#bags 1-5 are done!!! I just gotta attach some stuff for 5 and. then it’s on to 6&7

[jensonsbuttons]

oh that’s funny. you think mclaren got p1 in constructors when it was actually me

[hellfire-munson]

Looking Up Luke x Reader Pt 1

Pairings: Luke x Reader (Briefly at the end), Julie x BestFriend! Reader

 Warnings: Fluff, Brief mention of sad memories.

Word count: 2211

This is My first post so bare with me. I’ll get better at the edits and stuff as I learn my way around Tumblr. I also took inspiration from Paramore and the reader was strongly based on Hayley Williams in my mind but you can make her in your image. I don't own Paramore or their music. The song I took inspiration from is Looking Up.

     “Jules, you and Flynn are coming tonight, right?” You ask while you and your best friend throw you school books in your locker after your last period. Julie looks over and smiles at you.

     “Of course! The boys were wanting to tag along especially after I told them how you were in a band of your own. They wanted to know why you denied their offer after Luke heard you shred the guitar solo during that one rehearsal.” She says.

      “If he thought I was shredding that guitar, just wait till they see what I really got going on. Right now all they know and all anyone knows and thinks is I play guitar for the band. Also Luke wanted me to join so he could see me everyday.” You smile.

      “Wait, Jackie walked?!” She screamed excitedly.

      “Yeah, after her and I got into this huge argument about the upcoming shows and letting me actually sing vocals for MY songs she walked away, and someone had to take her place. I wrote this new song we are going to play tonight, you’re going to love it.” You smile at her.

      “Y/N this is amazing! Our mom’s would be so proud of us.” She smiles longingly.

     “Maybe we could collaborate one day, I know you’re a bit more popish than what Paramore is but we could make something work!” You smile at her. She jumps up and down loving the idea of the whole thing.

    “Yes! That would be amazing! Let's head home, we have to get ready for tonight. Oh how will we get in? I thought the venue sold out in minutes?” She asks turning to look at you as you two walk through the doors to your car. You pulled 5 vip lanyards out of your bag and handed them to her.

    “I got you covered girl, don’t worry.” You smile unlocking the door. The drive back to your house was filled with you blasting all your bands old songs and singing along. You were lucky enough to live in the same neighborhood as Julie and the boys so you often carpooled to school but the boys had things to do after school before the show so they went their separate ways. Julie was trying to help you choose your clothes for tonight but with you two being so entirely polar opposite it was hard. If anyone was to help you it should have been Luke since you two share almost the same fashion sense with a hint of Reggie mixed in. You eventually settled for an old cut up Sunset Curve shirt you “borrowed” from Luke with a lace bra underneath and you paired that with your highwaisted, ripped black skinny jeans and your studded Doc Martens. What you decided to do with your hair and makeup will come to you once you hit the venue. You gathered your things to pack into the car while Julie made some final accessory details to your look. She handed you your chain to attach to your jeans along with an assortment of rings and bracelets. Everything was looking perfect for your first big performance as the lead singer.

    “Okay, I gotta head to the venue for soundcheck. You, Flynn and the boys should be there around 6, the show starts at 7:00.” You smile, dropping her off at her house. You see the boys sitting in the garage waving at you. You smile and wave back before backing out of Molina's driveway and head towards The Orpheum.

           Soundcheck went perfectly and it left a little time to grab a light snack before you had to get ready. You knew not to go to the street dogs stand after the incident with the boys that ended their lives 25 years ago before they met Julie and you and somehow were brought back by the two of you. Your drummer’s  girlfriend decided to have catering come out with healthy choices which you were enjoying as we speak. Heading back to your dressing room the security guard stopped you saying there was a group of people here to see the band.

    “Oh that’s my friends from school, you can let them on back. Thanks Alan!” You smile popping a strawberry in your mouth.

     “You didn’t tell me you were playing the Orpheum!” You hear Flynn yell causing you to turn around with a piece of cantaloupe hanging out of your mouth.

     “Well you didn’t ask.” You say chewing the part that was in your mouth.

“Okay smartass. Also when did you change your hair color?” She asks pointing to your now orange hair. You smile slyly at her.

      “I did last night, but I wore it up in a hat today so people didn’t see it until now.” You say getting up to hug your friends. The boys are just standing at the door staring at you.

    “I don’t bite, you can come in.” You joke ushering them in.

“You’re playing the Orpheum tonight Y/N how does it feel to make it big?” Alex asks.

     “I’m not sure yet, maybe I’ll know after the show. Which speaking of that when you guys head down to the floor just find Alan and he’ll take you to the spot that’s reserved for you guys.” You smile at them.

    “Your hair is so bright.” Is all Reggie can say making everyone burst out laughing.

    “I can’t wait to see you shred the stage tonight. That day at rehearsal when you and Julie were goofing off… Holy shit, that was sick!” Luke says jumping up and down.

     “It runs in the family to be honest. Our moms were in a band when they were our age and my dad is a world known rockstar so I learned at a young age.” You smile winking at Julie.

     “Well we should start heading down so you can get ready. We are going to dinner after this to celebrate just so you know.” Julie says smiling at you. Once they left you started getting ready to meet up with your band to do your before show ritual handshake.

    “All right guys, this is the Orpheum. The place is packed with execs. This will be our big break. Let’s rock it!” Andrew says putting his hand in the middle as the rest of you follow. The opening band finishes their set signaling your time to go. The band runs out causing the crowd to erupt in screams of your name. You stay back to surprise everyone as they begin playing your new song.

    “Los Angeles! Are you ready!” You scream from backstage as the beat picks up.

Things are looking up, oh finally!

I thought I'd never see the day

When you smile at me.

We always pull through, oh when we try,

I'm always wrong but you're never right.

Oh you're never right!

       You run out causing everyone to scream as you work the stage to the music. Luke, Flynn and the boys look up in awe hearing your voice for the first time. The way you rocked out was breathtaking to Luke.

Honestly, can you believe

We crossed the world while it's asleep?

I'd never trade it in, 'cause I've always wanted this!

And it's not a dream anymore!

No. It's not a dream anymore!

It's worth fighting for.

     You interacted with the audience as you sang the lyrics. You shot a wink over at Luke when you noticed his jaw nearly dropped to the floor. Julie looked over at him and knew right then and there he has fallen in love with you even more than he already was. She smiled at her bandmate. She saw the smile break across his face as he began banging his head to the beat.

Could have given up so easily

I was a few cheap shots away from the end of me

Taken for granted, almost everything that I would have died for

Just yesterday,

Just yesterday

Honestly, can you believe

We crossed the world while it's asleep?

I'd never trade it in, 'cause I've always wanted this!

It's not a dream anymore!

Oh. It's not a dream anymore!

It's worth fighting for.

     You interacted with your bandmates as they played their instruments, dancing around the stage as you had the time of your life. Jumping and head banging with your guitarist.

God knows the world doesn't need another band, (whoa, whoa!)

But what a waste it would've been! (whoa, whoa!)

I can't believe we almost hung it up (whoa, whoa!)

We're just getting started (whoa, whoa!)

Honestly, can you believe

We crossed the world while it's asleep?

I'd never trade it in, 'cause I've always wanted this!

It's not a dream anymore!

Oh. It's not a dream anymore!

It's worth fighting for.

        You stood there smiling, taking a breath letting the crowd think you were done before you jumped off the drum stage singing the final line of the song.

I can't believe we almost hung it up!(whoa whoa)

We're just getting started! (whoa whoa)

Whoa! Whoa! Whoa!

       You dropped to your knees as you held the final verse as the lights went out sending the crowd into a fit of cheers and screams. You smile to yourself as you hold the microphone in your lap. The lights come back on letting you see the crowd still cheering you on. The surreal feeling you had was causing your heart to sing and you were pretty sure you saw a sign off in the distance of the audience that let you know your mother was proud of you. Composing yourself, you finished the night with 6 more songs.

    “Thank you guys for coming out to support a small band from this sleepless city. We are Paramore! Good night!” You said before running off backstage. You are met with your friends and a very starstruck Luke.

    “Oh my god! That was amazing! I mean we knew you could sing but that was epic! Why haven’t you fronted before?” Flynn asks.

    “Jackie wouldn’t let me. The band was my idea back when I was slowly getting back into music but I was still wanting to stay back and play. I wrote all the songs and let her sing them. When I finally said I was ready for a shot she threw a fit and when the rest of the band sided with me she walked.” You say taking a swig of water.

    “So this is why you refused to join us?” Alex asks.

    “That and your style isn’t my style of music. It’s to pop centric but I told Julie there might be a chance of collaboration in the future.” You smile seeing Reggie get excited about the idea.

    “And then we can do a country album!” He yells causing your bandmates to start laughing at your reactions. During your laughter you didn’t see a man dressed very businessy walk in.

    “Y/N…” Julie says tapping your shoulder pointing to the doorway.

    “Oh, hi!” You say walking over with your band to meet the man.

   “I’m Eric from Capitol records. Are you Y/N?” He asks.

   “Um, y-yeah I am.” You say reaching out to shake his hand. Your friends are eavesdropping behind you while pretending to hold a conversation of their own.

    “I’ve seen many bands here, I’ve scouted some of the biggest names in music but the energy you displayed tonight is something we’ve never seen but have been looking for, for our label. Capitol records would be happy to have you join. Here’s my card. Give me a call and we will set up a meeting with the head of the label and get you signed.” He says handing you his card.

    “Oh my, wow! Thank you. Also if you don’t mind me spreading the word but I know of another you might be interested in. I’ll send you their latest video if you’re up for it.” You smile sneaking a look over at your friend and her bandmates.

    “Of course, we are always looking for new talents.” He says before exiting the room.

    “Was that?! YES!” You scream jumping into Luke’s arms. Everyone starts dancing around cheering.

    “We are being signed to Capitol Records!” You yell into the air as Luke holds you close to him. His eyes never leave your smiling face. He throws caution to the wind when you look back at him and he crashes his lips onto yours making everyone stop and gasp.

    “Well it's about damn time!” Alex shouts as you two pull away.

    “Well damn Patterson, if that’s what I get for getting signed I wonder what I’ll get after I tell you I sent your video to him as well.” You smile.

   “YOU DID WHAT?!” The band screams together.

   “We’re all getting signed.” You smile.

    “I’m going to marry this girl.” Luke says kissing you once more with more passion than the first. Everything was falling perfectly into place and you couldn’t wait to see what the future holds for you all.

I don't know how good this is, it sounded good and looked good when I was writing so I’m throwing caution to the wind and going for it. 

@parkeret​ I promised I’d tag you in my first one, I hope it doesn't suck!

@issaxcharlie thank you for also pushing me to do this as well!

@cookiebuba

[xoxo-teddybear]

Oh, The Lies You Tell - Bakugou Katsuki- pt.3

Bakugou x f!reader

Warnings: angst, trauma, abuse, betrayal, fluff, slice of life, smut, cursing, manipulation, possible spoilers, physical harm, 18+

BAKUGOU’S MASTERLIST

Ep. Warnings: cursing

Summary: Y/N is denying her feelings. ALL of them.

Pt.1 Pt.2 Pt.3 Pt.4 Pt.5 Pt.6 Pt.7 Pt.8 Pt.9

When you closed the door, you had to catch your breath. You leaned against it with your eyes closed as a slight smile grew on your face. A little blush dusting over your cheeks, causing rising heat to roam your skin. You opened your eyes and saw Rumor looking at you. He had his head tilted with judgmental eyes.

“What?” You asked. He only gave you a snort with eyes that said “don’t act like you don’t know.”

“I’m not falling for blondie. It’s just fun to flirt.” You said, trying to reassure both Rumor and yourself. Rumor let out wails like he was talking to you saying “mhmmm.”

“What? It’s true! We have a mission Rumor.” You said as you layed down under the covers.

Flashback

As Kurogiri busted through the door to the LOV’s hideout, he shouted.

“SHIGARAKI!” He yelled out of breath.

The villains looked around at the man. Why was he out of breath? Where had he been? Why wasn’t Y/N with him?

“What’s going on?” Dabi asked the steam of purple.

“I-it’s Y/N! Earser-Head took her!” Kurogiri said.

“WHAT?!” In came shigaraki, now yelling in shock. “How dare you lose that girl?! Do you understand how valuable AND dangerous she is? She is with the heroes now, they’ll tell her everything about us, and she’ll grow an opinion. She’ll kill all of us.” He seethed out as he held Kurogiri by his neck collar.

“I understand! But- but look!” Kurogiri said holding up your earring you threw at him. “She left behind this!” Once seeing the piece of jewelry, Skigaraki calmed down. He took the gem in his hands.

“Smart girl...this is a communication device. I gave these to Y/N if trouble were to ever happen so she could contact us without the call being tracked,” he explained. “Y/N! ..Titania!...Y/N? Can you hear me?!” He screamed into the earring.

“.........Loud and clear Shigaraki,” Y/N’s voice was heard from the gem and everyone looked alive. They all settled and began to ask her questions.

“Y/N, what the hell is going on?” Dabi asked.

“Eraser-Head took me. He brought me to UA and they’re keeping me in an interrogation room. He said he sees good in me and wants me to enroll here.” You explained.

“UA...” Shigaraki echoed.

“That’s right. And I have a plan. We’ll take em down from the inside.” You offered your idea.

“Explain.” Shigaraki said.

“You have me. I’ll gather intel. All the places where UA will be traveling to, all their plans, all their strengths and weaknesses. I can tell you it all and you guys can come up with a plan on how to attack. My suggestion would be that you should attack them when traveling. Do it subtly. I’ll tell you their future plans and you’ll come up with loopholes. I’ll report their strengths and weaknesses and when you’re ready, we do a full scale attack on the school. Bring as many villains as we can to help and win.” When you were done explaining, the villains shared a look. Except Shigaraki. He was 100% in on this plan.

“I expect a report every day. Tell us whatever happened, whatever you learned or found out. You tell us everything.” Shigaraki said.

“Understood.” You replied.

“Good.”

Present Time

You sighed at the memory. Rumor noticed your displeasure and came up beside you on the bed. He cuddled into you side to help you calm down. You pet his head as you turned to lean into his soft fur.

“...we can’t get distracted. No boys, no luxury, no hero life, no UA life. We’re villains...that’s all we’re good enough to be.” You said to remind yourself. As you shut your eyes and drifted off to dreamland, Rumor looked at you and sighed.

‘She deserves UA though. She deserves a happy life. She’s more than good enough.’ Rumor thought.

Bakugou’s POV

As Bakugou walked off to his room with a satisfied smile on his face, he thought back to what happened. It made him stop in his tracks in shock.

‘What the fuck is happening to me?’ Bakugou thought. Since when does he act all flirty? And when did he start blushing? And why does his heart speed up at the thought of Y/N? ‘Maybe I just need to sleep in off.’

As Bakugou walked into his room, he saw Kaminari and Kirishima mocking him.

“Mwuah, Mwuah, Mwuah, oh Y/N, I love you so much,” Kirishima said pretending to hold a girl in his arms and kissed the air.

“Oh, I love Princess so much! Mwuah!” Kaminari mimicked. Bakugou only growled at the two and blushed in embarrassment.

“What the hell are you two idiots doing here?” Bakugou asked.

“Well we came to hang but then we got hungry while waiting for you and searched for snacks but we saw you and Y/N going in for a kiss~” Kaminari said wiggling his brows.

“And then we saw Mr. Aizawa hit you with adoption papers and then kicked you guys out the kitchen. We also saw you run to Y/N and peck her cheek~” Kirishima added on. “You crushing on the new girl?”

“Am not.” Bakugou replied.

“Are too.” Kaminari said. “Makes sense. She’s crazy hot, super powerful, and full of personality. She’s pretty freaking awesome.”

“Yeah c’mon man, we’re friends and we won’t tell if you do like her.” Kirishima reassured.

“I don’t like her, shitty hair.” Bakugou stated. “I mean, yeah. She’s beautiful, and she’s funny, and she’s really strong. And she’s also really cool and really chill and my heart beats like crazy and my mind goes dumb when I’m around her. But that doesn’t mean I like her!”

The two boys just looked at the blonde with a brow raised.

“Seriously?” They both said.

“GAH!” Bakugou screamed as he flopped face forward on his bed coming to the realization. “Fine! Maybe I do like her BETTER THAN OTHER PEOPLE, but that doesn’t mean I LIKE like her. Besides, shes only been here for 2 days, how the hell am I supposed to fall for someone that quick?”

“Love at first sight is a real thing if you believe it is.” Kaminari said. Bakugou thought about it. Maybe it was. But there was no way. She didn’t know anything about him and yeah she opened up to Bakugou about her past but that doesn’t mean she’s in love with him.

“......look. I don’t know exactly how I feel about Y/N. All I know is, I get excited whenever she’s around or when I know I’ll get to see her. I can’t be sure of my feelings....yet.” Bakugou admitted.

“Well you should figure it out, man. She could be good for you. I mean, shes only been here for a few days but just in those two days she’s made you a more open person. You woulda never admitted all this to us before.” Kirishima said. At that realization that he said too much, Bakugou got up and pushed his friends out his room door before he could spill any more.

“Okay! Great! Gotta sleep! Goodnight! See you later idiots.” Bakugou said and slammed the door. He flopped back on his bed, going back to thinking about Y/N. And there goes his heart again with that fast beating.

——————————————————————————

Y/N woke up, got ready, and was about to walk out the door. Her and Rumor were getting ready for some training so Y/N put on some comfortable work out clothes. As the two were about to walk out the doors with their bags, they ran into the Bakusquad boys in the common room.

“Hey Y/N!” Kaminari greeted you.

“Oh hey guys!” You said walking towards the group. Bakugou had his eyes fixated on you. Do you always look this good in the mornings?

“Where you headed?” Sero asked.

“Rumor and I were gonna get some training in at our special spot in the forest. Didn’t really get to do much yesterday so I’m making up for it today.” You explained.

“Hey, training sounds pretty good,” Kirishima said and the guys all agreed. “Mind if we joined you?”

“Uhh..I don’t know guys. The place I train is kinda far and I usually have to ride on Rumor to get there.” You said.

“Ohh c’mon, please! We’re down for the ride and we’d love to see you in action.” Kaminari begged. Bakugou decided to influence your decision.

“C’mon princess,” he said while looking you right in your eyes. The group all smiled and raised a brow at Bakugou’s behaviour, but you two didn’t notice, for you were too lost in each other’s presence that you didn’t even realize what you said.

“Sure...” you said still dazed with Bakugou, but once you heard yourself you snapped out of it. “Wait- Wha-“ you were interrupted by the cheers of rowdy boys as they all left to get their stuff ready. Bakugou was the last to leave.

“Thanks for letting us join, princess.” He said pecking your cheek and walking off. Curse those damn ruby eyes! You smacked your face the tiniest bit to fight off the rising blush as Rumor just gave you a look of sass.

“Oh hush, now you gotta carry 5 people. Hope you’re happy.” You said sitting next to Rumor on the couch. About 10 minutes went by before all the boys came back and were set to go. You guys walked to the front entrance of the dormitory and paused.

“Okay. A few rules before we get there. The spot is a special place to me. It’s where I can explore myself and my abilities a lot more and it’s the place where I found Rumor. It’s a treasure and a memory to me so don’t you dare destroy it too much!” You said with a stern voice and serious look. The boys nodded their heads in understanding.

“Good. Rumor, flying bison form.” As rumor shifted into a giant creature, you went to the side of the building where you had his saddle waiting. You used your air bending to place it onto Rumor’s back as you attached a rope to his horns for steering. You told the boys to get on, but they seemed a little hesitant.

“What? You’ll be fine, just get on.” As the boys trusted your words, they climbed onto Rumor and settled in the saddle. On your mark, Rumor took off into the skies as the boys screamed in fear in the back.

“We’re gonna die!!!” Kaminari cried as he held onto Sero. The boys freaked out until you reassured them.

“You’re not gonna die you idiots! Jeez, it’s too early for all this.” You said as you continued to handle Rumor’s reigns. After about 10 minutes of flying, you trusted that Rumor knew where to go from there and went to the back of the saddle where the boys were.

“First time flying on a bison?” You jokingly asked.

“More like first time ever doing any of this.” Kirishima said. “Man, do you get to travel like this all the time?”

“Pretty much. Theres so many forms that Rumor has, so it’s always fun seeing the reactions I get whenever they see me riding a dragon or something.” You laughed out, causing Bakugou to blush at the beautiful sound.

“Man, I could get used to this.” Sero said as he let the breeze flow through his hair. You giggled before speaking.

“Yeah, well sorry to disappoint, but rides over. We’re here.” You said looking over the saddle and seeing the forest spot. The boys finally saw the beautiful trees, the crystal waters, the beautiful plants and giant plateaus of boulders and rocks creating something straight outta Lion King. You landed in a clearing and hopped off Rumor, encouraging the boys to do the same. Rumor transformed back into his usual form and walked towards you all.

“So! Y/N, what do you usually do when you get here?” Kirishima asked.

“I usually stand on the spiritual clearing over there,” you said and pointed to an opening where there was a circular stone platform in the ground engraved with some ancient characters.

“Spiritual clearing? It looks like pavement.” Kaminari said, earning a wack to the head from Bakugou and Sero. You just sighed and sat crossed on the area and called upon your mentor.

“Avatar Korra....” you called out, and then, it appeared as if a ghost came out of you and right infront of you stood your mentor. The boys shook in fear.

“A ghost?” Sero shakenly asked.

“No, my mentor. She’s a spirit...a good one.” You said as you stood and bowed to Korra.

“So what are we working on today, Y/N?” Korra asked you.

“Well, I want to perfect my water bending. Specifically, my healing. I used my dim mak on a friend in school and I couldn’t heal his arm from the paralysis so I want to work on fixing that.” You said. Korra nodded and took you to the watering hole.

“You boys can get on with your training,” you said to the guys as they appeared to be standing still.

“Actually, we just came to watch you and see what kinda stuff you can do,” Kaminari confessed. You laughed and shook your head as you used your hand to call the boys over so they could watch.

“Well then how about we get a volunteer?” Korra said as she looked to the 4 future pros. Bakugou stood up and joined you in the watering hole.

“You have no idea what you’ve just done,” you laughed out as Bakugou stood there confused. “Sorry about this,”

“What do you me-“ you cut him off by jabbing his pressure points and having him fall paralyzed into the shallow water. As he layed there with his upper side of his body out of the water he spoke.

“Coulda gave me a warning, ya know.” He said in a grouchy demeanor. You just looked towards your mentor for guidance.

“Let’s begin..” Korra said. As you trained the boys watched in excitement and awe. They’ve never seen anyone with a “quirk” like yours and never saw someone with your fighting style. Once you finished up with Bakugou, Korra walked you through the other elements. The boys saw your many skills and were thoroughly impressed. As the day went on, you finally settled for the amount of time spent.

“Thank you for the help today Korra,” you said and bowed to her in gratitude.

“It’s my job to help you, Y/N. Please don’t thank me. Besides, I enjoy working with you. I know you’ll always choose the best path to go on and I’m excited to see where you’ll end up.” Korra said with much meaning to her last few sentences. You understood what she meant. She disappeared into thin air as she returned to the spirit world. You sighed as you felt relief she was no longer there pressuring you into becoming the hero you can’t be. You turned to the boys.

“So...you guys ready to head back?”

——————————————————————————

On the ride home, the boys all hung around the back while you sat near Rumor’s horns in silence. Your mind wandering to your choices. Light or dark. You’ve always been in the dark though. It was the life you’ve always known. Granted, you didn’t like it, but you’ve already done so many horrible things, there was no way being good was even an option right now

‘Shigaraki..Korra..Kurogiri..Aizawa..Dabi.....Bakugou’ you thought of all the impactful people in your life..but Bakugou? You barely knew him, but you knew in your heart, he definitely meant something to you. To snap you outta your thoughts was the man himself. Bakugou had gone to join you up front.

“Hey” he said.

“..hey back.” You replied.

“Soo..Whats up with you?” He asked.

“Umm...not much. Just..seeing my mentor..makes me think about..a lot.” You explained to him as you looked at the sky.

“A lot like...” he pressed you for details.

“Like....sentimental stuff. What kind of person I wanna be, what I wanna do with my life..choosing paths.” You briefly explained. You couldnt let him know too much, no matter how bad your body yearned to tell him the truth.

“Well...I could predict most of that stuff for you.” Bakugou said, relaxing his shoulders.

“What do you mean?” You asked him.

“I see a lot of great things for you, princess. You’re an amazing person already, and when you grow up you’re gonna be an amazing hero too. Kicking evil’s ass and all that.” He explained. But you only felt sorry. He didn’t know you at all. At least, not the real you. This fact only saddened you.

“I wish..” you whispered. You only fell deeper into sadness, and noticing this, Bakugou did the unexpected. He grabbed you and held you in his arms.

“You’re amazing, Y/N. Never forget that.” He said calmly, like he was 100% sure. You released silent tears and let the wind dry them. Along the journey home, the scent of caramel invaded your senses. It soothed you and brought you to a land of happiness. You cuddled into Bakugou a little more as a blush grew on both of your faces. You both agreed on one thing though. This felt so right.

As you landed, the boys in the back headed inside after thanking you for the trip. Rumor changed back and you and Bakugou moved his saddle back to its place beside the building. As you and Bakugou continued to walk, he started up a conversation.

“You know, you’re pretty strong but I could still take you down easily, Princess.” He said with a cocky attitude.

“Oh? Is that fact? Cuz I’d bet You’d get your ass handed to you by moi,” you said.

“Really? How about a little competition?” He wagered.

“I’m listening,” you said.

“We have a little sparring match, if you win you get whatever you want, if I win..i don’t know, maybe..you’ll let me take you out on a date?” He asked hesitantly. This shocked you, but you smirked nonetheless.

“Is this you’re way of trying to ask me out?” You teased.

“Sort of..” he said nervously. This was his first time asking anybody out and his first crush too.

“Well then why don’t we skip the fight and I’ll let you take me out next Saturday? Deal?” You asked.

“That’s perfectly fine by me,” he said excitedly. Bakugou began to ramble on about something else but you got distracted. As you looked over his shoulder, you saw Principle Nezu holding on to some documents and trying to hide them. He seemed alert as he made his way to what appeared to be Mr. aizawa’s room.

“Umm, I’ll talk to you later Baku- Katsuki! I’ve gotta go.” You said as you walked off to find Nezu, leaving Bakugou in confusion as Rumor followed you into the dorms.

Running through the hallways was getting you nowhere. So you asked Rumor to track his scent. Finally catching up to Nezu, you saw him enter Aizawa’s room and you saw the door shut. You pressed your ear to it, trying to make out whatever conversation they were having, but you couldn’t hear anything. You did however hear them walking closer to the door, and so you and Rumor hid around the corner. You saw both Nezu and Aizawa walk out and so you took the opportunity to scope the scene. You walked into the room and saw the files on the desk. As you read through them, you saw it was trip to what seemed to be some sort of battle competition. As you read through the papers, you saw it was exactly that. Hero schools would travel to one designated area and start the race. Along the path you would run into other schools and battle. Winner earns their school 12 grand and the participating students get a week off.

To anyone else, this would seem like a good time, to you, this was an opportunity. You took photos of the papers and ran off with Rumor to your room. In the privacy of your dorm, you sent the photos to the league and contacted them through the earring.

“Hello? Shigaraki? Dabi?” You said into the earring.

“Right here, Titania.” It was Dabi’s voice. “Whatcha need?”

“I’ve got intel you and the league might wanna hear~” you said with a playful voice, however at the same time, you felt uneasy.

“Go on,” he said.

You hesitated before speaking, but went on anyway. “In 3 days, UA will be sending class 1-A and 1-B to this competition where they’ll battle other schools. It’s in a forest area where a race will be held. It’s the perfect place for the league to attack. Come and weaken their forces.”

“Sounds like a plan, little mouse. Good work.” He said into the jewelry.

“I’ll send you my coordinates the day we go. See you soon.” You said and turned off the device. You couldn’t help but feel guilty about this whole thing. Why?

“Hey Y/N? You in there?” Bakugou said from the other side of the door while knocking. Oh yeah, that’s why. Somehow, that loveable blondie made a footprint on you and now you can’t get him off your mind. After what he said about you being so amazing, you couldn’t fight back that fuzzy feeling you got whenever you thought of him or whenever he was around. You got up to answer the door.

“Hey! Katsuki! What are, uh, what are you doing here?” You asked.

“Uhh..I don’t know. Had some free time, thought I’d come hang with you and Rumor.” He said with a shy smile. A smile you’ve learned to love. You looked at the time. 1:44. You figured you could use a break day.

“How about this? Come inside and let me get ready, and we could spend the day together.” You offered. You were under a lot of stress with these conflicted feelings of light and dark and Katsuki felt like a break from it all. He was your little escape haven from the chaos.

“Heh, I thought our date was next Saturday,” he teased as he walked through your door.

“Well, our first official date. This can be more like us hanging out.” You said.

“Isn’t that what we’re supposed to do on a date?” He asked.

“I- oh shut up! You know what I mean!” You said in a flustered manner. Katsuki only laughed at your behavior and called you a little dumbass. You went to your wardrobe and asked for a little help.

“Wanna help me pick out an outfit?” You asked and Bakugou nodded and walked your way. He noticed how your closet pretty much screamed “Instagram baddie” and was impressed. He looked around and finally made his decision.

“The letterman black and white jacket, leave it open to show off the white tube top. Put that on with those light washed skinny jeans and put on these casual black heels.” He said as he dropped them all on you. The way he threw them all messed with your hair and so you huffed the piece covering your face out of your way.

“They’re called Heeled Ankle Boots.” You corrected him.

“Yeah yeah, go get dressed,” he said pushing you towards your bathroom.

“Oh? You sure you don’t want me to get dressed right here?” You teased, causing Bakugou to blush intensely. “I’m kidding.” You said before walking into the room, finally allowing Katsuki to breathe.

When you came out the bathroom, you looked at yourself in the mirror.

“Huh..not bad, Katsuki.” You said, admiring yourself. Bakugou was too busy staring at you, but he finally snapped out of it when he heard you say his name with that sweet voice.

“Erm, heh, yeah. My parents are designers so I guess it’s just a natural thing.” He said.

“Yeah? Maybe I’ll have to try on their clothes and maybe model for them,” you joked.

“You’ve definitely got the looks for it,” Bakugou said biting his lip. He was being so serious. You turned and looked at him with a sincere smile.

“Ummm..you ready to go?” You asked a little nervous.

“Yeah, c’mon.” He said dragging you to the front. Rumor follow you.

“Oh, stop it Rumor. You can hang here for a bit by yourself can’t you? Besides, the dorm is filled with plenty of people for you to spend time with.” You said petting his head, but you knew he wanted to go just to make sure you were okay. “If I need you, I’ll blow the whistle and call for you, okay?” You said to reassure him. He finally allowed you to go with Bakugou.

Katsuki took you to a nice cafe just to hang out. You talked, ate, joked around, and all and all just grew closer. Something about him just made you feel safe. The way he would look at you, give you that charming smile, and that time when he held you in his arms made you feel all warm inside.

“Hey dumbass. You’re staring.” Bakugou said.

“Am not!”

“Are too.”

“Hmph!” You grunted as you used your water bending to take his drink out of his cup and lift it over his head.

“Give it back Y/N,” he said. You messed with him though, and you glided his drink all around him.

“Oh, c’mon! Have a little fun and enjoy the magic show.” You playfully said. You had enough and placed his drink back in his cup. You both laughed and talked a little more before getting up to walk around town.

“Hey, Katsuki look! A festival!” You said as you ran to it leaving Bakugou to chase after you. You both enjoyed the booths and snacked on the street food venues. You played games and won each other prizes. You know, the cliche? As you both walked around some more, you saw something that reminded you of your time on the streets.

“Woah, look at that!” You pointed to a group sitting around a man sitting at a table.

“What is that?” Bakugou asked.

“It’s a quick way to earn money. This guy has 3 shells and a stone. He moves the stone around with the shells and you just have to guess which shell the stone is under. I never played growing up because I had nothing to offer, but now I do and this time I can use my ‘quirk’ to sense where the stone is!” You excitedly said.

“How can your quirk do that?” He questioned you.

“Ummm....” you were looking for an answer until fortunately a man lost the game and screamed out in pity and anger. “Oh look! It’s open! Let’s go!” You said dragging Bakugou to the stand.

“Well, hello there kids! Here to play?” The man asked.

“Yes sir! And I can offer you $20!” You said. A pretty decent deal. The man agreed and put up his own 20 and began to shuffle the shells. Using your earth bending, you felt where the stone was going and when he stopped the shuffling, you pointed to the correct shell.

“Thats some fancy guessing you got there young lady. How about you say we make this more interesting?” He offered.

“More interesting how?” You asked.

“More interesting like you throw in your friend’s fancy chain and I’ll bargain with $100, and thats more interesting.” He explained.

You snatched Bakugou’s chain and spoke. “I’ll do it for $300” you said. The man agreed, foolishly thinking he’d win. As he began to shuffle again, you sensed the stone and at the end of his little show, he attempted to flick the stone into his sleeve and keep it there. To stop this from happening, you used your earth bending to pull the stone from going into his sleeve and kept it under the shell. You made your pick.

“Sorry young Lady but- WHAT?” The man was shock to see the stone placed under one of the shells, more so, the correct shell.

“I won!” You said and grabbed the money and Bakugou’s chain as you both ran off. You laughed as Bakugou only scolded you.

“Y/N! You can’t just scam the guy like that!” He said.

“Oh lighten up Katsuki! Jeez, you always have a stick up your ass?” You joked. “Besides, it’s not like I did anything wrong. I only cheated because he was cheating too. I cheated a cheater,” you said explaining your logic. It kind of made sense to Bakugou so he sighed and went along with it.

“I guess you’re right,” he gave in.

“Of course I am,” you said flashing him the smile he craved to see, “now let’s go! There’s a firework show starting soon and I know the perfect spot!”

You dragged Bakugou to a place a little far from the center of town. When you arrived, you showed him a billboard sign. You guys had already been out for awhile and last time you checked the time in town it was 6:30, now after the walk it was 7:00.

“Ta-da!” You said while giving jazz hands to the tall sign. Bakugou just looked up in confusion.

“What am I looking at?”

“A billboard dummy! It’ll give us a great view of the fireworks! All we have to do is get up there, now c’mon!” You said but Bakugou pulled you back.

“We can’t go up there! It’s illegal,” he said but you only rolled your eyes.

“And do you see how stupid that is? What’s the worst that could happen from us going up there and why would they need to enforce that kinda law anyway?” You said.

“To stop people from vandalizing property.” Bakugou explained to you.

“Well do we look like the type to vandalize?” You said.

“Well no, but-“

“But nothing! We’ll be fine Katsuki! I promise. You’ll enjoy the view.” You pleaded. Bakugou still wasn’t fully convinced so you pressed up against him while hugging his arm. “Pleaseeee Katsuki?” You begged which finally made him give in.

He slightly smiled at you before telling you to hold onto his neck.

“For what?” You asked.

“Just trust me,” and so you did. When you were secure, he blasted you both into the sky and landed on top of the sign. It was dark and a little cold, so you shivered and Bakugou noticed. He held you in his arms to keep you warm and it worked well. A comfortable silence fell upon you two as you just enjoyed each other’s warmth.

“I’m really glad you came to UA.” Bakugou said in a gruff voice. You smiled up at him.

“Oh yeah? Why?” You asked.

“Cuz... I got to meet your dumbass. You’re beautiful, you’re strong...you’re amazing....and I really like you.” He said while looking down at you.

“Heh...I uh, I really like you too.” You said. You both began to lean in and here came that feeling again. No one else in the world but you two. As your lips grazed each other, you both jumped at the sound of the firework’s loud sound. You laughed it off and stared at the pretty colors that illuminated the dark sky. Each one allowing your smile to grow even more. Bakugou, kind of bummed out on having another kiss ruined, admired you and your beauty. He smiled as he saw your pearly whites and he just held you closer as you looked up in awe. This was a good enough night for him.

You ended up using the whistle to call for Rumor to help you guys get back to the dorms quickly. Rumor was just happy to be of service. When you landed, you and Bakugou walked hand in hand through the dorms. As you entered the common room, the Bakusquad set their eyes upon you two.

“Oouuuuu~” they all said noticing the connected hands and bashful faces. Bakugou simply told them to shut up as he dragged you to the floor your dorm rooms were on.

“Thanks for the fun night, Katsuki.” You said to him in your doorway.

“No problem. Kinda wish my kiss didn’t get disrupted for the second time this week but I still had a great night with you, princess.” You laughed at his little complaint. You went up and pecked his cheek, just like he would do to you.

“Goodnight, Cutie” you said and shut your door. Bakugou sighed as he smiled, listening to his heart beat wildly. He walked on to his dorm room to get ready for the night. School was tomorrow and he had a grandpa schedule to follow.

——————————————————————————

Behind the closed door, you sighed in bliss. You felt your heart go crazy at the thought of your little crush. Your crush. Crush. Damnit, that bastard had you wrapped around his finger. Under different circumstances, you wouldn’t have minded, but your with the league of villains. Bakugou is a future pro, you’re a low life villain. There’s no way he would fall for you when he found out the truth. You felt a little hurt at that fact, but you understood. It had to be this way. Awakening you from your thoughts was Dabi’s voice coming from the communication device.

“I’m here, Dabi. What is it?” You questioned.

“Don’t think I didnt see your little scene with whats his face on the billboard. Are you falling for UA’s resident hot head?” Dabi asked.

“What were you doing out in the forest?” You asked in shock. The league was not supposed to find out about this little..whatever you had with Bakugou!

“I was out on a walk, now answer my question. Do you like the little hero wannabe?” Dabi pressed on. You had to think. Did you like Bakugou? You knew you felt something towards him but you were still trying to figure out exactly what it was. If it was love you would openly admit it, but you were just in like with the guy, you weren’t sure of your feelings yet or even if you would dare pursue them.

“....n-no.” You replied. You felt in your heart and mind that you just lied to yourself. It hurt you a little too much by just saying that.

“Good. Because you’re a villain. Bakugou Katsuki has a whole future ahead of him. He wouldn’t want a villain scum like you hanging around.” He said and ended the call.

You let silent tears fall down your face as you placed the earring down and fell onto your bed. You were just villain scum. Underserving of anything good. You weren’t anything good at all. Your path was darkness. You were sure! But Bakugou Katsuki made you second guess yourself on that choice. Could you be good? Could you follow him to the light?

Unsure, you got ready for bed and decided to sleep this off. Once this whole operation was over, Bakugou would be out of your life and you wouldn’t have to worry about him anymore. But could you really stand to be around without him with you? You’ve only known the guy for a few days, and you’re this attached to him. You sighed to yourself as Rumor fell asleep.

“This is gonna be hell.”

[btswishes]

Love me for who I am now

Bucky x Reader ( Chapter 1 )

Part1 / Next 

Summary: You apply for the Stark internship and end up getting it, so now you have 5 months to make a good impression to continue working with the Avengers.

A/N: This is my first Marvel fic and I am taking it as a challenge. It is opposite of what my account was made, but here I go. Sorry for any mistakes made, hope you enjoy it even a tiny bit.

Word count:  3,281

Warmings: fights, harsh language, not part of the original MCU 

Y/N- Your name Y/L/N:  Your Last Name

                                   --------------------------------------

  Through sleepless nights and dark circles, books and pens, through months of work you reached your goal. The moment you received the acceptance letter from Stark University you almost flew out the window without a fear in your mind. This was it!

  Time had passed since that moment, but it is still engraved in your mind- a memory keeping you strong during the hard midterms and piles of work, even the small glimmers of regret. Trying your best wasn’t an option, you could do only that and no less. It was no easy task, lost social life as much as you tried to keep it. You were really lucky you had good friends that understood and supported you. University wasn’t easy for anyone making this one even tougher. People of all ages, backgrounds and cultures were piled up with you in this building. The best of the best as the slogan said, the ones that proved themselves and emerged victorious.

  When you were young ,you used to spend a lot of time with your uncle at his places outside the country. He would introduce you to his work colleagues and things you had never seen before. There was a time where you would spend months on end with him. Not many memories were left from those moments in your head. At one point you spend a few years with him, your mother thought it would be good experience for you and it turned out to be nothing but the truth-at least you hoped so. You learned a lot from him and his friends, it felt like each spend day would offer you more knowledge in areas you never knew of. Computer work, ways of thinking and so much more that had become second nature to you.

  The sky was tinted in a wash of oranges, reds and yellows bleeding one into the other, swirling around the sun emitting them. The day was ending, but you found yourself filling up an application in the library, covered by the silence and smell of exam worry.

  Sponsored and founded by the one and only Tony Stark, this establishment offered an internship. Being part of the Avengers, Tony didn’t let just anyone from the students attending in, even if they were the best labeled by the school. It had been a year and a half since you started pushing yourself harder to be able to apply and there was nothing that could stop you. Pressing your finger over the enter button was very nerve wrecking yet simple. Even if it didn’t work out this year, you planned to do it again and again ,till he had no other choice but give you a chance.

  Usually F.R.I.D.A.Y. went over everything and left only the applications worth going over by Tony himself or Pepper. The next 5 weeks for you were very stressful, but there was nothing more you could do but wait and focus on your own work. The first person you wanted to tell about this was your uncle. He went to work in some distant place where they had no internet so you switched to mail. Not as much paper under his name passed through your hands, as he had stopped answering you. You missed him, but the muddy childhood memories kind of compensated for that.

“Did you send it in?” the phone muffled a bit the sweet voice coming from the speaker 

“Yeah, a few days ago actually.” You answered with a gentle sigh

“And no answer yet?” the girl’s pitch rose at the end of the sentence, amazed at that what she just heard

“I know, I know. Think about it though Nea. Who knows how many applications get submitted. Someone has to brush through them after all.” defending the situation was a form of coping for you, made you feel hopeful.

“So you are trying to tell me Tony Stark’s interface or whatever it’s called, can’t sort them out in a couple of hours? Come on Y/N! You and I both know you are trying to make yourself feel better.” The small pause made you anxious over what Nea said “Listen.” A breathy start of the sentence “ I don’t mean to brag, but I think I am one of the people who know exactly how much you deserve this. You were never the studious type, plus that you were gone for years on end with that mysterious uncle of yours. I never expected you to suddenly go for Stark University. Your dream changed you, from this quiet kid to crazy ol’ you right now on the call with me.I ain’t letting you bust yourself up over this just because it didn’t happen the first time around-”

                Ding ding

  Nea’s deep speech was cut off before she could unleash herself completely, by the slight ring of your phone’s notification.

“Who tf has the audacity to text while the great me is giving this legendary –“

                Ding!

  The second time the sound sung out made her choke up with anger, you could almost see the fumes coming out of the phone.

“WHO IS IT!” a loud hiss pierced your ear

“Maybe if you gave me a minute I could answer your question.” Pulling the call down, your finger ran over the screen to the email, making your notification lamp blink like a car. Almost instantly it opened before your eyes and you gasped. The action made you swallow suddenly and cough out a bit ,giving poor Nea an idea about the level of shock you were in.

“What?What? You can’t just almost die and not tell me what is going on.” She proceeded with a not so tasteful interrogation.

“I-…they accepted my application…” at the end a small smile flowed over your lips contorting the sound coming out

“Stop!?” she choked up as well “You gotta be fucking with me!? No fucking way this is real!”

“I am honest. It says here that they liked my skill set, my grades and the way of thinking I presented in my essay. I got the spot Nea! I fucking did it!” you threw the phone on the bed letting it bounce as you started dancing.

“Of course you did! I told you! You will be working with THE AVENGERSSSS!” at some point it sounded like your best friend was more excited than you “When do you start?”

“Well…” taking a second to calm down and re-establish contact with your phone, you looked up the schedule that came attached with the email “…ok…so it says here that I will be starting on Monday so~ in 2 days? “

“So soon! Any requirements for the job miss Avenger’s sidekick?” and the teasing begins

“A list, surprisingly.” Rolling onto your back, you held the screen away and above your face, scrolling past “ I guess my first job will be with Dr. Banner in the lab. Apparently I will be given some sort of assignments throughout the 5 months work span. I will be monitored by Dr. Bruce Banner and the grading, I guess if you can call It that ,will be done by Tony Stark himself.”

“Basically Hulk will be your babysitter.” once this girl starts teasing she never stops even in amazing situations such as this one, good thing you loved her “That sounds so cool though! You will be able to meet Captain America and Black Widow~! I am so jelly of you I swear! When you leave work make sure to wait for someone from the group to walk by, omgggg I am fangirling so much right now.What if you go to dinners with them!?AAAAA!”

“Fun thing about that.” Your eyes landed on the last paragraph of the email “It says here that I am supposed to move into the compound and stay there till further notice. The whole idea is that if I do things well I will get a permanent job. Weird…” you hummed

“Weird !? How? That is so cool! Who knows you might even become an Avenger! You will be living with them anyways.” at this point Nea was either not breathing or hyperventilating so fast you couldn’t hear it

“Don’t be ridiculous.” your attention landed once more on the thought process you had a moment ago “I don’t get one thing. They say here that my PE grades combined with my IT and overall studies make me a great candidate, but I don’t remember sports being a requirement at all, or even providing them in the first place. Does it mean that if my grades were low in that department I wouldn’t have gotten the spot?”

“I guess people of science aren’t that flexible. Who cares anyways! You got in, no ifs and buts. I am telling you, at this point you could be an Avenger.” poor girl began thinking of names and suit designs for you “ Hurry up and pack those bags before I drop by with take away, so we can gossip over Steve Rogers’s abs.”

“Um…don’t get me wrong he is super hot, I just see the Cap more like an older brother figure than anything.” It was true, you looked up to him since the first time you studied about the Civil War. Fearless, gave his life in a way for his people, astonishing man over all.

“Hey! Let me drool over him! You were always more of a Winter Soldier fan anyways.” Nea pouted audibly . Her words made some lone memory pop up in your head, but it was as murky as the rest. “I don’t know why I am interested in him. Somehow his look is very nostalgic and rugged. Anyways. ”you shook your head out of the mental image of the soldier “I will go pack up, tell my parents and fix up all my documents. Probably find some stuff from former Stark employees online. I want to have a bit of an idea of what he expects and what I am getting myself into.”

“Fine fine, you could have just said you like troubled guys. You were the one who was happy Loki got a second chance after all. I will be over in like 3 hours.” She informed you

“Hey! He deserved to redeem himself, he was used!” a firm Loki supporter as always “Ok then, see ya.”

   Hanging up the call you placed your phone to charge and rolled off your bed. The email gave vague information about what you needed, but clothing wise you would still be able to come home and get stuff if you had to. What was on top of your priorities were papers, documents, all your research materials and tech. Those things had to be organized no matter what ,since they got you this far in the first place.

  Nae came over as planned and you two had a nice sleepover talking about you know who. The night came and left, letting the morning find you in your bed at 11am. Your forearm rested on top of your forehead in a relaxed manner, letting enough space for an exhale to linger in the air in front of you. Your mind was going over everything that was about to happen to you. It was one of your dreams, you worked for it nonstop day in day out, so why were you so worried about meeting the rest of the Avengers? Maybe it was just anxiety or fear of the unknown, yeah made sense.

  All you did during the day was make lists for every piece of tech you were binging with yourself. Things seemed to be in order, but worry kept nibbling on your bones. The moment of truth finally rolled up and so did your suitcase in front of your house. Nea came to send you off as she promised.

“Sweetie, make sure to call us every day. Eat well, don’t overwork yourself and-“ your mom went off with caution about anything and everything that came to mind

“Mom, you know I am going 3 blocks down from here right? Plus I can come home at any time I want to. I am not moving to Mars or getting arrested.” You smirked the panic away from her, giving them a big hug.

“Call me or text me when you get there.” Nea pulled you in, whispering in your ear as quietly as possible “And don’t forget to sneak me a booty pick of good ol’Cap. You know what they say-”

“That is America’s ass.” Your voice came out in a mocking tone

“That i-…let me at least finish it by myself! Geez!” she pushed you towards the door “Ok ok, go now before you spoil me something else” her arms crossed in front of her chest

  The walk wasn’t that long, you were too invested in your own thoughts to notice when the time and distance had passed. The glistening windows of the compound building shined into your eyes. Your lungs filled up with a breath that they kept in for a moment, before releasing it back in the outside world. Pulling out the documents you stepped in. The fresh smelling air hit you making you close one eye for a second.

People were walking around you fast and concentrated. Some looked in a hurry, others were on break with a cup of coffee and a strain-leaving expression.

 Your feet, as slightly shaky as they were, took you right up to the front desk were a lady with a dark rich red colored uniform looked at you. She flashed a professional smile, her eyes asking for your purpose.

“Um, hello. My name is Y/N -Y/L/N.” she saw the logo on your papers and gasped

“You must be the new intern Mr. Stark told us about.” She signed something and reached out “Can you give me your hand for a second.” Your fingers didn’t go past the surface of the desk when she pocked your skin. Pulling in your extremity, your palm wrapped around the spot that began to sting a bit “Don’t worry about it. This is your identification pass. Fancy, no?” she smiled winking. Her body stood up as she pointed at the elevator far in the back of the foyer.

  Instructions were given with each step of the way, calming your nerves a bit. The moment you found yourself inside the elevator she pulled your hand to the sensor on the wall next to the buttons.

Recognized: Code 2514. Welcome Miss Y/N  

 Your head shot up when F.R.I.D.Y.’s voice echoed in the small space. The women smiled giving you a small nod and stepped out of the vicinity. Once her body was outside ,the doors slid closed. Over them glowed a protective blue light layering over the material like a soft veil.

 It felt like you weren’t moving an inch. Your body flinched when the sun stung at your eyes from the window. Your gaze landed over the view of the city, as you went higher and higher, ascending into the clouds  The blues and yellows were covering the inside of the elevator, such vibrant and lovely colors warming your body. For a moment your heart felt heavy- lost memory tugged onto it again. An often occurrence lately, yet you kept brushing off as deja vu. 

Floor 134. Welcome to the Avenger’s compound Miss Y/N

“134!?” the numbers cracked out with your voice. The interface made you turn towards the opposite opening doors revealing a room as big as a hall, if not almost a stadium. The ceiling was high being the lid to this round area. Your heart beat increased pumping blood to your body, dilating your pupils at least twice their original size. It look amazing, almost like you had just entered heaven. The walls were white, the furniture was perfectly placed and cream colored. Stepping outside you jumped at the sound of the elevator doors closing behind you. 

“Wow” escaped your lips, your hand pulling the suitcase closer. So this was the common room or the shared space. The windows were so big they were practically a wall of their own. The bright rays were making themselves at home giving the white paint a new color with each passing minute. The ceilings were probably the equivalent of 3 floors in height. There was this weird feeling of home inside, a bit of isolation maybe mixed in. 

“Miss Y/N?” your head swung to the side when you recognized that shy but bright smile. Throwing the papers on top of your suitcase, you extended your arm at the man.

“Ah.” Good thing your mind automatically responds politely to people without you giving it much thought “Dr. Banner. It is my pleasure to make your acquaintance.” you shook his hand gently a couple of times and let go ,finding the papers and showing them to him “My name is Y/N-Y/L/N.” gentle bow and a smile followed the words skillfully chosen

“Welcome Welcome. Tony is out right now so I might be the only one actively walking around the compound. Well…”he scratched the back of his neck, lightly hunching over with a sheepish smile “I am one of the people you will be working under anyways, so I guess it is good that I came to get you. I would love to show you the lab, but I am sure you would like to set up your things first.” You nodded and he showed you to your room. The corridor had 3 tall doors scattered on the walls, all looking modern and elegant.

“This is the side where usually we have our female members. Natasha and Wanda will be your nextdoor neighbors. Hope it won’t be any trouble.” Bruce looked at you ,when an aggressive shake took over your neck

“No, no. Not at all sir. I am very grateful to have such amazing heroes next to me. As a matter of fact won’t they be troubled with me here?” and here came the normal anxiety that you had for everything

“I am sure they will like you. Don’t worry about it.” Bruce stepped next to the door and waved you over “You don’t have a key or a door handle as a matter of fact. Tony’s idea, don’t ask. If you got up here on your own I assume he made the girls downstairs give you an identification implant. That is basically your entrance for everything here. Kind of an Avengers thing.” You nodded and him wiggling his fingers like a spell. Placing your hand on the door like he told you activated F.R.I.D.A.Y.

Recognized: Y/N. Access and ownership granted.

  The metal frame slid open and you found yourself standing before a big room. It was nicely furnished. The desk was big enough for you to work on it and have everything around. Bookshelves empty and ready to be used on your left and a large bed on your right flush against the wall. The window was once more its own wall right in front of you standing behind the desk. The bathroom door was opening a space before the shelf the same color as the paint in the common room.

“I will let you set up. If you need anything F.R.I.D.A.Y. is always here. The room is interactive, you can ask exactly what works under the interface’s control. The door is one.Take your time.”he was on his way out “Would you like some coffee or tea?”

“I would like some tea, thank you very much.” Bruce flashed you a smile “F.R.I.D.A.Y. the door please.”

Door closed 

  Done as said and requested, clicking behind you. 

Would you like an extensive list of my functions as an assistant?

“Please do.”

[rhinoswriting]

5, 4, 3, 2, 1! (Luke Hemmings One Shot)

Summary: Told from an unnamed, female-presenting character's perspective. Luke and the reader confess that they have feelings for one another at the New Year's Eve party she hosts.

3.3k~ words • Fluff

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I was frantically mixing my cake batter together when I heard my doorbell ring. I wasn't expecting Michael to turn up until 4pm. So either he was uncharacteristically early or I was running further behind schedule than I thought. I glanced at my watch as I trotted from the kitchen to the front door. It was 4:07pm. I could feel the stress and panic expand in my body. I was stressed enough when I thought I was just 20 minutes behind schedule. I was actually running over an hour behind. I knew hitting snooze would be a mistake.

"Hey!" Michael greeted me with his usual Labrador level of cheer when I flung the door open.

"I'm so glad you're here," I confessed, the words tumbling out of my mouth as fast as I could form them, "I'm running so, so far behind schedule."

"Chill; it's fine." Michael chuckled while pulling me into a friendly hug, "I'm here to help set up, so we'll make up time."

"You're stealing precious seconds," I mumbled into the front of his shoulder as I tried to end the hug, "I needed my cake in the oven 15 minutes ago. It won't have cooled enough to ice properly before people arrive now."

Micheal unwrapped his arms from around my torso to let me run back to my cake batter in the kitchen. He followed behind with an amused smile and calm energy.

"What can I do to help stop you freaking out? Decorate? Set up the bar? Pour snacks into bowls?" Michael asked as I searched a cupboard for a cake tin.

"AH-HA!" I exclaimed, grabbing a cupcake tray and grinning manically, "Cupcakes don't take as long to bake! We've got 15 minutes back!"

"Shit, I didn't realise you were stressed to the point of deranged." Michael half-joked.

"Shut up and prep the bar." I ordered while starting to spoon batter into paper cases, "Please!" I added as an afterthought behind him.

Just as I'd put the cupcakes in the oven and set a timer, Michael reappeared in the kitchen.

"Right, the bar is all set. I've also put anything that look potentially breakable in the nearest cupboard or drawer." He informed me, "Also Luke texted me, so I talked him into coming over to help too."

"You are a life saver, Cliffo." I smiled, now feeling a bit more relaxed.

The two of us then went about checking off various tasks to get my house party-ready. About 25 minutes in my doorbell rang.

"That'll be Luke!" I called out to Michael as I made why way to the door, "Heya! Come on in." I greeted Luke as I pulled the door open.

Luke walked through the door, his duffle bag hung off his shoulder, and smiled down at me,

"Everything going okay? You look more flustered than Mike let on."

"I'm great. I'm great." I assured him, "We've made up some time and now we've got you too. So it's fine. I'm fine."

"Whatever you say," he chuckled, "Let me go dump my bag in your room so I can get changed later and then I'll be your devoted servant ready to follow orders."

~

"I'm going to need to head off," Michael announced after checking the time of his phone, "It's nearly 6 and I've gotta go walk to dogs, eat and get ready. I'll see you guys at 8."

"See ya in a bit!" Luke called after us as I walked with Michael to the door.

"Thanks so much for helping, Cliffo." I said as I hugged him goodbye, "The place looks great and I feel a lot more relaxed now. See you later."

I waved him off down the front path. Once he reached the gate I closed the door and headed back to the lounge.

"So what's left to do?" Luke asked when I re-entered the room.

"We're going to the kitchen to ice those cupcakes. And after that it'll just be a case of getting ready ourselves." I smiled at him gratefully, "We should even have time to start pre-drinking now that we've regained some time. Thanks for your help."

"No worries," he said returning my smile and then headed to the kitchen, "Now let's get icing."

After such a rushed, blur of a day it was unbelievably calming to methodically ice and embellish cupcakes with a friend I had such a comfortable connection with. It made me imagine the two of us playing out homely scenarios in romantic bliss. But that was an ideal world. In the real world we were just two friends with natural chemistry, so I tried to curb my imagination.

"Are you bothering with any new year's resolutions?" I asked, knowing that conversation would keep my mind from wandering back to its dream world.

"I always break them and only half-heartedly make them in the first place." He responded as he dropped little, silver sugar balls onto the lilac icing I had just swirled onto a cupcake, "Getting in shape is always one; listening to critics less; getting at least one full night of sleep next year would be nice too."

I laughed at his last resolution as I placed a loveheart sweet on another cupcake.

"What about you?" He asked.

"Getting in shape would be one of mine too if I weren't so lazy," I began, "I'm thinking of going vegetarian, so maybe that too. I might start dating too, now that I'm settled in the city, but it's still a bit terrifying."

"Yeah, the dating scene here is rough." Luke responded flatly.

"Well, it looks like we're done here." I chirped as I placed the last of the 20 cupcakes back on the counter. I smiled down at the four rows of cupcakes, with their lilac icing, silver balls and carefully centered loveheart toppings, "We did good! Now let's get ready so we can get drinking!"

Luke followed me into my bedroom, where he had dumped his bag earlier. As he began pulling out the crumpled clothes he had haphazardly stuffed in the bag earlier, I opened my closet door and began picking our various items. In the end I had four potential outfits draped over my left forearm.

"How dressed up are you meant to get for a New Year's Eve party in your own home?" I inquired, not knowing which outfit to go with.

"It's your house and you're the host, so get as dolled up as you want I guess." He answered; his hand hovering between a shirt and a t-shirt he'd laid out on my bed, not sure which one to go with.

"That's not the helpful answer I wanted," I teased before continuing, "What are you wearing then? I'll gauge my outfit off of yours."

"It's currently between this vintage Guns n' Roses tee or the pale yellow shirt. Which d'you think?"

I walked over to my bed for a closer look at his two options. I told him to go with the vintage GnR t-shirt as it went better with his black skinny jeans and wouldn't show alcohol stains as easily as the pastel lemon shirt. He then proceeded to carelessly stuff the shirt back into his duffle bag and switch the t-shirt he had on for the Guns n' Roses one. He was so used to dressing rooms that a quick shirt change in front of someone wasn't a big deal. Nevertheless I still politely attempted to avert my gaze and turn my attention back to my outfit for the night.

Using his outfit as guidance, so I was at least on the same level as someone that night, I opted for my distressed Metallica t-shirt and my favourite leather-look mini skirt. As I wasn't as comfortable getting changed in front of people, especially those I had bottled up feelings for, I told Luke to go and grab the denim jacket I knew he kept in his car.

"It'll complete the look." I told him when he questioned why I was telling him to get a jacket for a house party, "I'll get changed and started on my make-up while you get it. Then we can concoct some cocktails."

Once Luke had left my room I slipped out of my bike shorts and loose v-neck and into my chosen outfit for the night. I looked at myself in the full length mirror attached to the closet door and did a few little half spins to check out how I looked from various angles. I loved the look. I particularly liked the subtle flash of my bright red triangle bra through some of the little holes and tears in the black fabric of my Metallica t-shirt. It gave me an added touch of confidence.

I already had make-up on; but it was just foundation, mascara and the nearest brown eyeshadow I could find to fill in my brows. I pulled my liquid eyeliner pen from my make-up bag and began outlining a wing. Just as I was finishing up my second eye, Luke entered my bedroom again.

"Jesus! You made me jump!" I exclaimed when I first caught a glimpse his reflection behind me in the mirror.

"Sorry," he laughed, "I left the front door ajar while I ran to the car. Didn't want to disturb you and get you all stressed again."

"Aww, well thanks I guess," I said awkwardly while applying my berry red liquid lipstick, "Right, I think I'm done." I announced turning to face Luke who was leant up against my doorframe.

Luke straitened up to standing and unfolded his arms, moving his hands into his pockets.

"You look great," He smiled sweetly down at me, "Really great."

I thanked him as I approached him and linked my arm through his. Arm-in-arm I led him to the bar area Michael had set up at the far end of my lounge.

We were both on our third cocktail, sprawled out on my corner sofa and listening to Nimrod when guests started arriving.

"Ayyyy! Cool Guy Cal!" I greeted Calum at the door, who was shortly followed by Roy, Ash and Sasha.

Michael, Georgie, Joel and Christina were next to arrive. Shortly followed by Rian and Bailey. Then Alex, Lisa and Jack turned up and the guest list was complete.

By 10pm everyone was suitably drunk, my carefully crafted playlist was being appreciated and the party was in full swing. Like all good house parties, the kitchen was nearly as crowded as the lounge.

"Coming through! This lady wants a snack!" I declared as I tipsily weaved through Jack, Ash, Christina, Luke and Georgie to get to the snack bowls.

"Really? Tiny pretzels?" Ash asked with a mischievous grin, "I thought Luke over here would be your first choice snack."

"Aha, you're funny." I said sarcastically. I hoped my cheeks already had an alcohol flush so no one would notice that his sly comment had made me blush.

"No, no, she said she's ready for the dating scene here. So I'm just those bar peanuts that have been left out for a questionable amount of time." Luke jumped in, randomly gesticulating with the cup in his hand.

"Oh shut up; you are not. You know you're just as good as tiny pretzels." I scolded him before turning to Ashton with the cupcake I had just picked up with the loveheart that read 'Bite Me', "This is specially for you, Ash."

"'Bite Me', ooh that cuts deep." Ashton chuckled before taking a bite, "I stand by what I said though." He spoke through his barely chewed mouthful.

I simply rolled my eyes at him and made my way back to the lounge to pour another drink.

I was still at the bar area, sipping my cocktail, while chatting to Alex and Lisa when Acting Like That began to play.

"Oh, oh my god, okay, I'm sorry but you guys are going to need to excuse me a sec." I apologised as I dashed into the middle of the crowd in my lounge, where I hoped to convene with the four 5SOS boys.

None of them disappointed me. Hearing their call to arms (a.k.a. the opening bar of the song) we formed a tight circle of five and went crazy. As we sang passionately and jumped around I noticed where Luke had positioned himself in relation to me and remembered Ash's comment from earlier in the kitchen. I never thought Luke would like me back, but here he was closer to me than anyone else. And what was comparing himself to stale peanuts earlier meant to mean? I shook the thoughts out of my head. It was New Year's Eve, I should be having a great time with my friends, not fixating on the behaviour of one of them.

"Want to grab a refill?" Luke called into my ear as Acting Like That transitioned into Afterglow.

"Sure," I responded while also trying to catch my breath from all the jumping around. I hooked my arm through his, did a little skip-step and headed back to where I'd run off from Alex and Lisa moments ago.

"Too cool to dance to your own song?" I teased Alex when I saw he was still stood by the bar.

He just laughed my comment off as he stepped to the side to let Luke and I access the whole array of bottles and their potent liquids. As Luke was busy pouring mixer into his cup Alex caught my eye, raised his eyebrows dramatically and looked in Luke's direction. I mouthed the words 'don't you start' at him and shot him a warning look. Alex raised his hands, palms facing me to signal defeat and gave a small nod before swivelling on his heel and disappearing into the crowd of my sweaty, drunk friends.

"Sooo, I'm like a pretzel to you?" Luke asked with a sly grin as he looked down at me and placed a cocktail umbrella in my refilled cup. I couldn't tell if he was mocking me or not by bringing that remark up.

"Yet you think you're a stale peanut to me. I'm not having the conversation I think we're about to have if we keep using salty party snacks as an analogy." I chuckled before taking a huge gulp of my drink. I had a feeling I was soon going to need all the liquid confidence I could get.

"Want to go somewhere a bit more private then?" Luke asked leaning down to make sure only I could hear him above the music. Which meant I was also the only one to hear the nervous quiver in his voice. I found his apparent nervousness both sweet and incredibly reassuring, considering my own nerves.

I responded by nodding coyly, suddenly too nervous to even form words. I couldn't believe I was about to have this kind of drunk chat with Luke. I was so scared of having my heart ripped out half an hour before midnight on New Year's Eve. I genuinely couldn't say with confidence which way this was going to go.

Luke took my free hand in his and led me to my bedroom. It was a good call. We'd have no privacy in the garden because of the guests who were smokers, as well as my huge french doors all the non-smokers could watch through. And we couldn't have a drunk bathroom chat, because I only had one bathroom so an impatient line would form within minutes of locking the door.

I shut the door once we were back in my room and pressed my back against it. Luke was stood in the middle of the room, a few steps from the foot of my bed. He had his fingers pressed together so his hands formed a triangular shape which he held up to his face, covering his nose and mouth. He took a breath in and as he released it, his hands slid from his face up into his hair to push his curls back. Then he finally made eye contact with me.

"Look, party food aside, I've got to know how you feel about me." Luke stated, with a hint of pleading in his voice, as he took a few steps closer to me.

"Honestly," I started, "Whoa boy, I am not drunk enough for this. Crap," I took a second and exhaled deeply, "Okay. Luke, despite my best efforts to bottle up my feelings and just see you as a friend's like the others, I can't. I really fucking like you."

"So you do have feelings for me too?" Luke tried to clarify.

"Too?" I queried, meeting his gaze for the first time since admitting my feelings. I wanted clarification as well; I wasn't going to let my heart soar based on a drunk assumption.

"Yes, too. Of course I have feelings for you." Luke admitted, stepping further towards me. He placed a cupped hand on my cheek as I took a step away from the door and closer to him, the distance between us now almost completely gone, "Since you came into my life you've made every day better. How could I not fall for you when you're you?"

My heart now had permission to soar as high as it damn well pleased.

"Knowing you has made me happier too," I beamed.

Luke mirrored my beaming smile upon hearing those words. Then, with his hand still cupped on my cheek, he tilted my face a fraction higher before our eyelids fluttered shut and the gravity between our lips took hold.

It was an incredible kiss. And not just because Luke was a great kisser. It was incredible because, in a strange way, it was such a relief. After all the time spent pinning and denying my feelings, it was such a relief to feel Luke's soft lips on mine and realise what a fool I had been.

After a solid minute of kissing someone cleared their throat behind us. Luke's hand slid from the small of my back to the side of my waist; I loosened the arm I had draped around his neck; and our lips parted as we turned to see who had just announced their presence behind us.

"While I'm sure as shit glad you two are finally hooking up, we've got a countdown to do in a matter of minutes." Alex said before wrangling us out into the garden with everyone else, "I FOUND THEM MAKING OUT!" He declared to everyone as he came out into the garden behind us.

Some people wooped, some people awwed and then there was the almost in-sync "fucking finally" from Michael, Calum and Ashton. Seeing their reactions made me so happy and let me know that whatever this grew into, it was right.

Luke took my hand again, interlocking his fingers with mine, and we walked to the back of where our group of friends had congregated in the garden to view the myriad of fireworks soon to be set off across the city.

"One minute to go!" Christina called.

Luke placed a soft kiss on the top of my head before raising our linked hands over my head so they came to rest on my hip, with his arm wrapped around the back of my waist and my arm around the front of my waist.

"Thirty seconds!" Christina chimed again, "Twenty seconds! ... Eleven!"

Then we all joined in together,

"Ten! Nine! Eight! Seven! Six! Five! Four! Three! Two! One! HAPPY NEW YEAR!"

As our friends cheered the new year in and fireworks began popping in the sky above us, Luke's lips found mine again. It was a brief kiss. Luke pulled his lips away and then pressed his forehead against mine,

"Happy New Year" He whispered in the softest voice.

I grinned up at him,

"Happy New Year, Luke." I whispered back before returning my lips to his.

[thornescratch]

(Okay I usually don’t repost stuff that’s behind a paywall too often, but this is too good not to share. Tarik has done a stellar job taking over at the Athletic; I highly recommend him; he’s worth the subscription.)

From wearing an American flag patterned Speedo on South Beach to scoring four goals with a couple dozen stitches in his leg to subjecting teammates to techno blasted at ear-splitting volume levels in his car, the tales from Alex Ovechkin’s first few seasons in NHL are the stuff of legend inside the Capitals’ headquarters.

In recent days, as Ovechkin authored the hottest goal-scoring stretch of his career in chasing another historic milestone – he is two goals shy of 700 for his career – The Athletic talked to more than a dozen of his teammates throughout the years, as well as members of the Capitals’ staff. The question was a simple one: Tell us your favorite early(ish) Ovi story.

Some had to think long and hard. Others began answering before the question was posed. A few refused to share because, well, it was a little too juicy for public consumption.

But more than enough did tell their Ovi story. And they’re a hoot.

Former Capitals forward Brian Willsie, Ovechkin’s first NHL roommate on the road: One thing we’d often do is we’d dine together or with the group, and we’d come back to the room and we’d order room service dessert. At the start, Alex’s English was coming but it was coming slowly. So I would do the ordering, whether it was fruit, ice cream or something of the sort. But I was telling him the whole time, “You’ve got to start doing this. I’m not going to be your roommate forever.” So finally, one of the nights we got back and he really wanted ice cream. I said, “Nope, I’m not ordering. You got to do it.” It was almost like a father-son thing. I said, “It’s your time, you got to do it.” He was so mad. We just sat there watching TV. He had his arms crossed. It was a staring contest. I told him again, “If you want ice cream, you have to do it.” He was so angry. Eventually, he just jumped out of bed and said, “OK, I do it. What do I say?” So he went over to the desk and ordered ice cream with chocolate sauce. I said, “Order two. Don’t leave me out.” He was super nervous. But he got it all out. He wasn’t confident in his English, but it was better than he thought it was.

Former Capitals defenseman Brian Pothier: We landed in Fort Lauderdale. We hadn’t been south in a while and it was wintertime. Ovi and (Alexander) Semin were like, “Let’s do it. Let’s get in the water.” They changed, ran down to the beach and did this like wild sprint into the water. It was reckless, and it was pretty cold. Then all of a sudden they come flying out of the water screaming because they were getting stung by jellyfish. That was probably 2006 or 2007, so his second or third year. They were fine. They were little jellyfish, but there were a lot of them. They had little marks on them. It wasn’t like they were mutilated, but they had little stings on them. It was pretty funny.

Former Capitals forward Matt Bradley: The people at the hotel were like, “Hey, you can’t go in the water, there’s jellyfish.” We didn’t have swimsuits. I’m pretty sure they went in their underwear. They were excited. It was like they had never seen the ocean. It wasn’t even warm. They just wanted to go in the ocean. I’m 90-percent sure they just had their underwear on.

Former Capitals captain and linemate Chris Clark: He came in the next day and had that big welt. It was all red. The welt is how we found out. I think he ran right through the jellyfish warning signs that were everywhere. I don’t know if he didn’t believe the signs or if he didn’t read them. The fact that there wasn’t anyone in the water should have been a warning to them, too.

Former Capitals forward Brooks Laich: I think he was named captain mid-year one year. Anyway, the first day of training camp the next year we kept saying, “We can’t wait for captain’s dinner this year because Ovi is buying.” Captain’s dinner is at the start of every year; the captain and the two assistants take the entire team out for dinner before the first road game. The captains take everyone out and pay for the entire meal. It’s a gesture to the guys from the leadership group. “We’re like, oh, we can’t wait! Ovi, you’re going to be buying captains’ dinner and we’re already starting to plan it.” He’s like, “Captain’s meal, what’s that?” We couldn’t believe that he didn’t know from the previous three years that he’d been bought dinner by the captains. We’re like, “You gotta take the whole team out for dinner.” And he’s like, “Okay. Sushi Rock, right after practice.” And we’re like, “Whaaaat?” He’s like, “Yeah, we do it today.” Okay. This was Day One of training camp. We tell everyone on the training camp roster that Ovi is buying lunch at Sushi Rock. So 63 guys go to the Sushi Rock for lunch on Day One of training camp – all on Ovi’s credit card. Then we make him buy captain’s dinner again once the team is settled a couple of weeks later. I think he got pissed when we told him he had to do it again. He was like, “I already did it.” We were like, “No, no. This is for the team now.”

Sushi for 63 guys? That’s like at least five, six grand. I love that story because it just encompasses Al. What a fantastic teammate. He’s just like, “Okay, let’s do it today.” And then buys lunch for everybody.

Brooks Laich: It was early on in our career. It might have been our first year, in fact. He was around like the 35, 40 goal mark. He’s established. It’s the second half of the season, and he’s cruising. We get home from a trip. We just got shit-kicked in Florida. We got beat up by Tampa. This is when we flew out of BWI and we had to get on the bus to get shuttled over to our cars. We get to that bus and Ovi gets on the phone with one of our trainers or one of the (equipment vendors). And he’s yelling. The whole bus is quiet. It’s dark. It’s like 1:30 in the morning. And he’s yelling, “These fucking sticks are shit! Call the fucking fabric and tell them to make better sticks!” He called the factory “the fabric.” He thought the word for factory was fabric. Everybody on the bus is just dying.

Former Capitals head athletic trainer Greg Smith: We were down in Miami on our day off. The kid decides to go out on the beach. So he goes out and buys like a European bathing suit, like a bikini, a Speedo. It was an American flag. It was hilarious. It was a Speedo! We’re like, “Ovi, you can’t wear that.” He’s like, “Why? Because of American flag?” We’re like, “No, because it’s a fucking Speedo and your junk is hanging out.” But he thought it was because of the American flag. I have a picture on my phone, of Ovi, in an American flag Speedo, on South Beach. So, of course, we posted it up all over the locker room.

Chris Clark: Half the time it was just the stuff that he wore. He’d come in and I’d be like, “What are you wearing?” He’d say, “What? It’s Dolce.” I’d say, “I don’t care how much it costs or who makes it. It might be the ugliest thing I’ve ever seen.” He had this one pair of pants, that were like jeans on the top but sweatpants in the legs. He was so proud of them. He thought they were the best thing ever.

Former Capitals forward and linemate Mike Knuble: Well, he used to wear these pants that were basically Daisy Dukes with cotton sweatpants attached for legs. We would always point and scratch our heads. One day someone says to Ovi, “Those pants are terrible. What the hell are they? Do you go to the club or go to work out? You have both covered, and we know you don’t work out!” He turns and smiles and says, “Dolce and Gabbana” and just keeps strutting away. We yell back, “They’re ugly as hell.” Now we are interested and decide to look them up. They were like $800 or something like that. Needless to say, we were shocked. We then coined the term “hobo-chic” to describe his really expensive clothes that look like they were from a dumpster. But we loved to give it to him about his attire.

We are eating pregame one day at (then Kettler Capitals Iceplex) and he pops into the room in a freebie NHL entry draft t-shirt from Carolina. It had sort of a Hurricanes logo on it. This is 5-6 years after he was drafted and has been making $9.5 million (a season) for three years. They probably gave him a pre-draft goody bag with a bunch of free crap. He still had the t-shirt from the bag! He didn’t hear the end of that one for a while. Needless to say, he didn’t wear that T-shirt again. I would really love to have a look in his closet one day.

Former Capitals defenseman Steve Eminger: He used to wear these jean shorts that looked like women’s shorts his rookie season. They were so tight, so high. We got a hold of them, cut them up and threw them out. And that was that. He had to go home from the rink in some Capitals gym shorts. That was the last we saw of those shorts. I don’t think he had a lot of clothes at that time. (Jeff Halpern) might have been the aggressor on that one. We were like, “Ovi, that’s it. You can’t ever wear anything like that again.” They were acid-washed!

Capitals forward Nicklas Backstrom: In the beginning when we got here, he was driving me everywhere. The first thing I noticed is, well, you never talk when you go in the car with him because he plays the stereo full blast. Techno, everything. It’s just really fucking loud. There’s no way to talk. If he’s about to say something, he’ll reach over and turn it down, and he’ll ask you a question. And then put it back on full blast.

Another thing with his driving, especially when he was younger, was he loved to go a little faster. He’d always push the pedal and then hit the brakes. So you’re sitting like this (Backstrom pushes himself back in his locker stall and then snaps his head forward). That was a fun thing he always did when we drove together to the airport. He’d go full speed and then hit the brakes. But he would only go full speed for like 200 feet. Then he’d go, “Oh fuck, I’m so scared in case the cops are coming.” That was when he first got that white Mercedes (AMG S63). I think he’s got that back in Russia now.

Capitals defenseman John Carlson: It was maybe my third year, and my aunt made dinner for the whole team (prior to a game in New Jersey). It was a traditional Italian dinner. My cousin owns a deli, so he brought the appetizers and all that. We were all there. And after a couple of rounds of appetizers and soup and whatever else we were having, the pasta and meatballs came out. And Ovi goes up to one of my aunts and asked for, uh, ketchup. That’s a deadly sin. I would say in most cases that gets a slap in the face. But they’re not like that. But it was certainly a shock to them. They couldn’t fathom or understand that anyone would ever want to put ketchup on pasta or meatballs. But they went and got the ketchup because they were good hosts.

Capitals defenseman Dmitry Orlov: Like four or five years ago, we tried to make a reservation for sushi restaurant in Vancouver. We called ahead and tried to get a reservation. So, I remember, we say my last name and (Evgeny) Kuznetsov. And they said, no. They don’t have any space, available rooms, tables, whatever. And we said, what about if we bring Alex Ovechkin? They said, hold on one second. I think the guy talked to the manager or whatever. They give us a table. It was pretty funny because it was all of us – Stan Galiev, me, Kuzy and Ovi. We all were in the hotel room. It was on speaker so all four of us could hear it. It was so funny. Alex just started laughing. At first they had nothing, then right away it was, “Oh yeah, yeah, you guys can come.”

Former Capitals defenseman Brendan Witt: His rack (at Piney Orchard Ice Arena) was always full with like 50 sticks. One day I sawed a bunch of them. He’d wind up, take a shot and he’d go, “What the fuck?” Then the next one would snap. “What the fuck!” You have to think of Ovi yelling, “Fuuuucccckkkk!” You know Ovi taking those big slappers. Just imagine broken blades on one-timers. It was awesome. Usually, when I cut someone’s stick, it was always in the blade and then I would re-tape it properly. I would take off the tape and then hide the cut behind the tape because then you never know. If you do the shaft, then you would see a cut in the graphite. I’d always cut it in the blade, underneath the blade, different angles of the blade. So it breaks differently each time. I swear he went in and got a new stick each time. I don’t think he ever figured out it was me.

Former Capitals coach Bruce Boudreau: I remember telling (then-general manager) George (McPhee) after we traded Chris Clark, “It’s Ovi’s team now, and we got to make him captain, even if he’s not completely ready for it. He’s the captain and the leader of this team and he will be for many years.” So I asked him if he wanted to be captain and he said, “YESSS!” It was really emphatic. “Yes, I want to be captain. I really want it.” He wasn’t like, “Yeah, I don’t know if I’m ready.” None of that. It was, “Yes!” Adamantly. He wanted to be the captain. I said, “You’ve earned it and you deserve it and you’re our leader and we’re going to follow you.”

Greg Smith: Early in his rookie season, he turns to me on the bench and says, “Do you have a wodka?” I said, “A what?” He said, “You know, a wodka?” He does the drinking motion. I said, “Oh, vodka.” I said, “No, I don’t have any vodka. It’s the middle of a game.” I’m thinking what’s wrong with this guy? Then he shows me — and honest to god — it’s a little paper cut on his finger. He’s like, “You know, wodka? It kills germs.” I’m like, “No, no, we have peroxide for that. But don’t drink it.” He pours it on his cut. And then he says, “I need a plaster.” I said, “What is a plaster?” You know how he gets. I have a fanny pack on. He grabs my waist and starts digging around in my fanny pack and pulls out a band-aid and says, “See? Plaster.”

Bruce Boudreau: My go-to stories about Ovi are about how he’s able to be as physical as he is and not get hurt. I remember him going knee on knee with Tim Gleason, who is a big 225-pound guy. Alex went to the room. I went in and he was like, “I’m fine.” It was like nothing happened. I also remember him going knee-on-knee in the playoffs with Sergei Gonchar. Nothing happened to Alex and that guy misses the rest of the playoffs. Those physical things are what I remember most of all. One time, we played Pittsburgh and he got a big cut on his leg. It was about eight inches long and he needed about 25 stitches. He couldn’t even walk. Two days later we were in Ottawa and he played, even though I was amazed at the scar on the inside of his leg. And he scored four goals that night. He’s done that kinda stuff every year of his career. The toughness of him is overlooked sometimes.

NBC Sports Washington play-by-play announcer Joe Beninati: You know he loves cars. It’s his rookie year. He’s a puppy. But he’s Alex. He’s a star and he’s got the big car – a BMW M6. A white M6. He sends it off to get all this aftermarket work done, air dams, ground effects, brakes, rims. One night, we come out of the garage and we’re stopped at a light. We were going to the airport after a game. He’s got his car, he’s all happy, he’s all proud. And here’s this schlub TV announcer pulling up next to him in an M6. He looks at me. I look him and I wave. And he just drops his head. I look back at him and I go, “What, I can’t have one, too?”

Former Capitals senior director of communications Kurt Kehl: We were at a Ravens preseason game, and we had gone down to the sideline. Now we were walking back up to the suite and he sees this stand for Dippin’ Dots. So he buys a little carton of Dippin’ Dots. We take a few steps as he’s eating them. He looooveeees them! He goes back and buys two more. So now he’s got three things of Dippin’ Dots. We’re up in (former Ravens executive) Dennis Mannion’s suite. I’m sitting next to Ovi and he’s got these three things of Dippin’ Dots in front of him. I see George (McPhee), who was big on nutrition, walking into the suite. So I remember sliding the Dippin’ Dots away from Ovechkin and in front of whoever was sitting next to him. Ovi looked at me all confused. I said, “Just wait until George leaves and then slide them back over.”

Joe Beninati: Rookie year, again. Shy, not really good with the language. Whenever we put him on camera, he would be very self-conscious. It’s just about time for Russia to announce the Olympic team. Our producer/director, Bill Bell, is like, “Just get him on camera for a soundbite and ask him what would it mean to you to get selected for the team? Pavel Bure is the GM.” He comes in our studio and he sits down and he gives me an answer, and it’s good. He walks out of our studio where he’s shy and intimidated and not sure about the sound of his own voice. He walks into a scrum of other media. Someone asks him, “What would it mean to you if you make Team Russia?” He answers, “You tell Pavel Bure that I’ll play goalie! I’ll do anything to make the team!” And I’m like, “Ack! Why couldn’t you give that to me just two seconds ago?”

Kurt Kehl: When he first got here, Nate (Ewell, the Capitals’ former director of media relations) and I took him somewhere to do a media interview. We’re coming back and parking at the arena. And on the way back, he’s like, “I’ll take you to lunch. I’ll take you to lunch.” We’re like, “No, it’s okay, Alex. This is part of the job; it’s what we do. You don’t have to reward us for doing our job.” But he was really badgering us. “I’ll take you to lunch. I’ll take you to lunch.” So finally, Nate and I said, “Sure, we’ll go.” He took us to McDonald’s. Because he wanted a burger. I was like, “Wait a minute. I put up this big fight because I thought he was going to take us to Capital Grille. If I knew it was going to be a Big Mac, I wouldn’t have made such a fuss.”

Longtime Capitals equipment manager Craig “Woody” Leydig: It was probably Ovi’s second year and we’re in the equipment room at – I guess it was called MCI Center back then – and anyway I’m sitting there doing some work and he was lacing. He had laced a couple of eyelets. And then there was an impromptu meeting called. He said, “Woodman, would you finish it for me?” And I did. Then he went out that night and had a multiple-point game. And from there, it just became habitual. He’s a creature of habit, like a lot of guys.

Kurt Kehl: When he first got here, he lived with McPhee. I remember telling George at one point, “Hey, if he totally gets in your hair, let me know if I can do anything.” One day George says to me, “Can you take Ovi to Laurel to skate with a couple of guys?” We get up to Laurel in that back rink. (Olie) Kolzig was there. (Jeff) Halpern was there. (Trent) Whitfield was there. I had never seen Ovi skate. And he comes on and starts skating on that back rink. You know how it echoes in there. Hearing him skate. He isn’t a graceful skater. It wasn’t like (Mario) Lemieux or (Alexei) Kovalev skating. It was just pure power. You could hear it in that rink. I had never seen or heard anything like that. And then he let a couple of shots go. And I remember Halpern looking up at me in the stands … and Halpy was almost like, “What the fuck is that?”

Former Capitals director of media relations Nate Ewell: I don’t remember the exact date, but we had played in either Philly or New York because we took the train back. Then the whole team had to take the Metro back from Union Station to Verizon Center. Which in and of itself is kinda absurd if you think about it – all the Caps getting on the Metro. I was standing there with him on the platform and we were talking about world juniors for some reason. I said, “Man, I HATED you!” He just laughed and said, “Why? Why did you hate me?” I was like, “You were always taunting the crowd. You had the tinted visor. I thought you were cocky and brash.” He was like, “I was just having fun.” It’s exactly how people’s perception of him has changed. They all thought here’s this guy that celebrates too much. But once you get to know him, you realize it was just him having fun.

[paodequeijofeliz-blog]

I would do it all again

Ride or Die Fanfiction (characters and main story belongs to Pixelberry Studios).

Pairing: Mona and MC (Annie)

Information: this takes place after the first book.

Summary: After what happened at the parking lot, each member of the crew tries to build a new life, following the “every man for himself” motto. But Annie doesn’t agree with that and tries to pull them back together, especially Mona, who she has been waiting for too many years.

Warnings: none.

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4

I would do it all again - Part 5

      “There’s paint in your… Everything.” Annie started to giggle, herself also covered in dark blue paint. “Gee, Avery, I think you’re right. We’re gonna be blue for the rest of our lives. Like little Avatars.”

         “I told you!” the other girl laughed too, trying to clean the paint out of her face with a towel, but only made it spread even more. She was shorter than Annie, with puppy brown eyes and an adorable big smile. Didn’t look nothing like her uncle Dominick. “But worth it. Look at this room. It’s perfect.”

         They stopped to admire the results of their morning’s work for a few moments. After days watching tutorials online and searching for the right materials, the room was finally finished. Mona had confessed to Annie her wishes to turn it into some sort of studio, where she could draw or practice her guitar skills again. Of course, the last time the Lebanese did either of those was even before meeting Annie in the first place, so it could be hard to catch up again. But her eyes lightened so beautifully at the idea, the girl couldn’t wait to have the room ready for Mona to start.

         That’s why backup was required, and who better than Avery? It was about time for Mona to meet her anyway, especially now that she had just returned from Italy after a family visit.

         “Do you think we have time to clean up before they arrive?” Annie peeked over the window, but there was no car to be seem in any side of the road.

         “Yeah, I think so. Let me call my uncle and check if he can hold back longer.”

         Dominick picked up the phone immediately, mumbling and pretending it was a work call. Between codes, he was able to reassure them it would take a while to get home, maybe an hour. That was the right amount of time for both girls to clean the room and themselves. When the car finally parked outside, Annie was brushing her wet hair while Avery finished putting the paint cans away in the mess room.

Mona’s voice was audible in the distance.

         “… never trust ‘em. Those supposedly safe economical cars are always a headache, they don’t survive a single storm on the road. If you gotta change cars, go for something with higher resistance, especially you who need to ride through this bumpy road every day.” The door was opened to reveal both Mona and Dominick carrying grocery bags inside. “Hey, babe. How are… What did you do?”

         The Lebanese narrowed her eyes, scanning the room for something dangerous. She knew that look on Annie’s face meant trouble.

“Nothing. Why?” the girl tried to put on an angelic smile.

         “You’re jumping in the same place. Why are you so excited? Should I be worried?”

         Avery popped her head from the hallway before Annie could answer the question. “Hi, everyone.”

         “Oh hey, cookie! Come here. Let me introduce you. Calil, this is Avery, my niece.” Dominick held the brunette girl from her shoulders, placing a kiss on the top of her head. “Cookie, this is Malika Calil. Or Mona.”

         “Or boss” Annie added, teasing.

         “Nice to meet you” Avery answered after a brief laugh. “It’s good to finally put a face to your name.”

         “Same here.” Although Mona wasn’t normally friendly, she got very fond of Avery. “So, what did you two do today to make Annie look like she’s about to shoot fireworks from her ass?”

         The teacher rolled her eyes, still too damn energic to stay still. “Ok, ok. C’mon. Avery helped me to do a surprise for you.”

         “Uh-oh.”

         “Don’t uh-oh. It’s a nice surprise, promise. Or I hope so, at least. If you hate it, we can change everything. No worries. It’s reversable. Most of it.”

         “Stop explaining, Ann.” Avery put a hand on her forearm, trying to prevent her friend from jabbing. “Just show her. Trust your guts. Be confident.”

         Mona arched her eyebrows in surprise. “I liker your attitude.”

         “Alright, c’mon. Close your eyes.” Annie held both the woman’s wrists and started to guide her in the right direction. “Wait. Not yet. Not yet. And… Okay, now. Open it.”

         Those dark eyes started to open slowly, a little bit afraid of what Annie had done, but then widened at the sight of the room. “Oh. My.”

         Mona was startled. Her soon-to-be studio had two of it’s walls painted in a dark shade of blue, with tiny sprinkles of silver that made it look like the night sky. The sprinkles would get bigger as it reached the ceiling, forming stars and constellations on it. The other two walls remained white, one of them with a huge drawing table by the window, favouring the natural light. The other, though, as soon as Mona approached, appeared not to be a simple white, but a paintable kind, like a white board where the Lebanese could write and erase anything as it pleases.

         It was perfect. Absolutely perfect.

         “You said you’re a creature of the night. That the night sky inspires you. So… I… I hope it’s good. Like I said, we can change it, paint from scratch again, no problem. The important is for you to be comfortable here.” Annie hesitated, trying to work on her confidence like Avery suggested, but Mona was awfully quiet, and they couldn’t see her face, since she had the back turned.

         “Uhm… I’ll make some coffee. Help me, cookie?” Dominick pulled his niece gently by the elbow, closing the door behind them to leave the couple alone.

         Silence continued afterwards.

       Annie was slowly getting more and more terrified, especially when noticed Mona’s closed fists. She approached her carefully, hands lifting, but too afraid to touch. Mouth opened, but no word could be formed. Has she gone too far? Was the woman mad because the room was painted without her? Annie thought she had been so careful to listen to the signs, make a good choice…

      “Mon… I’m sor…” 

      “I love you.”

      When Mona turned around, there were tears in her eyes. The last time Annie remembered seeing her cry was six years ago, after the shooting, when they said goodbye to each other between blood and promises. Today, it was different. The woman wasn’t sad. Her black eyes were glowing with a sweet form of love, this time no longer afraid of cops breaking them apart. Fists still clenched, posture tense, but a warm expression. It was like her body didn’t match her heart at all… Like it was fighting against it’s own feelings.

        Annie approached her, breath caught on the throat, a sheepish smile emerging. Without sudden movements, she held Mona’s fists and brushed them with her thumbs, causing it to relax and slowly given up on the fight, obeying the heart’s commands. The girl only stopped when they were inches apart, diving in those beautiful Lebanese eyes like jumping in the night sky with no parachutes on. Their fingers intertwined at the same time Mona’s posture eased a bit, leaning in for a tender kiss that made Annie melt down in her arms.

     “I love you too.” Whispered Ann, eyes closed and foreheads together. “Did I hurt you somehow? Did I…?”

     “You could never hurt me. Not even if you wanted to.” Mona opened her eyes again, causing the girl to do the same. “I’m sorry I frightened you, I’m not mad or upset, far from that. I’m… It’s just… No one has ever done things like this for me before, Ann. I know this room is nothing compared to the other huge sacrifices and battles you have been fighting for so long, but it hit me hard. It’s so personal. So perfect. It’s not only safe, or careful, or well-planned, it’s also me. The real me. Like you can read me through and through. I don’t think anyone ever got so deep.”

       “I know you hate to talk about this kind of stuff. But I hope it’s already clear that I’m not standing here just ‘cause you’re hot and funny, although those are qualities worth mentioning, might I add.” Mona couldn’t stop smiling mischievously over that observation. “I’m not playing around or seeing where it goes, Mon. I worry about you. I want you to feel comfortable and free to be yourself again. Even if ‘yourself’ means not sharing the silly-feelings talk you dislike. I love you the way you are. I’m all in, babe. Head over heels. Sorry if it scares you, but that’s the truth. Deal with it. And my love comes with things like these surprises attached.”

       Annie gulped, afraid her statement had been too straightforward, but Mona didn’t back up, tense or hesitate at all. On the contrary, her arms involved the girl’s waist, bringing her closer into a not-so-tender kiss. It tasted like fire and sweetness at the same time, the type of kiss that could make someone falter between rip their clothes off or shout “I love you”. She didn’t know how much time that continued, since her full attention was captured by Mona’s lips and hands, until finally they ran out of breath and needed to break it for a second.

     “Man, I’ll repaint the entire house if it leads you to kiss me like that” Annie chuckled, hands entangled on the back of the woman’s neck.

      “Are you complaining I don’t kiss you passionately on a regular basis?” Mona arched her eyebrows, turning around to press the girl against the door, one leg between hers. “Well, let’s see what we can do to solve it…”

      Annie felt the air escape her lungs; knees so weak she would have fallen on the ground if it wasn’t for those tattooed arms sustaining her body. “Don’t tease me, we have guests waiting for us in the kitchen.”

      Mona growled, placing a last bite on the girl’s neck before finally releasing her. The way she trembled forward, still shaken up, made the Lebanese open a cocky smile. “My, my. Have I taken your strength so fast? I barely touched you yet.”

       “You know…” Ann held herself on the door handle, eyes locked with the woman in front of her. “It’s the ‘yet’ part that’s almost causing me a freakin’ heart attack right now.”

       Avery’s voice came from across the apartment. It smelled like fresh coffee even from the hallway. As Annie went to the kitchen to take a mug, she saw Mona’s phone lighting up on the balcony. Some random number was calling. “Mon, you’re phone’s ringing.”

      “She’s in the bathroom.” Dom was resting against the back of the chair, a half-empty package of biscuits on his lap. “You should answer, it could be her parole agent checking in.”

     The girl nodded, cleaning her throat before picking up the phone. “Hello. Can I help you?”

      A woman’s voice came from the other side of the line. “…Oh, yes. Hello. I am looking for Malika.”

     “She’ll be here in a minute. Who’s this?”

     “I am a… Childhood… Friend. We used to be very close. My name is Ada.”

     “Hm, I don’t remember your name, but Mon doesn’t talk a lot about her childhood.”

      “I see. And you are?”

     “Oh, sorry. Annie. I’m her girlfriend.”

     “…I can say I have been looking forward to meeting you. I’ve heard a lot about your story.”

     “Aww, that’s sweet, thanks. Hey, she’s here. Just a sec. Babe, it’s a friend of yours.” Annie offered the phone to Mona, watching her frown in confusion.

     “A friend of mine? Who?”

      “Ada.” She gave her girlfriend a quick kiss on the cheek before turning to sit by the balcony, never catching how Mona’s eyes widened.

      “Hi” the Lebanese said, her heart pounding against the chest.

      “Hi to you, baby girl. Guess who else got out on parole too?”

      For just a moment, Mona felt like her whole world was about to fall apart again.

[manggojooz]

Take My Hands Now (Part 11)

pairing: Jungkook x reader

word count: 2,342 

genre: drama, angst, romance, fluff(!!!)

summary: You were born with a condition that allowed you to feel the pain someone else was going through when you touched them. Jungkook, on the other hand, looked like he could not be any less bothered with other people’s feelings and was a well known playboy of the school. One night, at a party, while he attempted to turn you into his toy for the night, he grabbed your hand and pain crashed through you, making you wonder whether behind the facade of this pleasure seeker, he could also be hiding something.

warnings: none

Song rec: Only One - by UNB

Previous Parts: Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6| Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10

He reminded himself over and over again that he is not allowed to get used to this, he cannot possibly have anyone, he should not start getting attached. To accept you now is to have someone to lose again.

But here you were... holding him again and again, even after he pushes you away, again and again. Why did you believe that he was not the part he played? The character that he portrayed just so that he can lie to himself that even if everyone leaves him, they were right anyway?

“Even if it hurts, I’m not leaving”, was all you said.  

He recalls all the instances you offered up yourself to share his pain... Even in this moment, you held him steadfast in your arms as though you were not afraid of that awful feeling resonating from within him. He should at least let you in, no, he wants to let you in.  

He starts to cower a little inside your arms, and he raises his hands to return your embrace. You felt his hands on your back, jolts of pain spread across where he held onto you. Then he snuggles his face into the curve of your neck, you felt a tiny droplet of something. Now your heart hurt way more than your body ever could.  

“It’s ok”, you whispered, to assure him that you were ok, and that he was going to be ok too.  

He only pulls you in closer.  

---

The moon shone bright as you walked with Jungkook back to the university. He wanted to send you back to your dorms but you insisted that he was the one who needed to be dropped off instead, so you both ended up heading to his practice room lair. On the way, he filled you in on what had happened.  

“Do you hate them? Is that why you ran away?”, you asked.  

He didn’t answer. Did he hate them?  

---

“You’ve been sleeping here these few days?”, you were appalled as you walked into the messy room.  

“Yeah, I've been spending the past few nights here, although there is hardly any sleeping involved...”, he moves to sit down on the couch, resting both elbows on his thighs, his hands soothing over his eyebrows.  

You see a pillow strewn on the floor and you picked it and dropped it nearer to the head of the couch before plopping yourself onto it.  

“Are you tired? You can sit here”, he flicked his head, gesturing the empty space next to him on the sofa.  

Shaking your head, you replied as you sat cross-legged on the floor, “I’m not leaving tonight till I see you fall asleep.”  

“But I can’t...”, he quipped.  

“Then I’m not leaving this pillow”, you shrugged, “... let’s see... oh right I have a morning class tomorrow and then I gotta go to work after that. Guess I'll just be really tired out since you wouldn’t sleep.”  

He doesn’t say anything, only just stares at you, knowing how relentlessly stubborn you can be. Almost begrudgingly, he lies down on the couch, resting his head on the side facing you.  

His eyes lock with yours, just long enough for him to read all your features like a bedtime story. Then he closes his eyes in contentment, trying to lull himself to sleep so that you can get some rest too.  

You mentally commended yourself for having formulated the tactic of dealing with this boy. He doesn’t care about himself, but he cares about you. You smiled to yourself.

---

Jungkook’s eyes flutter open, it was too bright at first and he resorted to squinting. When his vision finally came into focus, he thought he must still be in his dreams. Your face rested so close to him, leaning against the armrest of the sofa, having fallen asleep from watching over him last night.  

A minute must have passed but he felt like time stopped as he continued to observe you. The room seemed to be filled with all of the world’s softest things – the morning sunlight, your sleeping face and the trembling feeling in his chest.  

But the sharp ticking of the clock in the room reminded him. “Y/N”, he calls out quietly.  

You slowly wake up. “Heol, it’s morning already...?”, you slurred.  

“Aren’t you going to be late for class?”, he whispers.  

You glance at the time on the clock. “Shit!”, you scrambled up, grabbing your bag and running off to class. He tosses himself over to face the ceiling. He inhales, and his heart swells. He exhales, and his lips curl up a little. This is new. 

---

“Bye Mr Hwang, see you tomorrow”, you waved to your store manager as you left work.  

You fumbled inside your bag for your phone while walking out of the bookstore and narrowly miss bumping into the human that jumped into your path.  

“Were you late for class this morning?”, you looked up and to meet Jungkook’s eyes.  

Was he waiting for you to get off work? No no, you reminded yourself not to be presumptuous like you were last time. He might be here for other reasons, his family owns this mall after all.  

“What are you doing here?”  

He shrinks back one inch in shock. “To pick you up of course, why else? Isn’t that a given, now that we are, you know, dating?”  

“We are what?”, you gasped, without missing a beat, shocked by the suddenness of the assertion.  

“You were the one who hugged me last night, are you just gonna pretend like it didn’t happen?”, he was in disbelief over your feign oblivious attitude.  

“Wow for someone like you, I'd expect a hug to just be like shaking hands with a stranger”, you replied.  

“Well between the two of us, the benchmark should probably be you. Unless you just go around hugging everybody?”, he gasps this time, raising his hands to cover his mouth dramatically.  

You chuckle at his acting and he smiles too.  

“Aren’t you hungry... I got so hungry waiting for you”, he grouses.

---

Over dinner, Jungkook realised how fascinated he was with the notion that he is just sitting across from you. He held his food in mid-air, eyes fixed on you. That same trembling feeling in his chest appears again. He feels like he’s about to get a heart attack from just doing the most mundane things with you, things like walking, waking up or eating.  

“Why are you staring at me like this?”, it was making you uncomfortable.  

Your question snaps him out of his trance. “I wasn’t staring...”, he rebuked while choking a little.  

You gave him a ‘yeah-sure’ face until he resigned, “fine... maybe I was staring... a bit.” His confession making you smirk subtly. “But you were the one who hugged me first...”, and he just had to throw it in teasingly.  

It was your turn to choke on the food and you could only side-eye the petty boy sitting across you.  

“Did it hurt a lot?”, his tone suddenly flipped entirely, taking a downturn.  

‘You always hurt a lot...’, you thought but did not say out loud. Avoiding the question, you asked him whether he was going to sleep in the practice room again that night. “You can’t keep staying in the practice room...”, you griped.  

He nods, “I’m planning to stay in the hotel for a while and I need to go back and pack some stuff...”, he mutters uncertainly. “But...”, he continued, stuttering, “... can you maybe...”.  

“I’ll go with you. Let's go together after we finish eating”, you answered him casually.  

He was starting to believe that you really had superpowers.  

---

This was the first time you entered Jungkook’s house, it was what you imagined a chaebol’s house would look like and a little more. You realised that what the dramas have taught you were indeed true, the house was grand, but it felt lifeless, it felt cold.  

He walked up a flight of stairs, stopping midway to wait for you as you were still examining the magnificent structure around you. You quietly followed him up to his room and your heart was beating crazy fast because, well just because, you were in his room.  

“I don’t have much to pack, it won’t take long, you can just sit over here and wait for me”, he pulls out the chair in front of his computer desk and rolled it over to you.  

“It’s ok, I can help you.”  

He smiled shyly, the first time you sensed bashfulness from him, “Alright, if you really want to, why not you help me put those textbooks into my backpack.”  

You complied and turned to look at his table, a stack of textbooks piled up at one corner. While you were at it, you noticed his extensive collection of comic books on the bookshelf. There were also a few pieces of drawings on his table, most of them of comic book characters.  

You were done with packing all his textbooks and you secretly threw in a few comics for him. He told you to take the backpack downstairs and wait for him in the living room, “I’ll be down in a minute”, he assured you as you left his room.  

The grandness of the living room seemed to amplify the emptiness of the house. You stood alone, not feeling comfortable enough to sit down and wait.  

“Hi... You must be Jungkook’s friend...”, a female voice made your head jolt in her direction.  

“Hi Mrs Jeon...”

She was pleasantly surprised that you knew she was his mother, and she reaches out her hand in a welcoming gesture. You were about to reciprocate by shaking her hand, when Jungkook appears and grabs a corner of your sleeve, yanking you away from her.  

Her face falls almost immediately, more concerned than anything else. “Jungkook-ah... where have you been the past few days, you didn’t come home and I was worried, are you alright? Can we talk...”, she stammers, her lips were raised in a cautious smile but her eyes were full of sorrow.  

“I told Grandfather that I will be staying in the hotel for a while”, he said emotionlessly to her. “Let’s go”, and his voice takes a gentle turn as he gestures for you to leave with him.  

She didn’t try to stop him or say another word, but the look on her face somehow reminded you of him.  

---

“Do you really hate her that much?”, you asked as the two of you sat in the taxi heading towards the hotel.  

“Why do you say that?”, he knew immediately what you were alluding to.  

“I mean I have seen you run away from her at the hotel, and just now you didn’t even let me shake her hand”, you chose your words rather carefully.  

“I’m indifferent. And it’s not that I didn’t want you to shake her hand... I just didn’t want her to hurt you, like how I do.”

You peered at him silently. Since when has he realised this? That perhaps she felt the same way he did. He was still lying though, to himself. He wasn’t indifferent, he wasn’t entirely emotionless when it came to his family. But it wasn’t your place to push him to recognise it, you knew he needed time. Just like how it must have taken a long time for him to become like this.  

---

The hotel suite was stunningly furnished. He didn’t bring over many things, so you busied yourself making some tea while he unpacked his stuff. He steals a glance at you and stealthily takes something out from one of his bags before walking over to where you were.  

“I got this for you”, his eyes were flickering in the light, like a nervous little boy gifting a present to his first crush in school. You stared at the thing he was holding out towards you – a furry porcupine toy, around the size of a rugby ball.

“What for?”, you asked.  

You could swear he was blushing, “Uhh... just to commemorate... you know... us? Take it”, he was waving the toy into your face out of his embarrassment. Never did he think he would be doing such a cheesy thing for anyone. Truth be told he actually got the present for you some time ago, he just never had the opportunity, or maybe the courage, to give it to you.  

“It’s cute, but why a porcupine? Do I look like a porcupine to you?”, you asked as you accepted the plushie.

“Somewhat, you gotta admit you were quite prickly to me at the start”, he replied with a visible pout. It astonishes you how things have changed, you actually thought he looked innocent and cute.  

“Hey, that’s not fair! You had a reputation and I just...”, you were prepared to defend yourself.  

“Yeah that I admit”, he extended a finger in a thoughtful way, “anyway... it's me. This porcupine is supposed to remind you of me...”, he tapped his fingers on the fluffy-looking porcupine in your hands, poking its soft belly a few times, “... because I always hurt you a lot... and you can’t even touch me because I’m prickly like him.”  

“So... what are you going to do about it?”, you demanded after a slight pause, raising your eyebrows.  

“About what?”, he was stunned.  

“About these,”, you pointed at the pricks made of fluff on the porcupine’s back, “Like I said, I’m not going anywhere. If you don’t want to hurt me, you have to do something about these.”

His laughter lingers only in his throat, “Must be fun for you to use all my lines against me now.” You also let out a muffled giggle as you start to realise how much you like it when he smiles.  

“I'll think about it... about what I should do about these...”, he murmurs as he looked at you fondly but not without dejection, “... so that I can finally hold your hand.”

[the-walking-memelords]

A2 - Chapter 7: Safety Out-Numbered Part 1

Chapter 1 | Chapter 2 | Chapter 3 | Chapter 4 | Chapter 5 | Chapter 6 

Series is rated M

Word Count: 1799

There herd was populated by more than just the dead .

Read it on Ao3!

Read it on Wattpad!

Clementine’s hand found the handle of her machete only for her wrist to be seized by another. Cold fingers gripped her skin as she felt the presence lean in from behind her.

“Shh.” A gravelly voice whispered in her ear.

The hand pulled on the fabric of her shirt trying to turn She obliged, turning to see a person the same height as her. Under the smears of guts and gore, he wore a military green raincoat with the hood pulled up, but through the shadows, she could make out the toothy grin of someone she had never been so happy to see.

‘Willy?’ She mouthed to him with a smile as he reached out his hand to her quickly yet carefully, urging her to take it.

Taking one last look around, she took his hand as she followed him through the herd. Wiping the mix of rainwater and walker blood dripping into her eyes as she followed his careful movements turning into a near sprint as they escaped. Clementine followed around a sharp corner, smacking right into Louis and stumbling backwards.

He caught her before she fell, saving her from stumbling right back into the herd’s view. The young woman barely had time to regain her footing and smile up at him before something else threatened to knock her off her feet.

“Clem!” AJ said as he hugged her tight.

“We found them!”

“Nice of you finally show up at our little party.” Willy joked as he opened a cellar door off the side of the building, moving the squeaky hinges slowly as to not alert the dead.

“Fashionably late as usual.” Louis whispered back.

“Good thing I actually found you guys. Maybe Brody won’t be as pissed about me sneaking off.” WiIly looked back up and his face dropped.

“Who the hell are you?!”

Clementine whipped around to see Eli winded as he caught up. He looked back at Willy quizzically.

“Eli.” He waved awkwardly.

“Long story, let’s just get inside.”

---

“Hey guys, look what I found!” Willy’s voice grew to its usual excessive volume as he grinned ear to ear after the door was latched shut.

As they descended into the dim lighting of the windowless storm shelter, Clem breathed the hot musty air into her lungs. The space was lit with the unsteady light of lanterns whose batteries strained to keep going along with a few flickering candles. 

The stunned faces of her friends greeted her as Clementine stepped out of the shadows with the others in tow.

“Is that them?” A frantic voice broke the silence from a cot near the far wall.

Violet’s good eye squinted in the faint light as an exasperated redhead nearly had to pin her down as she untied a darkly stained cloth from her left shoulder.

“Please sit still, Vi.” Ruby quietly begged.

“Are y’all hurt?”

The smile on her face told them she was happy for their safe return, but the weariness in her eyes said she was nearly at her wit’s end.

“We’re okay.” Clementine smiled as she let out a sigh that felt like a breath she had been holding since they arrived at the empty school.

Hearing Clementine’s voice was enough for Ruby’s efforts to calm the blonde woman to be in vain as she tore away from Ruby’s grip to hug her best friend tight. 

Clementine could smell a tinge of blood as she hugged back tightly. When she finally pulled away, she saw the rip in the stained blue fabric of her shirt, revealing a nasty jagged wound in her flesh held together by small, even stitches. Fresh blood still slowly oozed out of it from her sudden movements.

“Glad you’re not dead.” Was all the injured girl could say before she stumbled back a few feet where Ruby caught her shoulder.

“She lost quite a bit of blood on the way here so she’s a little out of it.” Ruby said as she guided Vi back to the bed.

“I patched her up best I could but my medicine bag is back at the school so we’ve just been makin’ do with that we could scavenge out of here when the walkers showed up.”

“Some old uniform shirts, a few bottles of water I snagged on the way out of the school, and a mostly-looted first aid kit.” Aasim said dissatisfied.

“We also found a few cans of food but it won’t last long.”

Guess this place isn’t even a temporary shelter.

“We wanted to look for you guys but we couldn’t get around the walkers.” He continued.

“This is pretty much the only place we’ve had to rest for long.”

The school was marked so there was no going back yet, and probably not for a while. They could wait until the herd moves on to search the buildings but who knows how long that would take. The occasional boom of thunder along with the constant rapid pittering of the raindrops against the rusted door reminded her that there would be no way for them to camouflage as long as the rain poured.

Looks like we’ll be fighting our way out of here.

“Who the hell is that?”  Mitch stepped forward when he noticed the stranger half-hiding behind Louis.

“I-I’m Eli.” He looked at the floor, knuckles white as he gripped his sleeves with nervousness.

“Hey, It’s alright.” Clementine calmed them, passing the boy a small smile.

“We saved him from the people that invaded the school. He knows stuff about them he can help us avoid them.”

“Does he know why they’re after us?” Aasim questioned, biting his lip.

“We barely got out of there in one piece, and then those assholes jumped us on the bridge.”

Eli only seemed to sink deeper into himself as he tried to pick his words carefully. With all eyes on the new kid, AJ stepped up right next to him.

“It’s okay.” He said with a smile.

“We know you’re not bad, so they will too.”

Eli smiled and shakily relayed what little he knew. The school’s transformation and why he was there. It wasn’t any more than what he had told them before, but it was clear that was all he knew as well.

“I just do what I’m told.” He said.

“I don’t know what’s going to happen. No one ever tells me the ‘why’ just the ‘what’.”

“You sure about this?” Brody said in a barely audible voice.

Clementine nodded in response. There was no way she could leave this kid to try to make it on his own.

“You guys got to the school?” Omar questioned.

“It must’ve been overrun. The herd came at us from all different directions just as Mitch, Brody, and Aasim got back.”

Louis paced with his brow furrowed in anger. The sights they saw of what they’d done to their home after forcing them out had to frustrate him beyond belief.

“These assholes decided to do some renovations.” He let out a short disheartened laugh.

“All the dorms were barred up and filled with walkers. Probably more in the other buildings too, but we got spotted before we saw anything else.”

His words hung in the air as a hopeless silence filled the dark dingy basement. No home, few supplies, and a herd of the dead prowling the area above them. But they were alive. That’s a better outcome than a lot of the other scenarios Clementine had been through on the road. 

Even though no one spoke it was clear that the same thought danced through each of their heads:

“What do we do now?”

“Even if we can’t stay here for very long, these buildings might be our only shot to get supplies for miles.” Clementine paced as she planned.

“If the buildings are at least half-decently secured from the outside the herd shouldn’t have wandered in unprovoked. There's a few different buildings around here. Something’s gotta be left.”

“It’s risky…” Aasim pointed out.

“Who knows what’s locked in there.”

“Everything we do is risky.”

“Fair.”

“Let’s wait and see if the storm lets up.” Louis suggested.

“Check out some buildings quick and be in and out before the walkers even notice us.”

“Where will we go after?” Willy asked softly, uncertainty in his tone.

“When can we go home.”

Can we ever?

Images of the ranch came to mind. Voices of the people around her became drowned out by the distant screams of her memories. 

The blood. 

The fire. 

The bodies falling around her.

The weight of the little boy in her arms before her balance was ripped out from under her as a bullet ripped through her leg.

The day her life and freedom were left in the ashes of the place she called home and replaced with the brutal hell that almost stole what remained of her humanity.

So much blood.

I’m covered in it.

Was this the beginning of history repeating itself? Losing her home once again just to be captured and forced into a war. Clementine suddenly felt far away from the current situation lost in the visions of what may end up being a premonition. 

A gun pointed.

Innocent people screaming.

A bullet.

And her behind the trigger.

Never again…

Never…

I cant…

I’d die before I went back.

She won’t take me again.

“Clem?” A comforting presence appeared at her right.

“Are you alright?”

Clementine opened her eyes, not realizing she had closed them. Louis took her hand with a worried expression in his eyes. She wanted to respond but couldn’t force any coherent sounds from her dried throat. Pain shot up her left leg as she took a step, what remained of it begged to be released from the prosthetic as each step sent an ache down to her bone.

“Let’s get some sleep.” She mumbled out almost slurred before limping to one of the cots and nearly collapsing.

Clementine didn’t have to move to remove it, which was good, because she didn’t have the energy to. Her eyes fell shut as she pushed a deep breath from her lungs.

Louis carefully undid the straps from her thigh and gently removed the wooden leg attachment. She felt his fingers softly graze the crisscrossed scars across her stump, the skin an angry red colour and sensitive.

Louis and Ruby mumbled at the end of her bed something she couldn't comprehend as mental and physical exhaustion overcame her.

The weight of the cot shifted as someone sat down next to her. Louis’ warm hand brushed through her cold, wet curls as he hummed that song we wrote for her the night before the Delta attacked.

Normally, the song meant safety and warmth and love.

But now it brought her a creeping feeling of impending doom.

[daedraax]

Candyboy- Ep. 1

I awaken to the shrill screeching of my alarm clock at precisely 5:58 in the morning and, in sync with its ungodly singing, I groan. Today is the day I sell my soul to Sweet Amoris High School. I get out of bed groggily, stretch and get dressed for the day. I tried not to look in the mirror at myself too much; I wouldn’t want my eyes burning out of my sockets at how hideous the creature staring back at me was. It brings back memories, and those memories were boiling like something wretched in my stomach already. I mess with my hair a bit as I walk downstairs into the kitchen. I caught my mom’s matching yellow eye and she smiled. 

“Breakfast is on the table, dear.”

I take another step towards the door and tucked in the corner of my vision, I could see her gaze soften and the warmth of her smile decreasing as the corners of her lips pull into a frown.

“Oh, Theo…”

A phrase I heard all too often. I step outside and inhale the crisp, frigid winter air, my feet crunching in the thin layer of snow left behind from the light sprinkling last night. It was cold and damp, but my curiosity blurred out the feelings of dread brought about by the harsh wind blowing in my face. My mind had wandered off the entire trip to some kind of faraway obscurity, my brain had become a void with claws grasping at filling thoughts as my brain tried to put together exactly what I was trying to think about.

I finally arrived at Sweet Amoris by 6:10; A comfortably early time. Few cars sat in their respective lots, but I saw the girl with the blonde rings once again, glowing softly in the pinkish hue of the rising sun. My cheeks flushed and I quickly rushed through the doors of the school, afraid of meeting her gaze. Quickly I came to a stop;  I felt my body bump into a much taller, fleshier one. I met the boy's eyes but only for a second; golden and wide, staring into mine. He looked just like the girl. I backed away, signing an ‘I’m sorry’. He furrowed his eyebrows in confusion and I sighed deeply. After scrambling through my bag, I pull out a whiteboard and Expo marker and write it out for him. 

It took him not even a millisecond to understand. He nodded and smiled warmly at me, and I could feel my heart beat faster as a jolt of affection shot up my spine to my chest, making it flutter. My stomach felt as if it violently leaped against my tissue, causing dread to fill me once again; the affection died.

“It's okay.” A laugh, soft and delightfully genuine, emerged from his lips as he held out his hand. “I'm Nathaniel. You must be the new kid.” I nod slowly and shake his hand, a toothy grin stretching across my face to hide how truly awkward I felt. Handshakes that last forever make me nervous though, so I quickly pulled my dominant hand away and reach for my marker again.

I like your name. I'm Theodore but you can call me Theo if you want

“Um… alright. Nice to meet you.” Nathaniel frowned. “I remember the principal telling me something about your registration form. I don't think you've finished it yet…”

I tilt my head, about half a head of black hair moving with me. ‘What do I need to finish’ I wrote, ‘I checked all of it myself and I thought I had everything’

Nathaniel’s features lit up a little and, though I can't put my finger on the reason, it made me like him a tiny bit more. “You still need your photo I.D,” He said, “And after that, your registration should be finished.” I nodded and flashed him a faint wisp of a grin before putting my stuff back in my bag and waving goodbye as I left, breaking into a brisk strut down the hallway. I don't want to use this as an excuse to miss any class time, I have to get everything done as soon as possible…

“Theo?”

A familiar voice filled my ears and I let out a sigh of relief; for right there in front of me was my best and only friend, Ken. I offered him a kind grin and waved as I kept on walking, determined to make it to class. He chattered on about something I wasn’t paying attention to and I nodded along. I liked Ken because when he talked, it drowned out all the other sickening thoughts in my head that were threatening to beat against the walls of my cranium. He didn’t seem to mind my Not Caring Too Much as we crossed through the courtyard, and I ran into something solid that smelled of Hot Topic cologne and earth. I pull away and come face-to-face with a chest covered by a shirt for some kind of rock band, and the head attached to it had a handsome face contorted into a scowl. I’ve gotta stop meeting people like this, I thought to myself.

“Watch it.” His voice went through my ears and, like a bunch of syringes, stabbed at my mind and injected it with fear. I nodded, but the movement of my head must’ve been too quick for his tastes because that only seemed to make him angrier. My mind kept on going back to his scent, for some odd reason, and I wanted to smell more of it. Theodore oh my God, stop being creepy for like 5 seconds and leave this guy alone. Interrupting my thoughts, his gruff voice spoke once again;

“Go away now, you’re bothering me.”

I quickly nodded and scrambled past him. I could feel his stone grey eyes following me and a deep, quiet chuckle rip through the tense and silent air. Ken rested his hand on my shoulder; an action that was wordless but kind nonetheless. I couldn’t help but pull my lips into a smile, the fear of the mysterious, brash redhead melting into fondness towards the dork holding my arm. 

Color rushed to his cheeks as he stared at me not-so-subtly. To put it bluntly, his crush on me was like a deck to the mouth; hard and blatant. I’ve known about this crush on me since approximately the beginning of the year and it had never failed to amuse me; the blush of his cheeks, the stutter that occasionally makes his voice waver… it’s adorable. He started talking the second we were out of the courtyard and on our own again, slowly but surely making our way to the dollar shop to get my photo taken. 

By the time we arrived, my ears had grown weary of the one-sided conversation and my brain numb to Kentin’s squeaky voice. I made the process of taking my photo swift because though the old man running the store was nice enough, it was hard to carry out a conversation when you talk. Once I acquired the picture, I walked back to school. Kentin, this time, broke the awkward silence with a question.

“I have some cookies, did you want some?”

My mouth watered at the thought of food but despite that, I shook my head. My organs moaned in protest, but... I couldn’t bring myself to eat. I could feel Ken shoot me a concerned look as he opened up his bag of chips. He offered me one and with a labored sigh, I took a cookie and bit into it. I was hungry after all... and it remained like that for the rest of the walk; we ate cookies and somewhere along the line started to hold hands. The temperature was cold and our slow pace had only made the bitter chill hit our skin with more intensity, but neither of us seemed to mind. The silence was peaceful and the only commotion seemed to arise from our feet falling on the slushy snow, squishing it down into small puddles with a wet crunch.

There was a bit of finality in that sound moment… but if you think that's where the day ended, you'd be terribly mistaken.

(originally posted on Wattpad. 1384 words.)

[quadratic-shipping]

Alright I am officially done both Portals so. Go team! Thoughts below the cut.

Portal 1

Wow, what a classic. I think my favourite part of portal is the premise just because of how well it lends itself to level design. I enjoyed how even though obviously all the “hidden” areas were put in there, the game’s contrast between the two areas really makes it feel like you’re discovering something. Solving puzzles was very satisfying, and I loved the game. Glados was very fun in this, and I love her. I heard people for some reason got really attached to Companion Cube? Cannot relate. It was a good length of game in my opinion, and pretty fun. Not much critique other than how it could often be difficult to see the difference between the white and black tiles, which could be frustrating. Another gripe would be I wish the hidden areas were more interesting, or easily readable. But overall that wasn’t too big of a deal as we didn’t spend much time in them, and the stuff in there was pretty good. I’m a real coward when it comes to dying in video games, but the turrets were often extremely entertaining to figure out how to kill them, and were often the most satisfying levels to complete. For instance, the one part where there’s the giant vertical chamber with turrets in these little cubbies on every side? Very interesting to complete. I also really like the parts where you drop through to jump really high, The feeling of going to the portal was almost like a digital rollercoaster which was very fun, 4.9/5 experience in my book.

Portal 2

My feelings on Portal 2 are less overall positive than on Portal 1 because to me it was a really mixed bag. But to be fair, it was also a lot more ambitious. The puzzles were bomb, tons of new interesting mechanics used in interesting ways that you often had to combine with other types, so fun. And a lot more content too! When it came to all the puzzle rooms, 100% on board, so well designed, chefs kiss. TBH though? I kinda hated a lot of the non-puzzle room sections. There were still some puzzles in these parts which I liked, but one of my biggest problems was the environment. The ruins were boring, the offices were boring, and a lot of the time you were just looking for the highest place to portal to without having to do anything so it would have been nice to have interesting environments to walk through to those areas. I’m perfectly fine with the puzzle-rooms being super boring because you’re still engaged with. You know, the puzzle, and it totally makes sense not to have the cool stuff there but I wish there were more things on the outside that were cool. That being said, the graphics were very pretty. Whenever things in the test rooms moved, as robots put them into place or seeing the circle chamber you elevator in slowly regain shape it felt so cinematic to me. Extremely nice for immersion, very cute details. If only the other environments made me feel that way! Wheatley. He was ok. Kinda funny? IDK stupid guys are not my thing, even if they are funny, so I did not get anything out of him being there.Same for Cave Johnson, they both had some really good lines, they were funny characters but I just. Didn’t care when they around or not, as I was to busy hopelessly pining after my Robot Queen, Glados. So, Glados this game. I didn’t really care about the Caroline thing, I feel like it wasn’t really explored that much so I didn’t have much time to form an opinion? It’s so-so in my opinion. I am not playing for the lore, I am playing for mean robot ladies and puzzles. I do appreciate though, that it gave us one of the cutest moments of the game, the lemon rant. Seriously, top ten moments. I loved all of Glados telling me how much she hated me, but my 2 favourite things in the game were Glados calling Wheatley a moron just before the fall, and Glados actually defending you from Wheatley because that was so cute. My biggest criticism would be not enough of her, especially even though we were carrying her around as a potato during the vintage section. I’ve gotta admit, for like, ten minutes I just sat around when they told you to press the button to decide who was in the core just to listen to the dialogue, and I was not disappointed. It’s a really funny game. This is pretty rambly but in conclusion, I’d probably give it a 4/5, still overall great but just not as good due to the expanding of the scope thus more room for failure. I’m literally going to search up audio compilations now, can’t recommend enough, especially if you buy during the annual summer sale, where you can get both for only 4$

[sabraeal]

Merry & Bright: Chapter 7

Chapter 1 | Chapter 2 | Chapter 3 | Chapter 4 | Chapter 5 | Chapter 6

He should be over this.

(Doc makes him pull off the highway somewhere near Florence, South Carolina; she’s got an actual travel itinerary that Yuzuri helped her program into some app that includes mandatory stretch breaks because she’s concerned about good circulatory health, and – god, that really shouldn’t be doing anything for him, but it does, it does, and he’s a real idiot thinking that this is a good idea –

“It’s an overlook,” she tells him proudly as they park, smile stretching far too wide for the amount of time they’ve been in a cramped car with a week’s worth of stuff and a Christmas’s worth of gifts. “A stretch and a view!”

He swallows down a protest that it hasn’t even been two hours since they grabbed lunch – some little place that served fish in Switzerland, the only one where the whole menu wasn’t deep fried – and heaves himself out of the car, only to find that it’s – it’s not as easy as it should be.

“Yowch,” he mutters, rubbing at his back. He’s been a total knot of stress since they started north, he’s aware, but –

But god, his back is reminding him of every hit he ever took, and when he throws his arms up, bending back, he has a real moment of worry that it’s going to take an uncomfortable drive and an emergency room bill to get him upright. He’s only twenty-five, he shouldn’t be worrying about this shit.

“Obi?” she chirps, skipping over to him with a concerned look on her face. “Are you okay?”

A choir of angels sing Hosanna when his back relents, letting him snap upright. “Yeah, just fine. Had to, uh, get a kink out. You know how it is.”

Doc gives him a skeptical look, and – listen, he knows she won’t do anything but tut at him and fish out some all-organic Icy/Hot or whatever she’s got hiding in their pharmacy bag, but she’ll also tell Yuzuri, and he knows, he knows that will mean he’ll get a half dozen :3 :3 :3 texts followed by something like, gotta keep that back healthy if ur gonna rob that cradle already, and he doesn’t need that. Not this trip.

“Okay,” she says finally, mouth in a thoughtful pout. “But let me know if you need anything.”

He just manages to close his lips around, for us to turn south already. “Sure thing, Doc. I’ll be the first in line for your tender ministrations the second I have an excuse.”)

It would’ve been a hit to his pride to have turned around before he ever got here, before he even attempted to walk through the door, but Obi would have taken it if it meant dread wouldn’t be his constant companion.

That’s what he’d thought being in this house would be; just constant dread, like realizing he’s in the wrong bathroom, or watching his favorite movie as a kid again as an adult, wondering if it would still hold up. Just a week of waiting for the other shoe to drop, and wondering if it would right in front of Doc.

He’d survived it though, cookie in his mouth and arm slung around Doc’s shoulders, with nothing worse than a flash of hesitation before walking straight back into his childhood.

But now, with Todd and Kelly Ann trailing behind him and the stern set of Gayle’s mouth looming in front of him --

It’s different. Like being right back in high school, black cocert T-shirt for a band that broke up before he was born and jeans ripped at the knees, just waiting to find out how he’s been a disappointment today.  The past is a ghost he can’t shake, something that clings to him even when he tries to step out from under it’s shadow.

Doesn’t help that there’s so many people waiting to see him fail to do it, either.

“Obi!” Doc springs up from the floor, all coltish limbs, practically tripping over herself. God, this is really what he’s into now; messy hair and thick tights, barely able to keep her balance with her shoes off, someone who watched vegan cheese not melt and still could say something nice about it.

She tucks herself against his side, head fitting against the girdle of his shoulder like it was meant to be there and –

And he doesn’t even regret it. Who the fuck cares about girls with Barbie heels and legs for days; Doc can barely keep her hair in a barrette and he just – wants it. Wants the way he hooks her hair back around her ear to be real.

She stares up at him, all eyes. “You’re --?”

“Yeah,” he grunts, letting his fingers linger on the hollow behind her ear just a second too long before adjusting his hold on her, his arm draping over the line of her shoulders like it belongs there. “Everything’s as sorted as it’s gonna get.”

The worry won’t shake from her, not like he wants it to. There’s no way he’s going to be able to relax in this house, not with memory waiting to ambush him around every corner, but he just – doesn’t want her to worry about it either, about whether everyone here likes him enough, or is recognizing his accomplishments, or – whatever it is she’s looking for. He doesn’t know how to tell her that it’s fine, that he’s done enough to know that forgiveness doesn’t grow on trees, and there may not be enough for what he’s done.

He drags his gaze away, trying to escape the worry, the guilt – only to find the same on Gayle’s face, that tight-lipped concern that makes him want to squirm right out from the microscope he’s under.

Luckily, he doesn’t have to survive it for long.

“Laila!” Kelly Ann rounds the couch, hands on her hips. “You’ve been letting Shirayuki play too, haven’t you? You can’t be all the animals.”

“I let her be the baby,” the girl says, unconcerned, making giraffes escape their pen to play with penguins.

“Laila --”

“It’s fine!” Doc is quick to assure her. “The baby had fun watching all the animals play.”

The distraction may have gotten Doc’s look off him, but Gayle isn’t deterred, not the slightest bit.

“Well, I was just about to start in on dinner,” she says, gaze shifting behind him. “Todd, Obi, do you boys think you could see your way to helping out an old woman?”

Todd’s not standing anywhere near close to him, but Obi knows he tenses like he does, knows that they both looks like cats with their backs up –

“Oh, Gayle!” Doc lurches under his arm, like she’s torn between staying right where she is and shoving herself forward. “Please, let me help! Todd just got here.”

“I couldn’t possibly,” Gayle huffs, waving her off. “You’re a guest, and Todd’s used to being put to work. Besides you should save up your strength – I’ll have you in the kitchen tomorrow, anyway.”

“Some guest,” Todd laughs. “Can’t work tonight but you’ll be putting her through her paces in the morning?”

“You know how it is around here,” Gayle tells him airily. “Two days and then you’re family.”

God, his chest shouldn’t ache like this. “It’s fine, Doc,” he says, rubbing her arm before he steps away. “What could go wrong in a room full of knives?”

She looks anything but convinced. “But --”

“Oh, leave them to it,” Kelly Ann says with a roll of her eyes. “Take advantage of the reprieve now – you’ll wish you had it in three days, once Gayle’s got you.”

“I don’t --”

“Come on, you can help me,” she says, catching Doc by the shoulders. “I have so much Doc McStuffins to watch.”

Laila shrieks, hands slamming on the floor as she turns to look at her mom. “I love Doc McStuffins.”

“Fancy that,” Kelly Ann deadpans, mouth twitching at the corners.

“Go ahead,” Obi murmurs to Doc when she hesitates. “I’ll live.”

She gives him a long look, then nods. “Sounds great.”

Obi’s not quite sure what possesses Gayle to put knives in their hands, but here they are, Todd on one side of the island and Obi on the other, butcher block cutting boards abutting each other as they dice vegetables. She’s even gone and turned her back on them, humming along with the Christmas songs on the radio, water steaming up from the sink as she hand-cleans her kitchen aid attachments, made back when Eisenhower was probably president.

“Truck still treating you right, Todd?” Gayle asks, lifting her voice over the stream.

“Yeah, yeah,” he calls back, shooting an uncertain glance at Obi. “Haven’t had any trouble with it since the last time.”

“Well, Bob’s already talked to Jesse,” she presses, like always. “He says he’ll look at it when he comes.”

“Aw, Gayle,” Todd sighs, suffering. “He shouldn’t have said anything. It’s fine. All Jesse’ll do is tell me I don’t take care of it right --”

“He would know,” Gayle reminds him.

“—And he’ll give me, you know, a talk.” Todd huffs. “Probably try to say something about women being engines on top of that.”

“Jesse still works at the garage?” Obi asks, know the moment he says it that it’s – dumb. It’s been six years, no one’s who he remembers except in the worst ways.

“Didn’t we tell you?” Gayle cocks her head at him. “Jesse owns his own now. Went into business with that friend of his. You remember – Scott?”

“Shane,” Todd and Obi supply at the same time. Todd glares.

“Right, Shane.” Gayle smiles. “They’ve been doing well.”

“You’d know that if you stuck around,” Todd mutters, just loud enough for Obi to hear him, and for Gayle to not.

“You done with those onions, Obi?” she asks, bright.

“Yeah, got them all chopped up here.” He points at a bowl that’s seen more of his tears than the past six years all together. “You need them somewhere.”

She drops a metal bowl between them and shoves a few handful of onions in. “Why don’t you boys mix that up and start putting the meatballs on the tray to bake. I’ll get the rest of this in the sauce.”

They give each other a wary look, but they drop their knives, mixing meat and veg and breadcrumbs up until it’s even –

“And now that you boys can’t get away,” Gayle says, hands coming down hard on the island. “Let me tell you how things are going to be.”

“What?” Todd says, the same time Obi manages an, “Erk?”

“I know you both have never seen eye-to-eye –“ Todd opens his mouth to protests, and Gayle holds up a hand – “don’t care whose fault y’all think it is, or why. That’s between you boys, ‘less you make it involve me.”

They both nod.

“That being said, you’re gonna get along this Christmas,” she tells them, firm. “You’re men, not boys, and I won’t have you ruining the whole thing for everyone just because you think you have bad blood between you.”

“But --”

“And Lord help me, if I catch either of you sniping at each other in my hearing, I will put you both into the dog house.”

Obi coughs, nervous. “Well, the Baron’s got some nice digs --”

“Not the Baron’s,” she clarifies with frightening calm. “Millie’s.”

Obi grimaces, remembering the dilapidated old thing for a dog he’d been too late to see.

“We took that down, three years back,” Todd protests, “you can’t --”

“Then I will make you put a tent in its place and share it until you both can act like civilized people.” Her hands fist on her hips. “Do I make myself clear?”

“Yes ma’am,” they both chorus.

“Good,” she says, firm. She turns back to the sink, like the last three minutes of threats have all just been a figment of their imagination. “Now remember, those meatballs are supposed to be tablespoon-sized, boys.”

It’s a blessing that kids’ shows don’t have any sort of continuity at Laila’s age; Shirayuki doubts that she’d be able to say a single thing about what’s been happening on the screen for the last hour, let alone tracking some sort of – of plot. It’s been hard enough to not to find some excuse to put herself in the kitchen, to make sure that Obi isn’t just suffering his slights silently, trying not to make a circus out of it for Gayle –

A hand presses firmly against her knee.

“You’re shaking the couch,” Kelly Ann tells her, voice pitched low. “Worrying about it won’t make it go any better for him.”

She knows that, she does, but not thinking about it won’t help either, and she feels like she owes him a little bit of suffering, if she’s making him face it alone –

“Besides.” Kelly Ann settles back, her arm sprawling over the back of the couch. “Gayle’s raised Todd half his life. Don’t think she doesn’t know what his sniping looks like.”

That…is a good point.

“Don’t want to interrupt your girl time.”

Shirayuki startles, twisting up on her knees to see Obi leaning in the doorway, mouth rucked up in a smirk.

“You’re not interrupting,” she assures him, a little too breathless. “Just -- watching some stuff?”

“Doc McStuffins,” Laila corrects huffily. “Not stuff.”

“Right, well.” Obi shrugs his shoulder. “When you’re done with that, Gayle says it’s time for dinner.”

Laila’s head whips around, eyes narrowed. “What’s for dinner?”

“Worms,” he says easily. “She said it was your favorite --”

“Ewwwww.” She looks at Kelly Ann. “Mommy, I don’t want to --”

“It’s meatballs and pasta,” Kelly Ann sighs. “Not worms.”

Laila glares at Obi. “But why would he say --?”

“He’s teasing, Laila-girl.” Kelly Ann glances back at him as well. “That’s what he likes to do best.”

“Well, I do like pasta and meatballs,” Laila tells him magnanimously, getting to her feet. “We can have dinner now.”

Obi gets that look in his eye, but Shirayuki is much, much to far away to whisper don’t and have him hear. “Thank you for your permission, your majesty.”

Without a single hint of irony, Laila lifts her chin, imperious as any royal. “You’re welcome.”

For once, Obi seems speechless, just watching the tiny girl sweep past. Kelly Ann barely muffles a snort.

“You should know better,” she tells him, patting his cheek as she walks by. “You don’t need to encourage little girls to be princesses.”

Shirayuki means to grab him in the hall, before dinner, but with Laila and Kelly Ann just ahead of them, there’s no privacy, no good way to pull him aside and ask – ask –

If he’s okay. If this is all getting to be a little too much for him, now that there seems to be an endless stream of disapproving siblings added to this already full emotional powder keg. If –

If it’s all right that she knows about Shannon. If this is a thing she’s supposed to talk about, or – or if she should forget she ever heard anything. Families have secrets, she knows that; every one has things they all know but pretend they don’t, just to keep the peace, but --

But she’s not used to being a part of that, not when it was always just her and Oma and Opa, and –

And it’s not until she sees it – dining room table with the leaves in, covered in a tablecloth and festive runner, dishes steaming where they sit on the table – that she realizes how long it’s been since she’s done this. Since she’s had a family dinner.

Obi’s elbow jostles her in the doorway. “Can’t eat with your eyes, Doc. C’mon, let’s go sit.”

She stumbles in, feet numb, sliding into a chair next to him. There’s been dinners out, of course, times she and Obi have cooked for Yuzuri and Suzu and Ryuu, times she’s been at Shidan’s house at dinner time and been fed a little of what everyone’s having, the team dinners that involve either pizza or barbeque being shipped in from across town, but –

That’s not this. That’s not – that’s not family stuff.

It’s like she has two left hands, both of them too dumb and clumsy to do anything but clutch at the napkin in her lap. She doesn’t trust herself to touch anything, not when she can feel them shaking in her lap, when the thorny prickle of tears sits in her throat.

“Hey.” Obi’s familiar warmth bumps into her side. “Would you like some pasta, Doc?”

It’s a relief to look at him, to see the warm smile on his face and concern in his eyes, and just nod.

He doesn’t say anything else, just grabs the serving bowl full of penne and starts rolling a few onto her plate.

“That fine, D--?” He hesitates, knuckles whitening on the serving spoon. With a quick glance up, he angles a little more toward her and corrects, “--Babe?”

He...really does not need to drop his voice like that, if he’s going to -- to call her that here. There’s a child, for goodness sake.

She glances quickly across the table, and there’s Todd, watching them with an expression far too smug for her liking.

“Um, yeah,” she manages, hoping everyone thinks her blush is from how warm the room is, and not -- not anything untoward. “Thanks, um...” She can feel Todd’s eyes on her, interested, and -- and what would Obi’s girlfriend call him --?

She panics. “...Sexy?”

The sauce ladle clanks noisily against her plate, but Obi catches the handle before it can topple over into her pasta.

“Good,” he coughs, setting it safely away from him. It’s always hard to tell with Obi, but she could swear there’s pink dusting over his cheekbones. “Glad to be of service.”

Shirayuki ducks her head, trying to focus on the food in front of her. If she’s cutting her meatballs into precise quarters, she can’t be -- be blushing over Obi, and as long as there’s food in her mouth she doesn’t have to talk or look at anyone --

Laila clears her throat, pointed. “Aren’t we gonna do grace?”

Shirayuki jolts, dropping her fork to her plate, and – and there’s not a single adult at the table who isn’t wearing an identical grimace of guilt. There’s forkfuls of pasta already en route to mouths, drinks raised to lips, hands tearing off bits of steaming garlic bread. Even Bob is trying to subtly swallow a mouthful of meatball, which at least makes the penne hanging out of Obi’s mouth less of a transgression.

All eyes shift, looking towards the authority at the table, and Gayle sighs.

“Now, honey,” she says, smoothing her napkin over her lap. “You know that when we have guests, we don’t make anyone say it.”

“But I wanna do it,” Laila whines, shrinking in her seat.

Kelly Ann sighs. “Laila --”

“I don’t mind,” Shirayuki offers, setting her fork aside, trying not to drip sauce onto the tablecloth. “Please don’t feel like you can’t on my account.”

“Me either.” Obi grins down at Laila, giving her a wink. “Take it away, kid.”

Their only warning is the cock-eyed grin she gives, before she launches into, “Good food, good meat, good God let’s eat!”

“Laila --”

“AMEN,” she tacks on, shoving a meatball straight into her mouth and grinning at her mother.

Kelly Ann is fit to be tied, hands on her hips, cheeks blown out with all the scolding she’s fit between them –

Bob breaks first.

His shoulder shake, his eyes screw shut, and for a good second Shirayuki’s afraid he’ll fly apart like a motor under too much strain, until –

Until his laugh bursts out of him, so hard he’s hitting his hand against the table, like he needs to tap out.

“Dad,” Kelly Ann gasps, scandalized, but it’s too late, now that Bob’s broken the seal, none of them can keep it in.

Shirayuki has to bury her face behind a napkin, trying to cover up the tears running out of her eyes, trying to avoid the glares Kelly Ann is trying to send all of them.

“That’s a good one,” Obi tells Laila, and then shoves in his own mouthful.

Kelly Ann glares. “Don’t encourage her.”

Obi shrugs, shooting her a bolder grin than Shirayuki would dare.

“So,” Todd interjects, stabbing his pasta with a bit more force than necessary. “How’d you two meet? I haven’t heard the story.”

Obi has never looked happier to have his mouth full. Shirayuki sighs. “We met sophomore year. I transferred in a month into the first semester. Obi and I shared a coffee shop.”

Because he was following me, is the part of the story she leaves out.

“Transferring a month in?” Todd takes a drink. “Sounds like a story.”

Her fingers ache where the edge of the fork digs into them. “I --”

She doesn’t know how to do this, how to make black fingernails and Rohypnol and weeks of fruitless litigation into dinner-talk, into a nice little package that somehow leads to – to this. To a long term boyfriend and romantic moments and family dinners.

Especially since it didn’t.

It’s easy to leave out the worst parts of things between her and Obi, to leave out what remains of Zen in those first few years, but she doesn’t know how to invent something wholesale that isn’t just…a complete lie.

Because that’s important, somehow. That she doesn’t lie. That even with all the pretending, Obi’s family knows her.

And they can’t do that, not if she makes up some story about -- about switching majors, or moving closer to home, or whatever reason someone could have that isn’t potential sexual assault.

But she doesn’t have to.

“It is,” Obi says, with the sort of finality that says the topic is done.

She’d expect Todd to pick, to pry, but his gaze shift to her, assessing, and instead says, “So y’all live in Florida?”

“For now,” Obi says, letting her pick at her meal. “We’re doing our PhD down there, but I think the eventual plan is Boston.”

-- It’s just disappointing. Zen sighs, and she knows she deserves it, deserves his frustration. It just feels like you aren’t even planning on coming back, sometimes --

She nearly bites her tongue. “I mean, maybe. That’s – a good place to start looking.”

Obi’s head snaps toward her, a question in his eyes, but she looks down, finding her side salad engrossing.

“You live close by to each other?” Todd asks, so innocent.

“Oh, we – we share an apartment,” she says, not even thinking. Todd’s eyes take on a triumphant gleam, and she knows she’s given him exactly what he wanted.

His gaze darts to Gayle. “Oh, so you live together?”

Obi’s mouth pulls flat, but with a look at Laila, he keeps it shut.

“Did you hear that?” Todd presses, when Gayle doesn’t even blink. “Obi and Shirayuki live together.”

“Todd,” she says, turning the most unimpressed, motherly look on him. “Of course they do! You know expensive rent is.” She turns a bright smile to the both of them, radiating approval. “And I must say, they keep the place looking lovely. Don’t they, Bob?”

“Well, we didn’t get the grand tour,” Bob allows, reaching for the garlic bread, “but they got quite a cozy nest for themselves, from what I’ve seen.”

“Doc’s got a gift,” Obi tells them, sending her a wink. “If it was me, the whole place would be in black.”

Gayle rolls her eyes heavenward. “Don’t we know it.”

That sends a laugh around the table -- all except Todd, who throws himself against the back of his chair, arms folded, and lets out an annoyed huff.

“What about you, Toddy?” Obi’s grin takes on a sharp slant. “Bringing home anyone special, lately?”

Shirayuki’s half-afraid dinner is about to come to blows -- by his look, Todd does not have a special someone, and Obi clearly knew better than to ask -- but she’s saved by a timely buzz against her stomach.

“My phone!” she gasps, pulling it out from the pocket of her hoodie. “I’m so sorry! I forgot to turn it off.”

Gayle smiles. “Happens to everyone, baby girl.”

It’s not fair that -- that Obi’s family knows how to do this to her, how to make her feel warm, melty, like she’s really one of them --

She looks down, if only to blink away the sting in her eyes, and she sees big blue one staring up at her.

“Oh!” She smiles, flashing the screen at Obi. “It’s Ryuu. He just was asking if we were going to call tonight. Kirito is driving him crazy, I think.”

Obi coughs out a laugh. “Poor kid. We did warn him.”

“Ryuu?” Gayle prompts.

“He’s someone else in our program,” she says, at the same time Obi offers proudly, “He’s a kid prodigy.”

Shirayuki glances up at him. She’d been playing it safe, not giving any information Obi doesn’t offer, if she doesn’t have to, but --

But one look at him, at the pride radiating from his face, and she knows -- Ryuu isn’t someone he has to hide. That he wants to hide.

“He’s sixteen now, and starting his PhD with us,” she explains. “He was our TA, my first year at Clarines.”

“He’s not great with people,” Obi offers, “but we’re getting there with the whole…being a regular kid thing. Our boss has a nephew his age, and that’s sort of…made him normal out, a bit. You know, get used to other kids/”

“He’s a really sweet boy,” Shirayuki tells them, aware she might be -- be gushing, just a bit. “He likes to snapchat flowers to me when he’s doing fieldwork. Here, I saved a couple.”

She hands her phone down the table, and Obi pulls out his own.

“Hold up, I think I got a few of his videos too.” He flicks through his phone, engrossed. “Kirito -- his friend -- has been teaching him how to skateboard, and they’ve been recording some of it -- ah, here it is.”

He sets his phone in front of her too, eager and -- and Gayle just looks at them, eyes shining.

“Well,” she says, soft. “Doesn’t that sound nice.”

Bob reaches over, squeezing her hand. She springs to life at that, patting at her pockets.

“Let me just find my glasses,” she tells them, smile so wide it nearly splits her face. “And I’ll get a look at your boy.”

[chill-that-ur-inmyhead]

stand by me

1 - Are you one of those people who can watch TV shows and movies over and over again without getting bored?                                                            yes!!! I prefer to water my favs over trying something new, I’d really have to be interested to watch something else

2 - If you drink coffee, do you like it plain or would you rather have something like a latte or something flavoured?                                              latte for sure, preferably a matcha latte (from pret :))))))

3 - How did you used to dress ten years ago? Do you dress in a similar way now?                                                                                                                so aged 11, a lot of stretchy jean jeggings and colourful tops, no elaborate accessorising, very simple and basic and most importantly comfortable 

4 - When you’re grocery shopping, do you buy known brands or are you happy to go with the generic store version?                                                      I can go both ways

5 - Do you have a close relationship with any of your cousins?                  not really

6 - Who was the last person to sleep over at your house? Does this person stay over often or was it more of a one-off?                                                      I had a one night stand last year

7 - Does bad weather put you off going out if you’ve got plans to do so? Have you ever cancelled plans due to the weather?                                  depends if the plans are spent outside but if we are going to a bar or restaurant then the weather wouldn’t stop me

8 - When you’re on vacation, do you prefer doing the typical tourist things, or would you rather explore somewhere off the beaten track?                  typical tourist things but once they’re done I could go off the beaten track

9 - Did your family travel a lot when you were younger?                              we went to places around Europe but never outside of it

10 - When was the last time you went shopping for clothes? Did you get anything decent or find any bargains?                                                          shopping online for clothes, literally had a delivery yesterday, I needed a raincoat

11 - Is it true that accessories can make or break an outfit?                          for sure, I wish 11 year old me knew a bit more about accessorising!!

12 - What is your worst memory from high school? What about the best? worst memories were probs fighting with my friends, it was an awful stressful feeling but the best memories is laughing around with those same friends!

13 - Is there any trait in a potential partner that would be a total deal breaker for you?                                                                                          different sense of humour probably

14 - Do you insist people use coasters if they’re putting drinks down in your house?                                                                                                    nope but I think they do automatically

15 - Have you ever been arrested? Were you guilty of whatever it is you were arrested for?                                                                                          nope never

16 - Name five items on the shelf nearest to you:                                            vinyl player, ben e king record, camera, camera bag, passport

17 - After meals, do you wash dishes up right away, or do you leave them in the sink and do a whole days worth at once?                                        leave them on the side for the dishwasher

18 - What websites do you find yourself spending the most time on? recently, netflix, asos, twitter, tumblr, redit, insta,

19 - Do you still download music and TV shows?                                         sure if I’m going on a long journey I download them to listen to offline 

20 - Does your phone have a good battery life? How long does it last before you need to charge it again?                                                          depending how much I use it but I can usually get through the whole day before I charge it at night

21 - When was the last time you hit snooze?                                                      this morning

22 - Did you ever play The Sims? Which expansion pack was your favourite, if you had any?                                                                                    I used to play Sims castaway but it was ages ago

23 - Are there any popular film series or TV shows that you just don’t get the appeal of?                                                                                                    cooking shows, I find them quite boring and they make me hungry!

24 - As a child, did you receive pocket money or an allowance? How much did you get? Was it dependent on you doing chores of some kind?            yes I think it was £10 a week or something, nope no chores I guess I was lucky

25 - Do you think your parents did a good job of raising you? Would you do anything differently with your own kids?                                                      I’d try and go outside of europe for holidays, but I guess that will depend on my finances and what my children are up for

26 - If something is bothering you, do you have to fix it right away?          my brother is talking to his friend and its really annoyingly loud                        

27 - Are there any household jobs you enjoy doing? If so, what’s the reason that you enjoy those things?                                                      hoovering my room and seeing my floor become cleaner

28 - Do you still live in the area you grew up in? Would you like to live somewhere else one day? Where would you go?                                              I had to move back home after uni but I really want to go back to London once everything resumes

29 - Do you smoke, drink or do drugs? How old were you the first time you tried those things? Do you want to quit?                                                  drinking happened at 15/ 16 and marijuana at 17

30 - What’s one thing that really grosses you out? Is it something you have to deal with anyway? How do you cope?                                                        hair in the shower drain GROSS or I guess anything in the shower drain just grosses me out 

31 - Have you ever grown your own fruits or veggies? Did it work out okay or was it a bit of a failure?                                                                                my padre does! tomatoes and blueberries, used to grow raspberries

32 - Could you ever raise animals only to kill and eat them later on, or would you struggle to kill a living thing you’d formed an attachment to?      If it is my last resort you gotta do what you gotta do

33 - When was the last time you painted your nails?                                        I got my nails done just before lockdown happened last week

34 - If you regularly sit in the same place (on your bed or the sofa, for example) do you have a cupboard or something to keep supplies in so you don’t have to keep moving all the time?                                                              I have a snack tin next to me and a jug of water, been thinking about moving my spare kettle into my room to make teas instead of having to go downstairs but that would be the height of my laziness

35 - Have you ever been a witness to a crime? Did you have to make a statement to the police?                                                                                  nope

36 - Do you prefer Harry Potter or the Lord of the Rings?                          Harry Potter ofc

37 - Do you like to air your house or room out every day to stop it getting musty?                                                                                                                  in the summer yes

38 - Have you ever visited a landmark or place made famous by a TV show or film? Did you go there because it was featured on TV?                            not yet but I want to  

39 - Who taught you how to tie your shoe laces?                                        parents

40 - Do you have any pets? What are they all doing at the moment?              I don’t but wished I did

41 - Do you prefer sweet or savoury snacks?                                                    sweet

42 - What’s the most painful place you’ve ever had a spot? Was it a big relief when you finally managed to squeeze it?                                          forehead spots can hurt like a bitch

43 - Talking of spots, have you ever watched videos like those by Dr Pimple Popper? Do you think that kind of stuff is cool or gross?

44 - When was the last time you attended a bonfire?                                        literally last week, dad had a bonfire for 5th November to remember his mother

45 - Is there anything you wish you enjoyed, but you just struggle with for some reason? Maybe you hate the crowds or the noise?                                I wish I liked running

46 - What’s worse - someone constantly blowing their nose or someone who’s constantly sniffing?                                                                          sniffing

47 - Do you have any genuine phobias? What are they and have you ever done anything to address them?                                                                      nope

48 - Do you hate the feeling of being sweaty and dirty from exercise? Is this something that’s put you off working out in the past?                              I don’t like that it makes my hair gross and that sometimes prevents me from working out

49 - Is there anything “normal” that you have a real aversion to? Like a certain noise or smell or taste?                                                                        I’m not fond of fireworks, high risk low reward imo

50 - If you’ve made plans with someone and you really don’t want to go when the time comes, do you suck it up or make an excuse?                          I usually don’t make plans that I don’t wanna go to, I’ll make plans that I can be excited for

51 - What’s your favourite thing to do with each of your parents? Do you get a chance to do that regularly?                                                                Used to go for lunch with my mum most weekends but that doesn’t happen anymore

52 - If you were to adopt a pet, is there anything that would put you off, like a certain colour or breed?                                                                                    If I was to adapt a dog it would be a golden retriever otherwise I just wouldn’t get a dog, for a cat I’m less picky, just no completely white cats and no hairless ones.

53 - Would you ever like to give circus skills a go? What would you be most interested in trying?                                                                        trampolining looks like fun  

54 - What are your thoughts on circuses that allow animal performances? shame shame I know your name

55 - Are there any habits or traditions you’ve picked up from your parents what you’ve carried on in your own home?                                                        I don’t have my own home yet but I’m sure I will

56 - Are there any remakes that you think are better than the originals?    the shrek series and Ice series are strong contenders

57 - How about cover songs? Do you prefer any of those to the original versions?                                                                                                                I used to only listen to the glee version of songs, it was so weird hearing the original

58 - What’s the first movie you remember seeing in the cinema? What about the last?                                                                                                HSM 3 when I was 9 and Pixie at 21

59 - Do you listen to more music, or watch more TV? Is this something that’s changed over the years?                                                                      over lockdown I’ve been really into blasting my music but before then I deffo wated more tv

60 - Do you have any weird fears or worries? Like thinking you’ve forgotten to lock a door or blow out a candle? What do you do to reassure yourself you’ve not forgotten?                                                                            whenever I go somewhere I have to triple check I’ve not left anything - it almost happened to me a couple of weeks ago with my purse and thank god I triple check because I saw it and thought that would have been hell for parallel universe me

[shaddy-bee]

I KNOW ITS BEEN LIKE 300 YEARS BUT-

5 things you’ll find in my bag

Right now theres uhh Notebooks, both school and 1 art. Drink mix ins, with such great flavors as sour apple jolly rancher and crush pineapple (tm) Two packs of cards, one of which steam punk themed and the other your regular ol bicycle. A calculator. Its a shitty old one but its for tests, i have google and shit for anything i need myself.

5 things you’ll find in my bedroom

A roommate. Idk if he is gay or what but he isnt straight, name’s will. Chill dude. Sleepin rn, what a fella MY SICK ASS COMPUTER IM MISSING OUT ON BECAUSE MY ROOMMATE IS ASLEEP AAAAAAAAAAAAAA I WANNA PLAY ROCKET LEAGUE WITHOUT LAGGING TO HELL also programming my mods. Need to upload that shit. Shit what number we on, 3? Okay cool. A bed. Wow really a bed in your bedrooM? yeah its pretty fuckin spectacular i know. I dont have posters n shit so like i gotta be creative you feel. A microfridge. Now i know what youre thinking, “ah a small fridge whats the big deal?” but no you dont understand, its a microwave fucking bolted onto the top of a fridge. They gave zero fucks attaching these two together and apparently the name is the same way, WHY NOT A FRIDGEWAVE EVEN LIKE MICROFRIDGE JUST SOUNDS LIKE A SMALL FRI- Last but not least, im tempted to just say my wallet here tbh, cuz its old but like, youd EXPECT that now would you? Something boring and mundane for me to fill out the word count with making everything super exciting so nah man, fuck it. Theres air in my bedroom. Fight me.

5 things I’ve always wanted to do in my life

Make a videogame. Like okay, a lot of stuff on this list is jokes and stuff, and I know im going into too much detail and my followers will probably murder me in cold blood for this shit, but im serious about this one like - i have some ideas, but i never have the motivation alone to like work whole-heartedly and finish one but like, at some point in the future id love to sit down and just go at it and make a game. Doesnt matter if its popular or big or small just i wanna make something that i love ya feel? I wanna like, go to newark, delaware. I know, its delaware and all, no one lives there, but ive met a bunch of cool people there and i was promised a donut run sometime, so lookin forward to that. Yknow that post awhile back that was like “i dont wanna be rich and like buy shit, i just wanna have enough money to throw at kickstarters whenever i want without having to strain on my food and rent costs” thats me. 100% Like i wanna have just enough money to be able to donate to cool people and watch them do cool shit - it wont always work out but thats fine, I just love shit. I wanna be able to donate like the high prize and fly out to meet these game studios for coffee and shit and just talk with em and see their passion and ideas. I love it. Im not actually really sure besides those. Like idk. I think itd be cool to enter a game tournament with my brother and win, but i doubt thatll happen and its not super like on my desires just itd be cool cuz we named ourselves Sora and Shiro after NGNL and to see that like, have us win would be great. Yeah. Ill make my fifth to think of a fifth one.

5 things on my to do list

FLOPPY DICKS i mean disks. Floppy disks. I do binding of isaac ab+ modding shit, and im currently working (its mostly done for what i want it to do) which adds a new consumable called floppy disks, effects are based on viruses, bugs, and just computer based shit. Like BSOD for instance, which makes the screen literately bluescreen. Or atleast look like it. Cant wait to watch people play with it. I gotta work on the programming class project too but honestly i dont waannnaaa. Like its cool as shit. Recreate a card game using c++ code. But man, i just love Apocrypha and Floppies so much more. Eat today???? Please. Dining hall opens in 3 hours. Its goddamn 4 am. I want my food. Dunno if ill get it - if ill stay awake till then. But i want it. Probably draw some stuff? Like i posted one drawing already (check it out if u wanna ;) kay?) but like theres wacom tablets here i can just kinda use whenever???? its great. I love being able to just draw stuff on em. Even if i suck at drawing, even if it took 10 hours to make the one i posted here, still love. Probably play more rocket league. Sleep first, soon as i get that food im CRASHIN BOI IM OUTTIE HA but uhh, rocket league has a halloween thing rn and i like playing it. Was playing earlier today and i matchd with a dude in 2v2 that had the same car, skin, AND colors set up as mine. Totaly random. We kicked some major ass together. I kept thinking of the same hat comic the entire time. (also my card was superior because it had furry ears on it ;))

5 things that make me happy

Getting an idea for a thing and working at said thing until like boom it went from this abstract idea to now it has a physical form and it works! And its fun and its great and i can share it with other people and they can have fun too!!!! that feeling is wonderful.  Obviously friends man. Just doing shit with people can be so great sometimes - like not all the time sure but like man. Its nice to talk to people and share experiences and just smile and tell bad jokes and have them groan but like it anyway like thats the shit. Going out at 2 am and walking to a nearby run down schoolyard and swinging on the swingsets and watching shooting stars burn up. Thats the good shit. Getting tents and setting em up in your friends back yard when your friend from far away comes up for a few days, and playing ridiculous games in a group like kick the can or fuckin zombie screaming your lungs out in the dark to freak em out, or just talkin around a fire about fuckin life man. The people make life great. Shits worth living for. I realize that last answer covered a LOT of shit but like, im just gonna add here videogames. Would be amiss if i didnt mention that, considering the rocket league rant above lmao. Yeah i better not make this category any longer.

5 things I’m (currently) into

Isaac modding, probably will be for awhile. Its good shit. As a suggestion from one of the people I work with (we also fuck around its a good time) i have started watching space dandy. Its a slow progress through lol like an episode or two a day but god man like its pretty ridiculous and the main character is pretty much everything i was expecting from seeing him everywhere. Rocket league again. It comes and goes with various different games to tide me over, give me a break from working. Bout 2 months ago or so said relaxing time was dominated by anime - i suddenly went on like a massive streak of watching shit. By that i mean, i watched all of hunter x hunter in like 2 weeks, among other shows prior to it. But yeah. Fuck man HXH I LOVED THE KING WHYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA. I have too many emotions about that. I wrote a rant to the Groupchat (tm) about the fucking battle and how everything is in slow motion but it fucking like makes it like foreshadowed and have so much of an impact and still so much fucking happens even while everything runs at super slow mo just GOD KLASFJBHUGHASFIUHIPJASK anyway. Yeah. Music, as always im listening to like constantly. Wireless headphones are a wonder for this, but uhh....i cant say im especially into any specific thing rn right? Like a bit ago i was super into joywave and then that faded out and now im just listening to whatever random shit, yknow? But I am into music in general. Its good. Art! A lot of times i dont do shit like for drawing right, like especially not in like pencil in notebooks but like, i sorta started doing a lot more art stuff? Like i had a period awhile back last year where i stopped using pencils and used only pens and i just loved the aesthetic of the ink like how it looked (funny how im doing the opposite of the fucking inktober though, huh?) but yeah im back into using pencils to draw shit occasionally. Im still terrible at drawing people (which is what i see mostly everyone drawing on tumblr lmao RIP) but its fun to sketch stuff out and just let my thoughts run and bounce to some music and shit right? Also the tablets. Especially with the tablets.

5 things people may not know about me (at least on tumblr)

I basically constantly wear sweatshirts, and they all have like earbuds where the strings go. All the earbud shits are broken pretty much, like occasionally they work (the one i have rn does) but like, i dont ever really use them? i have wireless headphones for my phone and a headset (because i need the mic for my computer) for said computer so like, idk. But yeah. I rarely take em off when im not home, and sometimes even when i am i just kinda keep em anyway? (also just now i realized i talked in the section for room shit about all the stuff in my current dorm, my room at home has all KINDS of wierd fucking shit in it. Really missed an opportunity there.) Like many people i like to stay hydrated and shit, but drinking water all the time seemed like a chore more than anything so i got like drink mix ins and shit, mio’s or whatever offbrand version you can find at your local SUPERSTORE CONGLOMERATE. I drink em like all the time pretty much so atleast im health in one way :P. Also gummy vitamins. I dont excercise but you can only ask for so much. Idk, its hard to think of things for this section because tumblr knows so little about me yknow? Like i never make my own posts or shit like its SUPER rare so im pretty much just tryna find random facts but that might not be interesting? Like i have a bad habbit of like talking way too loud when im excited about something right? Not quite yelling but like getting there and like idk. See? Thats not super interesting but it is something no one online would be able to really know ya feel? Idk. I mean physically im kinda fat as you do, but im also like wierdly strong? Like for someone who never works out i sure do have arm strength if nothing else lmao. My endurance is shit tho. Honestly? I can only blame it on osu and groceries. Osu is just a game i like where you mash buttons to the beat of weaboo shit tier music. The groceries is just because like, well, my policy is Least Trips Possible which means carrying in 13 bags at a time if need be it, fuck it milk too? And a watermellon? Bring it. 

Who am I tagging? Idk man. Just for shits and stuff tho i do wanna tag @theoriginalyami just to see what all’s changed in teh long time since i actually went to fill it out :P Dont feel like you have to add as much as me tho omg @milkchocolateowl because honestly? love you. Think about you a lot, just like glad im mutuals with that ray of sunshine. Good. @fantaledfish <3 (this is the friend i mentioned earlier, runs a QUALITY blog i guarantee it, better than mine for sure) @dragonfucker-supreme always top in my notes, a silent bond, like two guards assigned to watch back to back in the early dawn. Birds gather round. I can only tag so many people (i set myself a limit of 5 because...idk why i just mentally it felt right) so for my last trick gotta go with @ask-oncies-jizz like cmon man name changes for the win, also has quality icons and quality shitposts tbh, supreme top meme. Have fun yall.

[meanwhileinoz]

20+ Easy Ways To Clean Your House That Takes Little To No Effort

Cleaning your house always seems like a neverending task. No matter what, you feel as though it’s going to take up more time than you bargained for. Plus, it seems as though whenever you clean, it just gets dirty in .5 seconds anyway. So, all in all, what’s the point? Instead of getting on your hands and knees to scrub for hours on end, there are some brilliant hacks online that make cleaning your house easier than ever.

1. Sweeper slippers, so you can sweep your home whenever you walk to the freezer to get yourself more ice cream.

BuzzFeed

BuzzFeed

If you have hardwood or tile floors, you have gotta have at least five pairs of these houseshoes. I just toss them into the wash without tearing off the sole to wash separately. Reason: the soles on mine by far outlast the tops of the shoes. They help control dust and animal hair. I like them. // Edited after thought: Pairs of these shoes were handed to out-of-state traveler friends (a fella and his two grown daughters). They sounded so thankful to have these microfiber houseshoes to wear, and they expressed at how cushy they felt.

–Penny

Get them on Amazon for $10.40.

2. If you have pets that shed (or if you shed) you need this easy-to-pick-up-hair broom for your carpets. It traps all the hair, all the time.

Amazon

This broom is awesome! I have two large breed dogs (that she’d like crazy) and hard wood floors that have to be swept daily. I don’t know how well it would work on carpets, but it does an excellent job sweeping fur, hair, and dirt up. The best part… You don’t have to clean the bristles like a regular broom. I just rinsed the broom when I was done and the little dirt that was on the bristles washed away! I hate having to pull dust balls and hair out of normal broom bristles.

Just note: The rubber bristles are not fine enough to clean under moldings (the small gap between the molding and the floor) for those areas, I still use a vacuum. I’m not sure why this broom has negative reviews.. I read a bunch of them and can not relate to any of the issues people complained about. I’m chalking them up to user error. As John Lydgate said “you can’t please all of the people all of the time”.

Get it on Amazon for $18.50.

3. If you tie two microfiber rags around a pair of tongs, you can clean those moldy refrigerator shelves that have been smelling like rotten chicken and spilled cold brew.

onecrazyhouse.com

onecrazyhouse.com

This brilliant idea comes from One Crazy House. You can use any tongs you have in the house, and can easily buy microfiber cloths on Amazon for only $9.99.

4. If you have a ceiling fan, quit tossing dust around your room and use an old pillowcase to clean it.

homemakerchic.com

This idea comes from Homemaker Chic. Not only is it way easier than using a duster, but the dust falls right into the pillowcase so you’re not sneezing your brains out.

5. Use this spot cleaner to get even the toughest stains out of your carpets without scrubbing like a madman. Just blot it right on.

Amazon

I had terrible rust and oil stains all over the seats of my car when I bought it. I tried other cleaners to get it out, but they actually made the stains darker. I took it to the dealership to see if they could get it out and they flat out told me no, so I gave up and lived with it for almost 5 years. I tried this after it was recommended by a friend. I sprayed it on and literally watched the stain run right off my seat. It was amazing! I thought I was going to have to pay hundreds of dollars to replace the seats in my car because nothing else would work. This stuff really is awesome!

Get a bottle of this easy-to-use cleaner on Amazon for only $10.50.

6. Put vinegar in a zip-lock bag and place it over your showerhead for 1-2 hours to get all that rusty, dusty mold-ish stuff off.

BuzzFeed

7. Get into the cracks of your tiles or bathroom floor/shower with an automatic scrubbing brush, which takes the time and effort out of cleaning.

Amazon

Ok, I feel stupid writing this, but I hope it encourages you to buy this…. I just spent 2 hours scrubbing the ceramic tile floor in my 2nd bathroom. This is a room where my elderly, incontinent cat lives so… use your imagination. I leave pee pads and towels down, but she still does her thing. I clean her room consistently, and every few months I do a heavy duty scrubbing by soaking the floor and grout in Nature’s Miracle and start scrubbing. It takes hours because I can’t get the corners well, and the grout is such a pain to clean.

Well, this product is amazing. I used this for the grout lines, and I used the corner attachment for… corners. It was amazing. It got gunk and grime off the grout that has been there for years (I haven’t resealed this floor since it will have to be taken out when the cat dies). I even used these to scrub the cabinet doors, around the toilet, etc. and they were really, really great. you have to put the right amount of pressure on the brush, but once you do- it’s *wonderful.* See how stupid I feel, writing such a glowing review for this? I swear I wasn’t endorsed, I wish they would pay me to test products after this! Between my Rubbermaid Reveal power Scrubber and Nature’s Miracle my bathroom is cleaner than it has been in years, and in less time than it’s ever taken me to deep clean it.

Get it on Amazon for only $13.54.

8. Use your dishwashing wand for floors by putting vinegar in it to scrub your tiles/stone shower.

smartschoolhouse.com

You can also use it for the glass doors to get them perfectly clean, according to  Smart School House. You can grab one of these on Amazon for only $9.38.

9. For those nasty, disgusting toilet rings, use a pumice stone to get the colors and stains out way easier and quicker (because who wants to spend time scrubbing a toilet, anyway?)

Amazon

 The house I recently moved into had a hard water line in the toilet and it was no big deal for the first couple of months. I never really paid much attention to it. That is, until my mom said she would be coming over for a visit. Suddenly, the hard water line in the toilet was glaring at me, making me feel like a disgusting human being living in filth. I had to get rid of it. A kitchen sponge and a dish cloth were both ruined in my attempts. Finally, after countless hours of research and many sleepless nights, I had my answer: The Pumie. As soon as it arrived I was on my hands and knees scrubbin’ that bowl. After it was done I was stood over my toilet with the same posture as a successful climber reaching the summit of Mt. Everest. I had defeated the hard water line with The Pumie. The satisfaction I had by accomplishing this otherwise mundane task made me realize I had truly entered adulthood. But, I did not stop there. Hard water marks around the bathroom sink drain? Gone. Hard water lines around the kitchen faucet? GTFO. The Pumie is truly a marvel to behold and I will be eternally grateful for it’s help in vanquishing the hard water lines that would have made my mother disown me.

Get it on Amazon for $9.15.

10. After you clean your toilet rings, use these incredible toilet refreshers that help to prevent the ring from ever coming back again.

Amazon

These are the best in-bowl cleaners that I have found after trying many others. They keep the toilet bowl fresh especially on the toilets that are less frequently used in my house. I have found them to last a month or more. My father, a plumber, warned me years ago never to use those cleaners which you drop in the tank because the strong chemicals will eventually corrode the plumbing fixtures. Yes, I took his advice after some unwanted repairs.

Grab them on Amazon for only $1.98. 

11. If you have a stainless steel fridge, Pledge will not only clean it but also polish it at the same damn time.

thediygirl.com 

The DIY Girl, just spray the Pledge right onto the fridge and buff it off with a dry cloth. Grab a bottle of pledge on Amazon for only $4.19. 

12. Clean your stove top in only 5 minutes by using some dish soap (like dawn) and hydrogen peroxide. Use a dish soap brush to scrub it off.

mythirtyspot.com  

Hack from My Thirty Spot.

13. Clean any white sink easily and have it sparkling again by using baking soda and hydrogen peroxide.

lemonslavenderandlaundry.com 

Hack from Lemons, Lavender, and Laundry.

14. Clean every inch of your keyboards by using this double sided brush.

Amazon 

My laptop hasn’t been so clean since I bought it! Much better than compressed air cleaning. Using the rubbery end, you can even clean off the finger-tracker; and using the little brush, you get out all those annoying little crumbs and pieces of stuff that both impede your keyboard performance and make it look dirty. I wish I would have taken before and after pictures—the difference is astonishing! I was skeptical, but this little tool is worth the price.

Get it on Amazon for $4.95.

15. Use a lint roller on any lampshades that have a bunch of built-up hair and dust on them.

creeklinehouse.com 

Hack from Creekline House.

16. Also, use a lint roller on any screens to capture all that pollen and dust.

handymanmagazine.co.nz 

Hack from Handyman Magazine.

17. Mix baking powder and a flowery-smelling essential oil to spread all over your mattress. The scent will get soaked into it, and when you’re done, just vacuum it right up.

onegoodthingbyjillee.com 

Hack from One Good Thing by Jillee.

18. Put your pillows in the washing machine while you let the baking soda sit in your bed so they smell brand new.

thehappierhomemaker.com

Hack from the Happier Homemaker.

19. Get rust stains out of your dishwasher by running a cycle of Kool-Aid.

wikihow.com 

Hack from Wikihow.

20. Get weird scents out of your washing machine (like that horrible wet-dog smell) by running on an empty cycle with vinegar.

iheartnaptime.net 

Hack from I Heart Naptime.

21. Clean your vacuum filters in the dishwasher to save time and get a better clean.

agirlandherneedle.blogspot.com 

Hack from A Girl and Her Needle.

22. Also, clean your vent covers, filters, and anything else that’s easily removable in the dishwasher so you can let it run and do something better with your time while it’s cleaning.

onecrazyhouse.com

Hack from One Crazy House.

The post 20+ Easy Ways To Clean Your House That Takes Little To No Effort appeared first on .

https://postaddict.com/2018/03/09/20-easy-ways-to-clean-your-house-that-takes-little-to-no-effort/

[bernicefitcpt-blog]

My first Sprint Triathlon Experience

I could probably count on one hand how many times I trained for each sport event leading to the weeks that I put on that tight one piece. Not that I didn't take the training seriously, but that's what my time allowed for me to do. Just so freakin' happy that I did finished my first triathlon event.... AND LOVED EVERY MINUTE OF IT! ... And gotta love those automatic PR's: 1:31:33

Morning of : 

SETTING UP:Found a spot in the 2nd row of the racks next to a Brazilian lady #55 who looked like she knew what she was doing, and another nice lady named Brenda who helped me a ton! First, she did mention to keep a narrower space for myself in case someone wanted to come next to me. So i did. Then another lady came super close to my front tire with her stuff. She looked a little more nervous. And even Leanne, the lady who checked me in came by and said hi to me! She said she's been doing tri's since her late 20s and she’s now 60! You go mama! She looked like early 40s. Dang, I wanna me like that! So i'm feeling super NEWBIE status and I'm here looking like a lost child haha. I asked Brenda if theres a certain way she sets up her transition area and yup! Makes sense. Place it in the order you'll be using it. 

Heres a pic of it:

Here are some things I wish I knew: Bring something I could step into to rinse my feet. Maybe a stool would help? Have my phone ready to go on my bike. Stretch your hamstrings and hip flexors with the ball and foam roller more.     And a huge thing: having a running belt! Since i knew i had to run with my number on me, I took my lululemon fanny pack strap and attached my number to it. Brenda was the one who told me I didn't need to put my number on yet as I was practicing putting my pins on haha. So thank God i had that. Or else I would be fidgeting with it. 

SWIM:

Training: Thinking back to my first time ever competitive swimming event at the Honolulu Triathlon (Sprint - 750m), it made me want to practice this more than anything else. I really thought this might be the hardest part for me during the actual race day. The last time I had am actually in person swimming lesson was when I was like 5? Lol so, I read my books (usually the most confusing bc I need to visualize everything), watched some YouTube videos, and observed swimmers as I went to Palolo Valley Swimming pool. After discovering this pool that was only 5 min from my gym, I went a total of 3 times to practice on my swim! Each time I would do at least 600m, just to practice harder than my actual race length. One time I got 700m in the 40 min I decide to swim. You don't realize how much of a workout swimming actually is! One of the biggest lessons I learned is to STAY CALM. In the midst of putting my body in a mild hypoxic state where you're not breathing as you normally would. "THE BREATH IS SO IMPORTANT" - seriously cereal! As a Yoga teacher and personal trainer that starts with talking about the breath and diaphragmatic breathing, I realized that without this, we are nothing! Well, not nothing, but we are more likely to get anxious and if so consistent, could lead to depression! No good! 

Anyway, back to the swim training!  I also swam in open water like twice only, but next time think I should do more because the ocean water vs pool water is like night and day difference. From the breathing technique to just the extra resistance you get from the thickness of the water, current, and waves, I'll definitely be swimming more in open water. Elenor, the nice older lady who's retired from doing like idk 20 or 40 ( i just know a lot lol) of triathlons, she said the same thing, especially 2 days before the race which was the last time I swam to train. 

Day of:

Favorite part!! (Surprisingly!) I was probably most excited for this because I saw how working on my technique since the HNL TRI has worked for me!! As I jumped into the water to swim to the buoys to start, i started feeling a little like "sea sick." Never felt that before going into a swim. We had 3 min to swim to the buoys bc i was on the 2nd heat! (Go orange swim caps! Pink would have matched me but i wouldve had to be doing the relay. Lol i would mention this bc my color theme was black, grey, and bright pink haha)   Ran into fewer ppl this time at the start. Thank God! Being kicked in the face and swam on my legs isn't a joy. Mma in the water anyone? Haha During the swim, I was just focusing on breathing technique and continuing to swim without stopping. OH! and making sure i was swimming in a straight line to my destination. I was actually done in what felt to me was a quick 12 min and 44 seconds. I still had energy to run barefoot to the transition area! Yeeee! Haha

TRANSITION: should have not messed with my phone and trying to put it in my ziplock bag to put in my back pocket haha. Oh well. Lesson learned! I will need to get one of those bike phone things. Also my bluetooth didn't connect to my phone and fitbit. But i put my phone and fitbit on for my bike and run.

BIKE 

Training: I purchased my bike only like at the end of July from a guy that didn't need it anymore for super cheap in comparison what they normally go for. Thanks facebook marketplace! Lol! So i was told to get clips for the pedals and to get specific tri shoes. Went to the Bicycle Shop first to let them check my bike out. Turns out that my tires were extremely flat! I get one of these . I rode it for 3 miles before that around Kapiolani park to just get used to it. Also used for maybe only 2 miles at Lanikai. Felt normal to me, but hey... what do i know! I felt so accomplished just doing that! Went to Boca Hawaii  to get those. I had no idea that i actually had to put the clips on the bottom of the shoes. Learned a lot from the chick who didn't even bike but helped me to pick out the shoes and clips. It was then i realized this is not going to be a cheap sport. $120 tri shoes, $55 clips. Then i checked out the biking gear. Got myself my tri one piece. The girl (forgot her name)told me ppl like it bc it gives less room for drag or something like that. I got the small so it was skin tight. Plus i thought maybe i would lose weight if i trained more. $150. Thankfully i got the friends of Boca discount.     

Brought myself to Ko Olina to practice with my clips. I was told by a friend and also the girl working at Boca. "Yah. You're going to fall." And me in my head: “Nah. I know how to ride a bike.” Best believe, put on clip in for the first time. Then BOOM. Fell over on the side i put my one clip in! Even the Ko Olina security asked me if I was ok. Haha. Felt super comfy with it. Riding fast is fun! Just my butt hurts after a while sitting. Did 3 miles that day too. The next time i biked, ran, and swam at Ala Moana it wasn’t that far.  My last time practicing riding was half the course of the actual. Went to Kahala area to diamond head and around Monsarrat. Learned I shouldn't stop when charging a hill. Had to test out my gears and go on a hill. One of the scariest parts for me is trusting all the cars around me to not run me over. Single lanes for a car and bike freak me out. I now know how a biker feels with cars speeding up next to him or her. Im like 1. Don’t fall 2. Don’t fall. 3. Don’t get hit. Thank God for helmets! Thankfully i didn't fall or get hit this time. Lol! 

Day of: I learned so much!! Felt fast from my swim and ready to bike like a wild woman lol. Took long deciding whether to put my phone in my back pocket in a zip lock or int pouch. Big no no bc it cost me some time!  Kind of slow getting my clips in the bike after reviewing some of the footage Rich uploaded of me. But once i was off, I was off! They had huge blue signs with black arrows which showed me where to go. One of the most challenging parts was avoiding the potholes on the road in the quick turns in the neighborhood. Here's the bike path:  

My favorite part of biking was riding down the hill on kilauea ave. I figured out to change my gears on the hills which wasn't so bad dafter all. It actually felt faster than 46 min. The hardest part was going up Monsarrat. I'm so glad that we had the whole road to ourselves so we don't need to worry about getting run over. Cops blocked traffic every time they would see a bike coming. I was so glad to come to the finish line and see Rich there recording me and cheering. I slowly got off my bike because the inside of my thighs and upper hamstrings were done. It felt like i was coming off a long ride off a horse.

RUN:

Training: i would practice a slow jog after practicing on the stationary bike to "condition" my legs. This was not nearly enough to simulate how it would actually feel on race day but what did I know! I never biked more than 6 miles outside. Only about 14 miles inside on a stationary bike then to a .7 to 1 mile jog walk. Nope! Not like it! 

At the transition: I put my Lululemon socks on, already had my number on from the bike transition, and put on my favorite Hoka running shoes. Put on my Lululemon Visor and BAM! I was off! 

Day of: i haven't hurt that much starting a jog/run. To motivate me, the little girl who was 11 old passed me up with her mom! At first, i passed her but maybe into the first mile i felt soooo uncomfortable. I felt restricted  so i unzipped the front of my one piece tri suit. Ahhhh... homer simpson status?! Lol Just wanted to get to the finish line but enjoying my last few moments of my first tri! When I ran, i felt like I could think more clearly. Talked to myself a lot to motivate myself. What was going on in my head?! Thought about how grateful I was to God for giving me these abilities to do a triathlon"Are you pushing yourself the most you could!?" I sped up. All the way to the finish line. Pretty much a sprint with my legs hurting already. Saw Rich yelling, and BOOM! Didn't slow down til I was past the finish line! At the end, i went to the booth to get my shirt - which was my medal. About 10 minutes later I saw my friend Milli and then about 20 minutes later I saw my brother, mom, sis in law, baby nephew, and their dog. It was so great to have them all there! 

After: In about 30 min to 45 min I checked the scores. It said I placed 3rd. So during the awards, they called my age group (25-29 yo) and the 3rd place winner. It wasn’t me! So I thought, it’s okay. I didn’t place. Then they said on the mic, “In 2nd place, Bernice Aurellano!” I was pretty shocked. Came home with a cool successory too! Earrings! Check it out: 

Definitely doing it again. Actually, just signed up for my next triathlon sprint this coming Sunday! Excited to see what my body, mind, and spirit are capable of doing this time around. To the Ko Olina Race we go! 

Picture of my fam afterwards: 

The traditional FINISH LINE photo! LOVE LOVE LOVE the feeling of getting through to the finish line! 

Check out this awesome Video - posted on instagram @BerniceFitCPT and Youtube - created by my love, Rich! 

Until next time.... I’ll tell you about my 2nd experience! 

Aloha,

Bernice