#my laundry basket was a payed actor

[quiffcorner]

[costumersupportdept]

Trust me when I say that on some union jobs you CAN'T work 100% of the time.

Where I spend most of my time in IATSE union theatrical work is in a costume shop. Generally, we can sustain a 40 hour work week and be okay, but this season they've compressed the timeline of when our shows go up so hard that we've been working more or less flat out since January, and won't really get much "breathing room" until mid to late May. (usually when a show goes up you get a couple of days or more to sort of breathe, recoup, clean all your stuff up, mentally release that show and all it's assorted nonsense and move on, but in this season, we've not only been having to work two shows at once, but swap back and forth on them, so getting the first show up only means swapping over to the Big Push on the other one.) Even so, what we do isn't Constantly Largely Physically Taxing, it's sort of Constantly Low Level Mentally Taxing with Occasional Bouts Of Great Mental Or Physical Work.

Which isn't to say that's not also difficult- many of us are at Full Decision Fatigue at this point, and I would assume that the Mental Taxation is also where writers often need a break/some assistance- you literally can't be brilliant on command 24/7 by yourself, sometimes you need a backup brain or 2.

But working backstage union wardrobe? You're standing and or running and or carrying and or lifting and or kneeling and or dealing with Other Humans for a minimum 4 hour call each day, at least 3 of those mostly in the dark. And when I say standing for that 4 hours, I mean often actually standing/moving for that entire 4 hours, depending on what show it is- I think backstage for On Your Feet I got maybe the last 5 minutes of the first act to actually perch my ass on the front edge of a wardrobe gondola and catch my breath before the Actor Whirlwind descended again IF i had all my presets lined up for the next act and all the laundry straightened out.

On Lion King, I had most of "He Lives In You" to find a place to perch in the wings, but I was also toting a series of cheetahs, wildebeests, hyenas, exotic plants, and large grass headdresses around for those other 4+ hours, not just baskets of clothes and shoes. (all this without my right ACL, but that was my own damn fool fault)

And that's just on backstage wardrobe. I've also run arena load in/outs, where you are lifting truss and holding truss and pushing boxes and uncoiling/recoiling yards and yards of electrical cable and trying to stay out of the way of things being built and flown around you while ALSO standing for upwards of 8 hours on straight concrete, and my Apple watch health rings have never been more proud of me, but it usually takes at least a full day and usually more for my body to stop going WHAT THE FUCK DID YOU DO. I have done back-to-back arena gigs, and let me tell you, that is not a sustainable thing to do. You *have* to have some time off or you're going to be a useless lump by the time you're 40. And the unions ARE AWARE OF THIS. There are often turnaround rules, there are day off rules, they are ACTIVELY TRYING to keep you from breaking or harming yourself.

The time off is so you CAN remain gainfully employed. The pay rates are so you DON'T have to break yourself constantly, you have a little breathing room.

So while Dr. Oblivious up there may think he's being EdGy by thinking that all entertainment folks are pansies and unions are useless, he's really just showing his whole ass, and I enjoy the paddling Neil Gaiman also decided to give him.

Solidarity forever, solidarity with the WGA.

Nobody is making anyone go into scriptwriting. No one is born in a Netflix company town where their dad takes them into the script mines at age 12. Fuck writers who want to get paid more than once for the same job. They should only get residuals AFTER all the people who do REAL WORK, like construction, grips, costume, makeup & animators etc. Most of them are much better at their jobs than writers especially for streaming services, and they are what screenwriters can lean on & novelists can't.

People need to realize that the unions for white collar people like WGA or SIEU or NEA (public sector unions are why cops who kill the people they were supposed to serve & protect remain employed get pensions) is not the AFL-CIO or any other historical union fighting for the lives of the people who built the country's industry and made it run, any more than the NRA are the Minutemen of 1775 New England.

First, go fuck yourself, you fucking scab. No, seriously - you don't come to my blog and spout off about what workers deserve unions and decent pay and what ones don't, like it's your fucking decision. The intellectual labor that writers perform is just as real as any other work done on a film set - "all who labor by hand or brain" is the inherent logic of industrial unionism for a reason.

Second, writers aren't asking to get paid more than once: residuals are deferred pay, you absolute moron. In Hollywood, whether it's writers or actors or voice talent or whatever, you get a small fraction up front - it's usually an ok check, depending on the union's day rates and so forth, but you can't make a living off stitching these together - and then most of your pay comes from monthly royalty checks that provide you with the income you need to live off when you're between jobs.

The problem is that, historically in Hollywood, residuals have been structured with a very long "tail" - the payments start out relatively low and then get more generous over time as the show has more seasons and (presumably) goes into syndication. This doesn't work with streaming's new business model, where increasingly shows are getting 2-3 seasons max and streaming services have become increasingly quick to not just cancel shows but yank them off their servers in order to avoid paying residuals.

So what WGA writers are fighting for is a system that ensures writers (but also actors and other creative workers, because the unions pattern bargain) get a fair share of the show's revenue, even if the show is only given 2-3 seasons.

Third, the U.S labor movement would not exist today if it wasn't for white collar workers and public sector workers. About half of the U.S labor movement - 7 million workers - is public sector, and those workers are overwhelmingly women of color, mostly working as either teachers or postal workers. Likewise, about half the U.S labor movement is made up of white collar workers, and we're graduate students and adjuncts and lab researchers, teachers and social workers, administrators and IT departments.

I'm both public sector and white collar, and I'm a member of an NEA union. I'm an adjunct professor who earns $6,000 a course and it's my job to get working adults with jobs and families who've never gone to college or who've been out of higher ed for a decade to graduate with a bachelor's or a master's. If you don't think that's real work, you're free to research and write all the lectures and powerpoints, deliver those in an entertaining and educational fashion, answer a flood of questions from students who need help navigating academia, and then grade all the midterms and finals and research papers.

[ruthoakenshield]

Miss Fay and Richard (Part 3)

*** This tale is for 18+ AGE READERS ONLY!!!

**** This part mentions a drunk driving accident, multiple deaths in Fay’s family as well as Elder neglect, so if this triggers you, proceed with caution!

* I do not claim any rights to the businesses or products mentioned by name. The Squeaky Peanut Bar and Grille are of my own invention as is Miss Fay. The other actors mentioned I have no claims to and this is a work of FICTION. No disrespect is intended to any of them. Fluff and smut to come later on. ;)  

Feel free to share on this site only and reblog or tag others who might enjoy it,  but please give credit where it is due. thanks guys and gals!

As always, constructive criticism, comments, and praise is always welcome. I’ve been in a bit of a writer’s slump, so if it is shit, I’m sorry. You’ve been warned! LOL!!! ;)

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Need to catch up with the first few chapters? (Read Part 1, Chapters 1-5 HERE) (Part 2, Chapters 6-10 HERE)

Chapter 11

Heading home, you sigh and stop at the pharmacy to stock up on facial tissues and more Listerine mouth wash to gargle with. You also pick up a couple more of the gel facial masks to keep in the fridge and some Nyquil and Dayquil, knowing you’d need it and wander through the aisles looking to see if there was anything else you’d need. You find a diffuser to use with essential oils and decide to get it and a jug of distilled water. You already had your essential oils you used from a medical grade company, so you put the diffuser in your basket as well.

Not finding anything else, you head for the check out and pay for your purchases, then head home after stopping for some groceries. You get your purchases brought in and put away, then sigh and go to see what the options were for supper at the hotel. Not liking the option for the continental meal, you head over to the hotel’s diner. You settle on an individual chicken pot pie with a side of fries with ranch dressing.  

~~~~~

Aiden had told Rich about meeting you while they were up in his suite visiting and getting caught up on life since they last saw one another. Rich had mentioned that he wondered what family members had passed away that you had to have a joint service for them and wondered how close together they had passed time-wise, and wondered what they had passed away from.

“I dunno what they passed away from, Rich, she didn’t say. She said it was her two parents, her sister and her Grandmum. I guess her Parents and Sister were cremated and her Grandmum wanted a casket burial. She said her Parents were placed in a mausoleum, and her Sister was buried with the Grandmum in her plot. It sounded like her Dad was some kind of veteran though, she said the government covered everything for the funeral except the urn.” He tells Richard.

“Hmmm.” He replies, rubbing his beard. Guess I’ll have to ask her about it one of these times.” He says, curious. “She said she had been living off the inheritance for a year and a half now and had mentioned she was trying to be careful to make what was left last as long as possible. I’m not sure how much she has left though if she is hesitant to buy a raincoat and rainboots. I wish I knew what size boots and coat she wears. I’d just have my PA find her one and I’d get them for her.” he says.

Aiden shrugs. “I dunno what to tell you, Rich.” He replies. “How about we head out to go see how she’s doing and if she needs anything for tonight?” he suggests. Rich nods, so they head down to the Lobby.

You were sitting with your back to the lobby and didn’t notice Aiden and Rich coming down from Aiden’s room. They were heading out to check on you when your red hair caught Rich’s eye. He grins and was going to sneak up on you, but Aiden stopped him, realizing what he was intending to do.

“No, don’t scare her like that. It’ll make her upset with you, Richard. She told me when we visited in the laundry room that she didn’t like being scared. It’s why she won’t watch or read horror stories or movies like that.” He explains. “I think something from her past traumatized and scared her badly and now she hates being scared and sad.” He explains quietly

Rich frowns but nods. They come over and flank you on either side. “Mind if we join you, Little Red?” Aiden teases. You grin at his nickname for you and nod to the seats. You had just taken a swig of your tea and he grins. “Sorry, I guess we caught you with your mouthful.” He teases and you nod, then swallow.

“How are you feeling?” Rich asks. “Eh. It’s going to get worse before it gets better. Always does. I’m just hoping the coughing won’t bother filming. If it gets too bad, I’ll just have to go sit outside and if someone needs something they’ll just have to poke their head out to tell me.” you say with a sigh and look down at your hands.

“You said you get this often?” Aiden asks. You shrug. “I get it, for some reason, when I have wet hair and go outside when it’s cooler weather. Usually, it’s in the fall, or winter. If I take a shower and have to go out somewhere and don’t put a hat on and don’t have time to let my hair fully dry, then I get this. It’s miserable and sucks, which is why I don’t do it now that I realize what keeps causing it. But I didn’t realize that it rains that hard here and that the wind gets as bad as it does. I’ve never seen it rain horizontally from wind before.” You explain.

“Oh. Yeah, it does that here occasionally.” Aiden remarks. You sigh and shrug. “So, what are you going to do tonight?” Rich asks. “I dunno. Probably eat, and take my meds, then either watch a movie, or just go to bed. These head colds always zap my energy and leave me feeling just exhausted when I have them.” you say with a sigh. “Its hard to sleep cuz my head gets so congested, then as it progresses, I can’t sleep cuz I’m coughing so much and have to sit up more. I can’t sleep sitting up, for some reason, I have to lie down when I sleep.” You explain.

The server brings your food and asks Richard and Aiden if they wanted anything, they both place orders and tell you to go ahead and eat. “We’ll catch up when our food arrives.” They tell you.

Nodding, you start eating and groan at how good it tastes. “Oh, this is absolutely wonderful!!!” you tell them. “Ooh, I might have to give it a try tomorrow then!” Aiden says. You grin and nod.

The three of you sit there visiting for a bit, then their food arrives and they enjoy their meals too. “So, Leanna, you said your family passed away recently, what did they die from?” Aiden asks.

You sigh. “My Sister was killed by a drunk driver going the wrong way on the highway. She had been back home to visit my Grandma, who was in her late 90’s and my Sister had stayed too late and it was dark when she left. She hated driving at night as she was legally blind in one eye, although she could see well enough to drive and function as long as she was using corrective lenses.

The drunk driver hit her car and several others before a semi-truck driver saw what was happening and purposefully jack-knifed his semi to stop the idiot before he killed more people. The drunk driver was driving down the middle of the highway, going the wrong direction and clipping the vehicles in both lanes, which made them roll, and go into the ditches.” You explain. “He died when he slammed into the side of the semi’s wheels and cab.

My family used to be close knit when I was younger, but something changed and as I got older, things just kind of began falling apart. My sister lived an hour and a half from where we were born, and my Uncle lived with my Grandma. He was supposed to be taking care of her, but wasn’t and was neglecting her care. He only took her to her Dr. appointments and got her groceries. He did nothing to help her with housework, or yardwork, or snow removal, and didn’t make sure she was bathing properly and didn’t make sure she was changing clothes not taking her meds. She often just lived in her housecoat and night gown.

It infuriated me and I often got mad at him and threatened to report him for elder neglect, which is a felony here. He just laughed me off, not taking it seriously. I worked doing elder care for many years. It’s not like I was pulling the knowledge out of my ass. I knew what was acceptable care and what wasn’t. The shit he pulled would never have been accepted if an inspector would have come to check on things.” You explain.

“Anyway, when she and my Parents were told of the death of my Sister, my Dad had a massive heart attack and didn’t make it. Mum couldn’t handle life without him and died a few days later in her sleep. My Grandma, too had a heart attack when she was told of my Sister’s and Dad’s death and she didn’t make it. I found my Uncle dead when I went to talk with him about estate stuff.

His pacemaker was keeping his heart going, but he was brain dead. The Paramedics and Doc said he had had another massive heart attack probably from all the stress and it kicked out a blood clot that lodged in his noggin and caused the stroke, which killed him. My other Uncle handled his funeral and estate stuff and we both handled Dad’s and Grandma’s estate at first, but we were constantly at odds with each other.

I finally had to get Grandma’s lawyer involved though. The Uncle kept wanting to just throw out everything and ignore Grandma’s list of things she had set aside for certain family members. It had been notarized and so it was considered part of the will, which he was required to follow. It pissed him off so he said I could handle the estate stuff for Grandma then. He got snippy with me after that and refused to help.

So, I got stuck trying to deal with cleaning and emptying out three estates at the same time. Two in my hometown, and one an hour and a half from home. Luckily, my Sister rented a place, so I picked out what I wanted to keep and put it in my vehicle, brought it home and put it in storage. Then had her friends and church family come and take everything else to give to folks in the community who needed it. They had a huge rummage sale with the stuff and then gave me the money from it to help me with the moving expenses and gas driving back and forth from my home to hers.

I finally had gotten the last of the estate stuff dealt with about three months ago now.” you explain and sigh.

Both Rich and Aiden look at you in shock. “You had to deal with it all by yourself?” Richard asks. You nod. “Yeah, aside from the lawyer helping me with the legalities of it all. I’m just grateful that the government paid for all of Dad’s funeral and cremation stuff and the mausoleum vault, and that Mum’s urn could be put in it with his. He had a full military service, graveside, when we went to put him and mum in the vault.” You say. “I have his flag in the RV, it’s up by the TV.” You say.

“Wow, I’m sorry, Leanna, that you had to go through all of that alone and that your Uncle was being such a pain in the ass.” Aiden says. Rich nods, “It’s hard enough doing one family member’s death and estate stuff, I can’t imagine having to deal with five people’s deaths in the family all at once and three estates.” Rich tells you.

You shrug and sip on your tea. “I had to explain to the city officials why nothing was being done with the two properties in town, because they wouldn’t get off my back about it. Once I spoke to them and explained what I was having to deal with all by myself, they were more understanding and cooperative.

I had to deal with my sister’s estate first because she rented the main floor of a house and lived an hour and a half from me, and it had to be cleaned out and emptied by the end of the month or I’d have to pay for another month’s rent on it. The owner was nice though and understood my dilemma when I explained what was going on.

He apologized for my losses and offered to give me the security deposit back once I got the apartment cleaned and emptied. He told me who to use to have the carpets cleaned and when they heard what had happened to me, with the five family members passing away because of the drunk driver, they did the carpet cleaning for free!” you tell them.

“Once I got the estate out of town dealt with and settled, then I could work on my Grandma’s estate. I was able to contact my cousins and informed them what Grandma had left them. They asked me to send them pictures of the items, so I did. They told me what all they wanted and asked me to mail the items to them, so I did. The rest they told me to donate or auction off as they did not want them. I had them put it in writing and mail it to the lawyer what they wanted to keep from the items Grandma left them and what they wanted done with the items they didn’t want.

They wrote him the letters and once I picked out what I wanted to keep, we put everything else up for auction, and made it abundantly clear with the auctioneer that antique dealers and collectors were not allowed at the auction. Between the two estates in town, plus what I was left as inheritances from them and the life insurance policy balances I had a nice little nest egg to live off of.

I’m just being careful not to spend it unwisely and am trying to not live beyond my means. I have limited space available in the RV and have to be careful what I buy and get for gifts from people I meet. Its easier for me when people give gifts of things that will be used up, like food and gift cards, or flowers. But if it can’t be used up, I have to be careful what I keep so I don’t end up living in a bunch of mathoms and clutter.” You explain and yawn.

“Oh! Sorry, I’m getting sleepy.” You say.

They chuckle. “It’s alright, Leanna. You’ve had a long day. Go get some rest, Sweetheart.” Aiden says. Rich nods. “Did you take your meds, Leanna?” he asks. “No, not yet. They’re 12 hour ones, so I can’t take them until 8pm. I usually overlap them by a half hour, since it takes about that long to kick in. So, by the time the first dose wears off, the second one is kicking in. I’ll probably take them at 7:30 or so.” You explain.

Rich nods as they both stand up. You stand as well and grab your coat and mug. The three of you go to pay for your food and Rich insists on paying for yours. “Rich, you don’t have to pay for mine, I can pay for it this time. It’s not that much.” you say. “Please, Sweetheart, let me pay for it. Money isn’t that much of a concern for me. I know you are trying to be careful with what you spend. Please, let me pay for it.” he pleads.

You sigh, “Alright.” You say, caving into his pleading puppy eyes. He grins and happily pays for your food and his. Aiden just chuckles as you roll your eyes.

They insist on walking you back to your RV and you give Aiden a mini tour of the inside. While he distracts you, Rich quick looks to see what size your jackets are that you have thrown in the overhead bin. He sees your boot from yesterday and grabs it to look and see what size it is. Quickly he texts the sizes to his Assistant, so she knows what sizes to look for.

“Wow, this is nice! I see what Rich meant though that the designers went kind of overboard with sleeping spaces, and skimped on decent storage. All you seem to have are these little narrow cubbies.” Aiden says looking around in your room. You head back towards the sitting area and nod.

“Yeah, I’m thinking about putting these two mattresses into storage under the RV and perhaps seeing if I can figure out how to dismantle the upper frame for the top bunk. I like having the drawers on this section here of the bottom bunk and could just put the storage above them. Perhaps I can fiddle with it on my next day off. I’ll have to go look at closet storage options and write down the measurements of the space I’d have available to work with. I’ll have to figure out what to do with the little tv’s too. I don’t need them in here. They are brand new and never been used.

It’s kind of stupid to have four tv’s in one RV. Personally, I don’t like having a TV in the bedroom. I only use the one in mine for YouTube, when I have wi-fi available, I’ll pull up a fireplace video and have it on that until I’m ready to go to sleep.” You say.

Aiden laughs and nods. “Bedrooms are for sleeping and having sex in, not for watching tv. That’s what the den or family room or living room is for!” He says. You grin and nod, so does Rich. “Well, if you want help with the remodeling, let me and Rich know. We’ll help if we have time off from filming.” Aiden says. Rich nods. You grin and nod, thanking them both. They head over to the door and tell you that they hope you feel better soon. Then head out.

Chapter 12

Rich gets to his vehicle and grabs the basket he had his agent create with the alcohol and stuff for making hot toddies and buttered rum drinks. He carries it back over to the RV and knocks on the door.

You answer it looking confused. “Oh, hi Rich. How come you’re back so soon?” you ask. He smiles and pulls the basket out from behind his back. “Here. I remembered you mentioning you were out of these for making your hot drinks. Thought I’d get them for you as a ‘Get well soon’ gift.” He explains.

“Oh! Sweet! Thanks!” you exclaim and reach down to take the heavy basket. Rich lifts it up so you don’t have to bend down so far. “OOOhhh, it’s heavy!” you say and carry it up the steps to put it on the counter. Then you come back down the steps. “Thanks again for the meal and the alcohol gift basket.” You tell him and smile sweetly.

Rich grins and nods. “Is it okay if I give you a hug, from one friend to another?” he asks shyly. You think for a moment, then nod. It makes you smile seeing his eyes light up and he steps closer, as you come down a few steps and let him hug you. He stands there, wraps his arms gently around you and hugs you for a few minutes giving you an amazing, warm, comforting hug. You just bask in it and enjoy how it makes you feel all warm and fuzzy, and how wonderful he smells. Rich lowers his head to rest on yours as he breathes in the peppermint and lavender scent of your shampoo.

You can hear his heart racing as he hugs you and feel him sigh, then lets you go. “I hope you start to feel better soon, Leanna. I know it’s no fun being sick and having to work. I got the flu when we were finishing up with filming the Hobbit and worked through it. I was miserable and achy and way too warm.” He tells you. “Rest as much as you can, okay?” he coos as he caresses your head and face.

Looking up at him, you nod, a little dazed by his amazing hug and wishing you could have another one, preferably all night long to keep you nice and warm. He leans down, cups the side of your face in his warm hand, then kisses your forehead then tells you he’ll see you tomorrow. “Night Rich.” You murmur. He smiles, nods and heads out to his car. You close the door and squeal quietly, then make sure the door is locked, and that the two front doors of the cab are locked, then go to unpack the gift basket.

He had gotten you the biggest bottles of Jameson and the Sassenach whiskeys, and a huge bottle of Captain Morgan spiced Rum that he could find, apparently. There was also a bag of brown sugar, one of cinnamon sticks, a jar of whole cloves and a bag of lemons as well as a tub of Irish butter. The butter and lemons you put in the fridge, the three bottles of alcohol, go into the freezer, and the spices and sugar all go into the cabinet.

You open the card and say, “Awwweee!” as it was a green background with a hedgehog standing on its hind feet, holding a banner that says, ‘GET WELL SOON’ and it’s wearing a white nurse’s hat with a red cross on it. Under the hedgehog it says, ‘Here’s a giant hedge-hug’. When you open it, the inside says, “Get well soon, Sweetheart. Can’t wait to see you healthy, happy, and cheerful again. Get some rest and we’ll make sure to take care of you. ~ Richard” in what you assume is Richard’s penmanship. You like how he writes and smile. The card you set on the counter next to your Smaug statue.

Quickly, you pull the Yeti containers from your messenger bag and the travel silverware. You get them washed up and set them on the collapsible drying tray to drip dry overnight. You pull out a can of tomato soup to make tomorrow morning for lunch tomorrow and pull the package of Goldfish crackers to put into it. You still have one of the bananas and an orange left, so you decide to have those tomorrow for a mid-morning snack with a muffin from the hotel.

Looking at the now empty basket from Richard’s gift, you wonder what to do with it. You walk around the RV with it, looking to see where it could be utilized.

It was a pretty grey one with a silver bow tied to the handles on either side. You decide to put it in the bathroom on the counter to put things in.

Taking a pair of Velcro style command strips you attach them to the underside of the basket then attach it to the counter in the corner of the bathroom. It looked pretty there with the bows on it. You put a spare roll of toilet paper wrapped in plastic wrap in the basket, along with a bottle of Jasmine hand lotion, a tube of jasmine body cream, and a pack of lavender shampoo and conditioner bars for when your old ones run out in the shower.

Tiredly, you get ready for bed, put your hair up in 1/2” braids all over your head, then take your meds, and crawl into bed with your phone. Making sure it was plugged in, and the alarm was set, you quickly fall asleep.

Chapter 13

Over the course of the next three days, your symptoms progress like you said they’d do and you are miserable. You end up coughing a lot and tell the director that you’ll sit outside the door so your coughing doesn’t disrupt the filming and ask him to tell everyone that if they need something to poke their head out to tell you. Luckily the weather cooperated for you and you were able to sit in the fresh air.

It worried you, though, that you were coughing up crud and it was getting more yellowish green in color. Your chest ached something fierce from the constant coughing and your entire body ached from it. You were still battling chills and were hot then cold off and on constantly. You were also more tired and not very hungry as well. The only reason you ate was because your friends made you and would get on your case when you didn’t.

They were all worried when your cough started getting worse. But you just assured them it always did this and that you’d probably end up having to go to the doctor by the end of the week to get meds for it since it was probably the start of pneumonia.

It was Friday and you were miserable. Your coughing was now a deep, rumbling cough that often left you short of breath and you could feel it popping and crackling as you’d breathe in. You spent the week sitting outside on your bench from Gus and would run and get things as the cast and crew needed. Always, you were careful to use hand sanitizer whenever you picked up things for them and were careful to cover your mouth and nose when coughing.

Rich and Blythe often came to check on you in the evenings and would make sure you ate something for supper and to check to see if you needed anything for the night.

Towards the end of the day on Friday, you were feeling incredibly warm and headed home. Your coughing was exhausting you and draining your energy. You had gone into the RV, taken a cool shower, then gotten changed into your purple and dark grey camo pants and your dark grey shirt that says, ‘I can bend steel, what’s your superpower?’

Feeling dizzy, you padded back to the kitchen area in bare feet and was going to get your phone to text Blythe, but a wave of dizziness hit you and you blacked out and collapsed onto the floor and started to have seizures from the high fever you had been battling.

~~~~~

Blythe, Richard and Bernard all climbed into Bernard’s vehicle to go see how you were doing. They arrive and park in the lot, then go and knock on your door. They could see the lights were on in the RV, but no one answers. Frowning, Blythe tries to call you. They could hear your phone ringing inside, and it sounded like it was close by the door. “Hmmm. She’s not answering.” She says, after hanging up.

“Maybe she left her phone in the RV and went to have some supper in the hotel, let’s go look.” Bernard suggests. They all head to the hotel and enter the lobby. Rich looks around and doesn’t see you. Going over to the front desk, he asks if you’ve been in at all this evening. “No, Sir, Miss Fay hasn’t been in since this morning when she had breakfast.” the front desk clerk tells him.

Rich is getting worried now. He goes back over to Blythe and Bernard. “They said she hasn’t been in since this morning.” He tells them. Blythe frowns, “I have the key for the RV door with me, we had better go check and make sure she is in there and is alright.” She says.

They hurry back over, and Blythe unlocks the door. Richard, enters first, then Bernard, then Blythe. When Rich gets to the top of the stairs he looks over and sees you on the floor, seizing. “Blythe, go call 911, she’s collapsed and is having a seizure!” he tells her. She nods and quickly dials the emergency number and talks with the dispatcher. “Rich turn her on her side so if she pukes, she won’t breathe it in.” she tells him, relaying what the dispatcher says.

Bernard comes over and feels your forehead. “She’s burning up, we gotta get her cooled down.” He tells Rich, who’s holding your head steady as you continue to seize. Bernard digs in the fridge and freezer and grabs the cool gel masks and tosses them to Rich. He puts one on your face and the other on the back of your neck.

Bernard finds your two huge gel packs in the freezer and wraps them in a hand towel and holds one on your back and the other on your chest, keeping you steady as you seize. Slowly, your body stops shaking from the seizure as the coolness from the packs drop your body temperature. Luckily you hadn’t puked.

Blythe waits for the paramedics to arrive and directs them to the RV. “She’s been sick all week after getting soaked to the bone and chilled from the rain on Monday.” She tells them. “Her cough has gotten worse as the week progressed. We came to check on her and found her on the floor having a seizure.” She explains.

A crowd now is gathering at the door of the hotel, having heard the sirens get close then stop right outside the hotel. Some staff from the Squeaky Peanut peek out their door too to see what is going on.

The paramedics nod and enter the RV with a stretcher and their gear. A gurney from the ambulance waits ready outside the RV. Coming over, they see Rich and Bernard holding cool packs on your head and torso. Kneeling down, they begin to check your vitals and frown, hearing how labored your breathing is and how much it’s popping and crackling as you breathe in. Your heart rate is fast too.

“I take it she was burning up?” the EMT asks. Rich nods. “Not sure what her temp was, but she was having a seizure and her hair was wet and cold. I assume she took a cool shower after work trying to cool off. She’s a runner for the studios we’re filming at and she’s been running for us all week while battling what she said was a headcold. She had a sore throat and head congestion the morning after that heavy deluge on Monday and she’s got no tonsils nor adenoids, she said.

She also told us that this often happens when her head gets wet and cold, and that the sore throat goes up into her sinuses and gets them all congested since there’s no adenoids to stop it, then it drips down her throat and she ends up with either bronchitis or walking pneumonia.” He explains as he holds your head of copper tresses.

“How long have you been here with her and how long have these been on her?” the EMT asks, indicating the cool packs.

Bernard looks up at the microwave’s clock, “Been here maybe 5 minutes or so. Got the cool packs on her shortly after we found her. She just stopped seizing before you came in.” he replies with a worried expression. The EMT nods.

They check you for any head injuries, but other than a goose egg where your head hit the floor when you fell, they don’t find any injuries from the seizure. Your eyes dilate properly when the EMT checks them, so he doesn’t think you got a concussion when you fell. They put an oxygen mask on you after Rich takes the gel mask off your face. They get you transferred onto a stretcher and get you strapped down. While they do that, Bernard puts the cool packs back where he got them from.

The EMT checks your temp and it’s at 103.5 he frowns and checks it again on the other temple and it comes out the same temp. “We need to get her to the hospital, her fever is too high. It’s probably what caused the seizure.

“How come she isn’t waking up?” Bernard asks. “Some people go unconscious when they have seizures. Hopefully she’ll wake up when we can get this fever down.” He says and they lift you up to carry you carefully down the narrow steps of the RV. Richard and Bernard follow, both worried for you. Rich grabs your messenger bag, phone, wallet, and your keys. He shuts off all the lights and closes the door, locking it.

“What hospital are you going to take her to?” he asks.

“Are you family?” The EMT asks.

“Sir, we’re as close as she has to family. Her birth family died recently, leaving her by herself now. We’re her coworkers, and have been very concerned about her since she started working with us. We’ve been coming and checking on her all week.” Blythe tells them.

They nod and tell the three actors where they are taking you. “One of you can ride with us, but you’ll have to wait in the ‘family room’ once we get her there.” the EMT says.

Blythe and Bernard look at Rich. “Go with her and we’ll meet you there, Rich. I’ll let the director know what’s going on.” Blythe says. Rich nods and climbs up into the Ambulance with your stuff. The doors are shut, and you’re whisked off to the hospital.

Blythe and Bernard sigh, “I hope she’s going to be okay.” Bernard says. “I suppose she’s gotten worn down having to deal with the stress of dealing with her family passing away and all the estate stuff, then moving here and adjusting to working again doing all the running for the studios.” He says rubbing his chin.

“Probably. Let’s go let the Hotel know what is going on and ask them to keep an eye on the RV and the SUV for her so they know why she hasn’t come in after a few days.” Blythe says. Bernard nods.

They head into the lobby of the hotel and ask for the manager. He comes out and they explain who they are and tell him about what just happened. “Oh no! Oh, I hope she will be alright! We were wondering why the ambulance arrived here.” the manager says, worriedly.

“We hope she’s okay too. Could your employees keep an eye on her RV and the SUV parked at the nose of it for her? We aren’t sure how long she will be in the hospital. We’ll cover any bills coming due that she has with you.” Blythe asks.

“Oh, yes, we can keep an eye on the RV and the SUV for her. She pays us an amount we agreed on at the end of each month for her to ‘rent’ the spot out in the parking lot and we let her use the amenities and the continental meals as well as the electricity and water hookup.” He says.

Blythe and Bernard nod. “I have a key for the RV, so I’ll probably be seen coming and going from it.” Blythe tells the manager, “Just so you know and aren’t alarmed seeing me going in and out from it.” she says. He nods and tells them to let you know that they all wish you a speedy recovery. “I’ll make sure to tell her when she wakes up.” she says.

They head out and get in Bernard’s vehicle. He drives them to the hospital while Blythe contacts the Director and the studio, to let him know what is going on. “Okay, thanks for letting me know. Keep me posted on her condition.” The Director says. “I will.” She tells him and hangs up.

Chapter 14

Bernard and Blythe arrive to find Richard pacing in the waiting room for the ER. “Any news?” Bernard asks. Rich pauses and shakes his head as he chews on a fingernail. “God, I hope she’s alright!” he mumbles.

“Come here, Richard.” Blythe says and he comes over. She reaches up and pulls him down for a hug. “She’ll be alright, Rich. Try to think positive.” She coos and he sighs and nods, hugging her back.

They all sit down and wait for any news on you. Rich messages Aiden letting him know what happened and soon he is joining them, waiting to hear how you are.

~~~~~

You are rushed into the ER and put in an exam room. The nurses get you out of your clothing and into an exam gown, then check all your vitals and frown hearing your lungs struggling.

The Doc comes in reads through your chart, frowns, then examines you. His frown deepens when he hears the popping and crackling sound in your lungs and how you’re struggling to breathe. He orders blood tests, chest x-rays and a CT scan of your lungs to see what is going on. You are taken to Radiology to get them done, then are brought back to the ER room. A port is placed in your chest, and you are hooked up to heart monitors, an O2 sensor and an oxygen mask is placed on you.

The doctor orders that the nurses give you something via IV to get the high fever down, then give you some bronchodilator meds to help get the inflammation down in your lungs. They also put you on antibiotics to get the infection down once they know what is causing it. You are also given IV fluids to keep you hydrated.

A couple hours after being brought in, you finally wake and are confused as to where you are. Looking around, you realize you are in a hospital room. A nurse comes over and greets you. Lifting off the oxygen mask, she hooks up the oxygen hose and puts it on you so you can talk and still get the oxygen. “What happened? How did I get here?” you ask.

“You blacked out in your RV due to having a high fever and your friends came to check on you. When you didn’t answer, they came in and found you having a seizure on the floor.” She tells you.

“Oh. How high was my fever?” you ask. “Well, when the paramedics arrived, your friends had put cool packs on you, which dropped your temp enough to stop the seizure. When they went to load you into the Ambulance they checked it and it was at 103.5°F.” She tells you.

Your eyes open wide. “But my normal body temp is 97.6°F!!! For me, a temp like that is like a normal person having a 104.5°F temp!!!” you tell her worriedly and start coughing. You hold your chest and groan as you cough.

“I’ll make a note in your chart that your normal body temp is 97.6° instead of the normal 98.6°F. She says and goes over to the computer to do so.

“Just try to breathe slowly and try to relax.” She says.

“You have a very severe case of Pneumonia, Sweetheart. We’re waiting for a room to get prepared, and we’ll be bringing you up once it is ready. I believe your friends who found you are all in the waiting room.” She says. “Did you want the Doctor to let them know what is going on?” she asks.

You nod. “Yes, he or she can let them know what is going on. They are probably worried sick about me. They are about as close as I’m going to get to having family now. My birth family are all dead.” You tell her.

“Alright, I’ll make a note of it in the chart so those treating you will know.” She says. You sigh, cough, and nod. I’m just going to go back to sleep if it’s alright. I’m so exhausted.” You tell her. “That’s fine. How about we put the mask back on you though, it looks like your O2 levels are going down again.” She says with a frown.

You shrug, so she puts the oxygen mask back on you and you go back to sleep, coughing occasionally.

~~~~~

After a couple of hours, the Doctor comes out to the waiting room and asks for the family of Miss Leanna Fay. Blythe and the other actors get up and come over to him. “Miss Fay’s family are all dead, but we are her coworkers and are about all the family she has left now.” she tells him. “Oh, okay. Well, she woke up a little bit and okay’d me to let you all know what is going on.” He explains.

Miss Fay had been getting treated for several autoimmune diseases prior to coming here, so I had to get her medical files transferred. It seems she was diagnosed with Rheumatoid Arthritis, Lupus and also Hypothyroidism, which means her body’s thyroid is not working properly and is not producing enough of certain crucial hormones. The lupus causes all kinds of problems in the body, but for her, it is causing the hypothyroidism as well as inflammation in her joints, and her lungs, among other things.  

This inflammation weakens her lung function and her immune system, which is why she gets sick so easily when she gets wet and chilled. I went back through her chart, and it seems that this time, she was battling both an RA flare up and a lupus flare up on top of the head cold, which made the pneumonia more severe than it normally does. I’m assuming the move here was causing stress for her which often can trigger Lupus flareups.” He explains.

“Actually, Sir, it was probably her having to deal with the death of her entire family due to a drunk driver. It happened about a year and a half ago and he killed her Sister. When the Parents and Grandparent found out, they all had either heart attacks or strokes and did not survive. Her Uncle who was taking care of her Grandmother, was also found dead from a massive heart attack and stroke.” Aiden explains.

“Yeah, she had 5 family members die within a few days of each other and an Uncle who was making it difficult for her to deal with the three estates, one of them being out of town by an hour and a half.” Richard tells him. “She said she just finished up dealing with the last of the estate stuff a few months ago.” He adds.

“OH! Yes, that would do it then!” the Doctor explains. “Due to all the stress, it weakened her immune system, triggered the Lupus, and all that plus this head cold, just kind of sent her body in a downward spiral, unable to handle everything. She now has a very severe case of pneumonia that we are treating her for. I’m concerned, though, about her lungs. They were VERY congested, and her Oxygen levels were very low. The nurse said Miss Fay told her that she feels just exhausted, so I think I’m going to keep her here for a week to 10 days, depending on how well and how fast she recovers. She needs to just rest and get the infection and mucous worked out of her lungs.” He tells them.

They all frown and nod. “Can we see her?” Blythe asks. “We’re waiting for a room to open up and be cleaned. Once we have a room for her, we’ll let you know when we are bringing her up to it and you may join her. Understand though, Pneumonia is contagious. Make sure you wash your hands frequently and it wouldn’t be a bad idea to wear masks when visiting her. We’ll have a box of them at the door to her room that you may take one to use while there as well as hand sanitizer both inside the room’s door and outside it.” he tells them.

The actors all nod. “Thanks for letting us know Doc.” Aiden tells him. He nods and tells them a nurse will come get them when the room is ready. Then he heads back to continue helping other patients.

Blythe goes and sits down and sighs, looking down at her hands and rubbing them gently. Aiden looks puzzled and comes over to her. “You alright, Mrs. Danner?” he asks. “I didn’t realize how much pain she must’ve been in. I know people who have Lupus and I know people who have RA. Both are incredibly painful when flareups happen.” She says quietly. “I know that hypothyroidism also makes one very tired all the time and that it causes a lot of health problems too. It amazes me how well she hid it. She was always such a quiet little ray of sunshine.” She says.

“Well, some people just choose to suffer in silence, I guess.” Aiden says. “I suppose they feel like they don’t want to be a bother to others and don’t want them worrying for the person with it.” he tells her. “Apparently Miss Fay is one of those people. Remember, she kept telling us not to worry about her?” he asks. Blythe nods. “I just feel so bad for her, Aiden. Her life must have been just miserable having to deal with all her health issues, plus the estate stuff, the funeral stuff, the deaths. I wonder if she’s even taken the time to mourn those she lost.” She says.

“Well it seemed her family used to be close knit. She said that as she got older, things started to just fall apart with her family. She didn’t say how or why, but I get the feeling that they weren’t all that close anymore for one reason or another.” Rich says, sitting beside Blythe and rubbing her back gently. “All we can do is be there for her when she needs the help, Blythe. We just have to keep reminding her that it is okay to need and ask for help and that it is not a bother for us to do so.” Rich reminds them.

“She’s going to be pretty tired. Severe Pneumonia takes 6-8 weeks to recuperate from before you’re finally feeling back to ‘normal’ again. I know, I had it in NZ near the ending of production for the Hobbit.” Rich tells her. “I got the flu, then it turned into pneumonia. It took me quite a while and a lot of naps to get the rest I needed between all the post production and promos.” He says. “Oh yeah! I remember that. You were really sick when we were filming the Ravenhill scenes with the green screen Azog!” Aiden says.

Rich nods. “Yup. It sucked. I was exhausted, and shouldn’t have been working, but we had no choice. If I didn’t film those scenes sick or no, we’d have had to push back the release date. We were cutting it close as it was. I think PJ, me and someone else all ended up sick at the same time.” Rich says. Aiden nods.  

Just then a nurse comes out and tells them to follow her. “Here is the bag with her clothing in it.” she says, and Blythe takes it; then they all follow the nurse down the halls to where the other nurses were waiting with the gurney. You were laying on your left side with the oxygen mask on and all kinds of IV’s hooked into the port on your chest. You were sound asleep and quite pale. Occasionally, you’d cough, but kept your eyes closed. They had several warm blankets over you and tucked in around you. Rich chuckled at all the braids you had in your hair as he caressed your head gently.

They followed the nurses, who pushed the hospital gurney into the elevator. Everyone piled in and it took them up to the third floor and the nurses rolled you out of the lift and down the hall with the actors following. They get to your room and the nurses have the actors wait in the hall while they get you settled. A few minutes later, the door opens, and the nurse hands them all a mask to wear and tells them to use the hand sanitizer when entering and when they leave the room. Everyone nods and does so, then enters the room.

You were still asleep and were propped on your left side, facing the windows. The actors stand there gazing at you for a few minutes, then shift around and get settled. Aiden and Bernard go to the gift shop, but find that it’s closed now, so they go to a grocery store to find some nice flowers for you and a balloon.

Rich and Blythe sit flanking your bed and hold your hand or rub your back gently as you sleep. They talk quietly about this upcoming week’s filming schedule and frown realizing that they all will be filming during the day and have evenings off. “Hopefully she can get rest during the day. I know it’s hard to get it at night since they are constantly coming in to check on patients.” Blythe says. Richard nods.

After a while, Bernard and Aiden return with a ‘get well’ card, balloon, and a pretty bouquet of flowers.

The balloon was tied to the vase of flowers and had a couple of emojis on it and word bubbles saying things like: hang in there… get well! Hugs! Sorry you are sick! Then in the center of the balloon it says, ‘feel better soon!’ Each thought bubble is in a different color and the background is a yellow.

Ironically, the balloon matches the bouquet of flowers almost perfectly.

The card they got you said, ‘You’re a tough cookie…” on the outside with a gingerbread person under the words. Then on the inside, it has another gingerbread person standing on a box with the words, ‘hope you recover soon!’ inside the box. Both Bernard and Aiden signed the card.

They placed the flowers on the window ledge and put the card on the bedside tray. The group of actors let you sleep for as long as you needed. A few hours later, around 10 PM, you finally wake as a coughing fit hits as your lungs try to get rid of the mucous that had built up in them.

Richard hurries over and helps you to sit up, gently patting your back, so you can get the mucous worked out. He tells you to spit it out if you can get any loosened enough to do so. You continue to cough and nod in reply to his statement. Blythe grabs the shallow kidney shaped bowl from off the counter beside the sink, and hands it to you as you sit and cough into the O2 mask. Finally, you are able to work some of the phlegm out and tilt the mask up long enough to spit it out into the bowl, then replace the mask.

They could see the phlegm was a dark green color indicating infection, and Blythe takes the bowl and rinses it out dumping it down the sink drain. She dries it off and sets it on the bedside table for you. You sit there feeling absolutely miserable as you lean against Richard, and he gently rubs and pats your back.

“It’s alright, Sweetheart.” Bernard coos. “We’re here for you. Just rest now. Here, have something to drink. The nurse brought you some warm water with lemon and honey in it to soothe your throat.” He tells you and hands you the mug with the bendy straw in it.

You take it and tilt the mask down to your chin so you can slowly drink some of the warm water. It soothes your sore throat and feels good. After drinking your fill. You hand it back to him and put the mask back on, as it was easier to breathe with it on, than when it was off.

Leaning against Richard you sigh and wince as it hurts your chest. You feel like you just want to cry and be held, but are too exhausted to even do that. Rich’s warm, large hand just continues to gently rub your back in comforting circles and you feel your eyes getting heavy again.

“It’s alright, Leanna, go back to sleep. Get all the rest you can, Sweetheart.” Aiden tells you and reaches over to your face and gently puts his fingers over your eyes, silently telling you to close them and rest. You do and soon, you’re sound asleep again. He caresses your head and looks at Richard. He nods and gently scoots out from behind you, helping you to lie back on the bed. The moment you are lowered, though, you start to cough and wake up again.

Again, they help you to sit up and work out more of the phlegm. By now, tears trickle down your cheeks as it hurts your chest to cough and you cling to Rich’s arm that was wrapped around your front as he leans you forward and gently pats your upper back. You cough and cough and struggle to breathe, finally, you get enough of the phlegm worked out that you can quit coughing for a little bit.

Again, Blythe rinses out the bowl and dries it, then places it on the table. She takes a clean washcloth, wets it with cool water, then comes over and gently caresses your face and eyes with it, then replaces the Oxygen mask.

You’re so exhausted that you just pass out as Rich holds you and sighs. He adjusts the hospital bed to a reclined position and gently leans you back against it. Blythe helps him prop pillows around you to keep you still and they let you sleep. She slips out letting the nurses know that you woke and had a pair of coughing fits. “Was she able to cough up anything?” the charge nurse asks.

Blythe nods, telling them it was dark green in color. They frown and nod. “Let us know if she coughs up anything more. The Doc wants us to collect some of it for testing.” She says and hands Blythe a sterilized collection cup with a lid. “Have her spit it into this and then seal it up. Bring it out to one of us and we’ll mark it with her name and send it off for testing.” She instructs.

Blythe nods. “We won’t be able to be with her during the day, as we’re filming. Is there someone who can sit with her and help her. She is struggling to breathe from these coughing fits and it seems to help if someone can pat her back to help get the gunk out. She passed out in our arms after this last one.” Blythe asks.

The charge nurse nods. “Yes, we have ‘sitters’ who can sit with her during the day and evening when no one is available from your group. Just let us know when you are heading out and we’ll have one go and be with her.” the charge nurse instructs. “Alright, thank you.” Blythe replies and then goes back in with the collection cup.

She tells them the nurse’s instructions and they nod, setting the cup on the bedside table. They let you sleep as needed and they doze as well. Richard and Blythe staying at your bedside and resting their heads on the bed, while Bernard sits in the recliner and Aiden in another side chair by the window.

Whenever you wake, Rich and Blythe help you sit up and help you to work the phlegm out of your lungs. Rich alternating between patting your upper back gently to loosen the phlegm more, and rubbing it in gentle circles between coughing fits. You spit out the phlegm into the collection cup and cry as your chest aches. Blythe seals the cup with the lid, setting it on the counter for now, then again, bathes your face with a cool washcloth and replaces the oxygen mask. Once she does, you pass out, exhausted, and Rich gently leans you back onto the bed and your little nest of pillows.

It's hard on them all, seeing you struggling to breathe and get rest. Every hour it seems, you are waking to cough and cry. By morning, they are all tired, having rotated halfway through the night. Bernard would hold you and pat your back as you’d cough while Aiden would rinse out the bowl after each coughing fit and would bathe your face with the cool washcloth. Meanwhile, Rich and Blythe slept.

You lay there clinging to Bernard’s arm after this last round of coughing. Aiden had cleaned up your face and tears, and sat rubbing your back gently. “Sweetheart, we gotta get going now and get ready to film for the day, alright? We’ll let you rest, and we’ll come see you when we are done for the day, Okay?” he coos. You just nod tiredly. “Someone will sit with you to help you with the coughing fits and get you whatever you need, Sweetheart.” Bernard tells you as he eases you back onto the reclined bed. You just nod, exhausted. “Get some rest, Sweetheart. We’ll see you later on.” He coos.

They step aside and wake Blythe and Richard. “Come on, you two. Time to wake up and go get ready to film.” Bernard tells them. They both wake and yawn. “How is she?” Rich asks as he stands and stretches. “Exhausted.” Bernard says quietly. “These coughing fits are really zapping her strength.” He tells Richard.

Richard sighs and nods, wishing he could’ve kept you from getting so sick. He goes over to you and caresses your copper hair. You open your eyes a little and gaze up at his masked face. You can see the concern in his eyes and the worry. “Get some rest, Sweetheart. We’ll be thinking about you all day today.” He murmurs as he leans down and places a soft kiss to your forehead after shifting his mask out of the way. Then replaces it after he kisses your forehead. “Sleep now, Luv.” He coos and puts a hand over your eyes.

Rich feels your eyelashes caress his hand as you close your eyes. He caresses your face then they quietly head out and let you be to rest. Blythe lets the nurse know they are heading out for the day and a ‘sitter’ comes to be with you.

Chapter 15

You spend most of the day sleeping, waking only to eat meals, which they make you do to keep your strength up, and when the Doctor comes to check on you, or the nurses come to make sure you are drinking and doing the breathing tube exercise thingy that measures lung output.

You’re coughing more now and spitting up more phlegm with the help of the nurses or the sitter patting your back to help loosen it so you can get the mucous worked out. It’s exhausting and leaves you in tears as it makes your chest ache. The nurses give you meds for the pain and you go back to sleep.

Each evening your friends come to see you, and occasionally will call up to the wing during the day on their breaks to talk to the nurses to see how you are doing.

Everyone is concerned at how exhausted you are with this. Then your period arrives, and you just lie there and cry, curled up in pain from the excruciating cramps. The nurses frown, that the pain meds aren’t even phasing you and you just lay there and ball.  The nurses notify the Doctor, and he orders an ultrasound of your womb and ovaries to see what is going on.

You are taken down for the procedure and they get it completed and get you cleaned up, then you are wheeled back to the room where you pass out and sleep for much of the morning.

The Doctor frowns seeing the results of the ultrasound.

You have uterine fibroids that are taking up much of your womb’s space. He orders that your hormone levels be checked and discovers your estrogen levels are off the charts they are so high. Frowning, he looks into what would cause this imbalance. All kinds of tests are run checking all your mineral and vitamin levels. He talks with several medical doctors, and they all have the same conclusion… that you have either a D&C, or lazer removal of the fibroids, which will damage the uterine lining, increasing risk of a miscarriage and regrowth of the fibroids, or a hysterectomy to permanently eliminate the problem.

You are livid and adamantly refuse all three options. “If it can grow, it can shrink!” you demand. “I want another opinion!!! You are NOT removing or damaging my womb!” you growl through the mask. Despite the Doctor’s insistence that the fibroid cannot shrink, you call bullshit on him. “GET ME A NATUROPATHIC DOCTOR IMMEDIATELY!!!” you demand and start coughing and cry. He sighs and heads out to make calls to see if there is one nearby who can come and see what he can do for you.

You’re crabby and miserable when Rich comes to see you, having finished his scenes for the day. When he enters with a bouquet of flowers and a few balloons, he frowns seeing you curled up tight in a ball, crying. Rich quickly sets the flowers on the windowsill and comes over to you, scoops you up in his arms and sits on the bed with you in his lap.

“Sweetheart, what’s the matter?” he asks, drying your tears. “I got my monthly and it’s hurting SO incredibly bad!!! Nothing is making the pain go away! They did an ultrasound and found out I have fibroids in my womb. They want me to have a hysterectomy or a surgery that will remove the fibroids, but damage my womb! I don’t want to do those options! I want to be a mom someday and get pregnant and have my own babies!!!” you bawl as he holds you and rocks you gently. “So, what are they going to do to help you then?” he asks.

“They just kept insisting on the surgery and told me that the fibroids will keep growing and will never shrink. I called bullshit on them. If tumors and cancer can grow and shrink, then so can fibroids, they just don’t want to admit it because they make their money damaging or eliminating our wombs so we can’t have babies!” you say and cry some more.

“I demanded they get me a Naturopathic Doctor to treat this. My friend has the same problem and had the same thing happen to her. She found a great Naturopathic Doc and he treated her for the issues that caused the fibroids, and they went away. As long as she follows the regimen that he suggested, she doesn’t have any problems from them anymore and they shrank and disappeared!” you tell him still crying.

“So, fibroids are like a tumor?” Rich asks. You nod. “Kind of. They supposedly are not cancerous though. Something made them grow, and if the Doc would take the time to figure out what is making them grow, then we eliminate whatever it is and it eliminates the means for the fibroid to continue growing. If that happens, it starts to shrink and go away.” You explain.

Richard nods. “Well, I’m here for you, Sweet Leanna. If you need help paying for the treatment, I am willing to help with it.” he coos as he dries your tears. “Why?” you ask sniffling as he caresses your head. “Because that is what friends do, Leanna. They help however they are able to. We love you and care about you, Hunny. We want to see you back at 100% again. I wish I could take all this pain you’re experiencing away from you, but unfortunately, I can’t.

Hopefully, they can find you a Naturopathic Doc who can help you get rid of these fibroids and the pain.” He coos. You sniffle and nod. “Now, what do you need for now?” he asks quietly.

“Will you just keep holding me like this?” you ask. Rich nods and holds you as he sits on the bed, leaning against the reclined back of it. He hums softly as he holds you, thoroughly enjoying the feeling of you in his arms. Eventually, you fall asleep, and he feels you go dead weight. Rich sighs and can tell your scent has changed with the arrival of your period. You smell sweeter now. He sighs and lays you down in the bed, slipping out from under you.

Quietly he covers you back up and kisses your forehead, then puts his mask back on. Slipping out of the room, he sanitizes his hands and goes to talk with the nurse. “We don’t have any Naturopathic Doctors working here. They’re a bunch of hooey and do more harm than good, as far as I’m concerned.” She says.

“The Doc is making calls to see if there are any nearby who are willing to come and see what they can do for her, but he is not convinced it will work. She might as well accept it and have the surgery. She’ll never be able to have children of her own. Not with fibroids the size of cookies growing in her womb!” she tells him.

Rich growls, annoyed with her lack of compassion and caring. “I’m not so sure I agree with you. I do not want her having that surgery unless all other options are exhausted first. Surgery should be a last resort, not the first. Something caused these to grow. It is the Doctor’s job to find out what it is and correct it, not destroy her only means of conceiving children. It’s inhumane and greedy.” he growls at her.

“I am doing just that, trying to find out why these grew in the first place and correct the problem, but modern medicine tells us that unlike tumors or cancer, fibroids cannot shrink. There’s no evidence of it happening, as far as we know.” The Doctor says, coming up behind Richard.

Richard turns to face him and growls, “I disagree, Doc. I’m positive that there ARE evidence of it happening, it’s just that modern medicine refuses to acknowledge it because it means you have another option that eliminates the need for expensive and money making surgeries that cause damage to women and strip them of their ability to bear children safely after that if at all.” Rich rumbles.  

The Doctor sighs, “There’s an imbalance of her hormones that is causing the fibroids. Her estrogen levels are off the charts and I’m not sure why. I called around and consulted my colleagues, but they all insist on this surgery and seem unwilling to try to find the root cause of the problem, and just insist on eliminating it instead.

I informed Leanna of this, but she continues to refuse, and has now demanded a Naturopathic Doctor. We have none here, so it would be out of network and her insurance will not cover any out of network treatments. I highly doubt that any Naturopathic Doctor will be able to do anything for her, Sir. Uterine Fibroids cannot shrink from what I have been taught.” He tells Richard.

“Then perhaps you need to be reeducated.” Rich growls. “If your way is not working, then it is best we seek alternatives to it. I’ll not have you damaging or removing the one thing that allows her to conceive, if there are ways to clear up the fibroids without causing damage to the womb and it’s lining.

Surgery should ALWAYS be a last resort. Isn’t that part of the doctor’s creed??? DO NO HARM???” Rich growls.

The Doctor sighs and nods. “I have contacted the Naturopathic Doctors near here and am waiting for a reply from them. I need her to sign this release of information sheet so I can share with the Naturopathic Doctor what is going on, our tests and results and so he can share information with me. I want to monitor things and what he is doing to see if it is going to work or not. I do not expect it to, but you never know.” He says.

Rich nods and looks at the ROI paperwork. “Are these the businesses that have the Naturopathic doctors?” he asks. The Doc nods. “As soon as I get a response saying they’re willing to take her case, I will need the one for that Doctor’s business signed.” The Doc explains.

“Contact them again and let them know that she is my close friend and that I wish to pay for any treatments they recommend for her to get this situation fixed. I want to see her back at 100% and I don’t care how long it takes to do so as long as she gets there.” Rich says.

The Doctor nods and goes to make calls back to the businesses he had contacted. An hour later one responds and says he’ll come up to the hospital to review the chart with both the patient and the Doctor. A half hour later the Naturopathic Doctor arrives at the hospital and is directed up to the floor to speak with you and the regular medical Doctor.

You are woken up and have a coughing fit for several minutes, then once it calms down, you sign the ROI paperwork so the two Doctors can share information and work together to monitor and treat your problems. The Medical Doctor pulls up your medical history on the hospital’s computer and the Naturopathic Doctor reads through it all. It takes him nearly an hour to read through everything and he is making detailed notes about things. Once he finishes, the Medical Doctor is called back, and the Naturopathic Doctor discusses his opinions about everything going on. He asks why the Medical Doctor didn’t run these specific tests and hands him a separate list of tests that need to be run.

When the Medical Doctor inquires why they should be run, the Naturopathic Doctor explains why, and the Medical Doctor’s eyes widen in surprise. “OH! I never thought about that being one of the main problems!” he exclaims. “I’ll have the tests run right away.” He says and goes to order them be done. Soon, a phlebotomist arrives and does the blood draws and finger pricks to run the tests.

While you four wait for the results, the Naturopathic Doctor explains his plans for treating you if the tests come back like he thinks they will, judging by all your symptoms and medical history.

He explains that this took time for your body to get like this and that in order to correct the imbalances and problems, it will take time, dedication, and patience to reverse the trigger that is causing them. You sigh and nod. “I just want to get better, I don’t care how it is done as long as it doesn’t damage my womb and doesn’t increase the risk of miscarriages or requires the removal of my womb. I want to have my own babies and be pregnant and have a family someday. I’m not willing to give up on that dream yet.” You say.

Rich grins hearing that. “We’re in this for the long haul, Sweetheart. If this is what you want to do, then I’m willing to help you out paying for it. Money is not an issue for me, I will do what I can to help you recover and get back to 100%. No matter how long it takes, Leanna. I’m here for you, if you want me to walk this path of healing with you.” He tells you. Your eyes get glassy, and you look down at your hands. “Why? Why would you do that for me?” you ask quietly.

Rich smiles and tilts your face up to his. “Because you are my friend, and I love and care about you, Leanna. You are a tough little coppertop cookie and you have been through so much heartache and constant pain. I’d take it from you if I could, but I can’t, and this is as much as I can do for you right now. You need this to get better, Leanna, if this is the path you wish to explore and take to see if it can help get you back to 100%, then I am willing to take it with you and support you as you take this journey.” He murmurs, caressing your hands with his. “Now, is this what you want to do? Are you willing to stick to his regime and follow it to see if it gets you back on track with your health?” Richard asks.

You look up at his face and his gorgeous sapphire eyes with gratitude and nod. “Very well. Once we get the results, we’ll take this path together, alright?” he coos. You nod. “Your regular Doc here will monitor the progress since he wants to see if it is going to work for you or not.” Richard tells you. “Okay.” You reply and lean against Richard, feeling grateful that you don’t have to go through this alone.

The two Doctors talk through the Naturopathic Doctor’s plans, and he continues to explain each part and walk the three of you through it all. You agree to do his program and so he has you and Richard sign the paperwork for the program and payment for it and the supplements, and gets things in order. By evening, the results came back, just as he thought they would. The Medical Doctor and the Naturopathic one sit and discuss the results and work out more of the details now that they know what all you are dealing with.

The Naturopathic Doctor heads back to his business to get all the supplements ready for you and writes the dosages on the caps of each bottle or affixes a label with them on it. When he has it all ready and rung up on the computer, he calls Rich’s cell and Rich pays for it over the phone with his credit card. Once the payment processes, the Naturopathic Doctor says he’ll bring the supplements back up to you and go through them, so you understand when to take each one and what each one does to help you start to recover your health. He calls to let the Medical Doctor know as well, and they both meet back at your room.

Each supplement is explained to you, Rich, the Medical Doctor, and the Nurse who enters each one into the computer with the directions for taking each one and the specific purpose for taking them. They get you started on them, and the supplements are given to the nurse for now, to be kept by the hospital until you are released.

“It’ll take a month or two of taking these regularly before you’ll start to notice a difference, Leanna. But be patient and keep taking them as directed. Many of your hormones, vitamin and mineral levels are too low, while others are way too high, and your liver isn’t filtering things properly because it is too clogged up. These will help to detox your liver gently and get it functioning again and the other ones will help to stabilize your different hormone, vitamin and mineral levels.

As they begin to stabilize, you’ll notice that you feel better, have more energy, the pain and inflammation should start to go down. As your hormone levels even out, many of these female problems will start to go away and slowly get better.” He tells you.

“Here is the folder I promised you with all the results for the testings, as well as explanations of everything we discussed and my plan for your recovery. The supplements will automatically ship to your PO box each month and Rich’s card will be automatically billed for them as per the agreement he signed.

I will want to see you once a week for the first month to monitor things and track the progress and make sure you’re taking the supplements as directed. Set a reminder on your phone if you need to, in order to remember to take them.” he suggests. “After the first month, then we can space out the visits more and go from there. Okay?” he asks.

You nod and thank him for doing this for you. “Happy to help, Miss Fay. You are not the first one I’ve had to treat for this. With the change in diet and the supplements, I’m sure we can get you back on track. I’ve been doing this treatment for over 20 years now, and many women have been able to save their wombs and gone on to have successful pregnancies and given birth to healthy children thanks to this plan we’ve used for a very long time. I know it works, the fibroids WILL SHRINK and eventually disappear, and eventually, we’ll get you back on track and healthy once more.” He says with a smile. “It will just take time and dedication on your part to stick to the plan.” He assures you.

Nodding tiredly, you rest against Richard as the three of them talk a little more, then the two Doctors head out leaving you with Rich for the night.

You lie there resting against Richard’s side as he gently rubs your back. You were glad to no longer need the Oxygen mask, as the antibiotics and other meds worked their magic on you. You were thankful for this wonderful man holding you, who has stayed right by your side as often as he could. Blythe, Bernard, and Aiden too, all visited you when they weren’t recording. Some of the other cast and crew came to visit you throughout the week and wished you a speedy recovery as well.

Looking up at the huge collection of ‘Get well’ and ‘Feel better soon’ balloons, you giggle. Rich looks down at you and asks what’s so funny. “I think I have nearly every get well balloon and ‘feel better’ balloon ever made!” you say, and he chuckles. “Probably. You have many who miss you at work, and are hoping you are able to fully recover and come back to run errands for us. We’ve missed you a lot, Leanna.” Rich says as he kisses the top of your head and plays with a curl.

You sigh and play with his fingers on his free hand. “Thank you for being so good to me, Rich. Ever since you scared the living daylights out of me that first day you came into the sound stage, you’ve been kind and respectful.” You say quietly.

Rich smiles. “You’re welcome, Leanna. You’ve captured my attention since I first held you in my arms to steady you after I startled you. You’re like a delicious little enigma that the more I get to know you, the more layers of you I discover. It’s like a never ending Christmas gift. Each day I learn something new about you or see something new that I love or appreciate in you.” He purrs in his low, silky tone.

“I enjoy being around you and seeing you smiling and being so happy despite the pain it sounds like you are always in.” he murmurs.

You nod. “I’m always in some degree of pain. It’s tiring and difficult to hide. I guess I just got tired of everyone saying, ‘You can’t be in that much pain!’ or ‘You’re too young to be hurting like that!’ Or ‘Just you wait till you’re old, then you’ll know what real pain is.’.” you tell Richard. “I was tired of being disbelieved, rebuked and torn down for saying that I was in pain, so I stopped telling people that, and learned to hide it so no one knew.” You say quietly.

It makes Richard’s chest ache to hear you say that you are always in pain. He wants desperately to take the pain from you, but knows that he can’t other than by helping to pay for the Naturopathic Doctor. “Sweetheart, will you do something for me?” he asks quietly.

You look up at his face and those gorgeous blue eyes, “What do you want me to do, Rich?” you ask. He gazes down at you and gently caresses your face, hoping he has earned enough of your trust not to send you running at his request. “Will you be my girlfriend and let me take care of you from now on? I don’t want you to have to go through this anymore, being alone. I love you and care deeply about you. I want to walk this path of life alongside you, holding your hand and giving you support and encouragement when you need it and doting on you and pampering you if you’ll let me. I want to grow old with you if you’ll have me.” he murmurs in a quiet, warm tone as he caresses your face while you gaze up at him.

Closing your eyes, you focus on him and how he makes you feel as he holds you and caresses your head and back. You consider his request and realize you feel safe with him and feel incredibly loved and cherished when he holds you. His big, warm hands with those lovely, long fingers caress your face with such gentleness and love that you’re sure it would turn you to a pile of goo if you let him touch the rest of your bare skin like this.

His warm voice calms and soothes your frazzled nerves and makes you just want to cuddle him all the time. Those gorgeous sapphire eyes you love to gaze at make you feel so incredibly loved and wanted. You feel like you could drown in the depths of those blues for all eternity and die a happy woman.

You take his free hand in yours and caress his fingers gently, then bring them to your lips and kiss each one. “I’m not sure why you want such a broken thing as me, Rich, I’m not pretty, nor am I healthy, nor am I anything much important. But if you want me then I will be your girlfriend. You have treated me with kindness and respect and never pressured me for anything. You’ve sought out my happiness and have taken care of me and gotten me the help I needed when I couldn’t do it for myself.” You reply and see his face light up with happiness and relief.

Richard gets a huge grin on his face and peppers your face with soft, whiskery kisses and he hugs you tight. “I love you, Leanna, thank you for giving me a chance to get to know you and appreciate all that you are. Thank you for not pushing me away like you did with the other men who asked to date you.” Rich murmurs into your hair, “Thank you for lowering the walls you had put up enough, to give me the gift of your presence, your friendship, and for agreeing to be my girlfriend. I promise, Love, we’ll walk the paths of life together if you’ll have me, and grow old with me together as a couple.” He purrs in your ear, still cuddling you tight.

Giggling, you hug his arms and nod. “I feel safe in your arms. I know I can trust you and that you won’t hurt me. Thank you for wanting me, Rich.” You reply and the two of you sit there, cuddling and Rich peppering your neck and shoulder with soft, whiskery kisses, little licks of his tongue and little love nips. He revels in how sweet your skin tastes and smells. It’s delectable and he basks in the heady scent of your sweet musk and the peppermint shampoo that was used to wash your hair her at the hospital.

Soon the two of you fall asleep, cuddled tight in warm embraces.

~~~

Yay for Leanna and Rich!!! Don’t worry, there’s more fun to come!!! Part 4 coming soon!!!  :) Thanks for reading and leaving comments! It always fills my heart with happiness and love!!!

@lathalea @e-m-christina @linasofia @criminaly-supernatural @sketch-and-write-lover @blankitdblankityboom @nightsong @theknightoferebor​ @sazzlep

[iheartkyloren]

She is from the Midwest, new to fame and celebrities which is why she is surprised when she lands the job as Ben Solo’s assistant. The reason she came halfway across the country and he turns out to not be the stunning actor she thought he was. Fame and fortune have taken it’s toll and she is determined to help him.

Teaser+

Nudging the first girl awake she slaps a pen in her groggy hand and forces her to sign it, having the next do the same. They start to get lippy with her when she throws their clothes at them and tells them to get out, explaining they’ve signed a NDA and will not speak of anything that happened to anyone. Arguing with her, she chases them down the stairs and out into the drive half naked with their clothes balled in their hands.

“Nice work, Miss Rey, always a pleasure.” Ben’s cook and house maid, Pearl smiles a congratulatory smile at her, though she looks weary with all the cleaning ahead of her.

“You as well, Pearl. Has he been partying all weekend?”

“You know him. One bad review is all it takes. This was a rough one. Three days.”

Three days? She thinks. That means he’s been able to hide it from her when they were talking and working together at the end of last week. Now she is furious. Her grip tightening around the broom handle she storms back up the stairs and into his room.

“Get up you lazy fuck!” she shouts at him.

He barely stirs, stretching a bit, never opening his eyes. She jumps onto the bed and stands beside him smacking him with the broom.

“I said get up,” she enunciates, “You lazy fuck!”

After a moment he seems to become suddenly alert and rolls over holding his hands before him in defense.

“I’m up. Christ, Rey, what is with you?”

“Me?” she shouts irritated by his question. “No Ben, what the hell is a matter with you?”

Waving her off he goes to the bathroom. Rey, no longer caring about his boundaries follows him in and continues to shout as he takes a piss.

“What the?”

“Ben Solo, this will be the last time I have to rescue you.”

“Rey, I’m in the bathroom.”

“I don’t give a damn. Do you have any idea how many times I have seen your drunk naked ass? Or your penis for that matter. Oooh, big boy is shy now?” She waves her hands in exaggeration to her comment.

Gaping at her, he flushes the toilet and washes his hands as a courtesy to her presence. Turning around and leaning against the counter to face her.

“You have?”

“I could have sucked your dick a dozen times and you wouldn’t even remember. Like I said, this is the last time this shit happens. I’m moving in and babysitting you full time, and I don’t give a rat’s ass if that offends you. I’m not going to watch you flush away a career or your life because you aren’t happy. Damn it Ben, you should be. Look at what you have!” Groaning she waves her fists at him in frustration and walks away.

He follows her in silence watching her pick over his room, gathering trash, then clothing. Taking the time to toss the remainder of the girl’s clothes into the trash.

“I have a maid, Rey. You don’t have to,” he starts.

“Like hell I don’t. I’m not making Pearl clean this and you shouldn’t either, it’s a bit out of her pay grade and you shouldn’t be living like a pig anyhow.”

Nodding he bends over and picks up a few items. She snatches them from his grip and tosses them on top of the laundry basket.

“You are kind of feisty. I miss my twenties,” he attempts to joke with her.

“Oh, so you are too old to party like a teenager. At this rate you’ll be missing your thirties as well. Go shower, you smell like a month long rave.”

Dropping his boxers before her, she turns away, as he turns back to the bathroom. She looks back to see only his bare ass as he disappears behind the closed door. Shaking her head at him she takes the laundry down to the laundry room and tosses in the first load.

“I have to say, you are perfect for him,” Pearl says as she comes back out.

“Pearl, I appreciate your thoughts, but I’m not looking for a child to raise.”

“Yes, Miss Rey. I understand. When shall I expect to have your room ready for your moving in to babysit?”

“Touché,” Rey grins. “I can’t watch him ruin his career. He does deserve better than that.”

“I agree.”

Description+

Rey moves to California where she becomes the personal assistant to the most admired actor in Hollywood. Only he isn’t what the media makes him out to be. Broken by his own fame and fortune he finds himself dabbling in drinks and women to take the edge off. Until Rey refuses to give up on and protect him from his own misguided choices. Before long she becomes the barrier between him and the rest of the world.

Erotic/ Mature/ Drama/ Fluff/ AU

One shot

Word Count= 8,222

Read+

Let Me Assist You

Reblogs always welcome, thanks for sharing.

[jubans]

title: chance encounter pairing: settsu banri/fem!reader rating: g (general) premise: on a perfectly normal morning, at the perfectly flourished breakfast table, taichi asks banri a perfectly off-putting question.

"ban-chan, how the heck is your hair so silky?!"

Banri usually starts up his day skirting everyone else in the lounge to be the first one in the showers. Unlike most of the men that reside in the Mankai dorms, he actually takes the time to scrub down every niche in his body until it's squeaky clean. But, oh, don't even get him started with the intricacies that came with taking care of his hair. That conversation is something none of the members of the troupe (except, maybe, Azuma) are ready for, and he likes to keep it that way.

But on a perfectly normal morning, at the perfectly flourished breakfast table, Taichi asks Banri a perfectly off-putting question.

"Ban-chan, how the heck is your hair so silky?!"

The neo gangster, as Yuki typically calls him, just finished shrugging on his school blazer when he casts Taichi a bizarre look. He has a notepad and a textbook in front of him, balancing a pen in his fingers as he stares back at Banri expectantly. The little brat is in the middle of cramming his homework, and he has the audacity to distract himself like that?

"Conditioner," is all he says in return, grabbing one of the toast slices Omi left for them.

Juza scoffs from where he's stuffing his face with pancakes on the other end. "That ain't very helpful." 

"I wasn't fucking talking to you, Hyodo," Banri grates at him dismissively. 

"Banri-kun," he hears Sakuya calling out from the lounge, where he and Masumi are already slinging their schoolbags across their shoulders. "You ready to go?"

He spares Taichi a minute nod of the head, telling him to stop doing his homework the day it's due before picking up his own bag. Then, he gives Juza the finger, earning a momentary scolding from Sakyo, who just happens to pass by when he does it. Then, after a few words in farewell bid to those who don't work nor study—Citron delaying their departure a little because he'd wanted to show how to make a blade (braid)—the Hanasaki High boys were on their way. 

"So noisy," Masumi mutters as he pulls the door behind him. "But if it was the Director, I wouldn't mind." 

Sakuya laughs, leading the way for the three of them. "There's never a dull moment in the dorms, huh?" 

As they traverse the short distance to school, Banri hangs back a little when Sakuya asks Masumi about the younger boy's literature class. Their conversation fades into background noise in his ears as he let his eyes wander around the neighborhood. But when they pass by a familiar intersection, Banri instinctively flickers his gaze at the tall, white house in the corner lot—a girl in a dark green uniform closing the gate behind her. 

You're preoccupied with something on your phone, oblivious to the three boys that are walking past your house—him included. But given that Ouka High is the opposite way from where they're headed, he doesn't even get the chance to slip in a quick hello. 

Well, it's not like you'd remember someone like him, right?

"Ugh, this sucks!"

A week after Banri moved into the Mankai dorms, he found himself facing a rather pressing dilemma: the shampoo provided for the troupe members made his hair disgustingly greasy.  

And that was how he wound up at the nearby grocery store, grumbling about how cheap that yakuza, Sakyo, was being with their commodities. If you want something else, buy it yourself, he told him. Giving the old man the last word might have let his pride take a hard blow, but it was a small price to pay for comfort. He'd rather kiss ass to the cheapskate than live another day with greasy hair.

But when he reached the toiletries section, he realized another thing. 

The brand he used at home was something his sister imported from another country. 

"Having trouble picking something out?"

Banri cast a withering glare at the girl who dared to point out his predicament, but his irritation morphed into curiosity when he noticed that you donned the familiar green of the Ouka High uniform. The next thing he noticed was the way your shiny, luscious hair cascaded down your shoulders, as smooth as a waterfall. He retracted his hostility for a minute, wondering if you could be his saving grace. Banri was good at a lot of things, but he didn't want to make any gambles with his current conundrum. 

"Yeah," he answered hesitantly. "Uh, do you know which brand doesn't make your hair oily? Shampoo brand, I mean." 

You blinked up at him for a second, confused, before your eyes lit up with realization. "Ah, O'Real is a really nice brand. Makes my hair really bouncy." To demonstrate, you swished your head around, making your long tresses sway with the movement in a dazzling fashion. "But you can't just settle with the shampoo. It's better to buy the value pack with conditioner over...here." 

Plucking one of the aforementioned value packs, you handed it to Banri without much preamble. He glanced at the price tag stuck to the bottom, and he had to force himself not to wince with how much it'll cost him. 

He was momentarily spared from his monetary concerns when he noticed you struggling to carry the basket you held in both hands. It was filled with an assortment of products ranging from laundry detergent to cold cuts. While he usually didn't offer girls his help lest they asked for it, Banri decided to make an exception.

"You need a hand with that?" He flicked his gaze downwards. 

You flushed at his offer, shaking your head (his eyes staring a bit too long at the way your hair moved once again). "Oh, no, no! I couldn't possibly bother you with—"

"Come on," he said, clicking his tongue as he plucked the basket from your grasp. "I ain't taking no for an answer. Consider this as...payback. For helpin' me out."

Relenting, you folded your arms across your chest, smiling up at him cheekily. "Would you at least tell me your name, then?" 

"Settsu Banri," he replied coolly. "You still headed to the other aisles?"

"Nope. I remembered last minute that I still have an unopened bottle of conditioner at home," you sigh, giggling at him. "You're not very delicate with girls, are you?"

He stiffened for a moment. Well, you weren't wrong. His sister was one of the toughest women he'd ever seen, and even though he didn't expect every woman to turn out the same way, Banri never once treated girls like fragile glass. His raucous behavior around them prompted most of his female classmates to steer clear of him—not that he'd minded, but this was the first time someone had spoken the words to his face.

"What about you?" he wondered gruffly in hopes of switching up the conversation. "What's your name?" 

"(Surname) (Name)," you told him with a cheeky grin. "Shall we go, Settsu-kun? I mean, you'd want to wash your greasy hair as soon as possible, right?"

His mouth hung agape with disbelief as you happily pranced out of the toiletries section—leaving him with the realization that there were people aside from Juza that could pick a fight with him. 

And, surprisingly, he'd let this one slide.

"You know (Name)?" 

Okay, he didn't expect Juza to react like that when Banri decided to ask him about you when his roommate arrived at home. 

"Yeah, I ran into her at the grocery store a few months back," he says, ticked off. "What's it to ya?"

"Stay away from her," Juza tells him off sharply as he swings his school bag up to his bed. "I mean it, Settsu. Fuck around with me, I don't care. But I swear to god, if you touch my cousin—"

Banri does a double-take on that one. "Cousin? How much fuckin' family do you have, Hyodo?" 

"A lot," he replies like he doesn't want to talk about it, but Juza's glare doesn't ease up and for a minute, Banri feels a genuine spite emitting from his roommate. The neo gangster sighs, twirling his phone in his fingers. He sort of knew that asking Juza about you would be a stretch even if you both went to the same school, but how the hell was he supposed to know that you were his goddamn cousin?

After you checked out your groceries that day, you managed to scam him into carrying them for you to your house as well. You were quite the charmer, he had to admit. You'd smooth-talked him into doing your bidding so easily that it was hard to imagine you being related to the mumbling nervous wreck of an actor that was Juza. 

It was a chance encounter, he thinks. He could have gone to a different grocery store at a different time at a different date, yet he was there specifically when you found him glaring at the shampoo and conditioner on the shelves. Banri doesn't believe in shit like fate or destiny, but it was a little freaky when he'd seen you again this morning after Taichi asked about his hair—months since he'd last seen you. 

"If it means anything, she's always been going to our shows, though," Juza mumbles a few minutes later, catching Banri by surprise. "She's been curious about the guy that's been pickin' fights with me all this time, and I told her it was the one who played Luciano in Picaresque."

"O-Oi!" he yells out. "Don't sully my name before she can even properly meet me!"

"Why do you care?" Juza challenges, brows raised with curiosity. "I thought you didn't give two shits about girls."

For the first time, he can't offer up a single retort. In a battle of wits, he thought he'd win against Juza in every instance, but now...

"Fuck off!" Banri shouted at him, storming out of their room as he hid the blush creeping up his neck from his roommate's view.

[eeveedel]

Ive been feeling extra soft and loving lately 🥰 so I wanted to hear some of your favourite canons in your verses, like the ones that are cute and cuddly and tickle-y and giggly and kissy and just anything to melt our hearts 😍🤭

A list of cute thoughts for every ongoing chubby au I can think of off the top of my head or that I’ve talked about a lot recently...tell me if I missed your fave and I’ll make another post oops:

Thick alpha - Literally their whole story is so fluffy and gooey, but I’m most soft just for them just laying and cuddling on the couch together, probably under a big quilt, a movie playing in the background neither of them are paying attention to, just giving each other kisses and enjoying the feel of each other

Chubby actor - The only thing that makes Louis sad about getting bigger and then deciding to stay a lil big is that he can’t wear some of this favorite old clothes, and so Harry takes his favorite old pieces and spends a whole weekend altering them and adding new details so they’re larger but still look interesting, and Louis is so happy when he sees his new wardrobe 

Mafia boss Harry - Harry has thick scars all of his face that get itchy and bother him a lot, and Louis will sit with him in bed and rub special lotion on his scars and give him little kisses and just help him when he’s uncomfortable

Peasant and Noble - As soon as spring comes around every year, Harry takes Louis on a picnic and makes a basket brimming with Louis’s favorite foods, and just sits with him in the gardens next to Louis’s favorite flowers and feeds him treat after treat, giving him a kiss after each bite 

Camboy Louis/Simp Harry - When Louis starts warming up to Harry, he lets him paint Louis’s nails if he’s a good boy, and he loves seeing how focused Harry  is on making them look nice, and how pleased he is when he finishes them and Louis tells him he did a good job

Vampire Harry - Harry keeps a special kit by their bedside for when he drinks from Louis with antiseptic and lots of bandaids to clean him up. He also has special laundry detergent so he can wash Louis’s clothes and their sheets if he gets any blood on them, and has a whole section of their hall closet dedicated to Louis’s favorite blankets so Harry can wrap him up nice and warm while he sits and recovers from Harry feeding from him 

Witch Louis/Roommate Harry -

[katedrakeohd]

The Visitor (part 3)

[Catch up with parts one and two]

Author's Note: This is a personal fantasy along the lines of @jovialyouthmusic and her Many Lives of Drake Walker series. One night while I couldn't sleep my mind was working overtime and I started to imagine "What if?"

..

He gets up from the bed and goes over to the window and tries to peer out into my darkened backyard, “So what comes next then, for Kate and I?”

I shake my head, “Oh no, I'm not going to tell you anything. You need to live it yourself.”

I realize as I say this that there's a six month gap in my writing between where he's at and where I pick up his story again at Christmas. So it really is a mystery to us both what he's going to experience in between.

To me all the time in Oregon was so long ago, and I've written so much about his and Kate’s life since then.

He stands awkwardly in the darkness, sneaking a glance at Kevin's things piled up in his laundry basket. “So, uh. You said ‘our mattress', so I'm assuming you're married.”

I shrug my shoulders, “Officially, no. But we've been engaged for fifteen years.”

“Fifteen years? So you never planned a wedding.”

“We never set a date. He was going through a divorce when we met, and paying child support. Money has always been tight, so planning a wedding wasn't really a priority. We're married in every other sense of the word so a ceremony or certificate doesn't really matter now.”

He sits down on the corner of the bed again, this time on Kevin's side. “You sound disappointed.”

I'm starting to feel uncomfortable dredging up what's missing between Kevin and I. “I don't have powerful and wealthy friends and family who can throw balls, weddings, or invite me to fancy parties like you and Kate do. So I've had to live vicariously through you two.”

“I'm sorry. I shouldn't have pushed it.. It's hard to make small talk sitting in a stranger's bedroom. Especially knowing another man sleeps here.”

I laugh, “Imagine what he'd think if he walked in right now?”

Drake suddenly gets up off the bed, looking around nervously. “Uh yeah, is he the jealous type by any chance?”

“I don't know. He's heard Hailey and I talk about you and Daniel on a regular basis, but doesn't seem to complain.”

“Who's Daniel?” he asks with a smirk.

I try to suppress my grin by covering my mouth and looking away, hoping he can't see me blushing in the dark. Why did he have to smirk at me?

“Oh, he's just an actor I've been crushing on for the past year or so.”

“And Hailey?”

“My ten year old daughter.”

Drake sits back down on the bed again. There's nowhere else to sit in my bedroom, and I’m still hiding behind my blanket and trying not to bare myself in front of him.

There's a heavy awkwardness in the room, and with Drake sitting on the edge of my double bed there isn't much space between us. He's still wearing his two shirts, and I can see the sweat trickling down the side of his neck.

“It's really warm in here isn't it?” he says, mopping the sweat off his face and then drying his hand on his jeans.

“Sorry, we don't have air conditioning.”

He starts to unbutton his denim shirt then stops as he sees me raise my eyebrows, “Oh wait. Would you mind if I took this off?”

I shake my head, feeling my heartbeat throbbing in my chest and throat as I try to swallow, “Not at all.”

I look over at the empty water bottle on my dresser, trying to distract myself from the fact that he was taking off his shirt. Is he as thirsty as I am right now?

I find myself rambling nervously as he shrugs out of his shirt and I catch a whiff of how great he smells. It's a mixture of clean cotton shirt and some kind of spicy deodorant.

“But how rude of me not to offer you a drink to cool yourself off. I wasn't exactly expecting anyone to come over. If you’d give me a minute to throw something on, we could continue our conversation out in the livingroom? Kevin has cold beer in the fridge.”

He stands up, his denim shirt bunched up in his hand, and his white tshirt clinging to his toned and perfect body. I can't help but feel a tingle all over at how great he looks.

“Oh sure..sure. I'd like that. I'll go wait in the hall then?” he smiles at me.

I nod, “I promise I won't take long.”

As soon as he leaves the room and closes the door behind him, I bolt out of bed and cover my mouth, my mind screaming. Ohmygod..ohmyfuck, holyshit!

::Continue on ..

::::

tagging: @ravenpuff02 @sirbeepsalot @dcbbw @speedyoperarascalparty @bbrandy2002 @kingliam2019 @emichelle @griselda1121 @drakeandcamilleofvaltoria @debramcg1106 @kimmiedoo5

[papermoonloveslucy]

DUMMY ACHE

July 10, 1936

SYNOPSIS: Knowing that her husband, Edgar, would disapprove of her starring in a play, Florence acts very suspicious about where she is going when a rehearsal comes up. Edgar follows her to the home of co-star Al St. Claire and spies while they enact a scene in which Florence discovers that her lover is married to Lois (Lucille Ball). Florence becomes enraged and shoots Al. Edgar thinks the scene is for real. He comes in, finds a dummy of Al stuffed in a laundry basket, and before Florence can explain, carries it away to dispose of "the body". Limbs are spilling out of the hamper as he lugs it down the street and naturally the police soon catch up with Edgar, so before long, all confusion is cleared up.

Leslie Goodwins (Director), Lee Marcus (Producer), Bert Gilroy (Associate Producer). Filmed at RKO-Radio Pictures. 18 minutes length. 

Lucille Ball (Lois Mason, the Actress / ‘Mrs. Marino’) was born on August 6, 1911 in Jamestown, New York. She began her screen career in 1933 and was known in Hollywood as ‘Queen of the B’s’ due to her many appearances in ‘B’ movies. With Richard Denning, she starred in a radio program titled “My Favorite Husband” which eventually led to the creation of “I Love Lucy,” a television situation comedy in which she co-starred with her real-life husband, Latin bandleader Desi Arnaz. The program was phenomenally successful, allowing the couple to purchase what was once RKO Studios, re-naming it Desilu. When the show ended in 1960 (in an hour-long format known as “The Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour”) so did Lucy and Desi’s marriage. In 1962, hoping to keep Desilu financially solvent, Lucy returned to the sitcom format with “The Lucy Show,” which lasted six seasons. She followed that with a similar sitcom “Here’s Lucy” co-starring with her real-life children, Lucie and Desi Jr., as well as Gale Gordon, who had joined the cast of “The Lucy Show” during season two. Before her death in 1989, Lucy made one more attempt at a sitcom with “Life With Lucy,” also with Gordon, which was not a success and was canceled after just 13 episodes. 

Edgar Kennedy (Edgar) was born on April 26, 1890, near Monterey, California. He became a professional boxer, claiming to have gone 14 rounds against The Manassas Mauler, Jack Dempsey. At Mack Sennett’s Studios he was allegedly one of the original Keystone Kops, but soon graduated from bit parts to supporting roles, including Tillie's Punctured Romance (1914) with Charles Chaplin. RKO hired Kennedy to appear in a series of comedy shorts called "The Average Man," in which he played the head of a family. The shorts had very tight shooting schedules, often as few as three days. With Lucille Ball, he made Kid Millions (1934) A Night at the Biltmore Bowl (1935), neither of which were part of his series of ‘average man’ short films. He made over 200 short subjects and appeared in over 100 feature films, still in demand right up to the day he died of cancer on November 9, 1948.

Florence Lake (Florence Kennedy / ‘Dolores Doran’) was born as Florence Silverlake on November 27, 1904 in Charleston, South Carolina. Florence was the older sister of  Arthur Lake, who was famous for playing "Dagwood" on radio, TV and films. She was best known for Wrong Direction (1934), Secret Service (1931) and Quiet Please! (1933). She was the best known of Edgar Kennedy's screen wives in his series of short domestic comedies. After his death in 1948, she continued to appear in minor film roles and many television parts. Aside from Dummy Ache, she did three RKO films with Lucille Ball, two episodes of “Here’s Lucy” and the special “Happy Anniversary and Goodbye.” She was married to John Graham Owens and died on April 11, 1980.

Lake in “Lucy and the Raffle” (HL S3;E19) in 1971

Dot Farley (Florence's Mother) was born Dorothea Farley on February 6, 1881 in Chicago, Illinois. She was known for So Big (1924), The Little Irish Girl (1926) and The Signal Tower (1924). She appeared in many Mack Sennett films in the silent era and later became well known for playing Edgar Kennedy's mother-in-Law in his series of domestic comedies for RKO. In 1941, she joined Lucille Ball in Look Who’s Laughing, a film based on radio’s “Fibber McGee & Molly.” She died on May 2, 1971

Jack Rice (Florence's Brother) was born Earl Clifford Rice on May 14, 1893 in Michigan. He is known for his work on Feather Your Nest (1944), Poisoned Ivory (1934) and Blondie's Holiday (1947). Rice did seven other films with Lucille Ball between 1934 and 1947. He died on December 14, 1968.

Rice in “Lucy Meets Orson Welles” (ILL S6;E3) in 1956. 

George Lewis (Al St. Claire, the Actor / ‘Rupert Marino’) was born on December 10, 1903 in Guadalajara, Mexico. He was known for Zorro's Black Whip (1944), Radar Patrol vs. Spy King (1949) and Malice in the Palace (1949). He was married to Mary Louise Lohman. This was his only appearance with Lucille Ball. He died on December 8, 1995. 

Harry Bowen (Bowen, the Cabbie) was born on October 4, 1888 in Brooklyn, New York. He broke into the film industry doing film shorts during the silent era. In 1929 that he made his first appearance in a full-length feature, with a small role in Red Hot Rhythm, directed by Leo McCarey. During his 20-year career, Bowen appeared in over 150 films, most of them film shorts. Other notable films include: the 1933 classic King Kong and Flying Down to Rio (1933). Previous to Dummy Ache, he was seen with Lucille Ball in Three Little Pigskins (1934) and The Whole Town’s Talking (1935).  Bowen died in 1951 at age 53. 

Billy Franey (Mr. Samuels aka Pitchfork Man) was born in Chicago in 1889. Hey appeared in more than 400 films between 1914 and 1941, mostly playing comedic roles. His late career included numerous uncredited appearances in classics like Bringing Up Baby. Starting in 1937, he played Pop, the father-in-law of Edgar Kennedy in several of his series of short comedies. In 1938 he did two films with Lucille Ball:  Next Time I Marry and Go Chase Yourself, followed by Panama Lady in 1939. He contracted influenza and died from complications involving the illness in 1940.

The two policemen (speaking roles) are not credited. The film also includes background performers playing the frightened citizens. 

An insert shot of the printed program for the play that Florence is secretly performing in. 

Dummy Ache was nominated for an Academy Award as the Best Short Subject of 1936. It lost to The Public Pays, an installment of MGM's Crime Does Not Pay series. 

The "Average Man" short comedies starred Edgar Kennedy as a blustery, stubborn everyman determined to accomplish a household project or get ahead professionally, despite the meddling of his featherbrained wife (usually Florence Lake), her freeloading brother (originally William Eugene, then Jack Rice) and his dubious mother-in-law (Dot Farley). Kennedy pioneered the kind of domestic situation comedy that later became familiar on television. Each installment would end with Edgar embarrassed, humbled or defeated, looking at the camera and doing his patented slow burn. The Edgar Kennedy Series, with its theme song "Chopsticks", became a standard part of the movie-going experience: Kennedy made six "Average Man" shorts a year for 17 years.

From 1931 to 1948, Edgar Kennedy and Florence played husband and wife in more than 60 domestic comedy short films like Dummy Ache. Dot Farley and Jack Rice was in an equal number as Mother and Brother. 

Dummy Ache is heavily reworked from a silent comedy short, Dumb Daddies (1928), starring Max Davidson. Edgar Kennedy himself had a part in Dumb Daddies as a policeman.

It was remade into When Wifie’s Away, also an RKO short, starring Leon Erroll (above) in 1941. 

The premise of misunderstandings based on overheard rehearsals by actors was used by Desilu in 1952′s “New Neighbors” (ILL S1;E21), in which Lucy and Ethel spy on the O’Brien’s (Hayden Rorke and K.T. Stevens) mistaking their rehearsal for a spy drama for their intent to blow up the US capital!  Just as in Dummy Ache, the plot ends with police intervention! 

Most of the Edgar Kennedy Shorts are available on low-cost DVD.  

[lalka-laski]

1 - What are some of your favourite scents/smells? Lavender, cedarwood, Glenn's body wash & deodorant, fresh laundry, rainy days

2 - Do you enjoy watching murder mystery/crime programmes? Do you prefer fictional shows or ones based on real-life cases? I admit I like Dateline (we call it "murder porn") but I find the whole true crime genre a little unsettling. Imagine one of your loved ones is brutally murdered and then generations to come pop some popcorn and put up their feet to watch the grisly details play out in a re-enactment. It's just weird.

3 - What was the last parcel you received in the mail? Was it something you ordered yourself or was it a gift? An Amazon package of some shoes that I'll be returning because (shocker) they were too small. Damn my Fred Flintstone feet!

4 - Is there anyone you send e-mails to on a regular basis? Outside of work, nah

5 - What’s your favourite colour combination? Are any rooms in your house decorated in that particular scheme? Pink & white I suppose. That's the color scheme of my bedroom & bathroom

6 - Do you prefer white, milk or dark chocolate? What about flavoured chocolate? Milk chocolate over everything. I don't trust people who "prefer" dark. I think they're lying to make themselves look better

7 - What was the last reason for you leaving the room you’re currently in? To go put some clothes in the dryer

8 - How many surveys have you taken so far today? Do you have any plans to take more after this one? This is my third of the morning and I'm showing no signs of stopping. Thursday shifts are very survey dense...

9 - If you eat it, what type of meat is your favourite? If you’re vegetarian/vegan, do you like meat substitutes like quorn or tofu? I like Quorn but my favorite brands are probably Morningstar and Impossible. I'm so impressed with how far veggie food has come!

10 - What was the last thing you looked up on Google? Histrionic personality disorder

11 - What’s the next major holiday coming up for you? Do you have any interesting plans? Halloween! I think my sister is throwing a party but I'm not entirely sure

12 - Do you live in an area where masks are compulsory in order to enter shops? They're advised in most places but not mandatory. I still wear mine everywhere though, for fear of looking like a Trumpster.

13 - Did you wear any kind of uniform to school? If so, describe it. If not, did you at least have some kind of dress code to follow? No uniforms but we did have some bogus & very misogynistic rules that I think are standard for most American schools.

14 - Is there anything unusual or out of the ordinary in the room you’re currently in? I work in a fertility clinic so I guess a lot of this stuff is "out of the ordinary" compared to most workplaces

15 - Who was the last person you spoke to via Messenger, if you have it? Glenn

16 - Have you ever been badly sunburned? What did you do in order to make it less painful afterwards? Story of my whole entire pasty life! I once had a sunburn so bad I had to stay home from school for a few days.

17 - When was the last time you went swimming in the sea? Do you prefer swimming in the sea or in a pool? I've never been in the sea, although I did swim in a lake last weekend

18 - What’s something you need to buy in the near future? Are you waiting until you get paid to buy it? I need to pay my electric bill that's loooong overdue...

19 - What have you eaten so far today? Do you have plans to eat anything else before you go to bed? Despite it only being 8 am, I've already had a slice of pizza, a piece of pita bread & hummus, and a glass of coke. (And I wonder why I have stomach issues??) And yes, I plan to eat plenty more before bedtime tonight.

20 - Do you parents still buy you Easter eggs even though you’re fully grown? Yes, I love Easter baskets! And the candy is by far the best of any holiday.

21 - The last time you were in a car, where were you going and what were you doing there? Driving home from my parents house (and a pit stop at Taco Bell). Glenn & I stopped by to have a chat with my mom & dad.

22 - Do your parents have any opinions that you consider to be old-fashioned or odd? My dad has quite a few but he's learned over the years of living in a house of 4 headstrong, liberal women, not to be very vocal about them. It works for all of us.

23 - What time did you get out of bed this morning? Is that normal for you? 5:45ish? That's actually a smidge earlier than usual for me but I couldn't sleep and I figured getting up and out of bed was better than going back to sleep and making myself groggy.

24 - What normal things do you miss the most since COVID hit? Eating out at a restaurant!!

25 - What style of jeans/trousers are your favourite? Skinny jeans. Hate all you want, Gen Zers (or whatever the fuck y'all are called)

26 - Does it bother you when you recognise an actor but can’t remember what else you’ve seen them in? YES! I have no idea how humanity survived before IMDB!

27 - Are you generally more introverted or extroverted? Does this have a negative impact on you in any way? I'm an introvert in the sense that I prefer being alone or in a small group doing quiet, calm activities.

28 - If you were on Mastermind (a UK quiz show where you need in-depth knowledge of a certain subject), what would your preferred topic be? The Killers discography, Hilary Duff movies

29 - What’s your favourite flavour of cookie? Have you ever tried those cookies that are stuffed with things like brownies or cheesecake? Oatmeal chocolate chip. And no, but sign me the hell up!

30 - When was the last time you tried out a new recipe? Did it work out as well as you hoped? Sadly it's been awhile. I LOVE cooking but I haven't made the time to prep and plan a good meal in awhile.

[holllandtrash]

Family Dinner; Tom Holland

A/N: request from @swimminginsalvator​ “Imagine tom falling in love with a girl who doesn’t have a lot of money and has 2 overprotective brothers” i wasn’t sure exactly what you expected but i hope this suffices!

pairing: reader x tom holland

warnings: literally none it’s just cute

words: 1500+

summary: your brothers dont like tom but you like tom and it’s safe to say that tom likes you but why do your brothers words get to you so much?

i’m currently taking requests! request here

It’s not that you were embarrassed to have Tom come to your mom’s house for dinner. He’s met your parents before and your mom couldn’t stop gushing about how perfect he was for you after he left. The only problem was they met at a restaurant, and not in the home you grew up in as a child.

Personally, you loved this house. Yes, it was small, but every time you stepped through the front doors you were immediately flooded with every single memory from your childhood. 

As you and Tom got out of the car and began walking towards the front steps you saw the basement window that was boarded up with a few rusty nails. It had been ten years since the time you failed to catch the baseball your older brother threw to you, causing the glass to shatter. Your dad always said he’d get the window replaced but after a decade it was safe to say he no longer cared.

Tom’s hand found its way around your waist, hugging you close to his side as you leaned your head against his shoulder. Just before you could reach for the doorknob, Tom pointed down at the cement below your feet, “Is that your handprint?”

“Oh God,” you laughed, completely forgetting about the day you pressed your palm against the wet cement when your dad redid the broken steps. You thought he would be mad when your five-year-old brain realized that it was permanent, but he loved it. He even wrote your initials and the year underneath. “I was five,” you told Tom.

He knelt down and held his own hand against the one on the ground, covering it up with ease, “I love this so much.”

The screen door opened and Tom stood up hastily, clearing his throat as he came face to face with one of your older brothers, Jay. Your siblings had never met Tom before so you were very worried about what tonight would bring. Jay had a few inches over your boyfriend and he made that evident as he eyed him down from head to two. Tom held out his hand and Jay took it, shaking it with a grip harder than what was called for.

“Hey, I’m Tom,” he introduced himself at the same time your other brother, Kyle, showed up behind Jay. Kyle did the exact same thing, narrowing his eyes at the man you loved, trying to intimidate him. Tom shook his hand as well.

“Jay,” your brother nodded and then pointed towards your other sibling, “This is Kyle.” That was all he said before walking away, not even bothering to hold the door open. You pushed the screen back before it could close on Tom and the two of you walked inside. Right away you wanted to hide your face in shame. 

You asked your mom to make sure the house was clean but the two of you had different definitions on what that meant. Baskets of dirty laundry were left in the living room and you knew off the bat that no one bothered to sweep. You guessed the last time this place was swept was when you did it a month ago when your dad dropped the bowl of chips off the side of the couch.

You loved this house, but you didn’t love when other people visited. 

You knew that it definitely wasn’t what Tom was used to. He was familiar with five star hotels and the pad he lived in was beyond beautiful, which was why you were saving up money to move in with him. He told you that you didn’t have to worry about paying rent but if you let that slide the guilt would start to get at you. So you remained in the apartment with your two friends, paying rent there while simultaneously putting enough of your cheques away so when the time came to move in with Tom, your bank account wouldn’t suffer.

There was a red stain on the tile floor of the kitchen that came from a few years ago when your mom spilled wine and wasn’t bothered to clean it up until hours later. The liquid went away but the color never did.

Your parents greeted Tom with open arms and quickly jumped into a conversation with him as you went and sat at the kitchen table across from your brothers. They were both occupied with their phones but Kyle put his down when he noticed you sit down.

“He looks like a dweeb,” he said you, earning a laugh from Jay.

You rolled your eyes and kicked his shin under the table, “Be polite. I love him.”

“How’d you meet again?” Jay asked, not bothering to look up from his screen. 

“I was interviewing him and Jacob Batalon and it was a really short interview because there were other people scheduled to go after me, but before I left he asked for my number,” you shrugged your shoulders, not having much else to add onto the story.

Before either of them could respond you felt Tom’s arms drape over your shoulders and he rested his chin on the top of your head. You reached up and connected your hands with his, rubbing your thumb softly against his skin, “Because during that five-minute interview I knew I found the girl I wanted to spend the rest of my days with.”

“Do you use that line often lot?” Jay asked with a snort.

You felt Tom’s arms tense up around you as he lifted his head, standing up straighter behind the chair you sat at, “Excuse me?”

“Jay,” you warned, shaking your head. Your brother finally looked up at you and shrugged his shoulders in defense.

“I’m just asking.” he said, acting as though Tom wasn’t standing only a foot away, “Do you really think he hasn’t said that to another girl before? This kid plays Spider-Man for Christ’s Sake.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Tom retorted, standing up for himself. 

“He means that we highly doubt you’re serious when you say you want to spend the rest of your life with our sister.” Kyle joined in, clearly being on his brother’s side of things, “You’re an egotistical celebrity, why should we believe you when you say that you do? You can travel anywhere, you could be with anyone and if you’re just thinking about stringing her along for fun-”

“Kyle!” You interrupted him, pushing the chair backwards to stand up out of your seat. 

“We just don’t want to see you get hurt by this guy,” he responded, gesturing to the man who held onto your arm to keep you from slapping one of your brothers in the face.

“You two are the only ones hurting me right now,” you spat, turning around to walk to your old bedroom. Tom followed quickly behind and shut the door silently after he entered. You were facing your old twin sized bed and ran your fingers through your hair. Tom came up behind you and wrapped his arms around your waist, holding you close against him.

“Don’t listen to them.” he whispered in your ear before kissing the side of your head, “I love you. I always will.”

You turned your body around in his grasp to face him, pressing your hands against his chest. Instead of making eye contact with him you played with the silver chain the dangled from his neck, “But what if you find someone else?”

“I won’t.”

“You might.” You were quick to respond, “Face it Tom, we have two different lives. You’re an actor, you travel around the world to film for a living. I haven’t even left London. Look at the house I grew up in. Look at my family. We’re a mess. I can barely afford the flat I share with two other people meanwhile being afraid that you can’t pay your rent on time is something that you’ve never experienced.”

Tom let a laugh slip from his lips as he leaned down to kiss you softly, “If you think money is what is going to separate us you’re insane. I don’t give a shit about that. I love you for who you are as a person. And you’ve warned me about your brothers before, I knew what I was getting myself into when we started dating.”

“Yeah?”

“Yes.” He said without any sort of hesitation, “I want to be with you and only you. And I don’t care how long it takes for you to move in, as long as one day I get to wake up and see you lying beside me in the bed that we share.”

“You’re such a sap,” you teased but of course you couldn’t help but smile. 

“I’m serious!” he exclaimed, “I can’t wait until those days. For now though…” he trailed off and gripped you tighter, lifting you up so you were no longer standing. You laughed as he took a step forward and purposely fell forward until you landed on the bed you used to sleep in as a teenager.  He positioned his arms on either side of you to lift himself up above your body, “…this will have to do.”

As he kissed you again you smiled against his lips. In this moment, you too were imagining the future in which you got to wake up to this every single morning. And that future definitely couldn’t come fast enough.

[wreckmytommyboy]

when you... hear him say i love you for the first time

pairing: tom holland x reader request: yes! @randomdancer17 warnings: cursing, mentions of sex ___________________________________________ it's a lazy sunday afternoon. for you anyway. midterm exams had been hell, but now you're basking in the sweet afterglow of morning after AND morning sex. the sheets are piled around your waist, hiding the ruffled panties you had slipped back on before you fallen asleep and tom had left. you had one of tom's shirts thrown on too, an older one that was lying in the laundry basket of what you hope was clean laundry. you were lying in tom's ridiculously huge bed. tom was... somewhere. he was promoting one of his movies while here in the states. it was good he's been here on business the last few weeks, with him working and you diving nose first into studying, test, and textbooks, it felt nice to not have that stress of entertaining each other. lately all the time you had for each other was quick texts and quicker lunches via video chat. you hate to say you missed the little bugger. maybe that's why last night was so great. you hum at the memory, burrowing deeper in the sheets. you had gone out for a late lunch. you, tom, and believe it or not because you still couldn't, robert downey jr. you had met them after a series of interviews. tom had kissed your cheek and asked about the drive, two hours was nothing really. robert himself kissed your cheek and asked why you stayed with this goobert if not for the fame and fortune. ("is he paying your college fees? because honey, you can do better. he's just starting out. now chris on the other hand-") and that turned into a dinner with the casts themselves. your heart couldn't take the amount of gorgeous people in one room. and when you told tom such, he laughed. and then snuck you out. as much as you'd love to get know the actors behind your childhood heroes, the candle lit dinner in the middle of the city's gardens was just as good. he even pulled out your chair. you stomach still flips when you think of it after nearly twelve hours. but the absolute best part? even in the face of grandeur, because this was no doubt expensive, the only thing you could focus on was tom. he was in ratted jeans for god's sake, eating lamb. his hoodie has holes cut in the thumbs and his hair was racked from his hands coming through it all day. he slouched tiredly in the chair in front of you. you weren't any better really. you wore a nice dress, only because you didn't have any pants clean. in that face of this beautifully set table and gardens, neither of you looked your best. it was just dinner with your best friend. you talked about school and work and his recent travels and his parents and his brother's newest crush. the sex was even a mess. "so... sex? not if you don't want, too! but. you look really good today, as always , and i miss you, and-" "oh god, yes. exams were stressful. let's have destressing sex." "oh thank god." it was so perfect. and now, as you lay in tom's bed snuggling tom's sheets you couldn't be more happy. your phone buzzing disturbs your hazy thoughts. you peak out from the blankets to see your phone light up again. 'don't freak out!!!????' your eyes narrow at both the brightness and tom's words. you're throwing on tom's sweats before you realize it and walking into the kitchen. you want to reply, but lord knows he's probably in another interview already. you decide to let it be. there's coffee already made, bless his heart, and you pour a cup. you're flicking through channels when you find tom and the cast on a morning talk show, pre recorded. he's a bit red in the face and smiling nervously. anthony mackie is behind him, right beside robert. pour soul. they're probably embarrassing him. you smirk and turn the volume up. "-the paparazzi saw last night?" tom shifted nervously, "i have no idea what you mean." the blonde lady scoffs good naturely, "oh please! the pretty girl that was at the gardens?" his face gets more red. you sip your coffee as he deflects the question again before she moves on. it's nearing the end when tom has forgotten all about it and is in full story mode, with mackie breaking in with a comment, and chris evans with a laugh and the boob pat. "-and anyways, my girl is just watching from my phone and she's got one hell of an attitude when she's done with my crap, but my buddy harrison is like, dying and half the set is like," his voice takes an octave higher, "is he okay, get him an ice pack! and the other half is laughing their arses off." "and 'your girl'?" the interviewer slyly asks. "oh she's over it. she's had exams the past few weeks and she's just done. even through the screen i can feel that she hated me for like a second-" "regrets ever saying yes to that first date-" sebastian draws out. "oh! but i'm glad she did." tom gushes, much to the amusement of everyone' "i don't know what i'd do with out her now. i'm absolutely in love with that girl." you're smiling sweetly as the interview finishes. it's only after you've finished your coffee and drawing a giant bath and sipping tea when you realize what that text meant. 'don't freak out!!!????' the cup of tea slips from you hands and into the running bath water. "i'm absolutely in love with that girl." you phone buzzes. 'you're freaking out, i can feel it!!!!'

[travelingtheusa]

FLORIDA

5 Mar 2020 (Thu) – We drove into Panama City for lunch at Los Antojitos Mexican Restaurant.  It was excellent!  The chips were light and crispy, the margaritas were delicious, and the food was very flavorful and filling.  We took leftovers home.  

     After lunch, we drove to Panama Beach City and enjoyed a flight at the Panama City Beach Winery.  It is the only certified fruit winery in the U.S.  We bought 3 bottles of wine and some items as gifts.  Afterward, we drove around looking at the historic district. Panama City Beach was on the edge of the hurricane and only suffered light damage.  On the way back to the campground, we stopped for fuel and then shopped for groceries at WalMart.

 4 Mar 2020 (Wed) – We packed up and left Perry at 9:15 a.m.  It was a 3 hour drive to Panama City on route 98 along the coastline.  When we got to Port St. Joe and Mexico Beach, we saw devastation from Hurricane Michael, a category 4 storm that hit the area in October 2018.  There are still many houses with severe damage, tarps covering buildings, and scores of broken and downed trees.  It brought back memories of Super Storm Sandy.  That was awful.  I imagine this storm was, too.  

     We arrived at Tyndall AFB FamCamp Raptor Ranch Campground at 2 p.m. (actually, 1 p.m. with the time change).  We saw that the base had also suffered hurricane damage.  The base housing had been destroyed and many of the soldiers are camping here in the campground.  We got a space in overflow.  Even though it has full hookups, the sites are very tight.  We will only be here 2 nights.

     After set up, we drove to Wewahitchka for lunch at the Reel Time Fishers. Paul got breaded crab claws that turned out to be mostly corn meal.  It was terrible.  I had a bang bang shrimp basket with only six shrimp in it.  Good but not enough.

 3 Mar 2020 (Tue) – We packed up, dumped, and left Homosassa at 9:15 a.m.  The drive was uneventful and we arrived in Perry at 1:00 p.m.   We are camped on the grass next door to the Elks Lodge.  The lodge didn’t open until 4 p.m.  When we went in to pay, there was only the bartender – an old woman who couldn’t hear very well.  There are two more RVs parked out here with us.  They have electric and water hookups and a dump station.  

     We spent the afternoon calling campgrounds, trying to line up our next set of places to stay.  Several were full and we discovered that next week is spring break.  We finally got the next two stops secured.  We have to find a third and then we’ll be in Atlanta, GA.

 2 Mar 2020 (Mon) – We did the laundry today.  While the clothes were washing, we walked next door and wandered up and down the aisles of Harbor Freight.  Picked up a few things.

     We went over to visit with my cousin, Larry, and his sister, Lori. I got information for the family tree. It’s sad when families fall apart. Larry hasn’t talked with his two daughters for years.  He couldn’t tell me their husbands’ names or the names and dates of their children. Lori was in the same situation. In addition, they haven’t been in touch with their brother and sister either.  

 1 Mar 2020 (Sun) – We went to lunch at Fat Daddy’s Road House. It seemed to be the local hangout. There were two sheriff’s cars parked outside.  The place was pretty full inside although there were seats out on the patio that we couldn’t see.  There was only one waitress handling about 17 tables.  While she was very busy, she did not appear to be rushed or frazzled.  She handled everything with great attentiveness and got everything right.  The food was good and reasonably priced.

    After lunch, we picked up groceries at Winn Dixie.  Paul made a quick stop at Home Depot to pick up some parts to fix his lounge chair. The cable that pulls the foot rest out broke and he is going to rig up a replacement cable.  Mr. Fixit at work.  lol.

29 Feb 2020 (Sat) – We went to WalMart to pick up some groceries then to the Biscuit Barn for lunch.   I had a vegetable omelet with hash browns and rye toast.  Paul enjoyed a gravy on biscuit and a sausage biscuit.  The portions were very big.  We enjoyed the meal very much.

     I have been trying to get hold of a cousin in Crystal River.  The first attempts did not go through.  Since it was the day after heavy thunderstorms, I assumed the lines were out.  On the next day, the call went through and I left a message on the answering machine. Today, I tried again and my cousin, Larry, finally answered.  He is going to see if he can get hold of his sister, Laurie, and we will get together tomorrow.

 28 Feb 2020 (Fri) – I returned the remote control to the office this morning.  When we checked in, I got a clicker (with a $40 refundable deposit) for the gate. They lock it at 10 p.m. each night. They gave the deposit back.

     We packed up and left KARS Park at 9:40 am.  The traffic (as usual) was heavy.  It was almost four hours to Homosassa.  We are camped at Moose Lodge 2013.  They have four sites on the side of the building with 50-amp and water hookups. They say they have a dump site. That would be very convenient.  

     We went into the lodge to get lunch and pay for camping.  The kitchen doesn’t open until 5 pm.  We got a pretzel and drinks.  Camping is just $20 a night.  Good deal.  (KARS was only $10 a night)

 27 Feb 2020 (Thu) – It was a busy day today.  We went into Cocoa for lunch and ate at Pub Americana. It was an interesting building with a somewhat attentive waiter.  I did not care for my salad or the onion soup.  Paul seemed to enjoy his meal.  Then we ran errands.  Got propane, fueled the truck, picked up dog food at PetCo, and shopped for cat food and groceries at WalMart.  

     At 5:30 pm, we went over George & Linda’s.  We all drove to Brooklyn Pizza for dinner.  The food was good and the compay, as always, as very enjoyable.  They gave us a gift of margarita mix, Jose Cuervo, and Cointreu.  We will enjoy our drinks around the campfire!  After dinner, we returned to their home and enjoyed some time around the fire pit.

     I am very annoyed with KARS Park.  The water went out on Tuesday afternoon.  They’ve been doing construction around the park and we thought they either cut a line or turned the water off to make a connection. We went to the John Tesh concert that night.  When we came home, the water was back on.  The next morning, we went about our business – washed dishes, brushed our teeth, etc. using the park’s water.  Then we went out to run errands.  When we came back that afternoon, we found a note on the door advising that they had broken a water line and NOT to use the water for fear of a bacteriological contamination.  WTF??? Why did they wait so long?  We used the water to cook, do dishes, brush, and so on.  We could have been terribly infected if there was something in the water.  I called the office and was told they won’t know anything until tests come back on Friday.

26 Feb 2020 (Wed) – My medicine arrived at George’s business today so we drove over there to pick it up.  We all drove to Jabbers Bar & Grill for lunch.  Paul and I enjoyed a salad and pizza.  When we got back to the shop, we found another package that I ordered had arrived.  It was goat’s milk for Bonnie.  Her diarrhea has stopped but the goat’s milk will help in the future.

     At dinnertime, we met George & Linda at Preachers Bar where they were offering a wine bar for $10 from 6 to 8 p.m.  We ordered meals and drank wine till we were full.

     The medication I am on has changed my hair.  Instead of the thin, wispy old lady hair I had, I now had thicker hair and curls.  When I pointed it out to the oncologist, he said Imbruvica doesn’t do that.  How can he say that?  Just look at me!

 25 Feb 2020 (Tue) – We went to the Maxwell C. King Performing Arts Center with George & Linda tonight to see John Tesh.  I was not that familiar with him as a performer and was surprised to learn that he was not only a song writer and singer but a news anchor and news caster.  The show was very entertaining.

 24 Feb 2020 (Mon) – We went to the movies today and saw “The Call of the Wild.”  The movie loosely followed the book (they left out the dog fighting).  We felt they gave the dogs too much human emotion but otherwise it was entertaining.

     After the movie, we went to the port and had lunch at Grills right on the water and sitting under the shadow of a huge cruise ship.  Two ships left while we were in the restaurant, blowing their horns and easily moving out of their dock space.  

     We went in the Exploration Tower, a 7-story museum right at Port Canaveral.  A 20-minute video told the story of all the activity and organizations involved in keeping the port going and the cruise ships serviced.  There are certainly a lot of actors that make the port work well.

23 Feb 2020 (Sun) – We went food shopping today.  Stopped at a local coop to pick up a few things, then at WalMart to pick up everything else.  Had lunch at a pizza place.

22 Feb 2020 (Sat) – We drove to my cousin, Denise’s, house who lives about 3 minutes down the road. She drove us over to my cousins, George and Linda.  They were watching their grandson, Ryan.  The six of us went to lunch at Cheddar’s.  They served margaritas the size of small bathtubs.  I had a salad and a vegetable platter of four vegetables.  Life was so much easier when I ate anything.  This vegetarian “thing” can be problematic.  I hope I can get comfortable and happy with it soon.

     After lunch we went to George & Linda’s daughter’s house. Diane and Chris were away this weekend (that’s why George & Linda are watching their grandson).  We took a look around their home then drove to Home Depot where George picked up some weather stripping and a door knob.  He and Paul replaced the knob on Denise’s screen door off her back porch and put weather stripping around her door.  

     When the project was done, we drove back to KARS Park with George, Linda, and Ryan (Denise stayed home).  We showed them around the RV and visited for a while before they left.  It was a pleasant day.

     When we got back, Bonnie had crapped on the rug.  She has been suffering from diarrhea the last three days. Apparently, we stayed out too long and she couldn’t hold it.  I tried to clean the rug but it was ruined and I wound up just throwing it away.  We will have to shop for a new one.  Sheba has also been having diarrhea but at least she’s got the cat box.  

 21 Feb 2020 (Fri) – We packed up and left the Moose Lodge at 10 a.m.  The day was drizzly, dreary, and cold with gusty winds.  We drove 35 miles to KARS Park on Merritt Island.  We camped here December 2013, the first year we hit the road.   They have improved the campsites along the Banana River – put down stone on the river bank and installed new electric and water stanchions.  We parked in a spot back along the woodline.  Our campsite has a 30-amp and water hookup.  When we arrived, Paul dumped and I sat on the campsite to save the space.  Sure enough, someone came along and wanted the spot.  Good thing I held it for us.  

     We had to buy a membership to the KARS Park.  The Park is owned by NASA and was, at one time, quite the place. They had parties and activities for hundreds of employees.  Then, when NASA closed, the park degraded so they opened it to retired military and DOD civilians.  Now, NASA is back in business and they are improving the campground and expecting a resumption of the parties and barbecues.  Ipaid $20 for a membership card and also got an additional card for a guest which I gave to my cousin, George.  He likes to fish and he says the fishing is good in this part of the Banana River.

     The day was unpleasant.  We turned on the fireplace, made soup, and stayed in for the day.

 20 Feb 2020 (Thu) – We went to lunch at Wendy’s then to the laundromat to wash the clothes. While they were drying, we drove to WalMart to pick up water.  While there, we picked out a clothes hamper.  The one we have is very inconvenient to use.  Hopefully, this one will work better.

     At 5:50 p.m., we met Pat & Fred, friends from church back home. They are vacationing in Orlando and we were able to catch up with each other for a very pleasant visit, made nicer by having dinner together at Sweet Tomatoes.  That place is great!

     We spent the last two days trying to find a campground further south and on the east coast.  There are no spaces available at any place!  It is so frustrating.  We wanted to explore the Keys this winter but we just can’t find a campground in that area. Bummer.  We will move to a campground in Cocoa where we have stayed before.  It is restricted to NASA employees, DOD civilians and retired military.  They have a first-come, first-served policy so we couldn’t make a reservation.  The clerk said they are only about 90% full. Campers can only stay 14 days so rotation is faster than in other campgrounds.

19 Feb 2020 (Wed) – I’m baaaaaack!  It was a great visit to New York and I got to do and see everybody and everything I wanted to.  The oncologist said my bloodwork is normal (I go back in 3 months for a CT scan).  I got a colonoscopy and had my teeth cleaned. I visited with my children and grandchildren; my brother, Dennis; my cousin, Claude; and a new cousin, Guy, and his wife, Mary.  Our grandson, Hudson, celebrated his fifth birthday and I attended the party.  My sister, Susan, was kind enough to let me stay at her house and use her car.  Susan is a vegan while I am a new vegetarian.  She made good meals and I learned a lot about healthy food choices.

     Paul and I went to Universal Studios today.  There were a lot of people there but it wasn’t too crowded. We went on two rides.  The Hogwarts train from one park to the other is a great ride.  We really enjoyed that.  Daigon Alley was very interesting to wander through.  The sun was hot and the sky was cloudy.  We left at 3:30 pm and stopped at the Bubba Gump Shrimp Co. for a margarita and snack on the way out.

7 Feb 2020 (Fri) – A vicious storm rolled through last night.  I was wakened about 12:30 pm with winds and pouring rain.  There were warnings about possible tornadoes.  Thank God, we never had that.  But the storm continued for several hours.  

     We packed up and left Winter Haven at 10 a.m.  The dump site was a little tricky but Paul managed to back into it and get the tanks emptied.  It took us two hours to drive the sixty miles to the Orlando Moose Lodge. The traffic was awful.  This lodge has eight campsites; two don’t have working electric.  There are currently two campers here (I think it’s the same two that were here when we camped here about a month ago).  

     We got set up and then ran several errands.  Went to WalMart for various items, got fuel in the truck, did the laundry, went shopping at The Florida Mall, and had some lunch.  We got back and I tried to finish up things in preparation for my trip to New York tomorrow.  I will be gone for ten days.

 6 Feb 2020 (Thu) – It was a light day today.  We hung around the campground until noon.  Went in and paid for two nights lodging then drove to a nearby American Legion Post for lunch.  My member card was expired.  Somehow I did not have the new card.  I called Roby Johnson back home and left a message but the clerk at the post looked my membership up on line and verified I am a current member of the American Legion. We had lunch and drinks, then returned to the lodge.

 5 Feb 2020 (Wed) – We packed up and left Moore Haven at 10:30 a.m.  The drive was over two hours to Winter Park.  We are staying at a Moose Lodge.  There are ten spaces on the grass in back of the lodge with 30-amp and water hookups.  There is a questionable dump station that looks like it would be difficult to get to and on an incline. Eight campsites were full and another RV came in after us. The other campers were welcoming the couple like family.  As we looked at the license plates, most of the folks here are from Michigan.  We don’t know if they are family or friends but they all seem to know each other.

    After set up, we drove to Publix and picked up some groceries.  After we got back and were watching TV, a terrible odor floated in through the windows. Paul was looking out the window and saw a group of the other campers passing a joint around.  That happened three times tonight.  Paul was planning on staying here while I go back to New York but he’s changed his mind.  We will look for a new campground tomorrow.

4 Feb 2020 (Tue) – We had a pleasant day today.  While walking the dog at the campground, three boats came through the lock.  Paul went over to watch while I had a delightful conversation with an engineer who worked with the Corps of Engineers.  

     We left the campground at 11:30 a.m. and drove to Fort Meyers.  It is a very nice town with palm trees lining the main street (Fort Meyers is called the City of Palms).  We found out later that Thomas Edison planted palm trees along a mile of roadway in an effort to beautify the area.  Edison’s wife, Mina, was a great horticulturist and there are over 700 different species of plants on their property.  They’ve counted over 1,900 plantings!

    Thomas Edison and Henry Ford lived side by side in their winter homes in Fort Meyers.  The two of them, along with Harvey Firestone, formed a company to research rubber sources. They were worried about not have access to rubber for their tires and other equipment as the military went to war. They found that goldenrod was the best source.  However, synthetic rubber was invented and their research never really discovered an easy, inexpensive way to produce rubber in the U.S.

     The largest banyon tree in the Continental United States is on the property.  A banyon tree starts with a single trunk.  As the limbs branch out, they grow vines that reach back down to the ground and form new roots.  The vines transform into branches.  It’s an amazing thing to see.  Hawaii has the second largest banyon tree covering one and a half acres (Edison’s tree is one acre big).  The largest banyon tree in the world is in Calcutta, India and covers three and a half acres.  That’s a damn forest!

                                         this is a single tree!!

     At 4:30 p.m., we drove to Rib City and had dinner with SMART friends. We met Alan and Judy on the Canadian Maritimes caravan.  Judy’s sister and husband were visiting from Pittsburg.  The meal was very good.  Afterwards, we all drove to Alan and Judy’s house on the Caloosahatchee River.   It was a pleasant end to a pleasant day.

3 Feb 2020 (Mon) – We packed up and waited for the clerk to fill our propane tank (we ran out during the night) before we could leave.  It was an hour and a half to Moore Haven to an Army Corps of Engineers campground.   It is a delightful site.  Our campsite is on a concrete pad.  We have 50-amp and water hookup.  There is a dump station.  The campground is on a canal with a lock right next to the campground.  The skies are wide open and beautiful.  We are pretty far from the nearest city so we are expecting the night sky to be wonderful.

2 Feb 2020 (Sun) – We drove to Punta Gorda to tour the Muscle Car City Museum.  It was basically a Chevrolet Corvette museum.  There were many, many vets and other Chevy cars on display.  All the vehicles had been restored to beautiful condition.  We enjoyed lunch at La Fiorentina (an Italian restaurant). The place was packed and we had to sit out on the patio.  It was a little chilly with the wind and we were glad to have a heater going.  I had a bowl of minestrone soup and a panini. Paul enjoyed lasagna.  Then we settled in and watched the Super Bowl.

1 Feb 2020 (Sat) – It rained most of last night and today.  When it wasn’t raining, it was overcast, cool, and generally nasty.  We packed up and left the Fun-N-Sun Resort at 11 a.m. and arrived at the Big Tree RV Resort in Arcadia at noon.  This campground has 400 campsites.  The sites are tight but we got in fine.  We have full hookups and will be here for two nights.

       After we were set up, we drove to Ona to tour Solomon’s Castle. It was way off the beaten track out in the middle of nowhere.  It was a destination in itself, not a place you would pass by casually.  Basically, the place was built by a talented kook. The artist used parts of old discarded items to make all kinds of things, including his castle and other outbuildings around the 93-acre property.  Solomon worked with metal, wood, glass, and all kinds of materials to make some of the most interesting sculptures, pictures, and decorations. We had lunch in the Boat in the Moat; a galleon built in a depressed area with water surrounding it.  Solomon built it because he was bored.  He sure had a lot of time on his hands.  

31 Jan 2020 (Fri) – We visited with my cousin, Patricia, today (she is Fred’s sister and daughter of my father’s sister).  It was an hour drive to her home in Valrico, a pleasant retirement community.   She lives alone and uses a walker to get around because of a hump back condition.  Pat was a delight to talk to.  She had a box of photos her mother left her that she did not know who the people in the pictures were.  I was able to identify some.  Others were marked (Pat has macular degeneration in one eye and no retina in the other so she has difficulty seeing things) and I was able to point them out. I took many pictures with me.  I will have to go back to Fred and see if he can recognize some of the folks.  All in all, it was a very pleasant visit.

     On the way back to the campground, we stopped at Cracker Barrel for dinner.  It was a little odd to order four different vegetables and vegetable soup but I am working hard at staying on a plant-based diet.  The food was good but I sure missed the roast beef Paul was eating.

     I got a call from the doctor’s office this afternoon.  My bloodwork came out fine and I was instructed to resume the chemotherapy.  I was a little disappointed.  I had hoped that the week or two I have been on a vegetarian diet would have cleaned up my cancer and made it possible to stop the medication.  What a fantasy world we try to live in.  Oh, well.

 30 Jan 2020 (Thu) – We spent almost an hour this morning calling campground after campground looking for a campsite for 3 nights when we leave here tomorrow.  Finally, one campground had two nights available, not the 3 we wanted.  So, we took the 2 days and extended for one more night here at Sun-N-Fun.  We are coming to dislike Florida very much.  The traffic is horrible and all the campgrounds are packed during the winter.  My cousin said the traffic used to be bad only during snowbird season but that’s changed. The traffic is bad all the time now. That verifies Paul’s story that he heard a news story that said 130,000 people a month are moving to Florida.  

    Lunch was at the Bonefish Grill. We have driven past that restaurant many times and each time, we tell each other we need to stop there.  We finally did today.  The Bang Bang Shrimp was as good as we remembered it was.  The rest of the meal was ok.  Before returning to the campground, we stopped at Staples to pick up paper and printer ink.

29 Jan 2020 (Wed) – We drove to the Florida Maritime Museum at 10 a.m.  It was a small former school house turned museum on the first floor, contained in just two rooms.  There were pictures around the rooms showing fisherman in the 1800s. The museum was mostly dedicated to recounting the days of the fishing village of Cortez.  I don’t think it took 20 minutes to go through everything. There was a cultural center next to the museum but it is only open on Saturday.  We walked through the nearby woods and came out upon a boatyard with a seafood restaurant.  There were many American white pelicans floating in the bay.  We have seen them in the northern states so they must have flown down south for the winter.  So, they are really snowbirds.  😊

      We had lunch out on the deck looking out over the Sarasota Bay and watching the white and brown pelicans.  I had shrimp tacos and Paul had lobster mad & cheese.  The food was good and expensive!  On the way home, we stopped at Publix for groceries and PetCo for pet food.

 28 Jan 2020 (Tue) – We potsed around the RV this morning.  At noon, we left to go to the Florida Maritime Museum.  Unfortunately, when I pulled up the GPS, we found it would be 45 minutes to museum.  That would mean 45 minutes back, leaving us only a half hour to explore the place. We decided to put it off until tomorrow.

     We stopped at the Mellow Mushroom for a pizza.  The service was soooo slow.  The pizza was ok but not New York style.  We returned to the campground, fed the animals, then drove to Bradenton to visit with my cousin, Fred.  His mother, Aunt Tuddie, was one of my father’s sisters.  Fred and I had never met so it was a pleasure to spend time with him, his wife, Marge, and their son, Fred.  After talking about family and what we spent our lives doing, we enjoyed a delicious dinner together.  It was a good visit.  While we were there, Fred called his sister, Pat.  She is the oldest of the siblings and might know more about Grandma’s family than either of us.  Her mother gave her lots of pictures which Pat said she does not know who the people are. I promised to stop by to get the pictures and try to identify some of the people in them.  She lives about 80 miles north in Valrico.  Ironically, we were in Valrico for a few days before going into the Tampa RV show.  We’ll have to go back that way.

 27 Jan 2020 (Mon) – We drove to the Gamble Plantation Historic State Park.  It was an antebellum house built in 1843 by Robert Gamble.  He lived there 13 years trying to manage a sugar plantation but went bankrupt and finally left in 1856.  Different folks lived in the house over the years and it stood abandoned to the elements for years as well.  The Daughters of the United Confederacy tried to restore it but a hurricane ruined the place and they turned it over to the state.  Florida restored the mansion and now run tours through the house.  There were 22 people on the tour – way too many for the size of the house.  It was interesting construction with a hallway down one side of the house rather than down the middle of the home.  The house was built over a 3-year period with 3 separate additions.  The tour was about an hour long.  Afterward, we wandered through the small museum to read the story of the property and ownership.  It was interesting.

26 Jan 2020 (Sun) – Well, we had a bit of an adventure today.  I called the Elks Lodge in Bradenton yesterday to see if they had a campsite available.  They have two sites and the manager told us they were both open.  Unfortunately, when we got there, both sites had RVs in them. We then drove to the Elks Lodge we stayed in Sarasota but found 3 of the 4 sites full.  It wouldn’t have mattered so much except that our tanks were full (the last place did not have a dump site) and one of the RVs was parked on top of the dump station.  I called around to a couple of places in the area.  There was an RV Resort just a mile away so we drove there.  No one was answering the phones but it was a large campground and we expected we would at least find a dump station (if not a campsite). We got there to find the campground to be more of a mobile home park.  It was also gated.  When we pulled up to the keypad, we found there was no call button for the office. You entered the code or you didn’t get in.  Now we were stuck in front of gates that didn’t open and a short driveway off a main road.

     I got out and walked in back to redirect traffic turning into the driveway where there was also a busy gas station.  Paul backed up a little but wasn’t sure he could fit in the gas station (stations have overhead covers, many of which are too low for RVs and trucks). Next to the gas station was a one-way road that led to the back of a Jack in the Box and a Taco Bell.  I walked down the narrow road and saw a sign at the end that said it was the express exit to I-75.  It was a pretty busy roadway, too.  I stopped the traffic, turned people away (they were NOT happy about that), and held them off until Paul drove the wrong way down the one-way narrow road and passed in the back of the restaurants to get back on the main roadway.  

     I finally got through to an RV Resort nearby and found they had one spot available for our size trailer.  It is a huge place.  The Sun-N-Fun RV Resort and Mobile Home Park has over 1,400 sites.  It is a typical Floridian trailer park with hundreds of park models and some RVs.  And it cost almost $100 a night! Ouch.  That’s the problem with snowbirds in Florida.  The cost of staying here during the winter is very high and it is getting more and more difficult to find spots.

 25 Jan 2020 (Sat) – We went to the movies today and saw “1917.”  It had some great camera shots of the landscape.  Long, single pans of the countryside.  We enjoyed the show very much.  We had lunch at Sweet Tomatoes (I really like that place).

     We took Bonnie for a walk at twilight.  I love that time of the day.  The sun has gone down and a purple haze is on the horizon as the light slowly fades away.  There is a stillness in the air.  The daytime animals are returning to their dens and settling in for the night and the nighttime animals are waking, stretching, and getting ready to go out foraging for the evening.  There is a peaceful quietness that enters the soul.

 24 Jan 2020 (Fri) – We ran errands today.  Shopped at Pet Smart for Bonnie’s food, picked up vegetables at Sprouts Supermarket, then went to Publix to pick up “regular” food (because Sprouts is a health food place, it doesn’t carry a lot of non-health food items).  We had lunch at J.F. Kicks Bar & Grill.  I found a lab and had bloodwork drawn for Memorial Sloan Kettering.

 23 Jan 2020 (Thu) – We drove over to meet our friends, Brenda and Rick, in St. Petersburg (near Tampa).  We drove into town, stopping at the Green Bench Brewing Co. for drinks before going to lunch at the Oak and Stone.  It was a fun visit.

22 Jan 2020 (Wed) – The day started out a little uncertain.  I had the UPS tracking number and the webpage said my medication would be delivered at 10:30a.m.  At 9:35 a.m., Paul looked out the window just in time to see the UPS truck pulling out of the driveway.  We missed him!  I guessed I would have to wait for a note from UPS on the non-delivery.  Then, at 10:30 a.m., the UPS truck returned.  He had seen Paul running after him but he had to get other signatures.  The driver also said he was scheduled to make his delivery at 10:30 so he was coming back at that time.  So, I got my medication (not without a little bit of angst).  Now I have to call the doctor and arrange for a blood test before I resume the chemotherapy.

     We went out to a laundromat today and did the laundry.  While the wash was going, we went to lunch at Sabor A Mexico, a Mexican restaurant.  The food was pretty good.  I was a little concerned about being able to order something without meat but they actually had a section on the menu listed as Vegetarian Options.  The food was good.

      At dinner, I cooked mashed cauliflower and roasted Brussel sprouts with a green salad.  I’m still working on a menu plan that’s a little more appealing.  I’ll get it sooner or later.

 21 Jan 2020 (Tue) – We drove two hours to Ocala to get two tires for the trailer.  It seemed like that was the only place in the entire state that carried K9 tires.  I sure hope they hold up.  While waiting for them to put the tires on the rims, we went to Big Rascal BBQ for lunch. Everything was good.  On the way home, we stopped at Winn Dixie and picked up a few things.

     I called Memorial Sloan Kettering to see about having my medication shipped to me.  I’ve been off the Imbruvica since January 10th.  A nurse told me that the doctor wanted to make sure I was not taking Vitamin E with the medicine.  Apparently, it thins the blood.  The refill was authorized and I called the MSK Pharmacy to arrange to have the meds shipped by UPS.  Now, I have to make sure I am here when UPS delivers it tomorrow so I can sign for it.

20 Jan 2020 (Mon) – Paul put a light strip up on the side of the rig.  The RV was designed with a light on the awning.  The only time it works is when the awning is fully extended. You often want to put the awning out just a little or high winds make it impossible to put the awning out at all. That makes that light unusable. The light strip now gives us light under any condition.

     I called around to tire companies today.  We have been trying to find the same brand tires that we bought in Ocala just before going into Disney World.  K9 seems to be some kind of mystery brand.  I have talked to several tire dealers and no one knows the name. I finally called the place we bought the first two tires from in Ocala and ordered two more.  It will be over an hour drive there but I don’t see how we can do anything different.

     At 2:30 p.m. we went to Sweet Tomatoes for a late lunch.  I sure wish they would go to New York.  We love that place.  After lunch, we went to the movies and saw “Ford vs. Ferrari.” It was good.

 19 Jan 2020 (Sun) – We went to the service this morning.  Rather than a minister, they had a young woman with a sweet voice singing hymns.  They were nice but we didn’t recognize most of them.  Also, her voice was just a little too high.  We prefer a bass or alto to a soprano.  But it was pleasant anyway.

       All the Vilano owners bid one another good bye and we left at noon. It was a 13-mile drive to the Moose Lodge in Valrico after a quick stop at the Elks campground to dump.  After set up, we went in to the lodge and paid for a week.  It was only $10 a night.  THAT’S a great price!  We have 50-amp and water hookup.  We will have to go hunting for a sewer when we leave.  The bartender gave us a free drink as new visitors and another customer bought everyone a round at the bar.  We each ordered a small pizza for lunch/dinner.

 18 Jan 2020 (Sat) – At 9 a.m., we met at the Tiffin display and took pictures with Leigh Tiffin. Leigh is the grandson of Bob Tiffin. His father, Van, and he started the Vanleigh line of fifth wheels in 2015.  They grew the line from Vilano and added the Beacon and the Pinecrest models. Last year in 2019, Bob Tiffin brought the Vanleigh line back under as a division of Tiffin.  The fourteen of us took pictures this morning with Leigh Tiffin and Freddie Swinney, Regional Sales Manager.  How many people can say they know the person who manufactures their RV? We never even got an answer from Montana when we tried to communicate with them.

     The show ends tomorrow and we will be moving out.  We drove over to the Elks Lodge to check out space there. Sorry.  There is no room at the inn.  All 28 campsites were full.  The camp host said he would call tomorrow morning if something opened up.  A good many of the campers looked they are there for the entire winter season.

     We then drove over to the Moose Lodge, also in Brandon.  There are five spaces and no campers.  We walked around the lodge, talked with a guy sitting out on the patio, and checked out the hookups.  It looks like that’s where we will go tomorrow.

      On the way back to the fairgrounds, we stopped at Publix and picked up a few things.  Poor little Sheba is going stir crazy!  She couldn’t go out in Disney for 7 days.  Now she can’t go out here for 5 days.  Things will be better tomorrow.  We’ll have to give her some extra outdoor time to make up for her involuntary incarceration.

     At 6 p.m. we went over to the pavilion with our contribution of canned food (we gave 25 cans yesterday and 22 today).  For each can you give, you get one raffle ticket.  With all the tickets we had, we only won one bottle of cleaner.  Each time they pulled a ticket, we were conflicted.  You wanted to win but at the same time, we didn’t want any more “stuff” in the RV.  What a spot to be in!  The entertainment for the evening was a group called Malt Shop Memories.  They sang mostly doo wop songs.  They weren’t that good.  But, hey, they could sing and we can’t so that puts them up there.  Some couples got up and danced in the aisles. Young souls in aged bodies moving to the memory of songs long passed. 

17 Jan 2020 (Fri) – I am slowly getting better.  I have a big sore on the knuckle of my left index finger.  It really got to looking awful and the doctor said I had a bacterial infection in it.  My throat still hurts a little to swallow but it is at least tolerable.  The juicing is a big job every morning. I sure hope we can find a way to make this process easier and more convenient or it just won’t last.

     At noon, we went into the show and picked up a light strip for the outside of the rig.  We wandered in and out of a few rigs.  Looked in on a $2.4 million motor home.  We weren’t really impressed.

     At 6 p.m., we went to the pavilion and saw a show by Matt and Dave. It was a kind of oldies show where the two brothers sang songs from the 50s, 60s, 70s, and 80s.  They were funny and entertaining.  After the show, they had raffles again.  I won a bottle of cleaner.

     My stupid watch!  My fitbit bit the dust on its 13th month (the warranty was good for 12 months).  After some kibitzing, I decided to get another watch but not the same make (who wants a product that barely lasts).  I bought a Garmin Vivosport.  I noticed last night that I picked up an extra thousand steps. Turns out the watch was recording the movement of my clapping as steps.  Dumb thing!

 16 Jan 2020 (Thu) – We went into the show this morning.  I bought a clever holder.  It has a magnet on a tab as well as in the pocket.  You put the tab over the waistband of your pants so it sits inside and the pocket hangs on the outside.  The magnets stick together and you have an extra pocket.  Pretty neat.

     At noon, we Vilano owners caught up with one another and had lunch at one of the outdoor eateries.  The sun was beating down hot on us and I sure was glad to finish eating and get back indoors. We wandered through a few Montana fifth wheels.  Our first fifth wheel was a Montana so it holds a special place dear to our hearts.

     We returned to the camper and drove into town to get groceries. Because of the severe reaction I had, I am determined to get off the chemo.  In order to do that, (I believe) I have to move to a vegetarian diet (plant-based is the new buzz word).  So we had to pick up loads of veggies and fruits.  

     After dinner, we walked over to the pavilion and saw Kenny Evans put on a show.  He is an entertainer who performs annually at Pigeonforge (near Dollywood) in Tennessee. He was a phenomenal performer with an incredible range of vocal notes.  The songs were mostly golden oldies with a few country songs thrown in for good measure. After the show, they had a raffle and gave away some goodies (like we do at the SMART rallies).  When we returned to the camp area, someone brought out their propane fireplace and we sat around the fire until 11 p.m.  It was very nice.

 15 Jan 2020 (Wed) – We went into the RV show today.  FRVTA claims to have the biggest RV show in the country.  Hershey, PA, makes the same claim in October.  Needless to say, they are BOTH very large with thousands of RVs on display.  

     Our SMART friends, Rick & Brenda (who live in St. Petersburg), drove over and joined us.  Together we toodled around the rigs and supplier tables.  There is so much out there for camping.  At 4 pm, we went back to the camper where I prepared a big salad, then we joined the other Vilano owners for a pot luck meal.  Everything was quite good.

 14 Jan 2020 (Tue) – We packed up and drove 3 hours to the Tampa Fairgrounds.  We will be here for 5 days attending the Florida RV Trade Association (FRVTA) Show.  We met up with 6 other Vilano owners and were parked together as a group.  There are starting to be enough Vilano owners that we starting to show up in groups.  Very exciting.

 13 Jan 2020 (Mon) – I went to the doctor today.  I am apparently having a significant melt down.  I stopped taking the chemo on Friday.  Called Sloan Kettering this morning and was advised to get myself clinically evaluated.  My tonsils were so swollen and my throat so raw that I could barely swallow.  There is a canker sore on the side and front of my tongue that keeps rubbing on my teeth, making it very painful to just talk.   My teeth have been bleeding and just plain hurt, in general.

     We stopped in at an emergency room.  The doctor (who was younger than my son), followed by an even younger assistant who looked like he just woke up, said my lymph nodes were enlarged, not my tonsils.  He prescribed a mouth swish and augmentin (an antibiotic).  Sloan Kettering advised me to stay off the chemo and finish the antibiotic, then call back to arrange for bloodwork before I resume the Imbruvica.

12 Jan 2020 (Sun) – We went into the lodge this morning for breakfast.  It wasn’t bad and only $10.  After breakfast, we gathered up the laundry and went in search of a laundromat. What a job that was!  The Garmin GPS listed two that were no longer there when we arrived.  We finally found one and threw the laundry in.  We sat in the truck until the wash was done.  When the clothes were secure in the dryer, we went out to find a supermarket.  Again, Garmin sent us to a Stop and Shop that was no longer there.  Ironically, after all our driving around in circles following false directions, it turned out a Publix was across the street from the laundromat.  We picked up groceries, stopped at a GNC for a few things, and found a Pet Supermarket to pick up Bonnie’s food.  Then it was back to the campground where we collapsed.  Being sick makes everything seem like such a big deal.

 11 Jan 2020 (Sat) – We packed up and left Walt Disney World at 10 a.m. dragging ass all the way. We drove 40 miles to a Moose Lodge in Orlando.  They have a small area for RVs.  There are 8 sites but 2 have no working electric. There are only 30-amp and water hookups.  No sewer and no dump station.  We set up then slept for a couple of hours.  We forced ourselves to go into the lodge and pay for our camping.  The rate is really good.  Only $10 a night.  We will be here for 3 nights until we move to the Tampa RV Show.  We ran out to CVS to pick up medications, and searched around for a tire center that had the kind of tires we want.  Paul is trying to match the two K9 ST trailer tires we bought in Ocala but nobody had them.  In fact, nobody ever heard of K9 tires.  It’s making me a little nervous.  We’ll have to call the tire place we bought them from and ask for two more. We returned to the camper and zonked out.

10 Jan 2020 (Fri) – Ugh.  We have both been so sick.  We spent Friday sleeping and didn’t get to interact with Caiden, Miranda or Kenny all day.  At 8:00 p.m. we met at the Polynesian Resort for the Spirit of Aloha Dinner Show. Poor Caiden was so pooped that he basically passed out.  They didn’t really have any food he would have eaten anyway.  My throat was so sore, I couldn’t swallow so ate very little. Paul has a dry cough that’s making him miserable.

9 Jan 2020 (Thu) – Wow! It has been a very busy week.  We went to Universal Studios on Monday, WDW Hollywood Studios on Tuesday, WDW Magic Kingdom yesterday, and WDW Animal Kingdom today.  The lines have been insane (there are thousands of people here for a marathon). We waited one and a half hours this morning to get on the new Avatar ride.  I guess Virtual Reality rides are now the thing.  I found the ride to be very intense and had to close my eyes when my stomach started reacting to all the swooping and diving.

     You really need a minimum of two weeks, and preferably three weeks, to enjoy everything Walt Disney World has to offer. With just a week, lots of crowds, and four different parks, we have focused on the big stuff and had to pass on the small stuff.  It’s still been lots of fun.  How can it not be?  This is Disney!  Tomorrow is a laid back, sleep-in, take it easy day.  We will give Caiden time to really enjoy the pool and playground. That’s probably most of what he will remember about this trip anyway.

5 Jan 2020 (Sun) – It was something of a frustrating day.  Paul and I went to Hollywood Studios intending to meet Miranda, Ken & Caiden at 8 a.m. We got there at 7:45 a.m. and all the spaces on the Millennium Falcon were already gone.  That ride is not open to Fast Pass access so we couldn’t figure out how everyone got a spot on the ride when the park only opened at 7 a.m.  We signed Caiden up for Jedi training (after some confusing directions to get to the sign-up desk).

     The kids had some difficulty figuring out the bus schedule. Kenny and Caiden arrived at almost 9 a.m.  The park was packed and we couldn’t find any rides open.  We walked around the new Star Wars theme area until our Fast Pass for the Tower of Terror opened at 10:40 a.m.  After that, we again wandered around until our lunch at Hollywood & Vine at 11:30 a.m.  Miranda still hadn’t joined us.  She got stuck on the slow bus to nowhere and took almost an hour to get to the park. At any rate, she missed the character buffet lunch.  Kenny took a couple of pretzels for her.

     After lunch, I went to meet Miranda at the ticket booth and the guys went to get Caiden’s Jedi training.  Because I had gotten the admission tickets through the Army, I had to be there with everyone who had tickets.  The agent verified my military status, entered the tickets into the system, and matched our magic bands to the tickets.  The magic bands are a kind of digital key.  It opens the hotel door, grants admission to the parks, and lets you charge anything you buy in the park.

      At 1 p.m., the group of young Jedis (about 30 of them) marched through the park to the arena.  Both Darth Vadar and Kylo Ren fought their opponents as each child was given a chance to personally battle the dark side.  It was cute.

     We again wandered around until we caught the Indiana Jones Adventure Show at 3:15 p.m.  Our final event was at 3:40 p.m. on the Star Wars ride.  It was time to get back to the campground to feed the animals and walk Bonnie.  We parted ways and caught the bus back to Fort Wilderness.  After dinner, we searched high and low for Caiden’s ticket to Universal Studios.  We will be going there tomorrow and I was checking everything over.  We have one voucher for two one-day tickets and another voucher for two four-day tickets.  We will turn them in at the customer service desk for tickets.  We also had a ticket for Caiden which the agent at MWR had warned me to keep safe because it was unplaceable.  Guess what we couldn’t find?  We tore the place apart searching for that ticket but couldn’t find it anywhere.  Looks like we’ll have to buy another ticket for Caiden tomorrow.  Ugh.

4 Jan 2020 (Sat) – We bid Margaret & Rich good-bye and left Hernando at 10:40 a.m.  It rained almost the entire drive to Lake Buena Vista where we arrived at Disney World Fort Wilderness around 1 p.m.  We were checked in quickly by a perky young woman but then had to sit for about 20 minutes because the RV in front of us just sat there.  I guess they were having a problem checking in.  Finally, they opened another lane and let us drive around them.

     At 4:30 p.m. we drove over to the Port Orleans – French Quarter Resort to meet Miranda, Kenny & Caiden.  Unfortunately, their flight left Islip 20 minutes late because of the weather. Then the plane was held up on the tarmac when they arrived in Orlando.  After waiting about a half hour for the Disney Magical Express, they had to ride for an hour and were the last stop of the drop-offs.  In the meantime, Paul and I wandered around the resort; had an appetizer and cocktail at the Scat Cat Lounge; poked around the gift shop; picked up a 2020 ornament; explored the area around the lobby; looked over the pool.  They finally got in around 6:30 p.m.  They got checked in.  We took Kenny and Caiden to the restaurant to get something to eat.  Miranda was not feeling well and had to lay down.  We took Caiden to the pool for a half hour swim. Although the water was heated, the air was chilly and he was shivering by the time we called him out of the pool. He had a great time and is looking forward to more swimming.  We promised to go in with him next time.

     Unfortunately, Disney only brought two of their three bags to the room. At last word, they were trying to find her bag.  It has her medication and other important items in it.  Bad way to start off the vacation.  Bah, humbug.

3 Jan 2020 (Fri) – I did laundry today.  We certainly don’t want to have to do it in Disney World so we washed the few pieces that needed washing.

     We went out and did some errands today.  We put fuel in the truck, picked up pet food, shopped for groceries, and bought a Sun Pass (a prepaid toll card).

     While working around the RV this afternoon, Rich spotted a flat tire. Oh, No!  That makes two and now we have no spare.  So we called around and found a place in Ocala (about a half hour away) that had similar tires to what we have on the trailer now.  So Paul got two.  We’ll have the two on one side and the two tires we have now on the other side. Not the best of situations but we didn’t have much choice.  When we finish at Disney we’ll get two more of the type we bought today.

    Margaret cooked salmon tonight. Everything was good.  After dinner, we watched Wheel of Fortune and Jeopardy.  We’ve been watching those shows just about every night.  That music sure gets in your head.  Paul and I saw a special on TV last night where they were interviewing Alex Trebek.  We heard how he got started on Jeopardy and where the music came from.  The show was started by Merv Griffin, who (I think) is now deceased.

2 Jan 2020 (Thu) – We went into town this morning to mail off some items and get cash at the ATM. When we returned, we rode with Margaret & Rich to Chiefland where she shopped for gourds.  She makes the nicest animal sculptures out of the gourds. Margaret goes to 5 or 6 shows a year. After she bought about 20 gourds, we drove to Cedar Key.  It was a very beachy town and was quite crowded. We couldn’t find a parking spot so we left and drove back to Crystal River for lunch.  Later, Margaret cooked hamburgers for dinner.

 1 Jan 2020 (Wed) – We kept it easy today.  At 3:30 a.m. we went to the movies and saw the new Star Wars movie.  It was OK but I sure hope it’s the last of the Star Wars movies.  They are starting to become boring.  Margaret cooked chicken in wine with mashed potatoes and broccoli.  Um um good!

 31 Dec 2019 (Tue-New Year’s Eve) – The cat threw up on the bed last night.  The vomit went through the comforter, blanket, and both sheets.  I pulled everything off and washed them in Margaret’s machine today.  It was nice of her to offer.

     We took Bonnie and Sheba to the vet this afternoon.  Bonnie has been having trouble getting up lately and we were looking for something to make her comfortable.  And Sheba has been unusually hungry.  I thought she might be experiencing a thyroid problem.  Bonnie has a urine infection and a slight decrease in the space in her hips.  The vet gave us an antibiotic and something for pain when needed.  Sheba’s bloodwork was fine and showed nothing.  We’ll keep an eye on her.

30 Dec 2019 (Mon) – Paul was up and out at 6:30 a.m.  He was headed to WalMart to get an oil change on the truck.  Unfortunately, he went to the wrong WalMart where they had no auto center.  He then had to drive to the other one we were at the other day.  Four people were already on line in front of him and he had to wait a couple of hours.  He didn’t get back home till after 9:00 a.m.

     We took a ride with Margaret & Rich around the neighborhood stopping at Matt’s house.  Matt was also a coworker of Paul’s at DOT.  He and his wife are having a house built nearby.  They bought ten acres and Matt plans to build a drone racing track. We watched him run a drone through a small track.  That thing sure moved fast!  It sounded like a sick bird.

     After toodling around, we stopped at Oysters for lunch.  It was Rich’s birthday on Christmas Day (bummer) so we treated them for lunch.  The service was very slow but the food was good.  Margaret & Rich went out to dinner with Rich’s sister and husband to celebrate both of their birthdays.

 29 Dec 2019 (Sun) – During the party last night, we got to talking with another couple about New Year’s Eve plans.  He suggested we go to Crackers Bar & Grill on the water.  So we went there for lunch today to check it out.  They were busy and we ate at the bar so we wouldn’t have to wait.  Service at the bar was slow so it probably wouldn’t have made any difference to get on the waiting list.  The food was good.  Afterward, we strolled on the boardwalk in back.  We could see about four boats out in the marina with tour groups.  They were all doing scuba with the manatees.  

     We went in the house at 7:00 p.m. and watched “The Irishman” on Netflix. It was about crooks and how Jimmy Hoffa disappeared.  Interesting.

 28 Dec 2019 (Sat) – We went to Sabina’s Diner for breakfast.  It was a very interesting place with a large selection of unusual items. I had chipped beef and Paul had sausage gravy and biscuits.  Everything was good.  Then we did our laundry at the laundromat.  Margaret yelled at us for that.  She offered her machines for our use.  I felt it would be a burden given that she was having a holiday party tonight.

     We did some shopping at WalMart and Paul checked out the auto center to see about getting an oil change for the truck.  We went into Margaret’s at 6:00 p.m. for her holiday party. About 20 people came.  It was fun.

 27 Dec 2019 (Fri) – We packed up and headed out to Hernando to stay with our friends, Margaret & Rich.   Paul used to work with Margaret at DOT. They have two covered RV spots in the back of their house.  Their RV is in one and we are staying under the other one.  We have full hookups with 50-amp service.  Just like the best campground!

    Margaret made manicotti for dinner. It was delicious!

26 Dec 2019 (Thu) – We went to The Ringling today.  It is a collection of buildings once owned by John and Mable Ringling of the Ringling Circus. There is an art museum (we did not go in it), a visitor’s center with rotating art displays (they had glass art on exhibit), a restaurant and café, a circus museum, and a beautiful mansion.  The Ringlings had called their home Ca’D’Zan, which is Italian for John’s house.  It served as their winter home.  We took two tours of the mansion – they offer three: one unguided tour of the ground floor, a paid docent led tour of the second floor, and a paid docent led tour of the third and fourth floor.  Talk about soaking the tourists for all they can!

     The museum was fascinating.  I thought I had been to the circus but I have never seen anything like what was on display in the museum.  There was a 3,800 square foot model depicting the American tented circus in its Golden Age from 1919 to 1938.  The logistics of the size and movement of the circus is mind boggling.  As a former logistics officer, I can appreciate the work involved in moving 1,300 workers and performers and 800 animals (they were a traveling zoo), with all the equipment needed to put on a performance.  Every aspect of the circus was displayed in the model.  There was the Big Top where the shows were performed in three rings.  Many other tents housed the workers and performers, served as a large dining hall, was used a changing rooms, and allowed the staff to live and sleep.  There was also a large tent where the animals were on display.  The circus could travel up to 15,000 miles and perform in 150 cities in just one season!  Imagine pulling into town on the train (that set up is another story!), parading through the streets, putting on the show, then moving on in just one day. Incredible.  

     After the museum, we drove around looking for a place to eat.  We wound up driving through Keys – Casey Key, Longboat Key, etc.  The traffic was heavy and we got stuck going over the bridge.  Luckily, we found a restaurant and after a little struggle to find parking, we went in for dinner.  The weather was lovely and we sat out on the patio.  The food was good and I tried their featured drink – a Fizzy Cocktail.  It really wasn’t that good.  The check was a whopper $101!  Ouch. Well, we were in an exclusive area.

 25 Dec 2019 (Wed – Christmas Day) – We went over Greg & Potsy’s house at 11:00 a.m.  Their daughter, son-in-law, and grandson were there as well (Kathy, John & Little Johnny).  We exchanged gifts and visited for a while then went over their son’s house. Tim & Brittany have two boys – Sage and Phoenix.  Phoenix was born in May this year as was Little Johnny.  Sage is four and a half.  Greg’s other son and wife, Gregory and Kat, joined us as well.  It was full day of visiting, eating, and playing with the little ones.  It was a wonderful day.

     We left at 4 p.m. and returned home to feed the animals.  At 6 p.m., we drove out to the Sarasota Mall to see the Christmas lights.  The mall is huge and all the palm trees had been trimmed with white lights on the trunks and green lights in the palms.  There is also a large lake next to the mall where they have skull racing. There was a light show along the walkway around the lake.  It was all very festive and beautiful to look at.

     We drove around looking for a place to eat.  Everything was closed.  It was maddening!  Then we stumbled on Miller’s Ale House.  It was packed.  Probably because it was the only place open for miles around.  We were seated immediately in a bar area with the windows open.  Although we had to wait 25 minutes for our food, everything was good.  It was a pleasant ending to a pleasant day.

24 Dec 2019 (Tue) – We tried to find a tire place today to replace the tire we took off the trailer yesterday.  No luck.  Goodyear said they would have to send to Orlando for it and it wouldn’t come in until Friday.  We are leaving then.  Guess we’ll wait until we get to Orlando.

     We met Greg & Potsy and Kathy & John with little Johnny at Gecko’s for lunch.  Their margaritas were terrible!  Their homemade potato chips were delicious!  After lunch, we went over Greg’s to see his new house and visit for a while.

     There is a flock of 3 sandhill cranes wandering the large field we are parked in. When Paul went out with Bonnie this morning, they clacked their bills, screeched, and flapped their wings.  This evening, they just stood and watched her every movement but didn’t act as threatened.  Guess they figured out she is not a danger to them.

 23 Dec 2019 (Mon) – While packing up this morning. We discovered one of the tires on the rig had a bubble in the sidewall.   We pulled out of our campsite and into the parking lot where Paul changed the tire.   I looked up the record and saw that we have about 18,000 miles on the tires.  We bought them in February 2018.  Looks like it’s time to buy new tires.  Ugh.

     We were finally on the road at 9:45 a.m.  There was traffic at some of the chokepoints along the way and it rained on and off.  We arrived at the Elks Lodge in Sarasota a little after 2 p.m.  There is a large grassy field in the back of the lodge. There are water and electric hookups along the side of a Tiki bar.  A small pond sits off to the side.  Just as we finished setting up, the skies opened up and it poured.

     We put up the Christmas tree tonight.  As always, it was a trip down memory lane.  As we travel, we get Christmas ornaments from each town and attraction.  We have a couple of boxes full of ornaments from all over the country.  Each one we put on the tree prompted a comment about the place we were at when we bought the ornament.  It’s always an enjoyable experience to share those special memories.

     At 5:30 p.m. we went into the lodge for dinner.  Every Monday, they have a “Depression Dinner.” It started out a few years ago when officers of the lodge volunteered to cook dinner.  It evolved into a tradition that now has the officers cooking dinner every Monday.  The meal consisted of chicken fried steak, mashed potatoes, succotash, and gravy.  There was also pie for $2 extra.  Everything was very good.  The lodge is very nice – large, bright, and airy.  They have something going on every day.

 22 Dec 2019 (Sun) – We went out for breakfast at the Causeway Diner.  The corned beef hash was cooked perfectly!   The place was crowded but we were able to get a seat right away. The food came fairly quickly and was very good.  The waitresses all smiled and were friendly despite the crush of customers in the diner.

     After breakfast, we drove to Titusville to pick up food for Bonnie. Then we drove to the American Police Hall of Fame & Museum.  It was quite interesting.  They had descriptions of famous criminals, and lots of displays of police equipment – handcuffs, pistols, rifles, the electric chair, a straight jacket, a jail cell, fingerprint apparatus, vehicles (cars, motorcycles, ski doo, bicycle, snow mobile, and segway), and hundreds of PD patches.  In the center of museum was a chapel and next to it was a large circular room with all the names of police officers who have died in the line of duty etched on the wall.  There were tens of thousands of names on the wall along with pictures, flowers, and mementos at the base of the wall.  It was very moving.  

     As we were heading home, we stopped at a development that advertised model homes to see.  But the office was closed and we couldn’t get into the homes.  That was a bummer.  Next stop was at PetCo for dog food, Publix for cat food and groceries, and a gas station to fuel up for tomorrow’s move.

 21 Dec 2019 (Sat) – We went to the Brevard County Military Museum this morning.  The brochure we had said the museum opened at 8:30 a.m. but when we got there at 9;00 a.m., we found it didn’t open until 10:00 a.m.  So we walked around the grounds looking at the monuments and then over to an open field where they are planning to develop the area.  By the time we were done, it was quarter to ten and the door was open.

     It was a small museum but jam packed with great information and displays. They had uniforms, artifacts, equipment, and weapons from every conflict since the Revolutionary War.  Placards described various wars and personalities. We enjoyed the museum very much and spent almost two hours there.

     After the museum, we returned to the campground, walked Bonnie then went to George & Linda’s for their open house.  We stayed until almost 5:00 p.m.  It was a long day.

20 Dec 2019 (Fri) – We got up at 6 a.m. this morning so we could watch a launch.  The Boeing Starliner blasted off at 6:36 a.m.  The Atlas V Centaur was an unmanned mission to bring supplies to the International Space Station.  It was a test.  This launch and the next are to test the rocket.  If they are both successful, then we will be able to transport our own astronauts back and forth to the space station rather than having to rely on Russia. Unfortunately, the rocket failed to reach the proper orbit and the mission was considered a failure.  At any rate, it was really cool to watch.  We stood in the parking lot watching the horizon where the trees stood.   A glow appeared on the horizon behind the trees and quickly grew brighter and brighter.  Then a bright light rose into the sky.  It looked like somebody shot off a bottle rocket.  We watched it rise into the air until we couldn’t see anything any more.

       At lunchtime, we drove to Port Canaveral and had lunch at Grills Tiki Bar. We tried shark kabobs, which weren’t bad, along with coconut shrimp and rice.  It was good but the drinks were watery.  The restaurant was right at the port.  Right behind us was a Royal Caribbean cruise ship in the dock.   A Carnival and a Disney ship were docked as well.  There were pelicans everywhere!

     After lunch, we drove over to the other side of the port.  We could see what looked like the Space-X booster rocket on a barge and we wanted to get a closer look.  When we got over there, we found an Air Force base.  The guard turned us away when we tried to enter. He said entry was limited to authorized personnel only.  Next to the gate was an Air Force Air & Space Museum.  Inside was a large room with pictures all around the wall.  Each one had a display about a particular launch site.  There are 47 launch sites around the peninsula where NASA fires off its rockets.  Each launch site has a story about what type of equipment was launched there, who was in the rocket if it was manned, and statistics about the event.  It was pretty interesting.  They even had a small gift shop where we bought items for the grandsons.

     We returned to the campground and took naps.  Afterward, we went over my cousin Denise’s house.  She had a small Christmas party with three of her neighbors and us.  The food was very good.

 19 Dec 2019 (Thu) – We hung around the campground for the most part today.  We ran out to Publix to pick up a few groceries and the liquor store to get some wine but returned to the lodge right away.  We went in to the lodge for lunch and had their sandwich special.   At 6 pm, George, Linda, and Denise met us at the lodge and we had wings and a bucket of beer for dinner.  It was fun.

 18 Dec 2019 (Wed) – We left Mayport at 9:30 and drove to Merritt Island where we are staying at the Moose Lodge.  They do not accept reservations; it’s first-come, first-served.  When we pulled in, we found there was only one spot left of the 15 or so that are here.  The lodge is undergoing a lot of renovations.  They were hit with the last hurricane and are taking advantage to do upgrades.  We stayed here almost three years ago.

    After set up, we called my cousin, George, to let him know we were here.  My medicine had arrived and he had signed for it.  So we drove over there to pick it up.  Later, we had dinner with George and Linda at El Leoncita.  The margaritas were very good.

17 Dec 2019 (Tue) – Kevin & Joy left early this morning.  Ships came and went all day.  We even saw a submarine come in and leave within the hour.  We figured they were probably stocking up supplies.  

     We ran errands today – did laundry, finished up the Christmas cards, went to the post office, picked up pet food at Pet Smart, got groceries at Publix, fueled the truck, and picked up tickets to Universal Studios at the ITT Office.  We move on to Cocoa tomorrow.

16 Dec 2019 (Mon) – The laptop suffered a catastrophic failure last night.  The battery reached the end of its useful life.  It is a Dell where the battery is inaccessible.  We can’t change it.  Best Buy can’t change it out either.  The laptop has to be mailed back to Dell and maybe – MAYBE – they can save the computer.  It is ancient by tech standards.   We bought the laptop 7 years ago, just before we hit the road.  It is a high-end piece of equipment.  We got that because we were going to be on the road and we wanted to protect it from bumps and jars during our travels.  *sigh*  Luckily, we have the new laptop we bought last year.  Now I’ll have to move everything over.

     The gremlins are in the machines.  My fitbit watch also stopped working.  I can feel it vibrating when the phone rings (it is linked to the cell phone) or when I hit my steps goal.  It’s just that the screen face won’t light up.  Ugh!!!  I want to get another one but I don’t think I want to buy a piece of crap.  We only bought that watch 13 months ago.  The warranty, of course, was only for 12 months.

     We went to the Jacksonville Zoo today.  It is a very, very large zoo. Lots of animals were out and about.  All the cages seemed to be roomy enough for their occupants and were clean and well kempt. The mama gorilla was not happy.  I think she is depressed.  There was the silverback male, the female, a juvenile, and a baby.  Maybe she has post-partum depression?  At any rate, we got lots of walking in and the weather was pleasant.

     After we got back, we sat with Kevin & Joy to watch the Navy ships in the river.  Three large ships, a small ship, and a Coast Guard ship all left port today.  The tug boats went back and forth all day long.  

     After dinner, we sat down and wrote out our Christmas cards.  I ordered cards from an organization a couple of months ago.  When we started addressing them, it turned out we were shorted on envelopes.  I HATE that.  Christmas card envelopes are a special size.  You can’t just run down to Staples to pick up more.  Guess we’ll have to buy another box of cards.  Ugh.

 15 Dec 2019 (Sun) – It was a kind of laid back, relaxing day.  The sky was clear and the temperature was a bit nippy (nothing that a long sleeve tee shirt couldn’t fix).  We spent the day walking the dog, kicking back in our camp chairs, and watching the amphibious attack ship depart.  After one long blast of its horn, three tug boats led the ship past the campground and out to sea.  It was cool!

     At 3:30 p.m. we left with Kevin and Joy for dinner at Maggianos. It was an Italian restaurant that offers a special.  You buy two meals – one you eat at the restaurant and the other is to take home. The food was very good.

 14 Dec 2019 (Sat) – We pulled up stakes and left Savannah, GA close to 10 a.m.  The ride was easy and the weather was clear.  We pulled into Mayport Naval Station around 1:30 p.m.  Kevin & Joyce (friends from the Utah trip) were here. They took us to Freddy’s for dinner. The burgers were really good.  I think we have found a new favorite place to eat at.  After dinner, we took a nice long walk on the beach.  There was a sailboat that apparently beached in the sand.  Probably happened in the last storm.  It still has its sails and roping and lots of stuff inside. Seems like such a waste to leave it there.  I am sure that someone with a boat could use that stuff.

     The campground is beautiful.  There are 59 campsites all looking out at the water.  Palm trees and exotic birds are everywhere.  We spotted dolphins swimming right off the shore. Since this is a Naval station, there are several ships in the dock – an amphibious assault ship, a missile destroyer, and two battleships.  When the ships come and go, they go right past the campground.  We were here a couple of years ago.  The ships will sound their horns to say goodbye or hello (depending on which direction they are headed in).  The weather is marvelous!

[ninja-scenarios]

Kakashi x reader

Warning: character death

The rain pattered against the window, lining up raindrops for a speed battle. I followed them with my eyes as they ran all the way down the glass pane one by one. Outside was one of the nurses, hurrying to collect the laundry before it got all drenched. Somehow it seemed like it rained quite often in this part of town. It was the calmer part, where a lot of elders lived. There were also a lot of them here around me, although I was barely in my twenties. It was a soothing yet terrifying feeling to be here, shrouded from the busy life of town and most importantly, from the other ninjas. My old uniform hung above a chair, feigning a false image of the long since forgotten hope.

There was no way to deny I missed being a ninja. Sometimes, my old reflexes still kicked in when one of the nurses startled me. But like this, it was impossible to escape reality and the fact that my days as a Jōnin were over. This was the dark side of being a ninja. They didn´t teach that to the young kids at the academies.

The spot in front of the window was the best place to spend most of the day. It was relaxing to let the bright rays of sunshine warm your face while hearing the birds sing and chirp. Some of the staff was worried about me and tried to talk me into going out into the garden instead. I hated when they talked to me like that, I wasn´t a goddamn child! And it saddened me to visit the garden since the other people that lived here were there all the time. Seeing them just constantly reminded me of my own situation.

No matter the circumstances, I still knew how to entertain myself with drawing and reading. My favourite thing to do was watching opera and theatre plays, but ever since I lived here, I had not been to an opera hall many times. It wasn´t like I was hiding. At least not completely. I was simply scared to go outside. People could easily attack me and I was helpless if they did so. This feeling gnawed on me down to my very nerves. The children stared and sometimes even giggled and laughed while adults tried to act normal around me and scolded the young ones for their behaviour. No, it wasn´t like I was hiding, I just couldn´t take all this for long so I barely went outside.

No one forced me to be here. At the start I´d not wanted to come here and thought I could still live on my own. Though after a short time I´d accepted that this was the best solution for me.

My old friends sometimes came for a visit. Anko tried to visit me as often as she could, but the life of a ninja was very busy. She often gave me new books or some souvenirs from the places her missions had led her to. Of course I was jealous since I was used to taking missions and traveling but I did my best to look strong whenever she came for a visit. I gave my best to look strong to everyone. The thought of some of my friends or the nurses pitying me was disgusting.

Being engrossed in thoughts like I usually was, I didn´t notice that someone approached me until I heard the footsteps a few metres before they reached the door to my room. It pushed open and my old friend came in. Actually, he wasn´t only my old friend, but also my old crush. More like current crush. Or rather the one guy I knew I would always have a thing for.

“How did you come here in all of that rain?” My greeting seemed rather could hadn´t it been for the soft smile on my lips.

“Oh it rained? I didn´t notice.” Kakashi said in his usual dry tone, but this time it held a small wave of amusement. The sarcasm literally dripped down from him in the wetness that dripped down from his clothes and messy silver hair. I tried not to calculate on my head how long ago his last visit had been. I tried my best to only feel happy that he was here right now. I´d really missed this little bastard.

Kakashi took his time to take off his soaked flak jacket, throwing it casually onto an empty chair. Then he sat down next to me, pulling up another chair to the window and I couldn´t help but watch how his muscles flexed under his blue clothing.  

“Let´s talk for real now. How are you?”

My gaze drifted away from him, out of the window. The raindrops pattering against the window was the only sound in the room. I knew what he wanted to ask with that question. My condition was what he really wanted to know. I mustered up all of my physical strength and very slowly stood up. Because I was so close to the window, I could steady myself on the sill, only with my right arm though.

Kakashi was as silent as I was and I couldn´t stand this lack of words, the anticipation that was almost visible in the room.

“It could be better.” I finally managed to say. Small tones of repressed anger found their way into my voice as I leaned my head against the window. I was angry at myself for everything. It was my fault that I had to be here, that I like this. My condition wasn´t getting any better. In fact, it had only worsened since I got here. I didn´t blame the medic ninjas that tried their best, my case was just hopeless. I should have never went on that mission that day, I should have-

“y/n-chan.” Kakashi´s voice roused me from slumber. Immediately I blushed, disappointed that I´d let my thoughts drift like this when he was around. I felt sorry. My legs gave up under me and for a second I threatened to hit the ground, but strong arms wrapped around my waist and kept me up. I closed my eyes and leaned my head back at Kakashi, enjoying his closeness. He didn´t say a thing and only held me. Probably he understood.

The silver haired Jōnin had been my crush for so long. I had wanted to make a move on him after I came back from that mission but since it didn´t play out as planned I´d never gotten to that. My insecurities had taken their best on me after that accident and like this, confessing to Kakashi was not manageable. My confidence was balanced again, but the nurses had talked about rumours… Oh Kakashi.

“There´s a theatre play tonight. I thought you would like to go there.”

His words shook me.

“That would be great.” I appreciated him trying to lure me out of my self-declared seclusion. Normally, Kakashi would never do something for others. That bastard was way too selfish for that. Maybe he did it because he thought my days on earth were restricted. Well, I wasn´t going to go down that easily!

After the rain had settled, Kakashi made his way into town with me. The copy nin carried me on his back since neither of us were interested in carrying the wheelchair around. And it was way more embarrassing this way. Well, at least for everyone else than me. Being this close to him, it brought back old memories. I did my best to not let the rumours sadden me too much, but it did not always work. The nurses had talked about seeing Kakashi with a young Kunoichi particularly often in the last months. There was no way I could be angry at him about that. In my physical state, no one could seriously plan on spending his life together with me. The sweet pain that seemed to crush my heart whenever I thought about it was all too familiar. I tried to ignore it as I leaned my head on the silver haired ninja´s shoulder. With him, I did not feel vulnerable. He made me feel strong and protected. Probably Kakashi felt the same way when he was around that Kunoichi.

My thoughts kept tying a knot inside my head, and no matter in which direction they went, it kept tangling. As the curtains lifted and the stage play started, my mind went blank for a second, blinded by the excitement and anticipation. Fifteen minutes into the play I first spared my comrade a glance again, and was surprised to see Kakashi actually staring at the actors on stage. His expression seemed rather bored and normally he would´ve gotten out his book to read instead of torturing himself with this evening that was obviously not to his liking. But tonight was different. Tonight he paid attention. Whenever I looked back ahead, there was a pair of eyes glued to the back of my head. I pretended not to notice and the feeling disappeared soon. The only thing I did was letting my mind fully focus on the play as I listened to the words that I already knew by heart.

Afterwards I remember being so sleepy that I had missed the end of the play. Even though I didn´t want to admit it, it had been hard for me to stay at the brink of consciousness before I fell into the depths of sleep. Kakashi had carried me back to my room. I had felt so calm while he was around me, but as soon as my head hit the pillow and I heard him say goodbye, my mind was engulfed in my restless, irregular sleep pattern.

The next day I woke up to a bird chirping outside. Kakashi must´ve left the window open for me. It was a nice yet strange gesture. As if he wanted to tell me that although I lived here, I could still escape and come to the “outer world”. Even though it was the same town, this part of Konoha felt so repellent and devouring. But maybe that was just my point of view.

Getting dressed took it´s time but when I was finished I rolled onto the small hallway. There were other people that lived here besides me, temporary patients or basket cases like me. When I passed the other rooms I did my best not to look through the open doors. Being constantly reminded of all the illnesses made me examine my own wounds. On the surface it was tough, underwater it was much harder to stay sane with the small battles I fought against myself when I looked at my reflection.

Midday was spent in the garden. The nurses had convinced me to enjoy the weather outside since it had rained so much yesterday. I closed my eyes as the warm rays of sunshine warmed my face and forget about the world around me. Time didn´t matter anymore. Since that incident, seconds and days had started speaking another language and I was lost in translation. Whether it was Monday or Friday, I´d spend this day like a Sunday and lazily enjoy the sun. Since I didn´t pay attention otherwise, a visitor came into the garden, unnoticed. Only when I heard my name being said I opened my eyes. This voice was very recognizable.

“Tsunade-sama. How can I help you?”

My words were a mockery of the picture I was. Of course I knew I couldn´t help her in any way. Something flickered over the Sannin´s face. She hadn´t come here for me. Probably she´d needed to talk to an elder and had found me here by coincidence.

“y/n-san. How´s the facility so far? I hope it´s comfortable living here.”

Her tone told me she didn´t really care but it was simple formality to ask.

“It´s alright.”

Suddenly her expression changed and the blonde Hokage looked as if she had just remembered something very important.

“Chizune told me a few days ago that she read in an old scroll about a healing method. It´s a very complicated surgery but it could fix you. Think about it and then contact me, I have to head back to my office.”

Her words hit me like a stone to my face. “Fix me”. She couldn´t have meant that, did she? Nothing could fix me. I don´t remember saying goodbye to her but I think I did because when I looked next to me, there was a small scroll sitting on a close by bench. I picked it up with some difficulties and enrolled it. What I saw there made my hands go numb in anxiety. The procedure of the operation was shortly described. Even though it didn´t contain many words, they managed to turn everything up and down. The scroll had barely mentioned the aftereffects and risks of the surgery, but that wasn´t necessary. I knew everything there was to it. The change of dying was higher than fifty percent and if something went wrong, it could end up destroying even more of my body. Still though, Tsunade-sama was a very skilled medic-nin and if there was only a small chance of being able to heal, being able to go back to the way I was…

Hours later, I was still engrossed in thoughts about the contents of the scroll. I barely noticed how another visitor burst into my room. Some of the nurses must´ve brought me back here.

“y/n-san!”

I looked up.

“I hadn´t expected you here, Gai.”

Even though his big smile and positive attitude seemed kind of ironic at this place, it felt good to see him.

“I came as soon as I heard from Tsunade-sama that she´s planning a surgery for you. I overheard her talking to Chizune and demanded to know what this was about. It looks like there isn´t a high risk, but I still need to convince you to take it! I know you, Dou-san. You love being a ninja. If everything goes well then you can fully recover, just like Lee did. I have faith in Tsunade. Please consider getting the operation.”

I was a bit overwhelmed with the already defined opinion of my former comrade. In fact, my opinion was still in the grey area even though I had thought about it the whole day. But none the less, I forced myself to smile at the always bright shinobi and nodded.

“I`ll consider it. Thanks so much for coming, Gai.”

He gave me a thumps up and eventually left to go back to his duties. Left me here in more thoughts than before. If Gai had heard it, maybe Kakashi knew about it too? He hadn´t come straightly here, though. Thinking about this particular shinobi made me uneasy. It was like a fire inside of me started burning. It gave me strength but at the same time, it used my insides as fuelwood. The determination that it gave, forced me to put everything at risk. Imagining Kakashi with that kunoichi did the rest, then. I was gonna get the surgery. Maybe, if it went well, there would be a future for Kakashi and me. How should I live on like this anyways? I was a living corpse. Not even that, but I knew that I was slowly dying. This wasn´t my first surgery, there had been countless of them before, but none of them had been able to cure me, they had only slowed down the progress. This new method Tsunade had talked about could work. I never knew you could use Chakra like this. It all seemed so promising. I was gonna do it. For myself and for Kakashi.

These thoughts were the last ones in my head as I laid on the cold metal stretcher. They had wrapped belts around my legs and arms. It felt very ironic but they also gave me some kind of mental support. It had been four days since Gai came to me. Kakashi still hadn´t showed up again. But I was gonna fight for us, with or without him at my side. That kunoichi could quit right away. A smile grazed my lips and I slipped into a slumber.

My hands grabbed into white, soft sheets. Free from restraint, I moved through fields of light grass and flowers, down into the ground of the dark, comfortable sea. Nothing could touch me, nothing could break me. High up in the star filled sky I heard someone say my name. Bits of blue coloured pieces stuck to my wrists and the earth underneath was painted in light, mindless colours.

“y/n-chan.”

I remember my mother kissing my forehead.

“y/n-chan!”

The sun tickling my cheeks whenever I faced the sky.

I remember all of the moments I shared in laughter and happiness. They were there, colourful like rainbow and so comforting I couldn´t help but to laugh out in joy. It was all here with me and I didn´t mind getting washed away by the falling tide.

“Dou-chan, I´m sorry. I wanted to tell you, but… I was scared of getting left behind and hurt. I loved you, I always did. But I chose to try and forget, because I knew you would die.

Forgive me.”

[glassesofroses]

Chapter 2 // Picturesque

| Abbie Smith |

| Sunday |

"Abbie!" Jocelyn called out, throwing her bag on a nearby chair and running throughout their apartment to find her best friend and her boyfriend in the kitchen.

"What's got your panties in a twist?" Abbie giggled, twisting on her yoga mat.

"I told you earlier that I have a date! Why are you still here?" Playing with her fingers as a smirk arose from Abbie.

"We'll get out of your hair then, that's not a problem Joss," Max laughed.

"When is he coming over?" Abbie asked, watching Joss run around the kitchen, trying to clean up the non-existent mess.

"What time is it?" Her head snapped up, trying to find a clock.

"It's 6:37," Max told her, checking his watch.

"Damn it," Jocelyn mumbled, running into her room to change out of her leggings and sweater.

"What time is he coming over?" Abbie asked again, walking into Joss' room and closing the door behind her.

"6:45, I needed you two gone 15 minutes ago!" Joss shouted, not finding anything good enough for Spencer.

"Can I help with anything?"

"Clean or leave!" Abbie's friend exclaimed, throwing herself into her closet.

"He must be something real special for her to tell us to clean up, I mean, look at her room," Max whispered, chuckling at the gigantic mess.

"Well, you know Max, I don't think he's going to want to see my room. We aren't in kindergarten anymore unlike some people," Shooting back a remark before slamming her bedroom door shut behind her and ran around the living room, picking up scattered magazines, rearranging pillows, and throwing dishes into the dishwasher almost breaking them in the process.

"Here, come on," Abbie whispered to her boyfriend, "let's go get Chinese, you're paying."

"You got it," He sighed, grabbing both of their coats before leaving the now silent apartment aside from Joss' incessant cleaning.

Just a few moments later there was a polite knocking on the door, a knock that shook Joss out of her cleaning state, her brain reminding her that Spencer was coming over. Quickly looking over at herself in a mirror, which she never did until now, and opened the door with a shy smile, cursing at herself for reverting back to her old self.

"Hi," She whispered, focusing on her breathing while opening the door to see Spencer in his work outfit with the buttons of his blazer unbuttoned.

"I brought pizza, but you already knew that but did you know that because your body typically burns through carbs in seconds but takes its time to digest fats, high-fat pizza toppings help you reap more sustainable energy from your slice so it's pepperoni and sausage," He rambled, somehow nervously holding a pizza box.

"Thank you so much, come in, come in," Opening the door open wider so his body could fit through the door.

"Did you clean recently?" His eyebrows furrowed together, noticing that some things were scattered around the room yet some were perfectly in place.

"Just before you came in," She whispered, eyes glazing over the semi-clean mess.

"Where should I place this?" He asked her, nodding his heads towards the pizza that was burning his hand up.

"Oh here," Grabbing it from him and setting it down on the kitchen counter, glancing towards the receding sunlight in the distance.

"I know it was last minute, but we didn't get to talk as much as I'd have liked, you basically disappeared for 15 years, 15 years we didn't speak or anything," He sighed, sitting down next to the empty box of pizza.

"I was...finding myself, exploring every career possibility, and there's a lot for me now that I know what's out there," Knowing the answer wasn't what Spencer was looking for, she avoided eye contact, knowing he was most likely profiling her as she was speaking.

Spencer knew that pushing her wouldn't do him any good, if he did, it would actually push her away from him, the opposite of what he wanted.

"But, I wanted to thank you for helping me grade the papers this morning, it really helped speed things along," She smiled, opening the pizza box and handing him a plate.

He nodded his head in appreciation and picked up a slice of pizza then put it on his plate, watching Joss carefully as she put some music on. Wicked: The Musical played through the speakers softly, something he never knew about her.

"You like musicals?" An amused look on his face as he saw her mouthing the words to the song.

"It's not like other music, like Beethoven, it has pain, happiness, it has everything you need to like in music but you keep coming back to it. There is something about not having enough money to actually see them perform that draws you into the science of it, the breakdown. You hear about the musical, you listen to the music over a long period of time, it draws you in so you look at the price of the tickets and realize that you don't have the money to see the actors perform. Then it draws you in even more, grasping at the music so hard because you can't see them perform," She breathed out, finally taking the time to sit down and add a slice of pizza to her paper plate.

"I'll take that as a yes," He laughed, swallowing a bite of pizza.

"I guess so," Joss grinned, "So the BAU? When did you get that gig? I know you had to get all of those degrees and then the ones you wanted to get, of course, so I would say you made it by the time you were what, 22, 23?"

"You still have it, I joined when I was 22," Nodding his head, just confirming what she already knew.

"When I was 22, I was in France. Spending my time and money in all the museums I could, eating all of the pastries I could find, and biking everywhere throughout Europe. Taking online classes has it's perks, plus you don't have to deal with as many people that look at you weirdly when you raise your hand at every question," Remembering every time someone groaned when she raised her hand to give the correct answer, even giving the teachers a migraine or two throughout the year, this was when she was in 7th grade, 8 years old.

"At least you had a friend to help you right? I know your parents were hard on--" The friend being him of course.

"I don't want to talk about my parents right now Spencer," She cut in, dropping her paper plate on the table, making the room go dead.

"Sorry, it's just, I don't like talking about them or with them, and having you here is making me really happy right now and I don't want this feeling to end," She rushed out, trying to get him to understand her sudden burst of anger.

Spencer knew he always had to be patient with her, her parents being severely hard on her, getting called on by the older boys at school, only having one person to talk to could be hard with a girl entering puberty, entering the stage of questioning every move she made. He also knew that she was strong, her experiences made her not take any crap from anyone and he knew that she wouldn't take any from him now just because he looked different.

"How's the pizza?" Spencer asked gently, gladly changing the subject.

"Can you tell I like it?" She grinned, her mouth fully stuffed.

"I can," Spence laughed, taking another bite of his, thoroughly enjoying his evening.

//

"I wanna ask you a question," She hiccuped, placing down her drink and focusing her attention to Reid.

"Okay," He started, putting all of his attention towards her as well.

"What did you think I did? 15 years I didn't contact anyone unless they contacted me, what did you think I did all that time?" She hoped that he didn't think of her in the wrong way.

"Since your name didn't come up in any online newspapers, regular newspapers, radio, or television it means you didn't die, rob a bank, murder anyone, or do anything of harm to yourself, nothing distracting. You said earlier you traveled to Europe, Paris to be precise, possibly the first country you saw, when you were 22, and if you were backpacking to save money it averages about 6 months. You had to have gotten you degrees during that time, so that's another few years," He rambled, the crease in between his eyebrows becoming more prominent.

"Spencer, don't hurt yourself over this, I just wanted to know an overall picture and you're getting everything right," Calming him down from his 'figuring things out' high, gently placing her hand over his, his eyes flickering down to their connecting hands.

"O-Of course," He mumbled, a nervous grin on his face.

"Shit, what time is it?" Joss asked herself, seeing as it was pitch black out.

"It's almost 11, I guess you can say we lost track of time," Spencer chuckled, a lopsided smirk appearing as Joss stood up, holding as many papers as she could and stuffing them neatly in a sturdy backpack.

"I'm so sorry Spence, I totally...lost track of time, I have school tomorrow and I have so much to get done. I have to finish grading papers, which by the way we only did like 78 today and they're due back tomorrow and I still have 118 left and I also have to email parents and students, do laundry--"

"Give me the papers," He said bluntly, sitting up higher in his seat.

"What do you mean give you the papers?" Looking confused as she looked at him.

"I'll grade them while you do laundry and email. I do have a Ph.D. after all just like you so I mean it shouldn't be a problem," He shrugged, taking the backpack from her and reopening it, sitting down in the living room.

"Thanks," She whispered, looking at him, being thankful that he was here.

Soon she took her laundry basket and walked down her hallway, putting the clothes in the washer, started it up and walked back to the living room to find that he already graded 18 papers. Smiling at him, she took her computer out and started emailing everyone even though they were most likely asleep, but found that almost all of her students emailed her back immediately. Abbie and her boyfriend Max walked in and tried talking to the two but didn't get a response out of either of them, something that only happened with Jocelyn if she was 'in the zone'.

"Come on, let's go to bed, maybe I can trick her into making coffee in the morning," Abbie laughed lightly, not even recognizing the other man in her living room.

"Good luck with that, she nearly poisoned me last time she tried making coffee," Max scoffed before leading his girlfriend into her room and shutting the door behind them.

"Did you hear something?" Jocelyn asked, quickly looking up before getting a shake of the head from Spencer, then going back to work.

"Done!" He announced, a grin on his face as he threw the last essay on the overspilling stack, making Joss jump a few inches in the air.

"That took you what, half an hour? Unbelievable, maybe I should get you over here more often." She told him in disbelief, looking at all of the correctly graded papers he was so smug about.

"I only live a few blocks away so it wouldn't be any trouble, actually," He mumbled, fishing around his jean pockets before pulling out a small piece of paper, "Here's my card," He grinned, handing it to her.

"Thanks. Look at you all official, with a card and everything," Nudging him lightly, sliding the card in her own pocket.

"It's really useful at times like these," He stretched out his arms, non-knowingly putting his arms around her.

"So you give your cards to all the women you help?" She smirked, getting a blush out of him.

"I-I," He started, then decided that speaking most likely wasn't the best idea.

"I hope you know that I was joking Spencer," She yawned, instinctively laying her head on his shoulder, the two of them suddenly overwhelmed with exhaustion.

"I should get going," He yawned, the yawning sessions ensuing.

"Yeah, sure," She mumbled before curling up next to him, loving the fact she wasn't going to bed alone for once.

Spencer knew the consequence of not going home that night, he wouldn't have time to change so Morgan would ask questions along with Penelope. But he didn't really care, just like Joss, he wasn't going to bed alone for once. They had each other to be each other's comfort buddy, just like old times, each of them being there for each other.

Chapter 1

Masterlist 

[skylight20sworldblr-blog]

This Morning on Sunday vs Sunday Brunch: who triumphed? A minute-by-minute review of the weekend shows

Sunday morning tv historically is low-hanging fruit for TV bosses.They know there’s a entire nation inevitably switching on; a 3rd hungover from the night time earlier than, a 3rd who have been up since 6am with youngsters and may’t cope with The Go Jetters anymore and third who simply need one thing on in the background whereas they scroll by means of their socials.

No one requires Query Time, just a few fodder to get you thru to lunch, which may solely clarify the reputation of the long-running Sunday Brunch on Channel four. Set in a chat present format over three hours (9.30 to 12.30), it’s interspersed with cooking segments and highlights of the week’s coming TV and music releases, all presided over by Tim Lovejoy and Simon Rimmer. It’s good, it’s advantageous, it’s Sunday morning TV.

Learn extra

Viewers surprised by ladies stockpiling meals for Brexit on This Morning

However earlier this month, ITV behemoth This Morning introduced that it too can be throwing its hat in the circle to seize some of that captive viewers again for his or her channel. And on Sunday 20 January – introduced by Eamonn Holmes and Ruth Langsford – so started the first episode of This Morning on Sunday, on air for an hour at 10.30 to 11.30.

This weekend, Sunday Brunch boasted friends Rylan Clark-Neal (himself a This Morning presenter), Laurence Fox, Abigail Lawrie and Jason ‘Foxy’ Fox. Fleur East – recent from the jungle in I’m A Celeb – carried out.

This Morning on Sunday had: properly, Holmes and Langsford. Oh, and chef John Torode. Look, perhaps everybody was simply busy?

So how did the two shows play out and who gained the battle of the weekend? Right here’s what occurred, minute by minute:

The review

10.00 Sunday Brunch (SB): Half an hour earlier than This Morning begins, a newly hirsute Lovejoy – twiddling his beard – and Rimmer grilled actress Lawrie about her position in gritty Sky thriller, Tin Star. As Lawrie mentioned the darkish themes from present, together with a violent episode together with her on-screen father, Lovejoy goes full Partridge, off on a tangent, and jumps in: “I hear there was a cougar on the set. How big was it? Also, how you know if a cougar is going to smell you and go ‘oh, this is an actor and not dinner?’”. Lawrie, to her credit score, manages to politely reply and get to the finish of the interview with out rolling her eyes.

Kevin Clifton’s tattoo

10.30 This Morning on Sunday (TMoS): The acquainted strains of This Morning start as the opening credit roll, with headlines flashing up on partitions promising us ‘Bros: what happened next?’ and ‘Kevin Clifton’s tattoo’. We’re in for a wild journey immediately!

10.31 TMoS: Holmes and Langsford  – who is sticking firmly to the script by sporting a gray jumper with the phrase ‘Sunday’ on it – are shimmying on chairs to beige anthem, Maroon 5’s Sunday Morning. Holmes says: “Welcome to Sunday mornings and to This Morning on a Sunday, because you can’t get too much of a good thing.” This might later be proved as not the case.

Holmes and Langford (Photograph: ITV)

10.32 TMoS: Hey guys at house, what do you rise up to on Sunday? the Langsford-Holmes’ enquire. A painful try at banter ensues as the husband-and-wife duo attempt to burn one another about who does the least at residence at the weekends. “You get treated like a queen!” he tells Langsford, “I make an Ulster Fry!” “When you’re not reclining in your chair watching football!” she joshes again. Please, subsequent merchandise.

10.33 TMoS: Lastly, they announce, they’ll be discussing the difficulty that’s presently dividing the nation: Hen or beef roast? And may you will have Yorkshire puddings with each? Fortunately, they inform us, chef Torode shall be on the present to prepare dinner a particular dish. Ooh, what’s he making? A good, spicy Sri Lankan curry for this chilly climate? Perhaps a hearty Spanish paella or one thing? Beef. He’ll be making roast beef, potatoes and veg. This is actually the Brexit of chat shows.

Rylan Clarke-Neal will host a Saturday afternoon present on Radio 2

10.40 SB: Rylan Clark-Neal is on the couch, chatting about turning into the subsequent host of Grocery store Sweep (RIP Dale Winton) and his new present on BBC Radio 2. Clark-Neal’s truly fairly humorous, and of course, the video footage of Nicole Scherzinger telling him he’s by means of to the subsequent spherical of the X Issue is all the time going to be the spotlight of any present it options in. Chalk one up for the Sunday Brunch workforce. Particularly as Clark-Neal reveals he was out getting pissed with Caroline Flack til 7am, simply two hours earlier than the video was filmed.

10.41 TMoS: First correct phase of the present and it’s the cheery story of a Love Island contestant’s brother realising he had testicular most cancers. Wait! This is only a clip from final weeks present! Holly Willoughby and Phillip Schofield are interviewing him prefer it’s not even Sunday! We’ve been robbed. Change again over to SB.

From Partridge-esque to precise partridge

10.50 SB: They’ve received the full line-up of visitors munching on recreation. Lovejoy goes from Partridge-esque to precise partridge (breasts full of fig, because you ask), whereas Laurence Fox pipes up: “I can’t eat mallard as my son would kill me.”. He eats stuffed mallard.

10.53 TMoS: One other repeated interview. It’s Strictly‘s Kevin Clifton getting a tattoo saying ‘I love Glasgow’. Look, it’s too boring to get into right here.

10.55 TMoS: They’re providing money bungs to maintain watching now, with the announcement of their £100,00zero money prize. (Aspect notice: how do you get signed as much as be the superstar announcer of these? Sweetest job in showbiz: every week’s work in a Maldives resort to learn out a telephone quantity). Then, it’s a montage of Gino DeCampo’s greatest bits. This is the equal of your aunt posting a video of This Morning on Fb, captioning it: “Phil and Holly cracking up on the show today – gave me the giggles too! Xx”

11.00 SB: The SB lot breakout halftime martinis to have fun the world’s greatest martini being introduced in the UK this week. It’s not even noon! Lovejoy slurs “it’s going to become a new traddissshhun.” Assume the producers may need one thing to say about that. Nonetheless, cheers!

11.04 SB: Fox steps as much as make a vinegar-braised hen with Rimmer, which finally ends up wanting a lot nicer than it sounds.

11.05 TMoS: Good god, Alice Beer continues to be going on about methods to make your garments look like they’ve been to the dry cleaners once they haven’tZzzz. This was deemed value repeating from the week of content material? Don’t remind us that our laundry basket is at present overflowing. Allow us to have this one morning with out occupied with home tasks, FFS.

Nick Knowles (Photograph: Gareth Cattermole/Getty Pictures)

11.08 TMoS: One other interview from earlier in the week, Nick Knowles speaking about auctioning up his pants from I’m a Celeb for charity. Holmes tells Langsford she’s made a stunning cup of tea, and he simply can’t have a cup of tea with no biscuit. Eats a biscuit. Langsford then tries to open up the debate “milk in first or not?” to which even Holmes shuts down with “I couldn’t care less.” It’s hardly the black/blue or white/gold gown furore, is it?

11.15 SB: Fleur East is being interviewed and actually eager to stay to the script about why she and Simon Cowell and his label Syco parted methods: “We were just on separate paths”, she chirps brightly. Kudos to Lovejoy – he goes in with the query all of us need to know: “How much is it was to do with Simon Cowell?” She excellently deflects the query. On going chart-success for you now, Fleur.

11.17 TMoS: Lastly! A reside slot and never a repeat. However it’s simply Torode telling us how one can prepare dinner an enormous rack of three ribs of beef. Veganary? Pfffft, not on our watch, snowflakes. He explains the key to flavour in a roast is the juices in the tray afterwards. Exhausting to pay attention as Holmes could be seen at the edge of the display, lifting a Yorkshire pudding and making an attempt to surreptitiously eat a bit morsel – you’ve been clocked.

11.20 SB: They’ve pulled out the massive weapons with Jason “Foxy” Fox from SAS Who Dares Wins. Lovejoy and Rimmer are struggling to include how cool they assume he’s. Lovejoy strokes his personal beard once more with pleasure.

11.22 TMoS: “Have you seen the Bros documentary?” asks Langsford. Sure. Final yr, together with the relaxation of the nation. There’s an enormous construct as much as present the previous (repeat) interview of the Goss bros after that battle in the This Morning dressing room. “Look at that body language!” says Langsford. She and Holmes then talk about preventing with households and Langsford repeats 3 times that Holmes is “a sulker.” And on that pass-agg word, it’s throughout till subsequent week. Time to modify again to Sunday Brunch for relaxation of the morning, now.

Over on social media and viewers appeared to be in equal measures confused and irritated to seek out that This Morning was primarily repeats of segments from the earlier week’s shows.

One Twitter consumer stated: “What a disappointment! It’s just a show made up of repeats from the previous week’s show.”

Disgrace it’s simply clips from the week and never new content material. Bit of a cop out. *turns @SundayBrunchC4 on as an alternative* #thismorning #sundaybrunch

— Amy Lee (@Amykinsypoo) January 20, 2019

Thought it was Monday and I used to be late for bloody work once I turned on the telly to see @thismorning! What they enjoying at?! Don’t prefer it. Keep in your lane #thismorning

— Kimberley Walker (@KimberleyHW) January 20, 2019

WHAT a disappointment it’s only a present made up of repeats from the earlier week! Shall be watching #SundayBrunch from now on @thismorning #ThisMorning on Sunday

— Janbo25 (@JaniceGilfillan) January 20, 2019

Finally, it appeared to boil right down to the content material: do viewers need reheats of lukewarm footage from the week earlier than, or getting caught into breakfast cocktails with Rylan Clark-Neal whereas laughing at Lovejoy’s beard? The viewing figures will quickly tell us.

In the imply time, move one other slice of the stuffed mallard, will you?

The post This Morning on Sunday vs Sunday Brunch: who triumphed? A minute-by-minute review of the weekend shows appeared first on List Technology.

[aethermystfan-blog]

This Morning on Sunday vs Sunday Brunch: who triumphed? A minute-by-minute review of the weekend shows

Sunday morning tv historically is low-hanging fruit for TV bosses.They know there’s a entire nation inevitably switching on; a 3rd hungover from the night time earlier than, a 3rd who have been up since 6am with youngsters and may’t cope with The Go Jetters anymore and third who simply need one thing on in the background whereas they scroll by means of their socials.

No one requires Query Time, just a few fodder to get you thru to lunch, which may solely clarify the reputation of the long-running Sunday Brunch on Channel four. Set in a chat present format over three hours (9.30 to 12.30), it’s interspersed with cooking segments and highlights of the week’s coming TV and music releases, all presided over by Tim Lovejoy and Simon Rimmer. It’s good, it’s advantageous, it’s Sunday morning TV.

Learn extra

Viewers surprised by ladies stockpiling meals for Brexit on This Morning

However earlier this month, ITV behemoth This Morning introduced that it too can be throwing its hat in the circle to seize some of that captive viewers again for his or her channel. And on Sunday 20 January – introduced by Eamonn Holmes and Ruth Langsford – so started the first episode of This Morning on Sunday, on air for an hour at 10.30 to 11.30.

This weekend, Sunday Brunch boasted friends Rylan Clark-Neal (himself a This Morning presenter), Laurence Fox, Abigail Lawrie and Jason ‘Foxy’ Fox. Fleur East – recent from the jungle in I’m A Celeb – carried out.

This Morning on Sunday had: properly, Holmes and Langsford. Oh, and chef John Torode. Look, perhaps everybody was simply busy?

So how did the two shows play out and who gained the battle of the weekend? Right here’s what occurred, minute by minute:

The review

10.00 Sunday Brunch (SB): Half an hour earlier than This Morning begins, a newly hirsute Lovejoy – twiddling his beard – and Rimmer grilled actress Lawrie about her position in gritty Sky thriller, Tin Star. As Lawrie mentioned the darkish themes from present, together with a violent episode together with her on-screen father, Lovejoy goes full Partridge, off on a tangent, and jumps in: “I hear there was a cougar on the set. How big was it? Also, how you know if a cougar is going to smell you and go ‘oh, this is an actor and not dinner?’”. Lawrie, to her credit score, manages to politely reply and get to the finish of the interview with out rolling her eyes.

Kevin Clifton’s tattoo

10.30 This Morning on Sunday (TMoS): The acquainted strains of This Morning start as the opening credit roll, with headlines flashing up on partitions promising us ‘Bros: what happened next?’ and ‘Kevin Clifton’s tattoo’. We’re in for a wild journey immediately!

10.31 TMoS: Holmes and Langsford  – who is sticking firmly to the script by sporting a gray jumper with the phrase ‘Sunday’ on it – are shimmying on chairs to beige anthem, Maroon 5’s Sunday Morning. Holmes says: “Welcome to Sunday mornings and to This Morning on a Sunday, because you can’t get too much of a good thing.” This might later be proved as not the case.

Holmes and Langford (Photograph: ITV)

10.32 TMoS: Hey guys at house, what do you rise up to on Sunday? the Langsford-Holmes’ enquire. A painful try at banter ensues as the husband-and-wife duo attempt to burn one another about who does the least at residence at the weekends. “You get treated like a queen!” he tells Langsford, “I make an Ulster Fry!” “When you’re not reclining in your chair watching football!” she joshes again. Please, subsequent merchandise.

10.33 TMoS: Lastly, they announce, they’ll be discussing the difficulty that’s presently dividing the nation: Hen or beef roast? And may you will have Yorkshire puddings with each? Fortunately, they inform us, chef Torode shall be on the present to prepare dinner a particular dish. Ooh, what’s he making? A good, spicy Sri Lankan curry for this chilly climate? Perhaps a hearty Spanish paella or one thing? Beef. He’ll be making roast beef, potatoes and veg. This is actually the Brexit of chat shows.

Rylan Clarke-Neal will host a Saturday afternoon present on Radio 2

10.40 SB: Rylan Clark-Neal is on the couch, chatting about turning into the subsequent host of Grocery store Sweep (RIP Dale Winton) and his new present on BBC Radio 2. Clark-Neal’s truly fairly humorous, and of course, the video footage of Nicole Scherzinger telling him he’s by means of to the subsequent spherical of the X Issue is all the time going to be the spotlight of any present it options in. Chalk one up for the Sunday Brunch workforce. Particularly as Clark-Neal reveals he was out getting pissed with Caroline Flack til 7am, simply two hours earlier than the video was filmed.

10.41 TMoS: First correct phase of the present and it’s the cheery story of a Love Island contestant’s brother realising he had testicular most cancers. Wait! This is only a clip from final weeks present! Holly Willoughby and Phillip Schofield are interviewing him prefer it’s not even Sunday! We’ve been robbed. Change again over to SB.

From Partridge-esque to precise partridge

10.50 SB: They’ve received the full line-up of visitors munching on recreation. Lovejoy goes from Partridge-esque to precise partridge (breasts full of fig, because you ask), whereas Laurence Fox pipes up: “I can’t eat mallard as my son would kill me.”. He eats stuffed mallard.

10.53 TMoS: One other repeated interview. It’s Strictly‘s Kevin Clifton getting a tattoo saying ‘I love Glasgow’. Look, it’s too boring to get into right here.

10.55 TMoS: They’re providing money bungs to maintain watching now, with the announcement of their £100,00zero money prize. (Aspect notice: how do you get signed as much as be the superstar announcer of these? Sweetest job in showbiz: every week’s work in a Maldives resort to learn out a telephone quantity). Then, it’s a montage of Gino DeCampo’s greatest bits. This is the equal of your aunt posting a video of This Morning on Fb, captioning it: “Phil and Holly cracking up on the show today – gave me the giggles too! Xx”

11.00 SB: The SB lot breakout halftime martinis to have fun the world’s greatest martini being introduced in the UK this week. It’s not even noon! Lovejoy slurs “it’s going to become a new traddissshhun.” Assume the producers may need one thing to say about that. Nonetheless, cheers!

11.04 SB: Fox steps as much as make a vinegar-braised hen with Rimmer, which finally ends up wanting a lot nicer than it sounds.

11.05 TMoS: Good god, Alice Beer continues to be going on about methods to make your garments look like they’ve been to the dry cleaners once they haven’tZzzz. This was deemed value repeating from the week of content material? Don’t remind us that our laundry basket is at present overflowing. Allow us to have this one morning with out occupied with home tasks, FFS.

Nick Knowles (Photograph: Gareth Cattermole/Getty Pictures)

11.08 TMoS: One other interview from earlier in the week, Nick Knowles speaking about auctioning up his pants from I’m a Celeb for charity. Holmes tells Langsford she’s made a stunning cup of tea, and he simply can’t have a cup of tea with no biscuit. Eats a biscuit. Langsford then tries to open up the debate “milk in first or not?” to which even Holmes shuts down with “I couldn’t care less.” It’s hardly the black/blue or white/gold gown furore, is it?

11.15 SB: Fleur East is being interviewed and actually eager to stay to the script about why she and Simon Cowell and his label Syco parted methods: “We were just on separate paths”, she chirps brightly. Kudos to Lovejoy – he goes in with the query all of us need to know: “How much is it was to do with Simon Cowell?” She excellently deflects the query. On going chart-success for you now, Fleur.

11.17 TMoS: Lastly! A reside slot and never a repeat. However it’s simply Torode telling us how one can prepare dinner an enormous rack of three ribs of beef. Veganary? Pfffft, not on our watch, snowflakes. He explains the key to flavour in a roast is the juices in the tray afterwards. Exhausting to pay attention as Holmes could be seen at the edge of the display, lifting a Yorkshire pudding and making an attempt to surreptitiously eat a bit morsel – you’ve been clocked.

11.20 SB: They’ve pulled out the massive weapons with Jason “Foxy” Fox from SAS Who Dares Wins. Lovejoy and Rimmer are struggling to include how cool they assume he’s. Lovejoy strokes his personal beard once more with pleasure.

11.22 TMoS: “Have you seen the Bros documentary?” asks Langsford. Sure. Final yr, together with the relaxation of the nation. There’s an enormous construct as much as present the previous (repeat) interview of the Goss bros after that battle in the This Morning dressing room. “Look at that body language!” says Langsford. She and Holmes then talk about preventing with households and Langsford repeats 3 times that Holmes is “a sulker.” And on that pass-agg word, it’s throughout till subsequent week. Time to modify again to Sunday Brunch for relaxation of the morning, now.

Over on social media and viewers appeared to be in equal measures confused and irritated to seek out that This Morning was primarily repeats of segments from the earlier week’s shows.

One Twitter consumer stated: “What a disappointment! It’s just a show made up of repeats from the previous week’s show.”

Disgrace it’s simply clips from the week and never new content material. Bit of a cop out. *turns @SundayBrunchC4 on as an alternative* #thismorning #sundaybrunch

— Amy Lee (@Amykinsypoo) January 20, 2019

Thought it was Monday and I used to be late for bloody work once I turned on the telly to see @thismorning! What they enjoying at?! Don’t prefer it. Keep in your lane #thismorning

— Kimberley Walker (@KimberleyHW) January 20, 2019

WHAT a disappointment it’s only a present made up of repeats from the earlier week! Shall be watching #SundayBrunch from now on @thismorning #ThisMorning on Sunday

— Janbo25 (@JaniceGilfillan) January 20, 2019

Finally, it appeared to boil right down to the content material: do viewers need reheats of lukewarm footage from the week earlier than, or getting caught into breakfast cocktails with Rylan Clark-Neal whereas laughing at Lovejoy’s beard? The viewing figures will quickly tell us.

In the imply time, move one other slice of the stuffed mallard, will you?

The post This Morning on Sunday vs Sunday Brunch: who triumphed? A minute-by-minute review of the weekend shows appeared first on List Technology.