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keelywolfe · 5 years ago

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FIC: Some Sense of Normalcy ch.4 (baon)

Summary: It’s Edge’s first day back to work at the Embassy, but his job isn’t the only thing on his mind.

Tags: Spicyhoney, Kustard, Established Relationships, Angst, Hurt/Comfort, Mentions of Past Injury

Chapter 1 | Chapter 2 | Chapter 3

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Part of the ‘by any other name’ series.

Read Chapter 4 on AO3

Read it here!

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At almost exactly ten minutes on the dot there came a knock on Alphys’s office door and if Stretch didn’t already love Edge, he would at least have thrown a dollar store valentine his way for the rescue from Alphys’s monologue on how the Kissy Cutie fandom really didn’t understand the true motives of the main characters and the pureness of their love, and how was she supposed to read about that and not comment, she couldn’t, right, and did he think she did the right thing?

That sharp, precise knock interrupted her and before Alphys could say a word, Stretch was already calling out, “come on in, babe, you’re the next contestant on—”

He trailed off as the door opened and Edge came inside. Or, more accurately, he scooted inside. Not like the scooters the kids used to zoom around on the streets of New New Home, oh, no. He’d said it was getting his mobility scooter today and it was so much better than Stretch could have ever hoped.

First, it was red, metallic candy-apple red, and whether Edge ordered it to match his car or the doc had a sense of humor did not matter. There was padded sort of seat for Edge to put his knee and there were handlebars and a hand brake and best of all, a little wire basket for Edge to put any of his work stuff. Holy shit but Stretch would pay good money up front for a photograph of Edge dignifiedly tooling through the hallways in his business suit with his bright red scooter, a cup of coffee secured in his basket along with a collection of folders, maybe even a scone wrapped up in a paper napkin.

Stretch wondered if Edge would kill him if he put a bike horn on it or just maim him. Probably banishment, max, and it might be worth a night or two on the sofa just to see the look on his face, way better than the cool, stoic look he wore now, tempered with a hint of worry.

Seriously, he didn’t want to make his baby self-conscious, but it was a scooter and if Stretch kept resisting the urge to make a pun, it might result in actual bodily harm.

He propped his chin on his hand and gave Edge the best cheeky grin he could manage, considering his lack of cheeks, “nice new wheels, babe, that how you roll? lemme scoot aside and you can have my seat.”

The scathing glare Edge shot is way might’ve knocked the points off his new HP growth, but hey, least Edge wasn’t worried anymore.

Edge ignored the stifled snort from Alphys, who was diligently trying to keep a straight face, points to her for staying out of the line of fire. Stretch was pretty sure that by definition, scooters weren’t listed anywhere in the Esquire guide for a business-like appearance, so it was pretty impressive how Edge managed to scoot on up to the chair, all but radiating poise. Hell, Asgore needed to take some tips from his honey about majesty, seriously, those Hawaiian shirts of his were an embarrassment for all of Monster-kind.

Edge settled into the seat, shrugging Stretch off when he tried to lean against his back, his spine ramrod straight as he asked, coolly, “What can I do for you, Alphys?”

Oof, looked like Edge wasn’t in the mood for jokes if Stretch wasn’t rating a greeting. That Edge wasn’t asking what he was doing here in the first place was a fair sign that he was either hacked off or respecting privacy until he could corner him alone. Maybe both.

“Th-thank you for coming down,” Alphys said. She looked uncomfortable enough to make Stretch regret yanking Edge’s chain. Didn’t stop her from forcing out, “I w-w-would have sent an email, but Asgore p-prefers we don’t keep an electronic t-t-trail for these studies.” The way she flicked a glance at Stretch when she said Asgore’s name meant his unsubtle dislike of the King was getting around the rumor mill. “You b-both know we’re working on studying M-monster souls.”

“yeah?” Stretch said warily. That wasn’t news, souls had been studied since Monsters evolved enough sentience to poke at ‘em with a stick.

“We’re c-currently studying the r-resonance of souls and how it d-differs between different Monster s-s-species.” She spread her hands, tittering nervously, “Obviously, it’s more c-complex than that. B-b-both of you have clearance to read the r-results if you’re interested, but you’d have to do it in the lab, the d-d-data isn’t cleared for general release.”

Yeah, there was some reading material that wasn’t about to end up in Stretch’s mental librarby, no thank you. Edge was tapping his gloved fingers against his knee in that way he did when he was getting impatient. It was his first day back, he probably had shit to get done, so maybe it was time to push Al to cut to the chase, “so, what, you want to get some measurements from skeletons, is that it?”

“N-not exactly,” Alphys leaned forward across her desk, her eyes gleaming behind her glasses, “I already have r-readings from Sans and Papyrus. What I’m investigating is if th-there is any difference in resonance of s-souls from the other Universes. Blue let me scan his s-soul already and—er—” She cleared her throat uncomfortably, “Red has already d-d-d-“ Alphys struggled and finally spat out, “declined.”

Yeah, Stretch bet he had. Now there was a conversation Stretch would’ve loved to be a fly on the wall to see. Kudos to Al for having the cojones to even ask Red.

Alphys didn’t linger on whatever mental scars that chat left her with and went on, “That l-leaves you and Stretch—”

“No,” Edge said immediately. The word was sharp enough to cut and it might if Edge kept flinging it around.

Alphys only nodded, accepting, “O-of course.”

“hey, wait a second!" Stretch straightened up, offended, “i get my own vote here, we left the word obey out of the vows, thanks.”

Edge only glanced at him briefly, “Of course I wouldn’t presume to speak for Stretch, only myself. I…” Edge hesitated, his fingers starting to dig in where his hand rested on his pant leg. “You must be aware that I have LV.”

“I am,” Alphys agreed, softly, nothing but kindness in her broad face, “but it w-won’t affect the scan.”

Edge nodded stiffly, “I’m sure. But my answer is still no, I’m afraid.”

“I understand,” Alphys said. Her gaze flicked to Stretch, hopefully, “W-would you be w-willing, Stretch?”

Well, hell. Hadn’t thought that through very well, had he, too busy getting pissy about making his own choices. It wasn’t showing his soul that was the problem; fuck, Alphys was literally just plugged into it and it wasn’t like most of the medical community hadn’t taken a solid look at his soul already. The only way it’d get more exposure is if he’d sent a pic in to be the centerfold in some skin magazine. Yeah, he was okay with the soul part, it was the scan he wasn’t so sure about and the look on Edge’s face said pretty clearly that he wasn’t okay with either or.

But Alphys was trying to help him out, he owed her one, and if it was only a scan…maybe better to hedge his bets. “how invasive is it?”

“It’s only a s-scan,” Alphys said reassuringly. “You’ll n-need to s-s-summon your s-soul and leave it exposed f-for a couple of minutes, no more th-than that and no samples.”

Edge was all but radiating no, no, no, and that was enough for him to hesitate. His baby’s comfort was important, sure, but Stretch could appreciate the necessity of scientific progress. If scanning his soul could help someone, then he could suck it up this once. Sure. He could. “can you do it now or do you need me to stop by later?”

“Now is fine.” Alphys looked relieved, already hopping out of her chair. “The m-machine is in the other r-room, follow me.”

It was so damned hard not to bristle at the phrase ‘the machine’.

Stretch followed her out of the office, his sneakers dragging on the floor and his gaze firmly fixed on her tail. He didn’t look back at Edge scooting along behind him. They didn’t go far and the anxiety that was starting to itch at the inside of his rib cage eased a little when he saw the inside of the room.

There was a nicely padded table in the middle of the room with a couple long, flexible wands attached to it. No gleaming stainless steel, no restraints, and nothing at all like the portal machine or…huh, he didn’t quite remember what else. Didn’t matter, this looked less threatening than an x-ray machine from any doc’s office.

Alphys patted the table. “Lay d-down right here. I’ll be in the other r-room configuring the machine. S-summon your soul, I’ll get a s-s-scan, and its done. T-take your time.”

She waddled off and left Stretch there, looking at that table, at the little wands with their lenses focused right in the middle. He took a breath, let it out, then flopped down, living up to his namesake as he stretched out. The table was a little short, his feet hung off the end, uncomfortable but bearable. It was okay, it was all good. Stretch could do this, no sweat, summon his soul and let her scan it, then he was getting the fuck out of here and out into the sunlight.

“Let me summon your soul,” Edge said suddenly, startling him so badly he nearly yelped. Fuck, he’d almost forgotten Edge was even here. Stretch opened his sockets and looked up at his husband looming over him. Crimson eye lights met his own and there was no mistaking his concern. It helped, knowing he wasn’t alone here, that Edge was with him. Edge wouldn’t let anyone do a damn thing that Stretch didn’t want them to, he’d tear the whole lab down with his bare hands if someone hurt Stretch and he believed that with every bit of his trembling soul.

Then the words actually registered.

“um, okay.” Stretch gave Edge a narrow, suspicious look, “but no touchie, you. if you start touching, it gets all excited and i am not riding the bus with soul jizz on my shirt.”

The corner of Edge’s mouth quirked upward. Of course he’d think that was funny, the pervert. He ran a gloved finger gently down the side of Stretch’s skull, tracing the line of his jawbone. “At least the Humans won’t know what it is.”

“yeah?” Stretch snorted, “and any monsters will think i’m headed home from the orgy scene of a less than tasteful porno. my gossip tank is full up right now, thanks, no touch, got it?”

“No touching,” Edge agreed, softly, so it was pretty stupid that Stretch felt bereft as he pulled his hands away.

Stretch closed his sockets, focusing on his breathing. A long moment of nothing and then came a gentle, insistent pull, painlessly urging his soul to emerge. The touch was achingly familiar and Stretch relaxed into it and let go, felt the cool air on his soul as it manifested for the second time that day. A quick peek showed Edge was going with the ol’ sibling standby of ‘I’m not touching you’, and he wasn’t, but it sure was a close thing. Both his bare hands were cradled around it, a protective bony barrier as a replacement for his own rib cage, the silver glow of his soul reflecting off the ivory bones, seeping through Edge’s fingers to fill the room.

Alphys’s voice came from a speaker overhead, “Edge, you’ll have to step back so I can scan it.”

Even without Edge touching his soul directly, Stretch could feel his reluctance as he slowly stepped back. Souls were like radar dishes for magic and Stretch was already overly sensitive on a good day, even without his soul lurking outside his body all bare-ass naked. Checks irritated him when others barely seemed to feel them, Intent came rolling in like he was accidently tuning in to bad AM radio station and right now, he was picking up something from Edge past his unwillingness to let go.

The faintest glint of green, healing magic, hm, in-ter-esting, someone had used healing magic on Edge and recently, very recently, and Stretch almost asked what the fuck was up with that, except maybe lying here with his soul hanging out wasn’t the best time for a chat. Particularly when he’d snuck down here to visit Alphys on the sly to begin with.

Yeah, okay, if he got to keep his secrets then Edge could have this one. For now.

Edge had hardly let go when Alphys’s voice came overhead again. “Done.”

Stretch hastily let his soul fade back in, scrambling to his feet as Alphys came back in from the other room.

“T-thank you, Stretch,” she said happily, “Edge, if you ch-change your mind, let me know?”

“Of course,” Edge said crisply, in a tone that meant ‘not fucking likely.’

“yep, he will,” Stretch blurted, already backing his way towards the door. He didn’t mean to be rude, but he’d had just about enough of the labs today and he needed to get out, right now, before he vomited on the nice, clean floors. “thanks for everything, al, see ya!”

He didn’t wait to see if Edge follow him, didn’t wait for Alphys to ask to see him again or for any other favors or even to bring up anime. He headed right to the elevators, ignoring anyone else that he passed in a white coat. He slapped the up button so hard his hand ached, silently commanding it to hurry the fuck up and open because that nausea was sitting right at the back of his throat, thick and sickly-sweet.

“Easy,” Murmured next to him, “Try to slow your breathing.”

Stretch only stared blindly at the closed door and didn’t say anything because if he did, that morning’s partially incorporated coffee was going to make a return appearance. The elevator dinged and Stretch all but crammed through the opening doors, stumbling to the back to press his overheated face against the cool metal. He heard the door close behind him, felt as elevator lurched and started up.

Even without looking, Stretch knew Edge was standing next to him, watching him with concern and trying to resist the urge to touch. Respecting boundaries, that was his baby, always trying so hard.

“it’s okay, you can go hands on,” Stretch mumbled. Immediately, a soothingly cool hand settled on the back of his neck, a strong thumb rubbing gently along his cervical vertebra.

“Are you all right?” Edge asked, gently blunt.

“getting there.” Stretch took a deep breath and stood up straight, leaning into the comfort of Edge’s touch. “we still on for lunch?”

“I was thinking more along the lines of you coming to my office and lying down for a bit.”

Stretch nodded, weakly, “that works, too.”

Another ding warned that they were at their floor and Stretch turned towards the door as it opened. There was nothing out there but offices, people in business suits at their desks and making copies and typing away at their computers. No labs, no experiments, only paperwork and administration.

Knowing that made it easier to step out this time, walking towards Edge’s office with the skeleton himself scooting along next to him. Stretch stuck his hands in his pockets, moseying along, his lingering agitation slowly easing. At least the scooter kept Edge to a pace a little less than his normal power walk; maybe that was a high HP thing, Papyrus always chugged along at top speed and Blue might have shorter legs, but he always kept pace with those two.

Huh. Thinking of HP…

“so.” Stretch kept his gaze on the floor, watching the way the untied laces of his sneakers trailed along the carpet. “you gonna ask what i was doing down there.”

“I am not,” Edge said calmly. Seriously, it was really impressive how dignified he could make riding along on a kneeling scooter look. “If it is something important concerning your health or someone else’s, I’m sure that as my husband, you would tell me and not go down to the labs alone while trying to keep secrets from me out of a misguided attempt to protect me or shield me from any issues that as your spouse should be mine to help you deal with—”

“yeah, yeah, edgelord, i get it, quit shoveling the guilt, i’m already knee-deep.” Stretch took a deep breath and let the words come, “i went to see al because i wanted her to scan my hp. we kinda got off track with it after, you know, everything, and lately i’ve been feeling tired. not…not bad tired, not too bad…i’m doing a shitty job explaining it.”

“You’re doing fine.” Yeah, like he couldn’t see the way Edge’s jaw was working, the slight twitch in his cracked socket. Even the pace he was scooting at changed, stiffened, his highly polished shoe scraping against the rug.

“let me just cut to the spoiler alert,” Stretch said. He ignored the quiver in his voice as he spit it out, “my hp is going up. like, permanently.”

Edge stopped completely, right in the middle of the hall. Two interns who were walking close behind almost ran right into them, and whatever bitching they were about to toss out was swallowed down when they got a good look at who they almost ran over. Edge didn’t even watch them scurry on down the hall. His eye lights stayed right on Stretch, sockets hooded and his expression unreadable.

Hurriedly, Stretch went on, “it’s not huge, only, when it got to 5, looks like it decided, what the hell, let’s keep going up, it’s 5 and change now, not super impressive but—urk!’

Of all the reactions Stretch was expecting, having Edge pick him up right in the middle of the damn hallway to hold him tightly was nowhere on the list, but here they were, him lifted completely off his feet while strong arms crushed him into Edge’s embrace.

People were probably staring and Stretch didn't give two goodie goodie shoes because holy shit, this was actually happening. Barring the time Edge carried Stretch through the Embassy in a sheet in a misguided attempt at protecting his non-existent dignity, the most Stretch usually got in the way of PDA was hand holding and the occasional peck of a kiss.

“edge!” Stretch gasped out, mostly laughing with a pinch of scolding, “put me down, you’re gonna hurt yourself!”

He might as well have saved what little breath he had since that didn’t happen. Instead, Edge spun them around like this was some beach movie and they'd just done the long run across the sand to embrace in front of the sunset. Stretch could only hold on dizzily, laughing and trying to squirm loose without actually getting there.

It was a relief and a disappointment when Edge finally set him on his feet, and that was only to cup his face in both hands as Edge rose up on his toes to scatter kisses over his face. By the time he drew back, Stretch’s whole face felt a little damp and the only thing dimming his giddiness was the sight of faint tears rimming Edge’s eye sockets.

"hey." Stretch ran a thumb along the rim of the socket, gathering dampness, "it's good news. you don't cry for that."

A rare smile lit Edge’s face, lit him, and Stretch wanted to capture that image in his own mind, whisk it away someplace safe to bring out whenever his inner sadness loomed threateningly.

"You do if it’s about the person you love," Edge told him, hushed, and leaned up to press a soft, lingering kiss to Stretch’s mouth. Right about that moment, from somewhere nearby came the muffled sound of an ‘aww’ and Edge immediately jerked back, all signs of that smile vanishing.

Ah, well, good thing Stretch had an excellent memory, right?

“Let’s discuss this in my office,” Edge murmured as he dusted off his jacket and straightened his tie before he started up the scoot again.

Luckily, it wasn’t too far away. Stretch managed to give Janice a wave even as Edge herded him into his office. The door was barely closed when Edge had both hands on him again, shoving him back against the door and kissing him with deep, fervent delight. It was a huge disappointment, particularly in his pants, when Edge drew away, holding Stretch back when he would have dived in again.

His smile was fainter, softer, and that was okay because it was still there as Edge asked, “Was she able to tell you anything else? It’s certainly good news, but why now?”

“dunno,” Stretch shrugged and when Edge didn’t let him go for another kiss, he sighed and added, “she did mention something about monster souls responding well to being happy.” If kisses weren’t gonna pan out, Stretch could at least give Edge a poke in the ribs, right where he wasn’t supposed to be ticklish. “looks like you’re holding up your end of the bargain in the whole happily ever after thing.”

Instead of being amused, Edge’s expression fell a little, his smile fading and that was exactly the opposite of what Stretch was hoping for, “babe?”

Edge ducked his head, his voice dropping in something like a hoarse confession, “Lately, I haven't felt like I'm making you very happy, Rus.”

Okay, yeah, no, not going there. Stretch shook off Edge’s hands and instead of shoving in for a kiss, he took a quick shortcut and stepped out behind him, wrapping Edge up in the little spoon of a tight hug. "nope, none of that. babe, even when things are rough on our personal roller coaster, you always make me happy. always. you are my happy ending, you get me?”

Gloved hands settled on his wrists, holding on gently as Edge leaned back into his arms, “I’d rather be your happy beginning, love.”

“endings, beginnings, whatever part of the story we’re at, you make me happy,” Stretch told him fiercely. He buried his face into the crux of Edge’s shoulder where the collar of his shirt met his cervical vertebrae, breathing in the familiar mixture of laundry detergent and spice. “every chapter of our lives, every misplaced comma and run-on sentence, every—”

“You’re losing the metaphor,” Edge said dryly. He turned in Stretch’s arms, his mouth warm and meltingly gentle, and this, yes, this. This was his happiness and Stretch planned to hold on as tight as he could, with fingers and toes.

“you wanna see my soul?” Stretch murmured against Edge’s mouth, just to see the hot, eager flare of crimson eye lights. It was already manifesting in his rib cage as Edge walked him backwards to the sofa, silver slickness beading on the surface and if he had to lose his shirt for a hasty cleanup after, welp, that was a sacrifice Stretch was more than willing to make.

-fin

#spicyhoney #papcest #keelywolfe #underfell #underswap #underfell papyrus #underswap papyrus #by any other name

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jinkieswinkies · 5 years ago

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I made a fic where lifeline fixes revenant. I like them together.

Heavy metalic footsteps echoed throughout the corridor. One step slightly becoming louder than the previous.

He was mad. Fuming even. He didn’t like asking for help much, especially anyone from here. He didn’t really care about the other legends much less the supposed mechanic- er closest to a mechanic At least.

A low growl escaped the robot's lips, his hip stuck out at an unnatural angle. Each time he lifted his right leg he wanted to rip it clean off, the high pitched squeak filled his ears and it was getting quite annoying.

He groaned again, ‘fucking great’ he thought.

The games were done for the day so that meant he didn’t have to rush this.

He rolled his eyes, or the bright orbs that would’ve been his eyes. This wouldn't have happened if that dumbass skinbag didn't decide to strike a piece of glass into his right hip. Fucker, they'll pay next game.

What was her name? Bangalore? Bagboar?

Whatever it was, it didn't matter. For sure; next time, she's his first victim. He chuckled deeply, just thinking about what poor skinsuits are pitiful enough to be at the mercy of his hands, got him riled for next time.

That damned whine returned, his thoughts back at hand.

Getting repaired

Grimacing, he stopped his tracks. He's arrived. The one who has close experience with robots. Looking to a slight right, he read the nameplate.

Ajay Che (combat medic)

”Wouldn't call that little pet a robot.” he grumbled.

Huffing, he had second thoughts about this. Glancing to his right hip again, and back to the name planchette. This could slow him down, this needed to be taken care of.

Cursing under his breath, he knocked. Well more like banged. Nothing. Nothing was happening. No response. No sounds coming From inside. Nothing.

He crossed his arms and huffed heavily, it was taking all of him not to just go back to his room. This situation needed to be resolved and if she couldn't help him he'd make her. Still, there he stood In silence until three loud shuffles were heard from inside.

“A’right, a’right. Hol’ on.” Her voice was loud but breathless.

He froze, he didn’t really associate with the other legends much less Ajay. He did not want to talk. At all.

The automatic metal doors slid open, revealing a tired and worn out looking medic.

“Ain’t dis a surprise, what you doin ere?”

He briskly walked inside, ignoring her question. Scanning the room, in the middle he saw a metallic table and a few spare robot parts for her drone.

“Dats a bit rude to jus come in ‘ere like you own da place.”

Shoulders tense, he turns around. He doesn’t know how to respond. How does a conversation like this work? He didn’t like socializing and this was hard as is. Someone else touching this robotic fucking monster of a body. That’s a fucking NO. He already had a hard time accepting this fucking form.

Ajay stared, her eyes full of curiosity. ”Well?”

He was getting angry, the words didn't seem to form out his mouth. Was it not obvious? Did he really need to say more? Just fucking looking at his hip and you'll see why he came here.

She knew and he knew that she knew. So why? Why does she still ask?

”If yah come ere’ to stand and stare den leave I don have time to chat.” she rubbed her temples.

She did look tired But he didn't care. Pointing to the right hip and back to the table.

“F-fix.” He grumbled.

She raised a brow as if challenging him to say more. She hummed. Still looking at him, She wants him to say more.

‘He said fix, why does she still stare at him dumbfounded.’

Her arms crossed, she lets out a tired sigh. “I don have time for dis...chu want sometin ask nicely.”

Knuckles cracking, he let out a feral growl. ”fix. Or else.”

Her face contorted into annoyance. ”look you won't be gettin fixed...yah hear.” She pointed to the door, Getting up close and personal to his face. She demanded. ”Play nice or get out.”

The crimson-plated robot shook with anger. This was not going well and the atmosphere in the room was suffocating. He didn't like her attitude even when she wasn't sassy. A happy go lucky, rich spoon-fed kid who grew up with luxury needed to be put in place.

He didn't care and he didn't fucking like her. Period. This girl, she’s testing him. This ship had a respawn beacon anyways wouldn’t make a difference if she magically disappeared. She acts like she isn’t afraid of death. She’s odd. Something about her pricked his interest but he shoves it away.

Why wasn't she afraid? Why is she provoking him? Obviously, things would just go smoothly if she just did what he asked.

He backed away, he needed this to be done. If this wasn’t resolved then it’s gonna fuck with his performance and If it fucks with his performance then oh boy. He’s gonna fucking throw a fit.

Looking at her eyes, they’re filled with annoyance and tiredness. Her brown eyes dark, making her eye-bags pop out more.

He huffed out his nose. “Fix me.”

He saw her grit her teeth. She opened her mouth. “You-“

He interrupted “Please.”

It took all of him not to shout at her, to force her to fix him. She was a toughy. Something new?

She backed away, briskly making her way to the table. Grabbing the tools on her way, she turned and gestured him to come closer.

He followed suit, wanting no needing for this to be over. He propped himself up on the table.

Having a cocky grin she asked, ”Where?”

Throwing him off, he stared. How dumb can she be???

lip quivering. He simply jutted his hip out and made a simple ”hmmph.”

Rolling her eyes, her arms wrap around his waist to bring him closer.

Surprised, he shouted. ” Be gentle or I’ll fucking kill you!” His Hand twisting into a pointy makeshift knife.

”Yah kill me, yah won't be fixed. Sorry for triggering sometin.” she whispered.

After pulling him closer she rested her hands on his lap, reaching her hand softly onto the left hip to ground the crimson robot. He winced.

He’s always been sensitive, especially near his hips. That’s just how his wires feel. Sensitive. It’s worse since they’re usually exposed. The sad excuse of a shawl covered the majority but not the sides. It’s crazy how Hammond designed his model. Crazy how even then, even after dying. He can still feel things. Not like he messed with anything there anyways.

“Sorry...”

He grumbled, annoyed with the whole situation he didn’t want to put up a fight.

She chuckled softly, “I see Anita dit a numba on yah hip.”

“Hmph.”

He wasn’t going to engage in conversation as she wanted. She got enough of cooperation from him.

“I notice, yah know.”

This piqued his interest. “Mmh?”

“I notice yah, yah don like talkin to us.”

He weakly shrugged his shoulders. “I don’t care enough to.” His voice was almost nothing.

Her hands wrapped around the shard of glass, swishing it slowly back and forth.

The murder robots hands gripped the table underneath him. Letting out a shaky breath he whimpered, “Be more careful...”

The shard was a long one and it came out rather easily. The matter was his wires were pulled out as well. Clicking her tongue she grabbed a screwdriver and pried the small space just a little more open.

He wanted to run out of this room right now. He wanted to close his legs. He wanted nothing more to do with this. This stupid sickening feeling, dumb stupid retarded Ajay. “Wa-wait..”

She didn’t hear him. Or did she. Point is his message didn’t cross. Her hands trailed up his exposed wires. Picking the shortest one, she rolled the tip whilst pinching the end to squeeze into place. Making him shudder, His hips jerked. His voice was static and breathless “Wait, I said wait...ho-hold on.”

She rolled her eyes for the umpteenth time today. “Look I know dis hurts but I’m workin as fast as I can.”

Ignoring his pleas she continued with putting his wires back in place.

His right hand gripped her uniform, she didn’t mind or she just didn’t care at this point.

His body trembled with each touch of her fingertips. “Haa...”

Her fingers made their way to the second thickest wire, this one was much more troublesome to get into the right place. Slightly twisting the dark gray wire, she tugged it into place. Next to it, a smaller sized green one stood out, pinching this one just like the first. It found its way into proper standing.

His grip had become increasingly tighter, desperately trying not to roll his hips into her hand. He refused to be like...this. Taking a deep breath he steadied himself.

“Dis is de last wire.” She mumbled.

The last one was...difficult to say the least. Located closest to his pelvic area, she knew she had to be gentle. Sure he may be a robot but it’s courtesy to still treat him with respect.

“Uhm.” He mumbled. “This is the last one right?”

“Jus Said id was.”

If he still had a real working body, his face would’ve been red and his heart would’ve been a Jackhammer. If it was even possible he missed having a heart, missed hearing how it drowned out his hearing when it bumped, missed having it beat when a lover of his said they loved him. He didn’t want to feel this anymore. So small and shy.

Ajay couldn’t pinch this wire, this one was way much thicker than the rest. She had to be more gentle. If it hurt him this much then it was better safe then sorry. (Little does she know. ) She found where it was originally stored rather quickly, stroking the wire, she increased her hold on it.

Revenant let out a high pitched wheeze, his hips rolling into her hand. His legs tightened around her waist.

”wha- what are ya doing?” She stammered, clearly confused.

This was so fucking embarrassing he wanted to fucking die. More than he already wished. “I- you- I said-“

She groaned, “I’m workin as fast as I can. We’re both tired I know but cha gotta work with me, Rev.”

A shiver ran up his would be spine caused him to falter. “Rev?”

“My bad broter. Thought since I’m doin yah a favor I could give cha a nickname..”

“I don’t care and I don’t like it, just finish.” He replied, looking away.

“I would if yah let me go witcha legs.” She snickered.

He jumped, slowly letting go of her. Her hand down back at his right hip, stretching him back out. He leaned back on the metal table with his palms carrying most of his weight.

This felt weirdly intimate, and he didn’t like it. Another shiver went up to his makeshift of a spine. Twisting the darkest wire back into place, she had to squeeze the middle area for it to fit. This time, he couldn’t hold it back. He let out a shuddered breath, Lidded luminescent eyes now found their way closed, hips slowly rolling once again.

Ajay looked up, with a quizzical look on her face. She didn’t bother questioning it but she still wanted to test something.

She squeezed harder and he let out a small mewl. The tips of her fingers found their way traveling ever so delicately down to the thickest part of the wire. Her thumb circling around the base, she felt the failed suppressed shudder throughout his body.

he breathed, “Fuck...”

She hummed, she put the wire back In place but she still wanted to play with him. Hands wrapped on his waist she began feeling his back indents. His panting was audible now. Pressing inwards of one of the indents. His voicebox crackled, letting out a cute “mmph.”

He slowly moved back, letting her climb on semi top of him. His hips rutting against her leg, he was really needy. Whimpering and begging practically. She smirked.

Figured as much, he’s been alive for almost 3 centuries. Nobody to touch him, nobody to make him feel good. She almost pitied him.

“P-please let me.”

Ajay hummed.

Another voice crack, “Ajay-emmhp”

His rutting became more aggressive, more sloppy. He needed this. However, he did come into the room with an attitude. Can’t let that go through can we. Moving her leg back, she got off him.

“N-no..” his hips chased her leg. His eyes flicked to her.

“I fixed yah, chu can leave.” She moved to her desk.

“Wha- I ehm...” he really didn’t know how to respond. He didn’t want to be left feeling this way.

“Yah Heard me.” She snickered.

He covered his face with his arms, he couldn’t do this. He didn’t want to be the only one feeling this way.

His breath still irregular, his voice box struggled to make out coherent words. “i-“

“Yah don’t have tuh say anyting.” She interrupted.

He swallowed. Getting up from the table, he still looked at her.

His thoughts raced. ‘What should I do? I came to be fixed And I was. Why am I feeling this way? I don’t want to anymore.

Why is this happening? Why did that happen?why did I allow that?’

He awkwardly walked up to her desk where she sat. Turning her around, his eyes darted to look anywhere but her face.

Why’d I do this again? I want- I want her to touch me again..

“Hm?” She questioned.

He kissed her cheek and turned to walk out of her room, he heard her giggle. “I’ll see ya in the games, yah smhook.”

Stopping his tracks at the open door, he shouted. “STUPID SKINSUIT!”

“Fuck ya!” She burst out laughing.

He was down the hall when he heard her respond, he wanted to be back in his room. Nobody was going to stop him. Briskly making his way down the hallway. The crimson plated robot found his room on the right.

His back met his bed issued from the company. His Body still ached for her touch. Wanting more. Rolling back and forth like a toddler on the sheets. He shouted, “Stupid SKINSUIT!”

#revenant apex legends #lifeline #lifeline apex legends #lifeline x revenant #revline #wireplay #dont use tumblr much as you can see #apex legends #revenant kind ooc at the end #begging #sassy lifeline

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jq37 · 5 years ago

Text

The Report Card – Fantasy High Sophomore Year Ep 5

The One With Garthy O’ Brien

Welcome back you guys and a special shoutout to all of y’all who are fans of FH and CritRole. I don’t know about you but Matt and Brennan basically shaved a full year off of my life between Wednesday and Thursday with their DM machinations. Now we don’t have time to unpack all of that, but we can at least tackle the FH stuff so let’s jump right in.

Last we left off, the gang had just arrived at the floating pirate city of Leviathan. Pirates immediately start hauling them in and everyone turns to Fabian for a cue on how to react (at the exact same time, hilariously). Fabian tells them all to be mean and he makes a pirate cry immediately. Wild.

They meet Jemina Joy who is a very cool Warforged (living automaton) pirate and also the boatswain of the city (pronounced “bosun”, they’re the boss of the crew and all the stuff on the boat, I was very into Monkey Island as a kid). One of her arms is a cannon and I need you to know that. Anyway, Fabian name drops his dad to try and get them some respect. It goes pretty OK but not as well as Adaine simply pointing out Cathilda’s presence. Jemina fully takes the knee and calls her, “Cathilda the Black, Terror of the Celestine Sea.” Fig helps Cathilda disguise herself so she doesn’t draw any unnecessary attention. Despite the clout, Jemina still says she’s seizing the boat (it seems like they do this to get materials to keep the city afloat). Fig tries to move her with the power of rock because of course. She hits at 23 on a 20 DC check for that because of course.

While she’s doing that nonsense, Adaine and Riz are--as always--trying to keep the party alive. Riz rolls a high perception check and noticed a pretty boy tiefling watching Fabian looking all hero worshippy.

Thoroughly swayed between the name dropping and the rock and roll and the Cathilda of it all, Jemina offers to let them buy the Van-Boat back. Fabian, as always, is ready to throw any amount of cash at the problem and Adaine, as always, is trying to be responsible with their cash. After a hilariously long sidebar (which includes Fig, who introduced herself as a very famous rock star, saying they should “Act the part of the pauper,” which is a wild turn of phrase to just drop out of nowhere) the tiefling from before shows up and pays for the Van for them. He introduces himself as Alistair Ash and tells them that he paid with rocks magick’d to look like gold for ten minutes so they better book it. They have another long sidebar about whether they should pay or not with Adaine and wildly Fig on the side and of paying. They pay and Alistair agrees to take them to see Garthy O ’Brien (the pirate Bill had been dealing with).

On the way to see Garthy, the gang finds out that Allister is a warlock, his patron being none other than the damned madman himself--Bill Seacaster. Hilariously, Bill doesn’t take his charges souls. He makes them do microtransactions for their spells and recruit others like it’s a pyramid scheme. I don’t know what he’s gonna do will gold in HELL but it is on brand, I’ll give him that.

A random dwarf calls Riz a slur so Fig and Kristen get him to jump to his death by turning into him and telling him he’s been dead for ten years, respectively.

Normal D&D stuff.

Anyway, they make it to the Golden Gardens which is Garthy O’ Brien’s casino/brothel/resort (“Pirate Moulin Rogue” is how Brennan described it) and we learn that Brennan specifically made this character to F with the chat because they are this beefcake, non-binary, aasimar/half-orc, tatted-up, succubus. My chat is usually on like a couple of seconds lag and I could have timed exactly how long the lag was by glancing over and counting off the seconds until the horned up comments started flooding in. You knew exactly what you were doing here Mr. Lee Mulligan.

Garthy invites them in for drinks, drugs, and use of the facilities where Kristen accidentally takes the drink of a mindflayer (think, humanoid Cthulhu-monster). He’s James Whitlaw, Captain of the Crimson Claw and enemy of Bill Seacaster. The group tries to smooth things over but Fabian Sparta kicks him in the chest after he drags Bill. There’s a bit of a tousle but Garthy shuts that down before it can get out of hand.

Post fight, the group questions Garthy and here are the highlights of that discussion:

They were supplying Bill with Palimpsests. Doing dead drops like the group assumed.

The last time they were at the hotel, they got told by the new staff (ie: the demons in disguise) that Bill wasn’t coming and when Garthy wouldn’t play ball with them, the demons attacked them and took their pouch of gems. Garthy says the demons were probably there to ambush them for their gems. They especially wanted the Sapphire but was useless to them because it already had a Celestial inside of it.

The demons had been summoned and bound to the material plane by someone very powerful.

Garthy doesn’t usually get gems from the Red Waste.

Garthy has heard of the Shadowcat. They can’t see the Shadowcat in the pic (just Pok who they say is cute). Alistair also can’t see Kalina.

Garthy tells Fig that, like they already knew, it would be super hard to break Gorthalax out. It would be hard for them to do, even considering curse breaking is one of their specialties.

The crown of the Nightmare King passed through the Gold Gardens recently, brought by--surprise, surprise--Adaine’s mom. Adaine’s mom was coming in to get a curse broken--one placed on her by the crown. With it broken, she’d be able to handle it more easily. She tricked Garthy into doing it without revealing exactly what the curse was and was kicked out once it was revealed. Garthy’s not sure where she went but they know she was frustrated that she couldn’t just teleport there (because she hadn’t been there before and didn’t have a description of it). She left on a Falinel-bound ship.

Garthy says Gorthalax is likely in a lot of pain in the gem he’s in.

The demons needed the gem for some kind of ritual sacrifice (namely, the one with Riz and Fig).

Also, Kristen is fully drunk for all of this.

Post info-dump, Van-Boat (whose actual name is Zathriel btw, more info from Garthy) mindlinks with Gorgug to tell them that a fight has broken out. Gorgug has the Van drive towards them. The group pays for a suite and then Riz, Fig, and Adaine fly over to the Van (with Tracker following in her spectral wolf form). Riz jumps in the front seat, takes the wheel from Gilear, and commits a ton of vehicular manslaughter. During the fight, Sandra-Lynn gets shot and falls off of Baxter. She almost goes down but Tracker catches and heals her.

They all make it back and proceed to reenact the house party scene from that one John Mulaney sketch (“a bunch of drunk toddlers”). People are getting wasted. People are getting tattoos. People are doing drugs. Kristen is riding Tracker like a horse (the G rated way, tyvm).

Then, uh, something not super chill happens.

Sandra-Lynn gets totally wasted and decides she’s gonna teach Fig (who is a little cagey about if she likes anyone by the by) how to flirt without the use of disguise self and such. She decides she’s gonna demonstrate on Garthy which she does. Successfully. Sandra-Lynn who is in a relationship that is monogamous as her request.

The drunk toddlers are herded into a room by Fig and Kristen. Kristen has Tracker cast the Moon Haven spell on the room and Fig and Adaine go to Garthy’s room to make sure Sandra-Lynn isn’t in trouble or anything. She’s not in trouble (yet) but, based on the way she’s clearly hastily redressed, she’s clearly about to run into some. Fig books it out of there, mortified.

Fig and Adaine lie about where they’ve been to Gilear and then they report back to the group. Tracker--who is pretty out of it at this point--sleepily asks who Sandra-Lynn’s been kissing. Everyone realizes, Oh no, Jawbone is poly but the relationship is supposed to be monogamous. Big yikes. Kristen feeds Tracker a mumbly lie about how Sandra-Lynn is kissing Jawbone that I really hope doesn’t blow up in her face because then it will be the hat trick of main relationships imploding in as many episodes. Kristen and Riz go back to Garthy’s room because Kristen wants to cast something (Detect Good and Evil, the result of which we don’t see this ep--though I feel like it would have to ping Garthy since they have celestial blood, right?) and Kristen notices that someone cast Clairvoyance on her and Riz, meaning someone knows they were outside.

Meanwhile, Fabian sneaks off to Crow’s Keep to be an emo pirate boy and talk to his dad while staring out into the sea. He’s suddenly surrounded by cloaked figures. Brennan rolls a bunch of dice, triggering Lou’s fight-or-flight, before revealing the cloaked dudes are just Alistair and the rest of his warlock friends who are all huge fans of their patron’s son. And we don’t get to find out what, if anything, they want from Fabian until next ep because that’s where Brennan ends the ep.

Detention

Sandra-Lynn for Cheating on Jawbone

OK, there’s a lot to unpack here.

I’ll start by saying we technically don’t know if she went through with it or not since Fig interrupted her before things could very far but we know she got naked which is more than far enough to be a betrayal imo.

And it’s so wild because she for sure could have been in an open relationship. She’s the one who stipulated monogamy.

On the one hand, I appreciate that Brennan is playing these NPCs as human (“human”) and failable and realistic but on the other hand, man I can’t stand cheating. And it’s not like she hasn’t cheated before. That’s, like, a major plot point. But it’s easier to gloss over something that happened a long time ago and we didn’t have to witness in real time.

Like, this isn’t good. It’s not gonna be good for the group. She forced Kristen into a position where she has to lie to/keep secrets from Tracker potentially. Also, Tracker is a wolf. There’s a non-zero chance she’s gonna be able to smell what happened. Do you really want one possibly both of the healers on the team mad at you? And they weren’t just dating They’re LIVING TOGETHER. And not just together. Together with like five--pending six--children (and pending one adult). That’s a lot of people that are gonna get forcible sucked into your drama.

And poor Jawbone. I know he’s a trooper and he’s def been through worse but just because you can deal with something, doesn’t mean you should have to.

Anyway, Adaine said it best: Sandra-Lynn is both more and less cool than I thought she was.

Honor Roll

Riz for His Driving Skills

I couldn’t tell you why but the phrase, “vehicular manslaughter” is so inherently funny to me. Riz hitting a nat 20 to just mow down all the attackers in his path was hilarious.

Note: I also could have given this spot to Garthy but I’m a little ambivalent on all the enabling of awful but hilarious life choices.

Random Thoughts

Adaine trying to blend in by saying ahoy to everyone and getting a tricorner hat from her jacket was so good (big props to everyone who drew that, especially y’all who also gave Boggy a hat). Also, I’m glad she’s been using her jacket more in general so she’ll be more likely to remember it in an emergency.

@jamiebluewind made this really useful post with the descriptions of all the new characters and the tats the Bad Kids got which you can find here.

Also, @ttttttterrence shouted me out during the livestream so I’m returning the gesture. What’s up man!

I like that when the group is discussing how to split the cost of the suite, Fabian is just like, “I got it, don’t worry.” He clearly takes pride in being able to throw money around for his friends.

Fabian, who has for sure seen Cathilda in action during a fight: Maids can’t kill.

Ally’s amused disbelief at the phrase, “Act the part of the pauper,” was sending me.

Adaine: There’s no way you’re an only child.

OK, this isn’t totally related to this ep, it’s more a point about FH in general that I don’t think I’ve brought up yet. How does a fantasy high school work in a world where races age at vastly different rates? Like goblins have a max age of about 60 and reach adulthood at 8. Meanwhile, elves reach physical maturity at the same age as humans but because they live to be like 700+ years old, they’re not considered adults until, like, the age of 100. At first I thought they were ignoring racial aging differences (like I do when I write fantasy I can’t be bothered with the implications usually) but in this and last ep, they were brought up. And I thought it might be that we were saying what everyones’ ages were in human years but, based on the info we’ve heard (like how far back Pok died for example) their ages have to be in normal years. Which brings me to theory 3: everyone ages physically and mentally at the same rate as humans to adulthood and then some races just decline more quickly than others afterwards.

Fig: I sink into a deep depression.

Alistair has an adorable cockney accent and he might be a little bit of a sociopath but let’s put a pin in that until next week. Oh, also, I was so sure he was gonna be Fabian’s brother too, just like half the table.

Brennan so good at adding things in for flavor to make the world cooler. What prompted this comment is him saying that as Tracker travels in spectral wolf form, a forest path appears at her feet briefly. Very cool attention to detail.

Bill running a MLM warlock system where you pay by the spell is so, so funny. I actually am not sure if the MLM aspect of it was planned or if someone (one of the girls I think) said it as a joke and Brennan ran with it but that’s extremely funny.

I know how leveling works in the above-game for balance but, in game, I feel like there’s no reason Bill and Gorthalax shouldn’t give everyone a level of Warlock. That would get them all 2 cantrips (eldritch blast, mage hand, and chill touch are options) and 2 level one spells (charm person, hellish rebuke, and charm person can be clutch).

Speaking of, I almost feel like this episode was setting up Fabian and Gorgug to multiclass. Fabian’s dad being a patron is a prime opportunity for him to get some warlock levels (and it would be very good for his aesthetic. I mean, magic pirate? Hell yeah). And Gorgug later in the episode says something like, “I could fix the van so fast if I had magic.” I wouldn’t be surprised if he gets a level in a caster class soon.

“Did you learn your magic in a book?”/”Yes!”/”Oh, lah-dih-dah. I can read.”

Fig: Adaine is the best at armies!

Forget if I mentioned this before but I’m very pleasantly surprised that Adaine’s mom is such a driving force this season. She’s one of the characters we explored the least last season which was a bummer for me because I really wanted to know what was going on in her head. Looks like we’re close to getting some insight soon. I’m guessing we might have another ep or half ep until we get there unless something else happens to sidetrack the group.

I glossed over it in the actual recap but Fig casting disguise self on herself to look like the dwarf who was picking on Riz was just some peak Emily with an assist from chaos monster Ally. Here’s the scene. What’s funny is I thought I knew what Emily’s thought process was (If he sees himself, he’ll very likely be thrown off his rhythm) but then she was like, “I wanted to be someone from the area and he’s the only guy I’ve met.” Lol, bold of me to assume I have any idea what’s going on in her head.

Adaine and, by extension, Siobhan just casually knows what a forecastle is (it’s “a raised deck at the bow of a ship”). Also, Brennan uses the word susurrous which means “full of whispering sounds”. That’s twice I had to reach for my dictionary (by which I mean Google).

The whole concept of Garthy is extremely cool and I’m specifically talking about race. I’ve never heard of a half-orc aasimar because in fantasy books it’s usually the humans getting it on with everyone and making half-whatever babies but there’s no reason a half-orc couldn’t have celestial ancestry. The idea of a risen devil is also very dope and something I’ve only seen once (and as art, not in an RPG context--Edit: Actually, I’ve seen in twice. In one chapter of Ah My Goddess, Hell sticks a demon onto the main goddess to try and corrupt her and she ends up purifying the demon which was wild when I read it in high school but you’re not here for me to go off about my comfort manga so let’s keep moving). The idea that there are “bad” gods and so their opposition, their “demons” would be essentially angels is very clever and something I hadn’t really considered. Also the phrase “The job is the fuck people into being decent basically,” is really A+. Well done Brennan.

Also, my knowledge of CR Campaign 1 is very spotty so this may be very off but I feel like Brennan watched a bunch of Gilmore scenes and then snorted a line of coke before he created Garthy.

Kristen: I’m proud of the choices I make.

Emily: They eat brains but also drink beer?

Captain Whitlock has a peg leg tentacle on his face that he tries to face touch Kristen with and Tracker is not having ANY of that. “Under no circumstances.”

Poor Fabian, giving an awesome speech to Captain Whitlock and then rolling a 1 on his Sparta Kick. Luckily, Gorgug hit a 26 on a DC 25 challenge to give him the help action so Fabian didn’t eat it.

Sidenote, we learn there used to be a pirate king but Bill killed him. Sounds about right.

I’m even more convinced that the rule is people who have seen Kalina before can see her in the picture after the conversation they had about it in this ep. Glad they decided to puzzle it out some more--even though I think it’s a little iffy to be spilling all your info to a pirate you literally just met (especially Fig--closed book my ass).

Garthy mentions again that the NK defies categorization--something that came up in Adaine’s research. I’m wondering how that’s gonna come into play later.

“I could tell you a very sweet lie, which is more my style.” I really like Garthy and I hope that continues to be the case.

Gorgug: That would be pretty disruptive...Yeah.

“Your name’s Van-Boat.”/”No!”

Riz, right before a nat 20 to commit Vehicular manslaughter: Get out of the way Gilear. I’ve killed people before, it’s fine.

I loved everyone being like, “Gilear you killed people! You’re officially an adventurer!”

Gilear, with the intensity of someone a firefighter has just pulled out of a burning building: I need the frog.

Tracker does like a crazy blood-brother type ritual for healing which is interesting because you’d think that would be bad what with the werewolf-ism but I guess it’s just through biting.

Fabian and Ragh peer pressuring Riz to do snuff, Ragh actually getting him to do it with a hippie speech about mind expansion, and Riz getting high as hell and getting Memento tats all over his body (NIGHT YORB--also, Sklonda is gonna LOVE this I bet) is such a wild series of events.

Kristen casts a spell on Gilear so she’ll take all of his damage and he starts getting hurt the second he’s out of her eyeshot. Wild.

“I cast friends on Gilear.”

I am going to murder Brennan for that cell tower gag.

Sidebar: I don’t have a picture of the Leviathan map but if someone has it someone I’ll post the link here for anyone who could use it.

And while we’re side tracked, shoutout to the dude who made this song based on Gorgug’s last ep. The line, “My girlfriend's really mad and she's also a goat” is truly golden.

Oh! And someone randomly gifted me a twitch subscription to dropout! If you’re on here, thanks somePloops!

Kristen and Tracker getting neck tats of each others’ names is just so so much.

Also, let’s pour one out for the fan-artists of FH that are also fans of CR and had to watch half the cast of both getting tatted up in back to back weeks, making any canon drawing that much more complicated.

I don’t think I fully realized until this ep when Adaine was the only sober one of her friends in a bar reading a book how closely she’s tracking my high school/college experience. Her, “Everyone is drunk by which I mean everyone but me is drunk,” killed me because I have said that verbatim on so many occasions. Watching Siobhan play Adaine is like, therapy by proxy for me.

“I am a child.”

Adaine, lying badly: I have also taken drugs.

Kristen has a stealth of -3. Woof.

Fig, Adaine and Riz each got nat 1 20 this ep. Fabian, Gorgug, and Adaine each rolled a nat 1 but Fabian’s was cancelled by Gorgug and Adaine’s was on initiative.

#fantasy high #fantasy high live #dimension 20 #fantasy high spoilers #dimension 20 spoilers #report card

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shslpunkartist · 3 years ago

Note

So my friends informed me that I forgot to share the second silly from the hc I mentioned so gonna fix that real quick lol: Xeno is in the middle of livestreaming some horror game in the dark late at night while on a call with some of the others. A sound is heard in the background of the room but Xeno doesn't notice, too focused on the game.

THEN EVERYONE IN THE CHAT SUDDENLY STARTS FREAKING OUT

BECAUSE IN THE LIVESTREAM CAMERA ON THE BOTTOM THERE'S A PAIR OF OMINOUS GLOWY GREEN EYES SEEMINGLY FLOATING ABOVE XENO. NOTHING IS SEEN EXCEPT FOR THIS WIDE SMIRK

SUDDENLY A HAND TOUCHES XENO SHOULDER WHILE THEY WERE IN THE MIDDLE OF A PARTICULARLY TERRIFYING MONSTER ENCOUNTER, SCARING THE SHIT OUTTA THEM, AND THAT LET OUT THIS LOUD SHRIEK-

Then the video and audio cuts off.

Minutes later video and audio returns and the chat was greeted with the sight of Pachinko stuck in the wall while a very flustered Xeno struggling to pull him out, apologizing over and over for their reaction over his little spooking.

Everyone in chat proceeds to do the classical "press F to pay respect" at the shitter lmao

Pachinko learns not to scare Xeno unless prepared to dodge, or in an open area

He might get sent a mile away from the punch if outside, but it beats getting stuck in a wall and not getting a surprise butt attack

#friggin.. stuck pron--#truly a wasted cause when he's pulled out #... didn't mean to make it dirty--

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sixinchrainbowheels · 8 years ago

Text

so you’ve heard of the cheerleader!neil au where he used to cheer (if you’ve never heard of it check it out here) but are you ready for

the au where he never stopped

alternately titled the vixen!neil au

- he’s a good cheerleader, okay. gOOD. the vixens’ coach knows it. his high school coach knows it, despite how much he tries to hold back.

- he pretended to not know how to do a back handspring at the first practice.

- he tried so hard.

- then he realized they wouldn’t let him on the team without one and miraculously learned it.

- neil josten is Not Smooth

- he never stops pretending not to know things

- his coach never stops being Tired of His Shit

- anyway, he’s scouted by the Vixens’ coach at a Millport game where they’re doing halftime- since it was just a halftime performance where no one would care he mAY have done some killer tumbling passes in the spur of the moment

- cue high school coach groaning in the background

- “goddamnit neil you TOLD ME YOU DIDN’T KNOW WHAT THOSE REBOUND JUMPS EVEN WERE”

- anyway my son here gets somewhat forcibly recruited in a similar situation to Wymack’s attempt but involving abnormally sharp stilettos and an attempt at suffocation via pom-poms

- his reasoning is basically “yeah ok i shouldn’t be in the spotlight but hey i’m not playing exy. no one will suspect a thing. this is literally cheerleading.”

- i mean really, no one cares about competitive cheerleading except cheerleaders. this is a great plan.

- also, he’s somewhat in the exy loop and knows that kevin is at palmetto state. neil is so glad he isn’t going for exy. that would be terrible. he can’t even IMAGINE how awkward it would be to be on a team with that guy he was with that one time his dad sliced up a guy in front of them

- that would be awful

- so yeah neil’s a vixen now

- the only guy on the team r i p

- poor boy is picked on so much by the coach because yOU ARE THE SOLE PRODUCER OF TESTOSTERONE FOR THIS CLUSTERFUCK OF PANSY ASS COLLEGE STUDENTS AND HEY YOU’RE NOT FUCKING ALLOWED TO COLLAPSE GET UP

- she loves him and shows it through forcing him through ten laps every time he fucks up

- as it turns out he’s a pretty Okay flyer but like…not the very best so he doesn’t do it often

- but his tumbling passes

- oh his tumbling passes *sigh*

- kinda like this

- he can do crazy stuff ok like he starts out with like half speed and these freaking summer practices are bringing it uP

- so eventually school starts and of course people see him, the one guy on the team, and many assume he’s either banging half the team or gay

- he does nothing about rumors about him unless directly confronted, in which case he usually brings out the “i don’t swing” spiel

- the one time someone tries to make fun of him is the most likely time for it- the girls dragged him out shopping. he’s in a pink convertible with like, 10 girls and an obscene amount of shopping bags

- they picked him up after practice with “get in loser we’re going shopping”

- he didn’t actually get in, one of the larger-built back bases picked him up and just threw him in like he weighed nothing

- but anyway someone yells some generalized “you’re gay lol” type insult at him

- and these girls are on him in a s e c o n d

- the poor guy needed 15 bags of ice for all the burns

- afterward they were talking and some girls were talking about how apparently they were too affectionate and people thought they were dating and one was like “maybe it’s because i have a big L E S B I A N CRUSH ON YOU” in a very sassy, janis ian way and everyone laughs and poor neil is so confused and they were like “what? you don’t get it?”

- long story short, neil has like twenty new outfits and a disgusting amount of eyeliner and vixen movie night became a thing and the season hasn’t really even started

- he eventually meets the Foxes when Dan and the Vixens’ captain decide they don’t have enough camaraderie and the first fox-vixen get together is arranged in the basement of fox tower

- the foxens

- neil babbles about exy for ages and all the foxes are surprised about how much he knows

- the vixens are not

- they put up with him for the entire summer. when it wasn’t cheer it was exy. always one of the two.

- wow did you see nationals? I can’t believe how well mason’s flyer pulled off that triple- “NEIL” you guys were at last year’s third game? andrew minyard was so- “nEILLLL”

- anyway, he’s a bit awkward around kevin because you know that thing but kevin doesn’t recognize him. it’s great. he talks strategy for ages; he’s been watching their games and has been dying to chat about ways to improve on what he’s seen of the team or strategize

- kevin is surprised at first but he ends up talking animatedly about exy. kevin’s a good guy, and he respects the work the cheerleaders put in, but he wishes neil played exy because he knows w a y more than the surface amount kevin expects from most cheerleaders and that’s p useful

- andrew is there, not really in a conversation, but he lurks on the outside of neil and kevin’s and pays attention because this boy is Pretty and Interesting

- matt also pays attention and ends up in the conversation after a little while because he’s supportive of the vixens’ only male cheerleader and he has to make sure neil knows this

- the other monsters ask around about neil (because let’s be real, they’d be intrigued by the one guy on the team, and nicky is certainly not letting such a cute one get past him)

- they end up getting the information that a) this guy is on the top of pyramids and b) boy can freaking tumble like a god

- nicky may mention neil on top is definitely not the worst idea he’s ever heard

- they relay this to andrew, who is kinda curious but refuses to acknowledge that because andrew minyard does not experience anything like interest dammit he is a cold and calculating midget

- so the next game the foxes has is against a really terrible team and by halftime they’re up like 8-2 it’s ridiculous

- andrew decides he’ll stay near the court for halftime and see the vixens’ show

- everyone notices but no one says anything because he has knives

- kevin stays too because this boy better have a good excuse for cheering instead of playing exy

- the routine is everything you’d expect and more: over-the-top, sassy, mind-bendingly fast paced, but N E I L

- andrew just stares

- he knew the vixens were good but s h i t

- he has to fight to keep his jaw from unhinging during neil’s tumbling passes like how does he move that fast how does he rotate like that hOW WHAT

- kevin’s in a similar state but he knows he can use this. the way neil’s jumping and flipping with minimal use of his hands??? imagine implementing that. imagine. revolutionary.

- since the show doesn’t take all of halftime, kevin and andrew sneak into the locker room when it’s done

- they were Not Subtle

- wymack would have actually killed them if they weren’t winning by such a large margin

- anway after they win kevin pulls andrew aside

- “you saw what he was doing. please tell me you know where i want to go with this.”

- of course kevin has every intention of forcing neil to teach them how to do this crazy shit

- kevin does a little research and finds out when neil will be heading to fox tower after practice and using his “i’m kevin motherfucking day” charm he gets neil to help him learn how to tumble at nightly practices

- neil forces him to swear not to give out his name when people start asking where he gets this stuff, because like that would be Bad.

- it’s an uncertain, shaky thing, but it starts happening

- andrew starts joining because kevin wears him down (that’s not the only reason)

- the season goes on and oh no! the ravens are in our district now

- but get this

- it’s only about kevin.

- they didn’t notice neil. he’s a fucking cheerleader. no one important notices or cares

- there was no morning show fiasco, so seth is still alive!!!

- they got seth some professional help for the good of the plot and he’s been recovering from...everything and getting better at not getting carded every two seconds and communicating

- so no, they don’t win,

- but kevin ties it at the last second when he’s backed up by a backliner and he does a f u c k i n g aerial over her head and scores.

- riko’s face.

- literally everyone’s face.

- neil is cheering his heart out he is so proud

- after the game, kevin tells the other foxes about neil and his tumbling and they start hanging out with him more because they couldn’t have won without him, and they can learn a lot

- the season goes on, neil gradually becomes okayish, he gets the love he deserves from the foxes and vixens and andrew

- neil starts teaching the foxes his cool tumbling stuff:

- renee turns out to be fantastic at it, graceful and flexible queen she is

- dan and nicky are pretty average, they’re learning

- matt and allison... try

- seth and aaron don’t even try and never show up to night practice because let’s be real, it’s seth and aaron

- but hey, andrew’s really improving (probably because of the extra attention neil’s giving him)

- he’ll mess up and neil will be like “you need to-” and andrew’s like “SHUT UP I KNOW” and neil grins because he totally doesn’t

- spotting someone’s tumbling is pretty up close and personal

- everyone ships it quietly and these idiots are so oblivious

- when andrew lands his first back handspring everyone cheers and he fails to not smile just a little

- they consume so much ice cream in celebration and alcohol

- of course this stuff takes time and by now the season is near over

- they have their trojan game and they work their butts off (even if USC has only ten players) because they don’t want to have to use their trump card yet and they manage not to, though renee almost does when the trojans score on her

- they move on and oh my god it’s the ravens

- they manage to not whip out the crazy shit until the second half, but then everything gets insane

- the first time they do it is when andrew and kevin make eye contact when riko has the ball and kevin knows he can’t stop him

- he gives andrew a nod that he meant to be subtle but he was too excited so it ended up as a very sharp upward jerk of his chin in the vague direction of riko

- andrew would have rolled his eyes but there was no time

- neil would have too if he wasn’t about to explode on the sidelines

- andrew flings himself back at an angle that would have been ridiculously dangerous if he hadn’t been practicing, slams the ball, and springs with his hands back upright

- the stands go wild.

- the vixens cheer their throats hoarse.

- the ball goes straight to kevin

- the next one is when kevin pulls the same aerial he used last time, but it gets blocked because nothing really works twice on the ravens

- from there it’s down to the now-very-gymnastic foxes versus the insane hardcore that is edgar allen

- some highlights:

- someone tries to do a battering ram thing at dan and she does a toe-touch over him

- kevin does seven more aerial shots; four of them make it in

- andrew pulls out the stuff only one other time but when he does neil almost cries

- the final few seconds of the game:

- THE GAME IS TIIIIIEEEEDDDDD

- riko fires high-speed at the goal and andrew s m a s h e s it down the court, directly at the raven’s goal.

- the goalkeeper is surprised yet still gets it, but just barely; he hits it out of pure reflex without aim and it goes right at kevin. with one second left kevin passes to seth (who is very surprised) but he rebounds it into the goal and his Redemtion Arc™ is Complete as he encapsulated in a group hug

- after the game, everyone celebrates together, seth is happy, neil is happy, neil finally mAKES A DAMN MOVE

- and wow look at the news:

“BREAKING: Edgar Allen striker Riko Moriyama’s suicide?”

- and everyone lives happliy ever after

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fashiontrendin-blog · 7 years ago

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Work and Play With a Side of Fries: Amelia’s Paris Fashion Week Diary

http://fashion-trendin.com/work-and-play-with-a-side-of-fries-amelias-paris-fashion-week-diary/

Work and Play With a Side of Fries: Amelia’s Paris Fashion Week Diary

Saturday, 7:15 a.m.

Contrary to the popular belief held by those who’ve consumed alcohol the night before, 7:15 a.m. is a pretty nice time to be awake in Paris.

I’m up to catch up on the work I missed while traveling yesterday and to start to chip away at deadlines due next week. If I learned one thing from last February Paris Fashion Week, it’s that there’s always less free time to get work done than you think. My first appointment is at 10:30 a.m., so I’m what the French call, “concentrating.”

I’m a little anxious…

10 a.m.

Done-ish, enough to go get breakfast at least. Spencer, my boyfriend, is here for the weekend and he’s helping to keep me on schedule. We go to a kind of weird place that’s definitely a tourist trap, but a croissant and jam is a croissant and jam, you know? I am still a little anxious. I think it’s the combination of my impending schedule and not totally knowing my way around and not having all my ducks in a row. But still, Paris. Also, I spot Alber Elbaz and have a spazzy moment of feeling designer-star-struck, which I didn’t think happened to me? Just when you think you’re cool!

10:30 a.m.

First stop of the day is the Peter Pilotto showroom to see the clothes he showed in London, up close and personal. It’s bright and colorful and jumpstarts yesterday’s good mood. I try on a coat. I schmooze. I relax.

11:30 am

I’m at Magda Butrym, where the collection was inspired by Dolly Parton (please let this theme continue). I fall in love instantly with the ruffled sleeves, padded shoulders, hot pink and red silks and rhinestones but… THE SHOES! I love one pair of tall boots that were about my height in particular, and some heels with removable puffy bows. It’s all so eighties; in the wrong fabrics, could very well be tacky. But these textiles are luxe and the draping is like “UGH!” and it’s all so good. Clothes like these make me wish I were a different kind of person, more balls-to-the-wall in how I dress.

12 p.m.

The world’s greatest cab driver, Yusef, has picked me up and is singing along to “Lady in Red.” He wears a very nice baby blue cable knit sweater. We bond over classic 80s music. We are instant friends and my brain does this thing it did last time I was here where it shouts super loud, “HEY AMELIA, MAYBE YOU SHOULD MOVE TO PARIS.”

12:30 p.m.

Altuzarra, though staged in the middle of La Couple, a brasserie that’s apparently a real establishment here, brings me back to New York for a moment as I’m seated between a few friends from back home. I’m not constantly with friends here in the way that I am during NYFW, so when I do run into them, it’s nice. Someone almost always has a portable phone charger, a snack and a hug.

Altuzarra’s collection reminds me of New York, too: glen plaid and pinstripe suits, a trench, a cozy shearling coat. My favorite items are the dresses: one purple dress in tie-dye velvet with a sort of modern-medieval neckline, a few with ruching and off-the-shoulder sleeves (but only if you want — choose your own adventure) adorned with glittering metallic paillettes. It’s not capital F fashion, but the collection has style. Pair with that Altuzarra’s pin-sharp tailoring and its wearer will instantly feel like she has her shit together.

1:30 p.m.

I just dropped Elle.com’s Nikki Ogunnaike off in a cab where we spent the ride chatting about how much the industry has changed since our intern days (a lot). I ate this little cake while she spoke, scooping out the inside, leaving its chocolate shell, which I offered to Nikki too late to actually be considered polite. She declined (it was kind of gross) and then had to go. Bye, friend!

Soon after, at Natasha Zinko, the designer plays with the concept of a working, successful woman who isn’t defined by her job, but rather by all the pieces that make up her personality, which she may only reveal here and there.

Then I try on these weird sunglasses that make me look like an alien.

2:30 p.m.

I quickly stop by Mira Mikati for a burst of rainbow color and a go-kart/carnival theme, then I head home to charge my phone and meet up with Spencer, who has spent all day eating his heart out at the Musee d’Orsay. I visit the museum vicariously through him as I swipe through photos of Rodin’s sculptures on his phone.

4:30 p.m.

After some work, he and I walk to a cafe my Parisian friend Sophie recommends, but it’s full, so we go somewhere whatever where I get an okay salad, fries and a Diet Coke. Then we get a text from our friend Gabby, who’s doing PR for a few shows, that she has a break and wants us to come meet her and her friends at the Ferris wheel, so we do, snag a six person gondola and have a truly delightful time on top of the world.

5:30 p.m.

The lot of us walk through the Tuileries at an impressively slow pace because we all have to stop and take about a million versions of the same photo. The lighting was good so no complaints. Once everyone gets a new profile picture, we part ways.

6:30 p.m.

Spencer and I are posted up at Cafe Flore with Sophie, my friend who suggested the earlier spot. I’m taking this opportunity to push through emails, but since I am the only person on my phone, I wrap far more quickly than I would have if we were in New York. We’ve crashed Sophie’s drinks with her friends and overstay our welcome until about 8 p.m., when I have to run to Sonia Rykiel. Spencer stays; he’s very French now.

8:45 p.m.

Jet lag was just about to hit when Sonia Rykiel wakes me up. The show concludes with two loud confetti-exploding POPS! Models laugh and dance down the end of the runway. Then Bananarama comes on to sing and champagne is passed around. It is a celebration of the label’s 50th anniversary and a joyful tribute to the late iconic designer. The clothes themselves were both fun and very “ready-to-wear,” nothing so FASHION that everyone couldn’t enjoy them, save for the four fluffy-hatted snow monsters that opened the show in tandem. My favorite look was a green glitter dress on a model who charged the runway in thigh high boots with a caramel-colored bolero.

9:30 p.m.

It should be time for bed, but instead, it’s time for dinner. We eat, though nothing major, I am sorry to report, then around 11:30 p.m. we take a long walk back to the hotel. My feet hurt but it’s worth it; it’s easier to see the sights on foot.

Sunday, 12 p.m.

Following a rainy morning spent debating where to eat in-between emails and some work for Hotel MR (!!!), I stop by the Tome presentation to see Ryan Lobo and Ramon Martin’s latest collection. It’s inspired by the artist Tschabalala Self, and though she wasn’t in the room today, she appears in the lookbook. I love this collection, all wide legs and clashed patterns. I think my favorite, if I had to choose, is the layered plaid look that features accordion pleats that are practically camouflaged in all the pattern.

1-4 p.m.

Time is starting to blend together. After Tome, where I run into Tamu McPherson, who is best-dressed dressed for the rain in a clear Maison Michel hat, I have a re-see at Nina Ricci, where I discover details I didn’t catch from my seat, like the corduroy texture of a gray suit (apparently the brand does corduroy every Fall/Winter, which I did not know) and the crinkle effect on a white silk dress.

5 p.m.

Time for Valentino. First thing to know is that, while everyone dresses up for every show in Paris — talk about the best of Sunday’s best — the crowd before and after Valentino come attired in head-to-toe full looks. (I’m still in my outfit from this morning, and I dressed for the rain. The weather’s since taken a turn for the sunny. Damn these chic women and their chic foresight.) When the show begins and the models start walking down an unpretentious, simple runway, I understand the crowd’s impulse to dress accordingly — even if that meant running home to change first. The clothes are so artfully crafted, so beautiful in a way that seems specific to Paris (that’s my romantic side writing, let it happen) that, as a viewer, I want to blend into the scenery, absorb into the world of Valentino, and pay respects.

The collection itself is a fairytale fantasy but not so fantastical that it’s absurd. Mostly, the fairytale is in reference to the little red riding hoods that come in a variety of colors, and the gowns that give proper use to the word “ethereal” — which I’d previously, in my own writing at least, embargoed. The rest of it is simple; not “easy” simple, or basic simple, but experienced, sweeping, painterly lines with just the right amount of bells and whistles.

6 p.m.

After meeting up with our roving street style photographer, Simon, to stage a photo for this story, I head to the Marais to meet my friends where I drink two negronis and eat vegetable pizza with a side of spaghetti bolognese. Weird combo but whatever, it’s the weekend. I have two-and-a-half-hours to kill before Thom Browne and my phone’s dead, so I charge it behind the bar (which means no checking email) and forget about fashion week for long enough to process it.

Feature image by Simon Chetrit. Photos via Amelia Diamond.

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tboneburpee-blog · 8 years ago

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Either much anticipated or at long last a new posting from the city of endless sunshine and beautiful scenery. It is almost shocking that is has been three months since the last posting yet life has been calm and crazy at the same time. I feel like no post is needed if I do not do anything but then it is good to send updates even when there is no exciting travel had… so here is a review of the antics since the last posting…

Sunset Oman

Sunrise Oman

Sunset Jebel Shams

Crowne Plaza at sunset

Sunrise on the Natural Reserve on the way to work

Oh the classroom… that has not changed and as of the first week of January changes for next year host the potential for teaching in upper primary or 7/8th grade English. I made the mistake of telling my assistant this information and she broke down in tears. I did not realize she would do this as I was trying to share the information so she could be prepared and see what her options might be for next year. Thuraiya says to me, ‘just wait maybe it will be better next year’. In the six years she has been working here she said that this is the happiest she has been. The other teachers she worked with did not respect her and treated her as if she was one of the kids. Who thinks they can treat another person so poorly! I treat her like a person and say good morning to her everyday. This makes her extremely happy and she does not want to leave the classroom… who knew I was that friendly and nice!!! The boys have not changed in my opinion, and I have honestly tried to like them and the grade, it is just not happening. I am not challenged (yes every day is a challenge) and this experience is making me not enjoy the classroom, which is sad given I have only been teaching for 8 years. Lord 8 years.. time flies!!! The boys are so catered/pandered to at home they struggle daily at school to do things on their own and need confirmation they are doing things correctly at every step.

Yes they may be ‘cute’ but do not be deceived

I struggle with this as you can imagine, the one goal I have as a teacher is to make the students independent learners so they may thrive and survive in the real world. I am, however pleased to say that some kids are actually learning to read as parents have thanked me for their success to date… But regardless of my distaste for this grade level, I go in daily and do the best job I can in the hopes the students take something away with them into second grade.

Muttrah Port – Sultan’s summer palace

Muttrah Port – fort behind Sultan’s summer palace

Muttrah Port – Sultan’s yacht

Muttrah Port – Dows

One highlight of our nonstop working were the National Day/Sultan’s birthday celebrations that took place. Our school was set up with carpets in the courtyard, hand-made craft stalls, food, and the kids performed saying prayers and singing songs to celebrate. The staff partook by dressing in formal Omani outfits. All went well for students and teachers alike especially since our celebration day ended at 1 pm and my friends and I left school to celebrate ourselves.

My boys on National DayMuscat, Oman

Ladies on National Day Muscat, Oman (Nareesha and Emma)

Courtyard Ladies on National Day – Muscat, Oman (Kelly, Harriet, Emma, Nafiza, Jo)

National Day fun – traditional woman

National Day fun

The people love His Majesty the Sultan so much and are so grateful for the safety and comfort within their country that he provides they honor him constantly; most took time during this holiday to decorate their cars proudly with photos of His Majesty and the colors of their country. The number of cars that were decorated (and creatively) was astounding. Interestingly enough, if you decorated your car they had to be cleaned by November 30th with all decorations removed. This was also the same for the cities and villages that put up holiday lights and flags during this time.

Muttrah Port Oman

Life during National Day – Muttrah Oman…

Sunset during National Day – Muttrah Oman…

Alleys in Muttrah Oman…

National Day fun – cars

National Day fun – Sifa

For National Day we were granted two days holiday (YIPPEEE!!!) so I arranged to flee and headed to Abu Dhabi, UAE to visit Trish and Colin from Bermuda who I had not seen in 10 years. Trish and Colin have lived in Abu Dhabi for two years and I was so happy they were home and welcomed my visit. To my surprise Nicky and her husband Podge (more friends from Bermuda) had flown in the following morning so the visit became a double treat. Trish and I paddle boarded in the mangroves, stunning! A little slice of peace and quiet in the bustling city. We visited the Grand Mosque, one of the largest in the United Emirates and has the largest hand-knotted rugs in the world with 2,268,000,000 knots. (Oman has the second largest with 1,700,000,000 knots) and rode bicycles with their son Charlie along the Corniche. The Corniche is a paved path that runs along the beach in the middle of the city. One has views of the various volleyball and football matches being played, the 7 star Emirates Palace hotel, Marina Mall, and the construction of the new Fairmont Hotel (ha ha!!). Riding along or running along this daily could help someone forget about a bad day and appreciate the beauty that is around them. I liked Abu Dhabi and look forward to going back and visiting with friends again soon.

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With Abu Dhabi done it was time to see what Dubai was like. Mind you the most I saw of Dubai was the inside of their National Stadium, some really fit men, and some wonderful costumes and I was okay with that!!! Who would be disappointed watching men in shorts with monster legs run around on a pitch in spectacular sunshine?!?! The sole purpose of our trip to Dubai was to watch HSBC Rugby 7s tournament. Yes, I think I am addicted and if this is my only addiction (aside from the beach and wine) …. I think I am okay with that. There were four of us from Oman who attended the games and we had a blast. Sadly the USA did not do as well as they did last year in Singapore but it was good fun to watch all countries play nonetheless! The rugby is fast moving and a thrill to watch. The speed and techniques are quite different from 15 aside matches so this changes the vibe and to help, the people watching is fantastic!!! We stayed in the Le Meridien Fairway which was perfectly situated to get to the stadium easily and the Irish Village. Irish Village being a must for any attendee to rugby or a visit to the city.

Dubai crew

Costumes of Dubai

Intermission during 7s Tournament – Dubai

Airport randomness

The 14 weeks we had between our October break and Christmas were long and filled with many social activities. The friends I have here are amazing and we have a great time together. I have also made a good group of friends outside of work, which is very important for me to do, I am not one to sit around and discuss work when I am not there so having friends outside of the work field is helpful. I do not check emails after school or over the weekend, once I am out the door work is behind me and my life moves on. One Thursday afternoon while sitting in Habanas (the bar at the Grand Hyatt Muscat) we wondered why we were drinking inside when there was so much glorious sunshine and a beach right out the door. We then remembered that we could not drink on the beach and there were no outside bars. Okay – this is one drawback of a Middle Eastern country! With that said we decided that our next Thursday outing would be on the beach and VERY discreet. We packed colors, blankets, snacks, Chili dog and headed to the beach for sundowners, happy drinks, happy times (whatever you want to call it). We people watched, chatted, and watched the sun go down. It was stunning just sitting there with such a good group of friends that we lost track of time and did not leave until well after sunset. And as of typing this blog we have done it three times!!

Picnics on the beach Oman…

Jo and I

Beach picnics in Oman…

Sunset a day…

Christmas time brought me back to the States to spend time with Momma bird and Mel, family, and friends. For a day or so I did not mind the refreshing crisp air that nipped at my cheeks and numbed my fingers, but it was unreasonably cold!! I sucked it up, went for a run, slugged my way through a sinus infection, and soaked up family time and the Christmas spirit. I knew I would be back in the brilliant warm sunshine soon (and it would not be New England if it was not cold in December!!!)… Christmas is not celebrated in the Middle East so although the US starts Christmas in October it was a thrill for me this year to come home and hear Christmas music and see the decorations everywhere. At times like this it takes leaving a country to appreciate what you have left behind.

Boston you’re my home…

One thing that brought a smile to my face before leaving the Middle East for the East Coast of America was hearing the Boston accent and seeing a man wearing a Boston Red Sox cap while waiting to board my flight in Dubai. The man wearing the hat was probably wondering why I put on a big smile when I looked at his head as I did not say anything to him just kept on walking… never hurts to smile at someone for no reason either!!

I was able to help Momma bird with things around the house, Christmas shop, meet friends, and just relax….After being away for six months it was nice to be back to the place I will always call home.

Arriving in Oman, I was greeted with open arms walking off that plane at 7 AM by the 20 degree heat and blazing sunshine (80 in F)! I quickly drove home after doing laps and making phone calls to figure out how to pay for parking at the airport long term parking which did not accept bank cards… WHAT?!?! Back home and reunited with Chili dog, it was time catch up on sleep. My two overnight flights and a hiccup in Munich proved to exhaust me; the energizer bunny was done and needed to recharge!! Batteries charged …… a beach walk was in the future and catch ups with friends was on the menu. I went for a walk on the beach with Chili, went running, and went for dinner…. ahhhh life was restored!!!!

Photos of life in Oman…

sunsets Al Shatti Beach

black and white sunsets Al Shatti Beach

Life in Oman

Al Shatti Beach.. Muscat, Oman (fishing boat)

need a little arse in our lives – Yiti, Oman

Harriet and I

Jo, Emma, and I

Grumpy cow is what I was called …

Royal Opera House Oman

Beethoven’s 9th First opera – Scott (coworker) and I

Sun worshipper stump – like me..

Sunrise on the Natural Reserve on the way to work

Birds of Oman

Super moon

Parliament from above

4 wheeling in Oman – ocean views

Goats and boats – Sifa

Goats – Sifa

Donkeys and goats – Sifa

As for an update post Christmas and January….

Well departing Boston was easy in the sense of flights, it is never easy to leave family and friends behind.. visits are bitter sweet, but life moves forward as with time and I had to get back to work. Checked into Boston for my first of two overnight flights. Now I do love flying and get a thrill each time the plane takes off but overnight flights in cattle class came be a bit cramping to say the least. Row of four seats I kindly asked the little man next to me if he wanted to move so he could have more room, he politely declined.. grumble (I was thinking leg room and sleep!!)… well we were off and there were empty seats in front of me, again I asked the man if he wanted to move and he said ‘ok’.. SCORE…. I got some sleep and arrived in Munich a little perkier early the next morning…I set out to explore the city after getting some coffee. I know it might not surprise some of you but I was not properly dressed to explore a city in the winter, therefore my tour of Munich was a rather quick one. I can say that what I did see amazed me and I look forward to going back.. IN THE SUMMER!!!!

Quick tour of Munich

Concluding my tour I went back to the airport to warm up and try and check in for the second overnight flight back to Muscat. I could not check in.. umph!!! I wanted a seat on the aisle and was getting grumpy this might not happen… finally the check in counter opened and I surely did not get my aisle seat, in fact, I did not get a seat at all because my ticket was canceled… yes you are reading correctly… canceled. Gobsmacked I made my way to the purchasing counter, trying to remain calm and pleasant, and asked the woman if she could get me on the flight back to Muscat… she replied, for 700 EURO I can yes! I am sorry how much? With no other option I bought the ticket, walked back to the check in counter and presented them with my new ticket, and tried to weasel myself an upgrade… did it happen?!?!? NO!!!!! Long story short, I did not fly the first leg of my already purchased round trip ticket therefore the airline kindly canceled a section of my return ticket (when they could have canceled the whole ticket. Mind you I did confirm three times with travel agent in Muscat that this would not happen… ) Sleepy and back in Oman, Chili was delivered to me by a friend and gave big welcoming licks to wake me up.. aw I missed that pup!

Chili-dog

Back to work but not without ringing in the New Year strong. Couple of us decided that we should do this properly and stay up for the ball drop.. a few too many glasses of bubbles, a taxi ride home and argument with a taxi driver, I woke up with a start at 7:08 AM… Holy $$$$ I was due at school at 7:00 AM.. hustled my tail into the shower, walked the dog, stopped for coffee (um come on now!!!), and got to school at 7:45… I walked into the classroom, slightly off as you might imagine and my assistant greeted me with the biggest smile and clapping!! Lord I love this woman..

As we moved into January a group of us took an adventure ride from Muscat to Rustaq and over the Jebel Shams mountain range ending in Al Hamra. The drive over the mountain range was stunning, every turn had another photo opportunity and we did not miss them.

Views over the range

Rustaq to Al Hamra

falaj water system – historic

hike to quiet qaterfall

because each valley needs a football pitch

Rustaq to Al Hamra – 4 wheel drive trip

Jebel Shams Range – Oman

evenings in the mountains

Sunset Jebel Shams

Al Hamra is a small village but what makes this town unique is that it also has within it a mud village. The mud village has been abandoned for the last 30-40 years (when we asked a local he could not provide a better answer). This town was reminiscent of New Mexico as the homes and outlying buildings were all made out of adobe. Incredible to see a town abandoned because they did not have the knowledge or understanding of how to protect the buildings from rain or weather related issues. Yes it actually does rain in Oman and they have no idea how to handle it, even this many years later. The village was a little eerie yet peaceful to walk through. One does not get a chance to walk through many abandoned towns in the Middle East.

Mud Village Al Hamra

Doors

Mud village – Al Hamra

Doors of the Mud village – Al Hamra

The adventures continue and the country amazes me when I get the chance to get out on the weekends and explore. Life is full and exciting in Muscat. I am grateful for the friends I have met, the places I have seen, and the opportunities that I have been given. I miss family and friends daily and think of them often but am really enjoying the experiences and my life in Oman. Thank you for reading..!!!

Aw life in Oman.. 2017 Either much anticipated or at long last a new posting from the city of endless sunshine and beautiful scenery.

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