#but that means in like 4 months we're moving like 6 states away from where we are now

[bazelgeuce]

Jeez opportunities really do just happen to people huh

[merrock]

HAPPY SEPTEMBER !

Can you believe that we've made it to the 'ber months already?! September is coming in strong, with a ton of little mini events, our Grill-Off, and Creek Fest! Under the cut, you will find a list of everything going on in town (feel free to interact with any of the events any way that you see fit!), plus some rule reminders and a few mod notes that are important to read. xx

ON THE CALENDAR !

SEPTEMBER 1 -- WORLD LETTER WRITING DAY: a fun day to write a letter to anyone you'd like... except we're letting you do it all month long, as a part of this recycled task.

SEPTEMBER 2 -- LABOR DAY: with schools and some businesses closed, it's the perfect opportunity to get out and enjoy a picnic with your family, or a fun day with your friends.

SEPTEMBER 3 -- FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL: the kids in elementary, junior and high school head back to school, as well as the professors and students at Merrock Community College!

SEPTEMBER 4 -- WILDLIFE DAY: come to the state park and jump in on a flora and fauna walk to get to know all of the wonderful wildlife around Merrock.

SEPTEMBER 6 -- FOOTBALL GAME: home!

SEPTEMBER 7 -- THE GREAT MERROCK GRILL-OFF: info here!

SEPTEMBER 12 -- VIDEO GAMES DAY: the Community Center has arranged for a fun day where everyone is invited to come out and play video games! Bring your own consoles & games.

SEPTEMBER 13 -- FOOTBALL GAME: away!

SEPTEMBER 17 -- COUNTRY MUSIC DAY: starting at 5PM at Tumbleweed, live country music will be taking the stage, perfect for you to bring your honey out for some boot, scoot 'n boogie.

SEPTEMBER 20 -- FOOTBALL GAME: away!

SEPTEMBER 21-28 -- CREEK FEST: info here!

SEPTEMBER 22 -- FIRST DAY OF FALL: get out and enjoy the fall air! or at least, hopefully, we're not still dealing with summer's heat, and can relish in the best season.

SEPTEMBER 25 -- LOBSTER DAY: head on down to Sandcastles to enjoy some delicious lobster dishes at a discount, or make your way over to the fish market to pick some up to cook at home!

SEPTEMBER 26 -- BINGO NIGHT: stop by the fire hall to play a couple of rounds of bingo, with all money raised going directly to the volunteer fire department.

SEPTEMBER 27 -- FOOTBALL GAME: home!

SEPTEMBER 29 -- COFFEE DAY: buy one, get one free on any and all coffee drinks that you could possibly one at Cobblestone! one day only, so don't miss out!

IMPORTANT STUFF !

I have updated our rules for the season! Please take a little time to read them over when you have the chance. Most everything has stayed the same, but there are a few little things that I wanted to talk about, to make sure we clarify expectations:

the waiting period between muses has been moved to two weeks. 99% of pick-ups were waiting this long anyway, and we think it makes sense as far as settling in first!

every other FC you pick up must be diverse. however, once you reach 3, you are no longer allowed to play more cis white muses than diverse muses. that means that if you play 2 white and 2 diverse, to pick up a 5th, they must be diverse. the goal is that half or more of your characters must be diverse.

for activity checks, I will be looking for bubbling every week instead of every other -- however, you are only interacting with one writer that week, we will give you a warning, instead of an automatic strike. this way, you have a chance to fix it for a whole week before you will be given a strike!

AREAS OF IMPROVEMENT !

Genuinely, from the bottom of our hearts: we love this group. But of course, there is always room for improvement, things that we can all do to keep dash a more fun, productive space for everyone. This month, we're asking everyone to be mindful about maintaining interactions / threads with everyone in the group. Avoid dropping threads that people might be relying on for activity -- for example, if you want to let something from the carnival go, hey, no one's going to mind that, it's older! But if you're dropping beach bash threads on day four of the beach bash, that's not so great. Be sure that you're keeping up with all of the threads you have. It's okay if you have heavy muse for something, as long as you are still working on other threads and not letting them fall behind. With the start of a new month, it's always a good time to get into new practices! Maybe make yourself a thread tracker, so you can keep track of what you owe, and things aren't left by the wayside, or just get into the habit of double, triple checking that you're replying to everything, and not just the most recent things that come up (older stuff gets buried). Whatever works for you. And it's also a good time to start new things! To reach out to writers that you haven't gotten the chance to write with yet, or maybe to reach out to those you are writing with and say hey, let's start something fresh! xx

A WORD FROM THE MOD !

for the time being, I will be leaving anonymous off. but our ask box is always open, and we hope that you trust us enough to speak to us off of anon if there are any issues or questions!

we have decided to move forward with the week of fun Halloween related things to do (Hallo-week, if you will), thanks to your feedback! it's going to be easier for us and also provide more things for you guys to do, but Vibrations will be open for partying, too. the Benefactor will be asking for ideas soon!

please don't forget about our interest check! you must like it before September 6th to keep your role(s) in the group!

aaand, we have new, shiny things! graphics! a new task! an old task! creek fest's announcement went up. enjoy it!

HAVE A GREAT SEPTEMBER !

[shinybluething]

Moar update!

Update and more info about my Sea of Feral Cats Gofundme

WE MADE THE INITIAL GOAL. However, we also have those 6 kittens (the Fuzzy Potatoes) that will need care in upcoming month, 3 girls and 3 boys. They even have names now! Asterix, Tictac, Starkist, Brownies 1&2, and Hilda. The names may change, but for now I've got things to call them.

They are quite gregarious and I have to be careful they don't follow me everywhere i go. The Potatoes are also now eating kibbles and soft food and that's upped my food costs a bit, even with low cost Special Kitty brand food. I've updated the goal to reflect the increased costs. <--- link here! Background info, because I feel like I need to address some stuff that's been brought up in comments. Click if you want to read this bit, it's long and boring.

Timing of the fundraiser:

This wasn't an off the cuff thing, done on a whim. It was spurred by one of the adult cats having a second litter during this season. The gofundme was finally created at the suggestion of friends who wanted to help me out, who have made several donations after a place to send them was made (which is AWESOME). I've been researching and calling around trying to find help for more than a year before making the gofundme. I already feel deeply weird and embarassed about asking strangers (and friends) for money to help these cats and I am incredibly moved and grateful for all the help we've received so far.

Available resources, and what's actually available locally:

Several folks have suggested I "just go tot he Humane Society" or utilize another low cost or free program. I would LOVE to! The closest Humane Society is in the next county only serves residents of that county. The nearest (still distant) low cost TNR/Spay-neuter clinic that isn't locked to local residents only is on the opposite side of the state capitol (this is them, The Animal Protective League, they look pretty amazing if you are local, and if you would rather make a donation to an established shelter/clinic, they could sure use it!). We're in the bottom end of the state, which complicates things. 

There are lots of resources in the state, but most are up in the Chicago metro, where they are more needed. There are local resources in other cities and counties down here, but all of those are local-residents-only. ALL of them, I've spent hours and hours on the phone and writing emails asking for help over the past year or so. County Animal Control won't help with anything except dogs. We are in a non-coverage area for all services, even the kind I don't want.  Why "just" going to the nearest existing low cost clinic isn't a great idea:

The first come first serve clinic is:

Already nearly overwhelmed with cats and dogs locally so bringing cats from outside the area probably displaces local folks in need and that's not something I feel good about.

It's about 2 hours away, by the shortest route.��See my note below about having an elderly car.And then consider putting a terrified feral cat through a multiple hour car ride.

Not a direct drive on any interstate, I will have to go on 2 lane roads for over half of the drive.We are in a very rural area at harvest, and that means farm equipment that goes 20 mph on the narrow highways.

ONLY first come first serve, I've asked them. They advise arriving at or before  8 am.

Appointments can be made for handleable ferals, but not for trap-only. 

Those appointments are fully scheduled months ahead of time. And are one per person per day

One at a time, one cat per person per day. They do not do batches.

Pick ups are the following day at 730am, so another 4 hours minimum in the car, 2 of that with a post-operative cat that's likely terrified. Late to pick up? $25 boarding fee.

There are still fees. They are lower than the local vet (30 to 40 per cat vs about 100-130) but not free.

We are low income, and I drive an old car (It's 21!). The gas cost alone is prohibitive, let alone the elevated car maintenance costs. Even assuming I will have whole days to do nothing else but drive (I do not, I deleted an entire paragraph here because my personal issues aren't relevant), I would still need to cover gas to drive them, one at a time, for 16 cats (assuming I could get them in and didn't get turned away). That doesn't even count needing oil changes more frequently, more car repairs, etc.

Just fuel costs: 2x (drop off and pick up) 35 to 65 dollars, depending on gas price ranges. This would be a full tank of gas for each round trip, assuming I get the best mileage. Each cat will need 2 round trips, so BEFORE the vet fees, its about 100 dollars, just to get there and back, plus it's more traumatizing to the cats. I do not see this as cheaper, safer, or better than going to the local vet, AND I would still have to fundraise to do this.

About the local vet:  The local vet I found via recommendations from the nearest TNR group and shelter that only serves the county seat (she works with them). They are between me and the nearest large town, on a route I know and drive regularly, about 10 miles away. They are one of only 2 or 3 vets nearby who will do this at all and the only one that will do it for ferals. They have a modern practice, this is one of the younger vets in the area and one that focuses on small animals. This is their fee schedule:

87 spay

+15 if in heat

+20 if preg

70 to neuter males

20 for vaccines

eartip included

taxes/fees not included

About the other community cat colonies and why I can't ask their carers for help:

The other folks locally in my 600 person town who feed groups of ferals are not neutering their feline neighbors because they ALSO do not have funds, so they surely can't "contribute" to caring for the cats I feed right here. I'm not sure where the person who suggested it got the idea that these people are caring for the cats nesting near my house, because they are not. One person is feeding a LARGE clowder of mostly black cats outside their house in the center of town and someone else is feeding a mixed group of dumped cats on the other side of town. Cats from the black cat group occasionally come to try to get food on my porch because those folks are so overwhelmed, they have at least 30 cats there. This is why I want to offer them help with trapping if they can raise vet funds, or perhaps,also help them get funds for vet care. About the traps and costs:

Buying a safe trap is considerably more expensive than $40 to $60 (that will get you a trap that works for adult squirrels, or kittens). The adult cats I will need to trap here are mostly larger cats, so I'd need one that they were comfortable going into. Which rules out small traps, unless I was going to buy multiple traps, which is NOT in my small budget. I spent a week comparison pricing them at farm supply stores and big box stores after realizing the one my mom uses for trapping raccoons and skunks so they can be moved elsewhere won't work for the cats due to scent. It would cost me between 80 and 115 for just the trap (I would still need a transfer cage) if could even find one locally (everywhere I looked was sold out). Also, I plan to be able to make trapping available to the other local folks who have ferals they feed, so we need a safe, durable trapping setup. I ended up purchasing a recommended one often used by Alley cat Allies folks direct from Tomahawk, that comes with with a transfer cage. It was just under $200. The winter shelters:  It snows here. Not all winter, but it gets cold, we have days snow and ice, temps between freezing and below 0F, the winds are pretty fierce.

I was able to find weather proof shelters on discount (I got 4 for 245 bucks instead of $100 each! YAY!) over the holiday weekend so the cats who live here have better shelters than the 2 I was able to make using old rubbermaid tubs and styrofoam coolers a year ago.

Anyway that's the update!

Help me with this sea of cats

We have so many ferals, and while they're friendly they are also unfortunately really fertile. Can y'all share this around so I can get them care, get them fixed, and maybe get winter housing that's better than under my porch or behind my garden shed?

https://gofund.me/3deb7410

Creamsicle and her big, lovely feral family need our help to get the vet care they deserve and finally retire from kitten duty. Every dollar counts and will directly improve their lives, so please consider donating or sharing this link with others who might want to help.

Thank you so much!

[guigz1-coldwar]

'Moment of peace' : New chapter for "Redemption in a Spirit in a Cold War" is out !

"Moment of peace"

"We have an night for us and now, I only want you....only you !"

Chapter Summary : Yirina & Park has no choices but been forced by Hudson himself to get to the Mount Yamantau to discover what Perseus is planning there.....

To read it on AO3, click here !

Words : +3200

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

Yamantau...It was sounding familiar to me, not because I remember that Mason & Woods had to go to that mountain to retrieve an important object for our hunt against Perseus and not because of Hudson old mission 16 years ago but I kinda feel that this place...I did maybe visited it in my old life. I did have an memory of me, been in the Ural Mountains with Freya in that old cabin but I couldn't know if that 'supposed Perseus base' I remembered in that memory was the old one Hudson & Woods mentioned. That must be the case as now, Perseus has his sight on an soviet base in the mountain.

However, it happened that Hudson decided to only send me & Park at that place without any supports from the others. All protested about that decision but Hudson been Hudson, he refused everything pretexting that the 'others need to stay in Verdansk' to watch any possible locations about where Adler could be. That's meaning that me & Park are going to be send right at the Yamantau without any radio support & not even an single help from some agents....just the two of us, our guns, our knifes and our fists.

Hudson did make some calls after that, calling some friends in Moscow to help for transporting us in hidden sight and everything was planned to be operational in the evening of the 1st of June, tomorrow. I've spent an long night, fighting inside my head to know something more about the mountain but nothing came...nothing. The day...it went pretty fast, I didn't even see the time pass so fast while trying to intercept any communications from Perseus. When the evening came, it was time for us to go, taking an civilian car to drive to the Verdansk Airport where Hudson's contact is awaiting for us.

"I can't believe we're actually doing this." I expressed in the car as Park was driving and me on the front passenger seat, we were on the main road near the coastline at almost 2 km from Verdansk limits. "Guess that is too late to return to the warehouse ?" I demanded rhetorically.

"Yes, unfortunately." She decided to reply nonetheless to my question, sounding a bit funny un her voice. "The thing is that we just have only our outfits, our guns and our knifes...that's it." She exclaimed as we were already dressed in an part in our military outfits, our guns just on the backseats.

"Not even an radio." I whispered, looking at my outfit : an light-browned jacket, green half-fingerless gloves, an green sweat and an blue bulletproof vest with an UK flag ensign on it....one of Park's outfits...

"I don't understand why it's just us." She said, tapping her steering wheel with her two index finger, focused on the road.

"Like Woods said...." I started in an low voice.

"Hudson been Hudson...." We both scoffed in unison, wanting to break an laugh about it.

"Do you think that it because he think that it's maybe something not very important ?" I questioned her, looking at the sun getting set in the horizon.

"I don't know to be honest." She responded, not even putting her eyes away from the road. "If Freya and Knight are summoned to get there, I think it could be important." She claimed, knowing in me that she's right.

"We will have to watch out with Freya." I warned her even if she was already knowing it as she nodded to me. "Damnit, if we can collect that data before they can come, it will be better." I stated.

"Let's hope so." She grinned an little, removing her eyes from the road for only an second before putting them back in place.

"Necessary data..." I whispered, thinking of that transmission I intercepted last day. "It could be anything."

"Yes, it could be anything." She repeated my words, having the same thoughts. "Maybe Stitch is now trying to really make Nova-6 for real or...he's trying to find something important for him." She added. "As you heard, Dragovich, the guy behind the Nova-6 threat in 1968, was hiding important things in that place."

"Maybe that some of his documents could have been transferred to the soviet base." I suggested, trying to think of the multiples possibilities but everything was confusing. "Shit, we should wait until we found what was this mission all about when we are arrived in that base."

"Sure, thinking of it is going to make my mind blow up." Park proclaimed, making an little laugh from it. "We should better think about everything before." She proposed.

"That's better." I snorted, still looking outside at the horizon, seeing the sun disappearing in the darkness. "Park."

"Yes ?" She breathed.

"The day you received this letter from me...after what happened to your brother...." I started, changing the subject and sounding very silent. "What was your first thoughts ?" I asked her, looking back at her.

"Uhm..." She was looking an bit disturbed to hear me ask that question, an subject that we didn't talk for days.

"Be honest." I whispered, not sounding like an actual order.

"Well and to be honest with you, I wanted to...meet you." She answered first as we were arriving in the city limits and driving to the airport, her hands was like trembling from my question. "I wanted to know things...an lot of things."

"Listen, if you don't want to tell me, it's okay." I proposed, wanting to destress her, seeing her like that wasn't making me well at all.

"No, I think that you should know." She shook her head with an very small grin. "You opened yourself to me about your life and I should do the same." She continued and she was right : during 2 months, I did help her to know more about who was 'Bell' and even if she did help me to know more about her, there were still some things to discover. "Like I said, when I received this letter, I wanted to meet you." She reaffirmed.

"And what you would have done if you actually did ?" I questioned her.

"Just an talk, nothing else." She admitted, turning in an parking in hidden sight and discovering that we were arrived near the airport. "Things would have maybe been different, you know." She added, stopping the car in an parking space.

"Yeah." I breathed. "Maybe I would have defect earlier, maybe I was maybe going to join the MI6 earlier." I exclaimed as I took an deep breath to look around outside. "But it's too late for thinking about that, I already did." I scoffed in an silent way.

"You did." I heard Park's voice, speaking away from me, sounding pleasant before looking back at me. "Well, I think we can go now." She proposed, stopping the car engine before getting out of the car.

Since the car was in an parking who was in complete darkness and not civilians around to disturb us, we could unload the equipment we were going to use even if we didn't take many things : an grenade for both of us, 3 to 4 mags in our respectives MP5, 2-3 to our pistols, water and two MREs rations and that was it, nothing else. Our large part is still back at the safehouse as our mission could have been more difficult if we took everything with us.

Once we grabbed everything from the car, we quickly moved to get at the rendezvous point with Hudson's contact in the airport near it's helipad. Hudson told us that our transport was an soviet helicopter, an Mi-24 Hind and since it's an military helicopter in an civilian airport, it wasn't going to be hard to find between all of those commercials airplanes but the thing that was disturbing me an litte was the fact that the airport was looking deserted.

There were no planes taking off or landing on the multiples runways of the airport, no crew to load the place...this place was really deserted, something that we're not aware was happening but there were nothing of that type in the few transmissions we decrypted this day. Nonetheless, it did help us to sneak below the few planes parked in the airport to walk until we got our eyes in the helipad.

"Here's our contact." I pointed to Park with my left hand, the only Mi-24 Hind that was standing at the airport helipad with an man dressed in an soviet uniform near it.

"Let's present ourselves, then." Park said as we started to move towards the Hind as in me, I was wondering how Hudson managed to have an contact in the Red Army.

"You're my passengers ?" The man asked, his head looking down as he was smoking an cigarette...and also wearing an cap, looking american.

"Yes, we're...." Park stopped herself when the man put his head up to look at us. "Belikov ?" She breathed, astonished to see him there...and me too.

"Miss Park ?" He was also like us....shocked to see her as the two shook hands until his eyes was on me. "Miss Bell?"

"I'm not Bell anymore." I told him in an normal voice as he couldn't know about it before we shook hands together "It's been almost 2 months now that we didn't see each other." I added, my voice getting surprised.

"Exactly, I hope that everything is fine in your life." He grinned, wondering about it and I nodded to him.

"Yeah, I'm fine, Belikov." I expressed, smiling at him.

"I never thought that it would be you two, thinking instead that it would be Woods & Mason." He exclaimed, dropping his cigarette at his feets to crush it before passing his hand through his hair, removing his cap in the way.

"Hudson didn't tell you about us ?" Park demanded and he shook his head.

"He did say that 2 agents needed help to fly to the Yamantau but he didn't tell who." He replied, putting his hands on the Hind to hold himself on it. "Apparently, some Perseus agents are trying to steal some data."

"Yes and if we can, we are trying to steal it before they does." I explained, making him nod with an smile.

"Seems that's very important since I'm asked by him." He scoffed, releasing an laugh from his mouth, followed silently by me & Park.

"Belikov, why's the airport this quiet ?" Park questioned him, having thinking of it too.

"City officials." He instantly responded, looking at the big control tower far behind from us. "They closed the airport an week ago due to an 'foreign terrorist threat'." He continued, opening the transport bay door of the Hind. "Must have been Perseus pulling some strings to make Verdansk an quiet place."

"Also meaning that he's also hiding Adler in there." I suggested as Belikov raised his shoulders.

"Maybe or they're planning something else." He chuckled, keeping the door widely open. "Anyway, you should get yourselves ready, we're going to fly for almost an long time." He ordered, making us to move inside the troop transport bay. "Hope you don't have airsickness." He joked after we got ourselves in the Hind before he closed the door to install himself in the cockpit.

I took an deep breath as the Hind was starting to take off the helipad, only thinking positively about everything right now, the helicopter flying away to the Yamantau and like Belikov said, it was going to be an very long flight for us and during all of it, everyone including our pilot Belikov was mostly focused on themselves, in their own thoughts. From time to time, I was watching through the little porthole giving to the outside and seeing the view.

At almost one hour of flight after we left the Verdansk Airport, we could already feel inside of us that the climate was changing, going colder and that would mean that we were approaching from the Mount Yamantau. Hopefully, the clothes we were wearing was going to protect us from the cold...I will never thank Park enough for giving some of her clothes to me....

"Shit, I will have to land." Belikov told us, breaking the silence of having no one talk in almost an hour.

"Why that ?" I demanded to him from the transport bay.

"Got an radio message from the authorities on the ground, an snowstorm will soon occur." He replied, sounding normal in his voice. "They're asking for every planes and helicopters to not cross the region until it's done." He added to his response.

"You know where to land for sure ?" Park asked him.

"Yes, got an perfect landing zone right now." He responded, causing me to look outside, seeing the mountains around us and below us, an little place perfect for the Hind to land. "Landing now." He said as the Hind touched the ground, feeling it before the rotors stopped and we opened the doors.

"You were right, looks like an storm is coming." Park affirmed as she was looking away in an direction.

"I'm sorry but I will have to leave you here." Belikov expressed, sounding apologizing. "I can't let an military helicopter in the middle of nowhere in the Urals mountains and I don't want to make the soviets suspicious." He continued.

"Guess we have no choices then ?" I breathed, scratching the back of my head while holding my MP5 in my right hand

"They should be an place where you could hide in safety for the night." He suggested as he was going back inside his cockpit. "It would be too dangerous for you to wander in the middle of an snowstorm." He expressed, sounding very right in his words.

"Yeah, we ain't going to risk this." I muttered, discovering an little path going away in an direction "You have an map of the base by the way ?" I asked him and directly, he handed me an map showcasing where that hidden base was on the Yamantau.

"Should be now easy to find it now for you." He said before he got back inside his cockpit.

"We should be on the move now." Park suggested and I nodded as she start to move slowly to the path I was seeing seconds ago.

"Da svedania, comrades." Belikov scoffed, waving at us from his cockpit and we waved back before we start to walk away and him to take off the little landing zone and leaving us alone in the mountains.

We walked through this path during almost 30 minutes, avoiding every dangers and not wanting to get jumped by an animal or an surprising soviet soldier or an Perseus soldier but more I was walking with Park on that path...more I was starting to have an impression of dejà-vu in my head, like if I already took this path before....wait...I think I did have an memory about this...I couldn't remember right but I think that it's true...

"There, an cabin !" Park was leading the way until she pointed at an old cabin that was in front of us at a least 100 meters and...shit, that cabin was exactly the same one in that memory with Freya...."We should move quickly, the snow is falling more faster now." She stated as the wind was going more faster and louder and we start to walk faster to get to that cabin and then, we entered it.

"In time to be honest." I breathed as we crossed the door to get in and Park closed the door behind me....that cabin...in four year, it didn't change at all but it was more old and not used for an while. "Park...I've been here before." I revealed as she was moving to put her MP5 in an table.

"Really ?" She whispered, stopping her in her moves.

"Yeah." I started, moving to put my MP5 on the same table like here before moving next to the fireplace, Park still looking at me curiously. "It's here that....I told her that I wanted to defect." I then sit in front of the fireplace, looking at it with questioning eyes. "I was like this."

"Shit, I didn't know." She expressed, sounding apologizing.

"You couldn't know that." I turned my head around to look at her before looking back to the fireplace...discovering an metal piece among the ashes inside of it. "And even after all these times, it's still here." I exclaimed.

"What ?" Park moved to get next to me.

"The necklace I was wearing before." I responded, putting my hands in the ashes to grab the Perseus necklace in the fireplace, now looking in bad shape and not looking very nice....better like that. "Threw it in the fire in that memory." I added as Park got sit next to observe the necklace.

"I prefer when it's like that." She stated, having the same thought as me.

"Me too." I said before I put the necklace back into the fireplace, moving to get some wood from an basket near by and thanks to an lighter I brought with me, I used it to put some fire in here and give us some heat. "That's better, now." I chuckled, sitting back next to Park to obverse the fire and putting my arms on my kneecaps.

"Yiri ?" Park whispered.

"Yes ?" I turned my head slowly towards her before she moved her arm to get it behind my neck.

"Do you...like this little moment of peace ?" She demanded in an curious & low voice to me.

"Yes, I'm liking it." I answered clearly in my voice, smiling at her.

"Nobody to stop us, to disturb us." She admitted and it was true that those rare moment to be alone was so much better like if we hoped to be only the two of us in this world. "I was wondering : do you not fear about your diary getting read back in Verdansk...knowing Wolf."

"I gave it to Woods for the moment." I told her to reassure her even if she narrowed her eyes to me, not sure. "What ? I know that Woods will never give it to Wolf."

"But maybe Woods will read it." She suggested.

"Maybe, we'll see when we will come back." I blowed some air inside my hands to give me some heat. "If he did make Wolf read my book, I will kill him." I joked about it, not wanting to kill Woods at all and Park saw it, making her laugh.

"In case, be ready to not only kill Woods." She scoffed, continuing her silent and lovely laugh as I was watching her in an lovely way, like hypnotized by her until our both eyes met together. "Yiri." She breathed as she moved her hand to remove the scarf hiding her scar.

"Park." I said before we both moved at the same time to kiss each other on the lips. That kiss was so different and changing from the last days....it's been like days that we couldn't feel that feeling inside of us. Then, I moved my head to start to slowly kiss passionetely alongside her scar, making her moan in pleasure.

"We should....move to the...hm....bed." She proposed but she was too pleasured and it was too late as she slowly started to get on her back on the wooden ground of the cabin with me on top of her as I removed my jacket and the bulletproof vest with it. "You're looking lovely." She affirmed, putting her hands around my waist.

"You too." I admitted, putting the bulletproof vest aside before I leaned myself against her, our face just at at few centimeters from each other as I put my hands on her face, feeling her nice touch and smiling to see her in love.....

"We have an night for us and now, I only want you....only you !"

[junipersgarden]

metanoia 1. | Recover

PAIRING: Peter Parker x Superhero!Reader

SUMMARY: 8 months later from Tony’s funeral and the promise Peter and you made, where do you two stand now?

WORD COUNT: 4119 words

WARNINGS: N/A?

a/n: i did not expect this to blow up so quickly so thank you all sm!! ill be updating every Friday/ re uploading from Wattpad and converting it to here!! hope you enjoy this chapter and ill see you next Friday ; )

[NOT MY GIF] 

...

8 Months Later...

...

"I have a plan. Okay. First, I sit next to Y/N on the flight."

"Mhm."

"Second,  I'm gonna buy a dual head phone adapter and watch movies with her the whole time."

"Okay."

"Three, when we go to Venice; Venice is super famous for making stuff out of glass right?"

"True."

"So I'm going to buy her a white gardenia necklace because it's a really pretty flower and... because... well-"

"Is it because of the-?"

"Because of its meaning yeah. Step 4 is when we're in Paris, I'm going to take her to the top of the Eiffel Tower, give her the necklace and 5, I'm gonna tell her how I feel. And 6, hopefully she tells me she feels the same way."

"And don't forget Step 7."

"Step 7?" Peter questions and clicks the top of his pen to write down Step 7, ears perked to listen to Ned.

"Don't do any of that."

Peter lets out an annoyed and frustrated sigh as Ned gave him a look that expressed 'what? what did i do?'

"Why?"

"Because we're gonna be bachelors in Europe Peter!"

"Ned."

"Look, I may not know much, but I do know Europeans love Americans."

Peter had little belief in Ned's statement that he scrunched up his face and looked at Ned.

"Really?"

"-And more than half of them are women!" Ned exclaims to make his point.

"...Sure but, I really like Y/N man. She's awesome, she's super funny like in a kind of dork way, and whenever she looks at me I feel like- she's coming over don't say anything!" Peter quickly shuts himself up.

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

"Don't say anything!" Is the only thing you hear as you walked up to Peter and Ned's table.

"Sup guys? You excited for the science trip?" You greet them, rocking your body with a smile planted on your face, your assignment folder occupying your hands. Technically you got up from your, F/N's and MJ's table so you could photo copy your guy's group project but you heard Peter and Ned rambling about Europe and thought you could start up a conversation.

"Hey! Uh, yeah! We're just talking about the trip."

"Yeah and Peter's Plan." Ned confidently slides in the conversation.

Peter's Plan?

You stop moving and shift yourself to Peter, averting your eyes so yours meet his.

"...You have a plan? For what?" You nervously smile and laugh at him, playing with your bracelet on your wrist. The bracelet was silver but held a black cross (similar to a crucifix) in the middle of it.

"I- I don't have a plan." Peter mumbles, fiddling with his pen and looking at you with anxious eyes.

"No he's just gonna collect tiny statues while we're travelling to other countries." Ned blurts out and you can see he exchanged a look to Peter.

"I didn't know you liked-" You stopped speaking immediately, your response lost in your mind, something else distracting you.

You looked past Peter's head and your eyes meet with the dozens of drawings and tributes to Iron Man, to Tony and his sacrifice.

It seemed like yesterday you were on the battlefield, when you found out Peter was Spider-Man and all of those emotions and memories swept and flooded your mind in a tidal wave.

You can feel the whole room spinning even though your feet were planted on the ground, the voices of Peter and Ned fading as the sobs of Peter replaced them and Tony's dying breath.

It's been 8 months and you thought you had finally moved on from all the grief and suffering, the sleepless nights full of insidious nightmares and the suffocating feeling that came from all those panic attacks.

"You can rest now..."

"Did you photo copy it?" Someone asks and you whirl yourself around suddenly and possibly too fast, loosing balance and landing into someone's arms. F/N.

"Oh shoot sorry F/N I was talking to Ned and Peter about Europe and got side tracked?"

"It's okay! I was just checking since MJ was sorta getting antsy since she wanted it to all be done before you guys leave tomorrow." F/N beams at you, still holding you up.

"I-I'll go do it now-"

"Y/L/N, did you firstly ask me and secondly get a hall pass?" Ms. Warren spoke up and alarmed you. She was sitting at her desk and was staring at the 4 of you.

"N-No Ms. Warren..."

"I'll go!" Peter shot straight up from his seat. Ned shook his head and F/N laughed at his eagerness.

"No Parker you've got work to do. Y/L/N, Davis can take you."

Davis... Brad Davis?

Just on cue, Brad lifted his head up from being preoccupied at his desk and sent you a friendly smile and wave. He stood up immediately and from his demeanor, seemed over the top that the teacher asked him to escort you to the printers. He looked so familiar but no matter how heard you tried, you couldn't conjure where you'd seen him from.

Brad walked over to you and was still smiling from before so you nicely smiled back. Brad offered you to go first so you walked to Ms. Warren's desk and grabbed the huge hall pass with Brad trailing after you.

"We won't be long Ms. Warren!" Brad yelled out as he closed the classroom door.

You shot F/N a look that said 'okay guess i go and also what just happened?' and F/N shrugged back with no explanation and return back to MJ. You saw Peter looking at you as you left and saw him sigh heavily and immediately get back to his work. I hope Peter's okay.

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

The cold, crisp breeze whirled through the dim lit streets of Queens as you walked back home;  the streets were always alive at night with people hurrying from one place to another, lights shine brightly, beaming against tall, towering buildings and billboards, apartments until rooftops could reach the sky. New York was always cold in the night and what lurked in the darkness was even colder. Robberies, assaults and muggings were a regular sighting in alleyways but with yourself as Saviour and Peter as Spider-Man, the number has been decreasing over time thanks to the both of you. School was weird today with the whole Peter and Ned thing and especially with Brad. He was nice taking you to the printers but he kept asking way to many questions about you and you caught him staring a couple of times... weird.

You gripped your coat tightly around you, wrapping it as much as you could around your body to fight the wind, shivers being sent down your spine. Your mind had been blurry lately; balancing the lifestyle of school, social life and duties into one while trying to properly rest and to be there whenever anyone needed you was a struggle; the biggest fear you had was if you just took one, innocent day off that'd you regret it for the rest of your life. You also found it hard to escape your thoughts,  insecurities and nightmares whenever you'd zoned out or even closed your eyes for a second. Despite it all you had your anchors though; the people who were holding you down from losing yourself from all the madness happening. You slip out a smile at the thought of those special individuals; friends that you put above anything or anyone else. Peter, Ned and even Michelle were all you had and all you were relying on to help you back up.

"Help! Someone!" A stranger cries into the night, pleading for a saviour, followed by the sound of gunshots and glass shattering.

Show time.

Reacting instantly, you check for your surroundings before fleeing into the shadows of a lonesome alley and with a single flick of your bracelet, it lets of a white glow, letting you know its activated.

"Hello Ms. L/N, how may I assist you tonight?"

"You know the drill ARIS: suit up."

"Right away Y/N."

On command, the familiar cool and sensational feeling of the nano tech being released from your bracelet began spreading all across your body; you loved the feeling of your suit coming alive just by wishing it, AI on the ready and that the suit was also with you, being a part of you.

As you relished in the moment your suit was fully on your body, you rushed out of the alleyway, concealing your true identity under your mask, prepared to fight,  you begin to follow the cries of the citizen in need.

You felt your heart beat and pace fasten, senses heightened and the adrenaline coursing through your veins.

A shift in your vision changes as you feel your pupils fill fully black and steady themselves with your mask lenses,  you exert all your energy into a singular jump and successfully land on the rooftop.

"ARIS, scan for location of activity."

"The distress signal appeared from 21st Street."

Ahhh, classic bank robbery.

"Okay ARIS, are all systems ready to go?"

"Affirmative. Initiating heads up display and initializing flight power."

You roll your head back and crack your knuckles, jumping up and down on the spot, ready for take off.

Nodding your head, you extend your arms out and feel the palms opening up and see the infinite blue glow from your thrustsers and feel the energy spreading and going to the soles of your suit.

Staring down the run way of the roof, you start walking before speeding up into a full sprint, running across the abandoned roof top. Steps quickening, you can see the end of the roof nearing with each step you take; you're going to jump. Before you know it you've leapt off the roof and it feels like time has stopped and you're floating on nothing; it's only you, the sky and the city's blurred noises and lights.

"Flight power fully restored."  ARIS states, crashing and hauling you back into reality.

The euphoria of you floating has started to turn into the immense awareness that you are plummeting straight down with such speed to the lively streets and roads of New York below.

Extending your arms and legs, you point them into the direction of 21st Street and hear the whirring of your suit taking control and then, you're off. You're flying, just like Tony did, in the late night sky of New York City to stop a robbery.

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

Positioning yourself, your eyes meet with the victim in front of you; the typical situation.

"Hey."

The criminals all stop with their actions and immediately turn their heads to you. The hostages look up at you with hope and desperate, tears of fear and joy being to stream from their eyes.

"Looks like you forgot your credit cards huh fellas?"

2 out of the 4 robbers stand up and you took the chance to fire an energy blast, distracting them you slide on your knees towards the captives.

"Go! Go!" You beckon as you freed them from their constraints, they hurried out of the door shouting 'thank you's'  and praises for your service and gratitude.

Getting up from the ground quickly, you turn around and see the 2 robbers running toward you.

You spring off the floor, back onto your feet and observe your surroundings; the 2 robbers are still sprinting towards you. You ball your fists and stance yourself ready to fight.

"Guys, guys, guys! You can either return back the money and nothing happens or we can do this the annoying and hard way."

One of the robbers racing towards you pulls back their gun and you hear a gunshot and feel a little ting and flick on your suit; the robber was really dumb enough to shoot you and your bulletproof suit.

"Well, guess you chose the hard way."

The 2 robbers still at full speed rush towards you but before they can even touch you, you step to the side and they loose control and crash into the wall.

"Ooooh! That's at least gotta leave a bruise.' You mock them.

You dart towards the fallen robbers, dizzy and dazed from the impact. You hit your right wrist twice on your suit and it opens up and greets you with what you were looking for; your trusty tool and invention of electric rope. The rope appeared as a blue wire with white sparks that shot out of it and you used it to tie up criminals and lets say if they were to hesitate or make a runner, they'd get a bit of a shock.

Grabbing the 1st and 2nd robber's hands, you wrap the wire around them both so they are both stuck together and unable to escape.

2 down, 2 to go.

The other 2 robbers that were still looting money had stopped since they'd heard the crash and the groaning of pain from the one's you'd taken on.

One robber stands up and places his fingers in his mouth and whistles.

You tilt your head in confusion but see that 3 more step out from the remaining safes.

"Aww brought more of your friends for me? How sweet..."

They all attack you at once, bullets ricochet off you and bounce back, flying back at them.

In unison they all duck down behind a counter from the bullets and curse out profanities and you take the opportunity to dash forward and leap onto the counter and land in front of them.

They all jump to their feet and a robber steps in front of you and tries to land a hit. You grab their arm and twist it and they let off a howl of anguish, you tasered him with your bracelet and flipping and throwing him to the floor.

Another takes his place and goes to hit you but one from behind tackles you and pins your arms, locking them in a firm and harsh grip.

Even through the suit, you can feel sharp fingernails attempting to latch and pierce you.

The guy in front of you clutches a solid grasp on both of your shoulders, forcefully yanks you down into his knee and hits your stomach. Already you can feel a bruise forming on your lower abdomen.

Jesus this one will be hard to cover...

You groan at the extensive, burning sensation building, your skin becoming tender and aching from the hit. The guy holding your arms down is tightening his grip and

"Given up huh Saviour?" The robber in front of you spits.

"T-that's the thing...." You let out a breathless chuckle, "I'm only getting started."

The robbers stare at each other and back before laughing furiously at you, the rest approaching you with guns.

What the robbers were thinking is that they'd won; they had successfully robbed Queens County Saving Bank and had taken down one of Queen's own superheroes. You on the other hand, had plans and knew perfectly well how criminal's minds worked; allow them to think they've won, they'll loose all focus and control on the situation, so you'd gotten them in the spot you wanted them: busy getting ready to celebrate a fake victory and not realizing the black smoke manifesting around them.

"As I said, I'm just getting started." A smirk lies on your covered face as you look deeply into the taunting robber's eyes full of bewilderment and fear.

The black smoke begins flurrying around your body finds it way around the robber's hands, instantly making him let go you. You lunge forward and punch the one in front of you with full power, he stumbles back and falls to the ground defeated. You then sharply turn and kick the other in the face.

The two out of the three still left go to attack you but you raise your arm in defense and send a gust of smoke flying to them. They stagger back and remain frozen as the smoke curls around and drags them to the ground. You rush over and deploy more of your rope onto the two and wrap it tightly around them, restraining them to the one place.

The last robber you spot is kneeling on the ground, trembling slightly with fear and piling as much money possible into one bag, trying to make a clean getaway.

Slowly and antagonistically, you make your way over to him and stand there, staring at him and waiting for him to notice. So busy and frantically he continues filling the bag he doesn't take care of his surroundings or even the cries of his comrades.

"I'll take that thank you." You cleanly snatch the bag and kick him to the ground with your heel.

He lands flat on his chest, hands out to the side you grab them and wrap them around once more.

People emerge from hiding and cry out cheers of joy and appreciation, a few giving you a pat on the shoulder, hugging you and the occasional asking for photos. The sound of police sirens ring in the distance, signaling its time to go. Waving your goodbyes, you turn to flee the scene but you hear and notice the vibration of a tap being played on your suit. You pivot back around and see one of the bank accountant's smiling frailly at you, evidently anxious and nervous in your presence.

"T-thank you so much Saviour, how ever can we repay you?" The accountant's eyes full of tears and lost distress begged.

"You don't need too; this is my job. Saving people's lives is what I do." You reply to the accountant, taking off into the night.

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

"You did quite an excellent job tonight might I say so myself Y/N."

"Why thank you my Another, Rather, Intelligent System."

"Was that perhaps what you call, a flex?"

"...Yes ARIS, that was a flex." You mumble with a hint of embarrassment.

Currently soaring in the air with another criminal taken down, the fresh and cool wind rattles against you. Patrols were always 'relaxing' in a sense to you; gliding around the city and if your AI or you come to the attention of any law breaking activity, you swoop in (literally) and handle it. At times, you would bump into now and then into Spider-Man and the two of you mixed with your skills, would work together as a dynamic duo to take down the enemy. Queens loved and adored the both of you as individuals but as partners as well. Before knowing Peter was Spider-Man, there was a bit of tension and jealously and bickering from both of you: 'Dibs I had him first!' 'No, you know I patrol this area!' arguments occurred so many times that even the Avengers were pulled into it.

"I apologize for interrupting your thinking but it seems to be you have approximately 3 missed calls from your mother and from Pepper Potts accordingly."  

Missed calls from Mum is bad but wait- Pepper called?

"W-when did they call ARIS? Any voicemails?"

"Your mother called to say to be home earlier from 'study group' to prepare for Europe tomorrow and that not to miss dinner again... which you did and Ms. Potts left nothing for you."

"C-can you auto text Mum that study group when longer than expected and that Y/F/N's offered dinner so I stayed and that I'll be home soon?"

"Already on it and for Pepper?"

"Don't text her anything."

"Text sent."

Pepper? The Pepper Potts? It's been 8 months; what does she want and is that Peter?

Drifting down from the air, you land quietly behind a wall and crouch down behind it,  peering out carefully and you see Peter in his Iron Spider suit, eyes red and wet with tears as he stares at a piece of graffiti.

What's so bad about- oh.

The piece of artwork was of Tony; no wonder he was so distraught.

"You okay Spider-Man?"

"Y-yeah, I j-just c-crashed into a w-wall?" His voice high pitched, obviously lying.

"Uh huh... mind if I sit?"

"O-oh uh... no! No, you can sit!"

Giggling at Peter's awkwardness, you slide next to him and take a seat. You knew something was wrong by the way he was breathing and that his eyes were wet and red but how do you bring it up?

"So..."

"So...?"

"H-how is everything Spidey?" God that was awful.

"T-things could be s-so much better... just, the whole Blip thing is, it's getting to me."

"Blip?"

"The Blip? W-where the alien guy on Titan s-snapped his fingers and e-everyone d-disappeared?"

"Wait that's called the Blip?"

"Well that's what everyone is calling it."

"It sounds better than something to do with a maniac murdering half of the Earth's population... plus it's easy to say and remember."

And for the first time in a long time, you actually heard Spider-Man and Peter laugh. It was more of a sad and dry chuckle but, at least it was something.

"I'm assuming you didn't hear about 21st Street then?"

"21st Street what now?"

"Just now there was a robbery; apparently some of uhhh, what's his name? The macho, pacho penguin looking guy? Sends out his henchmen to do all the dirty work?"

"K-Kingpin?"

"Yeah! Pretty sure that's the one! But, really? Kingpin? Sounds really dumb; reminds me of bowling or something instead of an evil business man."

"His head does look like a bowling ball..." Peter murmured quietly.

You smiled brightly and threw your head back as you laughed; that's the Peter and Spider-Man I know.

From his mask, you could tell he was smiling since the corner of his mouth was showing the little peaks from out of it.

Your and his laughter began to die down you two just stayed silence  and looked up into the cloudless sky.

"It's beautiful isn't it?"

"It really is... makes my night."

"And mine as well, I mean besides your company." Spider-Man, well more like Peter coughed, trying to cover up what he said.

"T-thank you though.. this was a nice chat Saviour. Not to alarm you or anything, but I'm not gonna be here much longer-"

"W-woah, what the hell do you mean-"

"N-no! Sorry, I worded that wrong don't panic! What I meant to say is I'm not going to be here because, I'm going on vacation."

Parker I swear...

You lightly hit his shoulder and let out a breath of relief. "Don't scare me like that! I did not need that!"

"S-sorry! B-but yeah... I'm going on vacation.. can you handle Queens without me?"

"I already do. Besides, there's always the other Avengers who can."

"Y-yeah... the Avengers... a-anyways Saviour, I-I'm gonna go now. I'll s-see you soon?"

"See ya Spidey and don't go crashing into any walls!"

"When did I- oh."

"Ratted yourself out. Bye Spideyyyyy!" You call out and wave as you watch him swing away and make tracks home yourself.

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

"I dunno how I did it, but I snuck back in ARIS."

"Well, your mother is asleep-"

"Shhh lemme have this!"

"... Congratulations Y/N."

"Thank you ARIS-"

"Even though I do not condone this behaviour."

Rolling your eyes, you shrug your body and switch your bracelet and your suit slowly peels away from your body, the nano- tech shrinking so it all fits inside the bracelet. You stretch your body but wince from your stomach. Cautiously, you lift your shirt and see the enormous bruise left on you from the robber and his knee.

Bye, bye crop tops...

Plopping yourself on your bed, you lie down and sigh in exhaustion. Closing your eyes slowly, you feel yourself falling to asleep. Until the chime of your best friend's ringtone plays from your phone which causes you to lurch up and open your phone to look at the text.

from: F/N ✌️

yeah.... i'm really sorry that I can't go to Europe...

from: you  

i get it, it's totally fine! your family needs you.

don't feel bad trust me it's all g.

from: F/N ✌️

...if you say so dude. just, have a great time,

take photos and promise to text me when you can?

from: you

you know I will 😤

from: F/N ✌️

kk. well, I better go. it's late and unlike you, people have school tomorrow.

from: you

haha, very funny... well, goodnight nub > : (

from: F/N ✌️

see ya geek : P

Reaching over you place your phone back on the charger and look at the ceiling and sigh.

New York has been chaotic since the Snap- Blip. The Blip. And the amount of crimes has only doubled since before then and everything with school and my friends, Ned, MJ, F/N and Peter and oh god...

Hopefully Europe gives me a break.

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[lovelybones81]

Unthinkable- Updated

Summary: Seven years, three movies, two people, one story. But before they can get their happily ever after, Sebastian Stan and Camille Solis must learn to trust in each other and in themselves, before allowing the unthinkable to happen.

Warnings: Fluff, future smut, Language, Angst, mental health

Rating: NC-17 

Chapter 10 - Unfinished  

Manchester, UK 2010 

"Thank you." Camille and Sebastian said in unison as the waiter placed the vegetable Shashlik in the middle of their table.  

"You're welcome. I have placed your order. Please let me know if you need anything." responded the waiter before turning on his heels and leaving them alone. 

Reaching for a piece of the cottage cheese, Camille felt Sebastian's eyes on her. "Stop it." she mumbled before shoving the piece of cheese in her mouth and meeting his gaze from across the table. 

"Stop what?" he countered, reaching for a piece himself. 

"Staring." 

"I'm not staring." Sebastian stated, wrapping his hands around his glass of water and bringing it to his lips. 

She rolled her eyes, taking another piece of cheese from the Shashlik. She hadn't realize how hungry she was until she sat down and the smell of the food in the restaurant hit her nostrils. Had she really only eaten cookies all day? It was amazing what you missed when you wrapped yourself in your own brain sometimes. And she had done that for most of the day- until Sebastian showed up. She was thankful to have someone like him in her life to pull her out of her mind every once in a while, even if at the moment he was being annoying.

Since leaving the apartment building, and walking a few blocks to the familiar Indian restaurant, Sebastian had not dropped the conversation about her hidden tattoo. She knew he was doing it to be annoying. "Will you stop!" she hissed, his eyes roaming up and down her body. "Do you have x-ray vision I should be aware of?" but couldn't keep the smile from appearing on her face. 

"I wish." Sebastian said. "Do you know how much easier this would be?" 

Camille snorted back her laughter despite of herself. Damn him. Sebastian's face grew into a large grin at her laughter. Ugh the way his nose scrunched up made her insides all warm and fuzzy. 

"You're ridiculous."

"Isn't that a Harry Potter spell or something?" he mused before grabbing a piece of tomato.

Camille's smile faded and she narrowed her eyes. "I told you-I refuse to have any conversation about Harry Potter with you if you haven't read the books." she reminded. "And it's 'Riddikulus.' not ridiculous." she corrected. Yes, she was a Harry Potter nerd and she was not afraid to admit it. And yes, she had been more than shocked when Sebastian confessed to her that he had never opened a Harry Potter book before. A part of her still wondered why she even bothered to talk to him at all. Who hadn't read Harry Potter?!

Sebastian almost choked on his food at her response.  

"Make fun all you want, Area 51 boy." she shot back. 

"I knew I should have kept my mouth shut on that." swallowing the last bit of his food. Letting out a large sigh he concluded. "Okay, fine. So we're both big geeks." 

"Speak for yourself." Camille argued. "I'm a nerd, not a geek." taking a sip of her water.

Sebastian bit into a piece of tomato hard. "Oh okay, I didn't realize there was a difference." he mocked. She only raised an eyebrow at him. A small smile tugged on his lips, his eyes never leaving hers. "But back to the subject at hand-" 

"No -it's not on my ass." Camille interrupted. 

Raising both of his eyebrows he said. "I kind of figured it wasn't there." leaning back against the chair. 

"I guess you'll never know Stan." responding cheekily. 

"Don't call me Stan." he reminded. Camille only grinned widely. Letting out a sigh of resignation. "Fine. I won't ask anymore."

"Good." 

"For now. But I will find out." he promised, narrowing his eyes at her. "You'll see." playfully wiggling both eyebrows. "Or maybe you don't actually have another one..." 

She scrunched up her nose in disgust. "Maybe I don't."  

She did have it of course. It just wasn't as visible as the one on her hip. She got a slight shiver at the thought of what it would be like to have Sebastian actually find it. To do so, he would have to undress her. Camille took another sip of her water as she tried to push that thought out of her head. The physical attraction to him was because of the proximity they shared. Right? At least that was the explanation she could come up with. 

"Why the flowers?" she heard Sebastian ask. 

"Huh?" meeting his eyes again. "Oh, uh they are called tropaeolums, they were my mom's favorite growing up. They grew all over her neighborhood in El Salvador. Nat has the same one-on her left shoulder." 

"That's a little bit easier to spot." Sebastian observed. 

Camille smirked as she thought of her younger sister. "Yeah well, Natalie's a little bit more rebellious than me." 

"It sounds like it." he chuckled. "The flowers for your dad too?"  

She gave a small laugh. "No? He loved my mom, and she loved the flowers." She felt her heart squeeze talking about her parents. Besides her sister, she rarely brought them up. It had taken years for Camille to be at peace with their death, but she missed them and there was not a day when they didn't cross her mind, or where something did not reminded her of them. It was just a bit odd being able to talk to someone else about them besides family. But at the same time it was nice to have another human being who she could share her stories with.  

"That's a good enough reason." Sebastian concurred with a slight nod. 

She paused for a split moment, as she tried to picture her dad's face in her mind. As the years passed, his face became a bit blurrier. The thought made her heart squeeze and made her sad at the same time. She quickly looked up when she felt Sebastian's hand on her arm. 

"Hey, I'm sorry." he said softly. "I didn't mean for you to-" 

Camille shook her head. "No. It's okay." 

"Are you sure?" 

"Yes. You are the first person in years that I've felt comfortable with...in sharing anything about them." Camille confessed, absently placing her free hand on top of his. "So thanks." smiling warmly. "Sometimes it's just harder to remember their faces if I don't-" 

"Talk about them out loud?" he offered.

"Exactly." 

Sebastian ran his knuckles gently under the palm of her hand. "Well-if you ever want to share stories about them, I'm all ears." 

Camille fixated her eyes on him, not saying a word for, a light shiver running down her spine at the simple touch, but didn't move her hand away. In fact, she wanted to be closer to him- and not just physically. Sebastian had turned into a confidant Camille never realized she needed. And that's what made the attraction between them even more dangerous. Because a part of her knew if she allowed herself, she could end up really falling for him. And that was a scary thought, because she was still not over David.

She was not sure if she could ever truly move on from David. How do you let go a relationship after 6 years? Where do you even start? And how fair was it to get involve with someone new when you still had feelings for your ex? 

She must have truly zoned out because she heard Sebastian speak again. "Where did your head go frumos fata?" giving her hand a quick squeeze. Camille glanced down at their hands, fingers now intertwined. She could have pulled her hand away, but didn't and he was not making the effort to move his either.  "Camille?"

It took a few more seconds for her mind to register that he had said a few words in Romanian. Without realizing it Camille repeated the first word out loud. He chuckled. Raising an eyebrow she frowned. "I said it wrong?" she muttered embarrassedly.

"No." Sebastian said with a shake of his head. "But now I know how you feel when I try and talk in Spanish." he joked.

"Ha, ha, ha." sticking her tongue out. "F-frumos..." she mumbled to herself. "That means 'pretty' right?" fixating her eyes back on him. She couldn't remember what the second word translated to.

"Yes." he answered amusingly, leaning a bit closer into the table, their fingers still locked together. Sebastian licked his bottom lip nervously. "'Pretty girl.'"

"What?"

"It translates to 'pretty girl.'" he repeated, pressing his lips together, but not breaking his gaze away from her. Instead he pulled her hand closer to him, Camille blindly obliged leaning closer into the table, unable to contain the butterflies in her stomach. It was not the first time they had touched, but it just felt different. His touches.

How did he do it? How could he make her want to throw any rational thought out the window? Camille was a practical woman. Logical woman. Think before you act was her motto. Especially when it came to personal relationships. But in the last 4 months that had begin to change, a big part of it had to do with Sebastian. She just had not figured out how and why? It just was. There was no concrete answer, or words. And that was terrifying.  

"Sebastian-" she warned, breaking out of his trance for a split moment but still not pulling her hand away from his grasp. 

"Camille." he gently teased back, stroking the top of her knuckles with his thumb. His mouth twitching to one side of his face in a slight smirk. 

She really could be putty in his hands if she allowed it. Sometimes she still couldn't believe how good looking he was. She watched him tug her hand closer to his chest. Again, she knew the right thing to do was to move her hand away, but she could not seem to make her brain do it. "I thought the whole reason for us leaving the apartment was to not do this?" she questioned. 

"Really? I thought the reason was because you were hungry?" Sebastian countered. "Besides I thought we already had this talk?"

"I thought so too, but you're the one holding on to my hand." nodding in direction of their tangled fingers.  

"You could pull away." Camille wrinkled her nose in annoyance. They could do this all day, the back and forth, almost bickering at times. "But you haven't." he concluded.

"You took it." she challenged back, leaning in as close to him as she could with the table between them. 

"It was reflex." Sebastian confessed.

Raising one curious eyebrow at him she asked. "Reflex?"  

"Yeah, it was either this or throw something at your head to get your attention."

"Funny." Camille responded sarcastically. She heard him chuckle under his breath as he shifted in his chair to sit up straighter. The butterflies in her stomach growing bigger with every moment their fingers stayed interlocked. Thankfully the restaurant was almost empty so there was no onlookers. But even then Camille was sure it would not have mattered. She was fully aware they sometimes got lost in their own world whenever they around other people. It had been brought up more than once by Chris and Hayley.

"That's not the only reason why I wanted to get out." Sebastian said in a low voice. Camille gave him a curious look. He continued. "I thought you could use a break from your own thoughts." She pressed her lips together at his words, looking away. He tugged at her hand again. "Hey," his voice stern yet warm. "You know you can talk to me right?" She met his gaze again and felt her whole body warm up at the way he was peering over at her.

Letting out a small sigh and nodding, she barely whispered. "I know." It was amazing how much could be said between them without saying much.

"Good."

Camille watched him bring her hand up to his handsome face, pressing his lips along the top of her knuckles. Her breath hitched at the simple, yet intimate touch. Sebastian looked over at her under his lashes. Again Camille knew the best thing to do was pull away, but she could not seem to make herself do it. And before her brain could form words together the waiter reappeared with their food. Sebastian hesitantly untangled his fingers from hers, leaning back against the chair.

"The chicken karahi." the waiter said placing the hot plate of food in front of Camille. "And the lamb biryani." Placing the other hot plate in front of Sebastian. "Let me know if there is else anything else you need."  Both Camille and Sebastian thanked him before he left them alone once again.  

Silently they picked up their forks and began to dig into their delicious dinner. For a few long minutes they ate without saying much, except to praise the food.

Sebastian spoke up first, eyes on her food. "Are you going to let me try some?" he asked with a sheepish grin. Camille couldn't help but smile back. "Pleaseee?" he pleaded with those puppy eyes.

"Only if I get to try yours." she negotiated.  

Without hesitation he pushed his plate in her direction. "What's mine is yours." he joked with a wink.

Camille giggled. "Dork." But her fork was already reaching for a piece of lamb. Using her free hand, she pushed her dish toward him.

They ate in silence for a few more moments. And Camille found herself getting lost once more in her own thoughts. Sebastian's words about being able to talk to him ringing in her ears. He was talking about David and the shit storm conversation they had the day before. The conversation had not made anything clear, in fact it only made it more confusing and complicated. And it made her feel even more anger and resentment towards him. She had been doing just fine before he showed up at her front door.

Friday night had been fun and a good distraction- even if certain parts were still a blur. Plus she had been happy to get the chance to celebrate Sebastian's birthday. Speaking of Sebastian's birthday, she was a bit curious as to why he seemed so opposed to celebrating it. "Can I ask you something?" reaching for her glass of water. He looked up from his plate, furrowing his eyebrows together. Camille took that as a sign, she could continue. "Is there a reason why you don't like to celebrate your birthday?" gulping down some water.

He blinked in surprise at her question as he chewed on his food. After a few seconds he spoke. "It's not that I don't like to celebrate it. It's more of...not wanting to make it into a big deal." Camille sat up in her chair, waiting for him to go on. "I don't remember truly celebrating a birthday until I moved to the states. Before then I just remember maybe getting a small cake, or cupcake, but nothing too extravagant. And with my dad not being around - and I would always see the neighbor kids in Romania with their dad's on their birthdays...so I guess I just associate it with that. If that makes any fucking sense." shrugging as he took a bite of lamb.

Camille gave a small nod in understanding. It did make sense. "So does that mean I can't celebrate it now that I know when it is?" she asked with a slight pout.

"If I say 'no' will it really matter?" narrowing those blue orbs at her.

"It's your birthday. If you don't want to celebrate it, I can respect that."

Chuckling, he ran his fingers through his hair. "Just no surprise parties okay?" he begged.

"Deal." Camille answered, smiling from ear to ear. "Can I least still get you gifts?" 

"If I tell you no will you do it anyway?"

Camille nodded 'yes', dropping her fork lightly on the plate.

"Then why do you ask if you're going to ignore what I say?" he groaned 

"I just thought I would give you the courtesy of saying no." Camille replied teasingly.

Sebastian rolled his eyes and shook his head at the same time. "You're a pain in the ass, you know that?"

Snorting and rolling her eyes back at him. "Ooh it's okay when you're the pain in my ass, but not okay when I am?" she scoffed, reaching for her fork again. Sebastian only smirked back at her, as he shoved more food into mouth, the table silent once again.

"Can I ask you something now?" But his eyes were hesitant to continue. Camille had a feeling of what his question was. "You want to talk about yesterday?"

"Is that the question?"

"Cam-"

Before he could say anything else, she stopped him. "He wanted to talk...so I let him talk. Obviously it's not going to change anything." she mumbled bitterly. "I don't know what he thought he could say to change my mind." with a slight shake of her head. "He kept coming up with excuses- that didn't help his cause. I told him that, but he wasn't listening. He wanted to talk to ease his own guilt. I should have known better."

"I'm sorry." was all Sebastian said. 

Camille waved a hand almost as if dismissing the subject, but knew deep down this was far from over. It was going to be a long time before the mention of David would not make her want to crawl into bed and cry. She was thankful to be going back to work the next day to keep her mind off him. In fact she was looking forward to the 15 hour work days for the next few weeks. It meant she would be too tired at the end of the day to think much of anything when she got home. 

Obviously that would change when they flew back to the states. Letting out a shaky breath, she pushed that problem aside in her mind for the time being. One thing at a time. At least that's what she kept telling herself. 

"Although I have to hand it to him- he was dedicated in staying around until I spoke after you left us alone." 

"What do you mean?" 

"Oh just that after you walked out of the door I planted myself on the couch, not saying a single word for almost 45 minutes. I had nothing to say to him. I thought maybe I didn't say anything he would give up and leave." Sebastian laughed lightly under his breath. "I know." her mouth set in a hard line. 

"You know what?" 

"I can be stubborn." she grimaced. 

He raised both eyebrows. "I mean I'm not going to argue with that..." trailing off, his mouth twitching.

Camille scrunched up her nose. "Thanks." she uttered sarcastically.  

"But," he started. "It doesn't mean it's a bad thing. At least not to me. I'm surprised you even let him try and explain." 

"I'm surprised too." chewing on her bottom lip nervously. "I guess for a split moment I thought there was a possibility of fixing this. But the moment he started talking about how he hadn't realize how me being away for almost 4 months was effecting the relationship..." trailing off, and taking a bite from her food.  

Of course she wished with her whole heart that they could salvage their relationship, but she didn't trust him now.  Any trust she once had had been erased, it was gone. Because now she wondered if this was the first time he had done it. Sure he insisted over and over it was, but her heart and head could not seem to agree. 

"He kept saying how much he loves me, asking what he could do to get us to work again." Camille blurted out. "I wish I could believe him, but I just don't." A feeling of sadness hitting the pit of her stomach. Without realizing it she began to rub on her left ring finger, expecting to feel the engagement ring he had given her, but for the first time since she found out the truth about his cheating, it hit her that she could no longer wear the ring. 

What if he had been cheating when he proposed? Had he asked her to marry him because he was feeling guilty? There were so many unanswered questions she was afraid to ask. Camille was not sure if she could handle the answers right now. 

"I tried to give him back the ring." Camille whispered, blinking back the tears. "He wouldn't take it. I don't need a reminded of what we could have been."

Placing his fork back on the plate, he teased lightly. "You can always sell it, or melt it down?" 

Camille smiled despite the sadness she felt. "Actually, I really wanted to just throw it at his head. But I have a feeling it would not have done much damaged." Sebastian only smirked. "Besides it would have only made me feel good for a few minutes..." she mused to herself. A hint of anger replacing the sadness she had been feeling a few moments prior. 

Was this how it was going to be for the next couple of months? Her mood never constant when it came to David? One moment she felt sad, then anger, then even guilt. Because deep down, Camille knew she could have tried harder in their relationship. She took another bite of her food, and peered back at Sebastian, her heart fluttering at the sight of him. And then there were her conflicted feelings about him. Maybe the sudden urge to be physically and romantically near Sebastian was because of David.

It was not every day she got her heart broken and just happen to have someone as sweet and thoughtful as Sebastian to comfort her. These were the thoughts that had been running through her head for the past 24 hours. There were so many things she had to process, and was not looking forward to doing.

"The feeling to throw the ring was after a 15 minute screaming match." she confessed, running a hand over her face. The screaming had started after he had brought up the woman by name. Camille had always considered herself to be a passive person, but that had not been the case the day before. She had felt her blood boiling when her name left his lips. Just thinking about it at that moment made her angry again. "It was insulting to hear him say how he wished he could rewind time and do things differently. He made the choice to cheat. No one forced him to do this-I have to keep telling myself that so I don't go completely crazy. I didn't make him do this." she muttered, closing her eyes.

"No, you didn't." Sebastian asserted.

Her eyes flew open, fear in her chest as she asked out loud. "But why does it feel like I did?"

[whatthekpopofficial]

10 Reasons Why We're Ready For Super Junior's Comeback

While legendary Kpop groups like TVXQ were hailed as the "gods of Kpop" and BIGBANG simply dubbed "The Kings," there was one group in particular that took Kpop to a new level in Asia and opened doors across the world for the Hallyu Wave to truly take over. That's right— we're talking about none other than the original Kings of Kpop themselves, Super Junior! After debuting in 2005, Super Junior shot to true international fame with their mega hit "Sorry Sorry" in early 2009. They have won an astonishing total of 18 Golden Disc Awards, 13 MAMAs (plus an 19 additional nominations!), two U.S. Teen Choice Awards, and multiple MTV awards. Over the course of their career, the group has racked up a total of 155 international awards, 206 nominations, and almost 60 Korean music show trophies. In addition, they were the first boy band from SMTOWN to reach 100 million views on YouTube— a rare occurrence in those days— and have since gone on to become the first and only SMTOWN group to have an exclusive sub-label formed for their activities. After forming the first sub-unit in Kpop history, the group went on to form four more. They also have a total of five members as soloists under Label SJ. That being said, it seems obvious that these guys are true legends! Unfortunately, over the past two years during their hiatus, a lot of new fans have joined the Kpop community and are, therefore, not too familiar with Super Junior. With their comeback less than one month away, here's 10 reasons why everyone should be pumped for their 12th anniversary album!

1- Their Quirky Sense Of Humor

Super Junior has always been hilarious. In fact, it's just one of the reasons why fans love them. That's why it was a classic Suju move to make "Mamacita," their 2014 title track and comeback MV, totally quirky, goofy, and hilarious. To keep fans from getting too distracted with their zany antics, however, they made sure to look amazing, show off their classic dance skills, and deliver another addictive song that had people singing "Hey Mamacita!" for months. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q_krT35dgDM

2- Vocals From Heaven

SMTOWN is known for recruiting wonderful vocalists and then training them extremely well to polish up their voices and make them some of the strongest ones in the industry. Super Junior's vocal line is no exception to this rule, and although main vocalists Kyuhyun and Ryeowook are currently serving in the military, powerhouse singer Yesung is still present and ready to bless our ears. Not only that, people like Leeteuk and Heechul, sub-vocalists with their own gorgeous vocals, will get a bigger chance to shine this time. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oYsWFSboh0M

3- Crisp, Fun Dances

Super Junior was one of the first modern Kpop groups to take a large amount of members and incorporate highly-synchronized dance routines throughout the whole track or MV. As such, they quickly became famous for being one of everyone's favorite "dance bands." Over the years, they've certainly proved their talents and are now just able to focus on creating fun, entertaining dances that suit their songs. Super Junior's experience has made them confident in their skills and it shows in the clean, crisp dances they pull off effortlessly. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LzujUrSZihc

4- Ballads, Ballads, Ballads!

Although the public will always know Super Junior primarily for their dance songs, true fans know where the group's real talent (and preferences) lie. Each album since debut has gifted fans with incredible ballads that not only show off their tremendous vocal talent but their emotional singing as well. Many of the ballads have been written by the members themselves, showing just how much the group loves to slow things down. "Don't Leave Me" is a true fan-favorite and was written by Siwon for Super Junior's 2014 album. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OeYW0AfOQqA

5- The Original Variety-Dols

What gained Super Junior so many fans at first was their relatable sense of humor that made them perfect for variety shows. Even before their music became such a massive hit, variety shows couldn't get enough of these entertaining idols, even leading people to dub them the "variety-dols." Despite many of the members like Heechul and Leeteuk still being some of the most in-demand Kpop idols on variety, we miss the days when we saw the entire group make appearances on shows like "Radio Star" and more. Therefore, we're thrilled to know their comeback will bring them on TV once more! Until then, check out one of our favorite examples of their classic variety humor when Sungmin and Kangin had this hilarious interaction on "Intimate Note." https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ANWBRTVFYBg

6- The Start of Super Show 7

With every new album that Super Junior releases, a new world tour is held. That means this comeback doesn't just herald the return of the Kings of Kpop, it also signifies that a new tour is in the not-too-distant future. Rumor has it that their concert dates for SS7 in Osaka and Tokyo are already set, leading fans to anticipate the official announcement of their tour after the comeback. Their shows aren't just popular, however, they are truly epic, with most fans touting their stage presence and charisma as the best in the business. Perhaps that's why Super Junior became the first Kpop group to ever hold 100 solo concerts. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z7Azc3zpbzw

7-  Songs That Never Get Old

As a longtime Kpop fan, I know I'm biased when I think back to what I consider the best era of Kpop. However, one thing that is undeniable is the fact that many of the songs today are easily forgotten. In what many people term the golden age of Kpop, groups like BIGBANG, Super Junior, and 2NE1 were busy cranking out hits that are still some of fans' most favorite tracks today. In fact, despite "Sorry Sorry" being released eight years ago, it's not unusual for people to humorously apologize in Korea by accompanying their words with Super Junior's trademark dance and song. What unforgettable song will Super Junior have in store for fans next? We can only wait until November 6th to find out! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x6QA3m58DQw

8- They Love To Have Fun

Super Junior loves to have fun, and they never try to hide the fact. Their fun-loving attitude might lead some people to think they're not serious about music, but that couldn't be further from the truth! Whether it's by rocking out onstage or just hanging out together and teasing Yesung (like in their new reality show "SJ Returns"), Super Junior is always laughing and having a good time— endearing them even more to their fans. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eUoGJJQYTKA

9- They Have No Shame (Thankfully!)

The members of Super Junior have no shame when it comes to fan service! It seems like every comeback brings more crazy antics, every live show brings more laughter, every variety show reveals more embarrassing stories, and every concert brings more hysterical stages. From Sungmin performing as HyunA to Heechul winning their "Miss SJ" beauty pageant, it's obvious these guys will stop at nothing to make things entertaining. Case in point? This Beyonce-Lady Gaga performance in Paris. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hLWzb2wZpf4

10- Their Genuine Sense Of Brotherhood

SJ debuted 12 years ago, but they trained together even longer than that. That means most of the members have now been together for approximately half their lives. Through tragic losses of parents to bone-shattering accidents that nearly stole the lives of members, these loyal guys have been with each other through thick and thin. They have stated that they are now real brothers, and their genuine love for each other is truly evident in everything they do. Perhaps the biggest joy of watching Super Junior each comeback is not in observing their growth as artists or even laughing at their entertaining personalities. Perhaps the real reason fans so eagerly wait their new album is just because it's a true joy to root for these guys who obviously love each other so much and have enjoyed every minute of working together for the past 12 years.

ELF first met Super Junior as impossibly young trainees who dreamed of making it big one day. Now, they have gone on to become one of the biggest names in Kpop and one of the most influential artists of their time. As such, it's no wonder that every comeback is looked forward to by both fans and non-fans alike. Are you excited for Super Junior's comeback? What kind of concept do you hope they will tackle this time? Let us know in the comment section below! lee1086 is the director of What The Kpop and an unapologetically biased Super Junior fan. While not obsessing over Lee Donghae, watching Kai's dance videos, or trying to decide if her SHINee bias is Taemin or Key, she is busy watching K-dramas or hanging out with her family and friends. In preparation of this SJ comeback, she has been saving money for months... all while wearing her "I bleed Sapphire Blue" t-shirt of course. Media: As Credited Read the full article

[topicprinter]

PREVIOUS POSTS & CLIFFS - Skip if you've been with us the whole journey!Part 0I'm going to start a dropshipping e-commerce website with a large number of items & a (hopefully) unique value proposition. I'm using this as a test post to see if you guys would be interested in taking the journey with me.Most importantly: I'm not now, nor plan to, sell anything or benefit from this directly by any means. I won't be posting my website, linking to my blog, or offering a course at end (if I start making money). The reason for these posts will be: to gather my thoughts into words, to regurgitate what I'm learning (teaching is the best way to learn new concepts, etc etc) and most importantly to get input from you guys. I'm hoping people may learn from what I do, mistakes I make, things I read/summarize, etc. and that I can learn from your guys' experience.My rules for myself & my customers - I won't use dropshipping from overseas as an excuse for lack of quality. I will only put up items that I have faith in because of reviews, orders, and vendors. I will spend the time to make sure my customers are not "fooled" - upfront on shipping times, easy returns, etc. I will not con people for the sake of making a sale. With transparency & honest interactions I hope to limit my returns/problems & keep recurring buyers as well as take pride in my products & websiteQUESTIONS ANSWERED:I have a question. I've seen some dropshipping sites based on franchise merchandise. Harry Potter, Disney, etc. Are there legal risks? Is there any risk of being shut down or sued?Question - if you ship from aliexpress, how long does it take for your customers to receive the product? A week, a month?How will you address the fact that most customers will probably feel cheated when they order something from your website and then it turns up as a package from some "random" Chinese retailer ?Part 1First and foremost: thank you all for your kind support in this thread... not only the responses, but the dozen+ messages. Some of you just wrote to say you're interested, some even offered to help out. I'm grateful and hope you all keep along with me on the journey - rain or shine.The idea: I debated whether to get specific with you all or not, but.... here goes. If you can do the idea better than I will, congratulations :) The website will be a variety of items curated into collections for gift giving. For example - a curated list of items for college graduation for someone who is into automobiles. This custom curated list will include car tools, unique car items (one real example: an anti-glare sun visor), maybe a battery charger, etc. This gives me two target markets - for the gift giver, and the gift getter. It will have a request feature ("wishlist") but will be marketed towards gift givers ("hey sister of a college graduate, no idea what to get your brother? check out what our staff recommends"The problem(s): it's broad. But what's the biggest problem I forsee? Gift giving isn't always thought ahead of time. It's not something you plan a month in advance (because, you know, dropshipping). Shipping times, shipping problems, shipping times, shipping problems. We'll tackle it. Our marketing will have to be top-notch.Marketing PlanApps & ProgramsChoosing ProductsFinancialsQUESTIONS ANSWERED:Newbie here. Question for you: why did you start your business with shopify? Why not sell your product on amazon first, build up some sales $, then expand into your own webspace? The way you're doing it seems very daunting to someone who has never done this before (me).How do you decide on product pricing ? Do you have a formula you use ? Does it take into account the possibility of returns and the upfront cost of purely the operating cost ? Id love to know more of what kind of margin you shoot for and how you take everything into account to come up with a price.I have a question about how drop shippers become successful at all with the shit turn around time. Unless it's a really niche item I can't get anywhere else I would close any website so fast if I saw 20 day shipping time.Part 2The Website: is more or less finished. I have about 20 products left to finalize (choosing pictures, editing description, etc.) & finalizing some of the categories.The Legal Stuff: This is the major sticking point before I'm ready to launch. A lot of you guys mentioned that my idea of using an LLC & a DBA was overkill and I looked into it further. I decided on bypassing the LLC for now, and just starting as a sole prop w/ a business bank account & credit card and using a DBA. When/if we start making some money, we can move to an LLC (not a single-member one though because it's pretty useless, as far as I've read). I decided against an LLC due to the tax, record keeping, etc. & the fact that in my state the fees for an LLC are about $500 minimum.The Marketing PlanQUESTIONS ANSWERED:Will you reach the merchants from aliexpress before placing an order or you will just place the order without contacting them directly? How do you know they are up for dropshiping? If a client want a refund, they will send the item back to china, you get to pay them (the client) then you ask for the money from the merchant? I really want to know how refund works in this business.How do you know that your customers won't realize you're drop shipping and then order directly from your supplier for a cheaper price?I have a question about how drop shippers become successful at all with the shit turn around time. Unless it's a really niche item I can't get anywhere else I would close any website so fast if I saw 20 day shipping time.1 - WE ARE LIVE, LADIES AND GENTLEMENThe website launched earlier this week, once I finished up all my paper. Here's a cliffnotes on what I did before launch -DBA: Registered DBA instead of using an LLC or starting a new company. We're gonna start as a sole prop and see where we go.Mailbox: I purchased a 3 month plan @ the local UPS for a large sized box for returns, paperwork, and to be able to register for official paperworkBusiness Bank Account: I went with Chase. Easy and smooth. I'm even considering moving my personal accounts over because I liked the experience so much better than my ~15 years of experience with Wells Fargo.Business Credit Card: I applied for and got the Spark Business Card from Capital One. They offer 2% cash back and $500 cash bonus. Got a $10k spending limit off the bat. Thank you Dad for teaching me about maintaining good credit @ 16 years old. I did however run into one problem with Capital One.... they made me go to visit a branch in person to be able to authorize my card. They're only open 9am-4pm on weekdays, and the closest one to me is 50 miles away. That was a shitty day. Totally unncessary... but I guess fraud protection brings about weird things.Sales tax: Did a little bit of research, talked to a few friends, shit is confusing. First filing date is next year, so we got some time to work it out. For right now, Shopify is taking care of determining the sales tax for customers in my stateAliexpress account created, all social accounts made, products finished & updated, and the website framework is complete.2 - What the Website Looks LikeHomepageHomepage2CategoriesProduct PageTracking PageAll the pictures are free use stock photos from https://unsplash.com/3 - Wait - we have sales?Of course we have sales! Unfortunately.... they're all from family :( During the first few days of launch, I wanted to work on the tracking pages, practice ordering from Aliexpress, looking at the e-mail templates for ordering/shipping/payment, etc. We have a variety of outcomes....Order 1: 2/3/17 (2 items)Item 1: Processed (purchased on Aliexpress) 2/4/17, shipped 2/6/17 from China, arrived in USA 2/9/17, expected delivery 2/11/17 = ONE WEEK TURN AROUNDItem 2: Uhoh. Processed 2/4/17...... quiet. Quiet. Nothing from vendor. Where is it? Messaged vendor 2/7/17.... bummer. Cancelled. I've heard about some vendors who put ePacket as an option but do not actually offer it. This company had TONS of orders & good feedback, as well as the top star rating, but still had this issue. Kind of scary. For the future, if this comes up again I will tell the customer that the item is backordered and the ship date will increase, and ask them if they prefer to receive a refund or accept the increased shipping time. I will then be removing the vendor and all their products off my list.Order 2: 2/5/17 (1 item)Item 1: Processed (purchased) 2/5/17, shipped 2/6/17 from China, arrived in USA 2/9/17, out for delivery 2/10/17 = FIVE DAY TURN AROUNDSo....Ordering via Aliexpress using Oberlo is a BREEZE. Orders easily, uses customers address, pays easily, leaves pre-written note, attaches information to Shopify when order is placed, and easily updates tracking. All done via the Chrome extensionUsing three different vendors, I had three vast experiences. The first item processed & shipped reasonably. The second item I heard NOTHING until I reached out, and then had the epacket issue. The third item, I got a message from the vendor very quickly saying they received the order and will be shipping soon - processed quickly and no problems.4 - Wait.... wtf is this Merchandise section?You may have noticed in the screenshots of the new MERCHANDISE section. I know this T-shirt Dropship Thread by /u/W1ZZ4RD got lots of hate on this subreddit (the people on /r/juststart were much nicer....) but I ran across it and I was inspired. I see why a lot of people are skeptical - he's selling his b2b software, he's not talking much about how to actually MAKE the sales, and he seems to have an invested interest in teelaunch. I looked into it heavily and here's why I decided to pursue a similar (if not same) approach to add to my website:Yes he's promoting his b2b program. He doesn't shy away from it. He answers all the questions in the thread, and knows what he's talking about. I can appreciate the honesty, and I definietly appreciate that he's still answering questions 1 month laterThe biggest hiccup people will have is finding a designer - I already have one. My best friend is a designer, and we've decided to work on it together. He designs on his spare time, and we'll split up profits from merchandise. I don't need to do any work on that end.The biggest deal for me: my products felt sparse. I had ~230 products at the moment from Aliexpress, but each of the categories felt light because it's spread so thin. I found this opportunity to be a GREAT way to increase my inventory list easily - and without maintaining a huge 500-750 product list from Aliexpress.The fulfillment & following up could not be easier using teelaunch. I have found their customer service & information lacking, but as long as they follow through with their promise of fulfillment I have found it great so far. I've placed one test order for myself, and the app deals with the fulfillment, the payment, shipping, e-mailing, tracking, etc.Using a second sales channel on Amazon will be a great way to boost income - I hope. Since it's pretty easy to transfer information from Shopify to Amazon now that they're integrated, I think there could be a lot of space for additional income streams. Unfortunately, I could not post any of the Aliexpress items on Amazon (for obvious reasons), but custom merchandise I can. Let's see how it goes.Here's a screenshot: http://ift.tt/2lyhT8a - I'm still working on adding all the items to Amazon as well as to the website itself. This will be a continual process but one I have great hope for.5 - So what's next?Over the next month, I will be introducing a few new products from Aliexpress, lots of custom merchandise products (whenever I get designs from my designer, basically), and then spending the majority of the time on marketing & advertising now that the framework is set in place. The plan:$100/month on Google Adwords (plus a free $100 thanks to Shopify's coupon thing)$100/month on Facebook Ads/Facebook Likes$100/month on the remaining ad spend - Reddit? Instagram? Social Influencers? Etc.Now that the majority of the website framework is done, the next post will cover the marketing plan & advertising. I will include my plans, my ads, my results, what I've learned, ask for advice, all that good stuff. I'm looking forward to analyzing the ROI and sharing the results with you all.The last remaining part of the website to do is SEO - keyword analysis, content creation, backlinking, etc. That will be a continuous process that I will explain further along w/ the marketing in the next postHere's a few links I'll be reading and using over the next month.... http://ift.tt/2ltlAjB http://ift.tt/2lyexCb http://ift.tt/2c2kClY http://ift.tt/2l0vFUE - Financials & AppsBusiness Expenses so far (approx 2 months):DBA Register: $23.00DBA Newspaper Posting: $23.00Shopify Theme: $58.00Namecheap Domain & Email: $14.06 (1 year)Instagress Payment: $9.99 (1 month of "time", mostly for testing)UPS Mailbox: $150.00 (3 months)Shopify: $106.88TOTAL: $384.93..Monthly Costs Moving Forward (including Shopify Apps):Mailbox: $50.00Amazon Professional Account: $39.99Shopify Monthly: $29.00Consistent Cart App: $4.99Fomo App: $19.00Oberlo App: $29.90 (/u/kalvel please give me free stuff)Trust App: $0.00HelpCenter App: $0.00MailChimp App: $0.00SocialShopWave App: $29.00 (these guys had the best wishlist app, and their customer service was AMAZING. they helped me for hours via chat. I love them. /u/Kalysbek you are a baller, thank you.)TaxJar App: $19.00Teelaunch App: $0.00Trackr App: $0.00TOTAL: $220.88/month..So, let's try to make $250/month profit to start off with. Cool?THE END. Please let me know any questions you have, any suggestions you have, any advice you have, and let me know if you guys like the layout of the posts. More info? Less info? More screenshots? More explanation? More TL;DR? Let me know.P.S. I will respond to posts & messages as fast as I can, but please be patient. Thanks. Thanks for your kind words, thanks for your help, and thanks for your love.