#also hassel is hot i said what i said

[z0mbie-bra1nzz]

currently crying after finishing pokemon violet that game gave me too many emotions

[reds-fluff-extravaganza]

Hello! I hope you're having a good day n.n

Can I request something (oneshot, imagine, headcannon, whatever you can do) of Hassel from ScarVio with a reader who's scared of loud sudden noises? (You know, fireworks, balloons, thunder, etc).

Thanks!

Hiii I hope this is okay! This is the first time I’ve written for Hassel!

You’re afraid of loud noises; thunder, fireworks, balloons popping, all of it. While some of it you can’t get away from, such as thunder, there were times you could get away from it, like now, when there are planned events with fireworks at the end. You had heard about a festival in which there were going to be fireworks involved, so you knew you had to leave for the night, but to where? Well, none other than your boyfriend’s house!

“I’m sure he won’t mind.” You said aloud as you were packing up a bag for the night. Your Lycanroc only nodded as they helped you grab a few things you were missing.

“Oh, thank you, buddy.” You pat their head and grabbed your bag, putting it on your shoulders before walking outside with your Pokemon hot on your heels.

“Sorry, buddy, but I’m going to have to put you back in your pokeball for now.” Lycanroc pouts a little, but nodded in understanding as you returned them to their ultra ball.

As you were locking up the house, you called a taxi to bring you to your boyfriend’s house. As you were leaving, you decided to call up Hassel.

“Hello?” He answered after a couple rings.

“Hassel! Hello!” You responded with a smile on your face.

“Oh! Hello, my dear. Is there something you wanted to talk about?”

“Yeah, actually, I wanted to tell you that… I’m on my way over to your place.”

“Oh? Did something happen?”

“Oh, no, nothing major, just there’s a festival by my house that will have fireworks and… you know how I am.”

“I am aware. Well, don’t you worry, I’ll be waiting for you.”

“Thank you, Hassel, I really appreciate it.”

“You’re welcome, my dear Y/n.”

“Well, I’m almost here, I’ll see you soon.”

“Very well. I’ll see you soon.” And with that, you hung up, looking out the window now. It didn’t take you much longer to reach your destination, as you waved the driver and pokemon goodbye, you walked up to the door and knocked, smiling faintly as Hassel opened up the door.

“Good evening, Y/n.”

“Good evening.” Hassel moved to the side to let you into the house, you walked inside and he shut the door behind you.

“Have you had dinner yet, Y/n?”

“No, not yet. I figured by the time I finished the festival was going to start, and I wanted to get over here before then.”

“Go set your things down and I’ll make dinner, okay?”

“Sounds good to me.” You went to the spare room, where you would usually stay when you slept over at his house, and set your bag down. While you were setting your things down, you heard a loud noise from behind you all of a sudden, making you yelp in fear before you were pulled back… into the arms of Hassel’s Baxcalibur, who looked happy to see you.

“Goodness, Baxcalibur!” You chuckled a bit as you shook your head. “I’m happy to see you too, but you can’t just sneak up on me like that!” He let you go from the hug and followed you back into the living room, then into the kitchen.

“Are you alright, Y/n? I heard a noise.” Hassel asked you, a slightly worried look on his face.

“I’m fine, love, just your Baxcalibur gave me a scare by sneaking up on me!”

“Oh goodness, I’m sorry about that, my dear.”

“It’s alright, he wasn’t trying to scare me, I know he was just happy to see me.” You gave the dragon type a little pat on the head as he leaned down for you to do so.

“Well… that’s good. Anyways, dinner will be ready in just a moment.”

“Thank you, Hassel, for everything.”

“It’s not a problem, Y/n.” He smiled softly as you made your way over to him, hugging him, but also taking a look to see what he was making. It was your favorite, (insert favorite food here)! Your eyes lit up at the sight before letting go of Hassel.

“You made my favorite..!”

“I sure did. Now go take a seat and I’ll bring you a plate/bowl.” You nodded and went over to the table before taking a seat at the table. You watched as Hassel brought you a plate/bowl of your favorite food, setting it down in front of you before he kissed your forehead.

“I hope you like it.” You waited a few moments for it to cool off before you cautiously took the first bite.

“Have you been taking lessons from Saguaro? Because this tastes absolutely amazing! So much better than last time!” Hassel chuckled a bit in response, and you could’ve sworn you saw a faint blush on his face.

“You caught me. I asked him to help me, as I told him it was for you, and of course he agreed to it.”

“How sweet.” You two talked for a little while as you finished up your dinner, him taking your plate/bowl and taking it to the sink to wash and put away. You were about to say something when you heard a rather loud noise from outside, in which you made a noise of fear in response, your eyes wide.

“Y/n?” Hassel looked back at you, setting the plate/bowl in the sink before he rushed over to you, pulling you into a hug as there was another loud noise outside, one that sounded like a firework.

“Hey, it’s okay, I’m here..” Hassel held you close to him, bringing you to the couch before sitting down with you, wrapping a blanket around your body before pulling you back to him.

“It’s okay..” he kissed your forehead and looked out the window, seeing a few bright colors light up the sky before the noise rang out, making you tremble in his arms as you practically buried your face into his chest. Hassel gently runs his fingers along your back, holding you close to him to help calm you down.

“It’s okay, they’re gone now. It must have just been a few stray fireworks from the festival.” How was that even possible? Unless some jerk took a couple fireworks and set them off away from the festival. Hassel thought to himself but shook his head as he focused on helping you calm down now.

“Y/n.” He said softly, having you look up at him. “Focus on me, and my voice, okay?” You don’t say anything as you now focus on him, instead of the commotion outside.

“You’re okay, just breathe, sweetheart.” He breathed with you to help you calm your breathing. “There you go.” He smiled softly and went back to lightly rubbing your arm in a gentle, soothing motion.

“…I’m sorry.. for panicking like that..” you suddenly said once you felt you were calmed down enough.

“There’s no need to apologize, Y/n. Practically everyone is afraid of something. You’re afraid of loud noises, and that’s okay. It’s not a silly fear, and you know I’ll always be there to help you.”

“…thank you.” You mumbled, just loud enough for him to hear as you were getting tired after your little panic attack.

“You’re welcome, my dear. Now let’s go get some rest, I’m sure you’re exhausted after all that.” You slowly nodded in response, resting your head on his chest as he stood up, making his way to his room.

“You won’t be sleeping in the guest room tonight, I want to be there with you just in case.” You don’t even argue with him as he carried you into his room and set you down on the bed.

“I’ll go grab your bag, and you can change into your night clothes, okay?” With that said, Hassel left the room, coming back a few moments later with your bag, handing it to you. You took your night clothes out of the bag, which was just a simple shirt and shorts with (design of choice) on them. Hassel grabbed some clothes to change into as well, stepped out of the room and left you to change.

“You can come back in now.” You softly called out to him once you were done and now lying in bed. Hassel stepped back into the room, now changed as well, before crawling into bed beside you, pulling you close to him. You closed your eyes as you rest your head on his chest again. You were pretty tired after the day’s events, and you were just happy to have Hassel there beside you.

“Sleep well, my love.” Was the last thing you heard before you drifted off to sleep, Hassel making sure you were asleep before falling asleep as well.

[ethereousdelirious]

Sicktember 2023 Day 12

Prompt: Home Remedy

Fandom: P.okémon

Characters: Br.assius, H.assel, L.arry

Wordcount: 1,161

Notes: This is one of my least favorite fills. But. I stay sillay

Time flowed slowly in the sculpture garden. The sun turned all colors to violent neons, reflecting painfully off the violent orange of the safety fencing. Larry blinked and looked down at his shoes instead. Thoughts moved through his brain like syrup, sticky and viscous. Gods, it was hot.

Beside him, Hassel shifted, and they were standing so close together that his elbow brushed Larry's own. "Brassie, are you sure this is a good idea?"

A bead of sweat rolled down Larry's back. He looked up, straight up into Brassius' flushed face and somehow the sun caught him in the eyes anyway.

Brassius stowed his knife and peeled back part of the fence. "The grand opening's tomorrow, Hass. It's perfectly safe." And he motioned for Larry to walk through the gap in the fence.

"Yes, but…" Hassel sounded muffled, like he was chewing his nails and talking at the same time. "What if someone sees?"

"C'mon, Hassel," Larry said, stepping inside properly and turning around. The sooner they saw Brassius’ statue, the sooner they could go somewhere air conditioned and never move again. "We made it this far."

Hassel stepped through the gap and Brassius followed him, eyes alight with the manic energy that Larry had come to always expect from him.

He'd felt strange when Brassius had extended the invitation to join him at the sculpture park, felt stranger now that he was there enjoying himself. True, the weather was a little too hot and bright and none of them were dressed for it, but even that slight unpleasantness couldn't drive away the warm satisfaction curling in his chest.

How strange, to care about something.

He even smiled as Brassius led them from sculpture to sculpture, explaining who the artists were and what they meant.

How strange, how lovely.

Brassius' own contribution was also the largest, as befitting the grant he'd received. Larry examined the massive, serpentine shape. The sun beat down with such violence that even the thought of crossing his arms was unbearable, so he furrowed his brow instead.

"It's called Bounty," Brassius said, and shivered.

"Oh, Brassie, it's beautiful!" Hassel’s voice cracked like he was on the verge of tears.

“Th-thank you, Hass.”

Larry paused, turning his attention from Bounty to Brassius. He'd definitely shivered, and hard, like an Obstagoon had walked over his grave. That wasn't right.

And he wasn't talking much, either. Larry had thought he'd just been excited to get to his sculpture, but now they were here and he'd hardly said a word.

Still, Brassius' health was a touchy subject, or at least, could have been. How could he broach it without coming across as overdoting, condescending? What right did he have to care?

Brassius blinked hard and sumbled backward into Hassel and then it seemed that Larry really wouldn't have to broach the subject at all. A silent conversation took place between Brassius and Hassel: a slight shift in Brassius' weight, a gentle touch. Brassius' shivered again and swallowed hard.

Something wasn't right.

Larry wiped the sweat off his brow, having shed his gloves almost immediately upon stepping outside that morning. "Good work, Brassius," he said, suddenly not daring to look over lest they guess at what he was getting at. "Uh, but, I'm not sure how good my art analysis skills are when it's this hot out."

"It is hot," Hassel agreed, a touch too fast. He'd already tied his coat around his shoulders, having forgone his sweater vest.

"I suppose…" Brassius said in a dangerously thin voice. His eyes were dark, irises reduced to thin, silver rings around wide pupils. He cleared his throat to little avail. "I suppose we could come back later." He turned very pale when he went to push himself off Hassel, his chest heaving.

Larry couldn't keep his mouth shut any longer. "Hey, is the heat getting to you?" None of them had any water on them, nothing useful. And Brassius had not been able to shed a single layer, still wearing his slacks and long-sleeved shirt.

A bead of sweat rolled down Brassius' ghostly face and he nodded, clutching Hassel's sleeve.

Larry did a quick mental calculation. They were nowhere near Artazon or Mesagoza… Yes, Medali was closest. "Wanna go to my place?"

Brassius continued to wilt on the Flying Taxi ride to Medali. There was just no other word for it. He grew paler, slumped against Hassel like a plant deprived of water. Even the air conditioning and cracked windows only seemed to keep him from the edge of total collapse.

Hassel all but carried him up to Larry's apartment, laying him gently on the worn leather couch.

"Still with us?" Larry called from the kitchen, pulling ice tray after ice tray from his freezer.

"I believe I shall live," Brassius said weakly. "If the room ever stops spinning."

"I can help with that," Larry replied, now filling a glass with tap water. "Hassel, could you come here, please?"

Hassel's heavy footsteps made the dishes rattle. Larry glanced at him and found his eyes watering.

“Here,” Larry said, unsure of what else to do, and passed him several things: water, ice packs, towels. It would be good to give him a job, something to do instead of fretting.

Hassle left in silence andLarry turned his attention to the fridge.

There was only one thing for this kind of heat, one thing that every Sinnohan swore by for keeping healthy during the summer months: pickles. And Larry had no shortage of them.

He grabbed all the jars he could see, swiped three pairs of chopsticks out of his cutlery drawer, and swept into the living room.

Hassle had put his first aid training to good use and buried Brassius in ice packs. He’d tucked them places Larry would never have even thought to put them and draped a wet cloth over the back of Brassius’s neck. Now, he dabbed at Brassius’ face with another damp cloth, murmuring under his breath. The scene was so unabashedly intimate that Larry blushed, a stranger in his own home.

He pushed his way into the moment, his blunt edges ramming against the softness and the sweetness and knocking it aside. Perching on the edge of the ottoman, he unscrewed the lid of one of the jars and dropped a mismatched pair of chopsticks into it. "Here," he said, holding it out to Brassius.

Brassius blinked at him, eyes moving in slow comprehension. "Pickled carrots?"

"It'll help."

"Avant-garde," Brassius mumbled, accepting the jar. His hands shook too badly to use the chopsticks, so Hassel swooped in to help him.

"Where I'm from," Larry said, fiddling with the lid on the pickled plums, "we eat pickles in the summertime. It helps with the heat."

"I suppose that makes sense," Hassel said. "To restore the electrolytes."

Brassius seemed to have recovered a little more already; he sat up straighter and addressed Larry with real gratitude in his eyes. "Thank you, my friend."

[shinmt]

Brassius : Wait, what's going on? Are we all talking about how hot Larry is? Because Larry is a straight up sexual fox riding a red-hot nuclear bombshell right toward the yowza plaza in the heart of Babe City, Assachusetts, U S A. The last A just stands for more ass.

Larry : That's the most wonderful thing someone has ever said to me. In my whole life time I haven't even compliment myself that much.

Larry : But that's also the most horrendous, scariest and traumatizing statement I've ever heard someone made about my body.

Hassel : It's the art of words, Larry.

Larry : I thought it was suppose to be poetic not full of slangs.

[pokemonleagueofficial]

What is your opinion on Cyclizars.

Also tell Mr Hassel I say hi!!!!!!

rika : weird little guys. loves them. thinks theyre pretty cool, just wishes there was a breed of them that was more of a hot rod than a bike.

poppy : dog :)

larry : fast transportation... and yay a normal type

hassel : he cried at the end of the whatever he said? somethin about them being so simple yet divine? a masterclass in simple shapes giving identity without taking away from their draconic features..??? he needs a therapist

geeta : she agrees with poppy. dog.

tross : hai. i like their lil faces. dont get how their tails become wheel but also fall off. weird dudes but hey theyre cute

[fairymint]

F E L I X

(     *     VALENTINE’S DAY ALPHABET   !

F   :   FLIRT.   is your muse good at flirting? how do they flirt?

I'd say once Felix is confident, he's good at flirting- the caveat being that it takes some time! Mostly, he's shooting for what he thinks is fitting, or the comfort zone of another. If he has to throw them off, it better be with what they like- perhaps an adjustment of positioning, the hem, or something if they're visual. A hug with an extra lil backrub if they're physical, etc. Willing to discuss this kinda thing plotwise, but he picks up on this kinda thing, tries to observe.

Other muses on the blog tend to much, much more direct, but they don't care about comfort zone- so they can be very, very pushy or sudden. What I imagine is a good chunk, of not the majority of the population of unnamed or offscreen people to react with 'ew, fuck off' or be lowkey terrified/concerned, lmao. Too good at flirting /lh

E   :   EMBRACE.   does your muse like hugs? what are their hugs like?

He doesn't advertise it socially, but Felix really likes hugs. His are either strong, or 'bubbly' and energetic- maybe lightly patting/shaking the other. If appropriate, it can turn into more- a massage, kisses, grooming, etc. As a side note some of his pokemon love hugs, so he will give to them!

L   :   LOVE.   who does your muse love?

Generally speaking, Felix has an appreciation for the world, first. The kind of Agape love that he doesn't want to let go of. Love as a friend. But! as displayed by the ships here, he's got romantic and sexual interest! For now, the most 'canon' love interests game wise I have are N, Arven, and Todd Snap; those're the ones that 'make sense' without extra plotting. Felix also has sort of mild celebrity crushes on Raihan, Siebold, and maybe Hassel and Larry (tho Paldea seems to be much more in-person style than from afar tbh.) The F/Os list otherwise lists, but as a self insert blog, selfshipping is a safe bet- all of the muses here have some sort of ship w/ Felix, romantic or platonic.

My other muses are generally the initiators- but he loves them! for Pokeverse he's canon with Volo, Ingo, and Arven- technically also my Emmet, but I haven't sat down and actually written out 'what' the dynamic is for that doc In Words for Emmet; i know some of the scenarios, just need to feed his muse. similar deal with my inactive Adaman- though only the vagueness of a ship is in mind, no real scenarios yet. I was gonna make icons and shit but got lazy. the delay here is mostly no muse;;;

Felix also has several RP ships, the most solid rn being Teal of @hopeful-hugz , and @flock-keeper ! IIRC everything else is still in the....teasing? sort of stage? Then there's a bit of QPP-ish....stuff going on with @gcd-fcrsaken .

And he's, kissed Ari of @twindragonsprophecy , @bigmolayne , and @pidgeyatto 's Falkner, lmaoooo. like unprompted.

Generally speaking he's 'open' to anything mlm or mlnb, just gotta bring up or get used to the idea. proximity=hotness assessment-

I    :   I LOVE YOU.   does your muse find ‘i love you’ easy or hard to say?

it's hard to start or confess, but easy after that! As soon as things are cleared up or established, he will say 'i love you' a lot. I think I've said it to my husband about 5-10 times unprompted alone in the past 3 hours.

X   :   XOXO.   does your muse use / like pet names?

Pet names are a weakness, and some more than others. I can't say he's talented at giving them, or maybe not yet....but he melts at receiving them. If he comes up with something, then yeah, definitely uses pet names.

[arvensimp]

Christmas is coming, the most beautiful time of the year to spend with arven who probably has never been able to celebrate it with his parents. So the reader did everything (all the traditions) with him. Such as exchanging Christmas gifts, kissing under the mistletoe, build a gingerbread house (arven’s did a amazing job on that), decorating Christmas trees, and you being his secret Santa)

Merry Christmas to all the arven simp, let’s give our boi all the love he deserve.

Merry Christmas to the writer, your writing is AWESOME and I hope you have a wonderful time.

Merry Chrysler!!!! I hope you like this one! I kinda went with some switching happy to somber to happy tones with this one? I've always been taught that Christmas can be just as sad a time as it can be a happy one.

You Can Plan On Me

Arven x reader (no gendered pronouns used) during the holidays. We got some comfort here folks, so grab your hot choccy and snuggle in 💖🦭

--

Christmas with Arven is...difficult.

It's not his fault, of course! The fact of the matter is that he never properly celebrated the holiday as a child, then as a teenager, he would cut himself off from everyone during the season of merriment, only coming out after New Years Day when the coast was good and clear.

Since you started dating, you've been respectful of his...distaste for the holiday. You get it. It's a difficult one if you've never had a family or close friends to celebrate it with, much less show you how! He also deals now with the fact that he's sort of grieving for a parent that...well, he isn't really sure deserves his grief? It's a whole can of worms, and to be completely honest, you really don't blame him for wanting to snuggle up with a blanket and Mabosstiff and just sit tight for a bit, alone.

This year, you once again try to coax him from his holiday shell, and he hesitantly accepts your offer to try and join in on some of the merriment.

To keep from overwhelming him, you sit down together and figure out what specific things he might like to get it on this year.

First on the list is the tree. To prevent him from getting a bit overwhelmed by...everything, you take the initiative and pick the tree yourself and get it all set up at your place. In preparation for his arrival, you set out all your decorations and get some soft instrumental holiday music playing.

When Arven arrives not long later, you show him your assortment of decor and give him the go ahead to start putting tinsel around the tree.

While he's distracted a bit with the art project of making sure ornaments are spaced well enough apart, you grab a little gift you'd had made for him.

"Hey," He calls for you without looking from his handiwork. "Is there, like, a limit on how many ornaments go on here?"

With the small wrapped present behind your back, you examine the tree. "Hm... I mean, I usually overload the thing with as many ornaments as it'll handle, but..." You show him the package. Arven's jaw drops.

"W-wait! I know we said we'd do gifts, but... That's not until actual Christmas, right? I didn't bring anything."

"Oh!" You laugh lightly. "Yeah that's fine. This is just a bonus present for your first Christmas tree! Open it!"

Arven hesitantly takes your gift. "Thanks..." Inside the packaging is a small, felted ornament of a little maschiff, making a funny face.

You wrap an arm around Arven's waist and kiss his cheek.

"I figured you should have a special ornament to commemorate this year, so I commissioned one of Hassel's buddies to make this."

For his part, Arven bites his lip and delicately strokes the little tuft of fur on the maschiff's head.

"Th-thank you..."

"Of course! You like it?"

He nods, covering his mouth with one of his hands.

"Aww, hey..." You hold him tight and lead him to sit down on the sofa as he gathers himself for a moment.

He doesn't talk, preferring to sit quietly as he swallows down the lump in his throat. You kiss his cheek gently when he stands back up a few minutes later.

"I think..." He starts, "This little guy should go....here."

He hangs him up next to a small fuecoco bauble you got several years ago, the first year you got your beloved partner pokemon.

"They can be buddies! I like it!" You tell him.

"I think that's...enough Christmas for today." He tells you.

You frown. "Too much? I'm sorry."

"N-no! It's just...a lot, I think. I'm ready to stop now."

You squeeze his hands. "I understand. Well you're welcome to snuggle up here or at your place."

Arven thinks for a moment. "I...may just go home."

"That's fine. Just text me when you get home safe, kay?"

Arven nods, and as he leaves he gives you a quick peck.

"Thanks for understanding."

True to form, Arven texts you when he's safe at home and then goes expectantly silent for a bit.

A few days later, you check back in on your Christmas plans.

/Still want to try some baking? No pressure ofc 💖

You're left waiting a bit before he replies.

/Yea sure. I got all the ingredients

Then another text

/Meet at your place?/

You both had already discussed the fact that he wasn't quite ready to bring the spirit of the holiday into his own home, so you're more than fine with him commandeering the kitchen for a bit.

/Sure!! Everything's all clean and sparkly for you here.

/♥️

Arven shows up not long later, his bag stuffed to the brim with his selection of ingredients.

"Okay. Gingerbread, hot chocolate, pecan snowball cookies, and chocolate cake. Are there any sweets I'm missing?"

He says it so matter-of-factly that your heart aches with overwhelming fondness.

"That's pretty much it, yeah. We can do as much or as little as we like. It's more about just...having fun together?"

Arven smiles as he sets down the bags on your counter top and rolls up his sleeves.

"Oh this'll definitely be fun." It's as confident as you've seen him in weeks, and it makes you glow with love and happiness for him.

"Great! I know this is your zone, so just let me know how I can help."

"Sure. Go ahead and get the oven pre-heating, then you can help me with mise en place."

You do as you're told, but before you head back to him, you grab two holiday themed aprons from your pantry.

"Okay! Feel free to say no, but..." You hold them both up to him with an eager grin. They're both hideously ruffly things decked out in red, green, and sparkles. Really, they're hosting aprons more than cooking aprons, and Arven knows you know that. He cringes a bit at the sight of them but smiles nonetheless.

"I'll take the one with the Stantler on it." He sighs.

You pass it to him to put on, which he does without complaint.

You similarly don the delibird apron, outfitted with an adorably appliqued pocket.

Arven sets himself quickly to organizing all the ingredients, separating them out into their places.

As he does, you set out the different bakeware you'll need. A few cookie sheets with parchment paper, the cake tins, and all the rest.

He gets to mixing the gingerbread dough while you set the kettle to boil with milk.

In next to no time, you have several gingerbread shapes cut out and baking in the oven, and steaming cups of thick hot chocolate set out in massive mugs.

You dollop each with homemade whipped cream (Arven had shown you how to make it several months back) and place one down next to your boyfriend.

For his part, Arven is now dutifully rolling out the little pecan dough cookies, a tiny tip of his tongue poking out from between his lips as he concentrates.

"Thanks for the hot chocolate," He says without looking away from the dough. "I'll get to it in a second."

"No problem. Take your time." You tell him. "Want me to get started on the cake batter?"

"Uh...sure. Go ahead and mix together the dry ingredients. Just remember su-"

"Sugar doesn't count as a dry ingredient, I know!" You tease him.

You know better than to try and mess with him when he's in the baking zone, as it were, so you decide to hold off on swiping his nose with whipped cream.

For now.

Not long later, you've swapped places, as Arven creams together ingredients for the cake batter, and you toss warm pecan cookies in their first powdered sugar bath.

"And that's why you always want to have your butter at room temperature," He tells you as he starts folding dry and wet ingredients together.

You love listening to him talk about anything cooking related. Even if you don't quite understand, you love how his eyes light up and how he starts gesticulating wildly as he speaks.

It's just nice to see him happy.

You follow his instructions as best you can, and within a few hours you've got a mountain of sweets.

Arven has taken it upon himself to do the architecture work behind building the gingerbread house, insisting upon using his own homemade icing as well rather than any "store bought junk."

You relax in the meantime, keeping the pokemon entertained and out from beneath Arven's feet.

You set your speakers up to start playing soft Christmas-y tunes as well and take the opportunity to lift Mabosstiff's paws up off the ground and dance with him to Jingle Bell Rock.

The scene gets an honest to goodness laugh out of your boyfriend, and you beam cheekily at him in reply.

He throws a gumdrop at your face, and it bounces off your nose where Skeledirge immediately scoops it up before Mabosstiff has time to get all four paws back on the floor.

Soon enough, Arven is done, and with a satisfied huff he undoes his ponytail and shakes his hair back out to normal.

"Okay! I think that's everything. What do we do now?"

"Um...." You've already got a gingerbread head in your mouth. "Eat?"

Arven sighs, picking up a pecan snowball and popping in his mouth. He moans happily as he chews. "I'll admit, we make beautiful pastries together."

You snort a laugh and grab a sip of your hot chocolate. "You did most of the work, be honest."

He shrugs, coyly not meeting your eye. "I think we shared."

"Uh-huh. Yeah, sure. Listen, I won't complain when the results taste this good."

You toss a gingerbread arm to Skeledirge and cheer as he catches it.

"You know, with all these sweets I wasn't quite sure what we'd do with the leftovers, but between the two of us and thirteen pokemon," He never forgets to include 'Raidon. "I think we might have just enough."

As it turns out, there was just enough to stuff you all.

You and Arven are collapsed on the sofa later that evening, groaning at being so stuffed full of sweets. You roll and throw an arm over your boyfriend.

"Stay for the night? C'mon. I know you don't want to move right now, and I doubt any of your pokemon do either."

"Mmmmgh...." He groans, shifting. "Sure."

The two of you end up falling asleep like that, stupid aprons still tied around your waists.

Your last Christmas activity for the year comes on Christmas day. Or, more accurately, late in the evening on Christmas Day.

You'd spent the better part of the holiday celebrating with friends and family as tradition calls for, only sending Arven texts to confirm that he still wanted to get together tonight and that you love him.

It stings not having him with you, but everyone understands the situation he's in and is sympathetic.

Well after dark, with lights on the tree still twinkling, you greet Arven at your door with two mugs of steaming hot chocolate.

He gratefully comes in and kisses you in greeting automatically. You don't need to point out the mistletoe that Nemona had placed there just for him earlier on.

Once he's removed his coat and grabbed his chocolate, you coax him over to the sofa.

He looks everywhere but at you, and if you look closely, his hands are shaking a bit.

You cup his cheek, still cold from the walk over, on your palm.

"Hey."

He finally meets your gaze and gives you a small smile.

"Hey."

"How ya feeling?"

He sighs and stays quiet for a long moment. "I... I don't know. It's a lot... And in some ways it feels wrong? But other ways it's nice, but then... Then I think about it too hard and it feels wrong again...so...yeah."

As he speaks, Arven leans up against you. You welcome him lovingly into your arms as he snuggles up.

"I hear you. We can just sit here quietly for the night if you like. We don't have to have anymore Christmas this year if you're more comfortable that way."

"N-no!" He says, jolting out of your grip. "I...I really want to give you your gift."

Your heart goes all soft and mushy for him in that moment.

"Okay then. Let me grab yours, too."

You lean over and swipe his gift from beneath the tree, a sentiment that is not missed on Arven from the way his eyes widen just a bit.

He'd never had a gift waiting for him beneath a tree before now.

He takes the delicately wrapped present from you and gives it a tentative squeeze. It's soft to the touch beneath the sparkling paper.

He opens it up methodically, pulling away tape from the seams of the wrapping to truly unwrap the gift, rather than just tear it open.

Inside is a hand crocheted scarf that you put an embarrassing number of hours into creating. At each end are tiny versions of each herba mystica recreated in yarn.

"I made it with 100% mareep wool, so it should keep you nice and warm! It should also repel water fairly well if you get caught in snow or rain." You helpfully provide when he doesn't immediately respond.

You can't see his eyes at your current angle, but you note that he takes each tiny herb between his thumb and forefinger and rubs it lovingly.

"Is...is it okay? It's okay if you don't like it. I can..." Well you can't return it. "I can make you something else?"

Arven's face pops up, his cheeks flush. "You made this?!" He asks incredulously.

You nod. "I'm still learning, so I know it's not perfect, but--"

Arven throws his arms around you. "It's the most perfect gift I've ever received. Ever." Mabosstiff then takes that opportunity to burst from his PokeBall to boof angrily at Arven.

He looks embarrassed at his pokemon. "Uh... I mean." He looks back to you. "Second favorite gift. Sorry..." He puts a hand on Mabosstiff's head and gives him a scratch behind the ear.

"I completely understand," You assure him with a laugh. "I'm just glad you like it!"

"I really do." He says, wrapping the scarf around his neck. "Here! Your turn?" He passes you his own package, beautifully wrapped and larger than you were expecting, to be honest. You wouldn't be surprised if he looked up some type of tutorial to make it look this nice.

"I, uh... I saw it online, and...well... I thought of you."

Inside is a shrink wrapped stuffed animal. "Is it...?" You pull it out slowly. "Oh my god!"

Trapped in an airtight container is a lifesize wooloo plush. You pierce the plastic immediately, giggling in delight as the creature slowly inflates.

"This has been sold out on the website for months!" You cry, hugging the sheep as it rises.

Arven laughs. "I saw an opportunity, and I took it."

"Oh, I love it I love it I love it!!" You tackle Arven to the sofa and kiss his sweet, adorable face all over.

Meanwhile, Mabosstiff paws at the still-growing sheep, boofing softly at it.

After you're done fawning over Arven and the wooloo, in that order, the two of you end up curled up in one another, listening to soft music, still nursing your hot chocolates.

Arven has agreed to spend the night.

It isn't much. Truth be told, you're filled with a terrible aching kind of longing to do more of this exact thing, to smother Arven, keep him wrapped up and cozy and warm and snug and loved and so many other things for the whole Christmas season. But for now, this is what he wants and needs from you.

He is enough as he is, and you won't force more from him.

As years pass you can get him involved more and more as he feels comfortable. There's no need to rush it when you have all the time in the world ahead of you.

[snowgoldwaylon]

Whisper of Roses - Raul Menendez X Reader Chapter One

You never really expected to find the love of your life while walking the streets of Nicaragua, until you accidentally stepped on the foot of Raul Menendez.

A/N: This story is written in a universe where Black Ops never happened, and you both live a normal, CIA and crime free life. Just a couple teenagers falling hard.

You never really got involved with many people. For as long as you could remember, you were very antisocial. Socialization never came easy, so you always were known as the 'Quiet One' to most.

You had friends here and there, but you really only wanted and needed one person in particular. And he was your best friend!

His name is Arlan Davila. You met him one day on a field trip in the 3rd grade. You both had been attached to the hip ever since! He was definitely one of the real ones, and always had your back.

You were sitting in your room, getting ready for the big day! You were also singing your heart out to the radio. I Ran by A Flock of Seagulls played loud, but not as loud as you could sing.

"AND I RAN, I RAN SO FAR AWAY!" You sang, gluing a rose to your cap with a hot glue gun.

Today was the day you finally escaped school for good. Graduation!!!! You danced in your spot just a little bit, knowing it was going to be over soon.

After a rather smooth sailing high school career, you finally did it. The tassel was most definitely worth the hassel. Now all you had to do was show up, grab the goods and get out!

Of course, you being you was decorating your cap last minute. You kept putting it off and putting it off until you ran out of time. Now, you were just hours away from graduating.

Your luck, sucked. Right as you went to glue the last sunflower on, you ran out of hot glue for the glue gun. You pulled back and looked at it, pressing the trigger a few times. Surprise!

It yielded nothing. With a sigh of frustration, you turned it off, unplugged it, and sat it up right. You looked at your cap with some big, sad eyes. The cap just wouldn't look right without this stupid sunflower.

You knew you now had to walk about maybe 10 minutes down the road, to the nearest craft store and pick up glue. You quickly threw on shoes, a coat, grabbed your wallet and headed outside.

You began the 10 minute walk, sticking to the sidewalk for good measure. It was about 4 PM, only a few more hours until you went back to the school. So you know you REALLY had to make this quick, or else you were going without any hair or makeup.

You looked over at all the trees, which were slowly coming back after a long, and harsh winter. You saw how vibrant and green they began to look again. The skys were a brilliant blue, and the clouds were perfect. The breeze that was going set it all off.

After walking more, you finally made it to the store. You walked in, and a bell went off. This signaled the workers that a costumer was here. You quickly went right over to what you needed.

You grabbed a package of sticks of glue, and headed straight for the cash register. After a small, polite interaction with the kind old women working the store, you quickly left.

You walked back home. You were coming up to crossing the small bridge, and that's when your bag decided to rip. It must have already been ripped, it probably just went unnoticed.

Your package of glue sticks took you off guard. It rattled you so bad, that the initial loud 'THUMP' it make upon smacking concrete, you gasped and stumbled.

And of course, you stumbled right into a man walking in front of you. You fell straight to your butt, and had never felt more embarrassed.

The man in front of you quickly stopped, and turned. You didn't even dare to look up. Since the packaging busted on the bag ripped, you quickly scrambled for all the glue sticks while rambling an apology.

"Sir I am so sorry, I'm just in a huge hurry, I'm so stressed out and my anxiety is out of the roof. If I dirtied anything of yours, I'll pay for the cleaning fee." You went on.

The man crouched down, and began to help you. You were suprised by this kind action, and paused as he spoke.

"Oh Miss, please don't worry about it. It sounds like you are already worried, you didn't ruin or dirty anything of mine. Don't fret, here let me help you up, yes?" He spoke, sticking a hand out.

There was something about his thick accent that was just so attractive. And the way on how nice he was to you? You had never felt any more warmness and kindness from a single soul before.

You looked up, and locked eyes with the most handsome man you had ever seen. He had the most perfect and beautiful tan skin tone. His skin shimmered gracefully in the sunlight.

His hair was a brilliant black, slicked back with the finest looking grease. It wasn't oily, but it was thick, and not a single hair out of place. And finally, your ultimate weakness in a person,

His eyes. The windows to the soul, as they say. The way they sparkled and just lit up as soon as you looked at him directly, you felt your heart suddenly begin to dance as if you were on a tv show.

You both were in a shock and awe as you gazed in each other's beauty, and grace. Finally, the young man, with his hand still extended began to speak and it brought you back.

You quickly took his hand, and boy did you feel the sparks. He helped you up gently, and gave you a bag from his pocket. He securely put your glue sticks in, tied the bag and handed it to you.

"Are you alright, Miss?" He asked.

"Yes Sir, I am. Thank you for being so kind. What is your name? I'd love to get to know you." You asked with a smile.

He flashed you a dazzling smile, and ran a hand through his hair.

"I'm Raul, Raul Menendez. And it's mutal. Now, who do I have the honor of speaking to?" He asked with a cool tone.

This made you blush, big time.

"I'm Y/N Y/L/N. I'm a student at Moravian High School, I actually graduate this evening. I don't think I've seen you around." You said.

Raul nodded his head, and slipped his hands into his pockets.

"Yeah, I graduated a couple years ago. But, I went to school there. And now, I think I have a reason to watching the graduation tonight, if you wouldn't mind." He said, sending you a wink.

You smiled big, and nodded.

"Yeah of course, I'll definitely make sure to talk to you afterwards. I'd love to become good friends with you." You said.

He suddenly had a small pink tent to his cheeks, and looked down. He kicked the ground slightly and looked back up.

"Of course, how about dinner on me tonight? If you don't have any wild plans?" He questioned.

"If going home and playing poker with my friends is wild, than I should be locked away!" You laughed.

He laughed with you, and looked back at you.

"Wow crazy lady! Watch out!" He joked.

"Well, I better head back. I'm working on my cap. I just need one more sunflower and it's done!" You exclaimed.

"Why don't I walk you home? Looks like I'm heading your way anyway." He said.

You nodded, and you both began walking back to your neighborhood. Maybe your luck wasn't as bad as you thought.

To Be Continued....

[aziraamane]

Human AU - Part 5

(Previous) - (First)

September faded to October, November hot, or should that be cold, on its heels. In that time, there had been countless playdates - Ezra dropping off an excitable Warlock at Crowley's flat, or Adam walking back with Ezra and Warlock to spend a few hours with them in their home above the bookshop, till Crowley finished his various necessary businesses and was able to pick him up; infinite mugs of tea and/or coffee drunk, endless jokes and smiles and emotions thought long lost, buried into the ground until they weren't.

Crowley floated through those months on cloud nine. 

I have a friend. An actual friend. One who doesn't look at me like the Bank of Fucking England with a cock.

As far as socialites went, Crowley didn't mingle with the crowd, and as such, didn't have what anyone would call a social circle. He went along with whatever his mother, brothers, and sister told him to, played his part, and scuttled off home, back into willful isolation. Friends were a bother he couldn't be arsed with, family even worse.

But Ezra is...different. 

He wouldn't get his hopes up, yet. He could still turn out like everyone else. But for now, Crowley was content, simply pleased that he'd forged a connection.

"The hell are you looking so dopey about?"

Ugh. There came the gravelly tones that could suck the life out of anyone present. 

Hassel Crowley, eldest now Lucifer was dead, was, to put it in milder terms, a right ugly bastard. He had pallid skin, and froggy eyes, and hair like a thatch of mouldy straw. He smelled of stale smoke, and always had a cigarette in his hand. He offended Crowley's senses, all of them at once. 

"Fuck off, Hassel."

"No, no, I want to know, really," said Hassel, smiling a sickly sneer. He took a drag of his cigarette, long and slow, eyes watching Crowley mockingly. "Been a while since you've smiled like that."

Crowley reached for his wine, knocking back the glass in one. "If you must know," he said, setting the empty glass down with a click, "Adam's made a friend. They've been playing together a lot. Quite lovely, really."

"Adam? Luci's brat?"

"Yes, Hassel, your nephew. Do try to keep up, yes?"

"Don't like kids," Hassel muttered.

"You don't like much, to be fair."

"Shut up, you bumbling idiots," snapped the drawling tones of their mother. 

Crowley rolled his eyes behind his sunglasses. Only one in the fucking room with a doctorate and an actual brain cell, and I get called an idiot?

Then again, what else could be expected from his family?

"You! Out there!" Beatrice Crowley, better known to the world as Bee, snapped her fingers in the direction of her newest assistant, who scurried over dutifully. Without looking up, Bee shoved a folder at him. "I want those photocopied and laminated in ten minutes, and on every desk in this place, so make - it - snappy! Go, go!" She glared at his rapidly retreating back. "And don't trip over your -" He stumbled and fell, dropping the folder, "-shoelaces. Ugh, useless, the lot of them!"

Bee was pushing seventy, but looked barely a day over fifty. Never a hair of her black bob out of place, she dressed immaculately, carried herself with a confident air, and yet was so ruthless and cold that she could never be anything but as ugly as Hassel. The rest of the brood weren't much better, Crowley thought, and Bee’s habit of wearing a red and black bow atop her head made him think rather uneasily of a large fly.

"How many assistants have you gone through so far this year, Mother?" Hassel smirked.

"Too many," she replied, eyes on her paperwork, "and I don't care to remember anything of them."

"Charming," Crowley snorted as he picked up the decanter on the table.

"Anthony, I expect you to walk out of here still able to put one foot in front of the other."

"Oh, the years have had me build up quite a tolerance, Mother dear," he drawled, topping up his glass. 

"Nice way of saying you're a drunk," Hassel said.

"Well, I do pride myself on having a more sophisticated tongue than you lot."

"You better watch that tongue, baby brother."

Bee threw a stapler at Hassel. "Out."

"But-"

"Out!"

Hassel glared at Crowley, stuck his cigarette between his lips, and stormed out of the office. 

"Something on your mind, Mother?" Crowley knocked back half his glass and sighed. Oh, that was good wine.

Bee pursed her lips as she tapped her pen on her desk. Finally she pushed her paperwork aside to glare at her youngest son. "What am I to do with any of you?" she snapped. "If Lionel and Hassel aren't getting into bar fights, it's Dana letting blunders slip through the editing, or you flirting with guests and showing off on the red carpet like some vapid damsel. At least Lucifer had some sense. Only one of you that ever did."

Crowley mock-pouted. "And here I thought you loved me."

"Listen to me, idiot. You're forty, and all you have to show for your years on Earth is that atrocious car and a boy you didn't even want to take on in the first place."

"I reckon the PhD counts for something, Mother." Crowley pretended he didn’t hear the slight about his beloved Bentley.

"Oh, yes. Stars. How novel." Bee snorted, derision dripping from her tone. She pulled a sheaf of papers out of a desk and eyed them over a minute, then tossed them to Crowley, who made no move to pick them up. "Our shares are going down faster than when Lucifer died,” she said. “They could have floated longer had you agreed to inherit his business, but you, moron, sold it - so you're going to do something to earn something back for the family."

"Am I?"

"Yes. You are." Bee steepled her fingers together. "You’re always causing trouble with the nearest person that bats their lashes at you, but when was the last time you actually dated?"

“Uh...same year those little butterfly hairclips went out of fashion? The fuck am I supposed to remember something like that?”

“Well, that’s going to change if you know what’s good for our family, Anthony.” Bee pushed herself back from the desk and stalked round it to snatch the wine glass from her son’s hand - though not before he got one last deep swig out of it. “Find someone. Man, woman, something in between, I don’t care, but I want to see you married by the end of next year. You hear me?”

Crowley choked on the wine still in his mouth.

~*~

Weekends at work usually passed by quickly enough. The library was almost always quiet, the only students around having confined themselves to the silent study areas, headphones in situ and pens scribbling away in between frantic turning of pages.

Warlock often accompanied Ezra to the library. He would take a handheld console and its charger, maybe one or two of his own books, and sit on a beanbag in the corner to amuse himself for the duration of his father's shift. He liked Newt, and Newt wasn't much more than a boy himself, bless him, so they got on well; on quieter occasions Newt could usually be found with Warlock on his lap as they “nerded out” together. Apparently consoles were immune to Newt’s destructive tendencies, something Ezra could be thankful for - those gimmicks were expensive.

At the present moment of this particular Saturday, Warlock had taken it upon himself to help Ezra put back the returned books to their designated shelves. A five year old couldn't possibly begin to understand the Dewey decimal system, but he was trying, and it warmed Ezra's heart to no end. 

"What's this word, dad?" Warlock held up the book in his hand. 

"That says “philosophy,” darling. Means a lot of old men in old times, sitting around discussing things."

"Sounds boring."

"Ah, but some of the greatest minds were borne of philosophy, my dear boy."

"You're funny, dad."

Ezra ruffled his hair. "As are you." 

The click of brisk footsteps drew Ezra away from Warlock, curious. A tall figure rounded the bookshelves, and Ezra felt a false smile jump unbidden to his lips. 

Gabriel Fell was the dean of King's Business School, and the eldest of his siblings. He was pleasant enough, but condescending and a little too mocking even when he didn't intend to be. He was also dashingly handsome, with a chiseled jaw and tall, muscular stature; everything the shorter, softer, rounder Ezra was not. 

"Gabriel. How nice to see you."

"Ezra! You're looking well. And the little tyke!" Gabriel knelt to fist bump a grinning Warlock. "How you doing, buddy?"

"I'm good!"

"Great. That's really great." Gabriel straightened up and gave a none-too-gentle punch to Ezra's shoulder; he winced, rubbing the sore area briefly. 

"You got a minute?" chanced Gabriel.

Ezra slid the book cart away with a resigned expression. "I suppose I can spare the time. Warlock, darling, will you go sit with young Newt awhile?"

"Okay." Warlock skipped off, hair bouncing around his face.

Gabriel watched him go with a smile that did not quite reach his eyes. "Good kid,” he murmured. “You've done a great job with him, Ezra."

"Thank you." Ezra clasped his hands tightly behind his back. "Shall we walk?"

"Yeah, let's do that." 

Gabriel fell into step beside Ezra, his gait long and loping, one striding step for every two of his little brother’s, a dance of position much like a reflection of their real lives. Gabriel had always been bigger, better, stronger, and it showed in every fibre of his being from adolescence to adulthood; Gabriel who played for the football team, Gabriel who secured the scholarship...Ezra never had it in him to be jealous, but a little put out? Yes, certainly, if only because the rest of the family expected the same of him and never got it.

"So I wanted to let you know," Gabriel said, "that I've heard a little rumour through the grapevine. A position is opening up in Arts and Humanities next year for a History lecturer."

Ezra made a low noise in his throat. "Fascinating."

"Sure you don't want to apply?"

"Gabriel, you know I gave up studying towards my doctorate long ago."

Gabriel sighed. "Ah, Ezra, you're too good to be lounging in a library for the rest of your life. You could be so much more!"

"I'm very happy where I am," Ezra said stoutly. "I don't need to be more."

"Hm. Well. That's a shame, truly. It would be brilliant to see you teaching again."

"And I enjoyed my time teaching, but undergraduates are vastly different from high school students. Not quite my style. Honestly, Gabriel, sometimes I worry you don't really know me at all."

Gabriel fixed Ezra with a steely look. "Would that you let me get to know you."

"You're my brother, for heaven's sake. You should know me already."

"Alright, then how about you come to dinner at my place tomorrow? Sandy's doing the meat. That's what I actually came to talk to you about, but I got all excited about that vacancy and - anyway, what do you say? You'll come, right?"

Ezra paused. Sandy did have a certain touch with roasts, that was true. He nodded after a moment. "Yes, we'll be there."

"Hm...you reckon you could get a babysitter for Warlock?"

"Why would I need to do that?"

"Well, it'd be a nice opportunity for us all to get together again, y'know, the way we used to. Michaela and Uriel are coming as well. Have a few drinks, crack some jokes, stuff not for kids' ears, you understand."

Ezra deflated. "...I will see what I can do."

"Great! See you around, let's say seven?" Gabriel gave Ezra's shoulder another punch and ambled off, hand raising in farewell.

So that was how it would be. A night of teasing and humiliation disguised as playful sibling rivalry. Well, one must keep up appearances with the family wherever possible. Sighing, Ezra pulled his mobile phone out of his pocket and called Crowley.

"Hey, angel." Crowley picked up on the second ring.

"Ah, hello, my dear.” Ezra tried very hard to ignore the sudden flutter in his chest at hearing Crowley’s smooth tones. “Um, quick question - does your nanny take on more than just Adam?"

"Eh? Uh, don't know, actually - d'you need someone to watch Warlock?"

"Tomorrow evening, yes. Last-minute arrangement, quite unavoidable, I'm afraid. I can pay Miss Device for her time, of course."

"Don't worry 'bout that. Bring him over."

"You're sure?"

"Positive. I'll cover it. My treat."

"Oh, I think you might be the angel here, Anthony."

Crowley snorted. "Less of that, I've a reputation to keep. Right. See you tomorrow."

[arysafics]

Cherry

Rated E, ~3,500 words

Summary:  When Finn dumps her because he's sick of dating a virgin, Clarke asks Bellamy to take her virginity instead. Written for the 2019 kink meme.

Clarke huffs, blowing out the single candle on the table in front of her in annoyance. Finn left twenty-minutes ago, but she’s half been expecting him to come back and apologise and beg her to take him back. She wants to think that if he did, she’d be strong enough to tell him to get fucked. But she knows she’d take him back. Not because she’s insanely in love with him or anything. Just because at this point, he’s her best chance at losing her virginity before she’s seventy.

And okay, she knows twenty-two isn’t that old. But she’s just so fucking horny all the time. Except, apparently, when Finn is about to fuck her. They’ve been dating two months, and Clarke realises that that’s a long time for a guy to wait for sex in this day and age. And she wants to have sex. She really wants to have sex. She’ll be making out with Finn on the couch, sure for a second that she’s ready. But the second his pants come off, she freaks out. She supposes she can’t really blame him for walking out this time.

There’s a knock at the door, and Clarke perks up. She knows it’s not Finn. That ship had sailed when she read his tweet three minutes ago.

@finncoolins: note 2 all my fellow men: virgins r not wrth the hassel

Yeah, real classy. She’s beginning to think she’s well shot of him.

It’s Bellamy at the door. She’d texted him just after she read the tweet. He’s her go to for relationship advice, seeing as he’s twelve years older than her and claims he’s been through it all already. He hit on her, the first day she moved in across the hall from him. She thought maybe he’d take her virginity. She was only eighteen then, and it seemed like less of a big deal, but still something she was very interested in doing. Especially with her hot neighbour. But then he found out how old she was and quickly backed off, inserting himself into the role of somewhere between “caring older brother” and “snarky but supportive best friend.”

“How’d it go?” he asks as soon as Clarke opens the door.

“He left,” Clarke says, trying not to seem too upset about it. “He wanted to skip the dinner and wine and go straight to the sex and I tried, I really tried! But I couldn’t do it. Then he said he was done waiting around and to have fun being a virgin forever.” Clarke can’t keep the tremble out of her voice this time, and within an instant, Bellamy is pulling her into his arms, crushing her to his chest.

“Hey,” he coos. “It’s okay, sweetheart. Finn is an idiot anyway. You deserve someone who would wait years for you. And you have plenty of time to lose your virginity.”

Clarke breathes in the scent of him, that distinct manly smell of the cologne he always uses. It does something to her, that smell. Makes her insides all gooey, her knees go weak, her heart race. That, plus the feel of his muscular arms wrapped around her tiny body, and him calling her sweetheart, is enough to make her head go fuzzy, and she completely forgets about Finn for a minute. Yeah, she might have a tiny crush on Bellamy. Too bad it will never go anywhere.

Bellamy breaks the hug, keeping his hands on her shoulders as he looks down at her.

“You okay?”

Clarke nods. Apart from being hornier now than when Finn was kissing her earlier, she’s fine.

“Do you want some food?” She gestures to the table where she has a fruit platter and an antipasto platter neatly arranged.

“Well, since you went to all the trouble,” Bellamy smiles at her. She leads him to the table and sits down across from him. She’d eaten most of the strawberries while she was waiting for Finn to arrive, hoping the supposed aphrodisiac would get her in the mood. Bellamy reaches for a cherry, not breaking eye contact as he pops it into his mouth. The only cherry getting popped tonight, unfortunately.

She pours him a glass of red wine, and half the amount for herself. She’s more of a rose girl herself.

When she looks up from her glass, her averts his eyes quickly, turning slightly red, as if he’s been caught doing something he shouldn’t. He takes a couple of big gulps from his glass.

“What?” she asks.

Bellamy shakes his head. He takes another sip. “Nothing. Are you sure you’re okay?”

Clarke shrugs. “I feel foolish more than anything else. It’s not like I don’t want to have sex! I don’t get why I can’t just get over whatever dumb thing is in my head and just do it.”

“Maybe it’s because deep down you don’t trust him. Don’t feel comfortable with him. You can sense that he’s only after his own pleasure, doesn’t really care about yours,” Bellamy suggests.

Clarke swallows. Somehow, he’s managed to hit the nail on the head, without Clarke even knowing that’s what the problem was.

“But like I said, Finn is an idiot. To waste all this effort you went to, to make this evening special. The food, the candles, the wine. And you got all dressed up too,” Bellamy says, his eyes darting towards her cleavage for a fraction of a second before meeting her eyes. Clarke flushes. It’s not the first time she’s caught him looking at her like that. He’s always careful to keep somewhat of a wall between them, like maybe he knows about her huge crush on him and doesn’t want to lead her on. He’d never touch her, she knows that. But he still looks at her. She likes it when he looks at her.

“I bought this dress especially for tonight,” she tells him. She stands up, to show him. It’s tight, and black, and very low cut. She’s well aware that her tits are her best asset. But she’s also not shy about showing some leg, and the dress stops just above mid-thigh. Where Bellamy’s eyes currently rest. He drags them up to hers again. “And new panties too.”

“Well,” Bellamy says, his voice sounding a little strangled. “It’s a shame he never got to see them.”

“Do you think he thinks I’m ugly? That’s why he wouldn’t wait longer to have sex with me?” Clarke asks. She knows very well that’s not the case. She just wants Bellamy to tell her she’s pretty, that any man would be lucky to have her.

“Of course not, Clarke. He’d have to be blind to think that. You’re fucking gorgeous, sweetheart,” Bellamy tells her. “You’re every man’s fantasy.”

Later tonight, after Bellamy is gone, she’ll press her vibrator to her clit and think about him calling her gorgeous. Except in her fantasy, he’ll be saying it with his cock between her thighs and his mouth on her neck.

Then she registers the next thing he said. Every man’s fantasy. Including his? Does he think about her when he touches himself at night, the way she does about him?

“Most men,” he corrects quickly, realising his slip up. He clears his throat, standing up abruptly. “I should probably go.”

Clarke bites her lip. “Will you stay and watch a movie with me? I don’t really want to be alone right now.”

Bellamy hesitates. Clarke bats her eyelashes at him, silently pleading for him to stay. He sighs.

“Okay. One movie.”

Clarke puts on Never Been Kissed, which is kind of apt, seeing as Clarke has Never Been Fucked. She curls up next to Bellamy, wishes he would let her sit on his lap, but she knows he’d never go for it. He puts her arm around her though, and Clarke snuggles into his side. She spends most of the movie fantasising about leaning down and sucking his dick. Or about him slipping his hand between her legs and teasing her until she can’t think straight. By the time the movie ends, she’s absolutely soaked. She’s sure he must be able to smell the arousal on her.

The credits roll, and Clarke pretends to be asleep, hoping he won’t want to wake her, and that will make him stay. She feels him shift, and his arm stays around her shoulders, but the other one slides under her knees, and then he’s lifting her from the couch and carrying her down the hall to her bedroom.

She opens her eyes, looking up at him, and he gives her a wry smile. “Did I wake you? Or were you pretending to be asleep?”

“Pretending,” Clarke admits. He doesn’t put her down until they reach her room.

“Time for bed,” he tells her. Clarke wishes he would come to bed with her.

“I want to get changed first. This dress is so uncomfortable. Will you unzip me?” She turns around, sweeping her hair over her shoulder to give him access to the zip. He steps up behind her, probably closer than necessary. He presses one hand to her waist as the other drags the zip down. His fingertips graze her ass as he pulls his hands away. An accident? Clarke glances over her shoulder at him. His jaw clenches.

“Thanks,” she says. She wriggles out of the dress and lets it fall to the ground. Bellamy says nothing as she reaches for the shirt she usually sleeps in, where it lies crumpled on the bed. She slips it over her head and turns around. It barely covers her sheer panties.

“Isn’t that my shirt?” Bellamy asks her. She looks down. She may have stolen this from him.

“Yes,” Clarke says, looking back up at him. “Do you mind?”

Bellamy shakes his head. “I should go,” he says, without conviction.

“Do I get a kiss goodnight?”

She expects him to roll his eyes at her, find her cute but amusing. Ruffle her hair and leave. But he steps even closer, leans down and presses a kiss against her cheek, lingering there much longer than necessary. Clarke turns her head slightly, and their lips are only a centimetre apart.

It’s Bellamy that closes the gap, and Clarke lets out a whimper as his mouth comes down on hers. His hands close around her waist, bunching her shirt up, and he pulls her against his chest. She can his cock pressing against her, hard and insistent. Her cunt throbs.

He pulls back, stroking her belly with his thumb through her shirt. He looks down, swallowing.

“Bell,” Clarke whispers. “I want you to be my first.”

“I know you do, baby,” Bellamy murmurs. He presses a kiss to the top of her head. “I want that too. But you’re so young. I feel like I’m taking advantage.”

“Isn’t that a little bit why you want me?” Clarke says. Bellamy squeezes his eyes shut, like he knows he’s been caught out. “Please, Bellamy. Show me how it feels. Tell me what to do. I’ll do whatever you say.”

“Will you just?” he says. Clarke nods. Bellamy doesn’t break eye contact as he drops his hand from her waist and rests it on the outside of her thigh. Clarke’s heart thrums with anticipation as his fingers dance across her skin, towards her throbbing cunt. He presses the pads of two of his fingers against the wet patch on her panties.

“You’re dripping,” he says. “You’ve been thinking about this all night, haven’t you?”

“Uh huh.”

“You got yourself all wet, just for me. Didn’t you, sweetheart?” He presses harder, his fingers pressing through her panties and into her slit.

“Yes.”

“Such a good girl.” Clarke flushes, a new surge of wetness leaking from her pussy. Bellamy pulls his hand from between her legs, then guides her back until she’s sitting on the bed. She looks up at him, her big blue eyes waiting for him to tell her what comes next.

Bellamy drops to his knees in front of her, then lifts her shirt, his eyes focused on her see-through panties. “Are these the panties you bought for Finn?” Clarke nods. “How about you take them off huh? You don’t need to be reminded of him.”

“Okay,” Clarke says. She hooks her thumbs in the waistband of her panties. She pauses, feeling suddenly nervous. She’s never shown herself to a man before.

“Come on, sweetheart. Show me that pretty pussy you’ve been saving for me, like a good girl.”

Clarke whimpers, lifting her ass from the bed so she can drag her soaked panties down. Bellamy takes them from her and tucks them into his pocket.

“Good girl,” he coos. His hands rest on her calves, stroking her lightly, his eyes on her exposed pussy. Clarke squirms under his heated gaze. “I like my girl better without panties anyway.”

“Your girl?”

“Yeah, sweetheart, you’re my girl. That okay?”

Clarke nods shyly.

“You want me to eat you out? Get you nice and ready for my cock?” Bellamy asks her.

Clarke shakes her head. “I’m ready now.”

“Are you now?” Bellamy chuckles. “Let me see.” He slides his hands up her legs and she parts them for him. He puts his fingers to her sopping cunt, spreading her pussy lips and dipping a finger inside her, only slightly. He pulls his finger away, coated with her juices. Clarke’s eyes widen as he sucks it into his mouth. “Okay,” he says. “But I get to eat you out another time.”

Clarke nods eagerly, excited at the prospect that there already might be another time. Bellamy gets to his feet. He grabs the hem of her shirt. His shirt.

“Time for this to come off,” he tells her, pulling it upwards. Clarke lifts her arms so her can pull it off her. Then she’s naked in front of him. The most naked she’s ever been in front of a man. He looks down at her, appraising her body, and part of her feels like she should be embarrassed, but she loves the way his eyes rake over her, drinking her in.

He leans down to kiss her. “You are so beautiful,” he says. “I’m so happy I get to be your first.”

He takes his own shirt off then, and it’s erotic, the way his muscles move as he pulls it over his head and throws it aside. Then he’s undoing his jeans, and Clarke’s heart is speeding up. This is the part that normally makes her freak out. But she’s not freaking out now. She watching in anticipation, desperate to see his cock. She’s been desperate for it since the first day she met him, if she’s being honest. He drops his pants, and then his boxers. Clarke almost moans at the sight of his cock.

She has no clue how big Finn’s dick was. She never saw it. Grinded herself against it a couple of times, and from what she could feel it was nothing special. Bellamy’s cock, on the other hand, is nothing short of magnificent. It’s long and thick and hard and she wants it all to herself. She’s not entirely sure it will fit inside her. But fuck it if she’s not going to try.

“You okay, baby?” he asks her.

Clarke nods. “Will it fit in me?”

“I know you can take it,” Bellamy says. “We’ll go nice and slow, okay?”

Clarke nods. Bellamy kisses her again, gently, then pushes her onto her back. She scoots up the bed a little to give him room to climb on top of her. His huge cock bobs in front of her. After he’s done fucking her, she wants to put it in her mouth.

“Are you on the pill?” he asks her. “I’d rather do this without a condom, but I’ll get one if you want me to.”

“I’m on the pill,” Clarke says quickly. She’s glad she made that decision. She doesn’t want to waste time messing around with a condom.

“Do you trust me?” Bellamy asks.

“Yes,” Clarke nods. “More than anyone.”

“I’m going to fuck you so good, Clarke, I promise,” he tells her. “Are you ready?”

“Yes,” Clarke whines. “Please.”

She feels his cock press against her entrance. She holds her breath as she waits for him to push into her.

“Clarke, sweetheart,” Bellamy says, kissing her jaw. “Relax. Breathe. You’re okay.”

Clarke takes a deep breath. He’s right, she’s okay. She wants this. Wants it so bad. He pushes the head of his cock into her, and she gasps. She feels like he’s stretching he so wide already.

“How does that feel, baby? Okay?”

More than okay. Definitely more than okay. But words evade her right now, so she just nods.

“Good girl,” Bellamy says. The words do something to her, and it’s like it’s suddenly easier for him to push in a little further. “You’re doing so well, Clarke. You’re halfway there.”

Clarke whimpers. Only half? She fills full to the brim already. “Keep going,” she tells him. “I want it all.”

“I know, baby, and you’ll get it all,” Bellamy says. He pushes into her further. She can feel herself opening up to accommodate him. With one last push he’s all the way inside her.

“Oh god, Bell,” Clarke whines. “You feel so big inside me.”

“That’s my girl,” Bellamy says. “You took the whole thing, didn’t you, sweet thing? I knew you could do it. I’m so proud. You took your first cock like it’s what you were made to do.”

Clarke’s cunt clenches around him. So this is what she’s been missing. She squirms against him, loving the feel of him inside her, filling her up, but needing more.

“What’s wrong, baby?” Bellamy asks, though Clarke is pretty sure he knows exactly what’s wrong.

“I need—” she moans.

“Tell me what you need.”

“I need you to fuck me. Please. I want to be fucked.”

“Of course you do,” Bellamy says knowingly. “And since you asked so nicely.”

He rocks his hips against her, grinding his cock into her, making her whole body spasm. He slowly rolls his hips into her, over and over, winding her up, agonisingly slow. Clarke feels like she’s losing her mind.

“Faster, please,” Clarke begs. “Harder.”  Bellamy picks up the pace, just slightly. Clarke groans in impatience. “Fuck me properly,” she huffs.

“Bossy,” Bellamy chuckles. But he obeys her. He thrusts into her harder and faster, and Clarke can feel herself climbing towards orgasm. She whimpers and moans incoherently, unable to think straight with Bellamy’s cock driving into her. It’s better than she even imagined.

Her insides are tighter than they’ve ever been, and she feels like she’s about to shatter into a million pieces.

“Bell, Bell,” she pants. “I—I’m—”

“I know, I know,” he says. “You’re nearly there. Are you gonna come for me baby? Come on my cock, you can do it.”

It’s the words that send her over the edge, and she comes harder than she ever did when she was alone. She shudders through the aftershocks, still whining in pleasure.

“Are you going to come too?” Clarke asks. Because she needs him to, needs to know she can make him feel how he makes her feel.

“Yes,” he groans. “Your pussy is so tight, Clarke. I’m gonna come inside you. Want to claim you as mine with my come.”

“Yes,” Clarke moans.

“If someone else had fucked you first I would have lost my mind,” Bellamy says. “Your pussy is just for me. No one else.”

“Yes,” Clarke agrees. “I’m yours. My pussy is yours.”

Bellamy moans, shoves his cock into her hard, releases the contents of his balls into her, chanting her name over and over. He collapses on top of her, breathing hard. He presses a kiss to her collarbone.

“How was your first time, sweetheart?” he asks her, brushing the hair from her face.

“Perfect,” she giggles.

“You’re perfect,” he murmurs, kissing her softly.

“Bellamy? Can I ask you something?”

“Of course.”

“How did you know?”

He meets her eyes. “How did I know what?”

“That I was saving myself for you.”

Bellamy smirks. “You could have had sex with anyone in the last four years, Clarke. But you didn’t. You couldn’t because you knew you already belonged to me. You always wanted it to be me.”

“But you never did anything about it. Why tonight?”

Bellamy shakes his head. “Just couldn’t help myself anymore, baby. You went to all that trouble with Finn and I couldn’t stand to disappoint you any longer.”

“Will you fuck me again?”

“Right now?”

“Ever.”

“Whenever you want,” he says. “I said you belong to me. That’s true. But I belong to you too, understand?”

Clarke nods. “What about now?”

Bellamy laughs. “God, you’re going to be a handful, aren’t you? Now that you’re not a virgin.”

“I was always a handful,” Clarke pouts, offended.

“True,” Bellamy agrees. “Just give me a minute, and I’ll give you whatever you want.”

[myromancebooksworld]

The book that I read in end of March/April part 1!

THE DECEPTION OF THE MONTH

Despite the scandal around the author, I was curious to finally read one of Santino Hassell’s books. I was disappointed by “First And First”.  I didn’t hate it but let’s just say I’m not expecting to read another book of Hassell soon.  It can be read as a stand alone but who knows maybe if I read the first book of the serie, I might have another feeling ...

THE NICE SURPRISES OF THE MONTH

"The Easy Way” was the first book I read of May Archer and I really like it!  There is not only romance in it but thriller and action and it was really well written.  I’m really curious to read the next books of the serie.

“Forever you” by Rose Becker was also a nice surprise.  I was excepting a little bit when I heard one of the blogger speaking about the book but you have to read the book before you tell if it’s a good or a bad one ... and it was a really good one!  It might be a big book (604 pages for this first part of the story) but it’s so well written (and addictive) that I finished the book in 2 days.

When I finished “# Rev”, I became very impatient and excited to read the story about Lordhaven.  He almost become an addiction and when I finished “# Swag” ... let’s just said that it’s my favorite book of this serie.  What both Lordhaven and Joey have been through ... OMG they’re fighters and survivors!  And Arrow ... my heart goes also with him.  I just love these 2 brothers and it’s too bad that there is no promo around “#Swag” because I really LOVED it!!!

When I finished the first book of the serie “Something In The Way”, I have to read the rest ... and I wasn’t disappointed! Even though the characters drove me crazy with their back and forth attitude and their fights ... I just LOVED them! “Move The Stars” is my favorite of the serie because Manning is finally waking up and fight for his love and of course Lake fed up by him and by his rejections, pushed him down ... it was about time! lol But seriously “Somebody Else’s Sky” and “Lake + Manning” are also very good.  By the way, did you see the covers of this serie?  There are really perfect, I really LOVE them!

“Escort” by F.V. Estyer was also a good book with some heavy and dark moments.  It might not be “Rebel Love” or “Dark Skies” but I really enjoyed the book.

WHEN 2 OF MY FAVORITE AUTHORS GAVE ME THEIR BEAUTIFUL GIFT

When Maris Black and Ella Frank released a new book ... I have to have it right?  That is what I did ... and like always I wasn’t disappointed!  

Since I read the Temptation serie by Ella Frank, I was really curious to read the “spinoff” the Confessions serie.  I was also very intrigued to see their face ... and OMG I’m really bad with it because the Robbie on the cover is completely different from who I imagined him to be!  He’s more hot!  If I always wanted Robbie and Priest together, I was surprised (like Tate & Logan) to see that not only Priest was married to Julien and that they also wanted to be a threesome with Robbie!  And after reading “Robbie”, I have a new look on the characters and especially on Julien.  We didn’t hear much on him in the Temptation serie but he is very interesting.  Even though I still have a special spot for Robbie and Priest!  They drive me crazy since the first time I “read” them when Logan introduced them to each other ... They’re so explosive together, I LOVE it!!!

The second I saw that the new Kage was release .... OMG!!! I bought it in the second and read it directly afterwards!!!! Finally my boys were back so I have to know what has happened since we left them in the first book of this new Santori trilogy.  I can say for sure that “Santori Reborn” is by far my favorite of this trilogy but at the same time, I have so many questions ... I’m really impatient to read the next one but at the same time, I don’t want it seems it’ll be the last one of the serie so probably the last one of Kage and Jaime ... and I don’t want to say goodbye to my favorite couple! sniff ...

[newagesispage]

                                                              DECEMBER    2020

PAGE RIB

Peace!!

*****

Joe Biden is the President elect with Kamala Harris as VP. Emily Murphy of the General Services Administration has finally allowed them to begin the transition.** A. Blinken will be the new Sec. of state. By the end of the month, Joe feel while playing with his dog and has a hairline fracture.

*****

Ken Burns is working on programs about LBJ, The American Revolution, the Buffalo and more.

*****

The airlines got a $50billion bailout then laid off $90,000 people.

*****

A bill has been introduced in congress that will reduce animal experimentation. Let’s hope.

*****

A 10- 12 ft. Metal Monolith was found in the Utah desert. By the end of the month, it was gone and another showed up in Romania.

*****

Come Away is a film that combines Wonderland and Neverland.

*****

John Mulaney has joined Late Night as a writer.

*****

Johnny Rotten was bitten by fleas on his penis after taking in some squirrels.

*****

American story: Impeachment, about the Clinton scandal is coming with Sarah Paulson, Clive Owen, Beanie Feldstein and Annaleigh Ashford.

*****

Price Wallace asked Mississippi to secede.

*****

Charles Koch and friends are filling the coffers of Kelly Loeffler and David Perdue in Georgia. Let’s remember that these candidates opposed the $ 1,200.00 stimulus. They outsourced their businesses to foreign workers.

*****

Brett Favre owes about 1.1 mil to Mississippi.

*****

An FCC complaint was filed against Mark Meadows for using campaign Pac $ for personal expenses.

*****

Johnny Depp lost his libel case against the Sun and the abuse complaints by Amber Heard were found to be credible.** Warner Bros. has cut ties with Depp but they will pay his full salary.

*****

Carly Hughes has left American Housewife due to a possible toxic environment. Julia Butters has also left and creator Sarah Dunn was sidelined.

*****

IHOP is on the way out.

*****

Lindsey Graham is the guy in the spy thriller or heist movie who double crosses everyone to save his own skin. –Barack Obama

*****

Castle Rock was cancelled.

*****

Sarah McBride of Delaware is the first openly Trans senator.

*****

Five more states have legalized weed.

*****

What is with all the CoverGirl product placement on Riverdale?

*****

Oh how I miss the sea captain on Seth Meyers!!

*****

Amal Clooney has received the 2020 Gwen Ifill Press freedom award.

*****

I can’t wait for Linoleum about a failing kids show with Jim Gaffigan in 2 roles, Rhea Seehorn and Tony Shalhoub.

*****

An example of the way Fox news helps to keep the public in the dark.  A person I know who gets all their news from the station mentioned that she wished the news would inform us about Covid. She never hears much about it. I told her that other news talks about it all day every day. She was shocked . ** We can see why this country is so unhealthy when so many will not listen to science and Dr.’s even as this virus rages on.

*****

A report said that Stephen Miller wanted to end or modify birthright citizenship in the second term.** Mike Flynn represented Turkey back in the day and was pardoned for Thanksgiving with the Turkeys. You can’t make this shit up.** Trump said that he knows whether or not he will attend the inauguration but isn’t going to tell us. He really is emotionally stunted.** Scott Atlas is out.

*****

Trump has sued America but he warned us. How much executive overreach do we have to put up with??** SAP, the Save America Pac, or $ for the President is newly formed and gives about 20% to the RNC. The rest?**Word was that Rudy was trying to take over complete power, a coup within a coup. Scary Clown thought that Rudy was making him look bad. Oh my. And Sydney Powell .. Well, The Trump Presidency has really brought mental illness to our attention. ** It seems the recounts just seem to make Biden’s lead bigger. **C’mon news media, enough about the official President of those who hate manners. It is time to shift focus to real issues. The less coverage, the sooner we can move on, not forget but move on.** Let’s hope that this is the apex of the conspiracy mania and the better, calmer angels start to take over!!

*****

Super Intelligence is coming with Sam Richardson, Jean Smart and Melissa McCarthy.

*****

Gabourey Sidibe is engaged to Brandon Frankel.

Doctors without Borders have come to help us.** Moderna’s vaccine was funded in part by Dolly Parton with her donation to research at Vanderbilt University. Emory U and the National Institute of Allergy and infectious Disease helped too.

*****

Regina King directed the new One Night in Miami about Muhammed Ali, Malcolm X, Jim Brown and Sam Cooke.

*****

Look for Stardust with Marc Maron.

*****

Hooray for the pig in the fire video and hooray for the woman who was watching him online and saved him.

*****

Lisa Gordon- Hagerty, head of the Nuclear weapons agency has resigned. **Defense secretary Mark Esper is out. ** Barr ordered the DOJ prosecutor to investigate the election and Richard Pilger resigned.** Top US climate scientist Dr. Michael Kuperberg is out.** Top defense Dept intel official Joe Kernan resigned. Chief of staff to the defense secretary, Jen Stewart resigned.

*****

A 449 page report on sexual allegations against the Catholic Church commissioned by Pope Francis is out. Well known in the 90’s, Theodore McCarrick was not defrocked until 2019. We now know that Pope John Paul II and Pope Benedict knew about allegations and promoted him anyway. Francis claims he presumed things had been dealt with until the archdiocese of NY told him different.

*****

What’s this about a massive arms transfer to the United Arab Emirates?

*****

Hooray for Kim Ang, the highest ranking woman in baseball.** And hooray for Sarah Fuller, the first woman to play in a power 5 college football game.

*****

There are over 81,000 sex abuse claims against the Boy Scouts.

*****

Hooray for Space X and NASA, even though with all that is happening, there wasn’t that much coverage.** Victor Glover is one hot astronaut.

*****

Jordan Peel will bring his next horror flick to us in July 2022.

*****

R.I.P. Eddie Hassell, Charles Gordon, Caro; Arthur, Elsa Raven,  Alex Trebek, Bert Belasco, Gordon Joseloff, Ken Spears, Lawrence Clayton, victims of the Westhaven Veterans hospital explosion, Viola Smith, more Covid victims, Geoffrey Palmer, David Dinkins, Norm Crosby, Art Wolff, Jerry Hewitt, Ryan Brady and David Prowse.

[crazplats]

If there is a wizarding school in the south/north pacific region...

 I was thinking of this so here are some hc and feel free to add on or share your thoughts

1) It would probably be on a remote island somewhere because flying it isn’t really that cheap to fly some places. I mean it’s cheaper to fly nz to aus than north island to south in nz and it would most likely be less likely to be found

2) There’s going to be fucking uniforms

3) they’ll probably make it so the uniforms you can wear in summer and not get hot but when winter comes it wouldn’t be a hassel to buy more things to stay warm and it would probably not have a quilt and just one type of skirt so it’s cheaper

4) speaking of money you will probably only have to buy a uniform, stationary and wand and they’ll most likely provide things like cauldrons and most textbooks. 

5) each country will have a certain store that doubles as a place to buy this stuff in the back or something. Like in NZ its fucking whitcoulls or something like that in a mall idk.

4) There probably won’t be any houses and if there were you wouldn’t sleep in places according to your house and it would most likley just to make school competions fun with house points and shit so you won’t even be sorted it will just be at random cause like I said it would be so we could have comptions that are more fun

5) You will share a dorm with someone

6) I just realized I put 5 and 4 twice

7) it’ll grow with the times. By that I mean when the world went from ink to pens so did the school. When computers became popular you bet they got some fucking wifi

8) There will be a village type thing with normal places you find in other countries. Like you could find a small mall with stores from loads of countries. They also have a movie theater 

9) a candy store with candy’s from various countries like you could find candy’s from NZ and Aus and Fiji and shit. 

10) they would teach basic fucking subjects like maths and reading and writing and maybe PE

11) You can go to the villiage whenever you want. You can go after school, before school and maybe even during breaks depending on what year you are.

12) If you have no where to go home to at the end of the year you can stay there all year round if needed. 

13) All animals will most likley probably but you would probably need to fill out a form so the school can help cater for those pets

14)  lockers

15) 10 week terms with school starting in feb and after every 10 weeks a 2 week break to go back home if you want. School year ends december first unless you have religous reasons to go home earlier or for a week before if you’re like jewish or something and hanukkah or something.

16) If you are fasting  for something like ramadan or something then the school will try their best to support. 

17) The school is extremly inclusive and try their best to include all religions, races, gender, sexuality as best as they can.

18) They have a small wiazrding university if you wish to go onto a wizarding career. 

OK that’s all I can think of right now so feel free to add on or change some if you want it’s just that I ain’t flying to fucking america or uk to get an education. Also there will probably be smaller schools but this is the most well-known.

BONUS:

rugby. on BROOMSTICKS

cricket. on BROOMSTICKS

BONUS BONUS:

The wizard of NZ is the headmaster and no one can say otherwise 

[deniscollins]

Executive Mentors Wanted. Only Millennials Need Apply.

If you were a CEO, would you hire a millennial to mentor you about the millennial perspective regarding product, sales, communication, technology, emerging market and marketing trends, and other issue? Why? What are the ethics underlying your decision?

Junior office workers once had a fairly predictable set of daily tasks. Write the sales memo. Build the PowerPoint. Make the coffee.

Now, many young professionals have a new mandate: Drag the boss into the 21st century.

While businesses chase evanescent market trends and grapple with a fast-moving future, millennial mentors, as many companies call them, have emerged as a hot accessory for executives. Young workers, some just out of college, are being pulled into formal corporate programs to give advice to the top ranks of their companies.

Millennial mentorship programs represent a formalized, mildly absurdist version of the advice junior workers have been giving their older colleagues for ages. Some executives want the views of young people on catering to new markets and developing new products, while others seek glorified tech support — Snapchat 101, Twitter tutorials and emoji lessons.

These programs are not just a departure from the business world’s traditional top-down management style. They are also a sign of just how perplexed some executives are by the young people in their midst.

Companies like Mastercard, Cisco Systems and Mars Inc. have experimented with these mentoring programs. Inga Beale, 54, the chief executive of the insurance marketplace Lloyd’s of London, has said that her junior mentor, who is 19, has a “totally different perspective” and leaves her “inspired.” Melanie Whelan, 40, the chief executive of SoulCycle, holds monthly meetings with her younger mentor, whom she has credited with helping her get “hip with what the kids are doing these days.”

“It’s like reconnecting with your lost youth,” said David Watson, 38, a managing director at Deutsche Bank who has been mentored by Fernando Hernandez, 29, an engineer in the Wall Street bank’s global markets technology division. He credited Mr. Hernandez with good tips for retaining young employees, like giving them more flexible work-from-home arrangements, and with helping him spot trends in the financial tech industry.

“It’s valuable information,” Mr. Watson said. “When you’re making decisions about budgets, or priorities, or hiring, you can actually put into practice what you learned.”

It was perhaps inevitable that older executives would turn to their young employees for advice. As technology has changed the way businesses run, it has also put power in the hands of digital natives, and left older, less tech-savvy executives angling for ways to keep up.

Could these executives just ask their children for tech tips? Sure. But workplace programs allow executives to peer into the future of their industry and bond with a junior colleague simultaneously, with minimal embarrassment.

Reverse mentoring — another name companies give to younger people training older workers — is not a new concept. Jack Welch, while the chief executive of General Electric in the 1990s, required 500 of his top managers to pair up with junior workers to learn how to use the internet. But executives are especially eager to learn from millennials, whose dominance in Silicon Valley has given older workers a fear of obsolescence.

An entire cottage industry now peddles advice to youth-obsessed executives, with books like “Understanding Millennials” and events like “Millennial Week,” a two-day festival meant to “promote and present ideas reflecting the impact of Generation Y on culture and society.” Millennial consultants now advise companies like Oracle, Estée Lauder and HBO, charging as much as $20,000 per hour to give executives advice on marketing their products to young people. Over all, American organizations spent about $80 million on “generational consulting” last year, according to Source Global Research, a firm that studies the consulting industry.

Compared with the prospect of shelling out thousands of dollars for one of those outside consultants, many executives prefer the alternative of using the young people already on their payroll.

“It’s a pretty smart thing for them to do,” said Malcolm Harris, the author of “Kids These Days,” a forthcoming book about millennials and the economy. “If you can’t get a 25-year-old to run your company, you can at least tell people your C.E.O. is talking to 25-year-olds.”

Tiffany Zhong, 20, began mentoring Kara Nortman, 41, a partner at the venture capital firm Upfront Ventures, after Ms. Nortman asked her for advice on dealing with a new generation of tech entrepreneurs.

Ms. Zhong now texts Ms. Nortman almost daily, doling out cultural lessons and pointers. She advised her on the proper usage of “Gucci” — a slang term used by teens to mean “good” — and gently corrected Ms. Nortman’s texting etiquette.

“I told her, ‘You can’t send 10 emojis at once, that’s not O.K.,’ ” Ms. Zhong said.

For Ms. Nortman, who invests in and advises technology companies, Ms. Zhong’s lessons are not just academic.

“We spend a lot of time talking about the psychology of a teen,” Ms. Nortman said. “It’s influenced a lot of perspectives around how to manage my own time, and how to invest.”

These mentoring arrangements can be initially awkward for executives who are accustomed to dispensing advice, not receiving it. When Mr. Watson, the Deutsche Bank managing director, was first paired with Mr. Hernandez through his firm’s millennial mentoring program, he was skeptical that useful advice could come from someone nearly a decade his junior. But the experience opened his mind. Recently, he said, he had spent two hours having an impromptu chat with some younger workers in his division.

“To sit down with someone who’s on the org chart six levels below me is educational,” Mr. Watson said. “You learn about yourself, and how you differ from them.”

And the traditional mentoring benefit remains in place.

“I can still learn from him, obviously,” Mr. Hernandez said. “But I hope I can teach him some stuff.”

Many of the new reverse mentoring arrangements include lessons on new technology and emerging market trends. Gerald L. Hassell, 65, the chairman of Bank of New York Mellon, asked his millennial mentor, Darah Kirstein, a 32-year-old vice president at the bank, to help him streamline the information he got from the internet. She set him up on Tweetdeck, a Twitter app that allows for custom filters, and installed Flipboard, a digital magazine app, on his iPad. Eventually, Mr. Hassell began asking Ms. Kirstein for her thoughts on the direction of the company, and she became a trusted sounding board.

“A lot of our conversations were, how are millennials experiencing our organizational change? What advice do you have for better communicating?” Mr. Hassell said.

For Todd Sachse, the 53-year-old chief executive of Sachse Construction in Detroit, one appeal of the reverse-mentoring program was the potential to unite employees of multiple generations. Last year, Mr. Sachse paired 10 senior executives with 10 younger workers and assigned them to have monthly one-on-one conversations on topics like technology and stereotypes of younger workers, with a debriefing round at the end of six sessions.

“The feedback was outstanding from both sides,” Mr. Sachse said. “It dispelled some of the misperceptions of millennials.”

As reverse mentoring programs grow in popularity, some young workers still lack the traditional, top-down mentorship meant to help them rise in their careers. According to a 2016 report by Deloitte, the consulting firm, more than half of young workers said their leadership skills were not being fully developed in the workplace.

“It really is the opposite of the mentorship offer that firms have historically made to young people,” Mr. Harris said. “Now it’s just, ‘We want you to come work for us, and teach us how to do our jobs.’ ”

Still, many of the young mentors seem happy to dole out advice. For Ms. Kirstein, who works at Bank of New York Mellon’s Pittsburgh offices, the extra attention from Mr. Hassell, who is based in New York, has been its own reward.

“I definitely get special nods here and there,” Ms. Kirstein said. “The last time Gerald was here, he called me out in a town hall in front of a lot of people. That makes you feel good.”

Millennials, traditionally defined as those born after 1982, may not have the upper hand for long.

Ms. Zhong, who started a consulting firm, Zebra Intelligence, to inform businesses about teenage attitudes, says that she’s already getting inquiries from people asking to be mentored by members of Gen Z, often defined as the cohort born after 1996. She is planning to start a mutual mentorship program to connect teenagers and young 20-somethings with senior-level executives, and hopefully outsource some of the work she’s been doing.

“I’m like an on-demand Gen Z support,” Ms. Zhong said. “But I can’t keep all my adult friends up-to-date on everything.”

[mikkuchan07]

My dearest, lovely reader. Are you excited? Because I am. Here’s my review of the last book in the Agents Irish and Whiskey series by Leyla Reyne, Barrel Proof.

Read a few excerpts & opinions about the book. See my review and don’t miss the huge giveaway at the end of the post. 🙂

Two detailed reviews of the first and second book, Single Malt and Cask Strengh will follow the next days. 🙂 Stay tuned for this.

Happy reading. 🙂

Barrel Proof by Layla Reyne My rating: 5 of 5 stars

*~~*ARC kindly provided by the author to me in exchange for an honest review *~~*

Warning: the blurb contain spoiler and reveal former events from the story, and even the review, as vague as it tries to be can contain a few. The book is not to be read as a stand-alone.

You say a good whiskey is getting better with the age, same goes for guys and it seems also for a good story, one which is getting riper and riper. Barrel Proof is the third book in the series of the two hot FBI agents who are partner, not only in business.

The relationship is growing  – from partner in business to friendship to a relationship – and you can’t read this book as a stand-alone. With every book you want more, you get more and this book – the last in the series – ends with a blow. Events which are unexpected are happening, revealings, saddening and exciting alltogether.

You really feel with Agent Irish and Whiskey. :3

But not only those are tempting and charming, it’s the cast of the other character, the balance. Sometimes you feel so hard with them, you have to take a break. The grief in the first book, all over the second book until the third.

When you think, Aidan and Jamie get’s their happy end they’ve to overcome another obstacle – and this time it means a lot.

What I really loved about the series is the constant grow. Not only the background plot from the first book is continued, no, it’s the character depth, the way how we get to know them. More and more things are shown, identities are built up, the characters feel real.

The fact that the author keeps the reader’s attention by including crime cases the two agents solve in a fast and pleasurable manner makes the books sheer brilliant. You really see the author did a great research, something which pleases me extraordenary.

Banter and witt, humorous scenes and sexy encounter are also the other parts of the book. Makes it full-bodied and smooth, gives it its spark and basis.

This series really should be in every selection of M/M romance lovers who adore FBI agents, opposite character, a solid story, from the first to the last novel in the series and with twist of turns, unexected and thrilling until the end.

View all my reviews

BLOG TOUR / RELEASE DAY SPOTLIGHT Title: Barrel Proof Series: Agents Irish and Whiskey # 3 Author: Layla Reyne Genre: M/M Romance, Contemporary, Romantic Suspense Release Date: August 7, 2017 (audiobook as well) Publisher: Carina Press (HQN) Lenght: 189 Pages (Ebook); 6hr, 30mins (Audio) Note: Audiobooks of Single Malt (AIW1) & Cask Strength (AIW2) also releasing August 7, 2017 Book 3 / Trilogy Conclusion

Add to you bookshelf: (click on this button or this link)

PURCHASE LINKS

Website Carina Press Amazon US | Audiobooks (Audible) Nook/ B&N | ibooks Kobo | Google Play

Blurb

FBI agents Aidan “Irish” Talley and Jameson “Whiskey” Walker can’t get a moment’s peace. Their hunt for the terrorist Renaud seems to be nearing an end, until a fire allows him to slip through their fingers—and puts Jamie’s life in danger. When Jamie is nearly killed, Aidan learns how many forms loss can take.

Aidan says I love you just moments before learning that Jamie’s been keeping a devastating secret about Aidan’s late husband. How quickly trust and love can go up in flames. When Aidan requests a solo undercover assignment, Jamie hopes Aidan will find a way to forgive him.

But the explosions are far from over. Aidan’s cover lands him in the heart of the terrorist’s conspiracy, and Jamie will have to put his life, his career and his freedom on the line to save the man who has become his entire world. Partners, always is a promise he intends to keep.

“A heart-pounding, romantic conclusion to the Agents Irish and Whiskey series.”

Excerpt & opinions from others about the book and the series

From Single Malt:

“Sexy, smart and suspenseful – this book has it all.” –HelenKay Dimon, author of Mr. & Mr. Smith

“With sharp writing, compelling characters, and an engaging plot, Single Malt is the M/M romantic suspense series I’ve been waiting for.” – Santino Hassell, award-winning author of the FIVE BOROUGHS series

“Single Malt is full of explosive chemistry, captivating characters, and edge-of-your-seat suspense. A must read for any romantic suspense fan!” — Megan Erickson, USA Today Bestselling author

Early reviews (a few selected):

RT Magazine – 4.5 Stars, Top Pick:

Barrel Proof is the third and final book in the Agents Irish and Whiskey series. After two books that follow the formation of a heated M/M romantic relationship, Barrel Proof starts off with a climax as secrets are revealed and the romance is tested. … Fans of the series will be equally challenged and delighted by the twists and turns Reyne takes. The book flows into a more action-oriented focus as the plot progresses, but Reyne ends the romance with just the right amount of heft to keep any reader of romantic suspense and M/M romance delighted.

Night Owl Reviews – 4.5 Stars, Top Pick:

Layla Reyne finishes her trilogy with an absolute bang! As sorry as I am to say goodbye to this fabulous pair I couldn’t have enjoyed their ending more.

Ready for a sweet but hot excerpt? Here you go:

Aidan ran a hand through his hair and tilted his face up for another slow, haunting kiss. “I love you, Whiskey,” he whispered against his lips.

“I love you too, Irish.”

Aidan turned to leave, was halfway across the room when something on the dresser caught Jamie’s eye. “Aidan, wait!”

Jamie limped over to the dresser, and Aidan rushed back to his side, helping to balance him. He snatched up the Chevelle keys and pressed them into Aidan’s hand, their fingers entwining around them.

“Jamie, what—”

“She doesn’t belong in my garage, if you’re not here too. I can’t bear to look at her there, until you’re back in my bed.”

“I can’t.”

Those words had haunted Jamie for days. With a renewed spark of hope, he could do something about them now. “Yes, you can,” he said, and leaned in for another kiss. This one was quick, firm, and with a dash of promise and hope infusing the goodbye. “When you’re ready, the both of you come home to me.”

Author bio  – Leyla Reyne

Author Layla Reyne was raised in North Carolina and now calls San Francisco home. She enjoys weaving her bi-coastal experiences into her stories, along with adrenaline-fueled suspense and heart pounding romance. When she’s not writing stories to excite her readers, she downloads too many books, watches too much television, and cooks too much food with her scientist husband, much to the delight of their smushed-face, leftover-loving dogs.

Author Tagline: Adrenaline-Fueled Romance

Author links / get in contact Email / Newsletter Facebook Private Profile Facebook Group Goodreads Twitter Instagram Tumblr Pinterest

Giveaway

There is a giveaway to win a awesome swag pack:

The HUGE Agents Irish & Whiskey Gift Packs including: 1 Kindle Fire Tablet, 1 Agents Irish & Whiskey mug, and surprise swag! (Ships to US/Canada only; international winners will receive Amazon Gift Card: $35)

Your chance to win *click*

Please note: the giveaway is not sponsored, administered or endorsed by Mikku-chan / A World full of Words.

Blogtour and release blitz hosted by/through A Novel Take PR.

Blog Tour + Review: Barrell Proof (w/ huge giveaway) My dearest, lovely reader. Are you excited? Because I am. Here's my review of the last book in the…

[wallaceleris-blog]

Saba (2/3 - 2/10)

The sail from St. Barth’s to Saba was the first pleasant sail we have had in a long time.  It was blowing around 18 kts, we were sailing a broad reach, and the seas were calm.  It took us about 7 or 8 hours to get there.

Sailing from St. Barths to Saba, with Saba on the horizon.

Saba is unlike any island we have been to yet.  The island is volcanic (like most of the islands down here), but it looks more like a volcano than any of them (besides Montserrat).  The island rises about 3,000 ft above sea level, and the sides are so steep that it is prone to landslides.

We sailed around Diamond Rock (a white rock pinnacle which rises out of the water) and moored in Ladder Bay.

Approaching the moorings in Ladder Bay, Diamond Rock on the left.

Saba was settled by the Dutch, Scottish, and English.  Originally, the main harbor (although I wouldn’t really call it a harbor) was in Ladder Bay.  The sides of the island are so steep that they carved a huge staircase into the face of the island in order to reach land which was flat enough to live on.  Until the early 1940’s, the staircase in Ladder Bay was the only way to get onto the island.

Now they have built Fort Bay.  It is an artificial harbor, made with large concrete jetties.  We originally tried to pick up a mooring in Fort Bay, since that is now the only way to get onshore, but it was way too rough (the mooring field is completely unprotected).

Our mooring in Ladder Bay, the steps to the old custom’s house on the right.

Our first impression of Saba wasn’t the best.  It was incredibly rough, Fort Bay looked really ugly (there was construction equipment and gravel everywhere), and the mooring line kept getting tangled around the keel.  It just didn’t seem like a very hospitable island.  We couldn’t understand why the Dutch, Scottish, and English even bothered to settle it.

Fort Bay.

The next morning we dinghied ashore.  It was a really long, rough ride.  We were literally dinghying in the open ocean and flying off of the 4-5 ft waves.  By the time we made it to the dinghy dock we were all completely soaked.

We checked into customs, and the man in the customs office called a taxi driver, named Lollypop, for us (Linda and Bob had recommended her).

Lollypop gave us a tour of the entire island.  For a long time, the only way to get around the island was to walk on the steep mountain paths.  However, in the late 1950’s a man named Joseph Hassel undertook the project of building a road.  Engineers in Holland told him it couldn’t be done, because the terrain was too steep, but he and other Saban citizens spent years hand-building the roads that now connect the towns on the island; they named it “The Road that Couldn’t Be Built.”

The Bottom, one of the main towns on the island.

A mural in an old church that Lollypop showed us.

The roads were a little scary to drive on.  They twist up and down the steep sides of the mountains, and the only thing between your car and a thousand foot fall down the mountain is a 1.5 ft concrete guardrail. Dad said he thinks it’s probably just tall enough to flip your car over before it falls off of the cliff.

“The Road that Couldn’t Be Built.”

There is one airport on Saba, which is just as scary as their roads.  They devoted their one small flat area to the runway; it is as long as an aircraft carrier.  Lollypop pulled over on the road so we could watch a plane land (they basically have to come to a complete stop in the air before they touch down on the runway).

Saba’s tiny runway.

On the way back to Windwardside (one of the main towns), Lollypop dropped Jack and me off at the trail to the top of Mt. Scenery, the highest point of the island (which is also the highest point in all of the Netherlands).  She drove Mom and Dad to town so they could get lunch while Jack and I hiked.  The entire trail is a staircase which is built into the side of the mountain. There are a total of 1,064 steps to get to the top.

What was cool is that as we got higher and higher up on the mountain, the vegetation changed dramatically. It started off as little scrubby trees and bushes, but as we got higher it slowly turned into a rainforest.

Hiking to the top of Mt. Scenery.

There weren’t any views from the top that day (because of the cloud cover), but I think that the lack of a view made it even more spectacular.  We climbed onto the rocks at the peak, and below us we could see the tops of some trees and then nothing; it was just clouds.

The first scenic overlook.

There were two scenic overlooks on the peak (the one I just mentioned) and another which was much harder to get to.  It involved walking through shin-deep mud, up another staircase, and then pulling ourselves up a rock face with an old rope.  It was worth it though.  This overlook was even cooler than the first.  Instead of a steep slope for a few feet before becoming a cliff, this one turned into a cliff right away.  We had to be careful not to step back too far while taking pictures.

The second (muddy) scenic overlook.

We walked back down all 1,064 steps barefoot (the mud made our flip-flops too slippery).  The people climbing up whom we crossed paths with stared at us and laughed nervously when they saw that we were completely covered in mud.

We weren’t expecting to do the hike, so in addition to not having proper footwear, we also didn’t have water.  As we were nearing the bottom we passed a grapefruit tree.  At that point, we were both really hot and thirsty, so Jack climbed up the tree and picked us some grapefruits to eat (he said that picking fruit while being barefoot and covered in mud made him feel a little like Bear Grylls).  

We found Mom and Dad in a restaurant near the base of the trail.  They (as well as everyone at the tables nearby) laughed when they saw us. Jack and I had a quick sandwich there and Lollypop joined us for drinks.  Then she took us back to the boat.

Lunch with Lollypop.

Jack and I went for a swim to clean the mud off of ourselves, but while we were swimming I noticed that I could hear whales.  We called Mom and Dad into the water, and the four of us probably spent a good 30 minutes underwater clinging to the mooring line and listening to the whales.

Jack, Dad, and I were on deck watching the goats run around on the cliffs through the binoculars when the sun set that night.  It looked like it could be a green-flash night, so we put the goat watching on hold and watched the sunset.  Right as it dipped below the horizon it flashed green for just an instant.  It was very inconspicuous, and we weren’t quite sure if that was actually it (I’d always imagined it being a lot more dramatic).  Mom came up from her shower shortly after and we told her that we thought we might have just seen the green flash; she was, and still is, pretty bitter about it.  She’s watched every sunset since.

The following morning Dad dinghied Jack and me to the dock in Fort Bay to get on the Sea Saba dive boat. We had signed up for two dives the day before while we were in Windwardside.

We were diving with two leaders and four other people.  One of the other people was a guy named Patrick whom we had met at the top of Mt. Scenery the previous day.  The first dive site was at the base of the steps in Ladder Bay.  It was a 120 ft dive at a huge coral wall.  We saw a shark, a sea turtle, and a lot of coral.  That one was cool, but the subsequent dive was even better.

Heading to Man-O-War Shoals on the Sea Saba dive boat.

The next dive was shallower (only 75 ft) at a site called Man-O-War Shoals.  It was just inside of Diamond Rock.  The site consists of two 60 ft tall rock pinnacles covered in coral. We dove down and did figure-8’s around them.  There were so many fish and the most colorful coral I have ever seen (it was fluorescent purple, neon orange, red, and yellow).  The dives we did in Saba lived up to their reputation; it really was the best diving we have ever done.

After the dives, the dive boat dropped us off at our boat (since they had pass it to get back to Fort Bay anyways).  Then the four of us dinghied in to shore to get lunch.  Before Lollypop came to get us, we ran into Patrick and his girlfriend at a bar by the dock.  We promised them that we weren’t stalking them - the island is just really small (it has a population of around 1,200 people).  When Lollypop arrived she was dropping off the German couples who had stared at Jack and me as we climbed down Mt. Scenery covered in mud.  Then Lollypop took us to a restaurant called Tropics Café, where we ran into the older couple who had been diving with us that morning.  In the span of a day we had already seen every person we had met on the island multiple times.

The owner of Tropics, Wim, was really nice.  We talked to him for a long time and played with his yellow lab, which only reminded us of how much we miss our dog, Belmont.  Tropics also has a pool, so after lunch we went for a swim.  Then we got tropical drinks and sat in the lounge chairs on the deck, which overlooks the ocean (since the island is so steep, nearly every building has an incredible ocean view).

Swimming at Tropics.

On the ride back to the dinghy dock, Lollypop explained the origin of her name.  In addition to being a taxi driver, she is a caregiver for some of the elderly people on the island.  A long time ago, one of the old men she cared for told her that he thought she was sweet.  She asked him how sweet, and he said, “Sweet like a lollypop,” and the name has stuck ever since.   She also verified that what we saw the previous night was the green flash.  She said that she has only seen it three times in her entire life, which only made Mom even more upset to have missed it.

That day was Super Bowl Sunday, so when we got back to the boat we had chips and dip for dinner and listened to the Super Bowl on the radio.  

The following morning we tried to leave Saba to head to Statia.  We left the same way we came, but as we passed Diamond Rock and turned the corner, leaving the protection of the island, we were blasted with a steady 35 kts of wind and 10 to 15 ft seas.  We promptly turned around and headed back to the mooring.

We spent most of the day relaxing on the boat, but that afternoon we dingied to Wells Bay to go snorkeling.  The snorkeling was nearly as good as the diving.  We saw tons of fish and a few tiny sea turtles.

The next day, Tuesday, was my birthday.  We tried to leave for Statia again, but the conditions were even worse, so we went back to the mooring again.  We spent the day on the boat, and Mom made a ton of food – including a chocolate cake with homemade vanilla frosting.

In the afternoon Jack and I went swimming, and then I tried plugging in my keyboard to play it for the first time since we left home.  After that we had dinner, cake, and watched a movie.

Due to the weather, we were stuck on Saba for the next few days.  On the 8th we dinghied to shore and got lunch at a restaurant called Scout’s Place (the food was incredible).  Then we walked around Windwardside.  The town is so beautiful.  The streets are made from cobble stone, and one of the rules is that all buildings have to have white walls and red roofs, so it feels very quaint.  It’s also incredibly clean, incredibly safe, and full of incredibly friendly people; multiple people who live on the island told us that they never lock their houses or cars – Lollypop doesn’t even have a key to her house.  It would be a nice place to live.

Lunch at Scout’s Place.

Walking through Windwardside.

The next day was pretty uneventful, but in the late afternoon we finally got off of the boat and dinghied to Wells Bay to go snorkeling.  This time we went further around the point and found a bunch of caves and tunnels.  Jack also nearly got attacked by a sea turtle, which was hilarious.

After snorkeling we went back to the boat to dry off, and then we dinghied over to Barefoot, a boat a few moorings over, to have cocktails.  We had talked to the owners on a few occasions as they dinghied by our boat on their way to Fort Bay, and they invited us over just before we had left to go snorkeling.

Pat and Renee are commercial salmon fishermen in Alaska, and since last year they have been cruising when the fishing season is closed.  Right now their friend, John, is with them to help them take their boat to Trinidad, where they will keep it when they go back to Alaska for fishing season.

We had planned on just going for cocktails, but we had such a great time with them that we ended up staying until almost 10 o’clock without realizing it.

We woke up fairly early the following morning and left for Nevis.  The sail was nice (around 10 kts), but we kept sailing through little rain squalls.

At around 4:30 we arrived in Nevis, and after a tense mooring process (which involved the boat hook being bent at a 45 degree angle) we had dinner and planned what we would do when we went to shore the next day.