#i had to put on my big girl MT pants and make people stop being mean to a first timer sge in P10N ;-;

[lavampira]

normal roulette gone so horribly I planted d’alia next to sid and crafted for an hour to calm down shdghsf

[nsheetee]

One Foot in the Golden Life

Pairing: rich kid!renjun x caddie!reader Genre: rich kid AU, university au, romance, slight angst, mature content Length: 9.7k Summary: this is the story of a boy who is constantly pushed down by his father, a girl who just wants to not live paycheck to paycheck, and how they met on a golf course.  Warnings/Details: includes mentions of other NCT members, female reader, swearing, inaccurate depiction of golf, acts of sexual harassment towards the reader, mature content (unprotected sex, coming inside, oral [female receiving])

a/n: a big thank you to @insomni-writing​ for beta reading this ♡ also, if you are a minor, please beware that there is mature content in this fic!

You thought it would be the perfect opportunity to work at the most well-known country club in the state, but really the only thing your job brought you was perpetual cold to your hands and feet, and entangled your simple life with one of the youngest and richest bachelors at your university.

The only place on top of Mt. Carla is the Augusta Country Club, and it is a sight to see by the regular people who gaze up at it from the city below, like mortals looking up into the Gods’ chamber. The first time you went up the mountain for your job interview at the club, you got lost and were almost late. Thankfully, you didn’t crash your car on the winding roads, and got the job as well.

The Augusta Country Club is equipped with the largest and most expensive golf course in the region, but also has Michilin approved restaurants and the finest saunas and gym equipment any CEO could ask for. Those are usually the type of people that have club memberships: CEO’s, congress men and women, top-notch lawyers, and maybe the odd business owner that made it big enough to afford the price tag.

When you took up the job as a caddie, you had an idea of what you were getting yourself into. You’ve only been working for a month, but there are already a few regular golf players that prefer you as their caddie, which in your book is a success considering the type of high profile people that come to relax here.

However, today is different.

You can sense it when Kara and Mina, your coworkers who have been working here for a year longer than you, walk towards you and your friend, Lia, before your shift today. Mina has a small stack of info cards in her hands and they both hold smug smiles on their faces. The info cards have everything a caddie needs to know about who they’ll be working for that shift, and by the looks of it, today’s game will have a good match up.

“I’m going to be Mr. Huang’s son’s caddie. Don’t even fight me on this, you know I’ll win.” Kara states boldly as the two girls stop in front of you, snatching an info card out of Mina’s hand when she holds them up like she’s playing a card game, flashing the photos and names on the cards at you.

“I call dibs on Mr. Lee’s son.” Mina hums, not even bothering to keep up the act that they just want to be good caddies. “You two can have the old men.” She smiles tightly, shoving the other two info cards into Lia’s grasp and turning on her heel to walk away with Kara.

Considering you don’t even know what they’re talking about, you have no right to be mad at them. There is more confusion clouding your mind than anger at their rudeness. However, Lia does not share the same sentiment.

“I’ll shove these info cards up their-” Lia fumes, her volume rising as the sentence went on, and you quickly pulled her out of ear shot, around a corner by the bathrooms. “-stuck up two faced asses!”

“Lia…” You mutter, her wording making you shake your head at how unstable her temper is, “They’ve been working here for a lot longer than we have, just let them have those clients. Either way, what’s it to you?”

“What’s it to me? ___, they’re talking about Lee Jeno and Huang Renjun. I know I told you about them before.” Lia states like she expects you to have those two names tattooed on the front lobe of your brain already.

“I think I remember them…. They go to our University, right?” You try to regurgitate your friend’s rambles from months ago out of your head.

“Yeah, business department.” She sighs dreamily, as if the business department is the sexiest thing on campus. “This might be our only chance to shoot our shot.” You can’t help but grimace a bit.

“It can be your chance to shoot your shot. Leave me out of this.” You randomly grab an info card out of Lia’s hands, turning it around to see Mr. Huang Lijun’s photo staring back at you. You send Lia one last look, walking around her to go change in the dressing rooms.

“Aw, you’re no fun.” You hear her whine, her footsteps echo through the hallway as she comes up behind you. She almost knocks you into the wall from how forcefully she grabs onto your arm and swings it back and forth like you’re two little kids on your way to the playground.

“Maybe we can shoot our shot at the old men?” You and Lia stop walking, turning to face each other for a moment of silence. You blink at each other as if you’re both considering it, before erupting into laughter at the ridiculous thought and continue walking down the hallway.

You and Lia constantly joke around about finding rich sugar daddies at work to pay for your college tuition, but both of you know you’ll never actually commit to the idea fully. Neither of you will admit it, but you both know you don’t have the guts to do something like that.

By the time you, Lia, and your other coworkers change into uniform and gather your supplies for the Lee vs. Huang game, it’s already 10am. The air is crisp and cool, the signs of fall creep along your skin and taint the deep green trees in light oranges and yellows.

Despite the chill, you and your coworkers still wear skirts, long sleeve v-necks, and puffy vests; the only thing keeping your feet warm is a pair of short white socks and tennis shoes. You don’t mind the chill knowing that once the game starts you’ll be moving around enough to get warm. You stop thinking about your cold toes as soon as the door of the country club opens and the Lees and Huangs walk out.

The first time you lay eyes on Huang Renjun, you think your heart might stop.

You know it’s him because he walks close to his father as they make their way to where you’re standing by the golf carts. He has obviously dyed blonde color, his dark roots proof of that; it’s neatly gelled back in an effortless way with the light wind blowing a few of the locks gently as if an angel is personally moving them for him. His white jacket and black pants are slim and look like they cost more than all of your college textbooks this semester. He walks with his head high, his pretty, pink lips set in a straight line, and his almond eyes gentle.

Okay, so... maybe you understand the hype now.

“Good evening, ladies.” Mr. Lee announces, looking at you and your coworkers. You all politely introduce yourself and state who you’ll be caddying for.

Huang Lijun isn’t as tall as his son, but he looks to be more lively than Renjun, even at his age. He has a permanent smile on his lips and you can feel a friendly demeanor radiating from him when you approach.  

“Good Morning, sir. Let me take those off of your hands.” You politely grab the bag of clubs from him, feeling shy as his gaze doesn’t leave your face the entire time.

“You’re new here, right? I feel like I would remember you if I saw you before.” You’re surprised when he suddenly pinches your cheek, and he laughs at your shocked face. An unsettled feeling plants itself at the bottom of your stomach at the unwarranted touch.

“I’ve only been working here for a month, sir.”

“I think I’ll be coming around here more often, then.” He winks at you and turns to go sit in the front seat of the golf cart. You can’t help but let the feeling at the bottom of your stomach grow at how the older man looks at you. You definitely misjudged his “friendly” demeanor. Your eyes can’t help but glance at Renjun, who’s standing a few feet away from the whole interaction. He gives you a blank stare before turning and following his father.

In the past few weeks, you had gotten many lustful smiles and lewd gazes at your bare legs, but also many dollars in tips just in one morning by letting those smiles and gazes happen. The need to make ends meet justifies it all, and the cash you earn at the end of every shift only fuels this need.

The ride from the club’s main building to the first hole is short, so you quickly recompose yourself. You still have a job to do— a job you’re being paid lots of money for. You believe in your strong will to put up with whatever antics Mr. Huang pulls for the next few hours. Upon arrival at the first hole, you pull the bag of golf clubs out of the cart and follow in Mr. Huang’s quick footsteps, suddenly feeling sweaty from the exercise you’re getting by carrying these heavy clubs. When your group reaches the first hole, you set the bag down on the ground and press your hand over your face, but Mr. Huang’s voice startles you.

“Woah, there.” You jump and face him. “Those clubs cost more than my car, and unlike my car, they don’t deserve to be on the ground, darling.”

“Yes, sir. I apologize.” You smile shyly and pick up the clubs from the ground, your shoulders already straining to keep them up. ‘They weigh as much as a car,’ you huff.

This is going to be a long game.

“You kids can clean the carts today,” Mina suddenly throws a keychain at Lia’s face, she barely catches it before it hits her, “I have plans.”

“Me, too.” Kara quickly says, following after Mina as they both walk away. The game ended right at lunchtime (the Lees won) and now you and your coworkers are back at the club. It’s supposed to be everyone’s job to clean the golf carts after they’ve been used, but it looks like today it’ll just be you and Lia… Maybe.

“___, please. I’m going to be late to the cafe, my boss there is already mad at me.” Lia turns to you and begs with her hands clasped in front of her chest, eyes pleading and feet bouncing. You sigh; you’re hungry and your muscles are sore, and all you want to do is go home as quickly as you can. Still, you roll your eyes and take the golf cart keys from her, making her face crack open into a smile as she hugs you quickly.

“I’ll bring you coffee on Monday!” She screams at you as she practically runs away, leaving you with two golf carts to clean. You sluggishly begin, crawling into the cart the Huangs were sitting in when you find a small notebook laying on one of the seats. Picking it up to examine it, you find out it’s your university’s yearly planner, a book that everyone gets at the beginning of every academic year. Along the binder reads “Huang Renjun” and your eyes widen, immediately looking up to glance at the direction that Renjun walked off to a while ago.

Your legs move quickly through the corridors of the club, moving past changing rooms, saunas, and bathrooms, the planner tightly clutched in your hand. Your head is on a swivel and your lower lip is stuck between your teeth, until you hear a door open and slam shut behind you, making you turn your head to catch Renjun walking out of a changing room.

“Mr. Huang!” You call out.. Renjun freezes at the name, spinning on his heel to see you walking towards him.

“Sorry to disturb you, but you left your planner on the golf cart.” You hold it out for him, but he doesn’t take it.

“How do you know it’s a planner? Did you look through it?” You blink at him, stunned, and then glance down at the notebook. You’re surprised by the sudden questions and at the same time annoyed that Renjun accused you of snooping through his things so quickly. The image you had of him earlier, graceful, classy, and attractive, slips out of your mind as he stares down at you. However, this is the first time he’s directly talking to you, and you can’t help the spark that ignites in your belly from the roughness in his voice. It’s higher-pitched, but unpolished and jagged as he speaks with you.

“No. I go to the same University. I have the same one.” You explain. Renjun’s stare turns into shock.

“Really? Which department?”

“Fine Arts. I study Studio Art.” At first you think that you’re seeing things, but after blinking, you can guarantee that Renjun has jealousy painted on his face. It’s so sour that he looks away, trying to preoccupy his hands by fiddling with his bag. “So, are you going to take this, or…?”

“Yeah,” The bitterness drips from his tone, but you have a feeling it’s not directed at you, “Thank you for returning it.” He finally accepts it and turns to his bag, taking out his wallet. The cards inside look thick and heavy; memberships to places you’ll never step foot in and credit cards with limits you could never even imagine. Your pride tells you that you don’t need anything he could give you, so you silently turn around and walk away.

Renjun shuffles through some crisp 10’s and 20’s, but when he looks up to give you the tip, you’re already down the hallway and halfway out the door. You have golf carts to clean.

The next time you see Renjun is a week after the last game. The chilly weather remains, along with the useless uniform you have to wear, but this time around you’re not Mr. Huang’s caddie, you’re Renjun’s.

Kara walks next to you with Mr. Huang’s heavy golf clubs, her lips straight and head turned away from you to show her annoyance at how the caddie match up situation went this week. You’re sure to get an earful about this for at least the next few days, but you kind of like this revenge that fate dealt Kara. Either way, it’s not like there’s anything you can do about the match up. Renjun requested you to be his caddie this week, and you weren’t going to risk your bosses being angry with you by denying the request.

“Driver.” Renjun’s voice pulls you into the game. You pull out the correct golf club and put it into his awaiting hand, your fingertips brushing with his. “Aren’t you cold?” The words shock you, considering they’re the first words Renjun spoke to you today other than commands for golf clubs.

“I-I’m fine, Mr. Huang.” You respond promptly.

“Don’t call me that.” His tone is icy, and he quickly realizes how unnecessary it is to bite at you like that, “Just call me Renjun.” His father walks back from his shot, looking very smug. Renjun’s face is calm as he trades spots with his father and prepares for his first swing of the day, correcting his posture and loosening his limbs.

You remember the first time you saw him, how elegant and poised he looked. Your cold hands break into a sweat as your chest heats up from the quick beating of your heart. Renjun has only been icy and accusing towards you so far, yet you still feel warm while thinking about him. There has to be something wrong with you.

“Doesn’t my son look like he knows what he’s doing?” Mr. Huang asks from beside you, a small, unnerving smile on his lips.

“Yes, sir.” You reply back with your own, more innocent, smile.

“I taught him everything he knows about golf…. And women.” Mr. Huang leans into you, turning his chest to face you so that his breath is hitting your cheek. You can’t help but swallow to relieve your dry and cold throat, keeping your eyes forward as Renjun swings his club back and forth a bit in preparation.

“Yes, sir.” The only thought on your mind is to stop this man from stepping closer.

“Is that the only thing you can say?”

Renjun swings his arm back, breathing in as he keeps his eyes on the small white ball and his hopes in the green before him. Mr. Huang’s right hand is warm on your waist, but you would give anything to freeze right now.

A sharp crack ripples through the air as Renjun hits the golf ball and sends it flying into the golf course. His eyes are not where the ball lands, but instead on where his father touches you.

Renjun’s mom died when he was not even three days old.

He never got to meet her— to lay on her chest and hold her finger with his whole hand. He’ll never know what advice she would’ve given him when he got his first girlfriend, and he’ll never know how she would’ve reacted to him crashing his first car when he was 17. He only knows that his mom would’ve been there for him through all of that, unlike his father, who was not.

Renjun has had “mothers” through his life; three, to be exact. The first was when he was 5 years old, and she quickly asked for a divorce after Renjun’s dad went on a three month business trip and she didn’t hear from him the whole time. The second “mother” was a bit more mature than the first and with a lot more time on her hands. She wanted to shape 9 year old Renjun into a perfect student, which was something Renjun’s father appreciated, but still divorced her for “being too strong-headed.” Renjun only met his third mother twice when he was 13: once at the wedding and the second time at her funeral. He didn’t ask any questions, he wasn’t very interested in the first place.

These were the type of people Renjun spent his life around, but they really weren’t his mothers. The only similarity he had with those women was his father, and he treated them as poorly as he treated Renjun. That’s why when Renjun looks at you, cowering away from the very man who is his only link to family, he feels sick.

When is his dad going to stop being a fucking predator? How young does he want his next conquest to be? Will Renjun’s next mom be the same age as him? Something swirls in the pit of his stomach when he watches his father and it takes a moment for him to figure out what it is: jealousy. He’s not sure why he’s feeling jealous over someone he just met last week, but the feeling engulfs his whole chest and it burns him to his spot.

Renjun doesn’t even notice that he swung his golf club or that the golf ball went somewhere far into the green, probably an overshot. He only sees you, afraid of the man touching you but not stepping away. Why aren’t you stepping away?

“Nice job, Renjun.” His best friend, Jeno, claps a hand on his back as he steps up, hitting Renjun back into reality and forcing him to walk towards you. As Renjun approaches, his father slyly takes his hand away, and Renjun notices how you let out a relieved sigh. Giving you back his driver, Renjun strategically stands between you and his father, pretending to watch Jeno swing.

“Good job… Renjun.” You whisper, unsure about calling him by his first name so informally.

“Thank you.” Renjun sends a side glance to his father to see the displeased look on his face. “How was that, Dad?” Renjun hopes that maybe he can remind his father of why he’s here (to win against the Lees this week, not to feel up a girl 30 years younger than him) but in this moment, his father is acting like a 5 year old in the middle of a silent tantrum, not a 50 year old who runs the most successful construction company in the country.

“I’ve taught you better than that.” Renjun is sure they’re not talking about golf anymore, the authoritative tone in his father’s voice sends a lightning bolt of surprise and slight fear down Renjun’s back. He hates how he gets scared, he hates how his father can control him. The fury churns in the pit of his stomach as he accepts his father’s words with a bow of his head.

One day, Renjun swears he won’t submit anymore.

After the game ended with the Lees winning once again, you, Lia, and your other coworkers convene at the golf carts after the clients leave to change inside the club.

“You ladies know the drill.” Kara throws both sets of golf cart keys at you before walking off with Mina. You push Lia towards the entrance of the building before she even has a chance to turn around and open her mouth.

“You should get to the cafe before your boss throws another fit.” Lia turns back to face you, her jaw slightly slack and her eyes shining.

“You’re seriously the best. I love you.”

“Yeah, yeah, just give me a few extra shots in my coffee on Monday.” Lia laughs at that, grabbing your face between her two small, manicured hands and kissing you on each cheek before hopping off inside. You can’t help but be amused at her antics, turning to the golf carts in front of you to start cleaning.

“They make you clean the carts by yourself?” The voice startles you, not because you weren’t expecting it but because it’s Renjun’s. You turn your head over your shoulder, he’s standing just a few feet away still in his golfing gear from earlier.

“Uh, not usually, no. But my coworkers haven’t been happy with me lately.” You explain, fully turning to him and crossing your arms over your chest to tuck your cold hands into your sides.

“The ones who have been working here for a while?” You nod as an answer, and Renjun nods back in understanding, shoving his hands in his pants pockets. “They’ve been trying to get with me and my best friend for a while...” Renjun trails off when he sees your eyebrows raise at the comment, “... But that’s not what I came here to talk about.”

“Oh? What are you here for?” The conversation has gotten too informal for a worker and their client to be having, but you kind of like talking to Renjun in this casual setting.

“I realized that the past few times we’ve talked I’ve been such a dick.” He laughs lightly as he remembers, “I wanted to apologize for that. I wasn’t in a good mood last week and this morning, and I ended up pushing it on you.”

Renjun feels lots of emotions when it comes to you, despite only having this one proper conversation with you. He feels envy towards you for being able to study something that he desperately wants to. He feels guilt when he remembers how quickly he made you into a thief when you were only trying to return his belongings, and he feels so many other secondary and tertiary emotions in between. His head is full when he looks at you. He finally feels like he’s thinking about something, not just doing the same day to day motions in a constant cycle of ‘when will this end?’

“You’re apologizing?” You ask, stunned when he nods his head in confirmation. Sincere apologies are important to you. You believe there are not enough of them in this world anymore, and his gentle almond eyes are too wholehearted and warm for you in this cold weather. Your heart feels full looking at him, and you curse at yourself in your head for being swayed like this.

“I also have a question… You mentioned you’re majoring in Studio Art and I was wondering if, maybe, you could let me into one of the studios after a class this week? I’ve been needing a quiet place to work since my house has been busy lately.” One of the hands that was in Renjun’s pocket moves to matte down his sideburns while he glances at his shoes. “Was that too forward? Sorry, I just know that you can’t get into a studio without a passcode and you’re the only person I know who’s in Studio Art.” Renjun explains after you stare for a while, blinking at him.

“You’re an artist?” You finally ask, Renjun giving you a weak ‘yeah’ in response. A part of you wants to say no, that it’ll be weird to do something like this for him when you’ve only known him for less than 2 weeks and up until this point, you’ve only been in a worker-client relationship. However, you’re curious about what he’s like outside of this setting, especially what he’s like when his father has no possibility of appearing, since that seems to be the factor that turns his mood up or down.

“Sure. Come by studio 3 after 6pm on Wednesday and I’ll let you in, but... I heard Mr. Lee already scheduled a game for next weekend?” Renjun nods, “Then in return, you can win that game. It’s embarrassing always being on the losing team.” You smile playfully at the end to let him know you’re only joking.

“Deal.” Renjun sends a smile back of the same caliber, holding out a hand to shake with yours. If you thought you were affected by Renjun’s nice presence, his hand in yours sends you into another realm. His touch is warm from staying indoors and from keeping his hands in his pockets, and they contrast to your cold skin. He sucks in a breath through his teeth when your hands connect, turning your hand in his grip to look at your knuckles. “Are you sure you’re not cold? Your hands are freezing.”

“I’ll be okay. I just don’t have any good gloves to wear while working.” He huffs, small traces of white smoke leaves his mouth as he digs through his pockets.

“Wear these.” He replaces his hand in yours with a pair of his own gloves, “Your hands are precious, they shouldn’t be freezing.” Before Renjun can get embarrassed by his own words, he shoves his hands back into his pockets and turns on his heel, walking away, “I’ll see you on Wednesday!”

A knock on the studio doors shakes you away from staring at your painting, making you turn to look at who it is. Renjun peaks through the small window and waves when you make eye contact. You get up to open the door, almost forgetting that today is the day you agreed to let Renjun into your studio.

… Okay, that’s a lie. You definitely remembered that you’re supposed to meet Renjun, but you keep trying to convince yourself that you’re not excited about seeing him outside of that stuffy country club.

“Hey, sorry if I startled you.” Is the first thing he says when you open the door. He’s dressed in slacks, a dress shirt with a sweater over it, and a long coat over that. His nose and cheeks are slightly red from the rough wind outside and his supplies are clutched to his chest.

“Oh, you’re fine. I was just deep in thought.” Something about the studio makes both of you speak in hushed tones. No one else is here, but you feel the need to maintain the peace and quiet the room naturally holds. You and Renjun make your way to where you’re set up, he puts his things down on an easel to your left and takes off his coat, watching you from his peripheral vision.

Those uniforms they make you wear at work are just for show, Renjun knows that well, but that doesn’t stop him from appreciating you in the tight vest and little skirt. However right now, he likes your laid back look consisting of loose jeans and a layered shirt, he thinks it matches you.

“I was going to leave when you got here, but I think I’ll just finish this and head out.” You comment, aimlessly waving at your project.

“Please, stay as long as you need to. This is your studio, I don’t want to kick you out.” He laughs and licks his bottom lip. It’s breathtaking how innocent and nice his smile looks on his face. His eyes scrunch together to form laugh lines and his cheeks rise, he truly looks pretty when he smiles. You think this is the first time you’ve seen him like this.

You mumble back with a mixture of words that probably didn’t make sense and turn back to your work, leaving the room to continue with its peacefulness and quiet. However, Renjun’s presence next to you is too big to ignore. There are so many things you want to know about him and you have no excuse as to why you’re so curious.

“How about a game while we work?” You suggest.

“Sure… How about 20 questions?” It’s like he read your mind, so you smile and nod at his idea.

“You can go first.” You suggest.

“Okay, uh… Why do you work at a golf course if you’re majoring in Studio Art? Shouldn’t you be working at a, I don’t know, museum?” The question catches you off guard and Renjun notices how you stop painting, your brush and your hand floating in the air as you think, “Oh, sorry, is that too personal?”

“No, no… It’s just, normally, the first question people ask in a game of 20 questions is something like ‘what’s your favorite color’ or ‘what’s your sign’.” Renjun lets out a choked and embarrassed laugh, ducking his head down to look away from you. You can tell he’s about to change his question, so you quickly go back to painting and speak before he can.

“I did apply to work at several museums. I didn’t get any jobs, so I had to look elsewhere and Augusta was hiring. I know it’s not very fitting, but it makes good money and rich people know my name, even if it’s for just a few hours.” Renjun nods at your answer as if he could ever understand the idea of being poor, but the insight into your decision brings a fact to light that Renjun wasn’t 100% aware of before: you’re not like him, you need money.

“Don’t you hate the way people look at you there?” The words tumble out of Renjun’s lips faster than he can process the weight they carry. He turns to face you with guilt pooling in his eyes and his mouth opening and closing to find some words to correct the situation.

“No, I don’t like it.” You surprise him with your quick response, “But people like you don’t understand what it’s like to live paycheck to paycheck, to have to worry about how to pay the bills every month for years on end, always on your toes about money. I bet you think I’m cheap and—”

“No.” Renjun cuts you off promptly before you can continue, “Don’t make me into a jerk. I’m not like that. But the fact that that is the first thing you thought of worries me.” Your eyes widen at that, prompting him to elaborate. “Doesn’t that mean that’s how you think of yourself? Maybe not on the outside, but subconsciously. Sure, I won’t ever be able to understand how you live, but I wish you would not look at yourself as cheap and think of yourself as… beautiful.” Renjun lets the last words linger on his tongue, saying it quietly as if to not startle you.

You stare at him, your paintbrush resting in your hand and your back slouched as you watch him watch you. This is not the type of conversation you thought you’d be having with Renjun tonight, but you have to admit he makes a point. Eventually, you turn to your painting and stare at it some more, making Renjun turn and continue his own work.

“Ah, I asked two questions in a row.” He suddenly breaks the tense atmosphere, making you sigh as you remember you’re just playing a game, “You can ask two questions.”

He allows and relaxes when he sees you go back to painting.

“If you like to draw, why are you a business major?” Now it’s Renjun’s turn to freeze. Maybe if he did ask what your favorite color was he wouldn’t have had to endure this question from you, but he feels like he should answer it since it’s of equal weight to the one he asked you.

“It wasn’t my choice. I will most likely take my father’s place in his company and I need to at least know the basics before that happens.” You nod slowly. He looks so calm when he’s focused on drawing, but it’s not the same calm that you see on his face when he’s playing golf. You turn away before you get caught staring.

“Is that why your mood always changes when your dad is around?”

“Is it that obvious…” He trails off and you nod, “I can’t believe I’m about to say this out loud, but… It’s like everytime I’m around him, or at his office, or at home, my mind goes blank. I don’t feel like talking or thinking at all.” As he speaks, he sets down his utensils and turns to you, making continuous eye contact as he explains. You find yourself feeling comfortable at how easily he’s talking to you about such a deep subject.

“It sounds like… you’re angry.” You turned to face him now too, your paintbrush settled onto your canvas and your full attention on him, “My dad is like that. He gets so angry sometimes that he’s calm. No yelling or fighting, just silence. That’s how I know I messed up when he gets like that.” You nod, remembering all the times he’s been calmly mad at you.

“I don’t know… It’s confusing to me.” He straightens his back and stares at your foot as it moves around aimlessly. “What do I do?” He asks into the air, as if his pencil would suddenly start talking to him like a therapist.

“Just do what makes you happy.” Renjun’s glance over at you makes a smile pull at your lips, “I know it’s easier said than done. But you already know what it is that’ll make you happy, and that’s half of the battle. Why bottle it up?”

Renjun doesn’t know how he’ll ever get the courage to tell his father these things, but the way you’re looking at him as if he can do anything, he starts to feel tingles of confidence trickle into him.

“Oh, and why did you pick me to be your caddie this past weekend?”

“Well…” Renjun plays with his pencil. What is he supposed to say? He doesn’t want you to carry around his father’s heavy golf clubs? He doesn’t like the way his father touches you and gets jealous over it for some unknown reason? Yeah, he’s not going to say.

“Just because… I wanted you next to me.” The way he says it makes it sound so simple and true, but your heart drops to your stomach and springs back up going at 100 miles per hour. You can barely stop your hand from shaking as you pick up your brush, and it’s almost like you can’t see in front of you from the thrill of his words.

“Hey,” Renjun suddenly drops his pencil and turns to you, looking a bit confused and slightly upset, “Didn’t you ask three questions?”

“We’re letting the Lees win again today.” Renjun is in the middle of pulling up the zipper of his jacket when his father drops the news. Renjun’s footsteps stutter slightly at his father’s words and he stops walking next to the older man.

“Again?” He asks as he already thinks up an apology to tell you later when he loses.

“Yes, I need Mr. Lee to be happy when I bring up the new contract to him later in the sauna.” Renjun sighs and continues to walk next to his father. It’s the next weekend, and the third Lee vs. Huang game is starting in just a few minutes.

Renjun won’t lie, purposefully losing to his best friend and his dad every week is not the greatest stroke to Renjun’s ego, especially since Jeno won’t let it down around his other friends.

“Oh, I’ve been meaning to ask you,” Lijun swivels on his heel to look at his son, “Have you been requesting for ___ to be your caddie?”

The questions stuns Renjun, making it hard to answer so his father takes it as a yes.

“Well stop it. Dad wants to have some fun.” He claps a hand on Renjun’s back and  smiles. In the past, Renjun would’ve just rolled his eyes and let his father do whatever he wants, but this time his blood boils. He feels true anger when his father struts away with the intentions of doing whatever he wants to someone Renjun cares about. He can barely move his feet after the old man, his mind cloudy as everyone makes it to the golf carts.

“Let’s have a good game today, Mr. Huang, don’t make it too easy to beat you.” Mr. Lee jokes around and the two old men laugh as they settle into their own golf carts. Renjun walks up to his cart and you wave to him, the white gloves he gave you last week snugly on your hands. Renjun thinks his anger is what spurs him into doing what he does next.

He steps close to you, leaning into your ear and wrapping his hand around your covered ones with his thumb rubbing on your exposed wrist, “Keep these on for me, babe. I don’t want you to be cold.”

The amount of jaws that drops after Renjun’s words makes him bite down his smirk and slide into the front seat of the golf cart, pretending to not see the daggers his father is  throwing at him with his eyes.

Your heart beats so quickly and loudly you’re sure Kara can hear it next to you if she wasn’t busy huffing about what Renjun just did. Sitting in the back seat of the golf cart, you watch the back of Renjun’s head on the way to the first hole. What got into Renjun? Why did he all of a sudden call you ‘babe’ and get so close? Not that you’re opposed to it, you’re just shocked.

The game begins once you reach the first hole, and the Huang’s put up a good fight throughout the entire game, keeping the Lees on their toes and the score sheet even. Everytime Renjun comes back from a shot, you smile at him and tell him good job, which earns you a pat on the back from him that warms you up from the inside out.

Renjun can tell his father is getting more and more annoyed with him; how Renjun is keeping you as far from his father as he possibly can, the gentle touches on your waist that you welcome wholeheartedly compared to the ones Mr. Huang would lay on you before. He likes how angry his father gets, especially knowing that he can’t do anything about it right now. Not to mention, you seem to be enjoying Renjun’s attention, which just adds to his confidence.

Now, your group arrives at the last hole of the game. The Lees step up and swing, setting their total score to 357. All Renjun and his father have to do is move the ball around a bit more to get their score to be higher and the Lees will win the game. Mr. Huang is up first, acting clumsy so that the ball doesn’t make it into the hole and brings the game to Renjun.

As he sets up his posture, his hands suddenly go stiff. This shot is so easy to make, he has made this exact hole several times. He breathes in and out deeply, deciding on if he should throw the game like his father said he should, or give his one last ‘fuck you’ to his Dad.

He glances at you and makes eye contact; you nod your head and smile a bit as if to say ‘go ahead, we all know you can do this.’ Renjun then grips his golf club and swings it back to effortlessly hit the golf ball, rolling it along the green and perfectly into the hole.

You and the other caddies clap for the perfectly executed shot and Jeno and his father come up to Renjun to shake hands. They don’t look upset, instead they look pretty happy for Renjun. However, Renjun’s father is deathly silent, not even congratulating Renjun on his win. Renjun wasn’t expecting a whole ceremony for him, but it does feel nice to put his father down a peg or two today, and that’s the thought that fills Renjun’s head as everyone rides back to the country club.

While getting out of the golf cart, Renjun attempts to turn back to you but is promptly pulled away by the back of his jacket by his father. Renjun yelps and pulls away, but that doesn’t stop Lijun from grabbing onto his son’s arm instead and pulling him inside.

“What was that? I specifically told you to lose the game and you did the exact opposite. How am I supposed to talk to Mr. Lee now?” Renjun’s father fumes, his low voice belting out into the corridor and making some of the passing staff turn their heads.

“That’s not my problem.” Renjun shrugs and his father stops shaking, stepping closer to his son.

“Excuse me?” He asks with menace dripping from his tongue.

“I said, that’s not my problem.” Renjun is fired up. He doesn’t see a way out of this now, no way his behavior is being excused, so might as well go all in.

“You did it for that caddie, ___, right?” His father squints his eyes and turns his head slightly. When Renjun doesn’t answer, Lijun laughs in his face, “It looks like I’m right.”

“What?” Renjun asks dumbly.

“It’s okay. You’re just a boy and you can make some mistakes over a girl, we’ve all been there once or twice.” Lijun fixes Renjun’s jacket and pats his shoulder, his angry disposition turning passive. “Besides, you can’t do much for that girl anyway. Is a ball in a hole really all she deserves?”

“I won the game because I could. I won it because that’s what I wanted.” Renjun states, his blood beginning to boil once again when his father says he doesn’t deserve you. What is he thinking? Does he actually think he has a chance with you? He can keep dreaming.

“We can’t always do whatever we want. There are consequences we have to face for doing whatever we want. Are you ready to face the consequences?” At the question, Renjun is reminded about the words you told him Wednesday night.

‘Just do what makes you happy,’ Those simple words are so hard to turn into reality. Renjun wants to be happy so bad. He wants to be away from this man and he wants to be closer to you. The consequences? Sure, he’ll deal with it all if it means he can stop living in the personal hell his father set up for him. Renjun pushes his father away a bit and steps out of the trap his father pushed him into, making Lijun’s eyes widen.

“Yeah, I’m ready.” Renjun says and turns around, walking back towards the exit of the building.

“Hey, where are you going?” His father shouts after him.

“To do the thing that I want to do the most.” He yells back and walks around the corner, out of sight from his father. Renjun practically runs through the hallways to get back outside and run to you, but you surprise him by greeting him by the saunas. He stops in his steps and you smile as you walk up to him.

“Hey, I just wanted to tell you that you did really well today. I know I said I wanted you to win last week, but I didn’t think you’d actually do it.” You laugh.

“Thanks.” Renjun simply says, afraid of what else could come out if he keeps talking.

“Oh, I also want to give you these back.” You dig out Renjun’s gloves from your pocket, holding them out. This is it. This is the moment Renjun will start to do whatever makes him happy, whatever he wants.

And what he wants right now is you.

He quickly takes the gloves and then tightly grips the wrist of your outstretched hand, leading you down the hallway and around some corner. He hears you exclaim a small ‘woah’ but you let him guide you into a sauna, the door closing tightly behind both of you.

There’s no one else in the room, just the stuffy steam that floats in the small space between you two. Renjun has a tight grip on the gloves you gave back to him and his other hand runs through his hair and messes up the perfect form it held.

“Tell me to stop.” He demands, looking straight into your eyes.

“What?”

“Tell me to stop right now.” He takes a step forward, his eyes full to the brim with lust and his hands shaking with how much he’s holding himself together. You’ve barely been in the room for a minute, but your clothes are already sticking to you from the intense heat.

“I don’t understand,” You reply back as he keeps moving toward you. You take small steps back in return, “I don’t know what I’m stopping you from.” Half of you is playing dumb right now; you know what Renjun wants from you just by the look in his eyes. The other half just wants to hear him say it himself

“I’ll fuck you the way you deserve. Right here, right now.” Renjun’s voice is too angelic to say such nasty words, but he growls them out like he’s a tainted angel. You’re pressed against the wooden wall of the sauna now, Renjun just a step away. You lean into him slightly and rip the gloves out of his hand to throw them to the side.

“Do it.”

It’s all the permission Renjun needs to feverishly connect his lips to yours.

The action is so sudden, you don’t remember how Renjun got close to you so quickly. Despite his forcefulness before, his lips melt into you like chocolate melting over a fire, so hot and delicious that you just want more. His hands hold the sides of your face, pushing back your hair and his body pushing you back into the wall.

He sucks on your bottom lip, softly biting afterwards and making you let out a whimper, and then a moan when his thigh pushes between your legs and further presses you against the wall. Amidst the kissing, you find the zipper of his expensive jacket, unzip it, and pull the piece of clothing off. Afterwards, you pull his shirt off and break the kiss while you’re at it.

“I’ve been thinking about you in this skirt since….” Renjun hums at the thought, his hand sliding up your bare thighs and under your skirt, then he grips your ass and brings your core down onto his thigh, the friction enough to have you letting out a strangled moan.

“Since the day I first saw you.” He finally whispers and connects your lips once again. His hand on your ass doesn’t move, his other hand is placed on your waist as he helps you ride the rough material of his pants. Renjun can only watch your reactions; the way your head lolls back into the wall and your eyes screw shut, holding onto Renjun’s shoulders tight enough he’s sure there will be marks afterwards.

“Fuck— Renjun, don’t stop, please.” He’s mesmerized, absolutely addicted to how you look and sound right now, and it’s all because of him. The thought spurs him along, he removes your jacket and you blindly help him in removing your top and bra. You must look like a mess right now, especially since you’re coming close to your climax just by Renjun’s touch and his thigh. Not to mention the sweat dripping down both of you, a glistening sheen coating your skin that makes Renjun let out a low growl before he leans down and takes one of your nipples in his mouth.

He sucks and swirls his tongue, and you can’t help but moan his name again, digging your fingers into his blonde hair and tugging. Renjun moves from your chest downward, not letting an inch of your stomach and hips go past him without a kiss and a nibble, leaving you breathing heavily. He makes his way down to his knees and folds your skirt up, glancing at  you from his position.

“You don’t wear anything under here except your panties?” You nod, your head stuttering as Renjun applies pressure with his thumb over your slick hole, a wet spot already there to greet him.

“You’re so fucking dirty, baby.” He groans and leans in to swipe his tongue over your center making you shake as a response. He slides your underwear down and throws it somewhere to the side, catching the sigh of your arousal dripping down your thigh. His intense stare makes you shake him, embarrassment crawling over you at how he’s not reacting.

“Are you shy?” You whine, not really answering his question. “You don’t need to be. You’re beautiful.” The softness from his voice contradicts his more dominating tone from before, but you don’t have time to think about it before he dives in. You sigh in content when the pressure in between your hips caused by Renjun turns into pure pleasure. His tongue laps at your essence and his lips suck on your clit, you can tell he’s trying to find what exactly will make you tick.

When Renjun slides a finger into your hole unexpectedly, you jump and whimper a bit but the feeling of him sliding in and out along with his tongue circling and sucking on your clit makes a knot form in the pit of your stomach, tightening up your muscles and making your eyes roll back.

“Right there. Oh my god, right there…” You keep repeating, praying that Renjun treats you good and let’s you come. He adds another finger and you gasp, starting to move your hips in rhythm to his hand, holding onto his shoulders for more stability. He glances up at you, watching your eyes screw shut and your tits bounce as you use his hand to get yourself off. Renjun hums against you, and you can almost feel the ecstasy of coming undone, until Renjun pulls away. You groan, feeling like crying when your orgasm fades.

“Hey..” You whine, pouting when Renjun stands back up and licks your juices off of his lips. He has some on his chin and you bring your hand up to wipe it away, Renjun stopping your hand and kissing the wetness away, then kissing up your arm and to your shoulder, up your neck and to your ear. He tugs at your earlobe, licking the skin under it and biting some more, his hands sliding up your waist at playing with your nipples, pinching a little to get whimpers out of you and making your hips buck up, ready to continue where Renjun left you at.

That’s when you feel the hardness in his pants; it must be painful. That’s why you understand his next words, whispered into the shell of your ear between kisses: “You’re not coming until I’m in you, got it?”

You nod quickly, attaching your hands to Renjun’s zipper and button, undoing them and sliding down his pants.

“But, you’re gonna need to do something for me…” He says, helping you pull down his boxers, watching his angry, red length swing out. You gasp, feeling a bit bad that you just left Renjun like this to eat you out, but you’re sure you can make up to him now.

“What is it? I’ll do it.” Your hands run over Renjun’s sweaty shoulders, moving away some longer hair in the back of his head that’s sticking against his neck.

“You’re gonna have to yell my name. I need you to let everyone know who’s doing this to you— who’s making you feel good, okay?” Your breath gets caught in your throat as the words tumble out of his lips. He tilts his voice higher at the end of every phrase to make him sound innocent, but you’re not fooled.

“There’s people outside…” You mumble back, sending a glance at the door. You know there are several staff and customers walking along the hallways outside. What will they think if they hear you screaming Renjun’s name? Not to talk about what will happen to your job.

Those thoughts melt away when Renjun’s dick slides between your folds slowly, making you turn your gaze back to him and hold on tight as he lubricates himself over your wetness, holding onto your hips so that you don’t move and take anymore than what he’s giving you.

“That’s exactly why I want you to scream. Can you do that for me?” He asks and you nod frantically, doing almost anything to get his dick inside you. You’re not sure what’s going to happen once you step out of this room, but at least you know Renjun is going to give you the best fuck you’ve had in a while, and you know it’ll be worth it for what’s to come after all this.

“Finally…” You moan when Renjun’s length disappears into you inch by inch, going slow as to not hurt you. He sucks in a breath through his teeth as he bottoms out, picking up your thigh to hang it over his hip and wrapping his other arm around your waist to keep you close. You hold onto him, adjusting as he kisses your lips sweetly and carefully, and waits to move his throbbing cock through your velvety walls.

“Go, Renjun, move….” You whisper, and he looks at you confused.

“What was that? I didn’t hear you.” He asks, cocking his head.

“Please, move.” You say louder, but he shakes his head and purses his lips as if he still can’t understand.

“I said, fuck me, Renjun. Please, can you fuck me already?” You all but scream out, your voice almost cracking at how whiny you sound. No doubt, if someone passed by outside they would’ve heard you. The thought makes you tense up, but it feels so good to be able to yell out what you want.

“Your wish, baby.” Renjun mutters before he starts rocking into you. You both groan at the sensation, Renjun’s hips speeding up as he gains more momentum. His lips don’t leave yours, kissing you into oblivion while his dick stuffs you. He has you against the wall, his hips powering away and you don’t dare to disturb him, realizing he’s burning all of his anger away as well.

“Yes, Renjun, fuck me just like that…'' You moan loudly to spur him on, now not really caring about who’s outside or who hears you, just wanting Renjun to know you love how rough he’s going. He presses you higher up the wall and pulls your legs apart more, hitting a new angle that literally makes you scream out, tears mixing with the sweat on your face as he relentlessly pumps into you.

There are so many things going on at the same time. Your hard nipples and soft breasts rubbing against Renjun’s chest, making goosebumps rise on his arms. Your hot and sweaty bodies are basically sliding against each other. The clapping of his hips against yours no doubt attracts attention from outside along with your screams and Renjun’s grunts continuously get louder as you both get closer to the climax.

“I’m gonna come… Renjun, come in me…” You’re already fucked out, the words barely leaving your lips coherently, but Renjun understands and moves his finger down to find your clit, circling his thumb fast and steady, just like everything else he’s doing.

“C’mon come on my cock, babe. Let it out, I wanna hear it.” And just like that, you unwind and scream his name as your orgasm washes over and takes control, making you claw onto any part of Renjun that you can reach. Renjun feels your walls deliciously convulse around him and with a few more sloppy thrusts, he comes into you and fills you up, staying wrapped up in you as you both calm down.

Renjun presses small kisses wherever he feels like as your breathing settles down, his softness and the caring way he rubs at your sides and hips where he was holding so hard that you’re sure to have bruises makes you smile hazily.

“___… I don’t regret any of this.” He whispers into your skin, leaning back to look at you properly. “Do you?”

“No.” You answer truthfully, making his eyes shine and you both smile dumbly, your sticking bodies relaxing. The happy moment doesn’t last long before there’s a knock on the door to the sauna. You and Renjun stiffen up as you glance at the door, waiting for whoever it is to announce themselves.

“Renjun? Son?” Your heart drops to your stomach and you cover your mouth at the voice of Renjun’s father on the other side of the door, but when you turn to Renjun, he doesn’t seem bothered. He sends a smile at you and moves some hair from your face before answering.

“Occupied, go somewhere else. We’re busy.”

[hime-memes]

( Requested ) This long list of starters comes from the youtube content creator: Nisipisa ! In particular, the video: ‘ Let’s Go Window Shopping 6: Crimes Against Pants with Shein ‘

Trigger Warnings: Sexual Innuendo, Alcohol & Drug Mentions and Swearing.

As always: feel free to change anything within these starters that you see fit to make it work for your muse & the receiver’s muse !

( Some sentences have been modified for length, understanding, or to give fuller context. )

“ First of all, these shorts ? I’m living for the whole outfit. I appreciate _____ finding a use for trashbags that’s not just holding trash. “

“ ... I don’t have enough brain bandwidth to actually hold enough information about it ... “

“ People deserve access to clothing in their size. 100 %. “

“ I’m already kinda impressed. “

“ This is a pretty dress & this is a pretty dress. That’s pretty ! That’s ... passable ? “ 

“ We had a lot of fun last time with t-shirts. “

“ Oh my god. Oh god ... Oh yes ! This is our first graphic tee of the day. “

“ It’s a crew neck in the ugliest shade of purple known to human or lobster eyes. “

“ Sorry: #Momlife. “ 

“ You can make sure your search engine optimization is as powerful as possible when you’re waiting in line to check out at Target™ for the fourth time this week. “ 

“ I didn’t mean to shame anybody that spends three days out of their week at Target™. “

“ If there wasn’t a panna cotta going on, that would be me. It’s my favorite place in the goddamn world ! “

“ It’s second only to shoe stores that sell a size twelve ! “ 

“ As we all know - I am not a mother and will likely biologically never be one, because God looked at me and said, ‘ If I give you a reproductive system, you’re going to be too powerful ‘ and so, he just nuked my uterus. “

“ I don’t find that this t - shirt celebrates motherhood in any meaningful way. “ 

“ I do think it celebrates having bad taste in a meaningful way. “

“ You know what ? For some people: That’s enough. “ 

“ ... We aren’t going to address why having a cutout tight might be useful ... “

“ And THIS is the sexiest shoe we could have put my girl in ?! “

“  You guys put her in this conservative nightmare heel ?! “

“ I like that ______ thinks you should wear all these graphic tees with light wash mom jeans and converse low tops. “

“ I think every website should encourage it’s patrons to dress like the main character of a Sarah Dessen novel from 2007. “

“ There’s some high schooler in a debate club that’s really into it. It’s kinda their whole personality, and they’re like: ‘ This is so ironically funny for me ‘. “

“ In the year of our Lord, 2008: I started high school and my absolute favorite shirt to wear was a shirt quite like this. “

“ It looked like I was wearing long sleeves under short sleeves when in reality, I was wearing a crime. “

“  Have you ever tried layering ? Like, actual layering ? It sucks ! “ 

“ You’re kidding ! A double whammy in the same row ? Oh my god ... “ 

“ ... We have also inexplicably made the model hit this pose. “

“ The person who needs these pants is someone who likes to go out and party - likes to go to the club - but, they are also the president of a fan club for Shar Pei dogs. “

“ You know what dogs I think are cute ? ( * Googles favorite dog * ) Just look at this guy ! “ 

“ Look at these pointy bastards ! “

“ This is like if you had a bat and you did a spell on it to make it a dog ! “ 

“ These ... Now THIS is a pair of pants ! “

“  Clinically depressed, stressed jeans. “

“  You take leopard print fabric and sew it into your distressed holes. “

“ You don’t have to frankenstein it into this type of fit ... this is kinda like how a hypebeast would dress if they were in elementary school. “

“ If you put a bow on this and a tutu: this is me and my girls rolling up to the Jojo Siwa concert. “

“ Am I saying I wouldn’t wear these shorts ? No, I’m not saying that at all - I would wear the fuck outta these shorts ! “

“  As we’ve established: my taste is awful. “ 

“ Do you think in 1503, when Lisa del Giocondo sat down to start being painted for this portrait - she thought in a couple hundred years some random fast fashion brand would take her likeness, photoshop a face mask on it ... and sell it on a graphic t - shirt ? “

“ The only responsibilities I had were watching Rugrats and learning object permanence. “

“ Stop living in the past. The future is fun because my videos are in it ! “

“ This little cherry top, I think I’d probably wear. I think it’s very sweet ! “

“  I’m so weak to anything with a grid print. “ 

“ I’m going to think about this shirt for the rest of my life ... “

“ What exactly does a lil’ house elf from Harry Potter™ have to do with this ? “

“ I do feel like this floral print will cause my brain to atrophy if I look at it too long. “ 

“ Rosé is not the only wine to rhyme with ‘ all day ‘. Rosé isn’t even good ! “

“ You know what ? I don’t work for _______, so it’s fine. It’s not my responsibility ! “ 

“ Hey guys, you having fun at mushroom college ? “

“ I saw two things: The crotch butterfly and the booty butterfly and now I’m thinking these are the only clothes anyone should ever wear. Ever. “ 

“ NOT THE ‘ SEX ’ EARRINGS !? YES ! “ 

“ This is brazenly and offensively targeting a very very very specific group of people that I went to my preppy college with and I don’t appreciate that. “

“ I’ve worn spaghetti sauce stained yoga pants to bed that are sexier than this ! “

“ I’d wear the fuck outta this. “

“ I don’t know what I can say ... the picture speaks for itself, this is awful ! “

“ I’ve been saying for the longest time there is absolutely no store online that I can find articles of clothing for my single, mid-western, art teacher from the 70s, halloween costume. Finally someone is filling that niche ! “

“ This is absolutely unprecedented, because _______ decided to take something that, not only didn’t exist, but that no one has ever asked for and make it a reality. “ 

“ They think to themselves: ‘ Man - I love leopard print and I love galaxy print: but, I wish there was some way I could experience them at the same time, in an orientation that looks like the very beginnings of a DMT trip, and I wish I could experience all that whilst exercising. “

“  This is so tacky that I wanna wear it. “ 

“ Lord - Jesus, life is so beautiful. and full ... and amazing ! “ 

“ Curse allttle and carra fu///ng ON. “

“ The Rocky Horror Picture Show did not die for our sins for you to make this, okay ____ ? “

“ I feel like the person that wears this is a representative from the International Coalition of Clowns that are also Sexy. “

“ I want the opposite of this: I want a pink pastel frilly one piece that just says across the front of it, in like Curlz MT font : ‘ Death ‘. “

“ Listen, I don’t know what font that is, but I would like President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris to outlaw it. I don’t think it does society any good. “ 

“ I heart freak city ? “

“ Uh yeah, I live on Drip Goth Punk street. “

“ Is that near Superfreak Sexy Gurl lane ? “ 

“ We have a big snake problem here in Boston and I’m glad _____ is finally recognizing this. “

“ Mama. “ * Cue insane cackling * 

“ This shirt says ‘ heart stopper ’ ... that’s me when I’m a serial killer ! “ 

“ That’s so topical and current ! Thank you, _______. “ 

[askmissthunder]

Why do you think that Red Rabbit’s friends didn’t freak out when they first saw you Miss Thunder?

Miss Thunder: Well...to be honest, they kind of did. Maybe it's better if I tell you the first time Cassie introduced us.

A while ago...

(Cassie walks through doors of Ocean City University's Cafeteria. Her friends in the dance squad, Amanda, Deb, Joanie, Karen, Lailani, Stacey and Tamika, are all sitting at one large circular table.)

Tamika: Hey, there she is!

Amanda: Where y'all been, Cass? It ain't like you to miss so many lunches with us.

Cassie: Sorry, sorry! It's just been... well, I've met someone.

Joanie: Oh ho! What's his name?

Deb: Or her name? Hee hee!

Cassie: No! Not like that! I mean, I've made a new friend. Her name's Penny.

Stacey: And what? She's doesn't want you to eat with us anymore?

Karen: *Gasp!* Is she really an alien and is trying to keep you away from us so she can take you to her home planet? Because if she is, can I go?

Cassie: ......No, Karen.

Lailani: Well? What's the deal then? Whatcha been up to?

Cassie: It's not that I want to keep you girls away, it's just... God, how do I put this? She, um, has a... condition.

Stacey: What do you mean? What kind of condition?

Cassie: It's...pretty unique.

Tamika: What, like she's in a wheelchair or something?

Cassie: ...You can say that.

Joanie: *Snort* Cassie! Come on! What kind of jackasses do you take us for?

Lailani: We'd never make fun of somebody who's disabled! (Points at Deb) This one, however...

Deb: Hey, wait a minute! I know I can be a bitch but I'm not THAT bad! Jesus!

Cassie: It's just that...she's really shy about her condition. She didn't want us to be seen with her. She thought she'd embarrass us be being seen with her.

(The girls give a sad groan)

Amanda: Ohh! Naw naw naw! Bring her on over!

Karen: Yes, we'd love to eat lunch with her!

Cassie: Okay, I'm gonna bring her over but girls, I'm serious! Do NOT say anything bad! I mean it!

Stacey: Cassie! Just go get her, for Pete's sake!

(Cassie gets up from her seat and walks briskly out the doors)

Deb: So...Whattya think she's got? She can't just be in a wheelchair. It's gotta be something crazy.

Stacey: Scoliosis, maybe? I had a great aunt who had it and she needed a wheelchair.

Tamika: What if she's paralyzed from the waist down?

Joanie: Or she lost her legs in an accident?

Lailani: Hmm...those aren't so bad that she wouldn't want to be seen with us though.

Karen: I got it! She's a mermaid! She can't walk on dry land so she needs a wheelchair to get around!

(The girls stare at her)

Amanda: Karen, remember what we talked about: Mermaids ain't real.

Karen: I know what I saw! She was playing a ukulele down at the boardwalk! She had green hair and she smelled like oysters!

(Cassie bursts through the double doors, holding one door open herself while keeping the other pried open with a nearby trash can)

Cassie: All right, Penny! Here they are!

(The girls' jaws drop as they see the biggest, fattest girl they've ever seen in their life roll in on a motorized wheelchair nearly the size of a golf cart towards their table. The sounds of gasps, snickering and outright laughter could be heard from all over the cafeteria.)

Cassie: Penelope Abbot, meet the Sensational Sirens, the best dance squad on the East Coast, if I say so myself!

Stacey: ....

Joanie: ....

Karen: ...Big...

Lailani: ....

Amanda: ....

Deb: .....Holy Fuck.

Tamika: ....Cassie, can I talk to you over here? In private?

Cassie: Sure! Just make yourself comfy, Penny! I'll be right back!

(The two girls walk a short distance away)

Tamika: Cass, you know we go way back right? Like, elementary school?

Cassie: Uh,yeah?

Tamika: So you know I'm being honest with you by asking what the hell's going on here?

Cassie: 'Mika, calm down. It's not that big of a deal.

Tamika: Uhh, have you seen this girl you brought here? She's a pretty big deal!

Cassie: Oh my god, I was afraid you'd all act this way. She's just a girl! I told you she had a condition!

Tamika: When you said a "condition", I thought she had leg braces or something, not that she was the size of a house!

Cassie: Tamika. Stop.

(Tamika sighs and pinches her nose)

Cassie: Look. I wouldn't be hanging out with her if I didn't like her. I promise she's the sweetest girl. She's really nice and funny when you get to know her. Just give her a chance, please? For me?

Tamika: *Sighs* Fine. I trust your opinion, Cass but you gotta prepare us better than that, okay?

(Cassie nods as they share a brief hug before heading back towards the table)

Cassie: All right ladies! As I was saying, this here's Penny and she's from ♪ Manchester, England, Englaaaand! Across the Atlantic Sea! ♪

Penny: *Waves sheepishly* 'Allo. It...it's London, actually.

Cassie: *Winks* Just a little musical reference, Penny!

Stacey: Really? You came all the way from England?

Penny: Mmm-hmm.

Joanie: Wow, that's pretty cool. How is it over there?

Penny: G...good. Rainy. But good. L...lots of museums I like to visit. J...jolly good stuff.

Deb: *Snickers* "Jolly good." Oh, this should be a hoot...

Amanda: *Side-eyeing Deb* A hoot to get to know you, Penny! Shoot, Ah just moved to Ocean City myself not too long ago!

Penny: Really? Where are you from?

Amanda: Why, just the great state of Kentucky, of course! Born and raised!

Lailani: My family's from the Philippines, Penny! We moved to the states when I was a little girl, though.

Penny: Blimey, that's -

Boy's voice: HEY DUMBO! THE CIRCUS IS CALLING!

(A milkshake comes flying through the air and strikes against Penny's shoulder, splattering all over her. Her mouth is open in shock as her eyes start to water. To Penny's surprise, though, all the girls immediately stand from their seats.)

Cassie: HEY! WHO THE FUCK JUST THREW THAT?!

(Two boys make a run for the doors as Amanda, Tamika, and Deb bolt after them)

Deb: GET BACK HERE, DAMMIT!

(As they give chase out the doors, the other girls surround Penny, trying to clean her up)

Lailani: Oh my god, Penny! I'm so sorry that happened!

(Penny can't even speak due to an overflow of emotions)

Stacey: Fucking assholes! I can't believe that!

Penny: ...I...I need to go. I'm sorry. I'm...

Joanie: No no no, you're alright, Penny.

Cassie: Don't apologize. That wasn't your fault some people are jerks.

Penny: No, no. I'm sorry I wasted all of your time. I won't bother you anymo-

Karen: Penny.

(Penny stops and meets her gaze)

Karen: (puts her hands on tops of Penny's giant hands) Take a deep breath with me. Breathe in through your nose.

(After a moment's hesitation, they both inhale)

Karen: Now breathe out through your mouth.

(They exhale slowly and repeat a few more times before Karen puts her hands on Penny's shoulders)

Karen: Penny, I just want you to know that although it doesn't seem like it now but you are appreciated and we're all glad that Cassie has brightened our universe by introducing you to us.

Penny: ...Okay.

Lailani: (Whispering to Stacey) Oh wow, Karen actually used that New Age crap for something good for once.

(The cafeteria doors slam open as Tamika, Amanda and Deb march in, all panting and flustered)

Stacy: You get them?

Tamika: No! Little bastards got away but you saw them! We all saw their faces! I'm gonna tell security about this horseshit! Real fucking mature!

Deb: *Sighs* Sorry, Penny. We would've dragged them all the way back here if we could. Make them apologize to your face.

Amanda: Hmph! That would've been the least of their concerns! Ah would've knocked their dumb asses out right then and there! Where Ah'm from, you don't treat a lady like that! Don't matter what she looks like! Ain't right!

(Cassie looks around and sees that everyone in the cafeteria is looking at them)

Cassie: You know what? Let's blow this pop stand. There's a nice cafe right down the street, Penny. How about you show us all those teas you were telling me about?

(Penny looks around her and sees Cassie and her friends smiling warmly at her)

Penny: ...I'd like that.

Miss Thunder: And that was that.

Red Rabbit: Aww! I forgot how shy you used to be, Penny!

MT: Heh, still am, really. But that was the first time I felt like anyone outside of my family really cared about my well-being since I moved to the States. Especially considering I just met the girls for the first time and they were that concerned for me.

RR: Hey, the Sirens always got your back, Penny. Don't start nothing, won't be nothing!

[jamesbarnesappreciationsociety]

Jessica Barnes: Jr. CEO (One Shot)

Summary: This is the cutest company takeover in history.

Pairing: CEO Daddy! Bucky Barnes x OC: Jessica Marie Barnes

Steve Rogers, Tony Stark, Wanda Maximoff, Natasha Romanoff, Sam Wilson

Scott Lang and Peter Parker

Word Count: 1,879

Warnings: Angst; fluff

A/N: @stevieang, thank you for taking time out of your busy schedule to beta read for me. Your insight is greatly appreciated.

Exquisite Designs, a commercial architectural firm owned by longtime friends James Buchanan Barnes and Steven Grant Rogers, boasted some of New York’s wealthiest clients. For over 17 years, the firm built some of the most elegant office buildings dotting the skyline in New York City.

Their number one client is Stark and Wilson Land Development. The firm was currently working on the Howard and Maria Stark wing of Mt. Sinai hospital" It was a 24-7 project with big deadlines, big pressure, and big payoff. This project held a special place in Bucky’s heart. His wife, Lillian, died from a brain aneurysm, leaving behind an adorable daughter with rich brown hair like her father and hypnotic amber eyes identical to her late mother.

Her frail body lay in the lovely king size sleigh bed. Different hues of blues dotted the sheets, comforter and blanket. Blue is her favorite color. James Buchanan Barnes, held his wife Lillian’s dainty hand. He knew her time on Earth was drawing to an end. Sunken eyes turned towards her husband whispering, “Please promise me, you’ll live for Jess.”

“Don’t know how to do that without you, Doll.” Bucky wiped the steady stream of tears from his face. 

With a faint smile on her face, Lillian Marie Barnes closed her eyes. Shoulders shaking, Bucky sobbed openly, kissing her hand. “I love you, Lillian. I’ll do my best for Jess.”

Steve heard his best friend crying. He then realized, his “Lillie Bug” was gone. Trying to explain to a 3 year old that her mommy was gone, Steve put it this way. “Munchkin’, ya remember when your daddy told ya that mommy would go to sleep forever?” 

Jess nodded ‘yes.’ “Daddy said mommy was Sleeping Beauty, but the Prince couldn’t wake her up. So, she’ll be in Heaven watching out for us. Is she an Angel now, Uncle Stevie?”

“Yeah, Lillie Bug is an Angel.” Jess crawled in her uncle’s lap, “I’m sad.”

“Me too, sweetheart.” Burying her face in Steve’s massive chest, Jess cried herself to sleep. 

Following Lillian’s memorial service, Bucky spiralled into deep depression. No longer able to care for her, Jess mourned the loss of her mommy and daddy. Signing temporary control of Exquisite Designs to his best friend, Bucky sought the nurturing spirit of Lillian’s parents, Raymond and Bethany. They agreed to keep their granddaughter as long as needed. Unable to understand why she wasn’t with her daddy, Jess often cried, becoming clingy. 

Three months later, Steve kicked his friend in the ass, explaining Jess longed for her daddy. Losing her mother had taken a toll on her young life, now she needed him to get it together. 

Realizing Steve was right, Bucky planned a father/daughter vacation to Maui. As you would imagine, Jessica was delighted. Boarding his private jet, the duo made their way to crystal clear water, sugar white sandy beaches, for a chance to reconnect with his daughter. Tucked away in his luggage were photo albums, holding page after page of heartwarming memories.

Sitting in Bucky’s lap, Jess wiped the tears cascading down Bucky’s face. “Daddy, don’t be sad. Mommy is in Heaven. She can see us, just look up.” 

Turning her gaze towards a cloudless sky, Jess baby girl smiled and whispered,“Mommy told me to take care of you.” 

“Thank you Jess. I Iove you so much. Please forgive me for not spending time with you. Your momma was my world. Following her death, life just wasn’t the same. I neglected the one person who needed me the most; YOU!”

“Daddy, it’s okay.” Her face was sincere and her words showed the goodness deep within.

“No baby, it’s not. From now on, I’ll take more time off.” 

Her face lit up like a carnival in the night. “Really?? Yippee!”

Upon returning home, Bucky thought of a wonderful way to honor his wife’s memory. He approached Steve about plans for “The Lillian Marie Barnes Child Care Center.” A free center for all employees of the firm.  Parents could be there at the beginning, middle, and end of the day and didn’t have to worry about their little ones while at work. The age limits were: infants 6 months - 1 years old and children 2- 4 years old. Employees, as you could imagine, were ecstatic. 

Since “The Howard and Maria Stark Children’s Wing” was on schedule, Peter Parker, Director of Marketing, pitched an idea to Bucky. 

Gathered around the spacious cherrywood table were upper management and their executive assistants. Facilitating the meeting, Peter laid out his plans for “Kids Takeover the Firm Day.” “I thought it would be fun to take a day off and let the kids run the company. We’ve worked extremely hard to meet all our deadlines and it’s been accomplished.” Everyone listened attentively.

“Have you decided on a date?” Bucky leaned on the table.

“How about this Saturday? The phone lines won’t be operational just in case one of the kids decides to call out, and our answering service would alert us if they received calls that weren’t caught by one of us.”

Bucky added, “You might be onto something Peter. I’m sure they would love to dress up and  play Junior Executives for a day.”

Nat and Clint’s twins, Mason and Jason, would serve as Jr. Executive Assistants to the Jr. CEO.

Steve agreed, “Jessica should serve as Jr. CEO.” 

Bucky couldn’t believe his ears. “Are you sure? I don’t want any favoritism.”

“She’d make a great Junior CEO!” Wanda’s eyes sparkled.

With this in mind, Bucky suggested taking the remainder of the day off. “Alright, let’s get the ball rolling. I have a little CEO to shop for.”

Bucky made his way to Jessica’s preschool class. She immediately sprinted to his arms.“Hi sweetheart. How’s my girl?” 

“I’m fine daddy. We learned our ABC’s and numbers!” Jess’ smile mimicked that of her mommy’s.  

“What? My goodness you’re smart!”  Bucky kissed  her cheek, nose and forehead before dropping the big news on her.

“Guess what? On Saturday, all the kids of the moms and dads that work for Daddy and Uncle Steve’s company get to be in charge for the day. Uncle Steve has promoted you to Junior Chief Executive Officer - the Big Boss.”You’ve been deemed Jr. CEO.”

Unable to contain her enthusiasm, Jess sprung up on her toes. Pumping her fists in the air, she jumped around declaring, “I’M THE BOSS...I’M THE BOSS!!!”

“Peanut, there’s more to being CEO than just saying you’re the boss. Remember that it’s important to always treat your employees with respect.”

“Okay daddy. I’ll be good.” 

“How about a shopping trip? You’ll need new clothes, a briefcase, and shoes!”  There wasn’t much his girl loved more than going shopping.  She was all in now.

“Let’s go!!!”

TIME FOR WORK

At 8:00 on the dot, decked out in her navy blue “suit” and carrying her briefcase and phone, Jessica Marie Barnes, Jr. CEO, reported for work. 

Natasha’s twins Mason and Jason, donned brown two-piece suits, cream shirts, and brown striped ties. Malachi Rogers sported a gray 3 piece suit, powder blue shirt, and solid tie. Wanda, Scott and Sam’s kids also looked razor sharp, in pastel dress shirts, dark pants, and black patent leather shoes. 

Parents and kids gathered in the small conference room. The kids couldn’t sit still, they were hyped to get the show on the road.

“I must admit, this is the best dressed staff in all of New York.” Bucky beamed, “Jessica, you have the floor.”

“Thank you Mr. Barnes. Good morning. My name is Jessica Barnes but you can call me Jess. It’s time for our morning meeting. Follow me to the small room.” 

Their parents laughed quietly and smiled as they filed out of the room.  How much trouble could 3 and 4 year olds get into? Yikes!

Parents applauded as Jess led her friends to another conference room set-up with breakfast sandwiches, fruit, pastry and juice boxes.

Munching on a sausage and biscuit, Malachi announced, “Okay, folks. We have a lot of work to do. There’s a meeting with people who want something built.” 

One little lady asked, “Mr. Grant, who?”  

Malachi replied, “I dunno let’s make something up.”

One factor forgotten, in the midst of their excitement of the day, the cuteness of the kids, someone forgot what could happen if kids consume copious amounts of S.U.G.A.R.  

Jess, Malachi, Mason and Jason wandered away from the others and ended up in one of the copy rooms. Mason, with wide-eyed wonder, suggested making copies of their faces. How they turned the machine on is one of life’s biggest mysteries. They took turns copying faces, arms and legs. Jason, however, took it one step further. He sat on the machine and took a picture of his bottom. 

Next, a group of 3-year-olds snuck into a few offices with sticky hands, pressing on the keyboards. Yep, they made a mess. 

Not to be left out, Jessica and her gang visited the employee break room. The refrigerator and lower cabinets were raided. They devoured chips, Christmas candy, and cookies leftover from an office meeting. 

Smeared on the pristine white walls were tiny chocolate handprints, water and orange juice got spilled onto the floor, and a few kids ate too much. The room was an absolute MESS.

Mason and Jason tried to clean up the spilled juice throwing paper towels on the floor. Malachi retrieved a mop, attempting to clean up.

Instead, he slipped, face first, soiling his new suit. Jessica, completely flustered, plopped on the floor in tears.

Leave it to the Moms in the room to hear what wasn’t being said.  Natasha and Wanda suddenly looked at each other and sprinted out of the room towards the suddenly-silent children.  They knew that quiet kids equaled disaster and were nauseous at the thought of what they might find.  All the parents ran and converged on the breakroom, stopped cold by what they found.  As they surveyed the damage. Bucky murmured, “What the hell happened in here?”

While he shook his head, most of the parents pulled out their phones to capture the moment.

The state of the room was nothing compared to the tired, messy children who were in varying stages of sugar crashes. Bucky looked at Steve, “We’re going to have to give the cleaning company a major bonus after this weekend. They’re going to think we left a zoo loose in here!”

Understanding the need for parents, as well as kids to recuperate, Steve suggested everyone take an extended weekend. Everyone accepted the gracious offer.  

“Kids Takeover the Firm Day” was a complete success. Jessica Barnes’ reign as CEO had come to an end. Sleeping soundly on her daddy’s black leather office sofa, Jess was visibly exhausted. Kissing her chubby cheek, Bucky moved a strand of hair from her forehead. In that moment, he felt Lillian’s presence. Wiping a wayward tear from his face, Bucky knew his wife would live on through Jessica Marie Barnes, Junior CEO.

Tagging: @stevieang @loricameback @mrsgoodnight @suz-123 @pegasusdragontiger

[antman-56]

The Real Deku

After the recent attack at UA by a new group of villains, Midoriya got hit with one of their quirks. It didn't do anything to him immediately, so everyone assumed he powered through it subconsciously.

The morning after came and everything seemed to be in the norm. He woke up, did his morning routines, and left his room.

On his way to the Common Area he stopped by Kaminari and Mineta.

Kaminari : Hey Midoriya, feel any better?

Mineta : You better have! Mt. Lady and Midnight gave him so much attention!

Midoriya (holding the bridge of his nose) : Shut up Mineta. If you weren't such a constant pervert then maybe some girl would like you. But hey that as likely as likely to happen when Bakugo turns nice.

Both Kaminari and Mineta jumped at his response.

Kaminari : Jesh Midoriya, you wake up on the wrong side of the bed or something?

Midoriya : I don't know did you ask out Jiro yet?

Kaminari was lost for words making sounds to respond and Mineta was on the verge of jumping Midoriya.

Both of them have never seen him like this.

When they finally able to respond he was gone.

***Common Area***

Class 1-A (excluding Bakugo) were in the Common Area. It was a mix of people doing homework, making plans, or just generally hanging out.

Kirishima (excited) : Hey Midoriya how are you doing?

Midoriya (smiling) : Fine. I just needed some sleep.

Kirishima : Yeah, I bet after you took that hit yesterday. Anyway enough about that, what did you get for . . .

Kirishima notice Midoriya was not paying him any attention. He followed his gaze and saw him starring at Sato.

Midoriya (yelling) : Sato shut up with your slurping!! It's not a Ashido!!

All conversations turned to a halt. Everyone couldn’t believe what they heard until the turned to the source.

Midoriya : I get you need the practice but do it in your dorm room not in fucking public.

Sato (yelling) : How do you . . .

Midoriya : The way you rubber neck.

Everyone didn't know what to say. Their defined cinnamon roll had finally grown a back bone and it was pissed.

Sero : Dude what's your problem?

Midoriya : I don't know, hows the hole you been trying to carve into the girls changing room?

Class 1-A girls : What???!!!

Sero : DUDE!!! WHAT THE HELL!!!

Jiro : No "What the hell" him! Where the fuck is the hole you made or so help me recovery girl won’t be able to heal you.

Midoriya : Jiro your no better. You made one in front of Kaminari locker.

Jiro (blushing) : No I didn't !!!

Midoriya : Then stop being a Tsundere and ask the idiot out.

Momo : Midoriya please what’s the problem? Have you eaten?

Midoriya (extends arms) : And now the insecure princess speaks for her subjects.

Jirou : That dose it you green bastard.

Jiro began to walk to Midoriya, cracking her knuckles. 

Midoriya : And the musical closet jumper comes into play. Ready to defend her Sugar Mommy.

Both Jiro stopped in her tracks and blushed.

Momo (slight blush) : Midoriya please, think before you speak.

Kirishima : Dude stop. This isn’t manly!

Midoriya : Your no different from Jiro, so shut up.

Kirishima was eyes opened wide. How he found out?

Tenya : That’s enough Midoriya! Apologize to everyone! They don’t deserve this kind of treatment!

Midoriya : Tenya this is an A and B conversation so C your way out! 

Tenya : Midoriya!

Midoriya (Mocking his voice): Midoriya you need to sit correctly, Midoriya you must iron the plates alphabetically, Midoriya you must shit this way. Just shut up.

Midoriya left the Common Area in a huff right before anyone was able to fully registered what had happened.

***Outside***

Uraraka : Deku! Deku! Where are you?!

Uraraka left to find him almost immediately when everyone began to argue. When he left everyone began to have a new opinion of him. Some say to support him defending himself others to get him back to being to shy beta male.

She continued her search when she spotted a fuming Kendo and preaching Monoma from Class 1-B.

Kendo (clenched teeth)  : That sneaky little . . . green haired . . .

Monoma : What did I tell you!  What did I tell you! Everyone in Class 1-A only thinks about themselves.

Uraraka : Hey, I'm guessing you guys just talked to Deku.

Kendo (fuming) : Yeah, and would you like to explain to me why he said I was a failure of a class representative and a . . .

Monoma : You Class 1-A students are all the same.

Uraraka : Just please tell me which way he went.

They both pointed at ground Beta where she saw a series of explosions.

She began to sweat, knowing the source of those explosions will be getting a shock about the new Deku.

***Ground Beta***

Bakugo was on top of a rooftop panting. He training to perfect two new moves he just developed, albeit just to his AP Shot deadly and controlled.

That's when he spotted Deku.

Bakugo : DEKU!!!!

Midoriya looked up to see Bakugo on a rooftop looking down at him.

Midoriya met his gaze, turned around and started to walk away.

This made Bakugo furious.

Bakugo : HEY!!! Why did you come here you nerd? Did you come to see what an actual hero!!

Midoriya : If I did the trash can is a few feet away.

Bakugo : WHAT DID YOU JUST SAY!!!

He jumped of the building to meet Midoriya. When he hit the ground, he made sure to make a big explosion upon impact, leaving him in the center of the crater.

Midoriya : I said your less than trash.

Bakugo ; THATS IT!!!

Bakugo jumped into the air and caused a series of explosions to increase his speed to Deku.

Midoriya saw the attack and used All for One: Full Crowl to kick Bakugo in the face.

It sent him flying into the nearest building.

Bakugo got back up after the attack and was dumbfounded. Deku was faster. Obviously dumb luck. It won’t happen again.

Bakugo got up and blew charged at him with the intent to kill. He saw Deku go for another counter but he was already ahead of him.

Bakugo blew himself out of the building and right on top of Deku. Bakugo was now blowing himself up higher into the air. When he though he was high enough he began to focusing all the nitroglycerin in his right hand to focus into a ball. He than let it a volley of smaller balls at Deku. 

Midoriya began to cover himself when he saw Bakugo firing at him. After a few seconds nothing seemed to happen, no explosions were heard and he was fine. When he dropped his guard he noticed all the balls of light around him.

AP SHOT : HELLZONE!!!!

What followed was all the balls exploding around Deku. 

When Bakugo landed began to admired his handy work. He was so caught up in his premature victory that he didn't feel the first punch connect with his nose.

Deku let out a barrage of punches and kicks onto Bakugo without break.

Bakugo finally recognized his was being attacked. He also noticed that he was faster and stronger then the last time they fought. He was barely able to block every third hit.

A swift kick to Bakugo's side was the breaker of his defense.

It sent him to a railing on the side of the practice road.

Everything was hurting for Bakugo and he knew he wouldn’t last long. He was not going to lose to some useless nerd much less Deku.

He sent an explosion to gain some distance from Deku. He then concentrated all his fire power into the palm of his hands to form a ball and he slowly clashed his hands together.

AP SHOT : DEATH BEAM!!!!

What happened next was a singular line of pure destruction coming at Midoriya.

Midoriya quickly put One For All into his legs to jump. Unfortunately he did not come out unscathed. Everything below his knees were burnt but not to the point where he couldn't walk.

He crashed onto of a rooftop and after struggling to get up he was able to observe what he just avoided.

It split the fake city into two. Their were no buildings, street, or any of the fake props they used.

Bakugo : I WIN !!! WHOSE THE TRASH NOW HUH!!!!!

He turned around to leave until he felt a kick to the back of his head.

Bakugo blacked out as soon as contact was made from the unexpected force to his head. He laid their on the ground motionless and defeated, but Midoriya wasn't done.

He turned him over and started to viciously pummel him and yell in between his punches.

Midoriya : You . . . Piece . . . Of . . . Shit!!! . . . You . . . bullied . . . Me . . . Beat me . . . Turned . . . Everyone . . . Against . . . Me . . . I HATE YOU!!!!!

He continued punching and screaming at him till Uraraka finally got to him.

Uraraka : Stop! Deku! Stop!

She ran to him and held his arm right before he was about punch Bakugo again.

When she looked at him he was crying.

Midoriya (breathing)  : Why? This is the "Thing" that ruined my life.

Uraraka (still holding his arm) : Because that's what heroes do. They don’t cross the line, no matter what.

Midoriya : I’m not a hero.

He added more force to his arm, even though Uraraka was holding his arm. He was about to make Bakugo blind in one eye before Uraraka screamed.

Uraraka (closeing her eyes) : Punch him and were through!!!

He stopped before his fist made contact.

Uraraka (slowly crying) : If you hurt him, we aren’t friends anymore.

She was now in tears. This is not her Deku! Deku was nervous, kind, passionate, forgiving, generally a nice person.

This Deku scared her he was merciless, harsh, and cold and HE was not HER Deku.

Midoriya could feel Uraraka crying harder on his arm. He dropped Bakugo and hugged Uraraka.

Midoriya : Uraraka . . . I'm sorry.

He was now crying for a different reason. Instead of remember the torment that his bully of an idol brought him, He was crying that he almost ruined the best thing that every happened to him. That he almost lost his first true friend. 

Midoriya kept saying "I'm Sorry" as he cried into Uraraka's arms and she in his.

In that instance a small whisper was made 

"I love you".

***The Next Day***

Class 1-A had mixed feelings for Midoriya.

They half of them thought he snapped and was turning into another Bakugo. The other half wanted to encourage him to become more spoken but agreed he need to change how he did it.

They also heard what happened between him and bakugo. Some of his classmates were now afraid of him others were proud. But the way he left Bakugo was something they again agreed on that was too far.

A broken nose, broken jaw, 5 broken ribs, a dislocated shoulder, broken forearms, and a concussion. The scariest part was that he was almost put into a coma from the amount of blunt force his brain suffered.

Momo : Midoriya is turning into a rage induced dilequent!

Jiro : He's just an asshole Momo.

Tenya : That is no way to address a fellow classmate!

Toru : He made fun of you!

Tenya : And I forgive him because he is my friend.

Mineta : He was a jerk and that's who he is now.

Mineta tried to scoot in between Momo and Jiro and put his arms around them.

Jirou used her earjacks to stab his eye.

Everyone began arguing about how they would treat Midoriya because of yesterday’s events.

Shoto : Wasn’t he attacked by a weird quirk the day before?

That got everyone's attention.

Tsuyu : He's name was Maskless right?

( Present Mic : "Maskless" , his quirk is called "Truth" ,  he can released a odorless pink gas through his fingertips. The gas itself is able to turn off the inhibitors in the brain that are responsible for lying. He can turn a frined into a foe real quick depending on their true feelings and how long they have been with that person.

Aizawa : Mic what are you doing?

Present Mic : Well I ...

Aizawa : I don’t care just do it quietly. I’m trying to sleep.  )

Shoto : He got Midoriya point blank range and he just powered right through it. A fatal error on his part. And on us as his friends.

Mina : So, it could be the villain’s quirk to blame, is what your saying?

Shoto : Its a possibility.

The part of Class 1-A that was against Midoriya started to regret what they said about him. He probably had no control over himself and they were just taking about abandoning him.

Tsuyu : Uraraka what do you think?

Tsuyu knew what happened at ground Beta. She stalked Uraraka using her camouflage when she left the Common Area to find Midoriya. She would have made herself know sooner but they needed their moment.

Uraraka : I don't know what to think. He is Deku and will he always be Deku.

Tsuyu patted her on the back, hoping she will get her answer.

Kaminari (loud whispering) : Guys he's coming!!

Midoriya walked into the Common Area, yawning and stretching. When he entered he was surprised to see everyone was quiet and staring at him.

Midoriya : uh . . . why is everyone staring at me?

"MIDORIYA !!"

They all cheered and rushed him.

Kaminari : How are you doing man?

Sero : Feeling antsy or . . . ?

Midoriya : I'm fine, I guess I was out yesterday.

Shoto : What do you remember?

Midoriya : The villain attack and that's it. I'm glad we didn't have class yesterday, I had the weirdest dream.

Everyone couldn't believe it. He doesn't remember anything yesterday.

Only one person didn't believe it.

***End of Day***

Midoriya was on the rooftop of UA dorms, looking at the sunset.

Uraraka : Why did you lie?

Midoriya : Agh!! You scared me!

Uraraka : You didn't answer my question.

Midoriya looked away from her and continued his gaze on the scenery.

Midoriya (ashamed) : Because I meant everything I said.

Uraraka wasn't surprised. Even the kindest people have their limits and when they snap it's an atom bomb.

Midoriya : Are you mad?

Uraraka : No, I get it. You were tired of smiling like nothing is wrong.

Midoriya : Are you going to tell the others?

Uraraka : No. Because that wasn't the Deku we all know and love.

She walked over to him and gave him a side hug. She rested her head on his shoulder and he rested his head on hers.

They stood their in silence, they just enjoyed the sunset and each others company.

////

I want to thank @razorblade180 creation of the prompt. I wanted to make something that was able the match my reaction whenever I read his stuff. I recommend his stuff, they are amazing and I want to thank him for giving me inspiration to start posting stories of my own.

[thekingsscribe]

Dragon Ball Z - Dragon Ball AU

HHHH OKAY I DID IT I DID IT I CAVED AND DID IT

LIKE THE LAST ONE I WROTE THE IDEA FOR THIS BELONGS TO @manialwaysfeelsoguilty AND WHAT INSPIRED IT IS THIS POST THEY MADE OF THE DBZ DB AU

i might actually do a part 2 of this... maybe showing Videl getting to the Son house and meeting Chichi... maybe anyway

“Finally…” Videl said as she landed her helicopter, “The dragon ball should be around here somewhere.”

She’d been searching for the legendary Dragon Balls upon finding an old dusty book on them in her father’s library. When she learned that upon collecting all seven of them, a dragon would come forth and grant any wish that the collector desired, she was immediately skeptical. She brought it up to her father who simply scoffed and told her that he’d gotten the book from Bulma Briefs, the heir of Capsule Corporation no less, she was much more intrigued.

What would someone as wealthy as Bulma want with an old book like that? Videl got her answer when she requested to speak with the heiress, which seemed like more trouble than it was worth at the time, she was pleasantly surprised to find how down to earth she was.

Bulma had explained that she read about the dragon balls when she was younger and went out searching for them at one point before reluctantly giving up on her quest when she was informed that her father had fallen ill. With the head of Capsule Corporation permanently bed-ridden, she had to step up as the new head and give up on her dream of finding the legendary balls.

Videl asked her whether or she believed they were real and Bulma quickly revealed that, yes not only were they real but she had one herself! She excused herself for a bit and when she came back, she held a small glass ball in her hands with two red stars floating still inside of it.

“This is a Dragon Ball Videl!” Bulma exclaimed.

Videl found herself mesmerized by the small object, it was almost ethereal the way it was shaped and all she could say was, “Whoa…”

Bulma took her hands, placing the ball in them before asking, “You wanna finish my dream?” she asked, “I’ve seen you work with the police catching criminals that they can’t, so it’s not like you’d be unable to take care of yourself. You’re definitely a lot more equipped to do this than I was at your age.”

“I… W-Wait really?!” Videl shouted. Seriously?! She looked at the ball in her hands and turned it over before looking back up, “How would I even find them if they’re all over the world though?”

“You forget who you’re talking to! Of course I already thought that up back when I was going to look for them!” Bulma pulled out a small radar with a green screen and pressed the button on top, “This is a Dragon Radar, made it myself! It can track the energy that’s inside these balls and make your life a whole lot easier.”

Once again Videl was rendered speechless, was this really happening? She just came over here to ask about the dragon balls and now she’s been given the chance to actually go and find the mythical objects, “What’s the catch?” she asked cautiously, this was just too perfect for her.

Bulma gave her a small smile and put the radar down, “Not a huge catch trust me. But if you happen to find all seven, I’d appreciate it if you let me know. I’d love to see what happens when they’re all together.”

Which brought her to where she was now, deep in the mountainous region and nearing the tallest mountain, Mt. Paozu. She pressed the button on the radar and smiled when a small yellow dot appeared in the corner of the screen, “Alright let’s get back to it!” she nodded to herself and climbed back into her helicopter, taking off into the air.

She loved being high up in the air, nothing quite beat the view of seeing the world pass below her, the clouds that passed next to her and the huge fish that was flying ahead of her. …W-Wait a second! Videl rubbed her eyes and stared ahead of her, blinking multiple times to see if her eyes were playing tricks on her. No matter what she did though, the fish was still there waving wildly in the wind.

“What the hell…?” curiosity got the better of her and she aimed for it, steadily shortening the distance between them before the fish suddenly bolted forward. She frowned, “Okay what the hell’s going on.” and flew faster.

No matter what she did though, it seemed as though the fish remained just out of her reach, “Come on!” she gritted her teeth.

“Hey this is my fish! You can get your own you weird bird!”

Now the fish is talking? You’ve gotta be kidding me… Videl swerved to the side, attempting to get a better look, freezing when the fish yelled.

“Big brother! Help!”

“Big broth—?!” she let out a surprised shout when her copter suddenly jolted to a stop and looked around, “Now what?!”

“Leave him alone!”

She jerked around and stuck her head out, staring in confusion upon seeing a young man, maybe a year or so older than her, holding onto the tail of copter and glaring at it. She was about to say something, anything when he started to swing it around, “H-Hey hold on!”

He didn’t seem to hear her as he continued to swing it around before he threw it away with a loud grunt, “That’ll teach you!”

Alarms blared as the helicopter started losing altitude and Videl quickly pressed the eject button, sending her flying out of the copter which promptly crashed into the ground. The seat’s parachute came out and she he placed a hand over her pounding heart, taking in a few calming breaths, Alright, alright all four limbs in tact, heart’s pounding, I’m breathing so I’m alive thank Kami…

She looked up when she heard voices from above her and saw the young man and the fish floating a little ways above her. Any confusion she had about how they were doing that flew from her mind as anger came to the forefront, “What the hell was that for! You could’ve killed me!” she yelled.

Her yell caught their attention and the man tilted his head before gesturing for the fish to follow, coming down to her level. Once they were closer she saw that what she had thought was a fish, regardless of how strange that sounded, was in fact not a fish but a young boy who was smaller than the fish he was carrying. She looked between the two, Black hair, black eyes, similar outfits… they’ve gotta be brothers.

Videl stared at the strange duo in utter confusion before the younger one spoke up, “Where’d you come from?” he asked.

“W-Where’d I—? From the now destroyed helicopter that you somehow swung around and threw!” Videl shouted back.

The boy tilted his head much like his brother had and looked up at him, “Helicopter?” he echoed, “Hey Gohan what’s a helicopter?”

The man, Gohan, pursed his lips in thought before snapping his fingers, “Oh I’ve read about them in a book!” he exclaimed, “They’re what people from the city use to fly since they don’t know how to. Kinda like when you didn’t know how to Goten.”

Goten stuck his tongue out in disgust, “You mean if you didn’t teach me I’d have to use one of those things?”

Gohan was about to reply when Videl cut him off, “Hey! I’m still here you two!” she snapped, What’s he mean he ‘read about them in a book’? Have these two never seen a helicopter before? Once the seat she was in finally touched the ground she unbuckled and stood, glaring at the two as they landed next to her, “Who the hell are you two!? I thought this place was uninhabited aside from the animals that roam here.”

“Unin— What? You use a lot of big words uhh…” Goten looked her up and down and gestured for Gohan to lean over, whispering something into his ear.

Videl raised an eyebrow when Gohan circled around her and nodded, “Yeah I think so squirt, she looks kinda like mom anyway.”

Goten made an “ohh” sound and continued his earlier sentence, “You use a lot of big words lady!”

Gohan chuckled and ruffled Goten’s hair before turning back to her, “We’ve lived here our whole lives.” he said.

“You’ve lived out here on Mt. Paozu since you were born?” Videl asked.

Gohan nodded, “You wanna come see our house? It’s getting kinda late anyway and it can get pretty dangerous at night.” he smiled, “Sorry for ruining your helicopter by the way.”

Videl frowned, There’s no way someone could just live their entire lives on a mountain. These two have gotta be lying! she thought.

“Gohan we gotta get back or else mom’s gonna get mad!” Goten tugged on his brother’s pant leg with his free hand.

“Alright, alright. Wait I have to get the fruits mom wanted us to collect, you can head back first though.” Gohan said.

“Okay! I’ll see you at home then!” Goten exclaimed, running off and dragging the fish behind him.

Videl watched him go before her eyes narrowed in on Goten as he ran away, “…Is that a tail?!” she exclaimed.

Gohan looked over at her and raised an eyebrow, “Yeah? Oh right you don’t have one, it must be a girl thing cause mom doesn’t have one either.”

Videl looked down and stared at the brown tail coming from Gohan’s back as well, swaying idly behind him, “What the hell…” she felt her knees give out on her.

“Hey are you alright? Maybe you should come stay the night…” he helped her to her feet and smiled, “Come on I gotta grab the fruits but then we can head back to my house.”

As he walked away Videl went over to her helicopter and turned it back into its capsule, pulling out the dragon radar as she did, Actually… she thought back to the direction Goten had run off in, Maybe they’ve actually got the dragon ball!

She couldn’t help a smile as she followed after Gohan, if they did have it she’d be one step closer to having her wish granted! Plus they seemed nice enough anyway, if only strange but she could put up with it for one night. Not to mention if they had in fact grown up here their whole lives, they’d know the mountains much better than she ever could.

Little did she know the storm that’d be waiting for her when she’d finally reach the little household.

[tuellertrails]

It’s hard to put into words what our first week on trail has been like, but I’ll try.

Tiring. Hot. Cold. Amazing. Beautiful. Adventure. Ouch. Hungry. Thirsty. Dirty. Smelly.

There you have it!

Starting out the PCT was an emotional experience. It was surreal hiking those first few miles, and then it just sinks in “oh right, this is just hiking. And hiking is just walking. And walking is tiring. Wow it’s hot. Wait, how am I already this dirty?” We only made it about .3 miles when we came upon a little campground with some trail angels that we talked to briefly. One of them was an older man with long white silver hair and blue eyes named Legend who apparently is a triple crowner (has hiked the PCT, AT and CDT). He told us to put our hands towards the trail and then grab some air and cup it into a ball in our hands. He said we had grabbed a little piece of magic from the PCT and it is carried in all the hikers who had gone before us and that we were all connected. He told us to hold it up to our hearts to absorb, but being the brilliant nurse that I am, I held it to the right side of my chest instead of the left, so I guess that means the magic went into my rib cage instead. I’m not an expert in PCT magic 🤷🏻‍♀️ so who knows how it will affect me. Magic ribs? Time will tell. He also told us to take another piece of PCT magic and put it in our pocket to give to a friend. I will sell mine to the highest bidder. Authentic PCT magic, hard to come by, Bitcoin will be accepted as a trade.

Hiking has been very physically exhausting for me, more than I expected to be honest. We’re going about 2-2.3 miles per hour at this point, and have done 10-16 miles per day. We wake up between 6-7 AM, pack up our stuff and head out. Generally we eat breakfast at our first break of the day after 3-4 miles, and I’ve found that I need a break about every 3 miles. If we can get to a great spot for lunch, we will generally take at least an hour and sometimes more if it’s in the heat of the day. We try to stop hiking between 5-6 pm, so we can have time to set up camp, make dinner, roll out our feet and sore muscles, and write in our journals before bed. We are very tired every night, but sometimes we don’t sleep very well if it’s windy or very cold. I always take my trusty Benadryl and sleep better with it!

The hardest part for me so far has been the wear and tear on my feet. The biggest mistake I made at the start was not putting inserts in my shoes. My feet have been in a lot of pain and I’ve had to take more breaks to roll them out to continue hiking. No matter how tired I am, I have to roll out my feet at the end of the day or they fee pretty rough the next day. I’ve also been dealing with some blisters and some chafing, so basically everything hurts! Doing miles on miles every single day is a lot of work, and we are sore every day. Other hikers that we’ve met who have done other thru hikes assure us that we will get our trail legs (eventually) but it’s going to take about 3 weeks

Ok, enough complaining!! We have met some amazing people. Landon’s cousin Justin hiked out with us the first day and it was fun to give him a taste of the trail. There was a small group of people that we started with who have been a bit faster than us and are now ahead of us on the trail, but maybe we’ll run into them again!

We met a mother and son duo named Chris and Pat. Pat is a psychologist at a University and counsels students. She was the nicest friendliest little lady and I immediately liked her. Chris, her son, works in film media and is trying to become a landscape photographer. They were both lovely but Pat can't go very fast so I'm not sure we'll see them again, but we're following each other on Instagram now.

We’ve spent quite a bit of time with a small group of hikers, hiking and also hanging out with them in Julian (where we are taking our first zero day, no hiking and only lots of resting, eating and socializing). Half of them are not American which is exciting! Florian is from Germany and is a super interesting guy. He works for Google and has lived in Australia, the UK, and most recently in San Francisco. We talked about the differences between Germany and Europe, some about politics (how crazy American politics are compared to relatively boring German ones), gun control, Mental illness and lack of resources in America, our messed up healthcare system, the largeness of Australian huntsman spiders, and a whole bunch of other things. Lauren is from Canada and loves to quiz you about geography and ask fun questions. Today she asked "which animal most represents the place that you live?" Landon and I debated for a while and decided on a big horn sheep 🐑. She and Florian met on the JMT and are hiking together as friends as they both have significant others. She is always scavenging for everyone’s extra food and someone suggested that her trail name be Trash Panda (people give each other “trail names” on thru hikes, and then that’s how people introduce themselves. We haven’t gotten ours yet but it’s only a matter of time). I don’t think she accepted that trail name though ���


Another woman from the group is from Germany named Silke who is a bit more shy but still friendly, and man is she fit. She just blazed past us on the trail today. We also gave her a piece of pop tart and some skittles to try, and she hated both, which was very funny to watch her disgusted reaction. She hasn’t built up the junk food tolerance that we have I suppose, it takes years to build and I started very young! Carolina is from the Czech Republic, and has a great sense of humor. I can’t imagine the kind of bravery it takes to go to a foreign country where you know no one and the language spoken isn’t your first language, and taking on a monumental task like hiking the PCT. It’s pretty incredible and I have a lot of respect for all the hikers, but especially the foreign ones. We took a picture yesterday before Carolina had showered and she said “I look so dirty and crazy!” 😂 I ask just about everyone “what does your family think of your coming out to do this?” and the most common answers include “they don’t really get it...” and “They think I’m crazy.”

Otter is a 58 year old guy who was in the airforce for 30 years and has spent the last 5 years of his retirement hiking and traveling. He hiked the Appalachian Trail in 2019. Otter said that he decided to hike the AT initially because he read a story of a guy in his town who hiked it when he was 18. The guy had to ask permission from the board of education in Virginia to graduate high school early in order to hike it, and they told him no, so he quit high school and did it anyways. Otter told us that he read that and it stuck with him, and he made it a goal of his to hike the AT someday. He said it took 35 years, but he always remembered that guy and wanted to do it. Just goes to show that you never know what kind of impact you can have on the people around you! He has been very kind to us and let us come to the Airbnb that he had rented to do laundry and shower when we got into Julian, and we have used the Airbnb as a hangout zone for our whole group yesterday and today, which has been great. After showering and having clean clothes, we almost felt like normal people 😂. In Mt Laguna at mile 42, we showered in a campground bathroom and washed our laundry in the shower like the hiker trash we now are. Real food from a restaurant and a cold drink from a trail angel (people that provide food/drinks/rides to hikers) is also incredible. When you’re living so minimally, the little things are a big deal!

Lastly we have Brandon, who I met on Instagram last year and was also supposed to hike the trail but canceled due to Covid. He ended up getting a permit for this year too and started the day after us (coincidentally he is also a travel nurse). Last night, after hanging out at the Airbnb, We camped behind the Julian Market (they allow PCT hikers to camp there) and Brandon came too. At 5:30 in the morning after just settling back down into his sleeping bag after getting up to pee, he hears a voice say “oh good, you’re up. I really need someone to talk to.” He looks over and sees this strange girl that he doesn’t know (and wasn’t there when we went to bed) who is wrapped up in her sleeping bag. He says “Oh, um..are you ok?” And she says “I have no pants”. And proceeds to tell him that she ripped her hiking shorts and didn’t carry any warm sleeping clothes because they were too heavy. He tells her that she needs to have warm base layers if she is going to continue hiking (and not die) and that she can pick some up at the gear store in town. She tells him that she asked the guy she was hiking with if she could come and cuddle with him and he told her no, so she knocked on some random strangers window at 3 AM and asked for a ride from Mt Laguna to Julian, and the stranger gave her a ride (and luckily didn’t murder her). So that’s how she ended up on that back porch in Julian, possibly staring at Brandon for hours and willing him to wake up to tell him this. Apparently she talked to him for about 45 more minutes and at some point said that she was waiting for her meds to arrive. He said “Maybe you should call your family?” And she said “no way! They’ll freak out” 😬. Landon and I were returning from using the bathroom and we walked right past them, I thought that they knew each other somehow and somehow missed the pleading desperation in Brandon’s eyes to help him in this incredibly awkward 5:30 AM conversation with this random girl. Eventually she ended up going to the pie shop across the street and sitting in there to get warm and charge her phone. Long story short, I really hope that girl is ok, because hiking the PCT is hard enough as it is without having any warm pants. Also, hiking is not a replacement for a support system and therapy. Be safe and get mentally healthy before you hike!!

One last funny story. This morning we were eating at a diner when the waitress came over to take our order. She looked at me hesitantly and said “Um...I’m not sure how to handle this...you have a spider on your hat.” I yelped and threw my hat on the table. She grabbed my hat and took it outside and gently shook it off and de-spidered it for me before bringing it back to me 😥. What a good lady!! Please tell people if they are wearing spiders and help them out. I guess I am just becoming one with nature now.

Anyways, this is long enough, but I just want to say that we’ve had lots of great experiences, seen beautiful scenery, and met awesome people. Even though this is incredibly hard, it’s such a cool adventure and I am loving having a great partner to experience it with me. Hoping my feet are doing better in the next section and that none of my blisters get infected! Our friends helped me shake down my pack today and I was able to get rid of at least a pound in weight. When you carry everything on your back, hips and shoulders, every little ounce makes a difference! Much love to everyone and thanks for the support, it’s been a great first week!

- Joscelyn

P.S. - I’ll post our daily mileage for anyone who is interested

Day 1

Start: Mile 0 Mexican Border

Stop: Mile 11.4

Total: 11.4 miles

Day 2

Start: Mile 11.4

Stop: Mile 26 Boulder Creek Campground

Total: 14.6 miles

Went thru Lake Morena

Day 3

Start: Mile 26 Boulder Creek Campground

Stop: Mile 37.1

Total: 11.1 miles

Elevation gain: about 3k feet 🦶

Day 4

Start: Mile 37.1

Stop: Mile 47.7

Total Mileage: 10.6

Went thru Mt Laguna

Day 5

Start: Mile 47.7

Stop: Mile 63.7

Total: 16 Miles

Day 6

Start: Mile 63.7

Stop: Mile 77

Total: 13.3 Miles

Day 7

Zero Day In Julian

[wayneooverton]

My journey to becoming an exceptionally average snowboarder

Laying upside down on my back in the snow as I slid to a stop, feeling the damp cold beginning to seep down the back of my pants, two thoughts presented themselves quite clearly and at the exact same time: why the fuck am I so ungraceful and I really need to invest in bib snow pants.

Seemingly contradictory, both those thoughts nicely sum up my snowboarding experience over four years. Why am I so terrible, and I love this so much let me check my bank account to see if I can spend $600 on snow apparel that I don’t really need.

I’m nothing if not contradictory.

Photo by Mark Clinton

Cardrona, New Zealand, my local mountain where I have a season pass

Living in a town seemingly filled with Olympians and top notch athletes, what’s a girl to do come winter who lives in her head and who’s likely the most ungraceful human in New Zealand? I mean, I fall down the stairs on the regular just walking to my car and have you read my camel story?

Grace and balance aren’t my fortes.

While snow sports might come easily to some, it’s been a long road for me, marked by mini-milestones and personal achievements that fill me with joy. I learned to ride as an adult here in Wanaka, where fear is real and things don’t bounce back like they used to.

Why mom, why didn’t you take me on snow trips as a kid?

I envy their fearlessness as they whip past me down the mountain in perfect little lines following their instructor, especially when I’m laying upside down in shame. But we all know what they say about comparing yourself to other people, let alone children.

Comparison is the thief of joy – Theodore Roosevelt

How I wish I looked

How I *actually* look

Spending time riding for the past few years at my local mountain, Cardrona, has really helped me grow and become a better rider, building me with confidence that I didn’t know I was capable of, at least with sports.

My snowboarding journey has very much been a process of building mental strength (fuck, yes you got this, Liz) and becoming more self-assured; it’s one of those sports where confidence and going for it really gets you far while hesitating holds you back.

I know what you’re thinking (wink, wink) why yes, what a perfect metaphor for life!

In fact, I’d argue that snowboarding is a great way to build character and inner strength, along with rock-hard quads and a strong core, not something I’m convinced I have.

Thank god for good friends who will ride with you!

I’m not in it for the sport or the adventure; I’m in it for those days where you feel so amazing, challenging yourself and doing something you didn’t think you were capable of. For me, that is the true joy in snowboarding and why I keep at it, even on days when I hate it.

No matter what happens (to a certain degree) you just have to get back up and do it again. And again and again. Anyone who’s learned to snowboard will tell you, you’re on your ass a lot.

My old flatmate used to remind me that if you’re not falling while snowboarding, you’re not trying hard enough.

Perhaps that was her way of trying to give me a little boost and encouraging me to get back up. Even now as I grow and improve, I still fall regularly and have to remind myself that doesn’t mean I’m the worst snowboarder to ever exist ever of all time ever, rather that I usually fall trying something new or pushing myself harder.

It also goes along well with my 2018 philosophy of working on being kinder to myself, something I think is lacking dramatically in this day and age.

Here’s my journey of snowboarding in New Zealand over the years!

Mt. Hutt, New Zealand

Cardrona, New Zealand

2014 

I learned to snowboard at Treble Cone, one of Wanaka’s two main ski resorts, besides Cardrona, during the last week of the season in 2014.

To say I threw myself off the deep end is to put it mildly. Treble Cone, or TC, is an advanced, incredible mountain, with heaps of steep terrain and epic views, but with very little beginner areas, which in and of themselves can be challenging, especially for someone like me who struggles with confidence.

My goal was to get the hang of the basics and to be able to do a run down from the chairlift by closing day, which I managed to achieve with help from an instructor and lessons. I rode the chairlift for the first time with my arms clasped behind the back holding on for dear life and it took me ages to get down, but I did it! Then I had a celebratory beer and did it again!

I was hooked.

Hello old friend!

2015 

Back at TC for the second year in a row, I was determined to get better.

Out of this world on a powder day or when snow conditions are good, TC is on fire. I got my first real taste for powder days, but also really struggled with what felt like ups and downs with my riding.

Exploring the mountain with friends who’ve done years of back to back winters definitely forced me to step up my game to keep up, and I really felt myself getting more confident but also I had some big falls and many days of feeling like complete shit too.

2015 really was my year of learning to link turns properly and progressing to more intermediate runs.

Treble Cone, Wanaka

2016 

This year I also bought a season pass for Cardrona Alpine Resort, our other ski field in Wanaka that has a lot more beginner and intermediate terrain, when I realized I really need to just work on building my confidence.

2016 was also my first year riding overseas, and incorporating snowboarding on some of my travels. I discovered that winter was my new favorite travel season and I loved picking out places I could go to to ride. I did a few days riding on a trip to Alberta, Canada at Sunshine and Lake Louise, and also managed to squeeze in a day riding in Switzerland a few months later on a truly epic powder day!

Ok ok, now I know what all the fuss is about!

At Sunshine in Alberta, Canada

Cardrona, New Zealand

2017 

I was so hooked by the following northern hemisphere winter, that I booked my own holiday to Whistler in BC, Canada for a week to snowboard after New Years. And to eat more poutine.

Holy crap, guys, it didn’t disappoint!

I had the most incredible powder day where I was the first on the mountain and had fresh tracks, my first time really riding deep powder compared to what I was used to in New Zealand. It took a bit to get used to, but I was quickly flying and screaming like a big kid with pure joy.

Just thinking back on that day fills me with such euphoria and happiness. Now, I really get it.

However, I dropped the ball on winter 2017 in New Zealand after I fell off a horse and tore my rotator cuff. Fail. So I only ended up riding a bit here and there towards the end of the season back at Cardrona.

Whistler, BC Canada

Cardrona, NZ

2018 

2018 is my year guys!

This time I was ready for winter in New Zealand, and making sure I would be here for most of the winter, with my season pass at Cardrona. Since I hadn’t ridden properly for over a year, I was worried about my first day back on the snow, which ended up being early since we had so much snow Cardies opened for a little cheeky preview weeks ahead of schedule.

Turns out, it’s just like riding a bike and I hadn’t forgotten anything. Now it was just a question of getting my legs strong and my confidence back.

Photo by Mark Clinton

If you follow me on Instagram you’ll have seen that I have been going up to ride heaps at Cardrona, both with friends and alone (holla at me if you want to go up together!) Every day I go I feel better, more stronger and more confident; I even did my first proper black runs last week with friends!

I’m hooked now, and working hard on going faster and feeling confident; I’m trying to go off-piste more and not be afraid of steeper areas. Oh, and I finally bought bib pants and I’m going heli-skiing this week for the first time HOLY SHIT! I’m so excited for no more snow down the back of my pants and to really go backcountry for the first time!!

And be sure to say hi if you find yourself up at Cardrona this winter!

Do you ski or snowboard? What was your journey like? Share!

Photo by Mark Clinton

The post My journey to becoming an exceptionally average snowboarder appeared first on Young Adventuress.

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[kidsviral-blog]

Lapdogs swoon, Obama holds presser; ‘Knows nothing,’ pats Rice on head

New Post has been published on https://kidsviral.info/lapdogs-swoon-obama-holds-presser-knows-nothing-pats-rice-on-head/

Lapdogs swoon, Obama holds presser; ‘Knows nothing,’ pats Rice on head

http://twitter.com/#!/AprilDRyan/status/268781587678765056

Classic empty podium!

As Twitchy reported, President Obama is finally gracing the press with his presence today. It’s been far too long; Unrequited love hurts!

Obama presser will be like Paula Broadwell panting after Gen Patreus at a staff meeting.

— Kelly Marie(@flyoverangel) November 14, 2012

President Obama was way too “exhausted” from campaigning to hold the traditional post-election presser. Priorities!

The last time Obama had a presser he said “the private sector is doing fine.” Can’t wait for what he’ll say this time

— Matt Sauvage (@mattsauvage) November 14, 2012

I’ve got my popcorn and hip waders — ready to commence live-tweeting of Obama’s presser 1:30 OST (Obama Standard Time)

— toddstarnes (@toddstarnes) November 14, 2012

Pres. Obama sure to face questions about the handling of the attack in Benghazi that killed 4 Americans including his Amb Chris Stevens.

— Mark Knoller (@markknoller) November 14, 2012

Are you sure about that Mr. Knoller? Or will the presser be filled with typical softball questions?

#ObamaPresserQuestions Are racist Republicans obstructing your clear mandate already?

— American Attitude (@marklindesr) November 14, 2012

Twitter users prepare with some predicted questions.

How are planning to blame Bush for the looming hyper inflation crisis? #ObamaPresserQuestions

— Sam Valley (@SamValley) November 14, 2012

#ObamaPresserQuestions Was the use of Greek columns because you always intended for the USA to crumble like Greece?

— Matthew Daniel Green (@solo_sonata) November 14, 2012

Can you tell us just how mean those Republicans are? #ObamaPresserQuestions

— Kevin B Snyder (@Kevinbsnyder) November 14, 2012

#ObamaPresserQuestions Are racist Republicans obstructing your clear mandate already?

— American Attitude (@marklindesr) November 14, 2012

Will you autograph my ballot?? *swoon* #ObamaPresserQuestions

— Sam Valley (@SamValley) November 14, 2012

There may not be time for all those, though.

Ready for Obama presser. Word is he will take only 8 questions.

— Bill Press (@bpshow) November 14, 2012

OF course.

I think the first question at the Obama presser will go to Pimp with the Limp.

— Jon G. (@ExJon) November 14, 2012

Heh. Can we spot him in the crowd?

Reporters prepare for Obama presser twitter.com/AlexanderTrow/…

— Alexander Trowbridge (@AlexanderTrow) November 14, 2012

Let’s start with this question:

If you wanted to balance the budget, why didn’t you do it in your first 4 years? Like you promised. #ObamaPresser

— Amy Lutz (@amylutz4) November 14, 2012

And, away we go.

Popcorn time! Nothing beats following an Obama presser by reading tweets. Of course they’re rare enough that the novelty hasn’t worn off.

— Cobalt Blue (@rightchemistry) November 14, 2012

AP gets first question

— Stefan Becket (@stefanjbecket) November 14, 2012

He’s calling reporters from a preprinted list of approved reporters. Bet FOX is not on that list. Obama Presser

— Charlie ‘Tuna’ (@TunaCharlie) November 14, 2012

Obama says he got letter from an in Tennessee who didn’t vote for him but will give president his support

— David Nakamura (@DavidNakamura) November 14, 2012

Letters. And stuff.

And, drink! Here comes the “middle class being held hostage” by those mean, old Rethuglicans. Post-partisan!

RT @grahamdavida: All together now. twitter.com/GrahamDavidA/s…

— Dylan Byers (@DylanByers) November 14, 2012

Come on, everyone had to tweet that. It’s classic drinking game fodder.

Reporter to Obama: How do we know you are not going to cave on Bush tax cuts again?

— Charlie Spiering (@charliespiering) November 14, 2012

Great question for Obama at presser: “Why should the American people believe you won’t cave again (on Bush tax cuts)?”

— whodoes (@whodoesblog) November 14, 2012

Rut-roh. Who asked that? They may not be invited back.

Bush! Drink again.

POTUS:We cannot afford to extend Bush tax cuts “for the wealthy” – but we can make sure middle class taxes don’t go up

— Shannon Bream (@ShannonBream) November 14, 2012

O in his 2nd term and still blaming Bush #obamapresser #bushtaxcuts

— Oliver M. Barie (@OliverBarie) November 14, 2012

No pesky Petraeus questions, y’all. Buck passing, as always.

Asked if he should have been told of Petraeys affair before elex Obama says ask FBI b/c they followed internal protocols

— David Nakamura (@DavidNakamura) November 14, 2012

“Ask Herb in Human Resources. Or something.”

Actually, ask Herb everything.

Shorter Obama: “I know Nuthink!” ~ #BenghaziGate

— Adam Baldwin (@adamsbaldwin) November 14, 2012

Finally, he admits that he knows nothing. No, really. He said it.

Obama: “Ask the FBI about the investigation.I know nothing … nothing … nothing …”

— T.J. Conwell (@RevConwell) November 14, 2012

Obama: I know nothing.

— KRenner (@KRenner2) November 14, 2012

Twitter users agree that he’s clueless.

Since #obama knew nothing about anything having to do with our natl security, who is leading our country as commander-in-chief?

— cupcake4120 (@cupcake4120) November 14, 2012

Obama hussein. I KNOW NOTHING I KNOW NOTHING I KNEW NOTHING I KNEW NOTHING I KNOW NOTHING I KNOW NOTHING WE SHOULD TAX THE RICH

— twotoms (@twotoms1) November 14, 2012

He evidently still knows how to pander, though. Pander like the wind.

Next question from Telemundo. Immigration question.

— Ethan Klapper (@ethanklapper) November 14, 2012

Obama giving maybe the most pandering response of all time on question about whether he’ll send immigration reform bill to Congress.

— Geoff Holtzman (@Geoff_Holtzman) November 14, 2012

On immigration reform Obama says he’s very confident Washington can get it done after big Latino turnout at pools: “we need to seize moment”

— David Nakamura (@DavidNakamura) November 14, 2012

Wait, what?

MT @buzzfeedandrew: Obama says undocumented workers should be able to earn citizenship, earlier in presser just said “legal status.”

— Vince Coglianese (@TheDCVince) November 14, 2012

Oh no.

POTUS is Pock-e-ston-ing “Latino”

— Daniel Foster (@DanFosterNRO) November 14, 2012

For his aggravating pronunciations, he must pay.

Math, so hard!

Obama can’t keep his answers straight. How do you believe anything he says? Because math is hard and being a sheep is easy. #ObamaPresser

— Andrew (@Serginov) November 14, 2012

MT @lachlan: Obama: “Two years ago, the economy was in a different situation.” Q3 2010 GDP growth: 2%. Q3 2012: 2%.

— John McCormack (@McCormackJohn) November 14, 2012

Oh, dear. So is compromise.

POTUS:”Compromise is hard.”

— Shannon Bream (@ShannonBream) November 14, 2012

Greatest Orator Ever: Compromise is hard.

For those playing at home, President Obama is currently averaging 47 UPMs, or “Uhhhs Per Minute”. #ObamaPresser

— Michael Deppisch (@deppisch) November 14, 2012

#Obama stuttering a lot at this presser without pre-written answers & no teleprompter

— Joey Sanders (@Jsanders10) November 14, 2012

Translation: “Working together” means giving up everything you want and submitting to what the Dems want #ObamaPresser

— Amy Lutz (@amylutz4) November 14, 2012

“I will examine how better to work with everybody, so long as it’s exactly what I want and need, for me.” ~ @barackobama #ObamaPresser

— Rick Canton (@rumblindurango) November 14, 2012

Oh, softballs!

Another softball: How will you communicate better with Congress in your 2nd term? … Uh? Email/Txt/Twitter? Give me a break! #ObamaPresser

— Heath Mayo (@HeathMayo) November 14, 2012

#Obama Presser: Is this really happening?? What a bunch of weak-kneed, cowardly alleged journalists.Nothing but softball BS. Wow.

— David Wohl (@DavidWohl) November 14, 2012

Oh, my! A Benghazi question actually enters the pathetic mix.

6th Question up about Susan Rice and Benghazi. #obamapresser

— Kris (@MissKristilyn) November 14, 2012

Ambassador Rice blamed the video. The. Freaking. Youtube. Video #ObamaPresser

— Amy Lutz (@amylutz4) November 14, 2012

Obama defends her. Unbelievable. Well, totally believable, but still.

Obama does NOT like the Rice attacks:twitpic.com/bd7wck

— Chris Geidner (@chrisgeidner) November 14, 2012

@ambassadorrice – “has done exemplary work..ppl besmirching her reputation is outrageous” – #Obama on Amb Rice #POTUS #ObamaPresser

— Michael Bociurkiw (@mikeybbq) November 14, 2012

Obama puts out a full throated defense on Susan Rice and her comments on Benghazi. Calls attacks on her “outrageous”. #obamapresser

— Curtis Kalin (@CurtisKalin) November 14, 2012

Obama scolds Sens. McCain, Graham, saying if they “want to go after somebody, they should go after me,” not Rice.

— Rebecca Kaplan (@Rebecca_CBSNJ) November 14, 2012

“@huffpostpol: Obama: “When they go after the UN ambassador, because they think she’s an easy target, then they’ve got a problem with me””

— Donna Brazile (@donnabrazile) November 14, 2012

Big, strong man will protect the poor dear! Is he finally admitting the buck stops with him? Doubtful. He’s just trying to get people to shut up about the buck.

Obama is more concerned about protecting Ambassador Rice than Ambassador Stevens. #Benghazi

— Razor (@hale_razor) November 14, 2012

If Pres Obama would rather focus be on him than Ambassador Rice, good. He should visit the Senate and testify if he is a man of his word.

— Brad Dayspring (@BDayspring) November 14, 2012

Bingo.

Sen. Graham lets Obama know that he does hold him totally accountable.

RT @grahamblog Mr. President, don’t think for one minute I don’t hold you ultimately responsible for #Benghazi.

— WhiteHousePressCorps (@whpresscorps) November 14, 2012

Heh. Campbell Brown notices Obama’s pitiful “big, strong man” Rice-defending behavior, too.

Yes. We girls need to have men defend our honor @clarajeffery: defending Susan Rice’s honor is going to play well with women. Watch out GOP

— Campbell Brown (@campbell_brown) November 14, 2012

As does Kirsten Powers:

Why does Obama think GOP sees rice as “easy target”?Is she somehelpless damsel in distress? His defense was a little paternalistic

— kirsten powers (@kirstenpowers10) November 14, 2012

Wow! Ed Henry with an awesome question.

Ed Henry gets 7th q — asks Obama whether he issued any orders on Sept 11 to protect lives of Americans that were killed in Benghazi.

— Geoff Holtzman (@Geoff_Holtzman) November 14, 2012

Obama is not pleased. How dare he ask a pertinent and probing question about something important?

Obama not happy with that Ed Henry Benghazi question. . .

— Charlie Spiering (@charliespiering) November 14, 2012

Obama claims Middle Class mandate in response to Benghazi question.

— WhiteHousePressCorps (@whpresscorps) November 14, 2012

@michellemalkinWOW!!Obama showing how INDIGNANT he is when asked about Benghazi!!Then turned it into middle class mandate!Wow!

— Janie (@JanieBeachGirl) November 14, 2012

Obama pivots off Benghazi to “middle class families.” Clearly very uncomfortable answering Benghazi questions. No doubt.

— Jedediah Bila (@JedediahBila) November 14, 2012

Now he admits that America deserves far better than HIM.

Obama: People “deserve a better government than they’ve been getting.”

— Roger Simon (@politicoroger) November 14, 2012

Sigh.

YES! We’re talking about climate change! Finally!

— Current TV (@current) November 14, 2012

4 Americans dead in Benghazi and we get a question about climate change.

— Jedediah Bila (@JedediahBila) November 14, 2012

Obama is a science denier?!!!111eleventy

Obama: “We can’t attribute any particular weather event to climate change.” DENIER!!!!11

— Lachlan Markay (@lachlan) November 14, 2012

Wait, no.

“The temperature around the globe is increasing, faster than it was predicted even 10 years ago,” says Obama.

— jennifer bendery (@jbendery) November 14, 2012

Lapdogs swoon madly.

One reporter just treated Obama as if she was a Beatles fan girl and he was Paul McCartney at Shea Stadium in 1965. WTF, media…wtf?

— Josh Hammer (@josh_hammer) November 14, 2012

If you’re still wondering why Obama won reelection, the media questions so far should help you figure that out.

— Jedediah Bila (@JedediahBila) November 14, 2012

First press conference in 8 months and I learned absolutely nothing new. Especially on Benghazi.

— Jedediah Bila (@JedediahBila) November 14, 2012

Lappy McLapdog. RT @toddstarnes: Reporter: “Thank you, Mr. President — and congratulations.” “I’ve never seen you lose.”

— Michelle Malkin (@michellemalkin) November 14, 2012

These Obama lapdogs put the sick in sycophant.

— Michelle Malkin (@michellemalkin) November 14, 2012

*Video* Reporter congratulates Obama for winning re-election: “I’ve never seen you lose” washingtonexaminer.com/article/251346…

— Charlie Spiering (@charliespiering) November 14, 2012

And now it’s time for all MSM reporters to go to their mikes and thump their chests and say what a great leader Obama is.#ObamaPresser

— Karen Braun (@SpunkyBraun) November 14, 2012

WH Press Corp all giggles after NON presser? #ObamaPresser

— Occupy Bawl Street (@OccupyBawlStree) November 14, 2012

Jimmy Olson from the Daily Planet would have the balls to ask better questions. #ObamaPresser

— John ☣⚠ (@MetalMeza) November 14, 2012

#ObamaPresser “Mr President, a follow-up. Can I get your autograph on my 8×10 glossy?” #IrreleventQuestion

— Lisa Kemp (@Lautergeist) November 14, 2012

know why that was called the #ObamaPresser? because the media were invited to press their lips….

— Prudence Paine (@PruPaine) November 14, 2012

Can they even function without having drool buckets at the ready?

Must now write “I will not shout out questions at the president�� 100 times on the chalkboard.

— Kaili Joy Gray (@KailiJoy) November 14, 2012

Aww, poor baby won’t answer a “shouted” question. Poor precedent and stuff.

Pres Obama declines to answer shouted question on kicking fiscal cliff down the road. Says it be a “horrible precedent” and walks off.

— Mark Knoller (@markknoller) November 14, 2012

And, in a nutshell:

Shorter Obama press conference: I don’t know what my gov’t is doing; I just know you need to pay more for it.

— John Hayward (@Doc_0) November 14, 2012

When answers are so long. That you’ve forgotten what the question was, you know the answer is mostly deflection and lies. #ObamaPresser

— WENDY(@TXCupCake) November 14, 2012

You voted for incompetence, America. You got it!

— John Hayward (@Doc_0) November 14, 2012

4 more years of this…ugh #ObamaPresser

— Amy Lutz (@amylutz4) November 14, 2012

Read more: http://twitchy.com/2012/11/14/live-updates-obama-graces-press-with-his-presence-today-will-allegedly-take-questions/

[rutisup-blog]

Castle Rock Tanning Club #2

“He shot me down…bang bang…I hit the ground bang bang…my baby let me down.”

 Kill Bill just started. Uma Thurman is beating the shit out of some black chick. I’m just sippin’ some Fat Tire. Mike, Joel, Ken, and some other dude are here. Other dude just broke me off a piece of Toblerone. “Now that’s a fine piece of ass…looks just like Larissa’s ass” said one of them during a scene of Uma Thurman wearing tight jeans.  A discussion breaks out about Larissa being a masseuse.

“He’s not gay, he just eats his corn the long way”. says one of them. These dirty old men just don’t stop with the jokes. So, where was I with that my castle rock adventure…

* * *

I set my alarm for 10:15…I’m of the philosophy of trying to get to brunch at a reasonable hour. It’s hard to tell what time it is when you don’t have windows in your room. I woke up several times, as per usual. Partly due to drinking last night, and partly from having two roommates.

I throw on some sweats and a black and white palm tree shirt—one of like six shirts in my inventory here. Time to saunter down for brunch. I don’t even have flip-flops here. I had a little preview of brunch around midnight when they started serving midrats brunch. I was sitting at a table talking to some sous-chef who mentions she’s from Russia in every conversation.

The table we sat at was round, wooden, and full of galley chow. I saw she had a polaroid photo of some guy tucked into her clear gel iPhone case. The other girl at the table had a pink clear water bottle full of water—or what appears to be otherwise. It turns out that it’s just vodka. There’s also a polaroid of someone I carry, it’s just in the ID Pouch of my wallet. “He’s down at Pole” she says.

Enough midrats…back to real brunch. It’s 10:45 and I’m sitting at a table with my friends–basically just a bunch of fuckin’ dudes. There’s gotta be like eight of us all around one of those big wooden tables. Cheeses of every kind were out–per usual–and fresh berries—unusual. Got damn, were there ever a lot of fresh berries available at brunch. After I ate my fill I decided it would be tasty to make a berry margarita in my HydroFlask. I mix some fresh strawberries and raspberries, margarita mix, and that god awful Jose Cuervo together in my HydroFlask with some ice. Surprisingly, it tastes good

It’s another Castle Rock day with the Castle Rock Tanning Club (CRTC). Joel, Tim, and I are going out there per usual to do some snowboarding. Some other people raise an interest over brunch, and we recruit some people to slide down on their lunch trays in lieu of skis or snowboards.

People come and go from our busy table, but we agree to “Meet up at the hand-wash at 12:00”. It’s about 11:20 now, and I call it quits on brunch. I get ready, putting on my snow pants and packing my backpack full of goodies: four PBRs, a HydroFlask full of Berryrita, and a flask of tequila. I grab a to-go paper bowl full of French toast for the road. It takes me longer than you would think to get all of that together, and I’m hustling to get a move on.

We make it out the gate around 13:00, late as per usual. There’s a balloon launch planned for today at 20:00. We check-out of the station at the firehouse with less trouble than our first attempt and then head off down the road towards Castle Rock. We’ve got to walk up the hill and out of town again. “Let’s see if we can get a ride, we’re walking past shuttles anyways” says Tim. He runs inside as we pass Building 140, the building shared by shuttles and the post office. A minute later Tim bursts out of the building. “Load up!” he says. Sick, it worked—we’re getting a ride up that treacherous hill.

The Ford E-250 lumbers up the hill as we pass three people on fat tire bikes. “I bet Bernie’s involved” I say as we creep up on them slowly powering up the hill. Upon closer inspection I see a dude with white Oakleys on pumping away—Bernie. Called it.

Onwards. We get dropped off at the trailhead. We march onwards through the snow—much more manageable and packed down from last week. Tim found an NRK-9 strap for me to fashion as a board sling, so I’m not dragging my snowboard in the snow this time. Joel slips on a little ice, we all have some conversation. It’s a two hour hike up to the rock.

“Who’s the lone ranger, walking back” I say as we see a pale man walking our way. “Man, Is that Vinnie? He walks like him”. says Tim. As we get closer to each other we realize, shit, that’s Velcro Vinnie! We ask him what the heck he is doing alone, and the conversation goes as follows:

“Oh are you supposed to bring someone?” “Did you even do a footplan?” “Nah”.

We ask him to come up to the rock with us, but he wants to get back for Sunday massage / self-massage class. Sayanora.

Icebridge DC-3 Basler

The first apple passes us by, but we stop at the second one for a little rest and chill-sesh. I crack a cold one and Joel opens a bottle of Scrumpy. I get the speaker going, we drag the chair outside into the snow. It’s a beautiful day in Antarctica, a balmy 30 degrees Fahrenheit. I shed my jacket and hang out in my cover-alls and t-shirt–It was pretty sweet out here. We pop the hatch in the apple and Tim uses a snowboard to prop the door open. We wave hello at everyone going past us.

Onwards. We close up the apple and head up to castle rock. We slog up the hill and up to the rock. We mount it and hang out a little on the ridge, our chill spot from the inaugural discovery expedition. About 15 minutes go by and we see Justin–from brunch–coming down off the top of the rock.  “Hey! What’s up dude, wanna come up again with us?” says Tim. “Yeah, sure”.

Ropes have been set in the rock, leading us up to the top. We get up there about 5 minutes later, finding our promised land awaiting. There’s no one else up here, just lots of rock. There’s a nice flat clearing with some nearly black volcanic rocks. It’s huge up here, you could have a whole camp site here. We set up shop, laying our bags down. Shirts pop off, suns out guns out. It’s nice and warm. There’s a flight coming in at 16:00, so we hang out. Drinks are flowing. We all lay down on our clothes—our own makeshift blankets. Justin brought his own blanket but I just didn’t have the cargo space.

We hear a plane coming in for a landing. It’s NASA’s Icebridge DC3 Basler. It’s painted red white and blue, making it stand out. I grab my camera and snap some photos of the landing. It’s pretty neat.

Groups of people come and go from the top of the rock.  “We don’t bite!” yells Tim at them. One guy was even wearing a big red. Meanwhile, we’re here topless. They look disturbed by our presence. At the edge of the rock we find a little ridge area we can hang out it that blocks the wind. Heck yeah. We end up migrating over there, piece by piece. It’s a beautiful thing. Meanwhile, all these people that are on the other end of the rock kind of stay up in that windy area, afraid to come down to us at the clearing.

“This is the firehouse announcing an uncontrolled landing. FROZEN11 will be landing at 1635.” Nice, looks like we got a little airshow. Uncontrolled landing sounds scary, but that just means that there’s no air-traffic controllers working right now. There was supposed to be some LC-130 Hercules landing today, this must be one of them. We take some photos posing in front of the beautiful mountains—the Royal Society range and Mt. Discovery–taking advantage of this beautiful day.

Brrrraaaappppppppp. We can hear the throaty sounds of a plane coming in over the sea ice. It’s that LC130, greenish with a red stripe on the tail. The Air National Guard flies those. It photographs beautifully, foregrounding the Royal Society Range.

30 minutes later and the same thing again–another LC-130. This time I grab the binoculars and track its landing—it looks even cooler, those binoculars much more powerful than my 55-250 lens. Watching a giant plane land on skis like that never gets old. I think it’s the only large aircraft that has skis for its landing gear.

LC-130 coming in for a landing. It’s got 5000 pounds of package mail for us.

The LC-130 joins two other LC-130s, two DC3 Baslers, and a Twin Otter.

I’m at that perfect buzz, just enjoying the beautiful weather. We’re getting ready to head out now, unsure if we should wait for the balloon launch at 20:00.

The fog gets thicker minute by minute back over the sea ice. It’s starting to come up over the top. The visibility that way has dropped to almost zero. It’s a good time to leave. We pack up our HQ and head back over the top of Castle Rock, to the rope routes down the rock. There’s a couple of people that have just come up—a little late for the party. They’re laying prone looking out into the fog as we depart the rock. Strange.

We climb down, feelin’ pretty tired. We strap into our snowboards and skis. Joel is having trouble with his bindings again. It’s kind of funny to watch, he’s kind of at his wits end with these cheap gear-issue alpine skis.

It’s way clearer than last weekend. Out over the permanent ice shelf it’s clear as day—a wall of fog behind us, now spilling over castle rock. I ride down, looking back at the stark beauty of fog flowing over Castle Rock, like cream over coffee, or dry ice and ice cream like they used to serve at Moxie’s.

Antarctic fog

It’s a nice minute-long ride down the mountain and then it flattens out. It’s what I would call the equivalent of a ‘green’ run in California. It’s not so fun after, hiking uphill until we can get to the next slope. We get over the ridge, and see the beautiful long run down to the ‘Kiwi Ski Hill’ and where the ‘green apple’ warm-up hut is. We peer over at the Long Distance Balloon Facility (LDB) to see if the balloon is launching. It kind of seems like it could be, so we walk out of the boundary zone and to this rock ridge overlooking the ice shelf. There’s some Pisten Bully tracks, so we figure it must be fairly safe.

Nothing is really happening down at LDB upon closer inspection. We strap in and get going down the mountain. It’s pretty fun…as far as McMurdo snowboarding goes.  I slalom down the hill between the flags–having a ball. And then we hit the bottom and that’s over. Hours of hiking for just those two little runs. Still, worth it. I would rate the second run a ‘blue’ or even ‘bluegreen’ on the California scale.

We rest a bit in the green apple (ol’ granny smith), hanging out before our long walk back. It’s about four miles back to base from here. About 1.5 – 2 miles until the main road. We see some shuttles drive by—damn it. They look so close, but they’re still another 30 minutes of walking. Long gone by the time we get there.

More walking, and then we finally are nearly at the main road. A slow ‘delta’ heads out the opposite direction we need to go. I get on the radio:

“Shuttleops, Castle Rock Rec Group”. “Shuttles, go ahead”. “Can we get a ride from the snow road?” “uhhh..well we got a delta coming back from Willy in about half an hour, you can grab that…”.

Dang. So we walk another mile, walking past Scott Base and the pressure ridges. We see a dot off into the distance–that’s the Delta we saw earlier on its way back. We hang out atop some Concrete barriers and try to check out LDB again. Hard to tell what’s going on. Looks like a balloon or something is on the ground. Eventually the Delta drives by. The driver keeps driving. “Shuttle Delta” I say on the radio, and she stops–this lady is in a hurry.

We climb up those rough, metal, drop-down stairs into the passenger compartment. A delta has big fat tires that are nearly five feet tall and really puffy, it’s got like 8 of em, and the driver cab is separated from the back. We climb in, strapping into the bench style leather seats lining the sides. These things are bumpy as all hell and go about 7 MPH up the hill.

A grouchy National Guardman is the sole passenger, looking grumpy behind his Oakleys that they had to stop and pick us up. It strains up and over the hill, and half an hour later we’re back at McMurdo–starving. We drop our shit off and then stop by the galley.

I grab a tray, plate, knife and fork and start walking up to the food line.

“Dude, don’t we have to check back in?” “What time is it?” “22:57”. “Shit.”

Visions of salty search & rescue team members and firefighters paged for no reason enter my mind. I just leave my tray with my plate on it by the food line in the galley, abandoning it on some ledge. We hustle back to the firehouse to check in, and when I go back to the galley my stuff is still there—oooh yeah baby. Nothing like chowing down on some food after a long day. We get news that they rescheduled the balloon launch to another day–perfect.

And I went straight to bed after that.

Castle Rock Tanning Club #2 was originally published on RUT-IS-UP