#Also you can take the ham off and put it in jelly

[clatterbane]

Next batch in planning: my own take on some Viking Blod mead! Which is a pretty popular project anyway, apparently started off by one Danish meadery. Haven't tried their original take, since Systembolaget doesn't stock that brand and I haven't wanted to go looking for some right across the bridge in Copenhagen. (Though apparently an awful lot of folks locally do pop across for a better selection of cheaper alcohol.)

But, the German Brew guy's most recent video kinda inspired me to go ahead and try a version using this sour cherry nectar that I picked up recently.

Also seemed like a good excuse to try that Polish rosehip wine "kit", which is essentially rosehip and hibiscus tea with some dried apples and berries thrown in to help round out the flavor. Their raspberry version did seem to have a good enough smell and flavor that I am pretty confident this won't be terrible. It should turn out pretty damned red. And while this particular bag is from Poland, it's hard to get much more Nordic themed than rosehips. I do plan to put that in the mesh bag again, to keep it contained. Seemed to work out well with the raspberry stuff.

Currently going back and forth on whether to work some of that lingonberry jam into the mix. Don't want to overcomplicate things, but it seems like the taste should blend in fairly well and it does fit with the general theme.

Semi-ironically, that is a reduced sugar version, which isn't necessarily as productive when you're intentionally feeding yeast. More room for honey that way, though! As a side effect, though, that does have some potassium sorbate to help keep it good with less sugar. Not the most fermentation friendly (by design!), but I wouldn't be using that much jam and you can usually power through the sorbate just fine with some extra yeast. Can't tell I've been learning from r/prisonhooch! 😏 They do come up with some of the most delightfully bizarre experiments over there.

No ham glaze here, at least. Just borderline questionable jams and jellies so far, plus that one marshmallow bunny shitshow around this time last year. But yeah, if I don't use the lingonberry I am thinking about picking up some frozen cherries to throw in instead to increase that side of things . Though it's not currently in our house right at the moment. I don't particularly want to use the frozen cranberries or strawberries that are for this.

[uxbridgeenglishdictionary]

My period for food is late Elizabethan, but I think I might be able to shed some light on "10 August" and the "severe tea" due to a keen interest in historical English menus. If you just want my recommendation for what to eat, here you go:

"white bread finger sandwiches filled with water-cress and radish with whipped butter"

But if you want to go down the rabbit hole with me and learn about severe teas, or to see a full menu - click that read more button babeyy.

A disclaimer: Some generalisations will inevitably be made; I'm not working this up for publication. If in doubt as to sources, I'm working off Erika Rappaport's published works or Mrs Beeton.

Severe here does serve as an intensifier of quantity, not quality. To put the taking of afternoon tea into some kind of context, it was a relatively new meal. You said something about yourself by taking afternoon tea: it was daring and fashionable, but also a strong statement of support for the Empire! and at the same time a Temperance movement reaction to all that booze ppl were necking.

Tea as a meal isn't just the light and fussy finger-sandwiches and cream scones that most 21st century people would imagine. Tea could be taken at-home (less formal! even eaten standing up!), as a high tea (extremely formal! high quality tea leaves! maybe even some wine!), as a meal to tide you over between lunch and dinner (not supper though, we can't get into that right now), etc etc. There are entire books written about the competing tea cultures between classes and localities... Mina and Lucy have a class difference, so I'm going to default to higher-class/higher-society options.

ANYWAY:

If you're ever in doubt as to what would be eaten at a particular meal during the Victorian era, I recommend checking out Mrs Beeton. She was writing for the edification of middle-classes rather than the truly posh toffs, but it can serve as a corner-cutting exercise if you're looking to cosplay (cos-eat?) a Victorian meal rather than Historic-England-approved reenactment.

Beeton states that, if the hostess was providing said afternoon tea at home, she should ensure:

"fresh supplies of it, with thin bread-and-butter, fancy sandwiches, sweets, cakes, etc., being forthcoming as fresh guests arrive."

SO - SANDWICHES:

For Mina and Lucy, the fancy sandwiches should be:

"left perfectly plain on the outside, but when they may be eaten with a fork, some pretty effects may be produced by decorating them with variously-coloured chaud-froid sauces. Or they may be decorated with cold aspic jelly, and garnished with lobster coral, Krona pepper, parsley, hard-boiled egg, etc."

Fillings-wise, Beeton recommends water-cress and radish with whipped butter. Hence my recommendation at the top of the post. Remember the top of the post? Good times.

Now if you're REALLY hungry or want to have a severe tea a la Dracula, Mrs Beeton says:

At the usual high tea there are probably to be found one or two small hot dishes, cold chickens, or game, tongue or ham, salad, cakes of various kinds, sometimes cold fruit tarts, with cream or custard, and fresh fruit. Any supper dish, however, can be introduced, and much more elaborate meals be served, while sometimes the tea and coffee are relegated to the sideboard, and wine only, in the way of drink, put upon the table. In summer it is not unusual to have everything cold at a high tea.

I can hear you say "Uxbridge, just get to the full menu please".

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

I live to serve (tea):

Menu (easily accessible and can be made at home without cracking out the aspic and the jelly molds):

Food:

Watercress and radish sandwiches

Cold ham

Strawberry and cream tart

Pears

Thinly sliced white bread

Whipped butter

Jams (if you can get marmalade even better)

Victoria sponge cake

Potted meat/sardines

Hardboiled eggs

Cold chicken, parsley, and apple salad

Drinks:

Indian/black tea - ideally loose leaf, served with cream or milk, and white sugar

Coffee - also served with cream or milk, brown sugar

A red wine, ideally French

Thanks for reading this long-ass post.

As to the great quote found by @thethirdromana in the Churchman's shilling magazine:

a severe tea... "implies coffee, tea, and muffins, with substantials".

Victorian muffins were made with potatoes - which was mildly unnerving to learn today. Substitute with scones or American style biscuits. Substantials basically means that the dishes should be plentiful and filling!

Mem., get recipe for Mina: a food guide to Dracula Daily

Inspired by There and Snack Again (in which you eat along with the LOTR movies), this is your guide to eating and drinking along with Dracula Daily.

All under a cut because there's no way I can do this with extensive spoilers. I strongly recommend not reading this unless you already know what happens in Dracula. Also only if you're comfortable reading about alcoholic drinks - there's a lot of booze in this novel.

Let's eat!

2 May We start with the famous paprika hendl. Google "chicken paprikash" and choose whichever recipe most strikes your fancy.

3 May For breakfast, choose from mamaliga (cornmeal porridge, similar to grits), "impletata" (vânătă umplută - stuffed aubergine) or anything with more paprika in it.

4 May For dinner, Jonathan has robber steak: "bits of bacon, onion, and beef, seasoned with red pepper, and strung on sticks and roasted over the fire".

5 May Slivovitz, if you'd like it (Jonathan declines). Then, for dinner, Dracula serves up roast chicken, with some cheese, a salad and a glass or two of Tokaji wine.

6 May "A cold breakfast" for Jonathan. In Romania a cold breakfast might include boiled eggs, telemea (sheep's cheese), franzela (bread) with assorted spreads, sliced cucumber and tomatoes, and sunculita taraneasca (sliced smoked pork). Jonathan also has "an excellent supper", but doesn't tell us what that includes.

16 May Would it be too bleak if I suggested eating a symbolic Jelly Baby?

26 May A glass of wine as Quincey and Jack congratulate Arthur and drown their sorrows.

18 June There's a kind of Scottish fruit slice called "flies' graveyard". That might make a suitable snack given Renfield's meal today.

24 June I guess a gingerbread woman, for the wolves? IDK, it turns out doing this for a horror novel is a bit grim.

8 July Thankfully the internet has hundreds of ideas for spider-themed cakes so you can eat along with Renfield.

18 July The voyage of the Demeter begins! Celebrate by eating like a sailor: have some salt pork, or make ship's biscuit.

20 July Renfield has just eaten several sparrows. Provide redress by feeding birds near you, bird flu guidance permitting.

24 July Imitate the "feet-folk" from York and Leeds by drinking some tea or eating some cured herring.

10 August Lucy and Mina enjoy a "severe tea". There are lots of severe teas in Victorian literature, but few writers actually describe what's in it - e.g. the Churchman's shilling magazine, 1868, has a story with a severe tea "which implies coffee, tea, and muffins, with substantials". What are substantials? I have no idea, but that's what you should eat today.

11 August Dracula has a little nibble on Lucy. I don't suggest doing this for every vampire bite in the novel, but given this one is particularly significant, how about marking the occasion with some black pudding?

30 August No food details for a while, but in this entry, Lucy notes that she "has an appetite like a cormorant" and "Arthur says I am getting fat". Celebrate with some cake.

3 September Van Helsing has been! And surely he wouldn't have come all the way from the Netherlands empty-handed? Acknowledge his visit with some gouda or a stroopwafel.

4 September Eat some sugar, which Renfield has requested for his flies.

7 September To stay in line with what the characters actually eat and drink, have a glass of port (though ideally not if you've just given blood). But for the real spirit of the day, consider a corn-on-the-cob.

9 September Free space! Jack has "an excellent meal" but doesn't say what it is. Dig into your favourite dinner.

10 September A sip of brandy, with which Van Helsing wets Lucy's lips.

11 September The garlic flowers arrive. There's lots that you can make with wild garlic - personally, I like it in risotto.

17 September A boxful of garlic flowers arrive for Lucy every day. Time to make chicken with 40 cloves of garlic. Other options for today include more black pudding (in honour of Renfield lapping up Jack's blood) or sherry.

18 September The Zookeeper enjoys a teacake, and so shall we.

20 September No food, but the labourers have "a stiff glass of grog". This is rum diluted with water, but you could also add lemon or lime juice, sugar, and/or cinnamon.

25 September Nibble another Jelly Baby for the Bloofer Lady.

29 September A lot happens in this entry, but there's not a lot of food. There are thirsty labourers, however. Maybe have a beer?

30 September Mina makes everyone a pot of tea. Also, we don't know what they have for dinner, but they eat it at 7pm, if you'd like to time your evening meal accordingly.

1 October More tea! Since this is being gulped down by a working man, make it builder's style - strong, sweet, lots of milk.

2 October Jonathan visits the Aërated Bread Company. He only has a cup of tea, but you could have whatever you like best from their menu:

(source)

3 October Dracula forces Mina to drink his blood like "a child forcing a kitten's nose into a saucer of milk". You could either have some more black pudding, or drink a glass of milk in solidarity with Mina.

15 October The Crew of Light aren't focusing much on meals any more, but they have travelled on the Orient Express. Here's the 1887 dining car menu.

(source - I can't vouch for the accuracy of a random person on Twitter but it looks plausible)

29 October No one is thinking of food in this bit of the novel (though Mina makes yet more tea), but as they're heading to Romania, have some sarmale. These stuffed cabbage rolls are the Romanian national dish.

31 October Mina and Van Helsing have "a huge basket of provisions". Have a picnic in their honour, if it's warm enough where you are.

1 November Mina and Van Helsing have "hot soup" into which the local cooks have put an extra amount of garlic. Consider having a truly extra amount of garlic with this 44-garlic-clove soup.

7 November The Crew of Light return to Transylvania. No details of food, but in honour of their journey, I would suggest a final round of chicken paprikash, to bring us back to where it all began.

[sweee-ve]

tw: vent

(i'm assuming people who don't want to see have blocked, but just in case)

originally posted here (not on Tumblr)

25th December

So I woke up and then I could open presents, yay. I got things that I like and I'm happy, so that was nice. I might do a full haul later when I'm at home (I'm in Leitrim for Christmas).

I also didn't have to go to mass, because we wanted someone to mind my grandad. He's sick, I'm not exactly sure what ot is but he is coughing a lot.. it's something to do with the thing that controls whether you are swallowing or breathing It's not fully going in the direction it needs to, iykwim I don't know how to explain it. Moral of the story is he can only eat puréed food and thickened liquids. And that was fine, I didn't really want to go to church so I stayed in the house with him for over an hour (however long the church ceremony was and extra time of people chatting). Then a bunch of family came over, that was nice, I sat there in the couch for a bit, but I wasn't talking to anyone so I moved to join my sister who was in her bedroom (she's staying in the room with my mam, I managed to get a room on my own for once!!). We were just chatting and I was searching some alcohol markers I got. Some of my cousins were bothering me for a bit while I was there. Kayla is nice, she's only about 5 (I think, it seems wrong cause I thought she'd be like 3 but that's definitely not it... I've lost track of time completely) and her bother Ryan, he's even younger, should be by only a year but he seems a lot younger, maybe 2? And also Kaiya. I don't really like Kaiya, she's like 8 maybe? I am awful at ages in case you couldn't guess... Anyway, I don't like Kaiya, she's just annoying. When I was younger I thought I was chronically online, but she is really brain rotted, like a concerning amount. I would see stuff online and it talks about brainrotted kids, and I think that they're exaggerating or over the top... but she makes me realise that they're not. She's also spoilt rotten, and I don't think she realises. My sister and I were mentioning it after, and Kaiya got 4(!) jelly blushes (they cost like €20 each) and a big and small bottle of Sol De Janeiro perfumes. and she also got more stuff, and she has a airup bottle?? Like whattt??!?

But anyway, after that we made the dinner, I made the gravy and salmon for myself (I don't like turkey or ham so my mam decided this year I don't have to starve and she got me a salmon). That was fine, there was also dessert which was a cheesecake that I made earlier. Granny said it was nice, but to be fair she will never say anything rude in front of the person.

Anyway, the problem is later, I'm sitting in bed, sketching cause I was bored of being on my phone. The door opens and I assumed it was my mother, it wasn't, I was my uncle. He was putting my grandad to bed, and for some reason had to put a chair in my room? idk he left it right at the door, and it was left open. When he was done, he stuck his head in and said "Can I ask you a question" and I said sure, and he asked me to check in on my grandad, I said ok. Clearly I was visibly reluctant cause he stayed there for a second longer and didn't just leave, so I added on that I was planning on going to sleep soon (take note that this was at 10:30/11 pm so a reasonable time to go to sleep??) and he said something and then said "Yeah, he's just your grandad" (as in don't worry about him he means nothing (sarcastically ofc)) and then slammed my door. like a fuckijg child?? this is a forty/fifty year old man acting like a fucking toddler, and what's even more annoying was that I was starting to like him a little bit.

That was that done and I then decided that I guess I didn't have a choice and I had to stay up, so I took off my headphones and was just kinda staring at my half closed sketchbook (cause I literally had no idea what to do and my phone was almost dead and the charger is too short.

Sidenote: 2 of my uncles (James (lives walking distance away) and Gerry (asshole mentioned above)) and my mam were in the living room. With the door open, so I can hear them in my room cause I'm just at the end of the hall. (Also means that if anything happened to my grandad they would hear so I didn't need to be told to check up on him???)

So I'm sitting on my bed, kinda just staring there and next thing you know I hear my mam kinda loudly said my name, so of course I'm gonna start listening. Then Gerry is saying about how I acted and tried to act as if it was in a worried for me kinda way, like "you wouldn't want anything to happen to him (grandad) and she'll feel guilty because she wasn't checking up on him" like???????????????

Shut the fuck up?? that's bs. he didn't give a shit. AND THE WORST PART? MY MAM DIDNT EVEN DEFEND ME??? MY OWN MOTHER??? Like James? O don't even talk to him, so I don't care, Gerry? hated him as a kid so I don't care. But my own mother? she fucking raised me. How O act is how I was told to act? and she's upset with how I act?? Like I get what Gerry was saying, but it's not my responsibility? I See grandad in his chair when I'm in the room and he's just so sad, like he can't even eat proper food anymore. It's just sad. What I feel guilty about is not letting him stay in the hospital where they at least have better kitchens. Here we have to puree the food, but in the hospital they puree it and then (idk how to explain it) remake the food so it resembles the food it's meant to be. like blend the peas and then shape them into little balls, like peas. Back onto the topic at hand. My mam was there saying shit like she'll talk to me later about it. and also what annoys me is Gerry is a fucking dickhead. I have never liked him? He has never done shit for me and then gets pissed when I'm asked to do something that means I have to stay up layer then I wanted to. Now I fucking feel bad and I'm still awake. It's 2 in the morning now and I really don't want to go asleep. I think I'm going to stay awake and sleep all day because I don't want to have to deal with anyone tomorrow. Especially since my mam is not going to give out to me cause of what Gerry said. It's so stupid tho ........ pisses me off

CADOGAN (⁠｡-ᴗ•｡)つ★

[rabbitcruiser]

National Maple Syrup Day

Many people, even lovers of this delicious liquid gold, don’t know maple syrup has its own day dedicated to learning about and celebrating it!

So, before delving into the history of and the most popular thing to put on pancakes, waffles, French toast and more, it’s probably a good idea to take a moment to thank the maple trees for the sap that becomes the sweet syrup that everyone knows and loves today!

That’s the whole focus of National Maple Syrup Day!

History of National Maple Syrup Day

National Maple Syrup Day was created to celebrate the amber substance people have all come to know and love. Much of the maple syrup that most people experience today is almost always manufactured in Canada, but even the United States has its own maple syrup production area–mostly surrounding the northeastern states, such as Vermont, but also other northern states, like Michigan.

Maple syrup is a substance that’s usually made from the xylem sap of a few different varieties of the maple tree, including the sugar maple, red maple, or black maple tree, although it can be made from other species of maple as well. In cold climates, these trees store starch in their trunks and roots before the winter. The starch is then converted to sugar that rises in the sap in late winter and early spring, bringing with it a delightfully sweet flavor.

Maple trees are tapped by drilling holes into their trunks and collecting the exuded sap. This sap is then processed by heating it to evaporate much of the water, leaving the concentrated syrup. In earlier times, maple syrup was first collected and used by the indigenous people of North America.

According to aboriginal oral traditions, as well as archaeological evidence, maple tree sap was being processed into syrup long before the Europeans arrived in the region. Perhaps the Europeans, who eventually settled there, actually learned the refinement process from the indigenous people who had been living on that land for centuries.

Legends exist of when maple syrup was first created, one of the more popular legends tells of how maple sap was used in place of water to cook venison served to the chief of the tribe.

Another story of the Chippewa and Ottawa peoples goes that one of their gods saw that his people were becoming too lazy to hunt and only wanted to drink the maple syrup directly from the trees. So he cast a spell on them to make them watery, requiring them to work hard prior to being able to enjoy the syrup!

Now, the Canadian province of Quebec is by far the largest producer of maple syrup, contributing to more than seventy five percent of the world’s output of maple syrup. After Canada, the United States takes a close second.

How to Celebrate National Maple Syrup Day

To celebrate this day, all it takes is to find a few ways to indulge in this rich, tree-blood based syrupy delight! Try out these different ideas or come up with some other unique ways:

Enjoy Maple Syrup for Every Meal

Start by making a breakfast that would go well with real maple syrup. For example, pancakes, waffles, French toast, and crepes would all be an excellent choice to start off this National Maple Syrup Day celebration.

For lunch, make a PBMS (Peanut Butter and Maple Syrup) sandwich. Instead of jelly, we will use maple syrup in its place, and enjoy the rich, sweet goodness.

For dinner, it would be possible to use maple syrup as a glaze for ham (not just for the holidays), as a side dipping sauce for sushi, or even a topping for vegetables (such as carrots or sweet potatoes) for anyone who might feel like it.

Learn Fun Facts About Maple Syrup

Get on board with National Maple Syrup Day by sharing interesting facts and tidbits that many people won’t know about it. It’s a great way to learn a bit more and educate the people around you as well! Here are a few fun facts to get started with:

One gallon of maple syrup requires gallons of syrup to make. This is because the sap comes out of the tree very watery and requires a heating process to turn it into actual, pure maple syrup. And since a single tree produces between 5 and 15 gallons of sap each year, it can take a few trees just to produce one gallon of syrup.

Maple trees that make syrup are pretty old. In fact, they usually are not ready to be tapped for syrup until they are around 45 years of age. That’s pretty old to just be getting started in a career. The good news is that a maple tree can yield sap for around 100 years–so their life span is pretty good!

Retrieving sap from maple trees requires particular weather conditions, where the ground is very cold at night and then warms up during the day. These fluctuations in temperature creates positive and negative pressure to get the sap flowing.

Indigenous people not only taught the European settlers about making maple syrup, but they also taught them to preserve meat through the use of maple curing, which is functional and delicious.

Stay Healthy with Maple Syrup

While some people might avoid maple syrup because it is a bit on the sugary side, those are not empty calories (like maple-flavored syrups). Maple syrup actually offers a few different nutrients to the body, such as zinc, calcium, potassium and magnesium, as well as antioxidants. As long as it is used in small quantities, maple syrup can be a smart way to provide a bit of sweetness to a healthy diet.

Source

[fuckingrecipes]

Dif anon I would like tips on food to keep in storage in a car for about 4 days. I was thinking a couple premise pb+j but not sure what else. No dietary restrictions or anything, just not sure what would be filling enough that wouldn’t have to supplement with gas station food. Thanks so much!

Since you both are asking about ‘Long Term Car Meals’ , I’ll put it all here. 

Peanut Butter and Jelly can both be kept at room temperature. Bread... does go bad faster when left in a hot car, but a few days should be fine. 

I used to put some Peanut Butter and Jelly into a plastic bag. When it’s time to make a sandwich, tear the corner of the bag(s) and squeeze your PB&J onto the bread, for fresh non-soggy sandwich! 

Then just like, paperclip or clamp the torn tip to save the rest for later.  (Or avoid the baggies and buy squeezable containers in the first place) 

Also: Bags of precooked meat, like tuna or shredded chicken. They’re sterile until opened. 

Commercially produced mayonnaise, as opposed to the homemade version, does not need to be refrigerated. It’s high in salt and acid, which both are enough to kill bacteria. I’d get the squeeze bottle instead of the open jar, so there’s less mess. 

Mustard also doesn’t need refrigeration - just give it a good shake before using to mix the water back in (It’ll separate out faster when warm)  

Just tear open the tuna bag, dump in some mayo + mustard, mix it up and eat out of the bag or spread it on bread. 

--

If you are living in your car - If you have a sun-reflector for your windshield, you can put an unopened can of soup or canned chili between the glass and the metallic reflector. On a sunny day with a few hours, the can’ll be so hot you have to let it cool down to avoid burning your hands.

(Throw in some smashed-up fritos and it’s pretty tasty)

Carrots can last for quite some time at room temperature. 

Whole Apples, Oranges, Clemintines, Pears... Broccoli, Bell peppers... Raisins or other dried fruit. 

Any sort of canned fruit or fruit cups. V8 in single cans (Veggies and fruits are often overlooked in car life, but long-term vitamin/mineral deficiencies can fuck you up good, so remember to include veggies in your diet!) 

Sunflower seeds are very cheap, and provide a ton of good fat AND a distracting new habit to chew the shells off them~ 

Hard cheeses, like Parmesan, Romano, Chedder, Swiss, Provolone - they’ll have a weird change in texture if it gets hot, but should be able to last a few days.  Cheese sticks. 

Hard salami, crackers. Pepperoni, Velveta cheese keeps for a long while without refrigeration. 

Pasta sauce can generally be left at room temperature for 2-5 days (as long as you don’t leave the top open for long) 

Most gas stations are chill to let you use their microwave if you also top off your car, or buy some water while you’re there. 

Access to a microwave every once in a while also opens up canned foods like canned baked beans, soups, and so on. 

---

When living out of a car, lack of access to fresh cooked ‘Nice’ food can really kill morale. 

Instead of a gas station (Everything edible is overpriced by 2-3x!) I’d recommend going to a local grocery deli section and checking out their pre-cooked foods. You can often find single servings of freshly made and still-hot fried chicken, seasoned potato fries, crispy cold cole slaws, and pot pies for cheaper than the gas station equivalent. 

Sitting down with a fork at a table and heating freshly made food... it hits different. As much as you can, try to take your food out of your car and find tables/benches to eat at, for the sake of mental health.

If there IS a grocery with a deli nearby, you can also ask for a super-small amount of meat and cheese from their deli and make your own sandwich. 

‘Can I have like, 2 thin slices of that turkey, and 1 thick slice of this cheese’ - they charge you by weight, so it won’t cost much at all. Head back to your car with your baggie of maple-roasted turkey, black-forest ham or horseradish swiss, and enjoy your flavors~ 

---

If you ARE living out of your car, and you don’t have a heat source, that’s the first thing I’d aim to get. 

You can find a Single-Burner butane stove for about $36 and 12 butane refills for $15. It opens up a shitload of food choices, improves morale, and increases your food safety. 

Source: Worked at a homeless shelter cafeteria for a while, and the folks were happy to compare their creative food solutions. 

[mirkysconcubinefiction]

I Thought You Should Know 2

Part 2.

Part 1 HERE.

Notes in part 1.

Before:

This time when Superman caught you he held you close and wrapped his arms around you before flying away with you clinging to him and crying because you couldn't hold it in anymore.

Awareness came with a background of arguing and a sinfully - sinfully - soft mattress. Tugging the blankets up and over your head you snuggle into your pillow and doze.

    You've grown up with yelling and lived in places that were noise 24/7 and presumed the arguing was the neighbors. A quiet falls over your cocoon and it hits you... your hotel room had a  mattress that was as stiff as plywood. 

    The bed dips and you tug the sheet down from your face and take in the warm tangerine color walls, dark wood molding and the bedside table was a rustic style piece of furniture. Turning over you're startled to find Clark Kent standing with a tray of food but more surprising was the man sitting on the bed in a sharp charcoal suit. 

    Curious, you lift the blanket and peer down at yourself.  You were wearing your underwear... you guess it was bettered than being naked. "Rest assured Miss ****, your virtue is safe."

    "Lex!" Snapped Clark with a glare before he turned to you and floundered for what to say before pushing the tray out, "Coffee?"

    "What happened?" Your brain felt muffled and you can remember bits and pieces and jumping off a ledge... "Shit, did I try to kill myself again?" You sit up and the blankets pool at you waist uncaring of your bra that was all lace and completely inappropriate for your type of job. 

    "Again?" The tray is set down on a bedside table and Clark was crawling to you, grabbing your arms, checking your bare wrists, as if he hadn't seen them before you were tucked in half-naked. "**** we talked about this."

    "Settle down." Lex heaved himself up with a sigh and peered down at the two of you, "Clark brought you here, you were hysterical and I gave you a sedative and while you were high out of your mind you chose my,"

    "Our." Clark snapped but the other man continued on without missing a beat.

    "Bed to make your nest. You had this loon," a finger pointed at Clark who look aghast, "Rip off your corset because, and I quote, I can't catch it rip it off. As you spun in a circle trying to reach for the laces."

    "I kind of panicked and ripped it off. Sorry." 

    "He's not sorry, he burned the thing in the fireplace."

    "Secrets Lex! Married couples know how to keep secrets!" Clark glared and you watched them bicker back and forth, lost. 

    "Can we not? As hot as it is, I'm too nauseous to join in on your makeup sex." That cut through the weird foreplay the duo had.

    "Get out." Lex tries but you ignore him as usual.

    "Here have some coffee!" Reaching for the tray Clark held onto it without strain. 

    It was a giant mug of black coffee, a small plate with an oversized croissant, little jars of jelly that was a mismatched set from various fancy hotels you knew Clark had a habit of stealing from, a bowl of yogurt topped with fruit and granola, a whole tomato, a cow shaped creamer, and a pig shaped cup with sausage sticking up. 

    "Remind me to never request breakfast in bed. You forgot silverware and cutting the dam tomato." Lex clapped his hands, "I'm off. Don't overstay your welcome and you're barred from all future events." And then he was gone. 

    "He does have a nice ass." You mumble into your coffee that was sweet and perfect. 

    "It makes up for his bad bedside manner." Then Clark is gone... and back with a spoon and knife, a knife he uses to cut your tomato. "There's a bedroom here for you." It's spoken softly and your eyes flick up to meet his then away, the croissant butter soft. "****?"

    "Hmm?"

    "I'm sorry."

    Now you remember, quite convenient when there's a knife in arms reach, "You're not." Strawberry jelly smears heavily. It's flavorful and you chewed slowly, savoring the rich taste. A sip of coffee and a your slurp breaks the silence. 

    "I am. I shouldn't have said that."

    "You thought it and you spoke it. Simple logic."

    "No."

    "You're a whore." You pick up a tomato slice, "You fucked all the girls you cheered with and you bottomed for half your fraternity." It tasted juicy, "Lois Lane wasn't your only fuck buddy at the paper and Green Lantern misses your dick something fierce." From your peripheral it was interesting how embarrassed his face colored.

    "How..."

    "Now Lex," you interrupt. "Lex is a slut but he's a slut with standards like myself. Dick pics help weed out the useless ya know." Sip, "Men - woman - don't care." Sip, "It helps when you get really lonely and you can leave. No strings, no questions." Sip, "If you speak to me that way again," your gaze meets his, "I won't need kryptonite to kill you." 

    "****..."

    "Refill please." You hand over your mug that's half filled and Clark takes it. Quietly he moves off the bed and walks out. 

    The tray is settled at your side and you manage to shuffle over to the edge and stand by the time he comes back. Meeting him part way you ignore the way his eyes rake over you, "I'm..."

    You were tired of apologies and hugged him. He was tall and you settled for wrapping your arms around his waist and hugging him tight, "Leave it."

    It's never brought up again.

    .

    The formal gala was beautiful. Lights, cameras, ice sculptures, bottles of champagne flowed as did the money for the secret auction, so secret no one was aware there was an auction.

    At least that's what the news had said.

    Lounging on a couch with a tub of ice cream your face is covered in an organic green tea mask, your body has been massaged by a last-minute goddess with hands that deserved to be preserved in the Vatican vault, and your feet was resting on Clark's lap where the man was massaging your left foot with a hand as the other hand tossed Gummi bears.

    You were horrible at catching them with your mouth but the colorful bears decorated the carpet and sofa with a certain pizazz. Elevator doors opened and expensive loafers dragged, "Why are you still here?"

    Spoon dangling from your mouth you pull it out and point it at the tired man who was being rerun on the massive television. "Did you have fun at your party?"

    "That party brought millions to Saint Jude charity foundation."

    "Uhu... and how much really..."

    Lex dismissed you to turn to his husband, "Why is she still here."

    "I'm not putting her out, you can do that." It was said matter of factly with a hint of try it, go on, I dare you.

    Oh this was good, not as good as the ice cream but good.

    "****." You blink up at the tall bald-headed man, "Leave."

    "But the make-up sex."

    You think his eye is twitching, "There is no sex!"

    A pout twitches your lips and your spoon stabs at the ice cream, "But Dom Daddy Master sex is the best sex." Beside you Clark chokes on a gummy and Lex is a thundercloud as he steps closer and closer to you until he's close enough you can smell his cologne. "See," and you glance over at the coughing man who was thumping his chest, "That's hot. You're hot, we should...."

    "Shut up!" And you shut up, sitting back. "Your jokes are not appreciated. Pack your shit and run back to your Captain America. The epitome of all that's righteous and leave..." you snort and quickly cover your nose as ice cream somehow went up there. "Me and mine alone!"

    A napkin is passed to you, "Ignore him. He saw what's in the box and is not too happy right now."

    "Couldn't you have left it behind?" Wiping your nose you take in all that was Lex Luthor and processed what he said, "Why would I run back to that asshole?" Of course Lex had bared his teeth in a very animalistic way and stormed off so you turn to the quiet second half and said, "What was in the box?"

    "A dress." His face loses trace of all humor, "The accessories are a problem, my nose is quite good and you're not that type of person to..." Clark cuts off as Lex returns and all but flings the box at you and Clark catches it and settles it on your lap while taking away your ice cream. 

    You ignore the argument that's caused by that stunt and take in the dented and dirty box that was lopsided and the tissue paper that hung half out. Clark was right, there was a dress balled up on top and you pull it out... it was a familiar dress.

    Black, shiny, skin-tight, one side would cover down the length of your thigh while the other was cut in a way to barely cover your vagina. 

    You knew this dress.

    This was a similar dress you had in your closet from ages ago. It had been the dress you met Steve Rogers in when you had worked another undercover mission as a singer in an underground club. The lights on stage would make the material nearly sheer and showed off your curves and the nipple piercings you had gotten done for the gig. 

    Well... "He knows." Or at least presumes who you are but how? Dropping the dress to the side you go through the rest of the stuff and pull out a pair of killer heels in your size, "Nope." And drop them both atop the dress. Next was a scrap of fabric that took a moment of turning it here and there to realize it was panties, "What the fuck is this?"

    Clark looks pink while Lex scowls but answers, "Thong."

    "This," you shake it like it's flag. "Wouldn't cover an ass cheek. I have a fat ass... the strings would cut across my hips and make me look like a ham hung to dry." That too was dropped and you rummaged around the jewelery, the hair extension that sat wrapped, and an empty clutch. "Stockings? It's cold, these fucker really think I would waltz around and freeze my clit off?"

    "The point was to entice me, your target, or that idiot." Confused, you glance up at the taller man. "Your choker. There's a mechanism that releases a pheromone when you get close enough to your victim. It's potent, it's an ingenious way to get me to leave and hand me over to SHIELD or attract that asshole who was there, dressed to impress and also wearing a wrist watch that had the same scent, my intel says he was hoping to use it on you if you had arrived. Fucker doesn't realize all phone calls are tapped, that was a mistake."

    Rummaging through the box you find rings, bracelets, a pair of studs for nipples - which what the fuck - but no choker. Glancing over at Clark you said, "You said your nose. How does it smell?

    "Musky. I only know about it because HYDRA is interested so they tried to use bait, young bait, to entrap my husband in a scandal. It didn't work, girl scouts don't make penthouse calls at 1am. Thankfully I was home and tossed the girl in the closet before dealing with him."

    "I could have raped that girl." 

    "Lex, no." And Clark was off the couch and crowding his husband who leaned into the embrace with a miserable face and you felt upset. Box plopped on the oddly shaped coffee table you make your way around the duo and bare foot you walk to the elevator door that opens with a soft ping and step on, finger jabbing on the button to the ground floor.

    It was a short trip of quiet, you ignore the dried and cracked gunk that was on your face and stepped out into a lobby with its shiny floor and gold accents. 

    There weren't many people about at this hour except a janitor that was windexing a window and a concierge who stood once he caught sight of you. "Ma'am!"

    "Phone?" You gesture to the old-fashioned looking thing that sits behind the desk. You knew it was a thing installed by Lex that was as private as you could get, and one that no nosey AI could hack into. An alternative option in case he was too lazy to take an elevator to the top floor.

    "I'm sorry but..."

    "Great, thanks, sit and be a good boy as mummy handles something." The man is a stuttering mess as you reach over and take it, plopping it on the high ledge. 

    "Ma'am you can't!"

    Fingers presses into small holes and drag clockwise with each number. "Phone the penthouse, I'm sure Mr. Luthor would be ecstatic over us meeting."

    The concierge, who had his hand on separate phone and was calling security faltered, "Lex Luthor?"

    You smile, green tea dust falling, but before you can utter a comment the line picks up without a greeting, "Brucie poo, remember that favor you owe me? Well I'm collecting." 

    The concierge moves away to stand with the Janitor who had been quick to call him over and tell him to keep his eyes down. Which was for the best since you were walking around in flannel that was oversized, courtesy of Clark. Switching to a different language and lowering your tone you spoke with an unamused Bruce Wayne, while not friendly with Lex, had been highly upset over the use of children as pawns.

    You weren't surprised. 

    The elevator dings and you wave at Clark who jogged to you and you were quick to say your goodbyes, "Why didn't you tell me?" Frowning at the taller man.

    "You're not here, why would we tell you?" And that, that hurt.

    The elevator doors closed and you knew you needed to do something, time was wasting.

    .

    Solid black, it matched the coal around your eyes and the contacts you had struggled to put on. Boots were comfortably strapped up to your knee and you waltzed across a manicured lawn. 

    The cameras were down.

    The dogs had been knocked out.

    Security had been scarce since a good portion had all come down with a mysterious stomach bug. You can't really protect your benefactor if you're shitting your intestines out. 

    Striding up the marble steps that led to a wrap around porch, you tried a door handle and found it locked. A laser took care of that, a nifty little thing you dropped on the ground and waltzed inside, smoke curling into the air from the burned brass and wood.

    Having had memorized the layout you strode to the kitchen, up a flight of stairs, down a hall, up another set of stairs, down another hall and to a bedroom door where you put yourself in a position that your com had instructed. Gun in hand you aim a degree left, swooped right, down center, each bullet piercing through the door and wall.

    Stopping only when your com had said so. 

    You open the door and lean against the door jamb, the bodies on the ground paving a way to a lone man pressed against the corner of a wall holding a gun.

    "Hello honey." He aims and pulls the trigger. The gun jams. "Poor baby," you stalk over. "Let mommy kiss it better."

    From a distance away Superman removes the com in his ear cutting off the scream of the HYDRA operative who had tried to set up his husband. 

    .

    Maybe if your com hadn't been knocked off and landed in a puddle of blood you would have found yourself here, in a chair, at the SHIELD headquarters. 

    Great, just great.

    The chair was uncomfortable so you chose a nice corner to lay down, cross your ankles, and try for a nap. 

    You had gotten as much as you expected from Mr. HYDRA guy which was meh. Not enough info compared to what you had but if you were honest, you weren't there for intel.

    It was just a great excuse to inflict as much pain as you could and death. 

    You hated getting your hands dirty but... yea... getting caught on the back lawn with SHIELD agents storming up to you with guns and K9 was a weird experience. 

    "****." Confirmation that Steve had a really good guess you were you. Ugh. The door closed behind him with a thump and the man strode over. "You can cut the act, I know who you are."

    You sign WHO.

    "I thought you were dead." You yawn, "I knew it was you when I heard you laugh." He pauses as if he expects you to talk. "Superman knows who you are, how do you know him?" Quiet. "Answer me." He sighs, voice changing to one of concern, one you had believed was his true self. "I miss you."

    A hand lifts and you sign QUEEN.

    "****!" 

    Middle finger, no two fingers, point in his direction.

    A hand grips your ankle and you're dragged from the wall, your other free foot hits the ground with a thump, you curl your toes - triggering a nifty backup - and out pops a short knife. Steve let's out a shout as you stabbed him in the leg, once, twice, and his arm that swings to stop you before the man let you go.

    Blood coated the ground and the super soldier stumbled back, "What the fuck ****!" The security that patted you down didn't take all your lovely toys. 

    Hopping to your feet you waved a finger at him and signed BAD BOY. The doors open and two men with guns enter, they try to get Steve to leave but he's a stubborn fuck, "Back off, I've had worse." 

    Just to fuck with him you sign, POISON.

    His eyes go wide and he stumbles out with the two guards and you're left alone once again.

    .

    The fuckery begins when the vents turn off, it takes a while for the air to get stifling and hot but you don't remove your uniform and lay on the ground sweating through your material and the pungent stench of blood has you breathing through your mouth. 

    Stubborn to death you try to ignore the nausea that roils your stomach, a migraine forms at the back of your skull, and your mouth was dry and throat parched.

    Time churns and it's hard to focus so you keep your eyes closed but it does little to help. Maybe this was it? A smile quirks your chapped lips, at least you got to stab Steve, hopefully your knife was dirty and he got an infection.

    When did you close your eyes?

    Breathing was like choking on sand and you can hear the ragged sound of you inhaling deeply and sharply. A shadow hovered above you and you felt a tug and your body lifting before dropping. It's dizzying when your head lifts upwards but thankfully you're gently settled down

    "Shit's adhered to her skin." 

    Was someone talking? No, let you sleep. Closing your eyes you hate that you're jostled as your legs are lifted and plopped on someone's knee.

    "Get me water and ice, her legs up will help with blood flow to the heart."

    Cold seeps through your uniform and the lip of a bottle entices your tongue to move and swish by swish cool water washes away the sandpaper feel of your mouth.

    "Cut it off her." You recognize that voice.

    "The first layer was easy, this is adhered to her skin." Pause, "I've seen this before Captain. You'll rip her skin off, best to wait until she regains conscious and..."

    "She's not HYDRA."

    "But you said..."

    "I know what I said, now get out!" There's a scuffle and a slam. Hands are tugging at the edges where the suit left your skin exposed. Someone had removed your boots and gloves... a sharp tug of pain at your temple reminded you you're wearing a mask that showed off your eyes and your mouth once the second layer was pulled aside. 

    "God dammit." Steve growled, "Fine! We'll do this the hard way!"

    Your fingers curl and you try to move but your legs are heavy and a prickling sensation runs up and down. Move you tell yourself but you can't.

    "All I wanted was a simple yes or no." Something cold presses against your cheek, a pointed tip digging, trying to dig, beneath the seam of material and skin. "This is your fault ****." 

    What?

    Pain causes your back to arch and your right calf to seize, you choke on a scream trying to move away from the slice of the knife as it digs under your skin and not the material but Steve has a firm grip on your chin.

    Blood seeps out and there's a swear from the man and the knife is pulled out. He ignore your whimpers of pain to move a single hand down your body. Skimming over your breasts, sides, sternum, waist, and back up to your throat, "A little less pressure eh?" The blood stained tip pops through the layer, Steve needing to push harder as the material - as thin as it was - was strong.

    The knife carefully drags downward, blood seeping from between the black material, and stills just under your bust line where your waist cincher catches the blade. "Hmm." Cutting straight down, the blade knocking through fabric and the hooks.

    The suit material was adhered to your cincher leaving your stomach bare. His free hand settled on your too warm skin, fingers tracing over the indentations left from the boning and material. 

    He tries to tug at the material but your body shifts with it, "I'll get this thing off you even if I have to skin you."

    Shouting catches his attention but Steve ignores the sound of gunfire, secure in the knowledge he was locked in. The knife veers direction and he slices down the side towards him, gripping the cincher for leverage. 

    Mid thigh Steve is startled when the door to the room flies across the room, knife jerking and slicing deep causing you to cry out, a pitiful cry. "Fuck!" Steve scrambles to cover the wound with his large hand but it does little to stop the blood.

    A hand grips into the back of his neck and tosses him as if he were a rag doll. He hits the wall leaving a crumbling indentation in the concrete. Shaking it off, Steve is prepared for a fight but once the disorientation is shaken off he manages to catch a glimpse of red before realizing he's alone.

    You're gone.

    .

    The bandage on your face and the butterfly band-aid running down your body to yet another oversized bandage at your thigh made it look as if it was bad. "I'm fine." A nurse stands idly to the side and you glance at her, "Tell him I'm fine."

    The him was Clark who was trying to take your temperature for the fifth time in the span of an hour. "You're not fine!" He also sends a look to the nurse who looks on amused, "Tell her she's not fine, a high fever is a sign of infection, God know what germs that cell had."

    "It was a clean cell." You try but Clark takes the opportunity to plop the thermometer into your mouth and you roll it under your tongue. 

    Beep.

    "It went up a degree!" 

    "For fucks sake. Lex!" You yell the other mans name.

    The phone rings at your bedside and you pick it up and hand it Clark who scowls. "Yes Dear." 

    The nurse tip toes closer to fluff your pillows as you settle back. The past few days a whirl wind of adventure. Between SHIELD putting out a warrant for you - both your identities - and fighting with Lex that no he shouldn't call a war against the organization and that you had a plan. Of course bumming it at the Luthor's meant you had a lovely nurse and a personal chef.

    The high life.

    "The husband requests I should leave you alone less I suffer a dry spell." He side eyes you and you hold a hand out to him which he takes and crawls beside you, careful of your body under the sheets. The nurse leaves and the two of you are left alone. "I was so scared. Seeing you there... bleeding..."

    "Me too." You admit, "I shouldn't be surprised but I am. Steve... that's not my Steve."

    His arm pulls you closer, dragging you off your pillow and into his arms. "He was never yours." It hurt but it was the truth. He gently brushes away your tears - it's not fair you still cried for this man - and gently turns your head so you can gaze at him, his touch soft as it hovers above your bandage. "Give us a chance ****."

    "Clark..." your eyes burn with more tears, afraid, you're so afraid. "I can't."

    "He could have killed you and yet he still holds a place in your heart."

    What? "No."

    "He's still there, he lived everyday content with another woman while you were left alone and bitter. Everything you've done to get to this point was because of him. He's still there, in your heart, a parasite, keeping you from moving on and taking a risk." You're  quiet and his normally stoic self turns frustrated and says, "The asshole stabbed you, doesn't he deserve to suffer?"

    "Yes. He deserves to suffer." The anger surged and you used your arm to prop yourself up, "Steve humiliated me. They all knew, fucking knew, and... I still have the fucking dress." Clark frowned, "How could he do that to me, why Clark. Why?"

    "Because he can." You flop back on the mattress and cover your eyes with the heels of your hand and will the hurt to die and your tears to dry. "He's  heartless but you're not."

    "Clark..."

    "No. He never cared ****, he used you while Sharon was away. If it wasn't for the other asshole, Steve would have dumped you at the alter or killed you off and you know that's true. Look what he did to you, you don't think he would have that spy take you out?"

    "No." You choke out and you sniff before a grin curls your lips. "He would have done it."

    "Or the..."

    "No." Sniff, "I hacked his journal. He was going to cause a car accident." Clark went stiff and in the distance you hear a crash, a slam of a door, and you glare at Clark, "You didn't hang up the phone!" It wasn't a question because a moment later the door to your bedroom swings in and the very tall, very angry shadow of Lex Luthor fills the doorway. 

    "****." It was your full name. Your full legal name and you went absolutely still. 

    "Babe..." Clark tries but Lex is a storm cloud as he saunters forward and ignores the pet name only his husband was allowed. 

    "Are you soft in the head?" Lex loomed over you and for the first time you were scared of him. 

    "Lex..."

    "Car accident? You knew he was planning on killing you and you still did nothing." The man didn't have to shout but each word was laced with venom that had your heart skip a beat.

    "I..."

    "Swallowing a bottle of pills isn't what you do when someone plans to murder you." Oh shit, "Jumping head first into missions without backup or extra ammo is not the way one plots revenge." Fuck. "Running off and putting yourself in suicidal situations does nothing but get you killed!"

    "I know."

    "Then why must you be so stupid!"

    "Because I needed to feel something!" You shout, it hurts to sit up but you scramble to do so as Clark assists. "I was stupid, is that what you want to hear? How stupid I was to believe that someone  could love me? Me? That someone would want me for something other than sex? That I was beautiful? Smart? That I was more? Stupid of me to think that a person could think I was worth a commitment and kids and a last name, a home, I was stupid to think I was worth a home, someone who can... can love me..."  it was hard to breath and see as the old hurt rear its ugly head and you can't be strong, dropping your head, spine hunching you press your hands against your eyes, the pressure easing the headache that was throbbed steadily. 

    "Lex, ease off." Clark rubs circles on your back.

    "No. She needs to deal with this and not wallow in self pity."

    "Lex!"

    Sniffing up the snot you wipe your nose and say, "It's not wallowing. I'm not a victim, read the definition asshole."

    "Of course you're not love but crying doesn't get back at someone who wants to cut your break cords."

    Sniff, "Drunk driver." Your eyes itch and you rub them again, "A t-bone."

Clark takes in your red eyes and the flush to your face before looking up to his husband, "Kill him."

    "No."

    "Already on it." Lex says matter of factly. 

    Again you say, "No. Death is too good." 

    Lex sighed, he was ready to snap at you again. "He's enhanced. What's your plan? You can't get close to him like before."

    "He's a conservative man, his reputation is everything to him." You say, "I got a plan to get SHIELD off my back and I'll make public his journals and porn crap."

    Lex frowns, "No maiming? Missing limbs?"

    You shake your head, "No. There's some heavy shit in those journals and secrets about the team. I'll black out the intel from missions but Steve gets off on knowing that the world sees him as this perfect man. A God amongst mortals. He won't know how to deal with it."

    "Alright, ok, we can work with that." Hands continued rubbing circles on your back, "Can I punch him at least?"

    "You're getting your hands dirty?" Surprised, Lex glanced down at you, "Guess he loves you more than me." In response Clark lugged a pillow at him.

    "Punch him twice. One for me and one for you." It comes from you.

    "Break his leg for me." Lex sends you a look but you don't say a word, "Payment for the stitches."

    "Mhm." You'd probably scar too. "Break both legs." You rub at your thigh where it itched.

    "I smell blood." Clark leans over and moves the blanket aside and patches of red bloom on your bandage, your shorts hiked up to V of your thighs. "Lex, get the nurse. You might have popped a stitch."

    "It's ok, I'm ok."

    "No, you're not." 

    The nurse comes in with a first aid bag and your bandage is removed showing that yes, you popped a stitch. It doesn't take long to fix it but you do lean into Clark for comfort. 

    .

    SHIIELD's system is down.

    Their backup of a backup doesn't work, nothing works. Cards danced on the screens, Queens of spades, hearts, diamonds, and clubs bounce up and down, left to right, in no specific direction. 

    They all know whose calling card halted all communications and in a solo room where a group of people who had complete access to everything were privy to a badly drawn cartoon of a queen of hearts card threatening to release sensitive information to earth and Google Earth images of all their safe house locations including their own. 

    Less than a day later SHIELD pulled all their warrants and people in the search of you. 

    An email was immediately sent with your resignation and quickly after that a website was made public with Captain America Secrets on full view and no A.I. or hacker could tear it down. 

    Not with the insane amount of protection you encased it in. Still, you had fail safes in case it was taken down plus the internet where nothing died was quick to copy and paste and you sat back in your hello kitty onsie as the world burned Steve Rogers and the Avengers.

    Tony's PR team was quick to claim it was a hoax and the others had denied all allegations against their own humiliation but you had finally let it go. 

    You had to.

    Looking up as a set of floor to ceiling windows slid open and you watched as Superman flew in and landed. His hair was in disarray, a portion of his suit was torn and blood was splattered on his cheek, not his blood you're sure. "Had fun?"

    A grin is tossed your way and the papers on the coffee table ruffled as the man sped to you and was right there, making your eyes cross. "Beautiful. Perfect. Brilliant. Patient. Crazy. Lovely."

    "Clark, heros say no to drugs." You interrupt his rambling.

    "I'm sober."

    "Meth?"

    "****."

    "Cocaine?"

    "****."

    "Sugar?" There's seconds, time for you to turn your head as Clark leans in, but you hold your breadth as he kisses you. A soft and gentle pressure and it's so sweet.

    "Let me love you ****." his brows press against yours, "Let us love you. Give us a chance."

    No.

    Just no.

    You don't need the extra heartache.

    "Okay." It slips out and you can't take it back. Do you want to take it back? 

    Clark's face is one of excitement and his eyes shine with something that you've seen before, when he looks at his husband and you were a sucker for pain. You can't take it back, "You won't regret it I promise." And with that Clark picks you up and you hold on. 

    "I'm not having sex so you can put me down." You kick your legs because you're almost sure you wouldn't.

    "Oh I know." He walks confidently to the still open window, "We need Lex for that. He has a sturdy desk and sound proof office."

    "Clark!"

    And he jumps, flying off in the direction of his husband's company. It would be a pleasant surprise but at least he was right, that desk was sturdy. 

    End.

Notes:

I can't write sex scenes so there you go. Use your imagination. I picture a spit roast scenario and a very slippery desk.

 I can confirm that Superman kicked Steve's ass, broke his legs - twice - and punched 3 times. Which is why Clark arrived looking disheveled. Also Steve did give as good as he got but Superman is a pretty boy with hopefully good dick (for you the readers sake ;)

[thecrimsonjaguar]

A Short List of Adventure Time AUs

So I got a google doc of adventure time aus I’ve made over the past two or three years. Here are some of my favorites (and also the ones I came back to and edited)

If you’ve got ideas for an au or ideas to add onto the preexisting ones I’ve got here, please tell me! I’m always up for some au discussion. 

1.) Jermaine AU: Jermaine comes to live at the treehouse after his house blows up. This, unlike canon, happens rather early in season 3. The rest of the series mainly stays the same, except this time there's three brothers instead of two. He's a kinda anxious dude with demon hunting expertise and a painting hobby. He sometimes wonders if he made Dad disappointed by letting all his work explode. Finn and Jake help him out, and he helps them. Despite this, Jermaine is the only one with a brain, and Finn and Jake share exactly one (1) braincell that they trade every so often. Jermaine is tired. (Jermaine is the only one who tries to clean regularly, and he's also the one to keep Neptr, Ancient Psychic Tandem War Elephant, and a few others company. He's a bit of real wisdom the early series Finn and Jake needed.

2.) Melted Ice AU: Mid season two, IK is hit with something that de-ages him. He turns six. Maybe this mystery de-aging thing blows up the top of the ice mountain, who knows. Maybe he wakes up in the snow, with no memory of how he got there or why. No memory of the last one thousand years. Finn and Jake don't know about his backstory since that happens in season three. Simon is carried by a snowman out of the ice kingdom where he breaks down in the plains. Finn, of course, finds him and is ecstatic to meet another human. Completely missing the fact that this small child is, in fact, the Ice King, Finn declares to help this boy no matter what. That promise soon becomes difficult when people hear about the second human in Ooo, and whatever effect that's keeping him young starts to wear off. (Marceline comes to visit and has a heart attack)

3.) Adventure Falls AU: AT x GF baybee!! Seventeen year old Stanley Pines hops on the Stan O' War and sets sail when he's kicked out. Unfortunately, that boat is nowhere near sea worthy, and all it takes for him to go overboard is one sudden (magical) storm. But, miraculously, Stan doesn't die. He washes up on Ooo, the island of misfits. Where there's daddy issues galore and punching things and getting gold is a legitimate career. He's found on the shore by none other than Finn, who asks if he's okay and if a dungeon adventure would soothe his worries. Stan accepts, because that sounds awesome, and they maybe date. For the next ten years, Stanley is a professional hero. He travels with Finn, he lives in a tower with tons of gold, he's respected, adored, and has made a family for himself. Ooo has a habit of forcing traumatic therapy onto to people, so Stan gets (read: is forced) to work his issues out. And then, somehow, he gets a postcard from his brother.

4.) Young Pups AU: Jake's kids grow up fast- but not that fast. He stays with lady for a few episodes being Dad and when the Pups are old enough, go visit Finn and Jermaine. Also Jermaine is there when the pups are born that always bothered me in canon like what the fuck. This whole AU results in Jake the Dad being a better father than in canon, because he actually has time to make mistakes and learn from them. He sometimes shapeshifts into one of those baby carriers but suited for five kids instead of one. Finn and Jermaine fight for best uncle privileges. Finn is considerably more awesome but Jermaine's got magic junk and juicy stories about Jake. So far the votes are: FINN: Jake Jr, T.V.  JERMAINE: Kim Kil Whan, Charlie. Viola remains undecided.

4.) Evilgreen AU: Evergreen was evil. His idea to make the crown to stop the comet was actually a cover story to take control of all the elements and freeze everything. Of course the same thing happens here as it did in canon, Gunther gets the crown and wishes to *be* evergreen. This is bad. Very bad, so bad in fact, that things get FUnKy. A couple eons later, Simon gets the crown as per canon, and then things start to slide downhill. Since the crown is significantly worse, Simon tries to get rid of it. No amount of magic pull is going to get him to put on the eldritch hat. It teleports back. When things go to shit, the crown tells him he's got two options: He can either live, or he can live unwillingly. This all coalesces in super angst and mild horror as Simon has to fight off evil urges and somehow keep both he and Marceline safe. Things start looking up, though, when he summons Hunson Abadeer.

5.) Nightmare Therapy AU: Simon, now himself post canon, has some funky nightmares. Problem is: he's due for a visit from the cosmic owl due to some mystical bureaucratic bs. If that were to happen, Simon's dreams of Golb and Orgalorg and the world ending and everyone dying and maze would come true, without the veil of metaphoric junk dreams are known for (also due to bureaucratic bs). So, Simon gets a dream therapist. An OC, probably, that would fight off his nightmares when they came and talk to him about his issues.

6.) High School AU: Except they're all still magic and crap. Finn's a jock that's part of the LDnD club(Literally Dungeons and Dragons), Jake's got a job at a pancake place and hosts the Card Wars clubs on Wednesdays, Jermaine's in college and their parents were still detectives/demon hunters. PB is preppy/nerdy girl with weird fucking family and is absolutely a mad scientist. Marceline is still a demon/vamp (vampire biker gang, they all died, deaths pending) and her uncle is Simon. Simon is a history teacher whose ex wife might be an eldritch abomination (the students wonder, but there are no answers)((simon says cryptic things every so often that are the subject of much ridicule, but he's a nice guy)). Ooo High has all of the AT characters in some shape or form. Tree trunks is the lunchlady, Mr Pig is a janitor. Lemongrab is just there. LSP(Q?) is a teacher because that's hilarious. Hunson is dead along with Marceline's mom because fuck hunson. Magic Man is a hobo that snuck onto campus and can't be chased off (his brother is the superintendent, Glob). there's a lot more but that's for a different word doc.

7.) Back to the Future AU: So PB fucks around with time travel, right? For science. She gets sent back in time a thousand years, before the war. Now, she's a pink lady who can shoot jelly beans from her hands, of course needs to lay low. And of course she needs to get home, but she's in a Futurama situation where she only has one type of time machine; the one that can go into the past. Not to mention her own time machine got busted on her way there, so she's double screwed. But, she remembers something. There is an individual (two, actually) that knows about time travel in this time period. She knows him, and he's likely to help her if she plays her card right. She needs to find Simon and get back to her own time, preferably without dooming herself in the process. (perhaps she tries to steal the notes Simon has, and Simon's completely oblivious, except Betty can smell trouble from a mile away and immediately notices some pink woman trying to steal books and she goes ham. Perhaps she goes ham in such a way that Simon doesn't notice. Perhaps this goes on for seven acts.)

8.) Bread and Butter AU: Bella Noche during the episode Betty creates a huge black cube that engulfs all of Wizard City. This box acts as a cage and prevents Wizards from escaping the magic purge. Simon is unable to bring Betty back from the past, and he's fading fast. In a desperate attempt to stop things from escalating, Simon chugs a bottle of anti-magic like a fucking god. He gets through the cube that surrounds Bella Noche and knocks their lights out. He passes out, and when he comes to, the anti-magic he consumed as merged with him. This is because of a simple rule: Magic sticks to magic, anti-magic sticks to anti-magic. And since humans have always had just a little bit of anti -magic present within them, humans and anti-magic go together like bread and butter (badumtish) ((I have actually written a fanfic about this, you can find it here))

9.) Swapped AU: Through various shenanigans Ice King's and Magic Man's powers gets swapped. These shenanigans somehow land them in space as well. This happens before Magic Man's trial. The swapping of their powers results in Simon getting his memory back. It also gives Magic Man the Ice Crown, unfortunately for him though, it seems to hate him. Simon's glad to back, but quickly realizes one issue: He's still crazy. So the pair try to make it back to Ooo. MM needs his powers to swap himself with some other shmuck so he doesn't croak when his trial comes, but Simon's made it clear he isn't giving his powers up without a fight. The pair starts off rocky, neither trusting the other, but space trouble forces them to work together. Simon's a nice enough guy he wouldn't leave someone to die and MM really needs Simon alive so it works out. A weird friendship forms, and they learn get along. Just a couple of crazy space wizards. Then the crown is destroyed. MM is freed from the crown's control, and he's freed from magic. He gets his sanity back, just in time for his trial.

that’s all I’ve got for now!

[pluto-art]

Syncytium - Chapter 3

Title: Syncytium - Chapter 3 - Sodium Bicarbonate Words: 7,115 Rating: T

Fan Fiction: https://www.fanfiction.net/s/13712482/3/Syncytium

As always, I recommend the fan fiction version, which includes all italics. Other than that, enjoy the full story below the cut!

September 16th, 1993 - 11:48 PM

Two little feet raced pitter-patter down a chatter-filled hallway in A.C.M.E. Arts & Sciences, its occupant laden with pen and petition, eagerly calling out to any hapless individual that came her way as that ever-present tam-o-shanter bounced atop her head.

"Signatures! Come put down your signatures! Sign the petition! Bring baseball back to A.C.M.E.!" Olivia called out, her little jingle ringing in its thick Scottish accent down the corridor and bouncing off the walls. "Baseball for all! Hear you shout! Let them know or we'll strike out!"

Like a fuzzy brown bullet she shot through the school, passing students and teachers, janitors and gym instructors, nearly running into the wall on two occasions, and receiving a sharp reprimand of "Watch it!" or "Land sakes!" from those whose book pages and scarves she ruffled on her flight down the hallways.

"Let your voice be heard! Put your name down! Have a- OOF!"

Olivia gasped as she landed on the hard, linoleum floor, having been knocked back by something tall and firm. She shook her head and looked up... and up... and up, into the stern face of Basil, teacher of Advanced Science and Deduction. Even for a mouse he was rather lanky, towering above Globetrotter and practically a giant to Olivia. The only other mouse in the school who reached his height was Pinky. He glared at her, one eyebrow cocked in silent judgement as he peered down from above, a great slab of papers cradled snugly against his side.

"Oh...," Olivia mumbled, gulping as she quickly stood up, face scrunching, and shook off her clothes, her little tam-o-shanter and petition laying very sorrowfully at her feet.

Basil sighed.

"Young lady," he began, bending down to pick up her hat and place it securely back on her head. "This is the third time this week we've met under unnecessarily chaotic circumstances and it's become... rather an interference in my daily schedule. Would you kindly keep harnessed certain frivolities at play, Miss Flabbergast?"

"I'm sorry, Mr. Basil," Olivia muttered shyly, and not unkindly. "I'll be more careful."

She picked her clipboard with petition up off the floor, a little embarrassed.

"Sign my petition...?" she ventured, holding up the paper for Basil to see. He bent down to get a closer look at it.

"What's this for?" he asked.

"It's for a baseball stadium!"

"Baseball stadium?"

"Yes!" Olivia said, nodding excitedly. "So we can get sports back to the school!"

"Sports?" Basil nipped, practically spitting out the word as though it was a nasty slur. "Miss Flim-Flam, the last thing this university of science and culture needs is a bunch of dimwitted degenerates galloping about chasing after a ball. You'd do better to abandon the whole matter, in my opinion."

Olivia hung her head.

"But I doubt it will amount to anything," he continued, picking lint off his cardigan in a snooty fashion. "The most you could hope for is ten signatures, at least. Continue on your hapless venture if you must."

"Really?!"

"Yeeees yes yes. Now, run along."

"Thank you, Mr. Basil! I'll get more than ten. You'll see!"

"Jolly good," Basil replied curtly, sarcastically, pausing to flick a piece of dirt off Olivia's jacket. "Good day to you."

Olivia watched him as he went, his long shoes snapping click, click, click against the floor. She drew out a long breath of utter relief. Basil was fairer than Globetrotter. Anyone was fairer than Globetrotter. However, he still could get a bit cross when rubbed the wrong way, and it certainly wasn't the first time she'd gotten on his irritable side. She'd have to be more careful.

And so, as she continued her trek down the school hallways, calling out as she went (a bit more quietly this time), she jogged rather than sprinted, slipping between passerby with an "Excuse me" or "Pardon" and taking extra precaution not to bump into any more teachers, especially Globetrotter...

"Petition! Come you all and sign! Redefine!"

Maisy tossed Olivia an annoyed glance as she ran past, huffing a little and flipping back her hair as she dug through her locker.

"Since when did the principle allow kids to run around the school? I didn't think he'd be cool with that," she muttered.

Next to her, a chocolate-furred mouse leaned against his adjacent locker, deep in silent conversation as he texted rapidly on his phone.

"Why do you care?" he asked, not looking up at her.

"I dunno. It's just... This is like... a high-profile university, right? There shouldn't be any kids."

"We're kids."

"Um... Excuse me. I'm like... nineteen."

"Yeah. That's young, Maisy."

"Whatever," she spat, flicking her hair back again as she found what she was looking for: a red pencil with yellow flower print slapped all over it.

"Olivia is Flaversham's daughter," Gadget spoke from across the hall at her own locker, snapping her bulbous goggles atop her head as a matter-of-fact. "Everyone knows that." Tillie nodded next to her.

"Okay, but, like...," Maisy continued, pulling out a journal and tucking it under her arm, "... he works. When does he have time to watch her? He just lets her run around the school?"

"Well, isn't Mrs. Judson her nanny?" Tillie offered helpfully, albeit rather quietly. "I think that-"

Several students sprinted by. Tillie paused to let them pass before continuing.

"I think that she watches her in the nurse's office most of the day and lets her run errands."

"Yeah, but-," Maisy began, before being cut off herself as another batch of students trundled by, and then another. "But that doesn't give her leave to just-" More students. "To just run around whenever she-" Even more students. By this point, she could barely even see Gadget and Tillie. "Oh my gosh! I hate not having neighboring lockers!"

"It's lunchtime, Maisy," the male mouse said beside her, closing his phone with a sharp snap. "We should get going."

"Ugh. Fine. I'm starving anyway."

And so off they went, quartet heading for the cafeteria at the prompt hour of 12:00 PM, taking care not to bump into anyone as they entered the huge room.

Unlike the rest of the school, this area was terribly outdated. Or, rather, it had none of the classiness that the majority of the facility offered. Far from being dressed up in a mahogany coat, with comfortable seating, double-pane windows, and classical music that pumped itself like oxygen through the more casual areas of the building, the cafeteria resembled nothing less than something vomited out of an 80s shopping mall. The blue and purple paneling; the flashing neon food signs; the Whitney Houston music trapped perpetually within the speakers. It had it all. Students called it "The Flashback" or "The Blot", depending on who you talked to. The space had been heavily renovated a decade ago in an attempt to reflect the aesthetic at the time, and if the principal in office hadn't been ousted at the time for his radical ways the facility may very well have looked quite different by this point. As it stood, the cafeteria was an eye sore for some, a breath of fresh air for others, and it was a popular spot in which to congregate. If nothing else, the music was a relief. There was only so much Chopin one could take.

Chatter filled the dining area as the quartet entered. Already the tables were filling up, the smell of pizza and dumplings heavy in the air. Once upon a time, the food had reflected the decor: posh, healthy, and expensive. And then, of course, the cafeteria had been renovated, and with it the menu. No one had ever bothered to change the hot dogs back to ham; the grilled cheese back to caviar. Lemon sherbet tasted much better than shitake, and the students liked it that way.

"Think they're gonna have the jelly sauce again today?" Gadget asked, standing up on tip-toe to peer over at the food counter.

"Ew. Gosh. I hope not. That stuff is gro- HO MY GOSH," gasped Maisy.

"What?" Gadget asked, looking around, eyes wide. She hoped another wasp hadn't broken into the cafeteria again. Two had welcomed themselves in in the last week and she didn't think she could handle the stress another day.

"He's here," Maisy stressed, clutching at her heart and grabbing hold of Gadget's shoulder rather tightly.

Tillie and Gadget followed her gaze all the way across the floor to the food bar. There stood Pinky, dressed today in lab pants and a blue and gray striped shirt whose sleeves were rolled up to his elbows. Had it not been for the ridiculously long white lab pants that spilled over his shoes, Gadget thought he might have looked rather fetching. As it stood, though, he didn't. Maisy thought otherwise.

"Ugh. He's so hot."

"So hot he melts your brains?" the male mouse quipped, back to texting on his phone.

Maisy shot him a nasty look. Tillie didn't even notice.

"Wow. Clam chowder special," she mused, completely serious as she stared, astonished, at the counter.

"You're focusing on the food?!" Maisy exclaimed, flabbergasted. Tillie remained oblivious.

"Oh, I hope Mrs. Brisby isn't too early today. I rather like lunch break...," Tillie mused, loosening her shawl a little.

"But you also like her classes," said Gadget, smiling.

"I do. They're fun."

"Learning about weeds is fun?" asked Maisy.

"Agriculture is more interesting than you think it would be! You should try it sometime. It's fun!"

"Tillie, the only fun thing about this school is the lunch break."

The dark-furred he mouse with them rolled his eyes, his hands in his pockets.

"Seriously, Maisy? Not even the Chemistry class is interesting?" he mentioned, incredulous.

"Okay, well, that is a little bit interesting..."

The he mouse sighed.

"You're incredible. Our parents are paying good money for this school. You should be grateful. Come on. Let's stake a seat."

A few tables down, a gaggle of mice, moles, and a rat or two sat, chattering loudly. One of them, a black-haired mouse in a frilly, once-piece dress, sash around the middle and dark hair tied up in a bun, stood up in her chair and waved in their direction.

"Maaaaaaisy, girl! Come on! We've been waiting for you!"

"GIIIIRL! I was just about to ditch these losers! Gimme a sec!" Maisy called back, beaming. "Sorry, guys. I gotta go."

"Wha-..? But I thought we were gonna-" the male mouse began, taken aback.

"Sorry, Dex. I forgot I'd promised Marvell I'd be here at noon. We'll catch up later, I promise. Okay?"

"Yeah. Sure...," Dex shrugged dejectedly.

"Thanks, Dex. Bye, y'all!" said Maisy, and she ran off to join the loquacious group.

"Bye, loser!" Gadget joked back, shaking her head. "Airhead."

"Remind me why we hang out with her again?" Tillie asked, as the remaining three headed for the food bar.

Gadget shrugged.

"She's been my friend since middle school. I'd feel weird just ditching her."

"You wouldn't be missing much," Dex muttered, although there was a hesitancy in his voice.

Gadget threw him a sideways glance as she grabbed a tray, Tillie and Dex following suit.

"You know that's not true, Dex. She's a bit into herself, but you know she loves you."

Dex shrugged.

One by one, a steady line of students at the bar filed past the counter, picking off a box of salad here, a cup of macaroni there. Things reached a stand still at the chili bowl. Dex and Gadget stood up on tip-toe for a couple seconds, flattened back out on their feet, stared at each other, and rolled their eyes, sniggering. But of course...

The hold up, as per the norm, was Pip, one of the restaurant hands and the only chipmunk in the entire school. He was terribly chatty, not to mention contentious if you dared complain about any aspect of the food. Either something was wrong and he needed to comment on it, or someone he recognized as a friend had just crossed his path. Judging by the chipper tone of his voice, Gadget guessed it was the latter today.

"So what's with this petition? Lemme see that paper, sister!"

And he whipped from someone's hand a petite clipboard entrusted with several sheets of lined paper. He read through it quickly, nose almost touching the paper.

Gadget, Dex, and Tillie peered around the crowd ahead of them to see who had handed him the paper. Oh. Naturally.

There stood Olivia, rocking back and forth on the balls of her feet as Pip perused her petition, a wide, expectant smile on her face. Was there no place she wouldn't invade?

"Hmmm," Pip mused, tapping his foot a mile a minute as his keen eyes roved over the paper one more time. "Weeeeeeell, I don't usually sign these things, buuuuut... baseball sounds like a worthy cause. Ya' got a pen?"

"Here you go!" Olivia squeaked happily, extracting from the inside of her coat pocket a blue pen and offering it to Pip. He took it swiftly and signed the petition just as fast.

"Just make sure you get me a position as umpire!" Pip said, handing her back the petition and pen.

"Oh, I will! Thank you!"

"Say, uhhhh... how many signatures you got on that thing so far?"

"Twenty-three!"

"Heeeeeey. That's not bad!"

"Come on, Pip!" a student piped up, brows furrowed.

"Yeah, we've got class!" a girl vole squeaked from behind the trio.

"All right, all right already! Sheesh!" Pip nipped back, rolling his eyes. "Hey. You keep gettin' those John Hancocks, okay?" he said, winking at Olivia.

"Um... Okay!"

And with that, she was off, not even bothering to grab an apple or a cracker, something that others cast glances at her for. Olivia passing up an opportunity to nab some food? She must mean business...

"She's so cute," Gadget mused, watching Olivia sprint around, on the hunt for more signatures, as she moved up a couple steps in line.

"Yeah," Dex said, arms folded. "She's a trip." Despite himself, he smiled after her. Little kids amused him sometimes, even if they could be a bit pesky underfoot.

As more students spilled into the cafeteria, fingers pointed, some quite shamelessly, in the direction of the food bar. Dex followed the invisible lines to a spot some paces behind them in line. But of course. They were all directed at the new teacher, Ronald Pinkus. The girls seemed particularly smitten, giggling and whispering and acting, in Dex's mind, perfectly idiotic. In fact, come to think of it, as he looked about the room, most of the girls were in deep conversation, their eyes trained on the same subject in the room, including Maisy's group. He shook his head. This was a university, not a middle school. Daftness came in all ages, he supposed.

"What?" Gadget queried, taking notice of the furrowed brow and the folded arms.

"Nothing," Dex muttered, shuffling forward a few paces as the line moved ahead. Both he and Gadget grabbed a plate of chocolate cake.

Gadget looked back at the new teacher and snickered.

"Don't let it get to you."

"She's just as bad as everyone else."

"Who? Maisy?"

"Yeah..."

Gadget shrugged.

"It's probably just a phase. Next week she'll fall for Basil again or someone."

Trays full, they set off to find a table. Tillie waved at them from a corner. They headed towards her.

"I dunno. I kinda...," Dex began, then stopped as they reached the table, sitting down with their trays. Tillie was already deep in her bowl of clam chowder.

"You what?" Gadget asked as she pulled her chair up.

"It's... whatever."

"What?"

Dex picked up his spoon, swirled it around in his own bowl of clam chowder, then set it down. Screw it. He grabbed his fork and dug into the chocolate cake instead.

"I miss when we used to hang out more."

"What are we talking about now?" Tillie asked, only half-interested.

No one said anything right away. Gadget picked at her sunflower seed salad for a minute, then spoke.

"You're her brother. She'll come back around eventually."

Dex shrugged again. He was about to shove another large piece of chocolate cake into his mouth when something lightly bumped his elbow. He turned and looked down. It was Olivia.

"Sign my petition?" she asked, her little whiskers upturned in a wide smile.

Dex couldn't help but mirror that infectious grin. In the distance, something... someone... caught his eye. It was Maisy. She frowned at him and shook her head. Dex frowned back. He took the clipboard and pen from Olivia's outstretched paws.

"You know what? Sure, kid. Baseball, right?"

"Uh-huh! We're going to have a mascot again, too! I hope..."

He handed her back the clipboard and pen and ruffled her hair, or, rather, the top of her tam-o-shanter.

"Break a leg, kid."

"Thank you!" she beamed, and off she went.

Dex smiled. In the background, Maisy shook her head. Dex snapped his fingers and winked, finger-gunning her. She rolled her eyes and went back to talking to her friends.

"Ugh. He's such a tease," complained Maisy to her company, twirling a strand of her long, golden hair as she sipped soda through a straw.

"He just cares about other people. Heck, I signed her petition," the black-furred mouse said. "How come you never hang out with your brother anymore? He's been lookin' kinda sad..."

"He's not even my real brother, Marvell. He's just my half-brother. You know that. Do we look like we're related?"

"But y'all used to be so close! What happened?"

Maisy shrugged.

"I dunno. We just... shifted."

"Don't you mean 'drifted'?" offered up a boy rat next to her.

"Whatever," Maisy shrugged. "Anyway, what do you guys think of him?" she smirked, jerking her head in the direction of Pinky still in line at the food bar.

All at the table turned their heads to look at him. He seemed to be picking out quite an odd assortment of foods: a hot dog, two cups of custard, and several pieces of cheese - just cheese. Every person that passed him a "hello" he greeted with a chipper "Good morning!", and his attitude towards the servers was polite and enthusiastic. Those around him couldn't seem to keep the smiles off their faces. Even the students generally known to be more reserved or stuck up couldn't help but throw him a curious glance. He was, for lack of a better term, "sunshine-y".

The boy rat popped several corn puffs in his mouth, his dry expression unchanged.

"He's kind of a twink, isn't he?"

Maisy slapped him on the shoulder playfully.

"He is not!"

"Dude. Come on..."

"He's not that young," Marvell said, filing her nails as another of their group, a white mouse in a red shirt and with a yellow sash tied about his neck, came and sat down beside her, a cup full of fizzy raspberry water tottering dangerously on the edge of his tray. "He is kinda cute, though..."

The white mouse set down his tray carefully... but not carefully enough. Slip went the cup, the mouse grabbing it before its contents could spill out entirely.

"AH!" Marvell yelped, jumping a little. "Stuart, that's the second time this week!"

"Oh, dear. I'm so sorry, Marvell!" the little mouse said, apologizing profusely as he skittered off towards the food bar. "I'll go get some napkins!"

"Awww, man. I just washed this," lamented Marvell, picking up a corner of her frilly blue frock, now tainted with fizz. "Well... At least it's just water. I can work with this, right? Looks kinda... sassy?"

The boy rat sat up, the better to look at Marvell's new fashion statement. The water had painted the rounded edges of one side of the dress. It could have passed for an interesting pattern if one squinted hard enough.

"Yeah, sure. You could pass it off as the new look," he suggested, smiling.

"Hm," Marvell replied, smirking as she sat back down, ringing out the dress edge.

Maisy didn't seem the least bit phased.

"I think he's kinda hot," she said, eyelashes fluttering as she sipped at her soda noisily.

"Hotter than Globetrotter?" sniggered the boy rat.

"Okay, Globetrotter's in his own league. Okay? I can never compete with that."

"Ummm...," Marvell mumbled, covering her mouth in a vain attempt to hide her embarrassed smile as she pointed to a figure behind Maisy's back.

"What?" Maisy asked, craning around slightly to look before swiftly turning back 'round in her seat again, shoulder hunched as she visibly blushed. "Oh my gosh," she whispered, burying her face in her hands.

The boy rat beside her could barely hide his laughter as Globetrotter walked past them, his nose deep in a very thick, very red, and very heavy-looking book. Had he actually been paying attention to their conversation Maisy might have had more reason to involuntarily add a bit of color to her cheeks. As it stood, however, he had not, and so continued towards the bar, oblivious to the fact that he was now fifth in line behind Pinky.

"That's astounding!" Pinky exclaimed, tray of food all but forgotten as he leaned across a glass awning in front of him, totally invested in Pip's latest story. "But... how were you able to keep the syrup layer from separating?"

"Oh, that's easy!" Pip replied, and on and on he went.

Two students ahead of Pinky peered back, interested. Others behind him simply chuckled... or tapped their foot impatiently. To Globetrotter it was complete gibberish. The culinary arts was a branch he rarely dabbled in unless absolutely necessary. Although I do make a mean rigatoni, he thought to himself before shaking his head disgustedly. Where the heck did that come from? He was supposed to be engulfed in Brownian Motion and Stochastic Calculus, but, as it stood, he found his attention inexplicably pulled towards a much... lesser subject. It was unfathomable how anyone could be so intrigued by such mundane topics as the properties of pancakes and how effectively one might prepare them, but the fanaticism with which his coworker now described it was almost... infectious. Nevertheless, Globetrotter frowned as he checked his watch. 12:18 PM. They were wasting precious time. He was wasting his precious time.

"Will you move along already!" he called out, voice peppered with vexation. "I've got class in twenty-seven minutes!"

"Oh! So sorry!" Pinky called back, paws quickly grabbing hold of his tray once more. "I'm so sorry, Mr. Pip. Good luck with your pancakes!"

"Same to you, my good man!" Pip squeaked back. "What a pleasant fellow," he muttered to himself, smiling as Pinky walked off towards the refreshments bar, laden with food.

Globetrotter huffed and moved forward, grabbing a single bowl of fruit and a cup of cottage cheese on his way down. As he passed the pasta section, he paused, reached out a hesitant paw towards a plate of spaghetti, then quickly snapped it back, sighing and frowning sadly as he moved on to the refreshments, grabbing a banana on his way over and angrily slapping it down on his tray.

He stopped beside Pinky, who was humming and pouring himself some English Breakfast tea. Globetrotter huffed again. Flavored water - a poor man's excuse for caffeine. How anyone could drink that stuff was beyond him. He went for the coffee, pulled down the carafe lever... and grumbled. Empty.

"Is there any place in this building that can afford a mouse a decent cup of coffee?!" he whined, popping his empty cup back onto the others.

"Oh, that's a shame there, isn't it? Have you tried the tea, Brain?" Pinky offered helpfully, as he popped a lid on his own steaming cup.

"I refuse to bow my knee to such a lowbrow form of refreshment," Globetrotter bit back, picking up his tray. "And it's Brian, you nincompoop."

"Well, how do you know you don't like it if you don't try it? Poit!" Pinky replied, unfazed by the retort.

"If I liked it I'd drink it. Good day to you."

And off he went, choosing a spot as far back in the room as possible, Pinky sadly watching him as he picked out a table devoid of occupants. Pinky looked back at the empty coffee cup, a light whimper escaping him as he stared at it dolefully. He turned back to focus on Globetrotter, who was once more lost in his big red book. Students who sat nearby gave him as wide of a berth as they could. Pinky's ears drooped. What a sad little man, he thought. But it wasn't long before they perked back up again. Why, yes. Of course! Beaming, he set his tray down at an occupied table ("Watch this for me, will you?"), and rushed out of the cafeteria, leaving several students at the table to stare after him, puzzled.

Flip. Globetrotter turned a page of his massive tome, popping a grape in his mouth and crunching down on it satisfactorily. Flip, flip, flip. He looked to his right. A girl mouse sat nearby, also buried in a book. A huge pink bow sat atop her head. He recognized her. She was one of his students. Teresa, her name was, if he recalled correctly. She was one of his brighter subjects, but struggled with the occasional mathematical theory. As it was, her nose practically brushed the pages of a book that Globetrotter recognized by sight alone: Calculus by Gilbert Strang. Teresa sighed deeply, her unironed brow effectively relaying her frustration. She looked up... and jumped a little as she noticed Globetrotter staring at her, a light pink almost the exact color of her bow kissing her cheeks. Globetrotter slowly ducked back into his own texts, his peripheral vision catching Teresa shifting her seat over a notch in embarrassment.

A paw reached out to grab for his coffee, and he looked up when it touched nothing. Right. No coffee... Sighing, he popped another grape in his mouth, biting into it rather harder than necessary. Nearby, at another table, several students whispered.

"Did you find out what he teaches?" a girl vole asked, her question laced with ardor.

"Yup. He teaches Trozology," replied a male rat next to her, a pair of thick headphones hung about his neck.

"What the heck is that?" voiced another female rodent at their table, a cream-furred mouse decked out in purple - purple shirt; purple pants; purple socks; purple everything.

"I dunno," the rat shrugged. "Sounds kinda cool, though."

Globetrotter frowned. His ears twitched as tinkling laughter echoed from another table beside him.

"I knooooooow. He's so cute!" chuckled a rosy pink-eared mouse. She spoke in a barely-contained whisper along with the rest of her group, all of which sported bulky backpacks laid out on their table and decorated with all sorts of patches, stickers, and keychains. "I hope I can get a spot in his class!"

"I think he still has slots open!" one of her friends, a field rat, spoke up. "As far as I know, though, no one's actually signed up."

"Whyyyyyy? He's adorable! I'm gonna sign up just so I can stare at that face every day," a girl hamster said.

"What if you don't even like the class?" the second friend spoiled. "Maybe it's a dud. And we don't really have time in our schedules for another course..."

They all paused sadly and contemplatively at this. Then the first girl perked up.

"Well, I guess we'll get him all to ourselves then. If no one else likes the class then we'll stay just for the teacher!"

"Yeah, until every other girl does the same thing. You know we're not the only ones with the hots for him," the hamster said, taking a swig from her soda bottle.

"Well, then I guess we'll just have to fight for him," smiled the rat nonchalantly as she picked at her nails.

"Fight for him?!" yelped the other girls, covering their mouths at their loudness. "Oh my gosh. Seriously?!"

"Yeah! Anyone who comes up, we'll tell 'em to meet us at the park at two. No knives. Just like... nail clippers and hair curlers or something..."

"No no! Wait! We tell them to meet us at the baseball stadium!" offered the hamster, soda pop forgotten.

"You mean the one Olivia's petitioning?" the girl mouse asked. "It's not even built yet!"

"Yeah, but when it is we can tell them to meet there!"

"Winner gets dibs. They get to call first date," said the rat.

"And the loser has to pay for the dinner tab."

"Yeah!"

"Oh my gosh, you guys are so funny," the mouse chuckled.

They all laughed gaily.

Globetrotter's frown deepened, his mouth hanging open, another grape suspended in mid-air. Was Pinkus really... that popular? He shook his head, trying to rid himself of the conversations now swimming about his consciousness, when yet another light exchange, a distant one this time, caught his ears.

"... thinking of actually dropping Globetrotter's class to take that Ronald guy's one. It's just as many credits. Probably way more fun."

Globetrotter gulped. He tried reading a sentence in his book, only to find that he kept gracing the same words over and over and over again. Blast it. He couldn't concentrate. He plopped the book down on the table and went to devouring his cottage cheese, all around him oblivious to the private war going on in his mind.

Why do you care what they think? They're kids. They're idiots.

Yes, and have you forgotten what happened when Basil came to the school two years ago? They went gah-gah over him, too.

They didn't all abandon my class!

Nooooo, but half of them did. And Basil taught a required course at the time. Same as yours. They all went for his. He was much more interesting than you.

That's neither here nor there! I'm still employed, aren't I? My class is still sought after.

For now, and only because it's required. This new guy is significantly more popular. What if his class becomes required? What if it's worse than before? What if you become... old hat?

"No!" Globetrotter yelled, out loud. Half the cafeteria paused to stare at him. He sunk in his seat a little. How embarrassing...

In mock resoluteness, he grabbed the book before him and went back to reading. But he was only truly pretending to read, the bright crimson covers a pathetic excuse for a hole in which the frightened mouse hid.

The truth was that, despite his behavior being anything but amicable, his notorious reputation in the school had garnered him something akin to a celebrity status over the years. The course was required, certainly, even though he wasn't the only teacher who taught it, but the struggle to survive the rigorous schedule and harsh grading system he doled out had become a flat out challenge to the students. How long could you last? Would you manage to nab the ever elusive 'A' during a semester? One pupil even became famous for handing out "I Survived Globetrotter's Class" t-shirts. They hated the teacher, but reveled in the challenge. It was something that Globetrotter became ironically comfortable with over the years. Being notorious was better than not being noticed at all. He couldn't abide the thought of being second fiddle; of falling into obscurity. He'd never had reason to be concerned about it for seventeen years, even during Basil's "reign", but now...? Now he had legitimate competition. In all his years at A.C.M.E. Arts & Sciences, he'd never known an instructor so heavily discussed, so quixotic, so beloved, even on the very first day of his employment. Pinky was new and different, in all the wrong ways to him, yet in all the right ways to the students. And it terrified him.

On a sudden whim, he whipped out a pen from his inside jacket pocket and wrote feverishly on a napkin in front of him. He didn't see the tall figure approach him.

"Hello, Brain!"

Globetrotter practically leapt out of his skin.

"AH! Wh-... You..! Don't... do that!" he remarked, hastily stuffing the napkin and pen back into his coat pocket. He clutched at his heart, taking deep breaths as he rested his head in his palm.

"Oh, I'm so sorry, Brain!" poor Pinky replied, resting a hand on Globetrotter's back comfortingly. Globetrotter shrugged it off, literally.

"And don't touch me! I just... h-had this... p-pressed," Globetrotter snapped, still catching his breath. "Who knows where your... paws have... been..."

"Oh, well, they haven't been far, Brain. They're always at my side! Ha-ha!"

Globetrotter cocked an eyebrow up at him, speechless. There was no way anyone could be this inordinately stupid.

"Mind if I join you?" Pinky asked, all innocence, that perpetually sunny smile never leaving his face.

"As I matter, of fact, I-"

"Oh, thank you!" Pinky initiated, grabbing a chair and pulling it close up to Globetrotter. Too close for his comfort. Apparently, personal space was something of a foreign concept to this character. "You know, I don't usually eat in public. Don't want to miss The Brady Bunch, you know? Hm hm. But it's rather nice out here! I might come and sit with you more often."

Heaven forbid, Globetrotter thought, ears reddening.

"Would you kindly refrain from mentioning that abomination of a tv show in my presence? It sickens me. And I don't appreciate your unnaturally close proximity."

"Come again?" Pinky asked, cocking his head.

"Move," Globetrotter said, managing, with difficulty, to push Pinky and the chair he sat in over an inch.

"Well, you could have just asked," Pinky chuckled, still smiling. He complied, scooting his chair a couple more inches away from Brain.

"Thank you," bit Globetrotter, turning away from Pinky and directing his attention back to the giant tome in front of him. "Now, if you don't mind, I'd like a little privacy."

"Oh, but, I came to give you something!" Pinky exclaimed, and Globetrotter, despite himself, shiftily looked over as the lanky mouse dug in his pants pocket for... something. "A-ha! Here ya' go!"

And he handed him... a teabag? No. Not a teabag. It was too big to be a teabag.

Globetrotter took it from him tentatively, two fingers holding it away from his body as if it might explode.

"What is it?"

"Chicory root! I just thought that, well, when you couldn't find any coffee it reminded me of my mum. She used to be a big coffee drinker, too. She stopped recently, but she still missed the taste. Chicory root tastes a lot like coffee, only better! M-Maybe you'd like it, too?" Pinky offered helpfully, a tinge of shyness peppering his smile.

Globetrotter looked up at Pinky, nonplussed... and a wee bit confused. No one ever gave him anything; not unless he directly asked for it. To be fair, no one was ever bold enough to even attempt to show him much kindness, seeing as the result was often times a sharp reply and a sinister glare. This newcomer obviously hadn't learned the rules yet.

"Teachers... don't usually give me gifts," Globetrotter admitted. "Not unless I ask for them." Nevertheless, he pocketed the chicory root.

"Perhaps that's because you don't ask nicely, Brain? People give you lots of things when you're nice to them!"

It wasn't so much the statement itself, but the boldness of its deliverance that took Globetrotter aback.

"Sooooo... you're saying... I should be nice... to get rewards?"

"Oh, no, Brain! That would be taking advantage! You should be nice to people, 'cause, well, it's nice! And then they're nice to you! Don't you like making people happy?"

"No."

"Not even a little bit?"

"No one has ever given me reason to."

"Well, maybe they would if you showed them a little smile!"

And he actually stuck two fingers up against Globetrotter's cheeks, pushing up on each side in an attempt to draw something close to a grin on his drooping face.

"Ohhhhhhh. There's that smile, Brain!"

"Would you get off?!" Globetrotter blasted, waving his arms around as he flung Pinky off of him. "I told you not to touch me!"

His cheeks and ears burned red at the sound of laughter nearby. Some of the students had been watching and were now drowning in a hushed fit of giggles. Naturally...

"You dimwit. If you're still sitting in that chair in five seconds, I shall personally have to harm you," threatened Globetrotter, cheeks reddening worse than ever as his paws balled into fists.

"Do I get a prize if I leave in four?" Pinky smirked.

"One..."

"Or maybe I'll get one if I stay longer! It pays to be persistent sometimes, Brain."

"Two..."

"You know, you're rather funny when your ears turn red. Nya-ha-ha!"

"FOUR...!"

"Going, Brain!"

And with that, he was off, picking his food up off his tray to take back to his room, giggling to himself and humming, of all things, "Camptown Races" as he headed for the doors. One of the teachers, a Dr. Dawson, smiled at Pinky as he walked past him. And Dr. Dawson... Oh, have mercy. Dr. Dawson started singing along with him.

"I say. I do recognize that tune, young man!" Dawson said, grinning warmly. "Camptown ladies sing this song! Doo-dah! Doo-dah!"

"Camptown race-track five miles long! Oh, doo-da day!" Pinky sung back, beaming.

Others joined in. Still others. Soon, almost the entire cafeteria, minus Globetrotter and a few stragglers, was decked out in song.

"Gwine to run all night! Gwine to run all day! Bet my money on the bob-tailed nag! Somebody bet on the bay!"

And with that, everyone burst out into hearty laughter, Pinky's wail the loudest of all. He and Dr. Dawson exchanged a friendly word or two, shook hands, and with that, Pinky departed, leaving a trail of chuckles behind.

Globetrotter blinked, his mouth hanging slightly open again. Whatever had happened was... terrifying. This bloke didn't just have an effect on the students, but on the whole school. Even the teachers were getting involved! It was official. This needed to end. He had to be stopped...

\/\/\/\/\/\/\/

Pinky was still humming "Camptown Races" all the way back to his classroom. He'd just reached the door when a little someone came pitter-pattering down the hallway after him.

"Mr. Pinky! Mr. Pinky!" she called, hat bobbing wildly up and down on her ruffled, furry head.

"Hello, Olivia!" Pinky said, grinning from ear to ear.

"That was amazing!" she gasped, panting. "Mrs. Judson said she could hear you from the nurses' office. She was singing with you!"

They both giggled at this.

"Well, tell Mrs. Judson that Mr. Pinky is glad she enjoyed the song!" Pinky said.

"Oh, I will! I will! By the way, umm... do you have any more classes planned?" Olivia asked, tucking her paws behind her and rocking back and forth, the pink cheeks only complementing her humble posture. She looked awfully cute.

"Hmmmmm. Will you be here tomorrow?"

"Is that a Friday?"

"I think so."

"Yes! Yes, I will!"

"2:00 PM sharp tomorrow, little lady," Pinky said, winking at her.

"2:00 PM sharp, Mr. Pinky!" Olivia repeated, saluting him. "I'll see you tomorrow!"

And off she trotted.

"Oh! Olivia!" Pinky called.

Olivia stopped and turned around, her mouth in a curious little 'o' shape. Pulling a hand out of his pocket, Pinky tossed her a bag of crisps. She caught it with a trained paw.

"Thank you!" she exclaimed, popping open the bag and tossing a chip in her mouth as she ran off and around a corner.

"Olivia!" Pinky called again, a hand to his mouth.

"Hm?" she queried, popping her head around the corner.

"How many signatures?!"

"Thirty-seven!"

"Woo-hoo!"

"Woo woo!" she called back, before flying off once more.

Pinky smiled, giggling to himself, as he turned the door handle and disappeared inside.

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

Author's Notes:

- Marvell is an original character created by a friend of mine who goes by the cognomen of "Geeky". You can find her lovely art and cute character on Twitter at: GeekyBlackGirl

- Flip phones weren't exactly in wide use in '93, but I cheated here for convenience's sake and story purposes.

- The book that Teresa was reading, as well as the book Globetrotter carried around with him, are actual published works. Stochastic calculus is, apparently, a very advanced form of the subject. Brain considers it light reading.

- Your typical volcano science project is partially composed of baking soda, which, in turn, is made up of sodium bicarbonate. The whole thing is a reference to Globetrotter's explosive personality, and how he views the current predicament as such: one big problem on the verge of erupting and destroying his position if he doesn't do something... and fast.

- Globetrotter going for the cottage cheese and fruit, while sadly eschewing the pasta, is due to the fact that, in this story, he has terrible bowel and diarrhea issues. He's been told by his doctor to avoid certain foods, but finds this... a struggle at times. I dunno why I decided to give him this problem, other than the fact that it amuses me. Lol.

- Olivia is a lot of fun to write. :)

[courtofjurdan]

One Chance part 11

Jurdan College AU - previous chapter

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*First of all, I want to apologize for being a day late. This week was a stressful week. but without further or do, I hope you guys enjoy!!! Let me know what you guys would like to see happen.*

Cardan had someone to drop his car off at the hospital so him and Jude could go back to their dorms. He pulled up in front of the hospital and the nurse brought Jude out in a wheelchair. 

It was late afternoon, by now. They would have gotten to go home earlier but when Jude went to put on her clothes to go home in, she realized that they had to cut them off of her and so she had none. 

Thank the heavens for Taryn. Taryn went to her dorm and picked a pair of joggers and a t-shirt out for her to wear. 

When the nurse brought her to the car, Cardan got out to help her get in. He gently lifted her up and gently sat her in the passenger seat of the car. She still needed a little bit of help because she was quite sore. 

Cardan thanked the nurses and got in the driver side of the car. He looked over at Jude and said, “You ready to go?” 

Jude nodded her head. 

Jude had this big fuzzy blanket all wrapped around her. She didn’t know if she liked it so well because it was fuzzy or because Cardan gave it to her. He went down earlier that day to the gift shop and got her a blanket. 

Cardan could see Jude being very tense. Being in an accident (for the second time in her life) has made her very nervous with cars. The first time she was in an accident, it took her almost a whole year for her to begin to start being even a little comfortable in a car. But that was when her parents died also and she was young, about 7 years old. 

Cardan grabbed her hand and started to rub circles on the back of it, in an attempt to calm her. 

“It’s okay, Jude. I know you're a little nervous and weary because of what just happened but I’m not going to let anything happen to you, both of you.”

It made Jude’s chest warm and relax when he mentioned her and the baby. He really is happy, almost excited about being a dad. 

To distract her from her nervousness, Cardan started talking about something else, “So do you want to stay in my dorm or me stay in your dorm or are you going to get someone to stay with you?” 

“Umm I’m going to stay in my dorm, by myself, like I have been doing.” 

Cardan sighed, “Jude, you can’t stay by yourself right now. You have to have someone with you.” 

Jude started to get aggravated. “I’m a big girl, Cardan, I can stay by myself.” 

“Jude, please stay with me. Until you get where you can start going to class again. I want to make sure you can get up easily, I want to make sure you eat enough, I just want to make sure you’re okay. It would help me sleep better at night.” 

Instead of arguing, Jude said, “Fine, sure.” She knew he was doing this to be kind. He wanted to make sure they were both well and okay, and Jude knew that. 

They did stop by Jude’s dorm and Cardan FaceTimed Jude on his phone and went into her dorm to get stuff she may need. With a bag packed, he went back to meet her in the car. 

When he parked his car in front of his dormitory, he went around to help Jude onto her feet, made sure she was okay, and then grabbed her bag from the backseat. 

They got into his dorm, and it is just like she remembers it, big. Much bigger than hers. Cardan showed her to his bedroom. 

“So, um, this is where you can sleep. I’ll sleep on the couch.” Cardan said with a faint blush thinking about the morning he woke up to her in his bed. 

“Oh no, Cardan, I’ll sleep on the couch. You can have your bed.” 

He grabbed Jude’s chin between his fingers and said, “Jude you are getting the bed. If I didn’t want you to have the bed, I would have never invited you over.” 

After those words, they stared into each other’s eyes. Jude wanted to kiss him so bad. Dang hormones. But then a silver lining was made in your eyes. 

Cardan’s eyes soften, “Jude what’s wrong?” 

She threw her arms around his neck and let the tears fall out, “It’s just your being a really good friend to me. And I’m probably being really stubborn and you don’t deserve that. Because you stayed with me at the hospital, you said you wanted to be apart of the baby’s life, and now you are allowing me to sleep in your really comfy bed and I-”

Cardan started to rub her back, “Jude, Jude, it’s okay. I know you're stubborn and I like you just the way you are.” He moves back to cup Jude’s face and wipe the tears with his thumbs. 

Cardan leaned down and pressed a kiss to her cheek which Jude froze and Cardan could tell. 

“I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have done that.” He said hesitantly.

“No it’s okay.” She gave him the same kiss on the cheek which made him grin. Dang, these hormones are making me feel weird about him, Jude thought. 

After the peck on the cheek, Cardan grabbed her hand and brought her to the living room, to the couch. She sat on the couch and Cardan brought her her big fuzzy blanket which she immediately cuddled up in. 

Cardan looked at her and asked, “What do you feel like eating for dinner? I can go pick up something or I can order pizza?”

“Oooo lets get pizza. I want pineapple and ham.” 

Cardan made a scrunched up face at her, “You like pineapple on your pizza?” 

“No I don’t, but that’s what I’m craving right now. Don’t ask why, I have no idea.” 

Cardan laughed to himself and ordered pizza on his phone while Jude picked a movie for them to watch. 

While Cardan waited for the pizza, Jude was still looking through movies to watch. Finally, she ended up picking divergent. 

Her and Cardan sat on the couch together, both of them sitting with their feet propped on the table, and ate their pizza. In the middle of the second divergent movie, Jude began to get sleepy. Her head ended up laying on Cardan’s lap and she pulled her feet up to lay the length of the couch. 

Cardan didn’t mind. He let her fall asleep on him until the movie was over. And then ever so gently, “Hey Jude, let’s go to bed.” 

Jude looked at him through confused eyes. So Cardan had to repeat himself. Jude nodded her head and Cardan picked her up. He laid her in the bed with her fuzzy blanket. She was already fast asleep by the time Cardan left the room. 

Cardan got a pillow and blanket and made to sleep on his couch for the night. Cardan couldn’t lie to himself, he was thoroughly enjoying Jude staying with him. Someone to care for. Someone to maybe love. 

He woke up the next morning hearing retching sounds. He got up, went to his room, she wasn’t in bed. He went to the bathroom, and he found her body leaned over the toilet.

He quickly went and pulled her hair back and started to rub his hand up and down her spine. 

“Cardan, leave. Don’t look at me like this.”

“Jude I’m here to help you. Besides, you wouldn’t be throwing up in my dorm room if it wasn’t for me so I don’t mind helping.” 

When Jude was done throwing up, She laid in Cardan’s lap on the floor. He, again, was just rubbing her to calm her down. After a while Cardan picked her up and brought her to the couch. 

She leaned against Cardan, shivering. Cardan gave her his blanket from the night before, but she still leaned against him.

“What would you like for breakfast?” Cardan said softly. 

“I just threw up all that in there and you think I want to eat!” Jude was getting agitated. 

“Jude, sweetheart, the doctor said you had to eat. Even if you don’t feel like it. Let’s try something easy like maybe some toast?” 

Jude sat there and reminded herself that he was trying to do his best to take care of her when she obviously wasn’t going to take care of herself. 

So Jude nodded. Soon Cardan brought her two pieces of toast with jelly on it. And it ended up being so good, she asked for more. 

They didn’t have much planned today but lots of rest. When they were sitting there watching the office, Cardan spoke up. 

“Jude, I wanted to say how sorry I am. I shouldn’t have let you go out into the main road. I’m sorry that you got hurt.” 

“Oh no Cardan, this isn’t your fault. None of our faults. It’s that dimwit that wasn’t paying attention’s fault. You did absolutely nothing wrong.”

Jude could see the guilt in his dark eyes. The shame he still felt because of her getting hurt. That made Jude stomach get all fluttery inside. He cared about her. Generally cared for her sake. 

They ended up spending time on the couch. Dozing off on each other. Jude slept the majority of the day because of her concussion that she’d gotten. And Cardan just quietly watched her sleep. She looked so at peace. 

He woke her up to eat but rather than that she slept. This is how the next couple of weeks went. They stayed in and Cardan took care of her. Slowly, and I mean very slowly because of Cardan’s orders, they began to go for walks. And maybe go out to eat. Jude was feeling better everyday. She was gaining the weight she needed to. And their friendship was becoming stronger. 

Cardan had feelings for her and it’s not just because of the baby. He really liked her. He wanted to be with her but he’s not sure Jude feels the same way. He doesn’t want to ruin the relationship he already has with her by admitting that to her. 

Little did Cardan know, Jude was head over heels for him. She gets these little flutters in her chest and her heart starts to go up by just looking at him. But in her mind she thinks she can only be friends, right? She curses all the hormones that make her feel everything by tenfold. 

But as for right now, she will bask in Cardan’s loving, tender care for as long as she can. 

Next Chapter

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[mancavecloset]

The Waterpark, Part 2

Part 1

...

The four of us hadn’t been on the road more than an hour by the time I noticed Kyle and Josh had begun to read restaurant signs aloud as we passed them on the highway. The PB&J sandwiches, the chips, and the cookies were all ancient history by this point, and I got the sense that Kyle and Josh were itching to eat something else.

“I really want to make sure we have enough time in the park,” I said wearily, “But would y’all want to stop for… uh, well we already had breakfast, so… brunch?”

A chorus of “YES!” resounded from all angles of the car.

I rolled my eyes. I was used to putting a decent amount of food away during swim season, but these guys seemed to have hollow legs. I had been the least greedy when it came to the food, only eating a single PB&J, no chips, and just two cookies. Still, I wasn’t the least bit hungry, and frankly I was a bit surprised and turned on by the fact that it was only 10am and all of my friends were ravished despite sharing 11 sandwiches, 22 cookies, and a family size bag of chips between themselves.

“I do need to get gas soon,” I remarked. “Next exit with a gas station, we can stop for a quick bite.”

A few miles later, I pulled off and filled my tank. Josh graciously threw me some cash that covered about half of the gas money, and Kyle offered to cover my meal, with one caveat.

“… but dude, we have to go to Cracker Barrel,” Kyle remarked, pointing across the highway at its 50-foot tall sign.

“That’s not exactly fast,” I replied. But the quick reinforcement of support for the idea from Josh and Sam left me no choice.

“Fine,” I sighed, slightly annoyed that we would probably be pushing noon until we arrived at the waterpark. “Let’s make it quick though.”

---

We filed into the restaurant, Josh leading the way. I followed behind him, watching the ripples in his shoulders that jutted out from his tank top. My eyes wandered down to his muscular ass, which strained against his shorts. I slowed my pace, letting Sam also walk in front of me. Somehow, despite going to the gym far less frequently than Josh, and being a good 9” shorter than him, his ass looked even more impressive despite his baggy shorts, dancing as he walked like two tussling melons.

Kyle brought up the rear, and as he entered the dining area I once again caught his shirt riding up towards his bellybutton, showcasing his broadening stomach and wiggly love handles.

We sat down at the table and quickly looked at the menu. I wondered if I would get anything, but decided that since we were eating now, I might as well keep myself full so that we didn’t have to eat as soon as we got in the park.

I planned to order two eggs and some hashbrowns to go with my much-needed coffee, opting not to add any breakfast meats or toast, since I knew I’d never be able to finish them. My friends, however, seemed to have different plans.

“Dude I forgot how cheap the food is here!” Josh exclaimed excitedly.

“For real,” Sam chimed in.

Kyle, belly rolls resting inches from the edge of the table, nodded in agreement as he intently studied the menu. “Yeah, I can’t decide between the country boy platter or the pancake breakfast, so I might just get both since it’s so cheap. I can just heat up the leftovers tomorrow morning.”

I tried to mention that we had plenty of food packed and wasn’t sure there was a microwave, but Sam cut me off. “Oh shit, those both do look good. Smart.” I noticed him smirk just a tiny bit out of the corner of his mouth.

So Kyle ended up ordering two of the biggest meals that the restaurant had to offer, throwing in a side of bacon “for the table.” Josh ordered the country boy platter and also added a short stack of pancakes.

“I might as well carbo-load since we’re going to be running and hiking around the next two days, and I might sneak a workout in tonight anyways,” he reasoned.

We all rolled our eyes jokingly at him. So like Josh to bring up working out any chance he could. But Josh had a big appetite and fast metabolism, and he was probably right: the day at the waterpark combined with the hike we had planned tomorrow would probably erase a few thousand calories, not even accounting for this so-called “workout.”

Sam surprised me, also ordering the large, 1300-calorie platter. I figured he would have gone for something smaller since he had already had breakfast, two sandwiches, and a handful of cookies, but apparently he was also as ravenous as Josh and Kyle.

When I ordered my food, Kyle chided me. “Micah, just cause I’m paying for yours doesn’t mean you have to get the tiniest, cheapest thing on the menu.” He turned to the waitress, “He will also have a side of sausage.”

I lightly protested that I wasn’t hungry, but Kyle was having none of it.

“You came one slice short of beating Josh and I in the pizza eating contest at Cici’s, I know you’re hungrier than that.”

He was right about the contest, but he also failed to account that it had occurred in the winter, after an especially draining swim practice. Nevertheless, I didn’t want to make too big a show of not eating a lot, considering everyone else was pretty much pigging out.

I shrugged at the waitress and said, “I guess I’m having a side of sausage too.” I didn’t even bother asking her to hold the toast, figuring Kyle would badger me even further.

The meals came, and I nibbled on my hash browns and over medium eggs while taking in the sight of the three men across the table from me. They all attacked their food like it was the first thing they had eaten in 30 hours, when in reality it had been about 30 minutes.

Kyle’s two huge platters of food disappeared at a crazy rate. I noticed that as he ate through the pile of eggs, the mound of hash brown casserole, generous saucer of fried apples, slabs of country ham, two large golden biscuits topped with thick gravy, four pieces of toast, four thick dinner-plate size pancakes, and laughably small fruit cup, his stomach inched ever closer to the edge of the table. The plate of bacon, supposedly for said table, ended up consumed solely by Kyle as well. During it all, I watched his jiggly rolls dance under his shirt climb higher and closer as he shoveled forkful after forkful. As he neared empty-plate status, his shirt painted itself against the top arc of his belly, forming creases where his expanding belly rolls hugged against each other.

He started to slow down with about a third of the second platter remaining. By then, Josh had finished his food and patted his now slightly-distended abs in satisfaction. Sam seemed to have finished too, sipping intently on his coffee as he watched Kyle try to finish his immense meal. We all cheered him on, and when I mentioned that I wasn’t sure that the cabin had a microwave, it provided the fire he needed to power through the final remnants of the plate.

As he sat back in his chair, his jelly rolls morphed into a round arc, poking hilariously far out underneath his meaty moob-pecs and rounding down towards his straining belt. He reached down and loosened the belt a notch, leaving his pants button undone, which just gave his gut more room to expand outwards. He looked proud and stuffed.

“Fuck,” he said. “That was really good. Thank God I’m bulking.” He chuckled lightly. “Josh, I want to make sure I put this to good use, so maybe I’ll join you for that workout tonight.”

Josh nodded in agreement. Kyle stood up to go take a leak, and he had to brace himself on the table to do so. As he leaned forward, the gut rocked back and forth in his shirt like a cannonball on a sling. As he stood straight, it was clear just one belt notch looser was probably a temporary fix, as his belly poked out from below his shirt and formed a dramatic muffin top. His spare tire wrapped from one love handle to the other, hanging lowest in the center of his belly and covering about half of his belt buckle. The overhang was slight but undeniable, and made my cock leap in my underwear. As Kyle walked away toward the bathroom, his noticeably wider ass strained against the fabric of his incredibly tight olive khaki shorts.

Sam turned to me. “Micah, you really only halfway done? Wasn’t it you who wanted to get out of here quick?”

“I really wasn’t all that hungry.”

“Dude, if you never bulk, you’ll always be Lank,” Josh chimed in. Normally, the teasing remark would have bothered me enough to chow down more, but I was full.

“That may have worked in getting me to suffocate on pizza at Cicis, but I truly cannot eat more,” I said back. “I don’t know, I guess I don’t really get hungry while driving.” Or I’m not a huge human who lives in the gym and needs 8,000 calories a day to get ripped, I thought to myself.

“Not me,” Sam said, “I always get hungry on car rides.” He surprised me and asked if he could have the rest. “You know, since there might not be microwaves?”

“Go for it man,” I said, somewhat surprised, and pushed him my plate.

“Look at Sam-boy over here with the studly appetite. You’ve bulked up, haven’t you?” Josh goaded, reaching over and squeezing Sam’s bicep and shoulder.

“Yeah man, YogaFit has been really hitting the strength training stuff this summer and I mean, I guess I’m filling out finally,” Sam said confidently. The affirmation from his much-taller, muscular friend clearly boosting confidence.

“Better watch out, M, you’re going to be the only one of us that isn’t stacked soon,” Josh said, turning to me with a playful double-eyebrow raise.

I tried to hide how much the comment hurt. It sucked to see Josh slip back into his douchier self, but with Kyle in the bathroom, maybe he felt insecure. He knew Sam and I had grown closer this summer and that he and I had barely spoken. Without Kyle, we has kind of the odd man out. So I laughed it off.

Besides, I was still very aroused and very intrigued by how much Sam had been eating thus far. I began to notice how much he was filling out in the chest and shoulders. His biceps definitely did look more prominent, and even the muscles in his neck gave his once-boyish features a more manly look. Josh may have had a point about Sam getting bigger. Despite being a solid 6” taller than him and historically, about 30-35 lbs heavier, I surmised that with Sams newfound “man-body,” I probably only had about 15 lbs on him anymore. My eyes traveled down to a little belly poking against the fabric of his snug white shirt. Maybe only 10, I thought, cock stirring once more.

Still, the extra heft was probably a welcome sight for the slight-framed Sam. He had always had boyish facial features and had never really been able to put on weight, so filling out probably correlated with looking more grown-up. Regardless, he definitely had the start of a little belly on top of the new muscle, and I was interested in it.

Sam scooped up the last of my egg and sausage with a piece of my toast, and patted his tummy after his final bite. I made sure to walk behind him as I tried to determine if his recent ‘gains’ extended to his ass, but the baggy shorts made it tough to really gauge.

We cashed out and piled back into the car. A few miles into the drive, I checked my phone’s GPS.

“Good news – we’re just over a half-hour away!” I chirped excitedly. “We will be on a waterslide by noon!”

“Are we going to stop by the cabin first to drop the coolers off and change?” Kyle asked.

“Well check in isn’t until 4, and the coolers have plenty of ice, so we can just go straight into the park and then take a break when its time for check-in,” I answered. “And they have changing rooms in the park.”

“Oh ok sweet,” Kyle replied, going back to whatever game he was playing on his phone.

As I tapped my fingers to the beat of the alternative music playing loudly in the car, the circumstances of what I just told Kyle began to sink in. The first thing we’d be doing in the waterpark would be changing into our swim trunks. In the same room. The thought of the four of us naked together teased my dick into attention yet again. I was equally nervous and excited at the possibility of catching a glimpse of any of my friends in the changing room, especially after all the weight they each seemed to amass that summer.

At 11:30, we pulled out of dense forested road and into view of the waterpark’s entrance gates. Behind them, colorful waterslides covered the front side of the slope of a mountain, woven between bare spots of land – presumably ski paths for the winter months. We had arrived.

“Lets get wet boys!” Sam hollered from the back seat. We all let out a whoop in response and piled out of the car. We gathered our drawstring bags and marched through the parking lot, up to the park’s gates.

___

Because it was a weekday, the crowd was light, which was awesome because it meant no long waits for any of the slides. It was also awesome, because when we got into the changing area, we were the only four people in the entire room.

Josh led the pack into the room and turned right, into a row of benches and lockers that dead-ended about 20 feet in. Kyle and then Sam followed suit, which left me on the end of the row. Everyone kind of stared straight ahead into their lockers as we started to open our drawstring bags and pull out our swimsuits and towels. Out of the corner of my eye, I waited for someone to start changing, but realized I was the first. As I slid off my shorts and balled them up to throw into my bag, Josh spoke up.

“Woah guys, look at this!”

Everyone turned to see what Josh was talking about. There he stood, facing us, athletic shorts pulled halfway down his thighs. He was still wearing his Under Armour boxer briefs, but the fly was gaped open. His cock hung soft and thick through the fly, and flopped five or six inches below the opening to meet the waistband of his mid-thigh athletic shorts. Even soft, it was a big penis… borderline huge. It had definitely gotten bigger since the last time I’d seen it. Three years ago, Paisley had talked about it being north of seven inches hard, and that was back when his soft cock was smaller than I was seeing in front of me now. Hell, it was most of the way to seven inches even in its flaccid state. His expression turned upwards into an evil grin as he rocked his hips side to side, sending his dick flying around like an elephant trunk.

“Nice,” Sam deadpanned sarcastically, turning back to his locker. Kyle chuckled and then did the same.

I, on the other hand, found myself staring at the pendulous swing of Josh’s impressive cock for a second too long. A large central vein ran down the thick, smooth shaft, and his bulbous mushroom head hung low, flopping against the fabric of his athletic shorts.

When my gaze shifted upwards, I caught Josh’s eyes fixed back on mine. Still smirking, he bounced his eyebrows upward at me. Trying not to look guilty, I puffed air out my nose and rolled my eyes at him before turning back towards my locker. I tried to will my cock soft as I slipped off my underwear, settling for a half-chub that wasn’t entirely obvious. I quickly wriggled into my tangerine-colored swim trunks, not daring to steal more glances to my right. I was terrified of getting caught looking again.

As I slid my shorts and underwear into my bag, I heard Kyle making annoyed huffs and grunts to my right. Sam, who was midway through pulling off his athletic shorts, turned at the same time I did to ask what was wrong.

“These… fucking… shorts…” Kyle grumbled, trying to force the Velcro of his swim trunks to meet under his overhanging belly, which poked out from underneath his hiked-up shirt. The shirt was pulled up, perhaps for Kyle to see his shorts, a few inches above his belly button, where the round arc of his belly started to curve back towards his pecs. “… they must have shrunk when my mom washed them.”

“I don’t thi…” I started, but Josh cut me off.

“It’s all the GAINS man! Your glutes, your core, your lower back. Everything’s thicker now, man. Here, inhale your chest,” he said as he grabbed the two ends of waistband that constituted Kyle’s maroon floral swim trunks. The two Velcro strips were about 6 inches apart from each other, but they might as well have been a mile because there was no way they’d ever meet under current circumstances: separated by a long berth of overhanging gut. Still, Kyle did as he was told as Josh, now in just his boxer briefs and tank top, spun Kyle towards himself and tried to yank the two pieces of fabric together, chiseled arms rippling with exertion.

Kyle’s backside faced towards Sam and I as Josh tried to will the Velcro strips to meet below Kyle’s belly. What we saw was a good two or three inches of pure love handle spilling over the waistband of Kyle’s swim trunks, in every direction. Below the love handles sprouted a wide, jiggly butt that strained against the seams of the two-year-old swim trunks. Even Kyle’s meaty thighs filled out the pant holes nearly the whole way, where they finally opened up above his knees.

“Got it!” Josh exclaimed, pressing the two ends of the fly into eachother as Kyle still strained to suck in his gut. I was impressed that he managed to get it fastened at all, but his unlikely victory was quickly nullified as Kyle exhaled. The shorts flung back apart with a loud brrrrap, and Kyle’s exhaled gut crashed back down, splitting the Velcro fly once more.

“Fuck,” Kyle said.

“I have an idea,” Sam interjected, thrusting his loose athletic shorts to the ground and kicking them into his locker. This left just his powder blue Calvin boxers, and his bubbly ass jutted out from underneath their waistband, further than I’d ever seen.

I didn’t get to look long though, because Sam jumped over the bench and next to Josh. “You pull, I’ll tie,” Sam directed Josh. As Josh strained to pull Kyle’s shorts back together, Sam grabbed the laces, yanking them towards each other and weaving them across the other, before pulling the strings tight enough for Josh to marry up the Velcro. Sam double-knotted the laces and clapped one of Kyle’s love handles. “There ya go bud.”

The result was almost comical. Kyle’s swim trunks, which he had bought the summer after sophomore year when he weighed a trimmer 190 lbs, encased his lower body like a sausage. There wasn’t a free centimeter of space anywhere in the shorts. In the front, his exhalation lowered his overhanging gut to cover the entirety of the swim trunk’s laces. His meaty thighs pushed against every seam. Even his junk had no room; you could see his package pressed against the crotch of the floral trunks in a tennis-ball shaped arc. Kyle grumbled and turned around to put his remaining clothes in his locker, removing his shirt the rest of the way. The effects of the three-man effort to tie his swimsuit showed from behind as well, his love handles spilling comically far over the sides of his waist like a soft-serve ice cream cone. His globulous butt strained against the fabric holding it in - it looked like the seams were even starting to pull apart slightly where his fat, bubble ass mounded to its furthest arc. “I don’t know if I can go all day in these and still breathe… I guess they do sell swim trunks here,” he sighed, turning back around.

I sensed the slightest bit of shame in Kyle’s voice, almost as if he had begun to admit to himself that maybe his recent “bulk” had gotten a bit out of control. And a bit out of control was an understatement. Without his shirt on, Kyle’s fatty pecs rounded into muscular, fleshy tits, framed by a moderate smattering of light-brown chest hairs that thinned out as it traveled in a faint happy trail over his plump, fleshy belly. The “dad-bod” as we call it today was in full view, and he stood sturdier and much fatter than he had ever had before.

Josh seemed to have picked up on Kyle’s newfound shame as well. He reassured Kyle: “Dude, you’ve had those shorts since you were barely 16. You're a man now,” punching him playfully in the side. “You absolutely should get a new swimsuit that you haven’t had since you were just a kid. Man bodies aren’t built like boy’s bodies,” he said. Though Josh’s back was still turned to me, I was almost certain he darted his head in my direction as he said “boy’s bodies,” as I watched Kyle’s eyes briefly flick to my shirtless abdomen and back at Josh.

The validation from Josh (perhaps combined with seeing my “lanky” body) seemed to make him snap out of it, smiling sheepishly at first, but then proudly. “You’re right... and it’s bulking season anyways! Might as well have a proper swimsuit for it.” His stomach, looking massive above the suit’s skin-crushing tightness, jiggled in a downward arc towards his thighs as he swung his drawstring bag onto his now-bare back. “I’m gonna get us a spot along the deck chairs” he said, walking out of the locker room. He passed an incoming kid, skinny as a rail, who did a double-take at Kyle as he passed by, his big stomach swaying with each step at the kid’s eye level.

As I began to apply sunscreen, I turned my attention to Josh as he lowered his boxer briefs, big dick flopping out as he bent over to step out of them. I forced myself to steal only the quickest glances so as not to get caught staring, and it was all over too soon as Josh quickly yanked his blue and red-striped polo trunks up to his waist and stuffed his egg-sized balls and bratwurst-sized flaccid cock into the netting.

Sam, directly to the right of me, had been changing as well, quickly swapping his boxers for his trunks. I saw some bare skin out of the corner of my eye, but was too scared to fully turn my head as he was directly next to me. Sam wiggled his hips as he pulled the shorts up, and I realized he was struggling to pull the waistband up and over his bubble butt. This made me lust once again, thinking about the two bubble-cheeks exposed a few mere feet to my 4 oclock. Sam eventually got the shorts over his ass, but was now having some issues bringing the button of his pants together as well. Not nearly as dire a situation as Kyle’s trunks, but I stole a longer glance as he inhaled slightly and buttoned the trunks before exhaling his tummy, the slightest spare tire pressing into the waistband. They were snug alright, but as he turned around to leave, it was even clearer why Sam had struggled so much more to pull them on. His narrow waist curved nearly 90 degrees below the trunks’ waistband, jutting out to a proportionally enormous bubble ass. It pulled dramatically at the seat of his pastel-blue Nautica trunks as he walked out of the locker room. So much so, that the leg holes, which fell right above his knees last year, now ended much higher, at his mid-thigh. His ass swallowed the seam of the seat of his trunks, disappearing as his cantaloupe-shaped cheeks rubbed the material inward as he walked out of the locker room. I had to will my plumped dick from growing any further in my swimsuit as I dumped my sunscreen bottle into my drawstring and began to lock my locker.

Josh had apparently seen Sam struggle to get his suit on as well, because as Sam walked out of the locker room, Josh finished locking his locker, and turned to me. “Looks like you’re the only one that still actually fits in your suit, Lank,” he chuckled friendlily, pulling off his tank overhead by the back collar with rippling arms. His shirtlessness revealed two defined, bulging pecs, with perfect nickel-sized magenta nipples that sat atop an upside-down triangle of bulging traps, abs and obliques. His muscles were covered by the slightest layer of fat that only enhanced their size, creating a smooth silhouette like a marble statue. Deep “v” lines ran along the bottom of his six pack and pointed towards where his muscled torso met his polo swim trunks. The trunks were snug along his waist, and got even more snug on his upper legs, large quads and thighs filling out the upper part of the pantlegs. As a result, his package had nowhere to go but forward. If Kyle’s package created a tennis-ball shaped bulge, Josh’s girthy dick and huge balls formed a softball pressed up against the lower crotch of his trunks. He playfully turned his hips 180 to show his well-muscled ass straining against the swimsuit’s fabric, and I could see the outline of Josh’s sizable glutes.

“I guess you’re right” I half-smiled. “You and Kyle are both going to have to buy new suits I guess. For your... “man bodies,”” I air-quoted.

“Kyle needs a new suit so he can keep gorging himself without tearing through his pants,” Josh responded with a surprising glib acidity. “My man-body,” he said more playfully, melodramatically running his hands from his pecs to his abs to his hips, “looks pretty great in this tight suit, don’t you agree?” His facial expression changed from playful back to serious as his eyes met mine with surprising fire. As he finished the question, one of his hands moved from his hip to his immense package, giving it a light squeeze. I held his gaze, not really knowing what to say, focusing mostly on keeping my cock from getting any more chubbed than it already was. Perhaps three or four seconds passed, which felt like eternity due to the silence and unbroken eye contact, before Josh lowered his gaze, cracked a cheesy smile and clapped me on the back. “Let’s get out there and ride some water slides, Micah.”

I did my best to mirror his snap out of the awkward interaction. I smiled a half-sheepish, half relieved grin, and cheered, “finally! Let’s go!”

I followed him out of the locker room, shaking off the strange encounter and slipping my shades on. I smiled, knowing the day was young and I was about to spend the rest of it with my three shirtless friends in the hot sun and refreshing water.

...

part 3 to come.

[steve-rogers-new-york]

Recipe Wednesday #35

Happy Recipe Wednesday!

These are real period recipes, taken from the Brooklyn Daily Eagle, a local newspaper that would have been accessible to Steve, his mother, and Bucky during their time in Brooklyn.

This week’s recipes are a collection of preserves and other sweet treats. They come from Thursday 9 July 1936 edition of the Brooklyn Daily Eagle. For context, Steve would have been 16 (comics) / 18 (MCU), so these are recipes that Sarah Rogers may have made, or which Steve might have learnt or inherited from his mother.

Spanish Onions Stuffed With Liver 8 Spanish onions 1 ½ pounds liver 1 cup grated bread crumbs ½ cup melted butter 1 teaspoon salt ½ teaspoon pepper 1 tablespoon parsley, chopped 1 cup boiling water 1 cup tomato sauce Peel and parboil onions one-half hour. Cool; cut out a piece about two inches wide on the stem end, thus leaving a thin shell of onion. Trim, remove veins and chop liver. Add the crumbs, butter, and seasoning. Fill onion cases. Give the mixture a dome shape above. Set the onions in a buttered casserole in the boiling water and bake in a 375-degree F. oven for about one-half hour, basting frequently with the liquid in the pan and then with two teaspoons of butter melted in a little water. When ready to serve pour the cup of tomato sauce around the onions. Serves seven to eight portions.

Tomato Aspic Ring Mold (Serves 6) 1 ½ tablespoons unflavored gelatin 3 cups tomato juice ½ teaspoon salt Few grains pepper 1 slice onion 1 stalk celery (cut in small pieces) Mix 1-3 cup tomato juice (or strained canned tomato) with the gelatin; let it stand for five minutes. Heat the remainder of the tomato juice with the seasoning. Dissolve the gelatin in the boiling juice, then strain. Pour into a ring mold and chill until firm. Serve unmolded on a bed of watercress or shredded lettuce. Serve with: Tender-Made Ham Salad 2 ½ cups tender-made ham (cut in small cubes) 1 cup celery (cut in small pieces) ¼ cup green pepper (cut in small pieces) 1 tablespoons sweet pickle (chopped) Mayonnaise dressing Combine the ham, celery, green pepper and pickle. Add mayonnaise and blend thoroughly. Place in refrigerator and chill. Pile tightly in the center of tomato aspic ring mold.

Mushrooms and Liver in Cream 2 cups mushrooms (caps and stems) 2 ½ cups diced cooked liver ½ cup crumbs 5 tablespoons butter Cream Sauce 4 tablespoons butter 2 ½ tablespoons flour ½ teaspoon salt 1/8 teaspoon pepper Dash paprika ¾ cup evaporated milk ¾ cup water Wash and peel caps and stems of mushrooms. Cut in pieces. There should be two cups of mushrooms. Melt the butter in a frying pan; use three tablespoons of it to butter the crumbs. Add the mushrooms to the remaining butter in frying pan and saute for three or four minutes; then add the liver. Make a cream sauce and pour over the liver and mushrooms. Turn into a buttered casserole; cover with the buttered crumbs and bake in a slow oven 300 degrees F. for 30 minutes. Serve six portions.

Stuffed Veal Chops (Summer Style, Quickly Made) 4 veal chops (loin) ¼ teaspoon paprika ½ teaspoon salt Wipe off chops with damp cloth, place in shallow pan and broil 10 minutes. Turn several times to allow even cooking. Sprinkle with salt and paprika, spread with stuffing and broil five minutes to brown tops. Serve Immediately Stuffing 2 tablespoons fat 1 teaspoon chopped onion 1 teaspoon chopped parsley 1 teaspoon chopped celery 1 12/ cups bread crumbled ¼ teaspoon salt ¼ teaspoon pepper ¼ teaspoon poultry seasoning 1 tablespoons cream Melt fat in frying pan, add and brown onion, and rest of ingredients. Coll [?] slowly three minutes, stirring with fork.

Scolloped Celery 1 cup medium white sauce 1 tablespoon finely minced onion 2 cups cooked celery cut in pieces 3 tablespoons grated cheese Buttered bread crumbs Put the celery into a greased baking dish. Add the cheese to the white sauce flavored with onion and pour it over the celery. Cover with buttered bread crumbs and bake in a moderate over until golden brown.

Blackberry Ice Cream Roll 2 cups flour 1 teaspoon salt 3 teaspoons baking powder 1 tablespoon sugar 6 tablespoons butter ½ cup milk 1 egg 2 cups blackberries ½ cup powdered sugar 1 pint peach ice cream Sift the flour, salt, baking powder and sugar together. Cut in the butter and add milk and beaten egg. Mix well, toss on a lightly floured board and knead a few seconds. Roll out into a sheet about 10 inches square. Spread with the blackberries mixed with powdered sugar. Roll like a jelly roll and pinch the edges together to prevent the fruit juices from escaping. Place in a shallow buttered pan and brush the top of the roll with cream. Bake in a moderate over (350 degree F.) for 45 minutes. Slice and serve hot, topped with peach ice cream. Serves 6 to 8.

Caramel Pecan Strips ½ cup fat 1 cup dark brown sugar 2 eggs 1 teaspoon vanilla 1/3 cup pecans ¼ teaspoon cloves ¼ teaspoon salt 2 tablespoons cream 2 cups flour 1 teaspoon baking powder Cream fat and sugar. Add eggs and beat two minutes. Add rest of ingredients. Spread dough over shallow, greased baking pan. The dough should be pressed down with broad side of spatula until dough is about 1/8 inch thick. Bake eight minutes in moderate oven. Cut into strips and while warm roll in sugar, either confectioner’s or granulated.

Orange Blossom Punch 1 cup sugar syrup 2 cups freshly brewed tea 6 cups orange carbonated beverage 1 sliced orange Add sugar syrup to tea and pour over ice. Add orange beverage and garnish with orange slices. makes two quarts.

Russian Punch 4 cups freshly brewed tea 4 teaspoons raspberry jam Sweeten the tea with the jam. Pour over cracked ice. Makes 1 quart.

Cherry Ale 1 cup sugar syrup 1 cups cherry juice (canned) 2 cups freshly brewed tea 1 quart ginger ale Add sugar syrup to cherry juice. Pour tea over ice. Stir in cherry mixture and add ginger ale. Makes 2 quarts.

Fruit Juice Punch 2 cups fruit juice 1 cup sugar syrup 3 cups freshly brewed tea 1 lemon, thinly sliced Combine fruit juice (any left over, canned or fresh) add sugar syrup and freshly brewed tea. Add thinly sliced lemon and cool. Pour over crushed ice. Garnish with thin slices of orange. makes 1 ½ quarts. To add to the charm of these delicious drinks—freeze a few cubes of tea in the refrigerator. When serving punches, uses one or two of these tea cubes to furnish that necessary tinkle in each glass.

I’d love to hear if you try out any of these recipes! Take photos and I might post them on the blog.

Visit the Recipe Wednesday Masterpost for the all the Recipe Wednesday posts, and the Indexed Recipe Wednesday Masterpost for all the recipes broken down individually!

[ Support SRNY through Patreon and Ko-Fi ] And join us on Discord for fun conversation! I also have an Etsy with upcycled nerdy crafts

This post is the result of meeting a Patreon Goal. Thank you to all my wonderful Patreon subscribers for enabling the return of the Recipe Wednesday posts!

[rabbitcruiser]

National Maple Syrup Day

Many people, even lovers of this delicious liquid gold, don’t know maple syrup has its own day dedicated to learning about and celebrating it!

So, before delving into the history of and the most popular thing to put on pancakes, waffles, French toast and more, it’s probably a good idea to take a moment to thank the maple trees for the sap that becomes the sweet syrup that everyone knows and loves today!

That’s the whole focus of National Maple Syrup Day!

History of National Maple Syrup Day

National Maple Syrup Day was created to celebrate the amber substance people have all come to know and love. Much of the maple syrup that most people experience today is almost always manufactured in Canada, but even the United States has its own maple syrup production area–mostly surrounding the northeastern states, such as Vermont, but also other northern states, like Michigan.

Maple syrup is a substance that’s usually made from the xylem sap of a few different varieties of the maple tree, including the sugar maple, red maple, or black maple tree, although it can be made from other species of maple as well. In cold climates, these trees store starch in their trunks and roots before the winter. The starch is then converted to sugar that rises in the sap in late winter and early spring, bringing with it a delightfully sweet flavor.

Maple trees are tapped by drilling holes into their trunks and collecting the exuded sap. This sap is then processed by heating it to evaporate much of the water, leaving the concentrated syrup. In earlier times, maple syrup was first collected and used by the indigenous people of North America.

According to aboriginal oral traditions, as well as archaeological evidence, maple tree sap was being processed into syrup long before the Europeans arrived in the region. Perhaps the Europeans, who eventually settled there, actually learned the refinement process from the indigenous people who had been living on that land for centuries.

Legends exist of when maple syrup was first created, one of the more popular legends tells of how maple sap was used in place of water to cook venison served to the chief of the tribe.

Another story of the Chippewa and Ottawa peoples goes that one of their gods saw that his people were becoming too lazy to hunt and only wanted to drink the maple syrup directly from the trees. So he cast a spell on them to make them watery, requiring them to work hard prior to being able to enjoy the syrup!

Now, the Canadian province of Quebec is by far the largest producer of maple syrup, contributing to more than seventy five percent of the world’s output of maple syrup. After Canada, the United States takes a close second.

How to Celebrate National Maple Syrup Day

To celebrate this day, all it takes is to find a few ways to indulge in this rich, tree-blood based syrupy delight! Try out these different ideas or come up with some other unique ways:

Enjoy Maple Syrup for Every Meal

Start by making a breakfast that would go well with real maple syrup. For example, pancakes, waffles, French toast, and crepes would all be an excellent choice to start off this National Maple Syrup Day celebration.

For lunch, make a PBMS (Peanut Butter and Maple Syrup) sandwich. Instead of jelly, we will use maple syrup in its place, and enjoy the rich, sweet goodness.

For dinner, it would be possible to use maple syrup as a glaze for ham (not just for the holidays), as a side dipping sauce for sushi, or even a topping for vegetables (such as carrots or sweet potatoes) for anyone who might feel like it.

Learn Fun Facts About Maple Syrup

Get on board with National Maple Syrup Day by sharing interesting facts and tidbits that many people won’t know about it. It’s a great way to learn a bit more and educate the people around you as well! Here are a few fun facts to get started with:

One gallon of maple syrup requires gallons of syrup to make. This is because the sap comes out of the tree very watery and requires a heating process to turn it into actual, pure maple syrup. And since a single tree produces between 5 and 15 gallons of sap each year, it can take a few trees just to produce one gallon of syrup.

Maple trees that make syrup are pretty old. In fact, they usually are not ready to be tapped for syrup until they are around 45 years of age. That’s pretty old to just be getting started in a career. The good news is that a maple tree can yield sap for around 100 years–so their life span is pretty good!

Retrieving sap from maple trees requires particular weather conditions, where the ground is very cold at night and then warms up during the day. These fluctuations in temperature creates positive and negative pressure to get the sap flowing.

Indigenous people not only taught the European settlers about making maple syrup, but they also taught them to preserve meat through the use of maple curing, which is functional and delicious.

Stay Healthy with Maple Syrup

While some people might avoid maple syrup because it is a bit on the sugary side, those are not empty calories (like maple-flavored syrups). Maple syrup actually offers a few different nutrients to the body, such as zinc, calcium, potassium and magnesium, as well as antioxidants. As long as it is used in small quantities, maple syrup can be a smart way to provide a bit of sweetness to a healthy diet.

Source

[foxyotomelady]

Another love, Chapter II (JuminxReader)

Author’s notes:

I don't really have anything to say, lol.

Just be aware of: strong language, slightly angst, my poor grammar, many emoticons, I love creating these chat rooms, lol.

Chapter I  | Chapter II (You are here) | Chapter III |  Chapter IV | Chapter V | Chapter VI | Chapter VII | Chapter VIII | Chapter IX | Chapter X | Chapter XI | Chapter XII | Chapter XIII | Chapter XIV |

Buy Me A Ko-Fi Have a nice reading!

Jumin woke up earlier than usual to take care of a few things regarding Y/N’s residence in his apartment. For some reason, which he did not fully understand yet, he really hoped she would stay for longer. When she hugged him last night... It was a strange and new feeling. It was nice, but also... horrifying. He did not want her to stop. He wanted her to stay with him in the room, he wanted her to sleep in his bed, in his embrace... His thoughts began to escape into very dangerous areas. He had to control himself not to become the beast of which Zen spoke.

When he was ready to go to work, he could not help but look into the bedroom. Y/N was still asleep. His heart twitched at the sight of her slender body sprawled loosely on his bed. His shirt in which she was dressed curled up around her waist, her thighs were completely exposed. His heart started pounding as he moved his gaze over her shapely legs. He felt that he shouldn't be doing this. It was very inappropriate. But he could not stop.

The meowing Elizabeth the 3rd snatched him from his thoughts. She came to him and brushed against his legs, "Shhh ... You wake her up," He whispered to the cat and scratched her behind the ear. Then he left a note - that he had prepared earlier - on the bedside table. He really did not want to go to work…

Your POV

When you woke up, you were in shock for a moment. Slowly, however, you remembered what happened yesterday and why you are in Jumin's apartment and in his shirt... When you regained your mind's cleanliness, you noticed the note on the bedside table. You took it in your hand, curious what may it say. I'm sorry, but I had to leave you, though I do not feel like going to work today. I informed the chef to prepare anything you wish. I'm leaving you his number, so do not hesitate to call him as soon as you get hungry. I also informed the bodyguard that you are in my apartment and that he is to make sure that nobody worries you. I've ordered clothes for you, I hope I've guessed your size well. Please stay until evening and wait for me. Then we'll talk about what you want to do next. Jumin. You read it all in great shock. His generosity overwhelmed you. He treated you like some kind of princess... But you could not stay here. You did not want to abuse his courtesy, and besides, you had to decide what to do next with all this situation. Elizabeth jumped onto the bed and meowed. 

"What should I do?" You asked her. Jumin really did a lot for you, maybe it would not be polite to ignore his request and just leave without saying goodbye.

Suddenly you heard a knock on the door. You quickly got out of bed, fixed your shirt and ran to the door. You opened it with hesitation. The bodyguard who stood there looked at you with wide eyes, but immediately assumed an indifferent expression on his face. 

"Ms. Y/N, a package for you." 

"Thank you ..." You mumbled, embarrassed when it reached you, what this man must have thought of seeing you in Jumin's shirt and in your messy hair.

You closed the door and carried the package to the bedroom to put it on the bed. It was quite big but not too heavy. You opened it and again your jaw dropped a little in surprise. You started to pull clothes out of it, one after another... Elegant shorts, blouses, skirts... Everything looked very expensive. And this dress... Was it silk?! There were also two pairs of very nice shoes in the package... Were they decorated with diamonds?! You got hot when you discovered that there is also a set of underwear at the bottom of the package. It was modest underwear, but still…

You sat down on the bed and tried to collect your thoughts. Why Jumin was so... Maybe he wanted you to feel better after what happened to you, and the only thing that came to his mind is to solve this problem with money. You got a little sad, this man did not know how to deal with comforting friends... You could not just reject his efforts, but... it was too much. You opened the chat room, but no one was logged in. You did not want to disturb Jumin at work, you've used enough of his time already.

[Y/N has entered the chat room] 

You: Jumin, when you’ll read this message: thank you very much for your generosity, but it's too much. These clothes look very expensive. I can't accept them. My own clothes have already dried up. Please, send back all these beautiful things. 

[707 has entered the chat room] 

707: 

707: oh my! 

707: Juju! 

707: You get to the point quickly! 

707: 

707: She has not even broken up with her boyfriend yet 

You: Seven, stop fooling around 

You: besides of course it's the end between me and Yuwoon 

You: I do not want to know him

707: 

707: but it is not fair!

707: Jumin got to you first and did not give us any chances

You: -_-

You: What do you not understand, Seven?

[Zen has entered the chat room] 

Zen: 

Zen: He bought you clothes?

Zen: And what does it mean that your clothes have already dried up? 

You: Sigh... I was running in the rain yesterday, Zen. Of course my clothes were soaked. I had to dry them.

Zen: Oh, I understand ^^ 

Zen: WAIT

Zen: Does it mean you had to take off those clothes?!

707: oh, my my

707:

You: yes, I had to -_- ' isn't it obvious?

Zen: so what did you wear to sleep?!

You: Jumin gave me his shirt. 

Zen: ARE YOU KIDDING ME?

707: This is getting more and more interesting lolololol

[Jumin Han has entered the chat room]

Jumin Han: good morning, Y/N

Jumin Han: How was your sleep?

Jumin Han: 

Zen: 

Zen: Are you going to ignore everything we just said?

Jumin Han: Yes.

Zen:

You: I slept very well, but Jumin, these clothes... I can't take them.

Jumin Han: Of course you can.

Jumin Han: Have you tried them on yet? They fit? 

Zen: dude ;;; how do you know her size?

Jumin Han: I don't. That's why I'm asking.

You: Jumin... This is really too much...

Jumin Han: I must admit you looked cute in my shirt

Zen: the hell

Jumin Han: But you can't wear it all the time.

You: ahaha thank you Jumin ^^

Zen: THE HELL

Zen: do not thank him, Y/N!

Zen: He's acting weird!

You: no, he's not

Jumin Han: I'm just trying to be nice to the lady :3

Zen:

You: Maybe I should try them on...

707: send us a picture! >.-

Zen: you two are perverted!

Jumin Han: What do you mean perverted?

Jumin Han: What kind of weird thoughts are you having in your mind right now?

707: lolololol

707: it's you who are perverted Zenny!

Zen: 

Zen: That's not true!

You: ahaha, I'm starting to feel better 

You: thank you for making me laugh, lol

You: but Jumin, how can I repay for your generosity?

Jumin Han: I already told you: you don't have to

Jumin Han: but I would like to ask you for something

Jumin Han: Can you feed Elizabeth the 3rd? I forgot about that.

707: 

Zen: 

You: Of course I can ^^

707: 

707: my poor Elly ~ 

Jumin Han: It's Elizabeth the 3rd. 

707: How could you forget to feed her?! 

707: Juju, you monster! 

Zen: You forget to feed your damn cat? 

Zen: It's unlike you... 

Jumin Han: she will be fine, I entrust her to Y/N.

Zen: WHAT IS HAPPENING

Zen: moreover, why are you even still there, Y/N?!

You: I didn't decide what I want to do next yet. I think I'll stay here till the evening at least.

Jumin Han: oh, so you're fulfilling my request.

Jumin Han: I’m glad.

Jumin Han: 

Zen: REQUEST?

707: oh oh oh, how bossy, Mr. Director

707: I got chills >.<

Jumin Han: Excuse me, I must leave

Jumin Han: I'm in the middle of the meeting.

Jumin Ham: Make yourself at home, Y/N.

[Jumin Han has left the chat room]

Zen: 

Zen: are you sure about all of this, Y/N?

Zen: He's acting really weird... ;;;

You: I think it's rather you two who are acting weird -_-

707: it’s because

707: we’re jelly T-T

Zen: There is nothing to be jealous about!

You: You two are taking this whole situation the wrong way

You: Jumin’s just trying to be nice

You: btw, when are you planning to apologize to him, Zen?

Zen: Ugh

Zen: He didn't look like he still care what I said yesterday

You: But it doesn’t change the fact that you behaved like you know who? 

You: Like a jerk! 

707: lolololol nagging~

You: He deserves to be nagged

Zen: I'm so sorry ;;;

You: TELL

You: THAT

You: TO JUMIN -_-

707: Defender of Justice must log off now!

707: I can't let my brother Saeran be lonely!

707: Kiss Elly for me, Y/N ( ˘ ³˘)♥ 

[707 has left the chat room]

Zen: I must go too

Zen: If this creepy man will try to do anything

Zen: CALL ME!

[Zen has left the chat room]

Jumin’s Pov

He came back from work, enjoying the strange feeling that someone would be waiting for him at home. And it will not be a cat. How long did he lie to himself that the presence of a cat would be enough for him? 

When he came to his apartment, Y/N was there to meet him. She looked captivating in the red dress he had bought for her. She also put on her new shoes, flat heels, her feet must still hurt. 

"Hello, Jumin. How was your day?" 

He stared at her and barely took his words out of his throat, "It fits."

She looked at herself, embarrassed, "Yes, you have a good eye. Thank you again." 

"No problem. You look wonderful."

"Who wouldn't in that dress?" She laughed.

"That's not true. I chose it, because I was sure it'd be perfect just for you," Why are you saying this? But it's true, He was arguing with himself in his mind and she was looking at him with wide eyes. His comment certainly surprised her. Jumin cleared his throat, "I'm sorry, I got carried away. Have you eaten yet?" 

"I've been waiting for you. I thought I would repay you for everything with dinner together." 

"It's very nice of you. I will be happy to accompany you. "

"You're always so formal, Jumin," She giggled as they headed to the kitchen. "But it's cute."

"Cute?" Nobody ever spoke about him this way. 

"Yes, I've always considered you cute."

"I... do not know what to say." 

"Oh, I made Jumin Han speechless! Thank you will be enough." 

"Then thank you." Before they sat at the table, he contacted the chef to prepare a portion for two. For this reason, it took him more time than usual to prepare the proper meal.

"Have you thought what you want to do?" Jumin asked. "I just want to tell you that it won't be a problem for me if you stay here longer."

"Thank you, Jumin, but-" Her phone, which she's been holding on her knees, vibrated. She frowned. "I don't know this number. Hello? Who is it?" Her face suddenly became pale. "Yuwoon?" Jumin gulped, clenched his hands in fists. Anger overtook him. "Who's number it is? I've blocked yours. No, I don't want to talk to you. It's not your business where I'm." Her voice was icily but started to crack. "I... Please, stop..." Jumin could not stand it. He got up from his seat and took the phone from her hand. She did not protest. 

"Hello, this is Jumin Han." 

There was silence on the other side of the phone. Jumin frowned, sighed irritably, "Yuwoon, yes? What do you want from her?" 

"I'm her goddamn boyfriend!" The man suddenly shouted loudly. "I want to know where she is!" 

"I believe that you stopped being her boyfriend when you cheated on her," Jumin answered calmly but harshly. 

"Bullshit, and it has nothing to do with you! Let me talk to her! She ran into your arms to cheer herself up?! " 

"I advise you not to try to contact her anymore, otherwise, I will have to take certain steps, and it will not end well for you. Have a nice evening."

He hung up and gave her the phone. Her hands were trembling, her eyes dull. 

"I'm sorry, Jumin... I think I'm going to cry again." 

He crouched opposite her so that he would look at her, "Please, don't." 

"I know he doesn't deserve my tears... But when I heard his voice ...Everything came back... We used to be so happy together... And then... No, damn it! I have it in front of my eyes again!" 

Jumin approached her slowly, and just as she did it for him yesterday evening, he hugged her gently. She immediately returned his embrace and buried her face in his shoulder, sobbing.

Jumin stroked her hair, drawing more pleasure from it than he should. He pressed her closer to himself. His hands touched her skin, which was revealed by the cut of the dress on the back. Y/N shuddered in his arms and withdrawn her head away cautiously. She looked at him with eyes that were red from tears. Their faces were so close to each other that their breaths were mixed into one. He took her face in his hands and wiped her tears with his thumbs. Her gaze went to his lips, her cheeks flushed. His breath stopped in his lungs for a moment. He also glanced at her lips and then at her eyes, seeking permission in them.

Suddenly the doorbell rang. Jumin squeezed his eyelids, exhaled with irritation and anger. Y/N almost jumped from him, clearly did not know where to look.

"It's probably food," Jumin announced and straightened up.

Your POV

Your heart was pounding wildly as Jumin moved away to the other room. Did you just... Did he just... You almost kissed. You sat back in the chair at the table and rubbed your warm face with your hands. What did you think? It could not happen! Your heart still ached, wound after Yuwoon's betrayal hasn't healed yet. You could not use Jumin kindness to fill the hole that your ex-boyfriend left behind in your soul. It just was not fair. His generosity, care, and kindness quickly overwhelmed you. It was hard to resist him when he was like this. But why did he want to kiss you? Did he get carried away by the moment and emotions? Did he have feelings for you? If that was the case, then all the more you couldn't use him like that!

Jumin came back with a tray of food that he placed on the table in front of you. You could not bring yourself to look at him. The dish that you had before you looked wonderful and smelled wonderful, but you knew that you would have to force yourself to swallow anything.

Jumin sat down on the opposite side of the table, "Shall we eat?" He asked as if nothing happened.

You nodded and you both started to eat in silence. In such a deep silence that you were afraid that he could hear your heart, beating loudly.   

"Would you like to drink wine with me?" Jumin asked suddenly, and without waiting for your answer, he got up from the table. You watched him reaching for the wine hidden in the top cupboard. He also took two glasses and after a while, all this was on the table.   

He poured the wine into both glasses and returned to his seat. You heard him raise his glass, felt his intense gaze on you, "After what occurred, I think it'll be wise for you to stay at my apartment for a while," He stated.   

You blinked and you finally looked at him. You felt shivers on your back. His face was different than usual - there was something dark and cold on it.

"What... What do you mean?" You asked in a trembling voice.

"That man... Yuwoon. He is quite persistent. I do not think he'll leave you in peace soon. You'll be safe with me. He will not reach you here."

"Jumin..." You started carefully. "He has hurt me, it's true, he broke my heart, it's true, but he's not dangerous, he has never hurt me physically."

Jumin frowned, "You are sure that it will not change now? You can not know it, he has already failed your trust, and you may be mistaken about this case too. Besides, do you really feel ready to go back to that apartment of yours?"

You sighed, "No. But I have to go there eventually, to take my things at least."

"I can go with you, you will be safer if I accompany you."

"Yes, thank you." You smiled and looked into his eyes, looking for the warmth and kindness that you always saw in them. "But Jumin... Is it really okay for me to stay here longer? Others are already seeing it in a strange way."

"I don't care," He said sharply.

"That is not true. I know you, Jumin. I know you care about them all."

"I care about them, yes. But I don't care about their opinion. All the more if it concerns you.”

You sighed again, resting your chin on your hand, "Zen will be furious if I stay here."

Something twitched on Jumin's face, his features sharpened, "I do not care," He repeated emphatically, "Zen simply cannot understand."

"And what should he understand?" You took a sip of wine to give yourself some courage.

"How deeply I care about you, how much I want to protect you, I think I don't even understand it myself, but I know I want to have you close to me." After these words, he also drank wine, and you stared at him, your heart beating hard. You had no idea what to say. You both have always been close, from all of RFA members he was your best friend. But you did not expect to hear such words from him.

"I don't want to impose on you," He continued. "I don't want to destroy our friendship. After V left, only you can understand me, I always thought Elizabeth the 3rd could do it best, but I only lied to myself, and I understood it when you appeared in my life. "

"Jumin-"

"Can we make a deal?"

"A deal?" You raised your eyebrows.

"I know it may sound selfish, but can you stay here until I understand my feelings? And you also need time to feel better, at least I guess so."

On his face, in the way his hand trembled, clenched on a glass of wine, you saw that Jumin was not himself. That something is happening to him that he can't quite deal with.

You reached across the table for his other hand. He looked at you in shock, "Okay, I'll stay with you here if it's going to help you sort your thoughts."

Jumin slowly put down a glass of wine and grabbed your hand in both of his, "Do you really want to stay? It will not be uncomfortable for you?"

You shook your head, "But tomorrow I would like to go for my stuff. I appreciate that you bought everything for me, but-"

"Keep these things for yourself, please, of course, we will also go to your place for your clothes and other stuff tomorrow, but keep what I gave you as a gift."

You took a deep breath. Of course, all he bought for you was beautiful and you would be lying if you said it did not fit your taste, but... it was so expensive, so luxurious!

"Alright, but I do not want you to buy me anything more."

"Shall we continue?" He ignored you, pointed at the food and picked up the glass again.

***

After eating dinner and a few glasses of wine, you took a shower and went to bed. Elizabeth was accompanying you again, Jumin was in the guest room. There was a race of thoughts in your head. Lying on your stomach, you looked at the phone. Yoosung was in the chat room. After what happened to Rika, it took some time before the boy became a happy version of himself again.

[Y/N has entered the chat room] You: Yoosung! You're still up? Playing LOLOL?

Yoosung:

Yoosung: Yes! I just got a very rare item!

Yoosung: 

Yoosung: but Y/N, you're at Jumin's place?

You: Yes.

Yoosung: I read what had happened.

Yoosung: I'm so sorry T-T

Yoosung: Yuwoon is so stupid, cheating on someone like you!

Yoosung: 

You: Thank you, Yoosung, but can we please don't talk about it?

Yoosung: sure, I understand ^.-

[Jaehee Kang has entered the chat room]

Jaehee Kang: Y/N, you are still at Mr. Han's apartment?

You: Here we go again...

You: Yes, I'm still at his place. What about it?

Jaehee Kang: Don't you think it's a little unwise?

You: You’re all just overreacting.

You: Jumin is my friend, like all of you.

You: I feel good here, I'm not ready to go back to my apartment yet. Tomorrow, I will definitely go there for my things, but only for this, only for a moment.

You: Besides, Jumin asked me for a favor and I'm going to fulfill it because he deserved it after he helped me.

Jaehee Kang: 

Jaehee Kang: I hope you know what you're doing

Jaehee Kang: You are both adults, so…

You: Yes, we are both adults, so can you let us make our own decisions?

[Jumin Han has entered the chat room]

Jumin Han: Y/ N

Jumin Han: How strange to talk to you here when you're right behind the wall

You: hahah, you're right, Jumin ^^

Yoosung: So why don't you just go to her?

Jumin Han: I do not think it's wise at this hour.

You: Um... ^^ '

Yoosung: Oh, you're such a gentleman, Jumin >.<

Jaehee Kang: 

Jaehee Kang: Mr. Han, are you sure that it will not affect your work? And the company?

Jaehee Kang: You know how media are these days.

Jaehee Kang: If someone sees you in a company of woman, moreover, if someone sees that this woman sleeps in your apartment...

Jaehee Kang: Gossips will spread immediately.

Jumin Han: Y/N, how about pancakes for breakfast tomorrow?

Yoosung: lol, he just ignored you, Jaehee

Jaehee Kang: 

[steve0discusses]

Yugioh S3 Ep 18: Noah’s Dad Decides he Doesn’t Love His Son Anymore When Noah Gets Way Too Into Petz Hexing

I was hanging out with Bro and he made me look at a lot of bad Yugi wigs that were 600 dollars each, and because only like...4 good Yugi wigs exist in the world, I decided to help him get out that Yugi itch in a healthier way, by copy editing these posts and fixing the way I spell Gozaburo wrong about 400 more times before this arc ends.

So last we left off, Noah decided to reference that one part of the Bible he knows.

He’s gonna change the playing field to kind of run through the history of the Earth, showing us that in every period of history his outfit was never acceptable.

Also he got the history a...little bit wrong. You had to have people before Noah’s ark but...whatever. I took astrology, there’s a lot about planet formation we’re still kind of guessing on, so do whatever you feel like, Yugioh. It’s not like any kids watching this got real pissy about how Noah was totally botching the Archean period.

He also decides to dump on us how he got so smart. See, Kaiba got smart by studying a lot, surrounding himself with people way dumber than him, and then just bossing everyone around him until they agreed with him that he was very smart. In Noah’s case, it’s because he’s literally a computer.

I’m really glad I get to find another anime that’s all ham about this tree. In this case just slapping it on there for a few seconds, long enough for me to say “WHAT THE HELL, KIDS SHOW?” before it vanishes again.

Good on you, Noah. You just...casually slipped that in there.

Ah, but unfortunately, the AI who is like...not even human and is *pretty sure* He’s Noah Kaiba is still kind of attached to his Dad. Maybe it was a part of his core code that he couldn’t reject his Father? I dunno, just seems weird that he achieved enlightenment and was like “So uh...I guess I’ll play cards and take over a mindless corporation. Good use of my time.”

(read more under the cut)

Kaiba’s reaction to hearing that his brother stores all of human knowledge was “well, it can’t possibly be that difficult. I’ve done way more than that. I have a homeschool degree and half a high school diploma so go to Hell, bro.”

Yo how many people would sit down, turn to their computer, and just start shouting at their core processor about how they’re waaaay smarter than it? Remember that during this entire conversation, Kaiba is shouting at a literal computer.

So anyway, we finally get to see why they bothered showing us spider room a few episodes back. Youknow, that room with the baby in it? Turns out...there was never a baby in this room, since Noah was a kid when he first woke up here.

Before it was covered in spiders, it was covered in blue and off white. This is a very boring Martha Stewart room in different shades of robin eggshell. You can tell this kid is a Kaiba because oh boy that is a...really boring 50 yo housewife look, ain’t it?

I’m sure it’s symbolic for the fact he is hella dead and innocent at this point but like...every time we see Kaiba interior design it’s just the last type of design you expect from this high octane family.

Anyway, Noah’s kind of surprised to be awake because, last he remembers, he was very much hit by a car.

Ya, I mean, if you have to tell your son you Frankenstiened him into a horrible crime against humanity, might as well tell him as quickly and bluntly as possible, I guess.

Anyway, because Noah existing breaks the most basic moral human laws in every country on Earth, they kinda can’t let him go anywhere, which means that to prevent the loneliness, Kaiba gives him...a pet?

So Noah and the dogcat decide to travel through Domino and realized very quickly that there were only like...five NPC’s. There’s like an ice cream girl, and like a couple walking people, and that’s about it.

Noah’s words were something like “man this place is full of glitches!” because his dogcat wouldn’t stop barking and he threw a rock at it and it didn’t care. Glitches.

I guess it’s one way to look at it?

It feels like Noah got somewhat cursed like Pharaoh did, just a little bit. Like not completely it’s just that I can’t help but notice both are trapped in some sort of basic geometry shape--Pharaoh’s is a pyramid and Noah’s is an orb, and both have untold superpowers matched with some heavy depression that goes with having said superpowers. Not to mention, both have a host body all set up for possession, it’s just Kaiba is a little bit youknow...unwilling to participate. They’re very different obviously it’s just...way to trap your characters in shapes.

Anyway, last episode I felt like maybe Noah liked being an orb, this episode he’s made it a little more clear that it is kind of not great being an orb...but only because he can’t throw any rocks at dogs or have real conversations with anyone but his own Dad.

Anyway, Noah got a little bored. So his Dad sent him to virtual Mars.

And now Noah only finds joy in hacking his digital pet. Relatable.

Now I know a good chunk of you are my age--that good Jenna Marbles age--and will know exactly what I am referring to, as for the rest of you, turning your digital pet into a hell creation was just a thing we all did in year 2000ish. All of us did this.

And I was like “I bet you, that someone out there has made a robot Hex, I guarantee” because I spent...I want to say 2 years of my life downloading modded breedz of Catz 4? I even tried to do it myself but I wasn’t any good at it because I was super young and bad at computers, I never actually got Robbie William’s Millennium as a Catz meow (though trust me, I did try. It was my life’s dream when I was small.)

But the closest I found to a Robot Petz was this?

Dang. Look at that thing. This one is actually pretty good because it does resemble an animal. I admire it a lot. Trust me, I spent like days moving my bunniez feet around trying to make a dragon and just ended up downloading someone else's dragon.

And then, from the same page I saw this gem right above it.

HELL YES........

....I freakin love this period of the internet so freakin much. I was only ever really a part of a couple of fandoms as a child and the Petz fandom will forever hold a little part of my heart. I mean, look at this. What’s not to love?

Like, Catz is probably number 3 on my list of best games ever made. Not so much because the game was any good, but because none of the files were protected in any way so even kids like me could hack in there and make the weirdest abominations and post them all to their Angelfire pages.

Well, other kids could, I was so baby that I was still using my Mom’s email address and did not know how to put a damn thing on my webpage. Which I did have. But it had like...only frames. It had like 3 words and just me splitting the page into 50 frames because I did not know what I was doing.

I apologize to all the kids in the room who have never seen a web page covered in ugly ass frames. You lucky bastards.

....but Petz...Noah was into PETZ. I can respect him for that.

I still think he’s a little creep-o, but knowing that he hacked his pet has given me a lot of appreciation for his work.

Anyway, it was after Noah changed the boring ass simpleton dog into a much better dog that Gozoboro decided “I have made a monster, I am abandoning my boy.” Which uh...this was the thing?

This?

I mean as far as body horror goes, Litterbox up there is way worse. As far as body horror goes, we also have, Jinzo over here, but the digital dog with a cute robot head was the thing that made Gozoboro say “What have I done!?” The dog is digital, it’s not even alive.

Especially since I feel like the follow up question Noah made was like way more frightening than the dog thing?

Kaiba glazes right over this entire conversation. Like full stop, he didn’t even seem to blink. No part of this story even slightly surprised him, although I will admit, at least Seto has decided that Noah...exists and might in fact be a robot his Father made once. This in itself is a big deal for Kaiba, who has a goldfish memory and denial wider than the sea he’s trapped under.

First of all, congrats to the storyboarder/animator for drawing a hand in that angle, mad respect.

Second of all, this is pretty close to the actual line from the show, Kaiba legit thinks that his Dad wanted Kaiba to be the president, after he knows full well that his Dad was like “Don’t Take Over My Company, You Little Twerp” and then like tried to even send Seto back to the orphanage whence he came. Kaiba’s pretty sure that his Dad wanted that whole thing to happen exactly the way it happened. No regrets. Just family being family.

And Moki’s still chilling on the Moki couch, just kinda taking this all in before he’s summoned unto the field like a playing card.

Ah, yet another person who is like “KILL MEEE” on this show. It’s been kind of a while. Like, who’s left that hasn’t stood in front of a loaded card-gun like this? Duke? Is Duke the only one who hasn’t sacrificed his body for the greater card-good at this point? Is this why Duke is our amoral Chaotic Neutral? Is this why Duke is still the only one who hasn’t died yet (and I’m crossing my fingers still that he’s gonna be our death 169, it can happen, I can believe)?

I feel like this is the season of weird hugs. Like everyone on this show that has hugged has gotten a little weird. The only not-weird hug was when Yugi attempted to hug Joey once and then Joey dodged the hug and wrestled him into an arm-distanced noogie instead--which is technically still not a hug, but the closest we’ve gotten to something a human would do. It is so lucky for our art team that all the huggers are supposed to be hella weird anyway.

Anyway, next episode we get to find out if Noah also had an AIM username or got really into Jelly pens. I can see him getting suuuper into Jelly pens, with hair like that.

Anyway, here’s a link to Season 1 Ep 1 to read in Chrono order, in case you just got here and you’re looking for that.

[starlightsoulwriting]

Time By Heartbeats

Chapter Three: Monsters Under the Bed

A/N: This was going to be longer but I was taking to long so I just split it up. I’ve been working and getting ready for the fall semester, and I just had my twenty-first birthday a few days ago! *streamers go off, confetti falls everywhere*

Its weird trying to balance all of my hobbies, tbh, I wish I had more energy for everything. Anyway enjoy, R&R! I hope you guys like this chapter! Thanks for reading!

Each friend represents a world in us, a world possibly not born until they arrive, and it is only by this meeting that a new world is born. – Anais Nin

A knock at Mora’s door startled her out of her work, and in her surprise she knocked over the small ark of origami animals off her desk. “Come in,” she chimed, bending over and collecting her paper zoo. 

               Demyx peeked his head around the door, a laidback grin on his face, before walked in. “Hey! How’re ya feeling? I figured we could grab some lunch and I could show you around the castle.”

               Mora breathed a sigh of relief. She was starving, “Yes, please. I’ve been hungry for a while but I’m too afraid of getting lost.” She smiled sheepishly, rubbing the back of her neck. “This place is huge.”

               Demyx pat her shoulder as they turned to the hallway. “You’ll get used to it. I’m hopeless at directions, but after a few weeks I knew this place pretty well.” His smile was bright and reassuring, and jarring when compared to the cold atmosphere of the castle, “There are only a few places you really need to remember anyway. Our rooms, the lab, the kitchen, and the grey area are where we spend the most time - everything else’ll just come with time.” He perked up as if suddenly remembering something and turned to her. “Do you feel like playing some music later? I have a keyboard in my room.”

               The hair on the back of her neck stood on end, unused to people knowing things about her that she hadn’t told them. She’d played piano since she was five, and still practiced on a smaller electric keyboard in her room. Well, she had practiced. She doubted she would get much of a chance if what they were saying was true. It was convenient that he knew already, but still unnerving. Mora cleared her throat and brushed away her thoughts. “What do you play? Or are you more of a singer?” 

               Demyx’s eyes lit up, excitement clear on his face. “I play the sitar mostly, but I like to try a whole load of instruments. I’ve been trying my hand at the Cetera, but that one’s really tricky because it has sixteen strings.”

               “You should’ve seen me when I tried a harpsichord. My notes were all over the place.” Mora spoke and looked out the windows as they passed. There was a bright, neon-lit city below them, but none of the sounds that should accompany it. No cars, no people or sirens, no animals that she could see. The entire city was still. Occasionally she thought she could see movement in the shadows, like it was restless. The odd flash of white would streak through the air once in a while, but she couldn’t get a good look at what it could be. Birds, maybe?

               Hopefully it was just her mind playing tricks on her.

               She visibly relaxed when they reached the kitchen and she could just focus on food instead of the eerie deadness of the city outside. They discussed music and how they had learned to play over lunch. Mora made a simple ham and cheese and Demyx made ramen. Later she would learn that it’s one of the only foods he eats - the others being chicken nuggets, rice dishes, various pastas, oatmeal, and peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. Apparently he’s been that way since he was little. 

“How are you feeling, by the way?” He started, blue eyes wide. And if it reminded her of her little brother at all, well, Mora ignored it. Thinking of home was too much right now. “I don’t remember my first week or so here but I can’t imagine that it’s easy.”

               Mora sighed, setting down her water and wringing her own hands. “I’m not sure yet. This place is strange… quiet. It’s creepy. And this it’s huge, but there are like five people living here, why is it so empty?" She looked at the walls as if they would answer her questions. They didn’t. “And you don’t remember how you got here?” She cut herself off before she got farther. Maybe now wasn’t the time for her to list off all the weird things about this place.

               “There are thirteen of us, actually.” He chimed, either unaware of her anxiety or ignoring it. “Fourteen now that you're here.”

               She shook her head and ran a hand through her hair, heart hammering in her chest. She knew there had to be reasons for this place’s oddness, but everything inside her screamed that whatever answer she came up with would be wildly off-base. But she hated not knowing more than she hated being wrong. “That’s still a problem. Only thirteen people living in this gigantic castle? Where’s everyone else? This place could fit hundreds.”

               Demyx just shrugs, unconcerned. “Normal people? It’s just you. The dusks take care of the place for us. I guess there might of been a lot of folks here a long time ago, but now it’s just heartless and nobodies.”

               Mora froze. “Are…” She swallowed the lump in her throat and steeled herself, hoping she was overreacting or misinterpreting what he just said. “Are you not normal people?”

               “No-one told you?”  He dropped his chopsticks and stood suddenly, pulling Mora out of her chair and running down the hall back the way they came, frantic. “God, I’m so stupid, of course no one told you, you’ve been alone!”

She struggled to keep up with him, feet land clumsily on the floor, but he was going so fast she nearly fell over with every. “Where are we going?” She shouted, gabbing at his wrist, pulling at his coat, “And let me go, Christ!”

He dropped her wrist like he’d been burned, stopping and turning on his heels to look her over like she was a fallen toddler being checked for scrapes. “Oh, god, I’m so sorry! Are you alright?” He placed his hands on her shoulders, panic flashing on his face. “I sometimes forget you’re not as strong as we are; I didn’t hurt you did I? I-”

               “I’m fine,” Mora cut him off firmly, placing her hand on his, trying not to snap at him. “Just don’t do that again.”

               All the tension left his body at once. Then he just started walking again, his hand still gripping hers. She quirked her brow, anxiety levels high and rising steadily. She was wary of what could possibly have him so worked up. She would let him hold her hand if it made him feel better, though - he seemed like a very tactile person.

               He started talking again, this time more composed. “Zexion’s in his room, he’s better at explaining things than I am.” He looked sheepish. “I’m not so good with science stuff. Not like you guys.”

               Zexion’s room was close to hers, styled with a “VI” in gothic font. Unlike a few doors they had already passed, this one was plain and undecorated, sporting the same white color as the rest of the hallways in this blinding place. Mora raised her arm to knock, but Demyx barged through the door with no fanfare before she could, and was met with a flying book to the face.

               “I told you to knock!” An irate voice sounded from inside the room. “Do you want me to throw you into a sand pit in Agrabah?”

               Demyx just cradled his face, whining and stomping his foot. “It’s important, I swear.”

               “It doesn’t matter, you can’t just barge into my room whenever you feel like it.” Zexion started a lecture, but paused when Mora peered around the door, hesitant. He looked to Demyx. “Has something happened, or are you just bored?”

               The blond crossed his arms at the accusation, but didn’t seem overly offended. Instead, he fixed his face into a determined, serious look that looked wholly out of place on him. “We need to talk to Mora about The Heartless.”

               Three hours, twelve minutes, and two seconds later, Mora curled in on herself, hiding underneath the quilt in her room.

               This was getting to be too much. 

               First, they tell her that “Hearts,” basically someone’s goddamn soul, are not only tangible, real things but that they can also be stolen. She felt her own heart pounding restlessly in her chest. The thought made her want to vomit, but she could at least control herself on that.

                Apparently no one she had met in the past day had a heart, even though they seemed like normal humans. Zexion had said something about echoes still being sound, but fainter and harder to discern. It wasn’t an explanation she was comfortable with, though. She wouldn’t even have believed them at all if it wasn’t for the fact that they had shown her a dusk in person. Its eyeless face... hollow, onesie-looking, zipper-mouthed, twitchy bastard… she had nearly passed out. It didn’t have any insides. There was even one outside her room right now, sent by neither Zexion nor Demyx. She tried not to think about why it was there.

               She just wanted to hide in her room for the rest of forever, or cut her losses and run, but the teenagers had been adamant that the literal monsters outside would actually eat her alive if she tried. That thought alone was enough to get her to stay put inside the castle, alone with her anxiety.

               Apparently, Nobodies were harmless enough… to her, at least, since they listened to the Organization. The threat in that fact rung clear through her, though, even if there had been none intended. If protection could be given to her, it could be taken away just as easily. She had no intention of testing that out for herself.

               Heartless, however, were completely fucking feral. They would only occasionally listen to others, so long as they had power over darkness (another complication in all of this which made her head spin.) Nobody here controlled the heartless. The only thing keeping her safe from them was the cold, barren walls of the Castle That Never Was, and a measly leather coat with magic that hid her from them.

               They had been the writhing darkness she saw in the shadows outside...

               Fucking hell.

[multiverseanimecrossover]

Love Triangle Excepts Progress (SEND HELP) [RE-UPLOAD]

OK, here’s the progress. Tell me which one is good and which one I could improve. Please give me your opinions, NO HORRIBLE COMMENTS! Please!

Liori uses mock weakness as a weapon. He is encouraged to the underdog but he reveals a cold, ruthless nature to him and benefits what he thinks is best for himself. However; Sherod does things for a cause and serves that cause even when it costs his life. Sherod loves his people and his country even more and retained his power. Liori doesn’t care how imbalanced the world is, nor the people or the country! Though he doesn’t want to sacrifice his morals and can play dirty by being innocent while masking his viper-like tendencies! Sherod can appear hard when solemn but in the end, he won’t stooped down to Liori’s level to win the game. Liori may have dominated to fulfill his purpose for his own comfort and pleasure. Liori sees Carmen as game, a prize but he saw his life as bottomless grief to him. If he sees something warm and enchanted; it reminds him of something in his life, Liori can’t stand it as it causes his heart to burn by this beauty. There’s too much pain for incurable grief as he is broken yet has self perseverance. He knows that no matter how high he rises, he’ll still be called out as a failure.

“Good morning, um…how do you like your breakfast?” Sherod asked nicely. “What’s this about?” Carmen asked curiously. “Well, we got off on the wrong foot and I want to make it up to you. After all; you did helped us out.” Sherod explained. “Um, thanks.” Bonnie said. “Eat up, we got a big day ahead of us.” Sherod said. Bonnie smiled, despite herself and dug into her breakfast. Once everyone was done; Bonnie excused herself to get changed and left. It was then Liori pulled Sherod aside and hissed: “What the hell are you doing?” Sherod looked at him, “What am I doing? I’m just being nice to her! What’s it to ya?” He demanded. “You don’t know anything about her, she’s probably going to start…” Liori said but Sherod told him to back off. Those two started arguing when a clean plate swing in and bam into something. Heads rose up from where they hid, Sherod held the back of his head and Liori clutched his shoulder. “Ow…” They moaned. They turned angrily and were shocked to see the doorway. Carmen panted, she was the one that threw that clean plate at Liori and Sherod. She gritted her teeth as she growled: “Are you kidding me?! It’s early in the morning and you two are fighting? Ugh! No way, no how, not today!” Then she exclaimed in a scary tone, “CAN’T YOU TWO GET ALONG FOR LIKE FIVE MINUTES?!” Carmen was about to advanced when Alya held Carmen back and coaxed her to go get ready. When Carmen came back from changing, her outfit was different—Her outfit was a baby pink top, blue jeans and black combat boots with pale blue laces. It was then Liori and Sherod learnt that they were gonna be working together with Carmen, which Liori and Sherod agreed despise each other but Carmen outright refused! “Oh no, I’m not going with these two hotheads who can’t stand one another!” She proclaimed. “I’m afraid you don’t have much of a choice, Carmen. You have do what you have.” Lady Crawford said. “Then, why did you set me up with them?” Carmen demanded. “You need to know the value of teamwork.” Lady Crawford remarked. “I rather team up with better people, not the Walrus and the Carpenter!” Carmen replied. “Look you stubborn bitch, you’re not making my job easier and you’re coming whether you like it or not.” Sherod snapped. “Ha, try me!” Carmen scoffed. Sherod seized Carmen and put her over his shoulder while Carmen squirmed and thrashed. “Hey, put me down!” She protested while she is being taken away and still ranting. “Swear to god, I am going to fight one of you, I’m not afraid to get my hands dirty….” Carmen exclaimed.

Moments later; Carmen had stopped yelling and calmed down. She just hangs there limply while Sherod carries her. Liori was talking, “OK, let me ask you one more time, do you know how your connected with these ghouls?” He asked. “Like I said, I don’t know but they seemed familiar when they were human but I can’t recall where.” Carmen remarked. “Hmm, weird. Are you hiding something?” Liori asked. “No, I seriously don’t remember.” Carmen insisted. “Don’t sweat it, she probably doesn’t remember much when she’s so gravely I guess.” Sherod joked lamely. Carmen scoffs, “That’s not funny.” She remarked with a smirk. “C’mon Carmen’s not bad.” Liori said. “No, she’s just living dead!” Sherod laughed. Carmen laughs along with him but then she kicks Sherod in the shin, he lets out a yelp of pain. Liori sneered in surprise. Carmen lands on her feet easily; she flipped her hair with a “Hmph!” and then muttered, “Jerks!” Carmen stalked off, muttering to herself incoherently. She was walking off when she heard them debating again. Carmen groaned, “What is it now?” She marched over to them, “What are you arguing about now, idiots?” Sherod showed her the wanted map for the guy they’re looking for, “Where is the guy we’re looking for” He demanded. Carmen looked at the map, “He’s in the other direction.” She explained. “What? Are you serious?” Sherod said. Carmen looked in disbelief, “Oh, brother these guys are really nuts.” She grunted. Liori and Sherod were still bickering

“You’re not exactly what I’d expected.” Sherod admitted. “Maybe you shouldn’t judge people before you get to know them.” Carmen rejoined. She laughs while walking away when all of a sudden, she got pounced and rolled down! Bonnie struggled with the ghoul, who let out a raspy howl and said her: “Save me, please save me---” But then, the ghoul was knocked out and Carmen gasped as she saw it was Liori who glared at the creature. “Damn, that was annoying!” Liori declared. The ghouls started pounced. Sherod seized Carmen to protect her. But Liori didn’t hesitate to fight back against the monsters and took them out! Once he was done; he sighed and walked over to Carmen with a sheepish smile. “Shall we?” Liori asked. He walked off as Carmen stared with wide eyes.

Afterwards; Liori is cooking the dinner while Carmen eats. “Mmm. This is good. This is really good. What is this?” said Carmen with a mouthful food while trying not to open her mouth too wide. “Uh, lechazo.” Liori said. “No kidding. Well, this is delicious.” Carmen remarked, teasingly while she was smiling. Liori smiled, “Well, they're also great in stews. Now, I don't mean to brag, but I make a mean lechazo stew.” He said. Carmen and Liori chuckles until Carmen sigh. “I never knew someone was so nice to me, I never had food this good before.” She remarked. “Hey, don’t worry about it. If you want, I'll cook all kind of stuff for you. Jellied veal, ham and egg sandwich you name it.” Liori said with a grin. Carmen smiles shyly, “I'd like that.” They smiles at each other. “Um, Carmen?” Liori asked. “Yes, Liori?” Carmen solicited timidly. “I, um, I was wondering...are you...” Liori started to say. Just then; Sherod appeared, “Hey, what are you two doing?” He snarled. Carmen and Liori jumped back from each other in surprise, Sherod noticed. “What? Am I interrupting something?” He asked with a smirk. “Yes.” Liori scowled. “No—what is it?” Carmen asked.

The magical island of the paradisal Isle of Apples called Brittia, as ruled by the nine entirely benevolent enchantress-sisters, known as great healers and capable of shape-shifting and other magic: Moronoe, Mazoe, Gliten, Glitonea, Gliton, Tyronoe, and Thitis of whom one of them distinguished as "best known for her cither". The sisters receive the dying Arthur from Taliesin, delivered to them in a hope they can revive him. Their beautiful, wise and powerful queen, Morgause le Fay.

“I don’t think we stand a chance against those witches.” Liori spoke out. “No shit, maybe we should call it quits.” Sherod agreed reluctantly. Carmen looked at the boys in amazement and disbelief. “You two are pathetic, you aren’t strong enough! You want to defeat these savages? I expect better from you!” Carmen scolded towards Liori and Sherod. “What? You’re calling us weak?” Carmen exclaimed. “Well, you sound like you want to give up!” Carmen said, shoving Liori to a pillar. She sneered at him as he cried out, “No!” Carmen turned her attention towards Sherod, “You are no different either, you are just like the other people, a coward!” She pegged. “That’s not true!” Sherod protested. “Right! You don’t have the courage!” Carmen said, pushing Liori and Sherod further. “What you gonna do now boys?” She demanded. These two boys were increased into angry by her words. “You want to see how piss we are?” Liori exclaimed. “Yeah, I want to see!” Carmen said loudly. “You really want to see anger?” Sherod screamed. “Yeah, show it to me!” Carmen cried. Everyone was nervous for the situation that was coming to a head! Carmen looked with a calm expression upon her façade. The two boys grinned at her reaction. “You look scared, heh!” Liori said with a smirk. Carmen nodded, “Yeah, but not too bad.” She admitted. She wasn’t so shocked or scared. Sherod leered down at her, “You’re gonna pay for what you said.” He replied. Carmen reflected with her smirk, “I know, that was the idea of what I was doing.” She retorted. Liori and Sherod glance at each other with disbelief, then look back at her with a double take. “Wait, what?” Emily held her hands up calmly, “I was trying to get you guys there. Your breaking point, that’s what I meant.” She claimed in a matter of fact voice. Liori and Sherod glanced at her in disbelief. The others were both shocked and relieved at this sight. “No hard feelings right? We good?” Carmen asked. Liori and Sherod were too shocked for words.

They were now walking a lot when they stopped at an abandoned tavern. “Let’s take a break here.” Carmen stated. “This is a tavern.” Sherod said. “So?” Carmen said, like it wasn’t a big deal. Liori protested: “Are you crazy? We’ll get in trouble!” Carmen rolled her eyes, “Will you relax? We’re not drinking alcohol, all right? I came prepared.” She assured him. Carmen tossed her hair back and grinned. “C’mon, got something better to do?” She remarked, walking past the others who followed her. She leaped to behind the bar and sighed as she got some beverages out. She acted like a sexy bartender, trying to be all charming and sweet. “All right boys, what’cha havin?” Carmen asked casually. “What am I? A kid?” retorted Liori. Carmen rolled her eyes again, “Root beer, I have to assume.” She said. She glanced over at Sherod, “How ‘bout you, troublemaker?” Carmen remarked. Sherod gave a look towards Liori and pointed at him. “I’ll have what he’s having.” He said. Carmen nodded, “That’s a good idea honey.” She said. Liori glared at Sherod, “Copycat.” He remarked. “Shut up.” Sherod snapped. “Why would you have the same drink as me?” Liori argued. “So what? Get over it!” Sherod injoined. The two argued but Carmen watched them speechless.

Liori and Sherod found Carmen's battle location but when they got in; they found something gold and silver. They've seen this before and even heard of this before. "Is this—what I think it is?" Sherod started to say but a voice from above startles them. "Hi boys, welcome to your battle, cool ain't it?" It was Carmen, coiled around a pillar. "How the hell you got in here?!" Liori demanded. Carmen shrugged casually. "What can I say, I got spitfire. Shall we call it checkmate?" She bragged. "You are one hell of a woman, I admit." Liori commented. "I’m disappointed in you young men, it doesn’t look good on some pretty boys." Carmen said. "Frick, we're not good looking guys! We’re just a bunch of troublemakers." Liori remarked, he and Sherod’s guns went off quickly! Salome ran, dodging and hiding. "Game's over, Salome! We win!" Sherod replied. Carmen dodged them still! "Come out, come out, wherever you are!" Liori hollered. "God Almighty, I knew there was something interesting about them since we met. They're more volatile than I thought." Carmen muttered to herself, pleased by all this. "You can run, but you can't hide!" Sherod called out. They thought they got her but it was only her jacket. "What the hell--?" Sherod demanded in shock. Liori turned and his eyes widened, pointing to what's coming. "Look out!" cried Liori. "Surprise!" cried Carmen, lunging at Liori.

However, Carmen is in trouble as she encounters monsters but is saved by Liori and Sherod. It wasn’t until Liori looked up and his eyes widened with terror. "LOOK OUT, CARMEN!" He cried. Too late, she is slashed in the stomach by the ghouls. "Nooo!!!!!!" cried Liori and Sherod. Just then something happened! Carmen rise up, her appearance became ethereal with long, loose hair, and scorching wings. She was dressed in free-flowing, feathered red gowns, pale, glowing skin and fiery eyes. But then there was a change to her: The blood vessels in Carmen's eyes burst, a chest wound with teeth around it. It was a bloodied, blackened mouth twitching and pulsating infected wound left to fester! Liori couldn't believe this; Carmen was slaughtering the creatures, she beheaded them, and then she made their limbs go numb so she can split them apart in a grisly way. Liori and Sherod were shocked by this. They couldn't believe that someone like her would such things. Finally, Carmen faced the lead ghoul; she puts up a pretty good fight. She broke his legs and the heart went up, Carmen caught it in her hand and crushed the ghoul’s heart as she turned back to normal. Realizing what she’d done; Carmen being to cry. Liori and Sherod could only stare at her in amazement. Who was this girl?

When she awoke from her siesta; Carmen went for a walk. Then she saw a park and sat on the bench, but then heard someone behind: "So, care to tell me what happened back there?" Carmen turned around to see Sherod's annoyed face. "Fine, I was subjected as an experiment to become an invincible hunter." admitted Carmen. "Liar." Sherod snapped. "What? It's true. But...." Carmen started to say but Liori seem irritated, "You're hiding something all right, and I really am annoyed at how much of a damn priss you are and being all mysterious." Sherod said. Carmen begins to look huffy, "Well, it shouldn't be my problem that other people cannot seem to agree with me. Hell! It's my life if I should be allow to live as I see fit. More than the usual need to succeed. It is not nobody else's business to tell me what I want to do. As I stated before, it's my life! No one can stop me from doing what I want to do. People have been judging me, discussing about my problems in an irrelevant manner. I warn them to not be concerning around me of what I do. Leave me be! I can handle this on my own, without criticism." She ranted. "Argghh, do you ever shut up? I mean, what do you want out of life? You might as well as been unnoticed and just pretend you're all that when you're not!" Sherod demanded. Carmen was quiet before turning to him with a knowing smile. "Is having an unnoticed life okay with you?" asked Carmen. "Wha--What?" Sherod questioned, his face softened. Carmen got off the bench and looked at him, "Do I need to pretend I am something that I'm not? Do I need to lie to all the people who have ever doubted me? Once all your dreams come true and you get the fame you desired, you’re left alone as you’re unfulfilled. I feel so empty; no matter how far I'll go, I'm not satisfied. I'm always searching for more and wondering why I can't be happy with what I have. I feel that I've been given a fair trade and I feel like no one cares." Carmen sat on the bench looking miserable. Sherod sat next to Carmen, “I really want to prove myself to you that I do care.” He said. Carmen felt her heart race, she looked into his eyes and felt her face flushed. “Oooh, dammit…If I look at him too long, my cheeks are going to explode.” She thought. “I…see, thank you. Would you mind going back over there?” Carmen asked nervously. Sherod realized this, “Oh, sure. Sorry.” He apologized. Carmen sighed, Sherod noticed this and became concern. “Are you OK?” He asked. “Yeah, fine.” Carmen mumbled. “Are you sick? Can I get you some water?” inquired Sherod. Carmen shook her head. “No, no. I’m fine.” She reassured. “Are you sure?” Sherod asked one final time. “I’m sure, thanks.” Carmen confirmed kindly.

Carmen in a T shirt with shorts and she looked cute so much that Sherod was feeling strange around her as he can feel himself amorous. "I don't believe this! You mean you boys used to be best friends? Wow, that's....that's why you guys hate each other's guts because of the fact was someone did something to the other." Carmen was lying on the bed of her room at a hotel as she was talking to Liori and Sherod. Sherod looked over at the smug Liori and said, "Yeah, that crazy bastard..." Liori scoffed, "You sure know how to put the hurt in someone else don't you Sherrie?" He taunted. "I can never forgive you for calling me by that nickname, Lio." barked Sherod. Carmen sat up as she looked at them with surprise, "Whoa, that's harsh. Forgiveness is divine." She said. "Ugh, shut up!" Sherod snapped but then he realized what he said and turned to Carmen, "Sorry." He said. "It's OK. Can we all just get along?" Carmen said. Sherod nodded but Liori blurted out: "Fighting is more his style." This made Sherod get upset. "How would you know, you freak?" Sherod snapped. "Boys, boys. You're both pretty." remarked Carmen, she laughed. “Damn it, Liori…you keep getting’ under my skin~! Ugh, what am I thinking? FOCUS CAR!!!” Carmen thought. Carmen sat in the row boat with Liori, she feels like something’s up. “So…what did you want me for?” She asked. “I want to apologize for Sherod and I giving you a scare, I hope you forgive me.” Liori admitted. “Thanks, Sherod is a sweet guy and so are you, you guys deserve better.” She said. Liori looked embarrassed, “Right, I see. Sorry I was an ass.” He apologized. Carmen smiled back, “It’s OK.” She said.

It was then Lioir noticed the boat was leaning a bit as the two of them were trying not to let it topple over. The boat tipped over as Carmen and Liori fell in, after that Carmen emerged from the water with a gasp and hugged the boat, Liori did the same thing when he came up for air. “GODDDDDD~! ALL MIGGGGGHHHHTTTY! The water’s friggin’ cold!” Carmen sputtered while panting. Liori laughs a bit, “What did you expect?  Seasonal climate around here.” He remarked. That’s when Liori glanced at her with this warm look in his eyes. “You look like a mermaid.” He commented. “Heh…Stop it, I’m blushing.” Carmen said, looking away. They were so close to each other, they moved closer and they were about to

Liori turns Carmen to him and kissed her on the lips. After awhile; Liori pulled away, Carmen caught her breath and looked at him. “Why did you do that?” She asked. Liori sneered, “You like me, don’t you?” He asked. Carmen’s face turned pink. “What? What made you think--?” She started to say but Liori put a finger to her lips. “Oh, I don’t think…I know.” He said with a smile. He moved his finger away and Carmen gives him a look. “How did you know?” She asked. Liori smirked, “Because…I know how much you love me.” He said. Carmen giggled.

It was almost dark: Carmen stormed out of the manor and got into the car. Just as she was about to turn the ignition key when she heard a knock on the other side of the car. It was Sherod. “Are you leaving?” He asked. Carmen stops and she unlocks the car to let Sherod in. “I’m leaving.” Carmen confirmed. “I see. Not bothering to say goodbye?” Sherod inquired. “Why do you care? I’m sick and tired of this gossipy town. I just want to get away from this shithole.” Carmen rebuked. “Each to their own.” Sherod muttered. “What?” Carmen snapped. Sherod turns to her, “You want to leave this shithole behind don’t you?” He asked. “Of course, I do! I don’t want to live like this anymore.” Carmen said. “You can’t leave this place now; no matter how much you want…You can’t.” Sherod hissed. He unbuckled his seatbelt and left to go inside. Carmen stat there in silence, as she realizes that Sherod is right. Carmen can't leave now, no matter how much she wants to. She gets out of the car, eyes clamped on him, magnetic force pulling them together. Carmen pulls Sherod by his head of hair, kisses him so hard that she bites him, claws at his back, regarding him angrily, hungrily. Carmen channels all of her frustration on him as move to a couch in some deserted corner of the building, sweat trickling down her back. After she collapses next to Sherod, she leans on the crook of her elbow, eyeing him like a piece of meat. "I can't….I can’t….." Sherod pants, exhausted. "Try," Carmen whispers, a smile in her eyes, reaching down. Sherod was overcome with such sensuality coursing through him!