#I can’t afford anything except for a few bus journeys

[rowanhoney]

Hiiiiiiiii now taking recommendations for how to use my week off!

[minimitchell]

Thank you! I’m the one who asked about a ballum ff and there is no rush at all. It would include smut but that’s ok no 🙂 It would be Ben & callum travelling in a night bus (to somewhere) and they’d be in the very back of the bus and none of the other passengers would notice their little action time (bottom Ben straddling callum). There’s no plot lol. Callum would actually be asleep and Ben waking him, hands already all over him/under his shirt and he would have some convincing to do for Callum to be on board with it. Or something like that. Could include some funny/embarrassing moments (for Callum).Tx! .. no need to post this maybe. 😇 Or just call it the night bus request. 🚌 💕

the fantasy of you and i keeps me up awake at night (ao3 link)

sorry it took a while, anon, but here we go. also this is so outside my normal comfort zone for smut but i'm hoping y'all enjoy it anyway.

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Taking a bus from London to Amsterdam might easily be the worst idea they have ever had.

The worst part is that there isn’t even a solid reason for them doing this. It’s not like they can’t afford a flight to Amsterdam, they definitely can. But for some reason Callum somehow managed to talk him into taking a Flixbus across the channel, just to save a few bucks. We’re homeowners now, he said. We should save money where we can, he said.

Ben kind of hates how easily he folds when it comes to his husband.

They’re about halfway through the hours-long trip, somewhere in France in the middle of the night, and the already quite empty bus is dark and mostly silent, except for that one guy near the middle who’s snoring like a small chainsaw. It seems like all the passengers are dead asleep right now - everyone except for Ben that is.

Him and Callum are in the very last row of seats; Callum in the window seat and Ben next to him. There are rows of empty seats in front of them, all the way up to the middle portion of the bus, so at least there’s some illusion of privacy. It’s definitely better than the bus being filled to the brim.

Callum is turned towards the window, a sweater bundled together to rest under his head like a pillow. He always does this on long journeys and Ben isn’t jealous of it at all, no way. He just wishes he could fall asleep in a car or on a train or on a plane, but sadly he can’t. Not like his husband can.

Ben has never been able to sleep in a moving vehicle. Ever since he was little he just couldn’t do it. It’s always too loud or not dark enough or he isn’t comfortable enough to fall asleep. Which is a pretty unfortunate circumstance when you’re trapped in a bus for hours on end in the middle of the night.

At first, he tried doing other things to keep himself entertained. He watched some videos on his phone, bothered Jay until he obviously fell asleep himself and then tried just looking out the window at the French countryside. Nothing helped alleviate his boredom and he certainly wasn’t going to spend the rest however many hours just sitting around here.

He needed something to tire him out or at least keep him occupied for some time.

And he has just the idea what that could be.

Ben leans forward into Callum’s space, letting his hand run up and down Callum’s arm, slightly shaking to get him to wake up again. He can’t have been asleep for long, or in a deep slumber yet, because he starts twitching almost immediately; that familiar crease between his eyebrows appearing like it always does right before he wakes up.

“Babe? Babe. Cal, wake up.”

There’s only a groan as a response, but Ben can tell Callum is well on his way to consciousness right now. Even if he’s probably still hoping Ben will just leave him alone if he doesn’t engage.

“What?”

Callum turns around to face him, eyes still stubbornly closed; almost like he’s planning on falling back asleep once Ben has told him whatever he wants to say. Not if Ben gets his way though.

“I can’t sleep.”

Ben can feel more than hear the annoyed sigh Callum lets out at that. He cracks one eye open, peering down at Ben beside him, and whatever he finds must convince him he’s not going to go back to sleep for a while, because the next thing he does is sit up straighter, opening both of his eyes now.

He’s probably used to it after well over two years with Ben. His inability to fall asleep on the road has come up time and time again since they got together. At first, Callum thought it was a cute little quirk; like you always do when you’re first falling for someone and everything about them gives you butterflies.

He still gets them now, the butterflies, but by now Callum is probably more than aware of the fact that Ben’s sleeplessness when travelling affects him as well. Because Ben expects to be entertained by him, or at least for Callum to stay awake with him.

For the most part, Callum is fine with that seeing as they’re never really going anywhere one of them doesn’t drive to but on rare occasions like this one, it’s pretty damn grating. Callum definitely knows they’re both going to be tired and grumpy when they arrive in Amsterdam and that isn’t really how he wants to start this little getaway.

“Have you even tried?”

Ben rolls his eyes in the dark of the bus, only illuminated by the passing streetlights outside. He’s glad it’s not enough for Callum to see his expression; he needs to be on his best behavior if he wants to convince Callum of this idea in his head.

“You could help me fall asleep, you know.”

Ben’s hand runs over Callum’s thigh and dips lower to the inseam of his sweatpants, fingertips brushing against his dick over the soft fabric. Callum doesn’t turn away from the touch, but he does lift his thigh a little so that Ben’s hand dislodges from his place against his cock.

“Ben! No.”

“Come on. No one will notice.”

He leans in close to whisper the words into Callum’s ear, making sure to dart his tongue out and trace along the lobe for good measure afterwards. He’s not above pulling out all the stops to convince Callum to do this with him right now. It might have just been a quick throwaway idea, but the more he thinks about the possibility of it the hornier he finds himself getting.

His hand dips lower again; fingers dancing up and down Callum’s shaft. This time, Callum lets him continue his actions; his dick slowly but surely hardening under Ben’s touch.

“Absolutely not.”

Callum’s protest is weak, his voice already way too breathless to be taken seriously by Ben. If he really were against this, Ben would stop immediately. But he knows his husband pretty well and he can read his body like a book. Every little reaction is telling enough for Ben.

It’s all the go-ahead he needs.

“S’not what your dick says.”

As if to prove a point, Ben tightens his hand, reveling in the hard intake of breath Callum does in response to it. He can tell his husband is trying his hardest to keep the noises in. So much so that Ben almost lets the desire to coax each sound out of Callum overtake him, damning any embarrassing consequences it could bring.

“Because you keep, hm, keep touching it.”

Ben barely manages to keep his gleeful laugh in when Callum pushes his leg out, opening his thighs wider and giving Ben better access to his dick. It means he can crowd in even closer and twist his hand just right, now firmly holding onto his husband’s length. Callum’s head tips backwards against his seat, eyes closing against the onslaught of arousal.

The taught, white skin of his neck is too inviting for Ben not to lean down and attach his mouth to it, trailing up and down.

“Ben, we can’t. Not here.”

Callum leans far enough back to catch Ben’s eyes. Ben thinks he’s trying to look stern and he’d probably succeed if Ben didn’t have his hard cock in his hand right now. The least he can do is offer him some relief.

Ben’s free hand runs up Callum’s chest, his fingers playing with the collar of his dark blue sweatshirt. He presses his nose back up against Callum’s cheek, looking up at him from under his lashes. There’s a smile playing on his face that always seems to come so naturally to him whenever he’s with Callum, even if he’s trying to be sexy right now.

“We’ll be quiet.”

“You’ve never been quiet in your life during sex.”

It’s a good point. An extremely good point considering how many pointed comments they received that period of time they were living at Stuart and Rainie’s flat. Or from Lola before that. So yeah, Callum does have a point when he says he’s not the quietest person during sex.

And it’s not like he can talk as well. Callum is incredibly noisy when he wants to be. Or rather, when he lets himself be.

Maybe Ben just needs to take it up a notch in order to get Callum on board with this.

“It’ll be a laugh. Come on, I know you, baby. You like it a little dangerous. Out in the open. Remember, I know all your fantasies, babe.”

It’s true. Ben had an inkling that there was a secret exhibitionism kink hiding behind Callum’s big innocent giant act when he had no qualms about getting hot and heavy in the park during their first intimate encounter together, but he had no idea just how much Callum gets turned on by the chance of them being interrupted or heard by someone else.

He isn’t opposed to the odd quickie in the car lot or at the Arches when Ben is supposed to be working and anyone could walk in at any time. There are times he gets his husband so riled up with little comments and strategically placed touches that he drags Ben into the toilets in the Albert to give his mouth and hands something else to do. And they’ve even revisited that park once or twice to pay a little tribute to the thing that started it all between them.

So he knows perfectly well that the thought of doing anything here, where any other person on the bus could easily wake up and figure out what exactly they’re doing, must be quite exhilarating for Callum. He can’t really play the purity card when Ben can physically feel him growing harder at his hushed words.

Like he said, he knows Callum. They’re open and honest about what turns them on and off, what they like and dislike. No one has ever known him as intimately and deeply as Callum does and Ben knows it’s the same the other way as well. Ben loves that.

It also means that he can pinpoint the exact second Callum lets himself give in and shifts into what Ben teasingly calls his sexy mode. It’s a win for Ben, for sure.

“You’re lucky I love you.”

Callum wraps his arm around Ben’s waist and tugs until Ben understands what he wants him to do. He sits himself square on Callum’s lap, legs resting on either side of Callum’s hips on the plush seats and fingers immediately finding a home in Callum’s hair, combing through the strands. He hasn’t had it cut in a while, too lazy to do it so close to their little holiday, and Ben can’t find the words to say just how much he loves it like this. He looks almost prince-like when it’s all soft and flat on his head and it’s the prettiest thing in the world to Ben.

“Thought you were gonna say I should be lucky I’m so fit.”

“Hm, that too.”

Callum’s smirk tastes a lot like bliss when their lips meet in a kiss, their tongues brushing almost immediately. Ben is trying hard to keep the sighs from escaping his throat, knowing they have to be quiet for this to go any further. But he can’t help it, kissing Callum is close to being the best thing he has ever gotten to do.

Even if he tried to convince himself otherwise at the time, Ben knew that first time they kissed each other that it was different with Callum; that it felt different with him. When their lips had met that night, he had felt it in his bones. Ben knows how rare it is to feel this way and Callum has never made him feel any different since.

Ben’s hands leave their place in Callum’s hair to travel down his chest, running over the soft fabric of his sweatshirt. He can feel the intake of breath Callum does when he reaches the edge of his sweatpants, fingers dipping under the waistband. Ben looks up to see if there’s any hesitation on Callum’s face, any sign that he isn’t one hundred percent on board with this, but Callum seems perfectly fine by the looks of it, with his eyes still closed like he wants to savor their kisses and the tips of his ears turning pink.

The grey fabric gets pushed down just enough for Ben to free Callum’s still hard cock, lazily sliding his fist up and down the shaft. Seeing Callum bite his bottom lip to refrain from making any noise at Ben’s actions fills him with a surge of heat that travels all throughout his body. Maybe they have to look more into this, if Callum’s inability to make much noise gets Ben so hot and bothered.

Right now though, he’s more concerned with getting himself undressed as well, just enough to get Callum in him. It’s a tight fit back here and Ben has to move around a fair bit to get his own pants far enough down to still be able to move on top of him. Ben has had sex in cars before so he knows how to maneuver himself, but a cramped seat on a bus is still vastly different from lying flat on your back in the backseat of a Ford.

They keep a small packet of lube in the side pocket of the backpack for situations just like this one and it turns out to be a godsend again and again, this time being no different. Ben is the first to admit he used to be a little bit slutty and while he doesn’t care for sex with anyone that isn’t Callum anymore, some remnants of that time in his life still remain. Remnants, for which having lube on hand at all times proves to be very helpful.

He’s glad Callum appreciates their spontaneity as well.

At any other time, Ben would let Callum open him up. His fingers are long and slender, thick enough to fill him just right, and they’re sure to drive him positively mad each and every time. Callum knows where and when to drag, to go fast or when to let Ben catch his breath to keep him teetering just on the brink.

But space is limited as it is and it’s easier for Ben to reach down and open himself up. Besides, seeing the way Callum’s face shifts into open hunger and desire as he watches Ben touch himself more than makes up for the lack of his husband’s fingers in him. There’s so much heat and open amazement for Ben in his eyes, it makes Ben breathless with want for the man in front of him.

The air around them feels thick and stuffy; charged in the best way possible. Ben keeps his lips firmly pressed together, effectively trapping in any sounds threatening to escape; his free hand digging into the skin of Callum’s biceps, making dents in the skin. They could easily be the only two people in this bus, in the world, right now. It feels like it; it always does.

Everything is zeroed down to just them when they’re together like this, like nothing else matters except for them making the other feel good. And he wants nothing more right now than to make Callum feel absolutely wrecked.

Ben detracts his fingers when he feels like he’s at least somewhat ready, reaching out to coat Callum’s dick with the excess lube on his hand. Before he can wrap his fingers around Callum’s length though, he’s stopped by a hand on his chest, causing him to catch his husband’s eyes almost immediately.

“Wait.”

Ben is about to climb down from Callum’s lap, thinking he has changed his mind about this and wanting to give him space, but Callum keeps him seated with a hand on his hip now. Instead, he’s leaning down himself, his other hand disappearing in the backpack still sitting in the space under their seat.

“What?”

The confusion doesn’t lift when Callum eventually finds what he must have been looking for, unearthing two condoms from somewhere in the bag. They obviously haven’t used condoms in ages but they still keep some just in case. Better than throwing them away, right? Ben just doesn’t understand what Callum wants with them now.

“I’m not about to get cum on this bus. And neither are you.”

Ben doesn’t really care about it, but he’s not going to start arguing with his husband when he’s this close to getting lucky. Callum could probably ask him to wear a clown costume and Ben would do it if it meant he’d get fucked by Callum in a timely manner. He’s that whipped for his husband’s dick.

He lets Callum roll the condom onto his dick, suppressing the moan clawing itself up his throat when Callum runs his fingers up and down the length of it for good measure. Maybe having to be completely silent while he’s getting laid is going to be more difficult than Ben had first thought.

Before Callum can put the condom on himself though, Ben stops him to do the honors himself, coating Callum’s dick with the excess lube still covering his other hand. He sinks down as slowly as he can, almost drawing blood from how hard he’s biting down on his bottom lip to keep quiet.

The fabric of Callum’s sweatpants is a stark contrast to his smooth skin and the feeling is simultaneously alien and exhilarating. They don’t have a lot of clothed sex, not like this anyway, and the almost foreign feeling against his bare ass is another stimulant for Ben’s already overloaded brain, all mixing together to create a mess of heightening arousal.

Ben eventually bottoms out, head tipped back and mouth open on a silent gasp. He can feel Callum’s heaving breaths where he’s pressed against him, his chest rising and falling in quick tempo.

“You good?”

Callum mumbles the words into Ben’s own shirt, pressed against his sternum. He sounds wrecked from just those two, little words; out of breath and completely wild. It’s one of the best sounds Ben ever got to hear; topped among other things only by Callum’s uninhibited moans when Ben makes him feel especially good.

Ben’s head tips back forward to nod at his husband, sealing their mouths back together when he begins to move. The rise and fall of his hips pushes sounds from him that he stifles by pressing his firmly-closed lips against Callum’s with all his might. Callum’s hands are fisted in Ben’s shirt, bunching up the back and wrinkling the dark red fabric.

It’s fucking good - it always is with Callum, better than anything he’s known before - but when Callum moves to adjust their bodies to meet Ben’s thrusts halfway, it becomes a little too good. On the next down movement, Callum thrusts up as well and the subtle change in their position means he’s now able to hit deeper, nudging right against that spot that makes Ben see stars.

Callum must be able to sense what this is doing to Ben, must be able to read his body and its tells better than he does himself, because he reaches around to clamp a hand over Ben’s mouth, pushing one finger in for Ben to bite down on it, nipping the scream that’s about to topple out of his mouth in the bud before it can be unleashed.

It would be a miracle if no one heard his moan, even muffled by Callum’s hand over his mouth, and Ben thinks they can really count themselves lucky if they didn’t manage to wake anyone up with it. He’d be more preoccupied with it, if he weren’t so trapped in the feeling of pure pleasure overtaking every nerve-ending in his body.

He’s panting hot against Callum’s hand now; heat spreading in his belly to announce his impending orgasm hurtling closer and closer. It doesn’t feel fair to Ben that he’s the only one struggling to contain his moans though; he thought Callum would have a lot more difficulties holding back.

It’s a good thing he knows Callum better than anyone; knows exactly what makes him lose control. It’s definitely a dirty trick to play but the whole reason they’re doing this right now is because they like it a bit dirty, right? So Ben doesn’t exactly feel bad when he lets one of his hands wander down to Calum’s chest, expertly finding his left nipple. He clamps his other hand over Callum’s mouth before he pinches his fingers, reveling in the way Callum’s hips involuntarily buck upwards in response.

Callum lightly bites the palm of his hand in retaliation and Ben can’t help but smile at it, even in the midst of heavy passion. He just really loves it when Callum is being silly and playful with him. Especially during sex.

The smile quickly dies down though when Callum’s free hand wraps around Ben’s cock, setting a punishing rhythm. Ben isn’t sure when this became seeing who can make the other come first, but he isn’t complaining. Not at all.

Not when it means he gets to feel that burning sensation take over his entire body, his muscles tensing and then relaxing as the waves of his climax wash over him. He must pinch Callum’s nipple again in his haze of pleasure, because he bucks into Ben again once, twice before he’s also coming. The hand that just moments ago had coaxed Ben’s orgasm out of him now snakes around his middle to pull him closer into Callum’s body.

They’re so close they might as well be one entity, one sole person. Their hands fall from each other’s mouths, wrapping around any skin they can reach to unite the two of them in a tight hug. Ben tucks his head into the crease of Callum’s neck, waiting until the tremors subside and their breathing returns to a normal pace.

It takes a lot longer than Ben would like to admit for him to regain the feeling in his legs enough to dismount and fall into the seat beside Callum again. He has just enough brainpower to take the condom off and tie it, thankful for Callum taking it off of him because he would have no idea how or where to get rid of it right now.

He pulls his pants and underwear back up, trying to make himself look at least a bit presentable, but his movements feel slowed down; his limbs already being pulled under the mantle of sleepy exhaustion.

Ben is still too out of it to notice what exactly Callum does to get rid of the condoms but whatever it is, it only takes him a few moments until he leans back into the seat, putting on his own clothes again as well.

“You okay, darlin’?”

“Hm. Tired.”

Callum lets out a quiet chuckle, pulling Ben into his side, letting him tuck himself into his body. He’s definitely all too aware of the fact that Ben always conks out almost immediately after sex and Ben feels his eyes fall shut as soon as his head is pillowed on Callum’s chest.

The last thing he’s conscious of is Callum pressing a kiss to his forehead, mumbling something about getting Ben to shut up, before finally, finally, falling asleep for the remainder of their journey.

He’ll have to keep this in the back of his mind for the ride back.

[crystaljins]

River lead me home | 06

Characters: Kim Seokjin x reader

Word count: 5.6k

Synopsis:  Ever since coming to the human realm when you were child, nothing seems to fit, and this was just supposed to be a simple roadtrip to help you find yourself.

Is that too much to ask for?

Spin-off to A long journey home

Rating: Teens

Genre: Adventure, fluff, angst

Notes: This is like the third or fourth time I’ve forgotten to post the chapter LOL!! Anyway, we’re fast approaching the end and I’m so tempted to draw it out because I’m not ready to say goodbye T.T but i’m also reaching the point where i can’t even remember what happens in each chapter LOL I read the cute messages you guys send and I have to go back and re-read to know what youre talking about ahaha

Also I feel like there hasn’t been enough asks about Jungkook’s role in this story and hopefully that will change after this chapter LOL

Tags: @blue1928​ @veeparkersstuff​

Masterlist

1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 FINAL

As the three of you prepare to depart the next morning, Ayla catches Jin as he’s packing up the supplies provided to him. The Psittanurans had been generous in their rewards and you all have abundant supplies to last you through until you reach the human realm once more. 

“I apologise for offending Jungkook,” Ayla announces, as she helps Jin sort through the various medical supplies the Psittanurans had gifted to him. He’s not entirely sure on the function of each object, and so Ayla had offered to talk him through everything. 

Jin pauses in his examination of a bottle of sharp-smelling liquid to glance at Ayla in surprise. 

“Don’t mind him.” Jin says dismissively with a warm smile. “He has the manners of a sewer rat. In fact, if you want to execute him for his disrespect, feel free to.”

Ayla’s eyes go wide, her bright yellow iris peering at Jin in absolute horror.

“I would never do such a thing!” She cries. “Do you not care at all about your wish?”

“My wish?” Jin echoes in confusion. He can’t say he has a specific wish- mostly for peace and quiet, but the timing for Ayla to bring up a wish seems strange. She tilts her head curiously to the side.

“Is it not your wish he must fulfill? Is he (Y/N)’s pixie, then?” She wonders aloud. Jin stares, completely confused. 

“I mean, I wouldn’t say he belongs to either of us- he’s just kind of there. Like a toe fungus- hard to get rid of and painful to look at.” He snorts. 

“That’s strange. Usually pixies stay with the creature who made the wish, but it doesn’t sound like either of you have made a wish.” Ayla observes. Jin pauses as he packs away the last of his medical kit- the niggling feeling he had felt last night about Jungkook returns. 

“Wish?” He tests the word aloud. It does sound vaguely familiar- if he reflects on his schooling from before the war, he does vaguely recall something about pixies and wishes. But he can’t think what it is, and his memory is frustratingly blank. 

“Do you not know the origin of pixies? I would have thought an ancient species like a guardian would know everything there is to know about the species that inhabit this realm.” Ayla observes. Jin frowns. Perhaps, if his people had not been driven heartlessly from the realm they spent generations protecting, he would have the extensive knowledge that Ayla seems to expect of him. 

“Refresh my memory.” He says slowly. 

“A pixie is born of a desperate wish.” She explains. “And their goal and purpose in life is to see that wish come to fruition.”

Jin blinks. Jungkook, in all the years Jin has known him, has never mentioned anything with regards to a goal or purpose. All he’s ever done is get into trouble alongside you and antagonise small, fluffy dogs. 

“So, you think Jungkook has a wish he has to fulfill?” Jin questions. Ayla nods. 

“He must. He could not exist otherwise. Although, it is strange that neither of you seem to know about that. Can you not think of a wish he must fulfil?” She asks curiously. Jin frowns as he recalls the night before. Jungkook had been frustratingly vague when discussing why you had to see the river. And casting a spell to force you to see it had been oddly out of character for him. Could his strange behaviour have to do with whatever the wish is? What even is the wish? Is it yours? Why have you never mentioned it before?

“I can’t.” Jin finally admits. “This is the first time I’m hearing about how pixies are born. So then, what happens when they fulfil that wish?” He wonders. Ayla shakes her head. 

“I’m afraid that knowledge has been lost to time. No one has even seen a pixie in a very long time- they aren’t exactly common.” She admits. “The last one was probably the Saishta Queen’s pixie; it managed to convince two guardians to steal the young dragon prince. So, they have a bit of a bad reputation.” She admits. 

Jin is silent. Taehyung had been involved with the dragon prince incident, he knows, and his new girlfriend had gotten dragged into the fray too. But as far as he knew, Taehyung had never met any pixie. And Jungkook, as annoying and pesky as he is, would never do something as awful as that. Not to mention it’s been thirteen years since Jin met the little pixie. If he’d had bad intentions, he could have acted far sooner. It’s far more likely that you made a wish and you didn’t realise you’d created Jungkook. 

Still, he can’t help but wonder. If a pixie is born of a desperate wish, what was the wish that led to Jungkook’s birth? And what could Jungkook’s goal be in leading you to this realm, and to the river?

Ayla takes her leave then, bidding Jin a warm farewell and wishing him well on the rest of his journey. She leaves Jin alone in the little hut he had taken residence in for the night. 

“It’s not anything bad.” Jin starts at the sudden voice and turns to find Jungkook sitting comfortably on the little cabinet at Jin’s bedside. Neither he nor Ayla had registered the little pixie’s presence, which is disconcerting to say the least. 

“What?” Jin snaps, irritated by the way he was so startled. Jungkook stretches and gets to his feet. 

“The wish. It’s not for anything bad. So, you don’t have to worry.” He tells Jin with a yawn. 

“How come you never mentioned it before?” Jin asks curiously. Jungkook shrugs. 

“Well, I can’t. We can’t speak of the wish or the owner of the wish aloud.” He explains. “And as for why I waited so long... I guess I was afraid. I don’t know what will happen to me when I grant the wish.” He confesses. 

Jin stares at Jungkook for a long time, and for the first time since he’s known the little pixie, Jin realises that Jungkook is very good at hiding behind a smile. He can’t imagine what it must be like, having only a handful of people and some moths to talk to for thirteen years. Watching them grow up without you- not being able to share in the bonds and friendships they formed. 

“Will... will something happen to you?” Jin questions hesitantly. Jungkook shrugs and shoots him a grin, but there’s a tired quality to it. 

“I certainly hope not.” He answers, but the implication is clear: something might. Jin feels a tremor of unease at the thought. 

“Are you guys done? We really should be heading off?” You call, popping your head in through the doorway of Jin’s little hut. You’re already sporting your hello kitty backpack and you’ve changed into a fresh pair of clothes. Jin wasn’t afforded the luxury of fresh clothes, but luckily the Psittanurans had some travel garments they could lend him. It fits a little strangely given their unusual body shapes, but their tendency to make loose-fitting, free flowing clothes has worked in Jin’s favour. 

“Almost.” Jin says quickly. Jungkook flutters up to land cross-legged on Jin’s shoulder. Your gaze catches the exchange, and you arch an eyebrow. Obviously, it’s strange to see Jin and Jungkook getting along. But you brush it aside and offer Jin a smile instead. 

“Great! Because apparently the river is only a few days away! Isn’t that great?” You ask cheerfully. Jin struggle to keep a straight face as he recalls Ayla’s words from last night. 

“Hey,” Jin says slowly because he doesn’t think it’s right to keep such knowledge from you. “About the river-“

“Let’s get going!” Jungkook interrupts, leaping across the distance from Jin’s shoulder to your own like he’s an Olympic athlete. He stabilises himself against your neck and glares at Jin over his shoulder. The meaning of the look is clear enough- don’t say anything. Jin bites his lip- he’s not sure it’s right to keep it secret. 

But something stops him. He doesn’t know why. Something about the tone of Jungkook’s voice when he confessed that he didn’t know what would happen to him... it lingers in Jin’s mind. 

With a sigh, Jin shakes his head and steps so that he’s standing shoulder to shoulder with you. 

“Have you said goodbye to everyone?” Jin asks, because he knows you’d somehow made a whole bunch of friends during the festivities last night. It was surprising, to say the least. You’d never been the social kind or the type to win the attention of people you’d just met. 

Or maybe you’d just never been in the right situation to do so. Jin feels an uncomfortable pang in his chest at the thought. 

“Yup! So, there’s nothing left to do now except see the river.” You respond. You glance sidewards at Jin. “What were you and Jungkook talking about?”

“About your embarrassing crush on him.” Jungkook drawls. 

Your eyes go wide, and Jin feels his heart drop into his stomach. He can’t believe Jungkook would blatantly throw him under the bus like that- actually, no. He can believe that. 

“I... I...” you stutter, and your cheeks glow red and if the darn pixie didn’t have such quick reactions, Jin would be taking great pleasure in flinging him through the air at the nearest tree. Your mouth trembles and you look like you’re about to cry and if the revelation of your feelings didn’t already have Jin feeling like the scum of the earth, then this most certainly does. 

“(Y/N),” Jin calls hastily, already desperately trying to plan how to placate you. But then you swallow and stare at him with hardened eyes. 

“I don’t have a crush on you.” You assert firmly. 

The words die on Jin’s tongue. He doesn’t know why, but they do. It’s like you’ve just slapped him and he’s still reeling from the shock. He opens his mouth a few times, but no words come out- he just flounders uselessly like a goldfish that had foolishly leapt out of the safety of its tank. 

And it’s stupid. It’s positively idiotic. But he can’t help but think… you didn’t have to deny it so aggressively. It’s not like... it’s not like your feelings are a secret! And when you deny them like that... it just sounds so convincing! Wouldn’t a simple “huh I don’t know what you’re talking about?” suffice?

You take the opportunity of Jin’s speechlessness to get a head start, huffily storming off towards the eastern exit of the village. Jin shoots Jungkook a glare. 

“Very nice.” Jin snaps. Jungkook shrugs. 

“It was me or you, man. And sorry, but I choose me.” He says simply. 

Not for the first time, Jin restrains the urge to give Jungkook the solid flick he deserves. 

Luckily, though you have a multitude of irritating personality traits, holding grudges is not one of them. It does not take long for the wonders of the next leg of the journey to catch your eye and before long you are chattering Jin’s ear off like there’s no tomorrow, about the wildlife you’ve spotted or about the weird plants. It makes him smile, because this trip is finally being enjoyed in the way you intended it to be. 

For the first time since starting on this wretched journey, Jin realises he is enjoying himself. The sunlight streams warmly through the trees and gradually the metallic flora native to the Golden Plains starts to infiltrate the surrounding shrubbery. With your detour to the marshlands, you had essentially skipped the starlit wonder of Mountains of Delaria, but you will still get to see the magnificent Golden Plains as they are the only way to access the river after leaving the swamplands.

It’s so rare to see you smiling and cheerful. Usually you’re hunched and awkward, like a puppy that’s just been scolded for urinating on the carpet. But here, you’re bright- he’s even go so far as to say that you’re radiant, in the afternoon sunlight, surrounded by the mystically glinting metallic plants. You’re in your element in a way you’ve never really been before.

It makes a warm, fond feeling bloom in the centre of his chest. This is the (Y/N) that everyone has been trying to get back for so long. The girl with sunshine in her smile and bright, eager eyes. He had almost forgotten that girl existed but seeing her now- seeing you now- has him smiling like a dope. 

“What will you do when you go back?” It takes him a moment to even realise he’s asked the question. You stare at him, a bit surprised, while Jungkook shoots him a look like he’s gone crazy. Jin almost curses his big mouth, but then you smile at him. 

“I don’t know.” You confess. You turn your gaze to where a low hanging flower dips into your path. Its petals glint a wonderful metallic purple and when you run your fingers over them, they are stiff like sheets of metal. 

Jin prides himself on being a bit of a smooth talker- no one can be as popular with women as he as without a bit of a silver tongue, so to speak. So, no one is more surprised than himself at the tactless words he blurts out next. 

“Would you ever stay here?” He regrets the words as soon as he says them. What if he’s giving you ideas? His mum would kill him- your mum would kill him. And he’d never be able to visit- he’d wait a week and two years would have passed for you. Within a year, 120 years would have passed in this realm. You’d be long dead from old age by that stage. And yet... the question has been weighing on his mind without him even realising it. You’re so happy and at ease here- if you can’t ever settle in the other realm, does that mean the only place you’d ever be happy is here? His heart leaps into his throat in anticipation of your answer. Jungkook simply stares in confusion.

“No.” You say, and the firmness in your voice stills the panicked racing of his heart. “There’s nothing here for me, now.” You shoot him a furtive, shy glance. “Our family is in the other realm.” You remind him. “This was only ever supposed to be a short trip.” 

For some reason, his slow, stupid brain lingers on the way that you say “our family”. Not “your family”. Or “my family”. But “our family”. Like the two of you are family. That strangely fond feeling from earlier returns, but with a vengeance, carried on the wings of the thousands of butterflies that decide to take residence in his stomach. Jungkook’s incredulous expression morphs, and it irritates the way he looks strangely smug at Jin’s sudden floundering. Jin suddenly finds himself missing the time he had with you earlier, without Jungkook there to eavesdrop and pass judgement. 

“You seem really happy here, is all.” Is all Jin can manage. 

You turn to face Jin fully and your answering smile is annoyingly bright. 

“I’ve wanted to do this for years! Of course I’d be happy.” You remind him. “But me being happy here doesn’t suddenly make it my home. It stopped being my home the day that...” you trail away for a second, and your smile falters. “Anyway, it hasn’t been my home for a long time.” You say dismissively. 

“So, what did you think this trip would achieve, then?” Jin asks curiously. “And why now, right after a fight with your mother? You know she must be worried sick about you.”

You grimace, staring straight ahead. The trees are starting to thin out, and in the gaps between the foliage, an endless expanse of blue peeks through. 

“Are you trying to scold me again?” You joke. “I get that it was irresponsible. And selfish too. But Jin,” your expression as you gaze at him is so serious and sincere that for a moment, Jin doesn’t know who you are. It’s like an entirely different person gazes you at him. “I really, truly want to be happy for my mother. I love her more than anything. I want to be celebrating her marriage. I do. But I can’t... I can’t just forget about him. I can’t just move on.” Tears well in your eyes as you come clean. It’s been a very long time since you’ve been vulnerable and open with Jin like this and it surprises him to realise that he missed this. He’s missed having your trust and affection. He doesn’t know how he lost it, but he’s strangely relieved to know that he’s slowly gaining it back. “I’ve tried so damn hard. But I won’t be able to smile at her wedding or celebrate with her until I’ve said goodbye.” You confess. “That’s what this trip was. It’s a chance to say goodbye. So yeah, I’m happy to be here. I’m happy to be seeing the things he wanted me to see. But no, this isn’t my home- home is where you guys are.” 

In that moment, Jin realises something. He doesn’t know how he hadn’t realised it sooner, with it staring him right in the face all this time.  But never has it been clearer to him than in this moment- you’ve grown up. Somewhere, somehow along the line, you stopped being that little girl who needed him to hold her hand or stand up to her bullies in school. That’s why you’ve stopped looking like the girl he’s known all his life. It’s because you’ve stopped being that girl. And yet, at the same time, you haven’t. The person who stands before him is the young woman he’s cared for most of his life... but also a young woman he doesn’t know. Someone who can defeat Forest Spirits with her mind and infiltrate enemy encampments with nothing but her wits to save her friends. Someone who was brave enough to take the steps to recover after losing everything. And yeah, maybe you took a few bum steps along the way. Maybe you didn’t settle in as easily as he did. But you’re so much better than what he thought you could be- what anyone thought you could be. 

And he’s so incredibly proud of y-

“Look out!” You’re shoving him to the ground before he can even finish the thought. He winces as he hits the ground.

“(Y/N)!” Jungkook cries, and Jin’s never heard that tone of absolute terror in the pixie’s voice before. 

“Jin.” You gasp, standing where he had been a mere moment prior. He doesn’t understand what’s happening, until he gazes over your shoulder and he spots it. The arrow, sprouting from your left shoulder, right through the hot pink strap of your backpack. The blood, pouring from the fresh wound. The agony in your expression. 

And he’s a doctor- he’s seen much worse in the ED but for the first time in his life the sight of blood makes him dizzy enough that he may pass out. You’re bleeding- you’ve been shot. Worse- you were shot instead of him. That arrow’s trajectory should have lodged itself directly where his heart had been moments ago, but instead you took the hit. 

You took an arrow for him. He should be dead... but you... but you...

Time seems to slow as the colour drains from your face. You crumple, and Jin scrambles forward, barely managing to catch you before you hit the ground. He cradles you, his expression manic. 

“You idiot!” He all but snarls. “Are you crazy?”

“I’m sorry!” You gasp, clinging desperately to the loose material of his shirt. “My body... moved on its own.”

Jin has never really experienced heartbreak before. For a guy who spends a lot of time dating around, he’s always seemed to escape with his heart intact. 

But the weak, confused tone to your voice might just do it. If he’d known that it hurt this much to get your heart broken, he might never have risked it before. Nothing can prepare him for the sheer agony of realising you’d thoughtlessly throw away your life in exchange for his own. That the reflex is so deeply ingrained in you that you didn’t hesitate to throw yourself in the path of an arrow for him.

“Jin!” Jungkook cries. “Jin, they’ve found us! We have to go!” 

Jin doesn’t need to be told twice. He scrabbles to his feet, pausing to hoist your prone form over his shoulder in a fireman carry and then legging it as fast as he can, just as the sound of a Saishta hunting horn erupts in the shrubbery behind you. 

There is no living creature in this realm that can catch up to a guardian that has decided to flee. Even a guardian like Jin. Especially a guardian like Jin, who has desperation and panic fuelling his desperate sprint. You scrabble at his shirt, trying to stabilise yourself, and he ignores the way he can feel blood soaking into his shirt from where you grab at him. 

He doesn’t know how long he sprints mindlessly, desperately across the glittering fields of the Golden Plains, but right at the point where his lungs burn and he thinks he may collapse, he feels you tugging at his shirt. 

“Over there!” You gasp, and he turns his head to follow where you point with your good arm. It’s a slightly raised hill, with some sort of abandoned burrow. There are various megafauna that inhabit the Golden Plains and live below ground- this must be one of those. 

Jin quickly decides he’d much rather take on an angry giant rabbit than a troupe of highly trained Saishtas. 

The burrow entrance is small, and he’s glad you have sharp eyes, for anyone else would have missed it. But  after crawling through, although you have significantly more trouble with a blood arrow sprouting from your shoulder blade (Jin just ends up snapping the protruding shaft so that you can drag yourself through) it widens into an earthen alcove that’s just the right size for two guardians and a pixie to conceal themselves. 

You collapse weakly on the earthen floor, pale and gasping for breath.

“Let me see.” Jin demands, when he’s gained his composure enough to examine the wound. He’s still embarrassingly out of breath, but he doesn’t think he’ll ever get his breath back. He helps you into a sitting position so that your back is to him.

You offer no protest to him blatantly ripping the damaged strap off your backpack so that he can tug it over your other arm and toss it aside. It’s probably a testament to how much pain you’re in- that backpack had been a gift from Taehyung, and you treasured it like he’d bought you a diamond or something. 

The arrowhead doesn’t go deep, thankfully. The backpack strap provided enough padding to reduce the damage, and your shoulder blade prevented the arrowhead from piercing through into your thoracic cavity. But there’s significant muscle damage and if you were a human, you’d probably have lost all use of the arm. Blood streams from the wound and the material of your shirt is completely soaked. But the bleeding has mostly stopped, though your back is sticky with congealed blood. 

You aren’t going to die. Though you are weak and crumpled and pale from blood loss, you’ll survive. Especially with the enhanced healing your guardian nature lends you- if Jin can remove the arrow and stop infection from setting in, you’ll be fine. 

He feels the strength drain out of him at that thought. All that’s been keeping him going since the arrow hit him has been sheer terror. Now, with the space to breathe, he feels he doesn’t have the strength to hold himself up. 

He drops his head against your uninjured shoulder, and he feels you stiffen but you don’t crumble under his weight. 

“You’re such an idiot.” He says, but there’s no real malice in his voice- just a broken, exhausted tone he didn’t know he was capable of. 

A sharp jabbing pain in his temple startles him into sitting back up. Jungkook has kicked him. 

“Maybe you can save the exhausted lover boy act for after you’ve stopped her from bleeding out.” Jungkook points out drily, his arms folded across his tiny chest. 

“It’s... not that bad.” You grit, turning to face Jin. You’re pale and sweat pools at your temple and forehead. The pained expression on your face is enough to kick Jin into gear. Jungkook’s right. He doesn’t have time to break down now. The Saishtas are hot on your heels and you need first aid. And it’s nothing but open plains out there and golden, waist high grass. There will be nowhere to hide or escape once you set out for the river. If the Saishtas come across you, it’s outrun them, or defeat them. Jin doubts the three of you could do either in your current states.

Jin swallows and reaches for the satchel with the medical kit the Psittanurans had gifted him with. He’s just blindly trusting that the substances they gave him actually do what they claim and aren’t just hopeful voodoo, but it’s not like he has a bag of IV fluids and a sterile surgical kit handy to stitch you up. 

“I’m going to have to pull the arrow out.” He warns you, reaching for your torn bag strap. He balls it up in his hand and holds it up to your face. 

“As much as it hurts, bite into this.” He tells you. “I don’t have any local and so this is going to hurt like hell.”

You look slightly uneasy, but nod your head, leaning forward to take the balled-up strap between your teeth. 

Jin pulls out a small, dark vial which Ayla had told him was a coagulating liquid. Muscles bleed like hell and if the arrow has hit any vessels, you may pass out from blood loss. He swallows and braces himself. He can do this. He’s a doctor. He reaches deep into him and recalls the guy who worked in the ED and didn’t bat an eye at knife injuries or chainsaw accidents or that one drug addict with a prolapsed rectum. 

“Ok, I’m going to do it now.” He warns you. He then plants one hand flat on your uninjured shoulder and grips the broken arrow shaft in the other. 

“On the count of three.” He tells you, and you nod. Your fingers dig into the ground in anticipation. 

“Three.” He says, and then he yanks the arrow. 

Your answering scream is muffled by the bag strap, and you spit it out quickly as he empties the bottle of coagulant over the open wound, which is now filling up with fresh blood. 

“That wasn’t on the count of three!” You shriek. Jin nods sheepishly. 

“Ok. Well. There’s no use crying over the past.” He offers helpfully. He shoots a look at Jungkook. “Turn around. I’m taking her shirt off.” 

Both you and Jungkook splutter. 

“Why?” The two of you cry in eerie unison. You even turn fully to face Jin for good measure. He merely arches an eyebrow at you. 

“I know you don’t have a degree in medicine or anything... but generally bandages don’t include your tattered shirt edges sticking to the wound.” Jin explains patiently. “(Y/N), it’s fine. I’m literally a doctor. It’s nothing I haven’t seen before.”

It’s interesting that despite the blood loss, you can turn that particular shade of red. 

“That doesn’t make it any better.” You mumble, even as you turn away and obediently unbutton your drenched shirt. 

“It doesn’t have to be the whole shirt.” He murmurs comfortingly, pulling out a strip of material from the medical kit. Ayla had told him that it’s hard to get bandaging material to stay in place for silky Psittanuran feathers, so they often enchant materials with a special adhesive. “Just enough that your shirt isn’t sticking to it. I need to clean it up because the last thing we need is you getting an infection.” 

You nod and drop your shirt enough to expose the left half of your upper back. Jin clears his throat awkwardly as he slides the thick strap of your sports bra out of the way and notes that it’s awfully warm in this little burrow. 

“I didn’t know they made hello kitty sports bras.” Jungkook observes from where he’s hovering off to the side. You whip your head around to glare at him. 

“Get OUT!” You snap. He holds his hands up. 

“But you need me! What if Jin starts enjoying himself? You know how he feels about hello kitty-“ the empty coagulant vial being launched at him by your good arm is the only prompting Jungkook needs to go keep watch outside. 

Which leaves you and Jin alone. The air feels thick and sluggish in the burrow as Jin works cleaning off the wound and applying the bandage. You’ve gone quiet- whether from exhaustion or pain, it’s hard to tell, but Jin has to help you tug your shirt back into place when he finally finishes. 

He crawls over to your hello kitty bag and pulls out your water bottle. 

“Why’d you do it?” He asks quietly as you take a long drink from your bottle. You don’t answer for a long time, but finally you drop the bottle. 

“I told you. My body moved on its own.” You offer. 

“Exactly. Why?” He asks, and he doesn’t mean for so much anger to leech into his tone. It’s just, he feels like the stress and fear and agony of the past week catching up to him and he doesn’t know how to deal with it other than being angry. Angry at you, for deciding to go on this journey in the first place. Angry at this realm for taking your father’s life. Angry at himself, for being pathetic enough to have to constantly be protected and saved by you. 

But most of all, angry that your first instinct in danger is to disregard your own life in exchange for his own. He doesn’t even know what answer he’s looking for- that you love him? That it’s just instinct to save people? Neither answer would be particularly comforting.

“I don’t know.” You retort, and your tone is defensive in response to his barely concealed anger. “What do you want me to say, Jin? I heard the arrow coming and I didn’t exactly have time to think.”

“Exactly! That’s your problem!” He cries. “You never think! You only ever act! What would I have done, if your wound had been more serious? Have you ever once stopped to think about how that sort of thing affects me? How it feels to know you’re constantly doing things like fighting armed robbers and getting into fights and treating your life like it’s a piece of garbage to be thrown away without a thought?”

“That’s not what I-“ you protest, but Jin cuts you off. 

“What if you had died? What if I had lost you? What would I be supposed to do?” He cries, and he surprises himself when his voice catches. 

You go silent. Your words have been lost.

It actually reminds you of when Jin first caught you sneaking over to this realm. That fight seems like a lifetime ago, and he had scolded you for similar recklessness then. But strangely, it feels different. The look in Jin’s eyes is different. He’s... He’s not angry, you realise. He’s scared. 

He flinches when the hand of your uninjured arm lands on his forearm. You watch him curiously, your movements cautious as though you are approaching a scared animal. He certainly feels like one. 

Slowly, you slide your hand up his arm until you can hook your arm around the back of his neck and pull him into an awkward hug. It’s a little weird- you kind of have to awkwardly straddle him to properly hug him in the limited space, and he is still an unmoving like a wooden board. 

“It’s the same for me.” You answer softly. “I can’t lose you. I’m sorry- I didn’t have time to stop and think but I’ll never stop and think when your life is in danger.” You pull away to meet his gaze. “I’ll always just act. You’ll just have to get used to that.”

Jin is silent, as he stares up at you. A weird feeling overcomes him, at your proximity. It’s warm and overwhelming. And, if he’s being honest, it scares him a little with the intensity of it. Like, if he were to pull you downwards and hold you tight, nothing would ever go wrong again. It’s not entirely unfamiliar, but at the same time he’s certain he’s never felt like this in his entire life. 

“See I told you! It’s the hello kitty! He can’t resist!” Jin startles at the sound of Jungkook’s voice and you scramble off him like he’s burned you. He tries not to dwell on the fact that he instantly misses the warmth of your body. Suddenly the burrow feels too cold. 

Jungkook tuts and shakes his head. 

“See, good thing I came in here. Who knows what kind of stunt lover boy would have pulled?” He scolds. “Anyway, I think you’ve had enough time to recover. I guarantee you the Saishta’s are hunting for us as we speak and so we better get a move on.” 

You nod, adjusting your clothes awkwardly and gathering your things. 

Jin follows suit, almost robotically. He can’t shake the feeling that something huge just happened, but he doesn’t know what. 

But his stomach churns because there’s one thing he knows for sure: He can’t lose you. He’s so, so afraid.

[percabeth4life]

Grover Unexpectedly Loses His Pants

First Chapter || Previous Chapter || Next Chapter || AO3

OO OO OO OO OO OO OO OO

Naturally I ditched Grover as soon as we got to the bus terminal.

I know its rude, but I’m still nowhere near able to trust him. I’m getting really mixed signals from him.

Ugh, I wish I could talk to Triton. He’d know what to do.

I fingered my bracelet and caught a taxi uptown.

“East One-hundred-and-fourth and First,” I told the driver.

OO OO OO OO OO OO OO OO

Now, everyone of course knows how amazing my mom is.

Her name is Sally Jackson and she’s had a sucky life, but she deserves the world.

She’s really the best person I know and an amazing mom, even if she’s a little overprotective of me.

Her parents died in a plane crash when she was five, and she was raised by an uncle who didn’t care much about her. She wanted to be a novelist, so she spent high school working to save enough money for a college with a good creative-writing program. Then her uncle got cancer, and she quite school her senior year to take care of him. After he died, she was left with no money, no family, and no diploma.

The only good break she’s gotten was meeting my dad, probably Oceanus.

She won’t tell me about him, and I don’t have any memories of him except for the dreams I’ve had of being in his palace. My mom doesn’t like to talk about him cause it makes her sad. She has no pictures too.

They obviously weren’t married, Oceanus has Tethys, and Tethys is really nice, so I can see why he wouldn’t want to leave her. But I can’t understand why he would cheat on her with my mom. Unless Tethys was okay with it? Immortals don’t make any sense.

Mom just tells me that he’s rich and important, so their relationship was a secret. Then one day, he set sail across the Atlantic on some important journey, and he never came back.

Of course, Oceanus is a sea king. He’s extremely busy. And has a bunch of kids, even if most are fully grown and immortal. Of course, he can’t visit. That doesn’t make it hurt any less.

The myths speak highly of him from what I can find, and he was nice when I was there. I still wish that I had a dad here though, then mom wouldn’t need to marry Smelly Gabe.

She’s raised me all alone, taking odd jobs and taking night classes to get her high school diploma. She never ever complained or got mad, not even once. I know I’m not an easy kid, but she’s amazing.

I did my best to ignore the faint buzzing tugging at me and walking into the apartment.

Unfortunately, mom was not home from work. Instead, Smelly Gabe was in the living room, playing poker with his buddies. The television blared ESPN. Chips and beer cans were strewn all over the carpet.

Hardly looking up, he said around his cigar, “So, you’re home.”

“Where’s my mom?”

“Working,” he said. “You got any cash?”

His greeting wasn’t a surprise, that was his usual response.

Looking at him I could see he’s gained weight. He has like three hairs on his head instead of the previous five, and all are combed over his bald scalp. As if that could make up for the rest of his ugly.

He manages the Electronics Mega-Mart in Queens, supposedly. I have no idea how he hasn’t been fired previously, seeing how he’s never gone into work as far as I know.

All he does is collect paychecks, spend money on cigars that made me nauseous, and buy enough beer to drown in. Whenever I’m home I’m expected to fund his gambling. Thankfully the river has lots of money so all I have to do is give him a little and that covers it.

The few times I’ve refused… Well let’s just say it’s a good thing I have healing in water.

“Here,” I grumbled, tossing a five at him, “I hope you lose.”

He sneered as I stalked out, “Your report card came, brain boy!” He shouted, “I wouldn’t act so snooty!”

Jerk.

I slammed the door to my room, which currently smelled like cigars and beer.

Gross.

Gabe was using it as his “study” while I was at boarding school. All the more reason to never go to another ever again.

I pulled Carl, in his newly adapted portable fish tank, from my enchanted back and settled it (and him) on the desk.

He swam in circles happily, until he noticed the mess. Then he grumbled about Gabe.

Honestly the smell was almost worse then the feeling that those old ladies gave me, definitely worse than the nightmares I had about Ms. Dodds. She’s okay now after all.

I shuffled, scratching at my arms, the feeling from the old ladies itching at me, my breathing sped up.

“Percy?” My mom called.

She opened the bedroom door and suddenly everything felt better.

She can make me feel good just by being there, it’s always been like that.

Her and Triton are safe places, I know I’m okay when I’m with them. Nothing could ever go wrong around them.

Her eyes sparkle and change in the light, her smile is as warm as a quilt, she’s got a few gray streaks mixed in with her long brown hair, but I never think of her as any where near old. Whenever she looks at me it’s like she sees all the good, all the things that make her proud, she never sees the bad. I’ve never heard her raise her voice or say an unkind word to anyone, not even when I was younger or to Gabe.

“Oh, Percy,” She hugged me tight. “I can’t believe it. You’ve grown since Christmas!”

I blinked, had I? My clothes from Triton fit the same. Though, my normal clothes were a little tight…

“And your hair is so long now, we’ll have to cut it later.”

I touched my hair.

“Oh and it’s still so blue, it looks nice.”

I smiled.

Mom looked well though. Her red-white-and-blue Sweet on America uniform smelled like the best things in the world: chocolate, licorice, and all the other stuff she sold at the candy shop in Grand Central. She’d brought me a huge bag of “free samples” it looked like, just like she always did when I finished school, or like she did when I came home for winter break.

“Sit,” she tugged me to sit beside her on the bed now, before starting to question me.

We sat together on the edge of the bed. I attacked a thing of blueberry sour strings and she ran her hand through my hair demanding to know everything that had happened to me while I was away for the last few months that hadn’t made it into my letters.

She didn’t mention me getting expelled, she didn’t seem to care. But was I okay? Was her little boy doing alright?

I leaned into her while laughingly saying she was smothering me. Her presence made everything so much better. I’m… I’m really, really glad to see her.

I blinked back tears, everything has just been so much I don’t know what to do.

From the other room, Gabe interrupted, “Hey Sally—how about some bean dip, huh?”

I gritted my teeth, I really just want to drown him.

My mom is the nicest person in the world. She should’ve been married to a millionaire, not some jerk like Gabe.

For her sake, I kept my last days at Yancy Academy happy. I told her I wasn’t down about the expulsion, I’d lasted longer than usual this time. I’d made a new friend (even if I ditched him now), and I’d done good in Latin and Pre-Calc. Honestly the fights hadn’t been anywhere near as bad as the headmaster said.

I put the best spin on the year that I could, pasting a smile on my face and keeping my voice light.

“Until the trip to the museum…”

“What?” my mom asked. Her eyes tugged at my conscience, trying to pull out the secrets. “Did something scare you?”

I couldn’t lie, not to her. But I also can’t tell her about Ms. Dodds.

“No Mom, just… Nancy pushed Grover and I lost control of my waterbending a little. It shoved Nancy into the fountain. But no one seemed to really notice!”

She pursed her lips. “But no one noticed?”

I nodded, “Yeah.” No one that could do anything at least.

She relaxed, “I have a surprise for you,” She said. “We’re going to the beach.”

My eyes widened. “Montauk?”

“Three nights—same cabin.”

“When?”

“As soon as I get changed.”

I was excited, we haven’t been able to go for the last two summers. Gabe said there wasn’t enough money, as if we didn’t get a massive discount because my grandmother had been close friends with the person that owns the land the cabin is on. I doubt we’d be able to afford it if we didn’t have that discount, but we did so there.

Gabe appeared in the doorway and growled, “Bean dip, Sally? Didn’t you hear me?”

I wanted to punch him, or better yet, drown him. But I met my mom’s eyes and I understood the deal she was offering me: be nice to Gabe for a little while. Just until she was ready to leave for Montauk. Then we would get out of here.

“I was on my way, honey,” she smiled at Gabe. “We were just talking about the trip.”

His eyes narrowed, “The trip? You mean you were serious about that?”

I bit my tongue to keep from snarling at him. Mom wouldn’t let him stop us, she never broke her promises and she’s probably already paid. If I snap now, then he might try to stop us out of spite.

I just glared.

“Of course, I’m serious,” Mom said evenly, “You won’t have to worry about money. And besides,” she added, “You won’t have to settle for just bean dip. I’m going to make enough seven-layer dip for the whole weekend. Guacamole. Sour cream. The works.”

He softened a bit. “So this money for your trip… it comes out of your clothes budget, right?”

“Yes, honey” she said.

I made a mental note to use some of the money I have hidden in my magic bag to buy her something nice to wear.

“And you won’t take my car anywhere but there and back.”

“We’ll be very careful.”

Gabe scratched his double chin. “Maybe if you hurry with that seven-layer dip… And maybe if the kid apologizes for interrupting my poker game.”

Maybe if I kick you in your soft spot and see how long you can hold your breath under water, I thought.

But mom’s eyes warned me to not make him mad.

I wanted to scream, I can’t understand why she puts up with this guy.

I put on my princely face just like Triton taught me and turned to him, “I’m sorry. I’m really horribly sorry for interrupting your incredibly important poker game. Please go back to it right now, don’t let us keep you from it.”

Gabe’s eyes narrowed, probably trying to use his jellyfish sized brain to look for sarcasm.

“Yeah, whatever.” He decided.

He went back to his game.

“Thank you, Percy,” my mom said. “Once we get to Montauk, we’ll talk more about… everything.”

For a second, I saw a fear in her eyes, the same kind that I saw in Grover’s. A nervousness, as if my mom could feel the buzzing too.

But then she smiled again, and I could almost believe I’d imagined it.

But the image didn’t leave my mind.

OO OO OO OO OO OO OO OO

We were all ready to leave, I didn’t bother to unpack my bags, just put Carl’s magic portable fish tank back in my magic bag. I don’t trust Gabe to not mess with my stuff so I’m just bringing it all with me (except my school books). My magic bag holds all of the important things, my books from Triton and my friends, all their gifts, and a few changes of extra clothes (the nice ones from Triton and one pair of normal mortal clothes).

Gabe took a break from his poker game long enough to watch me lug my mom’s bags to the car, griping the whole time about losing her cooking—and more importantly, his ’78 Camaro—for the whole weekend.

“Not a scratch on this car, brain boy,” he warned me as I loaded the last bag. “Not one little scratch.”

I rolled my eyes out of his sight. Obviously, I was planning to drive the whole way, I’m already twelve, might as well get the practice in. I snorted.

I watched him lumber back towards the apartment building. I felt the well of anger in me, just needing a release somehow, and I did the same symbol that Grover did before, only this time I channeled a bit of my power into it, just like I do purification powers.

The screen door slammed shut so hard it whacked him in the butt and sent him flying up the suitcase as if he’d been shot from a cannon. I hid a smile and got in the Camaro, telling my mom to step on it.

OO OO OO OO OO OO OO OO

The rental cabin is on the south shore, way out at the tip of Long Island. It’s a little pastel box with faded curtains, half sunken into the dunes. There’s always sand in the sheets and spiders in the cabinets, most of the time the sea is too cold to be considered swimmable.

I love the place.

We’ve been going here forever, since before I was born even. My mom met my dad here, even if she never told me I know that’s why it’s so special to her.

It’s special to me because it’s where I waterbended for the first time.

I smiled at the sea and could almost imagine it was welcoming me back.

My mom almost seems to grow younger as we get closer to the sea, years of worry and work disappearing from her face. Her eyes turned the color of the sea. They change color a lot, but this spot, here at the beach, is when they look the most like the ocean. I think it’s where they’re prettiest.

Sometimes I wonder if she has immortal blood in her somewhere, it almost seems like it with how she changes based on the place.

We arrived at sunset, opened all the cabin’s windows, and went through our usual cleaning routine. We walked on the beach, fed blue corn chips to the seagulls, and munched on blue jelly beans, blue saltwater taffy, and all the other free samples my mom had brought from work. I left Carl’s portable tank in the bag for now, I’d pull him out tomorrow (though I did remember to feed him).

When it finally got dark, we made a fire.

We roasted hot dogs and marshmallows. Mom told me stories about when she was a kid, back before her parents died in the plane crash.

She told me about how her dad was so very handsome, she’d inherited his eyes, and how her mom had eyes the color of seafoam and had loved the sea just as much as my mom does.

She told me about all the books she wants to write someday, I really want to read them too. Fantasy books are more fun to me, if there’s audio books of her books I’m definitely reading (listening to) them.

Eventually I pulled together the nerve to ask about my dad, maybe she’ll say something new, something that would help me be sure that Oceanus is my dad. I’m almost positive of it but… but a little more confirmation wouldn’t hurt.

I mean though, who else would be a danger for me, even at the camp, to have as a parent? I would think Poseidon, but the myths are filled with his kids. He wouldn't be a danger as a dad at all. So it has to be Oceanus, he's the only one strong enough that would also be someone the gods might not like.

“He was kind, Percy,” she murmured. “Tall, handsome, and powerful. But gentle too. You have… had,” she gave a small laugh as she glanced at my blue hair, “His black hair, and his green eyes. Yours is a bit longer than his though.” She ran a hand through my hair.

Mom fished a blue jelly bean out of her candy bag. “I wish he could see you, Percy. He would be so proud.”

I wondered if he would. In terms of sea magic, he might, I know Triton is proud. He tells me he is, that he’s very pleased with how far I’ve come. Oceanus might be pleased with me by sea standards, but would he agree with Triton that land lessons are dumb and shouldn’t count? Or would he see me, a dyslexic, hyperactive boy with at D+ report card, kicked out of school for the sixth time in six years and be ashamed.

“How old was I?” I asked. “I mean… when he left?”

Does he just not recognize me?

She watched the flames, “He was only with me for the summer and a little into the fall Percy. Just the one short time. Right here at this beach. This cabin.”

I blinked, I swear I have a memory of a smile, something…

“But… he knew me as a baby?”

He had to… right?

“No, honey. He knew I was expecting a baby, but he never saw you. He had to leave before you were born.”

My heart sank, but also lightened.

If Oceanus had never seen me then I suppose it makes sense that he couldn’t recognize me, even if he could tell that I was something familiar to him based on his comment in my dreams.

“I sense my power on you, you’ve interacted with something of mine.”

Was he recognizing me? Did he not expect me there and assumed I was someone else that had met… me?

I’m not sure but… I was still sad.a

He obviously has his duties as a king, Triton is so busy as a prince being a king must be so much worse, but still. He couldn’t even come to check on mom?

The ancient laws that Zeus made wouldn’t apply to a Titan, would they?

I only know the basics of these laws but…

“Are you going to send me away again?” I asked mom now. “To another boarding school?”

She pulled a marshmallow from the fire.

“I don’t know, honey,” Her voice was heavy. “I think… I think we’ll have to do something.”

Does she not want me around? I just… I don’t know what to do. I don’t want to leave again.

“Are you… are you sending me away because you don’t want me around?” I whispered.

My mom’s eyes welled with tears. She took my hand, squeezing it tight. “Oh, Percy, no. I—I have to, honey. For your own good. I have to send you away.”

But why.

“Because I’m not normal? Because… Because I can waterbend?”

“Oh, oh Percy, you not being normal isn’t a bad thing. And your waterbending is wonderful. I just, I just want you safe. I thought Yancy Academy was far enough away, I thought you’d be finally be safe.”

Safe from what? The monsters? Does… does mom know.

I’ve been assuming she didn’t, but maybe that was dumb.

Does she know? Know who dad is? Know what I am? Does she know about the myths?

“Safe from what mom?”

She stared at me for a long moment…

“I’ve tried to keep you as close to me as I could,” My mom said. “They told me that was a mistake. But there’s only one other option, Percy—the place your father wanted to send you. And I just… I just can’t stand to do it.”

I frowned, Oceanus wanted me to go someplace special?

“He wanted me to go to a special school?”

“Not a school,” She said softly. “A summer camp.”

Camp Half-Blood. Grover had a card for it.

Triton told me about it, though not the name, the camp for Half-Bloods, half immortal, half mortal.

That had to be what mom is talking about.

“I’m sorry, Percy,” She said, her voice breaking. “But I can’t talk about it. I—I couldn’t send you to that place. It might mean saying goodbye to you for good.”

I frowned, Triton didn’t tell me much about the camp, but for good?

“For good?”

She turned towards the fire, and I knew from her expression that if I asked her any more questions she would start to cry.

OO OO OO OO OO OO OO OO

I stood on the beach, a storm raging overhead.

I know that I fell asleep, that I was in the bed in the cabin. But now I’m on the beach.

Another one of my dreams? It’s not someplace familiar.

There were two beautiful animals, a white horse and a golden eagle, trying to kill each other at the edge of the surf.

The eagle swooped down and slashed the horse’s muzzle with its huge talons. The horse reared up and kicked at the eagle’s wings.

A low, familiar, chuckle rumbled from beneath the earth. The chuckle from the pit. I could hear whispered goading, urging the two animals to fight harder. The ground rumbled. Sand curled around me. Salt rubbed at my skin, lightning sparked over me.

None of it was there, but the sensations were clear.

I moved toward them, they shouldn’t fight!

“Stop it!” I called, “Stop it Mr. Pit Guy. Stop!”

I was moving so slow, like time was slower for me than for them.

The voice laughed again. “Stand away little Half-Blood,” It crooned. “Let them fight, do not interfere.”

I reached out as the eagle dive down, its beak aimed at the horse’s wide eyes.

I screamed.

I woke up.

For once there was no peaceful sunlight to wake from my dream to, a storm raged outside. Lightning crashed, the wind howled, the waves pounded the dunes.

There was no horse or eagle fighting.

With the next thunderclap, my mom woke. She sat up, eyes wide, and said, “Hurricane.”

It’s crazy, Long Island never sees hurricanes this early in the summer.

But the ocean was like salt rubbing into my skin, rough and course, like there’s an open wound. The lightning was crackling across my skin. My senses are on fire. This was no ordinary storm. And it’s a very bad one.

Over the roar of the wind, I heard a distant bellow, an angry, tortured sound that made my already frayed nerves worse.

Then much closer, another noise, like mallets in the sand. A desperate voice—someone yelling, pounding on our cabin door.

My mom sprang out of bed in her nightgown and threw open the lock.

Grover stood framed in the doorway against a backdrop of pouring rain. But he wasn’t quite the Grover I knew, or… now he was showing the Grover I’d been suspicious of all year.

“Searching all night,” he gasped.

Creepy.

“What were you thinking?”

Obviously that you were out to get me?

My mom looked at me in terror though—she wasn’t scared of Grover, that much was clear. She was scared of why he was here.

“Percy,” she shouted over the storm. “What happened at school? What didn’t you tell me?”

Where should I start!? Why did it seem like I was in trouble? I’ve dealt with everything before! There was nothing really new!

“O Zeu kai alloi theoi!” Grover yelled. “It’s right behind me! Didn’t you tell her?”

Tell her what.  

Grover is standing there, a satyr, mom isn’t surprised at all, there’s a storm raging filled with so much blazing power that I’m shocked it didn’t wake me sooner, and no one seems to want to explain anything.

My mom turned to me though and talked in a tone she’d never used before: “Percy. Tell me now.”

I blurted out that Ms. Dodds had turned into a vampire bat lady and attacked me, my mom listening with a deathly pale face, visible in the flashes of lightning that scorched my skin with their power.

She grabbed her purse, tossed me my rain jacket, and said, “Get to the car. Both of you. Go!”

I grabbed my magic bag, and hurried to the car, following Grover.

[jimlingss]

Jungle Park [22]

Chapter 21 - Chapter 22 - Chapter 23

➜ Words: 5.6k

➜ Genres: Fluff, Light Humour (?), Slice of Life, Workplace Romance!AU

➜ Summary: The equation is simple. Hoseok needs to hire someone. You need a job. Except like any actual equation, it’s not fucking simple at all! Not when you have to add the fact that he was forced to hire someone he doesn’t want in his office, he has little respect for your job in general, and oh yeah...once upon a time you might have—*CENSORED*.

Rarely do cases go on trial. Unlike most lawyer-related and crime television shows, family law has much less action than criminal or civil law. The most exciting things that happen are arguments that break out during mediation or reading case files and seeing all the things that transpired. Divorce can get ugly, that’s for sure.   But while you rarely get to see Hoseok in a court setting duking it out with his opponent, there’s still a lot of times when you get to see his passionate side.   Like now.   “God, have you tried this pineapple juice?! How did they even get this into a coconut. It’s spectacular! You have to try this!”   Okay, to be fair he wasn’t being passionate about his work right now, but it’s still cute and endearing. And you might just be a little whipped for this nerd.   “Isn’t this supposed to be a business trip?” You have your elbow propped up on the counter of the bar, cheek in your hand as you stare out at the ocean that reflects the afternoon sunlight, blinding your vision.   “It is.”   “Then why are we on the beach drinking pineapple juice?”   “Why not?” Hoseok smiles, all too casual in sunglasses, taupe cargo shorts and a loose flannel that screams he’s a tourist. No one would ever expect he’s a hot shot lawyer in this get-up. “Didn’t you tell me to loosen up and that it’s not always about work?”   “Yeah, but this just doesn’t feel like a business trip…..at all.”   “The trial finished early.” Jung Hoseok sips on his coconut, looking both cocky and comical at the same time. It was definitely a bizarre sight to behold. “I can’t tell you the details because of confidentiality, but the opponent may or may not have accepted our terms and now the father may or may not have his kids during weekends and thankfully those kids don’t or do have to be taken by the government.”   The beaming sun pierces in your eyes too painfully and you look away. “...you know, Jung.”   “Yes?”   “I’m kind of impressed you managed to bring me here since I literally have nothing to do with your trial.” The only people that were here was Taehyung, Seokjin, Naul, and then the two of you. It’s miraculous that the lawyer snagged you, an HR manager, to be here with him.   Hoseok merely shrugs. “I may or may not have a way with words.”   “I’m starting to feel like your sugar baby.”   The man’s mouth pulls into a smirk. He winks and leans closer until your knees and shoulders are bumping each other’s. “How much would I have to pay to spend a night with you, sweetheart?”   “Double my salary and we’ll talk,” you whisper back to him in a low voice, starting to like the sound of this.   His arrogant act almost crumbles into a fit of laughter, but he manages to keep it up. “How about I make this trip all-inclusive and you get free meals and you can spend two days in a hotel suite with me?”   You’re the first to break, laughing and pushing him away before the bartender walks past and really thinks there’s some kind of wild arrangement going on. “How can the firm afford this many trips?”   “I’m loaded, y’know.” Hoseok is being overly flirtatious and greasy — maybe the heat’s getting to him. But you hate that it’s actually working and that he knows it too. “In my wallet and in my pants.”   “Oh my god.” You snort. “You’re ridiculous.”   “Does that make me more appealing to you?”   “Would you really want me to be a gold digger?”   “You could be whatever you want and I still wouldn’t mind.” Hoseok openly ogles at your lips and your face hurts from your widening grin.   “What happened to being professional?”   He moves away on his own accord, laughing and throwing his arm over the back of your chair, returning to sipping on his coconut through the straw. “We stopped being professional the moment we both agreed to this. The attempt is still nice though.”   Your brow is lifted and you quip, “Agree to what?”   “You being my girlfriend and me being your boyfriend.”   “Hold up, hold up. I never agreed to that,” you point out, bringing this conversation to a halt. “I agreed to us dating.”   “And isn’t dating being boyfriend and girlfriend.”   “You make it sound so juvenile, like we’re high schoolers.”   “We’re still young, babe.”   “Yeah?” You play into his greasy act, smiling and staring at him like you’re being seduced by a stranger at a bar in the middle of your vacation. But then you deadpan, “Tell that to your declining eyesight.”   “Hey.” Hoseok sulks. “My eyesight is still good. At least I’m not blind like Namjoon.”   “Didn’t you tell me your back was hurting last week?” You reach over, stealing a sip of his drink. It’s indeed strange to be having pineapple juice from a coconut, but it’s very refreshing and makes you feel rejuvenated.   “That was because you blew out my back.”   You nearly spit out your mouthful. It ends up sliding down your throat into the wrong pipe while you do a double take, and you end up in a wheezing and coughing fit. Hoseok’s entertained watching you die, ignoring the old couple a few seats away who was eavesdropping and are now mortified. When you manage to see the light again, you wipe your mouth with the back of your hand, barely containing yourself. “Why are you like this?!”   “Why do I like you so much?” Hoseok grins, spinning around in the bar stool like a child with too much sugar. “Good question, I don’t know. Maybe because you’re too cute, too pretty, and too fun to tease.”   You slump into a pout. “You’re mean.”   “I know.” Still, Hoseok leans over and plants a kiss right on your cheek.   //   The three others decided to go on a sightseeing tour, a package offered by the hotel at a discount. But you and Hoseok opted out. He simply brushed it off by saying he wanted to finish something up and you said you just weren’t feeling up to it. In reality, you both ended up walking by the beach instead, having a little date on your own. You felt guilty for lying to them, but Hoseok made it all worth it.   “Hey.” He smiles, approaching them in the lobby, running into the group by coincidence. “How was it?”   “A lot of fun!” Taehyung already appears tanner, skin radiating with a healthy glow. “I got this hat, like it?”   “It’s nice.” You nod, admiring the round straw hat.   “Glad you got out and saw some sun too, Jung,” Naul notes in approval. “We thought you’d be cooped up all day working.”   “Nah. Y/N and I went to grab some of those fruity drinks the front desk were raving about earlier,” he stretches the truth without batting an eyelash. “It was pretty good. You guys should try some. And I finished all my work earlier, so I’m free for the rest of the day.”   “Are you guys doing anything now?” you ask them. “Do you want to eat somewhere later?”   “Actually…” Jin clears his throat, arms behind his back and revealing what he’s been hiding. They’re two slips that look like movie tickets, but they’re bright blue like the ocean. The paralegal tries to play it off nonchalantly as he sweeps his fingers through his hair. “I might've won two vouchers for a spa day earlier.”   Taehyung laughs and lifts his hands straight into the air, extending his arms above his head. “And he’s taking me! We also won tickets to watch a show tonight too!”   Hoseok’s impressed and he takes a look at the tickets. “Wow. You guys are lucky, huh?”   “Sorry.” Taehyung leans on him, smushed cheek on his shoulder and grinning mischievously. “Jin already promised to take me, boss. You can come too, but you’ll have to pay yourself.”   “It’s okay.” He hands them back.   “I’m going to my hotel room to rest,” Naul says, telling them about her plans. “I’m exhausted.”   “She fell asleep on the bus.” Jin hitches his thumb to the woman, appallment evident in his low timbre. “Didn’t enjoy the last half of the journey.”   “I’m old, I know.” She pats him on the back. “You don’t have to keep saying it.”   You nod. “Looks like you all have plans then.”   “Yup.” Taehyung shifts slightly, brown irises shining in his rounded eyes. “Did you want to do something with us?”   “No, it’s okay. We always have tomorrow morning. Hoseok and I might head out again after freshening up and using the washroom. There’s still a lot to see, so don’t worry about us and enjoy your spa trip.”   “Sounds like a plan.” Jin smiles. “Our appointment is starting soon.”   “Same with mine.” Naul already has her hotel card in her hand, envisioning the bubble bath and raiding the minibar for a nice drink. In the meanwhile, no one notices the way you exchange expressions with Hoseok. You’re satisfied either way as long as you’re with him.   //   The diner is small with few patronages. The fryer is heard sizzling from the kitchen, bell chiming every time the front door opens, and an old lady serves you with a smile, yelling at the cooks from where she stands. It’s a cozy atmosphere, a place you would imagine existing in a smaller town.   “Did Sunyi and Yoongi end up signing that form?” Hoseok cuts into his strawberry waffles with his knife, piercing it with his utensil and dipping it in the sweet syrup.   “They signed it.” You slice your own fluffy pancakes, holding it out and he eats it off your fork. “But apparently it’s complicated and they’re in the process of figuring it out.”   He hums, brows raising and sending an approval look at the taste. “I’m shocked that they’re...together.”   “You can never be as shocked as I am,” you snicker and he cuts his waffles again, feeding you. You stuff it in your cheek, sweetness exploding on your tongue, voice muffled as you chew, “but Sunyi complained about Yoongi every single day. I would’ve never guessed they were involved with each other like that.”   He agrees, exasperated at the thought. “And for two years?”   “Shh…” You giggle, ducking your head. “Keep your voice down.”   The corner of his lip tugs. “No one’s here.”   “Okay, yeah, but Yoongi never exposed us so we shouldn’t expose him either. Ah.” You open your mouth, twirling your fork in front of his own, this time feeding him and returning the favour.   Eventually, you’re both walking outside again. The breeze is cool, kissing against your warm cheeks, carding through the strands of his black hair. You’re both holding hands, fingers laced together, arms swinging back and forth, and making you laugh. “Do you think they’re a good match?” you ask in curiosity. “You’ve known them for so long...”   “To be frank...I do. Yoongi’s similar to me, but he’s only passionate about selective things. I haven’t seen him so happy to tease someone before in my life. They’re cute together,” Hoseok muses.   “And what about us?” You glance at him, blatantly fishing for compliments and being shameless about it. “Do you think we’re cute together?”   “We’re the cutest obviously because you’re the cutest.” He boops your nose, making a high-pitched sound and you giggle, shoulders tense and cringing at his gestures. But much to your dismay, Hoseok adds on, “also, I’m the cutest.” He puckers his lips, quirking his head to the side.   “Uh-huh. So cute it’s nauseating.”   The fountain show begins and you momentarily stop to watch. The water spritz up into waving streams, glittering with the multicoloured lights flashing from below. It creates a mist in the air, following with the rhythm of the music playing from the stereo. There are children gathered around with their parents, big eyes amazed at the show, friends and other couples around too.   “Are you cold?”   “Only a little bit,” you murmur.   Jung Hoseok gets closer to you. He bends his knees until his head is propped on your shoulder, arms coming to wrap around your frame before clasping his hands together. The man leans against you, giving you a side-hug, affectionate in his movements and you melt into his body heat. It’s comforting and calming, the same words you would use to describe his existence to you.   “Are you ever bothered by it?”   “By what?” he asks, matching your tender tone. You don’t notice that instead of looking at the water show, he’s staring at you softly. Your features are illuminated by the faint lights and it’s so pretty, Hoseok can’t keep his eyes away.   “That you don’t remember?”   “No...not anymore. Why? Are you bothered?”   “No. I’d be more bothered if you were bothered.”   He grins, slight dimples marking into each cheek. “Sometimes I feel guilty that I don’t remember, but then I look over and you’re here. We have the rest of our future together, right?”   A slight noncommittal noise is made in the back of your throat, and you finally look at him, smiling. It sounds exactly like something he would say. “To be honest, it doesn’t feel all that different. You’re not that different from how you used to be.”   “And how was I?” he asks while you walk away from the ice-cream parlor, mind still lingering on the topic. Hoseok’s eyes are pinned on your mouth and he motions for you to open. When you part your lips, he feeds you a spoonful of his chocolate ice-cream.   “Bright, energetic, outgoing…..annoyingly obnoxious.”   “Me?!” He gasps, wholly offended. “Annoyingly obnoxious?!”   You laugh, holding your hand out to placate him. The man is still not satisfied until he leans down and chops on part of your vanilla ice-cream cone. “I’m kidding, I’m kidding!”   “You’re beginning to sound like my sister.” Hoseok pouts, eating his own cold treat in his cup, scooping it up and eating with his mouth cutely downturned. “Are you talking to her these days?”   “No. I should though. How is she?”   “Fine. As usual. I don’t know what she’s doing these days aside from causing trouble. But speaking of which, I think my parents want you to visit soon. They keep asking me about you.”   “Have they found out about us?”   “No. They haven’t.”   Your shoulder bumps into his and you smile. “Then...should we tell them?”   Hoseok matches your smile, eyes slightly crinkled. “If you want to.”   After discarding the cup, spoon, and napkins, you both wash your hands. When you leave, he’s waiting outside the washroom for you, staring up at the night sky. But when you appear in his peripheral vision again, he eases and his warm eyes are all too inviting.   “We should tell them,” you decide. “It’s not good to keep your parents in the dark. I’m sure they would be happy anyways.”   “Okay.” He grins. “I’m just worried they’re going to cast me aside for you again.”   “Well it’s understandable. They’ve always loved me. Don’t you know how charming I am?”   Laughter bubbles from his throat. He never once disagrees and reaches down to hold your hand again, walking off with no destination in mind. “How does the weekend sound or is that too soon?”   “I’m fine either way. I miss Mickey too.” You turn your head, hesitating for a mere second before you decide to tell him, “you know...he used to be our dog.”   “What? Really?”   “Yeah, but we gave him to your parents before we moved and you went to law school.”   It’s quiet for a moment, Hoseok deep in thought. You wonder if it was a mistake bringing up the past that he doesn’t remember, if somehow he’ll end up feeling guilty for forgetting again even if it’s not his fault. But then— “Maybe we should take him back.”   “No.” You smile, poking his shoulder. “I’d feel bad for your parents. We can’t just take him back. Plus, he seems pretty happy living with them.”   “That’s true. But it’s no wonder he ran and jumped on top of you.”   You nod, looking over the horizon. The dim light of the stars appear ever so slightly, all spilling across the black sky if you stare for long enough and allow your eyes to adjust. Beside you, Hoseok slows down his pace, admiring them as well. “I think we should visit my mom too. She might not say it, but I know she’s been lonely these days.”   “Should we invite her to come with us this weekend then?” he suggests. “Didn’t you say my mom and your mom were friends?”   “Yeah…” You smile, happy that he remembers and is considerate enough to come up with the idea. “She’d like that.”   The pair of you continue on your stroll until he comes to a stop. Hoseok squats down on the side of the road and then he picks up a flower and jumps back up again. He holds the small daisy up. “Look! It’s me!”   You’re not impressed. “It’s you?”   “It’s me! See?” he happily announces, showing it to you. The delicate flower has white petals, and a bright yellow center that reminds you of the colour of the sun. It’s cute and you melt into a sheepish smile, about to agree just to placate him. But then Hoseok’s eyes flicker up and he gently tucks the flower behind your ear, right by your hair. “Wow...now there are two flowers side by side.”   “Oh my god,” you groan, pulling away and cringing while he laughs boisterously, quickening his pace to catch up to you.   “Why? Am I wrong?”   “You’re too cheesy. It’s giving me cavities.”   “But you like it!”   “Be thankful I like you because I wouldn’t be able to do this for anyone else.”   “What do you mean?”   Yet, as dumb and cute as Hoseok likes to act, you hate that he’s right. He could probably beg you to shave your head (and not like you would give in since you’re not a spineless idiot), but he’d get away with it. He could throw you into a flash mob right now, make you dance, and at the end of the day, you’d still be with this fool.   And that’s why you’re watching him fiddle with this baby blue bike that he’s just rented, like watching a two-year old about to cause chaos and doing nothing to stop it. It’s just too endearing to watch him this excited and upbeat. “C’mon, get on, Y/N!”   You look at the tiny rear passenger seat, sighing before getting on. “Do you even know how to ride a bike?”   “Course, I do! Learnt when I was five,” he boasts like it’s so impressive, having no clue just how hard it was going to be to pedal when there are two people on.   But Jung Hoseok manages. It feels like you’re in your youth again, jumping on the bike of some neighborhood boy and being taken for a ride. It’s like you’ve returned back to high school, a period before you even knew of his existence, when you were still young and naive and you didn’t know what you wanted to do. A part of you wishes you met him during that time.   The two of you probably would’ve never been high school sweethearts though. You did your own thing back then and he would’ve been that outgoing kid that was all too noisy — the biggest interaction you both would’ve had is you sending a glare across the room.   You quietly laugh at the thought of it.   “Y/N, let’s play a game.”   You hear him above the cool breeze whipping through your hair. Your arms are wrapped around his waist, head pressed against his firm backside, but you lift yourself up to make sure he hears your response. “If your game is leaving me on the side of the road, I’m going to push you off the bike right now to save myself.”   A soothing laugh tinkers into the crisp air. “No, why would I do that?” Hoseok inhales a breath. It’s an empty bike path, no one ahead or behind you at this time of night. The wide ocean is to your left, waters black but illuminated by city lights and reflecting the tall buildings and cityline. “Let’s play a game. Let’s pretend…..this is twelve years ago. But the difference is that I never left you and I never got into that accident.”   “Twelve years ago….?”   “Ready? Let’s start.” He slows his pedaling, sitting tall while your hands are still holding onto his waist, eyes pinned to the magnificent view. “We were in the same class together twelve years ago. How old were we again?”   “Twenty-one.”   “Wow, we’re old now, aren’t we?”   “You’re the old one, not me.” The corners of your lips raise meekly, shoulders slightly loosening from their tension.   “It was a finance class, right? You sat next to me?”   “We sat next to each other every day.”   “Then how was your first impression of me?” he asks with a tinkering laugh, sounding all too joyful and curious, mixing with the clinking sound of the metal chains when he stops pedaling and uses the built momentum to push you both forward.   “To be honest….I didn’t think anything of you.”   “What?! Was it not love at first sight?”   “No,” you manage through a fit of giggles. “You were just another face in the class of three hundred.”   “Unbelievable. Because I know for a fact that I would’ve taken one look at you and fallen head over heels.”   “Oh, yeah right!” You hit his shoulder lightly and the bike teeters from side to side, causing more giggles to ensue.   “I would!” Hoseok defends. “I would’ve taken one glance at you and I would be breathless. My entire world would stop. It was probably the most romantic thing in the universe, just like all the movies. We’d beat Romeo and Juliet.” Hoseok continues with a grin, listening to your laugh behind him, “And here on your side, you thought nothing of me! I’m offended!”   “You’re so full of shit!”   The lawyer lets out half a scoff and the other half is a laugh. You’re scared he might stop steering and you’ll both fall over, so you hug him tighter, listening to the sound of his melodic voice. You savour his warmth, his smooth timbre, lulled by the lights sparkling from the shops, a mosaic of hues fading together like watercolour paints. “Who was the one who spoke first?”   “You did.”   “See? If I was the one who talked to you first, then it means I was probably already in love!”   “I think you asked me for the previous class’ notes cause you missed it.”   “It was a tactic, a tactic!” he tries to convince you.   Eventually, the two of you get off the bike and he walks it beside him, enjoying the stroll even if you’re a bit lost and not sure where the hotel is anymore. There’s still a slight bustle on the other side of the street, a few on the shore and enjoying games. It’s an atmosphere worthy to get lost in.   “—and after I bailed on meeting you at the library, you sent me a huge angry text message. I had to scroll through the entire thing, that’s how long it was. I was so scared.”   You continue to recall the memories, one after another spilling from your lips, pouring all out without restraint. And Hoseok listens, providing his own commentary and thoughts, humming along. “It’s part of the push and pull tactic. You gotta show them your cold side and then your warm side. Jimin taught me.”   “You didn’t even know Jimin then!” Your cheeks ache, lips upturned and unable to be put down.   “He sent me a telepathic message from the future,” he says to you so confidently.   You tell him about the time you ran into him at the library, the time you didn’t end up meeting him to work on the project, the time he held your hand and you were so surprised that you thought it was an accident, the first date, the first time he kissed you. You end up recalling each and every one of these memories — memories that you thought were a burden….but they aren’t.   They feel like fun stories, tales that you remember were never sad in the moment until you made them that way. You recount each of them to him, some fuzzier than others and when you can’t recall the details, he fills in the blanks with his own silly thoughts, like how he wasn’t mad at you or that he probably wanted to kiss you a hundred times more.   You talk about history and he talks about the future.   “And then when we were twenty-five…” An inhale is stolen through your lungs and when you look at him, he already knows and squeezes your hands comfortingly.   “That was the year we got engaged with each other.” He leans in with a soft smile, affectionately brushing his forehead against yours before pulling away. “Thankfully, it was just a pregnancy scare because I’m sure neither of us were ready for kids yet.”   You snicker, agreeing. “Yeah.”   “You were pretty stressed about planning the wedding and I was too, but it got a lot better when we handed it off to both our moms who took a hold of it,” Hoseok’s ranting and you listen to every syllable of his story, believing this fantasy as reality. His side of the story that you never knew, he fills in with whatever he wishes. The gray areas become coloured, no longer a mystery held over your own head. “Of course, they would’ve taken too much control, but we were able to pick out the little things, like the colour schemes and the kinds of flowers we wanted.”   “Daisies.”   “A bunch of me’s.”   A rush of air comes out of your nose, too tired to laugh, but finding it still funny. “Yellow and violet colour scheme.”   “I like that,” he notes in approval before moving on. “And then when we finally got married, it would be such a relief that it was all over. Not that you were turning into bridezilla or anything….but you were kind of turning into bridezilla.”   “Well, of course, I want our wedding to be perfect.”   “I’m just happy that we’re getting married.” Suddenly, he stops. Hoseok halts his footsteps and turns you to face him. He swallows hard, eyes locked into your irises before flickering down to your mouth. He leans down and in, tilting his head timidly and planting a kiss on your lips. It’s soft and hesitant, feather-light. It’s as if you were standing at the aisle, under the arch with people watching, sealing the union and promise of forever with a kiss.   When he pulls away, a smile is on his face, watching as your eyes flutter open so slightly and you stare up at him through your lashes. You’re so beautiful, he feels an urge to kiss you again.   But Hoseok represses it, pulling you along, walking and listening to the sound of the waves crashing against the sandy shore. “Our honeymoon was a nightmare.”   “How so?” Something blooms in your chest, butterflies tickling your stomach and you curl your fingers around his tighter, feeling him squeeze back in response.   “We got stuck at the airport overnight because our flight got delayed, but thank god we made it.”   “And where were we?”   Hoseok sings a low note, considering all the places in the world before settling on one destination as he returns the rental bike. “Somewhere in French Polynesia.”’   “Fancy.”   “You deserve the best.” He flashes a grin and a wink. “We’d spend a lot of time by the beach.”   “Like right now?”   “Like right now,” he confirms. “We’d take a helicopter ride around the island and go to a vanilla bean farm and pick fresh vanilla beans for my dad and your mom. You’d probably tell me I’m picking up too many seashells after it takes up three quarters of our luggage. But also, let’s be honest here, we wouldn’t leave our little, private overwater bungalow that often.”   The mischief twinkling in his orbs only makes you give him a knowing look. “Why not?”   “Well, until we break the bed and we have to call the front desk, I’m not sure I would ever want you to leave.”   You expected nothing less from the man but the thought of getting maintenance and having to switch rooms because of a broken mattress makes you slightly embarrassed. While strolling together, you lean against him. Jung Hoseok is detailed, carefully describing year after year, filling in the missing time of your lives. And it sounds all too nice.   “—even though Jung and Park would’ve been running for three years, Jimin wouldn’t mind us taking time off together.”   “Are you sure he can handle running the office without his partner and without his HR rep?”   “He can handle it and if anything, you could hire a few more people before we take the break. Didn’t you say you wanted to run an entire HR empire and be their ruler?”   “I never said that.” You scoff, lightly smacking his chest. “I only wanted an assistant.”   “Sure, have your little, hot, young assistant.” The way he jokingly emphasizes each word makes it sound sexual and you don’t know if you want to smack him again or if you want to laugh. “But let me tell you, I won’t be jealous.”   “Why? Wouldn’t you have gotten bored of me and found me stale after being married for so long?”   “Course not!” Hoseok jumps up, blinking his big eyes, and being playful all at once. “I’m just saying I wouldn’t be threatened since you’re mine. And I’d never be bored of us. Every time I’d look at you, I’d be blown away.”   “That sounds exhausting,” you consider it realistically. “You’d be blown away constantly.”   He laughs. “But you being pregnant would make me even more blown away!”   “Wait. How many kids are you even planning? We still haven’t had this talk and we already have a kid on the way! And we’re still paying mortgage on the new house! Shouldn’t we be more responsible?”   “Okay, okay. Five.”   “Five?! Are you out of your mind?!” You’re almost screeching, for once being as loud as he naturally is. “You’re going to have to put insurance on my uterus!”   Hoseok grins, hugging your side again. “How many kids do you want?”   “Three. Or actually two seems like a good number.”   “One girl, one boy?”   “If it’s possible.” You nod, finding it the right number for a picture perfect family.   “How about three girls?” Hoseok muses.   “You don’t want any boys?”   “I’d like it if they were like you,” he says. “Three little angels with mommy’s personality and daddy’s beautiful looks. What do you think?”   Even if you’re joking around, you send an accusatory expression his way. “You wouldn’t want them to look like me?”   “Well, if they’re too much like you, my heart might just explode with love. But I’d love them regardless, so looks like I’m getting a heart attack either way.” He dramatically shuts his eyes, placing a hand over his chest like he’s about to go into cardiac arrest.   You keep walking ahead, mumbling about how ridiculous he is, but your smile is unmistakable.   At the end of the lovely night, you both manage to make your way back to the hotel, tired and sleepy. Neither Taehyung, Naul, or Seokjin are around to notice how you sneak into Hoseok’s room. It feels like you’re breaking the rules or back when you sneak into each other’s houses during spring break without either of your parents knowing.   You slip off your shoes, exhausted after spending the entire day outside, and you collapse on the plush bed side-by-side with Hoseok as he finishes writing up the future. “—and then at one hundred years old, we would die together, just like this.”   “Like this?” You turn and he does too, both facing each other in the peacefulness of the room.   “Together. Peacefully sleeping in bed….or like that old couple in the titanic.”   You prop yourself up onto one elbow, eyeing him. “Isn’t this too morbid?”   “Is it?” The corner of his mouth lifts and spreads into a grin. Hoseok opens his arms and rolls right on top of you. You’re stuck in your spot and he laughs, tickling your sides slightly until you wheeze and beg for mercy. Then he calms down, nuzzling against you like some kind of cuddle bug. “I mean, we’d be reborn and we could do it all over again.”   “Are you sure you want to spend lifetime after lifetime with me?” You stare into his eyes, murmuring from your slightly parted lips, caught off guard with what a hopeless romantic he is.   The man lifts his arms and holds your cheek in his palms, legs on either side of you. He leans down, pecking your lips once gently, finding no need to deepen the kiss and seek something different. “It would be my absolute pleasure, Y/N.”   You melt into a sheepish smile and after another extended moment of silence, of feeling his body pressed against yours, his scent surrounding your frame, you muse, “It sounds nice.”   “Which part?”   “All of it.”   “I’m glad.” Hoseok finally lays down, slightly crushing you, but he places his ear over chest, right where your heartbeat is. He shuts his eyes and listens. “It’s my goal to make you happy.”   You wrap your arms around his head, holding him close, becoming more and more sleepy. “I’m very happy, Jung Hoseok.”   And you mean it. You’re happy that he’s here. Happy that he’s in your life again. Happy that you’re both slowly, but surely going to make all these dreams and fantasies into reality.  

[broadwaycantdie]

Disneyland / Part 1...The Journey! - Newsies (Pride) Month . Day 9

( all ) + ( modern ) + ( hc story )

a/n: oh my do i love a good road trip // also sorry this is split up, i just ran out of time but i wanted to give y’all something

( this is part one but imma post the second part soon, so this is the journey and the next part is them actually at disneyland )

warnings: mentions of intimacy // minor cussing

background: Every year the newsies all get together and go on their annual Disneyland trip. They drive from Manhattan to Anaheim because it’s cheaper than buying 20+ plane tickets. They also have a collective jar in the lodging house that everyone puts money into to help pay. Davey plans the whole thing for months and somehow things still go wrong. It’s never not a wild ride with their family. But every year they still enjoy it.

——————————————————————————

it’s damn near impossible to squeeze everyone in one car unless they rented out a bus which didn’t fit into budget

but

they also couldn’t afford another car

so they just piled everyone into one van

that’s right

29 people in one van

davey bought a van a few years back that could fit everyone semi-comfortably before they had so many people

it was a big van, made for seating 18 people technically

but new people kept coming and they made a vow to never turn down someone in need

they also added partners and siblings and whoever else

so it was tough fitting 11 more people in an already packed van, but they did it

was it safe? no.

was it comfy? no.

did it work? sure.

they had curtains on the windows so police wouldn’t see in

and blankets and pillows on the floor for everyone sitting and laying and sleeping

they also put up a sheet across the back of the first 3 seats to create a wall between the adults and the children

also cause Jack is paranoid of the police finding out

but they keep it up high enough to slide snacks under the gap whenever people asked

Darcy drives most of the time since he is the best driver

Bill and Davey sit next to him in the two front seats and give directions

Jack sits on the floor between Davey’s legs and guards the snacks

they don’t stop at hotels

cause dear god that’d be a whole other budget they can’t deal with

so they just switch between the four people in the front driving and go continuously

occasionally stopping at rest stops, food places, etc.

the back is where it got crazy

the first row consisted of Crutchie against the window, Buttons in the isle seat, and Kenny on the floor next to them

behind them was Katherine against the window, Sarah in the isle, Smalls and Sniper in the gap, and Finch in the single seat on the other side

the third row was Specs against the window with Romeo in the isle, Henry in the gap on the floor, and Jojo and Tommy Boy sitting on each other’s lap sharing the single seat

behind them was Albert against the window and Elmer in the isle, with Bart and Myron in the gap, and Mush and Kid Blink sharing the single seat

then the back row

oh my the back row

Spot sat against the window behind the single seats with Race on his lap, Hotshot sat on the opposite side with Mike halfway on and halfway off his lap, and they stuck poor Ike in the middle

bless his soul

and Les just randomly found spots on the floor wherever he could fit himself

the ride was eventful, to say the least

there were a lot of games played

the people on the floor played uno, go fish, and other card games

while the people in the seats played i spy, the alphabet game, word association, would you rather, 21 questions, never have i ever, and the oh so popular “shut the fuck up, i’m trying to sleep”

they played punch-buggy for a bit but that had to stop on account of everyone getting hurt and Davey yelling at them

Davey also counted his lucky stars he set up that sheet because everyone’s favorite game is padiddle

everyone played—except for les cause he was too young, also if you were asleep you automatically didn’t count cause that’s only fair—and it was insanity

the people on the floor would fly up as soon as they had a chance to make sure they were safe

it was their only continuous game throughout the entire trip

the worst time of all was during hour 22 when everyone was going crazy and they all started singing

the look in Davey’s eyes was priceless

he didn’t even know how to react

he’s just glad he didn’t have to be back there

god bless his ability to drive

in the front—while Darcy was driving—Bill would rest his head on Darcy’s shoulder or place a soft hand on his leg

nothing too distracting

they couldn’t risk an accident

Jack could fit his whole body in front of Davey’s seat

for how packed it was, it was a pretty spacious van

but when Jack got tired of laying he would sit up and rest his head on Davey’s seat between his legs

and Davey would pet his hair and hold the side of his face

or he would sit upright, leaning his back against the seat and have Davey play with his hair or lean his head back far enough for Davey to place a kiss on his lips

none of them even wanted to think about what was happening in the back

Specs read almost the entire time

Romeo would cuddle up on his lap and beg for attention but Specs would just pet his hair and continue on

they exchanged kisses every time Specs finished a chapter

both Mush and Kid Blink as well as Jojo and Tommy Boy periodically switched who was on whose lap for comfortablilty

they also sometimes just sat on the floor or hovered above the tiny gap between the wall and the seat for extra space

every time Elmer slept he’d curled his legs up on the seat and place his head in Albert’s lap

Albert just rested his head against the window and put his arms around Elmer, holding him

at one point they forgot other people were around and during one of Elmer’s special dreams he starting rubbing up on Albert’s thighs until he woke up to do more and saw Myron’s disappointing glare

Sarah and Katherine held each other a lot

Mush and Kid Blink exchanged more than a few kisses but what’s new

Jojo and Tommy Boy were saints to be next to because they just wrapped their arms around each other and kept to themselves

everyone was pretty tame with their relationships in the van

except for the back row

that’s why they got put in the back, so no one had to look at them

Hotshot and Mike were actually the tame ones

only in comparison to Spot and Race

Mike sat mostly on top of Hotshot

they were always touching

most of the time they just held each other

but other times they wanted more

they would makeout and grab around but nothing too crazy

they kinda knew the time and place

whenever they started doing anything Ike would just slide down to the floor and play cards with Bart and Myron

but Spot and Race

oh god

Race sat on Spot’s lap pretty much the entire time, only adjusting to sit more comfortably or sleep

sometimes Race would drop down to the floor and wrap himself around Spot’s legs

there were certain times when everyone was asleep

with the exception of whoevers turn it was to drive

usually the entire van slept at night cause they didn’t want to ruin their sleep schedules that bad

though they did take naps throughout the day

but there was one time when everyone was asleep except for Spot and Race

so they did what any dumbasses would do

suck dick in the back seat

yup

race ‘dumbass’ higgins dropped himself on the floor and tested how quiet they could be

no one woke up and they didn’t dare tell anyone

when they finished, Race wrapped himself in Spot’s arms like nothing happened and went to sleep with the rest of them

they stopped at so many mcdonald’s, 7/11’s, diners, and random rest stops

the first stop—hour 4—they found a rest stop and a few people had to pee so some people got out and stretched while others slept inside

they got back on the van and left

it took 18 minutes for them to realize they left Crutchie

“Buttons! How could you not notice your seat partner was missing!”

“that is not my job, I was asleep”

they turned around and picked him up

after that Davey made an alphabetized list of everyone and took role before they left any stop after that

it also became a joke within the group

after what felt like the car ride of a lifetime, they finally made it

at 10 o’clock at night

and seeing the disneyland sign was like arriving at heaven’s gates

when they got out so many boys flipped and jumped and ran around

just because they were so happy and they finally didn’t have to sit in a car waiting anymore

they were like children

they are children, but still

they got to the hotel, checked in, got their rooms, and slept for the night

but the next day was when the real fun was going to happen

part two of them actually at disneyland coming soon

[noelle-wright]

A Journey Towards Debt Liberation

Working towards paying off my student loans was one of the most scary, liberating decisions that I decided to embark on. When I first took out my graduate school loan and moved to France in 2013, I had no idea what I was doing. I didn't know what interest was and how that would affect the life of the loan. I just went with whatever the Department of Education was offering.

Fast forward to life right after graduate school, the reality of Hawaii public sector wages hit me hard. The thought of paying through almost $60,000 in student loan debt seemed impossible, and I believed I wouldn't be done until I was 40. As a 23-year-old, that was fine, though, because I had no plans to own a home, start a family, etc. However, the reality of this loan was a constant worry.

It was a trip home to visit my sister and brother-in-law that really got me thinking about how I'd been approaching my loans, as they had been aggressively paying down loans. I had heard many podcasters preach about "financial freedom" and paying off $100,000 in two years. I would get bitter inside and thought that doing what they were doing was impossible for myself. However, with the inspiration of my family, I saw that it WAS possible. I realized I was mentally stuck in a limiting mindset, and my bitterness at those paying off their debt was a projection of the insecurity I felt in my own situation.

As I started to reach my later twenties, I moved to a much better paying career and started a long-term serious relationship. I decided it was no longer time to be held down by my debt in order to manifest the life I intended to create for myself and with my partner. For me, there was no better time than now to work on my debt - while I had low expenses and a stable job. I happily traversed into an ABUNDANCE MINDSET. I shifted my thinking from not believing I had enough to believing that I did have the means to get out of this debt, and that everything I had now was all I needed. Money can be so stressful, but when our minds are controlled by it, it blocks us from serving our higher purpose. Financial freedom is also a mindset and a practice in discipline. The more you practice, the more you evolve. My goals were to 1) taking responsibility through hard work and discipline, 2) liberate my mind from the worry of money and feeling of lacking, and 3) turn this journey into part of my sadhana, or spiritual practice - spiritually work on discipline and seeing myself and everything around me as abundant.

Here are a few things that helped me along the way.

Know how much you owe and your interest rate. It can be scary to face how much we owe. I didn't keep track when I was borrowing, only to find out I had initially borrowed $59,410.93. I was so scared to face how much I owed, that I didn't really start paying attention until 2018. Be clear with how much you owe so you can start setting goals that work for you.

Know your monthly spending vs. how much you make. Be completely honest with yourself so you can see your net outflow and what extra you can realistically put towards your loan. This also allows you to cut off expenses that you may not need.

Refinance. It took me five years before I proved I was credit-worthy for refinancing, but it got me a lower interest rate, so keep trying. Do your research when looking at companies (I myself refinanced with CommonBond).

As much as you can, pay your minimum then build to paying over your minimum. When I had a low salary, I applied for income-driven repayment (IDR) to pay lower than my minimum. Even when my salary got higher, I got mentally stuck in an IDR-mentality, but I was actually doing myself a disservice. If you start to make more money, start paying that pre-IDR minimum right away. Even better, start paying MORE than your minimum. Set up automatic payments so you don't know what it feels like to have that extra money to spend. Personally, I paid a portion towards my loan every week.

Make more money. This sounds blunt and I understand everyone has different circumstances. For me, though, moving to a job that paid me $30,000 more per year and gave me much better benefits like, fully paid healthcare, paid transportation, and life insurance really helped. Also, taking on a side hustle changed everything. I work really hard right now and put in the time, but I know that in a few months I can live more comfortably and have more free time. Don't let making more money, though, inflate your lifestyle.

Listen to podcasts and go online for inspiration. Sometimes it can feel like you are alone in everything, but when you enter the online world, you'll see that there are a ton of people in the same boat and with their eyes on the same prize. My favorite podcast has been Afford Anything with Paula Pant and watching Aja Dang's YouTube videos on her own personal journey.

Get a financial planner to help you.  They help you stay accountable, and can provide you with tools to use to help you figure out how much you should be paying to meet your goals.

Live frugally where you can. Discipline. If you can't increase your income, decrease your expenses. I forgo a car because of multiple reasons; I don't have kids, I live in a convenient and walkable part of the city well-served by public transit, I want to lessen my impact on the environment, and I quite frankly just hate driving. Since my company pays for my bus pass, I basically have no transportation costs except for occasionally buying my boyfriend's gas (the rare times he lets me). I also still live at home and get an unbelievably subsidized rent to help my mom out. Ever since I discovered Poshmark, I got rid of a lot of clothes and made over $1,500 on the app. I also now don't buy new clothes; I only buy clothes on Poshmark. I also participate in a yearly "Lent" with my friends that has really helped me break some bad habits (I credit this exercise to me no longer watching TV except for Game of Thrones, and cutting down clothing spending habits by 75%!). It also helps to unsubscribe from newsletters that tempt you to buy more stuff. Living frugally is a mindset. It doesn't have to feel like frugality; think of it as living simply. It could feel more liberating to be freed from ownership of too much stuff. There are less things to think about and less clutter to look at. If you experiment or practice changing your mindset, you may be surprised at what you can let go of materially to live well, while at the same time saving money.

...But don't deprive yourself. When I started my student loan journey, I was definitely overwhelmed by the budget aspect because I wanted to preserve my lifestyle. I didn't want to cut down on the things I valued, especially on food, fitness, and travel. I resolved not to cut corners on the things that mattered most to me. It was important to me to not get into the mindset of deprivation.  Still buying what is nourishing for your soul is crucial in preserving joy throughout the process.

Save for big expenses. Start a separate savings account for bigger expenses, like a trip, car, training, etc. Calculate its estimated total cost and how much could be saved for it per month. Then, establish a savings timeframe and automatic monthly transfer into that account. It's important to not be tempted to dip into that account. Personally, my big ticket items are travel. I don't feel scared to take a vacation because I know I already have the funds for it set aside.

Celebrate the small wins. Whether its setting up that detailed budget spreadsheet or the big-ticket savings account or putting an extra $100 towards your loan, be proud of yourself every step of the way.

Don't obsess over it. Oddly, once I started making progress on my loans, I became obsessed with paying them off. I realized the space it was occupying in my mind was large. It's important to not let the whole process consume your life, and be patient with the journey.

if you're comfortable, use a zero-based budget. Put simply, zero-based budgeting allocates all of your money to something. Through the help of a financial adviser, I realized the money I was saving in a savings account yielding 2.2% interest was just sitting there and not doing as much as if I put it towards other things like investments or putting more towards my loan. Through zero-based budgeting, you can actually find ways to better maximize the use of your money. I realize that this isn't realistic, though, for those that might freelance.

[defavouredkings]

The Faithful Cheater (PART 1)

The Faithful Cheater (PART 1) She had her red blouse on and the blue jeans she told me she bought a month ago.  There was also a blue jacket on and from where I was standing watching her; I didn’t think I’d seen it before. Let me just quickly say this before I continue; knowing and getting familiar with my girlfriend’s clothes were one of the few simple clichés a long distance relationship afforded me with her. I mean it was the high point of everything. It even afforded me the luxury of knowing all her bras and underwears. I knew every single one. Whenever she went out shopping and came back with new outfits and underwears, I was of course the first person to see them thanks to the inventors of Whatsapp and BBM. I would take the photos of her in those light cotton things, head into my bathroom and then wank the nonsense out of myself. For obvious reasons, it was the only thing I could do to stay faithful to her. ALSO READ: The New Year's Gift But anyway today, she hadn’t had the time to send me any photo of how she was looking before leaving the house and so I had no idea what color of panty she was putting on underneath those tight jeans and I couldn’t wait to find out because in as much as babe and I had not gone ‘there’, we try at least to get ‘somewhere’ and for now, I was content with that. “Hey babe!” I waved at her taking hurried steps towards her. She had her hair sprung up in her usual classic ponytail and with the absence of make-up, she was looking younger than a twenty-three years old. She also looked wary sha; probably exhausted or maybe just completely upset, because I knew she hated to travel. Travelling for an hour never appealed to my girlfriend, talk more of seven hours-the more reason she hated this whole distance thing and had never failed to mention it-and so with the dark circles around her eyes and with her lips parted in a heavy grimace as I stood in front of her, I knew without a single doubt that she was upset. “You look worn out” I finally muttered allowing my smile fade off. She shrugged, looking straight ahead, her eyes glued to the three storey building in front of us. It was a UBA bank painted in red. ALSO READ: Never Say Goodbye If You Can’t Let Go 2 Ok? I allowed  my head say, annoyed that she was annoyed but then I had to remind myself that we cannot both be annoyed. So I threw away my annoyance and then halted down a Keke-napep that was about to speed off. After giving the driver the address to where we were headed and haggling severely about the price, we jumped into it and headed on. “How was your journey?” I asked trying to break the silence that was gulfing off the air around us. Somehow, I could not help but feel that this was just more than her distaste for travelling; something else was amiss… she hadn’t even glanced my way since we got into the Keke. “It was fine” she replied solemnly her gaze falling to her fingers. She was looking at them like she hadn’t seen them before. Hmmm? “You didn’t call me on your way here. I was a bit worried you know” I continued restlessly, my gaze now lost in the houses fading passed us as the Keke sped down Okpara Avenue and into Odigwe’s street. “My battery was about to die and I wanted to save it so that I could call you when I finally arrive” She explained bringing out her dead phone from her pocket. “Oh ok…it’s okay” I answered as I stared down at the phone that had given me high blood pressure all through the day. She had called me before boarding the bus though but all through the journey, I could not reach her and that had almost driven me mad. Even my colleagues in the office sensed my uneasiness and my boss had snapped at me occasionally about some silly errors in the documents I was supposed to prepare thoroughly. “Is this the house?” she asked as the driver pulled to a halt while we waddled out of the tricycle. “Yeah… you have no idea how hard it was for me to secure an apartment in this locale. Housing in PH…is just something else” I explained relieved she was beginning to loosen up but then I got no further comment after that only just another empty shrug as she stared up at the building. I pulled out her little luggage from the back of the keke and led the way into the compound. By the way, she brought so little a luggage for what was supposed to be a two week visit with me.As a matter of fact, I was starting to find it a little bit shocking like what happens in movies. Women were known to move around with almost half their wardrobe and there were various colors of shoes and bags to match, makeups in one full purse and jewelries in another and I’ve never known my boo to be an exception. She had come with just a small bag. There were no hand bags, not even a purse…as if she had planned only a night visit. ALSO READ: THE SAN (I'm Poor as a Church Rat) End Hmmmm. Anyway, my apartment in the Osabi’s residence was located on the second floor of the green painted two storey building. Next to it, was a bungalow popularly known as the boys-quarters. True to its name, there were some university dudes living in that apartment and so the place had become a breeding ground for the kind of egbo smoking I have never seen in my life and then, the drinking, partying and of course…womanizing. I didn’t think I had seen the house ever free of girls since I moved in. Some nights ago, a girl had rushed out of the house and from my window; I had seen that she was partially nude, crushing her clothes and her shoes to her chest as she ran. Her loud shriek and yelling had been what had woken me up from my restless sleep. Because the night had been so moonless, I couldn’t tell what complexion  the girl held, only that she was bottle shaped and her lingerie were in full view under the dim light of the fluorescent tube illuminating the compound. It made me think of my boo- that longing to see her again if you know what I mean but anyway, back to this particular girl. She had raced out of the house crushing her clothes to the chest with one of dudes, the dark-skinned one, they called Collins on her heels. He was yelling and calling her all sorts of foul names, demanding she left his ‘house’ and the compound. This girl was weeping eh, I felt so sorry for her that I didn’t even know when I took the stairs down and then waddled into the compound. “Hey, are you alright?” I asked reluctantly as I moved closer to her. The babe glared at me through wet eyes as she began to dress up, pretending to be ignoring my presence and the fact that my eyes were now feasting on her. Closer now, I had noticed she was light skinned with a skin as flawless as a baby’s bottom. She was beautiful with full big lips and eyes shaped like a fish’s. Because she had nothing on besides the bra on her chest and her underwear on her hips, I couldn’t help but notice how huge and firm her breasts seemed to fit clumsily in the bra like they were begging for escape. Why would anyone turn such a person away? I had found myself wondering as I stood and watch her struggle to put on her jeans. I even got to notice the dimples at the bottom of her spine; and as she struggled on, her booties just kept jumping up and down like tennis balls. Soon, I was turned on. “Jesus! Conji abeg na” I muttered silently as I gnawed my teeth in anguish. “Sorry?” she asked as she wiped her eyes and glared harder at me. “ehemm nothing…”  I retorted embarrassed at myself “ you know its late right. As in, very late?” I asked moving from one leg to the other to ease the struggle I could feel within. “Yes” she answered choking at the word as she put on her shoes. “I can’t go home na. Not by this time of the night” she cried out “My parents will kill me” “Oh ok…so what do you want to do?” I asked as I watched her bend over to pick up her handbag. My temperature shot up further. “I don’t know” she answered as she looked around for a spot in the compound. A huge stone beside the power pole was in sight; she went over to it and then sat, leaving her bag on the floor. “I’ll just sit down here till morning” “Hmm…I don’t think that’ll be a good idea. You will catch cold” I insisted walking over to where she was seated and picked up her handbag. The weather was changing rapidly with the harmattan taking a stroll round the country. These days, day times were usually as hot as fire accompanied with the dust and dirts but nights…..as cold as ice. “I’m fine with that” she answered solemnly as a flash of anger crossed her eyes. “Well I’m not. I stay alone… you can crash with me if you want” I answered not sure if I knew what I just said. “No. Really I’m fine” she insisted pulling her bag away from my grip. I wanted to persist but I was like “okay, if you say so” and turned to the direction of the staircase. But just as I was about to make the second ascend, I heard footsteps behind me and caught myself smirking. One would think that was the highlight for the day but for where! The night that day, I couldn’t even sleep or do anything reasonable despite the fact that the babe had crashed with me on the same bed. In my defense, I had only one bed and I couldn’t sleep on the floor because it was usually very cold at night despite the rug I had on it. She was lying so close that I wasn’t sure of what to do; not that I didn’t know how to go about it, it was just that…. Her lips as she slept were parted in the most arousing way imaginable and my shirt that she had worn as a night wear stopped only halfway, so I could see her thighs as vividly as a bat could see anyone at night. But my silly conscience did not allow me to see road clearly. ‘You don’t know her, it kept on saying even when she turned her enormous backside to me. She had moved so close that I was sure she could feel the bump separating us. “Don’t forget you love her o” my conscience just kept intruding and I had to beg God for restrain. How I survived that night, only God knew.   OTHER LINKS http://Latestnaijastories.blogspot.com Read the full article

[tripstations]

KT experiment: Ferry trip vs bus ride vs long drive in Dubai – News

The idea is to find out what’s the best optimum transport solution for an office goer who commutes daily from Sharjah to Dubai.

For thousands who live in Sharjah and work in Dubai, how to beat the traffic has long been the biggest conundrum. With the recent launch of the ferry service between the two emirates, negotiating a chock-a-block Ittihad Road every rush hour is no longer the only option to get to and from work. Is it the answer to residents’ traffic woes? Khaleej Times did an experiment on Monday: With Sharjah City Centre as our starting point at 8am, three KT teams ‘raced’ to BurJuman in Dubai. One team hopped aboard the new ferry; one took the bus; and another drove to the finish line.

Ferry – the most scenic journey

It took us just about 10 minutes and Dh15 on a Sharjah taxi to reach the Aquarium station, and another seven to eight minutes to locate the ticketing counter in the newly built station (but that’s a typical first-timer’s syndrome).

A catamaran was ashore and ready to set sail by 8.25am and within five minutes – right on the dot – we were sailing under the UAE’s cool blue skies, comfortably sat in a brand new 100-seater.

Thirty minutes later, we were in Dubai’s Al Ghubaiba marine station, just a long hop from Al Ghubaiba Metro Station. After 10 more minutes, we reached Bur Juman, our final destination.

We were the last to arrive among the three teams that took on three different modes of transport as part of our experiment. But that doesn’t tell you about the 20 minutes we spent taking photos of the marina while we were waiting for the ferry – neither does it say anything about the fascinating sights and sounds we sampled along the way, from the deck and from the comforts of the AC glass cabin.

Travel time: 50 minutes (excluding waiting time) Cost: Dh35 (per person) Reached Burjuman at 9.20am

Pros . Stunning sights that money can’t buy . Fast, efficient and a reliable transport system . Comfortable seating with glass cabin and WiFi on board . Great new way to take a tourist around Dubai and Sharjah

Cons . Price is slightly steep for a daily commuter (Dh15 for Silver Class and Dh25 for Gold) . Poor public transport connectivity with Sharjah’s Aquarium station (feeder bus does not cover key parts of the emirate) . Long waiting time. If you’re not aware of the schedule, you could end up waiting from 30 to 90 minutes

  Public transport – a practical choice

At exactly 8am in the morning, we joined other commuters inside the air-conditioned bus stop in front of Sharjah City Centre.

The E303 bus – which would take us directly to the Union Metro Station in Dubai – arrived within 10 minutes and we were off. Schools were closed due to the summer break and we encountered almost no traffic on the roads. However, all that changed when we got closer to Ansar Mall and finally hit the infamous Sharjah-Dubai highway traffic.

The next 15 minutes saw us fighting the slow-moving traffic jam. Things began to look up again as we approached and finally took the dedicated track for RTA buses and taxis. The track helped us avoid the majority of the traffic that was entering Dubai from the main highway. So far, we had clocked in around 25 minutes of travel time on the bus.

Another 15 minutes finally saw us approaching the Union Metro Station. Once inside, we took a small detour to check the balance on our Nol cards and ensure that we were topped up for the return journey.

We then rode the Metro and, less than five minutes later, we stepped out at Burjuman Metro Station and logged in the end of our journey.

Travel time: 45 minutes (excluding waiting time) Cost: Dh18 (per person) Reached Burjuman at 9.10am

Pros . Comfortable journey . Smooth transition between buses and Metro stations . Air-conditioned bus stops . Dedicated RTA road

Cons . Multiple traffic signals . Nol card has to be topped up or you can’t ride the bus

Car – fastest but not energy-efficient

We left our start point at 8.04am and decided to take the E11 or Ittihad Road to Dubai. We took a detour to Business Bay Crossing to save money on one Salik toll.

The total journey took 46 minutes; however, we believe this was the case because schools are closed for the summer and several residents are not in town.

As expected, the traffic began ahead of Ansar Mall. We witnessed two traffic bottlenecks on the Industrial Area Interchange, as well as at Al Nahda Interchange on the Sharjah-Dubai highway.

While most morning commuters looked relaxed during their drive, safety was lax among several drivers as they cut lanes without indication and intimidated motorists who drove slower than the others.

During peak traffic time, even a minor accident can cause long tailbacks for every single commuter on the road. Fortunately, we faced no tailbacks during our journey on Monday and we crossed the peak traffic in 10 minutes.

As much as we enjoyed being the first to the finish line, we couldn’t help but think public transport is the more energy-efficient and affordable option.

Travel time: 45 minutes Cost: Dh24 (Dh4 for Salik; petrol at Dh2.18/litre for a 26km drive on an SUV) Reached Burjuman at 8.50am

Pros . Fastest way to travel . Allows one to leave at time of his or her convenience

Cons . Spent 10 minutes in traffic . Not energy-efficient . Additional cost for parking and vehicle maintenance, etc

  The KT Experiment as it happened:

Team A – Rohma Sadaqat and M. Sajjad ready to hop on to the bus

Team B – Dhanusha Gokulan and Rahul Gajjar to drive down

Team C – Abhishek Sengupta and Juidin Bernarrd to take the ferry

9:36am

Team C have made it exactly 1 hour 22 minutes since we started from Sharjah City Centre at a cost of Dh70 for two people.

Team C have made it exactly 1 hour 22 minutes since we started from Sharjah City Centre at a cost of Dh70 for two people.

Join our live blog-https://t.co/NLDjDPws3p pic.twitter.com/RxN4hFz8fL

– Khaleej Times (@khaleejtimes) July 29, 2019

9:32am

Team A arrived at Union Metro Station after a 35 minute journey. The journey from Union Metro station to Burjuman took less than 5 minutes. They both stopped to top up their Nol cards for the return journey. Time for entire journey was 45 minutes.

Team A arrived at Union Metro Station after a 35 minute journey. The journey from Union Metro station to Burjuman took less than 5 minutes. They both stopped to top up their Nol cards for the return journey. Time for entire journey was 45 minutes.

Blog-https://t.co/NkGccpIg6F pic.twitter.com/e2jcImitCf

– Khaleej Times (@khaleejtimes) July 29, 2019

9:30am

Team C – Abhishek Sengupta and Juidin Bernarrd to take the ferry, readying for the last leg of the trip to BurJuman from the Al Ghubaiba bus stop, barely 200 metres from the marine station.

Team C – Abhishek Sengupta and Juidin Bernarrd to take the ferry, readying for the last leg of the trip to BurJuman from the Al Ghubaiba bus stop, barely 200 metres from the marine station.

Join our live https://t.co/NkGccpIg6F pic.twitter.com/ZrLOhrU1Yd

– Khaleej Times (@khaleejtimes) July 29, 2019

9:20am

Team A – Rohma Sadaqat and M. Sajjad reach the BurJuman Metro station.

Team A – Rohma Sadaqat and M. Sajjad reach the BurJuman Metro station!

Join our live blog-https://t.co/NLDjDPws3p pic.twitter.com/MkYCrGyPEK

– Khaleej Times (@khaleejtimes) July 29, 2019

9:10am

Team C – Abhishek Sengupta and Juidin Bernarrd arrive at the shore in Dubai in just about 30 minutes.

Team C – Abhishek Sengupta and Juidin Bernarrd arrive at the shore in Dubai in just about 30 minutes!

Join our live blog-link: https://t.co/NLDjDPws3p pic.twitter.com/yqxbtyIXid

– Khaleej Times (@khaleejtimes) July 29, 2019

9:05am

Team B still made it ahead of competition. However, traffic was far more manageable given schools are closed and several residents are off for summer holidays. Under normal circumstances, this journey would’ve taken some more time.

Team B still made it ahead of competition. However, traffic was far more manageable given schools are closed and several residents are off for summer holidays. Under normal circumstances, this journey would’ve taken some more time.

Live blog-https://t.co/NLDjDPws3p pic.twitter.com/oIFgS9mGDK

– Khaleej Times (@khaleejtimes) July 29, 2019

9:01am

Team B: Start Time- 8:04 am, Time at destination: 8:52am. Smooth sailing for most of the drive, with the only exception of bumper to bumper traffic on Al Ittihad Road. If we’d taken the Garoud Bridge, it would’ve saved us a few more minutes.

Blog-https://t.co/NLDjDPws3p pic.twitter.com/0kWFivtoWw

– Khaleej Times (@khaleejtimes) July 29, 2019

8:57am

Team C – Abhishek Sengupta and Juidin Bernarrd are nearing Dubai in their 35-minute ferry ride and the sights are absolutely gorgeous.

Team C – Abhishek Sengupta and Juidin Bernarrd,are nearing Dubai in their 35-minute ferry ride and the sights are absolutely gorgeous.

Video by Juidin Bernarrd/Khaleej Times

Join our live blog-https://t.co/NLDjDPws3p pic.twitter.com/8ph0QoPhc4

– Khaleej Times (@khaleejtimes) July 29, 2019

8:55am

Team B: Rahul Rahul Gajjar and I (Dhanusha Gokulan) are a signal away from BurJuman even after we took the longer route via Business Bay Crossing avoiding the Garhoud Bridge Toll Gate. What we saved in money, we gained by enjoying Dubai’s beautiful morning vistas.

Team B: Rahul and I are a signal away from BurJuman even after we took the longer route via Business Bay Crossing avoiding the Garhoud Bridge Toll Gate. What we saved in money, we gained by enjoying Dubai’s beautiful morning vistas.

Join our live blog-https://t.co/NLDjDPws3p pic.twitter.com/vtMdJSWuLV

– Khaleej Times (@khaleejtimes) July 29, 2019

8:50am

Team A is nearing Union Metro Station. From here themselves Rohma Sadaqat and M. Sajjad will be taking the metro to Burjuman Metro Station.

Team A is nearing Union Metro Station. From here Rohma and Sajjad will be taking the metro to Burjuman Metro Station.

Join our live blog: https://t.co/NLDjDPws3p pic.twitter.com/KzWgoetvDq

– Khaleej Times (@khaleejtimes) July 29, 2019

8:45am

Team B (travelling by car) have crossed into Dubai now.

Dhanusha, Rahul – Team B (travelling by car) have crossed into Dubai now!

Join our live blog: https://t.co/NLDjDPws3p pic.twitter.com/O9hggQzDHb

– Khaleej Times (@khaleejtimes) July 29, 2019

8:44am

Team C: Bright and sunny on the high sea as we take the ferry from Sharjah to Dubai.

8:38am

It’s been a smooth check-in for Team C and we are ready to set sail in about a minute’s time from now.

Photo by Juidin Bernarrd/Khaleej Times

Join our live blog-https://t.co/NLDjDPws3p pic.twitter.com/mz8B7BtfM5

– Khaleej Times (@khaleejtimes) July 29, 2019

8:30am

Team B has officially crossed over into Dubai after crossing the final interchange, Al Nahda, between Sharjah and Dubai. We’ve crossed one Salik Gate- Al Mamzar. Traffic is still bumper to bumper.

#KTExperiment: Ferry trip vs bus ride vs long drive in Dubai Team B has officially crossed over into #Dubai after crossing the final interchange, Al Nahda. Traffic is still bumper to bumper. Join our live blog: (link: https://t.co/NLDjDPws3p) pic.twitter.com/bDFhlXDDAl

– Khaleej Times (@khaleejtimes) July 29, 2019

8:22am

Team B- We’re officially “stuck” in the infamous Sharjah-Dubai morning commute traffic which began a little ahead of Ansar Mall. The vehicles are inching at a snails pace of 10 km per hour. There’s traffic police monitoring the early morning road situation, ensuring road safety.

KT experiment: Ferry trip vs bus ride vs long drive in Dubai Team B- We’re officially “stuck” in the infamous #Sharjah-#Dubai morning commute traffic which began a little ahead of Ansar Mall. Join our live blog: (link: https://t.co/NLDjDPws3p) https://t.co/uwlfjl7orZ pic.twitter.com/iUIjzHFW51

– Khaleej Times (@khaleejtimes) July 29, 2019

8:10am

KT experiment: Ferry trip vs bus ride vs long drive in Dubai Travel by car: KT journalists Dhanusha Gokulan and Rahul Gajjar travelling from Sharjah City Centre to BurJuman. Live blog: (link: https://t.co/NLDjDPws3p) https://t.co/uwlfjl7orZ pic.twitter.com/5D0JwOwr9F

– Khaleej Times (@khaleejtimes) July 29, 2019

8:00am

Travel by car:  Dhanusha, Rahul – Team B

KT photojournalist Rahul Gajjar and Dhanusha Gokulan have strapped themselves into thier car. The starting point of our journey is from the bus stand opposite Sharjah City Centre. It’s a hot day, and we’re all set to head out to our final destination – BurJuman in Bur Dubai. 

KT experiment: #Ferry trip vs #bus ride vs long drive in #Dubai Join our live blog: https://t.co/NLDjDPws3p Video by Juidin Bernarrd/KT pic.twitter.com/pQlzBCZYbD

– Khaleej Times (@khaleejtimes) July 29, 2019

  8:19am

Travel by bus – Rohma Sadaqat and M. Sajjad ready to hop on to the bus

Team A has officially hit the infamous Sharjah-Dubai traffic. Right now we have just passed Ansar Mall which is the first stop if you are coming to Sharjah from Dubai. Commuters are all at ease. Many are taking the time to catch up on social media posts; several are listening to music; and some are resting their eyes.

8:24am

It’s been a smooth check-in for Team C and we are ready to set sail in about a minute’s time from now. 8.30 is the scheduled departure and the captain’s just making an announcement.

8:28am

Team A has crossed into Dubai. Traffic is ever present, but now we are steadily moving. Soon we will be approaching Al Mulla Plaza, which is one of the oldest landmarks in Dubai.

8:35am

Team A has passed Century Mall. Right now we are bracing ourselves for a number of traffic signals. The roads are very much empty with the occasional car or two.

Dubai-Sharjah Ferry ride details

8am – Sharjah City Centre 

8.12am – Sharjah Aquarium station via Sharjah Taxi (Dh15)

8.30am – Ferry takes off

9am – arrival in Al Ghubaiba ferry station (Dh15 for silver class; Dh25 for gold class)

9.10am – Al Ghubaiba metro station 

9.20am – Burjuman Mall (Dh3)

ERROR: Macro /ads/dfp-ad-article-new is missing!

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[softfics9]

Cursed by the Universe (Not Really)

Fandom; ASTRO

Main Pairing; Park Jinwoo|Jinjin/Lee Dongmin|Cha Eunwoo

Genre; High School AU, Fluff

Trigger Warnings; None

Word Count; 7,435

Rating; G

Beta’d: No

Cross-Posted; AO3

Authors Notes; My first dive into the world of writing for Astro! This was based on a prompt and was meant to be a short drabble, but the story took off (as you can probably tell from the word count). There are cameos from other groups, such as KNK, Snuper, SF9, and Gugudan. I would like to maybe write the KNK version of this story in future, I have some SF9 writing to do first though! Anyway, I hope you enjoy, and I would love feedback ^-^

Park Jinwoo did not like field trips. Sure they were a fantastic learning resource, and it was a well-needed break from the monotony of the classroom - but he always had the worst luck when he went on one. For example; his first ever field trip was to the local park back in his old elementary school. It was just a short trip to look at the different types of trees, and collect leaves for their art project. Nothing too dramatic happened until right at the end, when their teacher was recalling the class to head back to the school. Jinwoo heard her calling them, and as he was walking back somehow tripped over his shoelaces - how did they come undone? - and landed face first in a puddle. His brand new school bag was now soaking wet - along with the rest of him, and his classmates just laughed at his misfortune. That was the first of many incidents with Jinwoo on field trips, they usually ended with him making a fool of himself and people laughing at him. It had been quite some time since he had been on a field trip though, so maybe his curse of bad luck had worn off by now? He was in high school after all, and you can’t be unlucky all your life - at least that was his best friend Myungjun’s reasoning.

So after a few days of constant begging from Myungjun and whining from his next door neighbour Sanha (“Hyung if I can’t go because I’m too young then you have to go for me and tell me everything about it, that’s only fair!”), Jinwoo handed in his signed permission slip for the overnight trip to an island resort. Really though, there were so many other places their school could have chosen to go for their Geography field trip; if it was the beach they wanted then there was one only an hour away from the school, and if it was for the forests then why not just go to the National Park? Why did it have to be an overnight trip anyway? More time outside of school while still technically being “in school” gave the universe extra opportunities to mess with Jinwoo. He made sure to grumble all of this to his friends as he was packing a bag for their trip.

“Don’t be ridiculous Jinjin, the universe wouldn’t waste her precious time just messing with you on field trips - it’s all in your head.”

“Oh really? Then explain to me how every field trip I’ve ever been on in the past ten years of my life has all involved some embarrassing incident on my behalf?”

Jinwoo added one last spare t-shirt to his suitcase and done a mental tally. That brought it to; two pairs of jeans, three pairs of shorts (one for swimming), two shirts, five t-shirts, one tank top (for sleeping), a hoodie and a warm outdoor jacket. There were also four pairs of underwear, six pairs of socks, spare shoes, two towels, a mini first aid kit and an extra belt. Compared to Myungjun’s small overnight bag - sleepwear, a change of t-shirt, socks, and a pair of shorts in case it was really warm - Jinwoo was overpacked. But he could never be too careful; there was no way he would let the universe catch him unprepared, a four-hour bus ride from home. Sanha eyed up his full suitcase and pinned him with a judgemental look. For a kid who was two years their junior, he really had no shame in speaking his mind to them both.

“It’s been almost two years since you were last on a field trip right hyung?”

“You know it was Sanha, you were there on my las-” “Soooooo, maybe whatever bad luck curse you were under before has worn off! Most of those things don’t last too long anyway, right? Like breaking a mirror is seven years bad luck but I can’t think of any that would be ten years in length. So yeah, you’ll be fine! Make sure to take lots of pictures for me ok?”

Myungjun laughed and clapped Sanha on the back, the kid was just so full of energy and positivity it was hard not to smile around him. Jinwoo just shook his head and sighed, as much as Sanha might believe his curse was lifted, there was still a feeling of dread in his stomach. Before he could change his mind last minute, his mother called up saying the bus was outside. Myungjun had stayed the night in his house so they could get on together that morning (and also so he could make sure Jinwoo didn’t try to back out). They grabbed their bags; one with clothes and overnight essentials and their school bags with all the things they needed for the learning aspect of the trip and rushed downstairs. Saying goodbye to Sanha at the door and promising to bring him a gift back, the pair boarded the bus with the rest of their classmates and headed off.

He must have nodded off to sleep at some point on the journey because Jinwoo woke up to Myungjun snoring away on his shoulder and the smell of a sea breeze coming in the window of the bus. A quick look at his watch verified this, they were only twenty minutes from their destination. The weird fluttery feeling in his stomach intensified as they drove across the bridge to the island they were visiting, and he woke Myungjun up just as the resort came into view. His sleepy yawns turned into wide eyed gasps, as he flung himself across Jinwoo’s lap to look out the window at their destination. There was no blaming him, it looked incredible and all the other students on their side of the bus were scrambling to do the same. Everyone was suddenly wide awake and chatting excitedly, and the volume reached its peak as they pulled into the parking lot right inside the main entrance. As all the students from both classes got off the bus and retrieved their bags - Jinwoo was relieved to see he wasn’t the only one to bring a whole suitcase - they formed a messy huddle around the two teachers to hear what they had to say.

“Alright everyone, I hope the trip wasn’t too exhausting for you - I noticed quite a few sleepy heads boarding the bus this morning! We have a lot planned over these two days so it is very important we all stick to our schedules. But before we give you any information on our plans, Mr. Im has a rather important announcement for you all.”

“Yes thank you, Ms. Choi. So as you all know before I joined our wonderful little school as a teacher, I used to be part of the staff in FTG’s School of Excellence. Well, I met with an ex-colleague of mine, and he is also bringing his geography class here to this resort for a field trip! So in the interest of inter-school relations, we will be working and staying with them for the duration of our time here.”

All 58 students in the huddle suddenly fell silent at this. FTG was a private boarding school for boys and girls with exceptional talent in the same area as their own little public school. All the students were said to be incredibly beautiful and trained in various types of performance, as well as academics. A younger cousin of Jinwoo’s - Park Minhyuk - went to that school, he auditioned as a dancer and was accepted in a heartbeat. The only thing stopping Jinwoo from going to the school himself was Myungjun; his best friend couldn’t afford the private fees and there was no way Jinwoo was going to leave him to face high school alone. Everyone started murmuring amongst themselves, no doubt wondering if the rumours of all the students being perfect specimens were true, and Jinwoo felt his stomach knot up even more.

“All right settle down everyone, I know it is an unexpected announcement but we discussed it in the department and we all think it is a wonderful way to get to know the students your age from the other school. They will be arriving in an hour or so, but until then let’s all go over our own schedules ok?”

Ms. Choi ran through the agenda for the next two days; they were to check in and leave their overnight bags in the resort rooms first, and then after meeting with the other school they would be split into mixed groups and start on their field work. Myungjun was babbling into Jinwoo’s ear as they made their way into the reception, gasping and squealing in excitement when he saw all the gorgeous decor inside. They were lucky enough to get a room together, but they were also one of the rooms that would be sharing with two students from FTG. After having a quick look around the room, claiming their bunk beds, and unpacking a few things (and Myungjun claiming “this is the biggest cleanest bathroom I have ever seen in my life just look at it!”), the pair made their way back down to the lobby where they were to wait for the others and be split into groups.

“MJ, I really have a bad feeling about this whole trip. I mean I knew something embarrassing was going to happen while we were here, but now I get the suspicion that the universe is going to make a fool of me in front of the FTG students which will be a million times worse.”

“How many times do I have to say it Jinjin, the universe isn’t so petty she would waste her time on you here in this resort. In all honesty, after all the times you’ve managed to embarrass yourself on trips, I wouldn’t be surprised if the universe actually did you a favour this time.”

Jinwoo snorted at that, no way would anything good ever come from a field trip that he went on. He was doomed to be cursed for the rest of his life with misfortune and embarrassment. They made it back to their class groups in one piece, and everyone was chatting excitedly about the trip but also meeting the others. Jinwoo was convinced he heard a few girls giggling about maybe having a cliché romantic moment with one of the students. He rolled his eyes and flopped down on a chair next to Heejun, one of the guys from his class, and Myungjun joined them sitting on the floor. They spoke a little about the project and the kind of things they hoped to see on their tours of the island. Heejun was really hoping to get into the beach group, he didn’t want to walk around the forest where there were loads of bugs and things that could jump out at him. As Myungjun started teasing him about finding a tall, strong FTG guy to look after him, Jinwoo closed his eyes and let the constant noise chatter lull him to sleep. He was rudely shaken awake by a flustered Jihun, another boy from his class, flinging himself onto the floor beside him and almost dragging him off the couch.

“Dude, what was that for?”

“Sorry, Jinwoo I really didn’t mean to pull on you like that. It’s just, the FTG students arrived and I saw the most handsome guy on the planet - and then realised I’ve made a fool of myself in front of him before so I had to hide before he saw me.”

Jinwoo sat up straight and looked around, it seemed like he just missed the class arriving and all he could see were uniformed backs disappearing around the corner toward the elevators and stairs. He wasn’t too bothered though, they would be seeing plenty of their peers over the next two days. As he stood, he offered a hand down to Jihun, who was still lying on the floor and helped pull him up. Of course, his help only lasted about half way - after which point Jihun dwarfed Jinwoo in height.

Mr. Im called them all outside so they could be split into their two groups. He explained that FTG’s teacher had already divided his group up and they would just join them at the start of their tour. Jinwoo was disappointed that he and Myungjun wouldn’t be together, while he was going to the beach his best friend was being shipped into the forest. Heejun was also in the forest group, much to his dismay, while Jihun was with Jinwoo for the beach. While most people would have considered Jinwoo to be a very outgoing and social person, he only really had a few close friends. He was happy Jihun was in his group, he also knew another guy called Sebin - who was in the other Geography class - and two girls from his own class named Sally and Sejeong. They were good enough friends that he could talk to them and discuss their project, so Jinwoo was determined he would stick with them and give the universe no opportunity to embarrass him in front of anyone from FTG.

They waved goodbye to the other group, Heejun and Jihun being the over-the-top pair they always were and dramatically crying and sending each other hearts and kisses. Jinwoo laughed and rolled his eyes as Myungjun jumped on Heejun’s back to wave to him as they separated. Their group made their way down to the beach, the sun was out but there was a chilly sea breeze so he was happy he wore a hoodie. After about ten minutes of waiting with their island tour guide, the eleven students from FTG made their appearance. Jihun had been doing his trademark aegyo to make a few of the others in their class laugh when he suddenly screeched and tried to hide behind Jinwoo, despite being a good 10cm taller than him. When Jinwoo looked at the group who had just arrived, he could only assume one of them was the handsome boy from earlier that Jihun had been trying to hide from. He only could assume, because there were four guys in the group who Jinwoo thought could have fit the description of “most handsome guy on the planet” - their yearbook must be like a modelling catalogue or something.

Ms. Choi introduced the group’s leader, a teaching assistant by the name of Ms. Jung - who herself was an ex-student of FTG. The FTG students all introduced themselves, and Jihun inhaled sharply when a certain Park Seungjun spoke - Jinwoo could relate, his voice was deeper than expected and he was even taller than Jihun. The student who caught Jinwoo’s attention most though was Cha Eunwoo. He was tall - probably about the same height as Jihun, if not slightly shorter - but his voice was clear as crystal and his smile was angelic. The weird feeling Jinwoo had in his stomach since crossing the bridge to the island suddenly changed, and now he had butterflies whenever this Eunwoo person laughed. The universe had started her plot, but Jinwoo was determined not to let it come to fruition.

For the most part of their tour and work time on the beach, Jinwoo managed to avoid any mishaps that could lead to embarrassment. He played off his stumble going down onto the rocks as messing about; when the water suddenly rushed over their feet he held in his girlish shriek, and when he slipped on a bit of seaweed going back up towards the resort, he pretended he had purposefully done it to give Sebin a hug. Success was within his reach, no outright moments of mortification and he had even managed to avoid being in the presence of Eunwoo while they were collecting their samples and taking photos. Jinwoo thought that he was finally getting the upper hand against the universe in her game of field trip failures.

Their whole group moved to an outdoor patio area, with delicate parasols set up around the tables and some tall flower pots filled with colourful, fragrant flowers decorating the space. They had to pair up to compare the notes they took and begin to analyse their samples for the project. Jihun had practically jumped on Jinwoo and insisted they partnered up. Apparently, he had made a fool of himself in front of Seungjun twice during the course of the beach work, and he refused to possibly get paired up with him for this too. Jinwoo laughed a little and patted his tall friends back, he could relate to embarrassing himself on trips enough and offered his support. They had gotten a lot of work done in their allocated hour, and when the two teachers called for them to finish up and head back to the main resort area, the students all cheered with relief. As they were packing up, everyone started spreading out to take photos of the sun setting on the beach or the twinkling lights that had turned on over the patio. They had all started walking in a line away from the seating area and Jinwoo somehow ended up right behind Eunwoo, but fortunately, he was talking to another super tall, handsome FTG student in front of him (Jinwoo was pretty sure his name was Rowoon). Jinwoo turned around and started talking to the two girls behind him as they walked, not paying much attention to the boy in front of him since he believed to have finally beaten his bad luck curse.

They were almost back at the resort when Jinwoo’s illusion of good luck was shattered. Looking back now, he really should have been paying more attention and this would never have happened. Sally had even tried to warn him, but unfortunately, she was too late - the universe had finally gotten her chance to cause another embarrassing moment for Jinwoo on field trips. The students in front of Jinwoo had walked further than them, probably due to their extra long legs and the fact they weren’t looking backward while talking. Jinwoo had been craning his neck while looking behind him to see Jihun walking with that Seungjun guy from FTG, Sebin was also talking to another FTG student called Woosung just in front of them. He was just about to joke with the girls how their other friends were definitely getting to know their fellow students when he noticed Sally waving her arms at him. He then noticed that she and Sejeong had both stopped walking and just as he was about to ask them what was wrong, he felt himself collide with something (or someone) in front of him. Jinwoo wasn’t even walking that fast honestly, not fast enough that the force of suddenly stopping would cause him to fall over. But when he quickly turned around he saw it was Eunwoo he had crashed into, and the shock of seeing such a tall cute guy so close to him made Jinwoo fall backward and land on his butt. The universe had finally gotten to embarrass him, and in front of an FTG student no less. Jinwoo was completely mortified; if falling over after crashing into him wasn’t bad enough, he had somehow managed to land in a puddle on the ground and his jeans were being slowly soaked through.

Of course, since he had managed to avoid this all day, the universe was being particularly cruel to him in this moment. As Eunwoo leaned down to offer him a hand and pull him up (his hands were soft and he was quite strong, Jinwoo noted), the shorter boy saw that the forest group had returned at a similar time and most likely had seen his accident. Jinwoo felt his face flush crimson, he quickly thanked Eunwoo for helping him and apologised for bumping into him, then walked as quickly as he could into the lobby without actually breaking into a run. He heard someone call his name, it might have been Eunwoo in which case he was glad he didn’t stop. All he wanted to do was go hide in his room and die, maybe he could convince Ms. Choi he was sick tomorrow and avoid having to see Eunwoo and his cute face ever again. Just as he was turning the corner to get to his room, he felt a hand on his shoulder, he had been thinking so loudly he didn’t notice there was someone following him.

“Jinjin seriously are you gone deaf? I have been calling you since you all but sprinted away from that tall dude outside but you completely ignored me. Man, I need to do more cardio because running up those stairs after you was not fun.”

Trust Myungjun to give out about his fitness in moments like this. Jinwoo felt like he was actually going to cry, and he must have looked it too because his friend grabbed him by the wrist and dragged him the last few steps into their room. When they closed the door and switched on the lights, they saw the two other suitcases sitting unopened against the wall, which then reminded Jinwoo that he would have to spend the night with two FTG students who knew Eunwoo and more than likely saw his accident, and he wanted to die all over again. Before he could throw himself onto the bed and hope for the soft blankets to swallow him whole, Myungjun pushed him towards the bathroom.

“You need a shower for three reasons. Firstly; your butt is wet from the puddle you fell into, and I will not let you get sick. Second of all; your hair is a mess, probably from that sea breeze and salty water. And three; you need to clear your head and you’ve always said, you do your best thinking in the shower.”

His friend was right, Jinwoo hadn’t realised the second thing about his hair, but he figured that it didn’t matter much since he had already fallen over and embarrassed himself. He grabbed a change of clothes and headed into the shower. Just as he was about to turn on the water, he could have sworn he heard voices coming from the bedroom, but he ignored it and just went for his shower. Myungjun was right, the running water did help him to clear his thoughts and after he got changed and went out to the room he was feeling much better. Myungjun was sitting on the bed with a smug look on his face, and he brightly greeted Jinwoo when he came into the room.

“MJ, you know I get nervous when you smile at me like that. What happened?”

“It’s nothing to worry about Jinjin, I promise! Now we have to go down for dinner so I hope you’ve gotten your thoughts together!”

Jinwoo didn’t trust his friend's words and narrowed his eyes at him to show as much. But the prospect of food after his long day out in the fresh air caused his stomach to grumble, so they both headed down. While he showered, his head had cleared up and Jinwoo realised that on the grand scale of things, what happened was not the worst by a long shot. The most embarrassing field trip mishap was still held by their dance team’s visit to the state championships, which resulted in a sprained ankle, burnt chest and having to pay a ridiculously high fee for dry-cleaning. It wasn’t exactly the least embarrassing either though, mainly due to the fact he had bumped into perhaps one of the most handsome guys he had ever met. As the pair made their way down to the restaurant, Jinwoo swore to himself he would make sure not to let the universe cause him any more hassle on this trip. He kept his head down as they entered the room, and looked around the table they were sat at with relief. Jihun, Heejun, and Sebin were there, along with Sally and Sejeong, and a few others he knew well enough from his classes. The meal was bright and cheerful, Jihun made Jinwoo feel much better about his little incident by retelling all the times he had embarrassed himself in front of Seungjun (once before today, and so far five times and counting). He didn’t seem too upset about it though, laughing at his own mistakes and Heejun almost fell off his chair from laughing so hard at one point. Maybe Jinwoo wouldn’t have to hide away for the rest of the school year, if Jihun could be so positive about what happened to him then Jinwoo could laugh at himself too.

After they had cleared off the last of their plates, a few of them went outside to look at the night sky. It was so clear out here, you could see hundreds of stars shining in the sky, and Jinwoo felt at peace. Unfortunately, the peace didn’t last as long as he would have liked it too. Just as they were approaching their room, Myungjun started getting hyper and giggly again, but Jinwoo didn’t have the energy to ask him what was going on. It had been a long day, and he felt drained physically and emotionally from all the work they had done on top of his embarrassing incident. He opened the door to their room and was immediately greeted with the sight of a shirtless guy (with pretty impressive abs Jinwoo had to admit). Myungjun squawked a bit when he walked in behind him, but the guy (one of their FTG roommates his brain supplied) didn’t seem bothered.

“Hi, it’s nice to meet you! My name is Moonbin, I’m from FTG and I’ll be sharing with you guys tonight. You must be Jinwoo then? I met Myungjun earlier since we were both in the forest project group. Minnie is just in the bathroom doing his skin care routine, he should be out in a few minutes. I always tell him he doesn’t need to focus on his looks so much since he is naturally gorgeous but he insists. Anyway I hope you don’t mind I took the other top bunk, it looked like you guys had your beds already chosen?”

Jinwoo was surprised this guy - Moonbin - barely breathed in between sentences. Myungjun just nodded from beside him, even he took breaks in between hyperactive monologues like that. Moonbin smiled brightly and his eyes creased up into little crescents, he seemed to pause for a moment almost as if he was thinking about something. Then he looked down at himself and realised he wasn’t wearing a shirt.

“OH MY GOSH I’M SO SORRY AM I MAKING YOU UNCOMFORTABLE?!! LET ME PUT A SHIRT ON OH, WOW I REALLY AM SO SO SORRY!!”

He was yelling and seemed to be quite embarrassed, he sprinted over to his bunk and quickly pulled on a shirt. It was a very loose tank top, but it was better. Jinwoo heard Myungjun let out a small sigh beside him, and one look at his friend confirmed his face was quite flushed from the encounter. Not that Jinwoo could blame him, Moonbin was pretty attractive and seemed like a nice guy. In order to make sure the atmosphere didn’t get too awkward, Jinwoo smiled and went to his own bunk to get his sleep wear.

“You don’t need to apologise dude, if I had abs like yours I would walk around shirtless too!”

Myungjun snorted at that, he knew Jinwoo was in good shape from all his dancing and understood he was trying to break the tension. Myungjun went to sit on Jinwoo’s bed as well, and the three of them started to talk a little about nothing in particular. It mainly consisted of Jinwoo and Moonbin discussing dance and Myungjun occasionally interrupting with some lame joke. Moonbin had convinced Jinwoo to show off his abs too (“it’s only fair, you’ve seen mine!”) when the door to the bathroom opened. He looked up and promptly fell on his butt for the second time that day, for the same reason. Eunwoo walked out of the bathroom in a t-shirt and shorts, obviously ready for bed, his hair was slightly damp and his skin was glowing. His cheeks were slightly pink when he looked at Jinwoo, and then he realised he had done the same as Moonbin earlier and was currently shirtless. As much as his brain was screaming for him to move and cover himself up, or throw himself out the window whichever was easier, his body refused to comply. He wasn’t sure how long he had been sitting on the ground staring at Eunwoo, and being stared back at, before Myungjun threw his sleep clothes at his head and Moonbin burst into a fit of giggles.

“Ummm, yeah right ok, so I’ll just go and get changed and brush my teeth and everything now, yup ok. Sorry about that, and sorry about earlier too.”

He was babbling as he scrambled to his feet and shuffled to the bathroom, his cheeks coloured bright red. As he shut the door behind him he wanted to scream in frustration, the universe really had it out for him on this trip, this was two embarrassing moments involving the same super cute guy. For a moment, the thought of locking himself in the bathroom and not coming out until the trip was over passed through his head, but he knew that wasn’t going to happen. Myungjun may be small, but he was determined when he wanted to be. That plan of action would come to a very quick end.

Then Jinwoo thought of the stories Jihun had told them all over dinner. Despite making a fool of himself several times in front of Seungjun, the taller guy still wanted to talk to him and even laughed at his antics. Jinwoo took a deep breath to calm himself, he may have embarrassed himself in front of Eunwoo, but he was not going to let that stop him from possibly becoming friends with the guy. Moonbin was really nice and if he could at least get along a little less awkwardly with Eunwoo he might be able to keep up a friendship with the two of them. With a plan in mind, Jinwoo got ready for bed and steeled himself to go back out to the room.

When he walked out of the bathroom, he had been expecting his three roommates for the night to be sitting around their bunks talking, or even for Eunwoo to have left in a worse case scenario. Jinwoo certainly was not expecting to see the taller student still standing where he had left him facing away from the bathroom door. He looked over Eunwoo’s shoulder towards the beds and found Myungjun and Moonbin trying to suppress their giggles into a pillow. Knowing his friend, this did not bode well for his plan of becoming tentative friends with the two FTG boys.

“MJ, is everything ok?”

At the sound of his voice, Eunwoo jumped and spun around to face him. His cheeks were still dusted a rosy pink, and his eyes were wide. Jinwoo caught his eyes quickly flicking down to his chest, and the brown haired boy seemed to let out a small shaky sigh and looked up (or was it down?) to meet Jinwoo’s eyes.

“Umm, hi? We were in the same group for the tour earlier on? I’m Eunwoo, and you’re Jinwoo?”

His voice was a little uncertain, and he ended every sentence like it was a question. But it was a cute voice that matched his cute face, and Jinwoo felt the butterflies return in force to his stomach. This was a positive sign though right? Eunwoo wasn’t running away and seemed to want to talk to him. Or maybe he was just being polite, he seemed like he could be that kind of person too. There was only one way to find out for sure though.

“Yeah, we were on the beach team together, although we didn’t see much of each other out there. I’m Jinwoo, and ummm, I’m sorry for running into you earlier. And for flashing you just there, I really didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable or anything. It’s just - the universe has a thing against me on field trips.”

That last part definitely caught Eunwoo’s attention anyway. His brows furrowed and he looked at Jinwoo with confusion. He had opened his mouth to question him, but before he could get a word out, Myungjun butted into their conversation. Jinwoo may have forgotten there were others in the room.

“Lay off the whole ‘the-universe-is-against-me’ thing already would you Jinjin? We’ve already told you - you’re just being paranoid. It’s not fate or whatever conspiring to make you fall over and embarrass yourself on every field trip you’ve ever been on.”

Jinwoo scowled at his friend, he had never believed him or his conviction against this. Sanha used to believe him and even worked with him to find ways to rid himself of the curse. But as soon as Sanha met Myungjun, he changed his mind and became another non-believer - despite seeing first hand the embarrassing situations he always ended up in. Jinwoo never really had anyone else he was close enough to that he could confide this in; Minhyuk was so practical and since he never saw any incidents, Jinwoo couldn’t ask his cousin to believe him. And yet, here he was spilling his deepest secret to a practical stranger, a cute one sure, but that shouldn’t be enough to make Jinwoo trust him like this. Especially not after he embarrassed himself in front of him. But there was just something about Eunwoo that Jinwoo couldn’t help but confide in him.

“The universe is out to get you too? I thought I was the only one, none of my friends will believe me. How long have you been cursed?”

When had Eunwoo leaned in so close? Jinwoo wasn’t sure, he was so caught up in his own internal crisis he really hadn’t noticed the taller student moving into his space until he spoke. There was a tone to his voice that made Jinwoo believe he wasn’t messing with him though, Eunwoo really had experience with this too.

“Ye - yeah, since about ten years ago. Any field trip I have ever gone on has ended with me embarrassing myself in some way. There was one really bad time about three years ago; I tripped over something and sprained my ankle, and then as I stood up I fell into a competition adjudicator and got coffee spilled on my chest and his pricey suit. That was not a fun day.”

Why was he revealing this to Eunwoo? No one except the dance team, Myungjun and Sanha was ever supposed to be privy to that information. Yet he was laying his soul bare to this guy he just met. It was whispered into the space between them, so he was fairly confident Moonbin hadn’t heard him, but it made it seem more intimate because of that.

“So it was the universe that caused you to bump into me and fall over then? That makes sense, it falls in line with my curse too.”

Eunwoo was whispering now too, and he had somehow gotten even closer. He wasn’t blushing anymore, but his eyes were still wide- this time sparkling with interest. Jinwoo wondered what on earth this angel could have done to be cursed by the universe. Actually, come to think of it, he wasn’t sure what Eunwoo’s curse was either. He cautiously questioned him, not wanting to make him feel pressured to reveal it. “You have no idea how relieved I am to have someone to finally share this with! Ever since about eight years ago, whenever I go anywhere outside of my usual schedule I cause people injuries. I have had girls collapse after talking to me, and guys run into doors or walls when I smile at them. Once I took part in a talent show for charity, and the announcer fell off the stage after my performance!”

His jaw dropped and he nodded his head sympathetically. The universe could be cruel like that, poor Eunwoo probably felt so responsible for all those people. At least with Jinwoo, the only one who usually had to suffer was himself. After all this time though, he felt his heart lift at the thought of having someone to share his troubles with. Through the haze of his bliss, he could hear Myungun’s hysterical laughter, and another laugh he assumed must be Moonbin’s. Eunwoo obviously heard it too, he straightened up and turned around to the pair.

“Binnie, what are you laughing at? You’re the one who never believes me, and now that I finally found someone who understands you’re just being rude.”

This caused the other two to collapse on top of each other on the floor with laughter. Jinwoo had enough of the mocking, for now, he sprinted over and threw himself on top of his best friend, who started shrieking at him. The pillow he had been using to hide his laughter was now Jinwoo’s weapon of choice against him, scolding Myungjun for being so loud and inconsiderate. Moonbin was being caught in the fray as well, and when Myungjun hid behind his back, Jinwoo paused before swinging the pillow down. It wasn’t really his place to hit this guy he had just met, but he was still laughing at him and was even sheltering his traitorous best friend. The dilemma in his head was solved when Eunwoo launched himself at Moonbin, grabbing him around the middle and rolling away, leaving Jinwoo with a clear shot at Myungjun again. Their scuffling only lasted another minute or two, when the beaten pair of giggly students surrendered to their fate. Jinwoo sat back feeling a little out of breath, he was sure his face was red and hair messed up, but he couldn’t bring himself to care too much.

“Ok Binnie, it’s answer time. What is so funny about your best friend and a cute student from another school both being cursed by the universe, hmm? Jinwoo here believes me, so that makes him eligible to take best friend privileges away from you, you know?”

When Jinwoo looked around, he found Eunwoo pinning Moonbin to the ground and huffing slightly. He didn’t know what to react to first; the fact that he had just been called cute by an actual angel, or the suggested promotion to best friend rank. Before he could even process what was going on, Moonbin had flipped them over (he didn’t seem to be tired from their rolling about), and Myungjun had flattened him to the ground and was sitting on his back.

“Ooof - MJ get off me! This isn’t fair, you surrendered!”

His friend just gave his weird evil laugh and shared a look with Moonbin over his head. Then he felt the weight roll off him and he was being pulled up into a sitting position. Across from them, the two FTG students were sitting up too. Eunwoo still looked gorgeous, even with his hair a mess and a light sweat on his forehead. He was pouting though, which made him look even cuter than Jinwoo thought was possible.

“Minnie, my completely oblivious best friend since forever. How many times have I told you, people getting injured around you is not a curse from the universe, but rather one of your good-looks? And before you can pull the whole ‘it only happens when I stray from my schedule’ crap - that’s because people who see you regularly have become accustomed to your face, and when you’re on a schedule they can prepare themselves for when they see you. Poor Jinwoo here was obviously so shocked by your face he fell over, not a big deal.”

Jinwoo felt himself turn red, and he went to protest that wasn’t (entirely) true but Myungjun beat him to it, covering his mouth with a pillow and speaking up instead.

“I can assure you, that’s exactly what happened. Jinjin has a bad track record with handsome guys and making a fool of himself in front of them. And as for his ‘curse’ - it’s just his big clumsy feet that he always manages to trip over, and his lack of shame until someone points it out. The fact it only happens on field trips is both a coincidence and a testament to the fact that he is so used to one environment he makes a bigger fool of himself than usual when he’s outside of it.”

Myungjun probably would have had more to say on the matter, but a sharp elbow to his stomach shut him up effectively. It also caused him to drop the pillow from Jinwoo’s mouth which was a bonus. He was going to argue against what his friend had said, but Eunwoo started talking then and he felt his breath get knocked from his chest.

“I guess you guys are right, we’re not cursed by the universe. It’s just our own issues and paranoia.”

How could he change his mind so quickly? Jinwoo had finally thought he found someone he could share all this with and it was snatched away from him in the blink of an eye. The pricking feeling of tears started behind his eyes, he opened and shut his mouth a few times in shock and shame. He was about to hang his head when he caught Eunwoo’s quick wink in his direction. It was a playful wink, and although Jinwoo wasn’t the best at reading body language or gestures, he got the feeling that wink meant Eunwoo didn’t seriously believe what he was saying. So Jinwoo just nodded his head and played along, voicing his agreement to Eunwoo’s statement. Their respective best friends seemed to be satisfied, if not a little confused, by their compliance. All four students picked themselves up off the floor, and Myungjun and Moonbin took their turns using the bathroom to get ready for bed.

When they were all eventually settled in their bunks, it was very late into the night, so they decided to go straight to sleep and talk more in the morning. Jinwoo bade good night to his best friend in the bed above him, and to the two FTG students (who would hopefully become his friends too) in the bunk beds across the room. After a while, he could hear Myungjun’s gentle snores coming from the top bunk, but he himself couldn’t get to sleep. There were so many thoughts running through his head, mostly about Eunwoo and how he believed him about the curse. Just as Jinwoo was finally feeling sleepy, he felt his blanket lift and a weight join him on the mattress.

“Jinwoo, are you sleeping? I hope not because I have so much I want to talk about! I had to wait for Binnie to fall asleep though.”

His brain short-circuited a little, and he opened his eyes in the semi-darkness. The moonlight - which wasn’t fully blocked by their rooms curtains - illuminated Eunwoo’s silhouette beside him. The taller boy had crawled into his bunk in the dead of night because he wanted to talk to Jinwoo about their curses. He really did believe him, and while Jinwoo should have felt a little embarrassed by their proximity, all he felt was excitement. The pair talked for hours in hushed whispers, lying face-to-face in a bed not made for two. They each revealed all the times they had been struck down by their curses, and how many things they had tried to appease the universe and break their misfortunes. It was such a relief to share all the thoughts he had kept hidden from his other friends, with someone who really understood what he was going through. Jinwoo fell asleep to the gentle rhythm of Eunwoo’s breathing beside him, and his heart felt lighter than ever before.

(If their friends had screamed any louder the next morning when they woke up, it would have probably broken the windows. But Jinwoo couldn’t really blame them, he wanted to scream too when he found himself being cuddled by Eunwoo in the small bunk. Not that he would ever admit to it, he enjoyed the feeling of the taller students broad warm chest against his back, and his arms holding him around the middle. He certainly wouldn’t be opposed to it happening again.)

[ecotone99]

[SP] The Numerous Deaths of John Duar

As he sprints down the road John tries to recall who he is supposed to be today. The memory flashes in his mind and he remembers he is Carl Antonius, a 32 year-old business man on his way to work. The streets of Paris are crowded on this chilly January morning which makes it hard for John to dart in and out of the crowds. His lungs burn and in his rush he almost doesn’t notice the bus barreling toward him when he begins to step out into the street. John instinctively jumps back onto the sidewalk, safely out of the bus's path. Was that it? John wonders nervously. But no, he had not missed his moment just yet. Then he hears the familiar singsong whistle of a young lady he knows very well.

​

As the crowd clears away and crosses the street John remains stationary and so does one other person. Standing there with her signature smile on her face was Aileana—a lively young woman with brown hair and a set of encapsulating, soft green eyes.

​

“You’re gonna get me killed Aileana,” John scolds without as much as a glance.

​

Aileana’s smile doesn’t waiver as she steps toward John. “Then why are you standing here waiting on me?”

​

“I’m not waiting on you I’m just not supposed to move yet.”

​

“Then I’m not messing anything up.”

​

“If we talk too much it could get risky.” John turns toward Aileana. “This one is going to be short, I can tell, and I can’t afford to miss out on it.”

​

John steps off the sidewalk to walk away and Aileana watches him skeptically before deciding to follow close behind. “So who are you today?”

​

John’s eyes are locked forward and his speech is curt, almost rehearsed. “I am Carl Antonius, a 32 year-old business man on his way to work.”

​

“Have you been practicing that?” Aileana asks teasingly.

​

John’s mouth purses tightly. “Maybe,” he mumbles through barely opened lips.

​

Aileana lets out a laugh and John can’t help but smile at her teasing.

​

“You need to lighten up some,” Aileana says.

​

“I want to but it’s hard when the timing is so precise. I hate these sort of runs.”

​

“Do you know what it is today?”

​

“No. I just hope it isn’t another car wreck. I’m tired of those.”

​

“Well as long as you don’t walk into the street again or hop in a taxi I think you’re going to be fine, John.”

​

John turns his head slowly toward Aileana at the sound of his real name. His gaze drives into her as he raises his eyebrows.

​

“Oops! Sorry! Carl,” Aileana’s cheeks redden with embarrassment.

​

“It’s fine. Not many people are around right now. Just be—,“ John freezes on the sidewalk as he sees a nearby park. A man in a dark suit sits alone on a bench with a briefcase held close to his hip.

​

Aileana keeps walking a few steps more before realizing John has stopped. “Is this it?” her tone coated with concern.

​

“I think so,” John’s eyes are locked on the man in the park.

​

“Then let’s keep moving. You really should come with me.”

​

“I can’t, Aileana.”

​

Aileana steps into John’s eyesight and puts her delicate hands on his smooth cheeks. “You have a choice in this. Who cares about Carl! I’m talking about you; I’m talking about John.”

​

As Aileana’s jade eyes pour into John he can’t help but wonder how life would change if he were to go with her.

​

Then he sees a man. The man almost imperceptibly slows down as he goes by John and Aileana. His dark, seedy eyes catch John’s and for the absolute briefest of moments the man’s gaze lingers. And John feels the endless pull inside of him.

​

‘I am Carl,’ John hears the words in his head more than he says them.

​

“No,” John says as he pulls away from Aileana and begins to rush across the road to the park.

​

With his sights fixed on the man on the bench John never notices the open manhole cover. As he begins to fall, he turns and sees Aileana watching but with a sadness more akin to pity than grief.

​

John’s arm snaps when it hits one of the steps of the ladder within the manhole. Then, his head cracks open on the hard floor when he reaches the bottom. As he lingers on the edge of life he does not fear death. He has died so many times that it has become mundane.

​

John knows Aileana feels sorry that he has to die so often. She has watched him die hundreds if not thousands of times. Except she’s not really watching John die; she’s watching Carl Antonius or Leighton Vale or Callum Morris die. John Duar doesn’t ever really die.

​

John feels at ease with most of his days. Aileana has been present in his runs only recently, relatively speaking… though it seems as if she has been an eternal presence all along his journey. The endlessness is where John finds his peace but he does ache for the one person he has connection with in this existence. Aileana has been a true friend all the time he has known her. And she breaks every time John fulfills the path he is on.

​

John feels strangely drawn to her. Her pleads to deviate from his path are always enticing and John wants to follow her into an eternal comfort but the darkness, the deaths… the endless all call to him with a depth John often fears.

​

Soon everything clicks as John feels as if he is coming out of a dream. He’s leaving a subway station and heading somewhere. He pauses for a moment to try and remember who he is.

​

“Hey there,” rings Aileana’s cheerful voice.

​

“You’re fast today,” John says with veiled joy. He sees Aileana sitting on a ledge near the black stone steps of an enormous glass office building. The building is lit ablaze by the glaring sun and John instinctively lowers his sunglasses off his head of black hair to cover his brown eyes. He looks down and sees his gray vest buttoned tightly around a red plaid shirt. He examines his skinny jeans and recalls his distaste for the hipster look. “Ugh…” he mutters. “Did anything interesting happen after I died in Paris?”

​

Aileana’s smile waivers slightly as she looks away. “I don’t know. I didn’t pay attention.”

​

John moves in front of Aileana. “I shouldn’t have asked. I’m sorry.”

​

Aileana meets John’s eyes and pats him on the shoulder as she puts on a smile. “You are forgiven Mr….?”

​

“Oh, I haven’t remembered yet. Give me a second.”

​

“Duar?”

​

“Aileana,” he says with an almost playful annoyance.

​

“Come on. You have never been John with me.”

​

“I don’t know if I can be John anymore.”

​

“What if this one is long? Will you try?”

​

“Aileana...”

​

“Come on, if it’s really long you have plenty of time to work it out. You did make me watch you die again.”

​

John sighs and closes his eyes. Straightaway he is rushed with the memories of Leonard Datchet, a 27 year old IT consultant. The path is long and he toys with the idea of trying to be John for a day. His thoughts trail off, thinking of how he would spend his time with Aileana living as himself for once… if that were even possible.

​

He feels the desperate tug of the endless darkness as he entertains thoughts of deviation. He shakes free from his fantasy and falls back into who he is today.

​

“I’m Leonard Datchet, Aileana. I can’t change that. It won’t let me.”

​

Aileana sighs in exasperation, “Then how do you know who I am? You’re John still. You have always been John. Datchet is a shell just like Carl was and whatever it is that you say pulls you into these things doesn’t have you completely.” She puts her hands on his cheeks again, as if she could see the real John underneath Leonard, “The fact that it resists you trying to change but doesn’t impose a compulsive will onto you should tell you that there is a choice. Hell, I’m telling you there is a choice!”

​

John steps past her, the pain in his eyes hidden behind the glasses. Aileana keeps step with him.

​

“How do you know, though?” John finally says through a choked voice.

​

“You know I can’t tell you that,” Aileana murmurs.

​

John turns toward her, “Then how can I trust you more than it? I don’t even know what you are or even what I am. I know the beyond is where I’ve always felt a pull, a peace, a….”

“Vast loneliness,” Aileana interjects.

​

John pauses. “Yes.”

​

“You don’t have to be subject to that, though.”

​

The endless void snaps at John’s thoughts, almost admonishing him, and pulls him back to Leonard. “I have you in these moments to absolve that.” John corrects his glasses and walks on toward his destination--Leonard’s apartment.

​

As they continued on, it seemed Aileana had said her piece and was letting John muddle through the current path as he wished. She always understood how hard it was to split away from the path he was on for too long so she remitted her further pleads to a more opportune time.

​

As John entered the loft apartment he realized Leonard had friends coming over that night for a small get together and it was time to prep for the party.

​

“Hey, it’s a party tonight. Do you wanna be here? Do you wanna help me get things ready?” John knew the answer before Aileana replied.

​

“Of course!” Aileana said with genuine enthusiasm. “As long as you let me talk your ear off while we prep.”

​

“I think that is a fair deal.”

​

John and Aileana rearrange the living space to accommodate a smallish crowd of Leonard’s friends. They gather food, make some playlists, and enjoy the preparation process.

​

John realizes how much he enjoys these moments with Aileana and how uninterrupted times like these, though extremely rare, are what his heart truly desires. Leonard snaps him back when his phone buzzes and John has to refocus.

​

Soon, people start arriving. Aileana was introduced as Leonard’s friend who came on a surprise trip from out of town. Leonard’s friends were very welcoming… and when John left Leonard’s body, Aileana would similarly leave the memories of these people.

​

John realizes this path is one of the longer ones than he has ever been on. He lets himself sink into the role of host while enjoying the party. He finds himself--or is it Leonard--becoming more and more enamored with Aileana as the night goes on and he continually finds himself by her side.

​

The flash of a dog darts across his mind. The moment of death grows closer and the weight of the endless beyond presses onto John’s mind.

​

But John aches for more time. Aileana’s words ring in his head--’...there is a choice.’

​

If he could choose, he would choose time with Aileana. Her voice, her smile, and her touch foster a fire within him that he has never felt before. In that moment, as his thoughts lingered on moving away from the path and staying with her instead, she appeared in front of him. John blinked, surprised by her sudden appearance. Then he hears the endless scream inside him with argument.

​

“John…?” Aileana says confused. “What’s going on?”

​

John sees Aileana blinking in and out in front of him. The rest of the party goers are frozen, eyes black and staring at Aileana and himself.

​

Then it flashes and everything is normal except Aileana is gone.

John panics. Leonard and the endless pull at him to leave the party. John feels out of control for the first time and hears Leonard’s voice say to one of his friends, “Hey, I’m gonna run down to the store and grab some more beers!”

​

They shoot him a thumbs up and without truly willing it, John moves as Leonard out the door. He leaves the apartment building and can see a bodega a couple blocks down the road. Leonard is set on going there. John is in a whirl, screaming at himself--or Leonard, the distinction between the two seems to be fading--to look for Aileana.

​

Then he sees a dog down the road near the bodega. The endless screams in a strange sort of silent desperation. John is falling into Leonard, reaching for control of his mind, fighting against the nothingness that is consuming him.

​

He screams again as he crosses the street but Leonard doesn’t respond. The dog sits up and lunges at Leonard. John dodges to the left but Leonard moves backward, into the street. John turns around to see Leonard staring at him dumbstruck.

​

“You’re... John, right?” Leonard says in a confused mumble as if he didn’t know where the knowledge came from. “What’s going--” Leonard is cut off when a bus slams into him, knocking him to the ground and wrapping his body around the tire.

​

John is frozen and in awe. The endless is no longer consuming but it’s not gone.

​

Someone grips John’s hand. He turns to see Aileana entwining her fingers into his. Her smile seems to brighten up the evening.

​

“I told you you had a choice,” she says as she leans her head onto his shoulder.

​

John can only smile as peace, comfort, and love washes over him with the aching loneliness of the endless beyond fading.

​

Yet John still felt it all--the beyond, the deaths, the eternity. Somehow John’s mind has been opened as if he had been half asleep all up to this point. It was then he was washed over with a strangely comforting realization--I am The Endless.

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[juniorformulamotorsport]

Sunday, 21st/Monday, 22nd October 2007 – Lisbon, Days 3 and 4

Sunday morning was just as sunny and we duly set off for the suburb of Santa Maria de Belém (known as Belém), to take a look at a variety of things. The day’s entertainment started quite early when about 300 people all tried to cram onto the number 15 tram. Now I don’t do well in crowds, and I’m not the only one, but as we managed to get seats by virtue of being faster and meaner than most tourists it wasn’t too bad. At least I was sitting next to a window so I could look out rather than at the crowds hemming us in on all sides. However, we got as far as the depot and the tram museum and then the driver got out and told us all to get off. He couldn’t explain why, so none of us knew what was going on. We would eventually find out, but not right now. That left a whole crowd of confused tourists wondering why we weren’t being taken to our desired destination. And most of them promptly decamped to the bus stop. As we didn’t have a bus map (the Tourist Office had run out), we decided to grab a cab (or two) and complete the journey to the fabulous Mosteiro dos Jerónimos. That plan didn’t quite work either as the cab driver suddenly found himself face to face with a police-induced jam in the Praça Afonso de Albuquerque in front of the Palacio de Belem, which these days is the Presidential Palace. This turned out to be the monthly ceremony of changing the guard (held on the third Sunday of every month apparently). There were men in uniform blowing trumpets, and others with dogs (one of which was taking serious exception to the music and barking wildly), and then a troupe of horsemen came down the steps at the side and paraded along the road. As Lynne said, it was very nice of them to welcome us, but they shouldn’t have bothered, really.

Anyway, that excitement over with, the five of us finally made it to the monastery, which is overwhelming in its decoration. I can’t now recall why Lynne and I coined the term “lunatic Gothic” to describe some of the more elaborate architecture of the period. I have to say this takes it to a whole other level, and can probably be best described as “certifiable Gothic”. The building – inside and out – resembles nothing so much as a massive white wedding cake, over-decorated to the point of meltdown by a confectioner who simply didn’t know when to stop. They say less is more. Not here it isn’t. Here, more is more. I can’t recall seeing anything like it anywhere, and I simply wandered about gob-smacked, not knowing which way to look first. It’s like walking into a forest of fantastical trees, and, as intended no doubt, the eye is drawn irresistibly upwards by the pillars in the nave. The first thing you come up against is the tomb of Vasco da Gama, and it gets better and better from there. It also helped that a choir was singing, the voices soaring into the glorious roof space. It was brilliant and I couldn’t help but take dozens of photos of the details. Mass was about to start so we had to shuffle back out, and thus wandered into the Museum of Archaeology next door, which is free on Sundays before 14.00. I particularly enjoyed the exhibition of the Treasures of Portuguese Archaeology, which had some fabulous gold jewellery, including a marvellous torc that I wanted to take away with me. I didn’t, but it was close! Once we’d explored the museum, we made our way to the monastery cloisters, which are lovely, in an overwrought sort of way. Some of the gargoyles are amazing, and I was taken with the one in the shape of a cricket.

By now in need of sustenance, we staggered the few yards to the rabbit warren of a building that houses the Antiga Confeitaria de Belém, where we skilfully found a table in nothing flat and proceeded to order and down ten (two each) of the delicious little pastéis de Belém (custard tarts) that they have been making there since 1837, a cup of strong coffee each and some water. Apparently on a daily basis they make around 10,000 tarts, and at weekends that doubles. So, 90,000 custard tarts a week. That’s a lot of custard. And very good they were too.

Suitably fortified, we headed off through the park, over the railway line and along the road to the Padrão dos Descobrimentos, which was put up as a temporary monument over fifty years ago but is still there. The statues on the outside are of the various Portuguese navigators and others involved in the Age of Discoveries. They had seagulls on their heads, of course. They also look out along the River Tagus in an excited way, and are massive. There’s something very Soviet bloc about them, which is not that surprising given that they were built under the Salazar regime. The monument itself contains a couple of exhibition spaces, and has a lift to the gallery at the top, which affords some superb views both of the monastery and it’s surroundings, but also of the river and the statue of Christ on the other bank, making you think you might be in a scaled down version of Rio de Janeiro, which of course is not that far from the truth in some ways. Four of us went up to the top in the lift (Lynne refused, predictably enough), and then after “oohing” and “aahing” at the views, made ourselves dizzy by walking back down the stairs because we couldn’t be bothered to wait for the lift to empty. There we go with the up and down again.

From there we wandered finally to the Torre de Belém, which is as fanciful as the monastery, despite its utilitarian purpose. It was originally used for defence, being matched by a second tower on the other side of the Tagus. The idea was that anyone attacking by river would be caught in the crossfire between the two towers, which seems like a pretty effective idea to me. The tower itself is in pretty good condition now after a great deal of renovation, and is one the prettiest fortresses I’ve ever encountered. The steps leading to each floor are a bit of a bugger though, and I’m damn glad I’ve lost weight because if I hadn’t I’m not sure I’d have been able to get up there, and I certainly don’t think anyone would have been able to get past me going the other way. It wasn’t easy as it was. Finally, exhausted, we retreated to sit on a bench in the park and watched as a number of small boys were prevented from investigating too closely the lethal looking jellyfish that were floating in the shallow water like an ethereal flotilla. Very pretty – very dangerous.

Worn out now, we got the tram and metro back to the hotel, changed and got ready to head out to Estoril to have dinner with our friends Andreas and Esther (of Jenzer Motorsport) and Elaine, Bill and Lorna, all of them in town for the World Series by Renault race meeting at Estoril circuit. It proved to be rather more difficult than we expected, because the Metro was having some sort of technical breakdown and we were already running late for the train for Cais do Sodre to Estoril. We gave up and headed back to the hotel, where they managed to organise us a taxi to take us all the way there. As a result, instead of arriving late, we got there early. After a drink in the American Bar of the Estoril Casino, we had a splendid dinner in the Mandarim Chinese restaurant, with a fine selection of dishes, and plenty of wine. The evening wasn’t done with us either – as we were getting towards the coffee stage, the maitre d’ came over and told us that “The gentleman in the black shirt on the next table wants to pay for your drinks.” We said a very polite thank you, discovering that the “gentleman” was Jonathan Lewis, owner of the Comtec race team, and long-time friend of Bill and Elaine. Then Andreas picked up the after dinner drinks bill, so all in all it was quite a cheap night out! We then gave up on getting a single cab back to Lisbon and headed for the railway station, getting the last but one train back (the 01.04 I think it was), which cost us the princely sum of €1.60 each, and felt incredibly safe. A slight misunderstanding with the maniac cab driver at the other end nearly saw Lynne and I dropped off at the wrong hotel, with the driver blaming us for not speaking Portuguese, even though we’d shown him the print out with the hotel’s address on before we set off. Still, we got back, shared a bottle of Champagne and finally fell into bed at around 02.30. It had been a good – if tiring – day.

On Monday, we got up late, packed and Lynne, Janice and I went out to buy some port. Well, it would have been churlish not to, when there’s so much of it about. A bottle of vintage port, a late bottle tawny and a bottle of white later, we needed a final coffee and a custard tart, so we retired to the café Martinho da Arcada, one of Lisbon’s oldest cafes. We also stopped and took photos of the Elevador de Santa Justa, and then we headed for the hotel, the airport and home.

So now all that remains to do is decide where we’re going next year.

Travel 2007 – Lisbon, Days 3 and 4 Sunday, 21st/Monday, 22nd October 2007 - Lisbon, Days 3 and 4 Sunday morning was just as sunny and we duly set off for the suburb of Santa Maria de Belém (known as Belém), to take a look at a variety of things.

[wildfey]

So for my new years resolution I decided that this year I was going to read 52 books, e.g. one a week. Also that I would only count books that I was reading for the first time (so i don’t just reread night watch 52 times) and that I was going to try and read outside my comfort zone.

As you can see, January’s went pretty well. (badly written ramblings under the cut)

What I read this month (in chronological order)

Red Seas under Red Skies: Honestly I expected to finish this before the new year, but family (amongst other things) meant that I put it off and finished it on the 5th instead. However, even though I took a gap in the middle of reading, rsurs still stood out to me as a very good book, and i’m glad it was the first thing I finished this year (even though it ended on a massive cliffhanger, what the hell?!, but i’m getting republic of thieves soon so I’ll see how that turns out.) 

I loved the lies of Locke Lamora when I first read it, and honestly the second book lives up to that. Locke Lamora himself continues to be in equal parts amusing as hell and a little shit (I think anyone who knows me shouldn’t be surprised that he’s my fave character) but I also liked Jean a lot (more) in this book, especially because he’s a supporting character on his own rather than being one of several gentleman bastards. I do like that he gets a fair few standalone moments in this book.

what I will say is that rsurs has a feel that the author just put stuff in because he felt like it (e.g. the actual seas part comes in quite a while into the book and kinda out of nowhere) but I love pirate stuff so honestly I don’t mind, and seeing Locke and Jean with absolutely no idea what they’re doing is hilarious. Also bonus points for Zamira Drakasha who is fantastic, Ezri who is tiny and intimidating (something I appreciate because I’m the former but not the latter) and gratuitous cats, which I could never argue with (though I don’t think I would be able to get any of my cats aboard a ship).

I am Malala: So I decided to spend this month finally getting round to reading books I have had for ages, and I am Malala is the first of those. (I think I might have got it as a present one or two years ago). Anyways, I found it in my newly regained stash of childhood books (long story short they were in a crate in a cupboard behind several other cupboards and I wasn’t allowed to touch them, but I am now).  

Should I talk about the actual book now?

So Malala Yousafzai is someone I’ve admired for a long time, for obvious reasons. She’s only a couple of years older than me, and I think that makes me appreciate her strength even more, because it’s easier for me to compare to my own(I am really not a strong willed person :/). That was one of the things that stood out to me about the book, that Malala obviously had such courage to continue with her life, and while she was supported by her family, ultimately she had to make these very tough decisions and choose between her safety and the education which she valued. Throughout the book, she keeps on choosing the latter, even whilst her ability to access it diminishes. It’s very powerful to read about, and while I like to hope that I would make that same choice in the same situation, I’m not sure if I would be brave enough to. The other thing about this book is that there is a genuine love for her home in the swat valley, which makes it all the more painful when the Yousafzai family eventually have to leave. All in all that’s a constant in this book, that the things that are beautiful and worthwhile are still beautiful and worthwhile, even while the taliban attempt to destroy them, and that one day the taliban will be gone, and they will be beautiful and worthwhile still.

 I’m really glad I finally got round to reading this book. I very rarely like biographies, but I am Malala told a very painful story of endurance against evil, and I regret not reading it earlier.

Mother Courage and her Children: In general, I really enjoy reading plays for a couple of reasons. First of all, they’re usually pretty short, and you can read them in a couple of hours and still get a really engaging story in that time (while I do have a soft spot for ridiculously long fantasy novels, I can’t read them all the time, we all need a break sometimes.) The second reason is that if you read them aloud, plays gain an extra (let’s call it a) dimension to them that books usually don’t have. MCahC isn’t an exception to this, and if you’re not self-conscious I would recommend reading it out loud.

As for the play itself, it’s a classic, and I’m not sure I can say anything much that smarter people than me haven’t said before. I’ll try anyways though.

I’m always interested in reading stories that are pacifist in nature, but focus on people who are invested in war. There’s definitely an interesting juxtaposition between how mother courage continues to profit and benefit from the war, whilst at the same time suffering at it’s hands and losing her family to it. It’s kinda inevitable that her family is ruined by it, but at the same time she stays close. You could argue that she has little choice (after all, there’s a war on, where else is she going to get paid) but nevertheless I found myself wishing in a futile way that Kattrin would escape and live. (spoilers: she doesn’t.) It’s a play that’s much more interested in talking themes then telling a straight story, and the themes are just grim. 

Also I went on the wiki page for this book and apparently the MCR song “mama” was based on this play and I don’t even know how to feel about that.

The Railway Detective, book 1-->5: So, I’ve been interested in these books for a while now, mostly because I have a couple of niche book interests which are rarely indulged.

1. I really like history mysteries and

2. I think trains are cool (insert asdf joke). 

As a result I’ve been kinda nosing around these books whenever I see them, but nothing ever convinced me to read them. That is, until just before christmas I was waiting to see tlj with a friend, and I was on the charity shop trawl. And there I found them. The first 5 books in a neat little cardboard box set. For £2. Which was the real push I needed to buy them (after all, I could never afford them new, I don’t have £40 to spend on anything, let alone books.) 

They’re relatively short and easy to read, at least compared to a lot of the dense stuff I usually go for. Personally, I really liked them, and I might well reread one or two at some point (most likely the 3rd book “the railway viaduct” which was my fave. There’s nothing that revolutionary in them, you have your standard detective + sergeant, a series of historical characters including the perpetual Victorian favorites of pickpockets, thugs, lords, industrialists etc, a pretty love interest and her overbearing father. Normal stuff. But I think sometimes I need something a bit formulaic (and to be fair, the mysteries themselves are decent enough and can keep you guessing when they want to). Ironically enough, I think the best place to read these is whilst you’re on a bus or a train. (My 2 hour daily bus journey is definitely how I got through all 5 of them).

All in all, I wouldn’t 100% recommend buying them, unless you’re super into history mysteries or have a lot more disposable cash than I do. But if you find them second hand or in a library then they’re worth checking out.

[passportsymphony]

Kashmir tales part 4: How sleeping in saved my life

We woke up early in the morning the next day. It was a beautiful day and it seemed like the sun rays were tickling the clouds. Even though it was summer, it was still pretty cold and it kept getting even colder as we were approaching Pangong Tso. This lake was one of the main reasons to visit Kashmir for me. The stories about Pangong always described it as the ultimate mountain jewel, standing at more than 5,700 meters of height.

The journey to Pangong Tso

It was a long journey since the mountain roads weren’t in the best condition. Few monasteries and army camps later, we spotted a small frozen lake. That was strange considering it was the beginning of June and it was supposed to be summer. This just shows exactly how Kashmiri summer looks like.

My faithful companion for this trip, my headache stroke again, warning me that the air is getting thinner with every next meter of height. An hour or so later, I finally saw Pangong Tso peeping through the dry mountains. It looked so small from here, but the view was majestic. As we were driving down the hill, I started realizing how big the lake actually is.

  Reaching the lake

Only small portion of Pangong Tso is actually within the borders of India and the larger part belongs to China. Pangong Tso is based in the centre of the conflict, Aksai Chin, but yet again the lake gave me that feeling of eternal peace. I’ve never seen a place like that before- that captivates the soul of the traveller with serenity and tranquillity.

I will always remember this lake as the one whose beauty leaves even the greatest wordsmiths speechless. Pangong Tso is like that beautiful girl that you gather the courage to approach with months and when you finally get the guts to do so, you suddenly forget how to speak. That’s the impression Pangong Tso usually leaves on people, and I was no exception.

After this experience, I have forgotten about all my worries and daily struggles. It was the closest thing to a nirvana, I suppose you could say. I was so relaxed, that I forgot that we almost reached China, and we barely have enough money to go back to Delhi! Tashi dropped us back to Leh and from here our financial situation only allowed us to take the local bus to Srinagar, as we couldn’t afford anything else. The local buses are sometimes so crowded, that there are people that ride on the top of the bus! I was just happy this wasn’t one of those times.

  The surprising stop at Kargil

In the morning we slept in and we missed the first bus. I was frustrated at the time, but now I’m glad that happened. Our tickets were valid for the next bus and we got on it. This was looking like the beginning of the end of our Kashmir adventure. Or, so we thought.

The bus suddenly made a stop at Kargil. Initially, we thought we’re taking a break, but the bus driver told Rishabh that this is the last stop. We were shocked, as we paid for bus tickets to Srinagar. Apparently, the previous bus (the one we missed) was held captive near Srinagar by the militants. They stopped the bus on the road, they stoned the bus and were holding all the passengers captive.

We kindly explained our bad luck to the driver and asked for a refund, which we eventually got after some bargaining. I must say I really didn’t enjoy the vibe Kargil was giving me. Historically, Kargil was known as the terrorist stronghold and the centre of the India Pakistani war. And the militant influence is still pretty strong among the local people. I don’t speak a single word of Urdu, but I could feel the aggression and hate in the voice of the preacher in the central mosque that had speakers that were echoing throughout the entire town. That was a really creepy feeling.

After a lot of bargaining and explaining, we managed to get one of the local taxi drivers to drop us to Jammu for the amount of money that we had left. While Rishabh was negotiating, I was just walking around the market acting as if we’re not together. I knew that if the taxi driver figured out that we’re together, the price would increase dramatically.

  Going back to Jammu and boarding the crazy train

We were finally on the way. Our driver was savagely rushing down the hill, turning the 16-hour journey into a 10 hour one. I felt like our car might stumble down the hill at least 15 times. But finally, we reached Jammu. We shrugged off all the coins and pocket money and somehow managed to collect around 160 rupees, around $2.50 USD.

After that, we went straight to the Jammu train station and we bought tickets for the lowest class. And riding in that train is something I will never forget. It was a 13-hour journey to Delhi, but still, there were more than 100 people that were standing all the way to Delhi. The rule in this train is: if you find a free spot, then that’s yours. If you get up from your seat to go to the bathroom, that’s not your seat anymore.

When we got up all the seats were already taken, so we were sitting on the upper floor, where people would suppose to keep their bags in normal trains. In this train, there was me and 7 other people sitting in that area. I think I was the only non-Indian in the coach and I could tell everyone around me were really surprised. After 13 hours of sitting in the same position without even going to the washroom, we finally reached Delhi. That was the last chapter of this crazy Kashmir adventure.

  Few final thoughts

Staying in Kashmir for two weeks and interacting with the local people made me see their part of the story. A story which is a lot different than the one we get to see in the media. And I’m not going to say that everything is perfect in Kashmir. But these stories didn’t stop me from visiting one of the most beautiful places I have seen in my life. And meeting some of the nicest people I ever met. Of course, we had our share of bad luck and things I can’t say that I would like to experience again, but this journey sure turned out to be a great story to tell.

The post Kashmir tales part 4: How sleeping in saved my life appeared first on Passport Symphony.

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[hairstyle1453-blog]

50 Ridiculous Haircuts

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50 Ridiculous Haircuts

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Hairstyle trends come and go. Some are more sophisticated than others. While some of these ridiculous haircuts are absurd, others might work in the right setting. Don’t let us tell you how you should wear your hair. The world will notice your self-confidence if you’re not afraid to flaunt a crazy style.

Bright Sideburns

Got sideburns? You can dye them with bright colors. Show off the dye job by slicking your hair back with gel. The wet look will turn heads, and you can always wear your hair down to hide the color.

Rolled Long Beehive

If you want an ornate hairdo without the updo, loop 1-inch sections of hair individually. Secure them underneath with hairpins, tucking the ends under as you move down the length. It’s like a French braid on crack.

Mermaid For Men

We’re not quite sure what to call this. Maybe the fish-scale look is popular on some remote island. When you see this from farther away, it probably looks much better. It’s like an impressionist painting. However, this is an example of how texture might work for you in the right setting.

Bumblebee Stripes

You can probably reproduce this style yourself. There is nothing blended about this highlighted look. Solid chunks of light color are perfectly spaced for a bold and buzzworthy head of hair. This is a strong look that might be ideal for your sense of style.

The Hair Bow

Can’t find an accessory? Use your hair to create a bow shape. You’ll look like a gift that’s ready to be unwrapped.

Braid Undecided

Can’t decide what type of braid to create? Make them all. Just place a rubber band between each section. This is a fun and interesting look, and it gives you a chance to practice your braiding technique. A uniform braid might look a little sleeker, though.

Shaved Braids

This style just looks painful. Shave one side and braid the rest. You’ll probably have to shave your whole head to get them out anyway.

Put A Ring On It

Accessorizing your hair isn’t anything new. Still, these Mickey-mouse space buns dotted with rings look a little silly.

Blown-Out Bouffant

What’s worse than one ridiculous haircut? Two of them. This one is a little too tall to realistically last all day. It’s a little like the popular pompadour, but we’re hearing a lot of ‘80s music in the background.

Side Bang Mohawk

Maybe if this Mohawk was a little more faded, it would just be cool. The transition looks a little too much like fringe for our liking. The blunt edge along the side would look amazing if it were more tapered.

Truffula Tree

Thing one and thing two called. They want their hairstyles back. The man bun is popular these days. Some people love it, and some people hate it. This version is a little too splashy for our liking.

Extensions Gone Bad

When you can’t afford to pay for extensions at the salon, just tie a ring into the back of your head. You can hang the rest of your hair off of the ring and remove it when you want to return to your shorter cut. This look kind of freaks us out. It looks like something important is missing.

Fuzzy Wuzzy Was A Bear

This mullet forgot the part about business in front. This might compete with Trump’s hairstyle as one of the most ridiculous haircuts ever.

Triple-Layer Trifle

When you can’t decide how to color your hair, just divide it up. Layer it like a sundae. Make sure to heavily spray those enormous curls. Don’t forget the cherry on top, though.

Bedhead Gone Bad

Even celebrities have bad hair days. This is a dramatic take on the messy bun. Rihanna normally has beautifully styled tresses, but she must have just rolled out of bed.

Helmet Hair

This haircut certainly has smooth and sleek going for it. It looks like you’d have to make friends with your round brush and hair dryer to pull this off.

Mohawk Extreme

You’d need to be in a place with no wind and no humidity to have success with this style. Maybe it would work in outer space. It’s incredibly impressive. You can put up your own Mohawk or Liberty spikes if you have the time and the skill.

Lady Mullet

We are fans of short, choppy hair. We want to love the edginess of this style. We just can’t get over the contrast from the front to the back. Maybe if the fringe in the front was just a tad softer or the layers in the back were straighter, this haircut would work better.

Colorful Mouse Ears

Earth to whoever is listening. This one has great color, but the style is tough to pull off. The space ears look like antennae, especially with the crazy hue. If you have the right attitude, you can probably wear this style, however.

Black-And-White Braid

One side of the hair is jet black. The other side is pure white. There’s definitely a Cruella De Vil vibe going on here. It’s bold, and the braid emphasizes the contrast. However, this has to be a tough color scheme to keep up with. Once the roots grow in, you have yet another color to deal with.

Viking Chic

Do you get some kind of prize if you can recreate this style? The hair itself looks like some kind of trophy.

Circle Of Fun

This style will have your mind going in circles. It transforms your head into a giant pacifier. You’d have fun at a picnic, though. You could use the hoop to toss beanbags through or to make a target for Frisbee golf.

Woolly Beehive

Can’t get your beehive to stay up? Tie your hair around a ball of stuffing. You can make friends with the sheep.

Swirled 

A rose by any other name isn’t always a rose. Although this one is rich with beauty, it’s a little over the top. This looks pristine now, but imagine what it might look like at the end of the night. This hairstyle probably doesn’t lend itself well to a night of dancing. With a few hairs out of place, it probably just looks like a giant knot on top of the head.

Fierce Braids

You’d probably have this look in this face too if your hair was pulled this tightly. The combination of braids and softness is like an art form. However, it doesn’t look very comfortable.

Under The Sea

The scalloped edges of this design belong somewhere on the sand. It’s so stylized that it no longer looks like hair.

Cone Head

How long would your hair have to be to build it up this high? Don’t even get us started on those shoulder pads.

Horse Hair

This is certainly a horse of a different color. The artistry is quite skillful. We’re just not sure we’d want this on our heads.

Most Complicated

It must take more than ten fingers to weave these complicated braids. There’s something soothing about the repetitive pattern, though.

Reverse Buzz Cut

Haven’t you always wanted eyes in the back of your head? This gives a whole new meaning to the term two-faced. We wouldn’t want to be standing behind this guy; we would have the strange feeling that we were being watched.

Helicopter Head

Take off on a hairstyle journey by adding propellers. Just don’t spin them if you don’t want your hair to end up in a knot.

Creep Factor

We’re ok with spiders. We just don’t like thinking that they might be stuck in our hair. At least you wouldn’t see the spider on your head unless you looked in a mirror.

You Say Tomato 

I say tomahto. However, it’s also possible that this is a strawberry. What do you think?

The Lizard

“I would like a rainbow-colored chameleon on my head,” said no one ever, except maybe this guy.

Hat Head

If your hat is always leaving an indentation on your hairstyle, flaunt it. Just cut outside of the boundaries of the hat and voila. You never have to worry about it ruining your hair again.

The Violin

Forget boho style. This is the perfect updo for a music festival. Make sweet music with your hairstyle.

Woven

Weave yourself a basket. Just do it on your head. This hairstyle has a beautiful sculptural quality. It doesn’t look very convenient, though. It doesn’t even seem like this basket would be useful for holding anything.

Poofy Mullet

If all you see in the mirror is the front, why bother styling the back? Spend all of your time getting the front as meticulous as it is in this hairstyle.

Ride The Wave

The style and the color have inherent allure. It’s just not a very practical look. In fact, it doesn’t look like it uses any hair pins to stay in place.

Rollers In Your Hair

It looks like this woman forgot to remove the tools that she used to create this style. It also looks like she used quite a lot of different tools. Some of them might have been power tools, actually.

Whale Spout

This crimped yellow monstrosity is exploding off the top of this guy’s head. Do you think he notices?

Beard On Top

Too bad you didn’t have this haircut in grade school so that you could fool all the teachers into thinking you were doing work while you were napping. Why isn’t this considered one of the top short men’s hairstyles?

Pineapple Style

This cut is enough to make you want a piña colada. If you want a more permanent solution, you can just bleach your buzz cut.

Vampire Pixie

The short bob gets edgy with a gelled widow’s peak. Don’t let the wind get to this haircut, or it will completely lose its edge.

Hair Tapestries

These hair tapestries are actually a really cool alternative to those hair wraps that look like friendship bracelets. They’re really colorful, and they don’t look that hard to apply if you have help. We’re just not sure how you’d get them out without chopping off your hair.

The Perfect Pouf 

Get your hair to stand on end with the perfect amount of teasing and a few bottles of hairspray. We can’t believe this was a style worn by school-age girls. Who has that much time to do their hair before the bus comes?

Heavy Metal

Ouch. There’s not much more to say. Imagine how heavy this would feel on your head. We don’t want to know what would happen if you spent too much time in the sun.

The Literal Rat Tail

As if a regular rat tail wasn’t bad enough, this one is enough to make you scream.

‘90s Grunge

Remember when it was cool to look like you never showered? Even the hottest celebrities were doing it.

Back Fringe

Excuse me, sir. You missed a spot. This cut would be great if you tend to forget to put sunscreen on the back of your neck.

The Bottom Line

A new haircut might take some getting used to. However, if your stylist gives you one of these ridiculous haircuts, you might be allowed to ask for a free shave.

50 Ridiculous Haircuts

[twocoursemeal-blog]

TCM Ramen Month: Retrospective

It’s finally here -- the end of Ramen Month! On one hand, it will be nice to add some variety into our meals out, but on the other hand, ramen is just so delicious. 

Over the last month, we’ve reviewed the following ramen shops (links lead to our individual reviews):

Totto Ramen (Allston)

Yume wo Katare (Porter Square)

Ganko Ittetsu (Coolidge Corner)

Santouka Ramen (Harvard Square)

Pikaichi (Allston)

Sapporo Ramen (Porter Square)

We’d like to thank you all for coming on this noodly journey with us. To wrap up, here’s some of the stuff we wanted to talk about.

Was Ramen Month a success? Matt: Yes! We got to eat a lot of ramen, visit a few new places, and eat a lot of ramen. Angela: No one died, so sure.

Ratings and Rankings - Winners vs Losers? Matt: I’ll do 3 tiers here: YOU GOTTA GO! You should really visit! And Pass. YOU GOTTA GO! - Ganko Ittetsu, Hokkaido Ramen Santouka (both were excellent, both well worth the trip, and both conveniently right on the 66 bus line…). Make sure you get Santouka’s takoyaki You should really visit! - Yume wo Katare, Totto, Pikaichi. All are good, and surprisingly different from one another. As much as I like Yume, I could never really see myself going there regularly, which is keeping it out of the top tier I think. Pass. - Sapporo. It’s just. Not. Worth it. If you really want to give it a shot, or are feeling suuuper lazy, you can go, and probably get something fine, but with Yume and Santouka so close by, I don’t think I’ll ever see myself eating there again. Angela: Santouka and Ganko Ittetsu were the best, and Sapporo was the worst by far. Everything else falls somewhere in the middle, in my opinion. I will mention Totto for being better than I was expecting, and much better than some of the reviews I’d read.

Best egg? Matt: Santouka, easily. It was the only one that still had a mostly-runny yolk. Again, sapporo loses hard, while Ganko (which usually has phenomenal eggs) and Pikaichi come in at a solid “eh, not terrible” Angela: Santouka. It was practically the only egg we had that was thoroughly marinated and truly soft-boiled. It was a delight. I was disappointed with Ganko Ittetsu on the day we went, since their eggs are usually better executed.

Best noodles? Matt: Gosh. This is really tough! Ganko and Yume both had standout noodles, but the ones at Santouka, Pikaichi, Totto, and even Sapporo were very good. I have to say that overall, I don’t think we really had a bad set of noodles all of Ramen Month. Angela: Ganko Ittetsu and Pikaichi were the best. They both had beautifully cooked noodles, with a nice spring to them.

Best broth? Matt: Again, not easy. Santouka’s was great, but ended up a bit salty at the end. Ganko was also good, but not a fantastic match for my palate (RIP Gankara Miso, I never knew you ;___;). Totto was surprisingly good, but not incredible, Yume was very good, Pikaichi was very different, and Sapporo was meh. I guess the winner is Santouka, but probably only because I didn’t get the Gankara Miso (RIP my heart). Angela: Santouka, hands down. They had the most depth of flavor to their broth. Ganko Ittetsu was quite good, and Pikaichi was the most unique, but Santouka’s broth stands out to me.

Best meat? Matt: It’s gotta be Yume. Did you see those cuts of pork?! So uneven, dark, flavorful, and tender. I may be tempted to buy a roll of their pork next time I’m there. Angela: Yume and Santouka. Yume’s pork is meatier, flavorful, and substantial. Santouka’s pork looked pale and kind of boring, but it was buttery and rich. I like them both for different reasons, but they were definitely the top of the pack.

Best takoyaki? Matt: Santoukaaaa! Oh man, it was good. Totto’s was fine but unremarkable, and while I’ve had Pikaichi’s before (but not on my Ramen Month visit), I think it was only a step or so about Totto. But that Santouka takoyaki, man… I’d almost consider going there and getting two orders for dinner if their ramen wasn’t so great. Angela: *shrug* It’s Ramen Month, not Takoyaki Month… I didn’t have any more than 1 takoyaki at any of the places we went, but Santouka is probably the one I’m most likely to order again.

Nicest space? Matt: I think it’s Ganko as my winner. Though Santouka has size and impact with its sharp lines, and while Yume is novel but a little cramped for my taste, Ganko just has charm, beautiful art, and really feels like a nice place to eat. Angela: Definitely Santouka. It’s the largest, coziest, and nicest-looking of the ramen shops in the Boston area. Also, the service is impeccable.

Best variety? Matt: Santouka had a big menu, but honestly it did feel like it was mostly variations on a theme rather than real variety. I may have to give this one to Totto, where at least from my memory, it was the only one that had a seafood ramen option, as well as several appetizers and other entrees. Angela: Pikaichi had the most interesting *looking* assortment of broths, though I can’t speak to taste. Second on the number of different broth styles goes to Sapporo, actually (for better or for worse). If you want something that’s not ramen, I’d recommend Pikaichi or Santouka, since they serve other food/main courses.

Do you feel like your ramen palate improved over the course of the month? Matt: Yes, a bit. Mostly with relation to the broth - I think I was analyzing it closely enough that by the end of the month, I was able to tease out more flavors and layers than I had been able to in the past. Angela: Nope. I ate a lot of ramen, but I don’t think I got better at eating ramen.

Did you learn anything about yourself during Ramen Month? Matt: I don’t think I’d realized how much I enjoyed wakame in my ramen! Aside from that, I tend to shovel food in my face when hungry and presented with a large, beautiful bowl of ramen. Time to slow down and smell the dashi. Angela: I’ve learned how picky I can be about my ramen, I guess. I’ve also learned that one overcooked egg is enough to downgrade a whole meal, for me.

Any unexpected surprises during Ramen Month? Matt: Honestly, Sapporo. I’d had their H Mart version many times and found it just fine, and I was shocked at how bad Angela’s shoyu was, and how mediocre my spicy miso was. Just sad - but that’s the way things go I guess. Angela: From the many reviews I’d read of Totto in Allston, I expected it to be *bad*. But we had a pretty nice experience, actually. You can’t always trust Yelp!

What is your biggest regret from Ramen Month? Matt: Ending with Sapporo. Angela: Ending with Sapporo.

OK. Fine. What is your SECOND biggest regret? Matt: Gankara Miso. Seriously. What was I thinking? When the server set that bowl down on the table next to us, I could feel my heart sink. Mark my words, I will be back. Angela: I don’t think I have one. I feel like I ordered what I would have wanted at each place, and tried to compare as impartially as possible.

What do you think Boston’s ramen scene is lacking right now? Matt: I was surprised by how much pork broth I saw… even finding a vegetarian broth is tough (Maybe only at Totto?). I would love to see a place that specializes in seafood ramen - I think the closest thing was the one at Totto, and that seemed more like a pork ramen with seafood than a dedicated seafood broth. It was nice to see tsukemen as an option at Santouka, though. Angela: In my opinion, the Boston ramen scene is pretty saturated right now (almost oversaturated). I don’t think Boston can really afford to add anything new. I’d like to see some of the current shops do more specialty styles, but that may be a lot to ask.

Any ideas for Ramen Month 2.0? Matt: Little Big Diner! There are a lot of places as well that apparently have good ramen, but are not dedicated ramen shops, and we want to try those next. I felt like the pace of our eating was just about as fast as I could manage, and was probably a major factor in me not burning out. Angela: We went to most of the dedicated “ramen shops” in Boston (except Snappy Ramen); there are certainly restaurants that serve ramen, so maybe they can be thrown together next? That doesn’t seem as interesting of a prospect to me, though -- certainly not enough to do a whole month based on restaurants that happen to serve one type of ramen.

Closing thoughts? Matt: This was a lot of fun, and not nearly as exhausting as I thought it would be. I’ve never done something quite as focused as this on a particular type of food (Shake Shack vs. Tastyburger throwdown, you don’t count). I’ve got to say, above all else, it’s really made me appreciate the quality and depth of Boston’s food scene! To have so many dedicated ramen shops that are overall serving pretty decent (and in some cases exceptional) ramen is really nice, and it makes me glad to be living in the area. Angela: I enjoyed Ramen Month. I really like ramen, and directly comparing many of the ramen shops in the area was fun! I don’t know if I’d want to focus on one type of food on our blog for so long again (I’ve gotten a few complaints from friends who read the blog who were *really* ready to read about something else). With that said, Ramen Month was pretty cool, and looking over our reviews, we ended up compiling an interesting resource comparing many of the ramen shops in the Boston area.