#otherwise it's really expensive or the hotels/trains are all booked up

[ardri-na-bpiteog]

i do not understand how there are all these people out there doing Activities every weekend. Like concerts and day trips and hiking and festivals. Who has the time and energy just to plan all this shit, often weeks or months in advance, let alone DO it all??? Not to mention the money.

[theninjasanctuary]

So, the points to remember from last week:

Citadines Bastille Marais was up to expectations, a little dated, but cosy, the room had a nice, relatively spacious floorplan and was well equipped, it's a shame we only stayed for 1 night. The budget hotel we stayed at on location was fresher, but also had Scandi prison vibes, offering the barest minimum of almost everything (well, the mattress at least was decent, and makes me want to upgrade the current one at home). The room was a bit warmer than last time, as the weather was nicer, not too cold and even with a bit of sun (humid, too, but tbh it wasn't that bad after dealing with extremely dry indoor air at home).

Saw 9 exhibitions in total. Mostly quite good. Went out to dinner twice, the same establishment as last year, and we both enjoyed it, will go back if the opportunity arises. Depending on what will be on offer, but at this point not really planning for next year. It's a lot of work (and money!) to book and handle all of it.

On a TGV, first class is quite a bit nicer than second class (went for it since the price difference at that point was 4 € or so). And being a 2-minute walk from the station means getting to the train in a leisurely manner without any stress.

Ate galette des rois at least 3 times, the most expensive (9€) 2-person one from an artisanal bakery with good reviews was meh and had too little filling. The other 2 were excellent, both a 1-person size option from a random provincial bakery, and a hefty slice from a gay bakery in Marais that also offered various dick-shaped goods.

Bought the 2 backup Muji mugs, and a bit of skincare backups as well, but otherwise managed to avoid unnecessary shopping. Would not have been possible with a maxxed credit card anyway. Payday's tomorrow, and I'm doing the paperwork to get the remaining travel expenses reimbursed, am hoping to be out of the red.

The cat was happy to have us back, all cuddles and purrs. We're lucky that he doesn't sulk over us disappearing for days, even though there's no doubt he's bored and misses his cuddles, treats and playtime.

[lovlydovlyjaycie]

Ævi - Frontlines

Hey again! This will be a continued series. The first Ævi series is in my masterlist and is only four parts. This is going to be a ongoing series, so there is going to be a lot more of Ævi to come. :)

Summary: Y/n or also known as Ævi has lived through varies of world events. Now it is 1941, she has excepted that some things cannot be changed so Loki has convinced Y/n to go to New York and live a normal life, a life Y/n always wanted. Or as normal it can be, because new introductions lead to events that didn’t go down in the history books.

Warnings: Fluff

Characters: Y/n, Loki and more to come. Wink, wink

Main masterlist

Series masterlist

Part one

1941

Loki had thought it was a good idea to go to a party in New York. But that was a total bust. What he and I think of as a party couldn’t be more opposite. “You enjoyed that?” I asked Loki a little disappointed. This has been a area I have been waiting for the 40s. All the dancing. And in a couple of years celebrating freedom. “It was very civil. Something I thought I would never say of humans. Sometimes people on Asgard can be barbaric.. Especially Thor.” He muttered that last part under his breath. “Yes.. It was civil, but it was boring. They have these amazing places where people go out to dance and just.. have fun. Something I think the majority have never heard off in there.” I told Loki. We were walking the streets of New York. A few cars passed by every now and then. I was looking for a place where we could go dance. “Ok we’re not gonna find anything here.” I said looking around. “Find what?” Loki asked ready to go to the hotel room we had rented. “A party! To dance! Not one of those where people like to talk about money and stocks, cause lets be honest we both are not interested in that.” Loki gave me a small nod and smile at that. “Alright, but I am not going dancing. And besides there is no place here to go dancing anyway. So lets be on our way back to the hotel.” He tried to dismiss me. Keyword tried. I’m not giving up that easily. “Let’s go to Brooklyn! They have good places there. Here I’ll get us a cab!” I was putting my hand up waving at the cabs passing by. Non had stopped as if yet. “No stop that. We went to a party, now we are going back.” He told me. But then a cab stopped and I got in. “You know any places to go dancing in Brooklyn?” I asked the cab driver and he nodded his head. “Well.. You coming or what, cause otherwise I’ll just go without you. You decide Loki.” Loki sighed at that. “Fine but no longer than fifteen minutes.” He said as he climbed in the cad. “An hour.” He shook his head. “Twenty minutes.” He retorted. “An hour.” I told him again. The cab started moving at this point. “Thirty minutes.” He was getting annoyed, but I wasn’t about to give in. “One hour.” I told him again. He sighed. “Fine, but I’m not dancing, so you’ll have to find somebody.” I just shrugged at that. “You’re not a good dancer anyway. You’d just embarrass me.” And Loki rolled his eyes. I was ecstatic, I was so excited to go dancing. Just don’t know these kind of moves yet.

-

After about thirty minutes the driver dropped us off at a dance hall. You could hear the music booming outside and I couldn’t wait to get in. “Be careful! You are not exactly dressed like you belong here.” The cab driver said. We did kind of looked out of place here. Loki and I were very dressed up, Loki was wearing a very expensive looking suit and me, I was wearing a light almost steel colored dress my hair done half up half down and my lips were red. This place certainly wasn’t on the richer part of town. But those people don’t know how to really live up a party anyway.

We walked in and there was jazz music playing. “Come on lets dance!” I cheered. “No.” He was standing still in place and not budging. “Come on Loki! It’ll be fun! Besides, you owe me.” He put his hand on his chest like he was surprised. “What do I owe you.” I narrowed my eyes at him. “You were the one to convince me to go to America in a time like this. Saying, and I quote, ‘You have tried to change history and it didn’t work, so this time won’t be different, go show me around America please.” I crossed my arms and gave him a pointed look. “Yes to the first part and no to the second. Never said I wanted to go here.” I rolled my eyes. “Come on! we will just dance for an hour and then we’re out.” “I told you I’m not dancing.” He retorted. “Fine I’ll find somebody else to dance with than.” I looked around the dance floor and saw everybody have a partner to dance with. Some were just hanging around by tables and others were by bars. I decided to try it there. I saw a man standing alone by the bar. Perfect, doesn’t seem like he has a date. I have got to say who ever the is, he looks handsome even from the back. Broad shoulders, tall and dark hair. Hopefully he likes to dance and isn’t just here for the drinks. 

As I walked over I got a lot of looks from almost everybody. I did look like I was very out of place. But I’m here to have a good time just like everybody else. My eyes were se ton whoever this man was. I noticed that some men had tried to come up and start a conversation with me, but I ignored them. This would be very embarrassing if that man does not want to dance. Anyway the man that was by the bar was leaning against it, so I did the same as I got there. “What are the recommended drinks?” I asked the tall man. He was taking a gulp of his beer and slightly choked when he looked at me. I’ll take that as a compliment. “They don’t have the fancy stuff here if that is what you are looking for. Mostly just beer.” He answered. His eyes were piercing. A steel blue and slightly hooded. “Guess I’ll have that than.” I said waving the waiter over and I ordered.

“So what is a dame like you doing in a place like this?” He asked, fully intrigued. “I came because I wanted to dance, but my friend over there is not so convinced.” I told him pointing with my finger over to Loki. He looked very uncomfortable. That made me slightly laugh. “Is he your husba-” “Oh God no! He’s a friend. He is just doesn’t like to have fun.” He looked a little relieved. “And now you’re here.” I nodded. “Now I’m here, living my life like my days are numbered.” He laughed at that. “Good way to see things.” He noted. The waiter came over with my beer and I nodded a thank you. “So what’s your name doll?” The nickname made me smile. The way it rolled off his tongue so easily. “I’m y/n Ironside.” I told him. Long ago I had taken Bjorn’s name and I still used it after almost a thousand years. I put my hand forward for him to shake. “James Barnes, but friends call me Bucky.” He took my hand and shook it slightly. It felt like electricity running through me. “Bucky?” I asked. “Yeah it comes from my second name, Buchanan.” He explained. “That’s cute.” And I slightly smiled. ”Well Bucky, would you like to dance with me?” I asked him and he smirked. “I thought you were never going to ask.” And he pulled me with him to the dancefloor. I now noticed that we were holding hands the entire time. It made me blush. It felt strange getting these feelings. But I pushed it down and thought nothing of it.

As we were standing in the middle of the dance floor something upbeat started playing. “I don’t know how to dance to this.” Bucky gave me another smirk at that. “Follow my lead!” He answered. He started twirling me around on the beat. It was hard to keep up. I was looking at the people around me what they were doing when I stepped on Bucky’s toe. “Oh sorry!” I grimaced. “It’s alright doll. Don’t get distracted by the people around you. Focus on me.” So I did. I followed his every move and tried to keep up. Still sometimes I stepped on his toes, but it was definitely a lot easier if I wasn’t looking at what everyone around me was doing. After the first song ended I didn’t even notice that there were other people around. Bucky and I were having fun, laughing at the mistakes I was making. It felt very nice for a moment not to think about what was happening in Europe. Then a slow song came on. I stepped closer to him and guided his hand around my my lower back. Then I put my left hand on his shoulder and grabbed his free hand with my right. “So, you do know how to slow dance?” He noted. “I do.” I mean I have sort of slowed danced for about a thousand years, so you could say I am well trained. Obviously couldn’t tell him that. “But you have been a good teacher for teaching me the fast pace parts.” I smiled at him. It was a lot of fun. Fun I haven’t had in a while. “You’re welcome. They don’t do that where you’re from?” Bucky asked. I smiled. They definitely do not dance like that on Asgard and also those type of dances change a lot over the years. “No they do not.” I told him smiling. “So.. You didn’t have a date tonight or.. Did you just come here by yourself?” I wondered out loud. “Oh no. I was with a friend of mine. Steve. But he left earlier. I was just gonna grab a bier before leaving, but then I met this beautiful dame that wanted to dance. And I would be a damned fool to say no to that.” He laughed. “Well I’m glad that I saw you by the bar then.” I stated smiling at him. I looked at our hand that were intertwined and so did he. I had a ring on my middle finger that Loki had gifted me a long time ago. It had the Yggdrasil tree on it. He said it was my symbol and that we are one, I was the protector of life, therefore the protector of the tree of life. It had a magic ability to snap me in to my fighting suit whenever needed. It was a great gift and it made it a lot easier to not have to change every time. “That looks like a old ring.” Bucky noted. “Uhm, yes it has been with me for as long as I can remember.” “Family heirloom?” He asked. “Hmm-hmm.” I nodded my head yes. “It’s a beautiful ring.” I smiled at that. I really loved it as well. “Thank you.”

“Time is up y/n. We’re leaving.” Loki came up behind me. I sighed. I was having so much fun with Bucky and I didn’t want this night to end yet. “After the song has ended.” I told Loki not even looking at him and still dancing with Bucky. He looked slightly uncomfortable, maybe intimidated by Loki. “You said one hour. It has been one hour. We’re leaving this awful place.” He was clearly getting annoyed, but Loki was always annoyed, so it didn’t bother me and he had a habit of giving in anyway. “I’ll leave after this dance. You can either wait here in the middle of the dancefloor or wait outside of it.” He sighed. Giving in and saying; “Fine.” Very annoyed. 

“Very strong willed woman.” Bucky stated impressed. Now it was my turn to smirk. “He doesn’t know how to live in the moment some times.” I stated looking over my shoulder at Loki who was looking very impatient. And annoyed. That gave me an idea. “How do you feel about living in the moment?” I asked Bucky. “No better way to live.” He said smiling. I looked around quickly. “Alright. When the music ends you wanna go for that exit behind you?” He looked around quickly and gave me a shocked face. “You sure you wanna do that doll?” Bucky asked a bit unsure of it all. “It will be hilarious! Are you in?” He dropped his face in a smile. “Where ever you go.” He answered back. Loki is going to be so annoyed. It’s a bit childish of me, but I’m gonna love seeing his face after. 

Bucky and I danced for a bit until the next song started playing. I quickly looked back and saw that Loki was coming up to us again. “Now run!” I yelled at Bucky. I pulled him with me towards the exit as fast as I could not looking back. I pushed the people who were in front of me aside in a fit of laughter. I heard Bucky was laughing too. Then we got outside and ran as fast as we could this time Bucky was pulling me with him. “How far?” He asked laughing. “Far enough!” I yelled back. People that were walking on the street looked at us slightly disturbed which only made this ten times more funnier.

We ran maybe two blocks away from the dancing place. We both slowed down still laughing at the situation. “You sure he is not going to be mad about this?” Bucky asked still laughing. “Don’t worry he’s not going to be mad at you, but with me, it’s fine.” I reassured him. “Alright.” Bucky said spinning me around. All this time still holding hands. “One more dance?” He asked me this time. “There is no music.” I stated smiling. “Let me think.” Bucky told me. “Somewhere over the rainbow, way up high, there’s a land that I heard of, once in a lullaby.” I started singing. Bucky smiled at me and took my other hand an guided me on the street. I continued singing as we were dancing. This song always made me thing of Asgard funnily enough. I always thought of the rainbow as the Bifrost, because when I didn’t understand any of this I thought it was a actual rainbow. And now, in this time, Asgard and it’s stories are lullabies. “I like this song.” He told me. I smiled an continued singing again. I started resting my head against his shoulder. This moment felt very peaceful in all the hectic-ness that was going around earth.

After the song it was time for me to go back to Loki. Enough messing with him for today. “I need to go back.” I told Bucky. He nodded his head in understanding. “Let me walk you back.” And so we walked back and it would end our time. I usually never saw the people I met on earth twice. It raised a lot of questions if there was a little more time in between, seeing I don’t age. Also if I hung out with the same people for too long it started raising questions as to why I was not aging. In the past people have thought I was a witch because of that. So I decided to just not have any relations with humans at all anymore. Which made me sad. Asguardians are great and all, but human.. I was one of them once or I still am, it’s just not the same. As we came closer to the dancehall I felt sad. “I had a really good time.” I told Bucky sincere. He was kind, funny and such a gentleman. “Me too. Uhm I have an extra ticket for the cinema tomorrow, would you like to come with me?” Bucky asked me. I wanted to see him again, but it wouldn’t be wise of me to do so. “I-” “there you are! I have been looking everywhere like a fool. It is time to go home now! I got us a taxi.” Loki said as he started pulling me with him. Now was the first time I let go of Bucky’s hand since I had met him. It felt empty now, cold. “Wait!” I got out of Loki’s grip and ran back to Bucky. “Thank you for tonight.” I told him holding his hands one last time and a gave him a quick kiss on his left cheek before I let go and ran back towards a irritated Loki. I just shrugged at him as I followed him to a taxi.

As we sat in the taxi I looked if I could still see Bucky and I did. I wish I had answered his question for the cinema, but it would only make it more difficult if I did. The car started moving and Loki and I were off to our hotel. I gave him a final wave before I couldn’t see him anymore and looked down. “Oh please, you get attached too easily. You met him not two hours ago.” Loki stated. “He was different.” Is all I had to say, and he was, he was different. “You shouldn’t fall for these humans.. their lives are short and meaningless. Asguardians have a much longer lifespan.” I just rolled my eyes at that. “Their lives being short gives a lot more meaning to them.” I said under my breath.

-

Two weeks later

Bucky POV

“How about Dottie?” Steve asked. He was asking me if I went on any other dates with her. But truth be told. After I had met Y/n I couldn’t think of anybody else. I sighed and took a sip of my coke, we were sitting at a diner. “No? Buck you still got your mind on this girl? It’s been two weeks.” He tried to reason. He was right, but a girl like y/n I have never met before. “She was somethin’ else Steve.” Was all I has to say. “How was she so special?” Steve asked. “She was beautiful, you had to see her. She had this beautiful smile and this glistening in her y/e/c eyes. She carried herself in a way that was just so graceful. And she was so kind. and her laugh, Steve, you had to hear her laugh.” I sounded crazy, but that one encounter with her was what that did to me. “Well if it is meant to be you’ll see her again.” He tried to cheer me up. I looked out of the window at all the people that were walking around going places, work, home. “Maybe it wasn’t.” I said quietly. I wanted to look for her, but she would definitely think I’m crazy if I succeeded in that and I wouldn’t want to scare her away. In the corner of my eye I saw a woman walking the same walk as y/n did. I tried to get a better look, as much as I could with the window being in the way and the people on the street. I could only see her back. She had a yellow dress on with the same hairdo as y/n had that night. “It’s her.” I couldn’t believe it. I immediately stood up and walked out of the diner as fast as I could. I kept a quick pace to keep up with her. “Y/n!”

...

..

.

Let me know what you think!

Yes the dancing part of the street is totally an idea of the Notebook, it is one of my favorite movies and I always thought it was so romantic :)

[timetoresurface]

take you home / JJH

idol!au Jaehyun x Y/N 4k meet cute scenario where you travel solo, and you meet a handsome boy in a random bar // no warnings

optional second part (here) where Y/N reflects on her relationship with Jaehyun.

What was supposed to be a romantic getaway with your so-called soulmate, ended up in a solo soul-searching trip. You had booked an early birthday present for your ex-boyfriend, not knowing he would actually break up with you before you could even tell him you had planned a spectacular gift. Through all your heartbreak  and tears you had forgotten you had a trip on your agenda, but luckily you had your phone to remind you of everything painful. 

“Do you want me to go with you?” “You shouldn’t go. It will only remind you of him.” “You were finally getting over him.” “Just cancel the trip.”

Are a few of the things your friends had said when you told them you were going solo. The past months had indeed been bad, but you were finally leaving it all in the past. This trip could be the start of something new. This fresh start resulted in you helping out in an unknown bar without getting paid. The owner promised you free drinks the moment it would be less busy, but you were already three hours in cleaning tables without an end in sight.

“Y/N can you please check if that table needs more drinks?” The owner of the small establishment pleaded while his hands were trying to fix the cash register. You simply nodded your head and made your way over to the table with rowdy boys. You could tell they didn’t go out much by how they couldn’t take their liquor. 

“Can I get you anything?” You asked them politely while eying their empty drinks. You would rather have them leave so you could finally get your promised free drinks, but they weren’t bad customers.

“Another round please.” A skinny dark haired boy said. You could tell he was a little bit tipsy by his eyes drooping a little bit. Usually, you would find these kind of lightweight people annoying, but this boy made it look charming. 

“Mark, are you sure?” Your eyes moved away from the boy named Mark to the owner of the concerned voice. He seemed to be the only one not even near being tipsy, but that didn’t mean he wasn’t having any fun. He was looking at his friend with adoration in his eyes, and you couldn’t help but mirror his expression. 

“I actually don’t know what you were drinking. I’m guessing beer?” You asked them innocently while eying their empty beer glasses. The only sober guy at the table laughed while making eye contact with you. He simply nodded his head, but the simple movement stirred something awake in you. Describing him as handsome would be an understatement because he was much more than that. His eyes twinkled in excitement, and his mouth was beautifully formed into a heartwarming smile that could even melt icecaps. His face seemed to be perfectly sculpted by the Gods, and you couldn’t help but to roam your eyes over his almost perfect features. 

“We were drinking Guinness, but I think we should go for something a little less strong.” He smiled, ignoring the fact that you had been not so secretly staring at him. You quickly composed yourself and counted the people around the table. 

“I can work with that.” You simply told them before getting their drinks. You had only been here for a couple of hours, but you knew where everything was and how to work around the confused boss. Not that he was your boss because you technically didn’t work here, but you really wanted your free drinks. 

You had been sitting here alone at the bar with a glass of wine when suddenly a lot of people stormed inside. The owner of the bar hadn’t anticipated a busy Wednesday night and was short on staff. You had heard him calling some people that worked here, but no one was free tonight. Blame it on the glass of wine, or blame it on your loneliness, but you immediately offered to help. 

“Hey, can I ask you something?” You were pouring the beer into the correct glasses when someone interrupted your flow. It was the same guy you had been staring at not even five minutes ago. 

“Of course. How can I help you?” You smiled at him while closing the tab.

“I can’t seem to find the toilet, do you know where it is?” He asked you innocently, and you almost couldn’t contain yourself to squeal out loud by his adorableness. 

“What if I told you I didn’t know where the toilet was?” You asked him teasingly, but you weren’t lying. You actually didn’t know where the toilet was. 

“I would probably pee my pants.” He confessed with a nervous laugh.

“Well, I actually don’t know where the toilet is, but I suspect down the stairs.” You told him earnestly while pointing at the direction of the stairs. He followed your movement, and noticed the toilet sign. You heard him sigh in relief, and it was the most beautiful sound you had ever heard.

“Thank you so much.” He said before making his way down the stairs. 

“It was no problem.” You told him, but he was already out of earshot. You softly smiled at yourself while pouring the remaining drinks before bringing them over to their table.

“I don’t think I can handle more beer.” The boy named Mark, who had ordered more drinks, said. 

“You don’t have to drink beer.” You told him while putting his drink hesitantly before him. 

“But you already poured it so beautifully. It would be a waste and a disgrace to your work.” His shoulders dropped in despair while he admired the glass of beer. 

“I can also make a neat iced tea. You should see me pouring that straight out of the bottle. That would be a waste and disgrace to my work if you didn’t drink it.” You told him seriously. You hadn’t expected him to burst out laughing. You hadn’t expected his laugh to be so contagious, but when the other guy returned everyone at the table was a laughing mess. 

“What happened?”

“Jaehyun, she’s so funny.” Mark slurred his words while gesturing toward you. Your cheeks flushed at the unexpected comment and unwanted attention that suddenly came by his remark. 

“Iced tea?” You asked Mark after a couple of seconds of awkwardness, and he simply nodded his head. You smiled at him while taking away his glass of beer. You heard Mark explaining to the boy named Jaehyun what had happened when he was gone while you were making your way over to the bar again. You took a sip from the unwanted beer before getting a glass for Mark’s iced tea. You actually didn’t lie, this bar does pour cheap bottles of an unknown brand iced tea in fancy glasses. You completed the drink with a slice of lemon before presenting it to Mark.

“Wow!” Was the only thing Mark said when you gave him his drink. “I’m in awe by the perfect ratio of bottled iced tea and lemon. This is a masterpiece.” He completed his train of thoughts before he burst out in laughter. Again, you hadn’t anticipated his reaction, and you had forgotten how contagious his laughter was. The only difference was that you could hear the low laugh of Jaehyun mixed with the others, but his stood out. His laughter could work as a siren call, and you would willingly follow it to the end of the world. 

“I’m glad you enjoy my work.” You said when everyone calmed down a little bit.

“You’re doing a good job.” Mark stated before drinking a large sip of his not so personalized drink. 

“Thank you.” You told them before returning to your spot at the bar. The owner of the bar had finally finished making the register, and you could feel the air of calmness in the bar. Most people seemed to have disappeared to another spot. It was just you, the owner and the rowdy boys. 

“Y/N! Thank you so much for helping. You can have free drinks tonight and tomorrow night.” He told you with a tired smile. 

“It was no problem. I’m happy to help.” You told him, mirroring his expression. You had only worked for a couple of hours, but it was so intense it had drained all the energy out of you. 

“Are you sure you’re not looking for a job?” He asked you.

“I don’t actually live here: otherwise, I would have accepted.” You told him softly while patting his shoulder. You took off your apron before sitting in your spot at the bar.

“It’s a shame.” He said while removing your apron from the bar.

“Can I get a glass of wine?” You asked him nicely.

“You know where it is.” He told you while gesturing toward the fridge filled with wine. He made his way over to you and seated himself next to you. 

“Can I get you anything?” You asked him while you were pouring yourself a glass of wine. You actually didn’t mind because you could take the more expensive one without having to pay for it.

“Red wine. The good one.” He seemed to have had the same idea. Well, it is his bar.

“Coming right up.”

—

The next day you woke up in your hotel room feeling a tiny bit dizzy. Maybe you felt that way because of the free wine you had consumed the other night. Or perhaps it was because you had cried yourself to sleep. You had been fine all day because you had kept yourself busy, but the moment you entered your tiny room, it all came crashing down. 

You were indeed alone in a foreign city while staying in a romantic bed and breakfast thing where only couples go for a honeymoon or whatever. Anyone would cry in that situation, or that’s what you tell yourself. You didn’t cry because you missed him. You cried because you missed having someone in your life to share your thoughts with. 

But, today is a new day, and a new day means not dwelling on the past. A new day means obsessing over the handsome guy from last night. After they finished their drinks, he was the one who came up to pay. He spoke to you first, but the owner quickly told him you actually didn’t work there. He seemed surprised by that information, and your temporary boss explained the situation to him.

“So, you’re like a real-life hero?” He had said to you while your boss was trying to get the paying machine to work.

“I don’t think anyone’s ever said that to me before.” You told Jaehyun with a soft blush noticeable on your cheeks.

“I said you were a gift from the Gods. That’s kind of the same.” Your boss deadpanned, making you roll your eyes while Jaehyun laughed at the scene before him. 

That guy seemed to laugh a lot, and you hoped he would never stop because his smile had healed you in some ways. It had made your heart’s doors open to just a crack. He had given you hope that men were still beautiful, and the world was still peaceful. You noticed you were still thinking about him while you were roaming the streets. You wondered if he was still in this city, and if so, where would he be? Would he also be exploring with a camera in hand trying to capture the movement in silence? So many questions, and so little answers.

You were quietly taking a picture of a bridge from the side of the river when you noticed some loud screams and laughs. They reminded you of the boys from last night, so you automatically turned your head toward the noise. There were a lot of people and some cameras focused on a handful of handsome men dancing to a song you had never heard before. The song suited their cool-guy outfits, and it made you smile. There were also a lot of girls screaming on the sidelines for their favourite boy. It reminded you of the time when you went to a One Direction concert with your friends. Oh, being young, naive and obsessed with boybands. What a wonderful time in a young girl’s life. 

You moved closer to the commotion and immediately recognized Mark at the centre of the group. He looked in perfect shape, and you were glad he had accepted your iced tea. You had a feeling he wouldn’t be standing there if he had taken the second beer. You gravitated to the side behind all the screaming girls. You gently seated yourself at the side of the river while keeping your eyes focused on the dancing boys. You didn’t recognize the language they were singing in, but it didn’t bother you at all. 

Finally, you spotted Jaehyun. The boy who had been in your thoughts ever since you had briefly met him last night. You didn’t think he could be even more handsome in broad daylight, but he brightly outshone the sun in his leather jacket. You zoned out watching Jaehyun move effortlessly to the beat, you hadn’t noticed when the music had stopped. They were now saying their goodbyes and thanking their fans for showing up on such short notice. 

Somehow your eyes locked with Jaehyun’s, and a big smile formed on his face when he noticed you looking at him. It was the second time he had caught you staring at him, but it didn’t seem to bother him in the slightest. He enthusiastically waved to you, and some fans thought it was directed to them, but you and Jaehyun knew it was meant for you. You softly waved back at him before retreating back to the other side of the busy street, leaving Jaehyun behind. 

You strolled through the city with one thing on your mind: how can someone be so good-looking? It seemed a bit unfair to you that one person could hold the earth’s beauty with just a smile. It’s only fair that he is in a famous boyband so that many people can drown in his grace. The pictures you took that day were taken with a different mentality of the city. It somehow didn’t seem so dull anymore. You noticed the colours and wondered if the world had always been so bright. 

Eventually, you found your way back to the bar that had promised you free drinks. You hoped the owner would still recognize you and would keep his promise. Also, it would be nice to have someone to talk to after spending the day by yourself. The moment you entered you felt like you were being watched, but you tried to ignore the feeling. It was probably because you had spent the day alone, and people could smell the loneliness on you. 

“Hi!” You said while seating yourself at the bar. He immediately recognized you and presented a glass of white wine in front of you.

“I was wondering when you would show up. I thought you were going to ditch this bottle of wine.” The owner said while gesturing to one of the more expensive bottles. 

“I will never leave a good bottle of chardonnay alone.” You told him seriously, which made him laugh a little bit. 

“I have some boxes to bring up, can you maybe see if that table in the corner needs anything?” He asked you with pleading eyes, and you agreed. Happy to be doing something useful.

“I got your back.” You told him while getting off your seat, ready to help the poor man out. The table he had mentioned was just one guy softly scrolling through his phone. He seemed to be getting a lot of messages and calls, but he ignored them all. 

“Can I get you anything to drink?” You asked the man. He turned around and your eyes locked with the one guy who had occupied your mind the whole day. 

“We have to stop running into each other like this.” Jaehyun smiled, giving you the same look of adoration he had given his friend the day before. 

“I think you want to run into me like this.” You laughed, but you were quickly interrupted by the owner of the bar. He carried two glasses of wine and some snacks. 

“It’s on the house.” He simply said before leaving you alone with Jaehyun. You had barely spoken two sentences with the guy where one of them was him asking where the toilet was. You were more strangers than anything. Blame it on the lack of social contact you had today. Maybe you could simply blame it on yourself because you couldn’t stay focused for more than five minutes when he was near. 

“You can sit with me?” Jaehyun asked you insecure, and somehow he broke the awkward vibes you were giving off. He seemed to do that a lot around you, breaking some of the defence mechanisms you had built around yourself. 

“I’m Y/N.” You introduced yourself while taking a seat opposite him. He seemed pleased by your actions and leaned a bit forward. His eyes searching for yours before he spoke.

“I’m Jaehyun. It’s nice to put a name to the beautiful face.” He said with a prominent smile on his face, which only made you blush. 

“I could say the same.” You said before taking a sip of your wine. He mirrored your actions, both of you not knowing what to do or say in a situation like this. It felt like the first time you had met someone new, and all social etiquette vanished from your brain.

“I’m sorry for being awkward,” Jaehyun stated, avoiding your eyes while doing so. 

“I think it is adorable, and I’m also glad I’m not the only awkward one sitting at this table.” You told him, and he quickly locked his eyes with yours. The newfound confidence changed his body language. He had popped his elbows on the table to support his head so he could entirely focus on you, and only you. His phone was lighting up in silence, but he simply ignored everything. 

“Are you from here?” He asked you while he rested his head on his hands. His long eyelashes being the only thing you could stare at. 

“No, are you?” You answered and asked him. Usually, you loved talking the other person’s ears off, but with Jaehyun, you wanted to know more about him. What was the driving force in Jaehyun’s story? What was his favourite colour? You want to know it all.

“No, I’m actually from Korea. Are you here alone?” He asked you, and you could tell he was a little bit worried by the frown on his face. You wanted him to laugh that low laugh of his again.

“This is my ‘Eat, Pray, Love’ trip.” You softly explained to him with a smile on your face. It had been a long time since you had smiled so much because of one person.

“The Julia Roberts movie?” He asked you interested, engrossed by your thoughts. 

“That one.” You confirmed before taking a large sip from your glass. Once again he mirrored your actions, which made you smile and feel warm on the inside.

“Are you going through a divorce?” He laughed, and you quickly shook your head. You couldn’t believe he actually knew what you were talking about. Usually people never understood your references.

“Worse, I’m going through heartbreak because of a fuck-boy. Why are you here, though? I bey your story is more interesting.”

“I hardly doubt that. Did you pay attention this afternoon?” He asked you, and you quickly nodded your head.

“You’re in a boyband?” You asked him softly while looking around. You didn’t want anyone to hear your conversation, afraid a wild fangirl could appear. You had seen their fans for a couple of minutes, and it was enough for you to be scared. You had been a fangirl yourself in your teenage years, you knew what they were capable of. 

“Exactly. That’s why I’m here because we have a concert tomorrow.” He explained to you, grabbing your attention again. 

“Shouldn’t you be practising?” You asked him softly. Why would he be here drinking wine, when he has a concert tomorrow? It couldn’t be because of you, right?

“I actually should, but I really wanted to go back to this bar for some strange and unknown reason.” He rested his hands on his lap while looking down. Was he getting shy now?

“What if I hadn’t shown up tonight?” You boldly asked him. If tonight was the only night you had with him, you wanted to make it count. You wanted to remember the spark in Jaehyun’s eyes that made butterflies explode in your stomach. You wanted to remember the way his laugh could melt your icy heart.

“I don’t know. I just knew I could find you here.” He confessed softly, and you couldn’t help but look lovingly at him. He just had that aura around him. You just can’t help but love Jaehyun. He shouldn’t waste a moment without that smile of his that could cure any disease.

“So you admit you were looking for me?” You asked him teasingly, and his ears turned a little bit red by your accusation. 

“I never said I wasn’t. I thought my intentions were pretty clear from the start.” He tried to recover, but the redness spread over his cheeks.

“And what are your intentions?” 

“I actually don’t know. I just wanted to get to know your name.” He confessed to you again, which made your heart stop for just a second. A moment passed when you were both simply staring into each other’s eyes as if you were paused in a cliché romantic comedy. 

“Well, you learned my name.” You finally broke the silence.

“I’m not yet satisfied if I’m honest.” He told you softly, making you blush in return.

“You can be honest with me.” You simply told him, trying to fight the static atmosphere. A strange feeling washed over you while staring at him, but it wasn’t unpleasant. It was the feeling of the promise of a memorable moment with Jaehyun. 

“Can you be honest with me?” He asked you softly, not wanting to break the tension. You simply nodded your head at his question. Anticipation and adrenaline taking over your body. Not wanting to cross the line where the mystery would fade, but also craving to know where this conversation would take you.

“Do you want to get some ice-cream with me?” He asked you, his voice low it could make panties drop in a second, but the intention so innocent it made you question your sanity. You were craving something to cool you off, caused by the man sitting opposite you. What’s the point in rushing before it begins?

[whatdoesshedotothem]

Saturday 5 May 1838: SH:7/ML/E/21/0090

8

3 25

fine morning Mr. Faulken the hairdresser came about 9 – dressed A- and then me during which time A- had Miss Lloyd the dressmaker – A- and I adjusted the Imperials for going with the carriage to be embarked – Mr. Harrison Bluemantle came at 11 and waited ten minutes or more – then staid ½ hour – took away with him A-‘s sketch of pedigree which she had done very neatly and took my pedigree to enter the deaths (vid. 166) – the coronation to be on the 28th June – to cost about £40,000 as did the coronation of William IV. – no procession – no place to arrange it in – would be 6000 who would have a right to join it, and no house of Lords – no place to marshal it in – the queen would not sleep in the cloisters of Westminster abbey as George the 4th did – to be ready for the next day – could not undergo the fatigue of a bouquet – about 12000 peers – the length of peeresses robes in proportion of their rank – a duchesses’ train 6ft. long on the ground – Every peerage bought by interest of one sort or other – Lord Ashburton (Baring) bought up the Times newspaper such which it is conservative, and has made £10,000 a year and more – realizes after paying all expense, £60,000 a year – the whigs did not know the [consi.] of their own reform bill – 3 parties now – whigs, tories, and radicals – any 2 of which joining must turn out the other – the present ministers will never resign – Bluemantle evidently a whig, and soon saw we were on the other side – breakfast after he went i.e. about 11 ½ and at 12 40 left A- to write to her sister and I drove off to Eastcombe – turned to the left just after passing over Blackheath – fine drive – the long line of Greenwich railroad arches had something of the look of an ancient aqueduct – at Eastcombe in 1 ¼ hour at 1 55 Lady S- much surprised but very glad to see me – Lady Buckinghamshire had been saying only yesterday she wondered if she should ever see Miss Lister – Lady S- looking much better than when I saw her last – no deafer – nor more bent as far as applied to me – gave her my address r. Saint Victor n°27 – promised to write – Lady B- a tall very ladylike elegant looking person I declined taking luncheon and also declined going upstairs – glad I went – the room we were in looked upon the distant Thames – a fine view – and had one window down to the ground on the other side opposite to the fireplace, and opening into a pretty flower garden – the room book shelved all round about 6ft. high – the shelves thrown back and that the well above (papered) was flush with the books on the shelves – all forming one line – no projection – the effect of this good and very comfortable – the drawing room at Shibden might be done in this way? past an hour with Lady S- and returned in 1 ¼ hour and home at 4 10 having stopt a moment en passant at Hammersleys’ and brought my passport signed by the French ambassador – sent away the horses for an hour and George dined and then about 5 ¼ A- drove off to Endsleigh street n°5 to see Mrs. Plowes – near an hour there – very glad to see her – pressed her but not disagreeably to know her plans but quite satisfied when A- said she really did not mean to tell them – Miss Edwards of Pynest there – while A- was away I sat writing up my journal from the beginning of Tuesday (1st instant) when about 6 ¼ Lady Stuart de R- and Louisa were announced – very glad to see her – said it was very good of her to come – she brought me the direction to the hotel Lady Rundlesham liked so much, Hotel Voltaire r. de Lille who also mentioned should this be full Hotel Mirabeau r. de la Paix – to write to them undercover to Lord Stuart de R- thro’ the embassy – to send the packet to the embassy porter or to Mr. Oakey the Law agent next door – we cozing very comfortably when A- returned and came in taken by surprise to find the de R-s here – introduced her – all very well – they did not stay more than a minute or 2 afterwards – then dinner about 7 ½ - a person from Mr. Pearce brought the bill paid it = £16.3.6 for what has been done to the carriage 11.2.6 and the rest expense of carriage and horses and embarking the carriage 12/. – Hutton brought home George’s clothes and Miss Lloyd sent A-‘s gown and petticoat (waist trimmed with Valenciennes edging) very neat – sent George to pay her bill –

SH:7/ML/E/21/0091

A- and I respectively finished our Madeira and claret – had given them into charge of the waiter last night, and none of the wine seemed to have been taken – sat talking some while – then at our writing – then tea between 10 and 11 and writing again – had just finished my journal up so far at 11 40 – a heavyish shower or as I went to Eastcombe this morning otherwise fine day – then till 1 40 (sent Oddy to bed at 12) sat writing to M-, Marian, Mrs. Briggs and Mrs. Bagnold to be left in the letter box here tomorrow – morning – fine day – expect the rain going to Eastcombe this morning – A- wrote to her aunt while I was writing – directed and sealed my letters – we did not go upstairs till 2 or after –

[barnesandco]

Nikah: March

Story Masterlist

Nikah: noun, Arabic, meaning the contract of marriage.

Bucky marries Peter’s former tutor because her student visa’s about to expire and the government isn’t granting her a green card. Can she find a way to permanent residence by marriage, and if so, will it be at the cost of their hearts?

Pairing: Bucky Barnes x Reader

Warnings: None.

A/N: Written under the Arranged/Accidental Marriage trope for @mermaidxatxheart​ ‘s writing challenge. Thank you all for reading and commenting! (Picture below is mine, btw)

Bucky’s birthday arrives amidst blooming flowers and a pollen-scented breeze, the day marked by preparations for a party Sam is throwing for him at one of the hotels downtown. Avengers and close friends only, yet he’s spared no expense, insisting on a proper welcome back. The captain is unrelenting in matters of social activity, especially since he has been spending minimal time with his teammates since his marriage. Marriage. He shakes his head at himself in the floor length mirror as he straightens his cuff-links and moonlight catches on the gold band on his finger. It no longer feels like a burden.

Rather, it’s a seed that’s been planted on him, and it’s taken root inside him, growing, growing, growing into a steady feeling of friendship with the person he wears it for. An understanding, a companionship. He refuses to confess to anything more, even within the confines of his own mind. His heart, on the other hand, has no compunctions about making its opinion known, setting off like a hare being hunted whenever she approaches. Most dangerous assassin in the world, defeated by her smile.

She offers him one now when she enters, picture perfect elegance very nearly succeeding in concealing her nerves. Bucky’s nerves, meanwhile, are on fire at the sight of her, sensory overload short-circuiting his brain. He finally turns to look at her directly and the fox-hunt pace of his heart stumbles, stutters to a stop.

“You- you’re- jeepers,” Is all he can manage, the rosewater blush deepening on his cheeks. It has the opposite of the desired effect, and she steps back, mascaraed eyes widening, horrified.

“It’s too much, isn’t it. Oh God, I knew I should’ve-”  She begins to reach for a tissue box on the dresser and Bucky stops her. Lowers her hand slowly and keeps a hold of it, as if she will float away otherwise.

“Jesus, doll, stop. You’re perfect,” He tells her, and she slips her hand away but smiles a little as she sits on the foot of the bed - their bed - to put on her shoes.

“Thank you. You look nice, too,” She says, lifting the hem of her black gown as she pulls on pearl white heels. The matching clutch - pearl encrusted - is on the bedside table, and he hands it to her as they leave the room and then the apartment. 

“Hang on, your tie is loose,” She says the moment they enter the elevator. He can’t even press the button for the ground floor while she holds him in place. The split-second it takes for her to wrap her hands around the green silk and pull it tighter stretches into hours, the graze of her knuckles gentle in his cotton-covered chest. He has enough time to carve the shape of her cupid’s bow into his mind, the descent of her jaw to her chin into his lungs. After half an eternity, she puts distance between them again and presses the button while he tries to smooth his hair back only to feel the short strands tickle between his fingers, and he remembers cutting it last week.

The lobby is bustling, people coming and going like bees in a hive, and they nod their hellos and offer the doorman a Good evening before getting in the car Sam sent. The seats are cold and comfortable, and the chauffeur tips his hat once in the rear-view mirror before putting the Rolls Royce into gear.

“ ‘Possess ye, therefore, ye who borne about In chariots and sedans, know no fatigue’ ” She murmurs, letting her fingers trace the stitching in the butter-soft leather. 

“Marlowe?” Bucky asks, turning away from the New York evening, that special, streetlights-reflecting-on-wet-asphalt evening, to look at his wife. 

“William Cowper. The Task.”

“I think I’ve read that one,” He lies, fully prepared to come clean, and she looks at him curiously. 

“Wow, really? Even I haven’t read all six books,” She says, dubiously verging on impressed, and Bucky drops the facade.

“I’m pullin’ your leg. I’ve read some of Cowper’s work. Don’t remember much, but bits and pieces of school are still there,” He explains, all cheeky smile. “What’s it about? And why in God’s good name is it six books long?” This - the conversation, letting her talk about her work, her passion for literature - this he can do. Playful questions intermingling with genuine intellectual interest is manageable. Her beauty, her grace, the cloud of perfume that bleeds into his veins and makes his lungs strive for air, is not. So he concentrates on what he knows. Or doesn’t know, apparently.

“Honestly, what isn’t The Task about?” She laughs, eyeshadow glimmering like stardust in the smile wrinkles in the corners of her intelligent eyes. “Cowper had a bit of a breakdown during his barrister training in London, and retired to the countryside. In 1781, he met his friend Lady Austen, who later gave him a task to write about, to cheer him up. He started, and then just followed that train of thought wherever it took him.”

“Which book is that line from?” Bucky asks as the car stops in the inevitable Friday night traffic jam. At least they accounted for it, leaving early on purpose to avoid tardiness.

“I don’t actually remember. I think it’s from an extract in which Cowper criticizes the superficial pleasures and unnecessary luxuries of city life,” She answers, opening her clutch. Her phone and a tube of lipstick peek out but she reaches deeper for a pair of earrings.

Closing her eyes, she fastens the first one on the side Bucky can’t see, the other crescent-moon shaped accessory in her silk draped lap. The flower made from pearls matches her bracelet, the two pieces of jewellery clinking together as she puts on the other one.

“City life, huh?” Bucky muses, trying desperately to calm his heart. The earrings dangle, contrasting wonderfully against her simple black gown, and he swallows. She looks like royalty.

“Yeah, many poets of the time wrote a lot about the beauty of nature. They had a lot more of it at their disposal, I guess,” She shrugs.

“Do you have any favorites?” “Nature poems? I don’t know. There are so many good ones. Wordsworth’s To the Cuckoo, Herrick’s Daffodils, Yeats’ Wild Swans at Coole, Tennyso-” She cuts herself off with a huff of a laugh at herself.

“What is it?” 

“Nothing, no- I just-” She laughs again, trying to wave her hand like she’s shooing a fly. “I just have conflicting feelings about these poems by classical authors who write about nature. Poems that express a keen appreciation of beauty yet are fillled with sadness because so many beautiful things are short-lived and because human life itself is so short,” She says, twirling the ring around her finger, deep in thought. Bucky doesn’t know how he found her. This simple, wise soul, in the midst of all the chaos of the world. The chaos of resettlement. 

The chaos of the kitchen, an hour before dinner as the Avengers prepare dinner together, is unholy. Sam’s panicking about dessert while Wanda stirs the marinara sauce for spaghetti in her signature demure fashion, while Peter’s pile of handmade spaghetti grows taller and the pasta dough shrinks. His phone lights up on the table, and Bucky - kneading more dough nearby - is the only one who notices. He calls for Peter and pushes it over to him, not knowing what the point of having a phone is if it’s always going to be on silent, but Peter holds it out to him after just a moment of conversation.

Bucky reads the caller ID on the top and sees who it is, closing the kitchen door behind him, flour on his black t-shirt, as she speaks.

“Hi, Bucky. I hope I’m not disturbing.” 

“No, not at all. Have you decided?” He asks, pacing the hallway, staying out of sight of the others. Not that it matters, they’re still fairly busy. She had seemed unsure when they met, and he had given her time to decide it she wanted to do this. 

“Yeah, but I just- this is a huge favor,” She says.

“Not to me, doll. I’m just helping a friend of a friend,” He says, and it isn’t entirely true. That isn’t why he’s doing this. Something in him wanted to help, wanted to repay the debt of kindness that he owes the world. This is how he wants to do it, although he doesn’t think it’s fair that he gets to choose his penance.

“I thought you said Peter talks your ears off.” Bucky cringes, grateful she can’t see his face, even though he can hear the joking lilt of her tone.

“He’s a good kid. And I want to do this. Do you?” 

“Yeah.” A lengthy pause, heavy and tangible, even across the phone line. 

“When do you want to get married?” She asks finallly, voice shaking. His hand is, too. 

“We have a week-long mission right after Christmas. Boxing day arms deal in Sao Paulo,” He replies, cursing the Brazilian gangs who could find no other time do get up to no good. Evil doesn’t go on vacation, and neither do the Avengers.

“So… New Year’s Eve?” She asks, doing the math. He realizes that’s true. A week from Boxing Day.

“Yes. Shit, you don’t have a ring-” He begins to say, freaking out about the logistics. He didn’t even propose properly.

“It’s okay, we’ll figure it out.” “Alright, I’ll see you then.”

“Bye Bucky.”

“G’night.” He bids her farewell, then looks at the phone, asking himself what the hell he’s just gotten himself into. A knot builds and twists in his body, and he tries to loosen it. Breathes, and makes his way back.

“I’m engaged,” And the kitchen freezes in time as they all drop everything - not literally, Sam’s holding a knife - to look at him. The smile on Peter’s face is brighter than the Christmas tree in the adjacent common room, and the somersaults in Bucky’s stomach only settle at the sight of his relief.  

It seems that his teammates gave him a later time on purpose, because they’re all ready, dressed to the nines and wine-tipsy, waiting for him when they enter. It’s a small ballroom, downtown Manhattan, quaint and graceful. A chorus of Happy Birthday erupts in the room, and he smiles and thanks them. The hugs pile on, and he begins to introduce his wife to his friends. Home away from home for the man who has never had one since the 1940s - until he met her, that is. She’s home now, though he wouldn’t tell her that.

Instead, he relishes in the grin she offers him between introductions, till Sam drags him off to stand him on a chair and sing a birthday song. The party commences in much a similar fashion, too much noise in the room for a couple of dozen people. He stays away from Thor’s alcohol, knowing she doesn’t drink, not wanting to make her uncomfortable. 

He’s just thinking about how she might be dealing with the hectic atmosphere when her hand slips into his while he’s talking to Harley Keener about letting him look at his arm. He’s shocked, looks at her to see her smiling and concentrating only on the conversation, but he can tell she’s tired. It’s been hours, and he knows he can’t leave early - it’s his party - but he just wants to slip those heels off her feet and sit and talk, still in partywear, for hours on end. Let her quote Byron and Cowper and Austen to him, poems and essays and books, until he falls asleep on their sofa. Instead, her voice says something he isn’t expecting at all.

“Is it possible to put some sort of temp regulation in it?” She asks curiously, head tilted to the side like a sparrow. Harley thinks it over for only a second.

“Of course, why?”

“It hurts in the cold. He rubs and rolls his shoulder a lot in the winter,” She answers, and the thoughtful observation astounds him. It’s accurate, but it hadn’t even occurred to him, the movements that she’s citing entirely subconscious. They talk to Harley for a while longer, and then dance to several of Bucky’s favorite songs. Billie Holliday is crooning in the background as the second-to-last guest exits, leaving only his wife and his captain and his deputy director. When the door shuts behind them, they break apart, and Sam and Maria approach, ready to call it a night.

The car ride home passes in complete silence, a comfortable weight resting like a blanket between them, so much so that she falls fully asleep on the way, her head resting against the cold window when they arrive. He doesn’t have the heart to wake her, so he goes around to her door, opening it slowly and lifting her into his arms, not caring what it might look like to onlookers. It’s late, and there are few of them, at least in the lobby, and as the elevator doors shut, her head curls against his shoulder, hair tickling his Adam’s apple.

Bucky looks down at her, her resting, easy expression, the chandni earrings still on, and thinks: what a way to turn 103.

Taglist:  @suz-123​ @mermaidxatxheart​ @buckyreaderrecs​ @shield-agent78​ @corneliabarnes​ @readerandcinephileingeneral​ @stevieboyharrington​ @notsomellowmushroom​ @veganfangirl5​ @mood-pancakes​ @lbuck121​ @starnight-charmer​

[snezfics-n-shit]

Whumptober Day 23: Shiver

Fandom: Ace Attorney 

Characters: Larry Butz, Phoenix Wright, Miles Edgeworth, Trucy Wright

Notes: Respecc Larry 2020. Trucy’s going away to college in two months and her Uncle Larry has come all the way from his last book-signing tour stop to celebrate Laurice Deauxnim style. In which Larry lies about as well as a Weeble and earns himself that extended stay with the Wrightworth family he’d been wanting since Miles and Phoenix got married. He just wishes it was under better circumstances. Now who wants some wholesome fluff? 

“You’ll remember to call us as much as possible, right?” Phoenix scribbled a checkmark next to a few names on the RSVP list for Trucy's graduation party.

"Of course, Daddy! I'm not going for another two months anyway, so don't worry too much yet." Trucy grinned, peeking once or twice in the hallway, looking for someone.

"Uncle Larry is still sleeping off his jet lag." Phoenix knew exactly what Trucy was going to ask before she even spoke. "He had a long trip here, so naturally he was pretty tired."

"See? When I suggested we prepare the guest room before his arrival, it wasn't for nothing." Miles commented before checking what names were on Phoenix's list, raising a brow at a few names that were clearly only contacted via spirit channeling. He could understand his father and Mia Fey, but then there was Harry Houdini written as if he could just be sent an invitation by mail. He pinched the bridge of his nose. “Trucy, sweetheart, remember when we said your guest list should be realistic?”

“It is realistic! Aunt Maya said the mediums she’s training could use the practice.” Trucy crossed her arms. “I’m officially an adult now, so why can’t we go all out?”

“He’s right, Trucy.” Phoenix nodded, proud to see Miles putting his foot down about this. “We should really restrict the channeled guests to just family and friends.” He looked over the list again, noting how Trucy’s biological father was not even considered once. It wasn’t like he could blame her, but his heart ached sensing the hurt and betrayal that fueled Trucy’s decision. He put on a smile, though, just as his mentor taught him. 

“Fine.” Trucy sighed. “I hope Uncle Larry wakes up soon, then I can talk to someone who likes fun.” She teased.

“Trucy.” Miles feigned an authoritative tone, chuckling as he shook his head. In the corner of his vision was a figure sporting an oversized T-shirt in a familiar shade of orange.

"He's up!" Trucy sat up from the sofa to greet her Uncle Larry, who was now surely full of energy ready for a night of movies and calling Mr. Grossberg to ask if his refrigerator was running.

"Hey Nick, did you turn up the air conditioning while I was asleep?" Larry shivered on his way to the living room. "It's really cold in here!"

Phoenix and Miles looked at each other. The last time they significantly adjusted the air conditioner this year was during a particularly bad heat wave that had since passed. Not to mention, wouldn't Larry feel warmer in the LA heat after staying in states with far cooler climates?

"No, Uncle Larry!" Trucy giggled, assuming Larry was joking.

"I don't get it." Larry blinked a few times, looking bewildered by something only he could see. “I guess I might just have gotten too comfortable in that cozy guest bed of yours. I never really had a good sleep from those hotel beds.” He rubbed his shoulder. “All those hard mattresses really added up.”

“Then I’m sure you’ll appreciate every bit of sleep you’ll be getting this weekend.” Miles smiled. If this had been ten years ago, he wouldn’t have dreamed of letting Larry even set one foot in his house, let alone stay for two nights. He had to admit, seeing Larry so successful that his busy schedule typically only allowed weekend stays made him proud, but there was a tug of guilt about how he and Phoenix treated him in the past. Miles wondered, if it weren’t for Trucy, who had taken a liking to Larry from the start, would Larry have even wanted to associate with them? 

“So, Larry,” Phoenix stood up to pat his old friend on the back, “are you rested enough for tonight? Trucy’s really been talking up that movie night you suggested.”

“Should we order the pizza now or after a few rounds of Uno?” Trucy asked. Uno was a long-standing tradition for Larry’s visits, probably because it was one of the few card games he stood a chance against Phoenix, since having a card-playing professional win every time wasn’t very fun. Larry even had a solid win streak across his recent visits once Trucy declared herself too old for him to let her win.

“Actually, uh, I’m not really that hungry.” Larry shrugged, shivering again, already twice too many times for the middle of June.

“Did you eat before we picked you up from the airport?” Miles pushed up his glasses. “I don’t think you ate anything here before you fell asleep.”

“Nope.” Just as he answered, Larry was caught off guard by a deep tickle in his chest. He attempted getting rid of it with a brief cough, but as soon as he started, he couldn’t stop it on his own and let the fit overtake him.

"Larry?" Miles frowned in concern. "Are you alright?"

He was still coughing. It felt like an eternity until he could finally stop, and when he was done it was like all his muscles had left his body.

"Yeah." Larry's eyes were wide, he was still trying to figure out what just happened. "Allergies, probably." He guessed, tilting his head.

"That's odd." Miles said softly. "I recall you saying you were only allergic to cantaloupe just a few months ago. Something you told us you didn't eat from our fridge while you had hives on your arms proving otherwise."

"We caught you red handed there, Uncle Larry!" Trucy added, laughing at her own joke. The laughing stopped just as quickly as another coughing fit started from Larry, this one sending him dropping to his knees. “Uncle Larry?”

“I know that cough.” Phoenix held his chin. “You didn’t get your flu shot this year, did you, Larry?”

“How did you know?” Larry looked up from his position on the floor, his cheeks discolored from the strain. “I really planned to do it, though! I just forgot, is all.”

“It may be too late.” Phoenix crouched down to press his palm on Larry’s forehead. “You’re burning up.”

“That’s impossible.” Larry insisted. “I feel great. Can we play Uno now?” He attempted to stand up on his own, but instead almost immediately fell back down, this time supported by both Phoenix and Miles holding him so he wouldn’t hit the floor again. “This takes me back to those trust exercises we did when we were in school. Remember those?” Larry smiled as if that could prove his claims of good health.

“You can’t lie to us, Uncle Larry.” Trucy singsonged. Lying to any member of the Edgeworth-Wright family was just about impossible to get away with. Sure, a little fib here and there would be overlooked because it wasn’t worth the fuss, but Larry certainly wasn’t telling Phoenix his novelty ties were not at all tacky. “It’s not like we can’t play a game of Uno while you’re in bed, if that makes you feel better.”

“You’re absolutely right, Trucy.” Miles nodded. “Can you help us carry our guest back to bed?” He ignored Larry’s weak attempts to wriggle out and run for it. Where would he run to, anyway? Miles looked at Phoenix, then back at Trucy, signalling he was ready for the three to use their collective strength to hold Larry upright as they led him to bed.

Larry thought it wasn’t fair. Not just the fact he was outnumbered, but also that this would be how his desire for a longer visit would be fulfilled. There was no way he’d be allowed out of bed by Monday, not when blinking of all things was a source of discomfort. Don’t get him wrong, he couldn’t think of a better family to take care of him, but that in itself made him feel like he was intruding. He figured it was probably that ‘dad instinct’ he knew both Phoenix and Miles had down pat by now that explained their willingness to not only carry him to bed, but tuck him in as well. His face felt hot as he wondered if he was even worth being cared for like this.

“Don’t you, uh, think this is kind of weird?” Larry stared at the blanket over his legs, disappointed that it barely warmed him at all. “I mean, I’m not your family or anything.” He let his head rest on the soft, definitely expensive pillow.

“I don’t think it’s ‘weird’ at all.” Miles said as he walked to the guest bathroom.

“Yeah, it’s not weird.” Phoenix agreed, pulling the end table’s drawer open to grab the box of Uno cards that resided in it.

“And of course you’re family!” Trucy added. She sat on the edge of the bed, dangling her feet above the ground despite her being tall enough for them to touch the floor. “If you weren’t, you wouldn’t be Uncle Larry, you’d just be ‘Larry.’”

“Or we would just call you by your pen name,” Miles entered the room again with a digital thermometer in hand, “‘Laurice’ or perhaps ‘Mr. Deauxnim’ to be more formal.” He slid the thermometer between Larry’s lips and felt relief when Larry lifted his tongue in cooperation instead of fighting off the device like he initially expected. 

“Besides, bedside manner isn’t exclusive to family anyway,” Phoenix smiled. He slid the card deck out of the box and into his hand. “What else would we do? Just leave you alone, coughing up a storm and being generally miserable?” He heard the thermometer beep and closely watched his husband gently take it to analyze the numbers on display.

“Congratulations, Larry.” Miles’s tone remained flat. “You have a fever.” 

Larry wasn’t sure what it was about everything his old friends were saying that made him flustered enough to hide his nose under the blanket. Maybe it was the attentiveness, which, to him, seemed undeserved and out of nowhere. This was only made more apparent when he broke into another intense coughing fit that sent him doubling over. He could feel Phoenix’s hand carefully sliding up and down his back. 

“You said you don’t have any more book signings scheduled, right?” Phoenix saw Larry nod in response. He was grateful Larry wasn’t straining himself by talking if he didn’t need to. “So you shouldn’t have anything stopping you from resting.”

“Can Uncle Larry stay with us for a few more days after he’s feeling better?” Trucy looked up at Miles with puppy-dog eyes that held an impressive success rate over the last ten years. 

“I’m fine with that arrangement.” Miles adjusted one of the pillows to provide Larry with some elevation. “It would be a shame if you two never got your celebratory movie night. Of course, that’s only if he wants to extend his stay longer than we already have.”

“I don’t know.” Larry closed his eyes, finding that to be slightly less painful than keeping them open. “Are you really sure you guys want me here that long?”

“Well, when you put it that way…” Phoenix trailed off before he shook his head with a laugh. “Just give it some thought, but first get some sleep.” He closed the curtains to keep the summer sun out of Larry’s eyes.

“We’ll leave you be.” Miles ushered Phoenix and Trucy out of the room. “I’ll bring you some water for when you wake up. If you don’t have an appetite, you should at least stay hydrated.” 

Larry nodded in understanding. His eyes fluttered open temporarily to watch the family leave the room. He picked up some of their conversation as they left, bits and pieces of debating when they should consider him seeing a doctor, a few comments about a trip to the pharmacy. The sincerity of their concern was not lost on him, prompting him to smile as he dozed off.

[jimlingss]

Jungle Park [16]

Chapter 15 - Chapter 16 - Chapter 17

➜ Words: 5.4k

➜ Genres: Fluff, Light Humour (?), Slice of Life, Workplace Romance!AU

➜ Summary: The equation is simple. Hoseok needs to hire someone. You need a job. Except like any actual equation, it’s not fucking simple at all! Not when you have to add the fact that he was forced to hire someone he doesn’t want in his office, he has little respect for your job in general, and oh yeah...once upon a time you might have—*CENSORED*.

The invitation came by email.   Your first thought was to refuse and you had even begun typing up an apology. But before you could write the second line, someone else had sent you a message. It was like she had a sixth sense and maybe she did because she asked if you were going to come. Then she guilt tripped you that it’s been so long, tried to convince you that it would be fun, do everything in her power to persuade you otherwise, as if she was part of a pyramid scheme and was trying to get you to join.   Hani has always been fearfully persuasive and that’s how you find yourself dragging your feet towards Hoseok’s office.   You knock three times and there’s a muffled— “What.”   “It’s me.” The door cracks open and at the sound of your voice, Hoseok puts down his pen and looks up at you.   The corner of his lips pull into a smile, scowl disappearing. “Oh, Y/N.”   “Are you busy? I can come back…”   “No, it’s fine.” His smile widens while you step into his office. “What do you need?”   “No, um, it’s just, I know we’re supposed to come in this weekend.”   “Oh, that doesn’t really apply to you.” Hoseok’s hands are clasped and you begin to break a sweat by how he gives you his full attention and his stare is more intense than usual. “You don’t need to come in.”   “Oh...okay…”   “Why? What was the matter?”   “No...” It’s excruciating how much you’re beating around the bush, but you don’t really want to spill what’s going on. Still, you decide to say it rather than making it sound more suspicious. “There’s this stupid reunion thing I was invited to. It’s on the weekend and I was thinking of going.”   “A reunion?”   “Yeah, to celebrate eleven years.” Your head lolls to your shoulder and you ramble on, not making a big deal out of it. “Apparently, they were supposed to have one for ten years, but it got delayed. It’s kind of dumb but…”   “I don’t think I received an invitation,” Hoseok suddenly comments, quirking his head to one side as well. His brows knit together and he inhales a sharp breath. “We went to the same university for our undergraduate, right?”   “Yeah, uh, everyone sort of lost contact with you after you left for law school. No one knows how to contact you even if they wanted to…” Like you, many of the others had no clue that he opened up his own firm.    “Huh.” He nods and then resumes his work, typing on his computer and casting you a mere glance when you’re still standing there. “Well, have fun and make sure you’re back on Monday.”   “Sounds good.” Your feet linger for a moment, body not listening to your brain. But eventually, you get a grip on yourself and step out of his office.   A school reunion trip would be expensive — luckily, your efforts of driving the taxi for twenty nights in a month was paying off….literally. You had quite a bit of savings, enough to pack your bags for a weekend trip. In all honesty, as nervous as you were to be seeing old faces again, you were also excited. It’s been a long time since you’ve seen Taeyeon, Hani, and the others. They would argue it’s been too long.   Everyone has gone their separate ways, abroad for work or busy in their families and with their children. You were especially distant from them after you moved all those years ago. But it would be nice to see them again, to mend back old friendships and remind yourself that you aren’t alone.   And it turns out that it only takes two buses and one train ride, a total of six hours and twenty minutes, to reconnect with old friends. It’s not as difficult as you thought it would be. You’re out of the city in the blink of an eye, at the one next door, waiting at the station for your ride.   As you check your phone for the fifth time, you’re startled when there’s a loud honk. Someone’s pulling in with their maroon car and you immediately recognize the girl in the driver seat. She rolls down the window and tugs her sunglasses to the bridge of her nose, peering above the frames at you.   “Hey, loser! Get in! We’re going shopping!”   You grin at her reference, dragging your luggage over and throwing it in the backseat. “Some things never change, do they?”   “Get over here.” Before you can even fully situate yourself in the passenger seat, she’s already leaning over the console to hug you, making laughter bubble from your chest. She really hasn’t changed one bit, from being extroverted and charming. Her long black hair is unchanging, features that seem sharper than they did years ago, cat-like eyes that are intimidating and cute when she smiles. She’s in shorts and a simple tee-shirt, summer-like attire in the chilly weather. “Ugh, I missed your ass so much.”   You squeeze her back, savouring the hug that reminds you too much of another embrace that felt like eons ago. “Missed you too.”   “Taeyeon’s staying with us in the hotel.” Hani shifts the gear and pulls away from the curb. “She’s there, still freaking out about leaving the kids with her husband.”   You smile at the thought and look at her. “How are you?”   “Good. Same old, pretty much. Work is tiring, but I really like it. I’ve been working on a project for the later half of this year and it’s almost finished, so I got that going for me. How are you?”   “Things are good for me too.”   “Where have you been working?”   “Oh, I’m an HR rep for a law firm,” you explain in a boring tone, not wanting to discuss it too much. “I like it a lot.”   “Oh my god! That’s so great, Y/N!” There’s a red light and Hani glances at you with a beaming smile, remembering you telling her that you were having trouble finding a job a few months ago. “I’m so glad you found a good place.”   “Thanks.”   “Have you been seeing anyone?”   “No, not really. Just...haven’t found the time.” You move on, changing the subject. “How’s Daehwi?”   A long sigh leaves from her pink lips. “An idiot as usual, but what’s new?”   Your cheeks ache from your grin. “Has he popped the question yet?”   “He said he was going to do it before my birthday, so I guess we’ll see what happens.”   “That’s amazing.” And you really mean it. Rather than feeling envious, you feel happy and proud for your friends. Most of them have their lives together and it’s nice to see them progress, even when you feel like you’ve been stagnant, stuck at a standstill for so long. “You guys are great together.”   “Yeah...I really do love that idiot.” A soft smile appears on her visage as she admits it. “If we get married, we’ll probably have kids soon after. We already talked about it and my eggs are dying, you know? And my nieces are just too cute. They always give me baby fever. But Daehwi wants it more than I do.” She laughs and you notice how her skin is practically glowing in bliss. “He wants five kids and a set of twins or something and I told him there was no way I was going to give birth to an entire football team for him.”   Another laugh streams from your chest. “Sounds like Daehwi.”   Hani hums and nods. “But things have been okay for you?”   “Yeah. I’m pretty happy these days and I really enjoy my work.”   Hani takes a glance at you. “I’m glad, Y/N.”   Once you arrive at the hotel room, you can already hear Taeyeon face-timing her husband. She gives you the biggest bear hug imaginable and you say hello to her toddler and five-year old, making you a bit sad when they don’t remember you at all. But it’s good to be back and even better to meet up with friends that make you feel as if time created no distance at all.   “Do you know who else is coming?”   “I think most people are.” Hani momentary pauses scrolling through her phone and shrugs. “I checked the facebook page and a lot of them said yes. Probably because the university’s paying for a lot of the expenses.”   Daehwi, who’s cuddling your best friend, smiles. “Our alumni is so nice.”   Taeyeon scoffs. “More like we’re their backdrop so they can take a thousand photos and post them to their website and promote their institution. They’ve been pushing to reel in younger, naive kids and rob them of their money before giving them a piece of paper that says good job.”   You grin as another thought flickers in your mind. “Is Changsub coming?”   “He’s coming tomorrow morning.” The strawberry blonde female falls down onto the soft sofa, lounging on it. “He booked it last minute. I think he’s still on the plane right now.”   “I can’t remember the last time we all met up,” Daehwi notes, looking out the glass window towards the city and feeling sentimental about the moment. “We’re only missing one person now.” Hani shoulder checks him and the male lets out a painful, “Ow! What! Can I not talk about Hoseok?”   “It’s fine, you guys,” you placate both Hani and Taeyeon when they look at you in concern. “It’s not a big deal...I actually….talked to him recently.”   Hani blinks with her wide eyes. “You did?!”   “You did?!” Taeyeon repeats after her like a parrot, both of friends stunned.   “Yeah...it’s...uh..complicated, but we’re good.” There’s a long silence, all three people staring at you, and you divert your eyes out the window. “So, what time is the official reunion tomorrow?”   //   The rest of the day is spent eating and catching up. Taeyeon talks about her kids, what giving birth is like and simultaneously putting the fear into Hani and Daehwi as they listen and you laugh at their expressions. The pair of them also talk about their traveling adventures, what countries they’ve visited recently and are planning to visit in the future. There’s not much that’s changed for you, so you only discuss your job and what you kind of do day to day.   All four of you play uno like back then, gossiping about acquaintances while having a few drinks in the hotel room but nothing to get wasted on, only slightly tipsy. You can’t remember the last time you had such a good time. By morning, everybody wakes up a bit later in the day, grabbing brunch before getting ready to go. You pick out a dark blue modest dress to wear, sharing the bathroom alongside Hani who worries about her makeup and Taeyeon who does her hair. It reminds you of years ago when you used to dress up to go clubbing or out to the bar. It’s nostalgic and you feel young again, even when you’re sure age has made its mark on you.   “You know, it would’ve made a lot more sense to have our reunion on campus and not at a hotel conference hall,” Hani points out while sipping on a glass of champagne, looking around at the place lit by chandeliers.   You smile. “Now that I think about it, you’re right.”   Taeyeon shakes her head, staring at the intricate patterns of the velvet carpet. “I don’t know about you, but I’d rather be at a fancy hotel than a shitty gymnasium on our shitty campus.”   “Okay, touché.”   “They have an after-party there,” Daehwi pipes up. “It’s pretty close. We should go.”   “I don’t understand why there’s an after-party for the reunion.”   “Different backgrounds create different pictures to put on their website,” Taeyeon tells Hani while she rolls her eyes in disapproval.   You quip to the both of them while lingering at the back of the hall, “That’s a crazy conspiracy.”   “Oh my god. Jiyong! Jiyong!” Daehwi puts down his drink, running off towards another man who yells out his name as well without looking back. They fist bump each other before going on a talking barrage to catch up and Hani appears even more exhausted than before, letting out a huge sigh.   “Dear lord, if I have to talk to all of his frat members, I’m going to need another five hundred drinks.”   The blonde beside her laughs. “Well, you should get ready because I think I see Seungri.”   “Taeyeon.” Another female has stopped in front of you three. She’s staring straight at your friend, ogling at her from head to toe. “Is that you?!”   “Oh my gosh. Minzy?” Taeyeon hands her glass of champagne to you, walking off. “It’s been forever!”   “I know!” she shrieks in excitement.   In the giant hall, you recognize many and once in a while, they stop to make small talk with you. It’s easy to get whiplash at all the familiar faces. You’re brought back to a decade ago, and an odd feeling begins to plague you. It’s as if all the regrets you had in the past fix themselves into place again, that the people you had forgotten about and that were so far away, are now in your reach.   Eventually, you become overwhelmed and fade into the background. You hang around in the back, taking in all the decorations, the old photos, the surrounding people. Hani tells you that she’s going to the washroom and you nod, keeping an eye on her drink while sipping on yours. It awakens your memories of house parties where you were more of a wallflower than the life of the party, where you spent your time observing behaviour and actions, where it was much quieter.   “Man...how do I not recognize anyone?”   You nearly spit out your drink, but you end up choking instead. You’re hacking your lungs out unattractively, coughing and beating your chest like a wild gorilla. Maybe you’re so delusional that you’re beginning to hear and see things because you swear to god…..Jung Hoseok is standing right beside you.   His head is tipped to one side, black hair left natural and unstyled, full bangs covering his forehead. He’s wearing sneakers, black jeans and a grey hoodie, too casual for an event like this. More importantly, he’s staring at you in amusement. It’s probably your imagination. You just miss him and your mind is coping….   But then he opens his mouth and talks.   “Y/N?”   “What are you doing here?!” Your mouth falls open comically, words spilling out in the harshest manner and you’re suddenly very, very worried. There are a million things that can go wrong in your life, but this situation was definitely in your current top ten. The corner of his mouth pulls and the lawyer rolls his shoulders. “Well, turns out you don’t need to be directly invited by someone. I checked the website and sure enough, I just had to sign up with my old student identification number to come.”   “Wh-wh...but why?”   Hoseok’s smile stays on his lips, but his brows furrow in confusion. “What do you mean why? I can’t come to my own school reunion?”   “Th-th-that’s not what I mean.” Your head shakes and your eyes do a quick sweep of your surroundings before settling on him again.   “You told me I lost contact with everyone when I went to law school, so I figured this would be a good time to reconnect with people. I didn’t expect to run into you so soon, though.” Jung Hoseok flashes the brightest of beaming grins, looking like the epitome of sunshine or someone from pleasantville. You begin envisioning throwing yourself against the wall hard enough where you could pass out and perhaps the ambulance would be called and you could escape this insanity.   You might be a little over-dramatic at the moment…..but the logical part of your brain disagrees.   This is perfectly rational.   “I—”   “Oh my god.” The interruption comes from your former best friend, Hani. Alongside her is Taeyeon who almost spills her new drink when she abruptly halts and her eyes grow wide at the sight beside you.   Your worst nightmare is beginning to unfold right in front of your eyes.   “Jung Hoseok?!”   The lawyer frowns, staring at both women and he takes a long second before recognition begins to settle in. “Uh...Heeyeon and...Kim Taeyeon...right?” He glances at you for approval, and you don’t say anything nor do you even cast a single glance of approval.   Taeyeon marches over and in five strides, she’s giving him a humongous hug. “Where have you been, bastard? I never thought I’d see you again.” In the meanwhile, Hani is boring her eyes into you as if asking if you’re okay, and you give a slight nod.   “I’ve been busy.” Hoseok’s memory starts to jog again. He only has a handful of memories, all of them vague and blurry like they’re from an old tape he’s watching back, but he feels at ease for at least remembering them….even if he doesn’t have a single memory of you.   “You didn’t even think to call, bitch?”   His lips tug into a slight heart shape, eyes crinkling. “...Sorry?”   Hani offers a more reserved and meek smile. She stands at a distance away, beside you. Her arms are crossed defensively, and she doesn’t spare any embraces or even a handshake. “It’s good to see you again, Jung.”   “Thanks, Heeyeon.”   Hani’s brow raises, wondering why he’s calling her by her legal name and not the nickname she goes by, but she brushes it off. “I see you’ve become acquainted with Y/N here. Maybe a bit too comfortable?”   “Well, I’m sure this is fine.” His smile becomes lopsided as he peeks at you. “It’s not during working hours.”   The female doesn’t quite understand, but she never once backs down. “Working hours or not, I think you should back off a bit. Have some human decency, Jung.”   “Hani!” You’re cringing to death, ready to be lowered into your grave with your toes curling. Your mind races, though you’re rendered too speechless to know what to say or know how to address the situation. If you wished you were invisible enough, maybe it’ll actually work.   “Is there a problem?” Hoseok is genuinely bewildered and baffled by her bizarre attitude, deciding to challenge the rude woman. “Or are you her boss too?”   Taeyeon repeats him, equally confused. “Too?”   “You didn’t tell them?” Hoseok shifts to you, trying to be caught up to speed. His head is already swirling with old memories slowly coming back to life. He wonders if you didn’t say you worked for him because it was somehow embarrassing to be working for someone you went to school with. But he knows you’re not the type to be shameful about such a trivial thing, especially when you loved your job so much.   “Tell us what?” Taeyeon asks, spinning around to soak in your exchange of expressions. Then, her eyes almost fall out from their sockets and her jaw drops to the carpet. “Wait. Don’t tell me. Holy shit. Oh my god. You’re back together?!”   “NO!” You shout, startling other folks and people turn around to shoot dirty looks. But you pay no mind, too preoccupied with nipping the crazy thought in the bud. “I work for Hoseok! At his firm!”   “You…” Hani gives you a skeptical look. “...you’re working for him?”   “Holy shit! Are my eyes seeing what they’re really seeing, right now? Or am I high?” From the noise, Daehwi had pulled away from the crowd of frat guys to see what the commotion was. Of course, now he was running towards you again, eyes pinned on Hoseok. “Dude! How’s it going?!”   Their handshake morphs into a fist bump. “Why are you talking like you’re a nineteen year old dumbass again?” Hani rolls her eyes, but doesn’t dwell when she’s more upset at the current situation. She informs her partner of the news, “Y/N’s working for Hoseok at his firm.”   “Wait. Really?”   “Why is that so surprising?” Hoseok inquires, still perplexed at all their reactions. “There’s nothing wrong with Y/N working for me. That doesn’t make her job any less important. She actually runs her own department as HR manager. And she’s exceptionally good at her job.”   “No, that’s not the issue. I’m just surprised, because—”   “Hoseok doesn’t remember!”   The shout echoes, straining your vocal cords, shocking your old friends. Everyone turns, necks craning over slowly like their bones are made from old mechanical rods. “What?”   The situation is getting out of control. You’re losing your grasp on what you want Hoseok to know. The mess is beginning to unravel and you’re doing everything in your power to spool it back together, keep it hidden, in the dark, where only you know, where you can feign ignorance and live your little happy life without having to confront the past.   Daehwi frowns. “What do you mean?”   Your heart cracks for the hundredth time.   And it’s because of Hoseok. Again.   “He just….doesn't remember.”   “Is there something going on here?” He asks right when Taeyeon was about to speak the same question, wholly puzzled at the circumstances. Their gazes are too intense for you to hold up by yourself. You’re barely holding it together and you’re too afraid you’ll begin to crack from the outside as well, let them see what you really feel, how damaged you are on the inside.   “Hoseok has memory problems,” you calmly say, spilling secrets even when it’s not your place to, “he was in a car accident.”   All three shift, waiting for his confirmation. He gives a single nod.   “Oh shit.” Daehwi’s eyebrows shoot up to his hairline. “That’s horrible.”   The blonde female steps closer to him. “What happened?”   “Hit a lamppost. Like seven years ago. But I don’t have any ‘memory issues’.” Hoseok quotes you before laying his eyes on your visage. He cocks an eyebrow before looking at everyone else. “Just have some spots where I can’t quite remember. Am I missing something here?”   “Nope.” You force a smile, talking past the lump in your throat. The urge to distance yourself from this is too overwhelming and you’re suddenly reminded of why you avoided reuniting yourself with old friends. It’s too painful, too messy to remember. Once again, you wish you were in Hoseok’s position where you didn’t know a thing. “The past is the past. Best to leave it behind. Anyways, you should probably get a drink. I can get you one.”   “I can get it myself.”   “No.” Your hands fly out, wanting him to stay where he is, wanting to get yourself away. At any moment now, you were going to break. “I insist, I insist.”   “Let me come with you,” Hani asserts and you decide having a good friend beside you would be the least of your troubles, so you let out an ‘alright’.   The two of you march through the crowd. The dark-haired female stares at your profile, her mouth opening, ready to fire out her many questions. But when you give a glance, she sighs and decides not to press on or pry. Hani doesn’t say anything, granting you mercy for the time being.   In the meanwhile, Daehwi and Hoseok catch up with one another. As time goes by and more small talk is made, the latter’s memory jogs, though it seems as if your existence has been deleted from his recollection completely. But he doesn’t dwell when his focus is on socializing.   “So, you’re a hot shot lawyer now?” The brunette grins. “Your sister always said that.”   “I don’t think I’m a hot shot or anything, far from it, but yeah, I run my own firm. It’s kind of small and it’s nothing much yet. Still a work in progress.”   “Damn, still, you’re probably filthy rich, dude. I’m jealous. Do you have a yacht?”   “No.” Hoseok laughs. “I don’t have a yacht.”   Taeyeon has an indignant expression. “Hoseok’s afraid of the ocean, remember?”   “Rightttt.”   The lawyer in question sulks slightly, not enjoying how his fears are being broadcasted aloud. “I’m only afraid when I can’t see the bottom.”   “So he’s afraid of the entire ocean then,” Taeyeon reiterates with a laugh.   “Guess so.” Daehwi teases the man and smiles with his teeth. He pats his friend on the shoulder. “It’s good to have you back, Hope. Now we’re just waiting for one more person before we have the whole gang back together.”   “Speaking of the devil…” Taeyeon motions with her chin and both males whirl around.   “Yeon! Dae!” Changsub is walking towards them, dragging his feet over as he exhales in exhaustion. “God, my plane got delayed and I literally just got here and threw my luggage upstairs. I’m so tired! My sleeping schedule is going to be so fucked. It’s supposed to be midnight right now. I swear—….”   “Hey.”   Hoseok gives a polite wave, smiling, and the guy has his eyes plastered all over him, starstruck, like he’s looking at a celebrity. Changsub blinks hard, appearing comical as he does so. “Jung fucking Hoseok?!”   Daehwi chuckles. “Trust me, I didn’t believe it either.”   “Dude!” Changsub gives him the most gripping hug, arms cradling his entire frame. “What the fucking hell are you actually doing here?! What the fuck.”   “I’m here for the reunion,” he quips. “You?”   “Same. God.” His hand runs into his hair, shock firing into his body. Changsub quickly looks around. “Does Y/N know you’re here?”   Once more, Hoseok’s confusion returns. “Yes…?”   At the reminder, Taeyeon glances around the premise, standing on the tips of her toes. She inhales a sharp breath, humming a note. “Let me go get Hani and Y/N. They’ve been gone for a while. We should get a picture together before things get more hectic around here.” The female dismisses herself, going into the crowd of people to grab you both, disappearing from sight.   Changsub shakes his head, still staring at Hoseok and unable to trust his eyes even when he blinks hard. “Dude, man, it’s been so goddamn long.”   “I know.”   “How have you been? What have you been up to?”   “I’m good. Just working as a lawyer these days at a divorce firm. You?”   “Awesome. God, wow. Yeah, I’ve been travelling for work.” Changsub is at a loss for words. “You look great.”   “Thanks.” Hoseok grins at him. “You too.”   The male shakes his head, mouth drawing open. “And Y/N knows you’re here and shit?”   “Yeah.” He wonders why he’s being mentioned with you so much, why people are so confused that he’s made a reappearance. It can’t be that weird. “Why?”   Daehwi pipes up, interrupting the conversation, “They actually work together.”   “No shit! Really?” Changsub is noisy, nosy, and a tad obnoxious. He’s slow to pick on things and a bit hyperactive, gathering attention from the surrounding people, but he’s still good natured and warm hearted enough not to cause real trouble. Yet. “So, you came with Y/N today?”   “....uh...kind of? Not really.”   “Are you guys back together?”   “No.”   Daehwi’s smile at once becomes stiff. He looks around as if searching for help, but when no one comes to the rescue, he pokes him and mumbles, “uh...Changsub...you might want to cool it.”   He doesn’t hear him. “Yeah, I didn't think so. When it’s that bad of a split, it’s usually not good to get back together. I know I tried to get back with Sooyoung and it turned out even worse. She took the kids and all and that fucking sucked ass.”   “Oh.” Hoseok quirks his head to the side, frowning. The lawyer is both perceptive and smart enough to catch on. Everyone knew something — what it was Hoseok was unsure of. But while they decided not to divulge any information and continue to speak in code, Changsub was his opportunity, the person to spill whatever was going on. “Was it a bad split? I mean, we only had two dates…..?”   “What are you talking about? Two dates?!” A bark of laughter comes from the pits of his stomach, streaming out from his mouth in disbelief.   Daehwi’s teeth grit. “Chang...shut up..”   “You guys dated for like four years.”   There’s silence. Hoseok stares at him. His smile immediately falls.   “....Excuse me…..what?”   Daehwi sighs his entire lungs out. He shuts his eyes tight and pinches the bridge of his nose. At this rate, his head was going to be shaved bald by his precious girlfriend, just because this dumbass was straight out ignoring him. Despite not being aware of what your relationship is with Hoseok, Daehwi’s sure he won’t be able to look at you in the eye after this. Guilt would eat him alive since you were obviously keeping Hoseok in the dark for a reason. “Chang...dude…”   “You guys even got engaged.”   Hoseok is lost. “....What?”   Without you even knowing, your entire world collapses.   It’s ironic that your feigned ignorance of history turned to real ignorance of the present situation. You can’t even mourn for your loss when you don’t even know that it occurred.   “Changsub!” Daehwi steps on his foot and the male cries out in pain.   “Ow! What the hell, dude?! I’m trying to talk to Hope!”   “Yeah, well you need to fucking stop. Shut up. Seriously.”   The man rolls his eyes. “I get that no one wants to talk about bad breakups, but it was like, what, eight years ago? It’s not that big of a deal. The past is the past. We can’t just keep beating around the bush or skirting around the issue and pretend it never happened.”   Daehwi groans like it physically pains him to interact with his old friend. “You...are the biggest dumbass I have ever met.”   “Hani! Y/N!” When the pair of you come into sight, Changsub grins and walks over like nothing had just happened. In a way, nothing really did happen. He was just talking about old memories, things that have no meaning anymore...or at least that’s what he thought.   “Hey, Chang. Oh, I got your drink.” You pass it to Hoseok and he takes it lifelessly. His expression is strangely blank, glossed over, neither bright and energetic or serious and stern.   Jung Hoseok is unreadable.   “Did something happen?” Taeyeon asks with pouty lips, glancing at the three male individuals.   “No…” Daehwi sighs and glances at Hoseok. “Not really.”   Changsub shrugs. “My flight got delayed and I rushed over here from the airport, threw my luggage in the room upstairs and ran here. Barely made it too. Also, I’m super tired and my whole body is delayed like twelve hours. So, I might be a bit slower. Anyways, I’m glad you’re finally here, Y/N.”   “Happy to be here,” you answer with a smile.   “Took you long enough,” he playfully quips back and it’s true. You were avoiding them since they brought back memories you didn’t want to remember. But now that you were standing here with all your friends again, it wasn’t so bad…..   “Yeah.” You give another smile.   “We need a picture of this.” Hani digs into the small purse slung across her body. “I don’t know the next time we’re going to be all together again.”   The small crowd gathers to take the photo. Hani has her arm around you, Taeyeon right in front with Daehwi and Changsub huddling on Hoseok’s side. You and Hoseok stand beside each other in the center, posing with cracking smiles as the camera snaps the shot, capturing the moment in time forever.   There’s more meaningless small talk, more catching up. When the music plays, the official reunion begins and everyone finds their seats as the speaker takes the center stage and the slideshow at the back begins.   You steal a glimpse of Hoseok when you feel the pressure of his eyes on you. “Hey...are you okay?”   His gaze softens, eyes full of confusion. You don’t know what’s going on. And your fixation on denial blinds you silly, never once giving you an inkling at the potential possibilities.   His turmoil is a tsunami, crashing down inside his chest, rushing into his stomach and drowning the butterflies that have migrated there, making him uncomfortable and sick. He is conflicted. Confused. Angry. Petrified. Sad. He doesn’t know why you would hide it from him. He doesn’t know what happened. He doesn’t know why he doesn’t know. He doesn’t know who you are.   Hoseok gives you the most honest answer he can muster—   “I don’t know.”

[punmasterkentparson]

vampire weekend

ao3

Vampires are rare. The bite doesn’t always take; about one in three people die. Most of the vampires running around are at least a decade old. Many of them are over fifty, and still more can count their age in centuries, although a common theme is that the older the vampire, the more reclusive they tend to be. Modern life is...a little hard to keep up with.

Making a new vampire in the modern world involves a lot of paperwork; namely, documentation proving that the human candidate volunteered for the bite of their own free will, and thereby absolves the siring vampire of responsibility if they die. The application fees aren’t expensive, but the application process is a pain in the ass.

Biting for feeding purposes only, on the other hand, is as easy as walking up to a guy and asking, “You ever been bitten?”

When Kent walks up to Alexei at the NHL Awards afterparty and opens with that, Alexei fumbles his champagne glass and says stupidly, “Beaten?”

“Bitten,” Kent repeats in Russian. “Have you ever been bitten by a vampire?”

“No?” Alexei replies, his befuddlement increasing. He’d known Kent was a vampire and that he spoke Russian from playing in the Russian Superleague and then a couple years in the re-branded KHL before moving back to America in 2012, but it still throws Alexei for a hell of a loop to be confronted by it all at once. “No, I’ve never been bitten.”

“Do you wanna be?”

Considering the stereotypes surrounding vampires and the guilty pleasure of their bite, Alexei feels a lot like he’s being asked, “Have you ever thought about being tied up and spanked?”

“By you?” Alexei manages.

“Do you have any other vampires asking?”

Alexei shakes his head. “I’m confused why you’re asking.”

Kent shrugs. “I’m hungry. One of my usual donors is sick, the other is out of town, my own teammates are off limits for personal and contractual reasons, and I hate picking up strangers.”

The reasoning is surprisingly logical. “So you decided to ask me?” They aren’t strangers, having played at least one All Star weekend together, but they’re barely more than what Alexei would call acquaintances. He’d have been surprised if Kent asked him out to breakfast. But Kent is asking Alexei to be breakfast. Or dinner, whichever.

Kent shrugs again. “You’re the first guy I’ve run into tonight whom I thought probably wouldn’t be a dick about it.” He fiddles with the hem of his jacket. “I’m not gonna be mad or offended if you turn me down, you know. I’ve always got a few bags of A positive in the fridge. You’re not my only option, just...the one I’d prefer.”

“Because fresh tastes better?” Alexei guesses.

“Would you rather a well-seasoned, medium-rare steak at a steakhouse, or a plain, re-heated hamburger patty at McDonald’s?”

Alexei takes his point. “How much blood would you need?”

“Not quite a pint. It’s less than you’d give at a blood drive. You’ll probably wanna sit for twenty minutes after, just to make sure you’re fine, but you’d have no problems getting back to your hotel on your own. Although it’ll take about two weeks for your body to replace it all, so, if you’re planning on any training or heavy conditioning soon, you should turn me down.”

Alexei nods slowly, surprised to find himself considering it. He’d always been curious, but in a very abstract kind of way; he’d never thought the opportunity would ever present itself. He’s surprised at how intrigued he is. “Can we do it here?”

“There are a couple VIP lounges, we could confiscate one. Are you really up for this?” Even though Kent is the one who asked, he still looks surprised.

Alexei drains his champagne and sets the glass on a nearby table. “What happens in Vegas, right?”

So they find an empty VIP lounge with a door that locks, and settle on the sofa. At Kent’s instruction, Alexei removes his jacket and rolls up his shirt sleeve.

“Isn’t the carotid artery better?” Alexei asks.

“Sure, if you wanna end your night with a ride in an ambulance. It gushes if you bite it wrong, and I’m not an amateur, but I don’t take chances. Only noobs and sires go for the neck.” Kent pulls off his jacket and tie, tossing both over the back of the sofa with a carelessness that guarantees wrinkles. Then he undoes the top two buttons of his shirt and un-cuffs both his sleeves to roll them out of the way. Distantly, Alexei thinks that dishevelment is a good look for him.

“Do I need to do anything?” Alexei asks as Kent takes his arm in both hands and positions it belly-up, the inner elbow facing him.

“Just don’t punch me when it stings. It always does at first, I can’t do anything about that.”

Alexei snorts a laugh before saying, “Okay.”

And with that, Kent leans over Alexei’s arm and bites him. Alexei flinches immediately, a full-body shudder, because shit, Kent hadn’t been kidding, his fangs really sting. Whatever numbing agent stored in them works quickly, though, and soon all Alexei can feel is the solid grip of Kent’s fingers and the bizarre sensation of his blood being sucked—not drawn out with a syringe at a hospital, but sucked—out of his veins.

Kent drinks in comically dainty swallows. He closes his eyes and his brow wrinkles in concentration, or maybe annoyance at the shallow bloodflow. Alexei certainly doesn’t felt like he’s losing too much blood. After the initial bite and then the numbing, the minutes start to drag and Alexei discovers that letting a vampire bite him is...actually kinda boring.

He leans back against the sofa to wait it out. Quickly, he starts feeling sleepy. There’s still some alcohol in his system and it has been a really long day. 

He doesn’t even notice when the tingling starts.

He does notice, however, when Kent replaces sucking with licking to close the wound. And then Alexei notices that he, Alexei, is starting to tent his pants.

“Oh, that’s normal,” Kent tells him offhandedly, which is embarrassing as hell but at least saves Alexei the trouble of trying and failing to hide it. “Venom side effect, sorry.”

“That’s real?” Alexei had always assumed that books and movies were making that kind of kinky shit up. “Vampire venom causes erections?”

“As a side effect, and only sometimes,” Kent emphasizes. He gives Alexei’s inner elbow one last lick and squints at the spot for a moment, checking that it’s healing up. The sensation of that lick is weird, because Alexei can see the intimate slide of Kent’s wet tongue on his skin, but he can’t quite feel it. Kent sets Alexei’s arm on the sofa and adds, “I don’t know the chemical components, just that it’s something to keep the donor pliant and happy while the vampire drinks. Some people get happier than others.”

If Alexei wasn’t feeling like a sack of blissed-out Jell-O, he’d roll his eyes.

Kent nods at Alexei’s arm. “How do you feel? Lightheaded, dizzy? Pain anywhere?”

Alexei sags his entire weight into the soft grip of the sofa, letting his head lull over the back while he shakes it in a negative. “Just feel tired. Like I got a mild dose of morphine.”

“How’s your arm?”

A flex of his hand proves stiff fingers, but otherwise the limb is mobile. “A little numb.”

“That’ll wear off.” Kent slides off the sofa and stretches, a full-body affair with his arms high over his head. His cheeks are pink and his mouth is pinker, fangs peeking out between his lips. There’s a sweaty sheen to his neck and hairline that wasn’t there before. Alexei is hit again, more intensely this time, by the palpable magnetism of him, how every sliver of exposed skin begs for touch.

Kent walks over to a far table and fills a glass with water. He brings it back to Alexei and waits for him to take it with his good hand. “Drink all of that, and I’ll get you another.”

Alexei obeys. Kent leaves, refills the glass, and returns. Alexei takes longer to drink the second. He watches Kent over the rim. Kent is sprawled sideways on the sofa, one arm flung over the back and one leg pulled up and bent on the cushion. The twist of his body pulls his shirt tight enough to strain the buttons, and it leaves his collar flayed open like a lily in full bloom. The peek of his flushed collarbone taunts Alexei.

Alexei gulps the last mouthful of water. Kent takes the glass from him, sets it aside. His gaze is placid, like he can see the gears turning in Alexei’s head and is waiting to see where they go, not dreading or anticipating Alexei’s thought processes, just... curious.

Thanks to vampire venom and a partially numb arm, Alexei can’t lean in gracefully. The best he can do is awkwardly shuffle his bulk closer. Kent’s mouth  pinches on an aborted grin of amusement at Alexei’s expense, but his gaze is clear, while Alexei knows his own is hazy with champagne and excess dopamine. There’s nothing suave about a loose-limbed drunk making a pass. But Kent waits for him anyway, lets him haul himself close until they’re breathing the same air.

Alexei cups Kent’s cheek in his good hand and brushes his thumb over flushed skin. There’s still an erection in Alexei’s pants. He very much doubts he’s the first person who’s come onto Kent post-bite. Whatever he’s doing, he knows it’s not original. So it’s gratifying, the way Kent’s eyelashes flutter and his lips part abruptly on an anticipatory breath at Alexei’s touch.

Alexei kisses him. Kent sighs, relaxing, and lets him.

Alexei kisses him softly and messily and drunkenly for a long time. Kent leans into the hand on his cheek and kisses back. He tastes like blood, and his fangs are a hazard. It’s different. But his lips are plush and his tongue is generous, and it’s been a long time since Alexei kissed anyone with a mouth this nice.

When they part, Alexei’s head is swimming. Kent’s face is redder from Alexei’s kisses than it was from Alexei’s blood. That’s immensely satisfying. Alexei grins.

Kent takes one look at him and snickers. “You’re really high,” he declares.

“Yeah,” Alexei agrees with relish.

Kent giggles and pats Alexei’s knee. “I’ll get you another glass of water. We’ll give it ten minutes and see how you feel, huh?”

Alexei groans, dramatically put upon, but he accepts the fresh glass of water when it’s handed to him. This time, Kent puts a little more distance between them so Alexei can’t just fall into him for another kiss. Alexei wants to, but he sees the sense in sobering up. 

Ten minutes pass and Alexei feels much more clear-headed. He realizes he may have over-stepped. “Sorry, about—”

Kent waves him off and winks. “I didn’t mind. Sorry I didn’t warn you about potential side effects.”

“I didn’t mind.”

Kent glances at Alexei’s hands, his mouth, then his eyes. “Yeah?” He licks his lips. “How long are you in Vegas?”

“I fly out on Tuesday.”

Kent nods. “When you’re sober, and after you’ve thought about it... If you wanna do this again, call me.”

Alexei hates to ask, but he needs to clarify. “Do you mean ‘this’ as in biting me, or ‘this’ as in kissing?”

“I mean ‘this’ as in kissing. It won’t be safe for you to lose any more blood for at least three weeks,” Kent warns. “Those are standard blood donation rules. If anyone ever tries to tell you otherwise, they’re either an idiot or an asshole.”

Alexei chuckles at the protective vehemence in Kent’s tone. Kent is still within arm’s reach, clothes and hair ruffled and his skin so pink and supple-looking that it makes Alexei want to suck bruises on him. Time to think will definitely be necessary. He knows better than to follow his gut instinct to blurt out an impulsive ‘yes.’ “Okay. I’ll think about it. Give me your number?”

Numb fingers don’t handle smartphone keypads very well, so Alexei hands over his phone to let Kent input his contact information himself. When he gives the phone back, Kent says, “It’s okay if you don’t call.”

Alexei is ninety-nine percent sure he’ll call. “It’s okay if you change your mind.”

There’s a slight fang-exposing curl of Kent’s lips that puts fire in Alexei’s belly. Alexei is ninety-nine percent sure Kent won’t change his mind.

Twenty-four hours later, from the comfort of his hotel room, Alexei calls.

Kent, half a city away in his apartment, answers. He hasn’t changed his mind.

They spend the remainder of Alexei’s time in Vegas in bed. Kent doesn’t bite him again, but Alexei leaves hickeys on Kent’s skin like they’re party favors. He gorges himself on Kent’s body, every hard-soft inch of it, finds out every sound he can wring from him. He nicks his tongue on Kent’s fangs with how hard he kisses him and learns that Kent is a little bit weak, when it comes to blood; but Alexei also learns that he doesn’t mind that.

On their last night, Kent rolls into the curve of Alexei’s side and molds himself against Alexei’s ribs and hip like he belongs there. “If you don’t want anything after this, it’s cool,” he says. “What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas, right? It was a good weekend.”

Alexei slips his arm around Kent’s shoulders and musses his already thoroughly mussed-up hair. “Yeah. It was a good weekend.” He takes a breath and lets his next words out carefully. “It could be an even better summer, though.”

Kent tucks his face into Alexei’s neck. Alexei can hear him smile. “Yeah, it could be.”

[windandwater]

back from Finland and my nightmare flight situation got really fucking funny (and awful) at the end so I’m gonna tell you the whole goddamn thing. cut to save you from Airline Stories.

I mentioned in a previous post that I had to sprint through Heathrow to get to a flight, and it wasn’t my fault. that turned out to be just the beginning but here’s what happened.

airline randomly decided to change my flight to an earlier time

I found out about this from a 3 am text that I read at 8 am on my way to work

cool I have to leave work much earlier

I do that. it was about to rain in New York so it was a good goddamn thing. no subway delays at all.

I sit at the gate for a bit. an hour before boarding, there are still zero airline employees to be found

what the fuck.

I google my flight number. it is not at the gate I’m sitting at.

great.

I walk over to the new gate, the lady there explains “it got changed.”

fine. I’m still on time.

….

the flight is not.

the rain started while I was in the airport and New York is gridlocked, and they barely had enough flight attendants to take off

I check my flight information. I have a connection in Heathrow that’s an hour after my flight and my flight is delayed…you guessed it. an hour.

I’m definitely gonna miss my connecting flight

I accept this (I am on a lot of anxiety medication) to deal with when I get there (thank you, medication!) and go to sleep (so. much. medication.)

arrive in Heathrow

announcement on the plane says that the connecting flight to Helsinki is also delayed, and to see them up front if you are getting on that flight

so I talk to them

“they’re leaving at 8:20 (it is now 7:50), so you can make it but you have to BOOK”

me: “GOT IT.” *takes off*

*accidentally knocks off a baby’s blanket. does not stop, like an asshole. yells EXCUSE ME to every British person in the way, while elbowing them, I’m from fucking New York, MOVE*

“few people runnin' about” happens

gotta go through security first

lady at the desk spins her computer monitor to show me what it says when she scans my boarding pass: “please proceed directly to gate 9”

me: “TRUST ME I FUCKING KNOW”

someone in front of me for some reason has every glass bottle in the world, doesn’t speak enough English for the security people to explain that it’s fine so long as there’s  no food or liquid in them

somehow I get through and make it to the gate

“if you had been 10 minutes later you would’ve caught us, but you’re good!”

phew.

find out later that my family had a similar yet worse experience in Frankfurt. ha.

turns out that was only the fucking beginning. because I still had to come back. here’s how that went.

day 1:

I’m supposed to fly out Saturday at 3 pm. my brother is flying out Saturday at 7 am. Friday night, we are on our way to the BnB and I double check my email.

surprise! my flight has changed. now at 7 am.

ughhhhhhhhhh

fine. I’ll just go to the airport with my brother.

we do that. Air BnB host nice enough to wake up and drive us—for a price, but a pretty good one.

they had a sauna and I had to skip out on using it (I only got to do it once) and I was pretty upset. fuck you, airline.

get to the airport at the asscrack of dawn

I check my email in the car one more time

….

wait a second

the date on this is for Sunday

fuuuuuuuuuuck

screw it, I’ll wait around until their service desk opens and have them put me on a flight

1 hour: nothing

I try and call them. on a janky phone that has issues with phone calls

customer service is closed, because Europe

call the US number

customer service is open and in English but it rings a few times and then I get a message in Icelandic and it hangs up.

….I’m never flying a Scandinavian-based airline ever a-fucking-gain.

2 hours: nothing

fuck. this.

I start googling hotels by the airport instead. check into one. get a shuttle there. room itself isn’t too expensive, but not money I really have.

oh fucking well

I pass out.

wake up, have to leave the hotel to get lunch, come back and read Yuri on Ice fanfic

oh daaamn this hotel has a sauna

tight

get smoked reindeer pasta at the hotel restaurant

go to sauna again

go back the fuck to sleep

day 2:

airport shuttle at the asscrack of dawn but this time I’ve slept all day

feeling annoyed but optimistic. this will suck but at least I’m rested.

get to the airport

once again they have changed the airline on me. this was not self-evident in the email

haul my ass to the right terminal. thank fuck there are only 2.

that last sentence is foreshadowing

in line for getting my ticket (b/c of course I can’t check in at a kiosk) and two people in front of me are going through the same shit. airline answered their phone calls tho and promised them money back

feeling more hopeful

am now flying through Amsterdam. they can’t print my connecting flight boarding pass. I will have to get it printed at the airport when I get there.

there is only an hour between the flights

I am hit with a sudden premonition of doom

but am still hopped up on anxiety medication

here we go again!

make it to Amsterdam with no drama

phone battery is dying. my external battery stopped working abruptly and there’s no charger on the smaller planes. it wouldn’t charge at the gate; was plugged in but draining. I turn it off. charges 2%.

more foreshadowing

I get off the plane and have to ask where to go to get to the correct airline. someone directs me. it’s a different terminal. I run-walk over there, knowing what’s about to happen.

passport control. spend 5 minutes panicking that I don’t have an e-passport b/c I don’t know where to look for the logo. turns out it’s on the front cover! I’m a dumbass.

get there. can’t check in/print off boarding pass

oh boy

have to wait in line for a service rep

this wait takes 35 minutes

I get to the front. my seat reservation somehow does not exist

she manages to print off my ticket. and call them to tell them I’m coming.

looks me in the eye: “you run.”

me: “I run.”

I do that.

new gate is 2 more terminals away

Amsterdam is fucking big and I have now run across 3 terminals of it.

the Dutch are better at moving out of the way than the English

I make it to the gate and people are there yelling “New York? New York!!” make it on the plane. phone won’t charge. ...... great.

no podcasts for me! I watch a Stonewall documentary, a gay rom com, and a slew of nature documentaries.

at least I’m on brand.

make it to New York in one piece. meet a nice German lady and everything.

it was hell coming back here from Greece but from Scandinavia it’s fucking amazing.

anyway

slight panic after going through passport control. I handed them my receipt, promptly forgot I did that, then got my baggage and began looking for my receipt to show to the next set of cops.

receipt was gone

ummmmmm

I empty out my entire bag

nothing

I ask the lady next to me if they kept the receipt

she says yes they did and I nearly collapse. guess there’s no next set of cops this time around. it’s different every fucking time.

she sympathizes. we have a nice chat. she has family in Helsinki and just got back from Greece and Italy.

Scandinavians are not friendly. FUCK I missed New York.

because some people will assume otherwise if i don’t say so: it was not a white lady. I really really missed New York.

I manage to make it to my subway stop with no more drama than wondering why I’m the only person on the train

I realized literally this morning that it’s almost a holiday weekend. oops.

make it to my apartment door

they installed a new front door while I was in another fucking country

(there were issues with the old one)

sign on the door says go see the super. who never answers his door, only the phone.

my phone battery is now at 10%

….

super’s not answering his phone. or the door.

7%

text and call neighbors who live near me. leave messages. try not to panic.

feel raindrops

look up

there’s a storm cloud coming in

I hear thunder

this is the point where I started laughing

I try the super’s other number

“uhhh you changed the door”
 “you were sleeping!”
 “I was in FINLAND!” 
“okay, give me a minute, I’m on my way”

5%

turn phone off

super appears. I am not soaking wet and laughing hysterically. yet. if he’d been any later it would’ve been another story

make it inside. plug in phone. it’s at 3%

answer all my family’s frantic texts, order food delivery, take a shower, go the fuck to sleep, and sleep 14 hours. felt fucking great.

go to work today because it’s 4th of July and if I don’t I’ll only be in for two days. oh well!

[prettywordsyouleft]

The Sex Contract - Chapter 12

Genre: friends to lovers au / friends with benefits / mature content / romance / angst

Characters: Shim Changmin x Kaia Ashton (OC)

A/N: Due to the overwhelming request I have followed your encouragement to bring back one of my older stories. This was back in a time where OCs were everything and writing one chapter in each main’s point of view was the trend. I hope that even though I have edited this drastically, that you can appreciate this story comes from my older style of writing. I definitely still read this often and find it enjoyable so I hope you will too.

Prologue | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 - FINAL

Chapter 12 – Kaia’s POV.

Kaia stood in front of the team members she had been working closely with and played with her bracelets nervously, wondering just how much she knew about each individual. Ever since Kaia had decided to tell the entire team about her second job that morning, she had been experiencing several emotions, one being guilt. Kaia never expected that her friendship with Changmin would ever amount to anything since it was so secretive in existence on its own. As she looked back over the time of being friends with the superstar, Kaia realised they had both been incredibly reckless. All it took was a photograph together, and with how Changmin had explained it to her a while ago, someone of his status would usually be followed. Kaia knew her luck had run out now.

“What is it Kai, you’re kind of scaring me,” Keith finally piped up out of the sea of expectant faces and she tried to pull herself together. “Has something bad happened?”

She nodded.

“Are you okay?!” Sungra immediately questioned, her dark eyes filling with concern. Kaia felt the guiltiest towards her, wondering how she would fix their friendship if Sungra took her news badly.

Minah stepped forward and placed a hand on Kaia’s shoulder reassuringly. “Are you leaving the team? You’re an asset to us Kaia, so I really hope its nothing like that.”

“I have been the worst person.” Kaia looked weakly around at the faces, all of them stunned that she had started speaking. “I have taken all of your friendship for granted and enjoyed your openness with me but I haven’t been open about everything in my life.”

Kaia watched as Keith and Abby exchanged glances and then shook their heads as if to stop her. She chose to ignore their protest and took another deep breath as Sungra looked at her, hurt evident in her dark gaze.

“I have a second job, and its one that I have kept to myself because of the implications it brings to this office-”

“Is it illegal?” Minah interrupted and Kaia shook her head. “What kind of implications then?”

“I work for an Entertainment company teaching English to idols,” Kaia finally announced and gasps filled the otherwise silent room. “I kept it from you all because I didn’t want to be seen as someone biased, though personally, I’ve never written anything to over exaggerate any idol.”

Sungra looked at Kaia coldly for a moment and nodded her head. “It’s SM Entertainment, isn’t it?”

“H-how did you know?” Kaia stuttered, and the room filled with more shocked noises.

“You work with Eunhyuk-oppa?!” Hyurin asked and Kaia grimaced, nodding lightly. “Can you please give him my phone number?!”

“Oh, and SHINee! Is Key as high maintenance and naggy as he appears on variety shows?!”

“Ladies,” Minah called out, silencing the bustling talking. “This is probably one of the reasons why Kaia felt compelled to keep this from us. Have you no dignity?”

“I have to go,” a small voice said and Kaia darted her focus back to Sungra. She rushed towards the exit and Kaia followed after her, screaming her name as she hurried down the flight of stairs. Sungra paused at the door and looked up at Kaia, tears forming in her eyes. “Please just let me have space. I will talk to you when I feel like I can. Right now, I’m wondering who my best friend truly is. And it has nothing to do with who works in that building but the reasons behind why you never told me.”

Sungra stepped out into the street then and Kaia watched for a moment before heading back up the stairs slowly. Everyone looked at her return and she shook her head softly. Keith came up and slung his arm around her shoulders. “Don’t worry Kai; she’ll not stay mad for long.”

“She’s not mad, she’s hurt.”

“She’ll come around, she always does though,” Abby assured and Kaia nodded, going back over to the group.

Minah cleared her throat. “Kaia, my office please.”

Kaia followed the woman down to the small room, sliding the door shut behind her. The older woman sat down at her desk and regarded Kaia for a moment. “I’m sorry for not informing you of this.”

“It must have been hard to keep it secret,” she said and Kaia nodded. “How long now?”

“I think it’s nearly eleven months.”

“Is there a particular reason you decided to share the information now?” she wondered and Kaia nodded again, hoping her idea would come across as a realistic opportunity.

“I have been given the chance to join TVXQ over in Japan for their TONE promotions. I won’t need any expenses to be paid for, just your permission to go and be a VIP reporter for Korea Star.” Kaia bit her lip gently in hopes Minah would agree.

“Does SME know you work here?”

“I believe they did a full background check on my enlistment into the company. They also are aware I write under a pen name.”

Minah seemed thoughtful. “Are you willing to take responsibility for anything you write?”

“I am.”

“Including writing the article under your real name? How we never picked up the fact you were the English teacher they employed who was good friends with Shim Changmin, I don’t-” She stopped her train of thought and let a knowing smile curl her lips up. “You have done the best to your ability to keep this secret to the point you ensured we wouldn’t discover you here.”

“I feel bad for taking the deliberate steps to not be uncovered. I didn’t want to be seen as a biased member of this team,” Kaia answered honestly and Minah chuckled.

“I will allow this trip, so long as you bring me the best news possible, and before the other news companies who we normally translate from. And that you write it all under your real name.”

Kaia cringed. “Is that last stipulation really necessary?”

“It’s the only reason I’ll let you come back to your job,” she replied and Kaia swallowed, Minah staring at her with a complicated expression. “You have no idea why I said that, but you’ll realise it in time.”

Changmin had been so excited Kaia was going along to Japan, that he booked her flight immediately. Three days went by and still she hadn’t heard from Sungra, despite leaving at least fifty messages on her phone and email, even going around to her apartment for an hour without luck. Earlier in the morning, Kaia had returned to slip a note under her door explaining what best she could and of her whereabouts for the next three weeks. She then made her way to the airport with luggage in tow, wondering if she’d be able to get to the hotel she was staying at without getting lost. Kaia was panicking over her zero understanding of Japanese minus Konnichiwa and Arigatou, and realised she and Changmin hadn’t really thought this plan out as well.

All the same, Kaia boarded the plane when her flight was called over the intercom system and followed the other passengers onto it. She went to continue into economy but the stewardess stopped her, taking the ticket again and shaking her head.

“Miss, your seat is back up in first class.”

“It is?!” Kaia squeaked in astonishment, allowing the stewardess to direct her to the right seat. After thanking her distractedly, she sat down in the chair and blinked a few times. Pulling down the tray in front of her, Kaia ceased all movement when she noted the huge screen and assorted luxuries of the seat, before closing it back up hastily to pinch her arm. Letting out a yelp, Kaia shook her arm and accidentally bumped the person now beside her, bowing lightly despite his back being turned to her. Going back to her thoughts, Kaia barely noticed they were already in the air until she heard the seatbelt bell go off.

“Why on earth did he get me a first class ticket? Just because he lives a life of jet setting, did he think I would feel comfortable in amongst all these businessmen?” she mumbled to herself, pondering the idea and pulling a face. Kaia decided she wouldn’t play with anything out of stubbornness and the fact that she felt too far out of her depth. Folding her arms across her chest dramatically, Kaia cringed as she somehow bumped the man beside her again. “So much for heaps of space.”

“I never expected you to complain so much.”

“Well, its just completely unorthodox for me to be sitting here,” Kaia answered immediately and scowled at the chair in front of her.

“Could you imagine me back in economy with my long legs? You’re joking with me, right?” the person beside her continued and Kaia rolled her eyes and then let out a small scream, his hand covering her mouth so it became muffled. “Ugh, do you really have to make such a scene?”

Kaia’s eyes grew wide as Changmin rolled over to face her properly; his hair covered in a hat and hoodie that also shielded his face. She pushed his hand away from her mouth and then beat him with her own, his cries disturbing the older couple in front of them. After giving an apologetic smile to them both, Kaia leant towards the boy. “What are you doing here?!”

“I decided to be a nice friend, is this the thanks I get for jumping planes?”

“You’re supposed to be on the jet right now!” Kaia hissed back and he shrugged, picking up his iPod and fiddling with his playlists. “What if your fans saw you change?”

“I look like this, how could they?”

Kaia gave him an incredulous look. “You look completely like an idol. Who else tries too hard to hide in public? It’s just a complete giveaway.”

“Stop complaining, I did this for you because I knew you’d be worried about arriving in Japan and getting lost,” he spat back and she softened her expression, noting how uncomfortable it made him. “Don’t get too overwhelmed. Can we just enjoy the flight together?”

“Thank you,” Kaia said honestly and rearranged herself in the chair. Changmin placed one of his earbuds in his ear and offered the other to her, which made Kaia smile. Listening as Muse sounded through the device, she smiled up at Changmin and his ability to calm her nerves. Kaia wondered if she was able to offer anything to the tall Korean like he seemed to whenever she needed it.

With this thought in mind, Kaia hoped that she would be able to help Changmin with his dilemma of Kaori Kimura. It was the least she could do.

_________________

Part 13

All rights reserved © prettywordsyouleft

[TVXQ Masterlist] | [Main Masterlist] | [Request Guidelines]

[elastigirl72]

Day 24 and 25

71km to go

Day 24, 25 and 26: Trikala>Lamia>Thiva

Thiva: 18:43

The sun came out! Three days ago, I gifted my overshoes to Kastoria. Two days, Trikala’s Airbnb owner now has a beautiful pair of threadbare, elasticity long gone Castelli leg warmers, and has no idea of the significance of this gift. This is a cyclist’s version of a striptease...which can also and was performed on the move in the last few days: the jacket, the arm warmers and then a few miles later, the leg warmers.

It was the first morning I left without having consider any layering choices. I felt an awful lot lighter after being charged €8 for two cappuccinos, and I found a bike shop who pumped up my tyres and sent me on my way with a new inner tube after my puncture set bounced off somewhere in the previous day’s ride. Maybe Hades horrors got THAT close. Enjoy, you savages!

Greece has really surprised me, in a multitude of ways. Firstly, it’s people. I know a few Greeks. In fact, Dmitri who is married to Katherine and currently looking after my house and dog, Nyla (how dogs should be) is from Corinthe. He and the other Greek seem lovely. However, here, if I’m totally honest, on the whole, appear to have a serious attitude problem or a chip on their shoulder. You’ll get what you need from them, but blimey, they won’t make it easy! And on the whole, everything they do for you seems to be a massive chore; they tend to look decidedly pissed off! Yet, despite this, I quite like them. It’s like they don’t really give a hoot what anyone else thinks about them. You’ll do things their way or you’ll go without. Is it because of the long and deep Greek tragedies and history that floods its many mountains and plains? I thought that Italians were expressive, which they are. But Greeks don’t want to be expressive but if you push them, you’ll probably see the wrong kind of expressive!

Take for example, the owner of the hotel I’m in right now. The pool is not in use, it’s in the middle of nowhere and whilst it’s clean, so is a travelodge or Premier Inn, but none typically have atmosphere and are extremely functional. Bed, check in, restaurant and bar if you’re lucky. As I rested for the first time by the lovely looking pool on this trip, the owner came over to speak to me declaring his position as if I should congratulate him. And then proceeded to try and get me to cancel my booking.com booking, drive up to the cash point with him in order to pay cash and get a €10 discount for the most expensive and overpriced hotel for the whole 25 days to date. After telling him I’d think it over for while, and the hassle of getting in a car to go to get cash, and concerned that cancelling the booking after the cancellation period had passed with the possibility of double payment and no recourse, I told him it’s not worth it. I’d also be charged a currency fee for the withdrawal (I haven’t mentioned it, but a few days ago, in supposed trusted company, I was set up and pickpocketed. That in itself was genius how it was staged. Luckily they only got away with coins from 8 different countries and my international card. But that has made the cash process a little tricky). Mr owner, who clearly thought very highly of his negotiation skills, stating Booking.com make billions, and me being a seasoned traveller must play the system all the time. Am I missing a trick here? Maybe, but after much insistence after his persistence, he got the message. But this is my experience of Greeks.

Moving to the cycling. I’d been warned by said Greeks that Greek drivers were about the worst you could find. Be careful, I was warned. The roads are very busy and Greeks don’t deal with cyclists at all well. This really set me up to see Greece as a country I needed to get through to get to Athens and the end of my cross-continent adventure. The truth is I have been totally amazed. It has been, day after day, the best cycling I’ve done anywhere in Europe, including Spain and France. Not only are the drivers considerate, stop and wait at intersections for the cyclist to pass, they indicate, pull out, wait, and many toot and wave encouragement. The roads are empty, generally in great condition and all around, the scenery continuously draws you in. The culture is rich, untouched. I saw my first living snake on one road, the same road I saw many geckos between Kastoria and Trikala. The sides of the roads are dressed with millions of poppies, Aloe Vera, cacti, hemp, olive trees. I’m yet to reach Athens but I haven’t once felt unsafe due to traffic. Wild dogs, yes. I’d rather not repeat those.

Both Lamia and Kastoria were gems on an unplanned route. I don’t feel like seeing Thiva as I’m full of hay fever and possibly a cold, so am uninspired. It does have an interesting past though and was an important as a city and in Greek mythology. But I’m very happy here in my apartment away from everywhere: the calm before the storm, returning to relative reality tomorrow.

I don’t know why this area for cyclists seems to be so undiscovered, but I’m so glad I made the decision to come inland. The coast will undoubtedly be much busier than this incredible, mountainous and flat landscape from Albania to Athens. I couldn’t be happier on my bike than I’ve been for the past four days.😊. The balance of vistas for this trip have been perfect: mainland, coast and now mountains. That pretty much covers it! I later hear from Mr Owner as he reluctantly demanded my card payment as he saw me sat on my balcony because he wasn’t there in the morning, that 30 Hungarian cyclists were arriving the next day. For them it’s a short flight away. They’re obviously in on this secret nirvana that is Greece.

The days have rolled by and here I am, one ride away from Athens. I’m still focused, but also excited. 71km till I pack up my bike, having dipped my feet and maybe even swum in the Aegean in the last few miles of my Odyssey...surely that is classed as a transcontinental bike ride? 😃.

Packing away my winter gear, my shorts and t-shirt for the last time, throwing away all the bits and pieces I no longer need, and counting the hours...one more sleep and Athens...

26 days have past

24 days of cycling (excluding the abandoned day after 10 miles)

11 countries

6 currencies

3414km recorded cycling (2133 miles)

27,345m ascent (climbing)

1 backpack and frame bag - weight 4kg

I train ride (not included in mileage) to avoid snow

Two ferries - English Channel and 500m at Montenegro

Crossed the Severn, English Channel, past the Mediterranean And Adriatic Seas...

Days in order of awesomeness:

1 Librazhd>Kastoria

2 Lamia>Thiva

3 Trikala>Lamia

4 Senj>Zadar

5 Shkoder>Librazhd

The four least enjoyable:

1 Como>Garda - weather and traffic

2 Bellinzona>Como - weather and traffic

3 Venice>Trieste - weather

4 Neum>Herceg Novi - traffic

Favourite people by country:

Albanian

Bosnian

Montenegrin

Croatian

Italian

English

French

Greek

Swiss

Best hospitality: Albania then Bosnia

Best meal: Albania then Greece

Best weather: Greece

Biggest surprise country: equal Albania and Greece

Favourite city: Split

Best hotel: Calais and Albania

Least favourite city: Saint Quentin

Hardest day: Venice - abandoning for the day and the following day prospect of another abandoned day

Favourite person: the elderly cafe owner in Albania

Best vista: over Lake Ohrie, Albania

12 May: 0656 - Thiva

The day has arrived, and still, with only 71km to go, I’m not 100% certain I’ll make it to Athens! I guess I will believe it and relax once I walk into the hotel, and ask for my bike box. Having received an overweight charge relating to my box apparently weighing 67kg heavier than the maximum for my shipping cost (which is 27kg and having weighed it before booking, know it’s actually 19kg), I am expecting to find an adult size stowaway inside. So the very first thing I will be doing on receipt is asking a member of staff to hold my phone and video me opening it as evidence to send to UPS, who will otherwise pursue an additional £146 shipping cost. I tell you this as I don’t want you to fall into the same cunning trap.

A fellow cyclist, Steve, currently pedalling through France, shared this lovely insight with me after I’d shared the view of the Aegean Sea af Lamia’s castle. Around 10k from me, I could have by rights, pedalled over, dipped my toe in the water and got aboard the nearest train to Athens. But didn’t! Steve shared this: In Xenophon’s Anabasis when the 10,000 Greek soldiers saw the Mediterranean after there march out of Persia they shouted for joy Thálatta! Thálatta! The sea The Sea! They knew they were home.

I haven’t got that excited yet, but I’ve placed my Sainsbury’s order...Istanbul tomorrow...by plane 😊

The bells have chimed outside, I’ve eaten two cereal bars, a banana and half a pint of milk for breakfast and I will be hauling my knackered, ageing body on to the bike just one more time here, for up to 3 hours...and then it’s done...hopefully! See you in Athens 😃

[mattness]

Space Dementia

Here we go again, my friends ^^  OTP: Jenniwise   And another chapter of my fanfic! Hope you enjoy IT! :D  //// Chapter IV. "Are you sure that I can get to the airport in Bangor on this wreck?" questioned Jennifer, standing in the garage near the old Audi, which occasionally went grandmother. The car didn't start for the last three years because Christine didn't see the need to go anywhere far. Now the car was covered with a layer of dust and quietly waiting in the wings, and Jennifer very much doubted that it would start at all. She ran her hand over the silver bonnet, noticing the rust on the wing. 

"I already started the engine", smiled Chester, throwing the keys with her daughter, and she somehow managed to catch them. "It remains to pour gasoline, and you can safely get to Bangor." "Somehow I very much doubt it, dad", chuckled the girl and sat down behind the wheel. In the salon it smelled terrible rubber mixed with gasoline. Jennifer wrinkled her nose, placing her hands on the steering wheel and looking through the dusty windshield. She immediately adjusted the rear-view mirror to make herself comfortable. The rear window had to be wiped as well as the front, otherwise the road will not be visible. The girl put the key in the ignition and turned it. As expected, the first time the car engine didn't even think to start. It just rattled piteously, and Jen had to re-turn the key. On this time the motor earned, loudly growling on the whole garage. The brunette smiled, and Chester standing in the garage near the car, a fairly clapped her hands. "Why don't you take it for a couple of blocks?" the father offered, having approached the car from a driver's seat. "You said there was no gasoline", Jennifer recalled and turned off the engine. "In the canister just for road in Bangor. Maybe we shouldn't waste it?" "As you wish", he shrugged. The girl got out of the car and smiled at Chester. He adjusted the glasses on the bridge of his nose and flipped his daughter on nose. "You're so happy to be back in the big city. I thought we'd spend more time together here in Derry. Still, the repair is not finished yet." "I'm leaving only for an internship. You will not notice how the week will fly", assured Jen, hugging dad. "It isn't a fact that they will be taken me there. I'm not ready to write articles about girls’s problems all the time." He laughed, patting his daughter on the back, and looked into her eyes. "Don't doubt yourself and your powers, Jen." "I have no doubt. I'm just sane estimate about my chances." Chester was again pulled her to him and sighed. He still could not accept the fact that his little Jennifer was no longer such. And it was that horrible day when she is forced to leave home to begin an independent life. He knew that sooner or later this day would come, so now it was only necessary to accept. He will be crazy miss her and ask her to come to Derry often. "I'll miss you, Jenni", voiced his own thoughts Chester, tightly clutching her in his arms. "Me too, daddy. But I'll be calling, and I'll be back soon. You'll see", smiled sadly Jennifer and stepped back. "Okay, okay. No more veal tenderness! Let's clean this old lady up." The girl found among a heap of garage trash bucket with a sponge and immediately ran to fill it with water. It turned out that under a layer of dust was hiding a beautiful silver-white paint, and a little later, in the sun, Audi already glistened with purity. Jennifer smiled at her own reflection in the windshield, wiping it with a sponge while his father was at that time a hose was watering the trunk and the roof of the car. She even thought about what this piece of junk now after the water treatment, looked quite passable. On such a machine is not ashamed to appear in Bangor. From her own thoughts Jen snorted. * * *  That evening she packed all the necessary things for the first time in a compact suitcase. MacBook fit in the bag, which was a cosmetic bag and other important things. Then she gathered herself: wearing blue jeans with a black t-shirt, and over it threw a warm red bumper. Quite nodding to her reflection, Jennifer looked out the window. Weather by the evening spoiled, that doesn't surprise Wright. The clouds in the sky were gathering and a strong wind was blowing. Seems, the storm coming, thought she. But even this storm will not prevent her from leaving Derry for an internship to New York. Money for a high-speed train, a ticket which cost three times more expensive than the plane, wasn't at all. So Jen decided to save money and get to Bangor, and there from the airport to fly to New York. The flight will take about the same time as a high-speed train ride. "Are you sure you want to go now?" asked father, as Jennifer has already sat in the car and drove it out of the garage. "Maybe you should wait out the storm?" "It'll be fine, dad", Wright waved, smiling at him. "Here to go something quite nothing." "All right", he sighed, and leaned over to his daughter, who sat behind the wheel, to kiss her cheek goodbye. "Good luck. Call me when you get to the airport.” She nodded and closed the window, gently pressing the gas pedal. The car slowly drove to the roadway and drive away from Derry, yellow headlights illuminating the way. The city was rushing through the window. There were lights everywhere and no one in the streets. Began to drizzle rain, so Jen included "janitors". A pleasant feeling of euphoria did not leave her. The mood was great in such nasty slush. The brunette felt that she was about to start her independent life away from her parents and some stupid obligations. If she initially didn't want to leave father alone in Derry, after a month realized that there is nothing wrong. Jennifer saw how happy he was here. He liked his work and quiet lifestyle. She even didn't interfere in his routine, afraid to break this silence. And now, when the girl left home, he probably will come off in full. He will call his local friends to visit and maybe then be able to find love after a long ten years. Jen really wanted this. Rain gradually intensified, and outside the window began to hear thunder. "Janitors" almost could not cope with the amount of water that continuously flooded the windshield. Jen cursed under his breath, trying to focus on the road. The suburbs of Derry has ended and the car drives on the broad highway along which, every ten meters stood a tall poles with lights and covered the road. But even that didn't help much. Already began a real downpour, and in the sky and then periodically flashed lightning. Jennifer continued to swear under his breath, thinking about what a hell it's like something was trying to keep her in Derry. As if bad weather forced to return back. But to return back already was too far. To Bangor had another half hour of the journey, and machine, to the surprise of the hostess, still driving on the highway without any interruption. It worked almost like new. However, Jen occasionally heard some rattling from under the hood, but it's not enough, for disturbing. Probably some kind of old piece is trying to fall off, but the car was still on the go. Wright quietly concluded that hammering stuff under the hood isn't so important for the operation of the motor. Again rose a strong wind and into the oncoming lane wide highway suddenly a tree fell, breaking a few wires and blocking the path of cars. Several lights immediately went out. A real hurricane started, why Jennifer was seriously scared. She grabbed the phone, which was lying on the passenger seat, and with GPS began to look for the nearest motel or hotel to wait out the storm. The brunette sighed with relief, knowing that the nearest town was quite a bit. Orono was literally one mile off the highway. On the map she immediately found a good hotel, which is located in the center of the village. Throwing the phone to the side, Jennifer turned the steering wheel to the right, and the car turned off the highway. The clock ticked loudly and a unpleasant along with a running "janitors" was terribly annoying her. For an hour drive the mood was spoiled, and the weather outside continued to rage. The machine arrived in Orono and rushed to the three star hotel, which girl planned to wait out the hurricane. However, inside something suggested that she would have to stay in the hotel for the night, because such a storm is unlikely to end in a couple of hours. On top of that, the tank ran out of gas, and the knock in the hood intensified of the car. Coupled with the "wipers" and the hours, too, began to irritate Jennifer. She exhaled with relief, noticing the right sign. Finally, you can take a breath and freshen up, thought the brunette. The car drove into the hotel territory stopping at the entrance. To the surprise of Jen, to the car ran over the doorman with an umbrella and kindly opened the car door for her, holding out his hand. The girl used the help and, having grabbed a bag, together with the man ran in a spacious warm hotel. Even having been on the street just couple of minutes, Wright managed get wet. "Did you reserve a room, miss?"- asked the doorman, removing the umbrella. "No, I would only..." she began her long story, but was interrupted. "We have affordable rooms available. Go to the reception", the young man smiled at her friendly and returned to the front door. Jennifer blinked, staying in a light stupor a few seconds and then followed his advice. The girl immediately looked around. She stood in the middle of a spacious living room, done in warm Reds and golds. For a three-star hotel, the place looked quite good. Under the white ceiling hung a magnificent chandelier, and the floor was parquet and carpets. To the right of the entrance there was an area for tourists, where there were small sofas and chairs with coffee tables. Even now, at nine o'clock in the evening, it was crowded. All sat in phones or watched TV, or read books. To the left of the entrance was a small shop with Souvenirs and other trinkets that would remind you of the arrival at the hotel and Orono. In front of the entrance there is a reception, to which Jen after a couple of minutes of inspection of the lobby confidently went. The same young girl as Wright stood behind the reception and is already warmly smiled at her. Jennifer uneasily smiled and pressed the little call tweaked for the whole hall and attracting the attention of some visitors of the hotel. "Sorry. I always wanted to do that", honestly admitted the brunette. "Good evening. Can I help you?"- politely asked the administrator, pushing the loud bell to the side, away from the new visitor. "I need a cheap room for one night", Jennifer said in a slightly husky voice, but immediately cleared her throat. "Double or single?" "Do you see anyone else here besides me?" said the girl quipped, propping head with hand. The administrator nodded and buried her nose in a computer monitor, starting to look for a vacant room. Jennifer again began to explore the hall, suddenly felt someone looking at her. She tried to find this man among the campers, and her attention was attracted by a young man who immediately looked away. From afar, she could not really see him, so the brunette smiled and turned back to the administrator. "We have rooms from the fifth to the eleventh floor. They all cost 150 $ a night." Jennifer nodded and, selecting a room on the ninth floor, with a backpack and a keycard walked quietly toward the elevator, located at the end of the corridor. Clicking on the call button, she turned round and again looked at the hall. The feeling that someone watched closely, not left her. Elevator arrived, and she confidently set foot in a spacious cabin. * * * As soon as there was an unpleasant ringing at the reception, he immediately distracted from the boring book and looked at the new guest of the hotel. Imagine his surprise when he saw a young girl of twenty-five, soaking wet from the rain and like a child smiling to the administrator. She looked as pitiful as a kitten who was thrown out on the street. Wet black hair stuck to a pretty dark face with freckles, and blue eyes began to explore the luxurious hall. Inside slowly grew so familiar feeling of hunger: still, he has not eaten for several days, and maybe this person is quite suitable for dinner. In his head began to mature brilliant plan to lure another victim, which eventually should end with a good dinner. On his mouth smug smile appeared. However, it instantly disappeared from the face, he took notice how the girl managed to track down his gaze. Only now he realized that he indecently staring at her thinking through every paragraph of his cunning plan. The stranger received a keycard and quickly went to the elevators. He never took his eyes off her. Probably should have found out what floor her room was on. Right now it was worth getting up and catching up to get acquainted and instantly penetrate the unprotected human mind. But he didn't do it. Something stopped, and, dissatisfied with growling to himself, as he buried back into the book. "Mr. Grey", said the doorman, touching his shoulder. "Yes?" "Dinner will be in half an hour. You asked for a warned", explained the hotel employee, and he nodded in response. "The new guests will also be at the dinner?" the left corner of his mouth twitched into a smirk. A man in red uniform followed Grey's gaze, noticing a black-haired girl near the elevators. He smiled contentedly, realizing the true intentions of a wealthy guest of the hotel. "I think so. I can tell her to go down to the restaurant for dinner." "Don't say anything," he waved, drawing attention to the book again. "If she wants, she will come." The doorman nodded and left, continuing his work. * * * Jennifer, taking off her wet clothes, threw on the shoulders of a bathrobe that was in the room. She sat down on a soft double bed, picking up the phone and immediately wrote to his father that she stayed the night in the hotel to wait out the raging hurricane. The answer wasn't long in coming. She smiled, rejoicing that forced dad not to worry. A cozy room with a great view from the window of at a small Orono pleasantly relaxed. The room was warm and dry. The rain outside the window poured like a bucket, the wind howled, and bright flashes of lightning periodically repeated with deafening thunder. It seemed that the hurricane would sweep away everything in its path, and even this is a temporary shelter for Jen. Thoughts about the trip to New York warms the soul, and the dream gradually took possession of the mind. The brunette did not mind to disconnect right now. She don't have to go anywhere anyway. She closed her eyes, making herself comfortable in bed, and preparing to plunge into the Kingdom of Morpheus, but a loud knock on the door disturbed her calm. Jen jumped out of bed and pulling on the face of his most polite smile, already opened the door. On the threshold stood one of the porters of the hotel. His an important kind of a long embarrassed the girl. "What can I help?" she asked, coughing softly in her palm. "Miss Wright, come down to our restaurant for dinner," a smirk appeared on the old man's face and he walked slowly back to the elevators. "Dinner? At half past eleven in the night?" said Jen, looking out into the corridor. "Is that necessary?" "Your dinner has already been paid." The girl raised her eyebrows in surprise, not understanding anything. Was liked her the doorman at the entrance or to the girl-administrator at the reception that some of them decided to pay for her dinner at the restaurant? In any case, Wright was not a fool and miss this opportunity - to eat for free - certainly not going. Slamming the door in the room, the brunette pulled out of the bag dry clothes: regular jeans and a decent white sweater. Looking at the reflection in the mirror, Jen appreciated her appearance: for a restaurant, of course, it was no good. Her black hair still not fully dry, slightly curled and fluffed. She smoothed them over and sprayed them with varnish to avoid sticking out in different directions. Make up the lashes mascara and highlighting the eyes with eyeliner, Jen smiled to herself. Now she can go to a restaurant, she thought. By taking over phone and the keycard, Wright locked the door and go to elevators. In the spacious cabin, except her, went down an old man she didn't looked. The stomach growled for the whole Elevator, causing the girl's cheeks suddenly acquired a pinkish hue. She heard the old man burst out laughing. Finally the cabin was on the first floor, and Jen hopped out of the elevator, stepping confidently in the direction of the restaurant. Before it opened doors, and she again felt, that proved in some very expensive hotel, not in the usual with three stars. Maybe this place has struggled hard to get two more stars to raise the prices of all its services? Stepping on the threshold of a large hall, Jennifer unwittingly opened his mouth. Perhaps, in such places she has visited extremely rarely. Money never be enough for this. The room was slightly dimmed light, and each of the white tables were compact lamps. Somewhere in the background played nice classical music, and the number of people forced Jen to doubt that she was in a small town of Orono. Can be, it all of this dream? Anyway, have this dream a very good start, thought the girl, and sat down at a free table. To her immediately the waiter came, saying that dinner tonight at the expense of the restaurant. Flattered by such attention, Jen smiled and shyly took the menu. While she was choosing her dishes, the waiter filled the empty glass with dry white wine. The brunette looked through the prices of food, realizing that she was very lucky. In her purse was not half of the money for which it would be possible to order at least one dish. "Empty place?" suddenly a pleasant male voice rang out over her ear, and Jen was immediately distracted from the menu. The tall young man smiled at her amiably. His dark brown hair was perfectly combed, black suit emphasized broad shoulders and at the same time terribly beautiful thinness. Large gray-green eyes slowly studied her neat snub nose, nice cheekbones, and plump lips that were meant for kissing. Jennifer blushing, suddenly understanding, that sees in him very similar traits with its former classmate Roy. She swallowed and turned around, looking around. Not wrong by any chance this handsome? All this must be a dream, again thought Jen, embarrassed stronger. "Uh, aren't you at the wrong table?" voiced his thoughts out loud the girl. "No", now the smile on his face was two times more charming. "Can I sit?" "Yup. Please", mumbled red as a lobster Jen nervously he picked up the glass and drank deeply. The man boldly sat down opposite, his hands folded in the lock on the table. He continued to study Jennifer, without ceasing to smile mysteriously. From such turn of events the head of the girl literally went dizzy. She was in a panic, not knowing how to behave with a person who is in financial position stood clearly above her. "And what made you sit at my table? Looking for a one-night stand? So I told you right away that I had the wrong table..." immediately quipped the brunette finally looking into the large eyes in front. "I can't just acquaint with you?" sprinkled with laughter handsome, leaning back in his chair. "For some reason, people, as soon as they find out about my wealth, immediately try to lick my ass. This is terribly annoying, especially if it’s done by females. I hope you're not like that." Jennifer chuckled, shaking her head. She's certainly not the one he meant. Dreams of a rich prince on a white horse or a white Maserati, no matter what, never visited Wright's head. Girl perfectly understood, what wants from life. And these plans certainly never had to "find a rich handsome guy to hang around his neck for the rest of her days." "What's your name?" continued guy. "Jennifer", she introduced herself, and thought that he looks an awful lot like Roy and it doesn't let her rest. "I'm Robert Grey. Nice to meet you, Jen." The girl was surprised, as he forcefully cut her name without even asking permission. And it's on the fifth minute of the meet! On Robert's face appeared again smile, but this time it was something dangerous and a little frightening. However, the brunette did not attach much importance to this. After all, she still thought that was fast asleep in my room, fantasizing about Roy, that he suddenly became fabulously rich prince. "It was quite crazy!" flashed in the girl's head, which barely withstood the gaze of the green eyes opposite. "You know, you're terribly similar to one of my friends", couldn't resist, honestly admitted Jennifer, when the waiter came to the table. "Really?" willfully surprised Robert did the ordering for both of them. "Yeah. One in one virtually. Maybe you're his lost twin brother." sneered Wright, what caused another chuckle of a mystery man. After a few minutes of silence, she added awkwardly, "It's nice to meet you too, Robert." "Just call me Rob." He watched as Jennifer looked away sheepishly and smiled. A strand of black hair she gently brushed behind her ear and reached for a glass of wine. Behind her was damn interesting to watch, and madly tossing of thoughts in her head made him difficult to know more about her. Before Robert Grey, Jen was just an open book, which he silently read, learning more and more details of her life and not forgetting to talk to her aloud, otherwise a long silence would have aroused suspicion. It's a pity she'll never know who he really is, thought Grey. Although carry on a conversation with his next victim, oddly enough, was very interesting. Perhaps the massacre of Jennifer Wright should not be rushed. On the lips of men again appeared sinister grin. It will be a small and exciting game. Definitely.

[startwreck]

WizardWorld Chicago 2018

“I’ll never fly to a con.”

That was my self-imposed rule. See, I live in the Northeast US, so there are lots of major cities within driving/busing distance, and thus lots of cons, and other fandom-adjacent events, happen within a reasonable distance of me. (I realize this is a privilege, and one I’m quite grateful for.) Anyway, when I got into the X-Files fandom a couple of years ago, I was interested in meeting Phile Phriends / Tumblr Pals in real life, and in participating in fandom or fandom-adjacent events, which I have done (and have spent money on), but I told myself that there was no need to ever fly anywhere just for a con: the cost of airfare is too much of an investment, the talent’s schedules can change, and besides, there are a disproportionate amount of options that I don’t have to make the investment to fly to. So I thought.

When DD & GA were announced for WizardWorld Chicago, I had already committed to plans for the con weekend. I was a little bummed, but thought that it was probably for the best that I already had plans, because otherwise, I would have been very tempted to fly to it. Then, just a few weeks prior to the con, after hanging up the phone call in which my last weekend in August plans were postponed, I saw a note from Kristin @kateyes224 alluding to her intention to go to the con. She informed me that @sunflowerseedsandscience, who I had been hoping to meet earlier in the summer, would also be flying in for the occasion. I took this influx of information as a sign that I should get myself to Chicago for that weekend. I justified the cost by using airline and hotel points to subside the expense. I was going to fly to a con. The next few weeks were a whirlwind of madness at work, so I was very grateful to have the aforementioned pals, plus Carrie @carrie11 who would be joining us for her first con, in my pocket to countdown to the weekend with.

I flew to Chicago on the morning Friday, August 24, laughing internally at the absurdity of the situation all the way. I made my way to Rosemont, my eyes going wide when I caught my first glimpse of the convention center, and settled myself into the hotel room before heading downtown on the train to meet Carrie. There was a food truck festival right by the L station that I emerged from, and I realized that all I had consumed only an iced coffee so far in the day, so I remedied that. Carrie was nice enough to indulge in my desire to be a tourist, since I hadn’t been to Chicago proper in years. I had never made it to the Willis Sears Tower, so we did that, and she took some fun pics of Puppet Mulder. I think this is my fav:

We then did a bit of walking -- Grant Park, Lake Shore Drive path, Millenium Park, and the Chicago River, before the rest of the crew arrived and it was finally pizza time! Soon after Carrie and I secured a table at Giordano’s, Kristin, @sunflowerseedsandscience, and Amanda @all-these-ghosts arrived. I greeted them on the patio and had an epic reunion hug with Kristin in which we made a total scene and squeezed each other so tight while squealing that I choked on some of her hair. The five us then had a wonderful dinner that I don’t remember much about except that the pizza was amazing, the company was even better, and I’m pretty sure I was just still in awe that this was all happening. After dinner, we went to grab drinks down the street. There was Shiner Bock on the menu, so Puppet Mulder joined us and confused many of the staff. Amanda especially was tickled by Puppet Mulder, while I was fangirling over her (she wrote Then The Bomb, people!!!) Truly, the con could have been cancelled and the trip still would have been worth it for just hanging out with this crew:

Saturday morning, Kristin procured Starbucks and we all readied ourselves to be presentable for photo ops in the late morning. We met Carrie, Clarice @contrivedcoincidences6, and @albanyparkavenue in the lobby and headed to the convention center. The security line coming from the hotels was long but moved fast. At this point, I had only pre-purchased a dual photo op (and Saturday ticket) but while we were in line I accidentally-but-it-was-bound-to-happen-anyway purchased GA & DD autographs on the ticketing app on my phone. Oops! Once we got in and procured our wristbands, it was already time for those of us with dual photo ops to get in line, so we did. In the midst of a lot of line waiting, Kristin perfected Puppet Mulder’s hair (we decided on Season 4 / Paper Hearts classic floops aka Backstreet Bangs). Puppet Mulder also made friends with a tiny Supergirl, which Carrie captured in a couple pics, and my day was made. Soon, it was go time. I was to go first so that Kristin could do last looks on Puppet Mulder’s hair immediately before the photo. As we approached the final holding area, I situated Puppet Mulder on my right arm and was prepared to pose him in an arms-spread position using the armrods in my left hand (we had been practicing in line.) When it was my turn, I approached, and I was told by those in line behind me that Gillian gave an exasperated “Ohhhhhhhhh boy” while I announced “Puppet Mulder is here!” in an attempt to preemptively stave off any questions about who he was and prevent myself from having to make any awkward hand gestures like I did in Montreal. As we were getting in position I asked, “Can he get in between you? I don’t know that I want to be in it” since I didn’t really care about my face being in it, but also didn’t want to crouch down without warning and confuse everyone. But David insisted, “Ah, no, you gotta be in it!” to which I conceded “I do? Ok.” and stayed put. With that, the photo was taken, I said thanks, and moved out of the way. As the rest of the crew emerged from the Tunnel of Love Anxiety, we went around the corner to retrieve our photos, and I think everyone in the group was pleased with the results! I was pleasantly surprised by mine (even if Gillian is doing her nervous hands.)

I even bought a photo protector sheet after being called out by DD in Montreal for not treating our photo with the utmost respect and bending it a bit. After this ordeal, we realized that we needed drinks and to regroup, so we acquired alcohol (beer is a reasonable lunch, right?) and found a path of floor outside the main hall to make our own. We were joined by some more pals including @dahlia-ships, @observeroftheuniverse, and @perplexistan.

After this recovery period, it was time for Gillian’s autograph session. I had the pleasure of being behind Natalie for this and got to listen to Natalie give the most eloquent, heartfelt litany of thanks to one of her favs. Also, somehow margaritas came up and Natalie and I were like “Yesss we just drank before this!” so clearly my 20 seconds were much less profound, but here’s the rough transcript after that:

Me: Thanks for putting up with us. GA: This was one of my favorite photos of the day. Me: Aww, really?! GA: Yeah, it’s between this one and maybe one other. Me: Oh, what was that? GA: Someone had an alien. Me: Oh yeah, the big blow up thing? [Had spotted this in front of us in the photo op line.] GA: Yeah. Me: *nods* Thanks!

When I emerged from her booth and realized she inscribed “My favorite photo of the day” on the photo, I was both heart-eyed and in awe. See, I am a terrible multi-tasker and thus continually in awe of Gillian’s ability to have a conversation while simultaneously making a non-robotic inscription. Like, yeah, she’s pretty good at acting and contributes to humanitarian causes, but I’d like to give her an award for speaking and writing at the same time. Was this talent born from some crazy avant-garde theatre warm-up? Is this some kind of Mom superpower? Really what I’m asking is: Is there hope for me yet to learn this skill?

Anyway, after the crew got their Gillian autographs, some more drinks were procured, and then we decided to go wait in line for the panel (which was actually a solid 9 minute walk from the main hall.) At this point, I started bothering Kristin to come get a DD autograph with me before the panel, because I’m a bad influence like that. She was unprepared with what she would have him sign though, so we started brainstorming, and landed on possibly The X-Files: Earth Children Are Weird picture book that I had brought a copy of so that Kristin could do a dramatic reading. Since that was back in the hotel room, a few of us darted back to grab it (and to grab our leftover deep dish, which my growling stomach was very grateful for.) We brought the remaining pizza to the line-sitters, and at around 4pm, I successfully convinced Kristin to come grab a DD autograph with me. Shayla @thatredhead00 joined us and her tale of a DD interaction earlier in the day made me howl with laughter. We made friends with a couple of local guys in line, and I connected with a woman I recognized from a previous event, which was funny. Anyway, DD made it back from his afternoon break, the signing session began, and soon enough, Kristin went first with the picture book, and I globbed on to her convo. Here’s the rough transcript:

DD: [signing on the title page] What am I signing? K: The X-Files picture book! DD: [Turns to the front cover] Aww, it’s cute! [Genuinely, high-pitched] DD: What happens in it? K: They go camping in the woods. Me: And Scully’s parents are aliens. Me: Whoops, I gave away the twist ending. DD: Yeah, you ruined it for me. Me: Yeah, it was gonna take you so long to read… Me: Thanks so much!

For those keeping score at home, this brings my record of accidentally-but-lovingly making fun of DD to his face at con autograph sessions to an even 2-0. Interestingly enough, I’ve been to two of his book signings and complimented him (well, his writing) at both of those. Not sure what gives.

Anyway, we decided that we needed more drinks before the panel so grabbed those and then made the journey back to where that was. Our pals were already seated, and the question line had already started forming, so Kristin and Shayla hopped in that while I took a seat with the crew. The panel was perfectly fine in person. Per usual, a few cringey questions (thanks Natalie for letting me squeeze your arm through these), but also a few great questions and responses. Kristin got to ask her question (and, as predicted, Gillian couldn’t remember specifics, and the morgue scene in “Ghouli” was David’s answer, but it was still nice to hear it.) Other highlights included a thoughtful question and response from Gillian on how the show might have been different if written from a more feminist perspective. Also, there was a fleeting moment when I thought the tell-all book was going to be spoiled, plus the infamous “Who tops?” question. All in all, not bad at all, though this was the first panel I’ve attended with just the two of them, so I admittedly don’t have any equal comparison points. Soon enough, it was over, and it was time to drink (more!) with Philes. All of the aforementioned crew from the day joined, plus Amanda, @datanullyx, @redscully, @xfilesgeekery, and @anicepieceofash.  We started in the hotel bar but, in the interest of cost savings, eventually procured liquor and ordered (more) pizza and moved to our hotel room. There were lots of hugs and snuggles, lots of loudly wondering “What is my life?”, platonic handholding, one human/puppet makeout session, an impressive demonstration of Kristin’s ability to sleep through anything, and some amazing cheesecake brownies . As the evening got late, Puppet Mulder even changed into his red Speedo (and put on his to-scale legs.) Needless to say, it was a night both wonderful and strange. Here’s some of the crew at the after-after party:

I feel so lucky to have gotten to spend time with everyone I met or re-met this weekend, and if I start calling out the specifics of why you’re all so great, I’ll make myself cry, so I’m going to stop here. If you’ve read all of this rambling (whether you were present or not), I’m very impressed. Thanks to everyone who shared in this weekend with me from both near and far, and thanks to Gillian and David for giving us an excuse to meetup.

I said I’d never fly to a con, but I’m so glad I did.

Author's note: I always hate writing these because a) it means it’s over, and b) I can never fully capture the awesomeness that is meeting up with fandom friends. Also, I have a shit memory, but jotted down notes about stuff right after it happened on Saturday, so hopefully I’m not misconstruing anything too terribly. If you were present, feel free to correct me!

[nightglider124]

Japan: My Trip

Thought I’d put together a little photo diary of my two weeks in Japan because why not and I just like to share with my tumblr pals.

Read on to find out what I got up to.

Sunday 13th May

This was the day I flew out to Japan. I packed my bag and was ready to leave at 11am UK time. I’m not gonna lie to ya’ll, I was an emotional mess, leaving my family behind. 

You should know, I’ve never been on a trip without my family and I’ve never been out of Europe. So, going out to Japan with just my best friend was a big thing for me. So, was pretty tearful and then my mum like burst into tears; she’s a worrier. 

Anyway, my dad dropped me off at the airport to meet my bestie and we did all the boring airport stuff and soon enough, we were on the plane. The sky is ridiculously pretty at different times during an overnight flight or at least, a flight that crosses different time zones. 

Pretty uneventful. I mostly ate, slept and wrote chapter 1 of CTD: Bound. 

Monday 14th May

So, I arrived in Japan’s Narita airport at 11am.

Then I went up and grabbed my suitcase as well as going and grabbing my pocket wifi - Something that is tremendously helpful if you go to Japan. I don’t know what it’s like for you guys but in London, I pretty much have wifi anywhere I go whereas in Japan, it wasn’t as easy to come across; at least not for free. 

The pocket wifi was a godsend. It can connect up to 10 devices and it lasts all day long when fully charged. Now, there were a couple times it tapped out but you just need to turn it off and turn it on again. 

It cost about £60 for 2 weeks but if you’re going with people, it works out better. Me and my friend split it so we only paid £30 each but very worth it.

But, yeah, defo recommend this for anyone who is going to Japan. It was a big help, especially when needing to look up locations and/or directions.

Next, we went and grabbed our Japan rail passes which look like so:

This was probably the best thing I bought for Japan. Not even joking. 

Even if you aren’t going very far, this thing helps so much. It’s a pass that allows you to use any trains that are owned by the JR company which is a fair amount that helps you get around Tokyo and surrounding districts. Note: You have to buy it before you fly to Japan and take the exchange form that comes in the post with you to Japan. You exchange it at the airport and they give you the passes above. Just make double sure your passport has been stamped because otherwise, they won’t let you have it. 

Anyway, this was £310 for 2 weeks but again: WORTH IT. It does depend on what you’re doing but me and my friend were out and using transport every single day. We also went far. We went to Hiroshima, Kyoto and Osaka - All covered by the passes. And for example, £310 is basically a return ticket to Kyoto so you are already making your money back. 

So, we picked these up and using them, hopped on the shinkansen (bullet train) to Shinjuku (Sound familiar, Titan fans? Yes, it’s the ‘roughest part of town’ according to Robin in the Trouble in Tokyo movie). It took about an hour and then we checked into our hotel which was: Shinjuku Prince Hotel.

It was a really nice hotel actually. The staff were friendly and spoke really good English. I recommend staying here; it’s right in the heart of busy Shinjuku and was only 5 mins from the station. We booked a deluxe twin room because two rooms worked out more expensive and it was not too shabby at all. I didn’t actually take any pictures so I snubbed some off google.

Anyway, we were running a little late and we had tickets to the Studio Ghibli museum so naturally, I was freaking out because the website expresses that they are strict on being on time for your slot. I nearly had a breakdown because... dunno if ya’ll remember but I had a right time trying to get a hold of these tickets. They sell out so quickly it is unreal. Anyway, our slot was 4pm and they only allow you to be 30 mins late. 

We arrived at 4:50pm and I was close to tears as I ran into the park it’s situated in. I was so annoyed and so scared they weren’t going to let us in. But...

They did!! The guy was so sweet; I think he could see by my face how much I wanted to go inside. He was like all smiley and was like it’s okay, go on in. I was like THANK YOU JESUS. Here are some photos:

They don’t allow photography inside to preserve the magic of visiting. And honestly, it was so nice inside. It felt just like a Ghibli movie and seeing the animation process and the short film and the original drawings... it was all so amazing. Being a Ghibli fan makes this 1000% better but it’s still great for people who aren’t as into it. My friend isn’t really into Ghibli movies but she thought it was still pretty cool whereas there was me in like awe over all of it.

Anyway, we stayed there about an hour and as you can imagine, we were frazzled af. We were tired from the flight but I wanted us to force ourselves to stay up so jet lag wasn’t as much a problem. 

After, we made our way back to Shinjuku where I took some pics from my hotel room:

Then we grabbed some McDonalds which was literally just across from us; something quick so we didn’t starve. I facetimed my family, showered and fell asleep.

Tuesday 15th May

So, the first full day we were there, it was a more chilled, sightseeing day. Nothing too taxing and we felt a lot more refreshed after a proper sleep.

First, we went and checked out the Tokyo Imperial Palace which was really pretty but we couldn’t go inside. It was mega hot the entire time we were in Japan; I thought I’d die. I hate the heat.

And because I was out in the heat all day and didn’t think to put suncream on... yeah, you can see where this is going... 

More on that later, because then we carried on to the Yasukuni shrine which is just down the street from the East Gardens of the palace. 

The shrine was cool and everything was so pretty; very tranquil and peaceful.

In the afternoon, we headed over to the Sunshine City mall in Ikebukuro where I forced my friend into the Pokemon Centre Store which was LIT.

I was fucking excited, ya’ll. I got some really cute stuff too. Got myself some Mimikyu chopsticks, an Eevee tail key holder, a Pikachu glasses case, a Pikachu makeup bag and a little Mimikyu figure bc Mimikyu is a fave and I have no cool stuff with it on. 

I also got my brother most of his souvenirs in here because we have loved Pokemon since the dawn of time. I mean, we’ve fallen out of it in recent years because all the new gen pokemon etc... we’re more for the original pokemon and original series and games. Seriously, when kids come up to me like, do you even know Pokemon I’m like bitch step back you don’t even KNOW. It’s like I got a Pokemon CD for my brother and it had a japanese version of one of the songs from the first movie and we were like screaming. That film man, don’t even look at me.

Ahem... the Pokemon store was so wicked but mega expensive like shit son. Glad I took so much money with me because I NEEDED IT.

After the Pokemon store, we went down a level to the Studio Ghibli store where I didn’t get as much stuff as I thought I was gonna. 

But, I got a Spirited Away fan with No Face on it, a Totoro and No face figure as well as a Totoro bib and hat for my niece. 

Then we went and had fooood where I noticed... I was extremely sunburnt... Like in the below pic, you can’t see it that much because it hadn’t really come out full pelt yet.

Pls ignore my hamster face but see my chest? Burny burny burnt burnt. I got back to the hotel later that night and I had the shakes where it was hot and all the heat was there rather than all over. It was horrible.

I’m lucky I decided to wear full on makeup that day otherwise my face would have gotten buuurnt. Well done, Estee Lauder foundation, well done.

But yeah, it wasn’t the best end to the day because then I was all uncomfortable and my skin was sensitive and I was mad at myself for not putting on cream so then I got all upset and cried but I think I was still tired from the journey too and I was overwhelmed but yeah; kinda sucked.

Other than the sunburn, I also didn’t pack shorts for under my dress so my thighs rubbed and were in agony as well as my vans gave me like 4 blisters on each foot so I couldn’t walk or at least was in extreme pain when I tried so getting back to the hotel was a damn hoot.

Besides all that, it was a pretty good day!

Wednesday 16th

This was the day we trekked all the way down to Hiroshima which is like a 5 hour journey by train. We had to take two trains but it was actually not too bad. It certainly didn’t feel like it took that long to get down to Hiroshima. 

One thing I will say about longer train journeys; remember to reserve a seat. Some like the one from Narita Airport are reserve only so you have to reserve a seat for it. But, others don’t need it and have “non reserved” cars but mark my words, if you’re travelling on these trains at a busy time, it really pays off to reserve a seat. We didn’t for Hiroshima and whilst we found seats for the 3 hour part of the journey; on the second train, we had to stand for like 45 minutes because there were no seats and then even when we did get to sit down, it was separated so yeah; book your train seats, people.

Once we arrived in Hiroshima, we hopped on a ferry which took us to Miyajima island. It’s about a 10 minute journey and once again, it’s covered by the JR pass. I loved that thing to death not even kidding.

Here’s some pictures I took on the ride over:

This island is home to the big red Torii gate that people may know of. I picked up some cute souvenirs and ate katsu. And there were even deer roaming around the place! A couple got married too whilst we were visiting and it was so nice. Again, it was mega hot so I was dying from that aspect but otherwise, I could live on this little island.

Unfortunately, we spent so much time at the island; we didn’t get round to doing the two other things we had planned which were seeing Hiroshima Castle and the Atomic dome memorial. I was kinda bummed by not seeing those but the last train was at 5pm and we weren’t staying the night so we had to get said train. It was okay though; it’s something to add to the list of things to see when I eventually revisit.

We got back at about 10pm and then it was lights out because we were exhausted.

Thursday 17th May

This was another sightseeing day that was fairly local considering we were pretty tired from Hiroshima still. 

We traveled over to Asakusa which has the lovely Senso-ji temple and shrine. It was really cute, the walk up to the temple is lined with all these little shops and souvenir like places which have charms and fans etc. Really nice.

Inside, they do this thing where you pay 100 yen and you shake a metal box that contains lots of sticks with numbers on. When you bring out a stick, you find the number it matches and you bring out the fortune. You get a good fortune, regular fortune or bad fortune. I got myself a regular ol’ fortune XD. 

But, they also have this rack so that if you get a bad fortune, you tie it to the rack to rid yourself of the bad fortune whereas a good or regular one; you would carry it with you.

Other than that, we hung out and then went back to our hotel for a while before heading out again to check out the nightlife of the area. Everything was mega lit up and was so nice. We went and grabbed dinner and also went and got crepes. They were a m a z i n g. Like they were so good ugh. 

After that, went back, showered and slept. Pretty uneventful day; just being touristy. 

Friday 18th May

Again, more sightseeing on this day. We went and saw the Tokyo Metropolitan Building and looked out over Tokyo.

Then, we went to the Meiji Shrine.

Aaand lastly, we went to Shibuya for the evening.

Yes, those are people dressed as characters from Mario Kart driving in the streets of Tokyo. This place was crazy. XD

After seeing the crossing scramble that is so infamous, we trekked back to the hotel and fell asleep.

Saturday 19th May

This day we literally went on trains all day to collect stamps. In Japan, they do these things called Eki stamps which are stamps you can find at stations, museums, shrines, tourist spots etc.

I haven’t got any pictures of mine but i got like 50 of them whilst I was in Japan. Going on one train line at all the stops got me like 30. 

We had nothing else planned on this day so my friend suggested the collecting stamps XD.

Sunday 20th May

This was one of my two absolute favourite days whilst I was there. It was the day I went and saw Mt Fuji and went into Aokigahara forest. 

It was approx 2 hours from Tokyo but we’d booked a tour instead of trying to do it ourselves. It worked out a lot easier. When we reached the highest point you can go to on Mt Fuji, by vehicle anyway, we had 30 mins to sightsee. We took pictures and went into the souvenir shop etc. 

My god, it was so frickin’ cold up there. Obviously. We were high off the ground like shit, it was freezing. But, pretty pictures.

We then went caving in an ice cave that is iced over all year round and is not usually open to the public. 

After that, we were taken back to Shinjuku where we grabbed food and went back to sleeeep.

Monday 21st May

We went to Kyoto on this day. We managed to see all we wanted to as well but then again, Kyoto was only a 2 and a bit hour train ride away.

When we got there, we saw the Fushimi Inari Taisha.

They were pretty but boy, was there a lot of people. I had to wait for so long to get pictures with none of very few people in it.

Then, we headed over to Kinkaku-ji which is this golden temple.

Again, very pretty.

Lastly, we checked out the Arashiyama Bamboo grove which was pretty also.

After that, we headed home to our hotel. We had an exciting day the next day.

Tuesday 22nd May

TOKYO DISNEYLAND, BITCHES.

I was excited and I can see why people hype Disneyland up. No matter which one you visit, there is this big sense of nostalgia and magic. It was unforgettable and wasn’t half as busy as some theme parks get here. But, I suppose we did go on a Tuesday.

Would hate to see it on a weekend.

The mike melonbread was delicious <3

Disneyland catered to the childish side of me and I loved every single bit of it. <3

Wednesday 23rd May

On this day, we visited Osaka which is about the same sorta time out from Tokyo as Kyoto is. Again, not too much going on. We checked out Osaka Castle.

And then, we checked out Dotonbori which was also very cool.

After that, we headed back to Tokyo. There wasn’t too much we were desperate to see in Osaka and it was raining which wasn’t the nicest.

Thursday 24th May

Last full day meant Harajuku and Shibuya for shopping day. I haven’t got any pictures but omg we went and did those purikura photo things? They are hilarious. It was funny doing them but even looking at them; they funny XD

I bought a bunch of stuff for myself as well as my family as souvenirs. It was funnn. 

Friday 25th May

The day I flew home to London :(. I was sad to leave Japan but I was really happy to be coming home. No matter how much you may call your country a shit place, there’s no place like home. 

Omg, I went over my bag weight limit with all the stuff I bought. I’m allowed 23kg and my suitcase was 27kg -.-

I paid £65 for that extra weight because I was not about to be that person who opens their suitcase in the middle of check in trying to decrease the weight XD

Pretty straight forward afterwards. I flew home and when I got to my house, my family let me have reign on dinner so we got KFC.

So, that is what I got up to in Japan. I loved every minute I was there. It is so very different than London and it has much more beauty than any city I’ve been to has.

I can’t wait to go back someday and I encourage anyone and everyone to go there. It is something else! <3

Thanks for reading if you made it to the end! I appreciate it ^.^

[btravelledblog-blog]

8 Steps to Success: How to Plan Your Trip Abroad

8 Steps to Success: How to Plan Your Trip Abroad

So now that you have officially decided to travel abroad, for work, school, vacation, or otherwise, it is time to start planning your trip!  For most people, the planning process is the most difficult and time consuming part of travelling, since everything feels like a make-or-break decision.  Plus, looking at different prices, customer reviews, and pictures can all be very overwhelming.  With the right planning process, however, your trip and preparation should go fairly smoothly! However, it is important to keep in mind that even with all the planning and preparation in the world, some things are going to go wrong, and that is okay.  Just remember to stay positive, stay focused, remember the end-goal of enjoying the whole trip, and learn to have fun with the little set backs!   With all of that being said, here my 8 Steps to Success to plan your perfect trip abroad!

Step One: Pick a Destination Sometimes picking the one place (or the series of places) you definitively want to go to will be such a tough decision it will make your head spin.  Personally, making the decision of where exactly to go is always very difficult for me, because I want to everywhere and see everything, but here are some of my ideas on how to narrow down your choices.

1. Weather So right now you are stuck between a summer in Italy, Ireland, or Australia.  Maybe one of the first things you should look at is the weather for each destination, and see which one fits the idea you had in mind for the trip.  Obviously, Ireland is going to be a bit cooler and rainier than Italy and Australia, where you can expect dry heat, which may end up swaying your decision.  If you want that heat, and to go see beaches and lakes, then narrow down your choices between Italy and Australia.  However, if you think the cooler climate better suits your needs, go with Ireland!

2. Time of Year Similarly to weather, the time of year can play a key role in deciding where you want to go.  If you want to go to the Dominican Republic to try and learn more about the culture while also enjoying the beach, maybe stay away from April travels to avoid spring breakers.  Plus, different places have cheaper flights during different times of the year, which is super important if you are trying to save (some) money while planning your trip, which we will get more into in Step 2.

3. Recommendations So you looked into the weather, you checked to see when are the best times to visit your choices, you compared prices, and you still cannot seem to decide on one place.  My biggest recommendation, would be to ask for a recommendation!  Friends and family that have already travelled to a destination will probably have a lot of stories and insights on the different countries they have been to, and the experiences they had.  Maybe they found out the hard way that the locals in one part of town are always looking to scam tourists, or the discovered a hidden gem of a coffee shop on the outskirts of downtown.  No matter what they have to say, your friends and family are always a great resource while trying to figure out where to go.

Now, obviously these three tips are not anywhere near all-inclusive, and you are still going to struggle to pick your final destination, but maybe this gave you a better idea of how to start researching.  With that being said, research, ask for recommendations, and good luck!

Step 2: Book a Flight Booking a flight for your travel experience can be very scary, trust me, I’ve been there. You’re probably scared the booking will not actually go through, that you will end up paying more than you should, that there will be additional hidden fees once you get to the airport, among other things. These are all valid fears, and the best way to combat them is to plan and be diligent about doing your research. Here some general tips to help you out:

1. Research cheap airlines There are a lot of cheap airlines out there, like eDreams and Spirit, but you have to be very careful when using them. Most of these cheaper options include minimal amenities: you will probably have to pay extra for any undercarriage luggage, for any food and/or drink during the flight, for overweight luggage, etc. While the airline is not technically trying to trick you (emphasis on technically) you still need to be very careful about reading the fine print of what is all included in your plane ticket, and plan accordingly.

2. Compare cheap airlines to typical airlines Although the above cheaper flights may originally seem like the better deal, add up all of their fees and compare the total price to bigger airlines like United Airways or Iberia. Sometimes, after everything is added together, the prices are almost the same. The bigger airline will always be a little more expensive, but for free unlimited drinks on your 18-hour flight, it might be worth it!

3. Compare One-Way versus Round-Trip Flights Sometimes it can be cheaper to buy two one-way tickets. Other times it can be cheaper to buy one round-trip ticket. Just research and compare prices to make sure you are getting the best deal!

4. Use a Search Engine or Travel Agent For some people, booking the flight with you own research is too daunting a task. And that’s okay! Websites like kayak.com or travelocity are great tools to help you compare different flights. And if you’re willing to shell out a little extra cash for a travel agent to save time and additional stress, there’s no shame in that either!

Booking a flight is scary, but hopefully, with these tips, the process goes a little easier. Just remember: research and compare costs!

Step 3: Find Lodging Once you have you flight booked, it’s time to start looking for your home for the trip! Depending on what kind of trip you plan on going on, you’ll want to stay in different lodgings. If you plan to go all-out for a dream vacation full of food, drinks, and pool time, an all-inclusive resort is the way to go. With an all-inclusive hotel, all of your food, drinks, and typical amenities are included in the fees for your stay. On the other hand, if you literally only need a place to sleep, and are planning on being out and about, exploring wherever you are, a hostel or airbnb may be the right option for you. Hostels and airbnbs can be very similar in price, drastically cheaper than hotels, and offer only the basics so you can save money to spend elsewhere. When I took my weekend trip to Paris, my friend and I stayed in a hostel, and it was perfect for us since we wanted to see all of the city in one weekend, and didn’t care about a fancy hotel. Of course, if you are in between being completely spoiled at an all-inclusive resort and living off of the basics like in a hostel or airbnb, a regular hotel is always an option. Mid-priced hotels are everywhere, and you should have no problem finding something in your price range, with whatever necessities you see fit to have provided for you. My biggest tip while looking at places to stay is to make sure you find yourself a good location. Sure, things will be cheaper the farther away they are from the downtown areas, or the beaches, or the beautiful destinations, but then you will need to figure out how to get to these places. Often times, having to walk an hour every morning, or take a taxi every day, can add to monetary and time expenses, making these cheap and further out locations less of a good deal. Obviously, the best places to stay are going to be more expensive as you move towards the center of the tourist areas, so just try your best to find a happy medium. Be close enough that getting where you want to go isn’t its own mini-trip, but also don’t break the bank for a central location. Finally, make sure you look up lots of reviews for wherever you decide to stay. The pictures may look great, but pictures can always be deceiving. Plus, the hostel may say “great location”, but that’s a very open description and could simply be puffery. Additionally, you want to make sure that wherever you decide to stay is safe. If there are no reviews, do not stay there. If the review says it’s very cheap, but in a bad neighborhood, try looking for something else. Never let saving a few dollars out your safety at risk, it’s really not worth it. Other than that, once again, just research everything, find a place that fits your specific needs, be safe, and start getting excited!

Step 4: Plan Your Excursions So you finally decided on where you want to go, you booked your flight, and are ready to start planning everything you want to do during your trip! In my opinion, this is the best and most fun part of the planning process. Again, the biggest thing you need to do is research. Utilize google, social media, friends and family, and anything else you can think of to look up where you should go, try, and see. Once you have a few places and things to do in mind, look them up specifically to see if there are any guided tours or direct transportation programs to get you there. Or, if you have a little known coffee shop on your docket, just look it up on a map so you can find it yourself! This part of planning your trip should be fun and fairly stress free, so try not to take it too seriously (except for those trips you need to book a reservation for), and remember to leave yourself time to explore. A lot of times you will find the coolest places and have the best experiences from being spontaneous, and just seeing where the journey takes you! So, my advice in a nutshell: research, make a game plan, book everything that needs to be done in advance, and try not to over-plan!

Step 5: Figure out Transportation Planning your preferred method of transportation throughout your trip is super important. There are plenty of different options: rent a car, bus tickets, train tickets, public transit, taxi, Uber, etc. In my opinion, you should probably stay away from renting a car and driving yourself, just because you likely aren’t familiar with the different rules and regulations of driving in a different country; but if you are, go for it! During my trips, I tend to opt for the public transportation option. A lot of times you can buy a pass for a lot cheaper than any of the other options, and then you have free reign of the city you chose to visit. Another important thing to remember is how you plan to get from the airport, to your hotel/hostel/airbnb/etc. Airports are usually pretty far out of the city, and I think that taking a taxi straight out of the terminal to your host location is the easiest route to take. Sure, it can be a little expensive, but you know that you will make it from Place A to Place B, without the stress of figuring out a bus or train station. A good thing to keep in mind about taking a taxi from the airport: there is usually one flat rate to ride in a taxi to your lodgings, so be sure to know if the airport you are in follows this typical European rule so you know you are paying a fair price. For example, in Athens, Greece it was 50 € to go from the airport to anywhere in Athens, and I saw similar situations everywhere I went in Europe. So, take a taxi to your home for the trip (if you’re like me) and then get some kind of public transportation pass (again, if you want to just do what I did). Once you have the pass, make sure you keep a map of all the routes with you, since you probably won’t have Wi-Fi to look up which stop and at what time you need to be there. From there, you should be fine to get to wherever you need to go! My last piece of transportation advice is to plan out bigger weekend trips you want to take as far in advance as possible. Spontaneous trips are incredible, I planned a weekend in Paris on Tuesday and left on Friday, but the planning and execution of the plan will probably go a lot smoother if you are little more prepared than I was. Just follow all of these same steps, and maybe take a bus or train instead of a flight if it’s cheaper, and you’ll be good to go!

Step 6: Pack For an all-inclusive packing list of everything you need to study abroad, or to take with you on a long trip, take a look at my first first blog post!

https://btravelledblog.tumblr.com/post/174197818437/all-inclusive-study-abroad-packing-list-from-the

Step 7: Make a Checklist Make a checklist of all of these things, any other little things you can think of, even stuff you need to buy for your trip, and once something’s done, you get to check it off! You can even make a list of everything you have to do to execute your plan, like I did, but sometimes my list making can be a little excessive, so it’s all up to you.

Step 8: Travel Finally, go on your trip, take lots of pictures, make lots of memories, and have lots of fun!