#aka planning barbeques

[escapetheshark]

Off the Deep End | part 1 | swim instructor Bang Chan x fem reader

Genre: fluff; smut; angst

Rating: 18+

Pairing: Bang Chan x fem reader

Word count: 3,6k

Warnings: mentions of past trauma, drowning, adult language (warnings will be added to each chapter)

Summary: Hellbent on facing her fears, she starts taking up swimming lessons from one attractive young instructor named Christopher.

A/N: In case you're new here, I always name my characters because I don't like writing in the second person. This story is set in Australia, therefore I use some Aussie slang and lore, lmk if there's anything you don't understand that I can clarify for you. I'm not Australian, I just tried my best to recall things from my time there and I suppose a lot of things are similar to New Zealand. If any Aussies find anything really OOC, please do let me know.

A massive thank you to @seo--changbin for her help aka putting up with my bulshit. Love you <3

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | to be continued

Masterlit | Network

It's a lovely day: the sun is shining down on me, hot and bright, not a single cloud in the sky. I take another sip of my boozy cocktail and look over to my right where my sister has fallen asleep with a book on her face, several empty glasses piled on her side of the table. Not even her kids' loud screeches can seem to disturb her slumber, or maybe she's got good at zoning out. Her husband, who had disappeared inside the house God knows how long ago, has come back with a bucket in his arms and places it down by the lawn chairs.

"Help yourself," he enthusiastically says, before noticing his wife's sleeping form and immediately repeating himself in a lower voice. "Help yourself."

"Thank you," I simply say, raising my cocktail glass to show him I'm good for now. The bucket is full of beer, soda cans and water bottles for the kids.

The two boys decide to have a cannonball contest at the far end of the pool and are arguing about whose technique is the best, although I personally didn't find either that impressive. My brother-in-law finishes his Heineken and joins his kids with what was probably the only good cannonball of the day. He swims over to the edge of the pool and his head peeks out from the surface of the water.

"Come on, Jess, get in!"

"No thanks, I'm good."

"You need to face your fears at some point," he shrugs. "It's a lot more fun than just sitting on the lounger all day!"

He does make a compelling argument, however, I still see blood flowing and swaying on the water anytime I stare down into a swimming pool, the bottom seemingly invisible, like an endless pit. The scar is well hidden, thanks to really good surgeons and my own talent in makeup, but it is there and I do see it and feel its ridges whenever I touch my jaw. I'm facing my fear, looking straight into it. Maybe someday I'll be able to take a dive, but today is not that day.

I want to go home, I really do. My sister's friends are all a little obnoxious and I'm starting to feel sick from all the grilled meat I end up consuming at her weekend barbeques. At least the kids have all gone to sleep, not that the adults aren't equally as loud, especially after so much beer.

"-this year we'll go skiing in Austria instead, you know, see something new," one of the women says, wine glass in hand. "It's always Mount Hutt, I'm tired of Mount Hutt!"

"Snow all looks the same, Brenda," her husband spits with an annoyed look on his face. "You just want an excuse to go to Europe and see the hunks over there!"

"Imagine that, sitting on a plane for a day just to see snow when there's perfectly good snow down in New Zealand," some other guy retorts. "Taking those five kids of yours, too!"

Both Brenda's husband and this other guy laugh, but Brenda doesn't seem to be having fun. She sulks and pours herself another glass, keeping her head down.

"What about you, Jess, have any exciting plans for the new year?"

My eyes avert from Brenda and her troubles to the person sitting next to me, I believe her name is Amelia. She has very well-kept long blonde hair that doesn't suit her skin tone but her roots are barely visible still. Her face is somewhat orange, but I guess she pulls it off.

"Oh, I'm just gonna stay here in good old Melbourne," I shrug. "Might pop to Montague Street Bridge to see all the trucks losing their roof." I giggle at my own joke, but Amelia just seems lost, sparing me a pained smile. "I don't think they have Tim Tams in other countries."

"Oh that's not true," Brenda's husband interjects out of nowhere. "I'm pretty sure I've seen them in England!"

The awkward conversation dies down as they continue discussing their lives and I keep to myself, pretending to be very interested in the cranberry juice in my glass, avoiding meeting anyone's gaze lest they strike up more conversation and ask me why I don't just travel to Europe or the US, it's lovely up there, how can I miss out on such fun? It's either that or asking if I'd like to meet this guy they know, he's single too, he's divorced, his wife just died, he's got kids but he's nice, he works in IT. I don't want to meet their friend and I don't want to hear about Paris again, yet I keep getting dragged to my sister's pool parties where someone always asks me what drowning feels like, as if everything is supposed to feel like something else.

"By the way, my kids are taking swimming lessons with this extraordinary instructor," another woman invades my personal space to drunkenly tell me things I didn't ask about. I can't remember her name even though I know I've seen her face a few times. I remember her kid is called Jessica like me. "I hear he does lessons for adults too, he's a doll. I'll give you his card!" She reaches for her purse and pulls out a small rectangular card, very unassuming, with just a name, a phone number and a simple tagline - swimming lessons for all levels and ages.

"That's the most boring business card I've ever seen," I comment out loud, although I should have kept it to myself.

"Well, he's pretty good, just give him a call. Jessica loves him and she's making so much progress so quickly! She might get into the Olympic team at this rate…"

I feign enthusiasm, like this 10-year-old girl having such immense pressure put on her can be any good. I suppose she's growing up in a 5 million dollar home in Toorak, so she'll be fine. I place the card in my pocket and forget about it, deciding that if I'm stuck here in this rich people hell, might as well have a laugh, like when I eavesdrop at the deli section in Coles.

*

The smell of chlorine makes my head hurt and it takes a minute for me to adjust to the stuffy warm air. I might vomit my heart out with the way it's beating in my throat. My right hand caresses my left elbow, knees trembling, mouth dry. It's hard to focus on a single thing when everything happens so much at the same time - background music, chatter, kids screaming, whistles, splashing, that awful chlorine smell that I can't ignore no matter how hard I try. I'm not even sure where I'm supposed to go, I just stand by the door to the shower room, the swimming cap feels too tight around my head.

"Hey, are you alright?"

The voice that interrupts my anxious contemplation belongs to a short slender man in swim trunks and a tank top who appears behind me.

"Yeah, I'm just looking for my instructor, his name is uhm- Christopher?"

"He's me, I'm Christopher," the young man smiles sheepishly, his small eyes disappearing into his face for a second. "Oh, are you Miss Jessica?"

"She's me, I'm Jessica," I chuckle nervously. "We spoke on the phone."

"We very much did," he agrees, motioning for me to follow him around the Olympic-size swimming pool towards the far end of it. He waves at some other guy, I look politely at him and try to forget that I'm about to really have to get in the water. There's no escape this time, I've paid for my first fifteen lessons and it wasn't particularly cheap either. No refunds, unless caused by provable illness. Is it too late to break a leg…?

"Right, so you mentioned you cannot swim at all," his attention is back on me when we stop walking as we reach the very last lane on the opposite end of the pool. I look over at a storage unit full of various floating devices and wonder if I will be allowed one or two. Or ten. "The first step will be getting you comfortable in the water."

I watch as Christopher removes his thongs and leaves them under the bench then proceeds to lower himself into the pool using the pool ladder. He's got water up to his chest. He's maybe one or two inches taller than I am, so I definitely will be able to stand. It's too late to have a panic attack and run away so all I have left to do is go in. He's right there, the swimming instructor I've been told has several medals and apparently was part of the Australian junior swim team. It's his job to not let me drown. He's not my drunk mother thirty-two years ago who didn't see me slip and fall into the pool while she sipped cocktails.

"Go on, then," he smiles at me the way a proud father smiles at his kid's doodles before leaving them on the kitchen counter to be put up on the refrigerator door later. "See, you can stand."

My sister's friend did mention he seemed to teach mostly children so the slightly condescending tone is probably just an occupational hazard and I can't blame him for being a little bit snooty towards the thirty-something year old lady who's trembling just standing in four feet of water.

"See, it's not that bad," he offers and I can't tell if he's thinking in the back of his mind that I look like an absolute buffoon. He probably is. "So now all I want you to do is walk to me. Just walk," he instructs, making his way towards the middle of the pool, a few steps, stopping once the water reaches his shoulders. "I'm right here."

It's nothing like walking on dry land, I had forgotten what it feels like to be submerged. The water slowly and gently undulates as my legs move, tiny step by tiny step, like a newborn foal immediately forced to learn how to walk within ten minutes of being yeeted out of the womb.

Christopher keeps reassuring me that he's right there and will absolutely not let anything bad happen to me; it's almost more nerve-racking than if he simply stood at the edge of the pool yelling instructions, like the instructor a couple of lanes to our left with a class of about eight teenagers. It's hard to appreciate his seeming kindness when I'm trying so hard to focus on not letting my knees melt into wobbly pudding, each step feeling like a mile long.

He's got water up to his chest, Jessica, you'll be fine.

He's just standing there, the smile eventually fades from his face and he just watches me take slow, careful steps towards him, arms stretched out as if he expects me to tumble over like I did when I was four years old. Shit. I was doing fine without those memories, this is not a good time for the dramatic flashbacks! I stop, taking a deep breath and looking up at the tall ceiling, my vision not focusing on anything in particular, just the way the harsh bright lights illuminate the interior of the swimming complex.

"You good?"

Somehow I've muted all the noises around me, but his voice seems to come from way too close and that's when I realise I either moved without realising or he took a few steps to come meet me halfway because the next thing I know, he's a lot closer to me than I remember him being.

"I-I'm fi-fine?"

I'm not sure I sound convinced, but my head is still out of water and completely dry so I don't think anything happened to me. I look at Christopher again, his eyes seem almost worried but he offers yet another little smile. Do his cheeks not hurt from smiling so much? He already seems very non-threatening with his short and slender build and jovial face, he doesn't need to put so much effort into making himself appear as inoffensive as possible.

"Look back," he says, "you walked all this way!"

There's the condescending tone again like he's talking to one of his six-year-old students. Or maybe I'm just being a bitch to this man for absolutely no reason and he's just trying to be helpful and do his job properly. I've already paid him, either way. Might as well learn to actually swim while I'm at it.

"I sure did-"

"Do you want to try and extend your body? I'll hold your arms." He reaches out again, his pale arms extended towards me. I hold onto his hands, unsure of what exactly I'm supposed to do and how to even do it. Seems easy enough, right? Just extend your body out, like you're lying down in bed, except this isn't a safe comfortable bed, it's a dangerous swimming pool.

"Lift up your legs and kick them back," he instructs, his grip on my hands very strong, as a way to say he won't let go and let me drown. "Try one leg at a time first."

The movement is awfully uncoordinated and lacks any sense of grace, but I do manage to pull my leg back, then the other, then both at the same time, my eyes on Christopher's arms, worried he would let go on accident and leave me to brave the waters on my own. You can stand up, I remind myself. You've got water up to your shoulders.

"Good job," he praises, and I must admit a sense of mild pride washes over me. Yeah, it's a fucking good job! "Stand back up now." I obey, strengthening my grip on his hands, my body feels like it's floating and I can't remember how to get back down. It takes a minute, but I'm eventually standing up again, my hands still in his for a little longer until he finally lets go.

"How are you feeling," he inquiries "bit more confident?"

"I guess," I shrug, very clearly not that confident.

"You'll get there." Another smile. This one feels more earned, though, not as mechanic as before. I doubt his words for a minute before scolding myself. You will get there, it's just swimming, not rocket science. I nod, my knees relaxing subconsciously as I watch him get out of the water using the ladder again, making his way to the storage unit and picking up a couple of accessories he promptly throws in the water before joining me once more in the shallow end of the pool.

"Will these help make you feel safer?"

I nod again, holding onto one of the pool noodles as if I've never seen one before. I never told him my tragic backstory, yet somehow he acts like he knows there's something deeply wrong with me. I wonder if my sister's friend told him something…

"Thanks."

"Right, so the goal for now is to get you to feel confident and safe in the water," he explains, his face serious and stern. "You can have as many noodles as you want and I'm right here, I swear on my PS5 I won't let you get hurt." A little giggle leaves him, like he's making a silly little joke to the little kids he teaches. It's hard to take this man seriously when not only he seems to have never interacted with an adult, but he himself looks almost like a child, small and sweet-looking, like life hasn't yet taught him a lesson. I'm being so judgemental for no reason. This young man is just doing his job and trying to be nice about it. I have to scold myself again for thinking so negatively all the time and wonder if my sister does that too or if she's cured now that she has the perfect life…

"You basically paid me to not let you drown, if that's any consolation." His joke pulls me out of yet another session of inside-my-head rambling. He's trying so hard to be the cool and fun teacher and I'm not sure what to make of it. I'm at least ten years older than this wide-eyed pale boy.

"I guess that helps," I shrug, looking at him. "So what now? You throw me off the 10 metre plank and I have to somehow not die?" He laughs, his little eyes completely disappearing into his face and becoming crescent moons. He has dimples.

"Yeah, let's go," he jokes again. "No, we take it as slow as we need to. The goal is to not scare you any further."

"I'm not scared!"

"Yeah, that's why you were shaking coming down the ladder and holding on to me like that just now," he snarkily comments right before becoming apologetic. "I-I'm sorry, that was inappropriate."

"Don't worry, doll," I shrug, still holding on to the pool noodle, standing near the edge of the pool.

"Well, anyway, let's practice some more." His demeanour is back to the overly-friendly one from a few seconds before as he passes me another pool noodle, instructing me to loop it around my stomach. He holds out another noodle, one hand near each end, keeping it straight. "Hold on to this and look at me."

I do as he says, placing my hands next to his and facing him dead-on. "Now let's try to kick your legs back again, just like before." The noodle naturally doesn't feel as sturdy as Christopher's hands on mine, and the one on my belly almost pressures my body upwards and I have to actively force my torso down. My hands almost want to slide closer to his, to feel someone's skin on mine rather than polyethylene foam would make me feel a little more secure, but he's right there. He's literally a foot away from me, his feet firmly pressed on the tile. He won't let me drown. He wouldn't.

"It's okay, I'm literally right here," he reassures again, that damned smile that he just can't avoid but flash every damn minute. I wonder if he's always like this or maybe he's secretly a dick outside his lessons. Maybe he even voted One Nation.

Hands firmly on the pool noodle, I kick my legs back, slowly, immediately feeling the tension in my belly releasing. "You don't have to be so tense, you know." I feel light headed again, my eyes fixated on his but not focusing or registering what I'm looking at.

"Let's breathe slowly okay," his voice lowers an octave and catches me off guard. "Breathe in through your nose. One. Two. Three. Four. Five." He's breathing in too, still looking into my eyes, and it almost feels uncomfortable. I can't remember the last time I really looked at someone for so long, especially what is essentially a stranger. "Good, now breathe out through your mouth, slowly." He counts to five again, just as slowly as before and it feels like I have never breathed before in my life.

"I've got you," he reassures once more, of course he has a smile on his face and I can't really tell if it's sincere or not because my head is spinning and it's hard to focus on anything. "I'm gonna let go of the noodle, okay? But I'm right here."

"Please don't," I beg, my hands sliding closer to his until they're slightly touching.

"That's alright," he replies. "Okay, no problem, I won't let go."

I breathe out a relieved sigh as his hands come to hold mine once more, and I feel a sudden urge to cry. It's all too much, too much noise, too much water, too much human contact, all in a day's work.

"We can take it as slow as you need, Jessica."

I nod, this time I actually pay attention to him instead of fixating on a random spot without focusing on anything. His eyes seem sincere. Again, I have to remind myself that he's a professional doing his job and there is absolutely no reason for this man to let me drown or get hurt in any way.

"Take your time."

I'm not sure how long I stayed like that, looking absolutely ridiculous with a pool noodle through my waist, holding on to my much younger swimming instructor like I'm about to drown in four feet of water, that stupid swimming cap so tight around my head it feels like my brain is on the verge of exploding. Next thing I know, I'm standing under the shower trying to remove the cap without pulling all my hair out. The water is a little too hot, but I barely register the way it burns my skin as all the background noise morphs into one giant blob of white noise.

I get dressed, put away my wet swimsuit inside a plastic ziplock bag, dry my hair and apply moisturiser to my face, still unsure of how to feel about this whole thing. I could just quit, money be damned…! No, money do not be damned, it's not like I have a lot of it and I can't afford to just toss it away like that. I- I could just- No! I'm going to finish this now. I'm going to book my next lesson and stick to this, it can't be that hard. My nephews can swim and they're kids. That Jessica girl is training to join the goddamn Olympic team and she's like eleven! I can at least learn how to doggy-swim if anything, right? Right…?

To be continued...

#neverendingdreams #bang chan x you #bang chan x reader #bang chan #skz #stray kids #bang chan smut #i suck at tagging #pls give feedback

[backjustforberena]

Someone commented on the HBOMax tiktok of chaos eve and steve ‘Barbecue Dad x Wine Mom’ and now I’m screaming at the idea of a modern au Rhaenys and Corlys hosting an annual Velaryon Barbecue and it’s the highlight of everyone’s social calendars because you know they would absolutely NAIL IT

YES! You just know that they’re great at throwing an event together. Also Rhaenys and Corlys as Barbecue Dad x Wine Mom is great even though I don’t really understand the connotations other than the literal ones! An annual Velaryon Barbeque would be ace, especially if it were tied up with some sort of games on the beach or a boat race of some sort! A proper summer event. And Corlys in a novelty apron, obviously.

Modern AU or no. I have it in my head that Rhaenys, especially, is the perfect hostess. I mean, just in the show, we kind of get that impression as she’s excellent at anticipating needs and figuring out agendas. She was so welcoming to Viserys when he came for a visit. There’s a pile of food and wine that I’m sure is her doing, as it’s not there later after Viserys is gone and she makes a straight bee-line for it in that scene and isn’t surprised it’s there, so I can imagine she got word the King was coming, ordered the servants to put together a spread whilst her husband got himself washed and prepped for his little power move, and she took the time to go and have a dragon ride and be back in time to greet her cousin. She’s also the one to go ahead and sort their rooms and is the one to tell Corlys what the plan is afterwards, so she totally takes charge.

And Driftmark, essentially, is their kingdom. It’s designed that way, according to the production designer, so Rhaenys is Queen. And you betcha she learnt at the feet of the master (aka Alysanne) how to charm and flatter. High Tide is her castle, it’s the only one she ever had the chance of running and ruling and she now knows it like the back of her hand. She’s run it both as second to her husband, and as some form of regent when he’s away. And it would have it’s fair share of visitors: the Velaryons are powerful, not only in Westeros, but in the Free Cities as Corlys essentially controls a lot of the Narrow Sea, certainly in terms of trade and shipping lanes, and would have made contacts throughout his voyages. No doubt they get a lot of wealthy merchants and minor lords and relatives and businessmen coming and visiting and all of that.

And they must have an AWESOME looking Great Hall. Because they don’t dance or eat in the Hall of Nine and that room is stunning. So there must be some other room that can fit loads of guests and food, for events such as feasts and festivals. I like to think Corlys threw a celebration when he came back home to Driftmark with his new bride: so separate from the actual wedding and wedding feasts that occurred in King’s Landing or Dragonstone. Something just for the island, to welcome it’s new Lady. He does the same when he announces Rhaenys is expecting. Or has given birth. Or it’s someone’s birthday. Basically, the dude is rich and a slight show-off, so any excuse.

One of my favourite things to imagine is Corlys showing some star-struck wealthy man around the Hall of Nine for the first time, explaining his voyages or telling the story of one of the artefacts, and Rhaenys is there and she KNOWS that Corlys has embellished the story, just to sound even more mighty/impressive. Corlys doesn’t need to do that (because the original story/truth is cool enough), but it’s because he CAN and it amuses Rhaenys, who knows all the stories off by heart, so they’re basically just ever so slightly mocking this guy because he hasn’t a CLUE. It’s a power play.

#rhaenys x corlys #Rhaenys Targaryen #Corlys Velaryon

[cuthechicane]

okay fuck it we ball.

Red Bull Racing as the Hotel California: an Essay

(tw for genuine insanity under the cut)

there she stood in the doorway / I heard the mission bell: "she" — the rbr golden boy™. Historically there have only been two (Seb & Max); but "she" is also an ideal. There is only one golden boy at any given time; but the golden boy is not one person.

I was thinking to myself / this could be Heaven or this could be Hell: pretty self-explanatory.

then she lit up a candle and she showed me the way: the way — the road paved with gold and glory. It could be yours, if you wanted. If you're good enough.

plenty of room at the hotel california / any time of year / you can find it here: the red bull junior program with its 50,000 seats across different series. All fighting for four seats in f1 (realistically only three at the moment tbh), but only one is worth having.

such a lovely place / such a lovely face: the glamour of the red bull sports empire. The ephemeral mass-produced dream "red bull gives you wings".

we haven't had that spirit here since 1969: insert low effort joke about rbr only serving red bull energy drinks.

and still those voices are calling from far away / wake you up in the middle of the night / just to hear them say: ghosts of former trialed-and-errored rbr drivers. This is a very old story.

what a nice surprise: obvious irony. Contrast to line in previous chorus "plenty of room" — the rude awakening of getting dropped/shunned/exiled from the rbr ""family"".

bring your alibis: alibis — aka contingency plans. May allude to ultimately racing in a different series. It may go well it may go great it may even redeem you. But at the end of the day formula uno is always numero uno.

we are all just prisoners here, of our own device: multiple rbr drivers obviously but most notably Daniel & pre-alpine Pierre. You suffer this just to have this a while.

and in the master's chambers / they gathered for the feast: Christian Horner's annual silverstone barbeque (lol)

they stab it with their steely knives / but they just can't kill the beast: the beast — the easy answer here would be Helmut Marko; but also — the monstrousity of your own ambition. You want to kill him, you want to be his golden boy. You are disgusted and terrified of how much you need him to find you worthy. Which brings us back to:

mirrors on the ceiling: being forced to confront your own desire (delusions) but also self-doubt: am I truly as good as they say? Am I truly as good as I believed? Will I ever be good enough? Have I ever been good enough?

I was running for the door / I had to find the passage back to the place I was before: everyone that left that eventually found fulfillment & self-actualization elsewhere. Rediscovering the racing driver in you that fell in love first & foremost with the racing. Applies to many but mostly I'm thinking about Alex at Williams.

we are programmed to receive: can't get over the word "programmed" here. Driver development "program". So clinical. Mechanical. Methodical. Completely devoid of human sympathy.

you can check-out any time you like / but you can never leave: do I even need to say it? Daniel & Seb — "and then come home". Seb is probably the only one out of two people (the other being Max) to whom the word "home" does not come with baggage. (Or; relatively little baggage. There is still something to be said about leaving home to prove something to yourself & others and then ultimately being proven wrong. But of course the Sebrrari saga is much more layered & complex than that). For Daniel it's the return to the lion's den (knowing full well that it's a lion's den), because the lion's den is the only place that will welcome him with open arms (open jaws) anymore. Time is a flat circle. For as long as you continue to want you can never leave.

#i'm going to lose like twenty followers for this unhingery but you can't expect me to be sane about this #if it wasn't for the big narratives who would even care about sports #rbr #rbr meta

[murswrites]

🌝 Eddie Munson meeting his s/o family ? Bonus point if it's a large family !

hehe if this isnt the cutest thing ever

eddie doesnt rly know how to function imo

he doesnt have a big family, only rly has wayne tbh

he’d be SO fucking nervous

E: “do i look okay? i feel like my hair is frizzier than normal--”

Y: “eddie, its gonna be fine. my parents are super chill.”

he’s always been good w/kids, so that’s not a problem

i think you’d take him to small family gathering (small is not the right word... your family is Massive on its own)

its a barbeque in your backyard. super casual, super simple

eddie is still freaking tf out

he almost bails but when you mention your little brother... well he caves (your brother is in the hellfire club)

Y: “you better not be glued to his side, i swear to god.” (oh he’s going to be)

he’s literally shaking as he meets your parents, its super cute

eddies naturally a cool guy so seeing him so nervous is endearing

things actually go as planned (like you told him)

your dad thinks its awesome he’s into metal music & they bond over that

your little brother is talking eddies reputation Up The Wall to Everyone who will listen (aka anyone he can trap in a converstation)

your youngest siblings adore his hair and beg him to let them braid it

Who Is Eddie To Refuse Children?

🌸 Join in my birthday event! 🌸 (closed)

#ask #anon #3 years of murswrites #murswrites #eddie munson imagine #eddie munson #eddie munson headcanon #stranger things #stranger things headcanon #stranger things imagine

[friesian]

:3c pls give me all the romance answers for Marwyd my beloved cowboy

@mystery-salad

❣️— When do they first say I love you?

so currently, at this point in time (at least in a romantic sense).... uhm. i have no plans. 👉👈 marwyd lives in flux in terms of how romantic he feels towards his partners of interest. a part of me thinks it may be never. a part of me thinks it may be soon, if not out of desperation to have someone stay moreso than actually feeling 'love'.

so to honestly sum it up. he's never said it yet. :(

❤️— How do they most often express their love? Verbally or through actions? a lot of these are going to start with 'if he ever dated' so be aware of that one LOL. so IF HE DID, he's VERY secretive. not vulnerable. he wouldn't let anyone see anything. it'd certainly be more verbal, and behind closed door far, far away from everyone else. he'd be REALLY weird about being touched in public-- and maybe just in general-- i think the lack of phsyical affection that he's received has kinda fucked up his brain in a sense that he may be so touch starved (at least in terms of affection, he's been beaten up countless times!) it practically hurts moreso than feels good.

🧡— How do they say thank you/show appreciation?

he's simple, if its just a friend he tips his hat and give them a 'thank'ya'. otherwise, if it's something that someone really went out of his way to do, he may craft something for them or try to get a gift. i think he really gives out gifts a lot to his friends.

he's really good at grilling so i like to think he just gives them whole racks of cooked ribs for dinner or something with the best damn barbeque sauce you've ever tasted.

💛— How do they say good morning?

he's not a morning person. so 'mornin'. and then a begrudged hobble to the bathroom, probably LOL.

💚— How do they make their partner feel better?

IF HE DATED (i'm going to start keeping count. two points). i think he'd be weird about this one too. he's inexperienced and weird about affection still. so i think he'd be like "you wanna hug? uh? a cake? want me to beat'em up?" in an effort to sort of fix the problem. best case is that he awkwardly hugs them and just kinda goes "there there". HE HONESTLY does not know how to handle emotions. giving this man a committed partner is like placing a diffused bomb in his hands, but he is 500% convinced that shit is going to go off ANY second.

💙— How do they say/show that they miss their partner?

IF HE DATED (three points!) probably sending letters. writing. leaving things behind that may help them think of him or maybe they might find useful on their travels. letters would probably have less than eloquent writing in them, along the lines of; "hey, i know you're headin' out today. i'm keepin' you in my thoughts, alright? try to keep me in yours. i ain't wantin' to attend another funeral, and frankly i ain't got the dress to be goin' to one either. just stay safe, aight?"

aka he's still weird about being able to say sappy shit. mentally i think he is a sap! however, he will never ever leave evidence of that <3

💜— How do they say goodnight?

another tip of the hat, just announces that he's turning in for the night and turns tail to go to his hammock. he never sleeps indoors btw he just carries a fucking hammock around to put into trees. man still has no home after over 20 years of walking this damn earth!!!!

💕— What makes them feel connected to their partner?

HM. this one is. impossible to really answer, as he doesn't have a partner nor do i have a solid answer as to who his partner is, and every answer would vary.... so i'll have to skip this one. SORRY!!!

💞— Are they a big cuddler? What is cuddling them like?

i don't think he likes cuddling tbh.... the more i write this the more i'm pretty convinced he has haphephobia. i think touching him for long periods of time, especially in an affectionate sense causes him either panic or physical pain. years of consistently only being beaten by touch really kinda makes you adverse to it!

💓— What could their partner do to make their heart race?

IN FEAR? be open about how much they like them, or just want them nearby. he's so so so scared about being vulnerable or just showing that he's gay. he's honestly more scared of it than death itself. i think he wouldn't even care for the fact that they'd come after him, but moreso whoever he would be dating.

if we want to be more positive though, i think on a good day a gentle cheek touch would literally knock him stupid.

💗— Do they noticeably change once they’re in love? Is it easy to notice or just something their partner would pick up on? well he's like KINDA (???) in love with canach. kinda. in a weird fucked up way. he's just kinda gotten More Violent. canach doesn't pick up on this since he has just always been violent with him. more violence is just violence to him at this point. so it is just them mercilessly beating the shit out of one another constantly because one has always been violent to him, and the other is just Well That's How He Is.

💖— Are they a showy partner? Do they make grand gestures of love or try to be subtle? IF HE DATED (FOUR POINTS!!) he'd subtle as hell. very secretive. not showy at all. he'd be so Normal(tm) that i think most people wouldn't even know he's in a relationship. except for maybe marwyd's sister who would know him acting normal is just a sign for him hiding something.

💘— What was one of the first things that attracted them to their partner?

once again doesn't have a partner. (lies down on the floor) but if we wanna say crush, which is canach, its the attitude baby. it's ALL in the attitude. he's a wreckless, selfless guy.... he kinda is drawn to someone so... greedily selfless? like canach's biggest want is for others to thrive with him, but in a weird fucked up way where he also sort of benefits from it. i think the attitude is REALLY a kicker for marwyd despite how much he acts like he hates it.

💝— What are their best qualities as a partner? he would break his fucking spine if they asked. loyal to a fault. would walk the whole world if they needed him. think of him as unstoppable bullet, and you pretty much have how marwyd is. i think the man would stop at nothing to be sure that if they needed something, marwyd would get them it.

💌— What kind of love notes/messages do they leave their partner? I KINDA LEFT AN EXAMPLE ABOVE BUT. i also said he doesn't leave any sort of thing that may lead you to believe they're dating. so they're Very Normal, if not something he just sends to a good friend. so something like;

"lettin' you know that we found that bounty we were lookin' for, ya' don't have to go scowerin' every little sand in desert in elona and you can come home now. we're all waitin' for you."

sobs. i'm so sorry. this man is the most emotionally repressed and un-vulnerable man you could date. it is literally his biggest flaw.

🎁— What kind of gifts do they like to give? What do they like receiving?

he LOVES making food. he loves crafting things like backpacks or custom saddles for mounts, something with a lot of love and care put into them.

he's the type of dude who doesn't like getting gifts though. mostly because he has literally no where to put it from not having a home. most of the time he'll hand any gifts he has off to his sister and just tells her to hold onto it for him. i have a feeling his sis has like a closet full of his junk now.

🖤— Random romantic headcanon

you know what? i know deep down he's a really good kisser. he is a GREAT kisser in fact. i think he knows just how to kiss a man and do it right, but at the same time be like "oh fuck that was weird. oh GODS it was terrible. FUCK he'll never be able to look at me again. SHIT I MESSED THIS ALL UP!!! FUCK!!!"

all cowboys know how to kiss good it's just that my man is consistently convinced he doesn't know how to kiss and just freaks out and leaves if he were to kiss someone LOL.

#marwyd #THANK YOU FOR THIS IM SORRY SOME OF THESE ARE LACKLUSTER #my mans really be emotionally repressed and scared of being vulnerable with anyone <3 #not to mention he has the consistent unhealthy mindset that anyone he dates will die #so he kinda lives in a state of 'if no one thinks we're dating then the gods won't fucking smite me'. #he is. kinda paranoid like that. </3

[bop-pipeguy]

GunCon 2022 After Action Report Day2

Sorry for the delay, it’s been quite a week.

Day two at GunCon started at Big Springs Shooting Complex, just outside Searsboro Iowa and maybe a ten or twelve minute drive from Brownell’s HQ. While not the largest range I’ve ever seen, it certainly is one of the nicest. Four bays with 50, 100 and 500 yard targets, and sheltered by large tent looking structures. MUCH nicer than the lean-to style range shelters I’m familiar with.

After walking the line, getting my bearings and taking everything in I decided it was time to do some shooting. And was immediately distracted by a coffee tent. Don’t mind if I do! I forget the name of the roast that Doc of Blackout Coffee had that day but I gotta say it was fantastic. Generally speaking I use a fair amount of French vanilla creamer and no sugar. Out there I use one of the single serving things of creamer you’d find in a diner and two sugars. Closest to black I’ve ever had and actually enjoyed. Suffice to say I’m going to be getting some of Blackout’s coffee for home.

Caleb aka @baron_von_savant also seemed to enjoy @doc_blackout_coffee ‘s offerings

Now, properly caffeinated, off to the first bay. The two tables that caught my eye were New Frontier Armory and HK. NFA’s offering that had my attention was an AR style PCC that took MP5 mags called the C5-P. Having never messed with a 9mm AR of any sort I decided to put a few rounds through this one and was pleasantly surprised. I likely won’t get one of these guns simply because I prefer a 5.56 but the C5 was definetly a neat gun and I now better understand why people like them. Moving on to HK, there it was, in all its FDE glory….the MP7. That unicorn of a PDW that is hyped to no end and is always a letdown in video games. Due to limited ammo I was only given 5 rounds, two sing shots and a three round burst. BUT I can say with complete honesty that the first HK I ever fired was an MP7, so that’s pretty cool. Overall it’s a super neat gun, but after shooting it I believe the stories about it taking half a mag to put someone down with it.

Around this time lunch showed up, a local joint called Smokin’ J’s Barbeque. Rather than jumping in the line as everyone in attendance descended upon the trailer, I moved up the line to get some time talking to vendors without a crowd. I ended up speaking with a rep from Elevated Silence about a prototype 9mm suppressor they had attached to an MP5. So naturally that was the second HK I ever fired, as well as my first time shooting suppressed. I GET IT NOW! I’ve seen the light and am putting away for a suppressor as we speak.

The most interesting (to me) product I saw at the range, was from Law Tactical. We all know their folding mechanism, and how it will let you fire a round that’s already chambered while folded. Well let me introduce you to the AR Integral Carrier or ARIC. This drop in bolt carrier has two guide rods and recoil springs, allowing the bolt to cycle while the stock is folded. In essence, turning any AR into a poor man’s MCX. I’m eagerly awaiting their release and fully plan to install the folders and ARIC in several of my rifles.

After the range went cold for the day we returned to Brownell’s for dinner and social hour, meeting new people, drinking more Cherry Bomb hard cider and much like this blog entry, wrapping up way too quickly. Thanks for reading, Day 3 will be up soon!

[dubaiproperties]

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A perfect combination of 1, 2, 3 and 4 bedroom apartment where all of them are well executed and planned to get the core use of the space- get ventilated & sun filled rooms, and then the high range of amenities will give you a high range of amenities to get into the gym, spa, barbeque space and lots more features to have an active and energetic lifestyle.

FOR PRICE SOBHA CREST GRANDE DUBAI

Here you will get the perfect payment plan divided into 2 different instalments- 60:40, so this way you can make your payment with ease.

FOR AMENITIES

As you know without facilities project is incomplete, so to push the experience, here you will find a bunch of amenities starting from the health club, swimming pool, outer gym, barbeque area, kid’s play area and more to create better evenings for you.

The concept is to bring the families together and give them a new exposure to SOCIALIZE, BLEND WITH OTHER FAMILIES AND KNOW EACH OTHER BETTER.

So you name it and you will get it, and this is what helps it in gleaning the attention of the home buyers, so are seeking a home that is functional and a home that promises better return over investment.

This project is the part of part of the best city “Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum City” aka ‘MBR City ‘which is an amalgamation of commercial and residential where people can reside easily and have access to everything that improves the livability.

And existing projects - Sobha Hartland, District One, Mag Eye, Dubai Hills Estate and District 11 are the popular projects that uplift the life expectation, and the new home seekers can find secured and modish living ambience which is well worth every penny.

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And as the project comes with its smallest unit type 1 bedroom which is going to be the best option for investor because small units are considered as the cream of the crop unit where an investor can expect an ROI of 8.4%.

#Sobha Hartland Crest Grande

[blackbat05]

You don’t like me when I’m angry (Part 1)

Shangqi x Reader 

A/N: Back again but I’ve decided to switch my theme a little! Reader has pyrokinetic abilities (like the human torch). Katy is still quirky and a talented archer. Shangqi... well he’s the man! Again, do like and comment if you enjoyed it. Thanks for reading! 

Genre: PG 13 

Warnings: Maybe just watch out for a bit of detailed descriptions of injuries and the fighting. 

The pub was bustling. Men were noisily gathered at the bar, eyes glued to the latest soccer match. As the match went on, the reactions became more intense. Perfect cover for a hooded figure to slip into the pub unnoticed. She quietly orders a bottle of soju, pouring it into the drinking glass that came along with it.

‘Careful there, you don’t want to loose the target,’ a voice crackles through the coms in her left ear. ‘Relax Shangqi, unlike what you think, I have a high tolerance for alcohol.’ Smirking into thin air, the girl takes another sip. Another muffled voice causes Shangqi to pry away from the surveillance footage. ‘Oh yeah, Katy’s got the picture, just sent it.’

Everything about the target screamed danger. As if his rugged look didn’t scare one away, the man had a cut that was hovering dangerously near his eye. Goran Lee, aka Gor - the biggest mob boss who holds an iron fist over the underworld of Busan. How did (y/n) ended up here? That was a very good question.

‘What’s up Wong?’ I stepped into the sanctum after Shangqi and Katy who were having trouble concealing their yawns. The man in question turns his focus away from the round table, a solemn look on his face. ‘I think it’s best if you three take a look for yourselves.’ 

Throwing each other puzzled looks, we decided that it was best to just follow Wong. Crowding around the table, it glows bright orange, showing several images and videos at the same time. But all had one thing in common. A man - no he couldn’t even be called a human... more like a human animal hybrid was seen terrorizing the streets. 

‘What the hell is that thing?’ Katy was clearly grossed out. 

‘A vampire werewolf,’ Wong replied simply, not surprised at our confused expressions. ‘A what?’ Shangqi steps forward to observe the hologram that was a bit too real for his comfort. The animal whips its large head, red eyes tearing into us. I flinch as it lunges in our direction, knocking into Shangqi. The screen turns black. 

‘That’s exactly what it is,’ Wong sighs. ‘It’s a real mess out there. A few weeks ago, Oscorp industries reported fifty boxes worth of vials missing from their storage in New York,’ He pauses to see if we’re following. ‘The substance - substance KXV is strong enough to trigger the person’s metagene and apparently, it’s fallen into the wrong hands. They’ve managed to trace it down to Busan but they’re tied down.’

‘Lemme guess... something to do with preventing an international incident on the front page of the Sunday Times?’ Katy drawled. ‘Why us then? Aren’t any of the avengers available?’ We looked at Wong expectantly. 

‘They’re either off world, working with the UN or on the run from the government themselves,’ Wong pauses, thinking if he should continue. ‘And that Peter boy is in school.’  Shangqi raises his hands in defeat. He thought that after coming back from Ta Lo, he had escaped from the craziness. Well, at least he had you and Katy. 

‘I don’t see him, this place is god damn dark. How do people drink here? And why am I here? Shouldn’t Shangqi be here instead?’ 

‘Because our faces have been plastered all over the internet? We don’t want to scare him off - and I know you’re not used to it but would you stop talking before he catches up on to us?’ Katy shakes her head at Shangqi inside the van as she talks to you. You never failed to impress them with your short fuse.

You sit quietly, nursing your last cup of soju, grumbling inwardly to yourself. For a guy who runs the underworld, he sure is tardy. A greasy hand rests on the surface of your shoulders, stopping your current train of thoughts. You hear a loud and abrupt movement from your com. ‘Hi, can I help you?’ Turning to the clueless jerk who decided it was ok to touch an unsuspecting woman, you inwardly trusted Katy to prevent Shangqi from running in balls first into a situation that could easily be defused. You were no pushover. 

The guy reeked of alcohol. His foreign looks and a varsity jacket told me that he was probably an exchange student. ‘Hey pretty... why not have a drink with me and my guys over there...’ His finger jabs to the other end of the pub where his friends were watching him with excitement. ‘Don’t be shy... we’ll give you a good time!’ He guffaws before stumbling slightly. 

My nostrils flared - as if making myself claustrophobic with a room full of rowdy and leering men weren’t enough, I’m having to deal with a boy who can’t seem to control whatever’s going on in his pants. This would have to be quick. Taking a few large strides over, I gripped his wrist tightly, lifting 185 pounds of dead weight. Staring into his unfocused eyes, my hands turned orange. Poor guy was flapping like a fish, wincing for me to stop. Thankfully with the loud music, no one could hear him. 

‘I’m not exactly in a good mood today, so I suggest you scram before I fry your arm into barbeque here.’ I got my message across as he fled back to his group who were coincidentally trying not to make eye contact with me. 

‘Harsh (y/n), harsh.’ Katy sniggered in my ear. I would have made a smartass response to her but my attention was focused on the man who had just sauntered into the room. Gor. And he didn’t come alone. ‘Look sharp guys, they’re here.’

I was determined not to loose them as they walked towards where the group of university students were, disappearing behind the back entrance shortly after. I darted among the group of servers who were to preoccupied attending tables, reaching the back. Dimly lit with red lights, every inch of the hallway was covered in questionable and even vulgar portraits that made my blood boil.

‘Don’t engage alone, me and Katy are on our way.’ Shangqi signals to Katy, tossing her bag of arrows. ‘No promises there Shangqi, I have no idea what the hell their going to do. Get here fast.’ I inch closer towards the sound.

Gor is the biggest out of them, towering over his tallest henchman by half a head. He takes the red vial, drinking it in one gulp. I knew I saw the pictures at the sanctum but I wanted to bleach my eyes out there and then as I saw him transform into that monstrosity. For a moment I thought I was caught as the furry beast glances at the transparent door.

‘The ambassador?’ Gor’s voice came out in an oily snarl. The henchman nearest to him bows, ‘On his way sir, he has the cash.’

‘Good, we kill them all the moment he arrives.’

‘Including the child- sir?’ The reply came back in a stutter.

‘I have no use for useless midgets,’ Gor bares his fangs. ‘Shoot them if you must.’

So it was true, Gor was really as sadistic as they claim. Just then, A warm hand clamps over my mouth before I can react. Shangqi.

‘Thank god. Take a look for yourselves. Gor’s after the ambassador. The ambassador knows that they’re the ones behind the raid at Oscorp. So Gor gets his men to kidnap the ambassador’s family, threatens him for some hush money in return of some promise that he must have made.’

‘But Gor’s not going to follow with his promise,’ Katy narrows her eyes. ‘Do you know where they might be holding the family?’ I shook my head. She loads her first arrow into the bow. ‘Can’t wait to try these new babies out. Heard their made of dragon skin.’ She turns to Shangqi, nodding in silent agreement.

‘Just what did you guys plan without me?’

PART 2 COMING SOON...

#xu shangqi #shangqi imagine #shangqi x reader #katy shang chi

[drwcn]

《Without Envy》- concubine/sleeper agent!wwx & prince!lwj 

[story board 1] [story board 2]   [story board 3]  [story board 4] 

long post: story board 5 →

Lan Wangji, as it turned, was a true gentleman. This was problematic for Wei Wuxian, who was tasked with getting close to him, because Hanguang-wang’s upstanding morals being rather unimpeachable rendered Wei Wuxian’s initial seduction efforts entirely unsuccessful. 

 Lan Wangji straight up ignored him. Whenever he came to visit Jiang Yanli it was always to speak with her and not Wei Wuxian. It was like Wei Wuxian, or A-Xian as he was known, did not exist to the prince. Whenever Wei Wuxian tried to “get close” to him, aka, making himself available to serve tea, meals and such, Lan Wangji would always dismiss him, or tell him to wait outside so Lan Wangji and Jiang Yanli could dine together alone. Needless to say, Wei Wuxian was getting increasingly frustrated. Entirely unbeknownst to Wei Wuxian however was the fact that Lan Wangji had noticed him from the start and was just trying to stop himself from doing something inappropriate. Truth is, Lan Wangji first saw Wei Wuxian at Jiang-fu during one of Lan Wangji’s visits to finalize the marriage between himself and Jiang Yanli. 

It was the dogs’ barking that got Lan Wangji’s attention first. That, and a young man’s agitated cursing.

“Fuck - ow! Princess that was not nice! I’m going to turn you into barbeque if you don’t cut this shi - Ow! Jasmine, give it here!” 

Lan Wangji’s personal guards Guo Ai and Sun Ting made to investigate the source of the ruckus and to tell off whoever dared to be so impertinent and disrespectful in a marquis’s manor, but Lan Wangji stopped them with a subtle gesture.  

Slowly, he approached the round archway looking into the garden and saw by the shrubs a handsome young man cradling a fuzzy tiny thing while trying his darnedest to fend off two relentless hounds. “Shoo, shoo, go bother your master!”

But the dogs wanted to play. Their bushy tails wagged happily.  

Eventually, the young man tired of the over enthusiastic canines, picked up a stick off the ground, and tossed it far over the garden walls. The dogs took off running, and he and the little creature he protected were allowed a moment’s peace. 

“Little tutu, it’s okay, the mean dogs are gone now. Don’t be afraid.” 

It was only then that Lan Wangji saw that the furry round thing was a small bunny, probably driven from its burrow by the aforementioned hounds that belonged to Jiang-xiao-gongzi. He watched, slightly transfixed, as the young man lifted the bunny and gently booped its nose against his own, his comely face scrunching up adorably in the process. 

So when Wei Wuxian arrived at the prince’s estate with Jiang Yanli, Lan Wangji cursed his luck. He had no intentions of becoming attracted or attached to anyone in his harem. His marriages were political games. Everything he did in his harem was calculated. The last thing he needed was for the Jins to think they could sink their claws into him. So he kept company with all his concubines equally, just to maintain the balance. Lan Wangji did not want Jin Ziyan to be the only man in his harem, which was why when Qin Su offered him Mo Xuanyu, he did not refuse. It was fortunate that Mo Xuanyu himself seemed eager to serve too, so Lan Wangji did not have to grapple with ethics there.  He was doing this for his country; everyone knew this. As long as he kept to his duties and divided his attentions equally, there would be trouble in his harem. Except...Lan Wangji wanted to see ‘A-Xian’ again. The more he wanted, the more he made himself keep his distance. He recognized the power dynamic that existed between this servant and himself, and that if he were to ask, A-xian was not really in a position to refuse. Besides, Jiang Yanli made no indications that she wanted her A-Xian to serve Lan Wangji. In fact, she seemed quite protective of him, always looking out for him wherever she could. She practically treated him like a little brother than a servant. As such, Lan Wangji was happy with the way things were. He could live with never knowing A-Xian more intimately. In fact, he did not want A-Xian to be ordered to serve him, or find out that A-Xian was just like every other man and woman in his harem, there to curry favours with him. It would be a shame if he turned out to be just another flower in the garden, another player in this game they played.  

Of course Wei Wuxian read this whole situation as: that little bastard Lan Wangji doesn’t like me. Xue Yang was charged with being Wei Wuxian’s correspondence between Gusu and Qishan but ended up just being the guy Wei Wuxian complained to.  —“Is this Hanguang-wang truly a paragon of virtues???” Wei Wuxian raged. “Aren’t princes supposed to be lechers? Wen Chao certainly is a sleeze. Wen Xu could be too for all we know. I’m young, fit, attractive and available. I know he likes men so why not me? He sleeps with Mo Xuanyu all the time apparently …Is Mo Xuanyu more attractive than me?!” Xue Yang: >_> God I miss murders. 

Wei Wuxian’s “opportunity” came when Jiang Yanli fell mysteriously ill about three months after she married Lan Wangji. When the physicians were left scratching their heads, Wei Wuxian quickly took the matter into his own hands. He needed Jiang Yanli alive; if she died before he made an impression on Lan Wangji, he could be sent away back to Jiang-fu and threaten his entire operation. What’s more, Jiang Yanli had been extremely kind to him in the last two years since he arrived at Gusu. She truly was the perfect lady; he would hate to see her suffer.  Through some crafty investigations, Wei Wuxian discovered that the cause of Jiang Yanli’s illness was a slow poison being laced into her food by Jin Ziyan’s orders. The motive of his actions were obvious enough; ever since Jiang Yanli married in, Lan Wangji seemed to be showing her extra favour, favours which he never distributed unevenly prior to her entering his household. Jin Ziyan did not want Jiang Yanli as a competition. She was a marquess’s dichu daughter, much higher in rank than either Qin Su or Luo Qingyang, and therefore posed serious threat to becoming Lan Wangji’s legal spouse. In a way, she was Jin Ziyan’s biggest competitor, and he couldn’t have that. What Jin Ziyan didn’t know was that Lan Wangji visited Jiang Yanli so much because he wanted to catch glimpses of Wei Wuxian, even though he dismissed Wei Wuxian from the room every time he saw him (the man was clearly a masochist). Wei Wuxian managed to sniff out the poison before it could cause lasting damages, but the effect of it was going on for long enough that Jiang Yanli still had an early term miscarriage before she even knew she was pregnant. Wei Wuxian, incensed by Jiang Yanli’s suffering, was ready to expose Jin Ziyan, but was ordered not to by Wen Zhuliu. ‘We still need Jin Ziyan’ was his reasoning. Still, Wei Wuxian managed to tip off the investigators such that they detected and put an end to the poisoning, but the culprit was ultimately never caught. As this played out, Wei Wuxian realized that now was his chance to get close to Lan Wangji. With Jiang Yanli recuperating...surely the Jiang family would want someone else of their clan to serve Lan Wangji in her place, someone who could keep Lan Wangji’s attention but would not replace Jiang Yanli’s place in the harem. It did not take much to lead Yu Ziyuan to the same conclusion. To ensure that he would have ample time with Lan Wangji, Wei Wuxian secretly slipped a special sedative into Jiang Yanli’s food and drink to mimic the symptoms of a slow recovery. The sedative was one of Qishan’s secret formulations and could not be detected by Gusu’s finest doctors. But Jiang Yanli, bless her heart, did not want the boy who she’d come to see as a little brother to be used like an object. "A-niang, I don't want to force A-Xian to do things he doesn't want to. I will get better, dianxia will not abandon me." — Yu Ziyuan tsked, "Silly girl, serving Lan Wangji in your stead is his entire purpose for coming with you. Every family must plan for something like this; someone to hold onto Lan Wangji's interest while you're indisposed. Men are fickle, child. You need time to recover and someone will need to remind Hanguang-wang that you still matter when you’re ready again. We cannot let him forget you. Think of what this would mean for our clan." Much to Yu Ziyuan’s delight, Lan Wangji came to check on Jiang Yanli while she was visiting, and Madam Yu had no qualms making hints that it would be the Jiang family’s honour if Hanguang-wang allowed ‘A-Xian’ to serve him while Yanli recovered. Wei Wuxian did not protest. Why would he? This was his orchestration after all, but when he dared raise his gaze from the floor to look at Lan Wangji, he detected a hint of something in Lan Wangji’s face…something like disappointment. Wei Wuxian relayed this to Xue Yang and the other evil gremlin sucked on a candied apricot and said with a roll of his eyes： —“You’re so dense, shixiong, tsk. Men like Lan Wangji could have any man or woman he wants. If you go along with Madam Yu’s orders, you’ll just to be like everyone else, another ambitious servant trying to socially advance. He’ll fuck you and forget you within a blink of an eye.” — Wei Wuxian sipped his liquor and grimaced. “Fine, what do you suggest I do then? — Xue Yang smirked, “Oh, haven’t you heard? Men like roses with thorns. When you’re brought to him tonight, don’t play along. Don’t humour him. Refuse him.” — Wei Wuxian： >_> Is this how you got those Daoist priests in bed with you? — Xue Yang smirked shamelessly, “Worked, innit?”

Listen, Lan Wangji was fully prepared to have some emotionless sex with Wei Wuxian okay? Boy was prepared to just go through the motions. He was disappointed to know that A-Xian turned out to be no better than any other servant in his harem: eager to climb his bed.

Being a concubine was stupid work, Wei Wuxian realized belatedly. After dinner, Jiang Yanli bid him goodbye with worried eyes as the momos and gugus of Hanguang-fu dragged him away to be bathed and prepped for the prince’s enjoyment later that night. (gugu, momo - older female servants)

Wei Wuxian was not a dirty person - sure, he worked hard, but he bathed regularly - they did not have to scrub that roughly. As they practically scrapped off a layer of skin, the momos rattled on and on about how he should “conduct” himself in the presence of dianxia and how he should position himself to best please him. 

What the actual fuck. Wei Wuxian resisted the urge to pull a face. Did the ladies get the same banal talk? How fucking boring was the sex around here? Wei Wuxian wasn’t born yesterday alright? He knew how to fuck.  ...Well fine, he didn’t, but he and Xue Yang had sucked each other off once or twice, so that should count for something. 

Once the attendants were satisfied with the state of him - hair brushed, skin cleaned and lotioned, callouses removed - they rolled him in a large full-body sized blanket, placed him in a sedan and ordered the servants to carry him to Lan Wangji’s chamber. 

Wei Wuxian tried not to make an exasperated grimace when the servants literally picked him up like a log and deposited him on the prince’s large bed.

Fucking...seriously? 

He did not remember this bullshit when zhangjie married in...but then again Jiang Yanli did marry in. There was a ceremony and everything. Lan Wangji was very respectful that night, bowing to her before lifting her veil as a gentleman ought to. So what the fuck is this barbaric treatment? Just as he pondered on these questions, the tulle canopy parted, and Lan Wangji’s handsome face and broad chest came into view. Undressed to his inner most layer of robes and his ink black hair let loose, he looked very much like a man ready to ravish his new concubine, but somehow, Wei Wuxian could not detect a trace of interest on that jade-like face. 

Despite knowing this was all an act, just a means to an end, Wei Wuxian shivered when Lan Wangji reached for the edge of the blanket that encased him. 

He pulled the blankets closer, shrinking deeper inside. 

“Don’t be afraid,” said Lan Wangji. “I won’t hurt you.” 

Time to act, Wei Wuxian. Give it your best shot. 

“I’m not afraid.”  “Then why do you hide?”  Wei Wuxian waited a meaningful second before meeting Lan Wangji’s gaze dead on and said, “Because I don’t want to.”  Nonplussed, Lan Wangji raised an elegant eye brow in return. “Oh? Is that so? Or are those just words? Perhaps you've confused what kind of place a harem is. If you do not want to, why are you here?”

Is my act not convincing enough or is this stupid asshole so confident in his attractiveness that he thinks everyone must automatically want to fuck him? Slightly ticked off now, Wei Wuxian sat up, still holding the blanket to his chest and retorted hotly, “I am not confused, dianxia. Perhaps you are unable to comprehend the idea that someone as lowly as a servant would refuse when given the opportunity to ascend in rank, but nevertheless, that doesn’t change my position. I don't want to. I am here because Lianfang-jun appointed me; there was hardly any room in that decision for me to argue. If you are determined to have me, I will not resist, because I understand my place. But I am a person, not a thing or a broodmare for you breed. I have some dignity left, and at the very least, before you...before you hold me down and fuck me, I want you to know."

Wei Wuxian half wondered if his act had gone a little overboard. The expletives maybe were just a tad too dramatic, but then again...   ...seeing how Lan Wangji's entire stance shifted, maybe not. 

Lan Wangji withdrew his hand. He had mistaken Wei Wuxian’s initial unwillingness as coquettish posturing, but the heat in those dark, bright eyes could not be faked. 

“Those words could get you into a lot of trouble when spoken to the wrong person. Have the momos not taught you the rules?” 

Wei Wuxian squared his shoulders. “They have, but I place trust in Hanguang-wang’s reputation, that you are a true gentleman and would not force me against my will.” Then, just as he practiced, Wei Wuxian lowered his eyes. “I am a servant, your servant, and I know it is my duty to serve you in any way you command me, but I -...please find other use of me, dianxia, but not this.” 

 He startled a little when a warm hand found purchase under his chin and lifted up his face. Lan Wangji inspected him wordlessly with those cold, sharp eyes, searching for lies, for pretense. Wei Wuxian held his breath, praying he won’t be found out, but eventually, when the prince and his calculation deemed him good enough, he let go. 

“Very well.” 

Lan Wangji fetched a pair of clean inner robes and trousers from the wardrobe and handed them to Wei Wuxian. “Get dressed and move over.” Without waiting for Wei Wuxian to respond, he sat himself down on the edge of the bed and began to remove his socks and shoes. 

Wei Wuxian moved quickly, shrugging on the robes and tied it in place before shoving the trousers under the covers to try and pulling them up his legs. “You’re...you’re not leaving?” 

Lan Wangji glared at him over his shoulder. “This is my room, my bed. Why should I leave?” 

Right. Right.

“But you’re not...sending me away?” 

Lan Wangji frowned as though questioning his intelligence. “Would you like me to send you away? I should think that would reflect badly on you and your mistress.”   That did give Wei Wuxian pause. “Uh, well –”   “Your declining to be my bedfellow does not impede my fulfilling my side of the arrangement. You will leave in the morning, and the others will think that I found you pleasing enough to keep you the whole night. That should give Jiang-fu’ren and the Yunmeng Jiang clan sufficient face."   “I could sleep on the floor.” 

“Do you want to sleep on the floor?” Lan Wangji swung his legs onto the bed and arranged the blankets to his liking. “The doors are never locked. Servants and sentinels must be allowed in to check on me during the night for security purposes. It would not bode well if they found you lying on the floor.” 

Right, yeah that would defeat the whole purpose. 

“Oh.” 

Lan Wangji lay down and crossed his hands over his chest. “Lie down, sleep. I have morning court assembly, and I’m tired. If you’re going to stay, don’t be a disturbance.” 

Feeling like he’d lost all semblance of control in this situation, Wei Wuxian awkwardly laid himself down beside Lan Wangji. The bed was big enough for the two of them that there was space in between even when both of them lay flat on their backs. 

Lan Wangji lifted up just a second to blow out the bedside candle, and then there was total darkness.

Wasn’t I suppose to seduce him? What the fuck is this? Okay...maybe I have no idea how to seduce him...maybe I have no idea how to do anything that’s not straight up strangling him in his sleep. 

Wei Wuxian could feel his heart thudding in his chest, panic coiling tighter and tighter. He almost wished Lan Wangji had ignored his protest and took him, because then it’d be straight forward. As it were, he had no idea how to proceed now. 

Just as Wei Wuxian was being slowly consumed by his maelstrom of thoughts, Lan Wangi suddenly spoke into the dark. 

"I am not a heartless bastard, you should know."

Huh? 

"I never implied that."

“You did.” Lan Wangji gave a little shake of his head. “I do not want this anymore than the others in the harem. You said I treat my women like broodmares, but perhaps you have not considered that Gusu treats me like a stallion."   Wei Wuxian was momentarily speechless.    “Your mistress is very kind and gentle. I am sorry that the child in her belly was lost; I know she very much wanted to be a mother. I see that you are very protective of her, so you should know, I would never hurt her.  Even if she were to never recover her strength, I would not let harm come to her.”   Those words, softly spoken, tugged at Wei Wuxian’s conscience, if not his heartstrings. “Dianxia -”   “Sleep. Good night.”

The next morning Wei Wuxian woke up to knocking on the door. The sun was already high in the sky and the bed was empty of Lan Wangji’s presence.  A group of maids entered carrying a basin of water, towels and clean clothes. Wei Wuxian, dazed, asked, "Where's danxia?" One of the maid giggled. "Dianxia left at dawn to attend morning assembly at the palace. You must not know; he wakes up very early. He said not to wake you, and to let you sleep. He said," The others giggled with her. “He said that you've had a long night."

To the great surprise of everyone, Lan Wangji did not elevate Jiang Yanli’s servant A-Xian to concubine status after the ‘long night’ they had together. Instead he ordered A-Xian to be transferred to his court to be his close-quarter attendant, to serve him in his every day tasks.  Wei Wuxian did not exactly understand why Lan Wangji would make this particularly decision, but he did not complain. After all this was exactly what he wanted, to be close to Lan Wangji and earn his trust.  Lan Wangji, on the other hand, was content to have Wei Wuxian close by, secure in the knowledge ‘A-Xian’ did not wish to spread his legs to socially advance. Perhaps, if he dared to hope, he could finally have someone to speak to in this lonely manor full of people who only saw the crown hanging above his head.

Xue Yang was of the opinion that this was all going to end badly. He was right. 

[next]

#cql #the untamed #wangxian #lan wangji #wei wuxian #cql ficlet #without envy #corie fics

[cottoncandyjester]

This might be an odd request but...would Theodore be fine meeting Y/N's family? For all the yanderes, how would they react to Y/N saying, "Alright I want you to meet my family." And the yandere is confuse cause they've been together for quite a few years (let's say 5) Y/N might say, "My family is very nice, they are just curious on who you are."

Okay so I don't know if you are aware...but my yanderes are all chaotic as hell so this is going to go ✨GREAT✨

Theodore

He is instantly curious and low-key excited

He wants to know what your family is like and how they sharp you as a person

He did find it super weird that you two were engaged and he has yet to meet a single family member of yours

Having dinner with your family is just him being on his best behavior

Of course he has his adorable nervous moments but he is definitely a charmer

"so, theodore is it tell us why you love [y/n] so much? What is your future together?"

Theodore twitched lightly at the question from one of your parents and he gave a nervous smile before pushing his glasses up and clearing his throat before he lovingly glanced your way.

"well, I'm hoping for children and with the wedding coming up there is a lot of excitement around that I do hope you all make it..family is everything to me"

"oh we should look at baby photos! Wouldn't that be fun?"

Theo had a fiery gaze at the thought of looking at you as a child he was way too excited for that though you looked like you wanted to die of embarrassment.

"m-man I'm stuffed we should go right babe?"

Theo looked your way before giving you a sweet grin, he clearly was showing you that you had absolutely zero choice in this matter

"now now sweetheart, we shouldn't leave so early after all I would love to catch a glimpse at what our children could look like?"

Hikaru

He didn't want you to meet his family so the fact that you didn't bring up yours didn't bother him

You guys have been together for a long time and neither of you met each other family

You were the one who wanted to change that after all

Hikaru... honestly wanted nothing to do with it but after four hours of arguing he agreed.

Hikaru is a beautiful boy so of course he uses that charm to his favorite

He is extra as hell so wooing your family comes with inviting them to a fancy restaurant dinner

You honestly want to choke him for how cocky he is but your family eats it up cause he knows exactly what to say

Of course his temper gets to him when it comes to you having younger siblings (if you don't just go with it lol)

Hikaru can only play nice for so long

You watched as your boyfriend smiles charmingly towards your family, he was quite the actor that's for sure. You couldn't help but hold back a laugh earning a dirty glare his direction it was clear that he hated this but he wanted you to stop bugging him about it.

He was actually doing good until he felt a sharp kick earning a harsh hiss of pain, his eyes shot towards your younger siblings this was the fifth time they kicked him and he was definitely about to snap.

"so hikaru, why don't you tell my family about how much you love me"

Your distracting words seemed to work a little to calm him down until he felt another kick, and he snapped.

"alright you brat, what the hell?!"

Oh boy here we go.

"it was an accident!"

"you've been doing it the entire time!"

"b-babe maybe you should coo-"

Your younger sibling stuck their tongue out at hikaru earning a low growl towards him as his left eye twitched, well at least the rest of your family found it to be amusing.

"you can't have [y/n]! I won't let you steal them away you flashy demon!"

"the hell did you call me?! And what do you mean I can't have them they are already mine!"

Well this night was going perfectly.

Axis

Mr lovable crybaby actually cries when you tell him that your family wants to meet him

Meeting your family means you're serious about the relationship

"axis, baby we've been together for six years... we're engaged."

"b-but you DO love me! I knew it!"

Honestly when your family comes over for dinner he is shaking cause he doesn't like uncomfortable question

He knows your family is sweet since you're sweet but still

He helped make dinner so his pride is on thin ice aka he will cry if they hate it

He is so nervous that he is just an anxiety mess

Super emotional and just so in love with you

"i-i love [y/n] so much, they are amazing and they smell nice and i-i just love them so so much! I wanna marry them of course!"

You honestly felt pretty bad for laughing while axis was being super emotional but he was just wayyy too cute at the moment.

"babe, I love you too"

You reached and held axis' hand still holding back laughing only to see him pout.

"d-dont laugh! I'm fragile!"

Seems your parents liked him though which was good though you did worry is they liked him too much you could already see them coming over for every holiday, though you were sure axis didn't mind.

Salem

Sooo you thinking about having salem meet your family is a horrible idea but they wanted to know who has your heart

Salem of course freaks out a tad when you tell him you invited your family over for brunch

He isn't normal in the slightest so he had to act normal in his own way

It was a bit of a trainwreck but you think it went well

"so salem...what exactly do you do for a living"

You twitched at that question since telling your family that your boyfriend is a camboy wasn't exactly the best way to introduce him.

You glanced at salem who was far too busy stuffing his mouth with waffles while humming, he was clearly not going to be of help at the moment.

"salem works from home a boring home job right babe?"

Salem gulped before chuckling darkly at your little lie, you gave him a light glare warning him to behave and he simply stuck his tongue out gliding two fingers along them adoring the feeling.

"mhmmm, such a gooood job~"

Salem was practically drooling just thinking about work tonight while you nervously laughed at his antics but honestly you did love him so his behavior in your eyes was kinda cute. He was like a puppy, a slobbering puppy.

"what plans do you two have in the future?"

Salem perked up clearly excited about this question and so he started to speak but you have a bad feeling

"lots and lots of hot steammmyyyy se-"

You covered the male's mouth ignoring the feeling of him slobbering and licking your hand

"o-oh babe you're such a jokester haha!"

You glared at salem who only gave you a lustful gaze right back, he knew fully well that you'll punish him for this and he was ready for that.

Prince

Yikes he is not used to meeting someone's family

Totally not ready

Sure you guys are preparing for a kid but that doesn't mean he's ready!

He totally freaks out when you say that you two are spending the weekend at your parents house for old times

I mean sure he likes the idea of screwing you in your old bedroom while your parents are asleep but like meeting them? He isn't sure about that one

He actually gets along with your family pretty well

"so prince was it? What an interesting name!"

Prince simply chuckled and ran his fingers through his hair before giving your family such a charming smile.

"is it? I suppose so. Though I like to think [y/n] loves me cause I'm so interesting"

You rolled your eyes at his antics, who knew a psychopath could be so damn Charming, they definitely adored his sparkling charm to a point where you were sure your siblings formed a new found crush.

Yuki

"babe my family wants to you"

"mhm..."

"tonight"

"oh."

He was far too busy drawing tattoo designs to focus but he knew what you were saying and he wasn't worried

Yuki is a blunt person he says whatever comes to mind cause he's too sleepy and depressed to deal with bullshit like being too nervous

"you must love [y/n] a lot to be with them this long are kids in the future?"

"hmmmm...dunno."

You glanced over at yuki who looked absolutely bored and like he wanted to crash at any moment but you knew thats how he always was.

"o-oh well what about marriage?"

"...maybe."

"what are some of your hobbies"

Yuki picked his head up and gave a soft grunt before he turned his head away thinking slowly about what to say

"I like...sleeping...eating..[y/n].."

Yuki suddenly rested his head on your shoulder with a sleepy hum now hugging you close clearly wanting to take a nap right there

"I like [y/n]..more than eating and sleeping though."

Rocket

Your buff himbo of a fiancee was honestly excited to meet your family

He was worried about being seen as an idiot meathead though...even though he was

He wasn't nervous in the slightest when the time came

He just said what was on his mind even if it was stupid

He really loved you and that's what mattered

"haha! Wow you're [y/n]'s family? Ooh! So cool!"

You watched your extremely tall and beefed up boyfriend hover over your family excitedly like a dog. You were worried his joyful antics were intimidating your family just a tad.

"hey babe? Can you help grab the charcoal from the car?"

Rocket looked over at you before giving you an excited smile, a chance to show his strength?! Hell yeah!

"of course babe! Here hold it!"

Within a second he was throwing his hoodie off now in a tank top, he was totally showing off and you were here for it! Just watching him carry two bags of charcoal like it was nothing kinda made you hot and bothered

This barbeque was going to be filled with some interesting tension. You sat at the picnic table watching as rocket helped with the grill.

Your family loved rocket which made you feel better for sure plus he was the center of attention which you knew made him happy

"babeeee!"

"yeah babe?"

"you look smoking! I love you!"

You snorted out a laugh from his adorable wink and compliment..damn you loved your himbo.

Scarlett

Oh she was ready

She wanted to prepare dinner for your family

She loved the idea of being included into your family

She did want you to meet her family as well but she was worried about her twin brother trying to torture you or something

She of course was as graceful and sweet as always

She was excited to know about all those childhood memories you have

"so [y/n] tells me that you're an herbalist, sounds interesting though must be hard to get business with modern medicine being popular"

Scarlett simply giggled before playing with one of her ponytails as she tried to explain her view on things.

"well, my medicine is actually sold sometimes to hospitals though I try to avoid it, herbal medicine has its great perks"

Scarlett had always been greatly intelligent but she was impressing you for sure. She was great at speaking and charming others, of course she was beautiful while doing it

"would you all care for some dessert? I wish to know more about [y/n] when they were a child"

"really scar?"

"of course my love, after all I love you no matter what"

#yandere imagines #yandere #yandere ocs

[eternal-bauhinian]

22/5/2020: National Security Law, aka Article 23 PASSED!!

The news have been raving about it for the past 24 hours or so, so I think many of you might have heard the news already, but if you haven't, here goes: the Hong Kong National Security Law has been passed by the CCP in the Mainland. Yes, I know they're not supposed to interfere with us outside of international relations and military, but the Basic Law is basically treated as barbeque kindling these days, so they're doing it anyway.

In case anyone is wondering, the National Security Bill is, in fact, the formal name for Article 23, aka the Anti-Subversion Law. It prohibits acts of “treason, secession, sedition, subversion against the central people’s government, or theft of state secrets … and to prohibit political organisations or bodies of the region from establishing ties with foreign political organisations or bodies”.

In other words, any one word, even an unintentional slip of the mouth from pronouncing a word wrong, that criticizes the CCP, and you're legally allowed to be carted off to jail with no one batting an eye. This translates to? There is no such thing as freedom in Hong Kong anymore.

Rule of law is dead. Freedom is dead. Hong Kong is no more.

But will I continue not to back down and keep running this blog? Hell yeah. Because we are the last beacon of hope. Soon, Apple Daily and Ming Pao and HK Free Press and all the other anti-govt newspapers and media outlets are going to be forced to go on the run, or be shut down. They'll likely gloss over my tiny blog, even if it currently has more followers than any other Tumblr blog of mine, since I don't play a big enough role in the city proper - Tumblr isn't a HK site. And I'll risk my right to exist to keep this blog up and running. Because there has to be someone to do the job.

Fight for freedom, stand with Hong Kong.

Five demands, not one less.

In the last epidemic, they failed. This time, the Central Government is intervening and forcing the law on us. I doubt there is any way to make them back down, but we sure as hell can fight it - for anyone wondering, to my dismay, I lost my appetite over hearing the news and am already making long-term plans to go abroad. It is a terrible thing to leave my home city behind, but if this goes on, the Hong Kong I live in will no longer be the Hong Kong where I was born and raised, but razed.

(I don't have enough energy to cuss anyone out this time.)

#hong kong cultural revolution #hong kong civil war #news #hong kong #human rights #hong kong protest #fuck the ccp #WHY #this is why we can't have nice things #human rights undermined in hong kong #human rights in china #22 may 2020 #article 23 #hk national security law #me irl #me irl rn #i am not happy #i am disgusted #i am screaming #my post

[doomedandstoned]

Shepherds Crook Doom the Moonlit Sky in Latest LP

~Doomed & Stoned Debuts~

By Billy Goate

Album art based on a painting by Remedios Varo

I've been enamored SHEPHERDS CROOK from the moment I chanced upon 'Black Lake' (2018) some years gone, which inspired an impromptu review. Here is a band that should be, in my mind, every bit as familiar to aficionados of doom metal as Dopethrone, Bongzilla, and Cough. This opinion is founded on more than the strong emotional connection the music has made with me over the years. Every sludge lover I've had occasion to introduce the Trondheim duo to has taken to them immediately. Who can deny the appealing backwoods grit of "Uteseler" or the celebratory toke of "Smoke Diver"?

While their road game has yet to start, their track record in the studio is flawless with two stellar EPs and four highly regarded LPs notched around the belt already. The principal drivers of this project are multi-instrumentalist Ole Hell and vocalist Nestor. Together, they're a force to be reckoned with in the heavy underground, with Ole's penchant for composing dank rhythms and forlorn guitar leads that touch a nerve every time. Nestor completes the picture with characteristic gravelly crooning that carries more evil, hissing ire than a den of pissed off vipers.

Before us lay the latest long-player of the lot, 'Mat For Månen' (2021) -- or "Food For The Moon" -- which is such a brilliant title when you consider how suitable this music is for humid summer nights full of barbeque, beer, and self-loathing. If the dog's fabled bark at the moon could be rendered in relatable terms, it might end up sounding like Shepherds Crook.

"The Narrow" cracks the bottle on the recording with an irradiated strum. This becomes the song's central theme, with bass and drums joining in, followed by Nestor's gruff, caustic strains. This dirge of doom is unrelenting, with the riff simultaneously establishing the melodic core and rhythm. It's a tight track with no room for fat, not even for one of Ole Hell's trademark guitar solos -- though the woeful axeman does drop an ominous footnote during the song's closing seconds.

The titular "Mat For Månen" is next in queue and dons quite a downcast mood, with guest artist Stian Sumstad's basswork carrying the song to several emphatic moments that border on epic. The guitar has an opportunity to really shine on this one, with a melodic lead midway through that seems to be telling us secrets buried in the woods 'neath these mysterious moonlit skies.

Photograph by Magnus Olsen

Though I'm far from an angry drunk, "Barfight" has me feeling the rage that comes along with imbibing a bit too much and making enemies at the table before the night's all said and done. The song sets off a nasty blues vibe that makes me feel braver than I really am, inspiring a swing at my enemies -- real or (in this state likely) imagined.

Our four-song excursion grinds to a finish with "Ingen Morgenkvist" which does sad as only Shepherds Crook can. Though I'm uncertain of the precise meaning ("morgenkvist" has no English equivalent), my best detective work has me believing the song title could be approximated "No Morning Seen." This number has a certain weight to it -- and not merely because of its 16-minute runtime. Despite the familiar joshing about how long doom bands are prone to playing ("I just got here, what did I miss?" "Nothing yet, they're still on their first song!"), it takes strong songwriting and a steady hand of musicianship to pull off low and slow in a way that works convincingly for the listener. Here, the song has a balladic feel (it's based on a poem by poem by Jørgen Nygard) that builds gradually, layer upon layer, with Mr. Hell's guitar doing the kind of singing that defies words, yet somehow succeeds in rendering meaning.

Overall, Mat For Månen is a welcome addition to the Shepherds Crook oeuvre. It succeeds in delivering the unique sound of the band with a depth that gives it staying power. Perhaps it will find a welcome home in your playlist, to. Releasing July 2nd (at which point it will be available for purchase here), the record is presented in its world premiere courtesy of Doomed & Stoned.

Give ear...

LISTEN: · Shepherds Crook - Mat For Månen (2021)

Shepherds Crook: The Rundown

Interview with guitarist Ole Hell Photographs by Magnus Olsen

How did Shepherds Crook get its start?

It started out as some kind of experiment back in 2017 when I (Ole) rented this little studio room in a larger studio space of a friend of mine.

The first track we did was "Outlaw Speedking", based on a riff I made on the spot when I found my acoustic guitar after many many years of not playing. I got myself some new gear and just started to record.Nestor heard it and got hyped, wrote some lyrics and recorded the vocals in one take, first try. We knew that we had to do more songs and about a month later we released Black Lake. We did five releases from 2017 to 2019. I do everything from recording to mixing and mastering, so it's been a learning process for me as far as making heavy music sound good, with every release I think it sounds a little bit better.

Where did the name Shepherds Crook come from?

Actually I thought it was a fascination for walking sticks from hiking in the woods or whatever, but Nestor reminded me the other day that the name came from a dream I had years ago where I was going to make a band called Shepherds Crook. I can't really confirm that as I don't remember. Blame the beers.

How would you describe your "sound" to someone who hasn't yet listened to your records?

We're all over the place as far as I'm concerned. We started out with more of a stoner vibe and kind of mixed in elements of doom and sludge. The vocals might be weird for a lot of stoner rock fans, and the riffs might be too boring for everyone that is into "metal" but likes the vocals. This is our impression from people anyways. But back to the sound; it's heavy riffs, moody melodies and mean vocals. I think we kind of got our own thing going at this point, we care less and less about these "doom" and "stoner" labels these days to be honest.

Walk us through each track on 'Mat For Månen' and tell us about what the songs mean and/or how they originated.

We do like the idea that the listener can interpret and make up his own mind what the tracks mean. But, basically the general idea for the album is the moon and how it connects to organic life on earth. Mat For Månen is norwegian for "Food for the moon" and is based on the same concept laid out by the mystic G. I. Gurdjieff (and to some extent Ouspensky and others), I won't lay the whole thing out here, but if anybody is interested they could check that out.

The tracks touch on this topic in various ways like lunacy, the saturn connection, no dawn, wizards and shit, lol. The songs are also pretty varied on this one, from that stoner doom thing to a more heavy blues vibe, doom and stoner metal.

As a side note, we recorded the album at a place called "Månen" (the moon), the place of a buddy of ours. Cool thing is he joined on vocals for two of the tracks and It sounds awesome. He might be joining us on bass and co-vocals whenever we get our asses on stage.

Speaking of stagework, has Shepherds Crook had a chance to get out and tour much?

I mean, not really. In the beginning it was just me playing all the instruments as a studio project. Then after a while we had a couple of drummers come in and a bass player. We started rehearsing to play live then some of us couldn't make it due to different reasons, etc. We still have plans to make it happen at some point in the near future.

Give us an overview of your discography so far.

Black Lake (2018) Uteseiler (2018) Evil Magician (2018) Carved In Smoke (2019) Dauseiler (2019) Mat For Månen (2021)

Black Lake by Shepherds Crook

Uteseiler by Shepherds Crook

Evil Magician by Shepherds Crook

Carved In Smoke by Shepherds Crook

Dauseiler by Shepherds Crook

Are there any records or songs that you are especially proud of?

I know we're both pretty happy with Uteseiler as a whole and the last track of Dauseiler: "Serpent Ropes". Also, Mat For Månen is pretty decent I would say.

What does the future hold for Shepherds Crook?

I'm in the process of writing riffs for another album, but have no idea when it will be finished. It could take a while. We have other projects going as well.

Nestor (the singer) is now in this black metal band and I'm doing my other thing Vandrer (instrumental doom), you can check it out on vandrer.bandcamp.com.

We also got a new drummer: Trollhammer aka Jan Olav, an old childhood buddy. We were in a death metal band together in the early-mid 90's and he's been in many death metal bands since then.

He will be doing the drums on both Shepherds Crook and Vandrer from now on, bringing that extra punch to the face (and groin area).

What is your philosophy of life? How do you see the world, your place in it, etc.?

Well, we got all kinds of crazy renegade ideas. While we wait for that book, just insert any Lemmy quote of choice!

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#D&S Debuts #Shepherds Crook #Oslo #Norway #doom metal #sludge #metal #death doom #HeavyBest2021 #D&S Interviews #D&S Reviews #Doomed and Stoned

[popculturebuffet]

Ducktales Reviews: The Lost Harp of Mirvana!

The ducks head under the sea, no accusations just friendly crustacians under the sea.. along with some sorta monster, mer hippies voiced by voice acting legends and della being unable to enjoy any of this because she’s hiding back at the sub. Take a dive under the cut. 

I’ll confess this wasn’t one I was even remotely excited about going in: I’ts not that I thought it’d be bad: the series is at it’s peak right now, I figured i’td be entertaining like last week, it just had the misforutne of being right before we finally get Daisy next week, and recent episode solicits for the two afte ronly made it worse: Fenton’s third episode (hopefully he gets two this season), that’s also hueycentric and will hopefully make gyro less dickish, and a wrestling episode because i’m a casual wrestling fan and huey having to play the heel against a norse snake god sounds fucking amazing. SO yeah “Hippie mermaids and Louie being suspcious only to oh no be proven wrong about being suspcious” as I predecited the episode would go sounded boring in comparison.  But i’m not afraid to eat crow... metaphorically, literally I don’t want to eat a crow it’d taste miserable and I don’t want to eat this crow because I love him.   

But on dreading this ep.. I was blown away. Part of it is low expectations: I had really none other than “it’ll be decent” going in, but that only carries you so far. No this episode was fantastic, adressed a problem i’d had since “Timephoon!”, if not earlier, and had some great guess casting. It was a throughly enjoyable, funny episode. Will it probably end up on my faviorites list like the premire duo might? no, but it’s still damn good. Let’s get into the why shall we Our story this week is fairly simple: The Ducks are headed under the sea to find the lost harp of mirvana, sans Launchpad because he had to go help an ex girlfirend, hang out with darkwing, it was his day off, they had enoguh characters to juggle as is, he got his head stuck in a jar again, I dunno. But refreshingly Beakly is present! Seriously this IS something I wanted since season 1: her coming along with the family more. She rarely does, which makes some small sense given she’s the housekeeper but has made less and less since they have a ghost butler and sh’es family at this point.  I get she has to earn her keep and what not, and wants to show up her ghostly rival, but come on. Thankfully they have come on and while i’m not sure if it’ll be a common thing going forward, it IS nice to have her for this one.  The story itself is nicely divded once our heroes run into the mirvanans themselves, zen mermaids, our focus ones voiced by  hyden walch and greg cripes, who you may know as starfire and beast boy from the teen titans cartoon... andtheotherone... as well as voicing Princess Bublegum and 2k12 Michealangeo respectivley. I Love these two and it was a treat to have them voice mermaid hippies.  Our party quicklky splits up into three plots that converge at the end: Louie, being naturally suspcious after nearly being sacrificed by seemingly benevlonet societies 20 something times (and Dewey having 71 according to the tally given this episode that I painstakingly counted. The boy is one braincell starved for attention) is suspcious this is a midsommar type thing and he’s in the middle of some sorta death cult as usual, while webby, a trusting soul, belivies nothing is wrong and the mer people are genuine, with Beakly backing her up despite seemingly going against her nature.  Now this plot alone seems stock for any show, but works here since it’s rooted in character; Louie sees all the angles and thus all the cliches adventurers run into. He’s been at this for at LEAST a year, he’s seen just enough to get how a certain story will probably go and being a grifter by nature, he dosen’t trust easy to begin with.  In contrast while Webby CAN be suspcious, her being naturally trusting has also been part of her character from the start.  She genuinely TRUSTS people and gives them a chance first and unless their a clear enemy of scrooges, will not turn her back on them. This is best shown with her relationship with Lena: even AFTER getting clear evidence Lena was a  spy the whole time, and even without the evidence that after a certain point it was a lie, she refused to fully belive Lena had betrayed her... and was rewarded with Lena giving her life for webby. She trusted Violet even after Violet had been hiding her intentions and had a dangerous magical artifact from her arch enemy on her, and was again rewarded this time with Lena coming back and getting another lifelong friend out of the deal in Violet. Webby has a faith in people that pays off more than not..t hough we’ve also seen that faith backfire, mostly in scrooge as scrooge is a flawed man and has serious issues, whether it’s a combination of flu and gaslighting driving him insane, or him lashing out at her at his weakest moment. Her optimisim both fuels her and has made her life better but has sometimes blindsided her to the flaws in people, especially her hero. It’s as bojack horseman put it “When you look at life through rose colored glasses, you miss all the red flags”. What keeps this intresting as the two go into an off limits danger cave to find out what’s inside, Louie to find proof he’s right and Webby to go with him to prove he’s wrong, is Beakly. After saving the two from a monster, Beakly keeps boosting webby..then privatley admits as the audience probably guessed she’s also deeply suspcious and simply dosen’t want to shatter her niece’s worldview until they have evidence. And this is where that thing I wanted comes into play: see last season during “Timephoon!” beakly is directly conrasted as a parent with Della, having raised two children and being wiser. And while she was in that moment.. Beakly isolated her grandchild, and basically kept her in a guilded cage while training her to be a weapon out of fear of loosing what little she had left. LIke with Donald’s smothering parenting, it’s understandable, but it should be adressed.. and this episode does, but thankfully dosen’t make Betina unsympathetic either: Every parent, or in my case uncle, has to lie once in a while, especially now with the Covid-19 pandemic. It’s natural. But Betina has gone overboard to try and protect Webby’s inoccence.. and it’s backfired. Not preparing her for scroog’es worse behavior lead to him outright destroying her during “Last Crash of the Sunchaser” when he temporarliy disowned her.  And here it leads to a damn powerful scene with great acting from both Toks and Kate . The trio find the harp, voiced by Rhetta aka Donna from parks and recreation, whose basically the harp from the “raiders of the lost harp” episode of the original, the first episode of said show I ever saw and a classic about a harp that would melodically say “no no no, your fibbing fibbing fibbing” when someone lied, which this harp does, if not every time. She reveals her former owner, the king of mirvana who the hippies build their society after his example, basically ducked repsonsiblity while things fell apart and spent too long underwater (the mirvanans can also walk on land) and became the monster from earlier, and the rest will share his fate if not told

The powerful part comes when Beakly tries to lie.. and the harp keeps shutting her out till she’s forced to admit the truth: you can just.. feel the pain coming from the poor woman, and webby folds into a depressed state. Naturally Louie realizes, once they get back to the rest of the family, more on that in a second, and seeing that the mermaids did NOT realize their king was a monster nor plan to feed them to him, webby was right and tells them to have hope and that the society they built IS valid even if their king was a dipstick, he rebuilds webby and after everythings wrapped up webby and beakly apologize and hug. It’s a damn good plot even if the “Louie realizes he was wrong and wasn’t right abotu them being evil” parts were predictable.. it worked due to the excellent character work, with Louie also realizing being a cynical dick is kind of obonxoious. A damn strong a plot The subplots are also rooted throughly in character while still being entertaining,especially once the a-plot gets heavy towards the end: Della in the c plot stays behind because she’s afraid of fish, only conquering it breifly at the end to help her family and punch a man in the face, but it’s nice to not only see some new bits to her as well as some neruosis of her own. She is donald’s sister: he can’t hog all of it for the two of them.  The main subplot though centers on the remaining family trying to earn their way to the harp by doing zen arts and crafts and works due to character: Donald becomes a hilaroius zen master in moments (though earlier he rebuffed a gently pat on the chest by the lady mermaid, though given she’s super pretty and he’s, for now, single and has been for a while.. jsut go for it. You’ll probably get a three way with the other one (who isn’t my type but it’s more the man bun than anything. Loose that and.. yeah i’ll be int hat mer sandwitch), but I digress, Donald finds inner peace, likely because well. he WANTS IT. He wants to be happy and calm, even if the world smacks him in the face and tells no. Granted said peace is disrupted in the most hilarous way possible simply by Huey telling him they think his barbeque is merely okay, but he deserves credit. The boys also quickly find it, Dewey making a mermaid tail with hot rod flames and huey making a woodchuck one but what makes the subplot is that scrooge..c an’t. He hates this society, he hates hippies and he LOATHES self reflection. It’s like this society was magicaly generated to piss him of and i’ts wonderful to watch.  And as a quick aside bit before we go Rhetta is awesome as the harp, not the parks cast member I woudl’ve chosen as my first round draft pick for the series but she does greatly and has great timing (especially when Louie talks about selling her) and it was nice to see a bit of my first ducktales experince come back in an intresting new way.  Overall this episode was a VERY plesant suprise, and taught me to be more open to an ep in the future even if it dosen’t look like it has a huge personal draw. It was excellent.And now before I go i’ve decided each week, especially now we have a enough, to put the episode in the ranking of each and every episode this season and placing them in comparison of one another. I might do a list ranking the first season and second seasons on their own for fun. But for now here’s season 3 so far, so you can see where the ep stacks comparitvley: 1. Quack Pack! 2. The Challenge of the Senior Junior Woodchucks! 3. The Lost Harp of Mirvana! 4. Double O Duck in You Only Crash Twice.  I”ll see you next week for DAISY AT LAST, the return of my boys the cablleros and some suprises and pies of all sizes ashurldy. Until then, courage. 

#ducktales #mystery science theater 3000 #the lost harp of mirvana #ducktales spoilers

[hope-and-sleep]

2020年8月11日 (禮拜二) [6/60]

Because of a long stretch of time in which I did nothing, I ended up behind on my plan to finish the Absolute Beginner Pathway on the CantoneseClass101 site before August 31, AKA the day it gets locked back up behind a paywall.  So, to combat that, I thought that I should try to do three lessons a day, instead of the 1.5 I originally planned.

I did three lessons today.  It took me 3 hours and 40 minutes. This is a rather longer amount of time than I hoped it would take. This is probably not sustainable, but I’m currently ahead of schedule because of that, so as long as I do at least two lessons a day, I think I should be okay?

Week 4 of the Summer Studying Challenge:

✨ 11th August ✨ What is your favourite meal to have on the beach?

I think I’ve had meals near the beach — lots of barbeque —, but I’m not sure I’ve ever had a meal on the beach, so I’m not sure I can have a favorite meal to have on the beach.

#psyducks 2020 challenge #summer studying challenge #studyblr #langblr #cantonese #notes #my life #everything

[heroesarelife]

Similar to the ask about how they’d celebrate their s/o birthday, what if the s/o of Deku, Tokoyami and Shouji (it’s okay if you don’t do Shouji or Tokoyami) Found Out their s/o forgot it was their own birthday? Mine is tooand it completely went over my head due to my school schedule needing more attention than myself at the moment 😅 Thanks in advance 😁🍀

Heya! Such a cute ask, so lets go for it! I changed shouji for kirishima since it’s just been our boy’s birthday _

Midoriya Izuku

This boy would know their brithday months in advance, he definitely would. He has a notebook, see. Just like the ones he holds for heroes, but he has a special one just for the people of importance to him, filled with the most unnecessary - and in other circumstances downright stalk-ish - wee details about their lives, tastes, alergies, likes and dislikes and so on. Nothing escapes his observant eye and unmatched gentle heart.

In classic nerd fashion, he would jot down new ideas for his s/o birthday whenever they would occur to him, be it about gifts or just activities, who to invite (and who not to), if he ended up doing a full outing.

So by the time the date starts to approach (almost a month away, we are dealing with an anxious boy here), he will look them up and start making more concrete plans, he will even get a detailed copy of his s/o schedule by hacking into their google calendar somehow, just so his planning will be viable.

Likewise, the always observant Midoriya doent’s fail to notice how absolutely busy his s/o is. Not only schedule-wise, but how their mind seem to be always planning and occupied with something and things and other people and the wolrd - with not much to spare for themselves. He starts suspecting that they might be forgetting a very special date.

He knows he’s absolutely right by the day before the birthday, with his s/o having made no allusion or comment about their birthday and what they would like to do. And Midoriya, more than willing to take that weight out of their (very busy) shoulders, thought it best to not ask and remind them. He’s got it.

Given how busy his s/o is, he plans something subtle, more intimiate and relaxing, as opposed to an outing which would demand more energy.

There would be no warning either, he would approach the whole thing very subtly, like. Making sure to make his s/o remember that they would have a date night or somesuch, downplaying it as if he just misses spending time with them and wouldn’t it be nice?

So his s/o will be completely surprise that at some point during their “date”, Midoriya gives them a gift and has a small cake as well, for the hell of it. For a second they even panic thinking perhaps they forgot an anniversary or some othe important date, I mean, it can’t be chirstmas already can it?

Midoriya thinks is the cutest and feels a bit guilty for making them worry, but ends up reminding them is their birthday. He also tells them to be careful and take some time for themselves, but they know it’s half-hearted, what, coming from the embodiment of overworking himself.

Kirishima Eijiriou

With a heart that could fit within its maleable boundaries the whole world and the entirety of its population - pets included, no need to ask - with ease and space to spare, Kirishima would never purposefully leave his s/o’s birthday uncelebrated.

The key word here being purposefully. With enough naive distraction to compensate for the excess of kindness, he would easily get caught up in his infinite activites and the birthday would slip his mind (to his horror), despite having a bunch of notes in his calendar.

He thought, surely he would notice or remember one of the notes that he places in different notebooks and in different colours with varying degrees of saturation. Boy, he was wrong. That is to say, he notices it, but a day later and it takes all his self-control and Bakugou’s rough intervention for him to not bang his head againts the wall and destroy it in the process.

He panics for a bit, thinking surely his s/o would be upset, he didn’t even wish them happy birthday, for crying out loud! He feels lousy and as the worst boyfriend on earth. He is pretty much ready to get on his knees and apologize to them. And then his s/o calls him acting with all naturality and it strikes him that they, too, had forgotten, which leaves him hertbroken.

He’s a man on a mission now: he needs to do something for his s/o, they deserve the absolute best because they are amazing and he’s not going to let their birthday go unnoticed, that’s not manly at all. He wants them to feel loved and appreciated.

Ends up managing to put something together in record time, with an outstanding level of friend’s help and presence that only someone with his unique level of charisma is capable of pulling. Bakusquad is definitely involved - Bakugou is extraordinarily efficient despite the fowl mouthed complains - and most of the class; he’s well liked.

He tricks his s/o into leaving the confines of their room and their deadlines to come and meet him at a close by park at dawn of that very same day. One day after the offiial birthday date, but it’s something.

His s/o is clueless, tired and had needed some good-herated convincing, but they show up only to find an open-air improvised barbeque gathering with Kirishima and their friends. There’s music from improvised speakers, improvised fairy lights wrapped around the trees of the area, it’s nice, chill and good spirited.

Kirishima will “drive” the barbeque, having smartly been left out of cake duty to favour the more talented (aka not turning it into a sorry piece of coal), such as Satou.

He gives his s/o the biggest of hugs, enjoying the delighted surprise in their faces when they see everything.

Tokoyami Fumikage

Not too big on celebrations, this one. He doesnt like fuss over his own birthday, and will miss entirely the point on why someone else would want a fuss either. He finds it annoying and unnecessary and if his s/o were the party type, he would go (aka endure it) for their sake.

It doesn’t mean, however, that he will not do anything. In fact, he’s a bit nervous about it, unsure on what would be the best choice. He doesn’t wat to do nothing, but he doesn’t want too much either. Such a hard balance.

Dark Shadow is the stark opposite of helpful, hammering wild and ridiculous ideas nonstop at his ear and looking like he’s having a blast for that, the bastard. No he’s not going to pay airplanes to make a firework show using his s/o’s name, don’t be daft.

He will remember the birthday with some time in advance, perhaps 2 weeks. A romantic at heart, he will have made a note at some time or another that your birthday is a thing to come and to do something about, of course.

He will prefer to do something private, just him and his s/o. A nice meal that he knows they like, maybe an apple pie for desert? Because you know, apples make everything better always. It will look like a nice date, if anything, and his s/o won’t quite process that it’s a special occasion with only that. They have meals together often, including the rose at the center of the table. Nothing new.

The special part is the gift. He gave it some thought. Perhaps too much thought. Tried writng them poetry, but ends up embarrassed and with a bin overflowing with discarded scribbled papers, so he loses the courage and changes his mind.

Ends up making poetry after all, but he tells himself is cooler because its in the form of a song. He’s not a professional player by any means, but his guitar is a good hobby and he compensates lack of skill with the honest heart behind his composition. There’s also flowers, lots of flowers. Roses, of course.

It’s a bit tacky, since it ends up feeling like a bit too much, but it shows how much thought and awkward energy went into it, which is endearing in and by itself.

He ends up going a bit overboard afterall and purchases matching rings (promise rings, but he didn’t realise they were that specific type, he just liked the gothic design they had), given them together with a lovely card to his by now stunned s/o after he finishes the song.

The hilarious part is that, after he gives his s/o all those things they are unsure how to react, completely lost on what all this means. He has failed to tell them “happy birthday” and they are more than a little confused and slightly scared. Is Tokoyami perhaps asking them in marriage or something?

They end up asking that outloud, leaving Tokoyami absolutely mortified and makind Dark Shadow laugh maniacally. It’s also Dark Shadow that ends up clarifying the whole thing to his s/o, as Tokoyami takes a while to recover from the shock and is sulking.

#Kirishima Eijirou #eijirou kirishima #midoriya izuku #bnha #Tokoyami Fumikage #fumikage tokoyami #izuku midoriya #bnha imagines #original content #sfw #headcanons #fluff

[adventurebeneaththewords]

Project Echo: Chapter 10

I think this is officially my favourite chapter (so far) in terms of plot and character interactions.

Here’s a link to everything I have out so far: https://www.inkitt.com/stories/scifi/175868

Or you can just read chapter 10 below.

For context (aka spoilers): Elise has entered an alternate universe and found her other self living the life she always dreamed of. She knocked her other self unconscious by accident, but then seized the opprotunity to lock her other self away in the shed and take over her life. Jeremy is her other self’s significant other, Missy is their cat, and this is morning 2 in the other universe.

Tagging @thelilknight because you’re awesome.

Missy's purring woke me up.

I wasn't used to sharing my house with anyone... let alone a significant other and a cat.

I turned away from Missy and came face to face with Jeremy.

I didn't know which was worse: having a cat rub against your face or sharing your air with a complete stranger.

I decided Missy was more tolerable for today and turned back around. After that, I was uncomfortably aware of Jeremy's breath on the back of my neck.

I had no idea how I was going to fall in love with someone, who already loved me, who I was 'previously in love with', and yet who I didn't really know at all. Was I just in love with the idea of love? What did I actually like about Jeremy? Or did I only like the idea of waking up next to someone and of having a partner who was funny and kind?

"Mn," I heard Jeremy groan, which saved me from my thoughts.

"Hun?" I replied.

"Is Missy bugging ya 'gain?" He slurred.

"Nah," I replied. "She's an angel. Besides, I love inhaling cat fluff."

Jeremy snorted. He slowly leaned up. He reached over me, I felt his weight nearly crush me, and he grabbed Missy with one hand. Jeremy pulled her over to his side of the bed and that was the end of it.

I closed my eyes and snuggled my pillow. I felt cold now that Jeremy wasn't as close to me as he was before. It echoed the feeling of loneliness that I usually had when I woke up. I shuffled backwards, eager to feel him closer again. I needed contact to complete that sense of not being alone.

My leg found his and I fell asleep with just that contact. It seemed like only seconds later that I blinked awake to the sound of an alarm.

Jeremy sat up. I watched him shut off the alarm then stand tall. His eyes found mine. "Oh, did I wake you? Sorry. Go back to sleep. You were out cold when I came home last night, and your face was really warm. I think you really might be sick."

I swallowed the lump in my throat. "Yeah, must be coming down with something," I whispered. I reached beside me where I had placed my phone.

"Did you remember to text your Dad to ask for the day off?" Jeremy asked.

I slowly shook my head 'no'. "I forgot to. I laid down for a nap and just passed out."

The truth was that yesterday's events exhausted me, but I wasn't about to explain why to Jeremy.

I texted Dad quickly. Then I stepped out of bed. Jeremy gave me a questioning look while he stood in the frame of the bathroom. I smirked, "Just grabbing some medicine. And making tea. Want some?"

"Ewe," he grimaced. "Can you get the coffee ready?"

"Anything for you, babe." I nodded.

"Thanks." He nodded back at me then stepped into the shower.

I groaned and turned on my toes towards the kitchen. I took each step as slowly as I could. I valued the quiet house, the time alone to think, but I didn't want to get lost in my thoughts just yet. Maybe I should try thinking like the other Elise? What would she be thinking about - or rather - what would I be thinking about if this really was my home?

It is your home, I reminded myself. For as long as you want, this is your home.

I sighed as I reached the dining room. I touched a chair. It was smooth beneath my fingertips, cool from the air conditioning, and yet rough where an intricate pattern of vines and flowers had been carved. I felt the table. It was about the same as the chair - smooth yet cool. The table had small bumps though and didn't seem to made of quite the same wood.

I spotted a candle in the centre of the table. I reached for it. I brought it to my nose and inhaled slowly. It smelled like vanilla. I brought the candle with me into the kitchen and placed it on the counter. As I searched for mugs (having already forgot where I saw them yesterday), I found a shelf with matches and barbeque lighters. I grabbed a lighter and set the candle ablaze.

The light bounced around the ceiling. It was then that I noticed only the stove light was on. I went to the dining room and turned on the lights - setting it to a medium glow. This, combined with the morning sun peeking in through the windows, was the perfect morning light.

I set out two mugs. I found a bag of chai tea. I started boiling the water for my tea just before I got Jeremy's coffee ready. The scent of the candle was beginning to spread through the kitchen, mingling slightly with coffee. I didn't really smell the chai at all until I poured the boiling water into a mug, set the bag in, and let it sit for a minute.

By then, my stomach had woken up and started growling. I was making toast when Jeremy stepped out of the shower. He was in a dress shirt, but he wasn't wearing pants.

I felt my cheeks grow warm.

He scratched the back of his head and chuckled nervously. "It would seem that I forgot to grab pants."

I blinked. "Yeah. It would seem so."

He spun around and disappeared down the hall. A moment later, he returned with his dress pants on. I gave him an awkward smile as he reached for some of the toast I'd made. He cracked open two eggs and fried them while I sat down at the table with my toast and tea.

Jeremy hummed as he sat down. He was almost bouncing in his chair.

I raised a brow at him. "So, good day ahead of you?"

He froze almost as if he'd been caught with something he shouldn't have. Jeremy kept his eyes on his eggs as he said, "I've got a good deal today. I could end up making the company a lot of money and that could lead me to a promotion."

I smiled. "That sounds great!"

He looked up at me. I felt like he was staring, trying to read me. Jeremy said, "Yeah, it's gonna be great. Uh, has your Dad messaged you back?"

I blinked. Now he was avoiding the subject? My real Dad did this whenever he was trying to hide something from me. What was Jeremy hiding? Was it good or bad? More importantly, did the other Elise know about it? Would it be a good idea for me to ask her?

I realized I hadn't answered his question. "I'll go check."

I stood up, half a piece of toast still in my hand. I took a bite and chewed it as I made my way down the hall. My screen lit up as I approached the phone.

It was a message from Dad. It read, 'Sorry to hear that you're sick, Elise. It's a good thing we're done for this week. Feel better soon! Let me know if you need to cancel our weekend plans, alright? But do it before tomorrow night! Love, Dad.'

I gulped. Now that I thought about it, didn't Dad already say I could have today off? I needed to pay more attention, but I wasn't a details person. Abigail was right in her analysis of me...

"Elise?" Jeremy called.

I flinched and nearly dropped my cell phone. "I've got today and tomorrow off! Dad says everything's good. We're still on schedule!"

"That's good!" He called back.

I sighed. My nerves were pounding. I put my phone back on the side table. I opened the drawer and put the keys to the shed into my pocket, then I left the room. I returned to Jeremy and sat down across from him at the table.

He finished a bite of egg then said, "You know, I've been thinking... It's been a while since we've enjoyed breakfast together."

I gulped and nodded to play along.

He took my hand. "We should do it more often."

Goosebumps. I had goosebumps. I mumbled my agreement and took a sip of tea.

Jeremy let go of my hand and my anxiety slowly faded. I licked my lips and said, "This was really nice."

He didn't look at me. "Yeah. I'll see you after work. I'm running late! So very, very late!"

I chuckled as he grabbed his jacket and bag then left. I poured the leftover coffee into another mug, grabbed some toast and some leftover eggs, then I went outside to the shed. I had to set the coffee down to unlock the door.

I slipped inside. The other me was sleeping with her head slumped back against the pole. I frowned.

I placed the food down on a tarp then shook her shoulder.

She opened her eyes and they sharpened into a glare.

I sighed. "I brought you some food. Same deal as yesterday, got it?"

She nodded, as much as she could with a gag wrapped around her skull. I removed the gag and placed it on the tarp. Then I held the coffee mug to her lips.

She frowned at me. "I'll drink it because it's warm, but for future reference, I only drink coffee with cream."

"Beggars can't be choosers."

"I'm not a beggar. I'm a prisoner. In my own shed, I might add," she snapped right back.

I sighed and took the coffee away from her face. "Want to starve?"

"No," she answered.

I held the mug back to her lips. She gulped down about half of it before she stopped. I helped her eat the toast and eggs, then she finished the coffee. I placed the dishes near the doors then sat in front of her.

She slowly looked me over then asked, "What?"

"Is Jeremy hiding anything from you?" I asked. "Do you suspect that he's hiding anything?"

She shrugged. "I really don't care. He and I are together because it makes us both look good. Sure, we have some fun together, but we both know it's just for show."

My eyes widened. "What? How could you even consider doing something like that? He's really fun, and you're just using him?"

She chuckled. "What do you care?"

I shook my head. "Because he seems like a really great guy!"

"He's just charming you." She rolled her eyes. I felt my blood begin to boil.

"That means he does the same to you!" I almost shouted. "Don't you care at all?"

"Nope!" She leaned forward and grinned at me. "And next time that you see him, ask him how his nights with Steve go. You know how he asks from time to time to hang out with Steve? He's cheating on you - well me - with Steve, but I don't give a shit. I cheat on him with loads of people. He and I just don't care. We're together for show, like I told you."

I wanted to throw up. "I can't live like this."

"Good," she replied. "Then give me my life back. Go away."

Okay, I was lonely, but she was... she was just messed up. I couldn't fathom sleeping with multiple people, especially while I was supposed to be committed to another human being. This was gross. What did I walk into?

"You still don't believe me?" She asked. "Go log into his computer and read the emails. His password is in my phone under his contact information. Go check it out."

In my haste, I left the plates behind. I also forgot to lock the door.

#{Project Echo} #scifi #story #writing #fiction #read #reading #write #writeblr #science fiction #just write #writers on tumblr #writers of tumblr #chapter 10 #chapter story