#i remember when i first got paid and i was ordering food and i realized 'Holy shit- I CAN LEAVE A TIP.'

[ilivelikeimtrying]

Ambrosius was totally that person that when he finally had free range of the money his parents gave him/that he's like "Holy shit... I can tip."

[harveybwabbit92]

Grocery girl: Ken Sato x reader pt. 1

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You were a delivery girl who was a frequently dispatched to famous baseball player's Ken Sato residence, you were a nobody that anyone hardly paid attention to, until you found the legendary baseball passed out on his front steps looking like hell, being a bit of worry wart you help him inside and that things took a HUGE turn when you find yourself playing mommy for a giant baby dragon....

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Part 2,Part3,part4

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"He's been ordering a lot of Coconut water lately..." R/n mumbled as she loaded up her delivery van with the items on the shopping list Ken Sato's assistant sent her for his bi-weekly delivery, usually he just orders beer, protein shakes and a melange western food some of which were not a common find around Japanese super markets.

R/n had to go special import stores for some of the stuff Mr. Sato orders; which takes R/n though a wild runaround of the entire city, A route that none her other coworkers had the time or patience for; even the self-proclaimed "Sato-fan queen" Who stole R/n's route gave up within 20 minutes when she couldn't find the tiny shop that sold his special brand of coffee.

Her saga ended when she tried to cut corners and grabbed random items and delivered those instead...Yeah, that went over like a lead balloon. Her majesty got a harsh chewing out by the boss after Mr. Sato's assistant complained about the delivery and threatened a restraining order after the younger devilry girl displayed an obsessive and aggressive attitude.

(I.E. taking selfies of herself in front of the house, flirting into the intercom and trying to force herself into Mr Sato's house when she realized he wasn't home.)

Needless to say, R/n was assigned Mr. Sato's personal delivery girl, cos she was the only one that didn't have crush on him. Much to the ire of her female and few male coworkers. R/n remembered the first time Mr. Sato was there to receive his groceries in person. He seemed thrown off by her complete impassiveness towards him....

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{Flashback, To Ken taking the groceries from R/n, he kept staring at the delivery girl expecting her to crack a smile or squeal excitedly or something, but no, she kept a neutral expression on her face and stayed professional during the entire transaction.]

"Uh....Aren't you going to ask for my autograph?"

"Nope."

"But...I'm Ken Sato."

"Yeah, I know who you are and I don't care. sign here."

R/n holds out her tablet as Ken stares at her baffled; he signs the digital receipt, R/n printed out the receipt sticker and slapped it on the the box the baseball player was holding, The (Y/Height) woman then tipped her hat to him before getting into her van and driving off leaving Ken standing in his driveway completely dumbfounded. 

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After that Mr. Sato and R/n kept their interactions short and sweet, which seemed to work just fine for them. But things change and R/n was going to experience a very big change in her life.

It all started when the Sato-stalker queen Or Meiko AKA: "Meimei" as calls herself on her blog invited R/n to Mr. Sato's premier game, R/n tried to reject the offer as gently as possible; sports were never really her thing, but the bottle blonde girl had guilt tripped her into going. Apparently she doesn't have many friends (wonder why?), so there was R/n sitting up in the nosebleed section while feeling awkward in the sparkly baseball jersey Meimei had insisted she wear for the occasion.

The whole time the blonde was squealing and blabbing about Mr. Sato and how handsome he was and how unfair it was that R/n got to see him, thought the older woman was quick to dash whatever hopes Meimei had of hearing about Mr. Sato's personal life by informing her that he's barely home when she delivers to him and few times he is there it's just to receive the groceries.

"What goes on in Mr. Sato's private life is not our business..." R/n affirmed Meimei just pouted and called R/n mean before turning her attention to the pitch, she gasped loudly and started shaking R/n excitedly. "Ohmygash,ohmygash!! It's him! she squealed as Mr. Sato stepped on to the field towards his position at bat.

R/n couldn't help but wince when she watched Ken miss the first two balls, she saw the catcher from the other team say something that peeved off Mr. Sato; it looked like they were going to throw down until the umpire calmed it down and Mr. Sato change his position at the third pitch.

He pulled off an impressive power hit that got the crowd screaming and cheering. However, as Meimei was squealing and shaking R/n for what seemed to be for the umpteenth time she failed to notice her older coworker's attention was completely fixated on something else.

She felt R/n suddenly grab her hand. Meimei looked at R/n bemused but then noticed her complexion had gone ashen as the older delivery girl pointed up at the sky; the younger one followed her gaze and lost all of her peppiness in seconds as an explosion from a downed aircraft went off over the stadium causing the entire place to shake!

The stadium erupted into chaos as R/n instinctively covered her younger coworker from any fallen debris as the Kaiju alert system went off ordering everyone to evacuate! R/n and Meimei wasted no time getting out of the stadium just in time to see Ultraman arrive and punch the Kaiju away from the stadium. R/n stood back to watch them fight for a few moments before a hysterical Meimei dragged her away...

{Cut to a few hours later}

R/n was finishing up a few late night deliveries, some of her coworker didn't want to come in due to the monster attack so R/n was forced to take over their shifts. She had just finished delivering cat-food to a nice old lady, when she got a call from Mr. Sato he wanted donuts and coffee.

R/n sighed and went to work she pulled up to Ken's home on the old delivery scooter the boss had rusting in the back seeing as it was a small delivery, it was raining heavily by the time she pulled up to the house. R/n walked up and knocked the door Mr. Sato opened the door and looked startled to see her.

"Uh, What are you doing here so late?" He asked looking around his driveway, R/n cocked a brow and held up his order like it should be obvious. "Yeah, I know...But it's usually the old guy that delivers this late." R/n explained he took the night off she was filing in, Ken reluctantly took the donuts when he notices how wet her uniform was and looked outside again and noticed the rusty scooter just chilling in his driveway and frowned.

"You didn't drive all the way up here on that thing did you?" R/n just shrugged Mr. Sato looked like he was going invite her in or something, but they were interrupted by a weird cry coming from somewhere in the house. "What was that?" R/n inquired bouncing on her toes trying to look over his shoulder, the baseball player got this 'oh crap' look on his face as he quickly blocked her view.

"Uh, Nothing, j-just my TV! Here's your tip!" R/n's phone pinged the delivery girl's usual calm demeanor was replaced with one of panic as she tried to explain that Japan doesn't practice tipping! Only for her eyes widened in shock the amount he sent her. "...And e-Even if we did do tips, I think you overdid-" Mr. Sato quickly cuts her off. "No I didn't!" and slammed the door in her face.

R/n blinked a few times as she looked between her phone and the door baffled after a few seconds of trying figure out what that all about? Before shrugging then walked back her scooter and drove off....

{Ken gave the reader about three hundred dollars.)

[Next time R/n finds out just what Mr. Sato was hiding in his house the encounter was both cute and terrifying.]

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Cross posted on my A03/Squidgeworld/Wattpad.

[boytumms]

Hi, it’s Jae Anon again! Remember the necklace story I wrote a while back? I thought of a couple more plots that could be done, I’ll write the second one later!

Celine looked through the different jewelry at the thrift store, trying to pick the perfect necklace for her date tonight. Her eyes landed on a couple shimmery necklaces, both a gorgeous deep blue. Celine picked up the beautiful gems, admiring them for a moment. She took them to the register and paid for both, happily taking her purchase home.

Celine spent hours finding the perfect outfit, choosing a white, flowing dress that stopped at her ankles. She put the necklace on, admiring it in the mirror as she put her red hair into a bun. Celine grabbed her purse and walked to the living room, grabbing her keys to leave.

“That’s a beautiful necklace Celine!” Tracy exclaimed, gently touching the stone. “I know! It’s even in a matching set! Here, you can have the other one!” Celine said, placing the necklace around Tracy’s neck. She hugged her roommate before heading out, driving to the fancy restaurant to meet her date.

When Celine arrived at the restaurant, she was met by her boyfriend, David, opening the door for her to get out. “Hello beautiful. Ready for our date?” David asked, kissing Celine’s hand. She could only giggle with a nod, holding his hand as they entered the restaurant.

Celine ordered a 6 oz steak with sautéed vegetables on the side. She also ordered a chicken Caesar salad, feeling rather hungry after all the excitement today. David ordered some wagyu beef, plated with a baked potatoe and some grilled asparagus.

The salad came first, allowing Celine to eat enough to calm her growling tummy. When she finished the salad, she let out a low sigh when she felt rather full, unusually full for just a salad. She figured it would go away, seeing as it was just a salad.

By the time the steak and vegetables came, Celine didn’t want to touch them because she was so full. She wasn’t sure why it was happening, but she felt fuller after waiting for her steak and vegetables.

“Are you okay Celine? You haven’t touched your food yet,” David said, concern lacing his voice. She gave a quick nod and started eating the steak, not wanting to worry David at all. Celine rubbed her stomach with her free hand, feeling her extra full stomach. It stuck out a bit, unnoticeable thanks to her float dress.

Celine forced herself to finish the food, sitting back a bit to allow extra room in her stomach. She wasn’t sure how or why this was happening, but she felt like she had eaten three times the amount of food that she had ordered. Her eyes widened when she saw a small cake placed on the table, looking at David with surprise.

“It’s a vanilla strawberry cake. I ordered it especially for you,” David said, a small chocolate cake being placed in front of him. Celine could only smile before slowly eating the small cake, feeling it pile into her already overfilled stomach.

After the cake, Celine excused herself to the restroom, locking the door before she stood in front of the mirror. She lifted her flowing dress groaning when she saw her bright pink, gurgling stomach. It wasn’t as noticeable when the dress was down, but it stuck out enough that it could be seen.

Suddenly, Celine felt like she was eating more, despite not having food in her mouth. She held her stomach as she felt it swell a bit. Celine noticed the necklace glow, realizing that it must be something with the necklaces. She tried taking the necklace off, but it wouldn’t budge.

Celine rushed as quick as she could with her swollen belly, giving David a quick kiss before running to her car. Her stomach got in the way as she tried to buckler herself, forcing it to buckle despite the pain it brought from tightening over her growing stomach.

She rushed home as quick as she could without getting pulled over, having to waddle into the house at this point. Tracy was sat on the couch, pigging out on all sorts of food. “Tracy! Stop doing that! Look at me! I look pregnant!” Celine exclaimed, her belly sticking out so far that she didn’t have to move the dress to show it.

“It’s not my fault you ate enough food to feed an army,” Tracy said, popping open a soda to chug it. Celine groaned as her stomach gurgled angrily, the fizz causing her stomach to grow even more. Tracy set the can down, realizing that Celine was telling the truth.

“Oh my gosh! I could’ve popped you!” Tracy exclaimed, taking the necklace off. Celine’s necklace stopped glowing, allowing her to take it off. “Look at my stomach. I feel like I want to throw up but my stomach is too tired to even try,” Celine said, rubbing her massive belly.

“Go change into something more comfortable and lay down. Let your stomach work through all of that,” Tracy said, ushering Celine to her room. With some difficulty, Celine was able to take the dress off. Her bright red belly was top heavy, the food so packed that it hadn’t even processed yet. Celine tried rubbing some bubbles out, painfully burping up a few belches.

She put on a pair of leggings and one of David’s hoodies. The hoodie was barely big enough to fit her round abdomen, the soft fabric on the inside feeling rather comfortable on her hurting belly. She waddled her way to the living room, plopping heavily to the couch next to a guilty Tracy.

“If you want to make up for ruining my date, you can start by massaging some air out of my stomach,” Celine said, watching as Tracy perked up. The girl immediately set to work on massaging and kneading Celine’s packed belly, managing to get up a lot more air than she thought she had.

Celine winced at first, but it slowly turned into a relaxing feeling. “Next time, you’re wearing the other necklace and I’m getting revenge,” Celine said drowsily, a chain of burps making their way out of her mouth.

“Sure thing, Celine,” Tracy said, giggling softly as Celine started to drift off. Tracy did feel rather bad, but now she wanted to do it again. She enjoyed helping Celine relax after such a large meal, wondering what other ways she could give Celine a beautiful, round belly like the one she had now.

[landboundstar-writing]

Day Pass - Mad Hatter

Repost from main blog and AO3.

Please tip if you can, and reblog.

"Thank you, Edward. This is very nice of you."

I put a hand on top of my nervous friend's hand to stop his babbling.

"Jervis, it is not a problem to take you out for lunch. Here we are."

Jervis would have been fine getting a drive-through at McDonald's, but I wasn't. And I wasn't about to treat one of the first people that I had empathized with in my therapy group like he wasn't worth something special.

Pulling into a parking spot beside the restaurant, I opened Jervis's door and guided him to our table, a hand at his back and thought about how we had met.

Therapy in Arkham Asylum is a hit or miss affair. It doesn't do to get too attached to one therapist. They frequently change therapists to avoid that and its resulting…complications. And the turnover rate with good therapists is ridiculously high. Some, I thought sourly, I only wished had a high turnover rate. After years of Dr. Crane and Dr. Strange failing to get the desired results from me as a patient, Dr. Arkham himself decided to see what was wrong with my surly ass. Years of "therapy" with Crane's drug enhanced exposure therapy to treat my trauma and Strange's odd biofeedback that only seemed to worsen my obsessiveness had me being an extremely paranoid boy with some paredolia on the side of my other issues. Meeting with the good doctor for therapy hadn't been a high point in my plans. But, well, as a patient in Arkham I hadn't had much of a choice. So, imagine my surprise to find a good old fashioned group therapy session with no terror or mindfuckery. And that was where I met Jervis. Not quite a case of like minds meeting, but what I imagine what it must feel like for a piano virtuoso to meet an expert sculptor. Just an admiration and appreciation for the other person's skills.

We had been friends ever since.

What? You expected me to be humble? I was mentally unstable, not mentally deficient. And for all his quiet self-effacing tendencies, once Jervis started talking about his technical expertise or any of his passionate interests, there was a brilliant mind waiting to be discovered. 

Disturbed, obsessive, socially awkward, but brilliant.

Jervis fidgeted with his light hair, looking uncomfortable in the borrowed button up and dress pants from the asylum laundry. I noticed they had not given him a hat. Part of me hurt for my friend, knowing he identified so much with his accessory. And the rest of me realized the wisdom of not overly indulging his fixation, for everybody's well being. Especially Jervis himself.

But, like with my puzzle ring, sometimes it was important to scratch that itch. To find ways of being yourself without giving in to the madness.

Like a tea party, perhaps?

But not the crumpets and tea cake sort. That might be a little too tempting for Jervis. But I thought this restaurant might just do the trick.

"Do you want to order, or do you want me to?" I asked, remembering just how overwhelming simple decisions could be sometimes.

"If you don't mind. Please." Jervis said.

The waiter came over with a smile. "Welcome to Qnia. Are you ready to order?"

"We are. Can we get two orders of the moroccan mint tea, and then we are splitting an order of chicken tagine with couscous, zaalouk on the side. And two pistachio croissants to finish the meal."

"Of course. I'll bring your tea out in just a minute."

"Tea?" Jervis perked, a slightly too enthusiastic gleam in his eyes.

"Yes, it should go very nicely with the food." I told him.

The food came promptly, and we talked about music, art, and science rather than books or movies. 

I paid the check as we finished the last of our dessert, listening to Jervis tell me about a recent scientific study about using specific tones and frequencies to help subliminally curb addictions and its results. He still was his meek, polite self, but with a confidence he normally only got when fully delusional.

As I pulled out to drive back, I made a mental note of the restaurant.

It had been a lovely place to treat Jervis to a tea party. We would have to do it again.

[lukeevangelista]

being joes sister and dating justin herbert

Joe’s Sister - J. Herbert

I had the perfect fic. Had it wrote out and everything.

Saved it on this god forsaken app.

None of it saved. I need to start writing in my note pad again.

So I’m sorry ): I tried to write what I remembered from the first time

———————————————————————————

“No.” Joe laughed, “No way in hell you’re dating him.” He continued, “Because if you break his heart, I’ll hear it all from Joey and I’m not about to deal with his shit over it.”

“What if he breaks mine?” You asked, “Doesn’t that matter too? Seems like you’re just concerned about Justin.”

You were currently on FaceTime with Joe; him being in Cincinnati and you in Los Angeles.

“You don’t want to know.” He rolled his eyes, “I think Sam would kick his ass before anyone else got to you.”

“I’m not worried about Sam.” You said, “and I’m not worried about you or Joey either.” You shrugged, “I genuinely like Justin and you’re not interfering.”

“Good thing I didn’t ask- I was just warning you.”

“I think you’re being ridiculous.” You raised your eyebrows at him, slowly watching his face fill your screen, “Why are you so close?”

“Because I’m trying to keep this low key for you.” He grumbled, “You just had to call when we were getting ready for practice.”

“I’ve got impeccable timing,” you grinned, “Always calling at the worst times.”

“You’ve had bad timing since you were born.” He joked before telling you he had to go.

****

“How did it go?” Justin asked as you two sat down from ordering your food at the hostess stand.

You two had came to some little diner not too far from his house.

“I think it went well.” You started, “But it’s also Joe and he doesn’t like that fact I’m dating you. He kinda tried to discourage me from it.”

Justin didn’t say much about that, him just giving a slight nod at your comment.

“You okay?” You asked as you rested your hand on his.

“I’m fine.” He said, giving you a soft smile, “So what did he say?”

“He’s more concerned about me breaking your heart than you breaking mine.” You laughed. “He said, how do I put it-“ you started, “I’m not listening to Joey because you broke his quarterbacks heart.”

Justin tossed his head back, letting a loud laugh leave his mouth.

“I’m not worried about that.” He chuckled, “but it could have been worse.”

“I just think he’s being pessimistic.” You said as you took a bite of your food that had arrived moments ago, “It just bothers me that he’s being like this. He doesn’t realize I’m going to do whatever I want. It’s like he doesn’t trust me to make my own decisions anymore.”

“It’ll all work out.” Justin said as you two fell in a comfortable silence as you both finished your meals, before sliding out of the booth, stopping to pay.

“I’ve got it.” He said as he pulled out his wallet, stopping you from reaching for yours; as you always did, “My treat.”

“It’s always your treat.” You rolled your eyes at him. Justin typically paid wherever you went, even though you fought him tooth and nail every time.

He scoffed before handing his card to the waitress, “Go wait outside.”

You nodded as you stepped outside into the warm sun, Justin not too far behind.

“I think he doesn’t realize I know what I want and I’m not a child anymore.” You said as he wrapped his arm around your shoulder as you two walked towards his car.

“Not this again.” He jokingly said, as you two neared the car.

“I’m not off this topic Herbert.” You said, “I’m very annoyed with my brother right now.”

“Well, what do you want?” He asked as he opened the passenger side door, you turning towards him as you stopped in front of him.

“You.” You replied as your hand fell to his chest, slowly tracing.

“Good.” He grinned, giving you the smile that always made you fall to you knees, or felt like it, “Can’t wait to get you home,” he said as he motioned you into the car, “Hurry up. We’ve got time and food to burn off.”

“I like the way you think Herbert!”

[raychleadele]

Lately I’ve been really craving greens. Just absolutely slamming salads, putting them in wraps, on my morning egg toast, wilted into my pasta. Mixed greens everywhere. Spinach and arugula my beloveds. Also tried watercress for the first time and found that delightful. Loving my leafy greens. Figured there must be something in them, a vitamin or other nutrient, that my body really needs, because I’ve been going through them like crazy.

Relatedly, I recently paid an in person visit to the grocery store. I usually order for pickup to save on time, but this day I wasn’t able to for some reason. I was buying canned clams to make my late grandpa’s clam chowder. It’s a traditional Christmas/New Year’s season meal for me, I had to have it.

And when I picked up my can of clams, I became entranced by how many different canned fishes there were on the shelves. Sometimes I buy tuna, but I’d never touched most of them. And I know I was shopping hungry and when you shop hungry everything sounds good, but on that day the canned fish sounded really good. I thought “Idk, maybe I could be the kind of person who likes canned sardines.”

Then I snapped out of it and realized how hungry I was, and thought how insane it is for me to crave unfamiliar canned fish when I hardly eat the familiar variety I do buy, and reassured myself I’d get a meal when I got home, and I walked away without ransacking the shelf of canned fish.

But then I did it again at the fish counter at the Asian market a week later. I stood there for a full ten minutes, studying the dozens of whole fish they had that I’d never tried before, thinking maybe this would be the day I’d finally try filleting a fish for the first time, before deciding there weren’t any in my price range that looked fresh enough (I am in the only triple landlocked state of course), and walking away with no fish.

Then I saw that post here about someone who slammed three cans of fish and then learned they have lots of nutrients that help with seasonal depression. And I remembered how I’ve been slamming so many salads. And I thought huh, maybe my body is trying to tell me something about fish.

Then one of my favorite food YouTubers uploaded a video all about how people eat canned fish around the world and I said OKAY! CLEARLY I NEED TO BUY THE FISH!

So when I ordered groceries yesterday to prepare for the coming blizzard, I ordered canned fish. Specifically, I got one can of sardines, one can of anchovies, and one can of smoked oysters.

Today I cracked open the can of sardines for lunch. I taste tested a small piece and it was delicious! So I toasted an English muffin, spread it with some cream cheese, topped it with some thin sliced red onion and my beloved mixed greens, and added some sardines on top. Drizzled the top with some of the sardine oil and had an open faced sandwich. It was messy, because the minute I tried to bite into it all my toppings fell off, but it was delicious.

So anyway, I guess I am the kind of person who enjoys canned sardines now.

[mctna2019]

stay a little more

Water is dripping from the ends of Seon-ho's hair. the rain doesn't stop and the ceiling only protects a part of his body from the whipping rain drops. he's waiting outside their room, deep in thought and worry.

a little while ago, when it was raining very little, he had come to visit them, and then he realized that Yeon had a high fever since last night and still hasn't gotten better. Seon-ho immediately ran out in the rain and brought a physician with him, ignoring Hwi, who forbade him to go because he didn't have enough money. he even paid extra money for rainfall to physician, and of course he didn't tell it to Hwi.

when he comes to himself, he notices that his teeth are clashing with an involuntary force. as if time is passing in its slowest form. on the day of Seo Geom's funeral, it rained as well. the rain washed Hwi's tears that day and today washes his... for the thousandth time, he pushes away his bitter and disturbing thoughts.

when the door opens, he immediately jumps. first the physician and then Hwi leaves the room. Seon-ho looks at Yeon's calm face through the door while Hwi closes the door to prevent the cold from entering the room. the redness of her cheeks is less. he takes a deep breath and Hwi seems to notice him. Hwi immediately bows gratefully to the physician who is leaving and then turns to Seon-ho. he looks at Seon-ho with big eyes in disbelief. +are you crazy? you sitting here in this cold with these wet clothes? -is Yeon get better? +answer me. -if I came inside, the floor would be wet. Hwi grabs Seon-ho's arm angrily. +damn, how cold you are. I think I should return the physician. he looks at him again. Seon-ho thinks that if anything is near Hwi, he'd have given him a good beating. +let's go inside, hurry up. Seon-ho tries to refuse at first, but Hwi seems very angry, and of course, he thinks how he'd return if he got sick. he'd probably fill Yeon's place in the next few days. although he personally doesn't want such a thing, he knows very well that it isn't possible anyway. he can't spend even a night here. and if the he returns to Namjeon's mansion, there would be no one to nurse him. so he enters the room behind Hwi and realizes what cold weather he was enduring. Hwi immediately gives him clothes. +put it on. -here? +Yeon is asleep. when he changed his clothes at Hwi's order, Hwi covered him with a blanket and put a cloth around his wet hair. he starts drying his hair like a child when Seon-ho takes it from him to do it himself. +sit here, I'll bring you some hot soup. Seon-ho wants to protest but knows it'd be useless. then, when he eats the soup, he's satisfied that he didn't disagree with Hwi. with each bit of soup that goes down his throat, he feels a life coming back to his body. +the physician said that she doesn't need many medicines, she just needs to eat nutritious food. -I'll take some meat. Seon-ho thinks that this time it's Hwi's turn to give up his opposition to Seon-ho. he feels victorious. +thanks, for everything. -don't be stupid. from now on, if there is any problem, come and let me know. Seon-ho looks into Hwi's wet eyes. -are you crying? +I remembered that day. Seon-ho doesn't ask. because he knows what he meant. like him, Hwi had thought about the day of Seo Geom's funeral. -don't worry, Yeon will get better soon. Hwi forces a smile and nods in agreement. +if she wakes up and realizes that you went and brought a physician here in this rain, she'll be embarrassed so much. -you aren't going to tell her. Hwi laughs and pats Seon-ho on the shoulder. +whenever she talks about you, her tone immediately changes and her cheeks turn red. -don't bother her. +tell me the truth, how many other people are there that you sneak up on and help? Seon-ho doesn't laugh. he only smiles a little, sadly. -nobody. he says in his heart, "still nobody" Hwi, not knowing what is bothering Seon-ho's ever-busy mind, tries to change the subject. +stay here for the night. the weather is cold and the rain seems to stop too late. -I've to go, Hwi. you know. Hwi can understand. so he nods reluctantly. +stay at least little more time till your clothes to dry. -well, just little. as long as I can. Hwi lets out a long sigh and makes Seon-ho laughs against his will.

[desertfangs]

Swipe Right - Chapter 4

After over a week with no response from Armand, Daniel runs into Louis in a bar. Unfortunately, they also run into Armand, complicating matters.

I just want to thank everyone who's commenting and reading along with this fic, this has been such a fun story. There's one chapter left after this, although I may end up doing a sequel or adding more chapters, as it feels like there might be more of this story to tell. Regardless, I greatly appreciate all of the love and support my first AU fic has gotten! 💖

Short Excerpt:

The Pink Baby was hopping when he arrived but he managed to snag a seat at the bar when someone left a few minutes after he walked in. He sat down and ordered his usual drink, a Jack and Coke, and the daily special, a BLT. 

He was halfway through his drink when he looked up and saw Louis standing on the other side of the bar. His stomach twisted. He immediately looked away, pulling out his phone so he’d have something to stare at. If he hadn’t just ordered food, he’d slip out before the man spotted him. At least it was crowded. Maybe Louis wouldn’t even notice him there. 

His food arrived and he ate while reading a book on his phone. The guy next to him got up and someone took his place. Daniel glanced up into piercing green eyes and jumped in surprise. Louis gave him a tight smile.

“Hi,” he said. 

“Hey. Funny meeting you here.” Daniel laughed nervously. 

“I thought I should apologize for disappearing on you,” Louis said. “My last two relationships did not end well and…” He trailed off, waving a hand. “You don’t need the details and it’s not really an excuse. I’m sorry.” 

“It’s okay. I get it,” Daniel said. “These things are complicated.” He immediately thought of Armand and his heart squeezed a little. 

“If you’re still up for it, I’d love to do that interview,” Louis said. 

Daniel beamed. That was perfect! He welcomed the excuse to get to know Louis better and maybe they could even have some fun after. Daniel still wanted that massive dick of his inside him. “That’d be great.”

“Perfect. If you’d like to go to my place…”

“Now?” Daniel couldn’t believe his luck.

“You do have your equipment, yes?” Louis tapped the strap of Daniel’s messenger bag hanging over the back of his chair.

Daniel nodded. “You might recall I have the best equipment.” 

Louis smiled, a little flush coloring his cheeks. “I remember.” 

“Yours wasn’t so bad, you know. I’d love to take it for a test run.” 

Louis swallowed. “Perhaps. But I would really love to tell you my story.” 

“Sure, of course,” Daniel said. He paid his tab and then they headed down the street, toward Louis’ small studio apartment.

“I’m glad I ran into you,” Daniel said, as they approached his place. “I’ve been thinking about you since the other night.” 

“Have you?” Louis sounded amused. 

They turned the corner and Daniel froze. A young man was standing in front of Louis’ building, wearing jeans and an oversized sweatshirt. He had curly auburn hair and rings glittered on his fingers. He held a file box in his hands. Daniel’s heart pounded against his ribs. Armand. 

It took him a second to realize Louis had frozen, too, and was staring at Armand as if he were a ghost. 

Read the Rest on AO3

[charliedawn]

DEFECTIVE GOOD PART 14

The next day, JR was woken up by the smell of food and opened her eyes to see Finn standing there with a plate. He smiled down at her before waving shyly.

"Hey. Hum…I just wanted to come and see how you were doing. Cause I know how strange it could be for a stormtrooper to come here and…Anyway." Finn rambled before putting the plate down next to her. "Breakfast."

JR stirred slightly, and opened her eyes.

"Morning..." She mumbled, smiling softly at Finn as she saw him. She sighed quietly, sitting up and stretching lightly.

"Thank you..." she murmured, picking up the plate and starting to eat...

Finn smiled.

"Yeah. No problem. Am just happy to have another…you know…'traitor' around." The way he emphasised on the word made JR frowned slightly.

"Traitor..." She muttered under her breath with a frown, taking a small bite of her food. It tasted bitter. "I thought the term was 'deserter'..."

Finn chuckled before patting her back.

"Yeah. Well…Not when Captain Phasma or General Hux say it." Finn grinned. "Are they still pissed about the whole 'taking an X-fighter and flying away' thing ?"

"...I should imagine so..." JR said with a small smile, taking a small sip of juice before continuing. "And what's your story anyway ? How did you manage to escape the First Order in the first place ? They didn’t exactly tell us how you did it. Just…that you did. And that you were a deserter."

Finn’s eyes widened slightly before chuckling awkwardly while massaging the back of his neck.

"Oh. Me ? Yeah. So hum…I kinda offered to help Poe escape if he also helped me and one thing led to another and here I am."

She blinked twice in front of his explanation, before chuckling.

"And that’s the story ? Just ‘one thing led to another’ ?"

Finn laughed and shrugged.

"Pretty much. Yeah. Listen. I am just glad to be alive."

JR smiled, taking another bite of her food before nodding in agreement.

"I can understand that..." she murmured, before taking another sip of her juice. Finn then looked around her tent.

"You got lucky. When I escaped the First Order, I ended up in quicksand on Jakku. You at least got a tent. By the way, how did you find out that the Resistance was on this planet ?"

"Oh..." She said, her tone softening as she heard this part. "That sounds rough..."

There was a slight pause, before she continued.

"Well...I was in a blizzard a couple of days ago...And I bumped into a Resistance soldier, who gave me directions to this base. Then...Well..." she took another sip of her juice. "Here I am..."

"A blizzard ?" Finn frowned. "On what planet ?"

"...The planet Coontra..." She stayed silent for a moment, realizing that she hadn’t really paid attention to the name of the planet Hux had given her and hoped she hadn’t mistaken. She shrugged dismissively. "But…Doesn't matter. What matters is that I survived..."

"Funny. Never heard about the planet Coontra…" Finn narrowed his eyes suspiciously at her and before JR could answer, Poe came in the tent with a smile. "Rey is back ! Come on."

They both looked at his excited face and JR nodded before returning her attention on Finn.

"Hey...Thanks for the food...We’ll talk later." she murmured, getting up from her place and walking over to meet Poe. Finn nodded. The three of them went outside to see people surrounding Rey’s ship getting back down. When she got off, she immediately smiled and went to hug Finn and Poe.

"I got it ! I know where Skywalker is ! And…" Rey stopped dead in her tracks when she noticed JR. "…Who’s that ?"

JR stayed silent for a moment, watching the small reunion, when Rey noticed her...Her entire being tensed up, and she stayed completely still. It wasn’t like she could hide from Rey. She could use the Force...So just remaining still and staying silent was her best bet. Poe grinned and wrapped an arm around JR.

"This is JR ! She’s the stormtrooper who helped us escape Starkiller Base, remember ?! Seems like she finally decided to come on our side ! Isn’t that good news ?"

JR stayed silent for a moment. She knew Poe was only trying to help. But she also knew full well that this was unlikely to go well...Rey couldn’t just be friendly to her, after all. She was a stormtrooper ! It didn’t matter to Rey that she was now a “deserter” or something...Rey was always going to view her with suspicious eyes. And this situation was only going to heighten that suspicion.

"...Right." Rey said after a few moments, her own expression shifting to one that was much more guarded. "I see...I remember you. You are the stormtrooper who talked to me when I was captured."

Poe took a step backwards, realizing that his attempt hadn't worked.

"...So ah...Yeah. It's good to have you back, Rey..." He muttered awkwardly, not knowing how to salvage the situation...JR tried to put on a smile on her face before extending her hand towards Rey.

"It’s nice to see you again, Rey."

Rey stared at her for a few moments, before slowly taking JR’s hand in her own...

"...You too..." She said with a soft voice...Not exactly the warmest response in the world, but it was still a positive one...Rey knew her from the day she had been captured. There was a silent understanding between them. Rey knew JR had tried to salvage the situation and end the war the only way she had known how…

JR nodded understandingly. Rey slowly let go of JR's hand and the trooper stayed completely still, her body still tensed. But...Rey wasn't outright suspicious of her. She was definitely cautious but, she was also giving JR a chance...That was something, at least. She felt grateful for it.

General Organa arrived just at that moment and smiled as she saw Rey.

"Ah. Rey. You are back. Good. I do hope you bring good news."

Rey turned towards General Organa, quickly returning the smile.

"Don't worry, I do. I have confirmation of the location of Luke Skywalker."

General Organa smiled.

"Ah ! Excellent. Let’s go talk in privacy…"

"Yes." Rey said with a nod. She took one last look at JR, before following after General Organa, with some people following along, including Finn. They left and JR hesitated before returning to her tent and pacing around. This could be big…Was she to warn the First Order ? Part of her wanted to stay loyal to the First Order, to tell them where Skywalker was, to tell them everything she new...But the other half of her...The one who remembered what it was like to be a stormtrooper...The one who felt guilty for all the things she had done while under the First Order. That half of her wanted to help the Resistance. For this nightmare to end. JR finally sighed in defeat before turning on her transmitter.

"General Hux ? Can you hear me ?"

A few moments passed, and then General Hux’s voice finally came through.

"Yes. I can hear you. What is it, JR-6025 ?"

She looked down. It had been a long time since she had heard his voice…It made her momentarily nervous.

"I…have news. It seems the scavenger girl got her hands on the final piece of the map to Skywalker."

"...The final piece...?" Hux muttered, slowly turning to look around, making sure he was in a private place before adding: "...How did she come across this piece ?"

"…I do not know, sir. I wasn’t authorised to participate in the meeting." JR told him and general Hux sighed. She knew he was disappointed…

"Understood." He then stayed silent for a few moments.

"Where is she now...?"

JR looked at the tent where they had disappeared in and replied promptly.

"Rey and General Organa as well as a couple of Resistance fighters are holding a meeting in the command centre right now."

"...A resistance meeting..." General Hux muttered and frowned at the news. That certainly didn’t sound good. "So ah...She is close to finding him."

He stayed silent, his fingers clenching and unclenching for a few moments.

"...When does the meeting end...?"

JR shook her head.

"I do not know, sir." She then waited a moment before asking. "Your directives if indeed the girl is planning on going to see Skywalker ?"

There was a moment of silence before general Hux spoke again.

"...The orders stay the same. She cannot reach Skywalker..." He stayed silent for a handful of moments as he thought about his next move. The scavenger girl could—under no circumstances—reach Skywalker and become more powerful than she already was. "...And...If she does ? She must not return from that place alive..."

"…Sir ?" JR was stunned. "…Do you mean…?"

General Hux closed his eyes and his jaw twitched. He knew that the mission would be hard for JR-6025, but he also knew of her undying loyalty to him.

"...If Rey manages to reach Skywalker..." His tone was flat. The words cold as he finally condemned out loud. "...She must not return...Understood, trooper ?"

JR’s heart hammered in her chest at his death sentence and she gulped. No…She couldn’t…kill her. She had made a promise to Kylo Ren. But at the same time, Rey was the last hope of the galaxy. She was the only wall standing between the First Order and total domination.

But, JR was still a stormtrooper.

"Sir. I…" She closed her eyes. "…Yes, sir. Understood."

There was a moment of silence, before he finally said: "...Good. Keep me informed...And get ready..."

There was another long moment of silence, before he finally added:

"...That is all for now..."

She remained with her eyes closed and replied.

"Yes, sir."

She ended the transmission and sighed before looking up at the ceiling…What was she supposed to do now ? She had to do something. She couldn’t possibly break her promise to Lord Kylo Ren. But, JR also could not stand by while Rey left to meet with Skywalker. It would crush the First Order and general Hux’s slim trust in her. Her inner conflict was becoming stronger...Part of her told herself: The First Order will be fine...The galaxy will be fine with them in charge... But the other part, the part born out of guilt and shame, told her: No...The galaxy will not...We have only brought destruction and pain, while the Resistance is fighting for peace...

She was starting to wonder what to do when she heard that the meeting had ended. She quickly got out and saw Rey enter a spaceship to leave.

Her eyes widened.

She was leaving—surely to meet with Skywalker.

She couldn’t let her go alone.

She was still struggling with these competing voices within her head...The First Order...The Resistance...Her promise to Lord Ren.

Who was she loyal to...?

She knew that if she revealed Skywalker’s location, the First Order would reach him first which would ultimately lead to Rey’s death which was what Hux wanted...and what Lord Ren dreaded. JR hesitated before suddenly racing towards the spaceship to get inside just as it was about to leave. JR raced aboard the spaceship—just as the door was closing.

JR took a few minutes to process all that was happening, taking deep breaths to try and calm herself down...She stayed hidden until the spaceship had landed. She didn’t know where they were, but she knew that it must be on the planet where Luke Skywalker was…

The spaceship landed, and the doors started to open. Rey got out. JR was still hidden in the spaceship, and she could hear Rey stepping off in the distance...She waited a few minutes before finally getting out herself. She found herself on an island surrounded by waves. She took a deep breath. She had never seen an ocean before…

JR looked around her, taking in the scenery...

An ocean...The gentle waves...She breathed in the air...It made her think of Azterri—but so much wilder. There was a wild beauty to the island. She couldn't believe she had never seen something like this before and as much as she was torn between sides, as scared as her inner conflict made her...She couldn’t deny it.

This was beautiful.

She took a deep breath of the fresh seaside air and momentarily forgot where she was until she heard a voice coming from one of the caves. She frowned before following the voice and found an old man talking to himself.

"No. Not again. Never again am I going to train jedis. It's over." Luke Skywalker said and shook his head—memories of Kylo Ren haunting him. The ghost of Yoda shook his head next to Luke.

"Train them You must. The future They are."

Skywalker scoffed mockingly at his old master’s words before replying.

​​​​​​"Yeah well…You train them then !"

Yoda frowned before answering in a serious voice—hinted with disapproval.

​​​​​​"Skywalker's job It is. Let the galaxy down You must not…"

Luke frowned before sighing. He knew that the galaxy’s fate held in the balance and soon enough, there would be no place to hide.

​​​​​​"The galaxy never did me any good. I'm sorry, but I'm not going to train them. And that's my final answer." He said with finality in his tone and Yoda’s gaze softened as he saw the pain and sorrow in Luke’s eyes.

"Yoda’s role it is not To convince you. If you are to turn your back from the truth Then lost we will all be…" Yoda said with finality before slowly disappearing. JR’s eyes widened as the ghost’s eyes met hers. She held her breath. But, the ghost only smiled at her before disappearing completely—leaving Skywalker alone in the cave. Skywalker seemed adamant in his refusal to train Rey—noy that that it surprised her...But the ghost's words...about his “duty” to train the Jedi...something seemed to urge her to stay and convince Skywalker. If the ghost was right, then the balance would be broken…

She was about to step closer to hear more of the conversation when she slipped and suddenly tumbled inside the cave.

"….Ouch."

JR immediately froze...Her presence was no longer unknown to the person inside. JR stayed completely still and quiet, hoping that Luke hadn’t heard her. Wishful thinking. Suddenly, she saw a pair of shoes in front of her and slowly looked up to see Skywalker looking down at her—he didn’t seem pleased.

"Who are you and what are you doing on my island ?" He asked authoritatively and JR's mind was all over the place as she tried to think of an excuse...She shouldn't have been here, she shouldn't have gotten on the spaceship...But there was nothing she could do now...She quickly managed to calm herself down a little and she then replied with a soft voice:

"I'm...I'm a stormtrooper, sir."

Luke frowned and looked her up and down.

"Oh really ? Stormtroopers aren’t welcome on my island…" He raised his hand towards her and fear struck JR. She thought about trying to flee from the cave...But then another thought crossed her mind...Why not simply say the truth...

"I'm a deserter...I wasn’t sent by the First Order, sir. I come in peace." She hoped it would help her case, but Luke didn’t seem impressed at all.

"Oh yeah ? And I don’t care. Get off my island before I…"

"JR !" Rey arrived in the cave and frowned before helping her up. "What are you doing here ?!"

JR flinched as Rey spoke. She was still tense and anxious and she couldn't help but remain still as Rey helped her up...It looked like Rey was about to yell at her at any second, but she restrained herself.

"...I just came here because I wanted to help you." JR whispered.

"Wait…Did you sneak onto my ship ?" Rey didn’t seem pleased at all and she sighed and shook her head in disbelief. "I do not need your help. I need you to go."

JR stayed silent for a moment. She felt so ashamed of herself...Of what she had done...A stormtrooper, a deserter, sneaking into a Resistance ship...She knew it wasn't good...

"I am sorry. I…" She started, but was interrupted by Luke.

"Here’s an idea. How about you both get off my island ?!" Skywalker raised his arms in disbelief before JR turned towards him and replied.

"Alright. I will leave. But, please���Train Rey. She made it all this way for you to train her. She searched for you. For this place…" JR continued and tried to plead, but Skywalker interrupted her.

"I know." Skywalker muttered, sounding annoyed.

"Then, will you train her ? Please." JR insisted. "I know there must be a reason that you have decided to stay hidden for so long, but Rey needs your guidance."

JR could see the old Jedi Master slowly lowering his gaze, and she knew what she was doing was having an effect...Luke sighed, raising his gaze once more. He looked at Rey and frowned.

"...She will not become a Jedi..." he said, sounding resigned and JR frowned in incomprehension.

"Why ? Why are you so afraid ?" She asked and Luke’s eyes hardened as he glared at her.

"You do not understand. None of you do." He muttered, shaking his head slightly. "You don't know what happened..."

"No…Maybe not." She conceded. "But, I know that this war needs to end. And that Rey can put an end to it. So, please…Train her. I beg of you."

"...I...I can't...I cannot...The past..." Skywalker mumbled and shook his head. Luke was suddenly shaking and clutching his chest. "...Will come back...It always does."

"The past doesn’t need to repeat itself…" JR spoke up and Luke closed his eyes—a pained expression on his face.

"...But it does..." Luke muttered, his voice low and shaky. "...We...We always think we can be different..."

He then turned away, looking towards the darkness within his cave. "...But the galaxy has a way of repeating history..."

She looked at the darkness as well.

"…But, we can learn from past mistakes." Rey advanced and Luke huffed a mocking laugh.

"...Oh, we do learn...." He muttered to himself. "...And we think that we can be better because we have..."

He let out a sigh...

"...But history always has a way of repeating itself...The light and the dark...They balance each other..." A short pause followed. "...But every time there's too much light...The darkness rises...And every time there's too much darkness..."

There was a longer pause.

"...The light rises...It's a cycle..."

"A cycle can be broken !" JR claimed and Luke glared at her once more.

"But it shouldn't be." Luke looked at her, and JR noticed the sadness in the Jedi Master's eyes. "...The Force is supposed to be balanced. Neither too much light. Neither too much darkness..."

"But the cycle is going to be broken. Look at the galaxy. Listen to the Force. You know that if we let it happen, the First Order will destroy this cycle…" She countered and Luke nodded.

"Yes. And a new light and a new dark shall rise...It's the way things go...It's the way things always go..." His voice was low and solemn...But there was a hint of sadness there too. There was a hint of resignation there as well...

"Nothing changes. Nothing. When a cycle ends, another is born."

He turned his back on her and Rey’s eyes lowered. JR felt an urge within her begging to be let out. She couldn’t let him go. She knew her duty and the fact that Skywalker himself was set on staying out of trouble could only be good for the First Order. She should be happy. Rey wouldn’t be trained and her mission would be finished. She wouldn’t have to betray anyone or kill anyone.

But…

"Please !" JR surged forward and grabbed his arm. Luke hissed and turned towards JR with widened eyes. He groaned loudly in annoyance.

"What do you want from me ?!"

"I want you to train Rey !" JR pleaded and her eyes filled with tears. She hadn’t come so far and seen so much just to give up now. "Han Solo is dead…And who knows how many innocents will die before the end of the war ?!"

JR could see the sorrow in Luke's eyes at the mention of the death of his old friend, but he quickly shook his head.

"This war is endless. I already tried to end it years ago, but it didn't work. I'm sorry."

He didn’t look JR in the eyes, he couldn’t. But, she didn’t give up and took his hand in hers to force him to look at her, which he eventually did.

"Please..We need your help, master Luke. Help us." He opened his mouth, prepared to shut her down one last time, but she looked at him with such pleading eyes that he finally sighed in defeat and nodded.

"Fine. If you want to learn about the Force and be killed because of it, who am I to disagree ?! But, know that after that, there is no turning back to what you were. People will hunt you down for your knowledge, or just because you are different from them, are you ready to face the consequences ?" He turned towards Rey and he had a stern expression on his face. "Are you ?!"

Rey gulped, but nodded nonetheless.

​​​​​​"I am ready to do what must be done."

Luke looked into Rey’s eyes. She sounded resolute...Determined...She made him think of Han. The same stubbornness in their gaze. If Rey was to save the galaxy, he knew he had no choice but to train her.

"...Fine...Fine..." He muttered, and the sadness in his eyes grew even stronger...He would do as he was asked...But, there was alwa a price to pay for such knowledge. Both women smiled at each other and Rey took a step forward to give Luke his lightsaber back.

"Thank you, Master Luke."

Luke remained silent as he looked at the lightsaber in Rey’s hand and then he realized that the time had come...He couldn't refuse her. He slowly reached out to take the lightsaber from her.

"Do not thank me…Training will start tomorrow morning at the first rays of sunlight. Be ready."

Rey smiled and nodded in agreement. JR smiled weakly as she knew that Rey would be trained now and hope flared within her. Her mission was done. JR turned around, walking away. JR had managed to sway Skywalker—just in time. The next step was making sure that he trained Rey and that she fulfilled her goal...Whatever the price might be...

She looked down at the transmitter around her wrist and her smile dropped. She started thinking about General Hux. Her thumb rubbed around the wrist band. She was torn. If she was to communicate their location, then the First Order would win. They would come and kill Rey and Luke. It would be over. Finally. But…She couldn’t find the will to do so. Poe and Leia’s hope had succeeded in making her believe in something else than the First Order—something greater.

Everything will be alright. I will put an end to this war. And he will understand—eventually.

She took a deep breath before walking away. She returned to the ship where she knew Chewbacca was waiting. He would certainly bring her back to the Resistance and she could always invent an excuse to General Hux about not being able to know the location of Skywalker.

JR took a deep breath and was about to get on board when she heard a voice behind her.

"And where do you think you’re going ?"

JR turned around and saw that Skywalker was behind her. Her first instinct was to just keep walking, but she decided to turn and face the old Jedi Master...

"I'm going back to the Resistance camp..."

He raised an eyebrow at her.

"You would leave your friend alone ?"

JR frowned in confusion before she realised he was talking about Rey and she sighed.

"She isn’t my friend. Or I cannot be hers. She would never trust a stormtrooper."

Luke hummed.

"I see…But, you still begged me to train her."

JR smiled to herself.

"Hope is contagious…Some people infected me with it."

Luke chuckled before walking forward to stand next to her.

"I see…Leia is still as convincing as she used to be. This is why she sent you both to me."

JR frowned and let out an awkward laugh.

"She only sent Rey. I simply sneaked myself in."

Luke raised both of his eyebrows at her and restrained a mocking huff.

"Oh really ? You—a stormtrooper—managed to sneak yourself aboard a Resistance ship, in the middle of a Resistance camp and without anyone seeing you or trying to stop you ? Impressive. Please. Teach me your ways." She could hear his sarcasm and her eyes widened at the realisation.

"…She knew." JR whispered and Luke smiled.

"Of course she knew. The woman has eyes behind her head. Nothing flies past her." He then looked at JR with a little mirth in his gaze. "You are exactly where you are meant to be. Your friend needs you—Rey needs you. Or, she will. Now, the only question that remains is…Will you stay and help or leave and flee from your own fears ?"

He extended a hand towards her and JR blinked twice in astonishment at the offer before hesitating. Was he right ? Would Rey need her ? And most importantly, would JR want to engage into something that would make her a true traitor of the First Order ?

She bit her lower lip—doubt plaguing her mind.

She finally closed her eyes and looked away.

"I…do not think Rey needs me. She has you. I would not help her by staying."

Luke humphed before replying.

"I do not know what conflict you seem to be having or why you wish to leave…but what I do know is that Leia is never wrong. And that if she let you come to me ? It is that you will have a role to play. And if I am to play the role of a teacher, then I will expect you to also take on the role that the Force has bestowed upon you."

He then started walking away.

"First lesson tomorrow. Do NOT be late."

And with that, he was gone.

JR sighed before looking at the spaceship before her. She knew she should go, but Luke’s words had left an impact on her. Was he right ? Did she really have a role to play in this future to be built ?

And if she had…

Which role would it be ?

She looked down at the transmitter around her wrist.

Was she to be a traitor ?

She looked back in the direction that Luke had taken.

Or was she to be a hero ?

She waited for a few minutes before taking her decision. She followed in Luke Skywalker’s footsteps and her eyes looked up at the sky where night was slowly falling.

…Maybe could she try to be someone else ? Just this once.

[nenilein]

Heya, Neni!! I've been getting really curious about the Quest ARS' lore as of recent, and I was wondering how much you knew/was revealed about the three's backstories. Anything of note about how they got where they are?

I'm especially curious about the fact that Seo saved Atari's life in the past... How much do we know about that? Do we just know that it happened, or are there more details, like how or why?

So, I'll go through them in ARS order:

Atari:

The reason she wants to be a spacetime detective is because a detective saved her life when she fell through a spacetime tunnel as a kid and almost got stuck and died that way. It's also the reason her favorite food is Onigiri, because that was the food the detective treated her to to cheer her up when she was crying after the traumatic experience. Atari also keeps a Wishing Pendant (an intralian toy, similar to a mood ring) on her person at all times; that pendant was a gift from the detective that saved her.

Of course, as you said, the detective that saved Atari back then was, in fact, a younger Seo, but Atari doesn't recognize her after all those years and Seo is keeping it a secret from her. Rokia, however, has already caught on to this, but decided to stay out of it.

After Atari became obsessed with private detectives, she started watching tons of mystery movies, TV shows and reading all the novels she could get her hands on, so she has a pretty fantastical, Sherlock-Holmesified idea of what it is like to be a detective. She apparently also got made fun of for her enthusiasm about her dream a lot in the past.

Rokia:

We reaaaally don't know anything about his background, other than that he's been working in the field for years now and is pretty jaded. His sense of justice is pretty defined though, seeing how he often keeps investigating cases far beyond what he's getting paid for, just to make sure other people are safe.

Seo:

She started her detective work in her youth and, according to herself, was pretty similar to Atari when she started out, hence why she actually has a lot of faith in her potential as an investigator in the future.

Before Seo founded the agency, she worked freelance on her own and, somewhere along the way, came to Primp Town and made friends with Accord. The two of them are pretty close and Seo knows some of Accord's secrets that nobody else knows about, it seems. In the past, Accord had to often make sure Seo would eat on the job, because she would often accidentally starve herself while in the zone. This task has since been taken over by Rokia.

Ecolo is kind of the Arsène Lupin to her Sherlock Holmes. We don't know when she first ran into Ecolo and when she started being able to remember those encounters, but the last time she met Ecolo he was clearly still his PP7 self, given her descriptions, meaning he must've actively avoided running into her ever since making friends with Ringo. This is confirmed by how throughout Quest's story, Ecolo makes meticulously sure to not show himself when Seo and Ringo are in the same room, presumably to avoid Seo realizing that Ringo is friends with him. Whether this is because Ecolo doesn't trust Seo to not hurt Ringo if she finds out or because Ecolo is embarrassed of how much he's changed is unclear. In any case, when Seo direcly points out to Ecolo that something about him is different from when they last met, he dodges the issue immediately.

As mentioned above, Seo saved Atari's life when she was a kid and, while not initially recognizing the new recruit as the little girl from back then, eventually catches on to who she is. She doesn't tell Atari though, despite playfully hinting at it. The fact that Seo saved Atari despite her not being a paying customer and even treated her to lunch and gave her a little toy afterwards shows that, despite how miserly she can seem these days, at least back then she was a pretty idealistic person.

[ctl-yuejie]

what did you eat yesterday? - season 2 ep 10

okay...sth is going on with the gaga subs this week...a heads-up to anyone watching they are really weird in some places (as far as I paid attention)

It feels like I am starting every other sentence for this show with "I love that---" "I like that---", but truely they are doing great.

The lightness of their interactions where the heating element becomes the focal story while Kenji actually has major news to tell. Particularly because he just seems to remember it while talking to Shiro-san.

If anything, I can appreciate that this show gives me a heads-up on what kind of things I might have to deal with when I get even older which do not need a doctors attention but are just signs of the time we lived in our bodies.

I have to admit I don't remember much of Kenji's mom from last season but their relationship is fascinating. There is somehow a family resemblance but obviously in a different way, since they have lived apart for so long.

Kenji and Shiro-san are are both so stiff it is hilarious. The sisters are so lively just like Kenji. They really are nailing the family dynamics. Particularly the only son in the midst of a female only family.

This looks expensive but I am going to try and remember that place. It looks amazing. god, I could kill for some seabream sashimi *sigh* sea bream is my favourite fish for sashimi.

the eels.....i am always wildly fluctuaing between freaking out about the bones and loving the taste. have to try it without the sauce some time.

I love how the families are mixing through their appreciation of food.

Let Kenji drink his tea in peace!!!

I love how his mom not only thought about Kenji, when the son of her customer died, but thought about the relationships in his life and realized that Shiro-san needed a place in her family

oh my.

they used "身内 " it's a common word and all, but a lot of times me and my friends use it when talking about coming out or existing as queer people. as in "only telling people you are very close with" or "keeping it a secret from your biological family". there are many more words to express closeness and family but this one really is about something being so close it is part of you.

And to have it used to include Shiro-san is so moving.

The sibling dynamics are superb. How Kenji and Shiro-san look after the three women leaving and Shiro-san asking:

"そこに俺もいるのかな " (Am I there as well?/ Is there a place for me as well?)

Shiro-san is frugal most of the time, but I can vibe even more with Shiro-san making do with what he's got at home in order to balance out splurging on that fantastic family dinner with eel.

I knew we were getting some hot pot action for the heating element. tbh the hot pot looks a bit empty....but sesame dipping sauces and pork is the superior combination.

ahhhh!!! Shiro-san buying the ramen not only because he craved some since Kenji had them, but knowingly buying the type that Kenji loves...it is in the small things and the detail

seeing them eat i am craving a cold beer now (god...If they call her mom-sensei one more time i am going to revolt - the subtitles are wilding)

"縁の��る場所 " (a fateful place, a place with a connection/tie to something or somebody) is the way Shiro-san describes the restaurant his colleague introduced to him on their first meeting " 他人でも身内である " (a stranger but part of this episodes central theme is the seeming juxtaposition of strangers with those closest to you and placements and places

one of the ways "身内 " is explained on the online etymology site is with "ごく親しい血縁関係にある人", " a person closely related by blood " which was neat, since it connected nicely to the " 縁のある場所 "

the way Kenji's mom says that even if Shiro-san is a stranger he is part of their family's inner circle. and Shiro-san and Kenji have found a place with each other and Shiro-san now has a place within Kenji's family. it is unlikely that Kenji might die before his mother which makes me adore her choice even more to meet Shiro-san and give him a place within the family not only for that eventuality but in the present as well.

this show really hits a good spot in showcasing how Shiro-san and Kenji live monogamically (sp?) while never making it seem like they are "assimilating" into straight culture. it is 2am - maybe i will be able to expand on this some other time

"praise me" Kenji is a delight.

[jasminebutintaiwansojiemin]

July 30th, 2024 星期二 - Hiking Monkey Mountain, Art Museums, Rock Pizza but not Dwayne the Rock Johnson Pizza

For some odd reason, I decided to climb a mountain full of monkeys today. It was very cute seeing all the monkeys and their babies, but never again. I literally slept MAX three hours the night before and woke up to get some fruit before meeting to go on the hike. I swear I’ve been telling people this whole time that some fruits have worms in them and everyone was like nooooooooooooo but I quite literally found SO MANY worms in the dragonfruit at the hotel breakfast. We eventually headed out and took an above ground train closer to the mountain.

Climbing that mountain made me wanna helicopter home to the U.S. BUT I powered through and it was a good experience. It was very very very hot and a lot of the ground was muddy but it was worth it seeing all the cute little monkeys. So many had babies and I even say a few moms that had twin babies. The little noises they make are so cute and I had to avoid getting bonked on the head by a few monkeys who were sitting in trees and throwing fruit down. I did also see a monkey absolutely yoink someone’s food from them and unwrap the plastic with its little fingers. Throughout our hike, we got a lot of help from older Taiwanese people who were also hiking. They were super sweet and even took pictures of us. Also the view of Kaohsiung from the highest point we went to was pretty cool. The descent of the mountain was LONG but less dangerous than the route we took for the ascent. As soon as we got off the mountain we hit up at 7/11 and I bought a Melona popsicle. I devoured that think in the minutes tops. Then we took the train home where I showered and changed for class.

Our first stop for class was a fine arts museum. It had 5 floors and was full of many different types of art, from sculptures to paintings, to even a live art session. I inserted a few of my favorite art pieces from that museum. One of the ones I liked the most was the painting of the Chinese style doors with the talisman papers on the front. When I saw it, I immediately thought of whether it was meant to represent somewhere in Taiwan, or maybe the feeling of being an outsider to the majority of Chinese culture as a Taiwanese person. After the fine arts museum, we headed to a contemporary art museum. This museum was much more modern and contained art of non-Taiwanese and Taiwanese artists alike. There were a lot of pieces that utilized aluminum and glass work to express their art. This museum also contained a really cool cafe that I saw quite a few people working in—though I’m intrigued on whether they paid to get into the museum just to go to the cafe lol.

After this museum I went home and took a nap for a few hours. Upon awakening I headed to a pizza place nearby for a taste of home. I, of course, ordered a pepperoni pineapple pizza and ginger ale. It was a pretty good pizza and reminded me of Blaze pizza in a way. After dinner some of us took a stroll across the pier to look at the water. Then we switched and explored the city side, where I found a stationary store! We looked around there for a bit and it was so cute! I definitely will head back there tomorrow since it’s open until 10 pm. Then I headed home and knocked out.

Academic Reflection

For today, I initially decided to do some research on the prevalence of American restaurant chains in Taiwan. When we were in Taipei, I noticed the heavy prevalence of the most random U.S. chains—such as Starbucks, McDonalds, Pizza Hut, Burger King, Subway, TGI Fridays, Texas Roadhouse, and the omnipresent 7/11 convenience stores. However, I realized that there are actually quite a few Taiwanese chains that we have back in America.

One chain is Happy Lemon. I didn’t even realize this was Taiwanese until I saw one whilst driving down the street today. This type of restaurant serves boba tea and a wide variety of bubble waffles. I remember when it opened in Orlando, it was one of the first of its kind. Here in Taiwan however, I see bubble waffle shops everywhere, from actual store front to stalls at night markets. Happy Lemon opened in 2006, and by 2014 was deemed the world’s most recognized and respected tea culture brand. They accredit themselves with “bringing an expanding the tea culture to Mainland China and Hong Kong” as “elite pioneers”. They have over 350+ stores in places such as the U.S., Canada, the U.K., Dubai, and the Philippines. Through my research, I found out that they apparently created the cheese foam topping for boba tea, which is honestly a really popular topping even in the States. I thought this was interesting because not only did I not know that Happy Lemon even sold tea, I also didn’t know they pioneered so many staples of modern bubble tea.

[landboundstar]

Day Pass: Mad Hatter

"Thank you, Edward. This is very nice of you."

I put a hand on top of my nervous friend's hand to stop his babbling.

"Jervis, it is not a problem to take you out for lunch. Here we are."

Jervis would have been fine getting a drive-through at McDonald's, but I wasn't. And I wasn't about to treat one of the first people that I had empathized with in my therapy group like he wasn't worth something special.

Pulling into a parking spot beside the restaurant, I opened Jervis's door and guided him to our table, a hand at his back and thought about how we had met.

Therapy in Arkham Asylum is a hit or miss affair. It doesn't do to get too attached to one therapist. They frequently change therapists to avoid that and its resulting…complications. And the turnover rate with good therapists is ridiculously high. Some, I thought sourly, I only wished had a high turnover rate. After years of Dr. Crane and Dr. Strange failing to get the desired results from me as a patient, Dr. Arkham himself decided to see what was wrong with my surly ass. Years of "therapy" with Crane's drug enhanced exposure therapy to treat my trauma and Strange's odd biofeedback that only seemed to worsen my obsessiveness had me being an extremely paranoid boy with some paredolia on the side of my other issues. Meeting with the good doctor for therapy hadn't been a high point in my plans. But, well, as a patient in Arkham I hadn't had much of a choice. So, imagine my surprise to find a good old fashioned group therapy session with no terror or mindfuckery. And that was where I met Jervis. Not quite a case of like minds meeting, but what I imagine what it must feel like for a piano virtuoso to meet an expert sculptor. Just an admiration and appreciation for the other person's skills.

We had been friends ever since.

What? You expected me to be humble? I was mentally unstable, not mentally deficient. And for all his quiet self-effacing tendencies, once Jervis started talking about his technical expertise or any of his passionate interests, there was a brilliant mind waiting to be discovered. 

Disturbed, obsessive, socially awkward, but brilliant.

Jervis fidgeted with his light hair, looking uncomfortable in the borrowed button up and dress pants from the asylum laundry. I noticed they had not given him a hat. Part of me hurt for my friend, knowing he identified so much with his accessory. And the rest of me realized the wisdom of not overly indulging his fixation, for everybody's well being. Especially Jervis himself.

But, like with my puzzle ring, sometimes it was important to scratch that itch. To find ways of being yourself without giving in to the madness.

Like a tea party, perhaps?

But not the crumpets and tea cake sort. That might be a little too tempting for Jervis. But I thought this restaurant might just do the trick.

"Do you want to order, or do you want me to?" I asked, remembering just how overwhelming simple decisions could be sometimes.

"If you don't mind. Please." Jervis said.

The waiter came over with a smile. "Welcome to Qnia. Are you ready to order?"

"We are. Can we get two orders of the moroccan mint tea, and then we are splitting an order of chicken tagine with couscous, zaalouk on the side. And two pistachio croissants to finish the meal."

"Of course. I'll bring your tea out in just a minute."

"Tea?" Jervis perked, a slightly too enthusiastic gleam in his eyes.

"Yes, it should go very nicely with the food." I told him.

The food came promptly, and we talked about music, art, and science rather than books or movies. 

I paid the check as we finished the last of our dessert, listening to Jervis tell me about a recent scientific study about using specific tones and frequencies to help subliminally curb addictions and its results. He still was his meek, polite self, but with a confidence he normally only got when fully delusional.

As I pulled out to drive back, I made a mental note of the restaurant.

It had been a lovely place to treat Jervis to a tea party. We would have to do it again.

[lettersfromthecatcave]

Why leaving the city to settle in the province is one of the best decisions in my life

I already drafted a post earlier, pero nawala lol. So, here's my second attempt.

Before the pandemic, I was living in a condo along EDSA with my then-fiancee now-husband. We paid 18K monthly for a studio-type condo, with pool and gym amenities. It was a dream come true for me since my previous homes in the metro were in not-so-Instagrammable places.

So a bit of a history of my living situations in NCR:

I left Laguna since HS for college and stayed in a dormitory. There were about 2-4 girls per room and my parents who crawled my expense through graduation often paid my rent late.

Then, I graduated and vowed to not have my parents pay a single cent for me anymore. I lived independently paying ALL of my living expenses including rent, food. My first home that I paid for myself is another dormitory with about a 7 x 7 room shared by another girl.

Then, I lived in with my then-fiancee and toxic ex in a 2-BR apartment in the middle of a busy Manila baranggay. When he left me, along with needing to pay some unpaid rent, I moved into a smaller a 1-BR apartment. Both were in the middle of a noisy, crazy Manila neighborhood where people drink and gossip 24/7.

So, fast forward to the pandemic doom, I got initial info (being an EHS & BCP person) that there would be lockdowns. My then-fiancee now-husband and I then rushed packing and left our condo unit (even after spending hours panic-buying some supplies) to go home. We never really imagined the pandemic lasting years, so for the first 3 months, we lived with our parents... transitioning between his parents' place and mine while we work remotely. But then, since we are getting married, we decided to buy a house. If there's one thing the pandemic made us realize is that HEALTH IS IMPORTANT... and he and I both know that we cannot live in a boxed condo as a permanent home. Luckily, his work perks allowed us to choose a model unit (fully furnished but a bit outdated) so it's basically ready for occupancy. It took us barely 6 months to get the papers settled (while also preparing for our wedding) but we got it.

We now live in a 2-story house located in a city in Laguna, near an SLEX exit. I'll save the logistical, administrative costs and construction gulatan costs for another story, but we were able to save enough to have some improvements like a gate, home gym, pocket garden, and repainting. We'll be spending our third Christmas (WOW) here and yes, it's still the life I want because:

Province life allows for a slower, mellower life. I am not sure if I can put it into words but there's something about waking up, walking down the stairs, taking a peek at the window and seeing Lolas sweeping their front yard, smiling and waving at you. There are neighbors who even if we rarely go out, reaches out to us to ask how we are, share a laugh or two. There are kids going to and from school. Even the traffic is way way better, not only because its decongested but because people are not in a rush? Like, kapag naluwas kami para pumasyal or for work, even a 2-3 second delay from the go-signal would cause people behind us to hit their horns like they are dying. Gulat na gulat kami at how full of rage drivers are, while here, people tend to give way. Though may mga kupal minsan, pero like 1:50 ang ratio compared sa NCR na 40:50 ata.

Everything is accessible. Maybe it's the smart location that the village is located, but Nuvali is 15 minutes away so we get to do our weekend runs and grocery shopping there every weekend. When we want a different view, Alabang or Makati is barely an hour away. We also have access to foodpanda and Grab, so we can also order food. And, when we grow tired of that, we also have an online Facebook page for the village where we can order food and have it delivered too. Kanina lang nga, dahil naka-isolation kami, pati pandesal inorder namin sa online village store.

The view can easily put you in a better mood. I remember during the MECQs, we'll just jump in the car and do a quick drive-thru run to Mcdonald's or Starbucks. We'll sometimes bring the cats with us para masanay sila. We'll eat inside the car, just open the windows a bit and see lush greens around us. On days when work feels too much or when I get depressive or anxious episodes, we'll just drive around, and instantly, I feel better as we pass by trees, farm lands and sunset view. When we run too, there's always a mini trail to discover.

We are nearer to our families. Though we may not be able to visit them as often as we want, but connecting is easier. We can have lunch outs over the weekends, or they can easily visit us at home and spend some time together. Malawak yun bahay at bakuran, so they can sleep over. Kapag may emergency, iba pa din yun may mga kakilala kahit paano na pwedeng takbuhan. We have my husband's office mates near the village and my Dad's office is also 30 minutes away from where we live. So, minsan sa amin din sya nauwi. Our house also offers a breathe of fresh air sa Mom ko when she wants to relax and play with her apos aka cats LOL.

Expenses are cheaper. Gas, groceries, services are cheaper here. Though we are not safe from the ~golden era~, we do have options like talipapa or wet markets. Since nearer din kami sa mga sakahan or isdaan, mas mura din talaga yun mga fresh produce. Sa Nuvali and LB area, madalas din may community market. Also, the 18K rent we paid for the condo? Imagine we pay less than that and we are owning this house after a few years. To share, even the 7K rent I paid for the 1-BR apartment can pay for a house here in Laguna too. No, I don't think renting is a waste of money since tinitirhan nyo naman sya, but imagine how getting a house can be a future asset (yun lupa, hindi yun bahay, but that's also another topic). But basically, LAND does not decrease in value ever. Ever ever. Kaya din bahay kinuha namin over condo.

There is space - to move, to breathe and to grow. Literally and figuratively. Literally, I am lucky to have my own home gym, and garden and garage that like now that we are in isolation, we can move around. It's easier to partition our lives between work and home, kasi may home office din ako. May place to sleep, to eat, to work out and that's important for an ADHD person like me. There also is room to grow... ewan ko pero the more I see how people can live in the provinve, the more lumawak yun pananaw at pangarap ko. No, I don't want a bigger house, but I now know that having a slow and steady life is possible. Yun, hindi kailangan pagod at ngarag to earn money, because people here, maraming may passive income and all. Parang here, money flows in even when you don't do much. Hindi ko ma-explain pero siguro totoo yun kapag mas malawak yun paligid mo, mas feeling mo din hindi ka nakakahon? (Though, we really need to do some spring cleaning LOL kasi ang kalat na ng bahay.)

My mental health has greatly improved. Probably because of all the reasons mentioned above. But, you know, taking myself away from that hustle and bustle of the city, really allowed me to slow down and think about what I really want in life. Dito sa probinsya ko narealize na life doesn't need to be complicated. Dito ko din na-allow ang sarili ko stop when I tend to want want want a lot? Kasi, in the midst of every grit and grind work day, masaya ako to just slow down, have a coffee or a glass of wine and spend time with my husband and cats. And really, that's all I need. In a world that tells you that you need to work-out, prep food, be excellent at work, learn new things, have a hobby, stay connected with loved ones and all sorts of MUSTS, the province life allowed me to tone it down and just do what I can. The more we do so much minsan, the more we lose who we are... or that's how I feel. The province life allows me to be just me~ whoever I want to be.

I know not everyone has this privilege, and for this I am grateful - for the opportunities that came our way, for the blessings given to us and for the hard work we put in. 🧿 It's weird pero the pandemic really did turn our life around, kasi naipakita sa akin kung ano yun importante - Health, connections and peace of mind. Yan lang pala talaga kailangan ko.

So, anyways, ayun lang. If you have the chance, give it a think. Alam ko hindi lahat possible ito sa work nila, but this is also why I chose to make it a non-negotiable when I consider work offers. Either remote or hybrid. Because this is now home and I can't sacrifice this peace for career progression or additional pay.

I hope you read this not feeling like I am boasting. Sa totoo lang, hindi ko inakalang dadating ako sa ganitong level of contentment... o baka natuto lang talaga akong maging grateful sa araw-araw. Good or bad, there's always something positive (gaya ng antigen test namin, eme). Nagpapasalamat lang talaga ako sobra for being here... so I really try to pay it forward too. My husband, I noticed, does the same na din. Every chance we get, we share our blessings.

Universe, thank you. I trust that 2023 would only bring us closer to the simple farm life we want. 🧿. 🪬. 👁️‍🗨️.

[pbandjesse]

My neck is doing better but is still very stiff. And I just had one of the worst charlie horses in my calf I have ever had. Like I can't fully stand up on my heel because it stretches my leg down and I am not having fun. And James is in New York and is sending me very confusing texts which has me all out of sorts. I don't like feeling so confused.

I didn't have a bad day though. It was fine. The best thing that happened today was finishing my blanket. That made me so happy. Helen said I was running around showing it off with a big smile like it was my baby. And it's true,n it feels that way.

I started the day feeling fine enough. I apparently snoozed my alarm though and I don't remember doing so which frustrated me. I would feel alright. Neck still stuff but not as painful. I got dressed and ready. I felt like I was forgetting something though and as we were leaving I realized I forgot my rings. James went back for them and that made me feel a little better.

Breakfast was correct this time. And we got to the market before 8. Even with leaving a few minutes late so I'm pretty impressed.

I was fully in charge today and because my focus was so much on that I was not a very good salesperson I always sold one sticker pack and that was it. But because I was getting paid to be there I don't care as much honestly. I was happy to stand at the market table next to my table and work on my blanket. I finished sewing the last rose together within the first hour and then I spent the next 2 hours working on the sewing down it tail ends. They're not all done but at least it's mostly finished and it looks great and I'm so proud of it. I think there's like 60 hours into this blanket. And I am really thrilled with the final product. I still might put a fleece back on it but honestly because I've sewn down the edges so well I don't even know if it needs it. I'm still really happy though and I just want everyone to know all about it.

I also had some really nice conversations with people. As people were getting set up I had to ask two of the smaller distilleries to be next to each other in one spot but there were super chill about it. And then because the charcuterie people came I had to move the Puerto Rican distillery all the way down to the end but I gave them the option for spots and they picked their favorite one so no one was mad at me. And then I found out that four of us are not going to be there next weekend so it's going to be kind of a sparse market because it's like Jenny and bread and food and it's I don't know what they're going to do without us. I'm the least of the concerns but still my energy will not be there.

James came out to buy breakfast and baked goods and while we were paying a woman was looking at my blanket and trying to understand them notes that I append to it and so I went over to chat with her and she was so nice and very encouraging. And I started explaining to some older women about at the construction and I was like you know a potholder loom this is essentially a blanket made a pod holders. And it made me laugh and it made them laugh and it was just a good way of explaining what I had done since I didn't have my wing with me to have a visual. But I very happily stood there and worked on sewing down those edges until about noon.

When I finally made a sale. I sold my sticker pack to a lovely girl around my age. And she ran over to her friends to tell them about the stickers and they were all very excited and I got a little boost of pride because they were so interested in my stickers. I need to order more of the jobs and I want to get some drawing done tomorrow. Tomorrow my big plan is to work on my Native American field trip PowerPoints. Because I have need two of them. I might just make one PowerPoint though and just like have a an opening and closing section but regardless I would like to also get a little bit of drawing done and some deciding on what my next stickers will be. I also would like at some point to make a better sticker display and packaging but for now I'm happy with what I got.

Once everyone was done at the market I packed up real quickly and went inside to talk to James and have them take a picture of me holding my blanket. And I chatted with Stanley and Bob and my neck was doing a lot better and my back was doing a lot better but I was still tired and I didn't want to stay till 2:00 but I stayed until everyone was out of the pavilion which is what I've been told to do in the past. I walked down to the water after sitting with James for a while. There were jellyfish and I was really excited about that because I love seeing the jellyfish in the harbor. And I even saw some fish and it was like a whole school of fish swimming back and forth and that was neat to see too. And honestly was a really beautiful day for how humid it could have been with the storms coming in tomorrow and this upcoming week. I was in a really good mood though and while I was very happy to be done and going home I was also not dying of exhaustion like sometimes I am.

After I said goodbye to James I got myself together in the car and went home. There was a little bit of traffic but it apparently cleared up before it became an issue. And I got home before 2:00.

When I got back here I brought my bags in and my blanket and hung the blanket up on my garment rack in the studio. I'm hoping that the weight of itself will pull the stitches a little bit so that I can see if there's any failure marks or failure points. Anything that needs to be reinforced. And I got a little shower and I changed into a soft shirt and then I laid down.

I watched a video for a little bit but then I fell asleep. I woke up at 4:00 as James was getting ready to go. They looked so handsome and it was just nice looking at them. I really could have gone with them to New York but I have no interest in seeing basketball game and it will be nice to get some work done tomorrow. Have some time alone. I gave them a very big hug and told them to be safe and then they were off.

I would get up soon after that and when and had some food. And then I played a game on my tablet for a little while and then I painted my nails. But I ended up messing up my pointer and thumb on my right hand because I started working on my next knit project and I could not wait until my nail polish was dry obviously so I messed it up and took it off those two fingers. Maybe I will repaint them later but I was very much into this new project.

The new knit squares are going to be much larger than the last ones they're 19 rows across instead of 12 which doesn't sound like it's that much more but it is. Originally with the small squares they take about 15 minutes, the new squares take 45 to an hour. I think I'll get faster as I'm going but I am very pleased with the size that I have chosen. I didn't have the right size hoop so I just marked off on a medium sized hoop how many pegs I needed and I think it will work out just fine. I honestly can probably get two done because I can do one on each side but I'm not going to worry about that right now.

I would watch a documentary and eventually take a longer bath. My hair feels very strange and flat today. And I keep looking at my pictures from like May and my hair looks so much different than it did and I don't know why. I know I cut some at the beginning of the summer but the shape of my head looks weird today. But even pictures from like 2 weeks ago it looks fine so I know it's all in my head. Well I mean my hair is on my head but you know what I mean.

I've been hanging out in bed since then. Which is when I had a horrible Charlie horse in my calf that hurts so bad and felt like it lasted for so long. And I was very distressed and I texted James and James started talking about laying in a hammock and how it was probably worse than a hammock and I'm like what are you talking about I'm nowhere near a hammock. For some reason they thought I was at camp? They have the car! So then I was all confused because they were talking about hammocks and then talking about the days of the week and I was like what are you talking about and I was worried because they worked 8 hours and then drove for 4 hours to get to New York so I was like are they just over tired what is going on. But they are safely in New York with family and everything is fine. They're going to a basketball game tomorrow with their friends and it's going to be fine. But that was very upsetting at the beginning of this post while I was texting them. Everything is settled now We are talking about other stuff They know I am home I know where they are. I'm going to try to stretch my leg and searching out ready for sleep.

I have a long day of working on the computer tomorrow so hopefully it is nice and if it rains it's not too bad. I hope that you all have a very nice night tonight. And you sleep good. Until next time my friends. Goodnight everybody.

[workingfromjapanandchina]

Day 9:

First day of working in China.

Today I woke up early because of jet lag. My coworker gave me a recombination for a place to run at, so I decided to run at 6am. I assumed this would be a cooler time, however I was wrong. The heat and humidity was brutal. I sweat so much, and couldn’t run as far. I also thought the air was clearer but it wasn’t. The app was not correct. Def a smoggy day.

The place I ran at was really nice though. It was a community park with a pond. Lots of old people were there working out or walking.

After sweating a ridiculous amount I tried to shower and get ready for my day but just couldn’t cool down. Even my room felt hot. It look over an hour to cool off. After that I went to the buffet, only I went to the one on the top floor. I guess I paid extra for a separate breakfast. However I don’t think it was as good as the first floor place, and it was smaller.

I finally got ready after I stopped sweating and then went to work. It was only getting hotter and I was definitely regretting my choice to wear jeans and a button up long sleeve dress shirt. I get to the office and realize it’s also hot in the office. Later on I find out that since it is so hot the air conditioner could not keep up with the heat and was overloaded.

After work, my coworkers and I went over to Tiananmen Square. When we finally get there after lots of traffic, we have to walk through security gates with a check your ID and your reservation. Well, it turns out that my reservation was disabled because I must’ve clicked the wrong button Since it’s not in English. I told my coworkers to go in without me and so they did. One of the security guards told me that I could take a bike and ride by if I wanted to see it. So I went back and tried to find a bike, after walking about 15 minutes, I finally found a bike, but I wasn’t able to use it because the system For you for late used bikes. So looking if I found another bike and it looked like it was a brand that I had used the last time I was here. At this point, I am starting to sweat because of all the walking. But I get on the bike anyways and ride over to the front of the entrance so that I can ride by. As I finally get to the end, the police had closed off the bike lane and I wasn’t able to ride down there. This is the second time that I’ve been denied trying to see this place. At this point, I just decide that I will wait for my coworkers.

By now, I am completely sweaty in my work clothes. All I want to do is get out of this insane heat and get back to take a shower. It was something like 96° out with 88% humidity. I can’t remember ever being in such crazy heat, the humidity is no joke.

 I got back and took a shower and tried to relax and cool down. Eventually, I got hungry though and decided to go out into the mall next to my hotel and try to find some food. I walked around for about 10 minutes and couldn’t find anything I liked. I ended up going to the dumpling place that I had ate out before. I was able to order my food with Alipay at this place when I was able to pay on the app. I ended up having to pay separately and that worked fine. It kind of weird sort of work and then once you try to pay for something it will error out.

After eating far far too much food, I went back to my room and crashed hard. That was a long day and the heat definitely cooked me.