#i started cycling this year and my road bike is fine but there’s just something about my indoor bike that i can’t fix

[coochiekrab]

do u get hand fatigue when making comics with a lot of handwriting? if u do, how do u prevent it + stop it from getting bad (ie. carpal tunnel)??

Yes i get carpal tunnel every now and then, more commonly just sore tight hands from drawing Too Hard. I do not prevent it and i do not stop drawing when it starts to hurt👍

[hannahssimblr]

Chapter Twenty-Two (Part 2)

We don’t really know where we are headed, but in the middle of the day in the dust and the heat we find ourselves halfway up a mountain with the sun belting down on us. Jude spins his hat around so that the brim is shielding the back of his neck while I ask him innocently if he thinks that the 90s are back. 

“You seem to be feeling better,” He smirks as I cycle ahead of him, creating S shapes in the dirt with my tires, and I angle my face up to the sun and breathe in deeply as the last of my hangover floats away. “Yes,” I say, “So much better.”

I wouldn’t have been able to do this trip a year ago, back when I barely moved around at all and had gained enough weight that my parents started to feel it was appropriate to comment on it. Now, thanks to Shane and our morning runs and our evenings in the gym I feel lighter, stronger, more energetic than I ever have, and while these hairpin mountain roads aren’t easy and my legs are burning, there’s a certain thrill in being able to do something like this without the taste of blood in my lungs. 

Jude, on the other hand, is wheezing after twenty minutes. “Do you think we should stop for a break soon?” 

“If you like.”

“I don’t know how you have the stamina for this, Evie.”

We pass a little sign that we can’t understand, but next to the Greek symbols is an image of a body of water, and an arrow that points down a narrow trail through a tangle of Aleppo pine, tantalisingly shaded from the sun. We leave our bikes in the underbrush and hike down the rocky trail together, stumbling over rocks and snapping twigs on the rusted earth. 

“Do you hear that?” Says Jude, and I stop. “What?”

“Water.”

“Well I hope there’s water, seeing as that’s what the sign said.”

“Yeah, but it’s rushing water.”

I listen, and sure enough I can hear the roar of it in the near distance, splashing, sloshing. “I think it’s a waterfall.”

And I am correct. Within five minutes we arrive at a clearing where an avalanche of water cascades from a rocky height into the lake beneath it. Droplets form into clouds around the bubbling, foaming point of contact, and I have never wanted to swim in something so badly. 

“I imagine it’s cold,” Jude says as I tear off my clothes, and it is. It’s freezing in the way that lake water always is, as I suck in sharply as the little ripples I’ve created lap up against the sun warmed skin of my belly. Jude drags his t-shirt over his head by the back of his collar, throws it onto the ground and then he rushes in to join me, diving beneath the water without issue. He accidentally splashes me when he comes up for air and I squeal.

“Come on, Evie, this isn’t like you, just get your head in.”

“It’s cold!”

“It’s actually fine, do you want me to help you?”

“Don’t!” I shriek, “Don’t splash me! Don’t dunk me in!” He reaches for my hips beneath the water, “Come on, it’s fine, it’s just that your skin has gotten warm.”

“I know that you’re going to drag me in if I don’t do this myself.”

He pretends to be offended, “I’d never.”

“Jude!”

“Evie!”

“Don’t!”

“I won’t,”

“You will! I know you, God, you’re just dying to, aren’t you?”

“Evie, baby,” His hands tighten almost imperceptibly on me and that’s all it takes for me to sacrifice myself and dunk my head in before I can give him the satisfaction. I come up spluttering and gasping and clawing my matted hair out of my face. 

“Jesus Christ,” he’s saying now, “Are you alright?”

“You were about to dunk me.”

“I wasn’t! I’m kind of wondering how offended I should be at your lack of trust in me.”

“I trust you,” I say, “I just like to have control over the things that happen to me,” I swim backwards towards the centre of the lake and he follows. “Life’s full of things you can’t.”

“Yeah well I’d like to control as much as possible. Like for example if there was a zombie apocalypse I would kill myself immediately.”

“You would? I think I’d try to survive for as long as possible.”

“And have what kind of life?”

“I don’t know, a hopeful one I guess.”

“You’d live in fear and filth and have to hunt and skin animals and always be losing the people you love, all while knowing that life would never go back to the way it was?”

He shrugs. “I think I could make it work.”

“I bet you think that. And you’d probably try to make the best of your everyday life, even when improvement is clearly hopeless.”

“You accusing me of being an optimist?”

I snicker, “Yeah.”

“I can’t believe that you’d leave me all by myself if the apocalypse happened, I think that’s selfish, Kilbride. We’re supposed to be a team,” He swims closer and hooks his arms around me, so close now that I could count the tiny droplets of water that punctuate his impossibly long eyelashes. “What if I killed and skinned all of the meat for you and all you had to do was cook it?”

“Oh, could you not cook it too? You know I’m not as good as you in the kitchen.”

“Okay, I’ll do everything then, all you have to do is stay with me.”

I consider this, “Hm. No. You know, I think I’d still kill myself.”

This shocks a laugh out of him, “So the gist of this conversation is that I will do double the work to keep you safe, and you’ll peace-out at the first sign of difficulty?”

“In a zombie apocalypse situation, yeah.” I smile up at him sweetly, “Does that worry you? I’d probably encourage you to do the same.”

“Nah I’ll fight until the end.” 

“Wow, the hero of the story.”

His lips are slippery against mine, our noses cold as they brush together but the velvety heat of his mouth feels like home, and warms me all the way down to my toes. Our warmth can’t fend off the cold water forever, though, and soon we’re shivering, blue hands and chattering teeth, and have to retreat back to the shore. He kisses me still as he wraps a towel around my shoulders, and some more when we sit on the ground, soft dirt sticking to our wet legs until we’re warmed and dried by the sun again. 

“I’m obsessed with your mouth,” He murmurs, and I let him trace the shape of it with his thumb, enjoying the look on his face when I gently bite down on the pad of it. I never really know what to say when he tells me things like that. It feels a bit awkward just to say ‘thanks’, so I just lie back on my towel and pull him over me so that he can more easily draw shapes on my face, down my neck, my chest, to my ribs. Of course I touch him too, because it is a privilege to be allowed to, and I smooth my fingers over all of the hard lines of his chest and his stomach, which sucks in sharply when I get too close to the waistband of his shorts like a warning. I enjoy the way that he reacts to me. 

“What are you thinking about?” He wonders, having caught the moment that my eyes drift away to watch the clouds, and if I was ready to be completely honest with him I’d tell him that I was imagining what he might look like without his shorts on. 

“Honestly, I’m hungry,” I murmur. “All I have in my stomach is this morning’s toast.”

He sits up, “Well thankfully I have something.”

“Really?”

He rummages around in his things and then grins as he tosses me a familiar, crumpled little paper bag. I can’t help but to laugh, “My peach rings.”

“My peach rings, excuse me. Those were a gift.”

“I’m sorry, well, may I have one?”

“Yeah, you may,” He slumps down next to me and we pick away at what’s left of the bag, and they’re still too sweet for me, but my stomach doesn’t care, it’s just grateful for something solid. 

We watch the waterfall for a while, in silence, the way that the light hits it and creates little rainbows in the spray. Fish leap and grasshoppers chirp. I rest my head on Jude’s shoulder.

“This is a nice day.”

“It is.”

“I’m glad you wanted to do this.”

“Yeah, well, everything I do is better when you’re doing it too.” He shifts to put his arm around me. “I’m going to miss you loads when I’m back in Berlin.”

“Yeah,” and I hesitate, “What do you think you’ll do after you hand in your assignments? Have you thought about it at all?”

“Of course,” He looks down at me, “Do you think I won’t come back? I thought that was obvious.”

“I didn’t find it obvious.” Silently I worry that we are bad at communication.

“There’s nowhere else I can be, and it feels right to be in Dublin. Jen needs me, and now that things are going well with us I’d just really like to be around.”

“Really?”

“Yeah, of course. You really thought I was going to stay in Germany after all of this?”

“I don’t know what I thought.” 

“No, Evie, I’m moving home.”

“Well, that’s handy.”

He laughs and digs the very last peach ring out of the bag, “C’mere,” He lifts up my hand and splays out my fingers, and the ring is awkwardly large and the sugar is melting but he carefully places it onto my finger, “This is the softest thing I’ve ever done, but nobody is here to laugh at me except for you. Can’t we just admit that we’re together? I want you to be my girlfriend.”

I look down at the sticky ring, and he’s right, it is a soft gesture, it’s cheesy and embarrassing, but I don’t feel like laughing at him at all. Actually I want to break down in sobs. “I will,” I say. 

“Oh, that’s good,” He bows his head and carefully bites the ring off me. “Don’t tell Claire I just did that, because then she’ll tell Shane and I’d have to go into hiding and change my name if he found out.”

I laugh and throw my arms around his neck, “God, I won’t, I’ll never tell a soul. I’ll make up something really slick and sexy and say that you did that instead.”

“Good, my reputation is at stake here,” He captures my mouth in a sweet, sugary kiss, lowers me back onto my towel and covers my body with his. 

Beginning // Prev // Next

[edanjoygelt]

Edan Gelt is Back | Navigating Aging Fitness and Wellness with Grace

In the distant past of 2017, I embarked on a challenge that saw me sweating through 30 unique workouts in 30 days, all while diligently chronicling my fitness journey on a blog. The motivation behind this endeavor was twofold: to test my physical limits and to generate content for a fledgling fitness app that had me hooked on the thrill of the challenge.

Fast forward six years, and that blog page still exists, patiently waiting for fresh content. Why, you ask? Well, because fitness has become an inseparable part of my daily routine, and as I approach the big 5-0 in a few short years, it's more than just a workout—it's my mental and physical sanctuary.

My weeks are peppered with bike rides, covering up to 60 miles, weather permitting (and my neck cooperating), and bootcamp classes at the local gym a few days each week. Yet, something interesting has happened over the years. I've evolved into what I like to call the "modifier." You see, I used to look at those individuals who modified exercises during workouts and wondered if I could avoid going down that road. Spoiler alert: I couldn't. Now, lunges and squats tend to leave me with a knee the size of a grapefruit for the following week, my shoulder occasionally stages a protest, and every so often, I find myself pulling something I didn't even know I had.

While it might be a sign that high-intensity bootcamp sessions may not be the ideal fit for my body anymore, I'm not ready to throw in the towel just yet. In fact, this year, I'm pursuing certification as a personal trainer. My passion for exercise has evolved into a desire to help other women who, like me, are gracefully navigating the seas of aging. While it won't be my full-time profession, I foresee my newfound skill set as a delightful hobby.

Now, let's get down to brass tacks. Exercising as you gracefully age is a bit like a well-choreographed dance—one that requires careful attention to avoid stepping on your own toes. Here are some tips I live by, and I hope they serve you well on your fitness journey:

1. Consult Your Healthcare Provider: Always, and I mean always, consult with your healthcare provider before diving headfirst into a new exercise routine, especially if you have any pre-existing medical conditions or lingering concerns. Their insights are invaluable.

2. Baby Steps: If you've been somewhat inactive lately, start with gentle exercises and work your way up gradually. No need to rush; your body will thank you for the patience.

3. Warm-Up and Cool Down: Just like a fine wine, your muscles need a warm-up to get the juices flowing before you dive into the workout. Likewise, cool down to gracefully ease your heart rate back to normal and prevent those post-workout stiffness surprises.

4. Balance and Flexibility: These are your new best friends. Embrace exercises like yoga, tai chi, or balance training to boost stability and reduce the odds of unplanned acrobatics.

5. Strength Matters: Maintaining muscle mass and bone density should be a priority. Use light weights, resistance bands, or your own body weight to sculpt those muscles. Start gently, and let the resistance grow as you do.

6. Cardiovascular Love: Show your heart some love with aerobic activities such as walking, swimming, or cycling. Shoot for at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity cardio each week.

7. Listen to Your Body: Your body is a wise sage. Pay close attention to its signals during and after exercise. If you experience pain, dizziness, or shortness of breath, don't be a hero—stop and seek advice as needed.

8. Stay Hydrated: Hydration is your secret weapon. Drink water before, during, and after workouts to keep your body in top form.

9. Form Matters: Learning the right form is like learning the steps to an intricate dance routine. It's crucial to prevent strain or injury. Consider working with a certified fitness trainer who can be your dance partner.

10. Mix It Up: Variety is the spice of life. Keep your routine fresh and exciting by incorporating different types of exercises to engage various muscle groups. Your body will thank you for the entertainment.

11. Joint Care: As you age, your joints can become a tad finicky. Be mindful of any joint discomfort, and adjust your exercises accordingly. Low-impact activities like swimming or stationary biking are often joint-friendly alternatives.

12. Stretch it Out: Embrace the art of stretching to maintain or enhance your flexibility. Stretch both before and after your workouts to ensure your body moves like a well-oiled machine.

13. Rest and Recovery: Your body isn't a perpetual motion machine. Give it the rest and recovery it deserves between workouts. Overtraining can lead to injuries and burnout, and nobody wants that.

14. Footwear Wisdom: Proper shoes are like your trusty dance shoes. They provide support and stability, reducing the chances of embarrassing slips and falls. So, choose wisely.

15. Stay Informed: Lastly, stay in the loop. Keep abreast of the latest exercise recommendations for the gracefully aging. New research and guidelines can be the North Star on your fitness journey.

In conclusion, aging gracefully doesn't mean giving up on exercise; it means embracing it in a smart and tailored way. Your fitness journey is unique, just like you. So, take these tips, put on your workout shoes, and let's continue dancing through the beautiful symphony of life.

[gravelish]

RAGBRAI Part 1 (Iowa)

22-29 July 2023

I’m a cyclist who prefers riding empty gravel roads in the mountains and excursions to the beach or the coffee shop, but I’d been hearing about RAGBRAI for years and I guess I thought it might be a unique experience to round out my cycling resume. That’s how I ended up spending the last week of July riding across Iowa with a few tens of thousands of other cyclists.

RAGBRAI, the (Des Moines) Register’s Annual Great Bike Ride Across Iowa, is celebrating its 50th year. It was already the largest bike event in the country (perhaps the world?) and anniversary hype, combined with post-pandemic enthusiasm for getting out and doing stuff, resulted in record turnout. Reportedly, almost 30,000 people registered for it this year, though the actual numbers are hard to parse. Some people ride without registering. Some people ride for just one or two days. The 4th day, between Ames and Des Moines, was rumored to have 60,000 riders. But the last couple of days may have had many fewer as heat and exhaustion took their toll and people opted to drop out.

I came away impressed by the attraction this event holds for so many people and that so many come back to do it year after year. I suppose there were as many motivations as there were participants, but for some it was an annual ritual, an excuse to challenge themselves physically, an excuse to drink while riding their bike, or simply an opportunity to do something with an awful lot of similarly minded and equally enthusiastic people. I was really glad to experience RAGBRAI, even in a particularly crowded, longer, hotter year like this one, but am not drawn to doing it again. It was absolutely amazing and emotionally powerful to be part of something this big, but for me there are so many other, more enjoyable, ways to spend a week on a bicycle.

I’m breaking my rambling account into two parts, if only so I can include more photos (Tumblr limits me to 10 images per post). I also don’t think each day really warrants its own post - they were all much the same. The details varied, but the basic routine, the riding, the towns, the activities and the vendors, the heat and humidity, and the landscape remained fairly similar every day.

I have RWGPS (and Strava) records of 6 of the 7 days, but I’ve decided just to include the overview map. In Storm Lake, on Day Two, I accidentally packed my Wahoo Bolt into my gear bags and tossed it on the truck, resulting in the only ride in the last five years for which I don’t have a digital record!

The ride covered more than 500 miles in seven days. There was a lot of climbing. While Iowa is clearly not mountainous, it is by no means flat, and for every minute spent coasting down each hill, there are 4-5 minutes spent crawling up the next. And given the crowds, the uphills tended to bog down and even stall. And it was hot. It’s July in the Midwest, so heat is to be expected, but this week was particularly warm and unusually muggy. This was increasingly true later in the week and on Day 6 temperatures reached the high 90s and the ‘feels like’ temperature was reported to be 113. Even folks from New Orleans and Atlanta were calling the humidity ‘brutal.’

The heat and the crowded roads encouraged early starts. I generally woke in the dark to the noise of tent zippers and deflating air mattresses around 5:00, which was fine, since I found this schedule worked well for me, too. I’d pack my gear, throw it on the truck, wait in line at the portapotties (called KYBOs), then I’d grab coffee and something to eat, but I was typically riding out at 6:00 (a little before sunrise). The early start meant the riding was more pleasant, but it also meant long afternoons in camp without much shelter from the sun (and certainly no AC).

My view of the larger ride was limited by my position in the pack. I was early in the daily wave of riders, though by no means the earliest. If I had to guess, there were probably already a couple thousand folks on the road when I took off, but that means there were still more than 20,000 behind me. I suppose I was similarly positioned at the end of the day - there were already people in camp by early afternoon when I rode in (they'd usually secured the shadiest tent sites), but there thousands of others continuing to arrive well into the evening.

Each day was bracketed by the ‘overnight’ towns at each end and broken into chunks 4-5 ‘pass-through' towns along the way. The overnight towns turned into huge encampments, with all sorts of support services (food, drink, bike repair, showers, bike clothing, RAGBRAI swag). Downtown areas were turned into huge street fairs. There were concerts, including some major bands. I was part of the self-supported camping scene, but many people were staying in rented homes, hotel rooms, or family RVs that were providing support. There were groups and clubs with their own school buses and vans.

The pass-through towns were like county fairs. For each town, there was a wave of people passing through over many hours. Perhaps more people than have ever passed through the town before (RAGBRAI follows a different route, through different towns, each year). The towns are packed and everyone is walking their bikes. The main streets are lined with vendors, first aid stations, and booths with folks highlighting bike-related organizations or groups raising money for the local library or kids needing cancer treatment. Firehouses open their doors. There are places to fill water bottles. There are bands playing in the parks.

And then on the route between towns there are more folks selling Gatorade and water, handing out popsicles, and offering up the front yards of their farmhouses for shade and rest. Iowa breweries take over entire farmyards for beer tents. Every day, one passes Mr. Porkchop, Sassy Lemonade, Chris’s Cakes, and Beekman’s Ice Cream, and an assortment of other event-specific or regional vendors.

One can ride RAGBRAI using simply the services that come with your entry fee, but many people choose to go with a charter service that provides more logistical support, better food options, and enhanced services (showers, charging stations, more KYBOs). I went with the largest, Pork Belly Ventures, and was glad I did. They accommodated 1500 of us with the help of a great many staff and more than a dozen specially equipped semis that provided showers, food, gear transport, and even some air conditioned rooms for those who reserved early. The logistics of this (not just Pork Belly's, but of the entire event) were fascinating and a little overwhelming.

It was impossible for me not to constantly compare this ride to my five days crossing Iowa in 2019, on my way from Maine to Seattle. I was following a remarkably similar route, albeit in the opposite direction. I rode through Davenport, Marengo, Newton, Ankeny, Jefferson, and Carroll, all towns on this year’s ride.

But in 2019 I did it all by myself. I talked with other bicyclists - they were just fewer and farther between. I talked with folks at gas stations and restaurants and parks along the way. But when you’re on your own, your interaction with people, with towns, and with the landscape is completely different. And for me, much more pleasant and meaningful. RAGBRAI is a big party and the event itself dominates the experience.

In 2019, I was on bike paths through much of the area northeast and northwest of Des Moines (the area’s done a great job on these). But this year, the huge crowds precluded the use of the trails and we stuck to the roads. So a vast majority of riders never got a chance to ride see the High Trestle Bridge, just west of Madrid. It had been a highlight of my 2019 ride through Iowa (12 September 2019: High Trestle Bridge). There were reports it would be closed for RAGBRAI (crowding concerns), but at 8:00 am, when I crossed the trail, there were folks encouraging us to check it out. I think most riders just kept going, but I couldn’t resist the side trip and joined a small stream of folks the two miles out to the bridge (which was remarkably quiet given the thousands of riders just two miles away).

Two years later, in the fall of 2021, M and I spent two days staying in downtown Des Moines while driving across the country. I had my bike along and went for a wonderful early morning ride exploring the city. Including riding through Waterworks Park, which was was completely empty that morning (Des Moines: October 2021). It was so different to ride into the park on this trip in a slow-moving line of bicycles - huge crowds, endless fields of tents, trucks and buses, band stages small and large (Lynyrd Skynyrd was headlining that night at the main venue).

[halaboyz]

–– ACCIDENT // YUNHO.

pairing: non-idol! yunho x gn! reader genre: fluff word count: 2.7k warnings: profanities, no more that i know of

pouting, you crumpled your handmade confession letter for him as you stare at him kiss another's cheek at the corner of the parking lot. tears pooled your eyes, but you can't seem to have to pull your eyes off of them as they cheekily smiled, avoiding each other's eyes- embarrassed.

as soon as he whips his head on your side, you have turned your back instantly and walked- almost jogged away which resulted in you crashing to a guy in his bike, toppling over him as his hands instinctively protected you from the one falling in your back.

"oh my fucking god," you gasp, looking at his close.. flawless face now scrunching due to shock and pain. your eyes wandered around looking for something to lean on and push yourself up, being restrained by his own arms around you. "i'm so sorry," dropping your hands on his chest and pushing yourself up, you grimaced as he groaned in pain.

you dusted your pants off, wryly smiling at him as you offered your hand.

"i'm really sorry," you mumbled, pressing your lips to a thin line as you felt shivers running down your spine when he took your hand for a pull.

"it's okay," he flashes you a quick smile, standing his bike up again and shakes his head to ruffle his own hair. he glances back at you and behind you, immediately knowledgeable of what you had just seen and with a crumpled paper in your hands. he sighs, smiling sadly at you, "do you want a ride?"

you simply gaped at him, tears once again in your eyes. grabbing your wrist, he pulled you to sit on the backseat of his companion bike- which was, thankfully, the one he had used as he had just dropped off his younger brother in school.

he started pedaling, off to god knows where but weirdly, you had the feeling to trust the face you had barely seen on school grounds, only on breaks and lunches and maybe rarely on dismissal too.

"y-you're.. yunho, right?" you clutched on his hoodie more, scared of falling off because of the bumpy road.

"how'd you know?" he chuckles, ignoring his heart skipping immensely at the warmth you emitted because of the proximity. "for sure i am just another face in the crowd. i'm surprised you know me,"

"you're.. uh," you bit your lips, "you're on the.. basketball varsity team, right?" you nodded your head, swallowing the lump on your throat as you thought of your crush again.

you've only known yunho because he's on the same team as your crush, the numerous games you have watched enough for you to know even just his name.

"yeah," realizing, he zipped his lips once again as the small sandwich house came into sight. "we're close,"

"close where?" you perked on your seat, trailing your hands to his shoulders to look over it. "oh, subway?" the hint of excitement in your voice made yunho smile once again, anxiousness all gone as he pedaled faster.

jumping off of the seat, you had taken interest in the paper in your hand once again just before you had entered the restaurant. yunho had taken notice of your stop as he parked his bike on the side, grabbing the paper from your hand and holding it in front of you.

"let me hide this first, okay? let's eat first," he scrunched his nose and waited for you, and after getting a nod, he tucks it in his hoodie's pockets and opens the door for you.

mumbling a small thanks, you had started to order your food and drinks.

"let me pay," you had started to dig out your wallet but before you know it, yunho had already handed out his own card to the cashier with a polite smile.

timidly slipping your card back into your wallet, you waited for him to finish ordering.

"i'll find us a table in the back.. i uh, thank you," you smiled at him, trudging to an available table you found in the back corner of the restaurant.

after a few minutes of awkwardly fiddling with your fingers, yunho had settled the tray in the table and handed you your own orders.

"are you good?" yunho watches you unwrap yours as he already was munching on his, propping his elbows on the table.

"me? yeah.. yeah!" you smiled, taking a bite of yours. "wait.. do you even know me?" you chuckled, seemingly weirded out by the sudden hanging out with an almost stranger just because you bumped into him by accident, after seeing your crush with another.

"of course, you're y/n," he defends, chuckling back at you. "you never miss one of our games."

"and that means?" you ask, raising your brow at him. "i'm sure i'm not the only one who always attends your games," unfocused for a moment with your sandwich, yunho cranes his neck at you.

"i mean.. i guess i just took interest in you at some point," he almost whispered, making you stop your movements.

feeling your cheeks heat up, you inhaled sharply to meet his eyes.

"t-thanks..?" you smiled awkwardly, earning a hearty laugh from yunho.

"i'm sorry, did that make you uncomfortable?" he asks, and you immediately shake your head. "so.. about a while ago," he presses his lips to a thin line, "i'm sorry you had to see that. they have been dating for a bit now,"

"yeah, yeah, no problem. it was good i saw them first before i embarrassed myself," you dryly chuckled, taking a sip of your drink.

yunho just watched you, growing fond in just a matter of an hour of you. meanwhile, you had just finished your food and when you finally had the guts to glance at yunho, he had already finished his and maybe quite for long now.

"sorry, i didn't realize you were waiting,"

"don't worry! i just finished mine too," he chuckles, his eyes trailing to the neatly folded wrap and the cup pooled in water due to melted ice on the inside.

"how much was mine?" you grab for your wallet and faced him once again, only to be stopped by his large hands on yours.

"it's okay, don't bother," he gives you a big smile which for sure, you felt your heart melt at the sight.

"let me pay next time then," you stood up, swinging your bag to your shoulders until you see him not moving an inch, seated there with a playful, smug look on his face as he suppresses the smile wanting to be plastered on his face. "what?" you furrowed your eyebrows.

"so there is a next time?" he stands up, tucks his hands on his pockets, and crouches to your eye level to lean closer.

"i mean.." you stammered over your words, only registering your own words on your mind that second, "i mean.. isn't that manners? you paid today, and i should pay you back at least. right? or am i not?" rambling, yunho found it cute and ruffles your hair.

"let's get you home?" yunho asks as he holds the door for you, flashing a smile to the workers inside.

"no, it's okay! i've bothered you enough, and home is just.. a five-minute walk from here so.." you watch him unlock his bike, smiling at him. "thank you again, yunho. i really appreciate it," ducking your head, you played with your feet until his shoes come to your vision.

you look up, flinching at the sudden closeness and feeling your cheeks heat up.

"no problem, though, i'll look forward to the next time," he winks, patting your arm and cycling away with a big smile on his face.

"well that's a miracle," your friend, jongho, gawked at you. "you're telling me, for the first time ever- you won't go to the basketball team's game tomorrow?"

"yes jongho, for the nth time, i won't." you sigh with a smile on your face.

"not even after what yunho did for you? he saved you from embarrassment!" jongho snickered, making you think.

should you go? would yunho even see you?

"look, as much as i'm thankful for yunho, i don't think we're in that phase and that close to that extent," you squinted your eyes at him, shaking your head.

"you're so difficult," jongho pushed you lightly, "why don't you just like yunho? it's obvious he still takes some interest in you?" he smirks, annoyingly poking your sides.

"if i'm so difficult, you're unbelievable," you gasp at him.

"i've been your friend for years, you move on as fast as you fall in love with someone- which is a good thing! so what i'm saying is.. don't you find yunho attractive?"

"jongho- i know i fall in love easy, and maybe i moved on from mingi in just a week, but still!"

"you didn't answer my last question!"

"god, jongho! fine! he's handsome as fuck," you finally admitted, groaning as you push him away.

"so.. go with me tomorrow, please," last spurt, jongho thought.

"fine, jongho- now can you please, fuck off? you're so goddamn annoying," with your serious tone, jongho still knows you didn't mean what you said and chuckles it off.

what you don't know about your closest friend here, jongho, is that he had a life more than your friendship. actually, not that you didn't know, you just didn't bother thinking or bother yourself at least getting curious about it.

he had a life- and it included 7 friends he considered as brothers, two of them being mingi and yunho.

he has known the two's interests and every little details of their life, some of them being you. reason for not telling you? it thrilled him.

yunho has had his eyes on you for quite some time, but you were clearly blinded by mingi, who wanted to be friends with you, only because you were friends with jongho- and had his eyes to another.

"yunho!" jongho jumps on his seat and waves his hand, making you look at him with furrowed eyebrows. when yunho smiled at him and has caught a glance at you, his smile grew bigger.

yunho simply nodded his head your way, going back at the court to practice his shoots before the actual game.

"you.. know him," you said, as a matter of fact, hissing at him.

"you never asked!" he defended, nudging you. he pushed your disgruntled face away from and to the court, the game finally starting.

it was something usual, and your eyes still instinctively stuck on mingi, unintentionally ignoring the lingering glances of another, yunho.

"spare yunho a glance, god i'm dying from frustration," jongho cuts your concentration from the game, nudging you quite harshly.

"what?" you mumble, eyes finally landing on the point guard who just shot his shot, eyes meeting yours right after.

"you see what i mean?" jongho exasperatingly sighs, but suppressed a smile after your tinted cheeks.

"i- i don't," you stutter out, looking down until you've finally had the guts to look back in the game until it ended.

the crowd erupted in cheers after the game, yunho's team taking the win as usual. and once again, your eyes meet with yunho's, mouthing him a small congratulations before you left with jongho.

"hey, wait up!" you hear yunho from the back, so you and jongho turn around to welcome him.

"congrats, yunho!" jongho jumps at him for a bro hug, and you smile to mumble another 'congratulations.'

"thanks," he smiles back, sparing a glance on jongho and back to you. "can i have your next time today?" yunho raises his eyebrows at you, "..or you have plans today?" you glance at jongho, asking for help.

"i.. i don't know.. shouldn't you be like-" you ramble before you got cut off by jongho.

"completely free. totally free. no plans. just free," jongho shrugged, pushing you to the man's arm who quickly balanced you because of his sweat-covered body.

yunho looked back at you with anticipation, waiting for confirmation.

"i mean, yeah, i'm free but-"

"please, please, please wait for me here? i'll just get changed and get my stuff," yunho pleaded, revving his puppy eyes that you almost swooned at.

"..yeah, sure." you smile at him. looking at him almost wholeheartedly hopping back to the court with a smile worn on his face, smiling now and then to the people who squealed at his presence. "you're insane, choi jongho,"

"you'll thank me later," he winks, nudging you back when he sees yunho jogging back.

"do you want to come with us?" yunho asks him as he swings the strap of his duffel bag to his shoulder.

"what?! no, psh," jongho dismissed, pushing the two of you together. "i have plans.. with uh.. wooyoung!" he points to wooyoung from afar, waving at him then to the both of you, running away.

"i uh.. sorry about jongho," you start, "but don't you have a celebratory party or something?"

"oh, that." yunho shrugs, "we're doing that tomorrow, if you want to come- now you're invited,"

"no thanks, i'm.. really not fond of those things," you explained.

"okay," he smiles, and you feel the world brighten up at that. unexplainably, a small smile creeps up on your lips.

"so, where do you want to eat?" you ask, smiling at him.

"wherever you want."

"i'll be the one paying, yunho. just think where," chuckling, you face him while walking.

"anywhere will be fine when i'm with you," yunho mumbles but you just have got to have elephant ears.

"oh," you simply replied, awkwardly laughing. yunho just chuckles with his ears read, completely dazed at the realization that you heard what he had just embarrassingly said. "are you.. uhm, hungry? or are you settled with some ice cream?"

"ice cream is nice," he replied, a hint of excitement in his voice.

"i know a good ice cream shop," you jump on your place, quickly. dragging him by the wrist to the ice cream shop.

yunho here, stares at his hand and if it was possible for him to get redder, he just did.

"hey, yours?" you shake your hands that was holding his, only to throw it lightly when you've realized he's been zoning out staring at your hands. "sorry,"

"uh.. what? yes. right. i'll have vanilla please." he smiles at the cashier, then back at you who gave him a stink eye. "what?" he chuckles.

"v-va.." you fake gaged, "vanilla? basic,"

yunho laughs at your antics, ruffling your hair. he had only ordered that because he felt rushed, embarrassed and pressured at that second. but because of you and your personality, who always ignored awkward moments and always wanted out of it, you saved him from it.

"congratulations again, you played really well," you said as you took your seats, taking a bite of your ice cream.

"yeah? i think you've only watched mingi play though," yunho playfully banters, squinting his eyes at you.

"hey! i watched you too," you defended, pouting.

"okay, okay," he surrenders, laughing purely.

the rest of the time passed by quickly and comfortably like you have not just been friends for a week. talking about academics, jongho, and some bits of your personal lives.

"it's getting dark," yunho sighs, reluctant of stopping the night right there.

"yeah, i should probably head home," you pout. "i really enjoyed today, i hope i didn't tire you out."

"y/n, if anything, you energized me," and by this time, you've grown invincible of his flirts, frequently said in between conversations.

"really, then it's my pleasure," you jokingly bowed, a big smile plastered on your face as you head out of the shop. "i'll see you around, yunho,"

yunho gives the smile back, already having a pick-up line ready in his mind.

"i'd love another next time, y/n." yunho lowers himself to your eye level, "and would you mind calling it a date instead of next time?" he cheekily smirks, and you could only laugh at his attempt at flirting.

after fakely pondering for an answer, you finally burst to the brightest smile yunho had seen you on, squishing his cheeks.

"sure, yunho, whatever you want. and if that's a date, i'd love it even more," you scrunched your nose, booping his and escaping the moment before he sees you red, running home and leaving yunho stunned, but letting his lips slowly curl up and a heart beating more than normal.

what should you say? thank you jongho.

and maybe probably mingi too. because of a beautiful accident caused by him, you wouldn't have your heart fluttering right now- but not because of him, but yunho.

[badgraph1csghost]

[ID: a grey mountain bike with green and blue decals sitting in a residential corridor on brown low-pile carpet. ID end.]

Hey yeah so with petrol being the most expensive it's fucking ever been (in spite of the record-shattering profits that every single oil company in the world made in the past year), I've finally made the decision to ditch my car for my bike in most cases.

I get that this isn't a viable option for everyone, and I'm not advocating it as a course of action, but there are a few other people I know of who are also doing this. So, for those of you who are also considering using your bike to run errands now, let's talk about a few basics. You know, stuff that may not necessarily occur to people who have been cycling recreationally for the past however long time and are looking to transition into city-biking. (Notice: this is a long post.)

First, you've got to have a helmet. If you've just been cycling around the park and whatnot, you might have decided that you didn't need a helmet. Well... now you do. You're gonna be riding with cars, way too closely for comfort, and a helmet will save your life in a collision with a car. You might break your arm or your leg, but you won't crack your skull or damage your brain. I don't care if you put it on, look in a mirror, and balk at how cringey you look. I also don't care if your state doesn't have a bike helmet law. You better be wearing that helmet if I see you out there or I'm gonna yell at you.

Next, you need a backpack. Something pretty sturdy with adjustable straps and good carrying capacity. You don't need one of those flippin' great randonneering backpacks with a buckle around your chest, just a plain old 14-dollar Jansport will do the job fine. The main compartment is where you're going to put your quest items (gallon of milk, sack of cat litter, letters to post, that sort of thing). The secondary compartments are for your inventory. If you have bike tools, put those in. I like to put my Allen key kit, tyre pump, and spare inner-tube in the front pouch, and food in the pouch behind it. You can keep bottled water in your side-pockets, sure, but most all-in-one bike kits come with a bottle cage that you can attach to the frame of your bike. Some even come with a reusable water bottle (one of those jobs that's made of sturdier, dishware-grade plastic that you can open with your teeth).

If you need greater cargo capacity than a backpack can provide, you might want to invest in a cargo rack. They fit onto the rear wheel struts and the frame or saddle post and only cost about $20 US.

I briefly mentioned food and water before. If you're going to be running all about town on your bike, you're gonna get tired, and food for a cyclist is the same as petrol for a car. It gets burned for energy. That means, lots of protein, carbohydrates, and electrolytes. There are bike-specific energy bars that you can get, or you can piecemeal it out (unintentional pun) with dried fruit, jerky, pickles, nuts, or whatever. Water is water. I mean, you've got to have at least this to rehydrate yourself, right? Don't concern yourself with sport-drinks to start out with, just plain water will be good enough.

Next, lights and reflectors. Most bikes sold on shop floors in the United States will come with reflectors already attached, but some states require more than just reflectors. In Nebraska anyway, you're required to have a headlamp and a taillamp. The headlamp is less for your ability to see the road than it is for other people to see you; the same with the taillamp. Usually taillamps have to be red and headlamps have to be white. In general, try not to need to ride your bike at night, just for practicality. Motorists already don't care about anyone but themselves so...

Talking of motorists-- you may be asking, “what sort of roads am I allowed to ride my bike on?” The legal nuances are different basically everywhere, but most municipalities let you ride on “low-traffic” roadways (i.e. 1- to 2-lanes), pedestrian walkways, and of course designated bike trails. It’s straight up illegal (and not a good idea anyway) to ride on the motorway/Interstate. Low-speed highways in the US are probably okay as well, but check on your individual state’s cycling laws.

Finally, in this already lengthy list of basics, bike security. Those horseshoe-shaped bike locks aren't worth their weight in bird droppings. You can't secure the whole bike with it, just the frame, leaving the wheels open for theft. Also, a regular link chain and padlock might be cheap, but so are bolt-cutters. Your best bet for bike security is one of those braided steel core bike locks with the plastic coating. I mean, it’s not like you can’t cut through braided steel, but it takes longer and, for every one person using one, there are two people who haven’t locked their bikes up at all. You have to-- you HAVE to lock the frame to the wheels. Both wheels. If this means you need a second bike lock, then you need a second bike lock. Be sure to lock your bike to itself AND to whatever sturdy object you’re leaving it on.

Always secure the bike to something before you leave it anywhere! Bike racks are ideal, but there are fewer of those in this motorised society of ours than is convenient. If there's no bike rack about, lock your bike to a tree, a lamppost, a street sign, anything that's stuck into the ground. Just make sure it's tall enough that someone in a truck can't just drive by and lift the bike up and off and into the truck bed. If you're really, really paranoid, you could even take your saddle off, but that shouldn't be necessary.

[japannkenn]

(Luca) Summer Heat (rated M) (unpublished/random pieces that I wrote)

Luca doesn’t like children, which is weird, because he technically is one? (He hadn’t been eighteen for that long, and things still felt the same) He does feel bad about it. He’d dealt with them over his years of study in Genova which was always a hassle, but it wasn’t his fault.

He didn’t know why he was intimidated by a couple of adolescents, just on the brink of consciousness of the world around them. Not old enough to worry about things bigger than how fast they can eat their gelato before it melted in the summertime heat.

He guesses he’s one to talk. Even if it’s been three years, he doesn’t feel like he knows anything. He may not be much better than these kids. He doesn’t know who he is. He thought he did. He thought he was starting to figure it out.

That’s why it’s so shocking to see how second nature Alberto is around a band of rowdy twelve year olds in the water, teaching them how to swim. And maybe they weren’t rowdy—just much too much for Luca to handle. He can’t believe how patient he is, how he humors their antics and how easy it is for him.

And he can’t believe how good he looks in that tiny red Bagnino tank top, iridescent purple scales shimmering in the sunlight, practically calling him.

Luca knew this was going to happen, so he brought a book to look down at if Alberto happened to turn back and steal a glance, lest he be caught staring. Because that would be the end of the world considering some of the things they’d done already.

There was a squiggly, fine line to their relationship.

And besides, he wasn’t good with kids. But it was fun to watch anyway. It doesn’t mean he didn’t feel bad.

“Va bene,” Luca hears him laugh from the water, a young girl looking up at him with a red tinge to her cheeks that definitely wasn’t from the setting sun. “If you can hold your breath for ten seconds, I’ll buy you another gelato.”

“Really? And I can pick the flavor?” Her eyes sparkle.

Alberto pauses comically. “No, no. I still get to pick the flavor,” his voice is giggly, and Luca’s heart wants to burst with affection and love.

“Hey! Non è giusto, you have to buy me one too!” A little boy pops up from under the water, eyebrows furrowed up at Alberto.

“Twenty seconds, then?”

“See that one right there?” He points to the same ragazza that he promised a gelato after he’d come back on the shore for a short break, sitting down beside Luca in the sand.

“Uh-huh,” he watches her as she makes a show of back stroking, glancing curiously at Alberto.

“She’s got a massive crush on me.”

Luca scoffs, rolling his eyes. “Ah, I bet that gets your ego nice and excited doesn’t it?”

“Oh yeah,” he jokes, unwrapping an energy bar from his bag. He takes a bite, a quiet moment passes by and Luca awkwardly looks back down at his book. “Nah. I’m just wondering what I did to make her see me that way.” He says idly.

Luca chews his lip anxiously, incredulous. He starts to wonder if this was a trap. What was Alberto trying to do to him?

Whatever it was, it was working.

The Vespa was surprisingly still in commission, ready for a summer of rides down The Downhill, through the narrow roads, twists and turns to the piazza.

But Luca preferred Giulia’s bike whenever he could if she wasn’t using it. But he’d never admit it out loud that the reason he likes pedaling instead is because he thinks it’ll help him become more like Alberto. Physically, anyways. He was quite jealous, really, in this delicious, sensual way.

Actually, he thinks he’d tell Alberto the reason, if only he would ask. He wishes he would ask. He probably never would, because it was almost like he already knew.

“Don’t you wanna ride your fancy Vespa instead? Why do you need my bike?” Giulia even asks one day, putting Luca on the spot as he’s hopping on for a twenty minute cycle around the piazza.

“Let him use it. He needs the exercise,” Alberto says coolly from the porch, Machiavelli slung helplessly over his shoulder as he’s bringing him back inside from a bath.

Luca’s heart drops, his face burning red.

It’s almost annoying how bold Alberto is about it. No, it definitely is annoying. And Luca is tired of being constantly envious of his ever growing muscles. “Everyone’s bodies are different, you know?”

Luca glares at him. He’s trying to wash the dishes and not even Alberto was a fun distraction anymore. Just plain annoying. Stupid, dumb Alberto. “Haha,” he sulks.

“What works for me may not work for you,” he shrugs, scratching at his chin and appraising Luca’s body for a moment. What’s worse is that Luca can feel it, each little thought in his mind. What’s even worse is that in a matter of days, he’d become so self conscious about something he hadn’t ever thought about for more than five minutes.

Sure, he’d done his fair share of comparing himself to people, and especially Alberto. But he’d always had a summer fixation, whether that was a good or bad thing depended. It was always Alberto. And it wasn’t always good.

“If you’re really that worried about it, I can help you.”

Luca pauses, squeezing the sudsy dish sponge in his scaly hand. His first thought is to be defensive about it, and he is, but it’s a much lighter approach when he says with a little chuckle for good measure, “I’m not that worried about it.”

“But you are,” Alberto outsmarts him in that easy breezy way, winning another point for the Fluster Luca game. “Just a little. Right?”

When he turns to glare at his asshole of a friend again, he’s got that grin on his face, like he’d proven something, caught Luca in another lie the same way he could when they were fourteen, knowing and unbothered. It’s annoying.

Grumbling, he forces his attention back to vigorously scrubbing some dried alfredo off of a dinner plate. “I could give you training lessons. Just me and you.”

To keep from short circuiting, Luca laughs again, awkwardly.

Training started at eight in the morning the next day, on the beach. Alberto says they need open space to promote a healthy work environment, but Luca just feels put on the spot. He relied on the fact that Portorosso was a sleepy town, and it was unlikely that anyone would be awake this early. Besides the pescheria. Which is probably eighty percent of this town’s population.

Carp.

“Like this?” He asks breathlessly, trying to keep in tune with a swift jog in place, his entire body burning for all of the wrong reasons, not that he feels his ten-pack forming, but he can tell Alberto is watching him. Hard.

Alberto hums, scratching his chin. “No.”

***

Ferragosto this year is when he platonically-maybe-not-so-romantically falls in love with Alberto and Giulia all over again. They’ve got her old radio blasting the anthem of summer’64, il gatto e la volpe, and Luca can’t explain how excited he is to hear it again.

Fireworks burst over the astounding view from The Downhill. They’re finally old enough (well, excluding Giulia, but two legal adults were enough) to be out on their own under the influence of at least two glasses of wine.

It wasn’t that much, but Luca can’t help how giggly he feels, throwing his head back to sing, “Noi scopriamo talenti e non sbagliamo mai,” at the top of his lungs, delighted when Giulia takes the next verse.

“Noi sapremo sfruttare le tue qualità!” Her voice is shaky and cracks unexpectedly, but to Luca, it’s like music to his ears. Another firework rockets to the sky, bursting loudly.

“Dacci solo quattro monete e ti iscriviamo al concorso,” Alberto sings next, stumbling over the words and his voice is incredibly off key, but Luca beams at him, suddenly wanting to cry.

“Per la celebrità!” They all sing together, bursting into a fit of uncontrollable giggles.

He never wants this to end. He wishes this bottle of wine were bottomless, so that the three of them could lay here in the grass forever underneath the inky black sky, lit up by colorful explosions, wiggling his toes freely in the wet grass, his two favorite people in the entire world right by his side, just like every summer.

But it’s going to end. It always did. That was the reality of it, and he always faced it. But just for a little longer, he could enjoy it knowing there was always next year. For now, he could be irresponsible and enjoy this. A little longer.

He reaches over, turning the radio up to the highest volume, cheering loudly over it.

Lui è il gatto ed io la volpe, stiamo in società

Di noi ti puoi fidar,

di noi ti puoi fidare,

di noi ti puoi fidar

There’s plenty of places to makeout in Portorosso, but somehow they’d ended up behind the house because—oh, now he remembered—it’s almost time for dinner, and they wanted to be back before sundown.

Admittedly, Luca was disappointed that nothing intense had happened on their little day trip to Isola del Mare, and to him it was a waste. He never did well with mixed feelings, and he couldn’t help not being talkative on the walk back to the Marcovaldo household.

If Alberto asked, he’d just say he was tired. Which wasn’t exactly a lie, just not the whole truth— because, merda, the swim there and back really isn’t a cakewalk or anything. He felt near exhaustion, leaning slightly against Alberto as they stumbled down the narrow road, street lamps lighting the dusk night.

He doesn’t know what kind of person he’s becoming, but it most definitely isn’t practical.

He stumbles to trail along when Alberto unexpectedly yanks him behind the dark alley-like space between their house and a neighbor’s and Luca groans confusedly because he’s already a little frustrated with Alberto, even if it’s childish and petty.

“What are you—,” A flame ignites like an explosion in his chest when Alberto roughly slams him against the concrete wall by the shoulders, sucking in a deep breath when he feels his chest pressing firmly against his. “Why—,”

All Alberto does is laugh, and Luca would punch the stupid grin off of his face if he could see it in this light. “What’s that you said earlier? Sono felice? If that’s true then why haven’t you said anything since?”

Luca grumbles. “I’m just tired.”

“Uh-huh, right,” he says knowingly, releasing his tight grip on Luca’s shoulders to drop one arm by his side, the other hand planted firmly on the wall by his head instead. It makes Luca feel worse (better? He doesn’t know), the choice to leave or stay looming over him like a playful tease. “You’re upset I didn’t put my hand down your pants earlier, aren’t you?”

“Don’t make fun of me.” Luca’s face heats up and he makes a weird noise of repulsion. “It’s stupid of me, I know,”

“I’ll tell you what…”

Sometimes or more often than not this summer, he doesn’t recognize himself as a top student in Genova, or a loyal son who herded goatfish for most of his life. It’s weird feeling different and thinking about himself like this. And Alberto, his dear friend who showed him this new world above the surface, is now his lover, a little more than just a friend, all and everything in between, and he’s different.

It’s strange.

This was certainly… unexpected.

When they finally come inside right in time for dinner, they’re skittish, and Giulia gives them a look that’s definitely more knowing than confused, but she’s uninformed nonetheless, and Luca can’t help but giggle. He feels like a brat.

He accidentally bumps into Massimo, rustling away from Alberto’s tight grip on his arm. He mumbles a quick mi scusi, sitting down in his seat. “Lo giuro, ragazzi,” Giulia grumbles exasperatedly, setting down cups of water around the table.

Luca steals a glance at Alberto as he picks up his cup for a sip, darting his eyes away quickly when they make eye contact.

“Ragazzi.” Signor Marcovaldo says sternly, and Luca and Alberto flinch. “Help set the table.”

“Certo, certo, sorry about that, papà,” Alberto rushes to the counter, leaning over to take two plates at a time. He sets them on the table, getting the last two. Right as Luca decides he should get up and help too, Alberto is on his way back to the table and they narrowly miss stumbling into each other, Luca letting out a strained little chuckle as they stare stupidly at each other.

Giulia clears her throat loudly, arms crossed.

Luca and Alberto immediately look at her, breaking out into awkward laughs.

“What is it with you two? Veramente,” she takes a seat beside Alberto after he finishes setting down the plates. Luca is next to stand beside Massimo at the counter, grabbing silverware. He can feel his heavy gaze burning holes through his head as he quickly rinses them in the sink, and if he just hurried then—!

“Luca.” Massimo grumbles. Luca flinches again, willing himself to look up at the man towering above him.

“Si?”

“Calmati.”

Luca shivers, drying the forks quickly in a towel. “Oh, sì, scusa,” he rushes back to the table, giving everyone their silverware before shakily taking his seat again. He catches Alberto staring at him again, and he slightly raises his eyebrows like asking stai bene, and Luca nods quickly.

“For dessert, it’s tiramisu,” Signor Marcovaldo says as he sits down, and Alberto’s eyes light up and he gasps excitedly. “For that, you have Giulietta to thank.”

Alberto frowns. Giulia grins smugly at him, and Luca lets out his first real laugh of tonight. “Ah, come on. Can tonight get any worse?” Alberto groans half heartedly, absentmindedly twirling some pasta onto his fork.

“Sure it can. I helped strain the noodles,” Giulia jokes, her mouth full.

“Oh, is that why you’re feeling so tipo tosto tonight?”

“Of course. It’s more than you ever help out around here.”

[ladyeliot]

Atoms.

Request: Anonymous: Heyy! Can you do a fluffy something like childhood friends>friends to lovers with Tony Stark? Thanks so much! And happy valentine's day!

Pairing: Teen!Tony Stark x Teen!Fem!Reader

Summary: You and Tony have been friends for as long as you can remember, but sometimes the line between friendship and love is a fine one.

Warnings: Fluff / Childhood 

Word count: 3359

A/N:  Sorry for my spelling and grammatical mistakes, English is not my native language, I am learning.

Valentine’s Day (Prompts)

In all friendships there is a fine line that separates love from simple friendship, in fact, on many occasions we cut that fine line without realising it. We come to think that things just happen, that there is nothing we can do to change the cycle of life, that everything is programmed and that those who are meant to be together, will be together.

It all began on a cloudy Friday, May 29, 1970. In a small town on the east side of Long Island, two new mothers were struggling fiercely to bring a baby into the world. The night had been long, a storm had left the town without electricity, a fact that had not hindered the delivery, but that had increased the nerves of these parents. After hours of suffering, screams and internal curses, at 6:29 pm two babies were able to see the world with their own eyes for the first time. At that very moment an invisible thread connected the two of them, so that it was at that very moment that they were brought together in the maternity ward and never to be separated again.

Childhood is the time when you can create the best memories that will stay with you for the rest of your life. Yours was shared with Tony, so he was present in virtually all of your memories. The fact that your mothers created a true friendship after the birth facilitated the deep connection you found on both sides. From birth you were never separated, you learned to discover the world together, you entered the first day of school together and you graduated together.

It was obvious that you had great things in common, but your characters were completely different, maybe that's what made you two work so well together, what limited one of you, the other one could overcome. When your fear prevented you from daring to do something, Tony was by your side to help you overcome it. In the same way, when Tony felt insecure about himself, you were there to erase all his insecurities from his mind. You both evolved and improved each other.

Your childhood helped you understand the importance of having each other, the value of your friendship, even if there were little bumps in the road. Tony was your first time at all times, he was the one you did your first prank with, the one you took your first swim in the pool with, the one you learned to ride a bike with, the one you shared your Halloween candy with, the one you celebrated your birthdays with, Tony was everything, he was even your first kiss.

It was 1978, innocence was still within you, causing you to see the world with eyes that were still unaware of the vast majority of things that lay before you. Laughter was coming through the wooden windows of your tree house. You were lying on a rug looking at a photo album that your mother had lent you, with some pictures of you and Tony from when you were practically babies.

"Look at you here," you said with a chuckle, looking back at the picture of two-year-old Tony crying next to you. "You're crying in all the pictures."

Tony bumped his shoulder against yours in complaint and turned the page.

"Why is it that in all the pictures of your parents alone they're kissing?" he asked quizzically, not quite understanding the act.

"I guess it's because they love each other," you said without making a big deal out of the gesture, as you were more than used to seeing them kissing in front of you.

"My parents love each other too and they don't kiss," Tony commented turning the page.

You shrugged, turning your attention back to the photo album. But Tony still had the idea in the back of his mind.

"Do your parents kiss every day?" he asked, sitting up.

"Hm..." you looked thoughtful at his question and also sat up. "Yes, whenever mum or dad comes home or leaves, or when we go to sleep..."

"Wow!" exclaimed Tony totally shocked by your words. "And... they like it?"

"I guess..." you shrugged holding up your palm. "Why else would they do it?"

"Makes sense," Tony nodded, processing the information. "Maybe my parents don't like it, that's why they don't."

That was the first time the two of you had broached that topic of conversation, Tony seemed more curious than you, as you had already gone back to further contemplating the photographs.

"Will we like it?" he asked, catching your attention again.

"I don't know," you said with a shrug.

" Should we try it?" asked your best friend cheerfully, expecting an affirmative answer from you.

"You and me?" you asked unreceptive to the idea Tony had just proposed.

"Yeah, why not, we love each other, that's all we need, you said it," he smiled brimming with innocence.

"I don't know..." you frowned thoughtfully, not sure if it was quite right what he was proposing. "What if we don't like it?"

"I guess it's okay," Tony stood up and grabbed your hand to pull you up.

"Wait, how do we do this?" you asked nervously, looking into his eyes.

"You just close your eyes," he informed. "I'll take care of the rest."

"Okay." You couldn't help but let out a small nervous laugh, which prompted another one from Tony.

"Okay, close your eyes," he said again. "When I kiss you, mentally count to five."

You finally agreed to comply with the guidelines offered by your best friend. There you were, standing in the middle of that cabin, wearing a yellow strapless dress with your eyes closed, waiting for your best friend to approach you and give you your first kiss. After closing your eyes, Tony took three seconds to approach you, put his lips against yours and you mentally counted to five. The sensation was strange, very particular, you didn't know enough words at that time to express it and you didn't know much about feelings and love, so you couldn't stand the five seconds he proposed and after the third one you broke away, wiping your lips vigorously with your hand.

"It's awful!" you exclaimed looking at your friend. "I don't understand my parents!"

Tony seemed surprised at your reaction, but quickly joined in your disgust, falsely, as he hadn't found the experience so terrible.

And he was also the second kiss.

It was the summer of 1984, two friends on bicycles riding through the wooded area that separated your houses from the lake, laughing, struggling to find out who would get there first, but a pothole appeared in the road and a badly positioned stone caused your front wheel to lose its balance, overturning your bicycle. Tony behind you, instantly slowed down with a look of concern on his face, contemplating Tony behind you, brakes instantly with a look of concern on his face, staring at your bloodied knee.

"Are you okay?" asks your best friend with a tone of concern in his voice rushing towards you.

Without responding you stand up, trying to recover from your fall and discovering the pain as your leg hits the ground, Tony is already kneeling down, analysing the scrape you've made on your knee.

"Come lean on me," he drapes your right arm across his shoulders. "Come on under that tree, I'll clean your wound."

After positioning yourself comfortably in the shade of the oak tree, Tony runs back to his bike to get the canteen.

"Don't worry," you squeaked from a distance, playing it down. "I'm fine."

"Are you going to stop your stubbornness and let me clean the wound?" Tony arched an eyebrow which elicited a chuckle from you. "Thanks."

As the water poured over your wound you felt a stinging prickle, which was relieved when you wrapped your hand tightly around Tony's arm.

"Ouch!" he exclaimed as he felt your strength in his arm.

"Ouch me!" you groaned at his complaint, generating a chuckle from your friend's mouth.

"Okay, that's it," he said, closing the canteen. "You know you're the poster child for Newton's three laws? The law of inertia, the fundamental law of dynamics and the principle of action and reaction."

"And you are the clearest example of the idiot's law," you said with a laugh, for I had just called you clumsy in a clever way.

"Of course!" he exclaimed, wrapping his arms around you. "But I'm your idiot."

That was one of those moments when Tony would crush you against him and start giving you quick kisses all over your face just because he knew how much that annoyed you, but it made you laugh at the same time.

"Tony!" you exclaimed with laughter, trying to run away from him.

Coincidences can happen, but you never knew if it was a real coincidence due to the fast movements of both of you or if there was really an intention behind it, but Tony kissed your lips, pausing a little longer than usual. You, thinking it was unintentional, kept pushing him and your eyes widened in laughter.

"Whoa! Sorry," he said quickly. "Law of inertia, not my fault."

You laughed and gave him another shove, leaving what had just happened forgotten in your mind.

And the third.

It happened when you were in eleventh grade, Tony had always been a very joking child and sometimes his innocence did not allow him to realise the level of his jokes or how they were going to affect the people who made them. He had discovered early on that one thing he loved most was making you laugh, so day after day he would try anything to get a laugh out of you. That ranged from pretending to trip, to throwing his spaghetti at the first person he passed in the school cafeteria.

Eventually his personality caught people's attention, let's say the law of attraction was in his persona and that became present by high school, so if you connect his joking side with the attractive side it creates a bomb.

For you that discovery came a little late, too late, at least that's what you thought at that moment when you saw him connecting intimately with a girl in a higher grade than you. You hated yourself for having been so blind for so long, for not having realised it before and also for having that kind of feeling towards your best, because they could destroy everything you had created for so many years, practically since you were born. You told yourself that it was stupid, that it was probably just a passing thought and that you would soon forget about it, that it would be better not to give it any importance. But it wasn't.

You decided that one of the best ways to let off steam would be to write down how you felt, to write down every thought that came into your head and let it go forever. It would have been the best way in the world if you hadn't confused that notebook with your physics notebook, put it in your backpack and forgotten your backpack at Tony's house when you decided to go to the movies instead of studying that afternoon.

It was too late when you discovered the event, you were about to free your mind when you picked up the blue notebook and discovered that it was the physics notebook, therefore the notebook where you were exploring your thoughts would be....

"Tony!" you exclaimed into the earpiece.

"What's up, it's 12 o'clock at night?" his sleepy voice could be heard on the other end of the receiver.

"Do you know... I don't know, did I by any chance leave my backpack with my books in it at your place?" you asked, praying that I hadn't been gossiping in it.

"Your backpack? Let me go," he asked and a small knock was heard from the other side causing a minute's silence. "Yeah, it's in my room."

"Okay..." you said in a whisper. "Uh..."

"Do you need it now?" he asked somewhat strangely. "Don't you have your homework done? If you want I can finish it in a moment."

"No, no, no!" you exclaimed quickly. "It's all good, all done, don't worry, everything's great."

"Okay," he said dismissively. "Then tomorrow when I come to pick you up I'll bring it to you."

"Yeah, great, yeah," your nervousness increased, you wanted to tell him not to look inside, but you knew that by telling him he would probably end up doing it, so you preferred not to say anything else and let whatever happened happen happen.

The next morning Tony turned up as usual, with a smile on his face, chatty, funny and you knew that nothing had happened and nothing had changed, in short, a big weight was lifted off your shoulders.

"Shall we go to physics class? Mr. Gilbert will be looking forward to my dissertation on atoms and the origin of the Big Bang," he said closing his locker. "I think you'll like it too."

"You go ahead," you said, waiting for him to leave to exchange notebooks. "I'll catch up with you."

"Alright."

You waited for him to disappear into the crowd to make the exchange, but first you glanced around checking for any sign that someone had read it, however....

"In the first seconds after the Big Bang, the density and warmth of the universe barely allowed life to generate. As the universe cooled, the matter we are made of began to appear: quarks and electrons, which gave way to protons and neutrons, and then nuclei. As it expanded, things began to happen more slowly, until electrons became trapped in orbits to form the first atoms. Those atoms gave way to stars and galaxies, which uniformly gave way to life, to you and me. So you see, you just have to let the universe do its work, because you and I are those atoms that came together hundreds of millions of years ago and were created to be together."

A structural blockage was happening inside you at that moment, you read that paragraph over and over and over again, until there was hardly anyone left around you. Your heart was pounding fervently, causing sweat to break out all over your body. Your sanity was gone, you didn't know what to do, where to go, or how to act, you just wanted to escape. When your physical block passed, you gathered all your belongings from your locker and headed outside, trying to get some air back into your lungs. The only thing that was going through your mind was that your best friend had read those fifty-seven pages you had written for the moment, where you expressed, without any caution, everything that was going through your mind about him, accentuating your romantic feelings.

You wanted to disappear at that very moment, to go into a burrow or a bunker and stay there until it was all over. Your heart was pounding in your chest, you were walking aimlessly, but as far away from that building as possible. How could you not have noticed anything about Tony to let you know that he had read it? You were so distressed that you barely analysed what he had written to you, where he also expressed his feelings in his own particular way. You finally found an escape at the bus stop, wishing for a bus to go somewhere far away as soon as possible.

Every word that came out of you was a curse, at you of course. Reminding you what an idiot you had been, that you had ruined the best thing you had, that you couldn't have been more stupid, and hundreds of negative things that prevented you from getting out of that black bubble you had created for yourself, but as always he had to appear to make you see reason.

"Y/N!" Tony's voice was heard behind you. "What are you doing?"

Your eyes closed and you prayed it wasn't true what you were hearing, but it was too late, you had to face the truth.

"Hey!" Tony stepped up beside you. "If we were going to make up from physics class you could have at least given me a heads up. I looked like an idiot when I saw you through the window walking out of school." You looked away, didn't say anything. "What's wrong with you?"

It was bad enough what you were going through without having to put up with Tony's attitude, who showed his indifference as if nothing had happened, a fact that pissed you off even more.

"No! What the hell is wrong with you?" you said angrily. "Why did you read my diary? Who the hell gave you permission?"

"Okay, fine. I did," he began, relaxing the tone of his voice and avoiding not smiling, because he knew it might make you even angrier. "But for my defence I promise you it was after I spoke to you on the phone, I saw you so nervous I thought you lied to me when you said you had your homework done, so I checked, and I must say I couldn't stop reading when I started. I know! I should have stopped, it's something very intimate and personal, but... I just couldn't," he paused. "And I don't regret it."

After hearing his last words you opened your eyes in surprise and shook your head indignantly for having heard him say that he did not regret doing it.

"No regrets?" you folded your arms, stopping the tears of anger that had welled up in your eyes from sliding down your cheek.

"No," Tony said firmly. "And I never will."

"This is insane," you shook your head turning away.

"Listen," Tony interjected, grabbing your arm and pulling you back to face him. "Have you stopped to think about what I've written or are you just focused on the fact that I've read your diary?" he asked searching your gaze. "Better yet, is it true? Is everything you've written in there true? Do you feel that way? Are you... in love with me?"

"Oh my god..." shame had taken over your anger and all you wanted to do was run away from there, but Tony's hand around your right arm prevented you from doing so.

"Please, just answer me," he begged.

"I..." you looked around avoiding answering that question, focused on your world and your feelings. "I don't know."

" Well, that's good enough for me."

That "I don't know" was enough for Tony, because he discovered that there was a "yes" hidden in them, therefore he didn't hesitate to approach your face and do what he had been wanting to do for so long, kiss you. His words were true when he said that he didn't regret it and he was never going to do it because probably if it hadn't been for his intention to do your homework, he would never have read that diary and neither of you would probably ever have told the other how you really felt, because you were afraid of breaking what had been created from the moment you were born.

As I said at the beginning, the fine line that separates love from friendship sometimes gets cut without us realising it, and when we do realise it, we think it's too late or that maybe it would be better not to take the risk, because things could turn around and change for the worse, but who says they can't get better? That love can't triumph?

Taglist Open (DM)

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[greyfongschemmenti]

Lin x reader request: Happy New Year, my love

I’m so sorry I’m publishing so late. I am so blocked so I literally took all day to try and write something for this request. Hopefully I did not let you down. Luckily this will be the last fic of 2020!!! So this is a milestone in itself. 

It’s currently 11:16pm where I’m at so it’s still 2020. So I still accomplished getting this request in the year. 

Hopefully you like this one anon. If not....I’m sorry *tears*

Happy New Year, My Love | Lin x Reader FF

Word count: 2510

It was the first new year’s celebration you were going to spend in Republic City, and you weren’t sure if you were excited or treating it as a normal day. Walking up to Air temple island and seeing Bumi and Meelo carrying boxes of fireworks “Ahh I see the island is going to have their own show” you smile. Both men give you their shit eating grin and nod “of course, It’s going to be huge!” Meelo jumps excitingly as he hurries over to the safe location to set up. “You are going to keep it safe right, Bumi?” you give him a glare as you fold your arms, and he smirks. “Of course, plus if things go south Kya can use her bending to wash it out. Wouldn’t want the chief to fine us” he laughs, and you shake your head. “there is only so much leeway I can do to not get you arrested, Bumi.” You exasperated and slid your hands in your pocket.

“where is the chief anyway? She is not with you?” Bumi looks behind you as he holds up the box and you shake your head. “no, why would she be with me?” you look at the eldest son of the cloudkids and he gives you a knowing look. You and Lin have been dating for a couple months and so far Bumi has been the only one catching on. As far as you knew Bumi was the only one…. The island sure loves to talk even if they are all about peace and quiet. It gets really noisy with the gossip. You sigh as you rub the back of your neck

“Actually no, she had to work tonight. You know because crime spikes up in the holidays.” you stress, and he rolls his eyes “hey I got this. It’s not my first time dealing with these beauties.” He smirks as he walks over and helps Meelo set up with the help of a few acolytes.

*

Lin has never really given an ounce of care for the new year celebrations. If anything it gave her more work and paperwork since it seems there are always crimes. Busted windows, drunken fights, disturbance calls, noise complaints, just to name a few. But this was the first new year since Tenzin that she was going to have someone, you. A part of her felt bad that she had to work, but duty came first. You of all people understood and for that she was grateful. You had told her that you were going to spend the evening alone, but Lin suggested to head over to the island with the airbending family instead. Once the shift was over Lin would head over, but the both of you knew that Lin would return in the wee hours of the night, after the festivities would be over.

Lin sighed as she glanced down at the paperwork in front of her and got back to work as her officers answered calls.

*

After a couple of hours playing with the kids you told them to run off and let them give you a chance to get something to drink. Kya walks up beside you as you sip some water and gives you a smile. “Fancy seeing you here. Actually I’m glad you’re here. No one should be alone for the new year.”

You gave her a soft smile and nod “yeah, I suppose that is true. I’m glad too. I love the family as if they were my own.”

“I’m sure everyone loves you too. Sad Lin couldn’t make it through.” She sighed as she folded her arms, and you looked a way for a second as you nod. “yeah, you know Lin. Always working to keep the city safe.”

“yeah, but I’m sure the city won’t crash and burn one night.” Kya huffs and you softly laugh “that may be true, but who are we to stop the chief from doing her duty”

A snicker is heard from behind the both of you and Kya rolls her eyes “really Bumi, how old are you exactly? You still snicker over that word”

You smile watching the banter back and forth from the two siblings. You slip past them as Bumi gets defensive at how funny the word sounds.

Stepping outside and feeling the cool breeze as some citizens couldn’t contain their excitement and started already setting off their own personal fireworks.

No one should be alone for the new year.

Kya’s words repeated into your mind and you glanced back at the temples. She does have a point, but who were you to just step into headquarters at this time of night. There is just two hours until midnight.

*

“you know as much as we love having here. I’m sure there is a certain chief of police that will love to be brought into the new year.” Bumi sits beside you at the wooden gazebo as you look out towards Yue bay and you playfully scoff “is this your way of kicking me off the island? And only with an hour left of the year”

“No, but what Kya said had some truth. No one should be alone during new year’s” he smiles softly as he nudges you before standing up. You look at him puzzled before looking back towards the direction of where headquarters would be before looking back at the eldest brother. “Go, I’ll come up with some excuse to give the family.” He nudges you before you finally give him a smile and stand up. Lifting your sleeve up you look at your watch and see you have less than an hour to head over. “Traffic is bad. I’m not sure I’ll make it” you mutter as you purse your lips. “well you better get going. Isn’t that why you have your motorcycle to begin with?” he smirks, and you return the smile. Giving him a hug “happy new year, Bumi” he returns the gesture, and you climb over the railing and earthbend down the island.

*

Lin looked over at her clock on her desk, 11:40 P.M., she groaned as she pinched the bridge of her nose. There would be no use to call the island, all the lines are busy with everyone else trying to call their loved ones. It’s just a day, tomorrow everything will be back to normal, surely you did understand and aren’t feeling out of sorts.

*

You were revving your bike weaving and bobbing through other cars and vehicles that were trying to do the same that you were going. Trying to get to your loved ones to wish them a happy new year. You almost collided into a guy balancing boxes of baked goods on the sidewalk when you swerved past a satomobile. You yelled out your apologies while he yelled out exploitative at you. Looking ahead at the road with the cold wind blasting in your face causing your cheeks to turn a rosy pink. Glancing down at your watch, 11:50 pm, “I can make it. HQ is right down the road.” You mutter under your breath as you revved and sped quicker.

*

A knock on the door brings Lin back to the present as she files a report in her cabinet, “Better be important” she calls out as she metalbends the door open. “Hey chief, with five minutes left to the new year I was wondering if you want to celebrate in the bullpen” Officer Zan talked to the Chief. Lin looked over and indeed the clock had just turned 11:56 P.M. since the question. “thank you for the offer, but I have work that needs to get done.”

“of course, Happy New Year, Chief” the officer bowed

“Happy New Year, Zan” Lin nodded at the officer and he closed the door.

“just 3 minutes until the sky is bright and the noises” Lin muttered as she looks into her cabinet for her stashed bottle of sake.

*

“10!”

You jump off your cycle at the front of the building as you start to sprint inside the building.

9

Running past the front desk as the secretaries were watching the television watching the broadcast. You hear the muffled counting.

8

You run up the stairs as you reach the top floor towards the bullpen. You’ve come here once or twice to visit Mako and in turn was a way to see Lin. Which was how you met the chief and got introduced to her, the start of that relationship. A smile appears on your lips as you think back to that moment.

7

No, this is not the time.

6

You push past the door and look around trying to remember if it was a left of right to the bullpen. You close your eyes as you try to visualize the floor plan. “Crap, ok focus…. Once you go up the stairs you make a….. right” you look in that direction and hurried over.

5

“followed by a left” you voice out the directions and then the first door to the right will open into the bullpen. Sure enough the bullpen comes into view

“Hey, you’re Mako’s cousin right? He’s not here” Tan looks at you as the guys are all holding cups to cheer in the year.

4

“I’m not here for Mako, is the Chief in? I need to report something” you urged to the officer and he shakes his head “She doesn’t want to be disturbed”

3

“It’s fine. She knows me” you brushed him off and l remembered where her office is, but Tan stands in front of you. “She’s busy” you glare at him and push past him

2

“Stop!” Tan shouts out as you grab the handle and open the door to Lin’s office.

Lin looks up and her eyes widen when she sees you and then looks at Tan “What is the meaning of this?!”

1

“Happy New Year!!!” the cheers coming from the bullpen as the three of you are looking at each other. “I’m sorry Chief, I tried to stop them” Tan quickly explains and Lin raises her hand up to stop him “It’s fine. You’re dismissed Tan, enjoy the festivities in the bullpen.”

“yes, Chief” Tan bows and he gives you a look before walking out as you closed the door behind you.

“What are you doing here, y/n?” Lin stands up and walks around her desk as she looks at you. Her voice laced with a slight anger that you caused a commotion at her place of work and surprise.

“Happy New Year to you too” you smile as you stepped closer to the metalbender.

“Still haven’t answered my question” she smirked as she leaned against the desk folding her arms.

“No one should be alone on New Year’s, Lin” you spoke softly to her as you stepped right in front of her. “if you couldn’t be with me where I was, then I figured I should come to you.” you gave her a smile as you looked into her eyes.

“it’s just like any other day, y/n” Lin muttered as she looked away to hide her slight blush.

“That maybe but I wanted to start the year with someone I love” you smiled more as Lin’s eyes widened slightly before looking over at you.

“what?”

“I love you Lin Beifong.” You confessed, looking right at those pale green eyes that you love to lose yourself in. A blush appears on your cheeks as you turn your eyes away from the slight embarrassment.

“Do you really mean it?” Lin looked up at you, this isn’t the first time you’ve dropped the word, but it still surprised her that someone would come to express it towards her. She didn’t think she would be able to find someone else to share those emotions with. She looked almost hopeful that you wouldn’t have doubts or regrets from saying it, doubts about you not really loving her. It all vanished instantly when you looked back at her and smiled. The love of your face is evident to anyone who looked at you.

“Of course, I do.”

Lin heard the fireworks setting off in the background followed by the cheers. You and Lin missed the countdown, but the most prominent sound that was going off was her own heartbeat. She was glad that you didn’t develop the skill to have seismic sense or else she was done for.

“Isn’t there some sort of tradition between couples?” you smirked as you stepped closer resting your hands on either side of Lin’s waist.

“I’m not sure I know what you mean” Lin breathed out as you looked at each other’s eyes. 

“well the tradition is to kiss the one you love. Since here you are”

“Here I am” Lin smiles as your eyes glancing down at her lips. Your head came down to meet hers, and you kissed her.

The kiss started off slow and sweet. A slight uncertainty at first, each unsure about how far either one could go, but it slowly became more and more confident. Lin wrapped her hands around your neck as your arms made their way around her waist, and you pulled her even closer to you than Lin thought possible. Lin felt herself relax against you; she has never felt anything more... Right. You opened your mouth, hoping to deepen the kiss which Lin responded eagerly.

After a couple of moments, Lin reluctantly broke off the kiss, to get some air. Both of your faces flushed as you rested your forehead against hers. Slowly opening your eyes and looking into each other's eyes, each with a smile imprinting on each other’s faces. You brushed your hands down and held her hands into yours as you stepped back. Lin’s brow raised wondering what you were doing, and you smiled as you tugged her towards the window.  

You spun her around once and Lin let out an amused laugh before you pulled her close to your embrace. Wrapping your arms around her waist as her back is pressed against your chest. A soft kiss on her neck as Lin’s face is illuminated by the bright lights of the fireworks. The other of you stand there a moment to enjoy the quiet moment and the sound of the city celebrating the new year.

"y/n," Lin muttered against you as she looked out in front of her.

"Yes, dear?" you muttered back, rubbing her waist as the both of you slightly sway side to side.

"Happy New Year," she looks over her shoulder to look at you watching you smile. How she loves your smile, it causes her to turn to face you as you cup her cheek.

“Happy New Year, my love” you whisper as you smile lovingly at your beloved. Lin pulls you into another kiss; and Lin knew at that moment, that if this year was even half as good as it was at this moment... then It was going to be a very good year.

[dietraumerei]

Femslash February 10: Fast

AO3 Collection | Thank you to @ineffable-wives-central for the prompt list!

In which Aziraphale tries to go fast, in her own way. And in which Crowley is the most obnoxiously lovable cheerleader in the world.

Part of my Bike Girls series. A human AU, in which they are Disaster Lesbians who love each other very, very much and are complete disasters. Rated G.

cw: offscreen character injury

“You go too fast for me, Crowley!” Aziraphale called, pedalling as hard as she could.

Crowley slowed up immediately, dropping back so that she and Aziraphale could ride side-by-side. “Shit, I'm sorry.”

“It's fine,” Aziraphale puffed. “Sorry about your fat bird of a girlfriend.”

“Oi. Stop. Pull over here,” Crowley said immediately, and she looked...not mad, not exactly. Not like Gabrielle used to look. But upset.

They turned into the entrance to a farm, a little gravel inlet, and Crowley took her helmet off, still straddling her bike, and hung it on a handlebar before holding her arms out. “C'mere. I love you. Yeah, well, I'm sweaty and gross too, we have that in common. Angel, love. Don't...you never, ever have to apologise to me. I love your body, and I love your you.”

“Um, sorry,” Aziraphale said, wishing desperately that being held in Crowley's wiry arms wasn't unbelievably comforting. “I don't...know why I say those things.”

“Because you've been trained to say them, is my guess.” Crowley rubbed her back. “Listen to me, you never apologise for being mine. I cannot believe I get a gift like you. This is really important to me, okay? You being able to cycle fast isn't important. Not even a little bit.” She smiled and drew back, and kissed Aziraphale. “Also, being quite frank, it's that antique of a bike that's slowing you down,” she teased.

“I love my bike!”

Crowley laughed. “So do I – what else would I be able to tease you about so much?”

Aziraphale blinked at her. “Have you...met me? No, I mean, of course you won't tease me about serious stuff, I know that. But my deep and abiding love for Antiques Roadshow is fair game.”

Crowley laughed even harder. “Yeah, but the bike is an easy one. Not that I don't love it too – I adore this sturdy old thing, it brought us together.”

“Technically, a poorly-maintained road did,” Aziraphale said, just to be a shit, and she got a kiss for it. “I take my earlier words back, but also can you go a little slower, please?”

“Of course. I'm sorry, dove. You set the pace from here on,” Crowley promised.

Aziraphale smiled shyly. “And when we get back – can we talk about buying me a lighter bike? I won't give this one up, but it might nice to...to try something else.”

“All that and I get to be a gearhead? Yes, please!” Crowley laughed and kissed her one more time. “I love you. Wrist okay?”

“Crowley, it's been six months!” Aziraphale was giggling though, as they set off – and she set the pace. “Of course it's fine. Your foot all right?” she teased, and Crowley grinned.

“Fair enough.” She patted Aziraphale on the back as they returned to tackling the hill, and then enjoying the descent on the other side.

One Year Later

It had been the best surprise. Okay, it wasn't much of a race, but it was, technically, a race and Aziraphale had entered without telling her girlfriend until she realised she both needed to start training and also kind of needed a ride to the starting line.

In hindsight, she should have never told Crowley, for Crowley was literally the most obnoxious supporter ever in the history of all time. She cooked special meals and gave Aziraphale massages and went on training rides and cheered and bought swag and was basically operating at a level that would make a Le Tour cyclist blush, let alone a middle-aged woman who was doing the riding equivalent of a turkey trot 5k. She was sort of glad she'd decided this would be her first and last race; Crowley was adorable but also deeply, deeply embarrassing.

Still, it was the day of the race and Aziraphale was as ready as she could be, finally getting away from her girlfriend (who would be cheering from the sidelines in what was admittedly a rather cute little cheerleader fancy dress outfit because of course) to find her place on the starting...well, corral. She nodded hello to a few women she knew from group rides, and tried not to be too nervous. It was for fun; she wasn't planning to win anything, just to prove she could do it. She was on her new, lighter bike, and she could get pretty fast on it...

They'd studied the route beforehand and even cycled it once or twice, so Aziraphale knew exactly what was coming, where the hills were, where the flats and the turns and things were. She was...fine. Not the fastest, but not the slowest, and she was happy in the middle of the pack, doing quite well, she thought, for her age and fitness. She was proud, that was it. She was proud of herself!

Besides, she could always make up time at the end – the race ended with a long descent to the finishing line, and she was good at those, tucking herself down and going. Aziraphale never loved fast descents, but she'd promised herself she would do everything right this time, while promising Crowley that of course she'd be careful and safe and all that.

Just once, just the once – she wanted to go fast for her girl.

Everything was just as she'd planned as she started the descent, tucking low and careful of her spot in the pack, picking up speed now, everyone ready for the end – and she saw the woman in front of her go down, far too fast to stop, and had only enough time to think bugger.

One day later

“She's pretty banged up,” Crowley said. “But she'll be fine. The break in her wrist is really clean, no surgery or anything. Same for the one in her foot. And she just needed a few stitches.”

“Oof. Same wrist as last time?” Newt asked sympathetically.

“Nope, other one,” Crowley said. “Actually, I'd better get four croissants, she really loves 'em. But yeah, it wasn't fun for anyone. My disaster girl, she's the only one with fractures.”

“Oh no, unlucky,” Newt said. “Poor lass. Anathema said if I saw you to make sure she knows she can take as much time off from work as she needs?”

“Promise,” Crowley said. “I'm making her rest. I'm so proud of her,” she gloated. “She was going so fast, I really think she'd've won it, although she swears I'm mad to say such things. But you should've seen her! Really, really impressive cycling.”

“I'm sorry I missed it,” New said, and added an extra cake when Crowley was getting her wallet and not looking. “Right, there's your pastries, a large coffee and a large honey lavender latte with whip cream.”

“Bless you,” Crowley said, paying and collecting her booty for the short walk to Aziraphale's flat, where her girlfriend had better be resting in bed and ready for treats. If not, at least Crowley knew where the fuzzy restraints were.

[reallifewriterwrites]

DAY 5: First times

First time worrying

"I almost got it!"

Brock, Pikachu and Misty all looked on worried when Ash was climbing a high tree to grab pokeball he accidentally somehow threw up there.

"Ash, get down!" Brock yelled. "I can use Onyx to grab it! Don't do it!"

"Don't! I got this!" Ash yelled.

Misty furrowed her eyebrows. This idiot boy...he was going to get himself...hurt.

Ash grabbed the pokeball, but his foot slipped.

They all gasped as Ash fell down from the tree. He fell from meters high into a bush.

"Ash!" Misty and Brock yelled and they ran towards him to see if he was okay.

"Are you hurt?" Brock helped him up.

"N-nah..." Ash looked at the pokeball in his hand. "I got charizard...plus, the bush broke my fall!"

"You idiot!" Misty suddenly screamed.

"What?" Ash said.

"You were almost dead! Don't you know how worried I was..."

"You were worried?" Ash quirked his eyebrow. "And here I thought you hated me."

"Just...shut up!"

Misty turned around and stomped away. Ash tilted his head.

What was her problem?

_______________________________________________________________________

First time holding hands

Misty was nervous. And she normally wasn't.

But today was their first date. She and Ash had finally confessed to each other and today the teen both had some free time and decided to spend the day together.

They went to the amusement park. There they went on different rides and had fun like friends would...but now they weren't supposed to be friends anymore. According to Misty's research from the girl magazine, Ash should be head over heels by now.

And she had tried everything according to the rules. She tried to crack some jokes, which Ash found funny, fluttered with her eyes, which he didn't notice and tried to get him on one of the more romantic rides, which he refused.

They sat down on a bench after going on a rollercoaster.

Misty glanced down at his hand. Now she had to grab his hand as her last resort. If that didn't work, then it would all be in vain.

"I'm done..." Ash sighed. "Really, Mist, are there even any rides left?"

He saw how Misty was staring at his hand in a daze.

"Misty?"

Misty looked at him and smiled a little.

"Ah, right! Sorry, what were you saying?"

"I was...are you okay?"

Misty nodded. "Yeah, sorry for dozing off."

"No problem."

Ash grabbed her hand. Misty gasped and a blush covered her cheeks. She looked at Ash who blushed as well.

"Is there any ride you want to go on again?" He asked, acting as if this was the most normal thing for him to do.

"No...how about we go grab something to eat? Or...maybe you can let go of my hand?"

Ash blinked and stared at her. "You don't like it?"

"No...it's..." Misty gave his hand a squeeze. "...just that I like it a bit too much. Plus, this is so unlike you!"

"What?! I can be romantic!"

"Really?" Misty rolled her eyes. "Because I have been giving you signals the entire time!"

"So that's why you were being weird."

"Weird?"

"Yeah." Ash said. "Besides the good jokes, you were smiling and blinking really weird. I was about to take you to a hospital."

"Then...why did you grab my hand?" Misty asked.

"I might have read it somewhere. Plus, I like you, so I'm allowed to hold your hand!"

Misty laughed. "Of course!"

Ash laughed too. "Good! Then, let's eat!"

"Is that all you can think about?"

"Not only."

Ash blushed and looked at her with a loving gaze. A gaze that told Misty that everything was going to be fine with their relationship.

_______________________________________________________________________

First time for 'it'

(A little bit nsfw, if you're uncomfortable, just skip this part)

Their lips crashed against each other. They fell down onto the mattress with a loud thud.

Misty moaned as Ash kissed her neck. After a few years of dating she was finally ready. Yes, she was already 19 and she would have wanted to do it earlier, but there was never a right time. Plus, Ash was gone for at least a year, traveling again.

"Misty..." Ash breathed out. His hand moved down and Misty moaned a little again.

"Ash..." She whispered. "You know that this is my first time..."

Ash stopped kissing her neck. He looked at her with a grin. Misty felt her heart explode from the way he always smiled at her. Ash put his hand against her and gently rubbed it.

"Don't worry. It's my first time too."

First time proposing

"Will you marry me?"

It was a cold and stormy night. After a day at the beach, Ash and Misty went back home when it started to rain. However, they managed to get lost and had to take shelter in a nearby cave.

"Excuse me?" Misty said. It was as if she just heard Ash ask if she wanted to marry him.

Ash pulled something out of his bag. It was a small wooden box. He opened it up to reveal a bright, shining ring.

He went down on one knee and said, this time more loudly; "Will you marry me, Misty Waterflower?"

"Ash..."

"I wanted to do it on the beach, but the weather kinda ruined it for me."

"Does it matter? Even if you asked me at the end of the world, you should know my answer."

Ash stood up. "And that is...?"

"Yes. A thousand times, yes."

"Really?! Yes!"

Ash grabbed her waist and twirled her around. Misty laughed.

They kissed and kissed and stopped when Ash reminded himself that he had to put the ring on her finger.

And that's how they got engaged in a cave. Unlike most people.

_______________________________________________________________________

First time pregnant

Misty groaned.

She had a beergut. That was it. Her once toned body now had a huge gut. And all because her husband couldn't keep it in his pants.

Okay, it wasn't his fault.

But, did she want children?!

Yes.

Okay, but...

"Misty!"

Ash walked into the living room. He was holding two bags from the snackbar. His hair was a mess and with the new beard he looked a bit older than he was.

Misty looked away from the tv. She sat up from the couch and rubbed her back.

"With extra fries?" Misty asked Ash.

Ash nodded. "Yep. Just like you asked. Oh and I made sure to ask the neighbours to keep the noise down, I got Casey to help out at the gym, cleaned the pools, took Gyarados out to the lake where he had his fun and I updated your computer! Oh and..."

Misty gave him a sudden, but sweet kiss.

She pulled away with a blush on her face. "Where would I be without you?"

"Single."

"Oh ha-ha." Misty rolled her eyes. "But really...thank you. I love you."

"I love you too."

_______________________________________________________________________

First time falling in love

"Oh! Oh! Hey, I got a bite! Oh, wow, I really think this could really be a big one!"

It was a nice day. Misty Waterflower had just embarked on her adventure to become a water pokemon master! She was going to show her sister that she was talented too!

She was out fishing. At first nothing much happened, as it was very lonely and quiet, but suddenly she got something. So she pulled her line back, hoping to catch something big. But instead it was a boy and his Pikachu.

"Nah, it's just a kid. Oh and a Pokémon. Oh, are you ok?"

Misty jumped down and looked at the pokemon in the boy's arms. It looked badly injured.

"Yeah, I'm ok." The boy said.

"Not you!"

Misty gave him a slap. The boy wanted to respond, but before he could complain Misty talked further.

"Look what you done to that poor little thing. Is it breathing?"

The boy nodded slowly. "I, I... I think so."

Misty looked at the boy. He had raven black hair and brown eyes. He seemed genuinely worried for his Pikachu. Maybe he was a good guy after all...but was what it that Daisy always said? Good guys finish last or something?

Whatever.

Misty sighed and said: "Well, just dont sit there, it need a doctor right away. There's a medical center not to far from here. You've got to get moving now!"

"You mean a hospital?"

Misty rolled her eyes. "Yes, for Pokémon."

"Ok, can you tell me, which way do I go?"

Misty pointed down the bike road. She knew the nearest center because one day ago she had just cycled past it on her brand new bike.

"That way." Misty said.

The boy suddenly looked over his shoulder and back. His eyes were frantic.

"They're coming back! Run!"

They?

Misty wanted to ask him, but the boy ran to her bike, put his Pikachu in the bike's basket and jumped on.

"Hey, what are you doing?" Misty yelled.

"I'm borrowing this!"

"Wait, hey, that's my bike!"

The boy looked over his shoulder as he started to cycle away and yelled: "I'll give it back someday!"

Misty planted her hands on her hips.

"Oh you..."

She smiled a little. She didn't knew why, but her heart was pounding a bit faster than usual. That boy was a whole lot different than the boys from her old school. He was quick thinking and a lot more arrogant.

Maybe this journey wouldn't be so lonely.

[chaoslaura]

Tchaikovsky or Led Zeppelin (or both?)

Ballet!Reggie Fluff with his friends

Warnings: None

Word count: 2,693

„Hand on the bar, chin up, shoulders down, stomach in, looking straight ahead. Don’t forget to straighten your inner leg at all times, most important before you go into relevé. Toni, leave you heel flat on the floor. What kind of arm movement is that supposed to display, Marcus?” Mrs. Petrow gave a few tututut noises while going around the room, inspecting every student, attentive for every minimalistic mistake.

‘The arm is not round enough, point the foot more, pay attention to where the little toe points, the gaze follows the arm.’ Every little detail was observed by Mrs. Petrow and nothing escaped her even with twenty students scattered around the room. She found something to complain about with everyone, like every lesson, every week, for years. You get the notion. When she reached Reggie, she merely put her index finger under his chin und lifted it up a bit, otherwise saying nothing and Reggie felt proud he didn’t make a mistake for once. Rare occurrence.

Clapping her hands once, the dance teacher signalled the end of the exercise “You all have to focus more, the performance must be perfect, but in the current state you’re all in I would never let you on stage.” Mrs. Petrow was as kind as always, never holding back with her dissatisfaction, Reggie sighed.

“Now to the grand battement jeté, hurry up. And one and two and three.” With every jeté she clapped her hands in sync with the piano music. Reggie loathed this exercise, his leg wouldn’t comply with going higher, no matter how often Reggie trained, and he knew his teacher wasn’t satisfied either.

After their exercises on the bar they would go over to routines in the middle of the room, alone or pairing up with the girls. Pirouettes were Reggie’s passion. He could spin and turn around the room and would never stop when his head wouldn’t complain at one point, getting dizzy and his vision turning with the room. But there was something so deeply connecting him with the music, how his body would sway with the rhythm, letting it fill his mind. He could follow the moves with his eyes closed, concentrating on every little muscle, the emotions flowing through him to the tips of his fingers.

But today they would train for their performance in pas de deux and Reggie looked out for his partner Toni. She came over with a smile on her lips, ready to gossip about their teacher when she wasn’t looking. It was their favourite activity to pass the time and a way to get rid of the stress. Mrs. Petrow would be lecturing them for their giggling in no time. Too much fun wasn’t allowed withing these walls. It was a tragic story and their faces had to portray that too, each little smile was out of place.

But with Toni he didn’t mind. She was as goofy as him outside of practice and they had gotten along really good since the beginning when he started dancing at age 7 and she was 8. Now he was 17 and still going.

For their teacher’s sake both of them pushed their jokes to the back of their minds and got to their start position. Reggie always loved how the men were playing an essential part as a supporting role for the women and weren’t in the spotlight for once unless they had a solo, but they could never reach the level of gracefulness female ballet dancers achieved.

So, he picked Toni up with his hands on her waist and lifted her up, her legs straight while she moved her arms around in a precise manner. Letting her down again he twirled her once before she got into an attitude. When she was on her point shoes, she protruded him just two inches, but she never stopped teasing him about it since he hit his last growth spurt and would never catch up with her again. (Him and Luke had gotten in enough fights over their heights he didn’t need another person teasing him about it.)

When they were finally allowed to leave, his white shirt clung to his skin, sweat running down his back. His muscles were tired and riding his bicycle seemed like an impossible task. His body was all mushy from the stretches but at least he had a pause for two days before the cycle began again.

Changing into his street clothes and packing his shirt, tights, and ballet slippers into his bag, he met with Toni at the entrance again, they were always waiting for each other for a quick chat.

“You feel like grabbing a bite? Training put a hole in my stomach, I was afraid Mrs. Petrow would hear it grumbling and scold me for it, for making the act unbelievable.” Toni asked him, her own bag slung over her shoulder.

Reggie shook his head, regretting his last minute made plans. “Well, I would love to, but I also have practice with the band in a minute. No time, sorry.”

Toni gave him a bewildered look. “Now? After training? Sometimes I wonder how you fit everything under your hat. Must be a pretty big one. No wonder you like cowboy hats.” As everyone else of his friends Toni picked up his passion for Country pretty early but never made fun of him because of that. Might be another reason why he liked her so much.

“There should really be a cowboy themed ballet. Imagine a magical story between a cowboy and his beloved horse, going on an adventure together, maybe meeting a woman along the way but in the end he realizes that his one true love is his freedom and his horse.”

Toni let out a loud laugh, holding her stomach and laid a hand on Reggie’s shoulder, squeezing it shortly. She was clearly amused. “You watched Brokeback Mountain one too many times I would say.”

Reggie gave a scandalized look. “I said freedom not men. Don’t read between the lines where there is nothing to be found.” He scoffed once again but he knew Toni was just making fun of him.

Taking her hand back from his shoulder, she instead pulled him into a hug as a goodbye. “Well then, have fun tonight, say hello to the boys and Julie for me, haven’t seen them in a while.”

Reggie put his arms around Toni’s waist and gave a last squeeze before letting loose. “I’ll bring them to the premier if they want to or not. They’re in debt after the accident at the pier and I will use this favour to drag them to the show.”

“Can’t wait. Bye Reg, I really have to go now or my stomach will eat itself.” As on cue a grumbling was heard, and Toni clutched at her tummy before continuing in a dramatic voice “See, it’s too late. I will die a horrible death, tell Alex that I always appreciated his advices, and Bobby’s dating tips, Julie is just amazing and has great style, and most importantly tell Luke he’s a dumbass.”

Reggie chuckled at the last comment. “Will do, but what’s with me? Don’t say I wasn’t important enough to get a last goodbye. I never let you fall when I held you, you should appreciate that” A pout decorated Reggie’s face and he was ready to sulk at such injustice.

“Oh thanks Reggie, really. Thank you for not harming me, the bare minimum. You won’t get a thanks for that and now go before your boys start searching for you.”

“Alright, kiss a meatball sub for me. “ With a last wave Reggie turned around and walked in the opposite direction, he wasn’t entirely sure if he locked his bike over there, or maybe around the corner? Oh thank god, there it was, he was in no condition to walk to their studio or how Alex would call it ‘a rundown garage at best’.

The wind that passed him as he paddled down the road, cooled down his flushed skin, and left him feeling more alive than half an hour ago. The lights at the garage were already on when Reggie turned into the driveway, leaning his bike against the wall and grabbing his bag. Luckily for him his bass had found a permanent residency at the studio, the thought of having to drag it around too, no thanks, his arm muscles were aching enough.

He opened the creaking door to reveal his four bandmates standing around the room, doing various things. Luke looked up from his notebook, what else would he be doing.

“Toni said I should tell you you’re a dumbass Luke.” Reggie said as a greeting and slumped down on the couch, feeling the soft material and sighed at how comfortable it was.

Luke sputtered and gave him a confused and questioning look, coming over and joining him on the couch, instantly crossing his arms and started pouting. “What did I do?”

Luke seemed really upset and Reggie felt sorry for saying it like that. “Luke, it was a joke! You know how Toni is, we were just joking around.”

Luke had gone from sad back to upbeat in a second and stood up again to retrieve his notebook, a pencil was still clamped behind his ear. “Oh good, and I thought I forgot something I did.”

“Wouldn’t be the first time.” Ales smiled sweetly at Luke from where he was already seated behind his drum kit, giving a snickering Julie a bro fist, who was always in to drag Luke. It was their little game. How everyone else but them could see how much it counted as flirting was astonishing, but well, what could they do besides follow the play?

“Back to Toni. How’s it going with her?” Bobby asked then, repeatingly raising his eyebrows in a seemingly suggesting manner, a lopsided grin plastered on his face.

“What do you mean?” Reggie was seriously confused at that question. “She’s fine if that is what you wanted to know.”

Alex groaned in the background. There was oblivious Reggie again, how they knew and loved him. Luke sprung in, helping Bobby out. “What Bobby wanted to know is if you finally made a move on Toni. You know, like asking her out on a date?”

Reggie’s mouth popped open. He had never been thinking about going on a date with Toni, not even considering it. That concept was weird, they were just really good friends. “Why would I ask her out? She’s just a friend.” He said so.

Julie put the mic she had been holding until now into the stand and turned to Reggie. “First of all, you know each other for 10 years. Second, you two have the same personality and interests, you two fit so good together. When she’s around, your happiness is bouncing off the balls, much like Luke after a gig. And to wrap it up, she looks gorgeous, you love her style, you said so yourself.” Great, now Julie had conspired against him too.

Reggie raised an eyebrow, was that it? “And? We all share interests, we’re in a band together, and Luke and I have known each other since we’re 10 and I can say with confidence that you all look good, but have I asked any of you out yet? No. So why would I do that with Toni?”

“I’m honoured for being called good-looking.” Alex said. “But Reggie, if you don’t want to you don’t have to ask Toni out. We just thought you two really liked each other, we thought it was obvious, sorry.” Reggie couldn’t stay mad long at Alex; he was just too sweet. He sighed, stood up from the couch and doubled over, stretching his knees. It was never a good idea to sit down after training.

“I will never get over how flexible you are.” Reggie looked up and saw Bobby staring at him with amazement.

Reggie grinned at the hidden compliment. “If you wouldn’t skip PE all the time, you might get there one day.”

Julie hollered, satisfied with where this was going. “Yes, call him out for what he is, a lazy pazy, abandoning us in gym hell.”

Luke meanwhile stopped scribbling in his book again and gave an annoyed expression. “Guys, we said no school talk during band time.” There was nothing new with Luke’s hate of school. For him it was just another distraction in his music career, another way to waste precious song writing time.

Reggie stretched his arms a last time, rolling his shoulder blades, and made a beeline for his bass. He loved practice time with his friends, but he was ready for this day to be over, but hoped it wasn’t too obvious. Not that his friends got the impression he didn’t like spending time with them. Luke picked up on his exhaustion though.

“Why you seem so tired today? You look like you’re done with the day and it’s only 8.”

Reggie wasn’t sure if that was a serious question and needed a second. “You can try giving your everything in ballet with Mrs. Petrow for two and a half hours and see how fresh you’re looking afterwards.”

Luke’s eyes got soft again. “Sorry, didn’t know you had practice beforehand.” He apologized and then as another thought crossed his mind “- Wait, didn’t you were at practice two days ago?”

“I have practice on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. It has always been like this before a performance.” How could Luke had never catch up on that?

“What?? You’re training three days a week on top of schoolwork and band practice almost every day a week?” Bobby let out like it was implausible, showing the same baffled look as Luke.

Reggie was looking between the two. “Yeah?” He wasn’t sure what they wanted him to say.

All four seemed impressed at that and Alex sympathetic smile greeted him when Reggie looked his way. “When you’re tired, we can call it off for today and just watch a movie or something.” He proposed and everyone else agreed, even Luke, who pushed them the hardest.

Reggie was quick to jump on that opportunity and before someone else could chime in with ideas he picked up a DVD from his Star Wars collection, hearing a collective groaning behind him, but he didn’t care. It was his feel-good escape.

Bobby tousled his hair when he walked past him where the TV sat and laughed at Reggie’s disgruntled look. “You don’t look as threatening as you want, you’re just too cute.” Fantastic, just what he liked to hear. Pulling his hair back again that had fallen in his face from Bobby’s action, Alex called out to him.

“Hey Reg, do a pair of spins to the TV.”

Reggie didn’t need to be told twice before he started turning to where he wanted to go, fixating a point on the wall, his leg going into a passé on every turn. Landing in perfect position in front of the older telly, he gave his audience one bow and got applause in return, eliciting a smile from him.

When they were all seated on a pile of cushions and surrounded with blankets, a cuddling mess on the floor, Reggie remembered what he wanted to ask them. “Hey, would you like to come to the premier? It’s in two weeks. It’s okay if you have plans already, it’s not as important, I wouldn’t be mad, I just wan-“

Alex hand was placed on his arm, interrupting his nervous rambling. “Of course we’ll come Reg. Right guys?” The other three were quick to agree and Reggie beamed at them.

“I’ll sit front row and whistle every time you come on stage.” Luke added. Reggie was not keen on finding out if Luke was serious and made a mental note to place Luke in the back of the venue.

When the credits scrolled down on the screen later, Reggie was already fast asleep, laying between his friends, who just pulled the blanked higher on him and tried to be as silent as possible while chatting quietly.

[fit-as-fxck]

How things are going for me this month (February):

I have 110 days until 20 weeks of training for the next marathon begins. I’d be shooting for the in-person Indy Monumental November 8th. This is what I will be striving for all summer. I hope it all pans out. A full weekend in Indy and running the race would be hella fun and I’d probably be so happy I’d cry across the finish line. I want it so bad. We’ll see. A girl can dream of long distances and staying injury free. I’m focusing on getting really really strong and managing my diet right now. The weather has been terrible which makes running outside awful (it’s not the cold, it’s the fact that nothing has been plowed and I can’t get footing in 12 inches of snow and ice and I haven’t been able to run in it consistently). I would say i’m running a couple to a few times a week - just short runs and topping out at 5 miles. I’ve been on the bike as I don’t want to lose all cardio conditioning but my focus is on getting strong strong strong (even if I have to lose some cardio) so my body can withstand those long distances longterm. I even started taking creatine and I’m feeling the extra water in my muscles and the added strength benefits. My diet has been high fat, high protein and low carb. My coworkers have not been supportive in my efforts.. Weird. Even my biggest fan and most supportive friend, who happens to be a 54 year old man on his own health journey, is constantly trying to convince me to break my diet decisions with the argument that I’ll just “burn it all off” and “girl, eat a carb, you probably need it” “just have some cheesecake” Food is all around my workplace. Burning it off isn’t really my goal though. Doesn’t that just continue the cycle of being a glycogen burner instead of a fat burner? It just goes to show you need to listen to yourself and yeah, I am trying something different and don’t know how it will play out but as long as I eat enough to fuel, I don’t think it will hurt me much. The peer pressure is real though. So real. Even from well intentioned coworkers. I might be wrong but there’s only one way to find out when you try something different. The carb depletion has felt intense at times and absolutely awful in every way, but other than that I’ve been fine and don’t carb crash anymore. Should be fine as long as I eat my macros (especially protein!!) but on the days I don’t track.. I know I’m not hitting them. I’ve always struggled with that, idk. Terrible. Getting in my own way like that. Gotta make sure to eat consistently. My goals depend on it. When I mess up, I don’t dwell on it and instead just pick up where I left off - hoping that consistency wins. Analyzing what you’re doing wrong and what is holding you back and then intentionally fixing that is hard. I struggle so much. This won’t be forever. I’ll encorporate more carbohydrates down the road when I feel ready and I’m done experimenting. I probably have a few lbs to shed anyways. I am sitting higher right now. But I am pretty proud of my pull up progress in just a few short weeks. I was able to pause during my 11th five-second-negative and pulse myself back up the other day and that made me feel pretty dang strong for a hot second. I don’t know how I’ll fair running during the heat of summer because it’s scary af (Imightdie) but I might as well shoot for the moon. I am scared of the things I want but I’m not going to let it stop me because that sounds worse than wanting it. Might as well start gradually incorporating more easy base running and find a way to work it in alongside my strength work and recovery work 🙃 it feels like A LOT to juggle but other people can so no reason why I can’t. Anyways, I just gotta keep reminding myself to stick with it and if I stick with it long enough it’ll pay off. Persistence. Patience. Faith. I haven’t seen the inside of a gym in a year and i’m stepping back inside one tonight at 3am to get some quiet treadmill miles in and lift. Ok That’s enough talking to myself 😂 I’m going to remind myself to step into this with persistance, calm and the strength I know I have. I can do this, ok? Ok. I got me.

[amoveablejake]

Jake Reviews: Cycling

Biancha, this one is for you 

At some point this past week, I believe it was Thursday afternoon, a small piece of glass decided that its trajectory in life was to lodge itself in my rear bike tyre. In doing so, my back tyre was punctured and slowly but surely all the air that resided in it escaped back into the atmosphere and I was left pushing my beloved bicycle up the hill on my commute on Friday morning. Yes, I definitely don’t push it up the hill at any other time it was only because of the glass. Okay fine. Yes I do push it up the hill but theres a good reason for that. First of all, my bicycle Biancha, who is rather a looker, is a fixed gear bike and so the hill was never really something she would want to conquer. And even if she did, this particular hill is more of a shear cliff face so there is no way that that is going to happen anytime soon. We are getting slightly sidetracked here because the annoyance does not lie with the hill but with the piece of glass that wanted to delay my otherwise delightful cycle. Okay, another disclaimer here, it is delightful a lot more so on my cycle back. In part because I am escaping but also because its mostly down hill. And when I’m speeding downhill on my sky blue bike with its white tyres (she is called Biancha as a wink to the Bianchi bikes) all the cares in the world leave my head. But on Friday, there was no such downward cycle because of this piece of wretched glass (have we all got this now, glass, its the worst) and as such as I was being passed by cyclists and watching them disappear with such longing and envy because really cycling, its rather good. 

My love affair with cycling is one that stops and starts. When I was in sixth form I used to cycle into my local town everyday to catch a bus, even through flooding which ultimately did cause the demise of my old bike Dona. And then a couple of years passed where I was away and then I was back to cycling into town to my part time jobs when I picked up my studies at home. Following my year by the coast and the next one in the forest, now that I reside in a city again I am back on my bike and once again head over heels in love with cycling. And I should admit here that it isn’t freezing at present and maybe when the ice cold winds hit my adoration will falter slightly but I’m not too sure that it will. Just this past week I got soaked to the degree that I had to peel my clothes off and yet I was still cycling through the lashing rain with a smile across my face. Why, well as we know I love the rain but also because cycling I think truly is good for the soul. 

Now, I’m not an intense road cyclist or an off road cyclist more of a casual one who enjoys the cycles around the city at their own pace. And for me, this level of cycling is where its meant to be because at this more relaxed approach I am able to focus on my bike, the gentle sound of the pedals going round and the unfolding world around me. Its rather hard to be upset or angry on a bike and ofcourse you can be but somehow if you get on your bike feeling  a bit dishevelled you leave it feeling all the more relaxed. Cycling seems to rule Denmark and other Scandinavian countries and in these countries they do often hit very high rankings on the happiest places to live scales. Now, there are many factors that go into it but without doing any actual research I believe cycling has to be one of the main contributing factors. 

Today I got my tyre fixed and I took it for a little test run. It was only outside the store and lasted a few seconds but within those brief moments the joy of being on my bike again was insurmountable. Inpart due to the relief of her being back to her best but also that we were reunited. Pushing a bicycle back is not how you want to reach your destination, not when you’ve tasted the true delight of flying through the streets. And I will admit that this is one of those pieces where I review something very obvious and something that I’m sure we’re all aware of but sometimes we need a little reminder and for today that reminder is get back on your bike, cycle away and breathe. 

-Jake, a man waiting for the Green Bay Packers to take to the arena, 12/09/2021

[sciencespies]

Meet the Western Soil Scientists Using Dirt to Make Stunning Paints

https://sciencespies.com/nature/meet-the-western-soil-scientists-using-dirt-to-make-stunning-paints/

Meet the Western Soil Scientists Using Dirt to Make Stunning Paints

SMITHSONIANMAG.COM | Jan. 26, 2021, 8 a.m.

In September, as wildfire raged in Medicine Bow National Forest, Karen Vaughn watched smoke billow in a choked-off Wyoming sky. The sun was reduced to a matte neon-pink disc behind the haze, and Vaughn worried about her research site in the burning mountains. One of her graduate students still had one more day of fieldwork to complete, and the roads would soon be closed, if they weren’t already. Vaughn’s family—her husband and two kids—were outside too, watching as a light gray layer of wind-blown ash settled onto the landscape. The ash and vivid colors sparked something in Vaughn, who continually sought new inspiration for the paint she makes. She began dashing around, scraping the sediment from every flat surface and encouraging her kids to help collect the fine powder. She decided to incorporate that ash into watercolor pigments with hues reflecting the fire, indelibly preserving the moment. The small batch of paints, distributed to friends and local artists, would be used to create depictions of the destructive forces that allowed their creation in the first place. “You’re breathing that air, even in your house, and you look outside and see that weird orange glow,” says Vaughn. “You couldn’t help but be a part of that.”

A soil scientist and a professor at the University of Wyoming, Vaughn sees a lot more soils than the average person, and certainly knows them more intimately. Over many years spent examining them, she has come to appreciate their natural beauty and immense variability. Two years ago, she began channeling that appreciation into a product she could share with the world, turning the soils she loved into watercolor pigments. Now, she and her collaborator, Yamina Pressler, a soil scientist at California Polytechnic University, use soils to make pigments and paintings, bridging the gap between science and art. By sharing both their creative processes and scientific knowledge on social media and connecting with artists, scientists and the public, they aim to make soil education entertaining.

Vaughn’s research is in pedology, which means she studies minute, subtle changes within a soil. Does the size of the grains change? Do the colors fade into each other or get cut off abruptly? What microorganisms are present at different levels in the soil? The very nature of her field, she says, is subjective. “It is an art form,” she says. “It takes a nuanced eye to really be able to see the changes within a soil.”

Her job requires her to hop in a deep hole, map out tiny changes few people notice and interpret the soil’s history. Her specialty is studying water in soils: How much is there? When is it present? How does it change the soil’s chemistry? What features does it leave behind? Her work helps us understand how soils form in unique environments, like wetlands in the otherwise arid Wyoming mountains, and how fragile soils like permafrost might respond to climate change.

To the uninitiated, the landscape of Wyoming might seem like a monotonous stretch of tan dirt. But that idea is exactly what Vauhgn is trying to change through her art. By explaining to artists and curious laypeople how the myriad hues in soils come to be and sharing them visually through both her own creative works and those by other artists, she hopes to give people the ability to see soil as more than “just dirt.”

Soils, paints and swatches from samples collected throughout Wyoming and Utah allow a glimpse at the belowground natural beauty of the western United States.

(Karen Vaughn)

“Sometimes art opens the door to people wanting to learn about science,” says Laura Guertin, a geology professor at Pennsylvania State—Brandywine. Guertin too has brought art into science, both for her classrooms and her communities, by crocheting temperature records and quilting climate change stories. “Using different perspectives to introduce a topic, like soil, can help people understand and connect with it a little more.”

Soil is often overlooked in basic geology classes, says Guertin, and understanding how it works and where it comes from is important. “Without soil, you don’t have the rest of Earth’s systems,” she says. “It’s such a fundamental material, it’s the basis of our food systems.” And society’s indifference to soil led to the Dust Bowl, one of the greatest environmental disasters in the history of the United States. “With my students, I talk about the Dust Bowl and how it was a loss of soil that triggered a chain reaction, impacting a broad cross-section of society,” says Guertin.

Vaughn began making pigments as a fun way to engage with her kids, now ages 7 and 9, and keep them away from screens. They come soil collecting with her, and occasionally help mix the pigments and paint. But the main reason she makes pigments now is to share her perspective on soils’ inherent beauty with the public. “I found all these amazing soil colors,” Vaughn says, “and I wanted to do something more with them. I wanted them to persist longer.”

She recognized that by making paints she could share science with people who lack her expert training. “Spending all that time as a pedologist looking at soil formation and thinking about how much the colors of the soil can tell us about the natural history of that area, I wanted to let people in, open their eyes a little bit,” she says.

Vaughn collects soils for pigments almost everywhere she goes, from dirt collected in a wetland study site high in the mountains to coal unearthed in her backyard. On a family road trip to Florida in a campervan, for instance, she grabbed a small bag of soil from every stop, with the intent of creating a palette that reflects that memory. One dull pandemic day, she and her kids took to their bikes on a scavenger hunt near her home for as many colors of the rainbow that they could find. It was a change of pace for Vaughn, who is normally more opportunistic than intentional in her soil collecting. She made a palette of red, brown, orange, white, yellow and purple to represent that effort. And, of course, she has the three-hue palette from the September wildfire, corners of which were still smoldering away when we spoke in November.

Because it was just a small batch, Vaughn distributed the ash-infused pigments to local artists and a few select clients to create works reflecting the wildfires. California artist Tina Pressler, Yamina’s mother, painted a patchwork American bison, the West’s once-ubiquitous megafauna, and Bethann Merkle, a Wyoming artist and science communicator, created a series of three abstract paintings of fire-wrought forest textures. The ash-infused pigments felt fluid and heavy, says Tina. “The addition of ash made it seem really tactile, in a way, and I loved it.”

Artist Tina Pressler used pigments made of ancient Wyoming soils and recent ash to paint this bison, which she says “represents a visual amalgamation of flora and fauna over time.”

(Tina Pressler)

“I’ve long had a fondness for rocks—my windowsills are piled up with them at home and at work—but [Vaughn’s] work and pigments have helped me expand that curiosity and appreciation to the soil,” says Merkle.

Before Vaughn began sharing her pigments with artists, she had to spend some time getting the day-long pigment-making process down. It took her a few tries: “My first pigments,” she says with a laugh, “were chunky and terrible. But I gave them away with a disclaimer.”

In the first step of her process, Vaughn removes the sandy portions of the soil, leaving only fine silts and clays mixed in water, which she then pours into a cookie sheet and bakes in the oven for a few hours. After all the water has evaporated, the soil appears cracked and desiccated, like a mudflat after a long summer drought. “Look, mom, it’s all wrinkly like you,” her daughter once helpfully said. Vaughn grinds the baked silt into a fine, homogenous powder. Then comes Vaughn’s most meditative step: mulling, or combining the soil with the watercolor medium— a mixture of water, gum arabic, honey and vegetable glycerin. Only then does she get a sense for what the final hue will be. “You might start with an amazing green soil that, all of a sudden, becomes this dull, greenish white. And that’s okay,” Vaughn says. “It’s always a color I’ve never made before, so I’m thrilled.”

After Vaughn bakes the pigment, cracks appear that reflect patterns seen throughout nature—such as in this ancient orange soil pigment collected in the Red Desert of Wyoming.

(Karen Vaughn)

The colors of the paint come straight from the soil’s geologic past: Bright reds and oranges mean the soils were exposed to the oxidizing effects of intense climates, long stretches of time or both. Dark browns and blacks represent rich organic matter, reflecting the cycle of life and death at the Earth’s surface. Brighter hues result from minerals with specific elements; the presence of copper lends minerals blue-green colors, sulfur creates vibrant yellows and manganese presents as faded purple. Stark whites could mean acid once trickled down through the soil from a pine copse, or that ash once settled over the landscape, like that which Vaughn collected in September.

“Everything has a story,” Guertin says. “What’s been here in the past? Where do these colors come from? Where do these materials come from that give us these colors? I love that [Vaughn is] taking the soil science and showing how you can break it down to materials, to these pigments that have cultural meaning and to painting, which people already have a familiarity with.”

Vaughn describes her soil collecting, her artistic process and the science of each soil on Instagram, where she answers questions about chemistry, location and geology. Sometimes artists send in questions about the science of pigment-making itself, but many are just interested in learning more about the natural world. Depending on how much detail people want, she’ll even send along some scientific papers in a private message. Because so many of her clients are interested in learning about the soils, Vaughn is planning to start including a “soil story” with each palette shipped out.

Vaughn’s connections with artists sometimes grow from the virtual world to working together in person. Diana Baumbach, a Wyoming artist who Vaughn collaborated with a few years ago, loved going into the field with the scientist to forage for natural materials, including soil. “I really hadn’t thought about soil or considered it as a material before,” Baumbach said. “Looking at soil profiles with [Vaughn] was totally new for me. We both pulled each other into our worlds, which I thought were quite different. In the end, it was surprising how many intersections there actually were between my work and her work.”

While Vaughn does paint with her pigments, she doesn’t typically share her work; she leaves that to the younger Pressler, for whom painting has become a public affair. Growing up with an artist mother, Pressler says, meant that art was always in the background. “But it wasn’t until I started painting soils that I began to embody being an artist as part of my identity.”

Created during a soil art live stream on Instagram, this piece by Yamina Pressler is painted on post-card paper as a reminder that the beauty of soils is meant to be shared far and wide.

(Yamina Pressler)

Pressler also connects with an interested audience through social media. She hosts live paint-along sessions in her ‘virtual soil art studio’ on Instagram, inviting participants of all backgrounds to create soil-focused art inspired by where they live. These two-hour public sessions are open to children and adults, scientists and laypeople.

Tatiana Prestininzi, who has a bachelor’s in agricultural science but never cared much for soil science, now brings her young niece and nephew to Pressler’s paint-along sessions. “It’s not only from the artistic side, but we’re also getting the educational side of things,” she says. “It’s not just the 15-to-30-somethings on Instagram, she’s got 7 and 5-year-olds learning about soil profiles… so now I can go hike around San Diego with my eight-year-old niece and have a conversation about the soils she sees. She’ll ask to paint it and send it to the ‘soil doctor.’”

Through Vaughn’s art outreach and Pressler’s educational outreach, the scientists aim to inspire in the public the feelings children have while digging in the dirt and wondering at the world around them. Vaughn’s process of finding soils for pigments has a sense of play that is really infectious, says Baumbach. And while Pressler does draw soils realistically, she’s more drawn to whimsical doodles that reflect her feelings towards soil, which she shares on her Instagram sessions, along with the science stories behind them.

Yamina Pressler’s painting “Mojave Dreaming 28” was inspired by the unexpected winter tones of the Mojave desert.

(Yamina Pressler)

Tapping into her artistic side has helped Vaughn re-imagine what college soil science classes can be. She has her students sketch frequently, and she occasionally has them paint with soils. Her collaboration with Baumbach led the pair to cross-pollinate art and science further, with Baumbach bringing her art students to Vaughn’s science labs to talk about color and Vaughn giving guest lectures in Baumbach’s art materials courses. “Really, basic things like observation and analysis are at the core of what we both do, and we’re communicating through materials and visual forms,” Baumbach says. “The students are just starting to think broadly about materials, so hearing Karen talk about soils as a raw material is really interesting for them.”

In addition to giving talks about soil science and life as a researcher at K-12 schools and museums, Pressler works directly with teachers, taking them into the field and lab so they can get firsthand experience with soils. “They can then go back to their students and talk about soils and ecology, and the process of science, from their perspective,” says Pressler. “It’s more meaningful to the students that way.”

Michelle Bartholomew, a middle- and high-school science teacher, jumped at the chance to head into the field with Pressler in Colorado and Alaska. They developed soil science classes together, did some drawing and studied soils. “That was the highlight of my time with her, working on those tundra soils,” Bartholomew says. “It’s doing science, you know? Even though we’re science teachers, we don’t get to do that. It rejuvenated me… and gave me new ways of teaching old concepts.”

Artist Bethann Merkle, who has worked with scientist Karen Vaughn for two years, used soil pigments created from a burned area to paint scenes of the charred landscape.

(Bethann Merkle)

Pressler and Vaughn also believe in the importance of being role models who break out of the compartmentalization so common in science today. “It’s about showing young people that there are lots of different ways to be a scientist,” Pressler says, “that you can be colorful and explore different parts of your curiosity and still be a scientist.”

“We used to be Renaissance people,” Vaughn says. “Now it’s, ‘You need to stay in your box so you can do well at that.’ I feel like we’ve almost made it okay to be artistic while also being a scientist.”

#Nature

[wifeykeyholder]

Sorry folks,

We are sort of doing fine, Sally had a bit of an accident.

It all started a few weeks ago, Sally had ordered a new dress from eBay. Of course it’s relatively an inexpensive dress and to say the sizing is terrible is an understatement, but never the less there was no way Sally would be able to fit in this dress and after a bit of sulking agreed that we need to do some outdoor exercise especially now our gym is closed.

Both myself and sally don’t really enjoy running outdoors but years ago we did used to cycle and even still have Sally’s bike so agreed we would get a new bike for me and start cycling again, we certainly wasn’t alone in this idea as most of the local bike shops had sold out without spending 4 figures so we placed an order on one we could collect in ten days.

Getting back from the bike shop was a little disappointing especially after Sally had spent so much time getting hers road ready again so we agreed to do some old workout dvds I had and trying to do some physical games etc.

That evening I decided to cook, trust me I really can’t cook but for what Sally was having it wasn’t really a problem. I decided to keep it simple and cook a lasagne with veggie mince, I had sally prepare a side salad and once tea was ready got out Sally dog bowl and my plate. Sally looked at the bowl and knew exactly what it meant so went and got some handcuffs whilst I served tea in her favourite way.

With her wrists cuffed behind her I guided her to the floor under the table and sat down to eat my tea, I guided my feet to her mouth so she could kiss away. I like to eat my tea slowly when doing this for a few reasons:

1) I do enjoy having my feet worshipped especially when I know Sally is super uncomfortable lying on her wrists.

2) I like to throw some of on the food and get it between my toes, to get Sally’s tongue going.

3) to let the food cool, after all can’t risk burning Sally.

4) more so Sally but she does like it when I let’s say pre chew some food for her.

After about 40 minutes or so once I had finished we starting getting Sally’s meal ready, this was mainly the last 1/4 of the lasagne and my left overs. Knowing how much she hates cider I also figured why not so drank some and spat it into her bowl. Placing the bowl on the floor I helped Sally down onto her knees and let her eat her meal, this isn’t Sally’s 1st time eating from a bowl and I know she prefers to lie straight on her chest. But with a bit of encouragement from a riding crop you can easily keep her on her shins and can be entertaining watching her at least trying to get her pointed toe stilettos in a comfortable position.

Once she was finished and I checked the bowl was empty I told her to go and stand in the corner whilst I watch my show, it’s at that point I probably did feel sorry for her standing in stilettos, lasagne and cider drying on her face and teen mom on the tv 😂

Once my show had finished I was kind enough to wash her face and unlocked her. The next morning I had her get dressed in leopard leotard with 3inch white stilettos ready for her workout, she didn’t not look impressed by this but oh well. Sally believe it or not actually has better balance than me in heels (in fairness she owns like like 15 pairs and wears a different pair almost every night), but she was certainly cautious in her move whilst working out.

We continued like this and before we knew it was finally time to pick up my bike, and after the saga of making it fit in the car we finally had it home. So Friday both us planned a nice quite cycle nothing too strenuous just mainly canal paths and local woods, we head out with plenty of water, snacks etc intending to stop off somewhere for a break.

After about 3 hours of riding we found a beautiful section just off the tow path and sat down for a break, too say it was nice was understatement after week of being stuck in the house it was pure bliss. As usual with Sally the conversation talked sexual and Sally reminded me of how when we younger we may have done it their and then. I commented saying “aww time have changed, now you have a lock and I have a key. Well my jewellery box does because it’s at home” Sally did offer but there was no was I was messing with sweaty cycling shorts if someone did approach us. But she had been good so I spooned behind her and poored water over her ear to clean off some sweat before starting to nibble and suck on her ear lobe, in between some dirty talk reminding her that maybe we should have bought my strap on.

To say we was both having a great day was an understatement on the way back home we rode through some woods sally used to ride through growing up, in there are series of jumps and of course sally being the overgrown kid she is wanted to have a go. Unsurprisingly it turns she isn’t a kid, over the fifth jump something went wrong, she didn’t fall off but did stop very quickly. It turns out she had somehow landed on her cage, the tube itself actually shattered causing several cuts whilst the ring had snapped and pushed into the bottom of the sack.

There was a fair amount of blood and I was dreading explaining what happened in A&E, sally pulled down her shorts and pulled away what was left of the ring and sat on the ground holding her testicals. But I know my Sally well so sat down next to her and said “you will do anything to get out of chastity” Sally chuckled although clearly in pain. So I asked what she wanted to do, and she wanted some time to let some pain settle down before we headed back.

It was probably about 30 minutes we sat in the woods with Sally’s shorts down holding her privates (honestly, any excuse) before heading home, once home we puts the bikes away and got Sally stripped down as we pulled down her knickers we both saw all the blood in her knickers so I commented saying wow “Sally, you’ve become a real lady. I think we will have to start having you use some pads each month” Sally chuckcled again and said please don’t me on.

In the shower I got down on my knees and cleaned up her injury’s, to be honest I expected to at least give a handjob maybe even bit a bit of a blowjob but not once did I feel even a surge of excitement, it was clear she was in pain. Over the next few days the bruises and colours that appeared was incredible and for the 1st week sally sat and even slept with her legs wide open.

It’s now been three weeks and they started to look like testicles again and Sally’s libido certainly seems to be coming back, much to my surprise she has even ordered a new chastity. Although we maybe releasing her for future rides 🙈🙈🙈