#he wears untied shoelaces it’s awesome

[squeiky]

Group photo

(Some designs are or aren’t officially out yet. So I guess this is you sneak peak. I might’ve tweaked some things here and there.)

This au might be the most absurd thing I have made by far.

[glorioustimeswithdrew]

Drew's Shoelace Adventure

I wrote a series called “Drew’s Sunscreen Adventure.”  It was a parody of epics that involved a ridiculous amount of characters and plots all converging into one massive story.  The following is the story that inspired it all, unedited (I even kept the spelling and grammar errors…).  Written in eighth grade in ten minutes, it chronicles the whimsically gripping tale of Drew and his shoe.

Drew: Gee wilickers, it sure is great to be tying my shoelaces on such a beautiful day.

Shoe: Ah, that is exactly what they want you to think, Drew.

Drew: What…huh?  My shoes talk?

Shoe: Yes, you bafoon!  It is I, your shoe!  I bare a warning.  You must avoid at all costs…

Drew: Shut up.  I want to go run around and chase the ice cream truck with my new bazooka.  See?  It’s purple and sparkly.

Shoe: Drew!  You must stop!

Drew:  (stomps on shoe until it shuts up) I would like to wear my shoe in silence, thank you.

Hitler: Ha ha, leetle boy!  You hev fallin for mei trap!

Drew: Hitler!  And you brought your Nazis!

Hitler: Yes!  I hev come to deesroy you once and fer all!

Drew: You?  Than prepare to die!

Hitler: Whut are you doing weet that bazooka, boy?

Yukon Cornelious: Put that gun down, boy!

Drew: Yukon Cornelius?  What are you doing here?

Yukon: I have come to ask you if you would be interested in preserving the battlefields our own brave American soldiers fought on.

Drew: But…are you even American?

Yukon: Of course not!  I want the battlefields preserved so I can dig them up and search for silver and gold.

Hitler: Silvar end gold?

Yukon: YOU MISPRONOUNCED SILVER!  You leave me no choice but to unleash the Bumble on you!

Hitler: The Bumble?  What kind of terrifying beast could that be?  A bumble bee?

Yukon: Well…yes.  The real Bumble is on vacation in the Himalayas.

Hitler: A bumble bee?  For real?  OH MY GOD, RUN AWAY!  HE HAS UNLEASHED A BUMBLE BEE!

Nazis: Run like the Furoh!

Edgar Allen Poe: And each separate dying ember wrought its ghost upon the floor.  Eagerly I wished the morrow; - vainly I…

Dan: AH!  STOP!  BIG WORDS!

Drew: Dan, so nice of you to drop by!

Dan: Are you suggesting we go parachuting?

Drew: No, but that’s a great idea.  Let’s jump of Mount Everest!

Dan: How will we get there?

Drew: Uh,…I know.  Sing your littering song.

Dan: (in song) Littering is fun!  It’s so easy to do!  Litterings for everyone and litterings for you!

Captain Planet: Who the $%&@ is singing about littering?

Drew: Shut up and fly us to Mount Everst.

Captain Planet: Okay…

Drew: (at Mounth Everest) Wow!  This is awesome!  We’re on top of mount Everest!

Dan: Too bad we deprived Captain Planet of an oxygen tank by hogging all of the air to ourselves.

Drew: Well…he wasn’t much of a superhero anyway.  Now, let’s jump!  One…

Dan: Two…

Strange Voice: Seven!

Dan: Drew?  Remember when we had counting lessons…

Drew: Yes, but that wasn’t me…

Bumble: RAHAHAHAHAHARAHARHAHGAR!

Drew: OH MY GOD!

Dan: WHAT?

Drew: MY SHOE IS UNTIED!

Dan: Then tie it!

Drew: Oh…okay.

Shoe: I warned you.

Drew: That’s it!  (throws shoe off mountain) That’ll teach you!

Hello Kitty: (giggles) Hello, buddy!

Drew: Huh…?

Hello Kitty: (giggles) Your funny!

Dan: That’s it, the kitty scares me.  I’m outta here.  (jumps off mountain)

Drew: You forgot…your parachute.

Hello Kitty: Wanna know a secret?

Drew: Uh…no, not really.

Hello Kitty: THAN FACE THE WRATH OF SUPER MUTANT KITTEN!

Drew: Holy crap…(watches as Hello kitty mutates into evil vicious creature) you are diabolically evil!

Evil Hello Kitty: YEAH?!?!  WHAT THE @#$%& ARE YOU GONNA DO ABOUT IT?!?!

Drew: I’ll show you.  Oink, oink, oink, oink…

Bumble: PIG!!!!!!!!!

Evil Hello Kitty: WHAT’S THIS?!?!?!

Drew: Your opponent!  Have fun!

Evil Hello Kitty: BACK OFF, YOU STUPID FURBALL!

Bumble: RAHAHAHAHARARHGAHRAR!

Drew: Well, while they are fighting, I can make my escape.

Bob: Hey, man!  You know what they say about nuts…bombs away! (pushes Drew off mountain).  I guess it’s time to move to Mexico!

The end.

[beautiful-songbird]

Skateboarding Mishaps

Pairing: Dad!Namjoon x Mom!OC

Genre: fluff

Word count: 0.7k

Warnings: broken bones

Summary: Beatrix wants to go skateboarding, and Esme insists Elise escort her sister. The trip doesn’t go entirely as planned.

“Why do I have to go with her? She’s thirteen! She can go to the skate park by herself!” Elise complained. “Besides, she’s taking Munjeong Oppa with her!”

“Yes, and I want you to go with her. Mio and I are going out, so I want you and Bea together,” Esme explained as she finished washing the dishes.

“Fine.”

◇◆◇◆◇

“Jiyu, watch this trick!” Beatrix exclaimed as she stood at the top of the ramp.

“That doesn’t look very safe, Bea,” the ten-year-old told her as he tugged his fingers through his tight curls.

“I’ll be fine!” She informed him loudly before taking off down the ramp on her skateboard.

She made it all the way to the bottom of the ramp before her loose shoelace caught on one of her wheels. The rest of the skate park went silent as she let out a terrified scream before face planting into the concrete.

“Bea!” Elise gasped before sprinting across the park.

Jiyu was the first to reach Beatrix, grasping her hand to pull her up. Beatrix winced.

“Don’t touch my wrist, please,” she gasped softly.

Jiyu cringed. “I think you broke your nose.”

◇◆◇◆◇

“Mio, grab your bag. We gotta go home.”

“Why?”

“Bea had an accident at the skate park.”

“What? What happened?” Hermione asked.

“I don’t know. Lise just said she had an accident,” Esme replied hurriedly as she opened her phone and called Namjoon. “Hey, did Lise text you?”

“No? Did something happen?”

“She said something happened to Bea. They went to the skate park with Jiyu about half an hour ago when Mio and I left.”

“All right. I’m leaving the studio now. I’ll call Lise.”

◇◆◇◆◇

Half an hour later, Namjoon found himself running through the hallway of the hospital. He found Elise and Beatrix in one of the rooms. Beatrix’s arm was in a cast, as was her nose.

“Are you ok, Bea?“ he asked

She grinned. “That was awesome!”

“It was not! You almost cracked your head open!” Elise exclaimed.

“It was a totally sick stunt though!”

“What happened?“ Namjoon asked.

“My shoelace got stuck in my wheel,” Beatrix explained, holding up her foot to show him said untied shoelace.

“Ok, I think from now on we need to wear different shoes when we skateboard,” he sighed.

Esme and Hermione walked in right then, and Esme gasped. She ran across the room.

“Oh, Bea, your face!”

“Don’t worry. The doctor said it should heal in a month. My face isn’t ruined for Christmas photos.”

Namjoon let out a pained laugh.

“I think you shouldn’t go skateboarding for a long while,” Esme sighed. “Did you break your arm too?”

“Yep! Now the kids at school can write all over my cast!”

Namjoon and Esme glanced at each other. It was good that Beatrix wasn’t very concerned about this, but it was a lot bigger deal than she was making it out to be.

“Bea, can I sign it first?” Hermione asked.

“Sure! Mum, do you have a sharpie?”

Esme sighed and dig through her purse, pulling one out and handing to to Hermione. Then she grabbed Namjoon’s arm and tugged him out of the room.

“We’re going to have to take her skateboard away from her.”

“Why? It’s not like she can skate right now anyways,” Namjoon raised an eyebrow.

Esme crossed her arms. “You and I both know that’s not true. And what about when she’s recovered? She’ll go right back out and do it again.”

Namjoon sighed. “Do we have to?”

“Unless you have a better idea on how to keep our kid from injuring herself.”

“We could supervise her.”

“And that helped so much this time around,” Esme replied sarcastically.

“All right. Fine. She won’t use her skateboard for the next year. But after that, she can do it again.”

“I’m ok with that.”

◇◆◇◆◇

“Ohhh come on! No skateboarding? Are you serious? That’s my life!” Beatrix complained.

“It’s just for a year. Once your arm is fully healed, you can do it again,” Namjoon told her.

“The doctor said my arm would heal in less than two months!”

“Yes, but you’re going to need to have physical therapy, and we need to make sure it doesn’t happen again.”

She sighed. “Fine. Can I still go watch the boys?”

“As long as you promise not to take your skateboard or use any of theirs.”

This is part of the Dad!BTS series that can be found here

A/N: ok so that’s one thing crossed off my WIP list finally 😂

It would be greatly appreciated if you reblogged the story if you liked it!

Taglist: @jiminie-and-his-pinky-finger @jinnie-forthe-winnie @taehoneycheeks @aianloveseven @bangtansjonas @fly-you-dam-fools

[minnie-marvel]

Operation Juliet (Peter Parker x Reader) Part 2

You’ve been head over heels for Peter Parker for almost a year hiding your feelings behind love letters that you never thought would reach him. When your best friend slips one into your locker, you give up on hiding your letters from Peter and begin to slip them into his locker on a daily basis. Peter is through with not knowing who you are so he and Ned finally decide to engage in a proper investigation to figure out your identity!

Peter Parker x Reader

Words: 2,166

Part 1

A/N: Second part done!! This is a request for @sunflowerannawrites hope you're feeling better bab!!!

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

“Okay Peter you’re smart enough to create an advanced web-slinging fluid and you’re top in almost all of your classes,” Ned said laying back on the bottom bunk of Peter's bed. His hands were over his face as he muffled out to him. “So, why in the world aren’t you smart enough to figure out who this girl is???” He asked finally throwing his hands up in frustration.

“It’s these notes!!” Peter screamed. He had five pieces of pink paper lined out on his desk, each note having their own distinctive mark. One was plain, one had dried wild rose pressed against its sides, another smells faintly of sweet vanilla, one with hearts scribbled in its margins and the most recent one had a combination of all three (you had to admit, you were becoming quite extravagant with these letters!). 

“How can I possibly pay attention when everything about them is so….” He took a moment to stare at them again, the perfect cursive letters practically making his mind go blank.

“Peter??? Hey, earth to Peter!!!” Ned shouted. Peter shook his head quickly and put his face in his hands, plopping into his desk chair. “It’s hopeless.” 

Ned wracked his brain for ideas. “Stake-out?” He asked absentmindedly. “We have class Ned,” Peter responded with a roll of his eyes. “What about MJ she doesn’t care about classes!” He said quickly. “She’s not going to do this for us you know how she is,” Peter groaned. He pushed himself away from the notes propelling himself backward in his room.

“I just… I wish there was some way to communicate with her you know?” He sighed. He perked up. “Maybe I should write HER a letter!!” He said quickly.

Ned gave him a huge happy smile. “Yeah Pete that would be awesome!!! If we knew who she was!!!!”  Peter’s nose scrunched and he threw a shirt from the floor at his face. “Gross man!!” Ned yelped throwing the shirt back. He sighed. “Alright alright, from the notes that you’ve gotten so far what can you tell about this girl?” Ned asked finally sitting up.

Peter scooted back to the desk looking them over. “Well, she’s romantic.”

“No duh captain obvious.” Peter rolled his eyes at him before scanning the letters. “She must be growing wild roses because the second and the fifth one are three weeks apart, that’s not enough time for these flowers to still thrive if they were in a vase.” 

Ned shot him some finger guns. “NOW you’re getting somewhere Peter.” 

“I would say she wears vanilla perfume but a lot of girls do that so it's not that much evidence…” Peter said scratching his chin. “Oh! And I know her.”

“What?” Ned asked staring at him as if he had just met someone who told him the sky was green.

“In the first letter she says that I helped her some way, so I must know her right?” Ned groaned loudly.“So you’re saying you know Julie, but you don’t know which girl out of your limited  interaction and female acquaintances??”

“Limited…” Peter pouted while Ned droned on.

“Peter, think of every girl you’ve met in school! It shouldn’t be that hard!” 

“It's not as easy as you think Ned! If it were, I would have figured it out by now!!”  He sighed. “I guess I’ll just have to hope that I see her drop it into my locker…” He muttered to himself.

Unfortunately for Peter, you were about as silent and sneaky as the winter soldier. Hey, what could you say? The unbearable embarrassment of Peter finding out you were his secret admirer was seemingly worse than having to kill someone without leaving a trace.

You sat at your desk Eve sitting behind you while playing a game on her phone. “Yknow, Y/N, you should really just talk to Peter,” she said not even looking up from her device.  You shot her a death stare. “Eve, I don’t want to hear a pipe out of you about these letters.” You said turning back to your craftsmanship. “It was your idea to send them to him remember??”

Eve finally put her phone down in defiance. “Yeah, but that was to get you to have the courage to actually interact with him instead of writing these obsessive letters!!” She sighed. “Sometimes, I think you like writing them to Peter than actually talking to Peter himself!!” You felt your hands clench as you held your pen in your hand.

“Eve…I can’t talk to him.” You decided. “If he finds out some lower classmen that he only has had like twelve conversations with is pining after him he’s not going to want to talk to me at all…and I can't risk that…I won’t risk that.” You said finally. You sighed going back to your letters. “Besides, I do like writing them…it helps me feel like I won’t have a heart attack every time my eyes land on him.”

Eve looked at you trying not to sigh. “Okay…what do I have to do.” You looked up and back at your friend. “E-excuse me?”

She swung her feet off her bed before standing up and stretching. “You heard me, what do I have to do to help.”  She walked behind you peering down at your prized work. “I’m ready to help.”

You thought you might have cried. You jumped from the chair hugging Eve so tight you could feel the air wheeze out of her lungs. “I love you I love you I love you!!!” You shouted while hopping.  You stopped your little happy dance. “Oh! I almost forgot!” You went back to your letter for about half a minute making your signature in perfect script.

Juliet.

---

You threw a hoodie over your head as the bell rang for lunch. You looked around almost feverishly the letter in your pocket as hundreds of kids began to rush into the hall. You looked around quietly before hearing Eve from practically a mile away.

“Oh my god Peter Ned!!” She shouted purposefully so that you knew where she was. You started to stay close to the sides of the lockers to look discreet as you got ready to place the letter.

“Oh hey there…” Ned said awkwardly as he looked over to Peter. They literally had never met this girl in their life. 

“I’m Eve from the cross country team, but I also double in the journalism club!!” She lied. She wasn’t all interested in writing at all (which was why the idea of writing handwritten love letters seemed ridiculous) but she did, however, have a full-time subscription to the rumor mill.

“Okay so like….I totally heard that you know Spiderman, from your internship thingy??” She said more to Peter than Ned. “Is that true??” 

Peter broke out in a nervous sweat. “I uh… I mean yeah… sort of!” He said quickly. 

“I bet he’s totally shredded right?? Do you know who he is?” 

“Nope!” Ned and Peter both said at the same time. Now was your chance, they both seemed wrapped up in the conversation.  You kept walking at the sides of the locker until you came to Peters. You quickly looked down to ‘find’ that your shoelaces were untied. As you bent down to tie them back and slipped your letter into the bottom slits of his locker and stood back up again looking around without making much movement. You breathed a sigh of relief as you started to walk again Past Eve, Peter, and Ned.

Mission complete.

Eve saw you past by and shrugged as Ned and Peter tried to explain how peter barely saw Spiderman due to his busy schedule. “Awww too bad! That would be super cool if you knew!” She said simply. “Hey, I’ll catch you later thanks for talking with me!” She sped off in your direction your hoodie now pulled down. She linked arms with you and grinned wildly. “That was so much fun!! It felt like… oceans 13 or something!!!” She whispered into your ear. “Not gonna lie I would totally do it again let me know Y/N!”

Peter and Ned exchanged flustered confused expressions. “So weird…” They said in unison as they headed to their lockers. Peter opened up the door to grab his bagged lunch when a small envelope fell at his feet. He snatched it from the ground quickly opening it carefully as to not damage anything. “What’s it say, Pete?” Ned asked practically leaning into him so that he could see too.

     Dear Peter Parker,

    I hope that today you accomplish everything that you wish you could. Though it wouldn’t be too hard for you, you’re practically perfect after all. I’m sorry if my arsenal of compliments flusters you when you read these, I promise I don’t mean to be this way, it’s just what my heart tells me.

    I have to ask though; do you enjoy reading these letters? I wonder if I’ve been able to make you smile just as much as you have been able to make me. If I have I think I’d consider it a miracle, I hope that I’ve been able to bring you some sort of happiness.

    I wonder what you think of me? Sometimes, I find myself lingering outside your locker a little longer than I should on the off chance that you might see me, but I never seem to catch you in time. That’s okay. One day, I will be able to stop hiding behind these letters and I’ll be able to face you for real. I beg of your patience, it’s hard to confess your feelings to someone who’s so clearly out of your grasp.

    I promise you that I’ll explain myself. I wonder if you’ll be surprised that it’s me? I wonder if you’ll be happy. I hope so. Till then, I’ll keep my lips sealed on my identity.  Enjoy your day Peter, you deserve to.

Sincerely,

Your tight-lipped, silent Juliet

“She’s good…” Ned said before whistling. “Bro, if you don’t find her I will.” He said. Peter looked at Ned betrayed and folded the letter back up promptly. “I’m gonna find her Ned.” He said determined. 

The day went by slow especially since Peter still couldn’t figure out how to discover your true identity. He walked onto the train home wracking his brain for any sort of clue of who you might be. You walked onto the train as well holding your bags close to yourself biting your lip. “H-Hi Peter!!” You screeched softly. Great, your voice just had to crack when talking to your crush.

He turned to you suddenly. “Oh..! hey what’s up?” he asked giving you a gracious smile. God, he knew that he knew you from somewhere but he couldn’t put his finger on it…band? Chemistry? Decathlon?

“Nothing…” You said your eyes suddenly glued to the floor. “Just getting ready to get back home!!!” You peeled your eyes to his face looking at his sweet brown eyes. 

“U-Um… how was your day Peter?” You asked holding onto the pole as the train pulled off.

“Good! Summer’s almost here so I’m just about ready to get out of here!” he laughed still looking at you. Goodness, what was your name again???

“That’s good…” You said with a sigh of relief. At least you knew that his day was going well just as you wished. “Hey you’re in the band with me right?” he tried questioning. You suddenly noticed that your shoelaces really were untied this time and bent down quickly to untie them. As you went to answer while you tied your shoes all of your belongings spilled out on the dirty floor just like it had when you first met Peter. He heard a sudden clamor to the floor. He looked down to see you picking up your books feverishly.

“Wow…” You whispered thinking you might actually hide underneath your hoodie for the rest of your life. “We really should stop meeting like this.” You said as Peter squatted down handing you a book. “Excuse me?” Peter asked raising an eyebrow at you. Oh yeah… he did know you didn’t he!

“Oh my god I’m so sorry!!!” he said instantly helping you pick up the rest of your things. “That’s right Y/N!!! god, you probably think I’m an asshole…” He said his fingers resting on your notebook.

You laughed loudly trying to hide your blush. If only he knew. “N-No no no!! Of course not it’s okay!!!” You said waving him off. “I’ve been told I’m not really a memorable person…” You said almost to yourself. 

“Shit I feel even worse now…” Peter said. You shook your head. “P-please!! It's no worries seriously don’t beat yourself up!!” You begged. He sighed and looked down at your notebook ready to hand it back to you when he practically froze.

The top of your notebook had your name written on it in an unmistakably neat cursive that he only had seen once before.

Part 3

---

Operation Juliet Tag

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[hale-of-stiles-heart]

idk whether you'd want like, lois lane-esque stiles or not to go with superman!derek but what about an au where derek flirts with stiles by "saving" him from everyday mishaps ??? if you hate that i can send another lmao c:

Sorry it took so long! And sorry if it’s a little rushed! (also on ao3!)

Being Superman meant that Derek was almost constantly saving people. Whether it was rescuing a family from a burning building or fighting one of his superpowered enemies, he was saving people.

At this point, it was simple habit to help people, something that had been ingrained in him since childhood. Growing up in a small town, in the midst of a tight-knit farming community, he had quickly learned the importance of helping others.

Throughout grade school, he had always been the first one to volunteer to help his teachers with everything from cleaning the chalkboard after a lesson to passing out papers to other students. It had earned him the moniker of teacher's pet, which he had heard other students whisper behind his back, not that he had cared much.

He had made a concerted effort to make friends with new kids who transferred in to school, offering to sit with them at lunch or show them around so they wouldn't get lost. He had even made it a habit to share his lunch with students who couldn't afford to buy school lunch and didn't have enough food at home to spare for a bagged lunch.

In high school, he had organized food drives and baking sales, doing everything in his power to help in whatever way he could. And when he bought his first car, a beat-up old Chevy pickup that wasn't much to look at but was his, he had taken it upon himself to offer rides to school whenever it rained so others didn't have to get soaked while waiting for the bus.

His almost compulsive habit of helping continued throughout college where he had founded more than a few student organizations that offered support for marginalized students and acting as the designated driver for dozens of parties he never would have attended otherwise. And it had never gone away.

Which is why when Derek started developing a rather embarrassing crush on one of his co-workers at the Daily Planet, he immediately fell back on his only method of flirting: saving him.

Stiles Stilinski was the Planet's newest hire, a fact checker slash reporter who was almost worryingly unafraid in the field. He had a penchant for getting himself into trouble no matter where he was, like the time that he had wound up as a witness to bank robbery while cashing his first paycheck from the Planet.

He had also stumbled upon a local chop shop in the city when he brought his precious Jeep in for an oil change only two months into his stay in the city. He had written a scathing expose about the business that had earned him a few death threats and had made Derek go on constant alert.

But Stiles hadn't been the slightest bit worried which only made Derek worry even more. And start his own personal brand of flirting which mostly consisted of 'saving' Stiles from everyday mishaps.

It started with simple things, ones that no one in their right mind would construe as flirting. He would inform Stiles when his shoelaces were untied, saving the extraordinarily clumsy reporter from tripping over his own feet and braining himself on the edge of his desk.

Stiles had just rolled his eyes and continued on his way to Mr. White's office. Of course, Stiles had ended up tripping and nearly smacked his head against the wall as he let out a shocked, high pitched cry.

It may have been an abuse of his powers and his mother probably wouldn't have approved but less than a second later, Derek had been at Stiles' side, righting him with a hand on his elbow. Stiles had brushed off Derek's concern with another eye roll as he bent to tie his shoes, though his cheeks were decidedly more red than before.

Another time, while leaving the office for the night, he had ended up walking to the parking garage with Stiles who was too engrossed in typing something on his phone to notice the steep drop off of the curb. Before Stiles could tumble off the sidewalk and break his ankle or worse, Derek had darted to his side, setting a guiding hand on the small of Stiles' back as he warned, "Watch your step."

Stiles had thanked him with a bright grin, making an offhand comment about the game on his phone he was playing, something about a Poochyena or something of that ilk. Derek never pretended to be very pop culture savvy.

A few weeks after the curb incident, Stiles was goofing off at his desk as he proofread his latest article about the local police department's annual charity ball, rocking back in his swivel chair. While grumbling about how much his eyes hurt from the hours of editing he had been putting in, he had leaned back much too far in his chair.

Before he could fumble backwards, bringing the chair with him, Derek, who had been walking by on his way back to his own desk, caught the back of his chair. Steadying the chair, he smirked at Stiles who gaped up at him, upside down, brown eyes wide.

"Careful," Derek had teased as he set the chair upright, the momentum rocking Stiles a bit. He couldn't resist puffing out his chest when Stiles' flushed a blotchy red to match his flannel shirt.

"My hero," Stiles had quipped, flashing Derek a bright grin as he turned back to his computer, nimble fingers flying over the keys. Derek had continued on his way to his desk with an extra spring in his step.

Things went on like that for quite some time. Stiles would do something reckless and clumsy and come dangerously close to bodily harm and Derek would swoop in like a white knight and save him from embarrassment and head contusions.

The pattern continued for weeks until Erica, one of the Planet's best photographers, decided to throw an impromptu office party. Derek wasn't even sure what exactly the point of the party was but he would have to be a fool to miss out on the champagne cupcakes Erica baked for every special event.

Apparently, neither could Stiles.

Though it was technically Stiles' day off, Derek heard the hum of his Jeep's engine as he approached the office building. As Stiles drew closer, Derek could hear the familiar pattern of his heartbeat, rabbit fast from caffeine and Stiles' jog into the building.

Stiles was in his usual state of dishevelment, wearing a dark blue flannel over a heather gray t-shirt and a pair of black jeans, his hair a complete mess. He had a paper cup of coffee from his favorite café in his hand, the scent of vanilla and caramel filling the room when he entered.

"Who's getting married?" Stiles asked as he made his way over to the table of various desserts where Derek was lingering, taking a break from editing his most recent article. His eyes flitted over the array of treats, from Erica's perfectly frosted cupcakes to the delicate chocolate cream puffs Boyd had bought from a nearby bakery.

Derek laughed into his own cup of coffee as Stiles licked his chops like a hungry puppy. Handing Stiles a paper plate to let him gorge himself to his heart's content, he asked, "Why do you think someone's getting married?"

"There's free food at work," Stiles pointed out, loading up his plate with as many cupcakes and mini eclairs as he possibly could. He glanced up at Derek as he popped a cream puff into his mouth, chewing with his mouth open in an oddly endearing way as he explained, "And not the shitty donuts that creep Daehler usually brings in. Must be a special occasion."

"Good point," Derek agreed, reaching over to grab an eclair from Stiles' plate. It earned him an affronted cry from Stiles who reached over to swat Derek on the arm.

"But no one's getting married," Derek informed him, taking a bite of his stolen eclair. Stiles shrugged, still loading up his plate with as much food as he could carry. "Erica just wanted to throw a party."

"Sounds like her," Stiles commented, raising his cup of coffee to his lips to take a sip. And because Stiles was quite literally the clumsiest person that Derek had ever met, the simple act of drinking coffee turned into a fiasco when he tipped the cup back too much and nearly spilled it all over himself.

Luckily, Derek was there to reach out and right Stiles' coffee cup before he could scald himself. But where Derek would have expected gratitude or a bit of embarrassment, as per usual, he only found suspicion as Stiles squinted at him.

"What are you doing?" Stiles asked, his voice low, curling up at the end. He narrowed his eyes a bit more as he gave Derek a quick once-over, pressing his lips together in a thin line.

"What do you mean?" Derek stammered, trying to appear as innocent as possible. He pushed his glasses further up his nose, Stiles following the movement with a raised brow.

"I mean," Stiles started, setting his plate of treats down on the table so he could point an accusing finger at Derek, "You keep doing stuff like that. The sidewalk, the chair, my shoelaces. What is this? Some kind of white knight syndrome or are you just flirting with me?"

Derek nearly swallowed his own tongue. He could feel his cheeks flush with heat, sure that he was turning bright red, his capillaries traitorous little bastards.

He shoved his free hand into his pocket, trying to look as casual as he could. But if Stiles was the clumsiest person ever, Derek was the most awkward.

Stiles clearly agreed as his eyes widened with realization as he stared at Derek, his jaw actually dropping like he were an animated character. Still pointing at Derek, he squeaked, "Dude, really?!"

Fully aware that he had never been very good at lying to Stiles --- save for the whole secret identity slash superpowered alien thing --- Derek just sighed. Chewing his bottom lip, he nodded, bracing himself for the inevitable rejection.

"That's awesome!" Stiles announced, breaking Derek out of his insecure little stupor. A wide smile had replaced his slack-jawed expression, his entire face lit up like the sun.

And like the sun, it made Derek feel utterly invincible. Invincible enough to swallow his hesitation and shove his awkwardness aside enough for him to ask, "So, uh, do you maybe wanna go out sometime?"

"Sometime?" Stiles echoed, tilting his head to the side like a floppy-eared puppy. Meeting Derek's eyes, Stiles smiled almost coyly and suggested, "What about right now?"

Derek beamed back at him, enthusiastically agreeing, "I think that sounds super."

[aussietiesonline-blog]

Blue Bowties – The Gentlemen’s Choice | Aussie Ties

Sophistication and Confidence – a man in a bowtie radiates both; unless of course he has chosen the wrong bowtie or worn a bowtie with the wrong collection. In that case, the bowtie renders his entire costume pagliaccio. Such mistakes are avoidable; however, and the proposition a bowtie makes to a man is a simple one.

Are you going for a gentleman’s look like in the old Bond movies? Asking question matters a lot while choosing a bowtie because sooner or later every thinking man discovers for himself that wearing the right bowtie is the nicest thing he can do for his shit, suit, and style. When one’s ensemble features or is constructed around a well-chosen bow-tie, there’s no sharper way to step-out. Sometimes a bowtie is de rigueur, but a bowtie is always a bold and emboldening selection.

Difference between Self-Tie, Pre-Tied & Clip-On Bowties

Sometimes Self-ties are known as freestyle bowtie. It represents a classic style and has an organic look when tied. It can be challenging to tie the first few times, but the payoff is well worth the effort. Pre-tied, as the name suggests, are the bowties that comes tied previously and the knot is sewn in place. It’s easy to put on but any bowtie aficionado will be able to spot the difference. Clip-on bowties get clipped directly onto the collar of your shirt. This style is the least convincing and is most appropriate for small children.

Sizing Your Bowtie as a Final Touch-Up to Your Look

A bowtie is, with limited exception, a one-size-fits-all affair. With a little trial error, any adjustable bowtie can be made to fit the neck of the average adult male. The band/neck strap of a bowtie typically has either an adjustable slider or a hook-and-holes arrangement with pre-marked measurements. Bowties can generally accommodate collar sizes between 14.5 inches to 17.5 inches. If your bowtie has the hook-and-hole adjustment system, match the sizing to the size of the collar of the shirt you will be wearing. If your bowtie has a sliding-adjustment system, it’s highly recommended to go with the advice.

With upturned collar wrap the tie around the collar band as if you are preparing to tie it. At the topmost button of your shirt, cross the two ends of the tie – just as if you were going to tie it in a simple overhand knot. The length of each of the tie’s end bits should appear long enough to execute a bow but should not seem too long. How long is too long? It is difficult to say, but the distance between the crisscrossed part of the bowtie and the start of your bowtie’s flared part should not be more than three fingers’ width. Adjustment is inevitable, and practice is necessary.

Well-Liked Bowtie Shapes You Should Know

The Butterfly:

The modern butterfly, also known as the thistle shape, is the style of bowtie with which most people are familiar. This butterfly is appropriate for virtually every occasion and is perhaps the best style to acquire first if you are beginning to experiment with bowties. It is believed that every man’s bowtie collection should have at least one butterfly bowtie.

The Big Butterfly:

The big butterfly is larger and has a more relaxed silhouette than the butterfly. It is sometimes worn with formalwear and is perhaps best-suited to fancy-dress occasions. The style is very appropriate for larger and/or taller men. Absent a suitable context, or on a smaller man, the big butterfly can look comic. It’s a grandiose tie, and should, therefore, be worn grandly.

The Batwing:

The batwing shape also known as a straight or slim bowtie is the smallest in height. Untied, this style looks like a long rectangle strip with flat ends. Batwing bowties are typically less than two inches in width. Tied well, they provide a clean, symmetrical look. Some regard it as less formal than the butterfly but is a classic shape and remains acceptable for black tie events. Be sure not to tie it too long, or it will look like you are wearing a propeller.

The Diamond Point:

The diamond point bowtie has pointed ends, and when tied is delightfully asymmetrical. It’s one of the favorite styles in town.

The Rounded Club:

These days the rounded club bowtie is the rara avis of the bowties. Arguably the least formal of the lot, this is the bowtie for a Sunday run, a picnic by the lake or a spot of angling. It’s a well-liked style and looks awesome tied with cotton and rougher dress code.

Why the Blue Bowties Are Considered the Gentlemen’s Choice?

The blue bowties are rarely the wrong ties to wear provided you have chosen the right one for your ensemble, the ensemble is occasion-appropriate, you have tied your tie well, and you wear it with ease and casual manner.

Blue Bowties Go Well with the Right Formal Attire:

Weddings apart, one of the most common places to see a blue bowtie in action is a formal engagement. The dress code for these is relatively straightforward and unambiguous: dinner jacket (Tuxedo) and a blue bowtie look pre-tied and diminishes both you and your ensemble. Known sometimes as full dress, blue bowtie is the most formal of all dress codes. As the name suggests, a blue bowtie always a self-tie is absolutely necessary.

Blue Bowties can Complement Your Semi-Formal Attire As Well

Notwithstanding the fact that the very phrase semi-formal is vexing, any affair so-billed is a wonderful occasion for experimentation with bow ties. We don’t recommend taking too much license with your ensemble; it’s better to lean towards formal than list towards semi. By all means enjoy your options with respect to blue bowtie styles, materials and textures but your aim is to remain aligned with a dress code, so do resist the temptation to get too creative.

Blue Bowties Can Also Give a Head-Turning Look to Your Casual Attire Combination

Casual dress codes liberate you to rewrite the rules if you wish to do so. First-time blue bowtie wearers may incline towards supporting accessories like braces, suspenders, printed socks, and bright shoelaces. It is recommended to not getting carried away or going in period-costume unless that’s your cup of tea.

Choosing your ensemble is only half the battle. The best thing you can wear with your blue bowties is confidence. Too often, bowties will wear the man instead of the other way around.

Browse through the largest inventory of blue bowties to order at Aussie Ties online and get dressed up for the grand entry to occasions.

[hopeforpeoplefodivha]

Friday, March 10th, 2017... the last post before re-entry

Dear Friends, One final story to leave you all with...one of hundreds of encounters here...one of those heart felt moments that make you smile in its simplicity... There is a young lad...he's about 4 1/2 years old and coming to our school attending the kindergarden class for the first time this year...he's just a wee, bitty, little thing, living somewhere in the community...you can tell the "school community kids" from our "orphan kids" who live at Fodivha, because our kids are so much healthier, cleaner and well behaved. Everyone on the team noticed him yesterday. He was wearing the shirt of the school uniform, with a ripped undershirt underneath, but he didn't have the matching shorts. He was trying to wear pink, high top running shoes. They were girls' shoes, probably handed down from a sister or 2. However we all noticed that they were untied. He was struggling to walk in them as little kids often do. I watched, as many of the teachers and team members tried to tie his shoelaces up and gave up. He was wearing oversized tan socks (no one wears socks in Haiti) and trying to stuff his feet into shoes that were too small. "Someone" had tried to modify his shoes so that he could squeeze his feet into them, by cutting the sides open. It might have worked for a time, but he was obviously growing (a good thing!). He eventually gave up and was walking around in his oversized socks...they were getting dirtier by the minute. I began wondering how he was going to walk the long journey home, that most of our kids have to make from school to home. Then Mamasan, Bertony's mom, was heard bellowing in creole. The child was marched over where she had a selection of shoes in a pile that had been donated from you. She chose the blue crocs that looked like race cars on the side. They had eyes and a smily face on the front of them. They looked like they would fit...she has obviously done this before. Soon he was off running and joining his wee pals, proudly wearing his new shoes. He was taught to say, "thank you" and shake hands in gratitude. I'm sure his parent(s?), who are very poor, will wonder where the Shoe God came from, who dropped a brand new pair of shoes from the sky. Such small gifts that mean the world to those here. Thanks for your giving. We are at the airport, sitting together and playing in the World Tournament of the Phase 10 card game to pass the time before boarding the plane home. It's been an awesome trip and an awesome team. I feel very blessed. They left the kids yesterday; always a hard thing to do. Much of the work has begun but not completely finished. The local tradesmen will continue work for another few weeks. This is the way it should be. They are taking great responsibility for the project. We are there to partner, teach and then "hand it over". It is their country. During a team debrief last evening I reminded the team of what they have accomplished. Although they are the ones physically here, it is only with your monetary support that the work can be accomplished. If you are reading this Blog, you have a great interest in what we do. Thank you for your continued support. It is a good work. Here is what we have all completed together on this trip: 1. Cemented the floor of the outdoor pavilion. This is used for shade during the day. It is where the children often are found playing blocks and puzzles and chatting together. They sprawl on the picnic table that was constructed on a previous visit. 2. The plumbing has been replaced. Much of it was destroyed in the last hurricane, so we sourced better stronger pipe to bring water from the well to the washroom toilets and provide taps around the perimeter of the property for ease of watering trees, etc. New taps were installed, where the rest of the community comes for water. We are the only water well for miles. 2 new toilets will be installed as well as 2 stainless steel sinks for hand washing. The kitchen sink will have running water to it. The plumber has another few days of work to complete his contract. 3. A fresh coat of bright coloured paint was put on the fence separating the orphanage from the school. The exterior of the school and kitchen was painted. The exterior of the library also received a freshening. Ask our team...you've never had a true experience of painting, until you've had to use Haitian paint! 4. JoJo performed dental screenings on all of our kids attending the orphanage. She identified one girl who requires immediate dental extractions. These will be performed by a local dentist later next week. Your support will pay for this. Dental hygiene instruction and new tooth brushes were given to the 200 school children. Two nurses from the community also attended. Knowledge was passed along. 5. New roofs for 4 classrooms, involved the construction of 35 roof trusses. Ask Simon and Nicole how many board feet of 2x4 that was!!! 6. Construction of 2 additional classrooms to fulfill the Ministry of Education requirements for the school. The Mason and his crew continue the work. They are 60% complete as we left yesterday. Looking beautiful! 7. Wide sidewalks and sitting areas are being constructed outside the school classrooms. The sidewalks will prevent water from entering the classrooms during torrential rains. The sitting areas are for the children in the shade. 8. New desks for the classrooms were constructed. Thanks team!!! 9. Construction of 2 kitchen tables (thanks Simon!) and 8 benches for 30 kids to eat at (Thanks Deb and Dani) were constructed and painted the bright colours in the kitchen. New thick vinyl tablecloths adorn the tables. It is a wonderful sight seeing all of our kids eating in community. They are so thankful. 10. The teachers' salaries were paid. There was an outstanding bill from 2016 and they were paid for the first 3 months of 2017. The government has not paid teachers wages in several years. Unfortunately, the money we send in support each month is not usually enough to cover the teachers’ salaries. Many leave as they are not consistently paid. Bertony works 3 nights per week through the night (after being at the orphanage all day playing "Principal" and "orphanage director") in order to pay them some money. Life is hard here. Teachers get paid $100 per month. We have 6 of them. 11. Construction jobs were provided for 11 Haitian men (and their families) for 4 weeks! 12. The children were fed... Again! This is our most important job that we do consistently each month. Thank you. As the truck arrives with much of the month's supply of food, the children each carry an item. They see the food being unloaded and this calms them. They are assured that they will eat for another month. 13. School supplies, clothes, shoes, educational toys and medicines were brought by the team as aid. Valuable items. 14. We provided urgent medical care for Dieusilhomme and treatment for a child who was deathly ill. He has a chance now. Saved life. 15. A year's worth of hearing batteries were bought. Dieusilhomme will hear...something we take for granted. 16. 13 new mattresses with vinyl covers (the smaller children still wet the bed) were purchased for the dormitory. Clean beds for our children to sleep in. 17. A clothes line was installed...even with one of those "pulley things"!!! 18. I'm so excited about this last item...After speaking with a knowledgeable chicken farmer here in Haiti, we have purchased 20 laying hens and a pen will be constructed on site for them to live in. The purchase of proper chicken food and medicine will be provided on a monthly basis by Let's Talk Guelph Inc. These chickens will provide at least one egg per day for each of our kids to eat! This boost in daily protein will make a world of difference to the health of our children. Most of all, the team has brought renewed hope to Bertony. He works so hard to love and care for each of his children...there are 5 new ones arriving from a poor mountain village in the next 2 weeks...love grows.

Thanks for following the adventure.

This is Haiti and these were our days.

Blessings, DEB P.S. Hi Mom! See you Monday!!!! xxx

[raquelmurillolapiz]

I was tagged by @commandermelinaa thank you :) Rules: complete the survey and say who tagged you in the beginning. When you’re finished, tag people to do this survey. 1. Are you named after someone? No, my mum liked my name and that's why I have it, it was pretty popular in the 90s (btw is Alice) 2. When was the last time you cried? Probably the last week because of a movie, I mean cried cried cried, like a lot... (The 100 still gave me watery eyes) 3. Do you like your handwriting? No. Absolutely not. 4. What is your favorite lunch meat? There is a lunch meat? 5. Do you have kids? Yes, one little blonde girl :) she is four, and she is a freak just like her mama! 6. If you were another person would you be friends with you? DEFINITELY! I mean...I am awesome (Ah...if only I believed this) 7. Do you use sarcasm? Yes, a lot 8. Do you still have your tonsils?  Yes, for all I know 9. Would you bungee jump? Maybe, one day in the future, I want to before my death...but at the same time I am a little coward. 10. What is your favorite kind of cereal? I don't eat cereals since years, probably neutral cereals are the best. With a bit of sugar and in cold milk 11. Do you untie your shoes when you take them off? No, I use boots without shoelaces 12. Do you think you’re a strong person? It depends, we all have our own strength, we just need to remember where is it 13. What is your favorite ice cream? Hazelnut! 14. What is the first thing you notice about people? The first is the voice, then the eyes and then it depends if it's a woman, a man, or it depends about their own details 15. What is the least favorite physical thing you like about yourself? My body 16. What color pants and shoes are you wearing now? Purple pants, and no shoes, I am at home, so slippers (light blue) and socks (black) 17. What are you listening to right now? Nothing, I am watching my ex husband while he plays "Life is Strange" on the Ps4 (NERD ALARM, HELL YES) 18. If you were a crayon, what color would you be? Red 19. Favorite smell? Well chemical smells are my weakness but about "perfumes" I have a lot of preferences, probably just light sweet scents of something fresh 20. Who was the last person you spoke to on the phone? My sister I guess 21. Favorite sport to watch? I hate sports, sorry 22. Hair color? Red, even if my natural one is dark blonde 23. Eye color? Green 24. Do you wear contacts? When I am not using my glasses yes, but not to change the color, but because I can't see without them 25. Favorite food to eat? Potatoes, in every possible way 26. Scary movie or comedy? Comedy, I am not a brave kid. 27. Last movie you watched? I think it was an Italian movie "Loro chi?" 28. What’s the color of the shirt you are wearing? A pale blue, with "Spirit of the night" on it, is my father's old pajama 29. Summer or winter? Winter, I am a girl of December 30. Hugs or kisses? Kisses, I miss them 31. What book are you currently reading? I am not reading in this period... Well except for Fanfictions...yes I am bad I know 32. Who do you miss right now? Nobody 33. What is on your mouse pad? Nothing but if I had one probably it would be Kabby 34. What is the last TV program you watched? The 100, I mean, we all answer the same here...right? 35. What is the best sound? All the ASMRS sounds are great, so and endless list yep 36. Rolling Stones or Beatles? No preference here 37. What is the furthest you have ever traveled? Probably London 38. Do you have a special talent? Being a freaky Fangirl? No special talent, I can do multiple things but I am a normal girl, with passions 39. Where were you born? Italy I am tagging nobody cause I don't know if you already did this, but if you want to, do it and let me know :)

[wellhalesbells]

so.  i just found this in my drafts, partly finished, before i apparently flopped to the floor and decided, ‘i shall type no more, i am weary of this life, and i think there might be string cheese in a corner of the fridge.’  (there probably wasn’t, then i probably flopped there and thought, ‘i shall eat cheese no more, i am weary of this life, and then a dog licked my face.’  that sounds like an average day at least.)  anyway, i was tagged by @andavs eighty-fafillion years ago and i imagine she is now telling a story about not sharing some plywood with a blond dude, watching him drown and then throwing a necklace that i totally could've pawned overboard, like the selfish jerk she is.  that’s what getting older is like, right?  that’s a summation that is primarily a guess but backed by some solid titanic-based science.

Rules: Tag 20 followers that you would like to get to know better!

NAME: madeline (MAD - UH - LYNN not to be confused with MAD - UH - LINE okay?  i've never lived in an old house in paris covered in vines and i can’t walk a straight line to save my life, all right?)

NICKNAME: maddie, shmads, madsmonster, shamdsie, shamdseline, stinkypotamus, pie, squid, cal, bells, but i literally respond to anything because i have a sister who has a new nickname for me every few seconds.

STAR SIGN: pisces

GENDER: female

HEIGHT: oh.  5′, we really had to start my day with that reminder?

FAVORITE COLORS: oh all of them.  i adore all the colors, but in a way where they’re also somehow too insignificant for me to have favorites.

TIME RIGHT NOW: 4:07 pm

AVERAGE HOURS OF SLEEP: average, HA HA HA, ohhhh you do make me chuckle.  it’s all or nothing when it comes to sleep and most often it is nothing.

LAST THING I GOOGLED: the names of the powerpuff girls or, in my sophisticated-speak: ‘red powerpuff one.’  in fairness to me, i meant to write ‘girl,’ answered the phone and got distracted.  because i’m an adult.  working hard, at her job.  and the thing is i KNEW all their effing names, too, but i couldn’t remember which one was the red-haired one and i was like: it’s blossom, right?  but that didn’t sound right at all.  it still doesn’t.  i feel like she had a different name and it’s been redacted from all written record, scrubbed from the interwebs and replaced with this imposter name.  i’ve stumbled upon another conspiracy, guys, get out your staple guns and satellites.

NUMBER OF BLANKETS: that depends entirely on where i’m living.  florida or dc summers and it’s one that’s easily flingable.  anywhere that gets legitimately cold and i open all the windows, drag out every blanket i own and pile it atop me like a reverse princess and the pea.  i’m the pea and oxygen is the princess.

FAVORITE FICTIONAL CHARACTERS: oh gosh.  well.  derek hale.  that’s an obvious.  that’s number one, that’s my guy, that’s my squid-fish, my asshole hummingbird, my delightful dingo.  and you know what?  i don’t want to dilute the waters.  he’s number one and also only one.

FAVORITE BOOKS: *forgets every book to ever exist in the history of mankind*  um.  well, the harry potter series.  that’s a given too, i hated reading before those books came into my life (why does the education system pick the densest, most horrible literary works in history and then read them for forty-thousand weeks so you can’t ever escape them?  stamps out any idea that reading can be a fun escape pretty much immediately), after them i was voracious.  uhhhh i’ll go with what i’ve read in the past year or so because that’s about as far as my memory stretches: the raven cycle by maggie stiefvater, the night circus by erin morgenstern, i’ll give you the sun by jandy nelson and i just finished station eleven by emily st. john mandel three days ago and that was awesome!

FAVORITE BANDS: i’ll do this by: if they came in concert, would i go see them?  because that list has DWINDLED since my teenager-dom, lemme tell you, so: the killers (whom i’ve never seen before and would like to) and stars (whom i have seen before and would again in a heartbeat)

DREAM JOB: mattress tester?  in my fantasy of it, a man with a bulbous nose and gills leads me to rows upon rows of mattresses in this cavernous airplane hangar-type place, so huge i can’t even see the wall parallel, and he looks at me sternly and says, “now we don’t appreciate rush jobs, little lady (he’s kinda sexist but i’m staring at his gills so i think it’s partly defensive).  we’re going to need you to sleep, properly sleep, on every single one of these and report back.  we don’t care how long it takes, as long as it’s done right.  quality over quantity, eh, missy?”

and then i say, “eh, gill,” and we fist bump.

WHAT AM I WEARING RIGHT NOW: work clothes - leggings, boots (well, no, my boots are off but i was wearing boots), jigglypuff socks, c3po underwear, a flimsy top that looks professional, an uncomfortable bra with tape on it and a hoodie jacket that looks wholly unprofessional and is designed with paint splatters and iron-on punk patches.  bossman loves it.  we have been not-making-eye-contact over it all day, despite his best attempts.  the other 99% of the time the answer would’ve been: a deadpool onesie.  and i would’ve been way happier about it.

WHEN DID YOU CREATE YOUR BLOG: uh.  is there a way to know that?  WAIT.  i feel like tumblr sent me a ‘your blog turned five years old today’ email a couple months ago and i trashed it with the thought: wow, you’re outta this kid’s life for five years and you breeze back in with a half-assed ‘happy birthday’ and no gift.  WHERE’S MY GODDAMN ALIMONY?

CURRENT AMOUNT OF FOLLOWERS: 3,160+ (i’m gonna guesstimate it ‘cause at all times i’m hemorrhaging them with the occasional gain so it’s always like an ‘ish’ number but it was 3,164 last i looked), which is stupid as hell because i don’t do anything.  for a lump of laze that regularly looks at an untied shoelace and shakes her head with a murmured, ‘too far,’ that’s pretty goddamn exceptional.

WHAT DO YOU POST ABOUT: CAN’T PUT NO CHAINS ON ME.  i mean, yeah, um, it’s pretty much a gigantic mess of messery that is whatever catches my eye/heart.

DO YOU HAVE ANY OTHER BLOGS: no.  well, yes.  but no.  i have a sense8 side blog that i shouldn’t have because i’m not a responsible blog owner and where in the hell did i get this idea that i could handle a second one?

WHEN DID YOUR BLOG REACH ITS “PEAK” (WHEN DID YOU GET MORE FOLLOWERS, HAVE POPULAR POSTS, ETC): uhhhhh.  my most notable peak was probably right after i finished there’s monsters at home.  i hadn’t really been posting on tumblr that long and i still didn’t really know how it worked (that streak lives on, woo!) but i knew this is where teen wolf lived so i was trying, badly but trying.  then i finished it and went up by about 1,000 followers in a month and it was all very exciting.  then, as always happens, people get bored and wander away because i am not very exciting and WHATEVER, I DON’T EVEN CARE, I NEVER LOVED YOU ANYWAY.  I HAD MY EYES ON YOUR BEST FRIEND, HOECH, THE WHOLE TIME, SO THERE.

WHO IS YOUR MOST ACTIVE FOLLOWER: is there a way to know this???

WHAT MADE YOU DECIDE TO GET A TUMBLR: getting into teen wolf was what did it.  i was eljay-based before that because that is where hp lives (or was living at the time) and then i got into teen wolf and realized i had to learn a new platform and drank heavily, cried pitifully, and read sterek fanfic and decided: no, i really have to do this because i am in love as i never have been before.  (or since.)

DO YOU GET ASKS ON A DAILY BASIS: ew.  no.  HOW DO YOU LIVE LIFE WITH THAT?

TAG 20 PEOPLE: wow, we’re assuming that i know twenty people?  if you guys haven’t done this and want to, go for it and tag me as the tagger if you’d like, i’ll come plonking over and check it out!

[ddrkirbyisq]

I suppose I better talk about VBall first and all the other stuff second.  So let's get on with that. Last year's post is here.  (You'll notice this was during my experimental month where I was doing all of my social media via handwritten photos, haha)  Reading over it again, I talked a little bit about how VBall seemed more tiring than I remembered, how the dance contests were as always a good opportunity to push myself, and how us waltz-types really needed to step it up because we got completely outclassed by the dancers in the swing contest =(

This year was pretty fun!  I had a hoop skirt in addition to my petticoat, omg it was so amazing, it shaped my dress so well, I love it.  I feel like this hoop skirt alone made me excited to go to the ball, lol. I wrote last year that I felt that VBall was ceasing to be a place to catch up with many friends and acquaintances from the dance world, and I think that trend continued this year as well.  That is perhaps just a function of another year passing by, perhaps interests have changed as well as people and even if I did see some people from previous times, would I really connect with them again?  I'm not sure.  Whether I had or had not let go of those threads of fate that once bound us together.  Or were they even there in the first place? Every time that I push myself in my dance, as I tend to do in these competitions, I find that I learn a bit more.  Not just of dance, but about many things besides.  It's a bit hard to describe, but I think every time I push myself to go further than I have before, I am able to see things from a slightly different perspective than I once did.  Dancing changes, people change, what is "good" or "not good" or "cool" changes, and we constantly redefine where we are in our search for self-expression.  Or, well, maybe that's just me being a romantic about it. For once I felt like the waltz room was if not on equal footing, then at least in the same ballpark as the swing room, and that was something I was happy to see, given how invested I have somehow found myself in this dance form (and how unhappy I felt about it last year).  I was also really happy with how my dance has evolved in the past year.  Despite having nothing to prove, I realized in the end that I did prove something, not necessary to anybody else but rather to myself.  There are few dancers to truly look up to in our relatively eclectic form of waltz, and I have found myself wandering alone throughout the years as a result.  Though my flaws are still ever-present -- some by negligence and others by inexperience -- it is a reassuring feeling, at least for myself, looking back and seeing that after walking forward in the darkness I had reached somewhere new. Ok, but returning to the real world for a second here, I will say one more thing about the contests -- competing in both waltz events was =exhausting=.  I feel like I am more and more worn out every time and I am definitely feeling sore from it as I write this.  I felt like I really gave it my all, and man, trying to go all out for four songs in a row of high energy rotary waltz is....just........exhausting.  My shoelace came untied in the middle of it (oops), not to mention I also somehow managed to rip the bottom part of my petticoat (ugh), and somehow my foot kept finding its way through the hole (I was wondering why I kept feeling like something was wrapped around my ankle).  So that was...fun.  ...But no, really, it was actually really great, I don't think I have ever put so much emotion into performing a dance ever before compared to the preliminary rounds of the rotary waltz contest (such good songs!). One of the songs that was danced to was "A Thousand Years" by Christina Perri and though I always say the song (ironically) is one that kind of overstays its welcome (when I play it I cut out the part at 2:50, blegh), dancing to that song was not only a joy but quite interesting for me personally because I performed a choreo to it just half a year ago in July as part of Decadance's final performance ever (oh man, flash back to that performance, it really does seem like ages ago).  Part of the reason I left Decadance in the first place was to leave choreo behind and continue pursuing my greater passions in social dance, so it felt quite validating being able to directly experience that.  Dancing to the same song freely, I truly felt like I was able to put so much more into it than before.  I guess that is just the type of expression that I find myself reaching for. (quite literally, in this case...I seem to be a big fan of arm reaches lately) Anyways, enough about that.  Contests aside, in the end it was of course just awesome being at the event with everybody, all of us putting on our best looks and fanciest clothing.  I even stopped by the contemporary room for a brief glowsticking stint as well, which was fun, and though I am not good with photos in general, I managed to get some nice ones wearing my dress, so that is quite nice! Since we're already talking about dance, I should take the time to shill for my own event -- come to JaSmix next month on March 2nd!  We'll have workshops, a few private lesson signups, and of course awesome dancing, so come on out!  I'm pretty excited to finally be hosting a JaSmix event during the school year, since JaSmix is always a bangin time and it's a shame that a lot of folks who aren't in town over the summer months don't get to come to it. ===== Okay, that's all I'm going to say about dance, so if that was all you're here for, you can leave.  Bye! In cooking news, I tried making pizza!  Followed Kenji's no knead + no stretch dough and pan pizza recipe which was not too difficult!  The result was okay, definitely could have been better, but I'd call it successful anyhow.  Topping the pizzas was of course quite fun and its definitely something I would try again, hopefully next time actually having a kitchen scale on hand to measure out the dough more accurately, and using a bit less salt, and of course perhaps experimenting with some different toppings. ===== I haven't caught up with all the Genesis 6 footage, but yo Axe, can we get a round of standing ovations for Axe?  That was insane, it was really something, and it honestly felt like he "won" in all of our hearts regardless of the fact that he could not overcome the GF set and took 2nd place.  Axe you have solidified yourself as the true protagonist of Melee.  We love you dude. ===== And pride is my sin, and pride goeth before a fall. I'm really not the best at being a polite and friendly and respectful and outgoing person, so it's something that I have definitely sometimes just had to catch myself on in hindsight and apologize for or take back something that I said.  I think I still have the same tendency to jump to judging people rather than giving them the benefit of the doubt, to form an "us vs. them" narrative in my head rather than respect that everyone has their own story, their own path, and is trying in their own way.  But I have at least begun to see that when I break that mental narrative it really helps me feel better about the world, that we are all part of this shared human condition, and that the world is not just full of terrible people who are stupid and suck.  Really, we all are dumb in our own ways, and that should be okay.  So we need to find it in ourselves to be compassionate to others, in such that we would also learn to be compassionate to ourselves.  I have been watching Sangatsu no Lion which talks about that kind of theme a lot, and that has really resonated with me. ===== I am still learning how to relax.  Of course, even if I am unemployed, it's hard to take an off-season from being an adult, not to mention all of the other things I expect from myself.  I think I am no longer feeling that sort of "active" stress over all the things I have to do, in fact just a few days ago when I was really in the groove, having had a lot of fun with pixel art and even more fun with glowsticking, I thought to myself "wow, I finally did it.  I think at this moment I finally feel like life is a 5 out of 5.", and that was quite something. That said, I have been having trouble sleeping recently (though I didn't have trouble sleeping today, hah!  VBall may be more tiring than big dance lol) and I think part of that is a latent anxiety that still lingers.  I don't know if it is just things that have been on my mind recently, like some music distribution hassle stuff and blahblah adulting real life things.  But in those hours when life is no longer around to distract, I found myself feeling a bit stressed and sad. =(  So I think despite how well I am, doing, I am still searching for peace.  Hopefully I am taking steps in the right direction...