#usually they at least get like the hairdo itself right and I just go home and fix the curls/waves

[garciapimienta]

I dont even know why I bother coming to the hair salon for events when they literally never do what I ask them to

[greenygreenland]

Home: Lloyd Garmadon x Reader

-I LOVE ASKS. plz keep them coming, they make my day -i’m sorry i write slowly, I’m a perfectionist. -it’s also better to have quality over quantity, am I right? -takes place after Tournament of Elements but before Possessed 

[REQUESTED BY ANON] Summary/ask: Maybe a reader with a "dark" power (like, not evil, but considered dark), and they were outcasted by it, everyone thinks they are bad and shit but they are just shy and insecure?

WARNING: MENTIONS OF VERBAL ABUSE (VERY BRIEF), BLOOD (BRIEF), INJURIES (ALSO BREIF), ETC.

Isolation. That was all you had ever known for the better half of your life. Most details were things you preferred to keep hidden away, locked up for good in that deep mind of yours. 

You never had a whole family, but that was fine by you. Why should that matter when you had a father who loved and cared for you? Growing up, he always told you this: ‘Ninjago is so much more than our tiny home, my dear. Why should we worry about what we don’t have when there’s so much to discover?’

Even now, you held onto his words with your life. Even now when you forgot what his face looked like. Even now when you couldn’t remember his voice, or how warm his hugs were. Everything eventually faded, but not the emotions he made you feel. 

Love, warmth, generosity. 

Those were the only pieces of baggage you carried. Although heavy, they kept you from the evil strings of bitterness. You kept your chin up, high in the air so you could look to the sky. It was the limit after all, the portion of which you had to reach and reach until you couldn’t anymore. The only problem was getting there. 

The alley was rather quiet today, a far cry from the usual bustling citizens looking for a shortcut or a food stand. You loved days like this, where no one would care to stare at you and whisper your name like it were a ball in a game. With your hood up, no one could see your face, and no one could cast you aside like the loner you were.

“What are you doing here?” 

You wish you hadn’t heard his voice. As subtle as he tried to be, his snarky tone caused passing stragglers to glance at you. A sigh escapes your lips. What was he doing here? Didn’t he have anything better to do than follow you around and nag? You were cast aside as it was by your mother, forgotten by your so-called friends, and left behind by your ascended father. 

He told you to stay away from that speedy idiot, the one your mother took away from you. The one who took after her with the same eyes, nose, and mouth. They had the same grin, too, the one where it looked like they thought they were better than you.

“If it isn’t Griffin Turner,” you grumble out. “What a pleasure.” 

His stare isn’t friendly. You know under those red sunglasses that he’s glaring at you. He’s probably thinking about how much of a monster you are too, just like every other Elemental Master you ever faced in your life. 

Griffin runs a hand over his oh-so-perfectly cut hairdo. “Oh don’t be a prick.” he spits out. “Have some respect for your older brother.” That grin doesn’t slide off his face no matter how dark your expression gets. He’s always been oblivious. First to your powers, then to your father’s death, and finally, to how terribly he’s been treating you. 

It doesn’t matter that he’s your older brother. Bullying does not discriminate, and neither do you, blood ties or not. “Just leave me alone, I’m not in the mood Griffin.” He raises a brow. “Not in the mood? Since when did someone like you have feelings? You’re cold-hearted, just like your dad.” 

You frown. “’Your dad’?” you echo. “What, so we’re only related when you choose?” Griffin shrugs absentmindedly. You know he’s trying to provoke you, get a reaction, but you just can’t help it. He was patronising you and your father. 

“I’m just glad I lived with mum instead of dad.” he adds. “At least I don’t have to run after the garbage truck with a shopping list.” He snickers to himself and you go rigid. “Take that back.” 

“What? Your last braincell?” 

“Well--you--you’re a...” You pause. “At least I had someone who loved me and actually payed attention to me! Sure, I inherited dad’s elemental powers, but he taught me something you’ll never get: kindness. You think I don’t know? Look again you pathetic waste of space!” That wasn’t supposed to hit hard and you both knew it. Griffin could have said a million other insults that burned like the sun itself, yet somehow, with your puny words, you hit a nerve. A nerve that wasn’t supposed to be punched in the first place. 

Griffin’s grin finally slides off his face. He stuffs a hand in his pocket and uses the other to adjust his bright sunglasses. He doesn’t say anything, but you can practically feel the air thicken between the empty distance. Griffin didn’t have lo self-esteem, but sometimes, his mum called him a waste of space. When you walked by the luxurious apartment, on days the kitchen window was left wide open, you heard what she’d say to Griffin--what she did to him.

Suddenly, you’re taken back to the age of six, when your parents were together and Griffin was more than your only brother. You were best friends. You did everything together. But then your father passed down his elemental powers to you, and it was then that everything changed.

Your father taught you that your powers were a gift passed down all the way from the days the First Spinjitzu Master lived among the people of Ninjago. It was a gift used to protect him when he was in need, a gift that possessed great power and majesty. Your elemental abilities had a double edge to it. Although beautiful, it possessed a great danger. 

One slip-up was all it took. One mistake you never meant.

That day, you were practicing control and discipline over your powers. You never meant for it to happen, and if you could go back, you would a million times over. That day, all the control, all the mastery you had over your abilities disappeared in an instant. You swore it was only for a second, but it could have lasted a millennia. 

Your element was more than a power. It was a living part of you with its own consciousness you couldn’t quite understand. When you slept, you saw him, the intangible person you never cared to learn the name of. He always sat in a plain of pure darkness, where you couldn’t touch or see him clearly. 

You knew he never meant to frighten you, but that day, you only saw a monster. Perhaps it was you, perhaps it was him. You never knew because the moment you lost control, your world went black. From then on, your parents split. Your mother took Griffin away from you, and as time grew, so did the distance between you. 

You wish you could change things starting from that day till now. Those forsaken words shouldn’t have left either of your mouths, but the damage had already been done. It cut too deep that not even magic could mend the wounds. 

“Griffin I--”

“So that’s how it is.” A bitter laugh escapes his lips and you flinch like you’ve been struck. Griffin walks toward you at a painfully slow pace. The alleyway isn’t part of the city anymore. It’s a battlefield of honour, of pride, of two siblings who have been torn apart. He doesn’t meet your eyes as he pulls something out of his pocket. “Here.”

The wad of cash presented to you between his fingers looks more like an insult than a gift. Was he trying to rub in your face how rich his mum was compared to your dead dad? Surely this wasn’t an olive branch to apologise for being a jerk for the past eleven years. 

He stares at your incredulous expression and yanks your wrist forward, slapping the bills into your hand and forcing it into your sweater pocket. “Look, I’m not patronising you, okay? Just...go to your friend or whatever and don’t spend that on drugs. Your financial situation sucks, I get it.” 

His tone is rather aggressive, but you know that speech pattern. The one where it’s soft and bashful because he’s embarrassed to be talking out loud like that--like an older brother. You run your fingers over the cash in your pocket and stare at Griffin. He looks the other way and begins marching past you, making sure to bump shoulders. 

“Griffin, wait.” You make a grab for his arm but he’s already gone at the speed of light. “Thanks,” you whisper to yourself. “I guess.” You aren’t sure how long you stay in the dead alleyway, frozen in your own thoughts. But as soon as you’re ready to make your way to the park, the alleyway fades, the honking of the cars disappear, and you’re completely alone in a surge of darkness. 

“That has got to be a least three hundred.” 

You heave out a long sigh as the darkness parts. Robes drag across the floor like liquid gold, sparkling and shimmering like the sun. “Such a coward, your brother. He shouldn’t have run away like that.” The man is a living contradiction, much like you. Although he lived in a world of darkness, that never stopped light from blooming in his cold heart. He cared for you as much as he cared for your father and those before him. 

The man adjusted the collar of his red robes, yanking the thick fabric into all the right shapes and places. His pale face was like a sheet of paper, but the calm smile made up for that and tinted his cheeks rose. “Here,” he said, waving his arm. The wad of cash drifted out of your pocket, mixing with the mist until it was all but a speck of light. It drifted into one of the man’s pockets, which he patted. 

“Honestly,” he says, “could you be more inconspicuous? Someone down the street looked like he wanted to mug you.” You frown and the man huffs. “When you need the money, come back. I’ll keep it here.” 

“Thank you.”

“Raijin.” he says. “Call me Raijin.” 

The mist began swirling like a whirlpool, twisting and turning until your hood whacked you in the face. The alleyway materialised as soon as your feet hit the pavement. The honking of cars sliced through the air, bombarding your ears in the cityscape sounds. “First Spinjitzu Master...” you grumble, rubbing your ears. 

“LOOK OUT!”

You whip around in bewilderment and flatten yourself against the brick wall. A group of four or five fruit-coloured boys fly from the fire escape above. If you hadn’t reacted quickly enough, then you’d be as much of a pancake as the blue one (he was under all of them). 

“I’m--gonna--die! Get off me Cole!”

“I...I can’t when Zane’s heavier than a rock!”

“Kai, move your stupid leg!”

“Everyone stop arguing! Lloyd is unconscious!”

The last bit sent the group in a rush of shouting, scrambling, and shoving. You wanted to do something to help, but these boys were the ninja, students of Sensei Wu and partly, Garmadon. In the world of elemental masters, they were known as the OG, the ones who defeated the Great Devourer, Garmadon, and so many more. 

The last time you saw them (together, that was) had to be half a year ago on Chen’s forsaken island. You almost died, but Lloyd saved you. He and his friends risked their lives to help everyone off that island. If thy hadn’t been there...

You glance at Lloyd. He lay on the pavement, faintly breathing and coughing as Zane wrapped gauze around his wrist. The blood smeared on his face sent your heart tumbling. Just what had they done this time? 

“Hey!” you exclaim. The boys remove their hoods and turn to you. Kai knits his brows together. “Aren’t you--?”

“Do you want help or no?” you gruffly retort. Zane’s bright eyes don’t leave your cold expression as you look between all the ninja. Cole and Jay look uneasy about the offer, but to even the blind, it was clear they had no choice.

“Yes.” Zane says. “We would be grateful for your assistance, (Y/n).” You nod and motion for them to follow you out of the alleyway. Kai carefully lifts Lloyd off the ground and onto his back. “Thank you for your generous offer.” 

“Don’t thank me until he’s well.” you quietly reply. As scary as it was inviting people to your tiny apartment, this was the ninja. You owed them this much for being Ninjago’s protectors for so long. “We’re taking the back route because I don’t want to attract unwanted attention. It’s clear you had a run-in, let’s not repeat that.” 

Halfway down one of the quieter streets, you heard Jay whisper this, “I heard she’s evil. Are you sure we should trust her?” 

You want to be offended, but getting upset would only make everything worse. You re-called your conversation with Griffin, and that look on his face when you called him a waste of space. 

He deserved the insult, you told yourself. Why should you feel guilty? 

You spot a beat-up door worn with age. The blue paint peeled off the wood, scattering along the doorstep in little piles. As much as you wanted to renovate, you couldn’t afford it. You had to save up for college and rent. 

You dig your hand inside your trousers’ pocket and produce a key. The scratches rub against your calloused hands as you stick it in the keyhole and yank open the door. “Bring him in.” No one says a word as you watch the ninja file into your home one by one. Like good guests, they remove their shoes and leave them in a little corner of the hall. 

You close the door behind you and lock it, tossing the key in its respective place. “Set him down on the couch. I’ll get a med kit.” When you come back with the med kit and freshly washed hands, you weave past Cole and sit on the floor by Kai’s side. “He’ll be alright.” you calmly state. 

Kai sharply meets your gaze. “His wrist is broken.” 

“Yes, but bones can be mended. He will be alright.” You ignore the stares, they were background noise, and place your hands around the wound. “Raijin,” you whisper, “I need assistance.” 

The last time you had to fix a broken wrist had to be about three months ago. It was a rather draining action, but for Lloyd, you would do anything. He needed you. 

Suddenly, your body goes completely rigid. Your hands are cold and you shut your eyes, allowing the icy sensations to wash over your being. A breeze passes over your face and settles around your hands. You imagine Lloyd’s bones mending back into place, connecting painlessly like a puzzle piece would. 

“What’s she doing?” you hear Jay whisper.

“I think she’s concentrating.” Cole answers. “Kind of...creepy if I do say so myself.”

You feel the bones clicking together, and once you are sure Lloyd is alright, you open your eyes and heave out a long sigh. “He...he will be...” You can’t finish that sentence. The world spins with dots and mingles in a flurry of colours and blurs. Someone was saying something, but you can’t make out what’s wrong with you.

The world fades to black. 

“Here again?” 

You frown uncomfortably as Raijin struts out from behind a curtain of shadow. It’s hard to disregard him, so you avert your gaze to the side. “I don’t choose when I come here, you know that.” He chuckles and it’s a low rumble. “You like him.” 

“Who?”

“Lloyd. It’s not everyday you let people into your home. When you saw Griffin walk by with a broken leg, you didn’t heal him.” You sigh loudly. “Well, that’s different Raijin.”

“Is it?” There’s a suggestive tone to his voice you don’t like, as if he’s looking inside your head and hearing all your thoughts bouncing around. Raijin probably did hear some of it. He was, after all, a part of you, both soul and body. Silence falls over your shoulders and it sits there like an old pillow: uncomfortable, flat, and irritating. 

The silence stretched and you felt small in the presence of Raijin. He had a way with his height and energy that somehow made him appear all the more regal. You can’t meet his eyes as you blurt out the dumbest question you could muster. “Will Lloyd be okay?” 

The answer is obvious, but Raijin doesn’t comment on it. He folds his hands together and softly nods, as if he’s afraid of making you shrink further into yourself. “Thanks to your efforts his wrist is healed. Why don’t you see for yourself?” You perk up. “What--?”

The darkness curls under your shoes, stretching like gum and absorbing you in nothing. It’s cold, it’s dark, and it’s filling you with adrenaline. 

You jolt upright. 

“I see you and Raijin had quite the conversation.” a crinkly voice states. You rub your pounding head, accepting the steaming cup of tea from Sensei Wu’s hands. It’s been a while since you’ve seen the monastery, much less your old room. Wait, Wu? Your old room from when you were eleven? “Sensei?” He smiles kindly, giving your shoulder a good pat. “If you were wondering, Lloyd has been healed. Actually, he wishes to see you.” 

“Me?” you inquire. “Really?” Wu chuckles to himself good-naturedly. He turns his back to you and slides open the door, revealing a red-faced Lloyd. He goes stiff like a board. “Uh--I--sorry--just passing--” 

Wu gently guides Lloyd into the room, paying no mind to the stuttering mess his nephew had become. It’s an odd sight to see Lloyd, the Green Ninja, tripping over his own feet, adjusting his sleeves, and picking at loose threads instead of meeting your eyes like he did that day. 

Lloyd had been like a gust of wind. He came to your rescue strong and fast, scooping your bloodied body in his arms with a gentle hold. When the time came and you all had to leave the island, you were still too weak to use your elemental powers, so Lloyd let you ride with him. Those crazy few weeks on Chen’s island had been traumatising. 

The fact that you weren’t trusted by anyone due to your powers made it worse, until you met Lloyd and his father. 

Wu quietly exists the room, gently closing the door behind. You silently thank him for his consideration. “It’s been a while.” you quietly say. Lloyd shuffles toward you with a bright smile, cheeks still tinted red. “I used to see you around Ninjago City a lot, but after a while, it was...I don’t know, like you disappeared.” 

It’s your turn to avert your gaze. The truth was, you weren’t sure Lloyd still wanted to be your friend after the Tournament. You saw him less and less with each passing day, only ever giving a small wave here and there whenever he went to Borg Tower. After half a month, Griffin caught you talking with Lloyd. He bullied you about it and told you Lloyd was only acting like your friend. 

Stupidly enough, you believed him. Your insecurities about being judged wore down your courage like a bath bomb in water. You couldn’t speak with Lloyd any longer, or give a simple wave that made him smile like the sun. One day, you decided to avoid him completely by taking a different route home. You never saw him again. Not until today.

“I-I’m sorry Lloyd.” you murmur. He blinks, knitting his brows together in confusion. “What do you mean you’re sorry? You didn’t do anything--”

“Yes I d-did.” You curse your wobbly voice. “I started a-avoiding you because I was scared we weren’t...you know...anymore. And a lot happened...and then...” Your eyes are burning with tears you know are filled with ages of stress and worry and anger. 

You wanted to blame Griffin for making fun of you that day. You wanted to blame yourself for being so stupid. You wanted to blame Raijin for not talking to you when you needed him most. But you couldn’t. How would any of them know this would happen? That you’d eventually cut Lloyd off altogether until you were in isolation in that tiny apartment by yourself? How could you have known?

The side of your bed dips and gentle arms bring you in tight. It’s warm and reminds you of meadows with flowers, butterflies, and better days. When was the last time you actually hugged someone? Much less allowed them this close in your proximity? You didn’t have friends at school, so you always settled for books as your comfort. Books could not hug like people.

“I should be thanking you.” Lloyd said. “You healed me even though it made you pass out.” You sniffle, hesitantly wrapping your arms around Lloyd’s middle. As soon as you allow your shoulders to relax, warmth spreads through your chest. You recognised the sensation as a mix of comfort and relief. 

To know someone else was here with you who cared and would sit with you as you cried your eyes out was new--but it felt good. When your dad died, you promised to never shed another tear. You couldn’t say you were good a keeping promises. 

“If you want to tell me more, it’s okay.” Lloyd softly said. You rested your head on his shoulder, savouring the way he smelled like life itself. If you were to describe it, you’d call it grassy, flowery, and fruity all rolled into one. 

“Well... You remember my brother Griffin?” you slowly begin. “He isn’t who you think he is. He always tells me things like I’m a monster because of my elemental powers, or that...” 

You aren’t sure how long you talk for, but Lloyd’s there, listening to every word and drinking it in like gold. Sometimes he pitched in, other times he sat still in a silent horror you couldn’t fully comprehend. It never occurred to you just how broken your family relationships had been when it was your norm. 

When your tears finally dried and you could breathe again, Lloyd took your hands and motioned for you to follow him out of the room. “Would you like to stay for dinner?” You smiled at him, enjoying the company his hand provided. 

Wu rounded around the corner and said, “Would you like to stay forever?”

There was no question in that. You still had your old room and memories of when you used to call the monastery home. Why wouldn’t you want to make new ones? “Yes.” you reply. “I’d love that--if it’s fine with you.” Lloyd glanced at Wu, who simply nodded in confirmation. 

Lloyd turns to you with a bright grin that you can only shyly match in response. 

TIP JAR

Please don’t forget to reblog!

[kacychase]

“I do”

AeGi; yes, it’s exactly what you’re thinking lol

My  mirror  image  looks  so  different  from  the  usual.  My  hair  is  made  up  in  a  hairdo  that  is  more  elaborate  than  I  have  probably  seen  for  a  while  –  Rika  and  Maya  insisted  on  making  the  make-up  and  hairstyle  extravagant.

To  be  honest,  having  been  younger,  I  bet  it  would  have  felt  a  bit  different  from  today’s  standards.  Though,  today  is  a  bit  of  an  exception.

Nope.  That’s  an  understatement,  today  will  be  one  of  the  most  terrifying  days  of  my  life…  What  if  I  just  got  out  of  here  with  Nol,  and  we  would  just  sit  in  the  Wac’s  a  few  blocks  from  here?  That  would  have  been  awesome.

But  probably,  the  white,  beautiful  dress  I’m  wearing  would  get  too  dirty  for  it  to  be  ruined  by  the  street’s  mud.  Its  lace  for  the  long  sleeve  and  the  v-neck  cut  really  makes  my  rather  slender  figure  look  less  like  a  stick.  Taking  in  a  deep  breath,  I  realize  that  maybe,  this  wedding  won’t  be  a  disaster  –  after  all,  my  friends,  the  Parks,  Nana,  dad  and  Rika  have  all  helped  me  through  this,  and  I  bet  Dieter  and  Soushi  were  Nol’s  anchors,  too.

I  bet  he’s  just  as  nervous  as  I  am.

“Shin-Ae,  your  necklace  is  put  in  the  wrong  way,  do  you  want  me  to  turn  it  around?”  Ah,  that  was  what  made  me  look  in  the  mirror  in  the  first  place.  Keep  your  head  together,  Shin-Ae!

It’s  not  like  he’s  any  less  nervous  than  I  am.  Well,  maybe  I  did  most  of  the  organizing  of  the  wedding,  but  honestly,  he  probably  is  just  as  nervous  as  I  am  about  becoming  my  husband.

Yeah,  that  must  be  it.  I  am  about  to  become  his  wife,  huh?  That  means  Mrs  Lochlainn.  Yeah…  Thinking  about  it  now,  his  proposal  feels  like  yesterday.  When  Nol  proposed  to  me,  it  was  oddly  romantic,  and  he  looked  like  he  wanted  to  escape  all  throughout  the  date.  Kinda  rigid,  but  at  least  I  found  out  why  after  we  decided  to  go  to  a  chicken  joint  instead.

Oh  man…

Anyway,  I’m  going  to  marry  in  30  minutes,  and  my  heart  feels  like  running.

“Shin-Ae!  Do  you  want  to  talk  to  your  dad?  Or  Min-Hyuk?  You  look  dead,”  Maya  deadpans  with  a  single  glance  into  my  direction,  shortly  checking  her  make-up  before  looking  back  to  me.  Rika,  through  the  while,  just  peeks  through  the  door,  then  turns  back  to  the  two  of  us.  “Well,  your  dad  is  definitely  at  the  door,  Min-Hyuk  looks  like  he’s  talking  to  Dieter  and  Soushi  about  something,”  she  announces  at  our  direction,  having  Maya  exclaim:  “I  bet  it’s  a  good  idea  right  now!  We  will  check  if  everything  in  the  wedding  goes  according  to  plan,  okay?”

This  is  going  too  fast.  Feeling  my  hands  shiver  about  the  whole  thing  and  the  fact  that  the  wedding  event  has  started,  I  feel  like  my  mind  is  blanking.  For  some  reason,  I’m  a  bit  scared  of  messing  up,  becoming  tongue-tied  when  the  vows  start.  Not  keeping  up  the  vows.  Being  a  bad  wife.  Everything  about  this  is  kind  of  strange.  But  thinking  that  Nol  is  my  husband  from  today  on  makes  it  reasonable  again.

“Alright.  Thank  you  guys,  I  owe  you  one,  for  real,”  I  sigh  in  distress  and  smile  at  my  two  bridesmaids.  Although  we  were  off  to  a  rocky  start,  we  really  have  grown  close  over  time.  “Just  repay  us  when  Dieter  finally  marries  his  fiancée,”  Maya  nonchalantly  replies,  while  both  women  in  their  yellow  dresses  head  to  the  exit

But  even  that  doesn’t  compare  to  the  way  Nol  and  I  have  evolved  into  two  dorks.  Even  during  the  times  when  I  was  crazily  stressed  out,  he  somehow  manages  to  put  up  with  my  attitude.  How  does  he  even  do  that?

Either  way,  I  could  need  him  right  now.  At  least  I  will  see  him  at  the  altar  I  guess.  When  we  are  about  to  listen  to  the  priest,  vow  to  each  other,  kiss  and  be  husband  and  wife.

Ugh,  this  is  going  to  be  something  else  for  sure.  I  could  use  a  good  old  hug,  or  a  laugh,  or  some  chicken.

But  my  father  entering  the  room  is  what  makes  me  rethink  rushing  to  Wac’s  for  a  Wac  burger  as  he  closes  the  door  behind  him,  and  maybe  his  excited  face  reminding  me  of  the  occasion.

“There  you  are,  Shin-Ae.  I  was  already  wondering  if  they  had  abducted  you  or  something,”  dad  says  as  he  approaches  me,  then  takes  a  halt  to  take  in  the  way  I  look  –  a  beautiful  bride  about  to  be  bound  off  to  the  man  he  used  to  hate.

He  would  have  hated  any  man  that  would  come  into  my  life  anyway.

His  stunned  but  soft  and  moved  voice  hits  me  as  he  mutters:  “My  beautiful  daughter,  about  to  marry…”  Closing  the  distance,  he  carefully  watches  as  he  probably  debates  whether  he  should  hug  me  or  not.  “This  guy  still  doesn’t  deserve  you.  If  it  went  by  me,  he  would  have  been  hist-“  “Dad!,”  I  interrupt  him,  “Who  else  will  support  the  fried  chicken  industry  as  much  as  he  does?  We  need  to  keep  him  alive,”  I  argue  back,  a  smile  creeping  on  my  face  as  I  giggle  eerily.

Today  really  does  it,  huh.

“Well,  you  seem  very  happy  honey,  and  I  hope  that  you  two  can  continue  to  be  there  for  each  other.  That  guy  really  blooms  with  you  around.”  Whenever  I  hear  that,  my  heart  starts  melting.  I  know  that  Nol  and  I  appear  to  some  as  the  ‘OTP’  (not  looking  at  Maya  at  all),  but  I  always  feel  a  little  softer  whenever  I  see  Nol  being  happy,  smile  like  the  fool  he  is,  or  actually  just  hearing  someone  how  great  he  looks  in  general  whenever  he  speaks  of  us  and  the  engagement  stuff.

At  least  now  I  know  that  Nana  didn’t  entirely  force  him  into  proposing  to  me.  But  we  do  have  a  catholic  prayer  included  into  the  ceremony.

My  stomach  feels  oddly  bubbly  right  now,  and  I  wish  I  wasn’t  so  affected  before  I  would  even  see  my  redhead  idiot  fiancée.  “Dad?  I  don’t  know  what  to  do  right  now,”  I  admit  to  him,  feeling  myself  take  in  a  deep  breath,  suddenly  hyper  aware  to  the  way  air  fills  my  lungs.

“I  am  about  to  go  out  there  and  vow  to  him,  and  everything.  I  don’t  even  know  if  I  am  a  good  fiancée  or  not.  What  about  wife  then?”

  Silently  listening  to  me,  dad  does  not  really  say  anything  as  silence  spreads  itself  in  the  room,  and  I  slowly  concentrate  on  my  breathing  as  Nol  has  taught  me  once  when  I  was  close  to  panicking  because  of  the  nurse  job,  and  it  has  served  me  for  quite  an  amount  of  times.

“Shin-Ae,  this  guy  is  already  happy  to  have  you  the  way  you  are,  don’t  worry  about  that,”  he  just  says,  strokes  his  fingers  through  his  hair  to  look  at  my  hair  and  my  make-up.  “This  guy  looks  at  you  as  if  you  saved  his  life,  and  look  at  you.  Now  both  of  you  are  here.  I  think  that  should  already  make  the  case  that  he’s  happy  with  you  marrying  him,”  he  finally  answers,  “Now  come,  let  me  give  you  a  hug.”

Feeling  his  arms  hesitantly  embrace  me,  I  also  lay  my  arms  around  him  slowly  to  avoid  getting  anything  from  the  dress  caught  onto  his  elegant  suit.  “Thanks,  dad,”  I  just  mutter,  careful  not  to  stain  his  shoulder  with  make-up  either.  “No  problem,”  he  responds,  releasing  me  seconds  after.

“Now,  how  long  do  you  need  to  revise  on  the  speech?”  he  asks  as  he  goes  back  a  few  steps  and  looks  at  the  cards  I  have  prepared  to  reread  before  I  might  blank  out  on  them.  “I-I  think  I  got  it.  I  revised  it  at  home  quite  a  bit,”  I  respond  with  another  breath,  stealing  a  glance  at  the  tiny  little  flashcard  that  I  have  tried  to  write  so  much.  It  feels  like  too  little  now.

In  my  nervous  stupor,  I  swear  I  wish  I  could  change  the  speech  right  now  and  just  add  more.

“Honey,  you  will  do  great,”  I  hear  dad  say  and  I  nod  absentmindedly.

“It’s  really  just  Nol  I’m  talking  to.  He’ll  probably  goof  out  more  than  I  will,”  I  mutter  and  stifle  a  chuckle.  I’m  just  as  bad  as  him,  so  I  shouldn’t  laugh.  Technically.

“Alright,  because  I  think  it’s  time  already.”

  This  sentence  makes  me  feel  a  huge  stone  weigh  down  my  stomach,  but  my  dad’s  genuine  doesn’t  tell  me  otherwise.  “What?”  My  voice  sounds  like  it’s  choking  on  itself.  “B-but  the  people  don’t  sit  yet,  do  they?”

“Actually,  they  wait  for  you  now.”

“OMG  WHY  DIDN’T  YOU  TELL  ME!!”  My  nervousness  shouldn’t  be  this  terrible.  “Sorry  dad!”  I  immediately  add,  feeling  sorry  for  my  little  outbreak.  “Let’s  go!”

“Alright,  honey.  Here  you  go.”

  And  as  he  gives  me  his  arm,  I  intertwine  my  left  one  with  his  right.

When  the  both  of  us  go  down  the  hall  of  the  church,  everything  feels  so  incredibly  dreamlike.  All  the  past  work  in  the  months  before,  all  the  organization  that  went  into  today,  all  the  guest  lists  and  seat  orders  and  bills  and  themes  –  they  all  fade  into  nothingness  as  I  finally  see  my  redhead  look  at  me,  his  eyes  so  intense  and  so  glassy  that  my  heart  might  jump  any  time.  His  smile  is  so  genuine  and  so  full  of  happiness,  and  I  can  see  nervousness  ooze  from  him  as  much  as  from  me  as  we  slowly  approach  him,  dad  still  firmly  holding  my  arm.  If  he  hadn’t,  I  really  don’t  know  what  might  have  happened,  but  the  way  Nol  and  I  look  at  each  other  now…  It  makes  all  the  doubts  and  fears  go  away.

I’m  ready  for  a  long  life  with  this  goofy  bigfoot.

  The  steps  to  the  altar  have  made  me  worry,  but  now  that  I  can  finally  see  Nol  within  my  reach,  I  suddenly  feel  calm,  as  if  I  didn’t  need  to  look  for  my  husband  anymore.  But  as  my  father  releases  me  with  a  smile,  all  I  can  see  are  Nol’s  smile,  and  I  swear,  teary  green  eyes.

My  heart  is  wrenching  as  I  see  one  drop  from  his  right  eye,  and  my  own  eyes  water.  Is  my  smile  even  a  pretty  one  at  this  point?  I  don’t  care.

“Dear  beloved,  we  are  gathered  here  today…,”  the  priest  starts  to  say,  and  he  is  a  friendly  one.  His  way  of  speaking  about  us,  our  duties  for  each  other  as  husband  and  wife  from  a  Catholic  standpoint  somehow  is  really  encouraging  and  sweetly  put.  I  am  glad  that  we  got  him,  and  before  the  ceremony,  I  remember  him  wishing  us  the  best.

While  I  smile  and  nod,  I  can’t  help  but  catch  myself  stare  at  the  freckled  groom.  There  he  stands,  in  a  suit  that  makes  him  more  handsome  than  he  already  is,  styled  hair,  a  yellow  boutonnière  and  funnily,  a  last-minute  addition  of  the  pizza  cufflink  Min-Hyuk  has  bought  him.  I  think  he  has  mentioned  that  he  got  them  for  him  last  week.  Looking  at  all  the  groomsmen,  I  can  see  Dieter,  Min-Hyuk  and  Dieter  looking  at  us,  and  as  I  glance  at  them,  each  of  them  smiles  at  me  and/or  gives  me  a  thumbs  up.  Trying  to  suppress  a  chuckle,  I  look  back  at  my  groom,  my  heart  already  elated.  His  face  tells  me  so  much  to  the  point  that  I  can’t  breathe  for  a  second.  Another  tear  falls  down  his  eye  and  he  smilingly  wipes  it  away  with  his  hand  as  my  heart  aches  to  hug  and  kiss  him.  But  for  now,  holding  hands  should  work.

This  man…

This  man  makes  me  cry  at  my  wedding,  too.  “As  now,  the  groom  can  from  now  on  proceed  with  his  speech  to  the  bride.”  With  a  short  Thank  you  smile  to  the  priest,  Nol  now  locks  eyes  with  me  again,  so  much  more  intense.  For  a  while,  nothing  happens  as  we  just  stare  at  each  other,  until  he  breaks  and  laughs:  “Sorry,  I  didn’t  know  that  a  wedding  could  make  me  this  nervous  today.”

A  few  short  laughs  fill  the  room,  mine  included.  In  the  background,  I  can  see  Shin-Hye  film  the  whole  thing,  but  I  couldn’t  care  less  right  now  as  my  eyes  gravitate  back  to  his.

“Shin-Ae.  When  I  first  met  you,  it  was  when  you  splashed  orange  juice  at  me  in  a  burger  joint.  You  stood  up  for  your  friends  and  gave  us  a  piece  of  your  mind,  even  punched  my  school  uniform  clean.  Back  then,  I  had  no  clue  what  a  ride  I  was  in  for,  and  what  kind  of  person  you  were,”  I  can’t  help  but  chuckle  at  the  memory.  I  was  a  socially  awkward  person  just  trying  to  make  things  right  with  the  little  money  we  had.  When  I  met  you  the  second  time,  you  stood  up  for  your  beliefs.  ‘I  don’t  care  whether  you  are  the  son  of  the  prime  minister  or  a  random  cashier  at  a  food  mart,  you’re  a  human  first’,  you  said  to  me.”  As  he  mentions  said  thing,  I  feel  starstruck.  He  remembers?  How?  Even  I  barely  remember  what  I  said  to  him  years  ago  at  the  party.  His  genuine  but  also  proud  smirk  is  telling  me  that  my  reaction  must  be  obvious,  as  I  hear  his  speech  to  me.  “And  it  was  that  that  made  me  think  of  you.  After  we  became  friends,  I  have  seen  you  defend  your  loved  ones,  and  over  the  time  yourself  from  what  is  bad.  You  are  brave,  you  have  a  heart  too  big  for  your  own  good,  and  the  best  taste  in  chicken  wings  I  could  wish  in  a  wife.  Thank  you  for  believing  in  me  when  only  my  Nana  told  me  I’m  handsome.  I  love  you”

His  unwavering  gaze  at  mine  gives  me  goosebumps,  but  I  don’t  care  and  wish  I  could  just  kiss  him  already.  At  least  my  cheeks  hurt  from  all  the  smiling.

"I,  Nolan  Lochlainn,  take  you,  Shin-Ae,  to  be  my  wife.  I  promise  to  be  true  to  you  in  good  times  and  in  bad,  in  sickness  and  in  health"  Although  I  have  seen  him  tearing  up  and  nervously  laughing  just  now,  these  words  come  out  in  such  an  assuredness,  warming  my  heart.

God,  now  it  is  my  turn.

Luckily  having  taken  my  flashcards  with  me,  I  smile  at  him,  vision  blurry.

“Nol,  back  when  I  didn’t  have  it  too  easy,  to  me,  you  were  a  sly  person,  a  good-willing  guy  who  came  off  too  strong.  I  didn’t  understand  that  when  you  were  doing  these  things,  you  were  probably  the  most  genuine  person  I  could  have  ever  met.  And  I  am  glad  we  made  it  through  the  times.  You  have  proven  to  me  time  again  that  even  if  there  was  no  other  way  to  both  chase  your  dreams  and  be  there  for  your  loved  ones,  you  made  it  work.  Whenever  I  was  down,  or  had  moments  of  doubts,  you  were  there  to  light  up  my  day,  and  make  the  best  potato  dishes  I  had  the  pleasure  of  eating.  I  love  you,  and  can’t  wait  to  spend  my  life  even  more  with  you.”

I  wish  I  was  better  at  this.  My  voice  quivers  as  I  keep  eye  contact  with  Nol,  taking  a  deep  breath.  But  seeing  him  break  into  a  smile  and  glassy  eyes,  I  just  have  to  reciprocate.  “I,  Shin-Ae  Yoo,  take  you,  Nolan  Lochlainn,  to  be  my  husband.  I  promise  to  be  true  to  you  in  good  times  and  in  bad,  in  sickness  and  in  health.”

He  shortly  looks  at  the  floor,  then  back  to  me.

“Nolan  Lochlainn,”  I  hear  the  speaker  say,  “Do  you  take  Shin-Ae  to  be  your  beloved  and  wedded  wife?”

The  tall  groom  tightens  his  grip  around  my  hand,  closing  up  my  throat.  “I  do.”

I  can’t  help  but  grin  at  him,  looking  shortly  at  the  pizza  cufflink  on  his  suit  to  calm  myself.  But  I  can’t  miss  his  gaze  right  now.  I  want  to  remember  this  for  the  rest  of  my  life.

“Shin-Ae  Yoo,”  there  is  a  long  pause  before  I  look  into  the  eyes  of  the  speaker,  eventually  hearing  the  only  words  that  keep  me  separated  from  calling  Nol  my  spouse.  “Do  you  take  Nolan  Lochlainn  to  be  your  beloved  and  wedded  wife?”

Looking  at  Nol  with  a  smile,  I  have  to  nod  while  saying  “Yes.”

  I  also  tighten  my  grip  around  his  fingers.  Is  this  really  happening?  His  face  looks  just  as  shocked,  but  I  can’t  wait  for  what’s  about  to  come.  “Now  you  may  kiss  the  bride.”

  I  don’t  care  about  the  cheers  once  Nol  approaches  me  and  I  put  my  arms  around  him.  It’s  too  sweet  to  really  describe,  but  I  am  sure  in  will  stay  engraved  into  my  mind.

.

.

.

Fin.

[skinnylittleredwrites]

My best friend, my lover.

TITLE OF STORY: My best friend, my lover. CHAPTER NUMBER/TITLE/ONE SHOT: 1/? AUTHOR: skinnylittlered. WHICH TOM/CHARACTER: Actor!Tom. GENRE: Romance. FIC SUMMARY: Andrea and Tom have been friends since the beginning of time. Until a confession of love is made. This story follows the events of their subsequent relationship (sequel to You Wanna Play that Game? ) RATING: Explicit (language, references to sexual activity). WARNINGS/TRIGGERS/AUTHORS NOTES: - FEEDBACK/COMMENTS: -

Chapter 1.

As I pull my hair back in quite possibly the fiftieth bun, a bun by which I’m trying to convey that I did try, but at the same time that I didn’t try too much, but inevitably fail for the, quite possibly fiftieth time

 I groan in defeated exasperation raising my hands to the unforgiving high heavens and damn it all to hell, just letting my arms slump and my hair fall back in its usual, otherwise perfectly passable, waves, I decide that this is probably the end of me as a potential romantic social being because at this point it seems that my whole self esteem is, irrationally, loosely hanging by the very thin thread of my very poor skill of fashioning a complementary hairdo to my outfit, a skill that I, naturally, expected myself to acquire by precisely fifteen minutes of watching instructional videos of how to accomplish such a task, and ten minutes of attempting to recreate it myself. Surely, I should have known that an amateur thirty something year old with virtually no experience in hair styling other than the casual, day-to-day hairdo, could match that of a teenager who essentially does it for a job. Surely.

Surely.

Or... maybe if I do let my hair rest on my shoulders as it usually does, however now more orderly that in it generally is, thanks to the application of several products that I didn’t really know I needed, but now that I have been acquainted with, decide I maybe will actually use in the future I might actually have succeeded in doing the very thing that I believed I had been failing at all along. As I look in the mirror, perspective anew, I thank the lord for both sixteen year olds on the internet and self suggestion, both very powerful tools in the life of a woman.

All in all, I’m pretty pleased with the result. Hair may have proven, along the three decades of my inhabiting this earth to be one thing that, try as I might, I could never really master, but makeup and dressing up are things that, if I may say so myself, I’m pretty damn good at. Trial and error, of course, has proven to be the mother of all teachers and, with god as my witness, there was quite the number of errors in my trials. However, as I’m shamelessly admiring my full length reflection I’m happy to conclude that this may be the culmination of my learning experience and what a perfect opportunity of that to happen, this date that I have been hoping for but never really letting myself to expect for most of my adult life.

There is, indeed, a life out of the friend zone. Or at least for those of us who are lucky enough to have the object of our desires return our sentiments, there is. As it turns out, I am one of those happy ones and I would rather not consider the alternative. It is much to dreadful to ponder upon right now, and I believe I’ve done more than my fair share of thinking about it so far. Tonight is a celebration of my triumph. Tonight is about new beginnings and the beautiful things that can spawn out of a life long friendship turned romance. Tonight is our first date and I cannot wait to see him, and I am excited, and anxious, and jubilant, and absolutely terrified and-

As the train of thought is all but a hair’s width away from crashing into the sometimes thicker than I’d like it to be bone of my skull, I try to distract myself by admiring my outfit once more, but, however nice it is, the second time around it doesn’t really work anymore. Trepidation is a very strong detractor from reality, and in reality, it’s just going to be me and him. Alone. On a date. There are so many ways this can become very fucked up in various ways but, thankfully enough, before I can make a mental inventory of each and all of them, possibly in alphabetical order, and drive myself various degrees of insane in a very short time span, the alarm I set for leaving home and picking him up at the airport goes off and I bolt out the door.

The car drive and subsequent wait at the airport go by in a flurry of faces and roads and the trees by those roads, and bad music on the radio, and there, emerging from this mix of mismatched elements is his face. I see him looking around the crowd, eyes searching, with his brows furrowed as they do when he’s focused on something, and I wait patiently for him to locate me. His expression changes visibly when he does, softening a bit and I’m frozen into place with anxiety. Serves me right to feel like this after having dumped all of my emotional baggage on him right before he had to leave. As he strides towards me, I have the sudden urge to make a run for home and just spend the day watching TV reruns and eating junk food instead of torturing myself like this. But here he is, and here I am, and here we are, silently sharing an awkward hug in Heathrow, silently walking towards my car outside of Heathrow, silently driving the very same car away from Heathrow...

He clears his voice and hesitates before speaking.

“So... How’ve you been?”

My god, this really doesn’t feel right.

“Good. You?”

He is no longer turned to face me, but looking straight ahead at the road before us. His reply is absent minded, completely devoid of any inflection.

“Fair.”

“How’s your Da?”

This time a smile breaks through his poker face. Finally, something familiar.

“Getting younger every day. A lad in his prime, I’d say.”

“I bet!”

“He asked about you, you know?”

“Yeah?”

It isn’t really like I wouldn’t or didn’t expect that. I’ve known the man for most of my life, I’ve been to his house in Edinburgh more times than I can count on two hands, I send him homemade pie on Christmas. Of course he would ask about me, but I humour the conversation because, well, because it’s the first time since we’ve seen each other when we’re a bit more relaxed, so I let myself slip into the customer talk of how his father is, his eternal joie de vivre, the weather in Scotland, and others, feeling the air in the car become a bit lighter as we converse. Before long, I’m parked in the lot beside his house and the trepidation is slowly settling back in, evident to both of us.

“I’ll, uh, just drop my bag really quickly and be right back in? Or would you like to come up?”

I shake my head. He nods and exits the car.

There’s no way I can go back there, not with how I’m feeling, how we’re both feeling, right now, not with what happened the last time I was there, crying and professing my love, the love that had been corroding at my peace for years, unbeknownst to him, essentially dropping its decade weight on him out of nowhere. Fortunately, my love was mirrored by his, I found out the very same day, but that doesn’t really change much about the current situation. Our paradigm was shaken to the core, our mannerisms, before then fuelled by platonic pretense, however romantic our intentions might have subconsciously been, became deconstructed, crumbled before us. We have to re-learn friendship, to integrate love into the equation, to function as a couple. Moreover, there is the aspect of physicality to be considered. That fateful day brought with itself not only theoretical revelations, as it did carnal ones. For the first time in thirty something years, we knew each other as man and woman, fully wholly, biblically. It was a hunger that I did not even know I needed satiated to that extent, which is why I’d maybe disregarded it almost completely up to that point - also an instance of how such a powerful tool as self suggestion might come into play in one’s life, I reckon – but now that had a bite of the proverbial apple, I wanted more. Alas, what mess we’ve got ourselves into!

I startle as the car door opens and raise my forehead from the wheel. He is looking at me, not saying anything, and, breathing in, I do the same, feeling like I’m finally seeing him for the first time since I picked him up. This is Tom, my best friend since childhood. Tom, my partner through good and bad, high and low, the boy who thought me how to do a slingshot, who held my hair the first time I was hungover, who I, not only once, sent out on tampon runs at the most inconvenient times of the day. Tom, who smells like my childhood and maturity all in one. Tom, my best friend, my lover, my confidante, my Tom.

My Tom.

“I missed you.”

He smiles, a genuine, blossoming smile that reaches his eyes and it’s all back to normal for a brief second. Then his face comes closer to mine, so close that we’re breathing each other’s air and my heart flutters again. But this time it’s excitement. It’s new and it’s scary and I want to run away and jump in his arms at the same time and-

“I missed you, too,” he whispers against my lips and then kisses me. He kisses me for I don’t really know how long, and nor do I care, and it’s different familiarity than what I knew, but I know him and for the time being that’s all that matters.

****

Author's note: hello there to all of you who are still here. I'm back, in a way...?

[lunaschild2016]

Belief: Part 6

A/N: Sorry for the wait between chapters! Hope you enjoy!

Disclaimer: ‘Mother is the name for God on the lips and hearts of all children.’ (James O'Barr, The Crow) V Roth is still Mother to this world and I am just one of the children singing my own tune into the night.

Rating M ( Language, Violence, There will be smut, Angst, Tragedy, Romance, Fluff)

@kenzieam  @pathybo  @jaihardy @every-jai  @ericdauntless @beautifulramblingbrains  @bookgirlthings  @jojuarez26 @oddsnendsfanfics @offroadinjandals  @singingpeople  @iammarylastar @irasancti @captstefanbrandt  @clublulu333  @fuckthatfeeling  @tigpooh67 @ex-bookjunky  @jughead-wuz-here  @badassbaker  @beanzjellly @beltz2016 @meganbee15 @affabletimelady  @scorpio2009  @gylisaa @geekybeyondallreason @violetsonthelam @kyloswarstars @emmysrandomthoughts @kgurew @beltzboys2015-blog @slytherin-princess-25273 @whatwouldbuffydo666  @jaiboomer11  @holamor @wealwayskeepfighting  

**I promise I have put the read more option in but it has been glitching.**

Part 6

From the start, I knew I was going to be seeing another side to Eric while at Erudite.

For one, they sent cars to the Dauntless leaders and other members that were going to be visiting. The drivers were all deferential to the Dauntless leaders, but Eric more than the others. There was a Dauntless truck that followed with guards and I could tell it made them nervous but it was expected. It had been just under two years since everything settled after the shake-up but things were still tense.

Granted, I had never seen for myself this rumored tension between any of the factions personally. The only times I had left Dauntless was at the beginning of my time in the clinic when I had to go out to assist a few patrols as a medic. Once I did my training and assumed the Head Nurse position and duties, I was compound bound.

I know enough to know that Erudite had always acted superior to all factions, even Dauntless, who was supposed to be their greatest ally. In the past, cars being sent to pick up other faction leaders would never have happened.

Eric and I didn’t talk much during the ride to Erudite. He barely acknowledged me other than making sure to pull me to the same car as he was riding in. Eric is normally stiff and scowling but today he is taking it to a new level.

The car ride is silent with only a slight and almost imperceptible rustle of fabric when Eric shifts beside me. I don’t turn to fully look at him as I try to distract myself with my tablet, preparing myself for the day. I am pouting and I know it even if I don’t like it. I am not that kind of girl that will get upset if someone doesn’t notice a new hairdo or even to care how I look normally. I realize that with Eric, he is bringing out all kinds of things in me. I wanted to know he saw me and more importantly that he liked what he saw. The driver had certainly noticed how I looked and even appreciated it until Eric stepped in front of me to usher me into the backseat of the car.

We pull up to Erudite sooner than I had been expecting considering all I have to go by is how long the train usually takes to get anywhere. I had been able to do what I intended and forget about the unwelcome feelings at the start of the drive by going over everything Elijah and I had spoken about and some points I had thought of in the days since.

Eric is the one to help me out of the car after the driver was given a glare. It is the first and only indication so far that I am anything to him than just another faction member. The second is his hand at the small of my back, ghosting close enough that I can feel the heat from his hand that never actually makes contact.

I glance up to see the set of his jaw firm and his eyes narrowed as he glances ahead of him at the welcoming party to greet us.

Cara, the newly elected main leader of Erudite, and Elijah were the only ones that didn’t look their faces were frozen and in danger of cracking should they show any kind of emotion. Elijah sent a smile my way from the back of the group and I felt Eric move closer to me. It was a slight shift that would be barely noticeable.

Tori was the one returning the greetings, her irritation for the entire deal was clear to me. I was parts amused, impatient and fascinated by the entire thing. Dauntless don’t really have formalities with visitors. There are few times when the expected procedures are held to within the compound but I have heard from others that outside of it, the rigid structure and military preciseness is expected and adhered too. Which might explain the bearing and demeanor of all the Dauntless around me.

The lower floor of the Erudite tower seems to be made completely of a slight blue-tinged glass. Walls of the colored glass separate the different areas. Apparently, when the Erudite responsible for planning the coup of the government had discovered that they were going to be ousted and brought in for justice, they had barricaded themselves inside the tower along with the Dauntless traitors that followed the leaders. It had taken an assault to end it. The tower had gotten damaged but luckily there weren’t many losses in Erudite besides those that fought back or were executed for their crimes. Because of this, the tower and from what I understand Erudite itself, has undergone major renovation and rebuilding.

We are given a tour of this new Erudite.

In an effort to at least seem more open, the entire first floor is constructed of rooms done mainly in that glass. The library, or at least a good portion of Erudite’s library, is now open for display and use to all factions. A vast room with shelf after shelf of paper books can be browsed through. As we walk through it seems more people wearing blue occupy the room that is part library and part museum. There are quite a few Candor and the odd Abnegation. The same is found in the newest addition to the faction, a room dedicated to providing technological access to all factions. Computer terminals set up on sleek tables that are open for the public to come in and use for various things. Research, contacting others in the city, and school-aged kids to complete projects that require devices they might not have access to at home; these are just some of the things that can now be done freely. In this room, there are more of the last and all wearing the colors to signify a variety of different factions.

A few Dauntless are seen there. I couldn’t help but to notice and say my observation out loud that they were all most likely there watching movies or accessing old archived sites instead of doing anything school related. The smirks and quiet chuckles of the other Dauntless around me let their agreement be known.

Maybe it is my Amity upbringing that I don’t even bother to try and mask my emotions as we arrive in each new area. I am sure my face shows it plainly as I smile or my eyes widen. I make comments here or there and don’t hold back when I have something snarky or sarcastic to say. I am mindful of how loud and obnoxious I can be though, so my volume has been greatly tamed. I also keep to the back of the group and Elijah keeps me company. At least he seems to be enjoying my breaking from the stuffiness that has infected everyone else.

Eric is at the front of the group but he glances our way often. Constantly shooting glares and annoyed squints at the two of us. At this point, I am not sure if it is because I fell back and away from him, that Elijah is with me, my behavior, or all of the above. I know that I am not trying to make him jealous or anything, though the thought of him feeling jealous does make a bit happy, I am just truly enjoying myself at the moment.

It wasn’t something I thought would happen for my day in Erudite. I didn’t think it was possible to use the word ‘fun’ at all in conjunction with Erudite. I think that if I were with anyone besides Elijah then I wouldn’t be having the experience I am now. I am struck by how handsome Elijah is, especially when he smiles. There is a level of comfort with him, almost a familiarity as well. There are things about him that both draw me in and make me feel comfortable with him but also has me curious.

For instance, he is really built for someone in Erudite. It might just be natural but I think it is part genetics and part maintenance. He is by no means as built as someone in Dauntless, but for a doctor in Erudite he stands out. Then there is his personality. It is clear that he is intelligent, highly intelligent at that, but for all of that he doesn’t lord it over me like any Erudite I have met before. He is free with his smiles and laughter. When I make what would be considered a crude joke considering where I am, he doesn’t cringe or look offended, instead, he gives a deep chuckle.

We progressed from the main floor up to the third where offices and research stations were. No longer were the walls made of glass as they had been upon first entering. Cara gave explanations of why this was and I could understand the need for it to be able to provide the proper environment for the research being done. To aid in the spirit of being open there was a vid screen built into the wall that serviced as a security panel and to display a live feed of whatever is going on in those rooms.

This was where I realized that this tour was really something else.

Erudite was being inspected.

With each room we came too Cara would look to Eric with some unspoken question. He would either give a small nod or make no moves at all. It was random and you never knew which one he would pick. When he gave the signal, the security panel would be accessed and the image would be displayed of whatever was going on inside. The higher we got, the more top priority or important the things inside were. This was where it hit home to me how much sway Eric has at Erudite right now. Considering he was the one to put his hand on the Erudite security screen to access what has to be highly guarded projects.

I had never found out what exactly had Eric turn against the leaders and Erudite. I had always assumed it was because of the things that had occurred with divergents and what they wanted to do to the city. Seeing this and how another faction was treating him as if he was their leader or with as much respect as their leader, had me wondering if that had been the reason at all.

“There is a place that would be perfect to grab some lunch before we have to take the tram to where the medical offices are,” Elijah said with a smile when I had grumbled under my breath after the inspection seemed bound to be going right through lunch.

We had been going for what seemed like hours already and I knew I was headed towards a category five ‘bitchicanne’ if I didn’t get food in me soon. His suggestion was music to my ears. I was about to agree wholeheartedly before I felt a hand on my arm and knew instantly who it was even before he spoke.

“Elijah, you will not mind that I’m stepping away with Devi,” Eric said even as he was already guiding me away.

I caught Elijah’s raised eyebrow that had to match my own. The words Eric said were usually put in the form of a question but, of course, not with Eric. That was all order or warning. Maybe both. Either way, it doesn’t sit right with me at all especially since I really just want to sit somewhere and eat.

What was I thinking wearing these damn heels! I guess I didn’t really think about all the walking I would be doing in them.

“Eric. I really am not in the mood for this.” I hiss to him as he leads me into a room and then flicks on the light after he lets go of my arm.

I turn to face him, my arms crossed over my chest and am trying to glare at him. He locks the door without ever taking his off of me and a smile slithers across his face while he walks towards me. I drop my arms and take try to take a step back when he reaches out for me. My legs are no match for the reach of his arms and his finger grip my hips then jerk me towards him. My hands go to his chest as I look at him. The smile is gone and is replaced with that look I am coming to think is one he doesn’t get often. Frustrated and on the verge of losing it.

“Do you have any idea…” he starts out speaking slowly, drawing out every word as if he is trying to reign himself in, “...how…” one of his hands moves to allow the backs of his fingers to drag along the side of neck, “..distracting you are to me?”

Eric stopped after he had moved his fingers to just under my chin, his eyes boring into mine. His forehead scrunched up in his obvious frustration along with his strained admission. I would be laughing at my apparent ability to unsettle the man that almost all of Dauntless fears; I would laugh if I didn’t feel exactly the same.

I do feel some smug pleasure at the fact that a little of what I had hoped for actually panned out today. I try not to let that show as I arch an eyebrow and get out a breathless question while Eric decided to use his lips on the skin of my neck he had just been teasing with his hand.

“How exactly am I being a distraction, Eric?”

His chest rumbles and I feel a huff of hot air on my neck but he doesn't move away. In fact, he begins to suck and nip at my neck while he pulls me tight against his body. I cry out and dig my nails into his shoulders when he nips and sucks just a little too hard, then glare at him when he pulls back with a satisfied grin on his face.

“You know exactly how you are distracting me, Devi. That was why you dressed how you did.”

Heat from my temper felt like it might explode out of me, I could only hope it would knock the conceited asshole on his ass.

“I dress for me, Eric Coulter. What is it with you men thinking the world revolves around you? That anything and everything a woman might do has to be about you? Get over yourself because that is just not who I am.”

I cringe a little because that is usually the case, but damn if he didn’t hit the nail on the head about what happened today.

He lifts a disbelieving eyebrow at me and hips lips tilt in amusement. “So you dressing like this and getting all buddy buddy with Elijah wasn’t to make me jealous?”

Screw waiting for the ability to knock him back with some imaginary power, my foot comes down on his hard.

“Pendejo!” I scream as he grunts and releases me a little, enough for me to shove him away from me. I take the opportunity and start towards the door. “I don’t play with people like that, Eric. But I am not going to apologize for actually getting along with someone and enjoying myself. You don’t own me. If that is how things are going to be you can just forget it.”

Eric catches me around the waist and pulls me against his chest, locking me in and I can barely hear the words he is saying against my hair.

“Fucked up past relationships, Devi. I...I am glad the two of you are getting along. No matter how I may seem right now...that is important to me.”

The tension leaves me a little as I realize that is about as close to an apology I am going to get. “Do you two...I mean are you friends or something?”

Eric chuckles and squeezes me briefly before he moves us towards the door. “Something like that.”

He lets go of me to open the door and looks back at me. “Something like that? No other explanation?”

He shrugs with a smirk. “Oh, I am sure he will get to it during your time together.” Then he gets serious and cups the side of my face briefly. “If he doesn’t, or actually even if he does, I promise I will talk more about it later. We need to get back out there now.”

With a sigh of frustration, I nod and follow him out. Elijah isn’t far away and is on his tablet, leaning against the wall. He looks up when we come out and his eyes flicker between the two of us.

Eric stops in front of him briefly and leans in to whisper something to him. Elijah just looks at me and nods with a smile. Before he moves off, Eric looks back at me and winks. Elijah pushes away from the wall and I watch with a little smile as Eric is slightly limping.

I can’t help the small chuckle at that. I look over to Elijah who is looking at me oddly. His eyes are on my neck and for a second I am confused as to why he would be focused there. Then I remember and it makes me want to run after Eric and do him more damage. I grit my teeth though and countdown trying to reign my temper in.

“You mentioned food?” I try to ask brightly after I open my eyes again. He is looking down at me, his blue eyes showing amusement and nods.

“Yes. I was thinking of a place that would be perfect for you.” He has that smirk again that just seems so familiar but I just can’t place it. It is making me feel like when I do I will feel like an idiot for not seeing it before.

“Really?” I groan when I catch the name of the establishment stamped in silver on the fancy blue menus. I look at Elijah and see him fighting laughter.

“I believe they thought rather hilarious.” He says with a shrug.

I shake my head and open the menu. “Well, it failed. Completely. Utterly. Just fail. I thought Erudite aren’t even supposed to know what a joke is?”

Elijah pretends to be offended. “Hey, some of us have excellent senses of humor. And I believe it wasn’t so much a joke as extreme sarcasm.”

I chuckle along with him and eye the menu.

The name of the modern and sleek restaurant is called The Meating Place. And despite the spelling, it is actually entirely vegetarian.

As bad as the name is I cannot fault the items on the menu and my mouth is already watering as I try to narrow down my choice.

“Now my only issue is what do I not want to try,” I mutter but still loud enough for Elijah to hear.

He gives a nod of agreement from behind his menu. “Well, we could order a few items and share. They also do a few family-style platters.”

I smile and shut the menu. “That sounds good. I’ll let you pick then.”

A server materializes just seconds after I say this and Elijah smoothly gives our order. I take the opportunity to take in everything around me while sipping from the water that is in a fairly large wine glass. It is all so fancy for somewhere to eat in my opinion. A little cold feeling but I guess that is just Erudite.

I look back to Elijah and see he is watching me take everything in. He lifts his own water to take a drink, looking completely at ease, lounging back into his chair even. Polished masculinity with the carefree smile of an amity. It hits me so hard that I just blurt it out.

“You look like you would fit right in at Amity.” I almost slap my hand over my mouth. It takes us both by surprise but he just chuckles at my horrified expression.

He nods as he sets his water glass down. “That might be because my test indicated Amity was where I should go.”

“Oh,” I say dumbly, not sure how else to respond then give in to curiosity. “Why did you stay?”

Here the smile fades and he looks intently at his water glass, his long fingers turning the glass by the short glass stem. “Has Eric told you anything of his life before he transferred?”

The question startles me and I am relieved when the server comes back with the first course Elijah ordered for us. He nodded to the young man as he placed before each of us a bowl of a gazpacho soup using what was advertised on the menu as a ‘bright summer vegetable medley’.

I waited for the server to step away before answering.

“Eric is not exactly forthcoming in anything regarding himself. He is a master at bullying my entire life history out of me though.” I grumble and pick up my spoon, dipping it into the bowl.

Despite where the conversation is going I can’t resist giving in to my stomachs loud request to fill it.

I look up and see Elijah has a small smile playing around his lips. “That isn’t anything new with my brother.”

The declaration, so sudden but also so fucking obvious given all the hints and similarities, knocks the breath from me, causing me to swallow the soup incorrectly. I cough and tap my hand to my chest a few times, drawing a few eyes to us before I finally get my breath back again.

“Your….” I clear my throat, grab the water and take a big gulp. Swallowing I look back to him, his eyes are full of apology and understanding as he looks at me. Looks at me with those same piercing damn blue eyes that Eric has. “Your brother. Well, that certainly explains why you looked vaguely familiar.”

“I apologize. I thought he had told you that much at least.”

I shook my head with my lips pursed. “Nope. Sure didn’t.” I say shortly. Then I take a breath and get a grip. I remember his words about how my getting along with Elijah was important to him. “He did say it was important we got along though.”

Elijah nods and smiles sadly before he takes a breath. “Eric and I were raised to be very private. I am older by four years and with our parents absent much of our lives, I also became more than a brother. Sometimes this rubbed him the wrong way, me being both a brother and parent, but overall we have always been close. There were a few times that relationship was strained, to the point that I wasn’t sure we would ever be able to return to it again.”

I stayed quiet as he spoke softly. I could sense he was wanting to get it out and if I interrupted him with questions, I ruin this chance to know Eric better.

“It isn’t hard to see that Erudite have completely different ideals about most everything, including family. Maybe it was always the Amity in me but I did not and could not hold to that. When we were younger, we were often left with other children of our age whose parents had a close connection to our own. Very few of those children became close to us, but there was one.”

Here he paused and there was something about the pause that had my stomach churning. He was collecting himself. So I let him as we finished our soup in silence. The bowls were taken away and he cleared his throat.

He smiled at me, genuine but with grief and regret in those blue eyes. “Her name was Julietta and she was just a year younger than Eric. We were together so often, she became family to us. As we all got older and entered school, our activities always seemed to be intertwined. More often than not she was at our apartment, her parents were just as absent as ours but she didn’t have an older brother to look after her.”

The next hour was spent in spurts of Elijah telling me the story in between eating. I could tell this was hard for Elijah and felt horrible for letting him continue but I couldn’t help myself. I needed to know even though before he finished I had long ago guessed the ending.

Or at least I thought I had guessed at everything.

I was staring at Elijah with tears burning behind my eyes but trying not to break down. Trying to register the words that he had just said. Julietta, Jules as he lovingly called her, hadn’t left Eric broken hearted like I had assumed she had. It wasn’t the love triangle that ended with the girl choosing one brother and riding off into the sunset with him while leaving the other in tatters.

Yes, she had chosen Elijah. They had always loved each other but it grew deeper than either could have imagined. Enough for Elijah to know he couldn’t possibly leave Jules and stayed in Erudite, knowing she was meant for the faction and that he would never ask her to sacrifice that herself.

Yes, the choice of one brother over the other had greatly strained the two, to the point where it had gotten physical at one point. But Eric, Elijah said, had come to realize that he loved Jules; they just weren’t meant to be together. Eric admitted himself when he came to Elijah one night to give his blessing to the two of them, that he wouldn’t have stayed for her. Eric recognized that if he had truly felt so deeply about her, then he would have at least considered it, but he never did.

Before Eric even left Erudite, the three had been able to heal and reconnect. Elijah and Jules planned to wait to move beyond being more than good friends and get married until things were more settled. She still had to choose herself, and Erudite frowned heavily on any kind of relationships between members and dependents. Elijah had also wanted Jules to have time to explore and grow if that is what she wanted. He talked of the plans Jules had, brushing off his insistence that she needed to spread her own wings.

She never got to see those plans carried out. Shortly after Eric had chosen Dauntless, she passed away to an illness she had been secretly fighting for almost two years.

There had been experimental treatments, of course. Elijah made a veiled reference to an offer from the old leadership to get her into those treatments but Jules had told him she wasn’t going to accept.

The second time the brothers almost came to blows, and the time Elijah thought Eric would never forgive him, was the day Julietta passed away. It was during Eric’s initiation. He had gone to Dauntless with the assurance from both that she would be taking the treatments offered.

Neither wanted Eric to worry and to do his best to reach his goal of becoming a leader. Julietta passed away the day Eric finished training. Elijah had gotten word from contacts in leadership there that he had also been offered leadership. He said that it was almost as if she waited, just for that, to know he made it and was happy.

Our lunch had long been cleared away. I am sure that the wild mushroom with extra virgin olive oil drizzle flatbread and eggplant parmigiana were amazing, but I couldn’t say for sure. It had all tasted like cardboard to me.

I am trying hard not to break down and make a scene when I feel Elijah cover my hand with is own. His eyes showing his own tears threatening. He smiles at me and pats my hand.

“How did you get past it all?” I ask finally in a faint whisper.

“It is amazing how children can bring families back together.” He replies and the smile becomes genuine but the answer just confuses the hell out of me. “He won’t tell you this, Devi. Maybe because he doesn’t like the thought of what he thinks was him failing Jules, but before he transferred he was approached by leadership to recruit him. Their first attempt was a promise of power in the new regime.”

He gratefully let me catch my breath and bearings with this new twist and I nodded to him when I felt like he could go on. He truly was Amity, to be comforting me in all this.

“That was actually pretty laughable, to both Eric and anyone that knew him. Eric saw through all the bullshit and knew that whatever promises they made could be taken with a grain of salt. The whole divergent thing, in Eric’s words, was bullshit. We never believed in any of that.”

I nodded in understanding as he continued. “The second attempt, now that...that wasn’t so easily turned down. Jules had hidden it at first but we both knew something was off. We just didn’t know what. Jeanine knew just where to hit Eric. That was how we found out she was sick, was through Jeanine and she was anything but tactful in her estimation that Jules would survive. Jeanine offered every resource and treatment available to Julietta. Nothing else could have gotten him on board.”

“Why then? Why did she refuse it?” I gasped out in agony.

“The chances of any of that actually working were so very small, Devi. Jeanine was desperate to offer it but Eric was just as desperate to grasp at it. The thing about experimental treatments is that they are just that, experiments. As a doctor, I recognize the need for these trials. But as the person who loved that girl with every breath, no matter that there was a small chance it would work, I couldn’t watch her go through that. She didn’t want to go through that. Jules…..” He stopped and looked wistfully at me. “You know you actually remind me of her in some ways.”

He stopped and blushed and then went on. “Not physically.” He hurried to reassure me. “You might have both been what one would call, a latina, you are both very different from each other. There is the same vibrancy though. The same strength and independence. I can admit I don’t know you well yet, just what Eric has told me, but you seem comfortable in who you are. Jules was a quiet kind of strong. She was kind and loved to laugh but she wouldn’t back down from what she felt was right. Jules could not and would not be the thing that was held over Eric’s head. She would not be leverage for the horrible things we all knew were being planned. We both knew that the chances of those treatments curing her were so small as to be non-existent. The side effects would have left her in a worse state than the actual disease she was dying from. She made the decision and I supported her. We kept it from Eric and I knew there would be fallout from that. Her last request was to find a way to make things right, but to make sure I told Eric to never let himself be controlled again.”

“You said that…” I trailed off in confusion.

“After informing Eric of her death and her message to him, I didn’t hear from Eric for several months. I heard reports around the faction that he was seen often with Jeanine. There were whispers that something was brewing. I had thought that instead of freeing him like we had hoped, it had wounded him and made him so angry, that he went all in with the plans. It shocked me when I received a message from Eric asking to meet. It shocked me, even more, to know that he not only found a way to bring them down and had been working towards that; but he had a way to give us...me...back a part of Julietta.”

“It seems that when she first got sick, she had gone through all the options of treatment and determined that almost all of those would leave her unable to have children. It would either leave her sterile or her body too weak to carry. So one of the first things she did was to have some of her eggs harvested. I can only guess that it was done when she was still trying to come to terms with things, that she forgot to tell anyone in the hard months that followed. Eric found out and once again, it was from Jeanine. She realized she lost her hold on Eric the minute Julietta passed away and had been scrambling for something to bring him back. The old promises of power in Dauntless and Erudite weren’t doing it. She combed through the records and found that Julietta had preserved several viable eggs, then she held them for ransom, as they would say.”

I couldn’t help the low growl that escaped me and Elijah chuckled darkly. “For being supposedly the smartest person in the city, the bitch was stupid.” I snarled out.

“Indeed. She couldn’t have made a worse move. He played along for a little while, got the ball rolling for me. The instant we knew the surrogate had moved past the danger zone and Eric had gotten her to a secure location, he unleashed hell on Jeanine and Erudite. After that, our relationship was still strained. He made it clear it was only for Jules. That he still hadn’t forgiven me and I understood. I was grateful. When Karen, the surrogate, went into labor, he rushed to be with me at the birth. He was there when Olivia was born and when he held her for the first time, I think it was the first step in us being able to move past things, or at least forward..”

“How old is she now?” I ask with a small smile at his beaming one.

“She is twenty months old going on sixteen.” He laughs and shakes his head. “Not even two and already running the house.”

Elijah’s phone goes off and he stops to take it out then look at it. He smirks and shakes his head.

“It’s good to see that he found someone, Devi.” Then he slips his phone back into the inner lining of his suit jacket and looks at me. I am blushing, at his last comment. “You are going to have to be patient with him I am afraid. He never was the best at being social or having social graces and I am sure he has already made a million mistakes by now. I can say without a doubt that he wouldn’t even make an effort if he didn’t truly want to be with you. He especially wouldn’t be inviting just anyone to have dinner with Olivia and I.”

That last bombshell is dropped on me as he stands and offers me his hand. I take it but I can still feel the shockwave hovering on me.

[nautiscarader]

Nautiscarader’s Wendip Week 2018 Day 4 - Date Night

Sorry for the late submission, but my health is deteriorating in this weather...

Dipper decides to let the bygones be bygones, agreeing to a not-date with Wendy.

Wendip, Mabifica, 3.7k, T

(Ao3) (FF) (masterpost)

- Okay, Mabel, I'm not going to lie, I'm kinda scared...

Dipper Pines took a deep breath, hoping this simple technique would calm him down. He stared at his scrawny reflection in the elongated mirror in their room, watching his sister browsing through myriad of hair products, brushes and other cosmetics. He called her again, and she responded with waving her leg, as the rest of her body disappeared in the huge chest that served as her "beauty closet" she claimed was portable.

Only when her brother said her name for a third time, Mabel Pines emerged fully, like a genie from a lamp, her sweater dotted with dozens of hair-rollers stuck to it. Like a dog trying to dry itself, she shook her whole body, forcing some of the accessories to fall to the ground, and free of her restraints, she waddled to Dipper.

- Relax, bro, you just meet with a girl! - That's the whole point! - he exclaimed, watching as Mabel yanked his hat from his head and dumped a whole scoop of her gel underneath it. - Mabel has everything under control...

Contrary to what she just said, she begun messing with Dipper's chestnut hair, spreading the sticky substance all over it, trying (and from the feel of it, losing) her battle to make his hairdo a bit more normal.

- Mabel, do you really know what are you doing? - I know what I know, and I don't know what I don't know, keep it still, Dipstick! - she argued back, pushing not just his hair, but the whole head, and finally his whole body to the ground.

Having no chance of winning with his sister, Dipper just gave up, and watched in the mirror as new, brown monstrosities rose from his head the longer Mabel felt "creative". A whole five minutes passed, before she stood up, and proudly announced that her work was done. Dipper had to admit, that even though the general look of his did not change, the small touches Mabel did made him look a bit... better. At least until he put on the hat again, and everything disappeared under the hit and blue material.

- Mabel, I still don't think if it's gonna work. After all, it's Wendy.

To that, even Mabel initially couldn't find an answer, leaving Dipper once again gaping at the teenage figure in the mirror. True, he was older, a bit less miserable looking when he was thirteen, and the once-enormous vertical mirror was now almost his height, but still, he was about to spend evening with one person his heart still fluttered for.

He thought he should feel excited beyond belief, able to jump to high heavens and back, and while Wendy's nonchalant "Yeah, sure" answer to his yesterday's proposition made him exactly that, only when she disappeared from the view, Dipper understood what kind of burden he was now carrying. Less than twenty-four hours ago the thought of going out with Wendy Corduroy was just a fleeting dream, a theoretical concept, never fulfilled by Dipper-kind, but now, it was more than real.

And fortunately, in the time Dipper had to go through all of his thoughts again, Mabel found a suitable reply to her brother's conundrum.

- Well, technically, brother, it's not a date, is it? You guys just gonna... hang out. - he raised her brow. - Yeah! - Dipper continued - And that's what a date is- - Only if these two people have a thing for each other. - Mabel ended her brother's thought. - And, while you, obviously do... - Mabel ignored Dipper's attempt at contradicting that fact. - She, let's face it, just want to see what's been going with you when we were gone!

Mabel sighed, and grabbed Dipper's arms, staring into her brother's eyes.

- Listen, I know things were complicated between you two. And I'd lie if I said Wendy would forget about it. But that's one very important aspect of meeting with her: you have to move forward to let the past go. - Let... it ... go... - Dipper repeated, almost in trance. - Yes, exactly, Dipper! You are just friends, nothing romantic going on between you two. Honestly, you have no idea how embarrassing is for a girl to meet with a guy she either used to date, or she knows he had a thing for her, and then see the guy trying to hit on her again. So her asking you to meet with her is a huge improvement!

She paused for a moment, shying away, which gave Dipper a chance to suddenly pull her into a deep hug and respond.

- Thanks, Mabel. I knew you'd be the one person to help me with all that mushy stuff. - he smiled - And thanks for believing I can pull it off- - ...and this is exactly why we're going to control you the whole time, so you don't mess things up! - Mabel suddenly shouted, while something tight tied around Dipper's neck.

At once, having difficulty with breathing, Dipper pushed Mabel away, trying to get the thing stuck to his neck, and only when he saw himself in a mirror, he understood what Mabel has put on him. The red-white-and-blue material was too familiar for Dipper not to recognise Ford's old Mind-Controlling Tie, which from the looks of it Mabel has re-shaped into a form of a bow-tie.

Taking one deep breath after another, Dipper looked back and forth at his reflection and at Mabel, beaming with satisfaction.

- See, brother? I told you I have everything under control... - she waved the second tie around her finger, as if to tease him.

Predictably, Dipper launched himself at his sister, but the moment Mabel saw him move, she put the matching tie on her neck. Afraid that Dipper might grab it, she raised her hands in defence, and when she did that, she found that Dipper did the same. His eyes opened wide, when he noticed the core of her bowtie blinked, guessing his did it as well, since he definitely did not want to stop and put his hands up in the air.

A sly smile crept onto Mabel's face when she realised her idea worked, and before he could - or rather could not - protest, Dipper was doing a victory dance, as if he himself became a mirror to his sister's bidding.

- It worked! - they both said in unison, though only one meant it.

Mabel reached to her bowtie and disabled it, giving Dipper one last warning look not to try anything silly. Reluctantly, Dipper had to oblige.

- Mabel, was that really the only option? - he cried out - Do you really think I can't handle one d... One meeting with a girl? - Honestly, yeah. - Mabel replied coldly - And besides, who was pouting that he's not "smawt enough fow aww that mushy stuff" a moment ago? - Mabel mocked him. - That was before I knew you were going to control my mind and body! And... - Dipper paused for a moment - When did you get these bowties? - I sewed them myself! - she blew a raspberry in response. - And did you re-soldier all the circuits as well? - Dipper asked, flipping the piece of clothing to its other side, revealing copper-green electronic board, blinking with lights. - Yes, I did, actually. - she proclaimed - Grunkle Ford taught me. He said that all girls should know that stuff, and I agree! I've been using so much glue for my stickers, and all the time I could have just zap them!

She moved two of her fingers together, mimicking the act of soldiering, together with an exaggerated sound effect.

- Okay, but you're not gonna control me all the time. - Dipper tried talking some sense into her - Only when I'm, you know... - ... you're gonna be yourself? - In trouble! That's what I meant. - Dipper snapped.

Mabel sighed again, and rose her arm with two fingers into the air.

- Okay, Dipper, I promise, we won't mess with your awkwardness too much. - Thanks. I mean, I really don't want Wendy to think I'm some sort of a creep who- Wait, what do you mean "we"? - Candy and Grenda, of course! - Mabel answered - Come on, Dipper, we couldn't miss *that* opportunity!

Once again, he grabbed Dipper's shoulders, though this time, to prevent him from taking her bow-tie from her.

- I can promise you, brother, you're gonna have a nice, completely non-romantic evening with Wendy, and once you guys go home without holding hands, you're going to be just friends. That's what you want, right?

It was Dipper's time to look away from Mabel's piercing gaze. He took a moment, and with a sharp, cold pain in his guts, he answered her.

- Yeah. That's for the better.

A few minutes later, the twins ran out of the Shack, only to be met not by two, but three figures. Candy and Grenda were joined by Pacifica Northwest, who turned on the spot, hearing Mabel's voice. Her eyes grew wide when she realised, a moment too late, that the pink blur of Mabel rushed into her open arms a bit faster than humans usually do.

- Really guys? There's three of you? - Dipper sighed, as he watched Mabel greet with her three friends. - The more the merrier, bro! And besides, we couldn't leave Paz alone. - Actually, what is it you guys plan doing...? - the Northwest heiress asked, moving her eyes from Mabel to Dipper and their already bizarre choice of neck-wear. - Dipper and Wendy go on a not-date. - Candy explained - Because he wants to let the bygones be bygones. - Yeah, and if he doesn't, then Mabel will just steer him away! - Grenda added, smashing her fists together. - Yup, that is something only you could come up with. - Pacifica spoke, giving her friend a warm smile. - Sounds like it's gonna be fun. - Okay, Dip, you go first, and we will follow behind you, just so that Wendy won't see us! - Mabel gave Dipper one last pat on the back, like a farmer trying to guide a cow into a pen.

At least that's how Dipper felt the entire way. It was already getting dark, and even though the team behind him moved surprisingly silent, given who it consisted of, he still had the ominous feeling of being watched during a deeply private situation.  

It didn't make it easier the fact that his bowtie was tied just a bit too tight so the entire way to the diner Dipper fought with it, perhaps just not to give Mabel the satisfaction of being her puppet.

- Come on, the stupid thing... - Hey, man.

A warm, low voice of Wendy immediately forced Dipper to stop fiddling with his bowtie. Wendy Corduroy rose almost from the ground in front of him, and stared curiously at the thing Dipper was toying with.

- You look sharp. - she smiled, giving his arm a playful nudge. - Uh, thanks. - he replied, but immediately regained his senses - Uh, I mean, these are just, uh, random stuff I put on. You know, cos it's not like it's a special occasion or anything. - Sure - Wendy chuckled - Come on, you gotta tell me what you've been up to.

She grabbed his hand and was about to drag him down the street, but she soon realised she's been holding empty air, as Dipper stood on the pavement as if he was paralysed.

- Uh, no, Wendy, I had a bit of cold last week - he said slowly - So no holding hands. A-choo. A-choo. - O...kay. - Wendy said, measuring Dipper's petrified figure from head to toe.

The last words of his sounded fake already, but by doing precisely no movements with his arms and speaking them with no inflection in his voice, it almost looked like he has been hypnotised or beaten by zombie.

- Dude, have you been brainwashed by aliens or something? - No! - Dipper suddenly screamed and dashed forward, as if a force has been holding him up for the last few minutes. - It's just, uh, the cold!

Wendy raised her brow again, sent him a soft smile and continued walking down the road, this time with her arms crossed.

- So, did high school change you that much? - she asked - I don't remember you joking so much before. - Uh, maybe? - Dipper scratched his head - Anyway, do we go to the Greasy's Diner? - Oh, no, there's a new place! - Wendy cheered - Lee told me about it, he works there part-time as a cleaner.

The "new place" turned out to be a rather small-looking bar with just a few sitting places inside. It had, however, more than a few tables outside, put around a square-ish yard. With only two other tables occupied, Dipper and Wendy grabbed their drinks and chose the first one they spotted.

- Okay, dude, first of all, how come you got so tall? Do they feed you in a cafeteria with steroids? - she asked, leaning towards him. - Me? Tall? Nah, Mabel's almost as tall as me. - Dipper answered, nervously taking a huge gulp of soda - W-why do you even ask? - Nah, I just still remember you when you first arrived here. - she brushed it off.

The two quickly started talking about their schools; Wendy was more than helpful giving Dipper tips about surviving his last year at high school, and Dipper eagerly swapped stories about his classmates, much to Wendy's amusement. Every once in a while, he had to control himself in order not to divert the discussion into more risque territory. As soon as Wendy mentioned her friend dating, he faked another sneeze, this time himself, blaming the weather, and that has fortunately made Wendy remember about some huge downpours that brought some trouble to her father.

And as minutes went by, Dipper Pines felt more than confident that he would be able to survive his not-date like he planned.

- Be right back, gonna go to the toilet. And to have a refill!

Wendy stood up and went towards the exit, leaving Dipper in possibly even more perplexed state. He did everything in his might not to stare at her seductive, hourglass figure, and instead, he directed his eyes towards the opposite end of the fenced square.

When his eyes met Mabel's, however, his whole body froze, and before he knew what was happening, he found himself whispering a message to himself.

- Hi, broseph - Mabel's words escaped his mouth - We had to break in from the backside! We can't really hear you guys that much, but we're gonna intervene if we think you act too much like the dork in love. Over and out!

Dipper almost lost grip on his can of soda when Mabel released him from under her control, just when Wendy appeared again in the doorway. Instinctively, she followed Dipper's eyes, but couldn't find what he was staring at, his body twisted in a slightly unnatural pose.

- Do I want to know what you've been up to...? - Stretching! - Dipper responded, doing the exact thing he talked about - You know, you shouldn't skip the leg day and all of that. - Never though you would get book from your noses to keep fit - she slurped her drink - Er, nose from your books, I meant.

They both chuckled.

- Yeah, I'm still trying my best to get best grades. And how goes the college hunt? - Uh, could be better - she groaned - But that can wait a few more weeks. What do you want to talk about? - Er... I want to...

Once again, to Wendy's surprise, Dipper's body stiffened, his arms lay flat on the table, and he recited next few sentences as if he was reading from a prompter situated somewhere behind her back.

- I want to talk about nerdy stuff. Comic books. Old sci-fi shows. You know, the things most girls don't like.

This was a bit too much for Wendy, who leaned on the table and poked Dipper in the forehead.

- Okay, Dipper, what is going on? Why would you say girls wouldn't like it? - she spread her arms in confusion.

In the bush just a few feet away from the two, Mabel exchanged silent victorious nods wit the other three girls.

- Great! She got a bit mad! - Candy exclaimed. - Uh, Mabel, should we really mess up his da... uh, meeting with Wendy? - Pacifica asked - I mean, I know a bit or two about being controlled and... - Shush! - Mabel put her hand on her friend's face, silencing her.

To her utmost surprise, Wendy was not arguing with the motionless Dipper, but laughing jovially at the petrified form of Dipper.

- Dude, that is the best impression of those zombies I've ever seen! - she laughed, pointing to his face, now twisting in a grimace of disbelief, the same as the one on Mabel's face.

She leaned again, and twirled the straw in her drink.

- Yeah, that was the last movie we watched together, last Summer, wasn't it...? - Yes! - Dipper exclaimed, feeling Mabel's control tightening again. - Yes, impression. That's... that's what I've been doing.

Knowing his sister was just around the corner, he took the risk, leaned forward as well, and not noticing Wendy's eyes that suddenly got bigger, he whispered.

- Wendy, listen, I have something to tell you...  

But Dipper's plan of informing Wendy about his sister were interrupted by a short, but loud screech somewhere above his head, followed by a quick, upbeat music from the speakers mounted under the roof of the diner.

- Oh, right, Lee told me they play music in the evening. Wanna dance?

And once again, Dipper was dragged behind her, as he suddenly understood what the paved square space was for. The other two couples joined them on the dancefloor, while the fast-paced pop hit of this Summer filled the air around them, undoubtedly annoying any neighbours.

Meanwhile, in the bushes, Mabel was panicking.

- They are dancing! What if Dipper asks her to dance again? - she grabbed her head - I promised Dipper I'll make this not-date as perfect as possible! And why does this thing doesn't work?

Mabel pushed the centre of her bowite furiously, but it seemed that something was interfering with the transmission.

- Maybe they just gonna play this one song, and they'll be done? - Candy hypothesised. - Hmm... maybe... - Mabel pondered - The only worse thing that a dance would be...

Suddenly, the screeching sound interrupted them again, the fast song faded, and slow, mellow tunes reached the girls' ears instead. They all exchanged knowing looks, whispering the dreadful words "Slow dance".

Forgetting about their strategic position, Mabel peeked from the bush, only to see Dipper, being his nervous self, awkwardly trying to lead Wendy during this song.

- Okay, not everything is lost. Move aside, guys.

Spreading her arms aside, Mabel broke a few branches to give herself just enough space for her feet to move. She took a deep breath, and with hope in her heart pressed the button on the bow-tie, this time hearing the connection beep.

- Listen, Wendy, I couldn't say it before, but... - Dipper stammered, feeling Wendy's body pressed against his. Dancing with her in the vaguely modern, random way was one thing, but leading her in a definitely romantic song, practically made for making-out was a completely different affair. - What's that, Dipper?

And for the third time this evening, Wendy felt Dipper's body getting rigid, this time with even more painful consequences when his foot landed on hers.

- Auch, Dipper! - th.... the... bowtie... - he managed to stutter, before he felt his tongue getting tied into a knot.

Now, at least he was in motion, instead of standing still, though the restrained, almost mechanical moves of his sister, trying in her might to emulate a style of someone who only vaguely heard about dancing made everything more complicated.

- Bowtie? - Wendy asked - Oh, you tied it too tightly, didn't you?  

And then, when Wendy's fingers slipped past the electronics, the unthinkable happened. The connection with Mabel's bow-tie was lost, her own device short-circuited, and Dipper regained control of his arms, a sudden twitch in his muscles closing them around Wendy's waist, much to her surprise.

- Dipper?! - Wendy gasped, mesmerised by the sudden closeness of her friend, already mentally ready to fall into his arms by the time of the next chorus.

Meanwhile, Mabel was getting out of her mind.

- Guys, we need to do something! - But what? - Pacifica asked - It looks to me they are doing alright - she snickered. - Paz, don't you get it? - she grabbed her shoulder - I don't want Dipper to be heartbroken again! I don't want to give him false impression that Wendy likes him like "that"! - Yeah, but here's a crazy idea: what if she does? - Pacifica asked.

And to their surprise, a fifth voice answered that question.

- Yeah, she does like him. And what the heck are you guys doing here?

Four pairs of eyes turned to the other end of their makeshift-command centre, only to see its leafy wall has been breached by none other Wendy's best friend, Tambry.

- 'Sup. - she nodded her head, flicking her purple hair. - And again, what are you guys up to? - We... we're trying to make Dipper's not-date with Wendy go according to plan! - Grenda exclaimed. - So that nothing romantic happens at all - Candy added. - But I think we might not have calculated everything. - And what do you do in these bushes? - Mabel stepped forward and asked Tambry.

It took the older girl a bit more time to process the answers and give hers back. When she did so, her voice cracked a bit.

- I... I've been helping Wendy score a date with Dipper, cos she asked me to help her...

As the realisation hit them, Tambry's and Mabel's eyes became equally wide and the two spoke in unison.

- We did everything wrong!

[phonghoinghi]

Scary Details About Japanese Bride Exposed

As well, this one for the older Japanese girls relationship websites has many further choices to boost the connection information. The consumer can order flowers, home decor, goodies, perfumes, phones, and toys. His present might be delivered in a a variety of enterprise days and the top person may have a Photo Survey Photo of his buy. This website has a financial institution card price system, which implies you only pay if you work with it. There are a number of reductions for this website online often, similar to you now can buy 100 25 credit in a promotional value of $ forty four. You can use this platform for free, but you possibly can only view the profiles of brides. Which has a paid subscription, you should use fast messaging, video calls, and make an precise assembly.

We work strenuous to assemble and course of the purchasers’ suggestions and share their professional judgment with our visitors. On TV reveals a woman getting undressed all the way down to fall was the code for getting fully undressed. I recall watching “Poor cow” a tv japanesse brides enjoy about a que tiene coming out of jail and heading straight to bedroom with his partner. You can imagine he was happy to look at her but she nonetheless went to crib together with her slip on.

JapanCupid clients can merely consider selecting the needed choices and making use of the equipment quite than being regularly distracted. Anyways, there are by merely least six hundred Japanese faculty…uhm…girls on-line whenever you need. All in all, is definitely a prime-high quality on the internet relationship site inside the Japan relationship specialized topic. Omiai is regarded as one of the in fashion Japanese courting websites in addition to a Western relationship iphone app. It is designed for many who're on the lookout for a vital relationship, and it serves as the right system for a international to discover a Japanese woman. Each of our Compatibility Coordinating System® matches Japanese single women and men relying on 32 measurement of abiliyy, like heart values and beliefs. The software is a crucial take into consideration eharmony’s matching success and the first level of differentiation among our company and that of numerous traditional Western courting businesses.

Prices range relying on the precise design and materials, nonetheless a apparel that tack an additional 100 fifty,000 yen onto the bill aren’t distinctive. If you want to meet a future wife in Japan, you should use completely different tricks to charm women.

You had been courting women with a particular mindset, completely different wishes, and beliefs, and so forth. The traditional Japanese wedding ceremony brides also have utterly different traditions and customs associated to the quickly-to-be husband and the star of the event. The groom’s family typically arrive to supply the congratulations and a traditional marriage ceremony shock. Many image brides had been in their thirties and forties when World War II began and skilled internment with their husbands and children. Connect this picture to the article about Japanese internment included in the curriculum guideWWII & NYC . A photograph of newly arrived picture brides that embodies the particular challenges of immigrating to the United States from Japan and a technique the Japanese American community sought to resist these challenges. During and shortly after the US-Allied Profession of Japan, the Japanese ladies who fraternized with troopers sometimes realized opposition from their owners and had been shunned by completely different Japanese.

Giving Japanese Mail Order Bride As Items

Between 1911 and 1919, 9,500 Japanese brides arrived within the Islands, starting a interval termed yobiyosei jidai , the period of summoning households. Currently should you need to be hoping to search japanise brides out your bride among Japanese e-mail buy antiques, it might susceptible to benefit from prospects you’ll be found by you. Prior to you even set ft in to Vietnam, you have to research slightly bit regarding the nation first. This will help to you establish how yow will discover one of the best Thai brides in your metropolis. If you perform a little analysis, yow will discover away lots of info concerning Vietnam simply sooner than you actually go to. You’ll want to understand in regards to the meals, the historical past, chinese, and the dad and mom that stay within the area. By doing this, you presumably could make a properly prepared decision regarding the place you need to have your bridal ceremony.

The important factor that drags men in Japanese girls is their very own unbeatable magnificence. In truth , it might even be unacceptable to marry inside one’s village or for a few siblings to marry companion pets from the the identical village. However , for some residential areas in Southern India, it’s frequent designed for Hindu crossstitching cousins to marry, with matrilateral cross-cousin (mom’s brother’s daughter) relationships being particularly favored. Inside the area, “uncle-niece and first-cousin unions are particular and with each other account for several 30% of marriages”. It was projected in 60 that completely no. 2% coming from all marriages among Roman Catholics had been among first or second cousins, however no longer any latest nationwide research are usually carried out. It is definitely unknown what amount of that amount have already been first cousins, which can be the group coping with relationship bans. To contextualize the group’s size, the entire percentage of interracial marriages in 1960, the past census month earlier than the most effective of anti-miscegenation statutes, was zero.

As there are brides birdes-to-be from Lithuania, Estonia, and Latvia. Naturally , we handmade omit the situation of usually there nonetheless as being a stigma towards this idea of mail order bride companies.

Image is essential for Japanese individuals, so should you don’t have lots of relations and your aspect will look type of… empty, well, you can always visit a particular service and rent a mom, two sisters and whoever you want. Those actors will act like your usual household, cheering and greeting you. Some of them will baltic to manage the home cleansing as a substitute of experiencing a career – all things thought of, if they may have the prospect to probably not work. Internet courting of children, it’s not widespread with respect to Handmade brides to acquire various children. Over the years, folks within the Baltic blended website genetics strongly with Western and Southern Europe, and through Soviet guideline, this mixture obtained extra family genes from the East. In this manner, you possibly can easily find wonderful trying brunettes and redheads.

For the most powerful finish end result you’ll have the ability to choose a paid membership. The going out with web site has been in Japan for close to twenty years, and in that period, it has verified itself as being a reliable website the location people will get love and date. Dating a Japanese girl is a superb experience that’s filled with satisfaction, pleasurable, and excitement.

Of course, it could’t be mentioned that all the ladies in Japan look like this, nevertheless most of them truly do. Just take a look at the pictures of these women – we guess making a various among these beauties received’t be a straightforward task. There is not any denying the fact that there’s one thing particular about Japanese ladies. Their attraction is unimaginable to explain or describe, nevertheless that doesn't indicate that we're going to not try. Here are the explanation why these women are thought of to be excellent girlfriends and wives. No hidden seeing frauds uk cougar relationship free search After all, your group of associates might be a yoga stretches class—or solely a flick of the finger—away a person. So, many successfully educated, extreme incomes Japanese single girls have started trying in the path of foreign males these days.

The Japanese beauty commonplace is understood everywhere in the planet and there are numerous girls in the world who attempt to emulate it with various degrees of success. The key features of Japanese beauty embody porcelain pores and skin with barely rosy cheeks, tasteful eye and lip make-up, and a flawless hairdo.

The resettled inhabitants’s inclusion as “loyal” Americans was finally bought on the worth of their alienation from both the white and Japanese American communities. 5 After the struggle, in 1947, President Truman went further to ascertain the Commission on Civil Rights. Thus, although the Brown alternative was pivotal, it was on no account a surprising choice or an isolated event. The annual variety of marriages has dropped given that early Nineteen Seventies, while divorces have proven a fundamental upward pattern. Newer suppliers like Pairs, with eight million customers, or Omiai have launched ID checks, age limits, strict moderation, and use of synthetic intelligence to rearrange matches for critical seekers.

This score of the best Japanese mail order brides websites is created in accordance with our personal opinion. However, if deepen and delve into this, one sees that the Japanese are good on this respect.

Coi thêm ở : Scary Details About Japanese Bride Exposed

from Phòng Hội Nghị - Feed https://phonghoinghi.com/scary-details-about-japanese-bride-exposed/ via IFTTT

[one-of-us-blog]

Sophia’s Wedding: Part 2 (TGG, Season 4, Episode 7)

Today Eli is forced to watch and recap Sophia’s Wedding: Part 2, the conclusion of a two-part story in the fourth season of The Golden Girls.  Now that Sophia has gotten hitched, will she settle into her new life easily?  What surprises lay ahead for the other girls?  And does anyone know where I can get some good knish?  Keep reading to find out…

Jon, Jon, Jon.  I have to say, while you did your usual excellent job of recapping the significant Doctor Who episode A Good Man Goes to War, I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t bummed to discover that the pivotal revelation at the end of the episode had been spoiled for you.  That was really a big moment in the fandom, and I feel like the whole thing was probably a bit anti-climactic if you had that information going in.  I can’t help but speculate that your rating may have been a bit higher in the wake of such a surprise.  Oh well, c’est la vie.  I also appreciate your take on the opening of the episode, which usually gets chalked up to Rory and the Doctor turning into total badasses when you take away a person who means everything to them (I recall your own wrath in our D&D adventure when a certain Miss Polly was kidnapped).  While your Cyberbias is well-documented at this point, and I can’t say I shed too many tears for an alien race that has zero regard themselves for the life or autonomy of any other species, you do still have a valid point.  I think this episode was trying to make its own point about the Doctor going too far.  When a “good man” gets pushed beyond a certain threshold and “goes to war,” even demons will be appalled and flee in terror.  But as River pointed out, if the Doctor cannot keep himself in check, his name will become more synonymous with a warrior (perhaps not even a just warrior) than a healer.  Anyway, there’s a fair amount to chew on there, and I hope the next episode answers some of your questions!  But I’ve rambled far too long already, and it’s time for me to head to Miami!

Buttocks tight!

Episode written by Barry Fanaro & Mort Nathan, directed by Terry Hughes

After a brief reminder of what happened in the previous episode, we open on Dorothy in the kitchen.  She retrieves some hidden cigarettes, has herself a sneaky smoke, and sets off the fire alarm in the process.  After Blanche and Rose attempt a call to the fire department, Dorothy confesses to her deed.  She has picked up smoking again due to the stress related to her mother’s marriage.  Sophia arrives home from her honeymoon at Disney World with Max, and Dorothy gets a slap from Ma Petrillo (I’m assuming she didn’t take Weinstock as her last name since it isn’t addressed) for smoking, and another slap for lying about it.  A small problem presents itself as Sophia reveals that she and Max sort of forgot to get a new place to live as they were putting so much thought into their marriage, so they will both have to stay at the house with the girls for a few days.  The thought of Max hanging around sends Dorothy off for another smoke.

We jump ahead to a bathroom scene, and Dorothy is humming away as she takes a shower.  You’ll never believe it, but Max enters the room, disrobes, and climbs into the shower with her, supposedly mistaking her for Sophia (though I have my doubts).  A lot of screaming ensues, but Max doesn’t exactly rush out of the shower.  After everyone congregates outside the curtain, Blanche tells Sophia that this just isn’t working out, and nobody is a fan of having Max in the house.  Sophia declares that if they aren’t wanted they will start looking for a new place to live immediately, and Max proudly (and nakedly) exits the bathroom.

In a brief scene that follows, Sophia and Max take a stroll while apartment hunting, and sit on a bench near the beach to reminisce for a bit.  Max asks a nearby sax player to treat them to a rendition of It Had to Be You, and the two enjoy a dance and a butterscotch.

Later, Sophia and Max reveal to the girls that they have found a place for themselves near the beach, and take them to see it immediately.  The gals are surprised to discover that the newlyweds haven’t found an apartment to live in at all, but have instead leased a concession stand with all of their money.  They want to take another shot at the pizza and knish business that failed all those years ago, and seem pretty determined to the cause despite concerns about their age.  Unfortunately, they will still need to live with the girls for a while until business starts to take off.  Gee, thanks for asking if that was cool before committing to this major undertaking!

We briefly get to see Sophia and Max getting to work on their business, with Sophia testing out pizza offerings.  Dorothy warns them not to overdo things, and we soon cut forward to the couple at home on the couch, both sick from working too hard.  Max still wants to go check their stand as there is a big beach bash going down over the weekend, and the girls are eventually persuaded to help out these poor oldsters by working the stand themselves.

The squad is soon working away at the pizza and knish stand, preparing food for potential customers.  Dorothy is making a concerted effort not to smoke, Rose ends up with a pot on her head after annoying Dorothy, and Blanche discusses her relationship with both science and sex.  But no customers have come to the stand due to lack of promotion.  Sophia shows up to check in (hmm, look who’s feeling better now that she has secured free labor), and she demonstrates how to get beachgoers out of the ocean and in line for food by shouting “shark!”

Apparently, Sophia’s scare tactics worked like a charm, as the stand very quickly turned into a big hit.  The gang later gets a call from the fire department, however, and it is revealed that the stand has burned down.  Believing herself to be the guilty party, Dorothy confesses to smoking again, and apologizes to Sophia and Max.  She is let off the hook by a firefighter who reveals that the actual culprit was a faulty coil in a pizza oven.  Even with an insurance payout, Max and Sophia decide not to rebuild.  Something just seems off to them.  They have another talk on the beach, as both have realized that they have made a mistake.  They love each other, but they aren’t “in love.”  They decide not to get divorced, but to separate and go back to their former lives (though they still leave the door open for some action from time to time).  They both recall their late spouses, Sal and Esther, and declare that the four of them sure were good together.  A song is played for the whole gang, and they share another dance.

The End.

I would call this a pretty good, but not great, conclusion to the two-parter.  I obviously knew that Sophia and Max were fated to end up apart due to the show’s structure, but I’m glad that they didn’t kill him off.  That tactic has been taken enough on the show already, and Sophia has already experienced her share of loss.  The only problem I seem to be having with the show is the speed at which things transpire.  I’ve commented on throwaway scenes before, and while the new business venture at least manages to secure a few scenes in this episode, it is almost immediately discarded like everything else.  The only long-running plot on the show I can think of (beyond the relationships of the girls to one another, and references to their pasts) is Dorothy’s relationship with Stan.  Heck, even the new marriage of a main cast member only seems to be able to swing two episodes.  I know the writers want to get back to the general premise that lends itself to the show being a joke factory, and I honestly wouldn’t have wanted Max to stick around anyway, but it would be nice to feel like things that happened on the show weren’t so disposable, and occasionally had some stakes.  All that being said, I still enjoyed the episode, was happy to see Sophia find some happiness, and thought there were some pretty good jokes this time around.  Also, I’d really like to try some knish right now.  I would give Sophia’s Wedding: Part 2 a score of 3 poofy hairdos out of 5.

Check back in tomorrow, when Jon will be sharing his recap of Let’s Kill Hitler, the next episode of Doctor Who, and I’ll be back on Friday with my take on the next episode of The Golden Girls, entitled Brother, Can You Spare That Jacket?  Until then, as always, thank you for being a friend, and for being One of Us!

[purplesurveys]

668

what is the one thing you remember most about january of last year? I was taking a Public Relations elective then and we got free tickets to a PPV for ONE Championship because they’re a client of my prof’s PR firm. I initially got just one ticket, but I had a couple of friends who weren’t into MMA so I asked if I could get their tickets so I could ask Gab and her dad for a night out. The night ended up being really fun and I remember how much her dad’s face lit up when he saw that I paid for his dinner hahaha, it was even more worth it than the time we spent together in the show itself :(((( you look at the clock and it's 11:11, do you wish? My usual pretend-wish is to end up happy one day, but I don’t take 11:11 seriously. how do you think you will look 3 years from now? I bet I’d still look 16, but with a different hairdo and maybe a little more professional by then. once you graduate (if you haven't already) are you leaving your hometown? Definitely not *once* I graduate. I want to make sure I’m financially independent first before I take my first real step outdoors. what is your dream job? To work PR for my dream company, WWE.

what would be number one on your bucket list? Settle, and settle happily. how old do you think you'll be when you make your will? Tbh I’ve already made several rough drafts. I was like 18 or 19 when I made them, probably. you get a text message. who do you hope it is? Just my girlfriend. I don’t really get as excited if it were anyone else. are there any songs that you hear that just make you wanna dance? A lot. Both of my favorite artists – Beyoncé and at least Hayley from Paramore – are into dancing and make songs that make people want to dance, so it’s a natural thing for me. do you get any of your songs from limewire? I never used Limewire, actually. I was always too young for it. I do remember my older cousins introducing me to the program, though. what's the oddest thing you are wearing right now? I’m wearing pretty normalish stuff tonight. you and your best friend get in a fight. why do you think that is? Existential stuff that we disagree on. do you use the word "basically" a lot? I use it pretty often but tbh it’s such a common word used by basic people so I always make it a point to use it much, much less. I use other words or phrases that might be able to take its place like essentially, virtually, simply put, etc. do you use proper grammar or use IM talk? I can use both in one sentence, lol. what is your biggest annoyance at the time? I announced a call for respondents for mine and Andrew’s thesis survey and SO many people are helping out by reposting, sharing, retweeting, tagging people they know – it’s not so much an annoyance but like I’m internally beating myself up just because I feel like I’ve never deserved such a show of kindness. It’s amazing how many people would help out for a thesis; all I could do is thank them one by one, so that’s exactly what I’ve been doing all evening. you see the person you fell hardest for. what do you do? Be surprised as I was literally just with her a little over an hour back. have/are you depressed? Am pretty sure I am, mildly at the very least. did you grow up in the united states? I’ve never even been there. are you dreading tomorrow? Not really. Sundays mean family lunch out, which is always fun (and very filling) when my dad is home. i'm going to see the person i like tomorrow; any confidence boosters? It’s been over 10 years, judging from the year this survey was posted; I hope the meeting went well! do you call anybody 'baby'? Just Gab.

if your school had a winter formal on new years, would you go? I would be very surprised as to why we would need it, but it’s worth checking out I guess. where is the fanciest place you have ever visited? Manila Hotel, without a doubt. Also my friend’s house in Forbes haha. who is the one person you can completely be yourself around? They’re two, and they’re my best friends. are your pop-ups blocked on your computer? Yep, which can sometimes be a real bitch when going to websites that can tell if you have ad blockers on. do you know a guy that has voice cracks, but it's cute? I think most guys have their fair share of voice cracks haha. I don’t find it ‘cute,’ but like I don’t mind it either. It’s just something that slips out. do you wear earrings on a normal basis? Nah. I can’t wear the traditional earrings because of my fucked up piercing, and as for clip-on ones, I keep losing the one I have :/ what stereotype would people associate you with? Prrrrretty sure I’d be bunched with the conyos, but I don’t mind. Idk where else I’d fit, actually. how old were you when you realized that life goes on? 17, when my grandfather died. do you consider yourself mature? It’s not the first word I’d use to describe myself. are your parent's night owls or morning birds? Definitely morning birds. I’m the complete opposite. do you like to sing? By myself. are there some songs that you will never understand the lyrics to? Fucking alt-J songs, dude lmao. I’ve grown to be content with just humming along to their songs because I’ve found it impossible to understand all of them. do you own a lot of picture frames? Nope. who is your favorite author? I don’t have one. how many pillows are on your bed? Two. how is your hair right now? It’s doing just fine lol, nothing too remarkable to say about it at the moment. is your phone fully charged? Far from it; it’s at 22%. what's your favorite thing about the holidays? No classes. are you still in school? Yes. how many days/months until your next birthday? Like a month and two weeks. HOLY SHIT I’M TURNING 22. what is your favorite type of cake? Cheesecake! how many rings do you wear on a day-to-day basis? Zero. Rings have never been my accessory of choice. when will you next laugh until you cry? Honestly no clue. Maybe the next time we drink out, which will be I have no idea when.

[alisiatherrien-blog]

Irish Infant Labels And also Spanish Child Names.

The Gemini indication is the 3rd indication of astrology year in the astrology study. Even with several religious masters from ancient opportunities, like the Buddha, offering their input to have humanity out of the dirt, humans have mainly remained sunk in it. Under these scenarios, arrive the compensatory messages off close to fatality expertises (NDEs) that can easily uplift humanity coming from the unfortunate condition that discovers on its own in. If individuals are actually ready to launch themselves off the nearsighted scenery they store located on their social and spiritual conditioning, the notifications may aid just. That focuses on an outstanding historical system of prophecy that uses thrown the planet as basis from divining by carefully examining its own agreement and purchase based upon an individual's lifestyle, personality and his past, present and also, potential occasions. The historical philosophers, nonetheless, possessed a different perspective on individuality and also temperament. There is actually proof off the tomb art works that the ancient Egyptians at times took along cheetahs they had actually subjugated. Today our experts have hit an aspect where meaning is actually linkeded to several flowers, and policies and also policies in this practice are even more substantial compared to they ever before were actually. . As a matter of fact their electrical power and also specializeds were actually much more in comparison to the best strong item of today's times. If you desire to discover Mandarin foreign language, at that point technique that delicately as well as thoroughly as a bridge to not simply interaction using this sensational tradition, yet learn Mandarin language to experience the historical past and also techniques from their planet as well. What I really ased if regarding this book was its own importance on civils rights and also just how previous and existing regulations aid or even harm civils rights. In early opportunities, Sapphires were thought to be safety against rivalry, or even from poisoning. Nevertheless in Australia where the ancient and the very early division from humankind was present the Aboriginal people do not have any kind of know-how about the never-ceasing twins, the myths discussed by a ton of cultures were stemmed coming from the north when the mankind expanded from Africa almost 75000 years back. Grains continuously serve an important, if sometimes ignored, part in the diet plan from modern male, delivering thread, protein as well as iron while staying abundant, flexible and low-cost. This strategy goes back to at the very least 618-906 A.D. Besides putting the reduce blooms in water at their holy places, the early Chinese showed their affection as well as admiration for blooms in other means at the same time. Card prediction is rooted in the Tarot, and also has been carried out through readers given that historical times. This extremely meaning has today been actually made use of due to the advertising community to disperse information to the masses. To read more on yellow pages online australia (budowanie--zdrowia.pl) look at our web page. The phrase, probably off homing pigeons, implies to removal in the direction of an intended, however it does not make a considerable amount of feeling so you can find why a comparable term, refine", meaning to refine or sharpen, is usually substituted. Now you can find different interpretations of this particular historical style grace patios, swimming pools, rotundas, backyards, decks, as well as verandas throughout the country. The Ace from Diamonds by itself forecasts amount of money or an interaction for the customer. Quran is actually a manual of magics and that is actually one statement that is actually accepted through lots of folks which have read through the Holy Quran as well as aimed to understand it. That is actually one thing that was handed out by Allah Almighty for the betterment from the humanity. I could point out that a lot of guide will definitely sound along with my viewers since our company have actually consistently understood that there is actually more to life than the dress sense from some small famous personality or some unrelated political shenanigans. But this was actually the environment through which Michel de Nostredame grew up. It seems Michel was acknowledged as one of the most intelligent of the team and hence he was the one selected to commit his life to the research of the historical messages from the Kabbalah. That was at times scheduled for nobility and lots of lifestyles believed this possessed a theological importance. And finally, color printers acquired these meanings and also released all of them, leaving them for us in modern times. Making use of a Kritya from old times one can get rid of people in away regions while seated in the home making use of Concept shouting energy. That is actually awfully modern to assume that traits today are very other from the method they resided in old times, particularly in terms of the task from women in business, society, as well as national politics. It is actually because of this that the Secret and esoteric universities created by the old sages went underground and also operated clandestinely. Redford (Akhenaten, LJ 11/1/84) provides a research study of the political, social, and theological partnerships amongst individuals from Egypt, Assyria, and also the Levant in the course of the 3000 years off the Paleolithic time frame to the damage of Jerusalem in 586 B.C. What distinguishes this study is the per spective of an Egyptologist that ap proaches the target from ancient Egypt and also Israel without the typical assumptions and also focus discovered in the researches rising coming from scriptural research studies academics. Theater as we know that today has its own origins in ancient Greece, where tragedy as well as dramatization played to swelling crowds. The 'fairly modern-day' from the early Greek hairdos included 'kinking' - a design in which surges were actually made in the hair, making use of a curling iron. Oenophiles might be without the lexicon to describe it, however an archaeological drug store is positive deposits he discovered on 9,000-year-old pottery bits off the old Chinese community of Jiahu are actually coming from the globe's initial fermented refreshment. German's nonetheless may change common word order, beginning a sentence with various other option from phrases. Baseding on the ancient kabalistic content, the trick from the five metals call excellence is actually that at the particular opportunity from the creation of the band along with these five metals, Jupiter's impact is summoned forth. The origin from pizzas in fact started in old times, and also as stated in the past, was more for feature than exciting. The ancient people made use of points like natural herbs as well as blossoms making top quality colognes. This historical burial ground keeps several of the globe's earliest documentation of canine domestication That likewise exposed the respect these old family pets were actually given up ancient societies. Certainly not simply the skeletal systems and also their various other bodily features from the ancient folks are actually known, yet also the attribute and level of advancement of every one of the crafts that may be protected by funeral. This technique has been in make use of due to the fact that the early times for bad and great functions both. Considering that historical times, universities and also institutions have actually been actually thought about as temples from knowledge. This suggested that the popular practice of giving and also scrounging food items from the dining table has actually been going on because old opportunities. The treatment humans have actually shown their canines even in ancient societies is actually really impressive. These editions contain gigantic textual changes, the suppression as well as substitute from whole entire verses, all in series that turn out to tie in integrally along with a publication phoned the Sefer Yetzirah. This is actually since this demonstrates the advanced esoteric as well as thoughtful thinking of ancient opportunities.

[dandelliongirl]

It’s been

three weeks.

Wow I’ve been both busy and lazy.

So Eurovision, right? That’s where I left off. I had an amazing evening with two homemade pizzas all to myself and a bottle of disgusting non-alcoholic wine. I loved Portugal’s song and it was one of my favourites. Actually all of top 3 were according to my list so it was definitely a good result. Now I also have many new songs that I actively listen to.

I spent Mother’s day with mum and dad. We went to the cottage and I got to work on my landscape and macro photography. Mum and dad assembled the little pier/dock for the summer and I went around taking photos. We came back as it started getting cloudier. I started working on a post-BoTW fic. I have a lot of issues with the writing and story of that game, some of which obviously come from the genre and can’t really be fixed because the story is completely optional but I kind of want to put my spin on the story a little bit and take the headcanons from my head onto paper. I still haven’t finished my post-TP or SS fics either so we’ll see what happens with this one but it’s not like I publish my fics anymore so...

On Monday I worked on school stuff and ACNL. I also cleaned the house a bit. In the evening my guy took me to see Kimi no Na Wa. It wasn’t my favourite, mostly because I couldn’t relate to either of the protagonists on any level. I was impatient and couldn’t wait for the movie to end. It just wasn’t for me even though most people seem to love it and usually I’m all up for time travel stuff. Anyway after the movie my guy’s sister came over. We stayed up until 2am talking and watching stupid YouTube videos. I can’t believe she’s graduating high school in a week!

On Tuesday I walked my guy’s sister to uni entrance exams and went to do my office hours while she was taking the test. Then we walked back and spent a few hours hanging out at the apartment. Then she went to visit some family friends for a night. I went to a housing cooperative meeting and rushed off to ballet. The dance mat was completely ruined and wrinkly so we couldn’t do anything with our pointe shoes on so we scheduled some extra rehearsal time on stage for Wednesday morning.

We had to be on stage at 8:15am. Our dress rehearsal started at 8:30 and the show at 10. It was over in a flash but it was pretty tiring to do two pointe choreos almost back to back. We did our Coppélia variation and then me and my friend performed Pearls in the same outfits. After the show I came bcak to the apartment and worked on school stuff again. I revised for my methods exam and my guy played DAI. His sister came back over to spend the night with us.

My guy’s sister went to another exam on Thursday morning. I went to study Japanese with my friend and then we had lunch together. I had a sort of an exam and self-evaluation/peer evaluation class for Methods. I hated every second of it but at least it’s over now. We had to write an essay and then evaluate and grade ourselves. Then we graded ourselves for the rest of the course and then we took a break before evaluating course assignments in groups. Then we discussed the course and how to improve it in the future. It was a really tiring experience spending four hours in methods class.. After class me, my guy and his friend played some BoTW before I had to go to my last ballet class. We had our last rehearsal with lights and clothes and the camera crew checking angles and edits.

On Friday I had my last master’s thesis seminar. We went through the last seminar paper and then gave feedback on the course. Our teacher also told us about finishing the thesis itself and we discussed employment and future plans together. It was stressful and I think it has really hit home that in a year from now I have to have a plan of sorts. Right now I have three options: either to stay at the uni and get a PhD in history, study to become a dance teacher or get a degree in education management. If none of these work out for me or if I don’t feel like studying any more after finishing my MA thesis I need to start job hunting after Christmas. Super scary.. I have some serious soul searching to do over these next few months.. Anyway the rest of Friday was spent relaxing and mentally celebrating the end of the academic year. I also picked up a new internet modem from the post office and prepared everything for the weekend’s dance shows.

Saturday was a full day. I went to dress rehearsals at 11 and got out around 2pm. I had some lunch, took a shower and put on my hair and makeup for another dress rehearsal at 5:30pm and a show at 7:30pm. We did Pearls for the last time, and it went pretty well.♥ After the show I listened to a concert that was happening out on our street right opposite from my livingroom window. It was a warm and summer-y day and we had a city festival with lots of events and lots of people outside. I also Facetimed my parents.

On Sunday I had two shows; at 3pm and at 6pm. At 12 I went downtown to pick up a flower for our teacher on behalf of the whole group and I had to be on stage at 2:15pm for a last minute check. Mum and dad watched the 3pm show from their AirBnB apartment and I hear granny watched the show as well. ♥ Makes me happy. Both shows went pretty well, although there was some drama between them. My guy was out getting his car back up and running and him and I were supposed to go look for a new phone for me inbetween my shows. Well he was an hour late and I was super pissed off since I had hurried off stage, handed my responsibilities to my friend and skipped the end of the show where all dancers come on stage to receive applause. I ended up sitting outside for an hour and giving up. I was seething with rage and it really screwed with my performance. My friend ended up covering for me in the second show as well. My guy did drive me and my friend over to her place and we dropped her off at the bus station though.

So this Monday my guy and I went to get me a new phone. The Huawei Honor 8 lite was on sale for 199€ and since it was under the 200€ budget I had set for myself I had to get it. The entire day was spent on configuring everything and learning how to use it. So far it has been a very good phone but honestly my old one was so bad that you don’t need much for the new one to be an improvement. It’s dark blue though so I’m desperate for my case to arrive because I can’t find it. My old phone was bright pink with a bright blue case so it was easy to spot and this one is dark and flat and sneaky. I had a dance feedback discussion with my teacher at 5:15pm and I went off to another housing cooperative meeting that started at 6pm. This was a long and tedious one, and there was this one asshole who saw fit to nitpick over every single detail of the printed materials. I was out of there after 8pm-ish and went to pick up my friend from the park. She came over to test hairdos for a wedding she’s attending this weekend. We played ME2 while I did her hair.

On Tuesday morning we went shopping. It was a sunny day so I decided to screw thesis-writing since there’ll be lots of rainy days to waste on that stuff. It did give me anxiety to throw away my plans like that but at the same time it felt kind of nice to spend a sunny day with a friend. We spent a good hour or so at the park eating take-away salads and soaking in the sun and warmth.☼ We came back to the apartment, I dyed my friend’s hair and curled it for the official hairdo test. We ended up going for two simple waterfall braids combined in the back with corkscrew curls. In the evening my friend went for the movies and I got a really big anxiety attack from skipping my responsibilities and throwing away my plans on two consecutive weekdays. I did check my emails on Tuesday morning but I hadn’t even looked at my calendar and I realized how much stuff I had left to do. I had to do something to feel productive so I scrubbed our bathroom basically from floor to ceiling for no other reason than - well yes it was dirty but I felt like I needed to do some form of actual work.

On Wednesday I was really productive. I went to study Japanese with my friend at 9 and to a meeting at 11. Then I went to the office to delegate a bunch of my work to our intern. She is a real angel since I was just realizing how badly I was drowning in work. I’m spending two full workdays next week at an event so I won’t be at the office at all and she is a huge help in doing office stuff for me. ♥ It took me until 6pm before I was back at the apartment.

Mum and dad came back from Hungary late Tuesday/early Wednesday. Their flight was postponed because of a broken weather radar on the plane and a huge storm. The electricity was cut at the airport security and water flooded in through the ceiling. Apparently subways in the city were not operational either because of all the water. Anyway after Wednesday’s office day I biked over to spend the evening with mum. We went for a bit of a run in the warm sunny summer weather, did some Pilates workouts and went to the sauna. I’ve really taken to heart spending the few sunny and warm days outdoors and saving thesis writing for the inevitable rain and gloom. I wasn’t back at the apartment until 10pm -ish. Mum got me a super cute almost tie-dye -ish lace dress and I love it!

Today I caught up on my thesis writing for this week - finally. What a relief. It was also rainy and colder today so it was fitting. Around 1pm my friend came over and we played ACNL until around 6pm. She gave me three of my dream villagers as a late birthday gift. I got Chevre, Carmen and Annalisa. She also got us Felicity to share and a bunch of cards of her own that she can scan in using my NFC reader. Even my guy played ACNL with us and we went on a bunch of island tours together. ♥ ♥ ♥ I worked on Sonetia’s layout/landscaping and I’ve decided where I want to put Carmen’s house. I’m replacing Henry with Carmen, Lolly with Chevre and probably Pekoe or Melba with Annalisa. Then all I need is Merengue but she’s expensive and hard to find. Also Marshal but I already have a piece of land set out for Merengue, which is currently empty. I did some reconfiguring with my paths to get a little plantation going. I finished my illuminated tree project and next I’m either building the scarecrow or taking down the fence to get Carmen to move in. I’m also doing lots of gardening to get some more hybrid flowers to decorate town with.

My guy made some dinner and me and my friend baked chocolate brownies with mocha frosting. They didn’t turn out that great but at least the taste was on point. We played BoTW for a while and then she left. I’ve been typing this catchup blog post for at least an hour now.. I really hope I have more free evenings now so that I can blog more often. This is such a special time in my life and I don’t want to forget a single day... I find it super sad that even a week or two is enough for me to forget lots of details and events. I want to come back to this day, the 25th of May, Ascension day, in the future and remember that I had the best time playing ACNL with my friend.

So yup, spending tomorrow doing JLPT stuff and playing ACNL. Doing my friend’s hair for the wedding on Saturday morning but other than that it’s a free weekend. Finally! I need time off after the past few weeks.

[thlovesover-blog]

X-mas

Did you invite me? Or did I invite myself? I don’t remember. I planned a trip to Paris. I had been there once before but that was certainly not enough. That time I was to see another side of the city.

The hotel was somewhere not exactly on the outskirts but in the district inhabited by immigrants. Luckily I arrived in the daytime, it was still light, so I could enter offices and ask about my destination. It seemed not a well-known place. It took time to find it and passing across the bridge filled with immigrants selling and buying something was quite a fearful experience. The following day was easier. I got used to it, I found it even friendly, though so incredibly dirty!

For the first time in my life I travelled in winter. Paris was an immense sea of light when seen from the plane. What a contrast with my dear little Motherland! Christmas decorations in windows attracted by their simplicity and exclusiveness. I was going to be impressed even more in Italy.

I roamed along the streets, attended Centre Georges Pompidou resembling a huge refinery. Looked at its strange exhibits sometimes like a total fool. No, this type of art is definitely not for me.

Sacre Coeur as if had been floating in the winter sky above the city. Using underground, following the map, reading signs in French was a challenge. Getting this experience at about fifty might sound silly, and actually sorry I hadn’t had it before.

I found a café in rue Rivoli where I learned that not only Russians and post - Soviet products are fond of cheapies and takeaways. Smart looking madam had another helping of a side dish, filled a plastic container and placed into her handbag. Life can be miserable even in this feast city.

Looking round Notre Dame was a must. French gothic is oppressive unlike Italian. I got out of there as if I got out of the grave. By the way there is a tomb to Jean of Arc inside.

Another great experience of that winter was flying from Paris Charles De Gaulle Airport. For a traveller like me who chose package tours because of their price and because of the fear of getting lost or something it was a shock. I guess it is the size of my native town with far better developed infrastructure. The main thing was to get to the right terminal at the right time. And I succeeded!

The plane was packed like a barrel with herring! Young Italians were flocking to the south. I was sitting literally in the back row. Had a feeling of a local bus going to the nearest farm. The flight was noisy at the beginning, but don’t remember much as seem to have fallen asleep as soon as they reached the altitude. I woke up right in time for landing.

You were waiting for me at the airport. The drive to your studio didn’t take long. It was the same small cluttered messy place. But you definitely tried to bring some order into it. You bought some handmade pies to treat me after the flight. They were delicious. You bought me a set of towels of nice cream white colour with my monogram! How touching! I knew that you had been looking forward to my visit. Never before did I feel so much desired.

It must have been the most remarkable Christmas of your life. You didn’t have Christmas dinner with your father. You didn’t go to give presents to your sister. You stayed with me. Now I feel that it was wrong to deprive you of your family in holiday time. Our parents are old and we really have to devote more time to them not to have ill consciousness afterwards.

But that winter I had a different opinion.

I think it was pouring for 2 consequent days. Later there were reports on TV about floods in some streets. We didn’t care. Luckily the window right above our bed wasn’t leaking. The bed was narrow for two of us in the rare moments when we were lying side to side. I seem to have been hanging on the very edge. Or was squeezed to the wall. Or vice versa. Really neither of us cared. What sexercises did I show you that time? I don’t remember. They were quite a few as you confessed later. Something you had never tried and you were impressed.

Though as time showed none of that helped to keep you.

When it finally stopped raining we got outside to find all the impressive Christmas decorations in the shop windows and in the streets. That’s where I got inspiration for all the following years school New Year Decoration contests. Must say we won all of them.

We went for pizza somewhere up the hill. Not only was I astonished at the choice and the pizza itself, I was amazed at the service most of all. How personal it was. I was literally fascinated with the waiters’ work. They seemed to be flying from table to table. They were always asking if all was well, if we needed something. After pizza we went for a stroll along the road to have a look at the night city and honestly to lose at least a few calories. Wasn’t that urgent though. There were some other exercises that helped well to burn them.

One more day was devoted to a long train trip to Cinque Terre. On our was we stopped at Santa Margherita, walked along the shore. There was a storm in the night and the beach was covered in seaweeds and wood carried by the waves. Elderly couples holding hands, elegant age signoras with grandchildren, people with pets were passing by. Smartly dressed signors were playing chess on the benches.

I envied. I envied their life. I envied their being well cared at their old age. I fear mine!

It was almost 16 plus! Incredible temperature for me in winter. I couldn’t help stretching on the bench putting head on your lap and enjoying the warmth of the southern sun which I was scarcely supposed to see and to feel within the following few months.

By bus we reached Cinque Terre. We climbed up the hill to see the castle but it was closed. Still I took the most incredible pictures of the neat multi-coloured houses, of you on the pier. I tore some eucalyptus leaves and put them into my pocket.

On the way back an elderly signora draw my attention. We were on the bus when she entered. I couldn’t tear my eyes off her. Mink coat, high heels, gold ear rings and rings. Fashionable hairdo. How I wanted to be her when I am at her age!

Yesterday I checked my old coat pockets. The eucalyptus leaves are still there. All dry and broken but keeping the smell and bringing the memories.

I didn’t feel butterflies in my stomach then. What a pity.

Was it then or in summer that you wanted to introduce me to your father? I refused, telling that I don’t know the language, what would I talk to him about? So it didn’t happen. Alas.

I was leaving before your birthday. I remember bringing you two gifts. One was a hand made spectacle case which you didn’t like at all. And you weren’t even able to disguise it. The other one was a watch which you were wearing for the next few years. I got a stylish leather handbag which I’m still carrying as the best handbag ever.

You took me to Bologna. Even the drive there was memorable. A perfect sunny day. I was basking in the warmth on the chair next to you, I stroke your hair, you kissed my hand. Of course there was a sandwich and the last macchiato in the Autogrill cafe.

Again we parted.

Me: Landed Warsaw thanks a lot for everything happy b-day have good party miss you kiss.

Back home I dived again into my usual school routine. Classes at work and classes at home. Twelve hour working day. To earn just for one more trip to see you? Or something else in Europe? To buy some new clothes to show off at work? Or to have at least some sex? No answers.

You were having fun with friends. Had your archery, took part in competitions even though the prize might have been just a bottle of ketchup. You went somewhere for silly experiments which I always laughed at. You lived your life where there was work but also there was rest. There was time for hobbies. There was time for books.

I didn’t have that. What’s the use of all my University education then I wonder?

2)���F

[willidleaway]

Doctor Who, series 10, episode 1, ‘The Pilot’

In short: You’re all right, Bill Potts. Let’s see what you get up to.

In less short: This won’t surprise long-time readers of this tumblelog, but I really haven’t enjoyed a lot of new!Who or Sherlock lately. I feel like both shows sort of lost sight of what their strengths are. Sherlock got lost in high-action espionage material and basically became unrecognisable. New!Who was still Doctor Who, just ... it’d gotten a bit fatalist, which just isn’t my style. But I also really think some of the writing and story started to gradually lose cohesion and attention to detail.

And, I mean, I was gearing up for total disappointment with the series premiere. [0] But this ... this was flat-out good. Not ‘interesting’. Not ‘promising’. Not ‘tantalisingly close to adequate storytelling’. Actually. Good.

It seems no accident to me that the episode is titled ‘The Pilot’ because, more so than the usual new-Doctor or new-Companion episode, it really felt like a pilot for a new new!Who. Look at all the callbacks to old!Who. Look at the basic setup of ‘Doctor disguised as eccentric around a school, found out by school staff who then becomes Companion’. It’s a pilot for a larger retool, a re-reboot, trying to call us back to how things were so very long ago. [1]

And I think a lot of it is simply because of Bill Potts.

Section 1: In Which I Go on an Overly Elaborate Rant on Clara Oswald’s Tenure (Yes, Again), Trying to Make A Point Regarding Bill Potts

I mean, let’s look back at a selection of new!Who companions.

Rose Tyler was a Londoner living with her single mum and working at a department store. Suddenly, Autons. Also suddenly, Ninth Doctor.

Martha Jones was a medical student working at a hospital. Suddenly, Judoon. Also suddenly, Tenth Doctor.

Donna Noble was a temp working at a dead-end job. Suddenly, spiders. Also suddenly, Tenth Doctor. Later: walking fat. Also later: Ten, again.

Amy Pond was a little girl living with her aunt. Suddenly, crash-landing TARDIS, with free Eleventh Doctor. This changes everything.

Clara Oswald was ... erm ... well so she was a crew member in the future obsessed with soufflés? who was actually a Dalek?? and then she was also this Victorian maid? who died somehow?? and then she was this ... person? who babysat the kids next door? but then was actually a teacher?? who then became a UNIT agent??? or at least a freelancer??? Seriously, who was Clara exactly before the Doctor happened to her? [2]

Clara’s entry into the series was extremely convoluted at the outset, and it always made her feel more like a MacGuffin than an actual character. She got better towards the end of series 8, but I always feel like her character, despite the mind-boggling task of being the Impossible Girl, never quite got the clarity and definition that her precedessors did. She got short shrift.

Add to this the fact that the show under Moffat got ever more contrived in its stories, and more focussed on the Doctor than the Companions (looking at you, ‘Heaven Sent’). The solution of a good Who conundrum always combines the logos of the Doctor and the pathos (and often ethos) of the Companion, and a Who episode without both (or without either, god forbid) always feels empty and anticlimactic.

Section 2: In Which I Actually Make the Point Regarding Bill Potts

Given this, Bill’s very straightforward entry into the series is very refreshing.

See? Bill Potts is a canteen worker who likes chips and women, and also the Doctor’s lectures. Suddenly, puddle. Also, Twelve as a university lecturer.

Simple setup. Refreshingly simple. No timey-wimey nonsense. Harkens back to older days.

Section 3: In Which, Having Made My (Astoundingly Anticlimactic) Point About Bill Potts, I Continue Talking About Bill Potts

Because, you see, Bill Potts is at the core of this episode, not the Doctor. Bill Potts more or less is this episode. Her experiences, her emotions—they drive the story forward.

Speaking of which, this episode really wants to make sure that you know about Bill’s lesbotic tendencies, possibly even more so than the barrister in this Fry and Laurie sketch wants you to believe that Miss Talliot is a voracious lesbite. That’s not a problem in and of itself, but ... well, look:

Exhibit A: a natural way of indicating your character is attracted to women (hm, either lesbian or bi/pan, then).

Exhibit B: a decidedly unnatural way of indicating your character is attracted to women (lesbian, I guess). Bill, your foster mum is just telling you to keep on your guard around men, who statistically speaking are attracted to women. I mean, does she actually forget that you’re not attracted to men?

It works out in the end, though. What drives the rest of the story is a bit of infatuation that as far as I’m concerned is treated pretty much the same way that an opposite-sex infatuation would’ve been treated. It doesn’t feel vilified or exploitative or anything, as far as I can tell. It’s what we’ve come to expect from Doctor Who since RTD rebooted it all those years ago, and it’s what we should expect from all media.

Because Bill could literally be just the canteen worker giving you extra chips with a wink and a smile, she’s also quite relatable and tangible as a character, in a way that Soufflé Girl never really ended up being. She watches movies with lizard people on Netflix. She’s less concerned about how old the Doctor is when he’s been around for fifty years, and more concerned that the Doctor isn’t lecturing on topics he’s supposed to be lecturing on. She doesn’t frown when she doesn’t understand something—she smiles.

Speaking of which, look at her face after the Doctor stops trying to explain to her what a Dalek is:

Consistent personality! Yay!

Also she goes through like three or four different hairdos through the several months over which this episode probably takes place, and they’re all amazing.

Bill’s hair holds as much promise as Twelve’s eyebrows. Truly we live in a blessed time for hair on Doctor Who.

Section 4: In Which There Are Lingering Questions

Remember this bit?

How did the Doctor explain this away, anyway? We never see him trying to explain it, but Bill seems like the no-nonsense kind of gal who would have tried to wring an explanation out of him somehow.

Also, why did Jennifer Hennessy get billed as Moira without any explanation that she’s Bill’s foster mum?

Oh and one last thing:

And now, please rise for the only appropriate reaction:

Section 5: In Which I Hastily Conclude This Show Is Good Again

This show is good again.

Section 6: In Which I Reveal I Lied About Concluding, and Spout Some More Nonsense

This makes up for series 4 of Sherlock being a bit nonsensical, I think. In fact, I half-wonder if all the effort in the past year hasn’t gone more into making this a good send-off year for Moffat as new!Who showrunner than into making a good send-off for Sherlock.

It also indicates that whatever happened during last year’s hiatus ... worked. Maybe everyone just needed to take a step back and take a deep breath, which is what I wager people wanted to do for ‘Deep Breath’ (but evidently this didn’t really happen).

I dunno, I’m actually really excited for this show again, and I don’t think it’s just because it’s been a while. I don’t think it’s even just by virtue of not having Clara. I think it’s because Steven Moffat actually showed he can competently write a story driven by women characters without resorting to some kind of caricatured archetype.

... mostly.

Footnotes:

[0: I even had a nice, tedious post queued up about Music Construction Set for the Apple II, and how terrible the built-in audio capabilities of old home computers are. It was going to be interesting.

Okay, maybe it wasn’t. But it’s still going up later on, and you can’t do anything about it.]

[1: Not erasing the previous canon, just pushing it into the background as is natural. (Take notes, Disney!Lucasfilm.) I heard Clara’s leitmotif near the end like everyone else.

Actually, I spent some part of the episode thinking Heather was Clara in disguise watching over the Doctor, and thank goodness that this did not come to pass.]

[2: I’m not exaggerating my personal reaction much here. The way Clara entered the show probably seemed extremely clever to Moffat at the time of writing it, but to me it just ended up being a baffling mess that hurt her character more than it helped.]

[readbookywooks]

5 R-i-i-i-p! I grit my teeth as Venia, a woman with aqua hair and gold tattoos above her eyebrows, yanks a strip of Fabric from my leg tearing out the hair beneath it. "Sorry!" she pipes in her silly Capitol accent. "You're just so hairy!" Why do these people speak in such a high pitch? Why do their jaws barely open when they talk? Why do the ends of their sentences go up as if they're asking a question? Odd vowels, clipped words, and always a hiss on the letter s. no wonder it's impossible not to mimic them. Venia makes what's supposed to be a sympathetic face. "Good news, though. This is the last one. Ready?" I get a grip on the edges of the table I'm seated on and nod. The final swathe of my leg hair is uprooted in a painful jerk. I've been in the Remake Center for more than three hours and I still haven't met my stylist. Apparently he has no interest in seeing me until Venia and the other members of my prep team have addressed some obvious problems. This has included scrubbing down my body with a gritty loam that has removed not only dirt but at least three layers of skin, turning my nails into uniform shapes, and primarily, ridding my body of hair. My legs, arms, torso, underarms, and parts of my eyebrows have been stripped of the Muff, leaving me like a plucked bird, ready for roasting. I don't like it. My skin feels sore and tingling and intensely vulnerable. But I have kept my side of the bargain with Haymitch, and no objection has crossed my lips. "You're doing very well," says some guy named Flavius. He gives his orange corkscrew locks a shake and applies a fresh coat of purple lipstick to his mouth. "If there's one thing we can't stand, it's a whiner. Grease her down!" Venia and Octavia, a plump woman whose entire body has been dyed a pale shade of pea green, rub me down with a lotion that first stings but then soothes my raw skin. Then they pull me from the table, removing the thin robe I've been allowed to wear off and on. I stand there, completely naked, as the three circle me, wielding tweezers to remove any last bits of hair. I know I should be embarrassed, but they're so unlike people that I'm no more self-conscious than if a trio of oddly colored birds were pecking around my feet. The three step back and admire their work. "Excellent! You almost look like a human being now!" says Flavius, and they all laugh. I force my lips up into a smile to show how grateful I am. "Thank you," I say sweetly. "We don't have much cause to look nice in District Twelve." This wins them over completely. "Of course, you don't, you poor darling!" says Octavia clasping her hands together in distress for me. "But don't worry," says Venia. "By the time Cinna is through with you, you're going to be absolutely gorgeous!" "We promise! You know, now that we've gotten rid of all the hair and filth, you're not horrible at all!" says Flavius encouragingly. "Let's call Cinna!" They dart out of the room. It's hard to hate my prep team. They're such total idiots. And yet, in an odd way, I know they're sincerely trying to help me. I look at the cold white walls and floor and resist the impulse to retrieve my robe. But this Cinna, my stylist, will surely make me remove it at once. Instead my hands go to my hairdo, the one area of my body my prep team had been told to leave alone. My fingers stroke the silky braids my mother so carefully arranged. My mother. I left her blue dress and shoes on the floor of my train car, never thinking about retrieving them, of trying to hold on to a piece of her, of home. Now I wish I had. The door opens and a young man who must be Cinna enters. I'm taken aback by how normal he looks. Most of the stylists they interview on television are so dyed, stenciled, and surgically altered they're grotesque. But Cinna's close-cropped hair appears to be its natural shade of brown. He's in a simple black shirt and pants. The only concession to self-alteration seems to be metallic gold eyeliner that has been applied with a light hand. It brings out the flecks of gold in his green eyes. And, despite my disgust with the Capitol and their hideous fashions, I can't help thinking how attractive it looks. "Hello, Katniss. I'm Cinna, your stylist," he says in a quiet voice somewhat lacking in the Capitol's affectations. "Hello," I venture cautiously. "Just give me a moment, all right?" he asks. He walks around my naked body, not touching me, but taking in every inch of it with his eyes. I resist the impulse to cross my arms over my chest. "Who did your hair?" "My mother," I say. "It's beautiful. Classic really. And in almost perfect balance with your profile. She has very clever fingers," he says. I had expected someone flamboyant, someone older trying desperately to look young, someone who viewed me as a piece of meat to be prepared for a platter. Cinna has met none of these expectations. "You're new, aren't you? I don't think I've seen you before," I say. Most of the stylists are familiar, constants in the ever-changing pool of tributes. Some have been around my whole life. "Yes, this is my first year in the Games," says Cinna. "So they gave you District Twelve," I say. Newcomers generally end up with us, the least desirable district. "I asked for District Twelve," he says without further explanation. "Why don't you put on your robe and we'll have a chat." Pulling on my robe, I follow him through a door into a sitting room. Two red couches face off over a low table. Three walls are blank, the fourth is entirely glass, providing a window to the city. I can see by the light that it must be around noon, although the sunny sky has turned overcast. Cinna invites me to sit on one of the couches and takes his place across from me. He presses a button on the side of the table. The top splits and from below rises a second tabletop that holds our lunch. Chicken and chunks of oranges cooked in a creamy sauce laid on a bed of pearly white grain, tiny green peas and onions, rolls shaped like flowers, and for dessert, a pudding the color of honey. I try to imagine assembling this meal myself back home. Chickens are too expensive, but I could make do with a wild turkey. I'd need to shoot a second turkey to trade for an orange. Goat's milk would have to substitute for cream. We can grow peas in the garden. I'd have to get wild onions from the woods. I don't recognize the grain, our own tessera ration cooks down to an unattractive brown mush. Fancy rolls would mean another trade with the baker, perhaps for two or three squirrels. As for the pudding, I can't even guess what's in it. Days of hunting and gathering for this one meal and even then it would be a poor substitution for the Capitol version. What must it be like, I wonder, to live in a world where food appears at the press of a button? How would I spend the hours I now commit to combing the woods for sustenance if it were so easy to come by? What do they do all day, these people in the Capitol, besides decorating their bodies and waiting around for a new shipment of tributes to roll in and die for their entertainment? I look up and find Cinna's eyes trained on mine. "How despicable we must seem to you," he says. Has he seen this in my face or somehow read my thoughts? He's right, though. The whole rotten lot of them is despicable. "No matter," says Cinna. "So, Katniss, about your costume for the opening ceremonies. My partner, Portia, is the stylist for your fellow tribute, Peeta. And our current thought is to dress you in complementary costumes," says Cinna. "As you know, it's customary to reflect the flavor of the district." For the opening ceremonies, you're supposed to wear something that suggests your district's principal industry. District 11, agriculture. District 4, fishing. District 3, factories. This means that coming from District 12, Peeta and I will be in some kind of coal miner's getup. Since the baggy miner's jumpsuits are not particularly becoming, our tributes usually end up in skimpy outfits and hats with headlamps. One year, our tributes were stark naked and covered in black powder to represent coal dust. It's always dreadful and does nothing to win favor with the crowd. I prepare myself for the worst. "So, I'll be in a coal miner outfit?" I ask, hoping it won't be indecent. "Not exactly. You see, Portia and I think that coal miner thing's very overdone. No one will remember you in that. And we both see it as our job to make the District Twelve tributes unforgettable," says Cinna. I'll be naked for sure, I think. "So rather than focus on the coal mining itself, we're going to focus on the coal," says Cinna. Naked and covered in black dust, I think. "And what do we do with coal? We burn it," says Cinna. "You're not afraid of fire, are you, Katniss?" He sees my expression and grins. A few hours later, I am dressed in what will either be the most sensational or the deadliest costume in the opening ceremonies. I'm in a simple black unitard that covers me from ankle to neck. Shiny leather boots lace up to my knees. But it's the fluttering cape made of streams of orange, yellow, and red and the matching headpiece that define this costume. Cinna plans to light them on fire just before our chariot rolls into the streets. "It's not real flame, of course, just a little synthetic fire Portia and I came up with. You'll be perfectly safe," he says. But I'm not convinced I won't be perfectly barbecued by the time we reach the city's center. My face is relatively clear of makeup, just a bit of highlighting here and there. My hair has been brushed out and then braided down my back in my usual style. "I want the audience to recognize you when you're in the arena," says Cinna dreamily. "Katniss, the girl who was on fire." It crosses my mind that Cinna's calm and normal demeanor masks a complete madman. Despite this morning's revelation about Peeta's character, I'm actually relieved when he shows up, dressed in an identical costume. He should know about fire, being a baker's son and all. His stylist, Portia, and her team accompany him in, and everyone is absolutely giddy with excitement over what a splash we'll make. Except Cinna. He just seems a bit weary as he accepts congratulations. We're whisked down to the bottom level of the Remake Center, which is essentially a gigantic stable. The opening ceremonies are about to start. Pairs of tributes are being loaded into chariots pulled by teams of four horses. Ours are coal black. The animals are so well trained, no one even needs to guide their reins. Cinna and Portia direct us into the chariot and carefully arrange our body positions, the drape of our capes, before moving off to consult with each other. "What do you think?" I whisper to Peeta. "About the fire?" "I'll rip off your cape if you'll rip off mine," he says through gritted teeth. "Deal," I say. Maybe, if we can get them off soon enough, we'll avoid the worst burns. It's bad though. They'll throw us into the arena no matter what condition we're in. "I know we promised Haymitch we'd do exactly what they said, but I don't think he considered this angle." "Where is Haymitch, anyway? Isn't he supposed to protect us from this sort of thing?" says Peeta. "With all that alcohol in him, it's probably not advisable to have him around an open flame," I say. And suddenly we're both laughing. I guess we're both so nervous about the Games and more pressingly, petrified of being turned into human torches, we're not acting sensibly. The opening music begins. It's easy to hear, blasted around the Capitol. Massive doors slide open revealing the crowd-lined streets. The ride lasts about twenty minutes and ends up at the City Circle, where they will welcome us, play the anthem, and escort us into the Training Center, which will be our home/prison until the Games begin. The tributes from District 1 ride out in a chariot pulled by snow-white horses. They look so beautiful, spray-painted silver, in tasteful tunics glittering with jewels. District 1 makes luxury items for the Capitol. You can hear the roar of the crowd. They are always favorites. District 2 gets into position to follow them. In no time at all, we are approaching the door and I can see that between the overcast sky and evening hour the light is turning gray. The tributes from District 11 are just rolling out when Cinna appears with a lighted torch. "Here we go then," he says, and before we can react he sets our capes on fire. I gasp, waiting for the heat, but there is only a faint tickling sensation. Cinna climbs up before us and ignites our headdresses. He lets out a sign of relief. "It works." Then he gently tucks a hand under my chin. "Remember, heads high. Smiles. They're going to love you!" Cinna jumps off the chariot and has one last idea. He shouts something up at us, but the music drowns him out. He shouts again and gestures. "What's he saying?" I ask Peeta. For the first time, I look at him and realize that ablaze with the fake flames, he is dazzling. And I must be, too. "I think he said for us to hold hands," says Peeta. He grabs my right hand in his left, and we look to Cinna for confirmation. He nods and gives a thumbs-up, and that's the last thing I see before we enter the city. The crowd's initial alarm at our appearance quickly changes to cheers and shouts of "District Twelve!" Every head is turned our way, pulling the focus from the three chariots ahead of us. At first, I'm frozen, but then I catch sight of us on a large television screen and am floored by how breathtaking we look. In the deepening twilight, the firelight illuminates our faces. We seem to be leaving a trail of fire off the flowing capes. Cinna was right about the minimal makeup, we both look more attractive but utterly recognizable. Remember, heads high. Smiles. They're going to love you! I hear Cinna's voice in my head. I lift my chin a bit higher, put on my most winning smile, and wave with my free hand. I'm glad now I have Peeta to clutch for balance, he is so steady, solid as a rock. As I gain confidence, I actually blow a few kisses to the crowd. The people of the Capitol are going nuts, showering us with flowers, shouting our names, our first names, which they have bothered to find on the program. The pounding music, the cheers, the admiration work their way into my blood, and I can't suppress my excitement. Cinna has given me a great advantage. No one will forget me. Not my look, not my name. Katniss. The girl who was on fire. For the first time, I feel a flicker of hope rising up in me. Surely, there must be one sponsor willing to take me on! And with a little extra help, some food, the right weapon, why should I count myself out of the Games? Someone throws me a red rose. I catch it, give it a delicate sniff, and blow a kiss back in the general direction of the giver. A hundred hands reach up to catch my kiss, as if it were a real and tangible thing. "Katniss! Katniss!" I can hear my name being called from all sides. Everyone wants my kisses. It's not until we enter the City Circle that I realize I must have completely stopped the circulation in Peeta's hand. That's how tightly I've been holding it. I look down at our linked fingers as I loosen my grasp, but he regains his grip on me. "No, don't let go of me," he says. The firelight flickers off his blue eyes. "Please. I might fall out of this thing." "Okay," I say. So I keep holding on, but I can't help feeling strange about the way Cinna has linked us together. It's not really fair to present us as a team and then lock us into the arena to kill each other. The twelve chariots fill the loop of the City Circle. On the buildings that surround the Circle, every window is packed with the most prestigious citizens of the Capitol. Our horses pull our chariot right up to President Snow's mansion, and we come to a halt. The music ends with a flourish. The president, a small, thin man with paper-white hair, gives the official welcome from a balcony above us. It is traditional to cut away to the faces of the tributes during the speech. But I can see on the screen that we are getting way more than our share of airtime. The darker it becomes, the more difficult it is to take your eyes off our flickering. When the national anthem plays, they do make an effort to do a quick cut around to each pair of tributes, but the camera holds on the District 12 chariot as it parades around the circle one final time and disappears into the Training Center. The doors have only just shut behind us when we're engulfed by the prep teams, who are nearly unintelligible as they babble out praise. As I glance around, I notice a lot of the other tributes are shooting us dirty looks, which confirms what I've suspected, we've literally outshone them all. Then Cinna and Portia are there, helping us down from the chariot, carefully removing our flaming capes and headdresses. Portia extinguishes them with some kind of spray from a canister. I realize I'm still glued to Peeta and force my stiff fingers to open. We both massage our hands. "Thanks for keeping hold of me. I was getting a little shaky there," says Peeta. "It didn't show," I tell him. "I'm sure no one noticed." "I'm sure they didn't notice anything but you. You should wear flames more often," he says. "They suit you." And then he gives me a smile that seems so genuinely sweet with just the right touch of shyness that unexpected warmth rushes through me. A warning bell goes off in my head. Don't be so stupid. Peeta is planning how to kill you, I remind myself. He is luring you in to make you easy prey. The more likable he is, the more deadly he is. But because two can play at this game, I stand on tiptoe and kiss his cheek. Right on his bruise.