#all my mom did was send the store page info to the friend | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

likeawildthing · 3 years

Text

Not to be morbid on main, but everyone dies and people are rarely prepared for it. It’s so much easier when you know your loved one’s wishes. So even if you’re a teenager or twenty-three and healthy, I hope this helps you start thinking about end-of-life wishes, because it can happen to us all (both the dying and, rudely, being died upon).

Cremations are an affordable way to subvert the funeral industry, but going this route puts the burden of “the little things” on the family. I’ve learned a lot in the last 36 hours and wanted to pass those things that weren’t on any checklists, because the burden is on you to navigate the process.

Putting this under a cut because it’s so long (although not comprehensive). Obviously some of this is altered because COVID and some is meant to be applicable in some distant, theoretical future when we can go out to lunch again.

Before you die

Think about it, talk about it, write it down

Think about what kind of rememberance you want, if any. If it doesn’t matter, tell people that so they don’t fret about it and grieve in whatever way works best for them.

Communicate now to save your family and friends angst later.

Build an “in case of death” binder, zip drive, google doc with links, etc. Make sure your passwords are up to date so that’s not an administrative nightmare for your loved ones.

Advanced directives. Here’s a great article explaining the types of medical advanced directives and decisions to make before an accident or illness happens, including whether you want to donate your organs.

We lost grandma for about twenty minutes yesteday because we couldn’t find the paperwork and grandpa couldn’t remember where they signed up for services. Death. Binder. Have a death binder/folder/zip drive so no one loses grandma.

Insurance.

You likely have insurance through work, so consider that. It will also expire if you leave your job.

You can usually get, with minimal fuss, a 10- or 20-year term policy with enough to cover your arrangements and debts for less than $20 a month. Death expenses are anywhere from $5-$20k, conservatively.

Talk to your auto insurance agent and score a multi-line discount.

Body snatchers.

If you want to be cremated, talk to a local crematory beforehand and give them your basic information. It can be paid out of your estate (i.e. by your family or a life insurance policy) when it happens.

Most funeral homes (I believe) require pre-payment. It’s super morbid but there are TONS of heavily discounted grave sites for sale on Craigslist if that’s the route you want to go.

Here’s a list of certified green burial sites in the US.

Donating your body to science 101.

Memorial service.

The idea of a “proper” funeral is more or less out the window, especially in the time of COVID. Celebration of life? Religious ceremony (or not)? A picnic at your favorite park? Anything goes, so figure it out now.

When my sister-in-law died, we had a celebration of life at a non-profit who donated the space and had a poker tournament with her ash tin (she lost).

Whether you have strong or no preferences, write that down to guide decision-making.

Memorials.

Traditionally people would donate money in the event of a death to a charity, foundation, or family account, or flowers to a funeral home or church.

Family accounts (like for children) are traditionally done in care of the deceased’s bank but online fundraisers are a thing.

If you have a particular charity you love, add this to your list of wishes.

Food.

Before COVID it was pretty typical for there to be some kind of meal after a funeral. Will this be a restaurant?

This is ultimately up to the family but if you have strong preferences (i.e. no church or Italian food), tell people now.

Obituary.

Writing down the basic facts of your life, hobbies, and accomplishments you want included in your obituary means your family doesn’t have to do a guessing game.

Plants, animals, stuff, etc.

Do you want your clothes to go to a specific charity?

Do you NOT want your stuff to go to a specific charity? (Goodwill is terrible!)

Who will get your car (person, donate, sell)? Want to have your record collection to go one sister? Obviously family will divvy up stuff how they like, but write down any special considerations.

Have a plan for your pets (insurance, vet info, guardianship).

Please organize and digitize your photos if they aren’t already.

If you lose someone close:

Identify the primary griever

Support that person/those people by providing feedback when solicited, running errands as needed, and running interference so they aren’t inundated with all the little things.

Notifying people

Use the phone tree method. Great Aunt M will be happy to help by calling your cousins. Your boss, coworkers and HR. Your mom’s best friend/your adoptive aunt, your mom’s bunco group.

Ask that family not put anything on social media until the principal people are informed. I found out my grandpa died on facebook!

Esp these days, set boundaries for visits (who, where, and in what capacity).

Designate one person to be the primary contact for extended family to keep the burden off the primary griever(s).

Give this persons’ information when the first phone calls are made. It also makes sense for this person to be the travel coordinator.

This person should have a good handle on family dynamics (i.e. my aunt is flying in and would drive my grandma nuts so she’s staying with Mom).

This should be their only task because it’s time consuming.

Food

When people die, people gather, even in the time of COVID. Be responsible but expect a ton of drop by food. Clean out the primary griever’s fridge in anticipaton.

Organization

Start a shared family Google doc or sheet. Consolidate to do lists, anecdotes, important contact information, questions and inquiries, etc.

Pay to have the houses of anyone hosting (gatherings, people coming in from out of town, etc.) cleaned. Or, delegate. This can be an act of service for someone who wants to help and doesn’t mind doing the work.

Find the death binder (hopefully), legal documentation, etc. Get a folder or binder for papers if one doesn’t exist. And start a shared google doc for loved ones to track everything.

Delegate

I know I have said this three times, but it’s important. If you’re a primary decision maker do not be the primary do-er. My mom is the primary decision maker so my sisters and I are doing literally everything else.

Say YES when people ask if they can help you. Look at your running list of to-dos and say yes.

Pay to have the houses of people who are hosting cleaned. It will seriously be such a life saver, or this can be an act of service for someone who wants to help.

Social media

You will need to decide what to do with a person’s social media. Do you start a tribute page? Turn their facebook (if they’re old) into a tribute page for a time? Indefinitely? Things to think about.

Thank yous

Keep a running list of people to thank after via hand-written thank you notes. The link includes guidelines on

who should receive a thank you note (gave flowers, brought food, made donations, helped with arrangements or the service(s), did readings, or went well out of their way to warm your heart or show up)

when to send them (ideally 2-3 weeks after the funeral)

here’s how to write them (it doesn’t matter if you buy fancy, ones or dollar store ones, make sure they’re hand written).

Receipts.

Don’t be the petty biatch your cousins hate, but do save significant receipts to be reimbursed by the estate. (I.e. catering hundreds of dollars of food, paying $250 for programs and thank-you cards like I just did, etc.)

Service.

You will have a million decisions to make including

what kind of service to hold, if any

where to hold it

costs

hymns, readings, and anecdotes to share

who will be pall bearers, readers, vocalists, and give eulogies

Crematories handle cremation only, not the service details.

you will need photo boards (Hobby Lobby has nice black foamcore ones) or a powerpoint (and a way to display it depending on the venue)

a guest or memorial book

a card basket,

memorial cards, possibly programs, and thank you cards

Officiants, musicians, religious institutions, etc. all need to be paid (and tipped) for their time.

If we ever wrangle this pandemic, donating funeral flowers to a nursing homes is a fantastic way to brighten residents’ days.

Obituary.

Obituaries are expected, but traditionally costly ($200-$800). As part of the publishing fee, most newspapers keep the obituary on legacy.com indefinitely.

A funeral home will assist you with this, but the burden will be on you and your loved ones if using other methods.

These take hours to write and many hands does not make light work. Keep it to 2-4 key people. Having the facts laid out will help, and so will looking at other obituaries. I read a great tip which was to write about your loved one in present tense first, then change the tense before submission.

Newspapers will update your spelling and grammar but that’s about it. Cheaper alternatives:

Death notice which gives age, date and location of death, and who is handling funeral arrangements. Our crematory put in the death notice for us because they had her body, but the requirements on this likely vary state-to-state.

Here is a place to put a free online obituary.

Plants, animals, stuff, etc.

Save the plants and pets.

Household misc. are usually not dictated by the will, except in special circumstances or contested items. Closest members will go through possessions first. Voice early if you want something in particular, but understand that you may not get it. That’s ok.

Going through someone’s life is an overwhelming process. You may be repulsed and sad and overwhelmed and amused, all at the same time.

In deciding what to keep, as I’ve now cleared out three houses, I’ve found that quality over quantity is the way to go. The sweet spot? 1-2 sentimental + useful things. My great grandmother’s thimble and juicer? Use them all the time, and I remember her lemonade.

It’s okay to throw away some keepsakes and let things get thrown out or donated, depending on the thing.

Don’t give into guilt if you don’t want the china your Aunt Karen is pressuring you into taking when she doesn’t want it either.

Legal stuff.

If someone dies, there will be all kinds of legal things you will need to do (bank accounts, utilities, debtors, education, etc.), investments or 401k, etc.

This varies too much by state and circumstance to talk about in depth but there are guides to specifically help you.

If someone you love has lost someone they love

Do not give platitudes or ask if they’re ok

Don’t expect a response from someone grieving

Do send a card! It’s so thoughtful. I keep a stack of blank condolence cards and a set of forever stamps in my closet. It doesn’t have to be a $20 card to be special.

Don’t judge someone by how they grieve

Offer specific, actionable help if you’re close enough to give it

I am going to come over and clean at 10, leave the house unlocked

I’m at the store and am going to buy cheap vodka unless you tell me what kind of wine you want

oops I got you an uber eats gift card in your gmail sorry/not sorry

Buy thank you cards with stamps as a condolence gift, depending on the person and situation

Send a plant instead of a bouquet of flowers

Make a donation in the loved one’s name if you have the funds

If the grieving person is someone super close (best friend, sister, etc.) add the date in your recurring calender so you can check up on them this day next year with a card and/or phone call

#cw death #grief #end-of-life decisions

99 notes · View notes

freebooter4ever · 3 years

Note

Hey! Some questions about Snaf in IRL Eugene's book to you and anyone who knows it: Is Snaf described as teasing? Is he hypochondriac/preoccupied with his health? Does he like sweets? Is he somewhat of a loner? Does he sit weirdly folded (maybe just a Rami thing tho) Was he in China for occupation duty? Or are these just fic canon tropes (maybe somewhat based on the tv show) that reoccur in fics?

Okay my disclaimer for this is that it's been a while since I've listened to the memoirs, like at least a year or six months, so apologies if I'm remembering something wrong. Here are links to previous posts about Snafu in the real memoir:

Snafu in With The Old Breed Snafu Singing Bout Wedding Bells Real Eugene Describes Snafu

Quick answers to your questions: No, Shelton isn't as teasing or a hypochondriac, E.B. Sledge doesn't mention him liking sweets particularly, Snafu is described more often as being friendly/around people than being a loner, E.B. Sledge doesn't describe how he sits, Shelton was in China for occupation duty.

Teasing: Snafu does joke about Eugene and smoking, and makes a bet that Eugene would start. He's much more boastful about being right than he is in the tv show, lol. Of course, Snafu never said the words 'taken' and never said anything about new boys and sweating. There was probably more teasing going on than Eugene mentions in the memoir, because Eugene is very sarcastic about Snafu - a lot of the descriptions seem to have a sort of irritated fondness about them. "Give it a rest, Snafu" is 100% believable as something Eugene might have said, even if he never wrote those words exactly. Though it probably would have been about Snafu getting military strategy wrong again.

About the sickness thing: he apparently was very easily seasick, lol! Eugene mentions that every time they go in one of the PT boats, Snafu has to lie down or he'll be sick. Which probably explains why in the tv show Snafu throws up before the landing craft is launched into the water (better to empty his stomach before the seasickness rather than wait). I posted about this on my blog somewhere I think but I don't have an easily accessible link.

Loner: personally, I think Snafu was the sort of "outgoing introvert" type - very gregarious and easily charming, but goes slightly insane when he doesn't get enough alone time. Just going off the descriptions of him from both EB Sledge and Burgin. He doesn't seem to have any trouble making friends, and he and Eugene "Sledgehammer" are close even before Peleliu, which means they became friends on Pavuvu when the rest of the veterans were still in 'hazing' mode. The impression I got was that Snafu was loud, and brash, and utterly without a filter. BUT ( and a very big but ) we know later in life he grew into a very quiet man who never talked much and kept to himself - hence why I'd guess he was pretty introverted deep down. In my fanfic though, I tend to write him as more of an extrovert, mostly because I like to contrast this with Eugene.

I'm pretty sure the physicality of Snafu was all Rami - I would be FASCINATED if Rami were to ever disclose the research he did for this role, but I imagine that info must be very private. He probably was able to talk to people in the real Shelton's life who never got the chance to record what Snafu was actually like. Personally, Snafu's gestures were one of my favorite parts of tv show Snafu - he's his own character purely based on movement alone. The animation geek in me nerds out.

China Occupation: I don't think Snafu is mentioned much other than that he was there. There's a number of nameless characters in stories and some of them I theorize are Snafu with his name omitted because they aren't the most flattering stories, but that's just my guess. Eugene starts hanging out with the intellectual elite of China during this time, and Snafu is most certainly one of the guys more interested in carousing than cultural sites and philosophical discussions over tea. Technically Snafu is one of the veterans with more 'points', so he should have been sent back to the states a few months before Eugene, but if my theory is correct, I think Snafu was one of the ones who kept getting docked points for being thrown in the brig lol. Either way, Eugene does not go home at the same time as either Snafu or Burgin (who would have gone home earlier because he also had more points).

One thing is for sure: Snafu never said anything about "bad germs", that was actually told to Eugene from a real doctor, which honestly kinda makes more sense than what the tv show did. Snafu also is never named as one of the guys who cuts gold teeth out of soldier's bodies. He also never asked Eugene to look into his eyes - the real Shelton actually got malaria or some kind of sickness and that was the only time he was pulled from the front lines for a few weeks. Shelton was never injured in battle. Even when he falls to the ground on the air field, and Eugene picks him back up, he is unscathed. And Shelton asks Eugene to pick up the shrapnel that hit him and Snafu keeps it as a souvenir lol! Oh, he also didn't grow up in New Orleans proper - he grew up in a rural town north of there - which we know because Eugene mentions Snafu getting sent a newspaper from his hometown where the front page has a blurb about Snafu and his deadly 'mortar gun' on Gloucester. A newspaper that all the men teased Snafu about mercilessly, but Snafu was VERY proud of. (I use this as one of my excuses for why I write him so extroverted - Snafu's very open and proud bragging even over something as embarrassing as civilians not understanding what a mortar is....versus Eugene's shy quiet embarrassment about getting sent baby food by his mother to the point of writing a letter home asking his father to ask his mom to stop, when obviously the only reason his mom was sending baby food was because it was easy to pack/store without spoiling)

Hope this helps! ^_^

#snafu #rami malek

21 notes · View notes

kingfallsamtranscripts2 · 3 years

Text

King Falls AM Episode Twenty: Referencing Aladdin Don’t Make It Right

King Falls AM Transcript

Episode 20: Referencing Aladdin Don’t Make It Right

Run time: 22:17

First Aired: Feb 15, 2016

Summary: Sammy & Ben get a quick update on the little ones off Route 72 and learn live on-air that not everyone had a great evening on the night of the Valentine’s Day Dance.

(For a list of characters and references from this episode see the end of this post)

[King Falls AM theme plays]

Troy: Hey folks, if you or anyone you know has any information on these hybrid werewolf slash human baby thingamagigs-

Sammy Stevens: Is that a technical term, Troy?

Ben Arnold: Can you please let Troy finish, Sammy, this is important!

Troy: Heh, thanks, little buddy.

Ben: Go on, Troy.

Troy: Well if you see those little beasts or have information on them you just got to let us know. Don’t harbor them, they could have the rabies and or the colic. And please don’t try to adopt while it’s in its human form, cause that ain’t gonna end up well. Just use your common sense and be safe.

Sammy: Thanks for calling in officially with police business and alerting the public to the issue.

Ben: Yeah, nice hearing from you on the job, Troy.

Troy: Whilst I’m still on official police biz, I’d like to make one more little statement if I could, fellas.

Ben: Dude, of course! The floor is yours!

Troy: Well the sheriff is a real foul mood regarding these hybrid wolf babies and what have you just running amok, and he wants to make it completely, perfectly, crystal clear that if anyone should have these animals or any other illegal animals in the city limits of King Falls, they will be apprehended and exterminated on site with extreme force of malice. King Falls is a zero tolerance town for any illegal animals of any kind, up to and including wolf-human hybrids.

Ben: So… uh (clears throat) you’re saying that anyone listening that may have access to a cute and cuddly but illegal animal should do… what?

Troy: Now I’m not talking to no one in particular, I mean this isn’t a warning, it’s just a fact. Sheriff Gunderson is making it a personal project to bring down any and all animals that shouldn’t be in town.

Sammy: But cats are fine, is that right, Troy?

Troy: No doubt about that. Ain’t nobody gonna get any cats while I’m patrolling the streets, friends.

Sammy: There you have it, folks. If you or anyone you know has any information on the werewolf puppies last heard from around Route 72 or any other illegal animals not allowed in the city, please contact the sheriff’s department at once.

Ben: (sounding strained) Thanks for the info, Troy.

Troy: All you listeners, you stay safe out there, alright?

Sammy: Thanks, Troy. We’ll talk to you soon, sir.

Troy: Roger that, Sammy.

[The sound of a phone hanging up]

Ben: (clearing throat) Well… that’s good information there, huh?

Sammy: Are you okay, Ben?

Ben: Yeah! You know, I’m just… I’m not a fan of the idea that Gunderson is sending out gangs of thugs to dispatch animals, man! Aren’t there real issues for law enforcement in this town? Last week, I saw old lady Turner jaywalking in front of the grocery store.

Sammy: So you’d rather Gunderson take down the organized jaywalking underbelly of King Falls?

Ben: No, I actually helped her cross the street, but the point is that this werewolf issue seems like an animal control issue! Let Ralf Harkins take care of this! Why are the police even involved, man?

Sammy: Your guess is as good as mine. Moving forward-

Ben: Yeah! Yeah, uh, moving forward we’ve got about thirty minutes of open calls lined up before acclaimed ebook author Kirk Sycamore- don’t judge this, Sammy- will be joining us to talk about his new book Dead Tom Turkey: The Perils of Uncooked Poultry.

Sammy: I’m sorry, what now?

Ben: I mean… it’s a thing. Undercooked anything can’t be good, right?

Sammy: I would assume, but seemingly that one sentence just covered everything you need to know. Cook it longer.

Ben: Then it might get dry. I don’t know man! Don’t look at me like that! Merv emailed and asked to book this guy. His book topped Beauregard’s King of King Falls, it’s got to be worth something, right?

Sammy: The perils of uncooked poultry.

Ben: In thirty minutes.

Sammy: I don’t know if I can hold this excitement in for thirty minutes, Ben. You must be bursting at the seams! Surely you’ve waited your entire journalistic career to talk about under-broiled birds.

Ben: Uh, if it makes this any better, apparently this is a novel, not an instructional guide.

Sammy: (outraged) That actually makes it worse! This is a fictional piece of work?!

Ben: Merv emailed this to us, Sammy.

Sammy: Listeners, please immediately stop what you’ve got going on and mark this down: I’m going to do my damndest to get you the info on Merv’s book of the month club. I’m on your side and I am fighting for you.

Ben: Merv, if you are listening, I do not need to be cc-ed on the email you are penning.

Sammy: (laughs) You heard it folks, that’s coming up quickly, but until then we are taking your calls, King Falls. What would you like to talk about this evening, Ben?

Ben: Whatever’s clever.

Sammy: Talking about whatever’s on your minds before what is sure to be a Pulitzer winning interview.

Ben: It’ll be good- you’re making fun- but it’ll be good.

Sammy: How could it not be? You heard our story, King Falls, now let’s hear yours.

Ben: Give us a call at the station- 424-279-3858, or hit us up at the tweet machine!

Sammy: That’s @ kingfallsam and @ kingfallssammy respectively. Line seven you are on the air with King Falls AM.

Pete Meyers: You’re saying to yourself: I don’t think Pete Meyers would listen to a show of this terrible quality, as handsome and as smart as he is. He’s probably watching Big Bang Theory or something.

Sammy: That is exactly what I was thinking, Pete.

Ben: Word for word, almost.

Pete: Look, I don’t like talking to the two of you either.

Ben: Yet you continue to call! And listen! And show up at events!

Pete: Ben if you don’t drop a little bass out of your voice I will roundhouse you right in the gullet the next time I see you. You hear me? I will skullf-(beep) your mom.

Ben: So now you’re threatening me? Do you hear this Sammy?

Sammy: (annoyed) Just hang up.

Pete: (stammering) Whoa, wait, wait, alright? You know, I’m sorry. I’m a little emotional right now… I would never intentionally try to scuff up my lugs on your face, Ben. I apologize.

Sammy: I don’t think that-

Ben: What’s the matter? Got a vampire not appreciating the hedge art you’ve been clipping into the bushes?

Pete: Well it’s kind of about him- did you say vampire?

Ben: (triumphantly) Knew it! Man, just fess up and tell everyone that your boss is a vamp!

Pete: Ben Arnold, I just bought domain to your name. And you know what? I’m going to fill up all the pages with babies and donkeys. What’s the world going to think of you? Some weirdo guy, making an internet site about babies and donkeys? Yeah, that’s right-

Ben: (all riled up) Oh yeah? Ooooooh, Pete! Why don’t you come down here, look me in the eyes, when you’re saying this huh? Huh?!

Sammy: Guys.

Ben: Meanie!

Sammy: Guys! That’s enough. Pete, state your problem or move along.

Pete: Alright, fine. I messed up big time. Worse than the time I dressed up as Edward Scissorhands for Halloween and ruined Mr. B’s hedges. Apparently I pushed a button or didn’t-really-push-a-button on a fancy thing… that’s beside the point. What I really want to know is- did you guys hear something funny on your station a week or two back?

Ben: Um, um, I’m hearing something stupid right now but I don’t know if that’s-

Pete: Come on, Ben! Be serious. I take you seriously- I almost respect you! Now, I heard a little something like maybe you guys got hijacked or something like that and I just wanted to know… you know, what’s up.

Ben: This again?

Sammy: Wait, Ben, we’ve heard this a few times actually. The shotgun guy said it, we’ve had a number of tweets about it. We don’t know anything about this but apparently another feed cut into ours about a month or so ago.

Pete: Oh sh-(beep).

Ben: Watch your language, Pete.

Pete: Watch your… face, Ben.

Ben: Wait, what the hell are you and Beauregard up to?

Pete: None of your damn business.

Beauregard: (from the background of Pete’s call) Yard boy, what are you doing in this chamber without supervision?

Pete: Uhhhhhhh what? Uh, Mr. B, uh nothing!

Beauregard: Don’t act like an ignoramus around the transmorgrifier.

[There are metallic clanks and scrapes in the background and the sound of metal pipes moving around. A whirring humming sound begins like a machine turning on which grows steadily louder]

Sammy: What the hell is going on over there? Pete?

Pete: You made me mess up again you butt smackers.

Beauregard: Don’t just stand there all slack-jawed and drooling. Turn it off this instant. Celestia!

[The whirring cuts off and there is the sound of a call ending]

Ben: What the hell?

Sammy: Well, folks, this is a first for me that I believe an on air failed attempted felony will lead us right into break.

[Cheerful music starts as a commercial begins]

Ernie: Hey there! Ernie Salsado’s leather bound books ain’t your normal bookshop. Maybe you’re asking yourself: Ernie, whatever do you mean? What I mean is that Ernie Salsado’s leather bound books is more than just a hipster reading book nook. We don’t carry none of those cheap-ass paperback books or harlequin novels here, plus you sure as hell ain’t gonna find nothing to read on your I-pad kindle whositswhatsits. For what I understand it’s only first edition leather bound books and (???) up in this joint. Maybe you’re thinking you need to gussy up your place to impress some broad or you have a real need to make people think you got a bigger vocabulary than some Johnny come lately. Either way, Ernie’s got you covered. That’s a book joke! Ernie Salsado’s leather bound books- we got fancy books! F-(beep) you, pay me.

[King Falls AM rock music plays then fades out as the commercial break ends]

Sammy: Ernie Salsado’s leather bound books? There’s two of these stores here? I’ve never even heard of one of them until Rich McGuff! I don’t know what’s more surprising, Ernie’s entrepreneurial rise in the community or him almost making me forget what happened before the break…

Ben: I’m literally afraid to comment one way or another on this.

Sammy: (amused) He is an intimidating specimen.

Ben: (carefully and slowly) If he… likes to hear that, then, yes, you are right. If not, please don’t slander that gigantic human!

Sammy: Ha, no slander intended. We’re taking calls and counting down the seconds before we get a riveting interview with the man who some call the Dan Brown of bird related mysteries.

Ben: Wow, they say that?

Sammy: No, they don’t! (laughs) The phone lines are still lit up, let’s take some calls.

Ben: Good evening, you’re live on King Falls AM.

Greg Frickard: (smugly) Well look who decided to pick up the phone.

Ben: (quickly) Um, let’s take another-

Greg: Hey, Sammy! I’ve got a topic of discussion. Let’s talk about how that co-host of yours is just gonna sit there all quiet and not even mention the fiasco he caused earlier this week at Granny Frickards!

Sammy: Greg? Is everything okay?

Greg: Oh, it’s not okay, Sammy. That- pardon my French- moron, that he would even-

[the sound of a call ending]

Ben: Whoops!

Sammy: Ha!

Ben: Line five you are on with Sammy and Ben!

Sammy: Wow, it looks like you learned a thing or two from Chet, I see.

Ben: Don’t know what you’re talking about!

Caller: Hello?

Sammy: So what happened at Frickard’s?

Caller: Are you talking to me?

Ben: Nothing happened to… let’s just-

Sammy: Not only are you my broadcast partner, I thought we were friends!

Ben: Hey! We are friends! I just didn’t think to tell you that I happened to have dinner at Frickard’s earlier in the week.

Caller: Hellooo?

Sammy: Uh huh. This wouldn’t happen to be the same night Emily was on a business meeting with Greg, would it?

Ben: I really don’t recall but it might have been… that’s a good question.

Sammy: You don’t recall going to your least favorite restaurant in town, which you never eat at, on the night of the King Falls Valentines Day Dance where your main squeeze-

Ben: Watch it.

Sammy: Where the girl you pine for-

Ben: Watch it!

Sammy: Where Emily Potter-

Ben: Thanks.

Sammy: Happened to be roped into a business meeting with Greg Frickard.

Ben: My mortal enemy.

Sammy: Paid sponsor of King Falls AM.

Ben: Whatever.

Sammy: You don’t recall if that’s the night you dined at Granny Frickard’s?

Ben: Ehhhh it’s not really ringing any bells!

Sammy: Maybe we should call Emily.

Ben: Don’t do that!

Sammy: Things coming back to you now?

Ben: Did- ugh… can I fill you in at break and not on the air?

Sammy: You’d better! You know, I’m a little sore that you didn’t tell me to begin with! And this was days ago!

Ben: I’m sorry, man, it’s just it’s not the best story. Believe me.

Caller: Hello? Can we talk now?

Sammy and Ben: No!

[The sound of a call ending]

Sammy: The turkey guy is not sounding so bad right now.

Ben: Ha, why don’t we try… lucky line one, you’re on King Falls AM.

Greg: Hey Ben Arrrnold! Why don’t you tell the whole friggin town about you showing your butt and ruining my business meeting with Emily Potter!

Ben: Greg, I really don’t wanna get into this.

Greg: Ohh, you can’t talk in front of Sammy and the whole town- what’s the matter? Frog got your tongue?

Ben: That's not a saying.

Greg: You sure didn’t have a problem causing a ruckus at the restaurant! In front of Granny no less!

Ben: Can we take another call, Sammy?

Sammy: Is this true, Ben?

Greg: You can’t deny it, Ben Arnold! I’ve got it on camera from multiple angles! You are a heathen.

Ben: Why do you have me making a scene on camera?

Sammy: Multiple angles?

Greg: I’d like to say it’s just the security cameras… but, if you must know, I hid a few cameras around the Froggery for my big night.

Sammy: You call a business meeting your big night?

Greg: With Emily Potter I absolutely do! She is the most beautiful creature in King Falls!

Ben: So you admit that it was a date?

Greg: It was a business meeting with a gorgeous woman! Take it as you will!

Ben: You’re so creepy! God!

Greg: Oh, so it’s creepy. Wanting your gramma and your future children to see the moment their future mother and I fell in love? Recorded for prosperity forever. Probably. Classily edited to voice a man and everything.

Ben: Yeah! It’s creepy!

Greg: (singing) I’ll make love to you! Like you want me to, oh baby hold me tight I will love you all through the night…

Sammy: That is really creepy, Greg.

Greg: You’re just a heathen. You don’t know what love is. What do you know? Tell them what you did, Ben!

Ben: I’m not getting into this on the air, Greg. Let’s just-

Greg: I am a paying sponsor of this show, Ben Arnold! Fess up, right now!

Ben: What are you gonna do, Greg?

Greg: So help me I’m gonna ask Granny- real nice- to pull your sponsorship money!

Sammy: Greg... are you crying?

Greg: (in a high pitched voice) No...

Ben: Hmm, so you’re threatening the show over a personal issue?

Sammy: Greg, we appreciate what you and Granny do for the show and the station-

Greg: I’m glad to see one of you does.

Sammy: But I’m not about to let you threaten taking money away from the station to pressure Ben into talking about something he doesn’t want to. Do what you got to do.

Greg: Ha! Don’t think that I won’t wake up Granny right now!

Ben: You want to talk about this on air, Frickard?

Greg: Tell the people what you did. Just tell them!

Ben: Ugh, okay. So, I made a reservation for myself at the King Falls best f-(beep)-ing Froggery the same night as your video taped date with Emily.

Greg: Keep going.

Ben: Jack-In-The-Box-Jesus, this is ridiculous. Sammy, I made a reservation and I made a scene! The end.

Greg: Details, heathen!

Sammy: Details would be nice here, Ben.

Ben: So, uh, (clears throat) I got there right as Emily was sitting down.

Greg: At a table right next to ours! He requested it!

Ben: That is also true.

Sammy: Ah.

Ben: And that’s that! I watched Greg lose his mind. Nature took its course.

Greg: He ordered every single flambé frog special on the menu.

Ben: Yeah? So?

Greg: Everybody who’s anybody knows that that’s the most romantic frog dish in the world! And you cleaned us out!

Ben: So what? You don’t need romance on a business meeting!

Greg: You ordered twenty of those things just for you!

Ben: And I paid for twenty! What’s your point?

Greg: My point? You didn’t even eat them! You brought in Chipotle!

Ben: Yeah, man! Cause frogs are gross!

Greg: You… you’re gross!

Ben: Oh yeah?

Greg: Yeah. You’re gross! A gross heathen and I… I hate you! I hate you! Ha! I said it. I hate you.

Sammy: Guys…

Ben: I’ll do you one better- I never liked you to begin with. You creep me out.

Sammy: Ben…

Greg: Well, heh, that’s not what your mom says.

Ben: Don’t you bring my mom into this.

Greg: Your mother things I am a fine, upstanding, entrepreneur, and model citizen!

Ben: She’s an idiot then! Sorry mom.

Greg: Heathen!

Sammy: Guys! (Clears throat) Okay so you disturbed Greg’s meeting with Emily. You ordered food you didn’t eat. I-is that it?

Ben: Basically! He lost it because I was probably in the shot of his candid camera date!

Greg: I lost my temper, but you had it coming! You get Emily whenever you want and I schedule months in advance!

Ben: Yeah, and you did it during the Valentine's Day Dance. Just real messed up, man. You’re a stalker.

Greg: Who showed up at whose date, Ben?

Ben: I was just having dinner at my favorite sponsor’s restaurant.

Greg: You don’t even like frogs!

Ben: Nobody does!

Greg: Why don’t you tell them how you got escorted off the premises?

Ben: You just did, idiot!

Sammy: If you were just eating, or not eating as the case may be, how did they have the grounds to toss you out of Granny Frickard’s?

Ben: Ugh. I- I may have started throwing tiny hush puppies in Greg’s general direction.

Greg: You, you, you may have? Pah-lease! You were pretending to be Nolan Ryan while you’re lobbing them at my head.

Ben: You had no right to kiss Emily’s hand!

Greg: Well you wouldn’t have even known if you weren’t, you know, stalking us to begin with!

Ben: Yeah? Well, uh, stay away from Emily!

Greg: Well I won’t have a problem doing that since she hates us both.

Sammy: I’m sorry, what’s that, Greg?

Ben: Can we move on… please.

Greg: Emily left in a huff and said she wasn’t a prize to be won. Totally thought she was roleplaying and I called her princess Jasmine… Which she also didn’t appreciate…

Ben: Nice touch, dumbass. Referencing Aladdin don’t make it right.

Greg: It’s kind of ludicrous when you think about it. I mean, she is a prize to be one. She’s the trophiest of trophy wives to ever be trophy won!

Ben: She’s pretty mad, Sammy.

Sammy: It sounds like she kinda should be…

Ben: She probably hates me now, man. Stupid stunt…

Sammy: I’m sure she doesn’t hate you, Ben.

Greg: Oh yeah, she hates him big time. I mean, she hates us both, but it’s basically a win for me. She was only lukewarm to my intentions but she can’t stand Ben now. She’ll eventually come back around to the Frog Prince if, uh, he’s out of the picture.

Ben: Greg.

Greg: I’ll take your apology on air, Ben. But I would also like it written on a nice piece of cardstock so I can show it to Granny.

Ben: I sincerely hope that you catch a frog-based STD and die.

Greg: And I hope that you find another perfect woman to fall head over heels in love with, Ben, because you just struck out. You stuck out big time.

Ben: You’re an imbecile! Nobody likes eating frogs! It’s 2016, Greg! You’re gross!

Greg: Ha! Shows what you know. Some cultures consider frogs the poultry of the pond.

Ben: Literally no cultures say that!

Greg: Oh yeah? Well ask Kirk Sycamore when he comes on, he’ll show you.

Ben: I’m not asking anybody anything.

Sammy: Greg, I think it’s best if we part ways for the night.

Greg: Fine! No skin off my bubble butt! Later haters!

[The sound of a phone hanging up]

Sammy: I think-

Ben: Can we just go to commercial, Sammy? I just- I can’t right now.

Sammy: D-do you want to? Is that on schedule?

Ben: No! And, no… Ugh, just take a couple more calls before the bird man pops in.

Sammy: Lucky line one you’re live on-

Caller: Hi, Sammy. Hi, Ben…

Sammy: Good evening, Emily. I assume you’ve been listening.

Emily. I’ve been listening.

Sammy: You know what, let me put you on hold so you can talk to Ben off the air.

Emily: No! I’d like to talk to Ben on the air, if you don’t mind, Sammy.

Sammy: You know, I uh… Ben?

Ben: Uh, whatever you want, Emily.

Emily: Okay, you know I don’t hate you, Ben. Far, far from it.

Ben: I’m so sorry Emily. I just, I lost it sitting there, thinking that you were all alone with that creep and-

Emily: You acted like a real ass.

Ben: I know I did!

Emily: I’m not a child, Ben. When I told you that I would love to go to the dance with you, that was the truth. But when I also told you that I was a woman of my word and was going to honor my prior engagements, as stupid and contrived as they were, I meant that too.

Ben: I just-

Emily: You acted like an ass!

Ben: I know, but-

Emily: There’s no explanation that will make this better, Ben! You acted like a jealous boyfriend and I’m not sure if you know this, but you aren’t my boyfriend.

Ben: Can I just say-

Emily: Even if I wanted you to be before, you aren’t. So you have no right to act like this!

Ben: (Pausing) You wanted me to be your boyfriend?

Emily: Before the incident there was no doubt about it.

Ben: After?

Emily: I- I- uh- I can’t let my feelings override the fact that you treated me like a kid, Ben. I am a grown woman! I am a professional woman. I don’t need some white knight to save me from the likes of Greg! And while I appreciate the idea behind it, like I said to you and I said to Greg, I am a person! I have feelings! I’m not a prize to be won!

Ben: I really messed this up, I’m… I’m sorry. Emily if you’ll just-

Emily: I just- I need some time to evaluate what the next step is.

Ben: Because you hate me.

Emily: No! Bec- because I lo- I strongly strongly like, probably definitely on the verge of more. I mean, I was scared to death that you were hurt or worse during Lincoln’s revenge! But I was scared even more when I saw you acting like a high school bully during that meeting.

Ben: You strongly strongly like me?

Emily: I do. But it’s, it’s gonna be a little bit before I can trust you to be okay with that.

Ben: I understand.

Emily: But I… I wasn’t going to let another minute go by of you think that I hated you. Cause I don’t. But you really need to fix this.

Ben: And I will. I- I promise.

Emily: I hope so. (pause) Ah, goodnight, Sammy. Ben.

Sammy: Goodnight, Emily. We will talk soon.

Emily: I’m sure of it. Ah, I actually wanted to talk to you about being one of the library’s spring break speakers soon. I’ll send you an email.

Sammy: Oh, please do. Anything to get the kids back in the library after, you know, Lincoln’s revenge…

Emily: Thanks, Sammy. Goodnight, guys.

Ben: Hey- hey, Emily?

[The sound of a phone hanging up with a beeping that slowly fades out. The King Falls outro music and credits begin.]

References:

Nolan Ryan: a baseball pitcher.

The Big Bang Theory: A television show.

Edward Scissorhands: a charactor from an old fantasy movie by the same name about a man who had scissors for hands.

Harlequin novels: a trashy romance story.

Characters:

Sammy Stevens, Ben Arnold, Troy, Greg Frickard, Emily Potter, Pete Meyers, Beauregard, Ernie Salsado.

#king falls am #king falls am podcast #podcast #podcast transcript #transcript #king falls am transcript #king falls transcript #king falls podcast

2 notes · View notes

paradiselostbythedashboardlight · 3 years

Text

Quarantine, or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Wrote 430,943 Words of Prose in a Year

As we are coming up terrifyingly fast on a full year of quarantine with no end to the pandemic yet in sight for most people, I’ve been taking some time to reflect on the last year of my existence in a state that most people now refer to as quarantine. Since March of 2020, I, like most other sane people in my country, have stopped traveling, going to stores, seeing all but a limited group of other humans, and begun having recurring nightmares about being in crowds without a piece of cloth over my nose and mouth.

Suffice to say, it has been a bit stressful.

The other thing that I have done since COVID-19 began rapidly spreading across the globe last year is write over 430,943 words of fiction.

The number seems insane to me still. That is (approximately) one Gone With The Wind, one entire Lord of the Rings series, or the first four Harry Potter books. That is still sadly not yet War and Peace (but who knows… the pandemic isn’t over yet).

So now that I am looking back, I find myself with one question: how did this happen? Why did I do this? What does this mean about my life this year?

Since apparently I answer best by writing a lot, let’s begin at the beginning. Let me tell you a story. I’ll keep it short, I swear.

Part 1: Blast From the Past

In March of 2020, I was still in the midst of an academic semester. There was a long academic document to write and a class to teach. However, as quarantine abruptly robbed me of most of my usual commitments, I was suddenly thrust into the position of having more time on my hands than I knew what to do with. Consequently, I decided to break out the Nintendo Switch I’d gotten for Christmas and revive a childhood interest in video games.

And boy did I. I played the games I owned for all they were worth. I played them during the evenings when I had no social engagements to attend. I played them during the Zoom meetings I was already struggling to pay attention to. By the end of March, I had finished one game, and it had set the wheels turning in my brain.

Here’s a fact about me: I don’t usually tend to write or read a lot of fanfiction about things that I consider really really good. Basically, fanfiction for me has always been an impulse born from incompletion or imperfection. I see no need to add to a perfect story (although I happily consume and create fanart). But for something enjoyable and yet slightly unsatisfying? That’s fanfic territory, bud.

So by April, I had developed a sort of epic fanfiction for this video game I was playing. It was one of those magnum opus kind of ideas, a grand retelling of the story with a huge sprawling plot and Themes (™).

At first, it was merely a thought experiment that lived only in my head, a sort of entertainment to ponder in the hours before falling asleep. What changed? Well, a friend of mine decided to also write a fanfiction on the same video game and she kindly consented to let me read it.

Suddenly, I was ravenously hungry to read and to write and to share and to consume. I wrote a hundred thousand words of this fanfic in April and into early May, sending each chapter to my friend and being spurred onward by her kind comments.

The fic became a gargantuan endeavor full of strange little challenges I set for myself. It was a canon-divergence, requiring plotting, worldbuilding, a darker and grimer tone. For some reason, I decided to write each chapter from a different character’s perspective, making the final product into a series of essentially short story character studies which together formed a plot.

By the end of May, the story was published for the world to see. It was well-received, although not particularly popular by fandom standards. And that was the end. I had gotten out my pandemic crazies, the semester was over and now I could move on. I had made my peace with the source material, plumbing all of the little details that I wanted to examine and creating a narrative that I found satisfying.

It was over.

Part 2: Summer Lovin?

Except that it wasn’t.

Confession: as I had been posting my giant fanfiction, I had also begun to explore the fan community itself, mostly curious to see some nice art and gather a bit of demographic info about what was popular within the community. As a result, I found a fanfic recommendations page. Among the recommendations was one author who kept popping up and i finally decided to give the fic a read.

Woah. It was good. Like, really good. Like, professional quality writing and themes that seemed designed to appeal to me. I devoured everything that the creator had posted in a week and then subscribed to eagerly wait for more.

As June rolled around, I realized that I had a problem on my hands. My great big gen masterpiece was finished, but this author had gotten me hooked on something else, something with a nefarious reputation online: shipping.

The term du jour for this seems to be “brain worms” so let’s just say that reading other fanworks had given me some brain worms. Inspired this time not just by the source material of the game, but now the fan community itself, my mind began to develop another idea.

I wrote the fic, about 11k, in a single afternoon of frantic writing. When I finished it, I knew it was one of my strongest pieces. It had just come together, a combination of all the thought that I’d been brewing up and a stylistic execution that just worked with the story I wanted to tell.

I posted it on a new account. Shipping seemed vaguely shameful to me still and my mom reads the other account.

To my surprise, the fic blew up. It got so much more attention than my long fic ever had. Even more significantly, a fan artist actually drew a gorgeous comic of the pivotal scene, completely out of the blue! I was essentially thunderstruck. Honestly, it was probably the first time in my life that I’d ever received so much positive reinforcement from a piece of writing.

While I’d written short stories for undergrad workshops, they’d never been particularly good and I’d never gotten particularly great feedback on them. I’d applied and been rejected by more MFAs and literary magazines than I could count. I’d pretty much resigned myself to writing for an audience of me and me alone (which I don’t mean to sound tragic about, writing for you is great and fun!)

But receiving so much support and praise and feeling like I’d made other people happy or sad or moved? There’s nothing better.

This makes my decision to write another fic for the ship sound vaguely cynical, the action of a person driven by an addiction to praise. I mean, no lie, aren’t we all a little addicted to approval?

But my next fic was another long one, an 80k passion project modern AU that I dreamed up while spending a slow summer alone with my books and only able to leave the house for long rambling walks in the woods. The premise was essentially about characters attending a five year college reunion, something that I myself had missed due to COVID in May of the same year. The fic quickly became a way for me to process thoughts on a lot of topics in my life ranging from relationships to politics to mental health to classical literature.

This fic was also received with far more attention than I was used to and, as a result, I finally joined the notorious Twitter dot com where I found people talking about my fic unprompted, eager to follow me and like my every random thought.

I can’t say that this process was not without its ups and downs. Fandom has changed, in many ways for the better, since my last engagement with it during the 2013 Supernatural days on Tumblr. While fan friendships are often idealized or demonized, they are pretty much like any other human friendship (okay, maybe a little bit more horny on main). There is potential for amazing connection as well as pettiness. But in a year where many people suddenly had no social spaces that were safe anymore, I’m glad that I found a new line of communication with the world.

So I kept writing fics for the ship, producing a lot of work that I am genuinely proud of and making connections with other people who enjoyed it enough to leave a comment.

To conclude this section, I was in fandom again. While I had not seriously engaged with a fan community since around 2014, I was back with a vengeance. And I had discovered an important truth about what unlocked my ability to write more than I ever had before: community support.

Not simply the kudos and the views. It was the comments. The discourse. The discussion. To add and contribute my thoughts and ideas to a greater network of thoughts and ideas that fed off of one another.

Often I had seen people complain about there not being enough fanworks for particular media or characters. Now I knew the secret. The comments and the community created the works. If I commented on other people’s fics, the more likely they were to write more. I made a resolution I have tried to keep, to comment on any story that I legitimately enjoyed reading, even if I had no particularly intelligent thing to say about it.

Part 3: A Novel Idea

By late October, I had produced a considering oeuvre for my ship of choice and was enjoying slowing my pace as I planned a few future projects.

Remember, though, how I mentioned not having engaged with fandom for the past 5 years? Well, that didn’t mean I hadn’t been writing.

For the past 4 years, I have won NaNoWriMo and completed 4 novels of over 100k each in length. These projects have been massively fun and improved my confidence with executing stories at the scope that I desire.

And so in November 2020, I settled down to write another novel. November is always a sort of terrible time write a novel if you work in academia, but this year, I had more time than usual. I set out to write a comedy fantasy novel, something mostly lighthearted and full of hijinks in order to pretend away some of the quarantine blues (which by this point were well established in my psyche).

This year in particular, I was reminded that writing a novel is… harder than fanfic. That seems like a very obvious point, but I’d written novels before. Suddenly, though, I was realizing how much a novel requires you to set up the world and the characters, while fanfic can be pretty much all payoff all the time.

While the fanfic flowed in wild creative bursts of energy, the novel required diligence of another sort. I wrote 2,000 words every day for two months. It was a grind. Sometimes, it was a slog.

And sometimes it just wasn't good. The thing about writing your own novels is that the first draft is way more likely to be not good. You’re balancing a lot and it’s easy to let a few balls that you have in the air drop for a chapter or two, with no recourse but to go back and edit later.

I finished the novel by writing a final speedrun of 6k on new years eve, ending my 2020 with another project under my belt. No one has read it. Not even I have reread it.

I’m still glad that I wrote it. I’ll write another one next year. No one will read that one either.

Sometimes, we write for ourselves and no external validation is necessary.

Part 4: Where are they now?

January of 2021 is somehow now behind me, which is terrifying. I’m still writing. Mostly fanfic, although occasionally I go doodle around with some original ideas that are more conceptual sketches for the next novel.

As for the fanfic, I think I still have a few more good ideas left in me, but I will probably leave it behind before the year is out. That feels a little bittersweet, a sort of temporary burst of fun and friendship that I wonder if I’ll ever experience again.

Coming to the end of this reflection, I suppose I should make a summative statement about what it all means.

In the end, it might not mean a lot. There are some small takeaways.

It turns out that encouragement makes you write more! Who knew? Also, more free time makes you write more! Wow!!!!

The point that I think this reflection exercise has shown me, the point that I think matters more than any other, is that writing is a way to process my thoughts. Even if it is through the lens of ridiculous video game fanfic or novels about sad wizards, my writing is my way to make sense of my own mind.

And sharing that is special. If you share it with online strangers, with your family on Christmas Eve, with your close friend who has become even closer and dearer to you since she let you read her work, or just with your mom (the one personal legally required to read your damn novel if you want to share it). To share writing is to give someone a little peek at your beliefs about the world.

And right now? When we’re still isolated and bored and scared and in desperate need of distraction? Binge some TV, play Nintendo, read a book. Take in other people’s thoughts.

But put down your own somewhere as well. It’s a conversation.

And for once, it’s a conversation that doesn’t have to take place on fucking Zoom.

#writing #personal rambling #fanfiction

5 notes · View notes

twoblueheartslocked · 4 years

Text

Mini Para: December Flashback.

Rating: R.

Pairing: Seblaine.

Sebastian: @colorsicantsee

Blaine: @twoblueheartslocked

Time: Four years before the events of ( Hold On To The Memories, They Will Hold On To You ) Events taking place in December of Blaine’s Senior Year and Sebastian’s Junior Year. Blaine (17) Seb(16).

Location: Sebastian’s House. Westerville, Ohio

Info: A glimpse into the month of December ending with Blaine spending the night with Sebastian.

Warnings(PLEASE READ THIS): This para includes non graphic descriptions of sexual situations between minors. We’ve kept it as YA as possible. We are in NO way trying to spotlight sex between teens, we just wanted to show how natural and comfortable they are together and the progression of their relationship. There will be absolutely no smut written until they’re adults. If anyone feels we’ve taken it too far please let us know and we will fix it.

Extra Warnings: (This RP is not Kurt Hummel friendly. You’ve all been warned.)

Notes: Some canon events remain in place while others have been changed. Some things may even be out of order. You can consider this sort of canon divergent AU. A few changes are that Blaine’s parents are different from the show (His mother is Filipina), he didn’t cheat on Kurt or date Dave and Sebastian is younger than Blaine. Feel free to send a message if you have any questions!

Blaine’s POV:

Blaine squeezed his mother tightly as she and his father said their goodbyes to him on Saturday morning, two days after Christmas. They were leaving for a weekend belated Christmas and early New Year’s party that his father’s work friend had invited them to and wouldn’t be back until tomorrow evening sometime. Blaine tried his hardest to keep his excitement in check as he waved their SUV off, the light snowfall clinging to his dark hair as he stood there, waiting for them to turn off at the end of the street. He couldn’t believe his absolute luck, he’d been stressing since his stolen moments in his bedroom with Sebastian on Thanksgiving over how he was going to come up with a lie to tell his parents when a week and half ago his dad had announced that he and his mom would be gone for a whole night and it just so happened to be the weekend that Sebastian’s parents would be out as well. He was ecstatic to spend some real alone time with his guy. Ecstatic and so nervous he thought he might throw up or giggle himself into a mad happy fit over it all.

The two of them had already celebrated their Christmas together, exchanging small gifts at Blaine’s house and precisely placed mistletoe kisses against a snowy backdrop that had been so romantic that when Blaine voiced just how romantic he thought it was Sebastian had rolled his eyes, feigning annoyance but then had surprised him by grinning down at Blaine like he was the most important person in the world and pulling him into his arms and kissing him again just to make it all that more romantic for Blaine. He smiled at the memory as he made his way back into his house so he could properly pack for his overnight stay at Seb’s house.

He’d left his small duffle bag empty and tucked away under his bed so that his parents wouldn’t catch onto what he was going to do. He felt a little pang of guilt knowing that they wouldn’t really approve of him spending the night alone over there no matter how fond of Sebastian they’d grown. But the guilt was short lived as he packed a change of clothes, a pair of pajamas and a few toiletries into his bag- he couldn’t help it, he’d been waiting weeks, probably subconsciously even longer, for this night.

Before he zipped the bag up he made his way over to his nightstand, his fingers twitching nervously as he pulled a newly purchased three pack of condoms out of their hiding place. He was afraid that if he thought about it too much he’d leave them behind. He wasn’t even sure if it would happen, he had a feeling they were on the same page, that Sebastian wanted him just as much as he did, but his nerves always seemed to get the better of him and he was torn. Without looking at them too hard he quickly shoved them into his bag along with a small bottle of lube, tucking them under his clothing, but not before his eyes could catch on the ridiculously bold XXL on the slim package.

The letters seemed to leer up at him and made him feel self conscious and overly embarrassed. He knew he needed them, he’d learned the hard way how uncomfortable the smaller size was for him the few times he’d used them, but it didn’t make him feel any less full of himself. Would Sebastian think he was stupid for getting that kind? Was he being full of himself? He forced himself not to think about it too hard, his hands moving on their own accord to zip his bag up as if that meant he couldn’t still change his mind. He pulled out his phone and opened up the text log between him and Seb- a smile passing over his lips as he read the last text from him. -Can't wait to see you, killer. Blaine quickly typed out his own message, his fingers a little shaky at the prospect of getting to spend the whole day and night over at Seb’s house with absolutely zero supervision or interruptions. -You’re in luck, they've left. I’m on my way, okay?

Seb had sent back the words- Hurry! But also be safe. And that was really all the prompting Blaine needed. He made sure the house was locked down and left the television on in his living room in a half hearted attempt to throw his neighbors off, they didn’t tend to pay much attention to what he did, but it would be his luck they’d pay attention now and call his parents back or something. Or that was just his nerves talking again. He slung the bag across his chest, hoping it looked more like he were going to go study than like he were spending the night somewhere and got into his SUV, his vehicle seemingly taking him in the direction of Sebastian’s house like it was following an invisible line that connected the two of them so surly. Before he knew it he was there, parked in the long driveway and feeling small as he knocked on the door, his fingers clutching the strap of his back as if it could keep him grounded. Seb’s for Blaine only smile was brilliant as he opened the door to greet him and it took Blaine a second to find his voice.

“Hey you.”

Sebastian’s POV:

Sebastian was buzzing with energy. He woke up early, drank a bunch of coffee with his dad’s sugar free french vanilla creamer and ate four pieces of peanut butter toast. He sat on his mother’s bed and helped her pick out her outfits for the trip and packed her bag. Thomas hadn’t noticed Sebastian’s surge of helpfulness and burst of jittery energy but Sabine had. “You seem eager today, Sebastian.” She stood by the car as Thomas and the maid packed the hatchback trunk of the SUV and she had a knowing glint to her green eyes. “Just here to help, Mom. Have a safe trip.” Sebastian grinned and leaned down to give her a kiss on the forehead before he walked backwards into a house that was basically all his. Sure, the maid and the cook would be around but, he and Blaine pretty much had the place to themselves.

He made sure to ask the cook to pick up hot cocoa and pizza ingredients from the store so that they could make themselves a meal, cleaned his room himself (fresh sheets and no dirty laundry anywhere!) stole a few cigarettes (sorry Mom) and bought some condoms from the convenience store he often passed on his way home. Sebastian took a long, detailed shower and picked out a dark green hoodie and his favorite Dalton LaCrosse sweatpants to wear. He gave himself a once over in the mirror and smiled to himself. He was positive that they were on the same line, same chapter, same book because they always were. Seb never got this anxious excitement for anybody but the other boy. He had been daydreaming about this night for weeks and his veins were buzzing and his stomach kept jumping. Sebastian shot Blaine a few quick texts and stared at the clock on his phone, he couldn’t wait for him to arrive and he couldn’t sit still.

He was already standing by the door when Blaine had knocked because he had stood by an upstairs window and watched the snow fall as he waited for his car to pull up. Sebastian basically leaped down the stairs and could have tackled Blaine into the snow right then and there. There he stood, on his porch with his cheeks red and little snowflakes perched on a few curls that started to escape their perfect styling.

“Hey B.” Sebastian smiled before he could catch himself and stood back for the other to step inside. “Do you want to eat first or, hear me out, I found my old sled in the garage the other day. We could go to the hill and try it out.”

Blaine’s POV:

Blaine couldn’t fight the smile that fought its way onto his lips as he listened to Sebastian speak. He could picture them already, sledding down the hill at the end of Seb’s street- cheeks numb from the cold and from laughing and all at once the idea was something he wanted more than anything he’d ever wanted before. He took his bag from over his body and sat in neatly at the end of the kitchen counter next to an assortment of instant hot chocolate and marshmallows so that he could take it up to Sebastian’s room later on.

His stomach gave a little flip at the thought, and he wondered when they’d find themselves up there. Would they cuddle on the sofa and watch movies in their pajamas first like this was their home and this was a normal night? Or would they get overly excited and fumble clumsily up the stairs, lips and limbs tangled in two hours? He personally hoped that they took their time, he wanted this day and night to last, he’d been here five minutes and already the thought of leaving was making him feel a silly bit of sadness.

“I would absolutely love to go sledding with you, Seb. I haven’t done that since I was a kid!” He laughed, and reached out for Seb’s hands, taking them into his before pressing a kiss to them. He hoped his lips weren’t too cold. “And then after that we can come back in and I’ll make you the best cup of instant hot cocoa you’ve ever had on top of the best pizza, no second best pizza- the first would be the one I made on your birthday, you’ve ever had and we can warm up.” He pulled Sebastian closer using their linked fingers and wrapped his arms around his neck, his fingers toying with his hairline.

“I promise to keep you warm if you get too cold. We can do whatever you want, you’ve got me all night long. I’m completely yours.” His smile turned a little shy, his nerves catching up to him before tip toeing up and stealing a kiss from Sebastian’s lips, his fingers scraping lightly through his hair. He let his eyes slip shut as he deepened it just a bit, as if promising Sebastian that he’d keep him warm and that he wasn’t going anywhere. When he said he was his for the rest of the night, he hoped Sebastian knew that he meant so much longer than that. He meant always.

Sebastian’s POV:

Sebastian’s heart fluttered when Blaine tipped up on the tips of his toes to press a kiss to his lips. His stomach flipped in a way that was almost uncomfortable, the sort of dip that happens when you drive down a hill too fast and gravity catches up before you’ve even realized you were flying down a slope. He had goosebumps all over his arms and legs and a promise that hung tight in the air between the two of them. Seb smiled and felt a thrill run up and down his spine. “I’m a lucky guy.”

“I’m gonna hold you to that.” Sebastian clasped onto Blaine’s hand and pulled him up the stairs. The two of them bundled up in scarves and gloves and earmuffs that his mother kept tidy in a tote in the upstairs linen closet. He wrapped a fluffy hunter green scarf around Blaine’s neck and toyed with the frayed ends for a moment, “I’m all yours,too. For the record.” He smiled his toothy grin that he kept reserved for the other boy and gave him a quick kiss before troping down the stairs, the two of them laughing all the way to the garage and down to the end of his street.

Sebastian sat down first on the bright orange sled and tapped the plastic in between his legs with a gloved hand, “You get to steer.” The two of them flew, just barely missed a tree and landed in a heap of laughter at the bottom of the hill. They slid down the hill successfully a few more times before they crashed and rolled into the snow with red cheeks and frozen puffs of amusement as they wrestled playfully and kissed as snowflakes drifted around them. Sebastian threw the first snowball in a not so serious snowball fight that ended in more kissing and laughing. They decided to head back to the house when Sebastian’s glove started to freeze and his body shook with cold tremors.

“Don’t forget that you promised me the best hot cocoa ever and, you know I think I still need some more warming up.”

Blaine’s POV:

Blaine’s skin prickled all over at Sebastian’s words. He wanted to follow up with how lucky he was too, wanted to tell Sebastian that he meant the world to him and tell him just how incredible being with him felt- but Seb was already pulling him the stairs and making Blaine feel like he could do anything by telling him that he was all his, too. Blaine felt an odd sense of belonging as Seb wrapped his green scarf around him. Sure, it had been washed since the last time it had been worn, but there the ghost of Sebastian’s winter scent still clung to the fluff like a kiss. Wearing Seb’s things made Blaine feel like he belonged there, like this life was meant for him. He found he couldn’t stop beaming as they made their way outside hand in hand.

And each slide down the hill, each press of Sebastian’s body pressed against his back as he tried to steer and they flew past glittering trees made Blaine smile bigger and bigger until his face hurt from doing so. The cold adding to his pleasurable discomfort as they kissed in the snow, Seb’s lips tasting like snow and a lingering of forbidden smoke that was absolutely driving Blaine wild. It felt like he was in a book or a movie and again he didn’t want any of it to end.

As they made their way back into Seb’s house, the fireplace roared and warmed his chilled bones instantly. Blaine wasn’t sure who had turned it on, probably one of Sabine’s elusive staff, but it felt magical and Blaine wanted to pull Sebastian in front of it and snuggle into him there. But, he promised he’d make him the best cup of cocoa he’d ever had and he meant to do just that. He made his way through the kitchen, Sebastian’s words about warming him up making his heart flip a little.

“I did promise, didn’t I?” He pulled Seb close and wrapped his arms around him before running his hands up and down his back in an attempt, his lips finding his neck, the pulsepoint spot Seb loved so much and pressing an assortment of kisses there before pulling back. “Better?” He grinned up at the other boy, “There’s more where those came from later, I promise that too.” He winked and forced himself to pull away before he got too carried away in exploring the gorgeous expanse that was Sebastian’s neck. He didn’t want to rush the day and doing that would for sure rush things.

He cleared his throat and made his way around the Smythe family kitchen like he’d done a dozen times before gathering ingredients for the perfect cup of instant. “Right, so the best cup of instant hot cocoa ever.” He placed a pan on the stove and then put the water in and set it to heat before he pulled down two large mugs and filled them with the powder. He went to the fridge and pulled out the whole milk and set it next to the mugs. He then added the boiled water into the mix and tossed in a few marshmallows. “The key is to add milk to make it creamier and to mix in the bigger marshmallows and just keep adding them as they melt. It’s super sweet but my mom used to make it like this when I was a kid and it’s my favorite. Here, try it. He handed Sebastian his mug and watched as he blew on the liquid before taking a drink. The other boy's smile was all Blaine needed to know he’d done a good job.

The day went on way too fast for Blaine's liking between sips of cocoa in front of the fire and giggling about their sledding mishaps and Blaine pretending not to like the smoke on Seb’s lips that Seb totally saw through- and before he knew it it was evening and they were cuddled up down in their basement, cozy in warm sweats on Seb’s sofa, half eaten plates of Blaine’s homemade pizza discarded to the side so they could kiss each other properly as the sounds of the movie Gremlins (Which kinda scared Sebastian) played in the background. Blaine, needing air, finally pulled back enough to look down at Seb from his spot half on top of him and hovering above him, his leg pushed up and over Seb’s body, his guys cheeks flushed from the earlier cold and from their kissing. He looked fucking gorgeous and Blaine blurted it before he could stop himself. His voice was soft and almost in awe.

“You’re beautiful...”

Sebastian’s POV:

Sebastian sighed and pressed his hands into Blaine’s hips when he felt his lips on his sensitive neck. He laughed , loud and bright though his skin still felt hot from the kisses but Blaine had winked and it seemed like they had switched personalities for a split second. It felt like a perfect moment, the sort of memory that Seb wished he could wrap up and keep close because it was pure and so specifically them.

He watched Blaine make himself at home which gave him a special sort of warm satisfaction. The other boy knew where the pans were, knew the correct cabinet to find mugs. Seb liked to see it, Hunter wasn’t even this familiar with the Smythe house. It felt like Blaine was always meant to whisk into the kitchen and sing and laugh and bake pies and make pizza and hot cocoa. It was the most alive the house had felt to Seb in a long time.

Blaine had set a giant mug of frothy hot chocolate in front of him. “Looks perfect.” He leaned forward and let the steam drift over his cold face for a moment before he blew on it and took a sip. Sebastian smiled and took another drink because of course Blaine could make instant hot cocoa taste like it came from a coffee shop.

The next few hours were a blur of pizza, some weird 80s movie Blaine had picked (the only redeeming quality to Sebastian was the lead actor who was sort of cute.), and kissing until their lips began to hurt and their cheeks were red. Blaine sort of hovered over him, the noise of little gremlins screaming on the tv as he blurted out You’re beautiful and Sebastian blinked a few times, a slow smile spread over his face. He looked up into the other’s big, golden eyes and realized that nobody else had ever called him beautiful before and he felt a satisfied shiver spread its way all over his body. Sebastian didn’t think any words could suffice so he leaned up and kissed Blaine all soft and slow and suddenly it felt like pressure in the room changed. It was the feeling of jumping into the deep end of a pool, sudden and intense, lungs burning and legs kicking to break the surface. The rush of running full speed down the track, every tendon screaming for release. The thrill of swinging so high on a swing set that it lifted off the ground dangerously with every pump. His body felt hot and his hands trembled as they knotted in the neck of Blaine’s shirt, his hips ached, he moaned despite himself.

“I think that you should take me upstairs.”

Blaine’s POV:

A shiver and a tingle spread throughout the lower half of Blaine’s body at the sound of Sebastian’s moan and the tone in his voice. All at once he was overwhelmed with want and a desire he’d truly never felt for anyone else before. Every crush or person before seemed like a little insignificant when it came to the way he felt about Sebastian and I love you threatened to surge forward again but Blaine pushed it down and back into his chest next to his heart in favor of giving the other boy a wide eyed nod as he scooted off of him gently and reached down to help Seb up with him. He knew what this meant, he knew what Sebastian wanted and he wanted nothing more than to give it to him. He wasn’t quite sure how he was going to manage to get them both of two sets of stairs without stumbling.

His hands were shaking as he pulled Seb’s shirt up and over his head once they’d managed to make it into his bedroom. His fingers tentatively explored each little freckle, wanting to count them like the stars in the sky. He leaned down and pressed a kiss into a few of them, trying to show Sebastian that he loved how he looked, wanting to get this right, wanting Sebsatian to know that Blaine loved him and his body without saying it outloud. He reluctantly pulled away from Sebastian, his skin instantly missing the contact as he quickly rummaged around in his bag for the small pack of condoms and small bottle of lube he brought and sat them down on the bedside table before moving back to Sebastian and pressing a kiss to his lips to hide his growing blush.

The queen sized bed seemed too large yet inviting as he pressed Sebastian down and into the sheets before crawling up between his legs, his excitement apparent as he pushed his hips against the boy beneath him, his fingers fumbling with the the hem of Sebastian’s sweats and boxers for a moment before managing to push them down and to the ground. Blaine bit his lip as their bare skin touched before ducking his head and kissing Seb so slowly and gently that he thought he’d float away from how fucking good it felt to him. After what felt like hours, kissing and touching like that he finally pulled his head back to look down into green eyes, his voice a nervous whisper.

“ I-...Are you sure this is what you want?”

Sebastian’s POV:

Sebastian laughed a little, he had to. Of course Blaine would ask even as he was flushed and panting underneath him with desperate hands and hips. He loved that about him-his sweet demeanor and how naturally charming and polite he was. God, it made him even crazier for him, that fucking concerned look in his amber eyes and the thoughtful furrow of his eye brows.

“More than anything.”

It all happened so fast. Such a cliche of a thought but it was true. It was all a tangle of hands and mouths and names whispered into hot skin. Sebastian felt satisfied and complete as Blaine pulled him close under his heavy bedspread. His body felt spent and tired and he was sure he could sleep solidly for 12 hours if he let himself but all he wanted to do was trace his long fingers over Blaine’s torso as he listened to his heart beat beat beat under his head. Sebastian kept catching himself smiling anytime Blaine spoke or touched him and he wondered if they could live in his bedroom forever, in this little wonderful moment like a snow globe. He was always mystified by the way Blaine flipped his world upside down and brought all of his feelings to the surface and made him daydream and laugh and smile and want to be nice. Seb was terrified to put a label on the way he felt but he couldn’t deny it any longer, he loved the kid.

Sebastian took a deep breath and leaned up on his elbow so he could see the other boy’s face, “Wish you didn’t have to leave in the morning.”

Blaine’s POV:

Blaine lay there with Sebastian’s head on his chest, his fingers tracing his freckles, the ones he could reach, across his shoulder. The world felt still and the world felt like it belonged to them and Blaine wanted nothing more than to freeze this moment and save it for bad days. Sebastian felt like he belonged here in his arms, and he wondered, not for the first time, how he’d gone so long denying himself this comfort. Blaine swallowed hard, his chest aching and swelling and he was so afraid that if he spoke he’d ruin the moment.

He was so afraid that if he told Sebastian how he felt that Seb would stiffen and maybe ask him to leave and things would be awkward and stressed and while he thought that maybe they were on the same page, on the off chance that Seb turned him away, Blaine thought that might kill him. So he held onto him tightly and whispered to him that he’d come back over tomorrow night. Told Seb that he just needed to be home when his parents got home so he wouldn't be in trouble. And when they drifted off to sleep together, Blaine was wrapped tightly around the taller boy, his face pressed against the back of his neck, and his arms locked around him as if he’d always fit in that space between Blaine’s arms.

And when he forced himself to leave the next day Blaine made sure to kiss Sebastian extra sweet and long so that he’d know that the night had meant everything to him. That the whole thing, not just the sex, was important and to show Sebastian that he was the reason Blaine felt the happiest he’d ever felt in his whole life. I love you hung silently in the air between them as he stepped out into the December wind and Blaine made a promise to himself that when he came back over tonight he’d tell Sebastian how he felt. So what if it had only been a few months? Who made the rules that you could only fall in love after years? Blaine knew how he felt and he needed Sebastian to know too. He had to have faith that Sebastian would accept it, maybe even say it back. How incredible would that be? How good would that feel?

He was all smiles, his heart singing louder than his voice as he straightened up his house for his mom and dad, his earphones blashing away so loudly he almost missed his phone ringing from his bedroom. And as he raced to pick it up thinking it might be his reason for smiling. That Sebastian’s slow, comforting voice might be on the other end-

He’d come to wish that he had missed it.

/fin.

#Mini Para: December Flashback #mini para #seblaine #seblaine canon divergence #colorsicantsee #twoblueheartslocked #Seblaine 1x1 rp

4 notes · View notes

roseelise · 4 years

Text

The Weather // Dylan O’brien

Reposting all my writings from @r0s3mm, my main blog, it is not stolen or plagiarized. All my works on my masterlist are main unless stated otherwise.

Hello! Welcome to 2-h, the back up account of @r0s3mm, I’ll be posting my works on here too until (hopefully) my blog gets restored and if not this will become my main blog.

Pairing: Dylan O’Brien x ofc!Alice

Word Count: 5129

Author’s note/warnings: break up? Swearing? Reader and Dylan talking about their relationship, a series of voicemail reader sends Dylan at different moments after their relationship ends.

Based off of the song: Lawrence - “The Weather”

Come say “Hi!” Wattpad

Masterlist

***********************

“Hey D’, it’s me, leaving you a message on your voicemail… again. Listen, I know we agreed to give each other space but I just wanted to let you know that your change of address probs didn’t go through because I got your new script at home- hum, at my place. I’ll just send it to Liz’s office… Oh, also I wanted to know if you wanted me to box up and send you the rest of the stuff you have here, there’s a few sweatshirts and other clothing items, as your mom would say. Okay, so you don’t have to call me back, you can text me, maybe even email me. I can leave your stuff at your mom’s house, I’m seeing Jules on the 23rd, so yeah … whatever you feel good with. Ok, bye.”

“I won’t talk about the weather Not with you, we’re not together ‘Cause even when the sky is grey, I’m feeling blue And though the winds are always changing And the clouds are rearranging A part of me will always be in love with you”

I hung up the phone and placed it in my jeans’ back pocket and turned up the volume from the TV.

“A heatwave this week turned the city of Anaheim, home to Disneyland, into the hottest place in theUnited States. The Tick fire forced 50,000 people to flee their homes, many in the mid…” The weather man on the tv announced as I picked up the package with Liz’s name on it from a tv or movie set in LA, taking back my cell phone, I texted Liz, Dylan’s manager telling her I’d be sending her the script in the next few days, putting the block of pages on the bench next to the front door, I sat down next to it as the news kept playing as a background noise accompanied by the rain falling down harshly on the large windows.

It had been a little bit over 5 months and I still hadn’t tidy up from his big move, a lot of empty and piled up boxes were on the floor next to the sliding door, there were empty spaces on the wall and people who would be coming in the apartment could easily guess that the large white wall used to be full, filled with baseball jersey’s, many pictures, music record, stickers of liquor brand, some posters and a few music instruments.

“Hi Jules, it’s me, are we still on for the 23rd? Ok great then, I’ll pick you up. You got any news from your brother? Yeah, I know, I asked you to refuse if I asked but I just wanna make sure that with his new place he’s good and away from the fires and that he’s … that he’s safe y’know? Ok great then, just maybe tell him to- actually you know what? Never mind. I gotta go, but I’ll text you this week… alright bye!”

“There’s a fire in LA Since you moved there back in May I wonder, should I call to see if you’re alright? Yeah, you’re a million miles away But I still think of you each day And hope the weather doesn’t keep you cold tonight”

After picking up what was on the floor and actually tidying up the apartment, I put on my rain boots with my coat and an umbrella before going out the door with the trash and some things that I wanted to get rid of. I walked the streets of the city, listening to the chaotic sounds, the loud voices and the fast steps of those who wanted to escape the rain. Walking to the Blue Ribbon Brasserie, I turned left to get to Sullivan St and passed the convenience store and got myself a few stamps and envelopes for the thank you notes I still had to write after the home warming gifts I received a while back. I put my earphones in my ear as I gave the cashier the money and put everything in my purse. As I entered the restaurant, I took off my coat and held it tightly against me, my eyes falling on a couple sitting at the bar, both a drink in hand and completely enamored with each other.

“Table for one miss?” The host asks taking a menu.

“Yes, thank you.” I smiled at the young man.

I followed him to a table near the windows. He pulled my chair for me to sit. I smiled at him and thanked him.

“What would you like to start with?”

“Glass of white wine, if you have it. Actually no, I’ll get a G&T, please”

“Right away, ma’am” The waiter’s New Yorker accent came through and I smiled at him as I picked up the menu and swiftly looked through it, already knowing what I wanted to eat as soon as I had left my apartment.

The rain was still pattering against the window and it gave a nice ambient sound to the restaurant that for once was almost empty on a Monday afternoon. A few minutes later, the waiter came back with my drink, putting a squared napkin underneath.

“Would you like to order now, or would you like a few more minutes?”

“I’ll order now, thank you. So, I’ll get the chicken barley soup with the steak, please.”

He smiled, took the menu from my hands and left to another table. I watched the other waiters walk around with platters of food as people started to come in. Usually the restaurant would be busy from opening to the time it closed but today felt different. I held the glass in my hands as I sipped it slowly taking the wedge of lime off of it and biting into it and letting it drop on the piece of paper after draining it of its juice.

As the waiter approached my table and put my soup down my phone’s screen lit up with Dylan’s name and contact photo. I had taken the picture when we were out one day and waiting to cross the street. My finger swiped the screen to answer.

“Ali? Hey, it’s Dylan…” His voice rang through my ear, it was hoarse and dry. He had been smoking.

“Yeah, I know. Your contact info popped up.” I said, silently slurping my soup.

“Oh, wasn’t sure if you had gotten rid of it. Hum, I- I thought it’d be better to call you rather than text you and I don’t even know the last time I sent an email that wasn’t for work.” He chuckled quietly but didn’t hear a sound from the other side. “So, for my stuff you can keep it, I won’t really need it, but if you really wanna get rid of it, I can transfer you the money for the delivery and stuff. It-It’s however you want it.”

“Yeah, no. I’ll send it to you or Liz, I wanna start over with a clean slate. I also found a few caps of yours earlier when I was cleaning up, so I’ll send those over as well.” I said finishing the rest of my soup. It was silent on the other side of the line for a few seconds before I heard him sigh.

“A, maybe we should talk? Y’know, actually have a conversation. The only times we’ve talked in the past few months were through voicemail and-”

“Sounds good Dylan, just right now isn’t the right moment. I’m out at a restaurant and I don’t think I can actually do this right now and in public.” I said dryly my voice full of emotion. A waiter came to pick up the now empty bowl and I smiled up at him.

“Yeah okay. Is everything good up there? Are you feeling good?”

“Yep, I’m fine, we’re all fine.”

“That’s good. I feel a bit far away from everyone, y’know ?!”

“Yeah, are- are you okay? I’ve seen the news on the TV about the fires. I was worried.” I said the last part quietly.

“I’m fine too, yeah, you don’t have to worry. Pretty sure Jules or my mom would have rung you up if something had happened.”

“Yeah probably…” I whispered. “Did you start smoking again? Your voice sounded funny when I answered.” I said catching the eye of the waiter that was bringing me my steak. “Thank you.” “You’re welcome, miss. Hope you’ll enjoy” The small exchange between the waiter and I was soon over, and I picked up a fry.

“Yeah, a little. It was weird being in LA, felt nervous at first and I couldn’t shake it after. Are you at Blue Ribbon?”

“You were nervous? Dyl’ you’ve been to LA a hundred times for filming and shit and yeah I am.” I said, picking at the veggies in my plate.

“I never actually lived there for more than four or five months, and usually I’m not alone.”

“Don’t.” I said loudly, I lifted my head and looked at other costumers. “Listen I gotta go.”

“Alright, I’ll talk to-”

I hung up and went to eat my dinner and finishing my drink quickly. After paying my bill, I put my coat back on, the weather would be a little chillier than earlier. Halloween was approaching and carved in pumpkins were starting to make an appearance on people’s doorstep and balconies. The rain from earlier had stopped and had been replaced by clouds and sun light.

“So, I won’t talk about the weather No, I won’t talk about the weather I won’t talk about the weather Not with you, we’re not together 'Cause even when the sky is grey, I’m feeling blue And though the winds are always changing And the clouds are rearranging A part of me will always be in love with you”

Music was playing loudly in the apartment, the vacuum loud over it and it felt as if the sun had disappeared from the sky. Halloween was even closer now, only 8 days away. I checked the time, 10:37, Jules would be here in just under two hours. There were two boxes full of clothes, pictures, sports’ games tickets and damaged drumsticks, that I will have to leave in Jules’ car at the end of the day. The two of us had planned to get lunch and then hang out. She told me that some of our friends and her were planning a Halloween party and that they insisted that I come “You gotta get out of your hiding place, Alice!” They had screamed at me through the phone almost a month ago. Even if the weather wasn’t really great, Julia insisted we leave her car at my place and walk.

I had gotten ready slowly, music still blasting through the small speaker when it suddenly stopped. Thinking it was Julia texting me she had arrived I jogged to get to my phone in the other room, it was the other O’Brien child.

“Hello?” I answered the phone, putting it on speaker while I walked back to the bathroom to finish brushing my teeth. “Ali, are you busy? I tried calling you a couple times.” I looked at the screen where I had missed a few phone calls. “M’getting ready to spend the day with your sister actually. Can you make it quick?” I said spitting in the sink and rinsing my mouth. “I just wanted to know if right now would be a good time to have that conversation I talked about last week…?” I stopped and looked at my phone and sighed. “Your sister’s supposed to pick me up in ten minutes, think you can finish in ten minutes?” A silence was heard before light chuckling and I swear I could picture in my mind how he looked in that exact moment. “What?” “‘Nothing. Look, why don’t we try to set up a date and time for us to talk? I think it’d be good. Maybe clarify things up a bit.” “Yeah sure.” The doorbell buzzed, I sighed, picked up the phone putting it against my ear and taking it off speaker mode. “Listen Jules here and I’ve- wait a sec” I told him before shooting Julia a one letter text to tell her I was on my way and putting on my shoes and coat. “Ok, so your sister’s here. I gotta go but if you call me back tonight at around 5, your time I should be back home and mentally prepared to have that conversation you want us to have.” I locked my door and ran down the steps to stop in front of the blue car with my friend resting against it, excitedly waving at me, I walked to the car. “So, I really gotta leave now, but don’t think I’m excited about this. I’m doing this for you.” “I don’t want to make you do this if you’re not ready A’.” He says, guilt overflowing the other emotion in his voice. “It’s fine, I’ll talk to you tonight.” I hung up and put my head in my hand, scratching my hairline and walking the rest of the distance to Jules.

“So, I won’t talk about the weather No, I won’t talk about the weather I won’t talk about the weather Not with you, we’re not together And it’s hard to say if we will ever be But I’ll admit my greatest fear is that The air will never clear So I just wish we could talk like you and me”

“Who was that?” Jules asked me as we started walking towards the larger and busier streets. “Damn you, O’Brien’s.” I mumbled as I pulled her into a greeting side hug. “Oh my god, was it Dylan? Are y’all talking again?” She was too excited for her own good. “Not really, I just wanted to know what he wanted me to do with the stuff of his left at the apartment and he started saying how we should talk about what happened.” “Yeah, I’m not still a hundred percent clear on that, by the way. I don’t think any of us expected you guys to break up after 4 years.” “Don’t remind me, please” I begged as I opened the door to the small café.

When we entered, I looked around for either an empty table or counter seats. I nudged Jules and pointed to a small table at the very back near the window and looked at her, watching for an answer.

“Sure.” She shrugged and took a newspaper off the stand we were standing next to.

We sat down and she opened the menu, looking through it as a woman brought us glasses of water.

“Hello ladies, how are you today?” “We’re good, Jane, thanks.” I asked sipping the iced water. “What about you?” Jules asked putting the cardboard menu down. “Oh, I am very good thank you” She said a huge grin on her face as she extended her left hand, on it a very beautiful diamond engagement ring. “You are fucking kidding me! Oh, my fuck!” Jules exclaimed jumping up and down. She and Jane were college friends, I had met her through Jules at a party a few years back. “Congratulations Jane!” I said leaning in for a hug and sitting back down.

Jane and Jules were standing up and talking in loud whispers as to not fully disturb the other customers. I picked up my cell phone and opened the messages app and clicked on Dylan’s conversation as a reflex before making the screen turn black and setting it back on the table.

“Hey Alice, I haven’t seen much of you in the past two months, but you and Dylan are so invited! Maybe you’ll be in my situation in a few months!” She said cheery, my head snapped up at the mention of my ex-boyfriend and I looked at Jules.

“What? What did I say?” Jane looked back and forth between us. “Y’know when I told you that my brother went to L.A to film a new project?” Jane nods, “Well it wasn’t fully true, yes he is filming something, but he also moved to L.A” Jane’s eyes go from Jules to me. “Dyl and I broke up 5 months ago …” I said picking my phone up again to play with something. Anxiety filling my body and making my fingers shake at the mention of the break-up.

The waitress just sits down next to me and pulls me to her and squeezes me telling me encouraging words before she is called back to the counter.

“The usual?” She asks and Jules and I nod with a smile. “I think we’ll take it to go, if you don’t mind.” Jules says as she finishes her glass of water, Jane’s eyes go over one last time before going to the kitchen.

When we leave the little café/diner we decide to walk through a park that’s nearby, eating our paninis and drinking our mango and strawberry smoothies.

“Hey,” Jules nudges me. “They added something to your bag…” I look at her a put my hand in the bag. “It’s a muffin?” Jules says unsure. “What?” My word stays stuck in my throat. “Pretty fucking sure Janey didn’t tell Henry that Dylan and I were broken up” “Henry? The cook?” I nod and put the muffin back in the paper bag. “Yeah, hum, when Henry started working there Dyl and I went there to get you a smoothie and Henry was there and he just started hitting on him and like he knew that we were together but I guess it was a running gag between them and whenever I went Henry would put a muffin in the bag for your brother with a note” I laugh remembering the memory. “Once,” I laugh stopping us from walking further. “Dylan went to pick up our order to bring back to his apartment, before we moved in, and he actually gave Henry his number … Anyway, yeah.”

Jules looks at me and pulls me to her side as I hold the bag tightly. “You miss him, huh?”. I put my head on her shoulder, “you’ve got no fucking idea”

We keep walking and talking, and I can see that she is trying really hard to change my ideas. We go into stores and try on stuff without buying anything, we just spend an afternoon hanging out and it feels so good.

At around seven thirty we part, and we walk back to my apartment, I put the boxes that I left in the lobby in her car and wave her off. Clutching the paper bag, I grab my keys from my coat’s pocket, unlock the main door before going to the building’s mailboxes, gathering my mail and going through the lobby’s door to wave to Sam, the receptionist, before going up the stairs since the elevator hasn’t been fixed in 4 months. As I get onto my floor, I wave at my neighbor who exits his apartment as he looks at my door. I turn the corner and see that my door is opened, fearing the worst I grab a baseball bat sitting near the door that my father forgot last weekend when he came over. I hear soft music coming from the record player sitting in the living room, the smell of ham and cheese stuffed chicken filled the place and for a moment I thought my mother had come to New York … I entered the kitchen with the bat lowered down knowing who was in my apartment from the humming they made.

“I made dinner” Dylan says turning around and leaning his back on the counter, he pushes himself off of the counter.

“I can see that.” I huff out not looking at him. “What are you doing here?” I ask him, putting my coat on the back of the chair and my purse on the table.

“I- I wanted to talk.” He says taking a step towards me.

“Yeah, I know I was about to call you … We said we would talk tonight, on the phone” He nods slowly and turns around to put food in two plates. He hands me one and gesture for me to sit.

“I’m not a fan of phones.”

“Yeah I know that, we could’ve facetimed or something.” I pick at my Brussel sprouts, usually loving the way he made them, but seeing here tonight caught me off guard.

I actually look at him for the first time tonight, he hasn’t changed that much, his hair is a little bit longer though, he is hungrily eating the food and nervously keeps his head down.

“What happened?” He suddenly says, his head lifting and eyes connecting with mine. I take in a short breath and can’t look away.

“What?” I shake my head and look down. I stand up and put as much distance between him and I as physically can while still being in the same room.

“What happened between us?”

“I can’t say that I honestly know. We weren’t on the same path; we didn’t want the same things … I don’t know” I mumble picking and my chewed-up nails, a habit I had taken up from him.

“Ok so why didn’t work, it’s not distance because god knows we’ve done that before, none of us were unfaithful” I grimace at the thought of him with another woman and look at him, he notices, and pain quickly passes behind his hazel eyes. “I- I don’t think, hope not, we’ve fallen out of love… So, what happened Al’?”

“I don’t know, I don’t know what you’re expecting me to say right now, showing up at my apartment at fucking 8 …” I say my voice low and full of emotions.

“We agreed to talk” He says standing up and talking another step closer.

“I agreed to talk to you on the phone because even if it’s been five months, I can’t look at you right now!” I say looking at the shirt he’s wearing

“Did you send my stuff yet?” He asks changing the subject and taking another step, now only at an arm’s length from me.

“I actually gave the boxes to Jules earlier. Left em’ in the lobby and gave them to her when she left.” He nods silently, turns around before starting to put away the food, knowing we probably would not be eating tonight. The domestic choreography started as we moved around each other with ease and habit, but I still tried to keep a distance between us. Without having to consult each other I bent down to a cupboard to grab a few Tupperware’s and set them on the counter as he passed me the now empty pots and pans ready to be rinsed off. While we were quietly washing the dishes, the music in the back changed, but still fit the ambiance perfectly. He walked to the furthest and lowest cupboard where the large serving plates used to be and opened it to now find the spices.

“You changed the plates?” He asks over his shoulder.

“Hum, yeah didn’t have much of a choice, I couldn’t reach the spices from where they were, and I don’t use the serving plates all that much.” I shrug as he picks up the utensils and dries them off. He walks around me to the drawer where they’ve always been and opens it slowly, his hand supporting underneath.

“Oh no, I got fixed, it’s fine”

“Oh okay… Did your dad came all the way from Oregon or did hum…?” He asks and I smile at what he’s really asking me.

“No, I actually asked Pat to come over a month ago, he repaired a few things here and there” I smile warmly at him and his expression that went from sad to relieved.

“You- you called my dad?” He asks as he turns around to look at me and rests against the counter.

“I mean, yeah, is that okay?” I ask him, giving him a pot to dry off.

“Of course, yeah, no- no worries, heh.” He chuckles. “I’m just happy you guys stayed in contact. They adore you, y’know, my parents. Almost like a second daughter.”

“Well that’s just wrong” I mumble quickly my eyes large, falling back into the familiarity that is Dylan.

“What why?” He asks

“That would make us “brother and sister”” I finish washing the last dish and hand it to him.

“Oh yeah, so wrong. So, fucking wrong” He says under his breath and I laugh a little as I help him put away the plates. I open a cupboard and look up to see that it is far beyond my reach and I make a noise that attracts his attention. “Oh wait, I’ll get it�� He says before taking large strides towards me. I quickly move to the side and put the plate on the counter so that he can pick it up.

We finish putting everything away in silence and I go sit on the couch as he washes his hands. A few seconds later he joins me and sit on the other side of the couch. Tears pool at my eyes and I sniffle, I can feel his eyes on me, I hear him shift on the couch, so his front was towards me.

“No, I won’t talk about the weather Not with you, we’re not together But I wonder if we’re ever really through 'Cause if we’re talking about whether You and I shouldn’t be together Oh, I know I’ll always be in love with you Oh yes, I know I’ll always be in love with you”

“It hurts so much” I whimper as I wipe away a tear that’s fallen on my cheek. “I don’t know what fucking happened. We didn’t get to talk, we-“

I freeze when I feel him starting to get closer to wipe away more tears that are now falling down my neck. I nuzzle my head into his large hand.

“I’m so sorry, for everything” He says his face in my hair.

“Don’t. It is not your fault. No, the situation was not ideal you having to leave for filming after the initial event, but it is not your fault. I think we just thought we were untouchable.” I say never facing him, my eyes fixed on the stickers stuck on the wooden table.

“But still, if I hadn’t talked about me moving back to L.A we could’ve talked and work things out.”

“Stop it.” I lick my lips attracting his eyes to the area as I turn to really look at him for the first time in months. “Dylan, it is not your fault, we had a weakness, we miscommunicated something got lost in what we told each other. I feel like I might’ve thought I was ready to leave the city to go to L.A but I wasn’t and maybe-“

“Say it again.” He suddenly says, cutting me off in my version of the events.

“What? Say what?”

“Say my name again, please.” His ton is full of hope and desperate at the same time.

I lock eyes with him and chuckle.

“Dylan” I enunciate each syllable.

“God. I missed you” He says, tears filling his eyes.

He grabs me by my waist and pulls me on his lap.

His face nuzzles itself in my neck and I feel a single tear rolling down my neck followed by a few soft kisses.

“I just got used to you not being there and knowing you wouldn’t come back. I didn’t like that.” I mumble against his temple. “Don’t say that. You know I’ll always come back to you.” He takes my hand in his and kiss the silver band around my pointer finger.

We part and I just stare at him, his eyes fall on me with the softest look I have ever seen.

“You almost didn’t come back once” I say softly thinking back on probably the hardest year of my life. My finger tracing the soft and ragged scar on his forehead and nose area, his eyes close at the sensation of my finger going around his face.

“I know. But baby I swear to you, you are stuck with me until the day I die, even then.” “Yeah okay, I’d be cool with that. But I want to take things slow. You have to go back to L.A for a few months.” “As soon as I’m finished over there I’m coming home.” He smiles at me and I stand up quickly from his lap and walk over where I put my stuff when I came in. “Oh my god I forgot.” I say quickly grabbing the object and walking back to him and plopping myself hard on his lap. “What’s that?” He looks at me with a smile. “It’s an impromptu welcome home gift, it might have gone stale a little though.” I give it to him and pull his face to kiss his moles that I missed oh so badly.

He opens the brown bag and puts his hand in and gets out a blueberry muffin.

“Oh Henry! My man” He says as he splits it in two and share half with me.

___________________________________

The morning after, I wake up at 9:45 in my bed, alone. I squeeze my eyes shut, not believing that I actually dreamt this whole thing. I check my phone to see if I have any messages and only one from Julia saying that she would be at my place around 11. As I text her to bring the boxes back I hear my bedroom door open and a smile stretches on my lips as I turn around to see Dylan walking in with freshly made hot cocoa and buttered toast.

“Oh, you’re too good to me, O’Brien” I smile and lean against him as he sits on the bed. “What makes you think that’s yours? You’ve got the good homemade bread and I fucking missed it” He says taking a bite.

Seeing him bite into the grilled piece of bread I only think of his lips.

“Dylan?” I say grabbing his face in my hand. “Hmm?” He swallows his piece of toast. “What’s up.” “You haven’t kissed me yet. I didn’t get to kiss you welcome back. Please, do it” I say in the most desperate tone I’ve ever heard myself talk. “Anything for you my love” He leans in and kiss me.

(ALSO HIS FUCKING TONGUE OMF)

#Stiles Stilinski #Teen Wolf #Dylan O'brien #maze runner #death cure #scorch trials #american assasin #kisses #stalia #stydia #mieczyslaw stiles stilinski #xofc #dylan o'brien one shot #the first time #dave hoffman #dave hodgman #mitch rapp

3 notes · View notes

sirene312 · 4 years

Text

oh GOD guys…. You have no idea the crusade i had to went through just to be sitting here, with my dear computer working again, and enjoying the joy of 1.9 Mbps internet connection speed. First thing on the front page of my dash was three shitposts on a row, new niche memes, and good ‘ol fandom drama. god how I missed this hell site.

In case anyone wants to know what happened, I will put behind a ‘read more’ the story of a missing computer part that quickly become a detective mission, that dragged me unwillingly into the wild ride I didn’t signed for when pressing ‘buy’ on an online store.

TL;DR at the end bc this is very long. English is not my first language so please bear with me!

Okay, some of you may know a bit about me since apparently i don’t have a “dude shut up! Stop oversharing your woes!!!” button on me but hey here are some things to know about me in case you are curious: I live in Venezuela and not having internet is my personality trait, living in my country is very hard, hard like trying to play the Rainbow Road of Mario Kart but you have butter on your hands, your eyes are closed and you are running on the rain while there is a 8.0 earthquake happening. That hard. I work as a freelance graphic designer and make art commissions so me and my family can survive the economic crisis on my country, having internet and a working computer is a really big deal, like literally we eat thanks to it. Now you see how that would led me to spend a whole month chasing and stressing over a stupid part my computer needed.

Back in December, remember last season of “what’s troubling Sirene now?” where i spend almost a month without internet and then yay internet is back! for like two days? well, after Christmas there was a sudden power cut one night and i was on my computer working on a commission but since this is now a common occurrence i didn't think anything of it …until next day when i tried to switch my computer ON it didn't. I tried everything to revive it, grabbing anxiously my hair, walking on circles, and pressing continuously the power button, you know everything, but it was in vain. It’s dead, Jim. As you can imagine i had a breakdown when i realized i won’t be able to work anymore and needed to buy a new power supply since this one was toast…and was without internet friggin again. AGAIN. I survived till now using my crappy phone data but heavy apps hardly load, tumblr/ao3/twitter sometimes loaded if i refreshed them like a madman.

My computer is a tiny model and has a power supply that apparently is made by beavers in Narnia, because is so uncommon that the only stores that sell them are on my Capital city two states away from where i live. Knowing this, there is not other alternative for me but to use a online store and shipping the package here, in theory sounds simple right? a reminder that this is a third world country, where everything is falling apart and barely holding it together with chewing gum and prayers, what are the odds of something going wrong hmm….

Okay, this happened in the week after Christmas and before New Year's Eve, so of course all stores in my country decided to go on vacation and return on January. I impatiently waited for two online stores to be back on business that have the power supply i need, they were physical stores too so i thought i would be safe. i liked one more than the other and, as i told my friends, i felt like a telenovela protagonist that was on a love triangle with two galanes but the hotter one was in coma and the other just had 3 episodes in, meaning that the better rated store was still offline and the other was online but only had like 3 products sold …not very reassuring but i desperately needed to start working again so i went with that one. Big mistake.

Everything started on Tuesday, January 14.

Mercado Libre is a page where people sell things like Amazon, this is where the seller of the power supply was, after you click on buy, you can see the seller info and a chat to talk to them, i wrote but there was not immediate response so i called, i spoke to a woman and she told me to text her on WhatsApp, that should have been my first red flag, if the app had a perfect chat option there why text outside of it??

whatever, i went and text her, asked when would she send the package and she told me “tomorrow” the shipping company she was going to use is called “Zoom” (remember that name bc it will be mentioned a lot) when you send something they give the sender (the store) a tracking number the sender should give YOU in order for the shipping office (Zoom) in your city to give you the package. (this number is important)

this was my first time buying anything online so i didn’t know any of that just vaguely knew how it worked, so i asked her if she the next day would give me the tracking number or the shipping company would call me when my package was on the shipping center? and she told me “both, i will give you the number and they are going to call you” I said perfect, thank you very much and thought ‘hey that went well!’

Unknown to me, for the next 10 days i was going suffer a weird and painful skin reaction on both hands, and man…it was bad (tw graphic description of a skin condition ahead) the skin on the palm of my hands completely fell off, and it burned like i had scraped my hands on the sidewalk and someone was pouring lemon juice on them. Ouch. as you can imagine all my attention was on what was going on with my hands. I still don’t know what could have caused that severe reaction.

With difficulty texted the woman on Monday 20 i asked again for the tracking number but she said “i’m waiting for the bike delivery guy to give me the number but your package was sent” so she -the store seller- dont go personally to Zoom to send the packages and some else does, i tell the woman again to give me the number as soon as she has it, bc Zoom has an app you can check your package rute and status with that number, she said “okey amiga”.

That week, i could barely lift a fork i was suffering from whatever it was that happened to my hands until my mom found an Aloe Vera plant and i started to rub that gooey, viscose gel thingy on my hands and was slowly getting better, (seriously guys, Aloe Vera plants are a godsend keep one or 10 at home) by the time i suddenly remembered about the package it was Friday 24 the woman didn’t text me anything like she said would do and i didn’t receive any calls either all week, so friday i text her asking again for the tracking number and oh yes finally she has it! My happiness was short lived because……THE PACKAGE WAS RETURNED.

Something occurred and there was an error on the address or something (I triple checked all my personal info was in order before i gave it to her -thanks anxiety!- so i know it was not on me) i was so furious if only the woman had given me the friggin number sooner that week, i would have realized there was something wrong and would have gone to the Zoom on my city where the package was being held before it was returned to the capital. She told me she would send again my package that Friday BUT Zoom only works mon-fri not weekends. Now I need to wait till monday to receive my thing. great.

Monday 27 rolls in and that week i proceeded to text the woman EVERY SINGLE DAY asking if she had sent my package, i hated being a nuisance texting so much but it was necessary, money is getting short and we need food.

On Wed 29 I even texted her a desperate plea, i told her please i need my power supply to start working again! and you know how she responded? BY LEAVING ME ON SEEN. i called her until she answered and she told me “oh i sent it today” she assured me, in the most unsure voice she could muster, that she totally did it.

So I went the next day to the Zoom office and surprise! it was a lie, she didn’t send anything, nada! again asked her for the new track.num. and she told me “amiga the thing is that …the package has not arrived here. is still in your State.“ [*record scratch*] hmm whAT?

I immediately called Zoom and asked them to tell me where my package is? Where is it!?, it’s still in my city or in the Capital?? So they gave me a number for the returned package to check on the app and…said it arrived at the Capital Fri. 24. Not only that but it was marked as "given to the client” aka the sender.

Now I realize this woman has been lying to me. For a whole week. I text her screenshots of where the package was and she tells me that supposedly the package is not on Zoom there and insists it is here in my State. A friend knows someone that works on Zoom that checks their database and confirms that no, is not here anywhere and that definitely arrived in the Capital. even shows that a man named A. Rodriguez was the one that picked up the package. Who is this man?? what's going on?

here's a meme i sent my friends in the group chat while i was trying not to freak out about all this.

This has become a "she-said, he-said" situation because the woman keeps insisting Zoom is the one at fault about the whereabouts of my missing package but Zoom says Hold it! And slaps continuous evidence that shows the places where the package has been at all times.

Meanwhile I’m like “where the hell is my power supply??? All I want is to work. Why is this happening to me?” ;_;

So far what we know:

Package arrived in my city but was returned to the city of origin (the Capital) on Friday 24.

The following week the store seller lied to me and would everyday promise to send the package again to me. and never did.

On Thursday 30 the woman tells me that the package never arrived from my city and she’s waiting for it to “arrive” but the shipping office tells me the package was returned a week ago on Fri. 24 so it’s impossible that it has not arrived. not for nothing they are called ZOOM they deliver fast.

the app even says “given to the client”, and one thing I know for a fact, is that it is near impossible to pick up a package from there without the friggin tracking number, they won’t even give you info about it without it. so it’s very unlikely that a random person just walked away with it.

so we have two possibilities:

1. Someone from Zoom stole it. Ok, feasible. Corrupt people working on this kind of service in my country steal things of value all the time. still i doubt this was the case, the company seemed really concerned and would try their best to help me find my package giving me all the info i requested, even the name of the person who took it.

2. the store seller lied again and the man who took the package is the same bike delivery guy that transported it there in the first place. That's how they were able to take it from there so easily. She denied knowing anyone named A. Rodriguez but she has lied before so i don’t trust her word. To me, this is the more likely scenario for what happened to the package.

February comes and still I have no idea where is my package and the woman keeps making excuses as to why she “hasn’t found it” she again leaves me on seen after I asked for information, next day I called her non stop because now I’m pissed and i want answers, she finally text me that she will send another power supply since she “couldn’t find the first one” no further explanation whatsoever, and tells me will send it on Friday, but remember that Zoom don’t work on weekends so the new package will be staying on the Zoom office until Monday, my friend tells me that is not good what if the thief works there and steals it again? so I asked the woman to send it on Monday and she tells me that only Tuesdays they send all their stuff to be delivered….now she tells me the store have a specific delivery day? Now?

I’m not happy about waiting for more days but there is nothing i can do about it so February 11 is here and I send the woman a text telling her to take a photo of the receipt with the tracking number so the story of the first package won’t repeat, and guess what? The woman left me on seen!! you don’t know how that blue seen mark got me shook. that stressed me so bad that finally I had enough, my friends encouraged me to cancel the order and ask for a refund, I stopped texting her on WhatsApp and left a ultimatum on the Mercado Libre chat, that way I had proof on that page of the fraud this woman was pulling on me and could get her banned there. I should have done that before but the need to repair my computer blinded me and was what kept me trying so hard to get my power supply. Desperation can drive you to make foolish decisions.

After my ultimatum, the woman changed her tune and was very solicitous, and replied super fast, even said on the chat “let it be noted we are a serious company and always answered all your messages” yes, she said THAT, can you believe the audacity, the nerve? I immediately reply “since you didn’t answer any of my texts yesterday, can’t fault me for expressing here my concern about my purchase.” Then I said very politely but with finality that if she did not send me the photo of the receipt with the tracking number the next day I would not hesitate bitch to ask for a refund. And what do you know? Worked like a charm. The next day the first thing in the morning on my phone was a photo of the receipt.

SO yes this unnecessary long story has an anticlimactic but happy end after all! Next morning I happily went to the Zoom office and after a whole month of countless lies, unanswered texts, blood, sweat, and tears, I picked up mypower supply. Reunited at long last! This happened on February 14. Valentine’s Day. Love -and being persistent af- always wins!

TL;DR I bought online a new power supply, the seller tried to scam me or something bc lied about how my purchase was “lost” saying the shipping company was the culprit. Sending me on a wild goose chase trying to find my package. i had to threaten her with a refund to get her to send me finally my power supply.

#this is why i disappeared for a while #can't believe this drama lasted for a whole month #but im glad its finally over

14 notes · View notes

the-mystical-aquatic-gay · 4 years

Text

At some point before whenever I end up posting this thing, I posted a redesign of Queen Bee for an ML Rewrite my friend @flags-and-fanfiction at I have been working on.

In that post I mentioned our version of Black Cat!Felix who we’ve named Night Prince; this post is about his design and probably some facts about our version of Felix in general. So lets jump right into his design!

Okay so there’s his design! Sorry if the picture is just kinda stuck off to one side or something, I’m not sure why it’s doing that. Might even just be a weird thing on my side of things only? Whatever, anyways if you want more information I’ve got all kinds of fun things under the cut for you!

Just like with our lovely Queen’s redesign, I’m gonna start off with things that are actually a part of the costume and then go into other things afterwards. I think I’ll start from the top this time and then work down:

Okay so first we’ve got his black vest/over shirt thing (I’m sure there’s a proper word for it so if anyone wants to tell me feel free). Anyways, as you probably figured out already from his name being Night Prince, Felix’s costume is largely inspired by classic princely attire.

I wasn’t sure when I originally finished what you see up there, but I think now we’re probably gonna leave it pretty basic? Cause even in canon Felix isn’t really the type of character to go for some fancy, over the top, attention grabbing outfit when its completely his choice what to wear.

For the undershirt, the sleeves aren’t that big because I was trying to make him buff or anything, I just wanted puffy sleeves on his outfit

Also that bit at the top of his undershirt around his neck is supposed to be a collar; like on his regular civilian outfit, but I wanted it to have the top button undone. Just as a little nod to him being more open and free when he’s Night Prince

He has black gloves, and this is also where the only golden accent on the costume is. Because lets be real, Felix wouldn’t wan that bell on his costume. And I know that’s its not some sort of requirement of for the wielders’ costumes, because I checked the wiki page for the Ancient Chinese Black Cat Miraculous Holder (Hēi Māo) and he’s got no bell. But I still liked the little bit of gold on the costume, so that’s why hes got the golden knuckles. Also they’re good for punching if needed, and these would probably be on the knuckles you can see too; or at least the second set of knuckles

At his hips he has these dark green rope things? Again I don’t know names for things but I’m pretty I’ve seen stuff like that on prince outfits before, so its here

Next up we see some dark grey leggings. Obviously because magic jewelry, its not gonna like rip or anything regardless, but its still not quite like normal legging material, its a bit more... heavy duty I think would be the right word? Like its still fabric, but its not that super thin stuff you’d see in tights or a leotard or anything. I forgot to say it before but that goes for all of the costume, it’s all thicker than you’d probably first guess even without the miraculous magic boost

Finally, we have the shoes. On a guess most, if not all of you recognize these as being for ballet, but more specifically they’re pointe shoes. This is because in our AU, one of Felix’s activities as a civilian is ballet. To some extent his whole costume is inspired by ballet costumes

Quick side note before I finish up on the actual costume things, the reason he decided to go into ballet is because we’re saying that Emilie was a ballerina, probably not professional or anything; but she was in ballet and so Felix went into it for a connection to his mom.

Also Emilie disappeared when they were way younger, probably like five to eight or something instead of a year before canon starts up

Okay so I think that’s everything I’ve got for notes on the actual drawing. Feel free to ask questions or give suggestions or whatever if you have any. Anyways, now its time for powers, design elements that aren’t seen in the drawing, and any other cool details I can think of:

So we decided Felix would look good with long hair, its darker blond than Chloé or Adrien have but not like a super dark blonde or anything. It’s only long when he’s transformed, and he usually just keeps it in a low ponytail. But at some point, maybe its a really slow patrol day or they’re just chillin together or something, Ladybug (yes its still our lady Marinette) decides that he should experiment with his hair and decides to try out some styles on him and see what he likes

I mentioned before that he’s in ballet, but much like in for Adrien in canon, ballet is far from his only activity. Another activity of his, and one that he shares with Adrien both in canon and in our AU, is fencing; because of this we decided to make his weapon be a rapier

I didn’t draw one, but realistically there’s gotta be some sort of belt or something to store his rapier on. I don’t know what exactly that’d look like, but it’d probably have a spot for the rapier on both hips and some pockets

Okay so we don’t have a ton planned for his powers, but we are gonna have more then just Cataclysm for his powers

Also I think we’ll have Cataclysm work through his actual weapon not his claws like in the show

He will still have claws though, they’ll probably be golden tooHe’s also gonna have some sort of shadow travel type of thing, partly to help him keep up with Ladybug (since she can literally fly and still has her yoyo) but also partly. For anyone who doesn’t know, shadow travel is basically teleportation, but from one shadow to another; we’d have a different name for it though because shadow travel is the name Rick Riordan used for this in his books

His final design might have epaulets, those shoulder pad ish lookin things you see on prince outfits, but I couldn’t draw those so they’re not on here at least

We haven’t talked much about his mask, but I did find this is a google search while writing this post:

Now obviously white and gold with only little black accents isn’t really his color scheme, but something like this with different colors is definitely an idea we like for our Prince’s mask. Can’t guarantee it cause this idea is something we just thought of, but I think it’ll stay because I’m now loving the idea of Night Prince with a mask like this one

I think that’s everything we’ve got relating to Felix’s superhero persona for now. It’s probably gonna be a while before I do another post all about one of the heroes because I don’t have any other designs done. Maybe I’ll do just kinda a general info dump post about the AU as a whole? Not sure yet. But if I do make another superhero post soon then on a guess it’ll probably be on either Rusé Rouge (our Fox!Nathaniel) or Sailor Turtle (Turtle!Adrien).

Anyways, feel free to let me know your thoughts. If you have any suggestions for this design or Queen Bee’s design then feel free to comment them here, dm me, send me an ask, whatever you want. Same goes for if you have any questions about anything else for this AU, I love this AU so much and would love to share our ideas with this fandom.

2 notes · View notes

ritsukiayame · 5 years

Text

Blue Crystals

Warnings: Implied rape

Words: 7804

Jun scrolled through Instagram as he walked slowly through the chilly classroom halls. After going through classmates’ aesthetic photos, Sailor Moon cosplay, and colorful recipe videos a bright photo of a soft swirl ice cream appeared. It was sitting in a blue and white striped cup with light blue sparkly sprinkles shimmered all over the white swirl.

Jun eyed at the pretty ice cream and looked through the hashtag. There were already aesthetic photos of the new flavor pouring all over the tag. There was even its own hashtag of people cosplaying as Elsa with the matching confectionary. He clicked on one of the of photos when suddenly the entire world went dark.

“Guess who?” Hands covered Jun’s eyes and he almost fell over by the surprise.

He touched the knuckles and smiled when he knew whose hands belong to. “Tuxedo Mask, is that you?” He pulled the hands away and turned around to see a grinning Ruki scratching his head.

He put his hands on his hips and puffed up his chest. “Not as handsome but yes it is I, Tuxedo Mask!” Ruki laughed nervously after making an embarrassing motion.

Jun giggled and without thinking he hugged him. He hadn’t seen his best friend in so long because of how busy they both were. Especially during the fall season which was at its highest peak and the soccer team’s reputation was on the line. The only time they could really converse was through text or social media. However, because of Ruki’s extreme practice schedule he could only give out a good night text to Jun when Jun waited all night for him to come home safe. Jun felt Ruki’s arms wrap around his waist and held him tighter. “You’re just as handsome as Mamoru shut up,” Jun mumbled proudly knowing he was right as he rested his chin on Ruki’s shoulder.

Ruki chuckled and moved his face to look at Jun without letting him go. His smile was so lovely that it was probably the best thing that happened all day from this cold overcast weather. “How are you doing?” He asked softly. “I’m sorry I haven’t been able to hang out. I didn’t expect soccer season would be intense this year. Our new coach has some… interesting tactics.”

Jun jumped up. He loved hearing everything about Ruki even if it was things that he wasn’t familiar with like sports. “It’s okay! We can talk about it when you’re more free. And you know I’m busy too because we have been training new recruits to our speech and debate team.”

Ruki eyes lit up and slid his hands back to Jun’s wrists and set them to their side. He caressed his fingers across Jun’s knuckles gently. “I want to know about them! Did you find any potential speech stars?”

“Yeah I think so! But we can catch up when we both are free… I missed you.”

Ruki didn’t seem to hear the last thing Jun said but stared at his hand with his phone. He brought the wrist up and looked at the screen and then looked at Jun. “What is this?”

Jun snatched his hand away and turned redder than he was from the piercing cold. “Uh… it’s the new ice cream flavor at Rail’s…”

“Oh my God! We went there for one of our games! Their curly fries are so good by the way. I didn’t know they had ice cream! Wait can I see?”

Jun showed the official Instagram page of the restaurant and tapped over to the ice cream post before showing it to Ruki. Ruki wrapped his arm around his shoulder and Jun realized he was resting his head on Ruki’s shoulder. But Ruki was looking extensively at the phone screen. “Huh… that totally sounds like something you’d get for your Instagram,” Ruki teased.

“No it’s not that! It just looks really good and cute!” Jun retorted.

Ruki laughed. “I know. I’ll take you there and we can try it.”

Jun looked up at him with wide eyes. “Wait seriously?”

“Yup. We need a new place to hang out anyway.”

Jun could feel his heart beating so fast. For some reason this felt like he was offering a date. If only he really was dating him he would have kissed him but he held himself back. “Okay! Maybe then we can catch up- oh also there’s this new show that’s out and it’s called My Hero Academia and it’s really good and-”

“Yo Ruki!” Ruki and Jun turned their heads down the hallway to the source of the booming voice. Manny, one of the forwards of the soccer team, waved his arms with Alex walking up behind him and trying to put his arms down to calm him. “Our meeting is about to start come on!” Manny called again.

Ruki sighed and he pouted at Jun. “Aww I really wanted to hear about this new show.”

“I’ll text you the info later if you want!”

Ruki buried his face in Jun’s shoulder and nuzzled his forehead like a clingy child. “I’m just so sorry… I really wanted to see you.”

“Me too…” Jun replied softly. “But we will right?”

Ruki perked up and nodded. “Most definitely! I promise.”

“RUKI COME ON!” Manny roared which caused a bunch of heads to turn in the hallways.

“ALRIGHT MOM GIVE ME 5 MORE MINUTES!” Ruki roared back. He flashed a cheeky grin and gave a slight wave as the other two boys shook their heads and went into the classroom. Ruki turned to Jun. “I’m really sorry I’ll make it up.”

“Just go it’s okay.” Jun nodded and stroked Ruki’s arm for reassurance. Ruki nodded back and started jogging towards the classroom with his hands in his sweater pockets. For some reason that made him look really adorable. Another thing to add onto Jun’s list of the things he loved about Ruki.

_______________________

Despite it being short, Jun still was happy to see him regardless. Of course he wished it was longer but fate had other things in stored for them. Jun didn’t realized that he had the biggest smile on his face while scrolling through his messages on his phone when Maya slammed her hands on Jun’s desk.

“Jun!”

“Y-yes?” He stammered as he quickly put his phone face down.

Maya blinked. “Were you looking at porn?”

Jun gave her a serious look. He rested his chin on his hands and batted his eyelashes. “Do you really think me, of all people, the cutest and most innocent person in the world, would look at that?”

Maya thought for a second as she put her hands to her chin. “Yes. You're a big contender for watching all the nasties.”

Jun frowned. “How dare you.”

Maya laughed. “So anyways, I was online and I saw this hilarious video and-”

Before she could say anything else, another classmate Neha came up behind Maya and tapped her shoulder. “Hey Maya you coming?”

Maya perked her head to the side. “Coming to what?”

Neha took a step back and had a confused look on her face. “I posted all over social media that I’m having a party tonight. The soccer guys will come with drinks. If you know what I mean… but you in?”

Maya shrugged. “Yeah sure, why not?”

“Alright I’ll see you at 7 then.” Neha was about to leave when she saw Jun and hesitated. “You should come too.”

Jun only responded with nodding but she didn’t even see as soon as she turned. “I don’t think she really meant that.”

“I don’t think she really means anything to anyone so don’t worry.” Maya retorted back.

“But are you going?” Jun asked.

“Probably we will see how much my ambivertness will lead me. Do you want to go?”

“Uh maybe…” Jun looked back at his phone and quickly sent a text to Ruki.

Jun: Hey so Neha says she has a party tonight and mentioned the soccer team is coming with drinks are you going?

“Alright well let me know if you’re going. At least I will know one familiar face if I go.” Maya whipped out her phone and started tapping. “Anyways, this is the video….”

________________________

Jun was one of the first people at the party. He sat on a couch in the basement feeling incredibly isolated with his red cup of water. He kept checking his phone going back and forth at his conversations with Maya and Ruki if they were coming or not. He hated being in situations where everyone knew each other except him. He knew of them, but not well enough to bring up his courage to have a conversation with them.

His phone buzzed and it was from Maya.

Jun sighed silently. Now he had to stay with a bunch of people that he didn’t know or wasn’t comfortable with. He hoped Ruki would get here soon but he didn’t want to send another text to look annoying. Even though he texts him everyday he still had those tight anxious feelings.

A girl with long blonde hair flung her body on top of the backrest of the couch that startled Jun. He looked closer and realized the girl was Romy, one of the more outgoing and popular girls on the cheerleading squad. Romy looked up and flashed a boxy smile. Jun could smell from her she probably had some alcohol in her system already. “Hey I think I’ve seen you before? You hang out with Ruki a lot.”

“Jun,” Jun quipped. “I’m in your English class.”

“... 6th period?”

“Yup.”

“... Oh yeaah Jun! You’re the kid that argued Mr. Roberts about that one jungle book.”

Jun winced. That was not his proudest moment that he almost made his teacher mad over the symbolism in The Heart of Darkness and he wouldn’t stop talking until he made his point final. It was an embarrassing moment for him. “You remembered that?”

“Yeah the way you talked was so cool! I wish I could talk as smart as you.” Then she peered closer and the alcohol smell intensified. “Wow you know, you’re really pretty up close! Is that why Ruki hangs out with you a lot?”

“Wh-what?!”

“Hey do you know his type by the way?”

A roar of loud cheers echoed through the entire house. Everyone around them looked up and started walking toward the stairs.

“Hey the soccer team is here!” Someone shouted.

Romy whipped her hair up and started squealing as she jumped up and down. “Oh my God Ruki is here!” She bobbed towards the small crowd up the stairs.

Jun was the last one to come out. He headed over to the group of people that were crowded around the kitchen. The soccer team stood in the middle of the crowd as if they were a bunch of movie stars. Some of the players were chattering up a storm and others were having their arms around cute drunk girls. Jun scanned the crowd and saw Ruki standing behind Alex who seemed to be in a deep conversation with one of the stoner guys. Jun didn't know how to get his attention without looking like a fool except throw a small wave. He attempted but he didn't see him. Someone shouted to direct everyone back into the basement and Jun involuntarily moved his body with the waves of the crowd.

There were more people in the basement now and Jun felt like he had no choice except to sit back on the couch. He took out his phone and looked back at the stairwell to see Alex walking and talking with the same stoner guy and Ruki following him with a giggling and ditzy Romy clinging onto his shoulder.

Jun turned his head away. For some reason it made him sick to his stomach seeing someone treating Ruki like he was a toy. He got out his phone and saw that there was an unread message from Ruki.

“Jun?”

Jun turned around. Ruki finally met his eyes and nodded towards his direction with a smile. Alex also nodded towards him and seemed to motion Ruki to go over. He brushed off Romy and waved at her as he walked briskly towards Jun. “Is this seat taken?”

“No but it's yours if you start now at $19.99.” Jun smiled as he felt like his mood was starting to come back.

Ruki dug his hands in his sweatpants pockets and pulled out his wallet and opened it. “Aw dang it I only got a 5.”

“Fine. You can sit here. It's free on Fridays.”

Ruki laughed and sat close next to him. Suddenly everything became so much better because Ruki was here and he was right next to him. Jun didn't realize he was leaning a little next to him but it didn't matter now because he just felt so much better that he was finally here. Ruki turned to him. “You doing okay?”

“Mhm.” Jun nodded not taking his eyes off of Ruki’s beautiful dark pupils.

“I'm really sorry that we came late.”

“It's okay I got your text,” Jun replied. “Things like that happen.”

Ruki pursed his lips and closed his eyes as if he was slightly annoyed at himself. “I know but I still feel bad because you were waiting. I didn't want to keep you waiting for me.”

Manny shouted something that was followed with a bunch of cheers. He fisted a beer bottle in the air and popped the top open and started pouring into the cups.

Ruki turned back to Jun. “Do you want a drink?”

Jun held up his red cup. He laughed at Ruki’s horrified face. Jun would be the last person on Earth that would get hammered. “Calm down officer it's just water. But no I'm good. Are you going to go get one?”

Ruki shook his head. “I'm not really in the mood for it. I think I'm good.”

Jun continued to look at him as he set his cup down on the floor. Jun brushed his hand on Ruki’s forearm. “Ruki is something wrong?”

Ruki looked at him with a small smile but Jun could tell that his eyes were telling him something different. “Yeah I’m fine. Don't worry about it.”

“You say that and now I’m going to be worried.”

Ruki gave him a small smile. “I'll be fine don't worry. I think.. I just really missed you-”

“HEY LOSERS WE ARE PLAYING SEVEN MINUTES IN HEAVEN!”

The crowd shifted towards the couch area as they made a large circle with the couch included. Two soccer players sat next to both Ruki and Jun squeezing the two of them like the insides of a sandwich. Everyone else gathered around or sat in a circle on the carpet in front of them.

Neha held up an empty beer bottle and explained the rules. “Alright ladies and gents! It's time to get a little taste of heaven!” An echo of “ooohs” and giggles followed from the crowd. “Spin the bottle and whoever it points to is who you get to be with in that closet over there for seven minutes.” She pointed towards the door on the other side of the room. “Don't worry it's big enough just be safe! If you know what I mean…” A louder slew of laughter ensued. “Alright who's gonna go first?”

“Me! Me!” Romy shouted.

Whooping and laughter increased as the girls handed over the bottle. Romy rubbed her hands on the bottle in a suggestive way which excited the boys. She put the bottle in the middle of the circle and spun. Everyone kept their eyes glued on the bottle with cheering. The bottle slowed to a stop pointing to…

“Ruki!!” The crowd shouted his name in perfect unison that it made Ruki jump out of his seat. He looked at every direction and pointed at himself to make sure it was actually pointing at him.

Manny went over to the couch and slapped his shoulder. “Alright dude have fun!”

For some reason that made Jun’s heart sink to all the way to the ground. Air almost stopped flowing through his lungs like he couldn't breathe. Tears were about to form from his eyes until Ruki turned to him. “We are not going to do anything. I'm going to tell her that.”

“Ruki are you sure you want to do this?”

“Come on Ruki! Time is ticking!” One of the players opened the closet door to reveal that it was dark and cramped with shelves full of random junk. Romy strutted towards the door and waved at him.

Jun felt a hand on his shoulder. “Jun come with me.” Jun turned around to see it was Alex. Alex turned to Ruki. “Just go. I'll take care of it.”

Ruki nodded as if he understood what he meant. “Thanks man. I owe you one.” Then he turned to Jun and nodded. His eyes seemed to say to trust him and Jun had no choice but to accept that.

Ruki walked over to the closet as the soccer players scooted both him and Romy into the tight dark space. Neha started the countdown as soon as the door shut. “Have fun guys! Don't get too crazy in there!” she called to them.

Alex motioned Jun to come with him to the back of the basement as far away from the crowd as possible. The rest of the party goers were too busy cheering them on from outside of the closet or drinking more beer. Jun tried to turn his head away but it was making his heart accelerate into a cold sweat. “Jun are you going to be okay?” Alex asked. He wasn't very good at showing his emotions but after know him for about a year Jun could tell he cared despite his cold exterior.

“Yeah…” he lied.

“Listen Ruki is not going to do anything to her. He knows how to keep his limits and he won't do anything stupid. He doesn't want to make you upset-”

“Why are you telling me all of this?” Jun snapped. Alex raised his eyebrows because he had never heard Jun raise his voice like that. “I am not the one in control of what he wants to do it's his life it's his choice.” Jun realized how loud he was when the room got quiet. He turned around and it seemed like people started to give up one by one. He turned back to Alex feeling really guilty. “Sorry.”

“It's fine. I just…” He looked into the distance trying to find the right words. “I know Ruki isn't that stupid. And… he really really cares about you. Like a lot.”

Jun looked at him quizzically. “What do you mean?”

“Like… today even. He got really annoyed that practice went over time. He's usually pretty serious when he gives out instruction but he looked like he was mad. He was almost yelling at everyone to hurry up. Everyone was really uneasy too. When I asked why he said it was because he didn't want to keep you waiting.” Alex took a big sip from his cup as if the beer was just water.

Jun couldn't believe that Ruki was actually annoyed that he wasn't able to see him sooner. Before he could ask Alex anything else a drunk soccer player came up and put his arm around Alex. “Hey Alex who's this?”

Alex nodded towards Jun. “That's Jun. Ruki’s boyfriend. The one we were talking about.”

“Alex!” He could see Alex snickering in his cup. “Don't listen to him I am not his boyfriend,” Jun huffed over his already hot reddened face.

The soccer player laughed and waved his hand. “Nah dude the team always jokes that Ruki has a lover because everytime he looks at his phone he looks like he's smitten so we thought he had a girlfriend but Tom over there saw your name so we joke that you're his boyfriend.” Before Jun could process everything he just heard the player took his hand out and tried to be as formal as possible. “I'm Elgar by the way. I'm the second best on the team.”

“Third. Ruki is the second best that's why he's co captain.” Alex corrected him nonchalantly.

“Okay whatever. Third best.” He said raising up four fingers as Alex put down his pinkie finger to end up with three fingers instead.

The rest of the time Elgar started to talk about his practice routine and his bizarre dreams about being chased by a fly monster that Jun tried hard to pay attention but the idea that Ruki was still in the closet with a drunk girl was on his mind. He battled in between thinking everything would be alright and something happened. But if something did happen to Ruki what could he do? It would have already happened and he wouldn't have any control over it.

“3… 2… 1!” The crowd chanted followed by loud cheers. Jun whipped around to see Neha whip the closet door open. Romy jumped out of the closet looking all dizzy and happy with messier hair like she had the most amazing time of her life. Ruki looked like the exact opposite. He stared at the ground with his hands in his pockets. It was hard to see from the dim lighting but his face looked really flustered and red like after running a marathon. But he also had a look of discomfort and agony as if he went through something horrific. Jun tried to tell himself that his hair wasn't that messy and it was dark so that's why it came out like that.

A couple of guys went up to Ruki and put their arms around his shoulder and started chatting with him what seemed like rounds of congratulations. Ruki only looked up and gave them a smile and one word answers.

Jun found himself walking over. Alex reached out to grab him but he followed him before Jun would do anything rash. Alex grabbed Jun’s wrist and said, “Hold on give it a bit.”

Jun looked back at Alex looking at him with confusion. “Why? He's done.”

“Hey man where you going?” The guy that had his arms around Ruki asked as Ruki pushed him away.

“I just need some fresh air. It was really stuffy in there you know?” Ruki stormed out of his way through the crowd ignoring everyone toward the stairs.

Jun yanked his wrist from Alex before Alex could call out to him. He hurried after Ruki but he couldn't see him anywhere in the house. He walked towards the living room ignoring the gross couple making out on the couch and towards the front door. Outside, Ruki was leaning against the railing on the porch staring out into what was left behind of the setting red sun behind the roofs of the suburbs with the stars starting to appear high above the dark sky.

Jun silently closed the door behind him. When the door locked Ruki turned around and smiled. That sweet smile that made Jun smile back as if it was their secret language. It was finally cool and quiet with just the two of them. The party was behind them now and finally they were alone together. Jun walked towards him as Ruki looked back out into the distance. Jun also mirrored him by slouching on the porch. The sun seemed to sink deeper into the rooftops before the last ounce of light disappeared and it was only the beginning of the evening.

A shiver went up to Jun. He brought his hands up and rubbed his own arms.

“You didn’t bring a warmer jacket?” Ruki asked. There was a slight tinge of sadness in his tone.

Jun had on a light zip up jacket over his thin t shirt but apparently it wasn’t enough. “I thought it would get warmer,” he said as he pulled his arms in tighter. “I get cold easily.”

Ruki chuckled. “I know. And I always tell you that you need to bring a heavier jacket because you’re so thin.”

Jun pouted. “It’s not my fault that I can’t gain weight anymore.”

Ruki got up and locked his arms around Jun. Jun couldn’t stop his giggling fit as he squirmed to get out of Ruki’s arms. But it was so warm and cozy that he felt like this was the safest place in the universe. “You’re right it’s your fault for being so thin so now you can’t get anywhere.” Ruki couldn’t stop smiling as he rested his forehead on the side of Jun’s golden hair.

Jun loved it so much when Ruki did that it felt so intimate even though Ruki was probably playing. Jun scrunched his head up and pretended to be in distress. “Oh no help. I’ve been captured.”

“That’s right. Zhang Junming you’re mine!” Ruki tightened his arms even more around Jun like a barricade and Jun giggled as he turned to face him and wrapped his arms around the waist of Ruki’s plushy sweater. He wanted to be like this for as long as they can, forever if it were possible.

Jun rested his cheek on Ruki’s shoulder. He wanted to ask if anything happened in the closet, but he could feel from him that maybe he didn’t want to know. He didn't know how to even start to ask. In fact, it may have been better to not know what had happened. It might have ended up differently than their relationship now. Even if Jun did find out what difference would it make? It was just one stupid teen game anyway. The Ruki he was with right now, the one that holding so close to him, was the Ruki he knew, not the one five minutes ago.

“Hey,” Ruki spoke softly in Jun’s ear. “Didn’t you say you wanted to try that new ice cream flavor at Rail’s?”

Jun looked up at him feeling the empty cold air from where the warmth of his cheek was. “But isn’t late? And it’s ice cream in fall…”

“But that’s the second best time to eat ice cream! The first one is in the winter.”

“Ruki,” Jun started but Ruki already let go and started heading towards the street. “Can we really just leave the party like that?”

Ruki turned back and called, “If you don’t catch up to the car I’m going to pay for it!”

Jun started sprinting but Ruki already beat him to the car. Jun tackled a laughing Ruki and both of the boys started holding each other for dear life and laughing until their sides hurt.

__________________________

The ice cream was even more magnificent in real life. Pictures didn’t do justice. The ice cream spiraled a perfect swirl with the perfect curl at the top. The sparkly blue sprinkles really did look like it was part of the creamy mixture. It really was like the ice cream version of crystals. It was so pretty and sparkly that Jun was afraid to even poke it.

“If you don't eat it now it's just going to be in a big puddle of shiny goop,” said Ruki coming back from the counter with hot tea.

Jun looked at Ruki wide eyed. “But it's so beautiful. What if I break it?”

“It's meant to be eaten. What else is its purpose?” Ruki took his spoon and rested his head in his hand with a sly smile.

Jun took his spoon and pressed it against his lips. “To look pretty for Instagram?”

Ruki laughed. “Oh my God you would say that.” Then he reached into his pocket to get his phone. “Speaking of Instagram…”

“Wait.” Jun put his hand on Ruki’s arm to stop him but he moved his phone to his other hand to open up the app. “But then everyone would know that we aren't there…”

Ruki scoffed and closed his eyes. “Who cares… no one is going to give a shit,” he muttered.

Jun’s heart almost skipped a beat. That was so unlike something Ruki would say. “Ruki…”

Ruki extended his arm to angle the perfect selfie. “Look up Jun.” Jun looked at Ruki’s camera to see himself and Ruki trying to angle most of the pretty ice cream. Jun quickly posed a peace sign with the spoon awkwardly in his hand. Then Ruki slid his other hand sneakily behind Jun’s back and wrapped gently around his waist and pulled him lightly to get closer in the picture. Jun tried not to show that he was getting red again but kept as cool as he could for the picture.

After a couple of snaps the boys looked at the pictures. Ruki hadn't left his other hand around Jun’s waist but he tried not to think of it. They looked at the photos and landed on one that looked the best out of all of them.

“This one.” Jun pointed. “We look cute in that one.”

“Yeah.” Ruki agreed turning to him. “But you're cute in all of them.” Jun probably lost conscious for five seconds after hearing that. After deciding on a filter they agreed that it was ready to publish. “Let me write the captions and tags. Go ahead and eat first.”

Jun sighed, sad that he had to poke into it. He scooped out a piece and tasted it. He widened his eyes at the first second the confectionary touched his tongue. A shiver went through his whole body but it was a good shiver. It started off extremely milky and creamy that melted so neatly with the after taste of cool fresh mint.

“How is it?” Ruki asked after setting his phone down. He held his other hand around Jun’s waist little tighter and caressed it with his thumb gently.

Jun scooped another bite and nudged the spoon at him, Ruki smiled and leaned down and chomped the whole scoop.

Ruki closed his eyes for a moment to indulge and process the taste. A quick shiver went down his whole body that he let go of his arm around Jun. “Oh man! That is so good! It’s so minty and extra cold!”

“Right?” Jun took another scoop of the ice cream and playfully taunted the spoon of shining blue creamery in front of Ruki’s face. He leaned in before Jun pulled the spoon back into his own mouth in one bite. He shivered at the initial icy bite when the chill moved up to his brain. He scrunched his face at the cold pain. “Arrrg.” He put his forehead on the table trying to internally fight the piercing pain.

“Brain freeze?” Ruki chuckled.

Jun could only nod in pain.

Ruki pushed his steaming mug of hot tea. “Don’t eat it too quick it’s not a race. Here is some ailments to heal you from being frozen.”

Jun turned his head to look up at Ruki who was already scooping himself another bite of the ice cream. He took both of his hands around the warm mug and brought himself to sip the warm bitter tea.

The boys took their time taking in each scoop of the ice cream, sipping tea, and even the basket of curly fries that Ruki ordered later. They sat and talked about whatever was on their mind, even stories of what was going on with the activities they were doing at school. Jun listened intently at Ruki’s locker room gossip and laughing at his attempt to imitate the other players’ distinct voice. When Ruki finished his part of the conversation there was always this silent communication that gave Jun the signal for him to say whatever was on his mind. And as always, Ruki was always listening and commenting when he needed to. Jun finally told him about the new shows he was watching and complaining about all the late night studying he had to do that he realized this might have been the most he’s ever talked in a long time. When he was with other people he was usually closed off like he didn’t want people to get into his life because he felt like he so different from everyone else that people would be turned off from it. But with Ruki, it wasn’t like that. He could tell him anything and he knew Ruki wouldn’t judge or think differently of him. It was a feeling of comfort, something that he cherished everytime he was with him. This was one of the reasons why he loved being with him.

When they were done with the food they noticed that they were the last ones in the entire restaurant. The sun was completely gone with only the street lights that started blinking to life. After a shy bus boy asked them to leave for closing, Ruki turned to Jun suddenly and said, “Do you want to go to the beach?”

Jun blinked. “But isn’t late? It’s really dark.”

“Oh… does that bother you? I’ll be with you the whole time though.”

Something wasn’t right. Usually when it was really late Ruki would ask Jun if he was tired and encourage him to go to bed early. But he didn’t this time. This meant that Ruki really didn’t want to go home. But then again, Jun didn’t want to leave Ruki already either. He couldn’t believe how fast time went by in the restaurant that it felt like they just got there. Jun grabbed Ruki’s arm and nodded.

In a swift movement, Ruki slid his hands and laced his fingers around Jun’s and took him out of the restaurant on their way to the car.

_________________________

____________________________

After a quiet car ride in the dark, they finally reached their favorite spot on the beach. It wasn’t exactly per say on the sandy part of the beach, but it was a cliff that wasn’t very steep and perfectly overlooked the ocean and the rest of the beach. It would have to take a small hike to get to that cliff but was worth it because of the view and no one else seem to have found this spot.

The boys linked arms in silence to rely on each other’s presence in the dark. They listened to the rustle of the grass that glazed against their footsteps. When they reached the edge of the cliff they sat down. The moon was very big and bright that its reflection was so bright that the ocean seemed to sparkle. It didn’t make the night as dark as it was. Jun could see the white beach and the ocean’s crawling waves very clearly. It was such a beautiful sight that he wished that they could go to the beach more often at night. He will have to tell Ruki that later and maybe even more as an excuse to see him.

Jun rested his chin on his knees when Ruki took his seat next to him. “Let me know if you get cold. We can go back to the car.”

“It’s alright I’m fine,” Jun replied. He continued to stare at the scene in front of him. “It’s beautiful here at night.”

“Yeah it is,” Ruki agreed realizing that Jun was talking about the ocean and not himself.

There was a few moments of silence except for the rolling waves in the distance. It was nice that it was just the two of them and the sound of the ocean. Then Ruki broke the silence. “Hey, thanks for not asking what happened back there.”

Jun turned to him. Ruki didn’t look back at him he continued to look out into the distance. He wasn’t sure if the twinkle in his eyes was from the reflection of the moon or it was actually tears. “What do you mean?” He asked. But he knew what it was about, then Jun realized he shouldn’t have asked.

“I mean at the party earlier.”

Jun got up and placed his arms on the grass leaning back. “If you don’t want to talk about it now you don’t have to. You can tell me when you’re ready or even if you don’t want to talk about it you don’t have to.”

Ruki closed his eyes and laid back into the grass. He put his arm across his eyes as if he didn’t want Jun to see what his eyes were emoting. Jun felt like all of the panic rushed to his heart and throat.

“Ruki! Ruki are you okay? I’m sorry if I said anything wrong!”

Ruki grabbed Jun’s arm. Jun’s heart almost broke at the sight. It wasn’t the reflection of the moon that made Ruki’s eyes sparkle. Small tears started forming at the edge of his eyes. “Jun. You haven’t done anything wrong at all. You never have. You’re so amazing and wonderful sometimes I think I don’t deserve you.”

Jun could feel tears welling up in his eyes. He moved his hand and reached Ruki’s hand. “Why.” His voice cracked. “Why would you say that?”

Ruki stared up at the sky. Stars were beginning to appear even though they were hard to see against the bright moon. “Everyone assumes I’m supposed to act or be a certain way because of who I am. I know I talk to a lot of people, I know I get good grades, I know I’m decent at sports, I know I have a lot of girls that ask me out but it’s so overwhelming. It’s like they assume I’m that guy you know? They assume because of that I have to be that person that I play this role and it ends up not being ‘me.’ I’m just pretending to put up this mask in front of everyone because I have to live up to their expectations because they think I am that person. Because I'm ‘nice’ or whatever.” He sighed trying to hold back the tears. It took a moment before he could speak again. He closed his eyes as if he was trying to find the right words. “Romy was one of those people.”

Jun squeezed Ruki’s hand tighter. He tried to push back down the imaginary bile that was up his throat hoping that whatever he heard next wasn’t what he expected.

“I kept telling her no. I kept telling her I don’t want to do this. But she was so drunk. She kept saying ‘But I want this.’” He wrapped his other arm across his eyes hoping Jun wouldn’t see the tears coming down his eyes. “I don’t even know her Jun. I don’t know anything about her other than she’s friends with Amalia and Emily. Yet she kept... kissing me.”

Jun closed his eyes trying to hold himself back. He was prepared but not for what he was about to hear next.

“I kept pushing her back but it was so dark I didn’t want to hurt her either. But she wouldn’t stop. She didn’t just kiss me on the lips. She went everywhere… and….” His words almost became incoherent and Jun could see Ruki’s cheeks becoming wetter that he felt his own tears trickling down his face. “She pulled down the zipper and wouldn’t fucking stop blowing me. I couldn’t do anything I should have pushed her away more but it was like I couldn't move. I never thought… that could happen to me…”

“Ruki.” Jun laid down next to him and wrapped his arms around Ruki’s arm and brushed his forehead against his shoulder. He brought himself into an embrace with Ruki’s arm like curling up next to a pillow. He needed to calm himself down from sobbing as well. He never expected to hear this. It was much worse that he expected. “Ruki I’m so sorry. I’m so sorry it happened to you. You don’t deserve that. You really don’t deserve that. You of all people don’t deserve that to happen to you.”

Ruki turned towards Jun and wrapped his warm arms around him and touched his forehead against his. Now Jun could clearly see the tear stained eyes with blades of grass poking from his cheek. “Why are you apologizing? This isn’t your fault.”

Hearing this made Jun cry even harder. He wasn’t supposed to he was supposed to keep his composure to comfort Ruki. But he couldn’t control it. “But I didn’t do anything. I can’t do anything. Ruki I feel so awful I couldn’t do anything.” He choked in between words.

Ruki wrapped his arms tighter until Jun buried his face in Ruki’s warm soft chest. He kneaded small circles behind his back as he left Jun sob on his chest. “You’re doing plenty. You being here and listening to me is everything to me.” Ruki laughed softly but Jun wasn’t sure if he was also crying more. “This is why I love being with you so much. You’re the only person that doesn’t make me feel like I have to put on a mask. You let me be me. You make me feel like I’m safe and I don’t have to hide anywhere.”

Jun started shaking uncontrollably from the weeping and brought his hands up clinging on to Ruki’s chest. He couldn't believe that someone would hurt him and that hurt Jun more than anything. He held onto the back of his sweater tightly. He quickly wiped his tears but Ruki brought his hands up and gently wiped it for him. It was odd, he should be the one comforting Ruki, not the other way around. “Ruki,” Jun started after catching his breath. “Please. Tell me what you need.”

“What do you mean?”

“If anything like this happens again you have to tell me what to do and I'll do it.” Jun found himself more determined to protect the one he loved the most. His voice carried through that gradual shift of confidence. “I know you always give to others to make others happy but you need them too. You deserve to have the things you want and need. So if there's anything at all, please tell me. Even if it means I have to beat Romy or anyone up.”

“That won't be necessary,” Ruki said quickly. He brought his arms down to Jun’s hands and held them tightly. He rested his forehead again on Jun’s. Jun held his breath at Ruki’s handsome features but felt his heart weep knowing in Ruki’s beautiful eyes more tears were slowly streaming out. “You don’t have to do that for me.”

“Don’t say that!” Jun realized he raised his voice at him and held himself back. “Sorry… I just mean… you give and give to others so much that it will hurt you in the end. I don’t want to see you hurt like this and it’s so unfair that people take advantage of your kindness. You of all people don’t deserve any of that.” Jun could feel tears coming back that was holding him back from speaking in his throat.

Ruki looked shocked from the amount that Jun spoke. He chewed his bottom lip then asked, “Can you promise me you won't tell anyone?”

“Of course.”

Ruki sighed deeply and closed his eyes. A single tear trickled down his eye. Jun brought his finger and wiped it away with his knuckle. Ruki grasped his hand again and caressed it so slowly and so lovingly. “Can I ask you something extremely selfish?”

Somehow that pained Jun’s heart. “Ruki whatever it is I know it is not selfish. Tell me what is it?”

Ruki’s eyes widened in a state of shock. He closed them to let more tears stream down making Jun’s tears follow more. He brought Jun’s fingers so very close to his lips he almost brushed them. “Can you please stay with me? Just for tonight?” He whispered so softly that it was mixed in with the grass rustling in the gentle wind.

Jun brought up his composure, scooted up, and embraced his arms around Ruki’s head and let his forehead touch his chest. It was such a surprising movement that both boys tried to realize what happened. But Jun knew he wanted this intentionally. “I’ll stay with you as long as you want.”

Then he felt shaking underneath his arms. A muffled quiet sob emitted from Ruki. Ruki had always caressed his fingers around Jun’s hair and now Jun was the one to do that for him, It made him feel a little lighter as he comforted Ruki. “What if I asked for forever?” Ruki suddenly asked between his silent crying.

“Then I will stay with you forever.”

Ruki didn’t speak after that. But Jun could feel that he let himself cry because he needed to. How long had he been holding this up? It pained Jun to know that Ruki must have closed himself off like this for so long. Even though Ruki explained the mask he put on for others, he hoped that someday he will take off that final mask and let Jun in to bring him all the comfort he needed in the world. He stroked his hair in circles and without thinking he lightly kissed the top of his head. He buried himself in Ruki’s soft hair and wished to himself that he would never see Ruki hurt ever again.

#short stories #what is riot #writing #writingblr #original work #original fiction #my ocs #ice cream #ruki ayame #jun zhang #alex garza

7 notes · View notes

choric · 6 years

Text

( park jimin - demimale, he/they ) — did you see noeul han walking down the street? the twenty-three year old has lived here for three weeks. i heard they’re an aspiring painter & a part-time barista now, time sure flies. gooey by glass animals always did remind of them, maybe it’s because they’re so audacious & charitable. though i did hear they can also be commanding & capricious if you catch them on a bad day.

hey babes drum-roll it’s admin fany here to welcome yall~ with some random info about me I guess uh so I’m 26, living in northern europe, most of the time dying bc I’m not made for these hot ass summers, other times just being distracted twelve times outta ten jsyk I’m not ignoring anyone my attention span is just in the negatives. or I’m playing overwatch. or subnautica when I’m feeling particularly masochistic. would drop dead without tea. ye. that’s all for today folks

anyway here’s Noeul’s profile if you wanna peep also a very messy plot page aaaand I’m gonna ramble about him now uwu

tw: emotional abuse, tw: assault ( kinda brief mentions, esp the assault, I tried keeping it safe )

born in Seoul but his family moved to USA when he was barely 6. they moved around a l o t since then but stayed within the borders. save for one weird year in France back in 2010

he haTED it. all the constant moving around and starting at new schools with new people trying to get new friends and find new hobbies and leaving pretty much everything behind so often just stressed the hell out of his young self and he was in a perpetual state of over-emotional about the whole ordeal and angry and bitter and yeah. not having a good time

over the years he managed to find ways to cope with it, drawing and painting being a major thing as it was one of very few things he could just continue without any special arrangements made or it feeling different. putting all that bent up negativity on paper was helpful in itself so he stuck with it without much thought then, clinging into a lifeline of one constant in a sea of variables

later on it morphed from being less of a therapeutic activity and more one of him being able just flow with creativity, paint with a less personal agenda and enjoy it way more too ( not to say he doesn't still use it as a form of escapism too )

reading was another thing he found enjoyment in, especially during his early teenage years. that is something he doesn't engage that often in anymore however

his parents didn’t really care about what hobbies he took on ( even with painting carrying throughout the years he ended up trying a whole slew of other things too ) until it became apparent he was actually considering art as a legit career path. neither agreed it being a good idea but they didn’t flat out deny him either.. just were very patronising about it for months and by that time he had come to actual decision of going through with it out of pettiness alone lmao. which of course served nothing but to legit piss them off and led to a number of arguments they still have to this day yikes

his parents entire view on life seemed to be there was no point getting attached to anything, sentimentality was a flaw and you could just buy everything you needed again without much care for what was left behind. especially his mom had a lot of emotionally abusive ways to steer his life in the direction she wanted, but giving just enough freedom for him to think he had a say in anything. not to say she wasn’t supportive and encouraging too but he honest to god can’t tell now how much of it was genuine. she was especially fond of using subtle blackmail in form of referring to her own feelings and how his actions will upset her, occasionally bursting into a loud tirade which was then quickly pushed to the side without any apologies for making him in turn upset so boy was always just on edge. this still happens but he pretty much only communicates with her through calls anymore so, Noeul just hangs up when she starts acting up. his dad was more the type to not involve himself into his hobbies and likes or anything at all he only cared about academic plans.

that all messed him up big time in his younger years bc he was inherently just very attached to everything and everyone but now.. it’s almost the complete opposite, enough repetition and shit will stick I guess cause he has next to no sentimental feelings towards anything, in turn actually loves travelling and meeting new people now. partially also cause he doesn’t feel obligated to uphold anything or allow himself being chained down, he treats everything like it’s fleeting, but not without care– don’t assume he doesn’t care when that’s something he does in abundance actually. he just.. accepts nothing lasts forever. ironic enough he’s adopted far too many of his parent’s habits to count now but has grown more tender with the experiences rather than cold. probably a miracle in itself. hella guarded about his feelings tho

so yeah he moved to LA ( parents were at the time both living in NYC ) for art school and got that bachelor of fine arts degree, graduating just spring last year and has no desire to further those studies cause screw school he’s done with institutions for a decade

also his parents filed for divorce while he was at it. before he was even done with freshman year. wasn’t all too surprising nor did he have anything to really say about it, except the times mom called him whilst drunk and essentially blamed it on him being a bad son :/// his dad’s fucked off somewhere he hasn’t heard whole lot from him in last three years beside birthday texts and money transfers to his bank account. and subtle messages through mom about how he expects him to clean up one of these days. meanwhile mom mostly contacts just to check he’s alive & doing well financially while slipping in vague ‘if you would have just listened to me‘s and ‘when will you come to your senses’s >_>

forgot to mention his dad’s a CEO of a small airline company. don’t ask me what his mom does idk prob some manager of a huge ass successful online shop?? something along those lines

will not speak about them if asked tbh don't expect anything other than "they're alive."

does not like announcing his ( their ) wealth to the world either and tries not to make decisions that could reflect that but something always has to give in the end. like he’s just way too happy to blow money on other people no matter how subtle he tries to be about it and often like his parents buys new stuff instead of finding ways to bring his old along, some of his clothes are also a dead giveaway it’s not so much that he specifically purchases anything cause it’s designer but if it looks nice he doesn’t see it as any different buying from any other store around. smells awfully lot like privilege but he’s unapologetic in getting exactly what he wants, it’s not his problem if someone takes offence to that

kind of also hates that he’s so dependant on parent’s money still but has made peace with it by giving away and works twice as hard for his own stuff, regardless if it yields anything cause he’s not doing this whole painting thing as a means to gain money ( would like to, but alas, it’s a tricky career path ) more from pure passion for the art

and noeul def is not gonna tell them to stop sending him cash he'll just have fun spending it in all the shit they'd hate-- even if they've basically set conditions but weird enough haven't cut him off yet. guess that really is the only thing they can give him and they know it too :))

so. doesn’t actually like sitting idle even tho he all but could, yet cannot happily place himself in an establishment with very strict 9 to 5 shifts and such, so if and when he takes on extra work occasionally it’s always part-time, and for own personal gratification

in the case of him recently taking on a spot as a part-time barista here in acarike ( started like, two days ago or something ) was also bc of keeping up appearances ( surely he would run out of money eventually? no, but no one needs to know that ) and getting to know some of the people around since his group of road-tripping friends have seriously decided to settle in

if anyone was wondering yes he has experience working in cafes, among other places. his parents abhorred him taking on such jobs at all cause “what was the point? are we not providing enough?” first of all did he ask?

I guess he is currently residing in the stardust motel?? but is looking for a place

for him travelling in the past few years has been sorta cathartic, inspiring if I dare say both in personal growth and in his work since he can decide on everything by himself, where he wants to go, for how long, for why etc

sometimes likes when he has company for that, other times he just needs to make a trip in solitary. altogether prefers meeting random people along the way

is a kind of odd friend, loyal, compassionate and all that but puts himself before anyone else. or rather puts his emotional and other needs before everything else. if he feels you’re the one getting more out of it than he is it’s not worth it sorry. very generous tho and sees it as his duty to help others in any way if it doesn’t inconvenience him. not unreliable but available only when it suits him. so unless it’s life threatening or emotional distress he will not drop everything for even a friend’s sake you can wait an hour or two. can make friends as quick as he drops them

might get a little inappropriately affectionate with friends. especially so when intoxicated

is an even weirder lover. he loves the idea and feeling of being in love and the emotional thrill of it. relationships are fun yeah but commitment?? not in his. vocabulary. to elaborate he lives for the push and pull and the suspense of it all and needs things to stay stimulating on all levels across the board when deepening relationships further while also being able to maintain a sense of own freedom. he craves the sort of emotional security and gratification it all brings but refuses to become dependant on it ( he knows how that will go ), furthermore does not like all the limitations it brings nor everything being perfect to the point of feeling fake??

tries to make it clear that he’s NOT looking for anything long term but even then people haven’t taken it well when he out of the blue announces they should stop whatever it is they’re doing. he always feels bad about it and tries to part in good terms but yeah :// many hearts have been broken. it’s probably even worse for the other person cause Noeul himself seems to have absolutely no problem continuing his life like nothing happened. all this has made him into a bit of a serial dater??

in whole he takes everything as they are, nothing is everlasting and he doesn’t try to make it so, doesn’t necessarily want to. values experiences but doesn’t get too hung up on letting go of them. including relationships. this is something a lot of people in his life wont understand and it’s frustrating for everyone involved sometimes but you gotta do what you gotta do. might be scared of opening up to people. of that attachment. maybe he’s actually just picky and is waiting for something out of the world magical who knows

repels all negativity as if his life depended on it like. add begone thot meme here

but can also be very confrontational so???

is actually in constant war with himself over positive and negative emotions but filters that out pretty handily. most of the time. cause uh absolutely will turn vicious and loud when angry. sensitive to criticism and personal attacks but gets over it quick enough. does hold grudges but mainly towards people whose opinion he cares about. strangers rarely phase him. has random emotion™ bursts but tbh only cries when being shouted at and/or being target of someone’s wrath-- OR when noeul's angry himself?? also lowkey dramatic but most of the time he’s just sorta chill and cheery, occasionally sarcastic but in a good-natured way he doesn’t mean ill with it. has very strong opinions on some things but doesn’t care if someone else sees it differently. as long as they’re not saying their way is the only right way. or if their reasoning is utter bullshit which he will call out then :))

negative people just make him laugh. will not take your ass seriously at all if you’re being a douche. used to take offence to these kinds of people all the time but he’s grown out of it and learned to simply ignore people who don’t deserve the time of his day. at least outwardly.

similarly used to be very.. well. lets say prone to letting people control and push him around cause that’s what he had learned to accept but whoo boy when he finally figured it out and took the reigns into own hands no one could stop him try it bitch

likes doing things in own terms in general, need for control has kinda taken off so will not take kindly to being ordered around in any manner. tries not to impose on other people or be pushy himself but cannot stand indecisiveness so. it happens. for better or for worse

in tune with his surroundings and current community of people if something’s off he can sense it and it will bug him to no end before it’s fixed. this could be anything from his room being in disarray to something going on in the city in whole

I ain’t saying he’s a psychic but actually stupid intuitive most cases WILL see through your bullshit don’t even try

…ok but lowkey into supernatural stuff and spirituality all that jazz he’s gone through it all while trying to find himself– which is a whole another can of worms we ain’t opening here

did I forget to mention noeul and co ( minho & jae ) rolled into town in this shiny big rv. he's def looking to buy a smaller car to drive around

not too keen on giving rides to strangers since this one time two summers ago that went south real fast when a guy pulled a knife on him. has a pretty big scar to show for it on his right side? tummy?? there’s a pic in the profile page if you’re curious. he jokes about it now "it adds character" but is actually terrified of that happening again so perpetually jumpy minho blames himself for it cause he's dumb

you can prob hear him coming 5 miles away with the amount of jewellery he adorns

don’t get me started on his wardrobe it’s a mixed bag and then some. gender norms belong into the fiery pits of a volcano

is equal parts a tea & coffee enthusiast basically lives off that stuff. i'm probably not even exaggerating here boy forgets to eat when he gets focused on something and just wolfs down a pot of coffee.

obsessed with watermelon flavoured lollipops probably has one on him at all times somehow magically pulls them outta thin air??

you can prob find him painting outside in the randomest places when the weather's nice

likes painting on people probably as much as painting them

it’s not an intimacy thing I swear. but. can be?? probably accidentally turns that way that’s just how he is

prefers either to focus on faces ( eyes specifically ) or nude models in general fcking @ him

this. is so long already I’m sorry omg

and that’s all I got my brains’ fried over this all but yo come plot with me pls also check my plots maybe orrr if you want me to check your plots ( I’d love to!! ) come poke me ay ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

#acarike:intro #i am physically incapable of keeping these things short #hands out cookies to anyone who read through all that bless your heart #cake gif bc CELEBRATE GOOD TIMES COME ON!

8 notes · View notes

3veta · 3 years

Text

How to start providing online consultations from home?

New Post has been published on https://3veta.com/blog/business-advice/how-to-start-providing-online-consultations-from-home

How to start providing online consultations from home?

Starting an online consultations business is becoming extremely attractive. It’s quick and requires little resource, so many people are doing it as a side hustle or a full-time job.

This guide will give you all the essential advice you need before starting to provide video consultations. You can also download a checklist version of it we call: The Ultimate Checklist to Provide Services Online, so you can refer to it later!

So, you know you can offer a valuable service and you know a few people that are happy to be your customers.

What do you do next?

‘Success is the residue of planning’

Benjamin Franklin, about 250 years ago

Well, this is still true today so be sure to take it into account. Luckily, you don’t need to write a 50-page hardbound business plan, just follow our steps:

Do your research

Legal aspects of online video consultations

Operational aspects of online video consultations

Financial and marketing aspects of online video consultations

Get ready for your first meeting

Set up your workspace

Software and hardware check

Prepare a short script

Your first meeting

Organize a follow-up after the consultation

Follow up with the customer

Lessons learned for yourself

Reach out to your peers

Long-term mind-set for providing online services

Do your research

This part is arguably the most important one. Since you are going to be a one-man band, you will have to put on different hats – each of them will be one of your business departments.

Legal aspects of online video consultations

Nobody is a big fan of legal matters (unless of course you are a lawyer, in which case you will be interested in our guide for legal online consultations), but there are a few things to think about in that area.

First of all, do you need a special licence to provide consultations? The requirements differ between professions and are also very much country –specific. But if you are providing a service, your customers will want to know that you are allowed to do so.

Talking about customers, will you be storing any of their personal data? If so, and they happen to be in Europe, be sure to check what are the GDPR requirements for that.

If even after research, you are a bit clueless about these points, why don’t you speak to a specialist to have your bases covered? Actually, it can be an online consultation – bonus experience for you!

Operational aspects of online video consultations

OK, you are done with the complicated legal rules, so you can focus on what you excel at. How will you give your customer the best possible experience?

Let’s start from the beginning.

How will your clients book appointments with you?

Whether you take phone bookings or use an online tool, take into account your customers’ preferences. Ensure the software you ask them to interact with is simple and easy. It also has to be available in the language they speak and on the type of device they will prefer to use (desktop or mobile).

Determine whether your customer should be allowed to use their camera and microphone by default or only when you allow them to. Sports instructors, for example, may prefer to have their trainees muted by default.

Have you thought about your video quality? Does it matter for the consultation you will be providing? If movement fluidity or image sharpness are important for the end result, then get a good quality camera.

Financial and marketing aspects of online video consultations

One of the first questions you will be asking yourself is: Who will be my customers?

And this is important not only for the viability of your business, but for your marketing choices too.

If you need to build a customer base from scratch, you will have to implement a solid marketing plan. It has to ensure your clients will be able to find and book you online. Saying that, consider whether your business will be fully online or you want to keep providing face-to-face services too (this is often the case with teachers). This will have significant implications on your future marketing activities.

You will also have to make some careful pricing decisions. Research what is available on the market and decide whether you will provide a single service or a variety.

A first consultation for example might be priced differently than subsequent ones. The duration of the appointment will also affect the final price. Another good point to think about is will your prices be publicly available or will they only be available upon request. This can be something to consider as part of your platform choice.

When talking about prices, we have to mention payments (and payouts). There is a variety of payment operators on the market, such as Stripe, PayPal, Braintree, TransferWise, etc. Be sure to research them very well before you settle for one and keep in mind the following:

Your choice will affect how quickly you can have your funds available to you.

You might have to pay certain fees. They can be flat or a percentage of your rate.

Your clients might pay in different currencies so exchange rates will matter. Banks, for example, can’t boast with the most competitive rates on the market.

Get ready for your first meeting

This will be your favourite part. Video consultations are an exciting experience, and your first one will be a special one. Be well prepared for it!

Set up your workspace

Decide where you will be having your consultation.

Will you need a separate room for that or is a corner of your living room enough? Take care that the space looks neat and tidy and ensure you have the appropriate lighting. If you are using any props, have them ready and near you. These include notepad, pen, or even a glass of water.

Software and hardware check

Do you want to have the meeting on your laptop or on your mobile phone?

Consider what would be the impact for the customer from this decision.

Book a test meeting on the platform you have chosen so you know what steps the client will have to take. Always make sure all your accounts are set up with the correct data and with an appropriate photo (or logo).

Very important note – take care that you don’t have any disruptions during the call. Turn off all your notifications (from all devices!) and don’t let any bystanders nearby (moms, be careful with small children). Nobody from your household should listen to your consultations as it could impact your customers’ privacy (especially important for medical consultations).

Prepare a short script

This can be especially useful if you’re doing a consultation for the first time. Put down a few pointers that you must cover during the consultation. These can be certain questions you want to ask or some info you have to share.

Your first meeting

It’s finally happening!

The motto of business consultants is ‘Prepare, prepare, prepare’. Well, you are giving online consultations, so that applies to you, too.

You’ve done research, you’ve got the best solution, you’ve prepared for the customer – now it’s time to shine. Give your best during the video call and most importantly – enjoy it! After all, there will be many more to come. If anything unexpected happens on either side, just be rational about it and ask your customer what would be their preferences. As long as you are professional, everyone will appreciate that.

Organize a follow-up after the consultation

Follow up with the customer

Send meeting notes after the call. This will immediately show your professionalism and facilitate a long-term relationship. Ask your clients for some feedback and incorporate this into your next appointments.

Lessons learned for yourself

You have now acquired valuable knowledge, so go through your checklist and see where you can make improvements.

Do you need to offer better video quality? Maybe a new web camera would be quite useful!

Or did you maybe forget to have a notepad nearby and had to get up and get one?

Don’t worry, just make sure you add this to your personal checklist for meetings and you’ll be alright!

Reach out to your peers

You don’t need to be running on your own with video consultations. Suggest them to your friends who work in the same field. If both of you are going through the process of starting an online business, sharing the experience will give you an advantage. There is no faster way to grow than do it as part of a community.

Long-term mind-set for providing online services

Congratulations, you are an online service provider! But your work doesn’t stop here. It’s time to think about your future.

As your business grows, you have to make sure you have the right processes and solutions in place. You have completed one or a few consultations – imagine what your job will look like if you have 5 or 6 of them every day.

Does this sound appealing to you?

How will your calendar management look like?

Are you happy with your payment solution? The answer might be “Yes” now, but will it be the same if you start having 30 paid consultations a week?

It is vital that every choice you make for your online business be scalable for the future.

Quality has to come before quantity

Of course, everyone dreams of growing their business. And the more customers you have, the better you will become at your job. But don’t forget that quality must be your top priority from the very start. So make sure you download The Ultimate Checklist to Provide Services Online and get one step closer to being your own boss!

#3veta #3vetaservices #onlineservices #videoservices #videoconferencing #meetclientsonline

#featured-on-root-page

0 notes

shootinqstars-blog1 · 7 years

Text

masterpost intro!!

i’ll make pages for charas later on, but i figured i might as well type up a short info instead of typing out bios (if i’ll type up bios anyway). anyway, this is just so the details of my charas will be on post tbh.

blair rider (kaya scodelario): the phoenix

◦ wants to be a new person. or try to be ◦ used to be a party animal, a wild child ◦ is a daughter of a rich fam. why is her fam rich? idk yet. or i dont remember if i thought of anything ◦ used to hang out with bad ppl who would drink and smoke all the time ◦ one day she went out to a club with her friends and ended up drinking and driving ◦ during that drive, they had a collison with another car and the driver in the other car died ◦ since then she’s tried to take better care of herself bc she doesn’t want that happening to her and she feels bad that happened in the first place ◦ she’s currently a writer ◦ personality wise, she tends to be reserved and distant bc she’s v cautious about who she hangs around with ◦ but those who are worthy to get close to her, she’s v loyal and caring and motherly tbh ◦ also her friends probably stole from her in the past, but i need to work on that part ◦ and she’s from london. didn’t arrive to amsterdam until after college (around 22 years old) ◦ really enjoys debate and doesn’t like to lose and also likes reading bc wants to learn new things and enjoys fiction too (has probably been tempted to write fanfics) ◦ tries to stay away fom drinking and smoking ◦ prefers cats over dogs

mattie dimitrov (nina dobrev): the harlequin

◦ loves pranks and to joke around ◦ probably won’t be serious half the time ◦ believes life’s too short to take it seriously ◦ wants to travel to many places, but not all places ◦ is v loyal and kind and friendly to anyone ◦ owns a candy store bc she doesn’t know what else to do with her life /: ◦ is a huge lover of animals and sweets tbh ◦ prefers tea over coffee ◦ has a wide range of fashion ◦ still developing her backstory ◦ one of her parents probably died from being unhealthy so she tries to stay healthy ◦ she’s from toronto

lucy kwon (lee sungkyung): the sovereign

◦ a bitch ◦ probably has a superior complex ◦ is from darlington, england ◦ works as a model ◦ can’t remember exactly what her parents did, but i’m thinking her mom was also a model and is now a fashion designer ◦ not sure what the dad does, but i do know their family owns companies?? ◦ is also a rich kid, but v bratty and spoiled ◦ believes she’s more important than practically everybody else ◦ tends to be rude and judgmental ◦ is only kind when she’s with people who are close to her ◦ parents barely spent time with her, but she doesn’t rly care bc she barely stays in contact with them. all they do is send her money and probably a letter with fake feels in it ◦ has a dog named scarlett

#⌜ ✧ — ooc ( ᶦ'ᶫᶫ ᵇᵉ ʸᵒᵘʳˢ⋅ ) ⌟

1 note · View note

twoblueheartslocked · 4 years

Text

Mini Para: July Flashback.

Rating: PG.

Pairing: Seblaine.

Sebastian: @colorsicantsee

Blaine: @twoblueheartslocked

Time: Four and a Half years before the events of ( Hold On To The Memories, They Will Hold On To You ) Start of July before Blaine’s Senior Year and Sebastian’s Junior Year. Blaine (almost 17) Seb (almost 16).

Location: Westerville, OH- In a Starbucks tucked away in a little nook.

Info: The First Flashback. Blaine and Kurt break up before Kurt heads off to college in New York. Sebastian tries to contain himself.

Warnings: N/A

Extra Warnings: (This RP is not Kurt Hummel friendly. You’ve all been warned.)

Blaine’s POV:

Blaine turned his music down, the poppy sound of Perry fading away as he pulled into the crowded parking lot of Westerville, Ohio’s Starbucks. There were better coffee places, but it was less likely a bunch of people he knew would be milling around a Starbucks. He’d done well to keep his friendship with Sebastian Smythe hushed and he wanted to keep it that way. Sebastian, for his part, did as well. It wasn’t really a secret, but people talked and it didn’t matter that it truly was just a friendship at the end of the day. He tried to ignore the nagging, annoying little voice in his head that scoffed and nagged at him about how he was totally attracted to Sebastian and liked his company more than most of his McKinley friends. Why else are you driving to meet him after the events of the past week, Blaine?

He pushed the thoughts away and pulled the mirror from above his head down and gave himself a quick look, noting that his eyes were only still just a little red and the puffiness from crying had gone away completely. He got out of his SUV, making sure to shove his wallet into the back pocket of his rolled, bright coral shorts and made his way into the shop to get out of the July heat, his Sperrys threatening to melt into the pavement.He glanced around the store, scanning for the tall familiar form of his tentative friend and frowned when he couldn’t find him.

He pulled out his phone to shoot a text when it started to vibrate in his hand, the words making him smile and rolling his eyes as he did as he was told.

Seb: Turn around, Killer.

The smile was still faintly on his face when he made his way over to Sebastian. His companion had actually secured their nook table that deemed them hidden out of view. The spot was usually taken up by students hoping to get some work done or couples making out and the thought made him blush a little as he sat down across from Sebastian who had made himself at home, long legs spread out and taking up way more space than he needed. The other boy, smirking as usual, slid two biscottis and a grande white and green cup over to Blaine. Blaine picked it up, already smelling that Sebastian had remembered the cinnamon in his drip. His heart gave a little flip because self absorbed Sebastian had remembered the cinnamon and the biscotti but Blaine being Blaine ignored it like usual.

“Thank you. I’ll get the next round, okay? I can’t believe you managed to snag our spot.”

Sebastian’s POV:

Sebastian couldn’t stop the excitement that flared in his stomach anytime Blaine’s name flashed across the screen of his iPhone. He always cancelled his plans in favor of meeting Blaine at Starbucks or to toss around a football or anything he wanted, really. Sometimes Sebastian felt extremely lame because of his all consuming crush and that he’d rather drink stale coffee to the sounds of a ‘cafe pop’ playlist than meet random boys or drink in furnished basements.

Their friendship had been sort of a blur and came out of nowhere. He knew that sounded totally cliche and annoying but wasn’t that just how relationships in high school worked? You suddenly had so much in common with somebody and grew so close that you couldn’t understand how you went without this person in your life before? Sebastian had been obsessed with ‘winning’ Blaine over. He hated that this bashful kid just kept turning him down with shy smiles and dismissive waves of the hand and that his boyfriend was always around and wasn’t intimidated by his sharp wit. Seb hadn’t experienced being turned down before. He became jealous and his mean streak reared it’s monstrous head when he threw a salt spiked slushie at Blaine. All he wanted to do was stain Kurt’s precious clothing, the only thing he seemed to be passionate about. After the slushie incident, Sebastian had sent flowers and visited Blaine to apologize. Somehow they grew close and met more and more often just to talk. Sebastian had to laugh, he was turning down dates with public school seniors just to read magazines in companionable silence, just to watch Blaine’s cheeks turn red when he teased him, to feel the spark of what could be when their thighs would touch squeezed into a diner booth.

It wasn’t any surprise that Sebastian made his driver get him to the coffee shop before Blaine so that he could get his regular drink and snack. He constantly assured Blaine that he understood that they were just friends and lied and said he was on the same page but couldn’t quell his crush. All he wanted to do was impress Blaine, it wasn’t even about winning anymore and that was like, a really scary thing to admit. He was totally sprung and spent too much time picking out outfits that looked like he didn’t care and memorizing orders and favorite songs and staring at his phone waiting for his phone to buzz.

Sebastian smirked when Blaine turned around to see him in the nook that they both preferred. He pushed Blaine’s coffee and biscotti towards him, “You deserve the best spot in the house. I had to fight a few pre teen girls but it was worth it.” Sebastian took a sip of his iced Americano and smiled around his straw, he hoped Blaine would notice. “So, what’s up?”

Blaine’s POV:

Blaine scooted himself up towards the table, sitting his phone down in front of him face up on the tiny table. He’d shut the sound off because Coop had been harassing him all day about his upcoming visit to Ohio. Just a constant stream of texts all morning pushing Blaine to make sure their parents had the house in order for him like he was freaking royalty. As if Blaine didn’t have enough issues of his own. His mom, Imelda, had laughed softly and given Blaine’s hand a squeeze telling him to just appease his brother because it made him happy. He only obliged for his mom because who cared what Cooper wanted.

Blaine found himself chuckling at the thought of Sebastian scaring preteens away with his rude language and idle threats and again his heart did the little flippy thing that felt familiar and brand new all at once when he told him that he deserved happiness. He cleared his throat and proceeded to pull the lid off of his coffee so he could dip his biscotti into it. He took a bite and Sebastian had put just the right amount of sugar and cream and cinnamon into the cup. He smiled to himself and swallowed before looking over at his friend.

“I can’t wait until I see Sam tomorrow night so that I can tell him that you’re actually just the sweetest, softest boy around.” He laughed, his shoulder coming up in a shrug. “You don’t have to worry though, because he’ll never believe me.” He watched Sebastian take a sip of his drink, his signature smirk had been replaced by this new thing that Blaine liked to say was his smile because he’d never seen him give it to anyone else. His teeth were showing and Blaine got a little glimpse of the crooked teeth that were hidden on his bottom and top teeth. Blaine had been delighted to hear that picture perfect Sebastian Smythe had undone a bunch of expensive dental work all because he hated his retainer. Blaine was secretly glad because it was so adorable.

He could wax poetic about Sebastian Smythe’s teeth all day but that’s not why he’d come here. He’d come here to get away from the pitiful Facebook and Instagram messages his McKinley friends kept sending him. Telling him they were so sorry and that they just were so surprised about the thing that had made Blaine’s eyes red and puffy. Well, everyone except Sam who knew Blaine like the back of his hand and knew that things had been far from perfect.

Blaine finished his food, chewing thoughtfully for a moment trying to compartmentalize all of his feelings about the situation. He licked his lips and looked up at Sebastian.

“Kurt and I broke up.” He paused, pursing his lips together. “I mean, I’ve told you how off everything has been over the last few months and with him going away to New York in a month I feel like this is the best move.” He felt a little wave of sorrow as he talked because of course Blaine had loved Kurt and he valued their time together but there was this sick feeling in the pit of his stomach as he thought back to some of their recent fights. Kurt had gotten mean and anytime Blaine took longer than five minutes to answer a text he would make accusations that Blaine was ‘probably out screwing Sebastian’ and even went so far to accuse him of sleeping with Sam, too. Which was... laughable. Everything they did was strained- from their intimacy to New Direction solos to where they’d eat for dinners. He flicked his eyes up to Sebastian, trying to gauge his reaction. Seb knew that things had been rocky but he didn’t know about the accusations. He wondered how he’d feel if he knew.

Sebastian’s POV:

Sebastian rolled his eyes but didn’t stop smiling. He shook his head and leaned back into the leather covered booth seat. “Please don’t. I’ve worked really hard on my image, you know.” Sebastian spread his legs under the table, his knees knocked into Blaine’s leg. It sent a little thrill though his body before he gently maneuvered his long legs so that they wouldn’t invade the other’s space. Sebastian wished he could keep his knees pressed to Blaine’s leg, wished they could hold hands under the table or kiss over their coffees. He caught himself being pulled from his daydream by Blaine’s sober tone.

He watched Blaine’s face as he spoke, he noticed his red rimmed eyes and it all made sense now. Sebastian fought to keep his face even. He didn’t want to break out into song and dance and flip the table in excitement just yet. The other boy was obviously upset. Seb couldn’t really understand because he had never been in a serious relationship and was always the one to not return calls or texts. He was his friend, though so he needed to chill out and be there for him. “How do you feel?” Sebastian chewed on his green straw, suddenly a little anxious.

Blaine’s POV:

Blaine arched his brow a little impressed by how calm Sebastian was being. He hadn’t made a joke about his relationship or made any kind of swipe at Kurt at all. He shouldn’t have been surprised though, Sebastian had come so far over the year they’d gone from acquaintances where Sebastian shamelessly flirted and made Blaine feel things he shouldn’t while having a boyfriend, to being a massive asshole and getting Blaine hurt, to remorseful and learning about how his words could hurt people all the way to now. Where he was actually sweet and funny and paid attention. If people could see this side of Sebastian they wouldn’t talk so much crap about him behind his back. If people could see this Seb they’d all be clamoring for his time and where would that leave you? Blaine didn’t like to think about it. He liked having this piece of Sebastian to himself. Sounds super friendly. A voice in his head taunted. Blaine ignored it.

He thought for a moment, wondering how he was supposed to feel versus how he actually did feel. There was pain, he’d built a pretty solid relationship with Kurt over the last almost two years. He had loved him. Of course there was pain. He’d cried for two nights after it was over but now he wasn’t sure how he actually felt. It was startling when he realized he felt free.

“I feel, I don’t know, relieved?” He licked his lips and looked into Seb’s lush green eyes. “I- I don’t think we love each other anymore.” He shrugged, he’d struggled with the revelation over the last few weeks. The truth hit him when he realized all they did was fight and things were often incredibly uneasy when they were once easy. “I mean, we had a good run but… it’s not like he’s going to wait for me to move to New York. He would end up ignoring me and growing apart from me anyway. And eventually we’d hate each other and why do that to ourselves? It was amicable enough.” Was it? Kurt had been livid to the point of screaming and then suddenly he’d just gone calm. An eerie calm and then the calculating look he’d given Blaine was cold and borderline scary, but he’d agreed eventually.

He paused, wondering how much to give away to Sebastian. “He was starting to get really weird about who I was talking to. Like not just you, but Sam as well. I’ve never done anything to make him worry. I was faithful and did anything he asked me to.” He bit his lip, trying not to let the negativity seep in. “I don’t know, Seb. I feel like this was the right decision.”

He brought his coffee to his lips and took a drink. The caffeine burned through his veins and suddenly Blaine wished they were in the car driving around with the music blaring.

“But, hey I won’t be going to New York this Summer now. Coop will be here but I can ignore him. And Sam will be camping with his family. Tina’s going to visit some distant relatives and David and Nick are… who knows what they’re doing. So, we get to spend extra time together. I mean, if you can handle that.”

Sebastian’s POV:

Sebastian always knew that Kurt was a little jealous behind the scenes. Blaine had told him so before and even cancelled on him a few times because of it. He told himself it was because Kurt was insecure and maybe deep down really was a little threatened by him. He should have trusted Blaine, though. It was true that Blaine had never done anything nefarious to Kurt, had never caused any damage to their relationship. He and Sebastian were strictly friends (sad as that was.) and Seb even forced himself to control his flirty tendencies (which meant he really liked him because he flirted with everybody.) “As long as you feel okay. This is a move in the right direction.” He winced internally, how generic was that sentiment.

Seb sat up in his seat and cleared his throat. He needed to cheer Blaine up. “Hey, now you have the entire summer to be a single man. Think of all the cool shit you can do now. You can go anywhere you want, do whatever you want.” He wanted nothing more than to spend his favorite season with Blaine. Images of fireworks and swimming and bike riding filled his brain. “I’m down, B.” He would always be down for him, always be willing to drop everything to be where he was. Sebastian knew it was pathetic but he couldn’t help it. It was his best kept secret, how huge his crush was and how utterly heels over head and back again he was. Sebastian finished his drink and pushed his biscotti towards Blaine. “Celebratory biscotti.”

Blaine’s POV:

Blaine laughed, shaking his head at Sebastian. “You’re just dying to say something about Kurt, aren’t you?” He bit his bottom lip to keep from smiling too big, a little ashamed of himself for having such a good time so close to his break up, but he couldn’t seem to help himself around Sebastian. There was just something about the other boy that just made him feel relaxed and comfortable and sometimes Blaine felt like as long as they stayed friends he’d be okay. Sure, he had Sam and Tina and David and Nick but there was something different about being with Sebastian. He didn’t like to look too closely at it though, terrified that he’d ruin this dynamic they had going on. “Go ahead, I’ll let you get in one good swipe but then you gotta promise to behave.”

Blaine gave Sebastian a thankful smile because of course he was trying to cheer him up. Trouble was that he didn’t even need to try. Blaine was already feeling better just being around him. “Yeah, single. Do whatever I want. Hmm…” He narrowed his eyes playfully, “And yet I’m choosing to waste my free time with the likes of you.” He laughed, taking the sweets that Seb had offered him and dunking it into his almost empty cup of coffee. Kurt would have tisked at him for eating more than one in the middle of the day. He finished it, making a show at how good it was before speaking again. The nickname made him smile to himself even bigger.

“So, what are you doing right now? Is your fancy driver around here somewhere? You should send him away and spend the day with me. We could take a ride and go get burgers and shakes from the root beer stand and drive around and listen to music. I’ll even let you pick the music.” He looked up at Sebastian, his eyes wide and face probably far too hopeful. “Please? It’s my treat and besides, it’ll make me feel so much better. I promise the stench of public school doesn’t seep into my car like it does clothing.”

Sebastian’s POV:

Was Sebastian so obvious? He laughed, his wide smile that was rarely seen broke out across his face. He really did want to talk shit about Kurt but thought that he could keep that suppressed until he texted Hunter later. Seb cleared his throat dramatically, as if he were about to put on a show and sat up straight. “If I only get one chance I better make this good. He dresses like a depressed librarian that lives off of lean cuisines and thinks that unseasoned boiled chicken is too spicy. He’s so generically bitchy and mean and pre-maturely geriatric that if he started to do drag, he could be a Bea Arthur impersonator. Actually, I’m almost positive all of his humor comes from The Golden Girls anyway. You’re so better off without him.” He sighed and laughed again. “I’m done. I promise I’ll behave as best as I know how.”

Sebastian looked into Blaine’s golden eyes, bit his bottom lip, leaned over the table. He nodded and pulled his phone out to text his driver to leave the parking lot. “If I get to pick the music then I’m all yours.” Seb rolled his eyes and stood up from the table to stretch his legs, gathering up their trash to throw away. “The scent of your hair gel sort of covers up the public school smell anyway.” He elbowed Blaine in the side, smiled wide so he knew the joke was good natured. “I’m gonna blare Nicki Minaj and I want a large strawberry shake with extra whipped cream and extra cherries.” Sebastian started to walk backwards towards the door, his eyes on Blaine the entire time. “This is going to be the best summer ever, Killer. Promise.”

/fin.

#seblaine #seblaine para #seblaine canon divergence #mini para #july flashback #Mini Para: July Flashback

9 notes · View notes

kiddiemom-blog · 5 years

Text

cuppacocoa|parenting. education. marital relationship. food

Parents, have you ever became aware of a Quiet Schedule? Likewise called a Busy Book? It is a cloth book filled with fun activities that your kid can have fun with ... quietly!

.?.!! My child girl LOVES her quiet book!

BRILLIANT isn't it? From making different Mr. Potato Head mixes to counting cupcake sprays to buttoning buttons to building sandcastles, quiet books help children develop their fine motor abilities, evaluation instructional ideas, and encourages creative believing all while keeping your kid hectic and quiet.

Um. Yes, please. (Go

HERE to make your own!)I'm not of the"kids should be seen and not heard" camp by any methods, but there are simply times when you require them to be quiet-- at a church service, or on an aircraft. Sometimes, you simply want something useful to keep them busy-- waiting at the medical professional's office, or when you're going to with a good friend that has no kids and no toys and you don't desire to truck a whole bag of playthings for your youngster. THIS BOOK IS GENIUS! I seriously can't believe I have actually never heard of it prior to!

Everything started when I was at a friend's place and found a homemade felt book pushing the flooring. I flipped it open up to have a look-see, and inside was a felt xylophone, with removable pieces velcroed down in the colors of the rainbow. How charming!! I relied on another page and saw a colorful felt page with surprise animals hiding below rectangular flaps. Much enjoyable for a little one!

I wanted one.

I asked her where she got it, and was a little brokenhearted when she said she and some other friends mass-produced pages and swapped them to make the book. I was brokenhearted since I missed the boat! However I figured Etsy would be all over this, so I went house to see just how much these bad boys were opting for. And then I got some severe sticker shock: $200 for a 12-page book?! FOR SERIOUSLY?! There were individual pages choosing $6-30, and despite the fact that I'm not a craftsy individual, I couldn't assist however think ... I could make that!

I did.

Sort of.

I decided to draw it up and put on my organizer hat (which I am good at, but normally do not enjoy *), and sent out an e-mail to a few mommas who I thought might be interested. Some forwarded the message to a few of their mother pals, and within a day, I had 14 commits. Wow.

Wow # 1: That is a lot of pages to make.

Wow # 2: ... WE'RE GOING TO GET 14 DISTINCT QUIET BOOK PAGES! SWEEEEEEEEEEEEEEET!!!

I was incredibly stired! I reached out to Christy D., the initial organizer, got as much info as I could on how she arranged it, and after that got the ball rolling with my own group. Quick forward 2 months and ... WE FINISHED! WE MADE 14 QUIET BOOKS !! AND THEY'RE AMAAAAAAZING!!!!

Here's a comprehensive take a look at each stunning page! I have no patterns for you, however you can discover similar pages and patterns on Pinterest and/or Etsy. I will share how I made my felt chain links in a future post, since that was the one I did:]

* Can I just say that arranging this group of mothers was THE BEST ever ?! They were so responsive, so accountable, so encouraging, and did such a gorgeous job!! Everybody helped one another out, pooled resources, and composed encouraging reactions in email. I didn't even understand all of them (some were good friends of pals) when we began, but I sure hope our paths cross again!

I divided my 14 pages into 2 books: one for babies (0-2yrs), and one for toddlers (2+). Considering that they're bound with a book ring, I can quickly swap pages in and out.

I provide to you my Child Quiet Reserve:

Front Cover I simply sewed down some adorable fabric and stitched some lines across for a quilted look. Kinda untidy.

That's how I craft =P Cars and Stoplights The traffic lights are velcro, and my lady loves to rip them off and put them back on. The vehicle slides up and down along the white ribbon. She is still finding out that it

's not a rip-off item! Ocean Scene with Moving Fish Have a look at the detail on those moving fish, and the detail on that stitching around each fish and through the coral and plants! It's a beautiful page, however I'm not letting her play with it up until she understands the concept of moving-- not yanking!

Sensory Jellyfish My buddy made this as part of our daughter's first birthday present! Isn't it beautiful? Our woman enjoys to flip back to this page often to tickle("Ticko ticko! ")the arms. It's the prettiest thing on the planet!

Mitten with Snowball I think these were indicated to be mittens for outside snow play(includes a white snowball concealed inside the mitten ). Being a baker, I decided to pair it with the Apple Pie page so it looks more like a baking mitt Babies can slip their hands in and out of these cute mittens!

Apple Pie Weaving Not sure why I put this in the child book instead of young child, cause I'm pretty sure she won't be weaving anytime quickly ... however at least it matches with the baking mitt! Not to fret: thanks to the book ring binding, I can easily move this page over to the toddler book anytime (in addition to the Hungry Alligator, which it is back-to-back attached to).

Starving Alligator I truly desired a zipper in the peaceful book someplace, so I'm actually happy somebody made a zipper page

! Isn't this adorbs? Children can unzip the alligator's mouth and put the fish into the ocean! Mr. and Mrs. Potato Head Felt potato heads! I enjoy it! There are a lot of mixes for this! Each of the pieces had Velcro glued onto it, which was simply enough to make it adhere to the felt. Also, the potato head itself is a pocket, so you can store Mr. Potato Head's pieces in there while playing with Mrs. Potato Head's pieces! Craftwise, this page needs a lot of cutting, but works well for the individual who does not sew!

Sandcastles on the Beach How adorable is this? I enjoy the details from the sewing along the water's edge to the little starfish to the double-backed pages. The individual who made this consisted of two sandcastle sets in case any got lost. You 'd think individuals would try to do what was "most convenient" or "quickest," but clearly the group of women here offered their all-- even with children/babies in your home (or in the belly)!

... Which was just the baby variation, folks.

Here are the pages for my toddler book!

Chain Hyperlinks This was the page I made. I liked how kids would have the ability to get some ROYGBV practice in while also establishing great motor abilities as they attached the snaps. I likewise included black and white strips for moms and dads who wanted to teach their kids how to use colors (black, white, red, green, "gold") to teach the Gospel message. More on that in another post!

Counting Flower Kids can practice counting with these flowers! The intricate numbers were eliminated from a good friend's Cricut device, and inside the flower pot is a second set of blue petals ... simply for variety. So thoughtful!

Lace-up Football We had the option to pick a lace-up football or ballet slippers. I understand we have a woman, but I couldn't assist but choose the football, because my own youth was filled with a great deal of football( and no ballet ). And I enjoyed it that way. This is a fun method to practice tying laces! Plus, the football fabric is a very soft suede that even I like to rub!

Breezy Clothesline This adorable page permits kids to take clothing down from the line and put it into the white basket. I enjoy

the colors and multimedia! Fancy pants! Oh my goodness. That giraffe print. Could it be any cuter?! I also love the sewing information throughout. The person who made it likewise told us we could switch the buckle to the other side, to establish both the right and left hands!

Great idea! Balloon Buttons This was Part I of my"celebration pages":-RRB-. Not only are the buttons hand-sewn down, but the buttonhole is edged all professional-like and everything! Fantastic page for button practice!

Last, however not least ... drumroll please ...

Counting Cupcakes Your child counts the variety of sprays on the(detachable Velcro )frosting and matches it up with the number composed on the cupcake liner! This page literally took my breath away. Why? Because, people, each of those "sprinkles" is actually a button that has been HAND-SEWN ON. ARE YOU KIDDING ME? (1 +2 +3 +4 +5 +6 +7 +8 +9) x 14 = 630 BUTTONS!.?. !!! And I thought my chain links were a lot of work!! C. definitely takes the (cup)cake on this one (ha ha!)!

Incredible? Do not you wish you had one? (Sorry to make you yearn for ...) I hesitate mine is priceless, though, so you'll just need to make your own. Not the organizational type? NOT TO CONCERN! I got your back! I have actually set up a post detailing How to Make a Peaceful Book with a Group of Buddies, and will post it for you soon, consisting of e-mail design templates and resources you can utilize to direct your own group peaceful book project!I just ask that you link my website and share the Cuppacocoa love:-RRB-.

I am going to send this post to all the women involved in the task, so please show some love below in the comments! Which peaceful book page(s) did you like the most? Which details do you enjoy? Which one(s) would your kid (or ... you?;-RRB-)enjoy having fun with? Do you think you'll ever make one?

Thanks for reading, and delighted holidays !!