#didn't manage to queue it before I left for two days :3

[danikatze]

[ID in alt text]

Inktober day 26: predatory

I was a bit nervous about this drawing as soon as I planned it, but in the end it was a lot of fun :)

#Ichikawa Setsuko #Setsuko Ichikawa #Mononoke #mononoke 2007 #described #inktober #inktober2023 #fanart #danikunst #1 #day 26 #I queued all drawings for 7 am local time so far - but tomorrow's drawing is going to be later #didn't manage to queue it before I left for two days :3 #don't think anyone's really depending on it but just in case haha #2023

[idcbabyialreadylostmymind]

Blood of my Blood pt.1

Pairing- Sully family x sully!reader

Summary- There is so much you would do for your family even at a young age but there is one thing you just couldn't do so you do the only thing you find reasonable you run.

A/N- so this is lowkey just a prologue but i hope you guys like it 🤭

Pt.1 Pt.2 Pt.3 Pt.4

Your mother, Neytiri sat you down and Jake, your father, held a contemplating expression on his face. ''Hi mama, dad.'' You said as your missing tooth smiled up at them. ''Y/N we have something to tell you.'' Jake began and you peered at him with big eyes looking up at him with childlike gleam in them. ''We have made an agreement with the Kekunan clan, you know the tribe we visited last week and you and Neteyam played tag with the chief's son Entu.'' Jake said and you shook your head. ''Yeah he kept hitting me and he played with and injured animal it was really mean.'' You say and Neytiri looks upset and she sees your thoughts of the boy.

''What about it dad?'' You say looking at him again as he takes a deep breath in. ''You and Entu are betrothed when you become one of the people you shall be his mate.'' Neytiri finished and all the joy you felt seeped from your body and into the earth. ''W-what do you mean mom?'' you knew what she meant, but you prayed to Eywa that it wasn't what you thought. ''You and Entu with be mates in a few years it is done daughter be happy.'' she smiled and you did the same getting up and running to Neteyam.

You lived normally existing as if the news your parents just delivered to you didn;t fill you with despair. Though, it was only one day you could see that Entu would be cruel, cruel to you, cruel to the clan. You couldn't subject yourself to this, you would do anything for your family even at your young age but this is one thing that you couldn't and wouldn't do.

It was late you fought the sleep that simmered in your mind and waited till you heard your dads loud snoring. Slowly crouching out of your cot grabbing a bag you packed a few days ago its intended use was for a get together at another clan but it would do for getting away. You opened a window flap and stepped onto the grassy earth that surrounded your home. You walk to the Hallelujah mountains, you knew it was too early for your Iknimaya but you had to get away somehow.

You stepped into the pit, all of them were awake skin glowing and bright eyes peered into your soul. They moved as if upset by your presence, they would attack you if they wanted you to be their rider but none attacked. But one didn't move.

He was small, wings looked weak, but his beak was strong enough to crush a grown Na'vi skull as he hissed at you getting in attack mode. 'Better than nothing." You whisper before you hiss back at him loudly as he stood up on his short legs. Getting your rope you wrap it around his beck jumping at him onto his back.

He threw himself on his back making you gasp. Grabbing your queue quickly connecting it with his, completing tsaheylu he flew off the rock and then your eyes widened as you though, ''Slow, slow.'' He balanced in the wind as he went forward at a slow pace.

Your back straightened as you reached behind you grabbing the bag that managed to stay in you. Opening it you grab a leaf scroll, unrolling it having the directions to a clan. ''Mangkwan Clan known for letting people in hm.'' You whisper and the Khal, that's what you named him, chirped. ''You how where it's at.'' He chirped twice in response and you just trusted him as he turned left and farther from your old home.

It was a week's journey, you felt yourself going hungry but you held hope when Khal stopped his flapping wings in front of a hometree very familiar to yours but with key differences. A blow of a horn took you from your amazement as many surrounded you so worried, some excited, two of three hissed at you. But then a man and a woman stepped between the swarm of Na'vi they must be the Olo'eyktan and Tsahik as everyone bowed their heads in respect.

The woman had goddess braids that stopped at her hips with intricate gems and jewels in it, her long skirt went up at the sides and shined with the amount of jewls that went through it, and a tattoo that started at her wrist and wrapped all the way up to her neck. Her wide eyes peered at you, studying your face and body language.

The man stood more protective than curious like the woman. He has a huge scar on his left upper arm, he has huge ear gauges, he had a head dress that shined like a million diamonds, truly the brightest thing you've ever seen that sat in his long dreads.

They stopped in front of you and you quickly bowed your head and the woman smiled before touching your bicep with her tattooed hand, making you flinch at the touch. ''Child please tell me why you've come, one of you put this young ladies ikran with the other.'' She spoke to the guards around you as she wrapped her larger arms around your smaller filling your body with warmth. ''May I please stay here I can pull my weight, I can hunt, paint, sing, weave anything but can I please-''

''Shush child, tell me your name and why you seek to live here. Is something wrong?" Her eyes looked bug full of wonder and concern for the young girl in front of her.

"My name is Y/N te Suli Neytiri'ite." You whisper looking down the woman's back straightened as she looks at the man who walked behind you, his eyebrows furrowed even more. "Y/N why have you come here?" The woman crouched to your height. "Um," you debated telling her the truth would she send you back.

"Um, well back home I'm betrothed to someone, someone I can't just can't be mates with. He is cruel, and my parents just don't see it." You look at the ground in shame.

The two adults looked at each other and tye man had a much softer look on his face now as the woman looked uo waiting for his final answer on the whole thing. He tilted his head down and she smiled. "Well you shall stay here with us." She said and you looked at the two and smiled. "My name is Peyral and his name is Kamun."

-6 years later-

Jake held a picture in his hand and then the sound of a leaf crunching pulled him from his thoughts quickly flipping the picture over not to show the image. "Ma Jake." Neytiri spoke and he rubbed his eyes. "Hey baby." He said and Neytiri looked puzzled. "What is wrong?" She asked and he only shaked his head opening a drawer to put the picture up but ahe snatched it just in time. Her face softened as she smiled, caressing the picture, it was of you jumping at your parents after your first time swimming and Neytiri finally figured out how a polaroid works.

She gulped and placed the picture in the drawer and grabbed his hand dragging him into the meeting with Mo'at.

"Ah JakeSully, Daughter.* She said bowing her head formally greeting them.

"Mother." Neytiri responded as she and Jake bowed their heads.

Sitting down around an unlit fire pit. "What have we come to talk about?" Jake asked and Mo'at lifted her head. "Yes, well some clans are threatening to battle over a few things." She said to the two and Neytiri's eyes widened as she now sat up straight as did Jake. "What should we do?" Neytiri asked Jake who ran over ideas in his brain. "You meet with them, you talk and you compromise." Mo'at blurted out and they looked over at her.

"Meet, Talk and compromise." Jake repeated and Mo'at shook her head up and down slowly. "Yes and I suggest you go to the Mangkwan Clan last." She said, looking off to the side. The two of them look at her curiously. "There may be something there for you, all of you." She said before blinking multiple times as Neytiri helped her up.

Neytiri and Jake stepped out of the tent and Neytiri went in her way as Jake did. But what Mo'at said simmered in his thoughts. What did she mean there's something there for him? For all of his family? He had no idea.

But he would soon find out.

Tags-

@ssc7514 @23victoria @wtf-why-do-i-gotta-do-this @chaoticmagazineboard @spicycloudsalad @ilovejakesullysdick @ihonestlydontknowwhattonamethis @neteyamforlife @phoenixgurl030 @im-in-a-pansexual-panik @kikookii @elegantkidfansoul @kurtsworld096

A/N- if you asked to be tagged and arent in gere it is bc i couldn't find your blog sorry in advance.

#avatar 2 #avatar 2022 #avatar #avatar 2009 #avatar way of water #avatar x reader fluff #avatar x reader #avatar x y/n #avatar x you #avatar shit #sully family x reader #sully family #sully reader #avatar x sully!reader #sully!reader #daughter!reader #neytiri x daughter!reader #jake sully x daughter!reader #avatar angst

[kaaytea]

hi kay hello hello!! can i request a miyuki fic where he goes to an amusement part (or disneyland, whichever u can relate more to or whichever would be easier to write) with his girlfriend on a date and they do just simple cute stuff or something like that?!??!!

'Magic' Moment

Warnings: female reader, I don't think I used any pronouns so technically could be gn reader, I've never been to Tokyo Disney, not edited...I'm just going off of my general knowledge for this one

A/n: Fun fact, I am a Disney parks fiend (and I'm actually in the car to visit one rn 🤭) I'm sorry this took so long, dear. I hope it's what you're looking for <3

----------------------------------------------------------

One of the few perks of being with a pro baseball player is being gifted tickets to Tokyo Disney. Mind you, it doesn't happen often because of how tight Kazuya's team's schedule is, but every once in awhile, during particularly rough off-seasons, management would pay for the player's and their families admission to the park.

When he first signed onto his team, this wasn't something Kazuya would take advantage of, but when you came into the picture and insisted he enjoy a day off, he couldn't refuse. It's become sort of a tradition now; every time tickets are offered, Kazuya takes them.

Kazuya never really understood the appeal of the "Disney experience" (as you called it) but you loved being enveloped by it—gushing on and on about the twinkling music and exciting sights and tastes around the park. Seeing you so happy resulted in Kazuya feeding off of your joy; even if he didn't fully understand it, he found that it was an enjoyable experience with you by his side.

"Hurry, before the fireworks end!" You called over your shoulder. You were a few paces in front of Miyuki, paving a way to your destination by weaving in and out of the crowds.

"I'm right behind you," Miyuki assured. He snuck a glance at his watch as he side stepped to avoid ramming into a stroller. "We still have a few minutes until they start."

You slowed your pace to grab ahold of your partner's hand; getting separated in the hoards of people migrating to watch the fireworks would setback your plans. Kazuya linked his fingers with yours, giving a light squeeze in confirmation that he was with you.

"I know, but we have a small window of time where the carousel is 'child-free'," You stated. Your walking came to a halt at the corner of a street to let an elderly couple and their grandchild cross in front of you. You looked at Kazuya on your left. His face was lit with the warm light flooding out from the confectionary shop on the corner you stopped at, but what would have been an etheral view was soiled by the amused smirk spreading across his face.

"What's that look for?"

Miyuki breathed out a laugh and started leading the two of you forward, as you had continued to stare at him.

"You're always so worried about making it to the carousel—and stop pouting," he said, poking at your cheek with his free hand. "We always make it in time; you have this down to a science by now."

You grined at the praise of your planning. There wasn't much you were organized with, but when it came to carving out a special day like this, you were outstandingly efficient.

You were going to gloat about getting praised by Japan's most meticulous catchers, but the chiming of music fluttered through your ears and sapped whatever words that had been on your tongue. The music pulled your attention to your destination, a pavilion covered in glitzy lights and warm, inviting colors, circled by pure white steeds: the carousel.

Your heart internally squealed in exciment as you pulled Miyuki towards the attraction, he followed close behind you—half afraid that you'd rip his arm from it's socket if he refused—and shook his head at your childishness.

The music and glow wrapped around you like a warm hug when you entered the beginning of the queue for the ride. There wasn't a line at all, infact, there were only a few people on the ride, as most of the guests had rushed off towards the castle to watch the fireworks show.

Your planning had, once again, proven true.

The pair of you waited patiently at the entrance of the ride. Miyuki's thumb brushed against your knuckles intermittently as you stalked the spinning circle of horses like a cat.

Eventually the ride came to a stop and the few attendees started filing off from the direction of the cast members posted around the gated area. Once the previous occupants were safely off, one of the cast members walked over to where you were both waiting.

The carousel attendant, a young man just about college age, greeted the pair of you with a smile as he reached to unlatch the gate door, only to do a double take at your boyfriend. The young man's eyes lit up in realization of who was standing in front of him.

Kazuya just smiled and gave a practiced 'hello' to the obvious fan. The man stumbled out a response before turning to address you as well.

The attention Kazuya drew in public took some getting used to when you first started dating. People were generally polite, but the staring and hushed whispers would still eat away at you patience; there was no blending in when with Kazuya. He had been dead set on keeping your relationship private, which it still was fairly reserved, but it quickly became apparent that keeping it a secret entirely would have ended the relationship as quick as it started.

You gave the young man a small wave and cheery smile as he opened the gate for the two of you. You had only gotten a few steps in before he asked if you'd like him to run the ride twice for you and Kazuya. You immediately said yes and thanked him before hurrying off to find the horse you always chose. Miyuki followed you, not before expressing his thanks and slipping the kid a quick signature.

Miyuki found you sitting happily on a white, gold, and powder blue painted horse, swinging your feet happily as you waited for him to take his spot on the white, armor clad steed besides yours. Not long after the both of you settled down, the ride softly lurched forward and started it's revolution around it's set course. You grasped onto the gold pole securing your horse in place as it eased up and down, making it feel like the horse was even more alive.

You looked out in wonder at the park. The illuminated buildings and stores cut gently through the inky black surroundings; the lights pooled onto the pavement like puddles of milled gold and flickered off of the bundles of balloons still being sold on the sides of shops. You could still smell the toasty, sugary scent of the caramel apples being produced at the confectionary shop you passed every time the ride circled by its street.

You tore your eyes from the fantasy land before you and looked over to the man sitting beside you.

Miyuki continued watching you, his head resting gently against his hand holding onto the golden pole of his steed.

"Happy?"

"Always," you answered. You smoothed your fingers down the cool metal of the ride, "We just need one more thing before our night is perfect."

As if on cue, there was a loud pop! in the distance, followed by a sunburst of colorful light. The both of you looked off in the direction of the firework show before it was hidden by the center of the ride and reappeared when you turned the corner again.

"Perfectly timed, as always," Kazuya mused.

You hummed in wonder as you watched the prism of colors flitter in the sky above the elaborate castle in the distance. Silently, you reached out one of your hands and Kazuya's instantly met it halfway. His hands were warm, rough and dwarfed your own, but he still clasped your's securely as you continued to get lost in the atmosphere and each other's company.

#kayquests #miyuki kazuya #miyuki kazuya x reader #miyuki kazuya imagine #miyuki kazuya scenarios #daiya no ace #daiya no ace x reader #ace of the diamond x reader #diamond no ace x reader #ace of the diamond #diamond no ace

[beneath-her-soul]

It's night shift again and since I'm on second break, I might as well do a lil life update here.

Last week was a blast! I haven't had so much fun for a very long time since all I do is work, home, chores, Ash and the cycle repeats. It started off with..

Tuesday, 27/8/22

It was my night off on that day. I went home and took a short nap before these two came! We celebrated Nisa's belated 30th birthday at my house. Tasha came quite early surprisingly and she told me she didn't even get to sleep after night shift. Oh boy. So we went to the nearest bakery nearby my house to buy a cake for Nisa. She had no clue of Tasha's arrival as I wanted it to be a surprise!

It was a small yet meaningful celebration among the three of us. Altho Nisa is no longer working together with us, our friendship still remain the same and we try to squeeze in time for each other despite our crazy schedules. Work has never been the same without her. The first two months after she left was dreading for me. I was unmotivated, sad and missed her dearly. She's always there for me when I hit rock bottom at work or in life eversince we knew each other in 2018. She's witty in her own ways and never judgemental of people. Every once a week i would drop a text telling her how much I miss her at work and just wish that she is still here. But life has to move on for her tho ... And I'm truly happy that she's doing way better than she was here in this organization.

Back to the mini celebration. It's been so long since we sit and talk for hours and just have a heard to heart conversation about life, love, family and work. That's basically what we girls normally talk about whenever we hang out. It's amazing how all three of us are different age yet we are still able to bond. The age gap isn't that far 1 or 3 years apart only so we tend to treat each other like sisters.

Did I mention that it was Tasha's first time meeting Ash boy? Yep! Tasha also owns 4 cats so pretty much she's a cat expert. She was extremely happy when she heard I got myself a kitten and she's been dying to meet Ash since i first got him. This Ash boy is so well likeable among my peers and they even had to make a date to meet him! Ash boy was pretty well behaved on that day and I was surprised! Literally. I have never seen how well behaved he was eversince I got him. I guess the child only shows it's true colours to their own mommy but not to the visitors. 😂

I managed to capture this adorable moment of Ash asking Tasha for mango cake as we were busy eating ours. He did get to taste it and he likes it! He asked for round two tho. You're gonna get fat Ash! 😂

Wednesday, 28/09/2022

USS with the colleagues! This outing was planned two months ago and I'm so glad it happened! It was definitely an enjoyable and fun outing with the people whom i work with. It's rare for me to go out with a group of colleagues as I prefer to just go home after work. But it doesn't kill to socialize once in a while right? It started off meeting the peeps at 1030am for breakfast at McDonald's Harbourfront. I was a bit late due to Ash as I had to clean up and feed him before I leave the house. It breaks my heart whenever i had to leave him at home all alone, tbh. At 11:30am, we made our way to Sentosa to meet the rest of the peeps there and we started off with watching Camera, Lights, Action scene first before we ride the rides. I haven't had this fun in a long ass time and it's something I needed. We even got free express lane tickets for all of the rides all thanks to Jody! She was a former employee there and had good contacts so we were very grateful for her help. God knows how cranky and impatient I can be when there's a long queue for every rides.

We left USS at 6pm and head to Vivo for dinner at Earl Swensens. We even had a surprise celebration for Kak Fida too! Everyone was exhausted but we sure did enjoy ourselves. Our legs were wobbly by the time we took the train back home. The next day, it's back to work for us 😂 lol!

Watch how annoying Khair was in this video.

#personal #finding happiness #happy pills #self care #friends

[dracereads]

BETTER LATE THAN NEVER: A MAY WRAP UP POST

Hello, yes. Guess who's a week late to wrapping up the month of May? Me. It's always me. Time is a social construct, and I'm off on a Tuesday instead of a Thursday and this was on my to-do list. I wanted to start doing monthly wraps with not so much the books I read, but what I was doing and how many I ultimately got to start, and any commentary I had for the month to look back on in reflection. On the blog side:

I've gained a few new followers! Hi, yes. Hello. I'm your local idiot who runs a reading blog specifically at a glacial pace. I talk entirely way too much, and if you're ever in the mood for a good chat I'm the one you want because I can never tell when my chattiness is unwanted. It's a character flaw, I think. Real life and summary + goals under the damn cut you're welcome.

So to start off with May: May, you sucked. Hardcore. The beginning two weeks of May were both Hell Weeks. I live in a University town, so the University dropped right at the start into their progression into finals. I work in a restaurant, which translate into someone had collectively disabled the safety button on a college kid’s well-intention'd budget.  It’s take out to compliment the side order of tears and stress studying.  Then every single organization had awards, grad ceremonies. Catering was a miserable spectacle to prepare. I imagine it was extremely good to enjoy and eat. but. when you've got like 4-5 of them in a day it's a stress-induced nightmare.

Right after College let out, the local high schools started their hell weeks + ceremony wrap-up weeks. So it restarted the whole process with a little more gusto because we serve TWO high-school districts. During the first two weeks I was hamfisting books. I think I started a reading circle with 3 books; then that circle grew to five. Definitely a string of come home and read a bunch of chapters and go to sleep kind of environment. It's actually very cathartic to think about weird fantasy trope filps vs wondering if you didn't count out the correct amount of utensils for the first catering order of the day for the Doctor's Office your CC has been DYING to get into a contract with. This is the better mental habit, even if you have to force yourself to sit and read, Drace. The third week of may brought all of that last minute sales ventures to a screeching halt. With that, I shifted gears into deep cleaning and renovating my room a little bit. As of the day this post goes live (6/7) I will have been without an working air conditioning unit for an entire month. Luckily the gods of Southern heat have been merciful and have tried to deep fry me only twice. I fear for the worst as I get into the heat of June. However, with this sudden need to heat proof my room I finally installed my curtains and UV screens and my room is looking EXCELLENT! Though. Drilling into wood paneling is really dusty. excessively dusty. So book photos and photo shares from now on will have beautiful windows and aesthetic-y stuff because I am definitely striving to add some decoration. I feel like a hamster that's actively trying to enrich it's environment over here, folks. During the last two weeks, I think I only target read. Which is to say: "sucks to be all other books than the ones I want to read with hyperfocus." I have a stack of round table reads that I am going to queue more books into and start fresh again this week. Reading-habits: I think I managed to finish 7 or 8 books in the month of May. Which is a lot more than I was expecting given the fact my schedule was an absolutely maddening crap-shoot.

Goals for June: I want to finish at least a half-dozen or so books that I didn't mange to get finished before May went out like cold bathwater. There are a couple of books sitting with like 3-4 chapters left that I've been savoring because I just don't want to let them go. If I don't finish it I can still hold onto it right? (Wrong, it's time) I have a bunch of stuff that I didn't get around to in May that I would like to sink my teeth into as well. However, that progress is going to be slow and take me forever. Because if you haven't noticed, taking this glacially is the whole point. As for DNFs, there are a couple on my list that I think I'm just going to try and pick back up. If anything I'll give them a few more chapters to get the story out before I decide to DNF them again or finish them for good. The goal here is to just keep on the course of clearing out my physical TBR before I add more things in.

#blog updates #no pictures this time sorry guys #I want to do more drawings this month if i can #don't uh hold me to it though #misc #monthly wraps

[curiousconch]

Chase You / Chase Me (Pt. 3)

Part 3: Remember when everything was different

Catch up here: Series Masterlist

Chapter Summary: Aislinn, Gigi and Alex find friendship in the midst of the competition. One discussion led to another, pushing Alex to take a trip down memory lane, revealing the moment in her past where she and Gabe's paths crossed for the first time.

Book/Pairing: Choices - Laws of Attraction / Gabe Ricci x MC (Alex Keating)

Words: 1.7k+

Rating/Warnings: Mature (16+) / alcohol consumption, language. Scenes/themes may trigger trauma for some, reader discretion advised.

Disclaimer: Most of the characters as well as some dialogue belong to Pixelberry. I am merely borrowing them.

Sunday, downtown New York

"Wait, can you back up for a moment," Aislinn said across Alex, who was scooping the remains of her melted banana split. Gigi was sipping her ice-cold mimosa, their brunch table full of plates with scrapes of leftovers. The sun was out and so were they, dining al fresco under the shade of a huge white parasol and the gentle breeze cooling them every now and then. It was a perfect day so far.

The trio has agreed to meet up that Sunday to discuss what went down with the Rothswell case as well as to prep for the conference Sadie had invited them to. They were on some kind of a peace pact, all of them sharing the view that pitting women against women in the corporate world is just shitty business.

Alex has enjoyed their company. They exchanged imaginary one-liners that would have made Martin frown his heart out or Beau McGraw chortle his head off. And speaking of McGraw, they all concluded that the best strategic course of action was to let Beau enjoy his moment in the sun. One day, Alex would make sure to remind him that he tried to rain on her parade.

It was a refreshing and enlightening discussion, though she will forever be traumatized with how many swears Gigi can cram in a single sentence. But the sight of a flustered Aislinn while Alex and Gigi engaged in a battle of pick-up lines with their waiter was a strong second contender.

As their drinks flowed, the conversation naturally led to rhetorical questions, now settling at why they became a lawyer. Aislinn shared first, surprisingly, stating that her knack for analysis was just a natural fit to the demands of a career in law. Gigi's answer was simple - she can leverage her eidetic memory to earn herself some serious dough, allowing her to live it up and take impromptu vacations to Bali.

Alex tried to dodge the question. She had never needed to discuss her reason of leaving pre-med behind to attend law school. It wasn't a pleasant memory, and she doubted it will ever be.

The two ladies were quick to see her attempts of evasion. But together, they finally wore her down, Alex left laughing with their shenanigans as they cornered her to tell her story. So she told them that she knew Gabe Ricci. And that it was because of him why she was a lawyer. Alex decided that revealing the truth was worth it, seeing how their jaws just dropped to the floor.

"Girl, you have to explain yourself right now," Gigi demanded, to which Aislinn seconded.

Alex snorted as she went back to skimming what was left of her dessert. "It's a boring sob story, and I don't want to turn this lovely morning into a snooze fest."

"We're not going anywhere, right Gi?" Aislinn turned to Gigi beside her, who nodded whilst sipping another glass of cocktail.

"Fine, but only if you swear this won't leave this table," she said. The two held up their hands invoking a half-smiling Alex, sensing nothing but sincerity. So she drank down her glass of bloody mary and took a deep breath, composing her tale.

"Buckle up, ladies, you're in for a ride."

**

10 years ago, in a town near Boston

Alessandra Keating had never felt more alone than she did that day.

They said she needed to just move forward. But how can she, when every day since the crash, she felt nothing but emptiness? How can she feel alright, when the only life that she knew was suddenly taken away from her?

It wasn't long before she found out that the car accident was caused by someone being reckless, by someone who thought they were above the law. Then, she imploded. No way could she let her parent's deaths be forgotten. No fucking way.

For the past three years, she invested all of herself into this endeavor. Researching, studying, choosing the right counsel, even raising funds. It was what kept her breathing, what gave her purpose. Ultimately, it was what kept her sane.

From filing the lawsuit to attending mediations, to numerous settlement meetings and colliding with every legal roadblock possible - Alex made sure to see them through. Only for everything to be decided that day - the bench trial.

One sweltering summer morning in her hometown's courthouse, Alex sat on the side of the plaintiff, with her long brunette hair tangled in waves. She let her senses wander, taking in the dark wooden panels and pews, her sense of smell invaded by the scent of old mahogany. She sealed her lips into silence, hiding her nerves by straightening the bargain khaki suit that she borrowed.

She barely held it in as her eyes travelled to the table beside them, catching a glimpse of the man that caused her immeasurable pain. With jet black hair and looking as young as her, he sat with an almost mocking expression. He was wearing a crisper set of suit, creating an illusion of trustworthiness that Alex can easily see through.

Maximilian K. Cornell. The green-eyed teenager who swerved his sports car onto the same slippery road Alex and her parents were passing through. The very same boy who got out unharmed, but left Alex's family to die in the snow. Her opponent was a slithery snake who managed to screw the justice system so many times over, just because his parents had the grease to do so.

But after the crash, the town decided they can no longer turn the other cheek. Alex's decision to sue was propelled by the support of the countless friends and families whom her parents have helped in their hour of need. But that still proved not enough.

Her mind whirled back to the proceedings, and to how every strategy, every plan of attack was being thrown out. With every whip from the defense, she started to grow impatient. As another traffic expert from her camp was dismissed, Alex just snapped inside. She leaned to Mr. Leroy, a withering man on the brink of retirement who was her lawyer, asking for them to convene outside.

"I'm sorry Mr. Leroy, but your strategies were just scrutinized and torn into pieces," Alex said in a low voice the moment they stepped out into the hallway.

"Alex, I am doing my best here. We clearly don't have the upper hand, lacking the incriminating evidence that we need," the man replied, exasperated.

"Have we dug up his previous records? I mean, why on earth would he have a sealed history? Doesn't that mean something?" she continued.

She continued to dictate her litany of better-positioned moves, but even Alex knew she wasn't getting through. So she excused herself from the conversation, hoping a cup of iced coffee will somehow mitigate her frustrations.

As soon as she came back, she found Mr. Leroy convening with a much younger man in a dark navy suit. His aura screamed "big city hotshot", albeit the exhausted look in his brown eyes. Not wanting to interrupt, she held off from approaching. However, her curiosity didn't stop her from eavesdropping.

What she heard the charismatic man say was a legal precedent that would have opened the sealed records in question. And with all the mind-boggling legal jargon, that's just about what she understood.

"Gabriel Ricci? I'm looking for an attorney named Gabriel Ricci?" a female voice from a nearby window called out, which made the young man raise his head. She saw him end the conversation abruptly, where a flustered Mr. Leroy hastily thanked him. Alex took that as her queue to approach her lawyer.

"Alex, we might be able to turn things around," she heard Leroy say.

And by some miracle, things did turn around. With her lawyer using the precedent offered by the young attorney earlier, their side gained the needed momentum to tip the scales in their favor. By the end of the trial, the verdict was out - Cornell will never be able to drive another vehicle, along with paying her a hefty amount of damages and fees.

They won.

Alex had to pinch herself before the victory sunk in. When it did, she felt an immense burden lifted from her shoulders.

After a long, long time, Alex can finally breathe.

Broken free from her nightmares, she asked herself what's next? The answer came to her almost immediately. Right there and then, she decided what she wanted to be. Like that man from the courthouse, she will become a lawyer.

Fueled by this new sense of mission, she saw a future for herself. No longer held by the past, she finally was able to move forward.

Indeed, Alex became what she set out to do - a lawyer who took on hopeless, even impossible cases and won them. A lawyer her parents would be proud of.

A damn good lawyer, just like Gabriel Ricci.

**

Present Day, at a New York Penthouse

Gabe sat in his home office clad in nothing but his white bath robe, holding a worn manila folder.

Five years ago, Gabe saw this case as his opportunity to make Robbie proud. The defendant had all the parallels with his brother - a teenager, incarcerated young, where the punishment had presumed to be too harsh. He now knew it was rightfully just.

But at that time, he was blinded by passion and ambition. He wanted to prove to himself and to Sadie what he can do. Taking on this case that was practically unwinnable would give him more power, more control over the pro bono cases he wanted to take. Actually winning this though, that proved to be his fatal mistake.

Your cockiness got the better of you again, Ricci.

His mind went to Alex. That was the direction his every waking moment drifted to nowadays. Whether he liked it or not, he'd answer some other day.

He had to let her know. If he didn't, Alex would eventually find out herself. Once she discovers that he was the one who had set this man free, she would hate him.

Gabe can't bring himself to think of that happening, of losing that chance with her, or of losing Alex's trust.

Hell, I'm going to lose her entirely if she finds out.

These realizations devastated him.

But how can they both escape the looming shadows of the past unscathed? Even he couldn't figure that out.

Sighing, he rubbed his hand on his face, reeling at his lack of options. He then stood up, slamming the open folder on his desk as he turned to face the window, simmering in his own regrets. Papers slipped out to the carpeted floor, including a full-page mugshot of the defendant.

It was Maximilian Cornell.

Author's Notes: With Sadie being shady AF, I feel like we all need some dose of female friendship right? Also, this is my HC why Gabe constantly pulls away from MC, not only because of their working relationship. Did the reveal live up to the cliffhanger? Let me know in the comments! 👇👇👇

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@choicesficwriterscreations

Thank you for your continued reading!

Want to be added or removed to the tag list? No problem - just let me know 😊. Reblogs are also much appreciated! 💕

#laws of attraction #choices laws of attraction #choices loa #laws of attraction fanfiction #choices laws of attraction fanfiction #choices fic writers creations #fics of the week #gabe ricci x mc #gabe ricci #aislinn tanaka #gigi sinclair

[igotyouniverse]

Breathe Me - Chapter 1 [nct vamp au]

Description: After dropping out of college and coming home for the first time in two years, 22-year-old Ava Lee gets caught up in a mystery surrounding the people she thought she knew for so long. Between friendship, affairs and true love the young women finds herself being pulled into a  nightmare she would never wake up from.

Pairing: Oc x Taeyong , Oc x Johnny [several side-pairing involving Mark, Ten, Lucas and Jaehyun.]

Included Members: Taeyong, Johnny, Mark, Lucas, Ten, Jaehyun, Doyoung, Haechan (maybe more)

Genre: Drama, Romance, Angst, Action, Fantasy

Warnings: none (this chapter)

suggestive content, strong language, violence, blood, death. probably more, not sure yet (later chapters)

a/n: Here it comes! After years of procrestination I finally managed to write the very first (very boring) chapter of my vampire au with nct! Anyway, the main drama will start in the next chapter so stay patient and bear this one with me. It took me long enough, haha. All the warnings will be for later chapters so don't start reading if u dont feel like reading stuff like that qq If someone wants to get tagged please send me a message, ask, comment or whatever qq

I really hope you guys enjoy it, it was a very heavy birth. ♥

ch.2 || ch. 3

                                                   †

The girl sighed deeply and took a look outside the small airplane window. She saw how the plane slowly drove into the prepared parking lot and felt how her level of anxiety rose with each second. Even though the flight was 18 hours long and her legs started to hurt she didn't want to stand up. Standing up meant for her to actually leave the plane, get her luggage and meet her family which would sooner or later lead to them asking all these questions. It wasn't like she didn't miss them.

She missed them very dearly. She missed the Sunday morning brunches with her neighbours, the movie nights where her dad would always pick out a movie because he'd pout if not, she even missed  her little brother Mark bursting into her room without knocking and asking her some totally stupid questions. She missed catching up with her best friend. She missed all these sleepovers when all they had to worry about was who the cutest boy at school was and what they'll do together once they were adults. She craved for all these past memories. The last time she set foot onto this ground was two years ago at her very first spring break after leaving home, moving to a town thousand of miles away, not knowing anyone.

She heard a beeping noise which indicated that the passengers could stand up and get out but she waited. All of them seemed in such a hurry to leave the plane, grabbing their belongings, everyone trying to get out first which ended in a crowded queue inside of the plane. She stretched her legs as much as possible, not making the slightest move to stand up.

Her eyes wandered back to the window, allowing her to take a glance at the sky, she wished to be into again. It was still quite bright outside, even though it was nearly evening, the sun nearly blinding her when she looked up, leading her to cover her eyes with her hand. The sunsets were so different in the States than here, in South Korea. Her eyes tried to focus on the slowly fading sun, leaving the sky in beautiful pinks and oranges with just a hint of soft white clouds.

Her mind started to spin, thinking about all the things she had to explain to her family sooner or later. But for now she needed to stay positive and hide the fact that she – the oh-so-perfect – student managed to drop out of a university, her parents nearly went insolvent to pay for to allow their daughter to get the best medical education they could think of. At the beginning the girl actually thought that it was her biggest dream to become a famous surgeon but after a short while she had to face the ugly truth that the job she so desperately wanted to do as long as she could remember just wasn't her thing.

She tried so badly to keep on and thought that it's just a phase every young adult went through when they started university but every time she talked to her friends at university she saw that that wasn't exactly the case. Everyone was so focused and motivated to become a successful doctor or surgeon they underwent the torture of endless sleepless nights, insane pressure and the feeling of not being able to even cut an onion correctly, which the professor didn't even care to make better. Every day she got told that she would never be able to work in the medical field and could try herself with some more basic and easy studies. It didn't matter how hard she tried to remember all the lectures and do her assignments – she failed miserably at everything.

Of course, her family didn't know. She was way too afraid to burst the bubble her parents created around her, leaving her in that perfect, white spotlight, portraying her like some sort of angel on a pedestal for everyone to see. They loved to talk about her in front of everyone, telling them that she'd be a successful surgeon, working hard and publishing groundbreaking articles, making herself a name in the medical community. Maybe even getting some famous award. Everyone in that small town knew about the smart daughter who got into one of the best medical universities in the United States, who worked so hard she was barely home.

She couldn't bear to see the disappointment on their faces once they see what she really was – a failure. She managed to hide her dropping out of university so well, she created her web of lies carefully over the last year, she sometimes even believed what she was saying. But as soon as her alarm clock went off, remembering her to go to work at a small corner café to pay her rent and even save some money in case her parents might throw her out, she had to face real life again. The life in which she dropped out only one year after starting, loosing hundreds of thousands of dollars and leaving the incident in her resume forever.

She was glad she got a job in the café as it belonged to the parents of one friend she met at college, who managed to get in because of a scholarship. They allowed her to work as much as she could to save money and even helped her sometimes.

“Excuse me, Miss?”, a soft and gentle voice made the girl leave her deep thoughts and look up. A beautiful, young flight attendant smiled down at her. “You need to leave the plane, please.”, she said in sweet yet demanding voice  and got her luggage out of the cabinet above for her. The girl didn't realise that the plane was already as good as empty. She thanked the attendant, grabbed her bag and went out of the plane into the airport, feeling her legs shaking more with each step she took.

She pulled out her smartphone, turning off flight mode only to get bombarded with dozens of messages, mostly from her mom asking if she already landed and that they waited for her at the gate. After that she only texted emojis. Hearts, heart-eyes and some other stuff which made her feel even more anxious. How could she disappoint a mother as proud as her? No, she needed to keep her secret for a bit longer. Maybe until her brother messed up. But what could he possibly mess up which would overshadow her dropping out of college? Maybe if he committed a crime.

Mark was different from her, She didn't know how but he actually managed to tell their parents that he doesn't want to become a doctor or lawyer, and instead insisted of becoming an author or journalist. To say her parents were unhappy would be an understatement. They were more than angry and told him to pay the tuition himself. They believed it was just a small teenage dream he had but when he finished High School and started working at the local bookstore to save some money to actually study creative writing they realized that he was serious. That small incident happened just 14 months ago, yet he continued to work there and save up. He even managed to visit her every couple of months, as she didn't want to come.

When she arrived at the luggage claim the suitcases were already out on the baggage belt and she waited as long as she could, watching her lonely suitcase making its turns on the device, purposely ignoring it until it was the only one left and she had to grab it. Her phone vibrated in her pocket again.

Mark [06.07pm]: Where r u?

She rolled her eyes and just put it back in the pocket of her jeans as she headed towards the exit. The girl took a deep breath, putting on the brightest smile she could manage and stepped out of the doors. Her family wasn't hard to notice. Her parents held a way too big and bright  banner in their hands

WELCOME HOME AVA

Ava tried to keep her smile up and waved at them. “Oh, honey welcome home!”, her mother shouted as she lowered the banner to hug her daughter tightly. “I'm so happy you're finally home again, our doctor!.”, she said and patted her back softly. She felt her dad joining the hug and giving her a warm smile as well, joining her mother in telling her how happy he was to have her back home. Ava clenched her jaw, trying to smile as honest as possible.

“You're really squishing me to death guys.”, Ava chuckled and was glad when her parents finally let go of her. She looked up and saw her brother Mark smiling at her.

“Come on, give your favourite sister a hug.”, the girl laughed, making her brother chuckle before embracing her in a loving hug as well. The last time she saw him he visited the campus a few months ago. Of course he didn't know she dropped out then and nearly choked on his water when she told him. She knew he wouldn't tell their parents but he thought it would be better if she told their parents as soon as possible, which she didn't of course.

“Happy to have you back.”, Mark said and squeezed his sister one more time before he let her go and took her suitcase.

Ava stretched her body slowly before getting into their car, really not wanting to sit down for another hour but apparently she had to. As soon as she sat down and put on her seat belt her mother turned around to look at her and smiled.

“Tell us, honey, how is Stanford? Is it going well, yes?”, she asked and Ava felt like she needed to throw up.

“Yeah, everything is fine. I handed in all assignments last week and I have a good feeling.”, she chuckled and felt guilt crawling all over her body. She smiled slightly and turned her eyes away to avoid her mother proud gaze, yet she could feel Mark eyeing her.

“Ah, that's so great, honey. Your father and I just talked to the Lee's from across the street and they told us their son wants to apply to Stanford, too. We told them you could talk to him and give some advice.”

“Sure.”, she just sighed and pulled out her phone again, hoping her mother would understand her silent plead to leave her be. Her mother smiled again and turned back to talk to her father about what she'd make for dinner on this special occasion.

Ava checked the other texts she got, scrolling through them. She smiled when she saw a text from her best friend, sending her a picture from her in her nurse uniform. She looked so cute, proudly standing in front of the mirror in the dressing room, posing with a finger heart.

[Ava 06.54pm] Cute! Just landed, on my way home. Wanna hang out later?

[Yunmi 06.57pm] Can't. Night shift today but pick me up tomorrow morning and get breakfast? The café next to the bookstore finally opened!

[Ava 07.00pm] absolutely! Can't wait. Miss you so much ♥

She scrolled through the remaining texts just to feel a little disappointment in her body after not seeing what she so desperately wanted to see. But then again, she didn't expect to see a text from him after he ignored each and everyone of hers the last two years. He didn't even care enough to wish her a happy birthday in November so he probably couldn't care less texting her when she came home.

She sighed lightly and looked outside the car window, seeing how the landscape came and go in front of her eyes and how the sky got all these beautiful colours in it, she could even see the moon already. A wave of tiredness crashed over her exhausted body as she decided to close her eyes for just  a moment.

The girl felt someone poking her arm multiple times, calling her name.

“Wake up, we're home.”, she heard Mark say and groaned, before rubbing her eyes.

“Yes, I'm awake, you can stop poking me.”, she said when her brother continued to poke her arm with a grin on his face.

“Don't make me hit you.”, she warned and slapped his hand away.

“Pff, please.” he answered mockingly and jumped out of the car before her fist could reached his body.

Ava chuckled , getting out of the car stretching her stiff body slowly, hearing all her joints crack at once.

“How old are you? 80?” Mark said teasingly, getting out her suitcase from the trunk.

“Trust me, I feel like it.”, she yawned loudly and slowly got up the stairs to their house.

She inhaled the sweet and calming scent of her mothers vanilla candles as soon as she set foot into the house, taking of her shoes before she walked further inside. It hasn't changed a bit. The beige coloured walls still had pictures of the family on them. Ava smiled and looked at the picture of her and her family from her Highschool graduation three years ago. She smiled when she saw the exact picture her parents had chosen. Mark and her making some weird pose while her parents rolled their eyes.

“Honey, dinner will be ready in half-an-hour, okay?” she didn't realize that her mother was standing right next to her and flinched a bit.

“Yeah, sure, thank you, mom. I'll start to unpack then. Love you.”, Ava said, kissing her mothers cheek softly before going up the stairs into her old room where Mark already put her suitcase and bag.

Her room hasn't changed either. Of course, it looked a bit colder as she took all her personal stuff with her to the US when she moved out, but it still felt comfy with it's cozy beige sofa and her queen sized bed, which her mother already prepared for her. She closed the door behind her and looked outside the big windows, which connected to a small balcony, which was only hers. She remembered how mad Mark was when she got the room with the balcony and not him and grinned. She stepped outside for a moment to breathe in the still warm air, listening to the rustling sound of the trees as a mild breeze blew through them.

The small wooden bench she made herself with her dad back when she was younger still stood in the very same corner and even had pillows on it and a blanket, indicating that someone still used it even while she was gone. Probably her mother when she wanted to have some time and space for herself, she thought and smiled before going back into her room.

She stretched her stiff body once again before squatting down and opening her black suitcase to unpack her things. Ava only brought some clothes and other necessities with her as she didn't believe of staying home for a longer period of time. She rented her tiny apartment, or as she preferred to call it, her shoebox to a friend from university who looked for her own place as long as she stayed with her parents so she didn't need to worry about paying rent. So she just packed her essentials and hoped to keep her pretty little lie for some more months to figure out what she actually wanted to do with her situation now. She wasn't even sure if she wanted to stay in Stanford . She just knew, she didn't want to stay here in this tiny town where everyone knows everyone.

She loved the size of New York, she loved the vibes, the people and even the stink it had. It was charming in some kind of way and she enjoyed the anonymity she had. She liked living in the famous city which never sleeps but it didn't feel like a complete home to her yet and maybe never would. Not to mention, that she was just working in a café which was barely enough to live so she needed to get something more permanent very soon. But she had no idea what that could be. Maybe she'd apply to another university, maybe she didn't want to go to college at all. But what were her options anyway?

Ava groaned, throwing a stack of clothes into her closet in frustration, before squatting down again to fold them neatly. She felt her phone vibrating in the pocket of her jeans and sighed when she saw the name of the person who messaged her blinking in front of her. She opened it and thought about her answer for several minutes before she decided to ignore it for the moment and maybe get back to it later, unsure about her wanting to meet the sender or not.

She furrowed her eyes as she looked at the clock hanging at one of her walls, showing that it was way later than she expected and her mother still hadn't called for dinner yet. She put the last of her belongings in the connected bathroom she shared with her brother and checked her phone to make sure she didn't receive a text from him telling her dinner is ready. Ava didn't realize how hungry she was until she thought about the dishes her mother was probably busy making and her mouth started to water. She really missed good Korean food. There were quite some Korean restaurants in New York but of course nothing tasted as good as her mother's home cooked meals.

Just as she wanted to open her door and check downstairs she heard her mother shout from the kitchen that dinner was finally ready. She opened her door and could already smell the kimchi and meat her mother apparently made and couldn't wait to finally taste it.

“Coming! I'm getting Mark”, Ava shouted back and wanted to knock on Marks door, telling him to come down but the boy who opened the door wasn't her brother.

“Oh, hey Ava. Haven't seen you in forever. How are you?”, Johnny asked, seemingly surprised but a small smile appeared on his pretty face.

He hasn't changed a tiny bit. He still looked as gorgeous as three years ago when she left and never heard of him again. His hair was still black but a tad longer than before. It framed the contours of his face just perfectly which made it hard for her to look away and think about how she was mad at him for ignoring her for the past years, even though the last thing she remembered with him was actually something very nice. Or that's at least what she thought it was. Apparently he thought differently and had to treat her like air. Not even daring to step a foot in their house when she came home for spring break once.

“Umm, fine. Are you staying for dinner?”, she asked, trying to sound as calm as possible but she couldn't hide a tint of anger in her voice, yet the anger mixed up with other feelings she was way too bad at hiding.

“Yeah, I invited him. He basically lives here anyway.”, she heard Mark say behind Johnny who didn't seem to sense her displeasure over his invitation. Why do they have to be best friends? She asked herself and secretly hoped for Johnny to disappear or something. But of course that wouldnÄt happen.

“Please, the food gets cold, come down.”, she heard her mother saying from the foot of the stairs with her hands stemmed in her hips, still wearing her red-dotted apron.

“Actually, I'm not hungry.”, Ava said taking a step away from Johnny as his simple presence made her legs feel stupidly weak.

Her statement got quite unbelievable when her stomach started to growl from the heavenly scent of her mother's food.

“Doesn't sound like it.”, Mark said and raised his brow looking at his sister questionably.

“I'm really not hungry and I'm meeting a friend. Can we postpone our family dinner to another time?”, she said while purposely emphasising the term family to show her displeasure about the clearly unwanted guest guest.

Before her mother could answer something Ava ran down the stairs, giving her mother another short kiss before running outside, leaving her house behind.

She took a deep breath before letting out some vulgar curses towards the situation and especially the person causing her to still feel all these things.

Ava pulled out her phone and messaged the only person she could think of, who might get her thoughts somewhere else, even if she might regret it in the morning.

masterlist

#neowritingsnet #nct vampire au #lee taeyong #johnny seo #jung jaehyun #wong yukhei #mark lee #nct127 #nct vampire #nctu #taeyong scenario #taeyong vampire au #johnny scenarios #ten #haechan #kpopau #kpop fluff #vampireau #johnny scenario #johnny vampire au #mark scenarios #nct scenario #nct fluff #nct angst #kpop angst

[susannaprouse]

Eighteen - Galapagos, Day Four

Our boat to Isla Isabela, another island in the Galapagos, was going to leave at 7am so we had to be at the pier by 6.30. Our body clocks have definitely changed on this trip!

We packed up and snuck out the hostel for the walk to the pier. The town was very quiet, it was quite peaceful. We got to the pier were a lot of other people were waiting for their boats and checked in. Soon we were ushered onto the pier to have a bag check and board the dinghies that would take us to the bigger boat. Mike lost the quarantine lottery this time and had to wash his boots. At least here they had a bucket and a brush but clearly Mike wasn't good enough as the guard eventually had to do it for him!

He soon joined me in the queue and we waited. Suddenly the woman that checked us in shouted Cally!! (The name of our boat) and pointed to us. Apparently the queue we were in was for another boat and everyone else on ours had left already! Luckily the woman pushed us on to a dinghy and we were off. Mike nearly got onto the wrong boat in anticipation but as soon as we pointed Cally out to the dinghy driver he took us there and we were finally on!

For some reason because the trip to the other island was said to be on a ferry I was imagining the sort of ferry that goes to the Isle of Wight. Or at least something big. This boat wasn't big, it fit around 20 people on at a push. And this definitely was a push, we were squeezed in together and barely able to move. The motors started and we were off. I couldn't remember how long the journey was supposed to take but we were going very fast so didn't think it would be long. We were going so fast I grabbed Mike's hand in worry.

Little did I know the journey was to take two hours. Two hours on the rough sea and because I'm an idiot I didn't take a motion sickness tablet. I turned my head and stared firmly on the horizon for two hours. To keep my mind occupied I went through the whole of the Les Mis soundtrack in my head and then did some yoga counting, counting to ten I don't know how many times.

This all would have been fine except for the Ecuadorian woman, her little boy and baby jammed in beside me. Half an hour in something caught my eye and I could see the baby being sick everywhere. I decided to look back at the horizon and pretend it wasn't happening. Half an hour after that the woman turned to me and said something in Spanish in my ear. I couldn't make out what she was saying because my Spanish isn't up to scratch and it was so noisy. I got the jist after she bundled her baby onto my lap and proceeded to be sick over the side of the boat. My maternal instinct kicked in and I clung to the sicky baby like it was a mission. Mike did offer to take it but I couldn't bear to let it go.

The passing of the baby happened a couple more times and I kept wanting to tell the woman to stare at the horizon rather than close your eyes but again my Spanish failed me.

After two long hours we finally made it to Isla Isabela and by some sort of miracle I wasn't sick! As soon as we got off the dingy we saw baby sea lions playing in the sea!! They were like puppies, swimming to find sticks and bring them on to land to play with, chasing each other down the pier and generally having a great time.

After watching them for a while we walked to our next hostel noticing how much quieter this island was. There really wasn't much there except hostels, restaurants and a few shops. I really liked it here.

We organised ourselves in the hotel for a few minutes, which was again a nice big room with a private bathroom. We then went out for a recce of every small supermarket and bakery in the town just in case one was cheaper, grabbed some more food for another picnic lunch and then set off for our first adventure. We wanted to snorkel in La Concha, a beautiful and still lagoon. We walked down the boardwalk surrounded by mangroves trying not to step on the many marine iguanas, sea lions and lizards sun bathing everywhere. The lagoon was beautiful, completely clear and completely still. I was excited to get in!

After snorkeling for a while we realised the snorkels we had bought in the UK and carefully carried up mountains in our bags for the last 3 weeks were rubbish (so annoying as I'd read so many great reviews!), they kept steaming up so every 5 minutes we had to take it off while trying not to touch the coral at our feet. Mine also seemed to have a slow drip coming through the top which isn't ideal.

We still managed to see a lot of fish and starfish. Just as we were about to head back in I saw a couple of people still in the water looking at something. I swam over and immediately prodded at Mike and pointed excitedly, another sea turtle!!!! It was clearly a different breed to the one we'd seen the day before as it's shell was flatter and it seemed bigger. We watched it gracefully swimming while trying not to get in its way and also not be dragged out by the very strong current!

We got out of the water very excited that'd we'd had another calming encounter with a sea turtle but also annoyed with the stupid snorkels. Looking on the bright side we agreed that at least we could leave the snorkels here and make more room in our bags for souvenirs! We decided to spend the rest of the afternoon on the beach by our hostel. The sand was white and soft and the sea was cooling in the hot sun. It was a lovely afternoon, reading, dozing, swimming and watching pelicans dive into the sea for fish. We were two of four people on the entire beach. Paradise!

We decided to head to the main street for dinner and for once didn't really have a plan. We stopped in a restaurant called Ceasars where there was a set $8 menu. We ordered pumpkin soup followed by calamari and then finally they bought out jelly. The food wasn't great, the soup was a bit watery, the calamari was good but the portion was measly and the jelly was fine. It was a bit disappointing because it was the first rubbishy meal we've had so far, but at least it was cheap! Just shows that all the time I spend researching where to eat normally pays off!

[ia4003-seminar-blog]

Storytelling: The Performance - writing our story

Over this week I worked with Mark to create our story. It focused on a man who worked behind the till at the bakery. We wanted to paint him as an irritable character by putting him in petty and everyday disagreements so the reader doesn’t like him. We wanted this mundane presentation to carry through to the ending where he gets so distracted that he crosses the street and gets hit by a car where he dies with nothing more to say. We started by brainstorming ideas together and then in our own time before we met up to discuss the ideas on Monday. We aimed to create a plan for the story and to start writing on Monday so we could finish a first draft on Tuesday where we could reflect on it and see how we could improve it for the next few days however that didn’t go to plan.

If I were to do the assignment again I wouldn’t go for this idea because the ‘hit by a truck’ feels like a cop out and lazy even though I did like the idea of the story stopping in the middle of a sentence, when the character dies. However, we found this difficult to execute because there had to be some kind of suggestion of what happened but we didn’t want to come out and say it directly. We considered foreshadowing in the screeching and the 4x4 car which I though was effective in making the ending less unrealistic. But I’m not 100% happy with the final result because of this struggle to balance ambiguity, enough to tease in the reader. I don’t think we achieved this balance. I think it would have gone better if the story had a main plot which led up to the ending because in our story there wasn’t a story which developed or grew in tension, which I believe is important in a story to keep the reader wanting more (as Jane suggested). The lack of plot meant the story felt disjointed and it didn’t flow well in my opinion, we should have discussed our ideas further or we could have focused on one interaction and worked up the tension and frustration if the character that way.

An issue Mark and I came across were varying opinions and perspectives which I think led to the disjointed narrative because it was hard to focus on something particular that we both felt we could manage. Mark also got the flu halfway through the week so we wrote our parts separately and tried to join them together. I think it was also difficult to get into the narrative because I didn’t see Marks part until the last minute. Originally we had planned to write it together but Marks sickness meant we had to change the plan.

I’d like to try writing my own story focusing on a single plot in the coming weeks because I really see the importance of improving my writing because it directly relates to illustration and animation and i think the thought process behind storytelling in writing acts as a way of investigating a character, who they are and their motives.

I hope to go over it with Mark once he is better but this is the story:

‘Four by four’

By Mark Horwood and Justine Rykiel

The man behind the till looked annoyed. He rested the weight of his head on the palm of his right hand as he stared at the cluster of stacked pennies. One by one the child picked up one from his Spider-Man wallet, over the edge of the counter (onto his tip toes) and onto the counter. The man behind the till waited as his gaze shifted to the dirty fingerprints the boy had left of the display unit.

75. 76. 77.

The man behind the till noticed how the child seemed a little bit too old to be practising his numbers but boy insisted on counting each one out loud as he stacked them. This was a bakery not a math class the man thought. 78. The boy was proud but. 79. Oblivious to the mans. 80. growing impatience. 81.

82.

At 83, the boy went still. He realised he didn’t have enough to buy the 85p cornflake cake he saw in the display unit next to him. He had worked so hard to earn that money, cleaning dishes and mowing the lawn for an entire week but it just wasn’t enough. He retreated as he sheepishly rested his hands on the edge of the counter as he looked up to the man behind the till who blankly stared back at the boy and then up to his mother.

“Well then?” The cashier asserted. He was unbothered by the silence of the mother’s pleading eyes as he looked her dead in the eye said: “You’re two pence short, you’ll either need to pay up or leave.”

Frantically searching the corners of his wallet and pockets, the boy scanned the floor in hopes of finding any loose change which could be stuck to the sticky floor or hiding under the grime caught in the grout of the tilled flooring. He checked his wallet once more. Empty.

The man behind the till thought the boy was already charged with more than enough energy, he didn’t want to see how a cornflake cake could only make that worse. The man showed no sign of budging. The boy’s mother sighed as she unzipped her bag to retrieve her wallet. She drew out two one pence coins and threw them on the counter. “Here, will this do?” She said. The man behind the till swiftly reached for a napkin, then the cornflake cake and handed it to the mother in the hopes it would get the now crying child to leave as soon as possible, it was doing the man's head in.

The mother and son left. The man behind the till was pleased about that, even though it had left a long queue behind them.

The next customer approached.

He asked about the where the ingredients used in their malted wheat loaf had come from and if they were organic. The man behind the till got asked a lot of questions like these and each time he heard it he grew more and more bitter. It was like nails on a chalkboard to him. Each time he questioned why he still worked there and each time the answer was the paycheck.

Over the hum of the kitchen ovens, the man could hear the clatter of foldable chairs and tables coming from outside. The noise grew louder and louder, getting closer and closer to the font of the shop. A horrible screeching came with it. The man thought about how it sounded like the cat who lived in his neighbourhood. He hated that cat. It always yowled at the crack of dawn and it enjoyed gouging scratch marks into the mans neatly painted front door. The racket touched a bad nerve in the man and even though the noise had come from a group of chattering girls, who were setting up a charity bake sale, it put him on edge. They positioned themselves directly outside the bakery. The screeching was here to stay. The man tried to block it out.

The man behind the till rather hated business-type people. He hated everyone, but he held a particular seething hatred for business type people, they were so often distracted, demanding and more fickle than any child he had ever dealt with. The one in front of him now was yapping away into a bluetooth headset, gesturing absentmindedly with his coffee cup at whatever baked good he wanted the man to load into a box, presumably for some lunch meeting or office party, the man didn’t really care. The box was nearing full and the businessman showed no sign of stopping, so the man behind the till coughed loudly and somewhat rudely to get the businessman to focus on him for a second.

He didn't say anything, only held up the bulging box for the businessman on the phone to see, and then had to restrain himself from throwing it at his face when his nose crinkled and he covered his headset to demand the man behind the till start afresh. He didn't like his selection and instead now only wanted a box full of fruit muffins. Slowly, with the hope of making the businessman late, the man behind the till loaded another box with muffins, made him pay, and as the customer walked out the shop barking loudly into his earphone the man behind the till began to replace the entire box of goods back into their respective shelves, cursing all the way.

A group of teenage girls pushed their way to the front of the queue. The man behind the till looked at his watch which read 3:18. School had finished and that’s when he would have to deal with the teenagers. One approached the till and asked for a gluten free and sugar free brownie as the others chatted behind her. They only sold gluten free brownies at the bakery, not sugar free which agitated the teenager as she started to rant to the man behind the till addressing how insensitive shops like these were to her ‘healthy lifestyle choices’. The man behind the till had heard this many times before so he didn’t really listen to the teenager’s lecture. Instead his attention went to one of the girls behind the customer as she started reciting the lyrics to the song which was now playing on the radio. She blurted out the lyrics to everyone in the shop as the man criticised her lack of rhythm in both her singing and her dancing under his breath. Unfortunately for the man the teenager’s enthusiasm only encouraged the rest of them to join in. They were all at it, out of time and out of tune. “We interrupt this broadcast with breaking news.” The performance broke up when the song was interrupted by an announcement on the radio. There was an active police incident on the other side of town, with a suspected chase to ensue involving a four by four. The teenagers got board without the music so they left with the customer who was still raging about the incident to her friends.

Once he had finally been left alone by that terrible group of teenagers the man behind the till was able to go back to his sulking. He glanced at the clock, noticing that his co-worker (an awful woman with blue streaks in her hair and a grating, nasally voice) had been gone far longer than her scheduled break. He could hear that god awful voice leaking out of their back store room, bitching to presumably her boyfriend at the other end of the overly long phone call. The man at the till is not sure what he would like more, the woman to come and get back to her job, or to stay back there where all her cloying perfumes can only taint the baked goods and not his nose. He wants badly to demand she come back, but as his bosses daughter that hadn’t gone well before.

An hour after her allotted break ended she returned, bringing with her that horrible chemically flower smell she liked so much. As soon as she put her apron back on, the man behind the till bolted, grabbing his coat and announcing that he would be taking his own break now, bustling out the door of the shop as he wiggled his cigarettes out of his pocket only to hear the bake sale girls nattering and screeching once more.

They were still at it and even worse, they had taken his usual spot.

He stepped out into the road to get away from all of the nonsense, aiming to drown out the racket with the passing by engines.

A grating screech of tires rang through his ears and he lamented for the thousandth time that nobody in this city knew how to fucking drive. The grill of a 4x4. Oh shit- he thought

#ia4003 #story #storytelling #writing #desciption #fridays

[grapsandclaps]

GRAPS AND CLAPS REVIEWS - REV PRO GLOBAL WARS UK

Hello and welcome everyone to this edition of Graps and Claps, this time taking me to the Brixton Recreation Centre for Rev Pro's big Global Wars UK show with the main event rematch for the Undisputed British Heavyweight between Minoru Suzuki and Tomohiro Ishii (a proper 2 dads in a car park match).

Early start for me to get down to London with a 50 minute bus from Rochdale to Manchester, followed up with a 2 and half hour train/tube trip to Brixton, arriving in what is an upmarket area of the nation's capital but on this impression with the wafting smell of fish in the air and a grey and miserable day this wasn't the upmarket area that it was supposed to be.

Only one boozer we visited here was a branch of the Craft Beer Co located near the Beehuve Wetherspoons. A mixture of 20 beers on tap either keg or cask plus a number of cans were on sale as well, the decor inside this pub was akin to an american diner of sorts with bright flashing boards and red leather seats.

A good 2 hours was spent in here meeting up with a number of wrestling luminaries including the Indy Corner's JP and Joe, whilst also looking outside at Mark Davis walking past in his socks and sandals - whoever thought this look was going to come back into fashion, but I'm not going to argue with Dunkzilla's fashion sense.

4 pints in here were mainly IPA based with the £5.40 Siren Brewery IPA being the best of the pints I had, when visiting here do expect to pay anywhere from £4.50 to £8 a pint but in all honesty it is maybe the best place for a drink near the venue.

With the time coming up to 345pm, our group decided to make our way to the Brixton Recreation Centre which was only round the corner and up one flight of stairs. This venue was in all sense and purposes a gym hall with bleacher seats on one side which were instantly filled, so what was supposed to be a seat for the evening ended up being a standing spot for the duration of the 3 and half hours.

Beer in here was a bit of a shambles with long queues of up to 15 minutes at one stage - our Geoff missed all of the second match thanks to this occurrence. Once they worked things out it did improve but it did feel all a bit like 'spoons with one serving behind the bar - if you cant handle pulled beer, just get cans in - its so simple!

Anyways rant about the £4 beer over with, lets get into the action with a big 9 match card that opened up with the current IWGP Jr. Champion Kushida taking on Kurtis Chapman who was replacing David Starr who was stuck in air limbo due to the airline company going bust but not notifying there passengers - complete shithousery on there part.

So with Chapman taking Starr's place we got down to action with an early feeling out process which Kushida got the upper hand of. A feature of the evening was the at times apathetic crowd that didn't half need a bit of geeing up from my stamping right foot, no wonder I have been walking like John Wayne today.

Despite the quiet crowd this was still a passable match with Kushida looking the best out of the two as he finished off Chapman in around 10 minutes with the Hoverboard driver for the 3 count. To be honest even though he took the match at short notice I didn't think anything stood out about Chapman, that a Josh Bodom could have maybe done a better job as a replacement but hey ho I digress.

Next up was an interesting Tag Team tussle between Ringkampf (Walter and Timothy Thatcher) vs L.I.J (Sanada and EVIL). Surprisingly there was a lot of offence against the Ringkampf boys especially on Walter from EVIL making the Austrian look vulnerable in comparison to his New Japan counterparts. Ringkampf eventually did come back into the match locking in duel sleepers on both Sanada and EVIL but they both managed to escape the Ringkampf duo's grip as they sent Walter packing to the outside, meaning that Thatcher was left all alone to be hit with the Magic Killer by EVIL and Sanada to get the big victory here in what I could count as a shock.

Match No.3 we had the arrival of Lord Gideon Grey who I haven't seen for ages since the whole feud with Grado and Colt Cabana a couple of years ago. Grey was here to introduce the match up between his Legion of Lords tag partner Rishi Ghosh whom he has recently had issues with at the most recent Cockpit show, his opponent was The Great O-Kharn who has been on the old Wayne Rooney hair growth programme - a proper mound of curly hair.

This was certainly a diversion from the fast paced New Japan feel but with a great bit of storytelling in between the ropes with Ghosh playing the plucky underdog against Grey's new charge O-Kharn who is currently undefeated and has visibly improved his ringwork since the last time I saw him at Altrincham vs Danny Duggan which was a total dud.

Ghosh managed to crawl out of O-Kharn's claw hold/slam to fightback but as the referee wasn't looking, Lord Gideon whacked his former best friend around the head with a cane to knock him loopy leading to O-Kharn to hit a reverse neck slam to get the three count, cue more ring announcing stylings from Gideon - I surprisingly enjoyed this match and well above my expectations.

4th up we had the clash between Chris Brookes and L.I.J's leader Tetsuya Naito who came out to a great reaction from the Brixton crowd. Early on Brookes fainted Naito to the outside by doing Naito's pose which only riled Mr. Naito who came in to kick Brookes in the shoulder to stop these shenanigans.

Brookes give him his due performed admirably against one of New Japan's big stars and he nearly picked up the shock victory with a Jay Driller for a 2 count, as Brookes was looking to finish things off he got laid out with not 1, but 2 Destino's from Naito who picked up the win in 11 minutes. A solid match but Naito was in house show mode for me wearing his T-Shirt for the duration of the match (come on Naito you have a better body than my fat arse).

Intermission Main Event with my dad's favourite wrestler Zack Sabre Jr. taking on Former NEVER Champion Hiroki Goto. It was during this I found that the current NEVER Champion is Taichi - christ almighty they must be running out of options 😞.

Lots of strikes and submissions in this one folks with ZSJ looking really good in the process and I would say he was quite dominant over his much larger oppponent, one thing I love about Zack are the countless transitions from hold to hold, he is just so fluid as an operator in the squared circle. Despite trying his best to submit Goto, Zack put away Goto in 15 minutes with a reverse bridge pin for the victory as he looks on his way to facing maybe EVIL or Naito in the futute, the Naito match could be a barn burner in my opinion.

Half time break of 10 minutes which stuck to the schedule, we returned with Mark Davis taking on Satoshi Kojima who as we have found out he has gained a great respect for bread of all things - I just can't imagine that Kojima has some Blackpool Milk Roll in his bread bin.

A hard hitting 10 minute match with many clotheslines and forearms in the ring corner by both men but it was Kojima who got the best of things as he hit the rapid fire chops in the corner to Davis to make his chest look like corned beef. Not long after that Kojima finished off Davis with the cozy lariat for the victory and as you may say - the breadwinner for the evening.

7th match up was between El Phantasmo taking on Rocky Romero in what I felt was a bit of a comedown match before the two what would be best matches of the evening. Early dives from both Romero and ELP were hit but when the action got back inside it was ELP who got the better of things as he put away Rocky Romero with a splash/moonsault combo to pick up the impressive victory, but in hindsight this match maybe could have been scrapped just to add a few more minutes elsewhere on the card.

8th match up was an anticipated contest that I was looking forward to seeing with Will Ospreay taking on Chris Ridgeway for whom it was great to see him getting this opportunity high up on this card.

As expected this duly delivered as Ridgeway tried to use many strikes to wound Ospreay but Will was more than his match as his ground game is greatly under appreciated as people still think of Will as ever the high flyer.

With the match coming to the boil, Ospreay looked to hit the Oscutter to Ridgeway but he was caught with a sleeper choke by Ridgeway to cause the tapout victory to end a belting match. After the match Ospreay had to be carried out as he picked up an injury during this contest, as Ospreay went to the back Josh Bodom came out to attack Ridgeway to possibly set up a match between them two in the future - Bodom bodywise looks amazing fantastic shape that hasn't been anywhere near the Holland's puddings.

8 matches, it is now time for your MAIN EVENT and what a main event this was for the Undisputed British Heavyweight Championship between Minoru Suzuki who is the title holder taking on Tomohiro Ishii. Once the singalong to Kaze Ni Nare had ended we got down to business as both Ishii and Suzuki both got into forearming each other really hard and Suzuki hitting some of the hardest chops I have ever seen - these made Walter's chops look like tummy tickles.

The action spilled to the outside to the merch desk and both also had a chair battle in which Ishii came off the worst but he did manage to beat the count to continue the match. With Suzuki on top, he even had time to give me a death stare telling me to zip it from clapping and stamping which elicited a OOOOOHHHH from the crowd as I shat myself.

Suzuki who as I said looked well on his way to victory, got a bit to complacent by not puttong away Ishii and he got duly punished for this as Ishii hit the match winning brainbuster to Suzuki in 24 minutes to end an amazing match and for me easily in my top 5 matches of the year - check this out on the VOD ypu won't be disappointed.

Show done it was time to leave the venue diwn the ultra wet stairs and say our goodbyes to everyone in our group who were all great company - always good to see JP and Joe and Grappl app creator Gareth, you should download the app from the play store to see what it is about.

Overall as a show this was very good if only for the last two matches which I whole hearteadly recommend that you watch. The downpoints though were maybe too many New Japan victories once again with Kojima and LIJ getting wins over talent that should be pushed to the hilt in Rev Pro in Ringkampf and Mark Davis.

With the early finish at 715pm, I managed to get the earlier train back to Manchester to arrive back in Rochdale for 1120pm to rest my aching limbs before going to work in the morning.

I hope you have enjoyed reading, any feedback and comments are welcome and I will return next with a review of Futureshock Wrestling from Prestwich this Saturday, so until then - BYE!!

#grapsandclaps

@oggypart3