Better his memory than my taste-buds. So, again, WHATEVER!

Anyway, good thing I have that backup plan. Good-bye Bridgeport. Time to move on to greener pastures!

#sims 3 #sims 3 stories #LTW Challenge #Bebe Hart #Bridgeport

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spiderfan22 · 5 years

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DAY THREE HUNDRED AND FORTY-THREE - 10/29/19

"THE JUNKET 1" by DJS

Multi-part thing. Know I've said that before, but. Then again, who knows?

_______________

Someone in the dark: This is the worst, right? These things are the worst. Aren't these things the worst? They're the worst. Because nobody wants to be here. Even the reporters you think maybe, you know, because they get to sit down with someone famous, even for a few minutes, the biggest star in Hollywood, the biggest IT right now, the fucking hottest, the Peoples Magazine--but that's just what it is, a few minutes in a fucking hotel room across from some actor, some fucking actor who'd rather be anywhere else. And reporters, of course they can sense that shit, of course they pick up on that "I'm talking to you only because I'm, like, contractually obligated to" vibe. it's not subtle either, it's this forced this--the same tired old well-troden stories regurgitated back over and over ad nauseum, just for the sound bite, just for the the quick one-liner, "how was it working with--" "did you have a good time working with" "that must have been--" "oh well yeah it was, blah blah is such a fantastic, I mean she's great, she gives you so much to play off of, my job's done, all I really have to do is react" "and what about these rumors of--" "people are already buzzing about--" "Oscars buzz, is that hard to--" "no. I mean you just try to block that stuff out, focus on the work" "well, shooting in That Location must have been--" "oh it's, yeah, I mean that was the big, one of the big, no they really didn't have to work very hard to sell me if you know what I mean" self-deprecating laugh, charming, bullshit "Also to finally get a chance to work Marty--" "Well, you know, the man, he's a legend for a reason, he's, well, just look at the body of work" The body of work the body of work. Junket's have their own language I'm telling you, and it's the language of bullshit. You think actors like sitting for hours on end? Actors don't even like Making movies let alone Promoting them. It's just part of the machine, part of the deal. You ever see an actor at the end of one of these things? You ever see them get up from the chair when it's all over and done with? Like they can't move, they have to fucking crawl out, pried loose by the studio publicist. "oh you did great, soooo good, sooo, you were soooo funny, specially with that one guy from the Kansas City Sentinel, can you believe he asked you that?? but you really, you handled it sooo well, just breathed and let it, let it roll off your back. hey do you need anything, need a new water or--" ass-kissing ass-kissing, mwah, mwah, bullshit. It's just bullshit. You know what I wish? more than anything else in the fucking world, you know what I wish I could be? you know?

A lion tamer.

Someone else in the dark: A lion tamer?

Someone in the dark: A fucking lion tamer. That's my dream job. I don't even know if that's a fucking job. I don't even know if that's, like, a possible, a possibility anymore. But I went to the circus one time when I was a kid. I was really fucking young, the circus came to town and--my grandma took me. She was this, she was weird, we would only see her like twice a year, and on those times it would always be for these really weird outings that my parents would never take us to. Like to this park to shoot horseshoes. Or to a Christmas antique show. And so one time she takes us, me and my older brother to the circus. The Ringling Brothers Barnum and Bailey--you know, the good one. And there are the animals, and the clowns, lots of clowns--I'm scared of clowns. Just fucking everything, trapeze, motorcycles. Then right there at the end of the show--the fucking lion. They loose the lion and it's just him and this guy, in a tux with tails and a big hat. And a chair. That little stool they use. I don't remember, maybe he had a whip too. Or maybe I'm thinking of that scene in Indiana Jones when it's a flashback and he's a kid. But all that's standing in his way, between the audience and the mad fucking roaring lion, is this guy.

I guess I'm just not--I don't feel really that real sense of confidence, in myself I mean that in this business you need to--you know. Someone else in the dark: yeah, I still live with my parents. Someone in the dark: that's rough. Someone else in the dark: my mom makes me breakfast every morning. Someone in the dark: she a good cook? Someone else in the dark: she's alright. Someone in the dark: what do you if you want to bring a girl home? Someone else in the dark: well, I'm gay. Someone in the dark: what if you want to bring a guy home? Someone else in the dark: I don't, we go to his place.

Someone in the dark: I didn't ask. are you here in some kind of professional capacity? Someone else in the dark: yeah I work for the hotel. Someone in the dark: how come you're not wearing any kind of uniform then? Someone else in the dark: ok so I don't work for the hotel. Someone in the dark: a fan? Someone else in the dark: I'm her biggest fan. Someone in dark: you know you're starting to come off a little creepy. someone else in the dark: thanks for letting me know, I'll try to reign it in. Someone in the dark: so what's the plan? Someone else in the dark: just get as close to her as I can, as possible I guess. Someone in the dark: then what? Someone else: Nothing, I just really always wanted to touch her. Someone in the dark: Where? Someone else: anywhere. Someone in the dark: they're not gonna let you touch her, man. Someone else: we'll see. Maybe there won't be any security for once. Did you think of that? Someone in the dark: what are you going to do? Someone else in the dark: I'm gonna pretend to be a reporter. See the fake badge I made? Someone in the dark: that's pretty good Someone else: you think it looks real? Someone in the dark: I think it looks ok. I wouldn't let anyone get too close a look though. Someone else: that's good advice. I won't. Someone in the dark: I guess this is where we part ways. Someone else: yeah. thank you, I've really enjoyed our talk. Someone in the dark: our little chat. Yeah likewise. good luck there kid. Someone else in the dark: thanks. you know, I think I'm gonna need it.

#hollywood #horror #junket

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fluffi · 3 years

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i think it was because god's menu was released around the same bp and svt made their comebacks. same thoughts tho on gm > bd and i was also glad that bd got the wins gm didn't. and same with the streaming mvs while studying : ] ahh, the easily distracted people we are. (reading cut and litol font bc poor ppl who see this on the dash TT)

i've heard chinese ballads (usually osts of films and from a chinese friend) and their songs really tend to tug on my heartstrings. i hope sm gives shotaro more stuff to do soon :[ with some of the units being active and sungchan being an mc on a weekly show, it makes me wonder what he's doing. do you think nct will form a new subunit?

no, i'm not lactose intolerant so it really took me by surprise. it was a one-time thing. hopefully it doesn't happen again. i can't really say i'm a big fan of ice cream but it's good occasionally yk as a treat to yourself. and ahhh, i miss drinking smoothies. my favorite stall has been closed for nearly two years now, idk if they ever re-opened since our city mall burned down :[

i think it's an nct thing? it's why i never get tired of them bc they're always active in a way. you should've seen how things went down last year! march 127 album, april dream mini-album, may 127 repackage, june wayv album and the whole nct 2020 thing. it was a wild year. about the track, i listened to it once and forgot about it. might give it a few more listens but it might not grow on me at all. yes! wasn't a big fan of hot sauce at first too bc i thought the intro was weird (not jaemin's part, like the first thing that plays). and yes, that hook loops in my head 24/7. i even made it my instagram bio.

stray kids world domination indeed! and i agree that their performances were really impressive (specially the deadpool one, best one yet) but sometimes i would fancy ateez' more. i didn't watch kingdom too bc it stressed me out as a multi. always caught between being happy for one group and being sad for the others. and atz and tbz! you're still getting into nct and you're thinking of adding 19 more boys! judging from what i know your taste in music is, i think you'll like tbz's music better since there are a lot more soft songs there than in atz. but do give both discographies a listen in the future!

oh izone! i've only heard of them at music shows and dance choreo compilations bc of them being in sync. they're really satisfying to watch! i thought their title tracks were catchy as well! quite unfortunate that i never got into them really. but again, i dont think i can handle stanning temporary groups.

i'm starting to see a pattern in your biases :D i wouldn't be too surprised if you'll be drawn to jeno at some point in your dream venture. dream is soooo easy to love so if you really end up ulting them, i would understand why. and also, YES PLEASE WRITE FOR DREAM AND TAG ME IF YOU WILL. THANK YOU ><

thank you! :c don't get your hopes up tho, the masterlist must've been interesting to browse but are the fics truly worth it? XD i think not. since you already know koe, i'm reccing users @/rouiyan, @/nsheetee and @/loonacitys. i don't have that much fluff in my ficrecs blog. i think, i've heard of lvdsc before (maybe even read a fic or two) but i can't find their blog now. be careful in privating your works, you might end up losing them forever if you don't keep track of their links...(?) that's what happened to the works that i privated :/ take me with you if you move blogs ;n;

seungmin frequently left updates abt what he was doing, left good nights and good mornings, the occasional i miss you. he called fans 'baby' once. not sure if it was a mistranslation, or really just a one-time endearment. other than that, nothing beyond the usual. seung vlives always make me cry ;n; he always look so adorable and precious. also the gif, the fic was more on fake head-butting really but yes you could say it was also a fake nose boop bc it sounds cuter. i'll make sure to tag you on future seung content on the dash. (time to officially claim him as your ult, yes. dont make him secret anymore :3)

sorry it took me a while. tumblr went batshit. the ' werkl;' stopped working midway and i got busy with school yesterday. also haechan birth today and i'm so emo abt it. it's literally just a boy turning 21.

little font and cut saga lets go!!

(just kidding, i cant do little font typing for long periods of time, makes my eyes go beserk haha.)

true true, im afraid for txt on music shows now because theyre going against some big names (literally bts like whatj jsdf what was hybe thinking). yeah, streaming mvs while studying aka watching mvs on loop lmao. i still want to stream skzs final kingdom performance on instinct but i remember that theyve already won!! hehe

ah chinese ballads always make me emo, i like to scream out lyrics to the songs at the top of my lungs and sit there on the verge of tears. its a cultural thing maybe *sobs*. ooh, what show is sungchan mc-ing in? ill check it out. i thought sm would make nct japan for sungtaro (i heard sungchan speaks japanese) so it was a shocker when they made...nct hollywood lmao. given the current circumstances we're probably not going to get a new subunit anytime soon :( hopefully taro will have stuff to showcase during that period of time.

burned down?? oh my, what happened to your mall? that sounds terrifying. i remember when the front of my school caught on fire and we were all ushered out but we thought it was a drill and didnt find out till years later lmao.

oh true, since theyre such a big pack too. constant comebacks and promotions haha, nctzens never catch a break with 23 members. i listened to the new track again (ive forgotten the name already) but i cant- i cant do it. its just not my style hhh. i rewatched the mv for the godly visuals though. i dont know if youre talking about that 'bibididibibidiododo' part by that female morphed voice at the beginning of the song, because i wasnt a fan of that too. it grew on me though.

same, actually! im not an atiny and dont stan any other group in the show besides skz but i watched each groups performance and ranked them haha. at times ateez would rank over skz, it was wild. also yeah, my other multi friend was freaking out about kingdom and ended up abandoning the show because she was so scared of the fanwars and having to deal with her 'conflicting feelings'. about the stanning thing, in my defense, i have a list of groups i want to stan and ive recently added tbz and atz. the list is long, i have a long way to go! also yeah, i dont prefer ateez's songs and i have a bunch of tbz title tracks in my playlist but if i approach their discography like i did with nct then i think i would like at least five songs.

izone are my queens. theres a reason why theyre the only girl group who made it to my ult list haha! super talented and filled with variety and visuals, a perfectly concocted group (literally, sobs in pd48 scandal). ah, temporary groups. yeah i cried about their disbandment for like 3 days straight, it was bad.

a pATTERN?? INTERESTING. DO ELABORATE. jeno, oh my gosh hes like bang chan. an intimidating-looking bear whos actually filled with love and softness on the inside. im currently having a jaemin run though, his make a wish fancam is doing some wacky things. also yeah, dream is really easy to love. i fell for them so hard, theyre all talented and cute and adorable and the team ambiance is so nice. really rising up my stan list now. i mightt write for dream! ill have to see, hehe.

personally i think the fics are going to be worth it. i can feel it in my boOOnes. ooh, recommendations! fun :D ill check them (and yours) out after i finish this 30k jisung fic. ive been trying to finish it since yesterday but i keep getting sidetracked. also, i made a mistake. its luvdsc with a 'u', maybe thats why you couldnt find it? ahh. thank you for the privating tip though! will keep in mind. and of course ill take you with me if/when i move blogs. we're friends now! <3

SEUNGMIN CALLED STAYS 'BABY'???!!@)(@#*()! I SHOULDVE BEEN THERE ASKDFJDF. im exciting for the fake nose boop drabble!! i love soft couple moments hehe. also yeah maybe its time to make him my ult...hes going to have to compete against jake my beloved ope.

dont worry about being 'late' or anything! we all have our own stuff to do. also yeah tumblr is weird asf sometimes. if you havent realized i typically answer longer asks around the same time everyday, when i get to sit in front of my computer and pull out my clickity-clackity keyboard. super relaxing.

AND YES HYUCKIE DAY!!! HES SO ADORABLE HONESTLY. im in love with all seven members of dream, my fic rec blog is currently filled with fics for them haha.

#「 asks 」#moots — [♡] ;#toffee — [♡] ;#neo-shitty

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nikossasaki · 3 years

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do you have any advice for new creators in the spn fandom? I’ve started giffing and making edits during spnwomenweek but now that that’s over I have no idea what kind of tags I should be using or, like, how to reach out to other creators aaaah. thank you!

hi there & that's soooo awesome u feel inspired to make spn content!! ur helping to keep our fandom alive & thriving 🎉🎉🎉 and I'd love to share some suggestions with u & im sure my mutuals will add on too😄

it's helpful to use the "edit" tag like spnedit & castieledit cuz it also helps peeps to know that they're prolly original creations

some active tracking tags that my mutuals use to reblog when they're tagged are: #fieryfrankie, #usersila, #bluefirecas, #smiledean, #casjpg, #donestiel, #userpris (that one is mine lolz). also it's best that ur following the ones u tag outta courtesy 😉👍🏻

a little self promotion but u can also tag #spncreatorsdaily & we reblog from that tag every Saturday.

even tho technically I've seen peeps say only the first five tags work & show up but I've experienced my first 20 working so u can take a chance 😅

other multi fandom "resource" blogs will also reblog spn content like #bbelcher, #chewieblog, #tvcentric, #cinematv

and I'd say don't be shy reaching out to giffers who u wanna ask tips from or to ask for advice on ur gifs cuz in my experience all the ones I've spoken too r very nice & helpful 👍🏻

also don't be ashamed or afraid of self reblogging ur gifsets several times a day or on several days cuz of different time zones & sometimes ur followers may miss ur initial posting. I mean sometimes I self reblog 4-5 times a day over a few days lolz!

I hope some of these suggestions help! and continue to have fun giffing & pls tag me in ur stuff! I'd love to see & share them 🤩

#thehuskingbee #good luck & have fun too!!#answered

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rockthecotswolds · 7 years

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A Rocking Day in the Life: Betsy Benn

We meet Rocker and multi award-winning founder of the wonderful personalised prints, gifts and decorations company that is www.betsybenn.com

So Betsy, when did you set up the business and what were you doing beforehand?

We launched Betsy Benn in March 2010 and I’d kind of been doing a couple of things before that. My “big job” was as an events manager for Zurich in Swindon, but after I’d had my baby I really couldn’t figure out commuting from Cheltenham, and all the overnight stays and travelling involved in my role when my husband was also doing a lot of travelling. We’d waited a long time to start a family and I’d always planned to take a career break anyway so I was in the middle of that break when I realised I was surrounded by adorable babies pretty much all the time.

I took my love of photography and launched a small baby portraiture business. It was doing okay, but my clever husband pointed out that there was a healthy gap between commissions and my photographic printer needed cleaning between each job and this wasted a lot of expensive ink. So I thought I’d design a few prints to sell in between commissions to keep the printer clean – and then the prints side literally exploded and the photography business was history!

Did you choose your office location for any particular reason?

Um – have you seen this door? Talk about kerb appeal.

Before we moved into the Royal Crescent there were three full timers working in my house, and sometimes two part timers as well. We were literally falling over each other at some points and at Christmas time it was beyond daft to try and manage that.

We’d already converted the loft and built a garden studio to maximise the house space, but when I walked into the building we are in now, I fell in love! So big, so spacious, it was more than we needed, but you know we have filled that to its limits and we need to think about how we take the next step and where that might be.

How many people do you work with and what do they do?

We have two full time Betsy helpers – Catherine, who is the office manager and basically makes sure the place doesn’t fall apart and reminds me to pay the bills whilst also giving excellent customer service and Rachel, our resident graphic designer who designs everything I ask for and also solves practical problems like “how will we engrave these aprons without unfolding them”. They were both off at the same time for a week once – I sort of enjoyed the challenge of being back hands on again, but the post only went out on time twice, there were large piles of things for them to look at when they got back and my wine consumption that week doubled.

Then we have Stuart, a freelance graphic designer who helps us when we get uber busy and when we have techy questions about a particular issue. He and I have really similar music tastes so when it’s just the two of us in the studio I get to play very loud 1990s grunge!

We have an open door it feels like when it comes to other floating helpers. We always get busy at Christmas and try to find some local graphic design students who want to earn a few bucks. And we offer internships in the summer when we are quiet and can spend some time sharing our skills and learning all about what’s new from the student’s perspective.

What’s a fairly typical day for you?

I drop the small one at the school bus stop at 7.20 so I’m normally in the studio by 7.30. If it’s not too busy at work I might sneak in a quick swim or gym session first and then rock up at 9 like a normal person. First I go through the new orders and see what the day’s workload looks like for me and everyone else. The beauty of a small team is that we all work so well and in harmony together and most things are understood by most people.

There are some graphic design things that my office manager doesn’t get involved in, but that makes sense! We joke now that we work on a telepathic level and we don’t actually need to say most things out loud, and it’s kind of true. I might start a job and then get pulled away but Rachel or Catherine will seamlessly move in and finish it without me asking. The reverse happens too. I’m very lucky that my team love the jobs they have and are totally engaged in the success of the company. It makes working together very easy.

I try not to get involved too much in the actual orders these days, I need and love to work on new designs and also the bigger strategy for the business, the comms plans, the commercial direction all of that. I get drawn back into the orders every Christmas which keeps my skills sharp and my finger on the pulse. So my day could involve writing blog posts, working out a social media plan for the months, developing new designs and products, reaching out to other creative businesses for the creative hub plan I have for the future (!) or even making and photographing new products.

How do you get to work?

It’s a quick drive. I wish I could do it another way a bit more regularly. On Fridays in the summer I will often walk in because I don’t have to do either end of the school run, but every other day I feel like I’m squeezing the absolute maximum amount of time in the office as I can before I have to head off and collect my son from school in Stroud. And even then I’m quite often late!

Every spring I say that I will cycle in a bit – but (big secret here) I never actually learned to ride a bike when I was young and although I have a bike now, I’m still very much not in control of where it goes – so there’s some work to do there!

Where would you recommend to eat during your lunch break?

Star Bistro is right next door which can be both awesome and dangerous. We have a great relationship with them and they have been known to deliver sausage sandwiches to my desk. That takes some beating. Cheltenham is full of eateries though, we are very lucky.

SO Wagamama on a Friday, Huffkins or Swallow bakeries for any day that needs soup and cake, Bottle of Sauce for a half price burger on a Monday, Gianni’s for anything with loads of garlic, Boston Tea Party if you haven’t had breakfast yet, The Stable for Pizza, Turtle Bay if you need heat or have a cold coming and I can’t wait to properly try out Kindness & Co – I’ve walked past a couple of times and it looks soooo good.

What’s been the most challenging and most rewarding part of Betsy Benn to date and why?

Wow, the answer to that will change on an almost daily basis. Challenges apparently help you to grow, right? Like forcing rhubarb? I’d say that launching and growing two businesses in a recession has been a fairly big challenge in and of itself, whilst still trying to find time to do other life stuff (tell me we all have days when we forget to eat, yes?).

But I think the biggest challenges are in keeping on creating new designs and collections that resonate with our ethos and our customers and then, of course, finding our customers – especially the new ones – and telling them about these great new products. We’ve had huge levels of success with notonthehighstreet.com and they have a great customer base, but we also need to be independent and support ourselves in that way.

I think the most rewarding stays the most constant and there are two biggies. It was a challenge to build the right team and get the right working environment, but we got there and we all really enjoy rocking up to the studio each day.

We’ve all come through personal disasters the last few years and having each other on a daily basis has helped pull us through! The second huge reward is the feedback we get from our customers. The things we create are so personalised and really all about a person’s story and their relationship with the gift receiver. They make the best gifts and we are constantly hearing how a print made someone cry, or was the most loved present of all. It puts a massive smile on my face every day.

Any new products we should be looking out for this Christmas?

I am always guilty of falling a little bit in love with our latest products and actually (although that can be dangerous) I think that’s a good sign. If you don’t love your product, why would anyone else? And we really want to create products that people love and will carry on loving for a long time.

So our latest products are our personalised denim aprons which have been flying out! Thankfully other folk love them too. They are these gorgeous hipster style dark denim aprons with a tan leather look pocket on the front that we can engrave with pretty much anything. They’re fabulous.

In Christmas decorations we launched a new decoration called Lasso The Moon which was inspired by the film It’s A Wonderful Life. It was a labour of love to get the right materials and make it look the way I wanted, but I love it so much!

And in prints we are just about to launch these amazing designs which look like typical vinyl record sleeve artworks, but they feature your own photographs, so you can be “the band”. Brilliant fun for any music fan!

What’s your most popular? What’s your own personal favourite?

Well, see above, I love all my babies! But the one most dear to my heart will always be the bus blind destination print. It kind of launched my business and is still a classic best seller. We just made a video to promote it a bit more – wanna see? (click here). I just love the way you can tell a whole life story with this print, or just the highlights of one amazing year.

And every year we sell out of our amazing Balloon Advent calendars that are actually sold by our sister company, Luna Studio Designs. We were on TV a couple of years ago on Kirstie’s Handmade Christmas with them and they were also on the front cover of the Notonthehighstreet.com Christmas Gift Guide, so they have taken on a bit of a cult status now. Very cool!

If you could recommend one place to go in the Cotswolds to a first time visitor where would it be?

JUST ONE?? Oh that’s hard. The Cotswolds is such a draw for so many different types of people that it’s hard to choose a one size fits all. Let’s see…. (my brain is exploding right now).

Okay – you need to come to our house for a week whilst the Literature festival is on. That way we can show you the best bits of Cheltenham whilst it’s alive with clever types, we can treat you to a lunchtime steak at 131 and then a pint of Stowford Press at The Green Dragon which we will walk off all over Crickley Hill and marvel at the autumnal colours of the season.

Followed by an evening spa at Cowley Manor. We’ll also take in a craft course at the New Brewery Arts centre and maybe even a day of cookery skills and a wood fired pizza at the Daylesford Organic Café whilst you’re here.

You see – there’s too much to choose from!

How do you unwind after a day at work?

I’m sorry, UNW…..what? I’m not familiar with that concept.

You might want to roll your eyes a little, but I’m one of those annoying people that lives up to that motivational quote print that you see in an insurance sales office “If you find a job that you love, you’ll never work a day in your life”. Newsflash – it’s kind of true. I’m answering these questions at midnight, with a glass of wine at hand, because I’m in “work” mode and enjoying it.

The big thing that no-one ever really shares with you when you decide to work for yourself, and it’s kind of obvious, is that you’re in charge and you get to decide how busy you are. You might think I’m talking rubbish, because as a retail business you are dependent upon people placing orders with you and buying your things! And then of course you will be busy fulfilling those orders, but you have to wait for those orders to come to you?

Running a successful creative business is not the online equivalent of having an honesty box on the side of the road for the apples you’ve just harvested from your garden trees and this can be where a lot of craft based businesses let themselves down.

There is always something that you can do in this world to be telling people about your business, your products, your ethos, your story, your dreams – anything! And in that way I say you get to choose how busy you are – you get to choose your bus-y-ness! If you’ve told a great story and people are beating down your door to get your products, then you can be a little quiet for a while.

But if that’s not the case, there a million ways to share what you are doing with your potential customers. And, like most entrepreneurs I’m sure, my mind is like a pinball machine on multiplay, with little silver balls hitting targets and lighting up lights right left and centre.

I’m currently in the process of reaching out to every creative person in the county in the hopes of building an online creative forum where we can all support each other and chat about the things that are getting in our way, or the latest brilliant thing we have discovered that makes life easier.

And maybe one day that online forum might lead to a physical cooperative work space – who knows – but get in touch if any of that sounds interesting!

Our tagline at Betsy Benn is "a design for every story".

Well, here, we've collected together our little promotional pieces that tell the stories of our designs, how they are made, what our customers love about our products and their stories which we translate into our personalised prints and designs.

www.betsybenn.com

Betsy Benn’s Awards to date

Best New Product: notonthehighstreet.com Make Awards 2013 - Winners

Entrepreneur of the Year: notonthehighstreet.com Make Awards 2012 - Winners

Best Customer Service Award:notonthehighstreet.com Make Awards 2011 - Winners

Business of the Year 2014 - Gloucestershire Women in Business Awards - Winners

Rock the Cotswolds is a not-for-profit campaign created to promote the talent and creativity of the area.

It is sponsored by Crowe Clark Whitehill in Cheltenham - their belief in what we’re doing and generous support helps keep the campaign alive and kicking!

www.rockthecotswolds.com

#christmas #decorations #betsybenn #posters #prints #adventcalendar #apron #presents #gifts #bespoke #cheltenham #entrepreneur

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