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mintseesaw · 4 years ago

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harana | jjk

translation: n. the act of wooing/courting someone by serenading him/her

pairing: jungkook x reader

genre: fluff, f2l au, drabble

word count: 3.5k

warning: none // rating: pg-13

requested by bebe athena @rookiegukie. Im sorry it took a while, but i hope you like it hun! You may still submit your requests for the drabble game Paraluman Playlist until the end of August. ✨

note: this didnt turn out as initially planned changing after jk released his latest cover so i highly rec u to listen to 10,000 hours by jjk (cover) while reading it hjfjgdjdkgm also it’s a first for me to delve into f2l trope ljggdhd yall forgive me if it’s too cliche bwahaha

“Hyung! ______-noona is here!” A kid who opened the door for you announced your arrival rather loudly, recognizing him as one of Jungkook’s cousins. You pushed through inside the nostalgic interior of the Jeon’s household. Nothing much has changed in the past two years.

Soon after, Jungkook appeared from the doorway you remember as the door leading to the kitchen. He’s decently dressed and when you say decent, you meant he’s not in his usual attire of anything black and over-sized. Nonetheless, he’s handsome as ever. You’re not gonna deny the fact.

“Hey!” He greets, face lighting up at the sight of you, biting back a smirk as he skims the length of you adorning a cute, yellow dress. He glances down at your hand holding a gift-wrapped present for his mom before draping an arm over your shoulders.

He feigns a frown, “You shouldn’t have bothered. Mom will appreciate you making it on her birthday.”

“Well, unlike someone I know, I’m thoughtful enough to prepare something for Auntie.” You tease, knowing he possibly bought nothing for his mom.

He scoffs, only proving your assumption right. “Yah! Don’t sound too enthusiastic, I’m the son here.”

“So what? I’m your mom’s favorite!” You retorted back.

“No you aren’t!” He snapped, while his mouth unconsciously juts forward in defeat.

Your eyebrow arches. “Is that a challenge I hear?”

Jungkook nonchalantly shrugged his shoulders. “Forget the competition. We’re here to make my mom happy.” He quickly dismisses, distracting you as he leads you straight to the garden area which you could already see where the guests are gathered through the glass doors.

As expected, the said small party looks simply classic with a touch of Mrs. Jeon’s sophisticated taste. Average-sized square wooden tables are neatly scattered in the expanse of the garden with uniform vintage table setting that coordinates well with the floral decorations in the vicinity. In front, a makeshift platform was made behind a decorated linen with pinned letters “Happy Birthday Mom!” Behind all the tables is where the buffet table was placed.

You’re actually relieved that your simple puff sleeve dress matches with the theme of the party, forgetting the guilt of having to wear the dress without borrowing it from your sister.

Mrs. Jeon was happily chatting with her guests but when the sliding door breaks open revealing you tucked under Jungkook’s arm, the present smile on her face stretches wide and immediately shuffled towards you and Jungkook’s way.

Mrs. Jeon audibly gushes just as you handed your gift and welcomed you with a warm, tight hug. “Thank you, dear.”

Jungkook took it as his cue to leave you two for a second.

When she draws back, she appreciatively give you a once over. “Oh, you look so lovely on your dress!” Mrs. Jeon clapped her hands. You smiled shyly in return.

“Thank you for coming, dear. It’s been ages since the last time I’ve seen you. Come here and get some food.” She says.

It’s true. After you’ve been in college two years ago, you’ve hardly stayed in your hometown for more than two weeks, hence, you couldn’t squeeze your time here to pay the Jeons a visit. Mrs. Jeon became your guardian whenever your parents were in business trips back in the days, and during the times of your stay at their house, you’ve grown much closer to her just like your second mom.

By the time you reach the buffet table, Mrs. Jeon caught Jungkook in the act of getting a piece of sushi straight from the chafing dish, and his poor soon right away earned a whack on his arm from his mom.

“Use the tongs!” She reproaches which made him flinches dramatically.

Such a baby.

You bit back a chuckle as Mrs. Jeon went on with “Go to the kitchen and refill the dispenser!” Jungkook pouts but obeys his mom without complaining. However, he made sure to shoot a fake glare at you before he disappears from the doorway.

Mrs. Jeon then handed you an empty plate. “Here, ______. I know you like pasta.”

Your eyes widened a little. Perhaps, you have not recovered from the surprise painted on your expression, hearing it come from her that she caught a glimpse of your slight shock state. Why should you be surprised when Jungkook knows it as well? He might have told her or something.

“Oh don’t be surprised, dear. My boy always asks me to cook pasta whenever you come around.”

Isn’t it his favorite food? “It’s… his favorite... right?” You began but ended up questioning the validity of your knowledge.

She laughs, “You know he could eat anything edible but cannot live without his portion of meat every day.”

“Oh.” It was only that moment it registered to you. His mom is right. He’d always make it a point to consume all your stocks of meat whenever he shows up in your dorm in the most unexpected days. His university is not too far away from yours. Yet, this guy thinks it’s worth the two-hour drive just to get to your dorm and pester the shit out of you.

“I’m so happy you’re able to make it on my birthday. Will you stay in town for the rest of your break?”

“Uhh… I was supposed to focus on saving up through my part time jobs this summer but my mom threatened to disown me if I don’t stay here during summer break.”

“Oh she’s being reasonable, honey. Believe me, I’d do the same thing if Jungkook refuses to go home at least once a month, unless of course, if he runs off with you.” She remarks in a teasing manner, earning a profuse blush to appear on your cheeks so abruptly.

Since you left home for uni, you actually believe Mrs. Jeon had forgotten about your shared interactions back then. Yet, here she is, still having faith that his son has actual feelings for you. She told you many times that she’d want a daughter like you or, at least, be her in-law. She always regarded it in a playful tone so you used to get mixed signals whether she was really serious or not. But then, you’d say the overused line: “we’re only friends”. She would then give you a knowing look and insisted that she knows her son well. Fortunately for you, she made it a point to only tease you whenever Jungkook was out of earshot.

By the time Jungkook came back a few moments later, you’re already seated in a vacant table at the farthest back. Jungkook occupied the seat next to yours, taking notice of the half-finished food on your plate.

“What time are you leaving?” He asks the moment he plopped down the chair. Your head cocked to the side to meet his gaze.

“Are you trying to make me leave early?” You prompted suspiciously.

He rolls his eyes. “I’m gonna drive you home, idiot.”

“Well, you don’t have to. I can… walk.”

“It’s not like I have a choice.” He mutters under his breath.

Your eyebrows quirked but you spoke no more. He lifted his shoulders in a nonchalant shrug. Did he mean his mom will force him to drop you off at your house just like the old times?

As the night progresses, the small celebration has pumped up with lively cheers from their relatives, incited by the impromptu program prepared by Jungkook’s cousins which was mostly filled with fun games. At some point of the said program, a small commotion on the side of the makeshift platform started to build up. The next thing you know, his cousin, the mastermind behind the entertainment portion of the party, caught yours and Jungkook’s attention when she announced his sudden participation in the program through a performance.

“Our boy Kookie here recently recorded a cover and he’s here to perform the live version and showcase his talent to our dear guests. Everyone, let’s welcome our very own Jeon Jungkook onto the stage!” His cousin enthusiastically says through the microphone. On cue, everyone in the garden, particularly his cousins, roared in earsplitting screams of cheer.

He blinks, completely perplexed. He was not given a heads up prior, much less told that he would perform a song in front of an audience. Hesitant due to his nerves, he backed away subtly just as he reaches the side of the supposed stage. However, his cousin caught up with his attempt and pushed him not too gently toward the platform, and even placed the microphone stand in front of him, giving him no room to say no. The expectant look of his relatives left him no choice but to just— his eyes suddenly caught your figure at the back when you stood up and went to the buffet table.

His heart thuds so hard against his rib cage that he’s afraid everyone can hear it through the mic, including you. He’s sure he’s as white as a paper by now more so that his nerves are getting the worst of him.

That song is not just any song he simply did a cover of. It was the song he meant to sing for you when the right time has come, when he’s ready to pour his heart out to you.

He sucked a deep breath once more, and slowly breathed out once more. Instinctively, his eyes fluttered closed when he heard the music began playing.

Ready or not, it’s now or never.

Do you love the rain? Does it make you dance

When you're drunk with your friends at a party?

At the sound of his voice filling the air of the summer night, you spun back around to face him. That’s how he missed the look on your face just as how you missed the chaotic cheering of his cousins as they piled up to the side of the platform.

What's your favorite song? Does it make you smile?

Do you think of me?

Hearing the beautiful lyrics wholeheartedly sang by Jungkook, the same one who stole your heart a long time ago, you couldn’t control your heart as it started racing so wildly, tiny specs of heat slowly spreading in your chest. Thoughts began to swirl in your mind – giving you the anticipation. The possibility. The potential love affair. That the friendship would develop into something more.

Before the next verse comes, Jungkook peeled his eyes open, however, he didn’t expect to see you awestruck there across his line of vision from the back, and meeting your expressive eyes. If he didn’t know better, he would have mistaken the glint in your eyes for something else.

Maybe just… maybe you like him too.

When you close your eyes

Tell me what are you dreaming?

Everything, I wanna know it all

You look so beautiful. That the thought of you alone could easily make his heartstrings twist so cruelly in his chest. Oh how he wishes you’d let him spoil you the way he’s been dying to. He’d be the luckiest man to ever live to have you as his girlfriend.

Jungkook didn’t know how he managed to put up the courage to return your gaze, never have you looked at him the way your pretty eyes are staring back at him now with the genuine fondness in them. Somehow, as he gets lost to his emotions, he suddenly couldn’t find the strength in him to take his eyes off of you.

I'd spend 10,000 hours and 10,000 more

Oh, if that's what it takes to learn that sweet heart of yours

Butterflies erupt crazily in your stomach, goosebumps start to appear on your skin and your cheeks heat up as he held you captive under his wistful stare. The longingness and the passion they hold, the twinkle of his orbs as his doe-like eyes are digging straight to your soul, what it is all for?

And I might never get there but I'm gonna try

If it's 10,000 hours or the rest of my life

I'm gonna love you

He’s always been a constant figure in your life since the moment you two became friends. He didn’t miss any important celebrations that involves you since then. And even though Jungkook has been vocal about being overprotective of you dating guys he didn’t know, none of you ever tried to address anything remotely related to romantic love. It gave you the temporary relief, because you’ve been pushing your feelings back in the depths of your heart since the moment you realized you’ve fallen in love with him.

You never had the guts to test the theory, but leaving wondering what if… When have you visited the thought, again? You have long disregarded the possibility because you believed he loves you like his sister. Nevertheless, you’re lucky to have met him and be the only constant in your life.

Do you miss the road that you grew up on?

Did you get your middle name from your grandma?

When you think about your forever now

Do you think of me?

Jungkook’s face stretches in a subtle smile, forgetting about his nerves, his sweaty palms and the guests who kept looking back and forth between him and you in curiosity while he seems magnetized at his view. You.

When you close your eyes

Tell me what are you dreaming?

Everything, I wanna know it all

You smiled, recalling the times you two were inseparable. The times he let you cry on his shoulder, when he used to help you sneak out in the middle of the night, be your chaperone, witnessed you getting drunk for the first time in your life and even that one time a senior stole your first kiss. It was the first time you saw Jungkook that angry, beating the shit out of a poor guy two years ahead of us over a single peck. Your memories with him didnt end in high school for he didn’t stop making efforts to see you, regularly visiting you frequent enough that he’d made himself home at your place.

Ooh, want the good and the bad

Everything in between

Ooh, gotta cure my curiosity

In the midst of serenading you, he recollects the memories he shared with you. The day you two were introduced to each other was still as good as new in his memory bank, or the times that you encouraged him to push through to audition to his dream role that you even learned to play his audition piece just so he could practice with you every day after school. His basketball games with you as his personal cheerleader, the times that he couldn’t hide his jealousy when you dated someone else, the immature fights that always led him to drink his heart out as if you two had broken up, and you nursing him back to sobriety. When you two were separated in college, he’d always make a way to bother you whenever he’s drunk and you’d end up going to his place and ceaselessly irk him while he rotted from hangover.

His angelic voice singing the rest of the song lulls you further into your thoughts, gathering each memory like a missing piece in the puzzle. Why didn’t you see all the signs back then? Were you blinded by your then-infatuation over him that you failed to hint his own feelings? He never gave you a reason to make you think he likes you more than a friend nor tried to hide anything from you, right?

Shortly afterwards, you were pulled back into the reality when you hear the cheers of the guests, signaling the end of Jungkook’s performance. Your eyes silently follow him as he sheepishly walk out of the platform, going onto the same path he took before.

Jungkook didn’t meet your gaze as he strutted toward the ice cooler on the side of the buffet table to get a bottle of alcohol which is just a few steps away from you. Twisting open its cap with such urgency, he took a long swig from the bottle to calm his traitor nerves, then pretends to busy himself on the variety of food laid on the table while feeling the weight of your stare on his back. Nervous that you understood the purpose behind his impromptu performance and that your silence was your hint of your rejection to his feelings, he didn’t try to talk it out to you the entire night. Yet, he feigned indifference when he sat on the same chair in the table next to you.

As the rest of the night rolls, the tension undeniably grows in between you two. Yet bearable enough to have you two stay glued on your seats despite the countless times you caught him staring at you, or you at him all throughout the night.

None of you dared break the silence and somehow, along the way, the tension has particularly become unbearable inside the car while he drove you home. Your house was just two blocks away and you bet it would take him faster to get there should he not intentionally slow down his driving with only a hand on a steering wheel while the other rested on the open window of his door as his fingers anxiously pinch his lips.

You chose to break the tension, feeling the need to speak up before your heart bursts out of your chest. And the moment you did, Jungkook coincidentally started to talk too.

“So…”

“About that…”

You met his eyes when your head jerked to the side to peer at him.

“What?” You immediately ask, curious to know what he would want to say after that, his heartfelt singing.

“Uh—“ He drawls, suddenly losing the words he was supposed to utter the second he made an eye contact with you. He shifts his eyes back to the road, feeling himself cower under the weight of your stare.

He clears his throat, putting up a pretense of a courage. “What do you think of... my performance?”

There was a moment of dead air inside before you manage to form an answer. “It was beautiful… I like it. You know I’m in love with y-you– I mean your voice. I love your voice.” You laugh awkwardly, while you’re incoherently screaming in your head at your almost slipped up.

Jungkook’s face flushes and he could already visualize the sudden boost of serotonin in his system hearing the validation he needs the most, the one coming from you. “Thank you.” He mumbles shyly.

It was that moment when the car arrives in front of your house. You shoot him a look, said your thanks and bid him goodbye before you climbed out of the car. You couldn’t deny the disappointment that was rushing so abruptly into you while you pad the distance across the gate of the house. For the nth time, you have hoped for something that was not even real to begin with.

However, your heart jumped out of almost joy when you heard Jungkook’s voice call your name out just as you’re about to close the fence gate.

“What’s up?”

“Okay before I tell you something, do you promise to remain best friends with me if… if you don’t… if somehow… oh god whatever— just promise me!” He panics, making you frown in return.

“I-I promise?” You say in an uncertain tone.

Jungkook held his pinky out.

“Pinky swear?” He prompts. You raise an eyebrow but let him hook your pinky finger with his to seal the promise of a lifetime friendship.

“What is it?” You say in the most gentle way possible. If this is the moment you’ve been dreaming to happen since you were in high school, you have to encourage him to talk before you could stop yourself from advancing to his personal space just to kiss him without any further ado.

“_____I-I tried my best not to… n-not to see you in a different way. But god you’re always making it difficult for me to forget about it when you keep giving me reasons to want things I shouldn’t have–”

“Jungkook–”

“Please, let me finish before my legs give out.”

You chuckle all the while your vision blurs from the moisture in your eyes. The anxiety on his face gradually dissolves into relief when he saw the smile creeping into your face.

“I can’t keep dating anyone and pretending they’re better than you. I’m an idiot, I know. But it’s always been you, ______. It’s you that I want and I can’t possibly live this life without you–“ You didn’t let him finish when he finally said the words you have longed to hear for years. You lean in to touch his soft, inviting lips with your own.

Jungkook staggered back at the suddenness of your move. Once he had recovered from shock, he cupped your jaw to deepen the kiss. He sighed against your supple lips. And for the first time since he has nurtured his feelings for you, the weight in his chest has been lifted off, replacing it with warmth and relief that only you could bring in his longing heart.

*unedited

#jungkook x reader #jungkook fluff #bayanihanboost #paralumanplaylist #btsguild #goldenclosetnet #btswritingcafe #bangtanarmynet #btsbookclub #cypherwritersnet #jungkook imagines #jungkook scenarios #jungkook fanfic #jungkook drabble #friends to lovers trope

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theycallmebeccawrites · 4 years ago

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Chris & Ellie Series: Episode 22

Hello my lovelies! I hope you guys are doing as well as you can in 2020. As many of you know, I am in Oregon and I’m kind of in the middle of all the fires. Thankfully, myself and my family are safe. A handful had to evacuate, but they were able to do so and only one family member lost their house to the fires. But we were lucky, because we have several towns that were essentially destroyed by the fires and we know lives were lost, but we still don’t know the full numbers. So it has been a stressful 10 days in Oregon on top of everything we’ve dealt with in regards to Covid.

All the said, here I am with another Chris and Ellie episode for you guys. And it’s only been a couple weeks since my last update, too. And if you follow my main tumblr, you might have seen my post last night about getting a lot of writing done lately. I’m hoping to have more updates for you guys in the coming weeks/months. Don’t want to say too much... cause you don’t want to tempt 2020...*knock on wood*

Enough of my yapping... enjoy the episode!

Shout to @nomadicpixel @heather-lynn @alievans007 and @mrs-captain-evans for their assistance as always :)

Pairing: Chris Evans x Ellie Spencer (OFC)

Rating: PG

Warnings: n/a

Episode Summary: Ellie has finally found a new place to live

Disclaimer: This work of fiction is not to be reposted, used or translated without my permission.

This episode can also be read on AO3.

The Chris & Ellie Series Masterlist | Chris & Ellie Masterlist

Episode 21.5

Episode 22: Home Sweet Home

July 25, 2014

Ellie sat at the table in the breakroom at the bookstore, once again looking for an apartment in the Los Angeles area, but not finding anything. Sighing, she rubbed her temples.

"You're moving?" her coworker Adrianna asked, looking over her shoulder.

"Trying to," Ellie replied with a shrug. "Not having any luck."

"I thought you were living with a guy," Adrianna said.

"I was," Ellie answered, hesitantly. "It didn't work out."

Adrianna nodded her head sympathetically. "Guys these days are the worst," she commiserated.

Before Ellie could do more than nod in silent agreement, a voice called from the shop and Adrianna left the breakroom.

"So things didn't work out with you and the actor then?" Her boss Veronica said from the doorway to her office.

Ellie shook her head as she turned to look at her.

"I dated an actor once," Veronica said as she sat down at the table next to Ellie. "Worst decision of my life. They're too self-centered."

Even after everything that she had been through with Chris, Ellie couldn't stomach the idea of bad mouthing him. Even to someone who would never meet him. "My current dilemma is that I can't find a place to move that's in my budget and will let me keep my dog," she told Veronica. "I'm even considering moving back home to Oregon."

Veronica frowned and said, "Why didn't you say something sooner? I know a place."

"You know a place?" Ellie repeated. "Where?"

"Here," Veronica said, nodding her head towards the ceiling. "Or rather, upstairs."

"But that's your apartment," Ellie replied, confused.

"There is a studio apartment on the floor between the shop and my apartment," Veronica told her. "It's a three-story building, you know."

"I knew that, but I thought the second floor was just storage," Ellie said, gesturing to the stairs that led up to the second floor. She’d only been up there a handful of times to help bring down decorations.

"It only takes up part of the second floor," Veronica told her. "Come with me. It's been a couple months since anyone has stayed there, but if you want it, it's yours."

Standing up, Ellie followed Veronica towards the back entrance of the shop, but instead of going outside into the alley, Veronica opened a door that led upstairs to what Ellie had thought was Veronica's private residence. They climbed the first flight of stairs and at the top of the landing was a door.

Veronica unlocked it and pushed it open, stepping inside before gesturing Ellie into the apartment. "I keep it cleaned and partially furnished," Veronica explained. "You never know when someone needs a place to stay for a couple nights." She smiled at Ellie. "Or a new place to start over after a breakup." She held out her keys and said, "Take a look around and lock up when you're done."

"Thanks, Veronica," Ellie said, trying to keep her bubbling emotions at bay. Less than five minutes ago, she'd been virtually homeless with no idea of where she'd be living. Now, her mind was trying to wrap itself around the sudden change of events. Added with the emotional fatigue of her weeks of searching and the post Chris stuff, her emotions were lingering just below the surface.

Once Veronica had gone downstairs, Ellie felt tears start to well up in her eyes. She brushed away the ones that dropped as she looked around the small, studio apartment. From the looks of it, it was slightly bigger than the guest house she and Daisy were currently living in. The living room area already had a floral-patterned loveseat along one wall and the kitchen opposite it had a breakfast bar with a couple barstools so she wouldn't need a table.

Going farther into the apartment, Ellie opened the one door in the entire place and found a bathroom that even had a bathtub in it. It was nothing like the bathtub in Chris's master suite or as deep as the one in the guesthouse, but it was a bathtub.

Leaving the bathroom, Ellie went behind the wall that separated the bedroom area from the rest of the apartment, finding a queen size bed with a mattress that looked practically brand new. On the back wall of the bedroom area, there was a small closet. It was smaller than that in the guest house, but there was room for a dresser and she could always store things under her bed.

She chewed on her lower lip as she made her way back to the living room portion. It seemed like the perfect place for her, even her gut was telling her it was a good idea. But after everything that had happened with Chris, she wasn't sure she could trust her own thoughts and feelings just yet.

Knowing Scott was on set that day, she sent him a text, asking if he could stop at the bookstore before he went home. He replied almost immediately, saying he would.

Going back downstairs, Ellie knocked on Veronica's door.

"What do you think?" Veronica asked as she accepted the keys from Ellie.

"It's nice," Ellie replied. "But are you sure you're ok with me having a dog up there?"

"Normally, I don't allow pets," Veronica told her. "But for you, I will make an exception."

"Do I have to give you an answer right now?" Ellie asked. "My friend Scott has been helping me look and I want him to see it before I make a decision."

"Take all the time you need," Veronica told her. Then she took the key to the apartment off the keychain and handed it to Ellie. "You already have a key to get into the building through the alley. Once you decide whether you're going to take it, we'll sit down and talk about money. I own the building, so we'll come to an agreement that works best for your budget."

"Thank you," Ellie replied, feeling her eyes pooling with tears again. "Excuse me."

Leaving Veronica's office, she slipped into the employees’ bathroom and took a few minutes to compose herself before she returned to work.

When Scott got to the shop, a few hours later, Ellie was clocked out for the day and waiting for him to get there.

After instructing him to use the alley entrance, she met him at the back door and led him up to the apartment. As she led him inside, she felt even more confident that this was the right choice. She just hoped Scott would agree.

Scott was silent as he checked out the small place. He knew that she was waiting for his approval, he could see her twisting her hands as she waited for him to say something. If he was being honest with himself, a part of him didn't want to give it to her because that meant she would move out. At the same time, he remembered how carefree she'd looked and acted when they'd taken her away for the weekend and how that had vanished the second they'd returned home.

"It comes furnished?" he asked her.

"Partially, what's here stays," Ellie replied. "And Veronica said that Daisy isn't a problem. And since I'll be right downstairs, I can let her out during the day, too."

"Can't beat the commute," he said with a small smile that was more for her benefit than because he felt like smiling. Changing the topic, he pointed at the couch. "That though…"

"It's ugly I know," Ellie said with a small laugh. "But maybe I can buy a slipcover and make it my own." As she started to imagine making the small apartment her own, she felt her palms start to get sweaty. Turning to Scott, she asked, "Am I making the right decision? Moving out?"

Scott wanted to say no, but he wouldn't lie to her. "Yes, you are," he said and held out his arms. She came to him and he wrapped his arms around her. "You're making a smart choice for you, Ellie. And as much as I'm going to miss having you for a roommate, I'm proud of you."

"You can come over whenever you want," Ellie told him.

After Scott left, Ellie went downstairs to talk to Veronica about taking the apartment. They quickly and easily agreed to terms with Veronica promising to have paperwork for Ellie to sign the next afternoon. Meaning that Ellie would be able to move in that weekend.

As Ellie drove back to Chris's house, she started to create mental lists of everything she needed to do before she moved. When she got to the house, she found that Scott had already let Daisy out and had ordered dinner for the both of them.

The next day, Ellie spent the morning working in the guesthouse, packing up her things. After lunch, she drove to the bookstore to sign the rental agreement as well as take measurements of the apartment.

When she got back from her errands, Scott was home and volunteered to take care of dinner again. Aka order in.

It wasn't until after they'd eaten and were in the guesthouse packing up the rest of her stuff that he dropped a bombshell. "I can't help you tomorrow," he revealed. "We ran into some technical issues on set today and tomorrow is the last day that we have access to the property."

Before she could even wonder how she was going to move without his help, he added, "But I've already talked to Pierre. He is available to help and he said he wouldn't take no for an answer."

"You could have started with that instead of trying to give me a heart attack," Ellie muttered as she threw a pillow at him from her bed.

"Sorry!" Scott said with a laugh.

It took them another hour to finish packing her stuff and when they were finished, there was barely any room to walk in the guesthouse.

"I hadn't realized how much stuff I had accumulated," Ellie muttered as she surveyed the boxes. "And I don't even know what I'm going to do with my boxes in the basement. My new place is a little bigger, but not that much."

"You can leave those boxes here," Scott told her. "You don't have to move everything."

"That's not really your say is it?" Ellie responded, her eyebrow raised.

"No, but we both know Chris would say the same thing," Scott insisted, crossing his arms over his chest. "He wouldn't want you to spend extra money to store stuff when he has space he isn't using here. Besides, I'm living here and it's not like you won't be coming over regularly to take care of stuff here."

"True," Ellie replied, all the while knowing that there was no reason for her to keep coming to the house while Scott was living there. That was a whole different can of worms that she didn't have the energy to think about right now.

By the time she went to bed, most of her things were packed and ready for the morning. She and Scott had carried most of the boxes up to the big house and had stacked them in the hallway. She had also touched base with Pierre and he had offered to pick up and tow the trailer she had rented since his car had a trailer hitch on it.

The next morning, after Scott left, Ellie packed her last minute stuff. Including the box she had purposely kept out of his sight the day before. Pulling it out from under her bed, she set it on top of the comforter and stared down at the gifts Chris had given her and the mementos she'd kept from their short relationship, including her ticket to the World Series game where she and Chris had had their first kiss.

She found herself studying and remembering each item as she sorted through the shoe box. She wasn't ready to part with any of the mementos, but at the same time, she also knew that in order to get over Chris, she couldn't have them with her in her new apartment. Instead, she carried the box to the basement to leave with other boxes she was leaving behind.

Scott had been right, she knew. Chris would have insisted that she keep her boxes here instead of renting a storage unit for them. She set the box of memories on top of the others and brushed away a tear that had rolled down her cheek. She hadn't realized how hard it would be to say goodbye to the guest house.

Hearing her phone ding, Ellie looked at it and saw that Pierre had arrived and was waiting for her outside. While the bookstore was open, they were going to run errands before they went to get the trailer. Then, when the bookstore closed for the day, they'd do the actual moving of her stuff.

With so much on her mind with the move, her physical and mental checklists, Ellie was able to focus on everything but her emotions. But after lunch, when she and Pierre were back at the house and loading the last of her stuff into the trailer, she felt her resolve start to slip.

With every box they loaded, she got closer and closer to saying goodbye to the place that had been her home for the last year and a half. She tried to blink back her tears, but they fell anyway. Not wanting Pierre to see, she tried to turn her face away, but she wasn't quick enough.

"Oh, Ellie," he said, his tone one of empathy as he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close.

She buried her face into his chest and sobbed.

Pierre rubbed her back and let her cry, knowing it was exactly what she needed to do. This was the first step in closing the door that had been her life with Chris.

"I'm sorry," Ellie said, a moment later, sniffling. "I got snot on your shirt. That's disgusting."

"It's ok," Pierre assured her with a gentle smile. "I have a washing machine."

He meant it as a joke, in hopes she'd laugh, but she only gave him a small, feeble smile in response.

"I need to do another quick check of the guest house," she told him as she used her hands to dry her face. "And then we can go."

"I'll wait out here for you," Pierre said, knowing she needed a couple minutes to compose herself.

Going into the house, Ellie went into the bathroom and splashed some water on her face. Then she went back out to the guest house for one last look. She'd have to do the actual cleaning of it another day, but all her personal items were gone. All that remained were the furnishings.

Grabbing her purse and Daisy's leash, she called the dog and then locked up as she made her way out of the house. She loaded Daisy into her crate in the backseat of her car and said, "We're off on a new adventure, Daisy girl, just you and me."

With the bookstore closed for the day, Ellie expected to find the place deserted. Instead, she found her coworkers waiting in the breakroom.

"We stayed to help you move in," Adrianna told her. "We figured more hands would be helpful."

Ellie hugged her and then hugged her other two coworkers, Raven and Joanne. "You guys are the best," she said.

In the end, Ellie ended up being in the apartment with Daisy while the others passed boxes from the trailer and up the stairs. Between the five of them, it took less than an hour to get all her stuff into the apartment.

After that, her coworkers had to leave, but Pierre stayed for another hour to help her unpack before he too had to leave.

"Thanks for all your help today," Ellie told him as she followed him down the stairs. "I couldn't have done this without you."

"You're welcome," Pierre said and gave her a hug. "See you later. Lock the door behind me."

Ellie did and then made her way upstairs to where Daisy had already made herself comfortable on the couch.

"It's just us now, Daisy girl," Ellie said, scratching the dog's head. "Now what to unpack next?"

Deciding to focus on her bedroom, Ellie made her way around the wall and opened a box only to find the Donald Duck stuffed animal Chris had gotten her in Disney World sitting at the very top. She'd seen Scott pack it the night before when he'd been clearing off one of her bookshelves, but she hadn't had the heart to tell him not to pack it.

Picking it up, she studied it as she remembered the conversation that had led to Chris buying it for her. It had been almost a year ago and they'd been on their way to the wedding of one of his close friends. She'd thrown out a random Oregon Duck related fact, about how Puddles, the Ducks mascot, was basically Donald Duck. Chris had remembered that conversation and had sent him to her.

As she debated what to do with Donald, her phone rang. Picking it up, she saw that it was Tanya Kelley, the wife of one of Chris's friends, calling.

Glancing at Donald and then back at her phone, she answered it, all the while wondering if she'd accidentally awoken some secret Disney magic with her memories. "Hello?"

"Ellie!" Tanya's friendly voice rang through. "How are you?"

"I'm good," Ellie replied, hesitantly. "How are you?"

"I'm good," Tanya said. "Hey! I'm calling because we're working on the final head count for Tessa's baby shower next week and I noticed that we hadn't heard back from you, so I just wanted to check in."

Ellie cringed and looked at Daisy, who had followed her into the bedroom. She'd received the invitation but given the circumstances hadn't felt right accepting and had put off responding not wanting to ruffle any feathers. She'd hoped they'd just assume she never received it, but clearly that wasn't the case.

"I'm not going to be able to make it," she told Tanya. Then sighed as the guilt of lying to Tanya, who had been nothing but friendly to her, quickly got to her. "No, that's a lie. Sorry, Tanya. The truth is Chris and I... We broke up. And given his close friendship with your husband and the other guys... I didn't think it would be right for me to come."

Tanya was silent for a moment before she said, "We didn't like you just because you were with Chris. We like you because of who you are, Ellie."

"I know, but it complicates things," Ellie sighed, shaking her head. "Especially for… well the... future." In her head, she knew the future meant Chris's future relationships and eventually, a wife, but she couldn't say those words aloud.

"I suppose you're right," Tanya conceded with a sigh. "I don't have to like it though. And, for the record, I already don't like the future."

Not expecting that, Ellie laughed and realized that for the first time in a long time, it felt really good to laugh. Then she did something she hadn't planned to do when she'd answered the phone. She told Tanya that she moved and promised to text her new address. She even answered a few of Tanya's questions about the breakup but didn't go into too much detail.

"Take care of yourself, Ellie," Tanya said as they started to say their goodbyes. "Chris is a dumbass for letting you go."

After hanging up, Ellie looked down at the Donald Duck stuffed animal and decided that she wasn't ready to part with all the memories she and Chris had together. Picking it up, she carried it out to the living room and set it down on the back of the couch, with the wall propping it up, where it would be out of the way until she and Scott could build her new bookshelves.

Episode 22.5

Want to find me off tumblr? I'm @beccatheycallme on twitter. I also post my stories on AO3.

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avocadogirl216 · 4 years ago

Text

Sparkling Blue

AN: This was requested by lizzz47 on Wattpad. I’m so sorry that this took forever to come out and I am sorry if it is crap.

Summary: While your brothers and yourself are looking for Jack, you run into Clark Barker, who you can’t help but feel attracted to.

Pairings: Dean Winchester x sister!reader, Sam Winchester x sister!reader, Jack Kline x reader, Clark Barker x reader

Warnings: Flirting (Is that a warning?), Violence, Fluff, Underage Smoking, Language, Depressed Reader, Kissing

Word Count: 3,263

(I do not own this GIF)

You groan as you wake up on the floor of the nursery. You sit up and immediately try to find your brothers. Sam and Dean were a couple of feet away from you, also starting to gain consciousness.

“What the hell happened?” Sam asked as he started to stand on his freakishly sized legs.

“The kid. That’s what.” Dean said as he followed suit of his younger brother.

“Are you guys okay?” You asked as you started to look over yourself for any injuries.

“Other than the skull splitting headache, I’m freaking fantastic.” Dean replied in a sarcastic tone as he made is way over to you and extended his hand. You put your small hand into his large one and he hoisted you up onto your feet. “We need to find that kid.” Dean stated as he found his gun on the floor and holstered it into the back of his jeans.

“Yeah, but how?” Sam asked.

“He couldn’t have gone far.” You stated.

“Unless he can teleport.” Dean replied back while running his hand down his face in a frustrated matter.

“Well let’s think of the smaller picture right now. Okay?”

“Fine.” Dean grumbled.

“Let’s say that Jack can’t teleport, the next best thing for him is to walk. So we can look around town and ask of they have seen him.”

“Yeah, lets just go around town asking if anyone has seen a naked newborn nephilim. Good plan.” Dean said as he started to make his way out of the house.

You and Sam shared a look. You just lost Mary and Cas all in the same hour and now Jack, who possibly has the power to end all of humanity with the snap of his fingers, is roaming Chuck’s green earth. You understand why Dean is pissed, hell you were just as pissed as him, if not more. Every time you seem to catch a break, something happens, proving to you that you can’t be happy. As you and Sam made your way out of the house, Dean has already started the car and was waiting on you.

After 20 minutes of driving towards town, you spot a burger place on the side of the road. As Dean pulls in, you and Sam both volunteer to ask the people inside if they have in fact, seen a naked newborn nephilim.

When you walk in, Sam immediately goes to the counter, which is occupied by a clearly drunk woman who was moaning for fries. You start to look around the small burger place with way too much pirate themed decor. You look at the menu screen to see that all of the menu items were changed to where their names had butt in them.

Immature

“I want fries.” The woman demanded yet again while setting her high heels on the counter.

“Lady, I’ve already told you, I can’t give you any fries before lunch. Rules are rules.” The kid said in a annoyed tone. He couldn’t have been older than you, 16.

“Screw the rules. I’m outta here.” The woman moaned as she stumbled out of the burger joint.

You and Sam approached the counter.

“Welcome to Pirate Pete’s Jolly Treats! What would you like today?” The kid asked, his mood already improving since the drunk woman left.

“Umm we won’t be ordering anything. We’re actually looking for someone. A kid, around 17, not exactly clothed.” You said.

The boys eyes widened. “Yeah I know who you’re talking about. He stopped here asking about his father or something and Clark called his mom, who is the sheriff and she came and picked him up.” He explained.

“Oh okay. Could you point us in the direction of the police station please?” You asked kindly.

“Uh yeah, sure. If you take the main road through town and turn on Greenly Avenue, its just on your right.” The boy explained.

“Thank you.” Sam said as you two made your way out the door.

Once you got on the car with Dean, Sam repeated the directions to the police station and you made your way there. It took about 10 minutes before you pulled into the parking lot of the small station. As everyone made their way out of the car, you all started to walk towards the front door with caution. When Dean opened the door for you and Sam you could immediately tell that something was wrong. The lights were flickering like crazy and the floor was vibrating. You pulled out your gun along with your brothers and you started to make your way towards the voices in the office portion of the station.

When you entered the room you could see three people, a woman who was obviously the sheriff, a teen boy with a red jacket and Jack whose eyes were glowing a vibrant gold, clearly angry. You needed to take Jack down before he hurts anyone, so you made a quick decision. You ran to the sheriff and stole her taser out of her belt, which got you a confused look, and you shot it at Jack.

Jack hit the floor with a thud, clearly unconscious. You handed the sheriff the taser back and holstered your gun in the waistband of your jeans. The teen boy gave you an impressed and shocked look.

“Dude!” He exclaimed while raising his eyebrows.

“Who the hell are you?” The woman asked, confusion written on her face.

“We’re the ones who just saved your ass.” Dean replied.

The sheriff looked between you, your brothers and Jack on the floor. “Umm, what just happened?” She asked.

“Look, we can explain everything but right now we need to get him to a jail cell for your safety and ours.” Sam explained.

“Fine, but after we are going to have ourselves a nice, long chat about what the hell is going on.” The sheriff said.

After Sam and Dean both carried Jack into a cell, they were lead into a large office. “Don’t go anywhere.” Dean said to you before walking in.

“Yeah, yeah I get it.” You said as you leaned against a desk.

Once the door to the office was closed, the teen boy looked at you again, awe still in his eyes. He was attractive. He had slick, black hair that was almost as long as Sam’s but was curly at the ends, blinding white teeth and sparkling blue eyes.

“Who are you? Like some superhero or something?” He asked.

“My name’s Y/N and I am a hunter, which is almost like a superhero if you think about it.” You said as you crossed your arms across your chest.

“Cool. I’m Clark.” Clark said while a smile growing onto his face.

You returned the smile as best as you could, which turned out to be a depressing grin. Clark noticed this.

“Hey, you okay?” He asked while tilting his head.

“Yeah, yeah. It’s just...” You sighed while looking at the floor. “Things haven’t exactly gone great for me lately.” You said sadly.

There was a moment of silence before Clark spoke. “I know something that might help.” He said with a mischievous smirk playing onto his lips.

You shot him a questioning look. Clark grabbed your hand and started to lead you to the back door of the building. When you made it outside, Clark put a fruit basket in the doorway, preventing you two from getting locked outside. He then reached into his bright red jacket and brought out a pack of cigarettes. You raised your eyebrows at him.

“You ever smoked before?” He asked as he started to pull a cigarette out of the box.

“No, not really.” You said in a shy tone.

“Wanna try?” Clark asked as he held one out to you. “It’ll calm your nerves.”

You hesitated.

“Hey, I’m not pressuring you or anything. You don’t have to do it if you don’t want to. I just thought that it would help you calm down a little.” Clark explained.

You bit your lip before taking it out of his hand. Clark gave you a wide smile as he pulled one out for him and took out a lighter.

“Ladies first.” Clark said while winking at you and lighting your cigarette at the same time. You blushed a little while feeling fluttery in your stomach. When he lit his stick, he started to talk again. “All you do is bring it to your lips and inhale and after a little bit you exhale, like this.” He said as he took a drag from his cigarette. After a few seconds he blew the smoke out of his lungs and into the air. “You think you got it?” He asked while raising his eyebrows.

“I think so.” You said. You copied his movements and followed his instructions carefully and inhaled from a cigarette for the first time. There was a burning sensation in your throat and in your lungs. You immediately started to cough and choke on the smoke. Clark quickly made his way over to you and put a hand on your back, rubbing reassuring circles.

“Yeah, I forgot to warn you, the first drag is a bitch. But it will get better, trust me.” Clark said once you started to breath normally, his hand never leaving your back.

“It’s okay.” You said as you started to wipe your eyes of tears that were starting to form involuntarily.

After a minute you stand up straight again and catch your breath. You notice that Clark's hand still hasn't left the small of your back and you give him a questioning look. Once he gets the message, he retracts his hand and puts it to his side as he clears his throat.

"So.... You good?" He asked, clearly trying to clear the awkwardness from the air.

"Yeah, I'm good." You said as you took another drag from your cigarette, noting that it went down easier than the last time.

Clark gave you an impressed look while copying your actions. After a couple of minutes of comfortable silence, he decided to speak. "So, your job is to what? Control people with super powers?"

"Kinda. I hunt the things that lurk in the dark."

"Like ghosts and vampires and stuff?" Clark asked with a chuckle. You have him a serious look, confirming his question. His eyes widened in realization. "Wait, you're serious? Those things are real?"

"Yep". You said as you looked away from his face and took another lung full of smoke.

"Damn. That makes you like ten times more attractive." Clarke said. Your eyes widened as blush made its way to your face and neck. Clark noticed this and smirked, which made your stomach fluttery.

You cleared your throat, trying to think of something to say. As you were looking around, you noticed that Clark was wearing a Pirate Pete uniform under his red jacket. “So, you work at Pirate Pete's?” You asked.

Clark looked down at himself, seeming to notice the stupid costume that he was still wearing. “Yeah, my mom made me get a job there since I kept getting into trouble.” He stated. “Like that would work, I make my own trouble.” Clark said as he stomped out his cigarette.

“Were you the one who changed the menu earlier today?”

“Yeah.” He said. “Not my finest work, I’m better at other things.”

“Oh yeah? Like what?” You asked as you threw your cigarette down and stomped it out with the heel of your boot.

“Wouldn’t you like to know.” He said while wiggling his eyebrows at you.

A small smile made its way to your face.

Clark’s smile widened while stepping closer to you. “Maybe I can show you some of my talents later, huh?” He asked.

“I would but people who get close to me seem to get hurt or worse. I think that you’re a nice guy and all but I just don’t want you to get hurt because of me.” You said, refusing to meet his gaze.

“Hey I get it. I just thought that I would shoot my shot, its not everyday that I meet a superhero.” Clark said as he leaned against the wall behind him.

Before you could say anything else, you heard a foot steps approaching. You whipped your head up as you saw three people, the woman from the burger joint who apparently wasn’t drunk anymore, a man and a woman, both of whom you didn’t recognize.

“Well well, if it isn’t the youngest Winchester.” The not-so-drunk woman said as she started to pull out her angel blade.

You took out your own blade as you stood in front of Clark, swearing to yourself that you would protect him as much as you could against these dicks that called themselves angels.

“Aww, young love, adorable.” The woman sneered as she started to step closer to the two of you.

“Clark, run.” You said as you met his wide, fear filled eyes.

Clark made a break for it to the back door of the station but the angels were faster. The man grabbed him and held his blade to Clark’s throat, nearly breaking his skin.

“You seriously didn’t think that would work, did you?”

“Doesn’t hurt to try.” You said but before you could make another move, the other female angel came up behind you, knocked the angel blade out of your hand and held her own blade against your throat. You held up your hands in surrender, seeing that there was no way to get the upper hand without getting your throat slit.

The angels seemed to share a silent conversation with each other and after a couple of seconds, the lead angel opened the back door and lead the way into the building. You were lead into the office sector of the police station along with Clark.

“Anybody home?” The lead angel called out. Shortly after Dean and the sheriff came out of the small office. You noticed that Sam did not exit the office along with his brother and the cop which meant that he was more than likely in the jail cell. When Dean took in the scene before him his eyes widened double their size. Sheriff Barker drew her gun on the angel holding her son hostage, not knowing that it would do nothing to him.

“Hey Deano. Care for a chat?” The woman asked.

Dean pulled out an angel blade that he had hidden in his jacket, anger showing in his forest green eyes. “Let them go.” He commanded.

“What’s the fun in that?” The lead woman asked.

“I won’t ask again.” Dean said in a deadly tone.

“You won’t have to, all that I want is the nephilim. Give him to us and these two will walk out of here without a scratch. I promise.”

“Why should I trust you?” Dean asked.

“I never asked you to. Just give us what we want and everyone walks away happily.”

You watched as Dean considered taking the offer.

“Dean I know what you are thinking. Don’t do it.” You said.

“Shut up.” The angel who was holding you captive said as she pressed the blade deeper into your neck, drawing blood.

“Maybe we can work something out. Just let them go and we can talk.” Sheriff Barker said, putting her gun back into its holster and putting her hands up in surrender.

The lead angel scoffed. “You humans don’t get it do you? If that abomination walks the earth, that can be the end of all life. We are trying to help.”

“Then that’s a risk that I am willing to take.” Dean said, giving you a signal to get ready. You quickly gave one back saying that you already were. Before the angels could register what was happening, Dean aimed and threw his blade at the head of the angel who was holding you. As the blade went through her skull and killed her, you quickly grabbed the blade that was being held at your throat. You make your way over to Clark and attacked the angel who was holding him. You stopped the angel just before he could stab Clark in the neck. You took the blade out of his hand, throw it towards Dean and you stab the angel square in the chest. Dean gets the upper hand and kills the lead angel in one quick movement, catching her off guard.

You make your way over to Clark.

“Hey, you okay?” You asked as you stashed the blade into your jacket.

“Not really.” Clark responded with fear in his voice. “I almost died.”

“But you didn’t.” You assured him while putting a hand on his shoulder. “That’s what matters.”

“Yeah.” He said while putting his shaking hands into his jacket pockets.

Sheriff Barker made her way over to the two of you, looking over Clark to make sure that he was okay. As they started to talk to each other, you walked towards Dean, preparing yourself for the lecture that he was going to give you.

When you eventually got to him, you crossed your arms and looked at the floor, avoiding Dean’s gaze.

“Y/N, look at me.” Dean commanded. You sighed, lifting your head to look at your oldest brothers face. “Are you okay?” Dean asked, anger melting from his eyes.

You were taken back by his question but you quickly get yourself together. “Yeah.” You answered.

“Good.” Was all that Dean said before he started to walk towards the jail sector of the station. You quickly followed. When the two of you got there, you saw that Sam and Jack were in the same cell. You shot a look to Sam, silently asking if he was okay. He gave you a single nod before standing up with Jack and walking to the cell door.

“What happened?” Sam asked Dean.

“I’ll tell you about it later.” Was all that Dean said before opening the cell door and letting your brother and Jack out. “We need to get out of here. The sheriff called for backup and they can be here any minute.” Dean explained.

Dean started to lead the way out of the station but you were quickly stopped by your name being called.

“Y/N.” Clark said, beckoning you to come over to him.

“I’ll catch up.” You told Sam, making your way over to Clark.

“So, this is it huh?” Clark asked with a sad smile.

“Yeah, I guess it is.” You said while sharing his expression.

“Well, there is one thing that I want to do before you leave.”

“And what would that be?”

“This.” He said before leaning in and pressing his lips to yours. Butterflies were fluttering in your stomach as you kissed him back with as much passion as you could muster up at that moment. You two kissed each other for what felt like eternity before you broke the kiss.

Your eyes met his with love and wonder. “Wow. You weren’t kidding when you said that you were an expert in other areas.”

He threw his head back, chuckling. After a moment, he calmed down and met your eyes again. “Guess not.” He said.

There was a moment of comfortable silence before you spoke. “Goodbye Clark.”

“Bye Y/N.” He said back with a smile.

You returned the smile before turning around and walking out of the station and towards the impala. As you climbed into the backseat beside Jack, you couldn’t help but hope that you would run into Clark Barker again.

#spn #supernatural #fanfic #reader insert #dean winchester x siser!reader #sam winchester x sister!reader #clark barker x reader #request #kissing #flirting #fluff

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nyanzaya · 3 years ago

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Ok so I had a REALLY weird dream recently so I’ll send this first ask as like the set up because it’s rlly long. 1/2?

(This involves Neko!Izaya so I thought you’d like to hear about it first) So background information first; for some reason I’m like “piloting” Izayas body. I’m making his decisions sort of??? I only found out when I walked past a mirror and everyone kept referring to me as Izaya (Prolly because I lined him back in middle school lol) and the fact that the other characters CLEARLY did not like the fact that I was still breathing. There’s a lot to unpack so I’m gonna be formatting this in a bulletin point way that’s in chronological order.

- So Izaya and a BUNCH of other DRRR!!characters are staying in this weird group of cabins in the shape of an upside down U, with a road heading into town. Starts off as a dirt/gravel road that goes into pavement. You know the ones.

- So Izaya/I am staying in this cabin building at the very end of the U on the left side. (Since this U kinda warps around the road into town) Across the road is one of the main “Bathrooms”. It’s got the showers while each cabin has like one of its own bathrooms. (This has meaning I promise)

- Within the cabin Izaya/I am staying in there’s at least three rooms. Shinra was in the next door over, while Shingen was in the room at the end of the hall. I saw him go back there once and never saw him a again for the duration of the dream. (So we’ll just call this the Kishitani cabin)

- The bathrooms across the road from The Kishitani cabin is shared with the neighboring cabin. The neighboring cabin was MUCH bigger but also had more people in it. So there was two to a room there, while in The Kishitani cabin we each got our own room. (Which when I first found this out the first thing that came to mind was “what a bunch of losers” lol)

- Shizuo Heiwajima was a resident in the neighboring cabin. Which means we have to share a bathroom w/ him :) (this is actually very unfortunate later on) His cabin contains the Van Gang (didn’t see a lot of them only glimpses), as well as Namie, her brother, and his gf Mika. I had a feeling that Namie was supposed to be staying in the Kishitani cabin, but left because,,,,, brother,,, ig)

- Nobody knows about Neko!Izaya yet, only Shinra and Shingen. And Izaya is hiding as a human VERY well (for now). We get kinda Fucked Up™️ later on too.

A finishing side note for now is that the weather outside is fucking FREEZING. There’s snow and ice slush everywhere, and the air is that really dry cold that burns your nose and lungs when you breathe. There would also be these gusts of really cold wind that would freeze the sides of the pine trees, so there wasn’t snow on TOP of them bist there was snow plastered to the SIDE of them. So right now we’re stuck in cold winter hellscape. Also I don’t know where Celty is, but Shinra had left to “go handle something” or whatever so he was gone for a good portion of time too.

Part 2/4? (This is way longer than expected.)

Mornings sucked because if you left the cabin you would almost definitely start freezing to death. Considering that, We just poked around our room for a bit and found nothing of interest. So it’s around midday now which means that the sun is out in full force and the outside is somewhat bearable, so why not go exploring right?? It can’t possibly lead to something catastrophic that would eventually put us at the brink of death.

- First place we go is to the “Bathrooms” across the little dirt road. As soon as we step through the door you just KNOW that Shizuo had been there previously and he was Mad™️. There was glass all over the floor from one of the broken shower doors, and it looked like someone did a very half asses job at cleaning up said glass.

- Enter: Namie. She apparently had the same idea and was wandering through the showers section of the Bathrooms as well, she had at least one other girl with her but I don’t remember who it was. Namie was also “talking” to me but it was more of just her trying to bicker. Clearly not liking that we had the same idea. So I eventually leave and go back to my cabin. I just remember wanting to avoid the other characters, because avoiding them meant avoiding unwanted conflict.

- I want to say this is the first night in this cabin, but at the same time it was like this had been playing out long before my weird dream had even started. So this is probably like the third or fourth night, and we were clearly avoiding a conflict that I was not present for.

- Middle of the night We hear thumping from down the hallway that works it’s way to my bedroom door. I initially think it’s Shinra walking around but that thought is quickly snuffed out.

- The man who opened the bedroom door was tall as hell and was clearly here for us. The man is having a hard time holding himself together, literally. Eventually his human persona wears off and we’re left having a showdown between us and this man made of GLASS. And this glass is SHARP. While trying to fight off the faceless glass demon/general asshole we “die”, he got the better of us and stabs us through the hand and a few other places. I just remember the hand being the most memorable. Close quarters combat with him is not the way to play this.

- We come to about a kilometer out from the U of cabins, at night, in the freezing cold, buried in the snow like a shallow grave, and still bleeding. Between the gusts of wind you could hear something moving around, and so we knew we had to get back inside STAT.

- Now at this point in time there was no need to keep up the human disguise, so we just didn’t. Enter: Neko!Izaya

Part ¾

We get back to the cabin and the room is a disaster. The bed is skewed and the suitcase of stuff I had is nowhere to be seen. The floorboards are cracked too, and we can see something shining under them.

- We pull back the floorboards, or at least what’s left of them, and pull up a giant steel box. In said box was a pair of thick leather gloves, with sharp nails on the end, a note, and a small map of the region we were in. On the small map was several other little squares which I assumed would be more boxes like the one we just found. (The gloves also helped keep our hands from freezing up which was nice)

- The front door and our bedroom door were broken and would no longer lock so there was no point in staying. No one else seemed to be around either so we just assumed that we were in this alone and needed to kill this thing before it killed us, and maybe someone else. (I also think Izayas sisters were there at the cabins, because I remember that being a pretty motivating factor.)

- After a lot of running we come across some buildings and fences, which looked like a Zoo. Zoos need caretakers, and caretakers were people, and people meant help. So we get onto one of the main roads of the “Zoo” and immediately something is wrong.

- Dawn is breaking and there is still no one in sight. On top of that none of the animals look right. Everything was very much uncanny valley. None of the animals looked like animals, and they were all hyper aggressive. Even the ones that seemed like they were supposed to be harmless.

- So far there seems to be no signs of people, but the farther back we get to the more restricted looking areas, the more signs of human life. There’s crates and Jeep’s, and we even found someone working on a computer in a big open tent. Although when we approached her, she didn’t really respond.

- So we leave again and follow a road into town. Once the town was in sight (think old European style town), the glass man was back chasing us in full force. And it seemed that as long as he was being touched by direct sunlight, he would appear as human.

- Getting to the town and there are people EVERYWHERE. Townspeople walking in and out of shops, driving down the road, and just going about their business in general. It was comforting but also concerning considering that we were still being chased but this glass man who for some reason is targeting us.

Part 4/4 (another long part)

I figured that if I could lose him within the town then I should be home free. Unfortunately wherever I managed to parkour to, he would already be waiting nearby. And If we stopped moving then we’d get attacked again.

- He would make snide comments every time he would cut us off within the town, although after the first few times I stopped listening to what he was saying, and I think this might have pissed him off.

- Eventually we had gotten into this other building which was definitely upper class or something, if you were to judge it by the decor and the sheer size of it. One of the hallway walls had a HUGE painting of this Neko mother surrounded by her little kids. The painting was clearly very old, and I wasn’t expecting to see anything like that.

- In this house we found three more of those Steel boxes. One with a black trench coat lined with wool, and there was a picture of another Neko in the box that was wearing the same coat. On the picture it said something along the lines of “to whoever receives this coat, let it warm and shield you from the night”, something weird like that. Each box that had something in it also had a picture too. Which was interesting, since each time it was always of a different Neko. Anyway I got like some sort of undercoat and I think a thicker pair of pants.

- Obviously we had been found again and were forced to flee to the edge of town. There was a old rickety building that we ran into, and were then cornered in.

- At this point we had to fight him, and as it turns out as long as he is taking human form (in direct sunlight via the giant skylight in the main room) you could do a lot of damage to him. I didn’t want to get too close to him do at one point I had taken an old coffee table and hit him w that, since it wasn’t that heavy.

- The gloves were helpful when we had to use the nails and dig under the guys false skin to tear some of the glass out. The less glass chunks he had in him, the less mass he had and the less damage he could do.

- Once we had whittled him down to almost a skeleton of what he was before, we reached into where his face used to be and pulled out the one piece of glass that wasn’t the same as the others. It was 100% clear and had this weird glittery purple and orange in the middle of it.

- While trying to leave the building we ran into this old man who I guess was working in a facility below the building, who was coming up to see what the commotion was about. He also took the weird glass/rock from us

- That’s how we found out that those weird looking rocks had come down in a meteor shower a few months ago, and that you’re not supposed to put them inside of your house. This is apparently because he cold of the outside keeps them sedated almost. So when you bring them inside they’ll latch on to any sort of free floating objects to create a body for themselves. Which is why when someone put it in the main bathroom where all of the broken glass was, it was able it create a much stronger body.

- Afterwards he, or someone else, had given me a ride to just outside of the cabins we were staying in. It was starting to get dark but it wasn’t getting colder yet, so everyone seemed to be out and about. I saw Kyohei walking back to his cabin so I ran up to him and grabbed him to tell him not to let anyone touch anything outside, and to especially not bring anything else inside. Which I probably sounded crazy but he just went with it.

- During that time I got to talk to the other characters, only for a little bit though. I tried talking to Shizuo but every time I did he would clam up and ignore me. Which fair enough I guess, since very few people got along with me and I had disappeared for the past 24 hours.

- Afterwards it had started to hail, and that was around the time I decided to leave the camp and try and go home. Just to get anywhere else but there. When it stopped I took one of the trucks and drove until I reached a highway, which was very far out. When I went to merge though, the on ramp wasn’t connected to the actual highway. It was like it was never completed and there was a drop off straight down into a canyon. I just sat there in the truck for a bit and watched the other cars driving back and forth across the bridge over the canyon.

- The ramp was only one lane so I and to reverse all the way back to the road, and then back to the 7/11 I had previously passed, so hopefully I could make a phone call to get out of there. Though the dream ended before we got the chance to do that.

I’m sure that there is a lot missing considering that it’s rare for me to remember dreams in the first place. I’m also sure that Shingen had something to do with us being in that location during that time of year. But I hope you found some entertainment in this weird dream that will probably haunt me for a while. Love your blog btw and I hope you keep posting!

——-

I’m in the middle of traveling right now! But omf thank you for sharing this I cry,,, also sorry everyone I don’t know how to make a read more on mobile 😭

This is actually a super interesting dream I wonder what it means tbh LOL what has me is the Neko part I weep softly. This kind of explains why my muse for Iza(Neko!izaya) has been a little low, like it felt like he wasn’t “with me” if that makes sense!

The coat and the pictures I’m hhrhrh…. It’s super funny to me because it kind of falls in line for Iza’s mom and her kits with that picture of a mother Neko and her kids because that was all I could think of but still! This is such a sweet story in a exploratorive way and a interesting lore perspective because those pictures and items were left there by someone for a reason but we have no idea who 👀

Then how you/izaya is trapped there?? I need the part of the dream where we know why and who LOL but tbh maybe Shigen did have something to do with it 👀 damn nebula and their mysteriousness

Ty again for sharing this with me 😭 it really helped and I enjoyed! I have like,,,mild travel anxiety and this made me feel better💕 for the posting part,,,I will try jdhdjs i have to get back to the Iza/Zuo content but I been ensnared in Genshin Impact and FE: Heros and I’m stuck on Link Click LOL but, I hope to post more about drrr/hybrid verse/Iza+Zuo content!

#;Ooc #anonymous #uhhh #long post #durarara

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orionnquartzwater · 4 years ago

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In a local witches group on my personal FB page, an admin I look up to asked us what our current altars looked like at the moment to spark up a discussion. I had an offhand picture of recently showing and explaining my faith to a friend of mine, but as I began to reflect on the items, my reply grew longer and longer until Facebook just gave up on allowing me to post it. Still wanting to share, I figured I would host my answer here.

This is my current set-up. Please excuse some of the mess, I'm currently in the process of clearing out the old for the new calender year. I don't work at my altar very often at the moment as life has been a little hectic, but it's right above my fireplace in my living room! ♡

PHOTO DESCRIPTION WITH DETAILS AND PERSONAL HISTORIES BEHIND THE OBJECTS PICTURED: On white shelf above the fireplace in my living room is my altar, lit by a ceiling light that brings the eye to the center of the image where a wall-hanging of the elemental symbols I hand-crafted in branches and black twine covers a large portion of the white wall in the back. In the middle on the top of the hanging decor is a clear hand-crafted witch ball I made several years back when my coven was still meeting and I was teaching some of the history behind them and what they are today filled with many different herbs and a large cinnamon stick. Several natural pieces of twine hang from some of the twigs that make up the elemental symbols, used for tying and drying herb bunches above my altar, currently sitting empty. On both sides framing the mantle on the wall, there two metallic swirling candle holders, one of which has a recently gifted antique bell from my once-ignorant and oppressive grandmother about what my faith truly had meant to me on twine hanging from it. In the dead center of the altar, a large glass candle holder sits containing a layered orange and red candle, burned most of the way down with ash on the insise of the glass as it hasn't been in use for some time. Currently displayed on top of the candle is my own hand-crafted wand that sits perfectly balanced in my hand with the natural curve of the branch. It felt made for my hand as I whittled the top down and used copper and quartz to charge it, wrapping the handle and charging the energy forward with the small point I've had for years until I found why I had clung to it.

Two alabaster statuette busts of the Greek deities Artemis (to the left), and Apollo (to the right) also frame the large glass candleholder. The statues are of the deities who I worked faithfully worked with to recieve my service dog Andromeda, and thank constantly trying to honor, as everything in my life had said I couldn't receive her from time to money to circumstance to lack of outside help, even though everything else about it was said that it was truly meant for me, and I believe to this day it was due to them watching me working tirelessly to do everything on my end including my rituals and asking for their assistance that they granted me a medically healing (Apollo's side) & faithful canine (Artemis's side). I had the statues shipped to me from Greece, and the golden accents on the alabaster textiles and laurel on them are probably my favorite part of them. They're one of my most prized possessions. The two godly siblings face each other with their heads cast in different directions. Behind Artemis, slightly to her right is a black and white painting I did of the forested coast and night sky with a prominent moon bouncing off the waves and a comet in the stars above (Ironically, my dog Andromeda (Andi) was listed as Comit in the breeders list as well, something I hadn't even considered when painting and adding it to my altar). To Artemis' left is a small antler chew we took from my service dog when she was too big to use it safely any longer, as well as a small clay torso of the human form I crafted some time ago. In front of the mini painting is where I currently sit a chakra bracelet gifted to me years ago, and sitting in front of those not too far from the edge is an incense holder depicting a skeleton with roses around it as a memento mori, a circle of life as the ash falls and the incense is burned. To the left of that are some pieces of geodes and petrified woods I have that my grandmother also gifted me, two unused candles in front of those, and a petrified wood piece laying flat that holds two tiny pinecones connected by a stem and two coins for abundance beside a ceramic acorn bowl holding many gemstones collected through the years, including the labradorite my grandmother also gifted me when I was a small child and found myself connecting to the stone as I connected to the faith alone on my own. To the left of that is a tall decorative triple goddess wooden box box my dad's girlfriend bought for me, a small black and white moon phase & elemental symbol zentangle art piece sitting above it that I drew in pen in high school, and in front of them on the altar is an antique taxidermied dog-paw letter opener made of Mother of Pearl, dating the beloved Print's death as Sept 15th, 1867 that I use for directing energy, connecting to the love we hold for those in our lives, and also with connecting to the centuries past in my own hands.

To Apollo's right sits a massive pinecone, and behind him somewhat obscured is a small wax burner currently holding the remnants of the ritual work I had been using to call forth my service dog to me as a variety of herbs, green wax for abundance and coins. To the right of that are a variety of candles, currently perching a bird's nest that had fallen out of and was sitting abandoned from the tree in front of my apartments two years ago that would have been tossed by maintainence or mowed over but found a renewed life in my practice after it sat abandoned for some time. Beside that is a squared lantern of black metal framinh with frosted glass and metallic fir tree silhouettes. Also the right of that, leaning over the edge of the mantle from a small end table not pictured is a twig broom with the bristles up. (On the very edge of the mantle also sits a large bottle of hand-sanitizer constantly in use as I live with a hospital worker, and both cleanliness and healthcare are just as important in our faith, lest we forget to take care of ourselves with the modern knowledge passed down to us now, nor forget to do our part wherever we go.)

— I haven't had the mind to do much traditional work, even here, and this doesn't include the dresser I plan on doing a fuller altar for so I can have a place to be alone, in my space, and wholly enter the circle once more as I haven't been able to do that in a very, very long time, but this one houses most of my items of power, is displayed prominently, and is curated to allow me to remember to honor my faith more and never stop working on it, taking time to stand in front of it and reflect on me, my faith, where I came from and where I'm going as well as spending a moment with the deities I honor. After my birthday later this year growing up in a household of agnostics and the faith and discomfort of my oppressive grandparents, I'll actually have been in the faith for more than half my life as I was only 11 when I stumbled into it alone, celebrated my first Imbolc all by myself by making crafts out of ribbons and buying and lighting candles, meditating reading books. I ran around with my bell wand shaking it at nature to reawaken it for spring, and I knew I would always be in the faith, and want to raise a future family in it, and grow a community of like-minded folks. I'm still always learning, and it makes me equally immensely proud and insanely humbled when I can teach others what I've learned since the faith found me. I can actually remember crying to my grandma about whether or not magic(k) could truly exist in the world and she told me if I believed in it, it DID at that age, and the feelings of finding power in my faith after growing up so alone have been unlike any other. Finding other witches was one of the most impactful moments of my life, especially growing up in a heavily Christian town of just over 1,000. Nothing has made me ever feel more fulfilled than people who know me and know I have been in the faith since childhood coming up to me to timidly ask them to teach them some things and where they could start to learn more, asking questions and finding me with a million resources for them, only to come back at a later date and truly thank me for helping them find their path to deity, to nature, to being one with the energies around us and finding power in their experiences and newfound budding faith and community. I've since found a true passion for anthropology and folklore, and I never feel more whole than working with others who share that with me. I think that my coven was one of the best things I experienced in high school, a mix of young witches learning and finding our paths and bringing our passions to life with each other and what we knew over good food, good friends and good faith wasn't something I got to experience often until then.

I'm still hoping to one day build an establishment where witches and aspiring witches can come, talk, read, ask for recommendations, be taught by local witches, take community crafting classes with history lessons, and be able to continue to provide that feeling to other folks. One of the people I ended up mentoring after they were asking me questions and for book recommendations, for clarifications and good conversation, also reaffirmed my childhood last name of faith that came to me by expressing their gratitude of my mentorship referring to me as "a willow tree I was providing wisdom, knowledge and needed shade to the growing saplings around them," and I actually broke down crying as Willow was the last name I ended up with as child, and Willowtree was the last name I had settled on after my transition. I hate the feeling of buying myself mass-produced items used for making a quick buck off a community rather than fostering the Craft, and the power that's within our tools created by hand or when they're gifted by people who impacted us with the knowledge of what they mean and the things they hold are just so much different than not knowing the ethical conditions of who made the materials, or the companies behind them pandering for money, and it's a bit of a passion project as my physical health keeps me from being able to work much on my own. I often wish I could go back and tell a young me how much I would learn and do, how many amazing people I would meet, and communities I would find, even in the areas directly around me. I think I would have been amazed. After writing all of this, I looked back and realized that my current set-up is actually doing it's EXACT job right now. As I described the objects and what they meant to me when I got them, I got caught up in it the same way I do IRL when I pass by and take a moment to think about what my faith holds for me, where I'm coming from and where I really want to take things from here. I guess it's REALLY just that effective on me that even trying to answer a question about it off-hand in a post really ends up in me really taking a minute to address who I am and the power it all holds to me, especially standing where I stand today.

Blessed Be! I hope everyone has a wonderful week.

— 12.9.2020

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drabbledragon · 5 years ago

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Memories Chapter 2

Here’s the second chapter to Marin (Script-the-Skeleton)’s Discord prompt! It’s been some time since the first chapter appeared but thank you all so much for waiting. If you haven’t read the first chapter to this fic, please make sure to do so using the links listed below.

Summary: Upon bringing Time to the Shrine of Resurrection, there were just a few consequences that went unforeseen.

Warnings: Some violence and depressing themes.

Chapters: 1 2

Chapter 2:

This couldn’t be Hyrule - this could not be Hyrule.

Time had woken up in a strange chamber with no recollection of how he got there and as soon as he took one step outside, he was met with the sight of a destroyed and desolate land that stretched farther than the eye can see. His breath immediately caught in his throat and his single good eye widened in disbelief before he broke into a mad dash down the towering cliff.

Where was the large open field? Where were the towering cliffs that harbored narrow passageways or the bunches of trees that stood out against the bright green grass? What were these large corpses of machinery that stuck out of the ground like misshapen statues and stood eerily against the dark sky? None of this even looked remotely similar to the Hyrule he grew up in and what made it all much worse was the absence of any sign of life. A sudden anger overtook him: Ganondorf must have something to do with this, he reasoned. He mentally chided himself for not getting any answers from the two boys back at the chamber; they didn’t look like the typical monsters he would encounter but the way they were wary and cautious of him gave Time enough of a reason to be suspicious. But once he saw that Navi and the Master Sword were gone, his mind was made up: he was taken prisoner by the Gerudo man in an attempt to stop him from saving Hyrule. He wasn’t sure about the series of events that led up to his current predicament but he forced his confusion to the back of his mind and willed himself to focus on the task at hand.

He needed to find Princess Zelda and make sure she was okay - that the Kingdom of Hyrule was still in one piece and that he wasn’t too late.

The stone rubble around him started to increase and spill over the muddy dirt path he had been traversing, making his messy strides a little more calculated and slower. His panic and fear began to grow as noticed the remnants of destroyed houses surrounding him, broken beds and overturned tables and chairs littering the ground everywhere he looked. It wasn’t until he saw a broken wooden sign with faint letters on it and the remains of a paddock did he finally come to a stop.

A pit formed in the bottom of his stomach. This was … Lon Lon Ranch. He took hesitant steps past the sign and through the remains of the farm, morbidly observing his surroundings. Everything was either completely destroyed or was very close to being so: the tall buildings that once towered over him as a child were reduced to massive piles of rotting wood and the sturdy fences were decaying with age. When he paced towards the paddock, he found nothing but large puddles of water and overturned troughs; none of the ranch hands were there and neither were any of the horses and judging by the length of the overgrown grass, no one’s been there in ages.

They’re inside, he hastily reasoned, it’s raining so they must be inside. He hurriedly stumbled towards where Talon’s house used to be and his heart immediately dropped when he found that the bright and bustling household was now a mess of broken wooden beams and stray Cucco feathers. The entirety of the upstairs portion had caved in a long time ago and shattered mirrors and broken beds were strewn haphazardly around the barn like macabre decorations. There was no sign of life anywhere: no Talon sleeping in the corner, no Malon humming as she took care of the animals, and no Ingo to complain about the workload. The once - lively farm had become cold and abandoned and Time felt completely and utterly alone. He caught sight of a broken dresser in the corner not too far away from him and from one of the rotting drawers, he could see a small yellowing paper; he slowly reached for it, numbly noticing that his hands were violently shaking, and whatever color remained in his face drained out once he read the faint writing. On that piece of paper were the faint notes of a song he knew too well - a song that Malon would cherish until the day she died: Epona’s Song.

“Malon!” Time called out in a desperate attempt to get an answer. His voice was shaky and panicked and when he didn’t get an answer, his breaths started to pick up in a fearful hysteria. “ Malon!” He tried again and whipped his head around in every direction in hope of catching a glimpse of Malon running towards him with a bright smile on her face or getting ready to chide him for scaring the animals that he had somehow missed; instead, he was only met with the sound of heavy rain. “ Talon!” He was louder this time, rivaling the sound of thunder that cracked above him. “ Ingo! Somebody, answer me, please!”

Nothing - he was met with nothing. His breath caught in his throat and he could feel hot tears start to form in the corners of his eyes. No… no, this wasn’t happening! Malon and the others were alright! They must have gone on a delivery trip or maybe they were at Castle Town or maybe they just decided to build a new ranch or something! He knows how much Malon likes to spend her free time away from the ranch so she has to be somewhere safe - and Ingo probably destroyed the ranch somehow so he’s out trying to scrounge up the money to rebuild it. No matter how far - fetched the explanation seemed to be, Time would accept it as a possibility because he absolutely refused to believe that everyone he once knew was dead.

Suddenly, as if Hylia herself decided to grant him a sliver of hope, the sky lit up with a large bolt of lightning and briefly illuminated his surroundings. Just for a second, he caught a glimpse of a large tower that stood off in the distance, its shape easily distinguishing it as a place he was well - acquainted with. Hyrule Castle, Time’s mind helpfully supplied and a surge of relief mixed with hope filled his entire being. He broke into a sprint without a second thought, hoping that when he got there, he would find Princess Zelda, Malon, and everyone else safe and sound. However, after a few steps, he was abruptly stopped by a giant mechanical leg digging itself into his path.

Time stumbled back and gazed at the machine before him. He observed as its metal body was suddenly illuminated with a pinkish color and its glowing blue eye seemed to settle on him before emitting a high - pitched beeping; when a red dot projected itself onto his chest, his instincts finally kicked in and he quickly dodged just as a bright laser promptly followed. He grunted as the force of the explosion propelled him to the side and sent his vision swimming before his sight settled on the charred grass and smoke that replaced the spot he had stood at just a few seconds ago. The hero swallowed thickly; if he was just a millisecond too late, he would surely be dead. At the sound of another stream of warning beeps, Time hastily stumbled to his feet and avoided another beam of energy that followed soon after.

He concluded that staying in one spot was definitely not the solution to his current predicament. He tried running in different patterns, choosing to briefly disappear behind trees and overgrown underbrush to try to throw off the machine but no matter what he did, the constant thumping of claws digging into the ground consistently sounded around him. He didn't know what to do - he's never even seen this thing before and it was already hellbent on burning him alive. From what he could deduce, the machine was covered in a protective metal coating that no makeshift weapon could easily damage and to top it all off, this thing appeared to be highly intelligent, making outsmarting it nearly impossible. As for himself, he had little to no armor and nothing to defend himself with: no sword, no shield, no magic, just this mysterious slate from the - oh.

Time hurriedly unclipped the device from his side and held it up to have a better look at it: displayed on its illuminated screen were lines upon lines of strange Hylian characters followed by pictures of what looked to be various weapons. The text, although appearing somewhat similar, was not the Hylian he knew and any attempt at trying to decipher it proved to be fruitless - a mutilated version of the language the enemy uses, he sneered - however, from the pictures alone, he could guess that this device was some kind of weapon storage. He mindlessly tapped on the screen, praying to Hylia that this thing had some kind of magnet or tracker or something to bring him whatever weapon he had pressed on; however, he was completely awestruck when a heavy sword suddenly materialized out of thin air and placed itself in his empty hand. He momentarily paused, taking a few seconds to admire the worn yet sturdy sword and how it weighed heavily in his grip, his body supplying him with an odd sense of familiarity that his mind could not understand.

With renewed vigor, Time sharply turned to meet the machine as it peered down at him, the high - pitched beeping already piercing through the pounding of the rain. He gripped the sword strongly with both hands and positioned himself to attack with a half - formed plan in mind, knowing full - well that if he missed his chance, this would surely be the end of him. As the sound had finally reached its peak, the hero hastily rolled underneath one of the machine’s arms and swung the sword upwards, successfully severing one of its appendages. A triumphant smirk appeared on his lips as he watched the machine stumble above him, its arms flailing to regain purchase on the ground. Caught up in his own success, Time wasn’t able to avoid the machine’s arm as it swung wildly in the air and connected with his chest, forcing him to the ground once again and causing the slate to unclip from his waist and tumble to the ground; his eyes briefly caught sight of the device before the machine’s claw crushed it and the ground underneath it.

Judging by how the machine’s exterior light seemed to flicker and brighten to a lighter shade of pink, Time could only assume that it had become angrier. He dodged just in time as a metal arm lurched forward to grab at him, its moves noticeably faster than before. He grimaced; guess he had to step up his game, too. As the machine swiveled around to aim at him again, he tightened his grip on the sword and ran towards it, slicing another arm off with a jagged slash. He watched as it briefly struggled again, and in the back of his mind, he silently marveled at how well his attacks worked - how each muscle, despite the strain, moved with incredible speed and accuracy that only a seasoned swordsman would have. Although his strength was only a product of his small adventure around Hyrule, he felt that he has had decades of training, and he planned to use every ounce of that strength to his advantage. So the next few minutes became a pattern of wait, dodge, and attack for Time like some sort of morbid game. The machine would regain its footing, attempt to attack, only for the hero to dodge at the last second and strike it with an immense amount of power.

At the sound of stuttering gears and the final flickering of its light, the machine finally fell deeply into the ground, its appearance no better than a glorified rock. Time briefly regarded the enemy with a look of pure exhilaration and marvel before snapping his attention to the dark silhouette of Hyrule Castle. He began his trek forward, sword gripped tightly in his hand as he trudged through the pouring rain, hoping to Hylia that he wasn’t too late.

__________________________________________________________

It only took Wild a minute or two to find Twilight. When he caught sight of a dark form leaning heavily against a tree, the Hero of the Wild came to a stuttering halt, slowing his pace as he approached the lone figure; once he got a full sight of his mentor, he sucked in a quick breath upon realizing how bad of a state the other was in.

Twilight was leaning heavily against a dying tree, nails digging into the bark in a desperate attempt to keep himself standing. His eyes were screwed tight as he took in shallow struggling gasps and the closer that Wild got to him, the more he noticed how the dark circles around the other’s eyes stood out startlingly against his ashen skin. Wild worried his lip as he saw that his mentor made no move to even acknowledge his presence, knowing that whatever energy Twilight had left was all spent on trying to keep himself conscious.

“Twili -”

“Not goin’ back.”

He was stunned into silence as Twilight glared at him through dull, half - lidded eyes that held a surprising amount of defiance. His words were slowed and barely above a whisper but his tone alone held a warning as if daring Wild to try and stop him.

The younger tried again, his voice coming out stronger. “ Twilight, you’re pushing yourself too hard; one more step and you’re gonna fall face - first into the mud and pass out.” And despite the clear point that Wild had, Twilight vaguely shook his head.

“Not leavin’ without th’Old Man.”

“Then I’ll help you find him.” His reply was final and as if to prove his point, he held a firm hand out to his mentor, regarding the other with a serious look.

Twilight stared at the offer and if the situation wasn’t so dire, he would’ve laughed. Here he was, being as reckless and impulsive as Wild and his protege had come to finally knock some sense into him. Suddenly, all those concerned voices from all the other Links rung loudly in his head and he couldn’t help the sense of shame that pierced through his worried thoughts; they had all been trying to help him these past few days and he had shrugged off every little remark like they would hinder Time’s recovery. He had been too brash - too anxious - and he had truly messed up this time.

The Hero of Twilight grasped the other’s hand tightly, not missing the way the other’s facade dropped into utter relief. He allowed himself to be hoisted up by the strong grip and allowed his protege to maneuver his own arm onto the other’s shoulder as support. He tried not to let Wild carry too much of his own weight but he was so weak and fatigued that any attempt to stay standing on his own was quickly drowned out by the rain pelting down on him. If the added weight bothered his protege, he didn’t let Twilight know - instead, he chose to stare straight ahead at what little of the fog he could see through and carefully moved forward.

They trudged slowly through the muddied earth. Every small step Wild would take, Twilight would take in turn, falling in stride with the other. It was strange to see Wild so patient; usually, he would be the one to push his mentor to move faster whenever they were out scouting or foraging but now he was silent and moved at a calculated pace, sliding his gaze every so often to check on Twilight and how he was faring. It was endearing, really; Twilight felt that some of his fortitude was finally starting to rub off on his protege.

His steps faltered when he felt Wild suddenly stop and tense. When he looked ahead, he felt his heart come to a stop: just a few meters in front of them stood a towering Guardian.

Twilight instinctively reached behind him for his sword and he mentally cursed himself as soon as he realized that he had left the shrine without so much as bringing a weapon. Before any words could leave his mouth, Wild was quick to cut him off.

“It’s dead.”

He looked at his protege with silent confusion. That thing wasn’t dead; it was standing right before them! But as he looked at the hunk of metal once again, he felt the pounding in his chest slow as he noticed the absence of purple and blue lights. The two heroes stood silently for a few more moments, waiting for the machine to suddenly spring to life and catch them off guard but it never came.

Wild inched forward with his apprehensive mentor in tow and knocked harshly on the remnants of the machine. He stared curiously at the Guardian’s single eye and waited, expecting some sort of reaction to occur, but he was only greeted with the sound of raindrops beating against its metal exterior. A triumphant smirk crossed his face.

“It’s dead.” He repeated again. “ Someone managed to take it out.”

Twilight’s shoulders eased a little. He shifted closer to get a better look at the broken machine, noting how its pristine metal surface was littered with deep scratches and how some of the wiring had been severed. The scrapes along the body were long and thick and some of the attacks had managed to pierce through the metal and to its circuitry. Whoever had managed to take down this Guardian was a seasoned fighter and was certainly someone that was not to be taken lightly.

“Is that my … Sheikah Slate …?”

Twilight shifted his gaze over to where Wild stared dumbfounded at his device - or what remained of it. It was crushed into pieces, the eye that stood out so prominently with its orange glow now reduced to chunks of metal.

“So the Old Man was here …” His protege sounded with an irked expression to match. Under his breath, Twilight could hear the other go on about how some woman in Akkala was going to kill him once she found out about this.

A sudden idea dawned on Twilight. Without so much as a second thought, he released his hold on his protege and shifted into his Twili form, wincing as the transformation took a great toll on him. He opened his eyes to a sharpened world where he could see, hear, and smell thousands of new things he hadn’t before and the addition seemed to overwhelm his senses. With a silent shake of his head, he moved to the remnants of the Sheikah Slate and gently prodded his nose at it, ignoring the questioning gaze he got from Wild. Woven between the metallic smell was the faint scent of pine and farm: Time’s scent. He picked his head up, gazing as a path of lingering air started to appear in his peripheral, quivering around and beckoning Twilight to follow; his plan had worked and now he and Wild had a solid lead as to where Time was. The Twili let out a sharp bark to catch the other’s attention before bolting to where the trail led.

His surroundings started to blur as he picked up speed with newfound energy. The pelting rain did nothing to deter him as his paws pounded steadily on the ground, following the faint scent as if it were a lifeline. Damp grass had turned into broken pieces of cobblestone and Twilight was suddenly aware of the thumps Wild’s boots made with each step; it slightly eased his frazzled mind to know that despite how thoughtless or abrupt his own actions were, his protege followed and supported him without protest. A crack of lightning illuminated the sky and Twilight had caught a glimpse of a large crumbling castle before him. As soon as he lept through the open doors, he started to make frantic zigzags as he entered and left each room without heed, catching the scent dulling and sharpening with each turn. He knew he was close - the scent was almost overwhelming to his senses and he could feel his heartbeat pick up in anticipation the closer he got to Time. He didn’t have a plan nor was he mentally prepared to face the man he had killed but nothing mattered more to him right now than making sure that his mentor was still alive. He shifted into his Hylian form as he reached the final set of double doors and pushed past them with all his might, causing the wood to slam forcefully against the concrete walls and echo through the chamber. He froze as he caught sight of a lone figure standing motionless at a destroyed throne.

“Ti - Link,” Twilight corrected himself between gasps of air. “ we’re not here to hurt you; we just want to help.” The figure before him stiffened at the name and the slack grip on his Biggoron Sword became tighter. The room was silent save for the pattering rain outside.

“Where is she … where is Princess Zelda …?”

Once the Hero of Twilight heard his mentor’s voice, his heart seemed to shatter. His voice sounded too small - too frail - to belong to such a renowned and courageous hero; instead, it sounded like it belonged to a scared little child. When Time didn’t get an answer, he turned agonizingly slow to the two boys behind him and it was then did they see his pale complexion and the haunted look in his eye; his very gaze alone told them that he had seen the very worst of what the world had to offer. This is not the cool and collected leader that brought them all together nor was it the hostile man Twilight and Wild had met at the Shrine of Resurrection - this was a man who had lost everything and everyone.

The man asked once again in that broken voice: he asked where the Princess of Hyrule was and the rancher Talon and his daughter Malon and the ranch - hand Ingo and all of Castle Town and Twilight couldn’t find the courage to tell him the truth. The strong resolve and determination he had felt just a few seconds ago was replaced with hesitation and the words seemed to die on his tongue. How could he tell a man so horrified - let alone his ancestor - that they were long dead - lost under Ganon’s inevitable rule? He startled when Wild stepped forward.

“They’re not here; they’re in a different Hy-"

“Stop it.” Time’s fragile voice grew firm with each word. “ Enough with these lies. There’s no ‘different Hyrule’, there’s no multiple Chosen Heroes, there’s no coming back to life - none of what you say is real!” An assertive step forward and there was no hiding the lividness in his tone. “ There are monsters lurking around every corner, giant machines roaming the land ready to kill anything in sight, Hyrule Castle is completely destroyed, there is not a single living soul in these rooms, and you want me to believe that Princess Zelda is alive and well? That Ganondorf hasn’t taken over Hyrule and killed everyone in it just to show his power?” His breath caught in his throat and his voice became barely audible. “ … I’m too late, aren’t I? Princess Zelda is dead. I’ve failed her. I’ve failed all of Hyrule.”

Wild fell into a stunned silence. All the emotional pain and mental torment Time had been facing reminded him so much of how he felt when he first left the Shrine of Resurrection. The never - ending dread, anxiety, and insecurity he felt on every part of the journey had managed to manifest itself into their leader, providing a reflection to Wild of himself and of all the fears he had. He knew exactly what Time felt like, and his pent - up emotions were getting in the way of his logical reasoning.

Whether it was because of his protege’s silent anguish or his mentor’s hopelessness, something caused Twilight to lose what remained of his composure. All the stress he had accumulated these past three days seemed to pour out in a frustrated shout. “ Time, listen to us: nobody’s dead, your Zelda’s safe, and me and Wild are not the bad guys here. Just let us take you back so we can help.”

“You and Ganondorf took everything away from me and you still want me to follow you? Isn’t all of Hyrule enough?”

“We have nothing to do with Ganondorf; we’re all Chosen Heroes just like you. I know it doesn’t make sense right now but you have to trust us on this.”

“And why should I? You took the Master Sword, my fairy, everyone I’ve ever known - what reason do I have to trust you? Do you want to imprison me for another number of years? Make me swear allegiance to Ganondorf? Wreck more havoc on Hyrule?” Pure fury replaced his distraught expression. “ What more do you need? You’ve already conquered the land so there’s nothing more to take!”

“I told you, we’re here to help. This is Wild’s Hyrule and its been like this for decades - you already saved your own Hyrule before but your memories are so messed up that you can’t even remember that. We’re your friends - family even - and we just want to help you.”

“How long are you going to keep hiding behind those lies?”

“Until you believe us.”

Blinded by his own irritation, Twilight didn’t notice the way Time tightened his grip on the sword or the way his muscles tensed in preparation for an attack. The weapon moved in such a quick and calculated arc that Twilight didn’t even have the time to raise his arms up in defense before the strike would inevitably hit; but just as the sword was about to connect with his head, he heard a distinct thunk that seemed to reverberate from all around him. He opened his eyes to see his mentor’s bewildered face behind a transparent orange wall - one of Wild’s abilities, he recognized. He glanced behind him to see Wild standing slightly hunched over and staring at the unfolding scene, tears glistening his eyes but a determined look on his face.

You okay? He slowly signed.

Twilight couldn’t help the smirk that crossed his face. He gave his protege a quick nod before he turned back to Time and watched the shield disappear around him.

“We’re not gonna hurt you, Link; we just want to talk.”

His plea was met with an angry snarl and another thunk as the sword swung again and collided with Wild’s makeshift shield.

The swings kept coming one after another, each hit gradually increasing with force; however, the weapon always connected with Daruk’s Protection and never once landed a hit on its intended targets. The shield would appear mid - swing, take the blow, disappear for a few seconds for Twilight to get in a word or two before appearing once again, the pattern seemingly unbreakable.

Twilight winced at the sound of a particularly hard collision. The Old Man’s getting angry, he noted, and judging by the way his mentor regarded him with so much hatred and disgust, he wasn’t going to let up anytime soon. Sure, Twilight could keep trying to talk to him but Time was so engrossed in his devastation that he wouldn’t even pause to consider his words - right now, he just wanted some form of temporary retribution. The shield flickered as soon as the sword smashed against it again and Twilight knew that it wouldn’t be long until Wild couldn’t muster up the energy to defend them anymore.

He grunted as an elbow suddenly connected with his ribcage and sent him tumbling to the ground. He barely registered the vague shout from Wild before a surprised cry sounded throughout the air followed by several thuds. He snapped his eyes open just in time to see his mentor towering over his protege, Biggoron Sword poised to strike down.

Twilight’s breath caught in his throat as his eyes widened at the scene and he couldn’t help but feel a strange sense of déjà vu as he witnessed one of his teammates seconds away from death.

He couldn’t let this happen again.

Without a second thought, Twilight shifted into his Twili form and bounded across the room. He completely disregarded the burning sensation in his ribs and the overall ache from his body as he sprinted towards Wild, finally coming to stand protectively over him and face Time with tensed muscles and baring teeth. He let out a sharp bark as the sword began its descent downward, a futile attempt to stop the inevitable attack.

Yet it did. All of Time’s movement abruptly stopped as the sound rang out and the sword that was ready to strike seemed to pause in midair. His face switched from utter outrage to a neutral expression and the gaze from his single eye grew cloudy and distant as if he had mentally left the battle; he was frozen in time - his body a realistic statue among the rubble that surrounded them. The notion had completely caught Twilight off - guard, causing him to release a confused whine in response.

“I think he’s … remembering something.” Wild whispered breathlessly and the Twili suddenly realized how Time’s facial expression matched the same blank expression his protege wore whenever a memory would resurface. They waited with bated breath as the air grew thick with apprehension, never once taking their eyes away from their mentor.

In a matter of seconds, the light returned back to Time’s eye and he refocused on the present. He took one look at the wolf ahead of him and his eyes seemed to light up with startling recognition.

“Pup?”

All the tension left Twilight’s body at the sound of the nickname. He mindlessly shifted back into his Hylian form, looking up to meet Time’s gaze with a disbelieving stare, his mouth open in a silent question of ‘how’?

Realization seemed to strike the eldest then and he let the sword fall from his grasp and clatter onto the ground, his expression morphing into horror as if he had just became aware of what he was about to do. He hastily took a few unsteady steps back.

“Pup, I… - Was I about to -?” He cut himself off, too disturbed by the thought to even voice it. His protege, on the other hand, gingerly rose to his feet and regarded him with a hopeful look.

“You remember me.” The rush of adrenaline slowly started to seep away into growing relief. Despite how shocked his mentor looked, he couldn’t help the warm smile that spread across his lips. “ Old Man, you remember me.”

Time took a moment to take in his protege’s appearance: dark bruises stood out across his paling complexion, he looked slightly thinner than usual, and there were rips in his clothes that revealed small scratches with dried blood; in other words, he looked like he’d been through Hell and back and Time hoped to Hylia that he wasn’t the reason why.

“Those marks on your skin...”

As if suddenly aware of his appearance, Twilight quickly moved to smooth down the fabric of his tunic as if that alone would remedy the issue. “ Huh? No, no - these were from a battle a few days ago with some Lizalfos. I mean, yeah, we were struggling and a few of us got beaten up pretty bad and if it wasn’t for you, I -.” He hesitated, briefly reliving the memory and feeling his mouth go dry. “ If it wasn’t for you, I’d be dead.”

The other’s brows furrowed in morbid concern. “ I … don’t recall…”

Twilight gently shook his head as if waving the subject away, silently noting how exhaustion seemed to settle over him like a blanket. The adrenaline from the battle had finally worn off and those days he spent worrying over his mentor finally seemed to catch up to him all at once. He would explain the situation to him at another day when he didn’t feel like two seconds away from collapsing. For now, he would relish in the fact that he finally got the old Time back.

“Glad to know you’re okay, Old Man.” Wild remarked as he picked himself off the ground and started to dust himself off.

Time’s confusion was suddenly replaced with alarm once he caught sight of the boy with scars and in one fluid motion, he stooped down to grab his discarded sword and point it directly to the stranger’s neck. Before he could make another move, Twilight hurriedly stepped between them and hurriedly moved the tip of the blade to the side.

“Hey! He’s a friend!”

Although not convinced, Time lowered his sword regardless, trusting that his protege was correct in his judgement. He silently observed as the stranger let out a small breath before meeting his eyes with a serious yet guilty expression.

“I know it doesn’t make a lot of sense but Twi’s right: I’m Wild, and I’ve been travelling with you these past couple of months. You’re probably have a lot of holes in your memory - trust me, I know that feeling -” A small grimace as the boy before Time looked to the side with an unknown emotion in his eyes. “ but I promise they’ll all come back to you eventually. You’ll get frustrated and annoyed when things seem familiar but don’t at the same time but that’s okay; you’ll just have to get used to it. What matters now is that you got a memory back, and it can only go uphill from there.”

The other’s explanation seemed strange and, quite frankly, sounded a little foreboding but Time nodded anyways; if Twilight trusted this boy, then he would trust him as well regardless of his initial impression of him. He looked to see Twilight taking a step towards the doors.

“C’mon, let’s get you back home.” He called out, hand motioning for him to follow, and this time, Time did without hesitation.

#linkeduniverse #hero of twilight #hero of time #hero of the wild #fanfic

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theopenrhode · 5 years ago

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Guide To Alaska: the Dalton Highway and Barrow

(This is part 1 of our 4 part Alaska series) Alaska is enormous. Measuring over 663,000 square miles, it is double the size of Texas. There is no possible way to see even a fraction in a trip, but in 2 weeks we conquered a good portion! Many people visit Alaska via a cruise ship, but that is barely scratching the surface of this massive state. We crafted an ambitious itinerary covering hundreds of miles with a lot of planning and research. Alaska is ready for tourism and their site, alaska.org, is amazing, It’s filled with must see sites, accommodations, drive times between destinations, packing guides, and more. It was incredible resource as we plotted our trip.

Fairbanks

We touched down in Fairbanks and had only one day before we were on our next flight. In truth, Fairbanks isn’t the most exhilarating city but we found plenty to keep us busy. We spent our afternoon at the Morris Thompson Cultural and Visitor’s Center which is free and had some exhibits on the history of Alaska. Just outside the entry is the Antler Arch comprised of over 100 antlers collected from interior Alaska which makes for a great picture. We concluded our time at Pioneer Park which is a historic village that features old buildings from downtown Fairbanks, a Gold Rush street, a carousel, and train. Our first night in Alaska we also caught a very fleeting view of the Northern Lights lasting only minutes.

Barrow

The next morning, we hopped back on a plane headed for Barrow, Alaska, the northernmost point in the United States. Barrow is a pretty unique town. It is 320 miles North of the Arctic Circle and has 2 months of complete darkness each year. The town will occasionally see a polar bear, though that is rare. We stayed at a brand new hotel, the Top of the World Hotel, which had basic lodging and a small restaurant. Food in Barrow is very expensive due to the logistics involved in transporting food to the town. We dined at Osaka Restaurant, a Japanese restaurant in a bright orange building and the food actually wasn’t bad! Our tour of Barrow was from a local who has lived in Barrow for years, Mike Schults ([email protected]). This is not your traditional tour, but if you are looking for something more authentic, he’s the guy to call. He picked us up at the Barrow airport wearing head to toe camouflage and a necklace with a polar bear tooth. We hopped into his SUV and toured the town…we stopped at his house where the landscaping is atypical…he and his wife have made ‘palm trees’ with the baleen from whales. Baleen is keratin derived system that toothless whales use to filter what enters their mouth. We drove through the small town, the school with it’s bright blue football field, the Inupiat Heritage Center, and 2 more ‘unique’ stops. First, we stopped at a friend’s home who had a walrus head decaying in the yard and second, we stopped at his brother’s museum. Joe’s Museum is an eclectic collection of antiques, taxidermy animals, Barrow artifacts and it has been visited by Sarah Palin. There is no cost but a plate where you are asked to make a small donation. It’s quite the mishmash of items and not the place to go if you are expecting a formal museum! Our tour concluded with a must visit in Barrow..the giant whalebone arch sitting on a beach on the Arctic Ocean. I’d also advise dipping a toe into the Arctic Ocean…it’s frigid! A quick overnight in Barrow as we did is likely all you need to see the sites and get a sense for the incredible resilience it takes to live so far north. Oh and bundle up…the wind is bone chilling!

We flew back down to Fairbanks to embark on the next leg of our adventure. Here we picked up a rental car and hit the road. Our goal was to drive the Dalton Highway, a 414 mile gravel road up to Prudhoe Bay traversing some of Alaska’s most remote wilderness. This highway runs parallel to the Alaskan oil pipeline for a good portion of the way, crosses the Yukon River and is chiefly used to bring supplies to oilfield workers. It begins in Livengood, reaches it’s halfway point at Coldfoot, and ends at Deadhorse on the Arctic Ocean. Because of the road conditions, most rental car agencies will not allow you to take their rental on this road but there are a few agencies who do and their cars are all equipped with spare tires and the ability to rent a satellite phone. We used Arctic Outfitters with no problems.

Chena Hot Springs

Before we started our journey along the Dalton, we made a few stops. North Pole, AK has Santa Land and millions of children mail letters to Santa here each year. They also have the Antler Academy with a few reindeer roaming the property. Here we toured around the most Christmas-like of all stores loaded with every possible Christmas decoration…children would love it here! We then detoured to Chena Hot Springs Resort located about 60 miles from Fairbanks. They are known for their naturally heated geothermal springs, a very established ice museum, and some spectacular Northern Light displays. We didn’t take a dip in the springs (the sulfur smell is aggressive!) but did visit the ice museum which they keep year round at 25 degrees. We were impressed by the size and the large sculptures which they illuminate beautifully and there’s even an ice bar where you can grab an icy appletini. Admission is $15 USD and they loan you a parka to put on for your visit as it is quite chilly in there!

The Dalton Highway

Next up, that Dalton Highway! Our plan was to drive to Wiseman which is slightly beyond Coldfoot and the halfway point. Coldfoot was named as travelers would often get cold feet as winter approached and turn around at the midway point. Mostly, we decided on that stopping point for 2 reasons 1) we actually had a layover in Prudhoe Bay/Deadhorse on our way to Barrow so we had seen it and 2) you can’t actually get to the Arctic Ocean from Deadhorse without a special permit/shuttle as it is on private oil lands. Grab a snack at Wildwood General Store at the start of your drive and get moving. There are a couple of signs stating Dalton Highway that are must stops too. We followed the itinerary from the Alaska website with our most notable stops being the Yukon river crossing and the Arctic Circle crossing. The drive itself was beautiful with thousands of acres of woodlands and and long straight roads. We fueled up at Coldfoot and pressed onto to Wiseman, 63 miles north of the Arctic Circle. If you are traveling this far, you must stay at the Boreal Lodge. The husband and wife team here have hand crafted all of the cabins. The Polar Cabin we stayed in was very well done with rustic decor, a tiny kitchen and comfortable bed (cost $160 USD/night). We had a wonderful time exploring the wilderness around the Lodge marveling at the towering Brooks range and the owner even let us try some gold mining loaning us a pan (no success!). This was a LONG way to travel but we felt it really gave us a sense of the wide open expanse of Alaska and we felt accomplished when were returned our mud covered Jeep at the end.

The muddy end of the journey! Click Here for Part 2 of our Alaska Series! Alaska is enormous. Measuring over 663,000 square miles, it is double the size of Texas. There is no possible way to see even a fraction in a trip, but in 2 weeks we conquered a good portion! Many people visit Alaska via a cruise ship, but that is barely scratching the surface of this massive state. In our four part guide we cover everywhere from the northern most point of the USA (Barrow) to beautiful Homer, AK. While you are can't travel now, it's the perfect time to dream about your next adventure. This is part 1 of our 4 part Alaska series. You can read all 4 parts by visiting http://champagnetraveling.com/category/adventure-travel-destinations/united-states-and-canada-travel/united-states/ Be sure to follow us on Instagram @Champagnetraveling #alaska #HIking #mountains #roadtrip #ChampagneTraveling #Denali #Barrow #anchorage #homer #AK #59thstate #travel #traveling #roadtrip #baldeagle #AlaskaAirlines #Daltonhighway #alaskanadventures #alaskahighway Read the full article

#alaska #HIking #mountains #roadtrip

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nascent-chaos · 5 years ago

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So I saw your pictures with fairy reed! She's so cute! What would that kind of au would be like? What would the boys (UT and SF) think?

Aww ♡ I’m so glad you enjoyed them dearie! I’ve been meaning to finish the series for a while now, but just haven’t been able to find the time to do so. As for what the AU might entail…

The boys have recently moved into a more rural part of town, away from the hustle and bustle of the city they were so used to. For the UT bros, it means a bit more rest and relaxation - for the SF siblings, however, they find the move was already planned because something in the area has been going on, monsters have been blamed for it, and these two drew the short stick when it comes to the investigation. Unbeknownst to anyone in any of the universes, however, they’re not entirely alone.

Sans (UT) :: It’s not long after he and Papyrus move into their new place that he realizes something about the home seems… off. It’s never anything major; an object moved here, a trinket he finds hidden in an odd place there, the sight of something flickering briefly in a sunbeam in the corner of his eye when his brother is around. He doesn’t think much of it at first, but after a time even he begins to suspect there’s something going on in the home.

He finally gets a proper glimpse of her in a secluded part of Papyrus’s garden late one evening, too engrossed by the way the light of the setting sun is refracting off one of the small decorative glass baubles his brother placed there to notice the skeleton towering behind her. He tries not to spook her, but the plan fails spectacularly and she flees.

Time passes, and whenever he suspects she may be lurking around nearby he’ll casually acknowledge her, questioning what manner of mischief she might be up to or calmly setting out something for her at the end of the evening - usually a small portion of whatever his brother had cooked for dinner. It’s his terrible jokes and easy-going nature, however, that draws her out one evening, her laugh like a dozen small bells as he tells her a particularly bad pun, and he realizes he… really enjoys the sound. And seeing such a genuine smile on her face?

Well… he would really like to make her smile like that all the time.

Papyrus (UT) :: Initially he suspects it’s his brother pulling pranks on him when he finds things like his action figures moved or hears something rustling in the corner of the room when his back is turned. But unlike Sans, she’s far more likely to risk letting Papyrus catch a glimpse of her - a shimmer in the light here, a figure darting among the flowers of his garden there. His presence is a welcome addition to the place; she adores him for his positivity and exceedingly gentle nature and enjoys lingering in the parts of the home that he shares with his brother. He mistakes her presence for that of a mouse at first and is intent on capturing her before she has the chance to sully his nice, clean house! And capture her he does!! Just… not the way he’d intended.

She’s admiring his puzzle, flitting to and fro as she observes it from every conceivable angle, her curiosity piqued. He’s fascinated with her, but more than that is appalled that she’s not going about solving the puzzle the correct way! He makes no attempt to sneak up on her, instead striding right up and claiming in his usual loud voice that, pleased though he is that she’s so impressed, she would be much more so if she actually tried it! She thinks of fleeing, but when she sees him settling down beside it, when he calls to her and proceeds to show her step-by-step how it’s meant to be solved… she takes the chance to approach and does as he instructs, beaming happily when he praises her the moment she passes through it unscathed.

‘OF COURSE, YOU ARE FAR SMARTER THAN THAT MOUSE, LITTLE WINGED HUMAN! NYEH-HEHEHEHEE!’

… He later learns all those oddities hadn’t been a mouse at all. The Great Papyrus was thoroughly japed!

Hickory (SF):: The odd happenings around the old home they’ve moved into begin almost that very first evening and Hickory quickly realizes something is amiss because he’s the one taking the fall for it all. Boxes toppling over? Misplaced items? Faucets left running and windows left wide open?

Yeah, there is definitely something off about this house…

It doesn’t take long for him to hear about the folk tales of the area, and each time he goes out to gather information for his investigation he returns with more evidence that points to a mischief-maker dwelling in and around his own home, too. He finally manages to catch a glimpse of the troublesome creature in question late one afternoon after he has shortcutted back to an empty house only to hear quiet mutterings coming from a nearby shelf. And what should he find but a small fairy, fussing over the filthy state of the house on her land now and lamenting over how thick-skulled the newcomers are.

Ouch.

A little blue magic is all it takes to make sure she doesn’t flit away before he has a chance to talk to her, and talk to her he does. For someone that could sit comfortably in his hand, she seems to have an awful lot of attitude, but after learning the building was partially built on fae territory and realizing it was seen as taking from them, yet giving nothing back in return…

Well, the brothers can’t have that hanging over their heads, now can they?

Black (SF) :: This has to be the worst assignment the Queen has thrown his way yet. And that’s saying something.

He hates it here. It’s too… tranquil, and he’s far too used to being bogged down with endless piles of paperwork and meetings and interrogations and more paperwork to be comfortable in this sort of setting. It has made him irritable and bossy (or at least more so than usual), and while Hickory is fairly accustomed to seeing his brother like this, not everyone is able to tolerate it…

He’s loud, he’s rude, and the resident fae wants him out.

Misfortune seems to follow him from the start. It’s never anything drastic, but it’s enough to cause him near-constant annoyance - sugar replaced with salt, all of his pens gone from his desk, the window left open and his work scattered wildly around his office… At first, he’s frustrated beyond measure and hoping for some kind of break, but it isn’t long before he suspects all of this isn’t simply just a stroke of exceedingly bad luck on his part…

Unfortunately for her, this skeleton isn’t nearly half the idiot she thinks he is, although he plays the role beautifully… right up until she’s fallen into a trap of his own making.

It’s clear to see he’s thoroughly pissed when he discovers her and she’s fully expecting to be snapped in two, or have her wings plucked off or meet some other horrible fate at his hands, but it never comes. Instead, he seems… curious? And… intent on making a deal with her.

Oh, this just got interesting.

Or, it would be, if he were any other soul in the area. But he seems to have done his own research on the legends of the land and has an abnormally good grasp on how to deal with her kind. He’s cautious, ridiculously so, and oh so careful on what he says around her, and by the end of it all, he’s managed to procure her assistance in return for setting her free. A fair trade, she’d say.

Still, between his noisy self and his slob of a brother, it’s clear their fae associate finds little joy in being in their presence longer than necessary.

#anon ask #ask nascent #fairy!au #fairy reed #undertale #undertale AU #Swapfell

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officialjessicajewett · 5 years ago

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Short story (although I beg you to read the entire blog): I’m selling a drawing of the Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain house and donating the profits to preservation and restoration efforts.

BUY THE CHAMBERLAIN HOUSE ORIGINAL ART HERE. BUY THE CHAMBERLAIN HOUSE ART PRINTS HERE.

Now, let’s have the whole story. The links will be at the end of the blog again too. I don’t know if my efforts will be successful but my hope is you’ll feel my passion by the end of this blog.

We’re here to talk about something very near and dear to my heart – the Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain house in Brunswick, Maine. The porches that Chamberlain himself built on his home of over fifty years are in structural danger. Together, you and I are going to help. Buildings like this one belong to all of us.

Briefly, Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain was a Union general in the American Civil War who rose to that rank without formal military training (he was a professor before the war). He volunteered for service, and then later became a four-term governor of Maine, followed by president of Bowdoin College.

His wife, Fanny, was a rare example of an independent woman, having a career of her own as a music teacher and an artist before she decided to get married. The two of them were quite liberal in a lot of ways; believing women should be admitted to college wherever they chose, believing in the right to contraception and family planning, believing in racial equality, and so forth.

For a bit of context into the time and place the Chamberlain family lived, they knew Harriet Beecher Stowe, author of Uncle Tom’s Cabin, and attended church with her for years. Stowe sometimes held gatherings of Bowdoin College students in her home where she read chapters of Uncle Tom’s Cabin aloud. Chamberlain took Fanny to some of these readings while they were “dating” (dating wasn’t the term in those days).

National history largely forgot Chamberlain until Ken Burns heavily featured him throughout his documentary series, The Civil War. Then in the early 90s, Jeff Daniels actually played Chamberlain (seen in character on the left) in the film, Gettysburg, followed ten years later by playing him again in Gods and Generals.

His impact reaches far beyond Maine. Even I live in Atlanta and I’m just three miles from both Chamberlain Street and Oakland Cemetery where one of his best friends, General John B. Gordon, is buried.

You’re beginning to see why this family and this house matter to American history. We could sit here discussing Chamberlain’s fascinating life and undeniable affect on Maine history until we write a book. In fact, there are a lot of books about him, his military commands, and his family.

Not only did the family live in this house for over fifty years, but Henry Wadsworth Longfellow rented rooms in the same house before they bought it. Longfellow’s presence in the house is still felt today in the upstairs parlor where a portion of the wallpaper he put up is still there.

This is the house today. Originally, it was only one-and-a-half floors. Chamberlain had the entire structure moved to the corner of Potter and Maine, and then lifted about eleven feet off the ground to build an entirely new first floor addition. He designed most of the first floor himself, including a beautiful curved staircase that greeted guests upon walking through the ruby red foyer. It’s is one of the most architecturally important houses in the state of Maine due to the odd mixture of building and decorating styles blended together from different popular aesthetics in the nineteenth century – Cape Cod, Gothic Revival, and some Art Nouveau influences. Chamberlain wasn’t even a trained architect or interior designer.

The Pejepscot History Center (PHC) rescued the house from demolition in 1983 after decades of being rented out to Bowdoin College students. It had been chopped up into seven apartments and the interior was painted psychedelic colors when they acquired it. Almost 37 years under the careful stewardship of historians and volunteers has seen great strides toward preserving and restoring the home to the way it stood when Chamberlain lived there, but only partially so.

As of my last visit, renters still live in the upper portions of the house in, I believe, three apartments because renting brings in money for upkeep. Many of the unoccupied rooms upstairs haven’t yet been restored either, including all of the Chamberlain family bedrooms. The downstairs bathroom with original fittings and the master bedroom upstairs were being used for storage instead of teaching and tourism. It takes a lot of money to preserve and restore historical buildings. Brunswick is a small town and Maine is a small town state.

Why does the decay of an old house matter to me?

My family name is Jewett. That was, once upon a time, an influential name up in Maine, so much so that if you take a drive over to South Berwick, you can tour my ancestors’ home. I’m related to Sarah Orne Jewett and she left her home to Historic New England when she died. If you click on her name, it’ll take you to the website for that house. There, you’ll see the potential when important places have the resources for full, meticulous restoration and preservation. I have a vision for the Chamberlain home being just as preserved, studied, and restored as the Jewett house.

I’ve had the privilege of visiting the Chamberlain house twice. Tour guides were wonderful and well-informed, the gift shop was better than most battlefield gift shops, and there was a beautiful wheelchair ramp built onto the back porch – a rarity for historical landmarks. In the above photo, you’re looking at my first trip to the house twelve years ago when I was quite sick and underweight compared to now. Sick or not, historical preservation is my passion. So I went to Maine.

I’d like to show you more photos from my trips to the Chamberlain house. I quickly grabbed some from my collection so you can see how special this place is to many of us in the American history, women’s history, and Civil War fields.

In 2018 and 2019, the PHC raised $48,000 for serious restoration work on the exterior of the house. They even got the wheelchair ramp rebuilt on the back porch as a bonus. It was a really spectacular job and it all looks like it belonged on the house from the beginning, although General Chamberlain never had a ramp back there.

The old ramp and porch.

The new ramp and porch.

I’m showing you this because I want you to see what’s possible through the help of donations, foundations, and grants to not only restore historical landmarks but also to make them accessible to more people in the future. Places like this really depend on tourism for cash flow in addition to the few grants that are available. Tourism matters economically to small towns. It pays to have interesting landmarks, speaking in practical terms. We’re American. We understand that money talks.

Take a look at this photo of the house from the 1870s. Do you see the glass porch on the first floor, and then the open air porch above it? Pay attention to those.

I’m letting the Pejepscot History Center explain what happened. This is from their fundraiser page. I’m not sure if the fundraiser page is still open, but if it is, I’ll update this blog with a link.

Thanks to $48,000 raised from foundations and individuals over 2018-2019, we were able to undertake extensive exterior restoration work on the Joshua L. Chamberlain Museum starting in the spring of 2019.

Four faces of the building have now been lovingly restored, but in the process, considerable rot due to deferred maintenance in the past was found and corrected.

This led to fewer funds available for addressing the final part of this Phase I restoration effort: the two historic porches on the southeast corner of the building, which have some of the most interesting architecture on the building, and provide considerable structural support.

Unfortunately, they too have more deterioration than originally anticipated, necessitating additional funds to repair and rebuild the porches correctly.

Chamberlain raised the house 11 feet in the air in 1871 to add the lower story, thereby adding the first floor porch himself. He especially loved these porches. Over the years, he and the family enjoyed sitting on them and raising plants in the ample southern sunshine.

So I decided to make donations interesting. Individually, none of us can afford the $20,000 the PHC needs to raise to save Chamberlain’s porches from decaying and deteriorating. I know I can’t.

But what I can do is use my skills as an artist to draw attention to the house and make it worth your effort to help rescue the house. I’m a portrait artist most of the time, selling commissions of ordinary people as well as portraits set in highly researched historical scenes. To me, the Chamberlain house like all other historical houses are like living things with souls and sets of memories all their own.

The idea occurred to me that if people were willing to buy my portraits of people, perhaps they would be willing to buy a “portrait” of a house. I had already done a Christmas-themed piece of art showcasing the Chamberlain family’s church, First Parish, and I was interested in doing another piece anyway. If I could use my artistic drive to raise awareness for historical preservation, all the better.

So I got to work. Watch the video below to see me in action.

Yes, the manner in which I do my art is a bit different. We’ll go ahead and address the elephant in the room since many of you might be new to my website and my art. If you didn’t guess from my other photos, I’m physically disabled. I was born with a condition called Arthrogryposis and the nature of it means I need to do everything with the tools in my mouth, whether it’s writing, typing, chopping vegetables, sewing, or creating art. I’ve had about nineteen surgeries to date with a high probability of two more surgeries in 2020. Selling art is how I make extra money.

This time, however, I’m not making money from the art. I’ve decided to sell both the original and various sized prints made from the Chamberlain house piece for the benefit of the restoration project. When I sell this piece, I will make a donation from 80% of the profits (I need 20% for shipping, materials, etc.) to the Pejepscot History Center and I will make public all of the pertinent documents. That way everything is crystal clear and there are no questions.

This is the completed piece of art.

It took me about three weeks to complete it. I used a combination of Pentel mechanical pencils with .5 mm lead and Prismacolor Ebony pencils on 11×14-inch mixed media paper. Each detail of the house was researched and replicated to the best of my ability down to the placement of the trees, the curtains from the 1870s photographs, the wrought iron fence design, and the woodwork. If you look up top, you’ll see the famous chimney Chamberlain added after the war with the Maltese cross. He was a Fifth Corps officer and the Maltese cross was their insignia, a symbol found throughout the house.

You’ll be able to purchase this piece of art in my shop.

BUY THE CHAMBERLAIN HOUSE ORIGINAL ART HERE. BUY THE CHAMBERLAIN HOUSE ART PRINTS HERE.

The original, as in the actual piece of art I worked on, is 11×14 inches and costs $385.00 USD. Prints (5×7, 8×10, or 11×17) range in price from $12.00 USD to $24.00 USD and are made on high quality cardstock with a glossy finish.

Orders larger than 8×10 inches are shipped in a tube with the art rolled inside to protect it from rough postal workers. Orders 8×10 and smaller are shipped in flat bubble mailers reinforced with cardboard. All customers are given a tracking number so they can keep an eye on their packages with the postal service as well. Every order within the United States includes free shipping. Shipping for international orders will be calculated at the time of purchase.

Please consider purchasing this piece. It’s such a worthy cause. I realize there is a lot happening in the world, and I’m doing my part for those causes too, but we should care about American history too. We need to be thinking about what kind of tangible legacy we’re going to leave our children and grandchildren. Wouldn’t you want to teach your descendants to celebrate and honor a man who believed in the qualities of a better world that we’re still fighting to create? What better way to honor him and his family than to help preserve the place they loved and called home for over half a century?

If you’re not interested in buying my art, that’s quite all right. There are choices.

One option is to let me collect the donations at PayPal.me/ArtByJessicaJewett and I’ll get it to the Pejepscot History Center for you. Please specify that you are donating to the Chamberlain house in the notes. I’ll send donations on the 15th of every month (when there are any) and I will give you copies of the receipts.

Or you can make a donation directly to the Pejepscot History Center, but please make sure you specify that your donation is for the Chamberlain house. They don’t have digital donations aside from the annual membership drives. The new 2020 membership drive hasn’t been created yet since they are closed until February 4.

To donate by mail:

Pejepscot History Center 159 Park Row Brunswick, ME 04011

By phone: Call (207) 729-6606 to provide a credit card number. They take all major cards.

In person: Drop by their offices at 159 Park Row during open hours.

The Pejepscot History Center is a non-profit, tax-exempt 501(c)(3) organization. Your gift is tax deductible to the full extent allowed by law.

I’m not affiliated with the Pejepscot History Center in any way, nor do I work for them. My fundraising efforts are as a private citizen.

Donation

Please consider making a donation to help me keep up with the cost of art supplies, living expenses, equipment related to my disability, and so forth. The minimum is set at $10.00. Thank you for your generosity.

$10.00

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Buy a piece of art to help with restoration projects on the Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain house. Find out why it's important. Short story (although I beg you to read the entire blog): I'm selling a drawing of the Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain house and donating the profits to preservation and restoration efforts.

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meiiyung · 6 years ago

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A second chance - Luke Hemmings x Reader (part 2)

Light flickered in a scattered pattern as warmth began to seep through the layered glass of the bus windows. (y/n) lifted her head from the padded portion of the chair she had cuddled into, she felt her body tense as she was physically weak and sweat covered her skin.

The carrier was parked at a small gas station in a small town, a slight ocean breeze floating through the air as tourists filed off the bus. It had been almost two days since the girl had boarded the transit and she was finally at her stop, taking her hoodie off and pushing the pillow case inside it so it looked like she was just carrying a sweater.

Southport, Florida.

Doubling checking to have all her things, she breathed out as the humidity washed over her- her body basking in the golden sun that cascaded down her body. her hair brushed against her neck and she shrugged at the awkward tickling feeling.

Walking away from the group, she made her way further into town and let herself relax, looking around the tiny beach town as she looked for someplace she could use a washroom and get something to eat.

A small pink building with a waffle cone on top caught her attention and the girl smiled, walking toward the building that pretty much advertised a toothache. The idea of a cold and sweet ice cream cone really appealed to her in this current moment.

Soft bells sounded above the shop door as she entered, alerting whoever was around that they had a customer. As she walked inside and looked around, she saw that the building was actually attached to the store next door. they must be owned by the same people.

As Meghan was browsing the store and looking at the different flavours, she saw that they actually had quite the collection for being in such a small town. The shop was decorated with white walls covered in tiny specks of paint meant to look like sprinkles, the display cases polished and chrome lining the bottom.

Quick footsteps moved towards the girl and she spun around quickly, coming face to face with a curly haired man with a slight beard growing in- he had an apologetic smile as he was obviously caught off guard by having a customer this early in the morning.

“hi- sorry, uh how can i help you?” he grabbed an apron off the wall and pulled it on, tying the straps behind his back. His white t-shirt and jeans were covered by the red striped material of his cover.

smiling at him she walked towards the case. “yeah uhm- can i get a small chocolate brownie scoop in a bowl?” her voice was quiet and reserved. the man tilted his head as he scooped the treat into a bowl and handed it over.

“are you new in town? i don’t recall seeing you before..” he trailed off, waiting for an answer and also her name if she were to offer it. From what the girl could tell, he seemed friendly enough- and he didn't fawn over her or try to be a dickered which was always nice.

she took a bite of her ice cream as she nodded. “i guess you could say that...” remaining quite mysterious with her answer.

Sending her a bright smile and scratching his jaw, the man shrugged it off- it was at this point that meghan could read the small writing on the top of the menu board. “Andy’s” “how much do I owe you... Andy?” she trailed, pointing up to the sign so he could see where she was getting the name.

A chuckle flooded through her ears, the man having a kind smile on his face. “Andy’s my dad... He used to own this place but now it’s mine... My name’s luke.” he outstretched his hand after cleaning up the counter and putting his apron away.

Meghan flushed slightly at her mistake and nodded. “my bad... my name’s (y/n)..’ she decided to go with her middle name just to really give herself a chance at starting over from scratch.

Luke took her hand delicately and shook it, not giving too much of a squeeze and yanking her towards him. “Its nice to meet you... welcome to town and don’t worry about the ice cream.. consider it a house warming gift. kind like when people give a pie to welcome their new neighbours..” he stepped away and started walking back towards the other side of the store.

“daddy!” a tiny voice rang out, high pitched and adorable and little footsteps ran towards the pair- instantly reminding (y/n) of how the man had done just moments ago.

At the noise, luke turned around and swooped a little figure up into his arms- a blonde haired girl with brown eyes and a pointed nose. she looked no older than 5 years old.. but definitely no younger than 3.

“And whose this?” (y/n) chuckled softly, looking at the girl with a kind smile as the child clung to her father’s neck. Luke smiled and poked the tiny girl’s cheek, he fixed her shirt and denim shorts before setting her own the ground and ruffling her hair.

“This is Emily... my daughter.. and the towns resident trouble maker!” he tickled her side and the girl squeaked, howling in laughter and giggles before running back off to where ever she came from.

(Y/N) felt her heart swell, she had always wanted kids, someone she could raise and make into a good person. But she wanted to do that with someone she could trust and love... Someone better than Liam.

As she came out of her daydream, (y/n) looked up at luke who was quite a few inches taller than her. was he a giant? he at to be at least 6′4... maybe 6′2 at the least.

“uhm- so since im new to town... do you sell maps? and maybe you could point me out some directions to the nearest motel?” she offered him a kind smile.

The owner nodded and lead her to the cash register, pulling a map out from under the counter and handing it over- “Usually i dont sell maps since southport usually doesn't get a lot of tourists... but you can consider this a loan?” he smiled softly, grabbing a piece of receipt paper and writing the directions on it.

(y/n) tilted her head, a sweet smile covering her lips. “a loan?” she asked.

luke winked and started turning around the corner- probably to find emily. “so that you have to come back.”

#5sos fluff #5sos imagines #luke hemmings imagines #luke hemmings #5sos

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keelywolfe · 6 years ago

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FIC: A Perfect Blend

Summary: A community effort requires a community. They're working on it.

Tags: Spicyhoney, Established Relationship, Original Undertale Characters, Fluff, Domestic

Notes: This is not what I was supposed to be writing today. I have no control over my writing brain, seriously.

part of the ‘by any other name’ series.

Read it on AO3

Read it here!

~~*~~

It had taken much longer than Edge would have preferred, even with him and Antwan spent any free time they could dealing with red tape and insurance companies, architects and contractors. Months of effort and headaches, but finally all their work was bearing fruit. Barring any hitches, legal or otherwise, (and Red was dealing stringently with those sorts of issues, far from Edge’s plausible deniability) the Beanery would be opening their doors again by the end of the month.

They’d gone with an entirely new location instead of rebuilding over the old, one that was strategically closer to both the Monster community and en route to the college, allowing both of their most common clientele easy access.

The new building had an open floor plan with large windows letting in the light and the sitting area was twice what the older building held. The walls were going to be a clean white with dark wood trim, tasteful art already chosen and waiting to be hung.

Behind a wide counter was the work area, designed with plenty of space for their more esoteric brewing equipment and that combined with the industrial lights overhead gave the shop a bit of a mad scientist effect that Edge knew the college students who had always frequented the shop were going to appreciate.

He suspected Stretch had a hand in the design.

This was his first time in the building and Edge explored it with a jaundiced gaze, looking for any flaw, any issue that would need to be dealt with before the grand opening. Nothing had caught his attention yet, but there was still time for him to ferret out mistakes while he waited for the others to finish the task at hand.

Painting the walls was going take a little time, particularly with this group.

They could have easy paid for professionals to come in and paint the shop; they had retained plenty of local contractors for this project, out of both practicality and a way to build a relationship with other Human businesses.

Stretch had been the one to suggest inviting the Monster community out to help with this portion of the development. Many of them had visited the shop daily and losing the Beanery had something of a ripple effect. Without their welcoming coffee shop to start the day, less and less Monsters had bothered to come into town at all, isolating themselves within New New Home.

A lack of Monsters in the Human community meant a lack of adjustment to their presence and while Stretch never let himself be held back from visiting his favorite places, one skeleton couldn’t do it all on his own.

“people loved the beanery and everyone who worked there,” Stretch argued to Edge when he’d absently mentioned they were looking into contracting it out, “they wanna help and you guys need to let them.”

He’d been quickly proven right; the signup sheet filled up in less than an hour. Plenty of Monsters were bereft without the Beanery and there had been little they could do to assist in rebuilding, until now.

It was a small gesture and with the size of their group, they’d be done quickly. But the show of support would be priceless. Most of them were already hard at work, and if they lacked the skill of professionals, at least they worked with enthusiasm.

Speaking of…

“hey, babe,” Stretch said cheerily when Edge walked over to him. Normally, Edge would steal a soft kiss or a touch, but Edge was fond of his outfit so today was going to be an exception to the rule. How Stretch managed to get so much paint smeared on his clothes in such a short time, Edge would never know. Jeff was standing next to him and if he wasn’t quite as liberally decorated as Stretch, it was a close thing. “how is it looking? not bad, right?”

For all that his technique was haphazard, to put it generously, it looked acceptable enough. It was a good thing that all of the wood paneling and tables had been carefully covered before they began.

“Your painting is better than your fundraising suggestions,” Edge said dryly.

Stretch only snickered but Jeff raised a curious eyebrow, “Why? What was your idea?” He shifted on his paint-daubed sneakers uncomfortably, but managed to add, “And, um, I thought you guys were okay with money?”

“eh, we don’t really need the cash,” Stretch shrugged, dabbing at the wall with his brush. “but the public relations department likes to do different things, right, babe?”

“It helps build a relationship with the Human community,” Edge agreed. “However, I don’t believe a nude Monster calendar would give us the kind of exposure we’re looking for—” Edge stopped and closed his sockets, pained, as Stretch and Jeff both cracked up with laughter.

“good one, babe,” Stretch chuckled. Absently, he scratched at his cheek bone with the back of his hand and managed to smear paint across his face. The white against bone gave him something of a ghostly appearance. “anyway, what we decided on was a joint effort between the beanery and our local monster bakery.”

“They are going to supply baked goods for them to sell and we’ll have advertisements here on how a portion of the sales go to support different non-profits in the area,” Edge agreed, trying not to think about how he was getting these two into his car. Hopefully there were a couple leftover drop cloths. “It’s mutually beneficial. That will provide good PR and awareness for everyone, the Monster community and the nonprofits.”

“Really? Like for veterans and stuff?” Edge didn’t know the meaning behind the glance Jeff and Stretch exchanged, but he made a note of it. Much as he appreciated their close friendship and the support it gave Stretch, part of Edge sensed trouble surrounding these two like a miasma. Better to be prepared for whatever they stumbled into.

Not to the point of secreting tracking devices on them, of course, but there were certain days that Edge saw the appeal in his brother’s approach.

Instead of asking, though, he only nodded. “Oh, yes. For example, our first organization is one providing equine therapy for veterans and children with disabilities. A couple of my boys from the Y have gotten involved and it’s been a valuable resource for them.”

“That sounds like a pretty good way of doing things,” Jeff admitted. “If you ever need any help, let me know, yeah?”

“Actually, we do have an opening available in the Public Relations dep—” Edge began, only to be interrupted.

“shit,” Stretch yelped, “here, here, help!”

It was with no little frustration that Edge let go of his lost opportunity to steal Jeff from his current employment and instead watched his two stooges struggle to keep a ladder from overturning, the paint can at the top wobbling dangerously.

He should have banned these two from ladder access before they ever got here and now it was too late. Missed opportunities abounded today, it seemed.

Trying to take it away would probably get him an argument from the both of them and Antwan hadn’t been able to come, so Edge wouldn’t have any backup. In other words, not worth the effort to fight a battle he wasn’t likely to win.

He kept his magic at the ready, though, and two-thirds of his attention on these fools as they worked. Stretch wouldn’t be able to stay angry for long if Edge had to turn his soul blue to keep him from landing headfirst on the floor.

His remaining attention was on the rest of the room where groups of Monsters were gathered at each wall, all of them painting amidst laughter and chatter. Monsters young and old had come, alone and with their families, and all of them eager to help.

Edge stood back in the middle of the plastic-draped tables, watching, and only glanced to the side when he felt a presence next to him. Debbie stood there, watching. She dressed like she would have any day at the Beanery, down to her apron and her tidy ponytail. That, at least, had not changed. There was a coffee cup in her hands, wafting a gentle steam.

They stood in silence together for a long moment, watching the hard work and laughter of the others.

“I can’t possibly thank you enough for this,” Debbie said quietly.

“You don’t need to thank me, the Embassy—” Edge began, automatically. He broke off, startled, when she nudged him lightly in the ribs with an elbow. At her height, she had to reach up to do it.

“Didn’t anyone ever teach you not to slip a thank you?” Debbie scolded lightly. Her smile was teasingly warm but there was no mistaking her gratitude, shining in her damp eyes.

“I…suppose not,” Edge said, slowly. Red did sometimes extol the benefits of using the gratitude of others, but Edge sincerely doubted that was what she meant. “Debbie, what happened to the Beanery was not our fault but there is no getting around the fact that it wouldn’t have happened if you hadn’t been an adamant supporter of ours.”

Carefully, he reached over to settle a gloved hand on her shoulder, squeezing lightly. “You gave us a place in your world to be ourselves, you gave us normalcy when all too often, we stand outside. For what you gave us, it’s our turn to support you. I’ll accept your thank you, if you’ll accept mine, for allowing us to give you this. The Beanery was never just a coffee shop. Not to us.”

“Blast it,” Debbie let out in a watery sigh, pulling up her apron with her free hand and dabbing at her eyes. “All right, enough of that. Honestly, I came over here because I wanted to give you this.” She held up the cup in her hand. It was plain black, thick ceramic, and large enough to hold a generous serving. “It’s the first cup of coffee in our new building. Your usual.”

Oh.

He took it from her, held the mug up in both hands and breathed in the aroma, beautiful, rich darkness. Pitch-black coffee, roasted in house, and that first sip carried with it memories that were as sweet as the coffee was delicately bitter. He rolled it over his tongue before swallowing with a heartfelt sigh.

“It’s perfect,” Edge told her, and Debbie grinned.

“That’s what I like to hear.” She nodded at the others, dropping her voice conspiratorially, “I’ve got drinks and pastries for everyone when they’re done, but I thought it was better not to mention the lemon bars until he was finished, or they might never get started.”

“Good choice,” Edge chuckled. He didn’t flinch when Debbie gave him a gentle pat on the back before she went back behind the counter to finish setting up equipment. His back was probably as high as she could reach without a stepstool, he thought ruefully.

After the painting was finished, they would be bringing in carpenters to add shelves to the walls for displaying the various coffee beans and teas that the shop carried. The floor still needed tiled and there were plenty of small details to tend to yet.

But by the end of the month, the new Beanery would be open for business. The plastic on the tables would be removed and they would be filled with people, Humans and Monsters, couples and college students as they enjoyed coffee and pastries, indulging in both treats and community. A place for Monsters to slowly work towards joining the Aboveground.

Quite the burden to place on a coffee shop, but then, as Edge had said, it had never been just a coffee shop. Not to them.

Edge sipped his coffee peaceably, watching his family and his people laugh together as they worked, waiting for them to finish and join him.

-finis

#spicyhoney #papcest #keelywolfe #underfell #underswap #underswap papyrus #underfell papyrus #by any other name

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benjaminernando97-blog · 5 years ago

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flipomatic · 6 years ago

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Reason to Stay: Chapter 1

Summary: When Sayo, a roaming mercenary archer, journeys to the town of Circle looking for work, she never expects to find a reason to stay.

Author Note: This is my project for NaNoWriMo 2018, which means the intention is to write 50,000 words in the month of November. My goal is to write the whole project this month and update once a week. I have never successfully completed a fic of this length, but I am ready to change that. Every bandori character will make an appearance, though some only in cameos.

Welcome, and thank you for going on this journey with me!

Chapter word count: 2700

Sayo walked up the cobblestone road at a brisk pace, eager to reach her destination before noon. She carried her bow strung over one shoulder, within reach if she were to need it. The quiver sat next to it, stocked full of arrows she’d both bought and fletched herself. A sword on her hip provided for close quarters combat, though Sayo was much more comfortable with the bow. Her bag weighed heavy against her back, full of the rest of her possessions.

She kept her long teal hair tied back as not to get caught in tree branches or, even worse, the string of her own bow. For armor she wore a light leather armor, which was sturdy enough to protect her from glancing blows but light enough that she could travel on foot in it. Since Sayo traveled frequently from town to town, that was an important perk.

The road Sayo walked was surrounded by fields on both sides. After hiring her for a few short jobs, the head of the nearby village sent her this way. He said the town’s castle was looking to hire archers, and as a mercenary Sayo was always looking for work. Governments didn’t pay better than other folk, but they were less likely to double cross her.

As Sayo approached the outer wall of the town, a few trees cropped up on the sides of the road. This side of town was protected by a three meter wall with a large gate over the road. Above the open gate a sign read “Circle” which Sayo had been told was the name of the town. She assumed that if they knew anything about defense then the other sides of the town would be similarly protected. A couple of city guards stood watch at the gate, barely paying Sayo any mind as she passed through.

Once inside, Sayo took in the new sights of this city. Near the edges she passed by both small and large houses. Local farmers went about their business as she passed, not paying any attention to the newcomer.

As she made it farther into the city, Sayo passed by the city markets. There was much more activity here, people milling about and trying to buy or sell goods. It already looked to be a healthy city, and Sayo had only just arrived. She kept her guard up as she walked by the stalls, always wary in a new location. One delicious smelling croquette shop almost distracted her, but she had to find work before she could eat.

As she walked through town she could see the castle in the distance. It towered above the other buildings, standing at least 20 meters high by Sayo’s rough estimate. It had a tower in each corner to keep an eye for invaders and was decorated in red banners. A young woman stood on guard on a wall between two of the towers, looking out over the city. She was equipped with a bow, which was as it should be for a wall guard.

There were guards on the ground as well, with one positioned at the castle gate. The woman looked to be around Sayo’s age, perhaps a little younger, with shoulder length brown hair tied up in two odd looking nubs. She wore light armor and carried a short sword and shield. Even as she stood guard her eyes darted from place to place, watching people as they passed by. Her gaze jumped to Sayo as she approached, showing that at least she was doing her job.

“Hello!” The guard greeted Sayo loudly. “What brings you to the castle, stranger?” Her words were vaguely unfriendly, but her tone the exact opposite. She kept her hands relaxed by her sides, so Sayo didn’t take it as a threat.

“I’m looking for work.” Sayo didn’t bother with small talk. “And I heard they’re hiring archers at this castle.”

“Oh!” The guards eyes lit up even brighter than before. “So Moca got the word out, that’s great!” She beamed, eyes moving to the bow on Sayo’s back. “One moment, I’ll have someone fetch Ran.” Turning towards the open gate, she somehow raised her voice even louder and called inside. “Hey, Otae, can you go get Ran?” She gestured wildly with her arms. “I know you’re guarding that door, but I’ll keep an eye on it!” She shot a thumbs up through the gate before turning back to Sayo. “My name’s Kasumi, what’s yours?”

“Sayo.” The archer responded bluntly, not sure how she felt about this energetic guard. Did this person actually focus and do her job? It didn’t seem likely based on how she behaved.

“Where did you come from?” Kasumi asked with as much enthusiasm for small talk as she’d had for calling her fellow guard. “Is it far away?”

Sayo was less enthused about making conversation. “I’m from Haneoka.” She said simply.

“Wow that’s so far!” A few people walking by turned their heads at the outburst as Kasumi leaned towards Sayo excitedly.

Sayo refused to take a step back. “Not really.” She replied at a normal and socially acceptable volume. “I’ve only been on the road for a year.” Reluctantly she added this detail, caving into the small talk and hoping this Ran person would arrive soon.

“I’ve thought about traveling, but could never get enough time off of work.” Kasumi leaned back out of Sayo’s personal bubble, pouting a bit. That sounded strange to Sayo’s ears; a normal guard should be able to take time off. Were the work conditions poor here?

Before she could ask, someone approached from inside the castle. “This is who Tae sent me to get?” The woman asked Kasumi, sharp red eyes analyzing Sayo’s form. She had shoulder length black hair with a distinct red streak though one portion and dressed simply in a brown tunic and pants.

“Yup!” Kasumi’s energy returned. “This is Sayo, she’s an archer looking for a job.” She pointed at Sayo with both hands.

Ran nodded once. “Follow me.” She said, turning on one heel to head back through the gates. Sayo breathed a sigh of relief as she followed, glad to be away from the sheer noise Kasumi produced. They walked past another guard Sayo assumed to be Tae; a taller woman with long brown hair who was staring blankly dead ahead.

They made a few turns, Sayo making sure to remember which way they came from just in case of trouble. As they passed through a courtyard, a tinny sounding voice called out. Ran stopped walking abruptly at the sound.

“Raaaaaan.” Another girl with shortish light brown hair was lounging in the courtyard. “Who is this? Is Ran cheating on Moca?” She held her head tilted as she looked up at them. Another strange person, Sayo thought.

Ran merely scoffed. “I’ll tell you later.” Was all she said before resuming walking, ignoring the other woman’s calls for her to return. Sayo didn’t cast a glance back as she followed; she didn’t know that person and thus didn’t care.

One turn later and a quick walk down a hallway led Ran and Sayo to their destination. When Ran opened the door it looked to be a weapons supply closet. Ran scooped up a large sack that sat near the entrance and turned back to Sayo.

“I’ll hire you today to take these swords to the blacksmith. They’re all rusty and need repair.” Ran held out the bag, but Sayo was hesitant to accept it. Were they not looking for archers? This wasn’t exactly an archer’s position. Ran noticed her hesitation and added, “You’ll be paid one hundred coins upon your return.” Well, there was no question then. Sayo wasn’t above doing this, not for a hundred coins. The swords weren’t even worth that much covered in rust.

“Deal.” Sayo accepted the bag, able to hold it in one hand despite its weight. “Where can I find your blacksmith?”

“She has a forge near the market. When you leave the castle turn right, then walk straight until you smell burning metal, about a kilometer away. When you return, ask Kasumi to bring you to my office.”

“Very well.” Sayo adjusted her grip on the bag, making sure she had it securely.

“Come,” Ran gestured. “I’ll show you how to get back out.” She walked past Sayo back out into the hall, and when Sayo exited she closed the storeroom door. Sayo followed Ran back the way they came, indeed making the same turns in reverse to reach the front. Once there, Ran bid Sayo farewell with a nod an went back into the depths of the castle. Sayo walked out of the gates, telling Kasumi she’d be back. The excitable guard waved as Sayo turned right and walked off into town.

She passed through a different but similar region, with many people going about their days around her. The crowd was thick, so she had to be careful not to bump anyone with her bag of swords.

After about ten minutes of walking Sayo started looking around for a forge. She figured she’d walked far enough that it should be close. It turned out that, as Ran had said, she smelled it before she saw it.

The putrid scent of burnt metal was hard to miss, and guided Sayo off the road and towards a small building with one open wall. Inside a young woman stood over an anvil, examining some kind of weapon. She had shoulder length light brown hair, though it was darker color than the girl in the courtyard had, with noticeably muscular arms and a pair of rimmed glasses on her face.

“Excuse me.” Sayo called out as she approached, not wanting to startle the girl too badly. “Are you the blacksmith who works with the castle?”

“Indeed I am!” The girl spun towards Sayo, a grin on her face. “What beauties have they sent me? Huehuehue.” She laughed oddly as she eyed the bag in Sayo’s grasp.

“Ran would like these swords repaired.” Sayo deposited the bag next to the anvil, and the blacksmith opened it to look inside.

She picked one up, holding it up to look at it better. “Ooh these do need help. Tell Ran it’ll be my usual fee.”

“Will do.” Sayo nodded firmly. She was about to turn and leave when the blacksmith stopped her.

“Oh.” She dropped the sword back into the bag, moving to the back of her shop. “I just remembered, these are done and can be returned.” She grabbed a similar looking sack to the one Sayo had brought, though a little smaller.

“Thank you.” Sayo accepted the bag, which as indeed lighter than the one she’d brought. She bid the blacksmith farewell and made her exit, pretending she couldn’t hear the woman cackling at the swords in the distance.

Sayo had only made it about thirty steps from the blacksmiths workshop when she felt something odd. It felt like someone was watching her. She looked around slowly at the people around her, pretending she was merely taking in the sights of a new town instead of searching for someone. None of the common folk were looking her way, and though she always had a niggling feeling that Hina might’ve followed her the other girl was nowhere in sight.

As she looked around, the feeling vanished. Even though it was gone, Sayo stayed on alert as she walked back to the castle. Maybe she shouldn’t stay in this town too long, she mused. If someone was watching her here then it might not be safe.

When she arrived within eyesight of the gate, Kasumi gave a huge wave to welcome her back. Sayo didn’t return it, figuring she could use the excuse that her hands were full.

“Welcome back!” Kasumi greeted her.

“Thanks.” Sayo said politely. “Can you take me to Ran’s office? She told me to ask you.”

“Sure, in one minute.” Kasumi agreed, probably since the order came from Ran. She called inside to the other guard to come watch her post for a few minutes and then led Sayo into the castle.

They weaved through completely different hallways than before, stopping at an ordinary looking door.

“This is it.” Kasumi said with a gesture. She was about to walk away, but seemed to remember something. “Are those weapons from Maya?”

Sayo had no idea who Maya was. “Is that the blacksmiths name?”

“Yeah!”

“Then yes.” So that was her name. Such an odd person, that blacksmith, Sayo couldn’t help but think as she remembered the odd laughing.

“I’ll take them, the most recent batch was for the guards.” Kasumi reached out for the bag, and Sayo handed it to her. “Thanks! See you around.” She said, walking away while somehow still waving even as she carried the sack.

Sayo knocked on the door, and when a voice told her to enter she did. Ran sat at a wood desk in the back, facing towards the door. She had a quill in hand and was writing on some parchment. Sayo walked in and stopped in front of the desk, waiting for Ran to finish.

When Ran was done writing she put her quill down and looked up at Sayo. “That was quick.” She commented. “How did it go?”

“I found the blacksmith with no trouble and exchanged the weapons for a finished batch, which I entrusted to Kasumi.” Sayo summed the task up in one sentence. She left out the part about being followed after leaving the blacksmith.

“Good.” Ran sounded pleased, even if her expression didn’t change. She opened a drawer in her desk and pulled out the number of coins promised earlier. “Here is your pay.” She double counted the coins before depositing them into Sayo’s hands. “I’ll have more work for you tomorrow, if you’re interested.”

Even though she was thinking about leaving, one more day wouldn’t hurt. “I’ll be back then.” Sayo said, confirming that she’d been paid the correct amount and depositing the coins in her bag. She said a brief goodbye, which Ran returned, before walking out the door.

Sayo retraced her steps to exit the castle, escaping without having to see Kasumi again since the guard was still off dealing with the weapons Sayo brough. She turned left this time when leaving the castle and looked around for an inn.

It only took her a few minutes to find one. A sign proudly proclaimed it to be “Michelle’s Hideaway” with a pink bear drawn next to it, which wasn’t too suspicious of a name. It was of decent size and constructed out of wood planks.

Sayo entered and wasn’t offended by what she found. It was a standard little inn with some tables, a bar, and some rooms. She went to the bar to talk to the proprietor, a young woman with odd grey eyes and shoulder length black hair. Sayo had met a lot of people with similar haircuts that day.

“Do you have any rooms available for tonight?” Sayo asked, and the woman nodded.

“Just for you?” She asked to clarify.

“Yes, and I’d like a meal as well.”

“Alright.” The woman pulled out a key from under the counter. “It’ll be 30 coins to stay per night and five for the meal. You pay upfront.” She said the last line slowly and flatly, as if it had been an issue before.

Sayo had no problem with that and took 35 coins out of the ones she’d earned that day. She passed them over to the woman and received the key.

“You’re in room four.” The woman said before Sayo walked away. The room numbers were carved above the doors, so she was able to find room four with no problems.

Once inside, Sayo took off her weapons and sank down onto the bed.

She would go eat in a little while, but for now it was time to rest.

Today had been a long day, and even though she might leave town shortly it seemed to be a nice place so far. The people were a bit odd, but they were odd everywhere else too.

As she leaned back, Sayo released the ever present tension from her shoulders and for the first time that day allowed herself to relax.

Chapter 2

#flip writes #bandori fanfiction #fanfiction #hikawa sayo #this fic is going to follow Sayo the whole time #I'm worried that it's a little dry #need to work on that as I write more of it #hope you enjoyed the first chapter!#gonna be sayotsugu long term #and have some yukilisa #eventually

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beardedd0nut · 6 years ago

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Sasquatch does Russia

Well fuck, it's that point in the trip where we have done a lot and I've drank a fair bit so my memory might be a little muddy but let's try and recant everything that happened between arriving in St Petersburg to now.

That second day we had a guided tour of the Hermitage in St Petersburg. Our tour guide olga was amazing, so enthusiastic and interesting to hear from. We rode the metro to the hermitage and went via the deepest metro tunnel in town, aspx 86meters deep. Crazy to to think I've been both 86 meters above the earth and below it this trip.

The hermitage was once a palace, I don't think I could stand cleaning the joint because it is fucking massive, but it is now a huge museum housing all kinds of art and artefacts from the Russian empire. It is said that if you spent one minute in front of every piece there that it would take you seven years... unfortunately our visas don't last that long so instead we got a massive 3 hour crash course. We saw pieces by Monet, and da Vinci, we saw the throne room, and ball rooms and massive roofs painted to look like sculptures.. it was an overload. Everything has been soaked in history or masterworks and my god is it intense. Three hours in a museum is long at the best of times but with detailed stories attached and the little bits and pieces in every piece to look at it was almost too tiring to even stand and soak it all in, but amazing none the less.

Oir lunch was at a nice little local Russian place, followed swiftly by a visit to the church of the spilled blood. This is the church where a tsar was killed and so his son set up a memorial church in his honour. These Russian orthodox churches are really quite beautiful. Outside is usually any number of orbs or do,es decorated in colour or gold and inside they are covered, as in not one inch is spared, of religious depictions. Wether it is painting or scripture or sculpture not one surface remains untouched. Also apparently if you've seen Anastasia it means something, but I, not sure about that.

The evening saw a few of us wander down the main shopping district and back to the hotel. Now it's not like I don't already know I look like a tourist, but that doesn't mean that every other Russian scumbag pickpocket needed to try and get me. If that's your game dude be good at it, don't just expect me to stop do you can try and rip me off, were both better than that.

That evening a few of us went off to a craft beer place not far from where we were staying. It was awesome. I can't seem to stay away from the craft beers, even in a country famous for it's vodka. They had some beautiful IPAs and Kreigs on tap, as well as a cheeky imperial stout. It wasn't supposed to be a big night but uhh yeah, it was kinda big. The following morning was slightly thick, but that's never stopped anyone, so a couple of hydralites and it was out into the world.

The last day in st Petersburg began with a trip to the faberge museum. This was a beautiful fine art museum, and along with that came a security check and some high fashion plastic covers for my boots. Inside were 9 of the legendary eggs. They are so beautiful and elaborate and may never be replicated again. The eggs were made for the romanofs over several easters during their reign. Some just had a little picture or a hen within, but others held photo frames of family members or replicated a tree with a small bird inside. Each one was amazing to see and truly stunning.

The rest of the museum contained everything from silverware to cigarette boxes. These items were also created by faberge masters and had their own level of beauty within, and within a few rooms paintings that looked as though they were glowing on the walls that they stood. So we easily spent an hour or more just soaking up the stunning artworks within.

After such a big end morning it was time to go to the vodka museum. Walking through town we passed a lovely snow covered park and the back of saint isacs cathedral, but more on that later. The vodka museum held some nice old pieces within, but all the information was in Russian... and the audio guide was over and hour long for a room not much bigger than an average one bedroom apartment. However the entry included a vodka tasting, so that made up for it 😉 the first was a basic 5times distilled vodka, smooth and easy to drink. The second was infused with juniper and it had a gin aftertaste, not for me. The third was infused with pine nuts, it was different and I'm still not sure how to feel about it. The bar had a 1500 dollar bottle of vodka as well as a bottle shaped like an AK47. Was really funky.

After the vodka it was time to hit another cathederal. Buying tickets was difficult with the language barrier, and the woman selling me them didn't seem to understand that I wanted entry to the museum and the climb up to the top. The climb, while not as big as the belfry in Bruges, was trickier because it was about 200steps spiralling straight up. It gave a wonderful view of the city and caused me some serious jelly legs on the way down. Inside it was once again lovely and laced in gold and with some nuns and priests singing in the background it really added to the atmosphere.

That night was a new experience of travelling. An overnight train. While not particularly luxurious, I must say that twit was slightly more comfortable than on the plane. At least we got to lie down instead of staying seated like on the busses or planes. The only issue was it left late and we had to get off early, so I maybe got 4 hours sleep. This was followed by a 40 minute trip to the hotel, and a 3 hour bus/walking tour. I slept through most of the bus portion because a) I was tired as fuck and b) our new tour guide speaks like white noise and in a whisper like tone and could not be fucking harder to hear.

We finally got out somewhere near the red square and st basils, the famous church in town. We walked around and saw some churches, they are fucking everywhere in this town alongside the theatres. We also saw a great many plumes of smoke emitting from a power station or something similar near town. Then the red square and its lovely Christmas market. Before hittin the market it was necessary for a quick venture into lenins tomb. The man has been dead many a year and his body looks almost like a wax figure, and not gonna lie was half expecting him to get back up.

We met up and had a cheeky nap before heading out to dinner for some more traditional Russian foods. This included a beef borsch, it was delicious and full of flavour, and a couple more shots of vodka 😁

Today it was back with our stupidly fucking quiet tour guide for a trip into the city to see the kremlin. Again a lot of security, honestly it's crazier than the states. But to get inside the huge red walls and see the kremlin inside was really cool. Inside we weren't allowed to go to many places but saw the building Putin works in and the churches used by e royal families. One for baptism and birth, one for coronation and one for burying. It's practically a city within the city and has even been saved from destruction several times over.

We followed this with a quick tour of the metro. The brown line, yes it's a big brown ring line like a huge areshole around town, holds some great art within many of its station stops. The great thing is that the trains run so fast and frequently that we could get off, look at the mosaics or stain glass windows, and get back in within about 5-10 minutes. If that was Melbourne you'd be waiting a fucking half hour between stops.

Curenntly im just chilling in the hotel and getting ready to see the Russian ballet tonight. There will be a Prima ballerina and all, and it's pretty exciting to have such an experience. There's only a few days left in this strange yet beautiful land, and I'm going to try and fit in as much as possible.

The next update will most likely come the day before or the day I leave. Hope you've once again enjoyed this cheeky update, chatchya soon with some more adventures and tales.

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