#AUBBIE TRUSTS ME

[wordycheeseblob]

FOR THE COLROS!!! SILLIES!!!

maroon (cyran HSHDH), periwinkle, MAUVE, blush!!!, FUCHSIA!!!!, coral tbh, razzmatazz!!!!, t...timber......timberwolf....??? burgundy :3

CYRAN NATION RISE!!! I'm so so happy you love that silly man <33 :(

I raised that boy! :D LOOK at him GO!

Laughing makes you live longer, we're going to live forever! >:D

And very humble *curtsies*

You're giving me a lot of credit here :) And after all that bullying I did...

The secret ingredient is crime. Most of it is from Vio but you didn't hear that from me.

*whispers* I am in Spain but the P is silent.

Me too! :DD Soup or cheese cak, The choice is yours

:) hmmmmm really? Good to know...

(Probably the highest form of compliment I could receive!!)

I physically vibrate any time you post like AUBUN is HERRREEEEEE

[cloudcountry]

hi aubbie!! i saw that you wanted ikevamp requests so i couldn't help but pop in hehe. i'd like to request a shy florist mc who isn't great at talking to people, but likes expressing her feelings through bouquets of flower language (if that makes sense?) maybe with issac and arthur whoever else you'd like! of course, as always, you don't have to write it if u dont want to! (⁠◍⁠•⁠ᴗ⁠•⁠◍⁠)♡

SUMMARY: arthur is enamored with the reserved florist & isaac stumbles about her.

WARNINGS: None!! :D

COMMENTS: rinrin i would LOVE to write this for you HAGSGFDHAGS i see that crossed out arthur you don't have to hide that from me hehe

I WROTE WAY MORE THAN I THOUGHT I WOULD...maybe i shsould make this an au. you're genius rinrin. i have never been so inspired.

ALSO I WANTED TO DO VINCENT but he might get his own post because sunflowers are my favorite and i just cried over them oops

It’s been a quiet day at the shop, and you’re working on an arrangement of flowers when an arm slams against the wall behind you. You jump out of your skin as you whip around, coming face to face with none other than your newest regular.

“Hello there, love. I missed you today.” he purrs, leaning in far too close to your face, “You look as lovely as ever. It’s a shame I didn’t see you this morning when I came by.”

“I...I was working on something.” you mumble, eyes darting to the floor in embarrassment. Arthur tsks and tilts your chin up, making you make eye contact with him. You squirm, feeling heat rise to your cheeks at the touch, and he grins because he knows.

“What were you working on, love?” he asks, his tone flippant, “I would love to see your newest project, although I doubt it’s as lovely as the woman in front of me.” He winks, and you feel like shriveling up. He’s such a flirt, he does this to every woman he comes across, but you can’t help but wish it was special to him.

“I...I can show you.” you murmur, docking under his arm, “Just follow me.” You skitter towards the back of the shop, walking much faster than you usually would as Arthur trails behind you curiously. You hear him say something along the lines of I’d follow you anywhere but you ignore it.

He whistles quietly when he sees the arrangement you’ve put together, violets and blue roses and white chrysanthemums blooming inside their vase. Your heart is pounding in your ears as you recite the meanings to yourself, hoping he understands what they mean while also hoping he doesn’t. Trust, loyalty, deep love—

“It’s beautiful, love.” he compliments, reaching out to brush his fingers against one of the roses, “You always blow me away with your arrangements.

“Um.” you swallow thickly, snatching up the two bows from the tabletop and holding them out of him, “Which one do you like better?”

He laughs, giving you an affectionate look. “What does it matter, love? You always make the best decisions.” You huff, gnawing at your bottom lip. He doesn’t understand.

“Just pick one!” you blurt, and he jolts a bit at your demand. Slowly, he reaches forward and takes your left hand. his fingers intertwine with yours, trapping the ribbon in your fist.

“This one.” he smirks, reveling in your obvious embarrassment. You rip your hand away from his and get to work, tying up the bouquet with the ribbon he chose. Arthur watches you work, something you’ve gotten used to since he gains an interest in you.

“For you.” you mumble when you finish, presenting the bouquet to him with a hot face and shaky hands, “I made this for you.”

He hums thoughtfully and takes it from you, cradling it in his arms like it’s the most precious thing he’s ever received. “Thank you so much, love.” he says softly, and when you look up at him he isn’t smirking and leering, he’s smiling softly at you, “Let me take you out sometime, yeah? My treat.”

There’s another bouquet at the front door, and once again it is addressed to Isaac. The physicist fumbles over his words as he takes it from Dazai (who is smiling far too brightly for Isaac’s liking.)

Arthur wolf whistles and mocks him all throughout breakfast, joking about his secret admirer and guessing who it could be. A mother of a child he teaches? One of the employees from that cafe he frequents?

No pleas from Isaac to cease their teasing work, and he finds himself storming into his room to escape the jeers. Leave it to Arthur to make innocent affections seem so filthy and off-putting!

He furrows his brow as he sets the bouquet on his desk, the flower's various shades of pink and red. He can recognize roses well enough, but the other flowers' specific classifications evade him.

One thing’s for sure—this is not a bouquet of friendliness. Whoever sent these flowers to him wishes to pursue something with him. And in the back of his mind, the place in which he dares not travel, he finds himself wishing it was the awkward florist he visits.

It all started with the children and their growing interest in biology. Napoleon brought up the small florist’s shop that had opened right next to the cafe Isaac loved so much, and all of the children were ecstatic to visit.

It was there that he met her, a woman that fumbled with her words but was so deft with her hands. She’d won over the children almost instantly, and they’d swarmed her with questions. She’d even handed them all dandelions as a thank-you for visiting, and despite her shyness, offered to host them again.

After endless pleas to visit the nice flower lady, Isaac couldn’t resist. He’d found himself in that flower shop time and time again, and even though he’d never admit it, most of his visits were for her.

She was intelligent in a way that was different from his own intelligence. She thrived on hypothetical meanings and things that held no grounding in actual science, and it was intriguing as it was scary.

He shakes those thoughts away and slumps down in his chair, resting his head in his hands. It hadn’t been that long, only a few weeks, and yet he was utterly enamored by her. It was strange and new, it was terrifying, it was everything Isaac had never known.

Sighing again, deeper this time, he sits back in his chair. The bouquet rests on his desk, where it mocks him with every second that passes. Would he ever know who was sending these? Would he dare ask?

Isaac shakes his head and vows to find another vase to place this bouquet in. He’ll preserve them for as long as he can (at least he knows that much, he couldn’t live with himself if he let such pretty gifts die quickly) and hopefully, someday, he’d gather the courage to ask her about the flowers.

[yuuniee]

💀 Close Your Eyes... 🦪

💙 Synopsis: In which Fawn decides to pay a visit to Idia, who is recovering from his overblot.

A/N: I felt like sharing a small drabble I wrote before :)

🏷️ @thehollowwriter @twstinginthewind @twst-the-night-away @cyn-write @ice-cweam-sod4

Walking around the school to her next class with her close friend, Fawn was chatting with Auburn about the daily things they had in life.

“A student in Ignihyde has overblotted as of late, or so I’ve heard.” The redhead said as he carried his books in his arms again.

“Oh dear... Shall I pay them a visit, I wonder..” She looked down on the ground in her P.E. uniform and her broom in hand.

“That wouldn’t be necessary, your highness.” He politely, but formally, replied to her while looking at her. “While I may not know the identity of that student is yet, I do believe you need to stay out of the matter until they recover.”

“What if they are in bad condition? Perhaps I can use a spell or a potion to help them recover from it..” She smiled hopefully as her eyes sparkled in joy.

“Fawn, please… Just for this once.” His gaze softened. “I just want you to stay out of other people’s business. You don’t have to help others and waste your magic like this. You may overblot one day from this, you know?”

“I know you’re concerned about me as always, Aubbie. But trust me, I’ll be alright. Just allow me to lend them a hand.”

The young man sighed in defeat.

“If you say so, who am I to defy that order?”

In response, she kissed his cheek and beamed in joy.

“Thanks a lot, I’ll be careful not to overuse my powers.”

As they departed to their respective classes later on, the two Ignihyde students’ conversation caught her attention.

“I wonder where Dorm Head Idia is...”

“Probably in his room again.”

She turned her head towards them to hear it more clearly.

“He sits there all day, every day… I wonder if he’s alright.”

“Eh, who cares?”

“I do!”

Then she realized something and took out her phone to check her messages.

(01:30 a.m) Me: idyyyyy 🥺 💕

(01:30 a.m) Me: r u there?

(01:32 a.m) Me: i’ll get you those gummy worms u like omw to igni after classes<3

(Seen: 06:32 a.m)

Blueberry Baby 🥰: im feeling tired fawn

‘Strange, he would usually reply to me even when he’s tired...’ She thought to herself and scrolled more to see his latest message, which was two weeks ago.

Blueberry Baby 🥰: can we stop here for now?

Me: okay :(

Me: have a good rest, sleep well <3

Blueberry Baby 🥰: thx babe u too ❤️

She then remembered that his last login in the game they played together was also two weeks ago, and it instantly clicked in her head. The student who overblotted was Idia, probably feeling weak ever since it happened. Knowing how that feels, she brought a hand over her mouth in shock to conceal her quiet sobs, being angry at herself for not realizing it before. But now, she knew what to do. The feeling of wanting to help her long time friend and now boyfriend as much as she can was even more intense now. But not right now. For now, she had to attend her classes.

.

.

.

.

Her low heels clacked in the distance as she walked to his room with Ortho. As the younger Shroud gestured to the door of his room and opened it for her, she couldn’t help but peek at his room and she instantly spotted the older Shroud’s sleeping form under the dim lights.

“Idy…”

She gently stroked the warm, silky, fiery hair he had as they waved on her fingers. She let out a quiet chuckle before tidying up the trash with magic and took them out, and then she sat next to him and watched him sleep for a few moments.

“Probably something you haven’t been doing for a long time, hmm?”

Her hand made its way to his cheek as she cupped it with her hand.

“Sleeping, resting, just letting your mind wander into the realm of dreams...”

She looked away and sighed.

“An overblot obviously takes so much mental and physical toll on one’s body, so you obviously do the same. D-don’t ask how I know this..!”

As she nervously fidgeted her fingers, she turned to face him again and put her thumb on his lips to caress them. Those lips that he bit whenever he felt anxious, those lips that curled into a shit-eating grin, those lips that had placed such soft kisses on her cheeks... She quietly contemplated what she should say next as if the guy in front of her was fully awake.

“Board Game Club has been quite lonely without you, my love... With Azul chatting my ear off whether you have made a full recovery because ‘I know you the best’, and with Ortho not being in our club anymore, and without you... it feels pretty lonely... But at least you’re recovering..! At least you’ll be alright soon!"

Having noticed that she raised her voice, she sighed.

“I miss being with you.. in-game, or in real life... Raids feel lonely without the legendary Gloomurai, you know? A-also.. I quite miss your hugs too... Heck, I would give the world just to see you smile once again…”

She slowly leaned in and kissed his temple while touching his cheek again.

“...Mmm... Ortho... noooo.... Don’t goooo... Nnngh…”

“O-oh dear…”

In an instant, she quietly went beneath his sheets and she held his trembling body in her arms. Her lips met the corner of his eyes this time, and she kissed his tears away.

“Mmh...”

She noticed his bottom lip quivering, a sign that he’s about to cry. Soon he started to let out quiet sobs while hugging her torso, thinking it’s the ever so familiar pillow under his head. He cried and cried until he felt calmer and he rubbed his cheek onto what he felt like it was a pillow. But quickly realized that it wasn’t it. First he heard a little squeak, then a faster heartbeat, neither of which being a thing that his pillow had. That was when he decided to look up and have the realization hit him, that he was actually laying his head on Fawn’s chest. She had tried to hold still for him so hard, but her voice ultimately betrayed her. The tips of his hair started to turn bright pink and he let out a small sob while looking at her with wet eyes. She gently cradled his face in her hands and planted a gentle kiss on his face.

“I’m here, blueberry... Forever and always...” She quietly whispered in his ear and put his head back on her chest.

“Fawn...”

“I’ll always be there for you whenever you need me...”

He awkwardly held her too and laid back, slowly drifting back to sleep.

“Thank.. you...”

His hair became brighter and pinker in response, and he slowly closed his eyes again.

“Good night, sweetheart... Sweet dreams...”

And she watched his sleeping face until she eventually fell asleep as well.

.

.

.

“Big Brotheeeeeer~! It’s time to wake u-- ...Ohh!” 🫢

The sight that greeted the younger Shroud was nothing short of a sweet moment shared between the two. So he went ahead, took a picture with his eye camera at a closer angle and saved it in his memory card to send to his parents later. He giggled before quietly waking up Fawn to get her to her classes.

“Pssst, Big Sister..! It’s time to wake up!”

“...I know, I know… I’m up already…” She groggily said before gently placing a kiss on the top of her boyfriend’s head and putting his head on his pillow. Then she slowly entangled his arms that were around his waist and had him let her go. After that, she practically slid away and stood up.

“Thanks for waking me up, Ortho..” She said, patted his head and went back to her dorm in quiet steps.

“You’re welcome, Big Sister. But.. will you visit my brother tomorrow too?”

She nodded.

“I will visit him every day to make sure he’s doing well.”

“Waaahh, that’s so great!!” He beamed, “I’m sure he’ll recover in no time when you stay by his side like this!”

She let out a half hearted laugh.

“I hope he does.” She replied, “I believe in him. He’s stronger than he looks.”

“Right?! My brother is the best brother in the world!”

“...Yes. Yes, he is.”

[writeranon69]

I DID IT

I DID IT

@phrogs-blog

@phrog-writes

@windmill-kid

COME GET YOUR ONESHOT

...

The night was quiet around the small little town of Faraway. Not a noise was heard by anyone. The hot summer sun had been replaced by the all seeing moon and its many stars filling the night sky. 

Sunny, Basil, and Aubrey were all asleep in their warm and comfy bed, covered by lots of blankets and protected by the three of them cuddling each other in their sleep. The three were snoozing away.

Well, two of them were.

Aubrey had awoken late that night. She couldn’t tell why she had woken up, but she knew for a fact that she wasn’t falling back to sleep anytime soon, as sad as the truth was. She would’ve loved to get up from the bed to do something to wear herself out and go back to sleep, but she was straight smack in the middle of a sleeping Sunny on her left and a snoozing Basil on her right. She didn’t want to wake either of them…then again, killing the time was a lot more bearable with another person. Maybe she should wake one of them up…

No! No. That's not fair to them. She shouldn't wake Sunny or Basil up at all. She should let them sleep. She should let them rest.

She should leave the two be.

But…

…

Aubrey stared at Sunny. He seemed peaceful as he slept. Sunny and Aubrey were both known not to make much noise as they slept, and that was true as Aubrey saw Sunny snooze the night away. 

She really didn't want to wake him up. She really didn't.

But she couldn't exactly fall back to sleep…

She shakes Sunny gently.

“Sunny…” Aubrey quietly says. 

“Wakey wakey…”

Sunny groans due to the shaking. He opens his eyes, seeing Aubrey sitting on his lap in front of him. 

“Hi there, cutie,” She greets him quietly.

“Sorry to wake you…”

Sunny groans again, now sitting up in the bed, awake.

“...Aubrey…what are you doing awake…? Why did you wake me…?" 

"I woke up and couldn't fall back to sleep...sorry." 

Sunny rubs his eyes, trying to fully wake his very tired body up. There was no use doing that though. He sighs and readjusts himself on the bed, now sitting up. His blurry vision is now much clearer. He still sees Aubrey, twiddling her fingers. 

"Welp, any ideas on what we should do?" Sunny asks Aubrey. She looks at him surprised.

"Wait, you're staying awake?? Or can you actually not fall back to sleep?" Sunny chuckles at the question.

"Trust me Aubbie, I could go back to sleep at any moment, but you woke me up so you could find something to wear you out again, so I'm obligated to help until you do fall back asleep." 

Aubrey didn't know what it was, but she felt a hint of sleepy malice in what Sunny said. She looked at Sunny again, noticing the bags under his eyes. Maybe she shouldn't have woken him up…well, there wasn't a way out of this now. Aubrey hops off of Sunny's lap. She walks to Sunny and grabs his arm.

"C'mere, Sunny," She tells him. 

"I know what we can do." 

Sunny sighs and hops off of the bed. There wasn't much light in the Bedroom, only the night sky and its many stars illuminating some light. Aubrey grabs a blanket from the bed. 

"Here, turn around for a second." 

Sunny shrugs and turns around. Aubrey wraps the blanket around Sunny's neck, the blanket now looks like a cape. 

"There you go!" Aubrey says happily. Sunny feels the fluffy blanket around his neck. 

"...Why though?" He asks her. Aubrey shrugs, chuckling.

"It looks cute on you, Sunny. So so cute, trust me." Aubrey then grabs another blanket from the bed and wraps it around her neck. 

"There! With these blankets wrapped around our necks, now known as Blanket Capes, I now call us, the Pajama Gang!" Sunny only chuckled at Aubrey's enthusiasm. Never before did he think that Aubrey would be as cheerful as she was when they were younger after the Hooligan fiasco, but some things never really change, do they?

"The Pajama Gang…I like it. Sounds nice," He says. Aubrey smiles at Sunny. 

"I'm glad you like the name, SunBun." Aubrey walks to Sunny and places a kiss on his forehead, an audible "Mwah" after the kiss ends. Sunny blushes, the darkness of the Bedroom hiding it for the most part. Aubrey notices, however, smiling smugly at Sunny after seeing it.

"Well, now that we got the name down…let's wake up Basil, shall we?"

Sunny looks at Aubrey, appalled at the fact that she said, let alone thought of this idea.

"Aubrey, we can't just wake up Basil! You know how light of a sleeper he is, waking him up would be the meanest thing we could do to him aside from ruining the garden!" 

"Oh come on Sunny!! Please? Three is better with two! If we're already awake and suffering, Basil might as well suffer with us." 

"No! I refuse to wake up Basie!"

"Come on, SunBun!"

"No!"

"SUNNY, AUBREY, IF YOU DON'T BE QUIET RIGHT NOW, I AM GOING TO BREAK YOUR BONES."

The scared duo look to see Basil in the bed, looking the...tiniest bit peeved. 

"My goodness, you two are loud! I can't sleep! You two know how light of a sleeper I am!" 

Sunny and Aubrey look at Basil, embarrassed at their actions. Aubrey twiddles her fingers and Sunny rubs the back of his head. 

"Sorry, Basil…" The two say in unison. Basil only sighs and smiles at the two. 

"All is forgiven. Just be quieter from now on, okay? What are you two even doing awake anyways?" 

"Aubrey woke up and couldn't fall back to sleep, so she woke me up so she could find some way to go back to sleep." Sunny explains. 

"Apparently, she found a way. She just wanted to wake you up first."

Basil looks at Aubrey, a bit annoyed at her actions. Aubrey can feel the disappointment on her face.

"Really, Aubrey?" 

"I know, I know. I'm sorry, Basil…" She apologizes.

"I promise I found something for the three of us to do though! Here, lemme help you out of bed." 

Aubrey gets on the bed and grabs Basil's hands. With a sigh, he moves out of the bed with her, now seeing the blanket wrapped around her neck. He notices Sunny wearing a cape as well. 

"Why'd you wrap that blanket around your neck?" Basil asks. 

"Oh! I wrapped it around my neck for funsies," Aubrey replies.

"I call it a Blanket Cape. It's really comfy…I gave one to Sunny too." Basil looks at Sunny again, seeing the boy tugging on the blanket cape.

"He looks cute and fashionable in it, doesn't he?" Basil chuckles and nods.

"He does indeed." Sunny feels his blush flare up.

"Anyways," Aubrey starts.

"I thought we could go outside and do some Stargazing!" 

"Stargazing?"

"Mmhmm! Just imagine. The warm air, the sweet night sky shining above us, nothing but us and the chirps of the crickets…it would be nice, wouldn't it?" 

"It sounds nice…" Sunny says.

"It does," Basil chimes.

"Where did you get the idea, Aubrey?"

"To be honest…I'm not too sure." She replies. "All I know is that I feel like looking at the stars tonight, as cheesy as it sounds." Aubrey gets back on the bed and looks through the window. The stars shine brightly…

Aubrey hops off the bed again.

"So come on you two," She says, grabbing Sunny's hand with her left hand and Basil's with her right. 

"Let's do some Stargazing. If y-you two are okay with it, is all." Sunny looks at Basil. The two smile at each other and nod. 

"That'd be nice," Sunny says.

"Yeah! Let's go," Basil agrees. Aubrey smiles at the two. 

"To the garden we go then." As Aubrey begins to walk out, Basil remembers something.

"W-wait a second." Basil lets go of Aubrey's hand and rushes back to the room. He grabs a blanket from the bed, as well as something from the wardrobe. He wraps the blanket around him and rushes back to the two.

"Here, Aubrey." Basil hands her the accessory, an excited squeal coming from her.

"My Bunny Headbow!" Aubrey puts on the cyan headbow with large rabbit ears. She only put the accessory on when she felt comfortable, and she surely felt comfortable with Sunny and Basil by her side. Aubrey releases a chuckle from her mouth. 

"Thank you, Basil! I appreciate you." Basil smiles at Aubrey.

"Don't mention it, Aubrey," He tells her. Aubrey closes her eyes and plants a kiss onto Basil's lips. Opening her eyes and letting go of the kiss shows a very flustered Basil. Aubrey only chuckles and kisses Basil's nose, making his blush worsen. 

"Cutie~." 

Aubrey turns to Sunny, who's fiddling in place. She chuckles at Sunny's fiddling.

"Are you feeling left out, Sunny?" She asks him. Sunny embarrassingly nods. 

"Why didn't you say anything then?" Before Sunny could answer, Aubrey closes her eyes and kisses Sunny's lips softly. She lets go of the kiss after a few moments, kissing Sunny's nose after, like she did Basil. 

"There you go, SunBun," She tells him.

"Better?"

Sunny blushes and nods. Basil chuckles at his boyfriend.

"Good," Aubrey replies. She then grabs Sunny's hand with her left hand and Basil's with her right again. The three walk outside. 

Aubrey was definitely right about the air being warm outdoors. The weather was calm, with a little bit of wind blowing. The three's bare feet walk on the grass before eventually sitting down next to the garden. Sunny looks up, looking at the stars. There were thousands of them in the sky. The way they glimmered...Sunny could see why Aubrey wanted to do this now.

"The stars look great tonight, huh?" Sunny turns to Aubrey, who is still looking up at the sky. 

"Whenever I couldn't sleep back at my old house, I always tended to look at the stars. They gave me hope for whatever reason…" 

Sunny and Basil listen to Aubrey, scooting a little closer to her as to listen in.

"Back then, I wished upon all of the stars, despite none of them being shooting stars at all. I guess I was just that desperate to get out of there…huh?" 

Sunny and Basil now hug Aubrey. Aubrey only chuckles. She continues to speak.

"I always wished that my parents would stop fighting at first. Then those wishes went into hoping my mother got better." 

Aubrey begins to sniffle.

"Those wishes eventually went to hoping I got out of there soon." 

Aubrey doesn't realize it, but her eyes begin to drop tears. She puts her hand on her forehead.

"I'm…such an idiot. If I had gotten out sooner, I would've been able to comfort and be there for you two…"

Sunny lets go of his huglock and wipes the tears off of Aubrey's face. Aubrey sighs before hugging Sunny again.

"Sunny, I'm so sorry, I told myself I'd stop doing this…!" 

Sunny silently comforts her. He rubs her back as she holds onto him as if for dear life. Many quiet "I know"s escape Sunny's mouth. 

Suddenly, Basil appears, placing a sunflower on Aubrey's head. She notices. Aubrey stops hugging Sunny and looks at the sunflower. She smiles. 

"Thank you, Basil." Basil rubs Aubrey's head.

"You're welcome, Aubrey," He replies.

"Please, stop talking yourself down. You don't have to apologize."

"We care about you a lot, Aubrey," Sunny chimes. 

"You didn't do anything wrong." 

Sunny and Basil hug Aubrey again. Aubrey smiles. She closes her eyes and continues to smile as tears roll down her face. 

…

The three end up laying down in the grass. They all look at the stars, talking about them or whatever pops into their mind. Eventually, Aubrey notices how quiet the two were. She looks to see Basil wrapped in his blanket and Sunny using his Blanket Cape to cover himself. The two were both asleep. Aubrey smiles at the sleeping duo. She places a kiss on their foreheads before taking off her headbow before cuddling Sunny and Basil and falling asleep as well.

The three slept well that night.

[End The.]

[communelifeblog]

Apple Tree

By Keenan Dakota 

The grand opening party for Twin Oaks’ hospice, Appletree, was April 11th 2014. It’s been a long journey.  The process for Appletree  (then, “the hospice addition”) started right after Kat Kinkade, the founder of Twin Oaks, died on July 3rd 2008.  Josie, Kat’s daughter, observed that Kat had “Rolls Royce” from twin Oakers care while she was declining at Twin Oaks. That care came at some emotional cost.  A couple of Twin Oakers had pretty serious emotional breakdowns due to caring for Kat, or being around her as she declined. Additionally, many caregivers who were sleeping on a mat in Kat’s room suffered hurt backs and various other physical ailments.   We collectively concluded that if we want to have people stay at Twin Oaks as they decline, and not have it be traumatic to the rest of the community, we need to have a space that isn’t in the middle of an SLG—that is, we need to build a place specifically designed for end-of-life care.

The goal behind Appletree is to keep elders in the heart of the community as they age and decline.  So the hospice was designed as an addition to Nashoba, Twin Oaks’  main handicapped accessible SLG, which, in turn, is close to ZK, Twin Oaks’ dining hall and community center.

The guiding principle for the addition was to make it “nice,” that is, built to a quality standard to provide a pleasant environment for people who are dying.  And also to make sure that it’s comfortable for more mainstream caregivers, family members, and friends to be able to visit and stay.

The Louisa building department granted Twin Oaks a building permit for the addition in 2010, so the building of Appletree has taken 4 years.  That is probably longer than necessary due to stopping active construction for about a year for cash flow reasons.I was the main mover of the process starting in 2008,  and I have been the honcho of the building part as well, so I have had this hospice addition on my front burner for six years now. Historically, a building project burns out the honcho, often to the point of leaving the community.  I have tried to be conscious of that unhealthy pattern, so I have tried to think of this as an opportunity and, specifically, to not be too attached to outcomes around Appletree, or to think of the building as “mine” just because I’m the honcho.  I’m very pleased and proud of how it’s come out and, as anyone who knows me well is aware, I’m really quite ready to be done with the construction part of it; six years is long enough.

Throughout most of the actual construction, the crew was Rowan, Arlo, and Elijah.  Rowan and Arlo started working on the building when they were 14 and 17. On April 11th Rowan turned 18.  It has been a joy and a privilege to have that able crew to work with—to see them gain skills and confidence, and to generally observe them growing from being boys to being men.

The first stages of the building, leveling the hillside and pouring the concrete were very stop-and-go.  It was hard to schedule people, and the uncooperative weather caused lots of slow-downs.  But once the concrete slab was poured, Elijah, Arlo, Rowan and I committed to doing a push to get the building itself up as quickly as possible.   We collectively cleared our schedules, and then did a construction boot camp.  Our goal was to work every day, for as long as there was light each day and to not stop until the building was “completed,” that is, the framing was up, the trusses on the framing, plywood on the trusses, metal on the roof, the siding on, and the doors and windows installed—that is, it would, from the outside, look like a completed building.  My very optimistic estimate to the young lads was that we could, if the weather held, possibly get all that done in a month.  The weather was perfect, the young lads worked hard; we built that whole house in two-and-a-half-weeks.  Yes, weeks.  Really.  Ask people who were here. The guys took a break while wiring was run and insulation installed.  But then we got the band back together, did another blitz, and put up all of the sheetrock. Since those heady days, Elijah, Rowan, and Arlo have found other work and followed other interests, although Arlo did almost all the interior painting once the “mudding” was done.

It is either ironic or appropriate that the first use of this hospice was for the birth of Sylvia, before the addition was even all the way completed.  And now Aubby is planning to give birth there (she’s due any day now). Maybe we shouldn’t call it a hospice.

However, I like that the creation of Appletree as a hospice tangibly demonstrates that Twin Oaks is planning on sticking around.  Appletree shows that Twin Oaks is investing in our members and in our future.  It is sort of incidental, but no less meaningful, that the building for Twin Oaks’ elders was built by Twin Oaks’ teens. Far from feeling burned out, here, at the conclusion of this project, I’m happy at how well Appletree has come out.  I really value having had the opportunity to work with Elijah, Arlo, and Rowan over these years.  It has been great having my main work area be fifty yards from my SLG.  I have felt a lot of trust from the community and support from people throughout this whole project. During much of the building of Appletree, it has felt like a blessing to me, and now that it’s done, it feels like the project is a success.

This post was originally published on April 19 2014, at http://keenandakota.blogspot.com/2014/04/appletree.html