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potatomountain · 1 month ago

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Winter Wonder- CJH

❄️Pairing: Choi Jongho x older fem reader

❄️WC: 7.6k (17 pages)

❄️AU: "holiday trope"? strangers to lovers

❄️Genre: Fluff, Smut

❄️Summary: Either go home for the holidays, or cash in on a free 2 week vacation at a ski resort despite a massive dislike for the snow? The choice was easy, though when a stranger decides that you being alone for the holidays is a travesty, you don't seem to mind the snow at all; not when he's part of the scenery.

❄️Warnings/smut: a lil holiday depression/loneliness, hints of a not great family life, Jongho reading smut, petnames like Darling and Beautiful, some anxiety over the age gap (its like 5-7 years) smut warnings: fingering, penetration without a condom but IUD, a moment of cum-eating, creampie, some cockwarming.

❄️AN: This is for the @lapydiaries winter event with the tropes "Don't want to go home for the Holidays" and "Not a holiday person"! This is also for my secret Santa event in @mirohs-aurora-society, so, @yourlocaljonghoe I hope you love this! (though im sure you guessed it was me as well)

❄️Honorable tags: @bunnliix, @adelusionforyourthoughts, and @yourfatherlucifer for being my beta's as always <3 Banner and dividers made by me <3

Holidays were not your thing, neither was the cold, but this year you had to pick one or the other. Go home for the holidays, endure your family’s questions that were judgemental stabs posed as questions of concern, or use the free vacation you won to a ski resort?

The choice was easy.

You lied to your family, saying these were the only days you could cash it in, knowing that if you had just stayed home they would have bothered you anyways. So the plan was simple, just enjoy the fancy resort, as it had the hot tub and sauna, fine dining, great room service, and plenty of heat in the suite you secured. You could catch up on some books, work out in the gym, just… relax.

That was the best holiday gift you could give yourself, even if it was surrounded by snowy mountains and freezing cold. Stepping into the resort, the heat that seemed to immediately start melting the snow on your jacket and boots, the cold leaving you with a shiver down your spine.

It was definitely a nice resort, you couldn’t even tell there were snowy mountains all around from inside. Everything about the interior was warm and inviting, decorated for the holidays with garland wrapping around the giant oak pillars in the large lobby, an arched ceiling with intricate carvings on the wood, painted golden to match more of the gold accents all throughout the place. All of it flickering light from the stone fireplace against the wall furthest to the right of the doors, right past a curved staircase up into the second floor.

It looked like a nice area to cozy up with a book, considering to the left of the entrance, through glass doors, seemed to be the ski rentals and hub for skiers to head out. It looked a bit crowded, full of mostly men, or small families, even the workers behind the counter had on a thick sweater from the doors outside constantly opening from the foot traffic. You didn’t see yourself stepping in there at all, and no need to: there was plenty to enjoy here.

Like the room.

After checking in, you had found yourself in a grander room than you had expected, one of the smaller suites. The unfortunate thing was that it was in the wing most skiers were put, with a separate entrance so they could drag their snowy equipment up to their rooms. There was already a trail of snow in your hall, but the room itself made up for it.

A small metal fireplace in the corner, a chaise lounge just out of reach but close enough you could feel the heat, with plenty of space even with the massive bed on the other side of the bed, with an oak canopy with red velvet curtains and warmer bedding. But the bathroom, oh the large jacuzzi tub big enough to fit two of you with plenty of room to spare looked like heaven, especially with the accommodations of a bath table, candles, and a set of bath oils and bombs complimentary of the store you had won the room through.

And the view? You might not be the biggest fan of snow, but there was something breathtaking about the snowy peak and trees you could see from your balcony. Faced to the side of the mountain that didn’t have the ski slopes, the airlines that took guests up, it was pure untouched scenery. And somehow as relaxing as the small fire you started up.

Hours later, after a relaxing bath, and unpacking half of your things, you wanted to see what else the resort had to offer, especially since the sun had set and you were hungry.

With no one you knew who would criticize your outfit either, you dressed up for your own benefit, just to feel nice in your own skin, before heading downstairs to the restaurant and bar. While only the room and transport to and from the resort were paid for these two weeks, food and other things were on you; having been saving up for a vacation anyways, it wasn’t really a problem.

In fact, why not have a bottle of wine or some drinks with your dinner? Just to celebrate, well, yourself. A nice, stress free, relaxing trip as far from your normal worries as you could get. No shame in sitting at a table near the bar alone, no shame looking at the prices as your mouth watered at the long list of food they did have. No shame, just enjoyment, for once in your life. At least that’s how it felt.

It wasn’t so easy to turn yourself into vacation mode as you thought though, even as you had placed your order and sat with a drink in your hand, book open and eyes glued to the page. Even then, you were well aware of the couples and families around. The groups of friends, the joy they were having celebrating their holidays and each other. One particular group stood out to you, what looked like a bunch of men younger than you, all huddled around the bar with boisterous laughter ordering shots and talking about their skiing for the day.

There was a tinge of isolation felt in your core, and despite being in such a hurry to get away from everyone you knew, it unsettled you that you weren’t as happy being alone right now as you thought you would. No one judging every choice you make, to be disappointed in you or show fake concern for your lack of a love life and friends.

But there was no one to laugh with like that, to smile genuinely with and create memories to love for years to come. Your family would say your younger years were behind you now that you were “past your prime”, wasted away chasing a career that gave so little back. Maybe they were right, watching the group of men at least five years younger than you, maybe middle twenties, clearly enjoying each other and their holiday.

With a heavy sigh you downed the rest of your drink, turning back to your book to distract yourself. Though it wasn’t much of a distraction, as seconds later you found yourself glancing back up at the bar, this time finding eyes on you.

You didn’t expect him to wave.

A moment later, you also didn’t expect him to be standing at your table, two shots in his hands as he smiled down at you. “If you’re here alone, would you like to share a shot with me?” He hummed out, presenting the pretty soju shot to you.

Accept a shot from a stranger, or continue your dinner alone with just your book? Another decision that, in hindsight, would change more than you bargained for. Returning his smile with a pleasant one of your own, you took the shot. “I wouldn’t say I’m alone now.”

His grin turned flirty, motioning to the seat across from you for permission before he sat down once it was given. He was nicely dressed, a dark sweater, dark jeans, much like a dress casual as you were wearing as well, and less gaudy than most of his other friends.

“Thank you for accepting, I’m Choi Jongho. Is this your first day here?” He immediately started with the questions, holding onto the shot as he leaned forward a bit.

It occurred to you he wanted something from you. Maybe he and his friends were making a joke about the old woman eating alone? Maybe he felt sorry for you? Or… You let your eyes dip down, taking in the sight of him once more, hoping that he was simply here because he thought you were attractive. Now that was an idea, a younger man approaching you just to flirt?

You gave him your name, smile turning a bit flirty just to see how he would react. “I arrived about midday so yeah, first day here. You’re with your friends over there right?” You jutted your chin at the group at the bar, several of them staring this way with varying expressions. Some in disbelief, some proud, some worried. “Mind filling me in why you decided to leave them to sit with little ol’ me?” Now you leaned forward, purposely pushing your breasts together for the bit of cleavage that was on display.

Only because you were expecting it did you notice the subtle glance and the darkening of his cheeks. “We sort of fought for who would come over here, and I won.” He grinned in triumph, holding up the shot glass. “My lucky day. So a shot to new friends?”

Laughing a bit at his admission, you lifted the shot glass to his. “That’s cute, to new friends.”

With a clink, you both downed the shot, but he didn’t move to get up, instead charging forward right into the next question. “So, pardon me for asking, but why are you here alone just before the holidays?”

Your smile faltered, glancing down at your book before pushing it aside. Of course others would find it odd, it’s definitely not the norm. “The simplest answer would be that it’s just a vacation to give myself some personal time, no holiday stress and I won the room and travel expenses so why not?”

“So no kids or partner you have waiting for you at home?” He inquired, leaning in a bit more.

Shaking your head, you bit down on your lip softly. “No, no one. I was content spending the holidays alone.”

“I hear a but there.”

“Well of course you do. That but would be that now that you’re here, being alone doesn’t seem like the best idea. Wanna keep me company for dinner?”

He was eager to do so, quickly falling into conversation. You ordered some food for him, and he ordered a drink, starting off with just getting to know each other but with some mild flirting in the mix.

You had been right about the age, mid twenties, he and his friends had come up to spend their holidays here, some of their families had also come along but not his. He didn’t judge you when you admitted you just didn’t want to deal with your family for the holidays either, the “joy” of it nonexistent for you. In fact, he seemed more offended that you didn’t like the snow or skiing.

Somehow, by the end of dinner, he had convinced you to go skiing with him just once during your stay, insisting you have to. When you mentioned you had no equipment or gear, he offered to pay to rent it all for you, giving you no excuses.

Instead, you made a deal with him. You’d go skiing, if he read one of the books you had brought with you, since you had talked about your love for reading as one of the topics. You had made sure to clarify it was a romance novel, but he agreed, even if he had a light blush paired with his determined grin.

Once dinner was paid for, and drinks, his friends pulled him away and you could hear them hounding him for questions. One of the taller ones, with a deep voice, not so quietly asked “So is she single? Down to fuck?” before he had gotten far.

“Single, yes.” You called out, answering for him as you stood, feeling the few drinks really taking effect and giving you courage to say things you normally wouldn’t. “Down to fuck? That remains to be seen.” You sent a wink over at Jongho specifically, pleased when he got shy at the attention.

You weren’t against it, but really you had enjoyed just talking to him more than anything.

It was enough of a distraction that you went to your room without much thought of how you were going to give him the book; instead you were more flabbergasted at the fact he and his friends shared a few rooms right across from yours.

Well it made sense, since he had said they were there to ski, but it was oddly ironic. He hadn’t said anything else to you, but currently, a different friend was stepping into the hotel room with him, and luck had it that you caught his eye. He still seemed a bit shy after his friend’s comment, just giving you a wave before stepping into the room. At least you both knew which room you were in, so he couldn’t hide from you but you also couldn’t hide from him.

With eager anticipation, you constantly glanced at the door to see if maybe he would make the move and come to you. Perhaps you could get out of the deal if he didn’t come grab the book? After all, you didn’t want to go out in the snow if you didn’t have to. However barely a half hour had passed before there was a knock on the door.

No surprise to find him there, the confident smile from before back on his face. “So, about that book?”

Sighing dramatically, as if in defeat, you held up a finger before stepping further into the hotel room and grabbing the book you had set aside. “Here you go handsome, one smutty romance novel for you to read.”

“Smutty?” Ah, there was the shy guy from earlier, nearly fumbling the book as you handed it over. “But-”

“I did say it was an adult romance book.” Now you had a wicked grin on your face, hands on your hips as you tilted your head in question. “Backing out of the bet?”

He went stiff, shaking his head with determination. “Not at all, but, I’m upping the deal.”

You actually pouted out. “No fair- all because you were too busy staring at my tits than listening?”

“Totally not the case.” He was quick to defend himself. “If I get like, halfway through, then I take you out to the slopes to teach you how to ski. Because otherwise it’s dangerous if you don’t have some knowledge.”

You told yourself it was only because he had a point that you didn’t argue- and not because that meant more time with him. “Fine. Halfway then. And I’ll be quizzing you.”

“Make the questions hard then at least.”

“The hardest.”

“Oh? Is that also how you like it?” The drop of his tone, and the fact he was much closer than you realized, made the question quite provocative for your mind.

Now you were the one shy and flustered, scoffing because what else could you do? “Maybe you’ll find out.” You motioned to the book, knowing that the couple was passionate about each other, but in a way that was sweet and romantic. It was one of the softer books you had, but there was a reason the binding was worn out from how many times you had read it and why you chose this one for him to read.

If skiing was a love of his, you were sharing a love of yours.

“I see. Then I should get to reading. Goodnight Darling.” He held up the book as he took a step back, reluctant to leave you, but soon enough you were watching him shut his hotel door. Cheeks still burning from the pet name, you headed to bed as well, feeling like a high school girl who just got asked to prom by her crush.

You didn’t see or hear from him the next day, opting to stay in your own room and attempt to read your current book while snuggled up against the fire. You had ordered room service for snacks and the like, not even leaving the room once since the only reason you would knew where to find you.

Unfortunately he was on your mind the whole time, interrupting your thoughts and making it hard to focus on the book. A bit sad to go to sleep without a peep, the next day was promising.

He knocked early, a wide grin on his features when he saw you wrapped up in the hotel robe clearly just out of bed. “I got halfway. Meet me downstairs for breakfast and then skiing?”

To say you were shocked was an understatement, having begun to doubt if he really would read the book, or if he would do so with time for you to fill your half of the bargain. The fact he was younger was somehow intimidating- or maybe it was the insecurities that usually surfaced around this time of year- that had you questioning constantly if he really enjoyed your company.

So you were touched that he did manage so quickly. Even more so when he answered every single of your questions over breakfast down at the restaurant, showing enthusiasm for the story.

Though he was much more talkative about the skiing equipment as he dragged you to the shop to rent your own equipment. Before you knew it, you were shaking out in the snow but looked like an overpacked marshmallow with rosey cheeks under the hefty goggles. The snow made it difficult, waddling through it like a penguin which had him laughing in his own puffer jacket.

“It’s cold~” You whined for the dozenth time in the last ten minutes, finally making it to the kiddy slopes. Regret was just around the corner, but every time he did laugh it seemed miles away.

There was also a spark in his eye when he looked at you, gummy smile like a mini sun that made the biting cold melt away from your chest; your fingertips weren’t that immune yet.

“You’ll get used to it. Now, almost there. We’ll practice how to stand up at the top of this one hill and then I’ll have you practice going down it until you get the hang of it.”

“I dislike those odds. We’re going to be here forever!”

“I beg to differ beautiful, I think you’ll get the hang of it.” He winked, holding his hand out to help you up the small slope that kids half your size and smaller were managing to go down with ease. If he hadn’t thrown out another pet name that left you cooking in the puffer jacket, you might feel jealous of the kids for doing it so well.

So what if it took all two weeks to get the hang of it if he was teaching you?

The first unfortunate face plant into the snow was a harsh reminder that yes, it did matter how long you were out here. He laughed, but helped you up and dusted snow off your jacket while you puffed out your cheeks like you were the younger one.

“I want a refund.”

“No can do.”

Your protests fell on deaf ears as the teaching continued. Once the skis were on, you fell sideways on your first step. Then awkwardly onto your ass. Being bundled like a fragile vase did not make moving easy, but you were trying.

An hour, maybe a bit more, and you made your first successful, if not clumsy, trip down the small slope on skis. He came sliding down, stopping next to you with ease to help you up as stopping was something you still needed to practice.

This time though, you got payback: you pulled him down ‘accidentally’.

He fell on top of you, laughing at the clumsy entanglement you both were. Despite the ice cold snow against your back, he radiated warmth above you, that gummy smile back on his face you associated with pure joy. The smile was gone when you shoved a handful of snow down the neck of his jacket, starting an unfortunate battle between you both that had you rolling around in the snow, laughing and squealing.

Until you weren’t anymore, skis entangled you were pressed together in a tantalizing way that had you heating from the inside out. Staring up at him, admiring the beauty he was with literal steam radiating off him, you thought the winter sky was a beautiful backdrop. He looked at you as if he was staring at priceless art, wet glove easily sliding into the snow under your head to hold you still as he was leaning in.

Your brain was short circuiting as your eyes fluttered close, accepting the kiss you expected to come, but it landed on your bright red nose. Which, you hadn’t noticed, was so damn cold and snotty until his warm breath fanned over it. “We should get you inside before you become Rudolph.”

His teasing comment snapped you out of your trance and you slapped his shoulder playfully. His laughter was back, your cheeks just as red as your nose as he leaned back to easily disentangle you both.

The almost kiss wasn’t brought up, not even as he helped you back inside and up to your room. Whatever he was going to say at the door was interrupted by one of his friends calling out to him: it seemed they had afternoon plans. But he left you with a promise to take you back on the hill tomorrow evening.

He kept it, this time you learned how to stop, still pretty clumsy, but the praise and pride on his features every time you did well was enough encouragement to continue with the lessons. That night he invited you to dinner with him and a few of his friends, those that didn’t have family there, and you met Mingi, San, and Yeosang. It seemed the others were spending their evening with their families.

Mingi had been the one to ask if you were down to fuck, a comment he apologized for profusely when you joined them at the table. San was a gentleman from the start, doting on the quiet pretty boy next to him the entire dinner. In fact, so did Jongho and Mingi, a fact you found interesting and even called Yeosang the “baby girl” of the group. That seemed to be the comment that won their approval, and while you didn’t do much talking, you saw Jongho as his age for once.

Being the youngest of his friends, he was playful like a little brother and teasing the others. Even you couldn’t help jumping in on the teasing, pinching his cheek and cooing at him like a baby. After dinner you joined them for a game of billiards which they were quite competitive for, but good. You found yourself a comrade with Mingi, both of you failing almost miserably while both Jongho and San were toe to toe, carrying you both since you had split into teams with Yeosang as the resident cheerleader.

The biggest moment, for you at least, was when Jongho secured the win, the two of you cheering loudly until he was silencing yours with a kiss. You melted almost instantly, a dreamy look in your eyes as he pulled away a second later, blissful grin on his lips.

“Rub it in our faces, why don’t you!” Mingi huffed out while San was grinning like a proud papa, Yeosang holding his hand over his mouth completely shocked. On the walk back to the rooms, Yeosang became a bit more vocal and nosy about you both while San consoled a sullen Mingi.

But really you wanted to know where you were now standing with the man. He had been a stranger days ago, each evening almost like a date, and now you met his friends and shared your first kiss with him in front of them. Like a couple. Yet he was ushered into the room he shared with another friend, and you had no time to question him about it.

Christmas Eve was the next day, and despite pulling yourself out of the room and reading down in the lobby with the big fireplace, you didn’t see him once. Some of his friends you recognized, once more with family, but not him.

You did a video call with some family that night, the few you could stand easily, and went to bed early. For you, Christmas was another normal day, but the anxiety was beginning to settle in.

Was this a real thing with Jongho? Or was it just a fling? Would it end with sex and then forgetting each other the moment you left the resort? Were you okay with that?

You could hear the hotel doors opening and closing often during Christmas morning, having ordered room service you could hear the cheers and joy coming from the nearby rooms and the loneliness hit hard.

Somehow, like a sturdy rock, Jongho appeared before the heavy thoughts buried you. He knocked on your door, wearing a white fluffy hoodie and a cream colored bearlike beanie and sweats. He had a bag in his hand, that gummy smile back on his face and a near dreamy look in his eyes as he looked over your own cozy outfit. “Merry Christmas?”

Guilt tugged at your heart, as well as some other emotions, but you gently took the bag from him and smiled softly. “I didn’t get you anything though…”

“Don’t have to. We can just enjoy the evening together? Can I come in?” He presented another gift, a bottle of alcohol and juice to mix it with, both items you were familiar with since they made up your drink the night you met.

“Jongho… I’m really touched but you didn’t have to.” You stepped back to let him in, finding him absolutely adorable in the fuzzy clothes, reminding you once more he was younger. It shouldn’t matter, really, but perhaps after so much of your family’s nagging it was just programmed into your mind to hear what they would say, even if they weren’t there.

He shrugged, setting the gift down on the desk provided in the room and then looking around as to where to sit; it didn’t elude you that he avoided looking at the bed. “I know, but I wanted to.” He turned to you once you shut the door and stepped further in, the tension between you palpable, probably from the unresolved kiss. “You don’t have to celebrate, but I just want to spend some time with you today. Is that alright?”

As an answer, you made your way over and grabbed his hand, pulling him over to sit on the chaise lounge by the ongoing fire. You had him sit before going to grab the gift, coming back and taking the spot next to him. “Can I open this now then?” Your words were thick with emotion, a large part of you moved beyond measure by this simple gesture.

It’s barely been a week, you shouldn’t feel this strongly about a stranger.

But he wasn’t a stranger, smiling at you as if he was the sun that you basked in daily; looking at you as if you were his favorite sight. He was a wonder, bringing you to life in ways you didn’t realize you had been dead.

“Open it.”

With apprehension you did, eyes widening as the first thing under the tissue paper was the book you had borrowed him. Your eyes flickered up to meet his gaze, finding him a bit bashful. “I finished it.”

He did?

“You can quiz me on it later but keep going, there’s more.”

Licking your lips you turned your attention back to the bag. There indeed was more, a trilogy of books at the bottom of the bag, a series you weren’t familiar with but could tell would be good. All by the same author as the book you had leant him.

He started to ramble. “So the shop owner said this is a more recent series by that author, similar genre, and I thought you might like it because of how well worn the book is and-” The books fell to the floor as you reached over and grabbed him, cupping his cheeks to hold him still as your lips collided with his.

Why even question that first kiss when it didn’t matter? You wanted him, desire him physically and emotionally. Even if you never saw him after this retreat, you weren’t going to let the what ifs and questions stop you from taking this chance.

He kissed back with equal passion, matching your lips as you held him still. His hands found your waist, guiding you onto his lap as you were already moving there. Kiss after kiss, heating up the room more than the fireplace could.

“Darling- wait.” Despite your eagerness, he pulled away, breathing a bit heavy from the onslaught of kisses. “We should-”

“Talk? Maybe. But to be frank, Jongho, it doesn’t matter to me if I don’t see you after this resort, or if I do.” You slipped your hand up into his hair, knocking the beanie off and onto the floor. “I want you. I don’t want to have any regrets and I will regret it if I don’t take this chance with you.” It was a bit of a lie, you had a feeling you wanted to see him even after the snow had melted into spring and for the next winter and so on.

But even just these few days up in the snow covered mountains would be enough.

It was a sentiment he seemed to share, picking you with such ease you were squealing and holding on tighter.

“I was going to say move to the bed.” He teased out, already carrying you, a sly grin on his features. “But good to know you want me so bad. Or need me so bad?” He set you down on the edge, placing a chaste kiss to your nose before his hands began to wander. “I don’t have a condom though so-”

“I have an IUD. Don’t care.” Your robe fell open, the cute fuzzy pajamas exposed underneath. “I do need you so bad.”

His lips were on yours again in the next moment, no more words needed to show how much he needed you too. His hands did plenty of talking. They slid the robe off completely and tossed it onto the floor, your shirt coming off next while his lips only gave you a small reprieve to breathe before they were back on yours.

He gently inched you up more and more, lips trailing soft but needy kisses along your jaw, to your neck, nipping at the skin there. “So beautiful…”

Your hand found its way into his hair, tilting your neck back to give him more access as his lips trailed lower; over your collarbone, the expanse of your chest, right to your exposed nipple. The second his lips latched on you were tightening your fingers in the fluffy strands, his own fingers pushing down your sleep shorts.

Every touch was soft, but you could feel the passion and need for you. In the way his teeth scraped against your hardened nipple, to the soft way his fingers trailed over your thighs as he pushed the fabric off, your underwear as well. Soon you were bare beneath him, but he wasn’t in a rush as his mouth moved to give equal attention to the neglected tit.

When was the last time you felt so cherished? The emotions swirling in your chest are as heavy as the lust pooling into your lower stomach and between your thighs. It just made your need for him that much more suffocating, impatience surging up that resulted in you pushing him off to the side and quickly climbing on top. “You really think I am?” You questioned, biting down on your lip as you moved down his thighs to grip his sweats.

His hands grabbed your wrists, expression once more bashful. It was cute, how he could be so confident and in control one moment, and then you do something that makes him so adorable and shy. “Y-yes, I think you are.” His eyes ran down your body, still holding you still by your wrists. You could visibly see the lust clouding his gaze more and more, a subtle gasp leaving his lips when his eyes locked onto your pussy, just inches from his clothed member.

You were pleased by the way his grip tightened and the soft, almost whine he let out when you rolled your hips to tease him. “And I think you are adorable like this. I told you I need you, so please, let me have you baby?”

Dropping your hands, he instead gripped your legs just above your knees, watching with bated breath as you pulled his sweats down finally and exposed him more. The wet spot through the grey boxers had you salivating, tempted just to lower your mouth and get a taste. How would he react?

The temptation was too much to pass up, already leaning forward before he knew what you were doing. With sweet satisfaction he bucked his hips up as you mouthed at the wet spot, feeling his thick tip twitching beneath the fabric. Ah his reaction was so cute, nails digging into your knees and soft pants leaving him while he forced himself to watch. Still in the big fuzzy sweater, you thought he should keep it on, he looked so adorable after all.

“Please, Darling I-”

“Yes?” You pulled your lips away, instead rubbing your cheek against the twitching bulge while your hands worked his pants off, using your feet to help kick them off him. “Tell me what you want, baby.”

He didn’t answer, instead sitting up to grab the back of your thighs and pull you up until you were chest to chest. He manhandled you with ease, but with no aggression behind his movements, just desire. Desire he conveyed even more through the desperate clash of lips and teeth and mixed breaths of you both.

Desire you could feel once his underwear was off and he was pressing your wet lips down on his shaft, both of you letting out a sweet sound of pleasure at the touch. Oh he was thick and it had your inner walls throbbing to feel them around it.

But there was no way you could just take it without some pain, which he seemed to be just as aware of. Pushing himself up on one elbow while he tapped your thigh gently. “Lift, or lay down.”

“But I-”

“You’ll have my cock soon enough, beautiful, but I don’t want to hurt you.” He kissed your cheek to soothe your protest, gently guiding you onto your back. Your legs fell open, making more than enough room for him which he took advantage of, his thick thighs spreading yours even further apart, eyes and hand running down the length of your body in admiration. “Are you sure about this?”

You couldn’t help but roll your eyes, fingers threading through his soft hair once more. “DO you want me to beg? Because I will? Please please Jongho, I really want you. Want your cock inside me, want to be as close to you as I can, want- ah~” Your head fell back as his fingers rubbed between your slit before giving your clit the lightest pinch to shut you up.

He was smiling down at you with triumph, taking in the expressions you made as he used your slick to cover two of his fingers. “I get it, so needy it’s cute.”

With a pout you tugged on his hair, though it was instantly washed away when he pushed both fingers in with very little resistance. It had been so long, both fingers already feeling like a stretch inside, making you thankful he had insisted on prep. “N-not cute.”

“No?” He kissed the tip of your nose, pushing his fingers deep and curling them, chuckling at your reaction. “That’s definitely cute.”

“Says the one in a fluffy sweater.” You countered back like a brat despite your hips rocking up to meet his hand, practically putty as the two fingers explored your inner walls, finding the sweet spots that had your breath hitching or body twitching in response.

His smile turned gummy, now tugging at your heartstrings as you had grown to adore that smile. “Do you think I’m cute doing this to you?” To accentuate his words, his thumb started rubbing your clit in circles, humming at how pliant you became, only nodding to answer his question. “Should I take it off?”

Shaking your head, you gripped at his biceps, enjoying the fluffy material under your palms. “Wouldn't be able to think if you were bare.”

“I don’t think you’re doing a good job of thinking right now, Darling.” Slowly he spread you out, thumb increasing its pace just to have you soaking his hand even more. “I think you want to cum, don’t you?”

“A-are you going to let me?”

He chuckled, running his nose along your cheek before placing a kiss. “Of course. I can’t be mean to you.” He was already moving faster, fingers rubbing against your sweet spots he had found earlier in sync with his thumb. Both added more pressure, his thighs keeping yours apart as you started to writhe just a bit beneath him.

Tugging at the sweater on his arms, your eyes rolled shut to just enjoy the pleasure, head falling back into the pillows and shy moans leaving your lips as you realized just how much power he had over you. Yet he was treating you so gently, humming out soft praises about how good you were being.

There was a knowing smirk on his lips before you even started babbling out that you were going to cum, whining and tugging at his sweater as he kept up his pace. “Please, can I come? Can I please please Jongho- baby please.” You panted around the drool, forcing yourself to look up at him and pout between whines.

His grin just widened, glancing down between you both to see the ministrations of his fingers working you up and “then come Darling” to watch you soak his hand with your release, giving him such a sweet moan his impatience roared its head.

You were still twitching and panting as he pulled his fingers out, bringing them to his mouth as he leaned back, guiding his thick member to your cunt while he licked his fingers clean. The contradiction of his actions paired with the fluffy mess of his hair and fluffy sweater was actually endearing.

Though that endearment was pushed to the side as he pushed in, the stretch made your eyes go wide and grab onto him once more. It wasn’t painful, but there was a tight pressure he clearly felt as well. “Fuck- still so tight.”

A whine was your only answer, huffing as you tugged on the fabric to ask for more. You wanted to feel more of him, be as close as possible.

Feel loved.

Because even in just these few days, you had felt seen and cherished and in this moment that was felt tenfold. The way his eyes flickered between your face and where you were joined, eyes soft and looking for any sign of pain.

He was so gentle as he pushed in bit by bit, pausing once he bottomed out and you couldn’t suppress the whimpers that left you even if you tried. The two of you locked eyes, silently checking in on each other before he leaned over and kissed you, stealing what little breath you had left away.

Arms wrapping around his shoulders, you wrapped your legs around his waist as well, pushing the sweater up. The soft fabric grazing your tits with every slow roll of his hips made the entire act softer. As your walls adjusted to his thickness, he picked up pace, panting against your lips before he picked you up.

Now in the air wrapped around him like a koala, he made a show of strength as he gripped just under your ass and moved you in sync with his thrusts. He felt so deep you were already shaking, burying your face into his shoulder and holding on tightly. “Jongho- Jongho please-”

“Please what?” He was breathless but was still thrusting up into you with ease. “Do you need more?”

Bashfully you nodded, gasping out in shock when he obliged. Now you were bouncing on his cock with such fervor your mind was filled with so much cotton you couldn’t think. The soft grunts and pants by your ear were a good indication he was enjoying this as much as you were, but you loved the whine he let out when you purposely clenched down around him.

“Fuck- you’re going to milk me at this rate Darling.”

“Want to. Want to be nice and full. Don’t want you to leave.” You panted out, head lifting to press your forehead against his cheek. “Want you to feel good too.”

“I feel amazing. It’s an effort not to cum in your pretty cunt right now.” He gently kissed your forehead, the softness making your heart lurch with affection.

You were down bad, and with the way he was fucking you, it was for more than just his heart. “Then don’t hold back. We can go again and again.”

He chuckled breathlessly, fingers gripping your soft flesh tighter. “Alright, remember you asked for it.” He went silent then, focusing entirely on chasing his release by fucking into you a bit harder.

Loving every thrust your head fell back, only your grip on him keeping you from falling back. Though with the grip he had on your ass you weren’t coming off his dick anytime soon- just coming on it.

Crying out as the pleasure hit you like a ton of bricks, you nearly did fall back but Jongho fell with you. Burying you into the bed like you had been buried in the snow beneath him as he gave a few erratic final thrusts before releasing himself deep inside. The groan he made tingled your spine and brain, unlocking chemistry that made you feel like you were in love at that moment.

Moments passed as he stilled and both of you struggled to catch your breath, but he didn’t pull out. Not even when he placed a kiss on your cheek and rolled over so you were on top of him, you were still seated on his softening cock.

His hands ran up and down your back and then down your thighs, tucking your head under his chin as his breathing regulated. “I don’t want this to be just a vacation fling.”

Smiling at his words, you hugged him as best you could, but were too worn out in the moment to even lift your head. “Doesn’t have to be. We live in the same city right?” It had been briefly mentioned before.

“Yeah… Will you see me there?” He sounded a little insecure over the question, which you were a bit surprised by.

“I’d love to, Jongho. Besides, there are more fun things to do when you aren’t surrounded by snow.”

He huffed at your comment. “Skiing is plenty fun and you still have to try the novice slope with me.”

Laughing softly, you took notice you could see it snowing on your balcony, knowing just how cold the pretty flakes were. But it was plenty warm in this hotel room, with the fireplace and Jongho under you with his fluffy sweater and warm embrace. “I did promise, and you did read my book.”

“It was a bit hard to, since I couldn’t stop imagining that spicy scene as you and I.”

At the admission you did lift your head, laughing at the blush warming his golden cheeks. “Really? You are so cute Choi Jongho, getting flustered over that after you just fucked my brains out.”

He couldn’t meet your eyes. “Well… I wanted to make sure I could compare…”

“Compared to what? What I read?” He shook his head, leaving you frowning. “Do you think I had a lot of lovers just because I’m older?”

Ah, Bingo. “Mingi made a comment that the older woman he had been with had shown him a lot of new things… I’m less experienced than him so I thought…”

You cut him off with a kiss. “Remind me to kick him in the balls when I see him next. I’m not that experienced, and even if I was you were more than perfect.”

There it was, that smile you adored so much lighting up his features. “Really?”

“Yes really. But-” Resting your head again you glanced back out at the balcony. “Now I think I need to quiz you on that book, see if I really should go skiing with you.”

His hold tightened with a whine. “Why do you want to get out of it?”

“Because the snow is too cold, and I like doing this more.” You huffed out in return, hands playing with the soft sweater.

“Then how about I warm you up just like this after every time we go outside and you get cold?” He prompted, laughing when you jolted up into a sitting position. “I take it you like that?”

With a nod, your grin widened. “I can certainly deal with some snow… especially since it’s not so bad with you.” No, the sight of him in all his ski gear was just as charming as he looked right now, all tousled from sex and blushing.

Snow definitely wasn’t so bad when he was there, so maybe the holidays weren’t that bad after all.

He took your hands in his, meeting your gaze and practically melting at his own. “So you like me, not the snow?” At your nod, he pulled you back down and kissed you softly. “Then I suppose I wouldn’t be against some summer vacation despite not liking the heat… you know, as long as you’re there.”

Oh he really did make everything more wonderful.

#pirateeznet #lapydiariesnet #mirohsaurorasociety #secret santa event #ateez fanfic #ateez x reader #ateez smut #ateez fanfiction #jongho smut #jongho x reader #jongho fluff #jongho x y/n #jongho x you #holiday fanfic

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ashthewaterghoul · 7 months ago

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The Ghouls’ Love Languages!

Ft. My ramblings.

Entirely based on my personal hc’s and bullshit.

We have Aether, Cumulus, Aurora, Mountain, Rain, Phantom, Swiss, Dew, Cirrus, Sunshine.

Minor NSFW for Swiss and Cirrus.

Enjoy✨ (below the cut)

Aether - Words of Affirmation

He loves to tell you everything he loves about you. He’ll always know the perfect string of words to describe just how ethereally beautiful you are, how much he values you in his life and how much he will always want to do for you. To him, you are as gorgeous as a Greek statue, a renaissance painting, an angel sent from heaven just for him (if that’s even possible for hellspawn). He’ll describe how lost he can get in the colour of your eyes, and never shut up about how cute your cheeks look when you smile. This man talks about you like the dictionary is going out of circulation. Even while you’re asleep next to him, he’ll babble about how much he loves you, hoping it’ll worm it’s way into your dreams.

Cumulus - Quality Time

She loves to just be present with you. It can be a cozy night in, snuggling while watching a movie, or having a day out and doing something fun, she’ll be there if you are. She loves being in the same room as you, hearing your voice, seeing your pretty face, inhaling your scent. The entire time she’ll be snapping candid photos of the two of you, saving them to add to her ever-growing photo wall. She’ll ask you to help her put the photos up, spending even more time with you as you memorialise even more of your time together. Then she’ll point out her favourites, noting what you said yours were so she can plan even more dates that she knows you’ll love.

Aurora - Gift Giving

She will remember everything you’ve ever told her and work for up to months to curate the perfect gift. It doesn’t even have to be any special occasion, it could be a regular Tuesday and she’ll leave you something on your doorstep. She’ll buy random things that remind her of you, other times she’ll work tirelessly to craft something perfect. She also enlists the help of the pack, either for their own talents or doing some recon for her. A random conversation with Rain about your favourite chocolate, then next week she gives you a box of them. You just so happened to mention to Mountain one day your favourite flowers and she gets you a bouquet of them not too long after. Your smile as you get your presents is what she adores.

Mountain - Acts of Service

This man lives to serve you. Ask him anything, and he’ll do it if it makes you happy. It could literally just be getting something from across the room and he’ll get it with a spring in his step. He’ll also always take the initiative to do things himself. He’ll make your favourite meals at the drop of a hat, take items off you as you walk down a corridor, help you with little tasks as you go about your day. You said once how much you like to sit in the forest and watch the wildlife, and this man made a whole damn bench and cushion so you could sit comfortably. A personal favourite is making you tea early in the morning, he’ll choose a blend just for you, and make it at the perfect time so it’ll be your preferred temperature when you wake up.

Rain - Gift Giving

It’s a Water Ghoul thing really. He will go to any body of water, swim as far down as he can go, and retrive bounties for you. Strands of seaweed, shells, pebbles, even gemstones in certain bodies of water. He particularly loves trying to find perfectly smooth and round stones to give to you, often spending hours in the bottom of the lake while he gathers up as many as he can find. He also digs up some of the clay, and turns it into bespoke little pottery pieces. When you travel, he’ll go swimming and find something. He’ll label it so you never forget where it came from. He’ll always make sure to dry off what he finds as well so your shelves or other belongings don’t get ruined by the moisture.

Phantom - Physical Touch

This boy loves to cuddle. They’ll give you a specific look with a tilt of their head, and you know exactly what they want. You will never be able to find it within you to resist the way their face lights up as you open your arms. They’ll snuggle right against you, and when they feel most comfortable and safe, they’ll embrace their inner cat and start making biscuits, kneading usually along your stomach, or sometimes your chest or thighs. Any morsel of your touch they can get, they’ll eat it up like a man starved. They love to hold your hand, rest their chin on your shoulder, put their head in your lap as you play with their hair. They’ll kiss every part of you they can reach and loves when you do the same. They also love to harmlessly bite those they love. They know they’re clingy, but it’s so adorable you know you would never complain.

Swiss - Acts of Service

Whatever he can do you make you feel good, he will do it. With Swiss being Swiss, this is often sexual, but refuses to do anything for himself until he knows you’ve had your own satisfaction. He loves to take his time with good aftercare as well. He’ll run a bath with some gorgeously scented bubble bath and clean you off as you relax together. He can also do things without the sexual motivation, and will happily do what makes your life easier. Your favourite pants ripped? Well he knows how to sew so he’ll fix them in no time. You’re not happy because someone stole the last of your favourite snack? He’ll run out to the store himself, delivery takes too long and the Sibling that goes out and does the grocery shop never gets the exact one you like. If you only smile once in a day, he’ll make sure it was because of him and something he did.

Dew - Gift Giving

It’s definitely a remnant from his Water Ghoul days, but he knows no other way. His ability to get the treasures at the bottom of the lake is long gone, so it’s not always as gorgeous as Rain’s gifts, but the amount of care that goes into it more than makes up for it. He has a few things left over from when he was a Water Ghoul, but he guards them with his life. When he really trusts someone, accepting them wholly into his life, he’ll separate with one of his treasures. It was a milestone when he just opened the box and let you look, so you cried on the day he gave you a stone from that collection. He also just likes to buy random things that remind him of you, and hope you understand what reference he was trying to make. If you forget, he’ll tell the story and when you remember, his face lights up in a specific and rarely seen smile.

Cirrus - Acts Of Service

Anything to make you happy and feel good, she’s on it. She knows how tense you get, so she loves to welcome you home after a long day with a warm meal, and she’ll rub the tension from your shoulders as you ramble. Mentally, she’s planning what she can do to resolve what’s bothering you. She’ll set your favourite pyjamas out and make your room as cozy as possible so you can relax. Any small favour or task and she will do it. You could ask her to count how many grains of rice are in the cupboard and she would do it if she knew it would help you. Like Swiss, she also shows a lot of her care through sexual acts, but there’s just as much tenderness there as well. She’ll dote on you for your every whim and need and won’t complain for a single second.

Sunshine - Quality Time

Two words. Craft dates. Sunny loves them. She’ll pay if you don’t have enough because she loves to make things, and she loves the memories she makes with them. Pottery, painting, knitting, whatever you can think of, she’ll do it with you. There’s a specific shelf in her room with all the things she’s made on dates with you, and every time she makes something new, she’ll get you to help her find somewhere for it. She doesn’t really need the help, she just finds it easier to be herself around you. You’ve seen her walk people through the collection and most of the time she’s just talking about you and what you made rather than her own creation. Every time she sees something new online, she’s ordered the supplies or finds a location and is getting your free time all for her.

#the band ghost #ghost ghouls #love langauges #aether ghoul #rain ghoul #dewdrop ghoul #phantom ghoul #aeon ghoul #sodo ghoul #mountain ghoul #swiss ghoul #sunshine ghoulette #cumulus ghoulette #cirrus ghoulette #aurora ghoulette

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thelampisaflashlight · 1 year ago

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Some general ghoul headcanons, because it's been a while. Let's go.

-Dew is really into learning about new technology, but also absolutely hates smart household appliances.

He doesn't want his fridge to connect to the wifi for example.

Prefers having a DVD player to dealing with streaming services that *might* have the movie he wants to watch, or make him play over and over again to watch it more than once.

Launched Swiss' smart speaker out the window when it turned on while he was in the kitchen.

-Rain paints his nails all the time and they're usually immaculate, but he's also guilty of letting it chip off or picking it off while he's sitting around.

Does other people's nails for fun, but mostly because he has the most patience out of all of them when it comes to these kinds of things.

-Mountain's biggest secret is that gardening isn't really even, like, his number one hobby. It's not even the second highest.

His absolute favorite thing to do in his free time is make food, even if he's not the best at it all the time, but that's kind of the point.

And lastly;

-Cumulus is the resident dinosaur/fossil enthusiast, and she managed to give Aeon and Aurora the same brain rot, so whenever they have downtime, they make trips to museums to look at their collections.

#lamp rambles #shitghosting #nameless ghouls #ghost band #the band ghost #ghost bc #ghost band headcanons #nameless ghoul headcanons

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butchwink · 9 months ago

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An especially vivid aurora borealis is expected to paint the skies over most of Canada and parts of the U.S. in hues of green, pink and blue Friday night — a result of the most severe solar storm in nearly two decades, experts say.

NOAA’s Space Weather Prediction Center (SWPC) has issued a severe geomagnetic storm watch, anticipated to hit Earth Friday evening or Saturday morning. "We have a very rare event on our hands," Shawn Dahl, service co-ordinator at SWPC, told reporters Friday morning.

Solar storms are classified on a scale from G1 (minor) to G5 (extreme); Friday night's storm is a G4-level watch, the first issued since 2005, the agency said.

"If we do reach the G4 levels, (it) could mean that there could be some infrastructure effects — but we have notified all of our infrastructure operators that we co-ordinate with, such as satellite operators, communication folks … and of course, the power grid here in North America," Dahl said.

The storm is expected to also spark intense northern lights across the vast majority of Canada, including Ontario, and much of the northern half of the U.S. after sunset on Friday. It should still be visible for most of Canada by Saturday night, the SWPC forecasts.

#no comment

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luvly-writer · 1 year ago

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XOXO

Ch. 14 A broken heart is fixed by another

-•-

Author’s note: I am so so sorry for the delay, i really took my vacations to relax and enjoy the time i had with my family and friends. I finally got to sit down and make this chapter. Hope you enjoy!

Warnings: Fighting and yelling

Taglist: @w31rdg1rl @mxtokko @loonymoonystuff @granstrangerphanthom @1lellykins @cangosleepnow @dreamspectrum @its-maemain @tamimemo @nightw-izhu @trasshy-artist @gabriiiiiiii

masterlist:

-•-

To admit that my father had shaken me up a little would tear apart a bit of my ego. I mean, all my life I have been going head to head with the man yet not once had I gone as far as I had now. I had sent a text to Tim, telling him that I would be spending Christmas Eve having dinner with my family to which he responded worriedly that if anything went wrong, the doors to the Wayne manor were always open. I finish getting ready for the dinner and call Donnie. Oh Donnie, he has been my driver ever since I was a child and constantly took me under his wing. I grab the bag that holds the presents I had bought the day I met Tim and take out Donnie’s. It was my small tradition with my family’s staff, every year on Christmas Eve, I would buy them a present as gratitude for the year of service. I had begun it when I was 13 and hadn’t stopped ever since. I see him waiting for me once I gather everything I need and open the door. He steps out of the car and opens the door for me showing me a small bouquet of my favorite flowers waiting for me next to where I usually sit.

“Oh Donnie, you are a sweetheart! Thank you so much!” I say and hug him once I stash all of my families presents in the trunk. I give him his present and smile as he gasps of joy. Long time ago, Donnie had told him that he had exchanged his silver harmonica for a watch for his wife. Unbeknownst to him, his wife had done the same thing and exchanged her locket for a case for his harmonica. In front of him sat a beautiful silver harmonica and a gorgeous golden locket, I had been able to track their missing belongings and bought and polished them for them. I feel Donnie shake as he brings me in for a hug and I don’t mention the tears that soak my coat. “Happy Christmas, Donnie, to you and Linda” I hug him tighter and smile. “happy Christmas, miss Vanderbilt!” He says smiling and we both get in the car. The ride to Vanderbilt mansion was pleasant at best. He had decided to give an update on how my family have been. Aurora and my mother had moved to the West wing ever since the debutants ball. My sister was enraged about the selling of my painting and was doing almost every she could to find a way to buy it back. My mother was doing her best to help her in that. Charlisse and my father remained in the east wing. Charisse what stayed trying to keep father company but it was no use, he has been stuck in his study the entire time and only seemed to go out for supper. Not only that, my grandmother’s plane had been delayed due to the weather conditions and she was not going to be present until who knows when. That bit of news is what dulled me the most I think. It was no secret I was my grandmother’s favorite and it would have been a relief to have someone my father can’t control.

Finally, we arrive. Donnie opens my door and helps me carry my presents inside. There, Dorothy, my maid, takes them and goes to place them under the tree. “wait! Thea!” I say and she stops looking at me, waiting for my response. I take the bags and pull out three gifts. I put two in my purse and give the las one to her, “Happy Christmas, Thya!” I say with a big smile. She gives me a hearty laugh and wishes me a happy Christmas. She also tells me that I will find her present for me in my room. I smile and go on a search for my favorite butler. I find him ordering the kitchen staff around for the dinner and give him his present whilst wishing him a Happy Christmas. I give him a hug and run upstairs to drop my coat. In my bed, two beautiful presents are laid. I place the flowers in my nightstand and open them. Dorothy gave a three books, one of Monet, one of Van Gogh and another on Da Vinci; and Bartie gave me a gorgeous knitted sweater with a kite saying his wife made it for me. I hug all of my presents and decide to finally show up at the dining room, knowing my father will be impatient by now.

Before I enter the dinner, I straighten my back and wipe my dress making sure everything is perfect. Finally, Bartie opens the door and announces my arrival. Aurora comes straight away towards my and hugs me tightly. She whispers in my ear, “I miss you baby sis..and no matter what happens today, I am on your side!” She pulls away and smiles at me. Mom walks towards me next almost cautiously, last time we had spoken I had not been that welcoming towards her. I open my arms and she releases a sigh and envelopes me in her arms. “Hi, my little pearl, Merry Christmas” she says as she squeezes me tightly. “Mom! You are leaving me without air” I laugh out causing Aurora and my mother to laugh. Next is Charlisse. She squeezes me in a big hug and tries to ruffle my hair. I deflect it with a laugh and pat it down. Finally I meet my father’s gaze.

“Father”

“Y/n”

We stay staring at each other until, Mark, Aurora’s husband coughs and I look at him. He gives me a big hug and we laugh. Charlisse’s husband, Antoine, raises a glass at me and gives me a wink. I roll my eyes at him and discreetly give him the middle finger. He laughs, choking on his drink and nods in approval. They both have always been like my older brothers. Finally, we begin and sit down to eat. Like always, Dorothy, Bartie, and Donnie, with some of the other staff, sit down to eat with us in order to celebrate the festivities. We begin mindless chatter around the table as we eat. Even though it’s still a little tense between my father and I, we engage in some conversation. We finish dinner and change into the living room.

Everything was going perfect, until it wasn’t.

I was telling Charlisse about the ski trips with Tim when my father lets out a displeased grunt. We ignore him for the most part until he interrupts. “Where is Timothy by the way? Is he not supposed to be your boyfriend?” I turn to him and narrow my eyes. “Whatever you are implying father, it is far from that. You specifically told me tonight was about family and that I couldn’t bring him” I defend and he glares at me, “I am sure that would have not stopped a real gentleman, for example, Francis would have come and joined us” he said waiting for my reaction. I catch Charlisse scrunch up her nose in distaste. During the last few weeks, my sisters and I had a conference call where they asked about Mr. Morris. Aparantly my sisters had no knowledge of how much of a creepy man he was. Charlisse thought my father was just going to the extremes in order to push me towards the family business and was even entertained by me defying my father’s authority, but once she had heard everything, she was no longer amused. “Father, I don’t believe that is exactly fair for Y/n” Charlisse began but was interrupted by my father screaming, “I say what is fair in this household and Y/n has done nothing to honor our family name! She has only raked it through the mud parading with that boy toy of hers and engaging in activity unfit for a Vanderbilt!”

“I hardly think it’s something to shame her father, she was just having a little fun” tried Charlisse again and Aurora continued with “She’s young and in love, that’s all”

Our father was positively fuming. “You see what you have caused, Y/n. Your little act of rebellion has caused your sisters to step out of line and it might cause them their future titles. We wouldn’t want that, would we?” He said darkly looking at both of my sisters who shrunk under his gaze and gave me an apologetic smile.

“Don’t be unfair on the girl, William.” My mother tried to intervene when I interrupted her,

“Oh so I am a little rebel now! Is that what you are calling it?!?! Is that what you call anyone that doesn’t bend to your every will just because heaven forbid William Vanderbilt doesn’t get what he wants!?” I yell back and my father’s fury rises once again

“Enough! It’s Christmas Eve, for heaven’s sake! We are spending time as a family and these matters should be left for later!” My mother tried once again but it wasn’t enough.

“You are young, Y/n, there are many things that you don’t understand-“

“And you are old father, there are many things you have forgotten!” I responded looking at him dead in the eyes

“What is that supposed to mean?” He got closer to me, my mother was doing her best to push him back and Antoine and Mark stood up, ready for anything that was to come.

“You are selfish, arrogant, and cruel. You believe that everything should be done according to your plans yet you forget that we are our own people! We should live how we like and love who we want and be who we choose to be. You push your precious hotel agenda so far down our throats that you suffocate us! The only thing you do is push our family apart instead of bringing it together. I remember you used to tell us how much you hated your dad for forcing you to take on the company yet yOU DO THE SAME DAMN THING TO US!” I threw in his face and then snapped my hand to my mouth. My sisters gasped and my mother looked between my father and me. Everyone stood still for a moment. That wasn’t a subject we never brought up.

“Leave.” Was all my father said and it was the restraint in his body that made me run. I grabbed my purse, took a random coat from the closet and ran out of the manor. I could hear people calling out my name and yelling at my father but I paid no mind to it, I just ran. It was freezing, snow had begun falling and I was just in my short dress and heals. I knew Wayne manor was close so I just ran and ran until I got to its shiny golden gates. There I pressed the buzzer as many times as I could until I heard a posh British accent answer, “Yes?”

“H-h-hi A-a-Alfred, is T-t-Tim the-ere?” I asked, shivering.

“Goodness miss, YN, what are you doing in the snow! Master Tim! There’s an urgent matter you need to attend to, come quick!” Alfred said rapidly recognizing my voice and opened the gate. I began the long walk it takes to get to the manor and in the distance I see a body open the door. It starts to run towards me as I get closer and closer. Finally, it clears up and I recognize that shadow to be Tim.

“Fuck, angel what are you doing here at this hour and under so much snow, come on let’s get you inside” he says as he drapes another coat on me and picked me up. “I didn’t know where else to go…” I said softly and he squeezes me harder. I don’t know if it was because how much I am shaking or because of what I said.

Quickly I am taken in and brought to Tim’s room. He places me in the toilet and begins heating a bath for me.

“There you go, I’ll go get you a few things to change into later, see if Steph, Babs or Cass has something that can fit you” he says and is about to leave when i realize I don’t want to be alone right now, “Tim…”

“Yes?” He says turning back to me and looks at me, worry clouding his eyes.

“Can you stay with me?” I ask and he stiffened, suddenly I remember our situation and what I am asking of him, “never mind, sorry if I-“

“Let me get everything that you might need and I’ll be right back, okay? I’ll come back” he says softly.

The bath fills up and stops suddenly, I begin to shed the layers of coats I have until I am left only in my soaking dress. I am about to take it off when I realize the zipper is frozen and it is getting difficult for me to take it off. I struggle for a few seconds until Tim arrives again.

“I got you some pants and socks from Babs and a shirt and clean underwear from Steph. I also have many sweaters you can borrow. They are in the bed and here are some shampoos, conditioners, bath bombs, soaps and essential oils. Let me place some on the tub, Alfred said they can help you not get sick and help your body relax and recover as well. Why aren’t you our of your dress?” He rambles as he pours the liquids until he sees my struggling figure.

“It’s stuck and ruined” I say still, struggling.

“Let me help you, angel” he says softly. I turn around and feel his warm fingers on my shoulders. He ties my hair up and behind to tug the zipper down as careful as he can. Once it’s open, he turns around and lets me take the rest of my clothes off. I sink in the tub and almost moan out of relief. The warmth starting to seep into my bones.

“You can turn around, Timmy” I say laughing softly at his stiff and awkward posture, “the bubbles cover me quite well”

He turns around slowly and sits on top of the toilet. I can see his face red with embarrassment and muffle a giggle with my hand. He looks positively adorable. His eyes take in my face with soft adoration.

“What happened, angel?” He asks softly. I let out a sigh and sink completely into the bath. Thankfully the tub is big enough to still cover me completely. When I come back up, I see Tim rolling his sleeve and pouring shampoo in his hands. He pulls a stool to get sit closer to me in the bathroom and softly whispers “come here”

I get closer, changing positions and giving him my back. As he begins to wash my hair with utter care and devotion I begin to tell him everything that happened. He makes sure to listen to every single one of my woes and hums in response as he works the tangles out of my hair and massages my scalp. He rinses and gets the conditioner and I continue my rant. Somewhere along the line, I begin to cry, exhausted by both the emotions of the day and the horrible walk here. He rinses again and begins to pour soap into his hands. He whispers softly, “may I?” And I nod as he begins to massage my neck and shoulders. I finish my account and just numbly state at the wall.

“Well, you are safe now, safe and warm. We have an amazing feast going on, Alfred’s treat if you are hungry. They just started the movie marathon and soon we will be playing a bunch of board games, so there’s that. Alfred said you are lucky to have gotten here so fast cause the storm got stronger and we are most probably snowed in, which you don’t have to worry about because we have a lot of guest bedrooms. You are alright okay” he speaks rinsing the soap out of his hand, “and I’ll stay here as long as you need me here.” He gives me a soft kiss on the head.

We stayed there for a while until I decided to get out finally feeling warm enough and relaxed. He hands me a towel and leads me to his room where he turns around and let’s me chance into everything. I ask him for a sweater and he searches for one and and tells me to guard it because it is his favorite as he winks. That gets a laugh out of me. Finally we head downstairs where Steph bolts and gives me a hug, “girl! Next time call Tim! Don’t walk around in the snow alone!!” She says making me smile sheepishly. Everyone speaks in agreement. The Wayne’s hold a very special place in my heart and their worry for me just secures that place even more.

“So, Tim said movies and game night, Jason, Damian, ready to get your asses beat by me again?” I ask smiling and Jason looks insulted whilst Damian scoffs half heartedly and responds, “you wish!” As the rest holler.

We spend the rest of the night watching Christmas movies and playing board games and I laugh so hard the evening I almost forget the events prior to this evening. Once we all retire, Tim starts walking me to one of the guest rooms. I hesitate before going in…I really don’t want to spend the night alone knowing that I have probably been casted as an outsider by my father and shunned from the family. It must have been visible in my face because Tim puts his hand out and says, “you can spend the night in my room, I don’t mind”

I take his hand and he leads me back to his room where an extra toothbrush is set. We wash our teeth and both get under the covers, each on one side of the bed. I try to get some sleep but the shudder from the cold returns. I try to contain it as much as possible so that I don’t wake Tim. Suddenly I feel a hand get a hold of my waist and pull me towards a body.

“You’re freezing, come here” he says and i whisper a small thanks.

“It’s a surprise you are going to bed, Timmy” I say and he must have understood the implications of my statement cause he answers, “Crime usually lowers these days because of the holidays and the excessive cold so we don’t usually patrol around this time as much. Bruce might go out and sometimes one of us if we want but it is rarely the case so this is the one time a year we get to lay back and relax.” I feel him murmur into the crook of my neck. He wraps his arms around me and cuddles closer to me, “plus, I always sleep better when you are around so why would I waste a chance like that” he says and I feel my face warm up. I take one of his hands and bring it to my lips giving it a soft kiss and say, “thank you for everything, Timmy.” In return, he squeezes me harder and says, “Merry Christmas, angel”.

And we both fall asleep into a blissful slumber.

-•-

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sphylor · 2 years ago

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hey sphy i have come to bonk you. the ghouls treating rain like royalty >:]

"No" isn't a word that drifts past Rain's ears often. In almost every circumstance he gets what he wants, and he knows this. He knows if he bats those long eyelashes of his and looks up with his doe eyes, people seem hard pressed to refuse his request. Normally, he doesn't even have to ask. The other ghouls seem content to throw themselves at his feet. Eager, even. To practically grovel for him.

Rain doesn't take advantage of this... often. Never for anything malicious. Just small favours. Aether will pass his drinks to him even if they're within his arm's reach. "Can't have you straining your arms." he always says in his humble medical opinion. And who's Rain to argue with that advice? He just smiles sweetly and graciously accepts the service. As does he whenever Sunshine fluffs up the pillows he rests on (“Now we want you to be comfortable, don’t we?”). And when Cirrus plays her piano just for him whilst Cumulus sings his favourite songs. Or when Mountain plucks a flower to hand to Rain whenever he visits the greenhouse (“A rain lily, only comparable to your beauty by name.”). And he’s lost count of the amount of times Swiss has held his hand down the stairs, turning with a wink and lifting it to lips to press a kiss into it once they reached the bottom. Even the new ghoul and ghoulette quickly fell into line, Phantom offering to pick up Rain’s chores whilst Aurora painted his claws pretty shades blue.

The word “princess” was first uttered when they first tried on the new uniforms. He could feel Dew’s eyes on him the entire time. As he looked at himself in the mirror he could see why. The frills on his sleeves and the lovely blue cape made him look like royalty. And he couldn’t deny the idea went to his head a little.

When Rain left to go back to his room, he heard footsteps following him dutifully. Before he could reach out to open the door, Dew sprung out from behind and opened it for him, almost bowing, Rain thought, as he passed him to enter the room. Dew closed the door but made no move to enter the room further, choosing to hover near the entrance still. Rain turned to look at him, an amused smile playing at his lips at the sight of just how dumbfounded his fire ghoul looked. “Something wrong, Droplet?” was the question he never got a response to as Dew walked over to him and knelt down at his feet, looking up at him with all the reverence and devotion in the world.

“Please, Rainy.” His voice sounded wrecked already.

“You want to make me feel good, Droplet? Treat me like a princess?” Rain asked innocently.

Dew dropped his head against Rain’s leg, running his hands up his thighs and towards his zipper. “Yes.”

Rain tutted disappointedly “Yes… what?”

Dew looked back up at him, always so eager to please his Rainbow. “Yes, your highness.”

#rain ghoul #dewdrop ghoul #nameless ghouls #sorry this ended up turning into raindrop oopsies #not my best work unfortunately im so eepy and i have a headache :((#princess rain :)

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spacetimewithstuartgary · 4 months ago

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A Colorful Aurora Paints the Night Sky

As we move into the peak of solar cycle 25, activity on the Sun has been ratcheting up. One sign of that appeared in Earth’s atmosphere in the form of an impressive display of the aurora borealis, or northern lights, which was visible to observers on the ground beyond the Arctic Circle and deep into the midlatitudes in October 2024.

Millions of skywatchers were treated to the green, pink, and red lights of the aurora overnight on October 10-11. At 1:55 a.m. Eastern Time (05:55 Universal Time) on October 11, the VIIRS (Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite) on the NOAA-20 satellite acquired this image of the aurora. The VIIRS day-night band detects nighttime light in a range of wavelengths from green to near-infrared and uses filtering techniques to observe signals such as city lights, reflected moonlight, and auroras.

In this view, the northern lights appear as ribbons of white crossing parts of Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Michigan in the U.S., and several provinces in Canada. But auroras are dynamic, and different coverage and patterns of light would have been visible at other times of the night. While these satellite data are shown in grayscale, viewers on the ground saw colors from green (the most common) to purple to red. Atmospheric compounds found at different altitudes influence an aurora’s color.

An astronaut on the International Space Station captured the photograph below of green hues of the aurora dancing across the planet’s surface, with a layer of deep red light above.

The light show was the visible manifestation of a severe geomagnetic storm—a disturbance of the upper atmosphere caused by the interaction of pressure waves and electromagnetic energy from the Sun interacting with Earth’s magnetic field, or magnetosphere.

In this case, the storm was caused by energized material emitted from the Sun, also known as a coronal mass ejection, that occurred in tandem with an intense solar flare on October 8, 2024. Whereas solar flares reach the planet in a matter of minutes and interfere with radio communications, coronal mass ejections may take several days to travel to Earth.

Coronal mass ejections contain large amounts of plasma from the Sun’s corona and carry with them an embedded magnetic field. Interactions between these expulsions from the Sun and the upper atmosphere of Earth produce the colorful auroral displays. According to NOAA’s Space Weather Prediction Center, the storm ranked 4 out of 5 in severity.

The aurora was visible from many areas worldwide, including latitudes where sightings of auroras are uncommon. Auroras occur high in the atmosphere, so observers on the ground can potentially witness them from far away—well beyond the areas covered by the band of light in the satellite image at the top of this page. Photographs of the aurora were shared from Nevada, North Carolina, Arizona, and Texas. The National Weather Service in Lubbock, Texas, shared photos of the aurora in shades of pink and green.

NASA Earth Observatory image by Michala Garrison, using VIIRS day-night band data from NASA EOSDIS LANCE, GIBS/Worldview, and the Joint Polar Satellite System (JPSS). Story by Emily Cassidy.

#science #space #astronomy #physics #news #nasa #astrophysics #noaa #space weather

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courtofmatchups · 1 month ago

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Hey, I'm here for our matchup trade! I entrust you to my self-insert turned oc also named Aurora (they/them). They actually transferred to RSA for their third year, but you can write them as a second year in NRC so you actually have options to match them up with.💀

Appearance: Fae, pointy ears, purple eyes, pale skin, skinny. Dress style could be masculine, feminine or androgynous on any given day (but they tend to prefer androgynous or feminine outfits more). Common aesthetics are alternative (lots of black, long sleeves and pants, fishnets, chokers, chains. think Lilia's club wear), cottagecore (pretty flowy dresses, pastel colours - usually pink or purple), and royalcore (they're part of a noble family).

Personality: Might give off the impression that they're quiet/introverted and reserved (somewhat true). Has a reputation for being unpredictable and chaotic. Doodles or falls asleep in class sometimes (for their first year, they slept in class with Silver. for their second year, it was Floyd), but they do well in exams. Tends to get into trouble in other dorms (to the point where Vil bribed them to stop. see: birthday voicelines). Usually laidback and playful, will get friendly with anyone they've spoken to once or twice (some even get nicknames). Loves to tease uptight people like Sebek. Gets along well with other troublemakers like Jade, Floyd and Lilia. Also more likely to cause trouble when they're around chaotic people. But can feel guilty and stop causing trouble for a while when someone mild-mannered and responsible asks them to behave, like Trey. They can get along well with anyone really, they know how to synergize with people. They just prefer to annoy people or catch them off guard.

Other hobbies: Reading (fantasy books), painting, playing musical instruments (piano and violin), growing flowers with magic

Likes: Practicing magic, making flower arrangements, flower meadows, ducklings, sweets, anime and manga, visiting aquariums, anything crochet, people watching, asking random questions to catch people off guard, starting debates

Dislikes: Stuffy rules, strict people, the idea of becoming the head of their noble family, when people ignore them/don't listen to them, formal events and outfits (particularly ties), spicy food, coffee and tea (unless it's fruit tea but it has to taste more like fruit)

Love languages: Giving - Gift giving and quality time, receiving - acts of service and words of affirmation

Fun fact: They carry gemstones around in their pocket and will give some to people for no reason

Here's their info page and an analysis on them.

Have fun writing! Thank you!

It seems to me, you've captured the heart of...

Rook Hunt!

Your chaotic, playful, yet elegant soul complements this silly huntsman quite well. And since you are a fae, you can bet he finds you quite fascinating as well.

Rook revels in observing and celebrating the unique qualities of others. He would likely find your chaotic energy, penchant for teasing, and unpredictable nature endlessly fascinating and exciting.

Both you and he have a playful, curious side that could lead to shared mischief and enjoyment of life’s little quirks. Rook's theatrical personality matches well with someone who enjoys catching people off guard.

With your shared interests in aesthetic pursuits—whether it’s flower arranging, painting, or creating beauty in the world—Rook would deeply appreciate and encourage your artistic talents. He’d be enchanted by your flower magic and the sentimental act of giving gemstones.

Rook's flamboyant and poetic nature would provide a dramatic counterbalance to your playful teasing and laidback attitude, while also keeping you intrigued. He could handle your troublemaking tendencies with enthusiasm, seeing it as part of your "beaute magnifique."

Since you dislike stuffy rules and strict environments, and Rook, being part of Pomefiore but with a free spirit, would understand and respect that. He’s a rule-bender in his own right, and he’d encourage their resistance to constraints like becoming the head of their noble family.

Rook's habit of lavishing poetic affirmations on others aligns perfectly with your preferred love language of receiving words of affirmation. He’d notice and appreciate your unique habits, from carrying gemstones to their teasing nicknames.

When you want a peaceful moment to read or people-watch, Rook would quietly admire you, perhaps reading alongside you or joining in your flower magic.

#court of matchups #otome #matchups #twst matchups #twisted wonderland matchups #twisted wonderland x reader #twisted wonderland #rook hunt

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proclassicpainting · 1 month ago

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Pro Classic Painting specializes in providing top-notch Aurora Exterior Painting Services. Our skilled team handles every part of the process, from preparing your home’s exterior to selecting the best colors and finishes. With our attention to detail and dedication to excellence, we ensure that your home looks its best and is protected for the long term.

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#Aurora Exterior Painting Services #Exterior Painters near me #Exterior Painting Company #Aurora Exterior Painters

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gtahomeservice · 10 months ago

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GTA Home Service a dependable and simple platform for all of your home service needs

Whether you need a plumber, electrician, handyman, or another type of home care specialist, GTA Home Service has you covered. With their team of professional and experienced experts, you can expect efficient and timely services at reasonable pricing. In addition to their extensive list of services, GTA home Service provides valuable suggestions and guidance on house care and enhancement. This makes it a vital resource for homeowners wishing to maintain their property. Overall, GTA Home Service provides a dependable and simple platform for all of your home service needs. With a commitment to quality and client satisfaction, you can depend on them to provide great home services. For more click :

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runwayrunway · 1 year ago

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No. 45 - BermudAir

Sometimes, when I'm especially bored at work, I find myself idly checking to see if there are any interesting planes at Logan Airport. It's common to see an MD-11 or A380, but every once in a while we get Blueprint, for example, or Vatnajökull or Hekla Aurora, or the Blackpink plane, and I always have my fingers crossed one day Xáat Kwáani will be there.

Today, the 23rd of August, I opened FlightRadar24 and was startled to see we were graced with the presence of a British Midland Embraer E175.

What is an airline which hasn't existed since 2012 doing operating a flight to an airport it never served using a type it never flew? Well, disappointingly, they aren't.

As far as consolation prizes go, though, I'm perfectly happy with a brand new airline to discuss.

So I'm reasonably sure what happened here is that BermudAir is using British Midland's old ICAO designator, BMA, and FlightRadar hasn't updated its data to match yet. They do this. I regularly get a kick out of the fact that their map insists Cape Air's Tecnam P2012s are jets.

Regardless, it was a good way to grab my attention! When I say BermudAir is new I do mean brand new - as in, they haven't flown a single revenue flight yet. Their plan is to begin service to Boston Logan and Westchester County Airport (located just north of New York City) on the 31st of August and Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood on the 15th of September, connecting all three destinations with Bermuda's L.F. Wade International Airport.

So let's take a look at this girl, temporarily local to me! This is VQ-BLU, but you can call her Topsey, which is an adorable name. She's an eleven-year-old Embraer E175, formerly of Flybe. And wow, is she tropical. Fort Lauderdale is one thing, but just imagine this plane parked in Boston in the middle of a blizzard. Oh, no...it'd just be her bright little tail poking out in a sheet of white...

If you look closer you can see that the interior of the winglet is a very washed out blue with the BermudAir logo on it.

She's vibrant! She's tropical! I love this design, obviously. It would be difficult not to. It's just...visually pleasing, right? It's bright and pink and colourful and gorgeous. While I initially thought this design was sort of familiar I think it might just be a very popular style, because if it's actually taken from a specific preexisting piece rather than commissioned for BermudAir it's certainly not one I could identify. Anyway, it looks nice.

...wish they'd painted the rest of the plane, though.

So this is VQ-BLW, Willy to her friends. If the names Topsey and Willy have any particular origin, it's not one I'm aware of, but as always I prefer named airplanes to unnamed ones. Willy is also eleven years old and a Flybe veteran, and is currently parked at Muskoka, presumably waiting to be ferried to her new home.

One thing I do quite like is the degree to which the design changes depending on the lighting. This sort of fuchsia is great for that. It looks pastel in the light and luminescent in the shadow, but never looks washed out or dusty. The composition of the blues and pink is absolutely beautiful.

For a minute there I thought the engines had some sort of pink design which made me think of a flower for some reason, but upon closer inspection it appears to just be an engine cover lashed on with ropes of a similar dusty pink colour. This is a shame. More airlines need to do creative things with their nacelles. Even if they're subtle, it can make a huge difference when you consider it's one of the most foreground things period when seeing the plane from the side.

That's a shame. Oh, well.

As for the primarily white portion of the body, it could be worse. They've chosen a tolerable sans serif, and they've made it dark grey rather than black to avoid it looking too harsh and out-of-place. I also like the location beneath the window-line, something more typical of turboprops which I think adds a nice bit of variety when done in large text on a jet like this. The stylized A in the logo and Topsey's name are both rendered in cyan, keeping some of that tropical energy throughout the airframe. That said, while the text is quite legible (the generous but not excessive space between letters and the size it's printed in are both excellent) I really wish the cyan-on-white was a bit easier to read.

While somehow the abstract nature of the tail design combined with the massive wordmark at the front prevents the plane from feeling lopsided as many similar layouts do, I still think this could be improved. Beyond the simple fact that it's boring, I distinctly dislike the very luxury-hotel feeling of combined tropical colors and sterile white. That sort of thing has always given me the ick, and also just feels unsure of what it wants to be. Are you having fun or are you going to perform a surgery? Are we a bunch of businessmen in suits having their meeting inside of a hot tub drinking Mai Tais or are we a group of seven to ten college-aged girls with modest Instagram followings playing beach volleyball in a conference room? You can't be both.

But, I mean...in terms of vacation branding, this is about as standard as you get. This is every big resort on St. John's and every luxury cruise to the extremely teal oceans of some archipelago somewhere. So despite my personal distaste for the style in general I have to admit this is a well done instance of it. That art on the tail really is nice, it really just is. I wish I knew who the artist was, because they know their way around a color palette.

So how do we...well, I don't want to say fix this, because I do think it gets the job done. I think I need to reframe my phrasing for this and future reviews: how do we make this an A? And I don't know. There's the obvious, extending the design to the whole plane, but I don't even think you need to go that far. A bit of light colored remnant trailing off into the rest of the plane, maybe a shift for the fuselage itself from pure white to a dusty pink or cyan...or, if you commit to the idea of the beach, both, for a sunset over an ocean. Add something to the engines, you might have something!

But this livery is already kind of admittedly more than adequate. I feel like people who are more receptive to this...vibe than I am would really rate this. And that isn't not a factor in my decisions. I don't just base these off aesthetics, or my rating for Saudia wouldn't be what it is. There's a degree of...trying, here, and a degree of succeeding, even. I do think it's well designed even though it reminds me of the little bottles of shampoo you get at hotels.

So, um...B-, I think. That's what I'm going with for the moment - could someone please "accidentally" get some grapefruit juice on the front fuselage, though? Just as a favor to me.

youtube

Okay, wow, Runway Runway. Nice post, but uh...is this really what took you so long to finish? And don't you normally give some background on the airline you're talking about? Is this some sort of joke?

Well...no. I wanted to put the review in the start of the post for a couple of reasons, but I'd appreciate if you continue reading for some background on BermudAir. There's a lot about the airline that requires some pretty extensive context, and I think it would be actively irresponsible not to talk about. The rest of this post is going to be long, but that's for a good reason, so please bear with me.

BermudAir is actually a milestone - Bermuda's first airline, apparently. I was startled to learn this, and it made me pretty excited. Bermuda is a British Overseas Territory - this is to say, a colony of the English Empire which even in the modern day has not gained its independence and retains the King of England as its head of state despite being self-governed in every practical sense of the term. It would be fantastic to see Bermuda establish its own flag carrier, to have more of its own infrastructure, and just broadly more to call its own that isn't imposed by the British Empire.

And that's when this stopped really being a normal Runway Runway post.

I was surprised to learn that BermudAir is the first airline in Bermuda's history. It turns out that's because it isn't true - though it might appear that way until you roll up your sleeves and root around in the compost bin of publicly available records. While Bermuda's Bermuda Civil Aviation Authority (BCAA) has issued Air Operator Certificates (AOC) multiple times in the past, most were for startups that fell through. People have been trying and failing now for literal decades to make an airline stick. But while no scheduled passenger airlines have gotten off the ground, BermudAir is not the literal first airline in Bermuda. Leisure and charter airline Freedom II appears to mostly fly to Anguilla and is headquartered in Florida but is registered in Bermuda, and supposedly an airline called Brisair also operated from Bermuda but Planespotters.net says it's Swiss and all photos seem to be from Finland, and they don't appear to so much as have a website, so...I'm not sure. I don't even know if Brisair is still in operation. There's also charter and cargo airline Longtail Aviation, which made the news in 2021 when one of its planes disgorged a few assorted engine gubbins while flying over the Netherlands.

This is at least two and potentially three things operating in Bermuda which I would definitely describe as airlines, so BermudAir is not the first Bermudian airline! They appear to be the first Bermuda-founded airline to operate scheduled service to Bermuda, and will be the only one to operate year-round service from the island, but that isn't the same thing as being the first Bermudian airline. You can't just say things that aren't true! And even the government seems to be repeating this.

"We are very happy to welcome BermudAir as Bermuda's first carrier, as they work toward setting a new standard for travel," Bermuda's Minister of Transport Wayne Furbert said in a statement celebrating the carrier's launch. "This partnership represents an exciting milestone for our island, as it enhances connectivity and strengthens our position as a premier destination. With BermudAir's commitment to providing convenient connections, we anticipate a significant boost to our tourism market."

And this just feels wrong. The Bermudian government's enthusiasm about this project doesn't actually fill me with very much optimism given the context in which they're saying this and in which BermudAir exists.

All of what I'm going to say right now is incredibly oversimplified and I don't have the necessary background to not oversimplify it, so keep in mind these are very broad statements and that for a better picture you would need to seek out Bermudian writers. But even my simple version is pretty long, and a little bit technical. All of my sources are going to be at the bottom of this post and I'm sure there's a lot I've overlooked, so if you have anything to add or correct please do so. This said, BermudAir is not for Bermudians.

The flag of Bermuda. Pay close attention to the best coat of arms I have ever seen in my life. Can you imagine how good this would look without the Union Jack cluttering it up?

Bermuda is a very 'prosperous' place, a statement which is deeply misleading. It has a colossal GDP, driven not by any domestic industry but from its status as one of the world's best-reviewed tax havens. Indeed, tariffs imposed by the US have essentially meant that agricultural exports are a nonstarter as an economic pursuit and their wealth comes instead from tourism and thousands of foreign businesses with no real connection to Bermuda flocking there to take advantage of the almost nonexistent taxes.[10]

At various points anywhere between 20 and 30 percent of those residing in the country have not held Bermudian status. This is a term that should be clarified upfront. Bermudians, and anyone born in Bermuda, are British nationals but do not have British citizenship. They instead have 'British Overseas Territories Citizenship', which does not confer the rights associated with actual citizenship, such as that of work or abode. Many Bermudians accordingly do not consider themselves to be British.[17]

However, there exists a local 'citizenship' called Bermudian Status. Bermudian Status is given to those with at least one parent who holds Bermudian status, or by formal government award. It is not given to those born on Bermudian soil, cannot be bought, and is very difficult to obtain if not born into. I have literally never seen such stringent requirements for a citizenship in my life, and this does actually have meaningful consequences. Rights such as those to work, own businesses, obtain scholarships, and vote are restricted to those with Bermudian status. They also cannot purchase property - with one exception.[17]

All of the above sounds pretty horrible, and I'm sure it sometimes is, but it needs to be taken in the context it exists in. Bermuda is an incredibly popular tax haven for the ultrawealthy[10] and accordingly flocked to by nationals of other countries. Although Archibald[17] makes it out as if there is some sort of epidemic of arbitrarily disenfranchised Bermudian-born individuals this doesn't actually seem to be true, as 97% of those born on Bermudian soil actually do hold Bermudian status, as do 31% of those born elsewhere.[18] It may be difficult to obtain, and that may well be a problem, but this does not appear to be an epidemic of people disenfranchised from birth, which does exist elsewhere. For instance, former USSR citizens in Latvia and Estonia were not granted citizenship and many remain functionally stateless, and residents of American Samoa are considered US nationals but not citizens. This makes them, among other things, ineligible for any government benefits for disability or medical care.

These people without Bermudian status aren't just stateless, though. They hold the same British Overseas Territories Citizenship as Bermudians, and may well hold others - for instance, those born on US military bases are US birthright citizens. The majority of these non-Bermudians are foreign-born and thus presumably hold a different citizenship. And citizenships can be something pretty lopsided. A US, UK, or EU passport holds an absolutely outsized amount of power and convenience when it comes to free travel and may entitle you to myriad benefits from said governments. I know a lot of people with dual citizenships who have no love whatsoever for the US or UK but keep their passports because life without one is measurably harder. And think of it this way: a non-Bermudian living in Bermuda is less like someone born in American Samoa, who has no nationality other than the US but cannot vote or derive government benefits, and a little bit more like a permanent resident, who can't vote, a system had by just about every country.

And there's probably a reason Bermuda is so stingy about Bermudian status. I'll be honest, it's pretty telling that unlike many other jurisdictions Bermuda doesn't allow one to pay their way into citizenship. I'm sure some people want that to be the case, given the demographics of non-Bermudians in Bermuda, but the distinction between people actually from Bermuda and those who are just using it for a tax break is actually meaningful. I'm sure there are people genuinely harmed by this law, but there's one more thing I need to point out: non-Bermudians are allowed to own land. The only restriction is that they're limited to the most expensive 5% of it. This sends a pretty clear message about who non-Bermudians are.

Since agriculture is mostly a non-starter and so much of the country is foreigners, aside from tax breaks and registering yachts Bermuda's main industry, particularly for employment of locals, is tourism. The need to satisfy tourists makes everything else frequently secondary to avoid upsetting the fulcrum of the economy and can impede efforts of worker's unions. What taxes do exist are placed on workers and end consumers rather than those who own businesses and property. The majority of taxes come from customs, and though payroll is taxed personal income is not, meaning that all income tax is paid off of wage labor and none off of personal accumulated capital. Land tax does exist, but makes up the smallest portion of tax income.[4] The cost of living is commensurate with the GDP and benefits for the elderly and disabled are notably lacking[13]; most disabled and elderly residents are Black[11].

As with many places with a similar history under colonial rule, Bermuda has an extensive history of violent racial oppression and the effects are still clearly seen today. According to the most recent data I could find, admittedly from 2012, though Black Bermudians make up the majority of the population their average income is 22% lower than that of White Bermudians and their median income 30% lower[1]. While I don't have the data on hand, just the analysis the government itself published, my assumption would be that this means that, though the wealthiest Black Bermudians still make less than the wealthiest white Bermudians, they are still significantly pushing up the average, and a heavily disproportionate number of Black Bermudians make up the ranks of the absolute most impoverished Bermudians.

Most tellingly, from my own perspective, non-Bermudians have a 20% higher median income than Bermudians of any race, and this is increasing at a higher rate than that of Bermudians as well. In the past decade the greatest increase has been seen by non-Bermudian women, and the least by Bermudian men, suggesting that the gender gap is slowly closing while the nationality gap is widening[1]. The Tax Justice Network's 2018 report notes that the Bermudian government has 'conspicuously' never produced a study of income inequality and does not provide equivalized numbers, which makes it difficult to properly derive true numbers and compare to other countries. Still, here is what they found:

While while wages did rise between 2008 and 2016, the highest-earning only just kept up with inflation while those earning lower wages have, in real terms, had their earnings fall by 5%. Although clerical jobs are low-paying compared to the (very inflated) average, they're doing fantastic compared to the 32% drop seen by workers in Agriculture & Fisheries.[4] While in countries like the United States these jobs are primarily sloughed off to migrants with little to no recourse against poor treatment and pitiful wages, in Bermuda these jobs are presumably similar in implementation but half of them are worked by native Bermudans.[4] Black Bermudians are the majority of the workforce, yet 65% of those in managerial and professional occupations are white.[11] This means that most of the people having their wages functionally decrease were Black, further exacerbating the racial wealth gap.

When comparing average to median income Bermuda has some of the highest income inequality in the entire world, comparable to that of the United States and worse than that of London.[4] That is unbelievably dire, especially given how often Bermuda is represented as some sort of poverty-free paradise when attempting to galvanise tourism among the US's upper classes.

As for independence, a referendum was actually held in 1995, and the prospect was defeated by 74%, with a worryingly low voter turnout of 59%. While this clears the required bar of 40% of eligible voters opposing independence, it is still not an inspiring number. Apparently this is fairly normal, with only 60% of eligible voters registered[13] and reliably low turnout[10] suggesting this is the norm rather than the exception. This becomes all the grimmer when a Cabinet Minister "[...] compare[s] the Country to a business that had prospered under Bermudian management". Additionally, said Minister "had detected 'a shift in attitude' against blacks in the UBP. Caucus members who she would not name felt 'too many concessions were being made for black people,' and Government was doing too much to level the playing field.'"[2] Bermuda has for most of its history been ruled by a conservative party which remained in power despite being supported primarily by the white minority, and has had consistently low voter turnout[11]. Their Governor is still appointed by the English Crown, and in 2020 Bermuda was generously granted its first ever Black Governor! She is not, however, a Black Bermudian, and in fact many in the government expressed displeasure at the fact that Bermuda is still not independent, calling for at least a Deputy Governor who is actually from Bermuda, and mentioning that they had been asking for a Black Governor for a majority Black society twenty entire years ago![12]

Now pair that with the knowledge that the Governor appoints the Premier and Senate as well and that these positions are held until the Crown decides otherwise and that racial wealth disparity begins to make more sense. Legal power is concentrated in the same hands it has since its inception as a British Territory, that of wealthy white Britons. It didn't surprise me to learn where the opposition to independence came from. "The powerful families who control much of the island's commerce wish the issue of independence would simply go away," wrote Aline Sullivan for the International Herald Tribune in the leadup to the referendum. From the same article: "One private trust manager, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said that if Bermuda became independent, the financial community would 'have to rethink everything. Unless we are careful, we may start losing business' to the Cayman Islands and elsewhere, the manager said. 'People may not think of us if we can no longer market Bermuda as a British colony.'"[3] It seems blatant, reading over this, that while there was a genuine push for independence by the primarily Black permanent population, the question for the actual government was always one of optics and how best to cater to the financial giants using Bermuda as a tool.

The takeaway from this is that Bermuda's wealth is not generated via authentic economic prosperity but by offshore banking conducted by already-wealthy individuals born elsewhere exploiting the country's permissive tax laws, while those who are truly Bermudian have essentially no choice but to lean heavily on tourism as a source of income. Bermuda is not unique in this sense, but it surprised me they'd never so much as had a national airline. That's right, this is a blog about airlines. As best I can tell, this is because it's a particularly popular destination for yachts, and presumably nobody in a position to start an airline ever wondered about whether things should be made a little easier for the yachtless underclasses. When I heard this was going to be the first airline founded in Bermuda, I foolishly assumed that it would be an attempt at a flag carrier to make travel to and from Bermuda broadly more accessible.

Oh, and as for the concerning lack of figures - Bermuda appears to be ridiculously understudied. Although plenty has been written on the wildlife and ecology, and in some specific fields like midwifery, I had a very hard time finding detailed studies of the population and for each useful thing I found I also got around seven articles about marine invertebrates and occasionally something like this.

So if people have done analyses of the publicly available census data, or research of their own, most of it is in places where my student-going-into-archival-science's ability to use databases and my university's JSTOR credentials can't reach. And, well, that's bad. It's pretty bad that aside from the sources I'm using the only thing I could find was one study conducted on seniors' ability to access healthcare. It's not great, by the way.

But that is literally not even why I'm meant to be here.

Okay, enough of the politics! Time for some business speculation! As an undergraduate history student I have even less authority to speak on this than I do on the history of Bermudian wealth inequality, so take this with an even larger grain of salt, but I'm going to spend a moment to discuss the most noteworthy thing about BermudAir - its business model.

BermudAir is a boutique airline which will operate nonstop flights to three destinations on the US East Coast from Bermuda year-round.

This is already a weird concept. To begin with, this isn't a service anyone is in dire need of. Although the only one of their three destinations which currently has a direct flight to Bermuda is Logan (operated daily by a jetBlue A220), flights from the East Coast are not lacking. Delta, United, JetBlue, and American Airlines all fly to Bermuda, and the fact that Westchester doesn't currently have one isn't strange given it's mostly a regional airport and the nearby JFK absolutely does have direct flights to Bermuda. This makes me think they may well be frozen out of business for half of the year. Sure, their passengers won't have to deal with seeing poor people at the airport, but they also won't be able to use their SkyMiles.

This service will be non-stop and year-round. Right now tickets are $199 or so, but when they get their planned cabins installed in November prices will immediately jump to quadruple digits.[6] (...this honestly makes me a little angry. That is an immense difference in price for a service that differs only in initial cost of installation.) This is because the entire airplane will be business-class only. This is actually pretty cheap for business class, apparently. I wouldn't know, I'm not really BermudAir's target audience. The Business Insider article opens with the phrase "Bermuda just got a little more accessible," which is really...a thing that they said in their article.

Business-class-only travel isn't unheard of or anything. Private jet rentals are a thing (for people willing to spend between tens and hundreds of thousands of dollars per hour) and carriers like Qatar Airways and British Airways have had similar models on a limited number of retrofitted planes. There's also La Compagnie, an airline which flies in an all-business-class configuration primarily Orly to Newark. And, I mean, that makes some sense, Paris to Newark is a popular route for business travelers...not sure about Boston to Bermuda.

image: Adam Moreira They're actually one of the airlines I wanted to talk about when I first started this blog. Still might do.

A 'boutique airline' is meant to be the equivalent of a boutique hotel - nice fluffy transport for wealthy business and leisure travelers. This definition gets a bit fuzzy - Asiana Airlines and TAP Air Portugal have both been described this way at least once, and that's definitely not true - but I think BermudAir has helped codify the definition. Though Bangkok Airways self-describes as such, I think airlines like BermudAir and La Compagnie are the true exemplar of the category. A luxury vacation airline that isn't quite renting a private jet or owning a yacht, but is still a luxury airline for luxury. There have been attempts at such before. David Neeleman, known recurring character of this blog, has been involved in two such ventures - Superior Air Charter (formerly JetSuite) and Climb. But those are just affordable jet cards with a Neeleman management style (Neelemanagement?). BermudAir and La Compagnie are fundamentally different. They've just eliminated economy class so they can fit more business class on the plane.

image: BermudAir Pay particular note to the pink mood lighting! Apparently it's meant to evoke the color of the sand on a Bermudian beach.

They refer to it as 'Aisle Class', because everyone gets both a window and an aisle seat (and enough storage space that overhead bins just aren't in the equation, which begs the question of...what if I want to put my things away?). 30 such 'suites' will be installed on each plane on the first of November, but for now passengers can pay a steep discount to fly in a normal cabin where only half the seats are actually sold. I don't know if this is a good business class cabin before, I've never flown business class as I'm not the sort of US national who has a bank account in Bermuda. The pillows have the same design as the airplane's livery, which is nice. An entire paragraph on the website is devoted to describing the luxury meals available to passengers. The real Bermuda experience - clean white walls and a Dark ‘n Stormy, am I right?

image: BermudAir

Hey, um...where are the leg rests? Do those seats even recline? I know this is a mock-up but...are there no seatback screens available? Seriously, what if I want to put my bag somewhere? I know checked bags are free, but I kind of...don't think I would want to do it anyway, because normally it's a waste of time when I can just toss my luggage into a bin large enough I could comfortably ride in it if they were out of seats. Also, are there not...seatbelts? Are passengers going to go flying into the seat in front of them every time the plane lands? Is any of this...even remotely crashworthy? Honestly, is it even comfortable? That's so many hard surfaces and just one little pillow and you can't even move the head-rest. This is worse than the average seat on ferries I've been on.

But enough about the interior! They don't even actually have it yet. What are they doing? In their own words, "BermudAir was created to provide frequent‚ well-timed and comfortable flights for business and premium leisure travellers between Bermuda and the East Coast of the U.S.". So...not much of a flag carrier, is it? That said, the government is pretty jazzed, according to Travel Market Report - it'll be fantastic for tourism, of course![5] Up to 18 weekly flights, and maybe even charters if the FAA allows it[6]. That is a stunningly large output for an airline just starting up with only two planes, and I am honestly afraid.

(And there is a bit of worry in my brain that I have no idea what sorts of regulations airlines with Bermudian AOCs are held to. Ben Schlappig of One Mile At A Time thought maybe the 30-passenger limit was to stay within Part 135 instead of the more restrictive Part 121, but that shouldn't matter as they aren't a US carrier - but what are they, then? Does Bermuda even have the necessary infrastructure to oversee a full-service air carrier with multiple regularly scheduled routes, or are they just going to let BermudAir do whatever it wants? That never ends well at all.)

That said, I'm also not sure it will work in the simplest sense. I'm kind of lost as to how putting less seats on an airplane will create more tourism. Founder Adam Scott claims that somehow their fleet of two E175s makes them equipped to serve the demand for the route, unlike airlines like Delta and American[7], which makes me wonder if he lives on a different planet. Delta and American have the two largest fleets in the entire world, plus regional subsidiaries, and they operate regional jets like the A220 and A319 which are both more efficient than an eleven-year-old E-Jet and filled to capacity. Besides, they have a little advantage called 'the ability to not cancel half their flights if one plane has a mechanical fault'. He also claims using Westchester Airport will save passengers time, and I'm just not too sure about that. Sure, JFK has delays on landing, but at least you don't have to then drive to New York City proper, if that's where you're going (and statistically speaking it probably is).

So how about that founder? His name is Adam Scott, so I will until told otherwise assume he is the same Adam Scott as the actor best known for his role as Jacques in my 7th-favorite Hellraiser movie, "Hellraiser IV: Bloodline" (1996).

If you think of Hellraiser: Bloodline as a Hellraiser film, it's really quite bad. But if you think of it as a Dr. Who special where people have their skin torn and warped in extremely graphic and upsetting ways, it's decent, I suppose. Did you know this was his first ever major role, by the way?

Jokes aside, this Adam Scott is Canadian and a former Goldman Sachs executive. He was among the people who worked on the now-discontinued British Airways business-class-only transatlantic A318 service, and after that ceased operation he became involved with similar startup Odyssey, which planned to replace it. They haven't made a peep since 2018 despite wanting to start service in 2020, but Scott does claim it still exists[7].

Well, I will have things to say about this if it ever launches, considering I now specifically hate this particular man.

Scott describes Bermuda as a 'mini version of London City with very similar demographics and a similar target audience',[7] which sort of made me laugh a little bit, although I'm not sure what emotion was primarily driving said laughter. This feels like a parody of a parody. But they're definitely way closer to being a reality than Odyssey, whether they can make enough money to keep it that way notwithstanding. Their chances are probably better than Global Airlines, at least. But hey, wait a minute...Bermudian airline, Canadian founder...weird, isn't it? I mean, who is this airline for?

image: BermudAir

I know, they said business and leisure travellers, but...isn't that so strange? 'Bermuda' is in the name, but the one year-round service to the US East Coast is going to be inaccessible to most of the people who live there, deliberately carrying as few people as possible!

image: BermudAir

This is actually a reminder that I needed - whenever I find something happening in the US to be cynical and disturbing, there is something out there even worse in a place I'm not supposed to care about. Breeze Airways having first class is pretty philosophically horrifying but at least they do still mostly sell affordable plane tickets. Azul leans quite heavily into its Brazilian branding, but David Neeleman is Brazilian, and their tickets are affordable and their service is accessible. That's just worlds apart from this! I've described flag carriers as being a service provided to a country, but this isn't that, and it's not even a product being sold to a country. This is an airline named BermudAir that Bermudians are just not meant to be involved with. I wonder if this is just something Scott never realized, or if he realized and doesn't care, or if that's actually part of the draw! I wonder the same things about the government, given they seem to have a mindset less suited for a government and more suited for the board of directors of a bank.

And I'm sure they could actually find a bit of a market for direct flights to major cities in the US year-round, when the vacation market's dried up and the only way for someone living in Bermuda to get someplace like New York is to pay way more than the asking price of a BermudAir ticket for long and inconvenient multi-stop flights. But that's so clearly not the point. A lot of those people also probably can't afford BermudAir, and the marketing clearly isn't targeting them.

Here are some posts from their Facebook. Some of the most recent, too. An "idyllic island paradise" where a smiling local Black man will serve you some delicious beverages! How tropical. He might even tell you some anecdotes about how wonderful it is to live in a sunny beach utopia where taxes don't exist. Just take a look at that palm tree! And something that frustrates me even more: just a picture of two Gombeys. The Gombey tradition of dance, costume, music, and performance is unique to Bermuda, and particularly its Black population, originating from the African slaves brought there by British colonists. I find it beyond tasteless to just post a picture of them without so much as a mention of what these costumes represent or who is wearing them, just a caption of boilerplate about your airline's upcoming launch. BermudAir's marketing places these people as literally just part of the scenery. I find this extraordinarily disrespectful.

There's nothing wrong with mentioning Gombey exists - in fact, there are events specifically for it! Gombey festivals! Boxing Day is the biggest day of the year for Gombey, don't you want to book a ticket for December? You could be in Boston eating swallowing mouthfuls of snow every time you try to breathe while a man with a Dunkin Donuts cup in his hand screams rude things at you from his car window, or you could be watching Gombey performances in Bermuda! You could even, for example, describe what these people do, or what troupe they're from, or even just mention them. Just mention them at all. I do find it pretty disrespectful when specific traditions are just waved off with a little vague non-description like 'two individuals on a beach in their traditional costume', but BermudAir didn't even do that little insufficient trifling amount.

It's the complete inverse of BWIA's steelpan logo. Steelpan is a major part of Trinidad and Tobago's history as the birthplace of dozens of musical traditions. Music is a huge part of the cultural history of the country, and part of that music was steelpan. The artisans who make steelpans and musicians who play them are something the people who created BWIA's logo thought was so fundamental to the very idea of their country that they put it on their government-owned national airline, making it the very first thing people who travelled to Trinidad and Tobago on a BWIA flight would see. I didn't end up mentioning it in the post (which is weird, because I have a false memory of including it - I think I may have in an earlier draft but then decided I couldn't fit it in even though in retrospect I obviously could and should have? Or maybe I mentioned it in reply to an ask I now can't find) but when I did my research I kept finding people talking about how much they adored BWIA and reminiscing about everything from watching their planes flying overhead to specific people they worked with, and it was really clear that this airline, beyond just nominally being owned by the government, was created by people who put real love for their country's heritage into their design.

BWIA certainly carried tourists and foreign businessmen but it wasn't made by them. That really, historically, hasn't been how things worked. You wouldn't make an airline in one country with a primary purpose of serving a market in another.

A ribbon-cutting ceremony following BermudAir's AOC being issued, featuring Adam Scott, the guy holding him, and tourism-and-aviation-related government personnel of Bermuda. One of them appears to be wearing a navy suit jacket, black-and-yellow tie, and pink shorts. image: Akil Simmons

Adam Scott describes Bermuda as his 'happy place', where he has 'developed links' for ten years.[14] Even when discussing BermudAir he doesn't describe himself as Bermudian, just 'linked' to it, a vacationer. There are spaces in BermudAir for Bermudians, though, he makes sure to clarify. They can provide "the flavours of Bermuda and the island’s renowned hospitality" to the actual clientele. Minister of Transport Wayne Furbert expresses his enthusiasm at the new jobs brought on by increased tourism[14], as if a year-round way for his actual constituents to get to and from Bermuda is simply...not something he's concerned about.

I think I need to cut myself off here, but the last thing I need to mention is this: a Bernews article was written on BermudAir, and their website allows comments. Here are some things people had to say.

Daniel G DeSilva: Although this is an “elite” air service, with BERMUDA emblazoned on the fuselage, it would be great if the tail design even remotely connected visually with Bermuda.

Paid off government: First of all this airline will be flying to other places. People forget that there are hundreds of Russia aircraft registered here that have never been in or out if Bermuda. This is not a Bermuda airline. Its just conveniently named after Bermuda and registered here. [...] And if you have to ask about the price then this airline is not for you!

(There was also some scattered speculation about it being some sort of front or scheme, which I definitely have no idea about, though I won't pretend it didn't occur to me while attempting to reconcile just how much this airline is definitely not going to make money. Having looked at their various publicly listed employees they all seem fairly credentialed, but...who even knows at this point. Maybe this was all an elaborate proof of concept for Odyssey all along. This is all so cynical it makes me want to scream.)

And that's just the thing, isn't it?

BWIA used beautiful colors vivid colors, never hiding the fact that Trinidad and Tobago are, indeed, very sunny islands with nice beaches, but that wasn't the point of it. It's so easy to make a plane that looks tropical, but BWIA didn't do that - they made a plane which represented Trinidad and Tobago.

And if I'm being fully honest, I like Topsey. I think she's adorable, and I think the design on her tail is pretty. But she wasn't designed by Bermudians and she doesn't represent Bermuda. BermudAir is an airline for the East Coast US, where people are taught in schools that the victims of an empire are colonists, taking a necessary stand against the iniquity of taxes, and the Wampanoag are no longer mentioned once the first Thanksgiving is over. The people who make up Bermuda are treated as structural parts of the tax haven England built, not citizens of a state or members of a culture. "Bermuda's first airline" ends up having very little to do with Bermuda, somehow. And I couldn't really bring myself to talk about Topsey without talking about Bermuda.

Will BermudAir fail? In my opinion, probably. But in the meantime, one of their airplanes is parked at Logan, and that's because this airline is for people from Boston, not people from Bermuda.

Sources:

[1] Government of Bermuda Cabinet Office, Department of Statistics. "Personal and Household Income: A 2010 Census Analytical Brief." www.gov.bm. Bermuda, December 2012. [2] Egan, Paul and Jeremy Deacon. "UBP about to Self-Destruct, Says Gordon." The Royal Gazette, August 8, 1995. [3] Sullivan, Aline. "Will Independence Spoil Bermuda?" nytimes.com. April 8, 1995. [4] Fowler, Naomi and Stubbs, Robert. "Bermuda: Inequality and Poverty in UK Overseas Territory." Tax Justice Network. Bristol, United Kingdom, June 21, 2018. [5] Bonfiglio, Briana. "BermudAir, the First Bermuda-Based Airline, Launches with All-Business Class Seats." Travel Market Report, August 24, 2023. [6] Schlappig, Ben. "Bermudair: New Bermuda-Based All-Business Class Airline Launches Flights." One Mile At A Time, August 24, 2023. [7] Rains, Taylor. "A New All-Business Class Airline Is Launching Flights between the US and Bermuda — See What It’ll Be like Aboard."Business Insider, August 24, 2023. [8] BermudAir Fleet Details and History [9] Bernews. "BermudAir Aircraft Arrives In Bermuda," August 20, 2023 [10] "Bermuda." United States Department of State Bureau of Public Affairs, 1985. [11] "2010 Census of Population & Housing Final Results." Hamilton, Bermuda: Bermuda Department of Statistics. [12] Bell, Jonathan, and Fiona McWhirter. "First Black Woman to Be Appointed Governor." The Royal Gazette, June 14, 2020. [13] Forbes, Keith Archibald. "Bermuda’s Resident Population of 63,779 and Local Expatriate Organizations: Origins of Citizens and Residents, 64% Black, 32% White, 4% Asian and Other." Bermuda Online, 2020. [14] Finighan, Gareth. "BermudAir Spreads Its Wings." The Royal Gazette, July 27, 2023. [15] Jeffries, Bayyinah S. 2022. "Race and Racism in Bermuda" Genealogy 6, no. 4: 89. [16] airlinehistory.co.uk [17] Forbes, Keith Archibald. "Bermuda Citizenship or Status: Deserving long-term foreign tax-paying residents including those with over 25 years residency are denied this." Bermuda Online, 2020. [18] “NATIVITY, MIGRATION AND BERMUDIAN STATUS.” Bermuda: Government of Bermuda, 2000.

#tarmac fashion week #grade: b-#region: north america #era: 2020s #bermudair #long haul #cabin fever #neelemanverse #region: bermuda #bwia

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