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falcor-thee-luck-dragon · 4 years

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What a Time to be Alive - Diego Hargreeves x reader Season I

Chapter 6- The Day That Wasn’t

Summary: Eyyy another family meeting, and let’s see if you can get Klaus sober again.

Masterlist - where all the other chapters are⚔️

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You’ve been summoned yet again for another Hargreeves family meeting, you’re not even a legit Hargreeves either. But alas, you’ve known them since you were 12 and this is kinda Diego’s family so, even a bigger reason to be here. You’re all positioned in various spots around the bar area, as Allison kindly hands everyone a coffee while her and Luther talk about what Five said earlier. Diego’s sitting on your left while you lean into his side, the both of you sharing a cup of coffee since Allison’s container only held four. Klaus is sitting on the floor in front of the other chair-type-couch opposite of you and Diego, Luther is seated on a barstool while Allison stands next to him, leaning herself against the bar.

“Three days?” Questions Allison, at the literal bombshell of learning that the apocalypse is coming.

“That’s what Five said.” Replies Luther taking a cup from her.

“The old bastard did mention the apocalypse, come to think of it. He just left out the part about how soon.” Says Klaus, taking a small sip from his cup.

“But can we trust him? I don’t know if you’ve noticed but Five’s a little...” Allison makes a circular motions to her head as she whistles. Klaus chuckles, “Our little psycho.”

“He was pretty convincing. If he wasn’t trying to stop an apocalypse, those lunatics wouldn’t be chasing him.” Explains Luther. You give a small nod while Diego hands you the half empty cup with his non injured arm.

“Yeah.”

“What did Five even see?” Allison asks Luther, the rest of you staring intently, listening to the crucial information he’s about to tell you next. His face seems to fall a bit, like he doesn’t really want to reveal any details. “Uh....apparently, we all fought together against whoever was responsible.” He pauses, looking at all your faces, clearly still hiding something. Now this information you hadn’t had a chance to hear yet, so you’re all ears to learn how the world ends. Luther then gets up off the barstool, “Okay. So, here’s the plan. Uh, we go through Dad’s research..” The four of you all start speaking at once, definitely not interested in searching through any old papers. “Hold on, hold on.” “Wait a tick, wait a tick, wait a tick.” Diego and Klaus interrupting each other.

You finally speak up, gaining everyone’s attention, “Luther, we’re missing a...oh I don’t know... a minor detail here, what happened the first time around? What did Five see?” He looks at you nervously, well that can’t be good. “Yeah. What are you not telling us? Come on, big boy, spit it out.” Adds Diego. Luther’s eyebrows furrow, he looks almost scared. For a good five seconds he stares back at the four of you, then he looks down at his coffee cup before taking a sip he says something you almost didn’t catch, “We died.” He whispers as he takes a long sip, your nerves prick, you definitely heard that right.

“What was that?” Wonders Allison wanting to hear it louder.

Luther brings his cup down, clearing his throat for a second, “I said, uh, we died.” He says louder this time.

Everyone’s faces morph into that of complete shock and evident surprise. Just hearing him tell you everyone dies again, still sends your nerves into hyperdrive, a wave of fear washing over you instantly, and it’s only Wednesday.

——

Some time passes and more squabbling ensues, now your all sitting around the bar practically interrogating Luther about the apocalypse, he’s doing his best to answer your rapid fire questions. You suddenly hear the sound of Vanya’s light footsteps roaming around the Academy with someone following her? They don’t appear to be of any threat either. Huh. “No, outside the house. Everyone died.” “You don’t say” “That’s terrible.”

“Hey.” Says Vanya, finally revealing herself and her less then suspisous looking friend, who’s smiling oddly at the five of you. The others look up from their conversation. “What’s going on?” She wonders.

All of you shift around awkwardly, “It’s a family matter.” Replies Allison, you cringe inside, eh probably not the best thing to say to Vanya right now, considering no one invited her.

“A family matter. So you couldn’t bother to include me.” Scoffs Vanya, disappointed but not surprised at her family’s tendencies.

“No, it’s not like that. We were...” Starts Luther, apologetically, “Don’t let me interrupt.” Vanya cuts in turning to walk away.

“Wait.” Says Allison rushing over to a retreating Vanya, “I’ll fill you in later when we’re alone.” She pleads, trying to make amends.

Vanya waves her off, “Please, please, don’t bother. And I won’t either.” Snaps Vanya turning to face Allison.

“Vanya that’s not fair.” Jabs Allison, uh just leave the poor woman alone, you think. Vanya’s face falls, “Fair? There’s nothing fair about being your sister. I have been left out of everything for as long as I can remember. And I used to think it was Dad’s fault, but he’s dead.” She turns angrily to look at the rest of you by the bar, “So it turns out you’re the assholes.” She sourly ends with, turning away and walking out of sight, her friend trailing behind her.

“Ouch.” Comments Klaus, you raise a glass to that, downing the whole thing in one gulp. Allison turns around to face the rest of you, “I’m gonna go find Vanya and explain.” She says, not feeling right about what just happened. “No, wait, there isn’t time. We need to figure out what causes the apocalypse. Now there are loads of possibilities.....Nuclear war, asteroids. But I’m thinking this is about the Moon. Right? Dad must have sent me up there for a reason. And I was giving him daily updates on the conditions, I sent field samples.” Rambles Luther, you share a bored look with Diego, then to waste time you stick your tongue out at Klaus, who returns the favor. “The first thing we need to do is find his research.” Klaus suddenly cuts in, “Hold the phone. We all died fighting this thing the first time around. Remember?” Points out Klaus.

“That actually makes sense, surprisingly. What gives us the upper hand this time around?” You wonder, hoping this meeting will end soon, you’ve got assassins to hunt.

“Five. Last time we didn’t have him. We weren’t all together.” Answers Luther as Klaus gets off the barstool holding a hand up to his mouth like he’s about to vomit. Luther continues oblivious, “This time, we’ll have the full force of the Umbrella Academy. That’s what we need.” States Luther ever so confident in his leadership skills.

“Okay, little problem. Five’s MIA once again.” You add bluntly, leaning yourself against the bar, raising your eyebrows at Luther who’s on the other side.

“Well, he had a plan to change the timeline. He’ll be back soon.” Answers Luther, only a tinge unsure of himself, you roll your eyes at him. “I’m going after those masked motherfuckers.” You growl, not wanting to waste anymore time. Luther looks at you in slight confusion, Diego speaking up to clarify, “Hazel and Cha-Cha.” You push yourself up off the counter, walking around the bar and past them as Luther questions why, “What, right now?” Diego follows you turning to answer Luther, “Hell, yeah.”

Luther then does his best to stop you, “I know you wanna avenge your friend, but we got bigger problems here.” You swiftly twist around walking in closer to Luther, if he didn’t know any better he’d probably be a tad bit afraid, “She didn’t deserve to die like that, neither have countless others. If I’m gonna die....and I mean actually die. I want to know it was me who killed those fuckers.” You hiss, fed up with being forced to listen for 20 boring minutes about the apocalypse and how we’re gonna stop it. Five’s not even here to help, so what’s the point. You needed more information first. Not caring for an answer from Luther, you turn around and head elsewhere.

——

After a bathroom pit stop cause lets be real coffee does that to you, you walk into the hallway, not hearing a single sound. Alright where did Diego go? You close your eyes and listen, hyper focusing on the world around you, searching in the darkness for a sliver of sound. Your ears prick at the creaking of floorboards up above you and the familiar thump of Diego’s boots along with Klaus’. Got em, they’re in the attic.

Silently walking up the wooden staircase you turn to your left, walking into the room to see Diego tying Klaus up to a chair. “If I see a boner, I’m out.” Grumbles Diego, who’s walking around Klaus in a circle while tightening the blue rope. You snort, “Is this a bad time?” The two of them shoot their heads up to look at your amused face. “Oh, hello there Y/H. I’m gonna get sober.” Says Klaus casually, his face scrunching up as he starts to laugh. You smirk, folding your arms together, “Interesting. End of the world and you wanna get clean? I mean, you go Klaus, but I’d guess you’d wanna pop every pill in sight.” You wonder, truly puzzled as to his true motives. “Oh, the thought did cross my mind, believe me, but there’s something I need to do, and the whole pesky thing doesn’t seem to work unless I’m sober.” Explains Klaus as Diego gets on his knee to tie down Klaus’ legs. “Is this about conjuring the one you lost?” Asks Diego, Klaus just sighs sadly. “What was her name?” Diego wonders, still working on that knot.

You notice how Klaus’ face shifts from sad to happy to sad again, “His name was Dave. We soldiered together in the A Shau Valley...in the Mountain of the Crouching Beast.” He let’s out a shaky breath, you feel for him, the way he talks about Dave and how his body language changes with different emotions, the way he smiles adoringly at his sweet memories. It’s almost like how Diego looks when he’s complimenting you on something. Your heart hurts for Klaus, you couldn’t imagine a world without Diego in it, life would be so much more dull and quiet. “He must have been a very special person to put up with all your weird-ass shit.” You tell him while smiling, he snorts breaking out into a large grin, “Yeah. Yeah, he was...He was kind, and strong, and vulnerable, and...beautiful. And I was foolish enough to follow him all the way to the front line.” He explains, his voice changing with every emotion. Diego looks up in surprise, “You fought in the shit?” Klaus looks at him, “Oh yeah, war couldn’t take enough bodies. Please. Including his.” Klaus’ face darkens, but only for a moment, “Hey, look at us. Logging in some quality bro time before the end of the world.” Cheers Klaus, Diego gives a slight chuckle, finishing the last knot and getting up to walk towards you.

“Ah, shit.” Whines Klaus loudly, both of you turning to see what’s the matter.

“What?” Asks Diego.

“I need to pee.”

You roll your eyes looking around the room, spotting what you had in mind, “Okay good, here’s a bucket.” Walking over to it, you pick it up, setting it down next to Klaus. “Piss, shit, throw up, whatever you need to do. It’s your multipurpose bucket, have a blast.” You tell him sarcastically, giving him a kind smile. He looks back up at you with an unpleasant gaze, wanting to argue but knowing to well that you’d just harass him more. Diego turns to leave, you following right behind him, “No wait, come back. Come back! Come back you pricks!” He shouts defiantly, you don’t want to but it’s for the best, so you ignore him. Trailing Diego down the stairs.

Reaching the bottom of the steps, you just need a moment to chill, maybe a ten minute break. With that in mind you walk towards your old bedroom, Diego silently following your lead.

Walking inside you stop and stretch, taking in your surroundings, “Damn, this room is nicer then the one back home, er...well...we don’t exactly have a bedroom.” You tell him, walking over to the large bed, where you jump on it, laying sprawled out on the whole thing. Ugh, you forgot how comfortable it was, and so soft too.

Diego stands in the middle of your room, fiddling with his arm brace, since he did get shot and all. He suddenly looks up at you smiling, laughing to himself, “What’s so funny Hargreeves?” You call out to him, still staring up at the ceiling. He chuckles again, “Remember when Luther burst through here, cause he thought we were doing something else. When we were really just jumping on the bed, smacking each other with those foam swords you bought at the dollar store.” You smile at the memory, letting out a breathy laugh. “I honestly can’t believe none of them ever actually caught us in the act. That was a true miracle.” You mutter. Diego starts walking over to you with a hint of something new in his eyes, your face falls into a frown when you hear the oddly familiar humming of, Grace? But that can’t be, how is she?

Noticing your abrupt change in mood, Diego stops, confusion and a bit of disappointment flashing through his dark eyes. You make eye contact with him, “This is gonna sound crazy. But I can hear Grace humming downstairs.” You tell him, his eyebrows furrow, he definitely was not expecting you to say that of all things.

——

The both you walk cautiously down the stairs and into the main living room where Grace is dusting the head of a warthog. Humming to herself as casually as ever, you stand in the doorway, letting Diego walk up to her. He questions how she’s able to walk around like nothing bad ever happened to her. Grace answers cheerfully, smiling brightly. You decide to let them have their peace, so you turn around and wait by the front door.

Diego and Grace walk aimlessly into the front room, it appears that Grace would like to go for a walk in the park this evening. With nothing better to do and no clear idea where Hazel and Cha-Cha could possibly be, you follow along.

By the time you all make it halfway through the park, it’s dark out and the night air is cool, your personal favorite time of day. Not a lot of people are walking around, the world is quieter, and there’s no sun to blind you when you forget your sunglasses. Grace suddenly stops, a look of concern melted onto her smooth features, “There’s something else that needs to be said, Diego. Pogo and I...we’ve been lying. Lying to all of you.” She states, you walk in closer to her, “What do you mean Grace?” You ask her, perplexed as to what she might tell you next.

——

The six of you gather around the bar, all conversing about how the apocalypse could start and how we might be able to stop it. From your spot behind the bar, next to Diego, you get the oddest feeling of deja vu. When a flash of blue unexpectedly appears, bringing Five with it. He falls onto the table in front of you, landing hard on a black briefcase. The rest of you, jumping back in surprise, definitely not expecting Five to randomly teleport from out of nowhere.

“You guys, am I still high, or do you see him, too?” Asks Klaus bewildered, as Five rolls off the side of the bar.

“Five, where have you been? Who did this?” Demands Luther as he and Allison go to help Five up.

“Irrelevant.” Snaps Five, on to more important things.

He takes a coffee cup out of Luther’s hand, and downs the whole thing. As you all watch, completely dumbfounded as to what’s even happening right now. Five finishes his drink, turning around with a hard look on his face, “So, the apocalypse is in three days. The only chance we have to save our world is, well, us.” He explains.

“The Umbrella Academy.” Says Luther, stating quite the obvious.

“Yeah, but with me, obviously. So if y’all don’t get your sideshow acts together and get over yourselves, we’re screwed. Who cares if Dad messed us up? Are we gonna let that define us? No. And to give us a fighting chance to see next week, I’ve come back with a lead.” Five says, holding up a white folded piece of paper, “I know who’s responsible for the apocalypse. This is who we have to stop.” Allison takes the paper from his hand, the rest of you gathering around her to see what it says. “Harold Jenkins?” She wonders aloud.

“Who the hell is Harold Jenkins?” Questions Diego.

#the umbrella academy #the umbrella academy x you #diego hargreeves #diego hargreeves x reader #diego hargreeves x you #number two #tua #tua season one

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6919mmallaby-blog · 4 years

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Why SMS Marketing isn’t Dead – and How to Generate More Revenue through Intelligent Growth

Why SMS Marketing isn’t Dead – and How to Generate More Revenue through Intelligent Growth – 2m-pmc : Management Consultants

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CASE STUDIES

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Optimism Bias and Strategic Misrepresentation -

by Michael Mallaby

August 18, 2020

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Let’s start with killing the myths that SMS messaging is finished…

SMS is the most widely used data application in the entire world

Approximately 3.7 billion users around the world send and receive SMS

Response rates via SMS are 8 times that of email

Texting is more popular than voice calling, especially among youths aged 16 to 24

96% of UK smartphone owners use SMS

Texting is now the second most common use for a mobile phone. The first is for checking the time and the internet usage is quickly growing

Sending patients text reminders about doctors’ and dentists’ appointments could save the NHS up to £150 million a year.

Text messages are usually read within 15 minutes of being received and responded to within one hour

Texting is more popular than voice calling, especially among youths aged 16 to 24

Some pretty impressive numbers ....

80% of the Millennial generation say their phone is the first thing they check when they wake up.

The point here is that people keep their phones handy and are always ready to use them to find information or check the latest social media updates.

Open rates for texts vastly surpass email (which dwindles at 24%).

It’s clear that we’ve become dependent on our phones, which then opens the door for testing new mediums to reach consumers. Mobile advertising works, but only if your message makes it to the consumer’s inbox, and only if your ad is mobile-optimised.

SMS Messaging is the only way to steer clear of the noise and get a positive Return on Investment.

Most online marketers laugh at the idea of SMS marketing because they think it’s more regulated than email marketing. But that’s a misplaced assumption. If you don't have a system that is focused on mobile-targeting tactics, then this is costing you conversions, clients, and revenue.

Meanwhile, SMS marketing is almost happening underground - ready in the background, waiting for you to capitalise on it.

Here’s how and why you should revisit SMS marketing to generate revenue.

The many advantages of SMS Messaging

If you think Facebook and Instagram has good engagement numbers?

Wait until you see what SMS text messages get.

Benefit No 1

Texting has by far the best engagement rates of any marketing medium.

Emails may be left unread for days. Phone calls can go unanswered, but text messages are almost always read immediately after they’re sent.

We have already shown the dismal open rates for email. The average CTR for PPC ads is even worse at 2%. The fact is that SMS Marketing is under-rated, under-appreciated and in many cases under-used....

The likelihood of getting your message to the intended target is substantially higher than with email, PPC, organic, or social media.

But nothing great comes without its catch. It’s neither ethical nor legal to send unsolicited messages with text-message marketing, so you need to have a simple opt-in system. That’s where the power of the opt-in offer and discount coupon comes in…..

Fortunately, customers then have an easy, friction-less, way to opt themselves in — or out — straight from their mobile phones with most text-marketing services.

Here are some of the advantages of mobile text messaging.

Benefit No 2.

Trackable platform: You can easily track the performance of each SMS Message and each campaign.

There are countless texting platforms that allow you to manage your campaign all from your desktop.

With the 2m-pmc Intelligent Growth SMS Marketing System, we provided a detailed report on the SMS messages sent, the scale of the businesses subscriber list and the number of messages that are successfully delivered.

As the Business Owner – you then see how each promotion or message sequence has performed - focus on the successful campaigns – ditch the ones that don’t perform so well, and continue to grow your followers and subscribers, - growing your business all the time.

Benefit No 3.

Interactive content: Mobile messaging makes it possible to get feedback from your recipients quickly via a quick tap on the ‘reply’ button or a click on your link.

You can deliver quick, simple messages that direct subscribers back to your site.

A short sweet message – built around providing value to your prospects and clients means that your open rates and the customer side engagement with your business will help rocket your client base and your sales.

You can send customers to a web site, to a sign-up form, to a specific campaign or offer – and through their proactive decision to engage with your business, you in return get them on your list of subscribers as a new customers – so you can market to them directly, with up-sell, new offers and new products.

It’s a short and sweet message – getting straight to the point with a free offer or incentive so they get value and you gain a new customer…. The typical and proven Win-Win approach….

And, of course, the whole system and point of delivery was built for the mobile phone – so there are no configuration issues, no sizing, no scaling, … - it just works !!!!! – And it is all perfectly optimised for the mobile.

Benefit No 4.

Immediate delivery: Once you press “send,” your message goes out instantly.

You can set up a campaign and have hundreds of messages sent to your tribe and to your customer base almost immediately.

You have a quiet day in the restaurant, so you need to offer incentives to fill up your restaurant on a Tuesday evening… You need to fill your calendar and appointments on a Wednesday afternoon.

The Solution to these dead spots in your business - Simple, - just send out the SMS message telling all your customers of the offer, the discount coupon or the reducing availability – and fill up those gaps fast…

Benefit No 5.

Personal touch: Sending a text message via your mobile device gives you an informal opportunity to personalise the message.

Personalising the message also makes the campaign more engaging. Use words like “You” and “I” is a great approach and technique for driving engagement.

If you know your customer base, if you know what they like, and then you send them all SMS messages offering them more of what they like - how cool is that ! What could possibly go wrong ?

So - The opportunities with SMS Messaging are endless.

You can personalise your message, direct users to web pages, videos, where they can win coupons, and track every step of the conversion process.

So Here's How It Works...

The basic components of SMS marketing

The two basic components of a typical SMS-marketing campaign are the keyword and the phone number. Here’s an example:

Text “PIZZA” to 555 5555 for our SUPER DISCOUNT CODE!

“PIZZA” is the keyword that gets placed in the body of the SMS message.

“555 5555” is the specific phone number set up at the SMS exchange that then manages the process. This logs your tribe and subscribers, and then from your own mobile phone, as the business owner, you can then text all in your subscriber list with an SMS message offering the next GREAT DISCOUNT, the next BIG EVENT, - or the recent NEW PRODUCT or SERVICE.

Your best customers are your existing customers – and marketing directly to them – to get them to engagement more often with your business – and spend more when they are there – is the most cost effect route to increasing Your Revenues, Your Sales and Your Profits……

All of this for the cost of a text message ! – Not a bad ROI – in anyone’s language….

The Opt In ...

When a customer sends that initial message, they’re “opting in” to your campaign. It’s as simple as that. From there you can do a few different things.

Go ahead and send them a single, automated response to follow up and let them know what to expect next. Or you can just add them to a list that will send additional texts over time.

For example, you could send. “Text ‘YES’ to receive weekly coupons.”

Once they’ve opted in, customers can also respond to your messages with sub-keywords.

For example, sending the phrase “Hours” could trigger an automated text to send business hours and “Stop” could remove the subscriber from the list.

Allowing customers to use sub-keywords gives them a way to interact with your business. It also enables them to opt out of your campaign if they wish to stop receiving messages.

Once you’ve got the basics in place, there are a number of added value elements that bring even more power to the process.

The best SMS Marketing tactics...

Mobile texting tactics can be diverse, but they should be pretty familiar if you are already running social media promotions and running marketing strategies.

The SMS Message is a great compliment to these platforms and marketing approaches – as you can drive the message to their phone – you are not waiting, or hoping, that they visit your web site, see your Facebook advert or latest catch up with your current marketing campaign.

For example, you can send coupons, drive traffic, or engage people through fun, simple games.

Here are some of the best potential uses for SMS marketing.

Top Tip #1

Coupons: Send customers exclusive deals.

Start by creating uniquely-generated coupon codes to prevent non-subscribers from taking advantage of your deal.

That way, people have to subscribe to save.

Check out this example, where a coupon code will be sent to the customer, offering a discount.

Plus, the subscriber gets an extra incentive for taking this additional step. Customers don’t have to take an extra step to pay when they want to rent movies.

Top Tip #2

Drip campaigns: Send automated messages based on how long customers have been subscribed.

Think of this as just another form of marketing automation.

You can create triggers or tailored responses depending on each individual’s status.

In the context of coupons, for example, you could send a 5% off coupon right after a subscriber signs up, a 10% coupon after three weeks, and a 20% off coupon after two months.

The longer they stick around, the bigger the potential bonus. So you provide incentives for the actions that you want, - and best of all, you can schedule these to run automatically.

One will be sent as soon as a customer signs up or opts in. That way, you don’t need to keep sending individual messages.

Top Tip #3

Poll your customers: Let your customers text different keywords to cast a vote.

With most services, you can run polls to collect responses over a period of time and graph the responses from your online dashboard.

These are relatively simple when you think about it but they offer an interesting content piece. You can add in links to quizzes or other content on your business web site, links to videos. – the options are only restricted by the imagination and the range of marketing strategies that the business wants to deploy.

You can use the results internally to improve your operations, using the data form the SMS exchange, the various promo campaigns and the resulting increasing in revenues…. The numbers will prove what works – what doesn’t, - and there is no guess work…. Meaning you can target your next campaign based on the successes and you can ditch the failures….

Or you can reuse the results in both blog and social content to leverage your unique, proprietary information.

The people who left an answer will also be more eager to find out what the eventual results were and even help you share them.

Top Tip #4

Run a contest: You can have customers sign themselves up for contest by texting a particular keyword.

Once again, this is a standard marketing tactic. You can select winners from everyone who opts in, or you can also give away a smaller prize to every person who sends in a text with your keyword.

You can even use it as an opportunity for cross-promotions.

Top Tip #5

Send photos and videos: In addition to general SMS texting, you can send images.

Let’s say you wanted to send an eBook preview or another image-style CTA.

This can be done a number of ways - with hyperlinks, tying together different elements of a coordinated marketing campaign.

Use Facebook to grow your SMS list

Instead of putting all of your eggs in one basket, use multiple channels to segment subscribers.

SMS and Facebook Ads are excellent on their own, but they can be even more powerful when you use them together.

I recommend checking out Facebook’s Lead Ads and Posts to integrate with your SMS Message campaigns.

Lead ads are great for collecting data and information to build up a large subscriber base.

Once we’ve got the basics in place, then we have a platform on which to build a host of smarter, automated systems, from Zapier integration to working with Chat-Bots… increasing your business presence and building greater customer engagement – All of which supports business growth, increased sales and increased profits…

Conclusions

So, let’s be honest, SMS marketing can be seen as old tech, and somewhat outdated, - but it has evolved a lot over the last few years.

Recognising how the use of the mobile phone has exploded, how the number of SMS Messages has increased globally, how social media platforms like Facebook and Instagram are an everyday part of the current "Normal" – then SMS Messaging has a big role to play for any business that works in the B2C or B2B sectors.

People carry their phones with them all day – some even keep them with them through the night. We get up in the morning and check the mobile before we make the first cup of coffee.

If we don’t have the mobile to hand – panic sets in, … with the fear in case we miss out on something.

So, by getting your current customers and all new customers to opt in, chances are they are there for life – to ensure that they are never going to miss an update or offer from your company ever again.

Start with exclusive offers to generate a huge list of subscribers quickly and with mobile messages, you can be sure they won’t sit unopened or unread for days like emails, - especially if they’re personalised for the recipient and sent from one of their great suppliers – their favourite restaurant, their favourite bar, their club, their gym…. The list is pretty much endless!

Use SMS to send coupons, poll your customers, run competitions, send photos, and drive sales. So, get creative with your text offers and watch your ROI grow fast.

Best of all, you can get started within around one week.

Sign-up, we take care of all the techie stuff, - we’ll get you a dedicated phone number that you manage from your existing mobile and then the scale of the benefit is really up to you…. So how far do you want to take your SMS Message Marketing ???

Use the 2m-pmc Intelligent Growth System – you know it makes sense….

2mpmc.com

2mpmc.com/intelligent-growth

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About the author

Michael Mallaby

I’m Michael Mallaby and I’ve worked in FTSE 250 companies, set-up a number of businesses, currently work with specialist Mergers and Acquisitions networks and Investor groups and have supported businesses, successfully securing +£millions in either working capital or equity backed support. Formal certification as a Risk Management Professional, an Association of Chartered Certified Accountants – ACCA Business Valuations practitioner and completed the Effective Angel Investor programme. Recognised as a subject matter expert in the field of Project Management, supported by MSc in the subject, with published articles in the global APM Project Journal magazine.

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#Intelligent-Growth #SMS-Messaging #Business-Growth #SME-Business

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eirian-houpe · 4 years

Text

Working Wednesday

Here is the state of my current WIPs. Let’s see if I can get it in under the wire, shall we. It has been 2 weeks since I last did one of these so... here we go!

This last fortnight I have posted the second through the fifth storie in a series called Lover’s Leap which are being written for the AU-gust prompt series. If I get them all done in August it will be a miracle. Their titles are:

The Dark One and the Beast A Lifetime of HIstory “We Never Stopped Being Enemies.” Fallen Rest Easy, Love.

I have also written but not edited the next two in the series. Their titles are:

Just Breathe Methedhênlû

And I have two that I am working on at the same time called:

The Hatter Bats In The Belfrey

Once all this madness is done, I’ll be spending two weeks focusing on one fic at a time. Starting with Disparate Pathways.

The Library Beneath the Clock Tower: AU Cursed Storybrooke. (Inspried by/based on The Bookshop on the Corner: A Novel, by Jenny Colgan)

Storybrooke has no library, and neither does Belle, not since the library where she worked in Boston discovered her past as an inpatient at a mental hospital. Taking her future into her own hands, Belle travels to Storybrooke where her intention is to open up the town library, but all does not go according to her plan. Obstacles and false starts, and diversion along very wrong pathways interrupt her journey toward fulfilling her dream, as well as taking her rightful place and becoming a part of the Storybrooke community. - Chapter 35 been posted.

All Our Past Mistakes: AU Non-Cursed Storybrooke

Doctor Gold, professor of history at the local campus of Maine University, is stuck in a loveless, and one might say abusive relationship with a wife who is less than attentive to their family, and whom he suspects cares little for her marital vows. His resolve to maintain his own faithfulness is sorely tested by the presence of one of his new students - a junior by the name of Belle French - whom it seems fate is determined to put in his way. The two become embroiled in a passionate, and redemptive relationship, but not before suffering numerous setbacks and separations. This is no instantaneous happy ever after, but a tale of two hurt souls finding their way together through darkness and despair. - nothing written since last week

Disparate Pathways: AU and Remix of Witness Protection, which was written for the 2019 RSS.

Gold has a past, a past that he has rejected, but it seems one that will not let him go. Belle, daughter of Governor Maurice French has been kidnapped, along with her mother, and just as the authorities raid the organization that is holding her hostage, decides to make her own bid for freedom, unknowingly derailing an undercover sting, and Agent Milnor has not choice but to take her into ‘protective custody,’ but is he all that he seems? As the threads of the story grow more tangled and the threat to Belle, and to Gold, her appointed protector, grow ever more real, a growing, mutual attraction makes everything far more desperate and far too personal for Gold to ignore what he knows to be the truth. - the next seven chapters are now planned and ready for writing and I have written 945 words of chapter 8, which is the next chapter.

Scattered: AU OUAT, where the curse didn’t quite happen the way it did on the show. (It went ‘wrong’)

Casting a spell, any spell - at least the ones that involve more than just the wave of a hand, or worse, the wave of an irritating fairy’s wand - takes time, and patience, and the right ingredients, and… just like any recipe, if you get it wrong, it doesn’t mean the cake won’t cook, rather then will, just with unexpected or unintended outcomes. All of Rumplestiltskin’s careful planning and manipulation, all of his hopes and dreams turn to dust; ashes in his bitter heart in the blink of an eye… in the fall of an equine heart. Belle exchanges one terrible prison for another, and it’s one she is desperate to escape, and though Rumple’s fate as The Savior was severed from him centuries ago, sometimes fate itself has a way of finding an alternate route home. - nothing written since last week

What the Actual Fuck! : Sutherelle fic

Prime Minister Robert Sutherland is feeling pressured, and isn’t prepared to acquiesce to the repeated challenges from within his cabinet nor the wider circle of those around him. He resorts to drastic measures to ascertain who can be trusted, turning to an ‘old friend’ to help him separate the wheat from the chaff. Said friend promises to send in his best operative to assist the PM, the trouble is the operative finds out more than Robert necessarily wants to know, and all this just as all hell is breaking loose around him; people hurt, Britain in chaos and multiple deaths push him into making some hard hitting decisions in order to safeguard himself, the country, and the people he cares about - Nothing written since last week.

Breathe: Rushbelle.

As the Lucian Alliance attack Icarus Base, Doctor Rush makes the decision that dialing back to Earth is too dangerous, though that may not at all be his reason for attempting to dial the ninth chevron, persuaded by Eli, and by something Belle had said to him previously, he substitues Earth for Icarus, and the connection is made. In spite of hurrying to urge Belle to the ‘Gate room and through the ‘Gate, neither he, nor anyone else believes that Belle actually made it on board Destiny… - Part one of the We Three series. - Nothing written since last week.

Storybrooke’s Best Kept Secret: Rumbelle, Cursed Storybrook AU

This story was created accidentally when what I had written didn’t fit for something else. in which Belle is not kept in the assylum, but in a little cottage on the very edge of Storbrook town, and few know she’s there. Then, one day, someone else finds out. - Nothing written since last week.

Darkness In Hyperion Heights: Woven Beauty, Mystery/Paranormal AU

One stormy morning, Detective Weaver shows up to work and finds someone waiting for him in his office. His visitor is a scholar and a curator for the British Museum, and has recently discovered that an artefact from the vaults is missing. She has followed the trail left in the wake of its disappearence and it led her to Hyperion Heights, and now, she needs Weaver’s help - nothing written since last week

Modern Wonders: Well now, how to classify /this/ one? Lets start by saying it is a crossover with OUAT and SyFy’s Mini-series, Alice. It’s kind of ‘ensemble’ and kind of ‘Mad Rumbelle/Mad Curious Archer’ sorta kinda. This is still in the ‘mulling’ stage, and might not get anything posted for a while, because of… well… reasons! (Spoilers), but we’re working on it.

Also, I still have 2 series awaiting their next works: Darker Hearts: an AU Wish!Rumbelle, and Thoughts On A Happy Ending: A Rumblelle focussed Belle introspective of the entire journey from season 1 through season 7. Nothing has been written for either just yet, so no change since theirlast update, but they are included in the writing schedule so maybe that will change.

All published works can be found on AO3 where I write as Eilinelithil.

Please feel free to ask me questions about /anything/ you see here, or any other curiosity that enters your head - anonymous asks accepted, I’ll talk about most things if you ask. If you want to ask the characters anything, you can do that too! You can also prompt me if you wish.

#rumbelle #current wips #wips #send asks #feel free to prompt me #cue loud crickets

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blainethelonghorn · 4 years

Text

are you that somebody?

- WHO: Sebastian Smythe and Blaine Anderson

- WHEN: Evening of June 5th into morning of June 6th, 2020

- WHERE: Sebastian’s apartment in Dallas

- WHAT: Sebastian invites Blaine over, singing and fooling around ensues. Some nsfw elements but actual smut is omitted.

Sebastian:

sebastian had settled into his apartment that wednesday. by thursday he was laying in his bed, alone in his apartment and staring up at the ceiling of the high end apartment. his eyes focused in on the roof. his thoughts swarmed around in his mind for the next couple of days. he personally hated that he was here alone... but really what was he to do? this was normal. sebastian continued this trend until friday. only this time, he picked up his phone and started to message people again. blaine's name popped up and sebastian's mind remembered that blaine was in town for the competition. he sent of a text

[text] hey, are you in dallas yet?

Blaine:

Arriving in Dallas, Blaine was basically humming with excitement about the weekend. They were performing at Nationals and he thought they might have a good chance at placing high if not winning the thing entirely. By the time he got everything unpacked enough in the hotel room, it still definitely wasn’t late enough for Blaine for bed and with other people off doing their own thing, he found himself curled up in one of those uncomfortable hotel room chairs watching Netflix on his phone. He was torn out of a rewatch of Parks and Rec by a text from Sebastian.

[text] yeah! just finished unpacking actually

Sebastian:

[text] are you doing anything fun?

Sebastian wiggled as he got the text. For the past month, Sebastian had messaged Blaine non-stop. There was just something so about him that made Sebastian go crazy. Blaine was ridiculously fine. The bonus was Blaine was also smart and fun to talk to. Sebastian found himself thinking about Blaines text and what he could’ve said better or no said at all. He didn’t do this for anybody. His lips pressed together has he waited for Blaine to message him back.

Blaine:

[text] Ha, no. Just watching tv on my phone. Everyone's doing their own thing really

[text] what are you up to?

Blaine still couldn’t figure out what was going on with Sebastian. There was the flirting, yes, that Blaine had mostly chalked up to that just being how Sebastian was as a person. He liked talking to him, though. A lot. He asked Blaine silly questions about Disney and talked about what they were like as kids. He didn’t feel like he was trying to artificially construct a conversation. He even thought, maybe, that Sebastian was interested in him when he’d come over to study and the taller man had looked at him the way he did. Then suddenly Blaine was being all the ushered out the door. It must have been all in Blaine’s head.

Sebastian:

[text] You wanna hang out?

Sebastians mind rattled in his head. His heart pounded as he sent of the message and he waited for a reply. He wanted to see Blaine. No... he needed to see Blaine. He sat up and stared at his phone waiting to see the response.

Blaine:

Blaine knew that Sebastian was in Dallas and that he'd come see them, but he hadn't really thought about the fact that he could just leave the hotel and hang. It sounded nice. And, honestly, it was more than a little exciting that Sebastian had suggested it. Logically, he knew they were friends, but, there was always doubt.

[text] sure! where should we meet?

Sebastian:

[text] my place your place it does matter

Sebastian ginger flew over the keyboards. Once Blaine said yes, Sebastian rolled out of bed. It was the first time in a day he’d done this. We went to freshen up his look. He watched his phone carefully for Blaines text.

Blaine:

[text] I mean, my place is a hotel, so…

[text] unless you really want to hang out in a lobby

Blaine smiled slightly to himself. It would be nice to get out. Here, it was all he could do not to think about the competition and the dance steps and whether or not he’d mess up the singing.

Sebastian:

[text] my place then?

Sebastian combed through his hair, adjusted the ring in his nose so that it was centered and put on some deodorant. His heart jumped as he thought about Blaine being in his room.

Blaine:

[text] sounds good! just send me an address

Blaine got up and went to slide on a pair of shows. It would be interesting to see how Sebastian lived when it wasn’t a dorm room. Suddenly a thought hit him. Sebastian had been pretty eager to hear the first song he’d written and he’d brought the guitar from Austin, mostly as a security blanket. Playing always made him less anxious.

[text] mind if I bring my guitar?

Sebastian:

[text] please do-- but only if i get to hear that song ~

[text] my address is 4509 Knoll Tr dr. apt 457

sebastian went through the apartment to start to get ready for blaine arrive. he realized he hadn't eaten for that evening and surfed through postmates for something he could get delivered.

[text] im pretty hungry, would you like something to eat?

Blaine:

[text] that’s the idea :P

He plugged the address into his phone and gathered his things including his guitar case and headed out of the hotel room. Blaine hadn’t even really thought of the fact that he hadn’t eaten since arriving to Dallas. Eating was rarely on his mind, really.

[text] Sure! I haven’t had dinner yet either.

Sebastian:

rather than attempting to have this conversation through text, sebastian hit the call button and put the phone to his ear. he walked on over to his cabients and opened them up to look through what groceries he has just in case he got really hungry.

Blaine:

Blaine felt the phone in his hand start to vibrate and turned it to see who it was. Sebastian. He smiled, accepted the call, and raised the phone to his ear. "Hey," he greeted.

Sebastian:

"hello." he greeted with a cool tone before putting blaine on speak phone. "i thought this would be easier to discuss food. what are you feeling today killer?"

Blaine:

"No problem," Blaine said with a nod. That was better for him too, especially since he was holding a guitar in one hand. "Hm, I'm really up for anything. Anything you really know is good around here?"

Sebastian:

sebastian hummed and tilted his head. "there is this thai place i really like. let me see if they're on postmates--" sebastian moved to postmates and found their page. "what do you think?" he asked as he scrolled through their menu. "it looks like they're on postmates."

Blaine:

"I always love a good pad thai," he laughed, heading out of the hotel lobby and onto the street. "I say do it," he replied.

Sebastian:

sebastian sent him the link to the menu through his phone. "alright, let me know what you want and i'll order it. hopefully with the snail traffic out there, it'll get here right when you arrive."

Blaine:

Blaine moved him on to speaker phone, pulling up the menu. "Sounds good...Hm..." he paused glancing stuff over. "Should I text what I want? Is that easier?"

Sebastian:

sebastian turned around and looked around his apartment. "i have a pen actually, you can tell me." he told him as he grabbed the pen and paper. "shoot"

Blaine:

"Cool, I'll get the panang curry and a side of rice," he said, turning him back off speaker phone. "And if you want to split a gyoza or something, I'd be in."

Sebastian:

sebastian repeated the order to him. "sounds good with me. i also love calamari, would you like an order of that too?" he asked as he wrote down the gyoza.

Blaine:

"Yup," he confirmed as Sebastian read back the order. Thenn he brought up calamari. "Oh, for sure," Blaine said, excitement clear in his voice.

Sebastian:

sebastian smiled at blaine's excitement. "alright, i'm putting in the order now. i can't wait to see ya." the words slipped out of his mouth. he closed his eyes and pressed his lips togethers. "can't wait to see you."

Blaine:

Blaine couldn't help but smile at the casual way he said that. It was kind of adorable. "Great. Can't wait to see ya, too," he replied with a chuckle.

Sebastian:

"um... bye..." he laughed. "i'll see you in a minute."

Blaine:

"See you soon," he said, ending the call and tucking his phone into his pocket. It wasn't terribly long until he arrived at the address Sebastian had given him. He quickly glanced at his phone again to see which apartment he was in before hitting the appropriate buzzer to let him know he'd arrived.

Sebastian:

sebastian turned on the tv for some background noise as he moved about the apartment. from the entrance to sebastian's apartment, it was obvious that it was a high end apartment. the building's updated smooth walls gave the impression that sebastian was living in the high end area. he opened the door to the apartment to see blaine. he stood in front of the other with a regular pair of jeans along with with a fresh shirt on. "come on in." he invited as he stepped aside. he closed the door behind blaine and locked in. to the left of the entrance showed an elegant entertainment room. clean white couch with a modern coffee table there. in front of it was a wide flat screen tv that was playing the news. underneath the tv was a grand fireplace that was closed for the time being. on the right was a dining table that matched the furniture on the right. the cieling stretched a whole two floors, and showed off the banister to sebastian's room that over looked both the dining room and the entertainment center. the whole room was a decent size. walking in further, there were the stairs that lead to the bedroom above and the open kitchen with an island. with updated cabinets an appliances, it was obvious that sebastian's parents made sure to put him up in the place with the highest class. sebastian moved in. "make yourself at home. would you like something to drink?" he asked as he walked on over to the fridge. on top of the fridge, there were bottles of liquor aligned. "i have water, juice, beer, some mixers if you want a little drink. i recently discovered something pretty sweet. or--" he paused as he pulled a wine bottle from aside the fridge. "my mom got me this if you'd like to try it." he showed off the rich white wine to blaine.

Blaine:

"Hey, thanks," he replied, giving him a smile. When Blaine walked in, he was shocked by how beautiful the apartment was. He'd been able to tell from the facade of the building that it was a nice place, but he hadn't expected this. Of course, Blaine wasn't a stranger to luxury with the amount that his parents have, but this was beyond just a really nice apartment. "This place is amazing,..." he said looking around. He followed Sebastian into the kitchen area, setting down his guitar for a moment. "Oh. Sure, if you want to try it," he replied. He was always the over polite guest in situations like these.

Sebastian:

sebastian went to the automatic wine opener and placed the wine bottle down in it. he turned it on and went to get the two glasses. "how was the drive over? was it hard to find?" he asked as he set the glasses down. he also pulled out some chips and cookies for them. "and no need to be so stiff there killer. it's just me."

Blaine:

Blaine shook his head, chuckling slightly in embarrassment at the reminder to loosen up. He didn't know why he felt so rigid. "Sorry," he mumbled, leaning against the counter. "The drive was fine. The Uber guy seemed to recognize the area," he explained. "My car is still back in LA," he explained.

Sebastian:

“That’s good.” Just as he said this, there was a knock at the door. Sebastian is walked over and grabbed the door. He picked up the food and handed over some cash for tip and brought it in. He went to the cabinet to pull out some plates. “Where do you want eat? Bar, dining room, in front of fox. Makes for good material to laugh at.”

Blaine:

Blaine waited as Sebastian got the food, picking up one of the cookies to eat. He came back and Blaine gave a shrug. "Maybe the couch," he chuckled. "Though lately the news just kind of makes me mad."

Sebastian:

“With that recent cop killing, I would understand.” He said as he handed Blaine the plates to bring to the couch. “We can turn on something else.”

Blaine:

"And all the protests and riots. I've been donating to as many causes as I can to support them," he replied, taking the plates and walking them over. "Sure," he said, giving an appreciative smile. "What's your go to background noise show?"

Sebastian:

“Ummmm....” Sebastian paused and looked at the TV. He grabbed a hold of the remote and shifted over to Disney plus. “Anything but the little mermaid.” He said has he handed out the remote.

Blaine:

Blaine took the remote with a chuckle. “I can do that,” he replied, starting to scroll through stuff. “How about Alice, then? Since you like it?”

Sebastian:

"don't pick it for me-- we can do mulan." he offered as he picked out his order of curry and rice. he moved it onto the plate and grabbed a hold of the extra pepper to put on it. he moved so that he was close to blaine on the floor. "have you tried red curry before?" he asked as he pulled out part of his chicken. and dabbed it into his rice.

Blaine:

"I'm not just picking it for you. I like that movie, too," he replied. It was like Blaine to offer what someone else wanted, but he also did really just want to watch something he knew Bas liked. He took his own food and portioned himself out some on the plate. "I don't think so? At least not recently," he replied.

Sebastian:

sebastian made blaine a spoon packed with the how curry along with some chicken and rice. he held his hand under the spoon and held it up for blaine to try. "it's really good, at least i like it. not too sweet." he mentioned as he let blaine try it. he looked up and the wine and then got up to go get it. he poured them half glasses and set it out. he sat back down on the floor. "sure, i like that." he hummed as he had another spoonful.

Blaine:

Blaine flattened a hand to hold by Sebastian's - just in case - and leaned in to take the bite. He hummed appreciatively as he chewed. "That is really good," he agreed once he'd swallowed. "Thanks." When Sebastian got up, he looked for the movie and clicked play once he'd returned. "I have a really old copy of the Alice books from my Dad's side of the family," he mentioned.

Sebastian:

There was a smile at blaines reaction before he went back to his food. He perked up. “I would have a nerd jizzing contest with you and Blaine about that.” Sebastian told him. “I love the original books.” He looked over. He really didn’t want the movie to get in the way of what they were doing.

Blaine:

Blaine picked up the wine glass and took a sip. He laughed at Sebastian's reaction to his comment. "My mom used to read it to me when I was falling asleep. And then I saw the movie and was very confused because there is so much that's different. Where was the Duchess? And the movie is basically the two books twisted," Blaine laughed. "I was kind of an obnoxious kid, I'm sure."

Sebastian:

Sebastian snorted. “I would love a kid like you.” Sebastian said as he looked over at Blaine. “I bet you were so cute with those big around eyes looking up at her.” He blinked as he glanced over Blaines hair. “Do you always get it down like that?” He asked.

Blaine:

Blaine smiled, blushing slighty at his words. "I was a pretty cute kid, I have to admit." Blaine nodded, continuing to eat his food. "Yeah, pretty much every day. It's just easier this way," he said with a shrug. The routine had been his since he was a kid and it was a reliable way of it looking nice.

Sebastian:

Sebastian smiled brightly at blaines comment about his childhood. Sebastian thought about his own childhood— running around and attempting to hide from his mother. He took a sip of his wine as that imagine evolved. He quickly stopped it whenever it turned into his teenage years. “I’m obsessed with hearing these. I what else did you read growing up?” He asked. “Oh really everyday?? I think that’s noble. Even when you’re not doing anything?”

Blaine:

"She also read me all the Narnia books and the Oz books. I think The Patchwork Girl of Oz was my favorite," he replied, still slightly bashful in the way he spoke. No one had ever asked to hear more about what his childhood was like. "What about you? What were your go-to childhood books?" He gave another nod at the next hair question. "If I have any intention of leaving my room, then yes. If I'm just going to be alone, maybe not."

Sebastian:

Sebastian listened with intent. His brain commit to memory everything about Blaine. After Blaine had asked his question, Sebastian thought for a moment about his childhood books. “Don’t laugh. I hate to casually admit that I loved the Nancy Drew books and Goosebumps. I also love the little prince or...” the translation flipped in his head. “The adventures of tintin. It was another detective series.” Sebastian explained to him knowing full well that it was a book released in France. Sebastian turned his torso to Blaine and his hair grazed over the males smooth hair. Sebastian wanted nothing more than to touch it. He had been thinking about Blaine a lot for the past few weeks. All he wanted to do was get Blaine next to him in bed so their conversations weren’t so distant from each other. He leaned onto his elbow and mindlessly stuck some curry in his mouth.

Blaine:

Blaine smiled as Sebastian listed off the books he'd loved as a kid. It was really adorable. "I think I've heard of Tintin. He has a dog right?" he asked, trying to make a mental picture in his head. "I also loved the Goosebumps books, little you had good taste," he laughed, taking another sip from his glass.

Sebastian:

sebastian smiled and shook his head. "no, but he has a dog named snowy." sebastian pulled out his phone and showed him the pictures of the poodle and talked through some of his favorite adventures. "excuse my ranting, i loved the stories. my mom would also read them. sometimes my nanny, but she was never successful at getting me to go to sleep. as for goosebumps, that would always put me to sleep." he laughed.

Blaine:

Blaine leaned forward to look at Sebastian's phone screen, occaisionally looking at Sebastian's face while he talked. If you asked him if he ever thought he'd see Sebastian Smythe prattle on about a French children's story, he definitely say no, but it also somehow made sense. "No, don't apologize at all," Blaine replied, echoing his laughter. "You fell asleep to Goosebumps? Those always kept me up worrying about whatever boogeyman was in my closet."

Sebastian:

sebastian tongue pressed to the inside of his bottom lip, creating a bubble on his chin and showing off the jewelry in his mouth. he was starting to get full, so he simply started to pack up his food and set it aside. "i never thought there was a booyman." sebastian thought aloud. an idea popped into his head when blaine said this. his breathe slowed as he leaned back against the couch. his breathe slowed down a bit and he forced his eyes to soften. "it makes me think about a story my mom used to tell me..." his voice softened. he scrunched up his nose as if the information he was relying was becoming painful. "my mom told me--" he changed to a french accent. "sébastien, as a little boy, you should always know you family." he changed back to a regular english accent. "one summer, my mom's estranged aunt came to visit. with her came a little girl named maria that was my mom's age. together, they hit it off right away. they would spend their time in the swimming pool together, painting and dancing out in the fields. but maria was funny in the sense that she would walk up in the middle of the night. every so often she would get up and leave my mom's bed." his voice lowered to a hush sound. his green eyes connected with blaines and sebastian breathed in, to make sure that blaine had eye contact with him. his arm slid down to the floor and closer to blaine. "one night, her cousin left the room and didn't return. confused in the morning, my mother sat up and went to her aunt and asked where maria went. her aunt looked at my mom with bewilderment and shook her head." he said this in a french accent. "maria? what are you talking about dear? who i maria?" english again. "my mother told her about maria, her cousin that the estrange aunt brought. in that moment, her aunt started to wail and all around the table came looks of despair. immediately, my mom was sent to her room. --- without understanding, my mother stormed off to her room in tears. not understand what she had been punished for. later that afternoon, my grand mother came to the room, telling her that such thing was inappropriate. in tears, my mother demanded an explanation. there-- my grandmother told my mother that maria was her estranged aunt's stillborn baby and why she had been gone for so many years. horrified at this discovery, my mother tossed herself under her blanket and cried herself to sleep. later that night, she woke up hungry. as she sat up, she shivered and pulled on her jacket." sebastian's voice became lower and he leaned into blaine. his voice barely above a whisper. "when she stood up, the old floor boards below her creaked. she took a step-- then another before she felt and heard that familiar voice. 'adrianna?' she stopped dead in her tracks, but the floor boards kept creaking as if there were another walking behind her. they got closer... and closer and then..." as if it were timed, alice from the movie let out a petrified scream while sebastian reached out and grabbed blaine's shoulder from behind. sebastian himself jumped a little bit at the loud sound that came from the tv.

Blaine:

As Sebastian started his story, Blaine set his plate back on the table. At first he was entirely fooled into the story - he certainly was a good actor. He listened with rapt attention, leaning forward on his legs as his eyes stayed glued on Sebastian's. It was about at the moment where the story started to take on the more ghostly elements that Blaine realized that Sebastian must be pulling his leg, but he was so wrapped up in the story that he didn't dwell too hard on his own gullible-ness. He was leaning forward just a bit more, excited to see where this was going when the scream came from the TV. That combined with the hand on his shoulder made Blaine startle, letting out a surprised yelp. It took a few moments before he looked at the movie and realized where they were in the film and his wide eyes crinkled into laughter.

Sebastian:

sebastian waited for blaine to laugh before sebastian copied him. his white teeth shined on as the other laugh. sebastian finished his wine before he started to clean up. "i'm ready for a couple of songs-- if you're up to it." sebastian asked.

Blaine:

"You really got me," he chuckled. "Did you know that scream was going to happen?" As he saw Sebastian start to clean up, Blaine did the same, getting the food packed away and swallowing the rest of his own drink. The request for music came and Blaine gave a nod, getting up to grab the guitar from where he'd left it. "I'm always up for a little music," he replied as he returned. The guitar was fairly simple, but still clearly elegant and not inexpensive. He sat on the couch, starting to tune by ear. "Okay, what do you want me to start with?"

Sebastian:

Excited, Sebastian collected everything and went to put it all away. On his way back, Sebastian brought the wine to refill their glasses. Sebastian sat down across from him and examined the guitar with a bit of admiration on his face. He’d never learned how to play, and he commended anybody who did learn to play it. He watched Blaine from the other end and thought about his next words. “Anything you’d like killer.” He said as he took a sip of his wine.

Sebastian:

Blaine strummed it once to ensure the tuning was good. Satisfied, he started picking out a melody. "I'll give myself a warm up before I show you my song," he said, giving Sebastian a grin. He was a little nervous about playing it for him. With Rachel, the only person other than his professor who had heard it, he knew it was so she could help him improve it. And the song at the gala - that was fun but it didn't hold the kind of personal significance this did. Playing it for Sebastian, it felt...sort of intimate. He started playing James Taylor's "You've Got a Friend", slow and quiet with just the guitar and his voice.

Sebastian:

Sebastian nodded and allowed Blaine he time. He hummed a long, letting his leg swing to the beat. He could tell Blaine was a bit unsure. So Sebastian joined in lightly, and sung with him. After it finished, Sebastian smiled. “You don’t need to sing me your first song.” Sebastian said cooly. “I just want to hear your voice.” He smiled. “Just play what you’re comfortable with.” He encouraged. He took a sip of his wine.

Blaine:

Blaine smiled as Sebastian sung with him. He liked his voice a lot. He didn't hear a lot like it, as softly as he was singing. And he had to admit their voices sounded really nice together. His fingers rested against the strings as he looked over at Sebastian. "I want to play it for you," he said before biting the inside of his lip. "I know it's silly... I've let other people hear it, but those were music people... It feels different playing it for you," he explained. "In a good way. I'm just... I guess..." What? That he cared about Sebastian's opinion on it? That he wanted him to like it?

Sebastian:

Sebastian showed him a soft smile. His green eyes softened as Blaine rambled. He shifted so that he was facing Blaine now. His torso was stretched out long, his butt sitting on the edge of the couch while the bottom of his shoulder nestled softly into the couch. His legs were twisted with his left leg over his right. His full attention was on Blaine. Sebastian watched blaines lips for a moment before he tore away to his eyes. “I can’t wait to hear it.”

Blaine:

Blaine met his eyes and returned the smile, grateful that the other man was just listening and watching. He nodded as he spoke, turning his focus back to the strings below him as he started plucking out the intro. Every once in a while, he'd lift his head up to look at Sebastian, trying to gauge his reaction to both the melody and the lyrics.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HPaBXxA_k-g

Sebastian:

Sebastian expression for the most part was still rather than reactive to the playful banter. His expression had softened something he would find to be weak and vulnerable. The emotions that music traditionally brought out struck him with both lyrics and the melody. Sebastian heart pounded as he felt it’s effect wash over him. His body numbed to its message that Blaine had to tell him. It shook his bones. Thanks to the uplifting beat, Sebastian felt all his emotions suddenly become valid. He could feel the pressure behind his eyes build up. Before he could stop himself, Sebastian leaned in and pressed his lips to Blaines. His body held itself above his guitar as to not damage the instrument.

Blaine:

As Blaine played, there was a sense of confidence that grew within him, just from the soft way Sebastian was looking at him. There was no judgement that he could find. When the song was coming to an end, Blaine was trying to formulate what he'd say. He didn't often give one on one performances. All of those thoughts were wiped out with Sebastian coming so close to him. Before he could really figure out what was going on, Bas's lips were on his. At first, he was startled, but after a second of recognition, he let himself lean into it, sliding his guitar out from between them to lay beside Blaine on the couch.

Sebastian:

He could feel his happiness bloom as Blaine had returned the action. Once the guitar was out of the way, Sebastian leaned in deepen to the kiss. His heart thumped loudly in his chest, enough to feel it heavily in his throat. He could feel himself wanting more; not the the way he usually got though. He opened his eyes, realizing that they had been shut right out of nervous energy. Sebastian couldn’t even remember the last time he felt these things and to be honest, this was due to repression. Sebastian could feel his body torn between continuing and stopping. In response, Sebastian tilted his head down out of the kiss, leaving only his wine stained lips on Blaines. His forehead rolled against blaines. He let out a laugh. “Sorry...” Twice within a week was more times Sebastians apologized in 4 years. “It was amazing.” He said as his eyes directed downward to blaines chin.

Blaine:

Blaine's hand found it's way up to Sebastian's cheek. He couldn't believe that Sebastian was kissing him. A million thoughts raced through his head about all of their past interactions and how the other had been flirting and that this hadn't been all in Blaine's head. He tried to quiet this racing and just focus on how nice it felt to have Sebastian so close to him. Then, Sebastian slightly pulled away. His laughter drew some out of Blaine, shaking his head ever so slightly as their foreheads still pressed together. "You don't need to apologize," he assured, eyes looking for the others, despite how close they were. You never have to apologize for kissing me, he wanted to add, but stayed quiet. "Thank you. I don't think any one has ever kissed me because they like my music," he teased, moving his thumb against Sebastian's cheek slightly.

Sebastian:

Sebastian hand went to blaines hands. Sebastian felt over the rough callous built up by those talented fingers. He moved his body so that he would finally be in comfortable next to him. Sebastian thought long and hard about what to do next. “Mhmm...” he snorted. He smiled. “Do you like it?” Sebastian asked as his eyes connected with Blaine’s.

Blaine:

Blaine shifted as Sebastian did, letting them settle near each other. He kept his gaze on him, smiling like an idiot, Blaine was sure. "My music? Or you kissing me?" he said, perhaps a little cheekily. He brought his hand from Sebastian's face, but kept it close to him.

Sebastian:

Sebastian wanted to link them up again and kiss, but his mind was starting to come down off the love high and starting to be rational again. Then again, what exactly is rational to him? “I would be very interested in how you wouldn’t like your own music.” He laughed at blaines cheeky attempt as he inches nearer. “I might give you more sugar for the right answer though.”

Blaine:

Blaine chuckled, shaking his head at Sebastian’s first comment. “I think your own music is the easiest kind not to like. Hence why it’s taken me so long to actually show people what I’ve been working on since I was, like, a teenager,” he pointed out, match his body language of desire. “Because it’s a part of me that I’m showing to someone else.” He smoothed the back of his hair, slightly nervous. He didn’t know much much to address this obvious mutual attraction. “I’m glad you kissed me.”

Sebastian:

Sebastian listened intently. He had even pulled his head back. As Blaine spoke, Sebastian let his hand rest into Blaines. His thumb stroked Blaines hand. There was a pause for Sebastian to think and internalize Blaines speech. Sebastian had felt Blaines passion and warmth along with his compassion for others. Something Sebastian hadn’t believed in for a long time. Even watching others perform this act made Sebastian think that it was all fake and for the single purpose of gain. However Sebastian didn’t quite understand what was happening in the moment. He’s rational thought was a lie and Sebastian resorted back to that scared teenage boy he was stuck in. His jaw clinched as the pause dragged on. “Thank you.” He smiled to Blaine as he thought of a way to recover for this slip up. “For doing that. It was really beautiful.” He spoke slow as a way to pause for more time. Pressure exploded from behind his eyeballs and he felt his body go numb, like it usually did when he felt about to cry. He took in a deep breathe as he attempted to get through it. But he couldn’t help his eye water at the edges. He placed his wrist against his eyes. “Oh allergies.” He complained as he blinked. “My contacts are also super old too. I need to take them out. Excuse me for a minute.” He said as he stood up from the couch and went to the bathroom on the first floor.

Blaine:

Blaine curled his fingers around Sebastian's as their hands touched. It meant a lot that he was just listening and taking it in. The pause after he spoke didn't feel that strange to Blaine until he saw a subtle shift in the planes of Sebastian's face. Quickly, it melted into words and a smile and Blaine smiled back at the gratitude, mumbling an 'of course.' Then he started to see the wetness gathering in Sebastian's eyes and heard the way his breath changed. Was he about to cry? "Oh, uh... okay," he said, his body turning to face in the direction that Sebastian had left in. He didn't really believe that it was allergies or contacts since he'd been fine until that second, but he also didn't want to crowd him, figuring he'd give him a moment and only follow if he was gone too long.

Sebastian:

Sebastian went to the bathroom and pulled out his contacts. Later he returned with the gold thin wire framed glasses. He picked up his wine and his small little fit was over. Or at least suppressed for the time being. “Is that the only song you brought?” He asked as he returned to his spot where he was before. This time with his wine.

Blaine:

Blaine was about to get up when he heard Sebastian's footsteps heading back. Seeing that he was now wearing glasses, he decided not to say anything. Maybe it was just his contacts bugging him. Blaine picked the guitar back up, running his hand along the strings. "I mean, I can play a lot things," he chuckled. Had whatever moment they'd had passed? "Is there something you want to hear?"

Sebastian:

sebastian felt a bit bad looking at blaine. he wanted to kiss the man again. in fact, sebastian wanted to take him upstairs and undo that hair. but his mind was attempting it's damn near hardest to hold him back. he sat down with his wine and took a sip. "anything." he told the other. "i love listening to you."

Blaine:

Blaine smiled a little wider when Sebastian spoke, shaking his head in modesty. "Let's see..." he said, trying to think of something. He hummed as an idea came to him and started to play a sort of jazz swing, but a little more punctuated. "Sinatra," he explained, but it was also clearly influenced by his own style. He licked his lips after the first chorus, starting in a whistle section as he kept up the fingerwork. Guitar was definitely his best instrument. Something about it had always called out to him.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rC4ZnKL0a-k

Sebastian:

it didn't take much to pull down sebastian's guard again. as blaine started, sebastian bopped along to the beat. he had to force his body still to not show off too much swaying. when blaine started to whistle, sebastian's jaw clinched. there was no way that would fly again with bas' being the reason. he laughed as blaine finished the song. sebastian put down his wine glass, reached forward for that blasted guitar, gently set it down and pushed himself onto blaine. this time, his lips pushed inward to show off his aggressive side.

Blaine:

He finished, laughing along with Sebastian, though he wasn't really sure why. The other started to pull the guitar from his hands and he let go, more than curious to see where this was going to go. Then, he had Sebastian's lips on his again. Good to know that all it took was a little guitar to get him to close the distance between them. It had been way too long since someone had kissed Blaine like this, forceful and needing. He did his best to match Sebastian, hands finding his body to hold him close. He had had no idea when he left the hotel that this was where today was going, but he certainly wasn't going to complain.

Sebastian:

this time, sebastian's lips twisted in with blaine's. his tongue craved every taste of the man. he moaned softly as his tongue pushed through his lips and into his mouth. sebastian's ring ran over blaine's tongue as sebastian explored the roof of blaine's mouth. he playfully clicked his tongue ring against blaine's teeth. sebastian opened his eyes to watch blaine's face.

Blaine:

Sebastian was deepening the kiss and Blaine let him, parting his lips gently so his tongue could dip inside. He knew Sebastian had the tongue piercing from little glimpses of it here and there. He had always thought it was hot, but it was definitely a million times more of a turn on, he decided, when it was tracing the inside of your mouth. The clicking against his teeth spurred Blaine on, teasing his tongue against Sebastian's with a stuttered breath and a small sound of enjoy mean somewhere between a moan and a laugh.

Sebastian:

sebastian took part in the laugh, catching blaine's tongue between his teeth. he let go of his tongue and continued to laugh. "I wanted to kiss you for so long." he breathed as he kissed blaine's chin. he turned his head to the side of blaine's face. "every since i saw you the first time next to sam, i thought you were the hottest thing i'd see all semester." he whispered to him.

Blaine:

Blaine's hands moved up Sebastian's back as he moved from his mouth to the side of his face. He could feel heat in his stomach as Sebastian said that he wanted to kiss him for a while. "Why didn't you?" he whispered back. "I thought you were just flirting for flirting's sake, not that you actually wanted to..." He demonstrated, kissing where he could reach on his jaw from this position. "For the record, I also thought you were hot. I probably acted like an idiot," he chuckled.

Sebastian:

sebastian connected eyes with blaine. he hummed as he fit himself in-between blaine's legs. his body buzzed with excitement as he hovered over blaine. he had been thinking about nothing but the man since they met that one evening for studying. he didn't understand this-- if blaine were any other man he picked up from the bar, sebastian wouldn't be stopping for conversation, he'd be wiggling off their pants. instead, he listened to the man under him. his soft green eyes looked at blaine in a different light. sebastian moved to blaine's jaw line. "i would never...." sebastian huffed into blaine's ear. "do that to anybody as sexy as you."

Blaine:

Blaine shifted so he could lean back more into the couch and let Sebastian settle against him. He tilted his chin up slightly, almost arching into Sebastian's touches. "I thought you were going to kiss me that night we were studying," Blaine admitted, tracing the tips of his fingers up and down Sebastian's back just to give them something to do. "But I'm glad you are now." He turned his head to reconnect their lips.

Sebastian:

sebastian could hardly say anything to that night. that's when it all started-- this damn crush. maybe he had it before. but the time for talk was coming to a close. as he heard these words, sebastian's pierced tongue wiggled into blaine's mouth. his hand cupped blaine's smooth chin and brought him in. he hoped with this action that blaine would stop talking.

Blaine:

It certainly did shut Blaine up. His hands found more solid purchase as Sebastian deepend the kiss, lifting his head slightly to meet him. His hand moved up the back of Sebastian's neck, resting at his hairline and letting his fingertips slightly dig in. His tongue traced around Sebastian's, enjoying the unfamiliar sensation of the metal in his mouth.

Sebastian:

sebastian moved his hand over the back of blaine's neck and pulled him in. sebastian stuck out his tongue, closed his eyes, and drowned himself in blaine's taste. he let out soft moans as his tongue dug deeper. his hands wiggled between blaine's head and that stiff layer of gel. sebastian pulled away for air. "what do you put in your hair?" he asked.

Blaine:

Blaine was entirely in the moment, trying not to let thoughts wander beyond anything other than how Sebastian's weight felt over him or the sounds cming from those lips. He couldn't help but laugh when Sebastian was clearly trying to reach into his hair. Everyone he'd ever been with had made some comment or another about the gel. "It's just hair gel," he said, though he knew most people didn't use quite the strength or amount he did.

Sebastian:

“Are you sure?” Sebastian asked as he felt through it. “How hot and bothered do I have to get you in order to get that unglued from your head?” He asked as he lifted Blaine up. “You want to go upstairs?” Sebastian asked him.

Blaine:

Blaine smiled back at him. "Pretty sure." That second comment made him blush, mostly because he knew that the gel did, in fact, release when he really got going in bed, but he laughed it off. "Maybe you'll find out," he teased, letting himself sit up. The thought of seeing his bedroom was definitely enticing. "Sure."

Sebastian:

Sebastian took blaines hand and stood up. He lead the way to the stair case in the back. It was dark, typically Sebastian didn’t even turn on the light. He’d just feel his way through the darkness. Once they got upstairs, the two of them stood in front of a grand king sized mattress with two shelves on either side. Sebastian flipped on a light switch, but instead of the bright Lights in the roof, fairy lights came on about the dark mattress. Sebastian turned to Blaine and stepped back. Sebastian let go of his hand and walked over to the grand stereo that sat the right. Right on top of the beautiful vintage stero sat Sebastians baby, the vinyl record player that was Sebastians pride and joy. “Any request?” Sebastian asked him. “Maybe that jazz that I got at Waterloo.” He said as he pulled out the record that he purchased they say they went.

Blaine:

Blaine kept their hands to gether as they walked up to Sebastian's room, careful not to trip going up the stairs. Once the lights were on in the room, Blaine couldn't help but let out a breath at how nice it was. The bed was huge with those twinkly lights...then he looked at Sebastian and the stereo he was indicating. That was one of the nicest set ups he had ever seen, record player included. "I think you could play anything on that thing and it would sound amazing," he said, giving him a nod.

Sebastian:

Sebastian put in the jazz CD he mentioned and was careful with the technology. He made sure that the music was playing before he turned to Blaine. Sebastian moved over to Blaine and took his hand. He leaned over slowly, he moved his hands to cup around blaines legs and up into his ass. Sebastian pulled him up so that Sebastian could deepen the kiss.

Blaine:

Blaine gave his hand a small squeeze as they were pulled closer together. He leaned into Sebastian's touch, meeting every new touch. He hummed at the contact, hands finding Sebastian's cheeks as they moved their lips against each other's.

Sebastian:

Sebastian pulled Blaine up on him by his legs and walked over with him on his hips. All the time not parting from blaines lips. Adrenaline pumping, Sebastian threw him on the bed. As he leaned onto the bed, Sebastian reached behind his neck and pulled his shirt off, showing off the pale long torso with the light outlines of abs. He tossed it aside and pushed himself on top of Blaine and returned his lips to Blaines. His hands drifted down blaines neck and over his chest. He twitched when he felt over the tuff of chest hair.

Blaine:

Blaine lifted his legs around Sebastian's waist, clinging tight to him as they made their way over to the bed. Blaine landed on the bed, scrambling back towards the pillows. He watched as Sebastian pulled off his shirt, smiling appreciatively. He tugged at his own clothes, pulling his shirt off and throwing it over with Sebastian's before they met again in a kiss. Blaine let his hands skim over the skin on Sebastian's back, appreciating the definition of his muscles. He held the other as close as he could, breaking their lips apart to kiss along his jaw.

Sebastian:

Sebastian let out soft moans through the kisses as he dove into Blaines world. For weeks, he had been craving this. Every male Sebastian brought him was to attempt to get the imagine of Blaine out of his mind. Shameful to admit, he’s touched himself to these thoughts and feelings too. He closed his eyes and drowned in the sensation of the man beneath him. The kiss earlier and everything after that was everything he wanted. Instead of focusing on the psychical feelings, all Sebastian could think about was Blaines bright smile and starring personality. With every inhale, Sebastian absorbed that sweet smell that the other had, making him hard in what seemed like world record time. There was nothing strong enough in Sebastians mind to stop him now. His fingers flowed through Blaines chest hair some more before moving downward over Blaines abs. He spent little time there and kept going to blaines pants. With one hand, he undid the belt and jeans. He opened his eyes as Blaine started to kiss his jaw, that tinkly hot feeling flushed from his mouth to the skin where Blaines lips touched.

Blaine:

Blaine honestly couldn't believe this was happening. Since he met Sebastian, he'd put him on this sort of unattainable pedestal. He just assumed that it wasn't even worth the energy to pine after someone who seemed so hot and cool. And, getting to know him, Blaine found that he was funny and interesting and a great listener. He couldn't tell if that made him more or less intimidating. But, there they were in Sebastian's bed, clearly turning each other on with every movement of their tongues and hands. Blaine ran his hand up Sebastian's back to tangle in his hair, the other moving to rest on his waist, his thumb pressed against the outline of his abs. They stayed there as his lips moved to Sebastian's neck, only moving as his pants were undone and he brought his hands down to start to pull them off. Sebastian's hands being so close to where Blaine wanted them most was clearly having an effect on his bloodflow, bringing some relief as he was freed from the denim.

Sebastian:

Sebastian moaned as he felt Blaines soft lips. He moved slowly to Blaine ear and gave it a tender kiss. The next fifteen minutes came hard and fast for Sebastian. Once they had finished, Sebastian came up from to lay down next to the other. He gave himself a few minutes to catch his breathe before he rolled over and stood up. He went to the restroom and came back with a towel for Blaine. “Here you go.” He offered.

Blaine:

Blaine panted as he relaxed into the pillows. The two lay there for a few moments, the only sounds were their calming breaths. He looked over at Sebastian with a dopey, post-orgasm smile as he stood up. His eyes followed him to the bathroom , sitting up a bit as Sebastian returned. "Thanks," he said, taking the towel and wiping the mess from himself. He had never been exactly comfortable in these after-care moments, especially sudden things like this, but he felt fine with Sebastian there. "Are you going to lay back down?" he said once he was done.

Sebastian:

sebastian leaned over the bathroom counter, completely naked and comfortable. he turned on the water and felt over it and waited for it to get warm. "only if you come lay down next to me." he said, poking his tongue into his check. he leaned over and splashed some water on his face. he grabbed a hold of his mouth wash and rinsed out his mouth. "if you need anything use it." he offered. "if you want a toothbrush, i have an extra. just in case for round two." he winked at him.

Blaine:

Blaine watched him go through is cleaning ritual. If it was possible, Blaine was probably even more attracted to him now. He didn't seem to have any care or insecurity like this. The gel had started to come loose, especially around the nape of his neck and his hairline where sweat had collected. "I might at least take you up on the mouth wash."

Sebastian:

sebastian nodded and handed it over to him to take a sip from the bottle like he had done just five minutes ago. sebastian leaned his bare ass against the counter of sink. "are you coming to lay down with me?" he asked in a sweet like manor. "all that energy you've got, i might need to go downstairs and refuel." he laughed.

Blaine:

Blaine took the bottle and did a rinse of his own. Setting it down with a quick thank you, he looked up at Sebastian with a grin and a laugh. “We could definitely grab some more food. Then curl up?” he suggested, stepping a little closer to him.

Sebastian:

the fact that blaine was saying thank you put a smile on sebastian's face. damn this boy's inferno need to be adorable and respectful. sebastian nodded looking back at blaine. he hesitated for a moment. sebastian had the urge to lean over and hiss him. he licked his lips and stared at blaine for a moment. they weren't boyfriends or anything like that, why would sebastian act in such an affectionate way. his mind started to put up blocks as he looked at the ground. he leaned over and grabbed a hold of his boxers and pulled them on. "sure, you want the rest of your dinner, some cream-- excuse me if i don't have any. i've had enough for tonight." he chuckled.

Blaine:

Blaine just looked back at Sebastian, unsure of what the next move would be. He was the kind of person for whom, once a physical barrier was withdrawn, he usually kept it that way. Physically affectionate, he didn't see a reason not to be close to people he cared about, even if this wasn't anything more than sex. Seeing Sebastian start to put layers back on he went to find his underwear from the clothing on the floor. He smirked at the joke. "Sure, maybe," he replied, chuckling with him.

Sebastian:

"i think you're getting comfortable." sebastian commented. "usually you'd be a bright shade of red." he laughed as he reached for blaine's hand to go down the stairs. once he was there, he shuffled through the cabinets to find his snacks. he had himself some thing to eat. he got himself a bottle of water and offered blaine some. he dug around some more and pulled out some fruits. "oh, you want some strawberries?" he asked as he set down the fruit.

Blaine:

Blaine laughed, rubbing his neck. Ironic that being called out for not getting embarrased made him more embarrased than the sex joke. "I think once the blowjob line has been crossed, you have to work a little harder for the blush," he joked, taking his hand. Once in the kitchen, Blaine leaned casually on the counter top, watching Sebastian as he searched and sipping the water. "Strawberries sound perfect right now," he said, giving a nod.

Sebastian:

“Is that a challenge?” He asked. He pulled out the strawberries and washed over them.l with water. He took out the knives and chopped off the tops. He put them on a plate for the two of them. He picked up a big one and stuck the end between his teeth. He leaned forward for Blaine to take the other half.

Blaine:

“I would say yes, but something tells me you’d win pretty quickly,” he giggled, trying to smooth out his hair. He watched Sebastian’s hands as he cut the fruit. He was gorgeous, even just doing little things like this. He smirked as Sebastian leaned for him to Lady and the Tramp-style eat the strawberry. He met Sebastian where he was and sunk his teeth into the rest of the strawberry, careful not to knock their noses together.

Sebastian:

“You know it.” As he cut the fruit he noted Blaines loosened hair. Sebastian laughed when Blaine did his thing. Sebastian leaned on the counter to get a peak at the loosened curls. He reached back to Blaines black hair. His fingers caught a curl.

Blaine:

Blaine smiled, tilting his head towards Sebastian as he touched his hair. “It’s definitely not all loosened, but you got a couple curls free,” he chuckled.

Sebastian:

Sebastian realized he had just flipped his finger through Blaines hair without saying anything. “I didn’t know it was curly.” He mentioned as his fingers laced into the hair that was still stuck to his head. “Makes round two all that more appealing.” Sebastian kept his fingers there and reach for another strawberry.

Blaine:

Blaine chuckled, nodding at his statement. Not a lot of people did. Really only close friends who'd seen him when he woke up in the morning. "Yeah, it's pretty curly. Hense the gel," he explained. He very rarely had any hands but his own in his hair and he couldn't deny how nice it felt to have someone else's touch. He reached for a berry as well. "That curious, huh?"

Sebastian:

Sebastian pulled his hand away. He smirked at the statement. When the berries were finished off, Sebastian took the plate and tossed it in the sink. He reached for Blaines hand again to go upstairs. Sebastian checked the record player again. “Last opportunity to request something before you’re lost in my eyes.”

Blaine:

Blaine liked that Sebastian took his hand to go room to room. There really wasn't any reason for him to do that, so he didn't really know what it meant. That didn't stop it from making him feel flutters in his chest. "Ooo, do you have Let It Be? The album, obviously."

Sebastian:

a smile came to his face as he removed the needle gently. he fixed the records and set the music down low. he stepped backward and then came to the bed. he laid down. he shifted under the quilt that he had for the hot texas summer days.

Blaine:

Blaine smiled as the music started. It was one of his favorite albums. Seeing Sebastian climb back in bed, Blaine followed. He laid down as well, resting on his side and looking acrss at the other. This is nice, he thought to himself.

Sebastian:

without giving it any second thought, sebastian reached his hand back and gave blaine the option of resting on his chest. either way, sebastian was going to get to loosen more and more of blaine's hair, he was absolutely determined. "ready for tomorrow?" sebastian asked him.

Blaine:

Blaine saw the gesture and curled up to him, laying against his chest. "I don't think it's possible to feel ready for something this big. Especially when they've trusted me with the solo," he admitted. "But I think we've got a really great set list. And everyone's working their butts off for it. So I'm optimistic."

Sebastian:

sebastian blinked. "oh yes, adore me right?" sebastian asked. "you're gonna kill it. fyi." he chuckled. "i'm pretty sure it won't be only my panties on the stage."

Blaine:

Blaine nodded at the name of the song, but blushed at the compliment. He was a performer to his core, but it still felt nice to have that kind of approval someone he wanted to like him. "Thanks. I hope so," he replied. "Hope that I kill it. Not hope that there are...panties."

Sebastian:

when blaine blushed, sebastian smiled widely. that was what he was used to. his fingers entangled themselves in the loose threads of blaine's tightly wove hair. his plan to reveal blaine's in glued state was starting to come to life. "why not?" sebastian asked. "are you more of a boxer/briefs kind of guy?"

Blaine:

Blaine could tell that Sebastian was trying to pry the gelled strands apart. Before today, when Sebastian was this untouchable fantasy in his head, the thought would've freaked him out. But now? There was something about the other wanting to see more of him that felt reassuring. "I'm, uh," Blaine said with a laugh, "I think I'm more of an applause kind of guy."

Sebastian:

sebastian held his smile as blaine spoke. "not even roses?" he asked. his fingers slid further up blaine's head.

Blaine:

Blaine chuckled, looking up at him. "Maybe roses. Flowers are always nice," he replied. "Though unnecessary."

Sebastian:

"you're right, you might just get as red as those roses. dunno, if we'll be able to find that cute face in the middle of all of that." sebastian mused with a smirk on the face.

Blaine:

Blaine laughed again definitely proving Sebastian's point. He traced along Sebastian's collarbone with his fingertips. "You really flatter me too much," he said fondly.

Sebastian:

sebastian leaned forward and kissed blaine. his heart buzzed excitedly as he felt those amazing lips again. he kept his eyes opened, as he pressed a bit harder. he released. "you're gonna be great tomorrow." he whispered. "i can't wait to hear you sing."

Blaine:

Blaine returned the kiss, moving his hand to the back of Sebastian's neck. "Thank you. I really hope it lives up to expectation. And I'm really glad you are coming to watch."

Sebastian:

sebastian kept his face close to blaine's. being so close to blaine shook sebastian to his core. he would give absolutely everything to keep blaine there in his bed forever. "anytime." sebastian told him. he rested his head to the side and listened to the sweet tune of the beatles floating in the air. his green eyes softened as he stared at blaine. his fingers continued to move through blaine's hair.

Blaine:

Blaine smiled, keeping his eyes on Sebastian as they sat quietly with each other. He really was gorgeous like this, just relaxed and listening to the music. He could tell he was making some headway with the gel in his hair and found that the touch was comforting. He could only imagine what it would feel like if his hair was free of product and his fingers could glide through unhindered. "I'm really glad you asked me to come over," he said quietly after a few minutes.

Sebastian:

sebastian gazed at him longer. taking in all of the man in his bed right then. sebastian had never done this before. just hang out. usually, he was attempting to find an escape route. and the oddest thing, they didn't even have full on sex. "i'm glad you came." he responded in a rusty voice. "you wanna sleep here?" sebastian asked. "i can take you back in the morning."

Blaine:

Blaine smiled a little wider as Sebastian confirmed that he was enjoying this time as much as Blaine was. His hand reached for one of Sebastian’s, just to hold it. His heart skipped a beat at that question. “I have to be ready pretty early. Are you sure?”

Sebastian:

a smile tugged at the edge of sebastian's lips. "if this were four months ago-- i would be piss drunk right now with a 800 am class. though, it might be kind of hard being drunk off you and waking up." he teased. "but i'll manage as long as you wake me up with a kiss."

Blaine:

While Blaine didn’t like to think of Sebastian partying on a weeknight, the idea that he was something special meant a lot. He leaned up to kiss him at that last statement. He felt like there was no other choice. “I can definitely do that,” he replied, nodding slightly.

Sebastian:

Sebastian smiled and continued to work his way through Blaines hair. “I’m almost through the gel concrete.” He announced. “You gonna be able to sleep on these fluffy curls?”

Blaine:

Blaine laughed shaking his head slightly. “They’re pretty bad right now, huh. Normally I shower to get the gel out.” Blaine reaches up to feel his own hair. Wow.

Sebastian:

Sebastian pleated his hand on blaines. He hummed as he took in the sight of the disheveled Blaine. He had never imagined Blaine untangled and it turned Sebastian on more than ever. This made Sebastian feel that even though Blaine had an air of class around him, there was still this other side of nerdy mess. “It looks good.” He said simply. His eye lids closed about half way. He fought to keep them open.

Blaine:

Blaine shifted so they were in a better position for sleeping. “Thank you,” he replied, running a hand through his hair as best as he could. “I don’t let just anyone see the curls, so you’re very lucky,” he chuckled.

Sebastian:

Sebastian followed Blaines guide and settled into the soft bed. He closed his eyes. “Would you say that these curls are worse than looking at your dick?”

Blaine:

Blaine cocked his head slightly, looking up at him. “are you insulting my dick?”

Sebastian:

"i find entertainment that i've seen you naked but you're worried more about your hair." sebastian rocked as he took away his hand.

Blaine:

Blaine laughed, touching his hair again. "Ah... Well, I guess I can't really explain that. I guess not having the gel makes me feel even more naked."

Sebastian:

sebastian joined in with him. his little spike of energy had started to drain away again. sebastian moved so that his arm curled around blaine's waist. his eye lids fell heavy again. his mind fought against his body sleep. "noted." he mumbled.

Blaine:

Blaine cuddled closer, smiling slightly as he could tell that Sebastian was nearing sleep. "Goodnight, Sebastian," he replied, half starting to wonder if he'd wake up and this was all a dream.

Sebastian:

"good night b." sebastian replied. sebastain's arm went limp on blaine's hip as he relaxed his body.

Blaine:

Blaine didn't fall asleep immediately, just holding Sebastian close of him and thinking about how everything had accelerated that evening. And how glad he was it had. Eventually, he let himself fall asleep, lulled by the warmth of another body against his. When he woke up the next morning to the sound of his alarm ringing from the pocket of his pants that still lay on the floor, it took him a second to place where he was. He sat up groggily, trying to move slowly on the off-chance Sebastian wasn’t waking up to the alarm. He scooped up his pants, pulling out the phone and turning the alarm off. “Shh,” he whispered to it, quickly checking any notifications he had.

Sebastian:

sebastian woke slowly. his eyes adjusted to the bright early morning light. he felt the shift in the bed. rather than saying anything, sebastian lay still-- lulled between more sleep and getting up. however, it was hard to conceal his amusement whenever blaine spoke to his phone. "is there another person in here that i should be aware of?" he asked, he was still laying on his side with his arm over his arm as some way to block out the light.

Blaine:

Blaine chuckled slightly at the comment, looking up to see that Sebastian was awake. "Sorry, it was being loud." He knew it was pretty early, but he'd have to get to the hotel, shower, and change to be ready for 8AM call time. Blaine had never been a morning person and entirely related to the disgruntled way Sebastian was trying to block out the morning light. "Told you it was going to be an early morning."

Sebastian:

sebastian removed his arm and glanced at blaine through the crook of his arm. he couldn't help but get a crack at blaine's look. he knew that blaine was conscience about his hair and his look-- but seeing the half undone, half drenched in old product made him laugh. the picture he saw sent warmth through his body and the energy made sebastian sit up. "well, you should've told me how beautiful you looked in the morning, i would've opened my eyes a lot sooner." he said as he pushed aside the covers. he moved quickly and picked up his jeans and pulled them on. it was pretty easy to find these since they were the only things on the floor. as soon as he was half dressed, he turned to blaine. "here, let's take my car." he offered. "coffee?"

Blaine:

Blaine flattented the hair to his scalp, laughing with a hint of embarrasment. "Please," he said with a wave of his hand. "I look like I need a shower and a lot of coffee," he chuckled, pulling his pants on and then going to find the shirt he'd worn yesterday. "Cool, thank you. I can give you the hotel address. And coffee would be amazing," he stressed, getting the shirt over his head.

Sebastian:

“At your service.” He leaned over and pressed a kiss to Blaines cheek. Sebastian left the room down to the lower levels. He started to work on his favorite drip. He waited for the water to warm up and looked through his fridge for anything like a quick breakfast. He found some sandwiches his mom has bought for him. “Hey Blaine, you want a breakfast sandwich?” He asked from his position in front of the fridge.

Blaine:

Blaine smiled at the bit of affection. He finished getting himself as put together as he could before following him down the stairs. "Oh, sure, if you have some," he replied, not wanting to take food Sebastian might need. He went over to where his guitar was still splayed out from their makeout session. He started gathering it up and putting it away.

Sebastian:

"is that okay like that?" sebastian asked as he wrapped the sandwich in a towel and placed it in the microwave. after he set the microwave, he went back to his coffee drip and made sure it was working properly. "i don't know much about instruments-- if you need to protect them in their case."

Blaine:

“It’s okay for just an overnight,” he replied with a shrug. Once the guitar was packed, he set it aside and went to stand with Sebastian and watch him get coffee ready. “I just use the case when I take it places. In my room I have a stand. But, yeah, always best in a case so it doesn’t get crushed or something.”

Sebastian:

sebastian pulled out the two to-go cups. he placed them down and separated out the coffee. the microwave beeped. he moved over to grab the breakfast sandwich. he wrapped it in a paper towel. "go to the fridge and pull out whatever cream you want." he told blaine as he started to pour the coffee into the two cups.

Blaine:

Blaine nodded and headed over to the fridge. He pulled out a little container of half and half. “What are you going to do before we go on?” he asked, just making conversation in this somewhat domestic scene they’d created.

Sebastian:

“At least shower.” Sebastian chuckled. It was weird having Blaine there. He realized it in the moment that his mornings were usually filled with music, blasting out of the small blue tooth speakers around his house. Sebastian got the sugar pot for them and adjusted his coffee. “Have breakfast somewhere. Maybe pick up some roses.” He smiled to himself. “You have any thing to prepare before then?” He ask.

Blaine:

Blaine started to add cream and sugar to his coffee. “God, same, that’s the first thing I’m doing,” he chuckled, stirring his drink. The mention of the roses made him glance over at Sebastian with a smile. He assumed he was just joking, but it was still a sweet callback to their earlier conversation. “No, mostly just getting ready for call. Shower, change, get my hair reveled. We did our run through yesterday after we arrived.”

Sebastian:

Sebastian watched Blaine and noted the others coffee preferences. He committed it to memory. Sebastian modded at his words. “Better get you ready then.” Sebastian smiled as he grabbed his phone and his keys. Instead of going out the front door, Sebastian went to the back door where the garage was. He pressed the opener and looked to Blaine.

Blaine:

Blaine took his things and followed Sebastian out the back door. He didn’t think he could be more impressed with this complex, but he was wrong. The fact that there was a back door to a garage? It was really nice. “Thank you, again, for breakfast and the ride back to the hotel.”

Sebastian:

“Do you need some help with your guitar?” Sebastian asked as he walked around the dark blue Cadillac. He opened up the back door for Blaines instrument. “And anytime.”

Blaine:

Blaine thanked him as he opened up the door. “Just that is great,” he confirmed as he lay the case across the back seat. “It’ll be fine like that.” Blaine walked around to the passenger seat. “Beautiful car,” he commented as he climbed inside.

Sebastian:

Sebastian nodded and walked around to the other side and slipped in. “My mom got it for my birthday.” Sebastian told him. He touched the car to start. “Had some issues back when I got it, and it had to go into the shop.”

Blaine:

Blaine got himself buckled and looked over at him. “Wow, great gift,” he replied, admiring the interior. “Oh? What happened with it?”

Sebastian:

“My mom has been taking about replacing the BMW for a while.” Sebastian caught himself. The BMW was only a couple of years old and he knew that mentioning the young age of the car. All of it just made him sound like the rich white boy he was. “Yeah, it was a good present.” He smiled as he backed out carefully. He closed the garage door and drove off to the hotel. His hand rested in the middle counsel and slowly started to drift over to Blaines leg. “Something about it needing a new starter or something. I don’t know.”

Blaine:

Blaine nodded. He’d grown up very well off, so the idea of multiple cars and new ones especially wasn’t that foreign to him. “Really nice,” he said with a nod. Nicer than most cars he’d been in. He noticed Sebastian’s hand getting closer to his leg and looked over at him, smiling just slightly. “Ah, yeah, that happens,” he replied. He didn’t know all that much about cars, but he at least knew what a starter was.

Sebastian:

Sebastian continued on with his hand. Eventually placing it on the top of blaines knees. He kept it there as he turned the steering wheel. “It makes up with its space. This was one of the only cars that’s fit my legs.” He explained. “Even struggled a bit with the BMW sometimes.”

Blaine:

Blaine watched as Sebastian's hand stilled on his knees. It was the sort of casual intimacy that Blaine didn't often experience. It was this kind of little thing...the touches, the freeing of his curls, the music playing in the background of them falling asleep... that Blaine knew was going to make it very hard not to fall for this guy. "You are pretty lanky," he said with a laugh. "Not a problem I relate to, but I imagine it's annoying while driving."

Sebastian:

sebastian snoted with blaine's comment. "oh, believe me, it was either this or something bigger." he said. "but i don't like big cars." he mentioned as his hand lulled lazily on blaine's knee. sebastian hit the break as a truck swooped in front of them. sebastian shot a look of annoyance before hitting the breaks and putting some distance between them. he thought about blaine's word: lanky. he gave a snort to it. "sexy." he commented.

Blaine:

Blaine chuckled at the thought of Sebastian driving some sort of massive SUV. It definitely didn't seem like his style. "Tall guys are sexy, what are you talking about?" he teased. As much as he was teasing him about it, Blaine thought his long legs and frame were one of the hottest things about him.

Sebastian:

suddenly, sebastian's hand moved to the inside of blaine's legs and squeezed his inner thigh hard. he let out a low humf as he took his hand back so that he had two hands on the steering wheel. smoothly, he started to maneuver quickly around in the traffic.

Blaine:

Blaine let out a small sound at the grip against his thigh. And then just like that, his hand was gone. He wasn’t quite sure how to fill the silence that followed, so he just watched the road in front of him. He took a sip of his coffee and nibbles at the food.

Sebastian:

"how is it?" sebastian asked as he got off the highway. "i haven't tried them, but my mom bought them for me."

Blaine:

Blaine nodded as he swallowed. “It’s pretty good,” he confirmed, looking over at him. “Definitely a good choice on her part. And I’m sure better than whatever hotel food everyone else ate this morning.”

Sebastian:

sebastian smiled. "better than fake eggs and weird looking gravy?" he asked, looking over at blaine. "stale cereal? i would never think that of a microwave sandwich."

Blaine:

Blaine chuckled, sipping his coffee again. “I mean, it’s not high culinary level, but definitely better than stale cereal,” he pointed out.

Sebastian:

"i was expecting you to have the high culinary skills." he chuckled as he turned at a light. "i thought about adding a cookie just to show off that i won't be a complete dead beat in the kitchen."

Blaine:

"I mean, I'm definitely not hopeless in the kitchen either. I'm definitely better at baking than I am any other cooking skill," he replied with a smile. "I think between the four of us we'll be able to make some really good stuff," he replied, referring to the house.

Sebastian:

sebastian pulled up to the hotel and glanced over. "you're making me want to skip this whole summer." he looked over at blaine as he shoved the car into park. he paused for a second and looked over at the other. his heart pounded as he thought of something to say to the other. his brain barely even registered the past ten minutes it took to get there. "i don't... um..." his brain was stuck. last night they made out, messed around, and sebastian couldn't grasp this. typically, sebastian would get them an uber and then kick them out. taking blaine home, making his breakfast, giving him coffee-- sebastian didn't want to let this go. he glanced at blaine as he felt his coffee come up. "um... break a leg today." sebastian stretched out his smile at the other.

Blaine:

Blaine smiled. He definitely couldn't wait for the fall either. They arrived at the hotel and Blaine almost didn't want to get out of the car. It had been a great night. Not just because of the kissing or the orgasms, but just because he spent it with Sebastian, feeling like someone cared about him and wanted to be near him. "Thanks," he said, returning his look. "For everything." He got out and went to get the guitar from the back before coming back to the open passenger side door. "I'll see you later?"

Sebastian:

sebastian blinked at blaine. he waited for blaine to go grab his things. his brain started numb out as blaine peaked through the passenger door. he stared at blaine for a minute. he gripped the loose fabric on his jeans. "yeah... you'll see me today."

Blaine:

Blaine gave a slight smile again. "Okay, cool. See you then." Blaine could feel the tension at leaving this night behind. Should they part with a kiss? A wave? It was just a hook-up, right? But, it felt like something more than that. "Okay, uh, bye."

Sebastian:

"bye..." sebastian said. he couldn't help but feel the awkward moment. there was something he wanted to do, he wanted to tell blaine to come back and stay with him. he wanted to follow blaine up stairs and continue to feel through that fluffy frizz hair and listen to him warm up. he lifted his hand up and waved at blaine.

Blaine:

Blaine returned the wave and shut the car door, stepping back so Sebastian could peel away. He knew he had to hurry upstairs and take a shower, change, start making sure his voice and body were ready for today, but he stayed for a moment to watch him peel away.

Sebastian:

Sebastian stared at Blaine for a moment. Maybe he should get out and hug Blaine, kiss him, or... something. But Sebastian just push himself into drive and Sebastian pulled away from him.

@utsmythe

#para:sebastian #seblaine rp #utsmythe

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wtnvwritings · 5 years

Text

Meeting Your Mate

AO3 Version

Relationship: Kevin/Reader

Rating: Teen

Word Count: 2.4k

Note: This is part of my Escape Strex AU, and this was also a commission for @matronofthevoid!

Summary: All seems normal in Night Vale, until a sudden sandstorm overtakes the town. While Cecil is out trying to get first-hand information and updates, Kevin is left to man the studio, reporting on all the mysterious portals popping up and so-called 'doubles' walking out of them.

But then he meets someone familiar--someone he had been told was dead:

You.

---

Lights twinkling above our high above our heads in the dark night sky. Are they stars, or are they government-funded observation planes making sure that you’ve not forgotten to brush your teeth that night?

Either way, please make sure you report to city hall tomorrow morning for reconditioning after hearing this,

Welcome to Night Vale.

[Intro Music Plays]

Good morning Night Vale, it’s Cecil! Or, well, it would be Cecil, if he wasn’t currently out of the studio, and it would be a good morning if we weren’t already under the terrible threat of a sandstorm coming in from the west.

If you can't already tell from the sound of my voice, it’s Kevin, your local radio co-host, bringing you all of the latest news and updates to this happy little town of ours.

...Oh, by the way, there’s a sandstorm coming in!

City Counsel has declared an emergency, in fact, so please make sure that all of you seek shelter from the wind and the sand--preferably somewhere with four walls and a roof. Though I know that some of you are very fond of your dugout holes, Night Vale, it simply won’t do to keep you safe!

I’ve been told that the sandstorm will be arriving on the edge of Night Vale in just a couple minutes! I would think that the City Counsel is apologetic about the short-notice warning, but I can’t dare assume anything from them--we all know what happened to the last person who assumed they wanted a medium fry from the local burger joint, after all--but never fear! Cecil himself is working diligently to get a quote, though I hope that he isn’t caught out in this storm as well.

More to report on the sandstorm whenever it gets here--I mean, we can’t rush nature, amiright?

Some wonderful news for all you sports fans out there: baseball season has finally arrived in Night Vale! This Saturday is the minor league opening game for the Night Vale Spider Wolves. They’ll be taking on bitter rivals, the Desert Bluffs Sunbeams.

I’m supposed to say that it will be an exciting, evenly-matched game, but we all know that our very own Spider Wolves won’t have any issues taking on the Sunbeams, especially after we broke the news of their funding getting cut last year.

But who cares? The Sunbeams are just not exciting , or, as Cecil likes to say in a not-as-kind way, ‘ terrible ’. But you didn’t hear that from me Night Vale, because I’m simply reporting on the facts!

And now for traffic.

It seems that the sandstorm has finally reached the highway, Night Vale, and it’s causing all sorts of issues for drivers on the roadway. I’m getting reports of wind speeds as high as--well, on the paper it says ‘unfathomable speeds unlike any ever recorded’ but I’m certain one of the meteorologists just assumed we couldn’t handle the raw numbers. Either way, travelers are advised to stay off the road and seek shelter wherever it can be found.

...There seems to be something far more troubling to the sandstorm, listeners. I am receiving this information right now from Intern Dana--she is handing me the folder, and I am opening it….reading the summary…..taking it all in and….oh, Dana? I believe you had a typo right there, yes, ‘lack of time or space’ should be ‘lack of time AND space’ considering the foreboding context clues by Lerry Leroy.

[Sounds of shuffling papers]

It would seem that portals are opening up across town, dear listeners. From out of these portals walks out people who seem like people we know, but are most assuredly not the people we know. They may look similar, but I am getting reports that these people, dare I say doubles , have brought multiple people to violence.

Please do not fight your double!

We can’t be sure what sorts of consequences there are for fighting--and possibly killing!--your double is, but I am certain it can be nothing good. After all, we remember what happened last month when time and existence came to a stop? Surely you remember that?

Let’s not repeat that unfortunate, uncountable number of repeated evenings, shall we Night Vale?

Now, onto financial news.

You are lost in a sea of sand. You look to the west and see the sun setting in the distance, it’s light slowly hiding behind the endless dunes. There is nowhere to go. Nobody else around you. You are lost.

You stare into the setting sun for what feels like hours, and soon it seems that the sun isn’t really setting at all--has it ever moved? Has anything ever truly moved? Have you moved? Are you moving right now?

Are you even breathing right now?

That has been financial news.

[More sounds of shuffling papers]

Listeners, that sandstorm is starting to get a little...frightening. I know that’s a strong word, like ‘government surveillance’ and ‘wheat’, but I simply cannot find any other word to properly describe what is going on just outside the radio station.

Across Night Vale, it seems dozens upon dozens of people--doubles--have made their way through those mysterious portals. Though some have done best to make peace with their doubles, others have either not heard or ignored my warning and have taken to battle with them.

Please, Night Vale, do not fight your doubles!

Cecil, our normal radio host, has just sent me a direct announcement from our own Mayor Pamela Winchell.

“Please return to your homes immediately!” Mayor Winchell said, her eyes as if wild with an emotion we can not truly comprehend. “I am declaring a state of emergency; if anyone is outside, return to your homes or else risk dematerialization, non-existence and some rather serious sand-burns.”

A second announcement, shortly after, says that she was lying and that “you shouldn’t listen to her. She’s not the real mayor! I am!”

Cecil wrote that, at such point, he was joined by a second Mayor Winchell, who quickly became violent with the first.

A third announcement followed between Mayor Pamela Winchell and the other Mayor Pamela Winchell, requesting that we “give me the microphone and get away from the podium! This is my announcement, you replicant clown!”

Unfortunately, our radio host could not provide much more information, as he was dragged into the fight between the two Mayor Winchells. It is good to know at least that he is safe--I hope that all of you are safe right now, Night Vale, I--

…

[Extended silence]

…

Listeners?

…

I...I see a portal. Night Vale, I see a portal right now, here in this very studio. It is...small, or at least smaller than what I expected it to be--but it is exactly like you expected to be. It’s...swirling, ominously across the room, on the wall opposite of where I am set up so that you all can hear my voice.

It’s...just there. I am not sure if I should be afraid or not, but...for some reason the portal feels...calming?

It’s just sitting there, listeners. Should I approach it? I mean, as any good journalist of Night Vale, being prepared for the unknown is a skill we all learn early in our lives--though the fear of the unknown often quickly comes after that when we all reach the age of seven so I suppose it doesn’t matter in the end.

I am...watching it shimmer. The portal is growing, taking up the entirety of the wall just across from me. I can make out the faintest image within the portal, listeners, and…

…

...It looks like...Night Vale? No, no it doesn’t, it looks….It looks nothing like Night Vale. There is a town through the portal, and it looks bright--so bright. Too bright .

Oh.

I-

…

[Small sounds of shuffling]

It looks like ...like…

Like Desert Bluffs.

I cannot begin to fathom this, Night Vale, but the portals we are seeing--the people coming through them, the ones we believe are our doubles…

Are they all from Desert Bluffs?

You may all know my…. history with that town, my...change of loyalty, to this wondrous little hamlet of ours. If there is anyone here who can identify Desert Bluffs, it would surely be me--and what I see right now, through the portal, is more assuredly that very town.

That town .

I dare to think that perhaps these people coming through the portals, the ones we assume are our doubles, I think instead they might be-

[Near-silent gasp of breath]

...My...my mate…?

Listeners, I apologize for being so confusing. You must understand that these portals--these... things are causing not just your normal tears into time and space--we deal with those every second Wednesday of the month, after all. What I mean is, I…

I’m looking right at the person I had long thought, until this very moment, was dead.

But...you aren’t dead, are you?

I’m talking to my mate of course, listeners--you see, when I escap-... left Desert Bluffs, I had been...waiting for someone. Someone very important to me. For those of you who know who and what I am, you will surely understand the magnitude of the situation I was faced with.

For people like me and Cecil, finding our mate is...the most important thing in our world. Cecil found Carlos and I...I had waited for many years. Many, many years indeed.

[Shuffling noises, the sound of a chair being pushed back]

And...here you are?

How...is that even possible? I thought you were dead--you...you were dead! I was told so. I was…told I’d never see you, never find you...you weren’t…

...Oh?

...Oh.

I see.

You were...waiting for me. In Desert Bluffs. But where? Where were you?

Hiding? No?

Hidden?

Hidden away? But why would you try to hide yourself from m-

Oh.

[Extended silence]

...I see now.

They were hiding you from me.

How long have you been there, at Desert Bluffs?

[Muffled sound of an answer]

I...I can’t imagine waiting that long, except that I can, I have also waited so long--too long--and now you’re...you're right here!

You’re here!

You are standing here in front of me--my mate, listeners--and you are...absolutely beautiful.

No, no it’s alright, don’t mind the scars, love, I have them too--we both have them. Don’t be ashamed--you’re beautiful in all the ways you are right now. I am just...overwhelmed. I was told that I would never meet you, that you were…

...that you were dead.

But they were hiding you from me.

They were...hiding you...from me...

Hi̶̲̚d̸̗̓i̸̼͆n̵͎̈g̴̖͂ ̶͍͆y̶͓͗o̶̯͊ǔ̵̩.̵̻.̵̦̉.̶̙̀.f̷̼͙͖͖̿̇̓̒̅̃͗͆̕r̷͔͔̻͔̀̓̽̔̃̈͆̏̕ȍ̸̰̗̤͉̗͇͜m̴͕͉̦͊̋̆̏̐̉͊̚ ̵̟͖̠̗͐͂̑͋̏̇̎m̷̢͚͐͗̈͒̐͘̚̕ẻ̴̘͕̿̂̐̍̒͐̅͘͘…

I̶̜̋'̶̣͗l̴̟̅l̵̟̑ ̸̫̏h̶̞̋a̷̟̚v̴̰͒e̵̥̿ ̸̺͒t̶̘̾o̸̍ͅ.̸̧̾.̴̜͊.̴̡̃p̶͉̈a̸̭̐ẙ̴̯ ̶̤͒t̸̖̍ḩ̷̉e̶̱̋m̴͕̈́ ̶̰̊á̴͓ ̸̽ͅḻ̷͐i̶̞͘t̸̻̑t̸̖̀l̴̩͠e̴̳̽ ̵̱̂v̸̢̓i̷̮͛s̴͖͘i̶̜͗t̴̫͠.̷̺͝.̷̖̊.̴̥̍ṛ̴͝i̶̡̊ģ̶̏h̶̙͒t̴͙́?̶̫̄

[Sound from the radio shorts out, then turns to white noise for several seconds]

...

[Extended silence]

...

[Sound of the microphone being picked up]

...

Listeners? Are you still there? Night Vale?

If you are still there, this is Cecil, your regular radio host--I’ve returned from my journey to get the front-line news of the sandstorm, since our Intern Dana has been quite busy trying to keep our social media updated with all the relevant outages and traffic warnings. How long has the radio been silent?

Where is...Kevin?

Where is anyone, in fact?

I am standing here in the middle of the recording room, but across from me is a portal and a-

Oh. Hello there! I am sorry, I didn’t see you--uh, I don’t think I recognize you at all. Do I uh, know you?

What?

...Listeners, the person standing in the room with me says that they are…

...Kevin’s mate?

Well, that’s not something I expected to hear. I mean, there’s a lot of things I never expect to hear--none of us are. The news of a baby, the death of a loved one, the securing of a new job, the need to move to a new state….

I mean, we really--Oh!

Listeners, I’m seeing someone coming through the portal now--I can make out the vague shape of their body...they’re stepping closer, the dark silhouette shimmering against what I can only assume is the surface of the portal itself…

Kevin? What in the world are you doing going through the portal? Where...were you? I said in my press report that it wasn’t a smart idea to-

…

...why...are you...covered in blood?

[Sound of a muffled answer]

Ah. I uh, suppose that explains the lovely person standing over here, does it? From Desert Bluffs? I suppose that you...ah, well, I’ll spare our listeners on the silly little details of your encounter-er-visit over there, I’m sure they don’t want to hear all of that anyway.

In fact, I think they would rather hear the update that the sandstorm is finally passing! That’s right Night Vale, we have survived yet another horrific, unfathomable beast of nature, and have come out 100% alright--well, minus the millions of dollars worth in property damage, including several fields worth of corn grown by John Peters, you know, the farmer?

Despite the major damages though, there seem to be no deaths and not a single accountable injury--not even any dematerialization either! I am proud to say that Night Vale, we again have kept ourselves safe from harm and have weathered through yet another disaster--and I hope, nay, I pray that you had considered carefully my words of warning.

I hope you did not hurt or kill your double.

But other than that, it seems that we have reached the end of our segment, so I will turn it back to Kevin to-

Oh?

What’s that?

...Well, what wonderful news, Night Vale! It would seem that we not only didn’t lose a single person to the sandstorm, but in fact gained a new member of our little town! Let me be the first to say how happy I am for you, Kevin, what luck you have to finally meet your beloved mate--you can take them back to the apartment to get them settled, if you like.

We’ll get them taken care of just like we did for you.

[Muffled sounds of conversation, as if a hand is over the microphone]

So uh, that is the end of this segment, Night Vale! Tune in next for the sound of deep contemplation, and the bittersweet love of two people who had long thought they would never meet, but are finally able to be with one another.

Goodnight, Night Vale,

Goodnight.

#readershot #wtnv #wtnv kevin #kevin wtnv #sfw #sfw readershot #kevin readershot #escape strex au #escape strex au readershot #commission #reports #kevin reports

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pisati · 6 years

Text

I’ll admit, it’s sometimes a little hard to know where I stand with you. I do take your reassurances at face value, of course, and I know I often need reminding. but I also try to remember that you’ve been through a hell of a lot emotionally. I only know what you’ve told me; I don’t have your lived experiences. there’s a lot that you’ve gone through that I don’t even know about, and you don’t have to tell me about it-- it’s enough to know it happened. I can’t expect you to be as open about emotion as I am, or even able to feel things like I do (and I’ve been pretty dulled myself). maybe I’ve been reading you wrong at times; it’s hard to, especially through text. but I can hear it in your voice sometimes, I think. something flat. could be exhaustion, could be everything. of course I forgive your lacking in reciprocal effort; I appreciate all that you do give me. I know you’re trying, and you’re trying because you want to, not because you think I expect you to. it’s not easy. but you know as well as I do that shrugging everything off and staying in the emotionless void isn’t healthy for you.

from what I can at least guess about you, you’re a genuinely kind and caring person who has had a lot of his emotional innocence, so to speak, torn from him. you’re right: your emotion isn’t worthless. but that’s something you have to internalize yourself. I’ve been in similar dark places, but I don’t think it’s near to the degree you have. not that pain is a competition; it’s not. I just know that I can’t fully understand the things you’ve been feeling, or... not feeling. regardless, I know you know it’s not healthy and you want to move forward from it, and I’m glad to be there for you while you work through it. that’s a kindness I think anyone dealing with trauma deserves. I also very much appreciate that we can have both silly and serious conversations; even just following my blog you already know more about me than a lot of my irl friends. you’ve become someone I also care very much about and I don’t like seeing you in pain-- though of course it’s not my place to do more than I can, or more than you want me to. I’d still like to be there for you regardless.

---

anywho! travel plans. like I said, most of the issue is logistics. I’m looking at potential flights and I think a reasonable roundtrip is about 9 days; including 2 for travel, that’s a full week for adventuring. I’m flexible, of course, but I’m not the one with a job, lol. I don’t know what airlines would be best (though I did just find a flight on Icelandair, one 55m stop in Keflavik, July 10-19, for $1100 roundtrip), so if you wanna help out with searching you’re more than welcome to take a look yourself. I’d prefer shorter layovers if possible; none of those 27h total trips, lmao. nothing’s direct from Dulles unfortunately, but it is a major international hub, like JFK, so often I’ll be able to find flights to other major destinations from here. which is gr8, because it’s literally a 10-15 minute drive from my house. we have two other major airports here: Reagan national and BWI. personally I prefer Dulles because it’s closer, but if you can find a cheaper and/or direct flight out of the other ones, I’ll find a way to get there lol.

I’m going to be in PA for farm jam from, likely, July 3-7th. I’ll have to see how I feel about what day I’m coming home. I may or may not want to stay til the 8th. but anyway I don’t want to leave on an international flight *too* soon after I get home. I’ll have to drive 4 hours home after spending 4 days camping in the woods on a farm, unpack from camping, and then pack again, and I only have so much energy. I’ve done it before (got back from Iceland and drove to PA the next morning), but it’s not terribly fun. I think if I can make myself come home on the 7th, or at least early on the 8th, I can leave the 10th at the earliest. I’m going to look at July 10-19 as my reference, since that’s also one of the cheapest roundtrips that I can find (for some reason wednesdays are cheaper traveling days?), but those days might change a little. I’ll let you know if I decide on something for sure, but if you want to look up Airbnbs (or if you can find cheaper flights, lmao), you’re welcome to use the 10-19th as a general reference point as well.

I have no qualms about Airbnbs. it would be easier booking-wise to get the flight and hotel together, but I’m cool with having a little place out of the city for the week. the genuine experience, as you say, lol. the coast would be lovely, but I’ll take whatever you find that you like! I’ll leave that to your expertise. are we splitting the cost for that, or.. how do you want to do that?

as far as itinerary, I’m down for everything. I got real excited about that owl sanctuary, lol. anything with animals is great with me. can we see highland cattle too?? I do know I’m gonna want to check out one or two of the record stores in Glasgow; I think that’s my new Travel Thing, lol. going to a city, checking out the record stores. gotta bring records home. that’s my kinda souvenir. everything else, I’m down for too! I love learning about history, seeing old churches and castles, historical sites, all that jazz. I love the sound of that island too! I totally get what you mean about not doing all the typically touristy stuff. I mean, I live just outside Washington DC. I know the tourist traps are a waste of time and money and they’re not the ~real experience~. I love the sound of not taking the beaten path, though. and how often do you have a personal local tour guide? lmao

the only worries I have, really, are my energy levels and my traveling anxiety. neither of those are your responsibility, but they do affect me literally every time I travel, even if I think they won’t.

the anxiety has its roots in my emetophobia, for sure. for some reason my brain feels like the worst thing that could possibly happen is me getting sick while I’m traveling, and then of course I get nervous about it, and what accompanies the nervousness? nausea. shit writes itself. I know it happens, I’m very conscious of it, but that doesn’t stop it. I’ll bring klonopin as a security blanket, likely won’t need it, but mostly what helps is just, like, making sure I eat something, lol. I don’t tend to eat much when I travel anyway, but not eating tends to make the problem worse and I need something in my stomach, obviously. being distracted helps too. something to focus on, someplace to go or see. I’ll let you know how I’m feeling, though, so don’t worry about needing to check in on me. I’m not a nervous wreck all the time.

then there’s the energy levels. I have no earthly way of knowing what they’re going to be like in July. right now I don’t have much energy to do much of anything, but sometimes, especially if I’m subconsciously nervous, I won’t have an off switch. and sometimes I say “not a lot of energy” but I push myself anyway and surprise myself. it’s incredibly hard to predict my day-to-day now, without the traveling nerves, and it’ll be almost impossible to predict from now if something in my medical future changes. so, basically, it’s something to keep in mind but nothing to control for.

I’m pretty low-energy in general, but I can walk a good bit, so don’t worry about pushing me! I’ll let you know what I can handle. it’s probably safe to put one big thing in a day, 2-3 tops if they don’t have much travel time between them. better to leave time open to fit in more things anyway than to over-book and not be able to get to them all. I never know what my sleep’s going to be like, but I can almost guarantee it’s going to be terrible. it usually is when I travel. this also isn’t your responsibility, so don’t let me wreck your sleep schedule for when you have to get back to work, lol. I’m fine staying up late by myself if I’ve got wifi or if I bring a book or something; I can’t expect you to have the same crazy erratic sleep schedule as traveling-me. I’ll let you know if something is or isn’t okay, what I’m up for, all that good stuff. so I’d say definitely plan in all the stuff you want to do plus a few record shops, but leave some wiggle room for late starts, fitting more things in, or the possibility that I might not be able to get to everything in a day. not saying I’ll be struggling that hard, but wiggle room is always good so no one is disappointed lol

anyways I have no worries that it’ll be a great trip 😊literally everything you mentioned sounds wonderful, and I’m already excited! I do worry slightly that we still barely know each other and have never spoken face to face, lol. but I’m sure that’ll happen in due time before July. it’s one thing to meet an internet stranger in your city, but in another country? as a solo female traveler that does make me nervous. I like to think I have a pretty decent sense of the kind of person you are, but you really never know. it’ll certainly help ease my mind to get to know you better over the course of the next few months.

also... I don’t want to alarm you and I’m probably not supposed to tell you at all, but I’d rather be upfront about it. the background check I’m currently undergoing for my [future] job requires me to inform them of every non-US citizen I have “close and continuing contact” with. you and I weren’t talking yet when I filled out the background check form, but I do have to keep them updated or risk losing my chance at the job. they won’t do anything with the information I give them; everyone has friends and family in other countries, and the US doesn’t have any beef with Scotland that I’m aware of, lol. but I will need to give them basic information, especially if I’m leaving the country to visit. I would have to do it even if I weren’t planning on visiting and we kept talking, but this seems like an appropriate time to bring it up, lol. this is standard procedure for federal background checks here; literally everyone trying to get a cleared job has to do it. the form itself is open-source, the PDF is the top result on google, and I can send it to you so you can see exactly what they ask me to provide, if you’d like. I’m not going to ask you for more information than what you’ve given me, and they do take “I don’t know” as an answer. if it’s not okay with you at all, though, then we’ve got some major problems.

soooooo with that out of the way, lmao

if I think of anything else I’m sure I’ll bring it up when I think of it. the only question I might have right now is what should I bring, besides the essentials? a book, maybe. a crochet thing? perhaps? laptop? (probably no on that one, though, right?) uhhhh power adapters? the electrical plugs are definitely different there, yeah? any american things I can pack into a suitcase that you’d like me to bring? lol

speaking of american things. I’ve already got a small list of little things I could pack into a box and ship out there and I think you’ll like them!! how do you feel about sweets? I’m not talking junk food per se, like all the ridiculous candies we have here. just sweet in general? and I know you said not spicy, but how about seasoning? what kinds of seasonings do you like and dislike?

I’ll start looking into flights more seriously soon, as long as you’re okay with the background thing. I can’t give you too many details about all that, mostly because I don’t have them, but we can absolutely talk about it if it’s a concern.

so, yes. let me know when you have time to talk and we can start planning 💕

#oops it's kinda long sry

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jarienn972 · 6 years

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The Inbetween - Chapter Two

I want to thank everyone for all of the lovely comments I've received on the first chapter of this story. This was a bit out of my comfort zone but it has been so much fun to write this story for @cssns and I have to thank @kmomof4 and everyone else involved with this event for putting it together!

Thanks again to @allons-y-to-hogwarts-713 for her wonderful artwork and a great spirit booster as well! (Pun intended) Also adding a reminder that this story will contain a non-consensual spirit possession so if this is an issue for anyone, I'm again giving ample warning.

I was able to get a quick update in this week due to a change in my days off at work and future chapters will be posted over the next few Wednesdays.

Also in AO3 and FF.net Tumblr: Chapter One

And now, here's Chapter Two!

:Hearing her father's voice above the crackling static of the radio was as welcome as a muse to Emma's ears. Tyler Sprat and his friends has been found so they could all now go home. While she hadn't had much of a chance to explore the butler's quarters before receiving David's message, she was glad there wasn't a need to. Compared to the lavish decor of the mansion, this section was like the thrift-store knock-off, filled with cheap furniture and a decades-old television that still had a rabbit-ear antenna. In truth, it was probably the creepiest place she'd seen in the entire property because it was like stepping back into one of the many foster homes of her childhood, none of which she wanted to revisit.

She was simply anxious to rejoin her husband and father so they could put this night behind them. Pulling the door to the butler's quarters closed behind her, she hurried back down the corridor leading to the kitchen. Emma didn't linger in that room at all, pushing through the swinging doors into the square room, then she passed through the propped open door into the dining hall. She paused at the sideboard to replace the candelabra she'd borrowed. Perhaps it was her imagination toying with her again, but she swore there was a faint whiff of smoke in the air - even before she blew out the four candles she'd been utilizing. She dismissed the improbable thought while she flicked the power button on the flashlight, readying it to light her path back to the vestibule. She was exhausted and eager to go home, but the next sound she heard sent chills all the way to her core and ushered in a gut-wrenching sense of deja-vu.

She heard her father's voice - but this time, it wasn't coming through the radio. He was shouting, loud enough that she could hear him clearly, but it was precisely what he was shouting that terrified her - Killian's name.

Still searching for a way to gain access to the possible attic space above him, Killian was naturally surprised to hear the sound of David's voice on the radio, especially his announcement that the three adolescents had been located. Perhaps his weary mind was playing tricks on him, but Killian was certain that the faint, distant voices were continuing to call to him. Maybe not to him per se, but they were undoubtedly attempting to communicate with someone. They whispered to him in jumbled phrases: "Can you hear us?" "Is it this one?" He wasn't able to make sense of all their messages, but clearly his ears betrayed him if these disembodied voices did not belong to the lads and lass they sought.

No matter, he thought, closing the door to one of the bed chambers as he turned back toward the staircase. The youngsters had been found and were safe with David so their work here was done and he could now happily return to the ground level to rejoin his wife. If all went as planned, he'd be tucked back into his own bed within the hour, and since technically this was still Emma's shift, he'd leave the infernal paperwork to her.

As he threw a quick glance over the railing before descending the curving stairs, he could make out a beam of light from an electronic torch illuminating the vestibule below him. David was speaking to the three teens, apparently chastising them for their reckless decision to enter this dwelling, but it was at the sound of one of the boys responding to David's questioning that Killian took pause on the top step. The entire time he'd been on the second floor, Killian had been certain that he'd been hearing the voices of those adolescents, but listening to the the boy's voice now, it most certainly did not match any he'd heard.

If he hadn't been hearing the missing teenagers speaking, just whose voices had he been listening to?

Was there someone else trapped in this damnable mansion too? He knew the previous Author, Isaac, had once been imprisoned here. Were there others?

"Everyone accounted for?" Killian called down to his father-in-law before taking another step.

"Just waiting on Emma," David replied, "but the rest of the gang is all here." Killian nodded an affirmative, not that David could see the movement of his head. There was sufficient light provided by his lantern and David's modern torch for Killian to clearly make out the shapes of four individuals standing in the entryway. So, shrugging off his lingering doubt, he placed his hand on the banister to guide his way in the dark, and continued his descent.

But then he heard it again, a tiny wisp in his ear: "Need this one…" Who was talking to him? Killian asked himself, pausing once again halfway down the stairs. He rotated his head, glancing back toward the landing above him just as the unseen force struck. Before he knew who or what had hit him, he found himself tumbling down the remaining steps. Unable to grasp anything that would help him gain purchase, momentum carried him to the marble floor at the bottom. There was a shout of his name in those fleeting seconds, but Killian wouldn't recall hearing it as his head and body collided with the unyielding marble and he swiftly succumbed to unconsciousness.

Hearing her father shouting Killian's name sent a renewed shiver down Emma's spine - David rarely used Killian's given name and there was alarm in his voice. The combination spurred a sense of urgency that sent her dashing out of the dining hall, through the darkness of the corridor towards the entryway, running as quickly as she could without fear of colliding with furniture or walls in the dim light. Reaching the vestibule, she stumbled into Killian's broken lantern before recognizing the silhouettes of her father, kneeling at the bottom of the stairs, and those of the three teenagers hovering above, but she couldn't make out where her husband was until she passed the staircase.

It took her a moment to realize that David was actually kneeling beside Killian as her husband was sprawled out on the floor, and he didn't appear to be moving. "Killian!" she exclaimed, dropping to her knees next to her father, momentarily ignoring the three gawking teens who'd drawn them into this mess in the first place. "What happened?"

"I don't really know," David replied, shifting to his left so his daughter could move in closer. "One minute, he was asking if everyone was accounted for, and I said everyone but you was here. Next thing I knew, he stopped halfway down the steps and looked up toward the landing like something startled him, and then he fell. It was like his feet slipped right out from under him and he tumbled down those last eight or nine stairs and hit the floor hard."

"Are you kidding me?" one of the boys spoke up, although David wasn't really sure which one was speaking. However, what the teen was about to say was going to change their perception of everything that they'd experienced. "He didn't fall - something came up behind him and pushed him!"

"Pushed him?" Emma almost didn't believe what she'd heard as she tried to determine how severely her husband might be injured. "What do you mean? Who pushed him?"

"I can't really say it was a who. More like a what…" the boy continued. "I think it was the same shadowy blob we've been chasing all night…"

Shadowy blob? Emma tried to contemplate exactly the boy's description meant as her fingertips found a swollen bump at Killian's temple, figuring there would be a matching one on the back of his skull based on how he'd landed. "He's got a nasty bump here, but I can't see if there's anything worse because it's too dark."

"Hook's lantern is shattered so it won't help. I've got another flashlight in the truck though," David offered. "I'll go get it and I'll be right back." David stood and directed his attention back to the teenagers. "You three - you're coming with me so I can get you home before your parents worry any more."

"But we want to know what happens…" Aiden said, his eyes pleading to stay, but David was having none of this.

"You're going home and so are we - as soon as Emma can make sure Hook's okay," David stated. "Let's go." David gave Aiden a little shove towards the front door but it was Tyler who reached it first. The teen turned the glass knob, but when he tried to tug the door open, it didn't budge.

"Sheriff..., the door won't open," Tyler stated. "I think it's locked."

"From the inside? We didn't lock the door when we came in," Emma said as she glanced over suspiciously.

"It won't do anything," Tyler reiterated, anxiety creeping into his voice, fearing they might be trapped again.

"Maybe it's just stuck?" David suggested as he gave it a try, but he also failed to open the front door. "He's right. It won't open but it isn't locked. It's like there's a force field or something holding it shut."

"Or a protective spell?" Emma shuddered, instantly reminded of this mansion's history.

"We're trapped in this house again, aren't we?" Aiden groaned, his excitement over chasing ghosts in an abandoned mansion now fully dissipated.

"There has to be a way out," Emma assured them, although her gut kept trying to deny it. Her immediate concern though was for her husband's welfare. She suspected he had a concussion, but it was just too dark in here to get a good look. Her fingertips gently explored his head and neck, feeling for injuries and finding a wet, sticky substance matting his hair. Killian was bleeding, but she couldn't tell where it was coming from or how severe it was. "Damn…," she sighed. "We need more light. I can't see how badly Killian is hurt and I need to make sure we all get out of this miserable place. There are a bunch of big candle holders in the dining hall. I used one of them myself earlier tonight. Would someone go bring a few of them in here?"

"I'll go," David offered.

"I'll go with you, Sheriff Nolan," Angie chimed in. "We can bring twice as many that way."

"Alright then. We'll be right back," David promised.

"Thanks," Emma replied with the faintest of smiles before turning to the two boys. "You two - can you get a cell signal over by the door?" She dug her phone from her jacket pocket and passed it to Aiden. "If you get a signal, call your mothers so they won't worry…"

"Sorry, not getting a signal, Sheriff," Aiden responded as he returned the phone a minute or two later, just as David and Angie emerged from the shadows with candelabras in hand.

David rested his two candle holders on the stairs behind Emma while Angie placed hers on the floor. "Want to do the honors and light these up?" he asked Emma.

"I wasn't able to light them with magic earlier so - here…" Emma rummaged through her pocket for the lighter and then held it out for her father. "You'll have to use this…" Taking the lighter from her outstretched hand, David flicked it a few times to ignite the flame then hurriedly moved from candle to candle igniting the wicks. The flickering candlelight immediately brightened the room, enabling Emma a better view of Killian's bumps and bruises.

Regardless of whether Killian had actually been pushed or simply tripped and fell down the staircase, he'd struck his head hard. The swollen contusion that Emma had felt at his temple was already darkening to a purplish-red and was a fair indicator he'd struck more than just the marble floor. His right shoulder was contorted in an unnatural manner that suggested dislocation, most likely from a futile attempt to stop his descent. She still couldn't be certain whether he'd broken any bones, but his lingering unconsciousness was making her wary.

"Think you can heal him?" David inquired, interrupting her thoughts.

"Maybe…," Emma replied tentatively. "Hopefully...especially if we're stuck in here. My magic has been a little wonky though. I should have been able to light those candles earlier… What if I can't do it?"

"Let's worry about crossing that bridge if we come to it," David tried to encourage her with that old adage. Emma eked out a weak half-smile as she hovered her right hand over Killian's torso with her palm facing him. She closed her eyes to concentrate but she couldn't will the magic within her to come to the surface. She could feel the tingle of her powers just beneath her skin, but that was as far as they would reach. Something seemed to be draining the magic away from her right when she needed it the most.

"Damnit!" Emma exclaimed in frustration. Magic was failing her and she wasn't even sure why. Her gaze drifted downward to Killian's face as she lowered her hand to tenderly stroke his stubbled jaw, her touch trailing across his cheek and finally coming to rest on the patch of skin where his neck tapered into his shoulder. "I promise, we'll figure this out," she whispered to her husband's ear.

The last thing Emma would have suspected at that moment was that Killian, even in his unresponsive state, was about to provide the answer.

Killian remembered falling.

Perhaps he'd missed a step in the darkness and lost his footing, but then, no - he hadn't. He recalled that he'd paused and turned toward the voice in his ear and then he was tumbling down the staircase. He knew that his head was throbbing and his shoulder ached as if someone were trying to wrench it from its socket. Forcing his eyelids open, he also felt the twinge of discomfort in his left ankle and determined he would probably need David's assistance with some additional light to assess the damage. If it wasn't too bad and he could still put weight on it, he'd be content to hobble out of here and worry about the injured joint later, but if it was severely sprained or worse - broken, he would need Emma's assistance with a little reparative magic.

But it was as his eyes adjusted to the lighting, Killian began to realize that something was very different about his surroundings than before he'd fallen. First off, why was it so bright? Even if his lantern was still alight, it wouldn't be creating this level of brightness. Had he knocked himself out so severely that it was now morning? Second, why wasn't he hearing any familiar voices? He didn't hear Emma, nor could he hear David, which seemed highly improbable. If he'd been injured that severely, Emma wouldn't likely have strayed far from his side until he awakened - especially if he'd been unconscious for several hours.

A sudden trepidation enveloped him as he feared the worst - what if he'd broken his neck and was back in the bloody Underworld? But no, there wasn't a hellish red hue to this light and truthfully, he doubted that had he crossed over, his afterlife would still look like the vestibule of the Sorcerer's mansion. No, there was definitely something else afoot here, Killian thought as he struggled to sit upright, ignoring the protest of his battered skull.

All around him, there was a smoke-like haze which obscured the familiar details as he sought out the faces of his family or even those of the three adolescents they'd been tasked to rescue. Where were they? Certainly Emma wouldn't have abandoned him in this place…

"Captain Hook," Killian heard his title and moniker spoken clearly, the voice unknown to him. "We've been seeking someone like you for a very long time."

"Have you now?" Killian countered, his eyebrow lifting to match the smirk on his lips as he challenged the unseen speaker. "Well then, show yourself. I much prefer to be able to see those who address me."

"We're all around you, Captain," the disembodied voice stated, leaving Killian momentarily baffled until the realization struck him, his cockiness vanishing in an immediate recoil.

It was the light that he previously couldn't explain - the light emanating from these unseen beings he now sensed surrounding him.

"Who are you?" Killian demanded, his voice now wrought with a hint of fear as he tried to comprehend what had become of him. "What the bloody hell are you?"

"You've no need to fear us, Captain. So few exist who are able to see and hear us, which is precisely why we need your assistance."

"Assistance with what, pray tell?" Killian wanted to know, nearly certain that he must be hallucinating. The blow to his cranium must have been far worse than he'd originally believed. "What sort of game is this? And where are Emma and the others?"

"Still right here with us. They are merely on a different plane…"

"Different plane?" A confused Killian tried to wrap his weary brain around it all. Nothing was making sense. "What nonsense is this?"

"This is the inbetween," the being informed him. "The realm of souls trapped between the world of the living and the realm of the dead. These souls are left to linger as nameless, faceless spirits, unable to cross over. Most are cursed to remain here because their souls are incomplete and do not allow passage into the afterlife."

"Inbetween?" Killian's head was spinning as he contemplated the veracity of what he'd just heard. "Wait...are you telling me that I've died and became trapped here as well?"

"No, of course not. You remain among the living, merely in a comatose state in which we are able to communicate directly with you." The apparition's assurance wasn't exactly quelling Killian's unease. "You, however, possess a unique quality - you have crossed into the realm of the dead and were returned to the living. It has given you the ability to hear our disembodied voices and now, to see our unearthly form. We've been searching for someone such as you who could serve as our conduit to the living world so that we may inform them of our plight. We only wish to be freed from this form of purgatory."

"How would that be possible?" Killian wondered. "I've been to the Underworld, yes, but I found that the souls trapped there were encumbered by their own unfinished business. They don't generally have the intervention of the living available to them as I did. What do you believe is different about your situation?"

"Our souls were trapped in limbo because we all died here in this land without our hearts, and the magic that preserves those hearts prevents us from passing on."

Killian had to admit that he was surprised by the answer. He'd known that people whose hearts had been ripped out and crushed could pass into the Underworld - encountering some who would move on and others remaining eternally cursed, but he'd never imagined that a different fate might await those who had perished without their hearts within their bodies. He immediately thought of the dozens - maybe hundreds - of glowing hearts that Cora and Regina had collected over the decades of their respective reigns of terror. Were these illuminated beings now conversing with him just innocent victims of the Queen of Hearts and her daughter, the Evil Queen?

"How do you expect me to help you?" Killian asked, his mind wandering with far too many thoughts of how this conversation might even be possible. Was he really still laying in an unconscious heap at the bottom of the mansion's ornate staircase while his subconscious conversed with spirits of the dead?

"As I said, your unique ability to serve as our bridge to the living world allows them to hear us through you…" Before he could protest, Killian realized that the entity was encroaching on him, rapidly closing the distance as the light grew even more brilliant until it completely enveloped him, its presence seemingly blending into his own.

#cse #cs ff #cs fan fic #cs ghost ff #the inbetween

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lesbiandeerstory · 2 years

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IT’S DEER DEV UHHHHHH “WEDNESDAY”

so i missed last week and yesterday’s updates bcuz full disclosure life has been kicking my ass a bit lately, got alot of irons in the fire etc. but deer development doesn’t stop just bcuz my life is a mess, otherwise nothing would ever get done!

in my last update i challenged myself to try and chill out a bit so i could get thru a creative slump, and i guess mission failed successfully bcuz while i decidedly did NOT chill, i DID get thru that slump

in another recent post i talked about how i was dissatisfied with my magic system bcuz i couldn’t help comparing it unfavorably to homestuck’s aspect system, and also bcuz i’ve been struggling to come up with a deer magic system for 2 goddamn years and failing at it for that long was starting to get to me

well GOOD NEWS i have finally completed the magic system, for real this time. there’s a sense of finality that i kinda just feel in my bones when i KNOW that i’ve gotten somthn right creatively, and also at some point u just gotta put ur foot down and say “this is what we’re doing, we NEED to move on”. and i feel both of those ways about this system

part of the thing was that it was actually TWO systems i needed to figure out, one for classes and one for magic itself, and while the two systems are meant to function in harmony with each other, their separateness was a crucial distinction to make bcuz both systems required different tools to figure them out and create them

for the class system i needed to look at this world, these characters, and this story and see what kind of system naturally arose and could be extrapolated from what information was ALREADY THERE. but for magic i needed to tap into a mystical power, a sort of real life magic if u will. i am ofc referring to the magic of AUTISTIC HYPERFIXATION

so i made a class system based on the world and the characters, and i made a magic system based on a real life thing that i am fairly knowledgeable and EXTREMELY passionate about

i talked about the systems on twitter dot com a little already, in some very rambly threads, and i’ll try to clean those threads up a bit and port them over here to the dev blog in a way that’s more simple and clean so that we can all be on the same page about deer magic and deer classes

and then i will FINALLY have the deer magic post done. there will even be pictures! and by “pictures” i mean “bright colored text on a black background in png form”

i’ve also made some progress in terms of the writing and actual DEVELOPMENT, not just working on system mechanics. i’ve been fucking around with renpy a bit to get comfortable with the actual tools i’ll be using, and while i do occasionally hit a wall of “technology problem i don’t understand how to solve” by and large 90% of working with renpy is the easiest shit in the world

i have a decent idea of how to write my scripts in a way that’s compatible with how renpy parses them, which makes things even easier. once i have finished scripts, the part where i put them into renpy to make them visual novels will NOT BE A CHALLENGE

as for said scripts i’m making some progress there too. one hurdle i have to deal with is that i just don’t have time in my day realistically to dig out my bulky work computer to write as much script as i need to write. if i relied solely on my work computer to write the scripts, they would take eons to get finished and i want to be making consistent progress, EVERY DAY if possible!

but my non-work machine is a chromebook which is a little bastard devil machine that doesn’t have any of my writing tools on it, so i’ve had to get a little creative with how i write scripts. but that works out extremely well for me bcuz i do my best work when i’m forced to get creative about HOW i do that work

so i’ve figured out a way to write scripts without my writing tools and honestly?? i’ve only written one scene so far but the scene rocked ass AND!!!! this new method also has the added bonus of helping me skip one of the more boring steps of production so that’s pretty cool, and it fits the way my brain parses information super well. i think it’s a good system and i’m excited to experiment with it even more. i won’t go into the boring details of my process tho, suffice to say it’s so far working out knock on wood

i still like the idea of doing weekly challenges for myself, even if i haven’t been able to succeed at either of the two that i’ve set for myself so far lmao, but this week bcuz i’m kinda sifting thru the rubble and bomb ashes i’m just gonna play it by ear and see what i can do, and hopefully get back on a regular weekly update schedule this wednesday!

#deer lore #dev lore

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ineedsomethingoriginal · 6 years

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You Don’t Belong Here (Chapter 2)

A/N: Me: *posts first chapter last Sunday* oh yea, I’m on a roll, i’ll get this done on Wednesday

also me: *posts this on Saturday*

so yea, I underestimated how long it would take to post this chapter so as I get in the swing of keeping a schedule, I think it’s safe to say expect weekly updates on Saturday or Sunday.

I made the chapter extra long to compensate (almost twice as long!) and to thank you guys for all the love I received when I first posted, thank you so much! so hope you enjoy!

Chapter 2

Chan took one last swig of coffee before he bolted out of his office, ignoring all the concerned looks of his employees/slaves (the terms are interchangeable) as he sped walked past. The others were already on their way, probably just arrived, but Chan was running a little late due to a phone call from Upstairs that warned him of something he already knew about.

He was on the last hallway before the throne room where he deals with serious matters, when he felt a pair of arms wrap around him lightly, trapping him in a hug.

“W-Woojin, now is not the time” Chan chided, feeling his eyes start to get droopy from being in the other’s embrace.

“When’s the last time you slept, and not under my influence.” The other asked, not releasing his hold.

“Two kids are in Hell, I think me getting enough sleep is the least of my problems” Chan replied, continuing on through the hallway.

“Who said you getting enough sleep is your problem, pretty sure sleep deprived Chan is the reason children aren’t allowed in hell.”

“That’s not one of the reasons!”

“Are you sure about that?”

“Yes, I’m sure, I was there when they made the rules.” Chan huffed, stopping at the grand entrance to the throne room.

A silence drifted over the two, staring down the doors in dread and anticipation.

“Remember, no cranky Chan, or almighty ruler of the 7 kingdoms of hell Chan. No traumatizing kids.” Woojin advised, trying to lighten the mood, before turning serious. “I read the file you sent us before coming here, and I think it’s safe to say those kids need someone to look up to as an older brother, and even if it’s obvious we’d be dead last in ideal choices, we’re the only choice they have.” he put a comforting hand on Chan’s shoulder “don’t worry too much though, I know you’ll be just fine.” and with that, the two focused their attention back on the giant entrance and releasing a breath he didn’t know he had, Chan pulled the doors open.

---------

As their eyes adjusted to the darkness they were left in, Seungmin and Jeongin glanced around at their surroundings. From what they could see, the room was relatively large, and when Seungmin took one of the lit candles and guided it around the room, they were able to make out other details. For one, the room was littered in expensive and frivolous items, everything lined in gold and encrusted with jewels that probably cost more than Seungmin and Jeongin’s lives put together but were places haphazardly like they were just ordinary items. Jeongin reached out a finger to touch one of the gems encrusting a vase, surprised when he felt the hard rock on his fingertips, either because it didn’t evaporate into dust or that he was actually touching an actual gemstone.

“Don’t touch that!” Seungmin hissed

Jeongin pouted but moved away from the table regardless, stopping at where Seungmin was staring at.

In front of the older, in the back of the room, a large platform stood before them. Seven, large, magnificent thrones seemed to stare down on them, sizing them up. Upon further inspection, each throne was completely unique, but all seemed to fit together perfectly. One was pitch black with gold lining, another one had a cup holder.

One was a dark ebony like the others, but was covered in deep gashes that looked like claw marks, the back looking like it had been made from battered swords from hundreds of years ago.

The centre throne was the largest of all and seemed to command attention- whoever sat in that chair must be the person in charge.

The throne at the right hand side of the centre one was wide, had the softest looking cushion and seemed the most inviting out of the seven thrones. It was almost beckoning them to rest a while on the seat big enough for both of them, though from the boys’ time with Ms. Yoo, they knew not to act on that curiosity.

Instead, they chose not to sit on any of the thrones, sitting on the platform the thrones were all raised on.

As they waited, tensions seemed to grow, relying on fidgeting with their fingers to calm themselves. Neither boy knew why they were here, though they knew now, this place was hell, but it seemed that they weren’t supposed to be here, why was that?

Before the boys could continue their musings, the room suddenly lit up; all the candles now sporting large flames illuminating the walls with horrific shadows. The candles seemed to be warning them of a presence making their way down the halls.

Seungmin quickly grabbed Jeongin’s hand and scurried to the back of the room, hiding behind the large thrones.

The doors slammed open, in contrast to the bellhop before who struggled to even open one, and the two boys curled in on themselves to hopefully make them less visible to whoever, or whatever, had entered the room.

They could hear chatter coming from the entrance until it eventually died down, probably wondering where the two were.

A voice spoke up, “didn’t boss say there’d be kids?”

“Don’t say it like that! It sounds weird.”

“Haven’t we established that I have no filter and whatever I think, just comes out?”

“Guys!” A new voice piped up, “they’re hiding behind our thrones, their auras are so strong they’re practically glowing.”

The boys tensed at that, how were they able to find them so quickly, they’d barely made a sound since their entrance.

“Woah! How’d I miss that?”

“Probably too busy eating to pay attention, Lix.”

“You know me too well Jinnie.”

“Hey!” They heard a voice call in their direction, “You can come out now, we’re totally nice demons!”

The boys stayed put, obviously making the demon mad. “Not even kids like me?! Geez, what’s it take to get some reactions from you guys?!”

“They aren’t just gonna come out like that, we should try a different approach-”

“If you come out, we’ll give you one of felix’s candy bars”

“Um no.”

“Okay never mind-”

“Okay, so obviously we know anything Jisung does is not gonna work, so maybe we should just wait for Cha-”

“We swear, Hell usually doesn’t fuck up like this-”

“Watch your language, Changbin!”

“Shit, my bad, wait. I mean-!”

There was a long sigh from the demon that seemed the most competent out of all of them, as if he really didn’t want to be here, but the sound of the door being open drew everyone’s attention away.

“Chan!”

“Hyunjin!” The one who had just entered greeted back, “what’s going on? Where are the kids?”

Jeongin risked a glance behind the chair, five figures were standing near the platform of the thrones, while two more, one most likely being Chan, stood a little ways back.

As Jeongin’s eyes flitted around the room, he locked eyes with one of the demons, one of the two newcomers, with the same piercing gold eyes from the figure in the mirror, he cowered back under the intense gaze, though the demon’s eyes stayed locked on his.

“They won’t come out.” the voice that they matched to Hyunjin explained. “We’ve tried almost everything.”

They heard footsteps coming closer, before stopping a safe distance away.

“Hey,” the golden eyed demon said simply, sounding much more human like than any demon should sound. “You can call me Chan, the rest are Minho, Jisung, Hyunjin, Felix, Changbin and Woojin” each demon gave a little non-threatening wave when their name was called. “now you know who we are, we promise no harm will come to you. Something went terribly wrong Upstairs, and we’re all doing our best to fix it, but we’ll explain it to you if you come out.”

He moved to take another step but Seungmin and Jeongin panicked

“Don’t come any closer!”

Chan stopped, bringing his hands up to show that he meant no harm.

“We want to help you,” Chan said softly, “I want to help you, and if you’ll let me, I promise I’ll do my best.” he held out his hand “so please come out, our purpose is to help you right now, not hurt you. Nobody’s allowed to hurt you from now on. I promise.”

Chan smiled as he heard shuffling from the other side of the room, finally coming face to face with two, scrawny young boys who obviously were malnourished when they were alive. The younger boy’s thin sweatshirt was barely clinging on to his small body.

“Why are we here?” Jeongin spoke up softly.

Chan sighed, kneeling down in front of the two boys.

“Okay, how do I explain this,” he started, ruffling his curly hair, “do you kids know the mailing system?”

The two slowly nodded their heads, not getting where this demon was going with this.

“Okay, good. So you know how sometimes, someone else’s mail, gets sent to you instead?”

Another round of nods

“So, basically that’s what happened to you.”

“But we’re not mail!” Jeongin cried, “We’re people! How do you ‘accidentally’ send someone to hell?!”

Chan glared at the others behind him snickering at him for practically being scolded by a child, but the combined glares of the demon and the child shut them up.

“Jeongin” Seungmin said quietly, “I think it’s because we aren’t people anymore. We died remember?!”

“Hell doesn’t take children,” Woojin spoke up softly, “they still have purity left, and can’t be held responsible for their actions.”

“You can’t see it on yourselves, but your auras are really cute!” Hyunjin piped up, “I heard mine’s a gross colour of green.” Seungmin squinted at Hyunjin, and sure enough, a faint neon green haze could be seen around him. He turned to Jeongin and like the demon said, a faint rosy pink misted around the younger boy, pastel in contrast to the vibrant green of the demon.

“Your auras make it really obvious of where you belong, which makes it pretty dangerous to be around here for too long. I know we made a mistake, but we’re trying our best to fix it!” Hyunjin assured, giving them a cute smile that reminded Seungmin of an older brother telling them everything would be okay, instead of what Hyunjin actually was.

Seungmin looked over at Jeongin again, who had been quiet for a while. He had his head down in thought, his uncut dark hair like curtains around his face. Maybe he was a little harsh telling jeongin about their fate, but Seungmin wasn’t really thinking straight, a weird feeling had been bubbling inside him since he had exited the elevator, and Seungmin had been trying to distract himself from it.

Suddenly, a hand reached out to grab Seungmin’s wrist, he turned to face Jeongin, who was violently trembling with only Seungmin for support.

“S-Seungmin.” Jeongin sobbed, “it hurts.”

“What hurts?” Seungmin hastily asked, pulling the smaller boy into his arms, until he touched his wrist. “You’re burning.”

Jeongin flinched at the comment, and then began to shake uncontrollably, grabbing the attention of the others. The demons had rushed to the boys by now but Seungmin didn’t notice, the dull feeling he had before was flooding like a broken dam. He felt hot and claustrophobic, and all he could see now was a low ceiling, on fire and caving in; the last image he had seen before it had all faded to black.

Memories flooded his vision, forcing him to remember that day, that room, that moment of fear. He didn’t notice the hands that held him, too transfixed on the scene he was forced to recall, but when a hand was placed gently over his eyes he felt himself calming down, embracing the darkness and warmth of the hand as he fell asleep.

Woojin sighed a breath of relief as Seungmin finally stopped squirming, joining Jeongin in sleep as the youngest nestled himself in the demon’s arms. The demon smiled fondly at the boys before directing Hyunjin to take Seungmin, as he stood up with Jeongin still snuggled in his arms, light as a feather.

They all made their way down the hall, ignoring servants scattered around as they cowered away from their masters before entering a cozy bedroom, setting the two boys each on a bed. After tucking them into the covers, they shuffled out of the bedroom to let them rest. Woojin advised the rest to check on the boys every so often until they wake, closing the door gently as he murmured to the boys:

“Rest now, little ones”

A/N: was this chapter just an excuse to show how magical Woojin’s hugs are? why yes, yes it is.

#stray kids #stray kids au #stray kids fanfic

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aureliasaid · 3 years

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Arizona & Utah - National Parks

30 Years & Parkatecture

A 9 day tour of the National Parks of Arizona and Utah.

The Short Version (read on for more details)

Thursday-Saturday, April 23-25 2021

Historic El Tovar

Dinner in the dining room both nights

Kaibab Trail

Scenic Drive

Saturday, April 24

All en route to our next set of stops:

Glen Canyon

Navajo Historical Bridge over the Colorado River and numerous rafts having just started their jaunt into the Grand Canyon from Lee’s Ferry Page Horseshoe Bend Under Cover Lake Powell glamping “resort.”

Sunday, April 25

Boat rentals were out due to weather/winds so visited Wahweap Marina Lone Rock Beach Zion and Zion Lodge Zion Adventures to figure out the Narrows Hike dinner in Springdale at Oscar’s

Monday, April 26

Angel’s Landing hike

Whiptail restaurant in Springdale for lunch Zion Lodge for dinner

Tuesday, April 27

Bryce Canyon National Park is a much higher altitude at 9100 ft and thus the rain of Zion was snow at Bryce.

The Lodge at Bryce Canyon

Figure 8 trail which combines the Navajo, Peekaboo and Queen’s Garden Trails Dinner in Zion Lodge

Wednesday, April 28

Capital Reef National Park via Scenic Highway 12 Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument Cassidy’s Arch Trail. A+.

12 mile very rustic scenic drive

Moab Hilton Curio Collection Hoo Doo Hotel Antica Forma Italian restaurant

Thursday, April 29

Canyonlands National Park

The Maze

scenic drive, hiked several 2-3 mile hikes (XXX) Dead Horse State Park Dinner at Josie Wyatt restaurant

Friday, April 30

Arches

Salt Lake City - Kimpton Monaco Hotel.

HSL restaurant

LDS Temple

Know before you go

Utah liquor laws are odd. No food no drinks. 1.5 oz only per drink Lots of places with only beer and wine, though marijuana is legal. Go figure.

Study up on the Moab area esp how to attack Canyonlands which takes more than a day unless you just do Island in the Sky area, but it deserves much more than that. And there is something for everyone - esp if hiking is not for you - 4x4, airplane flights, etc.

Avoid the parks on the weekend if at all possible. Esp Zion and Arches I would not go to any of the Utah parks if you are going to do fairly serious hiking much after mid-May IMO. And def not the Grand Canyon. Books say start back in Sept...TBD. The heat and dry air are dangerous.

The Utah parks in particular are great for families as there are lots of short and fairly easy options climbing all over the rocks. Not so much for the Grand Canyon.

I might do southern Utah separate from the Moab area....so much to do in both areas on their own. Could combine Moab with some of Colorado.

Consider going to the parks during winter for a different experience esp Bryce where there is lots of cross country skiing and snowshoeing. There would also be plenty of snowmobiling.

Capital Reef is an easy park to do in a day. No huge need to spend a night here. We were glad we went on to Moab. Great park though cause it’s not crowded.

If you are visiting 3 parks in one year, an $80 annual pass will be a great investment and for a good cause.

Gran Canyon Tips

Def do the Kaibab Trail over the Bright Angel Trail...way better scenery and more dramatic Don’t go in the summer months period; Early May would be the latest I would go It’s coldest on the rim where it at 6000’. Every 1000’ descent, add 5 degrees Do lots of the overlooks on the rim scenic drive; all a bit different Layers and more layers Electrolytes The Grandview Trail looked like a great option as well.

THE FULL VERSION

Thursday, April 22, 2021 - Grand Canyon

In yet another reason to hate Ameican Airlines, our direct flight was cancelled 48 hrs before departure now with stop and change in DFW. 😡 But such is a travel and it didn’t suppress excitement and anticipation other than cut down on a potential late afternoon activity. Arrived Phoenix 1:30 and set off in our new home, a Mazda CX-5 past Sedona, to Flagstaff and felt right at home on I-40, except the end destination is LA, not Wilmington.

First stop is What-a-Burger for lunch and convenience store for styrofoam cooler and provisions. On to Grand Canyon Village with a stop outside the park for more substantial provisions. Don’t forget your yearly NPS pass if you have it!

Covid regs very prevalent as all museums and visitor centers closed, limited bus service and seats, mandatory masking, and reduced capacity in the restaurants that are open. BUT still packed. Lots of lodging options.....Historic El Tovar is the place of choice, designed in the 1904 by famed Mary Coltar, it has the divine feel of the parkatecture meant to be in keeping with the environment, but also more “luxurious” and cozy than the X Stanley Underwood historic lodges in many of the of parks. El Tovar def considers itself luxury and the prices reflect that both in lodging and in the delicious, highly desired dining room where tuxedoed wait staff show off their desserts as you enter and offer main courses $35 and up. The main theme is to highlight the Native American culture (Navajo, Hopi, etc.) through artwork, rugs, aesthetics, carvings and on the hotel china. Rooms are modernized and very comfortable with spacious and updated bathrooms.

If you don’t want to afford the EL Tovar, check out the equally historic, but perhaps less lux accommodations at the Bright Angel Lodge just down the way, also built in 1935 in the same log cabin feel. This also has individual cabins that look quite quaint and several dining options and bar. Aside from these, there are several other hotels right in the village with great views and up the way by the Visitor Center area.

A quick jaunt on the Rim Trail to get acclimated to Canyon Village and breathless views esp at sunset before having a relaxing dinner in the EL Tovar dining room which is a must whether staying there or not. Open breakfast, lunch and diner, reservations are essential though walk-ins are welcomed (the line had already started at 5pm!) It is the best room in the hotel....large, yet cozy with large stone fireplaces at either end flanked by large window views of the Canyon. Very sumptuous in its own way.

Friday, April 23 - Rim to Rim Hike, Grand Canyon

East Coast time works to your advantage as the earlier the better in getting on the trails. The Kaibab trail is considered the most picturesque and we can vouch for that. We had our styrofoam cooler breakfast at 6am, caught the hikers shuttle at 6:30 and got on the trail at 6:50 though the sun had long been up since 5am. You can pick your turnaround point at various miles. We had thought to turnaround at the 4 mile point of Tip Off, but the Colorado RIver was just (seemingly) close and lured us as if sirens beckoning us on. And so we did. After all it was only 2 more miles and all those other seemingly unlikely people were doing it. In fact they were going Rim-to-Rim. Why not? We had plenty of provisions after all and it wasn’t too hot.

The Colorado River was in fact gorgeous. the color of grass and so inviting, we made it to Black Bridge, the lunch-stopping point for rafters and the home to the famed Phantom Ranch and campgrounds. BTW, reservations to Ghost Ranch is by lottery and a year out. Good luck. And so, against all better judgement, we recklessly decide to go the Rim-to-Rim following the RIver Trail since Silver Bridge was closed and hooking up with the Bright Angel Trail which meant another 10 miles after having done 7. The theory was that it was different and not as steep as the return on Kaibab, but would be 3 more miles. Hm....lesser of two evils?? The River Trail was gorgeous, but as for the Bright Angel.....well, its a grueling slog. We are milking our R to R feat, but our feet (and knees) are still recovering. In hindsight, we shoulda stuck with the original plan which was down to Tip Off and then back (still uber strenuous) but then rent bikes and bike the Rim Trail which for non-canyon hiking sorts is perfectly gorgeous and can be 26 miles or 100 yards, whatever you want, and all flat!

Recovery consisted of ice cream, bath soak, laid out on the bed, and a martini with dinner back in El Tovar dining room.

TIPS: Def do the Kaibab Trail over the Bright Angel Trail...way better scenery and more dramatic Don’t go in the summer months period; Early May would be the latest I would go It’s coldest on the rim where it at 6000’. Every 1000’ descent, add 5 degrees Do lots of the overlooks on the rim scenic drive; all a bit different Layers and more layers Electrolytes The Grandview Trail looked like a great option as well.

Saturday, April 24 - On to Lake Powell, Under Canvas

An early, but comparatively relaxed morning. Though breakfast starts at 7am, there was already a 45 minute wait at 7:15, which may be more likely cause of Covid restrictions, but worth the wait with a divine breakfast that we deserved having eaten in rationed portions throughout the previous day’s death march.

Off by way of the Canyon Rim drive to numerous overlooks....check out Mather Point at the Visitor Center for a great view of all your previous hiking (bike rentals here too); then Hance Point for great river views and on to Lipton and Grand View.

Onward waving good bye to the GC our next set of stops including the Glen Canyon for the Navajo Historical Bridge which is just an awesome view over the multi shades of the deliciously green Colorado River and numerous rafts having just started their jaunt into the Grand Canyon from Lee’s Ferry which is the put in point and considered the start of the Grand Canyon. Back to do the Cathedral Wash hike, this seems an easy and unique 3 mile round trip walk through a gully canyon that can be a death trap during summer storms from flash floods. Beautiful, it is unique, but not easy and it involves lots of rock climbing, some butt walking, all fours at times, and some bread crumbs would be good too as the trail, inevitably always changing, is not well marked other than by some well meaning folks placing rock stacks/cairns. The prize though at the end is the Colorado riverside and a delightful foot dip is invigorating in its icy temps.

Highway 89 to Page where the famed Antelope Canyon Slots are closed after 11 people perished in a storm induced flash flood. (Another option to see this is by guided Kayak tours from page which we didn’t pay much attention since we planned to see it buy rented motorboat. Unfortunate decision.) A stop by Horseshoe Bend is a good bathroom break and leg stretcher for a beautiful view of the Colorado. BTW, Page, clearly a jumping off point for Lake Powell, is seemingly very skippable. On to Under Cover Lake Powell glamping “resort.” A nifty spread of 50 “permanent” tents and the main tent with lots of outdoor seating, fire pits, and food truck type kitchen for breakfast, lunch and dinner. An engineering marvel, each tent is set up with all the modern conveniences. More of a Radisson than a Ritz in the world of glamping, you want for nothing other than decent weather and maybe a pair of earplugs for that tent down the way on their 3rd bottle of wine. Each tent is outfitted with full working toilet, wood burning stove, sink with potable water, hot shower (hand held) delightful bed linens and full USB mighty battery packs for lighting, and any personal charging needs. A porch and porch furniture, inside leather chairs, and a king bed made for very attractive and comfy digs right down to the wicker tissue holder.

Winds were really blowing so we ate inside the main tent where there was live music and very fresh and creative food cooked on demand. A fun experience that may not be for all, but certainly unique and well done. Would be great with kids, though not small children IMO.

Sunday, April 25 - on to Zion National Park

Our MO of Lake Powell was to see it by boat. Alas, the weather did not cooperate. So what to do? A drive by. So back to Wahweap Marina where the house boats that are 3 stories high and sleep up to 20 are docked like dominoes. Something to behold. The lake is HUGE with majestic and classic red rock formations all around. We scooted over to Lone Rock Beach to see....Lone Rock....a huge rock in the middle of this part of the lake and a big “sandy” beach with tons of people camping, etc. Then onto check out the Amangiri Hotel, tucked away in the desert mountains...but alas...the intercom person at the gated subtle entrance said “we are fully booked and are not giving tours at this time.” Eye-roll. At $4000 a night, ok whatever. We skipped the suggested Wire Canyon slots in Buckskin Gulch and headed for Zion.

Beautiful day and clearly everyone else thought so too. Zion is not for Zion, but for Zoo! Our main goal is to hike the Narrows and when we see the weather for Monday looking rainy and cold, we hustle it up to get going today since its warm and sunny.

Zion is a large park, but very cut up, so the mainly visited section is actually very small. To cut down on traffic, the park closed the lone in and out road to cars except those staying at Zion Lodge, who get a special parking pass and code for the gate. If not at the Lodge, PLAN this well ahead to get your shuttle ticket, reserve your dry gear for the Narrows, food, etc. Otherwise you are dooking it out with the masses. Springdale borders the park and is a touristy but very attractive town with plenty of places to stay and loads of restaurants. There aren’t that many hikes, so you really don’t need more than 2 days here unless you want to horseback ride. They tout biking, but it is really mostly as a way to get about in the park. Rentals abound and I would get an e-bike if you need it. But just if you can’t navigate the shuttle, cause the road is not really suited to biking.

So we hurried to Zion Adventures to figure out the Narrows. Supposedly 6 hrs round trip, we decided just to do as much as we could. It can be 1.5 miles or 13 miles. But MOST important is a good hiking stick, then the water shoes and socks. Additionally, we were geared up in springtime recommended dry pants and very happy with that as well. And we are off. Shuttle to Sinawava, the last stop, walk the riverside trail and get in the Virgin River. We started at 2:30 and were like Salmon swimming upstream. The masses, hoards and throngs of people were amazing. A river of people in everything from Tevas and shorts with logs as walking poles to one woman with a 6 month old in her arms which is crazy as the walking is quite tricky picking your way thorough and around the rocks, quick current, and various water levels, typically to your calves, but to my waist in some sections. Fortunately most people were returning and we could avoid them. At its widest, the river is maybe 25 yards wide and at the point where we turned around about 2 miles upstream in the Wall Street area, its perhaps 5-8 yards wide. And beautiful. There is a reason it is so popular. Smooth canyon walls and cliffs straight up with varying colors of red, black, gray, and white plus the green vegetation, not often seen in the other desert areas. Totally unique and worth the effort. I would have been very bummed not to do it. Oh, and it took 3.5 hours, not 6 for a total of about 6 miles from the shuttle drop off.

Feeling very satisfied with ourselves, we had to have the equipment back by 8pm, so decided on dinner in Springdale at Oscar’s was recommended by the young staff at Zion Adventures. Excellent. Super casual indoors and outdoor seating with excellent Mexican and creative burgers. Outstanding. Note: Utah ain’t big on drinking, but know its big revenue, so they allow it with lots of regs: must have food with the drink, lots of places beer and wine only. Another note: my buddy Kirsten is a native Ute and Mormon who said that Mexican is the way to go in Utah and the Utah burger which is a burger with pastrami and gruyere cheese plus “Fry Sauce” - 1000 island/aioli type concoction of mayo, ketchup, pickle juice and salt. It’s quite tasty, but will opt for Mexican over the Utah burger....

Monday, April 26 - Zion National Park

Not sure if its the weather or that its Monday, but the crowds have slightly dissipated. Nevertheless, our hike to the famed Angel’s Landing was also packed. This is quite the hike. Straight up and on the cliff and ridges. Not for the faint of heart or fear of heights. I bailed about halfway through. Then on to do all the 3 Emerald Pools, which are a great set of trails throughout the rugged terrain with great views, though once again, it felt like Mt. Everest with stop and go hiking at times. A store owner said that Zion had more visitors last year than Yellowstone though minute in size compared to Yellowstone and is busy 9 months out of the year. Something to think about. Go in very off months IMO.

Then the rains and wind came and with the chilly temps, we packed it in to Whiptail for another delish meal not unlike Oscar’s. We toured some shops, art galleries, and checked out the visitor center which is open because of course its open air...funny that the Park museums and centers such are closed but the shops are open......and then took it in to give our calves and thighs a break.

Had to eat in the dining room, which given Covid and maybe (Utah) and the weather, was not ideal. Disappointing dining room in general with a cafeteria type buffet line, though closed, that made the atmosphere pretty utilitarian. Add ordering everything at the host staton and it delivered to your table. There was a full bar, so that was a bonus. And if we could have easten on the great deck, it would have been significantly better. Back in the room by 8pm....

Tuesday, April 27 - on to Bryce Canyon Nat Park

Cold and overcast, we blew out for Bryce by 7:30. Bryce Canyon National Park is a much higher altitude at 9100 ft and thus the rain of Zion was snow at Bryce. Beautiful drive through the Red Canyon in the Dixie National Forest which was gorgeous. Snow everywhere and the red cliffs and hoodoo formations of Bryce were simply magical with a dusting of snow.

The Lodge at Bryce Canyon was much more what we hoped for in terms of parkatecture expectations. Not grand, but cozy log cabin style with good common spaces around the large fireplace, comfortable dining room with several fireplaces and overall homey and welcoming. The historic cabins looked desirable, but alas are not heated and don’t open til summer. Which was good since more snow arrived late afternoon and night.

We took off immediately for the Figure 8 trail which combines the Navajo, Peekaboo and Queen’s Garden Trails for about 7 miles. Fantastical scenery of the hoo doo formations with the trail carved into the side of the cliffs and through the canyon bottom. Lots of fun and challenging. Afterwards, the scenic drive is a good way to rest legs and see remarkable scenery along the 18 mile way. A quick mile loop at the end for views (and the 1800 year old Bristlecone Pine tree.)

And the snow came again. Gorgeous wet, granular (called Grapple) flakes accumulated quickly and was beyond beautiful. A break in the clouds gave way for a blue sky sunset, but the snow showers returned covering the firs and junipers.

Dinner was much the same as Zion Lodge, only more utilitarian, but at least a more inviting setting. Order with the host, pay and they give it to you not on Poland but literally in complete take out paper bags. You can at least sit at the tables after sanitizing and if discreet, the staff looks the other way with regard to the no alcohol in the building. Makers and water in our water bottle worked just fine with the elk chili.

Wednesday, April 28 - Capital Reef Nat Park to Moab

Once again, a “take-in” breakfast at the Lodge and then on the road to Capital Reef National Park. The big question: is Scenic Highway 12 ok to drive after the snow? The pass at Boulder is almost 10000 ft and can be tricky. With temps predicted to be 60 by afternoon, we decided yes. And well worth it. Ducking through the Dixie NF and the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument, which BTW is not a monument per se, but 1.9 million miles of area that refers to the stairstepped terrain from the seismic shift 60 million years from the Colorado Plateau down to and help setting the stage for the development of the Grand Canyon.

Anywho, arrived CRNP to low fanfare. A mid-major park, it is unique in its own right of white sandstone domes like Capital buildings and reef by the seafaring pioneers who were finding the travel difficult to navigate like reefs. Those determined Mormons MUCH later than the Paiute and Fremont natives) who did make a success here as the canyon bottom is quite fertile from the Fremont River. WIth limited time, we headed for the two starred hikes - 3.5 mile 1200 elevation Cassidy’s Arch Trail. A+. Get your knees limbered and Mountain Goat Shoes on as you climb the rocks - challenging and gorgeous but not scary and great rewards at the end for Cassidy’s Arch (so named since the area was a fav haunt for Butch and the Wild Bunch.) Then the 12 mile very rustic scenic drive to the Canyon Groge in and out. The last section is dirt road and is the Narrows for carsa Dan is more entertaining than the dry canyon narrows walk, which is still good. And that’s it folks for CRNP. Check. Off for another 3 hr drive to Moab.

So Moab....well described in the guide book - a cross between Aspen and Gatlinburg. The main drag is just that....Main Street is 4 lane and constantly busy and loud with major 18 wheelers heading right through town. We were very uneducated about Moab and it was much different from what we expected as were the parks there too. Much revolves around motorized sports - 4x4 wheeling, motocross, airplanes, etc. We missed that whole aspect. Places renting every kind of vehicle with it without guides, then all the mechanical shops to fix it right on Main Street. It has exploded with 7 new hotels having gone up in the past 2 years, but it is a real mishmash of tourists stuff. It clearly developed as a means to an end and gentrification and sophisticated take a back seat.....so far. And that’s true with restaurants too. Plan ahead and get a rezzie at the Desert Bistro.

Checked into the Hilton Curio Collection Hoo Doo Hotel which is new and quite nice. ANd quite nice after 7 days to be in some commercialism. Get Hoo Doo has a great heated pool area, with excellent restaurant Josie Wells with a big outdoor space and also opens up into the pool. Quiet, spa and right in town which is just what we wanted vs the much pricier and out from town Sorrel Lodge. We walked to dinner at Antica Forma Italian restaurant, which left ALOT to be desired in terms of atmosphere - loud, a sort of independentyl owned Olive Garden type, BUT the food was quite good - thin crust pizza and light, homemade tomato sauce in the lasagna.

Thursday, April 29 - Canyonlands National Park

A more relaxed, sunny and beautiful day going to 80 degrees with a sit down breakfast with Canyonlands National Park as the day’s destination. About 30 miles outside Moab, Canyonlands is all about the 4x4 and seeing the park is almost next to impossible without it. Not having planned for this, we decided to enjoy only the more popular section of Islands in the Sky. It’s almost 2 hrs to get to The Needles section or a different 1.5 hrs to get to the XXX section and The Maze is basically only reachable by 4x4 or long hikes. So, we did the ubiquitous scenic drive, hiked several 2-3 mile hikes (XXX) and called it a day to go back and explore Moab, the pool, and get needed lunch provisions. Great decision. BUT if we had researched more or had more time or probably just now that we know, we would allow more time and plan for some of the other activities because it is beautiful and amazing. Maybe more than the Grand Canyon, which while awesome, is just one canyon and this is HUGE, vast millions of canyons in every direction being carved by both the Green and Colorado rivers. We were dumbstruck. Once again, the hikes were sorta crowded so ice there is not so much that can be done in one day for the average tourist like us.

Dinner at Josie Wyatt restaurant at the hotel which was quite good.

Friday, April 30 - Arches National Park

We had seen the long lines of cars to get in Arches en route to Canyonlands, so we were up and atta’em at the gate by 8:30 still to a mass of cars filing in. Perhaps the horse heading back to the barn, or 9 straight days of hiking or the heat or the loads of people, but we were somewhat underwhelmed by Arches. Still a wonder to see, this is the park for families. Like many of the other Utah parks, there is endless rock climbing hikes, but here there lots of short hikes just off the road easy for all. And they were there. Packed and wither ranger directed parking or circling lots hoping for someone to leave. Ugh. We saw the most impressive arches and they were fun, had our picnic and pointed our car north to Salt Lake City where we stayed in town at the Kimpton Monaco Hotel. We scouted out the nest eats and landed at HSL about 10 blocks away and scored major. Creative and outstanding followed by a night walk around the city where the Temple is something to see for sure.

Saturday, May 1 - Salt Lake City departure

Flying the friendly skies, which BTW, the Salt Lake Airport is pretty great. Very close to town (stay in town unless your flight is seriously 0:dawn thirty) new, clean (like all Mormon stuff plus organized.) The Delta terminal is quite nice.

#usa #utah #arizona #nationalpark #national park

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