Normani for Finish Line x Adidas

SECRET SANTA: to @anastasia-bennettjames

hey there, i know we don’t really know each other but i drew you as my secret santa! i read your list and i tried to get you things that you would want/like! first things first, i got you an embroidery kit that you can do when you have some free time! it looked like it would be fun to try to create something by hand. another thing i got you is a journal.  it’s always fun to write down your thoughts or ideas, and i thought it’d be useful to you. lastly, i got you a t-shirt that i think you’d like. you seem like a person who would agree with this statement, and i think you’d rock the shirt! i hope you had a wonderful christmas and i hope these gifts speak to you.

– taline marr

taline: you look like a clown

taline: but in the nicest way possible

taline: like.. pennywise and the joker would kill to look like you rn

snap to → ??

moira: can’t tell if this face mask makes me look cute or demented moira: arguably i’m already a bit of both so…… it makes sense i guess moira: rainy days call for self care 

Nothing is “TMI” for me. I’m nosy as shit. Tell me everything. Spare no detail.

“I don’t dream at night, I dream at day, I dream all day; I’m dreaming for living.”

— Steven Spielberg (via meineluft)

🏕 gently down the stream: taline + anyone. // @malnatimedia​​

taline loved the summer season the most, especially the week of camp because she fed onto the hype of all of the participants. of most of them anyways, because there was always the typical campers that got dragged into it by their families, but as a veteran, she knew they were all eventually going to have a great time. it was her first time being a counselor, too. while she outwardly acknowledged that getting excited to be a camp counselor was nerdy, she was inwardly proud of her status. she had worked very hard to prove herself trustworthy and responsible for the position. she was grateful to the malnati’s who had appointed her. after learning the ropes of being in a leadership role, she was exhausted. it was non-stop go. there were lakes to swim, crafts to make, and of course, her personal favorite, canoes to paddle. to taline, it felt like the only time she was able to have clear thoughts. the water was serene, the landscape looked flawless. there were no people for miles, the camp was miles away. it was perfect. distraction free.

it was an early morning when she decided to take a day off and spend the day canoeing, hoping to float through the lake and down the river it was connected to. the sun had just been barely rising over the lake when she had arrived there. it had been about 15 minutes since then, mostly spent on looking over the camp’s map and such. she was standing with an open canoe pinched between her knees and half beached on the shore. she was getting ready to push it in the water when she saw someone coming up to her, breaking her concentration. “did you need anything?” taline questioned as her eyes locked on the figure that just walked up to her. it caught her off guard to see someone near the lake as she assumed most people were still eating breakfast or sleeping in. “i’m about to head out for the day, so if you need something you might need to find someone else,” she stood up, her signature smile was plastered on her face. 

After a busy day of keeping track of campers and trying to lead a few rounds of karaoke, Taline felt the chill of the night recede. She settled down a little more, feeling some type of tiredness pull at the edges of her consciousness and enticing her into an early sleep. She roused herself and checked her watch, blinking fiercely until her eyes came into focus and she could read the watch's dial. She grunted, breath huffing from her nostrils when she realized that the time was only half past nine. She sat up straighter, scrubbing knuckles into her eyes to waken herself up, before she pinched the bridge of her nose wearily. To awaken herself up even more, Taline decided to go for a walk around camp, away from everyone and hopefully steering far enough from The Ripper. It came as a surprise to see one of her fellow counselors hiding away in a secluded place, with cans of beer underneath them. “Didn’t meant to scare you,” Taline looked up and caught the loaded gaze from the other, looking at her pensively. As Taline looked at the scene in front of her, the skin furrowed and creased into a frown between her brown hues, wondering where she even got the cans. “I promise I won’t tell,” she explained, after a brief pause to collect her thoughts. “I don’t blame you for coming out here.”

Her campers had been fed and were settled alongside a campfire for their nightly round of s’mores. Since they were under the camp coordinator’s supervision, she’d decided to sneak off to her favorite hammocking spot with a few cans of smuggled Pabst Blue Ribbon. She’d sat lounging with a few too many empty cans below her. She jumps upright, nearly falling out of the hammock at the sound of someone approaching. She looks to them pouring the remainder of the beer behind her. “Shhh you saw nothingggg.” She laughs shaking her head. 

Taline watched the crackling of the flames spreading out across the surface of the campfire, shimmering and shimmying and sending sparks on up into the sky. She could feel the heat from the fire playing across her skin, heating the front of her T-shirt. Taline was still in her thoughts, admiring the fire when a voice caught her off guard. “Uh, me?” she asked, looking around to see if anyone else was around them. When it was confirmed that the other was talking to her, she stepped closer, a friendly grin making its way onto her features. “I’m never one to turn down a good s’more. And yeah, we don’t want you to get a sugar rush! So, I’ll join you,” she accepted the invitation before setting down next to the unfamiliar face. “I bet you’ll do an amazing job,” Taline spoke, eyes looking over at the other before she continued, “I’m Taline, by the way.”

“Uh hey excuse me, you.” she said pointing. A smile found her lips, her face softening. “Yes you. Do you want a s’more? I’m making some and if I don’t share I will eat a whole bag of marshmallows and chocolate by myself.” she chuckled. “Come sit, I swear I make the most perfect s’more I’ve studied the ancient art of getting just the right amount of toastedness.”

let's play a game of truth and dare. you get to start! I dare you to stand up in the middle of lunch and sing the chorus of your favourite song.

“okay,”  taline thought to herself as she accepted the dare. “sing a song. i can do this one, easy.” taline shrugged, thankfully feeling a surge of confidence and suddenly grateful to be surrounded by people she knew. lunch seemed to be booming, with people engrossed in conversations and only paying attention to their own little bubble. it was then that she decided to sing – right on top of one of the tables. as her eyes met confused looks and hushed murmurs, taline belted say my name by destiny’s child, shamelessly.

now I'm feeling a truth. so how many people have you kissed?

“uh, you know, a few. i don’t kiss or tell.” truthfully, she wasn’t being completely honest as she had never kissed anyone before. she’d been so focused on school and graduating that she hadn’t allowed herself to let loose and hit milestones that people usually do by the age of eighteen. “why are you asking? did you wanna kiss me?”

dares are fun. let's do another one! I dare you to shave off half of one eyebrow.

“oh my god, i can’t believe i am going through with this.” taline looked at the razor in her hands and the mirror that hung in front of her, and as requested, she started to shave one half of her eyebrow. cringing slightly, she stopped when she saw half of her hair gone on her left eyebrow. “satisfied? hair grows back, after all.”

Normani for Finish Line + Adidas

          she was exhausted. completely and royally exhausted. sunlight covered the malnati camp like a heavy cloak, and the counselor was walking around the camp, making sure everyone was happy and had a good time. as she continued her duties for the first day, taline needed something to cure her headache. it wasn’t before long before she realized she needed to stock up on some ibuprofen. birds chirped as she made her way to the camp's infirmary, and the sun remained aglow, casting an almost eerie haze onto the trees as she traveled to her destination. when she was faced with her fellow counselor, taline blinked a few times before she spoke to him. “what did you --,” she began, her eyes madly scanning the other as she took in his physical state. “are you okay? are you hurt? jesus,” she spoke rapidly, shaking her head, tongue racing across her lips as she pushed hair from her face. 

          duncan hadn’t expected to spend his first day back at camp–and as a counselor, no less–in the infirmary, but it seemed even far out in the middle of the woods he couldn’t escape his bad luck. he’d been on one of the trails, exploring and taking in the all too familiar scenery, when he’d taken one misstep and bashed his head into a tree branch, causing an entire bee hive to fall from a higher branch. being the only thing around, the bees immediately set their sights on duncan and sent him sprinting back toward camp shrieking like a maniac. he’d suffered several bee stings and a mild concussion in the aftermath and earned himself a couple hours in the infirmary. upon exiting, he ran into a familiar face. “you should see the other guy,” he joked, rubbing his neck.