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vmrenarde · 2 months ago

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An Email Through Time

You have mail… You have mail…

The computer echoed across the room. The robotic voice flowing through the speakers sounded as though it was trapped inside of a tin can. Old hardware seemed strangely difficult to upgrade in the Age of Technology. I groaned, slamming a pillow over my face and tuning out the sound of the broken notification system. You’d think that one alert would be enough.

Almost as if a God above watched me in spite, my alarm clock blared on my bedside table. I’d always been a strong advocate for sleeping in. Waking up at five in the morning to catch the train to work seemed to exacerbate my affliction. I grabbed my phone, silenced the alarm, and checked my social media. It was my daily routine and a comfort I had grown accustomed to.

You have mail… You have mail…

The notifications from my computer did not stop, interrupting my routine. Slowly, I dragged myself out of bed and over to my cluttered desk. I sat down quickly, the rolling chair under me was not expecting my sudden weight and rolled away. I grabbed the corners of the desk and pulled myself back. Clicking through my computer, I looked at my new mail. Most were ads or subscriptions that I had long since forgotten about. Nothing of interest caught my eye until I saw a subject line in all caps.

READ IMMEDIATELY

My heart began to beat faster. The email was only a few hours old, landing in my inbox while I was deep in sleep. The email address was clear as day. The same string of letters and numbers that I had created so many years ago. I had begged my mom for weeks to let me create an email. I had wanted to play my online games, but I could never have imagined that one day this would be waiting for me.

I had heard from so many of my friends that they had all received emails from the future. I didn’t believe them, choosing to think they were being scammed by someone who wanted them to buy thousands of dollars in gift cards. But, with my email address staring back at me, I felt a pressure in my chest that I could not comprehend.

The news had not spoken of this phenomenon yet, but in the coming years, it would wreak havoc on the world as we knew it. We would be able to communicate with our past selves. As far as I knew, my friends had only used it to warn themselves away from boys who would eventually break their hearts. At the time, it seemed silly to me. There were pros and cons I suppose. On one hand, you would save yourself the pain of a breakup, but on the other, you would be restricting yourself. You'd be limiting the deep and enriching moments you have with other people.

My heart was in my throat as my finger hovered over the mouse. I wasn’t sure if I even wanted to read it. But, I knew myself. If, in the future, I had become okay with this procedure, there was a reason. Or, even more horrific, I still wasn’t on board with it in the future but had to make the difficult choice because of a catastrophe waiting to happen.

I took a deep breath and clicked the email.

SUBJECT: READ IMMEDIATELY

Today, for you, it is March 15th, 2025. Do not under any circumstances go to work.

Short and sweet. To the point. Distressingly so.

“I have to go to work,” I spoke out loud. “What the fuck. I have to go to work!” I began to get frustrated. I can’t imagine a world where I have forgotten my constant struggle with money.

I searched through my email frantically, praying that there would be another message holding more context than “Don’t go”. It’s honestly so typical of me to leave out pertinent information. Maybe future me knew that if I was told why I shouldn’t go, I wouldn’t think it was a big deal. I left it vague to set off this type of response in myself.

I cursed under my breath and stared at the phone lying on my desk. I thought of the shop’s number, reciting it in my mind like a mantra. My foot bounced against the hardwood flooring and I rubbed my eyes in frustration.

I picked up the phone and dialed the number, placing the phone on speaker and laying it back down on my desk. My manager, Meghan, answered in a somber tone.

“I can’t come in today.”

“What? Eileen, come on. You’re the third person to call out this morning. If one more person calls out I’ll have to close the shop for the day.”

“Wait, other people are calling out?”

“Yeah, and if you don’t come in I’m fucked.”

“Meg…” I rubbed at my temples. “Please. I never call out. This is my first sick day in over a year.”

I heard a deep sigh come through the speakers. “I know. You’re my best employee for a reason. Do you know why everyone is calling out?”

“I can take a guess,” I said, running my mouse over the cryptic email. “You know, you should probably close for the day. I don’t know why. I just have a bad feeling about today.”

I had worked with Meg for seven years. We had been the only consistencies through years of other people quitting or being fired. She deserved her spot as manager. Well, she deserved a more lucrative job, but if she had to stay in a shithole, she might as well manage it.

“What are you talking about?”

“I got an email from the future. You know, like Dennis was talking about a few weeks ago?”

The line went quiet for a moment, then clicking from a computer mouse. Meg gasped.

“I just… This is impossible. I thought we always said it was bullshit.”

“I thought it was too. What happened?”

“I just checked my email. I got one too. Oh my god, this is so scary.” Meg took a deep breath and cleared her thoughts. “Okay, I am thoroughly terrified, so I’m going to close up the shop for today. I’ll send everyone who is here home and then I’ll send a mass text to all the employees that we will be closing for the day. That seems like a good idea. I’ll text the boss and tell him that too many people called in sick and that it is impossible to run the store with three people.”

“Good. Wanna come over?”

Meg laughed as she began the process of closing down the store. “I feel like we shouldn’t be in groups, what if it’s like the apocalypse or something?”

“If it was like the apocalypse I think the news would be reporting on mass emails. Come on, we can wait it out together. I have alcohol!”

“Well, neither of us works tomorrow-“

“And maybe we will never have to work again!” I laughed into the microphone. This entire situation was much more than I could bear on my own.

“Okay. Fine, give me an hour to close up and I’ll be there. You better have breakfast ready for me, I’m starving.”

“Of course, whatever your heart desires shall be yours.”

Meg laughed and hung up. I put my phone down and stretched my back against the chair. I allowed my head to spin for a few moments before shaking it off and heading to the living room. I cleared any garbage, refolded the throw blankets, and fluffed the pillows on the couch. Walking into the kitchen I noticed last night’s dinner plates sitting in the sink. I groaned and got to work cleaning. Once I was done, I realized how much time I had before Meg would arrive.

I plopped onto the couch, trying to wrap my mind around the events of the morning. I could not come up with any substantial theories and it hurt my brain to think about it. When I started to make breakfast, the email was still burned into my brain. Do not under any circumstances go to work. I made large strips of bacon, scrambled eggs, and buttered toast. Do not under any circumstances go to work. I ran around the kitchen, looking for the blueberry muffin mix that I knew I had bought. Do not under any circumstances go to work. Finally, I took a deep breath and placed my hands on the counter to steady myself. I needed to relax. It was probably just a fluke or a scam.

As I finished breakfast, Meg had arrived. She sat down at the kitchen table and filled her plate. I poured her a glass of orange juice and apologized for the lack of muffins. She rolled her eyes and ate her fill of eggs and bacon. I pecked at the food, but I was no longer hungry. My stomach was still in knots.

Meg insisted that we have the news on in the background, in case something happened while we lounged around for most of the day. We swapped stories and gossiped about the people we knew. None of it mattered and that was exactly what we needed to take our minds off the heavy weight in our hearts.

We had ordered an early dinner before I started work on a large pitcher of margaritas. I had to make good on my promise of alcohol. Between pulses on the blender, Meg filled me in on the contents of the latest romance book she had finished. We laughed at all the protagonist's stupid decisions.

“It was like a Hallmark movie. You have to read it.”

I sat down with our glasses and we talked for hours. By 10:30, we were drunk and giggling like any other night. Meg was gushing over how cute Dennis was. She said that she’d love to ask him out but didn’t think that he liked her. I rolled my eyes and smiled. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen someone so in love. You should text him.”

“What? Right now? No way, I could barely keep a conversation with him going right now.”

I threw my head back with laughter. “You’re probably right. In the morning, then?”

Meg repositioned herself on the couch, swirling her almost empty martini glass. She was quiet for a moment.

“Here, let me get you a refill,” I said, grabbing her glass and walking into the kitchen.

“I can’t believe we got those damn emails, it’s like-“ She cut herself off, I turned to look at her. She was staring at the TV, the look on her face sobered me. “Turn the volume up. Come here, turn the volume up!” She was frantically looking for the remote. I rushed back in, swiping it off the armchair and raising the volume.

A lone reporter stood in the center of the city, our storefront in the background of the broadcast. The street was desolate, an unsettling sight. The area had a lively nightlife. There were many bars within half a mile of that spot and a slew of businesses that stayed open late to accommodate the heavy, drunk, foot traffic. Seeing it empty left a pit in my stomach.

“…After nearly twelve hours, police still have no clue what has happened in the city. Unfortunately, there are no witnesses. The area has been almost abandoned. Families are saying that their loved ones came into the city this morning to go to work. At some point, around 11 am, they stopped responding to texts or calls. Nobody has heard from them since.”

Meg had a hand over her mouth, muffling any gasps she would accidentally release. My head felt like it was spinning again. I checked my phone. I was bombarded by texts and calls but my fingers shook too much to respond to any. Twelve hours had passed since these people had gone missing. I felt my breathing become faster and my heartbeat grew louder.

“…We are unsure of what this means, where these people have gone, or if they will come back. The police have put a lockdown on the area. Once we have wrapped here, not a single soul is allowed in or out of the area.”

“We would have been there,” Meg said, stating the obvious thought that floated through the room.

“And if we were there, we would have disappeared.”

“So, if we disappeared, how could we have emailed ourselves?”

Meg and I looked at each other for a long moment before reverting our attention to the screen.

You’ve got mail… You’ve got mail…

Meg and I jumped out of our skin, the notification seemed like thunder in a world that was quiet enough to hear a pin drop.

“Sorry,” I said, shaking my head and getting up to check my email. As I entered my bedroom, I looked out the window onto the open street below. Nobody was walking and there weren’t any cars driving, but all the apartments were lit up with people flitting around inside. Everyone was too terrified to leave their homes.

“Nobody is outside,” I called to Meg, hoping to share in the unease. I shook the computer mouse, bringing my computer screen back to life. The newest email made my heart leap again. I couldn’t take much more of this.

SUBJECT: THANK YOU

I can’t begin to explain how grateful I am. I’m not sure how time will flow moving forward, but you stopped us from, technically, enduring the worst experience of our life. I do not know what happens from here but thank you for saving us.

The message was still so cryptic. What did I save us from? How would this change events in the future? Will I remember an event I didn’t experience? Well, technically, I guess I did experience it, but this current form of myself didn’t. I began to feel nauseous. Margaritas didn’t seem to go well with changing the course of the future.

I stood from my desk and walked slowly back to the living room. Meg was staring at her phone screen, tears pouring down her face. She looked up at me, holding her phone in my direction. I took it gingerly and read the email that was brightly displayed on her screen.

It was the same.

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#creative writing #fantasy #fiction #science fiction #writing #A Journey Through Time

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pumpkinsfreebies · 5 months ago

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Birthdays are a time to treat yourself and enjoy the little luxuries that life has to offer. Whether you're sipping on a free coffee, indulging in a sweet treat, or pampering yourself with a beauty gift, these best birthday freebies are sure to make your special day even more memorable. So, go ahead and celebrate—you deserve it!

#Best Birthday Freebies

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thedivinefish · 1 year ago

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TGIWednesday: Find the gift in the silence

TGIWednesday News

In the early morning hours is where I find solace and comfort and where Spirit seems to chat at a more audible level especially when I am working on the prayer list of My Daily Prayer subscribers. And it was no surprise this week when it seemed like all events fell into place. And as my sweet mother used to say, “Everything’s coming up roses.” Sandy and I grabbed some lunch in hopes of recapping the year passed and discussing the year ahead. When we pulled into the restaurant parking area there was only one spot left and it was the first one! (meant for us). We had an awesome sparkly waitress who at the end of the meal asked us if we were frequent dining points members and yes we have the rewards card but haven’t eaten at this place in over 6 months. Riley was kind enough to check our points in the back and returned with more good news that our meals would be 100% free with redeemed points! We looked at each other puzzled as to how? what? Then we smiled because we both knew how, and kindly thanked Spirit for the fun. Of course we then HAD to leave her a giant tip to pay it forward. Sandy also gifted me a Christmas scratch-off lottery ticket which parlayed into $30! What another delightful surprise. Sandy then reminds me that she had JUST recently infused her little dolphin keychain totem with the Lucky777 audio prayer just days prior - (psst, it's our gift with any digital purchase this month in the shop) So let’s keep this paying it all forward energy going! If you’re already a My Daily Prayers subscriber, this month’s Zoom is FREE. Even if you’re not, register now and help to co-create a fabulous kick off to a more prosperous New Year by joining us! Know that if the day and time of our event isn't ideal for you that the replays are just as powerful as the original! Many blessings for this holiday season and beyond into a better brighter 2024.

🎁 Last Chance 🎁 Final days to receive the gift with purchase offer through December 31st! Buy any digital item and you'll receive this bonus.

"Infusing Energy Blessings for Your Totems and Good Luck Charms" video/mp3 (not sold separately, a $44 value) Sent in a separate email to buyers after your purchase.

VISIT THE SHOP HERE

"Dear Jimmy and team, I want to share my gratitude, I have been listening to mybeliefworks and today I received positive outcomes to 2 situations! I feel blessed and grateful 🙏🏼✨ With thanks. May we all be blessed and we all are ✨" - Sarah ---------------------------------------------- Do you need a reset for the coming new year? Is it time for a one-on-one session? Get on my schedule today, most times within 72 hours View Calendar First, Then Pay and Schedule 15 mins | 30 mins | 60 mins | Appointments

TGIWednesday Video Download

~ THE GIFT IN THE SILENCE ~ I believe, think, know and feel that remaining still and quiet allows the wellspring of that still small voice within me to bubble up wisdom from the ages. I know, when, where, how and why to set aside quiet time for myself so that I can be the true gift to myself as well as others this time of year and always. I am ready, willing and able to tune out the noise of the extra fancy holiday stress and find that quiet moment to commune with Spirit at a deeper level. I am asking in all languages and throughout all time lines and so it is. Know that if you’ll make a little daily progress that the rest of your life can be the best of your life!

Tonight's LIVE Zoom Event

TONIGHT DECEMBER 27TH 7:30PM ET/ 5:30 CT/ 4:30 PT (30 mins) Pre-register at Calendly for $22 (includes reminders and REPLAY) 👉 https://calendly.com/jmh-calls/december-2023 For this month only, it's a free gift for active My Daily Prayer subscribers (if that's you, check your inbox, call link email reminders were sent already). ---> *Sign up for MDP TODAY and Zoom registration will be included as a FREE bonus.

THEME: Receiving Ethereal Gifts

During this time of year with the overindulgence of eating, shopping and festivities, ground yourself just for a moment and drop into what intangible/non material gift would you really like to receive for yourself, your loved ones and for humanity and the planet?

Join our fishing crew and welcome aboard as we delete the negative and download more positive to round out this year!

Pre-Register Here - $22

FREE Live Appearances

Watch and listen to hundreds of Radio Show replays for FREE here in the archives from the Jimmy Mack Healing Radio show.

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From the Fish Box

Well it’s not always good news but when clients ask about themselves or a loved one and want to know about future events, more often than not, what we’ve tuned into with My Liquid Fish, Change made simple, allows us to get highly accurate predictions! The one below was from a Summer prediction about the holidays.

Hi Jimmy you might want to know that as you said, Richard's father had a collapse last night. Just as you were shown. Best wishes and blessings." M. / Isle of Man

Fish Food

The Daily Bread To Feed The Fish

Tell the Fish - 365 Daily Inspirations and Affirmations - by Jimmy Mack Own this e-book so that you can read inspiration every day!

DECEMBER 27TH "Today I will be thankful for what I have. This may include transportation (where other have none) I am so richly blessed to have legs and feet that allow me to walk. I am thankful for my ability and privilege to drive and own my own car. I give thanks for my employment of any kind considering the alternative to not having a job at all."

Receive 24/7 Prayers from Jimmy

Looking for a new job? Going through a court proceeding? Upcoming surgery scheduled for you or a loved one? Need help selling or buying a property? Troubled times in your relationship? These are just some of the life at the crossroads events that are ideal for My Daily Prayer program. Your name will be added to a special VIP Prayer list where Jimmy will use his intelligent computer software, src4you which runs 24/7, to delete the negative and increase the strength of the positive creating a higher probability of favorable outcomes for you. ---> *If you sign up for MDP in December, Zoom registration is included as a bonus.

30 Days of Daily Prayer (single month) - $99/month This $99 service is for ONE SINGLE MONTH of 30 DAYS ONLY. Click here After the 30 days, you will receive an email from Jimmy and have the opportunity to renew for an additional month plus update your list, but you are under no obligation.

You can add yourself and those living in your immediate household and yes you can include pets! Merely include everyone’s names and Jimmy will add them to his daily prayers.

**NOTE: Most clients save money and choose the auto-renew option listed below so they do not miss a single day of prayers PLUS they take advantage of the cummulative effects of this service over time. Monthly subscription - $95/month on auto-renew

Use PayPal for subscription Click here

Use Stripe for subscription Click here.

*Anytime prior to your next scheduled payment within the 30 days, you can cancel or pause this service via email request.

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

Could you use a private session? Are you feeling extra-crispy? If so, you can now Book Appointments... View Availability First, Then Pay 15 mins | 30 mins | 60 mins

**Can't See The Full Email? Click Here to View Online**

Visit our Online Training Center "Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach him how to fish and you feed him for a lifetime" - Lao Tzu

All are welcome to create a FREE account to access the NEW and IMPROVED MLF Basic Training Course and also know that the Anchors Away, Life Force Energy Masterclass and both Mastery & Practitioner courses have been UPGRADED with new information & lessons!

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The Fish Market

Below is list of over 35 titles in the MyBeliefWorks Clearings audio series, monthly Zoom clearing call replays and Guided Energy Processess. Find a topic that addresses your issue(s), click on the link to read more. We had a lot of help downloading & channeling these over the years & they keep getting better and we are ALWAYS working on the next one. Don’t forget… you can share these with your immediate friends and family.

Freedom from Abuse Overcoming Addiction Receiving Abundance Body Scan: Head to Toe Healing Bountiful Harvest Igniting Creative Spark Discovering Your Destiny Daily GPS Reset Releasing Dark Energies/Fears Crossroads -Decision Making Diet & Exercise Support Education & Learning Support Empowering the Empath Enthusiasm for Life Financial Windfall Gold Coin: Money in All Forms Healing Family Relationships Healing Body Disorders High Cotton Abundance Joy of Money

IRS Stress & Taxes Relieving Holiday Stress Increasing Intuition Lucky 777 Finding Love & Romance Mental Stress Positive Money Mindset Moving Forward from Past Chronic Pain Relief Pet Healing Support Improving Sales & Success Improving Sex Improving Sleep Pro$perity Unlocked Traveling with Ease Treasure Chest Work & Career Success Weight Loss Support Restoring Youth & Vitality

View Full Zoom Replay Collection The 5 Anchors Process The Purple Rain Process The Magical Golden Key

Healing and Grounding Mats for all occasions Yes even Lily my cat uses the pet one! View Grounding Mats here Use code: MyLiquidFishfs for Free Shipping

**We are NOT involved in the sales or shipping process of the 3rd party items, please contact them directly.

TGIFunny

Forward

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divinefishingtips · 1 year ago

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TGIWednesday: Find the gift in the silence

TGIWednesday News

🎁 Last Chance 🎁 Final days to receive the gift with purchase offer through December 31st! Buy any digital item and you'll receive this bonus.

"Infusing Energy Blessings for Your Totems and Good Luck Charms" video/mp3 (not sold separately, a $44 value) Sent in a separate email to buyers after your purchase.

VISIT THE SHOP HERE

TGIWednesday Video Download

Tonight's LIVE Zoom Event

THEME: Receiving Ethereal Gifts

Join our fishing crew and welcome aboard as we delete the negative and download more positive to round out this year!

Pre-Register Here - $22

FREE Live Appearances

Watch and listen to hundreds of Radio Show replays for FREE here in the archives from the Jimmy Mack Healing Radio show.

https://thejimmymackhealingshow.com/

From the Fish Box

Hi Jimmy you might want to know that as you said, Richard's father had a collapse last night. Just as you were shown. Best wishes and blessings." M. / Isle of Man

Fish Food

The Daily Bread To Feed The Fish

Tell the Fish - 365 Daily Inspirations and Affirmations - by Jimmy Mack Own this e-book so that you can read inspiration every day!

Receive 24/7 Prayers from Jimmy

You can add yourself and those living in your immediate household and yes you can include pets! Merely include everyone’s names and Jimmy will add them to his daily prayers.

Use PayPal for subscription Click here

Use Stripe for subscription Click here.

*Anytime prior to your next scheduled payment within the 30 days, you can cancel or pause this service via email request.

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

Could you use a private session? Are you feeling extra-crispy? If so, you can now Book Appointments... View Availability First, Then Pay 15 mins | 30 mins | 60 mins

**Can't See The Full Email? Click Here to View Online**

Visit our Online Training Center "Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach him how to fish and you feed him for a lifetime" - Lao Tzu

Visit now, Click Here!

The Fish Market

View Full Zoom Replay Collection The 5 Anchors Process The Purple Rain Process The Magical Golden Key

Healing and Grounding Mats for all occasions Yes even Lily my cat uses the pet one! View Grounding Mats here Use code: MyLiquidFishfs for Free Shipping

**We are NOT involved in the sales or shipping process of the 3rd party items, please contact them directly.

TGIFunny

Forward

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365dailyaffirmations · 1 year ago

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TGIWednesday: Find the gift in the silence

TGIWednesday News

🎁 Last Chance 🎁 Final days to receive the gift with purchase offer through December 31st! Buy any digital item and you'll receive this bonus.

"Infusing Energy Blessings for Your Totems and Good Luck Charms" video/mp3 (not sold separately, a $44 value) Sent in a separate email to buyers after your purchase.

VISIT THE SHOP HERE

TGIWednesday Video Download

Tonight's LIVE Zoom Event

THEME: Receiving Ethereal Gifts

Join our fishing crew and welcome aboard as we delete the negative and download more positive to round out this year!

Pre-Register Here - $22

FREE Live Appearances

Watch and listen to hundreds of Radio Show replays for FREE here in the archives from the Jimmy Mack Healing Radio show.

https://thejimmymackhealingshow.com/

From the Fish Box

Hi Jimmy you might want to know that as you said, Richard's father had a collapse last night. Just as you were shown. Best wishes and blessings." M. / Isle of Man

Fish Food

The Daily Bread To Feed The Fish

Tell the Fish - 365 Daily Inspirations and Affirmations - by Jimmy Mack Own this e-book so that you can read inspiration every day!

Receive 24/7 Prayers from Jimmy

You can add yourself and those living in your immediate household and yes you can include pets! Merely include everyone’s names and Jimmy will add them to his daily prayers.

Use PayPal for subscription Click here

Use Stripe for subscription Click here.

*Anytime prior to your next scheduled payment within the 30 days, you can cancel or pause this service via email request.

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

Could you use a private session? Are you feeling extra-crispy? If so, you can now Book Appointments... View Availability First, Then Pay 15 mins | 30 mins | 60 mins

**Can't See The Full Email? Click Here to View Online**

Visit our Online Training Center "Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach him how to fish and you feed him for a lifetime" - Lao Tzu

Visit now, Click Here!

The Fish Market

View Full Zoom Replay Collection The 5 Anchors Process The Purple Rain Process The Magical Golden Key

Healing and Grounding Mats for all occasions Yes even Lily my cat uses the pet one! View Grounding Mats here Use code: MyLiquidFishfs for Free Shipping

**We are NOT involved in the sales or shipping process of the 3rd party items, please contact them directly.

TGIFunny

Forward

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advancedthetapractitioner · 1 year ago

Text

TGIWednesday: Find the gift in the silence

TGIWednesday News

🎁 Last Chance 🎁 Final days to receive the gift with purchase offer through December 31st! Buy any digital item and you'll receive this bonus.

"Infusing Energy Blessings for Your Totems and Good Luck Charms" video/mp3 (not sold separately, a $44 value) Sent in a separate email to buyers after your purchase.

VISIT THE SHOP HERE

TGIWednesday Video Download

Tonight's LIVE Zoom Event

THEME: Receiving Ethereal Gifts

Join our fishing crew and welcome aboard as we delete the negative and download more positive to round out this year!

Pre-Register Here - $22

FREE Live Appearances

Watch and listen to hundreds of Radio Show replays for FREE here in the archives from the Jimmy Mack Healing Radio show.

https://thejimmymackhealingshow.com/

From the Fish Box

Hi Jimmy you might want to know that as you said, Richard's father had a collapse last night. Just as you were shown. Best wishes and blessings." M. / Isle of Man

Fish Food

The Daily Bread To Feed The Fish

Tell the Fish - 365 Daily Inspirations and Affirmations - by Jimmy Mack Own this e-book so that you can read inspiration every day!

Receive 24/7 Prayers from Jimmy

You can add yourself and those living in your immediate household and yes you can include pets! Merely include everyone’s names and Jimmy will add them to his daily prayers.

Use PayPal for subscription Click here

Use Stripe for subscription Click here.

*Anytime prior to your next scheduled payment within the 30 days, you can cancel or pause this service via email request.

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

Could you use a private session? Are you feeling extra-crispy? If so, you can now Book Appointments... View Availability First, Then Pay 15 mins | 30 mins | 60 mins

**Can't See The Full Email? Click Here to View Online**

Visit our Online Training Center "Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach him how to fish and you feed him for a lifetime" - Lao Tzu

Visit now, Click Here!

The Fish Market

View Full Zoom Replay Collection The 5 Anchors Process The Purple Rain Process The Magical Golden Key

Healing and Grounding Mats for all occasions Yes even Lily my cat uses the pet one! View Grounding Mats here Use code: MyLiquidFishfs for Free Shipping

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portraitmypet · 1 year ago

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I Took A Chance With Portrait My Pet and I'm Super Satisfied

Your experience with portrait my pet

Sometimes you take a chance, and it pays off. That's how it was for me when I ordered a portrait of my beloved cat. I had just moved from an apartment in Brooklyn to a one-bedroom in Manhattan and had yet to find myself any furniture or decorations for my new place.

I was feeling lonely and homesick at first—and then there was this huge box on my doorstep! It turned out that my college roommate had ordered me the portrait of our cat from Portrait My Pet as a gift. She knew how much I loved our sweet kitty back home, so she thought this would be something nice to have around the house since she couldn't be there with us anymore.

I was skeptical at first because I wasn't sure what kind of quality they would produce given that they were so affordable compared to other pet portrait websites (and even some custom framing sites). But after opening up the box and seeing what they'd done with our cat's photo, I realized that this company truly understands its customers' needs! Plus they kept all their promises: everything was delivered quickly, no hidden costs or fees attached whatsoever--just pure joy right there before me on canvas paper."

I saw the ads here on Facebook and while they looked good, I was skeptical. But my boyfriend encouraged me to do it. We both needed something to smile about and my girl cat was not doing well. He died 2 months after she passed away, so I know how valuable it was to have the portrait.

I was skeptical at first. The ads looked good, but I've seen some pretty good-looking things not turn out as good in real life. But my boyfriend encouraged me to do it. He said we both needed something to smile about and our cat wasn't doing well at all. She died 2 months after he passed away and I know how valuable it was to have the portrait.

I had a hard time getting my girl into the box (she's a picky eater). But once she was in there and I saw her portrait on their website, I knew it was worth it! It looked just like her!

She had beautiful eyes that were always opened wide even when she slept; they'd make your heart melt :)

The process started with them asking for a picture of my cat that showed her eyes clearly. They did say that if the first attempt didn't match the eyes, they would redo it for no extra charge.

I found it very easy to take a picture of my cat and send it to them. I was super excited because I could see the finished product at all times in my email inbox!

When I saw that they had sent me an email saying that my portrait was ready for pick up, I was very excited! It was just like Christmas morning :)

The portrait looks exactly like my cat Sophie. The artist did an amazing job capturing her facial expressions and coloring her fur correctly so that she looks just like herself but in drawing form!

If you are looking for something special to hang on your wall or keep on your desk, this is definitely worth considering.

It took about 3 days before it arrived in the mail and at first I worried because the portrait seemed too dark, but once I hung it in my office, the light made her eyes come alive! It is so very true to life!

When you first receive your portrait, don't panic if it looks too dark or too light. Once it's hanging in your home and gets the natural light of day, they can look completely different than they did when you saw them online. My portrait was taken at my house outside in direct sunlight and I thought that maybe the colors were off because my dog is a black lab mix with gold highlights, but once I hung it up inside in a room with windows on either side and natural lighting coming through, her eyes were literally sparkling! It was so beautiful!

I have had this made as gifts for several friends who own dogs and everyone has said how lifelike their pet looks! They loved seeing their animal captured forever in such an artistic way!

One friend loved hers so much she put theirs on display by hanging it over her fireplace mantle so everyone could admire both sides at once: one side showed their cat sleeping peacefully next to them while on the other side he was chasing some birdies outside under his favorite tree.

It is one of my most treasured possessions now - and I get lots of compliments on it from friends and coworkers alike!

I think it's important to have a tangible memory of your beloved pet, and this portrait is not only beautiful but also incredibly detailed. The artist even included the tiny little birthmark on my dog's ear! I've gotten so many compliments from friends and coworkers about how great the portrait looks, both in person and online.

This was my first time commissioning an original piece of art for myself, so I wasn't sure what to expect when sending in photos of my dog (I'm not very artistic myself). When I received the finished product in the mail, though, I was blown away by how well it captured her personality while also accurately reflecting her appearance in life. It really added something special to my home—and helped me overcome some feelings of sadness when remembering all those times spent with her back at our apartment or camping trips out west.

We understand how hard it is to wait for the perfect moment to order your pet portrait. But we also know that if you don’t place your order now, you will miss out on our exclusive offers and will end up paying more than you would have if you ordered today. That’s why we have a special coupon code in place right now! Use this link to get 10% off your total purchase! Or send us an email at [email protected] and we can help make sure that no matter what, today will be one of the best days ever!

#pets #dogs of tumblr #portrait

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kissinginkitchens · 3 years ago

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You Bring Me Home—Chapter Ten: When it Rains

a/n: hi besties!! This one is... tough I’m ngl to y’all. It is the second to the last chapter which is so wild to think about, but alas all good things must come to an end. Hopefully you don’t hate me too much by the end of it but feel free to vent in my inbox :))) much love, Mel <3

Pairing: Hawai’i!Harry x Original Character (Halani <3)

Warnings: swearing, some suggestive humor, ANGST (!!)

Word Count: 7.4 k

catch up on parts one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, and nine

“Is that my shirt?”

“No,”

Alani squints at the cartoon bee printed on Harry’s white t-shirt and crosses her arms in disbelief.

“Yes it is! I’ve been looking for it everywhere,”

“Don’t worry, you can have it back soon,” he admits, crawling back into his bed with an apologetic kiss to her pouting lips. “Doesn’t smell like you anymore,”

“Thief,”

Harry scoffs and props himself up on an elbow. “Don’t act like my Spice World jumper isn’t hanging at the foot of your bed right now,”

“You left it there,” Alani defends. “I was merely being kind and looking after said hoodie because it was abandoned by its owner,”

“Oh yeah and you’ve fought real hard to reunite us,”

“Can we get back to the main issue at hand? Which is that I’m kinda pissed off that you look better in that shirt than I do.”

Harry chuckles to himself and presses an affectionate kiss to her temple. “You’re too kind.”

Alani rests her cheek against his chest and listens to the rain pattering harshly against the window, admiring the flashes of lightning that illuminate the dimly lit room. Harry had convinced her to stay the night, worried about her driving home alone in the storm, and he was met with very little resistance. Secretly, he thanks the rain gods for allowing him another night to hold her close.

********

“H, you gotta tell her,” Jeff had warned the previous night. “I already pushed the flight back a week—”

“I know,” Harry huffed. “I just need a little more time.”

Jeff sighed, rubbing his tired eyes with the heels of his hands. “You have until this weekend when we go away with the girls. One week in Maui, and then it’s back home. I’m sorry.”

********

Harry’s stomach turns remembering the conversation, but he decides to push all the nagging thoughts to the back of his mind and focus on the present.

“You all packed?” he asks, trailing his fingers up and down her arm.

Alani drapes her leg over his hip and nods. “Been packed since last week.”

She had been ecstatic the day after Mila and Chad’s wedding when Harry invited her to tag along on the couple’s trip with Jeff, Tom, and their significant others. His eagerness to include her in his friend group was not only reassuring, but exciting. It felt like their lives were coming together, even more so after she had introduced him to her parents. They, of course, had adored him and quickly given their seal of approval. While Alani knew that it was ultimately her choice, it still felt good to have support from the most important people in her life, and she hoped to win his friends over just as easily. Harry, on the other hand, had no doubts that she would fit right into his chosen family. Her name had been cautiously dropped during a weekly FaceTime call with his mother and sister, and he was overjoyed when they enthusiastically grilled him for details.

What Harry was less sure of, however, was how Alani would react upon hearing that his vacation was up and that he would be headed back to L.A. in a week’s time. It was still early in their relationship and an indeterminate break seemed less than ideal. He had tried to convince both Jeff and the label that he could finish the album in Hawaii, but the same couldn’t be said for Jeff Bhasker, Mitch, Tom, and his new bassist, Adam, who all had families waiting for them back on the mainland. It was too risky personally and financially, so Harry reluctantly negotiated one last week to persuade Alani that a long-distance relationship wouldn’t be a death sentence.

“What d’you wanna watch?” he asks, sitting up against the headboard to turn on the T.V.

Alani sighs and settles deeper into his side. “When Harry Met Sally,”

“But it’s not Christmas or New Year’s,”

“So?”

“So,” Harry explains. “We have to wait ‘til the holidays, wouldn’t be right otherwise,”

Alani scoffs and peers up at him with a judgemental look. “So I guess Serendipity is also out of the question?”

“We’ll have all Christmas to get through that list, darlin’,”

Her stomach flips at his suggestion of their future holiday plans. Privately, she had wondered about such things, as well, including what gifts she might get him or where they would spend the holidays. Though still months away, it suddenly felt within reach.

“Fine,” Alani softens. “The Notebook,”

“And let you drool over what’s-his-face?” Harry pokes. “No fuckin’ way,”

Alani pinches his side and sits up. “Would you stop being insecure about that? I’ve already told you I was just kidding that time,”

“Yeah well, it still stings,”

“Why don’t you tell me your celebrity crush? You know, so I can be totally fine about it because it doesn’t mean anything,”

Harry shrugs, the corners of his lips turning into a playful smirk. “Don’t have one,”

“Liar,”

“M’serious,”

“Why, because you’ve already dated them?”

“Hey,” Harry pouts. “That was a bit snippy,”

Alani’s muscles tighten. She hadn’t realized that his dating history was a sore spot, but she takes a deep breath and plants a sweet kiss to his jaw as an offering of peace. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean it like that,”

“S’alright. Truce?”

“Deal,”

“Jennifer Aniston,”

“Huh?”

“My celebrity crush,” Harry explains shyly. “When I was younger,”

Alani giggles lightly. “I see. Good taste, she’s hot,”

“Don’t tell me you’re gonna leave me for her too,”

“I just might,”

“Can’t say that I blame you,”

“Look I know this is a cute little bit we do,” Alani sits up, her gaze dead-set on Harry’s to communicate the seriousness behind her words. “But I just want you to know that I feel so lucky to be with you. I’m not going anywhere any time soon,”

Harry swallows harshly. It was everything he’d ever wanted to hear and it kills him that he can’t return the sentiment with full honesty. A little less than a week is all he has to prove that even though he physically has to go, his heart will remain wherever Alani is. “Me either,”

Another round of thunder booms outside and the lights fizzle out, leaving the room completely dark save for the intermittent flashes of lightning that gently illuminate the room.

“So much for watching a movie, huh?” Alani sighs.

“I think I know some other ways we can keep ourselves entertained.”

********

Harry sets a steaming cup of tea down onto the table in front of Alani and she looks up from her tube of nail polish curiously. Harry flashes a dimpled grin in her direction and whistles a familiar tune, one that she had heard in the studio when he was busy doing his Bob Dylan impression.

“What’re you singing?”

“Hm?”

“The song,” she clarifies. “You were singing it the other day, what is it?”

Harry serves her plate of hash browns and shrugs. “Dunno, just a little tune ‘ve been workin’ on,”

“It’s nice,”

“Thanks, sweets,” he offers, setting her food down and pressing a kiss to the top of her head.

“Hey Alani,” Jeff interrupts, stepping into the kitchen with his cellphone pressed to his shoulder.

“Glenne wants to know if you’re okay with her setting up a spa thing for you guys,”

"Yeah, definitely,” Alani perks up.

“Cool, thanks.”

“Look at you,” Harry teases, taking a bite of his toast coated in strawberry jam. “Minglin’ with the girls,”

“They’re not even here yet,”

He scans over her appearance and his brows furrow, hit with the sudden realization that she’s dressed in formal attire.

“What’s with the fancy outfit”

“I have a meeting, remember?”

“With?”

Alani blows on her freshly painted nails and holds up her other hand for Harry to do the same.

“My senior advisor. We’re going over my research project,”

Harry’s brows raise. “Smarty-pants,”

Alani had scheduled her meeting with Dr. Hudson months ago and had, truthfully, forgotten all about it until she had received a courtesy email the day prior. She had been working on her proposal in the spare minutes she had away from Harry, which were few and far between, but she knew the initial meeting would be much more casual. Alani checks the time on her phone and stands quickly when she realizes that she is supposed to meet Dr. Hudson in less than thirty-minutes.

“Gotta go,” she offers, shoveling potatoes into her mouth and grabbing her bag.

Harry ceases blowing on her nails and kisses the back of her hand before sticking out his lips for a kiss of his own. “Good luck, darlin’. Meet me at the studio after?”

“Sure thing, sunshine. See you later.”

********

“How did the Joni Mitchell piece go? You never told me,” Dr. Hudson questions, taking a sip of her coffee.

Alani offers a shy smile and toys with the hem of her skirt. “A flop,”

“Just one more closer to the winner,”

“Yeah,” Alani sighs, stirring her smoothie. “Maybe it’s time to move on from that,”

The professor shoots her a disapproving look and sets her drink down. “Alani—”

“I just think maybe there’s more realistic—”

“You are not giving up,” Dr. Hudson reassures her. “You’ve come too far and you’re a terrific writer. One of the best I’ve ever had the pleasure of teaching. These things take time,”

Alani nods gently, her lips pursed in a tight smile. “Thank you, that really means a lot,”

“What are you working on right now?”

Absolutely nothing, Alani thinks, but then she remembers the half-written article about Harry sitting in her files.

“A short piece about… a local musician,”

Dr. Hudson’s brows raise, intrigued, and she nods. “That sounds interesting. Definitely more personal,”

You have no idea. “Thanks. I mean, it’s not really anything—”

“I’d love to read it when you’re finished,” the professor continues. “What’s the scope?”

Alani thinks, trying not to give too much incriminating detail about her subject or their relationship.

“Well,” she starts, hesitant. “He’s writing new music and working on his first album. I guess I kind of want to follow his journey and redefinition of success in the music industry,”

Dr. Hudson hums. “I love it. Send me a draft.”

Alani swallows and takes a minute to consider the offer. Surely there couldn’t be anything wrong about sharing her work privately with her advisor. She had been so excited about the potential of the article when it was first started, but it had since been neglected like so many of her other rejected pieces. Starting again seemed exciting, and she knew that Harry would be pleased to play such an important role in making her dreams come true. That had, after all, been the initial terms of their agreement.

“Okay,” Alani accepts. “I will.”

********

Harry draws out the last note and Mitch lets the chord ring between them for a moment.

“I think that’s the one,”

“Yeah, I liked that progression better,”

“Hope you got that, Bhasker,” Mitch calls to Jeff in the sound booth, who gives a thumbs up in response.

Harry continues humming, his head still bobbing to the tune, when he hears the studio door creak unpleasantly. His eyes shoot up to find Alani wincing and timidly stepping into the room.

“Sorry, didn’t mean to interrupt,”

He softens and beckons her over. “Never an interruption, sweets,”

Alani slots herself between his legs and wraps her arms around his neck, giving a gentle peck to the tip of his nose before pressing their lips together.

“How’s the weather?”

“Just got a lot sunnier,”

“Meeting go well?”

She nods and twists a lock of his chestnut hair between her fingers. “Yeah, actually,”

“Then we should celebrate!” Harry perks up, peppering a kiss to her cheek. “Dinner, wine, movie, the whole shebang,”

Alani frowns, thinking back to the article she promised Dr. Hudson. “Hmmm, raincheck?”

Her boyfriend deflates. “You’re ditching me?”

“Just for one night,” she explains, pulling him closer. “I wanna finish up some school stuff before our trip. Otherwise I won’t be able to give you my full attention,”

Harry pouts, but he nods understandingly. “‘Kay,”

“I’m sorry, sunshine. I’ll miss you tons,”

“Ditto, sweets,”

Alani presses her forehead against his and her fingertips wander through the growing curls at the nape of his neck. “Please don’t be upset,”

Harry smiles warmly and smoothes his hands up and down her back. “Never, m’love. Could never be upset with you,”

“Promise?”

“Promise,” he nods, planting a sweet kiss to her lips. “Hey, I wanna play you somethin’,”

Alani grins and pulls back a bit to read his expression. “Let’s hear it,”

Harry grabs the guitar next to him and slings it over his shoulder before adjusting the capo. The song starts sweet and gentle, his voice light to match the tune.

And oh we started

Two hearts in one home

It’s hard when we argue

We’re both stubborn I know, but oh

Sweet creature, sweet creature

Wherever I go, you bring me home

Sweet creature, sweet creature

When I run out of road, you bring me home

Alani watches in awe as he pours so much emotion behind every word, his vocals effortlessly powerful and rich. She claps when the song finishes and leans in for a kiss.

“I love it,”

“S’not finished yet,” Harry shrugs, still fiddling with the strings. “Just the chorus right now,”

“Will you teach it to me?”

His brows raise in surprise. “You play?”

“No,” Alani admits. “But I have a feeling you’re a good teacher,”

“Well, let’s see what you got,”

Alani turns and Harry props the guitar in her lap, his arms wrapping around her as he guides her into the right position. His left hand demonstrates the beginning chord and she replaces his fingers on the fretboard to try for herself. She strums and the beginning note resonates in near-perfect pitch.

“Hey,” Harry beams. “You’re a regular Hendrix,”

He continues positioning her fingers over the right spaces and letting her strum, humming the lyrics softly into the shell of her ear.

“We don’t argue that much,” Alani defends playfully.

Harry chuckles and kisses her temple. “Maybe not, but we’re really good at makin’ up.”

“Easy, Styles.”

********

Harry: Hungry?

Alani peels her eyes away from the computer screen and reads the message lighting up her phone.

Alani: Not really

Harry: …

Harry: oh

She laughs and pads over to the window. Sure enough, Harry holds up two bags and flashes a cheesy grin down below.

“Need a study break?”

“I’ll meet you at the door.”

Harry makes himself comfortable in the middle of her bed and unpacks the bags.

“I’ve got a California and a spicy tuna for my favorite girl,” he announces. “With a side of eel sauce,”

“And the world's best boyfriend goes to Mr. Harry Styles,” Alani grins, taking a seat next to him.

He smirks and pulls out his own order of miso soup and sushi. “How’s the homework comin’ along?”

“Not too shabby,”

“Glad to hear it,”

“Hey, what time do I meet you at the airport tomorrow?” she asks, dipping her roll in the sauce.

Harry freezes and turns to her with confusion written all over his face. “I’m sorry, did my girlfriend just insinuate that we’re not leaving for the airport together?”

“I really need to finish this,” Alani explains. “It’s almost there,”

“Two nights?” he complains.

Alani nudges him with her shoulder and shakes her head. “We’re gonna be spending an entire week together, non-stop. You’re gonna get sick of me,”

“Never,” Harry rebuts. “Not possible,”

“Just one more night,” Alani bargains. “Then I’m all yours, no interruptions.”

He nods and takes a sip of his soup. “Alright, deal.”

You have to tell her, Jeff’s voice rings in his mind.

********

The airline stewardess ushers Harry and Alani to their seats while Scott and Miles settle down a few rows behind. She didn’t know exactly what to expect from first-class, but suddenly the perks of having a famous boyfriend increased tenfold by the sight of their luxurious accommodations.

“Wait, what are you doing?” Alani asks while Harry hovers over his chair.

“Sitting, or I was about to,”

“And you’re not even gonna offer rock-paper-scissors for the window seat?”

Harry shakes his head with an amused chuckle. “No because I already know that you’re gonna get up to pee every five minutes,”

“Not true,”

“It is too true and it’s exactly why we can’t cuddle while we fall asleep,”

“Or maybe the reason is because I’m claustrophobic and I just don’t wanna hurt your feelings,”

Harry frowns. “Really?”

“No,” Alani admits, taking the aisle seat. “I just said that so you’d give me the window,”

“Get up, we’re switching,”

“Thank you, sunshine! You’re the best,”

Harry slumps into his new chair and crosses his arms. “Forty-five minutes and we’re already fighting like an old married couple,”

“Oh really?” Alani smirks. “Is that what old married couples argue about? Who gets the window seat?”

“And leaving the toilet seat up, going antique shopping—”

“—What old married couples have you been hanging out with—?”

“—Picking up the kids from school,”

Alani presses a kiss to his shoulder and rests her head in the crook of his neck. Her eyelids are still heavy from staying up the night before, but her article was completely finished and sent off to Dr. Hudson just like she’d promised. Now, she could enjoy her vacation free of any worry or obligation, completely focused on the perfect boy still rambling next to her.

“But, obviously I mean that doesn’t count, right?” Harry asks, craning his neck and smiling softly when he sees that his girlfriend has already dozed off. He kisses the top of her head gently and lets his own eyes flutter close with a deep, contented breath.

********

“And then I’ll have to repaint it, but I haven’t decided on a color yet,” Glenne explains to Alani as they stroll through the airport.

Alani hums. “It was your grandmother’s?”

“Well, it was somebody’s grandmother’s. We picked it up at this little antique shop in Santa Monica.”

Jeff escorts Glenne into the shuttle car while Harry and Alani share a knowing look and stifle their laughter. They shuffle into the back seats as Tom and his wife, Jenny, claim the middle row.

“So you’re a journalist?” Jenny asks, turning in her seat eagerly to face Alani.

“Not quite,” she explains with a polite smile. “Still a student, but hopefully someday,”

Jenny nods and twirls the ring around her finger. “Sounds exciting. Maybe you can hitch a ride on tour with this one and do some writing there.”

“Yeah,” Alani smiles, settling further into Harry’s side. “Maybe.”

The idea of traveling the world with Harry and being a part of the excitement of touring the album was something she had considered briefly, but hadn’t allowed herself to fully indulge until this moment. It was already thrilling to see him polish the songs he had begun during his trip, but she could only imagine how much more special it would be to see him perform them for the rest of the world. A twinge of jealousy sparks at the thought of having to share any part of him with the public, but Alani knows that his gifts are much too special to keep all for herself. Harry was golden and he deserved to shine in all of his radiant glory. That was exactly what she had penned in her article, and she said it not because he was her boyfriend and there were clear personal investments, but because she knew it was true even before he had shown any romantic interest in her.

“What’s tour like?” Alani pipes up as Harry watches the landscape out his window.

He considers it for a moment and clears his throat. “Fun, mostly. Can be tiring,”

“Lots of partying and adoring fans?”

“No,” he chuckles to himself. “Not so much the partying. Enthusiastic fans, sure,”

Alani narrows her eyes. “No partying?”

“Nope,” Harry reiterates. “Don’t really like to do all that stuff when I’m working. Also just didn’t wanna…”

He trails off and Alani waits a beat to see if he’ll continue. “Didn’t wanna?”

“Fuck it up,” he finishes. “You know, like, be the one who ruined a good thing for a little bit of fun.”

She lets his words settle in, rubbing a reassuring circle on the back of his hand. “Makes sense. Sounds really responsible of you to do that.”

Harry presses a soft kiss to her temple and resumes his study of the scenery. They chat amongst their friends for the remainder of the drive and Alani immediately presses Glenne and Jenny for information about her boyfriend in his younger years. They indulge her inquiries and ask their own questions, deciding privately after a few minutes that her and Harry are a good fit.

When the group arrives at the resort, Glenne takes charge and instructs them all to meet at the lobby for lunch in twenty minutes. They collect their keys and head up to their respective rooms, which are all located on the very top floor.

“What a view,” Alani muses as she takes in the sight from their private balcony.

Harry admires the wonder on her face and nods, his eyes not leaving her side profile. “You’re tellin’ me,”

“Let’s never go home,” she poses, arms snaking around his torso. “Let’s stay here forever, just me and you,”

His throat tightens as he thinks back to the inevitable conversation waiting for them. Harry didn’t know why it was so hard to think about leaving because he had every intention of keeping touch and making their relationship work at all costs. But there was a part of him, a very tiny recess in the back of his mind, that feared the possibility of Alani not feeling the same.

“Yeah,” he agrees with a gentle kiss to the tip of her nose. “Whatever you want, sweets,”

Alani senses a shift in his demeanor, but she can’t read it. “You okay?”

“Never better,” Harry swallows, mustering up a small smile. “But I am hungry,”

She isn’t entirely convinced that there isn’t something bothering him, but she decides not to push it and tightens her grip around his waist, instead.

“Race you to the lobby.”

“You’re on.”

********

“You’ve never seen Finding Nemo?”

“Was I s’posed to?”

“My god,” Alani marvels. “You know, I’m starting to believe those rumors that you were grown in a lab,”

Harry’s brow raises and he blinks. “That I was what?”

The restaurant that Glenne and Jeff chose features an aquarium tunnel at the entrance, much to both Harry and Alani’s excitement. Fish, large and small, swim around them and the pair take turns pointing out their favorite colorful species. The Hull’s snap photos for their four year-old daughter, but Jenny also secretly captures one of Harry and Alani with their hands clasped under the mesmerizing blue lighting as a keepsake for her friend.

“Add Finding Nemo to our movie list,” Alani says, admiring a clownfish that swims close to the glass.

“S’it gonna make me cry?”

“Probably,”

“Goddamnit,”

Alani giggles softly and turns her head away from the glass to silently observe Harry under the lighting of the rippling water. The combination of his serene features and the sound of Billie Holiday’s I’ll Be Seeing You over the sound system creates a perfect image in her mind, one that makes her afraid to blink, lest it be gone forever. Harry glances over at her through the corner of his eye and his lips curl.

“Checkin’ me out?”

“Always,”

“Like whatcha see?”

“Love it.”

His heart nearly stops at her words, but before he has a chance to process their implication, the hostess calls on their group.

“And I’ll have the piña colada,” Harry orders once they're seated.

“Oh my god, H,” Glenne laughs from across the table. “That reminds me, remember your birthday last year when James got trashed and hoarded the karaoke machine for, like, two hours?”

“Ruined that song forever,” Jeff quips, reliving the memory of the Late-Late host drunkenly serenading the entire party with the same song on repeat.

Harry cringes, pinching the bridge of his nose. “I try not to,”

Alani watches as they reminisce on the event, adding their own details and pieces to the puzzle. It’s amusing to watch, but a small part of her also has to fight the pang of exclusion settling into the pit of her stomach. She feels guilty for being affected by it knowing, logically, that it isn’t intentional or malicious in any way. Still, Alani is painfully reminded of the vast differences between their worlds. Harry had gotten to know practically every part of her life, including her family, but there was still so much that she didn’t know about his. It was something she worked hard not to dwell on, given the novelty of their relationship, but she also worried that fear and insecurity would prevent her from investing what little of her heart Harry hadn’t claimed yet.

“Who was it that started dancing on a table and almost broke a chandelier?” Tom asks, wracking his brain.

“I think it was Ken—” Jeff hesitates, clearing his throat. “Actually, I don’t remember,”

Harry shifts in his seat beside Alani and reads over the menu, quickly changing the subject. “What’re you gonna get?”

“I don’t know,” Alani admits. “Everything looks so good,”

“Oh look,” Jenny pipes up across from Harry. “They’ve got your fav, the mango sorbet. I wonder if it’s as good as the one in Italy,”

Harry beams and reads over the item. “Oh yeah, that was amazin’,”

Alani files the detail to the back of her mind. She hadn’t known mango was his favorite flavor of anything, and while it was a trivial detail, she realized that there were so still many little details about him that she wanted to know. Harry had made such an effort to remember everything about her, like her go-to sushi order and the fact that she always saved the kiwis for last in her fruit salad, so it made her feel a touch guilty that she hadn’t made the same effort.

“Wanna share the coconut shrimp?” Alani asks with a gentle nudge to his shoulder.

“Oh, uh—”

“He’s allergic,” Glenne says offhandedly, not cold or condescending, but more in the same way that an older sister would.

“Oh my god,” Alani’s eyes widen. “I’m so sorry,”

Harry laughs lightly and shrugs. “S’okay, I’d let you poison me,”

“I didn’t mean to be rude,” Glenne apologizes, reaching her hand out to Alani. “I thought you knew.”

Alani accepts the hand and waves away her concern. “No, don’t worry about it. I didn’t know, actually.”

“We can stop talking about my defects now,” Harry teases. “‘M not dyin’,”

He leans in closer to Alani and presses a kiss to her temple. “But if I was, it’d be an honor to have my last meal with you.”

She responds with a soft smile before returning her attention back to the menu. His sentiments, however sweet, unfortunately did very little to soothe the embarrassment of her mini faux pas. It was irrational, Alani knew this, but it made her wonder what else she didn’t know and what bigger secrets he was potentially keeping. Whose name had Jeff meant to say earlier to identify the mystery dancer at Harry’s party, and why had it created an awkward shift in the air? She decides not to let the spiraling questions spoil her fun and takes a generous sip of her cocktail to avoid them for the time being.

********

Harry sets the room key on the nightstand next to their king sized bed and lets himself sink down into the soft mattress. The group had spent the entire day sightseeing, from botanical gardens to scenic beaches, but he was really itching for some quality time alone with Alani. Lately, their time together had been cut frustratingly short by work, school, and life in general. Even when they were seated right next to each other with arms linked or fingers interlocked, she felt far away and he didn’t know why. He hoped that this trip would allow them time to reconnect and solidify their relationship before he had to return to California.

“Mini bar,” Alani comments, kicking her shoes off and wandering over to the small refrigerator in their suite. “Who’s paying again?”

“The label,”

“Thank you Columbia Records,”

She swipes a few bottles of tequila before climbing into the bed next to Harry.

“Wanna play a game?”

Harry props himself up on his elbow and nods. “What kinda game?”

“Never have I ever,” Alani explains. “But instead of putting your finger down, you take a shot,”

“Sounds dangerous,”

“It’ll be fun. You can go first if you want,”

He hums and nods in agreement before sitting up to face her. “‘Kay. Never have I ever...named my car after a musician,”

“Cheap shot,” Alani narrows her eyes, taking a sip from the bottle of Jose Cuervo.

“Your turn,”

She fiddles with the bottle cap, a question already in mind, though she isn’t sure if she should ask it.

“Never have I ever… dated a model,”

Harry’s brow furrows, but he opens his own bottle slowly and takes a sip. “So it’s that kind of never have I ever,”

“Just trying to keep it interesting,” Alani shrugs innocently.

“Right. Never have I ever slept with a guy named David,”

Her eyes widen, but she laughs half-heartedly and takes a sip. “Jeez, okay. Never have I ever—”

“Wait, so you two actually…” Harry interrupts, trailing off at the end.

“I mean,” Alani starts, her eyes wandering to the ceiling. “Yeah, a long time ago,”

“How long ago?”

“Okay, maybe this was a mistake—”

Harry shakes his head. “No, I’m sorry. I’ll play nice,”

“Alright,” Alani accepts. She knows that she should probably steer the game back onto safer territory, but the wound has been re-opened and she can’t resist the urge to keep picking at it. “Never have I ever slept with a fan,”

Harry takes a slow sip. “Never have I ever cheated on my partner,”

The bottle stays put in Alani’s hand. “Never had I ever gone on a vacation with my partner before this trip,”

The tequila washes over his tongue bitterly like the faint memories that it symbolizes. “Never have I ever dated someone just for the publicity,”

The bottle in Alani’s hand doesn’t move, much to Harry’s relief, but her mind is not as tranquil.

“Never have I ever told someone I loved them when I didn’t,” she says slowly.

Harry takes another shot and it burns all the way down. “Why are we doin’ this?”

“I don’t know, but I don’t wanna play anymore,”

“Alani,” he starts, springing to his feet when she leaves the bed. “Hey, look at me, please,”

She blinks back the tears that threaten to spill over her lower lashes before turning to him. “I’m sorry, that was a stupid game,”

“S’just all out of context,” Harry offers, reaching for her hands. “Wasn’t the right way to have all of those conversations,”

Alani takes a deep breath and nods. “Yeah, you’re right,”

“What’s really botherin’ you, hm sweets?” He coos, bringing her cold knuckles to his warm lips. “Tell me, please?”

She releases a shaky breath and tries to sift through the fog in her brain for the right answer.

“I don’t know, really, I just,” Alani hesitates. “Am I a bad girlfriend?”

“No,” Harry says quickly, his hands lifting to cup her face. “God no, you’re the best,”

“Then why didn’t I know that your favorite ice cream flavor was mango? And why didn’t I know that you were allergic to coconut, and why—”

“Hang on, is that what this is all about?” he questions. “Cause I’ll go eat an entire coconut right now,”

Alani laughs lightly and pinches her eyes shut. “No, it’s not about that. I just feel like you’re the most amazing person I’ve ever met and you make me feel so fucking special and, God, I just wanna be good enough for you because—”

Harry holds his breath and watches as her eyes gloss over.

“Because I love you,” she finishes, voice small. “More than I ever thought possible,”

His own eyes sting, but he doesn’t fight the tears that fall as he presses his lips to hers firmly.

“I love you, too,” Harry murmurs. “I love you so fuckin’ much it drives me crazy,”

Alani chuckles softly. “Ditto,”

“I’ve been wanting to say it for ages, can’t believe you beat me to it.”

“Guess you’re not the only one full of surprises.”

********

The early morning sunlight creeps gently into Harry and Alani’s room, casting a soft, golden glow onto the bare skin that peeks through the white duvet. Harry stirs first, a strand of Alani’s hair tickling his nose and making him smile. He prys his heavy eyelids open and winces at the dull aching of his head aggravated by the light. Alani hears his muffled groan and sighs, willing the sun to go back down and let her sleep a few more hours.

“Mornin’ sweets,” he rasps with a warm kiss to her bare shoulder.

She peels her own tired eyes open and flashes a sleepy grin. “Good morning, sunshine,”

“How’d you sleep?”

“Super. You?”

Harry props himself up on his elbow and rests his chin in his palm as he admires the traces of sleep still on her face.

“Just swell.”

Alani chuckles lightly and reaches a hand up to comb through his unruly bedhead. His skin is warm to the touch, and the light from the window casts a heavenly glow around his visage. She pokes her finger into his dimple, which elicits a soft laugh and makes his smile grow wider. They stay intertwined under the sheets as the sun fully rises and soak up their own details to keep as souvenirs from this moment. Alani takes in the scent of vanilla and the juxtaposition of Harry’s inked bicep against the plain, white sheets. He stores away the image of her sleepy, mocha eyes and the pink, manicured fingernails that trail up and down his arm. Neither of them are sure exactly how long they remain in this moment, for all they know it could be hours or days. But whatever the duration, it doesn’t seem to be enough. I need more time, Harry had told Jeff, but there was no more left to give. He had to tell her, and it was now or never.

“Hey,” he begins carefully. “I need to tell you something,”

Alani sits up to be eye level with him and nods. “Anything,”

Harry waits a beat, tucking a loose strand of hair behind her ear and pressing his lips to her bare shoulder before letting the confession spill out.

“I have to go back to L.A.,”

“I kinda figured,”

He draws in a deep sigh of relief. “You did?”

“Yeah,” Alani shrugs. “Hilo isn’t exactly Hollywood,”

“I asked for more time, but the label—”

“No, I get it. So… when? Next month?”

“Friday,”

Alani’s brows furrow. “This Friday?”

“Yeah,” Harry admits with a gulp.

“The last day of our trip?”

“Yes,”

Her heart drops into her stomach and she feels sick. It all made sense now why Harry’s mood had shifted when she jokingly asked him not to leave, and why he had been so insistent on spending as much time together as possible this week. Their game of never have I ever turned instantly defensive when asked about his dating history. Never had I ever gone on vacation with my partner before this trip. Never have I ever told someone I loved them when I didn’t. He had whisked her away on a farewell trip and God knows who else had been in her place before, or worse, who would be in it next. Harry was saying good-bye.

“Wait,” Alani says finally, mind still racing too fast to process. “How long have you known?”

“Alani—”

“How long?”

Harry swallows. “Couple of weeks,”

“You knew for weeks and you didn’t tell me?” she questions incredulously.

“I tried—”

“You know that I hate surprises, you know how I feel about plans—”

“I’m sorry,” Harry insists, sitting up straighter. “I wanted to tell you so many times, but it just never felt right,”

Alani rolls her eyes. “So what, you were just gonna leave a fucking sticky note on my pillow and hope for the best?”

“Don’t say that—”

“Is that why you brought me here?” she asks, voice hoarse. “Is that why you gave me this necklace? A souvenir of our little summer fling so you could leave with a clear conscience?”

Harry’s jaw tightens. “How could you even think that?”

“Because maybe it’s true. Why else would you wait until the very last minute to tell me about this?”

“Maybe we should take a minute,” he suggests, the whites of his eyes now bloodshot. “Before we say something we’ll regret,”

“I think I already did.” Alani admits. Never have I ever told someone I loved them when I didn’t.

Harry’s head pounds and he feels like he’s drowning, treading water in every direction only to be dragged further into the current. He quickly pulls on his clothes from the night before and tries to steady his breathing.

“M’gonna go wait in the hall,” he offers. “Give you some space to think and then we’ll talk, yeah?”

Alani doesn’t respond or even meet his pleading eyes. She simply tightens the duvet around her body and turns her head to the window, letting a single, bitter tear roll down her cheek. The door closes softly and she is immediately filled with regret and guilt. Had she truly meant all of the things she said? Or was it fear and the instinct to flee taking over her mouth? Alani wanted to believe that she was wrong and that Harry hadn’t intentionally kept her in the dark, but from where she stood, the sun had long disappeared behind the clouds and all that was left was the storm.

Harry trudges down the hallway and the walls spin, closing in on him slowly. If he had just told Alani sooner, everything would be different. He had avoided doing so for this exact reason and out of fear that their relationship wouldn’t be worth the risk in her mind. It was selfish—he was selfish—to try to make the decision for her, and now the woman he loved was getting ready to walk away because he had broken her trust. What else was there to do? His back meets the wall and he sinks to the floor.

“Hey H,” Jeff clears his throat from above. “We should talk,”

“She knows. Didn’t go well,”

“So she did approve the article?”

Harry lifts his head and his brows furrow. “What?”

There’s a harsh knock at the door and Alani jumps. In Harry’s absence, she had managed to cool off and sift through her frantic thoughts. She had been wrong to think that he used her, all it took was a quick stroll down memory lane to prove otherwise. He had never given her any true reason not to trust him, so there had to be some other reason why he hadn’t told her about his plans to leave so soon. Alani pads over to the door and unlocks it gently.

“Harry, I’m sor—”

“Wanna talk about surprises?” he seethes. “What the fuck is this?”

She squints at the phone screen that he holds up to her face and the title of her unpublished article stares back at her.

“I don’t know—”

“Well it has your goddamn name on it,” Harry shoots back.

Alani steps aside and lets him into the room before she closes the door behind her. “I can explain—”

“Did you write it or not?”

“Yes, but—”

He shuts the phone off and slams it face down onto the night stand. “How fucking dare you call me a liar and then pull this shit behind my back,”

“I didn’t lie,” Alani defends, voice weak. “I had no idea it was going to be published, please just listen—”

“A class project,” he interrupts with his back still turned. “That’s what you said,”

“It was never meant to be released,”

“How do I know that? How do I know you’re not just trying to cover your ass?”

“Please,” Alani begs as her vision begins to blur. “I was wrong, I shouldn’t have said all those things,”

Harry runs a hand through his hair and casts his eyes to the ceiling in an attempt to quell the emotion that pools behind his eyes.

“So why did you?”

“I was scared,”

“Of?”

Alani takes a deep breath. “Of losing you for good. Of falling in l—”

“Don’t,” he interrupts. “Don’t finish that sentence,”

“I don’t know how,” she tries again. “And I don’t know who released it, but I swear—”

“You really expect me to trust a word you say after you accused me of lying about this whole thing, about us?”

Harry’s gaze lowers back to hers and the bright, green eyes that she has come to love are replaced with a blood-shot, stormy sea that makes her stomach drop. The words get caught in her throat.

“I fucked up,” he continues. “I know that I should’ve told you. But I’m having a hard time believing that this wasn’t planned, that this random website would just accidentally publish your work without your consent,”

Alani can’t explain it either, she truly had no idea how her writing had ended up in the wrong hands. There was only one other person she had entrusted it with, but surely Dr. Hudson hadn’t betrayed her, had she? Alani didn’t know who to believe anymore.

“Harry, I’m so sorry,” she tries. “I didn’t mean what I said, and I know I can’t take it back, but you have to at least believe that I never wanted to hurt you,”

Harry is silent for a moment, and Alani decides that it’s her turn to tell the truth. There was nothing left to lose.

“At first, I did want to publish it,” she explains. “But I changed my mind and I scrapped the whole thing. In the end, the only person I intended to show it to was you,”

“So how did it get onto the internet for the whole fucking world to see?” he presses.

Alani sighs. “My advisor wanted to know what I was working on, so I sent it to her, but she never had my permission to publish it. Now I realize how stupid it sounds, but it’s the truth,”

“If you had come to me, I would have given you permission,”

“I’m so sorry,”

Harry’s shoulders tense. Every fiber of his being wants to believe her, but how could he? She had told him herself that things would be messy and warned him that he didn’t know what he was asking by pursuing a relationship with her. Maybe it really was all his fault for not seeing the signs, but that still didn’t change the fact that he couldn’t trust her anymore. And based on her reaction to the news of his departure, it seemed as though Alani didn’t trust him either.

“Even if you’re telling the truth,” Harry begins, slow and deliberate. “You still thought, after everything, that I would abandon you. And if that’s the kind of person you think I am, if that’s the person you wrote about—”

“Harry—”

“Then I hope you got all the material you wanted.”

“Please, don’t go.” Alani cries but it’s too late. The door slams and her heart falls.

After a beat, she races to the door and into the hallway but there’s no sign of Harry. As quickly as he had appeared into her life, he had vanished. Gone without a trace.

#harry styles #harry styles imagine #harry styles fanfiction #harry styles fanfic #harry styles writing #harry styles x oc #ybmh #sorry besties <3

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sambergscott · 3 years ago

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#4 for Peraltiago, if you please! 💕

4. That’s the fifth one this week

No less than two seconds after clearing her inbox, her phone pings, a new email from Amazon.com appearing at the top of her screen.

“Of course,” she mutters with a roll of her eyes.

While she’d definitely curbed some of her husband’s more ridiculous spending habits since they’d gotten together, like finally buying Olympus Has Fallen instead of renting it so many times, with the newfound excuse of “it’s for the baby!”, their joint account had taken a major hit.

At first it was sweet, a bunch of baby books (which she’d made him return and re-buy from an independent bookstore), her beloved pregnancy pillow and a couple of cute toys. The closer they got to meeting their son, the worse the obsession became. At twenty eight weeks, their apartment looked like a shrine to Jeffrey Bezos, with more Amazon boxes than they knew what to do with.

Too tired to venture upstairs to tell him to stop, she clicked New Message and decided to sent him a carefully crafted email instead.

Jake,

Just received another email from Amazon. That’s the fifth one this week, babe! And it's only Wednesday.

I know you’re excited but I thought we agreed not to buy anything else until he’s here?

Love,

Ames

He replied almost instantly.

I know I know but they’re baby sneakers babe!!!!!! Me and him can match!!!! It’ll be so cute just u wait

Sent from Sergeant Santiago’s Husband

Her heart melts a little when she opens the Amazon order to confirm that the sneakers are, in fact, adorable. And identical to a pair she knows Jake has at home.

OK. Fine. We can keep the sneakers but no more, Jake. Seriously! Babies are expensive and we need to save.

Again, his response pops up a few moments later. If only he were this efficient at replying to work emails, she thinks disparagingly. He can keep people waiting for til lunch, just to send back a simple thumbs up.

I can’t help it Ames! It’s just - my dad never got me anything. He never even remembered my birthdays. There was the occasional fridge magnet from an airport gift shop if I was lucky. I don’t want that for our son. I want him to know that his dad loves him. And if that means buying him the dopest sneakers-

She doesn’t even finish the rest of his email.

Jake,

Our son is going to totally love you. You’re going to be the best dad EVER. I know it. He knows it. Everyone knows it! Charles tells me how lucky I am literally every single day. You are not Roger, OK? There is no Peralta curse and even if there *was*, it certainly skipped a generation. You are a perfect husband and you’ll be a perfect dad. You don’t need to buy the “dopest sneakers” or coolest toys or highest rated swaddles, you have nothing to prove to us.

Remember when you told me I flirted with you for twenty seconds and you became obsessed with me forever? Well, newsflash, Peralta: We’re both obsessed with you, too.

She’s so focused on refreshing her inbox every half second, she doesn’t even notice him until he reaches her desk and is sweeping her into a kiss in front of everyone.

#b99 fic #jake x amy #my writing #I actually finished a fic yall!!!!!!!!!!#for the first time in. literally a year

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halleyj96 · 4 years ago

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🧧 All you need to know about Korean New Year (PART 2) 🧧

This is the 2nd part of my series about Korean New Year, so don't forget to check the 1st part out as well!

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1. Ancestral rites and New Year's bow (차례 및 세배)

Korean New Year is typically a family holiday. It may vary depending on the religion or family tradition, but during the first morning, Koreans pay their respect towards their ancestors and eat rice cake soup. Eating rice cake soup on New Year's Day means that you will get one year older.

After the ancestral rites, everyone goes around and gives New Year's bows to their relatives or neighbors. The New Year's bow is meant to express gratitude to the elderly and wish them good health. The elders who receive New Year's bow can give back New Year's cash gifts or words of blessing to the younger ones.

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2. New Year's dress (설빔)

On Korean New Year's Day, everyone would woke up early, wash their faces and change into new clothes that are called 설빔 or 세장. These clothes have colorful and fancy designs and are usually prepared before the New Year's Eve. They are also usually worn until the day of the first full moon of the year (by the lunar calendar).

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3. Traditional dishes for the New Year (설음식)

Dishes that are served in Korean New Year are called 세찬 and the alcohol is called 세주. On New Year's Day, people make various dishes and serve them to guests who come over for a visit, rice cake soup is always a must. Rice cake soup made with white rice is served as a gift to the ancestors or served to guests on New Year's Day morning. Since Koreans eat rice cake soup every New Year, when they ask children for their ages they usually ask "How many bowls of rice cake soup did you eat?".

Making rice cake soup using white rice cake on New Year's Day seems to have originated from the idea of sun worship, as the white rice cake stands for a bright future, and the round shape of the rice cake stands for the Sun.

On New Year's Day, in addition to rice cake soup, people also eat beef kebab, grilled short rib patties, sweet rice drink, persimmon punch, etc.

____________________

4. Folk games

As the Korean lifestyle moves towards the city, folk games culture is gradually disappearing. Some families still play flower cards (화투) or enjoy different modern games instead. The traditional folk games on New Year's Day are as follows.

Game of yut (윷놀이): It is a game that is enjoyed by all walks of life. It is a game in which several "horses" are moved according to the number of yut thrown out, the person who can travel across the prescribed path to the end wins.

Korean board game (말판놀이): the game is played by throwing a yut or dice that have different drawings of jobs on them, the players move accordingly to what the dice say to reach the intended part.

Korean see-saw game (널뛰기): It is a game in which a thick board is placed on a straw mat and the players takes turn to stomp on the board and try to jump as high as possible.

Kite flying (연날리기): A simple game of kite flying. But, sometimes, people do have a battle against one another, the goal is to cut the other's kite string. A kite is usually sent off with the character 厄 written on it.

Jegichagi (제기차기): It is a game in which a "jegi" is made by wrapping coins in silk or paper, then the player has to kick the "jegi" continuously without dropping it to the ground.

Top-spinning game (팽이치기): It's a game where you hit the top with thread and spin it so that it doesn't stop spinning.

Tuho (투호): It's a game where you throw as many arrows as you can into a jar.

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5. Fortune-telling

On New Year's Day, Koreans usually predict the fortune of the coming year.

To-jong bi-gyeol (토정비결): Use one's birthday to predict their fortune.

Cheong-cham (청참): Use the first sounds (of either people or animals) that one hears at the dawn of the New Year's Day to predict their fortune.

The five elements fortune telling (오행점): Use wooden boards or leaflet that have the letters of five elements (gold, wood, water, fire, soil) to predict one's fortune.

Yut fortune telling (윷점): Throw the Yut sticks to predict one's fortune.

____________________

6. Bokjori (복조리)

After the early morning of New Year's Day or the midnight of New Year's Eve, there is a custom of buying strainers made by thin bamboo strips and hanging them on the wall. These strainers are called 복조리. Sellers across the country travel around the streets all night from the night before to sell these strainers to people.

This custom can be attributed to the fact that strainer is an instrument that is used to wash rice. But in this case, people want to wash out the bad luck and only keep the good luck in the strainer.

In addition, there is a folk belief that if you buy enough strainers to use for a year on New Year's Day and hang them in the corner of the room or the garden, as you use the strainers, you will be blessed throughout that year.

____________________

🟢 Let me know what you want to see on my blog. 🟢 My inbox is always open for questions.

____________________

☎️ CONTACTS ► Personal Instagram – halleyj96119 ► Study Instagram – studywith.halley ► Tumblr – halleyj96 ► Youtube – Halley’s Adventure ► Facebook – Halley’s Adventure ► WordPress – Halley’s Adventure ► Email – [email protected]

#study #studying #studyblr #study blog #study motivation #study korean #korean language #korean culture #learn korean #study in korea #life in korea #study abroad #study languages #study culture #korea #south korea #seoul #korean

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detective-cooper · 6 years ago

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Day Two - Dancer - Gift Giving / Exchange

When she had reached into the hat and pulled out his name, Betty cringed.

Jughead Jones.

Of all the people to get in the office Secret Santa—it had to be him.

Jughead Jones was the office grinch.

When the original email had gone around the office; he was the only person that had said no—’fuck no’, to be precise.

Betty let out another disgruntled sigh, and shoved the paper deep into her jeans pocket. She had a story to write and a deadline to meet.

It was the week before Christmas, which meant the last working week of the year—and Betty let out a whispered yelp as she saw the presents underneath the office Christmas tree.

“Shit. Shitshit!”

She scrambled for her belongings and quickly shut down her computer.

“Betty!” She heard from behind.

Spinning around on her heel, she offered Sweet Pea a smile. “Hey, Pea…. I’m kind of—“

“—in a hurry? Yeah I noticed. You knocked your chair over and didn’t even notice?”

Betty’s eyes widened.

“S’all good, blondie. I fixed it before anyone noticed. Where are you off to in such a hurry, anyhow?”

Fidgeting with the strap on her handbag, her gaze flittered around the still-far-too-bustling-office-for-five-thirty-pm. “I have to get my Secret Santa gift.”

It was now Sweet Pea’s eyes that had widened. “Wait.” His hand shot up in one quick motion, “Betty Cooper. As in the Betty Cooper hasn’t organised something, like, weeks ahead of schedule?”

She scoffed and rolled her eyes.

“Sorry, I just—“

“—you just need to keep it down, Pea.”

“But, this is amazing?” He moved forward, and quietly asked, “who have you got?”

“And, you know, I can’t tell you that, it defeats the purpose.”

(Even though she knew he and Jughead were relatively close—and she knew he’d be able to help. Betty wasn’t about to cave.)

Sweet Pea shrugged and turned to walk away.

“Wait!” She lunged forward and grabbed his arm. “Maybe you can help….” Betty conceded.

“A-huh! It’s someone I know.” He scratched his chin and his eyes moved to look directly at the ceiling. “You have Jones.”

Betty’s mouth fell open, “How did you—“

“—know? Because you have the look of defeat on your face. Everyone else around here is pretty easy to buy for. But, Jones?” Sweet Pea let out a hearty chuckle. “He’s impossible.”

“You are not helping in the slightest.”

“He loves food, Cooper. And you love to cook. Make him something. Make him those Cooper gingerbread men.” Offering Betty a wink as he walked away, he threw out another comment over his shoulder—just loud for her ears and her ears only, “You might even get his number. Good luck, Betty!”

—

It was Friday.

Friday meant the Secret Santa gift exchange.

Betty had received a brand new personalised journal from Josie. Which she adored.

But, as it came around to Jughead’s turn, there was a collective silence that swept over the entire room.

He stalked toward the tree and bent over to pick up the box. Betty watched in anticipation and started chewing on her bottom lip.

She was nervous. Ridiculously nervous.

These gingerbread men were by far the best she had ever made.

(She had blushed slightly at the inappropriate noise that had left Sweet Pea’s mouth earlier that morning.)

Everyone watched him as he walked back to his spot and began the process of unwrapping his gift. Once the box was unwrapped in its entirety and the wrapping discarded to the side, he lifted the lid and Betty knew.

He loved it.

His mouth had dropped open, and she could pretty much see the drool at the corner of his lips.

Jughead lifted his head ever so slightly to meet her gaze. When he raised his eyebrows, Betty simply nodded in return.

—

Once six o’clock rolled around, Betty decided to call it a night. They’d done their farewell drinks the night before and she was tired. But, just as she was about to log off, her email pinged with a notification.

Tilting her head, she groaned at the fact that ‘who the hell is emailing this late on a Friday night before the Christmas holidays?’—but when she maximised her inbox and the only new email she had was there—staring at her, Betty’s stomach lurched.

Jughead Jones.

With a sense of hesitation, she double clicked the email and read, what she thought, was an error, twice, three times, finally decided by the sixth—that was, in fact, for her, and her only...

Hey Betty,

No one has ever made me gingerbread men before, and yours were … mouthwatering.

I want to eat them all, but it’s probably not a wise move on my part.

I live close by, and maybe you could swing past when you finish tonight and share with me the cookies and maybe the recipe?

My number is at the bottom of the email, shoot me a text.

Maybe see you soon,

#riverdalereindeergames #day two: dancer #bughead #betty x jughead #drabble #aesthetic

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gobestbiz · 6 years ago

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[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EAQ136J8BAA[/embed]

And your journey begins...

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mummifymecaptain · 4 years ago

Text

ghost in your eye

Read me on ao3!

Pairing: Bucky Barnes/OC

Rating: Mature (18+)

Chapter Two

The library was largely empty, which Lena didn’t consider all that surprising, given that it was eight in the morning on a Wednesday. She wasn’t due at the museum until noon, giving her nearly four hours of access to the public computers.

After signing in with the on-duty librarian— who, despite seeing nearly every morning, she could not seem to remember the name of —she sequestered herself to a computer in the far corner of the room.

Logging in with the provided password, she opened up the web browser while simultaneously digging in her bag for her journal. Opening a secondary tab from the preassigned search engine, she pulled up her seldom used email. She’d never had one until two months ago, upon finding that one was required to create an account on the forums she visited. A necessary nuisance, but one she was actually grateful for today.

The only electronic letters she’d ever received were automated notifications relating to said forums. But not today.

Today, there was a group email sitting at the very top of her inbox, headed by a user she’d joined a discussion with some days prior. The subject line said, “OPEN THIS”, and nothing else. After a moment’s hesitation, Lena clicked the message.

The body only contained one thing. A link.

Lena hesitated again, but she couldn’t positively say for what reason. At worst— she guessed —the link would lead to information she’d already found herself. At best, whatever was on the other side of that link would lead to another breakthrough.

She clicked it.

A whole new window opened up by itself, a dizzying mess of text scrawling across the screen at lightning speed until it filled nearly the whole thing, and then some. Blinking rapidly to assuage the assault her eyes had just received; she scanned the first line once she could properly read it. And then she scanned it again.

Sweet Mother of Mary.

She sat back in the creaky desk chair, taking a moment to absorb the magnitude of what was in front of her.

Someone had accomplished what she had begun. They’d created a working timeline of the Winter Soldier’s whereabouts throughout history. And it was far more extensive that she ever would have imagined. Suddenly, the theory about it being more than one person didn’t seem so farfetched. There was no possible way so many atrocities, committed so close in time to each other and yet in so many different places around the globe, could have been the work of a single man bearing the name. It simply wasn’t humanly possible.

About a fourth of the way down the list was when she first noticed it, eyes narrowing as she took in the gap. Scrolling back up to confirm her growing theory. Sure enough, she hadn’t been mistaken. While not all of the entries had a corresponding month, such as the one she’d found last night, there were enough that did to support her idea.

Every three months, he would disappear for nearly a year. No mentions, no missions. Just empty spaces in history. Gaps on a timeline.

To most, it might seem like nothing. Possibly missions not yet found or translated. Or perhaps they’d been so secret, they’d never been documented at all. Lena was quick to brush those notions aside. The gaps were too precise to be anything but deliberate. And if that were the case, what could possibly warrant such a thing? Thinking on it, she decided the answer must have lied somewhere with those responsible for holding the Winter Soldier’s leash.

Even with all the years she’d spent absorbed in the past, she’d never once heard of Hydra until two months ago, when their existence had been unceremoniously thrust into the light.

To find out just how much of a chokehold the previously unknown organization held on the world had been something of a shock. Hydra’d had their grubby fingers in nearly every pie. And judging by the recent Winter Soldier sighting, were still very much in operation. The idea was more than a little terrifying and gave her sudden pause.

It had been easy to justify her investigation of the obviously dangerous agency when she’d thought they’d been no more. But now that she knew the opposite to be true, she worried. Based on what she’d read in the reports, she couldn’t imagine they would much care for people digging into all their dirty little secrets. And she knew what happened to people they didn’t much care for.

And the absolute last thing she would ever want to do is put herself on their radar. If she wasn’t already.

No, the smart thing to do would be to cease and desist. Give up her investigation and dump her research.

She went as far as hovering the little arrow over the red X, but paused when something caught her eye. A mission, three days before the sighting in Calgary. The unknown author of the timeline had listed it as an unsuccessful scouting mission. It had only been a city away.

Scribbling down the mission report’s information in the top margin of her journal, she hastily closed out of everything and shut down the computer, moving to a different one in the next row and booting it up.

He— whoever he might be —had been close. And he’d been looking for something, something he hadn’t found. She needed to know what. To know if she was in danger.

Because her gift didn’t just work on objects.

In all of her near three decades of life, Lena Taggerty had touched another person with her bare hands but once.

She’d still been a child then, but couldn’t seem to recall an exact age. Nor could she remember the circumstances regarding the touch. What she could remember was the softness of skin beneath her palm. And what had happened next.

It had caused her to withdraw into herself, molding her into the person she was today. Someone— she didn’t know who —had warned her against using her gifts where others could see. That if anyone found out, certain people in the world would stop at nothing to have her. She wondered now if Hydra were those certain people.

Though, she couldn’t fathom what possible want they would have of her. She could do little more than glimpse into the past through touch. Hardly a skill of worth.

She spent the better part of an hour trying to find the elusive mission report, without any success. Vainly, she wished she knew the identity of the person who’d created the timeline, to ask them where they’d gotten their information. She was near desperate to know now, her mind running rampant with wild scenarios, and none of them good.

Lena tried to reason with herself. Yesterday at work was the first time in almost a year that she’d purposefully used her gift, and she was positive she’d been alone. Few ventured down into the museum’s basement, and she’d taken the time to check before she’d removed her glove. There was no feasible reason that anyone should know— that anyone should be looking for her.

But the worry never receded, not even when she reluctantly gave up her search and instead started looking up the names she’d pulled from her lockbox and started weeding out the unlikelies.

It hung over her still like a black cloud as she navigated the crowded sidewalks to the museum. By the time she’d slipped through the heavy front doors, her nerves were shot, imagined dangers lurking around every corner and in every shadow. She spoke to absolutely no one, didn’t so much as falter in her steps, until she was safely tucked away in the basement.

Breathing came easier now, as she flicked on the desk lamp, and she silently berated herself for being so ridiculous. No one was after her. It was simply a fluke, an unlikely, random coincidence. The only danger in her life was the amount of dust accumulating in her workspace. One of these days, she was going to take a feather duster to the whole place.

Pushing all thoughts from that morning firmly from her mind, she settled in her chair, running gloved fingertips over the lockbox lovingly and flipping the lid. The contents were the exact same as they’d been the day before. Removing the topmost letter first, she noted that it was still sealed, and felt slightly bad that she would be reading a private correspondence that had never reached it’s intended recipient.

The sender was one M. Nelson, which she jotted down in the work journal she kept in her desk, and addressed to a S. Samuels. No doubt she would find the true names behind those initials inside. Still, she paused. It wasn’t as though she’d never opened letters she’d found before, but something about this one felt heavy, palpable even without the direct use of her gift. It weighed her heart with grief, tears threatening to gather at her waterline.

With the gentlest of hands, she took up her letter opener and gingerly split the envelope, inspecting the inside. A single sheet of paper, filled with beautiful calligraphy, and— to her surprise —a small photograph. An entirely gorgeous woman smiled up at her in black and white, clutching an equally adorable toddler to her breast. There was a real life about the woman, her eyes practically sparkling with it, captured even in the still. Lena flipped it over to reveal two names: Anna and Teddy.

Not M. Nelson then. But yet, the sender had taken it upon themselves to include the photograph. And Lena knew that it couldn’t have been for good reasons.

Resigning herself to her inevitable heartbreak, she set the photo off to the side to focus her attention on the letter. She barely made it three lines in before her tears overtook her. She’d always wavered on the side of emotional.

Dearest Spencer,

I wish I were writing to you with better news, brother. I truly do. I know that you are fighting hard to come home to us. To Anna and Teddy. The news they bring back to us from overseas is nothing short of tragic. More and more men are sent to the front every day, and so few ever return. We pray every day for your safe return, but I wholly fear that after reading this letter, you will not wish to.

Anna and Teddy… Oh, Spencer! My entire heart weeps for you! The winter was harsh this year, as you well know from our previous letters. Anna and Teddy, they grew terribly ill. Pneumonia. Ma and some neighbors scraped what they could for a doctor, but it wasn’t enough. Spencer, my most beloved brother, your wife and son passed not two days ago. Though surely longer than that now, by the time you receive this. Ma was beside herself with how to tell you. I told her I would.

Please, brother, if you’re still reading this, come home to us. Do not let your grief make a martyr of you. They wouldn’t want that. We love you, Spencer. Truly. Just come home.

With all my heart,

Marianne

Lena was openly weeping by the time she’d finished, for a myriad of different reasons. Chief among them was that Spencer Samuels had died without ever knowing what had befallen his family. She didn’t know if it was a small blessing or not. And she wept for Marianne Nelson, who had been forced to deliver the worst possible news to her brother, knowing it might destroy him, and had begged him to come home. And in a way, Lena supposed, he had. The worst possible way.

This wasn’t the first time a piece of history had brought on the waterworks. Hank had teased her about it once or twice, on evenings where she emerged from the basement red eyed and sniffling. Said he’d never met another person who cried so much for dusty, old things.

“It’s not the things themselves that make me cry,” she’d told him. “It’s the people who held them.”

There was a memory, deep inside her, that didn’t feel like a memory at all, but rather a dream. Of someone telling her that it was alright to feel, and to express those feelings. And to never let anyone use them against her. And though she didn’t know who’d told her that, or if she’d actually truly dreamt it, the advice had stuck with her for years.

Drying her eyes with the tissues she kept handy, she carefully transcribed the letter into her journal, along with four names. Marianne Nelson. Spencer Samuels. Anna Samuels. Teddy Samuels.

She would find them, she resolved. She would find them; she would write to them. She would uncover the truth of Spencer’s death. This family had suffered enough in life— they needn’t suffer in the afterlife too.

After detailing her notes, Lena couldn’t help but find herself drawn back to the photograph. Anna was undeniably beautiful. Even without knowing him in the slightest, she could see why Spencer had married her. There was something of a softness to her, a gentleness untouched by the war-ravaged world she lived in.

Lena couldn’t rightly say what prompted her to do it. Only that, wholly without conscious thought, she had her middle finger between her teeth, sliding the glove off to brush the pads of her fingers across Anna and Teddy’s smiling faces.

As always, the effect was both immediate and disorienting. She felt of two minds, past and present, but also neither, caught somewhere in between. She experienced a rush of love for a husband she did not have, dizzying in its intensity, and something warmer, a mother’s love, for the life they had created together. But under that was a worry so deep, it stole her breath away. Forcibly recoiling her hand, she had one last errant thought that wasn’t her own— Spencer will love this.

If she’d held any doubts for Anna Samuels’ feelings for her husband, they were more than quelled now. While short courtships and fast marriages were commonplace in that era, plenty had been due to infatuation than any sort of real love. And for those war wives who’d had their soldiers returned to them, married life hadn’t always been a happy life. An awfully unfortunate byproduct of making decisions beneath a swinging sword.

Shaking the last of the echoes from her head, she replaced her glove and tucked both the letter and photograph back into their envelope. What she’d just done had not only been foolish— it’d been downright stupid. Especially in the wake of that morning’s discovery. She would have to take much better care from now on. She’d read about the nasty things Hydra’d been responsible for, and she had absolutely no interest in becoming a forced lab rat. She didn’t even like going to the doctor, for goodness sake. She would not do well as an experiment.

A shadow flickered on the edge of Lena’s vision and, against her better judgement, she turned towards it, finding the echo of Anna Samuels preparing for bed. She wore a robe and house slippers, her dark hair tied up in rags, and seemed to be rubbing some sort of cream on her face. She looked...content. A far cry from the soldier she’d been faced with the night before. She wondered now if that might have been Spencer. She sorely hoped not. He’d looked as though he’d been to Hell, and had still been trying to find his way back.

Pawing carefully through the other items of the lockbox, she located the dog tags she’d seen before and pulled them out to inspect under her lighted magnifying glass. Two of them belonged to Spencer, as she’d suspected they might. Perhaps the box itself had once belonged to him, packed with his personal effects and sent to his next of kin after his death. But the second set of tags troubled her. The U.S. Army hadn’t been in the habit of assigning duplicates apart from the original two. And the other ones were in rough shape, so tarnished and caked with nearly seventy-year-old mud, she couldn’t make out the name, only the city and state stamped at the bottom, which matched Spencer’s. So, they must have been his then. Perhaps he’d lost his originals during whatever events she’d witnessed last night and had been given new, only for the first set to be recovered later. A— while unlikely —not wholly implausible theory.

An idea struck her suddenly. A terrible, awful, foolish idea, one that could cost her job, should anyone find out.

She could just...take them.

Bring them back to her apartment tonight, scrape the mud off, give ‘em a good scrub, and have them back in the box by morning. She hadn’t filed her report on the box and its contents yet. Wouldn’t, until she’d had the chance to give everything a thorough inspection. No one would ever be the wiser.

Without giving herself the time to second guess— or even consider —her actions, she’d wrapped the tags in a few tissues and had them hidden away in a zippered pocket of her satchel.

It would only be for one night, she reasoned with herself. She’d have them back first thing in the morning, and the only one who would know what she’d done would be herself.

And when that failed to reassure her, she reminded herself that it was for the sake of history. For finding out the truth. It made her feel only a little better. She was sure she’d be a guilty, nervous wreck by the time she left for home.

Anna Samuels caught her attention then, when she suddenly whipped around and stared directly at Lena, as though she’d called the woman’s name. Her heart was well and lodged in her throat when a massive, adoring grin split Anna’s mouth, her eyes glittering with love and arms outstretched as if beckoning for an embrace.

After the initial burst of panic had receded, Lena realized that Anna wasn’t looking at her, but rather someone behind her. Someone that only Anna could see. She turned away from the strange sight of Anna hugging this invisible person, her arms wrapped around nothing but empty air like a well-executed pantomime.

It had always been a bizarre thing, watching the ghosts interact with people and objects that were not visibly present in an echo. Floating in the air as they sat or laid in beds or chairs. Speaking to themselves, one-sided conversations that she knew were really with at least one other person. And in one extremely awkward occurrence when she’d first come to work for the museum, a single man having passionate sexual intercourse without a visible partner. That one, she’d actually been grateful for. Her cheeks had been stained red for weeks. She could only imagine how much worse her embarrassment would have been, had she been privy to the entirety of their coupling.

Years later, she still remembered it so vividly, all but burned into her memory. The man’s head thrown back and eyes squeezed shut as he was lost in the throes of his pleasure. The way his skin seemed to shimmer in a manner different than that of the usual ghosts, as though the gyrating thrusts of his hips left him glistening in sweat. How occasionally, his lips would move beyond that of silent moans, as if murmuring to his lover. It had been as transfixing as it had been mortifying. Before then, she’d never given much thought to people and sexual attraction. Most days, she still didn’t. Objectively, she understood what it was, but not much beyond that. And she couldn’t say for certain if she’d ever experienced such an attraction. Given her difficulty with just making friends, she’d never been much bothered by the notion. Romantic and sexual relationships were even more of a mystery to her than platonic ones.

She’d witnessed such relationships bring about wars and revolutions. Jilted lovers who murdered in the name of vengeance. Bastard children abandoned to the streets, forever slighted and looked down upon for circumstances outside of their control. Families torn apart by a spouse’s wandering hands. Entire civilizations lead to ruin.

People were so captivating, but also complex. They didn’t fit together in her head the way her artifacts did. They were constantly changing, evolving and devolving. But one thing had always remained constant. And that was the lengths they were willing to go for their people, the one’s they deemed important to them.

She’d read once about humans being pack animals, though not exclusively restricted to their own species. They were willing to bond with just about anything. Domestic animals, non-domestic animals, aliens. Hell, even robots. Humans will attempt to pack bond with anything. Lena found it sweet, in its own way. A little bit of normalized oddness.

A swift movement had her turning her head in time to see Anna plummet to the floor, hands fitted over her mouth, shoulders quaking as she coughed hard enough to loosen a lung. An icy spike of dread impaled her heart, melting into a hefty sense of hopelessness. This must be when Anna contracted pneumonia, the illness that would ultimately steal the lives of her and her son. It only strengthened her resolve to find Spencer, to finally deliver his sister’s message. And tomorrow before work, she would try and look up Anna and Teddy’s final resting place. If it was nearby, she wanted to pay them a visit. Maybe plant a flower.

She made a note to stop at the supermarket on her way home for a bulb.

<- Chapter One ✪ Chapter Three ->

#ghost in your eye

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