#MY FRIEND GOT ME THESE AS A GIFT LAST WINTER I'M SO GRATEFUL FOR THEM–

[makosxa]

just realized I never showed y'all these pins of mine

[honeymoonblues]

Kisses & Dreams

Remus Lupin x Professor!Reader

Summary: The school year is ending and you have a question for Remus. (Gender neutral reader).

Part 1 - Part 2

Word count: 2.9k

A/N: This is a continuation to my last remus fic, I never thought this would turn into a little series! I'm not sure if this will be the last part or not, we'll see.

Let me know if there are any spelling errors, English is not my first language.

It had been such a wonderful winter break, the best you’ve had in ages. Those two weeks felt like you had been walking on clouds.

You decided to stay at Hogwarts, along with some other teachers and a few students who didn’t want to go home. At first, seeing all these kids away from their families for the holidays left you heartbroken. But after seeing them all get together for Christmas dinner, you started to understand why they’d want to stay at school. 

It goes without saying that your favourite thing about the holidays wasn’t dinner, but rather the company. 

Professor Lupin had been the most charming companion ever. By the third tea shop rendezvous on the first week, it had almost turned into a routine. You had tried to get creative and do something different each time, but you always ended up back in the tea shop. There were only so many things you could do in Hogsmeade, anyway. 

Remus always ordered the same thing, and you always picked the same little teacup from the extensive collection that Madam Pudifoot’s had to offer. He’d sip on his Cherry Rose tea, and you’d marvel at the gorgeous little tea set that matched your favourite cup while drinking your choice of the day. 

Now that you didn’t pretend to be ‘just coworkers’ anymore, it became the perfect time to get to know each other better, and the shop was a great place to do so. 

Remus was quieter and a great listener, even when you started talking non-stop, he’d still love hearing your stories. But whenever he got to talk it was marvelous. A gifted storyteller with a million different tales about his life, his friends, and his time in Hogwarts. You adored him, and you were so grateful for the great time you got to spend together.

Regardless, the most heartwarming moment of all was when the clock struck midnight on Christmas day. 

When the kids left the Great Hall after the most delectable meal, you had to ensure they all returned to their rooms. You didn’t want to drink during dinner with all the children there, so after all was over, Remus and you got down to the kitchen to indulge in a bit of wine.

Then, Peeves decided to pull a little festive prank by locking both of you down there. Already on your second glass, you heard the poltergeist’s crazy laughter and immediately knew something was up. When Remus got to the door, he sighed and then started giggling.

“Not this again!” His head was resting against the door, his hand covering his face, and you could see him shaking with laughter.

“Again? What do you mean?” Soon enough, you too were chuckling.

When he finally calmed down enough to take a breath, he explained:

“Peeves did this same thing to me on Christmas Eve, back when I was a student here.”

“What? He locked you up? In the kitchens?” You questioned, speaking slowly. When he nodded, your eyes widened. “But what on earth were you doing down here?”

A dazzling smile showed on his face, and he raised his glass.

“Same thing I’m doing right now.” And you almost choked on your drink.

Realizing that whatever Peeves had done to the door couldn’t be all that serious, you agreed that it wouldn’t hurt to enjoy some more wine before unlocking it. Grave error.

When the third attempt at an Alohomora spell had failed because of your incessant laughter, you managed to say:

“How many drunk wizards do you think it takes to open a door?” And that’s how you spoiled Remus’ fourth effort.

At some point, you collected yourselves. You breathed in, and you unlocked the door. It should have been way easier than you made it. Any second year could have gotten out of the kitchen in a minute, as long as they weren’t drunk like you two.

Acting like two sober adults, you walked over to your office. Thankfully, you didn’t cross paths with any students hanging around the hallways past their bedtime, or it could have been quite embarrassing for everyone involved.

Fifteen minutes to midnight, you decided it would be the best opportunity to give Remus your Christmas gift. While you were talking, he noticed the way you kept looking at the clock and then realized what hour it was. Excusing himself quickly, he left your office.

“I’ll be back in a minute, I promise.”

Frowning at his sudden escape, you sighed. His gift was carefully wrapped, sitting in a corner of the room. You took it, your hands starting to sweat just by thinking about giving it to him. It felt embarrassing how much sentiment you had put into it, and how easy it was to do so for Remus.

Your train of thought was interrupted by him entering through your door again. He had a bashful smile, similar to the one he got the day he asked you on a date. His back was straight and his hands were behind his back. 

You looked at the clock one more time, three past midnight. 

“Merry Christmas, Remus!” He had a surprised look on his face when you offered your gift to him. 

“Well, thank you very much.” Remus chuckled, and he too extended his arms, offering a little wrapped box. “Merry Christmas to you.”

“Oh, you didn’t have to! Thanks!” The delighted tone in your voice was impossible to hide, you looked contented before even opening your gift.

He was the first to open the package since you were taking your time not to damage the cute wrapping paper on the box.

“Wait… you didn’t knit this, did you?” You smiled shyly at his question. “Merlin, you did! This is… so much work.” He immediately put on the sweater you had made, it looked so incredibly cute on him. “Thank you so much.” His tone was genuine, and you couldn’t stop grinning.

You would have almost forgotten about the unopened gift in your hand if it wasn’t for Remus giving a little nod in its direction.

“Well, it’s nothing compared to your gift but I-”

“Remus! Are you joking? Remus this is so…!” Barely containing the excitement in your voice, you started giggling. “I didn’t know they sold these! This is absolutely perfect!”

“Well, Madam Pudifoot said no one ever asked to buy her cups, but she was very glad someone liked them so much that they wanted to keep one.”

Carefully, you put everything on your table. The plate, the spoon, and the gorgeous little teacup from the shop. Then, without wasting any other minute, you hugged Remus tightly.

“Thank you, thank you! I love it.” Your chuckles were muffled by his shoulders.

It took a moment, but Remus was hugging you back. 

“I still can’t believe you knitted me a sweater, that’s… incredibly thoughtful.”

When your eyes met his he had such a sweet expression, and even in the dim lighting, you could see his cheeks taking a pink colour. You couldn’t tell if the heat on your face was from being so close to the fireplace, or from Remus, and you smiled shyly, realizing that you hadn’t released him. 

Suddenly, you sensed a weird movement from over your head and looked up. Mistletoe was twinkling brightly, floating right over the both of you.

“I didn’t put that there, I swear!” You mumbled, a little confused.

“No. I did.”

Then, you kissed. And if there was any remains of alcohol in your blood, you surely sobered up. It was soft, sweet, and slow. Everything you’ve ever wanted. Remus’ breath against your skin tickled, and you had goosebumps all over. You giggled every time you had to pull apart to take a breath. Then, spent the rest of the night drinking tea, speaking in whispers, and kissing each other some more.

The break passed so fast that you barely noticed, as did the rest of the school year. It was a busy semester, you had very little free time and it was all spent with Remus, which you didn’t complain about.

Sooner than you thought possible, the finals were just around the corner and most people were drained, professors and students alike.

Also, history was a tiresome subject for most kids. Even if they liked going to class, studying became monotonous, and it was much worse for those who didn’t enjoy reading much.

This year, you gave the students a choice. Each one would have the opportunity to choose between an oral exam or a written exam, because you’d seen first-hand the different abilities that the kids possess. Now, you regretted your decision completely. The amount of work that took making two different finals for every class didn’t even compare to the time it would take to take the oral exams for each student who had chosen it (which weren’t many, but still).

But there was no going back now. You had arranged the list of students per year, dividing them in those who wanted which exam. From the 800 students that Hogwarts accommodated, only a few more than a hundred wanted to take the oral exam, but they meant more than one hundred individual finals to take, and you just hoped for everything to go according to plan and not take more time than it needed to.

In those two weeks of finals, you said goodbye to your sleeping schedule, and coffee became your best ally. At least, you weren’t the only one dealing with this. All your coworkers related, and the bags under the kids’ eyes told you they weren’t much better off.

Overall, a torturous moment for all. But you could still see the spark of hope in the promised summer holidays. Every time you closed your eyes, you felt like you were almost there. On your short sleep cycles, you dreamt of the warm afternoons and cool drinks, of going back home and enjoying your local lake, and of finally getting to rest. Of course, you also dreamt of Remus.

Neither of you had been together much this last month. His classes had twice as many hours as yours, and he was always doing the most for the students. Excursions, magical creatures, games and mixing different classes together for duelling. He put his everything into his job, and you admired him so much for that.

Still, there was something else. For this whole year you had spent a great deal of time with Remus. Some of the most wonderful dates, or a simply shared breakfast in the morning. In all these months, you’ve managed to known Lupin on a deeper level, which softened your heart as well as his. But some things just didn’t add up.

Every single month, he became sick and took some days off. Which could totally happen to anyone, but each one of his sickness lined up to a very peculiar day, or night to be more specific. Besides, you weren’t stupid, and Remus knew that incredibly well. He was sure it was just a matter of time before you had to talk it out, but he had always been somewhat of a coward, and you were too respectful of his own space to demand the explanation he thought you deserved.

The truth is, you couldn’t care less if he was a werewolf! Remus made you incredibly happy, and no condition of his could affect the way you felt about him.

At first, you found it so silly that he had tried so hard to cover his lycanthropy. But after you let this knowledge sit in the back of your mind for a while, you understood how terrible of a situation this was for him.

You knew the way of life werewolves lead in Britain. The so called supernatural ‘beasts’ had a long history of ill treatment and abuse by the hands of the government that should be protecting them. It was a miracle Remus even had a job, considering the laws the Ministry of Britain had been putting up recently. The mere thought of the things Remus had to go through broke your heart into pieces.

In Britain, getting bitten by a werewolf meant the end of your life as you know it. It meant the resentment and fear of the other people, it meant persecution and judgement, and it meant the suffering and agony of your transformation, because no one provided you with the potion you’re supposed to have to endure your pain. The only potion that saved a werewolf from their own animal instincts, the only that can a 100% stop you from being dangerous after transforming. It was the same country who would point at you accusatorily and call you a ‘killing beast’, the one that would deny you the medicine to help you, and completely erase any danger a werewolf could pose to others or themselves. The irony was not sad, but infuriating.

Not every country was like this, in fact, most weren’t. And many places venerated the lycanthropes. In some of them, the werewolves were the protectors of the family, the ones that gave hope to the generation. Stronger, faster, with better reflexes and senses than most. It was obvious why they were worshipped all over the world, why wouldn’t they?

The only thing you desired, is for Remus to trust you with this piece of his life, to let you be by his side at all times. Because even with everything that was going on, the man remained kind and loving, and you couldn’t understand how. You wanted him to know that you didn’t care about his condition, no matter if he was a werewolf, a vampire or a fairy, you’d never, ever judge him.

But you refused to rush things, just like you both had been doing with everything else. You let things flow. Surely, he’d tell you when he felt ready.

Sadly, neither had any opportunity to truly speak to each other, not with the end of the semester upon you.

The seemingly endless weeks of finals were almost over, and your nerves began to ease. Your dreams turned more pleasant, and you’d see Remus in almost every single one of them. Walking hand in hand by the seaside, drinking iced tea in your couch, and cuddling with you under the stars, he was always there when you drifted off. And with that, you had a realization. There’s no way you’d let him go away on the holidays. He had to be there with you over the summer, and with butterflies in your stomach, you decided to ask him.

The last exam you took should have left you exhausted, but when the only student left had given you his paper, you felt more alive than ever. You checked the clock on your wrist. Remus last exam ended in fifteen minutes, and then, you were going to ask him.

Merlin, your heart felt like it was about to burst out of your chest with how hard it was beating. You were going to make the move, you were going to ask him! Excitement, confidence and nervousness, your head was spinning with so many emotions at the same time.

Your footsteps echoed around your office, you checked the time every ten seconds, until you decided you couldn’t wait anymore, and you made your way to Remus’ classroom.

‘Goodness, I am going to ask him!’ You thought, and had to stop yourself from running all the way to your destination.

The students were exiting his classroom, and you peeked inside, checking there was no one left, before you started to look for him.

‘Remus, good afternoon! Happy about finishing all these exams at last?” You called loud, trying to find where on earth he had hidden. You made your way up the stairs to his office, still talking. “Of course we still have to grade them, but we have almost a whole week for that!”  Chuckling softly, you finally got to his open door.

With your excitement, you almost missed it, but Lupin looked tired, incredibly so. It was understandable up until some point, but he truly seemed like he hadn’t been able to sleep for days. He barely looked up from his papers, and gave you a slight smile.

“Oh, Remus. Are you quite alright, there?” Getting closer to him, you stood by his side and ran your fingers through his hair, in the way you know calmed him down. But he didn’t look up to you again. You pondered for a moment how to ask him, so you started:

“We really, really need the summer break, don’t we?” And you giggled, not as cheerfully as you wanted it to sound. A soft humming sound is all that you got in response.

“Well, uhm…” Stuttering, you looked at him once more to confirm that everything was alright. “You know, I was thinking…” Thrown off by the contrast of his gloomy demeanour, you placed your hand comfortingly over his shoulder and said:

“Remember how I told you I wanted to go back home for the break, mm?” The cheerful tone in your voice was back, knowing exactly what could lift his spirits. “Would you like to come with me? I hope this is not too sudden because I’d love to-”

And just when you were about to ask him, formally, officially, to be you partner, he looked up with those bright eyes and through his wonderful lashes, and got up from his chair. Then, grabbing your arm softly, he interrupted you, speaking with his warm voice and gentle tone.

“I’m sorry. I- This is not going to work. I’m truly sorry, but it’d be best if we… part.”

[angela-hartbreak]

A chic girls guide to gift giving this holiday season

No I do not give a single fuck that it is November. Last time I checked all the good stuff is probably going to be sold out in about 2 days. Be grateful I'm making this early to remind you people.

First off please note that you do not need to be giving everyone around you full on Chanel gift baskets because that is 100% unrealistic and honestly-- half the people you know do not care about you that much to even get you a gift they do not deserve that.

So I would pick around 2 to 3 people that you actually care about enough to get them something to make them both a very nice gift basket.

If this is your boyfriend-- well have fun deciding this shit on your own because I really do not care enough about men or do not know enough about what to get them to tell you what to buy. Sorry!!! {Please note do not come yelling at me for "hating love" or whatever because I do indeed have a darling boyfriend-but this blog is about the ladies darling I'm telling you what to get your girl besties today}

So I would recommend getting a black and white basket or a very chic black and white bag.

Or you could get a purse that you could fill with stuff. Now also you do not need to make this purse designer honestly I would go to Burlington T.j Maxx or f****** Marshalls. Pick your poison because that's where I get all my bags from.

I do not want to hear anyone also demonizing these stores because these stores have really cute stuff as long as you don't get some disgusting Steve Madden logo vomit bag. {Yes I am targeting that brand I do not f--ing care}

NOW-- once you have your basket or bag of choice think about what your friend likes. If you don't know what to get her I would recommend running to your nearest Ulta to find something.

If you really want to buy something fancy I would get her the new Carolina Herrera exclusive winter perfume. Just Google the bottle it's literally stunning. Also so that way you have bragging rights telling her that you got her that.

{it's not a new perfume scent by the way it's just the original Carolina Herrera good girl repackaged. And I very commonly know that barely any people hate the original good girl perfume so I think this is a very nice blind buy.}

If you know her shoe size I would get her a very nice pair of kitten heels. Because kitten heels are coming back in fashion and unlike stilettos are very easy to walk in. If she really really doesn't like heels I would get her some sling back flats or some two-tone flats because I think those are adorable

If you don't know her clothes size--robes are a very nice choice. I AM NOT TALKING ABOUT THOSE TACKY ASS BATH SETS. Go to the pajama section and find one. Or if you want to be really fancy you can get her a Victoria's secret one or something like that. Then again you can commonly find a fancy-ish brand like Calvin Klein at Burlington or something. YOU DO NOT NEED TO BE EXPENSIVE HERE.

I would throw in a nice lip product that you could splurge on. If you don't think she's going to care about it being kind of tingly you could get her the two face lip injection lip balm. Because it's clear so it's going to go with every single lip color she has and because since it's a balm it's kind of nourishing. {Then again this is literally irritating your lips on purpose to make them more plump so how nourishing can you get???}

Now you're going to need to include something very basic in this--a candle. But not a nasty ass candle find something that would go with the basket. If you're following my advice get something black and white but if you're just trying to do something else then feel free to do a candle in any other color scheme that you think would match whatever the hell her house looks like.

Now for food. Do not get her some disgusting ass food. I think you should get her some mini Diet Cokes and put a couple cans in there and then get some fancy chocolate and put that in the box. Or if you want to be really fancy get her some macarons. {NOT MACAROONS THOSE ARE TWO DIFFERENT THINGS MACARONS AND MACAROONS ARE TWO DIFFERENT THINGS.} You do not need to be fancy about the macarons you can easily get these at Aldi's or just any bakery near you.

Speaking of bakeries--find a nice coffee shop near you. If you really don't have an option just take her to Starbucks. But make sure you're there like 10 minutes earlier and tell her to dress up somewhat nice to go to this for no reason and then whenever she pulls up surprise her with her favorite drink and the gift basket. Have her dress nice for this so that way your Instagram story pictures won't be ugly.

Now I only gave some general things you can add in here of course you can always make any of these things more expensive or more affordable depending on your price budget and you can always add extra things or not add some of the things I listed. This is just some ideas to get your brain running.

Xxx Angela Hartbreak

[bowlsbowlsalltypeabowls]

Ugh my mom is driving me crazy with xmas gifts for A. She asked what he wanted for xmas and I said he was really into fire trucks, bluey, and magnatiles. And that we were specifically getting him magnatiles brand so look for some that were compatible

First, a week before I was due with B she sends a large package from Target and asks me to wrap it for her. Again, a week before my due date! The present is addressed to A [mylastname] when she knows very well he has my wife's last name. Gift turns out to be a scooter. I swear I told her we got A a scooter for his 2nd birthday. I returned it.

Yesterday, I got a couple more boxes. First is a winter coat. As I told her last year when she did this, I buy him coats in the fall. By the end of December, he already has a coat that he is wearing. I'm probably going to donate this.

There were also some cheap magnetic tiles that the internet tells me are from Aldi and not compatible with magnatiles.

Lastly, some candy and an outfit that are both fine. All tags came with a request for pictures that grates on me because I know she shows them to her coworkers and friends to feign involvement in our lives.

She also sent some pretty gendered clothes for the baby.

Why even ask me if you're going to do your own thing anyway?! My mom's birthday is tomorrow so I probably will text her some pictures but I really want to avoid talking about these presents.

[casspurrjoybell-20]

FOOLS - Chapter 44 - Part 1

BOOK ONE: The 'Fools Fall in Love' Trilogy

*Warning - Adult Content*

Noah Wright

The second perfect thing in my life at that moment, was school.

"Sam," I shouted as I ran up to him in the hallways with a big grin.

That was the Monday, four days before the start of our winter break.

Four days until the end of first semester.

Sam spun around.

"Hmm?"

He was wearing his brown corduroy pants with an olive green button down that was open to show off his loose white t-shirt.

The shirt was tucked in and held with a belt.

He was sporting his all white Vans.

I held up the test paper in my hand as I met him at his locker.

"I got a B."

His eyes widened.

"You got a B."

"I got a B," I laughed in excitement and pulled him into a kiss in the hallway of Crestfield High School.

Sam pulled back in shock but was grinning and still had his hands clutching the sides of my hoodie.

"You just kissed me in school."

"So? I don't fucking care, I got a B 'cause you're the best fucking tutor," I exclaimed, feeling probably too excited over an average grade.

"I love you," Sam had the widest smile.

"I love you too."

I kissed him again and then there was two sets of arms around us.

One set being from Jason and the other being from Carter.

"I love you so, so much, Sam," Carter mocked me while Jason did the same.

"I just feel so connected to you, Sam, I wanna' have babies with you," Jason jested before they both made kissing noises.

"Fuck off," I shoved them off me but laughed.

I was too much I'm a good mood for their mocking to annoy me.

Sam laughed and I put my arm around him.

It felt so right to be able to show Sam off publicly.

Sam was mine and only mine.

********

Later that night, I was Face-timing Sam.

"So, Christmas break is next week..." Sam started.

He was sitting at his desk while he did homework.

His cell-phone was propped up by some books, I guessed.

I nodded at his statement.

I was laying in bed, wishing Sam was in bed with me.

"What do you normally do for Christmas?" I shrugged.

"Not much. See Nathan and exchange a couple gifts. Usually go to Kaitlyn's annual Christmas Eve party. Which, by the way, she invited us to."

Kaitlyn and I had been talking more since Wisconsin.

Not much but a little here and there but any form of contact with her, I was grateful for.

I missed having her in my life.

Kaitlyn wasn't the best girlfriend but I wasn't a good boyfriend.

We were and are better as friends.

"Oh... okay, um... did you..?" Sam, on the other hand, didn't know how he felt about Kaitlyn and I still talking.

At least that was what he told me when I asked him if it bothered him.

"I don't know how I feel about it," we're his exact words but I had zero intentions of getting back together with Kaitlyn, so he had nothing to worry about.

Still, I didn't want Sam to feel uncomfortable, so I said.

"No, I just want to be with you for Christmas Eve. I mean, I guess if you wanted to go. Everyone's gonna' be there, like our friends."

"I'd rather it just be us two as well," he told me with a soft smile.

"Um, also, would you want to spend Christmas at my house?"

"Yeah, if they're okay with that. I feel like I ruined it the last family dinner by telling the I didn't want to go to college."

"No," Sam shut that down.

"Not at all. They love you. Are you kidding? My mom basically drools over you."

"Well, I don't blame her."

"Pfft. Shut up, Meat-head."

"Mmm, Dumb-ass," I said seductively in a low tone.

"Hey, so..." Sam began with a devious grin.

"I was wondering..."

I heard a knock at the door before my dad walked in.

I hung up on Sam.

"Uh, hey. What's up?" I asked cautiously.

He nodded his head outside of my bedroom.

"The game's on. Just a re-run... wanna watch it? Packers versus Bears."

I haven't sat down and watched a football game with my dad since my mom left.

It used to be my favorite time of the year.

Every Sunday when it was Football season, me and my dad would have a 'guys night' and watch football while eating pizza and wings but it was a Monday in the middle of December, so re-runs were what we were left with.

"Um yeah, definitely. Um, wanna order pizza?" I asked hesitantly.

My stomach felt like a whirl pool, a mix of anxiety, longing and hopefulness.

"What else do you eat while watching football?"

Did my dad just joke around with me? What was going on? Nonetheless, I followed my dad into the T.V. room where he had already flipped to the sports channel.

My dad settled himself into his La-Z-Boy and I sat on the coach.

For the next couple hours, we watched the game and ate pizza.

The only thing my dad yelled at was the football players and referees on the screen.

God, I wished it could be like that all the time.

I woke up around three in the morning and saw a blanket sprawled out on me and I looked over to find my dad snoring away in his chair.

I smiled and lazily got up.

I laid the blanket on my dad then staggered to my bedroom to sleep in an actual bed.

[matildathemelomaniac]

let them know they're on your mind - cavetown

"light a cigarette. you're allowed a little vice."

hi, friends! thank you for your patience as i am learning to navigate tumblr. besides formatting issues, i'm grateful that it's been quite easy for me to navigate. i'd love to discuss cavetown's gorgeous new song today! as someone who used to be really into cavetown back in the day, before moving on to other artists, i'm so happy to have the privilege to get back into his newer stuff!

❛ ━━･♡❪ ❁ ❫♡･━━ ❜ SONG INFO❛ ━━･♡━━ ❜

song: let them know they're on your mind

artist: cavetown

release date: january 26, 2024

album: little vice (unreleased as of typing)

genre: pov: indie

❛ ━━･━━ ♡❪ MY THOUGHTS ❫♡･━━ ❜❛ ━━･･

AHHH OH MY GOSH YOU GUYSS

i first listened to this late last night. i've been on and off sick this winter, so i was hoping to listen to a softer song to get me to sleep. i sort of presumed from the title that the vibes would be giving candle (2015) or talk to me (2018).

it wasn't like that, though, which was a bit of a jumpscare for my half-asleep self. it started soft and got faster. i almost got techno vibes from it, if that makes sense.

i'm honestly really happy to watch cavetown's voice grow more confident as time goes on. i'm really seeing him start to experiment with different vibes, which is giving me super high hopes for little vice!

as for the lyrics, cavetown really has a gift for providing soothing lyrics that really console me. like??

You're a diagram of something I've been needing You're so perfect that it kinda hurts my feelings Wish there was a way for you to see what I am seeing right now

it's such a nice feeling to be understood, and i love how cavetown can really articulate his thoughts well.

also, can i just put the spotlight on the little whispered chorus at the end? i was confused about it at first, but i think it's a really sweet touch to end the song. like i mentioned earlier about cavetown experimenting a little more, i think it's a nice touch. i really hope he'll release a bonus track of an acoustic version like the whispers at the end. it's giving minecraft music.

━━･･━━ ❜❛ ━━･♡❪CLOSING ❫♡･━━ ❜❛ ━━･━━

overall, i give this song a eight out of ten! i'm not a huge cavetown fan, but he really has a gift for music, and i cannot wait to discuss little vice when it's released in february! if you have any songs you'd like me to check out, please message me! thank you so so much for reading!!

bye, friends!!

[my-minds-attic]

I'm reading again

It's just recently that I put myself back into book world. Books were a big thing to me when I was a kid. I used to go to the library every Friday evening after school with my friends. We were not even 8 years old, running the 100 meters separating the school gates to our small village library. I remember these days like it was yesterday. I remember Enola Holmes making me hope I'd be as smart and courageous as her one day. I remember Goosebumps giving me, without me even realising it back then, the love, I still have, for horrific stories. And I remember Percy Jackson. Not only these books made me discover the beauty of greek mythology, but these characters kind of became my friends. That sounds lonely. I mean, I was lonely. But...not really.

My older brother has always been a big part of my 'reading journey'. I never really said that to him but, I'm so grateful for the influence he had on my youth. Especially on pop culture. My love for video games, superhero movies, Harry Potter,... All him. Next time I'll speak to him, I'll thank him for asking mom to buy the Hunger Games and the Oscar Pill books. All that to say, I wouldn't be the same person I am today without him. I definitely wouldn't like reading as much as I do.

My teenage years have been punctuated by the different books I've been reading. You know, sometimes you associate a book with a moment in your life or a place. In my home in France, in winter, when it was snowing outside, I was reading Simon vs. The Homo Sapiens Agenda by the chimney because my mom just gifted it to me for Christmas. I was trying to sit on the tiny protruding edge close to the chimney glass while reading it, and it was burning my back, and my butt hurt, and I heard the wood crackling, and it smelled amazing and I was the happiest ever. This book became my favorite for a long time, and I now wonder if this whole 'reading environment' wasn't a huge part of why.

I moved to Canada for university three years ago now. I had the great idea of making this life-changing decision during a global pandemic. As a result, you're now dealing with a girl who's ten times more anxious and has lost half of her, already low, self-confidence. I've had a year of online classes and wasn't going out at all, except for taking out the trash. I had traveled thousands of miles for this. Nobody could do shit about it though, so it made me feel a bit better. You'd think that all that time at home would have given me the opportunity to read hundreds of books. Well I didn't. And to this day I don't really know why. I guess I forgot for a while the happiness reading could give me. I wish I didn't forget.

I moved to another apartment at the start of second year. Uni was getting a tiny bit more normal. I mean, I was actually seeing people. But, I also had the worst roommates you can even begin to imagine. Crazy, dirty, stinky, drugged, the whole package really. Unfortunately, with the rise of apartment rental prices, I probably had the lowest rent in the neighbourhood. So I stayed. After a year like that, I thought I was going to go crazy, when my landlord finally managed to kick them out. I didn't know before moving to Canada how roommates can affect your day-to-day life. How they could put such a huge shadow on all your efforts to be more confident and positive.

Third year was last year. If bad roommates can darken your life, good roommates can save your life. I'll call them A and C. The first week, with two new guys on my floor, I got intimidated. I kept my old habits of eating in my room, and going into common spaces only when I knew for sure they weren't there. But sometimes they caught me off guard and I ended up getting to know them just enough to realise they were exactly what I needed. I know that's not what I was to them, but they kind of became my best friends. I went out more often, I was laughing like crazy every night, we were making burgers to each other, we had movie nights, and even got dangerously addicted to online casino at one point. C returned to his home in December after four months together. Me and A were scared the new roommate could never be as good as C. Well, let me tell you, the next four months were the best I had in a long, long time. Our new roommate, Alex, she's still with me today. She's just great. I had a really hard time when it was time for A to leave last May. At the airport, he sent me a text : "Thank you for probably the best year of my life". I'm still struggling now not to see him in every single corner of this apartment. Don't get me wrong, I know he's not dead, and that we'll probably see each other again one day. It's just that... him leaving marked the end of one of the best chapter of my life.

Thanks to third year, something finally clicked in me. I realised the old me was still inside. And that's when I found this out that I entered the library right up my street to buy a book. The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, the most recent Hunger Games story.

Anxiety is still very much there, but it goes up and down, and I am somewhat certain I'll overcome it one day.

I missed reading so much guys.

Emma.

[oraclekleo]

Hello, how are you?? Hope you're doing great! Since you're no longer doing FS readings, may I ask for another one please? I wanted to know about my first overseas trip. I got the opportunity last year at work but I couldn't take it due to some personal issues. Currently I'm not working anywhere and there are no plans for travel, I neither have the means to go through with it nor any idea where exactly to go. But I really do want to travel abroad atleast once. I wanted to know if there is any possibility that I might get to travel abroad in future and when? Thanks a lot for this opportunity! 💖 I'm C. 🙏

Hello!

I'm sorry it took me so long to respond to your ask and I'm very grateful for you being patient with me.

Let's have a look what awaits for you in regards to travelling, shall we?

Right from the first glance you can see it looks rather positive, right? 😁 Happiness and joy are suggested, same as new opportunities and peaks to reach. The Midheaven card talks about what others have taught you, your parents, mentors, teachers. Their words might serve you well as long as they are aligned with your soul's calling. But if those people are discouraging you from following your own path, then it might be time to release the wisdom that no longer serves you. You clearly have something big awaiting for you, some mountain to climb, some new unexpected opportunity as it's suggested in the Gift card. Follow your personal abilities, juggle your responsibilities and prove yourself competent in the world and soon you might be offered with unexpected opportunity to travel. It's likely to be a place filled with sunshine and (lollipops 😂) happiness. It might be at a sea shore or in a big city. The two doplhins might even signify a choice. Maybe you will be offered to pick whether you want to go to a city location or a tropical paradise. If you ask which one you should pick, I can't tell. You need to follow your intuition, guts and inspiration. Maybe this opportunity will come with a tiny bit of sadness. Maybe you might feel slightly sad about leaving what you know, your friends and family, but this shouldn't discourage you. All the cards are pointing to reaching a great happiness through the travel, personal accomplishment, definition of yourself as an idividual. As for when this offer might come... The Gift card suggest a winter month with the snowing. If it doesn't snow where you live, you might expect the offer to come in the colder season.

I include the cards so you can have a look and maybe find an extra message meant for you and only for you in them. Sometimes the cards will reveal a lot to me but there are things that are meant for the querent only. If you see any information in the cards, it was meant for you.

Thank you for being this patient with me and for your request. I wish you all the best of luck on your journey, wherever it will lead you. Make sure to make a proper preparation for your travelling as the 2 of Pentacles suggest. 😉

Any tip through KO-FI is purely voluntary but appreciated.

I'll be grateful for any feedback.

Be blessed!

Kleo 🦄

[microfinanseer]

Top Ten: Seattle, Washington Edition

While saying farewell to really great people and places these last few weeks, I was reminded of how we arrived in Seattle. We knew few people. We got here with wide open eyes, hearts, and minds! We soaked up everything and took every chance to explore and meet new people at every turn. We often hear from Seattle friends (those born here or living here a long time) that we have done more while living here than most people here do. And it sure feels like that is true. We've been to just about every corner of the state and experienced all kinds of subcultures. It has been an amazing time. 

I know I'm leaving with a much better understanding of life in the Pacific Northwest. What a different kind of place it is compared to anywhere I've lived before. I knew I'd learn some lessons here as I do anywhere I go, but I never imagined how much I'd learn in these last 6 years. Firstly, I was surprised at how easy it was to settle out here. We felt welcomed by so many and at ease quickly. And even the challenging times have worked themselves out. I'm grateful we survived a pandemic mostly unscathed, I got justice and won a lawsuit against an abusive employer, and that we both healed from injuries along the way. We made such incredible friends I'm going to miss so much, though I know we'll stay connected. I knew this wouldn't be a final destination, but I didn't realize how bittersweet it would be when we decided to leave. We've enjoyed our time here a lot more than I thought possible.  

Special thanks to friends from places we've lived before for making the trip out to visit. We heard more wanted to get out here (and we know, it is far), but only a handful made it. We loved hosting you and showing you the places we fell in love with here. With that in mind, here are my top 10 highlights. Things I loved and learned since moving here in 2017:

Mountains - I never lived anywhere with any around, and didn't appreciate how beautiful they are. To drive around the city or glance out of our apt. and be able to see Rainier and the surrounding Olympics and Cascades was such a majestic gift everyday that never got old. 

Seaplanes - I loved them from the moment I heard and saw their little bodies flying through the air. I still stop to watch them as they go by wherever I am. They still make me smile. I will miss them. 

Special foods (west coast salmon, Rainier cherries, and a good, dry cider) - I never cared for salmon much before, but got out here and realized what a delicious fish they can be. We enjoyed some great seafood, and the best salmon sandwiches ever in Seattle. I don't think I'd ever had a Rainier cherry, but now can't imagine summer without them. PNW's best kept fruit secret. And while I don't care for beer much, dry cider has become one of my favorite drinks, especially on the (very) rare, hot days.

Microclimates - I have lived in rainy, tropically stormy, and hyper frigid places before. But generally when a season arrived, you knew what to expect day-to-day for months at a time. However, in Seattle I learned what it was to turn off a road and experience a whole different season in a few minutes' time. And I always heard this was because Seattle sits in a very interesting place between the two mountain ranges around us. Fascinating to navigate microclimates. And talking about convergence zones is a whole other discussion!   

Hygge - This Nordic concept of "coziness" is definitely handy during the darkest winter days. I leaned on it often through finding the best lighting combinations, soft candles, and enjoying incense that smelled of spice or woods to make home feel more comfortable. I had never heard of this concept by a name, though can appreciate the approach to enduring winters. But I will always think of it now when someone is trying to describe ways to make a place feel more comfortable.  

La Connor - My favorite town in Washington State. Period.

Diversity in landscapes - from mountains to rainforest to the ocean and beaches to desert all in one state!

Short, cool summers - My second summer here I was admittedly a little homesick for the hot, humid summers of my youth. It was great not to sweat through clothes all summer long as is typical on the east coast, especially the south. But there is something still odd to me about not being warm enough to swim outside or in the ocean that is all around us here. And I never got into trying out lakes, which are very abundant here too. I realized I need more sun and heat than the PNW will ever be able to afford me. 

Sofia - Amidst so much natural beauty, it’s hard to ignore. Being here has made me appreciate nature so much more, even hiking and camping more than I ever did - though not nearly as often as B would’ve liked, I'm sure. But while living here, I started to look around more at the trees, listened to the birds more closely, and watched the sky and clouds more intently. There is a slower pace here that allowed me to literally pay more attention. So thanks for that too, Seattle. And you know how much I love and will likely miss my favorite tree friend ever, Sofia. A twist on what Dorothy said to the Scarecrow: I'll miss her most of all the natural beauty I've encountered.

Music everywhere/laid back attitude - The amount of live music and music venues here is incredible! What a joy it was to be able to see so many of my favorite bands and check out new ones at one of the dozens of venues around town every year. Also the laid back way of life made going to shows and enjoying all things around town even more. I love how people don't typically ask what you do for a living here, as they often do where I grew up, but instead people ask what you enjoy doing on your time off. Jobs, even the ones you love, are a means to an end. In my view, that end is to live your best personal life with as many of the people you care about around you. That's what matters.

So here's to live music, welcoming vibes, trees, and dynamic natural beauty! Thank you Seattle, Washington for everything.

[kooktaebear]

If Only I Knew

Status: ONGOING (this is my first AU AHHH I’m excited to write the next couple of parts, but I hope this story gets a lot of love :~>)

Pairing: Jungkook x Reader

Summary: Y/N abruptly moved to Seoul after spending 21 years living alone in her hometown, Busan after the death of her parents. She now discovers through her best friends that drama can be a lot to handle, but as she starts to meet new people, she discovers that she had completely forgotten an important part of her past.

Warnings: mention of guns, blood and violence,

Genre: angst, WHOLE LOT OF FLUFF, slow burn

Word Count: 3.2k

Part One:

I step out of the bus and a gust of cold wind hits my face as I board the train. Why did I think of not wearing enough layers in the middle of winter? I take my seat and look out the window to see the number of people who are about to board the train. I grab my phone and start listening to ILYSB. I like LANY, their music is perfect for travel.

I know this isn't such an interesting event in my life since I know that many other people have flown to see Seoul, capital of Korea but hey, give me a break. I’m finally going to meet my best friends after living alone for 4 years. This is what pays to be travelling, a provincial girl like me? I doubt I would ever survive the city life.

As a 2 hours pass, I wake up to hear the advisory that I’m about to reach Seoul.

I look out the window, close my eyes, and whisper.  

"Mom, Dad, I made it to Seoul."

I lost both my parents during a hostage that happened in our own home. My mom happened to answer the door and was shot first. The culprit saw me and asked me to go get my dad. At first I was confused, but it so happened that there was an issue with the family business and this guy was after the money. I was 13 at that time but I still couldn't figure out why something like this had to happen to our family. However, as soon as my dad had agreed to the terms of the killer, he pointed his gun at me and pulled the trigger. I closed my eyes to prepare myself for the pain that comes next but instead, I felt warm liquid on my hands and felt something heavy fall on me, it was my dad. I screamed at the sight of both my parents suddenly vanishing from this world, a sudden pain struck my chest and I couldn't breathe. I fall to the ground slowly losing my vision as I see the blue and red lights of police cars approaching my house.

"Miss? Are you okay miss?" the person right next to me calls my attention and brings me back to reality, "Oh, yes I'm fine. Have we arrived?" I look around to see almost everyone out of the train. "Would you need any help getting off? Are you new to the city?" the lady asks me. I shake my head and give her a smile as I head down the aisle to the exit.

I follow the rest of the passengers to exit the station as I turn my phone on to contact Jennie and Lisa, my two best friends. Their parents had offered to get us three an apartment we could all share just so that they could both keep me company. Lisa and Jennie aren't sisters if you were wondering, they just had agreed to live under one roof with me and I'm eternally grateful for that. Not to mention they’re idol trainees.

"Y/N?" I turn my head to see Lisa's straight black hair, "Lisa!!!" We both jump around and giggle, "Wait but where's Jennie?" "Oh, she's getting us another cab because your arrival got delayed." She helps grab my luggage and we both start catching up with each other, as if we’ve never spoken in weeks. This was the first time I had ever seen both Lisa and Jennie in person, all our moms were best friends when they were younger too but since we couldn't visit them often, we met and talked through video calls.

"Well if it isn't our beautiful foreign friend Y/N." I turn around and meet Jennie’s eyes, "JENNIE!!!" I run to hug her and Lisa joins in and I finally don't feel alone anymore. "Girls, the cab is waiting outside, we better hurry." On our way to our new apartment we were all catching up with each other as if we really didn't talk as much already. "Oh hey, Y/N you have to make sure that you're ready to go to school by 7am okay?" Jennie cheerfully said. I was so confused, school started at 8am so why would I have to be ready an hour before school when our place was literally like 10 minutes away. "Wait why do we have to be ready an hour before school? I know our place is like 15 minutes away from school. It's not like you guys take that long to fix yourselves up right?" Lisa and Jennie smiled at me suspiciously, "Well....Y/N you know, you may not know everything about us yet..." "What's there not to know? I've known you guys since the moment I was able to talk." Lisa elbowed me softly, "We’ve got new friends! Like actual men type of friends." My eyes opened wide despite the tiredness I've been experiencing,

How could these two end up befriending guys and just suddenly "forgetting" to tell me about it when they know and are fully aware that we all don’t normally interact with the opposite gender?  

"Fine, I'll be ready by 7am on Monday." I say as I roll my eyes, "YAYYY I'M SO EXCITEDDD!!!" both of them scream.

Ugh, 30 minutes have just passed since I arrived in Seoul and I'm already experiencing stress.

As soon as we got off the cab, both my friends had rushed to bring down all my belongings so that I could finally take a look at the place we rented out. Jennie reaches her hand out to me and in her palm, my key to our place. "Hey, have you guys figured out how we'll be getting to school on Monday?" Jennie giggles, "Y/N, you’re lucky we attend the same school. But the guys will pick us up! Plus..they promised to bring Jungkook." Jennie winks at me and flashes me her brightest smile.

Jungkook? I know I've heard that name somewhere, but I just can't remember where.

"We're here!!" The elevator door opens, "Apartment 735" I mutter to myself. I walk along the brightly lit corridor. "732....733...734..." I continue counting, "735!!" The girls rush to my side, "Y/N, this is your first time in our apartment, so you'll have the honor of opening the door with your key" Lisa says with a smile. I reach out for my keys, close my eyes and take a deep breath before turning the key to unlock the door. I hear the light switch turn on and I open my eyes. The apartment was beautiful. I walk in to see the kitchen, it has a small island where I could serve meals to my friends. I honestly enjoy cooking to relieve myself from whatever stresses me out, whether it be school, people or something about football. I’ve loved sports for as long as I can remember but it gets frustrating since I could be quite competitive.

I walked into the next room and I saw our living room, there was a large L-shaped sofa sitting in front of a huge television. In between the sofa and TV, I saw a small wooden table that is most probably multipurpose as being both a study desk and a place to put our snacks when we binge on shows during our free days. Beside the sofa I see a balcony that showcases a beautiful scenery of the city. I walk out and feel the cold breeze on my cheeks, I look up to the sky and I see that the sky had a welcoming gift for me as well. The stars greeted me as they shined brightly upon the night sky and I just can't help but admire the night sky. To my right, I see a bean bag that fits 2 people. I plop down to the bean bag and stargaze for a while.

Mom? Dad? I know you can hear me, I promise I'll make you proud, I'll succeed here in Seoul and become a great doctor.

"Y/N?" I snap back to reality and see Jennie’s head appear, "You haven't even seen your room yet! Come onnnnn!!" I stand back up and follow the girls in another small hallway, there I see 3 doors. "So basically, it's not that we don't want you to have your own room but we wanted one room to be our sort of walk-in closet because I mean who has not dreamed of having one?" I open the first door I see and the place is indeed full of clothes. There were 3 closets in the room, each of the closet doors have our first name initials on it to indicate who owns which closet. I laugh at my best friends, we all enjoy watching all those Barbie movies where they have spectacular closets and I guess you can say that this is the closest we can get to our childhood dreams.

I walk out of the room and take a few steps into the hallway. Lisa rushes to get past me and hold the doorknob, "Okay Y/N, this room is a little different. I know it's not really our style whatsoever but we created a study room." I scrunch my eyebrows, "A study room? Really now? For all of us or for me?" Lisa tucks a stray hair into her ear, "Well, more for you than for us since we know how hard you work and how much more you'll be working to get into med school. But it's a double purpose for a practice room for us too!" I take a step back to look at both my best friends and their grinning faces,

What did I do to deserve these two psychos in my life?

I call them in for a group hug, "You guys, I know you want to make me feel like there's nothing missing anymore in my life and I love you guys for that. I hope you all still remember I'm not a robot though and even if I'll be working hard to get into med school, I'll still be around to party and experience what any normal teenager should be experiencing." I hear Jennie sniffling at my right, "Aw Jen" I rub her back soothingly, "We know that Y/N, we just want the best for you too. We'll always be here rooting for you any time." We all take a step back, "Okay!" Lisa says, "Guys, it's our first night in our own apartment and we're already crying." Everybody laughs, "So I guess this last room is our room?" "It sure is." Jennie opens the door and I see three twin beds side by side. Just like our "walk-in closet" our first name initials are hanging above our head, brightly lit to recognize who owns which bed. I see my initial on top of the bed that lies in between both Lisa and Jennie's.

I drop my luggage off at our closet area and plop back down into the bean bag on the balcony. I take a deep breath in and close my eyes.

This is the start of my new life.

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

"Take my hands now, you are the cause of my euphoria"

I woke up to the sound of Euphoria, my favorite song in the whole wide-

"WHEN I’M WITH YOU I'M IN UTOPIA"

And of course, the voices of my two best friends singing their hearts out and getting the lyrics messed up.

"Y/N!!! Come on!! It's your first day of school. Did you forget about our breakfast plan?"

Right. Their so-called "breakfast plan" before school. I stand up from my bed and stretch a little before I start making my bed. I stop by the closet first and pick my outfit for today, I pick out a tied crop top, white sneakers, and jeans. I grab my bathrobe and head to the bathroom. I step into the shower and play some music that would help wake me up and get ready for the day. As I continue to wash my hair, I hear a knock on my door, 

"Y/N! Are you done?!!" 

I roll my eyes. Jeez, they finally got themselves guy friends and now they're going crazy about finishing on time. I wrap a towel around my head to dry my hair. I head back to our dressing room and open my luggage. As I look for my blow dryer and straightener, Lisa barges into the room, 

"Y/N Y/L/N, you seem to be too relaxed this morning. You have 30 minutes left to get ready and if you're not ready by then I'm going to drag you to the car." "Don't worry Jen, I'll be done on time. Now can you please stop bothering me so that I can start dressing up?"

I quickly blow dry my hair and put it up in a messy bun. With the remaining time left, this is the best I can do to tame my natural curls. I look at myself in the mirror and check to see if something is missing. I reach out to get my makeup bag and I put on a little blush and add a little lip tint. I search through my accessory bag and look for my small stud earrings. I get my glasses from the table and look at myself in the mirror once more. I'm ready for my first day of school. I leave the dressing room and meet my best friends in our kitchen. 

"Oh my goodness Y/N, let's go! We're already 5 minutes late." I grab the schoolbag I prepared last night before heading to bed and leave the apartment. We head to the basement by elevator since Lisa got her license just recently. "Wait Lisa, if you had your license already by the time you picked me up, why did you guys use a taxi to pick me up?" "Oh, uh..I was too lazy to drive that late at night so I just got us a taxi." She starts the car and we head to the exit.

It was my first time ever seeing Seoul in the morning light, the sun hit the skyscrapers so beautifully that it was as if the city was welcoming me as their new citizen. Numerous cars were already out by the time we hit the road because of the rush hour most of them were experiencing. Our school, Seoul National University was just 10 minutes away, our apartment was located a couple blocks away As I was looking out the window, I saw some sort of diner come into view. It looked huge for my definition of a diner since I always saw diners as small joints made for meals, but this diner was different. As Lisa pulled up in the parking area I could see a little bit of the inside, students like us were dining in there as well and there seemed to be a game room on the other side of the dining area.  It's around mid-February so the breeze was still cool, Busan was a little warmer during the winter so I had to find a way to adjust to the cooler weather in the city. As my friends and I make our way to the entrance, I notice three heads that turn our way. As we enter the diner however, the smell of freshly made bread, waffles, and eggs hits me and I feel my mouth water. I've been starving and I couldn't wait to try whatever the diner had been serving.

I see three boys in a booth and I make eye contact with one of them, the weird thing is...I felt butterflies in my tummy. I've seen those eyes somewhere, he feels familiar which is of course impossible because I've never met these people in my entire life.

I've never had any guy friends at all. I've always thought about making my parents proud and everything so I focused on getting good scores on all my tests so that I could get into med school. This is all so new to me...having friends of the opposite species. I mean okay, I've watched rom-coms and movies that revolve around love, seeing your friends being treated the way I see couples act in the movies is something I never thought I would be interacting with boys at this point of my life.

"Y/N? Earth to Y/N!" I snap back to reality as Jennie calls my attention. "This is Jimin, Taehyung and the guy still sitting in the booth is Jungkook." Jungkook? I think I know a Jungkook from back home but it's still pretty hard to remember a lot of things. "Sorry, I'm being rude." Jungkook stood up and walked to me, "Jungkook." He held out a hand for me to shake, "Y/N." I say in reply. As our hands touch, there's a familiar warmth that gives me goosebumps. I quickly try to mask the reddness in my cheeks. We all take a seat in the booth and based on the impression of these boys, they seem like athletes. "Hey Y/N," Jimin says, "You should try their Bacon and Waffles here. They sell out like crazy in the mornings." I take a quick glance on the menu and scan quickly for the meal Jimin was talking about. I raise my hand excitedly to call in the waitress to take our orders, "1 Bacon and Waffles, 2 Pancakes and, 3 orders of the Waffles and Chicken all with Orange Juice on the side." The waitress says, "Thanks." I give her a smile in return.

I glance back at my friends after giving the waitress the menu I was holding, Jungkook and I make direct eye contact, his big brown doe eyes, another flood of goosebumps crawl on my skin as he turns away to talk to Taehyung. Why is it that Jungkook looks at me as if he’s seen me before?

The waitress returns with the orders and I start to take a bite off my first meal of the day.

“So Y/N, how was your first night in the city?” Taehyung asked as he picked a strawberry off one of the pancakes, “I stayed up in the balcony just looking at the city lights, the stars were very bright last night. I couldn’t stay up for so long though, it got really cold.” “Y/N loves gazing at stars, she used to try to make Jen and I see the stars in Busan every time we video called.” Lisa says giggling, Jimin gasps and turns to point at Jungkook while eating his waffle, “Jungkook used to drag us out of our homes just to meet at a park to stargaze!” Jungkook shyly looks away and takes a sip of his juice, “Yah” he finally speaks, “You make me sound like a really weird kid Hyung” I laugh at his statement, “Don’t be too embarrassed Kook, looking at the stars are my favorite past time” He tenses up with the nickname as he looks at me, I realize I just gave this guy a nickname on the first day we met. Shit. “Uh, is it okay that I call you Kook?” He nods in return as a smile crept onto his face.

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

[marcholasmoth]

OSRR: 2837

my tummy hurts. my foot hurts. my throat hurts. my nose is stuffy. i just wanna go to sleep without the hassle of trying to fall asleep.

:c

had a dream last night where my sister and i hiked north through the himalayas to get from new hampshire through finland to northern minnesota, and we were supposed to stop and see jay on the way but for the sake of time we didn't stop but they met us on the way back - they came out to see me. i got to spend a beautiful, bright winter day with them and it was wonderful. i had made them something and i gave it to them, even though a few things snapped on the way - it was like a snow globe, but the ball was six inches across and split horizontally in the middle and it didn't have water, but you could reach inside and change it. a telephone pole snapped. jay gave me a gift too, but i don't remember what it was. i told them of my hesitation to visit on the way, because i was so concerned they didn't want to talk to me. and dream-jay said something like, "i'm sure they would like to talk to you," talking about real-jay. and i've kind of been a mess all day because holy fuck, man. i've thought about this person every single day since we stopped talking almost eight months ago. god, i hate this.

and of course, when i woke up, i was next to joel who was affectionate this morning. and my heart is in like seven pieces consistently, and any one of them feels like it's being snapped in half on the daily. fuck.

but joel's been concerned about me, as he always is. i'm so grateful i have him.

i just wish i could have my friend back.

[thefanficmonster]

Hey Vy, 📚🌻 here!

I was on a video call with a friend of mine and she said: oh, do you still like Corpse?

I opened my mouth and she said instantly "i shouldn't have asked...", I mean I know that I do talk a lot about him but-- I can't blame her, after she said that I re-told her about his life and how cool he is and about the songs and the merch and---

Well, today I'm here to give you your next three words, which are: Alarm, recorder (the instrument that's also called flute), Crayons

Btw, today's music recomendation is: And so it went by The pretty reckless featuring Tom Morello. Actually the new The Pretty Reckless album is full of great songs but and so it went is my favorite!

Love, 📚🌻

Hi darling 📚🌻 !

I felt your experience with your friend on a personal level 😅 I've had that happen to me several times too. Don't worry though, I bet everyone in the Corpse fandom has experienced something similar at least once 😂

Thank you for yet another great music recommend, you're literally THE BEST 😘

Today's fic will be a father-daughter fic for the special occasion of Father's Day. Prepare to see a side of Gwen rarely seen by the world.

~ Enjoy 💕

Mission

Pairing: Ethan Winters & Daughter OC (Gwen Winters)

Warnings: None :)

Genre: FLUFF, Domestic Fluff

Being on vacation and all, the last thing Gwen expected was to hear her alarm blaring at 7 AM. Thinking she has set it on accident, she turns it off and rolls over in an attempt to prolong her slumber. However, much to her horror, seconds later she hears the door to her bedroom open, feeling a shake to her shoulder shortly after.

"Gwen, it's time to get up." Ethan's familiar voice floods the room as a hushed whisper, gently waking up the twenty-three-year-old.

"What do you want, dad?" Gwen grumbles, face 90% hidden in her pillow as she refuses to give a response to the continuous tries on Ethan's part of getting her out of bed.

Him and Mia have been her adoptive parents for a little less than a decade at this point and yet, her referring to them as ‘mom’ and ‘dad’ still catches them off-guard sometimes in the best way possible. Never fails to make them smile too.

“I wanted to go shopping for some toys for Rose while Mia’s asleep.“ Ethan explains when Gwen finally rolls over to face him.

She gives him a lazy smile, “Why? Cause you know she’ll say you’re gonna flood the house with toys by the time she’s even a year old?”

He sheepishly nods, “It’s not my fault there are so many cool toys at the store and I just can’t help myself.” He shrugs, “Though, I know she’ll still be the most obsessed with that monkey you got her.”

She sits up as a pointless attempt at hiding the little emotional spark that his words lit up in her, “Give me fifteen minutes, I’ll meet ya downstairs.”

With a grateful nod and a grin Ethan exits her room, quietly closing the door behind him.

                                                               *  *  *

“Dad, what is a less-than-a-year-old baby gonna do with crayons? It clearly says they’re meant for three-year-olds and above.“ Gwen rolls her eyes, snatching the 24 crayon packet from Ethan who’s been super indecisive on what to get. She’s only there to give him opinions, seeing as how she could never choose a proper toy for a baby. Well, one cannot be sure how true that is since Rose’s favorite toy was a gift to her by Gwen - maybe she’s got some skills she doesn’t know about after all.

“Why not? You can draw too. You’re older than three, right?“ He turns to look at her with teasingly narrowed eyes and a barely contained smile.

It manages to get a laugh out of her which makes him feel quite accomplished. She rolls her eyes and puts the pack of crayons back on the shelf, “I may be older than three but I bet you Rose could draw a better picture than I can. I suck at drawing, which is why I’m never allowed to illustrate the plans to the squad. Piers is the only one who understands what I’m trying to describe.” Gwen shakes her head as the two continue down the aisle. She struggles to keep her mind focused on the current task and not let it wander. God forbid she lets it roam, it’ll bring her no good whatsoever.

It’ll start wondering why she feels homesick while being at home. That question is not one she wants answered - not honestly at least.

“Really? Only Piers?“ Ethan nudges the topic cautiously, glancing at Gwen out of the corner of his eye to make sure she won’t pounce at him. Truth be told, you can never be sure with Gwen, she’s highly unpredictable. 

But when he sees her sigh, he’s pretty darn relieved.

“No...not only Piers.“ Is all she says, but her words speak louder than their meaning, explaining to Ethan a lot more than what she’s willing to say out loud for herself.

The toll this subject takes on her is painfully obvious so the blond man decides not to continue pursuing it. Instead he hums knowingly before reaching for another toy and showing it to her as a distraction, “Well, maybe you suck at drawing, but I bet you can play the recorder like a professional.”

This earns him another laugh, a more wholehearted one, coming straight from the bottom of her soul, honest and genuine. And grateful, grateful he got her mind off the BSAA and....and everything else.

She links her arm with his, resting her head on his shoulder, taking the recorder from him to put it back where he took it from. Still, she mumbles, “Thanks dad.”

Again: few words, a lot of meanings and one important message he hears loud and clear.

“Anytime, Gwen.“

[kuronanox]

New Years - Gin Ichimaru

"Happy New Years!" (Your Name) cheered popping out of the door as he came back from his captains duties.

Gin eyes opened a bit shockingly before it closed again as he pull her into a embrace. They've spent the last 5 New Years together and this one marked the 6th.

"How was work? You got back early! We should watch the fireworks." She suggested as he stretched a bit and leaned onto her a bit exhausted.

"Hmm watchin firework with ya seems fun." He says getting into a simple yukata she had bought him a few months ago.

Oh how Gin was lucky to snatch her into his life as she was falling apart. She had accepted his weirdness, although a lot of people were not fond of Gin and found him a odd fellow she thought different.

It was a small crush, he didn't think it would actually turn into something.

She was a shy girl that had transferred into his squad after resigning from the 4th.

(Your Name) quickly befriended Kira and slowly she gradually befriended her Captain.

"What are you thinking about?" She asks him as they walked with link arms to the hill.

"Yer first few years." He answers as she scoff and lightly hits him embarrassed.

As they reached the top other Shinigamis were already gathered with friends and significant others to watch the fireworks.

"Oh it's Rangiku!" (Your Name) says watching the busty women linked arms with no other than Shuhei Hisagi. At first the lady didn't want to give the poor man a chance but after his long efforts of pursuing she finally gave in and it was safe to say they have been happy ever since.

Of course (Your Name) knew of Gin and Rangiku past relationships but he has never gave her a reason to question anything.

Gin was of course happy for Rangiku she had deserved infinite happiest after the roughness of their childhood growing up.

They were both in a really healthy long term relationship.

"Seems like everyone is here tonight."

"It don't bother me much." Gin tells her as he laid his head on her lap as they gazed up into the stars before the showing.

When the fireworks started to show up everyone jumped and laughed around. It was a good time and they didn't have to think about any invasion or threatening enemies.

Gin never understood what was the big deal of New Years but every year since being with (Your Name) he enjoyed it.

At first he would just watch from his window at the barrack but being up on the hill with everyone else gave it a different meaning to him.

Watching the lights explode he looks up to (Your Name), she was smiling and enjoying herself. Looking into her eyes he could see the reflection of the sky as he softly smiles and pushes some hair out of her face.

"Hmm?" She says as he pulls her down slowly and gives her a New Years kiss.

"Happy New Year." He responses back as she laughs and then goes back to looking at the sky.

A soft knock on her door woke her out of a trace as she sees Rangiku appearing with a wide smile. "Hey! How have you been?"

"Good actually! I can't believe it's going to be New Years soon. Seems like yesterday I spent it with him."

Rangiku sadly smiles and sits across from (Your Name) grabbing her small fingers and holding it with her motherly one. "I know, I can't believe it's been 2 years without him. You haven't been back to the hill since then either. But why don't you go with me and a few of my friends! I promise it will be fun!"

"I don't know, it won't be the same but I do want to celebrate New Years and not be alone unlike the past 2 years." She laughs a bit.

"I'm providing drinks! Come on! I know Gin would want you to celebrate just as y'all use to do!" The older women pouted as (Your Name) nodded. She agreed to go because being alone was something she was afraid of going back to.

"Kira is coming too! You won't be alone."

Kira Izuru one of her closest friend and someone she shared a close bond to because they shared a lot of similarities when it came to their mental health. Kira was hurting as much as she was so it was the least she could do.

Both of them encouraging each other.

"I got you something small for New Years!" She cheered as they got back home.

He raised a eyebrow and followed her, she directed him to sit and close his eyes. He left open both his hands as she placed a small box into his hands.

Gin looks down to see it was neatly wrapped in red as he opens it to see some dried persimmons.

"Our tree died this winter and I know they are your favorite so I went to a store that specializes in candy to get them. It's not much but I hope it's okay?"

Gin was truly happy with this gift, to anyone it might seem meaningless but dried persimmons brought him back to his childhood and it was something he always craved.

"I love it." He answers setting it down and snaking his arms around her body as he smelt the fresh fragrance of lavender she was wearing.

Caressing his hair she kissed his head. She felt extremely lucky to have him by her side.

She dressed in a simple Kimono and walked to the hill, the firework showing was in another hour but Rangiku told her to get there early so they could drink before it.

Rangiku had many different types of sake and a bottle from the human world she made Ichigo get her for this special occasion.

"You made it!" She says hugging (Your Name) tightly rubbing her back knowing New Years was something special she spent with Gin every year.

"I'm excited! Looks like everyone is here too!"

"(Your Name)!" Shuhei says waving to her as he passed her a shot glass. "Kira!" He yells as (Your Name) turns around to see her lieutenant pull up with some bottles also.

"Kira and alcohol are meant to be."

"Everyone let's enjoy ourselves!" Rangiku cheers as they four took the first shots. After Ikkaku walked by pestering why he wasn't invited.

(Your Name) smiled and looked around, everyone was having fun and she was glad to have spent time with new friends. She was grateful for Rangiku also, they both lost someone precious they held in their heart.

"(Your Name) I'm glad you came we haven't been able to hang out!" Kira slurred his words hanging his arm around her already drunk.

She giggled a bit and held him up straight offering him some water.

"Me too Kira, I'm able to come back here now."

(Your Name) found Gin on deaths door lying on the rough concrete floor as she cried and picked his head up lightly and laid him on her thighs as he always did.

"Why did you do try to attack Aizen! Why didn't you tell everyone your intentions! Everyone will think you are a traitor!" She yells at him as the tears fell on his face.

Gin struggled to lift his arm as he held her face and smiled lightly saying "I was already a traitor when I left the most important thing behind."

(Your Name) struggled to breathe, this wasn't what she planned after not seeing him for so long.

Rangiku was by their side also in the same state as (Your Name) as she cried.

"I love you (Your Name)." He says before his arm went limp and he looked at Rangiku one last time before closing his eyes.

The two broken girls cried for him and for each other as they held each other hands.

"Are you okay?" Kira ask tilting his head as she spaced off and she smiled to him.

"I am now."

"Look look the fireworks are about to start!" Rangiku cheered as (Your Name) looked up amazed at the light show.

Every year it was a different show so it lifted everyone out of their feet wondering what they were going to see.

"Here's a sparkler!" Hisagi passed to her as it lit up and she smiled warmly. It was pretty, bright and dangerous.

Holding the sparkler up to the sky with everyone else they all cheered to the New Year brightly as they all kissed their loved ones.

"Come on (Your Name) we are close enough to give each other a hug!" Kira says even though she knew he was drunk the man lost just as much as her. His arm were open for her to embrace.

She gives him an warm embrace for the New Year until Rangiku yelled at them and joined into the group hug.

(Your Name) was overwhelmed with so many emotions as the two embraced her she wanted to cry tears of happiness but nothing came out. She was thankful this year she spent it with them because at the end of the day they all cared and loved each other.

"Happy New Year (Your Name)."

She hears a familiar voice softly says in her ears as she looks up into the sky. He was watching over her, protecting and encouraging her in spirit.

"Happy New Year Gin."

(Author note: wow this is my 20th chapter! I gotta say I'm proud of myself! Also who's your favorite girl character? Mine would be Rukia, Rangiku and Nel!)

[blysse-and-blunder]

in lieu of a baseball game

april 10, 2021, 9pm

the housemates and I are on the couch watching the nats/dodgers game; baseball aficionado G is instructing our resident brit on the finer points of watching the great american pastime*

* (while I, having a carefully romanticized view of baseball thanks to a lifetime in new england and a few movies, am laughing in 'i once took nearly thirty pages of notes on this sport for a fic I never wrote')

reading got back to isabel allende's the house of the spirits for a bit this week, and this may just be a better translation than the one i was reading this summer but it captured me again in a big way? there's just something about magical realism, even though the content of this section of the book is dark as hell... but then, again, midway through this week when my brain was exceptionally fried, i dipped back into grace of kings and was suddenly grateful for the same 'simple', 'detached', 'not as poetic' writing style i'd been maligning earlier this winter!

watching baseball is better on the radio. yeah, i said it!! that being said, i am enjoying watching this; it is a good feeling to share a live sport with people. also, through a series of poor decisions including signing up for prime student and a starz trial in the heat of the moment last night, i now have a month to watch black sails? watched the first two eps last night; it feels too early to have Thoughts, but-- they sure did choose what wondrous love is this for the max/eleanor theme, didn't they? that, strangely, gives me a lot more hope-- or at least, curiosity-- about that particular relationship is going to develop, because, it doesn't look good right now...

listening back to my grading playlist in a big way this past week, which, according to the spotify stats thingy someone reblogged earlier, has obliterated my previous listening. either i have listened to these songs, in the first four months of the year, more than the songs i've been listening to consistently for an actual decade, or that stats thing was a little screwy. anyway, i put barenaked ladies' odds are on my 'oh lord its 2020' playlist last year, and it continues to be a necessary and revitalizing bop.

playing no dnd this week, our DM had Things, and this ended up being a good thing because of the bandwidth i absolutely didn't have for a longer session. instead, a few of the party members and i decided to hang out on boardgamearena and we ended up playing hokkaido which! is charming?? similar play-style to PARKS but...gentler, somehow. i lost super hard (ran out of money early and never got a chance to recoup any, bc i have awful friends) but had such a nice time.

making i missed a roundup post last week so i didn't get to fill everyone in on the lampshade saga, but! i had a fit of mad genius last week and hot-glued my lampshade back together. it's lumpy; it involved frantically pawing through my gift wrap collection for some matching ribbon; this all happened at like 9pm at night one weeknight; i'm actually super proud.

for this week, it's been about coming up to speed with my new (to me!) cast iron skillet! it came in the box of kitchen accoutrements i was shipped from my grandparents' kitchen after the funeral this spring; i officially broke it in today with this truly amazing, thick-cut, maple-smoked bacon. gurl. there was so, so much extra grease in that pan, after that, so i ended up frying eggs, and potatoes, and bread, and tomatoes...! yes, this was in the service of continuing to season the pan-- and it was all rustic at first, black coffee and cast iron, i felt like the rancher my grandfather was-- but with all the additions, and the fact that the potatoes had rosemary in them, it turned into a Fancy Feast (with the good china and the tiny milk jug!)

working on attending a virtual conference thurs-sun this week, which has been stressful but also sort of a nice break from my regular grind, and i'm genuinely enjoying seeing the regular attendees and feeling reconnected to this org and its community. but friday was a marathon of multiple sessions/unrelated meetings and zooms and workshops; i gave up that afternoon and lay down with a warm washcloth over my face rather than attend the last session, tbh.

i feel like everyone i know is in grading hell; i therefore feel morally obligated to also be in grading hell, even though i don't actually have as rough a go as i think a lot of people, and i don't yet have a clear deadline so i'm not...rushing...and as long as i do a bit every day, i'm okay (this is what i'm telling myself). but now i have to write a third bhpc practicum proposal, apparently, and also knock out the final hours for my two ra-ships before april 15, and also somehow do more reading than i have been as we enter the last month pre-fields. it's all. fine. it's fine.

[fictional-worlds-are-exquisite]

thank you! i think you're genuinely the only person that has ever said they actually like the fact that my bathrobe is obnoxiously pink. and you're absolutely right, one of the things i like most about it is that it hurts people's eyes. i love it actually. if you ever celebrate halloween you should absolutely add your bathrobe to your costume. an amazing idea. since it has a mouse face on the hood it could be two costumes rolled into one - both a vampire and a mouse (if in the middle of the evening you get bored of one), which i think would be awesome. and you probably wouldn't get cold (is it cold in nz during halloween? because here it almost always is). we don't celebrate halloween in lithuania either though. which i'm a bit bummed about, because halloween sounds super fun. mostly because of the dressing up! but i did celebrate it once, when i was 11 or 12 maybe? me and a couple of friends decided it would be fun even if it's not really celebrated here. so we dressed up, even went trick ir treating (half the houses had no idea what was happening and also i pretty much froze to death because i was dressed as a dead bride and refused to put a coat on because then you couldn't see my dress) and also watched horror movies. 12 (or 11) year old me thought it was amazing.

oh yeah! i've broken a knife on 2 separate occasions i think. once i tried to get something out of between the blender's blades, used a knife and then accidentally turned the blender on (i'm so fucking glad it was a knife and not my fingers). so the tip of the knife broke off (the blender was ok tho). and the second time i have no idea how it happened. i was cutting up broccoli and the knife just fell apart??? i was so confused, because one second i'm holding a knife and the next it's just two pieces of a handle and the metal part, all separate. had fun explaining that to my dad. you sound pretty unlucky too! i mean, a cut every time you use a knife, but you don't even notice it at the time? i think it's just that knives are out to get us (it's my newest conspiracy theory). i actually get double vision too sometimes! mostly when i'm tired, but i just figured that it was because i have really bad eyesight

they definitely SHOULD teach about gender and sexuality in school. it's a really big problem that in a lot of places it's either not compulsory or not even in the curriculum. honestly, everything i know about sex ed or lgbtq+ i had to learn myself on the internet, because we only had one class when we were like 13 years old with a guest speaker and it was mostly biology and then a little bit about menstruation and pads for girls (i have no idea what they told boys because we were also separated). so sex ed definitely sucks a lot in my country and i bet it's the same in a lot of others, which makes me really mad

exactly!! it's so hard to tell whether i'm feeling romantic or platonic love sometimes! it's confusing. also i remember one time me and a couple of friends had a sleepover and the friend's, who was hosting, parents weren't home so we watched romance movies (scandalous i know). again we were maybe 12. and they kept going "oh he's so hot" and intensely watching the sex scenes. while i was looking away from the tv whenever sexy times were going on and commenting on how much i loved the house design and the garden. gee i wonder what that means. (still can't believe it took me this long to figure out i was ace)

the breakfast went very well though! it's so interesting how different traditions are everywhere. i hope your lunch and the rest of christmas day went well too! (also i forgot to ask last time, but what is boxing day? google says it's mostly a shopping holiday, is it that? we just call it the second day of christmas and it's pretty much the same as christmas day but there's no presents!) but yeah i hope you had fun with your extended family on boxing day!

having acid reflux sounds like it sucks. i love breakfast, it's my favourite meal of the day (when i don't have to rush that is) and i skip lunch a lot because i usually have no time for it (my schedule kinda sucks), so i usually try to have a bigger breakfast. but hey, peanut butter is good! so at least you can have something that tastes good for breakfast!

aaand i feel like this ask got away from me. sorry it's so long!

it’s because i have t a s t e. it may not be GOOD taste but it sure is...taste...and i am proud of it. and yes, i love the idea of adding my dressing gown to my costume specifically because it means i’m basically in my PJ’s. minimal effort. comfort to the max. living the dream. halfway through the night i’m tired of being the vampire no one invites in so i drop to my knees and start the mouse act. mice are good at getting in houses and getting to chocolate and such. the dream. also i absolutely would get bored of one costume within the space of a few hours knowing me, so that’s a plus. uhhhh halloween is october which is. mid-late spring so it really depends on the day. it might be a little cold, might be shorts weather. I rarely leave my house at night so I’m not an expert on nighttime temperatures sdflsdfjsd. 

I used to wish we did Halloween here but that was mostly because I wanted lollies. Although I also liked playing dress up as a young kid so maybe very young me would’ve vibed with the costume aspect. I know there’s a photo of me when I was like, 5 and my best friend of the time dressed up as witches at some point, maybe we had our own little halloween. I also possibly had a halloween themed birthday party once as a kid? I remember the little gift bags having spooky things in them and also possibly a bat cake but my memory is too bad to remember for sure. aha that’s the problem here too, no one locally would ever think to buy lollies to give out so it’d just be like um. you can have an apple I guess? at least you had fun though! i respect the commitment to the costume despite the cold. 

that is such a stressful story to read, i fear for your life. although i understand the knife breaking in that first scenario. that would be terrifying though. what if the blender launched it,,, nOPE. i’m very glad it wasn’t your fingers, that’s some horror movie shit. the second time is just,, it be like that sometimes. it was probably just waiting to happen. my parents have a cheese grater with a loose handle and it. falls off. every time. i dry it. with the dishes. and every time i fear for my life as the grating bit drops off towards my feet as i’m left holding the handle. i should expect it by now but i never do. I get scared every time it happens. knives are definitely out to get us, i fully support this conspiracy theory. oh yeah, tiredness doesn’t help with double vision. i kind of need bifocal glasses by now but I also don’t want bifocal glasses so i just suffer but I suspect having them would reduce the double vision. maybe. maybe not.

yup! i remember someone handing out tampons and pads at primary school, i assume after giving a talk about periods, idk. i do also remember a teacher pulling the girls aside and being like yo, this is what a period is, here’s a horror story about my daughter and a tampon, enjoy the trauma, go back to class. good times. we did actually get really comprehensive sex ed concerning most things at my high school but that is faaaarrr from the norm around here, clearly. although teenage boys are good at filling in gaps, in my experience. they’re like little sex encyclopedias that offer up information without you asking. i didn’t ACTUALLY want to know that but i do now, i guess, thanks michael. 

dude. the ‘oh he’s so hot’ comments are so confusing. ‘hot’ is like a category of attractiveness that I’ve never understood. ‘isn’t he hot?’ what does that MEAN rebecca. i think i asked once if it meant like, attractive or good looking. and the person i asked was like, you know, hot. you just look at them and, you know- no i don’t know. what is this. i don’t think i’ve ever watched a sex scene with people my age though, generally i just zone out for them sdkfhskdfh. i feel like there’s definitely all these indicators when you look back like oh yeah, should’ve realised i was ace then, but it’s just. such a hard sexuality to figure out. not that other sexualities aren’t but you’ve got to figure out an absence of something when you don’t even know what the something feels like- it’s a challenge.

I’m glad it did! It is interesting, for sure. I’ve always been interested in how winter Christmas’s work. As a young kid I didn’t understand hemispheres...obviously...i was like 5...and i’d go out on Christmas morning to see if there was snow. and sometimes it’d be a bit chilly in the morning and I’d be like damn. we almost had some this year. it’s a shame our climate tends to be too hot for snow on christmas :// like no you tiny dumbass it’s summer you little idiot there will be no snow no matter what. everything ended up going super well here :). boxing day is basically just a shopping holiday, i don’t know if it has any significance in any other way, i’m sure it did at one point, but i know there’s always boxing day sales everywhere. I think it’s also a public holiday (?) to give people another day off work and that, but I could be wrong there. I know I also used to regularly go to the races (horse races) nearby that were always held on boxing day, it was like a 150 year old tradition or something until people in attendance started dropping and I think they finally shut it down a couple years back. I didn’t care all that much about the horses but they also had food and carnival-type rides and such for the kids which is why I loved it. also we tended to meet extended family there for a picnic lunch.

acid reflux is like the least of my problems sdfkjshdkf. it’s annoying but it’s pretty managed with medication, I have to watch certain foods and drinks but I’m used to it by now. I think it’s also what causes me to not be able to eat large amounts normally so I survive a lot on snacks and a reasonable sized dinner. works for me. but peanut butter is good! i’m glad i can have that! I used to also have vegemite but that’s a bit more of a push, it’s easier to stick with peanut butter.

also it’s fine!! my responses are always very long too sdfjhskdf.

[blindspot-repata]

Secret friend - Blindspot

This is my contribution to the 22nd day of winter Holydayblindspot.

Amigo Secreto/ Secret friend/ Kriss Kringle / Secret Santa - In some parts of the world you don't play secret buddy, but in some places it is common at Christmas time to have a raffle where names are drawn and each one is given a chance gift for a person, which is only revealed on Christmas Eve or on a specific date near Christmas. Each participant rehearses a speech about the raffled person and gives him a gift. I decided to talk about it because I think it would be a great time for our dear team to get together on that date even during the escape. I hope you enjoy!

___. ___. ___. ___. ___. ___

December twenty-fourth in New York was always very cold, but in Canada the cold was extreme. Two days ago it was snowing nonstop. Luckily they went to the nearest town last week and did all the Christmas shopping, including for the long-awaited hidden friend (Secret Santa). Of course it was Rich's idea, but they all got in on it. It would be just souvenirs to relax and feel the Christmas spirit even on the run.

The Christmas dinner was very tasty, of course, after discussions about who would make what, everything turned out well. They were already eating dessert, a Dutch pie Tasha had made.

“Hey, guys!” Rich got up from the table catching everyone's attention. "Let's start the revelations here because I'm crazy to see my friend's reaction to the gift I bought." Rich had drunk a good deal of wine and was talking to his elbows.

"Do you to start, Rich?" Patterson was also slightly altered due to the high amount of wine ingested.

“No, you start, blond.”

Everyone got up and sat on the couch or took the chairs near the tree where the presents were arranged. Patterson picked up the little box that contained her gift and stood pacing the small room.

“Well, my secret friend. She is a very strong person, has been through so much, and looks that follows full and firm." Patterson turned her gaze to each of them, her family, and they returned a curious and grateful look for her being who she was and rid them of so much trouble. “She brought riddles with her and we worked hard to unravel them all. But in the end we did it. My friend is Jane.”

Jane stood up and they hugged each other tightly. Jane removed the bow from the box revealing the silver necklace with the letter J engraved on a pendant.

“Thank you, Patterson. I loved it.” Jane said already putting the necklace around the neck with the help of Kurt.

“Well, my turn. My secret friend. Let me try to say everything I rehearsed.”

“Speak, Jane!” Everyone shouted in unison.

“Fine! She is beautiful, is always well groomed and loves her heeled boots. She is a strong and determined woman. Likes to take risks and has a big heart. It's Tasha!”

Tasha got up with teary eyes and hugged Jane. She had learned so much since the tattooed woman joined their team. The latina opened the package and came across a box of Swiss chocolates.

“For you to relieve the stress we are going through.”

“Thank you, Jane.” Tasha thanked smiling.

“ Well, it's me now.” Tasha took the box with her gift and looked thoughtful. "My secret friend is very special, you all are." The brunette looked at all of them not wanting to leave anyone out of her preference. “But this person, I've lived so much with him, we went through many problems and some of my attitudes left him very hurt.” This time she didn't hold back the tears. "Although he doesn't speak, I know deep down he hasn't forgiven me yet, but I fight every day to make it happen. Reade, come to receive your gift.”

Reade stood and hugged her tightly. “Don't cry, okay. Look at me.” Tasha looked into his eyes smiling with tears still streaming. “Thanks.” He spoke softly.

He thanked her and took his gift. It was a mini bottle of Jack Daniels.

“You don't even have to look like this so I won't share it with you!” He said looking at Kurt and Rich. He handed his gift to Tasha and took out his package. “My turn! My secret friend has boldness on the tip of his tongue. I think I learned a few things from him, such as accepting that people can change. My friend is you, Rich!”

“Oh! What an honor you go out with me, Reade! The boldness part is because I like to put a little joy among you that sometimes are very well behaved for my taste.” Rich took out his gift, which was a smart watch, of course not original because of the little money they had, but it seemed to work well. “Thank you, little Boss!” Rich winked at him who looked incredulous already scolding him.

Rich took his package under the tree and cleared his throat to begin his rehearsed speech.

“My secret friend, well, sometimes could be a little more uninhibited, because everything I say he scolds. I have asked for a mégane a few times, but always denied me.”

“Rich!” Everyone shouted the scolding.

“Fine! Kurt, you know the admiration I have for you, so come get your gift.”

“Thanks!” Kurt took his package and opened it. “Rich, how do you have the guts?”

"Ah, tell me you didn't like it?" It was an English mini version of the Kama Sutra. I just found this version, so make the most of it. Rich looked at Kurt and Jane who was blushing. “ There's a mini bottle of wine for you in the box too.”

“Just you, Rich.” They all chuckled in disapproval.

“Now it's me.” Kurt got up and began his speech. "I don't think a lot of people are missing, do you? But I'll talk anyway. This person has taken us out of the most difficult situations anyone can imagine. Your intelligence and technological prowess are unsurpassed, and I appreciate having Jane by my side thanks to you, Patterson!”

“Oh, thanks, Kurt!” She stood hugging him and receiving his gift. Patterson opened the box revealing a puzzle.

“For you to remember home.” Kurt said referring to the statue of liberty contained in the puzzle.

The night was perfect and they were able to relax and forget about their problems and feel closer to home.

Credit of pic @caizalucca