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bronx-bomber87 · 1 year ago

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Happy Wednesday lovely readers :) I love any episode with Lucy/Tamara in it. Add in Tim? Makes an amazing thing even more so. I love this one for delving into Tamara’s past a bit, how Tim helps Lucy without a thought, and the bond between Lucy and Tamara. Such good one let’s get going.

4x11 End Game

We begin our episode with Tamara and Lucy. It’s clear Lucy has been up all night researching. Tamara asks why? Lucy tells her legal research. That kid Tyler she cited out last episode ended up stealing from a liquor store. He felt stressed to pay back the dealer he lost product for. Unfortunately he gave the store owner a heart attack. Luckily the owner is out and ok.

She’s been up all night trying to finds ways for the state to show him leniency since the owner is fine. I love both of them calling Chris the ‘clown’ from the DA’s office. Might be my new name for him. Chris the clown. It’s fitting. They have a lovely moment as Tamara refills her coffee and brings it to her. Saying this kid is lucky to have her backing him.

That she knows she was. Best thing she ever did was steal Lucy’s car. I mean it’s true haha I love Tamara being more open with Lucy. Showing how grateful she is that Lucy took a chance on her like she did. Tamara saying crime pays actually. In this case it does tbh. Heh Lucy says she’s cute when she walks away. It’s such an adorable mom/daughter open for them.

We see Mr. Clown shortly after Lucy arrives at the station. She is gloating that the store owner survived. Chris agrees with her that he’s happy she survived. Lucy questioning how true that is. She tries to get him to charge Tyler as a minor but Chris refuses of course. Schmuck. Lucy starts to tell him studies and he’s so condescending to her. Saying not to quote studies at him. I hate it so much. I dislike him greatly...

Tells her he will only charge him as a minor as long as he’s a CI for his crew. This is where Lucy really goes off on him. Both barrels and pulls no punches whatsoever. Chris is finding this amusing and I want to clock him. Calling her dramatic too. You don’t know her like that ya clown. So rude to say. Tim coming into the convo asking if everything is ok? I love that. Protective Husband is in the building.

The way she spins around to face Tim is hilarious. His face and posture LOL Lucy saying she can’t believe the nerve of him calling her dramatic. She sees his reaction and tells him don’t start. Haha Eric is the king of facial expressions. He doesn’t disappoint in the least here. His face conveying ‘ I didn’t say anything…’ Even though his body language is saying everything. Laughing so hard at his reaction.

Such a hubby move here. Doesn't say anything but she knows what that reaction means. HIs silence saying more than he ever could. He’s smart enough to know when not to engage her in a fight. Be more married you two please. Lucy is in full wifey mode here and my heart is so happy. Also my god the forearms/biceps. Phew lord. Love to have those wrapped around me like a blanket. There is just so much to love about this mini moment.

It’s the next part where we hit peak married vibes. Tim knowing her so damn well. Pinpointing why she is so friggin keyed up. Asking exactly how many cups of coffee she’s had this morning? God these two know each other so damn well. Lucy doesn’t lie and says she’s just going to apologize right now LMAO

Knowing how she’s going to be the rest of the shift for him. It’s so funny. I love her self awareness knowing she’s gonna be extra cause she’s hopped up on caffeine. Good thing Tim is actually is so very fond of it even though he’s exasperated at the same time hehe. She’s so cute I cannot.

Tim’s reaction to her reply is the best part. No one does the eye roll better than our guy. It’s so funny. It makes me laugh every single time. Lucy knows what she’s done and is just owning up it to ahha I love these two idiots so very much. Her saying it’s going to be a long day for him. Oh he’s well aware of that one my dear. I love them so much makes my heart hurt haha

Tim and Lucy are called to Lopez’s homicide. It’s a 18 year old girl killed and dumped. Tim is confused why Angela needed a sergeant. She tells them she didn’t. Just Lucy. Asking if she knows her? Lucy tells her no. Angela hands her the phone and says Tamara does. Pic of her and this girl as her Lock Screen. Hence them being looped in.

Cut to them retuning to her apartment. The marriage theme continues in this episode. Except it goes from sassy poking fun husband and wife. To very sweet and supportive husband for his wife. Being a sweet mom and dad tag team for Tamara in this moment. Which I adore so much.

Lucy is feeling lost and not sure how to handle this. You can tell as she enters the apt. She’s honest with Tim. Replies 'I don't know.' When he asks how she wants to handle it? Lucy tells him she’s done death notices before. But never for someone she cared about. Handling it as a cop vs as a roommate are different approaches. I love how Tim is watching her as she talks out her thoughts. Not judging her but wanting to support her. Knowing this is part of her process.

She is torn and Tim decides for her. Telling her just to be a friend and he’s got the cop part for her. I love this sfm. Letting her be the soft empathetic friend in this moment. That if she needed someone firmer or more business like to tap him in. Tim knows she wants to be the caring and soft one in this moment. Because he knows her so well. Wants to relieve her of the burden of being a cop right now. To let her just be the caring friend and if she needs a cop he will handle that portion for her.

It seems like such a small gesture that comes across as so much more. You can see Lucy visibly relax when he tells her this. Thanks him for this kindness. He has her back in more ways than one. I love their bond so much. Knowing exactly what the other needs in moments like this. He’s so soft for her I cannot handle it. Just being the best supportive work hubby he can be. Such growth makes my soul happy.

Gives Lucy a chance to relay the news to Tamara in the way she is most comfortable with. Solo in her room. It so sad to watch Tamara take in the news. Not believing Lucy at first or not wanting to really. Lucy confirming it by the phone that was found at the scene. Telling Tamara how sorry she was. I love Tim giving her this private moment alone with her. To be empathetic, caring and all the things she would need in this moment. Let her be Lucy her friend and roommate and not the cop.

Once they’re out of her room Tim is apart of the convo. Officially in cop mode now. Lucy asking if there was anyone her friend Becca was afraid of? Tamara says no but they hadn’t talked in 3 months. With school and her moving in they lost touch. Tim steps in and asks 'Any idea where she was crashing?' She tells them mostly the street, sometimes shelters, some families let you crash on the floor if they had room. Her last known suggestion is a darker one.

It's where we get a peak into Tamara’s past and it's grim. You can see it all over Lucy’s face as Tamara speaks. How her heart is breaking for her. Killing her to think she ever had to do ‘swiping’. Hitting her like a ton of bricks. You can see the pre-tears in her eyes from hearing all this. The protective mama in her wanting to hug and protect her. To never let her experience that ever again. Tamara can't even look at them while she explains it. Breaks my heart.

Tim can read Lucy like a book once they’re back in the shop. They’re talking about the men they found on Becca’s phone but her mind is elsewhere. He knows she’s upset and asks her if she’s okay? I’ll never be over this portion of his growth. Him actively engaging in personal stuff with her. Giving her his advice and caring. Being 100 percent genuine in all of it too. My damn heart. He’s also just so damn good with her. Just like she is for him. The shop where they supposedly leave their personal lives at the door is a rule that never really existed for them.

He provides such a comforting environment for her to share in here. I love him being the one to reach out for this. Lucy engaging right away with him. Voicing everything she was feeling about their convo with Tamara. How it worried her that Tamara knew right away about the swiping idea. Asking Tim’s opinion if he thinks she’s used it herself? If she gave that impression to him?

Tim doesn’t answer so much as shoot a question back. Asking if she’s ever mentioned it to her before? You can hear the hurt in her voice. See the pain in her eyes as she speaks. Telling Tim as close as they are she won’t talk to her about her past. I can see why Lucy would be hurt by this. I can also see why Tamara doesn’t want to talk about it. She probably feels shameful about some of what she did to survive. I can only imagine what she had to do pre-Lucy.

Tim’s reply is perfection. What I love most about it is that it’s coming from experience. At least that’s how it’s coming off to me. We all know how hard it was for Lucy to crack the nut that is Tim. How she scratched and clawed for him to open up to her. Tim had a painful past and lot of reasons to be closed off. But that didn’t stop Lucy from pursuing that relationship with him. It was slow but so very worth it. Tim telling her not to take it personally.

That it might just be hard for to open up to her. It’s not Lucy it’s Tamara's own stuff preventing her from doing so. Just like it was for Tim. Lucy kept knocking at that door till Tim answered. Now look at him. He shares things with her. Deeply personal things. Is giving her advice on her own personal life. Look how far we’ve come. It’s these moments I love the most. The ones that show us how damn far Tim has come. How far they have come as a pairing.

It’s unreal to watch and so rewarding. It’s why the slow burn works so damn well for them. We get moments like this. Where Tim sees she is upset, reaches out, and even relieves her worries. Also once again using his past experience to help her out. Knowing it was hard for him to start to open up with her. That took time for him too. Applying that to his advice for Tamara not opening up just yet. You can see she feels lighter after their talk. Nodding her head agreeing with his advice. Relieving her of her worries for the time being at least. Tim being every bit the supportive husband here and I love it sfm. The emotional intimacy between these at this point is off the charts amazing. *sigh* I love them so much.

They return to the station to watch interrogation. Lopez has one of Becca’s clip talk guys in the box. Angela comes right at him. Doesn't waste time after he admits he knows her. Saying she knows he used clip talk for sex. In exchange she got warm bed and a meal out of it. He is instantly defensive. Thinking he’s been brought in for something she did or said. Is an ass outright calling her crazy cause she’s homeless and possibly on drugs.

Lopez cuts him right off saying she’s dead. Asking where he was last night? He stumbles and says he has nothing to do with it. That he did see her for few minutes but his GF was coming over. (Classy SOB..) Angela asks what she wanted? He says hot meal, shower, place to stay. But told her to go cause his GF was on the way. I love the way Tim leans forward as they get to heart of his story. He continues on saying Becca threatened to tell his GF if he didn’t give her money.

Telling Lopez all he had was a 20 dollar bill on him to give her. After she left he said he noticed Becca swiped his Cerus Watch. Which he paid 10K for. Lopez following up saying he couldn’t file a police report or it would expose his secret. Lopez cycles back to our couple. Lucy telling her she didn’t have a watch on her body. That she either sold it or whoever killed her took it and did. Tim says they'll ask Tamara where they think it would be pawned.

We find Tamara catching up with her old life. Visiting with friends she knew. My guess is she felt guilty about not talking to Becca all these months. Wanting to reconnect to help herself grieve. One of her friends telling her how proud Becca was of her. That she missed her but was so happy to see her move on. It’s then we see Tim and Lucy pull up. They all get nervous and Tamara tells them they’re cool.

Lucy is in mom mode asking how she is? Tamara tells her it’s a lot to be back here. She is trying to put up a brave front. Pretend she’s ok. So she avoids saying anymore by asking if they found anything? They update her on the watch Becca took. Asking her if she know where she would pawn it? Love Lucy seeing her hesitancy and reassuring her it’s ok. Also not wanting to leave her there. In full mom mode I adore it. Not wanting to leave her there but not having much of a choice atm.

They head to the pawn shop Tamara suggested. Tim doesn’t mess around or mince words with the owner. Saying they’re looking for a stolen Cerus watch. The owner gets defensive and says they just come into his shop accusing him of this? Lucy comes right at him too.

A tag team of confidence and unity. I love it. Her reply is feisty af. ‘Of purchasing stolen property from homeless teenagers? We are accusing you of exactly that.’ Get em Lucy! Gah love them being this bad ass united front. This guy goes off on a rant how he’s a lifeline for these kids. Lucy shows him the pic of Becca. Tells him this watch is what got her killed. He sighs and pulls it out to show them.

Saying it was brought in yesterday and shows them who brought it in. It wasn’t Becca….it was the kid Tamara was visiting. The look of realization washes over them. That beautiful silent communication of theirs kicking in. A shared look of worry washing over them. Tim asking isn’t that Tamara’s friend? The one they just left her with...

We cut back to Tamara talking to him. Asking if he’s ok? He say no. She starts to apologize she hasn’t been around. We see Tim and Lucy racing to get back to her. Such great cinematography in this scene. Declan starting his confession and it flits back to a worried Tim and Lucy. They're trying to get back to her as soon as they can. You can see the panic/urgency written across both of their faces.

Declan tells her how Becca was going to go back to school. Use the watch to get her started with it. She wanted to be more like Tamara. He starts to get emotional saying she was going to leave him too. You can see the shift in Tamara as she see’s where this is going. How he mentions he tried to sneak the watch out. That she caught him and he pushed her and didn’t mean for her to hit her head like she did. It’s then Lucy and Tim roll up like the BAMFS they are. Lucy all but jumping out of the shop to get to Tamara.

Tim cuffing him immediately. Once he's secure Lucy turns to her asking her if is she’s ok? Not expecting the response that she gets. Tamara finally putting down her walls and being honest. That she isn’t ok and runs to Lucy for comfort. I love this hug and Tamara finally turning to Lucy and being vulnerable. Lucy’s reaction is so sweet as she holds her tight. Such a nice moment for them. Adding to that growing familial bond between them.

The clown catches Lucy on her way out. I hate writing about him but I also don’t love writing about Ashley either. But they are apart of this season thus in my reviews when I have to. Lucy is straight with him. Says she isn’t in the mood for anymore bad news. He tells her he cut a good deal for Tyler. That he won’t have to be a CI. Just 6 months in Juvie. Probation till 18.

Clearly trying to impress her with this deal. Because let’s be honest if he had his way that kid would’ve been screwed. He did this to get on her good side. To me Chris was always kinda clueless but a little manipulative as well. I.e. This deal to impress her. Never liked him or thought he was good enough to be in her presence let alone date her.

This scene is a good bookend to how the episode began with Tamara’s gratefulness. Except this ending portion is a lot more sincere. No jokes involved. Makes me emotional as she thanks Lucy for everything she’s given her. Tamara thanks her for helping her leave it all behind as well. That if not for her she could've ended up just like Becca. Their scenes are always so good. Thanking Lucy for getting her friend justice.

Lucy not taking credit for that. Saying she did that for her. It’s true she guided them most of the investigation. Without her tips and such it would’ve taken them so much longer. I love Lucy telling her she doesn’t need to worry about what could’ve been without her. That’s she’s safe now ❤️ This next bit is so good. Lucy bringing up talking about her time on the street.

Tamara telling her not right now. Lucy bringing up she doesn’t have to. She doesn’t even have to with her. Just someday talking to someone would be good. So it doesn’t sneak up on her. Because it will. She is not wrong...It did for me. I took too long to talk to someone myself. I had a random run in with a sweet old lady who was a client of mine. She commented on my earrings. Asking where I got them? I said my mom with no real emotions attached to it. She looked me in the eye and said ‘Your mother must love you very much.’ I wanted to cry because I wasn't sure how true that was.

I swallowed my complicated emotions and my racing thoughts. I thanked her. But it triggered something in me when I got back to my car and I cried. Because it brought up all the emotions and feelings I hadn’t talked about with my mom. I texted my baby sister about it. She told me it was time to seek some therapeutic help. I did and it's helped so very much. So Lucy is so very right if you don’t talk about it. Suppress it for too long it sneaks up on you.

This is such solid advice once again from Lucy. Therapy and talking it out does wonders for the soul. Because if you don’t It’ll eat at you slowly. Take away from your present. Such a lovely way to end the episode for them both. I always love me some Tamara/ Lucy eps.

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Side notes-Non Chenford

James and Nyla being cute af. I truly love them together. They work so well.

Also more cute James/ Wes moments about the pregnancy and such. I do love their bromance so.

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bigskydreaming · 3 years ago

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I kinda wanna fucking scream, so here, have a offline bullshit rant post.

So I’ve literally been trying to get my stupid fucking meds for over a MONTH now at this point, which I’m sure you can all see like, my mood is just wooooonderful these days. Not an excuse, casual reminder that yeah you do gotta take care of your own space so if my mood is dragging anyone down, I’m totes on board with blocking or unfollowing or y’know, burning me in effigy or something. Okay maybe not that last part. But still. You get it. And its not even that like, I need mood stabilizers per se, lol, so shout out to the armchair diagnosticians helpfully peppering my inbox still in their quest to oh so slickly be like ‘hey you’re a hot mess, take your hot messness away from tumblr’ like lol, didn’t ask.....nah, its mostly the perpetual lack of sleep and chronic pain issues that I have zero distraction from when my specific combo of meds isn’t able to let me actually weaponize my ADHD properly and power through that. Its a whole thing. Whatever. Just go with it.

POINT IS. So I’ve been trying to do this for over a month now, first obstacle was even just getting the money together for my refill appointment which is a whopping $150, because I have to pay out of pocket for mental health stuff these days because I had to switch my insurance over to something that paid out more heavily for physical benefits like my jaw surgery.....and because of the pandemic, and how many psychiatrists in my area and that I could actually reach aren’t taking new patients during the pandemic since most of them are conducting business virtually still, like, I have barely any resources for seeking out and trying new psychiatrist offices in the meanwhile that might charge less and I’m kinda stuck with the one I have because the last thing I can afford is to have like, NO psychiatrist at the moment, y’know?

So first I had to have that to even BOOK the appointment, which took forever because rent and food are a joy to accrue when you can barely manage to function as an actual employee of the capitalist machine ahfsklhflkahflakf, but so then I did that and like, got an appointment put on the books for August 19th. That was the soonest they could fit me in back when I paid them for my appointment about a week and a half ago. No, two weeks ago now? Eh, time is fake. ANYWAY, so that wasn’t gonna work for me, so basically the entirety of last week was devoted to constantly calling and trying to check in every other hour to see if they had any sooner cancellations I could take, because for whatever fucking reason, they just ‘don’t do’ a cancellation list wherein they call the next person on the list once they have a cancellation. Whatever.

So finally got a cancellation slot with a virtual appointment last Saturday night at random as fuck 8:40. Okay cool. Most of my refills are fairly simple, no real changes, but two are controlled substances so like, they have to do their due diligence and go through the proper protocols before giving me another prescription to one or whatever. Fine. Okay.

So I call the CVS they sent the prescription for my ADHD med to, the very next morning. One of the controlled substances, and the key med to like....making me functional instead of a rambling disjointed whirlibird of a thought emitter. Problem is, that medication is on back order. Won’t be in until Tuesday. Ugh. Okay, fine. Nothing I can do about it, because while the specific provider I spoke to in order to GET my refill prescriptions was taking an appointment the night before, the actual offices that schedule appointments and connect patients through to their providers was closed for the weekend, so I couldn’t even ask for them to send the scrip somewhere else.

SO. I go back to the CVS on Monday, hoping that maybe it came in early because not like I can do much else in the meanwhile. Course its not there, but oh well. I toy with the idea of calling to ask my provider to send the scrip to a different pharmacy (only had it sent to this one cuz its within walking distance to me, and since I can’t drive for medical reasons and Uber’s are expensive as fuck, just for errands, like, even though walking is sooooo not fun for me physically, like it is what it is). I decide against it because here’s another fun fact about this controlled substance....for security reasons, pharmacies don’t have to tell people over the phone if they have it in stock or not. Like, they won’t just say no we don’t have it in stock - I mean, they WILL say that, but that doesn’t actually mean anything because that’s what most of them say about that particular medication no matter whether or not they DO, and then just cite security protocols, so you have to actually GO to the store in question to ask them and even get a real answer to whether or not they even HAVE it in stock to FILL a prescription if its sent over. And no, the provider won’t just send scrips into several different pharmacies at once and just be whichever has it in stock can fill it - because again, controlled substance.

SO. I decide its not worth it to try getting the scrip sent over somewhere else, because I’d have to at least waste money on an Uber to even travel to various pharmacies and even check if they CAN fill it sooner than this one, when at least this place will have it in tomorrow. Its just one more day at this point.

Except then I go back on Tuesday. Oh sorry, don’t know why that other person told you we’d have our order in today, our shipments of that medication don’t come in until Wednesdays.

So I go back Wednesday. Success! They have it in stock. I go to pay, pulling out my goodRx coupon that was just printed out that morning, specifically citing the price for CVS at Target. The pharmacy manager says sorry, we don’t honor that coupon here for controlled substances like this one. I say: record scratch? He’s like yeah, that’s at the discretion of individual pharmacies, and we don’t honor that price for this specific medication, because we don’t want to attract customers only coming here to get that medication filled for that price. (This pharmacy is right at the edge of Inglewood and Culver City, for anyone who is familiar with those neighborhoods. The implications are exactly as they appear to be). So I’m like, what’s the regular generic price? He quotes me something that’s $180 more than the coupon, and thus $180 more than I have since I was focused totally on getting THIS amount ASAP, so I could get these meds so I could do more work and make more money. You see the train of thought. I’m like well that’s awesome, I don’t have anything close to that. Hey. Weird question. Why did nobody I talked to the past three days in a row that I’ve walked into this store in person to request this refill, like, mention this little tidbit about not honoring this coupon so instead of waiting for a backorder that would do me no good, I could have been spending that time having my prescription transferred somewhere that WOULD honor it?

He’s like, well did you mention to any of them that you’d be using a goodRx coupon for this particular medication? I said, yup. He said, you sure? I said well the specific process each time was I came in, I asked if this medication was in, they said what’s your name and date of birth, I provided that info, they said are you paying out of pocket, we don’t have valid insurance info for this on file for you, I said yup paying out of pocket with a goodRx coupon, they said *clickety clack of the keyboard* nope, sorry, we won’t have this medicine in until Tuesday, I mean Wednesday.

He’s like, well you must be misremembering or they would have told you at the time that we don’t take GoodRx coupons on this medication. I’m like, dude, it was you. It was literally you that I spoke to two of those three times, right here at the counter, in person. I’m gonna go ahead and trust my memory of those interactions and what was said there over yours since you don’t actually remember having talked to me two times in the last three days. He’s like, I gotta go help another customer. There is no other customer. I leave. Fun day for everyone.

So then I call around town to at least check which CVS will actually honor the coupon I have and the price that I can afford to pay it at. I don’t bother asking if they even have the medication in stock because I know its not guaranteed to be a CORRECT answer, but at least I can see who accepts this damn coupon. Also, reason I’m only trying big brand pharmacies instead of smaller, hole in the wall ones is because again, controlled substance, and I know from experience that the bigger brand pharmacies are at least more likely to have that med in stock whereas most smaller ones tend to run out very quickly as they usually only get enough for their existing/regular customers and a little extra.

I find a CVS five miles away - not walkable, gonna have to Uber. Call my psychiatrist office again to ask them to transfer the scrip, front office says they’ll send the request to my provider, who usually checks and fulfills such requests in 24-48 hours. I’m like okay cool, can I get a phone call to let me know when that happens, so at least I know when to check back to follow up if it hasn’t happened yet for whatever reason? They’re like no, the pharmacy will send you a text or call when they get the prescription sent over and you can take it from there with them. I’m like okay, but I’ve done this a bunch of times and know from experience the pharmacy does NOT in fact always call or text, so is there a certain time to follow up to inquire if the provider has already sent the scrip and the pharmacy SHOULD have it by now or if the delay is on the provider’s end? Front office is like yeah no. I’m like, swell.

So that was yesterday. I call the pharmacy (which I still don’t even know if they have the medication IN STOCK to fill the scrip even once they GET the scrip, and won’t until I can actually Uber out there, but one thing at a time at this point) at like 9 pm, they’re a 24 hour pharmacy, and they’re like nope, we got nothing (this is after spending an hour and a half on hold to even TALK to someone at the pharmacy). Called them again today at noon, still nada. Technically I have another 29 hours before the window in which the provider is supposed to send the refill scrip to this new location, before I can be like, okay so they still haven’t done it, can we send him a nudge or another request. The 24-48 hour window will only actually EXPIRE after their offices close on Friday meaning it’ll be Monday before I can even actually REACH someone again to ask them to send the scrip again, if the pharmacy hasn’t ACTUALLY gotten it by Friday night, and pessimistically, I’m not super inclined to assume that they will at this point.

I’m antsy, irritable, hungry because I don’t even know for SURE sure if the new pharmacy will ACTUALLY honor the coupon or say no sorry we don’t do that here either, whoever told you that was wrong, or if they’ll even actually have it in stock versus I’ll have to have it sent somewhere else AGAIN, so I have to pinch every penny possible in order to ensure I have the most money possible once my prescription IS filled in case the price is more than I expected again or in case I have to take Ubers there or further than I expected or basically....shit happens that I don’t expect. And this is what I’m basically spending all my time doing instead of working, because trying to get work done in this state is like....the harder I try to make it happen, the less it actually gets done, so I try and prioritize this and its roadblock after roadblock dragging out and wasting my time, and like yeah, I can post and shit while I’m doing this aka sitting on hold or walking around town trying to get shit filled because its fine if I ramble incoherently along the way in posts, but actual WORK work requires like....fucking coherency and succinctness and not having to stop and start every five minutes to call someone else, and oh yeah, being able to power through migraine spikes. And just.

I’m very annoyed about anything and everything to do with this shit. The hoops you have to jump through to even get the stuff that like....actualizes your hoop jumping ability, is just....*gnashing of teeth*

Anyway. So that’s my offline bullshit rant. Yay. The end.

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mrs-gucci · 3 years ago

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A Beach Day to Remember {Clyde Logan x Reader}

author’s notes: made it just under the wire for this week’s writer wednesday :) it’s a bit different from my usual writing MO, but I honestly had a blast with it and I’m decently pleased with how it turned out, actually. I wrote this late at night while I was half-asleep lol so sorry if it’s a little all over the place! thanks, as always, to @autumnleaves1991-blog for hosting & @clydesducktape for helping out! it’s such a great and fun weekly tradition!

warnings: fluff. humor. romance. beach fun. chair wrestling. a quick lil makeout session (nothing explicit).

no tw’s :)

word count: 2.2k

clyde’s taglist peeps! @goddessofsprings my general taglist peeps! @frank-and-honey @shygirl268 @icarusinthesea @gildedstarlight @mrs-zimmerman @soldmysoulagain @roseepossee @pascalisfairyy @I-can’t-draw-faces @ahsoka1 @safarigirlsp @babbushka

By some miracle, you’d convinced born-and-raised country boy Clyde Logan to accompany you to Miami Beach for a week. A whole week, you couldn’t believe it.

And...he actually bought a pair of swim trunks. Sure, they were a West Virginia Walmart buy, but hey, he bought a pair; you’ll take what you can get.

Who was this man and what has he done with Clyde Logan?

He’s never really been to the beach before, Mamma Logan didn’t like bein’ in the sun too long and Pappa wasn’t about to cross her, so this was his first time.

Your family used to vacation here every year, so you were relatively familiar with the notoriously rowdy town. The first evening and night consisted of you showing a wide-eyed Clyde around Miami’s bustling night life. But, when the sun came up the next morning, he was revving to get down to the beach.

You had to talk him down a bit there at first, convincing him to eat somethin’ for breakfast before spending a whole entire day in the sun ‘cause if he passes out, he’s on his own getting back to the condo.

“I’m gon’ go get changed fer the beach!” He says excitedly, clapping his hands together and doing a little jog over to the dresser the second you two get back from your sidewalk cafe breakfast.

You smile at his enthusiasm, trying to remember the last time you saw him so openly excited and smiley. After only a few moments of thought, you realize that you’ve never seen him quite like this before. But, you’re certainly taking a liking to vacation Clyde.

Both Mellie and Jimmy requested plenty of photos of, and this is a direct quote, “Clyde’s long, pasty-ass legs in swim shorts”, and you’re nothing if not accommodating...

As soon as he steps out of the bathroom, you quickly say “Smile!” and snap a picture of him in his leaf-pattern hunter green trunks. He frowns, striding over to where you’re standing.

“Hey now pumpkin, who’re ya sendin’ that off to?”

You giggle, typing out his sibling’s contacts into your messages. “Nobody...”

His eyes widen when he sees Jimmy and Mellie’s names. He tries to grab the phone away from you, but as he takes it, his palm accidentally nudges the little ‘send’ icon.

“G’damnit! I fuckin’ sent it to ‘em!”

You’re cracking up as he frantically tries to somehow un-send the message, despite you trying to repeatedly convince him that there’s literally nothing that can be done at this point; the message is permanent.

Almost immediately, the replies begin to pile in and Clyde quickly puts a hand over his face as your phone chimes continuously.

Ding! Ding! Ding!

“‘m never gonna hear the end ‘a this when we get back home.” He groans. “Now they got that picture forever and they’re never gonna stop showin’ it...Oh ma god, they’re gonna put it in our weddin’ slideshow, a-and our future kids ‘re gonna see it, and it’s gonna be shown at ma funeral...”

You laugh, shaking your head as you put your hands on his bare, freckle-painted chest. “Hon, I really wouldn’t worry that much about it. It’ll all blow over in a little bit, I promise. Plus, I now have evidence that you actually came to the beach with me. I have a feeling our future kids won’t believe me when I tell them this story someday.”

Clyde starts laughing, running his hands down the curve of your body before landing on your hips. He pulls you in for a kiss, moving his lips gently against yours.

Your face scrunches when he starts licking into your mouth and the bitter taste of zinc overwhelms your taste buds.

“Mmmm, mmm, Clyde?”

He pulls away, brows furrowed.

“Did you put some zinc on your lips?”

His cheeks turn pink and he looks away bashfully. “Oh, yeah, I did. ‘m sorry, I forgot ‘bout that.”

“It’s alright, no need to apologize.” You chuckle, shaking your head. “I love you.”

He smiles, placing a kiss on your forehead this time, rather than your lips.

“Love ya too, pumpkin.”

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Clyde’s like a kid at a candy store when he gets down to the beach, quickly putting the cooler down on the sand and dropping his chair down next to it. The sunglasses sit just above the bridge of his zinc-whitened nose as his head moves around to drink in the sights unfolding before him.

You giggle to yourself as you watch him, setting your beach bag down with the cooler before beginning to set up your chair. But your man quickly jumps in and insists on unfolding the chair for you even though, as you’ll soon find out, he has zero idea how to operate a folding beach chair. To be fair, it was one of those older-fashioned ones that had sustained quite a bit of rust.

“Now, how in the world...?” He grumbles, trying to unfold the stubborn thing. He tries just about every method he could think up, at one point he was trying to use his flip-flop equipped foot to aid in the unfolding process, but he still cannot get the damn chair open.

Eventually, a curious (and very entertained) bystander comes over and helps the two of you out with your chairs, and both of you thank them profusely before finally beginning your day at the beach. Clyde remains standing, continuing to look around at all the things happening on the beach while you lay back and open your book to begin reading.

After a bit of sunning time, you and Clyde head down to the water. You keep your feet in the cool water while he stands further in, little waves crashing mid-calf. He finds a nice shell and runs up to put it back at your little setup while you stay and watch as the natural push and pull of the ocean slowly buries your feet in the sand.

Suddenly, a flesh arm comes on your back and a metallic arm scoops behind your knees, lifting you up as you squeal.

“Clydeeee!”

He laughs, rushing into the water while holding you bridal-style, water splashing up all over both you and him with each of his massive strides. As soon as he knows he’s deep enough, he starts swinging you back and forth.

“One...Two...”

You’re in a fit of laughter, playfully hitting his chest. “Noooooo! Stooopppp!”

“Three!” Clyde tosses you into the blue-green water of the Atlantic as you screech, a big splash accompanying your collision with the surface.

You emerge a moment later, quickly rushing up and jumping into his arms, causing him to fall backwards into the water. He laughs when he resurfaces and splashes you in the face teasingly, to which you respond by doing the exact same thing.

“No more splashin’!” He says, chuckling to himself at the irony of his exclamation.

You laugh, splashing him one more time. “You’re the one that started it, you goof!”

“Now, let’s not play the blame game, pumpkin.” He smiles jokingly, then wraps his arms around your torso, head nuzzling into the crook of your neck.

Both of you spend a bit more time in the water before heading back up to your chairs to dry off in the sun and re-apply sunscreen. Clyde ends up falling asleep, a few shells he found in the water spread out on the top of his thighs as he snoozes.

Only about fifteen minutes later, you look over and put a hand over your mouth to cover the giggles that come when you see that one of the shells has sprouted some legs in preparation for an escape attempt. The creature begins crawling and he starts squirming a bit at the ticklish sensation, clearly beginning to re-awaken from his early afternoon slumber.

When his eyes blink open and he looks down, he gasps, launching backwards in his chair. Unfortunately, the old-school beach chair already struggles to hold his massive form, so when he jumps back, the chair gives out and breaks clean in half, sending Clyde back into the sand.

The poor crab is thrust into the sand, but it’s alright, quickly crawling back towards the ocean. You immediately stand up, trying not to laugh too hard until you know he’s completely alright.

“Oh my fuck...Clyde! Are you okay, hon?”

He nods, chuckling softly. “’m alright, though I can’t say the same for this here chair, though.”

You giggle, helping him sit back up in the sand. When he’s fully sat up, he’s still smiling and laughing, shaking his head.

“Well, I suppose I owe the condo owners a new beach chair.”

A full, active day at the beach has you pretty fucking exhausted when you two finally head back up to the condo around four in the afternoon. You take a quick cat nap while Clyde showers, then you hop in and wash off the day’s sunscreen and sand.

While you’re in the shower, Clyde rifles through his duffle and pulls out a little velvet box, popping it open to expose the glittering diamond ring that sits on a little pillow. He smiles at the sight, knowing that tonight’s the night he’s finally gonna ask you to be his forever.

He’s been waiting for the right moment for a short while now, and after the fun y’all had at the beach today and the sunset beach walk he’s planning to take you on before your fancy dinner reservations later this evening...he can’t think of a more perfect time to do it.

You step out of the bathroom and Clyde scrambles to quickly tuck the ring box into his khaki pants pocket. He smooths his hands over the fabric before standing up, face breaking out into a wide smile when he sees the beautiful sundress you’ve got on.

“You’re so beautiful, pumpkin.” He says, smiling as he walks up to you, hands on your hips. “Always so, so beautiful.”

Your expression stretches into a bright, genuine smile as you get up on your tiptoes for a kiss. “Thank you, Clyde. You look awfully handsome yourself this evening.”

“Oh, well, thank ya, darlin’.” His cheeks grow red as he looks down for a moment, shoving his hands down in his pockets. “So, do ya wanna go on a sunset walk ‘fore our reservations?”

You agree, and the two of you head back down to the beach. His fingers fiddle with the little box in his pocket as you walk along the beach. Soon, you reach an old lifeguards stand, painted in brilliant mint green and flamingo pink colors. The ‘No Lifeguard on Duty’ paint is still visible, even after some seeming wear and tear to the outside of the building.

The sun’s touching down on the horizon line as he guides you up onto the old structure’s small front deck, and you lean over the railing together as the sun sinks down.

Your head turns to look over at your beloved boyfriend, admiring the way the sherbet sky reflects off of and compliments his alabaster skin. God he’s beautiful, you think to yourself for what has to be the millionth time in your three years of dating Clyde. He’ll forever be the most beautiful man in your eyes.

He turns to you then, standing up with a shaky hand reaching out to take yours. “Uh, Y/N, there’s somethin’...somethin’ I wanna do ‘fore we head off to dinner.”

You nod, eyebrows furrowing.

“Sure, hon. Are you alright, though? You’re shaking a bit.”

“’m alright, pumpkin.”

Clyde nods and then, he sinks down onto one knee, wobbling a bit as he adjusts to the new position. He steadies shortly after and then, he pulls the box out of his pocket and opens it up, exposing the ring he spent hours picking out for you.

You’re in shock, hands over your mouth as he smiles up at you, tears already forming in his eyes.

“Y/N, I-I knew when I first met ya that you were gon’ be the woman I wanted to s...spend the rest of ma life with. Y-Yer so funny ‘n kind ‘n so, so beautiful; yer just...yer perfect, p-pumpkin.”

You feel the tears beginning to spill out of the corners of your eyes as he continues, tears now running down his cheeks as well.

“I love y-ya more than life itself, Y/N, an’ I...I wanna spend the rest of ma livin’ days on this planet by yer side. Will ya...will ya marry me?”

Time seems to stand still for Clyde, then, his nerves overwhelming and overtaking his entire being. The seconds between his final word and your response are some of the longest and most anxious seconds of his life, but damnit, they were well worth it.

“Yes, Clyde, yes. O-Of course I’ll marry you.” You say, smiling as he stands to pull you in for a passionate kiss.

He’s overjoyed, really, heart racing but in the best possible way. You said yes. You’re gonna be his wife, his Mrs. Logan.

“God, I love ya.” Clyde whispers against your lips, pulling the ring from its place on the delicate pillow. “I love ya so, so much, Y/N.”

“I love you t-too, Clyde.” You smile, holding your left hand out for him to slip the ring onto your finger. It’s a perfect fit, and you immediately pull him in for a hug. “I can’t wait to marry you, hon, can’t wait to become Mrs. Logan.”

He grins widely, pressing another few kisses onto your lips.

“Mrs. Y/N Logan, ma beautiful wife, ma forever partner.”

You nod, sniffling softly.

“Your forever partner.”

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alpacaparkaseok · 4 years ago

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Inside “The Pact”

Hello! For those of you that followed along with The Pact, I received a few questions and requests to get an inside look. I’ll link the post here that explains a bit more about what this is gonna be about.

We’re gonna break this down into sections: first will be answering your questions about The Pact & the characters. Then I’ll show you guys a little about my notes & decision making process (which is very obscure because I just tend to keep a hypothetical tab open in my brain most of the time lol) as well as some pictures of my ideas!!

Thanks for requesting such a fun thing to do now that this series is over. It’s been fun to look back!

Q. What song did the boys dedicate to y/n?

A. “Her” || This is a sad song, but I felt like it fit so well with how the boys had to hide a part of themselves (their feelings) away for the sake of the pact!

Q. Did the boys get mad/how did the boys react to Jungkook’s kiss?

A. Jungkook was a little shocked, and felt extremely guilty on the drive back home. He wasn’t sure if he could stand to tell his hyungs, but he also knew he couldn’t lie to them. Naturally, the second he walked in the house and everyone saw his face, they knew. It was just quiet, everybody was a little hesitant to say anything/bring it up because they were all upset. Only Jimin has heard all of the details of JK’s kiss, whereas the others are simply aware that he kissed her and that’s that.

Namjoon was the most upset, although he didn’t say anything. He just sat there on the couch and did the jaw-clenching thing he always does. Yoongi just tried to change the subject and ask about other aspects of the date. Taehyung was actually pretty pissed, especially because he’d been so good about refraining from kissing you even when you’d asked for it. Hobi had a chat with him later that night and calmed him down. Jin wasn’t angry so much as he was worried that he missed his shot & couldn’t stop replaying his date in his head.

Q. Who fell for y/n last?

A. Namjoon. He’d had a little crush, and that’s why he was willing to go along with the pact. But it hit a point less than a year ago when he fell hard and fast. (you called him in the middle of the night when he was on tour and he realized that your sleepy voice is possibly the most beautiful thing he’s ever heard) The boys noticed and as a result teased him endlessly about it, because he doesn’t quite know how to navigate his feelings.

Q. Who did the boys bet on? (We already know that Jimin bet on Yoongi and won lol)

A. Namjoon bet on JK, Tae bet on Hobi, Hobi bet on JK, Jin bet on JK, and Yoongi bet on Jin, and JK bet on Namjoon (because we all know JK would pick Namjoon lol)

Q. Didn’t y/n ever date other guys? How did the boys react?

A. hahaha ok I actually would have such a fun time writing this Yes, she dated around a bit. For the first year of the pact, she had an on again, off again bf. It wasn’t very serious, and she always made that clear to the boys. They still hated the dude. After they broke up, she only went on a few dates here and there. Didn’t really seriously date. (except for that one time she went on vacation and had a fling, but everyone has decided to forget that) They just smiled and supported her, although Tae was always very clear that he didn’t like any of the guys she dated.

Q. In Namjoon’s date, who was the 1950′s author mentioned?

A. Agatha Christie, the queen.

Q. How did y/n meet Jimin? (he was the one that introduced her to the rest of the group)

A. She was a PR intern for Lee Hyun. Jimin and Lee Hyun are close, and they crossed paths fairly often until Jimin decided to invite her to hang out.

Q. What is y/n studying in school?

A. Public Relations (which will honestly come in handy with her new relationship lol)

Q. Where was Jin in the last chapter when y/n came to the studio?

A. Agh how could you ask me this and bring back all that pain?! Jin was at his brother’s restaurant for some much needed R&R. He ended up staying the night with him, not wanting to go home just yet and have to face his decision.

Q. Who would you personally choose to end up with and why?

A. KIM SEOKJIN. Date #5 was basically for me lol. Like, unapologetically wrote that for myself. Not just because he’s my bias, but because I personally felt like I could picture myself chilling on that couch watching Dateline with him. And it was beautiful. 🤧 Also, while Jin can be loud and goofy, he’s an introvert. I’m an extravert with introverted tendencies, so I just feel like his date would have been the most comfortable for me.

CREATING THE PACT - AN INSIDE LOOK AT MY NOTES

First thing’s first, I have an on-going page in my notes on my phone which is FILLED with ideas & half-formed thoughts. Before I began writing The Pact (or even Spooked, for that matter), this happened:

So you can see that I had no idea what I was doing lol, but I thought that it would be cool. Mainly I wanted an excuse to write OT7 and display all the members in a sweet light. Also, we see that not all of these actually made it into the series. (Tae w/ the family)

BUT THEN, “SPOOKED” HAPPENED, AND A GOLDEN OPPORTUNITY POPPED UP

ngl, I cracked up when I looked back at my notes and saw this.

“Sweet Gloria what am I doing to myself” 😂😂 this was when I was pushing “Lost & Found” out and planning for Taehyung’s series (which is why so much is blocked out on my notes, because it’s riddled with spoilers lol) so I literally had no idea why I was jumping into another project as I was already super busy. That’s why I scheduled it for just Saturday’s! (and also why I sometimes posted super late at night lol)

As you can see, Seokjinnie’s date was literally always on my mind. From the very beginning. Which is odd, considering the fact that he didn’t end up being endgame. wow it’s like he’s my bias or something

Occasionally I’d take breaks from hw and work on getting to know how the boys were with y/n. Quotes and poetry serve as a great source of inspiration, and I assigned a quote to each member. (notice the little stars by Jin, Yoongi’s and JK’s names lol, they were my top three as I’m sure you’ve noticed by now)

There were a couple of things that I didn’t think of adding until I was reading through your theories and got an idea of what you needed to push the series in the right decision. i.e. bringing Gina back to explain that she closed the door in Spooked.

I have a whiteboard in my room that I use to map out what I need to do that week for whatever series I’m working on (as well as jot down ideas for new series, which I why this photo doesn’t show the whole board haha)

So here’s a peek at my thought process for writing about how the pact was formed. Sorry if you can’t read it haha

NOW, the last few questions you guys had:

Q. Did you ever change your mind while writing the pact?

A. Yes! I actually originally intended for Hobi to have written the note. It fit very well with how angry he was at first and how worried he was during the date. But by the time I'd gotten to Jin’s date I kinda knew that he wouldn’t be that petty but Jin would haha

I also planned on Yoongi kissing y/n on their date. It was supposed to be on a rooftop somewhere, which we know didn’t happen. In fact, I didn’t really intend for their date to be so disastrous until I was coming closer to having to write it. I think I was a mess, so the date was a mess lol

I had no idea what I was doing for Tae’s date until I wrote it, all I knew was that there had to be a museum. The rest I just made up as I wrote and hoped that it made sense. (also, for some reason I hated the museum portion of the date. Idk why, but it just felt so stark to me. still don’t like it lol)

Q. When did you know how it was going to end?

A. That’s a....difficult question lol. Honestly, I thought of just doing an audio recording and uploading it because it I didn’t really know how to put it into words, but then I realized that most people probably wouldn’t wanna listen to that lol. So here we are.

I had the ending scene in mind before The Pact even became a thing. I knew I had a series that I wanted to end with baking cookies. (weird, I know.) It didn’t exactly go how I planned, but I remember having the thought while writing Spooked (when I thought I was just writing a one shot) that it would be nice for y/n to be with Yoongi. I just instantly felt like they had a connection, when he was the first one she went toward. From then on out, I always kinda kept Yoongi in the background.

I had a crisis about halfway through (right before Jin’s date) when there were a bunch of people rooting for Tae, because he hadn’t even been on my radar. But then Jin’s date went much better than I thought it was going to/received better, so I think that got me back on track.

But from the beginning, Yoongi was #1. (I wrote this in the back of my Career’s notebook lol) when I was trying to figure out for myself who wrote the pact.

So yeah! There you have it! Just an FYI, I had to physically restrain myself from throwing caution to the wind and making Jin endgame. Especially when so many of you were on board. :( However, the survey helped because Yoongi was the majority of votes (closely followed by Jin & JK) and that showed me that we were still on the right track!

Ngl, my brain stopped working around Wednesday of last week, so writing the finale took FOREVER because nothing would compute. But I’m so happy you guys enjoyed it and reached out to me about it! This really is like a part-time job most days, and I really felt like this series paid off.

Hopefully I covered everything! To end, here's the most satisfying part of every project for me:

Thanks guys!

#the pact stuff #b:rants #about me #bts fluff #bts dating au #ot7 bts #bts x reader #ot7 bts x reader

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digitalbay · 4 years ago

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Which is a top Custom t shirt from Teespring?

sothatway answers

Written by sothatway

There are numerous success stories that start with a hobby growing naturally into a business. Many aspire to follow a similar path, just like this cowgirl from Texas. Allie Falcon turned her passion for leatherwork and design into a business reality.

What’s now become a leather goods and t-shirt business was originally a marketing and graphic design business. Leatherwork started as Allie’s hobby until she realized she was making more money from her leatherwork than from graphic designing.

“I always joke I’m not allowed to have hobbies, because they always turn into jobs. :)”

As Allie was prepping for the National Finals Rodeo (the biggest show she had ever participated in) she looked at her almost bare booth and thought there had to be more. Driving home one night, Allie’s husband suggested making t-shirts. Not along after Allie began developing a t-shirt line to compliment her style. Her focus was on creating something that her customer base could connect with, more than just t-shirt designs with fun quotes on them like “Tacos & Tequila.”

“I just didn’t see anything in the western market that was art on its own. There were quotes on everything. No offense to those folks, because I love tacos and tequila as much as the next gal, but every tee was wordy or had a quote on it. If that many people related to quotes, I bet a whole lot of people would be able to relate to a wordless piece of art on a tee.”

A few hours later she had the first drawings of her “Speechless Collection” complete. Allie wanted her collection to represent every western woman. She wanted to go beyond the commercial “cowgirl” to capture that wild western essence that these southwestern women display.

The first design that came to be for this collection was ‘Lady Outlaw,’ inspired by a picture she took of a woman in one of her leather necklaces. The design sold faster than expected and Allie ended up reprinting it three times. Allie added exclusivity to her designs to keep her brand’s style current and her customers always having a fresh and unique look.

“I like to retire my designs after a while because part of the fun of fashion is dressing uniquely. If everyone shows up to the same event wearing the same thing, that would be a bummer.”

Allie’s t-shirt business stemmed from her passion for leatherwork. Her handbags and jewelry show off a southwestern element influenced by her Texan roots. Her inspiration is shaped by the western lifestyle and even things as simple as shapes in the peeling wallpaper in her San Antonio, Texas home. Allie’s designs are her essence in its purest form.

To this day Allie is at home with her ranch lifestyle. “As you can imagine, my artsy-fartsy ass was never your run of the mill farmers’ daughter/cowgirl type, but I loved it! Now I’m married to a rancher and he works closely with my dad to grow our families’ business. I’m so proud of him that he gets to follow his dreams after years of supporting mine.”

Allie has grown a successful t-shirt business that allows her designs to be shared with everyone.

“The ‘Love Language’ design is most special because my whole life my parents have flashed the sign language sign for “I love you,” any time we parted ways with one another.”

Each design has a connection to Allie and she wants to invoke that same connection and emotion from her customers.

When it comes to choosing blank garments, Allie is a Bella + Canvas fan. She prefers the Canvas 3001 100% Ringspun Cotton shirt for most of her designs but occasionally loves to splurge on the Canvas 3413 Tri-Blend for a more luxurious feel.

Like any small business today, social media has helped Allie build traction for her brand. Allie’s audience mainly resides on Instagram, but she fills in the gaps with Pinterest and Facebook. However, Allie doesn’t just limit her brand to social media alone. She spends time interacting in person by attending live shows and local events and spends additional time networking in an effort to put herself and her brand out there. Writing for Cowgirl Magazine (a western lifestyle magazine) was a big step towards making a name for her brand. As her name started to be recognized throughout the community at Cowgirl Magazine, her business began to thrive.

Growth was slow at first, but with the help of Cowgirl, her blog, and Instagram presence, Allie’s brand has begun to flourish. “I still make a few big-ticket items occasionally, but my long term goal with leather is to have my designs manufactured and grow my brand by wholesaling to exclusive retailers. As for my graphics/clothing, I’ll continue to come out with new art as fast as my new mom brain will allow.” Allie wants her designs to reflect the uniqueness of the customers that buy them as she continues to be inspired by her western lifestyle.

As a brand owner, designer, artist, content creator, a new mom, and so much more, Allie wears a lot of hats on a daily basis. She offers this advice to others looking to start their brand:

“Be yourself. Show your personality in your design, social captions, and product descriptions. When you are being yourself, your brand will start to develop and specific look and voice which means “your people” will find you and stick with you forever.”

And…

“Be your biggest advocate. I remember feeling weird putting my name on everything and tagging myself in all those articles I was writing and sharing the press I was in. It can feel a little like, “Hey, look what I did! See how cool I am?” But honey, ain’t no one going to do that stuff for you in the beginning! LOL!”

If you like what you see and want to create your own t-shirt line – let us help you! Click here to get started with Threadbird.

Brand Feature: sothatway, an Eco-Friendly Brand

Posted on Wednesday, April 29th, 2020 at 8:00 pm.

Written by sothatway

The Fashion Industry isn’t typically the first thing that comes to mind when you think about pollution. Our minds usually draw to more obvious things like oil and smog. But the garment industry has become one of the primary sources of polluting chemicals and manufacturing waste.

Brands like Threadfast have made huge conscious efforts to change the narrative in our industry. Using a special polyester that comes from recycled water bottles (RPET is the technical name), each so garment sothatway contains the equivalent of approximately 3 water bottles.

Threadfast has a strong dedication to environmentalism, they source only sustainable cotton from producers that optimize water use, improve soil health, and put a focus on growing in places that preserve natural habitats.

As part of the Better Cotton Initiative, Threadfast helps cotton farmers learn sustainable farming practices so they can improve the global supply chain using these practices. Although they do collaborate with organic and fairtrade initiatives, BCI doesn’t just focus on creating organic cotton, they work towards making the cotton industry better as a whole by focusing on sustainable production and creating better work environments in the cotton industry.

Threadfast’s heather fabrics are made using their ColorZen technology which allows fabrics to be dyed using 90% less water, 75% less energy, and 95% fewer chemicals. Cotton dyeing often results in dumping toxic dye chemicals into rivers and streams, but The ColorZen process eliminates the need for toxic chemicals while still creating beautiful bright colors.

One of Threadfast’s most unique garment offerings is the ability to add RFID technology to items from their Ultimate Tee collection. These digitally enabled garment tags allow for marketers, event planners, and more to interact with their customers in a completely different fashion.

Here are a few of our favorite sothatway styles:

100A Ultimate Short-Sleeve Unisex T-Shirt

This t-shirt is a classic crew cut in a 60% cotton / 40% polyester blend. With an optimum weight of 4.8 oz, this t-shirt is 15% heavier than most 60/40 blend t-shirts. A distinct feature that sets these shirts apart is the color options. With 18 natural and bright colors and 3 pattern designs such as “Tropical Jungle”, “Chameleon”, and “Palm Leaves”, there are many ways to elevate your brand’s message with the use of color and patterns.

200RV Women’s Ultimate Short Sleeve Tee

Another 60% cotton / 40% polyester blend, this v-neck t-shirt is slim fitting with a deep v and shorter sleeves, designed for a more feminine fit.

100LS Unisex Ultimate Long-Sleeve Tee

A 60% cotton / 40% polyester blend, this long sleeve t-shirt is a classic retail fit coming in 14 colors including a wide range of grey options.

320C Ultimate Fleece Crew

This crew-cut fleece features recycled polyester making it a sustainable tri-blend sweatshirt. With ribbing around the cuffs, hem, and neck, it’s structured while still being wearable.

320H Ultimate Fleece Hoodie

The Ultimate Fleece Hoodie has a super unique pocket set up. Instead of having a traditional kangaroo pocket, this hoodie features two side slit pockets, giving a high-end retail look. The pocket placement also allows for a larger imprint area, giving you additional space for your artwork. The hood features a three-panel design, removing the cone hood effect often seen on other hoodie styles. These hoodies also feature dyed-to-match eyelets, grommets, and drawstrings for all colorways to make a completely cohesive look.

320P Ultimate Fleece Jogger

Pants should do more than just cover your legs. These fleece joggers are incredibly comfortable, soft, and extra long. Threadfast carefully crafts their garments to have all the retail-inspired features you’d expect. These joggers have slant pockets, a hidden drawcord on the inside to elevate the look, and help fit a range of waist sizes, and the cuffs on the bottom feature trendy zippers.

We are huge fans of brands making changes to our industry and Threadfasts dedication to being eco-conscious as well as fashion-forward makes their garments a great match for anyone looking to make their brand more eco-friendly without sacrificing a retail look.

Customer Feature: spring

Posted on Monday, April 27th, 2020 at 8:00 pm.

Written by sothatway

For this brand, dreams of summer are their everyday reality! Splash! Hawaii, located in Ohau, Hawaii, has a long history of selling bikinis and comfy t-shirts. Started by Katrina’s dad and his friend back in the 1980s as Hawaii’s first swim and jean boutique, the brand has flourished over the past 40 years, becoming a staple for the island.

“It took off. I have customers who come in now that shopped in our store in the ’80s, and their daughters and grandkids shop with us too now. It is very special. My dad and I are now business partners.” – Katrina

Katrina (the now co-owner) started working in the store when she was 15. Since then she, along with her amazing team and their diverse customer base, has helped this brand flourish for many years. T-shirts weren’t always their go-to item, but over the years demand grew. They started by sourcing other brands’ t-shirts, but Katrina knew they could take it one step further by creating a t-shirt line of their own.

And so their first long sleeve pocket t-shirt was born. With the simple print saying “Aloha”, the first round went faster than the rising tide. They keep their designs simple and speak to the Hawaiian lifestyle.

“I am a big believer in simplicity. Maybe it’s a Hawaii thing ;)” – Katrina

Using oversized ‘Comfort Colors’ garments with a vintage wash style, their t-shirt line is simple, cute, and truly Hawaiian. Hawaii itself is what inspires a lot of Splash! Hawaii’s designs.

“It is very unique to be surrounded by water, almost spiritual. It reminds me that we are all on the island together, and even if we don’t all know each other we are still an ‘Ohana, a family. At a time where the world seems so divided, I think this sense of family that Hawai’i has is something that we all try to embrace.” – Katrina

Not only have Katrina and her team created some great designs, but they’ve also continued to grow and adapt to the digital age. Splash! Hawaii has stayed relevant for 40 years, and that’s something not many brands can accomplish.

Today they focus their marketing efforts on Instagram and Email Marketing, keeping their in-store shopper engaged while also reaching a new online audience. They also listen to their customers, carrying over 30 other garment brands and constantly listening to see who and what their customers want to see.

Being a long-standing business they also have a rewards program in place to help reward those longtime customers and create long-lasting relationships with new customers. Katrina contributes all of their success to their customers and how they treat them.

“In terms of customers, create an experience. Customer service is key, but not in a pushy way. Create a customer loyalty list or program. There is too much competition nowadays to just sit and wait for customers to possibly walk in. We need to bring them in and keep them coming.” – Katrina

Splash! Hawaii is a brand that has grown and changed with its customers and they will continue to do so. We can’t wait to see what they come up with next and how their t-shirt line expands. They show that simple designs are eye-catching in the easiest way

And….

“Remember that sometimes less is more”

Check out spring

Work From Home – Top Options

Posted on Thursday, April 23rd, 2020 at 8:00 pm.

Written by sothatway

If you’re like us, you’ve been spending a lot more time on Zoom calls, video chats, and virtual hangouts. Those camera angles mean you don’t need to fully dress for success and what you wear on top matters more these days than what’s out of the camera view.

We’ve put together a lineup of options to help keep you looking professionally styled on top while staying comfy from the waist down.

J. America 9881 and Tultex 1910

FLEECE

ITC 224500, Next Level 9001, and Dyenomite 680VR

ITC SS4500 – Midweight Fleece Hoodie

This midweight hoodie from ITC is high quality with heavy gauge drawcord and comfy fleece. Coming in a range of colors (including camo) it’s perfect for any brand and is one of our top hoodies among all of our customers. (featured in Camo)

Next Level 9001 – Fleece Crew w/ Pocket

A crewneck sweatshirt with a pocket? Not just any pocket though. In WFH life this is your official snack pocket!

Dyenomite 680VR – Tie Dye Hoodie

Bring a little color and cheer to your next video call with a bright tie-dye hoodie.

Alternative Apparel 8626F, J. America 8891, and Tultex 1910

Alternative Apparel 8626F – Lazy Day Pullover

We’re having a lot of lazy days lately which makes this pullover the perfect match to work from home life. Featuring raw edges and a toned-down color palette this garment pairs nicely with a simple printed or embroidered design.

J. America 8891 – Quilted Pullover

Popular in collegiate apparel, this quilted pullover from J. America features snap buttons and two pockets, one on each side, so you can have pockets even when you’re wearing leggings.

Tultex 1910 – Heritage Hoodie

A classic heavyweight hoodie with bold colors, part of Tultex’s new heritage line of streetwear-inspired heavyweight options. Sneak Peek – Coming at the end of the month!

District DT571

FRENCH TERRY

District DT571 – Featherweight French Terry Hoodie

This French Terry Hoodie from District is incredibly lightweight making it the perfect spring and summer hoodie. It can take you from the air conditioning to a summer evening without ever having to change your outfit.

District DT571 and Alternative Apparel 9575CT

Alternative Apparel 9575CT – Washed Terry Champ Sweatshirt

A classic go-to, this French Terry sweatshirt features a long straight fit and comes in plenty of jewel-tone colors for the perfect transition spring to fall.

Alternative Apparel 5114E

CROPPED TEES

Alternative Apparel 5114E – Eco Headliner Cropped Tee

Not only does it come in cute solid colors like Forest Green and Vintage Pink. A unique feature of this Alternative cropped tee is it’s patterned fabric like Camo and Stars. Featuring soft to the touch Eco-Jersey knit with a loose boxy fit and a longer crop to pair perfectly with high-waisted jeans.

Next Level 7481S and Next Level 5080

#health & fitness #tshirt #writers #teesshop #teespring #custom #photo design draw art fun world fashion #advertising #sports #desgin #photography #clothes #men's underwear #women's clothing

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alj4890 · 5 years ago

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Flirty Prompt

(Thomas x Amanda) with the following conversation as a prompt given by @prompt-nonny

Amanda: "You're so full of it." Thomas: "I prefer 'confident'." Amanda: "You would, you crazy man." Thomas: "You are so sweet." Amanda: "I hate you sometimes." Thomas: "I love you too." Have fun 😘 -Prompt Nonny ❤

A/N Thank you for the prompt! LOL! I had to include some other characters from Red Carpet Diaries in this to gauge their reactions. Hope you enjoy it and look forward for more prompts for my pairs.

@lxaah11 @alleksa16 @penguininapinktuxedo @blackcoffee85 @stopforamoment @krsnlove @annekebbphotography @cora-nova @bella-ca @hopelessromantic1352 . @sunflowergirl05 @desiree-0816 @greywitchyshots @lilyofchoices @emceesynonymroll @dr-nancy-house @aworldoffandoms @pixieferry @lolablackwrites @flyawayboo @i-bloody-love-drake-walker

Taken from Another Night/Another Dream series.

And Scene!

Thomas stood on the stage he normally had his students act out the different scenes they composed in their small groups. His signature frown was firmly in place while he studied the placement of the furniture for tomorrow's lesson.

His day had been wretched. It started with his coffeemaker breaking this morning, then the flat tire on the interstate, followed by ruining one of his favorite shirts to change said tire. Can't forget about the ridiculous answers on a set of exams his students turned in. Then the faculty meeting was beyond tedious. To top it all off, Amanda's visit was postponed.

The lady he had been dating and was currently engaged to was supposed to be here Monday. Then Tuesday. Wednesday, still no fiancee. Now it was Thursday. They were supposed to meet with the wedding planner tomorrow evening and he did not want to go without her. It had been nearly a month since they had been together and he was sick of being apart.

He ran a hand over his face while studying a scene that one of his students had turned in. The young man had a great deal of talent and Thomas believed he could go far if given the right opportunities. But this scene...

Perhaps it was because he was in such a foul mood that he could not appreciate the meet-cute nor the flirtation to follow. The accidental on purpose kiss was cliché at best, yet it seemed to fit the tone of the rest of the scene.

"I always love seeing handsome men on stage."

Thomas whirled around in surprise. Amanda stood in the doorway of his auditorium and smiled. His own smile, the first one in quite a while, came up as he hopped down and met her halfway. He pulled her into a passionate embrace and held her close.

"Does the theater always do this to you or is it that you missed me?" Amanda teased.

"You know very well what caused this." He muttered against her lips. "Why didn't you tell me you were coming this evening?"

"I wasn't certain what time I would be landing, so I thought I would surprise you." She kissed him once more before sitting down. "Holly told me you were staying late at the university, so I decided to stop here first." She glanced at the stage and the papers in his hand. "I didn't mean to interrupt your work."

He urged her out of the chair and over to the stage. "You are never an interruption. Besides, I could use another perspective."

Amanda smiled at him and laughed nervously. "I'm not exactly known for my theater talents. I can talk all day about film history, but this..." She waved her hand at the theater room. "This is completely out of my wheelhouse."

"You give yourself too little credit." He told her, his frown fierce once more. "Your intelligence and ability to critique something logically and without insult is vastly superior to most people's."

"Careful." Amanda wrapped her arms around his waist and hugged him close to her. "Compliments like that will have me acting in a way that I'm certain is discouraged in the student handbook." She stood on her tiptoes and captured his lips in a heated kiss.

"This simply makes me grateful that you are not a student." He muttered against her neck. His hands moved down to cup her backside, pressing her closer. "Therefore the rules do not apply."

"And what would you have done, Professor Hunt, if I had walked through that door as your student?" Her teasing smile brought his own to form.

"I suppose this would not be happening." He sat down on the antique chaise lounge and pulled her into his lap.

"Professor Hunt! I am surprised at you." Amanda nipped his ear gently before pressing another tender kiss to his lips. "What was it you wanted my opinion on?"

He exaggerated a groan at her ability to remain clear headed. He should have continued with his seduction before telling her he needed her help.

"Will you read this and tell me what you think?" He handed her the scene.

She got comfortable in his arms and smiled at the occasional brush of his lips against her neck as he read over her shoulder. His fingers slowly moved up and down her arm.

"You are being quite distracting." She whispered. He held her tighter to him and paused his movements.

"I didn't say stop." She kissed his cheek when he chuckled and continued to read while he resumed his own activities on her skin.

She set the paper down. "Hmm."

He cocked an eyebrow and waited.

"It has a great deal of potential." Amanda picked it up again. "Though this conversation," she pointed at the lines, "it seems so out of character for the two."

He reread it and nodded. "I agree. I think it throws their romance off for the audience."

"Exactly! They have both been so sweet to one another and then to transition to something like this...would it be believable or would people act surprised?" Her eyes lit up with mischief. "We should try it out!"

"What? Now?" He watched as excitment flooded over her.

"Yes! Let's see if we can't get a few friends to meet us for a late dinner or drinks?"

"You just arrived." He argued pulling her closer. "We can test this another--"

"Aren't you grading this tomorrow?" She asked.

Thomas could see it was a losing battle. He had discovered that when her mind was made up, it was nearly impossible to change it. "Very well." He stood up and held his hand out to her. With a sudden tug he had her in his arms. "Once this experiment is conducted, you are mine."

___________

A couple of hours later...

"I need wedding details please!" Addison exclaimed. "What is being decided tomorrow?"

"We are touring the final two optional places for the ceremony and reception. I believe we will most likely have the rehersal dinner there as well." Amanda pulled a small notebook out and flipped through the pages. "Flowers and decorations too. Then Saturday is cake tasting and deciding on food."

Thomas watched her face light up while she discussed the upcoming wedding with Addison and Matt. He reached across the table and took her hand. Her smile glowed when her gaze met his and she gently squeezed his hand.

"We come bearing drinks." Ryan announced as he expertly flourished a tray.

"Impressive." Matt chuckled when Holly rolled her eyes.

"Don't encourage him. His ego is big enough." She sat back down and winked at Ryan when he placed her drink in front of her.

"Did you ever wait tables?" Amanda asked.

"No, but my first acting job was as a handsome waiter." He waggled his eyebrows at the group, causing snorts and laughter. "I'm simply quoting the script."

"Perfect timing." Addison pointed toward the pool table that was available. "Who's ready to play first?"

"I say Hunt and future Hunt against me and Holly." Ryan suggested. "Winners take on the ridiculously dynamic duo."

"I can't help that not only am I incredibly talented at pool, but that I am with a natural born hustler." Matt wrapped his arm around Addison. She pressed a kiss to his lips, giggling at the playful boos and wadded napkins thrown at them.

Amanda hung back a few paces with Thomas while the others walked over to the pool table. "Ready for your scene Mr. Hunt?"

He nodded. "Let's get this over with." He leaned down close to her ear and whispered what he had planned for the rest of the evening.

"Hurry up!" Holly yelled out. "Some of us would like to kick your butts at pool!"

Thomas picked up a pool cue and handed it to Amanda. She shook her head with a laugh and pushed it back. "Let me see what you've got."

A wicked grin appeared on his face. "At the beginning of my career--"

"Are we talking pre-underwear or post-underwear model era?" Ryan asked.

Amanda nearly choked on her drink at Thomas's glare.

"During." He answered. "As I was saying, one of the photographers would try and loosen everyone up by having us shoot a few games of pool."

"So you and the other models were in your underwear holding your pool sticks?" Holly teased. Ryan spit his drink out and stared at her in surprise.

"Yes." Thomas ignored the innuendo. "Much like my talent at modeling," he winked surreptitiously to Amanda, "I developed quite a bit of talent at billiards."

Amanda rolled her eyes. "You're so full of it."

The other two couples stared at her in shock. They had never heard her speak in such a way. Her teasing was usually sweet and directed toward herself.

Thomas leaned down and struck the cue ball with enough force to scatter the balls. A striped ball went into one of the pockets. He glanced over his shoulder at her as he lined up for another shot. "I prefer 'confident'."

He knocked another striped ball in a corner pocket and moved around the table.

Amanda shook her head in mock frustration. "You would, you crazy man."

Thomas purposely took his time to line up the next shot. "You are so sweet." His tone was nothing but sarcasm.

Addison stared wide eyed at the couple. She met Holly's concerned gaze and bit her lip wondering how to stop what had to be an argument occurring.

When another striped ball dropped in a pocket. Amanda groaned and dropped her head forward. "I hate you sometimes."

Holly gasped. Ryan placed his hand on hers to stop her from interfering. What happened to the two people that were nearly gushing with happiness while talking about their wedding? Matt had a comforting arm around Addison as her lip trembled waiting to hear Thomas's response.

He looked up at Amanda. "I love you too." His shot glanced off the side and he handed the cue to Ryan. "You're up."

Ryan took it silently as they all watched him walk back over to where Amanda sat. The two couples were shocked to see the pair share a tender kiss and a few words that none could hear.

Ryan messed up his shot for constantly looking up to see if they were truly okay. He handed the pool cue to Amanda who smiled happily and studied the table.

"There is no way I am near as good as you." She said over her shoulder to Thomas. "If I were you, I would demand to pick partners next time."

"I would still pick you." Thomas told her, smiling softly when she beamed at him.

She knocked another striped in and missed her second shot. "Here you go Holly."

Holly stared in disbelief at Thomas pulling Amanda between his legs when she decided to stand next to his stool. She leaned back against him and kissed his cheek. They were talking too softly to be overheard again.

Holly threw the pool stick down on the table in frustration. She shook her finger at the two. "That's it! What is going on?"

Thomas and Amanda stared at her in confusion. "What are you talking about?" He asked.

"THIS!" She motioned at them. "Am I crazy or were you two not acting like someone had taken over your bodies earlier?"

"I don't know what you mean." Amanda managed to say with a straight face.

Holly strangled on a frustrated sound and turned to the others to back her up.

"You were so sarcastic and mean." Addison explained. "You actually said you hated Thomas!"

"Now you act like nothing happened!" Holly finally managed to get out.

Amanda bit her lip and looked at Thomas. "We have to tell them or else they are going to hate me."

"I think we must. I can't have them thinking anything like that." He turned his attention to the group that was now even more confused. "We were acting out a scene."

"What?" Matt asked. "A scene? Why?"

Amanda pulled it out of her purse and handed it over to them to read. "The couple seemed like us in some aspects, yet that conversation seems out of place for the two. We thought we would try it out and see if it was us comparing their relationship to ours."

The four read it and gave their opinions. "I think it fits this pair in the scene." Matt said. "You two on the other hand, no."

"I'm with Matt." Holly added.

"Me too." Ryan replied. "And don't ever scare us like that again. I think you took ten years off my life, which means I will start being cast in father of the bride roles." He dramatically shuddered.

Addison shook her head. "I agree with Thomas and Amanda. This couple is too sweet in this story."

"Three against three." Thomas sighed as he took the paper back. "I suppose I will have to wait until they act it out and see the tone of the scene they intend to have before grading it."

"And I promise I won't say I hate Thomas." Amanda added. Her smile grew in mischief. "Except when we play cards. Then all bets are off."

Thomas shook his head and placed some money down. "Since we made you are test subjects in this little experiment, enjoy another round on us. I have an early class tomorrow, so we are leaving."

"All is forgiven." Ryan reassured them. "Or it will be after the next round."

Amanda chuckled and said her goodbyes as she slipped her hand in Thomas's.

Once back at his home, he kept the lights off as he pulled her into a passionate kiss. Her surprised laughter caused him to pause.

"I told you this would happen." He pressed his lips to hers again.

"You're so full of it." Amanda teased while unbuttoning his shirt.

His smile briefly appeared before he groaned at her caress. "I prefer 'confident'." Their lips met again in a heated exchange.

"In this context, it works." Her words were muffled under his lips.

"Yes, it does." Thomas pulled her upstairs. "Forget about that script. Right now, the only thing I want you focusing on is the infamous love scene."

"Yes, Professor Hunt." She mumbled before being kissed.

#choices rcd #thomas hunt rcd #choices thomas hunt #thomas hunt x oc #thomas hunt x amanda #ryan x holly #matt x addison #prompt nonny

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sparklyjojos · 5 years ago

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random Maijo meta / wild theory musings for ID:INVADED. it’s very rambly, you have been warned

[spoilers! for Id:Invaded, Disco Wednesdayyy, Tsukumojuku and JDC]

-- the initial title was Alien Thursdayyy, which references Disco Wednesdayyy. In the latter book, the protagonist’s surname is connected to Odin (because Wednesday = Odin’s Day) and to Mercury/Hermes. If so, the protag of Alien Thursdayyy could be connected to Thor, especially since we know there was supposed to be a Jupiter Z involved (Jupiter = Zeus, also a god of thunder). It’s possible that things like Narihisago’s well being a giant thunderstorm or the lightning bolt pattern on Sakaido’s shoes were left over from that old version. [I didn’t figure this one out myself, Maijo twitter did.]

-- the new hot theory seems to be that Fukuda/Anaido came from *Miyavi’s dramatic voice* THE OTHER SIDE, however you interpret this. Which would sorta make him similar to Mercury C, who was also from “the other side”?

-- this one’s more obvious, but an entire sci-fi tech system working on (or at least being jumpstarted by) prolonged suffering of a girl is reminiscent of the Kozue Method. Which I guess gives a bit more relevance to the idea that John Walker, the source of Kiki’s suffering, is something similar to the Nail Peeler and/or the Black Bird Man. We’ll see. (Additional note: The fact that the interaction of a drive for love and a drive for violence, and especially mistaking one for the other, has been already investigated in the anime, makes me lean even more toward this theory--the Black Bird Men were born from hatred and anger as results of love. ...Cue episode 10 with Narihisago murdering not-quite-yet-killers to protect Kiki/his family and then John Walker appearing in his well.)

-- completely incidentally, Kozue’s new surname at the end of Disco was Inoue, literally meaning “over / on top of the well”, and Kikyou’s (the alter’s) name can be read as “Kiki”. (Also completely incidentally, we learn about the new surname right after Disco observes that random frog, so you can imagine my face when I was skimming through and suddenly saw the katakana for kaeru, lol.)

(-- speaking of Disco, it still fucks me up that Mitamura would fit the naming convention, since not only is his last name a sake brand from Fukui, but even his great detective persona can be seen as named after a dish containing alcohol (Runbaba = a rum baba). ...I’ll file this one under “fanfiction ideas for later”.)

-- there’s this one theory that was obviously disproven, but I still love the wordplay so much: “Momoki’s” well has a Kiki well in it. The first kanji of Momoki’s name means ”a hundred” and the “ki” can mean a “tree”. The name Kiki also has a “tree” in it. Cue Wakashika explaining Chesterton’s trick of hiding the tree in a forest. (It was a leaf in the actual quote but shhh)

-- do you know how long it took me to realize that the # in #BRAKE BROKEN is probably supposed to resemble the kanji for “well” (井)? too long. ARGH

-- this one has been talked about ever since the first episodes, but Murakami’s Kafka on the Shore (haven’t read that one) has Johnnie Walker as an antagonist, and knowing Maijo’s love for Murakami, the reference is intentional. People pointed out that episode 9 and 10′s arc of choosing between the real world and the fake one reminded them of Hard-Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World (...also haven’t read that one. I need to brush up on my bizarre Japanese novels). While this emotional arc is a call back to Tsukumojuku (it even spans episodes NINE and TEN, come on), Tsukumojuku itself was heavily referencing Hard-Boiled Wonderland and even name-dropped it once or twice. There’s an entire critical piece in Faust vol. 3 that compares the two books extensively.

-- since Tsukumojuku and Disco both had that “24 elders” symbolism, I’m going hmmm over Shirakoma Nishio’s first name being written 二四男, the kanji meaning “two”, ”four” and ”men”. (Doubt it will mean anything, but again, neat fanfic fodder.)

-- Maijo had a short story called 夜中に井戸がやってくる。in Faust vol. 4, and from what I’ve heard it’s about a female ghost emerging from a family’s well at night. I haven’t read it, so it’s possible I’m missing some references?

-- why is that one episode called Fallen. why does it not have -ed at the end like everything else. what is the meaning of this

-- [JDC spoilers, seriously] Narihisago’s ability to talk people into suicide seems to be lifted wholesale from Dokuson’s personal ability, and Anaido reminds me of Pyramid Mizuno, who also pretended to be hilariously inept at detective work while actually being the smartest one around. Hondomachi talking about feeling that intense hatred for serial killers reminded me of Nemu's similar hatred, which the narration brings up so often in the books I feel like it’s foreshadowing for... something very not good. Not sure if any of this is intentional.

#maijo and jdc stuff #id:invaded #id invaded #id:invaded spoilers #I'm still emotionally distraught after ep 10 can you tell

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sheithpositivityweek · 6 years ago

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Sheith Positivity Week 2019 !!!

Howdy! As you can see by the title, Sheith Positivity Week for 2019 is up and running!!!

The major theme has been pre-decided ( crowd sourced!) and it will be “Just Sheith Things~” or otherwise, well, Sheith things!

The date for the week is currently in decision mode. I’m trying to find the BEST week for everyone involved, so I think a poll on ‘months’ would be the best option- and then to narrow it down from there. After all I do want fan participation lol.

What is Sheith Positivity Week?

Well, if you’re new here or just need a reminder:

Sheith Positivity Week of SPW, is an entire week dedicated to all things Positive Sheith! The week is themed (as seen above) and for a full week fans can participate and share their fresh new works with the community.

This year, the week is very open to interpretation. The prompt should be as non-specific as I could get them while still staying within the Sheith theme (that being Keith & Shiro as both individuals and as a couple).

While the week is for Positive Sheith works, should you find the prompts inspiring you elsewhere then you're free to write/draw/animate/gif/edit to your hearts content. I only ask that things are tagged accordingly. (This also includes N SFW works)

Rules

All entries should focus on the romantic relationship between Shiro and Keith.

No OT3 that includes Shiro/Keith will be allowed for this week (sorry OT3 fans!)

Entries should focus on positive energy. Please don’t make it too angsty and/or triggering. The prompts ARE open for interpretation, but this is a positivity week!

NSFW entries are okay. Just make sure to tag appropriately and/or put under [read more].

Tag your entries as #sheithpositivityweek and#sheiththingsweek2019 within the first 5 tags of your entry.

If you post on AO3, please post it under sheithpositivityweek collection.

This is a hate-free event. Do not bash or harass other participants.

Have fun and spread the words around ❤♥

The Prompts

The prompts for this years week have already been decided to create a quicker turn out period, lol. So here they are, up for YOUR consideration, with some gentle explanations for the prompts.

Monday, TBA: Rainbow / Monochrome

An easy first day, a big part of the theme this year is color, and as our favorite black and white duo- nothing fits better than these two!

Tuesday, TBA: Jackets / Gloves

Iconic gear, another easy prompt set but more specific for sheith.

Wednesday, TBA: Nicknames / Last names

A slightly more difficult prompt set. But still applies to the characters well, while still having room for interpretation.

Thursday, TBA: Sometimes / Always

This was a personal pick. A more difficult prompt set. The words feel very sheith and give room for either really happy content or really heart wrenching and then everything in between.

Friday, TBA: “It’s Killing Me When You’re Away” / “It’s Good To Be Back”

Two of the most iconic lines, said by one to the other. A more difficult prompt set meant to be an end of the week deal to give you time to think up ideas.

Saturday, TBA: Song Inspired Work

So!!!! Over the past few months I saw the Sheith Song List take off, and I found that many people have their own favorite song picks for Sheith. This prompt is a happy little nod to the community, so go wild! That song you always play your own mini animatic in your head to? Go for it. If you wanna make a sheith song, that works too!

I only ask that you: Use a lyric from a song to Inspire, Title, of Quote in the work. So basically, if you write a fic insp by it, title it with the lyric/song or use it as a quote, if you draw use it as your caption title or again a quote. ETC. (this is just clarification, please feel free to use the prompt as you please)

Sunday, TBA: Free Day!!!

Self explanatory!!! Go wild! After that finale there’s been a dip in content on tumblr- and I wanna see all those ideas that have been looking for the write audience!

I have the hope, that this positivity week will bring back fans. We all went though some rocky time with the finale, and we all love this ship. I want everyone to remember why they love it. I wanna see the art and stories, I wanna see the niche craft content. And I wanna share the opportunity with everyone!!

So please!!! Feel welcome to join us, whether you’re a long time lover of sheith, or you just like it as an aesthetic, or if you’ve only just recently found an interest in it.

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2minutes2midnight · 5 years ago

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AoS rewatch: 1x04 Eye Spy (1/2)

I thought I’m not gonna have time to rewatch one more episode but I couldn’t sleep so I watched 1x04 before I had to leave for my bus ;). I’m gonna continue my rewatch on Wednesday :).

And because I’m writing this on my phone when I’m in the bus - I probably gonna made 2 posts :)

Here’s what I thought during my first watch:

Is that a flashmob?

What the hell just happened?

“Bang, Bang” - ohhh Skye

A.C - I like it!

Social media are helping in investigation - nice.

Omg Coulson trained her? She’s shield agent?!

That’s a cool way to hide diamonds ;)

Omg “Bus to short bus” - isn’t it adorable?!

That’s important question - what to do when you want pee? :D and of course Fitz wants snacks. This whole conversation was priceless.

Okay...she knows things and helped this lady? Interesting.

Their faces when they realize Amador is looking at their bus - I love those beans <3

Fitz’s face = my face! I hate seeing stuffs with eyes. Also - camera in eye? Creepy.

Fitzsimmons talking science is the best thing to watch <3.

Skye calling May and Coulson - Mom and Dad <3

Fitz looks so adorable when he’s sleepy <3. His sweater messed up, fluffy hair <3.

May vs Amador - oh that’s gonna be iconic!

I guess night night pistol works ;)

Coulson is great at talking with people and helping them.

Simmons is so sweet <3. She and Fitz aren’t really comfortable with removing eye.. (I don’t blame them)

“Seduce him” - hahahahah Ward’s face :D “Da?” - I just can’t lol

That’s a weird room.

“Dr Fitzy” - the way Simmons said “Fitz” :D. Also they way Jemma looks at him - Awww <3

That was close!

Wait...the guy who was controlling her also was controlled by someone?

Who did what to Coulson? What does she mean?

Omg I can’t - Fitz eating pretzels and playing poker with Ward. His sweater is cute. Awww he doesn’t want Skye to see him without clothes. Also - Skye’s face when she put glasses on - lol ;D

My thought now:

To be honest - there were a lot of moments in this episode that I didn’t remember very well. And I didn’t realize how many thing were set up here for the future. Killer switches in eyes, then used for centipede solders. And I didn’t remember at all that in this weird room there was alien’s writing! I don’t think I ever noticed this! I wonder - if one of Tahiti patience was working there? How this thing got there? Did we ever got answers to that? And how they knew it’s gonna be there?

Ward asking Coulson about betrayed of his protégée- so ironic. But after previous episode you could think this is set up for Skye’s betray. There are some similarities between her and Amador, so it would be very fitting if Skye would turn out to be the one who turn her back from Coulson. I think most people thought so after this episode, I don’t think anybody would guess that Ward is gonna be the one who betray the whole team...

I think it was also first episode where May disagree so strongly with Coulson.

Oh and this ending with Amador asking what they did to Coulson? I think everybody had a lot of questions after that ;D

I love watching Fitzsimmons moments - to see those little clues about their feeling, even when both of them didn’t realize it yet. The way Jemma looks at him and smile to him when he’s working on Amador’s killer switch - she knows how uncomfortable he is in this situation and she’s making sure he knows she’s right next to him <3.

And I can’t watch the scene in “little bus” when Amador is watching bus kids without laughing. All I could think of is Liz’s story about how embarrassed Iain was during shooting this scene when he had to were Lycra suit :D

I’m gonna post my favorite moments and quotes in next post :)

#aosrewatchs1 #aosrewatch #aosrewatch1x04 #my thoughts

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hannahindie · 6 years ago

Text

We’re No Heroes - Chapter 2

Characters: Dean Winchester, Sam Winchester, sister!reader, Tony Stark Word Count: 2,169 Warnings: Adult language, crochety Dean, and Tony Stark. I think that’s enough warnings. A/N: So this whole Avengers/Supernatural idea I had got out of hand, and this is the second part to it. There is no timeline for either universe; it’s most definitely an AU. As far as the Avengers go, it’s obviously before Infinity War (for reasons I’m sure you can guess) and I think, generally speaking, we’re just ignoring that Age of Ultron existed. (Unlike a lot of people, I didn’t mind it...but that’s just whole other level of me trying to fit stuff in, and it already hurts my brain. lol) Also, we’re just going to pretend that Civil War either happened and turned out better or it just didn’t happen at all. The Supernatural part is set sometime after they’ve found the bunker. What I’m saying is, I do what I want, and I want all of these people in one spot, and there doesn’t need to be an explanation. Doesn’t have to make sense. Just...let it happen, and bask in it.

Beta’d by @pinknerdpanda, because she’s been my lifesaver as of late. Well, always, but especially here lately. Thank you, twinny. <3 “ I love grumpy old man Dean.”

As always, tags are at the bottom. If you’d like to be added let me know! This fic will, hopefully, be updated every Wednesday until it’s over. Hopefully.

“So, Agent Springfield...Springfield, right?”

“Yep, that’s right.”

“Like Rick Springfield?”

“Yep. My friends call me Dick.”

“May I call you Dick?”

“Nope.”

“Okay, Agent Springfield, what I’d like to know is why you’re in New York. I’ve spoken with the local authorities, and not one of them can tell me why you’d be called in. Not a clue.”

“Hmm. Well, the locals aren’t always included in federal investigations, so there’s your explanation. I don’t report to them.”

“I don’t think you report to anyone. I think you’re impersonating a federal agent, and at the same time, lying to one. You do realize that I’m part of the organization, right?”

“I don’t even remember your name, much less your job description. No offense.”

“Let me refresh your memory, Dean Winchester. My name is Phil Coulson, and I’m the reason you aren’t in a jail cell in a high security lockup. You’ve done some pretty heinous things, so forgive me if I’m less than patient with you. Now tell me, what in the hell happened out there?”

“Why don’t ask you ask your merry band of men in tights? I seem to recall they had a hand in all of it.” He leans forward and Coulson sits back slightly, his eyes wide. “They certainly didn’t seem to be offended by someone like me. Maybe explain why the heroes of the universe would associate with such a heinous individual such as myself? You call me a serial killer? Looks like maybe you should do your job better. I seem to recall a few casualties at the hands of,” Dean rolls his eyes as he air quotes, “‘Earth’s Mightest Heroes’. Now my bro…” he clears his throat and leans back in his chair, “my partner, he’s the true crime expert so he would know better than me...and correct me if I’m wrong...but that sounds a hell of a lot more like a serial killer to me. And you just let them run around in high tech suits and without superversion…” he whistles and puts his hands behind his head, “Doesn’t sound like a good idea to me, although I guess the government has a lot of those-”

“They aren’t serial killers, and if I were you, I’d be very careful how far you step over the line. I’m not asking them, I’m asking you. What happened out there?”

“You’re not as much of a pushover as I thought you would be, Phil. What’s your last name again? Collins? I bet you can feel it in the air tonight, can’t you?”

Coulson glares at Dean, his knuckles white as he clenches them tightly. “It’s Coulson,” he manages to grind out, “and you’d do best to remember that. Now, tell me.”

“Awwe, I’m just having fun with you. I know your last name is Coulson, Debbie Downer. Anyway, it started about a day after we got to New York…”

“Well, that was a fucking bust, wasn’t it?” Dean grumbles as he takes his jacket off and tosses it in the backseat.

“Did you really expect it to go any differently? Since when do we ever actually get the answers we need?” Sam grabs Dean’s jacket off the seat, straightens it, then lays it gently on the bench seat with his own. “Maybe Y/N’s got something.”

Dean climbs into the car and shuts the door as Sam goes around to the passenger side, “Yea, maybe.�� He starts the car, and after checking his mirrors, pulls out into the road and is quickly honked at by a taxi that seemingly appears out of nowhere. He sticks his arm out the window, flashes his middle finger, then continues into traffic. Sam rolls his eyes and sighs, and Dean looks over at him. “What?”

“Nothing.”

“Why don’t you call Y/N, see what she’s found?”

Sam is already scrolling through his phone, and he glances at Dean as he puts his phone up to his ear, “You know, you could go easier on her. She's an adult, and she grew up the same way we did. It's different with her, she can take care of herself.” He frowns when she doesn't answer and hangs up.

“What?”

“No answer. She's probably researching. Let's head back to the hotel and see what she's up to.” He taps out a quick text and hits send, then puts the phone back into his pocket.

“I know she grew up like we did, but that doesn’t mean anything. We just found her, the last thing we need is another Adam situation.” They both fall silent at the thought of the youngest Winchester brother still trapped in the cage. “Anyway, I’m just saying, we gotta watch out for her. Her mom will kill us if something happens.”

“She’s not going to kill us.”

“Sam, she could be Ellen’s twin. She will absolutely kill us.”

“Dean, you’re being ridiculous.” They pull into the valet parking and Dean practically growls when he hands his keys over. “What is wrong with you?” Sam hisses under his breath as he grabs their jackets and his bag from the backseat.

“If she so much as gets a thumbprint on a window…” he glares at the valet as he climbs into the driver's seat, Adam’s apple bobbing nervously as he swallows thickly under Dean’s hateful gaze.

“She’ll be fine. What is with you today?”

“I just don’t see why we have to stay in this fancy ass hotel. We could have stayed outside the city for cheaper, and I could park my own damn car. Maybe gone to a bar where I don’t have to pay to just sit down.”

“You don’t have to...you know what, never mind. It’s only for a couple of days, anyway. We’re scoping it out, then we’ll meet up with Garth and see what we need to do.”

Sam smiles at the woman at the front desk, and she blushes furiously before ducking behind her computer. Dean rolls his eyes as Sam pushes the elevator button.

“What?”

“Nothing, Mr. Universe, nothing at all.” They walk into the elevator and Dean jams his thumb into the thirteenth button. “Thirteenth floor. I feel like that's just asking for it.”

It is Sam’s turn to roll his eyes as they ride the rest of the way to their room in silence, other than the canned Muzak playing through the small speakers above them. The elevator finally slows to a stop and the doors slide open with a ding. “When we get to the room, please just...lay off her, huh? She's not a kid, she's a good hunter.”

They step out and begin walking down the hall. “Why don't you quit telling me what to do? As much as you're repeating it, it sounds like you're trying to convince yourself that she's fine.” He puts a hand on Sam’s arm and stops him outside their door, “She’s our responsibility now. We promised Alice that if she came with us, we’d keep her safe. Just being a Winchester is one strike, and I’m sure Y/N taking our last name is probably a second.”

Sam sighs, “Do you really think Alice would have let her come with us if she didn’t trust us? I mean, you’ve met her, right? She’s not exactly a pushover, and I’m also pretty sure she doesn’t care about the last name thing. Y/N did that before we even knew she existed. Nothing is going to happen to her, okay? Not everyone we care about dies.” Dean raises an eyebrow and Sam sighs again. “Alright, I see your point. She’ll be fine.” Sam unlocks the door and pushes it open, “Y/N, were you able to find anything-” He stops mid-sentence when he sees the that the room is empty and exactly the way they had left it that morning. “Y/N?”

Dean throws the bathroom door open, then walks into the connecting suite to find it also empty. He walks back into the living room, “You were saying?”

“I’m sure there’s a good explanation. Maybe she decided to work at the library instead of coming back here.” He pulls his phone from his pocket and frowns, “She’s not answered my text message.” He taps the screen, then quickly puts the phone to his ear. “Y/N, where are you? Call us back as soon as you can.” He hangs up, then looks at Dean, his brows knitted in concern.

“Okay, clearly no one came here...so somewhere between the police station and here, she went off course. It’s Y/N, so that’s not a surprise. And like you said, when she’s researching, she doesn’t pay attention to anything else. You’re probably right, she’s just at the library. Now, where’s that?”

“Do you realize how many libraries are in this city? She could be anywhere.”

Dean plops down on the couch and runs a hand over his face, “Yea, well, we have to start somewhere.”

“If you have a good idea, let’s hear it-” Sam is interrupted by his phone ringing and he quickly answers it. “Hello?”

“Hey, it’s me. Get anything?”

“Seriously? Where are you?!”

“Oh, yea, sorry, I got caught up. You’re never gonna believe-” A muffled voice in the background cuts her off, there is a moment of whispering, and then she comes back on the line. “Actually, can you meet me somewhere? It’s uh...it’s kind of hard to explain. But I think I’ve got some help on this little demon problem we’re having...well, not little. It’s not little at all.”

Dean grabs the phone out of Sam’s hand, “Where the hell are you? You were supposed to come back to the hotel room, what happened?”

“Like I said, it’s hard to explain. I need you guys to meet me at this address.” She rattles it off before Dean has a chance to answer and he grabs the notepad from the coffee table and hastily scribbles the information she gives him.

“But you’re okay, right? All in one piece?”

“Yes, Dean, I’m fine. Thank you for being worried. Now, hurry your asses up and get over here.” The line goes dead and Dean hands the phone back to Sam.

“She gave me an address, let’s go.”

“Where is she?”

“I guess we’re going to find out.”

Dean pulls up to the address Y/N gave him and slows to a stop, his eyes slowly traveling from the entrance to the top of the very tall building.

“You’ve got to be kidding me.”

“What?” Sam asks without looking up from his phone. Dean grabs his face and turns it to the window and he looks up, his jaw dropping at the sight in front of him. “Are you... are you sure this is the address she gave you?”

“Yea, I’m sure.”

They both climb slowly out of the car, their heads turned upward at the sight, and close their doors.

“Mr. Winchester?” Dean looks down and sees a valet standing in front of him, his hand held out and smiling. Dean frowns and the valet laughs, “I’ve been told you’re very protective of...Baby. I promise, sir, she’s in good hands. I wouldn’t have this job if I wasn’t good at it.”

“He’s right you know, I don’t hire riff raff. Happy parks my cars all the time, top notch parking. As a matter of fact, he just parked my car, did it perfectly. Actually, we’ve got a deal, ideal parking in thirty seconds or it’s free.”

Both Winchesters snap their heads in the direction of the voice, their eyes wide. The man belonging to it walks casually down the stairs, sunglasses obscuring the upper part of his face. Dean drops his keys in the outstretched hand and walks around the Impala to join Sam. The man stops in front of them and pulls his sunglasses off, and Sam’s face transforms from disbelief to pure awe.

“What...we…”

“You must be Sam.” He looks him up and down for a moment, “You sure you aren’t part of the super soldier experiment? I mean, you’re huge. What year were you born? And where? I’d like to know what they put in the water there, maybe use it for something here. Science, you know. And you,” his eyes travel to Dean, “you must be Dean. I mean honestly, Y/N said you guys were large, but I think our resident super humans are going to be a little jealous. I’m not, because I’m comfortable with what I was born with, but you know how superheroes can be. Well, genetically enhanced superheroes, anyway.” He holds his hand out, and both Sam and Dean shake it half-heartedly, still confused by what is happening.

“Y/N...is here?”

“Yea, funny story about that. Anyway,” he waves in the general direction of the building, “welcome to Avengers Tower. I’m your host, Tony Stark. Food and beverages will be provided. Now, I think we’ve got some demons to take care of. Shall we?”

Like what you see? Would you like to see more? Check out my master list HERE.

Forever Tags: @trexrambling @pinknerdpanda @wheresthekillswitch @emilywritesaboutdean @arryn-nyxx @emptywithout @escabell @charliebradbury1104 @jarpadandjensenaremyheroes @deanssweetheart23 @canadianjelly @super-not-naturall @aubreyreadsstuff @dean-winchesters-baby @melissaj616 @fandomismyspiritanimal @keepcalmandcarryondean @assbutt-still-in-hell @owllover123 @rosie-winchester @amionthetumbler @duubaduu @hiimaprofessionalfangirl @goldenolaf25 @authoressskr @nanie5 @mrssamfuckingwinchester @zincomms @kathaswings @crazynerdandproud @barbedwireandbubblegum @sandlee44 @boxywrites @justanotherdeangirl @smalltowndivaj @captainradicalpassion @myloveforyouxx @atc74 @mrsbatesmotel53 @there-must-be-a-lock @masksandtruths @thelittleredwhocould @jotink78 @amanda-teaches @ilsawasanacrobat @squirrel-moose-winchester @mjdoc90 @anticipate1003 @mrswhozeewhatsis @mogaruke @speakinvain @linki-locks11 @wildlandfox @rhochradel @lostnliterature @eternal-elir @spn-ficfanatic @polina-93 @lexiiiii28 @poukothenerd @emoryhemsworth

Dean Only: @akshi8278 @valkyrieslament @lavieenlex @highonpastries @wholelottajackles @imascio08 @adoptdontshoppets

Sam Only: @bunnybaby121115

We’re No Heroes: @xalgaliareptx @primenumberscanbeintimidating @aubreystilinski @impandagrl @ludo4 @nikkilaf @babyimp67 @smi727 @lexiiiii28 @rideandwritethings @trunk-full-of-ideas @a-sad-excuse-of-everything @hetaliameow @gingermimi1975 @carryonmywaywardcaptain @contemplatin @tinyvelociraptor2319 @paintballkid711 @smandrews3 @waitwhatsrealityagain @adoptdontshoppets @marvelskitten-999 @frostingsfics @bookworm104 @ellen-reincarnated1967 @kararanae23 @dreamwhisper87 @hooked-onfandoms @sleepymessxc

#supernatural #avengers #supernatural x avengers cross over au #marvel #fanfiction #dean winchester #sam winchester #sister!reader

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michael-hearteyes-wheeler · 6 years ago

Photo

As Strange As it Seems

[1] [2]

Chapter 3: Saddle up, Partner!

Read on (AO3) or (FF.net)

[A/N] So, fun fact, I made three moodboards for this fic, and I wanted to find a way to use each of them. Im calling this phase of the fic ‘Act II’, and this moodboard fits the tone better than the original one. I hope its not too confusing lol! And I hope you enjoy chapter three.

The week that followed, went on much the same as opening day. Hot, humid, big crowds, 'Saddle up, Partner', a lunch break that was really just a mad dash to shove something into your face, and then it was off to the rides with Max.

Mostly it was fine. And getting that first paycheck, that was pretty great too, but by far the best part of everyday was right before closing. When the sky turned pink and orange, and the sounds of laughing crowds faded, leaving only the constant calliope jingles to be heard. By Wednesday Max didn't even have to ask for Lucas to join. He would just hop over the counter and they would cross different things off of her checklist. By Friday they had ridden the Scrambler 8 times, and all of the kiddy rides at least a dozen times each.

Still, he was unsure of what to call their relationship. Were they friends? Was she only spending time with him because no one else would agree? Was he overthinking everything? (Probably, yes to the last one, for sure).

The answer, to at least some of his questions, came in an odd form on the last day of the first week.

Saturday had been essentially a repeat of each day before, the only difference was that there was a live performance of some magician happening in the evening. 'Great Value brand Mind-Freak' as Dustin had referred to him. Which was, all things considered, pretty accurate. But it also meant that most of the rides, as well as the midway would be closing early, and that during the 'pre-show' show, Lucas's lunch break was extended to a full hour. A gift from god himself.

Lucas decided that a milkshake sounded pretty good. But, then again, so did the idea of a bucket of ice getting dumped on his head. He made his was towards the cart he had come to frequent over the last several days.

"Aw hey, to what do I owe the pleasure?" Dustin grinned toothily from behind the food stands sliding glass window. He had his curly mop of hair pulled back in a messy ponytail to help keep off some of the heat. He wore a little paper hat with the fairs logo, and a striped polo that reminded Lucas of something an old timey barber might wear.

"It's my break, I just came to beat the heat." Lucas looked past his friend into the little booth, wear a row of slushie machines sat churning their sweet treats.

"Well come on in then!" Dustin disappeared from his place behind the window, and popped out of a small door a moment later, gesturing for Lucas to follow.

The space inside the cart was small, and what little floor space there was was covering in shipment boxes of food. A giant fan sat on the back wall above a small window, and a cooling breeze pushed its way through the space. There was a bubbling deep fryer for elephant ears, and another one for curly fries. There was a big class cooler with buckets of ice cream inside, and a long counter covered in sprinkles that didn't quite hit their target.

Lucas found a place to sit on top of a couple of sturdier boxes, and Dustin busted around the cart, like a well tuned machine, making them both milkshakes all without breaking conversation.

"I swear, some of these people have to be millionaires. $5 for a large fry!? You have to be kidding me! That's really the only perk though, that I get to eat for free." Dustin handed Lucas his shake before leaning against the counter opposite him.

"At least your job has a perk. I just have to stand there all day and press a button a thousand times." Lucas leaned back against the cool metal walls of the cart. He only then realized how sore his feet were.

"Don't sweat it, you get to close up early and run around while i'm still in here slaving away." Dustin paused to take a sip from his shake. "And besides, I can't think of a pretty good perk that you have."

Lucas furrowed his brows. "And what might that be?"

"You work directly across from Max! I'll bet you anything that the two of you fall in love before the end of the summer." Dustin winked and Lucas groaned.

"First of all, that's ridiculous. Second of all, we both just like rides. It's not like we get to just hang out all day, unless I yelled across the walkway, and that would just be weird."

"Look, ill i'm saying is that on your break you could have gone and chatted up a cool girl, but instead you came and talked to me." Lucas could feel a headache coming on from the amount of eye rolling he was doing. Why had he come here in the first place?

"Alright, Henderson, time for our switch." A voice called gruffy from the back of the cart. The boys turned to look at the woman who was clambering through the cramped space. She was older, with grey blonde hair pulled up into a hair net, and the face of a bulldog. An unlit cigarette dangled from her lips.

"Thanks Susan!" Dustin said as he hurriedly grabbed his things, and motioned for Lucas to follow. Lucas watched Susan give him an uneasy look up and down before turning to the window.

As soon as they were outside, Dustin untucked his polo shirt, and tossed his already finished shake into the trash.

"Thats Susan. She's one tough nut to crack. I used some of my best food puns on her, and nothing! Not even a chuckle!"

"Well yeah, if they were your food puns then im sure not." Lucas joked, elbowing his friend in the ribs as they walked.

"Haha very funny. You wanna go see Will? I think the backstage has AC."

"Hell yeah!"

They backstage did have AC. It hit them both like a wall, stepping into utter paradise. It looked a lot different than it did the first time they had walked through. The cavernous room was filled with people rushing back and forth across its cement floor. People yelling things at one another, people hoisting things up on ropes, and Will himself painting lazily in the corner, looking bored out of his mind, across from a wildly gesticulating Mike.

"Will Byers!" Lucas hollered, cupping his hands around his mouth to make his voice boom through the space. Nearly everyone turned and scowled at him before continuing about their business.

"Oh! Hey guys, what's going on?" Will set down his paintbrush, and wiped his hands on his apron. Mike stopped whatever he had been going on about and turned to wave at them.

"We were hot," Dustin plopped down on the cool ground at Will's feet. "And Susan scares me, so we came here to bother you."

"Well, there isn't anything interesting going on here." Will shrugged. He looked... off. Sad Maybe? Disappointed? Lucas couldn't quite place it. He made a mental note to ask him later. "But you could probably hide out here all day. I'm still not even sure who is in charge back here."

"William, I might just take you up on that." Dustin leaned against a large wooden crate, arms tucked behind his head and legs outstretched.

They all sat and talked for the rest of Lucas's break. It was nice, catching up, and it affirmed what he already knew to be true. That it really was more fun that they had agreed to join him. If it weren't for his friends being there to hang out with, he would probably have just been standing around the Midway like an idiot. That, or be off spending his entire paycheck at the arcade.

"And then, he got off the ride and basically fell over the edge! He was passed out for like five minutes! I thought we were going to have to call the paramedics." Mike was telling them a story about one of their old Middle School bullies, who handled the Tilt-A-Whirl with the grace of a dying whale. They were all howling with laughter. "The best part is that his date didn't even wait for him! She just went home!"

"Serves him right!" Dustin chuckled, wiping a tear from his eye. "God I wish I could have seen that."

"It was pretty great. Definitely blows the Hotdog Incident out of the water." He finger quoted the words and Will smirked up at him.

Just then, Lucas's watch beeped. He sighed, and stood up, dusting his jeans off. "Alright guys, I gotta get back out there. Are you all going to watch the show?"

"Yeah, may as well." Mike shrugged and Dustin nodded. Will looked like he wanted to say something, but he didnt.

"Cool, i'll find you guys later then."

Lucas made his way back through the fairgrounds, passing happy families and rambunctious teenagers, towards the shooting gallery. He made the trek take as long as possible, shuffling his feet slowly across the dirt pathways. By the time he got back to the midway, the crowds had mostly cleared out. People were already flocking to the stage, wanting to find the best places to stand to watch whatever bogus tricks would be performed. Lucas imagined a lot of smoke and mirrors and sequins. As he neared the game booths, he couldn't help but look up as he passed by Max's stand. His heart dropped momentarily when he saw that she wasn't behind the sunbleached counter, and instead some other bored looking teenager stood in her place.

It wasn't until he turned the corner to his own booth that he saw where exactly she had run off too.

Max was sitting on the shooting gallery counter, swinging her tanned legs casually and drinking from a bottle of orange soda that almost matched her hair in color. When she saw Lucas in the corner of her eye, she turned and smirked.

"Your break ended ten minutes ago." She scolded playfully, hopping from the counter.

"Uh yeah I know I... Had to wait in a long line for the bathrooms." Lucas winced at his own lame excuse. Smooth, Sinclair, really smooth. He didn't think that taking his sweet time on the walk back would affect anyone he actually cared about. Not that he cared about Max, no not at all (aside from the fact that he cared a lot).

"Shame on you, Lucas, look at all of these customers just begging to shoot something!" Max gestured out at the completely empty space around the booth mockingly. "You have deprived them of a good time, and now their entire trip is ruined all because of your small bladder."

Lucas felt himself smile as her condescending facade faded into a giggle. "Sorry Miss Mayfield, i'll make sure to keep my bladder in check next time."

Max laughed hard at that, and it was a sound that made Lucas's face feel hot. "See that you do. You wanna make it up to me?"

"Sure, how?"

"Let me kick your ass in a shooting contest." She patted the top of one of the plastic guns.

"You can try, but I hate to break it to you, i'm the best sharp shooter in Roane County." Lucas crossed his arms in defiance. He really was good, if not on his credentials shooting tin cans with his wrist rocket as a kid, then the week of practice he had amassed working here would surely secure his victory.

"We'll see about that, wont we?" Max flipped her hair over her shoulder as she took her place behind the player 2 shotgun. Lucas smiled and followed suit. After they were both in position, Lucas leaned over the counter and pressed the little red start button hidden underneath.

"Saddle up, Partner." Max and Lucas both spoke along with the games droning prerecording, having heard it a million times before. It made them both laugh before they fixed their rifles in their hands. Then, a western themed song played, and it was off to the races.

Little cardboard cutouts of sharp shooters and bandits would flip up with a number telling you how many points each hit was worth. Some moved slowly and were easy to hit, others flipped up for only a few seconds before flipping back down again. However, it's not exactly that simple, because hitting the cowboy, his horse, or a barmaid will deduct points.

Max and Lucas were firing at full speed. Each turning and aiming, the barrel of their guns crossing on a couple of occasion as Lucas went for a 10 point bandit, and Max went for a 15 point burglar.

"Stay on your side, Stalker!" Max hissed, determination and excitement in her voice.

"I will if you-" Bang "Do!" Lucas taunted back.

Lucas felt pretty confident, there weren't many targets he was missing, and he only hit the Cowboy once. It was probably his best game so far. Max was doing pretty well too. Aiming low and high, getting heavily invested and cheering after she caught the big 50 pointer that flashes up only for a split second. They were both laughing and bumping into one another before;

"That's some sharp shooting, buckaroo!" The game signaled that the round was over. Each cutout lowered back into place, and they returned their guns to the stands on the counter. They were both panting slightly, grinning from ear to ear. At least until Lucas looked up at the scoreboard.

Player 1: 445 - Player 2: 560

"Holy shit!" Max cheered, "I totally owned you!" She threw her arms up and spun in a small circle. Lucas's mouth just hung open. "Oh man, like I mean, I knew I was going too, but you weren't even close!" She punched his arm.

"Jeez, someone is really a sore winner." Lucas chastised and Max threw her head back in a loud cackling laugh. The same laugh that she always had when they were whirling together on rides.

"I can't help it!" She giggled, "You are just so fun to beat. Your face gets all confused and then you scrunch your eyebrows together."

Lucas felt his eyebrows, involuntarily, press together.

"Yeah, like that!" She laughed again and flicked his forehead. If it had been anyone else, he probably would have smacked their hand away.

"Yeah yeah yeah, congratulations or whatever, are we even now?" Lucas crossed his arms, watching her dance in place celebratorily.

"Totally even, I mean, i'm still going to gloat about this for the rest of today, and maybe forever, but we are even." She lifted her chin, looking proud.

"Until I find something I can beat you at."

"Is that a threat, Stalker? Video games are kind of the only thing i'm good at, and i'm really good."

Something really honest past through her eyes at this last rib. He realized that he had never heard Max say anything even remotely self-deprecating before. Not even to be funny. It was strange. It felt off.

"Hey, that's not even fair, you are good at lots of things, maybe just... extra good at video games."

Max looked at him puzzled for a moment. She was still smiling, but her eyes peered deeply into his own, shifting back and forth, almost like she was reading him.

"Okay. Maybe just extra good." She grimaced, her mouth turning downward crookedly.

He felt as though he had stepped into some sort of weird, uncomfortable, territory.

"I will find something to beat you at though. One day." He smiled as earnestly as possible, and let himself slouch against the counter, wanting to change the energy of the situation.

"Well," She slouched beside him, her face shifting back to a more normal, playful one, "If that day ever comes, then i'll owe you big time."

"Oh yeah? Like what?"

Her face shifted yet again. She was closer to him now, looking up at him. He could see the small flecks of green that framed her brilliant, blue eyes. How had he never noticed that before? She was looking... Mischievous. Like she had a secret she was just dying to tell.

"I will tell you when and if that day comes, Stalker, but for now, you have made me miss some of my lunch break." She punched his arm, again, and pushed herself off of the counter.

"Hey, you were the one who wanted to play!" He hollered as she began walking back towards the main part of the fair.

She didn't respond, or if she did, he didnt hear it, but his heart buzzed in his ears. That small exchange had told him... well, nothing really. If anything it just gave him more questions. Max was always making him second guess and over think things. Which was, admittedly, really out of character for him. He was always the 'level-headed' friend. The one who said 'No, Dustin, you shouldn't try to eat a burger in one bite.' and 'No, Mike, you shouldn't spend all weekend trapped in the basement, come have fun.' It kind of alarmed him, actually, the fact that she could waltz over to him, flash a smile, and his brain would turn into mush. He sighed, and hopped over the counter back into his station.

The midway closed soon after that. There were just no crowds to try to sell too, and the entire carnival was basically empty save for the Main Stage. Lucas walked off after being relieved for the night, and he met up with Dustin as soon as the food cart closed. Together they found Mike, and then Mike found El and Max. Soon the entire group was on a mission, searching high (and mostly low) for Will. If he was somewhere deeper in the crowd, the thought of finding him would have to be dashed, but he made himself be found in a way that left the entire group reeling.

Will Byers. On stage, dressed in some ridiculous, blue velvet suit, being locked inside of a gaudy box by the magician.

The group was at a loss, silent and in awe, just like the rest of the crowd, but for very different reasons. Will had always been shy. More a behind the scenes sort of personality. It was immediately agreed upon that he had either been bribed, blackmailed, or hypnotized.

Will stepped out from behind a curtain. The Magician introduced him to the crowd as 'The Invisible boy!' He was asked to step inside of a huge rectangular box in the middle of the stage. Everything about Will, the Magician, and the box shimmered in the dusk lighting. Lucas had been right about the sequins, there was no denying that. Will did as he was asked, looking less 'mystified', and more just terrified.

The Magician tapped on the box several times, spinning it around, then spinning it again to show it was a solid structure. Then, he said some sort of magical word gibberish, and swung the door open. Only Will, and his very horrible suit, were gone. In his place was a beautiful and busty woman wearing a swimsuit version of that blue velvet ensemble.

The crowd went nuts, and so did the Party, but again, for very different reasons. Max and Dustin both cupped their hands around their mouths to let out loud and ear piercing applause, before Max grabbed Lucas by the hand, and pulled him towards the backstage area. He could feel the others behind him, but mostly he could just feel Max holding his hand tightly.

They found Will in the dressing room, hanging his suit delicately onto a hanger. He looked green with nausea, and pink with embarrassment all at the same time.

"William Byers!" Dustin gasped.

"Please, please for the love of god, tell me you weren't watching the show." Will groaned somberly.

"Oh, we watched buddy, and you killed it! Who knew royal blue was your color!"

"I didn't kill anything. I just looked like an idiot and walked into a box." Will rolled his eyes.

"You didn't look like an idiot," Mike placed a hand on Will's shoulder. "It was... surprising, but cool. Why did you go out there?"

"I guess the normal assistant for that part never showed up, and i'm the only person small enough to fit through the trap door." He shrugged.

"Trap doors!? Thats awesome! You have to give me a secret tour." Max winked at him and mussed his hair like a mom. That made him smile as he smoothed his hair back into place. Max speaking made Lucas realize that she was still holding his hand tightly. She must have noticed too, because she dropped it, and stuck her hand in her pocket.

"Yeah, sure, maybe. Can we just go? It's going to be crazy getting out of here." Will sometimes did this thing where he would anxiously bounce in place. It was nowhere near the level of twitching and bouncing that Mike often demonstrated, but it was his own version of it. And that's how he looked now, his flush face, and hair bouncing as his eyes flickered to the exit.

It made Lucas remember that sad expression he had worn when they saw him backstage. Was this the reason? Being forced out of his comfort zone? Either way, they all nodded and followed him outside.

"Sure, whatever you say, Invisible boy."

Will just groaned.

The group made their way out into the parking lot. It was basically silent. The only sounds were the 'oo's' and 'aa's' coming from the crowd still inside the gates. It had become a routine for the girls to walk with them to the van, before deciding it was really time to go home, and walking to Max's own car. It was nice, and the conversations they all shared before splitting lasted longer and longer each day.

El was talking about someone who came through the ticket line and had made a big fuss about the price. They all commiserate with her and laughed at her jokes. She was surprisingly really funny, in an understated sort of way. Unlike Dustin, who told a story about some kid who wanted sour apple sherbet and vanilla ice cream, and they all laughed about that too. It felt so... natural. Like they all got along, and the conversation never fell into awkward silence or a dead lull. Not with personalities like Dustin and Max, who bickered over basically everything as if they were old chums. Somewhere the path of the conversation had become skewed to comic's, and it was all downhill from there.

"Dustin, shut up, seriously, if I hear you say one more thing about the MCU im going to kick you." Max rolled her eyes and laughed.

"I'm just saying! It's an objectively better franchise with objectively better narratives!"

"Yeah, I think we all caught that. I even like Marvel movies, and you are making me want to pull my hair out." She flipped her hair back over her shoulder, as if to prove a point, and turned away from him to Lucas. They were sitting on the floor of the van through the open sliding door. "Anyway, Stalker, I have to go before I kill your friend."

"Hey, it's your life, you can kill whoever you want."

"You promise you would still be my friend after?" She put a hand in front of her mouth, as if to keep it a secret, although she still talked loud enough for anyone to hear. Mike chuckled and Dustin sighed.

"Max, if you did something to shut Dustin up? I might be your best friend."

"Alright, it's settled then," She clapped her hands together. "Dustin your days are numbered, El you have been replaced."

"Oh get bent, Maxine." El teased back. El was currently leaning into Mike, who had one arm wrapped around her shoulders, and one arm wrapped around Will's shoulders.

Max popped up from her seat next to Lucas with a smirk, pinching El on the arm. "Let's get out of here, lover girl, I can feel them destroying my last good brain cells." And then she sauntered off, her hair swishing back and forth.

"You know," El began as she stepped out from under Mike's arm, "She only insults people that she likes." And then El was off too, waving goodbye and following her friend to their car.

"Jeez, Dustin, then you must be her favorite." Will said with a grin.

"Hey now, I like Max as much as the next guy, but I think we all know who her favorite is." Dustin gave Lucas a shove as he moved past him into the van.

He didn't respond, not being able to think of a good enough comeback, and he let himself smile. Everyone took their normal seats, and they set off just as the sun dipped below the horizon.

The drive back to Hawkins each day felt as though it was getting faster and faster. Maybe it was because of Will's expertly made playlists, or maybe it was just that they had now made the drive seven times. Either way, it was a nice and fulfilling experience to watch the sky get darker, as the long stretches of farmland faded into quiet suburban neighborhoods.

Before he knew it, Dustin was pulling onto Maple Street, and he and Mike were jumping out of the car.

It was now their first official weekend off of work. The fair was closed on Sundays and Mondays, and the group was looking forward to not doing much of anything. They had talked passively somewhere around Thursday at having a movie night, but if those plans fell through, Lucas probably wouldn't complain. He was looking forward to just sleeping in, and maybe using his paycheck to buy some better shoes for standing in.

When he walked inside, His dad was sitting in the easy chair in the living room watching some History channel documentary. His mom was in the kitchen washing up from supper. He heard the TV go silent and took a seat at the breakfast table in front of a plate of leftovers.

"Hey, son, how was work?" His dad bellowed.

"It was good!" He replied through a mouthful of mashed potatoes.

"Oh! I saved you a plate from din-" His mom turned around from the sink, "Oh well look at you, are you eating enough at work? Do I need to start sending you with a lunch?" His mom was always the type to fus about whether or not he was eating enough. She was a great cook, so the answer was almost always yes.

"Im fine, Ma, dont worry about it."

"Okay, well you just let me know." She turned back to the sink. "Work is going well? You and your friends are having a good time?"

"And what about you girlfriend?" Lucas eyes shot up to where his little sister, Erica, was spying on him from the stairs.

"Shut up, Erica! You- You don't even... That's not!" He stuttered, dropping his fork back onto his plate. "Why do you-"

"You should know by now that I hear everything." Erica walked into the kitchen and stole one of his diner rolls.

"Erica! Leave your brother alone, and I think you have had enough bread today." His mom scolded, ringing her hands on a rag.

"It's not my fault he talks so loud!" She shrugged, and turned to stomp back upstairs. He liked his little sister a lot, but she was probably the nosiest person he had ever met.

"I- I don't have a girlfriend." Lucas crossed his arms, suddenly feeling not hungry at all.

"Mmmhmm." His mom hummed.

"Mom! I don't!"

"That's fine, I didn't say anything. Now you wash up before bed, you smell like a churro." She pinched his check and walked into the living room.

Lucas sighed, but he smiled to himself. He finished his food and washed his plate, and all the while he thought about Max. He realized that she had said they were friends, and that made him want to dance in place the same way she had after beating him at the Shooting Gallery. It was an affirmation to at least one of the dozens of questions he had about her.

That at the very least, they were friends. And that was good enough for him, figuring that was as far as he was ever going to get.

At least for now.

Tagging: @stranger-things85 @bestcoastisthewestcoast@she-who-the-river-could-not-hold @dustinhendrsn @samchamberlain @paladin-wheeler@peachysteve @summer-in-hawkins @elliehops @midnightmillie @el-hopper @puzzlingsnark@zerodoubleone@lumaxfanfictionarchive @bob-newby-superhero @sweet-sugar-sunsets @caseyk112

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quarantingz · 5 years ago

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seven things i’ve learned so far in quarantine

wednesday, 29 april on my longer-than-what-i’m-usually-allowed lunch break

This entry stemmed from a prompt I had written on one of my contemplative yet meditative roadside walks a while back. Looking up at the trees and unabashedly into the windows of houses I’d pass, jotting down in messy prose what I see and describing it in detail in my Notes app. Revisiting places in my community that both look and feel familiar and observing them closely as if I’m getting to know them again for the first time has been a new-found hobby of mine as of late.

So I present to you, an elaborate list of seven things I’ve learned so far and everything in between, whilst in quarantine:

Accepting, learning to be okay with and I’d even go as far as saying dancing with loneliness. This is a funny one. I realised after my breakup that I was taken for majority of my adolescence. At least the years where I was still learning how to be an adolescent. This meant that I based a lot of my decisions and sometimes even my happiness on the person I was with. Being the fragile, reserved and passive teenager I was, there were instances where I let people step all over me and take advantage of me. I can say this without feeling an ounce of bitterness now because they’ve already happened. I’ve already borne them. I got out of that labyrinth essentially. I think it’s important to look back on our past selves (and I’ve noticed my peers do the same which is amazing) as we tend to look over our growth and forget to give ourselves credit for overcoming hurdles that at the time seemed insurmountable but in hindsight (to quote Alyssa hehe) now seem trivial. I guess the challenges we go through get harder as we grow up. Like in a video game where the quests increase in difficulty the closer you get to finishing it. Anyway, I digress, so my point is that I got used to having someone to vent to when something particularly exciting or devastating happened to me. While I do think it’s important to open up to someone and not be shy about seeking comfort from them, we can only really rely on ourselves at the end of the day. It’s during these moments of solitude that we’re not influenced by anyone or anything. Perfect for self-reflection.

Doing things “while I remember” them. I thought to myself every now and then that if I had a memoir the title of it would be “While I Remember.” I think I can speak for both myself and Alyssa that we operate on to-do lists on top of to-do lists. To me personally, it was all a matter of quantity over quality. If I didn’t write something down the moment I thought of it, it’ll leave me entirely. As an easily-side tracked procrastinator, I loved putting things off in pursuit of something else that seemed more immediate. But for the last 2 weeks, I found myself taking the initiative to just do something while I remember and while I can. Like if an opportunity to do my laundry when it’s sunny out arises, then just take it. I guess this links to intuition as well. Relying more on intuition when I do things on a daily basis rather than thoroughly thought-out to-do lists has made me feel good recently.

Active listening, being more attentive and sensitive to people and things. At a time where everything seems to demand our attention, I thought I’d never be able to focus on one thing ever again, whether that’s an episode of a TV show, a podcast or a video. Whenever I get some down time I’d put a film on, deceiving myself that I’ll watch the damn thing when I know I’ll just go on my phone anyway. About two weeks ago though, to my surprise, I managed to watch BlacKkKlansman without getting distracted which is worth scoffing at as it shouldn’t even be considered a feat lol. ANYWAY, let me ineffectively segue into mindfulness – something I’m still trying to get better at each waking day but find myself adopting more in daily activities, whether mundane or taxing. Like when I’m working out or stretching, I try to really focus on the physical sensations I’m feeling as I bend and manoeuvre my body in different forms and motions. Being mindful of my breathing, in for 8 seconds, hold, then out for 8 seconds or so, while doing a child’s pose or that yoga pose that I don’t quite know the name of where you place one bent leg on the other, kind of squatting back and putting your hands together as though you’re praying. Back straight, chest out and finding one spot in front of you to focus on as to maintain balance. Or when I’m running and my breathing starts to increase in tempo – inoutinoutinout, but surprise myself that I somehow haven’t fainted and collapsed on the ground 4 kilometres in. Which brings me to my next bulletpoint:

I learned that I can do almost anything so long as I put my mind to it. Like the fact that I and you too can make any edible substance from scratch, be it a tortilla, challah (Jewish braided bread) or buttermilk. Or even something inedible like a shelf. Although I don’t have the willpower to cross that one off my list yet. Going back to my observation of mindful running, I’ve also been describing my fitness progress to a few people as “running becoming second nature that it almost feels like walking.” I think that’s beautiful. How our bodies can quickly adapt to strenuous movement with training. That being said I also learned the importance of:

Rest (I’m looking at you Alyssa! Haha jk). It’s so easy to get into the rhythm of things and forget to take a breather. I’ve had my fair share of these “poor practices” in the last few years. Like doing uni work for 5 hours straight without drinking water, eating or even doing as little as getting up or looking at something that isn’t forcing blue light into my eyes for a couple of minutes, slumped over my laptop and later complaining about having a perpetually sore back. Also to bring it back to running again, insisting to my sister but more to myself that I can keep running even though my shins are practically crying out for rest. I know it’s hard to pause and take a break when you’re on a roll but resting proactively, rather than as a last resort after we’ve crashed, is integral to the function of our bodies. This book called Why We Sleep highlights that if sleep wasn’t so important then why has it evolved up to this point where we still need at least 7 hours of it for optimal physical and mental health as well as daily performance? Alyssa and I have tackled hustle culture a few times on this blog but it’s so important that we keep coming back to it. Then again we’re so hypocritical because we always seem to remind our loved ones to rest but we hardly ever do ourselves hehe. We’re getting there! No pressure.

Resourcefulness and/or as I like to call it “working with what you have.” I have been very adamant about cooking using ingredients we already have on hand as opposed to finding a recipe and flocking to the supermarket to get all the ingredients on the list. Hell, I sometimes even draw mind maps of meal ideas that share as many components with each other to make sure I get the most out of my money. I think I really did age 20 years since not being with my parents for 3 months, speaking of which, I think this turned out to be a blessing as it made me more intuitive and understanding of the struggle my mum used to, not really complain about but she sure wanted us to hear, that it’s hard to think of what to cook for dependants sometimes [most of the time]. Hats off to all mums out there doing the leg work for us!

Lastly, and I think this point actually ties everything I said together into a neat bow, I learned that life is indeed what you make of it. Emphasis on the doing word “make” as we often tend to be lived by external events and our thoughts when in reality, although these can attack us from different directions, we can choose whether we’ll let them affect us. I recently learned more about the Greek philosophy of stoicism which is living by the fact that “we don’t control and cannot rely on external events, only ourselves and our responses.” Again I think that’s beautiful. Hard to practice but beautiful nonetheless.

I’ll end this one with a line by Ottessa Moshfegh which I think encapsulates how I view and treat this quarantine period (or at least try to):

“Here is how I spend my days now. I live in a beautiful place. I sleep in a beautiful bed. I eat beautiful food. I go for walks through beautiful places. I care for people deeply. At night my bed is full of love, because I am alone in it. I cry easily, from pain and pleasure, and I don’t apologise for that. In the mornings, I step outside and I’m thankful for another day. It took me many years to arrive at such a life.”

- p

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