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waatermelon-sugaar · 4 years ago

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Half-Priced Chocolate

Words = 2.8k

Summary = You hate Valentine’s Day. Nick tries to change your mind.

Warnings = One swear word

A/N = Reader is described as a similar height to Nick, and taller when she wears heels. Also I didn’t mean to write this, it just sort of happened so sorry if it’s not very well thought out ahaha

Posted to AO3

Masterlist

***

“You know, I’d pegged you as the type of girl who would do anything to ensure she had a Valentine’s date.” This observation comes casual as anything from your boss, Mayor Wasicsko, as the two of you work together to build beds in the town hall.

A combination of a lot of snow, an early thaw, and then rain, had resulted in flooding all around the city, many having to be relocated. And so here you were, on a night that most were celebrating with their loved one across an over-priced bottle of champagne, some heart-shaped chocolate and probably something red themed, in the town hall, setting up extra accommodation with Nick.

Who you should probably call Mayor Wasicsko in your head.

You’d been here for hours, first building the beds with other volunteers, all of whom had melted away as the night had gone on. All, apart from you and Nick.

“Yeah? Well I pegged you as the type of mayor to sit on his ass all day.” You snipe back, not thinking for a moment, before slapping a hand to your mouth in horror. “Sorry, Mayor Wasicsko, that was really unprofessional of me-”

You stopped your rambling, because … was he laughing?

You flip your end of the sheet the two of you are attempting to fit to the bed, successfully causing his end to yank out of his hands, flying up and causing enough of a breeze to dislodge his hair enough for a strand to flop onto his forehead.

Not that you’d noticed.

“I told you, call me Nick. And it’s ok,” he’s still smiling, annoyingly. “I just - you don’t have some annoyed boyfriend who’s sitting at home waiting for you?”

You shake your head. “Not that it’s any of your business, but no.” You finally tuck in the corner of the sheet at the top of the bed and move to the bottom. “And anyway, I hate Valentine’s.”

Nick throws you a pillow and a case when you hold your arms out. “So you hate love? And happiness?”

You roll your eyes at him, busy stuffing the case, leaving him to struggle with the duvet, gathering the new sheets for the next bed as you talk. “No. I just … I hate the commercialisation of it.”

You wait for Nick to finish with the duvet, before attempting the next bed. “It’s like … so what? If my hypothetical boyfriend doesn’t get me flowers, and chocolate and some shitty card on this one specific day of the year, he doesn’t love me?” You scoff. “No thanks.”

Nick tucks in his corner, thinking about his response. “I think it reminds people to be thankful for the people they love.” Oh God he’s one of those. As if he hasn’t managed to drop in the fact that he’s woefully single for the last two hours whenever the opportunity arose.

“Only romantic love,” you remind him. “And,” you continue, remembering more and more reasons. “It’s all over-priced anyway, and it’s just so couples can feel smug while they walk hand in hand down the street, trying to get a table to a restaurant, where the prices have been upped for two people, and so single people, specifically women, can feel shit about themselves?”

You harrumph again, handing Nick the other end of the sheet. “There is good about it though.” He’s looking at you differently, and you’re not sure how, but maybe it’s because you’re having the first real conversation with him tonight, despite having worked for him for the last year.

You’d talked before, of course, but it usually had something to do with politics, Nick ducking out of his office to ask your opinion on something, before returning back to his phone and papers. It had never been a two-way conversation like this, never nothing to do with either of your jobs.

You raise an eyebrow, tucking in your corners as you wait for him to make his point. “What about the half-priced chocolate the next day?” And … he nearly has you. Until you remember a counter-argument.

“So it’s back to its normal price?”

Nick looks at you like he’s never seen you before in your life. But he changes tack, which you take to mean that you’ve won that particular battle.

“And what’s wrong with celebrating love? Even-” He anticipates your response before you do, “-if it is just romantic love?” He grabs the pillow before you can, leaving you to struggle with the duvet this time.

You’re smiling now, unable to help yourself, as you watch the Mayor of Yonkers, of all people, pick up a pile of bedding. He looks good like this, you think, shirt rolled up to his forearms, collar open, tie left behind somewhere with his jacket. Not that he doesn’t normally look good.

You’ve become more relaxed too, you can feel it, as though every bed that the two of you have completed has shod you of another layer, making you feel lighter. Your heels are by the door, and you are a similar height to Nick without them, which you’ve never noticed before, either being taller than him, or sitting in his presence. There’s something weird about it, but also nice, in a domestic sort of way, as your stocking feet pad around the beds, occasionally catching on the wooden floor. You hope you don’t get a hole. Or worse, a ladder.

But you know it’s your mind which has relaxed the most. Allowing you first to smile at his jokes, then joke back, the tension in your shoulders melting away. And now this. A deep conversation. Which you suppose was bound to happen, the two of you alone after the last volunteer had called it a night at 1am and gone home. But love? Really?

“There’s nothing wrong with celebrating love. It’s just forced, somehow. Like you’re a bad person for not doing it, just because of some long-dead guy who’s now in our calendar.” You finish your duvet, and move to help Nick.

“I think you’re wrong.” And maybe it’s the way he says it, like it’s the most simple thing in the world. “I think it makes sure that people take a breath and appreciate what they have.”

He looks so hopeful, you stop the scoff in your throat, instead letting yourself consider his point. “Well it doesn’t matter, it’s …” You pause and check your watch, blinking in surprise. “Fuck. It’s four in the morning. It’s not Valentine’s Day anymore.”

And then you look up. Properly.

There’s one bed left. You turn around, admiring all the made-up beds. Ok they could be neater, but so what?

“Well.” You turn back to look at Nick as he speaks. “Do you want to take advantage of those sales, or not?”

You blink at him, even as he gestures at you to take the other end of the sheet, unsure if you’re dreaming now.

***

When you exit the town hall, the sky is the cool blue of pre-dawn. Grey clouds still hang, heavy and angry over Yonkers, a precursor of the rain to come. It’s been a cold night, a glimmer of frost on the ground, but you can already feel that it won’t last the day.

You yawn, rubbing your eyes with one hand, while your other holds your heels. Nick’s thrown his blazer over one shoulder, the tie hanging out of his trouser pocket. “C’mon.” Is all he says as he walks towards his car.

It takes a second for your brain to engage. “What?” Your voice has become hoarse from a lack of sleep.

“Can I show you something?” And how can you say no, when he leans against the car roof with one arm, opening the door for you, and looking like that?

Inside the car it’s warm, and tiredness sinks down on you until you can hardly keep your eyes open. Nick only asks for your address, which you give him, and then you’re asleep. You wake when he stops the car on the high street, but fall back asleep when he tells you he just needs to pick up some groceries.

You don’t wake up when he comes back, nor do you wake up when he sets off again. You open your eyes when he gently shakes your shoulder. The sky is much brighter now, the sun peeking over the horizon and you blink, looking at your watch. It’s nearly 7. Which means Nick let you sleep for 2 hours. It takes a second for your surroundings to fall into place, green and brown surrounding you.

Nick’s sitting next to you in the driver’s seat. And in the back seat are his groceries.

You blink again. Harder this time.

Praying your makeup isn’t smudged all down your cheek, you move to sit up straighter, where you’d fallen asleep against the window. “What … where are we?”

Nick doesn’t answer until he’s grabbed one of the bags, clambering out and opening your door for you. “We are in one of the city’s finest parks.” He announces, using his Official Mayor Voice.

As far as you can tell, it’s a pretty basic park. The only notable point is the view. You can see the full scrawl of Yonkers below you, as the sun rises to your right, still fighting the storm clouds left over from yesterday. Funny. You’d heard there was going to be more rain.

As you step out of the car, you put your heels back on, and wince a little. Nick hands you a blanket to carry and sets off towards a clear area without too many trees, and you follow him, spreading the blanket for the two of you to sit on. Nick’s put his blazer back on and you try not to be disappointed, reminding yourself that he’s your boss.

He places the bag between you, and … it’s stuffed with half price Valentine themed food. Chocolates, champagne, even a small teddy. You can’t help it. You let out a laugh as the two of you sit next to each other, the bag between you.

“I never knew the Mayor would be a cheapskate.” You’re only half-serious, and you think Nick knows this, catching the glint in his eye as he replies.

“You’d rather I bought you this full price?”

You shake your head, grinning, but confused on the inside. You must be tired. Hearing that the Mayor, your boss, wants to buy you something for Valentine’s? You must be misinterpreting this.

“And I’ll have you know, that everything in this bag came to less than what it would be in a normal month.” He winks and you groan, theatrical and over the top.

So instead you open the chocolate, grabbing the first one you see and popping it in your mouth. “Nice though,” you mumble, without having swallowed your mouthful, savouring the sweetness of it as it coats your tongue, eyes closing as you lean back on the blanket, missing the way Nick looks down at you.

“Yeah? Worth every cent, aren’t they?” You smile, shaking your head.

“Yes, Nick.” You finally sigh, giving in. “Worth every half-price cent.” You squint open an eye, waiting for his reaction, glad when he laughs, propping yourself up onto your elbows so you don't fall asleep again. And then you look down, and your eye catches on a bottle of champagne.

You reach for it, twirling it on the ground. “So Nick, seeing as how you’re the Mayor and my boss,” you start, sure you’re going to get what you ask for, “and we worked all night long, can we have today off?”

You look at Nick to see him watching your face, amused at the long winded way you’re going about this. Finally he nods. “Yeah I think we deserve the day off.”

You grin widely then, sitting up properly with a burst of energy, and pop the cork. You take the first sip straight from the bottle, leaving a small ring of lipstick behind. You use your thumb to wipe it off before passing it over, the bubbles still tingling on your tongue, washing away the chocolate.

Nick takes a healthy swig as soon as his hand is wrapped around the cool bottle, and you can’t help but watch the way his throat bobs when he swallows, wiping at a drop that escapes his mouth.

You turn to the rest of the bag to distract yourself. There’s at least 3 boxes of chocolate, a pack of strawberries, and a small bear. All of them have the tell tale yellow half-price stickers in clear view. You pull out the bear, amused. “He’s cute.”

Nick hands the bottle back to you, running a hand through his hair. “Got a name for him?”

You think about it for a minute, before deciding. “Arthur the Fourth.” And you place Arthur at the bottom of the blanket, so he’s looking at the two of you.

Nick frowns, looking between the two of you. “The Fourth?”

You laugh, biting on another chocolate. “Yeah. Throughout my childhood, I have had three other teddies, all named Arthur. He will be the fourth.”

“And you lost them all?”

“No, I still have Arthur the Third.” You wash the chocolate down with another sip of champagne, and when you go to scrub away your lipstick again, Nick’s hand stops you. He shakes his head, like he’s having a secret conversation within your public one.

“Shame to hear about the first two though.” You let him take the bottle from you, watching as he - his mouth - touches your lipstick. You can feel your heart rate raise, thumping inside your chest like a drum. You can still feel the ghost of his hand, warm where it touched yours.

You look down on Yonkers again, unable to cope. “Yeah, well. It’s how it happens in real life, I guess.”

The two of you fall silent as the sun climbs pathetically further and further, finally disappearing behind angry storm clouds. Conversation is quiet observations, both of you feeling wrapped up in a bubble of tiredness.

You lie back down, ignoring how the cold of the ground is seeping through the blanket now and closing your eyes as you take a chocolate from the box which you intend to be your last, and you can hear Nick’s smirk when he talks. “Chocolate’s not too bad then?”

You just hum, pretending to think about it. “Yeah not bad,” you finally agree, opening your eyes and turning your head to watch Nick as he leans back on his hands, “But it’s not Valentine’s day so you haven’t changed my mind …”

And Nick’s looking at you like that again, and you could never in a million years anticipate his next question. “So you wouldn’t count this as the best Valentine’s Day date you’ve ever been on?”

You freeze, what? You decline in that moment to mention that it’s the only Valentine’s date you’ve ever even been on, and you also choose to ignore that it’s not Valentine’s Day anymore, shaking your head. You can’t quite believe what you’re about to say, heart beating faster than normal, blood thrumming in your ears. “I would count it as the best date I’ve been on.”

And then you’re laughing at the look of shock on his face, quickly stopping when he ducks down to kiss you.

Nick, your boss, the mayor of Yonkers, is kissing you.

It takes you a second to respond, shock freezing you where you lie. But then your hands are on his neck, pulling him back down over you as he deepens the kiss, tongue exploring your mouth. His forearm is resting on the blanket next to your head, supporting his bodyweight, his other hand cupping your cheek. His moustache is tickling you slightly, but you don’t care.

He tastes sweet, from the chocolate. But then, you can taste the bubbles from the champagne, you can taste how cold it was, you can taste the birds chirping in the trees above you, and you can taste how warm the sun’s rays felt five minutes ago.

It’s perfect.

Until the clouds open above you.

It starts gently, and you don’t feel it at first, and when you do, you ignore it, more interested in snogging Nick. Your feet are becoming wet quickly and the rain falls in large drops.

Nick’s the first one to pull away, and you follow him, chasing his lips with your own, not wanting to open your eyes. When you do, you realise your feet are wet from the bottle of champagne falling over, and Arthur’s looking to be in danger of rolling away.

You can feel the rain on your head, and the drops are falling faster. You snatch Arthur and the now-empty bottle up, Nick scrambling to get everything back in the bag. At the last second, you ball up the blanket, ignoring how it brings half the floor with it, and the two of you run towards Nick’s car, laughing as the rain soaks the pair of you.

***

Thanks for reading! Reblog and comments mean the world to me 🥰🥰🥰

#nick wasicsko #nick wasicsko x reader #nick x reader #show me a hero #nick wasicsko fanfic

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howtosingit · 4 years ago

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I haven't had a chance to fully dive into all the goodies last nights video has produced.. nor have I had a chance to read all your thoughts which you know I crave love . I was dumb and watched 3 911 episodes last night ignoring my ig notification that ronen had shared anything so then I had to go to bed bc of work and work has been crqzy. But anyways I just wanted to hear some of your thoughts and say Tarlos officially fried my brain and I really want to write in the spare time I don't have bc of work 🙈🙊 their soft smiles, kisses, possibly meeting the fam, their date (and let's be honest Carlos was hot as fuck sauntering up to the bar announcing he was tks boyfriend... you know someone got laid that night) sorry not sorry 🙈

Anyways hit me with your thoughts when you're free if you want ❤

LISTEN, LAUREN. I am always up to share my thoughts because they never end and they just keep coming and I have to unleash them somehow or I will definitely explode.

My brain was just like, ALL CAPS SCREAMING, for about 7 hours yesterday, so I’ll leave you to explore that hot mess on my blog if you want. 😅 But, in the time since, I’ve seen a lot of discourse and stuff about the moments that we’ve seen, so I’m going to use this ask as an opportunity to weigh in on everything under the cut...

FIRST, CAN I JUST SAY that at the moment that I am writing this post, we are still trending at #5 and we’ve been in the 4-7 range for at least the past, like, IDK, 18-20 hours maybe?! I LOVE THIS FANDOM AND HOW WE LOSE OUR SHIT AT THE SMALLEST THINGS

Okay, so let me go through this thing and comment on the parts, and then give some general thoughts below:

LOVE that this is a promo entirely about the LGBTQIA+ characters and characters of color. Not exactly surprised that they still tried to put as much Rob Lowe in it as possible (that’s Fox/the writers’ M.O. it seems - to squeeze Rob/Owen in whether he fits or not). Some of his comments were a little awkward, I thought (referring to Paul’s trans storyline as “stuff” makes me go 😬), but whatever. He’s not the point of all of this, so that’s the last I’m going to talk about him.

TOMMY VEGA. I AM READY TO STAN. I love Gina Torres, I already love how much heart and soul she is giving just in these quick peeks, I cannot wait to see her in action!

Also let me use this moment to say that while it’s obvious I’m not getting my Grace + Carlos friendship (that’s fine if it stays in fandom, I’ll live), I’m SO GLAD that her and Tommy are gonna be friends! One promo mentioned that Judd has known Tommy before, so it would not surprise me if they’ve been friends for awhile. LOVE THAT.

SPECULATION: This gives me a good time to just throw out a theory that I’ve been thinking about... We know Owen and Gwen are hosting Tommy at their place for a backyard dinner. I assume her husband may be there as well, and I wouldn’t be surprised if Judd and Grace are there too.

I ALSO would not be surprised if this is when one of the nights at Carlos’s place happens, like a parallel of the two dinner parties. That at least keeps every main character involved in both locations. We shall see though.

So this gathering at the firehouse seems like it’s going to be a pretty big scene, probably for episode 1. I think everyone’s gathered so that Owen can announce he’s in remission (we’ll hear him tell TK first, which is the hug that they share earlier in the trailer, I think).

But this gathering also includes a Tommy/Grace moment, a Tarlos moment, the others doing other things kind of moments. It’ll serve the same purpose as a lot of the season 1 bar scenes, and I’m so glad they’ve moved those to the firehouse. I want that place to really start feeling like a home this year.

(I want all of the locations to feel a little more grounded and special, if I’m being honest. Like, I’m SO GLAD that Carlos’s place is going to be a key location this season.)

There are now two instances of Carlos being next to Gwen (standing next to her while Owen makes an announcement and now sitting next to her at the table), so we better get some dialogue between them or I WILL BE SO UPSET. I WANT GWEN TO STAN CARLOS AS MUCH AS I DO.

EVERYONE IS SO CUTE IN THIS SCENE OKAY

TARLOS TARLOS TARLOS TARLOS

Like, WTF is TK’s face in this moment?! He looks so shy and bashful but also so happy and mushy and soft and in love. And then the way that Carlos softens because of how soft TK look?!?! WHAT IS GOING ON?!?! WHY AM I CRYING.

Seriously, I have to know what they’re talking about though to make TK fucking melt like that.

Emergency stuff blah blah blah

TARLOS KISS TARLOS KISS TARLOS KISS TARLOS KISS

IT’S SO FUCKING CASUAL AND PERFECT AND NATURAL AND LITERALLY JUST LIKE A “I came over to grab this food from you but since I’m here I might as well grab a kiss because I can’t help myself”

AND LIKE... Carlos just leans right into it?!?!?!? like it’s something that they do all the time?!?!?! WTF I LOVE THEM

Mateo watches this kiss and kind of looks like he was talking to Carlos, TK, or both of them, so I love that they’re like in the middle of conversation but still like “wait let me kiss my bf because he’s close by and so hot and I love him” SCREAMING

ALSO LET ME BE THIRSTY BUT CARLOS’S SHOULDERS AND BACK?!?!?! TK’S FUCKING ARMS?!?! I’M SO DAMN GAY

Speaking of arms: this rando bartender at the wrestling match (so Covid doesn’t last long on Lone Star, I’m assuming like 2 episodes maybe?) -- I love that they tried to put him in a tight shirt and make him look like a possible threat or something and I’m just like 😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂

IT’S LIKE THEY’VE NEVER SEEN CARLOS REYES BEFORE

AND THEN THE FUCKING GREEK GOD HIMSELF SAUNTERS UP WEARING A TIGHT FUCKING POLO - CHEST OUT, ARMS JACKED, HANDS IN HIS POCKETS TO DRAW ATTENTION TO HIS DICK AND I’M JUST SCREAMING AT THIS POINT

BOYFRIEND

But, like, seriously, there is no comparison. Carlos is fucking Hercules over here and this no-name wannabe boyband member could be a sand-colored rock for all I care.

YOU CANNOT COMPETE WITH CARLOS REYES, DON’T EVEN TRY IT

I do feel like these two clips (the calendar line and then Carlos’s line) are spliced together but they might not be back-to-back, and I would love to see how TK responds to the flirting before Carlos comes over

HIS FACE IS KILLING ME THOUGH WHEN CARLOS COMES UP

BLESS RONEN

I feel like I *think* I know what he’s thinking, but I also feel like I don’t. Certainly, the scene seems to end with them both smiling and happy, but I wonder if there will be a conversation about jealousy or something?! IDK BUT THEY’RE DEFINITELY GONNA TALK. I NEED TO KNOW WHAT THEY SAY.

Someone posted how happy TK is going to be to have a boyfriend who is committed enough to him to be jealous, unlike Alex who didn’t care and cheated on him. I certainly think this could be a great moment for them to establish what this new relationship means for them, and I’m excited to see what they writers have planned.

I JUST LOVE CARLOS REYES THOUGH OKAY I LOVE HIM SO MUCH

How many times is Fox gonna use that clip of him holding his gun though? We get it, he raises his gun. I’ve seen it like 7 times at this point.

I’m not complaining, really. I’ll take his face where I can get it.

LOVING the Marjan clips

LOVING the Grace/Judd clips

LOVING the Paul clips

I LOVE ALL OF MY FAVES

CANNOT WAIT TO SEE THEM DEVELOP THIS YEAR

Hearing Rafa talk about using his voice and speaking for his community just slaughters my heart, I love this man so fucking much and I’m so happy to be discovering him at the start of his career because he is going to go on to do big things and make the world a better place with his positivity and light and love and I’m so excited to follow him on that journey I just love him okay

ALSO THE MAN LOOKS SO FUCKING GOOD WHAT ARE THOSE ARMS I WANT TO DIE

THE FARMER’S MARKET SCENE

Are they shopping for food for the dinner party they’re hosting?! Maybe!

WE MEET SOME OF CARLOS’S PEOPLE

There is so much speculation surrounding who these two people could be, and I’ve heard some super interesting theories about Carlos’s backstory.

I’m gonna be basic though and stick with the fact that I think they’re his parents.

AND IF THEY ARE HIS PARENTS, THEY SEEM SO HAPPY TO MEET TK.

His dad/the man, like, shakes TK’s hand with so much gusto, a giant smile on his face

And Carlos smiles as he hugs his mom/the woman, and she’s smiling too

THEY ALL JUST SEEM SO HAPPY

I CAN’T BELIEVE WE MIGHT ACTUALLY BE AVOIDING THE HOMOPHOBIC PARENTS STORYLINE COMPLETELY

Y’ALL DON’T EVEN KNOW HOW MUCH I DO NOT WANT TO SEE THAT TRAUMA

I mean, I don’t know for sure, we’re going to have to wait for the episode. But god, do I hope for it with every fiber of my being. I want their trauma, if they have to have it, to be separate from their sexuality. They’ve done so well with TK so far, I want the same for Carlos. Let the story be fresh, let it be different, LET US HAVE DIVERSE GAY STORYLINES.

Y’ALL THE TEAM HANGING OUT AT CARLOS’S PLACE

I CANNOT

I’LL NEVER BE OVER IT

HE’S PART OF THE CREW. HE’S PART OF THE FAMILY.

IT’S EVERYTHING THAT I COULD EVER WANT FOR HIM OKAY

I’M SO FUCKING HAPPY

THEY ARE SO HAPPY

WE ARE ALL SO HAPPY

I’M CRYING

I’M DEAD

LOL that was a lot but so was this promo.

Now, some somewhat sobering thoughts...

We all know season 1 had a real diversity and inclusion problem, we’ve seen the numbers. We also know that during the promotion for season 1, we ALSO got a diversity promo focusing on the LGBTQIA+ characters and the characters of color. I love that Fox wants to highlight the incredibly talented actors and characters that they have, but all of it means nothing if they are still tokens on the show.

I have full faith that season 2 will be better, that some of the justified anger and frustration made it back to the writers and they internalized it and then make some real changes. However, because we did get a diversity promo last year, I have to remain a little cautious. This promo doesn’t really mean anything and if, somehow, season 2 goes the way season 1 did, it will be another instance of Fox using the characters of color to draw people in without actually giving them screentime and development. Which is a HUGE PROBLEM. So... I’m very excited and very hopeful, but also slightly wary.

Similarly, I’ve seen people say that they’re worried that, while there is so much Tarlos in this promo, this might be all the Tarlos we get this season. I don’t share the same concern, but like the diversity issue, I understand where that comes from. There was a lot of Tarlos in season 1′s promos and, as we now know, they got screentime in episodes 1-3 and then virtually nothing until episode 10.

I kind of lost track of the filming schedule, but I think before they went on the holiday/extended hiatus, they filmed the first 5-6 episodes? Maybe? And we know that we’re getting 14 total this season, which means it’s possible that they haven’t even filmed half of them.

I think the footage that we got in this promo is from, like, 3 or 4 episodes max. Definitely episodes 1 and 2, maybe 4, possibly 5. The crossover is episode 3 and I am still expecting to barely see Carlos in it - I just think it’s going to be very fire heavy one, especially with the members of the 118 coming in to steal screentime. He could be in one scene, maybe? Idk, I’m just not expecting a lot from that episode.

And sure, we could get a lot of Tarlos at the beginning and then nothing for a whole string of episodes, but that also just doesn’t seem possible with the way they’ve restructured the relationship dynamics. Like, it really does seem like Carlos is going to be a part of the family this year, so I think it will be easier to include him and harder to delete him entirely. (Please let him at least appear in every single episode, I don’t want to be so fucking angry like last year.)

Also, if all of these scenes stay in the episodes, we are getting AT LEAST 4 Tarlos conversations - the firehouse, the wrestling match, the farmer’s market, the flirting by the truck - and other scenes of them being in the same space as part of a group. I’m sure there will be even more that we’re just not seeing. I’m very optimistic for this season and for the Tarlos content, and I really don’t think we’ll see the front-loaded imbalance that we saw last season. I think when they get back to filming the later episodes, there will be a good amount of Tarlos content in those, too!

I will say, though, that I am worried we’ve just seen the only kiss that they’ll share in the first 5 or so episodes. I’m just so used to network TV placing a limit on gay kisses, and Idk how much that has really changed in recent years. I truly love this kiss, and I hope there are more, but I would not be surprised if we end the season having only gotten like 2-3. (PLEASE LET ME BE WRONG.)

ONLY TWO MORE WEEKS UNTIL WE FIND OUT FOR SURE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

#911 lone star #ls spoilers #ls speculation #tarlos #this is like EVERYTHING that is taking up space in my brain okay #mtnofgrace #asks

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hushedhands · 4 years ago

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Challenge 81

Thank you for voting @why-not-be-confetti, and good job dropping your ballot off! Here we have some pure cotton candy Maxerica post-engagement, pre-wedding fluff. I usually write America at least a few years after becoming Queen, when she’s grown into the role and become more confident in herself and her instincts. It was fun to go back and think about bebe America, still seventeen, still getting to know Maxon and the monarchy!

When America heard that she had a five-hour final wedding dress fitting on her calendar two days before her wedding, she was actually kind of relieved. Five hours with nothing to do but stand on a pedestal while Mary and a team of highly-skilled seamstresses put the finishing touches on her gown? It was practically a vacation compared to the whirlwind of a schedule she’d had to keep up every day since Maxon’s proposal. Looking back, she should have known better.

She stood still in heels for hours, sweat dripping down her legs, feet aching, and still Silvia showed up to drill her on the names, faces, and occupations of her most important wedding guests so that she could greet them appropriately at the reception.

America’s feet were deep red when Mary finally freed her from the fitting, but America wore a pair of heels all the way back to her room on the second floor because walking barefoot in what was supposed to be her own home was somehow “unladylike” and “common”. America rolled her eyes at the thought, kicking her shoes off and hobbling toward her bathroom to start filling her tub with piping-hot water and soothing oils. She planned to stay in the tub for hours, maybe even sleep there that night if her poor feet still weren’t feeling better.

When the tub was full, America sank down into the water and let out the longest exhale of her life, hot water and oils flowing up to her ears and melting the tension and soreness out of her body. She had no idea how long she sat there, letting her exhausted brain wander away from everything she had to memorize before her wedding, dodging the intense trauma she had just experienced during the rebel massacre, and picturing a time, in a week and a half, when she would be a married woman, settling into her new life as queen, and visiting her mother and family at their gorgeous new estate for the first time since Kenna, James, and the baby had moved in.

America stayed there, daydreaming about the simple act of setting the table while her family carried plates of food in from the kitchen, all in that idilic, gorgeous house that Maxon had chosen for them. He wouldn’t be able to join her for that visit, but he was determined to make it out for some family time as soon as he could. For now he was saving every free minute he had to spend on their brief honeymoon, which was a good excuse, so America wouldn’t apply too much pressure to him about visiting her family.

Just as America started to doze off in the cooling water, fighting with herself about whether to spend the effort to sit up, drain some old water, and add some hot water to the tub or just sleep, she heard a distant knock at her door.

Mary was so busy, night and day, finishing the work on America’s wedding gown that America didn’t have anyone to help her with day-to-day tasks. This usually suited her well, she liked dressing herself in the mornings for example, but it was very inconvenient right this second when America had no one to answer the door and tell whoever it was to go away.

There was a 75% chance it was Silvia in the hallway with more work to do, and yelling from her tub would not please her new assistant one little bit. It was a dangerous gamble, but being lazy was worth it. She yelled, “WHO IS IT?”, wincing a little as her voice echoed on the gorgeous Palace tiles louder than she'd expected.

Distantly, through her bedroom door, she heard, “Er… It’s Maxon.”

America jolted in surprise, accidentally slipping under water thanks to the slickness of her skin after soaking so long in oils. “Just a moment!” America called back as soon as she emerged, water raining down her face from her red hair.

America hurried as quickly as she could to safely leave her tub, wrap herself in her fluffy white robe, and dash to the door where she found Maxon, cool as a cucumber, standing in a dashing suit with both hands in his pockets. “Ah… America.”

America blushed. She knew that “Ah”. It was the “Ah” of amusement at how much of a mess she could sometimes be.

“Maxon?” America tried to collect her dignity, drawing herself up a little taller as if this would hide the state of her dripping hair.

“I can see I have disturbed you, shall I go?” he offered.

“No.” America hurried to reassure him. He wasn’t dating anyone else anymore, but she still felt lucky when he chose to visit her in the evenings. “Why—“ America tried to rest her hand casually on her door handle and it slipped right off. She recovered by stuffing her hands in the pockets of her robe, “What are you doing here?”

“Well, I’ve just wrapped up my final meeting for the evening, and I was hoping… that is to say, America, my darling, would you like to go on a date with me?”

America smiled, her stomach filling with glowing warm lightning bugs. She knew this was her fiancé, but he still made her feel queasy when he flirted with her. She hoped that never went away. “Yes. I just need a minute to get dressed. What should I wear?”

“Something comfortable… although, perhaps not that comfortable.” he chuckled at her bath robe.

America poked her tongue out at him to thank him very much for the wardrobe advice and then closed the door in the new King’s face.

Since her instructions were to dress comfortably, America chose one of the pairs of jeans she’d won in her strawberry tart bet with Maxon, paired with a comfy green sweater. Her hair was a soppy mess now, so she swept it up into a bun on top of her head. She wiped her messy mascara and eyeliner away, a casualty of her dip in the oily bathwater, and swiped a little bit of gloss over her lips in hopes of making them enticing enough that Maxon might decide to claim his right as her betrothed and kiss them.

When she opened the door again, Maxon still stood there waiting, and his face cracked into a smile at the sight of her. He held out his hand and when America placed hers in it, he looked down, surprised. “So soft…”

“It’s the bath oils.” America giggled at his surprise.

He pressed a kiss to her hand and inhaled deeply, “We must order more.”

“We have plenty.” she assured him.

“I will not have you running out. And you should try out different scents if you want. Have Mary order more.” he insisted, still astonished by her soft, smooth, sweet-smelling little hand.

As they walked down stairs, America heard all about his day at work, but what she appreciated most was that he listened to the details of her day with lots of interest, even though her job wasn’t nearly as consequential as his. When they arrived on the first floor, America was surprised when Maxon led her away from the gardens or the movie theater or the kitchens, the most likely candidates for a date night at the Palace.

“Maxon, where are we going?” America asked.

“It’s a surprise.” Maxon was pleased with himself, and America smiled cheekily at the look of self-satisfaction on his face.

Still, when he led her out one of the many entrances to the Palace and America saw a car idling out front, she paused. “We’re leaving?”

“Not for long.” he reassured her.

“But is it safe? The last time we went for a drive I got shot—“

“The last time we went for a drive we were sneaking away from the King to meet with a band of rebels and we were spotted by a different group of rebels and—“ he paused, shaking his head at their life. “One group of rebels are my advisers now, the other group was mostly wiped out in the massacre—“

“Mostly.” America reminded him. “Some of them survived, and they’re not happy with us, Maxon.”

“This time we’re going with plenty of guards, and we aren’t stopping to meet anyone.”

“Then what are we doing?” America asked, curious.

Maxon seemed a little annoyed at having to explain his surprise to her, but given that they’d both recently experienced bullet wounds, he supposed she wasn’t being unreasonable with her questions. “In just a few days you are going to be the Queen of Illéa, and the capitol city will officially become your home. It occurred to me that you’ve never really seen Angeles, aside from the ride from the airport and to the Palace and back again. Tonight we’re going to go for a car ride and I’m going to show you the city.”

There was nowhere in the world America wanted to be more.

She allowed Maxon to open the back door of the car for her and she accepted his hand as she climbed inside, even though she didn’t really need his help. Maxon jogged around to the other side of the car and climbed in the back, then slid over so that he could wrap an arm around her. “The glass is bulletproof. This is a very different situation than the one we were in before—“

“I’m okay, Maxon.” she smiled at him, touched that he was still working so hard to make sure she felt safe.

“Good.” He returned her smile and then kissed her on the lips. It could have become a very long, passionate kiss indeed, but the guard who would be driving them opened the front car door and began adjusting his mirrors. Maxon raised the privacy window so that the guard wouldn’t be able to see or hear them, and the car began to slowly roll away from the Palace.

Even in her time as one of Maxon’s Selected, America hadn’t ridden in luxury like this before. The seats were so soft, so comfortable, and the ride was perfectly smooth and silent. America leaned into Maxon’s embrace, turning in her seat just a little so that the car window was in front of her face. As the car curved down the driveway, America got a good look at the front of the Palace, all lit up against the dark night. “Does that ever get old?” America asked.

“No. Even I know that’s special, and I was born in it.” Maxon replied.

Just beyond the gates of the Palace, the glistening, glowing city loomed large. The buildings, interesting glowing sticks in the distance from the vantage point of the Palace, towered over the car stretching impossibly toward the sky.

“People work in there.” Maxon noticed her crane her head up to try to see the tops of the skyscrapers. “Thousands of people go there every single day and fill each one of those buildings up.”

“Goodness…” America had been to the capitol city of Carolina and had seen tall buildings before, but nothing like this. She felt as if she was at the bottom of a glittering canyon.

“I like to ride through the city sometimes.” Maxon admitted. “It helps me remember how many people are looking to me to do a good job as prince… as King, now.”

“It’s hard to imagine every single one of these buildings full of people.” America admitted. The car slowed to a stop at a red light and other cars pulled up in the lanes around them. America knew their windows were too tinted for the drivers of the other vehicles to realize who was next to them at the light, so she stared unabashedly. There they were, the people of Illéa, right in front of her. People who hadn’t had their lives turned upside down by the Selection. People who had mourned the loss of the King and Queen, but whose day to day existences had been completely unchanged over the past few months. She was already losing touch with the people of Illéa, because she literally did not know a single person like that. Everyone in her life had been forever changed since America had received that letter in the post. What were these ordinary people hoping America and Maxon would do for them? Maybe just end the rebel violence…

The light turned green and their car began to roll again. Out the window, America saw dozens of shops and restaurants, the latter of which were all bustling and enticing. She wanted to roll down her window so that she could smell the food, but she had a feeling that wouldn’t be considered safe by the guards. Maybe the windows on this car didn’t even roll down, since they were bulletproof.

Maxon noticed her interest, “You may order food to the Palace from any of those places, all of them if you’d like. The guards will need to test it for poison, but that doesn’t take long.”

America looked at him, blue eyes wide, “If it’s poison, do they die?”

Maxon laughed at her and America realized she was showing her underclass upbringing again. She blushed, but Maxon was only really laughing at how cute she was. “No, my darling. The guards don’t eat the food, they scrape samples of each dish and run them through some sort of scientific test to detect poisons. All told, it only takes a few minutes. No one needs to eat it and risk their lives for yours, although I assure you every guard in the service would gladly do that for you.”

“Oh.” America looked relieved. “Well that would be a huge risk just for some take-out food.”

“And that rational judgement from you is exactly why the guards have taken to you.” Maxon pointed out. “The history of our monarchy is littered with royals who did not care enough about the lives of the people they employed. You’re a good woman, America. You’re going to be an excellent queen.”

America blushed again, this time flattered rather than embarrassed. She decided, “Since the guards would be safe, we should definitely try ordering from a local restaurant once in a while. It might be good for their business to be able to brag about serving the King and Queen.”

Maxon nodded, returning his gaze out the window, again pleased with himself. This time he was pleased for picking such a smart, caring queen to help him govern his kingdom. “Then yes, we shall.”

“I could autograph thank you notes to the restaurant owners afterwards, and they could frame them for their walls…” America mused.

“All of that good for our city, and all I have to do is enjoy the food?” Maxon pressed a kiss to her shoulder instead of her hair, which was still up in its messy, wet bun.

“Do you think we’ll ever be safe enough to eat out at a restaurant together for date night?”

“Hm…” Maxon considered the question. His parents had never done such a thing, but as he looked now at the crowded Angeles bars and gastropubs, he couldn’t deny that the idea of going to one with America was enticing. “I’ll bet so. We’d need to call ahead and let the restaurant know we were coming. The guards would go and secure everything ahead of time. We couldn’t eat with a crowd, that’s too risky, but if we cleared out the restaurant for an hour or so…”

“It still seems dangerous… the rebels—“

“Yes.” Maxon agreed. “We’ll need better intelligence about the rebels to understand what their next moves will be. Even so, we need to be able to make public appearances as monarchs; that will be a priority for Officer Leger and the guards. Why shouldn’t those appearances include lending our support to local restaurants by stopping in for a meal once in a while?”

America leant her head back against his shoulder and said, “We really are going to be able to help a lot of people, aren’t we?”

“In ways both small and big.” Maxon agreed. “Visiting a restaurant may be a nice way for us to spend an afternoon, but to the owner of the restaurant we choose, it could be life-changing because of the publicity we bring them.”

“The country has so many problems… the war, the castes, the rebels… it’s hard to know where to start.”

“We start everywhere, all at once. That’s what makes our jobs so hard.” Maxon said simply, as if America’s responsibilities as Queen were anywhere near as important as the King’s. Maybe, in time, once she was able to handle everything Amberly had done as Queen, she’d be able to take on more responsibility: attend a few meetings, suggest a few laws… maybe it wouldn’t all be dress fittings and etiquette and memorizing names.

“Do you know what I’ve just realized?” Maxon said, interrupting America’s thoughts.

“Hm?”

“This is our last date before our wedding.”

America felt her stomach squish with excitement and nerves. “The next time we go on a date, we’ll be husband and wife?”

“Exactly.” he squeezed her closer to him.

Honestly, America just wanted the big royal wedding to be over. She was convinced she was going to trip and fall on her way up the aisle or mispronounce his name in her vows or something equally historic and humiliating. She just wanted to be his wife. She just wanted him to be her husband. The wedding was an enormous obstacle standing in the way of that.

“Good.” America said simply. “I’m ready.”

“Me too.” Maxon rested his chin on her shoulder.

The car continued to whisk them to the far side of town, then it turned a corner and began heading back to the Palace via a different route so that America and Maxon could enjoy even more sights of the city. They passed theaters and the royal ballet, and an enormous park full of walking trails. America saw apartment buildings and laundromats, and a side street where people were gathered for a block party. Even though the car only stopped for traffic lights, by the end of their date, America felt like she’d truly been to all of those places.

“It’s good to get out of the house sometimes.” Maxon teased when the Palace came back into view.

America turned in his arms away from the window so that she could see him again, “Yes. And it’s also good to be home.”

This time, when the car pulled to a stop and the guard opened the door for Maxon and America, they did not stop kissing until they were ready.

#Challenge #Laws of Inheritance #DemocracyHands #The election is over but I have one more challenge after this one!

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miss-pearlescent · 5 years ago

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Stuck at a Vampire Dinner Party (M)

When you first applied to be a vampire’s secretary a year ago, you didn’t think you would be spending a night pretending to be his toy (｡◕‿◕｡✿) M for smut.

You stifled a yawn as you cleared another email from the inbox. Only 10 more to go for tonight. Sometimes, it baffled you how many corporate emails a vampire lord could receive. In the 9 months that you’ve worked as Kai’s secretary, you’d probably replied to more emails than was healthy for an average human being.

Rubbing your eyes under your glasses, you took another sip of your tea and went back to the inbox. You had to blink twice when you suddenly saw that there was a new message in the Deleted folder. You never deleted a new message. No emails got past your eyes and straight to the Trash.

Curious, you clicked into the folder and found an invite.

For a vampire council function. You glanced down at your calendar.

Next week.

Immediately, you picked up your phone, going straight to the video chat function with Kai.

“C’mon. Pick up...” you muttered, tapping your foot impatiently.

Finally, your call was answered, but the screen was black.

“Kai?”

The grunt on the other end was sleepy. Weird. You thought Kai didn’t sleep.

Whatever. At least he was there.

“Kai, did you see this?” You flipped your phone camera around to show him the email.

Another grunt, this time in acknowledgement.

You turned the camera back to your face again and gave him an incredulous look. “Why was it deleted? Why didn’t you tell me about it? You need to go!” The vampire council was an important group of leaders, and Kai had only recently been appointed. He needed to attend to keep up with appearances.

“Scroll down to the bottom,” he said, sounding like he couldn’t care less about this email.

You did as he said, scanning the text quickly.

“Formal attire...Vegetarian menu available...Human guests encouraged...” Nothing seemed off. “I don’t get it. It sounds like a regular party to me.”

Kai’s face suddenly appeared on the screen along with his signature glare. You tried not to gasp as you looked lower and realized he was half-naked and in bed. He was your boss, yes, but that didn’t mean you didn’t find him attractive. Deep down, you knew that if he had asked you to get on your knees, you’d probably do it with a goofy smile on your face.

“I’m sorry,” you blurted out as you felt your face get hotter. “Were you sleeping?” Sure, it was only his collarbones you were seeing, but they were a nice set of collarbones and they were giving you dirty thoughts already.

“No, I don’t sleep.” You knew that, but he said the fact with a smirk anyway. “Just...relaxing.”

“Shirtless?” you couldn’t help but ask. You had only ever seen him in a suit and tie, never anything casual.

His smirk grew into a smile and you had to look away for a second before you swooned. “And pantless. Why, is it suddenly illegal to be naked in my own house?”

You shouldn’t have asked. Pressing the back of your hand to your cheek to try and cool it down, you veered the topic to the important subject at hand. “You need to attend this function, Kai. It’s in your best interests. I don’t see why you wouldn’t.”

“Because it says ‘Human guests encouraged.’“

You looked at the email and then back at his face on the screen. “And?”

“That means they’re mandatory.”

You waved a hand in the air. “Then bring a human guest!” you said as if it were the most obvious statement in the world. Because it was, was it not?

He ran a hand through his hair, messing it up. “It’s not that simple, sugar. When humans are added to the mix, it can turn into a different kind of event. The council will be too distracted to have any meaningful discussions. They will simply go into a bloodlust orgy and compete to see who can suck the most amount of humans that night without killing a single one.”

Your body temperature dropped a few degrees at the thought. “Oh.” You knew where you stood on vampires treating humans as playthings, and Kai mirrored many of your views. That was one of the reasons you were comfortable applying for this position.

“And you know I don’t like to mess around with humans, let alone tolerate one sitting beside me for a whole night,” he added with a grimace.

“Oh.” You licked your lips, trying not to let the words hurt you. You knew he was speaking broadly because he had had bad experiences with humans in the past. Kai only ever drank packaged animal blood now, delivered from a farm close to the city.

You just wished that sometimes he saw you as more than just a mere human.

You shook your head, ridding it of negative thoughts. He was your employer. It didn’t matter what he thought of you because at the end of the day, he was simply the writer of your paycheques.

It didn’t matter that he couldn’t stand being around your people.

“But what about your position?” you asked. “Will it be affected if you’re a no-show?”

He gave a slight shrug and looked away from the camera, distant. “Who knows? We’ll wait and see, I guess.”

You furrowed your brows. Wait and see? After all these months of fighting for the position? “Kai...”

“There’s not much else we can do,” he said with a sigh. “I’m not bringing some stranger I can’t trust to an important function, and where am I going to get an agreeable human anyway?”

You tapped your foot, an idea popping into your head. It was a good idea, but also a terrifying one. “How about I be your plus-one?” Your voice was soft, almost meek.

But he heard it. He froze, making you think the video chat had stopped working. “What?”

“I’ll be your human. You tolerate me just fine, don’t you? And I know how the vampire council works. I know to follow the rules.”

“Sugar,” his voice was low as he growled the name he gave you. He liked to call a few people certain names, and you didn’t mind that he called you something sweet and simple. “It can get dangerous, especially if you’ve never been bitten before.”

Kai had told you that virgin blood was always the most enticing, which was why he fitted you with a pair of earrings that warded off other vampires from the smell of your neck. “It’s okay. I’ll have my earrings and I won’t let anyone near me. You’ll be with me too, right?”

His lips were thin with defiance. How to convince him that he needed to attend this?

“You can’t risk your position this early on in the game. They’ll do anything to take you down.” Kai’s views of harmony between vampires and humans weren’t shared by everyone on the council. There were those that tolerated humans like Kai did, and then there were others that hated everything about humans. “I like my position as your secretary. If you lose your position, I don’t know if I’ll be able to keep my job.”

He ran a hand through his hair again and you knew you had won. If Kai didn’t hold his seat on the council, he would lose all campaign money and he would not have a need for a secretary at all. “Fine,” he bit out, “but only because you agreed to this. Accept the invitation and we’ll discuss the rules next week.”

You almost clapped with glee as you clicked the Accept button in the email. As a human, you always found vampires interesting. Though it was risky walking into a party full of vampires, it was going to satisfy a hundred curious questions you had not dared ask Kai. “See you Monday!” You waved goodbye at the screen.

Kai only snorted. “Goodnight, sugar.”

You looked down at the dress again. You knew the rules but how strict were they actually? Kai made it seemed like they were more important than the bible.

“Wear red. Hands on your lap at all times. No speaking unless I say so.”

It sounded less and less appealing the more rules he rattled off. Wear red? You hated red. It brought so much attention to your body and hid nothing. You were used to wearing frumpy hoodies to hide all the lumps and rolls on your body. The closest to business-formal you wore was an all-black suit and pants.

Black was easy. It hid you in the shadows and the darkness. Nobody noticed how big you were compared to other girls.

But red? Red was...jarring to look at in the mirror.

Still, all the humans were supposed to wear red. You just wished you were smaller like the others.

You pushed up your glasses and wondered if you should trade them for contacts before you left. But Kai had said to avoid prolonged eye contact with any member of the council, so you decided to wear your glasses for now, until you had to sit down for dinner where you could take them off and not make direct eye contact with anybody as you ate blindly.

Yes, perfect plan.

A knock came from your apartment door and your heart fluttered for a second. You told yourself to stay calm as you grabbed your clutch and slipped on your little heels. Taking a deep breath, you pulled open the door.

You couldn’t meet Kai’s eyes, not when he stood there looking so handsome in a black suit that matched his black hair. As you turned to lock your door, you caught a bit of his cologne that even smelled expensive. The thought made you feel like a cheap sausage.

“Why do you look so uncomfortable?”

You frowned. That was his first sentence to you? Not even a hello, how are you?

Turning back around, ready to give Kai an earful, you saw that he was genuinely curious. His head was tilted to the side and he had his hands in his pockets, all casual.

Your shoulders slumped under the weight of looking subpar. “I don’t like wearing red. It feels weird. I’m going to meet all these people looking like an overstuffed sausage casing. Why wouldn’t I look uncomfortable?”

Kai’s fingers suddenly came up to caress your chin, forcing you to look at him. “But you’re going to be my date tonight, and we’re going to meet dozens of vampires. If you show no fear, they will not bother you.” He gave a smirk, showing off one of his fangs as he glanced down to your overflowing chest. “So shoulders back. I find that I am suddenly craving a bit of pepperoni.”

You rolled your eyes and gave him a playful smack on the arm as you followed him into the elevators.

He threw his head back in a laugh as he led you down to the parking garage. “What? Maybe some salami?”

“I’ll shove a salami up your ass if you don’t start driving in the next thirty seconds,” you said, slipping into the passenger seat and pulling the door closed.

When he began rummaging through the glove compartment instead of driving, you furrowed your brows.

“I want you to put these on.” He handed you a velvet box that looked as expensive as the box that contained the earrings he gave you months ago.

Opening it, you saw that it was a set of jewellery: one necklace, and four bangles. “For me?” You had already accessorized to the best of your abilities, trying to match the glass drop earrings, but these were a perfect set.

“The necklace for extra protection around your neck, and the bracelets are for your wrists and ankles.”

You nodded and snapped everything on quickly so that the two of you could leave sooner than later. You hated being late. “Is this okay?” you asked, bringing the glass drop down to sit right at the tip of your cleavage.

You tried not to melt under Kai’s watchful eyes. Even when he wasn’t trying, he held such an intense gaze. “Good,” he murmured.

“Good?” you teased. “You could at least say that I look like an expensive piece of uncomfortable salami.”

“Put your shoulders back.”

You did, and you noticed it made your chest pop forward too. You tried your best to keep your hands from coming up to cover the front.

“Perfect.” His eyes caught yours as he looked up from your necklace. “Now you look like you belong at a vampire’s dinner.”

His words made you shiver.

It seemed it didn’t matter if you wore your glasses or even if you spent an extra 15 minutes getting your eyeliner drawn straight, because you were handed a lacy blindfold the moment you stopped at the front gates of the property. The security guard there said all humans were to wear it for the duration of the night unless directed otherwise by the property owner.

That meant you were clinging to Kai’s arms all night. Through the lace, you could see a few blobs here and there, but no distinct faces. You were thankful that everyone was seated soon after arrival, as there seemed to be a presentation starting. The only issue was that there didn’t seem to be seats for humans. All human women sat in their vampire males’ laps, and the few female vampires sat in the laps of their human men.

You gingerly sat on Kai’s knee until he slung an arm around your waist, pulling you closer so he could bring his seat in.

“Kai,” you whispered as everyone else got settled. “I don’t want to squish you.”

“Shh.” He kept his arm around you and looked to the screen.

You couldn’t see the slides that were passing on the screen, but you understood what they were talking about. The council was deciding whether or not to send more men to help with the war on the other side of the country. There, the werewolves had enslaved the population—vampires and humans alike—and the human government was doing little to stop it. There was not much they could do, not when the werewolves had such a strong leader who threatened to take over the entire continent.

When the speaker began listing off casualties, you couldn’t help but grab Kai’s wrist. So many humans, so many vampires, all innocent, were losing their lives.

Kai spread his hand open, lacing his fingers between yours before he cleared his throat.

Silence filled the air and you had a prickling feeling that everyone was looking your way.

“What about the ships and planes we sent to bring back civilians?”

You bit your lip as the council mulled over Kai’s question. It was an idea that you had offered Kai early on, when he had first told you about the war efforts, and after the council had approved it, you had not heard many updates at all.

A burly voice came from the front. “The first plane is set to arrive back in three days at Port Landly. It is only carrying human women and children, and we’ll have them in quarantine until we know there is no indication of the werewolf virus. Female vampires will be next on the list.”

You breathed out a small sigh of relief as Kai rubbed little circles on your hip, soothing your nerves bit by bit. He knew this was important to you, and you squeezed his hand in gratitude.

The rest of the meeting went by smoothly, except for one moment when two council members argued over the amount of resources that should be given to those being brought in from the war.

But it was all forgotten when dinner arrived.

You couldn’t see what was being served, but you could smell the spices, the juicy meat, the roasted vegetables. Your stomach growled only loud enough for Kai to hear, thankfully, and you couldn’t wait to dig in.

He gave a low chuckle behind you. “Hungry?”

“Starving,” you whispered. But you looked down and frowned. Even with the blindfold on, you could only make out one plate in front of you. It didn’t look like a big serving either.

Were you supposed to share this small plate with Kai?

You looked around as Kai picked up a knife and fork. All the others looked like they had one plate in front of each seat as well. Squinting your eyes, you tried to see how the other tables were set, but you couldn’t quite make it out.

“Ahh, open wide,” Kai’s voice tickled your ear and you felt a bit of warm gravy touch your lips. You opened your mouth and melted when a buttery piece of steak touched your tongue.

You moaned as you chewed, amazed by the way the meat just fell apart in your mouth. It was the best steak you’d ever had in your life.

“First time feeding?” a woman asked beside you.

You looked over but could only make out big blond curls, and you weren’t sure how to answer anyway. Good thing you were told to be quiet. You could do that as you swallowed the juicy meat.

“No,” Kai replied curtly, cutting another piece of steak and slathering it in the gravy before popping it in your mouth.

“Mm,” the woman hummed as she turned to feed her own guest. “Then new lover? I’ve never seen someone react like that to a feeding. Better put those fangs away before you scare her, big boy.”

You felt more than heard the growl behind you, and you knew Kai was getting uneasy. Suddenly, the steak felt dry in your mouth.

Touching his elbow, you turned so you could whisper, “It’s okay, I can feed myself.”

But Kai continued to cut the meat and skewer a few vegetables in his fork. “You’re not allowed.”

Right. Hands on lap at all times. That was one of the rules.

But it was obviously making Kai uncomfortable if his fangs were showing. He only ever showed them when he was angry and wanted to look threatening.

You chewed and swallowed every piece quickly, wanting dinner to be over but also wishing you could savour every bite.

“Slow down,” he teased. “The food’s not going to run away.”

You gulped down a bit of wine that he placed at your lips. “But your fangs...”

“Don’t worry about me. I’m enjoying the show.”

You inclined your head and accepted another piece of roasted carrot, amazed by how sweet it was when you bit into it. You could hear music playing around the room and knew there was some dancing going on on the stage. Kai enjoyed the art of dance, and you were glad he was watching that as you took your time analyzing every bite of food.

It wasn’t until you were done the entire meal that you heard the funny noise, as if somebody was crying out in pain.

You grabbed Kai’s arm by instinct. “Did you hear that?” You whipped your head around, but everyone seemed to be in the same position as before.

“It’s nothing,” he murmured, setting the knife and fork down.

You leaned back and relaxed, listening to the music that drifted around the room. You wondered what would be served for dessert and you hoped it was something light because your stomach was about to burst.

It was about two seconds of relaxation before you stiffened, noticing something hard was prodding into your back.

Your eyes widened and you didn’t know what to do. Were you supposed to address the fact that Kai was sporting a huge hard-on? Were you supposed to be offended or flattered? He was your boss after all...a hot, hot boss.

His fingers innocently tapped to the beat of the music against the back of your hand, but his erection was the complete opposite of innocent.

Another shout came from the room, this time closer, and you turned your head to the side.

You couldn’t be sure, not when you were missing your glasses and had a huge blindfold in the way, but you swore the woman beside you had turned in her partner’s lap and was now having sex with him.

Even with your poor vision, you were 99% certain.

And she was moaning, loud and proud.

Your eyes darted around and you realized there were two other guests laid out on the table, their vampire counterparts on top of them.

You pulled away, only to be met by the hard chest and hard arms and hard-on of Kai.

You gulped as you craned your head to look at him. “What’s going—” your voice trailed off in a gasp. Even through the lace, you could see two huge white fangs protruding from Kai’s full lips. You had never seem them so long, and you wondered if they bothered him because they looked like they were throbbing, if that was even possible.

Then you felt your pulse throbbing. You put a hand to your neck, knowing your vein must be jumping out of your skin with the rush of adrenaline. You also had to adjust your seat because you could feel your pulse down there, too.

But adjusting your bottom made Kai hiss.

“I’m sorry,” you whispered, placing a hand on his chest.

“It’s okay,” he murmured, pulling you back and barricading you with his strong arms like they were seat belts made of muscle. You couldn’t move and it made you feel secure...except the sounds were growing louder and Kai’s breathing was getting faster.

You gulped and licked your lips, trying not to look up even though nobody could see your eyes. “Are you sure you don’t want to leave?”

“I’m fine.” But he didn’t sound fine, not when his voice was so raspy. This must have been the bloodlust he was talking about, and you touched your hand to the necklace, making sure it was still in place. “Nobody will touch you, I promise,” he soothed.

His embrace was tight, tight enough to make you moan. Maybe you wanted him to touch you, especially when the warmth of his body enveloped you like this. And it didn’t help that his length seemed to get harder and longer by the second.

You couldn’t handle it. Your hand came up and shifted his fingers over just a touch so that they grazed your nipple. You sucked in a breath the same time as him, realizing your nipple was already tightened and waiting for him. “You can touch me,” you said in a hush. “It would look weird if everyone is having sex and we’re...not.”

His breath was hot against your skin. “Are you sure?” But even so, his fingers had already ducked under the neckline of your dress, teasing your aching breasts out of their confines.

You moaned, tilting your head back to rest on his shoulder as he played with your nipples. “All part of the job, right?” you teased, your voice panting as you arched up to meet his touch.

He chuckled, his other hand pulling up your skirt. “What a nice perk, getting orgasms from your boss. Put your feet up, sugar.” He brought his hand under your knee, pulling your leg up.

For a second, you hesitated, because that meant exposing yourself to everyone on the council. But then you looked around and realized other humans were in much more compromising positions. One man had five women feasting on his body on the table.

Nobody would notice if you brought your feet up, right?

Kicking off your heels, you put one foot on the table while Kai held your other leg, ensuring you were spread wide open. You panted as you watched his hand slide down lower.

Your hand shot up to grab his, slightly embarrassed by the sight of his strong fingers cupping your mound. “Kai, you don’t have to if you don’t want to,” you reminded him. You knew he was only here because you insisted.

“Hands on your lap, remember?” he chided, scraping a fang against the sensitive skin on your neck. “Why wouldn’t I want to touch my sweet little secretary’s wet pussy? It’s practically begging for me.”

You tucked your hands back on your lap and tried not to squirm as you salivated over the veins on his arms while he pushed aside your panties. One finger slid down deep and you shivered as he played with your wetness, spreading it around so it covered your entrance.

He nibbled against your skin again and you tilted your head to give him better access. “This is even better than I imagined,” he murmured.

“I-imagined?” you squeaked as one finger slipped inside of your heat and then left just as quickly. Kai was such a tease, even in the bedroom.

“Hmm.” He ripped the thin fabric of your panties and spread your folds, finding the one spot he’d been looking for. He put a gentle finger to the hard nub, rolling it around. “When you FaceTimed me that night, I was in the middle of jacking myself off.”

You gasped, unsure if it was the image of him touching himself or the fact that he was expertly stroking your clit that set you off. “You were? I’m sorry.”

“Don’t apologize.” He feathered a few kisses down your throat. “You wouldn’t be apologizing if I had told you that night.”

“I might have.” You gulped, your legs shaking as he continued his little circles on your sensitive spot. “I called you late at night in a panic. It was my fault.”

“Really? Even if I told you I was playing images of you on your knees? Of you touching yourself as you called me, begging for my cock over the phone?” He slipped a finger inside your wet folds, the sound loud in your ears even over the music and the vocal cries of the other guests. “What if I told you I was jacking myself off while thinking of my fangs sucking you dry?”

You cried out, squirming as the orgasm threatened to hit you.

But a cool hand touched your knee, and you froze.

Behind you, Kai’s growl was audible.

“You should share, big boy!” It was the nattering voice of the woman sitting beside you at the table. “I’ve never been with a bigger woman before.”

You immediately closed your legs, a difficult feat considered how hard Kai’s grip was on your knee.

“She’s mine.” Kai’s voice was feral, causing you to nearly flinch. You had never heard him like this before, not even in the board meetings when higher-ups threatened to kick his campaign off the trail.

The woman’s laugh was shrill meanwhile her companion was grunting like an animal as he rutted her. “I know, I know. I can see the family jewels on her from a mile away.” The words made you touch your earrings to ensure they were in place. “But just a sip?”

You could feel Kai’s glare and was surprised the woman didn’t simper at all.

“Unless, of course, you hadn’t even had a taste of her yourself?”

Your face must’ve given the answer away because the woman laughed again before returning to her human.

Blood rushed through your ears, blocking out even the noisiest of the party guests. You shouldn’t have pushed Kai to come here. All that happened tonight was the entire council making a joke of you and him. He didn’t deserve it, and you wished you could take away the woman’s words.

“What do you need?” Kai’s voice was soft but rushed, like he sounded frantic for some reason.

You looked back. “What do you mean?”

“Ignore everybody else here.” He tilted your chin up and pressed a light kiss to your lower lip. “What do you need to get off?”

“I...” He still wanted to give her an orgasm? After all this? Tears pricked at the back of your eyes and you were glad for the blindfold. You were so glad for Kai, for somebody who listened to your needs and asked for your opinion. You couldn’t deny him what he wanted, especially if what he wanted was an orgasm out of you. “I just need you.”

He groaned, sounding defeated, and his fingers lifted the necklace out of the way so he could suck on a little spot between your neck and shoulder. “Do you need my cock, sugar? Say it and I’ll give it to you. I’ll give you anything.”

You nodded frantically, grasping at the skirt of your dress to get it out of the way while Kai fumbled with the fly of his pants.

You knew he was big. You knew he was hard as a steel rod. But you still weren’t prepared for the size of him as he entered you. He held your legs open while you guided him in, yet the action felt too slow but too fast at the same time.

He was filling you up and you felt like your lungs were no longer working.

“Breathe,” he hissed. “You’re fucking tight as hell.”

You let out a shuddering breath as he slowly lowered your entire body down on him, entering you to the hilt. You gulped in deep breaths of air as you watched his fingers find your clit again, already swollen from the near-orgasm before, and begin teasing it again.

Except this time, he was rougher.

“Kai...” you panted, holding onto his arm for balance as he rocked into you. His other hand tilted your chin toward him, capturing your whimper in a soft kiss.

Suddenly, the blindfold fell away. You reached a hand up to grab it, but Kai tossed it to the floor.

You realized, belatedly, that all the other humans were already free of their blindfolds. Had you missed the memo?

“Where are your glasses?”

You reached into your clutch and pulled out the black frames, popping them on your face and suddenly grateful for them. You could see everything. The room looked like an ancient courtyard. Kai looked like a vampire king with his huge fangs. His cock was still inside you, hard and ready.

“There you are.” Kai pulled you in for another kiss, pumping into you from behind until you were a whimpering mess. “God, you look so beautiful like this.”

“Bite me.”

He threw his head back in a laugh and playfully bit your shoulder as he toyed with your clit some more.

You moaned but ran a hand through his perfect hair. “I’m serious, Kai. I want you to bite me.”

He stopped, his features freezing to a blank stare. He looked like he could kill an army of men or maybe set off an eternal winter in the tropics.

But you knew he was just thinking.

You cupped his face and rolled your hips, trying to convince him. “Make me come the way you imagined.”

He gave a stuttered groan and lowered his lips to your neck, sucking on the same spot again. “I’m going to make this good for you, sugar. You’ll never forget your first orgasm with Kai the vampire lord.”

You wanted to laugh, but it was cut off short when you felt the fangs pierce through your sensitive flesh. Too scared to move in case something went wrong, you stayed utterly still.

Except Kai was still thrusting into you and torturing your clit between his fingers. You shook as his fangs sank deeper, and you suddenly felt a warmth rush through your body.

A cry gurgled in the bottom on your throat. You hands and feet tingled. You were trembling as the pleasure washed over your veins, bathing you in ecstasy.

No wonder the other guests were so vocal. You could barely hold it in as you screamed Kai’s name. You voice seemed to echo through the walls as Kai sucked on your neck, pulling your blood into his mouth.

Yet he didn’t stop fucking you. His cock wouldn’t stop even as you shook like a quivering mess in his arms. You came once, twice, maybe three times in the span of just as many seconds. He just went harder, faster. Relentless.

It was hard to keep track of where Kai’s body started and ended in regards to your own body, and you slowly realized his fangs were no longer in your neck. Instead, his lips were brushing against your ear.

“That’s it. You’re a filthy little secretary, aren’t you?” His tongue came out to tease the shell of your ear. “Everyone here knows that you’re mine and that my cock is the only one that can make you squirt like this.”

You looked down and found that his lap was all wet. You covered your mouth. “Oh my god, I’m so—”

He pulled you back against his chest, cutting you off as he drove his cock into you, making you squirt over the edge of the dinner table this time.

“Kai!”

Losing his gentleness, his hands were rough as they rubbed your clit back and forth, squeezing out every last drop from you. Then he forced your down back onto his cock as you trembled in his arms.

He stifled his moans against your shoulder as you felt his hot seed shoot into you. Even that seemed to set you off and you shook again as he kept coming. And coming.

And coming.

You looked down and found that his milky spend was mixing with your clear juices.

The two of you had made a proper mess.

“Fuck.” Kai panted against your heated skin, pulling you close to him. His cock was still hot and apparent inside you, twitching every so often.

The woman beside you had the audacity to giggle, even though she was laid out on her back, her human companion’s face lost between her legs. “The two of you look like you’ve been to parties like this before.”

---

Update: If you liked that story, I wrote a part two! Click here to read it :)

The pacing of this story is a little sporadic because I had to write it in multiple sessions thanks to my erratic schedule these days. I try to write things in one sitting just so I keep the same mood and pacing throughout, but that didn’t happen this time LOL I hope you guys still liked it nonetheless! I never used to write about glasses (because I don’t wear glasses so idk how to relate) but it’s been popping up in a lot of things I’m reading so I’ve been incorporating them in my stories a bunch hehehehe

Also...ALSO! This story was supposed to be a lot more.......risqué than what it turned out to be. As you can see from the blurb in the beginning (which I wrote before I started writing the story), things were supposed to be more...mmm.....bdsm??? But that kinda stuff scares me a little bit LOLLLLLLL In the sense that I don’t know how to put it into words and when I do, I backpedal and just ask fictional Kai to give the fictional oc a hug LMAO

ok goodnight. Thanks for reading :)

#exo #kai #jongin #fanfiction #kpop #scenario #exo scenario #kai scenario #jongin scenario #kpop scenario #kpop fanfiction #kai fanfiction #jongin fanfiction #writing #vampire #smut #oneshot

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derangedangel · 5 years ago

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Thanksgiving Invitation - Scott McCall

Scott McCall x Reader

Summary: You can’t fly home for Thanksgiving break, so Scott invites you to spend it with him.

Word count: 2,212

Author’s note: So I have a Stiles one that’s basically like this, and I know before I started writing, I requested someone else to do this same imagine. Apparently, I’ve got a thing for your crush inviting you home for the holidays. Sue me. BTW, this takes place Junior year of college.

Thanksgiving break in high school was great. A whole week off from school, a huge meal with your family, then shopping on Friday. In college, you were reduced to two and half days off. Wednesday at noon, the campus closed, but what were you supposed to do with that.

On the Tuesday before Thanksgiving break, the cafeteria made Thanksgiving dinner at lunch. It was always a huge deal on campus. They had everything, turkey, dressing, mac and cheese. All kinds of cakes and pies. You and few of your classmates were in the caf just finishing your lunch.

“That was probably the best thing this caf has ever made,” Scott said next to you.

“I definitely prefer my dad’s fried turkey, but that was pretty good,” you said picking away at your slice of cake with your fork.

“Oh, my mom makes a pumpkin pie you would die for,” Scott said as he patted his stomach. “This one can’t even compare. I can’t wait for Thanksgiving.”

“Well, have an extra piece for me,” you said sighing. You dropped your fork on your plate making a clink noise.

“What’s wrong,” Scott asked smelling your chemo signals. You were sad. Disappointed, maybe?

“I’m staying here for Thanksgiving.”

“What? Why?”

“Finals are next week. And honestly, I don’t have the money to fly home tomorrow just to turn around, fly back Sunday, then fly back for winter break.” You looked up at Scott with sad eyes. You already accepted you lame Thanksgiving weeks ago.

“But it’s Thanksgiving. You shouldn’t be here,” Scott tried to argue.

“It’s fine,” you said shrugging. “The international students are having an event and inviting anyone who can’t go home for break. I’ll just grab a plate from them and watch a movie.”

“Why don’t you come home with me,” Scott blurted out suddenly.

You smiled softly at Scott. “Scott, that’s really sweet, but I’m not riding on the back of your bike for two hours. Plus, I don’t think my suitcase will fit.”

“Oh,” Scott said rubbing the back of his neck. “Yeah, I didn’t think about that.” He thought for a moment then spoke again. “Give me some time and I’ll figure it out.”

You giggled. “Scott, it’s okay,” you said placing your hand on Scott’s. “I already accepted my sad little Thanksgiving. I’ll see my family in two weeks after finals.”

“No,” Scott said jumping up. “I’m going to figure this out. You’re going to have an actual Thanksgiving.” And with that, Scott grabbed his plate and cup and left the table. You turned and smiled at your other friends shaking your head about Scott. He was sweet, but as for now, a Thanksgiving in your dorm was scheduled on your calendar.

________________________________________________________________

A knock sounded at your door. You sat your laptop down, rolled out of bed, and then answered it. Scott was standing there with the biggest grin you had ever seen on his face.

“I hope you like pumpkin pie,” he said. You stepped aside to let him in.

“Uhh, I prefer pecan, but why the sudden urge for me to like pumpkin?”

“Because my mom would be really disappointed if you didn’t love her pie.”

“What are you talking about, Scott?”

“You’re coming home with me for Thanksgiving,” he said excitedly. He was like a cute little puppy smiling at you waiting for you to pet him.

“We talked about this already,” you said turning and hopping onto your bed.

“That was before.”

“Before what,” you asked.

“Before I called my mom and convinced her to drive down and pick the both of us up for Thanksgiving break.”

“What,” you asked shocked. “Scott, I can’t have your mom drive all the way down here-,” you began to argue but Scott interrupted.

“Too late, “he said shaking his head. “She already said yes, and she’s expecting both of us to be ready to go by 1 o’clock tomorrow,” Scott said proudly.

Your mouth dropped open in surprise. You weren’t sure what to say. “Scott, I..”

“Look, I know you were fine with not going home, but I couldn’t let you stay here alone over the holiday.”

“You didn’t have to do that, though. I don’t want your mom going out of her way for me.”

Scott stepped closer to you placing his hand next to you on the bed. “She wants to do it. I want to do it. You can stop trying to talk me out of it because it’s happening,” he said smiling sweetly at you.

“Okay,” you said smiling back.

“Good,” he said taking a step back, heading for the door walking backwards. “Pack a bag. I’ll come by your dorm tomorrow at 12:45 to get you.”

“Alright, Scotty,” you said happy about your new Thanksgiving plans.

________________________________________________________________

The next day Scott came by your dorm and helped you carry your bag to his dorm building where his mom was going to pick the two of you up. This was your first time meeting Mrs. McCall and she was incredibly sweet. The first thing she did was hug you and told you to call her Melissa, not Mrs. McCall. You were expecting the ride to be awkward. Two hours in the car with your male friend you had a crush on and his mom who you just met wasn’t something people really looked forward to. Surprisingly, the ride went okay. Melissa didn’t pry too much into your life or ask was anything happening between you and her son.

On Thanksgiving, Scott’s friend Stiles and his dad came over, and so did Melissa’s boyfriend Argent as well. It made you a little more nervous being surrounded by all these people from Scott’s life. You felt like the odd man out, but Scott constantly checked on you to make sure you were alright.

Everyone brought their own dish to the table. Sheriff Stilinski cooked the turkey. Argent, who didn’t seem like the homey cooking type of person to you, made the green bean casserole. Melissa made the macaroni and cheese and the pumpkin pie, which Scott kept raving about. You giggled at Scott’s contribution, which was just throwing the Kings Hawaiian rolls into the oven for a few minutes. He argued that it was more than what Stiles did which was just opening a can of cranberry sauce. You felt bad that you didn’t contribute to the dinner. Normally, your mom did all of the cooking and you just helped, so you didn’t know any actual recipes. Melissa assured you that it was fine. You were a guest and didn’t have to do a thing.

Dinner came and went. Everything was delicious and yes, Scott was right about his mom’s pumpkin pie. You and Scott washed the dishes together, bumping hips and throwing soap bubbles at each other. Scott, Stiles, and you decided you would go to the movies after everything was done. The adults were in the living room making small talk, so there was no point in you three hanging around for that.

Before you left, you went to go grab your coat and Melissa pulled Scott aside.

“I like her,” Melissa whispered to her son.

“Yeah, I do, too,” Scott whispered back looking up the stairs where you just went.

“Then do something about it,” she replied nudging him. “You haven’t dated anyone since Kira.”

“I know,” Scott sighed. “But I told myself I was just going to focus on school.”

“Oh, your grades are fine, Scott. It’s okay to date and fall in love. You can’t force yourself to be single all through college. You deserve to be happy.”

“I am happy, mom,” Scott pointed out.

“I know. But she makes you happy. And if you deny yourself that for some pre-college promise you made to yourself, you’re going to miss out on a good thing. You don’t just invite any girl home for Thanksgiving,” Melissa said then walked back to the living room.

The only decent thing to watch at the theater that wasn’t sold out was The Good Dinosaur, so you all decided on that. Scott sat in the middle of the three of you, holding the popcorn in his lap. Being the baby that you were, you cried as soon as the dad died in the movie and Scott reached over and grabbed your hand. You sniffled in his direction and smiled. He kept his hand there for the rest of the movie never letting go. The words his mom said echoing in his head.

After the movie, Scott drove you all back to his place. Stiles talked about the movie the whole way back and you couldn’t help but laugh. You sat in the passenger seat and Stiles stuck his head through the middle asking your opinion on the movie. When you pulled up to Scott’s house, you and Scott lingered out by the car but Stiles didn’t catch the hint.

“Is it like mandatory for Disney to only have one parent in their movies?”

“I don’t know Stiles,” Scott said annoyed his friend wouldn’t shut up for one minute.

“I mean, I’m sure they can make a good movie without killing off a parent as a plot device.”

“They’ve done it before,” you said sighing but smiling none the less.

“It was still a great movie though,” Stiles said. “I know it will get nominated for an Oscar.”

“I’m sure of it, Stiles,” Scott said attempting to casually nod his head to the door. Stiles stood there in silence while you giggled at Scott’s not so subtle attempt to get you two alone. It finally clicked in Stiles head what Scott was trying to do.

“Ohhh,” he said a little too loudly. He stretched his arms over his head yawning dramatically faking his tiredness. “I think I’m going to go ahead and head inside. Tell my dad it’s time we head home,” he said as he took big steps back heading towards Scott’s home. “It might take us a while to pack up our leftovers. Like ten minutes. Yeah.” Scott shook his head at his best friend watching him step inside the house.

“Sorry about him.”

“Don’t be,” you said. “He’s funny.”

“He talks a little too much sometimes,” Scott said running his hand through the back of his hair.

“I like him though,” you said shrugging. “It was nice to meet your best friend.”

“It was? I was sure he talked your ear off in the car.”

“He did, but I liked getting to see you in your element. School is one thing, but this is different.”

“So you had a good time,” Scott asked.

“Yeah, I did,” you said smiling up at him. “Next year I’ll have to bring you to my home. My mom makes the most incredible dressing. I still haven’t figure out how to make it yet. She literally throws everything in there but the kitchen sink and she doesn’t follow a recipe.”

Scott’s eyes lit up after you mentioned him coming home with you next year. He wasn’t really hearing anything you said about your mom’s dressing. He was just stuck on the idea of you and him together for another holiday.

“Next year,” Scott asked, a little goofy grin on his face.

“Uhh, yeah. I mean, you were nice enough to bring me home. It’s only right that I return the favor,” you replied fiddling with your fingers. Scott didn’t say anything for a moment and it made you nervous. Maybe you had been reading the signs all wrong. Maybe he was just a sweet guy that didn’t want you to be alone on Thanksgiving. “That’s only if you want to of course,” you quickly explained.

Scott sensed your nervousness and hurriedly tried to assure you. “Of course I want too!” He said a little too excitedly for his liking. “I mean, uh, it would be nice to meet your family.”

“It would,” you asked happily.

“Yeah,” Scott spoke softly.

Scott’s gaze dipped to your lips then back up to your eyes. You became even more nervous than before and began twirling your ponytail in between your fingers. Scott stepped closer to you, licking his lips. You eyelids fluttered shut as Scott leaned down to kiss you. At first, Scott only kissed your lips briefly before pulling back. Then you reached up connecting your lips again. The kiss was slow making your heart quicken with every second. Scott wrapped his arms around your waist, pulling you into his warm body. The November night air made you cold, but right now you didn’t care. Your hands slowly came up and rested on Scott’s shoulders.

Right as Scott began to deepen the kiss, the front door opened and Sheriff Stilinski, Stiles, Melissa, and Argent came outside. Neither one of you realized until the Sheriff cleared his throat. You and Scott jumped apart but it was too late. All the adults were just smiling down at the two of you.

“Alright Scotty,” Stiles cheered nodding his head.

Your cheeks grew red as you mumbled an “Oh my God” to Scott and buried your face in your hands. Scott gave his best friend a look and Stiles tried to defend himself.

“Hey, I tried to stall, but they already packed up all the food.”

#Scott McCall #Scott McCall x reader #teen wolf fanfiction #teen wolf fan fiction #teen wolf #Scott McCall imagine

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charlies-crashcourses · 5 years ago

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college crash course #3: deadlines and daily tasks, aka getting shit done on time

I hate online courses. I just do. Everyone else in my life loves them and scrambles for the chance to stay home in their pjs as they do their work. My brain, however, cannot for the life of me remember to complete tasks with no outside input, and so every single class I’ve gotten a low grade on in my college career has been an online class, without fail. I need structure to thrive, as do most adhd people (especially those in college) and so

What’s the solution here? What works best?

I have a couple strategies for this that work in tandem, so here they are

Strategy 1: Daily Task Sheets

on my desk I have at least 12 different types of sticky notes for different uses. Nothing so intense as color coding or organizing that way, I mean one for little positivity reminders and a smaller one for words I like and want to include in my writing and another larger one for little sketches to do as I work, etc etc.

One of these stacks of sticky notes is large and neon and used specifically for daily task lists. I have an app for larger scale lists and things that need to be done in general, but every day before I start working I sit down at my desk, pull off one of my big sticky notes, and write down a checklist of everything I need to do today (or, on the weekends, everything that needs doing before Monday).

I break these tasks down to chunks that are palatable for me, ie right now I have one task that reads “300-400p Existence” aka my quick notation for having to read 100 pages of a novel for class, and another separate task that says “400-500p Existence” because seeing 300-500 would make it Too Big and my brain would throw a tantrum and not do it.

I also put down tasks that will literally take me three seconds, like checking to see if I have unexpected homework for a class that rarely has actual work to do, or replying to an email from someone. Any task that needs doing goes on the list.

(I do this for a couple reasons, actually. One is because if I don’t write it down, I won’t remember it and it won’t get done, but the more important reason is that the more items I see checked off, the more I’ve gotten done and the better my brain will cooperate because see? we’re being productive! and my brain responds with that sweet sweet dopamine.)

When I’m checking stuff off (and this is the important part) I don’t just put a checkmark and move on. At a quick glance, then, it looks like nothing is done, because the boxes are all still mostly empty. I completely fill in each box, and sometimes when it’s going really slow I liberally cross off every item as I finish them so I can’t see the words anymore at all so I know I did stuff. The easier it is to see and process how much I’ve done, the better.

(it’s also important that it’s a sticky note, as well, because regular pieces of paper are Extra Things that will get lost, sticky notes can move and stay with me if i have to go somewhere else to go print something, for example. I can just peel it off my desk, stick it on my laptop, and go)

Strategy 2: Storing and Collecting Tasks

so Charlie, you might ask, how the heck do you know what needs to be done each day? How do you remember these tasks to do? Well this strategy is actually thanks to Ryan, my guy in student disability services. He showed me this app that I’m about to show y’all to make your lives a million times easier.

but first, let me explain. When making my daily task sticky notes, there’s no way I’d be able to remember everything I have to do on the top of my head, right? So really when I first sit down I open my laptop, check on my phone real quick how many emails I need to respond to (but don’t respond yet) and open up my college’s online system Canvas to make sure I don’t have any new announcements, not checking anything else yet. Then I grab my phone and open up my shiny new app: IKE

its a productivity app based on the Eisenhower model of task orientation, splitting up tasks into four categories: Important and Urgent, Important but Not Urgent, Urgent but Not Important, and Not Important or Urgent. You can rename these categories as you choose (they choose to name them, in order, Focus, Goals, Fit In, and Backburner, but I’ve changed them to Do Now, Soonish, 5 Min Tasks, and kept Backburner, but you do you)

Now you can choose to completely forego the IKE model and just use it as four different lists of things, but IKE also has a solution for that which is different lists as well as different categories within these lists. So the four categories above apply to all the different lists, which it displays in a cute four square style that tells you how many tasks are there, but doesn’t tell you what they are until you open the category, and has a quick task adding feature where you drag a circle from the center of the four corners into whichever list you’re going for and make the task right then. But for the lists they’re all separate and can all be different colors depending on what they’re for, that’s all up to you.

Now how does this seemingly complex system work for you, Charlie, who’s brain has the max processing power of a four year old on speed most days? you may ask

well it actually makes it super easy to put everything in, and if I put a task in the wrong spot I can move it easily, plus I can add due dates if I want, or a million reminders at all times of day if I want, but the main deal is that it’s a holding place for everything I need to do. When writing my daily list, I check my Do Now category first in all my lists (I have one for Uni, one for my student org I run, and one for any extra tasks that need done) and write all those in. Then I go to the 5 Min Tasks category of only the Uni and Extra tasks lists and add those in, and then I’m good for the day and I can start it all

As for getting the tasks in there, I paid the extra one time 99cent charge to get the widget for my home screen on my phone, and whenever I hear someone ask me to do something, I shove the task in there. My mom asks me off handedly to do the dishes? I throw it in with a reminder every half hour until I complete it. Someone asks me to send some emails? throw them in the 5 min category and tell it to remind me when I get to my computer (because it can do that, too, location based reminders for when you arrive or leave somewhere, which is great for reminding myself to pick something up on my way home from uni)

Strategy 3: Accountability

I don’t live alone, I never have, so part of my strategy as well is to have people I live with hold me accountable. Not in like a “you’re my minder now, hover over my desk to make sure I work” kind of way, but in a way that I tell someone who will be around what I have to do that day in a casual way - me and my roommates used to run through everything after we were all home from class, me and my mom tell our days to each other each morning since we both have trouble keeping on task - then when someone sees me doing something not on my list they ask me about it, which reminds me of what I need to be doing.

for example, if I mention to my sister that I need to read, send emails, and write a paper today, then if she sees me watching tv or on my phone she’ll ask me what’s up, did I finish my shit yet? which then spurs my brain into “fuck, I got off track, time to jump back in” mode.

If you live alone, the best way to do this is to make a post about being busy or texting someone that you have a lot of stuff to do, then if they see you on social media or if you get stuck in a conversation with them, they’ll call you out.

ADHD brains need constant call outs because we can’t tell when we’ve gone off track and followed tangents because our brain just wants dopamine and doesn’t care where it comes from, so it won’t question it once it gets what it wants, whereever that comes from.

so - tl;dr I shove any task I get into an app (if you’re not an app person, just make notes on your phone or put it in your calendar or voice recordings or whatever works best for your brain that you’ll remember to check) and unload all the tasks onto a smaller more streamlined daily task list that I write and check off each day, and make sure there’s someone that knows what I’m not supposed to be doing so they’ll call me out when I get off task for too long.

Now go forth and get shit accomplished! I believe in you!

#charlie's college crash course #adhd studying #adhd studyblr #adhd tips #college study tips

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asofterfan · 6 years ago

Text

Winter Winds

Chapter 2: Wake Me Up When September Ends

Previous ~ Next

Summary: A new client arrives...

Warnings: None that I can think of (shocking I know)

The next morning, to absolutely no one’s surprise, Remy burst through the door of the shop at 11am.

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I know I’m late, but it wasn’t my fault this time!” Remy panted. He was in the ragged sweatpants and baggy crop top that everyone in the shop recognized as his pajamas, a flannel wrapped hastily around his waist. Gripping his coffee and a pastry bag like a lifeline, he looked around the shop frantically, “Where’s the client, I’ll share my muffin or something to appease them.”

“Oh, their appointment isn’t for another half hour,” Ali deadpanned.

“…Excuse me?”

“Yeah,” Ali drawled with a smirk, “I had a feeling this would happen so I told you the appointment time was an hour earlier than it actually is.”

Remy sputtered indignantly, “That’s…! How dare you, I….!”

“Remy, drink your coffee,” Rafael chimed in, snickering, “Your sleepy sass sounds do not make a particularly compelling argument.”

Huffing, Remy threw his bag onto a chair in his station, “You guys are the worst. I ran here. RAN. I haven’t moved that fast since gym class in high school.”

“You expect us to believe you ran in gym?” Cass challenged.

“Exactly! You guys are literally worse than high school gym!” Remy glared at each of them in turn, shoving his muffin into his mouth angrily.

Shaking their heads fondly, the rest of the staff returned to their various tasks as Remy finished his breakfast, sipping on his coffee. The caffeine didn’t hit fast enough and he found himself yawning. “Uuuuuuuugh,” Remy groaned, throwing himself into an empty chair at the front desk and laying his head on his arms.

“Sleepyhead, don’t-” Brett began before being cut off.

“Relax, gurl, I’m just resting my eyes.”

Brett shook his head, “Famous last words.”

“Remy.”

The artist groaned, burrowing his face deeper into his arms.

“Remyyyyy.”

Someone was shaking his shoulder, but he couldn’t be bothered to do anything more than grumble. Surely whoever it was would leave him alone soon.

“REMY!”

A loud ‘BANG’ inches from his face had Remy shooting upright, sunglasses clattering onto the desk and nearly falling out of his chair as he regained his bearings, blinking rapidly. Heart still beating rapidly, he turned to glare at Cass, who was staring down at him with a smirk, her hands still on the desk where she had hit it to wake him up.

“What kind of disrespect?!” Remy exclaimed.

Cass only snickered, “Hey, we warned you not to ‘rest your eyes’, Sleepyhead,” She crossed her arms as she chastised him, “Your client is here, so look alive!”

A light chuckle came from behind her, and for the first time Remy noticed the newcomer. The man was short, standing only slightly taller than Cass’ 5’5”, but he was muscular, and he fit in perfectly with the studio. Ripped jeans and a tattered black tee shirt under a leather jacket, with tattoos poking out from the neckline. He had an undercut, short black hairs contrasting sharply with the messy red/orange gradient that fell around his face, and dark circles under his eyes. When they made eye contact, he gave Remy a crooked smirk, raising his hand lazily in greeting.

“‘Sup.”

Raising an eyebrow, Remy sighed through his nose before grabbing his sunglasses and plastering on a smile as he pushed them onto the top of his head, “Hey gurl, sorry I’m late-”

“I mean, technically you were here on time-”

“Whatever, yeah,” Remy waved his hand dismissively as he gathered his notebooks and his now cold coffee, “Alright, let’s get this appointment going,” He sauntered past the two, entering the lounge in the back, dropping into one of the couches, “Come on, chop chop, waiting on you hon.”

Shaking his head in amusement, the client followed leisurely, as Cass rolled her eyes and returned to her own station.

The lounge was situated past the entry area, and was cleaner and more professional than the staff break room in the back. Photos of the staff and framed art covered the walls, along with a copy machine in the corner, a few couches, and a large coffee table with the artists’ portfolios spread out across it. Consultations were always held in the lounge so that both the client and the artists could be comfortable as they discussed their projects.

As the man sat down, Remy held a hand out, “As you’ve probably already gathered, I’m Remy.”

“Toby,” he replied, shaking the offered hand. Remy noticed his eyes dart down to his pronoun necklace, but he didn’t make any comment.

“So,” Remy crossed his legs, getting comfortable, “let’s talk tatts. I can see you have some tattoos already, you been to our shop before?”

Toby leaned his arms against the back of the couch casually, “Nah. I lived a few hours away during college and just moved back last year. This is the first tattoo I’ve gotten since then.”

Remy nodded, “Alright, so I’ll need to get your information before you leave for our files. But first, tell me about what you’re looking to get.”

Nodding, Toby pulled a folded piece of paper out of his pocket, smoothing it out as he handed it to the artist with a grin, “I want to get this quote in the center of my back, with some kind of border around it.”

“Well that’s not vague at all,” Remy drawled, taking the page and looking down at the quote.

“Ha! I know, I know,” Toby rubbed at his neck, grinning sheepishly, “I guess I was kind of thinking maybe like, branches, or leaves or something. But honestly I’m open to anything if you’ve got any ideas.

Remy hummed noncommittally. Maybe it was because he was still a little drowsy, but he couldn’t think of anything other than the usual cliches. Virgil might be able to come up with something. “This is a pretty long quote. How big did you want this?”

“I don’t have any tattoos on my back, so I’m cool with it taking up as much space as you think it needs.”

“How do you feel about editing this quote down a little? Just to give some more room for the design.”

Tilting his head, Toby thought about it for a moment, “I think that’d be fine. Could I edit it down myself and email it to you once I’ve worked out what I want?”

“Yeah girl, ain’t no thing,” taking a long sip of his coffee, he leaned back against the couch, “Now, a tattoo this big isn’t going to be cheap, or quick. Obviously what you choose for the final design for the border will effect it, but if I had to guesstimate I’d say you’re looking at probably a four hour session. We could also break it into two session if you wanted.”

“Cool, that’s about what I expected,” he grinned, “Don’t worry, I’ve been saving for this.”

“Oh, I wasn’t worried,” Remy raised an eyebrow, “We get your card information before we start inking. I ain’t letting anyone tatt and dash.”

Toby barked out a laugh, “That’s a good system.”

“Mmhmm,” Remy nodded, making a few quick notes in his notebook, “Alright. I’mma need to photocopy your ID and have you fill out some paperwork while we work out a date for you.”

Nodding, Toby pulled out a beat up leather wallet, pulling out his driver’s license to give to the artist. Remy took it and stood to go to the copy machine when he suddenly froze, staring down at the plastic card.

“Toby, huh?” Smirking teasingly, Remy waved the card in front of him, “Cause this says your name is October.”

Raising an eyebrow, the man in question grinned, “Who doesn’t love October?”

“I’m not a fan,” Remy deadpanned. It was a total lie, of course, October was objectively the best month, “Besides, if that’s the case why go by Toby? Honestly if no one calls you Doc Oct then what’s the point?” Suddenly he gasped, “Wait. Hold up. Girrrrrrrl why do I suspect you have too many autumn tatts?”

“I have exactly the right amount of autumn tatts.”

Looking back down at the license, Remy burst into giggles, “And your birthday is October 1st?? This is too much, like, I am unprepared for this situation.”

“Falling for me already?” Toby leaned forward, eyes bright and wearing playful grin.

Shaking their head, Remy pulled out a form from one of the drawers in the coffee table, “Tsk, I’m surprised it took you that long to bust out a pun,” he handed the paper to him.

“I try to ease people into the fact that I’m both hot and witty,” he grabbed a pen from the coffee table and began filling in his information.

“And modest, too,” Remy leaned against the copy machine as he waited for it to finish printing.

“What can I say, I’ve got it all.”

“Except height.”

Toby gasped dramatically, putting a hand over his heart in mock offense, “Low blow!”

“Any higher and it’d go over your head,” Remy grinned, tossing his ID onto the coffee table and setting the photocopy aside.

Chuckling, the man returned to filling out the form, “Don’t think I didn’t notice the heels on those boots. You can’t be that much taller than me.”

“Keep telling yourself that,” Remy took out his phone, leaning against the wall as he flipped through his calendar, “Alright, so as far as setting you up with an appointment. I’ll need some time to get the design drawn up and approved by you. Plus I’m pretty booked, so next available time slot I could fit you in would be next month on the 18th at noon.”

“What day of the week is that?”

“Wednesday.”

“Hm, no go. Do you have anything on Thursday? The 19th?”

Remy scrolled down the page before nodding, “Yeah, that day is clear. You can pick the time.”

“Let’s do 1pm, I am not a morning person,” Toby looked up and smirked, holding out the completed form to Remy.

“Mood,” Remy grinned back, looking over the page to double check everything looked good before grabbing a stapler from next to the copy machine to attach the photocopy of Toby’s ID. “Alright then, I think you’re set.”

“Aw, getting rid of me already?” Toby leaned forward, chin in hand and he smiled up at the artist, “But we’re having so much fun.”

“So let’s quit while we’re ahead, mmkay?” Tossing his hair back, he picked up his notebook from the table, “I’ll email you once I have a sketch of the design to get your opinion or whatev.”

“I look forward to it,” he stood with a wink.

Remy deadpanned, “Well that makes one of us.”

“So cold,” Toby shook his head with a laugh, “Alright, thanks for everything. We’ll talk soon.”

“Uh huh, byeeee,” Remy waved his fingers as Toby finally left the shop. He barely made it to his station to put his things away and start preparing for his next appointment when Cass’ face peaked above the wall dividing their stations.

“Soooo,” She grinned teasingly, “You two seemed to get along.”

“Ali said I have to have some level of professional courtesy with the clients,” Remy raised an eyebrow.

Cass rolled her eyes, “Oh come on, you were both sassing easy as breathing! He’s the first person I’ve seen in a long time, if ever, that could keep up with you.”

“Oh my God, so what? Witty banter happens, it’s all around us, be more chill, girl.”

“You have his number~” she sing-songed, pointing to the form Remy was putting into his client drawer.

“Yeah, I needed his contact info. He’s my client.”

“Oh come on, we’re not doctors or anything, there’s no rule against artist/canvas relationships.”

“‘Relationships’? Ew.”

Cass laughed, “Alright, maybe not a relationship, but there’s nothing stopping you from tapping that!”

Remy felt his teeth clench together, and a lot of words flew through his mind, but he didn’t feel like he had the self-restraint to say any of them in less than a scream. So he settled for a cold, “Right, nothing at all,” as he pushed his sunglasses down over his eyes and returned to looking over the designs he needed to print for his next client.

“Hey, Sleep, I was just kidding,” Cass’ voice was a little softer, “We all know you’re not into that. It was a joke.”

It was a joke he’d heard too many times. It wasn’t really funny anymore. Still, he glanced over the top of his glasses and smiled, “I know, hon, it ain’t no thing.”

��You just seemed to get along more than you usually do with clients,” Cass continued, “If nothing else he just seems like a cool guy.”

“Ooooh, you sure you don’t want to tap that?” Remy wiggled his eyebrows suggestively.

Cass threw a crumpled up piece of paper at him as he laughed, “This is what I get for trying to expand your social circle!”

“Give up, babe, I’m a lone wolf,” He grinned. Cass shook her head in fond exasperation as they both returned to their work. Tapping on his phone, Remy entered Toby’s information into his calendar to mark his appoint.

After putting his phone in his pocket, October didn’t even cross his mind.

#punk au #winter winds #punk sleep #punk october #The Lad has arrived #sleep/october #(sleepy hallow)#my writing

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dead-night-harringrove · 6 years ago

Note

Modern au ghost Billy who was killed by Neil for being queer who lures Steve in and kills him so he won't be alone for all eternity

((this took a different direction and I’m SO SORRY KAI. Also to anyone else, I highly recommend reading the tags in case they don’t fit your blacklists))

Billy’s been alone for so long now, cursed to each day feel the pain of his own skull shattering beneath driving fists. Though there are days where he fades, where his essence splinters off and scatters through the eternal Void, mostly he simply…remains. Each day, like clockwork, his soul collapses in on itself in memorial pain. He is forced, endlessly, to repeat the cycle of his own death. He had not wanted to believe it at first, that he was dead. The first time he faded, however, was what had finally caused him to break.

The house was empty when he’d returned. Completely bare, with no furniture or signs of life. Thick layers of dust had covered everything, and he’d attempted to run out the door to see what the hell was going on. He’d been launched backwards into the house, blood pouring from his face as he screamed until no sound could come forth from his throat.

That was then. He’s since learned from the two other families who’ve lived in the house since he died, that it’s been over 30 years since his murder.

The first family had been nice enough, and he had tried to engage with them in an attempt to nullify the constant mind-numbing blandness of death. Really, it was the boredom that bothered him more than anything. He was always moving, driving forward in life. The family hadn’t appreciated his attempts at communication, however, growing unnerved enough to leave after three months of living there. The second family had stayed longer, but he could tell they weren’t going to last. It angered him, and he’d began lashing out in frustration. Couldn’t they see he wasn’t hurting anyone? He just didn’t want to be alone anymore!

They had fled the night he’d accidentally slung half of the kitchen into the living room all at once in a fit of rage.

Now, he waits for the next family to arrive, and prays they won’t leave him. He’ll make them stay if he has to. Billy’s wish is granted sooner than he had expected, in the year of 2018 the new patron’s calendar read. The newcomer was the only one who moved in, taking advantage of the cheap price of the supposedly “haunted” house. A college student, it looks like, studying complicated mathematics. His hair is long, almost to his shoulders and styled into a dramatic chestnut mane. He has a lithe frame, not incredibly thin but lean and all limb. The papers littered across the counter in the kitchen are addressed to Steven S. Harrington. Billy wonders what the S stands for only briefly, because otherwise he doesn’t care. He’s entranced by the boy’s, Steven’s, apparent grace and his beauty.

The memory of why he was murdered, 34 years prior, resurfaces suddenly. At the mercy of his own flesh and blood, his father, he’d been outed after getting caught with another boy’s lips against his own.

He’s suddenly overwhelmed with emotion as he realizes he can’t handle another person leaving him. Steve can never leave him, he can’t be alone forever for something he couldn’t help.

So he stays low, trying not to cause too much disturbance at first. Instead of acting out, he observes. He learns that Steve is bisexual, something that surprises him at how easily he says it and expresses himself. Billy is absolutely fascinated by the technology the living boy owns, things that when Billy was alive would have been considered nearly sci-fi in their advancements. Steve draws a lot, and he also runs a blog. Billy learns that Steve’s ex-girlfriend, Nancy, is also bisexual and is dating a girl named Kali who is an out and outspoken lesbian. Nancy’s other ex, Jonathan, is close friends with Steve as well and calls him one night freaking out over some big-name musician coming out as pansexual. That’s how Billy finds out Jonathan himself is pansexual, though he’s not sure what that means. If he wasn’t any smarter, he’d probably assume Jonathan was attracted to pans. That’s stupid though, so Billy dismisses the thought.

He learns that 2018 is nicknamed “20-gay-teen” and feels a bitter twang run through his chest at the fact that he doesn’t get to enjoy this. What they so freely embrace and enjoy in themselves and take pride in, he was killed for. If he’d made it to 18, if he could have just made it a little bit longer, he could be alive right now. He could be married, to a man he loved because queer people can get married now, apparently.

The night he learns the clever nickname is the first time Billy lashes out around Steve, knocking over a baseball trophy on his dresser. Steve abruptly shivers, the temperature in the room dropping albeit Billy can’t feel it.

It’s the first time Steve’s witnessed anything strange in the house, and it makes every hair stand on end as he remembers he did, in fact, decide to rent a supposedly haunted house. He’d scoffed at the notion at the time, but now he wasn’t so sure. As a rational person though, he couldn’t decide the house was haunted just by an isolated incident.

It escalates, steadily. Billy can’t stand it. He’s angry; why does Steve and his friends get to enjoy being themselves while Billy suffers, alone and doomed to die everyday? His father isn’t even around anymore, and yet he still relives his death. The pain, the shock, the emotions, they never fade as he slips into what he calls the False Sleep. His presence temporarily drops down, and he’s unable to do anything until the turn of 3AM. He’s not really sure why, probably something to do with stupid ghost logic. After all, Billy can walk through walls but he can’t go through the ceiling and he can’t sink through the ground. The most inaccurate thing anyone’s ever gotten in a ghost movie was the spirit being able to float or fly. Billy can confirm that he’s still a victim of gravity, unfortunately.

Billy throws things, sometimes at Steve. Steve can’t really leave, either. Being a college student and having to juggle all of his debts, he can’t afford to just up and walk away. So he suffers through it. He curses at the spirit, looks up the history of the house and learns that the kid who died in the house was named William, but everyone called him Billy. He tells Billy to fuck off in the most polite manner one can achieve when dealing with an asshole ghost. The activity in the house calms after that, and for a while Steve believes maybe Billy left.

Billy, however, has returned to observing. When Steve had addressed him by name, it had been nice. Billy hasn’t heard his name, hasn’t been addressed personally, since he was alive.

The first time Billy witnesses one of Steve’s panic attacks, he himself panics. He’d felt Steve’s anxiety and emotions rushing off of his form in waves, and had rushed in as soon as he could. Steve has scratches on his arms from where he’s digging his own nails into his skin, and Billy wants to reach other and pry his hands away from his arms. He impulsively tries to, and Steve feels goosebumps spread across his entire body. “Billy,” Steve says his voice so softly, tears dripping off his face so softly as he looks up directly at Billy but also through him. He’s looking in the right direction though, and Billy’s breath stutters in his chest. It’s the absolute worst time to be jerked out of Steve’s room into living room, feeling nonexistent punches landing on his body and his bones snapping and face crushing beneath long-gone pressure of hateful fists. He lets out a cry of pain and anguish, begging for mercy just this once… when three AM rolls around hours later, however, he curses fate for forcing him to suffer as he rushes to Steve’s room. He’s not asleep, staring down at his phone as he scrolls through Instagram mindlessly. Billy comes closer, and the signal of his phone degrades until nothing loads. Billy settles himself beside Steve on the bed, though nothing changes. It’s like he’s not even there, but Steve puts his phone down regardless and lays back on the bed. “You scared me earlier… you were there and then you were just gone. I felt you disappear. It was weird. I feel like I shouldn’t be this casual about living with a ghost but what can you do, right? I wish there was some way I could talk to you, but I’m not about to bring a Ouija board in this house. Fuck that shit. You know, Jonathan heard you one time when we were in a call. He said it sounded like you called me an asshole. You’re the asshole of the two of us though, you know? Always throwing my shit around the house and taking my things and hiding them from me… who does that? Is it really necessary?”

Billy giggles mindlessly, knowing Steve can’t hear him but he finds a lot of humor in the only thing that’s ever been transferred across their worlds was calling Steve an asshole. He sobers quickly, however, when Steve continues speaking. “Sometimes, I feel like dying. I want to, you know? I…I tried once. I know one of these days I’m going to end up trying again…life fucking sucks today. The world’s ending and no one’s doing shit about it and I’m just tired of it.”Steve sighs, and Billy feels his stomach pitch in sadness. He wishes he could do something to ease Steve’s pain, but nothing comes to mind. Billy settles for just being there, at the very least. Steve’s not alone now, even if Billy wants to do more than be a presence. Eventually, Steve falls asleep.

Time progresses, as it is prone to do. Steve is mostly okay, though Billy can feel the building waves of pain flowing out of the older boy’s body. He takes a moment to follow that train of thought, finding humor in the fact that Steve is older than him by societal norm, but by technicality Billy is 51 years old. He’s an old man now! He laughs to himself, and Steve shivers. “I hope you know every time I actually hear you, it’s like either a small child or a demon crawling up from the pits of hell. Your voice is not what it’s probably supposed to sound like,” he says idly. Billy snorts, knocking over a vase on the kitchen counter just to be a pain in the ass. Steve curses, looking over at the vase from where he’s sitting in the living room. Billy watches the debate play across his face before Steve decides he’ll sit it up later. Rolling his eyes, he props it back up himself.

It’s nice.

The first time Billy walks in on Steve with his pants off and his hand in his boxers, his brain backfires as it tries to catch up. His door was closed, dumb ass, he doesn’t usually close his door, runs through his mind as he tries to backtrack and leave the room but the image is going to be in his head for eternity. It overwhelms him enough to fade for a few days.

When he returns, it’s with a shout and the picture frames on the wall rattle all at once. Steve jolts, looking around in a panic. “Billy? You’re back! You just vanished, I was worried you were gone for good…”Steve looks worse for wear, and Billy sees scabs on his arms. Guilt rises up in his throat as he goes over to sit beside Steve on the couch, and the music that had been playing from his laptop slows to a stop as it enters an endless buffering cycle. Billy wishes he could explain the fades to Steve, the temporary gaps in time as he scatters across existence briefly. He wishes he could say anything to Steve at all, and restless anger spurs his soul into frantic energy. The television flips on, off, and then on again. Steve frowns, scrubbing a hand across his tired eyes. “I thought you were gone.”

When Billy comes back from his next fade, it’s to the overwhelming sense that something is terribly wrong. Turning around from where he stands in the living room, he sees Steve’s bedroom door down the hall is closed again. He feels a pull towards it and he phases across the house, brushing through the door as an intense suffering hits him like a wall. The calendar on Steve’s wall reads different, by a drastic amount, to when Billy had last looked at it. It’s been three months, which isn’t the longest he’s ever disappeared for but he’s also never had a reason to stick around. Steve is curled up in a fetal position on the floor beside his bed, drooling and shaking violently. He retches, but can’t move himself into a different position not to choke on his own saliva and throw-up. His breathing is shallow, and too slow. His skin is paler than usual, and Billy’s eyes scan the room when he spots the bottle that’s rolled beneath the bed. He jerks it out, and sees it’s empty. The top is further beneath the bed. Ativan, Steve’s anxiety medication. He overdosed on what’s supposed to help him. “Steve!” His voice is foreign to his own ears, desperate as he glitches directly beside him. Steve’s eyes, glassy and unfocused, immediately turn to him. He’s crying, and Billy brushes his fingers along his forehead. Steve shivers, and retches again. “Make it stop…Billy, make it stop…” There’s nothing Billy can do, he can’t call 911 and even if he manages to, they’ll never make it in time. Steve is too far gone, that much Billy can tell. He can feel it, Steve’s spirit is closer than Billy’s ever felt it. So, he thinks and he feels tears spring in his eyes as he reaches into Steve, grabs hold of him. It’s a foreign feeling, his hands are somewhere inside of Steve but not at the same time. He grabs on, and he tears him out. Steve is slung from his body and he screams as he’s suddenly overwhelmed by everything. His hands go to his chest, scratching at the phantom intrusion of cold hands gripping his heart and squeezing the last of life from it. His eyes lose their amber hue, fading into a blank white with a gentle gold back-light. Turning to look at where he’d been laying moments prior, life fading, he looks at his body in mute horror. That’s his body. He’s not in it. He’d actually done it, he’d lost control and… a sob tears out of his throat, followed by a series of aborted gasps as he feels cold tears wash down his cheeks. Suddenly, he’s jerked away from his lifeless corpse and turned around to face a solid chest and a tear-streaked face. In an instant he recognizes the face he’s looking into, he’s seen it so many times before in newspaper clippings and articles online. “B-Billy?” his voice is wispy, echoing in his ears. Softer than he’s ever heard himself. He sniffles, and Billy smiles wryly. “Yeah, it’s me. I, I’m so sorry… I didn’t realize, I didn’t know it’s been three months since I faded. I never should have left…” He says it, even though he can’t control the fade. Steve will learn that soon enough, he’ll fade too. Steve reaches up, takes his face in his hands and just looks at him. His eyes are wide, full of both fear and wonder. Billy’s pulse quickens in his veins, uselessly since he doesn’t have a heartbeat to pump blood through his body but- whatever. It is what it is.

Maybe it’s in an effort to distract him from what just happened, what they’ve both done, or maybe it’s Billy’s own desires finally being something he can act on, but he shifts just enough to press his lips to Steve’s. Steve gasps against his lips, but doesn’t move away. After a beat, he presses back against him. There’s nothing heated to it, nothing more, just a comfort they both take part in.

Billy leads him out of the room, out onto the back porch to watch the sunrise. While neither of them know what’s next, both are content to finally have someone to spend forever with. Neither are alone anymore, and for now that’s enough.

#harringrove #short fiction #tw: violence #tw: suicide #tw: overdose

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-this-dizzy-dreamer- · 6 years ago

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Colleagues and Cocktails (Chapter 3)

Pairing: Coworker!Sebastian Stan x Plus-size!Reader AU

Summary: When you get moved up to a new department at work you can’t help but dread every aspect of it, that is until you find yourself expecting one of your co-workers to walk through the door every day. Then you realize it might not be as bad as you thought. But the thing is he doesn’t seem to notice you at all. All he seems to give you are daydreams and interesting chats with your best friend.

Warnings: Language.

Word Count: 2K

Enjoy!

It had been a week since you had found out that elevator guy was now your boss and well not much had changed. You had been on time after that too, except for that one time Rocinante had a flat tire, but other than that you’d done just fine. You hadn’t bumped into your boss either, thank God, because who knows what would come out of your face hole if you did. And you still talked...well texted Sebastian every now and then. Looking at the work you’d done putting your hair in a fishtail braid you, you came to realize that everything was pretty well off and there was not much that could ruin your streak so far.

You were already up and it was extremely early for work and since you were almost ready you decided to sit and eat a bowl of cereal while starting to rewatch Supernatural for the 10000th time.

sstan01: What does one pack for a work retreat? Every year I have the same problem. Are you taking formal or casual clothing?

As you checked your calendar you panicked. You had completely forgotten about your work retreat. Everyone had to mandatorily go to a company owned cabin in the middle of basically nowhere to build “teamwork ethic.” And to top it all off you were leaving today in less than 3 hours. YOU HAD TO PACK IN LESS THAN 3 HOURS….

coffeelover04: Both???

You quickly pulled out your old suitcase and began throwing things in, the necessities first, everything else later.

“ I can do this. I can totally do this.”

Seb smiled as he read your text realizing you had probably forgotten all about the trip. He, however, had been looking forward to it since the moment he realized he’d have to talk to you during the whole week. Yes, he had been texting you, but he was pretty sure you had no idea it was him and well maybe you not knowing wasn’t a bad thing. What would everyone else say if they knew you’d been getting special attention from the boss. Not that it was special attention or anything, but people always talk.

sstan01: Right, thanks!

He had also already packed, since yesterday, and had texted you just to make sure you remembered, which he could tell basically saved your life. However, he wasn’t completely lying about not knowing what to take. That had been his conflict last night He was too excited to sleep and kept overthinking what he had packed. He couldn’t be too laid back because he was in charge now, but he also didn’t want to intimidate everyone else, especially not you.

After you finally finished packing you had an hour to get to the office, meaning you really only had half an hour to pull yourself together and text Liz to look after your apartment for the week.

As you drove to work you couldn’t help think that maybe you were going on this trip to underdressed. But then again you were going to be stuck on a bus with other people for possibly the whole day, so who cares, sweats and a sweater were a great idea. And Liz was wrong you couldn’t talk to him and you definitely weren’t dressing for him.

Pulling up to the parking lot you noticed you were either really early or super late. The bus had arrived, coach obviously, and the only one placing their luggage in was your boss.

“Liz is wrong. Liz is wrong. Liz is wrong..”

Finally having convinced yourself you’d be fine you pulled yourself out of your car and got your luggage out of your car. Walking toward him made your stomach hurt. You could hear your heartbeat pounding in your chest. What would you even say? “Hi?” That’s so pathetic. Why did it even matter?

“ Goodmorning! We were just waiting on you Y/N? Almost left, but Jessica insisted you’d make it. Said late is your middle name.” Your boss smirked slightly and your palms were suddenly really clammy as you processed the interaction.

“ Hi, yea sorry. I’m here.” You frantically moved around him trying to put your suitcase up under the bus and failed miserably as it slid back down. Fuck.

You heard your boss chuckle behind you. He was right behind you. You could feel his presence so close to you. Like in your dream.

“Here let me help you with that.” His hand came up behind you brushing your arm slightly to catch your suitcase before it slid down again.

“ Yea thanks.” You said as you left him there to get on the bus feeling your cheeks heat up turning bright red. “Liz is wrong. Liz is wrong. Liz could be right??”

Jess had saved you a seat next to her in the back so that you could stretch out comfortably she said, but you knew she loved watching everyone else and catching all the gossip. Moving to the back you kept your face down so no one would notice how red you were. When you finally got there and sat down Jess already knew what had happened.

“ Girl I saw it out the window! Truth be told you two would be sooo cute together, or it would at least be a change.”

“ What do you mean a change?”

“ Well, he has only dated those super athletic model type girls, that I know of at least. Not that you aren’t fit to be a model darling, but...well you know what I mean.”

“ It’s ok Jess I know I’m fat and plus that would never happen. Like you said I’m not his type.”

“ Okay look here don’t put words in my mouth and second you’re not fat you’re THICK. He’d be lucky to have a girl like you. More cushion for the pushin’.” Winking at you Jess looked back at the boss he had finally settled in his seat and pulled her sleeping mask over her eyes leaving you still blushing if not more.

And as the bus pulled away your notifications went off.

sstan01: Can I text you? I’m pretty sure you don’t like having to open your email just to message me back. And just in case they don’t keep the bus wifi on the whole way.

You had completely forgotten that Sebastian was on the trip too, obviously. So since Jess was snoring softly next to you-you decided to occupy your time trying to figure out just who it could be. An texting sounded like the perfect way to find out.

coffeelover04: Sure!

Maybe it would be a trip to remember, but you did know one thing for sure. Whoever Sebastian was you couldn’t tell. No phone went off, so the only other conclusion you could come to was that they had their phone either on vibrate or silent. And since Jess was still asleep and you had nothing else to do you decided to reply and take a nap yourself.

After about 10 minutes with no reply Seb convinced himself to look back to check up on you, however, he had to make it as normal as possible after what had happened outside the bus. So obviously he pretended to make do a head count even though the bus hadn’t stopped anywhere yet. He sat back in his seat smiling to himself at the image he had seen a few seconds earlier. You sleeping soundly with a smile on your face snuggling up to Jess. You looked so sweet and innocent. Just as sweet and innocent as you did fumbling with your suitcase. The closeness between the two of you had made him want more. He had to use all of his willpower to not wrap his arms around you. You radiated something that attracted him to you and he couldn’t figure out what it was. It made his hair stand on ends when he was near you and it made his head spin. And to tell the truth, he loved it.

You woke abruptly from your nap from some weird dream you couldn’t remember now, but slowly came to your surrounding. It seemed everyone had gotten off the bus at the rest area and no one had bothered to let you know. And getting off now would be so awkward and you’d probably make everyone have to wait too. So you curled up into a blanket you assumed belonged to Jess and curl up again, but of course, you had to check your phone again before you dozed off.

You couldn’t help blushing slightly at Sebastian’s response. Was he flirting with you or was it all in your head? Could you still be half asleep?

Just as you hit send you saw someone get back on the bus in your peripheral vision and heard their phone chime.

“ It can’t be? Can it? Holy shit, what if it is?”

Slowly you looked up into the driver's mirror. The guys head was down so you couldn’t tell who it was, that and well you had taken your glasses off to nap. However, you decided to try something.

It was him. For every text that you had sent you had heard a chime on his phone. They correlated perfectly. It took you a second to pull all of your courage together to go up to him and properly introduce yourself, but just as you were about to get up Jess came back on the bus with everyone else behind her. You couldn’t possibly do it now. Sitting back down you pulled the blanket back on and decided you could do it later. Maybe after a few episodes of your favorite show with Jess. So, you pulled out your laptop and headphones as Jess sat next to you under the blanket.

“ Oh, look who’s finally up. I tried to wake you, but you said something about “fucking off” or something.” Jess said as she handed you your favorite candy and drink from the vending machines.

“ I’m sorry Jess. I really am, thank you so much for the snacks. You’re the best.” Taking your snacks from her you offered her a headphone and started up your Netflix account.

As the last person got on the bus. Everyone cheered and applauded for being back on the road. And once everyone settled down you looked back up to the mirror and put on your glasses. He seemed familiar, but you couldn’t completely make him out. He seemed to be shuffling around for something. After a few minutes he got up and you could have sworn that the whole bus heard what you said next.

“ No fucking way.”

Sebastian had stood up to address the bus.

“If anyone has seen my phone, please let me know. I think it might have slipped between the seat. And now that I’m up here I should also let you guys know that we’ll be there in about 2-3 hours.”

You felt queasy. No way no how was it him. It couldn’t be.

“ Y/N are you ok? It looks like you just saw a ghost and not the one on your screen.”

Shaking your head you turned to Jess with a small smile. “I’m fine just a little car sick, but I have a quick question. Since we are on the trip to get to know everyone. What’s the big boss’s name?”

“ Oh, I totally forgot you didn’t know. It’s Sebastian, dear. We can go over everyone’s name later if you like.”

“ Yea, Jess...that sounds great.”

Looking back up at the mirror you saw him looking back up at you, elevator guy, the boss.

“ Sebastian..”

Hope you all enjoyed this chapter! I start classes this Monday, but I promise you guys I’ll try to keep updating on time! Once again any feedback you guys have for me is perfect. I love you all so much. If you guys ever just want to talk to have questions feel free to message me! ~xoxoxo~

#colleagues and cocktails fic #chapter 3 #sebastian stan x reader #sebastian stan x plus size reader #enjoy #fanfiction #fan fic #she knows

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twatd · 6 years ago

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The White and Black Goddesses

The first half of our commentary on issue #38 focuses on WicDiv’s ties to The White Goddess, by Robert Graves (and, apparently, Anna White), as Alex hits the books.

Alex: Since Ananke first mentioned it, way back in issue #9, I’ve spent three years resisting the urge to read Robert Graves’ The White Goddess. Since Gillen mentioned he’d made sure to hide the book from all his Instagram photos up until that point, I’ve always thought of it as a sort of WicDiv Rosetta Stone… but, for all the insight it might contain, nah, I’d really rather not.

With Graves making an extended cameo in issue #38, I finally caved.

(Well, sort of. More accurately, I read around it. A few passages from the book; commentary from Graves, critics and scholars; some Pagan websites; a fair bit of Wikipedia.)

Once I began to probe, I couldn’t stop noticing connections. Coincidences, maybe. Except, as the woman herself once said, they don’t feel like coincidences. They feel like magic.

Let’s start with the story of how The White Goddess originally came to be, and how that fits with what we see in #38. The majority of the book was written in a three-week sprint in 1944 – the same year ‘Anna White’ visits Devon – after Graves was struck by a sudden bolt of inspiration. His account in the real world involves drawing maps for a book about Jason and the Argonauts, but WicDiv switches this out for the much more interesting idea that he was visited by a drunk Ananke.

(And while we’re in real-world history mode, it’s worth noting that the 1957 lecture from this issue did really happen, at New York’s YMHA Centre. Everything he says in the comic appears to be a direct quote from that lecture.)

As for the actual content of that bolt of inspiration: well, it was something about trees and Celtic druids. Ananke throws this out fairly casually, half a bottle deep into her rant. For Graves, it was the key to unlocking a bigger idea.

First, the solution to a riddle in a medieval poem, The Song of Teliesin, using a Druidic alphabet that used as its letters the names of trees – the consonants of which, according to Graves, doubled as names of months. It was a lunar calendar, with thirteen months instead of twelve. Those numbers might sound familiar.

(This calendar leaves one spare day each year: 23 December, which is so close to the all-important WicDiv date of 21 December that it actually hurts.)

Graves used this idea as a jumping-off point. Understanding the trees as an alphabet, he reinterpreted The Battle of the Trees, a medieval Welsh poem, as a metaphor for two warring languages and knowledge systems – a new patriarchal system overwriting the old goddess-worshipping matriarchy.

This didn’t just happen in Wales, according to Graves – it happened across prehistoric Europe and the Middle East. “The language was tampered with in late Minoan times,” he wrote, “when invaders from Central Asia began to substitute patrilinear for matrilinear institutions and remodel or falsify the myths to fit their social changes.” Back to WicDiv: we’ve actually visited Minoa roughly around this time in the comic.

(Very roughly, it’s worth noting. Crete in 3026BC is actually, as far as I can tell, early rather than late Minoan. Tim’s the historian in this duo – you can see what he had to say on the matter here.)

We saw it first in #36, where it stuck out in a fifteen-page sequence of murder as one of the few examples where Ananke’s role was filled by the one we know as Minerva. Then #37 filled in the blanks a little – it was the first time Ananke fucked up the ritual and experienced 90 years of darkness. “Never again,” she said then, which might explain the changeover. Maybe she decided to go underground.

Because the big idea that was lost with this cultural overhaul was worship of a “a divine female power, manifest under many names and forms in the goddesses of the ancient world”. Does that sound like anyone we know? Someone roaming early civilisation setting up franchises like Michael Keaton in The Founder, perhaps?

The other idea in The White Goddess with obvious applications to WicDiv is the triple goddess. It’s not an idea that started with Graves – it was likely borrowed from Jane Ellen Harrison, writing half a century earlier – but he applied it to this idea of a lost prehistoric goddess. She was a single deity, but generally worshipped in three different aspects: Maiden, Mother and Crone. Or, less catchily, Mother, Bride and Layer-out. That version describes her relationship to a lesser god-king, the last bit referring to her killing him as a sacrifice.

(This triple goddess idea, if we’re melding together the real and WicDiv histories, was one Graves wrote about before 1944, suggesting it didn’t originate from Ananke’s whiskey-fuelled diatribe. Perhaps it was these earlier writings that attracted her to seek him out.)

The obvious question becomes: which of the Pantheon does this apply to? WicDiv is weirdly full of triple goddesses. The obvious fit seems to be Minerva (Maiden), Persephone (Mother – soon to be literally) and Ananke (Crone, and Layer-out of a fair few gods along the way).

Persephone is a name that cropped up a lot in my reading, but an even more commonly cited example of the triple goddess is the Morai – the Greek Fates, known in the mythology of Northern Europe as Norns. Yup, our old pals Skuld, Verðandi, and Urðr.

The Maiden/Mother/Crone archetypes don’t map as neatly onto Cassandra and pals, although it’s generally accepted that each of the Norns represents past, present and future – which would, I guess, make Urðr our Crone. It’s also perhaps notable that the Norns manifested in issue #9, right after Ananke first mentioned The White Goddess.

And then there’s The Morrigan. Mythologically a shapeshifter with three (or more) forms, her WicDiv incarnation is probably closest to the original conception of the triple goddess – which is, after all, three aspects of a single person. The archetypes are a fairly neatly match, too, especially the less-common version. Annie is life-giving Mother. Macha, Bride to Baphomet. Badb, his Layer-out.

It’s probably worth mentioning at this point another of Graves’ major influences: The Golden Bough, written by James George Frazer in 1890. Frazer identified his own pattern in mythologies and religions that seemed to suggest a single common source – primitive fertility cults which worshipped a divine king for a year before sacrificing him.

This is basically the story that Morrigan overlays onto her relationship with Baphomet, “my king for a year, twice over”. #37 basically shows how Graves’ triple goddess archetypes fits into this cycle, and – for me – understanding that helped contextualise the way the abuse storyline was handled. A new king is always (re)born, so the cycle can start all over again.

One interesting thing about The Morrigan is that we’ve seen two earlier incarnations, both of them male, neither of whom showed any signs of a triplicate personality. But there always seems to be at least one triple deity in each Recurrence: the 455 Lucifer referenced a Morai, the 1830s had its Brontë-analogue Lonely Sisters and – the only male incarnation we’ve seen – the 1920s had its own trio of Norns.

But, as ‘Anna White’ reminds us, the Mother/Maiden/Crone construction is “an effective sleight of hand”. So I’d like to consider a couple of other options.

The first was suggested by Tim: maybe Laura/Persephone is the Triplicate Goddess in and of herself.

Jane Ellen Harrison wrote that "the matriarchal goddess may well have reflected the three stages of a woman's life." Laura begins the series – which opens at the start of the year, remember – as a relative innocent. (“Well, she was just 17/And you know what I mean.”)

As a mythological figure, Persephone is most commonly associated with the Maiden archetype, but recent developments slot her firmly in the Mother role – possibly the reason she seems to have abandoned the Persephone identity. If it works, maybe she’ll get her full allotment of years and a chance to explore that third stage of life. (“Laura, you’re more than a superstar/You’ll be famous for longer than them.”)

Or maybe we’re asking the wrong question altogether. Let’s finish by quoting Grevel Lindop, editor of a 1997 edition of the book: “By 1963 [Graves’] vision of the Goddess was changing again. In his Oxford lecture of that December – published as ‘Intimations of the Black Goddess’ – he began to speak of the White Goddess’s ‘mysterious sister, the Goddess of Wisdom’.”

Hmm. Does that sound like anyone we know?

Like what we do, and want to help us make more of it? Visit patreon.com/timplusalex and pledge to gain access to exclusive blogs, ebooks, mixtapes and more.

#WicDiv #The Wicked + The Divine #The Wicked and The Divine #TWATD

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calacadraws-blog · 6 years ago

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krs724490 · 4 years ago

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4/7/21

i have so much reflection to do. im not sure what happened to my body today or yesterday but ive napped 4 hours total today and i feel like i have more clarity.

also talking to chase brings me more clarity. he is a truly great coach and i think he is the most influential person in my life. no one has ever broken down my life and cared so much. he told me to focus on my calendar so thats what i will do. i think i need time on sundays to 1. grocery shop and 2. plan my classes for the week so i dont have to do fit it in during the week. i also spoke to him about VASA and he told me to imagine my life with the job, with a nutrition plan, with proper rest. I CANT EVEN IMAGINE. nothing brings me more happiness than this alternate universe where this is the reality. i need to spend the weekend resting and preparing for that outcome. I want to put myself first in everything. this is why i had to sidenote about tyler. i want to get my finances in order. i want to NAIL my meal plan. i want to get all of this low hanging fruit out of the way so i have the space to prosper. i would like to move out of the lower chakras and into the higher ones. in order to do this i need to get my food and schedule down so no energy is put into that. my calendar will be my life and i will set aside the time to set myself up for success. every day i make progress and im excited about it. im excited to have the jobs i do. i love my life. i just need to cut out the excess. the excess energy spent on things i should have sorted. on people who dont serve me etc.

i need to side note on tyler to let out all of the negative energy... with good things comes bad. there needs to be dark in order for their to be light. I’m unsure of what Tyler and I think we have going. I think we are exploring our relationship and trying to feel it out. I think i always fall hard quick. with him it was easy to. he is so kind and thoughtful and funny. with this new relationship comes wonder if he is with other people. and then your mind goes to “is their connection stronger than ours.” its funny when i think that bc when i think of chase. i love chase. and i keep him separate from tyler so much in my mind. i cant even compare the 2. the connections are so different. so whatever tyler is doing with other people i need to rest in the idea that it is separate from our connection and if there does come a time when we feel our connection is strong enough - we can go from there. We’ve only had 1 visit as “dating” and i cant base a relationship off of that. neither can he. it wouldn’t be fair to either of us. we need to feel out how our connection does long distance. i think it should take at least 2 more visits. maybe if i go to new york to establish something exclusive. i didnt kiss chase today because something about it didn’t feel right. i dont know. i have no clue where tyler’s head is at because we didn’t talk about it. maybe were worried that were not on the same page? i dont know. THIS IS WHERE i speak about my energy and putting it into things that are worth my time. i know i think tyler is amazing because he is. but is he what’s right for me? that is an entirely different question. is he worth the energy i will have to put into him? am i sacrificing too much of my own mental sanity to date him? I think things now get more tricky because we did have this amazing visit where we hit it off so well. with that comes some baggage of, yes, a great connection. but also some expectation of where is this going? if i find myself getting to tripped on this i need to take 12 steps back because at that point it is not worth it. my new years resolution was to STAY fucking single and work on myself because i cant put any energy into anyone else. not at this point in my life. i dont know how these men fall from the sky. the truth is i dont need one. i really dont. i think with tyler i have to go day by day and try my best to stay unattached. knowing hes in a different state. knowing the amount of effort it will take for us to make this work. i need to keep it casual mentally.

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lindsayherkertphotography · 4 years ago

Photo

Austin Newborn Photographer | How to Prepare for an At-Home Newborn Photo Session During my nine years of being a professional photographer, at-home newborn sessions have grown to be one of my favorite type of sessions. I'll be honest, it wasn't always the case. When I was first starting out they used to scare me. Endless questions kept me up the night before... what type of light will the house have? Will I bring the right props? Will the siblings behave? Will the family be tired? Have I practiced my wrapping and posing technique enough? But most of all...will the baby sleep long enough to get some good poses in? I remember those days like it was yesterday. And, if I'm being completely honest, I still get butterflies the night before a newborn shoot - mostly from excitement, but a little from nerves too. And I like it that way. Because newborn photos are a big deal and they deserve the respect of a little bit of nervousness! Through the years I have gained a lot of knowledge about what works to make a newborn session fun, relaxing, and produce the most beautiful photos. Below I share insight into my process, why it is different, and what families can do to prepare for the day to make it as easy and memorable as possible.

Oh, and I’ve got a special surprise at the end of this post! I’m taking part in a blog circle with some photographer friends of mine. We’re linking to each other’s posts, so you can check out what they’re up to. This month, I’m linking to a fabulous Newborn Photographer in New York and her post is about best time to schedule a newborn session.

But first, let's talk about how to prepare for a newborn photo shoot!

my shooting process

Nowadays, photographers seem to fall into one of two camps when it comes to newborn photography: lifestyle and un-posed or studio and posed. I like to provide a combination of the two. The first 45 minutes of your shoot consists of relaxed, lifestyle photos with the family. We get family shots, sibling photos, mom with baby and dad with baby. It is great because everyone is ready to go, fresh and interested (particularly toddler aged siblings). And then boom, it's done! Dad can relax, toddler can go play, and momma can feed baby. Which is the perfect time for me to bring in all my fun props, and set up near a window. By the time I am finished setting up, baby is usually asleep and I can begin the posed series of photos. This whole process usually lasts around 3 hours, but the family is only involved for the first 45 minutes. The rest of the day is usually relaxing for them. Of course sometimes, the day goes a little differently, but 90% of the time this is the flow of the day. I love being able to provide a mixture of both lifestyle photos and posed photos to my clients, all done in the comfort of their home. As an at-home newborn photographer, it is a privilege to be invited into this quiet space. This newness. To feel the raw emotions of families in their familiar surroundings. And it always helps to know what to expect, which is why I’ve written this post!

my shooting style

As a photographer, the most important aspect to me is light. It is the first thing I look for when entering your home. During the lifestyle section, I aim to shoot in the master bedroom, a family room, and the nursery. I throw open all of the shades to allow as much natural light in as possible, giving the photos a light, bright, and airy look. While shooting the posed photos of the newborn I typically set up in front of the biggest window I can find that is not providing direct light. My backdrops are neutral, soft colors and I bring a collection of hats, headbands and other fun things for the parents to choose from. However, I always insist on at least one "clean" shot of the baby, with just the background and no props to make sure you have something simple and timeless.

how to prepare

Family photos will mainly focus on the baby and the relationship you share – tiny details of their bodies, curves of their faces and lots of cuddles with their parents – all of this is best done in the comfort of your home. We get a wide variety of images by using a couple different rooms and switching up posing – baby wrapped up, in a favorite outfit, naked or partially naked if the parents wish, feeding, and a variety of group shots. I even bring a little notebook with printed photos to show you what we are aiming for in some of the more posed family shots. I find it helps speed things up and gives clients confidence having a visual to look at instead of simply depending on my verbal explanation. It also helps me point out important details that elevate the photo, like where exactly to place your hand.

Worried your house is a mess? Please don’t stress…you just had a BABY! Clutter is expected! We don’t need much space, and we can always move furniture around and place it back at the end of the session. Your home should look lived in, especially with young ones in the house. Photos are usually taken in the master bedroom, in the family room, and the nursery. Taking a few minutes to tidy up these rooms (particularity bed side tables, coffee tables, and the floor of the nursery) help keep the focus on taking photos instead of picking up.

I do ask, prior to my arrival, that all blinds and curtains are opened and overhead lights turned off to help me locate the best lighting.

I also recommend keeping your home a bit warmer than normal during our session, especially if you are interested in a few bare skin shots of your newborn. Turn off the AC or crank the heat to about 75-80° a half hour before to ensure baby is warm and snuggly throughout our time together.

Let's not have an audience! Sometimes grandparents are staying with the family to help out with the newborn baby - yay! It is great if they are there, often they end up being a wonderful help. But, try to avoid scheduling friends and other family members coming over that day. The less people are in the home, the quicker and more relaxing it is to accomplish what we need to!

Continue to feed your baby how you normally do, but we may need to be flexible during the session! A fed baby is a happy and sleepy baby, so they may need to eat more often during the session than they normally do. We can take as many breaks as needed for feedings – these can make for some beautiful mom & baby shots.

Make the bed. Some of my all-time favorite shots are of the entire family snuggled up on the parent’s bed. A non-busy soft, neutral comforter works best, throw pillows or a blanket are a great way to add in color and personality! Simple crib shots of the baby are wonderfully soft and provide a great blank canvas to show off all their little details, and show off the nursery!

Plan outfits ahead of time! If you are planning for your newborn to wear multiple outfits, please have them washed and ready! If you know you want some bare skin shots and baby is sleepy upon my arrival, dress him/her in just a diaper or onesie under a swaddle or blanket so we don’t have to upset them by changing them more than once.

what to wear

For newborn sessions I like to recommend that families stick to dark, neutral colors such as black or navy. The contrast on the newborns' creamy skin helps to bring the focus on your new baby. However, many people love the light and airy look, and in that case you may want to go for softer colors such as grey, white, or even a light pink or blue. In my outdoor family sessions I always say coordinate, but don't match. With newborns I say the opposite - go ahead and match! By wearing a similar color (for example, jeans and the same color shirt or dad in jeans and a shirt and mom in a similar color dress)the focus is drawn to the baby, and not competing with the newborn. For Mom – soft comfortable clothing! A knit top, cotton gown or simple tank will keep you comfortable and provide a lovely background for mom and baby shots, especially for the more intimate close-ups. Soft clothing and bare feet look great in the home setting. For Dad – comfort is key! Wear what you would normally wear around the house on a grocery shopping day – comfortable, casual and low-key. This can be as simple as moccasins, jeans and a plain colored tee or button-up that nicely compliments your partner’s outfit. Try to steer clear of large logos, bright colors and bold patterns. Plain and simple is best! For Brother/Sister - comfortable is absolutely key! A cotton shirt and shorts or a little cotton dress in a color that matches what mom and dad are wearing.

the best time to take newborn photos

I recommend getting in touch about your session a few months prior to your baby’s birth to tell me your due date so we can pencil in a spot on the calendar and talk through your session details. When the baby arrives, you can send me a text after delivery when things have calmed, and we will arrange the exact time/date for your session. The first two weeks is the best time to take newborn photos. During this time he/she will be at their very teeny-est and they are eager to stay small and curled up, which is great for cuddle shots and the posed photos. It is also best for fitting them into the cute newborn headbands and hats. It is also easier to keep them in a deep sleep which helps achieve the poses that accentuate their baby curls and rolls. I excel at shooting in natural light, it flatters skin tones so nicely. For this reason, sessions are normally done in mid-morning or late-afternoon when window lighting is as its best glow. I hope this helps you prep and plan for your at-home session! Any tips/comments may be left below – hope to see you soon! Oh and don’t forget to follow along the blog circle. There’s a group of six of us this month, and next up is my friend Hali Tomczak . Click the link to check out her blog post and stunning work: Upstate New York Newborn Photographer

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pkansa · 7 years ago

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It was not all that long ago where we brought you word of a curious thing – a big Swiss brand (Alpina) flogging their watch on Kickstarter, of all places. This was an oddity as we generally think of that platform for launching new brands, for raising capital, and so on. Things that, ostensibly, Alpina is not (they’re established) and should not have a need of (being part of Citizen should have it’s advantages). So, why this route? The word was so that backers could help to finalize some of the design and app features. From the earlier writeup we did, Eric liked what he saw so much that he backed the project (as did plenty of others). Today, I’m going to talk with you about the time I spent with with one on my wrist.

When it comes to smartwatches that have from the Frederique Constant family, I’m rather familiar, as I’ve reviewed both the 1st and 2nd generation horological smartwatch. Alpina has always been the sportier brother of the two, so it makes sense that they’d take that MMT technology in a much different direction. The Alpina AlpinerX is very much an outdoors watch, one that we would normally classify as an ABC watch. Why ABC? Well, it’s because of the sensors in the case (here, it’s hiding between the lugs up at the 12 o’clock position). The Alpina AlpinerX has an altimeter, barometer, and a compass. Along with that, it also brings world time (aka second time zone), calendar, chronograph, a countdown timer, and, something I’ve not seen before, a UV sensor (got to quantify that sunburn). On top of all of that, we’ve got the functions that the MMT-equipped watches have had all along, namely step and sleep tracking. Last, but not least, there’s also a GPS-enabled fitness mode (which relies on your phone GPS) that I did not try out. Oh! And they hit a stretch goal that should allow a bluetooth heart rate strap to be linked in (I wasn’t able to test that function), for a more rounded fitness watch experience.

So, yeah, the Alpina AlpinerX packs a lot into it’s case. If this were a traditional smartwatch, you’d expect to drain the battery in a day or two. Not so with the Alpina AlpinerX. One really nice thing with the MMT technology is that it’s expected to have a 2+ year battery life. This is because the watch is not in constant contact with your phone (well, I suppose it would be in the GPS training mode). Instead, it does what it needs to do on the watch, stores the data, and then syncs it on to the phone (which can then sync things to the cloud if you want, or in to Apple Health for a consolidated view). While you can get barebones notifications on your wrist, it’ll kill the battery. So, I’m ok with it not being constantly connected. If you’re headed off for some backcountry hiking and climbing trip, you don’t want to worry about having to charge your watch every other day. You do your thing, the watch does its, and then you can sync it up later on.

Of course, you can keep track of what the Alpina AlpinerX is tracking via the LCD display on the bottom. By using the crown pusher, you can cycle through the functions, and see what it’s recorded. Interestingly enough, the one thing you can’t see is a step count. How long you slept? Sure. Current elevation or temperature? Sure. If you want to know how many steps you took, though, you do need to sync it and view it in the app. Just an oddity for me, particularly when it will display your sleep duration. On that note, the Alpina AlpinerX does a much better job of communicating when you’re in sleep mode (or any other mode, for that matter). The addition of the LCD really shows why super-complicated non-mechanical watches benefit from a digital display of some sort. Here, it’s clear what mode you’re in, and then you use the chronograph pushers to stop/start the cycle. You can also set some sleep cycle alarms to try and have it wake you when you’re not in deep sleep. This I did not try out either as it’s only auditory. I’ve become rather accustomed to my silent (vibrating) alarm on the Fitbit One, so switching to something with noise has two problems. One, I’m not sure if a watch chirp is enough to wake me. Second, if it is, it would likely wake my wife as well, which would just be rude given how early I am generally getting up.

Functionality is only one part of the equation, even though the Alpina AlpinerX is heavily stacked in that direction. If it’s not wearable, then you’ve got problems. With a 55mm lug-to-lug measurement, this is no shrinking violet. Yeah, you need room for all of the electronics and sensors, and it doesn’t feel overly large, or big for big’s sake. It just is what it is, and will likely overwhelm smaller wrists. If you’re looking at this as a workout companion, bear in mind that this is heavier than most fitness watches (at 98g), due to the construction of the case (steel + CF is heavier than all plastic). However, if you’re used to a steel sport watch when you head off into the outdoors, then you’ll be a-ok. While I may not care as much for the heavy branding on the rubber strap, I do rather like it’s deployant clasp. They’ve done a clever thing with how you adjust the fit here as well.

Normally, if you’re talking a deployant on a rubber strap, you’re cutting things down to get a good fit. Here, the Alpina AlpinerX instead relies on spring bars to get the right setting. This gives you two points of adjustment – one via the grooves set at the end of the strap, as well as the holes in the clasp itself. In other words, you should get a good fit that then remains consistent, without doing any sort of cutting. I would not have minded a micro-expansion in the clasp that would give you some quick-adjust room as the day goes on, but perhaps that can be done in the future.

As you can see from the photos, the Alpina AlpinerX we had in on loan is through-and-through blue. One presumes this extends to the other color options (on the various components), but Alpina really did a good job committing to color on this watch. The bezel and clasp are of the same hue, and while the blue is not identical across the whole of the watch, they’re close enough to make things feel really consistent. The only deviation from the navy-and-white combo we had in was the lighter blue used on the handset, but that makes sense as it helps them to stand out. For telling the time, sure, using the lumed ends would be enough. When you switch into, say, the compass mode (where the hands act as the needle) then you’ll appreciate the clearly-defined outlines of the hands.

Me, I like blue, so this particular reference of the Alpina AlpinerX worked well for me. Given it’s size, I found this to be more of an office and casual watch. Sure, it’s “dressier” than any other ABC watch you’ve seen before, but that’s just a relative thing. If you’re suiting up, you’ll have a challenge making this one fit in. However, for any other situation, the Alpina AlpinerX will fit in. The question that remains then, for buyers, is if this is functionality you’ll want. While KS backers got a good discount, the anticipated retail for the watch is $895. For a smart watch, that could be a stretch. For an outdoors-oriented ABC watch, that could be a stretch. My take on it is to evaluate it on the outdoors capabilities, and consider the connectivity it has sort of the frosting on the cake. If it fits with what you’d want from a watch in the outdoors, then by all means, give the Alpina AlpinerX a gander. alpinawatches.com

[amazon_link asins=’B01N2G26PF,B01L92IGKS,B01NADWQV1,B0158VSDQS,B016A216M2′ template=’ProductCarousel’ store=’wristwatchrev-20′ marketplace=’US’ link_id=’362cfe48-4a44-11e8-a7cc-5fbcae8b3e05′]

Review Summary

Brand & Model: Alpina AlpinerX

Price: $895 (anticipated retail)

Who’s it for? You want an ABC watch that isn’t screaming “let me tell you about my trail adventures!”

Would I wear it? On the weekends and camping? For sure

What I would change: I’d like to see step counts on the LCD, and I’d really like silent (vibrating) alarms

The best thing about it: The addition of the LCD makes for a much, much more usable Horological Smartwatch from the FC/Alpina family.

Tech Specs from Alpina

Reference: AL-283LBN5NAQ6

Case: Blue glass-fiber and stainless steel, 45mm diameter with 360° BI-DIRECTIONAL TURNING COMPASS BEZEL

Convex Sapphire Crystal

10 ATM/100m/330ft Water-resistant

Engraved case-back

Movement:

MMT-283-1,Horological Smartwatch

All connected functions operated by crown

2+ years battery life

Dial:

Black dial with matte finishing

Applied silver indexes with white luminous and digital screen

Blue colored polished hands with white luminous treatment

Strap: Navy, rubber

Functions

Hours, Minutes, Seconds, Date

Activity Tracking

Sleep Monitoring

Dynamic Coach

Worldtimer (2nd Time Zone + Local 24h Time)

Smart Alarms (Get-Active Alerts, Sleep Alarm)

Calls & Messages Notifications

UV Indicator

Altitude

Compass

Temperature

Time Recorder (Stopwatch, Timer, Workouts)

Barometer

Connecting up with the @AlpinaWatches AlpinerX #smartwatch #connected #outdoors #adventure #under$1000 It was not all that long ago where we brought you word of a curious thing - a big Swiss brand (Alpina) flogging their watch on Kickstarter, of all places.

#ABC #alpina #outdoors #SmartWatch

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topicprinter · 7 years ago

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Hey all, figured some of you might enjoy my newest blog post. Feel free to ask for the direct link for more content!Here’s an unpopular opinion - cold calling isn’t dead. You’re just doing it wrong.In fact, outbound cold calling is incredibly easy to scale once you figure out a repeatable process.During the last 6 years, I’ve been helping companies of all sizes build successful sales teams that revolved completely around cold calling.One team was closing nearly $1 million in net new MRR (monthly recurring revenue) per month from strictly cold calling. And they were only targeting small businesses with $150 per month sized deals.Now, you can start using these best cold calling techniques and book more business.(Note: This approach is ideal for B2B SaaS outbound sales teams focused on SMB and mid-market. This might not be as effective if you’re selling multi-million dollar enterprise deals to Fortune 100 companies.)The process is broken down into 5 simple steps:The Person - speaking to the person that mattersThe Hook - getting 2 minutes of their timeThe Pitch - the who, what, and why you’re callingThe Questions - qualifying their fit and interestThe Close - winning them over and setting next stepsYou can skip straight to the bottom of this post to see a TL;DR, but I highly recommend reading through the steps in detail.1. THE PERSONFirst off, the first step in successfully cold calling is making sure you actually speak with the right person - the Decision Maker! Depending on what you’re selling, this can be someone at a C-level (CEO, CTO, CFO) or VP (VP of Sales, VP of Marketing, etc).You can consistently get to the Decision Maker by “flying under the radar” - meaning the Gatekeeper (receptionist, office admin) doesn’t realize you’re cold calling. Gatekeepers responsibility is to screen calls for the more senior people at the company (as their nickname implies). Getting past them is crucial to your success.You can do this effectively in a few ways:Volunteer as little information as possible (“Hey, this is Mark”)Sound casual and authenticTry to only use your point of contact’s first nameUse strong language (“I need to speak with Bill”)Step 1 should look like this:“Hey this is (Your First Name) and I need to speak with (DM’s First Name)”However, sometimes they’ll block you (“He’s no longer at this company”or “She doesn’t take calls directly”). In this case you’ll want to “rollback” and try a different approach:“Actually, I’m not 100% sure that they’re the right person to speak with...do you think you could point me in the right direction?”By asking for their help, you’re subconsciously making it that much harder for them to reject you. The Gatekeeper will usually respond with “sure”, and you can follow up with:“Thanks. I’m calling from (Company) and I’m usually speaking with someone that handles the technology (or your ideal contact), do you know who that would be in this case?”The “usually speaking” portion is also very important, since it makes it sound casual, and that you’re speaking with them frequently. At this point you should have been connected, or found out the right person to call later.2. THE HOOKDuring the hook you’re simply asking for their permission to speak with them for 2 minutes. Once you get to the Decision Maker, you can use:“Hey this is (Name) from (Company), did I catch you at an OK time? Thanks, I’ll be really quick.”Try to keep this simple enough for them to digest in a single sentence. They should say “sure” most of the time - if not, you can make a bad joke or complain about it only being Tuesday.Don’t forget to thank them for their time.3. THE PITCHThe goal for the pitch is to quickly answer who you are, what you do, and why it’s interesting for the prospect.It’s very important that you accomplish this within 1-3 sentences. If you keep rambling, your prospect will stop listening or simply hang up.“So I’m in the (your specialization) division over here at (Company), and we specialize in (problem you’re solving) for (their specific industry).“For example:“So I’m in the Construction Enablement division over here at Cool Company, and we specialize in real-time cloud based collaboration for Architects”The pitch is also where you can make the most impact with A/B testing. You should constantly experiment with different phrases and see what resonates with your prospects.By tying in a unique problem and their industry, you’re able to paint yourself as a credible expert with a specific use case. This is incredibly important in building credibility, especially on a call that lasts less than 2 minutes!4. THE QUESTIONSNow that your prospect knows who you are, why you’re calling, and what’s in it for them - it’s time to get them really intrigued. By using “qualifying question” you can guide prospects down a very specific conversation path.Start off by asking the first question:“So most of the companies that I work with are either using (x solution), (y solution), or (z solution). What about you guys?”The first thing you notice here are the X, Y, and Z solutions. By mentioning specific examples in their workflow you’re painting yourself as an expert in their business.Try to leave these questions open-ended so that the prospect can give you a great answer. Afterwards, you’ll want to further qualify them with one or two more questions, such as:“Ok perfect, and how are you handling (insert another issue they’re running into)?”This really varies the most depending on your business case, but you can usually elaborate on another pain point they mentioned earlier.For example:“Okay perfect, and how are you handling product x? Most of my clients say that it’s really expensive/buggy/outdated/slow/whatever”5. THE CLOSEFinally, the fun part. At this point you should have built some intrigue, pitched your solution, qualified them, and are now ready to schedule a demonstration.If they have answered the qualifying questions properly, and they could benefit from your product, then dive straight into the close like this:“Perfect! I’m glad I caught you then. So all I’m doing now is just setting up some quick 15 minute webinars, showing you why (people in their industry) are loving (your product).Do you have your calendar open in front of you? I usually schedule these on Tuesdays and Thursdays, which one works better for you?”First, you need to show genuine excitement. You’re making hundreds of sales calls, and you just found someone that could actually benefit from your product! YOU’RE EXCITED AS HELL!Funny enough, this will get them excited, though they might not know why.The last sentence is very important because you’re assuming they’re interested. And why shouldn’t they be? You’re an expert in their industry, and you just qualified them!Instead of asking the prospect IF they’re interested, you’re asking if they prefer option A or B. It’s subtle, but very effective.There’s a decent chance you’ll receive an excuse from them at this point, that you will have to overcome. No matter what they say, you must try to close at least 3 (THREE!) times.Take the first objections/excuse that they give you, effectively counter it, and then suggest Friday at 10:00 AM.If another excuse comes up, counter that, and ask if next week is better. With every objection that you counter, you should push the date back a little (as a compromise).BRINGING IT ALL TOGETHERNow, let’s tie everything we learned into a smooth script:The Person:“Hey this is (Name) and I need to speak with (Decison Maker’s)”wait patiently and enjoy the hold musicThe Hook:“Hey this is (Name) from (Company), did I catch you at a good time? Thanks, I’ll be really quick.”The Pitch:“So I’m in the (your specialization) division over here at (Company), and we specialize in (problem you’re solving) for (their specific industry).“The Questions:“Most of the companies I work with are either using (x solution), (y solution), or (z solution). What about you guys?”wait and listen to their answer“Ok perfect, and what about (insert another issue they’re running into)?”The Close:“Perfect! I’m glad I caught you then. So all I’m doing now is actually just setting up some quick 15 minute webinars, showing you why (people in their industry) are loving (my product).Do you have your calendar open in front of you? I usually schedule these on Tuesdays and Thursdays, which one works better for you?”Seem simple? That’s because it is. I’ve helped build countless successful sales teams over the years with this script and some training.Yes, outbound sales can be difficult, especially if you’ve never done it before. But if done right, your business can be set up for tremendous success.Remember that cold calling is always a work in progress, and you should constantly experiment with different hooks, pitches, and questions.-Mark

#/r/startups #reddit

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