#this look vs his two toned plaid GO!!
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holylulusworld · 1 year ago
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Demon Knife - Angsttober 26
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Summary: You need something from Dean.
Pairing: Dean Winchester x fem!Reader
Warnings: angst, implied abandonment, Lisa is a bitch in this one, mentions of slime (monsters), Dean being a douche, no happy ending
Trope: Friends to enemies
Kinktober vs Flufftober 2023
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“Hey, open the door,” you’re panting heavily, but you made it to Dean’s door. Or rather his new girlfriend’s door. You harshly knock again. He just needs to help you.
“Who are you, and what do you want?” Lisa mutters behind the closed door. “I got a gun.”
“I’m a friend of Dean,” you lick your dry lips. “I’m in trouble…or not. I mean…it’s complicated.” You feel dizzier per minute. “Listen, I don’t have time to explain things. But I need to wash this stuff off me." You slur. Fuck. The slime the monsters spat at you starts working. “I need…fuck…”
“You’re drunk or on drugs. I’m not going to let you in,” she says and locks the door. “Go away. I got a child.”
“I only need water and salt to wash it off,” you lean your head against the door. “I’m not drunk, miss. I…the slime…I feel…”
You end up on the ground, darkness consuming your mind and body as loud voices lull you into sleep. You recognize one of them. It’s Dean.
 “Lis’ she doesn’t mean anything to me. Y/N is an old friend. A hunter. I guess she needs something from me. I’m not going to go with her or let her stay.”
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“You shouldn’t have come here.” Great. That’s the first thing you want to hear after waking from another nightmare.
You groan and rub your tired eyes. “Y/N, you can’t come here, drunk and angry.” He shakes his head. “I got a new life.”
“Christ, you are as dull and unhelpful as your girlfriend,” you jolt up on the backseat of Baby, cursing because you are only wearing one of Dean’s old shirts. “Hello, Baby. I’ve missed you.” You pat the backseat.
Dean watches you get out of his car. He sighs and runs one hand down his face. “She’s not dull, nor unhelpful. But you came here. Drunk.”
“I wasn’t drunk,” you grunt, and stomp your foot. “It was the slime making me feel dizzy. All I needed was some water and salt. I told that bitch so.”
“She’s not a bitch either,” he grits his teeth and jerks his head toward your bag in the front seat of Baby. “You should get your shit and leave.”
“I wasn’t drunk, only influenced by the slime.” You sigh deeply. The man standing in front of you is not the man you used to know. “I came here because I need one of the books in the trunk of Baby.”
“You could’ve asked Bobby,” Dean watches you snatch your bag from the seat to get a pair of jeans and a shirt out. You strip his shirt off, throwing it at Dean. “He’s got more than enough books.”
You ignore his harsh tone and the way he watches your every move.
While he tells you it was a mistake to come here, you throw your jeans on, followed by your shoes.
“I need a specific book to find a way to kill those monsters. The last one belongs to Bobby, but Sam—” You bite your tongue. It’s the first time you have said Sam's name since he jumped into the pit to defeat the devil himself. “He took the book and it’s still in the car.”
Your voice shakes as you remember the day you and Sam bickered about the book. He wanted to read it first but gave in and let you read it first.
“I know there was a remedy to neutralize their slime, and I need Ruby's knife.”
“You came all the way out here for a book?” He cocks a brow. “Really.”
You exhale sharply through your nose. “I told you that the book is the last one. Believe me, this is the last place I want to be.”
“Why do you need the knife?” He watches you dress in the hunter’s uniform. A shirt and a plaid you stole from him years ago.
You don’t look at him. Not after what he said last night. His words still echo in your mind, and you once again tell yourself he’s not worth your tears, or the heartbreak you still feel.
“Well, with two Winchesters down, and the last one living the apple pie life, the remaining hunters must do thrice the work. Now the monsters believe they can defeat anyone. If the Winchesters can fall, or if they can make them skip out on the job, those bastards believe we are all quitters.
You sneer when Dean tries to put his hand on your shoulder. “Y/N, we talked about this. Sammy wanted me to have a normal life.”
“Yeah, but why did you…Why her?” You sniff. “I thought…maybe…” You shake your head and swallow the words burning your tongue. “Forget it. You’ve got a new life. I hope you’re happy. Now, if you just handle me the knife, I’ll be on my way.”
Holding out your hand you try to not look at Dean. “Sweetheart, maybe you should quit too?”
You chuckle bitterly at his words. “I tried, but the man I loved chose some yoga instructor chick he met once over me. So, stop acting like you care and give me the knife.”
“I-“ Dean sighs deeply. “If that’s what you want.”
“No, but it will keep me alive. Because the man promising me to always have my back left me for some other girl.”
Dean hands you the knife. He watches you grab the book from the trunk, sniffling as your eyes land on the makeshift bookmark Sam made for you stick out of the book. “Do you need anything else?”
You huff and shake your head. “I’ve got it handled. Bobby will help me bring those slimy bastards down,” you lift your eyes from the book to glare at Dean. “He’s going to have my back.”
With that, you turn your back on Dean, to stuff the book and knife into your duffle bag and sling it over your shoulder. “Y/N, wait…”
“Save it, Winchester…” you look over your shoulder. “Maybe you should change your name too. Because we all believed that Winchesters aren’t quitters. At least Sammy was brave enough to save the world…”
It’s a low blow, but you deliver it with a smirk. Dean visibly flinches at your words but doesn’t say a thing. He just stares at you, unsure if anything he says will change your opinion.
“You should tell your girlfriend to not fuck with everyone knocking at her door. Not everyone has enough impulse control to not punch her.”
You walk out of the garage, regretting only one thing. That you must leave Baby behind…
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“How’d it go?” Bobby asks as you get into his car. He nods as you show him the book. “I guess now we can get rid of these slimy bastards. How’s the boy doing?”
“Plays house with his yoga instructor. He told me to leave so,” you push the tears away, “let’s roll. I don’t want to stay in his neighborhood for too long.”
“I’m sorry kiddo…”
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Bobby and you took the monsters down. It was a hard fight, and you needed the help of another hunter, but you made it.
Even though it was a struggle to forget about Dean, you managed to not think about him for the better of three months.
It gets easier to not have him around, grinning goofily, while telling you a dirty joke. You almost don’t miss his enthusiasm for food, or how he sang along to the songs he loved on the car rides you miss so much.
It almost feels like you never had feelings for him. Almost. Only this dull pain remains in your chest. But it will fade soon, you’re sure about it.
One day, Dean Winchester will only be someone you used to know��
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calliedion-dungeon · 2 years ago
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𖤓Sore Kisses
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Picture Kath on Pinterest
(oooh look! another Mary Goore/Fem reader fic) (Also, first time posting a Mary Fic in here)
Chapter 1. Spider vs Bat
Read on ao3 <<<
Summary: Your best friend Frank wants to include you in his circle of friends, that triggers a series of encounters with one of his rommies, Mary Goore, at first they get along fatally, but it's just that you don't know each other. How many steps does it take for you to get along?
Warnings: MDNI +18, Smoking, Heavy Drinking, Fluff and Angst (later) Swearing, Crossdressing (later), Adult Content, Eventual Smut, Blonde Mary Goore!! Everyone is a Little Shit in here, later it gets all Soft and Smutty, Enemies to Friends to Lovers Trope.
//If you have read my other fics with Mary, you'll know this is the most self-indugent piece of shit I make :D//
While you light a second cigarette, sitting on a very short wall as your feet swing, you playfully kick your friend's shoulder, Frank, the one who always accompanies you, he’s sweeter than anyone in the world, but his image of a rough, tan, muscular metalhead helps you go out and nobody bothers you thanks to his intimidating physique, no one knows that usually you’re the one who takes care of him, you, who is up to his elbow in height, yet fierce and short temper, often he’s the one stopping you from starting a fight.
You find yourself sitting on a block fence, waiting for some boys to arrive that he wants to introduce you to, his plan is to merge circles of friends. You give him another little push with your boot, he knows you're bothering him on purpose, you've known each other for so many years that he's immune to your anger, your impatience and especially your high-pitched voice, that tone you make when you're bored, just like now, you've been waiting for half an hour, and your friend just takes a step away from you so your foot won't reach him.
“They aren't coming, dude…” you tease your friend, as you often do by telling him “She doesn’t love you” or “They changed you for a better person” and “We’re secretly cousins”
“Yes, they are… stop that!” Frank pleas about your annoying foot, holding his arms crossed giving you a side eye, that was one of his virtues, he never got angry at you.
“They better be worth it; you know I hate meeting new people” you anxiously give your cigarette a couple puffs more, rather dead than to show that you are nervous.
“You need to expand your horizons, Y/N. I can’t your only friend”
“I mean, you're the best, but not the only one, I do have other friends, but we’re meant to be together forever” you say as affectionate as a death threat.
“The eldest teachers in art school don't count” ignoring the part last of your sentence, he laughs.
“Fine! It's just that… people our age are so fucking stupid, they never know anything beyond their noses”
“There's a reason why I’m introducing you to these guys, two of them are my roommates and you don’t even know them”
“Because they sound like idiots…”
“Frank!! Hey, man!”
A group of young people arrive, they greet your friend so familiar that it makes you a little jealous that he has more friends besides you, but that feeling confirms what your friend told you seconds ago, some look at you curiously as you drop from the fence and put out your cigarette, your combat boots make a sound that caught the attention of some boys and the single girl who hugs one of them, while you shake your plaid pants off, Frank introduces you to everyone, some want to shake your hand, but you just wave “hello” to everyone with one hand and you take a step back sticking close to the fence.
“You’ll excuse my friend; she gets shy with strangers” Seeing that you refrain from touching them, Frank knows how to excuse you for being more withdrawn than usual.
“I’m not shy, I’m just looking” Your careful look follows the small group of people, some know well what you are doing, others do not even turn to see you.
“More like judging” Frank isn't one to do you much of a favor, but you like that he doesn't mince words about calling your shit out.
“Oh yeah? Too bad we already have one like that” One of the boys who had a very pretty girl hugged with one arm, says this while with the other arm he pushes someone you haven't seen, hidden among his long blond hair, he seems shy at first, and just gave a little smirk, he had a baggy t-shirt from a band you like, that made him seemed like an approachable person, maybe later you'll try to make conversation, you don't remember if they told you his name, he just smiles at the others without looking at you, bumps fists with Frank like If they've known each other their whole life.
All this time you both had been waiting for the boys outside a bar, you don't love those places, those nights always end badly, but Frank was always determined to go to these kind of bars to hang out, you reluctantly accompany him when he insists too much, so you enter with the group without much desire, when you all walk to the bar together, you get upset because they leave you behind, while everyone talks to each other, things that everyone knows in a group, things that you are not aware of, therefore you cannot participate.
You move on auto-pilot, they sat at some tables a little tight between everyone, Frank was next to you, you stayed on the edge of the table, so you had to scoot over every time someone wanted to go to the bathroom, that added a little more to your annoyance, you tried to drink as much beer as possible hoping that it would cheer you up a bit and not ruin anyone's night, especially your friend’s. At one point when you were drinking from your bottle without looking, Frank nudged you.
“Hey, you took Mary’s bottle” Frank yells at you over the music.
You look in front of you that there are two bottles and the one you have in your hand is much fuller than yours, you look at the shaggy young man who looks at you confused.
“You want me to buy you another one?” the loud music barely let you even hear yourself, your offering was not well received, maybe it was because that guy didn’t hear you well, he wrinkled his face at you.
“Do whatever you want” he huffs barely looking at you.
“It was an accident, dude” you try to be polite, but your annoyance is quite noticeable, although he has the right to refuse your offer, that tone was not necessary either.
“I said, whatever” He gets up and walks on top of the table, everyone yells at him as he just jumps off knocking over some beer bottles.
“Hey, cut it out” everyone complains but he goes in the direction of the bathroom, stumbling slightly.
“Come on, let’s go smoke outside” Frank proposes to you, knowing it’ll calm you down, one of his friends follow you two as well. He seemed nicer than the other blond sucker, his name is Nick and just as he offered you his lighter you immediately liked him better. You’re half hidden behind a door in a dark corner outside the bar, the others were near the light post by your side, the one called Nick was showing off his newest tattoo and to be fair it was really cool, they were making small talk to make you show off your piercings, some of them you made them yourself at work.
“Sorry for that” Nick excuses as soon as he lights your cigarette, you tilt your head and knot your brows in visible confusion “I mean Mary?” You're still not sure who's he talking about, you forgot his name so quickly.
“The blonde that knocked all of the bottles on the table because you stole his?” Frank helped complete the thought of what Nick meant, they were both looking at a certain point towards the bar entry, you couldn’t see from your hiding spot.
“Oohhh, that major dickhead? What an…” Your tone accompanied by a cloud of smoke denoted that you were still bothered by what had happened inside, you expected one of the two to say something about it, but you only heard a voice approaching and asking.
“Who’s a dickhead?” This Mary appears interrupting the conversation and you just remain silent, while they offer him your cigarettes.
“Nobody… Anyway… uhh we’re hanging in the apartment later, Y/N you wanna come? You’ve never been there” Frank tries to lighten the conversation by diverting the thoughts of the two of you to something else, you really don’t want to encourage conversation anymore, at least not with them.
“No” you kill the cigarette butt with your boot, if you turn to see anyone it's only Nick or Frank.
“Come on? I promise we cleaned this time, no more banana peels and…”
“Who is we?” you interrupt him.
“Actually, we all three, Nick and Mary are my roomies” you use all your strength not to yell 'fuck no!' Frank has invited you to his apartment so many times that it was embarrassing, but now knowing that he lives with that… guy, now you want to go even less.
“I don’t know… there are no ghosts in your apartment?” you jokingly say to Frank, even venturing to smile a little, knowing that it was an old building where they lived, you often joked about him being cursed.
“Only those with huge tits” you hear that blonde speaking, you glare at Mary, not responding, what’s with this guy meddling in your conversations? You give him a murderous look, without even bothering to hide your annoyance.
“Y/N, it's just a joke...” Frank warns you; Nick looks at you amused by your interactions, puffing on his own.
“That's what you get for mixing circles of friends” you tell Frank in a calmer voice, it's obvious it's not his fault, even if it’s not fair, sometimes you can’t help yourself but to react to idiots, it’s not like you should be patient to a stranger.
“…and you are not part of any” You immediately frown looking directly at Mary, leaving your spot, you get up angrily, he turns to look down at you smirking with that stupid smug face begging you to punch him.
“What the fuck did you say?” you spit at him; Nick widens his eyes and takes a couple of steps back still hiding his laughter.
“Hey! You, stop it” Frank points at Mary and calls him in a stern tone “You, calm down” he holds your arm, knowing you, he should be thanking that there’s no bottles around for you to throw.
“He fucking started it!” he gives you a smirk, while continuing to smoke your cigs and winks at you, at this point it has to be on purpose and you fell for it.
Would it be too immature to leave? Would it be considered a tantrum? Maybe, but it's for the best, you don't have to put up with the words or the terrible welcome from someone so... The word doesn't even come to you, undesirable? So guy-like? That's not even an insult, though in the proper context... either way, fuck him.
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jrueships · 3 years ago
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Everybody LOOooVES aaant ! - to the tune of everybody hAAaaTES chriiis
#but like#positive#what is with keldon and ant and having weird looking signature intials#AE ice looks more like A5#and keldons is LITERALLY a 5 for K5 instead of KJ for.. some reason#ive been trying to figure out what it means for so long#apparently keldon liked it so much that he has it painted on the??? ground of some art museum? so ppl can.. interact#with it? by? Stepping on it ?????#keldon so strange bro#anyways#ANNNNNT#no hiding the ice for the photoshoot. we turnin this polar polar#n the EARRINGS TOOO??????#no style better!#butch king!!!!#this look vs his two toned plaid GO!!#the 'lebron and bugs' sidebar out of context...#lebron discovers.. CATERPILLARS?!?!?!?? 🙀⁉️⁉️ WATCH TILL END!!!!#i hope he slaps grasshoppers and catydids they scare the SHIT out of me ive watched SO many die and its NOT#as funny as youd think#cus they got BIG ASS bodies n LONG BONY LEGS and TEENY eyes n the mouth cant emote different .. its jus perma frown#n u watch em like squirm and spasm slowly with their spider like legs galloping like some photosynthetic horse hybrid#they are SO terrifying i HATE them i remember accidentally crushing one in my palm on a brokeass playground#its greenish yellowish goop in the middle and its antennas movin against my hand as it jolts and shakes like weighted lightning#EUWGGGHHHHH i hAAATE grasshoppers i got BEEF with catydids those big green solid mfs#what was i sayin?#oh yeah!#ant lesbian <3 ant cool#i hope he eases up on that injury tho! i think he might play today tho but like. think of the homefront 😭 self-care king!!!#ant eds
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sooibian · 4 years ago
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IRS and Prejudice
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Pairing: CEO!Minseok x fem!employee Reader
Genre / Themes: Fluff!!! Frenemies to (maybe) Lovers? Office AU with some references to ‘The Office’, flirtatious, cat-whisperer, Aries Minseok vs Aries reader!
Description: In which Kim Minseok is nothing like other bosses. Nothing.
A/N: happy birthday to mochi ari! @his-mochi-cheeks​ 💗
Word count: 2.7k (written in a state of delirium eeeek)
You quickly hit Alt+Tab on the resume that you sat updating for the umpteenth time as the sound of heels click-clacking against the floor grew closer.
“My office,” said your immediate supervisor the moment you looked up at her, a well practised unfazed expression crossing your face. If switching between applications at lighting speed were an Olympic sport, you were certain you’d score nothing less than a gold medal. Yet, somewhere in the back of your mind, you had a niggling doubt about having been caught in the act.
You gave her a slight nod in response, lips stretched into a thin line. Smoothing out the wrinkles in your red and black plaid shirt (the one you wore on most casual Fridays since you could hardly be bothered with your appearance at work; despite the feminist within you, the dull back office team discouraged you from making the effort), you followed her into her office with your best businesslike gait while your mind made up a million excuses for what her keen eyes might have found on your 24-inch screen.
“Sit,” the middle aged woman commanded, resting her hands on her hips. Leaning against her teakwood desk, she crossed her legs at the ankles, pushed her glasses further up the bridge of her nose, and cleared her throat. It’s how she’d fidget when she was on the edge about something.
You imagined your expression if a camera was to pan to you, cinéma vérité. Indulging your curiosity, you shrugged your shoulders with a confused look on .your face
“Everything okay?” You mustered in your best Pam Beesly impression.
Your supervisor let out a deep sigh and answered your question with a more awkward one, "When was the last time you submitted cash reports to the IRS?”
You froze into a still frame.
One of the major reasons you wanted to change jobs was because innumerable responsibilities that were entirely unrelated to your department had been carelessly plonked upon your shoulders. Submitting monthly cash reports to the IRS should have ideally been a task of the receivables department and not shifted onto someone incharge of warranties.
“I - I - ,” you started by trying to justify your negligence before even attempting to answer her question but honestly, you didn’t even want to think about when you last submitted those reports and there was absolutely nothing you could say in your defense.
You’d messed up. Big time.
“Ten months. Ten months is not a small amount in penalties,” she said in her quietest tone as you struggled to fight back angry tears. You’d been with the company for over six years now but it was the first time you’d been accused of laxity. It felt like a punch in the gut.
She turned on her heel to take her seat - movements deliberately slow, allowing you some time to regain your composure. With her eyes on her phone, she leaned back in her chair and said with a sense of finality in her voice, “You know what you have to do.”
Head hung low and eyes lined with tears, you walked out of her office muttering all the things you didn’t say in your defense. The long and short of it was that this duty should’ve never fallen into your lap in the first place. As you paced in the direction of your cubicle (with twenty sets of curious eyes on your back), a pair of hands suddenly gripped your shoulders and a dulcet voice sang, “Careful, Warranties.”
At this point, you were ready to rip your hair out. Looking up you met CEO Minseok Kim’s bright, catlike eyes as he stood at a hair’s breadth distance from you, smelling of expensive cologne - the kind that was equivalent to several months of your salary, and coffee. He always smelled like coffee and in your opinion that was his only redeeming quality.
His handsome face that every woman and man in the office fawned over was a source of your annoyance - you didn’t care for cocksure people at all and he was the uncrowned king of arrogance. He took over the reins of a used car dealership from his father upon his retirement - it was nothing too fancy - yet he enjoyed strutting around the office as if he managed a multinational conglomerate.
It was his younger sister that did the real work. She managed the more important businesses while Minseok had been handed the responsibility of just one company and from your (and the Sales Team Lead Baekhyun's) standpoint, he wasn’t doing a marvellous job at it.
Your Aries energy didn’t permit you to apologize for nearly butting heads with him so you feigned a polite smile and side-stepped to your right and he simultaneously side-stepped to his left, his every little wrong move bolstering your frustration level. It happened again and again and again until he bowed ever so slightly, stretched his arm out and said, “Please,” gesturing for you to leave first, the corners of his mouth curled up in a wide, gummy grin.
What was he so happy about all the time?
“Thanks,” you mumbled and he winked at you in response. You immediately made a mental note to find out if you could report the CEO for improper behaviour. You had a full-blown list that started with his attire - should a CEO be allowed to dress in hoodies, skinny jeans, and comfortable sneakers while the rest of you suffocated in the restraints of formal clothing for four days of the week?
Huffing, you slumped in your chair and texted your aunt informing that you wouldn’t make it to barbecue night and immediately flipped your phone to silent to avoid seeing her colourful messages berating you for the last minute cancellation.
Next, you aggressively typed ‘IRS CASH STATEMENTS’ in big block letters into the sticky notes app as a reminder of the humiliation you experienced today.
***
When you last checked time, it was noon.
The sun had long gone down since then as you tried to wrangle customers’ social security numbers out of the ever-so-reticent-to-share-information receivables department who were all packing up for the day. You were this close to socking them in the jaw but you still maintained a courteous smile and pleaded with them throwing in tonnes of cringey corporate jargon, “Please, I just have three more reports to go and I’d really appreciate your prompt help with the information.”
Suddenly, a familiar cheery voice fell upon your ears, “What’s going on?”
You were surprised to find Minseok still in the office but also extremely grateful for his presence because his single sideway glance at Angela achieved what your five emails and three verbal requests failed to.
Furiously typing away on her keyboard, she said through gritted teeth, “I’ve sent them over.”
Minseok gave you a casual two-finger salute and nearly went skipping back to his ...no, not his but to your immediate supervisor’s now empty, glass-paned office - where you could see him directly and he you - the three walls of your cubicle doing nothing to keep you out of the periphery of his blatant staring and his trademark cheeky grin that lit up his ridiculously handsome face.
Shifting uncomfortably in your seat you returned his smile but not with your eyes. You hated the effect he had on you - making you, a grown woman, blush like a schoolgirl under his self-assured gaze. Minseok was nothing like a CEO - he dressed casually, talked to anyone and everyone like he’s known them forever. He’d come into work regularly after prolonged dry spells only to disappear again. His laidback attitude did no favours to your opinion about him.
To pointedly avoid Minseok you put your head down on your desk on the pretext of catching a little break.
… big mistake.
***
You woke up with a start to the soothing and inviting aroma of... home. Opening your eyes to cinnamon bread drizzled with cream cheese on your desk felt like a fever dream until Minseok rolled his chair forward in your direction and you instinctively backpedaled. Clutching his stomach he broke into a vast roar of laughter while offering you a paper napkin with his other hand.
Brows furrowed, you stared at him quizzically as sleep continued to irritate your eyes and the mark of the ballpoint pen you fell asleep on, niggled at your cheek. Hesitantly, you took the napkin from his hand and dabbed it around your eyes and he shook his head in response, pointing to the annoying curled up corner of his own mouth.
“You were drooling,” he guffawed, his eyes twinkling with mischief. Upon noticing that you immediately grew conscious about your appearance, he waved his hands frantically and added, “It’s no problem… I drool too, haha..in fact it’s ...umm..”
You glowered at him and he instantly looked away allowing you to fix your face as his fingers impatiently drummed away on your desk.
The clock struck 7:53 p.m.
Your last meal had been sometime before noon. Under normal circumstances, you would’ve been grateful for the little snack Minseok had brought you - it was an uncharacteristically thoughtful gesture from someone like him but you’d been expecting your period in a week’s time which made you unusually ravenous.
Lips pursed and head tilted to the side, he handed you a bottle of water which you gulped down within a matter of seconds while steadily growing wary of your ultimate boss’ intentions. But you pivoted your attention to prioritizing. First, you’d wolf down the delicious cinnamon bread and then think about whether you were going to walk out of this office on your own two feet or as a human-skin suit on Minseok’s well defined back.
“Thank you for the snack,” you said to him with a forced smile, “I’ll get back to my reports now.” As you swivelled your chair to face the monitor, his hand hooked at the armrest and he spun you back around towards himself.
“What’s the rush, Warranties?” Resting his chin in his hand, he wondered with a quirked brow and a smile teasing the edges of his plump mouth.
It was not your place to ask what your boss was doing in his own office at 8 p.m. on a Friday night, especially one that hardly ever came in to begin with. He could clock in and out at his own whim and sit wherever he liked even if it meant being an utter inconvenience to someone on a stringent deadline but you took your shot anyway. Doing nothing to mask the sarcasm in your tone, you said to him, “Minseok, if you came into work everyday, you wouldn’t have to stay back so late, you know.”
Unfazed, he responded, “But my schedule doesn’t allow me to come into work everyday.”
Schedule?
You decided not to stretch this conversation longer than necessary, especially not after his ridiculous response. Drawing in a deep breath, you said, “I just have five reports left to finish, Minseok. Maybe we can talk later.”
“I run an organization involved in wildlife rights and care,” he explained anyway, rummaging the pockets of his jeans.
No shit, you scoffed. If only Minseok Kim could get any more predictable. A not-for-profit organization was every rich kids guide...no facade...no scam.. to make it seem like they actually did something.
Handing you a card, he continued, “It requires me to travel extensively - last month I was in a park in South America, working with this one puma, Elsa. She was a cage cat who got so used to the confines that she wouldn’t come out of the cage for walks in the jungle because she didn’t like anyone touching her collar, so we couldn’t attach a rope to walk with her. But, I think I’m somewhat of a genius and a cat-whisperer. Within three to four weeks, we managed to get her out of the cage.”
He pulled his phone out next, brought his chair closer to yours and started swiping through the picture gallery to show you a magnificent puma walking around the park as if she were its reigning queen. He resumed the story proudly, “Now she walks every single day, without a rope around her neck. And she’s very, very loving and affectionate.” His face lit up with awe and admiration for Elsa.
Probably you'd misunderstood Minseok…just a little. His passion about his organization did something to favourably change your opinion about him but that didn't mean you didn't have your immediate supervisor and the IRS to answer to anymore.
"Why are you telling me all this?" You asked, covertly moving closer to your workstation.
"We have a vacant position in Treasury." He answered and you immediately stopped dead in your tracks.
Mouth agape, you exclaimed, "You did not just try to poach me from your own company! Minseok you don't cease to surprise me -"
With a smirk on his face, he gave you finger guns. "That’s always been the goal, Warranties!"
"I still have five-
"Three..you have only three reports left. How stupid do you think I am?”
Caught in a lie, you could do nothing to save face so you simply pivoted your chair only to be forcefully twirled back by his strong arms again.
“Now what?" You asked, letting out a groan.
With his foot on one leg of the chair base, he pushed you back towards your desktop and said with a voice laced heavily with his trademark sass, "Check your inbox first."
Grumbling under your breath, you said something along the lines of ‘what does a CEO do anyway’. You then refreshed your inbox, impatiently waiting for an email of several MBs to load as Minseok watched you with an expression of victory painted across his features.
Your mouth fell open to find perfect to the t cash reports for the last three months which made you instantly regret your snide remarks.
Minseok snapped you out of your reverie with his smooth voice, “I may not know much of what a corporate CEO is supposed to do but I do how to get work done. Angela was more than happy to do this for a ‘team leader’ nameplate on her desk.”
Struggling to hold his compelling gaze, you muttered, “I don’t know how to thank you...”
“But I do!” He quipped.
“Of course, you do,” you sighed.
“Let me join you for barbeque night at your aunt’s..i’m sure they won’t mind you bringing a friend along?”
Before you could begin looking for a bug in your cubicle, he explained, “I caught a preview of her message on your phone while you were happily tucked away in dreamland.”
“You - you - that’s an invasion of privacy!” You lambasted him.
Stifling a yawn, he leaned back in his chair and said casually, “I was bored. Besides, privacy is a myth in today’s day and age...just like democracy, the importance of drinking eight glasses of water a day, the goldfish memory, or the thing about houseflies -”
“Okay, okay! I get it! Privacy is a myth. You - you can join us, I guess,” you interrupted him.
With widened eyes he emphasized, “Unless you don’t want me to -”
No matter how much and how often Minseok irked you, he was a charmer. You knew your aunt and your cousins would love having someone like him join in the get together and it really wouldn’t hurt your reputation to bring your boss, especially one like Minseok, along at a family event. You also couldn’t deny the excitement bubbling in your belly at the prospects of working in an NPO’s treasury department.
“You know that’s not what I meant -” You replied, eyes on the monitor as you double checked the email you’d drafted for your immediate supervisor.
“So you want me to come along?” He asked in his flamboyantly flirtatious tone.
Ignoring him, you hit send only after adding a little smiling emoji. Shutting down your system, you picked up your coat and answered with a genuine smile this time, “I’m driving.”
************
A/N: the story about puma Elsa is real! i’ll link it in one of the rb’s for those interested :)
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level247-table-tech · 5 years ago
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here are the sprites on their own! not all of them, but there are way too many to fit up there. i’m leaving the rest under the cut.
others include significantly asymmetrical sprites, as well as a bonus set. 8)
these don’t really clarify their relative heights. they are not adjusted to the bottom pixel i actually drew for sure, that’s not how i aligned them. i actually have a guideline in the file, but. i can’t really show that.
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above are the regular sprites. it took ages to figure out what i wanted to do with virgil’s plaid, but it turned out going simple with it was the best plan. also it looked very bad until i figured out to use values correctly.
also, while we’re at it, i can tell you some things i changed between projects! this is a remaster of my last attempt at pixelology, and i do  believe it’s an overall improvement.
virgil’s plaid, yeah, changed that, but also the colour of his hair, because the old one blended too much with his skin. glad that happened to virgil, because i was trying to keep the hair highlights the same for everyone, with differently-tinted shadows. i did give him a bat instead of the wings this time, because a, he seems like a bat kind of guy, and b, the wings sucked and i don’t think i could improve them. like, the best thing about those wings is that they were the ace flag colours, and since his general colour scheme is already like that, it’s not a spectacular saving grace. they also made the frame fit weird, but i don’t like drawing wings absurdly small, like why bother? i alos tried to be a bit more competent with the jacob lines in his shading. those are an indicator of fear so of course i wanted to keep them included, but last time i feel like i didn’t do great, and this time i think i improved. especially on the legs. it is kind of a pain how there are adjacent sections where the shadows are done in the same colour, but. that’s really who virgil is, let’s be real. wouldn’t be the same without the all-black clothes.
also, patton’s different skin tones were really bad, you could barely see the shadows, so i changed them. his overall shape also did not work, so this time i stylized it a bit more to fit with the pixels. also i gave him a different weapon. hopefully it’s still funny in its incongruity!
roman had very little change. like, i really like his original sprite! i did change some of the gold details, but the biggest thing is probably the pants. they’re white with a red stripe because, a, it looks very good, and b, it set up a parallel with remus.
and remus. most obviously in the first one, his different head angle super didn’t work. it was very bad! which, in his case doesn’t automatically rule it out, but this one looks way better next to the majority of these. i mentioned relative heights earlier and this one should actually be the same height as roman, you can align them by their chins. aside from that, i added a lot mor detail to his ruffles, i tried my best to maintain clarity on his torso, i got the sleeves just plain wrong, but it looks fine, and it happened to be very good art that led me astray on that, so whatever. i feel like his morningstar might have gotten worse between versions, but what can you do. maybe i accidentally put it at a slightly harder angle to make look nice. whatever.
logan! i don’t think i’m doing these in any real order, sorry. like patton, his shape has been changed to be more stylized to fit the pixel thing. like, a realistic taper on the legs, as it turns out, looks pretty bad! exaggerate it or make it just straight lines and it is better. i feel like i very much improved his hair, and i also added the belt that he wears which i forgot last time.
lastly, janus. well, lastly for now, but the next one won’t be a remaster of anything. i gave him his canon weapon instead of snakes, which, not sure what i was thinking gameplay-wise for those. [that’s a lie, i was thinking nothing about gameplay because i am no gamemaker. i’m not even an animator, much as i’d like to be.] when i made his last sprite, i forgot the lining of his cape is yellow. also last time i had not seen the magnificent longer cape from the game sections of svsr, which as i’ve mentioned elsewhere i am never letting go of, ever. so that features here. it kind of blends with the backgrounds i use for the vs character selection screens, but i don’t think that’s necessarily a downside. aside from that, i did remove some scales from his right hand because we have now seen it, and it’s proven bereft of those. as you’ll see in a second though, fortunately no such thing can be said of his legs. nor upper arm.
now for the bonus set. you may recognize this theme if you’ve followed this project awhile. 8)
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some notes on these specifically:
-this is simply a complete set based on janus’ bonus sprite from the original project this is remastering.
-i tried to base the colours on their onesies. that proved harder than expected. remus and janus have no shown onesies, but
>i had janus’ previous sprite on hand, so that was him taken care of.
>virgil’s onesie didn’t really have multiple colours, so it’s just different shades of black, with some grey thrown in because white is already a base colour.
>logan’s, oh boy, i thought i remembered it having two colours, but i was wrong, it is just blue. and white, but again, that doesn’t work. so i gave him a couple of shades.
>patton’s, i didn’t really want to use grey as a colour, but it actually had two others, they were just in trace amounts. it was okay.
>remus. nghh. i wanted to use like, an inverted version of roman’s colours, but it turns out blue and yellow inverted is yellow and blue. so i used the orthogonal colours instead, and i’m not really sure it was a good look.
-aside from colour schemes, each of these has its own little variation, because i felt like having fun. aside from any kind of socks/leggings, because whatever, those are pretty variable anyway, each has one detail different. from most to least noticeable as i see it:
>patton has pants instead of a skirt. i just thought the look suited him better. the thing about patton is i always imagine him in Dad Fashion, which doesn’t have a ton of skirts in my mind. maybe that’s just my dad, but eh. i do think it’s a good look but i didn’t draw it very well.
>roman has a different crown. need i explain further? adding the others’ crowns was a bit of a pain considering how they interact with hair that isn’t drawn in anime style.
>virgil’s might not be too noticeable on its own, but the leggings kind of direct the eye there. he’s wearing his own boots instead of any variety of sailor scout ones. mostly because they are much, much cooler.
>logan has a different collar. closer to his usual polo than... whatever the sailor collar is actually called. he also might not have the same choker necklace as everyone else, but mostly you just can’t tell. still tied with a weird bow thing, though. how the hell do those bow accessories work?
>janus has a longer cape. again, need i explain further? he’s also the only one with a magical girl wand, because his colour scheme* was the most permitting and i really wanted to draw coily ribbons.
>remus is kind of like virgil with the leggings, but again, those don’t count, and with remus they draw attention away from his change. anyways, the different thing about his outfit is the sleeves. i only noticed long after i was out of the pixel stage that none of the sleeves are accurate, but his are even more not accurate, they do the poof thing. also his neckline’s a bit lower, but i mean, how could i not?
-i might assemble a full scene with these, if anybody asks. or nobody, i kinda just want to. it’s not too much trouble, but it won’t be animated this time, that took ages and i don’t think it even turned out well. i gotta find somewhere to actually get taught things about animation, though it also just does not gel with my medium.
-i can’t for most of these, but for janus i can talk about some improvements. his crown looks more visible, though that might just be compared to this side of his face. the skirt is not better and might be worse to be honest. also the bow on his chest. other than that it’s definitely better for the gloves actually being incorporated in this one.
*i do actually have set colour schemes for these. i tried to even limit the number of colours for each one. that said, most of them have exactly 17 instead of the nice power of two 16, and one of them couldn’t even fit that bill.
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argylemnwrites · 4 years ago
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Fight or Flight - Chapter 10: Why
Pairing: Drake Walker x MC (Riley Liu)
Book: The Royal Heir (canon divergent from the end of book 2)
Word Count: ~4400
Rating: PG-13 (language only)
Summary: Five days since The Walker Absconding
Author’s Note: This series follows the Walkers, their friends, and Cordonia as a whole after they flee the country with their daughter during Barthelemy Beaumont’s attempted coup. To catch up on this series, check out it’s masterlist. (link can be found via my bio - sorry, Tumblr is once again not putting my posts with links in tag searches)
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“I know the location of the former Duchess and Duke of Valtoria and the Queen-Regent of Cordonia.” Her tone was even and calm. Amalas wasn’t giving anything away.
“Is that so?” Olivia asked, her mind scrambling to let go of her irritation with Leo and figure out her best strategy here. “How did you happen to come across such information?”
“Oh, they don’t call me the ‘Spy Queen’ for nothing.”
“And why are you calling me? This would seem like the type of information that would be more useful to the acting monarch than me.” She tapped her nails against her desk, trying to come up with a way to get Amalas to reveal more. As helpful as it would be to hear how she had tracked Riley and Drake, finding out why she was following their whereabouts would be infinitely more invaluable.
“Interesting. I would have assumed that you had a vested interest in keeping them from being taken into custody.”
“Why would you think that? The Walkers are traitors who deserve whatever comes to them.” She and Hana had rehearsed variations of that sentiment with each other over the past few days. Hana had opted for a gentler stance, focusing on how sad the whole affair made her. Olivia knew that righteous anger was more believable from her, though.
Amalas was silent for a few seconds before she responded, “Very interesting indeed. Can you give me a way to get in touch with King-Regent Rashad, in that case? I’m sure he will find my intel quite valuable.”
She was trying to call her bluff here. There was no way Amalas had just decided to contact her out of the goodness of her heart. There had to be a reason why she came to her first. Olivia knew she had to keep pushing. “Of course, I would be happy to do so.”
Another pause followed. “Thank you; that would be so helpful.”
“You’re welcome, Your Majesty. You know, you might want to look at your staff’s performance, though. If they can’t keep track of the palace’s contact information, I worry about what other details might be slipping through the cracks.”
The silence lasted longer this time. Jackpot. Olivia knew she was on the right track. “Just some friendly advice,” she continued, “unless you don’t want to interact with Rashad for some reason.”
“Why would you possibly think that?”
“Because he’s just a placeholder. You want more influence. He has nothing of value to offer you. An agreement with him could very well fizzle into nothing after the Conclave in a couple of months. So that means I have more bargaining power here than you want to admit.”
“There’s no need to be so confrontational about this, Lady Olivia. As I see it, this can be mutually beneficial.”
“What are you hoping to gain here?”
“The same thing I’ve always wanted - an alliance between Monterisso and Cordonia. And I’m willing to help poor Mr. Rys regain his place on the throne to arrange that. You see, we can help each other.”
Olivia frowned. She didn’t trust Amalas, not one bit. Her being more tolerable than Bradshaw and Isabella wasn’t any sort of ringing endorsement. But it was possible that they weren’t going to have better options. She needed to tread carefully here. Not commit, but not close the door.
“I’m not sure how much help any outside power would be at this point, quite frankly. Why don’t you give us a taste of how useful you can be. It’ll be what I bring to Liam, so you might want to make it convincing.”
“Well, I’m not a fan of giving away my hard-earned information for free… but let’s just say that the Walkers might be doing a good job of not allowing their financials to be traced past Ioannina, but that if Cordonia had the surveillance and facial recognition technology of Monterisso, or if Greece actually cared about those warrants that have been issued, bringing them in would not be difficult. Have a nice day. I’m sure we’ll be in touch soon.” And with that, the line went dead.
Olivia massaged her temples. There were just too many moving parts, too many different parties with their own agendas here for her to try and do this solo, or even just with Hana’s help. It was time to end Leo’s lackluster efforts at support. She needed Liam back in the fray.
She marched through the keep to the quarters customarily given to the reigning monarch upon a visit, quarters that Liam had used for years and that she wasn’t going to prevent him from using now, even though both he and his brother were titleless at this point. She knocked on the door, waiting a few moments before Leo flung the door open, a glass of scotch clutched in his free hand.
“Liv! I knew you wouldn’t be able to stay away.”
“Yeah, not here for you. I need to talk to him.”
Leo stepped to the side, gesturing grandly as she passed. “Of course, Your Grace.”
She rolled her eyes and looked around the sitting room. There was Liam, wearing a green sweater, a pair of jeans, and a pair of plaid slippers. It was his equivalent of not getting out of his sleepwear. He was also holding a glass of scotch, a highlighted copy of what appeared to be a section of Cordonian National Law laying forgotten on the coffee table in front of him as he instead was intently focused on the television, which had some sort of football match playing.
“Really, Leo?” she hissed at him, “I thought you were joking about getting him drunk.”
“Relax, Olivia. He’s not drunk drunk. And it’s Cordonia vs. Barcelona, so he’s actually distracted. I thought you wanted me to improve his mood,” he said, under his breath, before raising his voice enough to carry across to his brother, “Hey, look who came to join us?”
Liam glanced over, and Olivia was pleased to notice a little more life behind his eyes. “Olivia? But you hate football.”
Leo clapped a hand on her shoulder and attempted to guide her to the couch, but she rolled it off, walking over to join Liam on her own. “I actually came because I think it’s time we talk about some details, start planning your next steps.”
“Of course,” said Liam, setting his glass down with a little more force than usual, but otherwise not showing any signs of any tipsiness or drunkenness. He moved to grab the papers he’d abandoned in front of him, but Leo interrupted him.
“Hey! I thought we were getting drunk and watching football? The one thing I suggested since I’ve been here that you actually showed enthusiasm for, and now she gets to just cancel the plans?”
“Leo, if Olivia needs-” Liam started, but she held a hand up, stopping him as she glared at Leo.
“Unlike you, I think he and I are capable of multitasking, but I will not drink that swill you two are having. If you go a fetch me a decent Merlot, I will stay and have a drink with you while we talk. And the game can stay on.”
Leo grinned and gave her a little nod before turning and heading out in search of her wine, likely aware he wasn’t going to get a better deal from her than that one. When the door closed, Liam started apologizing.
“Sorry, I wouldn’t have agreed to drink with him if I had known you wanted to meet. But he’s just been insistent, and with this match, I thought-”
“It’s fine, Liam. I wouldn’t have disturbed you two if I hadn’t just received a very interesting call from Amalas.”
Liam’s eyes widened at that. “She… called you?”
“Yes. She is apparently still looking for a formal alliance with Cordonia.”
His eyes dropped to his lap just briefly. “That’s not exactly our place to consider at this point, though.”
“Liam…” Olivia wasn’t quite sure what to say. She had never been good at the whole comforting, shoulder to cry on thing.
“It’s fine,” he said, shaking his head slightly. “Why did she want to speak to you and not Rashad?”
Olivia knew he was deflecting, but she didn’t know how to make him open up to her, particularly not when she actually needed to tell him about that phone call. “She’s thinking long term. She made it pretty clear she’s willing to help you with your bid to reclaim the throne in exchange for the promise of an alliance going forward.”
Liam sighed heavily, letting his head sag. “Alliance via betrothal? As per her original terms? After everything with Auvernal, I struggle to envision Drake and Riley…” he trailed off, “I guess that doesn’t matter at this point does it?”
He had a point. If they were able to regain his title through the Conclave, it was highly unlikely that Bridget was going to remain his appointed heir. But at this point, that felt so far off, like a concern that didn’t really warrant discussion until a much later date. “No, that’s not really worth worrying about right now. To answer your original question, she didn’t state her preferred terms.”
“Did she elaborate as to what she intended to offer in exchange?”
“Not much. The only thing I was able to get out of her is that she knows where Drake, Riley, and Bridget are.”
His head whipped around to face her fully at that, so she continued, “She’s not going to do anything with that info yet. It’s leverage when negotiating with us, but she gets nothing from telling it to Rashad.”
“How does she know, though?” His eyes were wide, the fear clear in them. “And what if she decides to contact Greek authorities?”
“Via facial recognition tech, apparently. But going to the Greek authorities costs her the best bargaining chip she has. She only wants to tell us, Liam. I’m sure of that.”
“I feel like we can’t be sure of anything at this point.”
Olivia took a breath before she spoke again. “Speaking of not being sure of anything, before your brother comes back, you need to know that he was asking me a lot of questions surrounding Drake and Riley.”
“Wait, he was?”
“Yes. I think it’s nothing, but just be aware.”
Liam shook his head. “Leo hates politics. Hates the monarchy, even. I can’t imagine him having any sort of agenda here.”
“Yeah… I know, but I think we need to be cautious here.”
“I’m finding myself being exceedingly cautious lately.” He frowned slightly, then picked up his glass and took another sip of his scotch. “Did he tell you why he was so interested in Drake and Riley?”
“It seemed like he had a possible interest in… reaching out to provide some assistance.”
“Ah,” Liam said, taking another drink. “That’s understandable, I suppose.” He stared at the match, but in a way that made Olivia think he wasn’t exactly watching. 
“Look, you know Hana and I are trying to help them in little ways where we can, but if you’d rather not hear the details, then-”
Liam shook his head. “No, I need to know what’s going on, don’t I? It’s not like I want any harm to come to them. It’s all just so… muddled at the moment.”
Yet again, she wasn’t sure how best to comfort him, so she just placed her hand gently on his knee and gave him a little nod. He seemed to understand her intent, as he forced a smile before reaching for all the papers scattered in front of him.
“Why don’t you warn Drake and Riley that Amalas is tracking them? Then we can go over what you’ve heard about staff in Portavira we might be able to buy off.”
Olivia gave him a little frown. “Are you sure you're ready to do this today? If you wanted to watch this match or-”
“I’m sure, Liv. Too many pieces are moving for me to sit still.”
“And you’re up for this?”
He nodded. “More or less. Enough to be productive at the very least.”
Olivia wasn’t sure about that. He was clearly still processing everything, but maybe having a goal to work towards would be good for him. She wasn’t sure if it was the healthiest coping mechanism she was providing him with, but at least it was a useful one. So she shot a quick text to Drake before settling in to discuss what she’d been working on. It wasn’t much, but it was a start.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 
Drake tried to shift in bed without disturbing Riley or Bridget. Usually, Riley was a heavy sleeper. At home, on nights where he couldn’t sleep, he could move about, sometimes even turn on a light and read, without waking her. But since they’d fled Cordonia, she’d been waking up much more easily, and he figured it wouldn’t do any good for both of them to be sleep deprived.
He knew it was a bad idea, but he grabbed his phone to check the time anyway. 2:04 am. Great. Another night where he would be lucky to get four hours of sleep. He resisted the urge to look for more news stories out of Cordonia on his phone, instead shifting onto his back and staring at the ceiling, a rickety old fan clicking as it spun above them.
Not only was he finding it difficult to relax enough to sleep these days, but he’d been having strange dreams too. Some of them didn’t take much effort to see their meaning. He’d had several nightmares where Bridget was wailing and he couldn’t find her, often with Riley sobbing somewhere out of sight, crying out for him to fucking find their child. In others, some combination of Bridget, Riley, and Liam were missing, and he couldn’t move his legs to go find them. It didn’t take a professional to figure out why he was having those dreams.
The dreams that featured his dad were a bit more unsettling. These dreams were more varied, but they all featured his father, now a giant, looking down at him as an adult and expressing his disappointment in him. Once it was for breaking the motor on the boat and lying about it. Once it was for running out of Mom’s line of sight at the store. Most of the time, Drake couldn’t even remember what he’d done wrong in his dream when he woke up, only recalling Dad shaking his head in shame repeatedly.
He hadn’t really dreamed about his father much over the past decade. For the first few years after his death, it had been a somewhat common occurrence, but eventually, those dreams faded. But now Dad was back, judging him for his actions over and over again. He supposed those dreams didn’t need to be analyzed by a therapist either. The message was pretty damn clear.
So often, he wondered if his dad would have been proud of the man he grew into. This was the first time in his life he didn’t need to wonder at all - he knew his father would have been disappointed in him. He’d fled, acted without honor or regard for his duty towards his country. And he just didn’t think all his reasons would be good enough for Dad. The man had put king and country first time and time again, even when it meant letting down Mom or him and Savannah. He’d given his life for his cause.
But Drake hadn’t been able to do that. When Riley had stood there, crumbling to pieces on the palace drive, a panicked mess of terror, he’d just held her tight and done what she needed from him. When Olivia and Liam had asked him to return, he’d denied their request. He’d done what his wife and daughter had needed each and every time. And he couldn’t even bring himself to regret about that choice. Hell, it hadn’t even really been a choice, not when it came down to it.
But that fact that he’d been so able to ignore his other obligations, ignore Dad’s lessons, weighed on him. He both felt like he did the wrong thing and that he’d made the absolute right choice all at the same time, and that conflict had settled into his gut as a massive pit of guilt. And with everything going on, he’d been reluctant to share these thoughts with Riley. She was just now seeming to trust him to be there for her and Bridget. Today, when she’d come back to find him in the park, he couldn’t even be irritated that she would have been wasting precious time if that woman had been a threat. He was just so relieved that she hadn’t wanted to leave without him, so different than her instinct back at the palace.
He knew he should probably talk to her about how he was feeling, that these feelings weren’t going to get better the longer they stayed on the run. And she’d always been good at listening to him in a way that made him feel understood, not stupid or dumb. She got what he meant when he stumbled over describing things or when he couldn’t quite put things in words. But she was still frayed and on edge herself. Today’s trip to the park proved that.
Besides, there were more pressing matters to discuss. Like what they were going to do about aliases. Or the fact that Amalas had apparently located them. Olivia had told him she had it under control, but Drake was still unsure. He hadn’t brought that up with Riley yet. She was already kicking herself after the trip out, and he hadn’t wanted to pile on, but he knew he would have to let her know in the morning. She wasn’t like his mom, who had adopted a clear “ignorance is bliss” policy when it came to obvious dangers his dad had faced at work. Riley was tougher than that, and she really was his partner in this. He would have to let her know so they could decide what they wanted to do next.
Letting out a sigh, Drake rolled to face Riley, sprawled on her stomach with Bridget curled up next to her on the far side. He inched closer to her, but the fact that her hair no longer smelled like peaches was just one more unsettling change in their lives. But that couldn’t really be helped. All he could do was watch his wife and daughter sleep and hope that seeing them safe would calm him enough to get some rest of his own.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 
Hana shifted in her seat slightly, uncrossing and recrossing her ankles as she smoothed out the wrinkles in her skirt. She glanced around the little cafe, but she didn’t see any members of the press. She usually wasn’t deemed interesting enough to be followed, but given everything that had transpired in the past week, that could have changed. Thankfully, it just seemed to be other patrons, absorbed in their own meals, phones, and conversations.
She’d decided to extend this invite to a public venue in the capital because that felt like neutral ground. Although the estate at Valtoria would have provided privacy, she couldn’t be bringing outsiders in there. Not until she was sure that no information could be gleaned from a visit.
Of course, the investigators hadn’t left much anyway. The office had been emptied essentially, as had the bedroom, the private lounge, and the library. Thankfully, they had only done a cursory check through her personal belongings, and they hadn’t checked under the floorboards she’d pried up in her quarters, now filled with Drake, Riley, and Bridget’s passports, some of their favorite pieces of clothing, Riley’s glasses and spare contacts, a few of Bridget’s toys, and a handful of framed photos.
It was strange, still living there without Riley, but Hana knew she had to stay as long as she was allowed. She wasn’t even sure if she technically could be there now that Riley had been stripped of her title, but no one had told her she needed to vacate the premises just yet. The staff all gave her a wide berth, clearly unsure what to make of the whole situation. Hana knew gossip must be running rampant, and she wondered who was sympathetic to their former employers and who saw them as selfish and reckless.
The little bell over the door rang as the woman Hana was waiting for entered, large sunglasses covering her eyes. She gave a little nod of acknowledgement from the doorway, then joined Hana, sitting down across from her, a slight tremor visible in her hand as she pulled out her chair.
“Hello, Hana.”
“Hello, Kiara.”
She pulled off her sunglasses and placed them gently in front of her. “I’m surprised Olivia approved you meeting with me one on one.”
Hana shook her head. “Olivia doesn’t have much interest in speaking to you directly, I’m afraid.”
“So she sent you to do her dirty work?”
“No, she has no idea I asked you to meet for coffee.”
Kiara stared at Hana for just a moment, her eyes wide and her eyebrows raised. “Vraiment?” she finally asked, “That’s not what I expected.”
Hana gave a little shrug, signalling a waiter and ordering their drinks before she responded. With as much as Olivia had on her plate, she’d decided that she could handle this conversation herself. Additionally, Olivia’s one size fits all, rather aggressive approach didn’t feel right here. She and Kiara had been friends, or so she had thought. They were certainly closer than Kiara had been with Riley or had even been with Olivia herself. She wanted to see if she could reopen a line of communication here, handling things far more gently than Olivia would ever support.
“Look, I always considered us friends, Kiara, but what happened last week…”
“I know. I didn’t want to do that. I don’t know if you can believe that, but it’s the truth. I even tried to warn Riley ahead of the vote.”
“What happened, Kiara? I’m just trying to understand how this all came to pass.”
Kiara glanced around, likely scanning for any obvious eavesdroppers, before she answered, “I can’t get into it all here. If he found out we were talking…”
“Barthelemy?”
“Or my father. Look, Barthelemy has foreign support for his bid for control.”
“Kiara, what do you mean?” Hana was trying to put together these little scraps of information, but she just did not have anywhere near enough to go on at this point.
“I can’t give you more details than that, at least not in public.”
“Then where do you propose we meet next?”
“The Social Season is currently delayed, but it will have to resume again soon, oui? So we will have to talk then. Step away from curious ears discuss things without arousing suspicion.”
All Hana could do was nod. As helpful as it would be to gain more information today, she needed to tread cautiously. She was relatively new to this degree of political maneuvering, and she didn’t want to damage the connection she had here by pushing too aggressively too quickly.
A few moments later, their waiter returned with their drinks. “Will you ladies be ordering lunch as well?” he asked, reaching for his pad of paper.
“No, thank you,” Hana said, turning to Kiara to explain, “I’m meeting with Rashad at the palace in less than an hour.”
Kiara pursed her lips at that, glancing around once more before saying, “If that’s the case, I would recommend trying to persuade him to delay the Social Season for at least two weeks.”
Surprised by that statement, Hana returned her coffee to the table and looked Kiara dead in the eye. “Why might you suggest that?”
“Old bylaws are pretty strict about both the minimum length of a Social Season and that it must conclude prior to the apple harvest.”
“Yes, I’m aware. It’s only happened twice in Cordonian history, if I recall correctly, that the Social Season had not technically concluded by the first harvest.”
“Correct. And both those times the Social Season was merely suspended until the next calendar year, picking up for its conclusion in early January.”
Hana knew there was some important detail here that Kiara was dancing around. If the Social Season got pushed into the next year, so would the Conclave. But that wouldn’t benefit Liam unless…
“Kiara, has your father set a date to formally transfer his head of house status to you yet?”
Kiara widened her eyes significantly as she nodded. “Oui, I will claim the title officially on New Year’s Day.”
“Congratulations! So you will represent House Theron in all matters after that point?”
“Indeed, and while I look to my father as an inspiration for how to lead, I think you will find I am interested in striking my own path as well.”
Hana opened her mouth to try and clarify things a little further, but Kiara shook her head.
“Enough of these matters. I went wedding dress shopping with Penelope the other day, and she was hoping to get your opinion on some options. Shall we look at some photos I took?”
It was a clear redirection of the conversation. Hana knew she was unlikely to get anymore information from Kiara today, so she nodded and gave her a smile, scooting her chair over to look at her phone screen. But instead of photos of Penelope in white gowns, she was surprised to see a blank message thread, an unsent text typed at the bottom of the screen.
You will want me voting at the Conclave, not my father. His vote is decided. Mine is not.
Hana looked at her, but Kiara just nodded, not taking her eyes off the screen as she pulled open her gallery and scrolled to a series of photos taken a few days earlier. As Hana oohed and ahhed over dress after dress, millions of questions swirled through her mind. And even though she didn’t have most of the answers, at least she felt like she was making progress. That had to count for something.
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Permatag:  @walkerswhiskeygirl   @riley--walker  @bebepac @ravenpuff02 @oofchoices @octobereighth @drakewalker04 @kimmiedoo5  @mfackenthal  @thequeenofcronuts  
The Royal Romance/The Royal Heir: @iaminlovewithtrr @ao719 @mskaneko @katedrakeohd @jovialyouthmusic @marshmallowsandfire @axwalker @kingliam2019 @sirbeepsalot @texaskitten30 @princessleac1 @ladyangel70 @dcbbw @yaushie
Drake x MC: @no-one-u-know @drakeandcamilleofvaltoria  @iplaydrake @gibbles82 @drakewalkerisreal @notoriouscs  @drakesensworld @drake-colt-lover-99
Fight or Flight: @masterofbluff @burnsoslow @bobasheebaby @shz256​
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Is it too soon to analyze the crap colour of this clip? Yes. Is that going to stop me? No. Therefore I present to you:
Machwitze and ColourCoding...
Originally I thought that Zoe was wearing red and blue and not red-ish/ white-ish, so the original analysis was build around red vs. blue and not warm vs. cold colours, but this works almost as well.
We have the three Machwitz sisters Kiki, Zoe and Nora (in order of birth)
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We have Kiki (the oldest) who's wearing blue jeans and a blue-ish pulli and Nora (the youngest) who is wearing blue jeans and -most importantly- a red hoodie. Then we've got Zoe who is wearing a red-ish/white-ish (that looked blue!) plaid shirt. Now, is it a coincidence that the middle child is wearing a combination of both her sisters? Probably. But I'm reaching and clowning here, aka I'm taking some liberties.
While this is nice and everything...this is also Druck, so lets start going way too deep. Aka I've already got two theories.
Cold vs Warm. We know that Kiki is studying psychology. This is not only strongly related to the mind but also in connection with rational thoughts and a "cool brain". Both, studying psychology and psychology itself is something were you need to follow your brain and not your heart? If that makes sense? I'm not saying that the mind/ the head/ psychology aren't linked to emotions but please bear with me for a while? Because opposite of the head/ of studying something related with medicine/ with a cool brain? Theres is the heart and emotions and subjects like arts. And we already know that Nora is interested in art and activism (also closely related with emotions and also! Activism can lead to revolution and what colour is strongly related with revolution? Red. Because wanting and desperately needing change is something that starts in our hearts). This reminds me of that propaganda portrait of Stalin in front of a bookshelf full of red books besides that one row on the same level with his head that had blue books, symbolizing that he had a cool and rational mind... Where am I going with this? Kiki and Nora are each others opposites and Zoe is somewhere in the middle. We're probably going to see something of this reflected on their personalities? Or maybe not, since I'm reaching here.
The sisters want to be like Kiki ...or something like that. Kiki is the only one who's wearing the same colours/ cold tones, whilst both Zoe and Nora are wearing a combination of warm (red) and cold. Two details are important here: 1. Zoe is surrounded by cold tones (the couch, the pillows, the Iforgotthenameofthething) that probalby belong to Kiki -> she is surrounded by Kiki. But! There's a red something behind her.
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Maybe a red hoodie or a red something that belongs to her? She might have been wearing it at some point? And she has red-ish squares and lines on her shirt. She's not only the middle child, she's also trying to be more like Kiki and is leaving Nora behind? 2. Nora is wearing Kikis red hoodie. Once again, she is trying to be closer to Kiki (probalby misses her) but she is not trying to be her, she wants to reach out to her older sister ...maybe to a Kiki who isn't as mind centered/ oriented, but to a warm Kiki? Is this making any sense?
And! Remember Mias quote? "Follow your heart but take your brain with you"?
Edit: I just remembered this (blue vs red)
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Anyhow, we're barely one clip into the new season and I'm already going nuts. Let's see if this is something that makes sense further down the line. Maybe I'm just clowning. But instinctively and considering the guesses that it's going to be about the sisters and that Nora is holding a lot back? Id say that we're going to see some kind of battle between rational thoughts and emotional actions. Or rational actions and emotional thoughts? And more colour coding. We'll see.
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lowkeyassgard · 5 years ago
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DAY 10 OF LOKI VS. EARTH: CONCERTS
Day 10 of Loki vs. Earth series and today Loki is very pissed off by attending a country concert.
One shot summary: After bailing Loki out of some serious trouble, Thor asks Loki to attend a concert with him.
Quarantine series summary:It’s going to be a series of fun and light hearted one shots to help readers and other writers get through this hard time. I made a a03 collection and a tumblr tag. To join just write a fun, soft, and/or light hearted one shot and post it to the collection @Quarantine_Series or tag it on tumblr as #quarantine series.
Word count: 900 words
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Loki didn’t care much for music, He never understood why Midgardians would spend their time blasting loud obnoxious noises into their ears. Also, didn’t understand how they enjoyed it. He didn’t like it but since permanently residing on Midgard his brother Thor had found a love for it. He blasted it through their home and would dance around like a psycho. Loki thought Thor a fool for it.
Thor had been pestering Loki to attend a concert for the last few months. Loki had repeatedly said no but knew he would no longer be able to decline the offer. Loki had recently run into some trouble leading Thor to bailing him out. Literally. Loki was arrested for assault. He did nothing of the sort, but the police officer insisted that Loki had come at it. What had actually happened was that one-day Loki was walking down the road flipping his favorite blue knife and a police officer had stopped to question him. Loki was not a fan of this man tone and pointed his knife at the officer. Loki wasn’t going to stab him, but the officer said that he had to jump back to avoid being plunged in the gut. What a liar. Upon Loki’s arrest they confiscated the knives on him and threw him in a dirty dark cell.
He spent two whole days in the jail because the police department had no clue who Loki was and how to contact someone to bail him out, Loki wasn’t from Earth, so he did not have a fingerprint on file or even a social security card. The entire police department was perplexed by his existence because to their computer system Loki simply did not exist. Yet he did and he like all others will have to serve the time for his crime. On the second night of his confinement Loki astray projected to New Asgard and pleaded with his brother to free him. Sure, thing the next morning there Thor was with a big wad of cash to free him and recover his prized knives.
With that situation in mind Loki knew the next time Thor asked he would have to go. He did in fact owe his brother and how horrible could a concert be.
The dreaded ask came two days later. Loki was in his bed reading a book over astronomy. It was a calm and bright day. He was in a pleasant mood. He was until Thor came waltzing into his singing one of those songs he was always blasting.
“Oh brother! Do you recall when I got you out of that sticky situation?
“How could I forget brother. It has only been a week.”
“Oh, how time flies when you are having fun. Speaking of fun how about you and me go to a concert tonight. There will be alcohol.” Thor emphasized the last part. Loki wasn’t fond of Midgardian alcohol, but something was better than nothing. Since Loki didn’t have any form of identification he could not lawfully buy alcohol even he was thousands of years past the required age. The people would just not believe it. So, the only time he received alcohol was when he stole it, much frowned about by Thor and Valkyrie, and when he went to an event that served it to all guests.
“Ah yes brother. I do owe you so just this time I will join you.”
“YES!” Thor practically jumped with joy. Loki knew that Thor loved hanging out with him, but they just didn’t like the same things. Loki liked raves and clubs meanwhile Thor loved campfires and concerts. They were like polar opposites and yet they still loved each other dearly. When Loki had no one, he had Thor. Thor was the only one that gave him chance after chance and saw the good in him. So even though he knew he would hate every minute of it if this concert would make his brother happy he would attend.
“Alright Loki. Be ready by six and where something that isn’t black.”
At a quarter to six Loki walked out of his bedroom in a olive green shirt and grey denim jeans. It was the only thing he owned that wasn’t black or Asgardian custom clothes. He felt like a teenager that was trying to be cool. He wasn’t going to impress anyone, so he swallowed his pride and put on a smile for his brother.
Thor on the other hand was absolutely ecstatic. He was in a plaid button up shirt blue denim jeans and boots. He was grinning ear to ear. The minute Loki came out Thor gave a big holler of excitement and practically dragged Loki out of their home to take a truck into the city.
They arrived at the concert venue within the next forty five minutes and immediately Loki wished he had said no. Just from the look of the people entering the venue he would be miserable. Everyone entering was dressed in cowboy hats and boot. The men and the women were plaid shirts and both were equally acting loud and obnoxious.
As Loki walked with Thor toward the entrance Loki groaned. The person taking the tickets was a blonde chick with a plaid shirt tied at her breast level. She was in cutoff denim shorts that showed the bottom of her undergarments. She was loud. Too loud. Loki wanted to throw his ticket at her and tell her to shut up before she found her mouth bound. Instead he calmly watched as Thor handed the tickets to her.
“HOWDY THERE BOYS. YALL READY FOR SOME FUN”
“No.” Loki simply said. Thor was beside him talking about how excited he was and had been looking forward to this all day.
Loki left his brother at the ticket stand to push his way into the venue. He thought maybe it would be better once inside, but it was not,
Thor had left out the part that this was a hillbilly concert. Loki wasn’t even trying to be offensive. A person that walked by him held a sign promptly stating that it was a hillbilly concert. The sign read “Hillbillies get down too.”
Everyone I mean everyone looked like they should be in the wild west. Loki didn’t usually complain about humans showing off a little skin but now he was. Their attire and the way they presented themselves repulsed Loki.
He pushed himself thought the crowd of sweaty exposed bodies to find the bar. Once there he was even more repulsed. They just had beer. Cheap piss. This was their suck ass excuse for alcohol. The whole reason why he was here. Loki remembering, he was doing for this Thor laid down a few bills and took one of the beers. He took one swig of the beer and spit it out on the ground.
“Real men drink beer.” A woman sitting at the bar scorned at him. He reached for his knives to realize he left them at home.
‘Real women know not to pester a man that could easily destroy them.” Loki spat at her. Pardon his language but fuck her. If he had his knives he would hold them at her throat until she cried out in mercy. He might not want to take over the world anymore, but he would not be disrespected.
Not being able to stand the taste of this piss he threw the half full can on the ground and removed the lighter from his pocket and set it on fire.
“Oh, brother there you are!” Thor said before realizing that Loki had set a can of beer on fire and had attracted a crowd.
“Please excuse my brother. Its not a concert without a little spilt beer am I right?” Thor said before grabbing Loki by the arm and dragging him to the other side of the room.
“Loki, what did I tell you about burning things?”
“Do not belittle me brother. That Midgardian piss made a fool out of me and I smite its existence as punishment.”
“Just stand here and have some fun. The concert is starting soon.” Thor said before taking a swig out of his own can of fermented piss.
The concert did start but Loki did not have fun.
The music was horrendous. It was loud. Obnoxious loud. The people let out yeehaws like they were farm animals. At one point the man beside Loki made the comment that he loved this music which Loki returned by screaming “THIS IS NOT MUSIC.”
Worse than the music was the dancing that followed. The dancing looked like an exorcism ritual. The people shook their bodies and bent them in ways that should mot be normal. They thrashed against each other and yet out shared simultaneous hollers. Loki felt as though he was watching a whole crowd of people possessed by a spirit and this country music was expelling them of their farm demon.
As the night went on the crowd got worse. Even his brother began to thrash around and swing his beer in the air. Later Loki would ask what happened and Thor would just say he was overcome by the music. Overcome by the music? The only thing Loki was overcome by was the urgent need to bleach his eyes and wipe his memories of this event.
When the crowd began to sway, Loki let out a groan. The people around him assumed he was joining them in their pleasure but he was not. Every time their shoulder pressed into his body he had to stop himself from grabbing them and snapping them in half.
At one point the stranger beside him bumped a little too hard into Loki taking him by surprise and knocking him to the concrete floor. That was loki last straw.
“I do not know what kind of hoe down throw down you people think this is hit if you so ever even think about touching my godly skin I will remove your bones from your body one by one.”
The people around him just stopped. They stopped dancing. The must stopped playing. The people all stopped to look at Loki.
“I am a god and I will not be disrespected and touched by you distasteful rowdy animals.”
Thor just watched in disbelief as his dear brother screamed at a venue of people.
“ I did my best to enjoy this time for the sake of my brother but you farm animals sad are just not worthy of my company.” With that Loki felt arms reach around him and he was picked up. A very large human carried him outside the venue and threw him on to the ground.
“Do you know who I am?” Loki screamed at the man.
“No and I do not care. Move another inch and I’m calling the cops.”
Loki was absolutely appalled that he was thrown out. He was even more appalled that Thor did not quickly come out to him. Instead loki spent the next 2 hours on the ground outside of the venue. When Thor finally came out he was completely hammered. . He was smiling and laughing to himself
“Brother. You are such a pain. Kicked out of a concert. If only mother and father could see this. They would laugh so hard they wept.”
Needless to say that Loki never attended a concert after that.
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weakeninghope · 6 years ago
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Kiss me (whispering words of love) chapter 2
Pairing: Ash Lynx/Eiji Okumura
Rating: Teen
AO3 link here
Summary: Eiji and Ash meet to talk about Eiji's pictures and end up talking about everything but Eiji's pictures.Or: their first "date-not-a-date"
Notes: "It'll be up this week" I said, replying a comment todayhahahello I'm back! your local authour is way too anxious and is in love with this project and wants to write as much as possible about it! I'm really excited about sharing it with you guys and I really want to thank you for your support in last chapter, I'm really glad you like this idea <3 and stay tuned, there next open mic night is next chapter! We'll have another round of Sing vs The Stool, make your bets.See you next chapter <3Song referenced is Light your heart up by Aimee Blackschleger! (or Mako's theme from Kill la Kill) I think it really suits Eiji
new chapter under the cut!
Despite having come home late that night -for a good reason though- Eiji woke up at 8AM. He had been taking a lot of naps frequently, going to sleep at 4AM and waking up at noon; but that time he woke up instantly, Ash being the first thing in his mind. That night, he dreamed about his song. He dreamed about the two of them, together, holding each other in a secret place only they knew about.
Get a grip on yourself, Eiji.
Has he texted me yet? Eiji thought as he grabbed his phone from the nightstand, since he was still in the bed.
He hadn't. The last message was from Eiji himself, a reply to Ash's “see you tomorrow at 5PM, Mr.Photographer, don't forget the camera ;)”. It took Eiji a few minutes to prepare himself to write an answer. He had imagined Ash winking and his mind had crashed like his old computer would do every time he wanted to use it. In the end, he settled for a “I sure won't, Mr Fancy Singer.”.
Seconds after hitting the “send” button Eiji had already felt embarrassed. Was that too bold? Ash hadn't answered what if he was angry or if that was a joke and he wasn't interested in meeting Eiji at all? What if-
Ibe's coughs broke the turmoil in Eiji's mind. He was still pretty sick and even though he slept well through the night, he woke up a few times, feeling congested and with a runny nose. Eiji didn't mind taking care of him but the other way around; he liked being useful to his boss and most importantly, his friend.
Ibe had helped him to cope with his feelings. Ibe brought him there.
It was thanks to Ibe that he was going to have a d- to meet with Ash that afternoon.
“Ei-chan, I see you're up.” Ibe-san said in between a few dry coughs. “How was yesterday night?”
“It was nice” Eiji said as he got out of bed, stretched his arms and then yawned a little. “But we can talk about it later, I'll change your towel for now and make breakfast, you just rest, okay?” Eiji gently told his boss as he approached him and replaced the old towel with a new, fresh one. The cool feeling of the towel would make Ibe-san's burning forehead feel better.
“I'd like to see the pictures you've taken.” Ibe-san said, gently smiling at Eiji. A snort escaped the Japanese's lips when he remembered Cain the pop-star, the shorty rivaling a stool, the glaring snake and...
Ash.
He blushed when he came to his mind. He looked at the time. 8:30 in the morning. Still no response.
“What's so funny?”
“Nothing, nothing. It was just a particularly special night. I'll tell you when you're better, now rest.”
After that, Ibe-san complied and didn't say anything else as Eiji went to the kitchen to start preparing some Japanase food they both loved for breakfast. He decided to stick with some natto, but he also cooked a porridge for Ibe-san to eat. He made extra natto for himself, he loved it way too much, and it was healthier than all the greasy American food they sold there.
The morning went by slowly for Eiji, since he was checking the phone every 5 minutes to see if Ash had replied, even if he had the sound on and would notice if someone talked to him anyway.
Until a few hours later, when Eiji was getting ready to cook lunch, he heard the phone.
It was a text from Ash.
Eiji's heart was beating fast in his chest, and it did even more when he read the text.
“Sorry, I crashed into the bed and I've just woken up. See you in a few hours.” it said. Eiji exhaled a sigh of relief. He wasn't angry after all, his anxiety disappeared with one simple text.
Eiji carefully typed his reply “At least you're up now, don't be late!! :D” Eiji wondered if the emoji was too stupid but he would come off as rude or too demanding without it, he just hoped for Ash not to think something weird-
“I certainly won't” was Ash's replying text.
Why was he so smooth even by text? How was Eiji supposed to compete with that?
Never mind. He had to make lunch, to eat, to dress up and to mentally prepare himself about meeting Ash. He felt like a middle-schooler thinking about their first crush.
Okay maybe when he met Ash and when he heard him the world stopped and his heart was beating fast and for a few seconds he couldn't even take a picture because he wanted this memory to be his and his alone and wanted to capture it with his eyes instead of using the camera and-
Okay, he totally had a crush on Ash, but that was okay, people have crushes, it doesn't have to be mutual.
But what if it was mutual?
Eiji combusted again, and time flied until he had to dress himself up for the meeting. He told Ibe-san he was off to show some pictures to one of the singers (which was half true, but he hoped that Ash said that as an excuse to meet him).then grabbed the camera and left the apartment, the cafe was around the corner so he was sure he wouldn't be late.
The Japanese dressed himself up as he usually did, nothing fancy, he didn't want a lit sign in his forehead saying “I'm trying to impress my crush”, but he dressed up pretty okay so he figured out nothing would happen if he didn't choose any special clothing.
He regretted his choices later when he saw Ash. When Eiji arrived, the blond was already there. Ash was sitting at the background of the establishment, and there were only 4 people, so they were pretty much alone. He was wearing a plaid, green shirt which was a little bit oversized, but you could see his lean, noticeable collarbones, a pair of slightly ripped jeans and red Converse-like shoes.
There he was, dressed up like a street kid and looking handsome as hell.
Ash made a sign with his hand as Eiji got closer to the table and then he said “Here, Eiji.” soothingly.
Wait. How did he even know his name?
“Hello, singer who apparently knows my name even though I didn't tell you.” Eiji replied.
“Shorter told me. We're friends, in fact, I sang yesterday because he was pretty insistent about my good singing voice.”
“Well, he is right” More than right
“So you liked my performance?” Ash asked in a sing-song tone. “You asked me that yesterday.” Eiji said, but he didn't mind answering Ash's question again because even if asked a million times, he would always say the same “I loved it.”
“That's good to know.” Ash said “But you didn't throw money in the hat” Ash finished in a fake retort.
Shoot! The hat! In those kind of events, there's always this “pass the hat” thing where you throw donations for the singers if you liked their performance, but Eiji was way too distracted and ended up forgetting about it...
“You're right, I'm so sorry! I was so distracted with taking the pictures that the idea didn't even cross my mind... I can make it up to you by treating you to what you want to drink or eat here, though.” Eiji apologized.
“Well, if you insist, Eiji.” Eiji gulped at how his name sounded in Ash's voice “I won't refuse your offer” He said.
“So what brought you here?” He continued.
“Well... I don't know if Shorter told you, but my boss is sick and I came here in his stead to take the job. Even though I didn't manage it as I thought I would. The kid battling a stool was... beyond my expectations” A muffled laughter accompanied Eiji's response.
“Oh, you mean Sing. It's the first time this place holds this kind of event but every time he comes here with his friends someone has to hold him from kicking the stools near the counter, I figured out this would happen.” Ash explained. God, his voice was amazing, it drew Eiji in, he couldn't stop listening, he couldn't stop staring at his deep, green eyes. He was thoroughly delighted.
“Like what you see?” Ash mockingly asked “Since you staring so much”
“Ah! Sorry, I spaced out hearing you talk... I really like your voice.” Oops. That slipped.
“You like it but you don't give a poor singer like me some money to pay for his expenses, so mean, Eiji...” Ash pouted.  Even though Eiji knew it was a joke, Ash's pout was something he wanted to take a picture of. And he had the camera in his bag. God, that was so tempting.
“I told you I forgot!” Eiji half shouted, jockingly.
“Right, right. I know. So why photography?”
Ash looked genuinely interested about Eiji's job and the reasons behind it and Eiji couldn't believe himself. The conversation paused when Shorter came to take note of their orders; Ash ordered a cappuccino and Eiji ordered a green tea. Before leaving, Shorter gave Ash a pat on the back and whispered something to Ash's ear, so Eiji couldn't hear it, and Ash clicked his tongue.
“What was it?” Eiji asked “Do you have to talk to him about something important?” He asked, in spite of Shorter being in the counter already.
“Nah, he was just being a dick. Now tell me.” Ash insisted, a glint of excitement in his beautiful green eyes.
“I used to be a pole-vaulter in Japan but I got injured and everything was over in a second, so my boss took me here with him months ago because he saw I was feeling down. In fact, I got diagnosed with clinical depression after my injury. Pole-vaulting was the only thing I liked, I devoted my life to it, it was the only thing I was useful at and when I was pole-vaulting I felt... like I was flying.” Eiji rambled. Crap! What if Ash got bored?
“I see. I envy you if you know how to fly.”
“I don't anymore. I envy you because you made me fly with your voice. You got rid of my broken wings and I think... I'm stronger now” Eiji gently said. He trusted what he was saying. He meant it. He really meant it and would say it a million times if Ash needed to hear it.
“This wings thing sounds like a song line”
“How did you know it? It isn't even popular. Yes, it's from a song called Light your heart up, it cheered me up a lot when I felt down.”
“You know what?” They paused for a second, Shorter came with their orders and since they were too hot to drink, they continued their little talk “I completely understand what you feel. But I never had wings in the first place. I was born in a cage. My mother left when I was born, my father neglected both myself and my older brother, so when he turned 18, I began living with him. He's a novelist, but he's not having much luck right now with finding an editor so he pretty much does odd jobs, we live in a crappy apartment and I thought I could earn so money if I followed Shorter's idea. I rarely do what Shorter's advises me to, since inside his bald head -I know it surprised you, but yes, he's bald, he shaved his head- there's a lot of ridiculous ideas. But this one was good” Ash explained as one of his hands slipped across the table to clasp Eiji's. “Since I met you.”
Since I met you. Since I met you.
Eiji was left agape, but he intertwined his fingers with Ash's, and at that moment, he decided he wanted to desperately know more about him, he decided that he wanted to listen to his voice without this sad shift in it when he was talking about his past. He had suffered enough already.
“It must have been tough.”
“It was. It is. But I can't do much about it.”
“Hey, can I ask you something?”
“Sure, go ahead”
“Is your real name Ash Lynx?”
“Oh, no. It's a nickname, I actually want to become a singer. I like music, I listen to almost every genre, I like the feeling it conveys and how it makes people feel.” Ash stated with a soft smile. His love for music could be perceived in what Eiji decided was a melody by itself.
“Before you ask me about it” Ash said “It's Aslan. Aslan Jade Callenreese.”
“It sounds like a meaningful name. I like it.”
“Aslan is for “day-break”, it means so in Hebrew, since I was born at dawn. Jade is for the color of my eyes. Nothing special” Ash deadpaned.
“It is more special than Eiji Okumura.” Eiji said, and he added something, feeling bold and rubbing his thumb over Ash- Aslan's hand “And it does you justice, since you're so bright.” However, Eiji couldn't contain the soft blush that appeared in his cheeks, so he turned his head to aside for the other boy not to notice.
“Oh” Aslan raised an eyebrow “Do I light your heart up?” He teasingly asked
“The important question here is if you want me to do so- of if I light yours up” Eiji let go. He didn't know if he wanted an answer. The possibility of a yes set his cheeks ablaze and his heart could be able to beat a mile a minute but the possibility of a no made him feel like something wasn't working; that his wings were, indeed, broken.
“Hey, I'm an amateur singer, not a lightning technician” Ash claimed with a laugh. Another soft sound Eiji would treasure forever.
“Now that you say so, I really worried about your sound technician yesterday, I thought the stool could have hit him”
“Yeah, we all thought so. Shorter too. He started calling him Bones since that moment; Shorter gives nicknames to everyone, you're probably the next in line.” Ash chided while throwing a menacing-not-menacing glare to Shorter, who didn't seem to notice.
“I see.”
“Eiji-”
Ash was interrupted by the loud ring of Eiji's phone. Carefully, he took it out of his bag and answered Ibe-san's phone call. Apparently they had ran out of meds and his fever had gotten a little bit worse and the cafe was already closing and-
Good lord for how many hours had they been talking? It seemed like 5 minutes! They had spent the whole afternoon talking and he discovered a lot of interesting facts about the boy; he was two years younger and was afraid of pumpkins -as ridiculous as it sounded- but that time 5 minutes-likeish was the best time of his last years even though he felt he didn't deserve such a talented angel because Eiji was mediocre and his photos weren't even cool-
“Ei-chan?” He heard Ibe-san weakly ask from the other line of the phone. He had spaced out again. It happened with a lot of frequency, he tended to get lost in his thoughts, intrusive thoughts mostly when something good was happening to him.
Snap out of it, Eiji. Blanca told you that the fact that you even make it out of bed every day is something to be proud of. There's always a path to keep walking on, and you're not alone this time.
“Yes, sorry. I'll be back in a second with what you asked me. Hang in there!” Eiji replied as he hung his phone in a rush.
When he was about to got up from the chair he noticed that he was still holding Aslan's hand and if he wanted to get up he had to let go.
Oh, he didn't want to lot go.
“Got to leave?” Aslan casually asked.
“Yeah. My boss's fever's gotten worse and I've got to go take care for him and Shorter's glaring at us like he wants to kick us out.”
“He's a jerk, don't mind it” Ash said as -unfortunately for Eiji- he let his hand go and got up.
“I'll walk you to the door”.
When they made it out of the cafe they were silent for a minute, neither nothing what to say or what to do. Everything had been so intense; Aslan really felt like Eiji had lit his heart up even if Eiji didn't know it, and Eiji felt so happy he could die.
Or maybe not, because he wanted to meet with Aslan again, so he talked to make up another excuse.
“In the end we spent all the time talking nonsense and I didn't show you the pictures I took of you. Want me to show them to you tomorrow?” Eiji shyly asked. Please say yes. Please say yes.
“Tomorrow is their day off” Aslan pointed at the cafe “But we can meet on Tuesday” He then told Eiji with a soft, gentle, warm smile, as warm as the sun in early autumn's day afternoon, even though they had spent the whole afternoon holed inside a cafe and it was pretty late at that moment.
“And we can keep texting” Eiji said. Ash eyed him curiously “That is, if you don't mind” Eiji said, lowering his head.
Suddenly, he felt Aslan's hand on his head, lifting it. Then his beautiful, soft hand, the ones which holded the mic with grace the night before, traveled around his face and ended up on his hand again.
“Your hand is warm, Eiji.” Aslan whispered. And okay, text me when you get home, so I know you got home safely” He said with a smirk even though he knew Eiji was, in fact, two years older than him and that he lived literally five minutes away from where they were standing.
“Fine, I will.”
And then he let Aslan's hand- he kept calling him Ash in his mind, but he hoped that he can start getting to know the person behind his singing, which was already amazing. He wondered if Aslan composed songs of his own, too.
After a quick walk, Eiji got home, and after a long hour of nursing Ibe-san and watching TV without any text message from Aslan, he received a message from him:
“We left a question unanswered. You light my heart up. Do I light yours?”
Eiji screamed.
Of fucking course the answer was the biggest yes in his entire life.
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kathydsalters31 · 5 years ago
Text
The Very Best Winter Coats For Dachshunds as well as Other Hard-To-Fit Adventure Dogs
October 17, 2019
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1 Comment After living in New York City for several years, Mike as well as I(Steph)transferred to Portland, Oregon in mid 2016 with two suitcases as well as our long-haired dachshund Django. Every weekend break we would certainly drive east with Django and also go hiking in the Columbia River Gorge. Django’s sausage pet legs have to do with 4 inches high, however he would stay up to date with us on the routes, pitch in cold hill streams, and also fetch sticks around one of the most magnificent falls.
October rolled around, as well as Mike and also I began to understand why Portlanders call rainfall the “Portland mist”. It appeared to shower and also drizzle constantly. Unfortunately, this implied that by the end of every walking, Django would be cool and drenched with a mud-caked underbelly.
Our rainy journeys in the Pacific Northwest inspired us to create two efficiency pet coats: the
Reversible Puffer Winter Dog Coat as well as the City Slicker All Season Dog Jacket & Raincoat. Both pet dog coats shield versus cool, rainfall , mud, offer complete insurance coverage-including the upper body and upper tummy!-as well as are developed to withstandcountless cycles in the washing device. The Reversible Puffer-For Cold Mountain Trails as well as Snowy Sidewalks The Reversible Puffer was DJANGO’s very first canine coat style as well as is currently a ideal marketing pet dog coat on Amazon. When developing this pet dog flatterer vest was to create something warm enough for the coldest winter journey yet comfy enough to sleep in, our goal. We’re amazing proud of the end outcome.
Tumblr media
The Reversible Puffer has three layers: a resilient water-resistant outside covering, a relaxing 100 %cotton fiber cellular lining, and a hidden layer of insulation that traps heat versus your dog’s body. All together, these layers produce a super sturdy and also cozy pet dog coat that safeguards your puppy from the components without weighing him or her down. Furthermore, in accordance with other high efficiency shielded layers designed for people, our
Reversible Puffer enables enough air movement to avoid getting too hot. Totally reversible, you claim? Absolutely. Our Reversible Puffer was developed for you to enjoy 2 unique looks in one. Just bear in mind that the coat’s interior lining is cotton fiber and as a result not waterproof. For this reason we absolutely suggested utilizing the waterproof exterior
Tumblr media
shell on snowy, slushy, or wet days. Insulated vs. Non-Insulated Dog Coats While particular breeds are biologically equipped for winter season conditions( i.e. Alaskan Malamutes and Bernese Mountain Dogs), most canines are equally as conscious the chilly as we are. As a rule of thumb, if it is also cold for you to be outside, then it is also cold for your pet. Short-coated or hairless canines without undercoat, plaything types, dogs with low body fat, and dogs with short legs are most at risk and can easily get hypothermia if left outside in freezing temperature levels.
An excellent quality insulated canine coat is an important enhancement to your dog’s winter wardrobe. As mentioned over, the included layer of insulation will certainly trap warmth against the body, keeping your canine much warmer than any kind of non-insulated jacket. With that said said, there are times when your pet dog will not need the triple-layer protection and also heat of a shielded coat like our preferred Reversible Puffer. Non-insulated pet coats are made to provide a lightweight and breathable layer of defense without the added built-in-layer of insulation. They efficiently fend off wind, mud, water, and sand as well as can
be made use of all year round. The City Slicker- A Lightweight Dog Jacket Designed for Rain, Shine, and Everything In Between
DJANGO’s
City Slicker All-Season Dog Jacket is an exceptionally flexible non-insulated pet dog coat
. The water-repellent outside shell is 100%nylon as well as
single-coated with water-slicking polyurethane. The end outcome is a water-repellent as well as light-weight performance pet coat. Mike and I currently reside in New York City with Django and our new child boy. On any type of rainy or damp NYC day, you’ll locate Django showing off down the active NYC pathways in his City Slicker. The City Slicker is likewise our go-to pet jacket on cool(yet not freezing )autumn days. Today, for instance, was a warm however really vigorous fall day. It was barely 50 levels this morning when we left for a morning walk in Central Park, and also Django was sporting his Topaz Blue City Slicker to stay warm. Water-repellent vs. waterproof vs. Water-resistant The Reversible Puffer’s exterior covering is waterproof, implying that it is difficult for water to pass through the fabric but not impossible. Said in a different way, the Reversible Puffer will certainly keep your dog dry and also warm in snow and light rain. Extensive durations of heavy rain, nonetheless, will at some point permeate the shell and evaluate down the pet dog layer.
The
City Slicker’s exterior nylon covering is treated with a solid water-repellent finish as well as for that reason offers sufficient defense from snow, slush, and rainfall-even more security than the Reversible Puffer. Given That the City Slicker is not practically 100 %waterproof, however, extended time outside in significantly damp problems (i.e. a tremendous downpour) may cause water at some point seeping into the fabric. 100% water resistant means there is no other way for water to leak into the material.
We definitely researched making use of a 100% waterproof fabric for our City Slicker pet dog coats yet swiftly chose versus it. Why? The most cost-effective and also typical water resistant textile utilized for pet dog coats is Polyvinyl chloride (PVC). I can nearly ensure the material made use of is PVC if you see a water resistant pet raincoat in PetSmart or Petco. PVC is likewise the most eco destructive plastic and has added to a wealth of contaminant build-up in our air, water and food chain. As you can presume, we were not willing to make use of the highly toxic as well as eco-unfriendly PVC material so we can call our canine jackets 100% water-proof.
DJANGO pet dog coats are designed for the majority of small and medium-sized pets
“Are you a dachshund-only pet clothing business?”
We’ve obtained this concern numerous times! And also the solution is a resounding NO. DJANGO pet dog equipment firm develops pet apparel, pet dog accessories, and dog traveling providers for ALL small- as well as medium-sized experience canines.
It is most definitely true that DJANGO has an impressive number of dachshund buddies and also consumers which we’re incredibly appreciative for. All credit rating for this mosts likely to our lovable long-haired dachshund and social media sites celebrity
Django. Django’s massive target market throughout Instagram as well as Facebook has actually most certainly led to an incredible variety of doxies across the world showing off DJANGO gear.
Keeping that said, DJANGO designs top quality travel and also adventure dog equipment for ALL tiny- as well as medium-sized canine breeds. Both Mike and I grew up around several different canine types and also would not have it otherwise:-RRB- Before you go … Introducing the latest addition to our
Reversible Puffer Dog Coat collection … Violet Purple! Our Violet Purple Reversible Puffer flaunts the same water-repellent outside covering, heat-trapping insulation, and also a gorgeous grey as well as white tone buffalo check plaid cellular lining made from 100% cotton fiber. See even more Violet Purple here >
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>
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES Share: 1 Response Leave a comment
source http://www.luckydogsolutions.com/the-best-winter-coats-for-dachshunds-and-other-hard-to-fit-adventure-dogs/ from Lucky Dog Solutions https://luckydogsolutions.blogspot.com/2020/07/the-very-best-winter-coats-for.html
0 notes
barryswamsleyaz · 5 years ago
Text
The Very Best Winter Coats For Dachshunds as well as Other Hard-To-Fit Adventure Dogs
October 17, 2019
Tumblr media
1 Comment After living in New York City for several years, Mike as well as I(Steph)transferred to Portland, Oregon in mid 2016 with two suitcases as well as our long-haired dachshund Django. Every weekend break we would certainly drive east with Django and also go hiking in the Columbia River Gorge. Django’s sausage pet legs have to do with 4 inches high, however he would stay up to date with us on the routes, pitch in cold hill streams, and also fetch sticks around one of the most magnificent falls.
October rolled around, as well as Mike and also I began to understand why Portlanders call rainfall the “Portland mist”. It appeared to shower and also drizzle constantly. Unfortunately, this implied that by the end of every walking, Django would be cool and drenched with a mud-caked underbelly.
Our rainy journeys in the Pacific Northwest inspired us to create two efficiency pet coats: the Reversible Puffer Winter Dog Coat as well as the City Slicker All Season Dog Jacket & Raincoat. Both pet dog coats shield versus cool, rainfall , mud, offer complete insurance coverage-including the upper body and upper tummy!-as well as are developed to withstandcountless cycles in the washing device. The Reversible Puffer-For Cold Mountain Trails as well as Snowy Sidewalks The Reversible Puffer was DJANGO’s very first canine coat style as well as is currently a ideal marketing pet dog coat on Amazon. When developing this pet dog flatterer vest was to create something warm enough for the coldest winter journey yet comfy enough to sleep in, our goal. We’re amazing proud of the end outcome.
Tumblr media
The Reversible Puffer has three layers: a resilient water-resistant outside covering, a relaxing 100 %cotton fiber cellular lining, and a hidden layer of insulation that traps heat versus your dog’s body. All together, these layers produce a super sturdy and also cozy pet dog coat that safeguards your puppy from the components without weighing him or her down. Furthermore, in accordance with other high efficiency shielded layers designed for people, our Reversible Puffer enables enough air movement to avoid getting too hot. Totally reversible, you claim? Absolutely. Our Reversible Puffer was developed for you to enjoy 2 unique looks in one. Just bear in mind that the coat’s interior lining is cotton fiber and as a result not waterproof. For this reason we absolutely suggested utilizing the waterproof exterior
Tumblr media
shell on snowy, slushy, or wet days. Insulated vs. Non-Insulated Dog Coats While particular breeds are biologically equipped for winter season conditions( i.e. Alaskan Malamutes and Bernese Mountain Dogs), most canines are equally as conscious the chilly as we are. As a rule of thumb, if it is also cold for you to be outside, then it is also cold for your pet. Short-coated or hairless canines without undercoat, plaything types, dogs with low body fat, and dogs with short legs are most at risk and can easily get hypothermia if left outside in freezing temperature levels.
An excellent quality insulated canine coat is an important enhancement to your dog’s winter wardrobe. As mentioned over, the included layer of insulation will certainly trap warmth against the body, keeping your canine much warmer than any kind of non-insulated jacket. With that said said, there are times when your pet dog will not need the triple-layer protection and also heat of a shielded coat like our preferred Reversible Puffer. Non-insulated pet coats are made to provide a lightweight and breathable layer of defense without the added built-in-layer of insulation. They efficiently fend off wind, mud, water, and sand as well as can
be made use of all year round. The City Slicker- A Lightweight Dog Jacket Designed for Rain, Shine, and Everything In Between
DJANGO’s City Slicker All-Season Dog Jacket is an exceptionally flexible non-insulated pet dog coat
. The water-repellent outside shell is 100%nylon as well as single-coated with water-slicking polyurethane. The end outcome is a water-repellent as well as light-weight performance pet coat. Mike and I currently reside in New York City with Django and our new child boy. On any type of rainy or damp NYC day, you’ll locate Django showing off down the active NYC pathways in his City Slicker. The City Slicker is likewise our go-to pet jacket on cool(yet not freezing )autumn days. Today, for instance, was a warm however really vigorous fall day. It was barely 50 levels this morning when we left for a morning walk in Central Park, and also Django was sporting his Topaz Blue City Slicker to stay warm. Water-repellent vs. waterproof vs. Water-resistant The Reversible Puffer’s exterior covering is waterproof, implying that it is difficult for water to pass through the fabric but not impossible. Said in a different way, the Reversible Puffer will certainly keep your dog dry and also warm in snow and light rain. Extensive durations of heavy rain, nonetheless, will at some point permeate the shell and evaluate down the pet dog layer.
The City Slicker’s exterior nylon covering is treated with a solid water-repellent finish as well as for that reason offers sufficient defense from snow, slush, and rainfall-even more security than the Reversible Puffer. Given That the City Slicker is not practically 100 %waterproof, however, extended time outside in significantly damp problems (i.e. a tremendous downpour) may cause water at some point seeping into the fabric. 100% water resistant means there is no other way for water to leak into the material.
We definitely researched making use of a 100% waterproof fabric for our City Slicker pet dog coats yet swiftly chose versus it. Why? The most cost-effective and also typical water resistant textile utilized for pet dog coats is Polyvinyl chloride (PVC). I can nearly ensure the material made use of is PVC if you see a water resistant pet raincoat in PetSmart or Petco. PVC is likewise the most eco destructive plastic and has added to a wealth of contaminant build-up in our air, water and food chain. As you can presume, we were not willing to make use of the highly toxic as well as eco-unfriendly PVC material so we can call our canine jackets 100% water-proof.
DJANGO pet dog coats are designed for the majority of small and medium-sized pets
“Are you a dachshund-only pet clothing business?”
We’ve obtained this concern numerous times! And also the solution is a resounding NO. DJANGO pet dog equipment firm develops pet apparel, pet dog accessories, and dog traveling providers for ALL small- as well as medium-sized experience canines.
It is most definitely true that DJANGO has an impressive number of dachshund buddies and also consumers which we’re incredibly appreciative for. All credit rating for this mosts likely to our lovable long-haired dachshund and social media sites celebrity Django. Django’s massive target market throughout Instagram as well as Facebook has actually most certainly led to an incredible variety of doxies across the world showing off DJANGO gear.
Keeping that said, DJANGO designs top quality travel and also adventure dog equipment for ALL tiny- as well as medium-sized canine breeds. Both Mike and I grew up around several different canine types and also would not have it otherwise:-RRB- Before you go … Introducing the latest addition to our Reversible Puffer Dog Coat collection … Violet Purple! Our Violet Purple Reversible Puffer flaunts the same water-repellent outside covering, heat-trapping insulation, and also a gorgeous grey as well as white tone buffalo check plaid cellular lining made from 100% cotton fiber. See even more Violet Purple here >
Tumblr media
>
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES Share: 1 Response Leave a comment
from Lucky Dog Solutions http://www.luckydogsolutions.com/the-best-winter-coats-for-dachshunds-and-other-hard-to-fit-adventure-dogs/ from Lucky Dog Solutions https://luckydogsolutions.tumblr.com/post/623653622718382080
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hetaliareaderfanfic · 7 years ago
Text
The Name Game
Notes: Reader x 2P!America vs. 2P!Canada (Y/N) = Your Name Human AU Part 3/13 
Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6, Part 7, Part 8, Part 9, Part 10, Part 11, Part 12, Part 13
First ten parts before Another Ending
It was the third Wednesday since Y/N’s last visit to Cafétea. She was not surprised, but still a little disappointed, to see her usual corner seat by the window taken by someone familiar. She decided to take the available table beside it. Where did I see him? Why does he look familiar? Was he a classmate before? I hope not. And then it struck her. The not so neatly tied blonde hair with some loose strands that rest on the man’s broad shoulders, the facial hair that suited him very well, the intimidating sunglasses that were very common to celebrities in disguise, the one-size-larger-than-his-actual-size red plaid button shirt, and the large plate on the table – a mountain of pancakes in the middle of a sea of maple syrup –, there was no doubt it was the same man who was always sitting on the seat she was now sitting on. Perhaps he was a rival who also wanted that corner spot by the window, but she was not there for two weeks, and the man finally had his moment.
She was too busy trying to remember who the man was that she did not see him slightly glanced at her. She was, at least, relieved to realize that she did not know the man; fearing the possible embarrassment of bumping into someone she knew but ignored that person’s presence, simply because she forgot the person’s name.
Seeing that she pulled out a pen and the same notebook she always had with her and started writing, he was quite relieved. He needed not to give up his new seat after all.
Oliver arrived with a tray on his hand to her table. He was so happy to see a regular customer back again. He should know the regulars, for it would be good for business. He gladly set down on the table Y/N’s usual order with an extra cupcake – that flavor Allen praised the most. Readying his rehearsed cute smiling pouty face, he asked Y/N, “Poppet, where were you these past two weeks, if you don’t mind me asking?”
It could not be ignored, the handsome Brit’s successful cute pouty face, and so Y/N smiled to not offend the worried Oliver and just answered with apologetic tone and expression, “I’m sorry, Oliver. I was just really busy with something. I could not leave the house.”
“Oh, Poppet! I’m glad you’re back! I have a new cupcake, and will you please taste it now? I really want to know if you’ll like it. You see, Poppet, I thought you no longer like my cupcakes, so…” As if the inquiring gentleman saw through the sunglasses of the man sitting on the next table, Oliver decided to talk to him as well after his conversation with Y/N.
“Oh, Oliver! That’s sweet of you!” And then she took a bite. Oliver could see the gleam on her eyes. “Oliver, this is amazing! You’re amazing! Thank you. I wish I could bake like you.”
“Oh, Poppet, if that happened, then you’d no longer come here.” He giggled. “I’m glad you like it. Enjoy your meal!” He then gave Y/N an even happier smile, and turned around to face the man on the next table. “Hello, dear M-hmmsir!” Oliver managed to improvise upon receiving a slight frown from the man. “Enjoy your meal!” He continued with a smile before leaving the dining area.
After serving all the customers at the moment, Oliver went to Francis and pouted, not rehearsed. “I think Mattie is angry at me.”
“I told you not to bother him while he’s eating his pancakes,” Francis reminded him while looking around to check the surroundings, “and he doesn’t want to be talked to here.” He added.
“I know, but… alright.” Oliver’s pout was instantly turned into a welcoming smile when a group of three women approached the counter. “Lovely day, ladies!” And he went back to business.
Sitting across an irritated Y/N, the three women seemed so carefree of their loud conversation. Y/N could not focus on her writing. Just a while ago, she was inspired to write a short story about an enchanted pancake island, no, not exactly that, but she had been looking quite attentively at the plate on the table next to hers.
One of the women who was wearing a chic floral dress sat facing Y/N’s and the man’s direction, and so she noticed the lonesome man. She whispered – but with a loud voice one might not be sure if it was truly a whisper – to her two friends, “Oh my god, he’s hot!”
And looking directly at the direction of the ‘hot’ man, they smiled and bet who would go first. One of them was wearing tight jeans and a lacy white tank top; the other one wore a short skirts and long sleeved shirt.
Tank Top Lady decided to go first. She gracefully stood up and casually walked to the other table and sat opposite the man. “Hello there, handsome. Lonely? Want some company?”
Y/N was not a fan of this kind of scene, and she did not want to be thought of as a gossiper by her frequent glances at the now just a hill of pancakes.
Tank Top Lady was just about to bend down slightly to reveal some more attractions she could display, but was stopped by the hot man’s reply: “No.” She frowned, and dismay was too obvious on her expression. She was not used of her beauty being rejected. Tank Top Lady was not just gorgeous; she was also persistent, brave, and confident, and so she tried again. She crossed her legs, and moved her right foot to touch the ‘hot’ man’s jeans-covered leg. “You’re lonely. I’m lonely. Why don’t we…” but she could not continue as the frown of annoyance on the ‘hot’ man’s face became too intimidating. Tank Top Lady stood up and rushed to her friends.
Despite of not wanting to witness a flirting scene, Y/N did and was impressed of the outcome. She continued writing. The great giant living in the enchanted pancake island would not allow anyone to trade goods with him, and so he spread more maple syrup into the sea to… “Wait, this does not seem so right, but, uh well this is just a draft.” Y/N told herself as she silently giggled and questioned her sanity. “It’s just a plot draft.” She was still trying to convince herself.
Thinking it was her she was giggling about, Tank Top Lady sat on the chair in front of the surprised Y/N. “Bitch. Why are you laughing at me?”
Y/N did not go back to Cafétea to be called ‘bitch’ again. She was asking herself and the universe why she had to deal with this kind of humans, despite of her trying to avoid not just them, but any other kinds of humans as much as possible. She found humans very complex, and usually negative type of complex. “I’m not a bitch.” She replied with her usual straight face.
“You are. And you laughed at me.” Tank Top Lady replied.
“Were you being funny?” Y/N wanted to just keep silent, but she could not control herself.
“BITCH!” Tank Top Lady could had had grabbed Y/N’s mug of espresso to splash on Y/N, but Y/N was quick enough to point her pen at Tank Top Lady’s face.
“Not. My. Coffee. Bitch.” Y/N’s cold stare could not be ignored. Her voice might not be as loud as the three female friends, but the warning was audible enough for the two other friends to hear. Seeing that Tank Top Lady’s hand carefully crept away from her mug, Y/N lowered her pen and smiled. It was not the same smile she gave to Francis and Oliver. “Evaporate.” Y/N, with unconscious glare, said in a whisper, but anyone looking at her could read it from her half-smiling lips.
Tank Top Lady invited her friends to go. Now, Skirt Lady had noticed earlier that Y/N was writing something and it was when she giggled. Skirt Lady looked afraid but polite and fair enough; she walked to Y/N and apologized for her friend’s behavior. Relief was evident on her face when Y/N replied, “Take care of her, of each other properly. Don’t spoil her or anyone on something bad. I’m glad you seem smart to analyze the situation. Don’t waste your orders, though. They’re great. At least have it take-out.” Skirt Lady did not expect to be answered like that, and so were the other interested customers, and she was not aware of her blush. She murmured a ‘Thank you’ to Y/N and was surprised to see the French and British ‘waiters’ at their table with their orders already in a take-out bag. And with that, the three friends left Cafétea without receiving an ‘Until next week’ from the French man, and not even a smile from the jolly Brit.
Y/N took time to breathe in some calmness and exhaled her exhaustion. She then looked at the two owners of the shop, and then around, and realized that some other customers were looking at her direction. She suddenly felt embarrassed, and no more was her ‘pissed off’ aura. She looked down and apologized to them sheepishly for “any possible inconvenience she might have caused both to the owners and the customers.” 
As if they were very close, Oliver walked to Y/N and hugged her. “No, Poppet, you should not apologize.” He was really concerned and amazed at the same time; and later thought that Y/N would be a great guard, er, ally. 
And Francis, to show his concern and support, turned to the customers. “Is any of you troubled by this?”
Some of the customers who were also audience of the previous scene shook their heads. And as if some clarification were needed, the ‘hot’ man replied, “Not by her”, referring to Y/N. And just like that, they all agreed and everyone minded their own business.
Perhaps he understood Y/N’s feelings. If it was his plate of pancakes and maple syrup that was threatened to be wasted in a very disapproving way, he might have done the same as that customer did. That customer who he also always saw in Cafétea every Wednesday or Thursday for the past seven months except for the past two weeks because of his stupid brother; that customer who usually ordered the same coffee and cupcakes yet sometimes might change, who always continuously wrote something undecipherable until she remembered her then cold coffee, but nevertheless would drink it; that customer who always seemed interested in his pancakes and maple syrup but never ordered them for herself; yes, that customer Francis and Oliver knew. He would not ask them, though, for he already knew her name.
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purkinje-effect · 7 years ago
Text
The Purkinje Effect, 4
Table of Contents
On his way out of the Science! Center, Galen decided to continue touring the city a bit to bide his time, and resumed rounding the bases. He stopped briefly at the elevated Second Base intersection and glanced out over the water that had pooled in the center field. When he noticed the water pump, he wondered whether it was a manmade reservoir. The buildings which hugged the outer field were on stilts, he realized, due to this water body. Waterfront property. Heh.
Strolling down Third Street, he noticed a neon sign advertising “Valentine’s Detective Agency.” They’ve even got themselves a dick or two. Supposing I’m not the only one with a mystery to solve out here. He picked up pace to insist he was minding his own business when a gaggle of guards came out of the other set of dugouts. Home team’s dugouts might have been fashioned into a watering hole, but the visiting team’s dugouts had become the precinct offices, it seemed. The direct foil of home team vs. visitors made Galen feel like the main source of contention in this unassuming town was keeping the drunk tank locked. They must have good liquor, he nodded sagely with a raised brow, skipping briskly across Third Base to round the home stretch.
As he’d strolled, he’d figured he’d scope out the marketplace, but as he passed by the barber shop for the second time that day, he couldn’t help but think of Piper again. He didn’t have much left to burn on supplies, anyway. With the fatigue of resolve embattling him, he pushed the door open to the establishment, only to find Publick Occurrences, like the Science! Center, doubled for a domicile. Most of the end tables were once newspaper dispensers.
“He’s from someplace called Blackstone,” he heard a youthful voice report upstairs. “An’ I didn’t catch the whole thing, but he eats some real weird stuff. I heard ‘im mention he eats MUD? Gross.”
“You did good, kiddo. You’re gonna make a killer reporter when you’re older.” A pause. “Oh, right. I didn’t forget, I swear. You earned these Sugar Bombs, Nat.”
“Right. ...Thanks.” The youth, who, clad in half a dozen kinds of mismatched plaid, ran down the stairs with her prize--a huge box of cereal--she stopped on the third-to-last step and stared at Galen, and he cleared his throat awkwardly. “Piper! you’ve got company,” she hollered, sprinting out the front door with her Sugar Bombs, likely thinking he’d tailed her home and risked Piper rescinding the reward.
Piper came downstairs and coolly welcomed Galen.
“Sooo, you finally decided to take me up on my offer.”
“Sister?” He thumbed at the door as it finally clicked shut behind him.
“Yeah. About that...” She waved at her couch, but he shook his head. “Diamond City gets kinda... speculative when somebody new breezes through that leaves an impression. Aaand... you certainly have left an impression. I’m guessing you haven’t even been here two or three hours, and already half the people I’ve talked to since we met at Power Noodles are talking about ‘that strange pink mechanic.’ The rumors fly out of hand, and oftentimes it’s up to me to nip ‘em. Or substantiate ‘em.”
“I definitely stick out up here more than back home,” he joked dryly. “Look, I came here wantin’ to apologize for how I came off earlier. Finding you had your sis spying on me, you really are as nosy as I thought. I imagine you’re real good at what you do for a living.” He offered a handshake, and she took it enthusiastically. “Galen.”
“Galen. I’m Piper, though I guess you already knew that.” She rummaged through one of the old newspaper machines across from the couch, to find a pad and pencil, and she began to scrawl immediately. “So. Tell me a little more about your vault.”
“It’s in Blackstone Gorge. 82. About two or three hours’ walk from Pawtucket. What’s left of it, anyway. Your sister heard right about the mud thing. The most common reason we go up top is to collect a few buckets’ worth, and come back inside with it. The more I talk to people above-ground, the more I realize that there’s very little normal about Vault 82, even as far as vaults go. I. How long was she followin’ me?”
“Not long, I promise. It was her idea. She’s an entrepreneur, sees an opportunity and seizes it. Knew she could shake me down if she came back with dirt. ...Figurative dirt.” She started turning her memo pad at a slow increasing angle to enterprise on her margins, but shortly after righted it to continue. “Word is you’ve already seen Dr. Sun and Dr. Duff since you stepped foot in town. You’re certainly on a mission. And you didn’t pop into Nick’s place far as I know, so it’s not about a missing persons case or a legal dispute.”
“Nick?”
“Tricky dick Nick Valentine,” she grinned. “I’d wager my hat you couldn’t have missed his office sign.”
“...I came here cause a my appetite,” he half-lied, bristling over how invasive all her investigative nerve felt.
“And an appetite, you’ve certainly got.” She pantomimed him with the bowl of ramen from earlier and he rolled his eyes at her. “Clearly it’s more than that, if you’re seeing not one but two doctors about it. You said you eat mud--we’ve got mud here. But everybody comes to this city looking for answers first, supplies second.”
“Somethin’ we been eatin’ has been makin’ us sick. I’m out here tryin’ to find somebody that knows anything about Vault-Tec equipment, or even a nutritionist. I can’t go home without answers. A fix would be ideal, but I’ve at least gotta get to the bottom of this.” Already he felt like he’d given her a double-wide opening to eviscerate him, and he squirmed preemptively, trying to hide the anxiety with a gesture which asked permission to light up a smoke. Piper nodded, and with a flick of his silver flip-lighter, he was puffing away at another cigarette.
“There’s equipment malfunctioning in your vault, then? You... feel responsible for it, don’t you?”
“They kicked me out, okay?” He flung back his hood at her matter-of-factly, then started pacing. “Yeah, I do feel responsible for the food dispensers goin’ F.U.B.A.R. I ain’t got an explanation what’s wrong with the things, but a handful of my people’s thinkin’... That what gave ‘em reason to kick me out might substantiate their theory I changed settings on the vats or something. Why would I do that! I eat that stuff, too! My brother caught me bingeing on rations. To be fair, even if we did fix the machines, how we still have any paste left is a wonder after two centuries subsisting on it. I don’t blame ‘em for kickin’ me out, even if I didn’t do squat to the machines. I’d a done the same.”
“Yikes.” She had to sit down to process what he was trying to tell her. “What is this... paste? That’s the stuff you took to Duff, right?”
“We only had one food source serviced in 82: food paste. It’s like gruel, but it doesn’t taste like much of anything. First 170 years, nobody had any issues with it. It just stained us pink. At least, that’s what most of us assume turned us all pink. When the machines bugged out, the pink color went from a tint to nearly neon.” He tried his best to be tactful about his personal tone regarding chronology, considering how poorly that had gone over with Sun. “People have started dying in my vault since the machines fritzed, Piper. I don’t know if the paste is missin’ a key ingredient, or if it’s startin’ to finally spoil, or if somebody really has tampered with the machinery. But I figured... somebody out here could give us answers, if people could analyze the paste and tell me what’s wrong with it. All our leadership team has passed away. All of it, and only been replaced spottily from our own people, not Vault-Tec’s.”
“Vault-Tec, Vault... Tec. Mmh.” She tapped her pencil on the spiral of her memo pad. “I doubt you’d find answers at any of the other vaults in the commonwealth. I only know of three. 114′s a hotbed for organized crime, was never finished out and it runs a good length of Boston’s subway lines. 81′s deeply isolationist and they keep to themselves so much, only reason anybody knows about ‘em is the handful of times in the past decade anybody’s come up top for supplies. And allegedly there’s one north of Concord, 111. But no one has ever seen evidence the lift’s ever produced a single soul. No telling if there’s anybody alive in there. However.......” She began to tap her foot instead of her pencil. “There’s a regional office for Vault-Tec in Boston Proper. I’m not sure what kind of district lines their company drew when it came to office jurisdictions back in the day, but that might be a good place to start. I’ve heard they got surplus equipment. And you might even find some terminal entries that’d be relevant, provided you know your way around a keyboard.”
“First place I went from 82 was Worcester. C.I.T. Worcester is overrun with super mutants, but I managed to get a pamphlet before I got caught and had to run for my life from one of those damn lunatics with a nuke.” He pulled it out from a handful of wadded papers in his bag, and smoothed it out on top of one of the newspaper machines. “It was about the different campuses. There’s supposed to be one at Cambridge, one at Jamaica Plain, and one at University Point. They’re smaller trade schools, specifically for biology and med students. If I could find anything about if and how this paste is adversely affecting us, I’m positive it’d be there.”
Piper went pale at mention of the locations.
“Jamaica Plain’s mostly underwater, as is most of University Point. You really can’t trust prewar maps, these days. Most of the cape’s vanished, for one thing. And from what I heard recently, University Point may be above water, even if only barely--but it’s more than a no-go. That’s Institute territory now. As far as Cambridge, that building’s also overrun with super mutants. An alarming trend, I’m noticing. It’s nearly flattened either ways, so I’m not so sure you’d find much.”
“Am I hearing this right? A reporter trying to dissuade somebody from trying to uncover the truth. That sounds mighty yellow, if not outright yellow-bellied,” he grinned, offhandedly eating his cigarette butt.
“Hey!” she objected, slapping her lap with her memo pad. She cleared her throat lyrically. “Hey. All I’m saying is, you shouldn’t go about it alone. Let me come with you, Blue.”
“Maybe if you stop callin’ me that,” he started, beginning to size up whatever she had in the offices. His eyes fell on a can of cutting fluid, but he retained a poker face about it. “ ...I haven’t got supplies to travel on.”
“Go see Myrna at the surplus. She’ll hook you up.” Piper dug around in a magazine machine, producing a carton of Grey Tortoise cigarettes. “Somethin’ t’barter with. Don’t worry about getting me anything, I’ll be good to go by the time you get back.”
“I’m gonna stop back by the Science! Center to see if Dr. Duff’s got any answers for me, before I do anything else.” He was met with a shrill, awkwardly dismissive bark. “What?”
“You’d have better luck asking Takahashi what’s in that stuff. I promise you, you’re coming out ahead if you don’t go back to her. The volatile chemicals she plays with... Let’s just say the ventilation isn’t so great in that building.” When he squinted at her, she added, “She’s got a half dozen screws loose, and has enough trouble keepin’ up with the eleven students from the schoolhouse. She’s not even allowed to chaperone them anywhere after last time. Believe me. Just go straight over to the Surplus, and get ready to hit the road-- Galen.”
His lip turned, brow arched, at the carton in his hands.
“Myrna. Surplus. ...Got it.”
“Keep the Synth talk to a minimum around her, by the way,” she called downstairs. Piper had already started up to her bedroom, flinging things around eagerly. “She’s probably the most paranoid person in the city. If she asks why you’re pink, tell her you got something for it from Doc Sun. She’ll be fine then on, long as you keep your gloves on.”
“And maybe when I get back, you can tell me why we’re NOT starting with the Commonwealth Institute of Technology,” he ribbed, feeling like she was deliberately withholding information to string him along.
“Oh, Christ, you’re in luck it’s a long walk to North End,” she moaned. 
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