#> i go to the supermarket with a mask on; half the people shopping there

[evilwickedme]

[image description:

reply from @its-bread-bitch saying

I love murderdock and spider-Gwen! I don’t know if it’s possible for your fic since it kind of feels like a prompt itself but I absolutely adore fics where protagonist and antagonist meet somewhere casual on accident (like the grocery store or laundromat something) and just mutually agree not to start shit since their both “off duty” and just have a surreal oddly polite/casual conversation/interaction

/end image description]

so, uh, I wrote it

also on ao3

relationship: Matt Murdock & Gwen Stacy

tags: minor Matt Murdock/Foggy Nelson, earth-65, Matt Murderdock, vaguely canon compliant

human after all

Gwen had agreed to the movie night mostly so her dad would stop worrying after her as much. She didn't realize that it would be such a hassle.

"Dad," she said, trapping the phone between her shoulder and her cheek, "don't worry, okay? I'll be there in half an hour, max. I'm just getting some snacks because I know you - no, Dad, I do, and there's no way you have anything remotely sweet in the kitchen, and I'm not watching anything without my fix of popcorn and chocolate mix. Do you need milk? No, I won't ask you - yeah, I've got it covered, okay? Just - oh my God."

New York City is a lot smaller than people think. Sure, millions of people live here, and you're not going to get to know all of them. Often you'll never even learn the names of your downstairs neighbors. You share a living space and a school campus and a grocery store with dozens, hundreds, thousands of perfect strangers. But still, sometimes, coincidences happen. You run into a childhood friend at the bookstore. You rush to class and find out your second cousin just started going here too. You go to the closest supermarket to get some snacks for your father-daughter movie night and run into your deadly assassin nemesis.

Murderdock had the audacity to look calm and completely unsurprised. But then again, he could probably smell her from two blocks away. 

Or he just heard her babbling on the phone from the other aisle.

"Hey, Dad, I'll call you back, okay? Love you," she said, easing the phone from its precarious position and hanging up. She had her symbiote at the ready, waiting for any provocation. Murderdock lived nowhere near her and the shitty apartment she shared with most of the rest of the Mary Janes; what's he doing here?

"Hello there, Gwen," Murderdock said calmly. "What a pleasant surprise."

"Murdock," Gwen said through gritted teeth.

Before anything could escalate, however, DA Nelson appeared from around a corner and said, "Hey, Matt, do you prefer black olives or - oh, hello."

"Hello," Gwen said. She wracked her brain, trying to remember if she'd ever met the DA out of costume. Maybe once, a couple of years ago? She never took an interest in Dad's Cop Things before she became Spider Woman, and afterwards she was very careful to avoid Dad's Cop Things out of the mask. Or at least she tried to be.

"Oh, Gwen!" Nelson said, smiling brightly, putting the olives in a cart that she hadn't noticed was placed just behind Murdock. "It's been a while. Is your dad doing okay?"

Apparently they had met before, then. When her dad was in the hospital, maybe?

"Um," she said, trying to look only at Nelson and failing. "Yeah. I'm actually heading to his place after this."

"It's important to spend time with family," Nelson said. "It's been a while since I saw Captain Stacy, so make sure to say hi for me."

"Okay," Gwen said slowly. "Sorry, I hope you don't mind me asking, do you live in the area?"

"Oh, no," Foggy said vaguely. "Just stopping by."

"Right." Gwen was so very weirded out by this. Why was DA Nelson acting so chummy with the literal Kingpin? What were the two of them doing in this particular store? She had gotten ready for a confrontation with Murdock, but it seems like they genuinely were just... Shopping here.

She didn't understand why they're here together, but she was suddenly confronted with the fact that Murdock truly was a person. Like, yes, he was a deadly assassin and probably a psychopath, but also he needed to eat to survive.

Gwen carefully walked past the two of them, then, and rounded the corner herself, stopping only when she thought she was a decent enough distance away that it seemed as though she was simply continuing her shopping, and definitely not eavesdropping, or peaking at them through a gap between cans of six different kinds of olives.

"Everything okay?" Nelson said in a worried tone. "You seem - "

"Everything's fine, Foggy," Murdock says curtly. "Let's just finish here and go home. I'm tired."

Home, Gwen mouthed. The word sounded so strange coming from Murdock, who she couldn't have imagined ever using a word like that in such a... warm tone. Foggy. So familiar. Like... She didn't know. Were they friends?

"Alright," Nelson said skeptically, but apparently deciding to drop it. "But we need some frozen pizza first."

"I'm not putting that in my body," Murdock said.

"You can pretend all you want," Nelson said, voice starting to fade as he pushed their cart further down the aisle and away from her, "but I know you're gonna steal a bite when I'm not looking."

"Lies," Murdock replied. "Lies and slander. I'm going to sue the district over this."

Was that... a joke?

Apparently yes, because Nelson's hearty laugh echoed through the store, so clearly genuine, so clearly affectionate.

They were out of eyesight now, although not out of earshot, especially not with her enhanced settings. Still, she'd heard enough.

She didn't understand. She didn't know how to feel about this.

But she also didn't think that this was the time to confront Murdock over this.

So she filed this information away, and took her groceries to the register.

*

"Sorry for hanging up earlier," she said, placing the groceries on the ground at the station. She didn't feel like swinging to her dad's right now, so she was going to use the subway for the first time in... A while. And yeah it was a little disgusting but she was tired and she needed to think about what she'd seen for a moment. "Yeah, just... Ran into someone unexpected. I'll be there as soon as possible. Love you too. Will update on ETA as soon as I'm on - yeah, exactly. Bye. Yep. Bye. Okay. Bye, Dad." She sighed as the call disconnected. Sometimes her Dad could be way too worried. She was Spider Woman, for God's sake. She'd be fine taking the damn subway.

"Funny running into you here," said a voice from behind her.

She didn't jump. She didn't. It was just... surprising, that her spidey-sense didn't warn her that Matt Murderdock had followed her into the subway.

"Same to you," she said, careful to keep calm. If her spidey-sense wasn't reacting, it probably meant that he wasn't looking for a fight.

"I didn't realize you shopped around Hell's Kitchen," Murdock said.

"Oh, um," Gwen said lamely. "I live only a couple of blocks over. And that supermarket carries a couple of my favorite brands, so - "

Why was she explaining herself to this man?

So she pivoted. "What were you doing there, anyway? And since when are you all chummy-chummy with the DA?"

"We were college roommates," Murdock said. What a... mundane explanation.

"Oh."

"That's actually." Murdock swallowed, as if uncomfortable with the topic. Then his expression hardened, and she knew that this was important, even if she didn't understand it. "He stays out of this. Do you understand?"

"I," Gwen stuttered.

His entire body radiated danger in that moment. This was important to him. She knew there was a sword in that cane of his. She knew he could slice her to pieces if she wasn't careful, if she wasn't quick. And yet, still, her spidey-sense was completely silent. Not a peep.

"Okay," she said. "I won't bother him. I swear. But..."

"But what?"

"Nothing," she replied. "Never mind."

He knew that she was lying, and she knew that right back. But this was a moment of understanding, too: Foggy Nelson was off limits. She wouldn't use him against Murdock. She didn't know exactly what their relationship was. Maybe he didn't either, from the way he said roommates, like it meant something else, like it was his lifeline. But she knew that even if Murdock was a terrible person, she wasn't. She'd respect this one line, for now.

"I guess I'll see you around," she said sarcastically.

He nodded once. "Until we meet again, Spider Woman."

The train roared as it pulled into the station, and Murdock was gone.

Next time they'd meet, they'll be on opposing sides. She'll do her best to defeat him, and he'll do his best to subdue her. But for now, she thought she might understand him just a little better.

Human after all.

#matt murderdock #spider gwen #gwen stacy #fanfic #prompt fic #this my fic #mattfoggy #foggy nelson #matt murdock #earth 65 #marvel #marvel comics #mine #y'all I'm screaming if you see this this is my last post for the day cause I've hit post limit

[jeffwritescrap]

The thoughtful assassin.

Sitting comfortably across her laptop in nothing but a comfy crop top. She decided to watch some Netflix. Turning on her TV, she put on her favourite show and sat there lazily scrolling her phone. It was at this exact moment, that she saw an important notification pop-up appear on her bar. As she slowly opened the ominous notification, she rolled her eyes at the content:

Hi, I am John Doe. I’ve been commissioned by xxxx to take your life. Usually, I don’t take interest in my targets, but following you around has led me to believe that keeping you alive is more valuable as my code. Do not contact the authorities, as that could force my hand in doing something I’ve decided against. My client is a persistent man, so please, don’t reply to this message as it could reveal this secure channel to his informants. For your safety, take out a sum of cash and meet me at a disclosed location, which I will send you. Considering my client, I doubt you’d be safe by yourself, so don’t go out after midnight. Take my warning seriously and wait for my next transmission. Best regards.

John Doe

The girl read the text with somewhat of a humorous tone, after all, such scan messages were commonplace here. ‘Which dumbass would actually pay to get me killed? I'm just some random dumbass, not some fancy royalty worth killing, and hell I can get myself killed perfectly fine.’ she thought as she read through it one more time. Deciding to entertain herself, she texted back. “Get rekt, bitch. No way I’m falling for your shitty scam.” Making the draft, she decided to add a little spice as well, ‘xoxoxo’. Satisfied at her work, she pressed send. After not getting a reply for 2 minutes, she gave up and yeeted her phone off to her bed. ‘Guess he gave up!’ she said with a shrug, as she returned her focus to the show playing on her TV.

Opening her eyes, she looked around, in a groggy manner only befitting a haggard drunkard. She spent a solid minute fetching the remote as the light from the TV invaded her eyes. As she turned the TV off, she sat up to get some food from the supermarket by the street before noticing her state of undress beneath the waist. Giving up on putting on any other top, she washed her face on the sink and dragged herself to her bedroom. After dressing up, she slowly picked up a credit card and walked downstairs.

Slowly opening the apartment yard's main entrance, she noticed the most horrid smell she could imagine, “Fuck, shouda brought a mask if I knew it would be this bloody disgusting outside.” She said, as she slowly walked down the street. Looking around, she noticed how empty the street was. ‘Huh, real weird today, isn’t it?’ while the girl was walking towards the shop, the light above her heed suddenly gave out. Before reappearing the next moment.

The city street was empty, no sign of any activity. A few moments later, a short scream could be heard, as a body hit the floor after jumping from the rooftop. There were 2 shoes resting by the rooftop ledge, a note written in perfect matching handwriting laying by its side. One side was half burnt, there was a tear mark on it. It wrote a story of regret, of despair. Of a girl struggling with life away from her rural home across the countryside. It would become the example of a century, a girl who committed suicide due to the wrongdoings of society.

As the people started gathering; a man clad in white cleaner suit approached the trash can. Pulling out the huge body bag, he opened the zip to reveal a burnt corpse. “Which dumbass burns a corpse in the city.” He muttered to himself, “I have to feed him to the hounds, he might have as well ruined the entire operation.” He tsked a few more times before speaking to the dead body. “John, you were a great subordinate, damn I’m gonna miss your dumbass, aren’t I?” he said, genuine sorrow in his voice.

Just then, he noticed a small file sitting by the can, “I could almost tolerate the burning, but this dude is seriously sloppy, I tell ya.” He looked over the file. It was their client submission file. “I wondered where that went. So, you took it.” he considered the burnt corpse. Before reading it to himself once.

[Emily Hailey, the raised daughter of Karl and Penelope Hailey. Adopted by process of accidental finding and raised as the family’s own. Real identity recently found: heir to the great Santiago Maria estate fortune, estimated at around 24.5 billion dollars. Commission fee, 25 million for a natural death. No foul play suspected.]

‘You had to screw me over on such a project. Eh, couldn’t say I’m surprised.’ The old cleaner said to himself. As he put the body bag on a little rollie and walked through the homeless bridge. As he passed by, he said his hellos to some denizens of the messy community. Finding one with a small fire, he offered his file as kindling, the men sitting around him thanked him for his kindness. As he moved towards the forge, he has a body to get rid of. Whistling with joy, he pulled the rollie along and sang to himself a happy song, tomorrow was going to be a great payday!

#dumb-story #writing #dumb-writing #Wrote-this-cuz-I-was-bored #I should absolutely be working #did this instead of studying #Story #bad story #creative writing #writerscorner #writer hell #trust the scam caller #dumb writing

[allaboutmimi]

The Pandemic Meets Mad Mask

July 3, 2022

by Mimi Williams

AllAboutMimi

As a teenager I watched the Mad Max movies, and I remember thinking “Those people are nuts! Who would act like that? And more importantly, who would dress like that?” Would all the designers get together at the beginning of an apocalypse and say “Ok, I’m thinking a desperate, cannibalistic vibe, maybe something in fur and plastic? Think chains and spikes, darling!” It was so out there! I mean, how do you ever get to that point? That’s ridiculous! It would never happen! And then we rang in 2020…

When it all started, I felt like I was in the beginning of a disaster movie. Store shelves were empty, supermarket customers were duking it out for the last box of popsicles, and people were hoarding toilet paper and hand sanitizer. Everyone was wearing a mask and looking crazy.  I half expected people to start gathering in Boulder and Vegas and set off a nuke, like Stephen King’s novel “The Stand”.

You couldn’t buy face masks or latex gloves anywhere, so the first time I went grocery shopping during the pandemic I wore my fur sleep mask over my mouth and nose and a pair of black leather winter driving gloves. I looked like a demented diva doing the walk of shame after a tempestuous night, ready to assassinate a Giant Eagle manager with my pocketbook over a peanut butter shortage. Remember Mad Max? Yeah… this is how we get there!

I was so scared my family would get sick, especially my husband who is a Type 1 diabetic. So I decided to make him a mask. I have no sewing abilities whatsoever, but I have pretty good crafting ideas, and am very resourceful, so how hard could it be?

Let me just say, it was definitely not medical grade, nor do I have plans to launch an Etsy mask store. Don’t look for me on Shopify any time soon. I ended up with a huge rectangle of fabric sewn around 2 hair ties to loop over the ears, and even managed to put a pouch in it for a filter. I didn’t want to use a coffee filter like other ingenious home mask makers, because, you know, water and coffee can get through that. Unless covid germs are bigger than the size of coffee grounds, that didn’t inspire my confidence.

Then I got one of my more brilliant ideas…I decided to use a maxi pad! My man was going to have super protection! Nothing was getting past that sucker! Not germs! Not a virus! Not oxygen! Not dignity! He wore it once, to take a picture that he posted on Facebook, with both of us doubled up in laughter. Then he probably put it in a time capsule and buried it in the backyard so that future generations could learn about what we wore during the pandemic and guffaw over it. And so he would never have to wear it in public.

After that, I spent the next two years convinced I had been in a car accident, hit my head, and was actually in a coma at a hospital somewhere and this was all a bad dream.  Unfortunately, the way things are still going in the world today, it seems I haven’t come out of it yet!

[ayrennaranaaldmeri]

...

#> mask requirements in place for multiple indoor spaces like supermarket #> i go to the supermarket with a mask on; half the people shopping there #guess what they didn't have on. #there was like (1) woman with one on and she's the only person i respect #all the employees were wearing them of course but #still #this is why i usually only go like...early morning when the supermarket opens i donut trust other people #wank for ts #current events for ts #stfu fae #tbd #literally its for a few days like would you rather not be safer(TM) now so you can just go back to normal

[falcor-thee-luck-dragon]

Dark Shenanigans - Nandor x (f)reader

Summary: It’s Nadja’s something hundredth birthday, with that said, you’re on a mission to make it great.

Warning: fluff, general vampire nonsense

Masterlist

“Yeah being a half vampire half human does have its perks. I mean for one I can do all that cool vampire shit and I can go out in the sunlight...so that helps for when they’re all being really annoying.” You admit with a casual shrug to one of the documentary cameras before turning to an isle of party supplies. “So anyways we’re at this store.”

The camera shifts to the multiple arras of supplies and materials at the local supermarket in Staten Island that you and your vampire lover’s human familiar, Guillermo, currently are. Specifically on the hunt for birthday decorations for Nadja and ghost Nadja who’s possessed a strange looking doll for the time being.

Since the other four actual full vampires can’t shop for themselves at this time of day or really in general, you and Guillermo have been given such an honorable task in making Nadja’s birthday the best one yet. Considering she’s the most well balanced in the head out of the four of them and is the only other lady of the manor.

“Hey Y/N, how’s this look?” Wonders Guillermo as he holds up a bunch of Mardi Gras beads of yellows, purples, and greens. “Comments, questions, concerns?” He adds with a small smile.

Eyeing up the beads, your head shifts over to the other various colors, “Hrmm, G I’m feeling the vibe you’re going for this year and I like it, but let’s go with Nadja colors.”

Guillermo’s dark eyes light up at your positive suggestion, “Right! So the red and black ones then?”

“Yup. She’ll love that shit.” You state with a satisfied nod of approval, “Let’s get some black and gold confetti from over there and oh, those masquerade masks look cool as fuck.”

You pick up and test out various masks in the background as Guillermo adds some bits of dialogue for the documentary crew, “Um yeah she’s really cool isn’t she.” He says with a smile while glancing at you then back to the camera, “Which is kind of odd since Y/N’s been with Nandor since 1793 so you’d think she’d be a little more like them but no, she’s super chill and really nice.” Suddenly his face goes a bit serious as he leans in to whisper, “But she did kill a whole street gang once when they threw a slur at me so I wouldn’t mess with her. For your safety.”

The camera pans back over to an oblivious you who’s put on a masquerade mask and is swinging a plastic light saber around with a whole lot more accuracy and grace then would a normal person. The camera then pans back to Gullimero, “Um, I’m just gonna....make sure she doesn’t smack anyone.”

——

Arms full of groceries of food for you and Gullimero, as well as random party decorations for Nadja’s birthday tomorrow night, you use the bottom of your boot to skillfully open the door as the documentary crew and Guillermo follows suit. Guillermo now on the verge of falling over with the large heart shaped pillow in his arms that’s covering most of his body.

You don’t feel tired in the slightest due to your half vampiric abilities so this is nothing to you, “Alright.” You state, turning on your heel to face the crew and Guillermo, “They’re asleep so we gotta be extra sneaky now, I don’t want Nadja catching us with all this cool spooky birthday shit. Everyone to the attic!” You whisper yell before leading the charge to the attic.

They all follow as quietly and as quickly as they can and then soon enough in no time are you and Guillermo back outside in the sunny garden trying to figure out if you should blow up the giant sea monster pool floaty.

“I mean it would look cool as hell and no doubt out-do whatever the fuck boring thing Lazlo probably has planned.” You quip with a shrug while the two of you stare thoughtfully at the small gloomy dark pond. “He’s got no chance with us. I’ve won best decorator and card maker for two hundred years in a row.”

Guillermo side eyes you in honest amazement, “Wow that’s a lot of years. And cards.”

“I know. I was an artist in the 12th century but my no good terrible good for nothing piece of garbage trash sexist human husband, who I was forced to marry when I was only sixteen, took all the credit for my artwork in that era.” You confirm with a growl, “But it stings less because once I finally grew into my powers and strength at eighteen I simply made his untimely demise look like an accident.” You add with a smirk.

“Oh, wow.” Mutters the intrigued familiar.

“Precisely. The old fool was thrown off his horse because I told Philip, the horse, to throw him off. And he did. Which killed the idiot so I got the house and all of his money.”

“That’s......neat.” Mutters Guillermo as he shoots the camera crew from behind you and him a nervous look. “Uh the suns going down so I should probably help Nandor out of his coffin.”

Raising your head to the sky you immediately see how the sun has begun to paint the clouds in beautiful colors of oranges, reds, light pinks, and darkening purples. “Oh, how bout that. Yeah alright let’s get inside.” You nod to Guillermo before turning to walk towards the manor’s giant mahogany doors.

——

Turning the handle and walking a couple feet into the large main room that holds itself as a sort of crossroads for all the other various connecting hallways and staircases. You don’t make it even three more steps towards the left ascending staircase before you hear the highly recognizable voice of your one and only.

“Y/N! My lovely wife and favorite person still ever so lovely!” Announces Nandor loudly with a grand smile showing off his pearly white fangs, “How I have missed you and your morning kisses. Where have you been off to?” He wonders softly as you smile a big dumb love-struck grin right back up at him, you’d absolutely die to hear that accent one last time.

“I can’t tell you right now it’s a secret!” You whisper yell back, causing his thick dark brows to scrunch up in confusion.

“But I am your lovely strong puff dragon Y/N.” Whines Nandor adorably as you roll your eyes at the cameras before looking back up at him.

“Fine. Come here then.”

In an instant he’s at your side, excitedly awaiting what secretive news you will tell him, “Okay, so we know it’s Nadja’s birthday tomorrow right?”

“Yes. I remember because she hasn’t shut up about it.”

“Right. So me and Gullimero got some fun surprise birthday party decorations and they’re in the attic and we can’t tell Nadja.”

Nandor gives you a knowing look of affirmation as he leans in closer to you, his demeanor suddenly shifting into a more saddened one, “You went shopping without me?” He says quietly.

Leaning up to give him a quick peck on the cheek your hands instantly find his, “Just for a little while, but I still need to find more stuff so....you wanna come?”

Nandor’s big dark eyes light up with joy as you hand him a kind smile, “Yes! Let us go in search of unknown treasures for our lady friend Nadja so she will not be mad at us for terrible dull gifts of friendship.”

Laughing you give his hands a playful squeeze, “Come on I’ll race you to Party City!” You say before leading him past the camera crew and Guillermo who simply watches the two of you leave, glad to have an hour of peace.

“There’s a whole city for partying? Y/N why have we never been to this place?”

——

“Y/N there are no people partying here.” Whines your vampire lover in puzzlement as he follows you from the entrance to a side isle. “You said this was a city for partying.”

“That’s just the name of the store Nans.” You retort with a small chuckle as he looks from right to left at all the color coded party plates and napkins galore.

“Well the title is very misleading.”

“Agreed.”

Turning to the right you guide him towards the decretory pirate themed isle in search of something that will peak his interest. Also you wanted so badly to make it to this spot but Gullimero was a man on a mission so your intention was thwarted for when you had Nandor with you.

Speed walking down the pirate themed isle you quickly halt all movement as Nandor’s large body stops within less than an inch from your back. Smiling brightly you snatch the desired object in front of you and as swift as a cat turn to face him.

“Have you come for a dual my old enemy?” You speak slyly, eyes narrowed as you hold the foam sword right in front of his face. “I sense a nervousness about you. Tell me, are you ready to face your inevitable bloody end?”

Staring at the pointy foam, his dark puppy eyes shift over to you as an adorable fangy grin breaks out across his pale face, “Seems you have come prepared, oh radiant and alluring seductress. Well, so have I!” Shouts Nandor before grabbing two foam swords from off the rack and swinging them in both hands like a mad man.

Taking a cautious step back you hold your pathetic five dollar sword in both hands like a true warrior ready for battle, “Only one shall leave this place alive.” You affirm with a smirk, “And it’s not going to be you.”

“Arrrrrggg.” Bellows your lover as he charges you like the true conqueror that he once was. But all to soon do you swiftly duck under his arms and swat him over his stomach with a confident thwack sound.

He makes a puny little “oww” as you turn around to face him once again, “Y/N you hit me kind of hard.” He complains, looking rather defeated and genuinely hurt that you could have intentionally injured him on purpose.

Bringing the plastic weapon down to your side once again, your face suddenly softens as you walk over to him, “Come here you big baby.” You quip sincerely as he leans down so you can give his cheek a quick kiss.

Rising back to his full height, Nandor almost blushes as the corners of his eyes crinkle into a happy smile, “Actually it didn’t hurt at all I just wanted you to kiss me.” Reveals the vampire with a proud grin as you simply roll your eyes.

“Should have known.” You add before turning and snatching up four more plastic foam pirate swords for the others. “Alright let’s get outta here, follow me my love, to the checkout line we shall purchase our weapons of war and partying on the high seas.” You announce with gusto as Nandor stands proudly at your side, ready to follow you anywhere.

“Yes. To check out.”

——

Kicking open the unlocked door, Nandor bursts into the vampire residence with bags full of goodies for Nadja’s birthday party. You right behind him but less dramatically, “We’re back!” You shout to no one in particular as Colin Robinson suddenly appears from out of nowhere, looking ready to leave with his funny little hat and usual beige jacket.

“Oh hey guys,” He starts with a friendly nod, “I’m just heading out on the town tonight. I guess there’s a fair or something in the park and I wanted to test my skill at the ball toss. I’ve been reading up on the body mechanics and how the game is set up which seems pretty basic all in all. Also I really want to win a stuffed bear this time, it might add a little pizazz to my room. Welp see ya’round.” Adds Colin before walking past the two of you without another word and out into the night he goes with some of the camera crew following close behind.

Nandor turns to you with a look of annoyance, “Jeesh I thought he would never leave. Let’s go to your room I want to kiss you some more now.”

“Why my room?”

“Because since you are half vampire you get to sleep in a bed and because I am a full vampire I sleep in a coffin.” Inquires Nandor while looking at you with those big beautiful dark eyes of his, “And my coffin is too small for cuddles so your room will suffice.”

“Yeah that’s a fair point.” You shrug before following him to your room.

After many cuddles leading to other more rated R type activities that lasted until just about sunrise, you finally got some well needed rest while the sun shone high in the sky until she began her dramatic descend back into oblivion. Opening your eyes you slowly rise from out of your comfy bed, already missing the presence of your obsidian eyed lover.

He gets too nervous about your closed windows for fear that the sun might burn him which would be impossible because you black out the glass. But alas, he’s very cautious about these types of things and won’t risk it for anything, though he feels bad about leaving you in the morning, you understand.

Suddenly it dawns on you that today or perhaps tonight, is Nadja’s birthday and you completely forgot to set up any decorations. Shit, how stupid. Throwing the blankets off of you, your feet move quick as you speedily change yesterday’s outfit for something a bit nicer and more clean.

Racing out of your room and into the dimly lit manor hallway, you make a bee line for the attic but before you’re able to reach the steps, Guillermo runs into you, just about knocking you into a wall of various stolen ancient weapons. Sharp ones at that.

That was close.

“Y/N are you okay!” Worries the familiar as you quickly gather your bearings.

“Guillermo! The decorations! Nadja’s birthday!” You whisper yell as the human man simply smiles. “Why are you smiling, this situation does not call for smiles.”

“Don’t worry. While you were sleeping I set up all the decorations.” He replies with a shrug, “No problem.”

“What? But that must have taken you all day, you could have asked me for help. I would have come.” Your brows furrow as he shakes his head, though you still feel bad for not helping with anything.

“Well I did try, but um,” Gullimero awkwardly clears his throat, giving the camera a quick glance, “Nandor was with you and last time I asked for you while you and him where having alone time he threatened to carve out my eyeballs and force feed them to me.”

Pinching the bridge of your nose in annoyance you take a deep breath, “Sounds like him. Very creative when he wants to be, alright, well....where’s everyone?”

“Oh, they’re not up yet. I was actually on my way to get you. I made blood popsicles and the pool floaty is all done and in the pond.” He says with a sense of pride for his decorating skills. “I think she’ll like what we’ve come up with this year.”

-

Standing in the living room with your three fellow immortals you search a dresser for her card, “Oh shit where’s my card? I could have sworn I had it yesterday on my dresser but I don’t remember seeing it there in the morning. Maybe it’s in this one?”

“Witches!” Hisses Nadja as you huff in frustration, where the hell did you put that damn card?

“Oh, Y/N my love,” Intervenes Nandor with a gentle tug of your sleeve, “I took it with me when I left your room before sunrise because I wanted to put my name on it too so she would know it’s from us.”

“What?” Replies Lazlo dramatically, “Now hold on just a damn minute, this card competition is individually scored so I won’t be having any of this nonsense. I worked really hard on mine this year.”

“Oh lick a donkey’s arse, look here,” You retort with, quickly holding up the card for Nadja, “there are two separate drawings on ours so either way if one of us wins she gets both our pictures. So you better hope your drawing doesn’t resemble a night clubs bathroom wall.”

“Yeah.” Mutters Nandor, who’s hiding behind you while resting both hands on either one of your shoulders as you glare at Lazlo.

“Fine.” Agrees Lazlo begrudgingly, “And mine will be amazing, this bitch of paper took me a whole six months to plan and produce. Can’t get quality this good anywhere else I guarantee it.” Adds Lazlo with a firm nod of self approval as you glance at the nearby camera.

“Right, okay everyone sit it’s time for presents. I want to know what you all got me.” Beams Nadja excitedly as she smiles a fangy grin in delight, plopping herself down in one of the arm chairs. Lazlo quickly finding the other one while you and Nandor seat yourself on the large couch. Colin and Guillermo finding somewhere to sit close by respectfully.

“Well, all I can say is hold onto your socks my dear cause this is going to blow you away.” Smirks Lazlo as he pulls a small box from out of his jacket pocket.

“If it’s a self made business card that says invitation to sexy town I will puke.” You deadpan while Nandor laughs from beside you, causing Lazlo to lose his smirk as Nadja hides her amusement the best she can manage.

“He he, sexy town, nice one Y/N.” Mutters Nandor with a proud grin as you raise a brow at Lazlo who’s giving you a hard glare.

“Oh, my dear pumpkin pie love, don’t listen to Y/N I will love anything you gift me.” Encourages Nadja with a bright welcoming smile, no doubt immediately boosting Lazlo’s once irked mood.

Rolling your eyes you shift a bit to find yourself leaning into Nandor’s body as Nadja opens up the rest of the vampire residents various gifts. A joyous fangy smile gracing her pale features every single time, revealing this birthday party was a thrilling success.

After much more fun that just about lasts throughout the whole night, and some rare but hilarious attempts at dancing between the five of you vampiric individuals. You’re feeling rather sleepy and you can tell Nandor is ready for a trip to dreamland as well.

Swaying to the lowly playing record instrumental, you hold Nandor tight while simultaneously enjoying the feeling of him so close, him doing just the same as he keeps you firmly pressed against his chest. His long dark hair tickles your face as he presses his head to your cheek, doing his absolute best to keep the flow without tripping up.

Sensing his growing fatigue, you gently squeeze his hand, “My love the sun will be up soon, let’s get you to bed, yes?”

A small lazy smile tugs at the corners of his lips while he looks down to meet your gaze, “But my dark angel I’m not tired. I want to dance with you a little longer.” He whines adorably before failing to conceal a big yawn.

Giggling, you lean back to slowly lead him towards the door, “That yawn says otherwise.”

“That wasn’t a yawn Y/N, I was just smiling really big.” He protests, though he still follows your lead to the door.

“I’ve never seen anyone smile like that.” You add with a raised brow.

“Well maybe that’s just how I smile.”

Letting out a breathy snort, you pull away from him to at last take his one hand, “Come. I can’t have a single ray of that dreaded sun to get a taste of your precious skin. Not on my watch.”

Glancing at the closed front door, Nandor squeezes your hand, “Well um, now since you’ve mentioned the sun...I think I’d like to go to my crypt now.” He says, the flash of worry crossing over his face for only a brief moment.

“You sure? I mean a sunrise is pretty beautiful if I’m being honest and I know you never get to see them...”

“Not funny Y/N. And not fair, you know I can’t because I am full vampire.”

“And you’re missing out.”

“And I’d like to stay alive Y/N.”

“Aren’t you dead?”

“Yes and I am your only husband so I need to stay not burnt to a crisp.”

Chuckling, you follow him down the hallway, “Oh really? Don’t want me finding myself with another vampiric lover? Some new beast to sweep me off my feet and take me away into the night.” You tease.

Side eyeing you, he frowns, “No. Don’t I sweep you off your feet?”

Stepping into his crypt you stop him with your hand against his bicep, “Always.” You whisper sincerely with a quick wink, causing him to break out into a big fangy grin.

“Good. And if anyone would try and whoo you I would make sure there would be no more whooing again!” Exclaims Nandor, making the candles rise in flame for only a short second at his rise in emotion for how much he loves you.

“I don’t doubt they would fall by your blade. Not for a second.”

#nandor the relentless #Nandor x reader #nandor x you #nandor x y/n #what we do in the shadows #what we do in the shadows x reader #vampire fun yeah #love my big huggable vampire #:)

[krissiefox]

I've spoken before about why I enjoy abandoned/creepy/liminal space/weirdcore images on the internet, but I think I've come up with another reason, too. I used to love crowds. They excited me - the bustle of activity, the flood of voices, the emotional charge of shared humanity. Sadly, when the plague struck, crowds took on a different context. I saw how many of the people who before seemed so pleasant were now making a vulgar display of their disregard for others. People refusing to stay home was bad enough, but on top of that half of the people I see outside my home aren't wearing masks and show no regard for social distancing, either. Because of that, I find myself more fond of the spaces themselves than the crowds of people now. Seeing photos of vacant man-made structures feels inviting. A place I could run around in without fear- carefree, safe, enjoying the sights and sounds of the place, the lighting - every little scratch and scuff mark that gives the place character. ~ I've been meaning to post these photos that I took in February and July this year of my local Supermarket because I wanted to contribute to the internet collective of abandoned-feeling and liminal space photographs that I love. :)

The darker ones are from a day when there was a thunderstorm that knocked out the power while I was shopping. What customers were in the store were all moving towards the front to check out before the registers lost their backup power. I took the opportunity to go around the aisles and snap photos whenever there weren't any people to ruin the shots. (I think I may have some video footage somewhere, too.)

Then there are 3 from July when the store was doing renovations but was still open to the public. I loved seeing all the missing ceiling and empty spaces, it made the place much more interesting, at times even feeling post-apocalyptic like that supermarket in Fallout 3. I was disappointing when the remodel finished and it looked "normal" again.

This cool video https://youtu.be/ja1ssqzkDrs is what reminded me to finally dig these up and post them. The music creates a great mood. I hope folks who enjoy these kinds of images will enjoy these, as I would love to make more photos like this if I ever get the chance again. I have photos of an old abandoned fire station I explored back in my 20s that I may post in the future, too.

#Krissies photopgrahy #liminal spaces #abandoned #dark #nostalgic #grocery store #supermarket #safe #comforting #photography #photos #harps #power outage #construction #rennovation #post-apocalyptic #coronovirus #covid 19 #KrissieFox Photography

[bondsmagii]

thank you for your comment on that grocery shopping post…every time people shit on cis straight men for needing extra instructions to do the weekly shopping i remember how when i moved and had to adjust to a new supermarket with a different layout i would end up crying out of frustration every week because i couldn’t find the goddamn crackers or teabags or whatever else i needed. everyone’s brain works differently, and honestly grocery shopping is fucking stressful even when you know where everything is.

right? even if I had a normally functioning brain, I'd hate grocery shopping. it's stressful, it's full of people, I don't know about where you are but where I am the supermarkets change their layouts every month, swapping whole aisles over to different ones, and I hate it. it's the kind of place where you're there often enough to know where the regular things are, but not often enough to know where every single thing is. then when you follow the aisle signs you still have to find the right one that you like, and god. it's time consuming and stressful and it sucks.

add in all my bullshit, though: I have severe ADHD, like off the chain ADHD. unless I'm hyperfocused, even five minutes at the same task can be unbearable to me. I also find it difficult to filter out outside distractions, so a supermarket -- with all the noise, movement, colours, options, things to watch, things to look more closely at -- is an impossible place for me to stay focused. also, for some reason, the bright lights of a supermarket make me dissociate, so every fucking time I go in, I am at most 50% in my body. it's not unheard of for me to forget everything I bought as soon as I get home, and unpacking is a total surprise. finally, just to add the icing on the cake, I have issues with my left leg that leaves me with pain and a severe limp, and I'm half fucking deaf, so I can't easily communicate with my partner if I'm shopping with him, and with the masks/screens lord help me trying to hear what the cashier is saying because it's muffled and I can't lipread. grocery shopping is, quite literally, a Fucking Ordeal.

good for everyone who finds it a "simple task", but for a lot of us, that's not the case at all.

#anon #asks

[kyitsune]

genshin modern hc

characters: albedo | venti | scaramouche | gorou

contents: (sfw)

their occupation

favorite beverage shop

favorite grocery store

devious licks

how they would meet you (non-rom)

warnings: culture is american/japanese | might be a little ooc but this is how i perceive them HAHA | censoring business names because

— ♡

`✿ฺ ♥ albedo ♥ ✿ฺ´

albedo would be successful free-lance artist who secretly partakes in experiments in his small—small apartment. he makes a decent living amount but, he spends all his money pokémon cards. when he’s not drawing, he experiments by trying to make a new medium of art. (so far unsuccessful).

albedo’s go-to beverage shop is the 7-Eleven down his street where he lives. it’s usually empty (except for the occasional college students that come by giggling and grabbing orange juice) and he’ll usually just grab the cheap icee’s or a soda. if he’s taking on a lot of commissions, he’ll indulge on the buy 2 get 1 free monsters. his favorite drink though? dr. pepper.

when albedo needs groceries, he’ll hit up a local walmart or sprouts. walmart is usually where he tries to find pokémon cards but they’re usually already sold out. at sprouts, he always makes sure to buy blackberries.

one “bad” thing albedo has done was try weed during high school. not exactly the most devious lick but he wouldn’t risk doing something like that in a public place. (especially when someone knocked on the locked bathroom door, he freaked out and started shouting out how intense his poop was)

albedo would meet you at that 7-Eleven at 11 at night, trying to get a dr. pepper but the machine is broken for the umpteenth time. you manage to help him get the machine working and he leaves quickly with a small thank you. you see him a couple more times and it’s always when he’s struggling to get some dr. pepper.

— ♡

`✿ฺ ♥ venti ♥ ✿ฺ´

venti is an iconic pop artist who became popular from a small gig he did at a bar. he showed off all his talents by singing, dancing, and playing a piano strapped across his body. videos of him went viral and he pursued the career of a musician and he’s quite famous. he’s hit the charts with every new album even!

venti’s favorite beverage shop is a boba shop half an hour away from the place he stays. too many people know where he lives and he makes a great effort to avoid the local area. instead, he’ll take the bus or ask his chauffeur to drive him there. he always get winter melon green tea with crystal boba.

venti doesn’t usually go to the grocery store since he always buys everything online. but, when he does go out, he goes to walmart. he checks every aisle even if he only needs one thing (which is usually more face masks because he keeps losing his) sometimes he comes out with one or more useless items but he usually keeps within buying only what is necessary.

venti’s most devious lick was when he stole alcohol from local supermarkets during his college career. if he wanted to party, he needed something to drink! of course, he stopped when he came of age and he made sure none of his college friends snitched on him.

you would meet venti by going to his concert. you’ve been trying to get his ticket for two years and you finally got a floor seat! while you wish you could be at the barricade, being two rows back was good enough. during the concert you sing your heart out and tried to earn at least a glance from the pretty boy. while the chances were slim, venti seemingly looked in your direction and gave the brightest smile ever. your heart soared and you squealed, blushing madly. you leave the concert feeling content and looking forward to a future concert.

— ♡

`✿ฺ ♥ scaramouche ♥ ✿ฺ´

scaramouche works as a business man in the day but is a gang member during the night. he earns a decent as an office worker but most of his money stems from being a gang member. he overlooks the treasury and ensures people pay back what they took, no matter the cost. his co-workers are wary of him due to his cold and assertive demeanor

starbucks. this man can’t get enough energy to go throughout his days, even when he still gets his precious 8 hours of sleep. (how he does it, we all wish to know) occasionally he’ll go to a local coffee shop but generally chooses starbucks since the shop is right next to his office job.

the closest market. it’s all about convenience, hence the name “convenience stores.” he’s always buying medical things like bandages and stuff whenever he gets injured on the “job.” he will occasionally buy packets of instant ramen but usually tries to stick to cooking his own food. he needs to eat healthy anyways or he’ll feel every more exhausted.

scaramouche’s most devious lick was when he stole money from the gang, the one he currently works for. he didn’t know that thought, surprisingly. he just got roped into it, as he works accounting at his office job. while handling money, he ran into some dirty money and investigated it. while looking into it, the gang saw it as “stolen money” and scaramouche proved to them wrong. by beating them up. and that’s how he ended up working for them in exchange for big bucks.

how you would meet scaramouche is through that office job. he’s always handing you his work, not even sparing you a glance. you normally aren’t a pushover but something about scaramouche tells you that you should “help” with his work, unless you wanted to start sleeping with one eye opened.

— ♡

`✿ฺ ♥ gorou ♥ ✿ฺ´

what do you know, gorou works as a vetenarian!! he’s extremely good with the dogs but some cats, birds, hamsters, and even reptiles are wary of him. if they got a nose, they know something is a lil different about gorou. in the end, gorou is able to help the friendly pets go home happily.

gorou loves to go to coffee shops that have a wide selection of tea, so the usual local coffee shops. while coffee would give him that caffeine boost, he’s more into tea. the aroma helps calm his nerves to get him ready for work or settled down at home to read a book. his most favorite would be green tea mixed with jasmine.

gorou likes to go to the supermarkets with big malls. he loves shopping and usually looks around before ending the day with grocery shopping. sometimes he would stop by the smaller markets and buy a popsicle on the way home.

gorou’s most devious lick would be the time he dog-napped a dog but that was because he saw the owner hitting the poor pup! luckily gorou was there to save the day and snatched the poor pupper away. he took the lil guy to the vet and got him checked up. later, gorou brought him to the shelter where he found a new family to live happily with.

you would meet gorou on the streets as he would greet you then move to coo at your pet. (your pet to choose, and yes it can be a fish) you’ll meet him every now and then and even stop by his clinic to have your pet checked up on. you two are friendly with each other but have your own lives, it’s hard to keep up.

— ♡

manga panel: WandaRocket.deviantart.com

#genshin impact #genshin headcanons #headcanons #albedo #venti #scaramouche #gorou

[uglypastels]

OKAY BUT PROFESSOR TOM RECOGNIZING YOU FROM HIS ONLINE CLASS AT THE GROCERY STORE?! and you guys going down the aisles shopping together & teasing eachother about what’s in their carts?! I’m a full simp rn.

this is so cute uwu

> blurb night? prompt: English Lit professor!Tom (online classes)

_________________________

You were walking around your local supermarket, looking for some hand sanitiser. It was a lost cause. Of course, it was, once again, entirely sold out. But you kept looking. There must be a small bottle somewhere?! Sample size at least?

As you were about to give up, you might have been looking in the wrong aisle. Since it had become such a necessity, they could have moved the product somewhere else. And you were right. There was an entire display where small bottles of hand sanitiser should be. There was only one bottle left! 

You leaned in to grab it, but you bumped into a person you hadn’t seen, who was also reaching for it. 

“Oh, sorry,” you said, slightly defeated. You knew how people were in the stores. Any little argument could start a fight, you weren’t up for any of it, so you stepped back and let the man take the bottle. 

“No, no,” he, however, stepped back as well, “you were reaching for it first, you should take it.”

“Thank you.” Something about him sounded familiar, but you couldn’t quite place it. And, of course, it wasn’t any more helpful that half his face was covered by a mask. It was a nice one though. Navy blue. Somehow it matched his brown hair and eyes very well. 

“(your college)?” He asked. He quickly realised he had freaked you out by assuming your school correctly, so he explained quickly. “Your mask! You got the logo on it.” 

“Oh, right!” you had completely forgotten that that’s what you were wearing. You had received it in the care package the school send you at the beginning of the term when the school had closed down. The mask was the only thing that you could make any use of. 

You looked at the stranger for a bit longer, but the longer you looked, the more it felt like he wasn’t a stranger at all. 

“I’m sorry, but... do I know you?” you asked eventually. By the small wrinkles in his eyes, you could tell he was smiling. 

“I mean, I am actually a professor at the school, but unless you study English Lit, I doubt we have-” 

“I do! Oh my god, Professor Holland?” You could not believe that you had run into your favourite professor and not recognised him. You had never expected him to live so close to you, of course. 

His eyes went wide as he stood there, perplexed. 

“Wait,” he wanted to take a moment to remember your name but that apparently, didn’t work out. “Hh I’m so horrible with names, I’m sorry.” 

“That’s alright. I’m y/n.” 

“Of course! Forgive me. It’s hard enough to remember hundreds of names each semester, and to match it up to half a face-” 

“I get it.” Hopefully, he could see that you were smiling through your mask as well. You knew exactly what he meant since you didn’t even recognise the face you had been silently and secretly crushing on every Tuesday and Thursday afternoon for approximately 2 hours. 

“Well, then maybe I can finally get some personal feedback on how the lessons are going because honestly, I’m trying my best but when it comes to me and technology,” he winced. You couldn’t help but giggle, which in turn made him smile. 

“Great! You’re great- I mean, the lessons are great. I’m enjoying them very much.” Another pro of the mask was that he couldn’t see you blush as you made a fool of himself. 

“Well, that’s amazing to hear. Thank you.” He grabbed the handle of the shopping cart that was safely separating you. A moment of silence continued and you decided that would be that of the conversation, so you waved your professor goodbye, already excited for your next class. 

#tom holland #tom holland blurb #tom holland au #tom holland fanfiction #tom holland fluff #tom holland fanfic #tom holland fic #tom holland imagine #imagine #fic #fanfic #fanficion #blurb #fluff #au #th #college au #professor!tom #professor!au #professor tom holland

[jiminsasscracck]

sugar rush ↠ jjk

яєαℓιѕтι𝖈 αυ!

gєηяє:  drabble, realistic/idol au, foreigner au

ωαяηιηgѕ: none lol

ωσя∂ѕ: 4987

ωяιттєη ву: Skyler

ѕυммαяу: One may argue there is no such thing called ‘luck.’ You would agree, all you wanted was a bag of Sour Neon Worms and nothing else.

The list went on forever. When you rolled out the beige-coloured paper out of your pocket, the list almost hit the bottom of the car and your eyes widened. Hyunbin had written whatever he could on the list, from five different types of coca-cola to the six different types of chocolate. 

“What’s the matter? Why the grumpy face?” Your friend questioned you with a soft chuckle. Without racing your gaze to meet her eyes, you turned the long list around, so she could read it all. She — along with the four other girls Hyunbin sent you to the market with, all laughed out loudly. 

“What can I say, he has no self-control. And besides, Hyunbin was enough of a gentleman to give us his credit card”, your second friend said while she burst out laughing, waving the black credit card Hyunbin gave you to buy all the supplies. 

“But not enough of a gentleman to follow us to the store in this weather?” You mumbled and eyed the grey sky on the outside of the car. Your friend in the passenger seat gave you a soft push, still laughing. “Come on, he needs to fix his apartment. Whatever he meant by that.” 

Hyunbin’s voice rang through your head again; I need to fix my apartment! You girls go, we boys will stay here and clean this place for when you get back! If it was up to you, his apartment was already clean enough. For it to be five girls and six boys inside, including him, it was rather neat inside his apartment. He lived alone, had a high ceiling and different rooms for all of you to a sleepover with. Therefore, the reason that his apartment was dirty was pure lies. He was either going to drink up all the alcohol or have a ‘boys-time’ with the rest of the boys in his apartment. 

“Someone call Hyun, we won’t be able to carry all of this”, you said and nodded to the list one final time. You unbuckled your belt and pulled the hood of your hoodie over your head, to prevent the tiny drops of rain to ruin your hair. “Let’s go, ladies.” 

You all left your black car and took quick steps to the huge supermarket. You wrapped your arms over your chest to prevent the heat from your — Hyunbin’s hoodie, to leave your body. Your black Adidas-leggings felt like a thin piece of paper when you walked in the cold, but you were soon greeted by the warmth of the supermarket on the inside. 

Even at such an hour and at this gloomy weather, the supermarket was surprisingly filled with more people than you anticipated. One of your friends grabbed the red basket to pull behind her; then the shopping started. 

You soon realised it would take too much time this way. If all five of you walked together like this, it would take you hours to get everything on the list Hyunbin wrote. Therefore, you all split up into groups. You and the other girl went to the cold supplies, while the three other girls took a picture of the list and trailed their way. 

“So, you and Hyunie”, your friend winked while elbowing you softly as you made your way to the freezers. “You’re wearing his hoodie, I see.” 

“He’s an idiot”, you answered, which caused your friend to laugh out loudly. “But I have to admit, he is cute.” 

“I think he has a thing for you”, your friend hummed. You hummed back as an answer — a hidden smile formed on your lips. Though you were not interested in Hyunbin that way, it did surely boost your ego when your friend mentioned him liking you. He invited all of to his apartment to celebrate your birthday which passed three months ago, but he had spent a few months in Korea with his father and missed your birthday. He returned only a couple of days ago, and almost immediately wanted to throw a little party for you with your closet friends. 

His gestures always warmed your heart, however, you were uncertain if it was all his Korean humbleness or if there was something else behind his actions. Maybe that’s why he wanted alone time with the boys back at his apartment, to discuss his emotions. 

In the middle of your thoughts, a specific object caught your attention, causing you to to an imitate stop and head twisting completely to the side. Your friend continued walking a couple of steps until she noticed your stop. She turned around and asked you what the matter was, but you left her silent. 

There, down there with exotic colours, a bag of Sour Neon Worms rested. How many years had it been since you ate them? You remembered clearly how much you loved them as a child. Now as an adult, you’d almost forgotten how they tasted like. A wave of nostalgia overpowered you, who were you fooling — you had completely forgotten how they tasted like, and you needed to remember.

“Sour worms”, you said slowly and let your hood slowly glide off your head as you turned back to your friend. “Come on, do you know how many years it has been?! I had no idea they were still in sale, let’s get a bag or two!” 

“I don’t think Hyunbin would approve, it’s his money”, your friend quickly argued. You rose one of your eyebrows and showed her the long list again. 

“He wants us to buy all this and can’t afford a bag sour worms? He won’t even notice we bought them.” Your friend easily gave in — pulling a bad joke how you would need to blow him off if he became mad, but quickly changed her route down the shelves to the package you saw. You squealed the entire way, causing the two men also looking on the candy shelf to give you a side-eye, but you could not be bothered. Your steps increased in size to reach the small bag faster, and you soon reached the shelf-

You could not reach them.

“What... What the fuck!” you cussed and jumped up on the air, your nails brushing against the bag of the colourful candies. “Are you kidding me?!” Your friend caught up with you, but not much to your surprise, she was not able to reach the bag either. 

“What idiot would place kids candy so high?” you hissed and tried jumping again. Just as the first time, you had no luck. There was no chair or anything else near the two of you to reach the bags, they were peacefully resting on the shelf unbothered while you were growing more frustrated. 

Your friend elbowing your ribs caught your attention and caused your jumping to a stop. When you turned to her, you noticed her blue eyes trail past you, down the hallway and to the two men a couple of metres away from the two of you. The same men who eyed you up and down when you squealed. One of them had his back faced you and the other one was snickering underneath the mask he had to cover half of his face, you could point it out by the way wrinkle formed by his eyes. 

The one with his back faced towards you seemed to be at least a head or two taller than you, he could easily grab the package of candy for you. He was dressed in all black, a bucket hat on top of his head and black hair sticking out in a faded undercut.

“They’re Korean”, your friend whispered in your ear. “You know, just like Hyunbin.” 

“Who cares, looks like one of them can reach the shelf.” 

Your friend giggled softly at your determination to get the candy package, who would have thought you were an adult you could drive and smoke, yet the only thing you wanted was a package of sour worms? She remained in place while you made your way up to the Korean men, the one facing you slowly letting his eyes meet yours and his snickering disappearing. 

You gulped down your saliva and placed a hand on the man facing away from you, your entire body stiffening when you felt him stiffen at your touch. Now when you approached him, you could point out he was staring down at his phone and must have blocked out any other sounds coming from around him. He slowly turned around to face you, him being much taller than you and causing you to tilt your head up to meet his eyes and, woah. 

To be someone who is quite laid back, the way his round eyes met your caused your breath to hitch in your throat. Unlike the other man, he was not wearing a mask, which flashed you his perfect skin. His lips were in a straight line and a slight frown flashed upon his face when his round eyes met yours. His black FILA shirt hugged his well-toned body tightly; it all even became worse for your heart when he closed his phone and put his hands into the pockets of his black sweatpants. 

‘Oh god, I hope he speaks English’ you thought for yourself. You remembered when you meet Hyunbin’s parents for the first time — their English was close to absent. Luckily for you, you picked up on some Korean and was able to leave a good impression on his parents, but right now you were way too nervous to speak any Korean with this man. You could barely utter out a word in English to him. 

“Do you think you could....” you started, your usually confident voice becoming an octave lower. You twisted your back the slightest bit to point at the candy bag, only two or three metres away from you. “Reach the bag?” His eyes followed your finger and to the bag you were pointing out. Your friend gave an awkward wave with her hand, clearing her throat discreetly. 

He turned around to his friend, who shrugged his shoulders underneath the olive-green jacket, and eventually, he walked up to the shelf. 

His hands easily grabbed the candy-bag, he did not even need to stand on his toes. He turned around and handed you the bag, and you automatically handed it to your friend behind you. “One more, please.” 

“One more?” he repeated this time, his voice way darker than you thought. You nodded your head and he did as he was told, he grabbed onto one more bag and handed you the candy bag. 

“I-I... Thank you”, you managed to stutter out. ‘Damn it, why did I put on a hoodie? I’m dying of heat in here.’ You grabbed onto your hoodie and fluttered it away from your sticking body on the other side. ‘Should I flash him my Korean? Wait, am I even positive he is Korean?! Okay, yeah, his features are quite similar to Hyunbin but... Imagine if he wasn’t. I would die of embarrassment. He seems to understand English, he-’

“They good?” 

His dark and smoothing voice caught you off guard, all your thoughts disappearing into thin air as you blinked your eyes to focus on him. He was holding onto one of the bags in his large palms, his head twisted to the side to meet your eyes.

"Huh?" you found yourself saying at the surprise question you received from him. 

"Are they good?" he then rephrased, wiggling the bag of candies in his hand. His accent was there, he was not a native English speaker, but it was definitely was better than you excepted. Your eyes blinked to the side for a millisecond, your friends’ eyes met yours and she silently told you to answer his question before it became awkward.

"I mean, yeah", you said and stared down at your bag in your hand. "I can't remember how they taste like, it's been ages but... At least I think so." 

"You think so?" the man repeated, more to himself than to you. "Okay, then. I will also try." 

"Do you like sour candy?" 

At your question, he seemed to unsure what to answer. You did not know if it was due to him being uncertain what the word 'sour' meant, or if he was taken back by your answer. He stared at you for a few seconds, his eyes travelling to the man in his company who leaned onto the shelf on the other side. You saw the man dressed in black mouth the word sour to him, to which his friend only answered with yet another shrug. 

Suddenly, his eyes widened and met yours again. "Oh, sour!" he exclaimed, with a slightly different accent when pronouncing the word. "Yes, yes, I like sour! I like candy." 

"You know, I don't really like it but... I remember I used to love these", you chuckled and waved the bag in your hand. The man seemed relaxed now, his thin lips were curved into a soft smile and he twisted his entire body to face you. 

"You don't like? Why?" he questioned. You just shrugged your shoulder with a playful laugh, you simply grew out of it. However, you were not positive if he would answer you if you tried to explain how your taste-buds changed, therefore you simply answered with a shrug. 

The smile on your lips — and his for that reason, fell drastically when you felt a hand tug on your hood from behind. You were pulled back with such a strong force you fell onto the cold ground, the bag in your hand flying and landing by your friends feet. 

Your hand went up to trail the part of your throat where the hoodie almost chocked you and leaned over your shoulder to see a man, probably in his late thirties, also all dressed in black, stomp past and you and up to the Korean guy. The other person, who leaned on the shelf, instantly straightened his back when he noticed the older man coming through. The guy that just helped you stared at you with wide eyes, mouth hanging open as his instincts were to help you up from the floor. 

"No, Jungkook, don't do it. Just ignore her and let's go meet the others." 

He spoke in Korean, but you understood it all. Before anyone could utter out a word, the older man pulled the two away from the scene by grabbing onto their forearms. All three of them disappeared around the corner, their voices fading away the further they walked. 

"Dickhead!" Your friend called loudly after him. She bent down and grabbed the bag which flew from your hands and helped you up on your feet. "Are you okay?" 

"I'm fine. It just caught me by surprise", you said and patted down the dust on your leggings. Jungkook, he said? It rang a bell, maybe one of Hyunbin's friends were named Jungkook, you had an insane amount of deja vús when you heard his name. 'Just ignore her? Asshole. You could have told me to move away and I would have.' You were becoming more bitter the more you thought about it; what if he ruined Hyunbin's hoodie? Or strangled you to death? 

"That Jungkook better be a God or something, why else would he be so protected?" you bitterly joked while fixing your hoodie. 

"He probably is, he looked like on at least", your friend tried to joke, but she did not even earn a chuckle from you in return. Your eyebrows were still narrowed and your lips in a thin line. She could point out you were irritated by the wrinkle forming between your eyebrows. 

"Let's continue with the list, yeah?” she suggested awkwardly. “We've wasted more time than intended." 

"What list- Oh, that's right." 

You pulled the list of supplies out of your pocket again; this was why you were here to begin with. How could you have forgotten, a few minutes spent with a Korean guy and you already forgot what you were supposed to do. 

The two of you silently continued to check out the list, and eventually the three other girls joined you. They wondered why you were so slow — they were finished with all the dry supplies while you still had not filled half of the basket. You simply explained you would tell them everything in the car instead. 

You spotted Jungkook out of the corner of your eye multiple times, each time he was joined by a new Korea guy. It seemed as if this place must be a good place for Koreans, there was not one, two, three of four here but around ten people, all from the same friend-group. You noticed a few walking around with a camera, your interest definitely sparked but you were forced to twist your head the other way. You could afford anymore distractions, they all waited for you back at Hyunbin's parlament. 

"I called Hyunbin, by the way", one of your friends said. "He should be here any minute. We can fill half of the supplies in his car and the other in yours. What do you think?" 

"Sounds good to me", you hummed and checked off the last thing on the entire list. 'Gosh, why do we even need five litres of coca-cola?' you thought for yourself. 'I'm going to need something to hold me awake this entire night.'

"I'll be right back. I'll go grab myself a red-bull", you said. "Start checking out, I'll come join you as soon as possible." "Oh, get one for me to!" your friend called, and soon enough all of them wanted the energy drink. You flipped them off with the middle finger, a sneaky smile on your lips as you separated your way to go back to the cold refrigerators. 

‘I hope I did not end up on camera. I feel like I should know who those guys are... Damn, could they be a part of a drama? What was that drama I watched again... Descendant of the Sun?’ Your thoughts lingered away for a moment, you tried your best to avoid the Korean men in the supermarket in fear of being on camera. You had heard about the crazy things fans could do to anyone getting too close to a celebrity, and you were not about to catch a case with a celebrity you did now even know about. 

Jungkook, was it? 

You pulled your phone out of your pocket and googled the name, even after the first three digits his named popped up. You pressed onto the first suggestion that came up and your phone instantly flashed pictures of the same face you spoke to half an hour ago. 

Jeon Jungkook (1997) BTS.

‘What the fuck, BTS? That super famous KPOP band? Nononono, that can’t be it. Their fans are crazyyyy, if that was the case this supermarket would have been flooded by now.’ Your own thoughts went against you as you kept analysing the pictures, no, this had to be him. Everything looked the same, his nose, his eyes, his lips, there were no two ways about it. 

You placed a hand on your stomach as the adrenaline started flowing through your veins. You did know if you were considered lucky or doomed for speaking to him, it somewhat explained why you were tossed away by the older man. The other man you saw, with the olive-green jacket and mask, was called Kim Taehyung. Even though you could not see his entire face, his face structure resembled exactly the same Taehyung had, even the mole on the nose.

Since your head was facing down, you did know notice the muscular body approaching you from the front. You eyes were stuck on the text in front of you, you did not notice until your head bumped into a rather hard chest and forced you to raise your head. 

When you saw him at first, you let out a shriek and instantly closed your phone. You could almost feel the embarrassment flooding through you if he spotted you searching him up on your phone. 

You stood stiff in front of him, giving your eyes one last time to analyse him properly and to be certain this was him. His jawline was tightened, blue veins popping up on the side of his neck down his long-sleeved arm he had pulled up. And yes, that’s where you saw the tattoos. The last thing which confirmed this was the Jungkook you were talking to. 

“I...” he licked his lips as he fumbled with his fingers in front of him. He seemed to have a difficult time to form a sentence, and after a couple of seconds he simply said ‘sorry.’ 

“It’s fine!” you said quickly — almost too quickly. You were so paranoid about obsessive fans or cameras to be around you, you just wanted him to go away. However, he did the opposite. He heard the unnatural tone in your voice and tilted his head softly to the side. 

“You... hurt? Pain?” he questioned, his fingers trailing over his throat — the same spot you were strangled when you were pulled back. 

“No, no, I am fine! See?” You rubbed your palm against the sore spot on your throat, during the past thirty minutes the pain suggestively disappeared, you could barely feel it now. “I gotta go, thank you for worrying-” 

As you tried to walk past Jungkook’s colossal body, he grabbed a hold of your wrist and pulled you with him between two shelves, 

If that was any other guy, you would have thrown a fist in his face and stomped away. But knowing who he was, knowing what he was capable of doing, you obeyed as he pulled pressed your back against a shelf. He stood a few steps away from you, his eyes eyeing you up and down. His eyes left burning marks across your body, why did you come in a hoodie and leggings? 

“Are you... scare?” he spoke out slowly. If you were not scared from earlier, you definitely were now. 

“Who, me?” You questioned and he nodded. “N-no, why would I be scared?” 

“Hyung, he didn’t want you to hurt. He...was...protect — protecting, me.” 

“I know”, you answered. The older man must have been his bodyguard of some kind, knowing how many fans BTS have you did not blame him. Jungkook cocked his head to the side, eyes narrowing gently towards you. “You... know?” 

“I didn’t mean to bother you. I am short and you know, you are tall, the candy was in a high place but maybe I should not have bothered you. I don’t blame you.” 

Jungkook blinked his eyes, his brain probably picking up what you were saying and translating it into Korean. He stood still for a few seconds, one hand inside his pocket while the other hung loosely from his side. He made sure there was no one in the hallway the two of you stood in, before he took yet another step closer to you. 

“You no bother me.” His voice came out soft as a dance on roses, your chest rising together with his voice. Where were your friends? They must awkwardly stand up the check-out now, waiting for you to return with the red-bull. However, at this very moment, you could not even bother to think about your friends. You stood quiet and let Jungkook continue. 

Jungkook seemed to hesitate, he took a deep breath in and his eyes stared at you with words he was not able to say. “You look like angel”, he began to say slowly, his features open as he twisted the bucket hat on top of his head. “I was happy, when you came to me. I’ve been practising English, you know? I wanted to know you... better. But you seemed mad at me. Avoided me.” 

Your brain could truly not grasp what was going on. Jungkook called you an angel — which you certainly did not agree on when you were dressed like this, and he wanted to get to know you. You. You could not even imagine all the girls and boys who would have died to be in this position you were in now, you had no idea who he was until you googled him. Maybe destiny choose the wrong person? Or it could be the other way around, you had no idea.

“No, I’m not mad. I was just busy, look.” You pulled out the long list of supplies from your pocket, Jungkook’s eyes followed it as it folded out and a soft laugh left his lips. His laughter made your heart skip a beat, it was genuine, he was not trying to force it. 

“Okay, I see. Very good. Then, your name?” 

By now, you had thanked whoever controlled your fate from above to put you in this situation. You happily told him your name and extended your arm for him to shake, though you were aware of the different traditions they had in Korea. Jungkook, being the gentleman that he is, did not leave you hanging and shook your hand back. His hand was larger than yours by far, his fingers met on the other side and he let out another laugh. 

“You are small!” he said while laughing. “It is good. Not bad, it is very good.” 

“And you are... big”, you clapped back playfully and tapped his stone-hard chest lightly. You instantly spotted how your gestures boosted his ego — his manliness, and his muscles flexed underneath your fingertips. He tilted his head to the side playfully, a grin forming on his lips as the hand on his bucket hand trailed down to place on top of your hand.

The sound of your panicked friends calling your name ruined the moment for the two of you, they must have been waiting for you by the cashier now. You could almost feel the anxiety they must have while waiting for you, which was why you flashed Jungkook your last smile before jogging away. Jungkook wanted to call after you, when your body touched him his entire body heated up instantly, as if you had a magic effect on him. He patted down his sweatpants and pulled his shirt over his hipbones before he slowly made his way to reunite with his group, somewhat planning out  an idea to convince Namjoon to get your phone number. 

“Where are the drinks?!” your friend shirked once you made it to the cashier. You only grinned at her, a grin which spoke more than a thousand words, and it silenced her in a second. You paid for everything, even the bag of sour worms, and went to place everything into plastic bags. However, you noticed all the supplies were already placed in plastic bags, held by none other than Hyunbin himself. Hyunbin had a black shirt on, stuffed into his skinny jeans and a beanie covering his ears.

“My, my, looks who finally made it”, you teased. “Told you it was a bit too much, yeah?” Since his hands were occupied, you placed his credit card in his pocket for him. 

“Let’s get to the cars, I don’t know how I feel with five guys staying in my apartment with my alcohol”, Hyunbin answered with a small smile, his dimples forming as he did so. 

As all of you start to walk, you and Hyunbin walk last. Hyunbin had a hard time to balance the two filled bags while you kept glancing over your shoulder, waiting for something to happen. You could not leave like this, not after you had the greatest luck you ever had in your life. 

Jungkook did not think so either. Out of the corner of your eye, you spotted a black dot make its way towards the two of you. You stopped in your tracks; and in return, so did Hyunbin. 

Jungkook jogged up to the two of you, his face almost lit up when he spotted another fellow Korean he could converse with. He started speaking Korean to Hyunbin, most of it was understandable for you. He explained what had happened — the sour candy, and Hyunbin was smiling and chuckling. 

They spoke for a few minutes; it all ended with Hyunbin agreeing to something and Jungkook flashing him the biggest smile he had ever had. Then, Jungkook turned to you and his smile increased. “Beautiful”, he said, causing your pulse to start beating faster. “I am lucky. Wait here, I come quick.” 

Jungkook twisted his body and ran away from the scene, up to his camera crew where he was most probably going to ask something. You snapped your head to the side, where Hyunbin’s gaze met yours and he smiled towards you. 

“That’s Jungkook from BTS”, Hyunbin said, and you answered with a nod. You were already aware. 

“What did you two talk about?” you asked. You did not understand it all, the two of them were both native speakers and they spoke much faster than you were used to hearing. 

Hyunbin snickered at you. “Long story short, he’s joying us for the little party in my apartment.” 

Your smile of happiness grew bigger as your eyes found Jungkook’s body again. he seemed eager, he could not stand in place when he spoke to the rest of his crew what he wanted to do. 

“Oh and by the way...” 

Your eyes trailed to Hyunbin from the corner of your eye as he spoke. “I didn't put Sour Neon Worms on the list.”

“Shut the fuck up, Hyunbin.” 

#you know how hard this was for me to write since i speak korean lol #pro tip from me #who dated a 23 year old #boost his manliness #1st of september #kinda what i did now lol #admin sky #jungkook x reader #bts x reader #bts x foreigner #bts foreigner #bts idol au #bts realistic au #bts audios #jungkook #jeon jungkook #bts english #bts drabble #bts fluff #jungkook birthday

[pixiedoodlein]

I’m so fucking mad that a year and a half into this pandemic I am back to 11th hour debating another year of homeschool. The first stretch of homeschool, in NYC, when the toddler was a baby, and husband was home on unemployment, was good, nice even, a quiet piece of something good when the world outside was falling apart. The next stretch, the Oklahoma stretch, with a particularly climby toddler, husband working 10 hour days, me doing remote contract work, somewhere we had no family around to help w/ childcare, was challenging. I was not always my best self. Some days were delightful, muffins and math games. Other days I was more Miss Trunchbull than Miss Honey, fractions were squeezed in between crying (usually mine) and netflix (way too much of hers), and I held on to any shred of sanity by telling myself “just a little longer, just until the vaccines.”

Well here we are. Husband & I have been vaccinated for months, but the kids aren’t yet. The upstate NY town we moved to is a very small town (pop: 838), was mostly untouched by previous waves. When we got here, I couldn’t understand why everyone was so lax about it- no masks, no panic. Our first day here, when I came home from the market and saw through the window a gaggle of unmasked kids in my living room (the neighbors coming to welcome us, they heard a kid moved in) I almost had a heart attack. In fact, I was so tired from the drive from OKC that for a moment I actually thought I was at the wrong house, that I was hallucinating, because how in the world could there be unmasked bodies in my living room.

Then I started talking to people here. And I realized that the way I thought they were insane for not being deathly afraid of covid, they thought I was insane for being petrified. Because the disease hadn’t hit here; their businesses were destroyed and their kids were out of school (in a rural area with barely functional internet, remote school = a lost year) and their lives were totally fucked up, for a disease that never arrived at their doorstep. I came to understand why they weren’t worried, why here life looked (almost) normal. I told them about what it was like to live somewhere covid tore through, the freezer trucks of bodies on the FDR Drive and my previously healthy 27yld brother so sick with it the first spring he thought he was about to die (but too scared to go to a hospital), my dad’s relative in the next NYC wave on a vent for months and lucky to be alive but may never walk again, the doctors in OKC pleading on the news to please wear a fucking mask because the hospitals were fucking full, and the neighbors stopped thinking I was psycho when I carried extra masks for their kids, and made them put them on, when I took them to town for ice cream. I never stopped masking. But we did indoor dine here (once, BBQ, it wasn’t delicious enough for how anxious I felt) and I did bring all the kids, including my toddler, to a fairly crowded children’s museum in the big (small) city an hour away, where the rest of us were masked but the one with his hands in his mouth, who was all up in other kids’ faces, the one who really should be masked, wasn’t because he won’t leave it on for more than a minute.

Actually it’s a lie to say that I never stopped masking- I have dashed into little stores here, without one, because I’m vaxed! It’s safe here! Covid felt done. We had friends come here to visit this summer. Friends who are vaxed, but that doesn’t seem to really matter enough anymore. We had the neighbors over for meals, indoors (you see, more indoor dining! A minute ago I was just thinking restaurants, but why would plagues only spread in restaurants?). They had us for meals. The girls are a crew, new best friends, making my daughter’s life here so, so much happier, constant sleepovers (their kids were at our house this afternoon; my kid is at their house right now). The parents and grandparents are wonderful, making my life here, and husband’s life here, so much easier, so much better. We help them with stuff, they help us with stuff, there isn’t a day that goes by that we don’t see each other, unmasked. Some of the adults in their household are vaxed; some of the adults in their household are not. The kids are all too young to be vaxed. But it (living, doing shit again, seeing people again) really stopped feeling scary; it really felt like everything was fine, normal-ish, normal-er. The end of the pandemic felt in sight.

I signed my child up for school here. Real school, not mommy school, school with a school bus. She was a little anxious, I had to talk her into it, I sold it hard, I bought her whatever pair of new sneakers she wanted for her new school (she hasn’t had gym class in a year and a half; for a phase in Oklahoma she wore one boot and one sandal every day, why not). She wasn’t anxious about sneakers or covid; she was anxious that maybe she hadn’t learned enough in homeschool (I am not a teacher! I did not homeschool because I am good at it or love it or wanted to, I homeschooled because I was scared of her getting covid at school and dying), that she would be behind. She isn’t behind. I followed the real school curriculum as best I could (as in: sometimes totally and sometimes not at all), and somehow, when I gave her the standardized “real school” test “at the end of the year” (aka the day I couldn’t take it anymore, I had to focus on my work or I wasn’t going to have an income, the day I’d decided we’d done as much as we could and it was time to be done), she sailed through it, this kid is smart. Smart as in needs to be in actual real fucking school to stay smart and learn and reach her potential.

She got excited- one of the neighbor kids is in her grade. The other kid is older- but the school is small, she’d see her tons. She was excited; I was excited. I registered her for school. Her new teacher sent a nice note. We all were excited. She’s never taken the school bus before but the neighbors take it and she’d be fine on the bus with her besties, the bus would pick her up in front of their house since there’s nowhere to turn around up our hill (we are VERY rural), they’d all get on and off the bus together. She has been backpack shopping. We have been discussing what she’ll have for breakfast (honey nut Cheerios), what she wants me to pack for lunch (she says just Goldfish, I say turkey sandwich, we’re working on it).

But now, 18 days before school starts here, I am thisclose to pulling her out, to embarking on another lovely (not), gratifying (not) year of homeschool, because of covid, delta. When we got to our new home in our new tiny town in June, there was no covid here. Now, our county is listed by the CDC as a high transmission area (is there anywhere in the US that isn’t?). 80% of senior citizens here are vaxed; 50% of the total population is, well below the national average. 15 cases per 100,000, in a county of 100,000. I guess this is less rampant than our previous pandemic locales, NYC (currently 25/100K), OKC (49/100K). This is splitting hairs, everywhere is bad. This is what panic does to me: are we better or worse for every decision we’ve made in the past year and a half, every decision that got us here? There are fewer cases here but fewer people and fewer vaccinated people and fewer ICU beds. We aren’t safe even here, but at least we are happy (happy aside from fear of delta death).

I don’t know whether to send my kid to school in 18 days. There will be masks but masks aren’t enough (how many masks do I make her wear? two, ten, a thousand?). This choice feels crazy— in March 2020, when that covid was mostly sparing kids, I yanked her out of school. Now, this covid does hurt kids. How much longer, how many more years, can parents be in this position to make this nightmare choice? What will hurt her more: school or no school? There are vaccines, more than enough in America. We shouldn’t be having to make this choice.

As it is, because of toddler— not because of toddler, because of being a parent to children in a pandemic— my work life, and husband’s, will be severely impacted this year, again. I can’t send him to daycare because he’s too little to leave a mask on (he won’t even leave his pants on!) in a room full of other unmasked toddlers, whose families may or may not be vaxd, may or may not wear masks (there has been a noticeable increase in supermarket mask wearing since we got here, but still not enough, is any of it enough?), may or may not be going to parties and weddings and funerals, daycare providers who may or may not be doing all the same. This means I can only apply to remote jobs, so I can be home with him. Husband has some flexibility, more than he did in OKC, but god forbid he has to work while I have a work call or meeting or work due I didn’t manage to get done at 4am or 11pm when the house is quiet. He can’t bring toddler to work with him, his work is up on scaffold, stenciling ceilings. This will be another year of me muting myself on Zooms while toddler pulls his diaper off and hurls poop at the cat. Would it really be so much harder to also be trying to teach parts of speech to our daughter at the same time? Yes, it would, but I don’t know if I can send my kids back out into the world until they’re vaccinated. I am counting the days, holding my breath, until they can be.

I used to believe in personal choice. I don’t anymore. I want this shit to be mandated, I want the government to line us up and force mRNA into holdouts’ arms, I want it to be required, to be able to function in and interact with and benefit from society in any way, shape, or form. I have been very lucky in the pandemic. Privilege stacked on privilege on privilege, to be fussing over my Zooms in my hamlet. I had been pretty pandemic perky, baking my pies and playing with my pandemic pets and (thinking about) doing puzzles, but I’ve reached my breaking point. This shit could be done, but it’s not, and I’m scared it never will be.

[ambertea]

together

(read on AO3)

Day two of the Doctorrose Fic Marathon! Based on the prompt "holding hands".

“I want a job.” He announced one morning. Rose was hovering over a mirror as she lined her eyes with dark pencil. “I was thinking Torchwood.”

She stayed silent, her eyebrows furrowing as she rubbed at the mascara that had fallen under her eyes. His feet lead him to stand behind her, and he watched his nervous face reflected back at him.

“Is that okay?”

She nodded at herself in the mirror and straightened. “Talk to Pete.”

“Well, actually, I was thinking your department sounded more interesting.”

She turned and stared at him flatly.

“Tell me what my department does.”

“Alien…stuff.” He replied, rubbing at the back of his neck.

She brushed past him and his hands snatched at her wrists, quickly dropping them at the look on her face.

“Rose, please.”

Her eyes flicked to the clock behind him. “I’m running late.”

“Tomorrow, then?” He asked eagerly. She nodded.

“Tomorrow, yeah. Sure.”

The door banged behind her, and he collapsed onto the bed and let the silence taunt him once more.

It was nice, being stuck in one place, nice in a way that made his muscles tense and his fingers curl. The next-door neighbours always smiled at him when he put out the bins, and the girl at the coffee shop didn’t even ask for his order anymore, just thrust it at him with her usual dreary rage. The kids on the street all knew his name – well, one of his names – and called out to him to play football with them or help them with their homework.

Rose enjoyed it less. Everywhere she went, whispers followed. People eyed her nervously in the supermarket, would press themselves against the shelves as though she was an elephant thundering past, rather than a small human woman trying to buy milk.

Everyone he asked about it had just shrugged. Rose herself had ignored him entirely, but whether that was due to the question itself or just his presence was unclear.

He had spent three long years away from her, yet he had never missed her quite like this. She slept beside him—apparently, the only proof he had was slightly creased sheets and makeup stains on her pillows—and then would disappear with a cursory “Torchwood” thrown over her shoulder. Her phone, that was literally always in her hand, was apparently incapable of picking up his calls or answering texts, and his own only mocked him with read receipts.

He had thought she would understand this new him. He had changed his entire body before, and it was less than a day after that she had been holding his hand and snuggling into his side. It had been four months now, in this universe, four long and agonising months of sitting indoors and waiting for something to happen. Every time he looked at her, he hoped for some flood of recognition, a moment where she realised he was still him and so they ought to just get on with it.

Every day that passed brought less and less hope that that would ever happen.

“Wake up. Hey, wake up.”

He opened his eyes, blinking against the bleariness of sleep. A fan of blonde hair tickled the sides of his face, and brown eyes watched him blankly.

“Rose?”

“Come on.”

He sat up, stretching out his arms and working the kinks out of his back. The windows were dark, and the traffic outside was only loud, rather than its usual deafening. Rose folded her arms and stared down at him, and he fidgeted slightly under her gaze.

“What’s going on?”

“You wanted Torchwood. It’s time for Torchwood. Put these on,” she ordered, throwing some boots on the floor. “We need to go.”

“Right.” He said, limbs failing in his haste to stand. The room flickered with darkness for a second and he cursed stupid human blood pressure. “Where are we going?”

“Coast.”

“Which coast?” He asked, wrestling the boots onto his bare feet. Rose rolled her eyes and threw a jacket at him.

“The one next to the sea. Now come on, hurry up.”

He thrust his arms into the jacket and hurried after her retreating form. A blast of cold hair hit him like a bucket of cold water, and he wrapped his arms tightly around his sides as he shuffled forwards. Rose’s phone was at her ear, her voice hard as she barked out her instructions.

“Solomon street. Now.”

A green SUV whizzed round the corner, skidding to a stop perfectly in front of them. A young man stepped out, ginger and pale, and immediately saluted.

“Ma’am.”

“Thank you, Stewart. I’ll take it from here.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

The boy turned and marched down the street, picking his direction seemingly at random. Rose jumped into the drivers’ side and looked at him impatiently. He gawked at her through the window.

“What’s going on?”

“Later. C’mon.”

Her hands were white around the steering wheel, and he stared at them, feeling dread settle in his gut. The engine started up with a groan and he quickly ran around and jumped into the passenger side.

Before he could even reach for his seatbelt, the car lurched into action, and his head slapped into the headrest.

“Sorry,” Rose mumbled, her eyes not moving from the road as the speed only went up. He nodded frantically, quickly securing himself and then gripping tightly at the edges of the chair.

“Where are we going?” He asked, voice unnaturally high. For a moment, he thought he saw her mouth curve upwards, but within a second it was back to the same flat mask.

“Where do you think?” She scoffed. “Where else? Bad Wolf Bay.”

Their journey to Norway passed in heavy silences that were only occasionally broken by questions that Rose only ignored. He fiddled relentlessly with the cuffs of his shirt and tried to calm his stupid single heart, that pounded and screamed in his ears.

This, more than anything else, was what he hated about this world – he was never in control here, never understood what he should be doing, or what he should say. He never used to care about that stuff before. His life had always been spontaneous, he had prided himself on it in some sick, sad way, but all he could long for now was a sliver of certainty.

Was this how she would finally dump him? On the very beach they were headed towards, she had kissed him, and at the time it had felt like a hello. It seemed now it had been more of a goodbye. He had always known Rose, could always reliably understand what was going through her head at any given point. The woman he had been left with seemed like someone else entirely. A stranger, with the face of the woman he loved the most.

His whole species had died – all his family, all his friends. But this loneliness was far more insidious and hung heavily in the space between his bones.

“We’re here,” Rose said, and he startled. She jumped out of her seat and walked round to his door, flinging it open. He watched her eyes staring carefully at the space between his eyebrows. “Come on.”

“I don’t want to.”

“What, you think I’m going to drown you?”

“Well, I do now.”

She sighed. "I’m not. I promise you’re going to want to see this.”

He gazed at her, trying to understand what was behind the tense line of her mouth and her unwavering stare. Nothing revealed itself.

Unclipping his belt, he got out of the car and slammed the door behind him. Rose reached out, grabbed his hand, and pulled him towards the beach.

It was hushed, only the angry crash of the waves breaking the idyllic landscape. His eyes flickered towards where it happened – where the TARDIS had landed and stranded him in this world of mystifying social cues and angry faces.

Her hand was clasped around his own tightly, as though trying to stop him from running away, but that was the last thing on his mind. It had been so long since he had held her hand. It was as comforting as it was devastating.

“Before the stars started going out,” Rose whispered, her soft voice carrying through the wind. “I was working on a way to get back.”

“The dimension canon.”

“Yeah, but other things too. We dumped them all when the canon started working.”

Her face was sad, wistful even and he squeezed her hand tightly. She startled, looking up at him, and he was alarmed by the wetness of her eyes.

“And?”

“And I’ve been working on one of them. Since…since we came back.”

His heart had literally leapt into the back of his throat. It was the only plausible explanation for the lack of air, for the way his whole body was screaming at him to go, to get out now. He hung his head and kicked at the sand.

“This is where the walls are weakest. We made a sort of, um, portal. You can just step through, see.”

She reached into her pocket and pulled out her phone. With a tap of a key, a bright swirl opened around them, wind whipping around it angrily. He stepped back and pulled her with him.

“It’s not possible.”

“Same phone you gave me. Energy source from the original universe. Battery never runs out, so—”

“—so it has the power to send you back.” He finished darkly. She shook her head.

“No. Enough power to send you back.”

He thrust away from her hand and stared at her. She had tears running down her cheeks, and her eyes were wide and sad.

“No.”

“You’re not happy here.” She whispered, pulling on her earring.

“Neither are you.”

“No.” She agreed with a half-hearted chuckle.

“Rose,” he said desperately, clutching at her hands again, pressing his body as closely to hers as he could. “Rose, no. Please. I’m still the Doctor. I swear—the exact same man. I want to be here with you.”

Her hand came up and rested lightly on his cheek. He leaned into it, kissing her palm, greedily clutching at this small token of affection.

“I know,” she whispered. “Exact same man.”

“Yes! I’m him; I am exactly him—”

“The same man who left me on this beach.”

The wind from the portal settled. The sea calmed. Silence reigned.

“I stayed with you.”

“But left, as well.”

He was still clutching at her. His hands snaked around the back of her neck, pulling her forehead to his. Rose’s eyes were tightly shut. His were wide and searching.

“I don’t understand,” he whispered to her, and she only squeezed her eyes tighter, mascara leaking from her eyelashes.

“You left me, again. You didn’t even say goodbye. Why do you never say goodbye?”

“Rose—”

“I did everything I could do get back to you. Everything. Terrible things. But—” She opened her eyes and stared at him with open devastation. “You didn’t want me.”

“Of course, I did, I do.” he whispered. She ignored him.

“You just—left you here. To deal with me. To stop me trying to come back again, or whatever.” She cleared her throat and stepped out of his embrace and rubbed angrily at her eyes. “But it’s okay. I’ll stay here. I want you to be happy.”

“Rose, please.” He begged, voice breaking. He tried to grab her hand again, but she was stepping away from his embrace, arms wrapped tightly around herself. “I want to be with you. I told you, didn’t I?”

“You said you could spend your life with me.”

“Yes—yes—please. I want that. I swear I want that. He had to go; you know he had to. But I,” his face broke into a tiny, happy smile. “I got to stay.”

She stepped forwards cautiously, her hands shaking. He stayed as still as he could, resisting the urge to pull her tightly into his arms.

“You were dumped here too. You didn’t get a choice, either.” She whispered. He smiled and gently took her hand.

“I didn’t need a choice. My answer will always be you.”

She flung herself into his arms, and he clung to her desperately, nuzzling his face into her hair. Her hands were everywhere – along his back, down his arms, his neck. They clutched at his jaw and he pulled back, just a little, so he could take her in properly. There was still pain splashed across her face, but a cautious hope lit up her eyes.

“I love you.” He whispered. “Please let me.”

“Okay.” She whispered back.

She untangled herself from his embrace, and pulled out her phone, closing the portal as quickly as she’d opened it.

He offered out his hand, and she took it, a smile playing across her face.

“Together?”

“Together.” She nodded.

He pulled her away from the beach, feeling, for the first time in months, that they might just be okay.

#ive written something two days in a row.......this is how athletes must feel #fic #tentoo x rose #rose tyler #doctor who

[random-mha-thoughts]

Sleepless (LoV x Reader)

Pairing: League of Villains x Reader, platonic relationship

Shigaraki, Toga, Twice, Kurogiri, Dabi x reader

@riarora messaged me with the request: "So I was thinking platonic LOV x child reader (You can make them 18 if you're more comfortable, but I was thinking more like 14-15)The reader (I'll refer to them as she/her, but you can make it gender neutral) has really bad insomnia so every night, she would be pacing around, doing anything and everything to make sure no dark thoughts take over. Usually, none of the LOV would bat an eye, but considering the fact that she's a child, they feel sympathy, so they indirectly try to get her to fall asleep. Like, sending her on extra missions (always with protection of course) or changing her normal tea with sleeping tea, or maybe just straight up telling her to sleep."

Genre: Comfort

Word Count: 2,291

Tags:  @yuki-osaki​ @liviitehe​ @iamsoftsodonttoucheume-blog

a/n: Thanks for the request sweetie!  I hope you like it~

Wrote this while listening to a Shinsou playlist on Spotify and it was pretty chill to listen to, if y’all want the link you can comment or dm me and I’ll send it.  Something different, but I like how it turned out. It's twice as long as I thought it would end up being, but I think it fits.  It's a comfort story that I hope you guys will read even if you don't normally read stuff for the villains.  I really like it, I hope you guys read it if you need some comforting.  Enjoy~

Like a lot of people, I don't have the nicest thoughts.  Most nights, I'm trying everything to block them out and find the sweet release of sleep, whether it's trying to consciously think of other things to block them out, escaping out of my sheets to pace or run in place inside this small room I was given, or getting up to get a snack.  Unsurprisingly, none of it works.  The rest of the League constantly tease me about my dark circles making me look more villainous all I do is smile, because at least it means I'm part of something now.  I would ask them to get me something to busy myself, like a sketch book or a notebook to keep me busy at night, but they aren't my parents; they have no obligation to take care of me and they've already give me a roof over my head and a bed to sleep in.

Little by little, the perceived barrier between us broke down before I realized it.

It started when I took one of my late night trips to the kitchen only to see the light on already.  Toga's crooked but innocent smile beams up at me as she twirls a knife in her hand, leaning against the counter.  "You're up too, hmm~?  Wanna take a trip with me?"

We ended up shrugging on our jackets and masks, walking into the dark, brisk night to the nearest grocery store.  "You waited until 2 AM to get pomegranates?" I raised an eyebrow at her zipping straight to the produce section of the market.

"I didn't wanna go alone~" Toga casually responded in her singsongy voice.  "A little girl like me shouldn't be out alone at night.  Besides, late night shopping in a practically empty supermarket is the best time to go.  It's super creepy!"  She giggles, filling a plastic bag with three large fruits.

We returned to our hideout and she asked me to help her de-seed them.  I slide in next to her, taking the knife out of her hand.  Not like I had anything better to do.  What was I gonna do, sleep?  Sure, okay.

She sliced the fruits in half and held her hands over a large, empty container, using just her hands to push the seeds off the bitter white core, humming to herself.  "Are you sure there isn't a more...strategic way to do this?" I asked, raising an eyebrow at the mess she was making of her hands.

Toga just giggled and held my stare with her cat-like yellow eyes.  "When it gets all over your fingers, it kind of looks like blood doesn't it?" She shivered in ecstasy as she licked the scarlet juice running down her hands and the knife she cut them with.  "Mmm, so sweet."

While I continued, trying to avail to be as clean as possible, taking sips of the tea she made for us while we work.  I chanced a few tastes myself, chuckling at my own hands.  "You're right, it looks like we've commit murder."

"Right?" she chirped with the widest grin, "Isn't it fun?"

I made a better point to get more juice on my fingers before curling my fingers grossly towards her.  "I want your heart, Toga.  Give it to me!" I growled.

She giggled and held one of my wrists so she can lick some of the juice off.  "Too bad you can't have it."

After we finished gathering the seeds into the bowl, we sat on the couch, munching on them by the handful and finishing our drinks.  My eyelids kept drooping as I drank my tea.

"We should go on adventures more often," Toga purred as I near the end, taking my cup, laying me down, and covering my body with a blanket before petting my head.  Her voice singing, "Sleep well, (Y/n)" was the last thing I heard before drifting off.  It was the best night's sleep I'd gotten in a long while.

.

A few days later, Kurogiri stopped me from heading to bed while the rest went off.  "I heard you and Toga up late a few nights ago.  Why don't you help me clean up before going up?"

I agreed, mostly because I would be awake with my thoughts anyway.  He had me shining his glasses, climbing up a ladder to dust the top shelves of his bar, wiping down the counters, and organizing his liquor.

"Have some of this, child."  He set down a cup of tea and saucer on the counter while I was organizing his top shelf liquor, the clock flashing 1:57 AM.  "You've been a big help."

I climbed down carefully and stare down at the translucent, peach colored liquid carefully.

He noticed my cautiousness.  "How are you adjusting?"

I tilted the cup around, swishing the liquid around before holding it up to my lips.  "It's better than where I was before, thank you."

"I'm glad you're settling in and getting along with the rest."

"It's just Toga so far."  I sipped a good portion of the hot liquid, easing down my through smooth as the honey I can taste that he added.

"It'll take time for the others to warm up to you.  Shigaraki and Dabi especially don't take to strangers that easily, but they'll come around."  His cold, portal enclosed hand rested on my head.  "We're happy to take you in as our family, (Y/n)."

I smiled at his assurance of me, nodding in gratitude, but still hesitant about feeling that I fit in here.

We talked for a while more until I finished his tea and he sent me off to bed.  Though reluctant - I even offered to do more cleaning up to keep myself there - he insisted I leave.  I trudge to my room, the exhaustion in my bones and muscles more apparent than usual.  I know this old trick; even when I'm fatigued, my thoughts still keep me up.  But as I ease under the blanket and close my eyes, I feel myself pulled down into sleep without interference.  I started thinking there was something in the tea.

.

It took a while for Shigaraki to come around, as Kurogiri said.  He heard the rustling of me rolling around in bed on his way back from getting a glass of water from the kitchen.  "Hey, you still awake?"

I turned over and sat up.  "Am I bothering you?  I'm sorry-"

"You wanna come play games with me?"  It was an unexpected question.  He never talked much to me so I figured he wanted to keep his distance.

But I still agreed, ending up in his dark room where only the TV cast its artificial light over us.  He pulled up another pillow for me to sit with him, leaning back against the mattress and box-spring stack.  He resumed his game, some kind of RPG with amazing art and storytelling.  The main character had jet black hair and traveled with three other guys of varying talents and personalities.  They seemed to have a great relationship together as they trekked across their virtual world in a fancy car. (1000 brownie points if you know which game i'm referencing)

There was a hilarious part in the game where the crew rode on the backs of these fluffy, yellow birds that were the size of ostriches.  "What's the point of this part?" I asked curiously.

Shigaraki beamed at the screen, his chapped lips spreading in joy.  "It's just something you always have to do in these games."

My eyes remained glued to the screen.  Shigaraki wouldn't ask me if I wanted to play after one time, which I appreciated.  I'm not too good at playing games, I prefer watching other people play them from the sidelines.  I followed the complicated story line, impressed with how fleshed out the world is, the detail in the art, and the power system interface.  If I were better at gaming, I'd understand how amazing it would feel playing it; I was immersed in it even as a spectator.

The game got to a cave-crawling segment.  The eased up voice acting, ambient noise, and dimmed lighting made my eyes heavy.  I didn't want to fall asleep in Shigaraki's room, but I also knew that I wouldn't be able to sleep if I went back to mine.

"You can sleep if you want.  Get comfortable."

Though he didn't particularly use a motherly voice like Kurogiri, I understood he was trying to come off the same way.  I ended up laying on my head on my pillow, sprawling onto the floor on my stomach, the noise of the game slowly lulling me off to sleep.  In the morning, I would wake to a blanket pulled over my body.  It somehow became a weekly occurrence; we wouldn't talk to each other, but the silence was comfortable.  It was reassuring that I didn't always need that strange tea to put me to sleep.

.

Late nights with Twice are probably my favorite.  He's like a huge dad, or much older big brother.  I connected with him on a more emotional level than the rest.  If I found myself in the kitchen rummaging for snacks, he'd come up and pick out a bunch and sit us at the table with some tea.

"I have trouble sleeping too sometimes," he admitted, popping some chips in his mouth.  "I was lonely before I found these guys.  I had no one but myself, and the many versions of myself weren't the most forgiving on me either."

I stared down at my glass of warmed milk.  "So your thoughts were actually told out loud to you all the time?" I whispered softly.

"Yup."  He blinked before waving his hands in front of his face wildly.  "But that doesn't mean I had it worse than you, that's not what I'm saying at all!  Your problems are just as valid and important and-!"

"It's okay, I understand."

He offered a sympathetic lopsided smile.  "I know you've been through a lot, kid, and it probably feels like a lot and nothing at the same time.  The times when it feels like a lot will hurt, and that's okay.  You'll get through it and grow up to deal with it in your own way.  And there is a light at the end of the tunnel, believe me.  You can't see it now, but it's there.  Keep fighting through it."  He touched my hand over the glass.  "I'm here for you, we're here for you."

I felt like crying, suddenly choked up by the bitter nostalgia of missing my parents.  "You'd be a great Dad, Twice."  I tried to cover for my tears and unsteady voice by clearing my throat and rubbing my eyes.

He hummed in response.  "I've always wanted a kid.  Things never ended up that way though."

I found myself finally sobbing at his misfortune piling on top of mine.  "That's really shitty actually," I choked out.

He handed me a tissue to wipe my face with.  "Let it out, kid.  Sometimes it's good to just cry it out."

And I did, until I finally sobbed myself to sleep at the table, and Twice picked up and returned me to my bed, tucking me in like the soft dad he should've been.

.

Dabi remained the hard nose one, keeping his distance and looking down on me.  Like Shigaraki, walked by my room while I was tossing around, but he stood over my bed.  "Hey.  If you don't go to sleep, I'm putting you to work."

Put me to work he did, sending me out to fetch him snacks, cards, or cigarettes.  Once, he decided to join me and we ended up on the roof of our abandoned building after coming back from the convenience store.  The stars already dusted the sky as Dabi lit the cigarettes with his blue flames just for fun, watching them disintegrate into ash in front of his eyes.  I never knew how to get him to open up, he's too gruff for me to start a conversation with him, so I stuck to being mesmerized by his flames.

"What's on your mind that you can't sleep, kid?" he finally asked, breaking the awkward silence and cutting off his quirk to stare me hard in the eyes.

"N-Nothing."  I hated to admit it, but I'm scared of Dabi the most.  Both him and Shigaraki can end my life in a fraction of a second, but Dabi overall has the scarier aura.  "Just...thinking."

After a few more moments of braving his stare, he looked up.  "Yeah, we all do that a lot, don't we?  Us damn human can't help but think.  It'd be nice if we can pull the cord sometimes, yeah?"

"I guess," I answered carefully.

He studied me again out of the corner of his eye before flickering back up.  "Do you ever think that's why none of us survive well alone?  We need other people to distract us all the time because then we'd get stuck in our heads, and we all know how dangerous that can be if we're stuck there for too long.  It never ends well."  He adjusts himself, placing his hands behind his head to rest his neck.  "We all got demons, kid.  It's what makes us stronger, but you gotta grow from them first.  And I guess that's what the rest of us are for, so if you need us, you know what to do."

It was with Dabi that I realized he had a point.  I'm not alone anymore and none of the others seem to think of me as a stranger or a stupid little kid they have to be responsible for.  I'm a member of this group now, I should rely on them as support, just not in the traditional way.

How I ultimately ended up here doesn't help any of the awful things I tell myself or what happened to me, but being here definitely helps, especially when I'm surrounded by people who subtly share solidarity with for now.

#my hero academia #boku no hero academia #league of villians x reader #dabi #toga himiko #mha twice #kurogiri #shigaraki #request #platonic #gender neutral reader #comfort #league of villains imagine #league of villains scenario #mha x reader #bnha x reader #mha fanfiction #bnha fanfiction

[alatismeni-theitsa]

Tips for not ruining your trip to Greece

Coronavirus and Medical care

First of all, if you can, it’s better to postpone your trip to Greece for another year. (For the year 2021). Sorry to start my post like this but let me explain. It’s likely you have another corona variant than the locals and if you infect them, their vaccination will be for nothing and they will have to pass more months of a super strict, borderline fascist lockdown. Also... you might be infected with another variant. If you MUST come, please wear a mask at all times and keep distances! (The same goes for Greeks who want to visit other countries).

Tourism is great but too many tourists will get the country back to square one pandemic-wise. If our healthcare system gets overloaded, a tourist won’t get sufficient healthcare either if something happens to them! I mean, our healthcare system is still overloaded due to corona patients so... I don’t know if it’s a good move to come here right now. In case of emergency, I am not sure if you will receive fast or proper care.

Generally, it’s good to know some stuff in Greek about your condition because half of Greece doesn’t speak English. Doctors are likely to understand the condition in English (because most of English health words come from Greece) but I’d say be prepared for good measure. Write your allergens and conditions in Greek on a paper in your wallet and hand it to someone if you need them to know. Learn important words such as “medicine“, “sick“, “It hurts” etc. (or have them written down somewhere. The important thing is that you can say them or show them to Greeks).

You can ask me if you can’t find the translation of some phrases and don’t how you pronounce them. Avoid the Erasmian pronunciation. It was made so foreigners can learn Greek easier, but it sounds alien to Greeks and it’s not likely it’ll help you.

Protection from the elements

I don’t understand how half the globe thinks we are a tropical place or a dessert and then they don’t prepare at all for a tropical place or a dessert when they come here in Summer xD At least being over-prepared would help! So...

Don’t come in Summer??? Yes, I know, it sounds stupid but you really don’t have to come in the peak of tourist season. Coming early May, June, September and October (where the sea is still warm) will get you a good tourist experience with less crowds and heat. If you are disabled and/or easily overwhelmed, avoiding the peak season will probably do you good. You can come any month really. We have different places for different seasons. All it takes is five minutes of googling.

If you come from a less sunny place (no matter your skin color) make sure to always wear more sunscreen than usual!! If the sun is up, always wear sunscreen when going outside - don’t forget your face and nape!!

Avoid going out at 12:00-16:00 and don’t stay under the sun too long! If you catch yourself being outside the hours 12:00-16:00 GET INSIDE no matter how alluring the sea or the pool looks. A sunstroke can rob you of 2-3 days of fun and waste your money. 

If you are light skinned, red skin indicates your skin is hurt. (You’d be surprised to learn how many people don’t get it). Cover the red part and don’t continue going out in the sun for long. The rest of your skin is going to become red and peel soon if you don’t take care. If you are out, have the red part very well covered! Moisturizing creams help red skin a lot.

Wear a hat, it only helps! (it can make a small difference when it comes to sunstroke) Also, it’s better to *cover* your skin to protect it from intense sunlight! (no matter your skin color) Don’t be fooled by the heat and start going around in your swimwear for hours!

Swimming doesn’t protect you from the sun! The water reflects the sunlight and you can get even more damage! (Usually people have half of the body out of the water and that’s where the light hits).

When the light starts getting quite low prepare for mosquitos. Mosquito repellent sprays, creams and candles, as well as mosquito nets on the doors and windows, are your friends! Avoid getting near to bodies of sweet water.

Drink lots of water frequently! Take many bottles with you in a bag, I am not joking. Observe your urine to see if it’s darker than usual - if it is, then you need to hydrate more, no matter what you feel you are doing. Don’t drink *frozen* water (just mildly cold, “δροσερό”). Frozen water is not as refreshing and helpful as you think. It can also hurt your neck and lungs if they get exposed to frozen water constantly and make them irritated and swollen. (Lungs get cold because of the water going down near them. It’s rare, but it happens)

Make sure your alcoholic drinks are safe! Ask the locals if any place is notorious for serving adulterated alcoholic drinks and better avoid getting cheap alcohol from the kiosk (unless the kiosk has a stock of a reasonably priced sealed bottles of a certain brand you trust. But then again... still be hesitant).

For your wallet health

Do all the above to avoid sunstrokes and dehydration or say goodbye to your free days and money :P

Exchange homes with a Greek for a month. There are some programs which do that. If you are that type of person, this solution might work for you. You even can stay with your Greek friends for some days, if that’s possible for them.

You don’t have to go to an island. We have plenty of places that are just as gorgeous and more merciful to your wallet. If you want to go to an island, there are some cheaper ones. And, even though each island has a unique history, lots of islands have similar environment and aesthetics.

Avoid tourist traps (trust me, you’ll be attracted to them, even Greeks get attracted there and then regret it :p)  and search the area for other restaurants before sitting somewhere. For cheap but qualitative food use the supermarkets, your local bakery and cooked meal restaurants. (Try ordering from sites like efood.gr and deliveras.gr)

For souvenirs spend money on something that you can’t get in your country. Don’t get a cactus souvenir on a plain pot and say “I got that from Greece” because it won’t show and nobody will care xD Buy something more... obvious. (Ok I don’t mean you have to buy a shirt that says “GREECE”, something more subtle, if you like :p)

You can probably find the same souvenir for cheaper in another less popular tourist area (or even in the shop ten meters down the road!).

#tourism #greece #travel #mediterranean #summer #greek island #tourism advice

[robmacz]

Lockdown to lock-up

I jumped as the cell door slammed shut behind me. I looked around the cell, it was no bigger than my bathroom, it contained only a bed, a chair and small table, a toilet and a sink. On the wall there was a small window, high up on the wall with bars imbedded in the glass. I sat down on my bed and put my head in my hands. I was so angry. Angry with myself for being such a twat; angry with the cops for being such a bunch of arses; angry with the system, because I was going to jail from the very start. How had it all come to this?

A little over three weeks before I had been sitting at my desk working from home. We were now in the fourth week of the latest lockdown and unlike the long lockdown of the summer, it was now cold and wet outside. Going for a walk to get rid of built up tension only seemed to make matters worse. I had just finished a tense zoom call with my boss and a client and I had frankly had enough. I needed a drink! I went into the living room to poor myself a scotch, but the bottle was practically empty. 'I thought you were going to top up on scotch when you went shopping' I snapped at Greg, my partner of 8 years. 'I didn't manage to get out today' he replied 'and anyway it will do you good to cut down a bit, you've been drinking a bit too much lately'. That led to a blazing row, which had been on the verge of happening for a few days now. Both of us stuck in the same house for most of the day was beginning to irritate, for him as well as me. In the end I told him I would do as I liked, I grabbed a jacket and the car keys and slammed the door of the house behind me.

I drove down the road for about half a mile to our local petrol station, which had a small supermarket attached. You know the sort of thing, ready meals, milk, a few essentials and alcohol. It also sold fresh coffee, which wasn't at all bad. I pulled the car into the small car park at the side of the petrol station and got out. I walked along the path leading to the door, it was quite busy and there was a queue to get in as only so many people were allowed in at once. This meant that there were a number of cars waiting to get to the pumps. Entering and exiting the building was controlled by a traffic light system, it all seemed so over the top.

Eventually I got to the front of the queue and was waiting for the light to change to green when I realised that I did not have my mask. 'Oh Fuck it' I said to myself. I wasn't prepared to go back to the car to get my mask. I'd have to start to queue all over again. Just as I was thinking this the light changed to green and I walked in. The alcohol was behind the counter and there were three people queuing, all safely at 2 meter intervals, to pay either for their shopping or for their fuel. At the other end of the counter there were five cops getting their coffee, it wasn't unusual to see cops in here, before lockdown you would more often than not see them occupying the two tables in the corner for their coffee and doughnut break, which usually seemed to last quite some time.

The person at the front of the queue moved away and we all moved forward. As we did so the cops, who all now seemed to have their coffee started to move towards the exit. I wasn't too worried as the one way system meant that they would not cross my path. But as I was looking at them I saw one of them look over towards me and catch my eye. I quickly looked away, but within seconds I could feel his presence. 'Excuse me sir, but why are you not wearing a mask?' 'I'm exempt' I said rather rashly and which I regretted almost immediately. 'Could I see your exemption sir?'

'No, I don't have it on me right now officer.'

'Could you please give me your name and address then sir.'

'I don't have to, I've done nothing wrong.'

'You'd be well advised to sir.'

By now his four colleagues had joined him, but I was getting indignant, though I now wished I had not brought up any stuff about exemption and wondered whether I should just admit to this or try and make him back down, though I didn't think he would.

'Okay, I'm not exempt, I just forgot my mask. It's not like they make any difference anyway, in fact they are quite pointless.'

'So, you've just lied to me sir. I'm going to issue with a fixed penalty notice for £100 for not wearing a mask when required to do so'.

'You must be fucking joking'.

'Don't swear at me sir or you will be arrested. Now what is your name and address'.

Then without thinking about it I said 'No, I'm not telling you'. This was not the best thing to say under the circumstances and I regretted it almost immediately, but it was too late.

'You are under arrest. You do not have to say anything. But, it may harm your defence if you do not mention when questioned something which you later rely on in court. Anything you do say may be given in evidence.'

As he was saying this he was unclipping his handcuffs from his belt and before he had even finished his sentence the cuffs were snapping round my right wrist. Instinctively I pulled my hand from him with some force and the cuffs came out of his grasp, though still attached to my wrist. What happened next was a million to one, but as my wrist flew up the handcuffs caught one of the other cops on his nose. Within seconds though I was forced to the floor and the cuffs were now attached to both hands behind my back and they were on tight. Holy Fuck! I thought. I've never been in trouble with the police before, I've never been in handcuffs. The cops pulled me to my feet, which was when I noticed that one of the cops had a heavy nose blead. Before I could say anything I was frog marched outside in front of all the waiting customers, including one of my neighbours. Oh crap, the gossips are going to love this.

There were three police cars parked at the far side of the petrol pumps. I was pushed into the back of one and the door slammed shut. The cops stood talking outside for a few minutes, no doubt finishing their coffees. I sat their wondering what was going to happen next, what sort of trouble was I in? When eventually two of them, including the one who arrested me, got into the front. I said 'Look, I'm sorry, I acted like a jerk back there and I'm sorry about your colleague, but it was an accident'. One of the cops turned round to look at me and said. 'Yeah, you were a complete jerk and you will be sorry. I'm also arresting you for assaulting a police officer, now shut up'

I was stunned, this was now getting serious. We drove along in silence to the police station where we drove round the back into a car park full of police vehicles. The car came to a stop and the cops got out and one of them came to the back and opened the door. He grabbed me by the arm and led me into the police station. Not the front door, but through a back door into a brightly lit room but no windows. There were various rooms to the side which seemed to have various equipment, but I was taken straight ahead to a desk where there was another officer waiting. 'What you got here?’ he said.

'Arrested for breaking Covid regulations, refusing to provide his name and address and assaulting a police officer. Mike got hit in the nose as this guy tried to escape, he is down at A&E now.'

'Oh really, Mr Wise Guy' said the cop behind the desk. 'Right, name and address now!' I thought it best to comply so I did. I was clearly in trouble but thought I should cooperate in order to get it over with. 'Okay, get him processed, have you checked for weapons? He is clearly violent.'

The arresting officer unlocked my cuffs and I immediately rubbed my wrists like they do in the movies. I was then told to empty my pockets. I only had my wallet and car keys, which I put on the desk. They told me to put my hands on my head while they frisked me. 'I' think he's clean Sarge' one of them said. 'Okay, but you'd better give him a full search once you have processed him.' The arresting officer then grabbed my arm and took me to have a mugshot taken and then my finger prints. I felt like a criminal and really ashamed. Then he took me to another room, where he told me that he suspected I may be concealing an offensive weapon and that he needed to carry out a full strip search. 'You're joking!' I said. 'Where am I going to conceal anything?' 'That's just what we need to find out.'

I was ordered to start to undress and pass each item of clothing to one of the officers. I just had on a jacket, casual check shirt, blue chinos and casual shoes. I took them all off and passed them to the officer, he inspected them and then put them on a table. 'And those too' he said pointing to my boxers. 'Seriously?' I replied. 'Get them off now!' I did as I was told and was standing there bollock naked. I didn't mind being naked around other guys, like in the gym changing rooms, I've got quite a good body, but this was humiliating!

After the strip search I was allowed to make a phone call to Greg, probably one of the most difficult calls I have ever had to make. I could hear the anger and disappointment in his voice as I tried to explain what had happened. As soon as I put the receiver down I was taken to a cell and told to take my belt and shoes off. These were left outside as I went inside. The door slammed and I felt scared. Scared of what was going to happen to me, scared of what my fiends and neighbours would think, scared of what would happen to my job, scared of what Greg would think.

I stayed in the cell all night, I didn't sleep at all and nor could I face any of the food they brought me. The next morning I was formally charged with breaching Covid regulations and assaulting a police officer. I was bailed and had to appear in court just over three weeks later. I was taken through to the reception area where I was released. Greg was there and he came and gave me a hug. 'You've been a complete wanker' he said, 'but you're my wanker'. I could have cried.

The next three weeks proceeded very slowly. I had to confess to my boss, who was not impressed but said that while it would not look good it would not affect my job, providing there was no custodial sentence. I told him there wouldn't be, but I kept thinking about that word “custodial,” which didn’t sound good. I’d heard it before, but I didn’t like thinking that it might apply to me. Greg was very supportive and for once we were not at each other’s throats, it was almost as if things were getting back to normal. When I met with my solicitor, he advised that I should plead guilty to both charges. Even if the assault was an accident, there would be five police officers to testify against me, so I was never going to win on that. He warned me that I could get a jail sentence, though he said a fine and community service was much more likely. This shook me, but I like to look on the positive side and I was assured by my solicitor that my previous good character would work in my favour. I’d never been in any kind of trouble, for God’s sake.

The day of my hearing arrived. I had taken a day's leave from work, I didn't think I would need more. I made sure I dressed in my best grey suit. Greg had ordered me a new white shirt and a sober tie for the occasion. 'You need to make a good impression' he said as he sat and shined my shoes. Greg was good like that, always making sure I looked presentable. We started on the journey with plenty of time to spare. I was getting more and more nervous by the minute, but we didn't talk much. As he pulled up outside the court he leaned over and kissed me. 'Good luck' he said. I'll be waiting round the corner so just give me a call when you are done. Of course, he couldn't come into court due to the Covid regs. 'Have you got your mask?' he asked as I was getting out of the car 'Oh yes, I won't forget that'.

I was kept waiting outside of the building for some time before I was allowed in, Covid regs again! But as soon as I entered I was taken almost immediately into the courtroom, I hadn't expected this, I thought there would be more waiting around. Once in the court room I was told to stand in the dock and when the magistrates appeared I was asked how I would plead 'Guilty or Not Guilty'. 'Guilty' I said. The senior magistrate then asked my solicitor if there was anything to be said in mitigation. He responded by saying that I was a fine upstanding citizen, listing a number of things I had done. He went on to say that this was a one off, totally out of character and brought on by the effects of lockdown. The Magistrates consulted and then asked me to stand.

'Mr Bassett, we have heard what your solicitor has said in mitigation and we accept that you have taken responsibility for your actions by admitting guilt. However, we cannot condone your behaviour in any way which has put members of the public at risk. In addition in the course of your actions you seriously injured a police officer carrying out his lawful duty. It is therefore the opinion of this court that you should go to prison for six months.'

WTF! wake me up, this can't be happening to me! An officer appeared behind me. He told me to put my mask on, then he pulled my hands behind my back and handcuffed me. He led me down some steps and asked me to take off my belt and tie, fortunately I was wearing loafers so had no shoe laces to hand over. He then walked me to a cell and opened the door, I walked in and the door slammed shut. This time for six months! I just didn't know what to think, my life was ruined. What is Greg going to think? Oh Shit!

I was in that cell for most of the day before being transported to prison in one of those large prison vans with several other prisoners. Many looked like they were the sort of people who were in and out of prison all the time. I felt like a fish out of water. Once we arrived at the prison we were unlocked from the small cubicles they keep you locked up in within the van, they call them sweat boxes, because that’s more or less what they are. Small, plastic with only a small window. As we entered the prison one of the guards was yelling at us to get a move on and we did as he said. I for one was scared stiff of him.

Once there we were told to line up while the guard told us some rules and what we were supposed to do. I'm not sure I took any of it in, I still could not comprehend what had just happened. Soon we were taken to some cubicles and told to strip off. I started to take off my clothes and put them into the box that was provided, folding them neatly as I always did. 'Come on lad, we haven't got all day,’ one of the guards said to me. I finally took my boxers off and then I was given a full inspection before being told to bend over and spread my cheeks. I did as I was told and then felt a finger go into my arse. Fuck! This was such a violation. 'Okay, you're clean' he said. then throwing me some clothes he said 'get dressed'. I put on my new attire. Pale blue boxer shorts, nothing like the designer underwear that I had just placed in the box. next a pale blue T-shirt, then grey socks, grey jogging bottoms and a grey sweat shirt. All had been worn before and smelt musty, and none of them was what I would call designer athletic gear. I was then given some beat-up old trainers with Velcro fastenings. I'd always been someone who took pride in his appearance so this new outfit was just horrible. When I looked down at myself I saw clothes that I would never have dreamt of wearing, they were truly horrible. I felt like one of those dropouts you see on the street.

Later we were taken to the induction wing, which is where I arrived about 30 minutes ago, before being assigned to my cell. I guess I will find out tomorrow what induction actually consists of and what the next six months hold in store for me. One thing is for certain, this will change my life forever.

[wind-becomes-lightning]

Umm.. umm.. umm. Nisi only if u have time and u reaaaly want to do this but

Could u do 7. With Kaiya and Obito in modern AU? Can be sometheng very short.

Pls dont do this if u have too many things to write! <: <3 ok love u bye!!!

Always up to write for these babes (and you! <3)

50 Meet cutes - send me some to get my mind of things!!

There was something to be said about the inherit stress that came with grocery shopping. The endless isles with products, the rushing people crossing path with waggons and baskets, the stressed cashiers, sitting and mumbling into their microphones to their colleagues and the constant flow of music lulling your ear from the speakers in the walls. A terrible environment, too stressfull. Too much responsibility. Too adult.

Kaiya tried to keep her visits at the local supermarket as short ast possible. She carefully planned out every possible food for the week, list set up to the very last ingredient and went on a thrusday morning when her classes started late at university to avoid the crowd. Still, she tried to get it done quickly. One had to eat, one didn't have to linger on for too long. She hated being outside, a hermit half her life.

Another thursday down the isle with the dairy products Kaiya had her head deeply buried in her shopping list, trying to avoid the stare and attention of other people. She preferered not to be seen, or worse, be talked to. Eyes hanging low she walked down the products, knowing full well how the floor next to her favourite products looked like. Unfortunatley there were a pair of feet in her way, a man was standing and by the looks of it trying to reach the top shelf items, his long arm stretching is muscle from shoulder to fingertip.

Kaiya averted her eyes from him and took a step left to avoid him, but instead she bumped into him. He'd taken a step right to avoid her. "Oh, oops, sorry", he said, and took a step left at the same time as Kaiya took a step right, they bumped into each other again. "Sorry again," he said and both tried to dodge again, only to end up in front of each other one more time. "This is silly", he said, "It looks like we are trying out a dance routine." Somehow that comment made her giggle.

She looked up for the first time over his chest in to his face and a gasp came out of her mouth before she could stop it. He had black hair, streaks hanging into his face, and dark eyes, but most striking of all were the circular facial scars on the right side of his face. Maybe he'd burned himself as a kid, she thought. The smile on his face was shy but beautiful, she sighed, trying to keep her composure.

"I will just go to the left" she said, voice a little shaky and hoarse from weeks of not using it, "and you will go right. Problem solved." He laughed: "Oh I can see us messing it up again, let me.." He lightly touched her shoulders to move her body to his side, then he stepped through directly beside her ".. do this. Ha, it worked, who'd have thought?" She couldn't help but smile at his smile. He was really handsome. "I believed in us", she said and gave him a thumbs up.

When he finally left her side he threw look into her basket and quickly pointed at an item: "I love that brand of bread, it's always fresh and tasty, even if you haven't left your house in days and feel so disgusting that you want to wear a mask instead of looking at your face. At least the bread is fresh." Kaiya saw his face move into a frown just for a second and then she understood that he was trying to keep their conversation alive for some reason.

Had he caught her on an off day she might not have even talked one word to him, but this man seemed nice, he radiated a warm, comforting energy. So Kaiya broke her rule about talking to people in the supermarket. Just this once. Just for this person. "Certainly is", she humoured him and his eyes lit up when he understood that she too wanted to keep talking to him. "Though I usually freeze a part and unfreeze it later, it stays fresher I think."

"I'm Obito", he said instead of replying to her and he let whatever he had taken out of the shelf fall into the bag he was carrying around his shoulder. "Kaiya" she introduced herself, the insecurities back in her voice. "Miss Kaiya, what is on that long list of yours?"

Kaiya clutched the shopping list and laughed. It was indeed long. "I need some fruits as vitamin intake."

Obito saluted as if she was his sergant: "To the fruit place we go. " And then, in his normal voice again. "I need some vegetables anyway. Something to cook with rice."

He walked on and she followed without second guessing why she was so willing to run after a stranger she just met. Throwing her principle of fast shopping, alone shopping, out of the window.

#oc: kaiya #prompt things #sorry kali the ending sucked i had no idea where to go from there #sadge sadge sadge