#accurate to my summer camp counselor experience | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

dairedara · 1 year ago

Note

I found your account just for by that I follow the "Christianity" tag and you seem neat and cool; I have a question, what on Earth is the story behind you having such a complex and novel belief system? It's just, really kinda rare for people to "do their own research" to an extent of coming away with spiritual practices that look like a fancy salad with a bajillion different parts, y'know?

Hi!! Thank you for this question, this is a story I’ve been wanting to tell for a while now :)

I was raised in lukewarm Christianity— baptized Lutheran, went to church usually just for events or with non-denominational friends. Because I didn’t go to church regularly, my faith developed in a very individual sense. I have always felt connected to nature and seen it as divine in some sense, which I think influenced my pantheism later in life.

I had a crisis of faith very young. I went to an ultra-Christian summer camp with a friend, which was a lot of fun, but also basically my introduction to modern fundamentalist Christianity. There were sermons twice a day, between the swimming and the flag football, and I distinctly remember borrowing my friends’ “kid’s Bible” which had a bright pink cover because for some reason my dad’s KJV from the 70s was unfit. (I didn’t think much of that at the time, but now I do think that kind of radicalized me. I think that so many modern Christians are only ever exposed to the Bible through a specific lens, and therefore can only possibly come away with the interpretation of their pastor/denomination/youth group leader/translation instead of developing their own genuine, unadulterated view of the Bible.)

But anyway, our camp counselor took turns interviewing us, and when it came to me she asked me this question: when did you know you were saved?

I was nine years old, had absolutely zero life changing experiences under my belt, and was also incredibly devout. I answered: I always knew, because I was raised with the fact that Jesus loves me and he died for me. She wasn’t satisfied with this answer and kept pushing me until she gave up. The question greatly confused me, and when I came home, it triggered a chain reaction. I realized I couldn’t pinpoint a specific moment in my life that would explain my religiosity. I prayed for some sort of sign that I was doing the right thing and received nothing in response. I became, in essence, an atheist.

In middle school, I got my first tumblr account, and I learned about Wicca through that. I’ve always been interested in world mythology and I thought it was insanely cool and insanely right that people still worshiped the gods from those stories, although at this point the only pagan faith I knew of was Wicca, and for some reason I thought you could only pick two gods, one male and one female. Since I liked Celtic myth, I picked Cerridwen (Welsh) and Lugh (Irish). This lasted for like one week, and then I found out about Hellenic (Greek) polytheism, which felt much more right to me. I started doing a lot of research into reconstructionism (basically, using the tools available to us to replicate, as accurately as possible, the religion and religious practice of a person from one of these ancient polytheistic societies). Recon tumblr was very dramatic in the early ‘10s, it probably still is, and I was intimidated and amazed at the same time. Around this time I also got introduced to the theological debate scene and was really interested in the mechanics of belief.

A year or so into this, I had what was probably the most intense religious experience of my life. A whole-ass vision, during a time where I was awful mentally, and in the middle of a crazy thunderstorm. I won’t go into the details here, but it pivoted my path a little and I became interested in Roman polytheism. I built a relationship with the Roman gods Juno, Mars, Venus, Apollo, Jupiter, Minerva, and others. I also got super interested in the idea of religious syncretism that is pretty much exemplified by mid-to-late Empire religion, and encountered deities like Mithras, the Egyptian Isis and Osiris, and Etruscan deities. At this point I was a baby Latinist and experimented with composing my own prayers outside of the very proscriptive rituals in Roman tradition. It was a very comfortable and beautiful practice for that time in my life, and it grew into a very easy rhythm.

My shift to Celtic paganism was pretty sudden and intense. I felt very lost in my identity and began exploring the religious practices of cultures through my genealogical research. I always that Braucherei (Pennsylvania Dutch magic) was cool, as a PA Dutch person, but I couldn’t wrap my head around using the Bible for that kind of mystical practice. I explored Welsh paganism because I have some Welsh roots, and read the Welsh epic Mabinogion. This is a really fascinating work because it seamlessly incorporates indigenous tradition with a Christian framework. Unlike the Irish cycles, it’s not set in pre-Christian Europe. The characters believe in God, they make Christian oaths, and yet they have supernatural abilities and lifespans. The first branch is particularly of interest to me because the character of Pwyll is put into the medieval archetype of the God-honoring feudal lord, and yet he’s relatively unconcenered when he meets Arawn, the king of the Otherworld (also known as Faerieland, etc.). I then read the Irish Cycles, which do lean a bit more Christian-y because of the very strong monastic tradition in Ireland, but they’re no less cool and definitely struck a cord with me.

Meanwhile, in my academic life, I was graduating high school and trying to figure out what the hell I wanted to do in college. I’ve always wanted to do Classics, but I began to become super obsessed with Medieval Latin and the early church. My best friend’s family had recently converted to conservative Catholicism, of all things (this was incredibly weird for her), and asked me to go to Christmas Eve mass with her because her parents wanted her to go with them. I readily accepted because it was a Latin Mass, and it was a lot of fun for me because church Latin is very easy and I got to translate something other than Virgil and Livy.

I became really interested in trying to reconstruct what someone in the early British or Irish church might have believed. Christianity in Western Europe was not introduced in a particularly violent manner, unlike what we see outside of Europe or even just in Slavic nations. Indigenous traditions were not systematically erased. Instead, Christianity diffused throughout the culture. It is very likely that my Gaelic and Brythonic ancestors at some point worshiped pagan gods at the same time they honored Christian Saints. St. Brighid, after all, was either syncretized with or is a development of the Irish goddess of the same name– I, personally, treat them as a single entity and she has done so, so much for me. In modern pagan (and Christian!) spaces, Christianity and Pre-Christian traditions are treated as two completely separate, incompatible worldviews, but if that were really true, this transitional period wouldn’t exist. We wouldn’t have religions that draw from both like folk Catholicism or Haitain Voudoun.

My journey to pantheism was pretty easy, all things considered. While I was worshiping Celtic gods alongside venerating Saints and the Archangels, I was coming to terms with the fact that I did really and honestly believe in fate. In neopaganism or modern spiritual spaces in general, you sometimes see this idea of “the universe.” As in, everything happens for a reason, and the “universe” is bringing you certain things or taking them away. I kind of organically combined this notion of the universe with my belief that nature is divine (which I suppose could be called animism) and came out with what I think could be called Spinoza’s pantheist god. I never felt a moment that drove me to God because God is everywhere, and there is no separation, in my mind, between the mundane and the divine. Gods and Saints and Angels and even our deceased ancestors are intermediaries between it and us.

Here’s a list of some beliefs of mine that I didn’t mention specifically mention but I think are important nonetheless:

I believe God(s) exist because every single culture in the world has religious traditions of some sort and similar ideas of religious experience, even if those cultures did not ever interact. If we can trust our physical senses to determine reality (ex. I am touching my laptop so I believe it exists physically) then our spiritual experiences are real and valid.

The God of Abraham specifically made a covenent with the Jewish people and so “Thou shalt have no other gods before me” only applies to that tradition– I also do believe that Adonai/YHWH, based on anthropological evidence, is a member of the Canaanite pantheon and therefore no more or less “powerful” than any other little-g god. YHWH, in my opinion, is not the same entity as the pantheistic God, which encompasses him and then literally everything else ever.

The Bible is not inerrent but everything in there is in there for a divinely inspired reason, even if that reason is so we can understand past cultures and historical context.

Religion tumblr is very weird for me because I can’t tell if I fit into the Christian or the Pagan space more. Christo-pagans are not that accepted in the pagan community and the idea of fate or “everything happens for a reason” is very controversial. Obviously it’s confusing for most Christians, too. Feel free to ask about literally anything– my faith is definitely a Frankenstein’s Monster situation!

#asks #this is so long I’m sorry lol #celtpol #christopagan #pantheism

7 notes · View notes

dykesynthezoid · 2 years ago

Note

You asked for it.

!!!! Samtory summer camp !!!!

Ages? Are they campers or counselors?

Are you planning for a long one or more on the short side?

This sounds amazing, btw.

OH they’d be counselors, (the original inspo for this fic was seeing gifs of Peyton in Bunk’d) and honestly it would probably get long lmao

Here were the ideas I had written down already:

• The summer after they graduate highschool, Tory ends up getting a job as a camp counselor; she actually gets hired pretty easily seeing as she has history working with kids and experience in childcare

• One major bonus is that Brandon gets to go to camp pretty much for free, and she can even keep an eye on him

• Her and Robby are still pretty close even after they broke up early in senior year; they’ve since both come out to each other and are kind of each other’s best friends. Because of this Tory pulls a classic move of encouraging him to apply for a camp counselor position as well.

• The summer rolls around, though, and when Tory arrives at camp for orientation it’s not just Robby who’s there, but Miguel, Demetri, Piper, and Sam too

• She accuses Robby of telling everyone else about this job and he’s like “Umm no?? I told my dad because he’s my dad, and then he mentioned it to Miguel, and then Miguel told everyone else.”

• Sure, the rivalry between Sam and Tory is (supposedly) long over, but there’s more to it than that

�� Tory will say it’s incredibly awkward because of what happened at senior prom. ie, she got sloshed at an after party and, supposedly, tried to kiss Sam and then Sam punched her. It’s possible (read: likely) that this version of events is not entirely accurate (esp bc she was very drunk).

• Tory does not know this though. So she has been angsting for weeks.

• Things are very obviously tense between her and Sam again, and the “friendly competition” encouraged between cabins is not helping

• Demetri spends the whole time constantly taking facetime calls from Hawk (who’s on vacation with his parents) and this is confusing to everyone else considering the service where they are is like, really bad and there’s only one cabin that has wifi so they don’t even know how he’s doing it

• Brandon ends up in Robby’s group which Tory is glad for, bc she trusts him with her brother and she has an excuse to visit with both of them

• Shoutout to Piper who literally has to share a cabin with Sam and Tory and catches on to the dyke drama immediately.

• Also there’s a running gag where Piper and Miguel keep accidentally hitting on the same people (mostly the other camp counselors who aren’t their friends)

• The tension between Sam and Tory is ofc eventually resolved but only in the messiest and most confusing ways possible. Also they’re stupid

• Even after that they’re both assuming this must just be a summer fling even though they both secretly want more

• Tory is ofc assuming Sam’s gonna go somewhere far away for college and leave her behind (she’s not, and Tory would know this if she just asked, but again, they’re stupid)

I probably wouldn’t be able to rlly work on it until I was done w hearts on noorderstraat but. I would love to be able to be writing it by the summer (esp bc it’s thematically appropriate lol)

#cobra kai #samtory #WIP game #asks

13 notes · View notes

avocifera · 11 months ago

Note

as a camp counselor who works at the camp they grew up going to as a kid… that camp counselor post was 100% accurate babe like on the DOT. and trust, the older campers are always trying to get counselors together. even the little kids will come up to me and tell me I’m married to someone like okay whatever you say.

aah thank you for the ask!! i’m happy it was accurate lol i have zero experience with camp but always loved seeing stuff about it 😭😭

what we have in my country during summer/winter are usually only for the day so kids weren’t THAT close to the counselors but kids are always the best matchmakers so!

#nia talk show #anons !!#julien baker fanfiction

0 notes

aemenvs3000w24 · 1 year ago

Text

My Ideal Role as a Nature Interpreter

When it comes to my interpretation and involvement in the environment, my main criteria is to make the learning and immersion of nature fun for myself and those around me. I believe this trait is what engages people and makes learning more effective. As a result, my ideal role of being an environmental interpreter would be a camp counselor. As I mentioned in my previous blog, I was very lucky to go to camp every summer for most of my life, and I spent my final summer at camp as a camp counselor. I LOVED this job, it was so much fun! It was my responsibility to make my campers feel comfortable in our space, which was surrounded by a National Park. I taught my campers about the history of the area, how to find their strengths in the outdoors, all while showing them how to dive for seashells, canoe and jump off the jumping tower. During my two week sessions with my campers, I watched each and every one of them become more comfortable with the outdoors and with themselves, and it was truly one of the most rewarding jobs I have ever had. That experience proved to me that fun was the most important part of being in nature. As a result, my ideal role would take place at my childhood summer camp, which is located in a National Park in Georgian Bay.

In addition to fun, I would want to ensure that I am well educated. If I am going to teach others (particularly children) about the wonders of nature, I want to know what I am talking about. I would research the area and learn about the details of the National Park so I will have accurate information to pass on, as well as being able to answer any questions the children might have. This would require organization, time management and a willingness to learn, all of which are skills I feel that I have. I would structure each group activity I plan as a fun task, but with learning opportunities throughout. For example, I would organize a canoe trip to an area where campers could see new species naturally in that region. Being a visual and auditory learner myself, this would provide the opportunity for campers to see and hear what we are learning about, as well as touch it if they wanted to. This would address most learning styles, which is another consideration I would include in all my activities.

While I understand the role of a camp counselor may not be as important as park rangers or environmental scientists, I have experienced first hand the influence camp counselors can have on kids, being both a camper and counselor myself in the past. As a result, I know that this role would be ideal for me and allow me to prioritize fun into my interpretation.

0 notes

leocan24 · 1 year ago

Text

Where to go and How to get there

I think all high school students in the modern age have had the same experience about the college admissions process, especially during the early action stages of admissions: Worrying about your common app information, pushing all activities aside to focus on your application, and most of all, stressing about if your college essay is suitable for the school you’re applying to.

Well not to worry, I’m here to help! After reading through countless college admissions articles written by experts, I’ve pulled together information that can really benefit you!

One of the first things I had found when researching the college essay process, was on what colleges to actually apply to! Many people with good grades often push to apply for Ivy League Universities. However, more and more studies are beginning to show that attending an Ivy League isn’t as beneficial as one would think. Many think that attending an Ivy League can provide a drastically better education than a standard state university, an example being UPenn or PennState. However, economic researchers Alan Krueger and Stacy Dale sought to find whether attending an Ivy League School was preferable to attending a state or public university. When comparing those who were accepted into both an ivy league school and a state university, they found that there was no difference in the amount of success a person achieved when at an ivy league school rather than a state university. (https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2005/10/10/getting-in-ivy-league-college-admissions) Not only does this show that attending an Ivy League school doesn’t mean you attain more success, but it also shows that by attending a more expensive Ivy League school, you could be putting yourself in a possibly worse situation, due to increased debt.

The college essay itself is a confusing piece to begin writing. Unlike many other pieces of writing, the prompt that should be the basis of your essay, is very misleading, almost criminally misleading at that! Typical college essay prompts ask for a certain event, or individual that had an impact on the applicant's life, however, admissions counselors don’t want to hear about the person or event, but rather more about how you’ve grown from that impact. As James Warren, Assistant Professor of English at the University of Texas puts it, “Students [need] to walk a fine line in answering the prompt accurately, while conveying as much information about themselves as possible” (https://www.jstor.org/stable/43694176) This, although challenging, is indeed possible. Most people tend to write about a recent experience or how that experience will play into who they will become in the future, and that’s a great way to show you have grown in your time during highschool, rather than just staying the same throughout the recent portion of your high school career. I personally wrote about my experience during my time at an educational summer camp hosted by multiple railroad organizations. This camp really helped me develop my interests in the industry, and more importantly, helped me to become more confident in myself and my interests. Moments such as these, or individuals that have helped you feel this way, are things to write about in your college essay. Not only do they show that you have grown in your highschool career, but they also show that you can help to build a welcoming environment throughout campus, and beyond! Beyond the college essay, many institutions request a supplemental essay. These supplements can vary on what they're asking for, but many of them ask about how applicants would bring diversity to their campus. It’s a tough question to answer for a great majority of people, no doubt, but it can be easier to write about than you might think!

When people see the word, “diversity” they immediately think about who they are racially and ethnically, but many colleges aren’t looking for just diversity of race, but a unique and welcoming experience for those on campus. Anyone who can provide something like this can certainly help to bring diversity to campus. To further stress this, authors Anna Kirkland and Ben Hansen have written in their article, “Race and Class in the College Admissions Essay”, that the Michigan diversity essay prompts and supporting media perfectly reflects this, “It does not mention race at all” (https://psycnet.apa.org/record/2011-05914-004) Speaking on your own personal traits, or perhaps even activities or interests that might not be extremely popular, could be a great start to writing your diversity supplemental. It can show colleges how you are willing to build a community or help others experience new things throughout their time in college.

Hopefully all this information was of great help to you, and has made the process of writing essays for college to be a little less daunting! If you have any questions, feel free to reply!

-leocan24

1 note · View note

talesof-old · 3 years ago

Text

Welcome to Camp Killbuck Creek

introducing Hawkins’ very own summer camp, Camp Killbuck Creek.

bordered by Prosperity and Lover’s Lakes and settled along Killbuck Creek, our camp features activities such as kayaking, archery, arts & crafts, and more.

the year is 1983, and after the disappearance of one of the camp’s attendees, nothing will ever be the same.

warning(s): normal stranger things warnings i supposed, things like gore, blood, violence, death, allusions to sexy times

a/n: so this is basically the first time i’ve tried to write fanfiction in years, so please forgive me on that end. i wanted to try my hand at this when the idea came to me and so far i’m having a good time

also some things i wanted to add for context for the story

the reader moved to Hawkins during winter break of 1982/1983

they go to school with Nancy, Barb, and Steve

they’re in the same year as Steve (a junior)

i made all of the characters the same age as they are in the TV show even though I know that wouldn’t be completely accurate since most would be turning their ages during the school year (i just didn’t want to think that hard okay)

cast of characters

camp counselors

Steve Harrington

son of Mr. Harrington, a prominent businessman, and Mrs. Harrington, respected member of Hawkins City Council and a generous donator to many family owned businesses

currently dating Nancy Wheeler

best friends with Tommy and Carol

Tommy Hagan

son of Mr. and Mrs. Hagan

Carol’s boyfriend

best friends with Steve

Carol Perkins

daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Perkins

Tommy’s girlfriend

best friends with Steve

Nancy Wheeler

daughter of Karen Wheeler and Ted Wheeler

older sister of Mike and Holly Wheeler

currently dating Steve Harrington

best friends with Barb and Y/n

Barbara Holland

daughter of Marsha and Mr. Holland

former best friend of Robin Buckley

best friends with Nancy and Y/n

Jonathan Byers

son of Joyce and Lonnie Byers

older brother of Will Byers

Eddie Munson

nephew of Wayne Munson

friend of Y/n

Y/n L/n

new arrival

moved to Hawkins, Indiana in December of 1982

best friends with Nancy, Barb, and Robin

camp attendees

Mike Wheeler

son of Karen Wheeler and Ted Wheeler

younger brother of Nancy Wheeler and older brother of Holly Wheeler

best friends with Dustin, Lucas, and Will

Dustin Henderson

son of Claudia and Mr. Henderson

best friends with Mike, Lucas, and WIll

Lucas Sinclair

son of Sue and Charles Sinclair

older brother of Erica Sinclair

best friends with Mike, Dustin, and Will

Will Byers

son of Joyce and Lonnie Byers

younger brother of Jonathan Byers

best friends with Mike, Dustin, and Lucas

Eleven

daughter of Terry and Andrew Ives

human experiment of Dr. Martin Brenner

escapee

#steve harrington x reader #stranger things #steve harrington #nancy wheeler #eddie munson #jonathan byers #i definitely posted this too early but it's fine lmao #i'm still getting used to posting on here #welcome to camp killbuck creek

31 notes · View notes

sofijaeger · 4 years ago

Text

↣ 𝕡𝕚𝕟𝕖𝕙𝕦𝕣𝕤𝕥 𝕞𝕒𝕤𝕥𝕖𝕣𝕝𝕚𝕤𝕥 ↢

eren x reader { enemies to friends to lovers }

warnings are provided in each chapter

Chapter 1

summer, easily the most favored season of the year, and where else to spend it at than camp pinehurst! now as a returning counselor, the summer camp experiences and memories return, even past conflicts that have yet to be solved. don’t worry though, they will surely arise again.

Chapter 2

after meeting your old friends once more, and dealing with not so enjoyable encounters, you settle in for the next few weeks, though the excitement this year doesn’t seem as anticipated.

Chapter 3

only the second day in living situations are quite… interesting. But a certain argument leads you to the answer of one very unintended problem. However will you be forgiven for this one?

Chapter 4

you continue drifting astray, leaving you plenty of time to tell Jean of your problems. Explaining the past can always feel uncomfortable, especially when there’s more to handle than just your side to your story. What a wonderful time to reunite with a few old memories, and acquaintances.

Chapter 5

“Yes”, a word that holds too many meanings and bottled up emotions. It seems to be the one word Pinehurst has been petrified of, agreement. The acceptance to pay their due for a crime left uncertain. As you familiarize with your past acquaintances, could you be the one to change the direction of this long lasting feud?

Chapter 6

Teasing always goes too far.

Chapter 7

In the aftermath of the competition’s chilling incident, precautions are taken to ensure the safety of each and every camper, your’s especially. Nevertheless, strong motives surpass any restrictions bounded by those closest to you, and to save their lives over your own? Well, you’re willing to take that risk.

Chapter 8

Curse you and your heart of gold, that risks your well-being simply to ensure the safety and happiness of those closest to you. Though it seems your current actions might be resulting in more harm than good. How helpful will others portray you as? Or perhaps selfishness could become a more accurate term.

ask to join the taglist!

never fear to talk to me or send me constructive criticism. I honestly really like hearing it from my moots and followers, and want to make this as enjoyable as possible for everyone. you can dm me or send asks, i’ll be here to listen!

sofiyeager© do not copy, modify, or repost my work without consent.

#pinehurst #eren #anime #attack on titan #shingeki no kyojin #eren yeager #eren jaeger #eren aot #snk eren #eren x you #fanfic #sofi time #eren yeager x reader #eren jaeger x reader #eren x reader #pinehurst canon

431 notes · View notes

life-sometimes · 3 years ago

Text

I feel like poems where you tell a story almost require a degree of creative nonfiction to them to impact the audience the way the author intended.

To roughly quote a book we read in English class (two separate classes, actually) that I forget the title of, there’s the happening-truth and the story-truth. The happening-truth is an accurate recount of what happened. The story-truth is an accurate recount of how something that happened impacted you and made you feel and your thoughts around it. The story-truth is accurate to the emotions, but not necessarily the facts of what happened. That’s creative nonfiction.

In poetry, you’re trying to convey emotions. You’re trying to get the reader to feel the same way you feel. If you’re using a story to achieve that, sometimes that story becomes creative nonfiction in order to convey the emotions properly. It doesn’t make it less real.

For example, I wrote a poem about how I realized that Judaism is intrinsically intertwined with humanity and community, and how that realization happened while I was a counselor at a summer camp for refugee kids. The fact that those kids were refugees truly played no role in my realization- it was based on seeing kids need support and how my contributions had a tangible impact on them and their experience. Those kids could have been any random kids; they happened to be refugees. But for my poem to grip the heart of my audience, I had to include the fact that they were refugees, because if you mention a refugee kid who needs a space to just be a kid, that’s going to impact people a lot more than if you just talked about some random kid who needs a space to just be a kid. I was not entirely accurate to what happened and how my realization came about, but in portraying it through the story-truth, I was able to make the audience feel how I felt with that poem.

#I am too tired to form coherent thoughts so I hope you can make sense of this

2 notes · View notes

michelangelinden · 3 years ago

Note

Wait wait wait wait wait. The camp is real? How did I miss this. Please tell me more

- julie-n-phantoms

Hehehe I'm so glad you asked! @julie-n-phantoms

The story behind the Band-Dance-Summercamp

Okay, so the camp is real but also not. Let me elaborate.

The house, the woods, the area, all of that exists in real life. It's a seminar building in western Germany, that hosts seminars, school trips and summer camps. I changed a little bit about the layout of the rooms, so that it makes more sense for the context, and I've only ever been in the 'music building' once so I made up what it looks like on the inside, but those are about the only changes I made. It even has a prominent house owner, although he's much less scary irl, he's actually pretty cool and sells candy.

The camp, the classes about dance and music don't exist, at least in that house and as far as I know. What does exists tho, and what I'm using for references, is a creative writing camp that I go to every year. It's only five days and there's not quite as many events outside of the classes (you'll find out more about that in the next chapter 👀) but I'm using that as the base for the camp in the fic. I originally wanted to keep the counselors from the irl camp but then I decided to turn them into Dante and Fuego, but their personalities are still pretty much the same.

The thing that I'm trying to portray the most accurately is the relationships between the campers. Because even though it might seem strange to outsiders how the people there are such good friends after they met each other like three days ago, that's literally what it's like. I met my best friend there and after the second day I knew that she was gonna be my best friend. And I was right. Being so close together and sharing the same or a similar passion (and being gay and neurodivergent) speeds up the friendship process so much. At the end of the week it'll feel like you've known each other for months. And I'm not exaggerating.

So yes. The camp exists but not in that way. The camp that does exist is the best thing that has ever happened to me and I wish more people could experience it. And I also wish that this camp really existed, I'd go there for sure!

Thank you for asking, I'm always ready to gush about it and hopefully I can make some people jealous (in a good way)

(Read "Between Chaos and Contentment (and a little Creativity)" here)

#this camp shaped who i am today #luke in the fic is basically me #julie and the phantoms #willex #boggie #juke #band dance camp au #between chaos and contentment #linda answers asks #linda writes stuff #anonymous #julie n phantoms

9 notes · View notes

littlemisswolfie · 4 years ago

Text

nothing is so loveless as the break of day

AO3

Cold dawn A waning moon With no companion— Since our parting, nothing is so loveless As the break of day.

—Mibu no Tadamine

Haiji wakes up on his first morning in his new apartment and decides it’s too quiet.

Getting a team of almost complete rookies to the Hakone Ekiden in less than a year is an accomplishment. It’s noteworthy. While Haiji hadn’t been thinking of his future prospects in his last year of college (he just wanted to run), the fact is, what he did should have been impossible, as Kakeru said. Over and over and over.

This, as it turns out, makes him very employable, and somewhere in between his emergency surgery and his final exams and his packing, he gets a job offer to be an assistant coach for a corporate team. He doesn’t really have anything else going for him, so he takes it, and he, Yuki, and King all graduate from Kansei to the cheers of their teammates.

Haiji’s heart is heavy as he steps out of Aotake for the last time as a resident. He knows the team is in good hands, with Kakeru being unanimously voted to succeed him in captainship and several incoming freshman eager to be part of the team that seeded in their first year at Hakone, but it’s bittersweet. He got one year. One year. One year out of four.

“Call me if you need anything,” he tells Kakeru.

Kakeru doesn’t call.

“Hey, Kiyose-san!”

Haiji startles, looking up from his training journal to face one of the runners he’s been charged with inducting to the world of professional running. Tamura Shou, his mind supplies. He’s a bit older than Haiji, with dark hair and brown eyes. “Tamura-san,” he greets, closing his notebook to hide his notes. He knows from experience (from Kakeru) that runners seeing their own stats isn’t always the best idea. “Did you need anything?” The group Haiji is in charge of is taking a break right now so another group can run time trials, so he doesn’t see the harm in a little bit of conversation.

“Well,” Tamura says, looking a little sheepish all of a sudden, “Yoshioka and I have a bet running, and I wanted to ask you straight out, so, do you have a girlfriend, or something?”

(“By the way… Kakeru, do you have a girlfriend?”)

“What.”

Tamura flushes. “F-forget it!” He blusters off to a cluster of other runners.

Haiji blinks, a little stunned. What would have made him think Haiji had a girlfriend?

Cooking for one is hard. Haiji always makes too much.

He still talks to Yuki and King, sometimes. Yuki’s trailblazing his way through both the legal track and several women’s beds and is always eager to talk about each conquest. Haiji enjoys his career talk and tolerates his womanizing talk. King finally found work as a guidance counselor at a nearby middle school, and he’s the faculty supervisor for their men’s track and field team. Haiji never lets him forget how reluctant he was to start running in the first place.

The three of them meet up for drinks every once in a while. Haiji considers proposing inviting the older members of their old track team, but decides against it. Seeing them feels sad, like trying to relive that last glorious year of college would be betraying his friends.

“Haiji, King,” Yuki slurs one night after a few too many drinks, “you need to get girlfriends already.”

King blushes. “Shut it! I’m busy enough as it is without a woman getting in my way!”

Haiji sighs. First Tamura-san, and now this. What is it with the world prying into his romantic life? “I’m content,” he tells Yuki. “I already got everything I could ever want. What else can I ask for?”

He almost goes to a track meet to see if Kansei is there. He decides against it.

His team goes away for a training camp. Haiji can get around pretty well with his crutches by now, so he goes with them.

Okinawa is beautiful in the summer. Haiji leans out the window of the van his group takes and watches the passerby, the teenagers on their skateboards and the families walking together. He remembers how much the twins wanted to come here last summer. (He wonders where Kansei went this year, if they went anywhere at all.)

Watching the runners run is always hard. He wants to run with them, feel the wind in his hair, use his muscles that have become lax in the months since Hakone, hear his heart thunder in his ears. Wants to see if that white line that was always under Kakeru’s feet is anywhere else.

(He doubts it.)

He helps cook the meals for the team, like he used to for Kansei, but it feels wrong to cook with someone other than Kakeru next to him. He’d only had company in the kitchen for a year, but he grew used to it, and cooking without Kakeru is foreign.

He wonders if Kakeru cooks with anyone new at Aotake. He wonders why the thought makes his stomach twist up in knots.

He doesn’t visit his parents very often. What would they even have to talk about, other than running?

He’s off his crutches by then, but he still doesn’t get to go watch the Ekiden in person. Training starts that day, after all, and he’s too new to be able to beg off to watch his former team compete in a relay race. Instead, he watches the highlights when he gets back to his lonely apartment both nights.

Not everyone from last year is running the race. Prince, Jota, and Nico-chan-senpai all act as supports rather than runners, but they’re wearing their track suits, so Haiji knows they’re still on the team. He’s surprised at Nico-chan-senpai not running. It’s his last year.

The team is strong, much stronger than when Haiji was captain. He knows that’s because of their success last year. If they hadn’t made it to the Ekiden already, their team would be pretty much unknown. But the sight of all these strong runners working together with his friends makes something ugly bubble up in Haiji’s chest. He wants to be there with them. He wants to be running that race.

Kakeru beats the section nine record again. Haiji watches him hand the sash off to the last runner, some first-year, and remembers when that was him.

Kansei finishes eighth.

Kakeru doesn’t call him.

After their graduation, Shindo and Nico-chan-senpai join their nights out. Shindo’s working as a business analyst for the corporation sponsoring Haiji’s team, so they see each other more frequently than the others already, and Nico-chan-senpai is still doing his freelance programming.

“Whoa,” Yuki says the first time they meet up, “you cut your hair!” His fingers brush Nico-chan-senpai’s newly-short hair almost reverently. “You almost look like a functional person!”

“Thanks, I really missed this,” Nico-chan-senpai snarks, but his eyes are unbearably soft.

The conversational inevitably turns to Kansei. “It’s so strange,” Shindo muses one night, before he gets too drunk. “I got so used to it just being the ten of us that working with all those new people was weird.”

“They just kept hangin’ around Aotake, too,” Nico-chan-senpai grumbles. “As if the twins weren’t loud enough already.”

Shindo groans. “And they’re even worse now that Hana-chan’s at Kansei. They have some sort of pact to not pursue her until they graduate, but they’re so moony. Musa and I were never like that.”

What?

Haiji’s glad he’s not the only one confused by this statement. A quick glance around their table tells him the rest of his former teammates look just as shocked. Well, except for Nico-chan-senpai, who just nods in agreement, like this is a reasonable thing for Shindo to be saying. “Uh, Shindo?” he says. “What are you talking about?”

Shindo looks at them like they’re all stupid. “Uh, me and Musa? We’ve been dating since last year’s Ekiden?”

“HAH?!” Yuki slams his hands on the table, jostling everyone’s beer.

“Wasn’t it obvious?” Shido’s neck is red, now, and not thanks to the alcohol for once. “It’s not like we were trying to hide it or anything!”

“I-I thought you were straight, though!” King says, flushing red under his tanned skin. “You had a girlfriend!”

“Bisexuality exists, you know,” Nico-chan-senpai drawls. Haiji doesn’t miss how his eyes flicker over to Yuki as he says this, or how Yuki stares straight at Shindo, ears red. Huh.

“Kakeru misses you,” Shindo says to him after the others leave for the night (or early morning, whichever is more accurate). “You should give him a call, sometime.”

“He could also call me,” Haiji points out.

What good could I ever do to him? he wonders silently. I can’t even run anymore.

The revelation of Shindo and Musa’s relationship is one Haiji can’t help but dwell on. Looking back on it, he realizes the signs were there. They were always close, after all, and Musa ended up dragging a drunk Shindo back to his room on more than one occasion. It was weird to see one of them without the other close behind.

So, he thinks, maybe this was inevitable.

He imagines their relationship, sometimes, when he’s alone, lying in bed in his too-empty apartment. They’re probably easy. Comfortable. They don’t have to fill a silence. They’re content to just be with each other.

He wonders if Kakeru has anyone like that.

He hopes not. Does that make him a bad person?

Now that he knows about Shindo and Musa, Haiji can’t help but wonder if any of his other former teammates are like them, so he does what he does best: he watches.

It only takes a few more guys’ nights out to notice how Nico-chan-senpai keeps looking at Yuki. He only does it when he thinks no one is looking, but his eyes are soft, affectionate, loving in a way that makes Haiji ache. Has anyone ever looked at him like that? Like he hung the stars in the sky? Like he’s the answer to everything?

“Why haven’t you said anything?” he asks Nico-chan-senpai when Yuki heads back to the bar to hit on a girl. Shindo and King are talking loudly to each other about their respective jobs, both already three sheets to the wind, so Haiji’s not concerned with either of them overhearing.

Nico-chan-senpai doesn’t pretend to not know what he’s talking about. “I’m content with how things are,” he says, looking wistful. “I’d rather have his friendship and pine than risk losing him over a confession.”

Haiji nods, even if he doesn’t really understand. Then, a little quieter, he asks, “How many of the original team do you think are…?”

“Queer?” Nico-chan-senpai supplies. Haij flushes. “Well, Shindo and Musa for sure, and me, obviously. I have my suspicions about Kakeru, but I’m not sure.”

Haiji feels his world stutter to a stop. Kakeru?

He can’t stop imagining it, now. Has Kakeru ever kissed another boy? Did he sneak around with his classmates in high school? Is Kakeru with a boy right now, in his room at Aotake?

Haiji hates the thought.

He pulls up his phone browser and types in “what does it mean if i get mad at the thought of my friend with a guy” and deletes it. He already knows the answer.

He throws himself into his coaching to try and distract himself from his new intrusive thought. His runners aren’t thrilled with his newfound enthusiasm, but it gets results, so none of them can really be mad about it.

“What, did you get dumped, or something?” Tamura jokes.

“Five more laps!” Haiji tells him with a cheerful smile.

When Hakone rolls around this year, Haiji watches the replay of Kakeru beating his own record once again, and Kasei takes fourth place. After, Haiji pulls up Kakeru’s contact information and stares at the call button for a good minute.

He decides not to call.

The first time Musa and Prince join them after their graduation, Shindo downs five beers in ten minutes and spends the rest of the night in Musa’s lap. Musa (who has a goatee, now, and it suits him pretty well) manages a surprisingly normal conversation around his clingy boyfriend, and that’s how Haiji learns he’s staying in Tokyo for grad school.

“Visas are complicated,” he says. “Until the laws change and Takashi and I can get married, the only way I can stay here for now is as a student.”

Musa calls Shindo by his first name. Haiji’s not sure what to make of that.

Prince got a job as a shonen manga editor. “I’m not going to be working on any major projects for a while,” he grumbles. “What’s the point of editing manga if you don’t get to touch the big ones?”

“Hey,” Haiji soothes, “at least you get to work with manga! And who knows, maybe you’ll be tasked with a sleeper hit!”

“That’s what my girlfriend keeps telling me,” Prince groans.

Yuki almost drops his glass. “Girlfriend?”

King whirls around and grabs Prince by the collar. “I can’t believe you got a girlfriend before me!”

Nico-chan-senpai makes a considering noise. “That’s three of us with actual partners, huh? Shindo and Musa, and Prince.”

Musa laughs. “Four, soon, if the twins have their way!”

“I thought they were waiting until they graduated to ask Hana-chan out,” Haiji says.

“No, no, they are. They’re trying to set Kakeru up with a guy they met at this year’s Ekiden.”

Haiji’s blood roars in his ears.

“Oh, that guy from Rikudo?” Prince asks. “What was his name? Miyamura?”

“Miyamoto,” Musa corrects. “Miyamoto Jurou. They went against each other in Section 9. Jota saw him checking Kakeru out and decided they should get together.”

“I swear to god,” Yuki grits out, “if Kakeru loses his virginity before I get a steady girlfriend, I’m going to murder someone.”

So will Haiji, he thinks.

Nico-chan-senpai pulls him aside as everyone else leaves the bar. “I saw that look earlier,” he says. “What’s got you so upset about Kakeru?”

Haiji really doesn’t want to talk about this, so he says, “I’ll tell you if you promise to ask Yuki out by our next guys’ night.”

And so the subject is dropped.

He goes home that night and looks up Miyamoto Jurou. He’s a third year at Rikudo, studying literature, and he’s tall and good looking, and he gave Kakeru a run for his money at this year’s Ekiden.

And he can run.

In what feels like a breach of their semi-distanced guys’ nights, Haiji finds himself at Shindo and Musa’s tiny apartment a few weeks later for a housewarming party.

It’s been Shindo’s apartment for a year now, but with Musa moving in, it feels kind of like a home. The decor is a healthy mix of Shindo’s country sensibilities and Musa’s colorful Tanzanian culture, and the two young men seem so at ease in this space they’ve made with each other that Haiji kind of wants to cry.

More than anything (okay, maybe not more than running) he misses this. He misses living with someone else. He misses the noise and the companionship. Every morning, he wakes up to his empty apartment and he feels lonely.

He’s so caught up in this feeling that he misses Kakeru, Jota, Joji, and Hana-chan arriving until he hears something hit the floor. His head whips around and he sees Kakeru standing in the doorway, mouth slightly open in shock and a convenience store bag filled with what looks like plastic bottles of green tea at his feet. Haiji feels his heart stop.

Because Kakeru is gorgeous. He’s always been good looking, Haiji knows, but that was a lot easier to deal with when he saw Kakeru on a daily basis. Now, it’s been a little over two years since the last time he saw him, and he’s wholly unprepared.

But everyone is looking at him, now, and he knows Kakeru kind of hates being the center of attention and that’s what’s going to happen if he keeps staring at him like an idiot, so he forces his face into a smile and waves. “Hi, Kakeru. Long time, no see.”

Things are more than a little tense, even if everyone pretends the atmosphere is normal. No matter where Haiji goes in the tiny apartment, he can feel Kakeru’s eyes on him, burning a hole in his skin.

He tries to make the most of the party. He catches up with the twins and Hana-chan, who have all fallen into leadership roles as the years went on with ease. Now that Hana-chan is a Kansei student herself, she can help them full-time, which has, apparently, been very helpful. “Plus,” Joji whispers to him, already drunk, “having a cute manager is a huge morale boost!”

Jota and Joji are sort of like sub-captains, from what Haiji gathers. Kakeru is the main authority on all things running, but Jota and Joji, who specialize in sprinting and long-distance running respectively, have been overseeing those aspects of the team’s practice. “We have almost twenty guys now,” Jota says, “so it’s hard for Kakeru to give them all one-on-one attention, so Joji and I focus on the broader things while he nitpicks.”

“That’s a great idea,” Haiji praises, and he can’t help the smile that overtakes his mouth when he sees how Jota preens. This feels right, advising his former teammates like this. It’s different from the feeling he gets coaching the corporate team, because that’s a team, but this is Haiji’s family.

He wishes he could turn back time. He wishes he could live in that final, wonderful year of college for the rest of his life.

He wishes he could run again.

He can’t avoid Kakeru forever. Nico-chan-senpai makes sure of that, because when he escapes to the balcony for a breath of the cool night air, he hears Nico-chan-senpai say, loudly, “Oh, Haiji? Yeah, he just went out those doors! You should go check on him.”

Is this revenge? Haiji wonders. Is this him paying me back for trying to make him make a move on Yuki? It must be.

He doesn’t look up when he hears the sliding door open and then close again, or when he feels Kakeru walking up next to him to lean on the rail. “You never called,” he says, staring at the city streets below, still alive even in the dark.

Kakeru sighs. “I figured you would be too busy, with your rehab and your new team and all.”

“I’m never too busy for you.”

“Yeah, you say that, but you would do something stupid, like sleep less, to make time to talk to me.” Haiji finally looks over at him, his profile glowing a little from the light inside, and, god, he’s so beautiful. “You can’t do that to yourself again, Haiji-san. It was scary enough the first time, and we were still living at Aotake, then. If you collapsed again, I might not even find out.”

“Alright, point taken.” Despite the earlier awkwardness, this feels natural. It feels like quiet nights in the Aotake kitchen, listening to Kakeru clumsily chop carrots while the prepared dinner together. It feels like home, almost. “You’re doing a great job, Kakeru. I watched the last two Ekiden highlights, since I couldn’t go watch in person. You’ve become a great leader.”

Kakeru flashes him one of his genuine, tiny smiles. “I learned from the best.”

It’s easier, after that.

Everyone comes to the Aotake demolition party to say goodbye to the building that used to be home, and they split up to help Kakeru and the twins move into their new apartments, and things feel normal, for once.

Kakeru’s new apartment is tiny, but Kakeru, by his own admission, probably won’t spend too much time here in the next year before he graduates, so he’s not too bothered by it. Between his classes, training, and the part time job he’s picked up in the shopping district, he has a busy fourth year ahead of him.

“Years ago,” he tells Haiji when he sees him to the door when his taxi arrives, “you said you wanted to know what running was. Do you remember that?”

“Of course,” Haiji says.

“Come watch Hakone this year. I’ll tell you when it’s over.”

Haiji could say no. Should say no. He has his own team to think about now. But when Kakeru looks at him like that, Haiji would say yes to just about anything.

The next year passes in a blur. Haiji works harder than he ever has before, like he’s making up for having to take the first few practices of the new year off months in advance. The guys’ nights happen with a little less frequency (or, at least, Haiji attends less of them than he used to), but they’re fun when they do happen.

“I finally have a girlfriend!” King says one night, triumphant, and the table explodes into raucous cheers and applause. “Her name’s Noriko, and she’s the second year social studies teacher at my school, and damn, is she cute!” He whips his phone out of his pocket to show them a photo of a woman who is, indeed, damn cute.

“Ugh,” Yuki groans. “Life isn’t fair. How did you get a girlfriend before me?”

“Being a whore might be a factor, there,” Shindo slurs.

Yuki growls when the rest of their friends laugh. “But really, who’s next?” He spins to glare at Nico-chan-senpai, who’s hiding his grin into his beer glass. “Are you gonna pop up with some girlfriend next? Huh?”

“Nah, I’m too old for that shit,” Nico-chan-senpai says, waving the comment off with his usual affable air. “I’ll just be the cool, childless uncle who spoils all your kids rotten.”

“So, that just leaves Kakeru,” Prince muses. “Has anyone heard anything else about that Miyamoto guy the twins were trying to set him up with?”

The mention almost makes Haiji’s blood boil, but before he can rile himself up too much, Musa shakes his head. “Hana-chan told me that he asked Kakeru out, but he turned him down. Apparently, he already has someone he likes.”

Around Haiji, his friends start debating who, exactly, Kakeru likes.

Haiji has an idea, though.

Before he knows it, the Hakone Ekiden has arrived. Haiji arrives at the finish line for the first day before the race starts, a livestream already bookmarked on his phone, and he finds the rest of the original Kansei team there, as well. “Hey!” Yuki says, slapping him on the back. “You made it this year!”

“Well, it is the last time any of the original team will be racing,” Haiji says. “What’s everyone running this year?”

Musa looks at his phone. “Jota is Section 1, Joji is Section 2, and Kakeru is Section 10.”

Haiji blinks. “Not Section 9? Why’d he change up sections?”

“If I had to guess,” Nico-chan-senpai says, “he wants to cross the finish line in his last Ekiden.”

Haiji thinks back to his first and last Ekiden and nods. “That makes sense.”

Kansei ends the first day at fourth place, which is very promising for the return leg. Their fastest runner is at the very end, after all, and Haiji knows damn well how many runners Kakeru can pass if he’s serious about it.

Haiji stares at his phone in his hotel room that night and thinks about calling Kakeru. He knows he shouldn’t. Kakeru needs his sleep if he’s running the last section of the race tomorrow. But then he remembers their conversation on Shindo and Musa’s apartment, and he hits the call button.

Kakeru picks up very quickly. “Hey,” he says, voice soft. “Did you watch today?”

“Yes. Your team is really good. You’ve got a chance of winning tomorrow.”

“Don’t say that, you’ll jinx it.”

Haiji laughs. “Since when are you superstitious?”

“It’s my last chance, Haiji-san. I want to go out with a bang.”

“You’ll do great.”

“Will you be waiting for me at the finish line?”

“There’s nowhere else I’d rather be.”

Haiji is a nervous wreck for most of the next day. He remembers this anxious feeling from when he was running the Ekiden, but now it’s combined with a feeling of helplessness. There’s nothing he can do but watch, and he hates it. He wants to be running alongside Kakeru, working with him, helping him cross the finish line.

But he can’t.

So he watches.

Kansei keeps doing well. They’re a far cry from the haphazard team Haiji put together all those years ago. These men are trained runners, athletes who have spent their lives preparing for this moment. There are no Princes, no Nico-chan-senpais, no Kings.

They are a group of Kakerus.

Where am I? he wonders as he watches them run. Did Kakeru find someone to take my place? Was there room for someone like me in the team he’s made?

The Kansei runner who runs Section 9 doesn’t beat Kakeru’s record from last year. Haiji can’t help but feel incredibly smug about it.

Haiji limps his way to the finish line as soon as he sees the sash get passed to Kakeru, who’s in first place. First place! “Go on ahead of me,” he tells the others, who try to slow down for him. His knee is on fire, but he’s going to see this through. “I’ll just slow you down.”

“What the hell kinda talk is that?” Nico-chan-senpai asks.

Prince nods and puts a hand on his shoulder. “You and Kakeru didn’t leave us behind, no matter how slow we were. The least we could do is return the favor.”

“We’re the Kansei Ten,” says Jota, since he and Joji joined the rest of their former teammates after their sections. “We finish this the way we started it: together.”

“‘Kansei Ten?’ What kinda name is that?” Yuki scoffs.

Haiji’s heart feels full, and he and his friends, his family, walk to the finish line together.

When they see Kakeru coming around the bend, everyone starts yelling. Haiji can’t help but think about that second track meet, where only half of the guys ran, and how the spectators just went buck wild. This is the same thing, except there are nine people cheering and one person running.

Well, more than nine people cheering. The rest of the current Kansei team has joined them at this point, so their shouting is deafening. Haiji knows there are several cameras trained on them, but he can’t bring himself to care. All he has eyes for is Kakeru, running towards him. Was this how Kakeru felt, all those years ago, when he was in Haiji’s place and Haiji was in his?

There’s my dream, he thinks again. It’s taken form and it’s running.

Kakeru has always been his dream, even if he went over twenty years without knowing it. And now that he knows it, he can’t escape it.

“Kakeru!” he yells, cupping his hands around his mouth to make himself louder. “Last spurt!”

His friends laugh at the phrase and join in in sync, but he’s not paying attention. All he sees is Kakeru, speeding up, making a beeline to him. He knows, logically, that of course Kakeru has gotten faster over the years, because that’s how progress works, but Haiji swears on everything good in this world that he’s never run as fast as he is now.

When Kakeru crosses the finish line (in first place!), Haiji rips the blanket out of the twins’ hands and throws it over Kakeru himself. “You did it!” he gasps, and he’s positive Kakeru can’t hear him over the cheers of the rest of the former and current Kansei team members, but he says it again. “You did it, Kakeru!”

It seems like everyone is trying to touch Kakeru. There are hands on his arms, on the blanket, on his back, in his hair, but Haiji refuses to be dislodged. He has an arm locked around Kakeru’s shoulders and he’s not letting go. Not for anything.

Haiji sees the reporters hovering outside their circle of celebration. He should let Kakeru go talk to them, should let this incredible man get interviewed for the nation to see, but he’s selfish, so he still doesn’t let go.

“And there we have it! Kansei University has won the Hakone Ekiden, led by captain Kurahara Kakeru! There, we can see Kurahara-senshu’s teammates congratulating him, along with the original Kansei University Hakone team. In the center of the celebrations is former captain and current works team coach Kiyose Haiji-senshu. Some of you will remember that Kiyose-senshu had to quit running after his first and last Ekiden four years ago…”

“Kurahara-senshu! How does it feel to have won the Hakone Ekiden?”

“It feels amazing, but, at the end of the day, the times don’t really matter. I got to run with and against extremely talented runners, and that is what I’m most grateful for.”

“Do you plan to continue running when you graduate from university?”

“I’ve had some scouting offers from works teams, but I haven’t committed to anything yet.”

“What do you have to say to young athletes?”

“I want to say that running isn’t about who’s fast and who’s slow. It’s about strength, and everyone has the strength to start. And, no matter what, you’re always running with someone.”

“Thank you for your time, Kurahara-senshu. And, again, congratulations!”

The team and their supporters retreat to a nearby bar to celebrate. Haiji still refuses to leave Kakeru’s side, finding excuses to touch him as often as he can. He’s probably being too obvious, but, then again, next to Shindo and Musa, he’d be surprised if anyone noticed.

King’s and Prince’s girlfriends meet up with them at the bar, too, so everyone gets to meet them. King seems a little suspicious of Yuki when they walk through the door, but he’s a perfect gentleman about the whole thing. “They’re great guys,” he says to Noriko-san and Chihaya-san, Prince’s girlfriend. “I’m proud to call them my friends.”

Everyone stops dead at the surprisingly earnest expression from Yuki, and Nico-chan-senpai pulls him into a noogie, saying, “Damn it, Yuki, why’d you gotta get all sentimental?” and then everyone laughs.

As the night winds on, Haiji finally has had enough, and he tugs on Kakeru’s elbow to pull him away from the noise of the celebrations. They wind up outside the bar, leaning against the building, arms just barely brushing. Haiji knows his knee is going to hate him tomorrow, but for now, he’s just focusing on Kakeru. “You said you’d tell me what running is,” he says, trying for conversational and probably failing.

“It’s you,” says Kakeru, characteristically to the point. “You’ve always been the answer.”

Haiji just stares for a moment. Then, for lack of a better reaction, he tilts his head back and he laughs.

Kakeru, of course, flushes bright red. “W-what?”

“Oh, no, not you,” Haiji says, having doubled over. “I’m not making fun of you, I swear.”

“Sure seems like you are,” Kakeru grumbles.

“I swear,” Haiji repeats. He straightens up, because he knows he has to be serious about this. “It’s just, I thought something similar about you.”

The younger man perks up. “Really?”

Haiji nods. “When I saw you running, that first night, I thought, ‘That’s it. That’s my dream.’” He laughs again, this time, soft. “We’ve both been idiots, haven’t we?”

“I think so,” Kakeru says. He’s breathless, like he just finished running, and Haiji can’t help how he delights in being able to affect him like this. He reaches a hand out, just this side of shy, and tangles his fingers with Haiji’s.

“Hey, Kakeru?”

“Yes?”

“Can I kiss you?”

Kakeru pulls his face down in response.

The first meeting of their lips feels like coming home.

“You know,” Kakeru mumbles against his lips when they draw back just enough to breathe, “my lease is up in a month.”

“Move in with me.”

“Yeah.”

And then they kiss again.

“Oh, fuck you guys!” Yuki yells when he pokes his head out the door a few minutes later to see them still kissing.

A month later, Haiji wakes up in his apartment, Kakeru snoring softly into his ear and his leg thrown across his hips, and decides, maybe, it’s not too quiet, after all.

#run with the wind #kaze ga tsuyoku fuiteiru #kazetsuyo #kakehai #ao3fic #kurahara kakeru #kiyose haiji #my writing #my post #mine

24 notes · View notes

skullrock · 4 years ago

Text

the campers, chapter four - Steve x Reader

gif by @harringtown

chapter four: the routine

series summary: Steve gets a job as a camp counselor at Camp Know Where, intending on using the summer to discover himself. When things start to go wrong at camp, the only people that can help him are the Party, Hopper, and his mortal enemy - you. [Enemies to lovers, angst, fluff, hurt/comfort]

chapter summary: The first week of camp is in full swing, bringing a few surprises with it.

warnings: swearin’!

word count: 4k (hehe)

a/n: this chapter encompasses the time span of a week so it’s a lil long and has some stuff happening but I hope you enjoy! things are spicin’ up but not like you’d expect! you can catch up on the series here! (ps Hop didn’t die in s4 because I said so <3)

===

Camp Know Where buzzes with excitement as the new campers file in on Monday. This is Steve’s first ever orientation - well, besides the one he just went through. He’s never been in a position like this, and he’s nervous as he checks people in. But it’s an easy job.

Until the Party walks in.

Steve stares at them all, mouth agape. El, Mike, Max, Lucas, Will - they’re all here, all carrying bags. Mike takes the lead, glaring tensely at Steve, as usual. Steve avoids him and looks at El. “Are you allowed to be here?”

She nods. “Hop’s letting me.”

Steve shakes his head and finds their names on the roster. He should have known, should have seen their names, but it’s actually a nice surprise. Well, except for Mike. But he’s happy everyone else is here.

“Where’s Dustin?” Lucas asks.

“Helping with move in.” Steve looks up. “Does he know you’re here?”

“It’s a surprise,” Will says, beaming.

“That’s nice,” Steve says slowly. “Well, don’t be dickheads, okay? Don’t make my job harder for me.”

El shakes her head, but Mike scoffs, “You’re a counselor?”

Steve gestures to his shirt. “Did you think I just disappeared for the past two weeks?”

“I hoped so.”

Max hits his arm. “Come on, let’s go.”

They all step past the table, and Steve puts his head in his hands. They’re gonna kill me, he thinks. A part of him is really happy they’re here, though. He’s not sure if that means he really is fond of them, or if he’s just happy that he can keep them safe here. He straightens and continues helping others check in, directing them to their cabins.

You come up a while later, suppressing a smile as you approach him. He looks flustered, perfected hair now a mess. His cheeks are red and his brows are furrowed as he tries to figure out how many more kids are left to come in.

“How’s it going?” you ask.

He looks up and smiles softly. “So great.”

“It’s not all this boring,” you explain. “Or stressful. It’ll be fun soon, I promise.”

He rolls his eyes playfully. “You better not be lying to me.”

“What if I am?”

He thinks for a moment. “I’ll flip your kayak.”

You laugh - a loud, ringing laugh. Steve smiles, pleased to have earned it from you. He wants your friendship to go smoothly, he wants you to like him. After yesterday’s confrontation and subsequent confession of enjoyment, he was starting to think maybe it was going to work out. Maybe you both weren’t going to dislike each other.

You straighten, still smiling down at him. “I’d like to see you try, Steve.” You knock twice on the table he’s at. “I’ll see you later, okay?”

Steve nods, and you linger for just a second longer before heading off.

===

Steve continues to surprise you through the first week.

Though you still don’t get the appeal of him, you notice that many of the campers love going to see him for their intramurals. And he’s really good at teaching kids how to dodge a ball, or serve, or kayak. You’d never seen nerds so excited to interact with a jock, but they were, and it was actually heartwarming to see. You watched from the sidelines on your breaks as Steve helped teach kids tennis and soccer, his face red from the sun but beaming. He’d pause to wave at you before continuing, and you had a hard time prying yourself away from the scene. It was like it was in his nature to be a teacher, to care after others - and you’d never really seen that in a preppy jock before.

You also never expected a guy like Steve, known jerk, to be so good at interacting with kids.

You’re walking along the shore before dinner on Thursday when you hear shouts coming from the lake. You squint as you look out before seeing the source.

Steve had taught the kids a new game on the kayaks. They’d pass a ball with their paddles back and forth, and if they could get the ball into the seat of their opponent, they got a point. It was probably extremely dangerous, but the kids had fun, and so did he. He was soaked to the bone after every game, but his face hurt from laughing, and that was enough.

You watch from the shore as he and three other campers play, and you shake your head. Another counselor, Mia, comes up behind you and laughs. “He’s pretty popular, huh?”

“Always has been,” you say, turning to face her.

“He’s nice to watch, isn’t he?” She stands on her tiptoes to look past you. “I could watch that man’s arms for days.” You roll your eyes, and she frowns. “You don’t think so?”

You sigh. “He’s just… Steve. I don’t get the appeal.”

“You’re the only one, it seems,” she says, smiling again. “What is he, your villain origin story?”

It’s surprising how accurate the phrasing is. “It’s complicated.”

She shrugs. “You seem to get along well now, at least. Put in a good word for me, yeah?”

Your words catch in your throat as she walks away.

Part of you does like Steve. You find enjoyment in him - he’s goofy, he’s funny, he’s kind, and he’s smart. But he’s also the person who made you cry every summer. He’s your childhood bully - how could you enjoy his company? You confuse yourself with your own feelings. It’s like mental gymnastics, trying to hang on to your anger and resentment while equally wanting to like him.

You shake your thoughts out of your head and walk off the shore, away from Steve and his charm.

===

The week ends on Friday, leaving everyone exhausted. The Party kept Steve busy when he wasn’t leading intramurals, draining him fully of his energy. They were going to watch a movie with Suzie in one of the recreation rooms, leaving Steve by himself. He was worn and tired, sunburnt and hot. But he still jogged up to you when he sees you after dinner.

“Y/N!”

You whirl around to face him, a friendly smile crossing your face as he comes up.

“Hey,” he says. “Haven’t talked to you in a while.”

“Just since Monday.”

He shrugs. “Felt like a long time.”

There’s a silence before you clear your throat. “How was your week?”

A wide smile spreads over his face. “It was amazing!”

You let him gush, because you’re genuinely interested. He tells you about how easy it is for him to talk to the campers, how he created Kayak Ball (“still working on a better name”), and how he’d made some friends with other counselors. Which leads him to ask, “Are you going to the bonfire tonight?”

Shit.

The annual First Friday Bonfire was tonight, and you’d forgotten all about it. It was usually a very spiritual experience - people would write stories from their past, things that bother them, share it to the group, and then burn the paper in the flames. It was like a reawakening - fire is cleansing, after all. Just last year, you’d wrote about the Steve standing in front of you, hair disheveled and grinning dorkily. You burned the paper and went on with your life.

You never expected he’d be here. It’s a bit mind-boggling.

“Yeah,” you say. “Are you?”

“If you are,” he says, suddenly uncertain. “I don’t really know -”

“Steve, everyone here loves you. You’ve made friends.” You hope the bitterness you feel isn’t being translated into your tone. “You can hang out with these people. They like you.”

He nods, frowning. “I know. It’s just….” He sighs heavily. “I’ve never had people… like me before.”

Your stomach falls as you remember what he had told you about - how he hadn’t talked to Tommy since junior year. These were the first adults he had interacted with in years; he was bound to be nervous.

“I’ll be there.” You reach out and squeeze his shoulder. “But you don’t need me. Everyone here thinks you’re incredible.”

“Yeah?”

“You’re the only thing the girl counselor cabin talks about.”

You see a blush creep up his cheeks. “Really?”

You don’t want to indulge him - you shouldn’t indulge him - but you do. “Every girl here has the hots for you. Maybe even some of the boys.”

Steve’s breath catches. “Every girl?”

You stare at him awkwardly. “Well - n… no, not every girl, but - enough.” You feel embarrassment creeping hotly through your veins. “Not - not me, if you’re thinking -”

“No, no,” he says, just as awkwardly as you. “No, I know that.” He smiles slightly. “You hate me.”

A smile turns the corners of your lips. “Yeah. I hate you.”

“Right.”

A long and awkward silence ensues before he says, “Yeah - okay. I will see you tonight.”

===

Hours later, you saunter over to the counselor bonfire, located right off the shore of the lake. It’s a beautiful, clear night - a slight breeze rustles the trees and the fire licks the stars. You’re a bit late, and Steve’s nervous that you won’t show up. Despite this, he is literally surrounded by the female counselors, who are eagerly asking him about himself.

“Jesus Christ,” you mumble as you approach.

“Look who it is!” Josh shouts out as you near. “Y/N, we’ve been waiting for you.”

“You shouldn’t have,” you say dryly, entering the circle.

Steve pats the log beside him - he had saved you a seat. With all these girls surrounding him, he saved you a seat. He had to tell them, “hey, don’t sit there, it’s reserved,” while he waited for you to show up. It’s a sweet gesture, one that sends your heart beating a little too fast for your liking. You sit beside him, giving a tight lipped smile.

The girls all smile at you, as if it’s all some type of game. And you know why they’re so amused - you had dramatically cut them off each night when Steve would be brought up. You’d throw a pillow over your head and shout at them to just shut up already. They thought you weren’t immune to his charms, just as they weren't. You roll your eyes at them.

Josh hands you a piece of paper and a pencil. “We’re doing the burning ceremony in a few.”

You take the paper and pencil from him gently, sitting it on your lap. Beside you, Steve is clutching his paper tightly to his chest. You bite the inside of your cheek as you think about what to write down - you’d already metaphorically burned Steve last year. You simply write down my past with no elaboration, intending to feed everyone a fake story and then throw it into the fire.

Steve himself didn’t need to think very long about what to write down. His biggest regret was the way he had treated people. A nauseous jerk tugs at his stomach when he thinks about high school, when he thinks about Nancy and Jonathan, when he thinks about the mask he always hid behind. He’s reminded of it every single day here with you - memories that he can’t quite touch but that he knows are there. The feeling of guilt when he looks at you, at the way your brows furrow and eyes narrow at him. How, even now, the pleasantries hide behind past aggression.

He doesn’t blame you.

And maybe, perhaps, burning a piece of paper will make him feel better. It’s not much, but it’s more than he’s ever done.

You listen as everyone goes around and tells their story. Some talk about relationships, or mental health. Each story is met with support from the circle, almost like group therapy. When all comments are said, the paper is thrown in, and everyone claps and cheers as it burns. You can sense that Steve is getting more and more nervous as he gets closer to talking, and you wonder what’s on his paper.

When it’s your turn, you stand up. “I wrote down my past.” You clear your throat. “Uh - I’m not proud of who I used to be. I used to be so quiet and shy. But I’m happier now, and louder, and I’m not afraid of the space that I take up.”

Steve’s eyes burn a hole into your side as you tell your story. He remembers the girl you’re talking about. He remembers how quiet you were, always minding your own business. And his chest hurts when he realizes that he’s probably why you were that way.

It takes a lot of strength for you to not side-eye him.

Everyone tells you that they’re proud and you throw the paper into the fire, sitting back down and crossing your hands over your lap. There’s a tenseness between you and Steve, but no one realizes the connection.

Steve stands, his hands shaking. It takes him a second to find his voice.

“Um. Well, when I was younger - not younger, just a few years ago - I was a jerk.”

You tense up, staring intently into the fire.

“I was such a dick. I made the worst decisions and the worst friends. I used to follow the crowd, because I thought that’s what I had to do to make them like me.” He licks his lips and takes a deep breath. “And I knew it was wrong - I knew it was - but that’s not an excuse. I let it go on for too long, and I hurt a lot of people. And that really kills me each day.”

You squeeze your hands together.

“I’m trying so hard to not be that person anymore, and I’m glad that I’m not. I got away from those people and I found better friends. Friends who believe in me and like me for me.” He clears his throat and sniffles. “But I’m so worried that I’ll turn back into that person again. I know there are people who will always know me as that person, and that sucks.” His eyes land on the top of your head. “But not as much as it sucks for them, I’m sure.

“I’m just ashamed,” he continues. “I wish I could change what I did. I wish I could make everyone believe that I’m not that guy anymore. I wish I wasn’t so scared. Most of all, I’m sorry. I’m really sorry.”

Everyone’s silent. Steve asks, “Do - do I throw it in now?”

“No,” Josh says. “Uh - wow. I don’t even know where to start.”

Steve feels the shame creeping into his chest again and bows his head.

“First of all, man, you’re allowed to change. You can change, and it’s obvious that you did,” Josh says.

Steve looks up, shocked at the validation.

“Yeah,” Nico, Steve’s roommate, interjects. “Dude, you’re one of the nicest, goofiest people I’ve ever met.”

A few yeahs echo around the circle.

“And it’s a good sign that you regret what you’ve done,” another girl, Emily, says. “That shows growth.”

You sit tensely, feeling cold in front of the fire. You know he’s talking about you. And you know he means what he’s saying.

You interject a few moments later. “What matters is that you’re trying to change. That’s the best you can do.”

Steve looks down at you, brows furrowing, but it feels like a weight has lifted off of him, freeing him. Feels like his collar bones aren’t cracking under pressure. His eyes are soft and filled with tears - he wasn’t expecting any of this.

You swallow hard, feeling your own tears swelling in your eyes. “And I think that - I think that it’s obvious you aren’t like who you were before.”

Never in your life did you think you’d say that, and never in Steve’s life did he think he’d hear it.

A few people agree, reinforcing that it’s okay for him to be ashamed, but it’s okay for him to grow, too. It’s a bit much for Steve, who makes a strong effort to not burst out into sobs. You can’t meet his eyes yet, but when he sits down after throwing the paper in, you reach for his hand and squeeze it. It’s more than the truce at the breakfast table - it’s an understanding. It’s forgiveness. It’s comfort. It’s friendship. You decide to truly, finally swallow your past, let the flames do their job, and embrace the new Steve.

Your hand leaves after just a second, but he understands the message, and you both smile the rest of the night.

===

It’s Sunday night now, and you’re doing rounds. It’s a little after one in the morning. You check on every cabin to make sure kids are asleep and safe, then decide to sneak a dip in the lake. It was a cool night, but the water was calling. You approach the pier but stop when you see another body already sitting on the edge, shoulders slumped.

You can tell despite the distance that it’s Steve, and you can tell that something’s wrong.

You make your footsteps loud so he can hear you coming, and you take a seat on the wood beside him. The lake is bright from the moon, and it illuminates on Steve’s sullen face. “You okay?”

He nods softly. “I just wanted to take a walk,” he says, but his voice cracks.

You frown. “Is that all?”

He doesn’t answer for a long time, but you can see that his cheeks and eyes are red and swollen. Finally, he whispers, “I had a nightmare.”

Steve had awoken in a sweat, kicking his sheets off of him and gasping for breath. It was another dream about the Upside Down, and it hit him unexpectedly and hard. Nico had stood over his bed, worry etched onto his face, asking Steve if he was okay. Steve brushed it off and said he needed to go on a walk. When he slipped outside, he cried, hugging himself as he walked to the pier. It was the brightest spot at camp, the only place he felt safe. He had learned the lake like the back of his hand in three week’s time, had found a home in it, and he went there to pull himself together.

A nightmare was a bit of an understatement - it had felt so real. He went weeks without one, happily, assuming the distance from Hawkins was helping. It was disheartening to have one here. Embarrassing, too. He wonders if Dustin or any of the kids had been having them.

The anguish on his face and cheeks is apparent and you whisper, “Hey,” taking his hand and squeezing it again. “Do you want to talk about it?”

He shakes his head numbly. He would like to talk about it, but knows he can’t. “Just a stupid dream.”

You frown. “It’s not stupid to feel scared.”

Steve sniffles. “I know.”

“But do you know?”

Steve stills, eyebrows knitting together again. “I… it’s hard to feel like it’s not stupid.”

You nod. “I know how you feel. Well, at least a bit.”

“Do you have nightmares?”

“No,” you whisper. Your thumb absentmindedly rubs over his. “But I have anxiety. And I know how it feels to think it’s stupid to feel that way.”

Steve nods. “I just kind of… push it down. I try not to bother people with it.”

“You’re not bothering people who love you for talking about it. Have you told Dustin?”

“Yeah, but… he’s got his own problems.”

You nod in understanding. After a few moments of silence, you say, “You can talk to me.”

He laughs solemnly. He wishes he could talk to someone about it. Someone outside of the people who were there, or outside of the shrinks that Doc Owens had recommended. Anyone with a new perspective. But he can’t, because the person he’d confide in would die, and he really doesn’t need that on his conscience. That’s not something you could burn in a fire and forget about.

“I’m serious,” you say. “I can help.”

Steve kicks his feet back and forth in the water for a few minutes. Then he looks over at you. “How do you stop being anxious?”

“You don’t,” you say, laughing. “It just gets easier to hide. But having friends helps, and loving yourself helps.”

“I don’t have either.”

You elbow his side gently. “You have friends, Steve. And I’ll be damned if you don’t like yourself by the time you leave here.”

He’s quiet again, then says, “It’s really hard for me to think of people as friends. It’s hard to think that people actually want to hang out with me. Tommy and Carol used me for money and an empty house.” He shrugs lazily. “The attention just feels so… superficial now.”

And it makes your heart ache, because maybe that’s why he won’t give in to the girls here. He thinks they don’t like him for him - they only like him for his looks. Even if he wants them to like him, if he wants someone to love, it’s hard to accept it. The realization ignites an odd anger in you; he doesn’t deserve to feel like this.

“Maybe,” you whisper. “But at least you’re aware of it, right?”

He nods and shrugs again. “I guess.”

More silence.

“Your speech on Friday…,” you say softly. “It meant a lot.”

“It didn’t have to -”

“But it did.”

He swallows and turns to face you. “I’m so sorry.”

“I know,” you say, rubbing his thumb again. “I forgive you.” You smile. “For real this time.”

He smiles, too. “Apparently, since you can’t stop holding my hand.”

You retract it quickly, holding it to your chest. You didn’t realize how long you’d been holding it, and you blushed deeply. “That doesn’t mean anything.”

“You sure?” he grins. “Because someone told me every girl here likes me.”

You kick water towards him and he laughs, kicking back. You’re happy to see the light back in his eyes.

“So Kayak Ball, huh?”

“It’s the next big thing.” He seems proud of it.

You hum. “So I’ve heard.” You splash water towards him again. “You gonna teach me?”

Steve laughs incredulously. “You want to learn?”

“Yeah,” you smile, shrugging. “Maybe I can stop by tomorrow on my break.”

He smiles widely. “You’re gonna get your ass kicked.”

You push up and reach out for his hand, pulling him up with you. “Let me walk you back to your cabin, okay?”

“You don’t have to -”

“I don’t want you to get lost in the woods.”

You walk together in silence, but Steve feels comforted. Like maybe he could go back to sleep when he lays down instead of worrying about dying.

“Hey,” you say when you approach his cabin. “Um… Mia? She wanted me to put in a good word for her.”

“As in?”

“As in, you should sit with her at lunch.” You wink. “She’s one of those ‘every girls’ that likes you.”

His eyes widen and then he smiles, shaking his head. “You mean it?”

“No, it’s a prank.”

He laughs softly and shakes his head again. “Well, thanks for the tip.”

You smile and nod. When you turn to walk towards your cabin, you say, “Goodnight, Steve.”

He waves after you. “Goodnight.”

===

taglist (join here!): @troop-scoop @therealestdookie @jasontoddisfantastical @mybestfriendthedingus @anonymousonion23 @darth-el @unknownherelm @random-thoughts-003 @metuel18 @dark-academics-and-florals @magicstrengthandcourage @mathchampagne @magnitude101999 @yall-wildin-like-siriusly @sunshine-and-riverwater @dark-academics-and-florals @scooprtroopr @heart-eye-harrington @sourapplebaby @comedy-witch @mochminnie @thatkidofwarandpeace @lukeskisses @ssanjuniperoo @harrington-ofhawkins @write-from-the-heart @yazmin626 @bravest-at-heart

#steve harrington #steve harrington x you #steve harrington x reader #steve harrington fic #steve harrington au #the campers #this chap is truly horrific but what can u do truly!

129 notes · View notes

thosequeenboys · 5 years ago

Text

36: Half Full (Joe Mazzello x Y/N)

A/N: 36-year-old teacher Y/N seeks the right man with whom to start a family. One day while working as a camp administrator, she shares a mutual attraction with the uncle of one of her favorite young campers. Could her dream become a reality or will old fears prevent her from taking a risk? This is Y/N’s perspective of my story 36: Reset, in which Joe Mazzello, also eager to start a family, meets Y/N while caring for his nieces. Joe’s family members are written as fictional characters. This story is dedicated to my mother, who strives to keep the glass half full and reminds me to do the same.

@warriorteam1924 @marianaletosnape @im-an-adult-ish @johndeaconshands @thatstuckyhoe @amethyst-serenade @orionis8689 @jd-johndeacon-or-jackdaniels

Y/N opened her eyes and followed the morning sunlight fanning across the floor. She palmed her phone on the side table, then flipped onto her back and brought up her Notes for the day. She took in the mundane reminders about camper pick-ups and staff time sheets and focused on the day’s big event: a reunion with her eight college friends. The tight group remained close in their 20’s. Now, a decade later, it was harder to stay connected as their lives splayed in different directions, as evidenced by the reason for tonight’s festivities: Vanessa’s engagement and Ashley’s pregnancy.

She looked forward to celebrating with her friends. Yet, Y/N couldn’t ignore the gnawing feeling that her dreams, those dreams, seemed unattainable. A wall had been erected within her from a past experience, creating a barrier. That inner turmoil, however, was countered by her day-to-day reality. Y/N was a woman with full life: a passionate educator, an art enthusiast and a skilled improv performer. What she longed for most was missing: a loving husband and children. For now, Camp Administrator extraordinaire would have to do. To that end, she rolled out of bed and slipped into a pressed shirt, capri pants and sneakers.

Her carefully folded sundress and her favorite strappy sandals for the evening joined lunch, water bottle and phone in her backpack. She stepped outside to greet the humid day. Arriving at the YMCA, she locked her backpack and retrieved her clipboard, looping her key lanyard around her neck. Y/N entered the large gym, observing the children with their counselors and eyeing the many pockets of action. She offered greetings while ensuring everything ran smoothly.

Suddenly, a small familiar figure came toward her. A man navigating a stroller followed behind.

“Hi, Jessie,” Y/N greeted one of her favorite campers. Y/N bent down and glanced at the toddler nestled in her stroller. “Hi, Josie,” she said, then rose.

“Hi, Y/N. This is my Uncle Joe.” Jessie’s head tilted up to the slender gentleman with wavy auburn hair, who looked around Y/N’s age. Jessie clutched her uncle’s hand tightly as she elaborated. “He’s taking care of Josie and me while my parents are at Cousin Carol’s wedding this weekend…” Jessie provided a litany of details as Joe and Y/N looked at each other and laughed. When Jessie paused, Joe extended his hand. “I’m Joe, nice to meet you.” Suddenly an item on her morning Notes flashed before her: Jessie, Yellow Group: Joe Mazzello pick up. He seemed so at ease. How lovely that he was caring for the two girls for three days. Not an easy feat. His sister must really trust him. And Jessie certainly seemed fond of him. She smiled at the sweet, attractive man before her. “Hi, Joe.” Joe’s eyes lingered on her.

Y/N shook Joe’s hand and continued, “Your sister wrote saying you’d be helping with the girls. That’s so nice. I’m Y/N/Z, the Assistant Director of the camp. If you need anything please let me know. Jessie is a wonderful camper!” She winked at Jessie who smiled and then spoke to Joe before joining her group. Suddenly, Y/N felt a tap on her arm and turned to speak with a parent, reluctantly losing sight of the handsome man she had just met, who softly uttered “Thanks.” Then, as always, Y/N found herself caught up in the fray. It was her favorite place, really: people coming to her with issues to resolve, questions to answer, laments to be heard.

Y/N caught Joe leaning down to check on Josie who was sitting comfortably in her stroller playing with a toy. She spotted a towel and water toys in the lower basket of the stroller and figured he’d be taking her to the playground for sprinkler fun. Joe spoke to his niece softly and then gave her leg a kiss. It was a natural, loving gesture. Y/N forced her gaze away from him to focus on two counselors who suddenly were speaking before her, but she sensed he was watching her as he strolled away. And just as he reached the exit, she turned and waved to him. “Oh. My. God.,” she thought, catching herself and bringing her hand to her clipboard. Was she flirting with a child’s guardian? What was wrong with her? Before she could further berate herself, Joe waved back with a big smile. It had been awhile since her body had an involuntary reaction to a man. Her heart suddenly started to ramp up like a pole vaulter tearing down the track, gaining speed, preparing to catapult. Yes, she felt like she was flying. Warmth rushed through her and she felt a lightness she couldn’t quite describe.

The day ran smoothly and at 3:00, she took a quick break, heading to the restroom with her make-up bag. Y/N checked herself in the mirror. She looked like she had been running up and down three flights of stairs non-stop, except for a few minutes to down a sandwich, yogurt and fruit, chased by a few swigs of water. That look, though accurate, should be addressed before she saw Joe again, she thought. She reapplied make-up and freshened up. She tucked her bag away in her office and picked up her clipboard. Back in the gym, she took in the quiet activities that signaled the wrap up of the day: board games, crafts and ice pops.

A half hour before camp ended, Joe wheeled Josie into the gym. Y/N appreciated he wasn’t among those who arrived late for pick-up keeping the staff waiting. The man took his responsibilities seriously. Mostly, she was glad to be able to cast her eyes on him again, and hoped for the chance to speak with him.

Joe let a restless Josie out of the stroller, and he followed behind her closely as she walked around. Y/N was impressed that he was mindful about preventing her from getting in the way, or worse, getting hurt. Setting out to make group rounds, Y/N approached them. “Hi, Joe,” Y/N said softly. She bent down to Josie. “Did you have fun in the playground with Uncle Joe?”

“Fun Un JoJo!” Josie responded as she toddled around and clapped her hands.

Y/N laughed and turned to him. “A standing ovation. I’m impressed.”

He chuckled and looked down briefly. “Well, we had fun, but I have to say, it was tiring. And I’m just watching one! Amazing you look so, uh, calm after running the show here.” Joe said admirably, extending his hands in a grand gesture.

“I’m a third-grade teacher so I’m used to it,” Y/N said. “I’m working on my master’s degree so I can be a Principal one day. This gives me good practice,” Y/N offered up some personal information to see if Joe responded. So many guys were so self-involved.

“Wow, that’s really impressive,” Joe said sincerely, eyeing her. His response caused her heart to flutter again. The conversation was cut off as Josie bolted toward her big sister. Joe fell into step close behind her. Y/N made her way across the gym, checking in on groups and finally sidled up next to Jessie, who was embroiled in a game of Chinese Checkers with a counselor. Kneeling on the floor next to the game, Joe unwrapped a watermelon-flavored pop a counselor gave him and offered some to Josie, who eagerly took some bites. The sticky pop started to drip, and Joe took his backpack off and unzipped it with a flourish, retrieving a napkin to wipe her up. “Good reflexes,” Y/N mused.

Jessie glanced at Y/N as her opponent contemplated her move. “Y/N, did you know Uncle Joe is a FAMOUS MOVIE STAR?” she bellowed.

Y/N immediately flashed back to her conversation with Jessie’s mother the prior evening. “Oh, Y/N,” she had said, “Remember, my brother Joe will be picking Jessie up tomorrow. You got my e-mail. You’ll recognize him.” She said with a wink. “He was in Bohemian Rhapsody. And, The Social Network. Bunch of things.”

Back in the present, Y/N played it cool. “Wow, interesting,” she responded evenly. “And he’s a GREAT UNCLE!” she added enthusiastically, trying to steer the conversation to the present, seeing Joe looking down embarrassed.

“Who is successfully making a mess with this pop,” Joe retorted, wiping his mouth with the napkin and giving Josie another wipe, before she took off for the crafts table. Joe rose, his face a shade of crimson, and followed her.

Y/N’s boss signaled the floor was covered, and she took her leave to change. She reemerged wearing her flowery sundress with wide straps and a deep neckline that accentuated her figure. Her elegant sandals gave her shapely legs a nice lift and embodied the ease and comfort of summer. Standing near the doorway, Y/N bid good-bye to families, wishing them a good weekend. Joe walked toward her to retrieve the parked stroller.

“You look…nice,” Joe said haltingly, without any emotion. “Big night out?”

“Thank you.” Her faced flushed. “I’m meeting my college friends. One just got engaged and another is expecting.”

“Lots to celebrate.” Joe said, his taut lips relaxing into a wide smile, seemingly relieved by the answer.

“Yeah,” she said wistfully. “You know, life in the 30’s…”

‘Uh. Yeah,” Joe uttered, his eyes trained on her. Suddenly distracted by his nieces, Joe turned. Squatting to his knees, he spoke quietly but firmly to Jessie. Then he stood and turned to face Y/N. He caught her eye, his face full of intensity. “Y/N,” he said softly, “I was wondering, if, uh, one day, you might want to grab dinner.” She looked at him. And the reality hit her. She could be present, rather than thinking of yesterdays. She could take in the joy she was feeling. She could take the risk. “I’d love that. Let me give you my number.” She hastily wrote it on a paper on her clipboard and gave it to him. She sighed, feeling that inexplicable lightness return. Maybe part of that wall was chipping away.

“Great,” Joe said to Y/N with a smile. “I’ll probably need two days to recover after my sister gets back,” He laughed. “I’ll text you. Maybe we can get together next weekend?”

“That should work,” she said. “Bye...” her voice trailed off, as a counselor interrupted.

“Have fun tonight,” Joe called after her. After a quick check of the stroller buckle, he took off, taking Jessie’s hand. “Bye, Y/N!” Jessie called, turning.

Y/N waved to Jessie, noticing Joe’s nicely filled out cargo shorts and firm biceps extending from his t-shirt, as he headed out the door with his two charges.

*****

The latest Williamsburg bar considered all the rage was dimly lit with modern brass drop fixtures and a plethora of votive candles. The friends gathered on comfy chairs and a couch set in an oval. They held colorful drinks and indulged in the bounty of tantalizing appetizers set out on the tables before them. They toasted Vanessa and Ashley. The years hadn’t changed their easy banter, and their shared jokes and memories transported them back to golden, carefree days. The conversation grew more serious as the friends discussed their present lives.

“What’s going on with you, Y/N?” Vanessa asked eagerly. Her pear-shaped diamond glistened as she raised her mango-infused drink.

“Well, I LOVE working at the camp.” Y/N began. “The kids are great, and this year, we have a dance competition.” She shook her head. “Well, we’re not calling it a competition, cause we want every kid to express themselves. Our dance teacher is a member of the dance company Alvin Ailey II….”

Vanessa cut her off with no qualms. “Yeah, that’s great. Come ON! Get to the good stuff. You seeing anyone?”

Y/N paused. Images of Joe shaking her hand, waving to her, blushing and asking her out flashed, and she felt her heartbeat quicken. “Well actually…just today, the uncle of one of my campers asked me out. He’s really nice and so…handsome.” She knew she was sporting a dreamy expression.

Awkward side glances were exchanged by the friends, who fell into an uncomfortable silence. Y/N looked around at them perplexed.

Vanessa, always one of the boldest among them, cocked her head and spoke. “So…um, is this a sugar daddy situation?” she asked.

“WHAT??” Y/N gasped. She started to laugh so hard her breath suspended for a moment. “OHMYGOD!! What are you thinking?? He’s not, like, YOUR uncle. He’s our age. He’s in his 30’s. The girls dissolved into uproarious laughter, falling into each other.

“Here’s to the 30’s,” Ashley said, through her own laughter, rubbing her curved belly with one hand and raising her cranberry juice with the other.

“To the 30’s,” Y/N said, raising her Cosmo.

*****

Therapy was every other Tuesday at 7:00 p.m.

Ann Garnett, Ph.D. saw herself as a tour guide accompanying her patients as they revised their pasts and envisioned their futures, offering a fresh canvas on which to sketch new interpretations, plans and realized truths. She gingerly accompanied Y/N back in time to allow her to work through her painful break-up with Derek. They had loved each other passionately, but it became clear that they were on different tracks. For Y/N, there were education certificates to obtain, cultural events to experience, improv shows to perform and friends to see. Derek, six years her senior, was eager to buy a house in the suburbs and start a family. He had enough of tiny apartments with unreliable plumbing and the constant churn of neighbors who kept late hours. He was unwilling to wait-or compromise. Staying in the city for even a few years so Y/N could engage in her enjoyments was out of the question. Y/N had to choose between a life she wasn’t ready for with a man she was in love with or creating her own desired life. She chose the latter. And though her life was fulfilling, Y/N often wondered if she gave up her one chance at love and having a family, which now, she wanted more than anything. Ann helped her to accept that she made the right decision based on who and where she was at the time. Most importantly, Ann helped Y/N work through the fear of repeated disappointment that lapped at her and prevented her from entering another serious relationship.

Y/N planted her backpack on the couch next to her. “So. I had a date.”

“Oh?” Ann’s voice and eyebrows raised slightly. She took in Y/N’s evident excitement.

Y/N recounted meeting Joe at camp and their interactions. She spoke warmly about the affection and care he demonstrated toward his nieces.

“That’s lovely.” Ann said.

“It was.” Y/N said. “He took me for a delicious dinner. We both like good food and travelling. It was so easy to talk with him. He was interested in my work at the camp, having seen me in action.” She giggled proudly before continuing. “He asked me a lot about my improv with Upright Citizens Brigade. He’s an actor, and he described how he improvised during some of his scenes. Yeah, we really connected about that.”

“Sounds like you have some shared interests. And he respects YOUR interests.” Ann concluded.

Talking about the date laid bare the plausible reality that it was positive – and it could evolve. And that made it feel so fragile and scary. Y/N felt like she was clutching a vase of etched glass closely to protect it. Yet despite her efforts, it tumbled from her firm grasp in slow motion. She reached for it in mid-air, but before she could swoop in, it crashed and shattered. Suddenly, the positive feelings dissipated. She just couldn’t risk having them wrap around her heart, create a stronghold, and then witness the inevitable unraveling of a promising future. Again.

“Well,” Y/N asserted, her tone becoming firm, “It’s not going to work, unfortunately. He’s going to move to LA.”

“Oh? When’s he leaving?” Ann asked casually.

“It’s not planned. Yet. but he’s an actor and director. He’s going to have to go at some point.” Y/N sounded annoyed having to explain what seemed like an inevitable reality, not worth additional discussion. Case closed. Next subject.

Ann considered her patient, whom she greatly admired. “You don’t know if Joe will move to LA. His family is here, after all. And if he does, well, many couples relocate for jobs. Fortunately, wherever you go, there will be a need for teachers-and one of your caliber would be in demand. And LA has a great Citizens Brigade.” She added with a smile. Her voice and words opened up the canvass for sketching. “You’re not tied down. You can be flexible. And, there’s no need to plan everything today. You can’t, really. Let yourself enjoy the unfolding. Get to know Joe. See if you fit together. You’re at a different place now than you were with Derek. And Joe is a different person than Derek. He’s proven that already.”

Y/N stared at Ann, taking in her wise and objective words.

“You know, Y/N,” Ann said, her eyes taking in the lovely young woman before her, so deserving of love. “The glass can also be half full.”

Ann closed her notebook, signaling the session’s end.

That evening, Y/N slept restlessly as dreams spun through her head. In the last one, she was clutching a vase tightly, protectively. A figure stood in the darkness. Fearing it would take her vase, she turned to run. “Wait, Y/N!, Wait for me,” the figure called to her pleadingly. She turned back. The figure stepped forward into a spotlight. She strained to make out its features. It was Joe, wearing black trousers a button-down shirt and black blazer. The vase in her arms, now also shrouded in light, caught her eye. As she gazed down, she realized it had transformed to a baby swaddled in a blanket.

The dream startled Y/N awake. Her phone vibrated. She pulled it out and saw a text from Joe: “Enjoy the kiddos today. Can’t wait to see your show tonight! Break a leg.” A smile emerged, as Y/N replayed her dream and reread Joe’s text, excitedly anticipating her show that evening.

Maybe the glass can be half full.

My Masterlist

#joe mazzello #joe mazzello fanfic #joe mazzello x reader #joe mazzello fan fiction #joe mazzello fanfiction #joe mazzello x y/n #romance #upright citizens brigade #true love #borhap fanfic #improv #adulting #therapy

41 notes · View notes

ericvick · 4 years ago

Photo

With a scholarship to NU in hand, Mattapan youth talks about how Sportsmen's Middle anchored his lifestyle

Wesley Ward did not know substantially about tennis ahead of he very first stepped on the courts at Sportsmen’s Tennis and Enrichment Center 10 years ago. Rapidly forward a decade, and the 20-calendar year-aged Mattapan native is headed to Northeastern on a valedictorian scholarship attained soon after yrs of athletic and educational development at the Blue Hill Avenue facility.

In a new job interview with the Reporter, Ward praised Sportsmen’s as an anchor institution in an region where there have not generally been a lot of resources and stores for children.

“Growing up in Mattapan, it is distinctive than most other components of Boston,” he claimed. “There is not a high college for this space. When I was escalating up, there wasn’t truly substantially of everything in this location, not until like extremely lately has there been additional designed,” he mentioned, citing the Fairmount Line acquiring a new Blue Hill Ave. station. “Before, they just type of skipped more than our town,” he said, “So I would say growing up right here has been sort of diverse in contrast to how it is heading now with issues continually enhancing and acquiring possibilities and more faculties getting designed all-around in this article, much more children heading to the library.

“Sportsmen’s, of class, has been there because way prior to I’ve been alive. It’s been a part of my family for a prolonged time,” additional Ward. “One of the major attractions of this region is the tennis courts, the parks. It gives a large amount of children in this place of Mattapan, Dorchester, and Hyde Park, and even Roslindale the option to play tennis and get assist with teachers and find out new things that Boston has to give and Sportsmen’s has to provide as well.”

Academics are viewed as just as significant as tennis at Sportsmen’s exactly where young children and teens participate in after-university applications and summer time instructional enrichment camps in addition to doing the job on their serves and backhands. Ward recalled how the heart supplied him help and assisted him obtain his footing when he was battling in college.

“When I was in elementary college, they produced guaranteed that I obtained my homework accomplished before I went on to play on the courts, and stuff like that,” said. “It was just a excellent finding out experience though I was in elementary school and center school.”

The social component of Sportsmen’s and the connections created through the extensive-reaching local community there have also experienced major impacts on the trajectory of Ward’s life, he stated.

“Sportsmen’s has a lot of prospects for networking and to make a ton of buddies,” he reported. “If I did not go to Sportsmen’s, I would not have long gone to Beacon Academy, which is a 14-thirty day period application exactly where you get to fill in some of the gaps in your education, you get to meet new children, you get to study new ordeals, and just fortify all the things and hone your abilities…Sportsmen’s really launched me to Beacon Academy.

“When I was at that system, my connections at Sportsmen’s like Ms. Wiley ended up just motivating me to excel at Beacon. I was undertaking properly on the tennis courtroom but not as properly in school, and so Sportsmen’s and Beacon have served me out.”

A youthful Ward honing his tennis abilities circa summer time 2015. Photograph courtesy Marton Balla One of Sportsmen’s staff members members close to Ward is Marton Balla, who has been his mentor given that he very first arrived to the center as a 10-12 months-previous. Balla spoke with the Reporter about how he has found Ward grow considering the fact that he arrived at the heart raw and inexperienced.

“He was talented, he liked it, he received some focus, and soon he was hooked,” recalled Balla. “It was a journey. It was not normally a smooth experience, just like for any one else. There are so a lot of features of the game to master: it’s one particular matter to strike a tennis ball but the psychological and psychological part of the activity can be extremely tricky. Wesley has developed a large amount in how he manages his thoughts and…he has matured really a bit. His notice span at the beginning was often in brief bursts, but sooner or later he grew to become these types of a grown, experienced man or woman.”

Ward’s dedication to the sport caught Balla’s eye early on, he said.

“I don’t forget when we very first begun in 2012, when my schedule obtained occupied, I told him I was only available to hit with him Saturday morning at 8. I wasn’t certain if he would demonstrate up, but he was there just about every single Saturday morning at 8. His mother couldn’t pick him up right until later on, so he would perform tennis from 8 to 9, and then sit in the lobby for the rest of the morning. He had that determination at a extremely young age.”

These times, Balla’s discussions with Ward have a tendency to veer into economics, which Balla studied in university and Ward intends to pursue at Northeastern. Having individually witnessed the development of Ward’s critical pondering expertise and his the natural way curious mind, Balla pointed to the latter fifty percent of the Sportsmen’s name— the enrichment portion— in discussing Ward’s development.

“Overall, we have a holistic frame of mind towards children. We do not just stick to tennis we make certain they establish as a man or woman, and produce values like supplying again to the neighborhood.”

Ward has previously volunteered at Sportsmen’s as a junior counselor, but this summer he’s getting on a larger function as a summertime mentor, mentoring young children and passing along his have awareness and expertise.

“It’s lovely when it comes total cycle like that,” explained Balla. “It is extremely satisfying to see, and we’re all so very pleased of him.”

Ward’s success story, extra Balla, need to be an instance to mother and father who are pondering about their children’s upcoming.

“The tuition at Northeastern now is what, $70,000 a 12 months? The typical guardian looks at that and states no way, but people today will need to know that Wesley and other individuals have a way to get in there if they work hard.”

As for Ward, he’s looking forward to savoring the “amazing” tennis courts on Northeastern’s campus, but is glad that Sportsmen’s will carry on to be a 2nd home for him.

“Tennis has intended so significantly to me when I was developing up that it is a little something I just can’t just enable go,” he claimed. “I’d really like to be able to give youngsters the exact chances and encounters I experienced, and even progress on some of the matters that I was taught so that they can have a far better working experience.”

window.fbAsyncInit = purpose() FB.init( appId: "270847243020841", status: real, cookie: legitimate, xfbml: accurate, oauth : real, channelUrl: "https://www.dotnews.com/fb_social/channel" )

FB.Celebration.subscribe("edge.develop", function(href, widget) _gaq.push(["_trackEvent", "Facebook like", "Drupal", href]) )

(operate() var e = doc.createElement('script') e.async = correct e.src = document.site.protocol + '//join.facebook.web/en_US/all.js' doc.getElementById('fb-root').appendChild(e) ())

#anchored #hand #Lifestyle #Mattapan #Middle #scholarship #Sportsmens #talks #youth

1 note · View note

serendipitous-magic · 5 years ago

Note

⭐️

(For the “Reblog this if you want readers to come into your ask box and ask for the “director’s commentary” on a particular story, section of a story, or set of lines. Or, send in a ⭐star⭐ to have the author select a section they’ve been dying to talk about!” post)

Okay, okay, okay - so this is in Ch 1 of TRS3, and I’m gonna chatter a tad about a section near the beginning, in Dustin’s POV.

-_-_-_-

“You’ve been away a whole month, honeybun, maybe they just...” She wiggled her shoulders with a tilt of her head. “Forgot.”

She didn’t mean him. Of course she didn’t mean that they forgot him. She meant the radios; she meant they forgot what channel they’re supposed to be on. Or that they forgot what day he was coming home. She didn’t mean that they forgot about Dustin himself.

It’s just, it’s not exactly reassuring, you know? It’s the middle of summer already. All the roads are lined with tall, dark weeds. In a few days, everything will smell like sparkler smoke and kettle corn from the annual 4th of July fair. When he left it was barely June, and the weeds along the roadside were little more than sprouts. What else has happened since he left? What else has changed?

Okay so this is the first time I’ve written from Dustin’s POV, so this opening scene with him was a bit of a trial run. I had to establish several things, specifically for Dustin’s character in this story and where his arc starts out.

In this story, Dustin is starting out his arc in a place where he’s a little uncertain of his worth. Here, that specifically means within the Party. As we’ve seen, the Party in general has kind of started drifting apart this summer. Oh, they still hang out all the time, but they’re starting to push more towards “teenage” activities, most of them in a hurry to grow up and leave behind what happened to them as kids (except for Will, who’s clinging to the childhood that was stolen from him, but that’s another discussion). This push to “move on,” combined with the fact that Dustin has been away at summer camp for a whole month, leaves him a little worried that they may have moved on without him.

Lately - probably ever since the Snow Ball, actually - it’s felt like everything has been changing, and not necessarily in a good way. So when Dustin goes away for a month and comes back and it’s like the whole summer has been going on without him (which... it has, really), he’s not feeling great about it.

Secondly: this scene is lifted nearly straight from the trailer we got (since for this fic I’m considering most S3 trailer/promo material “canon,” and then picking and choosing from the show). So, it’s not exactly how the scene in the show went down, but it’s pretty close to how I expected it to go down based on that one trailer we got. So that was fun to kind of re-imagine a little bit (although I think it ended up fairly close to the Netflix version, thus far).

A muffled little tink draws his attention to the vivarium on his left, where Yurtle is bumping against the side, stumpy little legs flailing as he fails to comprehend glass. Dustin grins at him.

“At least someone’s happy to see me.”

Yurtle continues his mission to pass through the solid glass wall, unperturbed by his complete lack of success. Determined little guy. Never gets very far, but he tries.

I love Yurtle.

Dustin isn’t worried about it - the Party, that is. Honestly, he’s not. It’s not like they’ve all been acting weird for the past few months anyway. It’s not like ever since El reappeared Mike has been MIA more often than not, visiting her at the cabin for as long as Hopper will allow. It’s not like Max and Lucas have developed their own little language and routine together - not just boyfriend and girlfriend, but best friends. It’s not like Will has been a slightly different person since... well, since everything. It’s not like he misses how the Party used to be.

And here’s more of Dustin feeling a little insecure about the Party moving on without him - but more than that, I also needed to establish, in this first chapter, where the Party starts out in this story. Recap style. “Last time on: Hawkins, December through June.” What do we need to know to jump right into the story and have all the information we need? Mike has been hanging with El constantly. The Party is being a little weird (as discussed above). Everyone is kind of paired off except for Will and Dustin (until Suzie). Will is having Struggles (TM). Boom, boom, boom. We know what we need to; now on to the plot.

But Dustin doesn’t like to mope. He slaps his thighs and stands up, reaching into the vivarium to turn Yurtle around. Yurtle lumbers off towards his pool, apparently assured that his ability to move is due to his own success, and Dustin hums along with the radio as he unzips his duffel bag with a flourish. Who is he to complain? He just got back from possibly the most amazing summer camp ever. He’s got the whole rest of the summer ahead of him. He’s got things to do. Places to go. Popsicles to eat. (You know what they don’t have at Camp Know Where? Otter pops. Unbelievable, right? Three hundred acres, over five hundred campers and dozens of counselors, and not a single person could produce even one pack of sugary, brightly colored frozen goodness.)

He’s got plans. Specifically, an invention to get up and running - and he has the perfect place in mind. He bets he can get the gang to help him set it up - if they’d just answer.

Dustin is a fairly optimistic and resourceful person. We’ve seen that in seasons 1 and 2. He’s often underestimated, because he seems a little goofy at first glance - which he is, to be fair. But he’s also a problem-solver. He’s smart, and he doesn’t like to just sit and watch a problem get worse. He takes action. He’ll go to the library before school to check out extra books against the rules so he can identify the creature he found in his garbage. He’ll send his mom out of the house by having a fake one-person conversation on the phone, and then armor up in sports gear and single-handedly lure a baby demogorgon into the cellar. He’s not one to laze around and mope about his problems.

So this ^ here is an example of me trying to feel out how this character thinks and acts, and portray it accurately (because, again, I’ve never written Dustin’s POV before.)

Okay, maybe he’s a little unsettled. The Party doesn’t just go radio silent on each other, okay? Because when a Party member goes radio-silent, it usually means that something is wrong. Really wrong.

His eyes slide over the stain in his carpet. It’s a barely-perceptible rusty brown, now, blending in with the striped carpet unless you know just where to look. He had to tell his mom it was spaghetti sauce.

Will wasn’t the only member of the Party who was scarred by what happened last fall. Everyone in the Party went through some shit, to varying degrees. Maybe Dustin wasn’t possessed by a shadow monster, but he did witness his cat being disemboweled and eaten by a baby demogorgon, and then he had to face said baby demogorgon, and scrub cat blood out of his carpet, and all the while make sure his mom wasn’t gonna be around to get hurt, and that would be pretty rough to go through for an adult - and Dustin was thirteen. (And that’s not even to mention the whole fighting-demodogs-with-Steve and infiltrating-the-Mind-Flayer’s-tunnels business.)

His toy robot starts marching out of the corner just as Dustin turns away, chattering unintelligibly in its perpetual-low-battery fizzle, red eyes glowing.

Wait.

What.

Dustin turns back, slowly, and this time the robot is joined by a toy tank and R2D2.

Now, he’s no expert, but in Dustin’s fourteen years of experience on earth, toys don’t come alive.

I just love that little bit.

Also, I REALLY REALLY WANTED TO FIND A WORD THAT MEANT “TOY EXPERT” BUT I COULDN’T FIND ONE. Like, the same way you might say, “Now, I’m no podiatrist, but in my experience that’s too many toes for one foot.” That kind of tone. But apparently there’s not a word for “toy expert,” at least not that I could find. Everything google gave me when I typed that in was sex toy related lol. Not what I was going for.

-_-_-_-

And that’s that little bit! It was fun doing Dustin’s POV, and this fic will be a fun challenge in that I usually write (at least in this fandom) nearly exclusively from Mike or Will’s POV, and in TRS3 we’re gonna get Dustin, Joyce, Nancy, Hop, Billy, the Mind Flayer... So, that’ll be a fresh challenge for me!

Thanks for the ask! I am also working on the others, I just completely forgot what the stars meant because I’m dumb lol

#asks #anon #trs3 #writing memes #writing commentary

11 notes · View notes

roselukes · 7 years ago

Text

Summer Dream - Epilogue

Previous Chapters

A/N: Thank you everyone for reading this! It means a lot to me!

Summer Dreams?

An article by Karmen Scott-Hanson

Another summer has come and gone, and another summer has unleashed its unrelenting drama and heat. Camp Talladega welcomed back several counselors. The returners included camp heirs, Aspen, Caleb, and Caden Hanson; all four members of both Little Mix and All Time Low; seasoned staff member Cher Lloyd; country music legend Carly Pearce; and the center of all drama, Audrey Jenkins. Among the new summer’s counselors include Hey Violet’s Rena and Nia Lovelis; and everyone’s summer crushes, 5 Seconds of Summer.

As with all celebrity events, this summer was packed full of romance, drama, rivalries, and more drama. The summer started off with an immediate connection between camp heiress, Aspen Hanson, and 5 seconds of Summer guitarist, Michael Clifford. What looked like a spark that would start a lovely bonfire, soon turned into a spark that started a wildfire. The couple, coined MASPEN, often took midnight adventures to the lake. Many of these adventures included a picnic basket and a guitar. Pretty romantic, if you ask me. Midnight adventures soon led to secret hookups in staff bathrooms and offices.

But, with all summer romances, comes summer drama. And, who other to start summer drama than our reigning drama queen, Audrey Jenkins. Audrey was jealous of MASPEN and she made it very clear. Michael no longer got to have any alone time with his precious Aspen, unless it was a midnight adventure while the kids slept. But these too came to an end. Even those who don’t listen to either artists music knows that there is a longstanding rivalry between country music star, Aspen Hanson, and popstar wannabe, Audrey Jenkins, but does anyone know why? None us did either, until Audrey did the unthinkable.

Goodbye MASPEN, hello MAUDREY? No, thank you. In a quote from Michael Clifford, “I don’t see why everyone is so friendly with Aspen. After everything she’s done, you’d think people in this industry would be a little more careful about who they spend their time with.” But, what could he be talking about? That’s right, the rivalry. You see, Audrey had a plan in mind when she noticed how close MASPEN had become. What was her plan? Break up MASPEN, of course. And, how would she do it? By doing the only thing she knows how to do: lie. Audrey decided that she couldn’t stand seeing Aspen happy, so she took matters into her own hands. Audrey was bitter that Aspen was so talented, and Audrey wished she could be as talented as her former best friend. As teenagers, the two friends formed a band. However, no one would sign them as a group. That being said, Data Records of Nashville, Tennessee signed Aspen to their label. Aspen then licensed the songs she wrote and started her career in the country music industry. Audrey, on the other hand, didn’t have songs to license or any talent to give, so it took her longer to get signed. Once she was signed by Freedom Records of New York, she set out on a mission to destroy the career Aspen had worked to build.

How did Audrey do this? Once again, by lying. According to Aspen Hanson, Audrey sabotaged her tour with Keith Urban. After speaking with Keith Urban, the story checks out. “Aspen was a great addition to the tour. She’s an incredible talent and she has an amazing heart, but the complications of her sets were too much for the tour to handle. We had no choice but to let her go. We later found out that Freedom Records founder, Jaime Garfeild, had paid the tour crew to get Aspen fired.” It would seem that Miss Audrey has a record of ruining Aspen’s life. Audrey concocted a very elaborate lie, in which she told Michael Clifford that Aspen was a song stealer liar. Instead of believe the woman he’s falling in love with, Clifford chose to believe the notorious liar.

MASPEN had officially ended and MAUDREY was looking promising. That is, until the night Audrey took the rivalry a little too far. Audrey convinced her campers to sabotage the night’s game, putting 11 different counselors in 11 harmful situations. Poor Carly Pearce was stuck in a fence for nearly two hours, Luke Hemmings managed to get stuck in a tree, Jesy and Perrie of Little Mix were capsized in the lake, band members Leigh Anne and Jade were covered in poison oak, frontman Alex Gaskarth and drummer Rian Dawson were locked in the pool, Cher Lloyd was locked in the canteen, Calum Hood was tripped and had fallen into the river, and dear, sweet Aspen Hanson had fallen victim to a slipknot booby trap that knocked her unconscious and fractured her ankle. Our fallen counselors were only rescued when All Time Low guitarist Jack Barakat and bassist Zack Merrick were alerted of the situation at hand. In a staff meeting, Audrey played dumb, claiming to have no part in the war going on.

With only witness statements and no hard proof, Camp Talladega was forced to keep Audrey on as counselor. But, the war wasn’t over. Our fallen soldiers of the camp had plotted their revenge. The Lovelis sisters awoke Sunday morning to find their mattresses were floating in the lake. Audrey woke up to find her cabin spun with yarn and honey sticking her feet to the floor. Feathers had flown out of the air conditioner and stuck to the shaving cream encasing her head. 5 Seconds of Summer guitarist, Michael Clifford, awoke with a fright as several fake spiders lay sprawled on his bed. On his chest, a multitude of fairly accurate penises had covered his skin. Aspen Hanson mocked the claim of her rival, Audrey, and claimed to have no part in the war. But, camp director, Carter Hanson, was not having it. He warned the war to stop, or there would be serious consequences.

And, serious consequences there are. After learning the truth of Audrey’s lies and her hatred for Apen, Clifford sent MAUDREY down to the greatest depths of hell. Although, MASPEN was still on the rocks. After another midnight adventure, MASPEN was finally back and ready to take the world by storm. But, Audrey wasn’t done yet. She told Michael that she was in love with him and kissed him right as Aspen could see them. MAUDREY seemed to have made a comeback, but Michael wasn’t ready to let MASPEN end. The night of July 12th, a horrific storm hit Camp Talladega. Tornado Alley is no joke. Campers, counselors, and other staff members reported to the storm shelter to wait out the inevitable destruction. However, Aspen wasn’t with them. Distraught, Michael Clifford went off into the night to look for her and never returned. The following morning, Aspen Hanson recounted the events of the evening. “I had gone down to the river to gather my thoughts, but the water was rising and the currents were absolutely mad. A wave hit the bridge at just the right time and completely swept it away. I was lucky enough to not be on it, but I was on the wrong side of the river. I found shelter in the barn and was going to wait for the storm to pass, when Michael showed up. He had jumped across the remnants of the bridge to look for me. We spent the night in the barn, wondering if that was how we’d die.” The near death experience was enough to bring MASPEN back together, but would MAUDREY stay in hell where it belongs?

As of today, MAUDREY will never again see the light of day. In a, thought to be, private conversation between Audrey and Michael, Audrey confessed to sabotaging Aspen’s tour with Keith Urban, starting the war the night of the game, and purposefully trying to steal Michael from Aspen. An audio recording of Audrey condemning her own career can be found on our website at summerwish.com/audreys_confession. Next summer will be an adventure in and of itself. As usual, yours truly will keep you up to date on all the summer’s drama and romance.

#5sos #5 seconds of summer #imagines #imagine #5sos imagine #5sos smut #5sos writing #5sos fic #5sos fanfic #michael clifford #calum hood #ashton irwin #luke hemmings #cashton appreciation nw

8 notes · View notes