#a welcome break from the toilet ceramics

[roboticchibitan]

Since you have all the toilet stuff, here’s the rest of the bathroom!

[Image ID: a teapot shaped like a bathroom counter. There is an open cupboard with bath products and towels in it under the counter and various bottles on top of the counter. The lid is the sink, which is resting in front of the open teapot. End ID]

This is actually really cute but those little bottles on the counter part look SO breakable. Teapots with tiny things that stick out are firmly on the "wouldn't buy" list because I am clumsy and once a teapot is chipped it's just not the same. Especially decorative teapots, which I am assuming this one is.

[ladybirdswritings]

BEAUTY AND THE HYBRID - Klaus Mikaelson Fanfiction

summary: the slip of burlap rope brings an unsuspecting girl into the arms of a vicious, bloodthirsty creature.

warnings: mentions of ab*se, stockholm syndrome, captivity, dea*h, and violence.

next chapter <3 | a03 | edits | tag list

four

“C’mon sugarpea, wake up now. Wake up.”

The light is blinding but I’m tucked away, cozy in darkness with no pain… only the sound of my mother’s warm voice.

“Apple darlin’, Birdie… c’mon now Apple, Birdie’s callin’ for ya.”

I startle awake with a gasp, the remnants of my mother’s words reminding me that the tucked away darkness is far from a loving dream. I’m not home on the scratchy, deflated air mattress. I’m not waking up to the radio purring and Joel snoring. No.

No.

No no no no no no no.

They got me, they fucking got me.

Fear clutches at me like a snake starved, suffocating me, breaking all my bones and rendering them to be useless, shaky things.

Trembling as I sit up, my fingertips are purpled. Funnily, the last thing I remember is my continuous fall on the pavement. That’s only because, all I can think about is Birdie— and how she’s not here beside me.

All that surrounds me is cold, gray brick walls. A pathetic mattress on the floor, a chain round my wrist, the other three for my remaining limbs left untethered. There’s a sink in the corner, and a toilet. Only close enough for me to crawl to. The chain is heavy.

There’s a window, it seems closer to the ceiling above than me. I take in my surroundings with dread swimming in my chest.

I’m hostage.

Chained up by a psychopath that my sister stabbed, my sister. My body chills, he must’ve killed her by now— otherwise she’d be here… that or, or worse.

I hug my knees to my chest and cannot stop the sobs from suffocating me. They’re harsh, because with each cry— my body begins to ache again.

I choke upon my air and upon my tears, my hands clutching desperately at my midsection where there is bandage wrapped tightly around.

I have to get up.

I am certain it looks pathetic, I let out a cry as I make it to my feet. My ankle hisses in pain, nearly bringing me right back down to the cement once more… but one thought of Birdie and I manage.

I limp, slowly, but my palms- bandaged too, fall on each edge of the ceramic sink. I am hunched over, breaths labored and a mere chore to breathe. I manage eventually, lifting my head up to see my reflection in the small, round mirror.

My god…

A bandage is wrapped tight round my head, my eyes are red and bruised, they are dark. I look more pallid than usual, and my lips are parched and split in two. There’s a nasty slice on my alabaster cheek, falling from the arch of my brow… it’s held together with two thin bandages.

My fingertips are curious, grazing the fresh wounds but regretting it soon after. I wince in pain, like lemon and salt rubbed in wound.

The faucet is squeaky and old, but it works. The water is cold and welcome— I use my free hand to cup some in my palm and devour it.

I am so thirsty.

The droplets are licked from my lip with my eager tongue, and I can only stand for a moment longer before feeling dizzy once more. I stumble to the mattress, bumping a small tray and gasping when I hear a clatter of metal as I do.

Hmm.

Tired gaze floats to the sound, it’s a syringe— full but unused. At least, I only hope it’s unused. I’m curious.

I gather it in my fingertips and examine the faded marker scribbled upon it.

HYDRAMORPHINE (ADRENALINE)

Christ.

Did they shoot me with this? No wonder I’m not knocked out still. I prick my fingertip with the needle, falling back on the mattress and twirling it between my fingers.

I can feel the warmth plaguing my eyes before I can stop it, flooding my view of the window at the height of the ceiling. So far away.

What have I done?

Trying to sniffle back the tears does nothing but make them fall harder, gentle sobs now.

All I wanted was to give Birdie and Joel a better life. Warm beds and plentiful meals and medicine and all the things they could ever desire. Like mom did.

Look where trying to be mom got me.

Almost dead, ironically.

I fear Birdie is facing that fate, and it chills me. Thinking about her, if she is alive— I know she’s so scared. It’s all my fault.

I close my eyes tight, imagining what she’d be doing if she were here right now with me.

“Apple, get the fuck up. We’re gettin’ the fuck out of here.”

I let out what can only be described as half of a weak laugh and half of a strong sob at that thought, I know her so well it is as if her voice is programmed permanently within my head.

“Oh god…” I breathe, clawing at the ache in my chest tight and praying for it to dissipate.

My mother’s words echo.

“Birdie’s callin’ for ya…”

Brave Birdie. Scared, alone…

I can’t let that happen.

My eyes fall down to the needle in my hands, an idea blossoms at the sight.

I may be very stupid, but I’d rather take my chances with a mysterious drug than sit here like wounded prey ready to be slaughtered.

I’m gonna take it.

Adrenaline is what I need. I’ll die here, weak and exhausted otherwise.

There’s no instruction, just a painful looking needle. My wrist aches as I bend it forward, it’s most definitely fractured or worse— the same wrist bound by chain.

“Okay apple, okay…” I whisper, allowing my breaths to become meaningful and with thought.

“One… two…”

I don’t allow three to come before slamming the needle down into my skin, puncturing it immediately and blossoming my very being back to life, back to a mode of survival.

Woah.

My heart speeds, faster than it ever has. Pounding rapidly against my chest like a caged animal ready to run free. The world erupts in color, and everything is melted in to tunnel vision.

The throbbing in my head goes quiet.

I need to get out of here.

I need to find Birdie.

The pain dissipates, I feel nothing but urgency and determination coursing through my bones. My breaths are heavy and quick, and I can hear them within my own ears- they are loud.

I’m on my feet, the pain in my ankle and wrist only a buzz of pins and needles now.

Searching, seeking.

The sink.

If I can climb upon the sink, I can throw the chain around the window lock and climb.

I slide the cotton socks from my feet with my free hand and hastily make my way over to the sink, climbing atop the ceramic and executing my plan to perfection. I don’t take the time to celebrate.

Tunnel vision.

The climb makes me cry out, my wrist betraying me thrice but regardless? I make it.

I think of Birdie each time I slip.

Another lock from the inside, I only hope clicking this one won’t cause me regret. I push the window upwards and a spring holds it there— the cool breeze is familiar but it’s not the breeze of Mystic Falls, I am certain. This breeze is more lively, less dull.

It kisses my mangled cheeks hello, pulling me closer. I tremble now as I glance down. The fall isn’t necessarily close but… it’s manageable. It has to be. For Birdie.

“Okay… okay.”

Time slows, a deep breath in and I take a moment to listen to the owl crying in the distance. As if he warns me to go back inside. I can’t.

I have to do this.

I pull up and drop the excess of the chain down to the grass below, I cannot think about this jump. If I do? I’ll coward. So I don’t.

I only allow one deep breath more before I leap.

A gasp becomes me, then? The snap of metal chain by the force of the fall. More dreadfully, a pop.

“Agh! Fuuuuuck!”

My ankle, surely dislocated now.

The adrenaline, coursing.

I have to put it back.

My hands are weak, my cries loud- but once again? I don’t think, just push.

The pain shoots upwards, and I bite down on the skin of my shoulder to muffle my indication of it.

It feels off, but it will have to do.

Tunnel vision. Birdie.

I don’t know where I’m going, only that I’m going far. My leg drags itself behind me as I rush in a pathetic limp.

A parking lot, lit by iridescent streetlights.

I cry out as I near it, the pain beginning to feel louder than the tunnel vision— regardless? I make it there.

My head snaps around in all directions, searching for something, anything.

“Please god.”

A blue car, lonely in the corner, but it’s not the car itself I see. It’s the glistening metal atop it. Glorious in its stagnant state.

Keys.

I rush forward, trying not to allow my thorned ankle to slow me. It doesn’t— because I keep thinking of Birdie. Of my mom’s voice, the diner, all of it.

My hands tremble, the hope flooding my senses as I reach the car and grab my exit from atop it.

I try and fit the key inside but my body, it’s betraying me again. Shaking, viciously. I’m in a cloth nightgown, skin bare and bandaged and adrenaline coursing through me. It’s cold here, ice cold. I can see my own breaths.

I can’t do it. I try to breathe, but my next attempt lands the keys on the pavement.

“Oh, fuck.” I mutter, exasperated, carefully kneeling to gather them. The cool metal meets my fingertips, and I sigh. I’ll just try again.

“Hello love.”

I know that voice.

My body renders itself frozen, and when I turn… there he stands.

The fallen angel.

His hair is messy, as if it has been tousled with. His suit is unbuttoned and wrinkled, polar opposite of my captor, and his collar and stubble is stained red.

His lips and teeth, they’re red too. He must’ve been in a nasty brawl with someone. They clearly got a good jab at him.

He towers over me, a smile or— smirk on his lips and an expression I can’t pinpoint swimming in his eyes. Amusement? It can’t be.

I don’t give myself time to think about it, I simply relax.

He’s here, it’s another stroke of luck. The kind man from the diner who saved me from falling on my ass, he’s somehow here.

“Oh thank god!” I cry, stumbling to my feet— the movement is too quick and brings me forward. The maple and bourbon floods my senses soon as my nose grazes his collar, I grip it tightly between my palms.

I don’t want to let go.

I look up at him, the warmth of his hand splayed against my back to stable me and keep me close to the heat of him is welcome. Like a hug after all of this madness. His golden eyes gaze down at me, that smirk still present.

My tears flood, voice guttural.

“Please, please you have to help me! They’re crazy, they’re monsters. T-they took my sister and they chained me up in this horrible room! Please!” I cry, not even recognizing the sound of my own voice. It’s desperate, pleading.

“Aww, shh shh shh.” He soothes, the honey in his voice erupting goosebumps upon my neck. His free hand moves to stroke my hair back, pressing my head against his chest. It is bare, shirt unbuttoned around it— golden hair peeks from it, he’s soft. He’s safe.

My tears soak his skin, lips trembling against it,

“Please… please you have to help me. I need to find her. I need help….” I whisper, clutching the fabric of his suit tighter in my fingers.

“Yes I know, sweetheart. Tell me now, what did these big bad monsters look like? Hmm?” His hand still strokes my head.

Images of jet black hair and decapitated waitresses flood my memory.

“He- he was tall! And had raven hair so dark it looked like the night… he was cruel and vicious and had horrible, soulless eyes. He— he…”

El… they called him “El! … t-that’s what he goes by I think.”

“El?” He tries.

“Yes, El.” I confirm. I know it, I remember.

“Hmm. My my sweetheart, what a horrible evening you’ve had. El… that wouldn’t be short for Elijah would it?”

…

How—?

Time stops for a moment, my breaths shaky but quiet. I gulp, my heart slowing.

It can’t be.

I am cautious, slow and shaky as I tilt my head downward, pressing my ear against his chest. He keeps stroking my head.

There’s no heartbeat.

The memory of gray veins and sharp fangs ready to sink into me in the van constrict me.

A monster.

I chill again, but not because of the air, rather because of my suspicion. Slowly, daringly I lift my chin up to face him. He’s smirking down at me… he IS amused.

“H-how do you know that?”

He laughs.

Oh god.

Him. It’s him. He took me.

My face drops, I know he sees it.

Oh god…

“No… no- no this can’t be happening.”

Even though I speak to myself, he listens. He responds.

“I’m afraid it is love. You know I’m quite impressed you managed to make that jump. If only you’d been faster with those pesky keys, hmm?”

I release him immediately, stumbling backward till my back meets the car. I am trembling, again.

My fingertips raise to cover my eyes.

“Mm mm, no— no!” I sob.

“Oh at ease my darling, at least you’re alive. Lucky lucky you, don’t know if we can say the same for your sister though.”

I gasp, his mocking words confirming all of my horrified suspicions. My arms wrap round my midsection, clutching tightly at it as I try to breathe again.

“I don’t know just how vicious Elijah can be these days, I do know that your dear sibling did get a nice jab at him. That won’t make him too happy.”

He steps forward, and all of the sudden I feel trapped by the car instead of saved by it. I move my face away from him, he is an unwelcome presence now. His fingers chase me. Stroking the bandage that has lifted from my cheek.

“Look at you, sweet girl. How delicate, how stupid you are.”

His thumb swipes softly at my tears as he shushes me and it is now that all I can smell on him is blood and it is putrid. It’s not his own.

Birdie.

I push him away from me and stand taller.

“No- no where the FUCK is she?”

I regret my outburst immediately once his thumb and index meet my chin, pinching it between them. It’s immediate.

“If you’ve got any brain at all in that beautiful head of yours— you’ll never speak to me like that again. Do you understand me?”

His voice is a loud, commanding and horrifying sound.

He shakes my chin when I don’t answer, and a glance at the bloody man before me swells my vision with tears again.

He works with the devil that took my sister.

I’m reluctant, but I have to answer. If I’m dead, any chance of saving Birdie is no chance at all.

“Yes.” I spit through clenched teeth.

He accepts it, I know this because he releases my chin.

“Good then. If you only behave, things will be much easier. Come on love, back to your room you go.”

No. No no no no no.

“Please, no please don’t make me go back in there.”

It’s empty and caged and lonely. It’s horrible. It’s missing Birdie.

I’m a fool for thinking he will listen, but I’m only human after all. Unlike this vicious creature before me.

The man shakes his head at me, he looks exasperated. As if I have somehow worn his patience thin by just standing before him. Warm palms press against my cheeks.

“Oh sweetheart… as amusing as this all is to me, and as fun as it has been to play with you— I’ve got many of things to attend to. You know, evil and horrible big bad monster duties. No more of this, you’re to return with me to your room with no quarrel or cry.”

I see his pupils expand as he speaks, it startles me. It’s inhuman, unnatural. He’s monstrous. Yet for some reason— I cannot refuse his words or fight him anymore. I’m exhausted.

I am to return to my room with him with no quarrel or cry.

I do just that.

[billyfazworth]

Deep Below Ground - Part 3: Buried Life

By William F. Fazworth

Hey again everyone! Welcome back to another introduction before the ACTUAL writing stuff begins.

First things first, where have I been? Well as I mentioned in a post on this blog before, life has been quite shit. I won't get into personal details but one thing I will say is that another reason for my absence lately is college exams.

If you haven't caught up with the previous chapter, I recommend you do and click here

Now with that out of the way, I just want to say that this next chapter really isn't for the faint of heart and so I'm suggesting some trigger/content warnings upfront.

TW/CW for: Self Harm and Attempted Suicide

????, ???? ???? 1996:

It's been... she doesn't know.

Maritza and Finch's days below ground have begun to blend together like mush, everyday it was a cycle, a cycle of boredom, anger, frustration, dread, and terror.

The two of them would wake up from sleeping on the floor or old mattress at an unknown hour, they would sit there and wait for food during one of the three times of the day, and that was it.

No entertainment, no other friends to talk to.

No leaving.

All there was in the room was the mattress, pillow, blanket, and a toilet covered by a curtain in the corner and that's regarding what's real.

The room was always lit by a single lightbulb and even if they tried to shut it off, the lights from the windows illuminating "the outside world" continues to shine through.

And so here she was, sitting inside this one room, this one cell, trying to count the days or weeks or whatever long she has been here for.

It's...

It's too much.

This stupid cycle just keep repeating on a loop, just like that damn carnival music, the music that's been playing ever since Maritza and Finch were locked down here.

Maritza was beginning to lose it all, whatever tough exterior she had, the exterior she built up and wore in front of dozens was starting to wear down as the days gone by. She was slowly but surely feeling herself going down into the depths of the darkness, Finch probably already saw through the bullshit mask she wore.

The carnival music yet again plays and plays, the night's probably still young, if it really is night out there. The two weren't hungry that night and Finch was already sitting by, Maritza could see that his mental state was starting to decay and frankly, so was hers.

Finch was sitting across from her, her arms comforting each other as she was curled up against the wall. "I... I just want to go home." He said to her. Maritza looked up, "So do I, I'm so so sick of all of these TV dinners and canned beans." She replied, throwing a can of beans towards the door knowing that she can't leave.

Finch looked as if he was out of it, as if there wasn't much else to say and truth be told, Maritza didn't have much else to say aside from the obvious. So what if she asks questions on where her brother is? Peterson won't answer and Finch is as clueless as she was.

For all she knows... there's nothing left to say, nothing left to do, just nothing.

She's going to die here and she knows it.

Finch sighed as she began to lie down on her mattress, "Mari can you get me that pillow over there?" Maritza stood up and began to walk over when she heard glass breaking. The girl looked down on her foot, she stepped over a ceramic plate and shattered it. She moved on from it, grabbing the pillow and handing it over. "Thanks Mari... I know sleeping won't save us but... I don't know what else to do."

Maritza walked away back to her mattress, she sat by it, pondering about how useless she felt ever since she got locked in here and how much of a failure she was to everyone. She failed to save Lucy, she failed to save Mya, she failed to save Nicky, and now she failed to not get caught and be locked down here with the other poor souls that are probably locked in here.

She lost everything.

Maritza wished that there was much more she could do- no, she just wishes she could be with her friends again, with her father again, with her brother again, with her mother again. Mari lost her when she was young, her mother was a kindhearted soul, just a woman who loved taking her daughter to the park to feed the squirrels.

And then cancer took her.

She just wants to be with her again.

Maritza then took a glance at Finch, he was just lying there in bed, nothing much else she said. That's when she took a small glance at the broken plate again, she didn't want to look at it but she kept doing so. As she stared at that plate she remembered her circumstances, she lost almost everyone she's ever loved, she lost her freedom, and she has lost all control.

She was shattered, just like that plate.

She knows what to do now, she knows she's going to die that much is obvious.

But if she was going to die, it would be by her choice.

The girl grabbed the broken piece of that plate, she stared at it, thinking about it. Was she really going to do this? Was she thinking straight?

Yes, yes she was, she was going to get out of here and see her mother.

In an instance almost, she plunged the broken piece onto one of her wrist, she let out a scream, it was painful but she was going to get through it. In a flash, she sees Finch running towards her "MARI WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!" He screamed in a panic. The two began getting into a scuffle, she wasn't going to lose this again, Finch was trying to tussle for the knife but Maritza was able to kick her back just long enough that she slit her other wrist.

It's complete.

Maritza collapsed to the floor, Finch locked eyes with her as if she was in a panic frenzy and began to mutter a bunch of words but by now, Maritza was already starting to lose all sense. She could hear a few brief words of "NO!" and "PLEASE!" but it didn't matter, she was going to be free, free from this hellscape, and free to see her mother again-

Then she saw something in the corner of her eye, the door slammed open and Peterson ran in.

Peterson pushed Finch out of the way, in his hand was a white box with a red cross, a first aid kit.

No, this is not how it ends! This is not how it's going to end for her!

She began to try and scream but she was starting to wear thin, Peterson just pointed over to Finch for something that she couldn't see, she tried to reach her hand out to stop Finch.

But she collapsed.

Hours later:

Martiza's eyes began to slowly blink, was this it? Cause the afterlife didn't seem so mystical looking here. She looked at her one of her hands and noticed the bandage wrapped around it.

"No." Maritza said, her words filled with a strange mix of dread and disappointment, was that a normal reaction? To be disappointed that you failed to die? She wasn't so sure and worse yet as her eyes opened further, she could see Peterson standing there by the side of the bed.

Mr. Peterson didn't look upset, didn't look mad, didn't even look like he regretted anything. His expression was just so... wooden, like a weird blank face. She looked at his hands revealing that on them was pieces of the broken plate, the middle aged man then walked over to the trash can and disposed of the pieces as if it were nothing.

"You shouldn't have done that." Mr. Peterson told the girl, his expression now seemingly more apathetic disappointment if anything. Maritza looked at that man's eyes with a sense of rage and frustration, "Why? Why would you save me?" She asked, it wasn't a question of genuine concern but rather burning hatred, hatred at the man whose took so much away from her.

"Because this is a safe haven and I'm here to make sure no one dies in this world I've created." The man said with absolute confidence in his words and Maritza just couldn't stand it. "Safe? Tell that Lucy, it's not like you caused her death or anything." Mari said with a bitter tone.

"Look, the rides I built were safe, it was those freaks in the woods who got Lucy killed." Peterson firmly stood ground but Maritza wasn't going to believe his insane ramblings. "And what about all the parks before Raven Brooks?" She asked him and he surprisingly responded "They've been following me and I know it, I know I sound like a lunatic but whatever this town was built on, it wants me and my family."

Maritza was baffled, "Prove it." She simply said.

"Mya."

"What?"

"They killed Mya."

Maritza was shock, not by the fact that Peterson claimed Mya was killed by the supposed freaks but the fact that he had the audacity to bring her name up and worse yet, with no proof.

"Don't you there utter her."

"What happened to her is the reason why Aaron is down here, I can't risk a bad omen to happen to this family again but you stupid kids just couldn't stay away couldn't you?" He told the young girl, "First it was Nicky and so I made him stay in my world, in my safe haven, to be Aaron's true friend. But it soon became evident that he too needed friends."

"So you took us too."

"Precisely, you'll all be safer down here."

The further delusional talk that Maritza was hearing has actually got to be the most grand display of somebody so set by an answer that they don't see the flaws within it.

"How is being locked in the same room for days, weeks on end safer for us?! We have nothing but the occasional food, a bed, and a toilet. No outside contact, no environment to roam, we're stuck down here that some of us tried to kill ourselves cause of it!"

Theodore didn't say anything for a moment but only for a moment, he simply stared at Maritza and said.

"You'll be able to roam my masterpiece soon, but it's not ready yet, you'll just have to wait."

That's when Finch walks into the makeshift infirmary-like environment, "I'm taking you two back there, you had a long day." Peterson said, taking the two children out the room and into a long corridor of doors covered in signs, Mari began to note them down one by one.

E. Esposito

T. Bales

D. Davis

N. Roth

And finally there was just one, a door held up by bird skulls, locked with multiple locks, with a single word on it.

OMEN

And as the two made it back to what is essentially their cells, as Maritza lies down in bed, as the carnival music continues to play and remind her of her misery. She begins to realize how much the others must still be alive and that fact gave her some hope.

Maybe enough hope to live.

And maybe enough to find a way out.

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

Thank you all so much for reading this, I hope those who listened to the warnings were still able to navigate this and make it out okay, sorry if things did get a bit uncomfortable midway through.

As always, I plan to listen to much of the feedback you sent and I do hope I wrote this in a respectful manner, that was always my intention but I'm only human and I hope I executed it well enough to that it doesn't come off as offensive in some shape or form.

Anywho, we're almost done with the series, just one more chapter and soon enough we'll be witnessing the final piece of this short series.

Will Maritza and Finch make it out?

You'll just have to wait and see.

[leomarkcanada]

How to design and decorate narrow bathrooms

Narrow quartz bathrooms are a classic in old buildings, but you can get a lot of use out of them: the key is to furnish and equip them intelligently, and to seek maximum visual breadth using color and light well. Stay with these tips to optimize yours!

When we talk about “visually expanding,” we mean achieving a greater sense of space without knocking down walls. Interior design specialists usually recommend two things:

This will achieve a uniform effect that will make the bathroom appear larger. However, it is also important to add personal touches that give it life and turn it into a place where you can breathe well-being . In this sense, colors, plants and accessories will achieve magic…

Use a platform for the shower or bathtub:

Let's get to the design! Many experts suggest raising a platform about 10-15 cm high above the floor, at the bottom of the bathroom. It is a major renovation and is not suitable for accessible bathrooms, but in very narrow spaces it breaks the “tube effect” and creates a feeling of spaciousness.

We can take advantage of the platform to install the shower tray and place a small bathtub at the bottom , covered with the same material as the platform. Be careful: due to the length of this type of bathtub, this idea is only viable in bathrooms with a minimum width of 160 cm.

If the bathroom is narrow and small, it is best to give up the bathtub and install a walk-in shower tray . It is a solution that more and more people are choosing, as it improves the functionality, aesthetics and accessibility of spaces.

Separate without closing and add shelves:

Transparent glass is always a good ally when decorating narrow bathrooms. To add tightness, install a fixed shower screen , preferably with a frame. Add a shelf near the ceiling , next to the screen, that crosses the bathroom from wall to wall: it will help you place indoor plants and add LED spotlights.

Use colors skillfully and sparingly:

If you have chosen the bathtub option, it is worth covering its front part with a coating that is a little darker than the rest of the space. To visually separate the area, choose the same material as on the platform. Wood effect porcelain stoneware is an excellent solution: it is warm, bright and welcoming.

In the rest of the space, to visually expand narrow bathrooms, it is important not to use more than three colors . The ones that work best are neutral ones (light gray, warm white, wood tones, stone finishes…), always in light tones. A good idea is to line the bottom part of the wall with a light ceramic coating and paint or wallpaper the top part. Moisture-resistant paints and vinyl wallpaper make this possible.

Free up space and gain storage:

In a narrow bathroom , every centimeter counts. Don't hesitate to remove the bidet and install a hygienic toilet shower in its place : it will perform the same function without taking up space. You can take advantage of those free centimeters to place a bathroom column where you can store towels and toiletries.

Another option is to install shallow wall furniture . The auxiliary bathroom cabinets have a maximum depth of 15 cm and barely take up any space, offering plenty of space. Above the sink, choose a cabinet with a mirror and you will take full advantage of the wall.

The sink cabinet is essential to visually expand and gain space. Suspended washbasin furniture is lighter and has large drawers for towels , products, soaps, paper rolls… In addition, they make cleaning easier.

As for accessories , it will be enough to add a towel rack near the sink and a double one in the shower. Add some hangers for bathrobes or guest towels.

Play with lighting to create atmosphere:

In general, there are three points to take into account when lighting the bathroom:

Ceiling . The smartest thing is to install LED downlights in the false ceiling. Choose warm, soft lighting to make the space more welcoming. The key: put a spotlight for every square meter of ceiling. Mirror . It is essential to add light to be able to comb your hair, put on makeup… In this case, neutral light is best because it allows you to see all the details and imperfections. Bathroom mirrors with integrated lighting solve this issue, but you can also add sconces on both sides or on the top. Ambient light . Today it is a trend to add LED strips in some areas, such as the shower tray. In narrow bathrooms, this idea can help create spaciousness: if possible, choose ones that are adjustable in intensity and color to enjoy different environments depending on the time of day.

The keys at a glance: 5 tips for decorating narrow bathrooms :

Add points of interest : Matte black faucets will stand out against the neutral and light space, creating a rich and elegant effect. Matte surfaces : reduce the tiles and add wallpaper, paint, wood… If you are going to install ceramics, choose it without gloss. Take advantage of the walls : opt for suspended toilets and sink furniture, wall cabinets and floating shelves. Mirrors everywhere : In addition to the sink mirror, you can line the doors or sides of the cabinets with custom mirrors. You will gain a lot of light and the space will seem larger. Goodbye, handles : choose furniture with push opening (they open and close with light pressure) to create smooth and uniform surfaces. Designing and decorating narrow bathrooms may seem like a challenge, but with the right tips, it is possible to transform these spaces into functional and aesthetically pleasing areas. The key is to maximize visual breadth through the intelligent use of light colors, adequate lighting and well-chosen furniture . Don't forget to add personal touches and well-selected accessories to make your narrow bathroom a cozy and elegant place.

Do you want to turn your bathroom into a stylish and functional corner that takes advantage of every available centimeter? At Stone Depot you will find everything you need to make it a reality.

Narrow Bathroom FAQs

How many meters can a narrow bathroom be?

The minimum size that a bathroom must have is 1.55 x 1.55 m. In the case of narrow bathrooms, that is the minimum measurement of the width of the space. 

How much space does a toilet need in a narrow bathroom?

To install a standard size toilet, we will need a gap of 80 x 130 cm, taking into account that there must be between 15 and 20 cm on each side.

How to make a narrow bathroom look bigger?

The key is to choose few toilets and furniture, use suspended elements whenever possible, add adequate lighting, dispense with elements such as the bathtub and bidet and choose light, neutral and cozy colors.

[dealify]

BEST OFF ROAD CARAVANS AUSTRALIA – 2023

We all know that travelling in your caravan, on your time and your terms, is a wonderful way to explore Australia. The freedom of a good ol’ road trip!

However, if you’re a true Aussie adventurer, searching for the hidden gems and majestic, postcard-worthy views that others can’t find… then it is time to push out from the beaten track and go off-road.

Tackling Australia’s toughest terrain is not for amateurs, and not for the un-prepared. That’s why we’ve prepared (haha) our list of the Best Off-road Caravans for 2023! Let’s get you moving wherever your heart desires via the bitumen, dirt, gravel, mud, or anything else.

These ruggedly versatile, off-road caravans are designed to go where no tiny toyota corolla will go, thanks to additional ground clearance, upgraded suspension systems, heavy duty chassis, all-terrain tires, complete off-the-grid amenities and resilient exterior finishes. Throw in some top-notch safety features and customizable interior layouts, and you’re set up to travel here, there, and everywhere.

Here’s our pick of the Best Off-Road Caravans of 2023 so you can pack up your things, clear your calendar, and head toward the horizon while singing along to “Nothing’s Gonna Stop Us Now” at max volume.

SENATOR PROVINCIAL CARAVAN The Senator is completely off-grid ready with complete facilities which are customizable according to your needs and preferences. From a fully-furnished kitchen, to spacious living area with a lounge converting into an extra bed space. The master bedroom houses a queen bed to stretch out and relax at the end of the day. The Senator has a central ensuite. two 95L water tanks plus another 95L gray water tank, external hot/cold shower, washing machine, 2 x 120Ah lithium batteries, and a 600W solar power system. Of course, there’s ample lighting and storage throughout. A reverse cycle air conditioning system maintains the temperature inside regardless of where you go outside.

Elegantly designed and constructed from lightweight aluminum composite, with tough SupaGal boxed steel chassis. You’ll glide over the bumpy stuff thanks to Level 4 Tuff Ride Airbag Suspension of dual axle configuration, 16” all-terrain tires, DO35 tow hitch, electronic sway control, and a break-safe breakaway system. All of these are designed to smoothen your ride while keeping you safe if things get a little hairy. It’s a total winner for a luxuriously comfortable off-road adventure for three people.

OFF GRID LOTUS CARAVAN The Lotus looks mean, dark and serious on the outside, with a clean, bright interior that welcomes a long-term stay. Available in 11 customizable floor plans ranging from 19′ to 24’8” to fit a family of seven (SEVEN!), the Off Grid Caravan from Lotus Caravans is built to withstand the harshest uneven terrains. They don’t compromise on safety or convenience either. Its robust chassis features a G&S Control Rider TwinShock independent suspension with a DO45 coupling & Kojack, 12” off-road brakes and all-terrain Cooper Tires on custom 17″ wheels.

The super-stylish interior boasts modern furniture, matte & gloss laminate benchtops, soft-close drawers, and Italian leather seating. You’ll feel so special sitting in this interior that going back to your normal home will be considered a downgrade. Its REDARC Battery Management System, 200Ah of lithium battery, 800W of solar power, and low-power LED lighting will ensure you’ve got power wherever you go. Two 95L water tanks plus one gray water tank, 2 gas bottles, ceramic toilet, external shower, and a dust reduction system make it ideal for longer off-road explorations. The Lotus Off-Grid Caravan lives up to its name of being the epitome of rugged luxury for your toughest family outback adventures.

SUNLAND LONGREACH Sunland Caravans are known for high-quality, and their Longreach Caravan is no exception. An exterior which is more traditionally styled than the Lotus, and a worthy competitor that has to be on the list of our Best Off-Road Caravans for 2023. Its sturdy construction using composite fiberglass with independent suspension and aluminum chassis are marks of a serious off-the-grid caravan.

It has ample amenities for an off-road adventure, including an external kitchen, fridge, 190L & 60L water tanks, a shower, two 200Ah lithium batteries, four 180W solar panels and sufficient storage. A well-designed, spacious interior with genuine leather seating will keep you comfortable, and soft close drawers will avoid any unnecessary banging or clanging when you’re trying to rest. You even have the option for triple bunk beds, making it perfect for a family of five!

TRAKMASTER PILBARA S The Trakmaster Pilbara S is a beacon of excellence in the realm of off-road caravaning. With twin shock independent coil suspension, hot-dipped galvanized chassis cut for higher ground clearance and better departure angle, and a DO35 off-road coupling, conquering Australia’s roughest roads and trickier terrain will be as easy as walk in the park.

Its features include dual 150W solar panels, AGM deep cycle batteries with a battery management system, two 82L water tanks with monitors, a full ensuite, deluxe kitchen, and innerspring mattress providing cosy comfort while exploring the remote wilderness. Its unyielding durability, capable off-grid features, and rugged design with four choices of floor plans make it a standout choice for couple adventurers seeking the perfect off road caravan for their next holiday into arenas less-travelled.

ORIGINALLY FOUND ON- Source: Dealify(https://dealify.au/best-off-road-caravans-australia-2023/)

[homerenovationskelowna]

Transforming Your Bathroom with Kelowna Bathroom Renovations

Having a well-designed and functional bathroom is essential for any homeowner. A bathroom remodel is a significant investment that can increase the value of your home and significantly improve your quality of life. If you're considering a bathroom renovation, Kelowna is an excellent place to start. Kelowna bathroom renovations offer a range of design options that will transform your bathroom and create a space that you and your family will enjoy for years to come.

When it comes to bathroom renovations in Kelowna, many options can add value to your home. One of the most popular options is upgrading your bathtub or shower. You can choose from elegant freestanding baths, modern walk-in showers, and luxurious spa baths to create a relaxing oasis in your bathroom. Additionally, Kelowna bathroom renovations offer custom-built shower enclosures that can fit any shape or size bathroom, creating a seamless and stylish look.

Another popular bathroom renovation option in Kelowna is upgrading your bathroom tiles. Tiles are an excellent way to add a touch of elegance and sophistication to any bathroom. Kelowna bathroom renovations offer an extensive range of tile options, including ceramic, porcelain, and glass tiles, in a variety of colors, sizes, and textures. Whether you want to create a traditional or modern look, tiles are a versatile design element that can transform your space.

The installation of new bathroom fixtures is another popular bathroom renovation option in Kelowna. Installing a new toilet, sink, or vanity can go a long way in updating the look and feel of your bathroom. Kelowna bathroom renovations offer a range of high-quality fixtures made from top materials that are stylish and fit any bathroom decor. Additionally, installing eco-friendly fixtures can help reduce your water and energy bills, making your bathroom renovation investment more cost-effective in the long run.

Kelowna bathroom renovations also offer customized lighting solutions to create a brighter, more spacious, and welcoming bathroom. Proper lighting can make or break the look and feel of your bathroom. With the right lighting fixtures or skylights, your bathroom can look brighter and more inviting. Vanity lighting, ceiling lights, and LED light strips can create a relaxing ambiance while highlighting specific design elements.

One of the most significant benefits of taking on a bathroom renovation project in Kelowna is the added value it can bring to your home. If you're planning to sell your home in the future, a modern and updated bathroom is a big selling point. A beautifully renovated bathroom can add significant value to your home and help sell it faster in today's competitive real estate market.

For more info-

Kelowna Bathroom Renovations

Home Renovation Kelowna

[cosmal]

Feelin Funny | Eddie Munson

Summary :: Eddie, your drug dealer, comes and picks you up from a party when you smoke something different.

Warnings/Tags :: gn!reader, though nickname sweetheart is used, reader smokes weed, mentions of laced drugs, mentions of drugs obvi

“Eddie?”

The sound of your small, slightly slurred voice over the crackling sound of Eddie’s landline has him fisting at his eyes with little care, trying his best to wake completely to comprehend you.

“Yeah?” His voice is croaky and drenched in sleep, so he clears his throat to repeat himself, “Y/N? You okay?”

He hears a little ruffling and then a loud crack like you’d drop the receiver. He then hears a few shits and fucks, followed by your voice again, a little clearer than last, “Where are you?”

He laughs a little. Obviously, he was at home, you had called his home phone. But then he becomes a little worried, “At home, sweetheart. Why you calling? It’s 1am.”

Not that he had it in him to mind, he welcomed it in fact. He loved when you called, even though it was rare, usually when you wanted to score or when you’d want to come over for something. You were his favourite person he sold drugs to, but a 1am call? That had never happened before.

“I’m at this party,” You mumble through a hiccup, “I smoked something and I…” You trail off and Eddie can feel his heart pickup in its cage.

“What’d you smoke?” Eddie clutches the black telephone cord in his hand, twirling it around his fingers anxiously.

“Jus’ weed.” More hiccuping, “I feel really funny though. Not like usual. Feel dizzy.”

“You drink anything?” Eddie knows all too well what happens if you drink any alcohol before smoking. It was a rule you probably shouldn’t break.

“No,” You mumble a reply, “Can you come get me? I’m r-really tired and the people here are weird.”

Eddie pushes himself up off the wall, wedging the receiver between his ear and shoulder and moves to toe his shoes on, “Where are you, Y/N?”

You ramble off an address as Eddie fishes for his keys from the bowl on the table by the door, cursing when he fumbles and drops them to the floor, "Shit, okay, Y/N. I'll be there in five. Just go find a bathroom and sit down. Okay?"

He hears you mumble something that sounds like okay, before the piercing sound of the hang-up dial tone is ringing down the line. He curses, letting the receiver fall from his hand and weakly spring back towards the wall before he's rushing out to his van.

Eddie arrives on the street you gave him, the party not hard to find throughout the small number of houses cluttering the cul-de-sac. He parks his van, almost halfway up the curb, slamming his door behind him as he stalks up the path.

A range of technicolour lights spew from the house's windows, plastic cups and a discarded deck of cards litter the front lawn and he struggles to hear himself think when he walks through the door. The smell of stale beer and sour tequila welcomes him when he pushes past a group of people in the front hallway. He's thankful that the party is clearly too busy for anyone to question why he's there.

Which allows him to look for you without any interruptions. The first bathroom he stumbles across, you're not there. He's too anxious to find you to even think about what he did find in there, however.

Lucky for him, he finds you in the next. You're sat on the lidded toilet, elbow propped on the basin beside you, head resting in your palm. You're half slumped over, eyes flittering to keep yourself awake.

He walks over to you, kneeling down at your feet, his hands coming to rest on your bare knees. "Hey," Eddie whispers, squeezing the flesh of your thighs.

"Hey," You echo, sitting up against the cold ceramic of the toilet, eyes struggling to stay open. "Eds." You mumble.

Eddie would've found the nickname endearing if the state of you didn't have him a worrying mess, "Can you open your eyes for me, sweetheart?"

You do, a funny smile against your lips. A great juxtaposition to the ghost of a frown across your eyebrows, "Feelin' funny, Eddie." You whine, leaning forward to dip your head under his chin to lean against his chest.

"Did someone give you something? Something that wasn't pot?" Eddie knows you don't take any other drugs. You only ever came to him for weed. He also knows that with the way you're acting, it definitely wasn't from anything milder than that.

"No, only smoked a joint." You hiccup, resting your hands atop his own to squeeze them. He turns them palm up, allowing you to entangle your fingers through his.

Eddie thinks maybe your joint was laced with something. And when you suddenly turn to throw up in the bathtub, a wretched sound erupting from your chest as you splutter and cough. He knows it definitely was.

"Fuck," He murmurs, standing behind you to hold your hair behind your shoulders as you throw up again, gripping the edge of the tub. You wipe at the corner of your mouth, straightening your back to lean back against his thighs.

"You gonna go again?" Eddie asks, tucking your hair behind your ears. Moving to cup your cheeks with his hands, your skin white hot under his touch. He frowns when you shiver against him.

"No," You sniffle. "Can you take me home, Eds?"

"Course." Eddie mumbles, helping you to your feet, arms situated under your armpits as you find your footing against cold black and white tiles. He moves to pinch your nose clean, wiping the mess on his shirt, hooking his arm around your torso to hold you to his side and help you out to his van.

You're slightly staggering when you're moving throughout the house, mumbling something about how thankful you are that your favourite drug dealer has come to help you out. It's only because you're so out of it, and desperately needing his help to stand on two feet, that he fights the urge to walk around the party and find out who gave you the weed in the first place.

When he stops momentarily to look at a guy in the corner of the sitting room with a tin like his, more full of tiny white-powdered bags than it is weed, you're pulling on his pyjama shirt to get him to hurry up.

"Eds, c'mon."

"Yeah, sorry bub."

He finally gets you into his van, clipping you into the passenger seat. He makes sure you're comfortable and as soon as he shuts your door, you're curling up, resting your head against the cold glass of the window.

The trip to your house is thankfully a quick one and when he looks over to see you shivering against the leather of his seat, he's sure to make it even quicker. He's pulling up your drive in record timing, moving around to your door to help you out.

Your footing is much more stable than last as he helps you manoeuvre through your house. Even though it's one you could probably do with your eyes closed, you bump into chairs and bookcases as you beeline for your bedroom. Eddie winces when you bang your hip into a table corner. You, on the other hand, seem to not even feel it. You were sure to in the morning, though.

Eddie steers you up the stairs, holding his breath when you almost lose your balance. He's confused about how you can still stumble around even though he has his arms firmly situated around you.

He finally gets to your room, sitting you firmly down on your bed. You look up at him with droopy eyes and a lopsided smile and he feels his breath catch in his throat, "You okay? Not gonna throw up again?"

"No, feelin' 'bit better." You yawn, fisting at your eyes with little care, "Wanna go to sleep, though."

"Sounds like an idea."

Eddie moves to your dresser, fumbling through drawers to find something that looked like pyjamas. He, himself, usually went for whatever clean shirt he could find and a pair of boxers, but he was sure that wouldn't do for you. He eventually found a pair of shorts and a matching shirt, glancing over his shoulder almost every ten seconds to make sure you were okay and hadn't passed out or fallen off the bed.

He stands back in front of you, clothes extended in his hand, "These do?" He chuckles.

You hum when he hands them to you and then you both pause, seemingly thinking the same thing, "Will you help?"

"Yeah."

He moves to pull your shirt off, not roughly but quick enough to not make you uncomfortable with him manhandling you, half naked and half inebriated. He pulls your pyjama shirt over your head, hair a mess when it ruffles over your face. He moves to brush it from your eyes, smiling when you look up at him over his hands.

He helps you into your pants, laughing when you grip the back of his thighs for purchase, almost falling back into the mattress.

He pulls back your covers and helps you under them, pulling them over your curled-up body. He moves to turn on your lamp and stops when you grab his hand, "Eddie?"

"Yeah?" He turns to look at you. You seem to be feeling better than earlier, though still looked tired. That was a given, he thinks.

"Thank you." You wrinkle your nose, pushing down into your pillow, "For coming to get me. It means a lot, I don't know what I would've done if you hadn't been there."

"Hey, it's no big deal. Call me whenever you need anything. I'm there." He smiles softly, brushing the hair from your face, and thumbing the dark semi-circles under your eyes. He hopes you know what he means, even though you're still a little drowsy. Call me whenever you need anything, weed or not.

You lean into his touch, "I think picking up high customers is well beyond your pay grade." You laugh and he relaxes. Finally, he'd heard that stupidly cute noise for the first time that night. He knows you're definitely feeling better.

"Hey, you're not just some customer. We're friends, right?" He laughs.

"Oh, I'd hope so." You sigh, "You're definitely more than just my favourite drug dealer."

"Is that so?"

"Yeah, favourite hair holder as well." You giggle. He laughs too, a soft, airy noise that makes your eyes flutter closed momentarily.

"You gonna be okay if I leave you here, hm?" Eddie asks.

"You can stay if you want." You smile, and Eddie thinks he can see a glimmer of hope behind your eyes.

"You sure?"

"Sure," You squeeze his hand, "Unless it's too late after hours? Too below your pay grade?" You smile.

"Way above." He laughs, toeing his shoes off at the edge of your bed, "Way, way above."

[crime-she-wrote]

The murder of Valentina Fonseca: an update

Hello and welcome back to the Crime She Wrote blog!

First off, I’d like to apologize for the delay in delivering this post. The information presented here has been out for about three weeks and although I’ve had this written for a while there has been internet connection issues preventing me from actually posting. But now it’s all back to normal so here’s what you came here for!

 If you’re unaware of the main details of this case or haven’t heard about it at all, you can read my first post here.

Since his arrest, more information about Sandro’s confession of Valentina’s murder was revealed; according to the girl’s father, he tortured the her by dipping her feet and legs in boiling water (which not only is horrible in itself, but the reason why he chose boiling water was because as a toddler Valentina had an accident with water and developed a fear of it), and hitting her trying to force her into confessing to have being sexually abused by one of her mother’s friends. Along with it, he tried to suffocate her with his own hands, but Valentina’s passing was caused by one strong hit to her head, allegedly a slap, that led to an internal hemorrhage that caused a seven minute long convulsion and, consequently, her death. Sandro laid Valentina on the couch, covering her with a blanket, and told the other children in the house that the girl had a stomachache and was resting. According to the known timeline, her death occurred in the morning and her dead body would lay in that couch until late at night.

It’s unclear if Marcia was at home as Valentina was being violently tortured, since there are contradicting information: some sources claim she was at home the whole time, other sources say she only arrived home after the girl was already dead. But according to the first version of events, as the torturing happened, Marcia would have ignored every call for help, and would only approached the child during and after the convulsion to make sure she was still alive and breathing. 

It’s also still unclear if the murder was a premeditated act or an “accidental side effect” of the physical abuse, but we do know that hiding the body was premeditated. At 10pm on the 6th of May, footage of a gas station security camera caught Marcia driving the family car, with Sandro sitting next to her, and presumably Valentina’s already dead body on the back seat, in direction to Serra D’El Rei, where her body was found four days later. Since the autopsy reports her time of death in the morning, an entire afternoon was spent planning how to dispose of the body.

According to their version of events, once they reached the destination, Sandro left the car with Valentina’s body and Marcia drove back to town. During this time, she had time to call the authorities about what was happening, in the case of her being coerced and threatened to comply, but she didn’t, which leads the police to doubt her claim of not being apart of killing the girl.

During these past weeks, Valentina’s former stepfather, a 42 year old man named Nelson, reached the media to claim there was evidence of abuse and negligence at the child’s father’s house. Nelson, who lived with Valentina’s mother until the girl was 6 years old, claims that the few times Valentina went to her father’s house she always came back bruised and with lice and fleas. He says Valentina was like a daughter to him, which led him to tattoo her name on his arm when they still lived together, and says he doesn’t understand why and how Sonia, her mother, would send her away to her father’s house for two months knowing all the abuse history.

Following this, the Child Protection Services team that evaluated the family and closed their case by writing on their report that there was no sign of negligence or any other kind of abuse, back in 2019 when Valentina ran away from her father’s house where she was staying during Easter break, is under investigation for failing to note the signs of an abusive home.

Five days after his arrest, on the 15th of May, Sandro was admitted to the hospital following a suicide attempt. Even though his cell was cleared of every object that could have been used to attempt against his life (considering he was a high profile suicide risk prisoner due to the nature of the crime), he still managed to break the toilet seat and use one of the sharp pieces of ceramic to cut both of his arms, although, according to the doctors, in a non-life threatening way. This leads us to believe that his suicide attempt was not related to mental illness (such as depression, for example) or guilt, but a means of manipulation, maybe to fake regret or claim insanity in the future trial.

On the 20th he was transported back to the prison, where he stays to this day under suicide watch, awaiting trial.

The police have until September to conclude the investigation, which will then be transferred to court for trial.

We don’t know how or when this will end, or if more information will be released once a sentence is given, and knowing how slow the justice system is in Portugal, it may take years until this case is fully closed. But until then, keep it in your minds, don’t let Valentina’s memory die and hope that justice is made.

Her name was Valentina Fonseca, and this was her tragic story.

[reginacooks]

Day 365. The End.

I’ve decided to make cheesecake as a send-off to this blog. I cannot think of any good reason why cheesecake should not be the cake-of-celebration for having reached my goal of creating something delicious every day for one year. Cheesecake was my sister’s favorite, and she died a year ago in March, bypassing a global pandemic by one week. Every memory I have of the countless celebrations in her home include a cheesecake. Cheesecake was my father’s favorite. He grew up on New York-style cheesecake, and he made sure my mother had a Lindy’s Cheesecake recipe when they married in 1963. My mother made good on her promise to feed him with love, and cheesecake. My mother’s birthday was in March. She taught me how to make a cheesecake using her large, ceramic mixing bowl in our kitchen in Ohio. I cannot think of cheesecake without thinking of my mother. The pandemic started in March and brought us to another March. All roads lead us to cheesecake. 

One week into the pandemic and toilet-paper humor, I decided I would use the next 365 days to cook and bake, and write about it. Aside from a few months when yeast was sparse, we lacked for nothing, including toilet paper. Unbelievably, and faster than I thought one year could pass, I have reached the end of my goal. I needed a thing to grab on to at the start of this pandemic, something separate from teaching. True, I was tired at the end of some days and faced this goal reluctantly. Or worse, there was a day when I’d already gone to bed. I closed my eyes then moments later remembered my blog. But I dragged myself to the couch and sitting position anyway. Not long ago, after watching a family movie, it was close to midnight and I said to my kids, “My blog!” Ethan sat nearby. “Quick mom! It’s ten minutes to midnight. You can do it!” I shared some pictures and words of the food I’d made that day and at 11:57, clicked on “Post.” Mostly I felt like I was writing into a black void, then unexpectedly a friend would email or text indicating they were reading these posts. I was glad someone was reading, but I guess that wasn’t the point. All along I knew I was doing this for me, to brighten my days and bring on a spot of joy.  

The cooking, baking, recipe searches, taking pictures, and writing helped to define my life this year. I’ve thought a lot about why the act of cooking and baking is important to me, too. Once, many years ago, a couple of friends were on a road trip and they stopped at our home for dinner. That night I happened to be making pasta with cauliflower and tomato sauce, garlic and cheddar cheese, a pretty standard week-night meal in our house. They dug into that food like it was their last drop of sustenance on the long journey ahead, even though they were only traveling by minivan from one state to the next. They exclaimed and wanted the recipe and so thoroughly enjoyed that simple fare, it seemed as if it had been many moons since they’d eaten a homemade meal. Making dinner that night, I would never have anticipated their reaction to it.    

I think about the times I’ve been fed by others. A long time ago, for one year, I worked in a school in Highwood, Illinois, an old town with a large Italian population. The secretary of my school was a short, slight-framed, older Italian woman with whom I had a special connection. She had worked at the school for maybe her entire career. I complained to Vera once about the reading curriculum in first grade that didn’t use real children’s literature. Same old story. I hinted that I was going to talk to the principal about it. This was my first teaching job and she warned me against that. I’ll never forget her words. “You don’t talk about books to someone who doesn’t read.” She came into my room once as I was reading a story aloud to my students, and she paused to listen. Later she told me I was “the real deal.” Ah, to be seen by another person. Even if only briefly. 

Vera and her husband were making pasta dumplings, she told me one day, and she’d like to have me over for lunch. When I went across the street and knocked on their side door, I entered their kitchen where they were filling dumplings with cheese and meat, trays of fresh pasta, dough, and flour spread out on the small kitchen table. The scene was intimate and homey, as traditional as any holy ritual, and I was invited to pull up a chair. It was the first time I’d eaten homemade pasta and I remember it still.   

I have put a permanent place card next to my heart of the people who have fed me in my life. Homemade food is worth marveling at. And for me it brings back memories of the people I’ve enjoyed it with, and of other ways they’ve fed me. Vera fed me fresh pasta and there have been times over the years when my confidence suffered and I would go back to that one-liner she also fed me. “You are the real deal.”  For years I hung my hat on those words. I am the real deal. And I thought they must be so because a wise woman who read books, whose name meant truth, and who had feather-light Italian dumplings at her fingertips spoke them. 

We just never know how feeding others can have an impact, how words or deeds can take hold in our psyche, like a fortune cookie message we keep in our wallet forever. A long time ago a friend was visiting me in a house I lived in near the ocean. I packed us a picnic lunch and off we went. Years later she referenced those tuna fish sandwiches as being the best ones she’d ever had. Say what? She was a new mom and had her baby with her at the time. She was probably desperate for someone to care for her for a few moments and maybe that came in the form of my preparing a simple lunch, which she never forgot. I doubt it was just because of the sandwiches. 

I enjoy sifting through the recipe box of my food memories. Sometimes when I’m searching for a soothing thought to put me in a state of calm, I’ll think about something wonderful that I’ve eaten with a person whom I love. Often, we’re outdoors. A memory comes of pausing for a break on a hike in Ireland with new found friends, eating a sandwich and an apple, leaning against a fence and looking out at a wet, green field speckled with sheep. Or enjoying pizza and a cold beer on a sunny hilltop in Belgrade at a cafe on the edge of the forest. A giant swing on the property served to entertain our children while my husband and I grabbed a few moments of peace. Once, my family and I were staying the night at a simple hut during a trek in Ethiopia. We sat on the roof of the hut and watched as baboons scrambled toward their caves on the slope of a cliff, and we held hot tea and bread given to us as a sign of welcome by our hosts. Clasping that tea, we knew we would be taken care of during the night in that foreign spot. 

A chocolate eclair always reminds me of my father. I can hear him saying, “Oh boy,” smiling and looking down at the pastry display inside the food hall at Harrods of London, wide-eyed like a kid again in New York City. He bought us both a picnic that day and we enjoyed it in St. James Park. A few years later he was left five thousand dollars in the will of an uncle and used that to send me to cooking school in New York. He wanted me to have a skill and set me up for life. I learned many skills at cooking school, but none as valuable as the ones I learned in my parents’ kitchen. Love and food are intermingled. There was hardly a joyful, happy occasion in our home growing up without it involving something delicious. The memories I have of the food enhance the memories of my father’s laugh, my mother’s smile, my older siblings arriving for the holidays and the love that we all shared.     

My mother delighted in simple, good things. When I was a teen I remember her sneaking up to her bedroom for a little solitude, a glass of brandy and a little dish of peanuts in hand, a book tucked under her arm. She’d say she was going upstairs to have her party before bed. On weekend mornings she’d make pancakes. She had a knack for turning the ordinary into something special. She would make a pancake shaped out of the first letter of our name, large and covering the whole plate and recognizable as my very own. Neighborhood kids would wait by the backdoor for their pancake, too. An L for Lenny, a J for Jimmy. I’ve stored away hundreds of food memories of my mother, and I pull them up often. Her cheesecake, her smile, her sly grin when she sneaks another piece. 

Before my sister, Raissa, died a year ago, I flew out to stay with her in her home. It was the last weekend that I ever stayed in her house, the house that was a foundation for me—for all of our family—for so many years. This was the last weekend that I would ever see her home as it was, her home crowded with the beloved artifacts of her life. And beloved to us, too. We all knew every nook and cranny of that home so well. The family photos, the hundreds of books that lined the shelves, the afghans and dishes and vases and fireplace mantel and coffee mugs. I cried openly and loudly the night before I left, knowing that this would be the last time I would be in this space that was my second home. “My home is your home,” my sister always said to me. But the house would be sold and I would never have this as my second home again, and the next time I visited this town, my sister would be gone. I looked around feeling the shock, like a rug was being pulled out from under me, but it wasn’t just a rug. It was every precious thing in sight.  

One morning during my last weekend with her she was sitting up in her chair reading her newspaper, as she did every day, and I asked her if she wanted some breakfast. She had hardly been eating, so I didn’t expect her to say yes, but she put the paper down in her lap and looked up at me and smiled and said yes. Feeling hungry made her look so healthy. So I went into her kitchen and made her toast and scrambled eggs, simple comfort food. Our father was the Scrambled Eggs King. He cooked them slow and steady, all throughout our growing up. It was his specialty, we all knew. So I made them the way Daddy made them, no recipe needed for the dashes of good humor and love. She ate them with such pleasure, like she had not eaten in a long time, smiling up at me in thanks. I was feeding her, like she had fed me for years and years. We fed each other. I know I added joy to her life—she told me how much she loved me every time we were together—and she was my personal cheerleader, cheering for me every single step of every single way. I will live the rest of my days with the gifts she gave, and the memory that I made her comfort food before her own long journey home.  

[alfrett]

My first Sims 4 home 🙂🙌🏼

Hi there! After a week thinking about in my first post on tumblr, finally i’ve decided to post my first Sims 4 content.

So this is my first Sims 4 home, well ... actually this is the 2nd, because when i started to play i’ve lived in one of the small apartments at the Fashion District (Zen View) but it was technically impossible to build or decorate because of the tiny size. At this time i’m playing without the money cheat, so it took some time to my sim would affords a new apartment and finally after having it fully furnished i could show my home. 🙂

Welcome to the 122 Hakim House! Located in the Arts Quarter, this historical trait apartment offers extraordinary views to the other side of San Myshuno Bay and of course a lot of space for my two sims who live inside (in another post i’ll be telling you more about their story).

First of all, my sims love the natural appearance of materials such as: wood, concrete, stone, marble, metals, glass, leather, etc ... so i’ve mix them with contemporary iconic furniture to give a young fresh air to this apartment where my two young adult sims live.

Let’s start the tour! 😁

At the entry we have a small hall with the essentials: a marble console, a lamp, a round mirror, one coat rack ... and also we have this black and gold Art Déco wallpaper on the background wall which matches the runner rug in the hallway that connects with the study double door.

My sims needed a private space for developing the writing skills asked in their job and also a quiet room for reading and creating social media content, so we got this amazing office at home. I really love the geometrical wood panel at the back wall that also has a big window that allows the natural light to comes in the room and of course that bitonal rug that i’ve got in real life in my living room hahaha.

This office is just perfect for receiving visits or clients for a quick business meeting without any disturb.

And we have arrived to my favorite part of the apartment: the big social area! At the dining room we have this six seats glass round table that allow us to have many friends diner during the week, i choose this amazing Magis One chairs in black iron that goes in a perfect match with the white round faux fur rug and the gold nordic ceiling lamps in the area 😍

Of course our guest could enjoy their favorite shows during their visit on the 65” Samsung Serif Smart TV that doesn’t breaks the environment with the easel style support.

My sims love to have a lot of plants inside the house so they have this special variety of plants in front of the full sized windows ... another detail i love is that we saved a lot of space with that functional bar trolley instead of having a big bar counter and that decision give us the space for having a piano next to the dining room.

The central part of the apartment belongs to the open central kitchen which has its counters and cabinets in medium walnut wood with chrome details and white marble tops. The floor and walls are in geometrical black and white patterns, and i decided to give that high contrast accent with a shiny orange color applied in the exterior walls and in the Kartell Ghost barstools, all the appliances are in stainless steel finish but the ceiling lamps was selected in bright gold to highlight their particular shapes.

The living room is just a dream! 😍 We have this Scandinavian fireplace in black iron that goes in perfect harmony with the furniture: a central Noguchi coffee table in glass and walnut wood, two Wegner Shell chairs in walnut wood and black leather, of course a Barcelona daybed in brown leather with another two sofas in black and white leather.

The geometrical lattice in medium walnut wood divides the social area from the guest bathroom and the Master suite creating another small hall in that part of the apartment.

The guest bathroom is fully in black Argos marble with a white vessel sink, a simple white toilet complementing with the solid black floating counters.

The bedroom is spacious, we have a normal double bed with a closet area, a marble desk that allows to work or entertain with the laptop and a mini lounge with a bench and a chaise longue in front of the 55” Smart TV.

All of the seats in this room are in saddle leather with black or chrome metal parts matching with the wood and marble coffee table and side table

The private bathroom in white Carrara marble, is the positive version of the other bathroom.

We have a pair of white porcelain vessel sinks whit a huge mirror in front of the glass shower cabin, a toilet with a hand-held bidet shower system, and of course a white ceramic clawfoot bathtub.

This apartment offers spectacular views by night, so you can organize fancy parties and diners whenever you want with the guarantee that your guest will be absolutely impressed 😍

Here is the layout plan if you was lost on the tour hahaha 😉

Finally I would like to thank infinitely to all of the CC creators that make my game possible in this way, i have a lot of CC in my game so is kind of impossible to mention each of you in this post, but i sincerely appreciate your work and passion in every single object you made. ALL OF YOU ARE JUST AMAZING! 🤗 ❤️

Thanks a lot to YOU if you read the full article, I wrote it for all of your who read me!

Hope to see you again here 🙌🏼

Sul sul! 👋🏼

Alfrett

[alitaimagines]

“we’ve gotten boyfriend turned ex boyfriend angst with bnha, aot, and hetalia, but do it now with daiya no ace or you a coward.” 

ex! miyuki kazuya, umemiya seiichi x fem! reader

fandom: ace of diamond / daiya no ace

note / song recommendation: what I will not be called is a coward bc I AM NOT A COWARD. also i am so sorry Haruno, I love you but I had to use you. please remember that requests open on Monday! / division - aly and aj

“do it again, I dare you to do it again in front of me.” you whispered as you looked at Haruno and Miyuki with disgust. “You know what? Nevermind, please continue your little affair and I’ll make sure to return after your done.” 

Miyuki stayed silent as Haruno already had tears spilling from her eyes. “You know you could’ve done the right thing and just broken up with me instead of cheating on me with one of your managers.” You had no tears falling from your face. You were more angry than upset. 

Mikyuki climbed off his bed and tried to follow you. “Listen, that meant nothing, it was a heat of the moment thing, I promise.” You chuckled sadly as you turned around to look at him again. 

“Really? Because from the looks of it, you were clearly cheating with the intention of not getting caught! You had her in your dorm, Kazuya!” You screamed, not intending to be loud. “So if that wasn’t the case, explain it to me.” 

Miyuki stayed silent as you gave him a look. If they could kill, he would be dead where he stood. “Exactly, now let me ask you a question.” You said trying not to scream again. “If I hadn’t walked in, would you have gone all the way? Is it because I’m not on the team and you spend more time with her or what?” 

“No but I hardly see you! We could’ve spent more time together if you signed up to be a manager!” Miyuki tried to say but it came off more as a questionable answer than a statement. 

You gave him another deadly look. “I want to repeat your words, “don’t sign up for a managerial position because I don’t want my girlfriend to be caught up in my mess”, or did I make that up?” He felt his throat drying as he swallowed thickly. 

“You know what?” You said as you grabbed a sweater that was stuffed into your book bag. “Take this, give it to Haruno.” You handed him the Seido sweater he gave you on each others first date and walked away without giving him a second look. 

//

“You’re leaving Seido because of Kazuya!” Kuramochi screamed before you clamped a hand over his mouth and whispered to shut the hell up before anyone heard. “You’re lying to me and what you’re telling me is a joke.” 

You shook your head no as you slid him the papers that confirmed your enrollment at Ugumori High School. “It’s not all because of that idiot you call a best friend. My mother got a better job in East Tokyo so why not take the opportunity? I start after summer break if you’re wondering.” 

“Are you dorming at Ugumori?” Kuramochi asked as the two of you sat down on the bench. “Who else knows? I’m assuming just me?” You nodded in response to both questions. 

“You better be telling the truth. If I find out that you left because of that idiot catcher, you’ll be wrestling me on sight every time I see you.” Kuramochi threatened. 

“If I did move schools because of that, it’s no ones business anyway so be lucky I even told you.” You exclaimed. “What makes you think I want to go to a school with my lying cheating ex boyfriend? I can’t even stand to see the sight of him without getting the feeling of jumping him on sight.” 

Kuramochi let out a laugh before realization dawned on his face. “Wait, today is the last day before summer break.” You gave him a saddened smile as you hugged him. “When’s the next time we’ll see you?” 

“Maybe if you guys play Ugumori?” You said questionably. “I know it’s super sudden but might as well take the advantage of starting fresh, you know?” He nodded understandingly. 

“Just promise me you won’t say anything!” You told him as you got up from the bench. “Especially to Miyuki because I don’t want that idiot thinking that I moved schools just because of him.” 

Kuramochi knew the minute you left him, he would be going to Miyuki’s dorm and catching him in some wrestling move but all he did was give you a nod before hugging you again and watching you leave. 

-

“You idiot!” Kuramochi screamed as you slammed the door open. Sawamura, Kominato, and Nori jumped from fear as they watched their shortstop march up to Miyuki and give him a swift punch to the face. “All because you decided to cheat!” 

Miyuki had never once seen this anger accumulate into Kuramochi before. “What the hell are you talking about?” He screamed as he pushed Kuramochi off him. 

“( your name )! Yeah, your ex girlfriend, she moved schools!” He screamed as the entire dorm fell silent. Miyuki tried to move but Kuramochi caught him again but this time by the collar of his t-shirt. “Congratulations, your ex girlfriend moved schools because of your cheating ass!” 

Miyuki looked up at Kuramochi and tried to determine if he was lying or not. “How do you know? She could be lying!” He mentioned as he pushed Kuramochi off him again. 

“She showed me the official papers you imbecile!” Kuramochi screamed as he pointed his finger at Miyuki. “Had she not caught you cheating, she would still be here!” 

“No one asked her to move! She decided that on her own.” Miyuki screamed back as he moved Kuramochi’s finger out of the way. Kuramochi gave Miyuki a surprised expression. “I can’t believe after you cheated on your own girlfriend, the one who actually kept you from acting like an ass most of the time, you’re sitting here playing the victim. Maybe not today or tomorrow but you’ll realize what you lost by cheating on the one consistent person in your life.”  

Miyuki growled. “Why are you so riled up about this? Did you like her or something?” Kuramochi noticed Sawamura starting to stand in the middle of the both of them, maybe out of fear that this would actually turn physical. 

Kuramochi couldn’t help but laugh offendedly. “No but I actually learned the emotion called sympathy. You wouldn’t know that, would you? Next time you decide to get into a relationship, make sure it’s someone you actually like and not someone you’ll throw to the side when you start getting bored of them.”

With a slam of the door, Nori, Sawamura, and Kominato watched the green haired boy leave as Miyuki stood looking at the ground. He knew Kuramochi held several good points but if it was one thing, Miyuki knew his pride was his biggest flaw. 

//

During your winter break, your heart started to heal itself from the heart broken feeling. You knew with starting at Ugumori, it would give you a breath of fresh air and the ability to start all over again. You weren’t exactly looking to get into a relationship while you attended Ugumori but if it presented itself, you wouldn’t mind it. 

You looked up at your classroom as you knocked on the door softly. The door slammed open and the teacher immediately started scolding the student who opened it so harshly. 

��Ah, ( your name )!” She said as she gave you a smile. “Welcome to Ugumori!” 

The entire class waved as she pointed to your seat and decided to save you the embarrassment of having to introduce yourself. 

You knew exactly who was sitting next to you. Being that you were Miyuki’s ex girlfriend, you had heard of the infamous Umemiya Seiichi. The monster pitcher with a wicked curveball. 

He gave you a wink, making you blush as you set your bag next to you. She immediately started talking about how all students who weren’t signed up to a club should do it before they got reprimanded for it. 

A sheet with all the vacant club positions was passed to each student. It was on a first come first serve basis and considering the sheet was given to you first, you got the first chance at any club. 

“Girls soccer.” No. “Body Improvement Club.” Absolutely not. “Ceramics.” No. “Boy’s Baseball Manager.” You thought for a moment before checking yes and handing it off to the person behind you. 

“Welcome to the team, I’m Umemiya but you can call me Seiichi.” You jokingly rolled your eyes as he turned his desk to look at you. “You transferred from Seidou, right?” 

You nodded as a light flared up in his eyes. “So why did you move?” You realized that you had to be honest instead of lying to the poor boy. “My parents got relocated to East Tokyo and I figured I might as well just transfer schools instead of traveling to Seidou everyday.” 

“Wow, so since you are our new manager, we meet everyday after school until seven. After that, we usually all catch dinner together before we head to our dorms.” Umemiya exclaimed excitedly. “I can introduce you to our other manager, Matsubara!” 

You couldn’t help but laugh at his excitable attitude. It reminded you a lot of Sawamura, if you wanted to be honest. If you remembered correctly, Umemiya was the one who asked Sawamura if he was God after he ran out of toilet paper once. 

“Let me see if we have the same schedule, I could show you around instead of having some awkward interaction with a student leader.” Umemiya mentioned as you fished your schedule out of your book bag and handed it to him. “We do! That’s awesome! I get to hang out with the cute new girl all day today!” 

You could tell that Umemiya was very much the kind of person who didn’t hold his words back, even if that included making himself flustered because of it. 

“Well, I’m glad that you’re aren’t bothered with having to show me around the school.” You mentioned as you gave him a small smile. You could tell that you made Umemiya’s heart start beating faster as his face turned a bright red. “So, want to head to Modern Lit?” 

Umemiya nodded as he helped you gather your things before telling the student leader that he didn’t have any problem showing you around. 

//

As the weeks kept rolling, so did your time with Umemiya. Being their manager did come with a lot of responsibilities. Not only did you manage the team but you also did have to help the student section with their cheers from time to time. 

You also gained a strong friendship with Matsubara. Umemiya had told you the story about the accident he was involved in. As he told you the story, you couldn’t help but tear up at how passionate Umemiya got about giving Matsubara his last three years of high school to play baseball. 

-

You had sent the entire team, including Matsubara, to dinner a few minutes early. You knew that they were starting to overwork themselves with the fall preliminary games starting up and you didn’t want any of them catch a cold before they started. 

They were playing a few scratch games with any surrounding teams in Tokyo before the actual prelims started. You had the unfortunate luck to find out first that Seidou was going to be one of the scratch games Ugumori had to play. 

“Hey, what are you doing out here? It’s dark and it isn’t safe for a girl to be walking to her dorms by herself at night.” You heard Umemiya said. You rolled your eyes knowing he meant nothing malicious by what he said but you knew how to take care of yourself. “I’m not a child, Seiichi. I can walk back by myself just fine.” 

He could tell that something was bothering you. “Hey, what’s wrong? Did something happen?” You sighed as you sat down in the dugout. You handed him the folder with all information on the scratch games.

“Read out the team you guys are playing first.” You mentioned as you watched him scan the paper. “Oh hey, we’re playing Seidou! That’s great but why are you upset about it?” 

You sighed as you watched him sit down next to you. “Well, I never got around to mentioning this to you because I figured that it wasn’t important. Another reason why I left Seidou was because I dated their catcher for quiet a long time.” You explained. “Miyuki and I dated right before I transferred and right before I caught him cheating with one of the managers. I mean, I’m over him now but I really don’t feel like seeing his face.” 

Umemiya laughed as he rubbed your back soothingly. “Well for what it’s worth, you deserve a lot better. Your a cute girl with a lot of potential and if he wasn’t able to see that, I know a lot of people who do.” You couldn’t help but laugh as you jokingly asked who did. “Well for starters, me.” 

You whipped your head up at him. “What are you getting at?” He took your hand softly. “I don’t mean to insert myself into this narrative but I’ve been having Nao give me the courage to ask you out. I was thinking that we could go trick or treating this weekend together? Ugumori has a tradition of trick or treating around the dorms every year so we could coordinate costumes if you’d like?” 

“Of course!” You said giving him a bright smile. “We can talk about our costumes tomorrow. I actually have rights to leave campus considering I live on this side of town so we could sneak out and get dinner if you’d like.” 

Umemiya nodded as he gave you a kiss on top of your head. “That sounds perfect.” 

-

The day that the trick or treating around the dorms landed, the both of you decided to go as baseball player. How cliche. You bought a cheap random girl baseball costume from the nearest halloween store and added the Ugumori patches on them. 

Umemiya even gave you the option to wear his first year sweater as the two of you walked around the dorms. His number was slapped on the back and his last name was engraved onto the front. 

The skirt that came with the costume was too short for your liking so you paired the skirt with baseball legging that went up to your knees. To say that Umemiya had to hold himself back from kissing you was an understatement. 

The two of you even convinced Matsubara to join in and he dressed up as a catcher as Umemiya intentionally made himself the pitcher. By the time the trick or treating event was finished, the school faculty invited the students to have a halloween party in the gym.

Both you and Umemiya decided to go as Matsubara excused himself to find the rest of the team, claiming he didn’t want to continue third wheeling the date. 

“Today was fun, wasn’t it?” You asked Umemiya as he nodded. Your hand had already made its way to holding his so you weren’t too subtle on the compliment. “I wish Seidou had done this.” 

Umemiya gave you a smug look. “They might be one of the greatest baseball schools in Tokyo but Ugumori has a great party reputation as well as a great baseball devision.” 

You laughed as the both of you took a turn to make the walk to the dorms last a bit longer. “Yeah, and there’s more where that came from if want to go out again.” You let out a mixture of another laugh but this time you couldn’t contain your squeal. “How would I look denying my boyfriend another date?” 

This time, Umemiya was surprised at your sudden surge of confidence. “Well if that’s the case, my girlfriend now has to agree to every date I take her on.” You gave him a half sarcastic look. “Yeah unless they’re to places I dislike.” You countered as the both of you started laughing. 

The both of you sat down on one of the benches as you cuddled up to Umemiya’s side. His hair was flowing in the wind as you jokingly tried to push it down. “You know that the 1950s are over, right?” He gave you a sharp look. “I like my hair. It’s what attracted the ladies before you came.” 

“Yeah and your hair does not attract me but I’ll let you wear it because you’re so cute.” You said as you looked up to him. He gave you a smug look that made you want to melt in his arms. 

Umemiya leaned in and gave you a kiss but all he was expecting it was to be a quick one. Once you deepened it, he was surprised to say the least. You slowly transitioned yourself to sit on top of his lap as he wrapped his arms around your waist as your legs wrapped around his waist. 

The kiss continued on before you heard a scream from the dorm. “PUBLIC DISPLAYS OF AFFECTION ARE BANNED FROM THE DORMS STARTING RIGHT NOW.” You heard Matsubara say with an undertone of disgust. “NO ONE WANTS TO SEE BOTH OF YOU MAKING OUT IN PUBLIC!” You heard Kondou yell back.  

The two of you started laughing as Umemiya screamed back, “DON’T BE JEALOUS BECAUSE I GOT THE HOTTEST GIRL IN SCHOOL!” They all yelled some form of profanities at him before you got off his lap. 

“Let’s go to sleep before your teammates kill you.” You whispered as you gave him one quick kiss before walking towards the side of the school where the girls stayed. “Goodnight, Seiichi, have fun not getting made fun of tonight.” 

//

The day of the prelim game with Seidou came. You were in the locker room with the boys after the coach gave you the clear that they were all dressed and waiting your instructions. 

“So, this game is just a scratch off game but make sure you try your best because you know Seidou always does.” You mentioned as you let Matsubara continue take over. 

He gave a few instructions to the team before all of you stood up and walked to through the doors of the stadium. Umemiya making sure he held your hand as the team walked into stadium. The cheers from the Ugumori stands were as loud as ever as all of you waved at them. They had cameras towards all of you as you were being broadcasted on the digital board. 

“Hey, it’s ( your name )!” Sawamura exclaimed as they all whipped their head up at the board. “Oh look, she’s holding hands with Umemiya! Good for her!” Kuramochi mentioned as he gave the side eye to Miyuki. 

He stayed quiet as they all went to the field to shake Ugumori’s hand. You sat next to Matsubara, talking quietly as players from both teams shook hands with each other. 

“Hey, have a great game today!” Umemiya said to Miyuki as he got close to his ear. “Because you know ( your name ) is here and she isn’t cheering for you.” He whispered before pulling away and giving him a shit eating grin. 

Umemiya knew this was his chance to give Miyuki his small piece of revenge and every time it was his turn to pitch, he made sure hit his hardest in order to give Miyuki a sore hand tomorrow morning. 

You had no idea of his evil scheme but once the game finished and he told you, you couldn’t help but laugh. You had promised Kuramochi that you would tell him hello before he left so as you scanned the crowd for Kuramochi, Umemiya stood next to you. 

“Hey Yoichi! How have you been?” You exclaimed as you gave him a smile. “You know Umemiya!” Kuramochi nodded as he gave a quick ‘bro’ hug to Umemiya. 

“So are the two of you dating now?” Kuramochi asked. You nodded enthusiastically as you gave Umemiya quick peck, making the cheetah gag. “Yeah, I didn’t need to see that.” You and Umemiya laughed as the three of you chatted amongst each other. 

“Yo, we need to head back to the dugout!” Matsubara screamed to you and Umemiya. 

You gave Kuramochi a quick hug before telling him to text you when he got back to Seidou. 

As the team was loading up the bus to head back, he couldn’t help but notice Miyuki’s dejected look. He knew that Miyuki seen the kiss you gave Umemiya and he knew you had every right to rub it in his face. 

Kuramochi didn’t feel a bit sorry for him and knew that this would be the way Miyuki would learn his lesson. 

ALITA 

[vcg73]

Witch!Kurt #43: Reconnoiter

Burt Hummel eagerly offered his home as the coven’s headquarters when Kurt called him to explain that they were ready to move forward. 

Though Kurt had made the call with the intention of convincing his family to leave town for a few days, just to be safe, his father insisted.

“Are you kidding? I was one of the people who fell hardest for Blaine’s fake charm and let that punk sink his claws into my son!” Burt protested hotly when Kurt attempted to tell him that leaving would be safer. “I didn’t listen when my step-son tried to tell me that he thought it was hinky that neither he or Carole were invited to that big hoohaw at Dalton, and that he didn’t understand why you’d agreed to marry someone you weren’t sure you trusted enough to date anymore. I didn’t pay any attention when kids you knew and loved started disappearing, dying, or becoming walking store mannequins. Blaine attacked this town, a town I’ve lived in and loved all my life, and he attacked my family. I’m damned well going to stick this one out with you, Kurt. End of discussion.”

“Dad, this…”

Burt cut him off. “No buts. This is your fight? That makes it my fight. And even if all I’m really equipped to do in this whole witchcraft game is supply house room to the band, I’d still rather do that than to be shut out and left wondering what’s happening. Besides, you’ve all warded this place strongly enough to make Fort Knox look like a piggy bank. Where would I possibly be safer?”

Kurt, remembering how badly Blaine’s magically charged charms had shaken the once solid father-son relationship, not to mention the harm he’d done to Finn, and by extension Carole, could not find it in his heart to argue. His coven had the power to move Burt Hummel out of harm’s way, whether he wanted to go or not, but he and his dad had worked hard these last few months to build and solidify that old bond into something even stronger, to respect and be honest with one another. Kurt had to trust that his dad could take care of himself, just as Burt was doing for him.

A vague part of him feeling amusement over his father’s continued habit of referring to his coven as ‘the band’, Kurt said in a deliberately meek tone, “Dad, I was just going to say that this is really generous of you, and that I think you’re right. I don’t think you’re to blame for what happened, but you do have a stake in this and if it makes you feel better to have us at the house, and to be in on the planning with us, then we’ll come. Thank you.”

“Oh,” Burt said, the righteous indignation fading to sheepish humor as he said, “Sorry. You’re welcome. Uh, when do you think you’ll be here?”

“Next week. Spring Break got delayed after all those storms shut everything down over the winter,” Kurt explained. “We decided that would be the best time. Lima high schools should have already had their Spring Break, so now would be the perfect time to look them over.”

And while this was not how most college students would want to spend their break, converging on a quiet little town in the middle of Ohio to play the role of magical exterminators, not one person in Kurt’s coven had balked at his suggestion. On the contrary, they had all agreed with enthusiasm that surprised him a little. Even with all the help they had given over the past six months, their support still occasionally caught him off guard.

“Great, we’ll be ready for you,” Burt said, sounding far more pleased than most men would at the prospect of having their home overrun by seven additional ‘kids’ and two more cat people.

~*~*~*~*~

A week later, having all arranged to miss a few days of work and other activities, the coven arrived in Lima, backpacks, duffels, sleeping bags, and suitcases in hand. Even those who had the option of staying somewhere less crowded had packed like they really were headed out on vacation somewhere. It made Kurt smile to hear them arguing over who would stay where, and what things they might do while in Ohio.

“Carole and I discussed it with the boys and we decided we’d put most of you down in the basement,” Burt Hummel said above the din of many chattering voices, bringing them to a halt as everyone looked at him. “It’s all finished up, with lights and carpeting and plenty of room.”

The family had spent the past few months renovating the previously unfinished space into a rec room, but then Burt and Carole had discussed it and decided instead to turn it into a new living space for Fam. The basement was large and well insulated, but it had been lacking the comforts of carpet, good lighting, and the finishing of an adjunct room that had been piped by the previous owner for an additional bathroom but never completed. Finishing it up had been a labor of love, and a way for Finn and Sam to feel useful and to have some control in their lives again, as well as a chance to bond anew with the grateful parents.

Kurt had given his Dad the idea for the project during a Skype, pointing out that Sam had once been quite a good handy-man, and knowing how much he himself had loved having the basement of the first Hummel home for his own during high school. It was neither safe nor practical for Sam and Finn to be out on their own for now, but at 22 years of age it also wasn’t fair for them to be living in a small upstairs bedroom under Burt and Carole’s very noses.

“You finished it?” he said, perking up with interest. “Nobody told me! How did it come out? What kind of carpet did you end up choosing? Did you use the privacy screens I suggested to block the laundry area off from the bedroom, or did you actually have to build a new wall?”

Grinning at his son’s eager questions, Burt gave into his impulse to give the bright-eyed young man another hug. No matter how good Kurt’s adult life in New York was, Burt never quite got over missing his little boy. And when Kurt was like this, clasping his hands and bouncing with enthusiasm, he became that little boy again. “Why don’t you come see for yourself?” he asked jovially, leading the way to a closed door next to the kitchen.

Burt, Kurt, Adam, and the rest of the curious coven trooped down a set of wide wooden steps, the latter making appropriate noises of appreciation when Burt flicked a wall switch and led them into a well lit space with a pull-out sofa bed, a couple of comfy looking lounge chairs, and a TV. The floor had been covered in thick, dark blue Berber carpeting, with the center living area covered with an additional wide area rug of tightly woven black and gray that matched the contrasting black and gray walls. It was a surprisingly sophisticated look for something that was to belong, in part, to Finn Hudson.

“This is very chic,” Adam said, not quite able to disguise the astonishment in his voice that told Kurt he had been thinking along the same lines. Adam did not know his new brothers-in-law (For he had come to think of Sam Evans as another of Kurt’s brothers.) very well yet, but he had already noted a distinct leaning toward ‘frat boy’ in both of them.

“It is,” Kurt agreed, looking around with interest and peeping into the laundry area, which had indeed been separated from the rest of the basement by a newly added wall and floored with tightly packed ceramic tiles.

The new laundry room had a door that made it accessible through the garage, so people would not be required to tromp through Fam’s private space to wash their clothes. Behind the laundry area lay the now-finished bathroom, and Kurt gave it an approving nod. They had sacrificed a little bit of bedroom space to expand the room, giving it a row of handsome wooden cabinets beneath the new sink, a glass-paneled shower, tile flooring, a new toilet and several shelves along the wall that were liberally stacked with towels, soaps, and various other hygiene products. There was a large cabinet mirror over the sink, a laundry hamper next to the shower, and even a cute little black iron rack with several reading selections next to the toilet.

Kurt noted that final addition with amusement, recalling his brother’s habit, a very annoying one when they had been sharing a bathroom, of spending what felt like ages reading through magazines while conducting his ‘morning business’. Undoubtedly, this touch had been Carole’s.

“This looks amazing. I have to admit, I was expecting a lot of beige, and way more football and rock posters on the walls,” he said with a smile.

“Maybe we’ll add some,” said Finn, coming downstairs to join the others and giving Kurt a friendly embrace. “We still have to move my old drum-kit out of the garage and put it in here. Mom couldn’t bear to give it away after I died. And Sam wants to put a rack on one wall for his guitars. Burt brought a contractor buddy of his in here to put an extra layer of sound-proofing in the walls before they were sealed and painted.”

Burt raised an eyebrow at his son and said, “George Moore. Same friend I got to help me sound proof our old basement into someplace you could sing your face off at five o’clock every morning, while you were trying on every outfit you owned and dolling up your skin and hair for two hours before school.”

Everyone laughed at Kurt’s acknowledging blush. Maybe Finn had not been the only one with irritating habits in those days.

Sam took over the shared body to say, “We’re gonna put a boss stereo system along that back wall by the dressers, and maybe a computer desk, and I want some bookcases with a reading lamp.”

The switch in control between one man and the other was also a lot faster and easier now than it had been when they were initially merged, and all those listening were interested to realize that they had no difficulty in knowing who was speaking.

Kurt looked at him curiously. He never remembered either of these two having a particular interest in books before.

Reading the question in his eyes correctly, Sam shrugged. “I always liked stories, but I used to feel like it was too much of a bother to decipher all the text to read much. Got a lot of Graphic novels and audio books instead. I mean, I could do it, but it felt too much like homework, y’know?” At Kurt’s nod, he grinned. “We discovered a side benefit of sharing a body. Whatever rewiring of our brains that was required to live this way had some perks. I still have dyslexia, but when Finn is in control I can sort of read through his eyes, and the letters don’t get all messed up. Kind of weird, but it works!”

Finn chimed in. “It makes me like reading for fun a lot more, knowing that I can help Sam do it. English Lit was pretty much the only school subject I always got perfect grades in, so it’s no big deal. Oh, and we’ve discovered that if we concentrate hard, we can do this.”

He lifted his hands, scrunched his brow, and made a shoving motion with his palms out, resulting in the chair he was looking at scooting a couple of feet away.

The witches in the room looked at him with slack-jawed surprise. Sam was a Standard, and since it was his body that Finn’s mind and soul were sharing, no one had expected Finn’s latent magic to translate to this new existence. Sam jumped back in. “This part works no matter who’s in control.”

In demonstration, he stuck his tongue out slightly and frowned hard at the remote control on the little coffee table they had set up next to the couch. It twitched a few inches closer.

“How is that possible?” Kurt asked, looking around the group.

Brittany stepped forward, cocking her head like a curious puppy as she narrowed her eyes and looked Fam over with Sight. “They’re merging,” she said in a vaguely detached tone. “Still Finn and Sam, but Fam is becoming real. At first you were in sort of a disassociative identity situation, with one body but two personalities, and one person had to be fully in control to do anything. Now you’ve adapted to be more like conjoined twins instead. Individual people who happen to share one body, and that body is starting to adapt to both your abilities. Magic comes from the soul, as much as the body. After all, there are plenty of Standards with magical parents, and plenty of witches with no magic in their family trees. Where did they get that if it wasn’t just a natural facet of who they are?”

“So that means even though I’m in a different body, I’m still me, and I’m still a witch.” Finn said. “And that being in here gave Sam a magic transfusion, so now he has it too.”

Brittany nodded. “I think it’s like reincarnation. Different body but you still have echoes of your past life. The power will probably never be strong unless you’re really angry. That might give it a boost, like it did the day you confronted Blaine. But even a little magic can be fun.”

Fam grinned back, clearly liking the idea of being able to move things with their mind, even if it was only ever enough to tug a remote control closer without getting up. “Cool,” they said.

Shaking his head at this, Burt just sighed and picked up his original thread. “Finn and Sam haven’t officially moved down yet, so I figured that as long as nobody minds the occasional clatter of washer/dryer, or the need to share a bed, we can toss a couple of air mattresses down there and fit most of you comfortably. There are still the two upstairs bedrooms for any spillover, particularly if the cat-folk don’t mind shrinking down to a more compact size.”

There were no protests to this idea, and it was quickly decided that all of the girls, plus L.T., would bunk down in the basement room, while Kurt and Adam, along with cat sized Elliott and Sebastian, would stay in Kurt’s old room, and Johnny would bunk in with Fam.

At least, officially that’s how it would be. Kurt knew his friends too well to think that they wouldn’t all end up migrating downstairs to have a gigantic slumber party at least a couple of times. Judging by the amusement dancing in his father’s eyes, he knew it too.  

Food would not be an issue with Brittany and Dani available to conjure up meals, and everyone could pop back home whenever they needed to with a little boost from Santana or Elliott. Even with two and a half bathrooms, the household would be overwhelmed if more than a dozen people were attempting to take turns using them every day.

Altogether it was a good arrangement, and Kurt was happy to have one less thing to worry about.

~*~*~*~*~

The Familiars, it had been decided, would take the first crack at confronting Blaine. Kurt recognized the wisdom of not revealing his hand before it was time, and while Blaine certainly knew Sebastian “Oh, no way in hell am I missing out on this!” Smythe, he had never laid eyes on human Tubbington before; Tubbington having been intentionally stealthy the day he went to check on Blaine and David at ‘Between the Sheets’. While Blaine had met Elliott a couple of times, he would certainly never suspect a black cat of being his ex’s best friend. Kurt had recently been reminded that Familiars had a natural immunity to Wild magic. Therefore, the cats would be the safest advance party to send.

“I want to go too,” Adam said, much to the surprise of his husband.

“Are you sure?”

He nodded. “I won’t be startled by him this time. I think coming up on him so suddenly, like a jump-scare in a film, is what flipped me the last time. I want a chance to see him, and get used to seeing him. If I still can’t deal with that, then I’ll have to stay here when the time comes.”

Adam did not like the idea of being safely tucked out of the way when Kurt went face to face with their enemy, but it was a logical precaution and a generously selfless one. 

Kurt recognized this, knowing that Adam was facing up to the fact that he could become more of a hindrance than a help if his PTSD were to take over during a fight. He kissed him softly and consented to his plan by saying, “You’ll need to disguise yourself before you go.”

“Awe-some hand-bag,” Santana sing-songed, making them both smile.

Sebastian snorted. “And who would carry him? I’m not the man-purse type, thanks. Wouldn’t you rather just change your face and be a stranger? Or do you need us to set up a glamour for that?”

Adam met Kurt’s eyes and said, “That might be necessary. I’ve been practicing my Transmogrification skills a great deal of late, in the event they might be needed, but I’ve always been better at mimicking objects than people.”

“Pretty much the opposite of me,” Johnny said, idly mimicking each of them as he looked around the room, then returning to his own brown-eyed, brown-haired, sharp-featured appearance. “I can do an object if I really concentrate and don’t have to hold it very long, but I have trouble with the weight ratio. People are a snap.”

Adam explained to the puzzled-looking Burt and Carole, “He means that when I transform into an object, I automatically adjust my mass and weight, so it doesn’t matter how large or small the object appears. That’s why no one realized that my body had been secretly disguised as a wall poster while my soul was sent to the Void. To change only my face is harder. Like balancing on tiptoe, juggling oranges, and singing an aria all at the same time. It’s possible, but it doesn’t leave much concentration for other things.”

“Fine, an object it is. We don’t want to put any undue pressure on Adam and there’s no point in making up a fake identity for somebody that Blaine is only going to see for five minutes,” Tubbington said firmly, drawing a grateful look from Kurt. “This is just a test mission to see how things stand, so let’s keep it simple. Adam, make yourself into a pendant so you can get a good look and I’ll take you in myself. Sebastian can carry Elliott.”

“And if you open up your rapport with Kurt, he can see and hear through you,” Brittany added cheerfully.

Every person in the room turned to stare at her.

“Oh. Did you not know that?” she said, eyes innocent. “He couldn’t do it before, or maybe just a little, but I’ll bet he can do it easily now that you’re Joined. Since Kurt has high Potential and a strong gift for Sight, he should be able to see through Adam’s eyes.”

Santana looked at her curiously. “Can you see through my eyes?”

Brittany smiled. “Sure!” she chirped. “I don’t, because it’s not polite if you don’t ask first, but I could.”

Intrigued, she said, “Could I?”

Brittany considered that. She and Santana had never gone through a formal Joining ceremony, but they were as close as any two people, witches or not, could be in spite of it. “Probably not for more than a few seconds,” she said at last. “You have Sight, but it isn’t very strong. I can’t use your Talents for force-fields or transportation either, because I don’t have those even in Potential. Adam and Kurt have Sight in almost the same Potential, plus they experienced the temporary sharing of powers that come with being Joined. The emotional link should do the rest.”

“How does it work?” Kurt asked. “The piggy-backing of Sight.”

Brittany tore her gaze away from her girlfriend’s, then simply reached out the same way she had on the first day Kurt had learned of magic, and touched his temple. “Like that.”

Kurt blinked, finding himself the sudden possessor of instinctive knowledge, just as he had been when she taught him to See his own magical Potential. “Oh. Wow, that’s all?”

“Pretty simple, once you have the power,” she said with a shrug. “You have enough that you might be able to do that with any of us if we were to ground and form a bonding circle, like when you went into the Void, but definitely with Adam. You’ll have to close your eyes though.”

“Do you mind?” Kurt asked, eyes shining with eagerness to try this new bit of magic.

Adam shook his head, equally intrigued. Brittany S. Pierce continued to confound him at times. She seemed so simple, so innocent, and he would find himself lulled into trust of that surface image, only to be suddenly reminded that just beneath it lay a virtual treasure trove of knowledge and magical experience. Sometimes he wondered how much of her gifts were natural, and how much had been conferred through her link with Lord Tubbington, who had likely granted her the inherited experience of several lifetimes as a witch’s Familiar. Nine lives was no joke when it came to cat folk.

Kurt closed his eyes, frowning as he searched for the thread of emotion that always connected the two of them, linked to it, and concentrated. It was a peculiar feeling, trying to activate one’s Sight without actually using your eyes, and he struggled to keep them closed when every instinct told him to open his eyes and see what Adam was doing.

Adam, for his part, turned on his own Sight and walked about the room. He turned his back to his husband and picked up a random object. “Can you see what I’m holding?”

“I think … oh, this is weird,” Kurt said. “You’re holding that beat up old bunny rabbit that Monica sleeps with. I can see it, but it’s like I’m looking at it through a slightly warped piece of glass.” Adam turned to look at him, smiling proudly, and Kurt gasped a little. He broke his concentration and blinked to reorient his eyesight as he opened his eyes and looked at Brittany.

She smiled. “You looked better than the way you normally see yourself, right?” He nodded. “It’s because you were seeing yourself through Adam’s eyes, riding his emotional connection to you.”

Kurt blushed suddenly, looking proud and a little bit awe-struck. “Wow. I suddenly understand why you like to say that I’m beautiful. Want to try it?”

Adam nodded eagerly. Kurt repeated his performance, picking up one of Dani’s favorite necklaces from where it was sitting on a dresser. Adam identified the jewelry with no difficulty, then made a choked sound of surprise when Kurt turned and looked at him. 

“Bugger. Apparently my mirror has been doing me a disservice,” he quipped, making a joke of it but clearly startled by the strong, gorgeous, noble man who stood in his place. Him, but also more than him. He swallowed, knowing that he would remember this moment for the rest of his life, and that he would spend his life doing his very best to live up to the person that Kurt believed him to be. “I can’t wait until you see your dodgy ex the way that I do.”

Allowing the charged moment to fade, Kurt laughed with him. “I suspect he won’t look too good through any of our eyes these days. Let’s go find out.”

THE END

[mythigal1966]

Midwinter Wedding

RP Thread with @welcome-to-unseasoned

Wendy surveyed Tess and Ethan’s new rooms with a tired smile.  Two bedrooms, a sitting room and a private bathroom with a sink, toilet and tub. The white tile was grouted, sealed and dry, the brass fittings shone, and Jake and Cy had built in storage cabinets while Wendy installed the new heater.  

It had taken her several weeks to get the new steam-pipe system designed and working safely.  The hard part had been getting the temperature control adjusted, so that the rooms wouldn’t get too warm.  Fortunately, the ceramic tile conducted the heat from the coils, so the floor wouldn’t be cold.

Studying with Shevaughn had helped.  There hadn’t been much the herb witch could tell her about artificing—it seemed Wendy had been doing it instinctively.  But learning about the basic tenets of magic had helped her figure out how to utilize her talent to the fullest.  And Shevaughn had given her a slim volume on the sorts of charms that would help Wendy in her work: mending, heating, shaping...  She now knew how to draw an amplification circle, and a containment ward. The last had come in very handy when she was testing her steam heater—a radiator, Mikey had called it.  

Wendy liked that term.

The turning point had come when little five-year old Sunny, who followed Ethan around like a puppy, had accidentally knocked one of his expensive tempered glass mixing bowls off the kitchen counter.  Even though the chef’s first action had been to scoop up the child and anxiously check to make sure she hadn’t cut herself, the little girl had been inconsolable—‘Mr. Ethan’ NEEDED that bowl to make pancakes!  And muffins!  And cookies! Sunny had tearfully asked Wendy if she could mend it, since Wendy had been fixing a lot of their other little problems.  

Wendy had solemnly gathered up the pieces and taken them to her workshop, promising to do her best.  She’d traced out a containment circle (safety first!) and an amplification circle and had sat and meditated for several minutes. Then she’d concentrated on the mending charm she’d found in the slim volume Shevaughn had lent her and carefully fitted the broken pieces together, watching in growing excitement as they sealed themselves together.  When she was done, the bowl had looked as good as new.  Wendy also suspected it would take something truly extraordinary to break it again.

She’d showed it to Shevaughn first, explaining what had happened.  The older woman had laughed and hugged her, and they’d gone to present the mended bowl to the chef.  Ethan had been both surprised and appreciative.  Sunny had been ecstatic.

After that breakthrough—Wendy grinned at the pun—getting the pipes put together had been a lot easier.

She—and Jake and Cy—had finished just in time, too.  The wedding was tomorrow, on the Winter Solstice.  The two older men had been surprisingly helpful with the tiling and painting, and getting wooden frames knocked together to protect people from accidentally brushing against the actual pipes.  And they were no slouches at cleaning, either.  

After the brothers congratulated Wendy on a job well done, they shooed her out, telling her they would take care of the cleanup.

Wendy sighed and acquiesced: she had been putting in some long hours to make sure everything was finished on time, and she could use a little rest.  She had volunteered to help out with the cooking on Tess and Ethan’s wedding day, having some experience in feeding large numbers of people.  

She just hoped that everyone liked dumplings!

After that, she was bound and determined that first the library, then Mikey’s quarters be the next to get the new heaters in place by Christmas…

*

When he wasn’t helping Wendy and Cy get Tess and Ethan’s new rooms ready, Jake went out hunting with Jimmy. The kid had a real talent for tracking, and had already picked up how to lay trap lines.  Thanks to them, Unseasoned had a steady supply of meat and hides.  

The young mutant feline wasn’t so eager when it came to tanning the hides: it was a smelly process, and the kid had an especially sensitive nose.  Most of the leather was going into making coats and moccasins for the rest of the children: they tended to outgrow shoes in a hurry.  The moccasins were a bit more forgiving so far as size went, and the coats could be patched, refurbished, and handed down when their owners outgrew them.  

It kept Jake busy in the evenings: he would cut out and stitch the leather while he told stories, mostly true, about his and Cy’s adventures in the army.  Things were going faster now that Jimmy was around to help.

It hadn’t taken him and Cy long to get on terms with Wendy.  She was a polite child, whip-smart, inventive and hard-working. And patient: she was never too busy to explain to a curious child what she was doing, and she was a shrewd judge of who was old enough—and responsible enough—to be trusted with small repair jobs of their own.  It had taken a bit of the burden off young Tom’s shoulders.  

He and Cy surveyed the finished bathroom with pride: this was one honey of a wedding present!  The two of them grinned at each other.  After the ceremony, they, Wendy, Mikey and Shevaughn would slip away two or three at a time, to move the couple’s furniture and belongings into their new quarters.

*

Cy had taken over the management of the horses: he’d been a cavalry officer, and the McCann family’s additions had nearly doubled the size of Unseasoned’s herd.  Tess and Ethan took care of their own riding horses: Caramel and Brutus, but Cy took on the job of looking after the rest of them.

Generally, Cy got along better with horses than most people, but he was finding that wasn’t the case at Unseasoned.  Hell, he’d felt pretty much right at home here from the start.  He’d suggested to Mikey that the kids all be taught how to both ride a horse, and handle a wagon team, especially since they now had plenty of horses to practice with.  Automobiles were still pretty much toys of the rich, and not as reliable as a good horse, so they were useful skills.

Cy had been getting restless and a bit melancholy before the family had moved here.  Tess had grown up a long time ago, and she was an independent girl, and didn’t need him and Jake as much anymore.  But the kids at Unseasoned did need his help.  It made Cy feel as if he had purpose again.  Enough so that Tess’s marriage to Ethan didn’t cause him to wonder if he was getting old.

*

Ethan wasn’t nervous precisely, but the anticipation was nearly killing him: by this time tomorrow, he and Tess would be married.  He grinned to himself: she hadn’t been happy about not having a lot of privacy during the past month.  That, and the fact that there were kids pretty much all over Unseasoned, so they had to be careful where they fooled around was very trying.  Their tryst in the bathroom was the last time they’d had the opportunity to do more than steal a few kisses.

Ethan was as impatient as Tess for their wedding night.  

In the meantime, he made sure that the kitchen ran smoothly.  He sparred with Mikey.  He also discovered that Wendy had some training in hand-to-hand, courtesy of her father, and he made time to test and advance her skills.  Her experience with Weasel had made her determined to make sure no one would catch her off guard like that again.  Ethan—and Mikey—helped as best they could.

He also found himself teaching a class for the more advanced students in unarmed combat.  

*

Tess used all of her nervous anticipation to fuel her writing.  So much so, that she was ahead of schedule on her next book.  She also helped Shevaughn with the greenhouse, which was finally bringing in enough edibles to take some of the worried look out of Mikey’s expression when he talked about the food situation.  She also helped Shevaughn make enough lotion to soothe the dry and itchy winter skin of the everyone living at Unseasoned, as well as bath oils.  

Mikey was getting his own formula: he suffered from dry skin just like everyone else, but he had scales and a carapace.  It had put Shevaughn very much on her mettle to figure out something that would be healing for both his skin and his shell.  

All of this helped distract Tess from the frustrating lack of privacy for her and Ethan.  Tess knew exactly what she was missing, and it very much strained her patience.  Ethan was a wonderful lover, at least as far as Tess could tell: she had no previous partners with which to compare him.  But, he was gentle, patient, passionate and very thorough.  

Tess sighed.  It wasn’t just the sex.  Ethan let his guard down completely when they made love, and Tess knew enough about him to realize how rarely he let anyone in.  She missed being held.  She missed the skin-to-skin contact.  She wanted to be able to fall asleep in Ethan’s arms after they’d worn each other out, and not have to have one of them sneak out afterwards.  She realized that they had never made love in a bed, and shook her head, smiling ruefully.  Her first time had been in the hayloft over the horses’ stalls at her old home, and while it had been wonderful, Tess was tired of sneaking around.  

But, the wedding was tomorrow.  It was the last night she would sleep alone.  She made a note to ask her gran for a tea to relax her enough so that she could sleep.  Tomorrow was going to be a long day, and Tess was fairly certain she wasn’t going to be getting much sleep that night, either!

She couldn’t wait!

*

Shevaughn had been very busy, and happily so: she had finished stocking Tess and Ethan’s new bathroom with bath salts, oils and lotions, as well as new towels and a couple of sets of new sheets for their bed.  Ethan’s suit was finished, Tess’s new nightgown and underthings were set out and waiting for tomorrow.  

Now, if only Mikey would hold still!  

Shevaughn had managed to sew him a new pair of pants, and a new shirt, modified to fit around his shell. Currently, he was wearing it while she made a few minor adjustments to make the fit of the shirt more comfortable. The mutant turtle was having some difficulties staying still long enough.

The older woman glared up at him in exasperation.  “I know you’re busy, dear, but the more you fidget, the longer this is going to take! And I will absolutely NOT have you officiate at my granddaughter’s wedding looking like a vagabond!”  She coaxed a bit of fabric into a looser fold and pinned it.  “Besides, you are the founder of this community, and like it or not, you need to look respectable, on occasion.”

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[cosmal]

KINKTOBER DAY FIVE — MASTURBATION WITH JAMES POTTER

*:･ﾟsummary — james gets back from a work trip and he wants to see how you touched yourself when he was away.

*:･ﾟwarnings/tags — fem!reader, she/her prns, mutual masturbation, fingering, bathing together, 18+, mdni

*:･ﾟword count — 1.5k

*:･ﾟmy gif!

You run your hand under the almost scalding water that’s running from your bath tap, it splashes up against your work clothes and you hear the front door open, a humming James to follow.

“Perfect timing!” You call from the bathroom, pouring your favourite lavender bubbles under the stream of water. It foams immediately, swirls and shines under the light of your heat lamps.

James stands in the entrance to your ensuite and leans against the doorframe, toned arms coming to cross over his chest. He smiles warmly and says, “Sweetheart,” in the softest way possible.

Your move across the room and wrap your arms around him, finding their home under his armpits and across the expanse of his wide back. He’d been away for a few days on a work trip. You’d missed him dearly.

His hand comes up to the top of your head and smooths it downwards and along your back, “Missed you,” He murmurs into the skin of your neck, parting his lips over your skin to press a chaste kiss. “Lots.”

“Missed you too, Jamie.” Your voice is thick, and a hint of relaxed contentment drips from your words.

He smells of cheap hotel detergent and sweat. You breathe in deeper, nose pressed against his chest and you can discern the familiar scent of his cologne and skin. It feels overwhelmingly welcoming.

He squeezes you harder and rests his weight against you. He groans and you say, “You tired?”

He hums a yes.

“Okay, hop in the bath, I’ll go make you some tea.” You pull away but his hands don’t leave your back. He pouts and moves to squeeze your hips.

“M’not hungry.” he shakes his head and you lean up to peck his nose with your lips. His eyes flutter closed. 

“You sure? I can make something real quick. I’ve got pasta.” You frown. You’re sure he didn’t eat properly on his trip. 

“Have a bath with me.”

James thinks it comes out as a question, but it sounds more like a light demand. You grin at his absolute urgency. You’d never say no to him. Especially when he makes that face.

“Okay, gimme a sec baby and I’ll come join you.” 

He chirps a happy noise and moves to take his dirty clothes off. You leave him for a moment to go throw your towels in the dryer, something you know the two of you will be thankful for later.

When you return, he’s already in the water, head leaning back on the ceramic with his eyes closed. You almost think about leaving him in peace before he calls out, “Hurry up, babe! S’getting cold.’

You laugh from your position in front of the toilet and he peaks through his eyelashes, “Oh shit, didn’t know you came back.”

You rid yourself of your dirty work clothes and lift your leg to stand in the water. He budges up and pats his thighs, splashing water up your calf. “Do your worst, pretty girl.” He outstretches his arms and you bend to sit down, groaning like he’s an inconvenience when he pulls you flat against his chest.

Your groan turns into a sigh, and the warm water relaxes your muscles almost immediately, relishing in the feeling of James' toned, wet chest under your cheek. The bubbles envelop your skin and there's an overwhelming smell of lavender.

"I think I overdid it on the bubbles." You laugh.

"S'perfect." He hums.

When the only thing to be heard momentarily is splashing water and both of your calming breaths, you speak up, “How was your trip?”

“S’alright. Super long. My boss has no idea about a break. He’s a prick.” he groans. His arms come down to your stomach and spread over its swell, kneading your flesh. 

“Oh. M’sorry, baby.” You tut, squeezing at his thigh. It tenses under your palm. “Happy to be home?”

“Of course,” You can hear his grin, “So happy. Missed you so much.” He presses his chin into the top of your head, then turns until his cheek is flat against it.

“Missed you too, Jamie.” His hands creep down to the skin at the apex between your thighs, fingers tickling up and down the expanse of softness just above your crush of curls. Your breath hitches. “Missed your hands.”

“My hands, hmm?” He laughs. He can hear where your breath stutters when his hands creep closer across your mound. Where you hold it when he traces little circles. 

“Yeah. Mine don’t feel the same.��� You admit. Your cheeks warm. You’d blame it on the hot water, not your sheepishness.

“Did my pretty girl touch herself while I was away?” He asks and you almost whine when he removes his hands from your skin. They sink into the water and wrap around your own.

You nod against his chest and your hair dips into the water, tendrils pulling back up and dripping down your shoulders. “Wasn’t the same though, Jamie.”

He pulls one of your hands from the bath and water trickles over your stomach in tiny flecks. You twitch when it tickles. He guides your hand to your cunt and your fingers stop just above your clit, throbbing with anticipation. You gasp.

“Wanna show me?” He asks. His voice is a murmur against your ear and you shiver. Goosebumps rise over your skin. “Show me how you touched that little clit?”

You bite your lip and he pushes your hand down until your fingers part over your folds. He lets go and you graze over your clit with a featherlight touch. You feel it twitch under your pruning fingers.

“That’s it, baby. Show Jamie how you did it.” You’ve gone a little too quiet so he pushes your dampening hair away from your neck, angling your head until he can attach his lips to your skin, hoping it pulls some pretty noises from you.

It does. You gasp when his tongue darts out and grazes over the dip of your shoulder, swirling over water that’s now mixing with his saliva. He watches over your body where your hand fastens in tiny, lazy circles. 

“What did you think about while fucking yourself with your fingers, sweet thing?” 

You keen and your head falls back against his shoulder. “James,” Your voice is a stuttering murmur. 

“Hmm?” he hums against your skin. 

Your fingers twitch. Your movements are sluggish and your eyes droop, trying their best to stay open. “Thought,” You swallow, hard, “thought about you, James. Thought about you fucking me.”

“Thought about my cock, huh?” You’re not sure if you hate or love his teasing. You think it can be both. 

Your hips wriggle and your fingers fasten, chasing a high that seems impossible. He reaches between your bodies and pulls his cock from where it had been resting against his thigh.

Now achingly hard, water swirls over his tip where it trails down with a mix of precum. He twists so it presses into your hip and he wraps his hand around the base, twisting up with an experimental squeeze to his tip. He’s on the precipice of cumming already watching where your hand spreads through your folds.

He tugs and relishes in the sweet sounds of your moans and pretty gasps. You can hear the squelch of where he fucks himself with his hand and it only spurs you on. The thought of him jerking himself to the sight of you touching your swollen little clit has your head reeling.

“Fuck, baby. You’re so pretty.” You squeeze your eyes closed and your mouth falls agape. You twitch in your spot, wanting to turn around and kiss him. Though your bath is small and it wouldn’t work.

Your other hand comes around to push a finger into your cunt, thrusting in perfect tandem with your other hand that massages your clit.  “That’s it, sweetheart. Fuck y’self for me. Such a good girl, yeah?”

You moan and nod your head which feels heavy through a cloudy haze. You spread your legs until your knees press roughly into the side of the tub. His free hand comes to push into your stomach where you squirm and twitch.

“Gonna cum?” He murmurs. His breaths are ragged now and you can feel his grunts reverberate against your ear. Hot breath that warms your skin. “Cum for me, sweetheart.”

Your fingers push and circle until you can feel your high building. Your cunt spasms, clenching around your single digit and you cry out. Legs tensing, head spinning. James isn’t far behind you, swiftly tugging at his cock until he’s cumming, whiteness spurting out against your side and into the water.

His arms go limp and you pull your hands from your body, going lax against his heaving chest. He wraps his arms around your torso, tugging your firm against his body.

“You okay?” He kisses your cheek.

“Amazing.” You murmur through a smile, eyes drooping closed. Your legs twitch and it ripples the water. James grins.

“I’m glad.”

There’s a beat of comforting silence, full of panting breaths and swirling water.

“Wanna go for round two in the bedroom?” You ask. James can hear your grin through your needy words.

“You little minx.”

“Need your cock, babe. I’m having withdrawals.” You tease and he pinches you.

Safe to say, you both go for round two, still dripping wet, making a mess of your bed. And then a mess of your couch. And the kitchen counter. The sun’s almost rising before you pull the towels from the dryer.

[renegade-is-in-my-blood]

Hey. Me and my cowriter of Books section of renegade7x Domc went to short trip to Netherlands last week and here is our quite long story:

I found this trip on my favourite czech discount websites for very cheap price of around 60 euros for the bus ride from Prague. I had only positive experiences with booking trips online as this was my fifth travel trip through discount website called Hyperslevy (link for all my Czech/Slovak readers)

I made a reservation and exchanged several emails with the travel agency. Agency offered extra boarding cities including my hometown Hradec Kralove where I study and work.It’s 2 hours away from Prague. Domc currently lives in Prague what was another boarding city so we decided it would be easier for me to board in Hradec and for her to board in Prague. Agency told us it would be no problem and we were set without any idea what a huge problem it would be in reality.

I boarded in Hradec at 16:30 pm and our bus headed to Prague to get another passengers Domc including as we were sitting together in the bus. During the drive there I texted her how our bus looked like and our current location. We were supposed to be in Prague at 18:30 pm. and we entered the city at around 18:20 so I texted her we will be at boarding place shortly.

However our bus suddenly took a turn and headed away from Prague. I found it weird but as I’m not very familiar with Prague road system I just tought we wanted to avoid traffic so I texted Domc we would be probably late.

15 minutes passed and we were long way from Prague without Domc on board. At this time our czech speaking delegate came to me and asked me where my friend was.  At this time I was so confused and I kept telling her she is supposed to board in Prague at what our delegate told me “she’s not there” and i said “she is but we’re not there”.

After another few confusing sentences I learned that there were 2 busses and my friend was supposed to board to another one. So basically travel agency without our consent split us into 2 busses and Domc would transfer later when our 2 busses would meet. No one bothered to told us thought.

Domc was standing in front of bus that she was supposed to board for 15 minutes what resulted in 15 minutes delay for both busses so all of the other passengers were pretty upset with us but not as much as we were with the agency.

And this wasn’t even the worst thing that happened for the ride to Netherlands.

At our last boarding place in czech republic 6 clearly drunk and horribly smelling men boarded the bus. Of course they sat right behind us and our personal hell began.

They kept drinking the whole time, alcohol and cigarettes smell spread through whole bus, they were so loud and vulgar and just plainly stupid it was unbearable. Language like straight from the pub and they didn’t gave a tiny rats ass that there were small children sitting next to them. They spilled alcohol over the floor and even on one lady’s bags several times and since they were drinking all the time they kept peeing in bus toilet that was locked, so every time they needed to pee, they had to go al the way to the front of the bus (we were all sitting in the back) to ask driver to unlock the toilet  for them so the driver got pretty upset with them as well.

It was horrible, all of the passengers were complaining, they tried to warn them themselves but it was useless . They were drunk, vulgar and aggressive and they almost got into fight few times.

There were no sleeping for the bus. The minute I closed my eyes I heard one of them go “I came here to party not to sleep i could have slept at home” . Let me remind you the bus was full of 40+ years old ladies, families with kids, me and my friend and 6 30+ years old  drunk pigs. There were 56 passengers altogether.

The travel directions we received from travel agency  before the trip clearly stated that agency has the right to cast out any passenger who is consuming alcohol, drugs, is vulgar and aggressive toward other passengers but all of this was just pretty bullshit. Delegate came to them like thee times and each time she gave them “last warning” otherwise she would throw them away from the bus with no financial restitution. Sadly that didn’t happened even though all of the 50 other passengers would welcome it.

I attended bus trips many times and never did I realized the importance of your co-travelers. Luckily our drunk heads calmed down at around 5 am and we were getting off in holland at 6:30 am

Another negative thing for the drive was that there were almost no toilets breaks. Driver is supposed to make safety stops every 3-4 hours but that did not happened. Since I boarded at 16:30 till 6:30 there were only 2 toilets breaks !

I realize I have been complaining for quite a while but this was the “only” negative of the whole trip. Holland was incredible and from now on I’m gonna tell you only positive experiences about the trip.

Our first stop in holland was Keukenhof tulip gardens, the biggest and most beautiful tulip gardens in whole Netherlands and it truly is.

Garden opens at 8 am and we were a bit sooner, we got tickets for 17 euros and spend there 3,5 hours. As we had some time to spend before the opening we went to small market to buy tulip onions for our own gardens. 10 euros for 3 bags of 10 onions.

It was much nicer at this early hours as there were almost no people while at noon the garden wa so crowded there were almost no place to move and it was impossible to take nice picture without other tourist photo bombing you.

Gardens were in great shape, perfectly cut, incredible color combination, many beautiful decorations that looked incredibly on photos. I believe there is not much I could say about it and it would be better for you to see some of the many pictures we took in there to truly see the beauty we experienced:

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  What you can find in Keukenhof gardens besides tulips:

coffee shops

benches to rest

wheelchairs to borrow for older people

statues

retro car shops

flowers shaped into pictures (like hearts, faces, river)

the well, small rivers, waterfalls

animals – ducks, swans, goat, chicken, pigs, rabbits, parrots

fountains

old cars and flowers growing out of them, retro motorbikes and cars as a decoration

Netherlands white and blue ceramic

boats

windmill

Beach, indian, valentines and many other themed sections great for photographs

King Arthur’s sword Excalibur in rock (we were not worthy to pull it out)

Keukenhof is 110% recommendation must see when visiting Holland.

Our next stop was Zaanse Schans. Another beautiful sigh but I did not enjoy it as much as the gardens as the weather was bit unpleasant. It was starting to rain a bit. It was so windy and the place was full with people so it was annoying to walk with umbrellas on such narrow road as there were.

We had 3 major stops at Zaanse schans – first was cheese related. We went into this old building where they demonstrated original preparation of Netherlands cheeses and we even got to try bunch of different cheeses – some really delicious and some I couldn’t even swallow.

Next was clogs demonstration. They showed us how they make clogs from the log in just several minutes. We also got to see many clogs and ceramic at gift shop:

  Third stop was windmill itself. We paid 4,50 euros extra but it was so not wort it, we just got to see inside of the windmill, climb upwards but since it was so windy and rainy outside we couldn’t even took proper picture so I did not like this attraction.

  We still got few minutes to spare so we went to Zaansen Schans museum for free. But to be fair I have no idea what was it about as I guess we were supposed to take free audio guide to explain to us what was all of the exhibitions about, but since we had only like 10 minutes we just passed them by, took some photos and headed for bus:

From there we headed to Amsterdam. We arrived at 17:00 pm and leaved at 21:30pm.

Our group went to boat trip and wax figurines museum but me and Domc did not want to attend those so we went on our own and created our own program.

First of all we were starting to get cold so our first stop was Primark so we could buy some warm scarfs.

From there we just wandered aimlessly through Amsterdam, we made a stop at gift shop where we bought some souvenirs for our friends and family.

Amsterdam is famous for its liberal believes, legal access to weed or prostitution. Whole place smelled like weed and it remind me of my university dorm hallways. You could buy weed products, souvenirs or sex toys at every gift shop you coud find. I got weed lollipops for my friends.

We bought some sweets at this cute shop and ate them with the view from the bench over the river. We also bought coffee at Starbucks and relaxed for a bit and posted some photos on internet.

Prices were almost the same as at our country. We saw many people eating this fries so we tried them as well with sweet chilli sauce. They also offered free mayo with herbs what tasted great but their ketchup was just bad.

You can’t find public restrooms in Amsterdam so if you want to use bathroom you need to go to some restaurant – we choose McDonald’s for 50 cent where we also got some snack and chilled for a bit.

In our next wandering we came across Museum of torture so we went in for 7,50 euros.

It was full of torture instruments with description on “how to use them”, vivid photographs and stories in many different languages. The place looked like basement and it was dimmed with scary red and blue light like this:

We did not follow the map, we just occasionally checked it if we did not went too far away from our boarding place. Suddenly we were on Amsterdam’s famous Red light district street. It’s famous for shit tons of strip clubs, bars and easy access to prostitution, room renting and drugs. There were girls dressed in lingerie dancing in shop windows and seducing bypassing tourists and trust me there were a lot of tourists at this street. Our delegate warn us not to take pictures of the ladies as they don’t like that very much and might leave or get very upset.

I get that – I wouldn’t like people taking photo of me while I’m working as well.

Being from middle europe where people are way too conservative and still consider homosexuals as something rare,unusual and huge sin our delegate put homosexuality into same liberal category as prostitution and drugs, and actually “warn us about them” what was kind of offensive in my point of view as a LGBTQ+/supporter.

For me personally Amsterdam went up hight on my top cities I visited list, I loved the view, old buildings, bicycles everywhere, nature, coffee shops with cute colorful chairs outside. I was thrilled by how everyone we met speaks perfect english, not like when i was in states where it took me a while to adapt to certain accent, or in Paris where just very few people could speak english. People were so nice – some of them even smiled or said hello to us what was just so shocking for us as we are so not used to something like that.

We kept walking the streets till evening and enjoyed beautiful sunset over the city.

As the 21:30 we were all at bus heading home. I was so afraid our horrible night from before would repeat as our guy group kept saying how they’re gonna get wasted and stoned in Amsterdam. Thank God when they turned the lights off in bus all of the guys fell asleep and we all could enjoy our night of peace. I arrived home at sunday noon full of great experiences.

What I did not know before I visited Netherlands:

Amsterdam has the lowest criminality even though the prostitution and drugs. I felt like the worst behaving people were the Czechs from our bus.

Another fact I did not now before was that whole country is under the sea level what was so mind-blowing for us as we were driving through country, sea was actually above us.

I had no idea the blue and white ceramic was originally from Netherlands, even though we had a couple of them at home since I was a kid.

I never really thought about why there is so many tulips in Netherlands or what they do with them afterwards. I learned that holland distributes onions worldwide with vegetables and fruits they grow in there.

Clogs – well know holland shoes but why did they start to wear them in first place? Well as Netherlands is under the sea level and whole country is full of water people needed shoes that would not leak and wood was perfect for moist tulips fields.

Amsterdam is not the capital city of Netherlands

Even thought ride to Holland was hell, country was heaven and we had great time.

Thank you for your attention

xo Natalia

    One day in Netherlands Hey. Me and my cowriter of Books section of renegade7x Domc went to short trip to Netherlands last week and here is our quite long story: