#just thinking about them in queenstown

[ladylooch]

How Country Feels - [Mack X David]

A/N: I am so excited to bring this to you today for many reasons. First of all, it’s Mack and David in Iowa. So we know it’s smutty and adorable. BUT! Mostly I am excited to give this as a gift to my bestest bestie @casualhilarity. You graduated!!!!! From your really tough 6 week training program and I am so so so so so so proud of you! There was never a doubt that you would be successful in this adventure. This step is just the beginning for you. I cannot wait to see what is next! In the meantime, please enjoy our thoughts on Iowa coming to life in the longest post I have ever made on Tumblr 🥹💜

Word count: 8.2k

Warnings: mentions of death, cancer, grief, smut (18+ content)

10,000 feet above Des Moines, Iowa, Mackenzie Hischier looks out the window as her plane begins to descend from her connecting flight from LAX. She has been flying across the world for almost 18 hours trying to get here. Queenstown, New Zealand was home for her the past three weeks. Her internal clock is all sorts of fucked up from the massive time swing she is going through, but she was able to sleep in sync with the Central Time Zone on her first flight. She is hopeful that will curb some of her jet lag. 

The landscape below is much different from the crystal blue water and rigid mountain peaks she came from. Instead, it is flat and vast, various different shades of greens and brows. It’s also windy. She scrunches her nose as the plane swings a bit to the left before continuing on at a smoother pace. There is not much out here to block the wind, but thousands of windmills dot the prairie below them to capture the best energy source nature can give this area. Mack has never been to Iowa, or the Midwest outside of Chicago, which doesn’t feel or look anything like what she is seeing. 

Shortly after landing, Mack walks out of the secure area, heading down to baggage claim 2. As she gets closer to the carousal, she sees a tall man with a thick black mustache, blue jeans, and a plain white t-shirt stretched across his broad chest. His hands are stuffed in his pockets as he leans against the wall by baggage claim 2, boot clad feet crossed over at the ankles. A worn, NYR baseball cap is on his head, hiding his green eyes that are devouring her even as they hide in the shadow of the bill. Mack can see the toothpick in his mouth as she gets closer. He pushes off from the wall, starting to walk towards her. Never in her life did she think she would do this, but her pace quickens and she hustles her ass across that tiled floor to be picked up by him.

“Hi!” She exclaims as she throws herself at him. He catches her easily, hauling her up his chest, both big hands clutching her ass.

“Hi honey.” He grins up at her. Mack licks her lips, then puts them on his. He squeezes her tighter into their kiss. “Mmm, missed that. Missed you.” He lets her slide down his body, Vans hitting the tile again. “Thought it was winter in New Zealand. How are you so tan?”

“There was so much sun! We got lucky pretty much the whole trip.” This trip was with two of her colleagues because it is a big feature with the magazine. Mack is grateful they had a photographer so she could focus more on the stories of the locals and less about getting the perfect shot for print.

“Good. Glad it worked out for you, baby.” He says, wrapping an around around her shoulders. “You tired?”

“Um, yeah. Don’t let me fall asleep.” She mumbles into his side.

“I won’t. You’re in Iowa now. We gotta work when we get back to the farm.” Mack’s eyes widen. She looks up at him with concern. David starts to laugh.

“I’m kidding. Work is done for the day.” 

“But tomorrow?”

“It begins all over again. Gotta feed the cows, let the chickens roam, check fence, and a thousand other tasks.”

“Hard working boy.”

“Yeah.” He grins proudly. The beeping of the baggage claim alerts them before the metal begin to turn. David sees Mack’s bag and steps forward, easily hauling it off. “Just this?” Mack nods. “Let’s go baby.” He holds a hand out for her to take. She laces their fingers together, surprised at how rough his hands feel. Her gaze travels up his arm to his bicep, noting it is rock hard and bulging even without flexing.

“How long of a drive is it?” She asks after they are tucked into David’s big, black truck. He whips it fast and easy out of the parking spot, then roars the diesel engine out of the parking ramp. 

“Ah, about an hour.” He tells her, sliding his hand over to cup her thigh. She weaves her fingers through his. He squeezes them tight. “Plenty of time for you to tell me everything about your trip.” Mack smiles, adjusting herself in the passenger seat so she can look at him while she talks. She loves talking to David. As great as everything else is with him, he is a great listener and always asks the best, most insightful questions about her work. She could talk to him for hours. When she is done, she switches the topic of conversation to him.

“Tell me about the farm. What can I expect?”

“Um,” He chuckles, nudging his hat up off his forehead to scratch an itch. “Well, it’s pretty quiet out there. We are about 15 minutes south of the town closest to us. It has been hot this summer, so I hope you got some summer clothes in there.” Mack does. She packed as accordingly as she could. “Hours are long. I’ll be up before you and come back around dinner time.”

“Oh, I thought you have staff?” Mack questions.

“I do, but someone needs to manage them.” David says. “My farm manager is off on vacation right now. Usually takes the whole month of August off and leaves it to me before he is back to managing it on his own when I head East.” 

“Oooo, you’re the boss.” Mack giggles.

“Yeah of the farm and you.” He quips. Mack rolls her eyes. He is not the boss of her, but he can keep pretending he is.

“Am I gonna see you while I’m here?” She jokes. David licks his lips and nods.

“Yeah, I’ll be able to step away. I have some things planned for us too. Figure I could take you back up to the state fair next week. Get you something on a stick.” Mack gives him a weird look. “You ever been to a state fair? County fair? Nothing?” Mack shakes her head no to both. “Holy shit.” He chuckles.

“At least I don’t think we did when we lived in Jersey. I don’t know that was a long time ago.”

“A fair is where you eat fried food, mostly on a stick, and play games to win prizes, drinks some beer or other frozen drinks to stay cool. Farmers and 4H kids bring their animals to the fair to be judged.”

“What is 4H?” Mack wrinkles her nose in confusion. David looks slack jawed at her. 

“Oh baby. It’s gonna be a whole different world here for you.” He laughs like it’s cute to him.  

Mack feels the first itch of apprehension tickle her spine.

She has been all over the world, but she may be completely out of her league here. 

- - -

The moment Mack steps out of David’s truck in the parking lot of the local watering hole, she can hear the consistent beat of the country song thumping in the tiny bar. David says its a bar, but to Mack it honestly looks like a shack she would avoid if she was alone. After getting a tour of the farm earlier, David informed Mack they were going to be meeting his friends for drinks. He has been talking her up all summer and they’re all eager to get a glimpse of this mystery woman who has stolen David’s heart.

Mack purses her lips for a moment, then looks down at her outfit. She is dressed in a flowing black, long sleeved top from Dior and Black frayed shorts from a boutique in Paris, paired with a Gucci belt. On her feet are black and white Nike Air Force ones. She has on various expensive, designer jewelry and a Prada cross-body bag her mom and dad got her for her last birthday. David had told her she looked good for where he was taking her. She feels very, very overdressed, like even her silk pajamas would be too fancy for this place.

“David.” Mack mumbles when she meets him at the back of the truck. He grabs her hand in his.

“What?” He asks. He is in dark jeans with a blue and white, light weight flannel. His sleeves are rolled up his forearms, exposing his tattoos and the tan skin from a summer of hard work. He took a shower and styled his hair perfectly with a crisp part and a perfect swoop.

“I am so overdressed.”

“What do you mean?” He asks. “You look great?” Mack doesn’t know how to tell him that she is pretty sure her outfit costs more than this bar does. “Don’t worry about it. You’re beautiful and sexy and you’re walking in on my arm. No one is going to mess with you.” Mack snorts and then starts to laugh.

“I wasn’t thinking that, but I’m trying to make a good impression.”

“Babe, they are going to love you. Trust me.”

Within an hour, Mack senses that isn’t going to be the case. 

She can feel the judgement. Detect the way it crawls over her body from his friends. The looks of “not one of us” and the whispers between the girls. She has been talked about enough behind her back throughout life to know when it’s happening right in front of her face. It started when she tried to order a Paloma. The bartender had looked at her like she grew a second head. She glances at David nervously.

“Curley, it’s tequila, grapefruit juice and lime. You got all that shit behind the bar.” David gestures to the wall of liquor. 

“You wanna come make it David?” Curley asks.

“Fuck. Sure.” David shrugs, going behind the bar and showing Curley how to put the drink together. “You think you got that for next time?” Curley did not look like he had it for next time, so Mack switches to tequila and soda instead. 

The conversation around her has centered on all things farm and rural life. What so and so is up to now. Who had a baby. Who just got divorced. Who was cheating on who. It all seemed very juvenile and uninteresting to Mack. David stayed out of it for the most part, listening along with Mack until his friends, Cody and Trevor, started talking Iowa Hawkeye football. Then she lost him to that.

Mack fingers the cocktail napkin that is soaked with condensation below her glass. It’s times like these where Mack feels so out of place in a country she is a citizen off. She knows this isn’t a full, direct correlation of America, but how can she be more out of place here than when she was in Tokyo last year? Or she can get down and dirty in the rice fields of Thailand and feel more connection with locals who don’t speak the same language than she can in the center of the country she was born in.

David’s lips on her temple break her internal discourse. Mack smiles at him. He rubs her shoulder as if to ask “you good?” She nods at him, smiling reassuringly. 

Dun, nu, nu sounds through the bar speakers, then the whole group slaps their hands on the table. “Woo!” They yell. Then Dun, Nu, Nu. Slap, “Woo!” The whole table erupts excitedly, as a man begins to drawl over the sound system. The table turns to look at David, screaming out the next lyrics, “You were raised on an asphalt farm!” Mack blinks, feeling lost. David tips his head back, laughing loudly.

“Davey! It’s your song!” A girl who Mack can’t remember her name, screams then chugs more of her Miller Lite. 

“Get up and swing your asphalt girl around.” Mack’s eyes widen. David chuckles, tapping her thigh assuringly. 

“No, we are good.” David knows Mack would rather be a metal sign on the wall of the bar than get up when no one else is dancing. Being on display is not her thing. She is grateful for that until she sees the sneering glares of the two women at the end of the table.

“Oh, she’s too good for dancing too.” Mack faintly hears.

Mack looks at David. She can tell he didn’t hear what she heard. Not surprising with how loud his other male friends are signing along to the country song. Mack looks down at the girls, noticing how they avoid direct eye contact with her. The blonde one puts her hand up to her mouth, whispering in the red head’s ear. Then they both giggle. 

“No, let’s dance.” Mack suddenly says to David. She isn’t going to let two, small town, hick bitches intimidate her. 

“What?” He responds, surprised. 

“Yeah, show me what you got cowboy.” She jokes as she stands.

The entire table sucks in a huge, deep breath.

“Oooooooo She is in trouble.” One of the boys mumbles. David gives her a sympathetic smile.

“We aren’t cowboys, honey. We are farmers.”

“What is the difference?” Mack scoffs, laughing, thinking he is pulling her leg. David winces slightly at the large yelp of the table behind him, then grabs Mack, pushing her towards the center of the bar.

“I’ll show you later.” He chuckles, kissing her mouth. 

“Did I say something wrong?”

“Ah, no. They’re just sensitive. Don’t quite understand how other people are outside of these state lines.” Mack gets quiet, retreating into herself again. David practically drags her around in a circle because she is shutting down internally. “Hey…” He trails off. “This is all new to you. It’s okay.” 

“They don’t like me.” She looks at the center of his chest as she says it, not wanting to see the confirmation on his face.

“Nah, they just don’t know you, sweetheart. A lot of layers to your onion.” David can twist into any which way that he wants, but they both know Mack is right. They don’t like her… right now at least.

When Mack and David head back to the table after their dance, the mood at the table has seemed to shift. Now, they all ignore her. 

“How is the herd looking, Trent?” David asks the guy across from Mack. David’s hand is around her shoulder, rolling his fingers in a circle over the thin material of her shirt.

“Should be a good year.” Trent says. “We really need it. Been hurting the last few.”

“Yeah, we all have.” David nods. “Weather has been shit. Can’t out work that.”

“We can sure fucking try tho.” Trent grins, then clinks beer bottles with him. David brings his over to clink with Mack’s glass. She does so. Trent sucks at his teeth, making a slight slurping noise after swallowing more beer. 

“Mack, where did you grow up?”

“In New Jersey before we moved back to where my dad is from in Switzerland.” He nods.

“You have a job growing up or anything?” David cocks his head to the side at Trent. “I’m just trynna find something to relate to her with.” He justifies.

“Um, no. My parents wanted us to focus on school.” Trent sighs like he is disappointed. 

"Must be nice to have a daddy who was able to give you anything you wanted. Didn’t have to work your way through high school to make ends meet.” 

“Trent, knock it off.” David snaps. “Mack knows what hard work is.”

“Does she? Cause the rest of us aren’t thinking she does.”

“Hey, don’t speak for all of us.” Cody snaps. “Drink your beer and shut up.”

“I’m just thinking that it must be nice to have an NHL daddy who can call in a favor to get you a job where you barely have to work as an adult too.” David stands up, chair knocking back to the floor. He reaches across the table to grab Trent, hauling him up to a standing position. 

“Apologize, right now, and I won’t smear you into the wood floor your daddy installed.” 

“I-I-I’m sorry. I think I’m drunk.”

“No shit.” David sneers, shoving Trent back into his chair. The rest of the table goes ghostly silent. Other bar patrons look over their shoulders at the group. Mack is flaming red over the embarrassment of the words thrown her direction and David’s intense reaction. She is equally mortified and turned on.

“I’m going to go to the bathroom.” Mack whispers as David kisses her cheek in reassurance. David gives her a sympathetic look, drowning apologetic eyes watching her as she heads to the back of the bar. 

Mack goes into the first stall, leaning her back into the tiled wall and covering her face. She sucks in deep breaths, trying not to cry. This night could not get any worse. She wants to leave so bad, but she has never been one to back down from a fight. She isn’t going to start now. She doesn’t want them having the satisfaction of seeing her rattled and vulnerable. No, she’ll throw her walls up and fake charm the pants off them. But first, she is going to grab some fresh air.

She heads through the double wood doors, walking down the parking lot, away from the posse of smokers out front. Her arms are crossed over her chest tightly trying to fight off the chill. She doesn’t understand how it can be so hot in the afternoon, but cool down in the evening. Another thing about Iowa she just “can’t understand”. Tears sting her eyes a bit. She feels dumb. Why is this bothering her so much? That guy is a douche. She knows who she is. She shakes off his words, running her fingers through her hair. Mack knows its because she wants to belong here with David. And from her perspective, so far this trip has been less than successful.

A big, heavy jacket comes around her shoulders. She looks to her right, seeing David. His eyes are boring into her, studying her face.

"Looking at the stars?" He asks her.

"Mhm." She looks up at the millions of little dots. Now this reminds her of being in the Swiss Mountains. The same sort of inky black sky dotted with delicate twinkles. He runs his fingers along her shoulder, resting on the back of her neck. He guides her into his side.

"Talk to me, Hisch." 

"I guess I don't have much in common with this version of you.” Her European accent drips into her voice. She is surprised to hear that. It only comes out when she is feeling emotional, creating a difficulty with keeping a Western dialect. David grabs the opening of his jacket on her, tugging so she turns completely towards him. He steps forward, crowding her space. He brings a big paw to her chin, tilting her face up to his.

“What version?” He asks, laughing it off. “Baby, I am who I am. No matter where I am.” He brushes her hair back behind her ear. “And you’re everything I’ve dreamed of.” Mack can see how much he means it. It’s in his touch on her cheek, in his gaze stroking along hers, in the sureness of his voice. She nods. He captures her lips. The kiss is soft, sweet sucks and gentle nudging of his tongue against her bottom lip. His other hand winds around her waist, pressing into her lower back to keep her tight to him.

David says the right things, but that kiss says more to Mack than his words ever could.

His lips on hers erase it all- the insecurity, the doubt, the not belonging, the not good enough.

He grounds her because he knows what she needs immediately, sometimes before she even knows. But tonight, it is his physical reassurance soothing her more than anything. He towers over her, shielding her from everything with his muscular body, and consumes her in a way that feels safe not smothering. 

"Just say the word and I'll go back in there to straighten Trent out." Truthfully, having him storm back in there would be so fucking hot. She would get to watch him teach Trent a lesson and get all hot and bothered between her thighs. 

“What is the other option?” She murmurs.

“I take you home. We can spend the rest of the night by ourselves.”

Mack contemplates what home entails. She wants him to hold her hand in his dark truck the whole way home. She craves for him to undress her slowly in that small house. His boots hitting the floor at the foot of the bed while he urges her to lay back so he can take his time undressing her. She needs his rough, calloused hands on her soft hips as he pulls her panties down her legs. Then she wants him soft and slow, gently thrusting deep into her in a missionary position as he irritates her lips with his mustache.

And that’s exactly what Mack gets. 

“You look so good for me, honey. So wet and soft and perfect. Take me so well.” He praises her from where he holds his weight above her. His hot breath dances over her face, coated in light beer and her from his previous perch between her thighs. Mack is blissed out, drunk on him and the stroking of him against the walls of her pussy. 

“David.” She sighs, collecting him to her chest. He presses his to hers and then rolls his tongue into her mouth. He gathers her moans, sucking them up greedily so they are only his tonight. He fucks her deeper, harder, perfect bucks into her wet heat. “Fuck you’re so good. So fucking good.” She cries.

“Yeah? Best?”

“Yeah!” She yells.

“Say my name, sweetheart. Say who makes you feel this good.”

“You! David!” She howls.

“Good girl. My girl.” He groans. Mack’s inner walls clench him, pulling him deeper with each flutter of her getting closer and closer to the edge. Her heels dig into his butt, forcing him to stay right fucking there. She turns her face into his neck, sinking her teeth into him as she comes. 

Afterwards, David plays with her fingers as she lays on his sweaty chest. He kisses her forehead, inhaling the scent of her deeply. He keeps his face there afterwards, as Mack starts to go limp in his arms. Her eyelashes brush gently against his warm skin. He shifts her hips a bit, turning to the side so she can lay more comfortable in the crook of his arm.

“Goodnight, honey.” He whispers on her forehead. Then kisses her a final time before leaving her to her slumber. 

- - -

Two weeks into her trip, Mack is still having some trouble adjusting to Iowa. Every thing is completely different here. The grocery store, the little town he took her into, the restaurant options and drinks, even the air is different! It’s laced with manure and dust, making her nose plugged up so she constantly has to drainage. Her eyes have been almost swollen shut every morning of that first week.

“Do you have allergies?” David had asked her. Mack didn’t think so, but she’s also never been to a place quite like this. After a few days of Zyrtec, Mack can finally breathe through both nostrils.

In celebration, and because she is admittedly very bored, she gets into the shower. It’s the only thing in the farm house that is modern. David likes to take long showers after working in the field all day to get clean and relax. He’ll bring a can of Coors Light in with him and have some alone time. Mack thinks is is adorable, getting to see his self-care routine in Iowa. He doesn’t do this after games in NYC, but she thinks that might be because his adrenaline is usually still roaring after hockey. His favorite post-game routing has seemingly been sex. 

After getting clean and putting on some light make up, along with a sundress, Mack got to work putting together a meal for them. She opted for easily transported items like chips, sandwiches, and cut up fruit. Then she made some lemonade from the cup of lemonade mix she found in the pantry. David loves Lemonade down here. She is starting to enjoy it too. This time she puts fresh strawberries in for a little extra sweetness. 

Mack glances out the front window to where two farm hands are working. She puts her feet in the cowboy boots David got her at the boot store in town when she first got here. They are more broken in now and are no longer hurting her feet, so she feels comfortable wearing them for today’s excursion. Then she grabs the basket and steps outside. 

Mack covers her eyes with her hand, looking out at the vastness of the farm. David took her on a tour her second day here, but she doesn’t remember anything. She worries about getting lost out there. She double checks that she has her phone. At least she seems to have good service here. 

“Um, hi.” Mack says nervously as she walks up to the two farm hands by the barn.

“Hi Mackenzie.” They greet her happily. Something about being the boss’ girlfriend she is sure.

“Mack is fine. Um, do you know where I can find David?” She holds up the basket with their lunch. “I want to bring him lunch.”

“Oh, he is in the far back 40 on the edge of the farm property.” One of them says. 

“Okay. And I can get there with that?” She points to the small utility vehicle they whip around on the front of the farm. 

“Yeah….” They trial off, giving each other a look. “Do you know how to get there?”

“I know everything branches off from this road, she points to the left. But after that I am a little lost.”

“I can take you.” The older one, who seems to be more in charge says. “We can take the truck.” Mack nods. “I can put that in the bed for ya.” He hoists it over into the truck bed, then they both get into the cab. 

“What is your name?” She asks once they start down the dirt road. Rocks kick up against the mud flaps and the underbelly of the truck, making her have to yell a bit over to him.

“Felix.”

“Nice to meet you.” She smiles politely. “Thank you for taking me.”

“Of course. Mr. David says you are our special guest. Can’t let you get lost out here.” Mack blushes, biting her bottom lip. 

“Oh I don’t know about that. How long have you worked on the farm?”

“About 25 years. I worked for Mr. Chuck before Mr. David.” Mack knows Chuck is David’s dad. She doesn’t ask, but wonders if he was there when Chuck passed away on the farm.

“That is nice. You must like it here?”

“Yes, they are fair to their workers and their families. Last year, my wife had cancer. The treatment was expensive. We had to travel up to Mayo Clinic in Minnesota. But Mr. David paid for the whole thing and kept my job. My wife has now been in remission for five months.” Felix does the sign of a cross then kisses his lips in praise. 

“Wow.” Mack murmurs. David never told her that.

“He is special. Nothing like his siblings.” Felix’s face seems to cloud over. “We are happy he bought them out of the farm.” Another thing Mack wasn’t aware of. “He has made changes, some hard to learn at first, but all have been good. For us and him. More money and security. People on other farms around here want to work for him the most.” Pride swells in Mack’s chest at hearing that.

Felix turns to the right, heading away from the road and out for a few minutes. They come over a hill, down into a valley where Mack see’s David’s black truck. She frowns, realizing he is out here working alone.

“Is he always out here alone?” She wonders.

“No, just today.” He says. “It’s a hard day for him.” Mack furrows her brows, but nods along. He didn’t say anything before they left. He seemed normal too.The truck comes to a slowed stop. David is working along the fence line. He wipes his forehead with his forearm, looking up at the truck. He sees Felix, then grins huge when he sees Mack.

“Felix! Look at you bringing me pretty little things after busting me for that in high school.” Felix roars with laughter, his big chest shaking as he leans out the rolled down window. 

“This one seems a little less crazy.”

“Eh, you don’t know her like I do.” David winks. He tosses his tools into the cab of his truck. “Stay here, honey.” He says to her. Mack stays put, letting David come to her door. He opens it up, then gives her his hand to help pull her down safely from the high farm truck. “You okay?”

“Yeah, I brought lunch to you.” 

“Oh?” He wiggles his eyebrows, then drags his gaze along her body in her blue, linen sundress. 

“Actual food.” She fills him in. He quips a smirk at her, then leans down to kiss her. 

“Basket in the back, sir.” Felix says.

“How many times do I have to say not to call me that?” David rolls his eyes.

“How many times I gotta tell you it’s about respect?” Felix quips back. Mack smiles. She likes Felix a lot. She can see herself getting to know him more over the next few weeks. 

“Fine. Hey, when you get back up can you tell Becks to get to the N.E. pasture and start working some of the cows into N.D. pasture instead? I don’t think I’m going to get to that today.”

“You bet. I’ll have Reed go with him too. That kid needs to get the hell off my project.”

“He’s a little wild.” David acknowledges. “That’s why he is with you.” David reminds Felix who sighs heavily. “Look what you did with me.” He grins. 

Felix waves and drives off back to the barn after David hauls the picnic basket out of the back. 

“I brought a blanket too.” Mack pulls it out of her bag that she had slung across her shoulder. David drops the tailgate of his truck, then lays the blanket along the back.

“That’s good otherwise your thighs would be burning in that short dress.”

“Is it short?”

“Honey, you know it is.” He slaps her ass to prove his point, getting some of her bare cheek against his palm. Mack leans forward, feeling the fabric slide further up her thighs as she digs in the picnic basket. David runs his fingers up from her knee to cup her ass. He reaches for her arm, pulling her away from the food. “Want something else first.” He sighs against her mouth.

“What if someone comes to find you?” She weakly protests. She had this in mind for lunch too.

“They’ll call me.” He murmurs against her mouth. “Trust me, I don’t want any of my guys seeing you, honey. I wouldn’t take the chance if I didn’t think it was safe.” Mack nods, believing him completely.

He wraps an arm around her waist, pinning her tight to him. His hard cock protrudes from beneath his zipper, pulsing for Mack to touch. Her fingers, clutch the back of his neck, feeling his skin sweaty and hot beneath her fingers. He smells sexy like sweat and deodorant that works just as hard as her man. It’s hot, sexy as fuck to the point that Mack wraps her leg around his waist to grind against him.

David moves his mouth from hers and presses kisses along her throat. He sucks her skin hard into his mouth at the nook of her neck and shoulder, then continues down. Mack arches back, letting her head fall back so he can access her chest completely. His lips continue their path over the swell of her left breast, then he nudges the fabric to the side. Her nipple pebbles in the sunlight, pink and beautiful, just for him. He opens his lips, pulling it in. His tongue strokes over her sensitive peak, then creates a wet trail to the other one, grabbing it between his lips. He lets that one go with a final slurp, then goes back to kiss her mouth. 

“Mmm.” Mack hums. Her fingers go to his belt, working it apart. She pulls his hard length out of his jeans and underwear, stroking along his shaft, feeling the velvet skin tight in her hand. She works her fingers up to his head, stroking until his slit releases pre-cum. 

“Fuck.” He groans, breaking away from their kiss. David turns Mack, lifting her dress up over her ass and pulling her bare skin back to his. He works his cock between her ass, savoring how she grinds her cheeks against him while he holds her tight by her stomach. He kisses her shoulder, tasting her warm, vanilla skin. 

“Bend over.” He growls before she reaches between their bodies and holds his balls, stealing his breath. She rolls them over in her hand as she lays forward obediently. Her right cheek presses into the blanket she brought. David moves her dress up, pulling her thong underwear down for her ankles to hold. David strokes his cock as he puts two fingers at Mack’s entrance, testing her. She is soaked, almost dripping down those creamy thighs for him. He curses again, then plunges into her welcoming heat.

Mack’s arms stretch above her head, gripping the blanket in her palms. Her hard nipples stroke against the ridges of the truck bed with each direct thrust of him into her. David works his hands off her hips to the front of her thighs, keeping his hands there to protect her from the lip of the tailgate. His lips kiss her spine, then he get into position to fuck her hard and fast just like she begs for. The truck suspension squeaks from his powerful pumps.

“So good.” Mack calls back. She opens her eyes, taking in the surrounding Iowa wilderness, grinning at how sexy it is to be fucked by this man right here. Maybe she could be a country girl after all. She giggles.

“What?” He asks her.

“Maybe I am a country girl.” 

“By the time I’m done with you, you will be.” He laughs, slapping her ass with his abdomen with each drill of his cock into her. 

“Oh.” She groans, felling like a completely, coming undone mess at what he is doing with her. His unhooked belt slaps the outside of her thigh as it swings. She moves one hand from above her head, bringing it to her clit to roll it in rapid circles. “David…” She moans loudly, letting her voice go, carrying out across the field.

“Mmm, yeah. Let the world hear you baby. Let everyone know who’s pussy this belongs to.” He brings a hand under her stomach, arching her lower back and hips up so he can drive at a different angle. Mack’s eyes roll into the back of her head, almost securing to her brain at how incredible his cock feels pressing into her velvet circle. 

“Right there. Davey, please don’t stop. Never stop.” Mack wails. 

“Not until you coat this cock, sweetheart.” He assures her. “This what you wanted, huh? Made your man a little meal so he would stuff you full of his thick cock?”

“Yeah!” Mack admits shamelessly. “Ohmyg-“ Mack chokes on the last word as the intensity of her orgasm rips the breath from her lungs. 

“Oh fuck. Baby yes.” He moans, losing control at the hard flutters of her around him. “So fucking good, baby. Perfect for me.” His hoarse voice coos at her as he paints ropes of cum on her walls.

Their heavy breathing makes them hot, sweat beginning to bead along their spines as they lay limply against each other on the truck bed. Then, David straightens up, gliding himself out of Mack gently. She whimpers at the emptiness, wishing he would stay there for a little longer. He delicately drops her dress back over her butt after bringing her panties up into place. She turns, leaning on the tailgate as her legs shake. David tucks himself back into his pants, buckling his belt before focusing back on her. He grips her chin with his thumb and pointer finger, giving her a soft, wet kiss. 

“You are amazing.” He sighs. Mack grins into their kiss.

“You too. Never felt like this.” She whispers, holding him by the back of his neck against her forehead. Never thought she would admit things like this to someone either. But as per usually, David is scratching out all of her rules and rewriting new ones, like spending weeks in America’s heartland and turning down jobs from her editor.

“I’m starving. What did you bring us?” David asks, picking her up and setting her on the tailgate behind her so she can reach the picnic basket. She brought them turkey sandwiches with fresh lettuce, tomatoes, and homemade pesto mayo she put together yesterday afternoon. All the flavors have marinated deliciously together, creating a flavor bomb in her mouth. 

“Holy shit. This is amazing. Thank you!” His genuine appreciation makes Mack’s chest warm. She smiles coyly, with her mouth full of food. He leans down to kiss her. Mack gently chews the rest of her bite, looking over at David who is devouring his sandwich is two more huge bites. She chuckles, then licks her lips before speaking.

“So Felix said today is a hard day for you?” Everything about David’s demeanor changes like a snap. His face darkens. He begins to fidget next to her, slightly pulling away as his body gets rigid. He sniffs, then takes a big glug of lemonade from the mason jar. 

“Yeah.” Mack hesitates, remaining quiet while watching him stuff some chips in his mouth. Then she puts her sandwich down on the plate next to her, turning to sit facing him. She puts her hand on his thigh, continuing to stay quiet until David sighs heavily. “My mom died ten years ago today.” Mack stills, then rolls her bottom lip into her mouth. 

“I’m so sorry.” David nods, clearing his throat.

“This date every year I come out here and fix fence and talk to her. Tell her about what I’ve been up to the last year. Cry a little bit. Then go clean off her and dad’s grave and put some fresh flowers down from her rose garden by the house.”

“That sounds like a nice way to honor her.” Mack murmurs, moving her hand from his thigh to his hand, lacing their fingers together. He brings the back of her hand up to his mouth, kissing along her knuckles.

“It is. Unfortunately, I’ve had ten years to get the tradition perfect.” He sighs. “Every year on this date though, it feels like it just happened.” Mack can imagine so. “Sucks.” He sniffs again. Mack rubs her thumb along the tendons of his hand.

“Will you tell me about her?”

“She was hilarious. Spunky as shit. Had to be with how crazy my siblings and I were in our younger days. We used to pretend to be super heroes and jump off the barn into the hay. It was all fun and games unless you were a bit off…. Or got pushed off like me.” Mack’s eyes widen. “But my mom was always watching out the window and would rip my brothers a new asshole anytime they were picking on me. She was strong and full of joy. She loved worked in her garden. A few of the plants have died off over the years cause of deep freezes, but most of those rose bushes are hers. I hire Felix’s wife to tend to them in the summer so they’re always taken care of. Mom would have wanted that, since she isn’t here to do it…” 

Mack squeezes his hand then brings her other hand up to run over his back. She rests her mouth on his bicep, continuing to listen while holding him. 

“I think that’s why it was so hard when she got sick.” His voices starts to get tight. Tears pinch Mack’s eyes. “That… but also she has missed so much. She didn’t get to see me graduate from high school or college. Didn’t see me get drafted or my first game in the NHL. At least my dad was there for those, but it wasn’t the same. He didn’t have the words like she would have when I struggled to stay up in the NHL those first few years or the way he rode my ass when I was home every summer to be a better farmer.” David shakes his head. 

“It’s like every year something happens that I’m sad she isn’t here for. This year, I’m sad she doesn’t get to know you.” Mack’s bottom lip shakes as two tears go down her cheeks. He turns his lips into her hair, then continues to talk against her head. “She would have loved you- strong, independent, sassy, and so pretty you could bring even the most stubborn man to his knees.” Mack smiles, cupping his cheek to hold him against her. “Those dimples… baby.” He sighs, “they get me every time.” 

“I hope she still likes me now… even from wherever she is watching over you.”

“I think so.” He smiles. 

“Could I go with you to their resting place?”

“Yes, of course you can. I just gotta check the rest of this fence and then we can go.”

“Thank you for telling me. I didn’t know…”

“I know. I’m sorry. I don’t like talking about it. Probably why Felix told you.” Mack nods, understanding that Felix was looking out for David too when he told Mack about today on the drive down. 

Mack and David finished their lunches and she helps him check fence. She walked the line with him and pointed out normal fence she thought looked bad and he taught her about what to look for instead. When they were done, they loaded up into David’s truck, then drove back towards the house.

The house is just comes into view when David peels off to the right and drives to an open unassuming field. There is no fencing, just in ground stones that mark the Carlson members that are buried on the farm. David grabs a bucket full of cleaning supplies. He gives Mack the flowers he picked earlier that had been resting in a bucket of water, then takes her hand to walk over to his parents grave. 

Mack begins to cry immediately, feeling so overwhelmed with sadness for David. And his parents. For everything they have missed. For the people she will never know. For all the moments that David will never get to have with them and how fucking cruel it is that he has to go through that for the rest of his life. All those happy days will have a shade of grey because of who is missing. It’s not fair. She wants to change that for him, ease some of that, but instead, all she can really do is cry sympathetically. 

When they get to his father, Charles E. Carlson’s headstone, David drops her hand and puts his work gloves on. He uses his tools to cut away the over grown grass and weeds. Then he grabs the soapy water and rags to clean the dirty away from the head stone. Mack kneels off to the side, by his mother’s stone, watching quietly, sensing her help is not wanted. This seems methodical and therapeutic to David.

He rests his butt on his heels while he looks down. He presses his palm on his dad’s name, then works his way to his mom’s and does the same thing. This time, wet tear drops fall from his eyes onto the dusty stone as he cleans the grime off. Mack swallows hard, new tears of her own falling down. David puts his left hand on his mother’s name, Beatrice. Mack reaches out, putting hers on top of his. David opens his right arm for her to slide into his side. Then he holds her close.

Mack doesn’t know, but while he holds her tight, David is telling his mom, where ever she is resting, that the girl in his arms is the one.

- - -

Mack can’t believe it is her second to last night here.

As different as it all was when she first got here a month ago, her and David have settled into a nice routine. Every morning starts early, with a romp in the sheets. Sometimes fast, sometimes slow, always incredible though. After that, Mack wanders down in his shirt to make him coffee and some eggs to wolf down fast after his shower. She sits with him at the table as he tells her all the different chores he has for the day. She asks questions. He patiently answers. 

Then, after a long smooch with wandering calloused hands, he heads out to the field. Mack will meet him for lunch, or if it’s too hot, he comes into the kitchen to take a break in the air conditioning. They spend 10 minutes of his hour long lunch eating and the other 50 devouring each other. On the tail gate, on the kitchen table, on the kitchen floor, on the couch- wherever they can make it to before their clothes start falling to the floor.

David will return back to his chores, then come home around dinner time. Him and Mack trade off making dinner. He likes to grill for her as she tries different self- prepared marinades with fresh produce from the farm’s garden. Then they end the night watching the sunset on the front porch, which is where they are right now.

The porch swing sways gently from David’s light rocking. A calm, cooling breeze blows through the wrap around porch that hugs the white farmhouse his family built generations ago. Mack thinks about her flight in two days that is supposed to connect her with Newark before she will turn around in 24 hours to head towards Aruba. Dread pinches her stomach uncomfortably. She has started to fall in love with this place and all of it’s differences that she hated 4 weeks ago. David is staying here for two more weeks. He would be returning to New York a few days after she gets home from Aruba.

Mack looks down at his forearm across her stomach. Her fingers tips drag along his tanned skin, watching the goosebumps form on him from her touch. An emotional sigh falls from her lips. His lips touch her hair in recognition, fingers pressing deeper into her side.

“You okay?” 

“I don’t want to leave.” She confesses. He moves so her back falls across his lap. His other arm catches her head in the cook of his elbow. “Wanna stay here with you.” She whispers, reaching up for his face. 

“Baby, if you wanna stay you can, but if you need to go, that’s okay too. There is a whole life of yours outside of me.”

“I know. But it can wait until I’m ready to rejoin it.” David smiles down at her. His fingers run up from her stomach, along her left breast, to cup her cheek. Mack presses up to meet his lips. His hand tangles in her wild, country hair, gripping her tight to his mouth so he can taste her thoroughly. 

“You’re sure? I don’t want you to feel like you have to stay here.”

“I don’t.” She assures him, gripping his wrist where that hand still holds her face. His thumb rubs a track across her cheek bone, looking into her brown eyes. 

“Okay. Then stay. I want that.” He admits. “Was feeling really sad in the field this morning, thinking about driving you up to the airport.” Mack smiles, nodding in agreement. He pulls her up to kiss him again, then lets her head settle in his lap as she wiggles down. Her hair splays across his thigh as he works his finger prints gently into her scalp. Her eyes flutter, wanting to close and give into how good this feels. 

Mack loves the salty breeze off the ocean, the sand between her toes, and the way the pace of island life is unapologetically slow.

But not even that can compete with how good it feels here in David’s arms on his front porch swing.

More Mack & David can be found here.

#Mackdavid au #my writing #hockey fan fiction

[islandtarochips]

Call of Duty: Black OPS OC - Koa Nikau

General:

Name: Koa

Full Name: Koa Nikau

Codename: “Hunter”, Kaiwhaiwhai (his team called him that)

Alias(es): Koa, Te Kaikino (by the comrades who knows about his past relationship)

Age: 45

Gender: Male

Nationality: New Zealander

Languages Spoken: Maori (Main Language), English, Samoan (Conversational)

Date of Birth: March 5th

Place of Birth: Queenstown, New Zealand

Height: 6’3ft/190cm

Sexuality: Heterosexual

Marital Status: Single (Divorced)

Occupation: Captain of the New Zealand Army

Status: Unknown

Universe: Black Ops: Cold War

Faceclaim: Manu Bennett

(🤭🤭🤭)

Biography: Koa, a man who is trying to be better, has signed up in the military to make use of his anger that he always has in him. A man who is full of shame for abusing his ancestors name. Thinking this is the only way to make it up for being that man he was. Will he change during this time? Who knows.

AFFILIATIONS:

New Zealand Army:

General Aata Akahata

Colonel Tāne Arapeta

Lieutenant Rui Hehu

Sergeant Haimona Eruera

The Safehouse:

Alex Mason

Frank Woods

Russell Adler

Helen Parker

Lawrence Sims

Lazar Azoulay

Aleksandra “Aleks” Clarke R. (@alypink )

Bell

Skills and Abilities:

Weapons: Hunting Knife, Ka-Bar Knife, Glock 17, F88 Austeyr, Minimi, Benelli M3

Fighting Style: Hand-to-Hand Combat, Boxing, a bit of Martial Arts

Special Skills: Koa is an expert on huntings. Hiding in plain sight. Even though he’s a big guy, he knows how to stay stealthy if he wants to catch his prey. You should know why they called him “Hunter”.

Talents: He can fix broken vehicles very quickly and can do heavy lifts only about 300 pounds.

Shortcomings: He is very well short-tempered (Aly or Mason can calm him down and are the only exception from Koa) and always runs into things without even thinking. About his temper, he is still learning to control it so his team helped him out to calm him down.

Personality:

Myers-Briggs Type: ISFJ

Good Listeners: Koa is a very good listener during their conversations. As he doesn’t need a notepad to write down a very long lecture in a meeting. He has good memories with it too.

Advising: Most people think he’s not a wise guy but he does give good advice. He does. Observing is another thing of his and will think about it before advising the team about their plan.

Protective: He can be protective with his team. If you can imagine Koa seeing one of his teammates getting insulted for. He would step in and put them behind him as he started to warn them ONCE. No second chance.

BACKGROUND STORY:

Koa is a very gentle and kind man. Not from before though. For he was not the man of who is today. From his marriage.

Everything went well when he married a beautiful woman and had kids with her. He was married in his 20s. A bit too young to be married. But after a few years and having his 3rd child. He started to change. He started drinking, hanging out with his friends instead with his family and coming home late.

His wife started to get worried for him and a bit upset with him too. Trying to talk to him, it has upsetted and annoyed Koa as he started to harm her. Even with his own kids. His eldest daughter was the one who had tried to protect his wife from him.

Which had angered him even more. His family had put up with him for almost 16 years. And in his 30s, he’s still acting like how he was.

Doesn’t even CARE about his family. Doesn’t even care about his ancestors either. He thinks that they’re just a bunch of stupid legends. Trying to put people like him in his place. Well, he doesn’t fall for it. For he is a MAN.

Or so he thought he was.

Until, that one night. When he got home late at night after drinking with his brothers in arms (NOT). He heard his wife’s cry in the backyard. He doesn’t know why but something inside of him started aching as he ran inside the house and went to the back.

He froze in his place. His daughter…had unalive herself…a suicide. His world had crashed and his heart shattered into a million pieces.

A few days later after those incidents, his wife demanded a divorce. For she had enough of his foolishness and selfishness. Koa was about to fight back but the flashing memories of his dead daughter had stopped him. He just agreed and signed it before watching her taking his two sons and went off to live with her brother.

He was now all alone. No one who he could turn to. He wanted to get rid of the pain but not even drinks helped ease it down. It makes him even WORSE.

Getting into fights in the bars and getting kicked out from most of the places. It angers him but saddens him as well.

A few months have passed and he is still the same. Staying in his home and just laying around feeling miserable. Until someone came up to his doorstep and knocked on his door. Opening the door tiredly, he noticed a soldier was there. And had asked him if he’s interested in joining the army for their country.

Koa scoffed as he was about to slam the door before seeing the flier was given to him. He saw they paid a good amount of money. So he thought about it and started to sign up for it.

He finds it hard once he starts training. What’s even WORSE is that his Ex-Wife’s brother was in it too. And he has been taunting him ever since. Which makes it easier for Koa to be angry at and getting into trouble because of it.

It caught one of the Colonel’s sights. Colonel Tāne Arapeta and saw Koa’s struggles.

So he decided to take him under his wing and train him to channel that anger into strength.

Koa has been training with Tāne all those years and he started to grow more mature now. Understanding about his emotions. And realizing what he had done to his family. Which…it broke him so easily. Even after each missions he took, which he successfully succeeded, he didn’t bother to go back home.

But stayed in the group with Tāne. So Tāne took Koa in to meet with the other team that he had gathered with.

That’s when he met General Akahata, Lieutenant Hehu and Sergeant Eruera.

Koa was very honored to meet and did his best to work together with them. Succeeding so many missions under HIS command. With his strength and leadership. He’s started to change again. In a GOOD way.

After 9 years later (this is 1981 takes place), Koa had received a call from his General. Telling him that the CIA wanted him to join and assist with one of the American groups to complete the toughest mission. And there is no one else that his General could count on but him.

And that’s where he started to meet up with Adler and Aleks to meet the newest member of the team named “Bell”. At the safehouse.

Arthur's Note: Just to let you guys know. I made Koa's backstory as the inspiration from that movie that I've watched long time ago. Which it is called "Once Were Warriors". That's why I put it here in his story. It was very emotional and understanding about family and trying to learn to gain love again. And the only way to do that is that you need to change. And it's an ACTUAL Maori movies. But I don't know if that's an ACTUAL title since that was long time ago. It was sad... ANYWAY, hope you guys like Koa! (And don't worry, he's changing!)

Tagging these two for I did promise that I'll tag them once I'm done doing his info! Love ya peles! 😘❤️

@welldonekhushi @alypink

#koa nikau #cod black ops cold war oc #cod black ops oc #cod black ops cold war #koa hunter nikau #captain koa hunter nikau #captain koa nikau #captain hunter #captain nikau

[faithfromanewperspective]

remember being in a horrid shitty mood catching the bus back to my parents, thinking, if they just painted a bus lane on the fucking road my journey could take less than 45 minutes and be way more reliable. wondering why it isn't there, the infrastructure, surely i could afford the jail time if i just went out there and built it, they wouldn't tear it down right? footpaths and shit. cause it's still a pretty rural area. instead i'm sitting on the bus destroying my mental health, no wonder i feel better having moved out of the area, when every car that cuts in front of us and all the traffic we can't just zoom past feels like a personal put-down, an insult to my way of life that i've chosen because it's better for all of us, not just me.

and realising, when my head's out of the constant frustration of it having moved out to somewhere walkable, i can see it 'above the trees' if you will that i can whine and bitch about it all i can (and believe me i have) but any change like the one i want, is political. we do this for the city, we as the whole city do it together. of course it would be good, say the 3+ million of us living in greater brisbane, soon to be 4, 5, 6, 7 million in the leadup to 2032 and after, but it's the tragedy of the commons isn't it? my priority, say 3+ million minus one self-supporting adult in this soon-to-be megacity, is getting to work every day and putting food on the table. i've never had that strong of a survival drive, I'd rather do the right thing and invest my choices into something that makes for a better city than be able to work or eat but when it comes to my mental health? sometimes you've gotta learn the hard way, some things you can't change, and it's not worth losing everything over. you can't think if you're exposing yourself constantly to what's fucking up your brain like if i punished myself for the inaction of the city it might make it better.

i'm starting to learn it doesn't. change is political, it's about power, and people are like water (bear with me, i'm a hydrologist) because it takes volume, all going a certain way, to make the biggest impact. have the strongest force. erode grooves in rocks and wash away entire buildings (this is brisbane, we've seen it happen). what we need, is all these people, 3+ million of us and more, coming together around an idea. getting together, council can't do anything to stop a majority, not in australia at least, and the functionality of a city is something we all need. heck, traffic is bad for all of our mental health and i would bet both my kidneys that the impact of it on our lives and relationships is understudied and underreported exponentially. we can solve this, but individual choices alone don't do shit.

so i'll stop beating myself up for not being able to simply will all the traffic lights along my commute to be green, and turn the energy i put into being mad at all of those stupid annoying cars into the things i do best. it turns out i'm really fucking good at drawing up ideas and connecting with people. so i'll stop beating myself up about the fact that the uni degree i did so i'd know about these things and the job i do for Experience and Sustenance meant i haven't had time to do all of these things As Soon As I Thought Of Them (like you always got told to do for your homework assignments). instead i'll think in larger timeframes. 9 years til the olympics. 2 to finish my masters degree. 27 til the rest of the world is carbon negative like tasmania and bhutan. what can i do in each of these timeframes? and how can i prioritise it?

as i coax my brain slowly out of fight or flight, as i put my pencils and watercolours and maps to annotate out on the table in front of me and say 'take your time, but you're allowed to do what you love' i know the places that have marked on my soul stand out to me. south east queensland right out to the bay. western sydney and bringing dignity to our second cbd, parramatta. queenstown tasmania, for some reason. the murray-darling basin as a whole, gundagai and the murrumbidgee at its heart. the red dirt centre of this great land and all the peoples and cultures it holds. i can hold all of their perspectives. i can train my intuition to find out all of their needs. i can put myself into 26 million pairs of shoes and decorate the lands and i can do it respectfully and lovingly like i'm tattooing my own skin because it might as well be. tattoo it with the needs of all of us and all who have gone before. blueprints of functionality, functionality we don't have, and then meet all 26 million souls (okay, i probably only need 2 million if we're starting from brisbane) and say to them, would you dream this dream with me? will you imagine this lifestyle where you're less burdened? can you be a part of simply talking about it, because that's how we're going to make it happen? can you improve it, make it better, make it yours, knowing that when you do it imprints itself on your heart a little more, you feel a part of it? and then we're all part of it. it takes years, but it can happen.

so i guess i've got my life's work cut out for me, and i'm so fucking glad i could figure this out from something that has been frustrating me to no end, because 'you can't change it' doesn't work for me unless you switch it out like a child's toy for something more big and exciting that i can change instead. fuck you, conformity. i found what it can be for me. a dream so big it doesn't matter if i can only do some of it--and who says i have to limit myself to australia?

#urban design #personal mental health tag #silver bridges #urban planning #sustainable transport #sustainable lifestyles #sustainable development goals #socio hydrology #neurodivergence #not to mention climate change mitigation

[akuutaguava]

Mars holy shit I just discovered that on desktop you can make folders to organise your spotify playlists !!!!! and it shows up on mobile too but u can only make them on desktop for some reason. and u might already know this but I thought I'd tell u anyway bc u have more playlists than anyone else I've ever met lmao

also also, I heard that you're going to australia!!!! which is super cool, hopefully it doesn't disappoint lol. and, believe it or not, in a few weeks I happen to be going to new zealand :DDD which is a pretty cool coincidence I think lmao. but yea have fun in australia :>

Ohmygod really???? Okay im spending the rest of the day organising them holy shit that is so cool !! Ty for telling me ahh

Haha i’ve already been!! It was v awesome i bought lots of manga including bsd 13 + 14 which im v happy abt lmao

AND OHMYGOODNESS REALLY VBWHSVUSBW

Im gonna like. Give you some info bear w me

there isnt…. Too much to do here… unless you really like nature because there is lots of naturey stuff you can do !!

like go on hikes and go to cool beaches (if its not too cold) you can maybe go skiing if the weather is alright ? (Queenstown is a good skiing place and its snowed there recently i thinkkkk?? so.) theres also water rafting and kayaking and the views are actually stunning !! If you go to the south island theres lots more of that stuff

Christchurch is fun and has lots of nature. Idk thats basically all you can say about it ahsh OOH also the sakura blossoms are out there and it is so pretty !!

But if you’re like me and well dont really wanna do that stuff there is some cool things in the north island !! Ive basically been around the whole country because well… its not that big lmao but i mean auckland has shops and is generally better at touristy stuff than anywhere else lmao

Hawkes bay + palmerston north and other places like that are actually like holiday towns which are always suuuuper sunny and have pretty beaches and nice lil ice cream shops so !!

Wellington. I mean j live there but theres practically nothing to do BAJSBSH i mean there are museums and shopping places but eh idk its fine its good its cool

Idk if you’re coming here for a holiday or anything but like. I kinda wanted to ramble abt nz so just to give some insight ig lmao

Alr okay sorry this is absolutely massive you might not get to do any of this . But . Mmmmm

#sorry if like #you are coming here not for holiday and i was just talking ant random shit lmao #hope you dont mind agsjshs #BUT THANK YOU FOR THE PLAYLIST THINGY IMMA CHECK IT OUT !!!

[skygazer0516]

A New Life on Titanic, Part 1

            “This is it.” She thought to herself as she stood in line for health check. Hoping the health checkers or anyone wouldn’t notice; she pressed her fingertips to the tender spot on her right eye hidden by a lot of makeup and sunglasses. Her barrowed dress had long sleeves that hid her bruises in the shape of handprints. Although, the corset brought forward the pain from a couple of her ribs on her right side; worsening every time she took a breath. As for the bruise of the other cheek, well the makeup she put on would just have to do; and if anyone did notice, well she would just claim to have fallen in her kitchen and hit it on the counter.

She started to look at the massive crowds, all the luggage being lifted on and into the great ship. She looked over to where the first-class passengers with magnificent gowns, suits, and hats skipping the lice check and boarding the great ship; walking with an air of confidence that only seemed to be above it all.

         “Of course. They seem like they have it all. Never wondering where their meals were going to come from. Never having to worry about making sure everything was perfect so they wouldn’t get hurt.” She angrily thought to herself. She couldn’t help it. It wasn’t fair that they were born to everything while she had to fight.

         She looked at the ticket in her hand. On a piece of paper inside eloquent black boarder was, “TITANIC” written in giant letters over an oval picture with the grandest ever built inside it. “THE FINEST STEAMER IN THE WORLD / DECLARED ‘UNSINKABLE’ / SECOND CLASS TICKET TO NEW YORK CITY, USA / £12 / DEPARTING FROM SOUTH HAMPTON / APRIL 10, 1912 / WITH STOPS IN CHERBOURG, FRANCE AND QUEENSTOWN, IRELAND.” “I can’t believe this is finally here. Freedom.” She thought as she read the ticket, repeatedly, in her hand.

         “Next, Next, NEXT!?” She snapped back to reality and was staring at White Star Line health check employee.

         “Sorry, I was lost in the grandeur of the ship and the excitement that I will be one of the first people to make passage on grandest ship ever built.” She exclaimed hoping that he couldn’t see, that yes, she was excited, but also very scared.

         “Perfectly alright, Miss. May I see your ticket and have your name, please?” He asked politely.

         “Um, yes, sorry, My name Claire Laurant.” She handed her ticket, trying not to shake from the pain radiating from her ribs.

         “Quite alright, Ma’am, perfectly fine and normal to be nervous. It is a lot to take in. And, as for this check, there is nothing to fear. We simply comb through your hair to check for lice. Just precaution. Please, have a seat.”   He gestured to the plain chair just to the right of him.

         She could tell he was kind. But that didn’t stop her from flinching in fear when he touched her hair. She beathed, “He won’t hurt you; he won’t hurt you.” She thought to herself. Fighting the urge to punch him in self-defense. To keep in control, she gripped the chair’s seat. Hard.

         “There you go, Miss Laurant. Oh, sorry. Is it Miss or Mrs?” he asked. “Always want to make sure to proper language incase we bump into one another on the ship.”

         “It is just Miss.” Lying through her teeth, or at least, it wouldn’t be a lie from this point on.

         “Very good!” He exclaimed. “Now just follow this line to the ramp, and hand them your ticket to board. Enjoy your voyage, Ma… Miss Laurant.”

         “Oh, wait!” She said now remembering her manners. “What is your name?”

         “Peter Peterson.” He said with a small chuckle. “I know, it’s a bit ridiculous. But my parents thought it would be unique and different. I just think it’s stupid. Oh, sorry. Forgot my place there for a second.”

         Claire laughed, “No, I think it’s a fine name. And one easy to remember as well. I hope to bump into you again.”

         “Good day, Miss.”

         “Good day, Mr. Peterson!” She couldn’t help but smile to herself as she walked away.

         Claire walked over to take her place in line. When she got to her place in line, she started to think about the past seventy-two hours and how, exactly, she got to this point. Not just in line to board a grand ship but in her life in general.  

#titanic #unsinkable #historical fiction #redemption #overcome #freewritting #creative writing #fun #history #writeblr

[shahronak47]

Say no to "YES" Rentals

We had recently been to New Zealand and the trip was awesome. Unfortunately, our trip ended on a bitter note. Self drive is the easiest way to explore New Zealand, I believe. We had rented our vehicle from Yes Rentals, Queenstown branch. They gave us Toyota Aqua Hybrid which had almost completed 80k kms but still was well maintained.

We stayed in Christchurch for 3 days and on one of the day while I was taking reverse in the parking, the car got slightly hit on the back. Since I was in the parking area I was slow and thankfully it did not damage a lot. I had completely forgotten about it until the last day when I came back to Yes rentals to return the car. The operator there noticed the scratch and immediately called it out.

This is the scratch

I said, ok, yes, the scratch was my mistake so I need to pay for it. I went in the office, the operator took the photo of it and sent it to his manager. He said I need to check with my boss to know how much needs to be paid. We waited for a while and the operator said you need to deposit 1000 NZD. We will check how much the cost of fix would be and return the remaining amount to you in 7-10 working days. I was shocked, I mean definitely it was not worth 1000$. It was such a simple scratch but then I thought it must be their process of taking this minimum amount irrespective of the severity of the damage so I just complied.

They asked me to fill up some form. Based on the questions in the form it was to be filled when you met with an accident. It asked when did accident occur, did you call the police etc. I definitely did not call police because of a scratch on my car :P It was end of our trip and I felt really bad to pay 1000$ for a scratch that could have been avoided. However, we had a flight to catch so we left anyway. On the airport, I thought I should have told them to take 100$ or 500$ max and should not have accepted the 1000$ that they asked me to pay upfront. After this thought, I felt more sad because I paid 1000$ + 2.5% transaction charge (25$) and I was also going to lose on exchange rate twice because of this too and fro money transfer. As I was feeling restless, I emailed them from the airport asking for estimate of the fix and how much time it will take to return the money. However, they didn't have answer to both of them.

I returned the car on 2nd March and it was 12th of March today but still there was no response from them so I send them an email asking the same question again where they mentioned that repairs are scheduled to be completed next week. I mean for me it is max 15 mins job to fix this. I think fix is a very big word for it, you can spray paint the car with the same color as your car and that's it. I am not sure why they are taking so long to "fix it".

Waited for another week and after few more follow ups invoice was generated and shared with me. You will not guess the amount they charged me to fix the scratch. The repair costed me 981.24$ . I cannot stress it enough on this 981$. I mean look at the scratch once again.

How can you attach 981$ to this? I mean I am angry and laughing at the same time. How dumb do you think I am? Definitely, me agreeing to deposit 1000$ for this little thing was not the smartest thing I did but charging 981$ for this scratch was stretched too far. They quietly returned me 18$ and said Thank you for choosing YES rentals.

Their detailed invoice looks like this :

I was actually out of words seeing this crazy invoice. I asked them to explain what does this "Real Bumper Panel Repair" mean and why is it 3 in quantity to which they replied that charge is based on 3 hours of repair work billed at 85$ per hour. They also invited me to cross verify these prices from reputable repair companies in Queenstown.

Me being a coder/developer have done quite a lot of freelance work and charging 85$/hour is not that uncommon in tech area but this 85$ for mechanic/auto technician is so much more. No offence to them but it is what it is. So I did some research as they had invited me to and found this

So from 26$ median range, they are charging me 85$. What are you fixing? NASA spaceships?

I get so hyper looking at this every time I remember it. We had lot of emails back and forth where they tried to explain me that Queenstown is an expensive place so rates are higher than rest of NZ etc. I said I understand that since I have stayed in both USA and Switzerland which are more expensive than NZ but still my head just cannot justify this 981$ for the scratch. I mean look at the scratch and put 981$ - this number against it to fix it. I simply can't accept it and the fact that you think this is "reasonable" is making my blood boil even more. I also told them that there is no way to verify these 3 hours. Who knows if you actually worked for 3 hours? Here number 3 was selected so that it solves the equation to come up with a number close to 1000$. If I had paid only 500$ upfront then hourly rate would have dropped to some less number, number of hours would be less as well and everything would be adjusted accordingly. Basically start working backwards (1000$) and find a way to produce a bill that fits the equation. 18$ were returned to make this look like a genuine company and not to make it an obvious scam.

My wife was waiting patiently till now but really got frustrated with these emails and gave them a 1 star on Google review to which they threw their standard reply. We understand your disappointment but you should drive safely and buy insurance from us (so that we can loot you further).

However, I was still fighting with them (over emails) about how non-sensical it was from them to charge me this much. On 20th of March I got an email from the manager of the Queenstown branch and she told me that she has looked into the matter closely and would like to offer me 150$ if I remove the negative review on Google (and also stopped emailing them).

So please if you are planning to go to NZ, use Yes Rentals!

Lol, you wish!! I told the manager the same thing. What you are charging me is completely unacceptable and does not make any sense. To which manager replies to me that we do not want be stuck in this unpleasant conversation, do we? Just take this 150$ and shut up. Obviously, I am paraphrasing this.

I have been keeping a watch on their Google review since my wife posted the negative review and after her review within 24 hours there were 7 , five star reviews. I doubt how many of them are genuine reviews. For me it felt that those reviews were there to cover up after her review. It achieved two objectives : 1. The newest reviews are the positive review 2. Overall average is maintained.

In the last 15 days, I have not seen their average rating move at all. It has been steady on 4.3 in spite of so many reviews. It looks as if they are trying to maintain that number by manipulating it. I know it is not difficult to buy reviews in this day and age.

I did not accept that 150$ as well because I don't think 830$ is reasonable amount for that scratch and additionally I wanted to write this post. Like their technicians, my hourly rate is very high as well and 150$ is definitely not going to cover it.

#travel #new zealand #scam alert

[tominrm]

Memories of NZ

from top left to right

This what appears to be a minivan is specially modified to include a toilet. Obviously NZ does not want a camper without toilet to park overnight somewhere. The sticker on the back of the minivan says toilet is in. This is the most expensive wine I drank while in NZ. About $15 USD. Australia and NZ sell their own wine more expensive (it appears to me not a proven fact) than imports. In NZ Australian Shiraz or Chilean wine appear to be cheaper than NZ. Same situation in Australia. Traveling so many different places in such a short time gets my body confused about where I am and what season it is now. I saw this big old chestnut tree with full of chestnuts that aren’t yet ready to pick. Obviously it is early Fall in NZ. This what appears to be a minivan is specially modified to include a toilet. Obviously NZ does not want a camper without toilet to park overnight somewhere. The sticker on the back of the minivan says toilet is in. This is the most expensive wine I drank while in NZ. About $15 USD. Australia and NZ sell their own wine more expensive (it appears to me not a proven fact) than imports. In NZ Australian Shiraz or Chilean wine appear to be cheaper than NZ. Same situation in Australia. Traveling so many different places in such a short time gets my body confused about where I am and what season it is now. I saw this big old chestnut tree with full of chestnuts that aren’t yet ready to pick. Obviously it is early Fall in NZ.

Kepler Track. This is one of three Great Hikes of Queenstown along with Milford Track and Routeburn Track. All three takes 3–5 days to complete. You need mountain hut reservations to complete, and most of them are hard to book. Need to carry food and sleeping bag along with weather survival gear like warm clothing and rain gear as the weather could change quickly several times a day. I walked just a part of these Kepler and Milford Track. I am not sure if I will be back with reservations someday.

I think vast majority of people who come to Queenstown visit this Milford Sound cruise. It is so beautiful I can’t describe. Weather changes every 15 minutes or so while I was cruise just over an hour.

Glaciers (river of ice) around the highest peak in NZ, Mt.Cook. Almost gone but still some left. One is in Franz Josef, and another one in Fox Glacier region. It is formed by packed snow that became ice by its own weight and starts flowing down the mountain.

The last. There are so many rental campers in NZ. I am wondering if the number of rental camper exceeds the number of rental cars in the country. It is one of most popular ways of traveling within NZ. A gallon of gasoline costs $6.7 USD so traveling in a camper costs a lot especially going up and down the mountains.

[campercocampervanshirelimited]

Budget-Friendly Motorhome Adventures: Tips for Affordable Rentals

Travelling in a motorhome is a wonderful way to see new places without spending a lot of money. It's like having a small house on wheels. You can go almost anywhere, and you have a place to sleep and cook. But renting a motorhome can sometimes cost a lot. Whether it's a big motorhome or a smaller campervan, you can have a great trip without spending too much. This article will give you tips on how to rent a motorhome in a way that saves money. Read on to save big bucks while travelling in style.

Planning Your Trip 

Before you start your journey, planning is key. Decide where you want to go and for how long. Shorter trips are usually cheaper. Also, think about what you need in a motorhome. Bigger ones have more space but cost more. Smaller ones are easier to drive and use less gas. Plan your route to avoid long drives. This saves gas and lets you see more interesting places.

Finding the Right Rental 

Shop around for the best deal on a motorhome rental. Look at different companies and compare prices. Sometimes, renting during the off-season can be cheaper. Also, ask about any special deals or discounts. Some companies offer lower rates for longer motorhome rental in Christchurch or elsewhere. Remember, the cheapest option might not always be the best. Make sure the motorhome has everything you need.

Budgeting and Saving Money 

Set a budget for your trip. Include the cost of renting the motorhome, gas, food, and campsite fees. To save money, cook your meals in the motorhome instead of eating out. Stay at cheaper campsites or places that let you park for free. Plan activities that don't cost much, like hiking or visiting beaches. Also, consider a campervan hire in places like Queenstown, especially with friends or family, to share expenses, making your adventure more fun and economical.

Packing and Preparation 

Pack smart. Bring the things you need, so you don't have to buy them on the road. This includes clothes for different weather, food, and basic kitchen supplies. Before you leave, check the motorhome hire in Christchurch or wherever you live. Make sure everything works and you understand how to use it. This can prevent problems during your trip. Don't forget to bring a first aid kit and any necessary medications, ensuring safety and preparedness on your journey.

Enjoying the Journey 

Once you're on the road, enjoy your trip. Take it slow and enjoy the places you visit. Sometimes, the best experiences are free. Enjoy nature, meet new people, and relax. Remember, the trip is not just about the destination, but the journey too. Keep a travel journal or take photos to capture memories of your budget-friendly motorhome adventure.

In Essence 

Travelling in a motorhome is a great way to see the world without burning a hole in your pocket. With the right planning and tips, you can have an affordable and memorable adventure. And who knows, you might find yourself loving the freedom and simplicity of life on the road. If you're looking for a motorhome rental for an adventure with your family or by yourself, CamperCo is a place you should check out. Their previous customers have shared their experiences as being none other than outstanding. 

#Campervan Rental Christchurch #Christchurch Motorhome Hire #Motorhome Hire Christchurch #Motorhome Rental Christchurch #Campervan Hire Christchurch #Campervan Hire Christchurch NZ

[runnersnz]

“In all honesty, running was something that I was pretty well deterred from since I was about 15. Although as a kid I was absolutely in love with it, doing every event possible through school and a few cross countrys... and not to brag but I was doing bloody well in them. I guess life happens, we all fall out of that love with certain things like that (or so I thought). 

Around age 16 was where life hit me in the guts fairly hard. Severe depression from trauma caused by losing good friends sent me into a horrible spiral of drugs, alcoholism and what seemed to be a never ending thought of suicide. Fair to say I lived a very destructive lifestyle because to me I really felt I had nothing left. About 8 years of the same repeating lifestyle and one really bad night later, I decided to get up and within a couple of days I had booked a one way ticket to leave it all behind and move here to Queenstown. It took some time to gather myself, still being pretty unwell and now without the comfort of family and friends, it became a very lonely life very quickly. That was until I met one very special lady while I was out getting some things from Mitre 10. 

For about 3 months I thought she despised me because whenever I came in she would quickly run away to do something else, but funnily enough she never hated me, she was just far too shy to talk to me. One thing after another and we made contact and this is where I found out she was a madly obsessed runner, and far out was I impressed by everything she had accomplished! I thought I would never stand a chance. So the first thing I did? Went for a run. Can't be that hard right? Oh how wrong I was. 

50m in and I was on my hands and knees, heaving, having almost just fainted. I decided to try walking for a kilometre and tried again... in comes the stitch from hell. Best way to describe it was like a heart attack in my stomach. Managed to scramble a run for about a kilometre and it actually felt really good finishing. I think that was where the switch tripped in me and I just had that want to run back in me. Mostly fuelled by the need to impress this girl. And well I guess it worked! Over a year later and we are still cranking out our runs together! My love for running is completely back, although there are parts of me that definitely still think I need to do it just to impress her!  

I haven’t ever been able to express how thankful I am for that girl, and how she pulled me up off the ground and gave me that drive, that want and that love for running again. Having done a few events now and my first marathon late last year, I am determined to keep going. I have a thirst for it, to go further, to be faster. I love it, and it’s all thanks to my beautiful partner, Jayde. None of this would have happened if it weren’t for her and her amazing soul. 

Here’s to many more years of running and a whole lot more km’s!”

Josh @joshsboyd_ (Queenstown) – Portraits of Runners + their stories @runnersnz

[umichenginabroad]

Week 6 - Kiwi Chronicles

G’day folks! 

New Zealand, my god.

It was everything I had hoped for and so so much more. More than I could ever put into words. But it’d be a shame not to try… Here’s my week:

On Tuesday we hopped off AJ Hackett’s Nevis Bungee jump. Standing from a suspended cable car over a ravine nearly 140 meters or 450 feet above the rocky stream below. The world’s first bungee jumping company gave us an experience that makes my palms sweaty just thinking about it. 

The pounding Pitbull tunes… then the count down, 5,4,3,2,1…

Goodbye Queenstown: We began our last day here with a last-minute booking at the spa pools of Onsen for a relaxing hour to reminisce on all that had already happened and all that lay ahead for us.

After checking out of our hostel, we made our rounds through downtown Queenstown, shopping and renting the food and gear that could get us through the upcoming camping excursion. New Zealand has twelve “Great Walks”, these are typically multi-day hiking trips that span all parts of the north and south island. We decided to follow Kepler Track located outside the town of Te Anau. It is a three-day, two-night, 60 km Great Walk that cuts through the Fiordland National Park. 

The food list was focused on maximizing calories while minimizing cost, space, and required prep. This meant a lot of canned meats, rice, wraps, peanut butter, and jelly. 

We drove to the trailhead and assembled our packs, making judgment calls on clothes, food, tents, and who carries what. Finally, we set off with two hours of sun remaining.

The trail unraveled into a living canopy of moss and streams that felt at times like a set on Lord of the Rings. We made it to the camp with a little time to spare, just enough to get our tents up and bring our food supplies to the bench. Cooking in the dark was no easy feat. But the whispers of the company, hushed music, and countless stars outlining the night sky above kept us working through the night.  

Thursday: the best hike of my life.

We woke up, slept in a little late, and got to work immediately. Even so, we didn’t end up heading off until around 10:30. This day's hike is 13 miles long but with all of the Kepler Track’s change in altitude. The first part of the hike was a climb up through the canopy. From there we took a gruelling climb up and over multiple mountain peaks over five hours. Some of the most stunning natural views I’ve ever seen, I couldn’t recommend this hike more. Everyone we met on the way greeted us with a smile and salutation. We did get a “you’re not even close” early on in the hike when we first got above the canopy but other than that the other hikers were overwhelmingly encouraging and friendly.  

We had our first encounter with the Kea, a large majestic bird native to the area that the rangers and locals treat reverently. In fact, at one stop, a ranger told us that it was our job to get out of the way of the Kea rather than to shoo it off. Of course, 30 minutes later this exact situation happened when we left our bags at the base of a scenic lookout that branched off the hike. We came back down to find a Kea picking around and investigating our packs. 

After hiking for over 11 hours we made it into camp just as the sun was sinking below the mountains. We broke our group into those setting up camp and those cooking food. But, much to our dismay, we found that we had left a night’s worth of canned chicken in the car. Luckily, we overpacked in other areas so our dinner instead became rice and a handful of tuna cans with some ripped-up lunch meat sprinkled in with some all-purpose seasoning. Pack more than you think you will eat!

That night I was awoken several times to rustling and scratching, I looked outside to see both a Kiwi and a Kea making concerted efforts to break into our tents. A few slaps on the tent wall were enough to send them running, but not for long. In the morning the damage was assessed and the kiwi had broken through the netting in two areas and the Kea had ripped a hole into the side of the tent near our heads.  YOIKES. The tents were of course rented so we swore to find sewing materials when we got back to civilization. 

The Kiwi in question the morning after.

Our last day of the hike was another 13 miles but with pretty much flat ground the whole way until we emptied out on the parking lot we left in the beginning. In some ways, this day was the worse of the two, Joe and I had rented hiking boots that really didn’t fit and they left us swimming in the boots so the promises of blisters from the night before were in full bloom for the last day. But nonetheless, it was a stunning and memorable day in its own right.

What did I learn from the backpacking adventure?… Bring more food than you think you’ll need, bring a sponge for cleaning dishes, and you are likely overpacking clothes: bring one core outfit with options for layering and spare underwear and socks. And prepare for the bold wildlife!

The next day we unanimously decided on no hiking, instead we hopped on the Te Anau boat to the entrance of New Zealand’s Glow Worm Caves. The tour took us into the caves and, once deep enough, took us on smaller boats that were guided in the pitch dark, other than the cosmic-like glow from the clusters of worms. The bioluminescence was breathtaking and fascinating to learn about its evolutionary origins. 

We weren't allowed to take photos but here's a decent one I found online:

After the tour, we had some time to kill in Te Anau so we ran a load of laundry at the local laundromat, walked through a nearby art gallery, and purchased some souvenirs to memorialize this trip. Across the board, every local we met carried a gentle, relaxed disposition with a passion for dry humor. 

That night we set up camp at the Cascade Creek camping grounds, the nearest camping spot to Milford Sound. It got much colder than we had initially bargained for and the three-person tent we were all huddled in while we were still up became everyone's bed for the night.  

The next morning everyone woke up laughing over how they swore their night of sleep was worse than everyone else’s. Not doing that one again. We packed everything up and set off for the boat tour at Milford Sound. 

After the stunning ride through the glacier-made channels, we made our way to the start of our final hike, Gertrude Saddle. It’s hard to exaggerate just how beautiful our final hike was. We walked under golden grass growing off the sharp mountainside cut only by the aqua-colored streams coming from the lake placed in the “saddle” of the mountain. On the way down we thought the lake looked like a great spot to cool off...

That night we had previously planned on camping at the same grounds but we had enough and frantically looked for last-minute accommodations for seven. Our search brought us to an Airbnb apartment back in Queenstown for the night.

We said goodbye to two of our companions and set off for the day’s adventures. Our first stop was jet boating. It’s essentially a Mario Kart-like drift through the surrounding rivers. It was thrilling, but it admittedly got old after the first 30 minutes.

Next up was river boarding, essentially boogie boarding with a wetsuit and helmet in grade three rapids. Everyone had a blast and the trip actually ended with us sharing a pint at a nearby bar with one of our instructors Pav.

This trip has been memorable and greater than my already high expectations. There was nothing like being on the ground looking up at the steep mountains and into the starry sky. The group was reverently silent more often than any group I’ve been a part of. If any of this peaks your interest I cannot recommend visiting this beautiful country enough.

Take care everyone,

Grant Touchette

Aerospace Engineering

University of New South Wales in Sydney, Australia

#umichenginabroad #ipeunsw #ipewinter24 #australia #GrantTouchette

[ofgreyskies]

updated ash intro under the cut ! the real preamble will be added here later because my brain is dead rn. i tried to keep this short but that's really not my specialty. um... ash as a person has mostly stayed the same, i just wanted to make some parts of his background more concrete and give him more internal + external conflicts so it's easier for me to get in his head. if you read this and think anything we've plotted / written needs to change, please let me know and i'll be happy to work something else out !! if you would like to continue plotting or start plotting, please like this and you'll hear from me soon-ish 🤍

background

spent his earliest years in san francisco with his parents, then spent periods of time around ages 6 -13 traveling around the world a lot with his mom (places he lived for brief-ish periods of time include tokyo, london, vancouver, seoul, and queenstown new zealand)

he moved to los angeles shortly before high school and attended some fairly well-known performing arts high school

uploaded covers and original songs on youtube and soundcloud in high school, spent his fridays at open mics or actual gigs when he could get them, etc. he released three mixtapes (greed, esprit, and evergrey) and a few standalone original tracks that gained some amount of attention on soundcloud.

he got a publishing and artist deal with a multi-national label (think like warner / universal) post-graduation and worked as a songwriter and producer under the name greymatter (his soundcloud name) with credits for several korean and u.s. artists (possible plot for recording artist muses!)

made his debut in the us in 2015 with put my hands on you and love. promoted his ass off at small radio stations and shows but it didn't make a huge splash.

debuted in korea in 2016 with an ep to more success. became known as a rising star producer (won composer of the year at mama) and singer in the korean r&b scene. his label mediaplayed him a bit as an r&b pretty boy... the first real point of contention between him and his label.

more cracks started to form because of difference in vision with his label and he started to burn out a little. fought w/ his label to release instagram, cue the biggest hit of his career.

scene opens on a few months later... ash kwon, a man from california, might... smoke weed ????? nothing comes of a police investigation b/c he's not a korean citizen and there's no concrete proof he ever did it in korea but the headlines and some other controversies that are dug up in tandem are enough to turn public opinion against him.

contract with his agency is terminated, he disappears save for a couple song credits here and there (taylor swift vc: nobody physically saw me for a year). about a year later, he reappears under the radar playing super small shows in hongdae and itaewon as the lead vocalist of a new band called blacklight

eventually signs with culture creative and establishes a sub-label for him & his band. works primarily as a songwriter-producer/director/photographer/band member for about three years until he drops a new solo album after, like, half a decade

personality

invented being an emo boy actually. too emotional for his own good. believes his own tortured artist hype sometimes.

also too reckless for his own good and convinces himself it's just independence and it's a good thing!

one of his toxic traits is claiming to hate fame but craving the validation of an audience to kind of absurd levels

can be very flighty and hard to reach, but is incredibly loyal to those he values most

says he hates conflict but will start an argument just to feel something sometimes

lives in his head and not in a fun lil manic pixie dream boy way but a slightly self-obsessed anxiety spiral kinda way

you thinks he's so cool and different and then the law pulls up and he won't get in the car and you're like oh god damn not another rockstar 🙄

plot ideas

roommate / former roommate ? he's the kind of guy who needs his alone time and would rather live on his own, but he might have had roommates in his early days in seoul (2016ish) or briefly post-scandal or even now because one or both of them is in between places.

musical collaborators. fellow songwriters and/or producers he works with sometimes. singers whose voices he'll use on demos when his won't really work, recording artists he works with as a songwriter and/or producer a lot (or even has just worked with once tbh). people who have featured on his music

muses he's directed an mv of (or will in the future) or has photographed (or will in the future)! he has a sort of specific style that's kind of dark, horror-inspired but i'd love to try to work something out for anyone!!

here's a list of ways muses can be involved in his career items if anyone is interested !!!

people he knows from his childhood or adolescence? people from san francisco / the bay area or los angeles are easiest for this, but he did spend short times in other places with his mom like tokyo, london, vancouver, and new zealand, so they could have met there as well

people whose work he's a fan of! this is easiest with singers who do r&b or more indie rock type stuff or directors tbh, but muses adjacent to any kind of grungy / existential / artsy stuff are also an option lmao

alternatively people who are fans of his work ? could also be a never meet your heros, met him and it soured their opinion of him type thing. or they clicked and they got close despite his reservations about anyone being a fan of him lmao

younger or older people he has a sibling-like relationship with. as an only child, give him some chosen siblings.

exes, flings, hook-ups, fwbs, people he kisses on the mouth platonically, whatever. he infamously gets around but is also incredibly intense with all feelings, positive or negative

people who dropped him when public tide turned against him... or people who stood by his side... or people he became friends with during his time away from the public eye

people who won't put up with his shit, for better or for worse. people who he doesn't vibe with. people he doesn't understand but is lowkey dying to figure out how their brain works.

if you're thinking about making a new muse and think his band blacklight might be a good fit and we've plotted before, i'd be down to talking that out as a potential plot. the band needs a keyboardist, a bassist, a drummer, and potentially another guitarist. there are certain dynamics i'm looking for within the band and a certain vision i have for it, so i'd just want to talk about it a little in-depth first to make sure we're on the same page which is why the collective isn't technically "open"

+ very vague plot page to keep you on your toes

#thefourintro #[ have tried posting this multiple times and tumblr just eats it i guess ? ] #[ even tumblr said enough ! we don't want to hear abt ash anymore ! that's so real and i respect it ]

[grad604chloeharrington]

20 Elements Body Copy

Book

I read the sequel to these books and really changed my perspective on books. These books really connected with me on a deeper level as many of the events that the characters went through were quite similar to my own and events that have happened in my family.  I want to use this process of connecting with an audience in my future designs to make more emotional connections with the audience.

Dog

This was my second teddy that I loved as a child. My childhood best friend and I both got these as our dream dogs were golden retrievers due to their friendly and gentle nature. I’ve always taken good care of this toy and she's still in great condition. This reflects back to myself as a creative as I take good care of my creative tool kit so it's lasted so long.

Poodle

This little poodle was my first-ever teddy and my favourite one in my childhood. This little dog came everywhere with me. To this day I have no clue why I gave it such a strange name and never really thought it was weird until I got older and really thought about it. Lamb-chop. It’s stuck through all my moves of different homes and cities I’ve lived in and still, somehow it’s sitting on my bed in my flat now… 20 years later. 

Fitness

Weights from a gym class I really enjoy. This Les Mills pump class is something that I and a couple of my close friends all do together and we all really enjoy it. To me, they represent self-growth and bonding closer as I don’t always enjoy or want to go but when my friends make me go with them I feel great after the class and spending time with them.  Its also a good mind reset for me as I often go when I’m struggling to think of new creative concepts.

Bracelet

My oldest sister gave me this bracelet for Christmas one year. Both of my sisters have this same bracelet that has been engraved with my name and my older sister’s name Brooke on the side. This is my most significant and meaningful piece of jewellery as I received it right before she was diagnosed with her terminal illness.

Headphones

My Beats headphones allow me to block out my surroundings and focus on whatever I put my mind to. They are my go to when I’m getting into my creative zone as they make me feel like the worlds stopped. They are also a huge help when I’m procrastinating as I will use them to go on a walk and reset my mind. 

Rings

My rings are something that I not only an accessories, but also as something I play with when I get anxious and stressed out.  They help me to feel secure and now I feel weird when I don’t have them on as I can’t fiddle with something if I get nervous. They all were given as gifts and most of them aren’t able to be replaced so they have that sense of uniqueness to me.

Shoes

These ceramic shoes are something that represents me and my sister when we were little. We always thought hers was the right and my one was the left shoe, as I’m left-handed and she is right-handed. These little shoes are always on display in our house ever since we have grown up no matter what house we have lived in.

Heart Bowl

I got this bowl crafted from wood and shells in Bali, which was a real eye-opening trip for me. The man who made the bowl didn’t have much and was the most happy and lovely person I had talked to in a while. He showed me how effortless it is just to be a great person, and this is something I’d like to put more into my design work to share to the future world.  

Wall

 Queenstown was always the place we went to escape Christchurch. I ended up moving there for a year after my parents split and I absolutely loved it. This wall in particular was something me and my sister spent a lot of holidays and hours sitting by. It was a place that just felt super safe. 

Glasses

I got these blue light glasses back in lockdown as I was pretty much glued to my device all day every day for way too long. They are also my go-to accessorise when I don’t feel amazing about myself as I feel like I can hide behind them in some sense. These glasses help me get into my creative zone as they add another layer to my having to focus as part of the process. 

Scrapbook

These are my scrapbooks I made while I was in preschool. These have always help so much importance to me as they captured and hold so many amazing memories and milestones in my childhood when times were not always so easy. I love flicking through them and seeing all my little drawings and art pieces i crafted. The collage style art was something I did often growing up and would like to start using it as a planning tool in future projects.

Waterbottle

I’ve recently noticed my habit I’ve picked up on always having my water bottle on me at all times. This was something a year ago i really wanted to improve on to benefit my overall health and wellbeing. It helps me feel like I’m staying in routine and is something I’m proud of now. I invested into a more expensive drink bottle as it keep my water really cold however its turned out to be average quality.  

Pens

These marker pens are my go to when I’m trying to create concepts or rough ideas in my initial start of any design process. They have these brush like tips that give me a sense of freedom when I’m just trying to get my ideas onto my paper. I originally started using them back in my graphics glass in high school when rendering building designs but now they are my all rounder.

Perfume

I received this perfume from my mum as my 18th birthday present and its one of my favourite perfume scents I’ve owned. Its one of the scents that a few of my great friends use that i met in uni halls last year and was something that we both immediately noticed as we meet. 

Laptop

My laptop is one of my more proud purchases at the end of last year my previous one broke. I decided to invest into a more design friendly version with higher specs which meant i had to work harder to get it. Its one of my assets I own that helps me do everything and without it id really struggle as now I also do a lot of my job in my laptop.

Sleep mask

My sleep masks are an essential for me when it comes to having a good sleep. They are my go to when i just want to escape any problems and fall asleep faster as i find them super comforting. All of the ones I own my mum has brought for me as stocking fillers for Christmas and they range from nice silk ones to funny animal ones. 

Candle

This candle is the same one that’s used in my home in Christchurch where all my family lives. Its the scent of lemon-grass and it just makes me have a piece of home in my flat. Its quite a comforting and fresh scent to me that is a really nice reminder of home when I’m missing it, as i don’t have any family in the north island. 

Highlighters

Highlighters are a key component when it comes to trying to process concepts in my head. I always have to print and highlight information to be able to fully understand the context of what I’m trying to learn. Also I love adding any sort of colour to a plain and boring document if its possible. 

Makeup brushes

My makeup brushes are used nearly everyday so they are a key component of my day to day assets. I have brushes for different products and applications, just like if i were doing any other sort of painting. Most of my brushes are all from the same Morphe brand collection however i do have a few rouge ones i have collected over the years that are amazing. 

[tashamarx04]

WEEK 5

Fifth NZ Photographer: James Allen

James was a mountain bike and motorsports fan as a young child growing up in Central Otago. He used a point-and-shoot camera to record incidents that he considered to be awesome and epic and then posted them on this brand-new invention known as the internet.

After a few years, people started to notice James images. In a national photography contest, he received a "proper" camera, and became more serious about the craft.

James relocated to Queenstown when he was 19 years old and landed a work at the neighborhood daily Mountain Scene. He acquired instruction and useful experience there. 2009 James won Young Photographer of the Year from Community Newspapers.

James have been a full-time freelance professional photographer since 2012. Hes  taken pictures for prestigious companies like Shotover Jet, MasterCard, and RedBull, and his photos have appeared in prestigious magazines like The New Zealand Herald and The Daily Mail.

Two times,  his photos have become popular online. It has allowed James to visit remote regions, get to know interesting people, and experience amazing things.

James also photographs a variety of different subjects, and sports is one of them. I discovered this image on James' website, and I really like it because the background is blurry and difficult to make out, while the object in the middle is clearly visible. which means he used shutter speed in this photo.

This photo, which I found in his architectural photography collection—another subject he photographs—is especially interesting to me because the sun is nearly completely hidden behind the trees, and the roof's color stands out against the trees' which is a darker green. i think the color just caught my eye in this photo though.

last but not least , I've chosen this image from the album "commercial," where he goes out and takes pictures for ads you could see on television. However, I like this image since it was taken from above, allowing us to see how he used different perspectives.

WEBSITE : LINK

[carpetcpr]

The Ambience of Your Home Can Be Improved by Using a Carpet Cleaner

Welcome to the world of carpet cleaning, where pristine floors and a classy setting await! If you've been trying to figure out how to transform your home into a haven of design and comfort, look no further. We're here to change the way you use your house with the help of expert carpet cleaners. Through deep cleaning and stain removal, these powerful machines have the power to breathe new life into even the most worn-out carpets. Say goodbye to dirt and grime and embrace the real beauty that resides beneath your feet. It's time to use carpet cleaner Queenstown to enhance the environment of your home!

Discover the Power of Carpet Cleaners

Imagine coming home from a long day to velvety, immaculate carpets that beg you to sink your feet into them. This is the power of carpet cleaners—they can revitalize your house and give it a cozy, new feel.

Carpet cleaners may use cutting-edge equipment and specialized cleaning solutions to remove even the toughest stains and filth that is deeply embedded in your carpets. Thanks to their powerful suction, they effectively remove allergens, dust mites, pet dander, and other pollutants that may remain in the fibers of your flooring.

In addition to making your carpets look fresh and clean, carpet cleaners are vital for extending the life of your carpets. Regular deep cleaning helps to stop wear and tear brought on by grime accumulation over time. By spending money on a top-notch carpet cleaning of Queenstown may ensure that their carpets last for many years.

But carpet cleaners also enhance the quality of the air in your home as a whole, so it's not just about cleanliness. As mentioned before, these tools successfully remove allergens from your carpet's innermost fibers. Since there will be less allergens in the air they breathe, people with allergies or respiratory conditions would especially benefit from this.

Regular use of carpet cleaners contributes to keeping a more hospitable and healthy interior environment as well as aesthetic improvement. Carpets have a propensity to lose their luster over time as a result of frequent foot activity and mishaps. But if you have access to the best cleaning supplies, you can give them new life.

The Advantages of Cleaning Your Carpet

Every small detail matters when creating a cozy and welcoming environment. We take care to ensure that our homes reflect our individual styles, from the wall color to the furniture layout. However, it's sometimes forgotten to think about the ground beneath our feet, particularly carpets.

Due to their warmth and friendliness, carpets have long been a mainstay in homes all over the world. However, over time, they could gather debris, irritants, dust mites, and even pet dander that seeps deep into their fibers. Your home becomes less clean, and there may be health hazards as a result.

Professional carpet cleaners may be helpful in this situation. These unsung heroes could revitalize your carpets by utilizing their skills and specialized gear. They expertly remove tough stains and deeply embedded dirt from your prized floor coverings by employing cutting-edge cleaning methods like hot water extraction or dry cleaning procedures.

The advantages go beyond aesthetics; by removing toxins trapped inside of them, well cleaned carpets can considerably improve indoor air quality. Additionally, routine cleanings performed by carpet cleaners keep your investment warm and gleaming for years to come.

So why not show your home's unsung hero some much-needed love? Allow carpet cleaners to improve the appearance, general cleanliness, and hygienic conditions of your house so you can live in a healthier atmosphere that you'll like returning to every day.

Cleaning Will Help You See Your Carpets' True Elegance

More than just catchphrases, the terms "carpet cleaner Queenstown" and "carpet cleaning Queenstown" also hold the key to enhancing the ambiance of your home. You may generate a welcoming environment and bring out the genuine elegance of your carpets by investing in professional carpet cleaning services.

Over time, carpets accumulate stains, dust mites, allergens, and grime, which can deteriorate the indoor air quality and lessen their aesthetic appeal. Surface-level particles can only be partially removed by routine vacuuming. To restore your carpets' original beauty and totally refresh them, it's imperative to make use of carpet cleaners' competence.

Professional carpet cleaners thoroughly clean each and every fiber of your carpets using cutting-edge techniques and equipment. Because they have a thorough understanding of the various carpet types, they can successfully clean various stains without damaging the carpet.They can remove stubborn stains like wine spills or pet mishaps that may have developed over time into eyesores thanks to their expertise.

Professional carpet cleaning improves the cosmetic appeal of your home by getting rid of ugly stains and restoring brilliant colors, but it also makes your home healthier for you and your loved ones to live in. Professional carpet cleaning helps to enhance indoor air quality, which is particularly important for those who suffer from allergies or respiratory conditions. This is done by eliminating accumulated dirt, bacteria, mold spores, pet dander, and pollen particles from deep within the fibers of your carpets.

Additionally, regularly cleaned carpets last longer than ones that aren't because the removal of dirt particles on a regular basis avoids the buildup of abrasive particles that would otherwise cause the fibers to wear out too quickly.

Professional cleaners employ sensitive yet efficient techniques that provide thorough cleaning while reducing stress on delicate carpet fibers. Clean carpets offer insulating benefits in addition to aesthetic and indoor air quality gains. 

#Carpet cleaner Queenstown

[andrewrader]

Today is Jan 14th , 2023. What a WILD day. I went down 10km of river rapids with just a boogie board! This experience followed the bunjee jumping that I had just done the day before .

The tour guide was so funny and awesome , and the group as well. It was such a unique experience as you just don’t get to do these things commercially in the states easily due to a lack of those suitable rivers as well as liability . It had me thinking how I even got around to sign up for such a crazy activity , and I noticed how involved these adventure activities were In queens town. We signed up through one of the tourist shops that offered a variety of activity listings you could signup for . There were many many many of these around the town , store fronts with adventures written all over them. The process was really easy to signup as well , pay and just receive a meeting address where they come pick you up in a bus . Throughout my experience in queens town from the zip lining , bunjee jumping , and of course the boogie board white water rafting, I noticed everywhere people referenced queens town as the adventure capital of the world . Even at the boogie board place they had a big board of other activities to do after or before you do boogie Boarding. I think this is so heavily commercialized as it is truly the greatest strength of New Zealand . They don’t have the biggest cities or best skylines . They don’t have the best cars or urban life attractions . But what they do have , especially Queenstown, is some the greatest natural wonders in the world. Soaring mountains, lounge tracks, water adventures , and beautiful weather and animals. All together this brings out more money from people focusing on the outdoors than the city life , as no where else in the world can you experience the things I did here. Plus I think naturally , you almost feel bad about yourself if yo is Tay inside in New Zealand for long as the weather is beautiful and can’t be ignored. Even when I had to do work on my laptop I always made sure to go outside and do it on s park bench table or in a shady spot to feel the breeze .

I also want to highlight why I even chose the activities I did to begin with, bunjee jumping and boogie board white water rafting. With bunjee jumping, it’s not everyday you can find a place with heights such as in the New Zealand mountains , especially with beautiful weather, it was a must to make my first time jumping here in New Zealand . After that adrenaline rush of an activity , my brother and I were invited to go white water rafting on big rafts the next day. But when we saw the option of boogie boarding we had to select that. Something about being tossed around in a river , and being more immersed in the river really drew our attention. If we were going to be out in the wilderness why not make it more “dangerous “ and involved rather than sit on a sturdy raft that rarely ever flips . It also was going to be more refreshing being in that water with the bright sun out ! I don’t regret picking the boogie board as I loved being involved with nature from hiking to being in the rivers. I can’t explain it but it was more fun being at the mercy of the River than a comfortable raft haha.

Overall I think Queenstown definitely deserved the nick name it had received as the adventure capital of the world . From the easy access to the events and the sheer number of activities they offer from the boogie boarding to jumping off big cliffs, I think they are going down the right path. The natural beauties they have their make sit as if Mother Nature is peer pressuring you to go outside , as when I was inside I just felt way worse! The mountains and hikes also add to the same effect. I’d definitely go back to queens town and they can have more of my money next time as well!!!

[jdidolau]

266 - 267. later, they finally arrive at the villa

[It’s getting dark and the members arrive at their last stop, Queenstown]

JOJO Oh wow! Dio, look at the view!

[The view in front of the rented house]

DIO It is quite something. I’m sure it’ll look even better come nightfall.

(Wow~)

DIO Hah~ Thank god for civilization.

[Civilization is a gift of the modern man]

JOJO Camping was fun, though, right?

DIO I prefer this.

[He immediately chooses a sofa to lounge in]

DIO Nice and soft~

JOJO (Chuckles) Well, I’m glad you’re enjoying yourself. Oh, there’s a balcony! Shall we eat dinner there while looking at the view?

DIO It’s quite cold out at night, Jojo. And besides, the door to the balcony is connected to the dining room.

JOJO Yes, but think about the experience , Dio!

DIO (Sighs) Perhaps tomorrow, Jojo. I want to enjoy the heating for tonight.

[Kitty Dio likes warmth~]

JOJO I’ll hold you to it, then!

[Introducing the last place Phantom Blood will stay at in New Zealand!]

[A spacious kitchen and living room for them to hang out together in]

[And two cozy rooms, to boot!]

JOJO Shall we get started on dinner?

DIO I suppose we must. Come along, sous-chef.

JOJO Right away, head chef!

---

JOJO That was delicious! As expected of our Golden Chef~

[They’re done eating in a flash!]

DIO Naturally~ All the fish we caught was really good, though. And most of it was all thanks to your efforts, Jojo.

JOJO H-huh? Well, that was- that was simply beginner’s luck! (Chuckles)

DIO Still, it’s quite amazing that you caught so much in just a few hours~

JOJO (Shy) (Pleased) Thank you, Dio... I don’t think I’ll go fishing again anytime soon, though. Too much waiting. (Chuckles)

DIO (Chuckles) Agreed. Something more active suits us better.

#jonadio idol au #;;main story #arc 5: dormant feelings #pb bv ep 5