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erikandariel · 6 years ago

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How We Met: 3/3

Part 1 | Part 2

Length: 6,091

Tuesday arrived more quickly than I wanted it to. This was partially because I never liked slogging through finals, but mostly it had to due with hanging out with Erik and Ariel that day. The three of us had agreed to meet up in the parking lot by my dorm a little after 11:15. Although I hadn’t told them that the dorm that the lot was next to was the one I lived in. I was honestly a bit proud of myself for thinking to have that extra layer of security in case things went badly. But before I went to look for them and their car, I stopped off at my room to switch out my book bag for my camera. Ana was sitting at their desk working on their last essay for finals. They were still sleeping when I left for my pre-test breakfast that morning, but now they were dressed and presentable as far as clothing and washing their face and such. I could tell that they were thinking hard when I entered the room because they looked like a human pretzel. They sat on one leg that was folded beneath their body and their other leg was bent and resting on the chair so that the knee was up by their shoulder. “How’s it going?” I teased. They transferred the pained expression that they have for their laptop’s screen to me. I partially mimicked the look in sympathy but said with some enthusiasm, “I believe in you!” “Thanks,” they sighed, already back to staring at their laptop. “Try not to pass out today, ya?” I rolled my eyes in mock annoyance. “You almost pass out all the time and then I go and do it once and you won’t let me live it down!” “Yup,” they snorted. And the important word there is ‘almost’.” I made a face to the back of their head as I set my book bag down. Then I grabbed the tube of sunscreen I had strategically placed on my desk and doused every inch of exposed skin with it. Then I put it in my camera bag before putting the bag’s strap over my head and on my shoulder so that it laid across my body. “Well I should get going and let you get back to work. Bye!” I made my hands into a heart shape and pointed it in their direction. Without looking away from their essay, they responded in kind. I giggled to myself as I headed out the door. As I walked down the steps from the 4th to the 1st floor, I checked my phone. It was 11:13 so I figured Erik and Ariel weren’t on campus yet, but would be soon. Knowing the people in our age group, I guessed it would be at least another five minutes. Which is why when I walked out the dorm’s front door I was surprised to hear an excited voice yell, “Hey Ken, we’re over here!” from the lot. Never mind. Apparently they showed up to places early rather than late. Ariel bounced up and down and waved at me from next to the passenger door of a silver convertible. The top layer of her long, wavy brown hair was pulled back into a high ponytail, with the smaller, lighter sections of it blowing somewhat in the light breeze. This time she was the one wearing a crop top. It was light blue with a flower design in the middle of the front. She was wearing some sort of high-waisted denim pants. Although they could have also been shorts. While she easily stood two to three feet taller than the cars still in the lot, I couldn’t see where the leg cuffs ended. The top of the convertible was down so I could easily see Erik sitting rigid in the driver’s seat and staring straight ahead through a pair of large dark sunglasses. Well on a normal sized person they would have been large. On him they were actually a little too small. The space he had in the car was a similar situation. It looked like he had the seat all the way back but he still seemed cramped. The theme of things being slightly too small for him continued with his white T-shirt. It clung to his body to the point where I could easily see all of his form beneath it, including individual muscles and… his nipples… He also wore his hair up, but at least on the side of his head that I could see, it looked like he had a thin ribbon or braid going from his temple to where the rest of the hair was collected in a ponytail on the back of his head. Since he seemed to be ignoring me, I tried to ignore him to and focused on Ariel. I tried to give a genuine smile as I returned her wave and walked over to the car. “Hey!…” “Do you want to sit in the passenger seat or in the back?” she asked quickly. I still wasn’t used to her and Erik’s accent so it took me longer than usual to parse what she was saying. “And if you do sit in the back do you want me to sit back there with you or no?” “Uhh…” I’d never ridden in a convertible before. Mostly because I other than these two, I never knew someone with a convertible, but I also had a slight aversion to them. I always figured that with the top down I’d end up with a lot of bugs smashing into my face and holy shit do I hate bugs. Also glasses don’t exactly come with mini wipers to clean them off. I didn’t want to be a bother and ask them to put the top up though. 1) Because I barely knew them. And 2)Since I didn’t know if either of them could have fit underneath it. “…I’ll sit in the front I guess?” I said, choosing to hope that the windshield would keep me mostly bug-free. “If that’s okay with you guys of course…” Ariel looked quizzical. “Why would I offer to let you sit there if I wasn’t okay with you choosing it?” “Well… um… good point… I guess I just wanted to make sure?” “Don’t worry, you can sit there,” Ariel said with a smile as she opened the passenger door for me. I slid in and quickly buckled up as she vaulted over the edge of the car and into the seat behind me. It was a 2-door car though, so normally someone would have to fold the front seat forward to get back there. But she’d easily made it back there in one jump with the only jostling being from her landing. I didn’t think about this at the time though because I saw how many various buttons were on the console and dashboard. There was even a touch screen. I am easily distracted by technology. Erik turned the car on and as he went to grab the stick to go in reverse, I noticed he wasn’t buckled. As much as I wanted to I didn’t say anything about it because I didn’t want to seem rude like I had at the petting zoo where we met. I must’ve had some sort of look on my face though as Erik glanced my way before quickly grabbing the seat belt and clicking the buckle into place. “Oh. I forgot I took it off while we waited for you,” he mumbled. I heard Ariel buckling herself behind me. “Safety first!” she said enthusiastically. “Yay!” I responded, turning around to giver her a thumbs up. She quickly did the same with a very excited grin. Erik grumbled something as he threw the car into reverse, out of the parking spot, then quickly shifted it into gear and sped out of the lot. I grabbed onto my door and clutched my camera bag to me for dear life. Over the roar of the wind in my ears I heard Ariel yell something at Erik. We slowed down some and when we turned onto the highway we didn’t accelerate quite as fast as before. I loosened my death hold on the car door. “Sorry,” Erik said, not sounding apologetic at all. “I wanted to get out of there as soon as possible.” “I noticed,” I mumbled under my breath. He stayed silent for the rest of the trip. Meanwhile Ariel tried to ask me multiple questions, but it was hard for me to understand her over the wind until we were on the road leading to the zoo. It was a nice day, but the place wasn’t very busy; with it being a weekday and kids still in school and all. Before we walked into the zoo’s main building I did sort of try to protest against them paying for my ticket again. I always felt awkward accepting this sort of help and even more so if I didn’t insist it wasn’t necessary until they finished the transaction. “We said we would pay for you and we will,” Erik snapped at me. I shut up at that point and tried to look interested in the landscaping. After we made it inside, Ariel immediately laced her arms around Erik’s left one. “So what do you want to do first?” she asked me. “Food?” “Oh, it is time for lunch, isn’t it?” she replied. My stomach rumbled in agreement and she laughed. I tried to see what Erik’s reaction was from the corner of my eye, but he seemed to not be paying attention and staring straight ahead like he had in the car. Granted, it was a bit hard to tell since he was still wearing his sunglasses… even though we were inside. If he’d been anyone else I knew I would have teased him about it. But that didn’t seem to be his cup of tea so instead I readjusted my bag’s strap and took a step in the direction we needed to go. “The food court’s this way,” I explained. “Okay!” Ariel said as she and Erik started after me. “Do you know what you’re going to get?” I changed my pace to walk next to her. The hallways in this building were wide and with hardly any other guests around I figured it would be find to walk three-across. And if it did get crowded I figured I’d just move behind the couple. I was more comfortable being the last person in a group anyway. I quickly realized that despite my plan, I might have to walk behind them anyway because in order to keep up with I had to take longer and faster strides than I normally did. “A hamburger if they have ‘em. What about you guys?” “We ate before we left for your school,” Erik said curtly. “Oh.” “Well I’m still hungry,” Ariel said and I noticed her elbow him sharply before she turned back to me. “Do you know what else there is to eat here?” “Well we’re almost there…” I pointed to the sliding doors where we could see some tables and the first few stations on the other side. We stopped once we were in the food court to see the answer to Ariel’s question. I quickly picked out the grill area where it turned out they were actually selling hamburgers. There was also a sub shop, a place for Chinese food, vegetarian only area, and of course a spot just for ice cream. I tried to act casual while the couple talked quietly to one another in their native language about, I assumed, what she was going to get and if he was going to get anything. Near the end of the exchange it sounded like they disagreed about something and I hoped it didn’t have anything to do with me. At that point I’d realized that Erik really didn’t seem to like and that he also didn’t want to be there. However, I noticed him grudgingly give Ariel his credit card before she looked back at me with a grin. “Okay! I’m going to go the vede- veze- … vegetarian area!” she said. “Erik’s going ta go with you so you can get your hamburger and he can get himself something to drink.” And with that she gave us a small wave and left us where we were. I nervously looked at Erik. He’d partially crossed his arms and looked deflated with his shoulders hunched forward. It made him look like he felt awkward instead of angry like I would’ve expected. He flourished a hand in the direction of where we needed to go so I hesitantly led the way. We were the only ones in line at the grill station so after another cautious glance in his direction I stepped up to the cashier. “Hi. How can I help you?” they asked halfheartedly. “Hi, uh… I’ll have a double hamburger, so no cheese! And only mustard; nothing else on it.” I waited for them to punch in that part of my order. “And a bottle of sweet tea, please.” “’Kay. You can grab the tea over there.” They pointed towards a cooler a few feet away from me and which Erik was standing next to. “Anything else?” “Uh… yeah. Whatever he’s having.” I gestured at Erik while I took a step back so he could take his turn. He gave me what felt like a nervous look before taking a step forward. A single step. With his height it was a long stride, but he was still like three feet away from where most people would stand. “I will also have a bottle of sweet tea,” he said slowly. “Grab it over there.” The cashier pointed at the cooler again. I was thankful that they didn’t seem phased by his size or his accent. “Is that all?” “Yes,” he replied as he took out his wallet. “Your total is $10.74,” they told him and then nodded at me. “Your burger will be ready in a couple minutes.” I nodded back. Before flipping through the surprisingly large amount of bills he had, Erik pushed his sunglasses to the top of his head. I wasn’t sure if it was the light from the station’s heat lamps or what, but it looked like he had a slight yellow color to his eyes. There was an awkward second as the cashier and I waited for him to hand some cash over. He looked down at our total on the register’s screen, then back to his wallet before he straightened himself back up to his full height and flipping again through the bills. I could feel the frustration radiating off him. The cashier cleared their throat and I saw that they were beginning to look nervous. “Uh… sir?” He turned his glare on them and they took half a step back. “Just a sec!” I told them and sidled over to Erik’s elbow and extended my hands toward his. I paused for a second as I realized what I’d done, but decided I was committed at this point with being so close to him. I also just wanted this to end for the poor cashier’s sake. “Here, I can help,” I whispered. I refused to look up at his face. He sighed and I felt the breeze from it in my hair so I knew he was looking at me. He shifted his stance to be angled more towards me. Then he held the wallet open wide with his right hand and offered the closest end of it to me. “Please,” he said in an exasperated tone. I reached up and lightly pulled the wallet down so that I could actually see in it with being this close. It turned out that Erik’s natural waistline was right about at my eye level and so while it may have worked just fine for him to hold the wallet at that height I would need to stand on my tip toes and I am in no way a ballerina so that wasn’t going to happen. Thankfully he had things organized by amount so it was easy for me to find a $10 bill. “Do you have any change you want to use?” I asked, still keeping my voice quiet. “What is change?” he asked, matching my volume. “Uh, coins; pennies, dimes, quarters…” “No,” he huffed. I quickly grabbed a 1 and offered the two bills to him. He hesitated before slowly reaching for them with large left hand and carefully taking them from me. The cash looked like they should be toy money when compared to him. He took a short step forward before shoving his hand at the cashier; who I noticed was now sweating a fair amount. They quickly grabbed. “Um. Out of $11…” they mumbled as they punched the amount in. Before the drawer fully opened they quickly put away what Erik gave them and grabbed his change. “Here’s 26 cents.” Erik glared at their awaiting hand. I edged around him and offered a palm to them in his place. “Can you grab the tea please, Erik?” I asked, hoping that I didn’t sound too nervous. He gave a grunt but put his wallet away and then stepped over to the cooler. H easily grabbed both bottles with one hand. I stepped off to the side to wait for my hamburger and he came over and stood slightly behind me. “Here,” he said flatly as a thing of tea suddenly appeared next to my face. “Thanks.” I turned a little to take it with my free hand and then held out the one with the change. “Do you want your coins back?” He forcefully pushed his sunglasses back onto the bridge of his nose. “You can keep them.” “You sur-” I remembered our interaction on our way into the zoo. “Thanks,” I said instead. I hastily opened my camera bag to put them away in my wallet. He grunted in return and I figured whatever moment had happened when we were ordering was over. As I made sure my bag was securely closed, I noticed him shift his weight from one foot to the other. “Thank you,” he said. I glanced up at his face but from the angle of his head it was clear he wasn’t looking at me. “For helping me pay with… paper money.” I caught myself smiling but before I could say anything Ariel appeared between us. “I have my food!” she announced. “What are you two waiting on?” “Uhh… ma’am…?” I heard the grill cashier say. They pushed a tray with hamburger on it towards me. I tried not to wrinkle my nose at getting misgendered. After all they obviously couldn’t know from just looking at me that I was non-binary, but it still always bothered me when it happened. “Thank you,” I said instead. I quickly put my tea on the tray and grabbed it. Then turning to Ariel and Erik I asked, “Where do you guys want to sit?” “We don’t have a preference!” Ariel replied for the both of them. “Uh… okay…” I surveyed the tables near us, then at some by the large windows on the other side of the room. “How about over there?” The air conditioning was making me a little cold so I led the way to one of the tables that was somewhat in the sun. The two followed. I put my camera camera bag on the floor between the window and the seat I was sliding into. The window looked out on a tree-shaded plaza, beyond which I could see some of the zoo’s elevated walkways. Erik and then Ariel stopped next to the table instead of sitting down. “Isn’t the sun in your eyes there?” he asked hesitantly. “Won’t you get too hot?” she added. “Nah, I’m good.” I shrugged and started to unwrap my sandwich. “I’m a little cold and the sun is warm so I’ll live.” Ariel examined the table before saying something to Erik and nudging him forward. He took a deep breath in and out before taking off his sunglasses and handing them to me. “Here.” Instead of looking at me he squinted out the window. “Oh, no, I’m good!” I repeated. Pointing to my own glasses I said, “Mine sort of turn into sunglasses if there’s enough UV.” He glanced at Ariel. She said something to him before pointing at the spot across from me with one hand while easily balancing her tray with the other. He put his sunglasses back on then moved next to the chair she’d indicated. I just stared as he pulled it back far enough to touch the one behind him, then gingerly sat down. His body made a wall between me and the sun. He didn’t move his chair any closer to the table and I figured part of it had to do with his knees being almost as tall as the top of the table. Ariel put her tray down and took the seat next to me. She had her chair at a normal distance from the table, but I was pretty sure it was due to her folding her legs neatly to her side, almost as though she were riding a horse side-saddle. They both stared at me. “Aren’t you going to eat?” she finally asked. “Um, sure…” I snapped back to attention and took the top but off my hamburger to make sure there weren’t any offending vegetable on it. It was clean so I picked up the entire sandwich and took a bite. They seemed to take this as a signal that they could also start eating, or rather drinking in Erik’s case. They both took smaller samples of their stuff than I expected. He seemed surprised by the tea’s flavor while Ariel looked thoughtful for a moment or two while she processed the taste of her wrap. Then they caught me looking at them and I realized they were also watching me. To try to cover up the fact that I’d been staring at them, I took an unnecessarily large bite. Almost mechanically, they had a little more of their own things. Ariel started to say something when I discovered that the bite was a little to big for me. I hurriedly tried to open my tea. Like I didn’t have anything stuck in my throat, it was just that uncomfortable feeling I would get when I tried eating too much at once. Thankfully this was the case because my first attempt failed. “Ken, are you okay?” she asked as I changed my grip a little. “Just thirsty,” I grunted as I tried again. The lid didn’t move. So I grabbed the bottom part of shirt and held it against the cap to see if that would improve my odds. And another failure. “Let me do it,” Erik said and suddenly one of his large hands appeared over my hamburger. I passed the bottle to him. “Thanks…” I said sheepishly. “I like always have problems opening bottles…” Leaning a little over the table, he turned the cap with what looked like no effort and there was a satisfying crack and hiss as he broke the seal. He laid the lid on my tray before offering the bottle back to me. As I greedily took it from him, I accidentally brushed my fingers across part of his warm hand. I paused and briefly marveled at just how much bigger it was than mine. A shiver ran up his arm and I quickly shoved my tea into my face. I took a couple large gulps as if that would somehow make up for just how awkward this day was. Instead I almost literally inhaled it. “Don’t choke!” Ariel gasped, standing up. Erik quickly followed suit and even leaned over and placed a hand on my shoulder. I heard the table behind him move as he pushed away from his chair. “I’m good,” I tried to assure them between coughing and trying to get air in my lungs. “Just give me a sec. My body’ll calm down.” Erik tightened his grip to where it started to hurt. I looked up at him in surprise but at least it stopped my diaphragm from freaking out for a moment. He stared at his hand as though he was also surprised by how tightly he held my shoulder before quickly pulling it away. He dropped back into his chair, crossed his arms, and glared out the window. I coughed a few more times before taking a cautious sip of tea. Ariel still stood over me. She looked like she was ready to fight the bottle if she needed to. It was honestly very intimidating. “I’m fine!” I said again. I patted the air in the direction of her chair, trying to get her also sit down again. She narrowed her eyes at the offending drink but did plop back down beside me. “Are you sure you’re all right?” she asked seriously. “Yeah! This kind of thing happens all the time…” I said, hiding my mouth behind a hand. Erik snorted. I swallowed. “What?” I asked. I sounded more defensive than I meant to. “Okay so I know that like since we met I seem like a helpless baby, but I’m not!” Ariel studied me with suspicion. I tried to ignore her stare by taking another bite and pulling out my phone to see if I had any notifications and what the time was. After a few moments she turned back to her own lunch, only for her to say something angrily under her breath. I followed her gaze to between our chairs where her wrap laid on the floor, its contents spilled out under our chairs. “Welp. I can get some napkins to help clean up,” I offered. “No,” Erik said firmly before I could bolt to the condiment bar. “My friend and I can manage this. You finish eating.” It took me a second to realize that his “friend” meant Ariel. “No, really, I don’t-” He held up a hand to silence me as he stood up. “Eat.” I did as he said and watched him leave. Ariel knelt down behind her chair. The top of her head came to my shoulder but her long hair still almost reached the lettuce covered floor. “Ken?” she asked. “Mm-hmm?” “How exactly do I… do this.” “Pick up your wrap?” “Yes.” “Just put it on your tray? Then you can just throw it all away in the garbage before we head out.” She smiled at me and started doing so. “And hey, if you want you can go get another wrap if you want. I don’t mind waiting for you to finish eating.” She shook her head no. “Nah. Like Erik said, we ate before we picked you up so I’m fine!” “Okay… Well then, let me know if you want me to help you pick this stuff up?” She shook her head again. “Then tell me if I need to move to another seat or get my legs out of the way?” “I will!” Erik came back a second later with two large handfuls of napkins. Not just like normal person large handfuls though; his huge fists were stuffed with them. He joined Ariel on the floor and I nervously watched them work, moving my legs around or holding them up out of the way as needed. She used her bare hands to grab all the larger chunks, while he used the napkins as make shift gloves to clean whatever she missed. When they were done he tried to give her the remainder of the napkins so she could wipe her hands off. But instead she either didn’t see or didn’t care and just rubbed them on her capris as she stood up. He sighed and used them himself before putting them on her tray with the rest of the garbage. I finished my sandwich right about then so I quickly rolled up its empty wrapper, grabbed my things and got up too. “There’s a garbage can over there,” I said and started walking towards it. I saw the grill cashier standing warily about 20 feet away from our table with a broom and dust pan. I wondered how long they’d been standing there as they waited for us to leave before making sure we’d fully cleaned up our mess. The can I went to had two others next to it. Erik went to the one on my right and just… threw the entire tray into the can. Like not just the remains of Ariel’s wrap and the napkins he used and the tray liner. He dropped the actual tray in. I stare at the can and then at him. He did the same to me. Then slowly he reached into the can, grabbed the tray, shook off anything still stuck to it, then reached past me and set it on top of the one I had put on the nice little shelf above the can that was meant for holding the used trays. I tried not to giggle as I gave him a thumbs up. He looked confused at the gesture but he did start to mirror it. Suddenly Ariel appeared on the other side of me and held my free hand in hers. She was definitely not as tall as her significant other, but her hand was still a good deal larger than mine. “So what animal do we want to see first!” she asked. I looked down at our clasped hands for a moment. Partially because I hadn’t expected it and didn’t really notice the difference in our hand sizes earlier, but also because I had to marvel at how long and nice her fingernails were? I played piano growing up so I couldn’t stand it if my nails went much past the ends of my fingers. I felt her grip loosen and she started to pull it away. “Sorry! Do not want to hold hands?” she asked with much more concern than the situation called for. “No! I mean yes! I mean-” I slid my hand back into place in her palm and held it. “I like holding hands.” She smiled brightly. “Okay!” Then at the same time she and I each offered our other hand to Erik. All three of us looked surprised by this. After a beat Erik hesitantly held his own hand out near mine. “I… like to hold hands too.” I carefully took it and he gently moved our hands to his side. “Do we want to start at the petting zoo?” he asked us with a stiff smile. “I promise not to yell at either of you if we do,” I said and hoped both of them could tell I was joking. Ariel laughed and started us towards the doors leading out into the zoo-proper. “I promise not to stick my fingers in any cages!” she said, giving my a light squeeze. “And I promise-” he paused mid-sentence with a thoughtful look on his face. “You should be Ken’s shade tree!” she supplied. “To keep them from getting too hot this time!” He hesitated in his current stride until I was slightly ahead of him and he was able to block the sun. “Yes, I promise to do that.” I rolled my eyes. “That was one time!” I pretended to protest. “And anyway it’s cooler today, and I made sure to wear light colored clothes, and I’m even wearing sunscreen!” “What’s sunscreen?” Ariel inquired. “It keeps the sun from burning me.” They pulled me to halt. They both looked at me as though they thought I was going to randomly burst into flames. These mini-crises were starting to get old. “You know… cuz my skin is so light? I get sun burnt really easy? Like I don’t tan? My skin just goes straight from ghost white to red if I’m out in the sun for too long…? And I guess you’ve never had a sun burn since your skin is so much darker than mine?” “Should we leave and come back on a day when it’s cloudy?” she asked with genuine concern for my safety. Erik took another step towards me as though he were trying to keep any sunlight from reaching me ever. “No! I’m wearing sunscreen! And it’s the really good stuff too; it’s SPF 75!” The two literally started talking over my head at each other. Exasperated, I let go of their hands and started digging in my bag for my bottle of sunscreen. “Here, look!” I first shoved the bottle into Ariel’s face and then Erik’s. He took it from me and carefully began to read the front under his breath. She shuffled next to him to try to read it too. When they were done they exchanged a few more words before handing it back to me. “We believe you,” she said as I stowed the sunscreen away again. I sighed with relief. “I thought Erik said he was going to be my shade tree anyway.” I said with a forced giggle. I did not like confrontation one bit and we’d had more than enough for one day; probably two. “And I really want to see the sea otters!” “Yes, I did say that,” he said, a small genuine smile appearing. “Good, cuz you promised!” His smile quickly vanished and he looked dead serious. “I always keep my promises,” he said solemnly. “We both do.” Ariel sounded like she was somewhat offended. So much for no more confrontation! “No! Sorry! I was… just making a joke…” I stared at the ground. Despite the temperature and Erik being between me and the sun, I could feel myself getting warmer. “Oh… Oh! We’re sorry!” she said, sounding worried again. “We’re just not used to your kind of humor…” “Yeah…” I agreed. And then my anxiety kicked in and I suddenly felt like crying. What the fuck emotions. “Ken…!” She quickly cupped my hand in both of hers and then Erik did the same with my other one. I made myself take a slow, deep, somewhat shaky breath in… and then out. “Fuck… I’m sorry…” I whispered, still trying to focus and control my breathing. I closed my eyes so I didn’t have to look at them. “Sometimes my brain just overreacts and I’m fine. Just give me a sec…” They both let go of me, but I could tell from the—surprising amount of—heat radiating from their palms that they held them only a few inches away. I took a few more deep breaths before forcing a smile and opening my eyes. Both of them had bent down a little so their faces were closer to mine. I didn’t know if they were trying to make themselves look smaller or if they were trying to get a better look at me or what. “Okay,” I said, trying to reassure all of us that I really was fine. “Okay.” “Do you want to go to the sea otters first, Ken?” she asked softly. “No, we said we were going to the petting zoo first so let’s go to the petting zoo.” I bumped my hand into her hand that I’d been holding earlier. Thankfully she understood that I wanted to hold hands again and took it. She closed her eyes, smiled, and gave me a small squeeze before standing upright again. Then I turned to Erik, who was already standing straight and tall. I moved the hand by him closer to his own and tried to ask with my expression if he wanted to hold hands again too. He accepted my offer and even though I’d noticed that so far he seemed careful about any physical contact we had, his actions seemed even… more calculated? I smiled up at my two, new, large, friends and pulled them in the direction I thought we needed to go. “Ken…?” Erik said after only a couple of feet. “The petting zoo is this way.” And he gave me a gentle tug in his direction. I looked at the nearest directional and yup. He was right. I changed course. “To the petting zoo!” I said over-enthusiastically. Ariel laughed and Erik sighed as we made our way down the path.

#macrophilia #memories #ariel #erik #canon

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soriseerakyra · 7 years ago

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Chess Pieces 2/3

A/N: Lots of Plotting

Start here

“I heard that ginger asshole called a meeting.”

The vulgarity of your newest maid causes you to chuckle. You watch through the vanity mirror as Tierssa lets a wry smile cross her face as she combs through your hair. As much as you hated the circumstances that brought her here, having her here gave you some semblance of home and a friend.

“He did, but you shouldn't let anyone hear you call him that. I might not be able to save you from him.”

“Yeah right,” she says with a smirk. “You could freeze him mid-sentence, and if that didn’t work all you’d have to do is get Lord Broody to cut his head off.”

You look at her under thick eyelashes through the mirror, and you feel a shiver of satisfaction course through your veins. Power, even the very idea of power, was addictive and her acknowledgment of yours was a hit you were willing to take.

“The general is the least of my worries,” you say watching as she pulls your hair into a large decorative bun. “There are powers behind the scenes that need to be dealt with.”

“The resistance?”

“I have confidence in Kylo’s abilities to crush them, it's what happens after that concerns me.”

“What could happen to him?” she asks with a raised eyebrow. “From what I’ve seen he’s more than strong enough to protect himself from anything.”

“Strong doesn’t equal smart. Strength does not equal cunning. He can protect himself but he cannot protect me.”

“From what, my lady?”

“Fate,” you say rather softly. “As it is, I have no importance to anyone but him. I have a duty and once I fulfill it, my planet will either be made subservient or destroyed and my fate will be the same. Kylo has neither the patience nor the foresight to see any of this. That, and while he may care for me, nothing else about me is important. Not my family, my friends, or my planet. So, I have to do it. I have to care for it myself.”

Tierssa looked at you through the large mirror, her brown eyes full of sympathy. Pulling her hand away from your finished bun she grips your shoulder reassuringly.

“I’ll help you,” she says. “If you're running things at least I won’t have to worry about getting executed.”

“I don’t know about that,” you say with a smirk. “If you try to attack everyone like you did me I can’t protect you.”

“That was a one-time thing. I’ll be more behaved.”

“I’ll hold you to it.”

You stand and admire your reflection. Your mauve gown was a welcome change to your usual black ones. The sheer sleeves, sweetheart neckline, and full skirt were reminiscent of the gowns you wore on your planet. Kylo Ren had allowed you to send for many things, the vanity, and dresses being some of them. You felt like yourself again. The black diamond earrings that hung from your ears with matching bracelets were a gift from your parents, held in the cargo bay since your wedding.

“I should make my way to the conference room,” you say as you begin to walk away from the vanity.

“Tierssa?” you ask just before leaving the room.

“What’s up?” she asks watching you.

“If you can, do me a favor and contact my parents, ask them to send me a copy of the marriage contract. I need to see what all I’ve given up.”

“Of course, my lady.”

~~~

The large semi-circle of dark desks and office chairs was less intimidating than it was when Snoke was present. While the room was still rather drab, having been drilled into the stone of the planet and said rock making up the walls, the large expanse of the room was rather breathtaking.

You’d wished you’d had more time to admire it, but you weren’t in the room alone. Various commanders and other ranking officers had long since filed into the room. Taking positions at the various desks and talking amongst themselves. You’d had seen a few curious glances, but for the most part you seemed to be invisible.

“He’s let you out of your cage then, has he?”

You smiled when you heard the snide voice. Turning with a pleasant smile on your face you greet the red headed man.

“It is a lovely afternoon isn’t it, Hux?”

He looks at you, green eyes smoldering into yours with his eyebrow arched. You watch as he examines your form, his gaze lingering on the jewels hanging from your ears.

“Convinced him to let you stop dressing like a peasant, then?”

“It’s more that we’ve come to a mutual understanding of our stations in life. Kylo’s talent lie elsewhere, as I am sure you experience. My expertise is here and I can’t go to meetings looking like I belong in a convent, can I?”

“What exactly is it that you intend to do?” He asks lifting a hand to finger one of the dangling jewelry pieces. “Surely you don’t intend to cause a disruption in my meeting?”

“Not at all,” you say pleasantly. “I’m just here to make sure that my husband is abreast of the decisions that are being made here and that they are made with his best interest in mind.”

“Aren’t you the dutifully wife.”

“Partner,” you correct moving your head away from his fingers. “There’s no point in a marriage if you can’t bring out the best in each other.”

You move away from the sneering man ignoring his condescending eye roll, before you find you seat. It is not hard to find Kylo’s chair. It is black like the rest of the chairs in the room, but larger and slightly off to the side. Unlike the communal desks that everyone else is sitting at, he has his own large black desk. When you’re seated, you feel more eyes shift to you. You can feel their questioning gazes, but you straighten your back and ignore them.

Hux makes his way to the front of the room and a large image of the Hosnian system.

“Gentlemen,” he starts but he pauses wondering if he should make an effort to address you and explain your presence. He doesn’t.

“The first test of the weapon is eminent. The target as we discussed before will be the Hosnian system. We will destroy, the republic and thus scramble the resistance crippling their power. When that is done, we will target the resistance base itself. Ridding ourselves of that plague for good.”

The room seemed to hum in agreement. You felt your mouth quiver slightly, was it so easy to sign off on the death of billions?

“Is there not another way?” you question. The silence that followed was defining.

Hux cut you a look from the corner of his eye and almost groaned when he saw the insistent look on your face.

“Speak,” he acquiesced.

“As much as we hate our enemy, as troublesome as they are, murdering them will only make it worse,” you state imploringly. You look to the men around the room but they all seem to be looking through you. “The goal of an empire is to rule, destroying so many will not make them sympathize with us.”

“Sympathy will not cause them to tremble at the thought of disobeying the First Order. Fear keeps governments inline and we have the power to shake the galaxy.”

“By destroying some of its most important planets?”

“It shows that we are untouchable,” he retorts eyes narrowing.

“It shows that we are young, foolish, and doomed to repeat the same mistakes as those who came before us.”

The room is tense, officer watching the two of you trade ideals.

“The Empire,” you start “with all its many strengths showed its hand the minute it destroyed Alderaan. It took the threat away from the death star. The minute that it showed what it could do, was the minute a weakness was found. It lead to the destruction of the first and second death star. Our threats our more powerful than our actions. The minute that our enemy rationalizes their fear, they will begin to hope that they can overcome it and the failures of our past have shown that we are more than susceptible to that hope.”

“You suggest we do nothing, cower and hope that the republic bends to our whims because we ask?” He sneers. His face is red and his voice is tense. It is at that moment you realize that it does not matter what you say. As reasonable as you seem, Hux’s intent will always be on of violence toward the republic and that clouds his judgement.

“I simply suggest we rule,” you say calmly. “If you must attack the republic, attack the trade routes and become the sole source of commerce in the galaxy. The merchants will come and build economies around the whim of the empire. Recruit the Stormtroopers instead of kidnapping children, it would give the poorest in the galaxy something to be loyal too. Structure in a lawless galaxy that does not protect those that do not have the capability to live well. The longest living empires are ones that are based on compliance and submission rather than built through force and fear.”

He can’t argue with that and you both know it. There is nothing to say to you, your logic is sound, honed from years of watching your father run diplomatic meetings throughout your star system. However, what you also know is that this is pointless. Nothing you say will stop what is already planned.

‘This is in preparation for the aftermath’ you think to yourself.

“As thoughtful as your considerations are,” he starts regaining his composure. “Our course is set, what we need now is to set out our strategic position for when the sun has burnt out.”

Your words have fallen on deaf ears, for now.

***

Tierssa’s room is infinitely lighter than yours and your almost jealous. The clinically white walls were a stark contrast to the dark furniture that was provided. A far cry from the black on black of your and Kylo’s rooms. The woman in question is perched on one of the standard black lounges, eating a pear rather enthusiastically.

“Did he respond?” you ask watching her form as you slouched slightly against the furniture.

Dark eyes slide over to you and she shakes her head solemnly. “I managed to get the signal up on my end, but I think Arkanna maybe too out of range for communication.”

You nod, showing that you understand but you aren’t entirely convinced. Your planet was wealthy, the black diamonds that your parents gave you were not simply a gift, but found in abundance and long with other minerals and rocks. Arkannians had the ability and resources to get into contact with almost anything in the galaxy, even something as far out of the way as Starkiller base.

Tierssa, looked at your face and looked down. She could tell you were disappointed and you hated that she was able to read your features. An ounce of weakness, could very well be your downfall.

“I’ll keep trying I don’t want to let you down.”

“As long as you try your best, you won’t let me down.”

She smiles and stands up quickly, “I’ll go try and contact him right now.”

You watch as the young girl walks to the door and as it opens it reveals the long dark form of your husband. Not bothering to fix your slouched posture, you almost laugh when she jumps at the sight of him. She backs up quickly, allowing him to enter the room.

“I’m sorry, sir,” she says with a hint of annoyance in her voice.

He ignores her.

She rolls her eyes before moving around the man.

“We’ll leave momentarily, come to my rooms once you’ve finished,” you say.

She nodded and moves to leave, but she pauses to stick her tongue out childishly at Kylo Ren’s turned back before she quickly makes her way down the hallway.

“You’re allowing her to be so bold,” he states, his distorted voice slightly admonishing.

“I’m allowing her to be herself,” you retort. “She’s all alone in this galaxy now, stifling her and asking her to conform to what you or I deem to be appropriate would only be cruel.”

He pauses on your face for a moment before he shakes his head.

“How was the meeting? Did you accomplish what you wanted?” He asks. Because you cannot see his face you can’t tell rather or not he already knows or genuinely asking.

“General Hux is determined to make the destruction of the Hosnian system, his glory. I’m worried it will backfire.”

“You don’t agree?” He says has he drops his lanky body to sit across from you. “Supreme Leader Snoke approves of the action.”

“I am not questioning the wisdom of the Supreme Leader,” you state choosing your words carefully. As much as he heeds the advice that you give him, Kylo still seems to worship Snoke. Questioning that relationship too early would set you back. “I just wonder what could be.”

He doesn’t respond after a few seconds and you continue.

“On Arkanna, my family was not always in a position of power. We weren’t born to royalty. My ancestors were merchants. They slowly pushed out all of those who were in competition, either by buying up other establishments or cutting off their access to resources. Of course, there was violence, but the methods we employed shifted the balance of power, people became more reliant on my family to provide the things that they needed to survive,

“As a result, they became subservient to our will, our law. Their daily lives deepened on us. Of course, this upset our actual sovereign, but he attacked us first. We had the soldiers to fight him off, but we didn’t have to fight him alone. The people rioted and dragged him out of his castle and beat him to death in the street. Over time we had been the most important part of people’s lives and he jeopardized that. When the fighting was done, we were willed into power at the behest of the people and we have been there for almost a thousand years,

“Of course, there were others that tried the same, be we demolished them because we knew what they would do and because the people like the system that we have in place. They like it because they chose it. Killing billions will not give you legitimacy, despite its display in power, it may cause the people to rally against you instead.”

He watches, unmoving. You wonder what his face looks like, you can feel his emotions, his conflict.

“It’s just an idea, a precaution,” you say smoothly. “I think there is a place for a weapon, the timing of its use will be important.”

“Is that what you plan?” He questions after some time in silence.

“What?”

“To make me emperor? To position me the way your family positioned themselves?”

You pause for a moment, what would he say if you told him the truth of your intent? That your soft speech and gentle prodding were all so that he would act in a way that you saw fit.

“Yes,” you say voice flat with truth. “My plan for you is to make sure that you are the most powerful being in this galaxy.”

“Supreme Leader Snoke?”

“Is wise and powerful, and still has much to teach you,” you say sitting up straight. “But I was born to rule not to be ruled and you as my husband are a beneficiary of that.”

“You speak of treachery,” he states but is voice hasn’t changed in fact it’s quite indifferent, which surprises you.

“Its survival. A weapon is only good as long as it can be controlled and you are sure that it can’t be turned against you. Snoke will never allow you to reach a point where believes you would be able to kill him and if he did it is because you will be so loyal to him that he would think no better of you than an animal on a leash.”

He leans back, legs spread, and despite the confliction in his thoughts, none of him is hostile, and it is confusing to you.

“What is your ambition, Kylo?” you ask pointedly.

There is a long pause and then his gloved hands come to his mask. He takes it off, slipping the helmet to his side. He looks at you, his expression pensive.

“You and Hux are the same,” he says after a moment. “You both are so greedy.”

“Would you like me to pretend I’m not?”

“Would your goals change?”

“No.”

“Lying to me would only make me resent you,” he said with a sigh.

“Fine, I want an empire and I will have it.”

There is a hard look in your eye as you meet his gaze. He tries to probe your mind, but your focus almost immediately locks him out. The stiffness of your straight back has changed your posture and almost immediately he recognizes that he is looking at the real you and not the meek girl who had been tip toing around the base for the past number of months. He had assumed that Snoke had chosen you to be his bride simply because of your sensitivity to the force, he wondered if his wise leader had also chosen you for your ambition, however dangerous it was.

“If you fail, you know that I will be the one to end you,” he says after the moments of silence.

“If I succeed you’ll be the most powerful person in the galaxy.”

#kylo ren x reader #kylo ren imagine #kylo x reader #kylo x you #star wars x reader #star wars imagine #general hux #hux x reader

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markjsousa · 7 years ago

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Fixing A Poorly Performing Brand Culture

As Hilton Barbour has observed, the culture you have is defined by the behaviors you tolerate, despite what your values may or may not say. While a poorly performing culture may play out as a toxic brand culture, it doesn’t always manifest that way. A lack of performance can stem from allowing the inherent culture to over-extend; to adapt characteristics that take the culture to a place where those very dynamics work against it.

While much is made of the attitudes and behaviors of poorly performing cultures, I have seen little evidence to suggest that such a culture is automatically ‘bad’. On occasions, they can be happy places to work. They are just not effective places to work. So, for the purposes of this piece, a poor performing brand culture is one where the people in the organization act in ways that do not enable the brand to compete to its full potential. And as we shall discuss, there can be a range of reasons for that.

Robert E. Quinn and Kim S. Cameron’s model of the four types of culture provides a convenient framework for explaining this idea. (There’s a great depiction of this model illustrated under 3. Community in this post):

1. Clan cultures have a deep sense of family that fosters togetherness. People inside well-functioning examples of this model feel cared for and that they are very much valued as members of a team. Such cultures judge their performance by what they accomplish as a group. But when clan cultures over-extend, they shut themselves off from the customer. They become so focused on what the team thinks and what the team feels comfortable with that they become self-absorbed, judging themselves on metrics and standards that focus on what they do and what they value rather than what they continue to achieve for their customers. They work more slowly (because they work at the pace they feel is necessary). They are reluctant to acknowledge their competition. They worry that change will see them valuing their people (i.e. themselves) less.

2. Adhocracy cultures are fast moving and dynamic. They have a powerful first-to-market mentality that sees them encourage innovation and disruption. They are highly customer focused and continue to look for ways to improve their customers’ experiences. Such cultures judge their performance by what they bring to market. But when these cultures over-extend, they can iterate at a level where they tire themselves out and they focus so much on change that they forget to celebrate and draw value from the assets and equity they already have. The key to success for every brand is striking the right balance between revolution and recognition. Adhocracy cultures, with their natural sense of impatience, can undermine their own strengths by working at their pace, at the expense of what customers feel comfortable acting on. They can get to market too soon. They can struggle to achieve scale and take-up (because they’ve moved onto the next thing). Resilience can be a real issue for them.

3. Hierarchical cultures are all about the tried and true. They have a deep sense of tradition and of the ‘proper’ way to do things. Their structures are deeply entrenched and they believe in discipline and control. These brand cultures have a firmly established way of doing things, including how they go to market, and that orthodoxy can be a powerful force for efficiency in brands that are spread across many regions and that depend on documented structures and clear lines of control to keep things orderly. We are all painfully aware, however, of what happens when hierarchical cultures over-extend. Their sense of order and wish for things to remain within a rigid pecking order stifle innovation and diversity, drive passive-aggressive behaviors at all levels and isolate anyone who they classify as a trouble-maker or a boat-rocker.

4. Market cultures are focused on results. They are all about what gets done, who gets beaten and the success that comes with that. In highly competitive sectors where rivalry is fierce, a culture that isn’t market focused stands very little chance of survival. Market cultures are often sales driven, highly energized and ambitious. They appeal to people who like the cut and thrust of the markets and they generate cultures where market leadership is the focus of many discussions. When these cultures over-extend however, they can become overly aggressive and winner-takes-all. They can generate a culture where there is little compassion or sympathy and where those who fail to commit to winning at any cost can quickly be made to feel like laggards. They can be very macho places to work that exhibit truly appalling levels of behavior that is then justified, even sanctioned, by the performances that have been achieved.

It’s tempting to look at Robert E. Quinn and Kim S. Cameron’s model and surmise that the sweet spot for every culture must lie at the intersection of these four culture types. Not true of course – because the dynamics of different sectors play a critical role in deciding what characteristics a brand culture must have, and because, within that, each culture must be differentiated from its competitors in order to stand apart. If you don’t have a sense of distinction internally, your brand will really struggle to manifest that externally.

That said, the culture you have is not always the culture you need. The challenge lies in the extent to which you are willing to challenge ‘the way we do things round here’ to achieve your business outcomes. The temptation for too many in my view is to pronounce that the culture needs to revolutionize, and that people need to adjust to what the business now sees as the culture it requires. That is never going to happen – because the culture you have is one you have arrived at and reinforced over time, and any attempts to overthrow and replace that have been proven time and again to be futile.

But you can build on the culture you have. You can introduce elements to your culture – through values, rewards, leadership training, storytelling and a host of other initiatives – that curb over-extensions, add or change one or two prevailing dynamics and kick-start the brand culture into a more competitive state.

The key to getting this right is being able to identify, at a leadership level first, the culture that will most powerfully drive the brand forward. Then marrying that, at a team level, with the elements of the current culture that will continue to drive people forward and to give them the incentives within their own walls to take the brand where it needs to go. And finally, personalizing that for those who work for the brand in such a way that it feels relevant and empowering to them in their current work and for the longer term.

The Blake Project Can Help: Please email us to learn about our brand culture programs and purpose, mission, vision and values workshops.

Build A Human Centric Brand. Join us for The Un-Conference: 360 Degrees of Brand Strategy for a Changing World, April 2-4, 2018 in San Diego, California. A fun, competitive-learning experience reserved for 50 marketing oriented leaders and professionals.

Branding Strategy Insider is a service of The Blake Project: A strategic brand consultancy specializing in Brand Research, Brand Strategy, Brand Licensing and Brand Education

FREE Publications And Resources For Marketers

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glenmenlow · 7 years ago

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Fixing A Poorly Performing Brand Culture

The Blake Project Can Help: Please email us to learn about our brand culture programs and purpose, mission, vision and values workshops.

Branding Strategy Insider is a service of The Blake Project: A strategic brand consultancy specializing in Brand Research, Brand Strategy, Brand Licensing and Brand Education

FREE Publications And Resources For Marketers

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joejstrickl · 7 years ago

Text

Fixing A Poorly Performing Brand Culture

The Blake Project Can Help: Please email us to learn about our brand culture programs and purpose, mission, vision and values workshops.

Branding Strategy Insider is a service of The Blake Project: A strategic brand consultancy specializing in Brand Research, Brand Strategy, Brand Licensing and Brand Education

FREE Publications And Resources For Marketers

0 notes