#and i have movie tickets for tomorrow afternoon

[starwolf53]

i hate. fire. smoke. summer ..

i hate. climate change

[nicolesainz]

Timeless (CS55)

Carlos Sainz x f!reader

Warnings: much much fluff, bits of heattbreak, flashbacks

Summary: Carlos has had many supporters, even during his first years in racing. Deep down he knows that only one of them stands truly out and will be by his side until the end of the line.

A/N: The story is from Carlos’s POV :)

Two lovers laughing on the porch of their first house.

“Will you make me wait any longer? I’m bored, let’s go!” Y/N hand’s we’re grabbing my legs, pulling me off of my bed. It was Saturday afternoon and exactly a week after I’d fly to England for two whole months.

Two entire months without being near Y/N. Hearing her voice. Feeling her touch. Being hugged by her and kissed on the forehead. Being encouraged by her praising words. Feeling the butterflies in my stomach every time she is around.

“Okay, fine, fine. You win! Let’s go. We will take my car this time. Yours is always squeaking and I’m afraid we will be stranded.” I gave in on her suggestion of going to see a new romantic movie that had just been released. All our mutual friends had invited her with them, but she always refused to. Two were the main reasons why.

First, they all went as couples and she didn’t want to be third wheeling. And secondly, I wasn’t here. I was in Barcelona for testing. Now it was finally her time to see the movie in the comfort she chose.

I was never planning on going to see that movie. Like Lando has told me, romance movies are not my cup of tea. But I’d sit and admire her passion about those films all day and night.

“I’m so sorry miss, but we are sold out. Maybe come tomorrow morning to check for new tickets?” The cashier tried to sound a little bit hopeful for Y/N’s sake, but that didn’t quite work.

“Oh yeah, sure. Thank you very much!” Y/N put on a fake smile and took my hand in hers, leading us back to my car. Disappointment was drawn all over her face. I couldn’t bare looking at her like this. I felt so bad that I couldn’t do anything.

“I should’ve gone with the guys. Why did I think there would still be availability for tickets? It’s the highest selling movie and has such a big demand.” She was scratching her head, trying to hold back the frustration.

“I’m so sorry amorcito. I would’ve booked you tickets if I knew earlier. We can try again tomorrow. I’m up for it.” Truth be told, I would have fallen asleep on the cinema seat if we went to the next day’s screening, since my father had taken me to practice.

“No worries Carlos. Let’s just go home and we can order something. My parents are out so we can find an old dvd or play a board game.” She wouldn’t even look at me. She was staring at her phone, typing to her girlfriends how in the end we didn’t find any tickets.

What took me by surprise was some of the messages I peeked as I was trying to catch her attention, clearly failing.

“Will Carlos take you anywhere romantic?”

“I bet if you asked him to go to the fun fair he’d speed there”

“TELL HIM THE TRUTH GIRL”

What truth? Did she want to go to the fun fair? Where should I take care? What was she hiding from me?

I turned on the car and took the opposite direction from her house, which lead to one of Madrid’s biggest fun fairs ever. Especially this time of the year, it was really enjoyable and nice.

I wanted Y/N to enjoy her time. Have fun. Live freely. See her happy. I was driving as fast as I could, so she wouldn’t notice where I was taking her.

Comfortable silence had take over the car ride, but after a few moments I heard slight snoring. I looked next to me during the red light to see that she had fallen asleep.

I don’t even know how many hours of sleep she’s lost due to talking with me on the phone, keeping me company, from the other side of the world. While I was warming up her voice was calming me down. It was like a ritual. But I didn’t understand that I was affecting her negatively this much. I had to make it up to her.

I decided not to wake her up until we reached our destination. I turned off the radio so the music wouldn’t bother her and focused on the road.

I would’ve read your love letters every single night.

“Mi guapa, do you mind waking up for a second?” I softly whispered in her ear, not wanting to startle the peace she was in. Slowly, she was rubbing her eyes and only the bright lights of the fair hit her eyes, her mouth fell open in surprise.

"Wha-Carlos what is this?"

"A way of trying to bring your smile back"

Y/N took my hand in hers and squeezed it very tightly, as if I was going to disappear. The sparkles in her eyes gave me hope and her cheeks, even though light was limited, were as maroon as ever.

"What are we waiting for then? Let's go have some fun." I opened her door and she quickly grabbed my bicep and guided us inside the funfair. She was swirling and shouting at all the games she wanted to play or the rides she wanted us to go in.

I am not a funfair guy. Even as a kid, when my sisters brought me here, I would sit out most of the rides with an ice cream on my hand, enjoying the view. I feel like with Y/N being so excited and thrilled, my inner child found what it was looking for.

What excites me is racing and speed. That day, I had found an even better reason to be excited and happy. I didn't mind the noise, the screams, the swearing, or the chilly air. I was purely happy just being alongside Y/N and seeing her with a massive smile plastered on her face.

When we entered the haunted house, we had been warned that actors pop up every now and then. She wouldn't let go of my hand, scared that in the darkness of the room I would run away. But no. I had to stop running away from her. From my feelings towards her.

I was holding her waist firmly, wanting to balance her and prevent any possible accidents. As we were close to the end of the 'tour', a witch actress scared the both of us for the last time with skeletons surrounding us.

Y/N screamed at the top of her lungs. But what she did say, almost made me fall on the ground.

"I do not want to die without having kissed you"

She wanted to kiss me? My Y/N wanted to get a taste of my lips? And as it seemed as badly as I did?

I wasted no time and in utter dark, I held her face against mine, smashing my lips onto hers, bringing the heat of her body closer to mine, wanting to secure her.

The taste of her lips was as I had imagined. The feeling I had in my stomach was levels superior to the thrill Formula One had ever given me. From race win to podiums, I had never felt like this before. It was everything I wanted. Everything I desired.

When I broke the kiss, we walked outside of the haunted house and being confronted with a visible shock on her face, but it being painted wine red. Her fingers were touching her lips, unaware of what had just happened. The other hand was on her chest.

"Is it possible to die from butterflies or being in love?" she whispered softly, coming closer to me and eyeing me directly. My own heart warmed at the sight of her being so shy and innocent. Jesus we were 20 but at that moment I felt like a 15 year old boy again, falling in love with my best friend, with whom I would share irrelevant information about my mechanics on my home's front porch.

"Don't die on me cariño. I haven't even said 'I love you' yet."

[avatar-anna]

What a Night

i know some of y'all wanted to see professor at the grammys, but i decided to save her for the brits! here's to seeing harry let loose once a year!

Professor Series

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Friday

“Doctor Y/l/n, are you going to the Brits with Harry tomorrow?”

Now, a few months ago, that question would’ve startled you, flustered you even. But Harry “audited” your lectures enough that your students knew he was more than just a friend. You were teaching them how to observe the mundane and make educated guesses about their surroundings, after all. It was technically for law enforcement, but they put it to use after the first few times Harry snuck into the lecture hall and occupied a seat in the back corner. He never said anything during class, but he always stayed after, and he always walked or drove you home. It was hard not to put two and two together.

Your brow wrinkled with confusion. “That’s not this weekend. It’s on the eleventh.”

“That’s this weekend, Professor,” the same student who asked the initial question said. “Did you forget?”

There was a small chorus of giggles from the lecture hall because of course their professor would forget one of the biggest nights of the year for British artists. You didn’t mean to, but you were known for getting caught up in work. Losing track of time or not knowing what day it was was commonplace for you.

Class ended shortly after that, and you immediately checked your calendar. It was in fact the weekend of the eleventh, the Brits were this weekend, and you’d completely forgotten.

You raced back to the townhouse, dialing Harry’s number as you hopped on your bike.

“Hi, love—”

“H, I’m so sorry, I totally forgot about the Brits this weekend. Well, I didn’t forget because I can’t forget, but it slipped my mind, and I feel terrible because this is such a huge event for you and you would never—”

“Hey. Y/n. Take a breath,” Harry said. He waited for you to relax, listening for your deep breaths. “Calm now?”

You nodded. “Yeah. Sorry. I guess I’m just a little stressed because I have to book my train ticket to London—”

“It’s already booked,” he said, not sounding nearly as stressed as you felt.

“It is?”

You could almost hear his smile as he said, “I had a feeling it would slip your mind. You had your big lecture this week. How did it go?”

You wanted to talk about this weekend and the plans Harry made for you because he knew you so well, but you couldn’t help your huge grin when he asked about your seminar, which had been one big talk that was open to all Cambridge students and anyone else who could make it to the university and wanted to hear your lecture on criminal psychology.

“So good, H! They want me to do a series of lectures, maybe even broadcast it online so more people can watch.”

“That’s not at all surprising. I’m so proud of you, darling. I’ll definitely have to watch one, possibly all of them.”

As much as you wanted to gush about the seminar, you circled back to the topic at hand. “W—What about you? How are rehearsals going?”

Harry blew out a large breath. “I’m not gonna lie, I’m exhausted,” he said. “But I’m excited too. Not turn tables this time.”

“Aw, H,” you said, coming to a stop on your bike as you reached the townhouse. You were well aware of just how exhausted he was. Last week he fell asleep before your takeout order had arrived, and he was jumping right back into touring after this award show. “Are you free tonight? Assuming I’ll be on a train in the next couple of hours I can make dinner and we can watch a movie.”

“You hate movies,” he joked.

“Yeah but you don’t,” you said. “This weekend is about you. I want to do whatever makes you happy.”

“Oh, well if it’s all about me then,” Harry said, his voice playful. “Train departs later this afternoon. I’ll pick you up.”

“I can’t wait to see you,” you told him as you entered the townhouse. “The cats miss you almost as much as I do.”

“Well, we won’t be apart for long. Now,” Harry said. “Tell me more about the seminar. I know you’re dying to talk about it.”

Sometimes it was eerie how well Harry knew you, but you summed it up to him being a devoted partner.

“Well, the lecture hall was completely filled, and at first I thought it was mostly your fans, but everyone was there to learn! I had candy to give out for people who answered questions, and so many people stayed afterwards to talk. Oh! And you’ll never believe...”

.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.

Saturday

“Babe, that was Stanley Tucci!”

“I know!”

“The Stanley Tucci!”

“I know!”

Harry giggled and hid his face in your neck. He was practically on top of you, but you didn’t mind. Harry always got like this when he had a few too many. He would drink, and then he became the most physically affectionate person in the room.

The night had been pure magic so far. Walking the red carpet with Harry had been nerve-wracking, even when he told you he wore this suit so you could hide behind it whenever you got nervous. But being next to him the whole time made it somewhat easy. That and you recited the plots of Shakespeare plays in your head to keep your mind off the flashing lights and people yelling at you to look this way and turn another.

Harry had kept to water until after his performance, which was when he really started to let loose. He’d wanted to keep a clear head to perform, but now that it was over and done with, he was pounding the tequila. You and Gemma would share amused looks every now and again, but mostly you were just happy to see him enjoying himself.

And winning.

“This is just unreal,” he mumbled, his breath fanning against your skin. He’d been deposited into the seat next to yours after accepting his fourth and final award of the night. You watched as Kid and Tyler had to help him offstage a little, so you weren’t surprised when he plopped down beside you unceremoniously, or when he proceeded to pull you close and mumble slightly incoherently against your neck.

“I—I truly never thought that I would—that I could ever—I just feel like the luckiest guy in the world right now.”

You scratched the back of his head affectionately, grinning a little as he hummed in response. “You deserve everything, love. All of it. You work so hard, and you make so many people happy.”

“Yeah?” Harry said, peeking his head up to look at you. “And what did I do to deserve you, hm?”

Blushing, you looked away. “Stop it.”

“Never.”

The night carried on, and Harry was pretty much the star of the show. He was on cloud nine after his clean sweep, and you couldn’t have been prouder of him. It was odd to think that an album that was heavily based on the things you went through with Harry would gain such critical acclaim. When you heard his album for the first time, it had been jarring and a little uncomfortable because they were your experiences too, not just Harry’s. But you also knew that as an artist, Harry best expressed himself through music, and you learned to feel honored to have a small part in his artistic process. And they were heartfelt songs, at the end of the day, each one expressing just how much you meant to him.

At one point in the evening, Harry grabbed you by the wrist and pulled you away from the table you’d been sitting at all night. You first thought he was going to introduce you to someone—a friend or collaborator, maybe even Stanley Tucci—but he bypassed all the tables filled with celebrities, heading out of the main space where the award show was being held. Harry didn’t stop until the sounds of the most recent performance were muffled and it was just the two of you in a forgotten hallway.

“H, what are we—mmph.”

His lips were on yours before you even had the chance to process. They were warm and eager and tasted faintly of tequila, but his hands were steady as one gripped your hip and the other held the side of your head, fingers inching into your hair. The kids startled you, but Harry’s eagerness had you responding in kind, even though anyone could’ve turned a corner and caught the two of you.

Harry didn’t seem to care about getting caught either. The hand on your hip trailed down, his fingertips grazing the skin revealed by the high slit on your dress. It was the smallest graze of skin against skin, but it sent a shiver down your spine, and Harry could sense it. He smiled, kissing your top lip before dragging the bottom between his teeth.

“You look heavenly tonight,” he said, his thumb drawing circles into the skin of your thigh. “Done my best to behave myself all night, but now I just need a little taste, that alright?”

Heat spread from your neck all the way up to your hairline. You could handle him calling you pretty or beautiful or any of the other conventional compliments shared between partners, but Harry always made it a point to go above and beyond that, almost like he was trying to make you blush.

You found yourself nodding at his request because in all honesty, he looked devastatingly handsome in all of his different outfits tonight, and this silk shit was no different. It took a surprising amount of restraint to not run your hand along his exposed chest multiple times tonight, and you were pretty sure Harry could sense that.

He pressed teasing, feather-light kisses on your jaw, then your neck, those fingers of his still tracing patterns on your leg, not once sneaking past the lace fabric of your dress, which he had been admiring you in all night. It wasn’t often that you got dressed up, not that Harry minded, but you were pretty sure he was shocked to see you in a floor-length dress made of form-fitting pink lace. It was a shock for you too, but a good one.

You figured hidden away like this, the moment would be rushed and frenzied, but Harry was surprisingly delicate. By the time he made it down to your collarbone, you had to put your fingers in his hair to urge him to apply just a little more pressure.

“Sorry,” he said, still kissing. “Don’t want to ruin such a lovely dress. And all good work takes time, professor. You know that.”

Harry fiddled with one of the straps of your dress, admiring the intricate lace detail before sliding it down your shoulder. Your eyes widened.

“Harry, are you insane? We can’t—”

“Relax, just gonna give you a little kiss. Like this, see?”

Just as lightly as before, Harry pecked your shoulder, shooting you a teasing grin afterwards. His smile sparked a mischievous confidence in you that only he seemed able to bring out. Running a hand through his hair, you gave him a quick kiss on the lips before pulling back so you were nose to nose with him.

“Do I get to have a little taste now too?”

.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.

Harry walked into the small room where journalists and photographers were waiting for him. His hair was tousled, messier than it had been at the start of the night. Those in the press room chalked it up to an eventful night that included an electric performance, but only because they didn’t see the small purple bruise that was barely covered by his partially buttoned dress shirt. He seemed less inebriated than he had been onstage, though there was a glint in his eyes still, from a successful night at the Brits, no doubt.

He answered questions and talked about how grateful he was. He talked about his album—the process of making it and the warmth it received upon it’s release. Then,

“To celebrate? Uh...” There was a small grin on his face as he paused to think about what he wanted to say versus what he would actually get up to.

Harry gave his last answer of the night, then thanked everyone before leaving the press room and heading straight to where he knew you were waiting for him.

[littleadaline]

Pieces [P.G6]

Word Count: 2.1k

Warnings: Talks of abuse, infidelity, depressive feelings.

A/N: love y’all, i missed writing sm i can’t believe how cathartic it feels.

————————————

You took a look around at the empty office chair. The plaque on the desk had long been gathering dust. The office had sat empty for some time now, no one daring to utter for how long. You threw the wilted plant into the trash, sighing at the tasks ahead of you. You were embarrassed to be left on the receiving end of this, but you owed it to yourself to move forward. The faint trace of his perfume haunted the room, making your heart itch in disgust.

[Flashback:]

“Just get me this report in time, I’ll take care of the rest.” You heard your boyfriend’s voice say through the closed door. “Yes, I’ll have time to finish the report, the meeting with the investors isn’t until tomorrow afternoon, and the board of directors went home early. Great, see you then.” You heard him hang up the phone before knocking softly on the door.

“Come in.”

You slowly opened the door, calling out his name. He perked up at the sound of his name, but an expression of guilt soon replaced the one of joy. He shifted uncomfortably in his seat, desperately trying to hide the lacy bra under his desk.

“Amor…What are you doing here?” He cleared his throat. “Shouldn’t you be in a meeting?” He rose to greet you, desperately trying to push away the lacy undergarment stuck in the wheels of his chair.

“Eh, Laporta had to move it…Emergency meeting with Nike. I thought we could have lunch together… Just like before?” You playfully grabbed his tie, fiddling with the buttons of his shirt. He looked away, his face riddled with a sense of anger and indifference.

“I can’t…I have a meeting with the board of directors in a few minutes.” He pulled away from the embrace, gently walking you out of his office, his hand nestled on your lower back, pushing you towards the exit. “I’ll make it up to you. I’ll get us dinner on the way home.” He left a kiss on your cheek before closing his office door shut.

Does he think I’m brainless? And oblivious? I saw the lacy undergarment under his desk, for fuck’s sake, it was bright pink. And a meeting with the board of directors? After they’ve all gone home?

[Back to now:]

“Y/N?” You turned around at the sound of the familiar voice.

“Hola Pablo.” You warmly embraced the player.

“I can’t believe it. You’re back.” He sighed, smiling against your shoulder. “Lo siento mucho.” He glanced at what used to be your ex’s desk. “I meant…We meant to send you flowers.” He fiddled nervously with his hands.

“It’s okay, Pablito. I’m doing better now. I’m getting the help I need.” You nodded painfully. You didn’t want to talk about it, nor did you want to think about what had happened. But your mind had other plans.

Sensing your discomfort, Gavi was quick to change the subject.

“I have physical therapy in a few minutes, but I’ll be back before you leave.” He waved goodbye before disappearing into the hallway.

You let out a sigh of relief.

[Flashback:]

It was a Friday afternoon. The day had started just like any other day of the week. You woke up, got showered and ready before heading off to work. Just as expected, you got off at 17:00 and drove home in silence, a tradition you had implemented ever since signing your first contract. Pulling into your driveway, you spotted your boyfriend’s car. You frowned in confusion.

He probably got off early… You thought to yourself. You couldn’t shake the eerie feeling.

“Mi amor.” He greeted you at the door. “I got us tickets for that movie you wanted to see!” He sprung the news on you, a wide grin on his face.

But instead of feeling excited, you took a moment to look around the room, before settling on your boyfriend’s face. He looked dishevelled, his hair tangling at the tips, his lips red and swollen. A familiar piece of garment caught your attention from the corner of your eye. Your heart dropped at the realization. You turned back at him in anger, the rage seeping through your eyes.

“How could you?” You uttered through gritted teeth. He grabbed you by the wrists, desperately trying to calm you down. “Do not fucking touch me!” “How-“ You punched his chest. “Fucking-“ You pushed him. “Could-“ You grabbed his jaw, hissing the words at him. “You?” “All that talk about getting married and starting a family? And you were cheating the whole time?” “You fucking bastard.”

You doubled down, screaming at him to pack his shit and leave. His pleas fell on deaf ears as you continued raining hell down on him. You stomped to the bedroom to open the window. He followed your footsteps, begging you to hear him out.

You started rummaging through the closet for his stuff, grabbing it by the handful before throwing it out the window. In a fit of rage, he ran up to you, pushing you onto the bed, pinning you down with his weight. You felt yourself lose strength, screaming and scratching at him to let you go. You doubled down on the scratching, until you heard him hiss in pain, his arms withdrawing to inspect the damage.

You ran to the bathroom, locking the door behind you. You slid down the wall, your heart beating like a hummingbird. You felt exhausted, emotionally drained and physically numb. You stayed hidden, your ear pressed against the bathroom door. Finally, you heard the wheels of a suitcase on the floor, and the door slamming shut. You left the bathroom as his car drove away, sighing in relief.

You emerged from the bathroom, fearfully looking around at the damage. The vase of flowers by the bed was shattered, leaving the floor littered with debris. The pictures inside the frames were left scratched from the broken glass. You let out a sob.

[Back to now:]

The same lacy undergarment which had blown your relationship into pieces was now in your hands. Seething in anger, you stuffed it into the box of things to throw out. You couldn’t do this anymore. Yes, it has been a year. Yes, you did your best to move on. But seeing the piece of lingerie that triggered it all, broke something in you. After a year of crying, of feeling unworthy, and undesirable, seeing the small piece of fabric was like being uppercutted by an iron fist.

You realized an hour had passed when Gavi’s soft knocks against the wooden door frame pulled you out of your thoughts.

“How are you feeling?” He knelt to your height. You lifted yourself off of the floor, dusting off your pants.

“Bit better…” you sniffled. “I didn’t expect this to be so emotional.”

“I’m sorry you’re going through this. What he did…” He exhaled, a hint of anger could be sensed in his voice. “Hijo de puta. He wasn’t a real man-”

“We shouldn’t speak ill of the dead, Gavi.” You cut him off. “I know how you feel about him, trust me, I share the sentiment. But, I cannot bring myself to curse him off when he isn’t around to hear it anymore.”

“You’re right. I’m sorry.” He handed you a tissue.

You stared at each other for some time before Gavi spoke up again.

“Are you done packing?” He pointed at the cardboard box sitting on the desk.

“Yes. I think I’m done…” You took one last look around. In a few weeks, this would be someone else’s office, a new beginning for the whole team. No more drama and no more heartbreak.

“Let’s go then. Do you want to say hello to the boys?” He held the door open for you as you exited the office for the last time.

“I’d appreciate it.”

“You missed us, didn’t you?” Gavi teased you as you got on the elevator. He took your shy smirk as a positive answer.

When the boys say you walk into the gym, all hell broke loose. You had a swarm of teenagers and grown men run towards you, embracing you in a tight hug. Iñigo pulled you aside.

“¿Cómo estás? We missed you around here.” He held your hand softly. He had always treated you like a family member, opening his home to you when your relationship fell apart, and when your ex passed away. You were like an older sister to his daughters.

“I’m hanging in there. I’ve had an incredible support system. Gavi’s also been checking up on me pretty regularly. And when he can’t-”

“He sends…me.” He clumsily interrupts you, a deep laughter escaping from him. You chuckled.

“I’ll be okay. Te lo prometo.” You hugged him tightly, refusing to let go.

“I don’t doubt it for one second.” His hand settled on your shoulders, his eyes looking at you with pride.

You stayed to chat with the team for a few more minutes until you announced you had to leave. The group hugged you one last time. Gavi followed you, waving goodbye to his teammates.

“Do you want to grab some lunch?” Gavi asked you as you both walked towards the parking lot.

Before you could answer, your stomach betrayed you. You sighed in embarrassment.

“Sure, let’s go. But nothing too complicated.”

“So…Burgers?” He smirked devilishly.

“You get me.” You smiled back at him.

———

He stopped the car at a local burger joint, noting down your order before walking inside. He came back a few minutes later, handing you a brown bag.

“Got an extra something for you.” You looked at him in confusion. “You’re free to look at the inside of the bag.” He teases you.

Gavi drove back to his house, sighing in relief at the thought of being back in his safe space.

“Home sweet home.” He threw his keys on the console. “C’mon, don’t be shy.” He took the takeout bag from your hands, guiding you to his patio. He made you sit down while he took out the contents of the bag. He handed you your burger before sitting down and biting into his. A moan left his lips as he devoured his food.

“How are you feeling? Like… really?” He bluntly asked you.

You paused for a second, not knowing how to answer him.

“Which version do you want?” You sarcastically answered.

“The truth. I just want the truth.” He brought his chair closer to yours.

You swallowed down your pride, letting yourself speak freely.

“I used to feel like utter shit, Gavi. Every moment, I was reminded of the humiliation he dragged me through. Not only in my personal life but my social and professional life. He stole from me…precious time I will never get back.” You paused. “How would you feel if your partner kept talking to you about marriage and babies, only to find out they had been cheating since the first day of your relationship.” You took a bite of your food.

“All these years in this relationship, only to find out it was built on lies and disgraceful behavior. This shit… breaks a person, crushes the spirit. And now, I can’t even confront him because he’s fucking dead.” You cried out.

Gavi got up from his chair and hugged you tightly as you sobbed out a year’s worth of emotional turmoil. He didn’t know what to say, so you both stayed in silence until your tears dried.

“When he left, after I caught him cheating, I spent the evening wondering what I had done wrong for the relationship to go the way it did. I blamed myself for months and months on end.”

He shook his head regretfully.

“I would wake up in cold sweats every single night after he left. I was afraid he would turn up at home and blow up at me the way he did when I confronted him about his infidelity. I was a shell of a human, I could not function.” You continued.

You dried the tears under your eyes, sniffling. He handed you a tissue.

“Honest to God, without you and Iñigo, I don’t know where I would be today. You helped me pick myself up when I didn’t even think I deserved to be alive. You kept me afloat when everything around me crumbled.” You squeezed his hand.

“And we would’ve done it over and over again. Whether it’s a street away or a continent away, we will always be with you. You call and we answer.” He kissed the top of your head.

That night, Gavi invited you to stay over. He pulled out the snacks and set the projector, inviting you to a movie night.

“I’ve got to tell you, after our conversation earlier, I don’t think I can watch something too complicated.” You confessed.

“Well, we could watch Despicable Me…” Gavi playfully pouted at you.

“I’d like that.” You smiled gently.

[toriluvsnickwayne]

Memory Lane

Nick Wayne x Reader

Requested : yes/no

Masterlist

Y/N’S POV:

You snuggled deeper into the hotel bed, feeling Nick's warm arms around you. You'd known him since 6th grade, and since then he'd become more than just a friend - he was your rock, your confidant, your everything.

"Hey, remember that time we got lost in the arcade?" Nick asked, his voice low and husky.

You giggled. "How could I forget? We were stuck in there for hours!"

Nick chuckled. "And then my mom had to come find us, yelling at us for being irresponsible."

You playfully rolled your eyes. "You got us lost on purpose, Nick!"

Nick just laughed and pulled you closer. "Maybe a little. But it was worth it to see you smile."

(December 17, 2019)

You walked through the crowded arcade, the sounds of buzzing games and laughter filling the air. Nick's mom, Shayna, led the way, with Nick and you following close behind.

As you stopped to play a game, Nick's mom said, "I'll go grab some tickets, you two keep playing!"

But when you turned around, Shayna was nowhere to be seen. You looked at Nick, panicked. "Where's your mom?"

Nick shrugged. "I don't know, I thought she was right behind us!"

You both frantically scanned the crowd, but Shayna was gone. You were lost in the arcade.

Nick grabbed your hand. "Don't worry, we'll find her. Let's go up to the front desk and wait for her to find us."

You nodded, and together you climbed the stairs to the ticket counter. The staff barely gave you a second glance as you sat down on the edge of the counter, swinging your legs.

Nick started making silly faces at you, trying to get you to laugh. "Hey, look at me, I'm a lost arcade kid!"

You giggled, feeling a little better. "You're such a goofball, Nick."

As you sat there joking around, the minutes ticked by. You started to worry that Shayna would be frantic with worry, but Nick reassured you. "She'll find us, don't worry. We're not exactly stealthy."

Just then, you heard a familiar voice calling out your names. "Nick! Y/N! Where are you two?"

Nick grinned. "Right here, Mom! We were just... um... supervising the ticket counter."

Shayna chuckled, shaking her head. "Well, I'm glad I found you two. Let's get out of here before you get into any more trouble!"

As you climbed down from the counter, Nick whispered in your ear. "That was kind of fun, getting lost with you."

You smiled, feeling a flutter in your chest. "Definitely an adventure."

(Present Day)

You both laughed, reminiscing about old times. "And what about when you just showed up at my house unannounced?" you teased.

Nick grinned mischievously. "Hey, I just wanted to hang out!"

(June 27, 2017)

You were lounging on the couch, watching TV on a lazy Sunday afternoon, when the doorbell rang. You got up to answer it, expecting it to be a neighbor or maybe a delivery.

You opened the door to find Nick standing on your porch, a persistent grin on his face. You had given him your address weeks ago, and you had been wondering when he would finally show up.

"Hey, I'm here!" Nick announced, like he was conquering new territory.

You raised an eyebrow. "I see that. But my parents don't know who you are."

Nick shrugged. "That's okay, my parents are coming too. They couldn't resist my charm."

Just then, Buddy and Shayna got out of their car as well. Your parents appeared behind you, curious about the commotion.

As the adults introduced themselves, Nick whispered, "Let's sneak off and grab some snacks." You nodded, and while the parents talked, you both snuck upstairs to your room.

You spent the afternoon watching movies, joking around, and having the best time. As the hours passed, you both drifted off to sleep, exhausted from laughing.

But your peace was disrupted when Nick's dad, Buddy, burst into your room. "Nick, wake up! Time to go home, kiddo!"

As Nick groggily opened his eyes, Buddy noticed you were awake too. "Hey, sorry to disturb you. We had a great time talking with your parents. Actually, we're planning something for tomorrow..."

Nick sat up, rubbing his eyes. "What's tomorrow, Dad?"

Buddy smiled. "We're coming to pick up Y/N and you two can hang out some more. How does that sound?"

You exchanged a thrilled glance with Nick.

(Present Day)

As you talked, Nick's fingers traced gentle patterns on your skin, making you shiver with delight. You'd started dating in 9th grade, and now, here you were, wrapped in each other's arms.

[the-0ther-mother]

7/100 days of productivity

Thursday, 4 July, 2024

Yeah today was not good. I had a microeconomics final today which I'm really hoping i didn't fail but i was so unprepared for it that i can't even tell just how bad i wrote it. My cousin came over to stay and he's gonna be staying for a few days which will not be good for my exam cramming but he's lovely so i don't know.

I had a bit of a cheerful and relieved afternoon and i even managed to rest for a bit and watch one episode of Jeeves and Wooster. That show is a delightful distraction.

Then i sat down to study for my grant exams and then when i was mostly done with it my mum reminded me that i had some papers to print for this exam cuz it's different from my university's exams, and lo and behold, i find out that i didn't actually register myself for this exam (which i should've done two months ago) and i just forgot about the fact that i had forgotten to register myself and i fully believed that i was going to an exam tomorrow. I'm having a whole breakdown about it. This is when those quirky adhd jokes really turn sour cuz this is actually what it's like having adhd and i absolutely loath it sometimes.

Before this happened I even bought a movie ticket for myself to go watch a movie after all of my finals are done. Well, at least that's not lost.

Today wasn't really productive it was just heavy and eventful and none of it was nice. Ended up crying through my Duolingo lesson.

I have a headache and i want to rest.

I have so much to do tomorrow.

I still love you.

Night <3

[splendentmoon]

Welcome to the one and only, Monkey Family! Where everyone has traumas!

Possessed MK shows up at the end, and I'm trying to avoid any spoilers for the FNAF movie, and I absolutely refuse to be spoiled!

Tomorrow it opens in my country and I already have my ticket, so today I'm disappearing for the whole afternoon and evening. Bye!

[familyvideostevie]

I saw your requests are open and I simply had to send a request for Steve and Bee Girl! I’d love to see them at the Fun Fair or something equally summery. But anything you want to write is awesome! Thank you for NGAW, it’s such a fantastic series ❤️🐝

wow, how did you know i was writing exactly that already for this poll!! so, here you go my dear. steve and bee girl from no good at waiting go to the county fair | fluff, post-au summer fun, a little suggestive! 1.4k

Steve's been nagging you to go on a date like this ever since you took the kids to the amusement park.

"Come on," he'd say. "I want to let loose at a fair or something without worrying that one of those shitheads is gonna hurl all over a family."

"In the summer, Steve," you'd tell him. "We'll go in the summer."

Well, summer has come. Your life in Hawkins continues to be lovely. The farmer's market has started again and the kids run wild, seemingly growing before your eyes.

But today is about you and Steve. Well, and candles.

"So, you're telling me that this date is actually just a recon mission?" Steve says once you're on the highway. It's a hot day and all of the windows are down, the most recent tape you've made him playing low enough that you can still hear him.

"It's multitasking," you insist. "Bob says that rival farm will be at this county's fair and he wants me to see what their scents are like. And lucky for you, I decided to ask my boyfriend to come along." You lean over to tap his nose with your finger, which he swats at, eyes still on the road.

"Lucky for you, your boyfriend wanted to drive across state lines for some wax," he drones. You blow a raspberry at him and Steve grins, resting his palm on your bare knee. It's honestly too hot to be touching that much but with Steve you never really mind.

You'd left mid-afternoon so you could get to the fair for the cooler evening, and then plan to stay in a motel before heading out tomorrow morning. Your bags are in the backseat of the BMW and it's kind of thrilling to get out of Hawkins, to get away from everyone and everything you see everyday and to just be with Steve.

The drive is calm. You and Steve spend a lot of time together, sure, but there's always someone who needs one or both of you for something. This feels like the first time you can really relax in a while. You chat about nothing important, time flying by as it tends to do in the company of one of the people you love most in the world. Pretty soon he's pulling up to the fair, the sky now a soft pink, the lights bouncing off of the rows of cars in the makeshift grass parking lot.

"Have you ever actually been to one of these before?" he asks you, locking the car and linking your arms. The heat of the day is already fading and he eyes your bare arms but knows better than to suggest a coat. He'll just give you his jacket eventually.

"I think so," you say. "When I was young."

"These things are nuts," he says. "I gotta take you to the Indiana state fair someday. You'll freak." You imagine a younger Steve at one of these, cotton candy all over his face and the lights of the rides he'd be too short to ride reflecting in his eyes. You kiss his cheek, just because.

He doesn't question it. Something you've worked on is vocalizing your feelings but also showing him as much affection as you can stand -- it always makes his cheeks darken and his eyes sparkle.

"I can't believe you haven't taken me already, Harrington," you tease. "Feels like a right of passage."

Steve buys you a handful of tickets at the entrance booth and rolls his eyes. "Honey," he says. "This is our first summer. And I'm not the one working extra shifts."

He doesn't really mean it. You both know you're working extra shifts -- he is too, just starting in the fall -- so you can save up for a place of your own someday. For both of you.

"Anyway," Steve says. "We should make a summer bucket list."

"What, like we're in a teen movie, or something?"

He pulls his arm from yours and slings it around your shoulders, grinning at you. His hair is lighter this time of year, you've noticed, and he's got a nice tan. You met Steve at the beginning of fall and fell in love with him as the days got colder, but you see now that he's made for summer. The season highlights everything about him and he has come alive.

"Exactly like we're in a teen movie."

You laugh as you walk slowly through the fairgrounds, hardly paying attention to anything but the beautiful boy at your side. "Alright. What should we do?"

Steve puts on his thinking face. Bottom lip jutted out, eyebrows raised, head tilting side to side. He counts off on his fingers.

"Skinny dip in the lake, for sure," he says.

"If you're lucky." He winks.

"Do karaoke at that college bar with Robin."

"Oh god," you say, laughing. "I don't think they'll let us back after we tried last time."

"I don't think they'll let you back after last time," he corrects. You wrinkle your nose at him.

"Alright, hotshot, what else?"

"That's all I've got," he sighs. "But I'll workshop it. Right now, I'm going to win you a fish."

"A wha-- Steve, wait!" Your boyfriend charges ahead of you to some kind of water gun game where he can, sure enough, win a fish.

Steve does not win you a fish.

"Can we go find that candle stand now?" he says to you instead of apologizing for the lack of fish in your hands. You don't tease him, though you desperately want to.

Then you see something even better. "No," you tell him. "Because I'm going to win you a stuffed bear."

It's Steve's turn to look incredulous as you stride towards the ring toss.

You do win him a bear.

"Holy shit," he says when you hand it to him. It's purple and has a yellow bow around its neck. "That was kind of hot."

The laughter sputters out of you before you can control it and it makes Steve laugh too. He buys you some fried Oreos as thanks and makes sure to get powdered sugar all over you and then brush it off a little too thoroughly for such a public setting.

You do make it to the candle stand, finally, and the girl working it is so nice that you buy one. "Don't tell Bob," you warn Steve.

The evening is winding down when Steve convinces you to get in line for the Ferris wheel.

"Remember when we frenched in the one in the amusement park in the fall?" he whispers in your ear.

"Oh, do you mean when I sat in your lap and you almost busted your pants--"

He claps a hand over your mouth. "Yeah, guess you do remember." You lick his palm and he grimaces and lets you go. "Gross."

"You love it," he says. Well, what can you say to that?

You climb into the car -- this one isn't enclosed like the last one, more of a bench that sways a little too much for your liking, so there will be no funny business. It goes slow and as you rise you realize how pretty the fair looks against the darkness of the woods around it.

"It's so pretty," you say.

"Sure is," Steve replies. You don't look at him, but you put your hand on top of his where it rests on top of your knee.

"You better not be looking at me as you say that because that's so cheesy."

"Me? Cheesy?" You do look at him and yeah, he's looking at you. He's smiling at you. It's your favorite Steve smile -- it's soft, sincere. Almost disbelieving, like he thinks he's in a dream and he's going to wake up any second. You know how he feels.

The wheel stops and you have a perfect view from the top. "I never thought life could be this perfect," you say softly. "We've come so far."

Steve somehow squeezes closer to you. "We have," he replies. "And we deserve it." He kisses your temple.

"It's just so nice to be happy. To belong." Your throat feels tight and you're not totally sure where this is coming from. It's just another night, right?

"I love belonging with you," he says. It takes your breath away.

"That's so cheesy, Steve," you say thickly.

"I know," he says. He traces the faint scar on your palm. "Still true, bee girl."

You kiss him under a sky full of stars.

thank you for reading <3 reblog, send feedback, masterlist here!

[9haharharley1]

YOU ASK FOR PROMPTS AND I HOPE TO DELIVER (a few bcuz i like giving options >.<):

Literally anything from blackice figure skating AU (Pitch getting flirty during a private training session maybe, or interacting with Jack just before or after a competition?)

You've blessed us with catboyJack ♡ ......but what about a catboyDanny terrorizing Vlad 👀

Jack's worn a cute frilly outfit for Pitch...what would Pitch wear to get Jack crazy turned on?

I wanted to do all three, and I may come back to this, but this one grabbed me by the throat and pinned me to the wall!!! I've been wanting to write this for well over a year now!

3. Pitch all dressed up

Rocky Horror night at the college was always a blast. The auditorium was filled to the brim, near overflowing with people in crazy outfits as everyone and their brother tried to get a seat to the show. Tickets sold out quick weeks in advance, and there was another, smaller, projector set up outside for those who couldn't attend the main show to watch the movie. They were only unlucky enough to miss the performance by the volunteer actors on the main stage inside.

Jack was lucky enough to get tickets on the first day - he and his friends practically bullying their way to the front of the line in eager anticipation to secure their attendance. His friends Bunny and Tiana were performing in the show as Brad and Janet, respectively, while Sandy, North, and himself would be cheering in the audience. His shirt friend was rocking a golden leotard, proudly showing off his arms and posing with various Frank'n'Furter's stopping them on their way to their seats. North's Eddy look was also getting a bunch of attention, his usual biker look ramped up to eleven as he faked running from said Frank'n'Furter's and posing with a number of Columbia's, including Jack himself, who also got a chance to siddle up to a few other Eddie's in the crowd. His smile was huge, his ass looked fantastic in hot pants, and he was buzzing with excitement and a little alcohol by the time the film started, the audience singing along to Science Fiction and jeering at the screen.

It was a blast all around, rice raining down on his head - thankfully protected by his glittery hat - singing and shouting at and along with the movie. It was a lot of noise, and having never attended one of these types of shows before, he thought it might be a little too much noise. He was pleasantly surprised to find himself having fun, though, feeling a release of pent-up emotion with each shout at the screen. The stress of the semester and class melted away, chasing away thoughts of essay deadlines and project presentations. The meeting he had scheduled with his literature professor loomed tomorrow afternoon, a nightmare he wasn't looking forward to, and unable to shake the dread of talking one-on-one with the man who's standards were well above what the typical college student could meet. Pitchiner was a name dreaded by lit. majors all over campus, and unfortunately, he had the last available opening for the credit Jack needed to secure his continued studies towards his degree.

All of those worries washed away in the face of a night of fun, cheering loudly with Sandy and North as his friends danced and sang with the movie on stage. He threw his race, called out the man with no neck, and cheered for Riffraff when he answered the door. Sandy was the first to set off his noise-maker, and they all danced along to the Time Warp, North laughing loudly when his bigger frame couldn't keep up, and he bumped against Jack. They fell back to their seats prematurely, laughing all the while, and the audience buzzed with the appropriate anticipation as Frank'n'Furter strut his stuff onto the stage.

Only Jack's mouth fell open, and he may have been the only one in the audience to have gone quiet at the sight of the man in drag above him.

See, Jack and his friends may have been able to secure seats directly up front. And as such, they had a perfect view of their friends' performance as Brad and Janet. Which meant that Bunny and Tiana could look down at them and wave occasionally between songs.

It also meant, that when Frank'n'Furter's gold eyes swept over the audience, his gaze met Jack's, and he smirked that usually mean smirk he gave when he asked a question in class no one knew the answer to, smug and just this side of sadistic. He met Jack's wide eyes and gaping mouth with that same smirk, confident and imposing all at once in thigh-high fishnets, garter, and heels that made him impossibly taller than he already was. He placed his hands on thin hips, wrapped in fishnets and fingerless gloves, a black corset with delicate black lacing, and black panties that left little to the imagination and shapes his ass well enough to make Jack's mouth go dry. Around his neck was a thick white choker, stark against all that black, and Jack had the absurd thought that he really wanted to lick those bare, tanned shoulders. Pitchiner winked at him, bending one leg just so as the audience cheered.

"How d'you do?" he sang, his accent more exaggerated than when he lectured in class, and Jack fucking whimpered as the man practically crooned at the audience. There were some stifled gasps behind him from others who had no idea the professor could perform so well, but Jack was too busy crossing his legs, gripping the armrests of his seat tight as that velvety voice slid over him, around him. It wrapped him up in sultry seduction until he was practically sweating and panting, biting his lip as Pitchiner danced and strut around the stage like any seasoned performer. His long legs looked amazing in thigh-highs and heels, and Jack wanted nothing more than to sit at his feet and lick them clean. He whined, removing his hat to place it in his lap when his shorts became unbearably tight. Beside him, Sandy looked away from the spectacle on stage, concern in his eyes and the tilt of his head.

"Are you OK?" he signed. Jack nodded, giving him a shaky smile.

"I-I'm good!" he said, thankful the volume of the crowd helped hide his too-high voice. "Never better! This is fun!"

Sandy smiled back, the concern disappearing easily enough, and he set off his noise maker as the song ended and Pitchiner bowed to the audience, earning a standing ovation.

Jack did not stand. No way.

The rest of the show went by in painful agony, Jack squirming in place every time Pitchiner strut about the stage. His velvety deep voice had Jack mesmerized, unable to look away from the professor as he hammed it up for the audience, gaining laughs from the crowd with his over-the-top expressions, and Jack couldn't help but focus solely on him for the rest of the show. He made noise when. it was prompted from the audience, and he sang along to the music, but it was distracted at best, eyes continuously drawn to long legs and tan skin and shiny heels. He desperately wished he had brought a bottle of water along for the show as his mouth was drier than the Sahara, but every new glance at Pitchiner's bright eyes, amused and teasing and occasionally meeting his own, had him swallowing back a mouthful of drool that threatened to drip down his chin and make him look like a fool. The big dance number with Tiana and Bunny and their chosen Rocky near the end had him whimpering and squirming, his eyes nearly rolling back in his head when Pitchiner crooned I'm Going Home to the audience. That one earned him another standing ovation, and he died in comically over-the-top fashion after to laughter and applause from the audience.

It wasn't until he finally left the stage that Jack felt like he could breathe again, and he gasped, gulping in thick lungfuls of air and feeling sweaty and hot all over. He wiped his brow, barely managing to pay attention to the rest of the show. A glance to the curtain where Pitchiner had disappeared revealed gold eyes in the shadows, watching him with that ever-present intensity, and Jack jumped as his heart beat wildly in his chest. Pitchiner came out one last time for the curtain call, Sandy and North whistling and clapping wildly for their friends and the rest, but Jack only had eyes for his professor. Pitchiner bowed and smirked for the audience, his gaze lingering on Jack. Then he stalked off, back behind the curtain, and Jack watched him go, eyes glued to his ass and legs.

"Ah, that was better than last year's!" North suddenly exclaimed. He stood and stretched, Sandy doing the same on Jack's other side. "I had no idea Pitchiner was performer! All I ever hear are horror stories from his students." He rose a brow at Jack as he said this, smirk teasing.

Jack rolled his eyes. He cleared his throat. "Well, how was I supposed to know?" he grumbled. Around them, the crowd was starting to clear from the room.

"We're gonna wait for Tiana and Bunny, right?" Sandy asked, glancing back and forth between them. "After party?"

"Uh... you guys go ahead," said Jack. "I think I'm... gonna get some air."

"Too much for first time, Jack?" North teased.

Jack stuck his tongue out at him. "See ya tomorrow."

They shared their goodbyes as Jack left, walking towards the emergency exit near the front to avoid the rest of the crowd. He desperately needed some air, preferably cold and breezy, but he was dismayed to discover the exit let out into the hall behind the auditorium. He groaned and scrubbed a hand through his hair, tapping his hat against his leg in anxiety, but at least it was empty.

"Great..." he grumbled. He glanced down the hall, looking for another exit.

"Enjoy the show, Jack?"

Jack didn't shriek, per se, but he might as well have, jumping in place and startling so bad he threw a hand up to cover his rapidly beating heart. A chuckle on his other side made him turn, and he stared with wide eyes at Professor Pitchiner, still dressed in all his Frank'n'Furter glory, only now he had a leather motorcycle jacket on. Jack tried to glare, but he was a little distracted by all the leather on that lean frame.

Had he mentioned he totally wasn't harboring a crush on his teacher?

Nope. Not at all.

Jack licked his lips, watching gold eyes track the action and feeling a heady rush of blood travel south. "It... It was good," he managed to say. Pitchiner walked over, heels clicking on the linoleum. Through the door behind him, Jack could still hear the leftover rumble of the audience. Pitchiner came to a stop barely a foot away. Jack could swear he could feel his heat from this close and watched a bead of sweat drip down the side of his face. His black hair that had been carefully styled for the show was now slicked back with gel and sweat, and Jack licked his lips, discreetly holding his hat in front of his crotch. "I had no idea you could dance." He hoped he wasn't blushing as hard as he fears.

Pitchiner gave a small smile, crooked but gleeful. "Dance, sing, act. That's what ten years studying theater will do for you."

Jack couldn't help but grin back. "Not your first Rocky Horror Picture Show, I take it?"

"More like the fourth or fifth," Pitchiner admitted. "But plenty of small time shows where you share the stage with other actors playing the same role. Nevertheless -" he took a step forward, Jack taking one back until his back hit the door, and Pitchiner loomed over him, impossibly tall in his heels. Heat radiated off of him, making Jack sweat as he craned his neck up to look at the older man. He gulped.

"Did you enjoy yourself?" Pitchiner's voice went low as he asked, dark and velvety, his accent more pronounced than it was in class, like it had been on stage.

Jack barely managed to bite back a whimper. "Y... Yeah..." he stuttered out. An arm clad in leather rested next to his head on the door, trapping him. Pitchiner's other hand reached down to take his hat, plucking it easily from Jack's sweaty hands. Jack's breathing hitched, and he squeezed his legs together to hopefully hide his reaction from his professor. "E-Everyone did really... really well..."

Could he sound any more pathetic?

Jack wanted to bang his head against the door as Pitchiner's smirk widened. "But you weren't watching everyone, Jack," he murmured, and oh, god, his voice. He practically purred in Jack's ear as he leaned closer, sounding and looking like sex on legs and Jack actually did squeak as long fingers found his hip, digging in just enough to make him moan and spread his legs a little. "You were watching me."

A long leg was shoved between his thighs, lifting him off the floor enough that he had to stand on his toes, and he yelped, staring up at Pitchiner with wide eyes. The fingers digging into his hip tightened, urging him to grind down on that strong thigh, fishnets catching on his shorts. Jack's mouth fell open, looking down in shocked wonder, mouth fallen open as that strong leg held him in place. The muscles in that thigh tensed and relaxed, moving Jack just so on it and rubbing his arousal maddeningly slow through his pants.

"Do you know what it's like?" Pitchiner murmured into his ear. Jack's breath hitched as the arm on the door moved, long fingers tangling in his hair. His head was forcefully pulled to the side so Pitchiner could lick his ear, and Jack whimpered, bucking pathetically against his thigh. "Having you watch me day after day, staring with those pretty eyes of yours?" He bit the lobe of Jack's ear, and Jack's eyes nearly rolled back. Pitchiner's voice was husky as he spoke, filled with a desire Jack had no idea the man could even feel, for how unaffected he always acted in class. "You wear your every emotion on your face at all times, and when you look at me" - he lifted his leg higher, Jack moaning brokenly and balling his hands into soft leather - "it just makes me want to fuck you that much harder."

Jack gasped, head falling back when Pitchiner tugged on his hair so he could mouth at his neck, lips hot and wet. Sharp teeth nipped at his throat, scraping thin skin and Jack ground down on his leg, desperate for release from the aching pleasure he had felt from the moment Pitchiner stepped on stage, from the moment he walked into his class. He felt the fingers bruising his hip, the hand tangled in his hair, the teeth and tongue on his skin. Overwhelming heat pooled in his belly, his balls tightening to the point of pain, and he moaned, tears gathering in his eyes when it wasn't enough. It wasn't enough. The leg lowered enough so Jack could get his feet on the ground, clutching Pitchiner close so he could grind harder and faster against him, practically sobbing when his orgasm wouldn't come.

"Please -" he gasped, broken and wet as he looked up into bright gold eyes heavy with heat and desire. "Please, please, Professor, I'm close, I can't -" He gasped as Pitchiner buried his face in his neck, tugging on his hair.

"You'll call me Kozmotis when we're like this," the older man ordered. There was a growl in his voice, hungry and dark, and it made Jack sob and grind harder on him.

"K-Kozmotis..." Jack whispered, and Kozmotis groaned against his shoulder before biting down painfully on tender flesh. "AH! Kozmotis... Kozmo-oh..." Jack's eyes rolled back in his head as Koz rutted his leg up to meet every thrust of his hips. Pleasure surged, and he buried his face in soft leather, barely muffling his moans. "Oh, god, Kozmotis... Koz, Koz, I'm -"

"Come for me, Jack," Kozmotis ordered, licking up his neck to hiss in his ear. "Show me how pretty those eyes are when you come."

Jack's whole body stiffened, grinding down hard with a low whine as he came in his shorts, rocking his trapped length against that strong thigh. Kozmotis yanked his head back by the hair, ripping a moan from Jack's drooling mouth as he managed to meet his bright gaze with bleary eyes. Kozmotis moaned, low and deep, and Jack's weakened hands fell from his jacket, one brushing the taller man's answering erection as it fell. Jack breathed heavily as he leaned back against the wall.

Kozmotis lowered him so he could stand on shaking legs, short uncomfortably tight and wet. The taller man brushed back his hair, placing a kiss to Jack's sweaty forward, chuckling when Jack tilted his head up for a real kiss.

He did not kiss him.

Instead, Kozmotis pressed their sweaty for heads together, his breathing ragged and heavy as Jack came down from his high.

"Thank you, Jack," Kozmotis whispered, breath hot on Jack's lips. "That was a wonderful gift. One I think I'll remember quite fondly later."

Jack's face lit up with a blush. "Wh... what about you?" His hand shook as he reached for the older man, but Kozmotis caught his wrist, fingers gentle as he rubbed the back of his hand.

"I'll be fine," he said, a little ruefully. "I think I might have gone too far as it is. No need to push you further."

"You didn't go too far," Jack stated, hoping his voice sounded as confident as his words. "Like you said, I-I've been... watching you."

Kozmotis chuckled. "I know. It's maddening." He placed another gentle kiss to Jack's brow, then another to the corner of his eye. Jack sighed, feeling a wash of contentment, and he tried to tilt his head for a proper kiss, but Kozmotis moved away too soon.

Jack pouted at him.

"Oh, none of that," Kozmotis said, sounding a little shaky himself as his eyes darkened. His placed a thumb to Jack's lips to rub the pout away, but two could play that game, and Jack opened his mouth, drawing the digit in with his tongue. Kozmotis let out a deep moan, eyes lidded heavily as his gaze locked onto plush lips. "Oh, that's not fair..." he whispered.

Jack stared back at him as he sucked his thumb, running his tongue over calloused skin. He pulled back with a pop, kissing the pad sweetly and listening to Kozmotis let out a shaky sigh. "You're the one not being fair," Jack muttered.

Kozmotis swallowed. "We'll see how you feel about that tomorrow." He ran a gentle hand through Jack's hair. "If you're still interested, I certainly wouldn't mind actually talking about it some more then." He pulled his hand away. "If not, then we can forget this ever happened."

"I really don't think I'm gonna change my mind between now and then," Jack stated, grinning a little when Pitch chuckled. "You're just making want to kiss you more."

"Then you can kiss me all you want tomorrow afternoon." Kozmotis took his hand, leaning over just so to press a kiss to the back of it. Jack's breathing went funny, and Kozmotis met his eyes with his own soft smile. "I'll see you tomorrow, Jack."

And then he turned, sauntering off down the hall in thigh-highs and leather, heels clicking all the way, and Jack grew increasingly aware of how uncomfortable his shorts were as he watched. He smiled when Pitchiner left his sight, big and dopey, and he leaned back heavily on the door. It was quiet on the other side.

Tomorrow couldn't come soon enough.

---

Oh god don't look at me

I'll clean it up and post it to ao3 later!

[agirlandherquill]

Written In Smoke - The Letter Stained In Ink

this week's letter comes to you fresh off the high of finishing reading a book, which i'll be sure to ramble about a little later on so bear with me, a few things have happened this week so here goes!

A Glimpse Through Time - little bits about me and what I’ve been up to this week

the past few days at least have been a lot, a good lot don't get me wrong, but a lot, now here's what I've been up to

A great chunk of my Saturday afternoon comprised of watching F1 (slipping in another fact about me, i'm a big fan), watching the practice, then an F2 sprint and then the F1 Qualifying for the big race - and i'm so freaking happy because my two favourite drivers are in the top 3 positions for tomorrow (you can tell this is written mere minutes after watching the madness) - it's also pretty cool because the track for the UK's race isn't all that far from me, and I'm hoping to grab tickets for next season

While I was watching the incredible chaos of F1, I was also reading, bit more on that below, but the universe must love me because the race finished the same moment that I read the final sentence of my book - talk about timing

I BOOKED MY TRIP TO BATH - I'm so so excited to go and see the Jane Austen Centre and Mary Shelley's House of Frankenstein, issue is I have just over a week to read 4 more Jane Austen books (I've only read persuasion and pride and prejudice, both twice) and Frankenstein (this is my motivation to finally read it haha), but it'll be doable for sure

This absolute genius was 3 hours late (cough, attempting to renew at 2am, cough) returning library books, but the people at the library were so sweet and got rid of the 15p charge and renewed them for me instead - first, and hopefully only time I'm late with library books fingers crossed

Books - This week's been a bit more productive writing-wise, so I only had time to read one book this week, and I finished it today (saturday, incase I take too long to write the rest of this week's entry and send it off tomorrow instead, and let's be honest, it's likely) - You, by Caroline Kepnes, and I've seen the show many, many times, and the book was just as addictive, I'm thinking of reading the rest but that might be a plan for the future since my bookshelves and kindle library are begging me to read the books i own and have yet to read rather than buying more - I did however grab a copy of P.S I Love You in a charity shop and I can't believe it, it literally looks NEW, so I'm going to look forward to reading and watching the movie at some point - I'm also halfway through Love, Theoretically and I am OBSESSED, that and Love Hypothesis were the only books I was planning on reading by the author but now I'm not so sure, they're so GOOD

Shows/Movies - My. Lady. Jane. SPEECHLESS (as of writing this I'm only on episode 5, but I'm hoping to finish it this weekend) and I can't wait to devour the book when the tie-in edition comes out (this is one I NEED in paperback, sorry bookshelves), I also watched Empire Strikes Back this week and can I just say I'm more of a Leia and Han fan than I expected to be - they're so good

Music - us. by Gracie Abrams (this is one of very few of her songs that I know but it is so good to write with, on loop, or it was for the scene I was writing, but that's just what it's like being a writer I suppose, music changes with each scene and some songs fit better than most), Chlorine by TOP - my friends introduced me to them and this is probably my favourite song of theirs, and that's it for this little segment they're the two main songs I can think of

oh and I can include a slightly major adulting achievement - I voted for the first time this week, it was a strange, strange feeling but it happened - I'm not big on politics, not at all, so I won't say too much about it but the thought of crossing a box to decide a country's future is really funny to me, I could not tell you why, but it makes me laugh

Spills From The Ink-Pot - writing, writing, and more writing

this is England, it may be July but the skies sure do know how to pour - which means more time indoors for me writing (I do love writing outside, when it's not too cold, but the rain's brought a little bit of an anti-summer chill, shocker, so this week's been more of an indoors-y one for me)

The current draft of Ruin's Reprisal took a bit of a hammering, as did my keyboard - in the last 3 days alone I've written 6,000 (ish) words, which is a lot for me recently, and it's only going to be more still throughout the rest of this weekend - people ask me why I have a keyboard cover on my laptop, this is why, I hate the thought of wearing down the keys and leaving fingerprints on my screen when I shut my laptop- and with a keyboard cover none of that happens, and my keyboard survives just a little longer (pray for the poor thing, I know I am) - at the time of almost publishing this letter I'm now sitting at 12,000 words written by the end of the weekend (whoops)

Current Word Count is sitting at 212,525, but that's with me having edited up to halfway through Part Two, it's by no means a set number given the amount of chapters I still have to go through, but it's progress (and i love progress)

I'm thinking of making a checklist in these letters to encourage myself to do more writing things in the next week, so here's next week's goals:

Come up with Part Titles - I have Chapter ones, why not for Parts too?

I want to finish Part Two by next week - that's 5 chapters away, possibly doable?

Slightly bigger goal than just next week - I want to write a short story, or a story, maybe not so short, but I want to write start to finish over the summer (maybe it'll be a novella?), it's a challenge I'm setting for myself alongside writing Ruin's Reprisal, and it starts with the little snippet I released earlier this week - writing on a clueless whim becomes an actual, surprisingly good thing, who knew?

I have plenty to show you this time around dear reader, so here's a few snippets for you to sink your teeth into:

She grabbed his hand and pressed it over her bleeding thigh. “Do it. Heal me.” Fenley frowned. “Edeva-” “There’s no time. They’ll find us. I need you to do it.” His brows furrowed, he watched her carefully. “You’ll reject it, won’t you?” He’s figured it out, or he thinks he has. Either way, it doesn’t matter. “This Exilza will survive.” Fenley’s jaw tightened. “I’ll hurt you.” His eyes swept up from her leg to her face. She caught his stare, and she held it. “Then hurt me. I know you’ll make it right.” “…But I can’t.” She watched his throat bob up and down. He’s not willing to hurt me more before he heals me. Her fingers twitched by her sides. It’s going to take drastic measures to make him do it.  She reached up and slung her arm over his shoulders, drawing him in close, Fenley grunted in shock, she used his distraction to grab one of the knives from his coat, he jerked back, his mouth hanging open as she buried the blade in her thigh, close to her wound, and buried her face in his chest to muffle a cry of pain. She breathed deeply and braced herself to rip out his knife. She pressed it into his hands.  “Until I bleed out, my life is yours. Decide.”

This was not hunting, this was not defence, this was murder through and through.  Edeva had taken a life, and now the epithet hanging over her name was true. I am a murderer. Vanquisher. Slaughterer. Monster. She sank to her knees, clutching her head, as the names began to swirl, over and over until they blurred, becoming a perpetual scream in her mind, she could think, still she could not breathe, she could not move. The ground shook, the Oksa were coming for her. She did not look, she did not lift her chin from her chest, she remained still on her knees, succumbing to her fate, her punishment for what she had done. I deserve it. I took a life of theirs and they’ll take this life of mine. The darkness crept in, it took over her, numbing the world until all she could see was the dark, shrouding her like a cloak. Her heart stuttered in her chest. This was not death, this was Shael. “Edeva.” Fenley’s whisper forced her to lift her head. He was on his knees too, one hand on her shoulder. “What are you doing?” “Accepting.” She hadn’t the strength to say more, or the strength to look him in the eye, but he stopped her, he made her, his fingers grasped the hair at the nape of her neck and pulled back sharply enough to force her to meet his gaze. “There is nothing to accept and I will not see you give up, I will not see you submit, not to them. I will not stand around watch your neck break - I won’t,” His jaw clenched. “I won’t, and you won’t either.” The hand on her shoulder pushed roughly and she fell, she fell from the ethereal cloak of Shael and back to the world, back to the fighting. Where Oksa had been there were now smoking remains, such smoke wasn’t normal, and she realised it wasn’t. It was shadow. Whatever Fenley had done she was glad she hadn’t seen it, but he had done it to help her, to save her, to help her save herself - for just a little longer.  Something glinted to her right, it was her sword, sticking out of the dirt. Fenley. He wants me to fight. He wanted her to do the impossible. “I can’t.” She closed her eyes, her fingers curling in on themselves as her hand hung limply by her side. Vitaires do not fall. We stand. We stay standing.  Her Mama’s words had never been so loud in her mind. They were true, they were everything she needed, much like Fenley’s push. I am Edeva Vitarie and I will stand. She took her first breath, then another, I. Will. Stand.

and this next snippet comes from the short story i'm writing (alas yet to be given a title): “It isn’t very often someone gets away with saying no to me.” She startled at his voice. She turned to see him squatting atop a large bin, crammed against a wall, overflowing with rubbish, none of it seemed to bother him as he prowled over its lid and crept down to her level. Her fingers stilled against her laces. “Have I?” “Not quite.” “I should warn you I’m expected somewhere.” “This won’t take long, I came only to give you this.” She flinched at an envelope hitting her lap, she hadn’t felt him move, let alone seen it.  “If I open it, will it kill me?” “That envelope contains ink and paper, nothing more.” “Nothing less, either.” She mused, slipping the envelope into her coat. “Your stationery is what most would die for.” “Really? I thought I was using the cheaper stuff.” “Rich, are we?”  His laugh almost tempted one of hers. “Not quite. Save your questions for another night, I trust we’ll have one.” He sounds more self assured than the corporate suits that rule the city, is such a thing possible? She stood, laces tied, envelope secure, and hugged herself. The chill of the night had never been so clear to her as it was now.  “If I tell you no, again, will you seek me out?” “You sought me first, I only thought to return the favour.” Is that… A touch of defence? How interesting.  “Very well, I-” “I thought I’d lost you for a minute there, everything all right?” The Assistant’s voice cut through the alley, she turned around, putting on a reassuring smile. “I needed to tie my laces that’s all.” She took a few steps toward him, only glancing back as they went to turn back onto the street. The alley was empty, he was gone.  His letter seemed to weigh more in her pocket before, she placed a hand over it to steady it, and herself. My refusal paid off, he’s more interested than ever before. The more interest, the more willing he is to tell his story. He wanted another night, she sought out plenty more - and she would have them. She had him hooked, and she knew it. 

good grief this week's one is LATE (apologies dear reader, these past few days have been busy ones) but here you go! this week's letter is all typed up, compiled and heading your way!

~ A Girl and Her Quill

Tag List! (if you want to be notified when a WIS post comes out, interact with this post :) )

@lead-to-code @catwingsathena @nothoughtsjustmhaandotherthings @thestorywitch @lunaeuphternal

@theaistired @frostedlemonwriter

[brigdh]

Tagged (ages ago, whoops!) by @saiditallbefore and @coyotesuspect!

Last song: 'No Place Like London', Sweeney Todd, Original Broadway Cast. I got to see the current run of Sweeney Todd for my birthday earlier this week, and while I really liked the production generally, the lead does not have a deep enough voice for Sweeney. So obviously I had to relisten to some previous casts to correct this mistake.

Favourite colour: Always so hard to choose! Blue, maybe? Or green? Or purple? But red's also very good....

Last Book: Currently in the middle of Imperial Spain: 1469 - 1716 by J.H. Elliott. I've been slowly making my way through Don Quixote over the last five months or so with a bookclub, and I realized that I needed some more context. I've also been realizing that, while I know British and French and American history fairly well, I am pretty ignorant about Spanish history. Anyway, this is the book that everyone seems to recommend for the period I'm interested in, and it is quite good, but it was written in the 1960s and you can frequently tell.

Last Movie: Just saw Civil War this afternoon. It was very good at keeping the tension and had some gorgeous shots, but ultimately felt weirdly empty.

Last TV Show: Shogun! I've really been enjoying the new miniseries, though I'm an episode behind and need to catch up.

Sweet/Spicy/Savory: Usually savory, but I need all three for a complete meal.

Relationship status: Married to @lettersfromtitan!

Last thing i googled: a tax form, so I will not be putting specifics here. :D Before that, "wavewalker by suzanne heywood", which I saw someone mention. It apparently is a memoir about an awful childhood.

Current obsession(s): Nothing in particular, I think? I have been doing a deep-dive on Early Modern Spanish history – the book up above is the fifth one I've read this year, not counting Don Quixote itself, and I've also been doing some research on early textile making, though I haven't quite found the angle I want to take there.

Looking Forward To: I have tickets to see Monkey Man tomorrow, and I can't wait!

tag 9 people: @schmirius, @napneeders, @petrichorca, @thewalrus-said, @badgerette, @why-worry-do-it-later, @sixappleseeds, @peregrineroad, and @starberrywine! Only if you want to, of course. <3

[batz-surveys]

12.

When was the last time you saw the person you like? This afternoon, before he left for work.

What are you listening to? The a/c and my dog licking her pillow.

Would you take back your last boyfriend/girlfriend? No times infinity!

Did you babysit for money when you were in middle school? I babysat, but I sure as hell didn't get paid. I was forced to look after my niece and nephew from the time I was thirteen, until I could get a real job at seventeen or eighteen.

Who is your favorite band? How long have they been? The Used. I've loved them from the first time I listened to their first album, which was a burned CD. That was when I was a freshman in high school, so either 2003 or 2004.

What do the last two texts you received from different people say? Hubs: "Damn, baby I'm sorry. I'll clean the tub tomorrow after I take you to work." I hurt my back last week, and couldn't clean it to take an epsom salt bath today. Mother In Law: "[heart emoji]"

Are you good at wrapping presents? I’m great at wrapping presents, but I prefer to put gifts in bags so that people can reuse them.

Who are you more like? Your mom or your dad? I would say I'm a pretty good mix of both, both personality wise and physical traits.

How do you respond to being nervous? Oh, not well at all.

Who were the last two boys to text you? You mean men. And it was my husband and my dad.

If you could have one thing right this second, what would it be? A winning lottery ticket so that I don't have to work tomorrow, and I can go see a doctor without fear of spending over $200 just for them to tell me I pulled a muscle.

How did you get your last bruise? Either a kid hitting me or me knocking into something.

Name something you disliked about today? My back hurt so bad when I woke up this morning, that I could barely get out of bed on my own.

Who is your favorite author? It's a toss-up between Clive Barker and Stephen King. Stephen King writes more, but Clive Barker's way with words and description is just wonderful. And then there's Edgar Allan Poe...fuck, I can't pick!

Do you like to have long hair or short hair? I like the way long hair looks on me, because my face is chubby, but I love that short hair is so much easier to manage.

Do you think doing drugs is cool? Haha, no? I think it's just something for people to do. That's like asking if I think doing the dishes is cool. It's not awesome, but people do it.

If you could go to Africa, would you? If I had time to research all the areas I would be going to, yes. And I'd have to take my dad. It's his dream to go to Africa.

What were you doing at 9:00 a.m. this morning? I was lying in bed watching Tik Toks.

How often do you see your most recent ex? Never, thank goodness.

Have you ever driven without a license? Haha, yes. But I don't drive. It was just some practice at our old storage unit place, and then I had a panic attack so...

Do you think you have made a difference in anyone’s life? I know I have. That sounds cocky, but it's true because people have literally told me.

Who were you last in a car with? A Lyft driver on Friday. Haha, it just set in that I haven't left my apartment other than to walk my dog since Friday.

What is bothering you right now? The weekend is over, my back still hurts, and I don't want to work because of it.

What are you planning to do on your 19th birthday? Ha! My 19th birthday was forever ago. I can't even remember what I did for it.

Do you like cheesecake? I have to be in the mood for it, but sure.

Who was the last person you talked to before you went to bed last night? My husband.

Is there a high chance of you going out to the movies soon? Yes, I want to see Joker: Folie à Deux so bad! I'm not sure when I'll get a chance to. I'll probably have to play hooky on one of my husband's days off.

How old will the last person you kissed be on his/her next birthday? Thirty-six.

How did you meet the last person you kissed? Through Facebook. We had mutual friends, we talked for a couple weeks before meeting in person, he invited me to a band practice, and the rest, as they say, is history.

What does your hair look like? It’s in eight braids.

Do you like your hair? I like when it cooperates with me, sure.

Do you wake up cranky? Most days, yes.

Are there certain things that can’t be joked about with you? Sure, and they're obvious things that nobody should joke about in the first place.

Do you care who wins the Super Bowl? Not really.

Where did you get the shirt you’re wearing? I got it for Xmas a couple years ago. But more than likely, The Used's online shop.

Have you ever met your favorite band // singer? I have. Not the original line-up, but still.

Have you ever been in a life threatening situation? Yes.

Have you ever read the Hunger Games series? No.

Do you watch a lot of movies? A lot of horror movies, yes.

Have you ever had highlights in your hair? Well, I had streaks at one point. But they were teal.

Do you like to keep a routine? Not only do I like to, but I have to.

Who knows your biggest secrets? My journals.

Do you have any hickeys on you? No.

Have you ever made out with someone you weren’t dating? Yes.

Can you recall the last time you sincerely liked someone? Now. I love my husband.

Do you have any interesting tattoos/piercings? I wouldn't call my tattoos interesting, really. But I have had some wild piercings back in the day, haha. I've been pierced over like, twenty times.

Do you have a good relationship with your parent(s)? I do now, yes. Distance from my mom healed my relationship with her. And my dad getting sober healed my dad's relationships with all of us.

How many siblings do you have? I have two brothers, although I don't talk to one of them, and a sister.

What do you hear right now? The restaurant down the fucking street. Same three fucking beats, in rotation, almost every night.

What friend haven’t you seen in a while that you’d like to see? Oh man, I don't even want to pull at this string. Next!

Are your lips soft? Right now, not really actually. I just pressed my lips together and they feel a little chapped.

Who did you last shoot a dirty look at? Honestly, probably a parent of a kid at work.

Last time you were sick? I had a little sinus issue last week. I think it was from cleaning the bathroom without proper ventilation, though, and not actually catching it from somewhere.

Who came over last? My husband's friend. He had just got out of the hospital, and he didn't want to be alone, so he came over Friday night to chill.

Where is your next date? God, I hope it's soon. I'm dying for romance. We've just not had the time.

Whose car were you in last, besides your own? I don't have a car. It's always my husband's car. But I guess other than his, then it was my Lyft driver on Friday.

What letter does your boyfriend/girlfriend’s last name start with? L.

Has the last person you kissed ever been to your house? Yes, he lives here.

What would you do if Jesse McCartney rang you up and asked you on a date?  I forgot about this guy - I'm pretty sure I thought him and Aaron Carter (RIP) was the same person.

Would you ever date someone who was absolutely gorgeous but thought they were better than everyone else? I'm married. But for the question's sake, probably not. I've done that before in the past and honestly, he wasn't even that cute and his attitude made him very unattractive.

Do you dislike anyone? No.

Why? I let go of the reasons I dislike a person when I let that person go. Like, the former question made me think of my brother that I don't talk to. I don't hate him, really. I just got fed up with all the things he's done to my family, and cut him loose. I want nothing but the best for him, and his family, because their my family, too. But, I also want nothing to do with that side of my family. I've had enough. It's not a grudge, like my mom likes to say, it's just the end of our relationship. Just because the same blood runs through our veins, doesn't mean we have to be family.

How would you feel if you got the person you liked? I got him.

Do you remember who you liked on New Year’s? My husband, haha.

Have you ever felt like you weren’t good enough? Sure. It's something I'm working on to this day.

Do you understand football? Kind of. Not where I could explain it, but I can watch and follow along.

Explain your relationship status: Married to my best friend in the whole world.

Ever been called a jerk/bitch? Yes, both jokingly and seriously.

What do you think your mom does when she goes out? She's either running errands for my grandma or Ms. Betty, or shopping.

Do chickens have feelings? I think so. It's why I don't eat them. Tomorrow's seven years as a vegetarian for me!

Where is your sister right now? Probably at home.

What kind of phone do you have? Samsung Galaxy S8. Shut up, it still works fine.

What do you smell like? My leave-in conditioner, so kind of coconutty.

Are you allergic to anything? Yes, several things.

Have you ever been to a spa? No.

Do you miss someone? I do miss my husband. I'm still not used to his long, late hours yet.

Do you think they miss you too? I'm sure he would rather be here with me, yes.

Do you know how to do a cart-wheel? I've never done a cartwheel before in my life. I've always been afraid of breaking my neck, haha. Which is stupid, because I skateboarded in high school with no regard for breaks and bruises because I never wore pads or a helmet.

In one word, how would you define yourself? Tired.

How did you feel when you woke up? Tired and achy.

When was the last time you saw your father? Wednesday evening.

Have you ever passed out on the bathroom floor? Ugh, yes, thanks for reminding me of that fucked up time in my life where I was either always high or drunk to numb the pain of my life outside of the drugs and alcohol.

Do you like surprises? I like to say I like "item surprises." Like, gifts and things like that. But don't surprise me with a party, or a trip, or anything like that. I need two to five business days to plan and prep mentally.

Who was the last person you held hands with? My husband.

When was the last time you laughed really hard? It was either yesterday morning or this morning, I can't remember. My husband said some funny shit, as usual, and had me cackling before coffee even.

Is it hard leaving people behind? Certain people. But mostly, no.

[raptorsaurusmelain]

Let me show you... Youtube - chapter 12

Little chapter by chapter, the story is following the game. (Am I reading the manga in parallel to be sure I miss nothing ? Yes.)

Anyway, today I pre-ordered Vil's figurine, I can't wait to be in december and receive it.

Warning : no proof reading, English is not my mother tongue.

If you are interested in reading this fic, the tag "#twst lmsyy" will give you all the chapters.

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: .☽ . :☆ﾟ. ───

After her day, the brunette went to the school store to prepare for the overblot after care.

She was browsing through the shelf of the shop when Sam interpelled her. “Hello Dr Devi ! What can I do for you today ?”

[Of course he knows. But time to lie.] “Hello Sam, I am preparing for… My periods.” She said, whispering in his ear the last part.

Sam was a little embarrassed (as if it was possible). “I do not have everything prepared for ladies hygiene… Do you wish to order ? Like this I will have stock next time !”

[Actually… It wasn’t a bad idea.] She thought. Her basket was mostly full with cakes and chocolates, but she didn’t think about what would happen if she really needed pads or tampons. Damn, what a clever lie. What a smart woman.

That’s how she was at the counter, with a catalog on feminine products. She was very entertaining to watch, her face morphing from a simple surprise to an horrified expression reading the list of products that could be purchased.

She gave her list to Sam, with the brand and quantity on it. She also purchased wax stripes and razors because she was doing a chase of body hair. She added a headset to listen to music while doing her job. It was a Wony wireless sh-1000-xm5 with active noise balance, like the one she had on Earth.

Sam did a little chit chat with her, to get to know her better you know ? “So you have a thesis in artificial intelligence ? You should speak with the Ignihyde little imps, they would be thrilled to have a young woman understanding their craze for technology !”

She smiled “I know I should speak with them, I need to buy a gaming computer and some games !”

Sam’s eyebrows rose. “You are a gamer ? What a woman ! You will become popular with the boys.”

The woman pondered. “Well, I hope it is not masculine toxicity here too. I had a lot of misogynist men when I played online… Plus I am an old lady for them, I doubt they will be a ‘Victoria’s fanclub’.” She laughed at the second part.

Sam dared to ask. “How old are you ? You don’t look a day over 22 !”

Victoria's laugh doubled. “Oh boy, I am 29. Don’t flatter me too much !”

Sam was astonished. “What’s your beauty secret ?”

She winked. “Anti-aging cream, moisturize, sleep and not have infants. The holy quartet, my dear.”

The man laughed. “I love you already.” 

With her order ticket and her aftercare basket she went to the dorm. She prepared a dish of bolognese pastas with parmesan on the side, since she didn’t know if Yuu liked cheese. While waiting for her children, she finished setting up the old TV to see if it was still working under the eyes of the 3 ghosts. She cursed a lot seeing that the rats had eaten the alimentation cord. Well… Tomorrow she will order a new TV apparently. She needed a source of information and with this the children could watch movies and series on the weekends. They needed to blend like they could so they wouldn’t be bullied.

She was cut in her thoughts by a “We’re home ! We have a gift for you Victoria !”

The woman was surprised. “Oh ? What it is ?”

Yuu opened a box and revealed a slice of Mont Blanc tart. “Tadam ! We made them earlier !”

Victoria, put a hand on her heart, melting from the cuteness. “Ooooh Baby, you shouldn’t have…”

Grim interrupted the moment. “So I can eat it ?”

Victoria answered in 0.5s. “No, it’s mine. How was the afternoon ? The supper is ready.”

Grim began his eventful story of how they went to the dorm that morning with Deuce, met Cater, had a meal with Trey and Cater, met Riddle, got to gather chestnuts and…

“And we made the tart with magic !! Aren’t I cool ?” Finished Grim.

Victoria clapped “You are the best Grim. You will be a great mage if you continue like this.”

Grim puffed out his chest. “Of course, my underling. I won’t forget you !”

The Child finished their pasta. “We can get dessert now… Tell us if it tastes good !”

The woman could see that Yuu was borderline praying for it to taste good. She took a bite and hummed. “It is very good ! Very chestnut-y ! I like it.”

The adolescent exhaled, cheered up. “Trey did most of the baking but..”

Victoria placed her finger tip on Yuu’s lips. “Shhh, you participated in the baking and it is enough for me. I hope tomorrow will go well.”

Even if she knew it wouldn’t go well…

Tag : @boba-tea-fish @hipsterteller

[thenationaltreasuregazette]

To the editor,

After Abigail and Riley contact Ian, Ian calls Ben in FBI custody and tells him 'and the FBI agents listening in on this call' that they should meet him on the flight deck of the USS Intrepid at 10am tomorrow.

Therefore, between ~4:15pm on Saturday, June 19th and 10am on Sunday, June 20th, there is a whole missing twelve hours (!) where Abigail and Riley have to make their way to New York after negotiating with Ian.

My personal headcanon is that Ben had all of the cash from Common Sense on him when he got nabbed by the FBI because it's Ben . Riley maybe has $20 cash on him and the only thing Abigail has are her earrings from her gala outfit. Either they scrape together enough cash for a bus ticket (?) or they have to travel with Ian and co. (Ian seems unlikely to let them out of his sight and Abigail obviously doesn't want to leave the Declaration, but from the dialogue of the car phone call scene it seems like Ian 'doesn't know' where Abigail and Riley are hiding nearby).

They also have to have slept at some point.

TL;DR there's a whole ~twelve hours of Abigail & Riley bonding time that is missing from the movie and the possibilities are endless! Thoughts?

Hi Anon,

Thanks so much for your question!

First of all, I am a walnut and the timeline article has been updated to reflect that yes, Ian tells us what time the adventure resumes on day 3: 10am on the deck on the Intrepid.

Which is actually great! Placing the Washington, D. C., Philadelphia, and New York legs of the adventure on different days makes for a neat separation of events by both place and time. It also makes the travel logistics more plausible, and takes the total time elapsed from around 24 hours to more like 48.

While that does leave the gang a little more time to rest, that assumes they can rest. If they can’t or won’t sleep due to danger, anxiety, travel, or all of the above, that weekend must feel like it lasts an eternity.

Like I said before, they must be e x h a u s t e d by the time this thing concludes.

But as you point out, the timeline the movie presents us with significant instances of missing time.

That’s missing as in unaccounted for, not missing as in wrong, btw. One of the many things I love about National Treasure is its pacing. Each sequence gets to take center stage when its time, but the movie certainly doesn’t drag. If nothing plot-significant is happening, we don’t need to see it.

In the film that is.

In the land of fandom, well…*evil laughter*

So.

National Treasure presents us with three significant instances of missing time:

The drive from D.C. to Philadelphia

The wait between their arrival in Philly at sunrise and clothes shopping/cypher decoding in the afternoon.

The trip from Philadelphia to New York.

Let’s take each in turn.

And boy oh boy, this one got out of hand. More under the cut if you’re interested.

D.C. to Philadelphia

First there’s the middle-of-the-night drive from D.C. to Philadelphia. We do see one scene from this time where Riley is dozing in the back seat as Ben tells Abigail about Common Sense. I really love this scene because it’s more intimate and quiet than anything that’s come before it. I am an absolute slut for quiet moments inside loud stories.

Up until now the movie has been all high stakes and big decisions. Now, because they’re forced to travel, the characters have to slow down. The only thing that has come close so far is the stop at the park in front of the Jefferson memorial, and even that included two huge decisions: Ben decided to face his father and Abigail decided she was going wherever the Declaration was.

The only decision made in the car is that they need to go shopping.

Even in this brief moment, all of their personalities are on full display. Riley is being skeptical and hilarious even as he’s half-asleep in the back seat using the Declaration as a pillow. Ben is full-steam-ahead on his mission, both literally and figuratively in the driver’s seat as he plans their next move and reveals he was already think about it by swiping the book from his dad’s. Abigail is reserved but curious. She still seems to be sizing the guys up as they banter back and forth, and is ready to match Ben’s historical references. Unlike Riley, she appears just as wide awake as Ben, and continues in the role she’s taken on since the test for the Ottendorf cypher, as the second-in-command. Hence she is in the passenger seat, versus in the van when she was in the back. Damn I love media analysis.

The whole scene lasts less than 30 seconds, and as we discovered in our timeline, the drive from Washington D.C. to Philadelphia takes about 3 hours. So what else did they talk about?

I’m particularly interested in Abigail’s perspective here, because this is the first chance she’s gotten to actually talk to Ben since she got roped into the heist. She started asking questions the moment she got pulled into the van, but Ben wasn’t answering. Then she learned more about him and the Gates’ family history with the treasure while observing his interactions with Patrick, but this is the first chance she has to really talk with him.

Ben must still be pretty wired from the heist and the discovery of the cypher, but it’s as late as 4 am by the time they’re on the road. His eyes could be getting heavy and talking to Abigail might help him stay alert, even if they’re talking about nothing. We know she doesn’t ask about Patrick’s weird question until they’re in the dressing rooms, but there’s plenty else they could have covered.

As I talk about here, Ben was curious about Abigail from the moment they met, and that was when she was refusing to help them. Now she’s not only demanded to come along on his crazy quest, but she’s become actively involved. From the moment she puts lemon juice on the Declaration of Independence, Abigail a personal stake in the hunt—now her job, career, and reputation are on the line. Ben has to have questions about that.

As for Riley, he’s hungry. He tells us as much. The canon scene seems to be near the beginning of the trip, given that Riley is making basic observations about the car (it’s a “sweet ride,” “This car smells weird.”) so he probably starts lobbying to stop for food at some point.

As the night wears on and the adrenaline wears off, Ben and Abigail realize that they haven’t eaten all night either. Abigail may or may not have had a chance to eat before the gala. When the alarm in the Declaration’s case goes off, she actually has her coat on to head home. Depending on how long it took to respond to the alarm, she may not have left the Archives at all. And I doubt Ben could eat anything before the heist.

My personal headcanon is that they stop at a 24 hour Burger King (et al). They make Riley order so they don’t look too suspicious in their gala clothes (mostly in case the FBI starts canvasing the fast food joints off every exit from D.C. to Philly. I suspect the night crew themselves would not give a shit). Everybody uses the bathroom.

It’s at this moment I’d like to give a shoutout to Abigail’s eye makeup. In the aforementioned scene in the car she’s still got perfect smokey eye, but that's a whole lot of dark eye makeup and that only ends one way: full Winter Soldier.

It's also fairly hard to get off. It only comes off with certain products like makeup remover or baby oil, and that much dark makeup would take like...full minutes of scrubbing to remove.

I imagine that in the fast food bathroom she notices that it’s starting to smudge. There's not much she can do about it at the moment, but whether because it's messy, uncomfortable, conspicuous, or all of the above, all that makeup is gone the next time we see her in the dressing room.

Which brings us to part 2.

Philadelphia

In some ways this is a continuation of the previous stretch of time. The only shot we see in between is the car driving into Philadelphia at sunrise. I’m separating them though because, well, they feel different to me.

Road trips are a special kind of liminal space. You don’t have to talk but you can’t leave, and at least one person has to be awake.

Once Team Treasure gets to Philadelphia, they can stretch their legs, run errands, get a break from each other. It’s different, so we’re counting it differently.

They arrive at sunrise but we don’t see them again until Abigail and Ben are at Urban Outfitters and Riley is outside the Franklin Institute sometime around 2 pm. (Per the cashier’s “almost three.”)

The Franklin Institute opens at 9:30am, and with the FBI hot on their trail (and Ian, though they don’t know that yet) they don’t have a moment to loose.

So what were they doing??

The screenwriting answer is: waiting until it was closer to the actual time on the $100 bill to generate more tension racing for the clue.

But here at the National Treasure Gazette we’re in the business of taking the story as-is. So in the universe of the film, what were they doing?

My best guess is sleeping, or at least trying to. I imagine something would have to happen in order to make Ben pause, even for a little while, so picture this: They’re winding their way through downtown Philadelphia. Riley is groggily complaining that he wants to sleep more. At this point Abigail in inclined to agree. Ben won’t hear it until he makes a bad driving decision. Not anything major, but he takes a turn too soon or too late, he drifts into another lane, or he doesn’t see another car until he’s forced to swerve out of the way. Okay. Point taken.

If they don’t get their wits about them, they’ll be caught before they find anything.

They park in an out of the way spot. Riley agrees to take first watch because he already slept a bit. Ben tries to argue and it takes both Riley and Abigail to convince him to relax. Only once Ben has finally resigned himself to resting does Abigail attempt to close her eyes too.

Nobody sleeps well, if they sleep at all. They jump at every siren and set of footsteps that gets too close to the car. All three of their pulses are racing, and although Ben’s body needs to rest, his mind will not stop chasing after the treasure.

At some point they send Riley into a drug store to grab a few necessities—granola bars, bottled water, maybe some bandaids. A bottle of ibuprofen because Abigail’s shoulder is starting to bother her and at least one of the three of them has a pounding headache at any given time from here to the finale. Riley takes pity on Abigail’s increasingly smudged makeup and grabs a travel pack of makeup wipes as well. Abigail hasn’t paid too much attention to Riley up until this point, but she’ll always remember that gesture.

Literally all of this is conjecture except:

The car is parked on a nearby street

Abigail doesn’t have her party makeup on by the time they’re shopping

But I had fun.

And finally, there’s the matter of Saturday night.

Philadelphia to New York

As you point out Anon, there is a massive chunk of missing time in between Saturday afternoon, when Ben is being questioned by the FBI and Abigail asks Riley to call Ian, and Sunday morning on the deck of the Intrepid.

Ben’s situation is fairly predictable. He’s in custody with the FBI, and at some point they move him from Philadelphia to New York. I’m inclined to think they move him that night, shortly after the phone call with Ian. The longer they wait, the more time there is for something to go wrong. I’m no kind of expert on FBI protocol, but I suspect they’d want to get all the pieces of their plan in motion as soon as possible, and that includes moving Ben.

That leaves us the questions of who and how?

Sadusky would not be doing this himself. He’s in a different car in the FBI caravan, or maybe even on a helicopter to ensure he gets maximum prep time. He’d pass babysitting duty off to one of his subordinate agents, probably Agent Hendrix as punishment for not taking the tip seriously (We’re gonna put a pin in Edge of History for now, yeah?).

That means one of the other agents gets stuck with him. Probably Agent Johnson, because per their setup in the surveillance van during the Intrepid sequence, he seems like someone Sadusky relies on. Sadusky would want someone trustworthy there to make sure Hendrix didn’t mess up again.

Ben talks their ear off about history for the entire drive. Not anything related to the treasure hunt, just random stuff he thinks is cool. It’s two hours of Ben Gates’ finest “Did you know?”s and “Umm, actually”s. Hendrix and Johnson are annoyed at first, but eventually they start naming random years and letting Ben spout off things that happened. It passes the time, but man are they relieved to reach Manhattan.

But what about Abigail and Riley?

As you point out, the two of them have to travel from Philadelphia to New York with basically no resources. There are only a few ways they could get there.

The Bus Route

You make an excellent argument that if there’s any cash left after the shopping trip, Ben probably has it. He’s the one paying the cashier—“Can I see one of those $100 bills I paid you with?”— so he would likely have whatever is leftover in his wallet. Plus, he’s the architect of this whole caper. He’s the one making the plans, calling the shots, and probably also keeping the cash.

And that’s if there is any money left. It’s hard to make out exactly how much Abigail dumps out of the book. One $100 and one $20 are clearly visible, along with three other bills. Let’s say that they have $340. Oh, plus the $32.57 that Ben already had in his wallet. They pay at least $200 for their clothes—“ one of those $100 bills” plural—and they don’t have any $100s left, or Ben wouldn’t need to trade his watch to get one back. Maybe they spent all $300 on the clothes (it is Urban Outfitters, like, way to use your resources wisely guys. Maybe try Marshall's?), or maybe they broke the remaining hundred earlier for food or supplies.

In any case, there’s probably not much. It’s possible that Riley has a few bucks in his wallet or pockets since he hasn’t changed since the heist. If he’s been making purchases for the group (since until the shopping trip he’s the only one dressed normally) he could have some of the change in his pockets.

Abigail followed Ben out of the Archives without a purse, so unless she had anything in her dress or jacket, or kept some change during the day, she doesn’t have any additional resources to work with. She does have her earrings, but since she’s not wearing them at the clothing store, my guess is they’re in the car, and therefore with the FBI. If she does have them on her—like maybe she took them off in the changing room and slipped them into the pocket of her new jeans or jacket—then there’s a chance she could barter them for cash or bus tickets.

I suppose they could have divided any remaining cash between them in case one of them got caught or separated, but based how surprised Riley seems by the idea of splitting up at Independence Hall it doesn’t seem to my like they considered such a plan until that moment.

I’ll also offer the possibility that Riley could try to hack into a ticket kiosk at the bus station if they couldn’t pay. I think this is less likely thought, because doesn’t have his laptop with him, only a c. 2004 cell phone. While I’m sure he could do this with the right equipment, I don’t know that he’d have access to said equipment at the moment. Perhaps he could do it from an internet cafe like he does with Shaw’s phone in New York, but many of his hacks seem to rely on preparation—like breaking into the camera feeds at the National Archives, or sneaking a receiver into the Buckingham Palace computer network in the deleted scene from Book of Secrets. So the plausibility of this route is up to you.

If you like any of these configurations, then Riley and Abigail could have bought bus tickets to New York. And actually, the Philadelphia bus station is just a block from Reading Terminal Market, where Riley and Abigail hide from Shaw and discover the true National Treasure, Meat Lady. It would depend where in NYC the bus was stopping, but the Port Authority bus terminal is in midtown near the Intrepid, not in the financial district where Trinity Church is. My point being, on the New York end of the journey they might face an additional expense of taking the subway or a cab.

As far as sleeping goes, they might try to get a late night bus to avoid the issue, killing time on either end as needed. If they had the money to spare, maybe they nursed the cheapest beer in a nearby bar until it closed, then headed to the station. Maybe they sat in the bus station well into the night, but if the FBI or local police are still searching for them, they probably want to be at the bus station for as little time as possible. Not to mention that such places often discourage loitering, but as two decently dressed white people, they might have less trouble in that department.

The Sadusky Route

I’ll also off the possibility that Ben includes transportation for them in his deal with Sadusky somehow. Something along the lines of “My friends will turn themselves in in NYC once we recover the Declaration.”

If Sadusky were to agree—though I don’t know how likely that is—Riley might receive a mysterious phone call telling him two bus tickets will be waiting for them. In this case their safety is assured but they’re likely to be followed.

In any of the routes that take them on a bus, Abigail and Riley would spend a lot of time together.

Remember, it’s Ben that Abigail’s really connected with so far. He’s the one she’s been flirting with, he rescued her from the catering truck, she learned about his family and his relationship with his father, and he’s the one she risked her career with testing the Declaration. She was talking to Ben only during both the late night car ride and while clothes shopping. To her, Riley has been the weird sarcastic guy tagging along.

That’s not to say she hasn’t had any interactions with him. Her “I look pregnant?” comment is directed to Riley, so she’s clearly not afraid to engage with him. But she has gotten to know Riley way less than she’s gotten to know Ben.

She’d probably be curious about how Riley got involved in the treasure hunt, and for preparation purposes I’d imagine she’d have lots of questions about Ian—who his henchmen are, their dynamics, the kinds of weapons they carry, etc.

But after that the conversation might run a bit dry. Riley doesn’t know much about history; Abigail doesn’t seem like much of a conspiracy theorist. Though, idk, she jokingly brought up bigfoot during their first meeting so Riley might see how far he can run with that.

As a fic writer, you have some choices to make. You want to give Riley and Abigail enough to talk about and things to bond over, but you probably want to to leave the juiciest information for Ben. It’s Ben who’s going to want to know how she fell in love with history, who her favorite president is, the time periods she’s most interested in, her worst professor, etc. At least I imagine her conversations with Riley are more about the situation at hand or random topics of interest.

"You ever see the movie Stargate?"

"I'm not too big on movies.

How about the TV show?

(Abigail gives an apologetic smile)

Right. Not big on TV either. What do you do for fun, go to the opera? You know what, don't answer that. Let me tell you a little bit about ancient aliens."

Based on the two scenes we see from the beginning and end of this journey—in the park and then in the cafe—Abigail is standing and pacing, and Riley is sitting, first in a dejected stupor, and then on the computer. I imagine this physicality would continue in a bar or bus station. Abigail has a lot of nervous energy to work out by pacing or fidgeting and Riley’s more prone to staring off into space.

Unless Riley got going on a conspiracy theory topic that he's really passionate about. Then I imagine he's all hand gestures.

The Ian Route

And then of course there is the path most full of danger and dramatic possibilities—a deal with Ian.

Let’s start with how Ian and the boys are traveling. They appear at Trinity Church with two vehicles. Ben and Shaw arrive in a black Lincoln town car with New York plates, Shippen is holding Patrick across the street in a black Range Rover with a Washington D.C. license plate, and Ian is already waiting on foot.

The plates suggest to me that they’ve had the Range Rover for the whole journey, but given that Ian has “nearly unlimited resources” they’ve probably been swapping out cars frequently to avoid detection.

But we know that they travel in multiple vehicles. If Shippen was sent back to the D.C. area to get Patrick, that means Ian, Shaw, Powell and Phil would still be traveling to New York, likely in at least two vehicles. They’re big guys with lots of equipment and no financial restrictions; they have no need to pack into one car.

Which means there’s plenty of room for guests/shot-callers/hostages to travel with them!

Shaw complains to Ben that Abigail is "the one calling all the shots now." He may know or suspect that Ian has other plans in the works to get the power back, but until Patrick arrives as a hostage it seems like Abigail is genuinely in control of the situation.

As such she could barter passage for herself and Riley as part of the deal: “If you get us to New York and get Ben away from the FBI, we can show you to the treasure.”

As you point out, this option has one massive benefit: Abigail gets to keep an eye on the Declaration in person. In any of these configurations I’m sure she stressed to Ian that he needs the glasses Ben has to get any further. There is no other way to read the map and no chemical procedure that can replicate the glasses. If the Declaration is damaged in any way, the deal is off. But in this case she gets to ensure first hand that they’re not going to try anything.

If Abigail is demanding to ride with the Declaration, that also means she’s riding with Ian. I doubt he would let it out if his sight either, lest Abigail and Riley try to escape with it. And Riley is riding with Abigail, because splitting up would be the most dangerous thing the two of them could do at this point.

Ian wouldn’t want to be outnumbered, so he’d have his boyfriend number two man Shaw riding shotgun.

Now that is a recipe for one awkward car ride.

Unlike a version where they take the bus, Abigail and Riley probably aren’t talking much here. They can’t. They need to give away as little about themselves as possible.

Likewise, Ian and Shaw can’t talk freely either. Shaw might get the occasional phone call which he answers with a few cryptic words. “Yes. No. Then deal with it.”

Of course Riley knows Ian and Shaw, but as I discuss here, I don’t think he was with the crew for very long before the Charlotte betrayal. The last time he tried to make casual conversation with these guys he got a gun pointed at time. The doesn’t deter him too much, as he does the same thing later in the underground chamber, but any attempts to start a conversation here are probably met with glares, signs, and maybe an “I see what you’re trying to do but please stop” smile from Abigail.

I think Ian might be more disposed to talk to Abigail, both because she’s calling the shots at the moment and because we do see that he has a polite streak, at least when in comes to people who aren’t his enemies. He’s quite cordial and supportive with Ben when they uncover the Charlotte, and he’s polite to the little boy at the Franklin Institute. He might see it as being in his best interest to not alienate Abigail when she’s the one arranging this deal. If she stays happy the he gets his treasure.

So there you go, one awkward car ride with a side of contempt.

As for how they slip away from Ian, I imagine that’s part of the deal. Until Ben escapes custody, Abigail could call the FBI and reveal Ian’s plan at any time. So if she said that she and Riley would be watching from a distance, they might have no choice but to go with it.

Conclusion

My conclusion is that I’ve been thinking about Team Treasure’s late night burger run for a while now, but I hadn’t really considered how they all get to New York, and all the possibilities that chunk of missing time in particular has for interesting character interactions.

Any of these scenarios have the potential to significantly deepen Riley and Abigail’s relationship. Over the course of the night, they might very well have gone from barely acquaintances to actual friends.

Which ones do y'all like? What scenarios did I miss? Leave a comment!

Thanks so much for your question! Feel free to send another any time.

[foulbearobservation]

I finally got paid for a work thing so I'm doing my favorite little reward: picking a random movie off the amc app

so now I have tickets to see the chinese train heist movie tomorrow afternoon 😭

[gonecontinental]

Day 0.5 to 1 - June 10th & 11th - Sydney

I flew into Sydney yesterday morning and was kindly collected from the airport by my gracious hosts Mandisa and Xavier. It was so great to see them after a long time apart and we had a beautiful and relaxing afternoon wandering Newtown, preparing for their friends 30th birthday party at the local pub. At the party, we had a great time chatting and drinking. While tipsy, we spontaneously booked the last 3 tickets to the Sydney Film Festival for the showing of the new Warwick Thornton movie New Boy.

When we got up today, we didn't have many plans beyond the movie and potentially seeing my friend sam in the afternoon. Despite this, the day unfolded like a russian doll of experiences - it just kept opening up on itself. We had a lazy morning big breakfast with avo on toast with all the trimmings then set off on a postcard perfect day in Sydney.

We took the train to the city and strolled from circular quay to the botanical gardens. We put $2 in a pair of tourist binoculars and looked at the boats bobbing along the harbour and the detail of the tiles on the opera house. The intricacy of the tiles was so arresting, my mind couldn't help but see the similarity between the thousands of sleek tiles and snakeskin. We stopped for coffee in the botanical garden cafe before wandering through the Fern Garden and moving on to Hyde Park, on the way to the State theatre for showing.

The theatre is unbelievably grand in the true sense of the word. I spent a solid minute in my seat with my head back on the velvet backrest, staring at chandelier and ornate latticework of the ceiling. The movie was poignant and beautifully shot with thought provoking themes surrounding colonisation and spirituality. Walking out of the stalls into the side alleyway, we saw the charmingly painted sign with the old school design of the finger pointing to "Stage Door" and paintings of old production company posters, which i loved.

After the movie we wandered to Chinatown for some dumplings and ran into one of Xav's old friends, who joined us for a late lunch. When we finished our noodles and dumplings we had a little shop in the Winter sale for hiking gear for Disa and Xav's upcoming Larapinta trail hike.

Walking back, we detoured via Darling Harbour as the sun was setting and Xavier suggested we hop on a ferry to watch the sunset from the harbour. A capital idea if there ever was one. We had a wonderful sightseeing experience as the ferry did "upsy-downsies" (as a little kid on board called them), and the lights of luna park twinkled against the darkening sky.

Hopping off the ferry, Vivid Sydney was starting and I was, to be honest, a bit surprised by the quality and how fun the experience was. We met up with my old friend Sam and his girlfriend Ange near "the big white star" installation and had a delightful time moving through the markets, under the bridge and past The Rocks. There were so many highlights. I loved seeing a wonderful spherical design projected into a fountain of water. Best of all, though, was the company. We laughed and shot the breeze against a beautiful backdrop of the city illuminated with an extra layer of brightness and art.

Heading home, our feet were tired but our spirits were high. It was the best first full day of the trip I could ask for. I loved, and there is very little hyperbole in this statement, every moment.

Particularly this moment, in which i turn on my audiobook and turn off the light, getting some needed rest before a huge day of travel. Tomorrow, it's Kowabunga, dude, let's do this. Tonight, it's sweet dreams.