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#up til she was like 12 or so those tapes were the only way she could see and hear another person

blouisparadise · 2 years

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Over the years, it has been highly requested that we make a cis girl Louis/cis boy Harry rec list, so here we are finally delivering on this! We know this isn’t everybody’s cup of tea, but if it is yours, we hope you enjoy this list. Please be sure to support BLP’s rec lists by liking and reblogging the posts if you’d like us to keep making them. Happy reading!

1) Another Night to be Harry’s | Explicit | 953 words

They were so compatible, Harry and her. It was why he always came back for more and why she let him. Taking things beyond sex had just never happened.

2) Love Is A Riddle | Explicit | 2219 words

The one where Harry and Louis basically make a sex tape

3) Loopholes | Explicit | 2231 words

Together since high school, Harry and Louis took sacred vows of purity together as a pledge to wait until marriage. They can't have sex, but that doesn't mean they can't do other things.

4) Forever Ain't Half The Time (I Wanna Spend With You) | Explicit | 2634 words

In life, there are very few opportunities for giddy happiness and sickening anxiety to coexist within a single brain.

Over the last seven minutes, Louis has learned that waiting for a pregnancy test to develop is one of those moments.

5) Eating Soft Ice Cream, Coney Island Queen | Mature | 2646 words

Harry thinks Louis is getting herself off in the kitchen (they fuck).

6) New Best Day Of My Life | Not Rated | 2836 words

"Not m’fault you insist on going to sleep like this," he mutters- Louis isn’t sure, but she has a vague suspicion that the words would sound more like an unintelligible grumble to the untrained ear. Louis, though, is an expert in morning Harry-speak.

7) Nothing Else Can Break My Heart Like True Love | Not Rated | 3510 words

Harry leans against the door frame and can't help just looking at her. She fits in with the kitchen so perfectly, small and yet stuffed to the brim with personality. He can see her touch in their mishmash of alphabet magnets and dirty dishes in the sink, in the bowl of fruit on the table and china cat that watches over their stove. It's nothing Harry would've imagined for himself as a kid, but the way the light from the candles reflect off her dark pink silk robe and her light blue eyes, Harry is smitten all over again.

8) I Had A Bad Girl In My Room, Tats All On Her Skin | Explicit | 3542 words

Note: This fic is locked and can only be read by AO3 users.

Written for this prompt: "Harry hands always-a-girl!louis the blunt they've been shotgunning for the past hour, flips the bill of his snapback backwards, and goes down on her til she comes twice."

9) Beside You | Explicit | 3080 words

Harry's in one direction and Louis is his busy girlfriend and they don't have much time left together until they have to go their separate ways again so they make the best of it.

10) Concerning The Moon | Explicit | 4554 words

Louis bleeds once a month. Harry just wants to make her feel good.

11) I Got a Secret That I Want to Show You | Explicit | 4752 words

'She’s not sure of the exact moment she snaps, or if that is what she would call it, more like a slow acceptance that she wants Harry between her thighs'

12) Touch My Neck And I’ll Touch Yours | Mature | 5651 words

The universe only ever works with you, never against you. Loving Harry is actual, legitimate, living proof that good things can still happen to you despite everything you've done to yourself.

13) Dress You Up in My Love | Explicit | 6646 words

Harry wraps his arms around Louis from behind, crossing them over her stomach where there's a gap between her crop top and her skirt. "I like your skirt."

Louis smiles a little. "Yeah?"

She can feel the movement as Harry nods his head. "Yeah. Your bum looks amazing all highlighted in red."

14) Sparking Up My Heart | Mature | 7541 words

Note: This fic is locked and can only be read by AO3 users.

What’s really throwing Louis for a loop here is how she’s literally just suddenly seeing Harry in a whole new light -- someone tall and broad and muscular and sort of really good looking, when she’s not supposed to see him like that. She’s supposed to see him as the clumsy younger boy that she got put in a band with and teases and protects from rude people and sometimes has a cuddle with before bed. Not someone who she wants to fuck her right up against a bloody wall.

15) We Are The Lucky Ones, Dear | Explicit | 8169 words

Harry and Louis were a package deal. As Louis once said, "As goes Haz, so goes my nation," or something like that. She'd been high at the time, so it was between a bunch of other shit that made no sense. The important thing was that it was the two of them against the world and nothing was going to change that.

16) Nothing Else Will Do | Explicit | 9064 words

Louis has never had an orgasm. Harry thinks she deserves one.

17) Girl That You Love | Explicit | 13492 words

Harry and Louis break up, but it's difficult for Harry to wrap his mind around the concept of forever.

18) Can’t Get Enough | Explicit | 16337 words | Sequel

It was supposed to be a week away for Louis to have some peace and quiet.

19) A Simple Twist Of Fate | Explicit | 18380 words

Louis is a successful CEO of a book publishing company. She decides she wants to become a mother, so uses a sperm donor. That sperm donor happens to be Harry Styles, who shows up at Louis' office door a month later to interview with Louis to be her new assistant. Things get complicated.

Check out our other fic rec lists by category here and by title here.

#fic recs #bottom louis #top harry #larry #cis girl louis #cis boy harry #blp fic recs #blp

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thecoleopterawithana · 4 years

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The next night Elliot [Mintz] took us out with a friend of his, Sal Mineo, and we all went to a gay cabaret/discotheque. John was oblivious to the gay ambience. He was curious about everyone's sexuality and liked to gossip about who was sleeping with whom, whether they were gay or straight. John made no judgements about homosexuality but was really curious about who was and who wasn't gay. He knew that his appearance at a gay club might start rumors about his own sexuality, and it made him laugh. He told me that there had been rumors about him and his first manager, Brian Epstein, and that he usually didn't deny them. He liked the fact that people could be titillated by having suspicions about his masculinity. Then I was the one who was laughing. "How could anyone believe a man who likes women as much as you do is gay?" I told him. After the show we went back to Mineo's apartment. I was thirsty, and Mineo told me to look in the refrigerator. There was nothing in it but one big bottle of amyl nitrite. Mineo told John that he knew Ava Gardner. "I'm a real fan of hers. I love Ava," John replied excitedly. Mineo went to the phone, called London, woke Gardner up, and told her that John wanted to speak to her. John took the phone. "Ava, is that you? Ava, I think you're beautiful. I've seen all your movies. Christ, is it really you?" They spoke for five minutes, then a thrilled John handed the phone back to Mineo.

In May Pang’s Loving John (1983).

[Once again, a million thanks to @eppysboys for sending over passages of interest.]

Elliot Mintz (born February 16, 1945) is an American consultant. In the 1960s and early 1970s Mintz was an underground radio DJ and host. In the 1970s he became a spokesperson for John Lennon and Yoko Ono, and took on other musicians and actors as clients as a publicist, including Bob Dylan. [...]

Though not in a professional capacity, since the death of Lennon, Mintz has acted as a spokesperson for the Lennon estate. In addition, while sifting through Lennon's belongings, he discovered hundreds of unreleased tape recordings including half-finished new songs, early versions of famous hits, and idle thoughts. Beginning in 1988, he hosted a weekly syndicated radio series based upon these recordings called The Lost Lennon Tapes, which was broadcast for about four years. After the show came to an end, Mintz began hosting the spinoff radio program The Beatle Years. Mintz has appeared in feature documentaries about Lennon and Yoko Ono, including The U.S. vs. John Lennon, Imagine: John Lennon and The Real Yoko Ono. In 1985 he was a technical advisor on the television film John and Yoko: A Love Story. He also authored an essay about his relationship with them published in 2005 in a book entitled Memories of John Lennon. [Source]

Salvatore Mineo Jr. (January 10, 1939 – February 12, 1976) was an American actor, singer and director. Mineo is best known for his Academy Award-nominated performance as John "Plato" Crawford opposite James Dean in the film Rebel Without a Cause (1955). Mineo also received a Golden Globe Award and an Academy Award nomination for his supporting role in Exodus (1960). A 1950s teen idol, Mineo's acting career declined in his adult years. He was murdered in 1976. [...]

By the early 1960s, Mineo was becoming too old to play the type of role that had made him famous, and his rumoured homosexuality led to his being considered inappropriate for leading roles. [...] In 1969, Mineo returned to the stage to direct a Los Angeles production of the LGBT-themed play Fortune and Men's Eyes (1967), featuring then-unknown Don Johnson as Smitty and himself as Rocky. The production received positive reviews, although its expanded prison rape scene was criticized as excessive and gratuitous. [...] By 1976, Mineo's career had begun to turn around. While playing the role of a bisexual burglar in a series of stage performances of the comedy P.S. Your Cat Is Dead in San Francisco, Mineo received substantial publicity from many positive reviews; he moved to Los Angeles along with the play.

Mineo met English-born actress Jill Haworth on the set of the film Exodus in 1960, in which they portrayed young lovers. Mineo and Haworth were together on-and-off for many years. They were engaged to be married at one point. According to Mineo biographer Michael Gregg Michaud, Haworth cancelled the engagement after she caught Mineo engaging in sexual relations with another man. The two did remain very close friends until Mineo's death. [...] While some have described Haworth as being nothing but a close friend and a "beard" to Mineo to conceal his same-sex partners, Michaud casts doubt upon this claim; he asserts that Mineo and Haworth's relationship was genuine, that Mineo fell in love with Haworth, and that Mineo regarded her as one of the important people in his life. [Source]

“Portrait of a Marriage really disturbed [John]. The book was an account of the fifty-year marriage of Vita Sackville-West and Harold Nicholson, both of whom were bisexual and continually unfaithful to each other, yet were able to evolve a relationship of great depth and longevity despite the incompleteness of their marriage. John was very distressed by the theme of sexual incompatibility in the midst of great emotional attraction and the fact that no matter how hard one tries, a marriage may always remain incomplete.”

In a 1972 interview with Boze Hadleigh, Mineo discussed his bisexuality. At the time of his death, he was in a six-year relationship with male actor Courtney Burr III. [Source]

BH: Who are those two girls you mentioned, for a double date?

SM: (Laughs.) Are you kidding? I got a girl in every port- and a couple of guys in every port, too.

BH: Do you think rumors about being bi have hurt you in your career?

SM: Maybe. . . Nah, I doubt it. Everyone's got those rumors following him around, whether it's true or not. Everyone's supposed to be bi, starting way back with Gary Cooper and on through Brando and Clift and Dean and Newman and . . . you want me to stop?

BH: Did you resent the rumors?

SM: Well, no. Because what's wrong with being bi? Maybe most people are, deep down.

BH: Shirley MacLaine has publicly said that.

SM: I think she's right- got a good noodle, Shirl does. But anyhow, the rumor about me, from what I hear, was usually that I'm gay. Where, like, with Monty Clift or Brando, the rumor was that they're bi. [Brando later publicly admitted to bisexuality.]

— Boze Hadleigh’s interview with Sal Mineo (1972).

“John and I had a big talk about it, saying, basically, all of us must be bisexual. And we were sort of in a situation of thinking that we’re not [bisexual] because of society. So we are hiding the other side of ourselves, which is less acceptable. But I don’t have a strong sexual desire towards another woman.”

Have you ever? “Not really, not sexually.”

One online satire imagined an affair between Ono and Hillary Clinton.

“It’s great,” Ono laughs. “I mean, both John and I thought it was good that people think we were bisexual, or homosexual.” She laughs again.

What about that old rumor that Lennon had sex with Beatles manager Brian Epstein (which was also the subject of the 1991 film, The Hours and The Times)?

Lennon himself said: “Well, it was almost a love affair, but not quite. It was never consummated. But it was a pretty intense relationship.” Later, Lennon’s friend Pete Shotton said Lennon had told him that he had allowed Epstein to “toss [wank] him off.”

“Uh, well, the story I was told was a very explicit story, and from that I think they didn’t have it [sex],” Ono tells me.

— in Yoko Ono: I Still Fear John’s Killer by Tim Teeman for the Daily Beast (13 October 2015).

Q. Have you ever fucked a guy?

A. Not yet, I thought I’d save it til I was 40, life begins at 40 you know, tho I never noticed it.

Q. It is trendy to be bisexual and you’re usually ‘keeping up with the Jones’, haven’t you ever… there was talk about you and PAUL…

A. Oh, I thought it was about me and Brian Epstein… anyway, I’m saving all the juice for my own version of THE REAL FAB FOUR BEATLES STORY etc.. etc..

Q. It seems like you’re saving quite a lot for when you’re 40…

A. Yes, there might be nothing better to do, tho I don’t believe it.

— John Lennon, interview conducted by/on John Lennon, and/or Dr Winston O’boogie, for Andy Warhol’s Interview Magazine (November 1974).

John: [...] I was trying to put it 'round that I was gay, you know– I thought that would throw them off… dancing at all the gay clubs in Los Angeles, flirting with the boys… but it never got off the ground.

Q: I think I’ve only heard that lately about Paul.

John: Oh, I’ve had him, he’s no good. [Laughter]

— John Lennon, interviewed by Lisa Robinson for Hit Parader: A conversation with John Lennon (December 1975).

Like other alkyl nitrites, amyl nitrite is bioactive in mammals, being a vasodilator, which is the basis of its use as a prescription medicine. As an inhalant, it also has a psychoactive effect, which has led to its recreational use with its smell being described as that of old socks or dirty feet. It is also referred to as banapple gas. [Source]

Popper is a slang term given broadly to drugs of the chemical class called alkyl nitrites that are inhaled. [...] Popper use has a relaxation effect on involuntary smooth muscles, such as those in the throat and anus. It is used for practical purposes to facilitate anal sex by increasing blood flow and relaxing sphincter muscles, initially within the gay community.

"If you trace the bottle of amyl (a type of alkyl nitrite) through late 20th century history, you trace the legacies of gay culture on popular culture in the 20th century”

The drug is also used or for recreational drug purposes, typically for the "high" or "rush" that the drug can create.

Poppers were part of club culture from the mid-1970s disco scene and returned to popularity in the 1980s and 1990s rave scene. [Source]

“A cable had arrived for him that very morning stating the obvious: ‘Come too quickly. Stop. Try again. Stop. Am waiting in Paris. Stop me if you’ve heard it. Stop. Stuff yourself with artichokes and live. Stop. Don’t stop. Stop.’ He knew it was from Amie L'Nitrate.”

— in John Lennon’s unfinished story about a sudden rendezvous in Paris. Published in “Skywriting By Word Of Mouth”.

Ava Lavinia Gardner (December 24, 1922 – January 25, 1990) was an American actress and singer. [...] Gardner appeared in several high-profile films from the 1940s to 1970s [...] She is listed 25th among the American Film Institute's 25 Greatest Female Stars of Classic Hollywood Cinema.

Answered asks about:

John’s sexuality

Yoko and his sister Julia’s public statements about John’s sexuality

John "trying to put it ‘round that” he was gay

The Bob Wooler Episode

The Tony Manero Story

[Disclaimer: The answer to these asks represent my personal opinion at the time, which is liable to have evolved since then.]

#John Lennon #May Pang #Elliot Mintz #Sal Mineo #Brian Epstein #Ava Gardner #i'm not a homosexual or we could have had a homosexual relationship #it's only love and that is all #He could be a real soft sweetie #the lost weekend #johnny #1974 #quote #compilation #my stuff #(I added the links to other asks about his sexuality because it apparently is a topic of great interest)#(As exemplified by the number of asks I received about it)#(Ft. notions about sexuality being tied to masculinity and May not considering the option of bisexuality)#(And an emphasis put on John's curiosity about who was and wasn't gay)

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emichelle · 4 years

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My Only Wish

Maxwell x Erin

Warnings: language, I have a problem.

This is my entry for @leelee10898 12 Days of Christmas fics! We’re on Day 6 guys and gals!

My song was My Only Wish (This Year) - Britney Spears Merry Christmas everybody, hope you enjoy!!

Erin sat in the floor of her and Maxwell's bedroom, wrapping paper and bows littered the floor all around her. She had tape stuck to her legs and arms, a big red bow stuck on top of her head, singing Christmas songs as she wrapped presents.

“I want a hippopotamus for Christmas, only a hippopotamus will dooooo! Don't want a doll, no dinky tinker toy, I want a hippopotamus to play with and enjoy!”

She continued wrapping a train set up for Bartie with Thomas the Train wrapping paper, sticking a pretty blue bow on top. I've already got my own hippopotamus to play with and enjoy, smirking to herself as she grabbed the next gift to wrap. A bath set for Savannah, worst sister-in-law ever. She rolled her eyes, wrapping that up in some purple glitter foil paper, the kind you can't tear for anything, and a red bow. She doesn't get to have a matching bow. Snickering she slid it over to the pile of already wrapped gifts.

“Have a merry, merry, merry fricken Christmas! I must be on Santa Claus' shit list! The tree, the gifts, the mistletoe kiss! Shoot, me now, I'm sick of all my relatives!”

Sliding the next gift over for wrapping and smiling to herself. Red and gold Gryffindor pumps for Gen, you're welcome Rashad. All wrapped up in gift wrap with little Harry Paw-ter cats and topped with a golden bow. Next was Anitah's, she was going to love this. A pair of Gryffindor feety pajamas! These are so cute, I need to get me some but ya know...Ravenclaw. Wrapping those in the same Harry Paw-ter paper but topping it with a red bow. She slid both of those to the side and leaned back against the foot of the bed.

“Have a holly, jolly Christmas. And when you walk down the street, say hello to friends you know, and everyone you meet!”

“Well I better get back to work so I can get this done before Max gets home. I've still got to think of something for him.” Grabbing a big, squishy Amazon package she opened it revealing a super fluffy throw blanket with a raven on it. Those of wit and learning will always find their kind. Pam is going to love this! Happily wrapping it in the Harry Paw-ter paper and topping it with a blue bow. Alicia's was her last one to wrap today and she was super excited about this one! A whole crate of JJ's Caramel Apple Pies! She's going to flip, she loves these things. She grabbed the beautiful festive paper for this one, with little santas and snowmen on it, and topped it off with a green bow.

“We could leave the Christmas lights up 'til January. This is our place, we make the rules. And there's a dazzling haze, a mysterious way about you, dear. Have I known you twenty seconds or twenty years?”

“Dammit Alicia you got this song stuck in my head, I was trying to be festive. Well, that's everybody's for right now, but I really need to think of something for Max. He deserves the world, I've got to give him something special.” Just then she heard footsteps and the unmistakable sound of Maxwell singing to himself.

"Santa can you hear me? I have been so good this year"

Is he singing Britney Spears?

"And all I want is one thing, tell me my true love is near!"

Yep, that's definitely Britney bitch.

"She's all I want, just for me, underneath my Christmas tree. I'll be waiting here, Santa that's my only wish this year!"

Only wish huh?

The following day was Christmas Eve, they had both stayed busy gathering last minute gifts and having a video Christmas with her family back home.

"I'm gonna hop in the shower real quick babe, then we can watch Christmas movies if you want. I even got the stuff for hot chocolate!" He waggled his eyebrows as he smiled at her before heading to the bathroom.

I really want to join him in the shower...NO...mission HoHo is a go. No time for that! She jumped up, grabbing a bag from under her side of the bed and changing into the red lace and mesh babydoll with an open front, and a matching pair of red lace boy shorts. Sitting beside the tree she grabbed a bow and stuck it on top of her head, scrambling to finish as she heard the shower cut off.

Max walked back into the room, boxers slung low on his hips and his hair still slightly dripping. Why does he have to be so distracting right now? She subtly licked her lips and smiled when he turned to look at her, eyes widening at her outfit.

"Well what do we have here?" He quirked an eyebrow, smirking before approaching his wife, kneeling down in front of her.

"You said you wanted your true love under the Christmas tree, here we are!" She smirked, holding her arms out.

“I can’t believe you heard that!” He laughed, “This is the best gift I could’ve gotten babe.” placing his hand on her crossed leg and rubbing his thumb over her smooth skin.

“But this isn’t even the good part.” she smiled, hand reaching behind her back to pull something out and lay it across her protruding belly.

His eyes widened, a smile spreading across his face as he let out a small huffed laugh.

"No way...you were right?" He couldn't shake the smile from his face as his fingers traced the design. "This is beautiful."

"Just like she's going to be beautiful." His eyes finally met hers, so much love shining in them that her breath caught in her throat.

He leaned forward, pressing a kiss to her forehead, "I love you so much." Then leaned down to press a kiss against her belly, "and I love you so, so much little girl."

She placed her hands on his cheeks, running her thumbs across his cheekbones, leaning in to kiss him sweetly and whisper against his lips "Your girls love you so much more, daddy. Merry Christmas." This time it was him who leaned in to kiss her, slow and deep.

“I definitely got more than I could’ve ever wished for with you, and this is only the beginning.”

“You’re always gonna be my Christmas wish Max.”

Santa can you hear me? I have been so good this year And all I want is one thing Tell me my true love is near He's all I want, just for me Underneath my Christmas tree I'll be waiting here Santa that's my only wish this year

@hopefulmoonobject @allaboutchoices @zaffrenotes @cordoniantrash @burnsoslow @fromthedeskofpaisleybleakmore @msjr0119 @texaskitten30 @janezillow @the-soot-sprite @mskaneko @blackcatkita @darley1101 @thecordoniandiaries @speedyoperarascalparty @ao719 @leelee10898 @cocomaxley @annekebbphotography @brightpinkpeppercorn @drakeandcamilleofvaltoria @theroyalweisme @alj4890 @bbrandy2002 @cordoniansgonewild @god-save-the-keen @debramcg1106 @dangerouseggseagleartisan @innerpostmentality @beardedoafdonutwagon @desiree-0816 @addictedtodrakefanfic @rainbowsinthestorm

#12 days of ficmas #Max x Erin #emichelle #cgw guest

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morphituu · 5 years

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Milagro

Chapter 14: “Goodbyes”

Ch: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5 - 6 - 7 - 8 - 9 - 10 - 11 - 12 - 13

2 Months Later

She was taping another box stuffed to its limit when the glittering piano loop started droning through the house, stirring a long sigh from Callie before her head dropped back, waiting.

“Why’re men great ‘til they gotta be great?” came Nick’s voice carrying from the kitchen.

“Again with the song,” she intoned, looking back down at the box she was securing with packing tape. She could hear the twisting of the ice trays before dropping cubes in glasses, all the while singing to himself as he prepared drinks.

She did her best to ignore the song, it having been the thousandth time she’d heard the tune in only a weeks time, and she even made extra loops around boxes with the tape so the tearing of it drowned out some of the noise still coming in.

A tall glass of cold tea popped up beside her along with Nick, a sheepish grin meeting her when she looked up suspiciously, again waiting. She sipped, her eyes fluttering when the cold drink washed away some of the stifling heat that made its way under her sweaty skin in the spare room they’d spent all of the muggy morning cleaning out.

“That’s good,” she groused, pushing her glasses up to press the chilled cup to her flushed cheek. The ceiling fan above them did nothing to help, only pushing around the stuffy air even as the breeze swept across her damp arms and stomach she’d lifted her shirt from some time ago. As soon as the warm weather had hit LA, wearing anything over her sizable stomach had simply become bothersome, resulting in sports bras and boy shorts being her new go-to.

“You coulda had a bad bitch, noncommittal,” Nick started up again, swaying his hips in time with his side to side bounces behind her after he’d taken off his own soaked shirt, leaving him in old jeans.

“Oh my god Nick,”

“Help you with you career, just a little,” he went on, picking up the box she’d finished packing and dancing it out of the room.

“How do you have so much energy?” she whined, arching into her hands that pressed into the achy crook of her spine.

“Cuz I get to see my baby today,” Nick came back in with a wide smile and shimmying shoulders that coaxed a reluctant grin onto Callie’s lips before he dipped behind her to wrap his brawny arms under her bust and shoulders.

“Nooo, we’re all sweaty,” she griped, ultimately melting in his arms when he only squeezed tighter. He swayed her gently as he mumbled soft words of delight in regards to her scent after pressing his nose against her neck, reminding her how much he liked when she was sweaty. It made her groan, her head landing back against his chest while his hands wandered down her sides.

“You’re getting so big,” he admired, trailing the full curve of her stomach even when she groaned in discomfort.

“If anyone else said that I’d tear their kneecaps out,” she mumbled bitterly, stirring a throaty chuckle from Nick. “C’mon, we gotta get this done,” she tried wiggling from his hold.

“We don’t have to finish it today,” he reminded, reluctantly letting go after nibbling her bare shoulder playfully.

“But wouldn’t it be nice to come home and set up the crib?” she questioned, grunting when she hoisted up another box to sort through.

“Will you stop with the heavy lifting?” he barked, taking the box from her.

“If you’d stop dancing around and help me with this I wouldn’t have to,” she pointed out, but he only mocked her, flinching from the slap against his arm. “We should look at storage units after the appointment today, I don’t know where we’ll find space to put all of this,” she exhaled, holding her cheeks as her eyes roamed over the various belongings they’d both stuffed into the room through the years.

“Hey,” he took a step backwards with another crate of junk in his arms. “Don’t stress, if push comes to shove I can throw stuff out,”

“What- no! We just need to organize it,” she reasoned, and although it took a moment, she finally understood his little grin once her own words really sank into the growing anxiousness collecting in her chest. She was thinking too far ahead again when all the could do was just sort and toss; worry about the now, not the future, he’d say.

“You’re not feelin’ it today, are you?” he asked, and she shook her head.

“It’s hot, and Leo has been lunging since like, three AM and the braxton hicks,” she trailed off, holding her hand over her eyes, swaying side to side to calm the ever erratic Leo.

“Let’s just finish this later then. Go take a shower and relax ‘til we have to leave,” he tried.

“I just wanna get it done so we don’t have to come back to it. Please? I know I’ve been a cranky bitch all morning, I’m sorry, but can we just get this over with?” she plead, her chin bumping his shoulder.

Nick sighed. “Are you sure you don’t need to sit down?”

“I promise I’m fine, I just need a shower when this is all done,”

He pursed his lips, looking her up and down once. She really didn’t show any signs of physical stress besides being bugged by the heat. “Alright, let’s get this done.”

They’d started at the crack of dawn, and by noon managed to clear the cluttered room enough to uncover and open the window at the far end of the room, both of them sighing in pleasure when the cool breeze from outside at last drifted in. There were boxes upon boxes stacked over bags, most of which ended up piled around the garbage outside, but the more important items were neatly organized and restacked under the patio in preparation to be taken to storage, whenever that would be.

Nick tugged in the wide, heavy box containing Leo’s crib as she finished vacuuming the plush carpet that had been almost untouched since he’d first moved in nearly a decade ago, moving aside so he could prop it under the window.

“Didn’t realize how big it is in here,” she grunted while sitting at the center of the floor, her legs outstretched and leaning back on her hands.

“Should be able to put a dresser and rocker in here, too,” Nick estimated, sitting beside her.

Callie hummed, looking at all the corners and blank walls. “Now what color?”

“Blue?”

She snorted. “Boring,”

“It’s a boy color,” he argued.

“It’s not Leo though,” she explained, head tilting. “I feel golden-brown,”

“You gonna want it to be glittery too?” he teased, but she smacked his thigh with the back of her hand. An agonized groan brought his eyes to her, watching as her back tensed and her toes curled. “Bad one?”

“They’re not bad, just annoying when they stack up like that all day. It’s worse at work with those awful chairs,”

“Speaking of, you’re supposed to be on maternity leave already,” he confronted, shooting her a vexxed glare.

“I’m waiting as long as possible, you know I get stir crazy,” she mumbled.

“Is it worth that though?” he pointed out when another cramp seized her concentration.

“It’s only another week, calm down,” she waved his concern away, imitating his chuff when he fired one at her. She was getting better at that.

“It’s hard just watching you walk around on those heels sometimes,”

“I’ve seen moms keep going at 40 weeks and not complain, I’m fine at 28,”

“How many of them were high risk though, you stubborn mule?” he teased, but she only giggled and grinned, appreciative of his sympathy, but he probably didn’t realise that although the chairs at work caused her stressed back further misery, she did a lot more sitting than walking around during the day, so the heels were the least of her worries.

A strong kick outwards prompted a wince and soft grunt, her hand falling to her stomach. “Someone’s awake,”

“I saw that one,” Nick grinned, poking the spot he’d seen a foot or elbow, or maybe even a knee push out. He found great enjoyment in pressing the spots across her stomach Leo pushed first, sometimes getting a little shove from the same spot.

“Okay you two, enough,” she slapped his hand away, Nick springing up to help her stand when she struggled onto her knees. “The shower is calling me.”

Callie waddled her way to the bathroom after Nick told her he’d be in the back for a bit. She stripped the sweaty bra and shorts off, running her fingers through her shaggy undercut with a sound of displeasement before letting her long hair down from its lopsided bun.

The water remained cold once she stepped under the stream, both shivering and moaning when it bled across her scalp. The sweat and dust caked on her skin and hands washed away as she scrubbed the luscious bubbles across herself, her jaw even hanging open in bliss when she scrubbed her scalp heatedly.

When she finished shaving her legs- with some difficulty- she glanced downwards, taken aback when she remembered she couldn’t even see her feet anymore.

Callie huffed, placing the razor back in the shower caddy.

I need to get waxed.

The cold shower left her feeling the warmth lingering in the house again once she padded her way to their room, dropping the towel around her feet and beginning her ritual of bathing in lotion and cocoa butter.

She’d managed to keep the stretch marks that still grew dully along her stomach and hips mostly at bay, but with every week that Leo grew rapidly, the more they started to show across her tanned skin like scars. Generous palmfuls of the body butter was lathered into her skin, even across her breasts and ass where she could see the evidence of further weight gain her resilient cravings caused.

She turned before the mirror to make sure she covered the crow across her back in goo evenly before moving onto the heartagrams down her sides, but slowly stopped the longer she stared at her reflection.

Often, even before Nick, she’d stared at her form and wondered what she would look like in late pregnancy, daydreaming how kicks felt and if the pregnancy glow really existed. To now be blessed enough that it only took a small lift of her hand to feel her own baby flutter beneath her fingers sometimes left her in awe, amazed that her once temperamental body now chose to support life.

She held her hair up, overlooking everything from her chin down to her toes; her swollen toes, that was.

Callie didn’t think herself to be otherworldly, maybe decent at best, but even she could admit her body took to pregnancy well compared to others. She’d avoided the breakouts early on and even though some days she grew pale from the nausea, her skin was soft and supple from all the lotion she caked on daily. The Orkish prenatals had made her waves luscious, cascading around her shoulders and back when she dropped her locks.

Her arms wrapped loosely around herself, lifting a knee onto her tippy toes and turning to gaze at the side profile of her curved, pregnant body; a pose she often took when sending photos to Nick to torture him while he worked.

But even now basking in the thin stream of sunlight coming in, inspecting every new pound that widened her hips or filled out her ass, she felt good; there was nothing she’d change about herself in this moment.

“Should I get naked too?”

She scoffed before even turning to find Nick leaned in the doorway and stunningly shirtless with his jeans riding low on his hips, but the Clumbasters hid his hungry eyes.

“You need to shower,” she directed weakly with a wide smile, butterflies erupting in her gut when he was already placing his sunglasses down and sauntering up to her.

He was careful not to brush her shimmering skin when he leaned down to capture her mouth in a soft kiss, but he couldn’t, just couldn’t stop from touching her when the soft whispers grew heated and the yearn he’d felt spike in his chest upon finding her naked before the mirror skyrocketed.

It started at her face, his thumbs tracing under her heavy eyes when he kissed her how she loved; deep ones, his tongue teasing her parted lips until she was inclining to chase his mouth. After that, neither of them cared how clean she was or how sweaty and coated in dirt he was.

The throaty whine she emitted provoked his own soft groan, looping an arm around her waist when her weight shifted against him.

She turned boneless in his embrace, pressing hungry kisses into his collar as he moved her hair aside to ravish her throat in soft bites and sucks, greedily digging his fingers into her bare ass cheek when she stroked his growing cock through the jeans.

A resonating growl blossomed in his chest, her essence dizzying him with every deep inhale or taste of her tongue. He was already so fucking drunk on her that he had to blink away the fog before his eyes, his body rigid with anticipation, wanting to sink his dick into her until he found the back of her pussy.

“You’re going into heat soon, aren’t you?” she breathed, her damp hair tossed around her face and following his steps as he moved her back towards the bed. Nick smirked; he smelled the spike in her arousal when she asked.

“Maybe,” he growled, but he knew two days ago it was coming. He’d woken up flushed and rock-hard with no recollection of any dreams to have caused it, but upon passing their calendar besides the door, it made sense once taking note of the days marked ahead of time.

Even if Callie wasn’t on her monthly cycle, his body was, and still wanted to breed.

He lowered her carefully, his mouth detaching from her nipple with an audible pop so he could press wet kisses under her chin, pulling her knees from beneath him.

“A quickie,” she exhaled, her touch fluttering across his shoulders.

“Uh-huh,” he mumbled into her lips, moving to drag his mouth down between her breasts.

“Nooo,” she lamented, trying to pull him back up, but he pinned her hands down as he grinned deviously up at her, running his cheek down her stomach. “You’re gonna see my double chins!”

“Not with my face in your pussy,” he growled, sending a flush across her cheeks and goosebumps down her sides.

He fucking loved when a calf came to rest across his shoulder blade after maneuvering over her stomach and between her thighs, kissing her clit before spreading her lips. He salivated as he admired her glistening sex, his painfully hard dick twitching in the uncomfortable confines of his jeans.

When his hot tongue lapped at her, sucking gently against her clit as he purred, a desperate cry cracked in her throat, his arms curling around her thighs to keep her still. He listened intently to the way she sobbed his name, smiling when he found a luscious spot and her thighs closed around his head.

“Dame más.” She gasped. Nick grinned against her cunt.

Fuck the quickie.

↠

Callie elbowed him after the other Orc stepped out of the elevator, their brief exchange having not gone unnoticed by her.

She knew as soon as they stepped on that he’d smell it on Callie; Nick’s seed left deep inside her, the indication even sharper since he’d gone into heat. Forget the baby he’d stuck in her- Orcs would smell the fresh fucking above anything. She’d also caught Nick puffing his chest, his arm sliding from her shoulders to around her neck.

“Don’t you think the stomach already proves you fucked me?” she asked lowly once they were alone, but he snorted.

“Still good to let ‘em know who does the fucking.” He smiled cockily, earning a roll of her eyes as the elevator opened to their floor.

He eased up on the Orkish displays as they entered the waiting room filled only with humans and found their seats after picking up the same, extensive check-in forms she’d nearly memorized by heart. Nick looked on lazily until she finished, both of them looking around at the many sets of eyes staring at them curiously before disregarding them and pulling their phones out.

Callie frowned at her screen, bumping Nick’s elbow.

“Look at Yareli,” she handed over the phone to show him Patricia’s two month old, chubby cheeked with dark eyes and a full head of hair grinning gummily at the camera.

“Oh God,” Nick said affectionately, zooming in to see how her round cheeks narrowed her almond eyes.

“She’s so cute,” Callie sighed, pouting before she closed the photo and responded to Rosie.

“You wanna see her, don’t you?” he asked, his chin rested in his palm.

Callie nodded, pursing her lips. “But Trish is back to hating me,”

“What’s it this time?”

“Fuck if I know,” she exhaled, adjusting in her seat and twirling her hair over the opposite shoulder, then fixing her tight, twisted tank dress around her stomach. “Why did I decide on this dress?”

“It’s easier to pull up dresses than push down pants,” he recited as he skimmed Facebook.

She only grumbled, finally finding a favorable spot that was with his hand between her thighs so she could lean comfortably on his stretched arm, watching the videos he scrolled through.

“I wonder how Dura is doing,” she mentioned.

“Well they’re home already,”

“Yeah but I know what it’s like seeing your boyfriend all mangled in a hospital bed,”

He shrugged. “He wasn’t mangled though,”

Callie flicked his hand. “She broke seven of his ribs,”

“The burns too,” he shuddered, recalling the poor condition Sergey had been in when they last visited.

Callie’s arms were already open once they’d stepped through the heavy hospital door, squeezing Dura tightly when she melted into her embrace.

“How’re you doing? Are you eating okay?” Callie questioned, pulling back to rub Dura’s arms.

“It’s hospital food, but it’s still food,” she sniffled, wiping her eyes.

“I brought some food that the nurses said you could keep in the fridge, okay? You need to keep your meals up for that little one,” Callie insisted, holding the sides of her small belly that had just started to show at a surprising three weeks along.

Dura smiled weakly, moving to hug Nick when he came at her with open arms too before they followed her through the shared hall and into Sergey’s room.

“What the hell happened to you two?” Sergey rasped, propped up with a multitude of pillows and gown open to let the ointment spread across the shallow burns over his chest and face. Callie retracted quicker than she meant after leaning over to give him a careful hug and kiss on the cheek, glancing at Nick.

“Yeah I was going to say, you two look like you were in a car accident,” Dura pointed out, motioning towards the overall mangled appearance Nick and Callie had walked in with.

“We were at that explosion on 31st,” Callie beat Nick to one of the poorly constructed excuses that was piecing together in his head.

“Really? How close? I’m surprised you two didn’t see Sergey there,” Dura’s swollen eyes widened.

“Yeah, how close?” Sergey piped, his lips mashed together in a riled scowl and glaring at Nick.

Thankfully Dura missed his temperamental tone, instead making herself busy trying to declutter the room they’d been stuck in for two weeks already, but Callie’s insistence that she relax eventually halted her frantic efforts as Nick found a seat on Sergey’s other side.

“How much longer are you in for?” Nick asked.

“Until I can take care of these at home. That explosion really fucked me up,” he emphasized his words with a hard stare, but Nick could only show his apologetic look partially; they were under contract not to talk about this shit and here Sergey was being… Sergey.

Callie sensed the boiling temper. “Do you have to do the breathing exercises? Nick hated those when he broke his ribs,” she tried, Nick nodding fervently when she eyed him.

Sergey only chuffed, staring blankly at the TV even as Dura leaned towards him in confusion, her hairless brows knit together.

“How’re you feeling? How’s the baby?” Callie distracted her quickly too, and for a second time Nick exhaled lowly in relief, running his hands down his face.

“Oh- I’m good, it’s good, I’ve just been kind of side-tracked lately so I haven’t really… thought about it,” she trailed off, pulling on her earlobe nervously.

“You’ll be amazed at how often you can forget that when it’s attached to you,” Callie smiled, the two giggling.

When Sergey remained unmoving, and expressionless, Nick slyly motioned his head towards the door and Callie nodded.

“Hey let’s go get some lunch, our treat! We’ll bring something back for the guys, yeah?” Callie asked Dura, already standing and pulling her along despite Dura looking back at Sergey in concern.

“Don’t let him get up, Nick!” Dura called, pushing into her slippers and grabbing her sweater as Callie ushered her out of the door.

It wasn’t until he heard the second door latch did Nick scoop the remote up and turn the TV off, forcing Sergey to look at him even if the stare was bitter.

“I’m sorry,” Nick said first, sincerely, but Sergey shook his head. “I never thought you would be a part of this,”

“I don’t even know what all of this is!” he hissed, wincing when his ribs spasmed. “They told me nothing about her and instead swore me to secrecy or my life is thrown away with it’s key!”

“It’s best if you don’t know about any of it-”

“How can you say that when I was attacked? By that psycho?”

Sergey’s usually vibrant eyes were dismal, full of betrayal, and Nick swallowed his words, dropping his head. He was right.

“I was left there until someone found me-” his voice shook, looking away. Nick waited patiently, his eyes averted as his young partner wiped his eyes crudely against his shoulder with a few sniffles. He well understood the sinking hopelessness of staring up at the night sky, completely consumed with the reality that you were going to die alone. “I couldn’t even tell Dura. All she does it stay awake with me and barely eats now. Because of all of this she doesn’t remember she’s pregnant,”

Nick nodded; what words of advice could he offer when he knew Callie would have acted the same no matter how insistent he was she take better care of herself?

“You and Callie obviously weren’t at the explosion,” Sergey cleared his throat, carefully adjusting the pillows under his arms.

“No,” Nick sighed. “We were taken, with Ward, chased down by two more Brights. Callie was almost killed, we all were,” he confessed, his temple resting in his palm.

Sergey looked at him in surprise. “What?”

Nick nodded, the recollection of their ordeal still not far enough away for his liking. “It was absolute hell, but I’m sorry you were ever sucked into it, I really am,”

Sergey’s face scrunched, his temperment lessening. “What happened? To… to them? The Brights?”

“If MTF came here then you know we can’t talk about it, even to us, so don’t. Don’t let Dura know about this because it won’t happen again, trust me,” Nick lied through his reassurance even though Sergey still wasn’t satisfied with such a vague response.

“How would I even tell her anything when I know nothing?” he muttered.

Nick nodded again. “I’m really sorry Sergey. I tried to keep it under wraps but… I’m just sorry,”

Sergey ran his tongue over his clipped tusks much like Nick did when he was contemplating, and eventually shrugged, grabbing for the remote again. “You owe me lunches for a year, old man.”

Nick scoffed in addition to a long exhale of relief; he’d come in thinking Sergey was going to be the one that would be tossed away after showing reluctance, and had ultimately expected some disdain after what Nick had accidentally involved him in, but now he could relax. There was no need to get into specifics, because even though Sergey knew not of the extensive trauma he and Callie had been through, he’d had his own share and was sworn to keep the same secrets, and that was it.

“They’ll be okay,” Nick reassured, squeezing her thigh.

“Yeah I hope so,” Callie pouted, her chin resting on his shoulder, her line of sight roaming. “One of them could be the tail, huh?”

Nick too looked up, discreetly observing the many couples and mothers to be occupying the waiting room. “Could be,”

“Why would they send a pregnant one?”

“Could be a fake stomach,”

She looked at him in horror, provoking a low chuckle from Nick. “They’d do that?”

“If it means preserving their cover, then yeah I think they’d do that,” he frowned, watching her expression convey the pieces connecting in her head.

“I’m suddenly really uncomfortable,” she mumbled.

“Flores?”

They both turned at the call of her name, Nick jumping up to gently pull her from her seat. “I guess we’ll know if one of them follows us into the exam.”

“My hands are cold, I’m sorry in advance,” Callie’s doctor expressed before she started palpating her round stomach. She tensed more so from the extra pressure put on her bladder, her thighs tightening.

“She’s ticklish, watch out,” Nick mocked.

“How can you not be being poked around like this? Ahh, he’s head down now,” Dr. Sangui’s eyes moved in various directions as her hands were left to do all the imaging.

“Is that bad?”

“Not at all. He won’t be breech, which is good- we don’t want butts coming out first,”

“Doesn’t that also mean I’m gonna pop soon?” Callie asked cautiously, alerting Nick into a straighter position.

“It could, but babies can flip down as early as two months in advance so don’t solely rely on this little spin,” Dr. Sangui winked at Nick who’s shoulders were slowly relaxing.

“We still have stuff to buy,” he grieved.

“Oh I think you still have time for that- oh! Looks like someone is waking up,” she laughed, her finger following the movement under Callie’s skin.

“He seems to act up when we start talking,” Callie noted.

“Well he can hear you two by now, he’ll definitely recognize your voices when he’s born,”

“Really?” Nick perked up again, his eyes full of wonder.

“Come talk to him, I bet he’ll kick,” Dr. Sangui encouraged as she stepped away to wheel the ultrasound machine over.

Nick scampered over quickly from his seat, leaning in close to her stomach. “Leo? Leonardo Makar, do lat daggog alnej?” he sang, and when an enthusiastic punch bumped Nick’s chin, he beamed up at Callie.

“So it’s not a coincidence that he jumps around when he hears you talk,” Callie realized, and Nick’s smile only grew.

“I love you too mausan liavavle ni,” he declared softly, quickly pecking her stomach before moving back to his chair as the lights dimmed and the doctor returned with the machine.

It seemed as soon as Nick wasn’t there to lull Leo that he was unwilling to cooperate, as was the norm when trying to get a clear image of the elusive little one during ultrasounds. He spun and hid, kicking Callie in retaliation when they tried nudging him the other way.

“And, there’s your big guy,” Dr. Sangui smiled after Leo finally settled enough for her to position the probe for a perfect side profile just as his little hands had rose to rub over his face.

“Oh c’mon, I wanna see who’s nose he’s gonna have,” Callie grinned.

“He’s gonna show us at his debut,” Nick cooed warmly, absently toying with Callie’s hand as he watched Leo wiggle and nudge in his ever shrinking space.

“You’re just worried he’s gonna look more like me,”

“Damn right I am,”

“Ahh don’t be,” Dr. Sangui started as she handed Callie her scans and a towel to dry her stomach. “The father’s genes are more dominant in Orc human offspring,”

“So my nose, your color,” Callie teased.

“What if he’s your color and my nose?” Nick pondered, admittedly a little bewildered imagining a pale Orc. “I’ve never seen a human colored one before,”

“There’s been albinos, it’s actually common in halflings,”

Nick and Callie looked at one another, both of them recognizing the concern brimming their eyes.

“Okay!” she clasped her hands together. “Let’s see your kick counter.”

↠

Callie groaned below her breath, leaning back into her hand and swaying side to side even if it did little to ease the discomfort in her back and legs. The line was expectantly long, and with the woman up front chattering before they collected their bags- some ordering fifteen kilos worth of fresh, warm tortillas- had left Callie in line for close to forty five minutes and beginning to wonder where Nick had run off to in the cramped market seconds before he popped back up.

“Took you all that time to find that?” she asked, eyeing the cucumbers and Takis.

“I was looking at the pork shoulder, sassy,” he shot back, already knowing to curl his arms around her shoulders so she could lean back against his chest.

“Craving carnitas?” she sighed, letting her head fall back against his chest.

He hummed, his cheek against her temple and swaying them gently. The longer he beared some of her weight, the more the discomfort rolled off until it was tolerable, but the line was at a standstill with one of the customers asking for six bags.

Callie groaned. “We should’ve gone to Sawaya,”

“We can still go,”

“I don’t wanna lose my spot in line,” she snapped. When Nick didn’t respond, she exhaled slowly. “I’m sorry,”

“What’s up? You’ve been edgy since we left the doctors office,”

She shrugged, but still answered, “I keep thinking about what she said- about halflings coming out albino,”

Nick shifted a little, moving his chin atop her head. “Would you be upset if he came out albino?”

“Not in the way I wouldn’t love him, but more he’s going to be teased. Does it bother you?” she asked, looking up at him.

“No, never. I mean- I always worry about him being teased because… you know, but no matter how he comes out, that’s my boy, my kid. There’s not even a chance I’d ever consider skipping out if anything was wrong with him,” Nick promised, holding tighter when she wiggled closer to him. “Did I give the impression I wouldn’t be in this if that were the case?”

“No baby, I just worry. I’ve had experience with babies and toddlers and all that and a little with conditions cuz you know Francisca is autistic, but… you’ve never taken care of kids or dealt with that kind of stuff. You’re already stepping into fatherhood without experience, but adding special needs? I couldn’t gauge how you were handling that possibility,” she explained, slowly growing quieter.

“I mean it shocked me for a minute, but then the next it was just a possibility and it didn’t affect how I feel about him at all. That’s my baby boy,” he nuzzled behind her ear, grinning when she chuckled. “Nothin’ is gonna make me run, Cal,”

“Good cuz after she said he’ll likely start teething at three months it just proved I have no idea how to raise a little Nick,” she ribbed, earning a chuff against her ear that made her pull her shoulders in. “What do Orcs even use for teething?”

“Sticks,” he answered without skipping a beat, and she turned to look at him in horror. “It was a joke, dummy,”

“I think our best bet will be rubber spoons,” she mumbled. “He’s gonna tear my boobs apart,”

“He better not- I’ll throw him away if he ruins ‘em, those are mine.” Nick declared, already tensed before she landed a sturdy elbow in his gut.

By the time the line at last progressed and Nick had their own warm tortillas in arm, Callie couldn’t even sit without aching, and despite insisting she could whip up a quick dinner, he hushed her pressing and called in to their favorite Mandarin restaurant so their order was ready by the time they made the drive across town.

When Callie accompanied him inside, the usual behind the counter greeted the regular, peculiar couple warmly, doting over her growing stomach and the proud smirk Nick carried until he was called out loudly on it. Their teasing was harmless, but when a few more gathered to poke fun at the difference in their sizes, Nick still turned a few shades darker while Callie held her flushed cheeks.

Only when they promised they’d bring Leo in when he was born did they allow the couple to head out with the order and an extra side thrown in, both of them a little deflated after the whirlwind of an interaction.

No longer did she snatch the keys from him, and instead reclined in the passenger seat with the aux cable in her control. Nick’s hand always rested at her thigh or stomach, sometimes chatting softly to Leo in Orkish when he pushed against his palm.

She was slowly starting to pick up on words the more Nick rattled off around her, things like mausan beauavausan; my beauty.

It made her heart sing every time he keened lovingly, praising Leo with your kicks are so strong, my love. It seemed that now he knew Leo was always listening, he couldn’t stop doting over him, sometimes asking if he’d know the sound of his voice when he was finally able to hold him.

She hid her teary eyed blubbering behind a chicken wing she snuck from the take-out bag, handing Nick one when he whined.

A few more were munched on before they made it home, not even bothering to unpack their groceries before they sat at their table and dug in.

Often through the meal, Callie looked down to her side, expecting Pucca’s head to rest in her lap. It still stung; when she didn’t come galloping at them when the door opened, it reminded them just how much she filled the house with warmth, and every time they passed the TV, they’d brush their fingers across the cherry wood box that held her ashes, her pawprint rested beside it.

She snapped out of her trance, snorting when she caught sight of Nick struggling to stack green onions and chili flake garnish atop his wing.

Whereas usually Nick was the one to mow through tray of wings and the sides of fried rice, Callie now dominated that title, cleaning them down to the bone before washing up and crawling into bed while Nick put the groceries away.

Before he even made it into the room she was propped up against the footboard with her feet towards his pillow, ready to ask for a foot rub by the time he made it in.

She wiggled her feet with a wide smile, waiting patiently as he handed off her giant water cup filled to the brim with ice and stripped down to his briefs, finding the Firestick before flopping into bed beside her.

It was a struggle not to let his fingers trace up her smooth ankle, sometimes tapping the inside of her knee with his eyes glued to the TV. His nose was the only indicator he needed to know she was losing interest in her phone she had been scrolling through before massaged her feet, but now that his wide palms were cupping her toned calves and sliding up to her thigh, her eyes were wandering, and meeting his when he smirked.

“Again?” she asked softly, her knees parting to reveal the peach, lace panties she’d slipped on that morning after he’d made her levitate off the bed.

He nodded slowly, the amber of his eyes blacking out when his pupils dilated. His chest rose and fell with deep breaths, a low chuff sneaking in when her foot dragged over his lap, bumping his heavy dick swelling with life.

“You’re a fucking tease,” he growled, stirring a smile from her.

“How’re you even still attracted to me with this globe in the way?” she laughed as he rocked forward onto his knees to loom over her.

“Cuz I put it in you,” he breathed, moaning when he slipped his tongue in her mouth.

“You gotta take it easy on me this time,” she reminded huskily, her touch following his chiseled stomach into his briefs where he was already dripping with precum, a low groan meeting the soft squeeze of her hand.

It took a few seconds to realize the heavy fall of steps wasn’t his heart beat thrumming in his ears as he left wet kisses across her chest, and his head lifted in time to spot the shadowed figure moving in the night through their patio.

Nick shot up, the lust cleared and jumping off the bed to yank open the bedside table drawer in search of his gun.

“What- what the fuck!” she exclaimed, scrambling to sit up.

“Stay here,” he ordered, hastily stepping into his jeans again before darting down the hall and towards the back door through the laundry room.

He moved the blinds aside, the gun’s safety off and held securely in his palms as he peered out.

“What is it?”

Nick jumped, turning to glare at Callie. “I said stay there!”

“You left without saying anything!”

“Just-” he exhaled, turning back to the door.

She still squeezed her way in enough to look out beside him until he carefully nudged her back, but both of them froze when the figure stepped under the low light of the dying bulb outside.

“Is… is that?” Callie cracked, stepping back when Nick unlocked the door.

“Call Kandomere,” he instructed, and stepped into the crisp night, his blood having already run cold upon sighting Tikka.

She turned wobbling towards him, her cheeks sunken and clothes mangled, her hair matted and dirty. The lightning of her eyes still uneased him, and he kept a safe distance between them; he had no idea what mental state she was in or if the wands she’d run off with were still in her possession.

It was just like the last time he’d seen her; completely unsure if she was real or just a figment of his imagination, but scenting the air brought the sickly sweet sickness that riddled her glossy skin, and he scowled.

When she reached weakly into her jacket, he raised his gun instinctively, the maneuvers to get back to Callie before she blew them to pieces racing before is eyes. More than anything he wanted to run with Callie until he met MTF down the road; he couldn’t go through this shit again.

What if she lunges and Carried him away, to some far place he couldn’t find his way home from again?

Nick swallowed, doing his best to keep his aim true.

But instead, she produced two silent wands that fell from her grasp and onto the concrete.

She stared down at them as Nick looked between them, the frenzy rising in his body.

“I’m Dismantled,” she finally spoke, her voice croaky. “I… the Bright I found, they… it’s gone,” she brought her hands into her chest, looking at Nick with glossy eyes. “Everything is gone,” she wept, shoulders starting to shake.

Nick took a half step back.

“Everything- everything about me is dead,” she gasped. “Fero is dead and my home is gone-”

“Tikka,” Nick interjected, stifling her hiccups. “I told you to stay gone,”

Her eyes fluttered, tears racing down her dirty cheeks; where had she gone these two months to leave her in such disarray?

“I know,” she rasped, nodding. “But I wanted to apologize,”

Nick’s brows furrowed.

“The battle became yours when it never was,” she wavered, her face scrunching. “When he killed Fero, I just-”

“Tikka,” Nick raised his hands, shaking his head. “You can’t… there’s no fixing this,”

She stared at him, shaking like a leaf in the cold night.

“What’s done is done but I cannot have you here! This shit you brought with you almost fucking killed us, Tikka!”

“I know! I just, I wanted to say I’m sorry,” she pleaded, stepping towards him.

“And you said it, okay? But-” he exhaled, holding his head. The cold bite of the gun against his scalp was uncomfortable. “They’re gonna be here soon for you,”

“I know,” she smiled sadly, looking down at her fumbling hands. “I passed them walking up here,”

Nick rolled his eyes.

What fucking use they are.

“How is Daryl?” she asked, peeking at him.

Nick sighed. “He’s not working anymore. He took an early pension,”

“Is he okay though?”

“No, he’s not. We all live under MTF’s thumb and therapy doesn’t do shit, Tikka,” he snapped vehemently, and she retracted further into herself, her eyes averted.

The distant wail of sirens started to float through the night, but Nick still remained vigilant and glancing at the wands across the ground. He wouldn’t simply go off her word; at any moment she could summon those fucking things and blow them apart. In his own home, where he’d thought they’d finally escaped the madness.

He hoped to God that Callie was safely inside and not sticking her head out, but she was just as protective as he.

With the sirens came a helicopter, thundering through the night as it approached, and when Tikka looked up to shield her eyes from the light and wind whipping her hair and clothing around, Nick backed up, the wands skidding across the concrete towards him.

She looked at him again, her eyes filled with fright.

Where just a couple months ago she was composed and ready to fight, she had gone back to the cowering girl they found all those years ago, looking desperately to her only protector, and above all the disdain he held for her, it broke his heart to see her looking for someone to help her again.

The turmoil collected in his chest as the sirens blared, armored MTF officials shouting and running at her with modified guns until she had her hands above her head, sobbing under the blinding light of the helicopter.

They rushed past Nick from the back door behind him, pushing Callie into his arms when he turned.

Even as he bellowed at them, they only rushed Tikka, surrounding her with guns pointed and crosshairs covering her until she was kneeling and begging for mercy.

A flash of blue brought Nick’s attention back to the door, and was a little taken-aback to see Kandomere walking out in less than formal wear this time, but still elegant as ever.

“She got past your men again,” Nick yelled, but Kandomere shook his head.

“His remains are scattered across the car,” he replied coolly, and walked on when Nick and Callie remained silent.

Tikka met Kandomere’s metallic eyes as he approached her just as they’d cuffed and harnessed her, but something shifted in her.

Her expression washed over, her body stilling under the chaos as she glared up at him, her pupils the size of pinheads. She yanked against her constraints, her nose wrinkling in a low snarl.

Nick’s brows knit together; where had the misery gone? The fear that almost compelled him to stand before her in protection? She’d gone from prey to predator in the snap of a finger.

It wasn’t clear at what point Kandomere had collected the wands, but they were now in his grasp, glowing softly, thrumming like the gentle pulse of a hummingbird's heart. It had never occurred to Nick that he might have been a Bright, but it made sense, really. Why deal in business you have no business dealing in?

“Ron naa il- lle,” Tikka hissed, but when one was pointed to her forehead, she stiffened.

“They were never yours, either. Rilinquo,” Kandomere whispered ethereally, and all at once Tikka erupted with pained cries, the burning overtaking her form as the enchantment within her was forced out.

Nick could’ve sworn he saw a glowing from behind her eyes and deep in her throat spark and then fizzle, but she thrashed too violently to be sure.

When it had subsided, and left the dull throb across her muscles, she sobbed, her body folding over and remaining limp as they dragged her away through the backyard, the light of the helicopter following them.

Callie’s eyes lingered on Kandomere while Nick followed Tikka to watch her be loaded into transport, but he came back in time to watch them deposit the wands into the two person cases, immediately ringing and pulsating in agitation when they were confined.

Kandomere turned to look at them over the commotion still ringing through the neighborhood, neighbors standing outside their houses and even peering over the fence to see what was going on, but just as quickly as they had arrived, they were leaving, and with it the Bright that had been so elusive for so many years.

Nick didn’t know what to say; should he ask if she was okay? Would it even matter after she’d clearly come here again with ill intent?

There was a tense moment between them before Kandomere nodded tersely once, stepping past them to walk back through the house.

Nick turned, further confused.

After years of hunting her, was that really it?

She glanced at her phone; it was about to be three and neither had been able to find any form of rest or relaxation.

Looking to Nick found him still staring up at the ceiling, just as calmly as when they’d first laid in bed after awkwardly moving about their own home after it had been searched and cleared.

Neither had spoken to one another after the chaos had passed, but she could sense the unrest.

She rolled onto her side, gently running the back of her fingers against his cheek. He leaned into her touch, his eyes finally closing.

“You’re upset,” she whispered, and he nodded with a long sigh. “You didn’t want them to take her?”

His eyes opened to search for the words, but it was a long beat of silence before he answered.

“At first I felt bad about it, but she was lying again. There was a dead agent sitting in front of our house and we didn’t know it,” he murmured. “I can’t shake the feeling she’s going to pop back up again any minute,”

“You saw them take her,”

“I did, but she’s like a fucking phantom,” he grieved, running his hand down his face.

“She won’t, she can’t. Check in on it tomorrow at work,” Callie moved closer, holding his face so he looked at her. “I don’t think she’s going to come back this time, baby,”

His face sorrowed. “What if she does? What if she keeps ruining everything?”

“She’s only an Elf now, you can shoot her,” she grinned, and he scoffed. The turmoil still swirled in his gorgeous eyes, even as she angled his face to pepper soft kisses across his cheek. She knew no amount of words would calm the dread; only time would free him of such misery.

“Did my anxiety transfer to you? You’re usually my rock,” she teased softly.

“It’s this little thing,” he grumbled, poking her belly. “Every time you’re out of my sight I feel like the earth is gonna swallow you up or a fucking Bright is gonna find you. We can’t even say we’re completely safe at home,”

She pursed her lips; the idea had at first only been a small, partial thought that she didn’t think Nick would be on board with, but the closer Leo’s arrival came and taking in the past history of this house, tonight might just have been the boost she needed to bring it up.

“Let’s move,”

Nick’s eyes flickered to hers. “Move?”

“Wouldn’t you feel better being somewhere that our past didn’t know about?”

“You know I’ve thought about it before, honestly. My mom kind of planted the seed in my head a while back,” he confessed.

“Oh yeah?”

He nodded, rolling on his side to face her. “When she’s not going on about Leo she’s asking how many more we’re gonna have, saying she has a few properties she wants to show me,”

Callie smiled. “Should we?”

Nick eyed her before leaning up on his elbow. “You wanna take that on?”

“I love it here, don’t get me wrong, but I also wanna raise Leo somewhere you weren’t almost killed and I wasn’t almost kidnapped,” she relayed, pulling his chin up when he looked down in guilt. “But I’m not doing it unless you’re with me. I go where you go,”

Nick grinned, cupping her cheek before he leaned in for a long kiss; a delicate one that didn’t need fervent hands or eager tongues.

“You know if I tell my mom we wanna look at places she’s gonna expect more babies,” he chuckled against her mouth, and Callie shrugged.

“Maybe if we lead her on she’ll give us a better deal,” she simpered, giggling when he dug his fingers into her side. “So you wanna look then?”

“Yeah, let’s do it. I could always use a bigger backyard,”

“Can we throw in a dance studio for me too?” she pouted.

“Fuck it, let’s buy a mansion,” he boasted, his spirits lifting when she smiled at him.

There was a drawn moment they simply looked at one another, somehow tangled and sleep starting to fill the void where apprehension once brimmed. The longer they maintained eye contact, the wider Callie’s smile grew, her shoulders drawing in.

“What?” he chuckled.

“Thinking of it all just makes me happy, we’re gonna buy a house together,” she beamed.

“Have a baby soon,” he added.

“Babies,”

Nick’s brows perked up. “Now you’re on board with that?”

“I’ve told you from the beginning I want a bunch’a little Nick’s running around,” she cracked.

“Maybe a little Callie, too,” he pouted, forever attached to the idea of having a little girl.

“We need a big house then,”

“Like I said, a mansion,” he reiterated, but a soft smack against his chest prompted him to pull her close, her head tucked under his chin after pressing a few hard kisses to her cheek. “I love you so much,”

“I love you more,” she nuzzled his collar.

“We got way off topic again,”

“But do you feel better?”

Nick grinned to himself. “Yeah, I do.”

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I told you there would be fluff

Translations: -"Dame más.": Gimme more

-"Leo? Leonardo Makar, do lat daggog alnej?": Leo? Leonardo Makar, do you hear me? -"mausan liavavle ni": my little one

-"Ron naa il- lle": they are not yours

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jungshookz · 5 years

Note

idk if you accept requests or not but if you do can u make an au where ot7 nd yn live together nd like all of them love each other so much but platonically????? also idk the shits they do on daily basis ??? if you dont then its okay jus wanna drop by nd say im so in love with your works ily💞💞

❄️ pairing: ot7 x reader

❄️ genre: nothing but plaTONIC LOVE,,,, SO CUTE,,, FLUFFIER THAN FRESHLY FALLEN SNOW, also jungkook is awful at wrapping

❄️ wordcount: 2.4k

❄️ notes: MERRY CHRISTMAS MY FRIENDS! i was actually going to post this in the afternoon but theN i wanted this to be like a surprise present under the tree for everyone so here i am posting it at literally 3 in the morning!!!!!!! so when u wake up in the morning not only will u be opening presents u will also be able to reAD this! YES i’m aware that i skipped out on a couple drabbles from the 12 drabbles of christmas and i am sO sorry but i’ve been spending time with family and y’all know how it is i hope you can forgive me! anyways enough blabbering from me happy holidays merry christmas happy hanukah happy nEw yEar happy whatever you celebrate i love u all and i can’t wait to go into the new year with you lovely people!

(gif isn’t mine!)

“is she awake?”

“obviously not,,, what time is it??”

“nearly 8 and y/n doesn’t wake up until like 12 when it’s the holidays”

you hear the sound of your curtains being pushed open and you can see your room brightening up even though you have an eye mask on

ugH is it already time to get up????

you were up til 3 watching christmas movies and yA you’re super pumped that it’s literally christmas right now and you get to open your presents under the tree but like,,,

you would prefer to do all of that later,, maybe at like 12

“someone should just push her off the bed”

“don’t do that you priCK”

“someone just wake her up!! i wanna open my preSENTS”

“well you guys take care of this because i have to go and prepare breakfast”

you’re tempted to just go back to sleep but u know that the boys will literally just stand there and talk to each other about how to wake you up

you reach up to lift your eye mask up and you’re met with the sight of seven smiling faces (except for yoongi because it’s too frickin early for him too and he’s tempted to crawl in and snuggle up with you)

“good morning” your voice is still thick with sleep and you pull your mask off and toss it aside before propping yourself up on your elbows and letting out a yawn “merry chris-“

“mERRY CHRISTMAS LET’S GO OPEN PRESENTS NOW” the next thing you know you’re being swePT out of bed and jungkook has you in his arms and he’s sprinting down the stairs like a madman

you shriek and cling onto him because you literally juSt woke up and your brain is still low-key in sleep mode and the world is spinNing and

jungkook plops you down on the couch and you squeak from the impact before suddenly you’re bouncing off the couch and tumbling to the ground

“oW” you groan and flip over onto your stomach on the ground before reaching down and rubbing at your sore butt

do butts have bones?? because you’re pretty sure all the bones in your ass are completely shattered right now

“omg get off of me whoever you are” you feel someone take a seat on your tender bum and you reach back blindly in a poor attempt to swat the person off

you immediately hear jimin’s jingly giggle and he slides off before patting your bum “sit up!!”

“no” you murmur with your cheek squished against the carpet

you could just fall asleep like this

yes

sleep

you want to

slee-

“gEt up!” tae grabs your waist and pulls you up and sets you down on the couch next to yoongi who is (this) close to falling asleep

you let out another yawn and rest your head against yoongi’s shoulder and he slips an arm around your waist so that the both of you are comfortable

you never thought yoongi was the cuddling type but it turns out he really reaLLy is which is something u definitely don’t mind

“you two - it’s christmas!!! liven up a little!” namjoon pats the tops of your guys’ head and you grumble in response

“y/n you should open my present first!” tae plops a neat little box onto your lap and you blink down at it before humming and nodding

you pull away from yoongi and he groans quietly at the loss of warmth

“thank you for the gift, tae” you smile sleepily and reach up to pat your cheeks to wake yourself up

hoO

okay

christmas morning

let’s do this

you tear the bright wrapping paper to pieces and immediately feel a lot more energised when you see what tae got u for christmas “i knitted a scarf for you and i have a matching one so noW you too can be a fashionista”

“how long did it take you to make this??” you pull it out of the box and look closely at the stitching

obviously there are a couple missing stitches but that gives the scarf character and it’s oddly endearing

tae stitched in pretty neutral grandpa-y shades but it totally works and it looks v v trendy

“i’m going to wear this noW” you grin and wrap it around your neck and that’s when u notice the scent

tae sprayed some of his fancy gucci cologne on this tOO

you might have to steal some from him when the scent eventually fades away

“y/n! a nintendo swiTCH R U KIDDING ME” jungkook tackles you in a hug before jumping up and down excitedly and hugging the box to his chest “can i play it now???” he gasps and you can’t help but laugh at how childish he’s acting “why am i asking u for ur permission this is mINE NOW also i have a gift for u somewhere under the tree”

you look under the tree and u immediately recognise all the presents that are from kook because of the (no offence) poor wrapping skills

one of them is just wrapped up completely in duct tape like how r u supposed to open that up without losing a finger

hopefully that one isn’t yours (spoiler alert: it is yours)

“here’s my first gift to you guys-“ jin walks out of the kitchen carrying a tray of mugs “hot cocoa, anyone?”

the boys immediately flocK to jin like a group of seagulls when they spot a single french fry on the ground

“ya ya yA CALM DOwN before i drop the tray!” he scolds

“hyung, that’s my mug!”

“no it’s not, it’s mine! y/n got me the one with snowflakes, remember??”

“yours is the one with the christmas lights you dummy now hand it over”

“no! get your hands off mY mug!!”

“does it really matter whose mug is whoSE but also sorry jimin kook is right yours is the one with the christmas lights and not the snowflakes ” jin nudges the two bickering boys out of the way and heads over to you and yoongi

“yoongi - yours has coffee in it”

“oh thank god” yoongi grabs his mug and immediately takes a sip from it before letting out a satisfied sigh

“and y/n - yours has a sprinkle of cinnamon in it and extra marshmallows” you take the mug from the tray excitedly

“you’re too nice to me” you reach up to pinch jin’s cheek and he scowls at you

“teLL me about it”

“come and open some of your presents! you can make breakfast later”

“the pancake batter doEs need to set for a while so i suppose i can open up some gifts” jin sets the tray down on the coffee table before dusting his hands off “okay so which one is mine”

“u got more than one, silly. open my gift first!! it’s that big box in the corner” you take a sip of your cocoa oH ShiT this is good ur gonna need jin to make at least a gallon of this for u every week

“oH A BIG box” jin gasps and steps over the other boys as he makes his way over to it

he bends down and grunts as he lifts it up “jesus y/n what did you get me??? a ton of bricks???” he huffs and plops it back down on the ground and you’re like bE CAREFUL

jin doesn’t take very long to unwrap the gift and- “A NEW MIXER” he literally squEaLs with glee and you’re pretty sure your ears are bleeding “you’re right kook we should’ve opened presents earlier because then i could’ve used this baby to make the pancake batter”

look

last year all of your gifts were kind of pathetic compared to everything the boys were giving you and even tho they all insisted they lovEd their gifts you were like ://///// so thIS YEAR you decided to go all out and just get EVERYThing you thought the boys would like and u know what so far you are killing it girl

santa clause whO

also the boys did a really good job with all of your gifts!!

namjoon got you a new journal for the new year

jimin got you fairy lights AND a brand new bedside lamp that’s super adorable

hoseok got you a super suPER cool poster to hang up in your room he hired an artist to paint you as snow white and the boys as the seven dwarves and the captions says ‘y/n and the seven idiots’

taheyung knitted you a scarf

jin got you this fancy silky robe that you’ll definitely be wearing everyday after you come home from work

yoongi got you a new pair of headphones because he’s sick of seeing you use those godawful apple earbuds from like 2008

and last but not least

jungkook got you-

“oh, this is so cute!” you coo as you pull the mug out of the mess of duct tape

it’s a mug with a picture of you and the boys celebrating your birthday this year

you’re sat in the middle laughing your ass off with watery eyes and a crinkled nose with the boys surrounding you and jungkook is swiping frosting off the side of the cake and jimin’s yanking his arm back and jin’s trying to light the candles and tae is sitting on your lap and hoseok is sitting on taE’s lap and namjOon is pointing at the camera (because it was on timer mode and nO one was ready for the picture) and yoongi has his face in his hands looking like he regrets everything

it’s perfectly imperfect if that makes any sense

“thank you kook” you grin and squish a couple kisses to his cheek before looking at the picture again

it’s sO cute and also it makes you thank the gods because like,, how lucky are you that you get to spend every day with these dumbasses that you love and adore so dang much

“i wish it could be christmas everyday” hoseok sighs and shoves a forkful of pancake into his mouth

“i don’t. my wallet would hate me.” yoongi snorts and steals a blueberry off your plate

you nudge it closer to him before leaning back against your chair and rubbing your stomach “i think i’m about to explode” you groan

“i told you not to force that fourth pancake down” jin sighs as he scrubs away at the dishes

“i can’t help it when your food is sO good” you plop your plate down in the sink with a clang

and then u finally notice

“it’S SNOWING” you gasp as you look out the kitchen window

“you didn’t notice??” tae raises a brow and they all watch as you sprint to the living room to puSh all the curtains open

and WOW

thick thiCK blankets of snow covering every surface while snowflakes continue to flutter down to the ground

the backyard is just all WHITE AND YOU’VE NEVER BEEN SO EXCITED BEFORE

“we were thinking after breakfast we could go out and play around in the snow if you wanted-“

“oF COURSE I DO” for some reason you’re unable to lower your voice because that’s how excited you are

in fact you’re so excited u can’t even wait to change out of your PJs and you’re already slipping your coat and beanie on

“c’mon people let’s move let’s moVE jin you can wash the dishes later kook u can play the nintendo later let’s get a moVE ON” you clap your hands together and the boys know there’s no changing your mind at this point

if u wanna go out in ur PJs you’re going to go out in your PJs

“y/n, watch it!” jimin scolds when you nearly knock into his and tae’s snowman after trying to avoid yet another one of kook’s snowballs

“sorry jimin!!” you apologize before bursting into giggles when jungkook starts sprinting towards you clutching a snowball the size of a bouLDER

you duck down instinctively when he hurls it in your direction and-

“jeon jungkook you brat i’m going to kiLL YOU” yoongi roars when the snowball hiTS him and the wetness starts seeping into his sweater

jungkook laughs gleefully and tries his best to flee (it’s hard running in thick layers of snOW) as yoongi starts chasing him around

jin and namjoon are standing by the doors sipping on their hot cocoa and occasionally bursting into laughter at one of your guys’ antics

hoseok has been lying on the ground making snow angels for the past 20 minutes

he’s literally made like 10 snow angels already but he’s having fun so it’s okay

you screech when jungkook pelts you in the faCe with a snowball and you immediately feel like your face is going to freeze over

you end up tackling kook to the ground and u shove snow right into his face and jungkook grins before starting to dig his fingers into your sides to tickle you

“alright aLRIGHT everyone back into the house because there are dishes to wash and wrapping paper to throw away AND i have to get started on dinner and i need all the help i can get!” jin calls out and slides the door open to step back inside “everyone back in this house in 30 seconds otherwise i will not hesitate to lock you outside in the cold!”

jungkook fLIps you over his shoulder when you trip over the snow yet again because of your innate klutziness

you giggle and whack his butt

best christmas ever

:•)

146 notes · View notes

arabellaflynn · 5 years

Text

TIL I would fit into Marlene Dietrich's clothing.

dailymotion

There's an exhibit at the Museum of Fine Arts right now called Gender-Bending Fashion. It has the array of glam rock costumes (Bowie, Jimi Hendrix, Rolling Stones) you'd expect, as well as modern pieces from couture runway shows. Some of the pieces are considerably older -- there are Edwardian women's "suits" á la Titanic that took their inspiration from men's business attire, and sporting and driving gear of similar vintage. A few of the outfits there belonged to Marlene Dietrich, who spent an awful lot of her career borderline crossdressing. One of them is the tuxedo she wore in the nightclub scene from Morocco, embedded at right. All of the old clothing looks pretty small by modern standards. People are generally both taller and broader than they were in a hundred years ago, mostly owing to improved nutrition across the board. (Yes, there's a lot of crap out there these days, but we also put vitamin D in all the milk and iron and thiamine in the breakfast cereal. America has a lot of problems, but we tackled rickets about the same time as poliomyelitis.) If you sew from commercial patterns, you run into reminders of this constantly: Pattern sizes were standardized in the 1960s, whereas ready-to-wear sizes were not, so the dress size you buy from McCall's is wildly different from what you look for at Macy's. This is where you get those "Marilyn Monroe was a size 12!" clickbait articles you see everywhere -- her bust measurement of ~35-36" would put her roughly in a pattern 12, but her RTW dress size today would likely be more like a 2/4, and either way she'd need the waist taken in by a good chunk. [Bra sizes, for the record, have also changed. The old method involved measuring the underbust and adding 6 to get the band size. No adding anymore -- we have elastic now! Wrap the tape around your rib cage right under your boobs, level with the floor, and that's it. Cup size is still the inches of difference between the underbust and full bust. A 36D bra today would be a band of 36" and a full bust of 40" -- a majestic set of knockers more akin to Jayne Mansfield than Marilyn. Her full bust is given at about 36", with an old band size of 36 that equates to a 29~31" underbust measurement. Today she'd be somewhere around a 30DDD/E/F, depending on the brand's labeling.] I eyeballed the tux and thought, that looks an awful lot like the suits in my own closet. I have recently learned the hard way that I am smaller than I think I am. The correct leggings to buy are the ones that look like they would be slightly too tight to cram myself into. I tend to think of the mythical '36"-24"-36"' as it would have been seen when it was codified by the classic Sweater Girls: Slim-normal, just with a very specific distribution of mass. It's annoyingly difficult to find average measurements for women in the days of yore -- the only summary I found was in The Metro, which is heavily on the pop end of pop-sci, and gives a 36" bust and 28" waist for 1957, no hip mentioned, with a weight that comes out to 136 lbs. Not really so much anymore. A cursory Google says the average American woman weighs 168 lbs and has a 37" waist. If you're anywhere near 36"-24"-36" (I just dug out a tape and got 36"-25"-36" for me, and the scale says 119.8 lbs), mostly what people tell you is that you're tiny. An article about Marilyn Monroe's "true size" gawks at her largest verified waist measurement of 28.5" as "astonishing". Like... what? I'm not that small. I don't feel that small. I make a pretty good thump when I hit the floor, really I do. I dug up this somewhat dubious list of measurements for Golden Age starlets, and though I'm slightly shorter and slightly hippier than Dietrich was, the pant style in 1930 was pretty baggy, and belts were a thing. So yes, I would fit that tux, not that the museum would let me anywhere near it. Huh. from Blogger https://ift.tt/2TGjHOF via IFTTT -------------------- Enjoy my writing? Consider becoming a Patron, subscribing via Kindle, or just toss a little something in my tip jar. Thanks!

#IFTTT #Blogger #Unsolicited Advice

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peterpparkrr · 6 years

Text

(Alex Standall x Reader): Mercy (pt 10)

Summary: After you heard the tapes you broke up with Alex because you thought that he was still in love with Jessica. But when you find out that he tried to commit suicide you take a look back at your relationship and realize you may have made a mistake.

A/N: This one’s uhh...intense, so, get ready for that. I apologize in advance.

(pt 1) (pt 2) (pt 3) (pt 4) (pt 5) (pt 6) (pt 7) (pt 8) (pt 9) (pt 10) (pt 11) (pt 12) (pt 13)

The next day wasn’t much better. There were still whispers and stares as you walked around school but people had already started to move on to new gossip and drama, specifically about Bryce and the fact that Marcus had called him a rapist. Compared to the past few days it seemed relatively drama-free and you were starting to think that maybe things were finally going to start turning around.

However, when you got home from school your mood quickly changed when you walked into your room.

Everything was a mess. Your room wasn’t necessarily the cleanest but this. Someone had destroyed your room. Everything was on the floor. All of your clothes were pulled out of your dresser and closet and littering the floor. The books on your bookcase were pulled off their shelves and a majority of them were ripped to shreds. Everything from your desk as emptied out. Your lap was smashed on the floor as were all of the pictures frames you’d had. Your sheets were stripped off the bed and looked like they’d been ripped to shreds as if by an animal.

You walked through the mess gingerly and when you got to the bed you noticed there was a piece of paper laying on top of your mattress. You opened it up to only drop it quickly when you realized the message on it was written in blood. In harsh, bold letters it read “you talk you die bitch”

“Alex,” You cried when he picked up after you fumbled to dial his number, “Someone, someone broke into my house-my room, ohmygod Alex they destroyed everything,” You manage to get out.

“Are you hurt? Are you safe now?” He asks, clearly alarmed, “I’m on my way over, I’m texting Zach.”

“I’m fine, it’s just-please get here soon-I don’t know what to do,” You tell him.

“Is anyone else home? Did they do anything to the rest of your house?” Alex asks.

“No, everyone’s gone still, I don’t think my parents will be home ‘til late. I don’t think they did anything else, everything else seemed normal when I walked home.”

“Okay, okay, should you call the police? You need to call right? Should you call my dad?” Alex asks.

“No!” You replied quickly as you stared down the note you still had clutched in your other hand, “No… I can’t call the police, no one can know that this happened,” You tell him.

“(Y/N)...” Alex replied slowly, “Are you sure you’re okay?”

“I-I’m fine, Alex, I can explain it when you get here, it’s complicated…”

“Okay, we’re pulling up to your house right now, everything’s going to be okay, we’ll come up,” He tells you before hanging up the phone.

A minute or so later you heard grumbles and you could tell Zach was helping Alex get up the stairs to your room. You quickly wiped at your eyes and turned around just was they made it to your doorway.

“Jesus Christ,” Zach muttered as you stepped over to them and wrapped your arms tightly around Alex, hugging him as tight as you could.

“(Y/N), oh my god,” Alex says as he squeezes you as hard as he can, “Thank god you’re okay.”

“Who would do this?” Zach asks as he looks around in disbelief.

“I don’t know,” You reply, “but, uh… they left this,” You tell them as you grab the note off of your bed and hand it to Zach. They both read through it and share a glance before turning back to you.

“We’ve gotten similar notes,” Zach tells you, “Not just us, Jess got one too, and Clay got driven off the road, it has to be someone trying to keep us quiet during Hannah’s trial, we think it’s Bryce or someone he’s paying to do it.”

“But no one knows I’m testifying, I only told you guys and my parents,” You tell them.

“I don’t know, I guess someone found out somehow,” Zach replies.

“But this is insane, who would do this just to keep (Y/N) quiet during the trial, what could she possibly say that would be so bad that Bryce or someone would do this to her?” Alex asks.

“I have no idea, but (Y/N), you need to tell someone, you need to talk to Alex’s dad.” Zach insists.

“No! If I tell someone then who knows what this person will do next? Bryce could destroy my whole life, my future, if he wanted to,” You argue.

“At least tell your parents,” Zach pushes.

“Are you kidding? They’ll make me call the police, they’ll make it a whole spectacle,” You tell him, “No, we need to clean this up, no one but us can know that this happened, not Jess, not Clay, none of the others.”

“(Y/N)-”

“Come on, we have a few hours and my parents will never notice the difference, trust me, I can’t deal with this on top of everything else.” You tell them, “Please.”

“I’m in,” Alex said as he squeezed your hand reassuringly.

“Zach?” You ask.

Zach glances between the two of you, before rolling his eyes, “Fine, but I’m only doing this because the two of you are going to fail on your own.”

“Okay, can you go grab the trash bags? They’re under the kitchen sink downstairs,” You tell Zach before turning to Alex, “And uh, we can just sort through everything I guess. See what’s salvageable.”

“You mean I don’t get to just sit and look pretty?”

“Well you’re obviously going to do that while we work,” You quip back, laughing slightly before turning towards your room and feeling the smile slide off of your face, “Can you bundle up my sheets? Those are goners, I’ll have to go find some new ones in the closet.” You tell him as you crouch down to get a closer look at the books strewn across your floor, “God, I’m gonna have to throw out almost all of these.” You comment as you pick up a cover that has been completely detached from its pages.

When Zach comes back upstairs with bags you all get down to business and start filling them with every belonging of yours that is beyond repair. You ask each other questions about certain items and whether or not something is ‘too broken’ but other than that you don’t make any effort to have a conversation and neither do the boys.

Eventually, you have several bags full of your belongs and the rest of your room is empty but clean.

Most of your clothes were just thrown around and you’ve rehung or refolded them and they’re all back in your closet and dresser. Your photo frames were destroyed but most of the pictures were fine so you left the pile sitting on your desk, as a promise that you’d go buy some new ones eventually. Your bed had new sheets and blankets on it now, but they were basically the same ones you’d had before, thanks to the fact that your mom had duplicates of just about everything in your house, just in case.

You and Zach took the bags down and out to your trash can and when you were finished you all sat around your room, exhausted physically and emotionally.

“I should head home,” Zach said after a while, “I’m supposed to look after May tonight and after I walked out of the field dedication thing today I should probably get home on time, my mom is already mad enough.”

“God, I still can’t believe that your mom wants you to defend Bryce,” You tell him with a sigh.

“Yeah, well she doesn’t know the truth,” Zach replies, “You ready to go, Alex?”

“Actually, I can drive him home, you can head out,” You reply quickly.

“Alright, I’ll see you guys tomorrow,” Zach replies

After a beat, Alex turns to you, “You’re not kidnapping me? Are you?”

You grin, “No,” You tell him, “Unless you want me too,” You offer as you stand up and move over to where he’s sitting on the bed.

“Maybe,” He replies as he lays back on your bed and pulls you down to lay next to him.

“Well, if it were up to me you would never leave,” You tell him truthfully as you snake your arms around his waist, “I just- I can’t be alone. Not now.”

“You’re not getting rid of me anytime soon.”

“Promise?”

“Swear it,” he says as he links his pinkie with your own, “Never.”

“I love you,” You tell him softly. “I love you more.”

#13 reasons why #13 Reasons Why fanfic #13 reasons why fanfiction #13 reasons why imagine #13 reasons why reader insert #Alex Standall #alex standall x reader #alex standall imagine #alex standall fanfiction #alex standall reader insert #zach dempsey

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squeemcsquee · 6 years

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Guest Post: Cosplay/Crafting Tips from el-draco-bizarro

Since I don’t have my blog open to submission, this was emailed to me a while back by my friend @el-draco-bizarro, with the request that I please post it.

I’m finally doing that (would’ve sooner but I forgot I had it!)

Hello there! @el-draco-bizarro here, and I like to make things. Because of @squeemcsquee here, that has started moving in a cosplay direction. She does love her conventions :) Anyway, I have a few projects I'm working on that I may detail into specific posts, but I thought I might write up a generalized list of do's and don’ts of crafting for anyone out there looking into making something, whether it's for the first time or the 800th. We can always, always learn from others no matter how seasoned you may be at making' stuff, but this will focus on the extreme basics for a beginner.

Do Your Research

This should be obvious, but before I start anything, I almost always hit up the internet to see if anyone else has made what I want to make before. Tutorials are great and YouTube videos are awesome for this, but even if someone has simply posted a photograph of their project with no instructions, that can still be great for inspiration. Unless it's something complicated or specific (like electronics for example), I almost never end up following instructions to the letter-don't despair if you can't find an EXACT layout of what you are specifically trying to make. Read more than one process, and pick out the bits that will work best for you and your abilities! There's usually many ways of making a certain type of thing, and experienced crafters will always have their favorite methods that they will stick to-that won't mean it's the best for you. You may like the material they suggest using, but have a better idea for how you want to assemble it. Or you may not have access to the material or tools they use, but after seeing what they do, you've thought of something similar and more available that you can use to accomplish a similar result. Fantastic! Trying new things is how you grow and if you come up with a great process that you didn't see anywhere else, now you get to be the expert and can share your method with the rest of us so the next person searching has even more options.

Ask For Help

Inevitably, you will encounter a Thing You Want To Do, but won't have the foggiest where to start or what you might need to get there. Or you know what you need but can't afford to buy the tools or materials you 100% need and can't substitute. Reach out! Check with your friends; if it's a small or simple job ("I just need three pieces of this thing cut to x length, but I need a specific saw to do it effectively") see if your friends know of anyone with the tool, and if it won't be a great inconvenience of time or money, see if you can ask them to do it for you. For more difficult or time consuming things, you'll want to know the person already and offer compensation. My rule of thumb is, if it would require the person to follow a short list of simple instructions ("cut this thing into three equal lengths", "sew this thing to this other thing in straight line") that's an ok favor to ask. If it's more complicated than that ("take this sheet of plywood and turn it into these 8 specifically measured shapes") that's not a favor anymore, that's a job and you either need to find someone to pay to handle it, or figure it out yourself with possibly a less complex option (can you sub cardboard for plywood?).

Sometimes you might just need someone to bounce ideas off of though. Talk to a friend; "I want to make this thing...how would you do that?" Many times, they'll have a few great ideas where to start (or bad ones....those are ok too though :) ) and suggestions you may not have thought of on your own. They may be able to suggest a simple solution to a portion you thought would be complex or even insurmountable. Use your people!

Use The Right Tool For The Job

Some stuff just isn't equipped to do other stuff. And that sucks because you may only have the wrong stuff. You need the right scissors to cut cloth, kiddie craft scissors won't work. You need the right kind of saw to cut metal, the right needle to sew leather, the right glue for what you're connecting, and so on. Sometimes the right tool is cheap and easy to get. Sometimes it's neither of those things. It's fine to improvise, but you HAVE to be aware of safety if you decide to deliberately use a tool unsuited to the job you want to do. At best, you can end up with a rough, imprecise version of what you were aiming for. At worst, you will hurt yourself. Know the limitations of what you have. I chose to cut insulation foam with a flat kitchen knife today, knowing that a serrated blade would be better and a hot cutter would be best. I stabbed myself in the hand within a minute and I was even paying attention. It was a result I knew could happen, accepted as a minor issue, and was prepared to deal with when I inevitably bled. The flat kitchen knife tore the heck out of the foam as well; for my project, this is ok and will not hurt the final result but if I needed flat geometric edges, my project would have been severely compromised. Take extra precautions if you're gonna wing it. Understand how your process may affect your materials, especially if those materials are expensive or hard to get. Test things on a small insignificant piece first. Ask someone who is more familiar with those materials or tools if you can. Never try something that could potentially become dangerous while alone if at all; I would say this includes anything to do with fire, electronics, or blades especially. Google will be your friend here to minimize risk...try variations of "can I do x thing with y tool/material" until you find something. If every message board says no, maybe don't risk it. Frequently, advice forums and things will include substitute options if they say it can't be done though so those are a great resource.

Baby Steps

What I mean here is, have realistic expectations about what you can achieve with what you have, experience included. You won't go from 0 to a full set of Spartan armor in a week (although if you do please show me lol). But don't be afraid to fail forward! Every time something doesn't turn out how you expected it to, you've learned what not to do. If what you have is duct tape and cardboard, then that's where you start. Look up what others have done with those things, take the bits you like, discard the advice you don't agree with, and go for it. And sometimes the advice you disagreed with will turn out to have been good advice after all, and you do that next time xD. I'm one of those people that tends to not believe something won't work until I've tried it myself, and sometimes it stings to learn, but at least you learned it and that's one more thing that will make your next project better. For example, cardboard is not great to make masks out of. It's fragile, impossible to repair, and HOT. Trust me. But if you have had an idea to make a mask out of cardboard and think you know how to make it work for you, ignore me and go for it, and maybe let us all know how it went along the way! You may do something that makes it all work that none of the rest of us thought of before. Other people's advice is useful but ultimately, most of it is optional. ((Caveat: not safety advice. ALWAYS take heed of safety advice, otherwise You Will Bleed))

Fake It ‘Til You Make It

Bouncing off the above advice, many times you can do what you know with what you have even if you don't end up with a "professional" result. All cosplay is valid! Your papier-mâché mask may be lumpy. Your weapon prop may be a dowel rod covered with colored duct tape. It may not look as great as the costume made by the professional tailor with an expensive sewing machine and access to a machine shop for props. Less experience is not bad, it's a stepping stone. You know what you don't like about what you made last time, and you may have an idea how to improve on it for next time. And next time. And next time. And before you know it you're running a blog specifically about how you get such great looking results out of cardboard and duct tape that blow other people away. Make it work for you and strut your stuff! In my experience, you can do so, so much with just basic materials that other "better" crafters may not have even thought of to try because they're so used to their ways. As a good example, look at the cosplay tag on this blog and check out the Glow Cloud. We got so many compliments on that thing at the con. Lots of people stopped us to say how cool it was and to marvel that they could never have come up with such a great result. You want to know what that's made out of? That's a clear umbrella with three (3) battery-powered strings of colored Christmas lights taped to it. We then spray-glued a boatload of Poly-Fil to it, and found a fluffy light up jacket on Wish to go with it. It was not complicated or even that time-consuming, and I felt like a cheater any time someone said it was special. But honestly? While I COULD have rigged all my own electronics on a hand-made structure etc, it would have take a LOT more time, expertise, and probably money than I had and it still wouldn't have looked any different than a 12 dollar umbrella and some Christmas lights. Never make from scratch what it just as easy and cheap to get premade unless you have specific requirements that the premade can't deliver or can't be altered to include. And never let anyone tell you your cosplay isn't as good because you didn't personally make it from scratch! That's BS elitist advice. Ever hear that dieting advice "Eat whatever you want, and if anyone tells you otherwise, eat them too?" That applies here. There will be those who say you can NEVER make something out of duct tape because that's not good crafting. Or professional. Or any other bogus reason just because they look down on it. Eat them and make your duct tape thing. Simple and cheap is fine and is way less stressful than trying to pursue something complex and expensive. Make what you can, but you don't have to have a big flashy costume to cosplay. Paint a question mark on a t-shirt and call it good. Maybe get a cheap wig and some tights and spend the day comfy instead of lugging around a heavy complicated-and/or-expensive prop. If you're not having fun what's the point? And above all -

YOU DON'T HAVE TO BE GOOD AT CRAFTS TO BE GREAT AT COSPLAY

Now get out there and make stuff!

#guest post #cosplay tips #crafting tips #general cosplay advice #friend post

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melonoverlord · 6 years

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Obscure meme kalliste/allura? i dunno if you wanna do an ask for the two of them

What convenience store food would be their go-to at a 7-11 (Fantasy or otherwise)?

Kalliste is the type of kid who puts about four packets of brown sugar poptarts in the bottom of the shopping cart and feigns surprise when Icio asks her how did all these poptarts get here. But she’ll still grin in success as Icio lets her keep them because deep down they’re a pushover.

Allura just skips past all the snack food and goes to get ten klondike bars and just walk away with them. She always has to get wrangled back by Juniper because yes, it sucks that you can’t just take stuff, but you’re going to get arrested if you try to steal ice cream.

Who is their drinking buddy? If they don’t drink, which drunk friend would they watch over?

They don’t age at the same rate as the other kids on the ship, so they become of age a lot faster than Ravi, but by the time both are of age, they would probably be drinking with their new parents Icio and Juniper. When Kalliste and Leda get to around the same age, they would def be drinking buddies and get into all kinds of trouble together.

Who would be their go-to character in Clue?

They both over fight over Mrs. White because they like her little maid hat, but in the end Kalliste gets Professor Plum and Allura gets Mrs. Peacock because Icio can’t stand their daughters fighting and picks Mrs. White for themself.

If they ever had to go to college, what major would they pick?

Kalliste would pick Psychology and Law double major with the hope of being a prosecutor.

Allura would do Ethnic Studies, she likes arguing and helping different species get their rights.

Do they have a signature color(s)?

Not really, but both tend to wear a lot of various shades of brown. Now that they have more access to clothes, they’re trying on different styles and colors. Allura finds that she likes pinks and blues, while Kalliste doesn’t really care what she puts on since she can’t see it anyway, but Allura likes her in blacks, purples, and whites.

What would be their favorite vine?

Kalliste’s is “Road work ahead? Uh, yeah I sure hope it does.”

Allura’s is the classic “Bagel boys, babababa bagel boys, babababa bagel boys! With cream cheese!”

If they had a social media account, what would it be about?

Kalliste’s twitter is conspiracy theories about the other crewmembers. Highlights include “I smelled Psyche and she smelled like Ciri. Does that mean Psyche is also shaped like a human with human skin?” and “I think Castor’s species is a rock. He is angry and loud and doesn’t move when I tell him it’s breakfast.” Her instagram is picture of her sneaking up and scaring other crewmembers. Highlights of those include coming up behind Castor while he was stabbing his feelings away and jumping on him, making him scream.

Who would they invite to be their best man/maid of honor at their wedding?

Each other without a doubt. But they would also let Ravi and Crumb be their flower boy and Ring Bear, respectively. None of the kids know that it is a Ring Bearer, and not an actual bear who holds the rings.

Alternatively, who’s best man/maid of honor would they be?

Each other, but also Ravi would invite them to his wedding as his maids of honor along with Crumb and Psyche because there can be many maids of honor. Also Juni would want her daughters to say nice things about her so she’d invite them to be her maids of honor.

What would be the title of their sex tape/mixtape?

Kalliste’s mixtape is “Snuck into Your Heart”

Allura’s is “Knife to Meet You”

If there was no prejudice, what time period/place would they love to visit?

They would both have fun running around as 90s kids, staying out til 10 running around and playing with beanie babies.

What three words would they use to describe themself?

Crafty, Untrusting, and Loyal

What three words would their friends/family use to describe them?

Curious, Brave, and Protective by Ciri; Cute, clever, and innocent by Castor; “Little Ass Kickers” by Juni; “My beautiful snids” by Icio

What nicknames do they have? Any particular stories behind them?

Kalliste has “Liste”, “Lili” (pronounced Lee-lee), given to her by her dad before he died.

Allura just has “Lulu”, which was given by Autumn.

Do they consider themself a good person? Why or why not?

Not really, they both they’ve done things that their parents would disapprove of just to survive, and although it makes them sad, they know they can’t change the past.

If they were a cryptid, what would they be?

They would both be a Wendigo, perfectionist and very tired, but ultimately a romantic who wants to be free of worries.

What is the one thing they wish they could’ve said to a loved one, but never did?

Kalliste wishes she could say a proper goodbye to her parents before they were killed and say that she was sorry for being so skittish and shy.

Allura wishes she could have told Autumn how much she appreciated her in the time that they spent with her.

What would they tell their ten year old self?

Kalliste would say “Hold on to Autumn and appreciate to the best of your ability. She didn’t mean to leave you alone.”

Allura’s ten right now but if she was five she’d tell herself “Love Kalliste as hard as you can, because eventually she’ll be your only family left”

Who would be on their team in an all out prank war? Who would they be against?

Kalliste and Allura are a package deal, but they’d choose Ravi, Icio, and Juniper, and would probably be against Castor.

Can they drive a car? Are they good at it? (If cars don’t exist, would they be able to drive if they existed?)

Neither can drive, but that wouldn’t stop them from trying to drive one. Sure, they’re not tall enough to reach the pedals, but Kalliste’s got the brakes and gas and Allura steers.

Tell the story behind their most stupid injury/scar.

Kalliste has a scar on her cheek after the first time she tried to break into an apartment on Scylla and didn’t realize that someone put a dresser up against the window and tripped and fell, cutting her cheek on it. It was then decided that Allura would make sure to know the layout of the room before either of them went inside.

Allura once cut her hand open when she was trying to make tea for Kalliste when she was sick with the plague, and was too busy trying to make sure that Kalliste was okay that she didn’t know that she was slicing her hand and not a lemon. Whenever they argue, Allura holds out her hand and says “This was for you.”

What word(s) would they freeze up at if someone said it to them?

Any type of “stupid kid” or “useless” rhetoric, but they also get dangerously quiet whenever someone brings up OmniBorn Technologies

Who is someone that they don’t talk to much, but would probably get along with?

Nivviah and the snabies would adore each other. Nivviah is always a fan of kids and completely understands where they came from and why they have a hard time trusting people. Kalliste and Allura think that Nivviah is absolutely brave and a hero like the ones they read about.

Have they ever done something they think is unforgivable?

No, they both believe that although they have done bad things like stealing, they are not completely at fault and it was out of necessity, not hatred.

What type of soda would be their favorite?

Kalliste is a fan of orange cream soda, while Allura likes Shirley Temples (or Sprite if that’s not available)

What do they want more than anything?

They both just want a family.

What is their fatal flaw?

Kalliste does not trust absolutely anyone. Given her heightened sense of smell and hearing, if she senses even the smallest difference in someone’s physiology, it will set off alarm bells. Because of this, she can act cold and closed off in an attempt to protect both herself and Allura, and it takes a lot of coaxing to get her to fully trust you.

Allura is the definition of “young, scrappy, and hungry”. She will fight and claw her way to make sure that she and Kalliste aren’t forgotten and doesn’t really think about a situation before running into it, and will try to fight anything in her way. In her and Kalliste’s fight or flight response, Kalliste is the flight, Allura is the fight.

What Greek God would they be most like?

Kalliste would be Nemesis, the goddess of revenge, retribution, and justice.

Allura would be Eris, the goddess of strife, chaos, and discord.

Who do they looks the most up to?

Both used to look up to Autumn as she rescued them from the Genesian experimentation facility, but now that they’ve been living on the Freedom Vessel, look up to Juniper since she’s been taking care of them while Icio was missing.

If they had to pick between their best friend or significant other, who would they pick?

Since they both only had each other for such a long time, they would probably pick each other over anyone, especially Allura towards Kalliste, but if Kalliste was tired of having to become the “mom” at only 12 and had a significant other, she might be tempted to pick them over Allura if she knew that Allura still had someone to watch over her.

#liminoidal #my characters #genesis campaign #Allura Kain #Kalliste Kain

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woodworkingpastor · 4 years

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Who will separate us from the love of Christ? -- Romans 8:31-39 (with Matthew 13:31-33, 44-45) -- Sunday, July 26, 2020

One of my pastoral colleagues grew up in the city and had never had the chance to have a garden of his own. So he was thrilled when he moved into the parsonage of his first congregation—a church in the country—and saw there was a spot that the former pastor had already set up to be a garden. For the first time in his life he was going to have a garden of his own!

He was excited about growing all kinds of vegetables and quite a few flowers, too. But was he was really excited about was zucchini. My friend loves zucchini, so when he began laying out plans for how he would fill this garden space, he made sure to include room zucchini.

He planted 15 zucchini plants that first year. He began to suspect he’d been a bit over-zealous when he saw the property commission out near the place where the parking lot of the church came close to those zucchini plants, measuring something with a tape measure. When he asked what they were doing, they said, “We’re just checking to see if there’s room to back up the semi you’ll need to ship all this zucchini!”

In the gospel texts for today, Jesus tells a different story about planting a garden. And if we have ears to hear, we will recognize that this story is equally ridiculous. If Jesus were telling the story today, he might tell it this way: “The Kingdom of Heaven is like a kudzu start that someone took and planted in his field...”

Jesus’ parables are notorious for stirring up controversy. I’ve said before and I’ve said again, the two best responses to Jesus’ parables are to either be offended or relieved. Either response shows that you really understand what Jesus is saying.

It’s difficult to see how those responses apply to this seemingly harmless little parable of a farmer planting mustard in his field. It turns out, however, that there is actually quite a bit of debate about the parable of the mustard seed. I know the interpretation we prefer. We like the idea of small things becoming big things. So maybe we can excuse ourselves just a bit when we a bit starry-eyed hearing that “the smallest of all the seeds…has grown [into] the greatest of all shrubs.” It fits our culture:

We like the story of the young boy (and it’s almost always a boy) who sets out with nothing but the clothes on his back and through his own hard work and ingenuity rises to a position of great wealth and power.

We have sports teams that play in leagues with only American teams (with a few Canadian teams thrown in for good measure) and then declare the winner of the championship tournament, “world champions.”

We even have a popular band who wrote a song with the lyrics, “We are the champions, my friends; and we'll keep on fighting 'til the end. We are the champions; we are the champions. No time for losers, ‘cause we are the champions of the world.”

We come by this honest. It’s nothing more or less than the air we breathe.

But the thing is, this might not be the point Jesus is making. Mustard was considered a weed. It grew into a four-foot bush, which makes for a fairly unimpressive tree—but it is a pretty big shrub. A four foot shrub is quite an investment of space in your garden, especially if you expect the zucchini in the next row to get enough sun to grow.

And what about the yeast in the next parable? Yeast is good if you’re making homemade bread—especially so if that homemade bread is going to be covered with some Duke’s mayonnaise and a tomato that has grown in your garden. But every other New Testament reference to yeast treats it like a contaminant to be gotten rid of.

From the perspective of culture—our 21st century Western culture, or any culture—the Kingdom of heaven is an invasive species, more like kudzu than carrots.

I say this because of what happens when people come into contact with it. Like any invasive species, the Kingdom of heaven comes into the garden of our souls and starts crowding out what is native. People start doing strange things when their hearts are transformed by the Kingdom of heaven. Jesus told some parables about this, too: people discover a treasure buried in a field, or they are shopping and they find the most beautiful pearl they’ve ever seen, and they just have to have these treasures in their possessions. So they mortgage everything, they sell all they own, that put everything on the line to gain the treasure.

People generally disapprove of such recklessness. It seems strange to them because our imaginations have become so overtaken with one way of doing things, we can’t imagine any other alternative. But what happens when we act and pray like Jesus knew what he was talking about?

Anna Woofenden is one of those people. She’s a pastor who graduated from Earlham School of Religion. While she was there she took classes at Bethany Seminary. Somewhere in the midst of all of that she came to terms with the fact that there are people who are so far removed from any knowledge of Christianity that being part of a church never crosses their mind. She also came to terms with the fact that there are some people who are so broken that they don’t feel comfortable in a church—and often the church isn’t all that comfortable with them. But where would this thinking lead?

Following Jesus led her to San Pedro, CA (a suburb of Los Angeles), but she wasn’t sure what to do or who to talk to when she arrived. Eventually, she felt God’s call to rent a vacant lot in the middle of downtown and plant a garden in the middle of the city. From this garden plot, The Garden Church was born. Her congregation met for three hours each Sunday afternoon, and people were free to come for as much or as little as they wished. At 4 pm, people came to tend the garden—watering, pulling weeds, planting seeds. At 5 pm, they gathered for worship. At 6 pm they ate together, their menu flavored by the vegetables that had grown in the raised planters built on the vacant lot.

Their congregation was a rather “eclectic” group of people. Folks who were frustrated with the institutional church. Homeless people. Persons with mental illness. People who weren’t all that sure what Christianity was about but were curious about a church that had no roof, and that spent time planting a garden together.

Along the way, she learned about the tensions that exist in communities that where some people live in homes, and some people live in back alleys. She learned about shop owners reluctant to allow homeless persons into their stores to use the bathroom, for fear they would drive away the paying customers. People who had jobs and homes planted and weeded and watered alongside people who had lost their jobs and now lived in their cars. There were persons addicted to drugs and persons afraid to venture downtown with their children, all coming together to be the church, to love one another, to be a place where grace had hands and feet and hearts that loved. All gathered around a garden where vegetables and the bread and cup of communion and a shared meal was invading their lives and taking over their old ways of thinking.

One of the more significant lessons they learned was how disorienting it can be when our understanding of “the stranger” and “the enemy” start to change. Without intending to, we build our identities on who and what we are not. We’re not “that.” We don’t want to be around “those people.” But when you begin to draw near to “those people,” you begin to recognize that “those people” are just people. Real people with real struggles and real hopes and real opinions. If what’s drawn you together is the Holy Spirit, you might wake up one day and realize an invasive species has taken over your heart, crowding out old prejudices and attitudes and opinions. You might realize the first thing that needs to change in this world is you and me, not “them.” And suddenly, a church planted in a vacant lot in an obscure Southern California city becomes a garden of grace.

This will never be popular, and there will be people who will oppose it. But to those people who have been captured by a God

who so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son, that whosoever believed in him would not perish, but have eternal life (John 3:16)

to those people whose commitment to follow Jesus has his words from Luke 12 to ring true:

“Do you think I came to bring peace on earth? No, I tell you, but division. From now on there will be five in one family divided against each other, three against two and two against three” (Luke 12:51-52)

Paul comes along and says,

If God is for us, who can be against us (Romans 8:31b)

and

For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord (Romans 8:38-39).

Why does he say this? Because there are things that will try to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. But we need not fear them.

The Christian faith is a lived reality, the alignment of our heart and our head and our hands with the vision God has of this world to reconcile all things in Christ, and to answer our calling to live into God’s vision for the world.

If you want to cause trouble—some good trouble—then plant a garden. Start being an agent of reconciliation. There are reasons why people don’t want to be reconciled; somebody is better off with division. But we serve a God who wants to invade our lives and take over. So plant a garden. Then invite all who will come to enjoy the good things that God’s garden will produce.

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thewanderingamalgamate · 7 years

Text

Snowshoe Tour at Scribe Mountain Resort

Below the cut are logs taken from Doggo’s Gyftmas Retreat. A Snowshoe tour was arranged by a rather snarky Dominion Angel [controlled by me heh] and a few guests came along to suffer! Participants: @ask-the-birb @code-kindness @coldsoulgoodsoul @prancing-pacifist @nolvlost @still-me-chara @loving-goat-975 @king-asgore @fallen-determination @smolgoatsis

Thanks Everyone!

Mountain Resort Staff - Today at 1:50 PM

*[A warmly covered dominion manifests themself, putting hind paws into the snow, followed by a big box of wooden pieces.] *[Through the hammering sounds, a wooden structure starts to take form.] *[The dominion hangs up a sign at the top of the wooden structure. It looks like a booth of sorts.] "SNOWSHOE TRAIL TOURS: NOW OPEN" * Hmm... perhaps this will be enough for people to appreciate the beauty of the mountain wilderness... Arf... Surely they will behave themselves when the small animals start appearing. * I can only hope... *[It appears like you'd be able to pay for a tour of the mountain trail. This would include a small lunch break, food included. A group should be formed first, of around 10 people, or whomever wants to participate.] *[The dominion just waits, leaning on the booth as their warm fuzzy scarf flutters on the wind.]

Parot/Anna [ask-the-birb] - Today at 2:10 PM

Parot and Anna had finally reached where the Snowshoe Trail was said to be [Parot]: Hello there! [Anna]: Well aren't you a pleasant fellow!(edited)

Gen (Code-Kindness) - Today at 2:11 PM

Gen arrived, trailing right behind Parot and Anna.

Kather (@smolgoatsis) - Today at 2:11 PM

Kather padded in, seeming suprised at see others.

Frisk [ prancing-pacifist ] - Today at 2:11 PM

[ * Arrival of bird, they're struggling to run across the field barefoot; they're managing to catch up. ] * Hey!! HEY!!!

Gen (Code-Kindness) - Today at 2:12 PM

Gen turned, looking at his feathered friend who's suffering with the cold snow.

Parot/Anna [ask-the-birb] - Today at 2:12 PM

Anna instantly recognizes Kather [Anna]: Hello, Kather!

Kather (@smolgoatsis) - Today at 2:12 PM

"Howdy!" She called to the birb double, waving.

Mountain Resort Staff - Today at 2:12 PM

*[TheDominion perks up at the arrivals, then composes themselves in a cool yet professional manner.] * Good afternoon, guests. Will you all be partaking of something besides mindless videogames today?

Parot/Anna [ask-the-birb] - Today at 2:13 PM

Parot looks back to Frisk. He sees them sturggling and runs out to help them [Parot]: Here let me help ya! He picks up Frisk and carries them the rest of the way

Gen (Code-Kindness) - Today at 2:13 PM

"Mhm!""..Video games ain't entirely mindless though."

Kather (@smolgoatsis) - Today at 2:13 PM

"I've played one video game since I came." She chuckled.

Frisk [ prancing-pacifist ] - Today at 2:14 PM

[ * Gleeful chirps!! ] * Yes, perfect, thanks!

Parot/Anna [ask-the-birb] - Today at 2:14 PM

[Anna]: I tried a videogames. They aren't that great if I was honest(edited)

Frisk [ prancing-pacifist ] - Today at 2:14 PM

* I never played a single video game here, yesnosiree.

Gen (Code-Kindness) - Today at 2:14 PM

"I just don't play them often."

Parot/Anna [ask-the-birb] - Today at 2:15 PM

Parot nods toward Frisk with a smile and goes back to being next to Anna

Gen (Code-Kindness) - Today at 2:15 PM

"Frisk do you need somethin' for your feet? ..""Or are you planning on just being carried the entire time."

Kather (@smolgoatsis) - Today at 2:16 PM

She wiped some snow off her Gyftmas tree sweater, making the tree a bit more visible.

Parot/Anna [ask-the-birb] - Today at 2:16 PM

[Parot]: Oh shoot, I forgot the snowshoes myself!

Chara|Fallen-Determination - Today at 2:16 PM

Chara slowly headed up to the snowshoe trail, scarf pulled up over their about for extra warmth. They eyed the sign that announced tours and wandered over.

Frisk [ prancing-pacifist ] - Today at 2:16 PM

* Uhhh, shoes. Unfortunately, nothing can fit me without m'claws destroying something.

Gen (Code-Kindness) - Today at 2:17 PM

"Ah uh..""What about just wrapping your feet in cloth?"

Parot/Anna [ask-the-birb] - Today at 2:17 PM

[Anna]: Yeah, it's hard being a bird when it comes to floor surface temperature!

Kather (@smolgoatsis) - Today at 2:17 PM

"I got the shoes as I was walking here."

Frisk [ prancing-pacifist ] - Today at 2:18 PM

* I'd also destroy those and... I need my scarves, havin' them be wet's kinda... nah. [ Frisk nods in agreement. ]

Kather (@smolgoatsis) - Today at 2:18 PM

She had naturally big paws, but she wore the shoes anyway.

Gen (Code-Kindness) - Today at 2:19 PM

"Ah..so basically heading far out from any civilization is kinda just, deadly to your feet.""If its snowy of course."

Kather (@smolgoatsis) - Today at 2:19 PM

"In civilization, too. Waterfall always gets me feet wet."

Gen (Code-Kindness) - Today at 2:20 PM

"That's just watefall though."

Parot/Anna [ask-the-birb] - Today at 2:20 PM

[Parot]: Well, for snowy situations me and Anna just tape a tennis racket under our feet to keep distance from the ground and to add more surface area!(edited)

Winter [ coldsoulgoodsoul ] - Today at 2:20 PM

* (Winter trudges through the freshly fallen snow to arrive at the trails. She knew that she did not want to lose her father again, but she did want to sate her curiosity. The child arrives at the start, looking around as if she were to be observing the surroundings. The new people seemed to make her the slightest bit nervous, though . . . )

Gen (Code-Kindness) - Today at 2:21 PM

..The amount of people is making Gen a bit nervous, so many.

Frisk [ prancing-pacifist ] - Today at 2:21 PM

* I can't normally be near civilization in general, so it's a lose-lose.

Gen (Code-Kindness) - Today at 2:22 PM

"You seem fine here though."

Mountain Resort Staff - Today at 2:22 PM

*[The Doberminion is just giving them all a flat stare.] * All videogames are just brainmelting buttonmashers period. * [They slap snowshoes of various sizes atop the booth counter, sweeping an arm at them.] * Broaden your world. The trails are active and alive today, you will likely see wildlife. Experience something besides pixellated violence.

Parot/Anna [ask-the-birb] - Today at 2:22 PM

[Anna]: Random question but do you have tape and 6 tennis rackets? @Mountain Resort Staff(edited)

Kather (@smolgoatsis) - Today at 2:22 PM

The kid was used to being around lots of people, so she wasn't very nervous.

Frisk [ prancing-pacifist ] - Today at 2:23 PM

* `cause I know I'm safe, that's why!

Gen (Code-Kindness) - Today at 2:23 PM

"Aggressive tone much..? Towards videogames." Gen inaudibly mumbled that.

Gen (Code-Kindness) - Today at 2:23 PM

"Well anyways..shall we get going on the trail?"

Winter [ coldsoulgoodsoul ] - Today at 2:23 PM

* (Winter feels the stare sink into her, but she tries not to notice. She decides to slip over to the counter, staring at the different sizes . . . oh no, she did not know what her foot size was! So many years of being barefoot has gone to waste! Oh, how embarrassing.)

Teddy - Today at 2:23 PM

[Arrival of he, the intellectual Teddy. He's wearing a thicker coat and traded in his glasses for goggles. They are foggier than a motherfucker though, and every few minutes he has to clear them. Beats blinking out those thick flurries though.]

Kather (@smolgoatsis) - Today at 2:24 PM

She stretched, or at least tried to.

Chara|Fallen-Determination - Today at 2:24 PM

Grumpy's ears were perked up at all the chitchat around them, though they didn't know anyone here at the moment... The doberminion's snowshoes caught their attention and they headed over to see if they could find ones that fit their weird fox paws. They missed their human feet...

Mountain Resort Staff - Today at 2:25 PM

* There are shoes fit for avian feet, do not fret. No need to delay the trip by jury rigging a pair... Floofhead girl, just try on the smaller shoes til you find one that fits.(edited)

Kather (@smolgoatsis) - Today at 2:25 PM

Like said earlier, she already had snowshoes, though not as needed at the other's.

Gen (Code-Kindness) - Today at 2:26 PM

Gen giggled a bit at the other name, 'Floofhead girl' that someone was called(edited)

Parot/Anna [ask-the-birb] - Today at 2:26 PM

Parot and Anna were suprised by the prospect of avian-fit shoes. They look to see three pairs. Two fit just for them [Parot]: Amazing!

Frisk [ prancing-pacifist ] - Today at 2:27 PM

[ * Frisk's rolling their eyes, smiling at the reassurance and bowing politely, it's uncommon for them to actually respect others. They're going ahead to the selection, glancing over at the various sizes before them. They're grabbing the one that looked like their size. ]

Chara|Fallen-Determination - Today at 2:27 PM

Grumpy couldn't help but snort at the sight of one of the new arrivals. He certainly looked... Prepared.

Gen (Code-Kindness) - Today at 2:27 PM

"Wait, just remembered..gotta go do somethin'! Sorry you three, wanna hang out later Frisk?" (Mun gotta go soon so kicking gen off early a bit, will return later >v>;;)

Parot/Anna [ask-the-birb] - Today at 2:27 PM

The two akwardly put on the shoes. It takes a bit for them to get the shoes on

Winter [ coldsoulgoodsoul ] - Today at 2:27 PM

* (Winter froze up by the nickname, and her cheeks became a bit reddish from the embarrassment. She quickly nods before going over to look at the selection of trail shoes and trying to ignore her clear embarrassment of the situation.)

Frisk [ prancing-pacifist ] - Today at 2:28 PM

* If I can, sure.

Parot/Anna [ask-the-birb] - Today at 2:28 PM

[Parot]: Ok, see ya Gen! [Anna]: See ya Gen! Parot and I are ready to begin!

Gen (Code-Kindness) - Today at 2:29 PM

"Alrighty, seeya Frisk, Parot, and Anna." Gen smiled, waving bye to the three as he ran off back towards the small town.

Chara|Fallen-Determination - Today at 2:30 PM

It took them a bit but the fox monster managed to find some snowshoes that fit them. They felt super weird but it was better than being ankle deep in snow.

Kather (@smolgoatsis) - Today at 2:30 PM

"So, this is a mountain, covered in trees, wildlife, and snow?"

Frisk [ prancing-pacifist ] - Today at 2:30 PM

[ * Frisk puffs their chest out, slipping on their snowshoes. It's easier to appear brave than to be brave, they're trekking into the wilderness, it's fitting. ]

Parot/Anna [ask-the-birb] - Today at 2:31 PM

Anna and Parot live near the forest so the prospect of going into the wilderness is nothing frightening to them

Winter [ coldsoulgoodsoul ] - Today at 2:32 PM

* (Since Wander found out the size of shoes Winter needed, she would have to find where that was on her boots. She decides to sit down on the ground and turn her foot to where she could see her heel . . . and she finds the size! She then quickly gets up and swiftly scans the shelves for something her size.)

Mountain Resort Staff - Today at 2:34 PM

*[The Dominion caught a glance at the girl's size and quickly shoved a proper set at Winter.] * Less delay child, more walking. Yes, trees, snow, and more wildlife than just rowdy children.

Teddy - Today at 2:34 PM

[Snowshoes equipped! -2 grace. As if he didn't trip over his clumsy ass feet enough.]

Chara|Fallen-Determination - Today at 2:36 PM

Grumpy looked over at the kid with goggles, raising an eyebrow with a smirk. "Can you even see out of those things?"

Winter [ coldsoulgoodsoul ] - Today at 2:36 PM

* (Winter blinked at the Dominion's quick response, and she tenses. She nods and steps back, feeling a bit overwhelmed. She manages to utter an "I'm sorry" before inching to another spot to slip these strange shoes on.)(edited)

Parot/Anna [ask-the-birb] - Today at 2:38 PM

Anna giggles at the child's innocent nature [Anna]: Let's get this show on the road!

Kather (@smolgoatsis) - Today at 2:38 PM

"Yes!" She agrees with Anna, pumping a fist into the air.

Mountain Resort Staff - Today at 2:38 PM

* [They point towards the trail, clearly (and clumsily) traveled by several cherubs already. Leading up the slopes, weaving through a copse of scraggly trees, and passing several fissure in the mountain.] * If you all are prepared, we can begin the tour. You will encounter ursidae up there. These creatures are friendly. If your hands are not too grubby, they might even let you pet them... only Seraph knows why.

Toriel/Undyne (loving-goat-975) - Today at 2:39 PM

Undyne rushes in at the last minute.

Teddy - Today at 2:40 PM

[Teddy turns around every which way to see who was talking to him. He lifts his googles off his forehead to squint at them. Not dubiously, just trying to see.] Teddy: * I mean, barely, but I manage.

Toriel/Undyne (loving-goat-975) - Today at 2:40 PM

U: Hey can I join! I'm ready and pumped!

Parot/Anna [ask-the-birb] - Today at 2:40 PM

[Parot]: I don't see why not!

Winter [ coldsoulgoodsoul ] - Today at 2:40 PM

* (Winter notices the Dominion's instruction, and she follows their finger to the land ahead once she manages to get her shoes on. Winter observes the wilderness for a few moments before freezing in her spot; crap, that was Undyne. She has to keep remembering that this is a friendly zone!)

Kather (@smolgoatsis) - Today at 2:41 PM

An Undyne! This was sure to be interesting...

Parot/Anna [ask-the-birb] - Today at 2:41 PM

Parot and Anna smile toward the Dominion. They begin their walk onto the trail

Toriel/Undyne (loving-goat-975) - Today at 2:42 PM

Undyne jogs in front, marvelling at the nature.

Kather (@smolgoatsis) - Today at 2:42 PM

She decided to follow Parot and Anna.

Toriel/Undyne (loving-goat-975) - Today at 2:42 PM

U: Ah, the great outdoors! Smell that air! Makes you want to wrestle a bear!

Parot/Anna [ask-the-birb] - Today at 2:43 PM

[Anna to Undyne]: You seem to be an exitable type, too!

Kather (@smolgoatsis) - Today at 2:43 PM

"I never want to wrestle a bear...*(edited)

Frisk [ prancing-pacifist ] - Today at 2:43 PM

[ * Frisk muttered some things under their breath, going ahead to start trailing on the path. They proceed to somewhat agree with Undyne, bear wrestling is great. ]

Parot/Anna [ask-the-birb] - Today at 2:43 PM

[Parot]: That would be an interesting thing to watch, I would have to say!(edited)

Teddy - Today at 2:44 PM

[Wrestle a bear? Oh lordt. The thought is terrifying enough, he's not sure of this lady's temperment to see if she'd actually do it.]

Frisk [ prancing-pacifist ] - Today at 2:46 PM

* I'd wrestle a bear myself, not that I've done so before! I fought an elk, that's how close I'm gonna get to that.

Mountain Resort Staff - Today at 2:46 PM

* And you never will wrestle a bear, at least not here thank you very much! *[Appears that the angel is following along! Hovering of course, no need to sully their paws with shoes!] *Late arrivals! Grab your snowshoes and follow along! Now a family of elk frequently graze by those trees. Please do not make any sudden loud sounds.

Toriel/Undyne (loving-goat-975) - Today at 2:46 PM

U: Aw, come on! Can I wrestle the elk?

Parot/Anna [ask-the-birb] - Today at 2:47 PM

Anna laughs a little at Undyne's strange wants

Kather (@smolgoatsis) - Today at 2:47 PM

"Please wrestle nothing."

Frisk [ prancing-pacifist ] - Today at 2:48 PM

* I wanna wrestle-hug, suplex?? Suplex an elk with the fish lady, but, I don't wanna anger whatever mountain deities here.

Winter [ coldsoulgoodsoul ] - Today at 2:48 PM

* (Winter does not know many people here, so she just takes a deep breath and proceeds to catch up to the end of the group. She nervously looks around as she treads forward, trying to drag her attention to the elk. Her eyes widen; she has not ever seen anything like this before! She lets out a little suprised gasp as her answer, adoring the complexity of the cute creatures.)

Frisk [ prancing-pacifist ] - Today at 2:48 PM

* Y'can never know what can happen, ever.[ * They do want to eat some fresh venison, not doubt about that. ]

Teddy - Today at 2:50 PM

[Teddy decides to train in the back, preferably away from the angel dog. For reasons. Besides, these shoes are deceptively difficult to walk in and he chooses to not make a fool of himself!]

Parot/Anna [ask-the-birb] - Today at 2:50 PM

Parot trails behind the group seeing the child from earlier acting a little nervous [Parot to Winter]: Hey, you doing good back here little one?

Gen (Code-Kindness) - Today at 2:50 PM

Gen returned early, putting some snow shoes on quickly. "Back!" (..Or not, dunno when I am leaving)"Had time."

Parot/Anna [ask-the-birb] - Today at 2:51 PM

[Anna]: Great Gen. Come on!

Teddy - Today at 2:52 PM

[Teddy decides to pipe up as well.] Teddy: * Yeah, Winter, everything's fine, the scary winged dog said so.

Gen (Code-Kindness) - Today at 2:52 PM

"Okay!" Gen moved on over to Frisk and the other two birds.

Winter [ coldsoulgoodsoul ] - Today at 2:53 PM

* (Winter hears a voice directed at her, and she freezes up again, stopping in her tracks. She nods, gulping down her nervousness once more and treads the area a bit behind the group; it would not be too far, though. She decides to observe the people in the group a bit as we-- and she freezes up again.) * A-are y-you sure . . . ?

Gen (Code-Kindness) - Today at 2:53 PM

(fff, gotta go now, just act like Gen is following quietly;;)

Kather (@smolgoatsis) - Today at 2:53 PM

Kather was right behind the birds, struggling a bit woth her shoes

Chara|Fallen-Determination - Today at 2:54 PM

Grumpy starts following, staying near the back. "Kind of defeats the purpose of a nature walk if you can't see shit." The fox monster chuckled under their breath as they shoved their paws in their jacket pockets.

Frisk [ prancing-pacifist ] - Today at 2:55 PM

* Oooh. [ Frisk nods, keeping themselves close to the group. ] They're kinda right there.

Mountain Resort Staff - Today at 2:56 PM

* There is no need to fear child. Nothing will harm you on my watch. *[As the group approaches the trees, what seemed at first to be low branches, turns out to be the antlers of the aforementioned elks! Healthy and sleek, they lift their heads and gaze calmly at their visitor.] * ... You may move closer. Slowly. Do not tug the antlers, they re sensitive, and pet along with the fur, not against.

Toriel/Undyne (loving-goat-975) - Today at 2:56 PM

U: Well I guess I can just enjoy nature as a whole..U: Kid, I think you'd like petting those deer.

Kather (@smolgoatsis) - Today at 2:57 PM

She squeezed between Anna and Parot, getting in front of the two.(edited)

Parot/Anna [ask-the-birb] - Today at 2:58 PM

Anna and Parot let Kather through. They let the kids go to the creature first. They just wanted to watch

Teddy - Today at 2:58 PM

[Teddy falls silent. He didn't think the dominion would hear him! He'll blame the cold on his red face and his goggles fogging up.]

Kather (@smolgoatsis) - Today at 2:59 PM

Somehow, she got to pet an elk. In all honesty, she thought she wouldn't be able to.

Winter [ coldsoulgoodsoul ] - Today at 3:00 PM

* (Winter gulps, nodding once more. She furrows her brows, shakes her head, and slowly begins to trudge through the snow once more, following behind the group. She wasn't as nervous about the surroundings since she had actually lived in a forest for a few years, but she was scared of the people. She soon regained some of her happiness as she observed the nice details of the elk.)

Frisk [ prancing-pacifist ] - Today at 3:01 PM

* Isn't nature beautiful?

Winter [ coldsoulgoodsoul ] - Today at 3:01 PM

* Mhm . . .(edited)

Chara|Fallen-Determination - Today at 3:02 PM

Chara eyed the elk from a distance. It was cool seeing such animals up close, they didn't really get to appreciate the scenery of the forest last time they ran up a mountain... Yet they didn't much feel like petting anything. They'd leave that to the younger kids.

Mountain Resort Staff - Today at 3:02 PM

* Definitely better than seeing your ungroomed mugs... I mean, certainly is wondrous!

Chara|Fallen-Determination - Today at 3:02 PM

That got a good snort out of Chara. Oh their guide was sassy, this would be entertaining.

Frisk [ prancing-pacifist ] - Today at 3:03 PM

[ * Frisk's giving the Dominion a playful glare, rolling their eyes with a shoulder shrug. ]

Kather (@smolgoatsis) - Today at 3:03 PM

She rose an eyebrow at the winged dog, by that time she was back with the group.

Frisk [ prancing-pacifist ] - Today at 3:03 PM

* Says you.

Winter [ coldsoulgoodsoul ] - Today at 3:03 PM

* (Winter's face gets red at that remark, and her eyes drift away from the Dominion. She definitely caught that, and that was definitely bitter. She pulls her scarf up over her face for a bit, becoming the slightest bit aware about what she looked like at the moment.)

Parot/Anna [ask-the-birb] - Today at 3:03 PM

Parot just looked at the Dominion for a bit then looks back at the elk(edited)

Kather (@smolgoatsis) - Today at 3:04 PM

Now she was next to Anna somehow. Mun is curious.

Teddy - Today at 3:05 PM

[Teddy feels uneased being able to pet the wildlife. But how often did the chance come up? He channels a hidden reservoir of bravery to pet on of the elk on the head.] [It nuzzles his hand and slobbers all over it. He's disgusted and delighted!]

Parot/Anna [ask-the-birb] - Today at 3:05 PM

[Anna]: Hello little one! Anna pinches Kather's cheek and smiles(edited)

Kather (@smolgoatsis) - Today at 3:06 PM

Her cheeks get a tint of red, and she immediately begins inspecting a 'very interesting... uh... snowflake.'

Parot/Anna [ask-the-birb] - Today at 3:07 PM

Anna giggles a bit [Anna]: What have you've been up to Kather?

Winter [ coldsoulgoodsoul ] - Today at 3:07 PM

* (Winter then attempts to distract her own thoughts by watching the rather tall human pet the elk and imagining what it would feel like. She seems interested.)

Kather (@smolgoatsis) - Today at 3:07 PM

"I got my friend a scarf and failed at skiing." She shrugged.

Teddy - Today at 3:08 PM

Teddy: * Haha, gross! [He'll just wipe the elk's slobber back onto it.]

Parot/Anna [ask-the-birb] - Today at 3:09 PM

[Parot]: I don't know how to ski either. The first time Anna tried skiing she kept on going into the parking lot and wouldn't stop! Anna pokes at Parot. Her cheeks went a little pink [Anna]: Hey!

Mountain Resort Staff - Today at 3:10 PM

* Does anyone brush this childs hair...? Ahem, onwards, onwards! Come along! I'm sure the elks have had their olfactory organs assaulted enough now. *[The dominion floats along, beckoning the others to follow. The next stop appears to be under a cliffs overhang. Amidst the icy stalactites resides a small family of bats. The grump angel casually points up at them.] * These oddly cute fellows are Chiroptera. If you ever hear odd noises at night, its likely your own snoring, but there is a chance it might be them as well. You may visit them.

Kather (@smolgoatsis) - Today at 3:10 PM

"I was on the kiddy slopes."

Parot/Anna [ask-the-birb] - Today at 3:11 PM

[Parot whispers to Kather]: Anna was too, but she didn't know how to stop so she just zoomed on by!(edited)

Chara|Fallen-Determination - Today at 3:11 PM

Chara followed the winged dog, listening as they spoke about the animals. They were certainly cute little guys...

Kather (@smolgoatsis) - Today at 3:12 PM

She snorted, than begain to wonder if the Dominion was referring to her when if asked if anyone brushed her fur.

Parot/Anna [ask-the-birb] - Today at 3:12 PM

Anna doesn't hear Parot as she listened to the Dominion. She gives a little huff at the their joke(edited)

Winter [ coldsoulgoodsoul ] - Today at 3:12 PM

* (Winter's face gets even redder as she puffs out a bit of cold air. She's tempted to reply, but she does not. She doesn't need to be reminded of how she still barely knows how to brush her hair. Winter trudges along quickly, bringing her scarf up over her nose. She doesn't want to get embarrassed any more than she already was. She was getting a bit colder and she started to shiver from it. Darnit.)

Frisk [ prancing-pacifist ] - Today at 3:12 PM

[ * Frisk huffs, they followed along behind and just... checks out the bats. They're staring right up at them, silently clapping their hands. ] * Awww, yes!

Teddy - Today at 3:13 PM

[Teddy steadily falls behind to put a sympathetic hand on Winter's shoulder. He feels bad for her, and if his goggles weren't foggy he'd be glaring a hole through that big mean dog's head!!]

Parot/Anna [ask-the-birb] - Today at 3:14 PM

[Anna]: I've never actually seen this kinda bat before. It's kinda cool!

Kather (@smolgoatsis) - Today at 3:16 PM

"Bats are kinda cute, but also kinda creepy."

Winter [ coldsoulgoodsoul ] - Today at 3:16 PM

* (Winter tenses up at the sudden touch, stopping in her spot for a brief moment. A shiver runs down her spine once more, and she turns her head to look at the tall human that fell behind to do that. Teddy's hand might just get cold if he keeps it on her shoulder for too long due to her state, but she doesn't seem to notice and she tries to catch up to the group.) * (Ooh, bats!)

Chara|Fallen-Determination - Today at 3:17 PM

Chara kept off to the side of the group as they looked up at the bats, humming softly to themself.

Frisk [ prancing-pacifist ] - Today at 3:17 PM

[ * Frisk's going ahead to be daring and head closer to the bats, they're spreading their wings to attempt a closer look at them. ]

Mountain Resort Staff - Today at 3:18 PM

*{A few bats spread their wings right back at Frisk in a little greeting.]

Frisk [ prancing-pacifist ] - Today at 3:19 PM

[ * Gasp!! They're becoming giddier, the welcoming sight just makes them grin.] * Oh my goodness...!

Mountain Resort Staff - Today at 3:19 PM

* Oh look, one beast communes with another.

Parot/Anna [ask-the-birb] - Today at 3:19 PM

Anna just giggles at Frisk reaction. She's such a cute child

Chara|Fallen-Determination - Today at 3:20 PM

Grumpy snickers.

Parot/Anna [ask-the-birb] - Today at 3:20 PM

[Parot]: Well, thats a little harsh?" Parot says to Dominion about their comment.

Kather (@smolgoatsis) - Today at 3:20 PM

She tried no to laugh at the Dominion's comments."Oh no... I've go to go." ((Mun is busy. Seeya~))

Mountain Resort Staff - Today at 3:21 PM

*True, that was a bit mean to the bats.

Frisk [ prancing-pacifist ] - Today at 3:22 PM

[ * Immediately, Frisk turns to the dominion and fluffs their feathers up; an attempt at intimidation. ] * Hey, rude!

Chara|Fallen-Determination - Today at 3:23 PM

"Oh no, a menacing parakeet." Grumpy chuckled to themselves.

Parot/Anna [ask-the-birb] - Today at 3:23 PM

Anna and Parot roll their eye at Grumpy's dumb bird joke

Teddy - Today at 3:24 PM

[Teddy, you rude shit, how are you trying to comfort one child and then laugh at another's teasing? There's a german word for that, but your nerd ass can't pronounce it.]

Frisk [ prancing-pacifist ] - Today at 3:25 PM

* I can prove t'ya how menacin' I can be! [ Not like this, child. ]

Winter [ coldsoulgoodsoul ] - Today at 3:27 PM

* (Winter gives a slightly concerned look at Teddy; she's definitely getting mixed signals from him right now. Her face is still a bit red, and she's still shivering, but her emotions are mixed. Good job.)

Chara|Fallen-Determination - Today at 3:27 PM

"Absolutely terrifying. I'm shaking in my snowboots."

Mountain Resort Staff - Today at 3:28 PM

*[ The Dominion smirks at the display, flaring out their own wings between flaps. They're kind of big...] * Relax child. It was merely in jest, I assure you. The creatures appear to enjoy your presence, I consider this a good sign. It means you are not a complete brat as I initially assumed. *Only mostly one.

Teddy - Today at 3:29 PM

[He lifts his googles and flashes an impish smile. How can a guy with a goofy grin like that be intimidating? He means well.]

Parot/Anna [ask-the-birb] - Today at 3:29 PM

[Parot]: Shall we continue please? Parot was still angry about the comments Frisk got

Chara|Fallen-Determination - Today at 3:30 PM

Grumpy glances over to Teddy. "Oh, you look slightly less of a huge dork without those on. I'm surprised." Grumpy pls

Winter [ coldsoulgoodsoul ] - Today at 3:31 PM

* (Winter sighs at the impish smile, and she grabs her scarf by the edge to pull it down. She could breathe better without the thing on, but she was more used to it loosely hanging around her neck. Winter can only hope she won't get teased for any more of her qualities.)

Frisk [ prancing-pacifist ] - Today at 3:32 PM

* Hmph! [ Tucking theirs inside, they're following the semi-secret bird code that the largest wings are the ones to be respected. They snorted, crossing their arms and making their way back to the group. ] `m glad I'm not full brat, then. Maybe, I could visit them another time n' chat it up. * If I could speak bat.

Teddy - Today at 3:32 PM

[He'll pointedly ignore that comment, only to point directly at the foxchild, gesturing to Winter.] Teddy: * Look, the scary dog person was right, one of the wildlife started to follow us and developed speech! This place is magical.

Winter [ coldsoulgoodsoul ] - Today at 3:33 PM

* (Winter shushes when Teddy gestures at her, and she looks over at the foxchild. She only tilts her head, but she doesn't say anything. That was kind of rude . . . )

Chara|Fallen-Determination - Today at 3:34 PM

With a snort, Grumpy bared their teeth and raised their paws to jokingly look menacing. "All the easier to catch a meal."

Teddy - Today at 3:37 PM

[While the fox's bare teeth does making him uneasy, he tries his best to not let it show. Teddy: * You couldn't catch a cold. [Diverting his attention back to Winter, he points again, in a different direction to a few deer huddled together.] Teddy: * Look at that bevy of deer! They might be a family.

Mountain Resort Staff - Today at 3:37 PM

*[ Why must these guests be insufferably cute? With a loud harrumph the Dominion floats along.] * As you wish my avian guests. And there will be no meal catching here, please! Animal and guest are under my protection until the tour concludes! You are all distasteful anyways, I really would not recommend it.

Winter [ coldsoulgoodsoul ] - Today at 3:39 PM

* (Winter gulps again at the teeth, shivering. A bit of frost started to form on her hand, but she shook it before any more can form. She turns her head towards the deer and she manages a smile, making a quiet comment while slowly trudging forward.) * T-they're c-cute . . .

Chara|Fallen-Determination - Today at 3:39 PM

Grumpy smirked, shoving their paws back in their pockets. "They all look a bit scrawny anyways."

Winter [ coldsoulgoodsoul ] - Today at 3:39 PM

* I h-hope t-they are having a n-nice d-day today!

Mountain Resort Staff - Today at 3:40 PM

*... they do not get many visitors here. I am sure your presence has brightened their day considerably. * This tour is as much for them as it is for all of you.

Winter [ coldsoulgoodsoul ] - Today at 3:42 PM

* (Winter's cheeks are not red anymore, but she gives a small bit of a smile. She liked the peaceful creatures.)

Frisk [ prancing-pacifist ] - Today at 3:43 PM

* Not that we're disturbin' it, it's relievin' t'know that we're not. [ Frisk's recovering from the taunts, they're a tough bird. ]

Mountain Resort Staff - Today at 3:45 PM

* Wolves are next. A family has made their den in a fissure just up ahead. I am sure they would appreciate some pets as well.

Teddy - Today at 3:46 PM

[Well that's a relief! Teddy is used to wilderness and wildlife but probably seen too many movies where things go awry should to mess with it. ]

Chara|Fallen-Determination - Today at 3:46 PM

Grumpy's ears perked up at the mention of wolves. They might actually pet these ones if they let them.

Teddy - Today at 3:47 PM

[Aaaand wolves is where Teddy stops. Wolves are just larger, more aggressive dogs.]

Frisk [ prancing-pacifist ] - Today at 3:47 PM

* ... Wolves? I could put my pettin' skills t'use!

Winter [ coldsoulgoodsoul ] - Today at 3:48 PM

* (Winter begins to lighten up once more, and she attempts to trudge in the snow faster and attempt not to trip. Even though she only has 3 days of experience with wearing boots for once, she looks around at the trees. She's used to the snow-and-trees setting, but the animals and other varieties of plants are new. The Snowdin Forest was pretty, but she got used to it easily.)

Chara|Fallen-Determination - Today at 3:50 PM

The fox monster glanced back at Teddy to raise an eyebrow and smirk. "You scared the big bad wolves are gonna eat you~?"

Parot/Anna [ask-the-birb] - Today at 3:51 PM

Wolves would interesting to see, especially passive ones

Winter [ coldsoulgoodsoul ] - Today at 3:51 PM

* (Winter looks at the fox monster and she feigns a small scowl. Now that's just rude.)

Mountain Resort Staff - Today at 3:51 PM

* Hmph, please. The wolves prefer smaller prey. Like foxes. Or little children wandering around without their parents.

Chara|Fallen-Determination - Today at 3:52 PM

Grumpy paused at that, but they were 6 foot tall so... nothing to worry about there.

Parot/Anna [ask-the-birb] - Today at 3:52 PM

Anna and Parot chuckle at the joke

Winter [ coldsoulgoodsoul ] - Today at 3:52 PM

* . . .* (Owch.)

Frisk [ prancing-pacifist ] - Today at 3:53 PM

* I can fight `em off with the power of friendship, then they won't eat me.

Teddy - Today at 3:53 PM

[That's hardly convincing him! Still, his teeth chatter in fright.]

Winter [ coldsoulgoodsoul ] - Today at 3:55 PM

* (She shakes her head and places her hands above her elbows, burying her face into her scarf a bit more.)

Parot/Anna [ask-the-birb] - Today at 3:56 PM

Parot and Anna fall a little back as they start holding hand ((Mun is sleepy he gonna go for a bit))

Mountain Resort Staff - Today at 3:56 PM

*[The angel waves the group forward, just a short jaunt past a few mounds of snow... a few have a cherubs tail sticking out... and they arrive at the fizzure. The Dominion holds up a hand signalling a halt, and raise a finger to their snout.] * They might be sleeping. A litter of pups was born a few months ago. Just going to knock and see if they are awake and wish to visit.

Parot/Anna [ask-the-birb] - Today at 3:57 PM

They were just going to follow the group and watch

Teddy - Today at 3:58 PM

Teddy: * Whatnoit'dbebetteriftheywereasleep. [Hey, it's not like he ever said he was a bravery soul.]

Winter [ coldsoulgoodsoul ] - Today at 3:58 PM

* (Winter slowly inches forward, doubting her reasoning for coming here in the first place. She was not in for this, and she feels a range of complicated emotions. The child then turns her head towards Teddy before tilting it and idling in that spot.) * ?

Chara|Fallen-Determination - Today at 3:59 PM

Grumpy eyed a few of the mounds, poking a couple of the tails as they followed the angel. They rolled their eyes at Teddy. "They're not going to eat you. As funny as that would be." That second part was mumbled. Be nice, Chara.

Frisk [ prancing-pacifist ] - Today at 4:01 PM

[ * Frisk turned their head around, walking without looking in front of them. They couldn't speak any real words of encouragement other than; ] * Yeah, they're haaarmless! I bet they are! I dunno.

Winter [ coldsoulgoodsoul ] - Today at 4:02 PM

* A-are you a-alright?

Mountain Resort Staff - Today at 4:03 PM

* [The Dominion raps a paw against the stone just inside the fizzure, a soft poff poff poff echoing into its depths...] *[ A few seconds later a trio of playful grey wolf pups come rambling out, followed by their groggy parents. The angel glances at Teddy then the wolves and, in as deadpan a manner as possible, addresses the creatures.] * Please do not devour anyone today.(edited)

Chara|Fallen-Determination - Today at 4:04 PM

They snorted at the dominion's request to the wolves before crouching down closer to the wolf pups' level. They were so cuuute~

Teddy - Today at 4:05 PM

Teddy: * O-of course they aren't! That would be physically impossible. [So much for keeping it under control, Teddy. Now he's stuttering and probably seeming 20% less cool. Still, he pushes onward, one shaky foot after another, opting to stay with the group than leave by himself. Doesn't he know wolves and foxes eat /big chickens like himself/ ]

Chara|Fallen-Determination - Today at 4:06 PM

Grumpy's tail may or may not be wagging without their permission.

Teddy - Today at 4:07 PM

[Oh jesus how terrifying. They are small and energetic.]

Winter [ coldsoulgoodsoul ] - Today at 4:07 PM

* (Winter moves a bit closer to Teddy, having a worried look come onto her face. She gives a concerned glance at him, forgetting about her own few self-centered concerns.)

Mountain Resort Staff - Today at 4:08 PM

* Floofheaded child, they're about as ferocious and dangerous as you are, so show the bespectacled one what bravery is and pet a pup.

Frisk [ prancing-pacifist ] - Today at 4:10 PM

[ * Frisk's going ahead to step ahead towards the wolf puppers, they're sitting down to hopefully attract one. ]* Mhm, he'll really need it!

Chara|Fallen-Determination - Today at 4:10 PM

Grumpy found themselves making quiet but pleased yips as they pet the pups. They were so cute and rambunctious~

Teddy - Today at 4:11 PM

[Teddy would frown loudly at that remark if he could! He's plenty brave, he's still here, right? Though, he's a respectable distance away from the pups and his heart is palpitating, he's here! His eyes go wide at Winter, concerned if she'd actually go up to one to prove the angel's point.]

Mountain Resort Staff - Today at 4:12 PM

* [Didn't need much attraction really, one pup scurries right up to the bird Frisk and pounces on them like the fierce hunter they are! Granted a hunter would be gnawing on the bird and not yipping excitedly like it is now.]

Winter [ coldsoulgoodsoul ] - Today at 4:14 PM

* (Winter didn't realize she was called on, but she hesitantly nods and makes her way over to one of the pups slowly. She did not want to irritate them, or make them angry, or . . . be too cold, in all honesty. She inches closer and closer, crouching down . . . and places her hand gently on top of one of the pup's heads. Her hand was cold, but she gave some gentle scritches.) * (She seemed nervous.)

Teddy - Today at 4:16 PM

[Let's reiterate: Ah jesus christ how terrifying. To pet such a ferorcious beast...]

Chara|Fallen-Determination - Today at 4:17 PM

"Get over here you big coward, these pups could barely bite your hand off." Grumpy stuck their tongue out at Teddy.

Winter [ coldsoulgoodsoul ] - Today at 4:17 PM

* (To be honest, she was way more used to cats.)

Toriel/Undyne (loving-goat-975) - Today at 4:17 PM

U: You're doing good, kid!

Frisk [ prancing-pacifist ] - Today at 4:18 PM

* Whoa! [ * The mighty canine has caught their feathered prey, Frisk lifted their arms up in defense and giggle-chirped. They're reaching a hand out to pet the pup on the head, purring. ] * Calm down there, lil' buddy.

Teddy - Today at 4:19 PM

Teddy: * I'm not a coward, but I'd rather not risk it. [He hesitates to even step a bit closer to the pile of pups, trying to convince himself it's to keep an eye on Winter, who was /so obviously and clearly/ in """"danger""".]

Winter [ coldsoulgoodsoul ] - Today at 4:21 PM

* (Winter is getting a bit colder, more nervous, and worried about the pup she's trying to pet.)

Mountain Resort Staff - Today at 4:21 PM

*[The Dominion gracefully lands on the snow and kneels by Winter, scratching the pup back as well.] * A certain Staff member likes to call this one 'Ajokoira'... I think he was being ironic. Less aggressive than the other two. See? There is no need to fear.

Chara|Fallen-Determination - Today at 4:23 PM

Grumpy kept getting this odd urge to bark and hop around. Stupid fox monster body... They kept themselves under control and just pet the pups, though. "Can we pick them up?" They asked the Dominion.

Mountain Resort Staff - Today at 4:23 PM

* Yes, you may. But do not stray too far from their parents please.

Winter [ coldsoulgoodsoul ] - Today at 4:24 PM

* (Winter tenses when the Dominion lands by her, and her scritching halts for a few moments. It's a bit overwhelming, but she did not know why she was acting like this. She nods, making little noise; she is trying her hardest not to agitate the pup.)

Chara|Fallen-Determination - Today at 4:25 PM

Grumpy nodded before carefully picking up one of the pups. They pet and nuzzled them before smirking and scooting closer to Teddy. "Look at this little bundle of fur. You can see the murder in it's eyes."

Mountain Resort Staff - Today at 4:26 PM

*[ The Dominion eyes the girl, then suddenly picks up the pup themselves... and holds it out to Winter.] * He's as docile as a 'kitten', perfect fit for you. Why don't you carry this one for a time, maybe get your companion accustomed to its presence.(edited)

Teddy - Today at 4:27 PM

Teddy: * !!

Winter [ coldsoulgoodsoul ] - Today at 4:29 PM

* (Winter gulps again, looking at the pup with worried eyes. She looks at it for a few moments before slowly obtaining the pup. She gently wraps a hand around it's chest before gently wrapping her arm on it's side to try making sure the pup was secure . . . alright. She was chilly, but at least she was wearing winter clothes.)

Mountain Resort Staff - Today at 4:31 PM

*[Was that a smile on their face? No, impossible, not on this grump. All the same, the dominion pats the childs head before going airborne again] * I will let his parents know that their 'hunter' here will be spending time with a friend.

Teddy - Today at 4:31 PM

[Look at it, with its big ol' eyes, and tiny paws clamoring to him, eager to play. And tiny little yips of excitement. Teddy is determined not to be such a punk, but he still leans away from it, eyeing it dubiously.][He stares Grumpy in the eyes defiantly, but bringing a shaky hand over to pet the devil dog without getting nibbled chomped on. He makes contact and the little puppy leans into his hand. Immediately, he flinches.]

Winter [ coldsoulgoodsoul ] - Today at 4:34 PM

* (Winter tenses at the pat, but she doesn't move. She's careful not to make any movements that could possibly disturb the animal because she's so neurotic before attempting to give it a gentle scritch behind the ear. Scritch scritch.)

Chara|Fallen-Determination - Today at 4:34 PM

Grumpy's smirk turns into a grin as Teddy hesitantly pets the pup. "It likes you~ Careful, it now has a taste for your flesh."

Winter [ coldsoulgoodsoul ] - Today at 4:36 PM

* Shh. * (She's attempting to be as quiet as possible.)

Mountain Resort Staff - Today at 4:38 PM

*[ The pup in Winter's arm leans into the scritches, yawns and promptly curls up in her grasp to nap.] * Fierce... What is wrong with you people? One last stop. The bear awaits. Try not to soil yourselves...(edited)

Teddy - Today at 4:40 PM

Teddy: * Haha, very funny. [He tries again, giving the pup the most hesitant of scritchies. It playfully nibbles on his hand. Oh no the fox person was right! What a wretched little creature! How dare it lick his hand all friendly like like it didn't know what it did?!]

Winter [ coldsoulgoodsoul ] - Today at 4:41 PM

* (Winter can't help to gasp at the pup's actions. Her cheeks get a little red, flustered by the pup's acceptance of the child! She barely hears the Dominion talking because of her concentration on the pup, so she stays still to let it nap. She starts to hum a short, quiet, and slow tune to the pup. Daw.)

Chara|Fallen-Determination - Today at 4:42 PM

Grumpy chuckled as the pup nibbled Teddy. Their ears drooped when the dominion said they were moving on. Aww, they wanted to play with the pups some more and tease Teddy with them.

Teddy - Today at 4:42 PM

Teddy: * Oh, great! Now put that lil' drool machine back.

Chara [still-me-chara] - Today at 4:42 PM

A figure begins to emerge through the distance, one arm held in front of her face to protect herself from the snow, taking deep wading steps in... leggings? Who is this madwoman?Oh, it's Chara. Of course.

Frisk [ prancing-pacifist ] - Today at 4:43 PM

[ * Frisk paps their puppy and chuckles, they're willing to wrestle the bear. Ready to hug it, they mean. ]

Winter [ coldsoulgoodsoul ] - Today at 4:43 PM

* (Winter is unsure what to do except hum a small tune to the pup and hope it falls asleep so she can let it rest in the snow. Poor child, becoming slightly attached to the pup.)

Chara [still-me-chara] - Today at 4:43 PM

She waves gently at the approaching group; she seems to have at least insulated her clothing, and her signature sweater's had a hood attached to it.

Chara|Fallen-Determination - Today at 4:44 PM

Giving the pup a few more scratches, the fox monster Chara set the pup back down with their parents. "Bye bye~"

Winter [ coldsoulgoodsoul ] - Today at 4:45 PM

* (She's stuck in her spot, and she's getting nervous about the group. Her notes become a bit more rushed, and her arms start to tremble. Shoooot.)

Frisk [ prancing-pacifist ] - Today at 4:45 PM

[ * They're letting their new puppy friend stay behind, leaving one last pat pet before heading back to the group. They're progressively growing tired, but, it's worth it. ]

Chara [still-me-chara] - Today at 4:46 PM

Chara seems to have neglected to actually wear snowshoes; she's wading through the snow on pure determination. "Mind if I join you?~"

Teddy - Today at 4:49 PM

[Atleast bears are way less scary than wolves and dogs. Everyone knows not to cross them. Still, people are... convinced dogs aren't furry little demons. The smaller they are, the more evil they are. Despite them being cute nope, you'll never get Teddy to admit any dog as being cute, he's convinced they are bad news. But less so. It takes time to unlearn these things. The big nerd seemed to get something from that experience, other then puppy slobber all over him.]

Mountain Resort Staff - Today at 4:49 PM

* Pup carrier, come along please! *[With a few gentle pets for the adult Wolves, the doberminion hovers off, down a winding trail leading a proper cavern. Deep rumbling can be heard within...]

Winter [ coldsoulgoodsoul ] - Today at 4:51 PM

* (Winter turns her head to the Dominion, nodding quickly. She lowers her tone of voice, but it seems more panicked when the group gets farther away from her.) * I-it's . . . f-falling asleep o-on me, t-though! I d-don't w-want to w-wake it up! * (Her arms are shaking a bit more. Don't panic, don't panic.)* (She gulps, hoping the pup is asleep. She gives it a gentle pat before kneeling down quickly to place it on the fresh layer of snow. She then turns to the group and dashes forward, attempting to catch up. She slips by the time she gets close to the group, and she falls right into the snow.)

Chara [still-me-chara] - Today at 4:57 PM

Chara promptly falls back from behind the group and extends a hand, reaching down to lift her up. They're in a fairly good position to help, given they've forgotten their snowshoes...

Mountain Resort Staff - Today at 4:59 PM

* [The angel eyes the new arrival, and dismisses them with a quiet harrumph. Its safe to assume that it mean 'yes, you may join us on the tour, thank you for coming'. Expressive language these grunts.](edited)

Mountain Resort Staff - Today at 5:01 PM

* Just ensure you do not sink into the snow... thank you for assisting the other child. Now I would like to remind you all that the bear is friendly. Try not to act too terrified please? ...She's sensitive.

Chara|Fallen-Determination - Today at 5:02 PM

"No bear wrestling, then?" Pity, they would have liked to see someone try.

Chara [still-me-chara] - Today at 5:05 PM

Chara blinks softly, their eyes gleaming, but presumes the staff had their reasons for the brief disturbance she felt. She focuses on pulling Winter out of the ground, making sure to only offer support and never touch without asking; good policy, in their experience.

Winter [ coldsoulgoodsoul ] - Today at 5:05 PM

* (Winter shivers even more, overwhelmed by the events occuring. She reaches up to grab onto the newcomer's hand, pulling herself up once more. There was an amount of ice on her hands, though . . . and she seems to freeze up when she ascends to a standing state. Bear?????)

Chara|Fallen-Determination - Today at 5:06 PM

Grumpy blinked. Something felt odd for a moment. Oh well. So where was this bear? They were promised a bear.

Teddy - Today at 5:06 PM

[Well, he'll stay cautious, but not scared.]

Chara|Fallen-Determination - Today at 5:07 PM

Grumpy looked back at Teddy. "Don't faint from fright when we see the big ole bear, all right? No one wants to carry your butt back to the lodge."

Winter [ coldsoulgoodsoul ] - Today at 5:08 PM

* (Winter's already in a bad mental state, so this wasn't very good. Nope. She nodded frantically as if to thank the newcomer before scooting towards Teddy. He seemed nicer anyway.)

Frisk [ prancing-pacifist ] - Today at 5:08 PM

[ * Frisk's rubbing their mittens together, hoping to spot this bear and give her a hug. That'd help, probably. ]

Chara [still-me-chara] - Today at 5:09 PM

Chara nods and immediately releases Winter; she's seen them start to freeze over before on anime night, and her friends were able to handle it then. With any luck, things'll be the same here too.Instead, she falls into pace - with some effort - next to the excessively cute, sweater-clad fox.

Chara|Fallen-Determination - Today at 5:11 PM

Grumpy looked at the other Chara. "I'm sure there were snowshoes still available down there. Hope you can keep up." They smirked.

Chara [still-me-chara] - Today at 5:11 PM

"I started from the snowmobile trail. Long story."

Teddy - Today at 5:11 PM

Teddy: * Bears aren't that scary, they are just big. [And with Winter scooting next to him, he smiles.] Teddy: * Just like me, isn't that right Winter?

Chara [still-me-chara] - Today at 5:11 PM

Chara... blushes a bit. Their companion really is very cute......notices a flash of red beneath her scarf and promptly makes the connection.Her mouth turns up into an almost Grinch-esque evil grin.

Chara|Fallen-Determination - Today at 5:13 PM

"Big enough to crush you with one swing. But sure, the itty bitty pups who just wanted to play were oh so much scarier~"

Winter [ coldsoulgoodsoul ] - Today at 5:13 PM

* (Winter freezes up again at the question before nodding rather briefly, still shivering even more and more. Darn, she forgot about the bear part.)

Chara|Fallen-Determination - Today at 5:13 PM

Grumpy raised an eyebrow at the other Chara. "You cold? Your face is red."

Gen (Code-Kindness) - Today at 5:15 PM

Gen was still with the group, just a bit quiet is all.

Teddy - Today at 5:15 PM

Teddy: * Dogs /are/ scary. Most of 'em are small, vicious little things. People know not to mess with bears. And you can't tell their temperment when they are babies. That one you held nearly chomped my fingers off. [No it /did not/, Teddy, you exaggerator.]

Chara [still-me-chara] - Today at 5:16 PM

"...No. I was just thinking about how cute you look!""The gigantic, fluffy ears really suit you.~"

Winter [ coldsoulgoodsoul ] - Today at 5:17 PM

* . . . I j-just . . . * (Winter becomes quieter, and her voice trails off when she replies to Teddy.) * I d-don't w-wanna hurt 'em o-on accident . . .

Chara|Fallen-Determination - Today at 5:17 PM

Grumpy laughed. "Suuure it did." What the Chara said startled them, though, their big ears flattening. "Huh?"

Chara [still-me-chara] - Today at 5:18 PM

"And your fluffy tail seems so warm, too! It's a great look for you~""I could just reach out and"Chara takes a merciless lunge inwards and boops the other Chara's snoot!

Frisk [ prancing-pacifist ] - Today at 5:18 PM

* A puppy can't just harm a gentle giant like you, Teddy. I mean, y'couldn't even get me offa you.

Chara|Fallen-Determination - Today at 5:18 PM

"U-uh... thanks-!!!" Their snoot was booped!

Asgore (King-Asgore) - Today at 5:19 PM

[ Someone seems to have gotten lost...despite wandering out here the first day even.. He's bundled up and looking excited somehow about the new hike.. He finds the group and moves to catch up] * Whew, I hope the hike is still going? * Goodness it's easy to get turned around out here..

Mountain Resort Staff - Today at 5:19 PM

* [The Angel alighted right in front of the cave entrance, but no polite knocking was needed this time. Oh no. A ROAR booms from the cave followed by earth trembling thumps asa massive bear charges forth from the darkness and buries the Dominion under its enormity.] ...(edited)

Chara|Fallen-Determination - Today at 5:19 PM

Grumpy covered their snout with their scarf and gave Chara a weak glare.

Chara [still-me-chara] - Today at 5:20 PM

Chara innocently smiles back at them like nothing's wrong.

Chara|Fallen-Determination - Today at 5:20 PM

If they said the roar didn't make them jump a little they would have been lying.

Gen (Code-Kindness) - Today at 5:20 PM

"..!!" The child was clearly startled by the huge roar.

Winter [ coldsoulgoodsoul ] - Today at 5:20 PM

* (Winter freezes in her spot, losing her breath at the sound of the roar. Winter scoots closer to Teddy, having her ice unintentionally spread on her hands a bit more. She's terrified.)

Mountain Resort Staff - Today at 5:20 PM

*[The Dominon is actually laughing beneath all that fur. A closer look reveals the the creature has them pinned down with one paw while noisily snuffling at their face.](edited)

Asgore (King-Asgore) - Today at 5:21 PM

* Oh dear.. [ This must be a different bear..... ...or not?]

Gen (Code-Kindness) - Today at 5:21 PM

..The child stared in confusion, it seemed aggressive but now it just seems to be nuzzling the heck out of the dog.

Asgore (King-Asgore) - Today at 5:21 PM

* ... * They must be friends?

Frisk [ prancing-pacifist ] - Today at 5:21 PM

* Aw sh---!!! Wow, ahaha, that got me there.

Chara|Fallen-Determination - Today at 5:21 PM

"..." Grumpy's startled expression turned to a small smile as it became obvious the bear was just playing, not that it was easy to see under their scarf.

Teddy - Today at 5:21 PM

Teddy: * But I /know/ you, Frisk, you would've done that sooner or lat- GAH! [Jesus, how terrifying 2: electric bugaloo.]

Gen (Code-Kindness) - Today at 5:21 PM

"That really tricked me aheh..I actually thought they were mad."(edited)

Chara [still-me-chara] - Today at 5:24 PM

Chara hangs back, starting to become.... very cold. Though even the snow getting to them doesn't stop them from smirking at the group, and the other Chara in particular.~

Asgore (King-Asgore) - Today at 5:24 PM

* Quite a believable performance.. I was worried we were about to have to run down the mountain..

Chara [still-me-chara] - Today at 5:24 PM

"Sometime soon, you'll have to tell me how you feel about""Pets!~"

Mountain Resort Staff - Today at 5:24 PM

*[ The Angel roughly pushes the bears snout away and pulls themself free. After composing themself, the Dominion makes the introductions.] * ... Yes. We're friends. She is actually everybody's friend. Guests, this is Ursula. Probably the oldest resident in these mountains.

Gen (Code-Kindness) - Today at 5:25 PM

Gen waves a bit at the bear..

Teddy - Today at 5:25 PM

Teddy: * If you jumped any higher, you might've hit the ceiling. [Ahuehue, now it's his turn to taunt.]

Chara [still-me-chara] - Today at 5:25 PM

Chara wasn't fooled for a moment. Like Angelo would stock the resort with hostile monsters.

Chara|Fallen-Determination - Today at 5:25 PM

Grumpy's eyes narrowed at both Chara and Teddy. "I was just startled. It was loud." They grumbled. "And no pets. I'll bite you."

Winter [ coldsoulgoodsoul ] - Today at 5:26 PM

* (Winter nods, still feeling the slightest bit unsafe. She also was feeling rather chilly because her hands were almost completely covered in a thin layer of ice. Good job, Winter.)

Chara [still-me-chara] - Today at 5:26 PM

Chara pouts a bit. "Fiiiine~"

Asgore (King-Asgore) - Today at 5:26 PM

* Hello Ursula! [ Asgore waves to the bear]

Winter [ coldsoulgoodsoul ] - Today at 5:27 PM

* H . . . h-hi . . .

Chara|Fallen-Determination - Today at 5:27 PM

The fox monster blinked over at the Asgore who had joined them as well. When did he get here? Must have been during the commotion...

Frisk [ prancing-pacifist ] - Today at 5:28 PM

* `allo, Ursula, hope yer doin' fine tonight. [ Wink wonk. ]

Gen (Code-Kindness) - Today at 5:28 PM

"Hi Ursula!.."

Asgore (King-Asgore) - Today at 5:29 PM

[ Asgore comes when u least expect it, Goat dad arrives on the wind like ghost] * It's amazing who all lives out here..

Teddy - Today at 5:29 PM

Teddy: * I'll protect you from the big bad bear, don't you worry. [He turns his attention to Winter again.] Teddy: * Don't worry, the bear won't hurt nobody. Don't be scared...

Winter [ coldsoulgoodsoul ] - Today at 5:31 PM

* (Winter gulps again, trying to swallow her nervousness immediately. She's making a bad example, and who knows what the others could be thinking of her? Her whole body is still shaky, but it starts to ease up a bit. She quietly whines.)

Chara [still-me-chara] - Today at 5:31 PM

Chara backs off once more, approaching Winter steadily.

Mountain Resort Staff - Today at 5:31 PM

*[ BEAT] * I see the mountain king is here. Please refrain from bleating loud enough to wake the dead please. Now! Go on, pet Ursula, the lady could some attention!

Chara [still-me-chara] - Today at 5:31 PM

"It's all right. The bear's almost certainly not dangerous."

Gen (Code-Kindness) - Today at 5:32 PM

Gen approached the bear a bit nervously, patting the bear on the head gently.

Chara [still-me-chara] - Today at 5:32 PM

"This world is under Angelo's control, and he's one of the most responsible beings I've ever seen on any plane. I'm certain he wouldn't bring anything here if he thought it posed a threat to the guests."

Mountain Resort Staff - Today at 5:32 PM

* Only thing dangerous about her is her breath. * [A casual swipe from the bear knocks the angel on their rump.]

Gen (Code-Kindness) - Today at 5:32 PM

"Pfff"

Chara [still-me-chara] - Today at 5:33 PM

"It's all right if you aren't interested, though. It's fine to stay back."

Gen (Code-Kindness) - Today at 5:33 PM

"It's rude to say that in front of the person."

Winter [ coldsoulgoodsoul ] - Today at 5:33 PM

* (Winter does not understand a few of the words the newcomer is speaking, but she still nods like she understands. In all honesty, she does not really understand, and she's still terrified.)

Teddy - Today at 5:33 PM

[Snoooort. Give them the ol' what for, Ursula.]

Frisk [ prancing-pacifist ] - Today at 5:33 PM

[ * Frisk's actually showing less fear and more carelessness, which helps them confront Ursula. They stop on their tracks to sneak a cackle, bearing their fangs happily. ]* Y'deserved that!

Chara [still-me-chara] - Today at 5:34 PM

...Chara hopes she's helping. Regardless, she proceeds forwards... and pets softly and politely, smiling up at the bear before retreating once more.~

Gen (Code-Kindness) - Today at 5:34 PM

Gen was still petting Ursula, if that was fine. They said it was okay kinda so..

Mountain Resort Staff - Today at 5:34 PM

* I think she just demonstrated her opinion on the rudeness of my actions thank you for your input though. * [The grump pup is still smiling.]

Gen (Code-Kindness) - Today at 5:35 PM

Gen soon thought that was enough pats for now..retreating his hand and moving back over to the group. The small shine of the present in his hood gave a slight glare from any slight sunlight that were to touch it..mainly the gold shiny color on the ribbon.

Chara|Fallen-Determination - Today at 5:35 PM

Grumpy snorted at Teddy's early comment. "I doubt you can protect anyone with that skinny ass of yours..."

Winter [ coldsoulgoodsoul ] - Today at 5:36 PM

* (She tries to inch forward despite her fear taking over, taking a deep breath and reaching out her hand to realize it's almost all the way covered in ice. That now hidden hand was now shown right in front of her face, and that was super embarrassing.)

Frisk [ prancing-pacifist ] - Today at 5:36 PM

* Ooooh!!!!

Asgore (King-Asgore) - Today at 5:37 PM

[ Asgore blushes...so the staff did hear him bleating like a loon last night...w h o o p s] * Ahah ah..I'll try not to..Just..spur of the moment thing I couldn't resist..

Mountain Resort Staff - Today at 5:37 PM

* Floofhead, it is alright. Please do not fear Ursula, she'd rather make friends than scare anyone.

Chara|Fallen-Determination - Today at 5:38 PM

"I'm pretty sure you woke up the whole resort with all that bleating last night." Fox Chara smirked slightly, approaching the bear. She seemed nice.

Gen (Code-Kindness) - Today at 5:38 PM

"That's what that noise was?"

Winter [ coldsoulgoodsoul ] - Today at 5:38 PM

* (She nods, but she gives a weary look at her hands before looking back at him.) * I d-don't . . . t-think she'd like t-to be p-pet w-with ice o-on my h-hands . . .

Asgore (King-Asgore) - Today at 5:39 PM

* ...Yes well, it's been ages since I've been on /top/ of a mountain for once.. * Even Kings can do silly things once in a while, like bleat loud enough to wake the dead heheh. [ He takes this moment to give Ursula some pets..]

Teddy - Today at 5:39 PM

Teddy: * I can take more damage than I can dish out. And no one told you to look at my ass. [He sticks out his tongue to add more insult to his rare use of swearing, and willingly goes to approach the bear. Normal circumstances, absolutely not, but here? Sure. This totally makes sense.]

Mountain Resort Staff - Today at 5:40 PM

*Yes, the goat and his daughter I believe were having a long distance convesation.

Gen (Code-Kindness) - Today at 5:40 PM

"Lets just say this. Y'all are nerds."Gen snickers.

Frisk [ prancing-pacifist ] - Today at 5:40 PM

* Thank goodness I wasn't asleep there, I would've screeched myself. [ Frisk goes ahead to hug Ursula instead of pet, they're in the hugging mood. ]

Mountain Resort Staff - Today at 5:40 PM

* Floofhead, just hug her then!

Gen (Code-Kindness) - Today at 5:40 PM

"Or dorks."

Mountain Resort Staff - Today at 5:40 PM

* The Bird child has the right idea.

Winter [ coldsoulgoodsoul ] - Today at 5:41 PM

* (She gulps, shivering a bit. She was even more nervous that the bird was hugging the bear; she has bad memories from that bird, but this was not the time! Why was she so panicked?)

Chara|Fallen-Determination - Today at 5:41 PM

Grumpy blinked before smirking despite the kind of embarrassing accusation. "I can't stare at something that's nonexistent."

Mountain Resort Staff - Today at 5:41 PM

*[ Ursula is rumbling rather appreciably at all the attention, even leaning her head into Frisk's embrace.]

Gen (Code-Kindness) - Today at 5:41 PM

Gen glanced over at the nearby panicked looking person.. "Ya alright?"

Chara|Fallen-Determination - Today at 5:42 PM

Carefully, the fox reached out to lightly pet the bear.

Asgore (King-Asgore) - Today at 5:42 PM

* We were actually..though I didn't think it'd carry that far.. If I do it again I'll be sure to use my indoor bleating voice. [ Which was probably still loud considering bleats but ok, he had sated his need to be goaty for the vacation at least]

Winter [ coldsoulgoodsoul ] - Today at 5:42 PM

* I-I'm sorry . . .

Gen (Code-Kindness) - Today at 5:43 PM

"...?"

Teddy - Today at 5:43 PM

[Teddy whips his head around.] Teddy: * You were one of the ones barking and bleating? [He doesn't mean to sound so bold and accusatory to the King, but it certainly does anyway.]

Mountain Resort Staff - Today at 5:44 PM

* [And out flicks her tongue. Enjoy the affection of a bear Frisk, slobber all over your face now.]

Frisk [ prancing-pacifist ] - Today at 5:45 PM

[ * Frisk chitters after their pleasant hums, snapping their eyes open immediately with a shocked expression. They surely didn't expect that! ]

Chara|Fallen-Determination - Today at 5:45 PM

"Who else has the lung capacity to bleat that loud?"

Mountain Resort Staff - Today at 5:46 PM

* [The Doberminion sighs. They point at Winter and pat the ground besides them.] * Floofhead, come here a moment?

Gen (Code-Kindness) - Today at 5:46 PM

"Pfff, feathers ruffled again Frisk? From the slobber."

Frisk [ prancing-pacifist ] - Today at 5:47 PM

* Now, I'm gonna have t'shower. [ Frisk sticks their own tongue out. ] Naaaah.

Winter [ coldsoulgoodsoul ] - Today at 5:47 PM

* (She nods quickly, inching towards the Doberminion. Her headspace was not very good right now, and she was obviously nervous. Was she in trouble? She did not know.)

Gen (Code-Kindness) - Today at 5:47 PM

"Just hope to yourself the water isn't cold when ya shower.""Or someone doesn't turn the sink on in the middle of it.."

Mountain Resort Staff - Today at 5:49 PM

* I was not aware you even knew what a shower was, bird. Certainly seems like you never had one... miss, just sit right beside me please, it is okay.

Gen (Code-Kindness) - Today at 5:49 PM

"Wow.."

Winter [ coldsoulgoodsoul ] - Today at 5:50 PM

* (She nods, carefully taking a seat beside the Doberminion and she fidgets with her torn scarf.)

Chara|Fallen-Determination - Today at 5:50 PM

They snickered at the dominion's quip.

Asgore (King-Asgore) - Today at 5:50 PM

* Well yes I was one of them...mostly the one who started it. * It was something I did when I was much younger with my family actually.. I know that sounds silly. [ He doesn't seem to mind Teddy's question, he probably knows its weird to randomly hear someone bleating their head off at night in this age]

Frisk [ prancing-pacifist ] - Today at 5:50 PM

* Well! I mean, you're kinda right, sorta not--- ANYWAYS, I do!

Winter [ coldsoulgoodsoul ] - Today at 5:51 PM

* (Or at least she tries to. The ice on her hands is starting to melt just a bit, but she attempts to get rid of the ice by attempting to clench her hands; it was a rather thin layer anyway.)

Gen (Code-Kindness) - Today at 5:51 PM

"Pff, Frisk you're a fluffy feathered dork." Gen giggled a bit. "This whole experience was pretty neat though."

Mountain Resort Staff - Today at 5:53 PM

* [The angel huffs, just kind of sort of looking away... but they're holding an arm out towards Winter, inviting her to come closer.] * [The bear on the other hand has rambled up to Asgore, snuffling the boss mosters beard.]

Winter [ coldsoulgoodsoul ] - Today at 5:54 PM

* (Winter notices the arm and hesitates for a moment, but she does come closer.)

Chara|Fallen-Determination - Today at 5:56 PM

Grumpy stepped back to watch people pet the bear...

Asgore (King-Asgore) - Today at 5:56 PM

[ Asgore is being snuffled by a bear...this is a first. He gives them more of a good petting since they're this close wow] * Ah...Hello Ursula..I take it you like my beard?

Teddy - Today at 5:57 PM

Teddy: * Oh, well, I guess that puts me at ease knowing someone was doing it. It was a bit frightening... [No, Teddy, you're just a weenie, knock it off. He's all petted out, Ursula is a lovely lady.]

Asgore (King-Asgore) - Today at 6:00 PM

* I apologize if I spooked you or anyone else with my antics then. * I suppose I..got a bit carried away? I blame the goat in me. [ He jus love that snow man..it good snow]

Chara|Fallen-Determination - Today at 6:01 PM

Chara shifted awkwardly off to the side of the group, wondering if they were moving on soon. They were a bit... socialized out... Maybe they could just walk back down the mountain...

Mountain Resort Staff - Today at 6:03 PM

*[The grump gives her a little one armed hug and talk quietly to Winter.] * Child, why are you afraid of one so friendly? * [Aforementioned friendly bear was currently tugging on Asgore's beard gently. That yould be a yes.]

Winter [ coldsoulgoodsoul ] - Today at 6:04 PM

* (Winter enjoys it, but she lets out a shaky breath and tries to not shake as much. She might be a bit cold for the Dominion, but she whispers in a somewhat panicked tone.) * . . . I d-don't w-want to u-upset a-any of the a-animals. I h-haven't s-seen a-any in years, and . . .

Mountain Resort Staff - Today at 6:05 PM

* Tour is concluded, guests. Thank you for participating. You mayy stay to socialize with Ursula, or the other residents, or leave. It is your choice. But please return the shoes to my booth.

Gen (Code-Kindness) - Today at 6:06 PM

"Alright!""What time is it? .." The child lacked a watch..

Frisk [ prancing-pacifist ] - Today at 6:07 PM

[ * Frisk's slipping off of Ursula, her fur basically multiplied their warmth. They're going ahead to pat her for a thanks, still internally upset about the saliva all over them. ] * Yer welcome. I should get goin' myself, then, ick.

Mountain Resort Staff - Today at 6:08 PM

* ~Child, your presence makes these animals happy. They have not seen anyone in years either. You will not upset them by trying to be their friend.~ *[Ursula gives Frisk gentle swipe of her paw, barely a nudge, to express her gratitude. Her eyes are wide and merry!]

Gen (Code-Kindness) - Today at 6:09 PM

"By the way it was nice meeting you, Ursula!" Gen gave the bear a happy smile.(edited)

Winter [ coldsoulgoodsoul ] - Today at 6:10 PM

* (Winter nods, still shivering quite a bit; it is going down, though. She still seems nervous, but not as much. She speaks quieter, tone becoming less panicked.) * R-really?

Frisk [ prancing-pacifist ] - Today at 6:11 PM

* Ahaha! That's the spirit!

Asgore (King-Asgore) - Today at 6:12 PM

[ Asgore doesn't want the bear to nibble his bear...d. He worked hard growing that.. he gives the bear a few more pats before trying to gently pull his beard free] * She's quite the friendly one I would say.. * I should be heading back down myself.

Chara|Fallen-Determination - Today at 6:12 PM

Grumpy decided to take their leave, the couple additions to the hiking party making them feel too awkward to continue to pet Ursula. Without a word they headed back down to drop off their snow shoes at the shack they got them from.

Mountain Resort Staff - Today at 6:12 PM

*[The bear opened her maw wide and shook herself, fur flaring about. She rumbles contentedly at the departing guests.] *[ Your magnificent beard is free goatman... for now.]

Teddy - Today at 6:14 PM

[Teddy's done well to not fumble with his snowshoes on. Tripped once or twice, but-- wait, no, /now/ he eats shit, on the way down. Good job, Teddy. Well, hopefully no one saw that, he dusts himself off and treks back down cautiously, sure to take a few pictures while he was at it.]

Asgore (King-Asgore) - Today at 6:16 PM

[ Donut steal the beard.. it is his secret power source o noes. He waves farewell and makes his way back down the mountain, resisting urge to bleat once more..maybe tomorrow before they head home]

Gen (Code-Kindness) - Today at 6:16 PM

Gen makes his way back down too to drop the snow shoes off at the shack he got them from and heading on elsewhere.

Frisk [ prancing-pacifist ] - Today at 6:16 PM

[ * They glided back to the base of the mountain at a rapid pace, Frisk couldn't carry themselves using their legs tonight since it's getting late and a long nap will be needed. ]

Chara|Fallen-Determination - Today at 6:16 PM

They sat down by the shack, taking their snowshoes off while deep in thought. It was a nice little outing. Now they just had to figure out what to do for the rest of the day...

Mountain Resort Staff - Today at 6:18 PM

* [As if Winter's chill would bother a Dominion! Poised and refined, with the best fur!] * ~Yes child. Really. All guest are a welcome addition to these mountains. You bring life where there was so little. So please, fear not. Be happy. Be vibrant.~

Asgore (King-Asgore) - Today at 6:19 PM

[ As he sets his snowshoes back in place he muses about maybe trying this...sauna he's heard about?]

Winter [ coldsoulgoodsoul ] - Today at 6:20 PM

* (She sighs, nodding again. She mumbles, voice becoming a bit cheerier.) * T-thank you.

Mountain Resort Staff - Today at 6:21 PM

*~You are welcome child. And tell your father to take better care of you, I am not a babysitter. Now if you'll visit Ursula for a moment, I can grab something in the cave for you~

Frisk [ prancing-pacifist ] - Today at 6:21 PM

[ * Frisk goes ahead to put their equipment back after taking them off, going ahead to stretch their legs. No more shoes for another day, they're rubbing their eyes and heading to the #ski_lodge-lounge for a little hang out. ](edited)

Winter [ coldsoulgoodsoul ] - Today at 6:24 PM

* (Winter thinks for a moment, pausing for just a moment. She then stands up and nods, heading over to Ursula rather slowly. The ice on her hands have melted a bit, but they're still bitter cold. She looks up at the bear, tilting her head for just a moment.)

Mountain Resort Staff - Today at 6:25 PM

*[Ursula is sitting on her haunches, and paws at the air in a mimicry of a wave at Winters approach.] *[The Dominion takes the opportunity to stroll into the cave.]

Winter [ coldsoulgoodsoul ] - Today at 6:26 PM

* (Winter gives a wave to the bear as well before pulling down her rather poofy jacket.)

Mountain Resort Staff - Today at 6:27 PM

*[She takes a few lumbering cautious steps towards the kid but stops a few feet short, head tilted as though asking for permission to come closer.] * [A light scraping is heard in the cave.]

Winter [ coldsoulgoodsoul ] - Today at 6:29 PM

* (Winter hesitates for a moment, continuing to be idle in her position before letting her arm fall to her side. She gives a measly nod before shuffling on her feet.)

Mountain Resort Staff - Today at 6:32 PM

*[The big ol' bear promptly sidles up the girl and startes snuffling around her jacket, particularly the pockets. Detecting something sweet, it plops down and givesWinter a level stare. It is rude not to share when you have so much, kid.] * [The Angel emerges from the cave, examining a pair of objects in their hand.]

Winter [ coldsoulgoodsoul ] - Today at 6:36 PM

* (Winter freezes up in her spot from the snuffling and she lets the bear inspect her. She starts to get colder for that one moment before watching the bear's stare. She recognizes what Ursula wants and her cheek areas darken, searching for the candy in her pockets and pulling a couple out, laying them on her hand.)

Mountain Resort Staff - Today at 6:41 PM

*[Poor kid might've just got bear slobber all over her hand, as Ursula slurped the treats right up!] *[And yes, that is the angel laughing. They saw the whole thing.] * Hoohoohoohoo! See, fast friends already! Come here child, I have something for you.

Winter [ coldsoulgoodsoul ] - Today at 6:42 PM

* (Winter got a chill up her spine from the slobber, but she's perfectly fine with it. She has some empathy, which is required for her own darn Virtue. Winter's cheeks get a little darker momentarily because of the Dominion's laughing, but she comes closer to them due to the request.)

Mountain Resort Staff - Today at 6:45 PM

*[They hold out their paw, in which rests a pair of dull white bear teeth.] * The lady lost these a few years ago. I thought they would make an adequate souvenir. One for you, and another for the layabout.

Winter [ coldsoulgoodsoul ] - Today at 6:47 PM

* (Winter blinks at the teeth, and she gasps; that was a somewhat unnerving but nice gift! She nods, flashing somewhat of a thankful and giddy smile.) * T-thank y-you very much!

Mountain Resort Staff - Today at 6:51 PM

* You are very welcome child. I am sure you or your father can find something to do with them I do not think Ursula will be needing them anymore... Thank you for giving her a chance, floofhead.

Winter [ coldsoulgoodsoul ] - Today at 6:53 PM

* (Winter nods, but something comes across her mind in the heat of the moment! She quickly places one hand into her pocket and pulls out a few pieces of . . . vanilla candy? She hands them to the Dominion.) * I t-think U-Ursula liked these.

Mountain Resort Staff - Today at 6:57 PM

* [They stare at the candy, an honest smile playing across their face. They gather up the candy and pat her (floofy) head.] * I shall slip her one every so often, to remind Ursula of your visit. Now unless you want to stay with me and clean those snowshoes, you best run along. Else I might conscript you.

Winter [ coldsoulgoodsoul ] - Today at 6:59 PM

* (Winter nods, stifling a giggle for that brief moment. Now that she's completely calm, the pat doesn't bug her as much. She starts to walk backwards when they mention the cleaning of the snowshoes before treading off, giving a wave to the grump.) * T-thank you f-for t-the tour too! * (There, she heads off rather quickly and makes her way over to the #ski_lodge-lounge .)

Mountain Resort Staff - Today at 7:00 PM

* ...cute ki~ *[And they're immediately buried under a mound of pouncing bear again!]

#discord rp shenanigns #coldsoulgoodsoul #Their Family: The Goopdaughter #nolvlost #seraphofretribution #Doggo's Gyftmas Retreat #fallen determination #king asgore #code kindness #smolgoatsis #loving goat 975 #The Pledge: Queue

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sambaguy · 6 years

Text

Samba Guy Scores Big At RSD

Sorry I haven’t posted anything in a while. It’s been a really busy couple of weeks and I haven’t even had a second to catch my breath. First things first, there was Record Store Day 2015. What a day for music lovers. I’ve been looking forward to RSD since the last one. My top priorities were the Run the Jewels “Bust No Moves” 12” and the Father John Misty “I Loved You, Honeybear” 7” which was pressed on red heart-shaped vinyl, but I was also able to score the Neko Case reissue, the Of Montreal live album, the Grizzly Bear Horn of Plenty reissue featuring new artwork, Metallica’s No Life Til Leathr, a cassette reissue of their 1982 demo tape available officially for the first time, Vampire Weekend’s “Step” 12″, featuring “Step”, the remix featuring Danny Brown, Heems, and Despot, and the instrumental, Cloud Nothings’ album Here and Nowhere Else remixed by Ohio artists, J. Dilla’s Love 7″, which features unreleased material, as well as the “Fuck the Police” 45, which is shaped like a badge, of and of course Courtney Barnett’s “Kim’s Caravan” 12″, featuring the new album track “Kim’s Caravan” back with a cover of John Cale’s “Close Watch” as well as D’Angelo’s “The Charade” 7″, featuring “Charade” with “1000 Deaths” from Black Messiah, which I also bought on vinyl because I felt like that was in the spirit of things and besides I had only ever streamed it on Spotify when it came out and I thought the vinyl of it would sound even better (if that’s even possible!). Oh and I got the 10th anniversary pressing of the Decemberists’ Picaresuqe, which includes a postcard set and a booklet, as well as Four Tet, Jamie xx, John Talabot, and Koreless’s soundtracks for the two-minute film “Continuum”, on 7″. Oh and the Get Behind Me Satan vinyl reissue which was the first time that album has ever been on vinyl. I don’t really like that one but it was the first time it’s ever been on vinyl for the first time so I was pretty obligated ha. So it was a pretty good RSD. There was a little bit of a hiccup about halfway through, though, when the serum began to wear off and I could feel myself turning back, my body contorting and stretching, fighting to expel this self—this self that I cannot live without but isn’t natural for me and I have to try constantly to keep alive–and replace it with my original, boring self, the self that doesn’t even like Mikal Cronin, the self that has never even heard a Sharon Van Etten song. This self, my true self, I have banished to the depths of my psyche, but only by way of the serum, which is expensive and tedious to make and even more exhausting to take. It’s never worn off in public before, but here, as I was flipping through the Record Store Day releases with my buddies, I could feel the change coming. Quickly, I turned to my friend Aaron (who is also one of my roommates) and told him, as sincerely as I could, “Hey man, I’ve gotta run home for a sec.” He looked at me with a weird look on his face. “What are you talking about?” he said. “That’s far and we’re already here and we were gonna get brunch after this with the girls.” I had, in my slipping-back-to-normal state, forgotten about brunch. My mind felt like a pool of gasoline someone had lit on fire. “Yeah man, I’ll meet you guys…there…,” I was able to spit out without sounding too strained. Aaron had noticed the new Lord Huron album on an eye-level wall shelf and was now walking toward it. “Okay? See you there?” He wasn’t listening. I half ran and half limped to the checkout counter. My body was changing. In another couple of minutes, I wouldn’t want any of this vinyl, would be appalled I was even in a record store on Record Store Day. I put my haul on the counter. The clerk was wearing a tight yellow shirt with a weird line drawing on it and had long hair a similar color to his shirt. I didn’t know what to make of this.. He rang me up quickly (luckily) but didn’t comment favorably on a single one of my purchases (which is normal for me at this place, whenever I come, which isn’t very much). I panted out “thanks, man” and lifted the two plastic bags off the counter. My head was now shaking uncontrollably and I could feel the change almost upon me, like I had to sneeze but couldn’t quite. I emerged, rat-like, into the bright San Francisco sun and ran as fast as I could to the coffee place across the street. They have a bathroom. The stale, wet, burned smell of roasted beans hit me hard and I almost ran into a woman wearing cut-off black jean shorts and a jean jacket with cut-off sleeves who was waiting in the long line. She looked at me with a mixture of fear and disgust. I limped to the bathroom which luckily was unlocked and let myself in. I pushed the heavy door shut and locked it. Turning just in time to see myself in the mirror, the transformation was complete: my face was slightly more handsome, my clothes fit slightly better, my hair was less contrived. I hated this self. I had never felt good like this. Something always was missing. I hated my mind. My new (real) self now looked down at the shopping bags I had set on top of the sink and picked them up. Looking inside, he sneered. This person now walked out of the bathroom and straight out of the coffee shop (I would have liked a coffee) and 15 minutes later was back at my apartment. He watched a little reality TV, drank a glass of water. It was at least a week before the urges of my half of the self took over enough and we were able to finally, quietly, locked in the apartment’s half-bath near the kitchen, drink another vile of serum. After the painful transformation, I emerged, looking like myself, licking my lips. I went into my bedroom and picked up the bags from Record Store Day that had been dropped in the corner by my trash can. I can’t wait until RSD 2016.

The new My Morning Jacket might be my AOTY. Definitely my AOTW I think. I mean, it’s just totally gorgeous. It’s not even possible to describe. I haven’t heard anything better than it all week I don’t think. METZ is a strong option too but I haven’t really had the chance to listen to it all the way through because I’m saving it for the gym and I don’t go to the gym. The Best Coast album is pretty good (her performance on Jimmy Fallon was all I’ve heard from it though) and the Mikal Cronin is amazing. Also the new the albums by Torres, Django Django, Downtown Boys, Hop Along, Superchunt frontman, Palma Violets, Turnoever, Thin Lips, Michele Route, Dendritic Amor, Scallop Hotel, Gacha, Oddisee, Battle Axe and Nosaj Thing are all really, really good. And there’s a Compilation by PC Music that I still need to really listen to. Don’t know if I am really on board with them or not. I get it, but it still seems basically pretentious and the only things I’ve heard sound like the music was made by the chipmunks in those Kia commercials on crack. Also I know Rich Homie Quan’s new mixtape is pretty all over the place and boring, but I am not really actually too much of a rap guy. Or at least I haven’t felt like listening to much rap lately. Also really excited for new Tanlines. I can’t wait to sip some lemonade and listen to their new album all summer long. I’m just looking forward to whenever the entire new Tame Impala album comes out. They are a band right on the cusp of being one of the biggest in the world. Not that that’s hugely important, but it’s still fun to watch. But I’m sick of hearing all these little bits of it! But all the songs released so far have been incredible pieces of art, so I can’t wait to hear the whole thing at once like it’s supposed to be heard. The newest song they released “Eventually” (get it? Sorry) is my least favorite song released from the album so far but I still like it. It’s my second favorite after the perfection that is “Let It Happen.” Basically: “Let it Happen” > “Disciples” > “Eventually” > “I’m a Man”. But really, listening to new Tame Impala in pieces as opposed to sum of its parts might be the most aggravating auditory experience. It’s like hearing The Wall on random play. All I wanna do is highlight track one…and push play.

– Samba Guy, May 8, 2015

#sambaguy #archive #vintageguy

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ourpleasantlybigbouquet-blog · 7 years

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Wrestling: How a Pudgy Kid Became an Olympic Champion

Pudge

The Olympic champion wrestler Dave Schultz was known as "Pudge" in wrestling circles. He was a tiny bit rotund in his more youthful days. Truth be told, Dave's companion Steve Holt expressed in an article that Dave was a total jelly belly with no all around characterized muscles when in secondary school. He guarantees that Dave would regularly be confused for a score manager or a coach.

Steve initially met Dave at an end of the week competition that Steve was wrestling in amid his secondary school years. Steve states, "I saw this fat, thick green bean kid sitting in the cheap seats watching me amid each round. He was watching and contemplating me like a researcher does with a white guinea pig in a labyrinth. I trust he was notwithstanding bringing down notes!"

As per Jim Humphrey, previous head mentor at Indiana University, "He didn't resemble a competitor, with his drooped shoulders, rearranging step, and being pigeon-toed. He wasn't especially quick."

All in all, what set Dave "Pudge" Schultz separated from different wrestlers? How could he turn out to be so overwhelming?

Searched Out Mentors

The youthful Dave Schultz turned into a wrestling fan. He couldn't get enough. He needed to take in the best methods he could and searched out approaches to get in additional training time.

For example, Chris Horpel initially met Dave when Horpel was at that point a NCAA All-American wrestler for Stanford. The 14-year-old Dave strolled over from Palo Alto High, asking the 21-year-old Horpel to grapple with him. Horpel concurred, planning to dispose of Dave after a couple of sessions. Shockingly, Dave continued returning.

As per a Sports Illustrated article entitled "Siblings and Brawlers," "Dave, dyslexic as a tyke, had taken up wrestling in the seventh grade on the exhortation of an instructor who thought it would enable him to fabricate fearlessness. It did that and that's only the tip of the iceberg. By his first year at Palo Alto High, Dave was a wrestling aficionado. He wore his singlet under his school garments and his wrestling shoes all over the place. He prepared upwards of three times each day. After his secondary school exercise, he'd ride his bicycle a couple of miles up the street so he could rehearse with the Stanford wrestling group, whose mentor, Joe DeMeo, would then drive him 30 miles north to Skyline College for a session with a club called the Peninsula Grapplers."

Commitment

Dave Schultz wasn't a wrestling wonder. He was predominant appropriate from the earliest starting point. It required investment and commitment.

Dave Schultz had dyslexia and was prodded and ridiculed by different children. At the point when Dave first ventured on the wrestling mat in the seventh grade, he was cumbersome and clumsy. He didn't make the varsity group and keeping in mind that wrestling JV he won just 50% of his matches. Many children would have surrendered and discovered another game or diversion however not Dave. He was resolved, and inside two years was positioned the second best wrestler on the planet for his age gathering.

I've effectively noticed that Dave Schultz rehearsed a great deal. He put in a greater number of hours on the tangle than most wrestlers would. He strolled around grounds with his wrestling shoes tied around his neck. He would bear a colossal duplicate of a showed manual for wrestling in his rucksack.

He didn't get his driver's permit at 16 since he would not like to put time in taking the class. He had a sweetheart for a brief span amid his senior year of secondary school yet dropped her after she recommended that he ought to invest more energy with her and less time wrestling.

Concentrate on Technique

Dave Schultz contemplated wrestling, dissecting methods and separating each move. To Dave, wrestling resembled a chess coordinate. He knew he wouldn't generally be more grounded than an adversary however he could out-think him. In a Sports Illustrated article Dave states, "Folks have certain strategies, and I think about them. At that point I attempt to do what screws them up best."

Schultz has been all around lauded as being one of the best professionals the game of wrestling has ever had. Many viewed him as the best specialist in wrestling and an ace strategist. His wrestling information was huge.

Bill Scherr, 1988 Olympic gold medalist and companion states, "Dave had numerous novel qualities that gave him the drive and the capacity to end up noticeably the United States' most noteworthy specialized wrestler ever. To start with, Dave was as focused as any competitor I've ever met. He didn't care to get beat. He was overwhelmed by being the best, and trusted that adapting increasingly and better procedure was the way to achieving that objective. Second, Dave had an enormous personality. While we were on the National Team together, Dave got into chess and soon had every one of us playing. Furthermore, I don't recall him losing."

Schultz watched video tapes of his matches and those of his rivals. He generally had a journal with him and he would record the methods and the things he expected to chip away at.

He learned free-form and Greco-Roman strategies notwithstanding his academic wrestling notwithstanding when in secondary school.

Unassuming and Willing to Learn

Dave Schultz learned Russian and different dialects so he could converse with and gain from wrestlers of various countries. What's more, he eagerly imparted his specialized information to anybody. He was an incredible diplomat for the game of wrestling. He had companions far and wide.

Two-time Olympic champion John Smith states, "He set aside opportunity to go through with you to show you procedures. He would not give you a chance to leave until the point when you caught on. This is extremely one of a kind in wrestling, on the grounds that most competitors hold his data. Dave Schultz was not along these lines."

Dave was eager to gain from wrestlers, even those apparently less gifted. He didn't have a major inner self. He was ready to take in great strategy from anybody. Data and information were important to him. He was continually picking everybody's brains and getting some information about moves.

Different Wrestlers With Obstacles

Incredible wrestler Gene Mills, expressed in a book, "I was a 88-pound chunk as a secondary school green bean when I started wrestling in Wayne, New Jersey. Wrestling was the game for me and I went ahead to win the states as a senior and two NCAA titles at Syracuse University in '79 and '81. My dad showed me my most loved move - the half-nelson. I had a great deal of inconvenience separating folks traditionally, so I figured out how to put in the half and run it up finished the best. It worked awesome for me."

Colleges weren't that intrigued by Gene despite the fact that he'd been predominant in secondary school. Factories was little and cases he could just seat 100 pounds at the time. His previous Syracuse mentor reviews Gene as a weak secondary school senior but then he took a risk on Mills who might end up noticeably one of the best wrestlers America has ever observed.

Quality, a two-time NCAA champion, set the NCAA Division I profession pins record with 107 pins. That record stands right up 'til today.

Quality was not able wrestle in the 1980 Olympics in light of the U. S. blacklist. Quality states, "I needed to stick my way through the Olympic Games and knew I expected to drop down to 114.5 to achieve my objective. That was an intense draw for me however I made it."

Lamentably, he didn't get the opportunity to wrestle in the Olympics yet he won the renowned Tbilisi Tournament in 1980 which was said to be harder than the Olympics at one time.

As indicated by the article "Quality Mills: The Uncrowned King," "Quality Mills finished what no other human has done since the Russians' famous Tbilisi Tournament started in '58. He had no awful stamps, which means he crushed every one of the eight adversaries by at least 12 focuses. He stuck seven of his casualties."

A Sports Illustrated article alluded to Doug Blubaugh as "a stocky, group cut Olympic champion who wears thick, horn-rimmed glasses." truth be told, some say that Doug Blubaugh was legitimately visually impaired without his glasses. In the event that you take a gander at pictures of Blubaugh, he may even look a bit geeky until the point when you take a gander at his body and perceive how strong he was.

A kindred wrestler depicted Blubaugh, "Shrewd, putting stock in, kind, liberal and a Superman with Coke bottle focal points that enabled him to see the world only a little uniquely in contrast to whatever is left of us."

Doug Blubaugh was another modest, inviting man like Dave Schultz who happened to be an extraordinary wrestler and mentor. Blubaugh experienced childhood with a homestead with no power or running water and had poor vision however it didn't meddle with his craving to wind up noticeably an awesome wrestler.

Three-time NCAA All-American Ken Chertow didn't begin as an impeccable wrestler. It required investment and practice for him to end up plainly so effective.

Chertow states, "When I began wrestling in center school, I immediately joined shadow boring into my preparation program. I was moderate and pudgy so my shadow penetrating was not extremely familiar, but rather I consistently enhanced each day."

Olympic champion Kendall Cross might not have appeared that forcing when he ventured onto to the Oklahoma State grounds. Be that as it may, subsequent to winning the 125.5 pound Olympic title in 1996, Sports Illustrated addressed U. S. wrestling mentor Joe Seay who had a couple of words to say in regards to Cross. "He came to Oklahoma State 10 years prior as a Gumby - no muscles. He made himself a champion."

Last Thoughts

Possibly you're ungainly and clumsy. Possibly you're somewhat overweight. Possibly you're little. Perhaps you're skinny. Possibly you're not that solid. Possibly your vision isn't that incredible. Possibly you've needed to beat a considerable measure of misfortune in your life. Maybe you don't appear to be forcing by any means. In any case, Dave Schultz and different wrestlers have demonstrated that with training and assurance it's conceivable to improve as a wrestler than you at any point envisioned.

Make sure to search out gifted coaches and educators, be devoted to putting in a great deal of training time, concentrate on consummating your strategy, tune in and learn, and be unassuming and buckle down. At that point you're certain to wind up noticeably a wrestling achievement.

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thecoroutfitters · 7 years

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On March 12, 2017, Amber Van Hecke ran out of gas in the Havasupai Reservation while leaving the southern rim of the Grand Canyon. The twenty-four year old college student was there hiking for spring break when her vacation turned deadly. Thanks to her own resourcefulness and preparedness, she lived to tell the tale.

So, what can we learn from Amber’s experience? We found 8 survival lessons to learn from her adventure, and we’ll take them one by one in the following article.

When Hiking Goes Bad

First, I’ll bring you up to speed on what happened, then we’ll get to that part.

Video first seen on ABC News.

Amber’s problem started when she plugged Havasu Falls Trail Head into Google Maps and followed the directions, just like the rest of us probably would. She only had 70 miles of fuel left until empty, not counting the reserves (so she thought) in her tank and decided to roll the dice because, according to Maps, it was only a 40-mile drive to the next main road.

She took a right turn when it told her to, even though her gut told her that it was too early. She found herself on what she calls a “ratchet dirt road” and followed it for 35 miles before her GPS told her to take a right onto a road that didn’t exist. Being a person fairly experienced with backroads, and considering the horrible road she was already on, she thought that maybe part of the road had eroded, so she took the turn, hoping to run into the remaining section of the road shortly.

Instead of finding a road, she ran straight into a fence. Amber admits she panicked a bit and drove around trying to find the road when she should have just stayed put. By then it was getting dark and she was down to zero miles to empty, and her reserves were empty, too. She found the nearest man-made structure and decided to wait til morning to decide what to do.

She certainly didn’t lack creativity or motivation, and she had food and water because she was planning a hike. She actually had extra, as any good prepper or trail-savvy person does.

This is when her 5-day period of waiting began. She had no cell signal, so she made an SOS sign from rocks that were about 4’x10’. That didn’t work, so she spelled out “HELP,” again using rocks, but this time she went big – her letters were 20-30 feet tall. She tried getting help using a signal fire, but because she was stuck in an extremely dry area, the wood burned too clean to create smoke.

3 Second SEAL Test Will Tell You If You’ll Survive A SHTF Situation

After a truck drove right by her before she could flag him down, she barricaded the road (which was brilliant, actually, just in case). She had a flashing headlamp in her truck that she turned on at night, to no avail. Finally, after 5 days, she decided to take matters into her own hands and took off walking in an attempt to find a cell signal. Fortunately, she didn’t kill the battery in her car, so she was able to charge her phone.

She was smart about it, though. She left a detailed note with her vehicle, and she marked her trail. It said: “I started following the road EAST to see if I can get a cellphone signal. I am marking my way with white sports tape. If you read this, please come help me!”

After she’d walked 11 miles east of her vehicle and tried a whopping 76 times to get a call out she did manage to find a weak signal and contacted the Coconino County Sheriff’s Office. Her call dropped 49 seconds into the call and she couldn’t get another call out, so she just had to hope that they’d managed to locate her before the call dropped.

She walked almost all the way back to her car, but the helicopter did find her after searching with the limited information that they had. They spotted the glint off of her car and the help sign that she’d made. They also found her note and followed the direction that she said she’d gone in order to find her, and they succeeded.

Because she’d had a stockpile of water and food, she was in good shape when they found her. She rationed it because she didn’t know how long it would take, and she made ramen noodles on her dashboard.

8 Survival Lessons to Learn from Amber’s Story

With little to no injury, Amber survived because she was prepared and knew what to do in an emergency. Did she make mistakes? Yes, but don’t we all?

Just for those of you who need to know it:

Stranded with no way out =/= camping regardless of how well I prepared with my supplies. I had a compass and I am fantastic at reading maps but I made the mistake of not bringing one this time. Almost everyone has run out of gas at some point, mine just happened to be supremely inconvenient. It was not a matter of simply turning around since I wasn’t aware how to get out and I was legitimately lost.

So, yes, I made silly mistakes. However, I also maintained composure when I found myself in an unfortunate situation…

Amber Van Hecke Facebook Page

Let’s look at what we can learn from her experience.

Don’t Depend Solely on Technology

Her gut told her she was turning too soon, and had she heeded that instead of doing what many of us are trained to do – trust that technology knows more than we do – she may have found her way and her story wouldn’t have been more than another leg of her travel plans.

Don’t Cut it Close on Fuel

Only having 70 miles left in your tank is just fine if you’re tooling around town or heading between one major town and another, where there are many opportunities to refuel. However, the US – especially the US West – still has many roads where there are at least 70 miles between gas stations.

As a woman who rides a bike, I have a standing rule – never turn down the opportunity to pee or get gas. It’s a good policy to follow, especially when you’re in a remote area.

Stock That Vehicle Bag

Let’s see … what did she use that many people wouldn’t have necessarily had in their vehicles? A flashing headlamp. The materials to make a fire. White sports tape. Oh yeah, she had books that kept her occupied. Pen and paper. Food and water. A mobile cellphone charger.

Did they all work? No, but she had options and tools, and some of them – the charger, the food and water, and the pen and paper saved her life. Any one of them could have worked had the right person flown over or driven by at the right time.

Don’t Risk Getting Lost

She makes a comment at one point in an interview that she got bored and tooted her horn to make the coyotes leave the prairie dogs alone. What if she’d panicked and taken off walking in the dark? What if she’d made a wrong turn on her way back to her vehicle after she made the call because she didn’t mark her trail?

She did everything right when it came to this part of her experience. She stayed where she had shelter – there wasn’t anybody there to honk the horn to keep the coyotes off HER – and she marked her trail when she did leave so that she could find her way back.

Pack Energy Dense Food

She purportedly had sunflower seeds and an apple left when they found her. Those are foods that are high in sustained energy – the apple because it has fiber that slows down the digestion process, and the seeds because they have both fiber to slow down the processing of the sugar, and fat that your body will use after it uses the sugar.

Packing food isn’t enough – pack the RIGHT foods.

Be Proactive

Nobody wants you to get saved more than you do. She communicated: she made signs, she built a signal fire, and, when none of that worked, she got tired of waiting and took her fate into her own hands and decided to walk til she was able to help people help her. Don’t just sit around waiting for the cavalry when they may not even know you’re missing.

However, don’t screw up your chances by not communicating – in this case, had she not left the note, the rescuers may have missed her.

Keep Your Vehicle in Good Repair

Yes, she ran out of gas, but the rest of her car was in good repair and ready for a trip. Had her battery failed, she may still be sitting there, out of water and out of hope.

Don’t Panic

Yes, I realize that it’s easier said than done, but she admitted that she ran the last of her gas out because she panicked. Would it have made much difference in her case? Probably not. But what if it was the middle of winter, when temperatures can drop to the single digits in the desert? What if she’d been in Maine or North Dakota instead of in Arizona?

By panicking, she didn’t just run out her source of transportation, she exhausted a major heat source, too. True, she could have started a campfire, but that would have left her to the animals, that likely didn’t have granola bars, seeds, and apples stocked back. Keep your head and think before you act.

Amber survived this situation because she was prepared. Of course, she also got herself into it because, when it came to fuel, she made a mistake and went in unprepared. Her story offers dual lessons of what to do and what not to do. Thankfully, she did way more right than she did wrong, and that – along with a bit of luck – ensured that she lived to tell the tale!

Could you survive?

Click the banner below and find out more!

This article has been written by Theresa Crouse for Survivopedia.

References:

University Of North Texas Student Survives For Five Days Stranded In Grand Canyon

from Survivopedia Don't forget to visit the store and pick up some gear at The COR Outfitters. How prepared are you for emergencies? #SurvivalFirestarter #SurvivalBugOutBackpack #PrepperSurvivalPack #SHTFGear #SHTFBag

#SHTF #TEOTWAWKI #MARTIALLAW #BUGOUT #PREPPERBAG #USAF #USSOCOM #ARMY #NAVY #SurvivalFirestarter #Sur

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