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bailey-whalieee · 4 years ago

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Things Are Different Now

TWO

✮

After the incident on Friday, Maggie spent the rest of her weekend boarded up in her room refusing to leave bed unless it meant going to the bathroom or for a shower. Her father’s grew suspicious after the fact she refused to go to the doctors office for a check-up.

Honestly, avoiding them really wasn’t her best option, but at this point what else could she do.

Monday snuck up on the girl uncharacteristically fast, and the moment her door opened and the lights turned on, she hid underneath the blankets. It earned a huff of annoyance from Steve and Bucky.

“Maggs, doll, time to get up,” Bucky sighed, pulling the duvet off of her head, “c’mon..”

No.

Please don’t make me go, she thought to herself.

Her eyes were swollen and red, making Steve furrow his eyebrows. Maggie woke up three times during the night due to a recurring nightmare that wouldn't go away. She took three melatonin pills and listened to mozart for most of the night and still, the screams and the military style boots haunted her dreams.

“Maggie, get up honey. Let’s not make this harder than it needs to be, kay?” Steve softly commanded, patting the mess of hair on top of her head.

Begrudgingly, she peeled the covers off of her body glaring at her two father’s who just chuckled and exited her room. Ding!

Who the fuck was texting her this early?

M&M

police are all over campus today. looking for kid’s who were at the party…

6:36 am

Her heart stopped beating for a second. All the air in her lungs evaporated and expelled itself. This couldn’t be happening. Holy shit. She was at the party. Steve and Bucky would be so disappointed if they found out she went and then didn’t even have the nerve to stop the man.

Maggs

please tell me you’re joking..

6:39am

She rushed trying to find a decent outfit which consisted of a random jumper, leggings, and high-top converses. Maggie didn’t bother to even brush the mop of hair instead choosing to throw into a bun and heading down the stairs.

M&M

maggie deadass, there are fbi agents crawling all over the halls.

6:40 am

Maggie paused mid-step into the kitchen until a clearing of someone’s throat knocked her back to reality.

“Sweetheart, your sweatshirt is on backwards..” Steve informed, taking a sip of his coffee causing a chuckle to elicit from Bucky. She quickly fixed the issue and grabbed a water bottle out of the pantry.

“Maggie, did you hear about what happened at that party? Can’t remember if we talked about or not?”

Her body came to an immediate halt, they know, she was fucked. Maggie could feel her heart thumping at an unreasonable pace and her throat tightened unpleasantly. Gods, now her dad’s knew about this..

“Doll?” Bucky called out, pulling her out of her inner battle.

Gulping, she turned on her heels, “um, I should probably be getting to school. Bye dad, papa.”

Both of their faces were puzzled as she rushed out of the door and the door slammed shut. Harsh breaths escaped her lungs as Maggie sprinted down the cement walkway, evoking a deja vu moment to hit her like bricks.

Immediately, Maggie stopped in her tracks. The gun shots. The blood. The bodies. The screams. The end.

They were like mental snap-shots she made in her mind and no matter how loud her music was or whatever she did to distract herself, nothing would ever erase them. She couldn’t shut it out.

7:50AM

“Fuck!” she stared at time on her phone.. Maggie was late, very late. And that meant a phone call home plus a tardy from her first period teacher. Again, she chased pavement until she arrived at Midtown High.

The late bell had already rang and Emma wasn’t wrong about FBI agents crawling around the school. She passed six police officers just by walking down the hallway, who gently smiled at her as she skidded by.

‘Act natural and they won’t suspect a thing,’ Maggie thought to herself.

But, slipping into first period math wasn’t exactly natural, especially when you were Maggie Rogers-Barnes. She sat in the back trying to avoid the students around her, popping up the hood to her sweatshirt and slouching into the desk. It seemed to work. Nobody noticed her nor did her first period teacher even spare a glance.

“Good morning students, I’m sure most of you are aware of the shooting that took place over the weekend. We ask you to come together as a community to love one another and support each other during this trying time. Friday night we will be honoring the students who passed away, if you have any information that would be helpful on the investigation please come to the front office.”

Maggie clenched her eyes shut trying to forget about everything around her. Her head fell gently against the desk letting sleep wash over her.

✮

It seemed like no matter what Maggie kept running into FBI agents and cops throughout her school day. Guilt ate her alive, but she couldn’t say anything.. Everyone would look at her differently and not to mention the anger both of her father’s would feel.

So, when the DA requested for Maggie to come to the office for an interview, every step held guilt. She went against every instinct in her body. Every little voice telling her to speak up and do the right thing.

Maggie Rogers-Barnes had officially broken all three rules her father’s placed, and the amount of hate she abhorred for herself was shocking. She wanted to tell the truth, but she couldn’t.

“Hello, Maggie. I’m defense attorney Lewis Brooke, and this is Agent Erin Alim. We just want to ask you a couple questions, if that’s okay?” he introduced, allowing her to sit down.

She nodded, picking at the skin around her nails, “of course.”

“Were you at the party when the shooting took place?” Lewis asked, clicking the top of his pen.

She tried to focus on anything, but the legal pad and the lists of names crossed out on it. “No.”

He perched one eyebrow, almost as if he didn’t believe her, “but you do know the students who were at the party? Can you think of anyone who would want to hurt them, maybe even another classmate who would want to hurt them?”

“The only person who I really know is Emma and Peter. I don’t know who was at the party, I’ve just heard of their names, ya know?” she shrugged, chewing on her cheek.

“You’re free to go,” he gave a curt nod, sighing.

Gathering herself, Maggie got up to leave. “Oh and Maggie,” she turned on her heels facing the DA, “I know both of your fathers. Worked with them actually, so I trust that you would tell me if you knew anything. You’re a good kid. I don’t doubt that you would come forward if you knew what happened. Have a good day and if you hear anything, you know where to find me.”

‘I’m most definitely fucked now.’ She thought, giving a brief smile and quickly exiting the office. If her dad’s knew the defense attorney and found out about what happened at the party and figured she straight up lied, god’s they would disown her..

Maggs

you can’t tell them anything, emma. nothing. if they ask if we were

at the party, we werent. got it?

2:25 pm

The final bell sounded above her and kids of all ages skidded and ran down the halls of midtown high. It kept Maggie sane knowing she could at least go home now, even if she didn’t really want too.

“Maggie? Hey!”

Peter Parker waved over at her with a rather big grin appearing on his face.

Being a daughter of two avengers, Maggie and Peter were bound to be best friends. Uncle Tony had practically adopted the boy and Maggie spent most of her life living in the tower up until, four years ago.

So, they spent quite a lot of time together. Even now. Peter and Maggie had routined game nights at Tony’s and movie nights.

“Peter.. Hey,” she sighed, holding onto the strap of her backpack.

His brow furrowed as they began to walk down the crowded hallway, “are you okay?”

Maggie nodded quickly trying to avoid the situation. Peter was a bit of a tattletell.. Although, it completely came out of love especially if she was in trouble or hurting.

“Pete, I gotta go. I’ll see you around,” she rushed out, stumbling out the side door.

Peter tried to call out to her, but she just kept her head down and disappeared into the crowd of kids. Her feet stumbled over one another, almost hitting the pavement at the pace she travelled.

✮

Steve’s laugh echoed throughout the kitchen as Bucky made a huffing noise towards the half cooked failure of a casserole. He tried, and that’s the only thing that mattered to Steve. But, they were going to have to opt for take-out tonight.

The edges were burnt to crisp, and the middle congealed together; a soggy, crisp mess.

“Looks like we are getting chinese again. ‘Least Maggie will be thrilled,” he sighed, tossing the oven mitts to the side.

Steve shook his head pecking his cheek softly, “it’s alright, Buck.”

The inedible food found itself into the garbage can and the two men sat across from each other sipping on their mugs.

“Did you notice how exhausted Maggs looked this morning? God’s Bucky, I almost wanted to tell her to go back to bed. Makes me worried..”

“I know, Stevie.. She was off this weekend, for sure.”

The front door finally opened and their daughter walked through, footsteps heavy and weighed down by a nuisance they were all familiar with. She let the backpack hit the floor with a thud that reverberated through the house.

She contemplated going to her room and hiding again, but her dad’s were already suspicious.

Maggie resided on the couch, body stretched over the whole couch taking most of its space. Her eyes were trained on the wall before her, the buzz of the television coaxed her eyelids to droop the slightest.

Waves of tiredness hit her like a bus.

“Hey doll, can we talk? I’m sure you probably already know what happened though?” Steve’s soft voice astounded.

“Dad I don’t really-”

“Maggs, trust me. We both know you don’t wanna talk about this, but we have too. Sweetheart, we just want to know if you’re okay, s’all,” Bucky hushed, running a hand down her spine comfortingly.

Tears began to build up in the corners of her eyes. She sat up trying to hide the fact that the tears were begging to fall down her cheeks, but something just broke within her. Maggie couldn’t stop the dam from breaking.

And they began to fall down her flushed face.

“Honey..”

She tried to keep the sobs to a minimum, but it felt like the world was weighing her down. Maggie couldn’t tell them the truth, she couldn’t open up about what happened and it tore her apart.

“I’m so scared, dad.”

Both Bucky's and Steve’s face dropped. Encircling her in their arms, she shook and trembled against them. Her cries turned into soft, futile whimpers.

“Doll, I can promise you that no one is ever going to lay a hand on you or even attempt to hurt you, okay?” Bucky cooed, wiping the fallen tears off her cheek.

‘I wish that were true.’

Maggie clenched her eyes shut hiding her face against Steve’s sweatshirt. His arms wrapped against her protectively and she took in the familiar scent. It brought her back to her early childhood, when she would get nightmares and hide her face in either of her father’s chest.

“We gotcha’ sweet girl. Nobody is going to hurt you,” he smoothed down her hair, shushing her whimpers.

They stayed like that for a while. The two men comforted her cries until her once labored breaths calmed and little snores erupted from her mouth. Steve and Bucky smiled, kissing her on the top of her head.

Both being too oblivious to realize that she just wasn’t scared. She was terrified..

✮

taglist: @rose-moon-mist

#steve x oc #steve x reader #steve x you #steve rogers x daughter!reader #bucky x oc #bucky x you #bucky x reader #stucky x reader #stucky x you #stucky x daughter!reader #stucky x oc #marvel x reader

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galaxyshine24-7 · 4 years ago

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Feng Min🎮 Before the Fog

Hey I made a small introduction to Feng Min on her last day in her world for a rp server I’m on and wanted to share it. Her character is so cool but I hear not a lot of people write for her so I wanted to give some love to this gamer girl. I hope you enjoy.

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"Feng, Feng Min, Feng!" Feng jolts up from her chair as the owner of the internet café gives her a concerned look. Feng looks around as her screen shows a large Game Over screen in front of her.

"Damnit," Feng brushes her fingers through her hair wiping the stream of drool on her face. The area around her was filled with wrappers and napkins as a blanket rests over her shoulders.

"Feng listen you've been here for days." The owner rests a hand on her shoulder. Feng frowns at him rubbing the crust from her eyes.

"Maybe go home take a shower and rest a bit. Trust me the games will always be here." He pats her on the back as he goes to help out a customer. Dark brown eyes look over the screen as she leans back in the chair crossing her arms. Her head throbs as she takes a deep breath slowly getting up from the chair.

Shit just great, another game over. She thinks to herself as she cleans her station and starts to pack up her things. All the wrappers and empty cups of coffee from the previous days end up in the bin. As she walks to the entrance she makes sure to place a large tip for the owner having to deal with her for the past few days. Her hand opens the door wincing a bit at the light she hasn't seen in what felt like ages. She coughs fishing through her pockets to find a simple black mask. The air quality has never been the best in the heavy parts of the city. People pass by her going about their lives in a sea of blurs. Feng looks straight ahead, her mind focusing on strategies and her next moves. A person bumps into her, but she doesn't notice making the track back to her apartment.

The building was placed in the middle of the serval internet cafes and arcades giving her enough access to training when need be, and as of lately the bars have been pretty good too. She squeezes through the bodies trying to move in and out of the complex.

"Ms. Feng Min your rent is due soon." The landlord said from the front desk.

"Can't talk now, I will have it later." She waves her off hopping on the elevator. The doors are about to close until someone places their hand out making them open up again. A woman wearing a bright smile greets her squeezing into the elevator. She steps in seeing the button was already pressed for her floor.

"Hello good morning." She smiles sweetly.

"Hi," Feng lets out a sigh resting her head on the wall.

"Rough day?" The woman asks.

"Rough Life." Feng blurts out a bit surprised at herself, she must be tried, she's being social. That's a huge red flag.

"Aw I'm sorry to hear that. Your name is Feng right?" Her brown eyes narrow at the women.

"How did you know that?" She crosses her arms.

"Oh I live next door to you." She tilts her head. Feng raises a brow.

"You know Maryann, I lived by you for three years, I gave you muffins for the holidays." Oh she threw away those muffins. She always waited too long to eat them. However with the way her stomach twists right now she wishes she had eaten them. Her eyes dart to the sparkly ring on the woman's finger.

"Married?" Might as well go all the way into this socializing thing, it's not like she does it every day.

"Engaged going to be married soon." She smiles looking at the ring with such warmth foreign to Feng. Like she has ever had time for relationships all she wanted to do was win, watching her team deal with them and get distracted didn't do much to convince her they were worthwhile.

"Congrats." With a large stretch the elevator opens as they both step out.

"Thank you we've made so many plans for a house upstate, with nice schools for kids when they came around. I can't wait, we're already thinking of names."

Were my parents this happy thinking about kids? It's so hard to imagine how they barely talk now. She wonders what stops them from having more children to cover the mistake that is her.

They walk for a bit as they reach their rooms. Feng takes out her key, opening up her dark apartment.

"Well it was nice talking to you Feng have a nice day." She waves. Feng gives her a small smile stepping into her home closing and locking the door behind her. It was a dark loft apartment with plush furniture and high tech gaming equipment. Posters littered the walls and trophies adorn the shelves picking up dust. She throws her things on the couch pressing the button to open the blinds to a full city skyline. The money she made in tournaments helped her afford all this. Being among the highest to show that she could win. Rain starts to fall along the glass as she peels away from the view to head upstairs to shower. She finds her more comfy clothes heading to the bathroom.

Turning on the water she undresses stepping inside welcoming the warm water as it cascades down her hair and back. Her forehead presses against the cool tile as she counts her breaths. It's been six weeks, six agonizing weeks since she was ordered to take a break from the team after her recent mistakes costing tournaments, she even got kicked out of the dorms. She punches the wall as a wave of disappointment passes over her. She can't lose, she can't lose, she has come so far. Only to fall now in her prime would be pathetic and every doubt everyone made about her would be true. She couldn't count the thousands of comments in the fan forums all of them saying she was losing her touch. That she was only a one hit wonder, a smile creeps onto her face. She would show them she would so all of them. Her determination was too strong to give up.

"Fuck that." She would rather die than give up a game she knows she can win. The goal was so close she could feel it. She was so close to her purpose.

She steps back finishing her shower, now that she's more awake she can realize how dirty she was as stains cover her old shirt and the pits are ripe with sweat.

"Gross," She tosses everything in the hamper turning off the water. She looks in the mirror wiping away the fog. Black hair sticks to her pale skin as dark eyes stare back at her. She can't remember the last time she looked at herself. As she grew thinner or as she gained weight. She couldn't even tell anymore. Drying herself off she shakes her head cleaning herself up changing her clothes. After she blows, dries her hair until it untangles and is soft again. When she's done she cracks her knuckles heading back downstairs hoping to get some practice in on her console but her stomach growls loudly.

"Shit," her stomach hasn't seen a full meal in days. She could order take out, but she knows she needs to get outside more. With a large yawn and a pop of her back she grabs her bag and keys. Her feet step out into the apartment once more locking the door behind her. Leaving the building a few hours have past since she as been in her apartment getting ready. She thinks about what she wanted to do pulling up her hood and putting her mask back on. Feng fumbles in her bag taking out her earphones to play a soundtrack from her favorite game. The rain falls around her but she doesn't mind welcoming the sensation. She has forgotten how much she missed playing outside. In a time when her parents weren't so disappointed in her and splashed in the puddles at the park. A time the world was so new and she wasn't a black sheep to anyone. A laugh escapes her mouth, maybe there was a time people liked being around her. She didn't really do much out of gaming but anyone could see that fact. The smell of food fills her nose as a restaurant comes into view. It's a place she's been to before and liked what they had there. Authentic Chinese food reminded her of what her family's chefs would make. She opens the door getting a whiff of the food a bit more now.

The restaurant was a family run establishment creating a cozy feel as a fire runs in the background. Pictures of past customers all smiling hang on the walls.

"Would you like a table Ma'am?" A man asks her.

"Table for one please." The man takes out one menu sitting Feng down at the bar. She already knows what she wants as she hands back the menu just asking for water to drink. The man smiles nodding his head going to get her order. She looks at the tv listening to the sounds of the chefs cooking in the kitchen. The tv shows a news report talking about the esports tournaments. She rubs her temple, she really doesn't need this right now.

"Last month the popular esports team lost the primary rounds, however it wasn't always like this. Since the teams current decline fans have been reminiscing the past wins of the team." She puts her head in her hands as someone asks to turn it up. "One name that always comes up is the player Shining Lion. Otherwise known as Feng Min, a star in the field who won her team the championship cup." They show Feng Min with her team carrying the shining trophy that now sits in her apartment as it lost its luster. Her smile was wide and her eyes filled with joy. She remembers every moment of that day hearing the crowds chant her name and the phone calls she got afterwards for commercial deals and TVs shows, collabs with famous gamers she looked up to, but that day her parents actually told her she did a good job. That was something she never forgot.

Her food comes back as she begins to eat and the reporter moves on to other stories. The food was as good as she remembered loving each bite as all her problems seem to melt away. That was until a voice rang in the back of her.

"That's Shining Lion, dude she's over there." Her shoulders drop stabbing her chopsticks in her dumplings. She slowly turns around to see a few kids staring at her. One kid shushes the others as he walks over fiddling with his fingers.

"Um excuse me Ms. Lion can you please take a picture with us." She looks at her food then at the kid. His eyes looked at her with such adoration.

"Sure kid I'll take a picture." She couldn't say no to a face like that.

"Awesome, and don't worry my parents owned the restaurant. I can pay you back in dumplings." She snorts at that. Huh, she can't remember the last time she laughed either. They stand in the back as him and his friends take turns posing in pictures with her.

"Thank you so much, you were always my favorite in the team, I wanna be just like you some day." The boy said as his friends nod in agreement.

"Thanks," She brushes her hair behind her ear. The boy then looks down as the others start to look sad. Feng raises a brow at that tilting her head as one of them speaks up.

"We are sorry to hear the news." The one that called out to her before said.

"Yeah the team is full of a bunch of idiots for getting rid of you." Her stomach sinks to the floor at that.

"What?" She was a bit breathless. The boy takes out his phone showing her the team's official website. It rests on the screen in bold letters. Feng Min Known as Shining Lion will hereby be cut from the team for the foreseeable future her space will be filled by a new up and comer. She looks back at the kids then at the phone this message was a few hours ago.

"Is everything okay?" The kids look at her concerned as Feng stands up taller now.

"Yes, don't worry about it." She walks away, placing down a large bunch of cash as she walks out the restaurant pulling out her phone. She has the team's manager on speed dial as she waits under a street light for her to pick up.

"Hello," Feng clutches her phone.

"Feng uh hey, um listen we need to talk." They say over the phone.

"Cut the bullshit, I know, I saw the message. Why the fuck did you cut me, I was on a break I would've been back in gear in a few days." She starts to shake a bit wanting to throw up.

"Feng the team and I have been talking and I don't think it's been getting healthy for you to stay." They try to say softly.

"What?! And replacing me with someone else without a fucking word was going to make me better!" She shouts, several heads turn towards her as she moves into the alley to sit on a step, her leg jumping up and down.

"Feng it's not like that, listen the team hasn't been doing well and you have been slipping. As much as you are advantaged you are much more of a liability. Especially with your drunken escapades that you can't seem you remember. It's just...not a good look for us please understand." Feng forms a tight line as she throws her phone to the ground cracking the screen. The rain falls harder as tears fall from her eyes. She leans her head back looking at the sky. The sun starts to set over the city. She stays there for what feels like hours, her soul sinking into a pit. A pit she's trying to crawl out of, enough to where her nails draw blood. Thunder roars overhead as she slowly gets up, grabbing her broken phone and placing it in her pocket as she walks aimlessly throughout the city. So much for her purpose to think all that hard work only to have to do it all over again. She kicks a rock as a neon sign catches her attention. It's a bar having a deal on drinks.

"Of course." A sad smile creeps into her face. The comfort she always tries to escape always finds itself in front of her again. What did she have to lose? Boots splash into puddles as she walks up to the bar hearing the drunken cheers of people. Feng walks inside the dim establishment taking a seat in the back ordering a round of beer for herself. She drinks, and drinks, and drinks letting everything in her world drown out. Leaving only thoughts of winning, maybe it's just hopeful thinking but she's going to get out of this pit and rise above it all. She will find her purpose even if it kills her. After a few bottles she pays and leaves the bar walking around the city until she finds a nice trash pile to fall into. The alcohol was getting to her as she looked at the black sky. It's so endless to her you never know what's out there. Whatever the future holds she will find her purpose she will win no matter what. Her eyes grow heavy as her body grows cold. A cloud of fog escapes her lips as it starts to surround her, but before she could react she gets pulled into the embrace of sleep as a spike of determination fills her core. She gets shocked with a wave of electricity as a haunting laugh greets her in the darkness.

And with that Feng was never seen again.

#dead by daylight #dbd #feng min #my writing

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atlas-tries · 5 years ago

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Shatter Me Chapter 2: The Parent Trap (Thomasphere Edition)

Read on AO3

First | Next

Summary: In which our protagonist finds himself in quite the sticky situation.

Notes: Hey hi hello I hope y’all are ready for this >:3c And if you think this is something, just wait until you see what I have planned for next week! Buahahaha! That said, I do hope you enjoy! ^^ Thank you to all of you who have been supporting my story!

“Look, Specs, all I’m saying is something is definitely up with him. Cooking us breakfast but not eating with us? Disappearing as soon as we so much as glance in his direction? Has he even let you near him for the past few days without making some excuse as to why he has to go somewhere else?” Roman paced in the living room while Logan reviewed his notes on the couch.

“Roman, it’s been exactly two days, five hours, forty-seven minutes, and twenty seconds since Patton began showing this behavior. It’s not exactly a cause for concern for him to take some time for himself,” Logan replied, not bothering to look up at the Prince.

Roman looked indignant. “Oh okay, Dr. Jerkyll and Mr. Blind, then how do you explain those weird marks all over his body?”

Immediately, Logan perked up, a vague look of concern flashing across his face. “Marks? Elaborate.”

“I saw them on his hands yesterday. These little … jagged lines. And this morning, his onesie hood slipped off for a moment and I saw them on his neck, too,” Roman replied.

Logan tapped his chin and looked down. “It’s interesting you brought that up. Several days ago, I also noticed something on his neck, but at the time, he said it was chocolate. Could that have been a falsehood meant to cover up some sort of injury?”

“I don’t know, but it’s our only lead for now. Why wouldn’t he tell us if something was wrong?”

“Perhaps it would be best to seek that answer from Patton.”

“Yes! The best way to face any problem is to face it head on! Temporary truce?”

Logan nodded. “Temporary truce.”

The two immediately began planning the ways they might go about it, from simply asking Patton point-blank about what was going on to an elaborate Roadrunner scene that ended with him admitting his troubles in a gazebo in Prague. In the end, the two compromised on a plan that was guaranteed to work; Roman had come up with the falsehoods while Logan constructed the tools of their treachery. There was no way animal crackers and a giant Chinese finger trap would fail them now.

On day six of their truce, Roman and Logan finally put their scheme into motion. It was almost painful for them to hear Patton struggling to free himself. It took him the greater part of ten minutes before he finally settled down in defeat, softly whimpering.

---

At times like this, Patton wondered where he went wrong.

Here he was, groveling on the floor, his wrist trapped in some strange icing machine on the counter. Maybe this was divine retribution for the past few days or for not telling the others what was going on? He knew they were beginning to suspect something. At least, he felt like they were. He had been in full view of the Prince when his favorite onesie’s hood slid down a few mornings ago. He was fully aware of Logan’s eyes lingering on him for longer than normal. The hushed tones they used when they thought he was out of listening range hadn’t escaped his keen ears. Even Anxiety had popped up in his room yesterday wondering where he had been.

“Not that I was worried or anything, but … are you mad at me?” Anxiety asked, fiddling with his hoodie strings like he always did. “It’s just, you haven’t really come by these past few days and—”

“Of course not, Anxiety! I’ve been uh, cleaning! Yeah, just cleaning my room. Definitely not hiding! I must’ve lost track of time. I promise I’ll make it up to you tomorrow, we can watch one of those,” Patton visibly gulped, “scary movies you like so much. How does that sound?” He tried not to let the dread of a horror flick reach his face.

Anxiety immediately perked up. “Really?” he asked.

Patton nodded, giving as genuine a smile as he could muster. “Really really.”

Thankfully, those awful cracks had now healed enough to where Patton was able to wear his normal clothes again. That turned out to be less of a blessing than he had bargained for; a normal trip to the kitchen quickly turned into something out of one of Anxiety’s favorite horror movies as soon as Patton spotted the traitorous animal crackers.

There was a little note in front of the bowl that looked to be from Logan. Patton, please enjoy this snack. The contraption on the counter will coat them in rainbow-chip frosting. Be sure to get them in deep and keep holding it until the frosting finishes. He looked at the macaroni noodle-shaped contraption on the counter. “Aw, that’s so sweet! I’ll have to remember to thank him for all of this later. But for now, I ani-must bring these back to ani-munch on,” he said to himself with a chuckle. “Not before trying one out, though!” He grabbed a lion shaped animal cracker and shoved it into the thingamajig on the counter, but nothing happened.

“Huh, maybe it’s just slow?” He stood there for a good minute or so waiting on delicious frosting, but he knew he couldn’t keep Anxiety waiting for too long. “Anxiety is waiting for me, so I guess yummy frosting will have to wait for me instead.” Patton tried to pull his hand out, but the contraption latched onto him like a vice. “Uh oh.” He tugged harder. It didn’t let go. He leaned his entire weight against it. Still nothing.

He wasn’t freaking out.

“Logan? Roman? Winnie the Pooh is stuck in the honey tree!” he cried. He waited and listened, but no one came. That meant Roman was probably off gallivanting in the Imagination and Logan had to be nose deep in his afternoon studies. Neither Anxiety nor Deceit were allowed in the light side’s common area.

He definitely wasn’t freaking out.

It felt like hours of pointless struggling passed by before Patton gave up, sinking down onto the kitchen floor and quietly whimpering against the cabinet doors. Which brought him to where he was now. “I didn’t even get any animal crackers …” he whined.

Finally, he heard quiet footsteps coming from the living room. “Roman? Logan?” Patton called out. He turned his head toward the doorway but could only partly see the two sides rushing in. “Oh, thank goodness!”

“Patton? What happened? Are you alright?” Roman asked.

“I’m fine, just in a bit of a sticky situation,” Patton said, getting up off the floor. “I’ve been at this for so long now, I’m surprised I haven’t sprouted gray hairs! There’s just no way to get out of this. But now that you two are here, maybe there’s hope after all!”

Logan approached him from the front. “We will of course get you out, but first, we need you to do something for us,” he said.

“Sure, anything you need, kiddos,” Patton replied.

Logan nodded. “I’m glad to hear you say that because we need to ask you some very important questions.”

Patton could see the concern behind his steely facade. Even Roman looked a little tense.

“Please, Padre.” Roman put a hand on his shoulder.

Patton looked down. “Questions?” He quickly jerked his head back up and pasted on as real a smile as he could. “As long as they aren’t about the secret ingredient for my pasta.”

“We couldn’t help but notice you’ve been a little … out of sorts lately. We just want to know that you’re alright,” Roman said, coming to stand beside Logan.

“Of … course I am. What makes you think something’s wrong?” Patton asked, feeling that familiar nervousness rise whenever someone brought his emotional status up.

Logan said, “For one thing, you’ve been isolating yourself for the past eight days, fifteen hours, seventeen minutes, and two seconds. For another, we have reason to believe that you may have incurred some injury, which led to this isolating behavior.”

Roman rolled his eyes at Logan. “Way to be subtle, you muddy elephant.”

Patton could only stare in abject horror as the two hashed out Roman’s name calling. They really had caught on. They knew.

They knew.

“I … can’t …” They looked back at him. He couldn’t find it in him to summon any words. He couldn’t escape their eyes. He couldn’t escape them. The two became rather wobbly-looking in front of him, at least until the tears broke free. He sank back down to the floor, silent as the grave but still awash with fear.

Instantly, both sides were near him, Roman rubbing comforting circles on his back. They hurt where his fingers brushed over the cracks, but Patton did his best not to let it show any more than he already was.

Too bad they were so perceptive. “Are you wearing something else under this shirt? The perfectly personalized armor I gave you for Christmas last year, perhaps?” Roman asked, focusing on one particularly painful fissure.

“Patton, please. We want to help you, but we can only do that if you let us help you,” Logan said, releasing Patton’s wrist from the trap and resting a hand on his thigh.

You’re too naive to even see that you’re so broken. Patton stared at the hand. Maybe focusing on it would make the pain stop spreading again.

He didn’t notice Roman mouthing something to Logan over his shoulder. Not that he needed to know; he felt the cracks had extended beyond his sleeves. It was all over. He couldn’t hide. He couldn’t escape. That left only one option.

Patton’s hand was suddenly on Logan’s, leading it to the hem of his shirt. “P-promise me … nothing will change,” he whispered, letting his hand go limp. Tears fell with little plops onto his khakis.

Logan nodded. He gently lifted Patton’s shirt up, revealing those horrible cracks etched across his skin. A little bit of blue shone through over his heart. Patton closed his eyes in shame.

“What is …” Roman’s voice trailed off. He cleared his throat. “What is all of this?” he slowly said. His fingers so gently outlined the little ridges, as though one false move would make Patton shatter.

“It’s w-what happens when I’m … hurt,” Patton said. He balled his fists in his lap to keep himself from outrightly sobbing.

Logan, who was at first too shocked to say anything or react, suddenly spoke. “Who did this to you?” he asked, his voice full of protective vengeance.

“N-no one,” Patton replied. It wasn’t technically a lie; despite being spurred on by hurtful comments, this was something that moreso inflicted itself on him.

“But you just said this is what happens when you’re hurt. Surely this injury must have a cause. Did you … hurt yourself somehow?” Roman pleaded.

You did this to yourself just to make us coddle you.

Patton quietly cried out as the cracks split up his neck and down his limbs a bit more, and suddenly the world was on its side. He panted hard, trying to get his breathing under control. It’s not so bad. It’s not so bad. It’s not so bad oh gosh it hurts real bad it hurts real bad make it stop makeitstopmakeitstop.

“What’s happening? Why are they spreading?” Roman asked frantically.

With a shaky voice, Patton said, “R-roman … c-come closer.” Roman did as he said. “Closer.” Once again, Roman shifted nearer. “C-closer.” Roman’s face was almost touching Patton’s. “I g-guess you c-could s-say it’s … b-because I’m a little … broken up.” Patton summoned a tiny grin.

Logan groaned. “If he’s with it enough to make horrible puns, he’s probably fine, although I do wish to study this rather, um … concerning phenomenon. Are you able to stand?” he asked.

“Y-yeah, even though I m-might not’ve h-had you floored with m-my jokes, I sh-should be able to get off of this one,” Patton replied. Even Roman was reeling with that one.

“I might scream,” said Logan. He still offered a hand to Patton, as did Roman. With their help, he was once again standing. The world was still a little spinny and he ended up falling just a little bit onto Roman, but the dizziness should go away soon enough. At least the pain felt a little more tolerable now thanks to those jokes. “If you’re quite finished with your nonsensical japes, please come with me.”

“S-sorry, kiddo, I actually h-have something planned for th-this afternoon. Can it wait until, uh,” Patton looked up and counted on his fingers, “eight thirty?”

“… I suppo—”

“Why didn’t you tell us about this sooner?” Roman suddenly asked. “We could’ve helped you figure it out, maybe even addressed it in a video!”

Patton nodded. “I know I should’ve said something, but I didn’t want you guys worrying about it. You have enough on your plates as it stands with everything for videos and Thomas’s life, and I wasn’t going to add one more noodle onto that heaping plate of pasta,” he said.

“Wait, when did we begin speaking about pasta?” asked Logan.

“It’s a figure of speech, Captain Oblivious.” Roman turned back to Patton. “Don’t ever think that we wouldn’t care enough to want to know when something’s wrong. From now on, if something’s hurting you, please let us know.” He pulled Patton into a hug.

“I will,” Patton sighed happily and returned the hug. A bit of doubt still lingered heavily on his chest; he didn’t know if he would ever have it in him to tell them they were part of the problem. Shoving that thought down, he grabbed the bowl of animal crackers and once again made his way to the closet door.

---

“Logan’s log, Mindscape date 0-2-1-5-1-7. Subject matter: Patton’s mysterious injury. Subject was seen today to investigate the cause of an unknown thoracoabdominal injury resembling deep cuts radiating out from just over his heart. Nothing appears broken, skin integrity is good, albeit rigid near the injury sites. Subject’s essence is viewable from the deepest portions of the injury. It appears to be symmetrical between ventral and dorsal surfaces.

“First aid was attempted after the initial exam. All known methods of wound care up to, and including, sutures, staples, bandages, superglue, peppercorns, and army ants were all shown to be ineffective. Much of this is attributed to skin rigidity surrounding the injury site. However, the injury itself appears stable and very little essence has been lost.

“Subject was then queried on the following: date of initial injury, potential cause of initial injury, potential causes of further injury in relevance to earlier growth, pain level, and his observations of the phenomena. Subject stated that he couldn’t remember when the injury first occurred, nor did he remember what caused it. His pain levels fluctuate throughout the day. In regards to personal observation, he stated that the injury had a mind of its own, though how something like that could possibly have a mind is beyond my comprehension at this time. Further testing is needed before an answer can be reached.”

Logan clicked the stop button on the tape recorder and set it down on his desk. He swiveled around in his chair so he was facing the father figure seated squarely on his bed. “This doesn’t make any sense. Patton, are you sure this is all you can remember?” he asked. Patton nodded wordlessly. “Hmm. Well, it’s not much of a start, but I’ll start formulating some hypotheses. For now, I’d like to check up on your healing in one week. I’ll call you if I need more information before then.”

“Alright, just don’t stay up too late now,” Patton said, gently hugging the logical side. Though Logan normally didn’t care much for overt physical affection, he found himself returning the hug. It didn’t last long, but it was just as well that Patton had cut it short and left in a hurry; there were some additional observations Logan needed to record without Patton being around to hear them.

Logan sat down at the desk and picked the tape recorder up again. “Logan’s log, continuation of subject matter: Patton’s mysterious injury. I have suspicions that Patton is not telling me everything he knows about his condition. For now, I believe the most logical course of action is to observe his actions to see if I can uncover any clues and to monitor healing.”

He clicked the stop button. This, truly, was one of the only times where Logan Sanders felt truly perplexed.

---

Patton had just closed the door to his bedroom when he noticed a familiar yellow and gray-clad figure perched on the edge of his bed. “My my, I always knew you were the clever one of the bunch, Patton, but I had no idea you could pull something like that off,” Deceit suddenly said, turning his head toward Patton to reveal a smirk.

Patton tilted his head. “What are you talking about? I … I told them, didn’t I? Wait, what are you doing up here?”

“Oh, I had no idea what I was doing, honestly, and I’ll be sure to take ages telling you what I came here to tell you. But back onto you, my dear Father Figure. I just loved how you really relinquished every last little detail to them, especially the part where you told them it was all their fault that you’re even in this state.”

“But that’s not true!”

Deceit closed the gap between them with slow strides as he spoke. “Then why keep the real cause from them? Why keep handing me this beautiful undoing?”

Patton steadily backed up until his back was against the door, doing everything in his power to shrink away from Deceit’s piercing gaze. “Because,” Patton looked genuinely lost for a moment before finding his footing again, “it’s like I said before, I’m not adding another noodle to their pasta salad!”

Deceit gave him a briefly quizzical look before evening his expression out again. “I know exactly what that means.”

“I don’t want anyone to have to walk on eggshells around me. It hurts, sure, but they never mean to hurt me.”

“I’ve never heard that one before, certainly not in our last little discussion.” Deceit rolled his eyes and gave a flip of his hand. “How much longer do you intend to pander to me? At first, it was rather fun but now it’s just getting tiring. I’m definitely not getting worried at all.”

Patton eased enough to crack a small smile. “You don’t have to worry about this anymore, Dee. I think that now that they know this much, maybe things will get better and I won’t even have to bring it up,” he said, not knowing when he had begun holding Deceit’s hands.

Deceit sighed, looking down at where the two were connected and back up into Patton’s warm brown eyes. “I hope for your sake that’s true.”

He sunk out without another word, leaving Patton with an uncertain feeling in his heart.

Taglist: @celeste-tyrrell @taxicabinmemphis

#atlas writes #patton angst #sanders sides angst #patton sanders #shatter me #shatter me story #check the notes for links to the next chapter

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pagesuponstpages · 6 years ago

Text

through the seasons

ofc: mallory jacobs

warnings: some curse words scattered about, a slight mention of cheating, & a teeny bit of alcohol

word count: +3.2k

synposis: snapshots of calum & mallory through a year, from their fateful meeting to falling in love, deeper than either of them expected.

a/n: so at 1 am on calum’s birthday, I decided to write a fic in celebration for the one and only c-dizzle thomas hood’s 23rd birthday (happy belated birthday cal). also purposely writing in lowercase, it being an artistic choice. also also welp meant to finish and post this on the day of, but this weekend was unusually busy. :( but hope you enjoy.

w i n t e r

the first time they met, it was at a party. to be specific, calum’s birthday party.

mallory was freezing her arse off, while waiting for ashton to buzz her and katie into his apartment building. ash was hosting said party at his place, which was something along the lines of being big enough to have all their friends come over (katie thinks that it might have been better if they rented out a club or something).

“irwin! hurry the bloody hell up!” katie yelled, standing right below the open window of his apartment.

“geez, i might as well not let you in,” he said through the intercom.

katie rolled her eyes. “yeah, say that to the people that has all of your drinks,” she said, smirking, as if he was standing in front of them. mallory pushed katie to the side, so she could talk into the intercom.

“oi, stop fighting and let us in. it’s bloody cold out and i’d rather not freeze my toes off.” and the door buzzed, notifying them that it was unlocked.

although both mallory and katie hailed from the uk with their blindingly cold winters, they got used to the la weather too quickly. and now, if it even reached in the 30-degree-range, the both of them would gripe and complain to all of their friends’ dismay.

“you didn’t have to do that, he would’ve let us in.”

mallory looked at her best friend with a raised eyebrow. “yeah, sure but with the both of us having nearly frozen off our fingers and toes.”

katie shrugged, both walking into the elevator. “it’s all irwin, not me.”

mallory scoffed, but didn’t push any further.

despite only knowing ashton through katie, mallory guessed that there was this unidentified thing in their friendship that had them both snarky and biting towards each other, which seemed to start when they both moved to la. mallory thinks they need to either have a sit-down chat or fuck with their feelings (either might not end well, to be honest).

once they both got to ashton’s floor, mallory knocked on the door, while katie rambled on about some guy that bumped into her right after she got her usual iced coffee in the morning (don’t ask her why she gets iced coffee in the middle of winter, both mallory and ash have tried and failed).

“look who showed up!”

mallory grinned at luke who answered the door, while katie just walked right past him.

“thanks,” she said, as luke took two out of the four bags that she was holding, each full of different types of alcohol and soda.

“no problem,” he said, as they walked into ash’s kitchen. “put some of the drinks in the ice bucket and the rest in the fridge.”

mallory nodded, dividing the various beers, soda cans, and bottle waters into their respective buckets on the floor by the counter.

“jacobs!”

she turned, to see ash with a wide grin and his arms spread out, about to tackle her in a hug.

“when’s the birthday boy coming?” she said, her speech muffled into ashton’s shoulder.

“soon,” luke said, who was standing by the kitchen counter with an amused expression at her and ash’s exchange.

“is it really that cold outside?” ash asked.

mallory raised her eyebrows, waiting for the rant that was about to come.

“fuck yeah!” katie yelled from her spot on the couch. “it’s below freezing!”

mallory had to stifle a laugh, as katie and ashton continued back and forth.

“so do you think that they’ll ever fuck?” luke said, leaning on the counter next to her.

“don’t know. at this point, it looks promising,” she said with a wry look.

luke chuckled.

there was a buzzing sound, one that was barely heard over ash and katie’s arguing.

“i’ll get it,” he said, standing straight.

“i’ll go too, i don’t want to be a witness to whatever this leads to,” mallory said, directing her hand to the two in front of them. she trailed luke to the door, watching him as he pressed the intercom button.

“whooo is it?”

“it’s us you fucks! let us in; it’s freezing out here,” michael said, his voice cracking through the small speaker by the door. luke and mallory shared a look, both trying not to burst out laughing.

“some people beg to differ the temperature outside,” she said, pressing the button to talk.

“i think it’s pretty obvious. i can’t feel my knees,” michael said.

luke giggled, then pressed the button to let them in. “alright, but only because we kinda need you to have your legs for the band.” they heard unintelligible voices, followed by the familiar buzz of the door unlocking.

a few moments later, the door knocked, signaling their arrival.

“they’re here!” mallory yelled, swinging the door open. the argument in the living room stopped suddenly, while there were babbles of ‘happy birthday’ along with shouts of greetings as each guest walked into ash’s apartment.

“mal, you’ve met everyone in the band except for the man of the hour,” michael said, directing her attention to the curly-haired, gold-skinned boy standing tall over her head. mallory chuckled, shaking her head at mikey’s words.

“hi, i’m calum,” he said, his dark brown eyes meeting hers.

“mallory. pleasure to meet you.”

s p r i n g

mallory thinks that she spends too much time with calum. or at least, more time than friends usually spend together.

“do you think this goes?”

mallory was sat on the couch, slouched to the point of her long-sleeve shirt riding up to the middle of her back. calum requested her help in sorting through his wardrobe, figuring out what would stay and what would have to go.

“i think so,” she said, looking up from her phone. he was clad in black slim-cut trousers with a white printed dress shirt on top.

“c’mon mal, this is serious,” he frowned.

mallory sighed, sitting up on the couch. “but isn’t that ash’s top?”

calum looked down at the shirt, the red poppies staring back at him. “probably. after touring together for so long, i think our wardrobes started mixing together.”

“do you think he needs it anytime soon?”

calum shrugged, putting his hands into the pockets.

“looks good. keep it,” she said, trying to keep her voice from shaking. mallory wondered why she got herself into this mess, watching calum try on different outfits, matter of fact that all of them looked good on him. he nodded, walking back to his room to change.

“what do you want to eat?” he said.

“don’t know,” she said, raising her voice just enough that he could still hear her.

“you say that all the time.” calum sat on the couch next to her, now wearing grey sweats and a white t-shirt.

“can’t help it. i’m fine with anything.”

he gave her a look, a dark eyebrow raised.

“okay fine, maybe not everything,” she frowned.

“i’m ordering chinese,” he said, pulling up the website menu on his phone.

“done with wardrobe cleaning?”

he shrugged. “we got through most of the things that i wanted you to look at, but i did some the other day by myself.”

mallory nodded, focusing back on the tv, which was playing an episode of chopped.

��oh! can we get the eggplant dish and the salt and pepper squid?” she asked, suddenly remembering.

“i thought you said you didn’t care?” he said, staring at her with a hint of a smirk.

“shut up,” mallory said, pushing his shoulder.

calum called the restaurant, his voice being the background of the four chefs cooking on the tv. their food arrived about forty minutes later; calum went to the door downstairs, picking up the bags of takeout and tipping the delivery person. mallory told him to tip a little extra because they had to drive about three kilometers from the restaurant along with the rain coming down quick outside.

“for you,” calum said, giving her one plastic bag as he set his on the coffee table. they unpacked and opened their boxes, before digging into their food.

“hey! eat your own food!” mallory exclaimed, swiping away at his hovering chopsticks.

“i thought we were eating the food together?” calum said, his voice raising higher.

“dude, we’re eating next to each other, not sharing food,” she grumbled, turning her back to calum. he reached over her shoulder, snatching a rather big piece of salt and pepper squid and popped it into his mouth before she could react.

“it’s family style, ‘cause we ordered at the same time.”

mallory huffed, turning back to facing calum and extended the box of fried squid to calum.

“you sound like my uncle,” she said, taking a piece of his kung pao chicken.

“how?” he was happily munching on the sauteed eggplant, to her frustration.

“whenever my family would go out to eat, we would normally order dishes with the intentions of having it family style. but this one time we went to a thai restaurant, where we ordered our own dishes. my uncle practically asked everyone at the table if he could have a bite of their food, and my aunt was so mad at him for doing that. but all he replied was ‘if your food looks good, it’s family style,’” mallory said, shaking her head at the memory.

“did you give him some of your food?” calum asked.

“yeah,” she sighed, “but at least he was considerate enough to offer his food first before taking a bite of mine, unlike somebody i know.” mallory was looking straight at calum, her eyes narrowing.

“hmm, wonder who that could be,” he mused, with a smile creeping onto his face.

she punched him in the shoulder. which she didn’t realize, was that her chopsticks were in the hand that she threw the punch, thus the chopsticks flew in the air, past the other end of the couch.

“oops,” she said, her eyes widening to his now narrowing eyes. “oh look at the time, have to go!” she said, dropping the takeout box in hand to the coffee table and ran to the door.

“you’re not gonna get away with that!” and then calum took off after her, running around his apartment to avoid capture. at one point, duke jumped in the chase, which distracted mallory enough for calum to tackle her to the ground. “gotcha,” he said, his face inches from hers.

she was staring at his eyes, them not breaking eye contact for a few moments. then he leaned in, meeting his lips with hers, before she could even realize it.

s u m m e r

when the weather gets warmer, people usually take out their swimwear and jump into a nearby pool. but calum and mallory were laying on the ground in front of the fan and sharing a bowl of ice cream. duke was content with his own doggie ice cream above their heads.

“here,” calum said, tapping the spoon to mallory’s lip.

“thanks love,” she said, swallowing the cool and creamy flavors in her mouth.

“why can’t we go to the pool?” he said, taking a spoonful for himself.

“coz ash wanted to come too.”

“where is he?”

mallory sat up, looking down at calum, who was taking another bite of ice cream, before giving her another spoonful. “shouldn’t you know more about your bandmates than me?”

calum raised an eyebrow, then shrugged. “you did know him before meeting me.”

“that was because of katie.” she laid back down, which duke then took the opportunity to lay his head on her forehead.

“oh right.” calum gave her another spoon, barely avoiding duke from taking a lick. “did they fuck yet?”

mallory snorted.

after calum’s birthday, the two girls started spending more time with the guys, thus leading to katie and ashton having more tension than she’s ever seen. to make it even worse, katie would complain about ashton to her, when they would drive back to their shared apartment.

“i’m 75% sure that they already are. but no.”

calum chuckled. “i wouldn’t be surprised if they are, but also that they’re both dealing with different things, before that would even start.” and mallory had to agree.

katie and her previous boyfriend broke up due to him ‘being jealous of her with other guys,’ despite finding out that he’d been cheating on her with multiple girls. ashton also had a rough breakup, the facts not being clear, except for the few tidbits that calum tells her here and there.

“i just hope that they figure it out,” she finally said. calum was silent, not even moving to eat more ice cream. mallory turned her head, to fully see calum. his eyes were closed, but his eyebrows were scrunched with tension. she schooched closer to him, until her chin touched his shoulder. duke got up after mallory moved, and he settled in between them, laying down right by their ankles.

“i can’t tell if you’re asleep or not,” she whispered, reaching up a hand to stroke his cheek. “but by me touching you right now, i’m assuming not.” the fan continued to whirr in the background.

“fuckin’ hell, why are we doing this? we should be in a pool right now.” despite the heat, her hands were cooler than the rest of her body (some phenomenon that she’s always had, ever since she was a child.

“but nooo, we have to wait for ash and probably the other boys.” it felt calming, her cooler hands touching his skin which was nearly blazing in the summer heat.

“we don’t technically have to wait for them,” calum suddenly said, opening one eye to her.

“jesus!” she jumped, dropping her hand back down from his cheek.

“don’t stop, like that,” he mumbled. so mallory raised her hand back, stroking his cheek, with her now slightly less cool hands.

“don’t stop, doing what you’re doing,” she hummed under her breath. calum groaned, instantly recognizing the song she was humming.

“i don’t even know why you’re my girlfriend.” mallory stopped, freezing at his words.

“girlfriend?” he turned his head, his nose barely touching hers.

“guess i did that to myself,” he mumbled. she continued to stare at him, while she heard the faint noise of a car door slamming and voices coming closer.

“so whaddya say, do you wanna be my girl?” his lips spread into a lazy grin, with his eyes crinkling at the corners.

“hmm,” she bemused, leaning closer so their noses were now touching.

“i think yes.”

a u t u m n

as soon as the leaves changed into the lightest shade of red and orange, mallory dragged everyone to the nearest pumpkin patch. which happened to be about an hour drive to a city between thousand oaks and santa clarita.

“are we almost there yet?”

“didn’t you ask that ten minutes ago?” katie said, turning from her seat to ashton who was squeezed in the third row with luke and luke’s girlfriend.

“so?” mallory pushed katie so that she was looking forward at the road ahead of them.

“calm down children, google says we have a couple more minutes until we get there.” katie and mallory’s neighbor graciously let them borrow her minivan for their little road trip, as long as they returned it with a full tank (katie and mallory were gonna make the boys pay for it). due to mallory not fully trusting any of the guys driving the borrowed minivan and katie was no good with bigger cars (when she was practicing for her driver’s test with her mum’s suv, she didn’t make the turn and rammed into a tree. thankfully no one was hurt and the car didn’t have significant damage, but mallory would try to be the only one driving in their friendship).

“we’re not children, we’re grown men,” she heard luke say, with a gruff tone. she snorted.

“yeah, keep telling yourself that, mate.” and all the girls in the car burst out laughing.

“calllum, your girl’s being mean to me,” he whined, tapping on the bassist’s shoulder in front of him.

“lukey, ‘ya brought that one on yourself,” he said, laughing.

“i don’t know how you can survive on one tour bus for months on end, if you lot are like this,” mallory said. “by the way, we’re here.”

once they found a parking spot, everyone hopped out and took off in their own groups.

“guess it’s just you and me.” mallory looked up from her phone, replying to her neighbor’s text about the drive, to calum, clad in his green hoodie and grey beanie.

“how unfortunate,” she said, clicking the key fob twice, to make sure it was locked.

“fine then. i’m gonna find ash and luke then,” he huffed dramatically and stomped towards the entrance of the patch. mallory rolled her eyes, but then quickly stuffed the keys in her pocket and after calum, grabbing his hand.

“alright, alright, calm your tits,” she said, tugging at his hand. “you’re not unfortunate, you’re just alright.” he looked down at her, side-eyeing mallory

“just alright?”

“eh,” she said, shrugging her shoulders. calum scoffed, pulling her closer to him.

“wow, this is the kind of treatment i get from my girl.”

“only the best for the bassist of 5sos,” she quipped. calum laughed, shaking his head. they walked through the pumpkin patch that was behind the store, with their enclasped hands swinging back and forth.

“see anything worth picking up?” calum said, his eyes sweeping the pumpkins that they walked past.

“don’t know. has to be the right one. like, the one.” every year once autumn would just hit, mallory would pick the perfect pumpkins for carving, plain decoration, and even pumpkin pies that she fell in love with once she moved to the states.

“the one, you say?” calum said, looking at her with an incredulous look.

“yep,” she said, nodding her head. “i need nice round ones for simple decoration and carving, and ripe ones for cooking and stuff.” calum nodded, his eyes still scanning for mallory’s “perfect pumpkins.”

“this one any good?” they both stopped walking as calum picked up a decently size one that was mostly round. mallory still held onto his hand, while studying the pumpkin, from what seemed to be at every angle.

“it seems like a good contender.” he nodded, placing the pumpkin in the little wagon that he had been dragging. mallory tugged at his hand, already moving on to another pumpkin that caught her eye. after a few tugs, he let go, seeing her walk faster to a pumpkin towards the end of this row that they were walking by. she squat in front of it, carefully rolling it to check for any patches or dark-colored bumps. he caught up to her, standing a few feet away with his phone out to capture the moment. calum laughed, seeing her eyes continue to scrutinize at the pumpkin while clicking her tongue in satisfaction.

“what?” she said, looking at him with wide eyes. he shook his head, the smile still spread on his face.

“nothing. just love you.” mallory stood up with the pumpkin in her hands. she stepped towards him, putting the pumpkin in the wagon next to the other one.

she held onto his sweatshirt, tiptoeing to meet his lips.

“i love you too.”

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bittysvalentines · 7 years ago

Text

Rosemary

To @oliverxmarks

From @askboo

Happy B-Day, oliverxmarks, who requested angst and paranormal AU.

___________________

Every person who worked in a cafe was guaranteed at least one regular customer crush.

Bitty’s was a man named Jack, a tall broad-shouldered blue eyed hunk with a charming trace of an accent who wore basically 5 of the same flannel shirt in different colours. A crush on a man like Jack was a no-brainer, but there was also the way he lit up a little whenever Bitty greeted him by name, flirted with him at the register, or had his usual coffee already prepared in his usual bright yellow mug. Like Bitty was one of the best parts of his day, or something, or made his life just a little bit better.

Acting on these crushes was never a good idea, though, if only because it was so much more fun to admire people from afar, to get that exciting rush whenever they walked into the shop, to imagine the perfect life together with the dog and the kids and the house, instead of facing reality, which was: the awkward need to avoid this person after a date gone wrong, when you actually got to know how boring or rude or weird they really were.

With Jack, Bitty wanted to cross that line for the first time ever. And it wasn’t because of his blue eyes or his great ass. Well. It wasn’t just those things. But it was more because Jack’s cute little smile was always sad, and Bitty...well, Bitty knew what the problem was. And how to fix it. Not getting closer to Jack and his blue eyes and his great ass was just letting him suffer, and that was being a bad person.

That was what Bitty told himself on the Monday afternoon when he made himself a mocha and put one of Jack’s favourite blueberry muffins on a plate, and then when to sit with him on his break.

Jack looked up from his textbook and smiled. This was a knowing smile, but still a little sad. He shifted his stuff around so Bitty would have room for his mug and the muffin. His eyes were warm when they looked at Bitty across the table.

“Jack, I wanted to ask--”

Jack reached across and put his warm hand on top of Bitty’s. “Bits, I…” he said softly, and then swallowed. “Believe me, I want to. But it’s...it’s not a good idea.”

Bitty flushed happily, even though Jack had effectively just turned him down. Because Jack had said he wanted to, even though Bitty hadn’t been about to ask him out, and wasn’t that sweet. He didn’t want to embarass Jack by correcting him, so he simply said: “Tell me about your ghost.”

Jack took his hand away like a snap, sitting back in his chair like Bitty had pushed him there. Colour slowly drained from his face. “What?”

“Your ghost,” Bitty repeated.

Because you see, Bitty was a psychic, and Jack the tall handsome lumberjack had a smoky aura that twisted and shifted unhappily around him. It was kind of hard to miss, no matter how distractingly beautiful his face was.

Jack was being haunted.

Bitty was ready for the denial, the ‘are you crazy’, for Jack to just get up and leave. Haunted people were so rarely prepared to admit that what they were experiencing was real, so it wasn’t a comfortable experience most times to have someone else confirm it.

But Jack was the most honest, straightforward guy that Bitty thought he had ever met, so even though he looked pale and whoozy, he swallowed and leaned across the table. “It’s my ex,” he whispered.

Bitty pulled out his phone, unlocked it. “Gimme your number,” he said. “I’m coming over tonight.”

When the doorbell rang that evening, Jack paused to check his hair in the hallway mirror. Then he frowned, messing it up again, and went to answer the door. God, he was such an idiot. He didn’t need to look good for a...a seance, or whatever this was.

Bitty stood at the door adorable as ever, wrapped in a peacoat and a red knit hat and matching scarf. He had a big black duffle bag on his shoulder. He smiled warmly at Jack and stepped in. Jack watched his eyes go a liquid honey colour, as if he was looking straight through the room. “Oh,” Bitty said softly, and he sounded relieved. Jack hoped that was a good thing.

Bitty put the bag on the floor and toed off his shoes. He passed Jack down the hall and then bent to pick up a fallen picture frame. Jack had long since taken out the glass.

“Sorry,” Jack said quietly. “He likes to knock things down.”

Bitty kept the picture in his hands and then walked into the living room. Jack followed him, and he found Bitty sitting down on the couch, looking down at the picture in his lap. Jack leaned against the back of the couch and looked down at it over Jack’s shoulder. He and Kenny were probably 17 or 18 in the picture, sitting together on the back of Jack’s old corolla, arms wrapped around each other. Jack looked at Kenny’s hooded green eyes and felt his throat tighten. He’d looked at that picture a thousand times, but somehow having Bitty see it too made Jack feel like the past was somehow closer.

“There was an accident,” Bitty said softly, running his fingers gently over Kent’s face.

“Yes,” Jack said hoarsely. He rounded the couch to sink down next to Bitty. He took the frame from him, then reached out to touch Kent’s face himself. “Freshman year. He was driving home from Christmas break.”

Bitty was looking around the room in that hazy way again. “You felt guilty,” he said.

Jack closed his eyes. This time, his throat tightened so much he couldn’t swallow. He hadn’t talked to anyone about this, even though it had been four years. Kenny was still with him, but he knocked things over or sent them flying, important things like Jack’s cell phone and keys went missing, and sometimes he made the whole house shake in the middle of the night. Kenny’s ghost, his spirit, whatever it was, was angry, and Jack knew why.

“I broke up with him,” Jack said finally, eyes still tightly closed. “Right before. We’d been together since tenth grade, but...everything at the time, school and the long distance, it was just...too much.” Jack opened his eyes to look at Bitty. “But I still loved him. You know? I didn’t want this to happen.”

Bitty blinked, and the focus came back into his eyes. He looked so sad, and he reached out a warm hand to touch Jack’s cheek. Jack couldn’t help but lean into it, even though comfort was the last thing he deserved. “Oh honey,” Bitty said. “Of course you didn’t. And that’s not why he’s here.”

Jack’s lips parted in surprise, but before he had the chance to ask, Bitty was up and moving back into the hall again. He came back with the bag, and sat back down. From one of the side pockets he lifted out a thick bunch of herbs, wrapped up like a cigarette, and his lighter. “We’re not smoking this,” he said with a wink. “So don’t get too excited.”

He lit the bundle with the lighter and then blew it out. Thick white smoke flowed from the tip, but it smelled good, earthy and floral. “What’ll that do to him?” Jack whispered anxiously.

“It’s not for him,” Bitty said softly. “It’s for you.”

Bitty waved the smoke around for a little while, and then let the bundle rest gently on one of Jack’s coasters on the coffee table. Then he reached up and brushed Jack’s hair away from his eyes. His warm hands came back to Jack’s, holding both of them tightly. “It’s Rosemary, and Mistletoe,” Bitty explained gently. He looked Jack in the eyes. “For letting go.”

Jack looked down at their joined hands, and Bitty’s sympathetic eyes, around the smoky room. His breathing shortened when he realized what was happening. “I can’t,” he breathed.

“You have to,” Bitty said, squeezing. “Honey, he’s not mad. He doesn’t blame you for the accident, or the break up. The knocking things over, the shaking, you’ve been holding on to him for too long. He’s only been trying to tell you that he’s ready to go.” Jack’s eyes filled with tears. He closed them, but the the tears dripped down his cheeks. “Go where?” he said.

“I dunno,” Bitty said softly. “But it’s gotta be good, because they all want to go so bad. We hold them back when we try to hold on. And I get it, honey, I do. It’s hard to let go but it’s the right thing to do. For him.”

Bitty reached up to Jack’s cheek again, wiping the tears, and then he took Jack by the neck and tugged him down. Jack sogged up Bitty’s t-shirt, and held on to him. When he pulled back, his face was red and his nose completely clogged. His heart ached as much as it had when he’d lost him the first time. Jack closed his eyes, breathed in the sweet smell of the smoke. He tried to imagine the beautiful, warm, safe, happy place that all the lost souls wanted to go.

“Okay, Kenny,” he whispered. “Get outta here.”

Jack felt something cool and soft brush his cheek, then boop the tip of his nose. Jack left wetly, and then smiled. It was a signature Kent move. When he opened his eyes, he almost expected to see Kent there, but there was nothing. The smoke had gone out. For the first time in four years, Jack could feel that he was really alone.

But of course, he wasn’t alone. Bitty leaned forward and gave him a real proper hug this time, both arms wrapped around him, squeezing tight. Jack took him by the waist and turned his face into Bitty’s neck, holding on. He’d thought this moment would bring unbearable pain but it had only brought….

Relief.

“Thank you,” Jack whispered.

“You got it, honey,” Bitty said, pulling back with a smile.

“Do I…” Jack tugged at his collar awkwardly. “Owe you...I mean, what do you charge for this kinda--”

“Hah!” Bitty said, grinning. “You think I’d make a living off being psychic? I briefly considered it once, you know. Getting my own TV show. But it’s so not a good look. So no, sweetheart. There’s no charge. Except maybe cooking me dinner ‘cause talking to ghosts gets me starving.”

Jack laughed. He got to his feet, rubbing at his face. He felt exhausted. “What if I ordered you chinese food,” he said, from behind his hands.

“You can own me,” Bitty said with a smile, standing up too. He leaned up on his toes to kiss Jack on the cheek and then grabbed his bag. “Get some sleep.” Jack walked him to the door, and watched him tie his scarf around his neck. He reached out and put a palm against the front door, stopping Bitty from opening it. Bitty turned to look at him in surprise. “What I said before, about---it, not being a good idea?” he said awkwardly. “I think now, it might--”

“Might be an okay idea now that you’re not being haunted by your ex?” Bitty teased him.

“Yes,” Jack said seriously, which made Bitty laugh even more.

He put his hands on Jack’s shoulders and leaned up to peck him on the lips. “Okay,” he said. “I’ll let that dinner you owe me be the date kind of a dinner.”

Jack smiled and told Bitty he would text him, and closed the door behind him. Then he took the framed picture back over to it’s spot on the wall, hanging it back over the nail. He stood and looked at Kenny’s face in the picture for a long time.

He was somewhere better now, and soon, Jack would be happier too.

#oliverxmarks #fanfic #bv2018 #bittysvalentines #bittyjack

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livingcorner · 3 years ago

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Building an Asian Wok Kitchen for Wok Cooking – Rasa Malaysia

I am so thrilled to let you know that I finally completed my remodel project of converting my small walk-in-pantry into an Asian wok kitchen, thanks to my sponsors Atherton Appliance and BSC Culinary in the San Francisco Bay Area!

You're reading: Building an Asian Wok Kitchen for Wok Cooking – Rasa Malaysia

Being an Asian cooking enthusiast, especially wok cooking, I have never been happy with my American kitchen with regular cook tops and range hood. I have lost count of how many times I set off the smoke detector and alarm in my house when I fire up my wok for a quick stir-fry. If you are into Asian cooking or wok cooking, you would understand what I mean. The heat is not hot enough, the range hood doesn’t suck away the grease and smoke, and the smoke alarm would go off the hook whenever we are trying to create “wok hei” (breath of wok). So, it’s been my dream to have a wok kitchen—in addition to a regular kitchen. I cook so much for the blog and for my family that I indeed need two kitchens, and thanks to Atherton Appliance and BSC Culinary, my dream finally comes true.

My walk-in-pantry is small, in fact, it’s just 67-inches wall-to-wall. However, space is not an issue if you know how to plan and design the small space into something functional for your needs. I wanted to have two (2) 15-inch gas cooktops, and one of them specifically for wok cooking with high-power burner / BTU. I do not need a huge counter space as long as I have some space on both sides of the burner. I called in a kitchen designer and we drew out the plan. It’s the best way to use up the limited space I have, while being completely functional and efficient. There are cabinets, drawers in the wok kitchen, and one of the cabinets is equipped with a roller shelf unit for my sauces so my limited kitchen counter space will be mostly clutter free.

I reached out to Atherton Appliance and BSC Culinary. When I lived in the bay area, I visited Atherton Appliance in Redwood City and fell in love with its ample offerings of high-end and specialty kitchen appliances. I proposed my plan to them and that my dream cook tops for my wok kitchen would be Wolf gas cooktops. They came back to me and proudly sponsored the Wolf 15-inch multi-function cooktop and the Wolf 15″ gas cooktop. Thanks so much to their generosity.

The remodel took a little long than anticipated but I now have an amazing and modern looking wok kitchen. Even though the space is small, it’s exactly what I wanted—a kitchen where I can whip up Chinese stir-fries with ample wok-hei (breath of wok), making curries, stews, soups, and all sorts of delicious Asian food. The wok kitchen is going to be my everyday kitchen where I cook while the regular kitchen can be used for lighter cooking. Now that’s the perfect set up for a cooking enthusiast like me. Let’s check out my wok kitchen.

Here is my walk-in pantry before the remodel.

Read more: What is kitchen safety

After the remodel, the Asian wok kitchen.

The gorgeous Wolf gas cooktops. I have two (2) 15-inch cooktops side-by-side, and I can cook up to 3 dishes at the same time.

This Wolf 15-inch Multi-Function Cooktop is made specifically for Asian cooking. The bottom of the wok sits perfectly on top of the flame, which is 22,000 BTU/hour. The direct heat will make sure that I get Asian stir-fries with plenty of “wok hei” (breath of wok).

This Wolf 15-inch Gas Cooktop has two hobs that allow me to make soup, stew, curry, or other dishes while I am stir-frying.

Even though the space is small, my Asian wok kitchen is practical, functional, and I can comfortably cook in the kitchen. I have a roll-out shelf for my Asian sauces and cooking oil, etc. It’s so convenient and saves space, plus my countertop will be mostly clutter free. Because the kitchen is small, it’s also easier for me to clean up and I can keep my regular kitchen spotless all the time.

I have also shot a short video walk-through of my kitchen below. Please check it out now.

Read more: 7 Differences Between Cheap & Expensive Stainless Steel Kitchen Sinks

If you are in the Bay Area and are planning to have a kitchen upgrade, remodel, or to equip your new home, do stop by Atherton Appliance and BSC Culinary to browse their wide selections of kitchen appliances. I am sure you will be able to find something you love there, and while you are at it, tell them that Rasa Malaysia sends you there!

About Atherton Appliance and BSC Culinary:

Atherton Appliance and BSC Culinary offers high end appliances, design consultation, drawings, cabinetry and countertops for those in need of a complete kitchen remodel.

Atherton pride itself on educating its customers and continue to match them with appliances that suit their cooking styles and add value back to their lives and homes. They feature several fully functioning kitchens that allow their customers to experience the fit and finish of their cabinetry and the trusted appliances that they offer.

The company was founded in 1956 with the idea that they could make a meaningful impact on their customers lives by helping them find the right appliances for their homes and, in turn, increase the enjoyment of their home life.

Brands: Miele, Bosch, AGA, BlueStar, Aficionado, Dacor, GE, Gaggenau, Viking, Wolf-SubZero, Thermador, Body Glove, Capital, and more!

Like on Facebook: https://ift.tt/3BD7Eqn Follow on Twitter: http://twitter.com/athertonkitchen YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/cgea Videos: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LsJnKPHiO0M Google+ : https://ift.tt/38FeHlT Pinterest: https://ift.tt/38E9b2T

Source: https://livingcorner.com.au Category: Kitchen

source https://livingcorner.com.au/building-an-asian-wok-kitchen-for-wok-cooking-rasa-malaysia/

#livingcornernews

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watchend76-blog · 5 years ago

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How to Season a Wok and Daily Wok Care

If you have read our post, “What is the best wok to buy?” you now know that our personal preference here at The Woks of Life is a classic carbon steel wok, and you may have even gone out and purchased one. While we think carbon steel is the best all-around wok, it’s important to know how to season a wok. Most carbon steel woks do require a seasoning process before the first use and continued care and maintenance to build that perfect nonstick patina.

Basic carbon steel wok models typically range from 12 to 14 to 16 inches in diameter and are made with 14 gauge steel, which is about 1.6mm thick. Most basic carbon steel woks made for home use have a long wood handle on one end and a wooden helper handle on the other so you can use two hands to lift the wok. Many Chinese grocery stores stock these basic woks, so try shopping locally and check your options online before making your final purchase. We have a few links and resources on our Chinese cooking tools page and on our recent post on how to choose the best wok for you.

We’re going to walk through a detailed first-time seasoning process that you should apply to every new carbon steel wok. (That said, friendly reminder to also be mindful of any manufacturer’s directions and warranties you may have!)

After you go through the initial wok seasoning process, all you need to do is cook with your wok often and follow our easy directions to care for it properly! Cooking with your carbon steel wok regularly means that the steel will be exposed to lots of oil at high temperatures and over time, it will season naturally. I made dinner at a friend’s house once, and I was horrified at his wok. It was covered in crusty layers and was downright greasy. His “method” of seasoning was not scrubbing the wok clean after use.

Do. Not. Do this.

Just follow those steps and essential pointers, and your carbon steel wok will age gracefully and form a beautiful seasoned patina that any Chinese cook would be proud of.

Let’s do this.

When you are seasoning a wok for the first time

Your carbon steel wok will ultimately come with some oils and dust on it from the factory, so it is always best to give it a quick wash with some mild soapy water. A scrub sponge with a green scouring pad on one side and sponge on the other is all you need; sometimes, for tougher crusted-on food we use a heavy-duty wire scouring pad.

Towel dry your wok and transfer it to your gas stove. Wrap the helper handle and even the lower portion of the long wok handles with heavy duty aluminum foil to prevent them from burning. (The photos did not show this because I forgot to do it, but I added some foil halfway through the process.)

Set your wok on the burner set to the highest heat. Make sure you clear the stove area, because things will get quite hot. Keep a dry towel or a heatproof kitchen mitt handy.

Once the wok heats up, it will start to turn a dark brown color and begin to smoke. This indicates that the residual oils from the wok are burning off. You cannot see much smoke in the photos, because we have our trusty kitchen hood going at full blast.

Next, the wok will begin superheating and the impurities from those industrial oils will burn off. Tilt the wok to superheat one area at a time and the wok will turn black and blue as the carbon steel heats through.

Continue tilting the wok while you systematically burn off the impurities, making sure to heat all areas of the wok. It may not turn brown in all areas, but be diligent at this step to ensure even seasoning.

(At this point, I realized I needed to cover the handles with heavy duty foil! I quickly wrapped the handle as best as I could but you should do this before you start.)

(My wok handles got a bit scorched, but hey it adds character, right?)

This heating process will take some time depending on how hot your gas stove is.

Continue heating and tilting until the wok is done. Once your wok has been heated, the carbon steel will take on a blue tint.

Turn off the burner and set the wok back on the stove. Pour one cup of water into the wok slowly to cool it off quickly. Be careful of the hot water splashing.

When your wok is completely cooled, move it to your sink, and use some mild detergent and your scrubbing pad to give it a light scrub. Rinse your wok thoroughly with clean, cool water.

You may see some dark spots in the metal from impurities in the carbon steel, but it’s nothing to worry about.

Wipe down the excess water with a paper towel, and place the wok back on the burner to dry it with medium high heat.

After the wok is thoroughly dried, add about a tablespoon of vegetable oil with the wok at low heat.

Spread the oil around the wok by tilting it until you get an even coating around the wok and heat for about a minute.

Turn off the heat and fold a paper towel twice and begin wiping down the wok. Use your wok spatula to start, since the wok will be hot. After it cools, you can hold the paper towel with your hands to continue wiping it down.

I like to reheat the wok again before cooking on it until just smoking. Then turn off the heat and give your wok another light scrub with water only. You can see that the vegetable oil will begin to form a patina already!

Towel off any remaining water, reheat the wok, and oil it again using a folded paper towel.

It’s normal for some cooking oil residue to remain on the wok, which over time forms that nice nonstick patina, a characteristic of a nicely seasoned wok, but wipe down the wok again to remove any surface residue. You will be repeating this process every time after you cook. For now, your new wok is seasoned and ready for your first stir-fry dish!

Cook your first dish after Seasoning your wok!

You can start start cooking right away with your seasoned carbon steel wok! We chose to start with a leafy green dish like stir fried spinach.

Heat the wok until just smoking, and add oil, minced garlic, and your spinach greens.

Stir-fry the spinach until they are wilted, season with white pepper and salt, and serve!

Now that you know how to season a wok, follow these easy steps on how to care for your seasoned wok over time.

After your wok is cool enough to handle, move it to your kitchen sink, and use your scrubbing pad and some water to lightly scrub and rinse the wok clean. (No soap required for a dish like this!)

Towel the wok dry, reheat, and after it is cool enough to touch, wipe the entire wok down with a paper towel and a few drops of vegetable oil. Your wok’s ready for storage until your next dish!

When you haven’t used your wok for a long time

Did you buy a carbon steel wok years ago and promptly forget about it? We’re here to get you to dust it off and get back into the swing of Chinese home cooking. But after a long time of no use, it may be a little worse for wear. That said, woks are more versatile than they seem. We always have ours on the stove to cook eggs, steam buns, make scallion pancakes, or even toast a piece of bread.

So here’s what you should do to revive your wok:

Scrub it thoroughly with a small amount of mild dish detergent using a pot scrubber and make sure to get the entire surface area as clean as possible.

Hand dry and heat the wok over high heat (but not smoking), and let cool.

Rinse and scrub the wok again lightly another time, and dry the wok over the stove.

Heat the wok on low and pour in one tablespoon of oil, swirling the oil evenly. Remove from the heat.

While the wok is still warm, use a paper towel to spread the oil on the entire inner surface of the wok. There should be no standing oil.

Your wok is now again ready to use!

Sometimes a wok can rust on the bottom like this one pictured below. You can give the wok a good scrubbing to remove the surface rust and wipe it down with a few drops of oil on a paper towel. In general, regular use of the wok and heating it to a high temperature will prevent rusting on the outside, but be sure to heat the wok to dry the inside and outside after each use.

Regular wok care for after each use

After you’ve removed the food from the wok, wash the wok. Some people think seasoning a wok means leaving the oil and film from your last meal, but that’s a common misconception. In general, just a light scrub with water is needed after light cooking.

Use a circular scrubbing motion with a scouring pad.

Clean it thoroughly! Don’t be afraid to use some dish soap to cut any heavy oil residue, but no need to scrub it to death either. You want to clean burnt and crusty pieces and any excess oil just like you do with any other pan. This is especially true after cooking dishes with heavy sauces or braising, when some of the sauce may be crusted on.

If needed, scrub the exterior of the wok with the scouring pad. It’s fine if the outside of the wok is a little rough.

Rinse the wok and dry thoroughly with a kitchen towel or paper towel. Place the wok back on the stove and heat until all the water has completely evaporated.

Let the wok cool and wipe the inside of the wok down with a few drops of oil and a paper towel. Wipe the oil all over the wok to give the surface a light coating. It’s perfectly normal to see some of the brown wok residue on the paper towel after a good wipe-down.

After any thorough washing (or if you don’t use your wok every day), it is best to add a bit of vegetable oil to your wok after it has dried out. If you do see some rust form the next time you use it, it is likely that it was not completely dried or you may not have used enough oil.

This is our large 20 inch wok that we use on our range with the dedicated wok burner. We use this for steaming large dishes, cooking during the holidays and for parties, and when blogging, of course (lots of surface area for photographs)! You can see the beautiful shiny patina after using it almost every day for the past 12 years.

Tips for maintaining a seasoned wok

If you just cooked an especially strong food (e.g. a fish or a curry dish), you may have to wash and heat the wok twice. Heat helps rid the wok of the residual flavors. There’s nothing worse than cooking a lightly seasoned dish and tasting the fish you cooked last night.

If you haven’t used the wok in a long time, you should wash the wok before using it. This is just common sense. If you find the wok has a rusty spot, then you probably did not heat it long enough to get rid of all the moisture or did not use enough oil to wipe it down. Pay attention to these two important steps!

Never put your wok in the dishwasher!

Always wash and dry your wok after cooking and wipe it down with vegetable oil, even after a simple steaming.

Wash your wok promptly after you cook with vinegar or any other acidic ingredient. It will wear away the patina of the wok. You can use a stainless steel wok or a pot to cook hot and sour soups or dishes like our sweet and pungent pork, Peking spare ribs, and sweet and sour fish.

If you see buildup or if your wok is looking worse for wear, you can follow the steps for a new wok above to re-season it anytime.

Seasoning & Caring for Your Wok

While we think carbon steel is the best overall material for a wok, carbon steel woks do require a seasoning process before first use and continued care and maintenance to build that desirable nonstick patina. Here are instructions on how to season and care for your carbon steel wok.

Author: Bill

Recipe type: How to and cooking methods

Cuisine: Chinese

Serves: 1 seasoned carbon steel wok

Ingredients

carbon steel wok

aluminum foil

scrub pad

Gas stove or outside burner is best

Dry towel

1 tablespoon vegetable oil

Instructions

If your wok has wooden handles, wrap them in heavy duty aluminum foil to prevent them from burning.

Set your wok on your stove set to the highest heat. Make sure you clear the stove area, because things will get quite hot. Keep a dry towel handy or better yet, a silicon or heatproof kitchen mitt in case the wok handles get too hot.

Once the wok heats up, it will start to turn a dark brown color and will begin to smoke. This indicates that the residual oils from the wok are burning off.

Next, the wok will begin superheating and the impurities from those industrial oils will burn off. Tilt the wok to superheat one area at a time and the wok will turn blue.

Continue tilting the wok while you systematically burn off the impurities. The wok may not turn brown in all areas but you will see a degree of change in the carbon steel so make sure you heat all areas of the wok. This heating process will take some time depending on how hot your gas stove is.

Continue heating and tilting until the wok is done. Once your wok has been heated, the carbon steel will take on a blue tint.

Turn off the burner and set the wok back on the stove. Pour one cup of water into the wok slowly to cool it off quickly. Be careful of the hot water splashing.

When your wok is completely cooled, move it to your sink and use some mild detergent and your scrubbing pad to give it a light scrubbing. Rinse your wok thoroughly with clean cool water.

You may see some dark spots in the metal from impurities in the carbon steel but it is nothing to worry about.

Wipe down the excess water with a paper towel and place the wok back on the burner to dry it with medium high heat.

After the wok is thoroughly dried, add about a tablespoon of vegetable oil with the wok at low heat

Spread the oil around the wok by tilting it until you get an even coating around the wok

Turn off the heat and use a twice-folded paper towel to begin wiping down the wok. Use your wok spatula to start since the wok will be hot.

I like to reheat the wok again before cooking on it until just smoking. Turn off the heat and repeat the washing again, giving your wok another light scrub with water only.

Repeat this process one more time and your new carbon steel wok is ready for cooking your favorite dishes!

3.5.3251

Source: https://thewoksoflife.com/2018/08/how-to-season-a-wok/

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onefatfrogrestaurantequipment · 6 years ago

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Just in time for summer, get your very own custom food truck or trailer from One Fat Frog. Call or stop by to get started on YOUR custom truck or trailer. We are the largest food truck/trailer manufacturer in the nation and know what you need to have the best truck/trailer in the business. Drop by to get started on your custom trailer/food truck, we cannot wait to make your dreams come true! Stop by today and join the #Frogfamily, see you soon! The food truck business has over 15 years of growth with no signs of slowing down. Many restaurants owners are attracted to the lower starting & operating costs as well as the location mobility of a food truck or trailer. With One Fat Frog, you're guaranteed to pass all inspections. We are the biggest manufacturer of mobile kitchens in the country with 40-50 trucks and trailers in our 100,000 sq ft warehouse at every stage of production. So stop on by and see them for yourself. No appointment needed! Our Facebook pages have thousands of photos and videos of every kind of build you can imagine. If you can dream it, we can build it. If you can dream it, we can build it. You can even bring your own vehicle (like an RV, a step van, etc) to our 100,000 square-feet facility so we can see what needs to be done to transform it to a truck or trailer. So if you are ready to take the next step in your food adventure, call the Frog today. 2416 Sand Lake Road Orlando, FL 32809 ☎ (407) 480-3409 Mon - Fri: 9AM - 5PM Sat: 10AM - 3PM www.onefatfrog.com www.facebook.com/buyafoodtrucktrailer/ https://www.facebook.com/OneFatFrogRestaurantEquipment/ https://www.instagram.com/onefatfrog/ https://www.facebook.com/unsapogordo We have the following equipment and more! Just ask: one door cooler, one door freezer, two door cooler, two door freezer, three door cooler, three door freezer, convection oven, comb oven, fryer, sandwich prep table / sandwich prep station, pizza prep table / pizza prep station, under counter (under cooler, under counter freezer, deck oven, conveyor oven, char broiler, griddle, dipping cabinet, batch freezer, deli case, bakery case, juice bubbler, holding cabinet, warming cabinet, stand up warmer, cook and hold, cook and hold, back bar cooler, bottle cooler, kegerator, Coolers, freezers, espresso machines, stainless, work tables, table bases, pos system, point of sale, refrigeration, ovens, heated display, True, hand sink, three compartment sink, 2 compartment, 3 compartment, blenders, prep table bins, chef bases, work top coolers, work top freezers, glass door cooler, thermometers, pizza equipment, microwaves, grill, griddle, char broilers, restaurant equipment, fryers, lettuce crisper, sugar cane juicer, imperial, American 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northsyria04-blog · 6 years ago