#and apparently it was just delivered today (thursday)

[dying-suffering-french-stalkers]

The devil works fast but the people at CDJapan and DHL work faster

[wintersera]

your order ma’am || g!p yujin x f!reader

notes: apparently my brain works at ungodly hours like its 8am rn??? ANYWAYS HAPPY BIRTHDAY @pupyuj <33 well happy belated birthday, but oh well

cw: g!p yujin, switch!reader, switch!yujin, praise, crack only bc i laughed a few times while writing, WEED USAGE!!, reader and yujin get high

wc: 1.5k

in the middle of your living room, smoke filled the air as you took another puff from your almost burnt out spliff. your eyes trained on the tv that had a random episode of spongebob on the screen. probably one of the random old seasons, the funnier ones obviously. the moonlight cascaded through your window illuminating the side of your face, blunt as well.

another smoke session today again. and for what? the nth time this week. to be fair it was a stressful month and no one was there to comfort you, except for the frequent delivery guys who’d deliver your food to you whenever you felt the need to snack on something. they wouldn’t comfort you, rather, you’d like to believe they’re comforting you with their presence. presence being them knocking on your door and leaving after 10 seconds.

every delivery was the same, the old ‘shove the bag into your face, ask if it’s you and then leave’.

tonight was different though. you ordered from the same place a good 30 minutes ago thinking your food would arrive on time, you’d gotten accustomed to their arrival times so you could just guess without having to look at your phone. yet the delivery guy never came.

“man.. where the fuck is my food at?” rolling up another blunt since your last one wasn’t strong enough. you sigh and stare directly at your tv once more. heh… funny spongebob episode. your lips met the tip of your freshly rolled blunt, lighting up the end and inhaling.

knock knock knock

the knock didn’t register in your head until you heard the person bang on your door three more times, although they seemed like very hesitant bangs, with an odd spacing between the second and the last one.

“oh fuck” immediately dropping the blunt upon the last knock, which somehow made you panic. why in hell did you think it was the police???

right, because the police were definitely at your house and not the delivery guy with a bag of food waiting for you.

i mean, you are high so…. but anyway, it was raining and you suddenly regained the knowledge that you ordered food. you reluctantly opened the door, with the thought of the police at the back of your mind, to find a pretty handsome looking woman outside your door.

“uh… why are you here” why the fuck did you say that? the taller woman scrunched her nose a little, maybe because you reeked of weed, looked around awkwardly and spoke to you without initiating eye contact.

“you called and i… came to your address to give you the pizza you ordered”

“how’d you know i lived here?” oh so now you’re interrogating the poor girl.

“wha- that’s not… anyway here’s your pizza ma’am” shoving the pizza box in front of your face. classic.

“ohhh shit pizza, okay nice. how much?” words slurring out of your mouth. your hands reached for your purse that you conveniently had in your pocket.

“it’ll be $18” looking around the place as if she had no time to stand around.

oh what the fuck.

where’s your cash gone….?

“don’t be alarmed… but i have no cash” you say with a smile, your eyes half lidded as you chuckle even though the opposing girl was nowhere near impressed. the situation was quite ridiculous to you, but you felt a tinge of regret after saying what you had said.

from what you could tell, it was her first time on the job. you had never seen her come round to your house on a random thursday night, no wonder why she looked so nervous “oh um, sorry i don’t have any cash i could….”

yeah, you’re high out of your mind right now. no coherent thoughts whatsoever, but she’s pretty, and you’re not thinking straight “i mean… i could pay another way. you wouldn’t mind would you?”

you beckoned her inside of your home, taking the pizza box and placing it beside your ashtray on the coffee table “how can you pay me back if you don’t have any cash? are you gonna paypal me or something”

“are you dense by any chance”

“n-no… i’m just confused. wait, why are you taking your clothes off?” you picked back up the disregarded spliff after you took your shirt off, inhaling and blowing the smoke in the opposite direction.

“paying you the other way, duh. like in those stupid porn videos where the delivery guy does whatever they want to the person because they didn’t have any cash on them… you don’t like the idea?”

“that seems really unrealistic and stupid, but um i’m not… uh how do i word this? i don’t m-mind” unintentionally stuttering, bewildered by the situation because honestly what the fuck is going on.

“come here…” you squint your eyes at her name tag “ahn yujin- your name has a nice ring to it” she sat on your sofa, shaking from what could be adrenaline or just anxiety. but considering you accidentally hot boxed her in your small living room, it’s most likely adrenaline.

you slid yourself in between her two thighs, smirking as you unzipped her jeans. you eagerly stripped her from her jeans, following her boxers? it’s 2023 you’re not gonna judge someone for wearing boxers, but-

oh?

yujin’s cock sprung up, which genuinely caught you off guard, moving back a little because of how shocked you were by the sudden reveal. my god, she was huge. bigger than the average man.

considering you were still heavily intoxicated, you didn’t believe it was real at first. you stared at it for a while thinking that maybe you were just- crazy? but no, it was very much real and very much hard.

“d-don’t look” muttering under her breath. yujin covered her face out of embarrassment “i swear it’s not what it looks like- mh”

“you got turned on by me didn’t you” giggling after kissing the tip of her cock “i bet you were waiting for this exact situation to happen, didn’t you?” you say before taking her whole length, the tip hitting the back of your throat with ease.

“f..fuck, it’s- mmmngh” she couldn’t do much, the air was thick with clouds of smoke due to the lack of airflow in your room. it was making her head hazy, unable to think coherently. yujin’s moans were soft and low, her hands roamed around and grabbed your pillow, her hips moved at the pace of your head going up and down, which in fact made you groan in approval.

in the meantime, your hand reached down to tend to your own wetness, caressing your folds as you continued to suck her cock.

without thinking, yujin lifted herself off the sofa. the marijuana made her move without thinking, grabbing you and tossing you onto the cushions “you hinted that i could do whatever, right?” you found yourself shocked, what made her suddenly so confi- the weed you dumbass.

“don’t think you're slick, i saw you playing with yourself” moving aside your panties while licking her lips, yujin shuffling in between your thighs “i think you should come around my cock instead” how, and when, was she this vulgar? she teased your hole before slowly pushing herself into you, her girthy cock filling you up in no time. you both moaned in unison, your fists balling the fabric of yujin’s shirt. it felt… it felt way too big for your tight pussy.

“y-yujin.. you’re too big, it kinda hurts-“ she gave you no time to rest, rocking her hips back and forth as soon as she got comfortable inside of you.

at first she was going slow and steady, but gradually she increased her speed. within minutes of slowly pumping her cock in and out, she was mercilessly ramming into your cunt seconds later. the pain at first was unbearable, she was just that big, but the faster she fucked you the more pleasure you felt. every part of her cock hit every spot you couldn’t find yourself, and god it felt way too good.

“so- so good… so tight.. mmghn fuck, your pussy feels amazing” embarrassingly enough, you moaned so loud at the comment. her praise alone was so comforting and so erotic that you couldn’t help but squeeze down on her length, she noticed how you reacted to her sweet words, wanting more of your reactions “you’re so pretty… under me. all fucked out, such a good girl”

her comment sent you over the edge, rolling your eyes back as your back slowly arches off the sofa. almost inaudible as you bite your lip to mute your own moans. yujin followed shortly after, giving one final thrust into you before stilling her hips and letting her warm cum shoot into you.

“that… was… so good” you mutter between breaths. you were completely spent, your legs were feeling like jelly but somehow yujin was still hard.

“still not enough. you still need to repay me more”

yeah no, you still needed to pay for service fees and shit. thankfully it was her last delivery for tonight.

[jo-harrington]

Standard Operating Procedures 1.06 (Eddie Munson x Store Manager!Reader)

Pairing: Eddie Munson x Fem!Reader

Summary: Eddie’s your boyfriend. Now what?

Previous Part: Disaster Preparedness

Warnings/Themes: AU where the Upside Down doesn't terrorize Hawkins. Reader works at the Claire's at StarCourt. Eddie works at TapeWorld. First Dates and silliness, Sickeningly sweet fluff, miscommunication (not in a bad way), sexual tension, smut, allusion to oral sex, PinV Sex

Note: Here we go guys, the penultimate installment of SMVerse. We only have the finale to go. It's been a wild ride, I'm both ready to move on and give my other stories their attention, and also a little bit loathe to let my babies go. They can always make their little appearances in one-shots in the future if I need them back.

Thank you to @deathbecomesthem and @courtingchaos for looking over a few little things. Your insight is always appreciated.

You can find my masterlist here for more featuring our resident Store Manager and all of my other writing.

Please do not interact if you are not 18+.

Enjoy!

---

"Do I show up with flowers?"

"Flowers?"

"What's that voice, you don't like flowers?"

"Not really."

How you got to become friends with Steve Harrington, you couldn't tell for sure. One day, he was just a frantic customer running around in a Scoops Ahoy sailor uniform worrying about cherry chapstick, and then suddenly he was sitting in your store once a week looking for relationship advice.

Like today, as he tried to figure out plans to win back his ex.

Or something like that.

It was hard to tell with Steve. Oftentimes you got a half-finished story, as though you were some omniscient being that was supposed to know the other parts already. Sometimes he'd be an apt listener with the patience of a saint as you gave him whatever advice you could, and sometimes, he would go off on a one-sided tangent, and thank you for something that you didn't even know had come out of your mouth.

He reminded you of Jimmy a lot, which was why you were as patient with him as you were.

It was fine; it was a Thursday in January and the holidays were over, that meant the mall was dead. You'd hadn't had a single customer yet and a mountain of shipment to process. He could stay as long as he wanted, as long as he kept bringing cookies as payment.

"Everyone likes flowers," Steve argued skeptically after a moment of contemplation. "You're telling me Munson hasn't gotten you roses or something?"

Speak of the devil...

The shop bell rang, a chain rattled, and leather squeaked, and before you could answer, your boyfriend--you were still giddy referring to him like that in your head--himself chimed in.

"If I was a jealous man," he started with an exaggerated glare at Steve. "I would say you're here flirting with my girlfriend."

You rolled your eyes at his antics and crossed your arms over your chest, both Steve and your menial tasks forgotten momentarily, but you giggled nonetheless.

"What are you doing here?" you asked. "Don't you have school?"

"I came to ask you a very important question," Eddie smiled conspiratorially. "But imagine my surprise when someone else is sitting in my spot."

"It's not your spot. And I'm giving him advice."

"Again?"

"He's hopeless, apparently."

"I'm right here," Steve exclaimed and got to his feet, ready to leave. "I didn't come here to be made fun of. I actually need help."

You were about to deliver a snarky remark to your friend when Eddie held a hand out towards you and led Steve out of the store.

The shop bell rang again and you sighed, lamenting your conversion for the millionth time.

You'd just bully Eddie into buying something small.

After a short time, Eddie returned to the store and approached you with a smug smile on his face.

"What?" you asked.

"Oh, nothing," he replied nonchalantly. "Just playing Cupid, that's all."

"Look at you, hopeless romantic." You opened another box and gleefully picked up a little purple jewelry carding that proudly displayed fuzzy red heart studs. You held them up to Eddie's face and squinted one eye.

"What are you doing?"

"Valentine's Day is coming up," you explained. "Trying to see if my resident Cupid here would look cute in heart earrings."

He slapped your hand away and chuckled.

"You know I would," he teased and then fluttered his lashes at you coquettishly.

"Does that mean you're finally gonna let me pierce your ears?"

"Mmmm, does Claire's have a lobotomy option I could consider first? Maybe next time, sweetheart."

"I knew you hated needles," you shot him a teasing glare. "Alright, why did you skip school today? Spill. What is this very important question you wanted to ask me?"

Eddie shoved his hands in the pockets of his jacket and rocked on the toes of his boots, then began pacing around nervously. Which made you nervous in turn.

"You know, you just mentioned Valentine's Day," he began. "And...actually yeah, they're starting to talk about a Valentine's dance at school. It's corny, they always do it. Paper hearts and cherry punch and sugar cookies and bad love songs.

“And the guys were asking if I was gonna ask you. Well, Henderson more than anyone. I think he has a crush on you if I'm being honest, even though he insists that he has a girlfriend in Salt Lake City, do you believe that? Little liar. Isn’t the whole bit that the fake girlfriend lives in Canad—”

"Eddie," you snapped him out of his tangent with a laugh, trying to calm the butterflies in your stomach. "Are you asking me to the dance right now?"

Ok, a high school dance...wasn't exactly your idea of a good time but...the idea was a bit of a novelty. They didn't have dances like that at your very Catholic, very-all-girls high school. Even prom with the neighboring boys school was...modest dresses and suits and a nice dinner at a banquet hall. No real fun, no real dancing.

Last time you really even danced with someone was at a party Jen dragged you to and then you ended up in a heated makeout session that maybe went a little too far. And wasn't remarkable.

To go to a school dance with Eddie...that would be so sweet and fun. A do over for some non-existent or downright mediocre experiences.

"No, I'm not actually."

Never mind then.

"But it reminded me," he abruptly turned to face you. "That we haven't gone out on an actual date yet."

"Wh...Eddie what do you mean?" you scoffed. "Did you hit your head? We went out on Christmas Eve. Dinner at Benny's."

Eddie had picked you up for work with a thermos of hot coffee that day, you both worked until the mall closed, and then went straight to the diner. The jukebox played Christmas carols only and Ben had two special holiday prix fixe meals: a classic Pot Roast dinner and then one with a little more Benny’s flair—Christmas Dinner style omelettes, candied yam hash browns, and hot cocoa with peppermint whipped cream. You and Eddie ordered one of each and shared.

But you were both so tired that you didn't even talk; you just sat on the same side of the booth snuggled against each other, dozing off and picking at your food until Benny came to wake you both up when he was ready to close.

When Eddie dropped you back off at home, it started snowing right when you kissed goodbye. It was the perfect date.

"I've decided that it isn't our first date," he announced.

"And why is that?"

"Because we didn't even say anything but 'fuck that guy wanting to make a return on Christmas' and 'pass the salt.'"

"You also realize that we've been going out every Sunday since last..." you paused briefly to think back. "May? First week of June?"

"Those don't count either," he shook his head resolutely. "In fact those were specifically not dates."

Funny, that’s how you always thought of them too.

You were about to give in and agree, about to tell him "whatever you say Eddie." He did make a good point and it wasn't like he was calling your relationship off, he just wanted another chance at a first date. What was the harm in that?

But he beat you to the punch, suddenly nervous under your scrutiny.

"Listen, I know it's silly," he crossed his arms over his torso and shrugged. "I just...want to get it right. Make you dinner, see a movie, I know you just told Harrington you don't like flowers but...a bouquet of cookies or something?" He reached over and flicked the bag of cookies on the ear piercing station. "Make you a mixtape, I dunno."

"You made me a mixtape already, Ed."

"Yeah but I want to give you the kind of mixtape a guy makes for his girl."

You melted at his words and fought the smile that threatened to bloom on your lips and butterflies that suddenly fluttered in your stomach.

"And what's on that one that's not on the other one?" you teased, intentionally obtuse.

"You know...ballads and...sappy love songs and..." He froze and you watched as he flushed prettily. "You're making fun of me."

"It's really fun to do," you told him matter-of-factly.

Eddie ran a hand over his mouth and then looked around. He leaned back to glance out into the mall, and then faster than you could react, he ran right up to you, cupped your face in his hands and smooshed his lips to yours in a kiss. You dropped the jewelry you were holding and covered his hands with yours; you took two little steps to get as close to him as you could, and sighed as he broke away to continue pecking at your lips between his words.

"You're a menace." Peck. "You're a trickster." Peck. "And I'm picking you up for a real date." Peck. "Our official first date." Peck. "On Sunday."

You were joined together once again and he paid special attention to your lower lip, sucking on it in a way that made your spine tingle.

"Hmmm," you pulled away, trying to ignore the heat that was overtaking your body. You were still at work, after all. "Sunday huh? I thought Sundays didn't count."

"Well they count starting now." He stole another peck and then backed out of the store. "You have a great day, sweetheart. See you later."

---

Everyone teased you for your entire shift on Sunday.

Mindy was the first, having already unlocked the gate and counted up the registers for store open.

"Oh lookie here," she whistled. "Miss Lovebird is all dressed up for her date with the wannabe-rockstar."

You did a little spin and a pose for her; not dressed in your Seventeen Magazine best, but something a little more comfortable--still a dress, just a little more you--so you wouldn't have to frantically change for your date.

Chrissy offered to do your makeup on break and then confessed that she had a first date fast approaching too.

"No more Jason?" you asked, trying not to sound too hopeful as she swiped eyeshadow on.

"No, he was kind of..." she sighed. "He wasn't what I thought he'd be like as a boyfriend. I don't think I would've had the courage to end things and go after someone I really liked if I didn't work here though. I've...gained a lot of confidence since being here."

"I'm glad," you beamed at her.

Stacey even apologized for all the jokes she'd made about Eddie before she left at the end of her shift.

"I know I give him a lot of shit, but Munson's actually alright," she sniffed uncomfortably, as though complimenting him was something she was allergic to. "That thing he did at Christmas...the Santa thing? That was really sweet."

"Yeah it was."

Finally, 6pm rolled around and the gates closed. The rest of your team went home and you were left counting down the registers in anticipation as Mindy gave you a talk very reminiscent of the Birds and the Bees that your parents gave you once upon a time.

Before you knew it, Eddie was standing outside with his hands shoved in the pockets of his leather jacket, and you flashed him a quick "five" to let him know you wouldn't be long.

"Ok listen," Mindy got real close to you know, hand on your shoulder, lips close to your ear as she whispered. "If you guys wanna do the ol' Horizontal Tango tonight--"

"What are you 75?"

"--at the very least do it in a bed and not the back of his van, ok?"

"I swear to god," you mumbled under your breath.

"Invite him back to your place. Light a candle. Ambience. Make sure you have condoms."

"Melinda!"

She started cackling.

"I mean, I guess you don't have to have--

"Utter one more word and you're fired," you pointed at her threateningly.

Mindy immediately held her hands up innocently and then dragged her fingers across her lips like a zipper.

As you finished counting down the registers though, you wondered if you'd only shut her up because she was crossing a line...or if it was because she was actually really good at reading the secret expectations that you may or may not have had for this date.

It was just a first date, nothing was gonna happen. You could think about all of that next time. But…what if…

The store suddenly became unbearably warm.

Before long, the two of you ducked under the gate and Mindy simply waved goodbye while holding back her laughter as Eddie approached you.

"What was that?" he asked, thumbing over his shoulder at her. "Everything ok?"

"She thought she was being funny, but instead she's just an asshole," you explained, trying to laugh off the awkward conversation and illicit thoughts that still lingered in your mind.

"Ah," he nodded slowly, his eyes squinted for a moment and you swore you saw the gears turn in his head. "Yeah...Kyle did the same thing for me too. You remember when I found out the kids had a bet against us? Apparently the whole team had a secret bet going too.”

"And Kyle won?" you questioned eagerly, glad for a change of topic.

"No, Paulie. But P gave me a cut, thanked me for being such a stick in the mud and holding out as long as I did."

"How much?"

"Fifty bucks," he pulled a roll of bills from his pocket. "Gave it to me today and told me to take you someplace nice. Which was the plan anyway, if you were wondering."

The two of you stood there awkwardly for a second before Eddie cleared his throat.

"You look nice sweetheart," he said with a nervous smile.

"Thanks, so do you."

And he did.

He had his leather jacket over a fitted forest green henley, with ripped black jeans and boots. You'd never considered green to be such a favorable color on him, his usual outfits consisting of blacks and reds and the occasional blue, but it was dashing. Brought out the glowing warmth of his eyes, the tiny honeyed flecks that often got lost in chocolate depths.

"I, uh, have something for you," he announced, fishing something out of his pocket. "I didn't have time to do a new mixtape, so you'll have to take an IOU for it. This...might be a little cheesy... but...well, close your eyes."

You followed his instruction and felt him grab your hands and lift them up. He positioned them just so, and then left you standing there as he prepped whatever your gift was.

"It's not my usual thing," he muttered as he fumbled with what-sounded-like a rustle of paper. "But the guys helped me clean out the van--"

"You cleaned the van?" you scoffed. "For me? Eddie I've been in your van before."

"Hey listen," he suddenly sounded offended. "First date and such, you deserve the best."

"I like the clutter in your van," you told him truthfully.

"Listen, if I hadn't cleaned it out I would've never been able to gift you with this, the Mirror of Galadriel. Well it's more like a hand mirror. Hey no peeking!"

He continued telling you about the way Lucas and Will, crafty as they were, helped him make this little surprise during the break of their Friday night session of Hellfire.

"Apparently Sinclair's little sister and her friends make these for each other, and he's helped them. Which, ask me to paint minis for DnD any day; this shit was hard. There. Open your eyes now."

He slipped something over the tips of your fingers and when you opened them you found...

"A cootie catcher?" You asked with a laugh. "Eddie..."

You were about to ask what the deal was when you noticed it wasn't just a folded piece of paper littered with numbers and words, but taped and glued together with bits of familiar papers.

You brought it closer to your face for further inspection, flexing your fingers this way and that to see the bits folded inside.

Was that the logo from Pizzeria Uno? And...a movie ticket?

"Eddie...what...?"

"Ok, it's not just garbage," he assured you. "I know I don't really clean out my van that often. Shit, there was homework in there that I was supposed to turn in last year. No wonder I had to repeat again. But I guess I never realized that after our not-dates, I sort of left a few things in the glovebox or emptied my pockets in the back to throw out later.

"This...this is from our first outing for pizza. And when we went to see Day of the Dead. I cut up the order form when you paid the last installment on Sweetheart. And this? The menu from that one takeout place we ordered from? That night when...you know...before we went to Chicago? A-and a Chef Boyardee label. Y'know from that one time we ate dinner at your place? Well, actually, I don't think it's from that night.

"I-I know, I'm a walking contradiction," he concluded with a laugh. "I said that this was gonna be our first official date and here I am with a reminder of all the times we weren't dating but...I guess I figured...our times together as friends are just as important as any date. So now that...you're actually my girlfriend, I needed you to know you'll still always be my best friend too."

You felt your eyes water and your heart pound in your chest.

"Do you like it?" he asked nervously.

"It's only," you let out a watery laugh. "Only the best gift I've ever gotten."

"Seriously?"

"Yeah."

"Not even the Boston cassette I got you?"

"Not even that," you shook your head. "Seriously Eddie...it's perfect."

All you wanted in that moment right there was to kiss him.

And you would have, but the lights in the mall concourse dimmed, signaling customer hours were over and that everyone needed to leave.

"You ready?" he backed away from you and held his hand out, fingers wiggling and eager to twine with yours. You gladly took it, expecting to hold his hand as you walked out towards the employee lot, but he surprised you by twirling you in a circle. He spun you into him, tucked against his side, and draped his arm across your shoulder.

You were sure it was gonna be a perfect night. Again.

Because he was perfect.

---

Turns out the Cootie Catcher wasn't just a gift with little mementos of your friendship, it was the means of which the two of you would decide the fate of your date night.

"I'll pick first," he explained. "And then you pick next ok? You just gotta trust me on this."

Throughout the night you both picked numbers and pinched the corners of the cootie catcher back and forth, back and forth, until you came up with the next activity you would embark on.

"Dinner at...the Hideaway," you read the first outcome that had come up. "The Hideaway? I thought it was the Hideout."

"No, they're two different places," Eddie explained. "Damn, you've almost lived in Hawkins for a year now and you still don't know? I'm a really bad Welcome Committee."

Turns out the Hideaway was a sports bar on the outskirts of town. The bar itself was a little crowded with patrons drinking beers and watching football on the twin tv's that were mounted overhead, but there was a tiny little dining room off to the side that was practically empty.

As you scanned the menu, your eyes immediately caught a glimpse of The Wayne under the sandwich header.

"Wayne as in...Uncle Wayne?" you asked with a laugh, and Eddie couldn't have looked any prouder if he tried.

"Yup," he puffed out his chest. "Nothing amazing ever happens in Hawkins, but if you can guess the Super Bowl winner accurately at the beginning of the season for 5 years in a row, you get a sandwich named after you at a bar."

"Shut up," you laughed. "He did not."

"Swear on my mother's grave," Eddie leaned forward and challenged you.

You both ended up ordering the Wayne, and Eddie spent most of dinner telling you Wayne's Scientific Method to choosing the winners, and then the way the winning streak broke.

"He put twenty dollars in a pool at the plant," he explained. "Figured he'd been guessing right at the Hideaway for so long without getting anything more than a free dinner out of it, he might as well try to win a little cash. Turns out fate only meant for him to win a hearty chicken dinner and nothing more, so he didn't try to tempt the Gods again lest he incur their wrath."

The sandwich was delicious, the company even better. And you held hands across the table pretty much the entire time.

---

Back and forth, back and forth the cootie catcher went, and you groaned when you saw the outcome.

Bowling.

"I'm not good at it Eddie," you tried to persuade him to choose again. "I'm gonna embarrass myself."

"Too bad, I'm not good at it either. We'll both look like idiots together."

"I'm wearing a dress Eddie."

"This is our destiny!" He exclaimed with a tone of finality, hand on the gearshift to put the van into drive. "And before you try to fight me on it, I'll even let my chivalry take a hit and let you pay for the first round of beer."

Knowing that a win was a win, you agreed.

Reluctantly.

The Roane County Bowlarama was something out of a time capsule, though, and that in and of itself was a novelty. Casino carpet and funky modular chairs and a neon light that sat over the pristinely waxed hardwood lanes in a very kitschy style that proudly advertised the Bowlarama's foundation in 1960.

It certainly smelled like nostalgia in here.

Eddie went to get your shoes while you meandered to the little concessions counter to get two solo cups of cheap beer and a soft pretzel with plastic cheese for the two of you to share.

As you got your score cards written up, you confided in Eddie that the only time you'd ever been bowling was for a birthday party for a classmate when you were in the 7th grade.

He just laughed and told you it had been the same for him too.

He pointed down to one of the lanes where a family was happily bowling with their two small children.

"If you go over there, I'm sure you'll still see the dent in the floor where I dropped the ball," he whispered. "It was too heavy and I went to go bowl and it dropped out of my hand and almost cracked the hardwood. And I vowed never again."

"Then why did you put it on the Cootie Catcher?" you asked incredulously.

"Well, we've gotta look stupid in front of each other sometime, right?" he reasoned.

“As though we haven’t done that already.” You shook your head. "Eddie Munson, you are something else."

"I know." He bowed proudly and then went to take his turn.

At the end of ten frames, you turned in your scorecards and your shoes at the counter, all the while snickering as the attendant read out your abysmal scores.

You'd beaten Eddie, sure...but it wasn't hard to beat a zero.

Was he really that bad at bowling or had he let you win? You’d never know.

---

It had been a great night but it was getting late by the time you got back out to the van.

Normally, you wouldn't mind a longer Sunday night out with Eddie, even if you had work and he had school in the morning. Honestly, you couldn't quite give a shit if you were tired for a Monday morning call with your boss or to unpack shipment boxes.

Still, you stopped Eddie before he could fish the Cootie Catcher out of the cupholder on the console.

"What's wrong?" he frowned. "You getting tired? Too tired for a late night snack? I put Dairy Queen for ice cream and Bradley's for a mystery snack adventure as options."

He wiggled his eyebrows suggestively, trying to entice you into letting fate take you once again.

The thing was...ending the night wasn't really the thought on your mind. It had been a great night out, reminiscent of those few early Sunday nights, cruising around Hawkins and finding someplace new you hadn't been yet.

But part of the fun of some other not dates with Eddie were the times you got to spend alone. Even recently, as you started cuddling and making out on the couch or stealing kisses in the food court at the little table hidden closer to the JCPenney entrance while sharing cheese fries, it was the intimacy and closeness you cherished. Those times spent together were spent in a world just for the two of you.

And as the night went on and you came to that realization, Mindy's words echoed through your head: Horizontal Tango.

God, ok, that was not the way you wanted to think of it, but it did get your mind on that night. The last time things had started getting heated between the two of you, the night you thought everything had been ruined before you both realized that there were some actual feelings deeper than friendship there.

That had been...nice.

Sure you'd been high, but laughing and groping and kissing and grinding...

Yeah it was more fun to do all of that with someone than to take care of things on your own with your imagination or one of the bodice rippers you secretly bought at Waldenbooks at your disposal.

One of the bodice-rippers with a love interest that your brain had started to fill in with a certain metalhead that was your then-crush and now-boyfriend.

Suddenly the more you thought about it--actively thought about it--sitting here in the van with Eddie, surrounded by the scent of his cigarettes and his Old Spice cologne, having just had probably the best date you could ask for...you realized that you wanted more too. With him.

More than a quick fuck at a party or a romp on a couch.

You wanted Eddie.

First date be damned.

"Sweetheart?" Eddie pulled you from your thoughts. "We can call it if you want. If you're too tired to drive, I can take you home now and...I'll pick you up for work tomorrow before I go to class."

"Uh." You worried your bottom lip, at a loss for words, as your hand still gripped the top of his over the center console. He was being so kind, so chivalrous, so thoughtful with this whole date, all of these sweet plans...you didn’t want to undercut the effort he’d put in.

How did one just ask their boyfriend to have sex with them?

"Do you wanna have sex?"

The words escaped your mouth as though you were on autopilot, and both you and Eddie stared at each other dumbfounded as the question hung heavily between you.

Well that was one way to do it.

"Wha...whe...like? Here? Now?" He stared at you wide-eyed as he questioned. There was a beat and then he shook his head and stared down at your hands in silence.

What you wouldn't have given at that very moment to hear the thoughts that were clearly racing through his head, as he visibly tried to compute the situation you were both in.

You felt your chest get tighter and your heart raced.

See? First date, no fooling around. You should have trusted your instincts.

"I mean...yes,” Eddie finally blurted out. “But it wasn’t on the cootie catcher.”

It was silent for another moment, then you both broke down in hysterical laughter.

Unintelligible words were shared as you both relived the last few tense moments with intense clarity—basking in the silliness that could only be shared between the two of you—and then you both seemed to have a lightbulb moment. Eddie turned in his seat to grab something from the back of the van while you dug for something in your bag.

It was a race to see who could get there first, and Eddie won as he fell back into the driver's seat with a sharpie held in the air like his ultimate prized possession. You abandoned your own search and began carefully unfolding the cootie catcher and before long, on the inner most flaps, new adventures for the night were written.

Blizzards at DQ was soon scribbled out in favor of Your Place.

And Mystery Snacks from Bradley’s replaced by My Place.

Eddie started situating the fortune teller over the tips of his fingers when you grabbed his wrist.

“What if we don’t end up getting either place?” You asked a little stupidly.

“Well then I guess we’re gonna head to the civic center and play Boggle with Gareth’s mom and dad, Sweetheart,” he snarked. “Pick a number.”

Back and forth the cootie catcher went as you called out numbers.

Until Your Place sat proudly on display between you.

“Alright then,” Eddie placed the cootie catcher back into the cup holder and then clapped his hands. “Your place it is.”

---

For as bold as you both had been in the van, it was unexpectedly awkward when you got into your apartment.

It was a moment of being in a place you'd both been a hundred times together before, but the implication of why you were there made it difficult to simply begin.

You both ended up on the couch for a while, watching some late night reruns and sharing a pint of Rum Raisin until you were calm and comfortable enough to share tentative kisses and touches in front of the glow of the tv.

"This isn't..." Eddie chuckled when you found yourself horizontal on the couch and he kissed his way down your neck and across your décolletage. "This isn't like a porno."

You both broke down in laughter again and he admitted that that thought had been on his mind all night, along with the possibility that this would be waiting for the two of you at the end of the date.

"I had that thought," he continued once the laughter had subsided. "Last time we were like this. That's...do you remember I...god did I honk your boob?"

"You did," you remembered fondly, even though the outcome of that encounter was anything but a fond memory.

"I think that's why I did it," he ran a finger along the neckline of your dress, which caused goosebumps to erupt along your arms as you shivered with anticipation. "I don't need to be anything with you except myself. I don't have to be the...hot boyfriend or the hunky pizza guy or anything. I'm just me, and you're just you."

"You can't make me cry before we fuck," you told him matter-of-factly, and dragged him back up so you could kiss him again.

"Actually," he broke away again and his brows shot up into his bangs. "That's another kind of porno. We can add that to the list for next time ok?"

That set the pace and the expectation for the rest of the night: intimate moments punctuated by words and laughter.

There was no rush, so you took your time to explore one another's bodies. You moved from the couch to the bed and clothes came off one piece at a time, including socks which both of you agreed was the least seductive piece of clothing to remove.

"But I did read about this thing with tights once," you bit your lip in too-little-too-late realization, after you'd chucked your pantyhose into the corner of your bedroom. "It was kind of hot."

"I'm making notes," Eddie tapped his temple twice. "Don't worry. Next time."

And if you ever had the impression that Eddie was a bad student, all of that doubt vanished because he was incredibly studious when it came to your body. Both of you were as you licked and kissed and groped. You took the time to find spots that were sensitive or ticklish, that generated moans or giggles.

Boy, did you find out how much he liked to giggle.

You traced along the hazy ink of his tattoos with the tip of your tongue, in awe of the imagination that he'd put into each piece of artwork permanently etched on his body as he stammered out a brief story of each one. He told you about something he wanted along his ribcage, and when you went to kiss along the proposed path, he burst into a fit of laughter that almost rocketed him off the bed.

Soon there were more panting breaths than breathy laughter. As Eddie took his time worshipping you, committing every dip and curve and crease of you to memory--just like all the other things that he seemed to take note of--and the way you hiccuped and moaned as he lavished you with attention.

You both became teachers, showing one another just how you found pleasure alone--Eddie quick to admit that his solitary ministrations might have been done to the thought of you--before tonight. You were both happy to oblige each other's desires with your hands and mouths.

You quickly realized how much you liked the way that he stuttered your name as you suckled the head of his cock, and he seemed to take that as a challenge when he kissed and sucked your clit in return, the first partner you'd ever had to think to do so and not just fumble with zero thought or coordination.

"I'm a sex god," he boasted, chin resting smugly on your mound after you'd finished riding the crest of your first orgasm. "What can I say?"

"You're so full of it," you scoffed. "But you can say whatever you want if you just promise me you'll do that again."

"Oooh, gonna especially take note of that one," he said mischievously as he walked his fingers up the length of your body and then took your hand in his, both of you ready for the pièce de résistance of the night.

It was a lazy kind of fucking, even though the two of you were as wound up as you were; however, considering that you'd both had an entire day of work and then a lengthy date and foreplay, neither of you could complain.

You could have headboard-banging, heart rate-climbing, frenzied, nasty sex anytime you wanted for however long you'd be together.

"Hopefully forever," Eddie whispered against your mouth after you'd reassured him of just that, as he sank into you and realized that he was more comfortable in the cradle of your arms and thighs than stiffly knelt above you. "You promise?"

"Hopeless romantic," you muttered in return. You moaned as he slowly bucked into you and created a delicious drag of his fingers on your clit again. "But yeah, I promise."

There were very few words after that, just sounds. Pants and sighs and sucking kisses; a few swears as you both found the peaks of your pleasure, and finally an "is there any more of that ice cream" once Eddie collapsed beside you when it was all over.

You both couldn't help but brag how great it had all been come morning, when he drove you back to the mall for work.

Or when you showed up at his place the following night to do it all over again.

Next Chapter: Longevity

[dreaminginthedeepsouth]

Charles P. Pierce: Hard after Thursday night’s television debacle, the Supreme Court leaped in to destroy the separation of powers and, as Elie Mystal pointed out on Xwitter, to engage in the biggest power grab since Marbury v. Madison. Through the now-customary 6–3 vote delivered by the carefully manufactured conservative majority, the precedent of Chevron v. Natural Resources Defense Council, aka the Chevron deference, is now as dead as Julius Caesar. And thus forty years of administrative law comes to a rude and abrupt end. The decision further illustrates that the dedication of the carefully manufactured conservative majority to corporate oligarchy is utterly unshakable, expertise—scientific and otherwise—be damned. Don’t believe me? Ask Chief Justice John Roberts, who wrote the majority opinion.

“Perhaps most fundamentally, Chevron’s presumption is misguided because agencies have no special competence in resolving statutory ambiguities. Courts do.”

So instead of career scientists deciding that the E. coli convention in your pork loin makes it inadvisable to eat, some twenty-two-year old law clerk fresh out of Regent University School of Law will. Bon appétit!

Getting rid of Chevron was one of the golden dreams of the country’s oligarchs and the judges and lawyers in their pay. Along with Roe v. Wade, it was number one on the conservative hit parade. But Justice Neil Gorsuch, whose concurrence is chock-full of the kind of tinhorn erudition so beloved by the carefully manufactured conservative majority, has perhaps a special reason to dance on Chevron’s grave. His mother, Anne Gorsuch, was hired by the Reagan administration to run the EPA—into the ground, apparently. From The Washington Post:

Anne Gorsuch—like Reagan then and President Trump today—was a firm believer that the federal government was too big, too powerful and too eager to issue regulations that restricted businesses. As a result, she slashed the EPA’s budget by nearly a quarter and, according to a Washington Post story at the time, boasted that she had reduced the thickness of the book of clean water regulations from six inches to a half inch. She filled various departments at EPA with subordinates recruited from the very industries the agency was supposed to be regulating.

By the end of her stint at EPA, Anne Gorsuch was under siege. A half dozen congressional committees were looking into allegations of mismanagement of the Superfund program, which was designed to clean up abandoned toxic waste sites around the country. The House voted to cite Gorsuch for contempt of Congress for failing to turn over subpoenaed records.

In addition to its dollar-store history, Gorsuch’s concurrence pretty much turns the concept of stare decisis into Silly Putty. Return with us now to those thrilling days of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, Justice Neil Gorsuch, your host.

"Other consequences followed for the role precedent played in future judicial proceedings. Because past decisions represented something “less than a Law,” they did not bind future judges....At the same time, as Matthew Hale put it, a future judge could give a past decision “Weight” as “evidence” of the law....Expressing the same idea, William Blackstone conceived of judicial precedents as “evidence” of “the common law.” And much like other forms of evidence, precedents at common law were thought to vary in the weight due them."

Matthew Hale died in 1676. He was a notorious witch hunter and once argued that the existence of laws against witchcraft proved that witches existed. What the hell he has to do with PFAS pollution or workplace safety in a chicken plant is beyond me. But we live in his universe now, and Neil Gorsuch got his own back for his mom.

https://www.esquire.com/.../supreme-court-chevron.../...

[onboardsorasora]

Enchanted AU: Christmas!

We have a posting schedule! that I will hopefully be able to stick to! I will be posting on Mondays and Thursdays. This will also pressure me keep me on a schedule to write lol

Part 1 | Christmas Parts 14 | Part 15

Part 16

Max pressed a palm gently into Daniel’s side and pushed him back onto the sidewalk and out of the way of an upcoming cyclist. They were out in the shopping district and Daniel was doing that thing again, where he was looking above them rather than in front. The city had started putting up their holiday decor, so there were new things to enjoy. Up ahead in the city center they were erecting a fairly large tree. It was impressive, Daniel looked plenty impressed, if a bit unnerved.

Grabbing his shoulder again, Max turned Daniel into the store he had requested they go to. They were buying Christmas decorations today and Daniel had been extremely excited. They’d just come from a shop where they ordered a tree to be delivered and now it was time to find things to decorate it.

“What colours should we get, Maxy?” Daniel asked excitedly, he was looking around with wide eyes, hands clasped in front of him as if to keep himself in check and not touch anything. Max thought that was fair because there were quite a few things in the store that looked breakable if you even looked at them too long. 

“How did you even know about this store?”

“Sophie suggested it.” Daniel was biting his cuticle again, looking at Max as if he was waiting for him to disagree with the shop choice. Max shrugged, if his mother suggested it, then it more than likely had what they were looking for.

“I dunno. Maybe gold, I think?” Max said, answering the original question as his way of confirming that he didn’t mind the shop.

“Yeah, but gold and what? We can’t just have a gold tree, Maxy.” Daniel teased, a grin on his face and a sparkle in his eye. Max smiled back helplessly and shrugged.

“I dunno, red maybe?”

“Gold and red it is!” Daniel sauntered off, looking at everything with a bit of childlike wonder. Every now and again he would zero in on something as if listening, before walking over to far corners of the shop and picking things up. 

Max wandered around as well, picking up little knick knacks style ornaments that caught his eye. Things he thought Daniel would enjoy as well. He made a small offering pile at the cash register. Similar to the piles of dead things the cats used to leave him. Max smiled at that.

Daniel wandered over eventually with a small shopping cart filled with decorations. All in their own packaging, it looked overwhelming. But Max trusted that Daniel knew what they were for. He watched as Daniel took in the small pile of trinkets. His eyes furrowed then widened in happiness. He looked to Max in confirmation that he could touch one.

Daniel took a small cat ornament into his hand, it was gold and shimmered in the lights.

“This is Sassy.” Daniel smiled then picked up the almost identical red ornament. “And Jimmy.” he looked up at Max through his lashes before looking back through the rest of the trinkets selected by Max. There was a paper plane and a bird. Daniel felt a flutter in his chest, he was touched.

He noticed the display that Max had apparently taken the ornaments from and scanned it quickly. His honey orbs locked on one in the shape of a car, it wasn't a race car but it reminded Daniel of that day in the mountains more than anything. And it was blue. 

He placed it in the pile and watched as Max took it in and a smile slid on his face as he placed the memory as well. There was a small blush on Max’s face as he put the car back within the group of red and gold. Daniel felt his heart swoop in his chest. Oh no.

He bit his cuticles as Max paid for everything, trying to not wince at the total price of the haul. Max didn't bat an eyelash so Daniel would try to not make a thing about it.

They managed to fit the bags in the car and Max led Daniel around the shopping center in search of a restaurant to have lunch at. They got a seat on the patio of a bistro and Max pulled out Daniel's chair for him.

“There's a Christmas market being set up, we can go there if you want?” Max asked offhandedly, skimming through the menu. Daniel looked over at him with a smile.

“That would be fun, we could go when everyone comes? The boys would love it.” Daniel rested his head on his upturned palm. Max tried his damnedest to barely look at Daniel more than a glance. He knew he would stare otherwise.

“Yes, that sounds good, I think. We could do it and the tree lighting maybe.”

“Ace!” Daniel grinned then placed his order when the waiter came by. Daniel tried to ignore how domestic it felt, having lunch at a restaurant with Max. It felt like a date almost, but Daniel wasn't going to think too deeply about it.

It would be what Michelle always called a ‘day date' (not really) where you run an errand and maybe get a meal. And you talk and enjoy each other's presence. If this were a date (it wasn't) then this would be a nice one. Daniel would still tell Michelle about it, but he'll make sure she knows that it was all platonic and non-date-like.

They continued to chat about the upcoming holiday season and all the things Daniel wanted to do for the boys. It was a lovely afternoon, the air was getting cooler and Daniel knew soon he wouldn't want to come outside without a hoodie. As it stood, he was ok right now as long as the sun stayed out.

There was a stiff breeze and Daniel shivered, his oversized T-shirt no match for the cooler seabreeze. Max's laugh rang out happily as he noticed. 

“Daniel it's not even that cold yet.” Max teased. Daniel smiled sheepishly and shrugged.

“I'm baby ok!” Daniel complained with a pout. He watched as Max stood from his seat and took off the lightweight cardigan he had been wearing over his tshirt. The same cardigan Daniel had teased him for wearing, citing that he didn't need anything for the current temperature. Daniel had gone to Jimmy and Sassy and ‘whispered’ conspiratorially that he was better at Max in the cold.

Daniel's face reddened as Max dropped the body warmed fabric over his shoulders. It smelled like Max's cologne and deodorant. He looked up at Max's crinkley eyed smile, back lit by the bright blue sky and reminded himself multiple times that this wasn't a date. Max was just a nice, lovely, considerate person.

This wasn't a date, this was just friends getting lunch. Friends who happened to live together– temporarily. 

“Thank you Maxy.” Daniel said shyly. This wasn't a date.

“Oh, of course, it is no problem, Daniel.” Max said, slipping back into his chair. His shoulders seemed to broaden and get bigger now that they weren't being hidden by his sweater. Daniel looked away from Max's chest and biceps that were now indecently front and center. This wasn't a date.

But if it was, it would be simply lovely.

Part 17

[nazukisser]

➺✧ ┅ CHAPTER 04 | Dating

SYNOPSIS | “Duke, will you marry me?” You never thought you’d be saying these words until now, when you’ve realized you’ve been reincarnated as the first side character to be killed in a series of tragedies in a novel series called “Trails of Misfortune & Misery”. As a lady forced into an arranged marriage with the greedy son of Duke Drakos who aims to use your power as a sorceress to gain the Emperor’s favor and is eventually is killed as a sacrifice for his schemes, it seems the only one who can truly assist you is the Duke of Suou, Tsukasa Suou.

CHAPTER WARNINGS | attempted murder

PAIRING | Suou Tsukasa x fem!reader

LINKS | series masterlist | taglist form | prev chapter

You didn’t know when it started, but you could feel the sensation of being alive- the feeling of breathing, the sound of breaths, your head against the pillow, the blankets against your body. You were stiff, and it was bright- perfect reason to get up. Yet, it was difficult to- moving was hard, and going back to sleep sounded absolutely perfect. Yes, you’d stay in, even if you couldn’t sleep. There was nothing to do anyways, and Callie would keep you alive (bringing you food). 

“My lady, you have a guest,” Callie walked in, abrupt as usual. A groan escaped your lips before you could decide to pretend to still be asleep. It would’ve been nice if you could. Before being asked, she added, “It’s Duke Suou.” 

You bolted up. The Duke of Suou was here? Unprompted? You hadn’t set the day to today, right? No, you hadn’t. You’d set it to the end of this week; it was Monday today, and if you remembered correctly, the day had been set to Thursday. What could possibly bring the Duke of Suou, probably one of the busiest men in the entire world, here to your home on such a day, without an apparent reason? He was coming in completely unannounced, and to be frank, it was a bit rude. 

“He sent a letter,” Callie said, as if she read your mind. That was both a little scary and useful at the same time. But when did he send it? That was the question.

“At 5 in the morning,” she looked you right in the eyes. She wasn’t lying or joking. What kind of guy was up at 5 in the morning? Did he even sleep at all?

Well, technically, he didn’t break etiquette- since it was an unspoken rule that a letter be delivered hours before arrival- but it made the point of the etiquette completely useless if you didn’t read it before his arrival. You sighed. This guy was surprisingly dumb in all the cutest ways. 

He was already there, what could you do? You just had to meet him right? But he was waiting, and it was totally rude to keep a guest waiting for long. Before you knew it, you found yourself stepping into the one of the waiting rooms, the one where Tsukasa was waiting. You greeted him with a bow, as all the noble ladies do, and he made the effort to kiss your hand. Ah, yes, like how fiances should be. The two of you were fiances now, as per the contract that had yet to be written… 

He had a bit of a blush on his face, some hesitation. What was wrong? Was it hot? 

You asked what brought him to your estate this morning, and he simply answered, “I wished to see my wonderful fiancee,” A bouquet of flowers fell into your hand, red camellias. He came here… just to see you? Was he not busy? There was nothing urgent for you to handle? He simply wished to see you? 

You looked at his eyes. Somehow, they sparkled- somewhat starstruck. The currently romanceless Duke, in love with you? Perhaps he was simply stuck in the act. He didn’t need to try this hard; all you needed was to borrow his name. 

He looked at you for a moment a little too long, long enough for you to wonder what he was staring at you for. Was there something on your face? He swallowed.

“Uhm, I was thinking… if it isn’t too much, would you like to visit the shops in the Capital today?” Your eyes widened a little. He went through all this effort? To take you out on a date? 

Well, first off, were you free? Technically, you’d set it as a rest day, but it wasn’t work. You could rest tomorrow, and knowing him, he would allow you to rest whenever you needed… and surprisingly, as much as you wanted to sleep, you were surprisingly energetic. Perhaps, was there leftover adrenaline from last night, or were you unaware of your own excitement for today’s proposed plan? 

Whatever the case, Callie urged you to go. She looked at you with such intense eyes, which seemed to say “It’s better if you go.” Wow, Callie. Was she that desperate to go to the stores? Did she have something to buy? You sighed.

Sure, you’d go along with him. You were about to tell him to start going, until you realized- you were still in your nightgown. Ah, no wonder he was blushing. Though, the dress just looked like a dress, something you could wear outside into society in the 21st century, nobody ever wore just one layer here, sadly. You sighed, as you asked Callie to come with you to get dressed. 

Oh, he’d been waiting for a while, right? Had he had breakfast yet? You asked, and he nodded his head “no”- and to be waiting there without anything to eat or to do, it was a good time for him to have something, wasn’t it? He was known for having a bit of a sweet tooth, and it would be a perfect time to ask him what his favorite sweet was; after all, he’d asked you yesterday, and it would be unbalanced if you didn’t know his, right? 

So, you asked, and he displayed a bit of hesitation- was it too out of the blue? Perhaps he just wasn’t expecting it- or maybe he doesn’t eat sweets in the morning? The rumors could always be wrong; but considering how he’d sent a letter at 5am, this could possibly be revenge- if he didn’t like it. Though if he did, revenge failed but information required- and mission accomplished (found something to keep him busy while you got ready). 

Parfaits- strawberry parfaits. It was oddly fitting- maybe it was that it was red, just like his hair, sweet like him, or maybe it was the vibes in general. It was hard to tell, but that didn’t really matter. What did matter was that you had now obtained that information- and of course, since you asked, the parfaits would be prepared as well. One thing about being a noble was that you could ask for anything and it’d be made. It was nice, having a chef work in the mansion. 

Tsukasa had a smile on his face as you left; it was surprisingly sweet, and it lingered in your mind for a while. Perhaps he was just cute; he may be the youngest Duke in the Empire, but at the end of the day, he was just Tsukasa Suou. 

Callie came with you upstairs, where you got ready. Especially because the Duke was here,  not just Callie worked on your appearance but multiple other maids as well. It was ridiculous how long it took to look decent enough to not get stares… especially when you were with the Duke. The higher your rank in society, which was pretty high at the moment, especially since the incident with Erebus and your involvement with Tsukasa, the more you were expected to dress up. Those trillionaires wearing sweatpants like normal people better be grateful they have the option to. 

The maids were awfully busy, one doing your hair while another was fixing up your dress, the other preparing the bath and another sorting through all sorts of fragrances and herbs and such. There was no use arguing with them. It gave you time to ponder about things, and they would “uphold their honors as maids of this house”. It was a sense of pride about their work, it seemed. It might be cruel to deny them of that. 

By the time you were done, you didn’t even want to look at the time. In what seemed like just a few minutes, Callie had changed herself into clothes for going outside, so quickly and efficiently. Working for a noble’s house was awful, but there were a couple of benefits in some areas- that being one of them. 

You arrived outside with Callie, meeting Tsukasa outside. The butler reported that he “ate the parfait to the last drop”- it seemed he was satisfied. Well, that was good. He offered his hand to help you into the carriage, and it would be a waste not to take it, especially since the step was quite high for the heels you were wearing. When will the era of comfortable fashion arrive?

You waited for Callie to arrive, but before you knew it, she was gone. You asked Tsukasa, and he promptly answered “Ah, I’ve prepared a separate carriage for everyone else who will be joining us.” Ah, so that was where she went. You could see her so clearly, bragging about having ridden the Duke’s carriage, one of the most luxurious in the Empire. No wonder she wanted to go so badly. 

How many people were there? Was there really that many accompanying you, or did he want to be alone with you? If so, was there something with the contract he wanted to discuss? 

You asked, starting with the amount of people he was bringing along. There were knights riding alongside the carriages, but he said that he was planning to use the other carriage as storage… was he planning on buying something big, so much so that one carriage was not enough? Perhaps he did have some things to buy for himself… after all, running a dukedom required the purchase of many items, though it was quite the mystery of what exactly he’d need. 

Once again, you asked why he visited today. There were no eyes to pry, no rumors to circulate. Over the horses, the carriage driver wouldn’t be able to hear you unless you yelled. He gave the same answer: he simply wanted to see you. Was he free? Was he not a busy man? No, he was very busy, he said. Then who was doing his work? His assistant? You asked if he was really here about the contract, and he shook his head “no”. There really was no reason for him to be here, then- to be spending money to bring you to places. The Duke of Suou was strangely irrational. 

The carriage ride there wasn’t far, at least, since your home was near the city. By near, it was like an hour, but it wasn’t like it was much longer than an hour drive back home- although it was a little bit more bumpy. Nonetheless, this was the technology of the day, and there was nothing better available. The lack of modern technology really highlighted how good it was when you had it. 

It wasn’t long before you’d arrived, Callie right behind the two of you. He got off first, and you took his hand as you stepped down from the carriage. It felt good to be walking again, after such a long time sitting on the bumpy road. 

You found yourself looking for Callie, who was always with you. She was strangely useful, always knowing what you needed, sometimes even before you knew. She exited the carriage later than you, surprisingly, laughing and talking with the knights and other people the Duke had brought with him. Nobility was like being lifted and getting all sorts of nice things, but really, what was the use if it was so lonely up there? 

It was a little less lonely when he asked for your hand again, and you put your hand on his arm as most noble ladies do. He was satisfied, a smile on his face had formed. Perhaps it was cute. Before long, Callie joined right behind you, along with the knights as they kept a little bit of distance. It seemed she was having a good time. Perhaps they had a lot of good stories to tell. Seemed like it too; Callie always enjoyed a good story.

You’d gone to the square, where boutiques and shops of the latest and upcoming fashion trends were, highly rated restaurants filled the air with the aroma of sought-after dishes, and the work of artisans on display for those passing by to see.  

“I have a place I would like to show you… do you mind going with me?” he asked. Callie smiled; it seemed she would know what was going on. The knights whispered with her. Ah, it seemed they knew what was going on. Callie better spill the beans about this later. 

You agree to going with him; after all, he was the one who wanted to take you there. It wasn’t like you had any plans. He knew the way, and Callie and the knights followed the two of you (somewhat closely). The shops were pretty, and once in a while you took a moment to see the window displays. They’re like something that could get you famous, if you posted a picture on social media.

Before long, you arrived at a place called “Lili Boutique”. Lili Boutique… as in, the famous dressmaker Lilianne de Rass? Her reputation was widely known, and if you were lucky enough, you’d have to wait months to even have an appointment with her.

You looked at him as if saying “Are you serious?”. He had a smug smile on his face, proud of himself that he was able to reserve this on such a short notice- literally, hours. That wasn’t really any notice, though. It was easy to imagine- if you were Lilianne, you’d be flipping out on such a short notice. Additionally, Lilianne’s brother in law, Kaysian de Rass, is a Marquess- only second in power to a Duke- literally, only a Duke could pull this off. 

“Ah, yes, reservation for Duke Suou, correct? Come right in. Lady Lilianne is in her work area. She’ll be with you in the display area shortly,” one of the employees greeted you, dressed in a design you’d never seen before. You asked about it, and she’d replied, “Yeah! The lady lets us wear new designs to test them. There are a lot of them, and we get to keep them. She’ll keep making new versions until she’s satisfied.” Ah, that was nice of her. By the looks of it, the girl really enjoyed working there. A bright smile shone on her face; it wasn’t hard to tell that this was where she found her happiness. 

Before long, you and Tsukasa had reached the waiting room, with dresses and suits on mannequins, displayed with jewelry from the partner store down the street and hats from the store Lilianne’s best friend was also selling in the same space. Really, no one went to Lilianne’s Boutique just to buy a dress- they went for a whole look. 

Lilianne didn’t follow the trends- she created them. Thanks to her house’s connections, she was able to start the trend of “more comfortable fashion”. By more comfortable, she meant that the corsets didn’t hurt as much, and flats rather than heels were becoming more preferred. The dresses were lighter, and sometimes, she made the “joke” of a suggestion of wearing pants under the dress- just in case something undesirable happened. Though, maybe, that wasn’t a joke on her part. 

Measurements in one hand, her bun almost falling apart, even wearing pants strangely similar to sweatpants and a shirt strikingly similar to a sweatshirt, Lilianne ran into the room. There was no other lady in high society who could be excused for looking like such a mess. She’s gained a reputation for being a hard worker, busy as always, and if she wasn’t busy with work, then something unimaginable would’ve happened. 

“Oh gosh, Tsukasa, you’re really too much,” she laughed. Tsukasa’s mother often went here to buy dresses, perhaps they were close. “I heard you got a girlf- fiancee like, last night? What are you, seriously.” she grumbled. 

“You’re still quite ahead of me, Mrs. de Rass,” Tsukasa laughed, and Lilianne laughed along with him.

“Well, Carsein and I definitely didn’t get engaged overnight… unlike you two,” she chuckled. “Anyways, what are you looking for?” 

You couldn’t answer that- after all, you were the one who was taken to this place- but Tsukasa did. 

“I’d like to have a few dresses made for her.”

“Anything you want specifically?”

He looked at you. Uh, whatever was trendy? Though, this really wasn’t the place for that, especially because this place was known to create the trends, not follow them.

“The best I have? Well, you have to give me something, girl. I don’t just whip up ideas like magic,” she sighed. She spoke so “modern”... rumors say she was found on a lake maybe she was reincarnated there. That wasn’t part of the novel… 

Well, perhaps it would be good to look at the practical side of it. You’d be wearing it with Tsukasa, who had always worn black, purple, or red. Those were his family colors, the ones on the Suou flag. He was praised from a young age for possessing those same colors, purple in his eyes and red in his hair. They believed he was born to be the true representative of the Duchy of Suou. 

If you were to match, perhaps red would be the choice. No matter what he wore, it’d match with him. Plus, you’d met in a field of Red Camellias. It would be good publicity if you had requested something to do with those… perhaps it was a little bit special. It wouldn’t be too much if you requested something meaningful from the Empire’s greatest dressmaker, would it? 

“Oh my gosh, y’all are literally so romantic,” Lilianne smiled. “Anything else?”

You turned to Tsukasa. At this point, that was all you had. He probably knew more about dresses than you; though, maybe the original owner of your body was more acquainted, but the Empire was far too complicated with matters like these. 

“I trust that you’ll be able to create a dress from that?” he asked Lilianne. Wouldn’t that translate to “Just work with it”? Lilianne sighed and gave up asking. 

“Alright, let’s get your measurements,” Lilianne got up to get the things she needed. Despite the amount she talked, she was incredibly quiet and focused on her work. Perhaps that was what passion did to someone. By the time she’d written everything down, you’d had enough time to look at the dresses available. Shopping was incredibly slow paced, but at least you weren’t rushed. You could take your time, and nobody would ever put blame on you. After all, the place was fully reserved. 

There were a few dresses that caught your eye by that time, and Tsukasa was fully prepared to pay for it. But you could pay for it yourself. You were of noble origin, and that did mean you had a thing called: money. You asked for Callie, and for a moment it seemed like she wasn't there. However, when she appeared, she was wearing an entirely new dress. It was gorgeous, actually. 

You asked if she had brought money for you, from your own allowance, and she said, “Yes, I knew you’d want me to bring it.” So, you made haste in telling Lilianne that you’d pay for your dresses, until Tsukasa started insisting to pay for it. As you were negotiating with the Duke, Callie butted in, “Can you pay for my dress, and he pays for yours?” 

You were done. You were done. You were done arguing. You were not going to deal with this any more. It was like talking to a wall, and then another wall showed up. Hands up, you agreed. Fine. Tsukasa objected with, “I’ll pay for yours as well-” until he was interrupted with Callie’s signature glare. 

He shut up pretty fast. That was the only way to describe it. Callie knew how to talk with eyes; she was pretty good at it. Maybe she could teach you, though she’d likely respond with “There are better things for you to learn, my lady.” 

You walked out with a sigh, and it had been hours that you were in Lilianne’s Boutique. After that argument, it was quite awkward, between you, Callie, and Tsukasa, but as soon as you left, he seemed like he remembered something. 

“My lady, would you like to visit Diamond Lotus Bakery? I heard they have wonderful sweets here,” he offered his arm for you to hold, which you took. It felt nice, actually. Diamond Lotus Bakery was quite a popular bakery, and many couples and families often went there to visit. There was a large variety of sweets not only from the Empire but sweets also from neighboring and far away nations. It was truly a one-of-a-kind place. You’d heard a lot about the person behind it all, Mio, who had moved to the Empire at a young age and pursued both baking and music, and every item sold and every piece played had been made by them. Yet, despite the popularity of this mysterious figure, no one had ever seen their face. Every note from Mio was signed off with a doodle of a cat, and all the people who worked there had simply begun saying their boss was a cat.

It was definitely a nice place to go to, and so you accepted, especially because you hadn’t eaten in hours, and after that “argument” with Callie and Tsukasa, putting something in that stomach of yours would help. 

You and Tsukasa sat down at your own table, while Callie got her own. You were given a menu, which listed all kinds of sweets and snacks. They all looked so good, and it was easy to tell that Tsukasa had decided on what he wanted quickly; it seemed that he was a frequent customer. 

Before even you and Tsukasa had managed to order something, you found yourself looking in Callie’s direction, ordering for herself. Huh, you didn’t know she was fond of hot chocolate with extra whipped cream and marshmallows. It was surprising how little she let other people know about her. 

Before long, someone came to take your orders, and by the time that was done, Callie had taken out a book and started reading. You wondered what it was, and Tsukasa had read it aloud before you’d figured it out. That idiot- what if Callie had heard him and realized you were trying to figure out what she was reading? 

It wasn’t until the sun started to set that the thought about going home occurred to you. Being outside in the dark was dangerous, actually- bandits roamed the roads around that time, trying to get unsuspecting and tired travelers. It was hard to see, which made them harder to identify too. So, as much as it was fun being out now, it was better to head home before it got dark- and so, you, Tsukasa, and Callie headed out. 

Luckily, by the time you’d gotten back home, flopped onto your bed, you hadn’t been attacked and arrived home safely. Tsukasa’s “I’ll miss you” expression, which effectively doubled as a “please please please..?” expression, was strangely memorable. It’d taken almost all of your energy to change into pajamas, and before you knew it, you’d hit dreamland. 

You felt the bed move, something got on it. It was cold, and the moon shone in your eyes; it was hard to stay asleep, yet it was still hard to see. You just knew that something was wrong, and before you knew what was going on, your hand was over your throat, and your hand had been stabbed by a knife. 

Before you knew who it was, the person bounced off, managing to hit the plants by your balcony doors before leaving, yet as they left, their hood loosened and a necklace shown, and there was only one person who had that necklace- Mairi, the original protagonist of the story, and your “longtime friend”- who was supposed to be at the Academy.

WORD COUNT | 3994 words

NOTES FROM QIAN | hi this series is extremely self indulgent. if you would like to join the taglist, please send an ask, thank you! [ tags in the reblogs ]

[mariacallous]

U.S. President Joe Biden delivered one of the most political—and politically significant—State of the Union addresses in memory on Thursday night, laying out in the starkest of terms the stakes of the forthcoming election for the United States and the entire world.

Considering that the United States is not under direct threat of war, perhaps what was most striking about the speech was that Biden opened it by invoking President Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s State of the Union from January 1941, ahead of America’s entry into World War II. “I address you in a moment unprecedented in the history of the union,” Biden quoted FDR as saying.

“Now, it’s we who face an unprecedented moment,” Biden said. And then, without ever naming him, Biden cast his almost-certain 2024 opponent, former President Donald Trump, in the menacing role of Adolf Hitler and the Nazis. If that were not enough, Biden immediately went on to identify Trump and his “Make America Great Again” (MAGA) movement with the Confederates who seceded from the union.

“Not since President Lincoln and the Civil War have freedom and democracy been under assault at home as they are today,” Biden said. “What makes our moment rare is that freedom and democracy are under attack both at home and overseas at the very same time.”

In other words, the president seemed to be saying, the nation faces in Trump an even more perilous threat today than FDR and Abraham Lincoln—generally considered two of the greatest U.S. presidents in history—did individually. Biden then proceeded to lambaste his “predecessor”—as he repeatedly called Trump—over and over. Biden accused Trump of “bowing down” to Russian President Vladimir Putin over his Ukraine invasion; fomenting political violence at home (“You can’t love your country only when you win,” Biden said); sounding like a fascist by saying immigrants are “poison in the blood of our country”; and shrugging his shoulders over endemic gun violence.

Biden repeatedly sounded the theme of the combined domestic and foreign threat posed by Trump: that is, peace in peril abroad, democracy undermined at home. “If the United States walks away, it will put Ukraine at risk. Europe is at risk. The free world will be at risk, emboldening others to what they wish to do us harm,” he said. “History is watching. Just like history watched three years ago on Jan. 6, when insurrectionists stormed this very Capitol and placed a dagger to the throat of American democracy.”

One thing is clear: Biden and his team were intent on overcoming, all at once, the cascading doubts about his age (81) and his record that have left him with grim approval ratings, virtually turning him into an underdog against Trump with just eight months to go. The president waited until the end of his nearly 70-minute speech to confront the single biggest issue of his reelection bid—his age—but he did it forcefully and without any obvious flagging of energy.

“I know I may not look like it, but I’ve been around awhile,” Biden joked, giving his big, white-toothed grin. “When you get to my age, certain things become clearer than ever before. … My fellow Americans, the issue facing our nation isn’t how old we are, it’s how old are our ideas. Hate, anger, revenge, retribution are the oldest of ideas. But you can’t lead America with ancient ideas that only take us back.”

Will it work to save his presidency? Biden’s 2023 State of the Union, despite getting rave reviews, didn’t affect his low approval ratings much. This address, however, landed at a very different moment. Coming only two days after Biden’s big wins on Super Tuesday and the departure of Trump’s last Republican opponent, Nikki Haley, from the presidential race, the speech also served as a harsh reality check for the American electorate. For the first time, it is apparent that Biden isn’t going anywhere and that Trump will be his opponent eight months from now—that only this halting 81-year-old man stands between disaster and the continuation of American democracy, in the eyes of many Americans.

The obvious bet of the Biden campaign is that the threat of a would-be autocrat—much like an imminent hanging—concentrates the mind wonderfully, in Samuel Johnson’s formulation. Suddenly, people no longer have the luxury of wishing they had someone 30 years younger, or more inspirational, to vote for. It’s just Joe and Donald now. People are clearly not excited about a Biden second term, even most Democrats. But if that is all they’re left with—if the choice is a bad cold versus cancer—then the course suddenly becomes clearer.

“People always like to say that they have to choose between the lesser of two evils,” Norm Kurz, Biden’s former Senate communications director, said in an email. “Biden’s refrain that voters should not compare him to the Almighty but to the alternative will begin to resonate.”

His speech recalled past moments when U.S. presidents sought to clarify the stakes at an existential level. None more so than Lincoln’s 1862 State of the Union address, when he said, “The fiery trial through which we pass will light us down in honor or dishonor to the latest generation.” Or John F. Kennedy’s warning in January 1961—at the height of the Cold War—that the nation faced “an hour of national peril and national opportunity” when “we shall have to test anew whether a nation organized and governed such as ours can endure.”

Yet it was also a measure of the delicate balance that Biden has been forced to achieve in his presidency—restoring America’s traditional global cop role while playing to the neo-isolationist sentiment that Trump has awakened—that the president deferred to the millions of voters who believe the United States is overextended in the world. He touted his “Buy American” neo-protectionist approach to national security, saying, “Past administrations including my predecessor … failed to buy American”—and even as he pushed again for a $60.1 billion aid package to Ukraine, he repeated that American troops would not get pulled in.

Biden also sought to stamp out a brewing progressive insurgency over his pro-Israel Middle East policy—hundreds of thousands of primary voters registered their discontent with him on Tuesday, and protesters Thursday sought to block his motorcade to the Capitol—by announcing the creation of a pier off the coast of Gaza that would “enable a massive increase in the amount of humanitarian assistance” going to besieged Palestinians.

Here, as well, Biden pledged, “No U.S. boots will be on the ground.”

Biden spent the majority of his speech in more traditional State of the Union fashion, spelling out a positive agenda that contrasted with Trump’s “ancient ideas” and reminding voters of his greatest accomplishments. Among them, “the most significant action ever on climate in the history of the world”—cutting carbon emissions in half by 2030 and creating tens of thousands of clean-energy jobs—and his Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, including 46,000 new projects “moderniz[ing] our roads and bridges, ports and airports, public transit systems,” as well as a spate of new gun laws. Biden boasted about preserving NATO—“the strongest military alliance the world has ever seen”—and introduced the prime minister of Sweden, the alliance’s newest member, who stood up grinning and waving in the gallery.

The president also announced plans to increase taxes on corporate wealth; remove tax breaks for Big Pharma, Big Oil, and executive pay; and noted he has signed into law a bill that dramatically reduces the cost of prescription drugs. He also hit Trump hard on reproductive rights, which polls show have hurt Republicans badly, saying abortion opponents have “no clue about the power of women” in America. Biden declared, “I will restore Roe v. Wade as the law of the land again.”

On the issue that has most frustrated him, the economy—which polls show a plurality of voters believe Trump would be stronger on despite strong growth numbers—Biden continued to insist that it’s just a matter of time before voters realize how good they now have it. “I inherited an economy that was on the brink. Now our economy is literally the envy of the world. Fifteen million new jobs in just three years—a record, a record. Unemployment at 50-year lows,” he said. “Wages keep going up. Inflation keeps coming down. Inflation has dropped from 9 percent to 3 percent—the lowest in the world.”

The rhetoric was rousing, even incendiary, possibly a little desperate. But Biden, let’s face it, will never be a great speechmaker. The stiffness, slurring, and occasional stutter that seem to make every Biden speech a breathless high-wire act—one never knows if he’ll get all the way through a sentence without stumbling—were all there Thursday night, accompanied by an occasional coughing spell between applause lines.

Yet the president also didn’t commit any major gaffes and finished as strong as he started. The president was effective, too, in repeating his tactic from last year’s speech in mocking GOP lawmakers who shouted out insults, especially given how ineffective and obstructionist the Republican House has been. Without quite saying so, Biden came close to emulating President Harry S. Truman’s successful 1948 tactic of attacking the infamous “do-nothing” Congress. Over and over, Biden challenged the Republican-led House of Representatives to pass long-stalled legislation, especially the Ukraine national security aid. In any case, the Republicans were repeatedly drowned out by chants of “four more years” from Democrats, which also gave the whole affair the flavor of a campaign rally.

Biden’s State of the Union address was always going to be less about what he said than how he said it—how he spoke, how he walked to the podium, how he responded to his hecklers—and by that measure he succeeded. Above all, Biden was plainly showing his confidence that American voters will come to see, finally, that his programs are working.

The challenge for Biden—and Americans—is that his opponent, the previous president, is now deploying similarly apocalyptic rhetoric. In a speech in late February, Trump also drew comparisons to World War II, saying, “This time, the greatest threat is not from the outside of our country, I really believe this. It’s the people from within our country that are more dangerous. They’re very sick people.” And following his victories in 14 states Tuesday night, Trump said that under Biden the United States had been reduced to “a third-world country.”

The data of accomplishments are clearly on Biden’s side. Even so, Biden can no longer be as confident—as he was after the 2022 midterm elections—that it’s just a question of time before voters appreciate his policies. The day after the midterm elections, Biden projected confidence in the country’s direction, responding “nothing” when asked what he will do differently in the next two years.

That tactic didn’t work. It remains to be seen whether the president’s new one will.

[sagescented]

Lily is just so intent on getting the Cats to play with her. I think I'm going to go insane trying to keep them separated, and keep my hip from screwing back up in the process. She won't settle, and keeps chasing them and cornering them under my Husband's desk. Then when I try to kennel her for time out, she runs up the stairs- and I can't get her when she does that, because of my hip.

I don't get it. She was so good this weekend. And then the second my Husband goes back to work, she's decided she no longer wants to listen and just wants to be a handful 🫠 I love this dog so much, but goodness.

Worse: I completely forgot to grab the cash out of the ATM for the Tulip Bulbs I ordered from the Festival fundraiser, that were supposed to be delivered to me today 🤦‍♀️ Hopefully they'll get my message to put me into the Thursday delivery group instead- especially with it being election day. Otherwise I'll have to turn down the delivery and go on without them.

Today's shaping up nicely, I guess ... I'm going to go make myself a cup of black Tea and download the new Sims expansion.

ETA: Woo! Tulip lady said they can definitely deliver Thursday instead. So I've got a little more time. Crisis averted on that part, so long as I actually remember to pull it out this time; apparently my Husband didn't remember the conversation at all.

[starsreminisce]

I don't typically delve into many theories, and when I do, I usually keep them to myself because, honestly, I have that much faith in the author to craft the story much better than I can. However, Elucien has pretty much become my brainrot, so here we are with theories and fanfics!

Below is my HoFAS Bingo Card!

While I hadn't initially considered rereading ToG, I'm starting to feel like maybe I should at least read ToD and KoA. If I find the time for it, I suppose.

Anyway, today marks the beginning of my ACOTAR and CC reread! I'm having trouble deciding whether to place ACOSAF after ACOWAR or between the two CC books. After HOEAB for that breather and give that illusion of time passing but it's so short ...

I love how, as a collective, we all subscribe to the "no body, no death" rule for Cormac haha.

Lord, help me understand the whole First Light Second Light concept because that just flew over my head when I first read it. Bryce's power also just flew over my head.

Also, going to be looking for some things pertaining to Lucien (duh), Elriel (because apparently, if I dig deep and really look for it, it's there), Multiverse ideas, etc.

I've got my Notion Board for my annotated notes all set up. I've requested Thursday and Friday off since my book will hopefully deliver that Wednesday. Hopefully, I get to pick up on more things!

[stxsis]

It is just under two weeks until this fucking wedding and I am SO DONE I legitimately do not even want to be a bridesmaid anymore like this has destroyed my relationship with my sister and now I don't even have my sister to complain to about it because she's the one I would be complaining about.

ALSO I now surprise have to take some certification exam in the next two weeks or I might lose my job. Apparently it's a 5hr long exam that will cost me $150 at the same time that my sister is making me spend money on a professional hair and makeup artist and also the alterations on my bridesmaid dress that I look awful in. Not to mention the two (2) pairs of shoes I've now bought for this wedding because the first ones weren't the right shade of nude.

If I fail this exam that I've barely had the chance to study for, I will not only have to pay to take it again, but I will have to wait 30 days to do so and in the meantime will lose my job because I didn't get the certification by this deadline nobody apparently knew about.

All of this stress combined with a 13hr work day on thursday and my chronic illness means I woke up this morning sick as a dog with a throat full of blisters, but I pumped myself full of medication so I could go for the second day in a row to pick up this stupid fucking dress that I still look like a sausage in, even with expensive shapewear that I've now spent money on too.

I literally tripped on the lining yesterday because it was too long. It got caught on my heel and I nearly fell on the seamstress so I asked her to shorten it an inch or two, a decision my mother agreed with, and we were both pleased with the result today.

I get home. Mind you I am walking into a shit show because my dog is LIVID that I left her on a Saturday and she tore open a freshly delivered box of coffee protein shakes and now there are cardboard chunks, pee pad shavings, and coffee everywhere and my sister FINALLY calls me back... but she isn't calling to return my ignored distress call from yesterday, oh no. No, she's calling to address her concerns about how short the hem of my bridesmaid dress now is.

I tell her what happened when I went to pick up the dress yesterday and why I shortened it and said I didn't understand why she was freaking out about the hem of my dress and she was clearly offended and was like I'm going to have to talk to you later and I said okay and we hung up. Can someone please set me on fucking fire????

[thirstyforred]

the fuck i going on with my packages? i was supposed to get 3 different things this week, one today from FedEx, one tomorrow and one Thursday or Friday, both by DHL

FedEx just mailed me yesterday afternoon that package is still in Florida and won't arrive on time, and I was like yeah 👍 your timeline sounded deranged from the start, but then today 8am there was delivery guy at my front door, so im asking if this is some black magic bs or your tracking is so wack

now im checking DHL app to see if i correctly changed options and Wednesday package will arrive at Packstation and apparently there's already something waiting for me there? they delivered tomorrow's package? but i didn't get email about it like usual yet?

and i don't want to go out rn and check bc according to app ANOTHER package, and im assuming the Thursday/Friday one, is also on it's way to me NOW

i don't want to complain but hey, what the fuck

[the-haunted-office]

Antares haven't been stopping by the Office as often ever since it had grown clear that he'd been overstaying his welcome (at least concerning Thursday, at least). He'd only wanted to check in for a moment , hoping he could raid the fridge for a moment with no incident.

But something wasn't right here...the lights were dim and the air was...lukewarm at best. Antares looked up at the ceiling, possibly at a security camera if there were any around.

"Dorian?" He didn't often talk to the Office itself before but he has talked with it before. "Dorian, is something going on?"

As it turns out, there is a security camera in the employee lounge, but Cyrus isn't observing it at the present. He is too busy focusing on the area of the Office where the energy jet is. All of his attention is tied up there, despite knowing that he should be keeping an eye on everything else too. He just can't bear the thought of looking away, of knowing that he might miss something should he look away.

For Dorian, however, it's a different story. It wants to do anything it can to look away from the enormous spear of energy piercing through its body, and so Antares's arrival is very much a welcomed distraction.

It replies immediately, "Oh, h-hello there, Antares. How- How are you today?" it asks out of practiced manners. "Mmm, couple things going on, you might say. There's, ah, you've probably felt things are a bit warmer in here at the moment. I apologize for that, bit of a stress response from me, but I'm- I'm doing my best, I assure you, to bring the temperature down. If it, If it gets to be too much, I can, you know, open some windows for you or something."

"Suppose the bigger problem might be that there is a, ah, a sort of spear of energy of some sort lodged in one of my hallways and it's- it's quite painful, as you can imagine, and it's causing the stress response. Not good, it's not good, mate, I'll be honest. It's gone and killed one of my humans and now we can't find her. She just didn't come back like the humans usually do around here, you know? Which is quite odd. So, I think it's safe to say, that you should probably stay away from that area. Yeah. Please don't go near it."

Dorian delivers all of this information in a very straight-forward manner, although it's definitely apparent that it sounds stressed, in pain, and sad. Very sad.

[tiikerikani]

New Job, (the rest of) week 1

There were a couple more people at the office on Wednesday, and a few others were at the other office to deliver the training sessions for the folks there.

__________

Thursday there were a lot of people, not least the people from Corporate. Not only are Thursdays apparently popular for in-office time, I think they sort of try to get everybody in when Corporate is visiting so that we look busy.

I have a BUS PASS now and I can be downtown AS LONG AS I WANT without having to watch for when my transfer expires.

Boss said she'd rather I prioritize selecting a proper documentation authoring and management tool (this was one reason they were in such a rush to hire somebody for this job) and that I'm the expert and responsible person here so I get to make a case for one tool or another. I don't know what 100% of the requirements are (I may have ADHDed out that part of the conversation from Monday) but I have the general idea.

But like I'm feeling completely in over my head. I've never managed documentation libraries nor used specialized documentation tools, having mostly done stuff in HTML/Markdown/other plaintext formats and Word files for customers, and have not been involved in publishing them. I got some software suggestions from people on Mastodon and I think I've found one that seems to have the right features and, from messing with the demo, easy enough to learn (though the latter is the least of my worries; I'm good at figuring out how to use things).

__________

At FOUR EFFING A.M. last night (yes that's how poorly I'm sleeping ... still... and I get a bit clumsy at this point in the insomnia cycle) I spilled my vitamin water on my computer keyboard. Anyhoo, cleaning that up took another couple of hours so I slept maybe like an hour?

I figured I can lie in a bit and just get to the office later today but despite taking a detour and extra connection to buy breakfast I still somehow managed to make it there only 10 minutes later than yesterday while having left the apartment about 15 minutes later. Just got really lucky with the connections I guess.

I was literally alone at the office today and I told my boss that something had come up at home and I really hadn't slept at all and she let me go home early to catch up on sleep. A nice(?) thing about smaller companies (esp. in tech) is that developers like to work weird hours anyway so they are pretty flexible about hours in general. (We have the smaller-company vibe because we're still fairly autonomous despite the corporate overlords.)

I still need to finish making the documentation tool presentation for Monday but I can do that at home later. I was planning to take the laptop home for the weekend anyway because I don't want to do my presentation from the middle of an open-plan office lol.

Anyway the keyboard works again after it dried out but it smells faintly of fruit punch and some of the LEDs are a bit fritzy (at least one of them flickers). I've never cared too much for the RGB blinkenlights anyway. If I just set all the keys to glow just green you won't even notice some are kind of dead because it's the blue that tends to die first (including the fritzy one).

I should get a smaller keyboard anyway, this one is so clunky and is rather deep so it's a real tight fit to have both it and my painting tray in front of me on the desk when I'm working from reference pictures. But it's not a huge priority.

[namuneulbo]

week one hundred and nine

ive decided im gonna add the title bff to l for a bit now so its easier to tell apart my bff l from my talking stage l lol.

all i remember from monday was that n made me pick my fav trigun character. apparently im wolfwood lovercoded so she was happy i picked him.

tuesday was my high school grad! i wore a big white button-up as a dress w a black tie and my cowprint heels. i liked the outfit a lot!

the ceremony was wayyy longer than anticipated. afterwards my mom took some real awkward pictures of me. later we went for food, we were gonna get mexican but ended up going to this asian fusion place that turned out to be shit TT

we walked through some stores afterwards and then sat at a café for a bit before i had to leave to catch my piercing appointment. i got my right lobe and my belly pierced!! it hurt less than i expected it too which was nice. i got pretty anxious afterwards though bc i thought my ear would heal like shit bc of how close it seemed to the other piercing but its fine now lol.

wednesday we (me, i, bff l and c) hung at bass place and watched the annual president ball hand shaking thing. my old drum teacher was there??? i devoured some cucumber w dip and then i was nice enough to drive us to the music quiz. me and bff l ended up joining l and a. they played hash pipe by weezer right as we joined them which i got really excited ab!!!

i had an oral exam on thursday and i was so terrified ab it. me and d hadnt practiced beforehand but we ended up passing and i think our convo still ended up quite good. the criticism i received afterwards was ab how i said "이 아침" and "이 밤" instead of "오늘 아침" and "오늘 밤". its all good though, ended up getting an a on it so :D

friday i went to a second-hand shop to look for clothes but i had forgot that the one i went to doesnt sell clothes so i ended up looking and cds for a bit. i found born this way on cd and snapped l like "omg lol should i buy it?" but he didnt answer until i had left so i had just kind of left it behind bc i didnt think it was worth it but then later when he answered he was all like "OMG NOOO U SHOULDVE GOTTEN IT SO WE CAN MATCH" TT. so, on saturday when i went out to go thrifting, i stopped by that shop again and got it.

on friday evening me and l watched the perks of being a wallflower. i really liked it and the soundtrack was so good. its one of his favorite movies and i had either way been planning to watch it. he asked me actually last week if i wanted to watch it together w him but we ended up not doing it but i was glad he still remembered on friday.

btw we exchanged twitter on friday. i had to delete all my tweets ab him beforehand so ended up leaving him on delivered for like an hour TT sorry, pookie, im just embarrassed if u see all the tweets ab u of me going "HES SO HOT HE JUST SENT ME SUCH A CUTE PICTURE OF HIS OUTFIT OMG HES SO-."

after buying the cd on saturday i went to one other shop and there i got an anklet and a flannel. i wouldve gone to a third one but it was closed. i wouldve gone today instead buttttttt it closes so early. it closes and 4 pm and i woke up at 12 pm and spent a good... two hours (?) getting ready and the stores quite far away and its massive so i dont think id be able to look through it in time TT maybe im just making excuses.

l and i didnt really talk yesterday, only like... three snaps each and some tiktoks. he was out on bereal yesterday though so im assuming he was just busy and also its good to not,, feel like u constantly HAVE to talk to keep it going, yk? im working a lot on my anxious attachment and its actually gotten way better over just the past few weeks id say bc im starting to really feel like the feelings are thoroughly mutual. with that said... i do hope we talk more today lol. i love talking to him.

sotw: weezer - hash pipe

[staytheb]

Just A Little Bit; Falling For You - Chapter Four: spring term

Word Count: 6,229 Summary: Spring term has started and Melanie has a rumored about dating Jake already. The cousins participate in a White Day event due to two of their friends and Ni-Ki catches on. Serena gets caught by Heeseung upon delivering a love letter for Sunghoon written by Linna. previous  chapter || next chapter

updated: 6.1.24

"So, when did you write Jake a confession letter?" Linna asked Melanie, joining her at one of the two university's libraries.

They were currently at the Central Library for their Thursday's tutoring session as the spring term's been in session for about two weeks now. The pair had tutoring every Tuesdays and Thursdays after their classes were done for the day. Melanie cast her cousin with a puzzled look.

"I've never wrote him one." Melanie clarified with a weird look.

"What makes you think I wrote a confession letter to Jake?"

"Oh, so you didn't give him a love letter?"

Linna shot her cousin a weird look, too, as Melanie shook her head.

"No, I didn't."

However, she cast her cousin with a look.

"What makes you think I gave him one?"

"Well, that's what I've been hearing all around campus all day today."

A giggle escaped from Linna's lips before continuing.

"Well, more amongst the female population though."

She gave her cousin a pointed look.

"They're the one talking about it and wouldn't stop either."

Melanie rolled her eyes before explaining upon recalling the said event.

"Oh okay. I remember now."

She sighed.

"So, technically I did give Jake one, but I didn't write it."

Another sigh left Melanie's lips.

"This girl, Kim Nara, from my Tuesday and Thursday class kept insisting I give it to him and basically just shoved it in my hand while running off afterward."

Linna's brows furrowed.

"Okay, but why you though?"

"Because we're close and he and I have a Monday and Wednesday class, too."

"That's it?"

"Yeah, I think so."

Melanie shrugged.

"Honestly, I don't really know, but Kim Nara didn't have the courage to give it to him and thought I could be of help."

Another sigh escaped Melanie's lips.

"I gave it to him the same day she gave it to me when I happened to see him during school, but she didn't identify who she was in the letter."

"Really?"

"Mmhmm. So, that left him to give it back to me yesterday since I was the one that gave it to him."

Linna quietly laughed at the whole thing as Melanie rolled her eyes, slightly annoyed.

"Apparently, Jake corrected her grammatical errors and she's blaming me."

"You read it?"

"I basically skimmed it, thinking it was math notes until I actually stared at the words because he didn't put it back in it's envelope and the letter looked normal, too."

Linna giggled as Melanie rolled her eyes again while casting her cousin a pointed look.

"Anyway, shouldn't you be with your own tutor by now?"

Linna giggled again.

"Well, Yonghee's running a little late today, but that's why I'm just bugging you until then."

"Must be nice."

Linna's tutor, Kim Yonghee, was actually Serena's ex-boyfriend back when they were in their first year of high school although they attended different high schools at the time while dating for less than a year. They broke up amicably before the start of their second year and remained friends of sort to this day.

"Don't worry, Youngseo."

Linna grinned mischievously.

"Jake will be here soon to accompany you."

Melanie frowned as she swatted at a giggling Linna.

"Stop. Do I need to bring up Sunghoon for you."

Linna stopped giggling, scowling.

"Please, no."

"That's what I thought.

"Yeah, yeah. Anyway, we're meeting our sisters at Simplistic after tutoring's done since they're helping their favorite person with an art assignment at the moment."

"I did not sign up for this." Serena grumbled while painting.

"I can't believe I got roped into this somehow."

"Nah, for real." Kierra agreed as she, too, was painting.

"Why are we even here in the first place?"

"Ni-Ki tricked us some how." Serena commented, giggling.

"I did not. Y'all agreed, but just forgot." Ni-Ki clarified.

"Oh, right."

The two recalled that moment when he asked him for their help last week. Anyway, the pair were helping Ni-Ki with his art banner while in one of the art rooms and it's been less than an hour since they started.

"Don't you have other friends that can help you?" Kierra questioned despite enjoying herself.

"I do, but they're busy and you two are never busy." Ni-Ki answered with a knowing smile, still painting.

"What makes you think that?" Serena asked, pausing in mid-coloring.

Ni-Ki didn't look up as he continued to paint the outline of his main character in the center of the banner.

"Because the two of you have no life besides work and school."

"True." The pair agreed, chuckling.

The trio continued to work until Ni-Ki got bored and ended up fingerpainting onto his two friends.

"Yah! Nishimura Riki?!"

Both wiped off the paint from their cheeks and glared at him. Ni-Ki laughed with a cheeky look, clearly enjoying what he had just done. Just as the pair were about to retaliate with Ni-Ki about to make a run for it, the classroom's doors opened revealing Heeseung and Jay.

"Yo, Ni-Ki! We're here."

"Yeah, let's hurry so we can get to dance practice."

Both parties just stared at one another until Serena broke the silence.

"Alright, cool then."

She pointed between herself and her cousin.

"Hayoun and I are gonna go now."

Serena softly smacked Ni-Ki on the right cheek with her left hand that was painted yellow to get back at him.

"Oh, yes, let's go."

Kierra did the same thing, but with her right hand against his left cheek, leaving a red handprint. The cousins admired their artwork with a grin.

"Ooh, very nice."

"Such a lovely artwork."

The two giggled while they pressed their painted hands onto the canvas.

"Now, that's leaving a mark." Kierra commented as she and Serena chuckled.

"Yes, definitely a mark for sure."

The pair glanced at Ni-Ki.

"Later."

"Wait." Ni-Ki called out to them.

"Nah." The pair responded, laughing.

They ignored him while waving at Ni-Ki.

"Okay, buh-bye!"

Both grabbed their belongings with their clean hands, shot a smile at Heeseung and Jay before dashing out of the classroom to wash off the rest of the paint as they laughed along the way. Jay and Heeseung stared after the duo with an amused smile before focusing their attention onto Ni-Ki.

"So, to be honest..."

He shrugged nonchalant while shaking his head with a sheepish laugh as he wiped off the paint from his cheeks.

"I actually don't have that much left to do."

Melanie was working on a few math problems, using the formula that Jake had to re-explain to her as she didn't quite understand it in class on Tuesday, when she felt eyes on her a moment later. She briefly glanced up to see Jake staring at her with a small smile.

"Uh, yes?"

She seemed hesitant in saying something.

"How's it going?" He asked as he flashed her a friendly smile.

"Much easier, Jake. Thanks."

She returned the same gesture yet hoped he would look elsewhere. For some reason, before any of this, she hadn't minded, but not all of a sudden, she did.

"No problem, Youngseo."

Her eyes returned to her paper yet the feeling of being stared at remained, but not as strongly as before and didn't comment on it. Melanie quickly finished the rest of the problems before handing it over for Jake to review. Just then the timer on his phone went off, signaling the end of their tutoring session.

"Ah, sorry. It seems our session ends here." He apologized as she shook her head.

Melanie actually didn't mind it all too much that it was now over.

"It's okay, but thank you for the much needed help."

"Yeah, I don't mind, Youngseo." Jake said in a cheery tone.

"You're easy to teach and learn quickly than others."

Just before he handed Melanie her paper back, Jake quickly took a photo of it.

"I'll review your work after dance practice and let you know if something is wrong."

"Awesome, and no rush. This isn't due until next Thursday anyway."

"Okay, cool."

The pair collected their materials, packed up their things, and headed to the entrance of the library together.

"I'll see you in class next Monday then, yeah?"

Jake cast Melanie with another friendly smile as she briefly nodded.

"Yeah, Jake, see you then."

She flashed him a smile.

"Take care."

"Later, Youngseo."

He shot her another smile before heading off first even glancing back to shoot her another wave and smile.

"Yeah."

She felt some type of way when he did that as he's never done that before. Still, Melanie just remained calm, cool, and collect about it while letting out a deep breath.

"This is ridiculous." She muttered, shaking her head.

Melanie turned the other way, ran a hand through her hair, and knew that her sister and older cousin would tease her about the so-called rumor going around about her and Jake if it spread that much at all. Then again, it might not be all that since only one person would've cared as Kim Nara was the concerned party and probably got offended about the whole love letter situation. 

"So you and Jake are lovers now or something like that now?"

Serena directed her attention onto her sister with a teasing look as Kierra gasped playfully.

"Wow. I can't believe you didn't tell us that you and Jake are an item now."

Linna snickered at the situation as Melanie rolled her eyes at the older two.

"It's not even like that." Melanie scoffed.

"Where did you even hear that from?"

The quartet were having snacks and drinks at their workplace in a corner booth, away from others as to not distract their co-workers.

"Minseo and I overheard this group of girls talking at the school gate when we left earlier." Kierra explained with a giggle.

"Seems serious yet not so serious."

"Seriously, people love to gossip." Melanie mumbled, annoyed.

"What else did they say?" Linna probed, interested.

Kierra replied nonchalantly.

"One of them was upset about spelling corrections on a letter and that he couldn't have done it and it must be that 'Park Youngseo' person that did it out of jealousy or something like that. The girls were clearly upset and angered."

Melanie sighed with another eye-roll.

"So dumb and that's Kim Nara's fault for not letting Jake know that it was her that wrote the letter."

Kierra diverted the conversation elsewhere instead.

"Forget them. How did your math tutoring go with Jake then?"

Melanie shrugged nonchalantly.

"Same as normal. He'll check my work after dance practice. Other than that, we both know the real story and the rumors can suck it."

The three hummed in agreement as Kierra cast her sister with a knowing look.

"So, what about you and Sunghoon then?"

"Nothing."

Kierra just wanted to tease her sister some more.

"Don't be like that." She cooed, playfully.

"Any new developments?"

"No." Linna flatly said with a shake of her head.

"None whatsoever."

"Well, maybe y'all can do a double date or something."

"No!" Both younger sisters answered causing their sisters to raise a brow, amused.

"Oh?"

Just as Kierra wanted to now tease the younger two, Serena changed the subject.

"Hey, Hayoun, who's the model in your photographs?"

Kierra almost spit out her drink, but Serena continued speaking.

"The one for those couple-like project from last semester."

Kierra side-eyed Serena to which the latter just smiled in response as she wanted Kierra to have a taste of her own medicine.

"She has the portfolio at home. The model, he's a student of Hyebi University, too."

"Ooh, who is it?"

"Is it someone we know?"

Kierra slightly glared at Serena, but brought out her phone nonetheless.

"It's Jay."

"Ooh la la." The younger two cooed as they went through Kierra's gallery.

"I blame you."

Kierra shifted her attention onto Serena as the latter shrugged.

"Hey, that's a 'you and Jay' problem."

Kierra scowled.

"Shut up."

However the younger two wanted to join in the teasing to get back at Kierra.

"What's wrong with Jay, Hayoun?"

"Yeah, Hayoun, what did he ever do to you?"

Kierra knew the two younger ones were teasing, but still.

"Everything." She grumbled.

"Why was he your model?" Linna asked a second later.

"Or how did he become your model?"

Kierra sighed before speaking.

"Our professors are best friends and they thought it would be cool to collaborate or whatever last semester."

"So what did he get out of it for being your muse?" Melanie inquired a second later.

"His muse in return." Kierra mumbled.

The younger continued their teasing upon hearing that.

"Ooh, that's cute."

"Yeah, so what has he done that's inspired by you?"

Kierra sighed, not really wanting to tell the duo, but gave in anyway.

"Some fashion clothing designs."

"Ooh." The duo cooed as Linna recalled something.

"Hey, is he the one gave you that cute cream colored scrunchie with Pochacco on it?"

"Yes." Kierra confirmed as Melanie eyed her.

"Okay, but why haven't you worn the said scrunchie though?"

"I just never found a reason to wear it. That's all."

"You should wear it." Linna suggested as Melanie nodded.

"Yeah, you should so that he knows you appreciate his efforts."

"I'll think about it." Kierra responded.

Before the two could teased further, Serena re-directed the conversation elsewhere after checking her phone.

"Hey, Woojoo and Sujin just messaged if we could help them out with something."

"Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen!" Sujin greeted the crowd as Woojoo introduced their friends onto the makeshift stage.

"Please give a warm welcome to, WHITE WISHES!"

The cousins politely waved at the crowd gathered on their school's campus where Woojoo and Sujin were a part of the Student Council and needed a last minute act to join the other performing acts after three of them dropped out last night unexpectedly. The cousins were bribed with snacks and drinks for another month again for helping out once more. However, the the younger two didn't mind at all in helping this time around, but the older two caved in so easily into their sisters' hands.

"These lovely ladies are gonna charmed their way into your soul with their performances!" Woojoo continued, enthuasistically.

"Yes! So, please treat them kindly!" Sujin chimed in a second later.

The quartet were disguised in their performances outfits, courtesy of their friends. Each one wore a white long-sleeved knee-length slightly loose dress, with a long off white wig, knee-high white socks, white vans, small fairy-like wings, and a feathered white eye mask with different colored accents to differentiate one from the other. Kierra with green, Serena with purple, Melanie with red, and Linna with blue. People definitely couldn't tell them apart unless you knew them well enough or looked a little too closely to figure them out from one another for sure.

"Happy White Day to everyone and enjoy our White Day Stage this late afternoon!" The pair concluded as the crowd cheered.

Sujin and Woojoo walked off the stage as they cheered on the quartet.

"Good luck, ladies!"

"And thanks again for helping us out."

The quartet nodded, smiling.

"You're welcome."

"Yeah, no problem."

However, they psyched themselves and each other up for their short segment despite finishing their classes and tutoring sessions for the day not that long ago. Again, they just didn't think they would have returned to doing something like this after Jungwon's birthday. Still, they were also not about that life either as school and work took up a majority of their time, but free food for like two weeks won out like always.

"One, two..." Melanie led the greeting before introducing themselves as a group.

"We're WHITE WISHES!"

One by one they introduced themselves with their so-called stage names.

"I'm Peony Wish."

"I'm Bear Wish."

"I'm Chocolate Wish."

"I'm Marshmallow Wish."

They introduced themselves with Melanie first, followed by Linna, Kierra next, and lastly, Serena. Woojoo came up with their names this time around as it pertained to gifts normally given on White Day and the quartet drew from hats of what stage name they would go by as well.

"And we're WHITE WISHES!" They repeated in a sing-song tone as Melanie continued speaking.

"Please watch over us kindly."

Unknown to them, several of their friends showed up to check out this White Day Stage and the performers for the fun and curiosity of it all since it was new this year.

"So, why aren't we at dance practice again?" Jake asked his friends.

"Because the dance instructor wants us to." Heeseung replied with a shrug.

"Something about a break or a new perspective of whatever."

"Oh, okay. That makes sense."

"Honestly, I think Instructor Kwon just has a crush on the Student Council advisor and forced us out here." Jay remarked as Sunghoon agreed, pointing somewhere.

"Look over there. There he is with Advisor Kim."

"Where?" The others asked as they followed to where Sunghoon was pointing.

"Wow."

"He makes it so obvious." Jungwon commented with a laugh as Sunoo agreed.

"Yeah, but he's surely smitten for sure with Advisor Kim."

"Well, as long as he's in a good mood, then that's good for us." Ni-Ki remarked, happy about the situation.

Their attention went towards their dance teacher, chatting with the advisor and how he acted differently around her than when he was around them. They found the whole thing comical and just plain weird. Anyway, soon their focus went towards the female quartet as they were the first to start off the White Day Stage event.

"Didn't our sisters say that they're doing something different this year with performances, too?" Sunoo asked Jungwon as the latter nodded.

"Yeah. I mean, they could've asked us to join. I'm sure Instructor Kwon wouldn't have minded since he would be interacting with Adivor Kim, too."

The group watched as the cousins performed their segment, but found them all too familiar, especially Ni-Ki as he observed them a little longer than the others.

"One, two..." Serena began the greeting before finishing as a group.

"This was WHITE WISHES!"

The four bowed to the now larger crowd than before.

"Thank you so much for having us this evening."

The cousins walked off stage as another act came onto it. Both Woojoo and Sujin awaited for the four with presents in hands.

"These are a little 'thank you' gifts from us to you." Woojoo informed them with a smile, while offering the gift bags out towards them.

"So, we hope you like them!" Sujin stated, hopefully.

"Aw, thank you!"

Linna, Kierra, Melanie, and Serena took the gifts before opening them excitedly. Each content contained a small-sized random lop rabbit plush, two small random scented candles, and a variety of snacks consisting of different types of chocolates, cookies, candies, gummies, jellies, and marshmallows.

"Thank you so much for the gifts!" The quartet thanked their friend as they each expressed what they like the most.

"I definitely loved the bunny!"

"I've been needing new candles!"

"I can't wait to eat the jellies."

"I can't wait to eat all the chocolates."

The pair giggled as the six moved away from the stage to talk a little more before the pair had to go back to being in charge for awhile longer while the quartet made their way back to the Student Council room to change. On the way there, they were blocked by Ni-Ki as he had snuck away from the others.

"So, how's it going?" He cooed with a playful tone.

The quartet stared at one another while eyeing the male.

"I will keep this a secret as long as y'all buy me something to eat every day." Ni-ki bargained as the four looked at one another again.

"Don't you already get free food from her the most though?" Melanie said as she pointed at her sister.

"I do, but this time I want to make a request in what I want to eat or drink with the rest of you." He reasoned as the quartet sighed.

"Does it matter?" Linna asked looking between the four of them.

"That he knows and we let the others find out, too?"

"I guess, but then they might start requesting for us to do more stuff, too." Kierra said, making a face.

"I knew this was too much of a hassle."

"Or we can just silence Ni-Ki with a beat up." Serena suggested with a laugh.

"That would definitely make him back off.

The male backed up and eyed his friends, warily.

"I didn't do anything to deserve that."

"We know." They chorused with a chuckle.

"Y'all are mean." He commented as the four laughed again before giving in.

"Alright, alright, but you can't take advantage of this or we will beat you up for sure." Melanie stated as Ni-Ki nodded happily.

"Okay, cool. Let's get dinner."

"Not so fast."

Linna stopped him before speaking again.

"We already have plans tonight."

"What kind of plans?" He inquired, calling their bluff.

However, they weren't bluffing.

"We're hanging out with Sujin and Woojoo." Kierra informed him with a nonchalant look.

"Something came up and so we're hanging out with them for the rest of the day."

"Oh. Okay."

"Yeah, so can you wait for another night?" Melanie asked as Ni-Ki nodded.

"Okay, but don't take too long to decide like always."

"Yeah, yeah."

Serena threw one of her snack gifts towards him.

"What's this?"

"Sweets as a compromise."

"Thanks, Minseo."

"Welcome."

Ni-Ki happily ran off to join the others while the cousins continued on their way to change before getting sidetracked by Ni-Ki.

"C'mon, let's get changed and meet the other two at Simplistic." Linna suggested, motioning her head towards one of the school's building.

Sujin and Woojoo wanted to hang out with the four to treat the cousins out for a White Day moment after learning that their boyfriends had cheated on them. So, the pair didn't want to celebrate the holiday with their scumbag exes as they were now trying to get them back, but they didn't want to take them back. Woojoo and Sujin were also ashamed to let their other friends know about it either. So, they just wanted to hang out with Melanie, Linna, Serena, and Kierra only since they were the only ones that really knew about the secret relationship they had.

"So, you're the one leaving the letters for Sunghoon this past week, huh?"

Serena retracted her hand, but left the light blue envelope behind. She shifted her gaze causally towards Heeseung and recalled Ni-Ki telling her that no one would be here at this time, but guess there was always that one person though.

"Leaving them, yes." Serena answered nonchalantly.

Still, this was her third time to leave a letter for Sunghoon in the past week or so, but this was the first time she's been caught in the act.

"Have a problem with it?"

She cast him with a small smile.

"No."

Heeseung cast her with a polite smile as his eyes glanced from the locker and back to her.

"However, gotta tell you 'sorry', but Sunghoon isn't interested."

She supressed a laugh from escaping before responding with a playful expression.

"Me either."

A bemused look graced his face.

"Then why are you leaving him love letters?"

"It's from someone else and I'm just helping out."

After the quartet's hangout with Sujin and Woojoo, Linna wanted to confess to Sunghoon with letters after talking about relationships although she wouldn't signed her name, but with a simple drawing of an orchid, her favorite flower. Linna convinced herself to write the letters to Sunghoon first and then eventually it would encourage her to later do an actual face to face confession some day. However, Linna couldn't bring herself to actually give him the letters, whether in person or in secret and so resorted in having Serena being the one that did the delivering instead. Serena wasn't please, but she needed new writing materials and eventually agreed.

"Anyway, bye."

She left it at that and made her way around him to leave as he followed.

"Wait a minute, Minseo."

"Yeah, no."

"Oh, c'mon."

Serena ignored Heeseung, but found his tone just now cute.

"Who's this Orchid that likes him?"

Serena's brows furrowed, wondering why the person was dubbed 'orchid', then recall that that's what Linna signed off with.

"What makes you think the sender is 'Orchid' though?"

She casually glanced over her shoulder at him, but freaked upon seeing how close he was. Serena backed away, almost tripping over her own feet, but Heeseung had reached out to steady her.

"Whoa, be careful, Park Minseo." He advised, teasing her a little.

"I'm fine, Lee Heeseung." 

She quickly brushed off his hold from her while righting her position again.

"Anyway, thanks and bye."

She began walking off again, but he matched her pace in no time.

"Anyway, it's because it's always a blue envelope that's left there."

"So?"

"Other letters that Sunghoon gets is either in classes or in person."

"Mmhmm."

"Well, this one from Orchid is always left behind."

"Oh, I see."

Serena had to changed tactics, but figured that since Sunghoon isn't interested that she may not have to deliver more in the future or have to see Heeseung.

"Um, didn't you just say that he's not interested?"

"Yes, but he should know who gave him the letters." Heeseung reasoned.

Serena scoffed.

"Not really if Sunghoon's not interested."

Heeseung persisted.

"Is it someone we know?"

She eyed him.

"Quite persistent, aren't you?"

He chuckled.

"Yeah, but anyway, who's his secret admirer?"

"Well, that's for me to know and you to never find out."

Serena grinned at him.

"Anyway, Heeseung, I'll let the sender know that the receiver isn't interested at all."

Serena faced forward and continued walking and before Heeseung could probe further, he was surrounded by their schoolmates once they exited the building. She casually glanced over her shoulders and saw the distressed look in his eyes despite himself being way too polite for his own good.

"For someone so tall and bright, he does look like a deer caught in the headlights right now."

She softly chuckled, but sighed in defeat as her steps hesitated before turning around. Serena knew she was gonna regret getting involved like this and being around the male longer than she wanted to, but she couldn't leave him alone like that either. So, Serena quickly walked towards the group and reached a hand through them to take a firm hold of Heeseung's hand.

"Hey, Heeseung, c'mon. Sunghoon's waiting."

He cast her with a confused, but relieved look as he allowed her to lead him away from the others. Once in the clear did she let go of his hand when they rounded another department building a moment later.

"Sorry." She apologized while casting the male with a half-smile.

"It looked like you needed help and I dunno if I took you away from anything important."

"Ah, no, it's fine. Thank you and no, not really." He assured her with a thankful smile.

"They just wanted to ask me about school stuff and other non-related school things."

"Ah, okay. Still popular as ever, I see."

"Oh?"

There was a hint of amusement in his tone and Serena knew she would've regretted it.

"Don't mind my words, Heeseung."

She flashed him a smile.

"Anyway, you're welcome. See you never."

"Hey, wait a minute. Minseo!" Heeseung called out, but she shook her head while shooting him an amused look as she took a few steps back.

"Nope. Gotta go. Buh-bye!"

Serena already did her part for her cousin on a few ocassions and needed to keep it to a miminal as much as possible if she didn't want to interact with Heeseung constantly like this. He didn't follow after her, but watched her retreating figure with a slight tilt of his head and an amused smile.

"Was she always like this during high school, too?"

"So, apparently, Sunghoon isn't interested, Linna."

Serena announced once she met up with her sister and cousins at the university's Lift Library.

"Really?"

Linna sounded so sad and Serena patted her shoulder.

"He actually said that?" Kierra asked with widened eyes.

"No. Heeseung did."

She made a face.

"He caught me in the act."

"Wait, does that mean he'll tell him about you?"

"Maybe. Not sure."

Serena shrugged nonchalantly before glancing at Melanie.

"Maybe my situation will turn out like yours and Jake."

Melanie rolled her eyes with a laugh.

"We're not even like that, but will you be okay with rumors of you and him?"

Serena shrugged while shaking her head.

"Not really, but I would prefer it didn't."

"True. Anyway, let's focus back on Jiyeon."

All focus went onto Linna as she caught their stares.

"What?"

"An in-person confession would be better." Kierra reasoned.

Linna seemed uneasy.

"I mean, Sunghoon is quite popular and has a lot of admirers."

Serena scoffed before speaking.

"Okay, true, but that's not always the case."

The other three stared at her as Serena elaborated.

"C'mon, y'all watched those shows and movies enough to know, but okay."

Serena made herself comfortable.

"Like, usually a person with a lot of admirers don't even like those that surround themselves around them in general. It's because those admirers only like the surface parts of that person and not the deeper levels of them."

Serena looked from one to the other, hoping they got the gist, but continued on anyway.

"Or these admirers who aren't even close to that said person always have this idealize expectation of that person and so get disappointed when that person doesn't match that idolized one. Honestly, said popular person doesn't feel like they are actually being appreciated and just being used for clout and the likes."

Serena chuckled with a shrug.

"Still it's usually a more or less stereotypical perspective of it all. Depends on the person and situation at most. Then again, you'll never know unless you yourself find out and get it from the primary source."

Linna nodded.

"That's what I thought, too, ever since I realized I had a crush on him since our high school days."

She softly sighed.

"However, this is real life and not one of those shows or whatever. I don't want to give him the impression that I'm only around him because of that since a lot of girls in my class fond over him too much and he always hung out with his friends, too."

"Well, it's different now. Like, we have the same set of friends and mutual friends between us." Melanie commented while looking at Linna.

"Which in your case, it's different since you built the trust and friendship and are actually cool with those he considers his friends, too."

"Yeah, true."

Linna gave the trio a confident smile.

"One day, I'll do it on my own time, but for now, I'm good where I'm at."

"Fine by me as long as I don't have to deliver any more love letters." Serena grinned.

"So that leaves Youngseo and Jake, as well as Hayoun and Jay."

"It does not." They countered as Serena laughed.

"If y'all do stuff, then maybe Jiyeon could go through with her confession for Sunghoon."

"I just said Jake was cute that one time and I never said that I actually liked him like that." Melanie stated with a roll of her eyes.

"There's a difference."

"Yeah, what Youngseo said." Kierra agreed.

"Don't be like Woojoo, Sujin, and the others as they think there's something going on between me and Jay."

She clicked her tongue.

"Almost all our friends keep thinking he and I got something going on."

"Don't you?" The other three chorused as Kierra groaned.

"No."

"Well, are you and Jay going to have more photoshoot assignments this semester like last semester?" Melanie inquired a moment later.

"No." Kierra answered, relieved.

"Thank goodness as neither of our professors brought up another collaboration."

"Aww, that's too bad." Linna chimed in.

"I'm pretty sure he would've loved to spend more time with you."

"Don't even start."

"Nah, it would've been cute." Serena marked, laughing.

Soon, Serena continued teasing the others, but stopped once they started bringing up her possible involvement with Heeseung. Then they got onto the topic about their friends wondering about Seohoo and who he was to them as they all thought he was four-timing them of sorts since the cousins hung out with Seohoo often. Yet the cousins left the matter alone as they knew the truth and Seohoo found it entertaining and even suggested for them to use him as pretend boyfriend if needed.

"Alright, here you four go." Chanran announced as he set down four different fruit slushies in front of the cousins.

"My special fruit-ades for team members."

"Yay!" The four cheered as they each grabbed their drink.

The quartet decided to hang out at Simplistic, not wanting to return home just yet once classes were done for the day and had a day off from work as well. Chanran mentioned his specialty drinks that he was testing out which was basically made with both milkis and chilsung cider while mixing with actual fruits and syrup flavoring.

"So," Serena began after taking a sip of her mango slushie.

"Is there any way we can ditch the school's social gathering or networking happening this Sunday?"

"Oh, please, someone say yes." Kierra exlaimed in agreement, after sipping her peach slushie.

"I wanna opt out, too."

"Y'all can't do that."

"Yeah, we've already signed up."

Linna and Melanie argued, also having drank their red guava and strawberry slushies, respectively, before the pair spoke again.

"It shouldn't be that bad from what I've read and others have been talking about." Melanie said, giving the older pair a look.

"There's gonna be free food and future job opportunities with companies we may wanna work for in the future if we decide to stay and live here longer or maybe even permanently. Also, don't forget about the extra credit bit, too."

"Yeah." Linna chimed in.

"It's only for one night and the first time ever that the school is doing this. If it's successful, then they'll do it again next year and thereafter."

"But there's a dress code." Kierra and Serena chimed in unison with groans.

"And what's wrong with that?" Linna countered as Kierra made a face.

"We got nothing fancy to wear."

"Yeah, the dress code has to be formal or semi-formal." Serena chimed in as Melanie nodded.

"True, but y'all can wear pant suits though if y'all didn't wanna wear dresses."

"Oh, right, but even those are a hassle, too."

"Well, it is what it is. Gotta suck it up."

"So dumb."

Suddenly a voice suddenly spoke from behind them.

"What's going on over here?"

The quartet turned their heads to see Hanyoung hovering nearby with a curious face.

"Anything interesting to help pass the time?"

"Not if you know where we can rent or buy fancy dresses for cheap." Serena replied as Hanyoung nodded.

"I do."

"Really?"

"Yes. What's it for?"

"Our university is doing a social networking gathering of sorts and expects a lot of their students to be there to impress." Kierra explained while glancing around her.

"But Minseo and I don't want to attend, but need to attend as we already signed up and it counts as participation grading."

Simplistic died down and so the others really had nothing to do as the previous customers have left, too.

"Ooh, sounds fun though."

Hanyoung chuckled while glancing between the four.

"Would that be for this upcoming Sunday for Hyebi University?"

"Yes. How'd you know?"

"Surprisingly, Junyoung and I will be there, too. Also, Seohoo's been talking about it for the past several days, too."

"Really? Why will y'all be there?" Melanie inquired, puzzled.

"Our parents have businesses and we're the ones representing them since they have other obligations to handle."

"That's pretty cool."

"Mmhmm."

Hanyoung cast them with a sweet look.

"So, when do y'all wanna go clothes shopping though?" He asked sincerely.

"Junyoung and I can free up our schedule to assist y'all for the ocassion. We asked Seohoo, but he said he got all of that figured out on his own accord."

"I can't believe I'm wearing such a dress for this event and even more so than I ever thought I would." Serena slightly complained, even if in awed.

She, her sister, and their cousins arrived at the Four Seasons Hotel's venue hall as they wore the same styled strapless fitted gown, but in different colors. Serena in an off white, Kierra in a rose gold, Linna in a mauve rose, and Melanie in a smoky blue. They were rented out by the duo although the cousins informed them that they would pay them back, but Junyoung and Hanyoung dismissed it as a friendly treat. Luckily for Serena and Kierra, their friends eased their nervousness by suggesting something more comfortable while still staying classy.

"Well, Seohoo was supposed to meet up with us, but he left earlier with his friends." Linna remarked as Melanie nodded.

"Yeah, I mean I would, too, but he told us last minute and we could've gone with Sujin and Woojoo."

"For real."

The other three agreed.

"However, I think those two are gonna arrive later as they have Student Council matter to take care of first as this was part of it or something like that." Linna informed.

"Oh, yeah, that's right. I forgot they mentioned that." Melanie chimed in.

"Anyway, where are we supposed to go again?" Kierra asked, looking about the venue.

"Were we supposed to pick up our name placard or a name-tag somewhere?"

"Let's just follow the other students." Serena suggested.

"I don't see any signs and it would be helpful if they did or someone was out here."

"Yeah, I know right." Kierra agreed, looking around.

"Still, let's just followed everyone else. That's our best bet."

"Alright, let's go." Melanie said as she began walking with the others following after her.

"By the way, what should we do when we get inside?" Kierra asked a second later.

"Like, I didn't really fully read the e-mail that they sent us."

"Of course you wouldn't." Linna commented as Kierra chuckled.

"Um, first we check in, then they'll give us a pamphlet, and afterwards we'll just go about the place." Melanie explained.

"I think they also have a separate place for food though as they're so much of us."

"Oh, yes, please. I forgot to eat earlier and am hungry." Linna replied, rubbing her stomach.

"Hopefully there's enough options."

"Yeah, no, I hope so, too." Melanie agreed.

"We can check that out after checking in first."

"Now that I think about it after reading the e-mail," Serena thought out loud after putting her mobile phone away, "We don't really have to stay for that long or for even the whole time that we're here."

She glanced at the other three with a an easy-going look.

"We just need to check in, mingle around for a bit with some proof that we came by talking to some of the businesses here by getting our name-tag either signed or stamped, and we can leave after doing so. Or in our case, just hang out in the buffet hall to eat and then leave afterwards."

Kierra grinned, liking the idea.

"Oh, yeah, let's do that for sure."

"Right."

Serena chuckled as Kierra continued.

"Right. Anyway, food can never go wrong unless prepared incorrectly or whatever."

Their sisters rolled their eyes with a laugh.

"Of course."

The four giggled as they reached the part where the hotel staff had tables aligned with their name lanyards for them to take and enter the hall.

[fahrni]

Saturday Morning Coffee

Good morning from Charlottesville, Virginia! ☕️

Kim and I had the grandkids overnight so they’re worn out and we’re worn out. Heck, even our pups are worn out. The house is really quiet, just how I like it. I’m sitting here in the dark, sipping coffee, composing today’s post.

This week work was mostly about onboarding a couple new iOS Devs who’ll be working with me on our project to add React Native support to existing native apps. I’m really enjoying it. 😀

Caitlin Harrington • WIRED

Last month, Grindr gave its all-remote staff two weeks to pledge to work from an office two days a week starting in October or lose their jobs come August 31. Many declined to return: 82 out of 178 employees—46 percent of the staff—were let go after rejecting the mandate, according to the Grindr union, which went public two weeks before the ultimatum.

Wow. That’s about all I had to say when I read this piece. I have a friend who took a job there — as a remote test engineer — only to have this mandate cross his desk two weeks later. Needless to say he didn’t move and is now looking for a new gig. It’s a real head scratcher.

Ron Amadeo • Ars Technica

The Federated Learning of Cohorts and now the Topics API are part of a plan to pitch an “alternative” tracking platform, and Google argues that there has to be a tracking alternative—you can’t just not be spied on.

Emphasis is mine. At least they admit what they’re doing and it’s pathetic. 😳

You know what’s worse? People won’t switch away from Chrome.

thehackernews.com

Apple on Thursday released emergency security updates for iOS, iPadOS, macOS, and watchOS to address two zero-day flaws that have been exploited in the wild to deliver NSO Group’s Pegasus mercenary spyware.

Update your devices right away. The talent possessed to do this type of ferreting around an OS looking for holes is both impressive and terrifying all at the same time.

Branko Marcetic • jacobin.com

The inflation rate — that is, the pace at which prices are going up — might be slowing down, but that doesn’t mean prices are lower. In fact, they are much, much higher for all kinds of goods and services than they were three years ago.

I’ve definitely noticed this when we go to our favorite Mexican restaurant here in Charlottesville.

It’s really becoming apparent in the streaming business. I just received email saying our Hulu subscription is going up to $81.99/month. We currently pay $64/month. That’s close to a 25% increase. 🤬

Taegan Goddard • politicalwire.com

Pence Calls Trump’s Populism a ‘Road to Ruin’

Wow. Pence finally figured it out. Took long enough.

I know folks have praised him for what he did January 6 — myself included — but the truth is he could’ve done a lot more prior to the sixth to avert this, like call the FBI.

MSRC • msrc.microsoft.com

Upon identifying that the threat actor had acquired the consumer key, Microsoft performed a comprehensive technical investigation into the acquisition of the Microsoft account consumer signing key, including how it was used to access enterprise email. Our technical investigation has concluded. As part of our commitment to transparency and trust, we are releasing our investigation findings.

Reading these reports is fascinating. I love seeing them own up to mistakes and solve the problems that lead them there. I personally like to focus on the problem and not point fingers. These reports come across like that to me.

Greg Jones • enginebuildermag.com

As a kid, Dan Keenan loved fixing things, tearing things apart, and figuring out a way to build something new. But he never dreamed his skills would one day lead to being a key player in designing a brand-new race engine for NASCAR.

This is an older piece but is a great little read if you’re at all interested in engine building. I most definitely am and would love to see some deep dives of all the motors used in the NASCAR Cup Series. The teams use a new motor each week! It’s amazing to me how consistent the builds are from week to week.

They do see the occasional failure but those are rare. It would be amazing to see reports from engine builders outlining the failures and the steps taken to mitigate them, just like that Microsoft Security piece linked above.

Michael Meng • eng.lyft.com

Lyft runs hundreds of microservices to power the company’s offerings. Our team, the Developer Infrastructure team, aims to build the best tools to enable microservice owners (our “customers”) to reliably and quickly test changes in a local and/or end-to-end environment.

When we crossed that line from desktop focused computing on local networks to service based computing on the open web software development became infinitely more complicated. I know a lot of folks who’ll disagree with that assessment and that’s fine. It’s how it feels to me. I’m a simpleton and prefer my little self contained IDE and platform. 😃

GMS Racing • legacymotorclub.com

LEGACY MOTOR CLUB™ Signs John Hunter Nemechek to Drive the No. 42 in 2024

It’s fun to watch NASCAR teams make lineup changes for next season. How many more changes will we see between now and next season? Who knows.

It’ll also be nice to see where the Stewart Haas Racing rumors land. Do they run two or four cars next year? Do they have charters for sale? If so, who picks them up?

Oh, right, when is Dodge coming back! 🤣 Yes, I really do want to see it.

Lane Brown • Vulture

The Ophelia affair is a useful microcosm for understanding how Rotten Tomatoes, which turned 25 in August, has come to function. The site was conceived in the early days of the web as a Hot or Not for movies. Now, it can make or break them — with implications for how films are perceived, released, marketed, and possibly even green-lit. The Tomatometer may be the most important metric in entertainment, yet it’s also erratic, reductive, and easily hacked.

I’d not heard of folks gamifying Rotten Tomatoes scores but it makes sense it would happen. Gotta keep those scores fresh so folks will watch your movie and put money in your pocket. 🍅