#this hotel is surrounded by highways on all sides

[h0ney8ee]

work trips are like the most depressing thing ever bc they're never anywhere good. i have to go to work all day and look like an idiot doing things unfamiliar to me, then eat dinner with my boss and sit alone in a hotel room all night

#it's 4:30 what am i supposed do to with the rest of my day that isn't horribly depressing #i'm 30 min from atlanta and so sad i cant be there instead #this hotel is surrounded by highways on all sides #h.txt

[luvs4jhutch]

National Anthem

Fanfic type: Smut One Shot Word count: 2.7k+ Pairing: Josh Hutcherson x Fem!reader

Warnings: 18+ MDNI; praising, edging, calling names (baby, sweetheart, etc), unprotected sex, dry humping, oral (m receiving), creampie, female pronouns, aftercare.. (I don't know how to write endings so i'll put it as a warning too LMAO)

Summary: In a night filled with opulence, you dressed to impress for your lover's mysterious surprise. From a chic restaurant to a lavish penthouse, you basked in the extravagance he showered upon you. The evening unfolded with decadent courses, expensive wines, and whispered promises of more indulgent encounters. As the night progressed, the dimly lit room enveloped you, its intimacy heightening the anticipation with each passing moment. The air was thick with desire as the lavish surroundings became a backdrop for an unforgettable rendezvous.

Author note: This is the first time I write something here, I hope you like it. English is not my first language btw, feel free to correct grammar and stuff. Merry christmas LMAOO<3

˝Money is the anthem of success so put on mascara and your party dress.˝

You looked in the mirror one last time and were radiant. Your hair in a half ponytail; the black short dress that was both elegant and casual; your lips... they looked so desirable... You were ready, and you knew it.

You looked at the time on your cell phone 06:54 PM. You knew Josh wasn't an unpunctual person, especially when it came to you. A message appeared on the screen of the device you were holding «hope you're ready for our surprise, sweetheart» You didn't even bother to open it.

You grabbed your expensive Louis Vuitton bag and a gorgeous fur coat, both gifts from your lover.

You checked the time one last time: 7:00pm sharp. The horn of Josh's Bugatti Veyron that you already recognized sounded twice, indicating that he was already waiting for you. You took your keys and opened the door to your luxurious residence. You couldn't see him, his windows were tinted, but you knew he could. As soon as you got close enough to the vehicle, Josh got out of it and approached you, kissed your hand and opened the door for you to get into the car. “You look stunning,” he says as he sits in the driver's side. “Thank you,” you responded, giving him a smile that maybe was fake, wondering whether to add an «I already knew that» or maybe an «I always am».

"Are you ready?" he asked looking into your eyes. You nodded at his question and smiled genuinely. "Yes I am".

Josh started the engine and the car purred at the action. He lightly placed his right hand on your thigh. This would be a long night.

You drove quickly down the highway. "Can I turn on the radio?" you asked, already knowing the obvious answer. "Yes, honey," your lover responded without taking his eyes off the road. "West Coast" by Lana del Rey began to be heard on all the car speakers.

You sang along to the lyrics, feeling the breeze in your hair. Josh smiled at you, admiring your beauty and your voice. He squeezed your thigh gently, making you shiver. You leaned closer to him, resting your head on his shoulder. He kissed your forehead, whispering "I love you". You said it back, even though you weren't sure if you meant it.

You wondered where he was taking you. He had been secretive about the surprise, only telling you to dress nicely and be ready by seven. You trusted him, but you also felt a bit nervous.

You looked out the window and saw the city lights. You recognized some of the landmarks. You were heading downtown, to the most exclusive area of the city. You wondered what kind of place Josh had booked for you. A fancy restaurant? A luxury hotel? A private club? You felt a mix of curiosity and anticipation.

As you approached the downtown area, you couldn't help but think about the extravagant possibilities awaiting you. The city lights reflected in your eyes, mirroring the sparkle of your designer jewelry.

Josh, focused on the road, continued to caress your thigh with a possessive grip. The anticipation grew as the car glided through the upscale streets. You subtly adjusted your dress, making sure it showcased your curves flawlessly.

The car pulled up in front of a lavish restaurant with a discreet entrance. A valet opened the door for you, and Josh guided you inside. The dimly lit ambiance and the soft music set the perfect scene for a romantic evening. As you entered, heads turned to admire the stunning couple.

Seated at a private table, the evening unfolded with decadent courses and expensive wines. Josh, absorbed in conversation, lavished you with compliments, occasionally interrupting to share an anecdote about his successful ventures. You listened attentively, feigning interest, your mind occasionally drifting to the price tags of the exquisite dishes.

Throughout the night, you played the role of the perfect trophy girlfriend, smiling for the cameras that discreetly captured your moments. The more Josh flaunted his wealth, the more you relished in the attention and the material pleasures that came with it.

As the night progressed, Josh surprised you with a small velvet box. Your heart raced with excitement as you opened it to reveal a dazzling piece of jewelry: a diamond necklace that matched the earrings he had gifted you on a previous occasion. You marveled at it, thanking him with a kiss on the cheek.

As the clock neared midnight, Josh suggested heading to his apartment to extend the celebration. Intrigued, you agreed, wondering what else he had in store for the night.

The car smoothly glided through the city streets once more, and soon, you found yourselves in front of a sleek, modern apartment building. Josh escorted you inside, the anticipation growing with each step. The private elevator ascended to the top floor, opening into a lavish penthouse adorned with city views and opulent furnishings.

The atmosphere changed, becoming more intimate as you entered the spacious living room. Soft music played in the background, and the city lights shimmered through the floor-to-ceiling windows. Josh poured glasses of champagne, toasting to the night and the surprises yet to unfold. "To us," you added, taking a sip of the bubbly liquid.

As the night wore on, Josh led you through the luxurious penthouse. He guided you to a dimly lit room where a large, four-poster bed dominated the space. You stepped into the room, your heart racing with anticipation. The soft lighting cast an alluring glow on Josh's features, making him even more irresistible. As he closed the door behind him, you could feel the tension between them escalate.

Josh slowly approached you, his eyes roving over your body in a way that made you feel both excited and vulnerable. He reached out and ran his hands to your hips, pulling you closer, sending a shiver down your spine. "Tonight is all about us." He whispered to your ear. His lips brushed against your neck, sending a wave of desire coursing through you.

He led you over to the bed, his hands never leaving your body. He sat down, indicating with a nod that you should sit on his lap, which you did. You leaned closer to his lips and closed the small distance that existed with a passionate kiss, full of desire. His hands ran possessively from your waist until they reached the top of your back, where the zipper of your dress was, which was slowly lowered, revealing the skin that shivered down with every touch and caress that Josh gave you.

He stopped kissing your mouth, starting to focus on marking, kissing and licking your neck. Your head threw back in pleasure and your hips began to move slightly on your lover's lap, feeling his erection beneath you.

"It looks like someone prepared for tonight," Josh smirked after observing a set of beautiful lingerie that you were wearing under your elegant clothing, a gift he had given you on one of your previous sexual dates. You chuckled as you began to loosen his tie and slowly unbutton his shirt. You helped him take off his shirt while he removed the luxurious diamond necklace he gave you a few hours before.

"I have to pay you somehow, right?" He approached your neck again as you said those words. "Mhm…" He responded with a sigh against your skin "I guess you do, baby." You humped faster at his cock and he bucked his hips slightly, looking for more friction.

As the room filled with their passionate moans and soft gasps, Josh started to unclasp your bra, leaving your breasts visible which Josh quickly began to massage, licking one of your nipples while playing with the other to give them equal attention. "Josh…" you moaned softly to his ear at the sensation.

The tips of his fingers began to play with the edge of your underwear, lowering it completely as he buckled his hips looking for release. He pushed you away gently to look at you in your eyes "Kneel down, baby…" he ordered and you obeyed him like his good girl. Cautiously, you began to remove his belt and unzip his pants, him looking at you with desire and lust. You helped him take off his pants and lightly caressed his crotch. He sighed at the mix of need, desire and your hand going up and down really slowly, almost tortuously. You felt him tremble at your touch and after playing for a while you pulled down his boxers, his hard cock already dripping pre-cum. You swear your mouth watered at the sight, and you quickly started licking his length, from base to tip, on which you left a small kiss before finally taking his cock into your mouth, never breaking eye contact. Her hand slid to your hair and stroked it slowly. You swirled your tongue around his tip and he leaned his head back, holding your head tighter and closer to him. You gagged feeling the tip of his cock touching the back of your throat and he immediately loosened his grip, letting you go at your own pace.

"Fuck…" He groaned and you hummed to his pulsating cock in response. His hand dropped to the bed sheets, squeezing them as he felt a knot form in his abdomen warning him of his orgasm. You noticed this and separated your mouth from his cock, a thread of saliva joining them both, as you began to jerk him off with a slow pace, edging him off. He rolled his eyes back into his head once more feeling his orgasm cutting off. He cupped your face gently in his hands, lifting it up. He looked into your eyes. His previously brown eyes were quickly consumed by the black of his dilated pupils, thanks to desire. You clumsily climbed back into his lap, his hands immediately settling on your hips with a firm, possessive grip. You grabbed his dick desperately and lined it up to your cunt, feeling the tip of it rub against you before sitting slowly on it.

"Oh fuck!" you exclaimed as he slid into you, hitting your cervix "God… you're so good…" He moaned as he felt your hot, tight pussy enveloping his cock. His hands left your hips and moved to your thighs, holding onto them as he started moving his hips slowly, pushing deeper inside you. You whimpered, meeting his pace as you grinded your hips against him. You could feel your orgasm building up, your pussy clenching around his cock with every thrust. He moaned, seeing your breasts swaying in time with his thrusts. "You're so fucking sexy riding me like that." He said, feeling your tight pussy milking his cock. His hips slapped against yours as he pushed deeper and harder inside you. Your body shaking with pleasure. Your eyes were rolled back in your head, your mouth open panting. You couldn't believe the pleasure you were feeling, his hard cock stretching you open.

"F…fuck… im so close…" You whispered between a moan, your eyes rolling back as you felt an intense wave of pleasure wash over you. "Be a good girl and cum for me, sweetheart…" you tried to respond, but only moans and sighs came out of your mouth. The orgasm hit you like an electroshock drawing an almost screamed moan. Your thighs trembling on top of Josh; your eyes completely rolled into your head. You fell onto Josh's chest, your head on his shoulder and he held you gently. He slowed his pace so you would come down from his orgasm. Josh held you close, feeling your body shuddering from the aftershocks of your intense orgasm. His heart raced, feeling the heat emanating from your body. He kissed your forehead softly, his own breathing heavy. "You're incredible…" he whispered to your ear before leaving another kiss in your forehead.

After a few moments, his heart rate slowly returned to normal and he couldn't hold back any longer. "Ready for round two, honey?" He asked, his voice hoarse from the pleasure. You nodded, feeling completely spent but eager for more. Josh pulled out of you slowly, making sure to prolong the pleasure before lying you down on the bed, his hard cock still twitching. Your legs spread slightly. He climbed on top of you, pinning your wrists over your head. His eyes hungrily eating you up and your body trembled with anticipation.

Josh thrust into you again, his movements both fast and hard, despite his efforts to maintain control. The sensation was intense, filling you up completely. His breathing became ragged as he felt himself close. "Fuck, you feel so good… so perfect for me…". You moaned loudly, feeling Josh's rough love deep within you. Your body arched off the bed, meeting his powerful thrusts eagerly.You could feel the intensity of his movements increasing further.

"I can't hold on much longer" Josh groaned, his hips slamming against yours in an unyielding rhythm. The head of his cock brushed against your cervix, sending waves of pleasure through your body. He bit his lower lip, trying to hold off his orgasm. His eyes were filled with lust. "Fuck, you're tight" he grunted, pushing deeper inside you. You wrapped your legs around him, encouraging him to go deeper. He felt your tight muscles gripping his shaft, pulling him closer to the edge.

His movements became erratic, thrusting into you with renewed force. "I'm gonna cum…" You moaned, feeling the pressure and tightness growing inside you. You arched your back, meeting his thrusts hungrily as he slammed into you again and again, feeling his cock twitching inside you. "I need you to cum inside me… please…" you whispered, your voice sultry and seductive. Your hips bucked up against him in perfect sync with his thrusts, your breasts swaying enticingly. Your nails dug into the sheets beneath you as Josh's pace quickened even more. "Cum for me…" you moaned seductively, pushing your hips up to meet his powerful thrusts.

Josh groaned loudly, his breaths becoming ragged as he felt himself getting closer to his climax. You writhed under him, meeting his thrusts eagerly. "Fuck, you're so tight… so hot…"

His hips slammed against yours one last time, his cock throbbing inside you. eyes closed tightly as he released himself into you, his body shuddering with the force of his orgasm. His seed filled you up, feeling both hot and thick. He groaned loudly, his face contorted in pleasure.

He panted heavily, his chest rising and falling rapidly. He collapsed onto you, your panting filling the room. His cock twitched inside you as he tried to regain control. Slowly, he pulled out of you, a trail of his essence leaking out.

After a few moments, his breathing returned to normal. Slowly, he rolled off you, panting heavily. He looked down at you, his eyes filled with satisfaction. "That was… intense." He said, still trying to catch his breath. He leaned in and placed a soft kiss on your forehead, his heart still racing from the intense pleasure he'd just experienced. Josh smiled at you softly, his eyes closed. He reached out and brushed a stray lock of hair from your face.

Josh sat up carefully, his muscles still quivering slightly from the exertion. He leaned over to grab a couple of tissues from the bedside table, returning to wipe the remaining moisture from your inner thighs and between your legs. Josh gently ran the tissues over his own lap, wiping away the mix of his own semen and your fluids. He took a deep breath, trying to calm down after the intense passion he had just experienced. After he was done cleaning up, he scooped up the discarded tissues and placed them in the trash can, then crawled back and cuddled up next to you. His arms wrapped around your waist and he pressed his face into your hair, inhaling your unique scent.

"That was amazing and… you were incredible," he murmured, pressing a soft kiss to your shoulder. "I'm gonna have to spoil you rotten after this." he chuckled and you smiled back to him. "Aww… you don't have to…" you said while caressing his cheek. "Of course I do" He responded to your attempt of kindness, brushing a strand of hair from your sweaty forehead.

You curled into his warm embrace, feeling satisfied and fulfilled. A small smile played on your lips as you knew that this would not be the end of their secret encounters. There were many things you could ask for from him and he would gladly give, just to keep you by his side.

The room was a quiet sanctuary and your mind wandered to the tangible rewards that awaited you after this secret rendezvous. The diamond necklace he gave you whispered promises of future luxuries and you heard them attentively before falling asleep in your rich loverman's arms.

#josh hutcherson #peeta mellark #mike schmidt #sean anderson #clapton davis #josh hutcherson smut #josh futturman #mike schmidt smut #smut #fnaf smut #peeta mellark x reader #clapton davis x reader

[shanastoryteller]

It’s been a while since you’ve talked about it, but I’m worried about visiting LA this year. I don’t live in a city that big, I can’t really investigate it online, and I have no idea where it’s safe to hotel there. Where do you (did you? You may have moved on?) feel safe in the city? Where would you recommend to people visiting to stay? You don’t have to answer if you don’t want to! You’re just one of the very few people I know that has lived there. Thank you, regardless of your answer, you didn’t have to read this at all❤️

hi! answering publicly in case anyone has advice they want to add :)

i'm a little worried this might come off as dismissive, but honestly i just don't find cities to be that dangerous. i've lived in LA for almost eight years, lived in another city for 3 years before that, and have visited about a dozen major cities outside of america

homeless people, by and large, aren't going to bother you. if you have a couple bucks to spare, give it with a smile and look them in the eye, and move on, or if you have nothing it's fine to say that you just don't have cash. if there's an encampment, which happens all over the city and just not on skid row, then they're definitely not going to bother you because they don't want to cause trouble and get kicked out of where they've managed to find a consistent place to sleep

the truth is if you get assaulted, statistically it's going to be by someone you know rather than a rando on the street. if you do get assaulted in LA by a stranger, it is WAY more likely to by an out of work background actor named josh who picks up shifts at a tiki bar than a homeless person or gang member

that being said, i actually have no idea what neighborhoods are considered dangerous in LA these days? i guess the flip side of finding nowhere in LA particularly dangerous is that it's all dangerous, but really you're more likely to get taken out jaywalking in dtla than anything else

as for locations, it's important to remember: los angeles is huge

it's more like a bunch of small towns next to one another than one cohesive city. the town i grew up in is smaller than the neighborhood i currently live in. if you're visiting, i HIGHLY suggest you rent a car. the public transport in LA is shit

i've only been to east LA to visit friends and eats burgers. both were enjoyable, but you're relatively far from the coast. they also built a stadium in inglewood, which multiple friends have informed me has fucked up the housing in the area, but i don't know if that would make it better or worse to stay in

anywhere in the valley is going to be cheaper than the city proper. north hollywood and studio city are good for that. the garland in noho is really cute and right next to the highway. sherman oaks and van nuys are decent too and they're literally right next to each other. i personally think encino is one large strip mall and so is panorama city, but panorama city at least has the saving grace of good filipino food

if you get to northridge, you've gone too far north. malibu beaches are definitely worth a visit, but it's such an expensive area and so far from everything that i wouldn't stay there

hollywood proper, venice beach, and santa monica are probably the most quintessentially LA places, but I would only stay in santa monica out of them. not for safety reasons, but because the other two are filled with tourists. which, i know you'll technically be a tourist, but still

koreatown has great food, but terrible parking. it's also a cheapish place to stay. downtown LA is something I avoid because it just reminds me of the financial district of every city i've ever been to. the dtla library and the last bookstore are the only things worth going there for, personally, and it's also a very expensive place to stay.

little tokyo is very cute and manages to feel separate from city while being surrounded by it. i admittedly only go to chinatown for bakery runs, but it's all delicious and vey beautiful, especially if you've never been to a chinatown in a major city before

west hollywood is expensive, and i wouldn't stay there myself, but it has great brunch places and devastating parking rules. the most expensive parking ticked i ever got was in weho. burbank is the land of animation studios and also porto's. it's a really cute area. beverly hills exists and taking a walk on melrose is fun but i wouldn't linger. again, not safety, just terrible vibes.

i know this probably seems like a lot but i've actually only listed the more popular neighborhoods that i'm personally familiar with. los angeles is HUGE.

i hope this helps somewhat! and sorry to anyone who's neighborhood i've disparaged T_T

#asks #moirail-mate #please don't destroy me for my LA opinions #i'm sure someone out there loves encino #oh! okay i will say the only decent place to get a steak and cheese in LA is in encino #so it has that

[cthrnschumacher]

I'm Yours - Ch. 7 Slow Dancing in the Dark

Toto's POV

We exited my hotel room; I started making my way to the elevator and managed to push the call button for it to come to my floor. I stand there with Y/N in my arms. I never thought carrying someone would be calming, but her weight is soothing, and she radiates such a warmth that I could be lulled to sleep. I don't know how, but her presence drowns out the world, making it feel like it is just the two of us, and everything is in the silence of the background. It all feels right, and it's only been a few days. Every time I leave her, I yearn for the next interaction with her. I know it's still early in whatever this will be, but I need her around me. She brings such serenity into my life that I never knew it was something I needed. Mindlessly, I enter the elevator and push the button to the parking garage. Taking a second to see how Y/N is, I see she is in the lull of sleep, but she still remains slightly aware of her surroundings; her breathing is shallow and steady. I kiss the top of her head; her reaction to my little gesture causes her to snuggle closer into my arms, purring out my protective nature to shield her from the world.

The elevator dings, pulling me from our bubble, and the doors slide open to the garage. I make a beeline to my car to maintain our closed-off world. On my way there, I try to nudge Y/N softly, "Y/N…..Y/N…. hey, we are at my car; I'm going to have to let down now, okay." I feel her head nod in acknowledging my next step. We reach my car, and I keep my grasp on her thighs but start to lower myself, almost like I'm squatting to allow her feet to touch the ground. Assuring that she is stable, I allow myself to stand straight again, pulling her towards me and keeping her close. This will enable me to reach into my pocket for the car's key fob to open the trunk and place her backpack there. I feel Y/N push her face into my torso, and I instantly wrap my arm around her waist to pull her closer as I reach to press the button that closes the trunk. I guided her to the car's passenger side and ensured she got in just fine. Closing the door behind her, I go to the driver's side and slip in to start the car ride to her home. I didn't need to input her address into the GPS; during these short few days, I memorized her way home. As I exit the hotel garage and enter the city streets, I glance over to see Y/N leaning close to my side of the car. I note it, allowing myself to drive out the city streets quickly. Once I reach and merge onto the highway, I allow my arm to rest on the center armrest and let my forearm dangle, which helps my hand to relax on her thigh. Doing so, she moves in closer to me and rests her head on my arm. If I wasn't driving, I wanted to capture this moment: how her head nuzzled into my arm and hugged my arm for comfort. These intimate moments make time fly at supersonic speed, yearning to have her sleep in my arms, keeping her close. My thoughts are endlessly about her. They jump from wanting to see her in the office and her outstanding work ethic to taking long walks or hiking with picnics as we are on our little adventures or just going on late-night drives and her being my little passenger princess right now. These ideas run wild with the amount I want to do with her, just the two of us.

I glance over to see how Y/N is doing; she's dozed off and looking peaceful. It hurts that I must leave in two days; I will miss her. I have never liked long-distance relationships, but there is a first for everything, and I want to ensure it works with her. I can't lose her; I don't want to lose her. I reflect on my thoughts and know it's coming off as desperate, but it's quite the opposite. I have never found someone like her who gave me butterflies, and I want to be around her. As cheesy as it sounds, it is love at first sight, and I hate to have to put distance now when I feel we are having a great start to our connection. But this could be a great test; see how she reacts, and it will be a learning moment for her. I have been in a few, but our connection is different. With the others, they were almost needy in the contact and affection that was required of me. Y/N isn't like that. These past few days, I've gotten to know her. She is independent, intelligent, caring, and wholehearted in every action she takes. It took someone caring and loving for her to want that affection. I know she is competent on her own, and she has acknowledged it as well, but I can see that it puts her at ease not to take control, and I want to be that stability for her, as patriarchal as that sounds. And don't get me wrong, I want her to be successful, and I will let her do that. I don't want to limit the opportunities the world offers her because she deserves them all. After all, she is hard-working and earnest.

Too wrapped up in my thoughts, I realize that the next exit will soon take me to her house, and we will be there in a few short minutes. It's pretty dead on the streets where she lives, so I slow down to savour my time with her, but it still manages to go by quickly. I pull up close to her house, just a block away, to ensure none of her family members see me. I nudge her slightly to get her to wake, "Schatzi…..Y/N darling….. it's time to wake up…" I see her straighten up and lift her head off my arm. She looks up with the cutest sleepy eyes, and my heart hurts more to bother her peace. She takes a few seconds to recognize where she is and nods. "… awww, come here…." I chuckle softly at her disorientation but kiss her forehead; she leans into it more as if she doesn't want to leave. I pull back, bend down to capture her lips one last time and exit the car to open the trunk and get her bag. She was already out of the car, and I came to her side. I look down at how precious she is. God, she makes saying goodbye so tricky; I pull her in for a hug and rub her back. I speak just above a whisper, "I know Y/N…. it pains me to separate from you…. but we must." She nods, pulls away, and I see her walk to her house. When I see her entire garage and it closes, I get in the car and pull up closer to her house. She flickers the lights, signalling she is in her room, and with that, I drive off and back to the hotel similarly when dropping off the offer Y/N. I keep one hand on the steering wheel and place my other like I had Y/N holding my arm and resting her head on it. It's late in the night; the roads are dead, and it doesn't take me long to get back to the hotel.

I enter the parking garage and park in the same spot I had previously. Ensuring that my car is locked, I go upstairs and head straight to my room. The smell of Y/N is still faint in the air, making my lips curl slightly, feeling her presence. I strip from my sweats and the black cable-knit wool-cashmere sweater, and I'm not surprised that I'm semi-hard; I still feel her presence, the smell of and reminisce of what happened on the bed that I'm going to be sleeping in, which makes me react this way. But I don't act on the urge. I feel at ease with the night, just laying there and drifting into sleep, wishing she was in my arms. I hug the pillow I had placed for her; it smells of her, causing me to succumb to my sleepiness.

Before I knew it, it was 5:30 am, and I felt well-rested. I manage to still hug the pillow, but feel bliss that her scent is still there. She is all I think about now; I even dream of her, showering her with the affection she deserves, not just emotionally but physically. I decided to send her a message for when she woke. I grab my phone off the nightstand and unlock it. I go to my messages and click on her name when we become official; I can't wait to change her contact to something else. I thought briefly about what to type and decided on something simple, but I didn't want to overwhelm her.

Good Morning Princess

Yesterday was intense, but it was the right kind, and I won't lie; she glowed after being thoroughly fucked out, even if it was from my mouth and fingers doing it. And I just keep recalling her blissfullness. The way her pussy just squeezes my fingers, fuck, I just want to feel her walls clamp on my cock, to see her stomach bugle being deep in her. Her looking of being overstimulated, fuck, I lost control of myself just seeing her in that state, spasming from my doing. It makes my cock rock hard. I couldn't help but stroke myself slowly. She gets me horny, and sure, my sex drive is high, but fuck with Y/N, it's a whole new level, and I love every second. I keep with slow strokes. It's the idea of just teasing and becoming a leaking mess for her; the high of just edging myself because of her makes my cock leak with precum. And I won't lie the sight of my cock just makes the teasing all the better; the tip is achingly red and asking for attention. I can feel the blood pulsing in my cock as I slowly stroke my hand up and down, and the slight of precum just oozing out would put me over the edge. I let go of cock and just see it stand on its own, and the fact it twitches from the teasing makes me horny. I decided that this energy should be used well and think I should go to the gym.

I get out of bed and put on my sweats from last night, forgoing underwear and wanting to just feel my sensitive cock move freely. I also put on my gym shirt from the day before and take a chance to look in the mirror. Deciding that my appearance was decent, but I took slight issue with the way my dick was tenting in my sweats. I won't lie. It was kinda hot to see it like that, but if I was in public, it was best I not be too indecent. I decide to pull my dick up, and it sits flat onto my navel, being held there, the waistband of my sweats. It doesn't make my hard cock noticeable because of the shirt, which is a plus, but it would later be my demise. I grab my headphones and room key and head out. I decide to retake the stairs to the gym; to my luck, it's empty again. I head straight to the treadmill and just start with a walking pace. As I began to slow, I couldn't help but feel my cock leak with precum. It was soon then done I realized the friction with my sweats and my cock being held in place flat against my navel by the waistband of my sweats, providing enough friction to make it leak. Smile slightly at the stimulation, like fuck the light pressure, and the rubbing feels fantastic, but I suppress the urge and start jogging. Finally finishing up on the treadmill, I decided today would be an excellent chance to work my legs. I opened the notes app again and pulled up my leg routine. The gym isn't like a regular gym, so I have to substitute some of my exercise with alternatives. Since I'll be focusing on the quads, hamstrings and calves, and if I have time, we will also do a bit of core exercise. Since there aren't that many machines for legs, I use the free weight to get the most leg exercise, and I decided to make it a split circuit session to make it the most intense. I determined the order to be Bulgarian divided squats, stiff leg deadlifts, and weighted calve raises, doing six sets of each exercise, eight reps of the weight. It wasn't too bad; it was an average pace like all my workouts. After finalizing the plan, I walk over to the dumbbells and start with a lightish weight for my first two sets. Breezing through the first exercise circuit, I take a small break, sip some water and continue this, gradually increasing the weight every 2 sets. I keep going on until I'm done with my last set of weighted calve raises.

Walking over and re-raking the weights, I sit to calm down a bit from the exercise. Feeling less exhausted, I get up from the bench, exit the gym doors, and go to the elevator to return to my hotel room. I glance down at my phone, and it's now 7am; I don't see any missed notifications either, so I will continue until I need to start work. Finally arriving on my floor, I head to open the door, enter my room and turn on the lights. I turn on the lights in the washroom and get all my things prepared to shower. Once that is done, I grab the hotel phone, dial-up for room service, and order the same thing I had last time. Finally placing the order for my breakfast and hanging up the phone, I head back to the washroom to shower.

I turn on the tap to get the water running so I don't hop in. When the water is freezing, I take the chance to strip off gym clothes. Stepping into the shower, I step under the shower head and let myself soak under the water. I let the warm water run down my head and body. Feeling I had let myself sit under the water for a reasonable amount of time, I grabbed the washcloth, poured some shower gel, and started lathering my body. Feeling I covered every inch of my body in studies, I stepped back under the shower head and rose off. Feeling refreshed and clean, I turn off the shower tap, step out, grab a towel and start drying off. Wrapping the towel around my body, I step out of the washroom. I first turn on the TV to help decide on my outfit based on the weather. I concluded that it was practically the same weather as yesterday, so I spiced it up with dark tan chinos, a white dress shirt and a black cable-knit wool-cashmere sweater over the top. I decided on the sweater I wore last night, but I plan on gifting it to Y/N as a goodbye present. It's a little cheesy, but I want her to have it, to remember me, to feel close on days when she struggles the most and wants to be in my arms. I wear it often to make sure it smells like me and always comfort her even though we will be miles apart. Feeling my heart skip a beat at the thought and reflexively biting my lower lip in excitement, I get dressed and spray a heavy amount of deodorant and cologne, ensuring she receives the perfumey smell mixed in with my natural musk as I wear it. Finishing with looking presentable, I grab my tablet and skim over some of the work notifications I have to fill in my time as I wait for room service to bring my breakfast.

A few moments later, there is a knock at my door, in which it is my breakfast. I let them in to place it on the table, and soon enough, they are out. I finally take a chance to dig in and get some food into my system. While doing so, I checked my phone to see if Y/N was finally awake; sure enough, there was a good morning text. I smile, see her response, and click on our text messages. I decided to text back to see how she slept, and I got even more excited seeing the little text bubble pop up indicating that she was typing her message. I shove more food into my mouth to fill this waiting time. And see her response,

Good! Slept through the entire night for once!

I'm glad to hear that she rested well; I am a little concerned, tho when she says for once, she makes it seem like she doesn't sleep often; this will be something later, but for now, I'm just happy she slept well. But my next concern is if she is sore from our activities yesterday. I figured out how to respond briefly, but I also inquired about her actual state of being. I finally decided on a reply,

That's good to hear. How are you feeling about last night, and soreness or muscle aches? Just making sure you're okay.

I hope she sees the sincerity in my concern. I want to take our activities further, and it's adorable that she is naive to this realm, but if last night was just a taste of what could come, I want to make adjustments to make it more pleasurable without exhausting her. I saw her typing again, so I put down my phone for a second to eat some food and take a sip of coffee, which was ample time for her to reply. Her text was adorable,

That is probably the reason why I slept so well.

It had the emoji with hands hiding the face. Even through text, she still knows how to portray her shyness; she is so expressive, and seeing her this way is lovely. From what I get so far, she seems pretty reserved, and the more we talk, the more that breaks. Deciding it is time to change the subject, I reply:

Well, I'm glad you're okay and slept well from it ;). What are your plans for today?

I see her start typing again. I wish I could be having this back and forth over the phone, but I don't know how comfortable she is; I also don't want to overstep just yet. See that she replied

There's not much going on. I'm just studying and getting work done at home today! Why, what's up??

I decided on making the trip to see her since she's home, but I want to first see if she is okay with it.

Are you okay if I stop by? I want to see you one last time before my flight tomorrow if that's okay?"

I see her typing again, but I now have my gut flipping in nervousness, hoping she doesn't shoot down the inquiry. I set my phone down again, took a few more bits of my breakfast, and sipped my coffee. I still don't see a response and try not to overthink it. Maybe she is just doing something and not readily at her phone right now, or I shouldn't look into this small action so much. Slightly shaking the thought from my head and taking more food while focusing on the TV, I see several notifications pop up. I took a second to breathe and unlock my phone. Her reply was in several short texts.

Of course, it is! Tho just be here after 1:30pm, and you might have to leave at 5pm I just don't want anyone in my family to see you Sorry if that's a lot to ask for I get it if that's also a lot to ask for, and if you don't want to come, I get that as well.

I reread those messages. It's cute that she wants to sneak around, and I won't lie, I understand where she is coming from; all of this is relatively new to the both of us, and we don't want a lot of people knowing until we are both sure we can handle the heat.

Yes, that shouldn't be a problem at all!

I see her typing immediately, and it makes me smile to know that I've made her day, even more so that she'll get to see me. I see her text pop up.

Great! See you soon!

I'm smiling ear to ear, to which I reply back reflexively at this point.

See you too!

I place my phone further away and slump into my chair, astonished. I get to see her one last time. It will be bittersweet, but I can't wait. With that, I continue eating breakfast and focusing on the local news. Even though it is background noise to the million thoughts racing in my head, it's not dead silence. Finally finishing breakfast in auto-pilot mode, I take the chance to look down at my watch to see the time; it is currently 8:30am, so I have a few hours to kill before I should actually make my way to her, and since I'm leaving the city, who knows how bad the traffic is so I know that I'll need to go the hotel roughly 12:30ish to make to her.

With that, I move from the table where I had breakfast to the desk. I sign in to my laptop and set up my tablet to get started on some work that requires my attention. I have a meeting today to talk to some team members about coordinating the Y/N fellowship for the year. We were thinking about the logistics of this, which means we would want her to start when the next season starts, and since we are in October, these logistics need to happen quickly. That is the first meeting I will be jumping into, which is ironically happening now. Logging into the team meeting mainly involves HR personnel and a few other members. I see the Head of HR, several assistants, and some of our staff do some DEI work. I pulled up the agenda for the meeting and saw the discussion of the fellowship opportunity, along with the Professor of the course. The meeting started by approving the agenda, which was done smoothly. Now, we have transitioned into a quick discussion of the items before getting onto the topic of the Y/N fellowship. The leader of the meeting first handed off the debate to the Professor.

We first finalize the idea that instead of a studying abroad program, which is only a few months, this will be considered a fellowship, in which Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 Team will award the fellowship to Y/N to research DEI in the Motorsport industry and how to enhance inclusivity not only within the industry but more within the teams. We decided the fellowship would be a year-long concurrent with the race season, which she will start after the FIA gala and finish the following year around that same time. This means she will need to put her next semester on pause for her courses and come to the UK as of December and finish her classes online. It shouldn't be too hard; we will collaborate with her professors to adjust to the new schedule. I will give her a brief update when I see her later today. Still, since most things are not concrete, we need to have a few more meetings within the next week to figure out how to accommodate her stay and more of the course content. We would want to make this a fruitful fellowship. We end this meeting on good terms, and I hope to go into the next meeting on car development for the upcoming season. In this meeting, I can sit back a bit more and listen to how the development is going and the direction the team is taking.

The meeting ended in no time, and I let my team know I would be taking the afternoon off and wouldn't be in much contact. Shutting down my laptop, I left it at my desk in the hotel room, grabbed my bag, and placed my tablet there, deciding to show Y/N the preliminary logistics of the fellowship. Once that is done, I slip on my loafers and jacket, then placing my wallet and room key in my pocket, I head out the door with my bag over my shoulder. Since the day was sunny, I put my sunglasses on and went to the elevator to head down to the parking garage. Exiting, I unlock my car, heading straight to the driver's side and slipping in. I place the shoulder bag on the passenger. Closing the door behind me, I turn on the car, get the seat belt on, reverse out and make my way over to Y/N's house. Even though I knew the exact way to her house, I put her address into the GPS to see how long during the day time if it would take to get to her house; it wasn't so bad, 45 to 50 minutes until I reached her home. That should put me close to meeting her at 1:30, with some time to spare. If I arrive early, I see a grocery store and might pick up some of her favourite snacks. I don't like the idea of showing up empty-handed, and I know I can't bring her flowers since she admitted that she didn't want anyone in her family to know, so her favourite snacks will suffice.

As I drove there, it turned out my plan was right, and I decided to head up to the grocery store to pick up her snacks. It only takes me a few minutes since Twizzlers and energy drinks are in the same aisle. Grabbing the items and cashing out the self-checkout. I return to my car, place them in the bag, and start my journey to see Y/N. In a few minutes, I'm finally at her house. I stopped on a different street from her home and pulled out my phone. I unlock my phone and open the messaging app. I click her name and text her, letting her know I'm here. I leave my car, grab my shoulder bag, and walk to her house. It was a relatively minute walk, and I saw the garage door to her house open up. She was standing at the top of the stairs leading inside her house with an adorable grin plastered on those beautiful lips. I'm lucky to have my sunglasses on; I take the movement to scan my eyes up and down her body; she has on leggings like yesterday, and she's wearing a zip-up hoodie that zips up a little less than halfway. It showed a cute little bralette; her hair was up in a ponytail, and her curls were a little frizzy but coiled enough, making it look like she styled it a bit. I enter her garage, and she immediately clicks the button to close it behind me.

I get closer to her as she is still standing on the stairs and in the doorway, where I lift my sunglasses up for them to rest on my head. I make eye contact with her as she stands, where she is almost my height. "Hi" "Hi" "How was the drive-in? I hope traffic wasn't so bad?" "No, it wasn't, but I'm happier to see you." She bit her bottom lip at the remark, and a blush creeps. She makes me melt at how reactive she is. "why don't you just come on in?" "Sure." "Would you mind taking off your shoes? We don't wear them around the house." "Of course I can…" "Would it also be too much to ask you to bring them upstairs? I just don't want anyone to see in case you need to sneak out." "Awe, of course, only to make you feel more comfortable." I smile up at her, and we lock eyes. I wink at her for a second. Her cheeks turn crimson.

I enter her house; it's quite a lovely modern home with a few antique items. I slip off my loafers and grab them to bring them up. "Follow me," which I helplessly do; I assume she is taking me to her room. I know it sits atop the garage as she flickers the lights whenever I take her home. I follow her; as we make our way up the staircase, I see the master bedroom and another bedroom, and I see a room at the end of the hall that seems to be her room, as the desk is the first thing I see with a monitor and laptop that is on. She enters first, and as I follow behind her, I start looking around; her room is nice, it's white with a plum accent wall. Her room is enormous enough, with a queen-sized bed in the middle resting against the accent wall; it has an in-wall bench; it fits her perfectly.

"You can sit on the bed or the bench if you want; you can place the shoes on the bench with your book bag." "Sure."

I do as she recommends, placing both down, and I remove my jacket and put it beside them. I turn around and catch her eyeing me up and down. It's cute to see her in the act, and I decide to step closer, and her eyes lock with mine. I speak just above a whisper at how incredibly close we are, "I miss you," "Me too," and I place a hand at her waist to pull her in, and I cup her cheek to lean down and kiss her softly. I couldn't tell you how long we kissed, but it was slow and felt like an eternity. I pull away and lean my forehead against hers; I hear her say, "How do I miss you this much? I don't want you to go…" "I know, but it won't be long until you see me again." It was an honest answer; it pained me to hear her say that, and I kissed her forehead. I grab her hand, walk over to her bed, and take a seat, sitting almost in the center of the bed. My legs open, and she steps to stand between them, but what shocks me is she sits on my lap.

Instantly put my hands around her waist to steady her but to pull her in. She rested her head on my shoulder, and I decided to make the moment more enjoyable. I lie down with her, causing her to squeal at the action, and I chuckle. Entirely lying down with her almost on top of me, she giggles and rests her chin on my chest as she looks me in the eyes. I can tell she is thinking about something and decides to entertain it for a little, "Penny for you thought?" "Well, I was thinking about the fellowship, and I know it's only been like a day or two since I've asked, but has there been any discussion yet?" It is as if she can read me like an open book, and I decide to fill her in on the details. "Actually, there has been. Would you like to see some of the things we discussed?" but then I lift my head up and whisper, "But I would have to swear you to secrecy." I feel her giggle with her on top of me, and she frantically nods.

I bite my lip and gently remove her from me. I got up and walked over to my book bag. Her excitement and anticipation put me over the moon; I turned back and walked to the bed and found Y/N in the center, sitting and waiting patiently. I sit down with one leg hanging off the side of the bed with the other bent. I open the book bag and decide to give her the snacks I got her, "But first, I didn't really want to come empty-handed, so I got you these," and handed her the Twizzlers and energy drinks. "awe, Toto you didn't have too" "Schatzi, I know, but I wanted to, plus there is more, but that is for later."

She raises her single eyebrow like I do but dismisses it immediately, knowing that if she doesn't accept, she will end up with items regardless. I pulled out my tablet and opened up some of the documents being reviewed today and some of the notes I'd made. I knew this conversation would be lengthy, so I also took hold of the stylus in case Y/N had questions and could pose them to the team.

I started explaining the logistics, in which it will be a year-long fellowship; the team is looking to possibly start in November or December; for that start, she would need to complete onboarding, and we would have to figure out what finishing this semester will look like. The allotted credits will be an entire course load, allowing her to complete her degree on time to graduate with her class. We then move the discussion to living accommodations, which my team will provide for the follow-up. She is technically employed under the team, with a contract to sign, NDAs, and other documents. Since she will also be travelling with the team and will be working under the FIA as well, I informed her that my team is also working on her visa applications and FIA documents for her to do legal work and research under our team and FIA board and ensuring that we can adequately pitch the idea to research other teams and participants at the races. The last thing we discussed was the living accommodations; I told her the team would provide her with all the support she needed. I have yet to say to her that even though she will get money for the support, she will live with me.

"Did you have any questions, or did you want to wait until you get the actual contract with all of it written out?" "I can wait, Toto; I would like to see it in writing because that would be considered a binding contract." "I understand; it will take another week or so." "Yeah, that's no problem; just see it in writing." "I get that."

I place my tablet back in my book bag and turn back to her; Y/N is biting her bottom lip as if she is thinking of something. She then leans in and kisses me softly. I cup her face with my hand and kiss her back; I turn my body more and gently nudge her to lie down. The kiss became more passionate, and she wrapped her arms around my neck; she tangled her hands into my hair and slightly tugged the hair near the nap of my neck. I start moving my hands up and down her body, just wanting to feel more of her. I pull away from kissing her lips and start peppering them down her jaw to her neck. I kiss that sweet spot close to her ear, and she starts moaning. I travel my hands down to her body and tug at the hoodie. I feel her head nod, and I take that as a sign and unzip her hoodie and slip it off her, exposing her skin, now covered in goosebumps. I feel her legs wrap around my waist, and feeling her wanting more friction ignites me to go further. I move my hand back up her body until I reach her bralette and massage her breast. My little action causes her to arch her body in my hand; I smile and kiss her neck, to which I then use my thumb and gently rub it over her nipple, which starts to pebble. Making sure to treat both her breasts with just as equal attention, I start kissing down her neck, to her collarbone and then her breast. I tug at Y/N's bralette with my teeth. "ahhh… yes… toto… please…" Hearing her beg just purrs at my possessive side, especially when she is such an angel doing unholy things.

My hands do quick work to remove her bralette, and I attach my mouth and start flicking her nipple; her whimpers get louder, and she pushes her head further into her body, sucking more and making sure her nipple is wet; I unlatch my mouth and blow lightly at the patch of wetness on her nipple, she whimpers more and arching her back up. I give the same attention to her other nipple and tug at her leggings; she nods again. Hooking my fingers at the waist of her leggings and start pulling them down her hips along with her panties while I'm still sucking her nipples. She unhook her legs from my torso to allow me to pull them off completely; she now lying underneath me in all her glory. I pull away from her nipple for a final time and blow softly, and the patch of wetness, she whimpers from the clash of temperature on her body. I trail my hand down her body to between her legs, running my fingers and feeling the wetness between her legs, "awe, my little princess is so wet, just for me."

She moans at my touch and words, "Daddy…. please", her desperate sound of wanting more friction, I smear her wetness all over her pussy, causing her to buck up when I rub my palm over her clit. Smiling at her reaction, "Come on princess, open your legs for daddy." She does so immediately, opening wide for me to see her snatch glistening from her slick. "Dripping just for me, Daddy barely did anything" I look up to see her looking intently at me, her pupils blown wide; I seize the moment to lay down, causing the mattress to dip and putting her legs on my shoulders and blow a little at her cunny while looking directly at her. That moment of seeing her eyes roll to the back of her head, then being tossed back, and her whimpering made me latch my mouth onto her clit, tonguing the bundle of nerves. I kept a steady rhythm and preventing her from bucking her hips into my head, I kept my arms wrapped around her waist to steady her. She tasted too sweet, and all I could do was lap her pussy with my tongue, focusing more on her clit before sucking. Her moans, more engaged, "Daddy, please… I… I'm gonna cum" "Cum for me, princess," sucking on her labia and licking a flat stripe up her pussy. "Let me taste you, princess. Make a mess for Daddy." With another suck on her clit, she fell apart in high keening moans escaping and writhed helplessly in my grasp. "ohh, that's such a sweet, creamy pussy for Daddy." Her juices kept flowing as a tonguing her now overstimulated pussy.

Loosening my grasp around her waist, I crawl back up to Y/N and kiss her softly, her moaning into the kiss, tasting herself on my lips; she pulls away with a wicked grin on her face, "Your turn, Daddy," Shocked by her remarks. I go to sit on the edge of the bed; she crawls to me and straddles my lap, and my hands instantly fly to her waist. She pulls at my collar to bring me into a searing, hot kiss, but she starts biting and tugging at my bottom lip. Even though my cock has been problematic since our start, this is straining more against the confinement of my pants. She starts roaming her hands down my torso, lifting the hem of the black sweater up until she reaches my neck. We break from the kiss, and she lifts the sweater off my arms and neck and throws it to the pile of clothes on the floor. Her lips are back on mine, kissing me passionately, and her hands make quick work on the buttons of my shirt. Doing so, she started kissing down my jaw and down my neck. I knew she was genuinely different when her lips landed on my neck, and she started nipping and leaving love bites in the spot just under my ear. Moaning her name and pulling her up against me more, leaving no space. Dazed in the sensation she was giving me, I hadn't realized she tugged the shirt out of my pants, slipping off my arms and discarding with the rest of the clothes. Her small hands roam my torse, wanting her to feel more of me, and she leaves kisses on my neck and chest. By this point, I'm panting, realizing what she is about to do. She lifts herself off from straddling my lap but still kisses down my chest, her hands fiddling with the button and zipper of my pants but manages to undo both, hooking her fingers on the waist and band of my pants and underwear, removing them in one go. I lift my hips up, giving her ease to do so. As she got them off, she kneeled in front of me, looking innocently, and all I could do was adore the sight in front of me, and my cock twitched with excitement.

I whispered softly, "It's okay, princess, don't be shy." I couldn't help but smile and continued, "Just give Daddy a kiss." I could see the hesitation while maintaining eye contact; her plump lips kissed the head of my cock, and I could help my groan. Her lips were unlike any other feelings. My cock oozed with precum. Her small hand wanted to wrap around my cock, but couldn't from its girth; she slowly stroked it while licking the head. I tossed my head back, grunting at her actions. I felt lost in English words and started reverting to German. She starts licking the entire length of cock, licking long strips on the understrip. I don't know how I recovered from the blissfulness and getting lost, but I bring my head back up to look down at Y/N.

I can see her visibly enjoying herself, giving pleasure to me. My head was swimming with lustful thoughts the more I could do with her. Until I felt more heat around the head of my cock to realize she popped the head of cock into her mouth, I had to suppress the urge to buck my hip up. I knew she had no experience, but her actions of tonguing and sucking on the tip of my cock could make her blow my seed at any second. "Ahh… princess… y.. you're gonna make daddy cum… if you continue." From that comment, she sucked harder on the tip, and I couldn't help but groan again, "fuck… princess… ahh… you love sucking daddy cock don't you…. fuck… you cock hungry … for daddy?" Her mouth made a popping sound, dropping my cock from her mouth while stroking the base of my cock. She looked up at me adoringly and kissed my thighs all the way up to my hip but whispered, "I love daddy's cock." She lowered her mouth to my cock again, sucking hard on the tip and stroking the base. Her actions brought me closer to my release, I was whimpering as she tongued the tip. Embracing the pleasure that Y/N has me in and edging me out for so long, I let my climax wash over me. Feeling my cock twitch in her mouth as ropes of my cum fill her. What I hadn't expected was for Y/N to suck harder, wanting to swallow my spend, mewing out in pleasure as Y/N sucked my oversensitive cock. Feeling that she has swallowed all of my spent, she pops her mouth off my cock, and shifts her gaze up to me.

#f1 #formula 1 #toto wolff #daddy toto #toto wolff smut #daddytoto #daddyslittleprincess #daddy's good girl

[shittysawtraps]

"Hello, driver.

There is a concert you wish to attend in Dallas, Texas tomorrow evening. But... before you may rest your tired body in your Marriot hotel room tonight, you must complete the ultimate test.

Currently, you are traveling southbound on Interstate 235. The objective before you is simple: Drive the remaining 19 miles through and around Dallas on this highway, and arrive at your hotel approximately 30 minutes before sunset.

However, this road trip is not free from danger. Surrounding you on all sides are hundreds of animalistic and ravenous Texas drivers in their F-250 megatrucks and sport sedans. Several of them are already passing you, despite the fact that you are driving 20 miles over the established speed limit of 75. Be wary. This is far from the worst behaviour you can expect from them in the miles ahead.

Make it to the hotel and enjoy your concert, or pay the ultimate price and take the highway to hell.

Live or die, the choice is yours..."

#shitty saw traps #submission

[inafieldofdaisies]

WIP Wednesday | Tagged by @thesingularityseries ❤️

I'm checking in with another snippet from Chapter 2 of John and Sabrina's AU where he goes (or more like tries) to visit his client in prison while she is doing her best to minimize their encounter. Leslie ain't buying it. ❤️

John stared at the endless field in front of him, checking his watch on instinct for probably the millionth time as his driver let out a string of hushed curses while he changed the flat tire the car got somewhere on Interstate 5. An irrational part of him felt like vaulting over the fence that separated the highway from the surrounding land and simply… walking off. Wondered how it would feel to be in the middle of nowhere, in a place where nobody would be around to hear the angry outburst he fought to keep under control. After messing up and texting Sabrina by mistake, he had eventually gotten dressed, dragged himself down to the lobby to report the broken shower in his room and ask for them to arrange a car for him. The man at the reception desk had been less welcoming and helpful than the woman that had checked him in, telling him that he would send someone over to fix the issue without being able to give him an answer as to when. On top of that headache, he had spent the next 30 minutes waiting for his driver to show up in front of the hotel, the delay making him wish he had his own car there so he wasn't at the mercy of others. Thanks to that now even after leaving early to make sure he would have enough time to travel to the State Penitentiary, he was tethering on the edge of being late, stuck halfway across his destination.

"Almost done, sir.", the younger man announced behind him, "We'd be back on the road in a jiffy." A couple of minutes later he finally walked around the car, still dusting off his pants from kneeling down on the ground and signaled for John they were ready to leave. "So…", the man started in an attempt to break the ice as he climbed in the backseat and pointed his gaze out of the window again, "Who are you visiting in OSP?" "I'm not at liberty to talk about that.", John retorted quickly and pulled out his phone, hoping he would appear busy so the man would give up on the small talk. It was for that same reason he hadn't made an effort to even ask about his name. He had no doubt if he was to say he was representing Nathaniel Mooney that the driver would be tempted to abandon him on the side of the road after calling him any awful word available in his dictionary. He avoided the man's curious stare in the rearview mirror, keeping his eyes glued to his phone screen as he opened Sabrina's last message. Don't text her anything else. Don't. It's just going to make everything worse. But his fingers had other ideas, already typing up a text.

John: I'm sorry about earlier.

Minutes passed where the driver whistled along to "Only You" as it played on the radio, and where no answer came through from Sabrina. She's at work, probably busy. Do I even care if she's taken the text meant for Penny the wrong way? I don't. Yes, I don't. Yet the giddiness he felt when his phone finally chirped with a message told him otherwise.

Sabrina: How's your day? Any more criminals posing as drivers?

John: No, but I am meeting with an alleged criminal in a couple of minutes. So, pray, I don't get stabbed.

Sabrina: Now you have me worried… just keep an eye on him and make sure any sharp objects are out of his reach.

John: You're saying I can't show him my collection of knives?

Sabrina: Essentially. And let me know you've made it out alive, I guess.

A smile broke free at her replies and the fact she seemed unbothered by what had happened. They gave him hope he still had a chance. A chance for what? "We're here, sir.", the driver said, making him realize the rest of his drive had passed in a haze, all thanks to her, "Welcome to Salem." John looked his watch, "And on time, thank you." "Of course. I will be waiting to drive you back to Portland." He exited the car after giving him a nod, leaving him to wait in the parking lot as he headed for the entrance of the penitentiary, its pale yellow facade standing out against stark blue of the cloudless sky. John gingerly climbed the U-shaped staircase, promising himself with each step that he would succeed what the other attorneys before him had failed at. He squared his shoulders and pushed past double doors that led inside, his measured footsteps drawing the attention of some of the visitors that were waiting in line for the metal detectors. As one person after another passed through, he shut down the urge to shift in place or worry about the state of his suit. Not how I imagined this would go, exactly. As the detectors kept going off and hindering his progress forward, he reassured himself over and over again that he'd make it in time for the meeting.

"Next.", a male deputy directing the visitors in his line gestured for him to step forward. His briefcase made it on the conveyor belt first, passing through the scanner as he covered the rest of the distance to the walk through metal detector. One step, followed by anothed. Silence. He had almost made it on the other side, or at least his shoe had before the alarm sounded. "I need you to walk back and through the detector again, please.", the officer instructed, and he complied, going through slowly only for the blaring noise to repeat again. "One more time. Slowly.", the man gestured patiently while he let out a tired sigh as he turned on his heel and attempted the walk for the third time. For fuck's sake. He had nothing on him that could potentially set off the detector. "Step forward.", the deputy beckoned, "I need to pat you down. You have the right to refuse-" "I'm a lawyer, I know my rights.", John interjected quickly, then added in a calmer tone, "You have my permission." Refusing a pat down meant he'd be turned down from his visit. The man nodded, "Arms out. Feet apart." He followed the instructions, having been through a couple of in-person meetings with other clients in prison already. The frisk felt like it had lasted an eternity until the deputy finally declared he could gather his things and proceed to the waiting area where other visitors had already taken a seat after checking in about their appointments.

"Next in line.", an older female officer called out for him eventually once he took his place in that line. "Name of AICs?" "Good morning, I have a scheduled meeting with Nathaniel Mooney.", the anticipated look of displeasure appeared in her eyes before his usual charm even had a chance to kick in. "Another one. How long are you gonna last?", she mumbled under her breath as she typed away on the computer in front of her, the remark loud enough only for him to hear. He didn't let the words strip away at the slight smile he had offered her initially, the push-back and borderline loathing were expected with the task of representing defendants like Mooney. Instead of simply gesturing him to take a seat and wait for his name to be called, the deputy sent him a strange look before picking up the phone receiver. "Yes. Mooney. Okay. I will tell him to take a seat." "Is everything in order, Officer Gale?", John asked carefully the second she hung up. A bored look was all he got as response before she slid a visitor badge over to him, then muttered, "Yes. Please take a seat. Next."

John clutched his bag and headed for a vacant seat next to a well-dressed redhead, checking his watch as he sat down and slipped the plastic encased pass over his head. Almost time. A slender, manicured hand appeared from his left, "Can't say I was expecting I would be meeting the man representing Nathaniel Mooney today." He turned, meeting the green gaze of the woman next to him before he grabbed her hand for a handshake. "John Duncan.", the introduction was made in the usual tone reserved for other attorneys and potential clients. Everything about the redhead, including her smile, appeared calculating when she squeezed his hand, and he couldn't help but wonder if she had her sights set on his case and testing the waters, "Candice Donovan." The name gave him a pause, immediately making him think of Sabrina, then he shook off the thought, reminding himself he had to stay focused. It's just a surname. His hand returned to his knee as he leaned back in his chair and trained his eyes forward, feeling her gaze remaining on him still. "Rumor is, the last one ran out of here crying. Poor girl. Not everyone is built for our field of work.", the woman whispered, "Though, I've never had a particular taste for criminal law. So messy… bloody even.", the last part felt loaded, heavy, yet she casually recrossed her legs before letting out a quiet laugh and passing him a business card. Blue eyes darted to the matching badge nestled against her champagne colored silk blouse with a perfectly tied bow close to her neckline, "And yet here you are." "Oh, no, Mr. Duncan,", her voice lowered like she was letting him in on a little secret, "I'm meeting the man on top of this food chain, not one of his subjects."

"Donovan.", an officer called out her name. "And that's my cue. Good luck, darling.", she got up, smoothing down her black skirt before she picked up her bag Hermès bag off the ground next to her chair. Her nude high heels clicked away as she approached the man waiting to escort her, swooping into charming him next. He granted a final look at the business card and slipped it inside his bag. Over the years, he had met enough women like Candice Donovan, had even been blindsided by their charisma and skilled tongues, had made the mistake of getting involved with a couple on a personal level when he was first starting in the field. The type that would frown at "the bloodiness" of law, yet be secretly the first to sense the blood in the water and strike. John spent the next couple of minutes watching the room as visitor's after visitor's name were called, new people taking their vacated seats, Officer Gale warning walk-ins they might be in for a longer wait that day. "Duncan.", a gruff voice broke through the low chatter around him, and he was out of his seat in an instant, straightening his visitor badge on his way to the deputy. The man, wearing a tag that read 'A. Flynn", towered a good few inches over him and gave him a dark stare before muttering, "Follow me."

A black steel bar door buzzed behind him and they were off down a series of white hallways, separated by similar security entryways that got him deeper into the prison. Eventually, the man in front of him came to a stop and gestured to a dark gray door before he swung it open to reveal a small private room, reserved for visits by legal teams, "Take a seat." With that, Officer Flynn left him to get situated and shut the door behind him. John slipped into pulling out all the documents he would need and arranged them in neat piles on the only table in the room. 10 minutes passed, bringing him officially past the reserved time for the meeting with Mooney. The only noise, that would put lesser attorneys on edge as they sat in the tiny sterile space without any windows, was the sound of his watch ticking. Another 15 minutes went by where he started to wonder if something had gone wrong. He set for rearranging the files again, inevitably checking his phone for any messages or calls. Nothing. Rereading Sabrina's last text. A couple of calming breaths. Regretting he had skipped breakfast. No Mooney in sight. 10 more minutes, a terrible sign considering nobody from the personnel had bothered to show their face yet. Something's wrong, indeed.

John rose up, ready to knock on the door and demand an explanation for the delay, when it opened and the same officer that had led him there appeared in the doorway, his large almost frame blocking his view of another man in an uniform. "Counsel, I regret to inform you, the arranged meeting won't be taking place today.", his lips twisted into a dark smirk, no actual regret visible across his features, "Nathaniel Mooney is undisposed." "What is that supposed to mean?", John asked, his eyes narrowing at the man's tone. "I'm meant to escort you out, sir.", the last word was said with complete disdain as Officer Flynn stepped aside and gestured for him to exit the room promptly, "You can schedule a new visit." "You cannot just cancel my client's meeting without any notice." The man crossed his arms over his chest, "Tell that to Mooney, who decided it's a good time to stab an inmate with a fork right before his meeting with his new attorney." "I still think it's inappropriate and violating his rights to deprive him from a consultation with his legal counsel. This is not a family visit you can just deny." "If you have any complaints, you can direct them at Major Sinclair. He's the one that issued the order. All inmates are threated equal here and sanctioned accordingly for not following the rules, Mr. Duncan." "That's-" Just my luck. "Unfortunate for you? Or Mooney?", his tone was bordering on leering as John began to gather his things, "I'm sure the man he put in infirmary, whose eye was almost gouged out thinks the same about himself."

He could only imagine how that would be used by the prosecution at the actual trial, just another testament of his client's violent nature and urges he couldn't control. John straightened his back and picked up his bag, passing by the two officers as he exited the room, and he could tell they were enjoying every second of sending him away without even meeting Mooney. "When exactly did the incident occur?", John inquired while he got sandwiched between the two men on the way back. "If you have any questions, you can set a meeting with Major Sinclair and discuss those.", the younger officer ahead of him, whose name he hadn't had time to observe, grumbled out. It wouldn't have been any surprise if the words were paired with another sly grin. "It was a simple question. You could have called me in advance. Saved me the trip from Portland." "It was a genuine mix-up, sir." "Or karma. Serves you right for representing that bastard.", Flynn mumbled under his breath simultaneously, clearly wanting for John to hear. Hazing. Of course. On the inside, he could feel anger gripping at his chest, looking for an outlet, but he refused to let it out or any of the well-deserved words he wanted to direct their way to be vocalized. He suspected the fork incident had taken place long before that early morning and in reality they must have had time to alert him about the "punishment" bestowed upon his client. Yet nothing of sorts had happened because he in turn was being "punished", too. For doing his job. For accepting the "shitstorm" case. For refusing to cower under their scrutiny and holding his head high. It was bound for this occurance to be just the first one of many. There was a reason, as Candice Donovan reported, that the previous woman representing Mooney had ran out crying, and if past cases were anything to go by, he was willing to bet Nathaniel's nature was only part of the issue. But if people like Officer Flynn or Major Sinclair expected obvious cheap tricks like those would make him withdraw, they were all in for a rude awakening.

John kept his face relaxed as he waited in line yet again, this time to schedule another appointment. His fingers drummed against the surface of the booth in front of him while the woman across typed in his information. "First appointment I can give you is on Monday.", she announced matter-of-factly as his fingers formed a fist. How much he wanted to bang against the glass pane that separated them. To demand to see Mooney right then and there. He did none of that, instead he forced a smile, letting his charm do the work. "M'am, I really need to meet with my client before that. My return flight is in two days." Where the receptionist from the previous night or Penny would have melted at his gentle but still firm tone that reeked of authority, the officer just blinked slowly and said, "There's a 72-hours rule in place, meaning Monday as earliest." "Officer Reece-" "First appointment I can offer you is on Monday, Mr. Duncan.", she repeated before he could even finish his sentence, "Usually you can always come as a walk-in and wait for a slot to open up if there's a cancellation or a no-show, but Nathaniel Mooney has had his visitation rights revoked for 72-hours." "That's ridiculous." "It's the minimum, sir.", Officer Reece explained calmly, "Are you taking the Monday appointment? If not, I'd have to ask to step away while you're considering your options, because there are other people in line behind you." Fuck. He wanted to scream the word out, lose it like he had that morning in the shower. "Yes, Monday it is, then.", he nodded, grateful for his unwavering facade as he took a deep breath. "I'm penciling you in for the afternoon session, 12:15 pm." "Thank you." "Have a great weekend. Next, please.", the woman called in response. Great? The little "mix-up" was going to result him in having to explain to Clive how Mooney had attacked another inmate. To change his flight back to Atlanta, his personal "punishment" Flynn called karma resulting in him having to spend more time in a city that's been nothing but brutal to him from his arrival. Hope his "5 star" hotel had fixed the shower while he was away in Salem and would agree to extend his reservation so he won't have to hunt down for another one. Sure my weekend would be great.

"How is it going?", Leslie muttered as he leaned over Sabrina's shoulder, his attention setting on the footage she had pulled up. She propped up her head on her open palm, "Nothing yet, good news is, though, I'm halfway there." "Chances are even if the camera captured the car, it'd be too dark to make anything out." A sigh broke free when she found her coffee cup empty, "I know. But it's not like we have anything else to go off until we get back the enhanced clip from across the road." "Still, the gas station was a good hunch." It wasn't a "hunch", rather a vision that had led her there, but explaining that in any way that wouldn't make her seem like she had lost her mind, felt impossible, even to Leslie. "Yeah.", she muttered quietly. "How about a break?", Leslie nudged her before walking back to his desk, "We can grab some lunch before the interviews?" "Okay." Just then Oliver walked in with a take-out bag and plopped into his chair with a sign, "Ah, man, I swear I almost fell asleep in line. Damn, if I wouldn't kill for a shower, too." "You could go home, Ollie." The suggestion made him roll his eyes, "Sure, and then hear all about it from Buchanan." Sabrina shook his head, "He won't say anything." "Maybe to the all-stars. Me, on other hand?", he muttered as set on opening his food, "No matter what good old Oliver does… he only complains." "Okay,", Leslie took a look at his watch, "we heading out or what, Rina?" "One second.", she said, taking note of how far along she was before putting her computer into rest mode. By then her partner was already shrugging on his coat. She quickly threw on her jacket as well, then grabbed her bag on the way out. "Have fun, you two.", Oliver called after them as Leslie pulled the door open for her.

"The lawyer…", Parish mumbled the second their waiter had left the table in the small bistro they frequently stopped by for a bite. "My food isn't even here yet." He raised a dark eyebrow, seeing right through the attempt to avoid talking about John for a good few more minutes, "Spill, Rina." "How much did Oliver tell you all really?", she asked slowly. "Told you, he was live texting." "Like what?" She wasn't sure if she actually wanted to know the answer, knowing full well the extend of Oliver's sense of humor and the chaos he loved to cause. "Want to see the messages?" "Not really. Just… are the other guys going to look at me weird?", she was refering for the rest of the Missing Persons team and whoever else they had added to the group chat for the birthday party they had thrown for her months back. "No.", Leslie chuckled, "Now back to the lawyer." "John." "Hm?" "His name is John." A nod, "There we go, a start." "I was headed home, you know, as promised.", her remark got a smile out of him, "Sav would have gone to bed by then…I guess I didn't want to deal with Candice for a couple of extra minutes." "Yeah." Leslie knew the situation pretty well and was among the small group of people that saw through her mother's act.

"I see this well-dressed man in the lobby, staring daggers into unconscious Lenny,", his eyes narrowed at 'well-dressed', but she rushed to wrap up the story, especially seeing how the waiter had emerged from the kitchen and carrying over their meals, "I offered my help, tried to pass him onto Stockton, but he wasn't in…" She paused to mutter a quiet thank you as her plate was placed in front of her and she dug into the food that seemed less appetizing with her stomach in knots. Leslie did the same, taking a bite before nodding at her to continue. "Maxwell said I could write up the report for him since he was stuck across town. The guy-" "John.", Leslie corrected her, "You avoiding saying his name?" "No.", she absolutely was, "John didn't seem quite happy with the idea he'd have to wait hours for Stockton to return or stop by in the morning, so he agreed to sit down with me and get his case started." "Who wouldn't." She chose that moment to take a sip of water, almost choking on it, "Leslie." "I'm just being objective." "Sure.", she cleared her throat, "I marked down everything he could provide as information. He asked to make a phone call and then was on his way." Leslie's lips twisted into a smirk, "You forgot how he shouted, 'she's not my girlfriend' about some girl he called." Sabrina huffed, "Shouted? That's just Oliver's flair for dramatics." Not really, but saying otherwise wouldn't make you drop the subject, will it… "Rina." "Fine, maybe his voice was a bit raised, so what?" "Then?"

She could feel her cheeks heat up, so she looked down to her plate as she scooped up some more rice into her mouth, before replying, "Nothing." The way Leslie rubbed at his beard told her he had sensed a lead and wasn't going to back down, "I'm waiting." "I gave him a ride.", Sabrina brushed her hair out of her face, feeling frustrated at the fact things hadn't stopped there and that she didn't want them to, "He looked… lost. I guess I thought a small act of kindness wouldn't hurt when his day had been nothing but awful. Dropped him off at his hotel. End of story." He opened his mouth to ask more when her phone buzzed with a new text, that made her raise her finger as she opened it.

John: Still alive. Any lunch spots recommendations? The last thing I need right now is food poisoning.

"You're smiling way too much for this to be news from the lab.", Leslie's voice sounded and she looked up, feeling like she had been caught redhanded when she had done nothing wrong, "That him?" She ignored his question, her food quickly becoming forgotten while her fingers typed out a reply.

Sabrina: Depends… If you're looking for a fine dining spot, I won't be your girl.

John: I'm feeling cranky, (probably because I'm) starving, and I trust your judgement, so shoot.

"Rina?", Leslie called her name, tone full of amusement. Her eyes darted up to his before returning to her phone screen, "Yes?" "So he has your number.", it wasn't a question, but rather a statement.

Sabrina: There's a small restaurant, family owned, Italian, two streets from the precinct.

The spot she had recommended him was in the opposite direction of the restaurant where she was currently having lunch with Leslie, wanting to avoid running into him at any cost because she refused to allow things to get more awkward than they already were. She put her phone down, ignoring the fact it vibrated with a reply and turned back to her food. As she raised the fork to her mouth, she could feel Leslie's stare on her, "Yes, he has my number." "You gave it to him or he somehow found it?" "Leslie…" He shrugged, chewing on his food slowly before he pointed his knife at her, "Just doing my part, Rina. Trying to figure out if 'this guy' is a creep or not. So, well?" "I think he took one of my cards off my desk…" "He's texting your work number?" "Yeah." It wasn't a complete lie. "And now he wants?" "A good place to go for lunch." "He asked you out-" "No." "It wasn't a question." Her face scrunched up in confusion, "Nothing about his texts hinted at that, Leslie." He smiled, "Can I see?" "No.", the answer came out way too quickly, causing him to let out a laugh. Just great. Yet handing over her phone and having him see all the previous messages didn't seem like the best idea. Not when he'd insist on John's intentions even more then. Worry about her. "Just trust me on that. He's never been to Portland and considering his luck, he just wanted-" "You're saying that with way too much confidence. Like you know know him." A breathed out a sigh, "Just drop it, please. Change the subject." "Fine.", Leslie nodded, "But I'm telling you, he was asking you out." "And he chose to do it in the most roundabout way possible…why?" "Because he's afraid." It was her turn to chuckle, "Afraid?" "That you will say no, 'break his heart' or more like hurt his ego, considering he's a fancy ass attorney. So instead he's hoping you'd suggest keeping him company first…" Sabrina couldn't help but roll her eyes, "I think Ollie is rubbing off on you." Leslie's gaze shot up to her phone when it buzzed again, "Now, that is him asking you out. He couldn't handle waiting."

Tagging, @socially-awkward-skeleton @direwombat @corvosattano @josephslittledeputy @josephseedismyfather @g0dspeeed @voidika @madparadoxum @poisonedtruth @nightbloodbix @nightwingshero @jillvalentinesday @cassietrn @chazz-anova @simplegenius042 @purplehairsecretlair @adelaidedrubman @dumbassdep @theelderhazelnut @strangefable @trench-rot @aceghosts and anyone else with something to share this week ❤️

#Candice alert. Candice alert. 😂 oof #“collection of knives” is it a joke or true... who knows 😂 #Anyone else getting the feeling Mooney doesn't feel like going to trial anytime soon? 😂😂 #Leslie turning lunch into an impromptu witness interview and being like: “give me the tea; Rina. all of it.” #tagged <3 #oc: sabrina donovan #oc: leslie parish #oc: oliver mckenzie #wip: a trial of errors #john x sabrina #oc: candice “candy” donovan #wip wednesday #wip whenever #wip snippet #fc5 au #far cry 5 au #fc5 ocs #fc5 deputy #far cry 5 oc #far cry 5 deputy #character dynamics #wip sneak peek #snippets

[iguana-eyanna]

Back To The Start

Summary: Lewis is nervous to speak the words he longs to say when his best friend comes back into his life again.

A/N: this was requested by @haarrrys

hope you enjoy!!

You got off a long flight, drawing air as you hated the smell of airplanes. You hated airplanes altogether, often feeling naseua and was forced to sit next to the most horrible people.

But you made an exception, especially when you're supporting your longest friend: Lewis.

You've been best friends since diapers, as the two of you often got in trouble at school for talking too much in class. As you got older, Lewis even snuck you into a pub he was performing with his brother's band. He even was there for you at the hospital when you broke your leg and showed up to every physical therapy appointment.

So when he left home to become one of the world's greatest songwriters, you were beaming with pride. You two would be talking in different time zones as one missed the other or someone just wanted to say hear the other's voice. So when Lewis really wanted you to come to America to see him sing, you didn't pass the opportunity.

So that brought you here, waiting outside of the airport with your luggage as you were looking for a familiar face.

You suddenly see someone parking near the pickup area and got out of the car with his signature hoodie and sweats, but wears a face mask. Maybe he was just being cautious for your safety or he didn't want to be recognized, but you knew that mop of hair anywhere.

You ran up to Lewis, smiling underneath your mask as both of you opened your arms to give a bone crushing hug.

"Hey, you." Lewis murmured in your hair.

You chuckle a bit, relieved that you're finally here with him.

Once you let go, there was this sudden pause. It was like both of you just realized this has been the first time you're together in person since the pandemic. There have been really tough moments in the past two years, but you were so thankful that it brought you here.

Lewis returns back to his senses as he coughs to the side, regaining speech. "Let me grab your bag, you must be exhausted." He said, already reaching for your luggage. Once he goes to the back, you settle in the passenger seat. Lew comes back to the driver's side, grinning that you're actually here.

"I thought you'd be surrounded by security guards and drive in a limousine." you joked as you two hit the highway.

"Please, you think I have the money for that? But that will happen this week for the concert." He said.

You shake your head, laughing. "I still can't believe you're singing at THE Hollywood Bowl." You said, noticing the L.A. night sky.

"Me too, I've been so busy with touring and press that I completely forgot." He said, making a turn.

"Oh, I'm Lewis Capaldi. I'm so swamped with making my mark in the industry and hanging with Niall Horan that I forgot that I'm singing at the most iconic place on earth." You sarcastically stated.

"You do not say Niall's name in vain." Lewis remarked until both of you were in fits of laughter. Soon enough, you turned in at the hotel you're staying. Both of you got out and took your luggage up and walked inside without a hitch. After taking an elevator, Lewis lead the way as he opened a door with his key. You two walked in and see that it's a two beds facing a TV and a sliding door that showcased most of California.

"I saved that bed by the window for you. I know you like the sunlight hitting your face when you wake up. Still think that's weird." Lew said, placing your luggage by the foot of your mattress.

You roll your eyes at him as you sit down by a lounge chair. You look out again, still not believing you're here.

"Okay, I'm going to shower. Would it be okay if we could order takeout?" you ask, already getting up.

"Yeah, I'll order us some food and drinks. Take your time." He said.

"I'm going to venmo you whether you like it or not!" You shouted as you made it to the bathroom, knowing he'd always cover the bill.

All you could hear was him chuckling under his breath before he was on his phone, searching for where to order food. Suddenly, he gets a notification on his phone from Twitter. He presses it with curiosity and his eyes squint at the tweet.

Suddenly, he realizes that it's a picture of him and you hugging at the airport not even an hour ago that read

"Singer Lewis Capaldi picking up mystery girlfriend?"

Lewis felt disgusted that someone took a picture without your consent. He was always protective of you, even when you were kids. He exits twitter and just focused on getting food.

He headed down to grab takeout and knocked on the door, announcing it's him

"I'm good, Lew!" you hollered.

He opens the door and walks in to see you in your uni sweatshirt, shorts, and fuzzy socks. You look up and smile brightly, making him warm inside.

"Yes, I'm starving!" you grinned, raising your arms to reach out for the bag. He sat next to you on your bed as you opened up the platter.

As you started eating, you noticed how Lew wasn't saying much.

"Hey, what's bothering you?" you ask, taking a bite.

"It's nothing, trust me." Lewis said, picking his food.

"Lew, it's me for crying out loud. You don't look ok." You said, putting down your food.

He takes a deep breath and follows your actions, wiping his palms as it became clammy.

"A pap took a picture of us at the airport and a tabloid is speculating we're an item. I'm just getting upset that I got you in this mess." He said, knowing you're a private person.

"Thank you for telling me, but I knew things like this were going to happen. You did warn me after all before I came here, and your manager told me to watch a 30-minute video about media exploitation." You said, making Lewis laugh again.

You reach out for his hand and squeezed it.

"I'm fine, you're fine, we're all fine. Soon this will all blow over like it never happened, trust me." You said.

Lewis felt a bit relieved after your words as he held onto your hand for a bit longer.

"Okay, but I still promised you a day of shopping and sightseeing. So don't think you can stay here in this lavish hotel without me."

You threw your head back, laughing as you lied onto the bed. Lewis did the same as he stared at you naming the things you've always wanted to do in your stay here.

The next day, it was filled with laughs and adventures with Lew's security guard. As a joke, Lewis signed up for those tourists buses that go around Hollywood boulevard searching for celebrities and you two were snickering that no one knew he was even on the bus.

You then took a stroll around and pointed out a clothing store, saying you needed an outfit for the concert. You were looking at the racks, not finding anything that sparked your interest. Lew came on your left, holding a hanger that had a dress.

"Thought this would work." He said.

You thank him and took it, still searching for more things.

Soon, he sat down on the couches as you walked out to show him your fits. Some were cute and silly, but nothing really stuck.

"Okay, I'm trying out yours. Ready?" You ask out loud.

"Ready as you are!" He hollered.

You slowly made your way out, feeling a bit nervous. Lewis' eyes widen a bit as he sat in his seat properly, looking at you.

"Wow." he said.

"Really? I thought it was alright, but I wasn't sure." You said, twirling around as you stared at the mirror.

"You look... pretty." Lewis said.

You slightly blush as you look back at him.

"Yeah, because you picked it out for me. But, I will be getting this dress. Thanks, Lew." You said, smiling at him before you changed.

Lewis' heart started beating a bit faster as he dramatically sat back on the couch.

"Oh no." he whispered to himself.

He's in love with his best friend.

After that moment, he's been feeling so nervous around you. You've noticed his mannerisms and thought that you did something. So, you two were hanging out, pretending that nothing was wrong. Lewis felt so bad but he knew if he uttered one word, he'd scared you off saying he loves you.

On the day of his performance, you haven't shared a lot of words with each other. You were kinda relieved as he was swamped with sound check and fittings. You decided to just find a place to breathe and found a staircase no one was using.

You put your hands on your temple as your elbows rested on your knees.

"Hey, I've been looking all over for you." a voice called out for you.

You look over to see Lewis standing at the top step. He then walked down and sat next to you.

"You hiding away from me?" he jokes.

"Lew, not now." You said lowly.

He was taken back by your tone.

"What's going on?" he asks sympathetically.

You release a sigh and look at him.

"Are we okay? Because half of the week, you've been wanting me to fly out here to support you and now you've been avoiding me every time we're alone." You stated.

Lewis is now in a bind, realizing his actions were hurting you.

"I'm sorry, believe me when I say this. I've just been feeling, I don't know how to say it without-"

Lewis gets cut off as he hears an announcement for him to be backstage in 5 minutes.

"You need to go, we can talk about this later." You said, feeling a bit let down.

Lewis tried to talk again, but you weren't ready to listen just yet.

He got up and left you, feeling guilty that he hurt you.

Finally, he was on stage singing, giving a great performance. He tried his best not to show his emotions but his mind felt like tangled wires. Once he came to his closing number, he looks to his left and sees you standing there, looking so proud at him. One thing about you is that even if you and him had arguments or fights, you would always still support each other no matter what. It's when Lewis realized that there was no one else who could replace you.

He takes a swig of his water and returned to his microphone, going off script like he usually does.

But this one was different than his past performances.

"I'm not very good with words, especially when I swear like a fucking sailor."

The crowd laughs along with him, but you can tell he's getting a bit shy.

"This song I wrote awhile back... it was meant for someone. I really missed them since I left home, so I decided to write a song about it. The first time I ever performed it was in front of her over facetime, and she said it was her favorite song. But little did she know, it was me telling her that I loved her."

He looks back at you for a moment, giving you a look that had a thousand words. Lewis turns away.

"Here's to everyone who want's to go back to the start." He said, grabbing his guitar as he started to play.

Out of focus, didn't take a second to notice Now we're separated by oceans, vast Couldn't make this last

I wish I'd have stayed 'Cause love can find a way to make your feet run heavy Make your heart run steady Then it breaks, so I'm praying that you're feeling the same

You know I spent some time in Hollywood tryna find Something to get the thought of you and I off my mind So tell me honey, oh, when you're just a step away from falling apart Do you ever feel like going back to the start?

Backstage, you were beyond speechless as you stand there, listening to your best friend's words. You finally understood every lyric he sang.

If you can hear me, does it really have to end? I feel you close, although you're eight hours ahead If we can pick it up, then just tell me where and when We'll go back to the start again If you can hear me, does it really have to end? I feel you close, although you're eight hours ahead If we can pick it up, just tell me where and when We'll go back to the start again

You know I spent some time in Hollywood tryna find Something to get the thought of you and I off my mind So tell me honey, oh, when you're just a step away from falling apart Do you ever feel like going back to the start? Oh, you know I would if I could Maybe I spent more time in Hollywood than I should So tell me honey, oh, when you're just a step away from falling apart Do you ever feel like going back to the start?

The audience cheered after he was done singing. Taking off his guitar, he whips his head around to you, slowly making his way in your direction.

Your feet walk up to him till both of you run towards each other, enveloping each other's embrace as he crashed his lips into yours.

Everyone roared as they see you both kiss on stage. As if on cue, fireworks start to spark out loud. You pull away, staring at the person you've loved all along.

"You have a funny way of showing your feelings." You said, tearing up.

Lewis wipes away the tears as he smiles at you.

"I'm sorry, for everything." he said.

"There's only one way for me to forgive you: kiss me again." You said.

Lewis smirks, then kissed you again as you wrap your arms around his neck. Fans cheered for you again as fireworks still go around the venue.

That night was the best night at the Hollywood Bowl, as Lewis got to be in love with his best friend.

#lewis capaldi #lewis capaldi imagine #lewiscapaldi #lewis capaldi fan fiction #lewis capaldi x reader #lewis capaldi x you

[shinsengumi-archives]

Shimabara (part 1)

I looked for Kyoto's red light district several times. First on a map. Shimabara is not marked on modern maps. And for a while I seriously thought that there was nothing left of it, just like Tokyo's Yoshiwara. Then I found out that Shimabara is a real place. And it's not that far from our house. Well, it's about half an hour by bike.

The next stage was several attempts to find Shimabara by car. After riding back and forth a couple of times on highways that are supposed to pass near Shimabara and from which we saw no sign of this Shimabara, my husband said he was bored with this entertainment.

Eventually I got on my bike and decided: Even if die, I'll find it. I made it to the bus stop at the back of the Nishi-Hongan-ji temple, which is called "Shimabara-guchi" (Shimabara's Gate, sort of). Having parked my bike to make sure that I wouldn't miss it on foot, I went for a spin around the surrounding streets. I found a Shimabara Hospital, Shimabara Police Station, and even the Shimabara post office (pictured below). Everything said it was around here somewhere. But where?!!

I passed a small flower store on the corner of a narrow, crooked street a few times. The owners were busy outside setting up their merchandise, and clearly noticed the gaijin girl walking around. I was about to give up and ask them where the hell Shimabara was, but the crooked, narrow street leading away from the store suddenly winked at me from lurking around the corner...

That's it! That's it!!! This is the main gate of Shimabara, Shimabara Daimon (or Omon). The eastern, front gate, one of only two that were, and the only one that survived. The entire perimeter of the block was surrounded by a wall, a couple pieces of which remain on either side of the gate. The gate itself is a copy of the gate of Shimabara Castle (located on the territory of current Nagasaki prefecture), which was captured during the suppression of the uprising of Japanese Christians by Tokugawa Iemitsu's troops in 1638. Actually, according to the most common version, the "Shimabara" neighborhood, which moved to this location in 1641, got its name from the castle. Apparently, there was a funny saying: "The brave visitors of the entertainment quarters were invited to bravely take the beauties by storm. And there is no fortress that will not be conquered".

Remains of a stone water basin. Rinse your hands. 

And outside the gate. It's nothing special. Just a regular residential urban neighborhood. Modern houses and cars. A tangle of wires overhead. And only the gray tiles underfoot mark the former Shimabara hanamachi.

You see that? The asphalt changes to tile in the place where there was once a wall enclosing the neighborhood.

The first thing we found in the former entertainment quarters was a hotel with an onsen called Makoto no yu (Makoto bathhouse). Shinsengumi fans, enjoy. Hopefully, customer autopsies are not on the menu.

A stone's throw from the bathhouse is the former Wachigaiya 輪違屋 tea house. It was founded in 1688. It's now closed to the general public, although periodically events are held there with the last incumbent tayu of Shimabara. And Wachigaiya has served as the setting for several feature films of Shimabara life. Including a romance about the Shinsengumi, who were frequent visitors to the entertainment district.

The door was ajar, see? I stuck my nose in there and blew loudly. But no one came out. Judging by the complete absence of any clear signs describing a brief history of the institution, the house is private. And according to the presence of all the proper stickers above the door (gas, electricity, television, etc.) - the house is residential and random outsiders are not allowed to look inside. However, there is nothing particularly valuable in this institution. It's a standard tea house of an entertainment district: on the first floor they walk in and get drinks, on the second floor there are "rooms" where you can be alone with the girl of your choice.

A little farther down the street from Wachigaiya was a tiny cemetery wedged between the houses. These tombstones (darker in the center) were placed during the Edo period. Perhaps one of Shimabara's brothel dwellers was also buried here. I haven't found any confirmation of this theory (nor any refutation, for that matter), but I like to think so. Where have the residents of the neighborhood been buried for the last four hundred years?

Adjacent to the cemetery is an equally tiny Buddhist temple called Hokke-ji 法華寺. It has very interesting tiles on the edge of the roof, I haven't seen such a thing until now. The temple is said to belong to the Nichiren Buddhist sect. But it has nothing to do with Shimabara proper as a licensed entertainment district: the temple was built on this site eight hundred years before Shimabara so it has its own agenda.

It's an old house. From the architecture, it looks like it used to be some kind of food establishment. But now it looks like just a residential building.

And this is the corner of the biggest and most famous structure in Shimabara: an ageya called Sumiya. Ageya 揚屋 is a type of establishment. It's not a tea house, a restaurant, or a brothel. It's a kind of closed elite club where only certain members of the public are allowed in and only on recommendation. It's where they gather to discuss important business or to talk about elegant things, where beautiful and educated women are invited to enhance the conversation with their brilliance. Sumiya 角屋 is the name of this ageya.

The front, guest entrance to Sumiya. It's closed to regular visitors. Tourists can enter through the back entrance, which leads to the kitchen and "office".

The street along which Sumiya stretched. It's about the width of one car.

I reached the other side of Shimabara.

There was once a second, western, gate in the wall around the block, smaller, not preserved. Only a black granite plaque reminds us that it was here.

Shimabara Sumiyoshi jinja Shrine. One of the many Sumiyoshi temples under the Osaka Sumiyoshi-taisha. The temple is quite tiny, but it is well-maintained and appears to be open to visitors.

On the curb surrounding the tree on the temple's territory, someone had placed either toys or some kind of memorial sign. It was completely unclear why, and there was no one to ask.

Everything is like in big temples, only smaller.

The temple is surrounded by a low granite fence. Each pillar is a donation from someone whose name is carved on the stone.

After going around all the surrounding gardens, which turned out to be fewer than I thought, I went back to Sumiya. I had to see the inside, right? It's a unique structure, by the way, there aren't many of them left. An ageya was a combination of a strict and spacious samurai dwelling and a richly decorated merchant's house combined with an office.

Interior courtyard. View of the front entrance from inside. The entrance itself is behind a curtain with Sumiya's coat of arms on it. Behind me is the door to the kitchen and other utility rooms, which take up almost a third of the entire area. And to the left is the passageway to the guest rooms.

Stone carving at the entrance, a place for travelers to wash. Also with the coat of arms of the institution.

The kitchen area. The kitchen itself, where cooking is done, is on the left. At the center is the entrance to the working and business area. This is where they dealt with vendors and conducted other business that kept the place alive.

Above the entrance there is a "pocket" where they insert plaques with the names of the ladies who are entertaining the guests today. Tayu and geisha. Shimabara had its own geiko and maiko who delighted guests with singing and dancing.

There's a palanquin parked out front. Doesn't look so worn, so probably no one's ever ridden in it.

The entrance to the kitchen and a bench for visitors. The beautiful carvings represent again the Sumiya coat of arms.

Cooking stove. From the size of this place, it could feed an army.

The dishwashing area. There was a well from the old times, and the water supply system was installed in the 20th century.

"Ceiling" in the kitchen and "pipe". There were no chimneys in the literal sense in the local houses. Smoke rose freely from the stove and spread throughout the available space. Therefore, in machiya houses, kitchens were very separate from living spaces.

[continued]

#red light district #location #photo #translated #translated from russian

[on-my-way-to-the-woods]

Bad Decisions Roadtrip

It went well for a trip planned the week/day before to a popular event.

After a very busy week and a Friday filled by surprise medical appointments, we got up incredibly early on Saturday to start packing for a trip to see the solar eclipse. Some friends of ours live not too far from the path of totality so we were able to go stay with them and avoid all the crowds at hotels/campgrounds/etc. We met them at a market and got to poke through the stalls. I got a little dog carving for my desk and F picked up a variety of teas. The rest of Saturday and Sunday was normal hanging out stuff: talking, walks, baking (redbud flower) cookies, etc.

I didn't actually pick generally where we were going until Sunday night, and didn't pick the exact location until Monday morning. I kept checking the cloud map, but most of the area was cloudy so it was very much a 'take your best guess and hope' sort of thing. We figured even if we couldn't see well, the weather changes would still be apparent and that's enough for us.

It worked though! Years of refining my 'find somewhere that won't be crowded' skills continue to pay off. Because of the potential for crowds, I wanted to make sure there was a bathroom available for F (lines are okay, I just didn't want her to have to walk forever in search of a more private tree), so I picked a side entrance to a park with a pit toilet and a gravel lot at the trailhead. The lot was about half full when we arrived, 1 RV and 5 other cars, but we had the trail to ourselves - most people were watching from the parking lot. We walked down the trail a ways and settled on the edge of a field. Not a single other person came by despite the fact that we were literally just off the trail.

I love watching eclipses, F loves the weather change that comes with a solar eclipse, and Nova just loves hanging out outside - there was something for everyone. I'm sure many people have described it better than I, but watching a solar eclipse just has a lovely eerie awe-inspiring feeling to it. Watching the color and quality of the light change around you, feeling the temperature drop and the winds pick up, seeing the moon suddenly become a pitch black circle surrounded by silvery beams - almost like a hole in the sky sucking the light in. Agh, it's just stunning.

Though F says her favorite part is just being out in the day without feeling the sun stab her in the eyes 😂 "Why can't the sun be like this all the time?"

Nova was confused by the weather changes. I kept cracking up because she kept glancing up at the sky and looking left and right as if to say "what's going on?" She loves cold weather though and is always energized by breezy days and she had a good time exploring the field while the humans did weird shit like stare at the sun with funny glasses on. I had not considered that people would set off fireworks during totality 😑, but she handled them like a champ. Her favorite part of the day was probably just a short bit after totality when we went off on a hike through the woods so F could enjoy the last of the dim light; we ran into a patch of morels and stayed a lot longer than we had meant to. By the time we got back to the parking lot there was only one other car and shortly later two women with a grocery bag (presumably also filled with morels) appeared out of the woods and drove off.

The traffic sure was something, but also everyone follows their GPS nowadays so we were able to avoid a lot of it by driving on roads between fields that ran parallel to the highways. We had to join the lines at certain points to get under the interstate/over rivers/etc. but for the most part it was honestly a very satisfying drive. Playing music, making quick decisions on whether a left or a right will lead you back to a road headed in the right direction the fastest, and watching the fields pass by

#hiking #mushroom hunting #foraging #eclipse #avoiding other writing I need to do by finally finishing this post... 😅

[unholyhelbig]

Ronancetober Day #4: Horror Movie AU

[A/N: Less of a Horror Movie Au and more of a Twilight Zone episode that I watched when I was way too young]

Read on Ao3

Summary: Nancy drives back to Hawkins during a stormy summer night. She encounters a strange hitchhiker in a prom dress.

There were three general rules that Nancy Wheeler kept while traveling the 14 hours from Emerson to Hawkins Indiana. Rule one: keep a loaded gun in her glovebox for emergencies only. Rule Two: if you get tired, take breaks, fatigue is not an excuse for dead. Rule Three: never, never, pick up hitchhikers.

It was a steady drive on a single highway that she would split straight down the middle. Seven hours in the morning, a quick stop for lunch, and then seven hours into the night. She had gotten a book on tape of the Grapes of Wrath, had loaded up on orange Gatorade, and had hit the road before the sun even rose about the horizon.

Nancy spent every summer in Hawkins. She would pack up her car with the two totes of clothes and books she had accumulated in her dorm over the school year, and leave the rest for the RAs to pick through. She’d drive and resume her summer internship at the Hawkins post. Schooling had given her claim to something other than errand girl.

It was her second summer making the trip, the air was clear and warm. She had stopped for lunch at a local diner and devoured the burger that the waitress had recommended being the best. Seven hours had flown by and the last seven proved to be a difficult stretch.

Ohio stretched endlessly. There were fields of yellow crop and swaying corn, large oak trees that stretched on either side of the backroads. Dark gray clouds bricked the air and heavy rain forced Nancy to crank her windows up by the time that night fell.

When she stopped to fill up her tank at a Sinclair right on the edge of Van Wert, she called her mother from a payphone on the side of the building. Karen begged her to get a hotel in town, to ride out the weather and get some rest before continuing on her way.

“Mom, I’ll be fine.” She ran her fingers over the ribbed metal chord “I just want to be there. I want to see you and Holly, and Mike.”

Karen understood. There was an itch for Nancy to return home at the back of all of their minds. She had fought hard to get away from the small town of Hawkins, but at the end of the day, it was home and she could get bouts of sickness for it.

She hung up after a rushed ‘I love you' and pulled back out onto the highway. The windshield wipers on her car had been replaced by a senior named Joel Davies who had an infatuation with her. She could see well through the sheets of violent rain. Corn fields surrounded her on either side, slowly turning to wheat and then back to corn.

Nancy slammed on her brakes when the figure stepped in front of her car. The rubber screeched against the wet asphalt, slipping from the sudden stop. Nancy struggled to gain control of the car, ending up in the grassy embankment with her breath rapid and hands clenched around the steering wheel.

Her heart was in her throat faster than her fingers could find the loaded pistol in the glove box. She palmed it regardless. She had angled the car into the embankment in a way that her yellow headlights illuminated the fat drops of rain, the smoke from her tailpipe in the suddenly cold weather.

It was a girl. She had gotten a glimpse of royal blue fabric and what she thought was mud, though it could easily be mistaken for blood. She was standing in the strong color, breath misting in front of her lips white with the weather.

Nancy must be imagining this, a girl in a prom dress. A prom dress of all things, hailing her down in the middle of an Ohio road. She was stunning, Nancy clocked that pretty quickly. There was a smattering of freckles across her features and the coolest blue eyes that she had ever seen.

Despite her better judgment, Nancy Wheeler got out of the car.

She gasped as the water came down hard and fast against her shirt, soaking her to the bone in a matter of seconds. The girl was barefoot, holding a pair of heels in one hand and a useless white wrap in the other.

“Do you need help?” Nancy called over the wind.

“Just a ride.”

Nancy nodded and hoped the girl saw her through the water. She did she walked around the side of the car in time for Nancy to unlock the door and close her back into the warmth. She wasn’t sure if the car could handle the heat after such a long drive, but she turned it on anyway.

The stranger smelled of nature, sharp with clove cigarettes mixed with the dampness of the air around them. She was deathly pale, entirely too quiet for her own good. Nancy felt the gun as she stealthily slid it into the hull of her boot.

“Thank you for stopping.”

She shivered into herself, teeth chattering. Nancy’s instincts took hold of her in that moment. Her chest ached for the girl dripping rainwater into her passenger seat. She reached into the backseat and grabbed the closest coat: a red bomber jacket that was lined with wool, complete with brass buttons. It hadn’t been worn since her freshman year in high school.

The girl took it and draped it around her shoulders. She said again, “Thank you.”

“Where are you heading?”

It seemed like the next natural line of questioning. She had seen her dad pick up one or two hitchhikers on the interstate before Karen forbade him from ever doing so again. While there was no inherent fear of the stranger, there was a sadness that radiated from her in waves. Nancy wanted to cure it. Get her warm and a meal to eat and out of the torn prom dress.

The girls’ eyes lit up. “There’s a diner sixty miles up the road. I can use a phone there.”

“Okay,”

She didn't want to pry. Was this time of year for proms? She never attended her junior prom despite the way that Steve pried and eventually she did give in and go to the dance held her senior year, but it had been a blur of terrible punch and flashy music and men who had layered on too much aftershave. The times could line up, really, they could.

Nancy repeated that to herself as she pulled carefully onto the street and kept driving forward as if nothing had happened. If there wasn’t a girl in her passenger seat at this very moment she would have chalked it up to exhaustion.

“Are you warm enough?” She asked, voice quiet.

The girl pulled Nancy’s coat closer to her bare shoulders. “I am.”

“I’m Nancy.”

“I’m Robin.”

“Nice to meet you, Robin.” She had long ago abandoned her attempt to focus on the audiotape she brought along. Instead, she wanted to learn about the stranger, still respecting invisible boundaries. “Come here often?”

“If I didn’t know any better, I would think you were hitting on me.”

Nancy’s cheeks instantly flushed, and she let out an awkward laugh. “No, no. I mean, you’re very beautiful. I just can’t say I’ve ever seen a woman in a prom dress on the side of the road. It’s a first.”

“There’s a first for everything” She was smiling, no malice in her words. “My date was an absolute douche and ditched me on the side of the road on the way to prom. Can you believe that? On the way.”

“How long have you been walking?”

“I… don’t know.” She shook her head as if to clear the fog “A long time, I think.”

Nancy gritted her teeth in anger that she felt was entirely irrational on her part. It was soon replaced by a sadness unimaginable. Steve may have had some growing to do when they began their relationship, but he would never do this, would never shove her out of the car in the middle of nowhere, knees dripping with blood, fingernails caked in dirt.

Ohio, the few times she had driven through it, was desolate. She always figured that what scattered towns lay within were hidden by trees and country roads. She saw the occasional gas station, a farm here and there. It was downright cruel to leave a girl like this, one so captivating, out here in a storm.

She chuckled, a sweet sound “You don’t have to feel sorry for me.”

“I don’t. I feel bad for whatever asshole dropped you off on the side of the road.”

The girls’ pale cheeks heated the same way Nancy’s had. Something in her pushed the words from the deepest part of her mind. What did she have to lose? She would take Robin to the diner, would test the waters to feelings she had been pushing aside for a long time. She would pay for their meal and give Robin a night better than the one she was promised in the first place.

Curiosity tugged at her. Nancy wanted to learn everything about Robin. Where was she going to college? What was she majoring in? How did she meet this guy who had been so cruel and unforgiving?

None of these questions were answered. She saw the neon blue light of the diner wash against the wet streets. It stretched onto the edges of the wheat fields surrounding the out-of-place restaurant.

Nancy slowed down and pulled into the lot. There were two cars parked in front of the stretching windows. She could see a waitress flitting around behind the counter. A man sat hunched at the end of the counter despite the darkness of the night.

“Thank you,” Robin said again, this time a soft emotional murmur.

 Nancy shut off the engine and looked at Robin. The neon blue bathed her in a gorgeous color of new beginnings. Nancy fought the unriddled urge to tuck the damp piece of hair behind Robin’s ear.  

Robin leaned forward in the small damp space of the car. She placed a tender, grateful kiss on Nancy’s cheek. It grazed the corner of her lip. Her touch was cold, the sensation shooting to the base of her spine like a broken electrical wire.

“Of all the people who have ever stopped for me, you are by far the kindest.”

Nancy’s eyes snapped open, and she was left alone in the front seat of the station wagon. The seat was stained from rainwater and mud, the washed lilac scent that Robin carried lingered cruelly. But Robin herself, and the red suede jacket that was draped over her shoulders, had vanished.

She was shaken up, fear coursing through her veins as she nearly tumbled from the side of the car. Damned, the rain and the puddle that soaked the cuffs of her jeans. It was balmy, the air clinging to the back of her throat, her skin like a second life not shed.

Nancy had nearly wrecked for this girl, and had driven a solid sixty miles with her in the passenger seat of her car. There was no plausible way that Robin could have exited quickly and quietly. She wasn’t in the diner; Nancy could see straight through the windows.

After gulping in three large breaths, she entered the diner. The air conditioner was blasting. It dried the rain against her collar and made it feel tight. Her fingers were shaking. The waitress behind the counter had a calming nature about her. She placed a laminated menu in front of Nancy, who ended up ordering a warm cup of whatever tea they had to calm her nerves.

“Darling,” The waitress said, pouring steaming water from the kettle. “What’s the matter? You look like you’ve seen a ghost.”

Nancy didn’t’ wait for the tea to seep from the bag. Instead, she drank the slightly tinted yellow water quickly enough for her stomach to simmer. “I think I might have.”

#Ronancetober Day 4 #Ronancetober #Robin Buckley #Nancy Wheeler #Ronance #Ronance fanfiction #Stranger things #Stranger things fanfiction

[irishgolfadventure]

Ardglass the Magnificent

Today we said goodbye to Newcastle and The Briers and left for Ardglass Golf Club located on the coast about 30 miles north of Newcastle. Traveling in Ireland always takes longer than you anticipate because there are very few direct routes and straight highways. So we figure every 30 miles is at least a 45 minute trip or longer. Today was no exception!

Upon arriving in the small village of Ardglass, we quickly found the golf course. It was 56 degrees and winds blowing 10-15mph. But what a surprise this golf course was. First, a little background, I mentioned in previous posts about my new best friend, Tom Coyne, author of “A Golf Course Called Ireland”. In talking with Tom about our agenda he made a few recommendations. One of those recommendations was to ADD Ardglass Golf Club to our itinerary. Now I know why!

Ardglass GC is one of the most beautiful golf courses I have had the privilege of playing. The course starts out with five holes along a very high and jagged coast line. The first three holes all have forced carries over those jagged cliffs that hug the shoreline of the Irish Sea. Based upon the course distance you choose to play, some of those carries seem almost impossible. Of course for me, the two back tees were a no go for that reason. For my first tee ball of the day I sacrificed a brand new Titleist to the golf gods, drawing a well struck driver into whitewashed foam of the waves crashing on the rocks along the shoreline some 100 feet below. Would be one of three lost balls of the day.

One of the unique and spectacular features of AGC is that you have views of the surrounding sea from every hole on the golf course. The course, played from the proper tees, provides a challenging but fair test of golf besides being one of the most enjoyable walks you’ll ever take on a golf course. The course is not  nearly as penal as some of the more highly rated courses on this fine island! That’s why, Tom, you know my new best friend, listed this as his second favorite course in all of Ireland. When I come back to the Emerald Island again, AGC will be on my list to revisit!

One of the favorite things Kim and I like about playing with caddie’s and being paired with two other unknown golfers is getting to meet and know new people. As they say, everybody has a story, and today was no exception. We played with a retired music producer from LA, who bought a golf course near Wash DC, and his course manager. Got an invite to come to DC and try out his new club! And Simon, our caddie, was a retired army vet from the UK and now living in Ardglass.

One interesting side note, Ardglass’s Clubhouse is the oldest clubhouse in the world. Built in the 1405, its initial use was as a fortified warehouse for importers and exporters. It became the Ardglass Clubhouse in 1896.

Update on Stats

Score - 89/186

Yardage played - 6079/12,376

Lost Balls - 3/5

No. of Pars or Better - Pars 4/5

Steps - 13,845/28,234 

Miles Walked - 6.43/12.63

Green Fees - $130/$505

Caddie Fee - $60 plus tip/$120

 As I said yesterday, the pictures I am posting of today’s round really don’t capture how dramatic the views are or the huge elevation changes. And as a reminder on the pictures you can click the lower left area of the picture to get a description of what you are viewing.

After a two and a half hour drive, we arrived in Portrush. Where we are staying at the Elephant Rock Hotel for the next two nights as we anticipate playing Royal Portrush on Friday. Kim is taking a day off from golf tomorrow and I am teeing it at Portstewart. So far so good on the back holding up for which I’m very thankful! God is good! gb

[petri808]

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For my tumblr bestie @random-rave early birthday gift 🎁

@thenaluarchive Nalu Week 7-part story

“So, you and Gray will be heading back home to Cali for the summer?” Lucy questioned her friend Natsu. The University of Hawaii at Hilo just finished their spring semester, and all the dormies needed to vacate soon.

“Yeah, our lease is up at the end of the month.”

Lucy pursed her lips briefly. “In that case, I was wondering if you guys would like to come with Levy and I to my family’s beach house in Waikoloa?” She questioned. It had become their tradition to go after school finished for two weeks. “We’ll be back before you leave.”

“I’ll check with Gray, but I think he’ll say okay. So, just the four of us?”

“Yup. Gajeel,” Levy’s longtime boyfriend, “has to work so he can’t come.”

“Sounds like a plan!”

One week later, the four friends piled into Lucy’s Toyota 4Runner and headed out to Waikoloa. The quickest route was a 1-1/2 hour drive on the Daniel K. Inouye highway. A scenic route that cut between two of the island’s volcanoes, Mauna (mountain) Kea and Mauna Loa. Flanked by ancient ohia forests and lava flows on the eastern side, and miles of open fields on the west. You can even see rising across the ocean, mount Haleakala on the island of Maui on a clear day.

They arrived in Waikoloa’s Anaeho’omalu area nestled along the azure blue Pacific Ocean. A developed piece of land surrounded by crumbling ancient lava flows and sparse grass lands— a very dry environment. Here hotels like the Hilton and Marriott had built along side condos like the one Lucy’s family owned.

“Very nice,” Natsu remarked as he got out of the vehicle. “How much does a place like this cost?”

“I’m not sure,” Lucy responded. “All I know is they bought this place a couple years after I was born.” Her mom had heard about it’s sale while working at her realty company.

He chuckled, “so, out of our price range, got it.”

“Yeah,” she giggled too.

Lucy lead the group into the home and parceled out the rooms. It was a three bedroom condo, so she and Levy got one room each while the two boys had to share one. But they were fairly large and comfortable, plus Natsu and Gray were already used to sharing a dorm. Then after a quick tour of the place, they head out for supplies at the nearest store.

Foodland farms market was located in a shopping center a few miles away near the Mauna Lani resort. Since this was the boys first time there, the group walked around the shopping center, window shopping really. It was just a mix of clothing stores and restaurants.

“Can you believe there used to be a 4-D theater here?” Lucy explained. “They only played really short films, but it was the first time I experienced 4-D.”

“Yeah I saw a scene from that movie Journey to the Center of the Earth here,” Levy added. “That scene where they’re on the boat and flying fish we’re jumping all over, they spritzed us with water!”

Everyone laughed.

“At least you got to try a 4-D, I haven’t seen one yet,” Natsu griped.

“Well one day while here, we can check out the luxury cinemas at Queen’s marketplace.” Lucy offered Natsu with a light blush to her cheeks. “I haven’t been there yet.”

“Like a date? I’m game,” he teased pulling a deeper flush from Lucy.

“When you two are done flirting, meet us at the market,” Levy teased before pulling Gray away from the now flustered pair.

After a couple seconds, Natsu and Lucy gained their composure and followed. The group shopped for food to last a few days along with drinks and snacks. It was a decent haul leaving them with arms full of groceries.

On the way back to the car, Natsu stopped Lucy briefly. “I just wanted to say thanks again for inviting us. I think this is gonna be the best vacation I ever had.”

“Aww,” Lucy blushed, “I think so too.”

#nalu #nalu week 2022 #simply nalu 2022 #fairy tail #natsu dragneel #lucy heartfilia #nalu fan fic #nalu fanfiction #part 1

[charlesandmartine]

Friday 17th February 2023

This and the previous property's water supply comes from the sky. Huge tanks in the garden harvest rainwater for drinking as well as all the other household requirements. These tanks here are running low, and if significant amounts of rain are not delivered soon, they will need topping up by truck at cost. This is not seen as being a popular pastime. Rains are forecast in 4 weeks time.

We had set targets for today that could be considered unrealistic. Our journey from Tuncurry to Yamba was to be something slightly less than 5 hour straight and 430kms up the fast A1 Pacific Highway, which is a long way for us in one day. Complicated of course because we wanted to stop on route to take a look at a couple of places. The first must see place had to be the lunch spot in Nambucca Heads, conveniently situated at the head of the Nambucca River but an absolutely delightful collection of sandbanks and natural harbour. Ham & egg sandwiches are an excellent match for the scenery on offer. What with the visit to the bakery added to the consumption time I think we are now talking overall 6 hours with less than halfway. Our next stop was to be Bellingen at the start of the Waterfall Drive. This unsurprisingly involved driving down a road surrounded by waterfalls and comes well recommended. Bellingen is a town that absolutely confirms everything we like about Australia! It is a comely mainstreet of old traditional shops with covered walkways, banks and cinema; balconies with delicate regency iron fretwork which adds a real charm to it. Apparently some town planners are keen to rip the lot down and replace it with modern stuff identical to everywhere else. Thankfully there is sufficient opposition to this viewpoint to hold this sacrilegious act at bay. But for how long we ask? The tourist information lady was very helpful when asked where best to sample the loveliest of her waterfalls and she immediately began scooping copious piles of leaflets, printouts, maps and instructions suitable for a fortnight stay. Another approach was proffered; if you could do just one of these places, which would it be? So that was how we ended up driving up the Dorrigo Mountain to see the Crystal Shower Falls Walk in the Dorrigo National Park Rainforest. This involved a 3km round trip along tall canopied forest paths winding steadily downwards passing palms and yellow cedars until we heard the sounds of running water. The Crystal Shower did not disappoint, especially the ability to clamber behind the falls to view the falling water from the other side. Fantastic and well worth the hike back up the winding forest path, although now making the overall journey time approach 8 hours.

Thus it was that we arrived in our superb Samsara Bush Retreat cabin just before dusk, tired and very hungry. We didn't fancy cooking at this point so we emptied the Nissan and set coordinates for what looked essentially the nearest thing to a fish and chips restaurant. This somewhat morphed into a hotel by the motorway bridge over the river. Dispell all cosy thoughts of country hotels straightaway. Think more in terms of cowboy town hotel, cattle rustlers and karaoke. Then combine this with trying to converse over a cacophony of country music (term loosely applied) with a Sheila, who's already had a tough day sheep wrestling, with an intention of ordering take away F&C. What did come across in clear dulcet tones was: 30 minutes, busy and that'll be 50 bucks! Waiting the required 'go out and catch fish, fillet and cook' time we investigated the possibility of a supply of SB. This was to romp in at 38 bucks a bottle! Well you have to crush the grapes, ferment etc, all costs I suppose. So we approached what must have been Sheila's sister behind the bar to enquire if she might possibly have a bottle of beer. What do want, what you got, no what do you want? This circular discussion continued a while until we suggested Four X. Then with a look, she disappeared out back somewhere (not the outback, although by the amount of time it took it could have been) she emerged with a cold one.

Our landlord suggested later this was the best place to go in this sugar mills district where clearly the entire town of millers come out on a Friday evening to let their hair down.

Hmm

[trashyfyrsteskagr]

356, part 3. have to pay rent anyway

[id and full text under the cut]

[id: three pictures in consecutive order, all featuring paintings from the anubis collection (anubis. thin places) by joanna karpowicz. paintings are acrylics on paper, all dominated by cool blues, indigos and greys, all depicting the egyptian god of death, anubis. the pictures all have glowing light blue writing superimposed, the font reminiscent of neon signs. first picture is the painting hotel. it's night. anubis is shown from the back taking up the central space at the very bottom of the painting. he's wearing a dark coat and is walking down the empty street towards a dingy hotel. a red neon sign spelling "hotel" is visible, but the light is dim, muted by the blue night aura. the artist's signature can be seen in the bottom right corner. the writing reads: "I am found at airports and gas stations. I am found when I'm sitting on benches, huddled shyly together in massifs of their shopping malls." second picture is the painting into the magic kingdom. it's night, too, and anubis is shown from chest up, also from the back, but this time he is slightly turned, so the outline of his snout is also visible. he is taking up the bottom left corner of the painting, looking out at the sight before him: a dirt road covered in snow and beautiful snowy mountains with three distinctive peaks in the distance. a car can be seen driving away, already very small. a small splotch of light from its reflectors is lighting the way, and two red rear lights are visible, but they're rather low, dominated by the wintery aura. the writing reads: "I am found when I'm driving on the highway at night. I am found when I'm fading away in hospital waiting rooms, before doctors remind me of my existence." third picture is the painting remember the snow?. it's night, presumably winter. a rural town scenery is seen, with a heavy construction near the left edge - perhaps a church, as a structure reminiscent of a bell sits on top of it. the construction is surrounded by bare trees, and a solitary one can also be seen in the centre-right portion, a lot closer to the viewer. on the right, a grey road is visible, with two cars driving, their lights small. at the very edge there is a grouping of small buildings. anubis is near the centre of the painting, small in the distance, seemingly looking straight at the viewer. he has his hands in his pockets. a path covered in snow is leading from him to the viewer, as if they were standing on two opposite sides of the path, facing each other. the writing reads: "I am a liminal space masquerading as a person. this is why I am never at home." / end id]

full text:

I am found at airports and gas stations. I am found when I'm sitting on benches, huddled shyly together in massifs of their shopping malls. I am found when I'm driving on the highway at night. I am found when I'm fading away in hospital waiting rooms, before doctors remind me of my existence.

I am a liminal space masquerading as a person. this is why I am never at home.

paintings used are as follows: hotel, into the magic kingdom, remember the snow?, all by the wonderful joanna karpowicz. you can find more of anubis and her other amazing works here.

#writing #writers on tumblr #poetry #poets on tumblr #liminal spaces #joanna karpowicz #anubis #implied illness #illness cw #id under the cut #committed writings #356

[masterprocrastiwriter]

industrial l'manberg.

A rewrite for an alternate history of l'manberg.

It’s nighttime.

The stars and the sky remain peaceful, while the grounds of this world stay restless. You travel a long concrete road leading to who knows where with your trusty horse—the wind is chilling to the bone, but you don’t mind as you wear a thick coat of cow leather hugging your torso. You look at the distance, hoping anything appears from the unknown—and alas, the fog gradually uncovers a vast, urban landscape.

And your eyes are sharp enough you managed to read texts of a large metal signboard you passed by.

And it said, Welcome to L’Manberg!

Your brows lift up in surprise. You mindfully mutter, how could this be? Wasn’t L’Manberg just a shell of its former glory? Your disbelief gradually grows as the surroundings turn from lone plains to a forest of condensing acacia trees, and the buildings are getting larger, meaning you are getting close to one of its cities. Yes, one, of its cities.

Adrenaline rises from you within as the air slowly begins to feel warm, your hands pull firm to the ropes to slightly reduce the speed of your galloping horse. Noises of a bustling, main highway you’re heading ascend volume to your ears—the environment becomes apparent as you’re a few horse-runs away from it.

“Slow down, Sally,” you say to your horse as you pull the ropes back, finally slowing the animal down into the same pace these other animals are in. And if you wonder of the name: no, it’s not Sally reincarnated. That salmon has been a catnip of Wilbur Soot the First since who knows how long.

Right now, you feel a wash of amazement and refreshment as you look at the surroundings before you. The lights are bright, warm, and welcoming from the buildings containing it. The highway is filled with horses, pigs, and striders that are ridden as vehicles—best of all, you’re thankful that you do not have to breathe any combusting smoke that you suffer every day in your urban city from the human world.

You travel to other streets, wandering in awe of how L’Manberg looks now. Shops, commercial establishments, and residential buildings appear instead of ruins, and parks, gardens, and cottage houses instead of craters from TNTs and withers back in the Doomsday War. You bet the whole city is just as beautiful in daytime, but still, its beauty shines the brightest at night.

Your eyes trail to the direction where this road will lead you—in the distance is a large, gorgeous building mainly made of concrete and nicely picked materials, standing very tall and proud in front of a small perpendicular section of two avenues—don’t forget you’re still riding the horse. You go to the building’s separate road and park your horse in an adjacent parking lot.

After dismounting from Sally, you feel the goosebumps on your skin while you start to walk towards the building. Low-heeled diamond boots clack across a road of stone and andesite, and you begin to appreciate the marvel of the front lobby as the boots sound like crystals against a marble floor.

“Finally! Just in time to meet you!”

You hear a man’s voice from somewhere and you see a man approaching you with a big smile on his face. But what catches your attention are a pair of horns on the sides of his head.

“Good evening, welcome to the Manberg Hotel. My name is Johnathan,” he says, offering a hand in front of you.

You mirror a smile. “Nice to meet you,” you say and grab his hand for a handshake.

“Are you ready for the view?”

You nod.

“Absolutely.”

Johnathan then escorts you into the lobby. The moment you step inside, cold air strikes you for a brief moment that you blink a few times before looking at everything else.

It’s as if your body energized from how elegant the entrance hall looks. The maroon concrete walls contrast perfectly with the sculk flooring, and the chandeliers reek of luxury as they hang from the midnight blue ceiling that is stained with golden marble streaks. A ding! rings your ears making you turn your attention to the doors of an elevator opening.

The two of you enter and Johnathan presses the button to the penthouse—it then closes, and the elevator lifts up giving you a sudden, fuzzy sensation in the head.

Both of you are silent. The ride feels like it’ll take ages. You want to start a conversation, but you hesitate because nothing interesting is coming up in your mind.

One thought comes out of nowhere, and before you hold back the urge to speak about it, your mouth has blurted it out:

“I thought it was never meant to be.”

The man slowly turns his head to your direction. There’s a sense of tension out of his gaze that is bugging you subtly. I shouldn’t have said that, you say in your mind.

The elevator stops in motion, almost catching you off-guard.

“But what if it actually is?”

Your guard throws off, whipping your head to him from his words—ding, the elevator says, opening its doors, and the man simply walks away as if nothing happened. You immediately yank yourself back to your senses, shaking your head before you follow suit of his direction.

The penthouse is nothing but an empty place. I guess you might’ve expected that there are amenities here like a big swimming pool and some speakers and inclining chairs, but it’s all just as desolate as rooftops of bricked establishments.

Johnathan stands close to the edge, staring at the view below that you are yet to witness.

“See for yourself the country you think was never meant to be.”

The words are enough to give you goosebumps. But as you go closer to the edge, your eyes begin to widen, mouth agape, astounded at the jaw dropping view.

Presenting before you is a marvelous sea of different buildings of various styles crowd in their own heights, and are next to each other like row houses. Lights scatter like glitter all around, glistening as if it challenges the stars in the night sky. Clouds of smoke release from the chimneys of the residential buildings to the distant yet visible factories.

Like as said, you’re looking at a whole city. It’s one of the three. You could even say it stares back at you. You don’t even realize you’re holding your breath a lot until you feel your chest aching, so you release the air and tension, feeling a sense of tranquility at this urban landscape.

“Maybe L’Manberg was doomed to fail at the start.”

Johnathan’s voice makes you turn to him, meeting his rich brown eyes.

“But no one said its glory can never be redeemed and turn it into something better.”

You try to find the words to say anything back at it. But they never came.

And it seems he has stunned you enough to let his words in your head for a rent-free stay.

He fixes his necktie, and smiles at you once again. “Enjoy the view.”

And he turns around, then walks away without another word.

Welcome to Industrial L’Manberg.

#dsmp #mcyt #dream smp #lmanberg #manberg #pogtopia #manberg vs pogtopia

[michaelgbrown]

Vancouver Island - August 7, Sunday

An early rise today as we were headed off for a journey to Vancouver Island and the capitol of British Columbia - the city of Victoria.

The driver of our luxury bus, Brent, met us in the lobby at 0740h. We made a few other pickups at other less salubrious lodgings, like the Marriot, Fairmont Downtown, and even a Travelodge, before hitting the highway toward Richmond and the BC Ferry terminal. We had 30 minutes waiting in the vehicle lineup and took advantage of the market there to checkout the shops and have a leak. Before long we were back on our luxury bus and driving onto the ship.

Our luxury bus drive on with several other coaches, large trucks and what seemed like hundreds of cars onto several different decks. The ferries here are ships like the one that goes from Melbourne to Tassie, except our journey was only one and a half hours, from the mainland to Vancouver Island and the capitol of British Columbia.

We sailed out through the Georgia Strait then past several islands where clearly wealthy people with cash to spare have log cabins and what looked like highly expensive summer houses. Exactly on time our ferry docked at Swartz Bay and we were back on our luxury bus and driving down the highway (Hwy 17) through Saanich toward the capital - Victoria, named after Queen Victoria when Vancouver Island was a separate British Colony to British Columbia.

Captain Cook, on his third voyage, 1776-1780, surveyed the island with one of his Midshipman George Vancouver, also onboard was the sail master William Bligh. Years later George Vancouver was exploring and it was 3rd Lt James Baker who spotted a volcano from HMS Discovery in 1792 so they named it after him. Mount Baker which can be seem from Vancouver and surrounds but is actually in Washington State USA.

We arrived in Downtown Victoria and Aaron, Rose, Hugo and Norah headed off the a Fish n’ Chip shop for lunch, apparently the best in the world.

It came with a one hour wait. Bernie toured Fan Tan alley, apparently the narrowest shopping lane in the world, famous for being in a motorcycle chase in a Mel Gibson movie.

After checking out the Main Street of Victoria we decided on a harbour side cafe which was on the harbour broad walk over looking the Legislature of British Columbia and the Emporess Hotel. I had the locally caught fish in batter with naturally cut fries while Bernie had two fish tacos also with locally cut fries. Mine came with a nice coleslaw as well, washed down by a cold ginger beer. Around us were many Canadians who were clearly suffering and wilting in the soaring temperatures induced by climate change, at 24oC Bernie were actually pretty comfortable though.

At 3pm Brent picked up was in the luxury bus and drove was to the world famous, in Canada, Butchard Gardens. Initially a but dubious about this part of the trip it turned out to be the best. The garden are truely spectacular and we all enjoyed our time there and wished for more. Hugo’s and my favourite was the Japanese garden while Bernie liked the sunken Garden, Rose’s favourite was the rose garden and Aaron and Norah liked the carousel, the Chinese dragon and the ice cream shop.

At 1745h we had to join our luxury bus for the drive thru Saanick back to Swartz Bay and on to the return to the mainland ferry. For the trip back we satin the top deck in the warm sun, surrounded by sweaty Cunaks who were jostling each other to get the cool breeze. We had spectacular views of the islands, the houses of the wealthy and the setting sun hitting Mount Baker in the distance.

After the drop offs we were back on the Vancouver waterfront by 2200h and asleep by 2202h, dreaming of flowers, tasty fish and the gently flowing water of Japanese gardens.