#also please enjoy this little thing I worte

[inkstainedheartbeats]

Okay, so, uh, this is a modern day AU. No upside down. And like most of the characters are actually decent humans (minus Brenner, Neil, and Henry and probably Angela because fuck Angela) so probs ooc for like them? Also Eddie didn’t grow up in Hawkins, him, Corroded Coffin, Chrissy and Jason lived in a neighboring town. Chrissy and Jason moved off and Corroded Coffin got big? (Is this me trying to dip my toe into Corroded King? Maybe? Is this something probably only I will like? Also very probable.)

When Eddie sees the clearly pregnant man with big poofy, swoopy hair surrounded by jock types he scoffs. Hates the stereotypical Omeganess of it all. The Omega with a harem of Alphas just tripping over their feet to please him. The grocery store isn’t very big and it isn’t crowded. And no one has noticed him. This should be a good thing. It’s what the band wanted after all. Anonymity. Eddie hates it. Wants to be back up on the stage, his pack around him and the screaming fans in front.

“Seriously, Steve, let us do this man. You should be resting,” he over hears one of the jocks say. He African American, tall, big hands fluttering around.

Steve snorts.

“I’m pregnant, Patrick, not incapable. And I’ve let you dicks grab the heavier stuff.”

“Patrick’s right… especially after the last pregnancy,” another speaks up. Wavey black hair.

“You three are worse than the pups! I’ve survived four pregnancies, I can survive this one.”

“You almost didn’t survive the last one,” mutters the last jock. This one wearing a cap.

Steve is almost to Eddie now. The scent of pregnancy is strong. Soft though. Like delicate flower petals. Four pregnancies and the Omega doesn’t look older than maybe thirty at the oldest. He’s frozen in place as the little pack passes him.

“Yes, well, the reason for that is no longer in Hawkins, now is he? Don’t think I have ever seen Hopper so happy to talk to Billy or Tommy than he was that day. Now who wants to go grab three twelve packs of soda?”

It’s after they’re gone and Eddie feels like the spell of immobility has worn of that he realizes something. While yes, there was an overwhelming scent of Alpha, at least one of the three worry worts were definitely an Alpha, there was no Omega scent. That’s what Eddie gets for making assumptions. He should know better than to assume. Afterall, most assume that he’s a Beta or even Alpha. They take one look at him and assume he’s dangerous or mean. Granted he enjoys them thinking that instead of thinking that he’s what he is. While the metal scene itself would love and imbrace him he knows that the studios wouldn’t. An Omega frontman? Their worse nightmare. Never mind the fact that they’re now settling doing for a moment isn’t because Eddie is the one pregnant but Gareth. Though admittedly he could be the reason Gareth is pregnant but so could Jeff or Freak.

He shakes himself, mentally and physically. Whatever. He has food to buy and friends to see. It’s been forever since he saw Chrissy and while friend still doesn’t feel right for Jason he’s looking forward to teasing the Alpha.

[cetra]

how the fuck are you a velvet stan when her entire story revolves around being in love with her little brother and finding a replacement for him!!!!! the game literally ends with her stuck in eternity with him!!!!!!! what the hell

HUH...... okay first of all her entire story arc is about coming to terms with her trauma and finally being able to let love & light into her life. also about finally getting revenge on an institution that betrayed her and caused her to become a monster. it's a great arc, she's the best Tales of protagonist and that's why we #stan

Second of all Velvet wasn't in love with her Laphi dawg what game did you play 😭 that was her BROTHER..... dont be weird. and she makes it abundantly clear that the way she sees Phi is as a brother. Yes he starts off as a replacement for Laphi and I recognize that's a weird thing to do but she's not supposed to be a good person, this is a game about a lot of traumatized jerks and Velvet is one of them. Phi definitely had a precocious crush on her but Velvet seems pretty unaware of it from what I understand, she only sees him as a little brother. Although in time she starts to back off from this when Phi expresses that it makes him angry/uncomfortable. iirc that's also around the time you start to see her develop healthier relationships with some of the other members of the Menagerie. her going from treating him as a replacement for Laphi to viewing him as more of a treasured friend (and maybe like.... a kid she babysits let's be real) was very obvious to me so again, idk what game you played

as for the ending 😭 c'mon man. that's not even Laphi she's with, that's Innominat. Velvet recognizes that Laphi is gone forever and the reason why she decides to spend all of eternity with Innominat is because SHE'S THE ONLY ONE WHO CAN CONTAIN HIS POWER. literally the only one. She knows that this is the only way the world can be saved and it's a huge moment for her character bc she previously never viewed this as a world worth saving and now not only does she see that it is, but she also feels she was in part responsible for its ruin so that's why she chooses to sacrifice herself in this way. it's a beautiful and bittersweet ending and your reduction ignores like tens of hours wort of critical character development.

ANYWAYS all that being said please enjoy this beautiful art of Velvet that @lexsnotdead made for me

I suggest you change your ways immediately or just leave me and my favorite fictional woman in peace God bless 🫡🧡

[ezzybel]

Designated Zoomer

It was March and the snow was beginning to melt. Hopper was still strict about Eleven leaving the cabin, not that she could get very far without running into wet soggy shoe issues with the melting patches of snow, and at least Mike knew she was alive this year, but even so, her heart wrenched to see him. Sometimes they talked… Through the phone with Hopper’s supervision or over the radio through Morse, but it wasn't quite the same as hearing his voice.

It was another Saturday morning, and Eleven was lazing around wondering what she could do. She had already swept the floor on Friday for the 3rd time that week, and she had dusted the shelves every other day before that.  Although the weather was getting warmer, it hadn't yet rained, and wet snow would often fall to later melt that afternoon. She watched the snow from her bed, hanging upside down. Suddenly a little pebble smacks the window, startling El. She flips over unto her stomach and studies the window more keenly. Another pebble. Tunk! Her curiosity peaked, and she got up to investigate. There below the window she was surprised to find Max Mayfield clutching on what appeared to be a brand new yellow bike. Her face was red, and her hair was wet with snow. She was wearing a yellow rain jacket that matched her bike. She still wasn't sure how she felt about her being in The Party, and although they cleared out the misunderstanding between her and Mike, that didn't mean she had to like her. Opening the window, she leaned out and called, "Max?" "Hey El... I get your under house arrest for safety, but I thought maybe you'd like to come out and hang out with us." Max responded. She didn't reply and thought about it, and remembered the last time she snuck out without Hopper's permission. It had taken her three hours to walk from and to the local school, and it didn’t help how late in the morning it had been already. The timing was nearly the same.

"Hopper will never find out. You’d be back before he knows it."

El looked at Max’s bike, could she really bike quick enough to arrive on time? The Party had said how she was a Zoomer. The thought of having a chance to hang out with Mike then threaded its way through her mind, and excitement for the possibilities begun to fill her. "What if somebody... Sees me?" She asked, calculating the risks of Hopper finding out. "Well as long as you don't do weird stuff, no one will have a chance of seeing us." El thought about it some more. She studied the gloomy weather, and the rough forest terrain they’d have to go through. How long did it take Max to get here? Looking at Max, she wondered if she could trust her? Lucas did, so did Dustin, Will, and maybe Mike. She had also already come all the way out here for her anyways. 'Friends don't lie...' she thought to herself. "Okay. I'll come" she finally said. She abruptly closed the window, and walked to the entrance, grabbed her coat, opened the door, and locked it behind her. It was chillier than what she had expected. Walking off the porch, she looked back. 'Hopper will never find out' she echoed Max's words, ‘Not stupid.’ She also recalled. She walked around to meet Max. "You ready?" She patted her seat. "Yes," she mounted herself onto the seat. Max looked at her and gave her a smile, she returned it with the thought of seeing Mike. "Hold on tight," Max said as she kicked off her bike into movement. They began to pick up speed, and the two began bouncing up and down with the rough terrain. As Max continued to pick up more speed, they bounced harsher, Max’s speed and the bouncing began to scare Eleven.

"Too fast," She said, adjusting her grip. Max hadn’t heard her over the sound of the bike going over wet leaves, snow and twigs. She watched how Max zoomed past the trees, and at the same time threading delicately through the trees. Her hair begun to get heavy with water as the snow continued to fall. Occasionally Max would accidentally wack El with her hair when they jumped over a fallen log or ramp made of snow. The cold wind began to prickle her cheeks and dry her eyes, closing them to also remedy her anxiety of crashing. Her attention turned to the sounds she heard. Early Spring birds chirping, the hum of the bike's moving tires, Max's tired breaths, and her own excited heartbeat. They continued to pick up speed as they started to go down hill. Max stopped pedalling and focused on dodging trees and shrubs. El opened her eyes to see where they were, but seeing the trees whizzing by at horrifying speeds, and the feeling of gravity pulling the two downwards made her shut her eyes once again. She felt the bike drop down unto a road with a heavy thunk. Max had slowed down, she could tell that she was tired, and a sudden appreciation for the new party member came to El. She came all the way out to the cabin to take her to her friends.

       Feeling safer with their current speed Eleven opened up her eyes once more and straightened her back, she hadn’t noticed how tight she had clutched unto Max. She watched as they passed by far off acreages, trees, shrubs and the "Welcome to Hawkins" sign. They were almost there. They were almost there! Quickly Hawkins neighborhood houses, and storefronts started to appear beside them. Passerbys on the sidewalk would occasionally look up to see the two girls whizzing by on the yellow bike, they would sometimes have a curious expression on their face as though they were surprised to see two girls on a bike. So much for not attracting attention. A joyous smile came onto her face as she began to recognize buildings and streets, nostalgic memories of the past two years flooded her mind. A pang of emotion beated in her heart. Finally they arrived at the arcade parking lot. There the party stood with their hands in their pockets, jackets zipped up and squinting while they looked at them. There was Mike. He had a surprised expression, that turned into the big smile she loved to gaze upon.

“Eleven?” He called. Max came to a slow, letting Eleven off first and then parked her bike. Her face was a bright red, and she was panting heavily. Eleven immediately went into Mike's arms into a tight embrace. "There I brought you your girlfriend." Max said through heavy breaths. Mike smiled at Max while still hugging El. "Thanks Max." Letting El go, she went over to Max and also gave her a hug with a big smile. "Thank you Max." At this point, Eleven had fully accepted the new party member into The Party. "I just didn't want Mike to be a big mopey baby for the third Saturday in a row." "Mopey Baby?" "Yeah Mike is always like 'huu I wish El was here, I love El, I miss El, huu I miss her'" Lucas chimed in to mock Mike.

"So I decided to bring you to him, since he's too much of a pussy to get you" "I'm not a pussy, my bike just isn't made for rough terrain." Mike argued. "I thought you'd do anything for El." Mike gritted his teeth at Max's remark "And you know I would! But there’s no way I could get her here as fast as you anyways."

“How long did it take you?” Asked Dustin. Checking her watch Max replied,

“An hour and a half.”

“Zoomer.” He said turning to El with a grin.

Mike let out a defeated sigh and turned to El. "El I’m sorry it wasn’t me who picked you up at the cabin, but I guess… I guess Max is our designated Zoomer. But coming summer we'll get you a bike. And we'll be able to hang out all the time!" Mike said as he grabbed unto El's hands. "Promise?" She asked. "Promise"

[helaintoloki]

Can I please get #5 ice skating for five x female???

a/n: this is the result of writing right after inhaling nail polish fumes from painting my nails ajsbsb

warnings: awkwardness, fluff if you squint, mentions of blood

* #5: ice skating // taken from this prompt list

“Remind me why I let you talk me into this again,” you say uneasily, clutching onto Klaus’s arm for dear life as he skillfully glides across the ice and pulls you along with him.

“Because it’s fun and you need to start taking more risks in life, y/n/n,” he explains as if it’s the simplest thing in the world. “No one likes a worry wort.”

“I am not a worry wort!” You retort with an offended scoff. “I just don’t have amazing super powers to protect myself with like the rest of you do.”

Luther, infamous for his brute strength and lack of coordination, whizzes by your slow moving pair with such grace and grandeur it makes you wish the ice from underneath you would cave in and trap you at the very bottom of the lake. Every year the water froze over, and every year the Hargreeves siblings took advantage of the homemade ice rink to play and skate and enjoy one of the rare moments in which they could just be regular kids. It was sweet to see them in their natural element, but you preferred watching from the sidelines over Klaus thrusting you into the midst of the chaos and festivities. You already found yourself having a hard time keeping up with the Umbrella kids, you didn’t need to make the situation more difficult than it needed to be.

“Okay, then prove it,” Klaus challenged, and before you could even comprehend what was happening the Seance gave you a gentle but firm push into the center of the ice. Without his support you found yourself stumbling, your legs tiring under your desperate attempt to stay on your feet, and just when you thought you were about to eat a face full of ice a flash of blue light appeared and a pair of arms were pulling you back to an upright position. Five stood before you, unimpressed at your skating and unimpressed at his brother’s antics.

“You look like a baby giraffe trying to walk for the first time,” he notes casually, biting back a smile at the scowl you give him in response.

“Sorry we can’t all be naturally gifted,” you retort sarcastically. A barely audible chuckle leaves him at your comment, but your unamused stare forces him to prompt cut off his laughter and let out a small sigh.

“You keep looking at your feet when you skate and it’s throwing off your balance. Keep your gaze leveled.”

“But-“

“Do you want to learn how to ice skate or not?” Five interrupts you, taking your silence as an invitation for him to continue his instructions. “Start off slow.”

You watch silently as Five demonstrates, the blades of his skates sliding smoothly along the ice as he slowly begins to glide forward. Though you’re not exactly sure why he’s decided to take pity on you— it’s not that he hates you, per say, but you also wouldn’t exactly say the two of you were close. You acknowledged one another whenever in each other’s presence, and once you’d paid for him at the bowling alley, but that was about it— you bite your tongue and comply with his directions. Slowly and a bit awkwardly you move across the ice, and every time you feel as if you might fall over Five is right there to steady you.

“Better,” he says. “Less like a baby giraffe and more like an endearingly clumsy one.”

You can’t tell if the smile he gives you is mocking or genuine— he doesn’t smile much— but nonetheless you decide to take the compliment for you know how rare praise from Five is. He’s always been better at spitting out sarcastic remarks and well thought out insults, you milk the gesture for all it’s worth.

“Think you got it?” He asks, raising an eyebrow at the way your arms desperately flail to keep you balanced. Your legs are trembling and your stomach feels queasy, but you don’t think it’s from the fear of falling anymore. Maybe it was just your fatigue from skating all morning or the way you always seemed to romanticize the little things just a bit more during the holiday season, but either way Five’s presence had your heart thrumming rapidly in your chest.

“Y-Yeah, I think so,” you murmur, suddenly embarrassed to be around him. How many times had he probably watched you fall over today?

“Alright,” Five says with finality, almost hesitating before adding, “keep up the good work.”

He gives you an awkward pat to the shoulder before running off to torment Diego by skating circles around his brother, and all you can do is watch from the distance and gauge your surroundings. Despite how cold it is, you have to tug at your scarf due to the unbearable heat that crawls up your neck and spreads across your face. What the hell is going on?

“I could set you two up if you want,” Klaus pipes up from behind you, startling you so bad that you fall face first onto the ice below. He’s never seen so much blood spew from anyone’s nose so quickly before, and once Diego catches sight of the red dribbling down your chin he falls right along with you. Allison guides you on the street as you hold your head back and pinch the bridge of your nose, Luther carries his brother all the way home, and Five follows along silently but close behind.

“So,” Klaus drawls from beside the boy, a coy smile on his face, “I guess you could say y/n fell for you. Get it?”

“Shut up, Klaus.”

[dansnaturepictures]

7/8/21-Return to Blashford Lakes

Today we went somewhere we hadn’t been for seventeen months and five days. A place that with its splendidly varied habitats which hosts a huge variety of birds throughout the year rare and common, and is strong for butterflies, moths, dragonflies and mammals too and was one of our most crucial and one of my favourite nature reserves in my late childhood and teenage years as I got hooked on birdwatching, wildlife generally and photography and I have always loved it since. Over the years there tended to be a barren spell of us going there over the summer as we maybe focused on more butterfly and other insect dominated locations this pattern developing into my working days a bit as we did come during summer holidays in my school/college days but all year throughout the winter especially this hub for wildlife has been a regular haunt for us for so long. But after that last visit on 1st March 2020 obviously Covid hit and the you could say main feature of seeing wildlife at this reserve is the hides, so it is a reserve good for piling into hides with lots of people looking at birds so obviously not good during Covid times. I have to say the team did work very hard to get the reserve open safely without the hides post lockdown 1 and we did explore the idea of coming back to enjoy this at a stage but due to one thing and another we sadly never quite managed it. But following 19th July the hides now are open with the welcome precautions still in place of masks to be worn and every window that can be opened.

A Black-necked Grebe that had been reported on Ibsley Water attracted us here especially today which we needed to see, and it allowed for this sweet reunion with a place I hold dear. During all the discussions of things you will do when lockdown eases or when we find our way to some kind of normal I felt extremely lucky as I have been able to do my main hobby still just because of what it is. But this was one thing on my list of things I wanted to get back to, getting back to places like these so hide dominated reserves. Prior to today since Covid hit it was only Sculthorpe Moor in Norfolk last September and an open screen/hide type area at Newborough Forest in Anglesey this June that I’d been to hides at.

As I walked in at the visitor centre side of the road entrance it was great to be back and one difference from when I last came here is obviously how vastly more interested I am in flowers now and other areas of insects too. And on the verge at the entrance was a lovely moth mullein which I took a photo of and tweeted on Dans_Pictues tonight one I learnt today. St. John’s-wort and yarrow adorned this patch of grass too and there was a lovely little deraeocoris ruber insect on the yarrow a new one for me which was delightful to see. A big thing about my deeper delves into flowers and other insects over the months has obviously been learning so much and it was the sign of the times back at one of my favourite nature reserves that I was only stood on a grass verge beside a road entrance to the site for two minutes or so and I’d learnt two new species!

I then proceeded across the grassy area to get to ivy north hide the first hide I went into in Hampshire since March 2020 and it was stunning to see the fields carpeted in St. John’s-wort, ragowrt and catsear/hawksbeard type flowers making it look deliciously yellow with thistle, black mullein, self-heal and others looking very pretty too. I took the first picture in this photoset of this area. I also liked seeing one of my favourite flowers foxgloves, purple loosestrife, centaury, wild parsnip, dock and Wood avens and Herb-Robert great woodland species that I hadn’t seen for a while still going strong with shadows of cow parnsnip as well throughout the reserve today. On the field area I noticed a beautiful moth flitting around which I got great views of landed on vegetation a smashing Treble-bar a new moth for me today which I also tweeted a photo fo. A welcome life and year tick for my moths and as my eighteenth identified moth species seen this year it levels (whilst I didn’t do a year list then, I worked this out recently) the amount of moths I saw and knew what they were in 2020 which I am pleased with. And whilst I might not ever be able to know every moth I see its more than justified me reinstating my moth year lists recently as I’ve seen more identified moths than dragon/damselflies and mammals two more year lists I keep beside birds and butterflies the main ones this year so far. I also did here today maybe my penultimate Big Butterfly Count this year with the survey ending tomorrow I had never done one here before and I saw three Gatekeepers and one Small White and Speckled Wood between the showers. A splendid Southern Hawker paraded over this area which I saw on the way out and back. 

I reached ivy north hide and among other things I came away impressed with how Covid secure the reserve is to visit as to save going into the hide if one wishes they have added a little open air viewing screen next to the hide which is interesting. As well as lovely views of ivy lake decent numbers of Sand Martins and a Common Tern parading over the water welcomed me back as key Blashford birds at this time of year and I’d not seen either for a few weeks now whilst having a really good year for them both. By the visitor centre I liked seeing some elecampane and mint in a very colourful flower bed area which I took the second picture in this photoset of seeing a nice bee on it too. Before spending some time at ivy south hide and seeing much the same wildlife wise to ivy north with Common Tern flying very nicely over and young Black-headed Gulls among the gulls out there and taking in some nice views I went in the woodland hide.

At this hide one of my absolute favourites with such intimate views available of feeding birds behind the glass where you can see them but they can’t see you as a shower came and went and some brightness emerged I liked seeing the memorable species of this area come one by one. Firstly a Robin one of some seen across the reserve today a fitting one as on that 1st March 2020 visit I took one of my favourite ever pictures I’ve taken of this iconic species. Then the commoner tits were there with Dunnock, soon to be followed by Marsh Tit coming to feed. Coal Tit and Chaffinch would soon follow as wood delicious looking Nuthatch. And I was stunned and got some very exciting moments when a dominant and large flash of red, cream and black arrived in the form of a Great Spotted Woodpecker (GSW). You can’t come to Blashford and the woodland hide and not see these, one of the species that has captivated me most at this reserve right from when we very first visited the bird of Blashford for me for so long with so many times waiting, watching and hoping and loving seeing and trying for photos of. I took and tweeted a photo of this bird, not the best in an awkward angle a little with it more so on the other side of the feeder than my side but having not been here for nearly a year and a half and how important the GSW is to our Blashford visits I was inclined to take whatever I could get if in the summer days when less birds come to the feeders with food available naturally I was lucky enough to see one. And whilst I’ve been so lucky to see and hear these birds a lot elsewhere since last March it was probably my best chances for pictures since this a species I did photograph from this hide on 1st March 2020 too so it felt so good to be back getting such a prolonged view of it. I rarely see many species on a feeder at the same time as the woodpecker they are that dominant but Great Tit and others did stand up to it and be on the feeder at the same time today. 

It was exhilirating to see a Jay and then another fly in displacing the dominant woodpecker and seeing a shaggy looking Jay especially dash past the window getting a striking view I thought it was going to crash into the window at one point. A spectacular moment and I loved getting pictures of them again this year today including the third picture in this photoset I have had a good year for them. Two standout moments on this trip today with two of my favourite birds. I took the fourth and fifth pictures in this photoset of the body of water on the way to ivy south hide and a lovely view of ivy lake there. 

I then met up with my Mum who had returned from a dog walk at nearby Rockford Common with Missy to end the day in the tern hide. There was no sign of the Black-necked Grebe for us as I arrived after a shower but I did see a lot else. This included an early Goosander, a key staple of a Blashford winter this female was something of an early one and we got a pleasant view of this distinguished duck I took the sixth picture in this photoset of this with my bridge camera which came to life in this hide alongside my DSLR for photos I certainly in summer days where maybe it happens less felt I got my fill of bird photos at this top bird spot. I loved seeing the young speckled Lapwing in the seventh picture in this photoset of a nice intimate view I got of this wonderful wader. There were many Egyptian Geese around too I got some stunning views of these including the one in the tenth picture in this photoset. This was my bogey bird this year one I struggled to see quickly which I usually see without too much trouble due to not coming to Blashford we didn’t see any until Fishlake Meadows and then Petersfield Heath Pond in June seeing an extraordinary amount at the latter with Ruddy Shelduck too. Seeing them all here today it was as though we never needed to worry about seeing one this year. There were top views and more photo opportunities of another of my favourite birds with Great Crested Grebe, and I enjoyed seeing gulls including Lesser Black-backed Gulls well. Another pick of the bunch on Ibsley Water was a sweet little Common Sandpiper a key bird for this spot, a third seen this year by me which has been great after RSPB Lodmoor and Stour Vallye nature reserve in Dorset over two days in our April week off of day trips. The top bird moments were set nicely to dramatic scenes as a further showers moved in and their were touches of sun as well looking over the smashing Ibsley water and I was so glad to be back at Blashford. Its interesting sat in the tern hide on Ibsely Water an area overlooked by the further along Goosander hide and Lapwing hide too, I saw Common Tern some more as well as Lapwing and Goosander. With the Goosanders mostly in over winter any terns the spring and summer migrants you would not see them together so this must be the first time I saw all three in a day which I found very interesting. I took the eighth and ninth pictures in this photoset of the views here.

An always likely sight in the woodland hide at Blashford greeted us when home this evening when a Sparrowhawk flew up from the garden and over the other gardens, appearing to have had a kill with some feathers left in the garden. This was so exciting to see. I had seen probably this Sparrowhawk hovering over the area recently and with the noise and numbers from the Starlings coming in lately this was maybe only a matter of time. Its another glorious Sparrowhawk in the garden experience which I feel over the moon to have a little collection going for here and my Dad’s house where I grew up. I liked seeing some new pretty flowers the bright red chrysanthemums in the back garden too and alongside nice other bird and sky views at home today it was special to see some Goldfinches including a young bird on the balcony feeders once more. What a brilliant Saturday, I hope you all had a good one.

Wildlife Sightings Summary for Blashford Lakes: My first ever deraeocoris ruber and Treble-bar moth, three of my favourite birds the Great Spotted Woodpecker, Jay and Great Crested Grbee, one of my favourite dragonflies the Southern Hawker, Cormorant, Lesser Black-backed Gull, Herring Gull, Black-headed Gull, Common Tern, Coot, lots of Tufted Duck, Mallard, Goosander, lots of Mute Swans, Egyptian Goose, Lapwing, Common Sandpiper, Sand Martin, lots of Woodpigeons, Blue Tit, Great Tit, Coal Tit, Marsh Tit, Nuthatch, Robin, Dunnock, Chaffinch, Gatekeeper, Speckled Wood, Small White, cranefly just inside the window of ivy south hide and bee.

[washing-machine-headcannons]

could i please get a haikyuu matchup? i’m a 5'3" bi girl. i’m curious, pretty open-minded & enjoy learning new things. i try my best to be a good friend, as well as a decent conversationalist & listener. i’d say i’m extroverted, but i come off as quite reserved at first. i’m patient & affectionate with my loved ones, & usually compassionate. but i can be indecisive, sensitive & prone to catastrophizing. i have a tendency to overthink, & i’m very talkative; i also love analyzing things!! 🦋(½)

my sense of humour can be quite flexible, but i think “chaos goblin” is the best way to describe it? i’ve been described as a “mixed bag of human”. i’m majoring in anthropology, but my other interests include history, mythology/folklore & writing (when i’m not procrastinating/being lazy akfjdkj). i can be prone to melancholy, but i try not to take life too seriously. all in all, i just have a lot of love to give, & i really don’t shut up. thank you so so much!! 🦋 (2/2)

So... I may have gone a little overbored and did two people for your matchup! I hope you don’t mind! ack, i’m nervous.

♥ Kiyoko Shimizu ♥

↪  Kiyoko's personality would be absolutely excellent and adorable with yours! Her more calm and quiet outlook on life would combat your extroverted personality in the best way. You would surely bring out a lively side to her.

↪ Your catastrophizing would be easily calmed by the rational black-haired female. She would talk you through what you're concerned about, convincing you that it won't happen or won't be as bad as you think it is. While you're anxious she'll run her fingers through your hair and press herself close up next to you.

↪ The constant talking may annoy some people but Kiyoko absolutely adores it. She doesn't always have something to say so the fact that you talk a lot makes her at ease. When you prompt her to talk she will happily do so.

↪ Whenever you bring your writing to her, Kiyoko will read every word with extreme interest. The way you put your words together makes her extremely immersed in the story. Write her a letter or some sort of poem and she may just start to cry.

↪ Kiyoko will occasionally use pet names while in private such as, "Darling" or "Hun". She won't use these in public unless you're comfortable with it. During high school, it will mostly stay to when you both are by yourselves or talking on the phone. Once highschool has finished she will get more confident with calling you these in public.

↪ If you were to ever start ranting about history, she would be very entertained seeing as she also finds it fascinating.

↪ Overall your relationship would be very sweet and gentle. The occasional teasing and neverending laughs make it something worth looking forward to.

                    🐱 Kuroo Tetsurō 🐱

↪ Kuroo is known to be quite the pun master along with being a giant tease. One of his favourite activities is teasing you on your height and your tendency to overthink things. It may seem like he's doing it to be mean sometimes but that really isn't his intention. You being quite patient would be a good thing for him, you would be able to handle his comments.

↪ If he had ever overstepped your boundries he would be very quick to apologize and try to make it up to you. He would never hurt you or your feelings on purpose.

↪ At first, Kuroo will seem quite annoying, being a "cool" and "scheming" person but later on, you'll get to see how silly he truly is. He would understand why you're quiet at first, determined to get you to open up your more extroverted side with time. You both could be capable of some pretty stupid stuff.

↪ Kuroo has a variety of names for you, such as; Worry Wort, Shorty, Gremlin and Troll. Those at least are some of the more playful names but there are more intimate ones as well. Kitten, Dolly and Sweets are just a few that are used in a more endearing manner.

↪ The fact that you enjoy history and learning new things is a bonus for Kuroo since he's quite intelligent. His intellect is displayed multiple times, being in college preparatory classes and knowing some complex scientific definitions. It may seem like he's not listening sometimes but in reality, he's very interested in what you're saying.

↪ Kuroo is quite open to PDA [public display of affection], he loves to hold your hand or have an arm wrapped around you. If you're open to it he'll always have you like that. He is very touchy so expect lots of kisses and hugs when around people and in private.

↪ Due to his height, Kuroo can and will rest his chin on your head just because he wants to. He'll have a shit-eating grin while he does it as well, the more it annoys you the better.

↪ If you start to get worried about something, a lot like Kiyoko, he'll reason with you. He'll talk you through it and crack a few jokes, none that may hurt your feelings though. He is very observant and can easily tell when you're upset or not in the right headspace.

↪ Your relationship would be filled with lots of dumb moments and laughs, that is a guarantee. Not to mention the cuddles, annoying his teammates and teasing each other.

[theshatteredrose]

Turquoise Lotus Father (Treasure Seekers Saga 2) - Chapter 13 - Etrian Odyssey 5 Fanfiction

AN: Hope everyone is staying safe and at home, and I hope this chapter will prove to be a distraction during these crazy and fearful times. Enjoy reading~

Ao3 | Wattpad | FFNet

Chapter 13:

“Are you sure you’re up for this? You still look pale.”

Drayce paused at the steps that led into the Council Building and turned to give Blayke his attention. Ever the worry-wort, Blayke looked at him with a frown on his lips and a concern furrowed of his brow.

In all honesty, Drayce didn’t feel the greatest. He slept surprisingly well, hadn’t awoken once. It was likely due to the fact that Zohar had kept watch over him, which wasn’t as awkward as it probably should have been. But he still felt a little bit nauseous and had a headache from hell. Both side-effects of that sleeping tonic or whatever that was used on him last night.

But he needed to tell Ramus what had happened to the token and how they were robbed. And if Drayce himself didn’t go to inform him, then the little prince would just worry needlessly.

“I’m all right,” Drayce managed a reassuring smile. “Just a little tired due to…whatever they used on me last night. It’s quite potent. As if they have a botanist on their side as well.”

If it was at all possible, the frown on Blayke’s lips deepened. “I see…”

“I’m just glad they didn’t go after Faelen or Caelem again,” Drayce continued as he turned and moved toward the stairs. He, however, shot a grin over his shoulder at Blayke. “Besides, you pulled an all-nighter, too.”

Blayke snorted lightly. “I still don’t look like shit like you do.”

“Rude.”

Mid way up the stairs, Drayce paused again and turned to Blayke with a request in mind. “Hey, Blayke, don’t mention to Ramus what happened to me in the library last night. I don’t want to worry him.”

Blayke took a moment to consider that and finally uttered a sigh. “Fine.”

‘But if it happened again’ was left unsaid. But Drayce definitely heard it in his head, in Blayke’s voice and all. And Drayce hoped that it indeed didn’t happen again. But…if it had to, for whatever reason, he hoped that it happened to him, and no one else of his guild.

They fell into silence as they made their way up the grand stairs of the Council Hall and entered the foyer. Once more, there were a throng of explorers lining up to speak with Ramus, the prince dutiful as ever.

Remembering Ramus’ request to not bother to waste time in lining up, and ignoring the side-eyes of annoyance from explorers in said queue, the two of them skipped to the front. And immediately gained the young prince’s attention.

“Ah, you’re back,” Ramus greeted them with a smile, somewhat surprised to see them again so quickly. But he seemed pleased to see them nonetheless. Yet, his smile dimmed significantly as a flicker of concern appeared in his eyes. “…Is there something wrong?”

“Oh, just a long night,” Drayce instinctively responded as managed a smile in an attempt to ease the prince’s concerns. “Nothing to worry about. “

Blayke side-eyed him before he turned his full attention toward Ramus. “We need to have another little…chat. If you’re not busy.”

“Of course not,” Ramus immediately replied as he motioned toward the hall leading to his office. “Come.”

The path to Ramus’ office was taken in silence once more. And the scene of them as they shuffle in, taking seats before the large oak desk, and Ramus shutting the door quietly was becoming increasingly familiar, too.

“I assume that something…untoward happened?” Ramus asked as he took a seat at his desk, much like he had done yesterday.

Blayke roughly folded his arms across his chest as he decided to take the lead for this conversation. “I’ll explain it as frankly as possible.”

He then promptly launched into a short, precise near rant about what had occurred in the library last night. He kept his word, thankfully, about not telling Ramus about how Drayce was also…attacked (for a lack of a better word). Or how he was still feeling the effects of the sleep tonic or poison that they used on him.

As Blayke finished his explanation, Ramus nodded his head quietly. And the expression of worry on his face was quite obvious.

“That’s…unsettling,” he murmured.

Blayke managed to stifle the desire to snort, and instead nodded his head as he leaned back into his chair. “No kidding.”

Ramus’ gaze trailed down to stare at the top of his desk as he folded his hands idly in front of him. “These bandits are proving to be quite dangerous,” he said after a moment of silence. “I will ask the guards to keep a look out for them.”

“That may cause them to take even more drastic actions,” Blayke was quick to point out.

The frown on Ramus’ lips deepened and he nodded his head slowly. “That’s true…though, we simply cannot let them run amok within the city’s limits so freely. Though…they do have free range, as they say, within the labyrinths.”

That was true. The guards of the city couldn’t patrol every nook or corner of the labyrinths. And the official way to the third floor hadn’t even been discovered yet. Intrepid and inquisitive explorers would know more about the halls of the labyrinths than the guards who are confined to rules and regulations.

And it was difficult to prove events or even crimes that occurred with no willing witnesses.

After a moment of contemplative silence, Ramus shook his head as if to clear it. And lifted his gaze from his desk to turn toward Drayce. “Do you mind if I ask how your research of this Turquoise Lotus Father is going?”

Well, that was his cue to get involved in the conversation!

“Ah, we’ve found a few pieces of information. And there’s a few individuals involved.”

Drayce took a second or two to practically gather his wits despite the thumping headache and actually remember all the pieces of information that both Shashi and Caelem had reiterated to him. And then he had to think of the best method to explain all of that to Ramus.

“Turquoise Lotus Father created the weapon known as Shining Lotus in order to enter the Legendary War because his brother, known as Blood Lotus Brother, had been possessed by a dangerous blade known simply as Cursed Blade. We don’t know who created this Cursed Blade or why it forced him to fight alongside The Despot. But from what we can deduce, Turquoise Lotus Father achieved his goal of freeing his brother, but the Cursed Blade still existed. The Blade Brothers and their close friend, a therian known as Sorataki, helped them to hide the blade to prevent another from being possessed by it. However, there is a fourth party involved. Another who was jealous of the Shining Lotus and wants to gain control over the Cursed Blade. From what we understanding, they also hid the Shining Lotus and left clues behind for future generations to uncover should the Cursed Blade ever awaken again.”

Ah…Yeah, he was pretty sure that was everything!

Wow, talk about a word vomit, huh?

Ramus fell silent as he tried to take all the information in. It took him a few moments as, really, there was a lot to digest. And with four individual parties potentially involved (perhaps even more), there were a lot of factors to take into consideration, too.

“And those bandits are after the Cursed Blade?” Ramus finally asked cautiously with a slight frown. “So why are they collecting the tokens?”

Drayce shook his head. That was a very good question. And the fact that they were involved made the entire thing far more complicated and confusing.

“I’m not entirely sure,” he replied. “I’m fairly confident that the clues we’ve discovered are meant to lead us to the Shining Lotus. And yet, they also seem to be indicating the Cursed Blade.”

Ramus gave a slow nod of his head before a curious expression flickered across his face. “Perhaps it depends on the intention of those who discover the clues?”

“That’s…possible,” Drayce murmured.

Like with how the Moon Legacy was created with good intentions only for those good intentions to become lost to time. Perhaps the brothers and their friend believed that the treasure chest with the map would remain in the hands of dedicated ancestors, only for the true reason to be forgotten. Or even stolen.

He hadn’t considered that possibility. He would need to speak with Shashi about it when he returned to the Crescentia.

“I’m afraid I am unable to offer you much assistance this time round,” Ramus went on to say with genuine regret in his voice. “The records of the Legendary war are quite ancient and I’m ashamed to admit, that even we are missing many a piece. I scarcely found any information on my ancestor’s trusted generals.” He shook his head, truly disappointed as his gaze downcast toward his desk once more. “It’s shameful.”

“Don’t feel bad,” Drayce immediately said in an attempt to reassure the prince. “It’s been a thousand years. And well we’re here now. We might be able to fill in the missing pieces.”

Ramus lifted his gaze and looked toward Drayce. A small smile made its way to him lips as he nodded. “Hmm. It seems that your library has far greater resources than the one we have here at the council.”

Drayce returned the smile with a playful one of his own. “Honestly, I have no idea what we actually have in that library of mine.”

Ramus continued to look at Drayce for a while, his gaze studying him. A very light furrow appeared upon his brow. But that was soon lifted and an expression of regal politeness made its way on his features once again.

However, there was a sense…of worry in his gaze.

“…You’ve been working hard,” he said, his gaze trained completely upon Drayce. “I understand your determination to put an end to this, but…take care of yourself.”

Drayce felt a sense of guilt appear in the centre of his chest. But he quickly squashed as he focused on smiling reassuringly at Ramus once again. “I’m fine, don’t worry.”

Ramus’ face was passive, but his gaze remained the same. And he didn’t appear entirely convinced. Drayce must look as washed-out as he felt. He…would have to try harder next time. If there was a next time, of course.

“We should get going,” Blayke was the one to state, prompting putting an end to both the conversation and Ramus’ inspecting, worried gaze toward Drayce.

“Yes, I imagine you have some…planning to do,” Ramus agreed as he pushed back his chair and took to his feet to do his duty of holding the door for them.

Drayce took to his feet, too. Purposely moving at his usual pace and ignored the way his head spun ever so slightly from the sudden movement. “We’ll be sure to inform you immediately should anything else happen,” he promised before he and Blayke bid their farewells and left the office.

As they headed down the stairs and past the still rather impressive queue of explorers and locals alike, Blayke suddenly grasped Drayce by the shoulder. Drayce had thought it was because he wanted his attention. But it was likely because he also missed a step on the stairs, his head still annoyingly spinning.

“He’s observant,” he said.

“Yeah,” Drayce murmured around a sigh as he touched his forehead tiredly. “So much for not worrying him.”

As they walked toward the carriage boarding area located outside the Council Hall, Drayce suddenly remembered something he deemed important. And since they were out and about, they might as well add a little errand to their schedule.

“Wait,” Drayce said as he and Blayke headed toward an empty carriage. “We need to head to the market place and get some more Ariadne Threads. For just in case something like yesterday happens again.”

Blayke looked mildly annoyed, obviously feeling fussy and just wanted to get Drayce somewhere he deemed safe. Yet, he also saw merit in the minor detour. “Fine. I’ll go in,” he said as he pushed Drayce to the carriage door. “You stay here with the carriage. You’re still too pale looking.”

“Ah, I’m fine,” Drayce instinctively replied as he took his seat on one side of the carriage. “I’m feeling better than I did this morning, I promise.”

Blayke didn’t verbally reply to that, however the look he gave him spoke volumes. It was a look that Drayce had seen multiple times in his life. A look that stated that while he didn’t feel like arguing, he believed that he was right. And would argue if he had to.

And, honestly, Drayce didn’t feel like getting into a sparring match with the other. Besides, Blayke would feel better if he could just be all protective and such.

“Alright, you worry-wart, I’ll stay put,” Drayce relented as he settled into his seat.

Blayke soon directed the driver toward the market area of the city before he climbed in himself. He promptly sat on the other side of the carriage. The carriage soon moved into motion and as they rumbled along the stone-cobbled streets, Drayce reached into the pocket of his trousers to pull out some money.

He thankfully had the habit of keeping a few en in his pockets for such occasions. In addition to the money for the carriage ride, of course.

The carriage soon pulled up toward the entrance of the market place. And Blayke once again gave him a stern look.

“I’ll be right back,” he said.

Drayce stifled a chuckle. If he didn’t know his best friend as well as he did, that could have been taken as a threat. “And I’ll be right here,” he promised as he handed him the money necessary.

As Blayke slipped out of the carriage, pausing only a moment to tell the driver to wait for him, Drayce leaned his head back against the head support of his seat. He heard the door of the carriage close and the sound of footsteps outside.

After that, he began to idly listen to the incoherent murmurings of voices of others going about their business outside. The noise was comforting in a way, and yet it also agitated his headache.

Man…whatever that harbinger used on him last night was potent. He also couldn’t help but feel that he had done something similar to that a few times before. The chloroform or whatever it was he used was far too potent to have been done once or twice. It was crafted to perfection. Not only did it render a person unconscious almost immediately, it reduced them to near-complete helplessness for hours afterwards.

Seriously, he had to make sure no one else came into contact with that…toxin.

Drayce was confused when he heard the door swing open and felt the weight of the carriage shift not long after Blayke had left. He was even more confused when the weight seemed to be leaning toward the other door.

He lifted his head up and opened his eyes. “Hm? You’re back early-”

However, instead of appearance of Blayke greeting him, there was another. Someone he could have done without seeing ever again. Long brown hair, an eye-patched, dressed in the garbs of a dragoon.

“Well, if it isn’t the Pretty Boy Treasure Hunter.”

Drayce reacted by slamming his back against his seat in an attempt to get away from the other man. “You…”

“It must be my lucky day,” Keane grinned as he lounged all-too comfortably in the carriage seat across from him.

“Pity I can’t say the same,” Drayce bit out before he had a chance to consider his actions.

“Now, that’s just mean, don’t you think?” Keane all but cooed at him.

“You would know a lot about that, am I right?” Drayce returned swiftly. “Like those two bandits of yours that followed me in the labyrinth the other day. And broke into my guildhouse.”

Keane gave a short, sharp laugh. “My, are you bitter about that?”

“Exceptionally so.” Drayce mustered up a glare, though he wasn’t entirely sure how…effective it was with him still combating the side-effects of whatever it was that was used against him last night. “There was no need to take a guildmate hostage.”

“The method is inconsequential when the end result is the desired one,” Keane responded and literally waved his hand dismissively. He soon dropped his hand to his knee casually as he leaned forward slightly, only to stare straight into Drayce’s eyes. “Besides, that's what you get for trying to deceive me.”

Drayce gritted his teeth. So, what happened last night was in response to the switching of the tokens. “…What do you want?”

Keane tapped his cheek in a mocking attempt to appear contemplative. “Oh, where should I start? Maybe I should start with you.”

He then suddenly reached forward to snared a hold of Drayce’s chin. But his grip was cold, harsh, and the first thing that raced through Drayce’s mind that it was nothing like the tender touch of Zohar’s hand.

So, he reacted by immediately slapping the hand away.

“Don’t touch me.”

Far from angry or even agitated, Keane actually looked sadistically delighted by his reaction. “A feisty one, hmm~”

Feisty? Probably not. Disgusted? Definitely.

“Why are you after the lotuses?” he demanded.

Keane tilted his head to the side. “Hmm? Well now, I don’t give information away for free. You need to pay the fee first.”

Yeah, he had figured as much. Bandits wouldn’t do anything without a price. “Then forget it. I’ll find out on my own.”

“Oh, so cruel,” Keane mockingly purred. “I would have told you for a kiss.”

Drayce instantly felt queasy at the prospect. The clenching of the stomach type of nausea. It was…something he had never really experienced before. It was unsettling. “I’m even more determined to do it on my own now,” he managed to bite out.

Keane laughed. Not a joyful laugh by any stretch of the imagination. It was mocking, almost spiteful. A twisted grin appeared on his lips as he rested an arm on his knee and leaned forward. “But you’re not on your own, are you?”

Drayce didn’t respond. He couldn’t. Even as Keane stood up to lean over him, planting a hand against the wall of the carriage behind him, causing Drayce subconsciously sunk into his seat in a futile attempt to put some distance between them.

“You have others to worry about,” Keane continued. “Weaknesses.”

Drayce gritted his teeth. “Get out.”

“Since you asked so nicely,” Keane smirked, knowing full well that he hit a nerve. “Before that, listen carefully;”

Keane unexpectedly lashed out and pressed his hand against Drayce’s throat. His fingers wrapped around his neck as he pushed him back harshly into the seat behind him. Drayce’s hands immediately flew up to grasp at Keane’s wrists and he clenched his jaw painfully as he peered at him through one eye. That nausea returned when Keane moved his face toward his, that obnoxious and yet still menacing smirk on his lips.

“If you don’t want others to get hurt, you’ll hand over the map.”

Drayce squeezed his eyes shut when he realised that he couldn’t breathe properly. Mercifully, Keane released his grip on his throat and Drayce began to cough harshly as he held his neck with his hands.

The carriage shifted to the side as Keane thankfully stepped out into the street.

“I’ll be seeing you later then,” he said, that arrogant smirk of his in place before he slammed the carriage door shut.

Drayce starred through the small glass window as Keane walked away, toward some back alley located near the markets. His back was straight, his posture relaxed and somehow incredibly smug. He definitely looked pleased with him.

The door located on the other side of the carriage opened and as the weight shifted to indicated that someone else had entered, Drayce snapped his head around. Half expecting to see another bandit.

Thankfully, it was Blayke. And Drayce uttered a sigh of relief as he continued to rub his neck.

As Blayke took a seat, he turned to face him. His mouth was open, no doubt ready to tell Drayce that he had gotten the Ariadne Threads. But he stilled, and his brow soon furrowed deeply. “What? What happened?” he practically demanded.

“Let’s…just head to the Crescentia,” Drayce managed to utter, though his voice was surprisingly hoarse.

Blayke was having none of his dismissiveness, however. “What happened?” he actually demanded.

Drayce sighed as he rubbed his forehead. He was already anticipating yet more fussing when he returned to the Crescentia. “Keane just paid me a visit.”

“What?!”

The volume of Blayke’s voice did little to help with Drayce’s headache.

“He didn’t do anything,” Drayce replied, though that was a bold-face lie. And Blayke probably knew it from the paleness of his face in contrast to his throat. There was likely to be a handprint there, too. “But he’s after the lotuses all right. Why, I don’t know. Let’s…just go home.”

Blayke, of course, wanted to know more. Every little detail. But Drayce found himself becoming lost to his own thoughts. Especially in regards to that not-so subtle threat of Keane’s. He wanted the map. And he expected Drayce to just hand it over. Yet, that threat…he was going to force him into giving up the map, wasn’t he?

He didn’t know why Keane was after the tokens, or the lotuses, but he couldn’t allow that lowly bandit to get his hands on such treasures. But he…also couldn’t allow Keane to hurt anyone. Especially not someone from his guild.

A material treasure wasn’t worth that of a living being. His grandfather would always say that. But that Dark Blade. Someone like Keane shouldn’t be allowed anywhere near it.

…What should he do?

[hellomynudebrain]

The real beast

Hello again, people! 

Sorry for my absence from this blog, but the adult life could be really harsh and brutal.

This update comes late. My original idea was updating it on Zen’s birthday and inspired  in a spanish song, but again some pretty nasty adults issues  came that month.

It turned larger that I expected but maybe some frustration is in there but even so ENJOY IT!

It was the most brighter and bigger screen on Broadway. 

It looked like the biggest success from his career, but even with that, the regret and loneliness from his heart couldn’t full it. He already paid out the price with his only love.

Two years before, you were Zen’s manager. After some time the roles that he could get were smaller and a few ones. The audictions went pretty good, but some way or another the pincipal role wasn’t his. So a few weeks after, you got him a really great oportunity as the prince from the Beauty and the Beast with a really big actress that was already succecing on Broadway. Maybe he wasn’t to show all his beauty on the stage but he was going to appear on all the play. 

when you give him the news, he coulnd’t avoid to put you in his arms, rise you near the ceilling and kiss you non stop.

“Princess, you’re awesome! You got me  the role that maybe get me on the moon! I love you so much!” 

The reahearsals were to begin one week after you gave him the news. 

The role diposed a lot of work and the reahersals prolonged for many hours untill midnight, so he began to get worried that you’ll get lack of sleep and feel bad later, so he told you that you should go home and rest. At first you denied it and stayed with him until the end, but every day was more tiring to be there and in the end  of that month, you agreed with him and went home earlier and wait for him. But a few days weeks later he began to come home later and later, until one night he didn’t come home.

The thoughts of that night were to bad to worts, only thinking that maybe  he got on an accident begin to round your head. Maybe he tripped while his was dacing or maybe he ride on his bike and had an accident again and he was on the hospital injuried and...you didn’t want to think about it anymore. 

Thenext morning, you heard the door slowly began to open making a really chirp. You jumped out the bed and saw him.

He was there save and sound. You sighed on relived and run trhought the living room to hug him, but he refused you. 

“Sorry, princess, but I’m tired and today the director gave us the day off so...let me sleep, please”

You were concerned with his attitude. He never was like this before with you. So you turned around and pause when you saw him witha bottle of water that he took from the fridge, on his hands. That pause lasted less that a minute when you talked. 

“Day off? When did the director told that, Zen?”

“Just a few days ago, Why?”

“Because I didn’t know about it. Why did you not call me or tell me, Zen? I’m your manager and girlfriend, I need to know that”

He opened his bottle and took a sip of water with annoyed face.

“I was tired and forgot it, alright? It’s not a big deal, ok?”

“No, Zen. It’s not ok. I have to know that kind of details. You are working untill late and besides the job as your manager I didn’t have a time to spend time with you as your girlfriend, so yes, Zen, It’s a big deal to me. 

He put the bottle of water on the table and turned his back at you. 

“Ugh..please I’m tired and I don’t have the energy to fight right now!”

“Excuse me?!”

“You know what? I’m going to lock the door of the bedroom and when you’re less alterated, we can talk, bye...”

He walk away and loked the door, leaving you there with all the anger inside.

The weeks pased and when you were on the rehaersals watching Zen doing his role. Everything was alright on his job, but his attitude change when you were home. It became the same as that day and become worst with the time.

The fights were more often and he got angried with you for every little detail.  

Finally, the premiere night came and at that point you thought that the change of attitude from Zen came form your reactions and actions towars him, and all the yealing when he came home, so as a peace gift you decided to bring him his favorite food and a bouquet of flowers and surprised him back stage. So you told him to go to the theatre before you.

The taxi took you to the theatre after you picked up the bungeoppang that Zen really loves. You rushed to his dressing room with excitment, bacause maybe with this he changed back to his usual self.  The security guard notice you and let you in without any question. Then when you were already in front of his dressing room and open the door from his dressing room to scream “Surprise!”, you found him over with the actress  that had the role as the beauty, kissing her and with his pants down. You threw the  bungeoppang on the floor, bacuese the one surprised was you, a bitter one.

 You wanted to run away, but your feet felt like  pieces made from iron. You wated to scream, but you felt like a really big knot was stock on your throat. 

The only thing you saw on that state of shock,  was her, coming to you with a really challenging looked on her face and one hand on her weist. 

“Well, now that you found us like this, I’m going to tell you, Zen wants to break up with you, so bye!” 

You were with no breath but even so you managed to let your voice out. 

“Why did you speak for him?! He has to tell me, not you”

She rolled his eyes with a really annoyed face and croked his mouth. 

“Because you’re a bother. I mean, you only got him really small roles and nagged him when he went home with you. And if wasn’t for me, he couldn’t get the job”

“...Sorry?!”

Those last words got you out from the shock and get you upset.

“Yes, you’ve already heard. I proposed him to this role to the dierctor. When you called, I was the one who told the director that Zen deserved the role. It wasn’t for your magnificent job as manager. It was because of me”

Zen was standing behind her with his head facing the floor. He looked like a teenager that was on the director’s office, he looked like a coward. 

You spoted him with your tearful eyes, beggan to walk  through the room and made him faced you. 

“Is it true, Zen? Are you tired of this?...of us?” 

You asked him with a trembling voice,

Finally, he looked you wiht guilt and regret on his face and that up set you more. 

“Enough! I’m going to pack my stuff!”

You ran from the theatre like you’ve never run before. but that couldn’t help you to break from his hand, wich took you from your arm and made turned violently to face him. 

“I’m sorry, princess. I was going to tell you but...”

“But what?! It was funny to look me on the face every day whe I was with you on  the reahearsals, wating for you  at home untill morning , making the chores like your maid meanwhile you were fucking her?!”

He was surprised. You never got angry him, and if you did, you were always polite about it. So the sudden changed on you made him talked.

“No, no! It wasn’t my intention, the truth is that....ugh...I felt frustated with all the small roles you got me and I was strugglling really hard with the tight budget every month! ...And when she showed off and told me that she can help me to get bigger plays and roles...I couldn’’t say no...I mean...and she’s prettier than any other girl I’ve ever saw, and cheered me on stage...and besides her manager likes me and with that I...”

You couldn’t let him finished talk. 

Your arm got free from his grip and slaped him on the face. 

Your eyes were tearful and your heart broken. 

The man that you loved was no longer with you, in his place has been left a selfish jerk.

“But you preferred  your success?...Good bye, Zen”

After you leave Zen’s aparment. He felt emty, but he persuaded himself that this was the best for him.

A few days later when Zen was showing off his knew girlfriend on the media, you told all the RFA’s members the situation with Zen. All were really up set with him, and even Jaehee proposed to kicked him out from the RFA, but you refused, because it was good for the association. Zen on the real national or international spotlight could help more that out of it.

The guys agreed with you, even if they didn’t like the idea at first.

A months before the RFA’s party was celebrated, you took the decision to leave the association. All were upset again with Zen. This time because he took the liberty to bring the new béyonce with him.

A year passed and Zen moved to New York. Now, he was a famous musical actor with the most beautiful, talented and cheat actress as his wife.

After Zen moved, his relationship became cold. She  was always with him, but when camera was present.

“Love, come here and let sleep together!”

He pouted and beg her for atention.

“Ugh...Zen...you’re so cheesy...I want my space...look I’m going out with some of my girlfriends and when I come back, you’ll have all my attention!”

“Promised?”

“Promised...ugh...whaterver, I’m going. Don’t wait for me!”

With every day that passed, his life with his wife become a living hell and with it, all the memories that he had with you.

One day, they illusion got broken.

“Why are you with another man on our bed?”

“Did you think that only one men can satisfies me?...of course not”

“I’m done. I want the divorce!”

“Sorry, dude. But I practically bought you when you were no one in this industry. If it wasn’t for me you probaly would be stocked with that ugly girlfriend-manager you had. So if you want the divorce, fine. But remember it well. I build you as an star and I could destroy you and become only dust!”

Zen was devastated after that. He took his jacket and went out from the building. 

His marrige was a farce and also his carrer. His head was trying really hard to remember when was the last time that he felt really happy and your smiling face lay down beside him was the only thing he saw. 

He was in front of that big screen with his name on it. But he couldn’t see it, the tears from your memory were on his eyes.

[dansnaturepictures]

22/08/21-White-letter Hairstreak and more at Farley Mount and Garden Carpet moth and more at home 

After returning from Rutland yesterday night in amongst all the photo processing today I got out for a walk at Farley Mount coming to the Pitt Down area of it. It got fairly late posting all my blogs of the time at Rutland on Sunday night and I debated posting the post of Sunday late on or propertly into the the next day a Monday I have off work seeing the benefits of both. In the end I decided as my photos taken on Sunday sort of shared their upload day with the ones from Rutland as I didn’t take my laptop to process the images on a one night stop over I may as well have the bog of Sunday posted a bit after for it to also have an elongated posting frame. I am interested to experiment with posting things at different times of day for a variety of things including similar circumstances around trips away with ever increasing photo yields adding more considerations when I can’t upload on the night as I always aim to so thought I would try a late morning slot. The walk was very pleasant with many bursts of glorious sunshine.

In this meadowy habitat after two extremely bird dominated days at Rutland it soon became clear today was a butterfly dominated one with a host of Brimstones on one patch some of the most I have ever seen together before. There were a host of wildflowers on the whole walk today too which painted the meadow so beautifully. These included; rosebay willowherb, fennel, ragwort, agrimony, eyebright, thistle, knapweed, more marvellous marjoram, yarrow, buttercup, scabious, St. John’s-wort, wild basil, speedwell and both plantain and the lesser stitchwort in the first picture I took today in this photoset which I recognised a bit from greater stitchwort which I know well from spring now using the PlantNet app for ID which I first ever noticed today. It was great to see crickets and a marmalade hoverfly among bees fitting around on the grass and a few slightly autumnal trees with coloured leaves as the eighth picture in this photoset I took today shows. I also saw a lovely little straw dot moth a first for me. I took the fourth, fifth, seventh and ninth pictures in this photoset of lovely views here today. 

The tone was set for another brilliant walk when in an extraordinary moment I got to see a butterfly my Mum had seen here recently on a walk when a splendid White-letter Hairstreak was sat perhaps uncharacteristically on the ground on some bright yellow ragwort. I was amazed to see this phenomenal sight. This is a butterfly I am so used to seeing flying high at the tops of trees since seeing our first in 2018 and despite my own sensational hairstreak adventures seeing them especially the Purple Hairstreaks right next to us at Lakeside I was a little envious but happy for them when my Mum and her husband had that experience. So I felt incredibly lucky to have this experience too and have extremely intimate moments getting stunning views of this excellent butterfly species. Other than the wonderful Green Hairstreak my favourite they do tend to be higher up so the big lens might be needed so to be taking pictures of one with my macro lens was very surreal and I was stunned to have this another big insect moment this weekend where I unusually got the honour of photographing it with my macro lens after Ruddy Darter at Rutland Water’s Lyndon on Friday. I got the second and third pictures in this photoset of this butterfly. I was pleased with them especially the latter and I have talked about getting one I felt was as strong as the big Green Hairstreak photo I took at Magdalen Hill early last spring one of my favourite ever butterfly pictures and this fellow hairstreak shot is a contender for that in my pack of 2021 butterfly pictures which I am so pleased with. 

Once again this shows why this has been the summer and year of hairstreaks for me with perhaps the white-letter present but in the purple’s shadow this far. Potentially I’ll come out of 2021 with the Purple Hairstreak having that continual astonishing experience of these rare butterflies on my patch and it’s fair to say I did take one of my best ever photos of the species at Lakeside this year but the White-letter Hairstreak I got that moment for what I felt was a big photo for me. 

The remainder of the walk exploded into a cracker for insects, as I got some very precious looks at bright orange Silver-washed Fritillaries after seeing them nearby at West Wood last month a key butterfly for me which I got extraordinary views of again. A hornet mimic hoverfly flying by us and onto vegetation ragwort once more delighted me I got the sixth picture in this photoset of it, my first time ever seeing this famous and gloriously marked and coloured insect. One of my best insect moments this year.

Southern Hawkers danced along high up the trees enjoying the snatches of sun. Green-veined White and Red Admiral added well to a stellar cast of butterflies on this summer’s day with the latter entertainingly landing on some dog poo. There was a brilliant bird moment too with a gorgeous view of my second Green Woodpecker seen and third seen or heard in as many days. When home tonight after taking in a sunny evening and afternoon with great brightness and little bits of red at sunset enjoying daffodils, fuchsia, hebe, sedum, Sweet Williams, creamy roses and other flowers in the back garden a wonderful little moth came in tonight which I got the tenth and final picture in this photoset of a familiar to me after one came in last year Garden Carpet moth. This made my moth year list another one to grow this weekend go up to a 21 I am pleased with on a perhaps more relaxing day which I was still so thrilled to get out in.

Wildlife Sightings Summary: My first ever hornet mimic hoverfly and straw dot moth, three of my favourite butterflies the Small Tortoiseshell I am seeing so many of these lately which is so good, Red Admiral and Silver-washed Fritillary, one of my favourite dragonflies the Southern Hawker, one of my favourite birds the Green Woodpecker, Small White, Green-veined White, Brimstone, Peacock, Gatekeeper, Meadow Brown, White-letter Hairstreak, Woodpigeon cricket/grasshopper, marmalade hoverfly, other hoverflies and bee.

[onepiece-imagines-bartoloclub]

Headcanon: Big sis (hcs?) w/ Law, Smoker and Bartolomeo

(Honestly, I was a little lost while writing this. Also I didn't write Bartolomeo's part cause I kept deleting, re-writing and deleting again and nothing seems to work, sorry :(. Plus, this feels more like a scenario rather than a headcannon so I worte it like one, sorry again but I hope you enjoy this version anon-senpai!♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡)

-Law-

•He smirks as soon as he sees his big sister's ship and Jolly Roger getting closer to their "meet-up".

•Her ship bears a flag with the traditional skull and crossbones, the skull is wearing a pair of thin, purple shades, a half hoodie with hearts on the end of it and red lipstick. On the end of the deck, waving at him the captain.

•She has a darker skin tone, short black hair than him and only has tattoos on her face. His sister sports a large black jacket that she wears like a cape, a dark blue shirt with a yellow heart in the center, a pair of black, long jeans with gray crosses and a white boots.

•"Took you long enough." He'd tell her as soon as they hug it out. And he wasn't kidding, he was very young when he took on the life of piracy and he expected his sister to do the same, just a little earlier than him.

•His ego is stroked a little, knowing that that it'll take a long time before she can reach his 500 million bellie bounty, but he doesn't say it to her face.

•He looks at her crew and does a critical analysis of each individual member. They're not as good as his but he knows that they can handle themselves since she chose them to join her.

•When he took her to his ship/submarine, she was immediately knocked down by a tackle/hug from Bepo, she laughs but holds him close, missing her "favorite teddy bear".

•During the tour, she finally noticed the theme of his jolly roger and she gets a little sentimental, having missed Corazon just as much as he does and they stayed in his private office, not allowing anyone to come in, and talk.

•"So, you finally did it, and by yourself no less?"

"N-No, as much as it hurts to admit this, I had help from Mugiwara-ya."

"Strawhat-ya? I thought you didn't like the kid..... don't tell me my wittle doctor got a crush?"

"I-It's not that! It's just that we came to a mutual agreement to stop Doflamingo, th-this'll only last until Kaido is stopped so don't get any ideas-ya!"

"I know, I know, I'm just messing with you-ya..... You know, the next time we meet up, it'll be on separate terms."

"...... I know."

"Well, may the best doctor win?"

"Of course-ya."

-Smoker-

•It wasn't easy making this meetup, he had to make sure his den den wasn't being tracked in order to make this call, he had to come up with a terrible excuse to convince Tashigi to stay behind and train the new recruits.

•He wasn't happy when he made the call and he isn't happy now. Smoker tried his best to remove the scowl on his face when he her pirate flag of a skull and crossbones with 3 cigars on it's mouth.She smokes much more frequent than he does and he doesn't quite approve it since she doesn't have a devil fruit to help negate the "side effects" of their habits.

•The ship stops near the docks and out comes his sister and she has changed a lot since they last met. She let her hair grow, showing the white and light green locks shine in the sunlight. The captain sports a very muscular build like he does as shown through the half buttoned up shirt that shows off her six pack.

•Her clothing consists of a long light green coat that goes all the way down to her feet, a short sleeved button up shirt that, like Smoker, isn't completely buttoned up, blue jeans and brown shoes.

•There was a long, awkward silence as soon as they're in front of each other. Neither says anything until she opens up her arms, not knowing what to do. He stares at her and sighs, but hugs her anyway.

•"How's it been Smoky?"

"Well my day was going fine until I found out that my PIRATE sister was causing trouble in the Grand Line."

"Oh I'm fine."

"That's not what I'm worried about."

•They chatted for a while, her crew waiting inside the ship. She was impressed, to see her cute little brother become a vice admiral of all things. She's rather proud, knowing all the training paid off.

•The rest of the day consists of uncomfortable silence while one of them tries to start a conversation and leading to his sister introducing him, which much resistance from his side, to her crew and he only stares at them, judging and wondering how they ended up this way.

•Soon she was giving him a tour of her ship until out of nowhere, Smoker suggests that they talk privately.

•"Okay, so what did you want to--"

"Why?"

"Why what?"

"Why a pirate?"

"Ugh, not this again--"

"Please, just tell me, why a pirate?"

"..... The strict life of a Marine was never my thing, I wanted to know what the world offered."

"While breaking the law?"

"Hey! You know that traveling isn't cheap, getting your own ship is much easier."

"But why become a pirate then? Wouldn't it have been easier to just have a ship a travel?"

"Smoker! You and I both now that no matter what I could've done, the Marines would have still considered me a pirate!"

"...."

"I'm sorry but I don't regret doing this, this is the life I wanted."

"I know.... I just don't want you to get caught."

"Don't worry about me, Smoky. You know it'll take a lot to put me down."

"I'm aware, but.... just to be sure, could you try being a shichibukai?"

"Hmmm, I'll think about it."

"That's all I ask.... please stay safe."

"I will."

•They part ways soon after and he returns to his crew, he is at least satisfied to know that she isn't like the other pirates, but she's still a pirate no less. All he hopes is that she makes the right choice.

[wineanddinosaur]

Homebrew Projects to Tackle While Social Distancing

Right now, going out for a beer simply isn’t an option. (Please support local breweries by ordering delivery online, if you’re comfortable with it!) But, there is more time than ever to make your own beer.

Whether a clone of a popular IPA or something totally unique that’s only possible in a 5-gallon batch size, everything required to brew is available for online delivery — and while you wait for shipping (or aren’t quite ready to tackle a brew day yet), we have plenty of reading recommendations to keep you occupied, too.

If You’ve Never Brewed: Read This Book

The seminal text for homebrewers that breaks down the science of the brewing process and how to take control of it at home is available online — for free! “How to Brew” by John Palmer is similar to a brewing textbook but is written in an approachable style, with easy to understand metaphors to explain chemistry, and answers to frequently asked questions.

Palmer has updated the book several times from the text that is available online, but all of the information on the website is correct and will give you a thorough knowledge of brewing. For the most up-to-date advice you can order his 2017 edition on the book’s website.

If You’re New to Brewing: Buy a Kit

To really give homebrewing a shot, order an all-in-one starter kit from your local homebrew shop or an independent homebrew retailer like More Beer or Adventures in Homebrewing. The American Homebrew Association has a registry of homebrew shops by state that are guaranteed to have all the ingredients and equipment you need to start brewing. Call ahead to arrange for delivery or pickup — right now local businesses desperately need support to stay afloat. (You can expect to spend about $175 for an all-in-one kit with ingredients.)

For a low-budget start to brewing at home, you’ll only need to order an ingredients kit like this one that has hops, malt extract, and yeast; sanitizer (StarSan is a homebrewing standard); bottles (go swing top for the lowest effort and investment, just make sure to drink the beer quickly!); and a fermenter (this can be a big plastic bucket or glass jug).

You’ll also need your largest stock pot, a funnel, and, optionally, some tubing to use for a blowoff tub and to siphon beer from fermenter to bottles. (This helps avoid oxidation of your beer!) Piecing together this equipment will cost between $70 and $90, depending on the recipe you decide to brew.

Here’s a step-by-step guide to your first brew day.

If You Like a Project: Rig Your Mini-Fridge

There is a saying among brewers, “Brewers make wort, yeast makes beer.” It’s up to the yeast to turn sugars into alcohol and flavor compounds, but brewers can still set those little bugs up with the best possible environment for doing so. The most important factor in this environment is temperature. The second most important is that temperature stays consistent. Both can be achieved with these purchases: a mini-fridge and a temperature controller.

Now is probably not the time to buy a mini-fridge off of Craigslist, unless you can do so with proper social distancing measures in place. However, hardware and home goods stores sell mini-fridges online. If possible, getting a min-ifridge that is at least 4.5 cubic feet is ideal; any smaller, and your fermenter may not fit. This is because the compressor, usually located in the bottom rear of the refrigerator, takes up ample space; and even with 4.5 cubic feet, you’ll need to take off the internally mounted shelves attached to the door. It’s easy enough with a screwdriver and a serrated knife.

However, if you want to save money and purchase a smaller, non-ideal-sized fridge, handy homebrewers build a simple wooden collar and add it to the mini-fridge frame. (Many tutorials online, like this one, will take you through the proper sealing steps. What else do you have to do right now, anyway?)

While it is possible to skimp a bit and DIY the fridge component, I suggest buying a ready-to-go temperature controller. It will run you about $40 and pay for itself in ease of use, as well as energy efficiency compared to wiring your own unit. Simply mount the temperature control near an outlet (near the mini-fridge that is now your fermentation chamber), plug the temperature controller into the outlet, and plug the refrigerator into the temperature controller. Now you’re able to keep the yeast at a consistent temperature within a degree or two.

If You Homebrew Often: Try a SMaSH Beer

Hops

There is a lot to learn about hops simply from smelling them, or adding them to a fermenter for dry hopping. But the best way to understand the full range of an individual hop varietal is by brewing a “SMaSH beer.” The term comes from “Single Malt and Single Hop.”

SMaSH IPAs were becoming the big trend before hazy IPAs took over the scene. The reason to brew this kind of beer isn’t to reminisce about trends of the past, but instead to get to know your future favorite hop.

By brewing a beer with all pilsner or two-row malt, and a very clean yeast like White Labs 001 or Wyeast American Ale, the hops have a chance to shine through. There is no mistaking hop character for yeast esters or malt flavor when the base of the beer is so simple.

One thing to watch out for in this very simple style: Since very aromatic hops tend to have lower alpha acids, you may only be able to achieve your desired bitterness by adding a large, 60-minute addition. So instead, substitute a hop with high alpha acids (like Magnum), or be okay with making a beer that isn’t as bitter. Large 60-minute additions can lead to vegatal flavors in the final beer.

Malt

Without commuting to work or going out for meals, there’s never been more time for the ultimate experiment: the side-by-side brew. Usually, brewing and fermenting two of almost the exact same beer is too time- consuming, especially when the result is… a lot of one kind of beer. However, as the time indoors stretches out long before us, homebrewing a half-batch suddenly doesn’t seem so bad, even if the brew day is as lengthy as a full-batch.

Testing the impact of base malts, like the popular (and more expensive) Golden Promise against the humble pilsner malt, is one way to go. Another is to perform a specialty malt trial: Does switching out roasted barley for chocolate malt really make the difference between calling something a stout or a porter? And how do we know special B malt is all that flavorful anyway? Have we actually tried brewing a Belgian quad without it? These questions have finally found their day to be answered.

Yeast

So many aspects of a style, from mouthfeel to aroma, are determined by yeast. Mastering a yeast strain until results are consistent isn’t an easy feat, so it can be intimidating to try a new strain. During this pandemic, when the fermenter in the closet is never too far away, is the perfect time to experiment with new yeast strains that will ferment differently than the ones in your comfort zone.

Monitor yeast daily to check activity, and adjust the temperature accordingly. There should be bubbles coming up through the airlock at least every minute or two. If that isn’t happening, heat things up a degree or two to keep yeast active and working. When taking a sample to measure the gravity, don’t forget to give it a taste. It will be warm and flat, but yeast character is apparent in the flavor within days of fermentation and will continue to develop.

Who knows? Maybe you went into quarantine an American ales expert, and you’ll leave it the queen of German wheat beers.

If Beer Is Too Much Work: Brew Something Else

So, you’re stuck at home. You don’t really have the money to get into a new hobby, or maybe all those steps and ingredients are just too much. For this recipe, all you’ll need to order is a pack of wine yeast that costs about $3. Then, find an empty plastic bottle or a large glass pitcher to use as your “fermenter.” Clean it as well as you can, and make sure to rinse it thoroughly afterward. Any residue from soap will come through in the flavor of this simple brew.

As this beverage ferments, taste it to experience how the sweetness changes as the yeast does its thing! It doesn’t take much to learn about fermentation in isolation.

Something Brewed Recipe

4 cups water (960 grams)

½ cup table sugar (100 grams)

⅓ cup fresh-squeezed citrus juice (about 3 limes, 2 lemons, or ½ orange)

Wine yeast (available on Amazon)

The above recipe should be scaled to the size of your “fermenter.” A triple batch is a good amount for a 1-gallon container.

Heat water to about 100ºF. Stir in table sugar until dissolved completely. Turn off heat and add fruit juice. Pour into “fermenter.” Sprinkle in yeast and swirl lightly to hydrate yeast. Cover fermenter opening with a paper towel secured with a rubber band.

Allow to sit at room temperature for at least 4 days before tasting it. After about a week you’ll have a lightly carbonated, pleasantly sweet, lightly citrus-flavored alcoholic drink. In about 10-14 days you’ll have a barley sweet, somewhat fizzy, alcoholic drink. After 16 or so days your drink will be very dry and mostly still and contain a little more than 5% alcohol.

To serve, gently pour into a glass (avoid pouring too much yeast). Chill or add ice before enjoying. Garnish with a citrus wedge or top with soda water for extra character.

The article Homebrew Projects to Tackle While Social Distancing appeared first on VinePair.

source https://vinepair.com/articles/homebrew-projects-social-distancing/

[johnboothus]

Homebrew Projects to Tackle While Social Distancing

Right now, going out for a beer simply isn’t an option. (Please support local breweries by ordering delivery online, if you’re comfortable with it!) But, there is more time than ever to make your own beer.

Whether a clone of a popular IPA or something totally unique that’s only possible in a 5-gallon batch size, everything required to brew is available for online delivery — and while you wait for shipping (or aren’t quite ready to tackle a brew day yet), we have plenty of reading recommendations to keep you occupied, too.

If You’ve Never Brewed: Read This Book

The seminal text for homebrewers that breaks down the science of the brewing process and how to take control of it at home is available online — for free! “How to Brew” by John Palmer is similar to a brewing textbook but is written in an approachable style, with easy to understand metaphors to explain chemistry, and answers to frequently asked questions.

Palmer has updated the book several times from the text that is available online, but all of the information on the website is correct and will give you a thorough knowledge of brewing. For the most up-to-date advice you can order his 2017 edition on the book’s website.

If You’re New to Brewing: Buy a Kit

To really give homebrewing a shot, order an all-in-one starter kit from your local homebrew shop or an independent homebrew retailer like More Beer or Adventures in Homebrewing. The American Homebrew Association has a registry of homebrew shops by state that are guaranteed to have all the ingredients and equipment you need to start brewing. Call ahead to arrange for delivery or pickup — right now local businesses desperately need support to stay afloat. (You can expect to spend about $175 for an all-in-one kit with ingredients.)

For a low-budget start to brewing at home, you’ll only need to order an ingredients kit like this one that has hops, malt extract, and yeast; sanitizer (StarSan is a homebrewing standard); bottles (go swing top for the lowest effort and investment, just make sure to drink the beer quickly!); and a fermenter (this can be a big plastic bucket or glass jug).

You’ll also need your largest stock pot, a funnel, and, optionally, some tubing to use for a blowoff tub and to siphon beer from fermenter to bottles. (This helps avoid oxidation of your beer!) Piecing together this equipment will cost between $70 and $90, depending on the recipe you decide to brew.

Here’s a step-by-step guide to your first brew day.

If You Like a Project: Rig Your Mini-Fridge

There is a saying among brewers, “Brewers make wort, yeast makes beer.” It’s up to the yeast to turn sugars into alcohol and flavor compounds, but brewers can still set those little bugs up with the best possible environment for doing so. The most important factor in this environment is temperature. The second most important is that temperature stays consistent. Both can be achieved with these purchases: a mini-fridge and a temperature controller.

Now is probably not the time to buy a mini-fridge off of Craigslist, unless you can do so with proper social distancing measures in place. However, hardware and home goods stores sell mini-fridges online. If possible, getting a min-ifridge that is at least 4.5 cubic feet is ideal; any smaller, and your fermenter may not fit. This is because the compressor, usually located in the bottom rear of the refrigerator, takes up ample space; and even with 4.5 cubic feet, you’ll need to take off the internally mounted shelves attached to the door. It’s easy enough with a screwdriver and a serrated knife.

However, if you want to save money and purchase a smaller, non-ideal-sized fridge, handy homebrewers build a simple wooden collar and add it to the mini-fridge frame. (Many tutorials online, like this one, will take you through the proper sealing steps. What else do you have to do right now, anyway?)

While it is possible to skimp a bit and DIY the fridge component, I suggest buying a ready-to-go temperature controller. It will run you about $40 and pay for itself in ease of use, as well as energy efficiency compared to wiring your own unit. Simply mount the temperature control near an outlet (near the mini-fridge that is now your fermentation chamber), plug the temperature controller into the outlet, and plug the refrigerator into the temperature controller. Now you’re able to keep the yeast at a consistent temperature within a degree or two.

If You Homebrew Often: Try a SMaSH Beer

Hops

There is a lot to learn about hops simply from smelling them, or adding them to a fermenter for dry hopping. But the best way to understand the full range of an individual hop varietal is by brewing a “SMaSH beer.” The term comes from “Single Malt and Single Hop.”

SMaSH IPAs were becoming the big trend before hazy IPAs took over the scene. The reason to brew this kind of beer isn’t to reminisce about trends of the past, but instead to get to know your future favorite hop.

By brewing a beer with all pilsner or two-row malt, and a very clean yeast like White Labs 001 or Wyeast American Ale, the hops have a chance to shine through. There is no mistaking hop character for yeast esters or malt flavor when the base of the beer is so simple.

One thing to watch out for in this very simple style: Since very aromatic hops tend to have lower alpha acids, you may only be able to achieve your desired bitterness by adding a large, 60-minute addition. So instead, substitute a hop with high alpha acids (like Magnum), or be okay with making a beer that isn’t as bitter. Large 60-minute additions can lead to vegatal flavors in the final beer.

Malt

Without commuting to work or going out for meals, there’s never been more time for the ultimate experiment: the side-by-side brew. Usually, brewing and fermenting two of almost the exact same beer is too time- consuming, especially when the result is… a lot of one kind of beer. However, as the time indoors stretches out long before us, homebrewing a half-batch suddenly doesn’t seem so bad, even if the brew day is as lengthy as a full-batch.

Testing the impact of base malts, like the popular (and more expensive) Golden Promise against the humble pilsner malt, is one way to go. Another is to perform a specialty malt trial: Does switching out roasted barley for chocolate malt really make the difference between calling something a stout or a porter? And how do we know special B malt is all that flavorful anyway? Have we actually tried brewing a Belgian quad without it? These questions have finally found their day to be answered.

Yeast

So many aspects of a style, from mouthfeel to aroma, are determined by yeast. Mastering a yeast strain until results are consistent isn’t an easy feat, so it can be intimidating to try a new strain. During this pandemic, when the fermenter in the closet is never too far away, is the perfect time to experiment with new yeast strains that will ferment differently than the ones in your comfort zone.

Monitor yeast daily to check activity, and adjust the temperature accordingly. There should be bubbles coming up through the airlock at least every minute or two. If that isn’t happening, heat things up a degree or two to keep yeast active and working. When taking a sample to measure the gravity, don’t forget to give it a taste. It will be warm and flat, but yeast character is apparent in the flavor within days of fermentation and will continue to develop.

Who knows? Maybe you went into quarantine an American ales expert, and you’ll leave it the queen of German wheat beers.

If Beer Is Too Much Work: Brew Something Else

So, you’re stuck at home. You don’t really have the money to get into a new hobby, or maybe all those steps and ingredients are just too much. For this recipe, all you’ll need to order is a pack of wine yeast that costs about $3. Then, find an empty plastic bottle or a large glass pitcher to use as your “fermenter.” Clean it as well as you can, and make sure to rinse it thoroughly afterward. Any residue from soap will come through in the flavor of this simple brew.

As this beverage ferments, taste it to experience how the sweetness changes as the yeast does its thing! It doesn’t take much to learn about fermentation in isolation.

Something Brewed Recipe

4 cups water (960 grams)

½ cup table sugar (100 grams)

⅓ cup fresh-squeezed citrus juice (about 3 limes, 2 lemons, or ½ orange)

Wine yeast (available on Amazon)

The above recipe should be scaled to the size of your “fermenter.” A triple batch is a good amount for a 1-gallon container.

Heat water to about 100ºF. Stir in table sugar until dissolved completely. Turn off heat and add fruit juice. Pour into “fermenter.” Sprinkle in yeast and swirl lightly to hydrate yeast. Cover fermenter opening with a paper towel secured with a rubber band.

Allow to sit at room temperature for at least 4 days before tasting it. After about a week you’ll have a lightly carbonated, pleasantly sweet, lightly citrus-flavored alcoholic drink. In about 10-14 days you’ll have a barley sweet, somewhat fizzy, alcoholic drink. After 16 or so days your drink will be very dry and mostly still and contain a little more than 5% alcohol.

To serve, gently pour into a glass (avoid pouring too much yeast). Chill or add ice before enjoying. Garnish with a citrus wedge or top with soda water for extra character.

The article Homebrew Projects to Tackle While Social Distancing appeared first on VinePair.

Via https://vinepair.com/articles/homebrew-projects-social-distancing/

source https://vinology1.weebly.com/blog/homebrew-projects-to-tackle-while-social-distancing

[citrusrei]

About Me.

Idk I’ve never made one of these before but I feel like maybe I should put one because y’all know nothing about me really?? I’m guessing it’s like a bio but I really have no idea so I’m just going to say some random facts about me i guess ?? Please enjoy

- Hi, I’m Kiwi. (no it’s not my real name) - I’m 22 years old and I live in Michigan. The state in the U.S. that looks like a mitten! - I was born on March 17 so I’m a Pisces and I literally don’t know anything else about my astrology. Like ??? I think my rising moon or whatever is cancer?? (it’s aquarius lmao) - I try to be a writer sometimes ? Mediocre as hell tho. - My favorite colors are deep blue and pale pink. - I’m a Ravenclaw and INFP (shocker) - I don’t watch anime really anymore but am absolutely in love with anything Studio Ghibli and my all time favorite movie is Spirited Away. - Besides kpop, I listen to a plethora of other things but ya girl is an emo at heart and loves MCR, Panic at the disco, FOB, All Time Low, etc. Also, Childish Gambino <3 - My ultimate Biases are TOP from Big Bang, Yoongi from BTS, JB from Got7 and Mino from Winner! - I stan and listen to a lot of groups like obviously BTS, Got7, Big Bang, Monsta X, WannaOne!!!, BAP, BlackPink, Day6!!!, KNK!!!! and yes, please talk to me about them! - I don’t really post selfies just because I’m like really self-conscious about it idk I’ve posted one but it has long been deleted but if you’re curious to what I look like you can add me on snapchat just dm me and tell me who you are and such!! - I’m hispanic, white, and native american and my tribe is Chippewa which is why I call people and mainly yoongi biibii’s! (it means baby in ojibwe lol) - My tags for BTS are Jinnie Boy (Jin), The Cutest of all biib’s (Yoongi), Joon (Namjoon), Sunshine Boy (Jhope), Chim Tag (Jimin), toasty boy (Taehyung) and Rude Little Boy (Kook) - I write for BTS and Got7 although I lean more towards BTS and mainly Jaebum idk they’re just easier for me to write about  - When I started this blog idk what I was expecting but it wasn’t this, like all the feedback and such like, I just made this blog for doing ships (which like I wanna start doing again ??) and fake texts and it turned into this trash but to all the people who have stayed and to the new ones who come, thank u sincerely - Honestly I’m just a nice person who has a lot of love for everyone and just wants to be your friend so please don’t hesitate to send me an ask or message me or whatever cause yo I’ll be your friend in like a heartbeat idk i just love y’all - My networks are just Noonanet because I’m a shy bitch - I’m a worry wort like I worry about everything especially my writing and how often I post but please believe me when I say I’m trying lol, ya girl has writers block so hardcore - idk what else is interesting about me like i’m probably boring af 

So, yeah! I hope you all feel somewhat more connected to me idk lol. Just, don’t be shy and come and talk to me and tell me about your biases or what you’re feeling or how your day was or any hot gossip or the kind of scenarios you’d like to see in the future! Anything and everything is always appreciated. Love you, biibii’s!

[thebestintoronto]

How to Spend Two Perfect Days in Toronto, Ontario

Toronto is among my top 5 favored cities worldwide. Yeah, seriously-- I enjoy Toronto! I have checked out Toronto two times, and also on both trips I just spent about two days in the city. 2 days is enough to fall for this Canadian city!

Toronto is not always a breathtaking city in the sense of conventional metropolitan elegance neither is it a city made for visitor attractions. What truly attracts attention about Toronto is that it is a city that has a solid local color as well as an apparent heart-- two top qualities that would certainly endear me to any type of city!

There are a few reasons I enjoy Toronto a lot are:

Variety: I enjoy that you can walk the city as well as see a lot of different types of individuals, restaurants, and also cultures all existing together. Toronto is well known for this variety and it really feels very concrete when you are traveling there.

Thriving Small Business: You can walk along one street, like Queen Road for example, as well as see shop after store after store, all seemingly doing quite well. There is such an imaginative and also unique array of organisations, as well as I like that there is a minimal company visibility in heart of Toronto.

Delicious Food: No surprise as to why I love this, however Toronto has a remarkable cooking scene. Although they aren't Michelin approved, they should be! There are absolutely some James Beard as well as Michelin quality places in the city, as well as fantastic food vehicles and also hole in the wall areas.

After raving concerning Toronto upon my return from my 2nd visit to Canada's largest city, I really felt influenced to create a 2 day overview to exploring all the best that Toronto has to supply. I hope this influences other folks to see Toronto and also spen 2 ideal days discover this incredible city.

Early Morning: St Lawrence Market & Distillery Area

Begin your first day in Toronto with some fantastic food choices in a historic building at St Lawrence Market. A perfect location to choose a small group of individuals with different tastes, this 208 years of age market attributes over 100 different neighborhood food, drink, and also handicraft manufacturers. Lots of them use samples and you can buy baked goods and also snacks to sustain your stroll! Please note that the market is closed on Mondays.

From the marketplace, walk through Parliament Square Park until you hit your following stop-- the Distillery Area. This tiny neighborhood southeast of downtown Toronto is likewise a historical area of the city with roots going back to 1832 when the Gooderham and Worts Distillery was founded right here. At the time, it was just one of the biggest distilleries on the planet, and also spanned throughout the 13 acre location. Today, you can still see the heritage buildings from the Victorian period with contemporary companies as well as restaurants constructed inside the brick city.

In the Distillery Area, you can easily spend a few hrs consuming as well as discovering! A few spots that I recommend looking into inside the area are Deciem, an irregular beauty firm that is all about self-love, City of Angels, an adorable bohemian design females's clothes and also boutique, and also Biltmore, a spacious vintage as well as brand-new furnishings shop with one-of-a-kind products to find.

Afternoon: Walk the Areas

For me, this is the most effective part of Toronto is all the neighborhoods. Like Chicago, it is a city of communities and the "downtown" location is clean and sterile compared to the vibrancy of the individual areas. Maybe I connect with this a lot since it resembles Chicago. The downtown is meh, while the areas really reveal the lifeline of the city.

Over the 5 days that I have spent in Toronto, I invested a bulk of those simply straying around in the neighborhoods of this city. I would generally have a few locations in mind, like a store or restaurant that I wanted to check out, which would lead my general direction but I left myself lots of time to find things along the way.

Use comfy shoes since you'll be doing a great deal of strolling on this part of your 2 days in Toronto. There are a number of awesome roads to enjoy that period numerous neighborhoods, yet I could suggest beginning with King Road West, Queen Street West, Dundas Street West or College Road West. All of these streets provide a flourishing neighborhood boutique and restaurant scenes with stops every few store fronts to explore! If you're trying to find more details recommendations, I did an entire different blog post regarding purchasing in Toronto!

Night: Food Adventures

Toronto is a city with a severe cravings. The food scene right here is prospering as well as if they were Michelin approved, I guarantee there would be several Michelin star eateries. The diversity of food alternatives here is astonishing as well as I pinned far more dining establishments on my customized Google Map than I might ever before have gotten to in 48 hours in Toronto.

Despite which sort of food you remain in the mood for, Toronto has it. Because there are many areas to discover, I advise "bourdaining" which is my term for trying one dish at a great deal different places in honor of Anthony Bourdain's style of eating. By doing this, you can attempt a couple of restaurants around the city without filling up too much. Toronto is a large city, yet I located that it isn't huge on appointments. There are locations that take reservations in advance, yet I discovered most of the time I simply walked in as well as place my name on a list. As such, it is probably clever to eat in a smaller sized group of 4 or much less individuals.

Early Morning: Graffiti Street and also Downtown

Never ever one to refuse a great road art scene, I would advise beginning your 2nd day in Toronto discovering the famed Graffiti Street in the facility of the city. Specifically as it appears, this alley that runs behind Queen Street West has lots of graffiti and also road art. It uses a vivid explosion of creative thinking from neighborhood and global road musicians. It changes every few months, so what you see on one browse through might be completely various the following time!

From graffiti alley, you can continue walking eastern to midtown Toronto. If you get parched on the stroll, stop in at Dineen Coffee Co or get hold of a bite to eat at the historical Queen Mother Cafe. In main Toronto, you can locate the 'grammable Toronto sign, municipal government, Cloud Gardens, and also Yonge-Dundas Square. If you have any hockey fans in your traveling group, the Hockey Hall of Fame is likewise located in midtown Toronto.

Mid-day: Kensington Market

Simply north of Chinatown in main Toronto is Kensington Market. This walkable bohemian community feels like a hipster territory in Toronto that attracts young artists and travelers to its indie stores, classic boutiques, and arts areas. Similar to the Distillery Area, this historical little location has gorgeous (and vibrant!) Victorian houses that make it a fantastic area to invest a couple of hours simply straying around.

My preferred part of this neighborhood was all the vintage shops! Cinderella Vintage, Nerve My Love and also SubRosa were all terrific places to dig for old treasures. There are plenty of other amazing shops to explore in this field as well, like Cocktail Shop where you can discover all kind of awesome glass wares, devices and also books for your next at-home cocktail party!

There are GREAT DEALS OF food stalls, international dining establishments and coffee shops to drop in as you walk. There are additionally some great eating places and wine bars if you're really feeling elegant! A couple of places of note are Blackbird Bakeshop wherefore might be Toronto's ideal bread, Otto's Doner for 'grammable German street food, Wanda's Castle in the air for a wonderful or tasty bite of pie and Grey Gardens for a stylish glass of white wine.

Evening: Sundown Sights & Mixed Drink Adventures

Prior to leaving Kensington Market, grab some products to make yourself a little sundown picnic. As a waterfront city, Toronto has some gorgeous sky line viewing places and no time is better to appreciate Toronto's cityscape than sunset. For the very best views of the sky line, head to either Trillium Park or Jennifer Kateryna Koval's'kyj Park on the east or west sides of the city. Or if you're more of a rooftop individual, have a look at the elegant Roof Bar at the Broadview Resort, SOCO's Roof or the trendy Ritz Bar for incredible skyline views with delicious alcoholic drinks.

After the sunlight decreases, it is time to delight in another incredible part of Toronto's cooking scene-- alcoholic drinks! Like many various other cities around North America, Toronto is experiencing a resurgence of regional distillers and mixologists collaborating to revitalize the art of cocktail production. Civil Liberties, a bespoke cocktail bar is a great location to start. The bartenders will ask you concerning your alcohol choices as well as taste profile, and after that make a customized drink to suit your taste!

The relaxing and vivid Rhum Edge is an additional excellent spot, where you can try slushies or icy exotic drinks. For something a little unique, head to the Lockhart, a Harry Potter themed bar that is cranking out some seriously excellent cocktails all influenced by characters or events from the books.

48 hours in Toronto is a terrific method to start discovering this city, however there are still a lot of neighborhoods I have not been to and so several restaurants I have not eaten at. With so much to supply and discover, I understand that I will be returning to Toronto again in the future.

The post “ How to Spend Two Perfect Days in Toronto, Ontario “ was appeared first on TRAVERSE by Megan Arz

Vitamin Therapy Toronto - The IV Lounge

[tsghuntcountryvirginia]

Wild Roots Apothecary: Wanderlust Guide to Sperryville

In case you didn’t realize, scouted business owner Colleen O’Bryant of Wild Roots Apothecary has been putting out brilliant blogs, which highlight everything from her favorite culinary uses of local spices to homemade herbal remedies. Colleen sat down to talk about her “Wanderlust Guide to Summer” in Sperryville and the surrounding Shenandoah National Park. 

Wanderlust Guide to Sperryville by Colleen O’Bryant

Here are a few things I've either did or thought of doing this week...

This is one of those things that sprouted out of my local love of where I get to do business and play, almost every day.

Have you visited our little mountain treasure recently?  Were a small community with a heart for the mountains and here is an insider guide to enjoy the Blue Ridge as needed.

Escape and explore.  

Its a sweet hazy time of year to see the relaxed smiles of folks as they mosey around town, after a hike or before dinner.  They all seem relaxed and ready to just go with the flow.  So I usually send them on their ways to some of the unique and favorite places I love to go.  Flora and fauna I love, places to eat and hikes to see.  All the good things that make Rappahannock unique. I know this is tour guidey - forgive me.

On to the guide:

I've been spotting so many roadside herbs and plants. I'm the mini-van you may see on the side of the road crawling through the weeds to grab a handful of St. Johns Wort. I can't help it.  

What's blooming now (a brief list):

Wineberries, Rudbeckia, Echinacea, Mullein, Yarrow, St. John's Wort, Queens Anne's Lace, Black Cohosh, Blue Vervain, Teasel, Evening Primrose and all the Milkweed are all pretty easy to spot along the roadsides.  

Fauna and Insect wise: Bears, deer, river otters, and bobcats have all been spotted recently in the park and local areas (love the river otters). Butterflies and moths are everywhere as well.

Oh if you're looking to make it a day trip, here are a few of my mid-summer to-dos.  

Go picking blueberries, raspberries and maybe blackberries are still perfect. Get to Kim Dean Road's End Farm. 853 Scrabble Road.Castleton, Va. It's self serve if Kim isn't there so bring your own buckets to carry your haul. There is still another week's worth of blueberries and the blackberries are just starting to come on out here!

Also, it's already time for peaches, nectarines, plums and cucumbers which are my favorite cooling fruits.  I usually head to Jenkins off Yancey Road, but I'll also drop in on Whipporwill farm to see if they have any organic fruit to offer, they hopefully will have apples and plums this year.  (more on the local farms next time).

Or head out to the Thornton Gap entrance to the Shenandoah, grab a piece of Blackberry Ice cream Pie from Skyland in the park (it's graham cracker crust, blackberry ice cream, and meringue..mouthwateringly perfect), and enjoy the view.

Mosey around the visitor center while your digesting, and when you're ready hike head down to Dark Hollow Falls for a beautiful watery hike. Or up Stony Man Trail for a fantastic vista and mountain breezes. (all hikes under 1 hour and kid friendly).

If you're looking for a bigger hike, Little Devils Stairs (go up and back and not down the fire road) is my favorite glute challenging hike along the river. There are no swimming holes per se on that trail but there are places to definitely squirrel around in and get wet.  

AND of course, for an easy sunset view make sure that you make your way up by 8 pm. I love the first overlook heading towards Front Royal on the left-hand side. Walk down and plop on the big rocks with a bottle of wine and a little picnic. Pack in pack out my friends.   https://www.nps.gov/shen/planyourvisit/maps.htm

BUT of course a little in town guide with your first stop being our Apothecary to stock up on our botanical teas, syrups, and handcrafted goodness.

Apothecary will be open 11am-5pm on Thursday the 4th, 11am-5pm Friday & Monday, and 11am-6pm Saturday and Sunday.

As things heat up the NEW community garden (thank you again garden fairies) is starting to fill in with all the herby goodness. Grab one of our guides from in the shop and explore the what and the why of the plants we planted.

Brewing will be a few of our favorite summer teas iced to try and cool you off from the heat too.

If you're coming out why not plan your day out too:

Hungry?

The lamb bratwurst from Bear Belly Brats goes perfect with their Golden Swan beer. Nom. Nom. The guys from Pen Druid are releasing their Spontaneous Brew which is always a treasure to bring to any summer festivities...

Or if you miss the market, pop over to Bar Francis where ahem I actually do all the cocktail recipes and enjoy the creative spirit. Insiders tip, Rappahannock Pizza Kitchen is self serve but if you stay in Francis you'll get a little more service, full menu and great bartenders too.

For some good local music enjoy the bluegrass band playing at the HeadMaster's Pub on Saturday night from 8pm-11pm called Copper Cup Collective.

If you want something more relaxed try Copper Fox Distillery. They have a fantastic Riverside Cocktail Bar that is open til 8ish.

If you have any questions please let me know... I love encouraging local wanderlust and adventure in the mountains.  

More on this later but enjoy the magic of today folks.

Be Sure to Tell Them Scout Sent You!

WILD ROOTS APOTHECARY 4 River Lane Sperryville, VA C: hello@wildrootsapothecary.com Follow on Instagram: @wildroots_apothecary

[fortheloveofpearlet]

Straightjacket Feeling - Pearlet [Chapter 5]

This is something I worte AGES and AGES ago. Last chapter set in college. Kinda based on on ‘Do I Wanna Know’ by the Artic Monkeys. Chp includes smut and angst.

Chapter 5

Jason had been drinking all day by the time he practically fell on the bar of some club, Danny's hands on his waist.

'Tequila! We need tequila!' He shouted to the bartender to be heard over the music. 'What kind of Spring Break would it be without tequila?' He turned to say this to Danny who chuckled and pulled Jason in for a kiss. They'd done a lot of that today, kissing and drinking. Some talking, but Jason hadn't paid much attention to that. The bartender reached across the bar and tapped Jason on the shoulder as he was busy making out with Danny. He sprung back from the other boy and gave the bartender a sheepish grin before paying him. He handed one of the shots to Danny and they necked them. 

'Oh look who it is.' Jason slurred pointing a finger at the man who had just sidled up next to them at the bar. 

'Don't start.' Matt sighed running his fingers through his hair. 'It's the last night of Spring Break Jason, I just want to have a good night.'

'So do I. And I don't want you ruining it.' He jabbed Matt in the chest. Matt caught Jason's finger in his hand.

'Do that again, I dare you.' Matt clenched his jaw. He saw Jason swallow as though he was scared but he shook it off and when Matt let go of his finger he jabbed him again with a smirk.

'What you gonna do about it?' Jason challenged him.

'What the fuck has gotten into you?' Matt shook his head. 'This isn't you Jason, I don't like this side of you.'

'What do I care if you like it or not?' He scoffed. 'I didn't think you even liked me anyway. I mean obviously I'm so inadequate you forgot my kiss the second it happened.'

Matt's face fell and he frowned a little.

'That's what this is about? Jason I didn't mean that, it was just a dumb comment.'

'Don't care.' Jason shrugged. 'It's not like it meant anything to me either.' He turned back to Danny to see the space he'd been standing in was empty. He looked around but Danny was nowhere to be seen. 'Look what you've done!' He poked Matt again, harder this time. 'Fuck sake you scared him away.'

'I think you did that all on your own.' Matt rolled his eyes. He went to walk away because he didn't want to argue with Jason but Jason grabbed his wrist to stop him.

'I was on to a sure thing! I was definitely going to get laid tonight and you scared him off!' He yelled at Matt. 

'Get laid?' Matt repeated his words. He'd never heard Jason talk like that before. 'Who the fuck are you and what have you done to my best friend?' 

'Fuck you.' Jason spat and this time he turned to leave. He didn't realise Matt was following him until he got outside and he called after him.

'Jason, where are you going?'

'Away from you.' Jason yelled back, marching as fast as he could. Matt sighed and picked up his pace to a jog to catch up with the younger boy and when he did, he grabbed his shoulders. Jason turned to look at him, his nostrils flared.

'Please Jason stop acting like this. I hate that we're fighting. I thought this week was going to be amazing, Spring Break with my best friends, the last big college blowout. But I've spent the whole week walking on egg shells and being ignored by you and when you finally do talk to me we fight. Please, let's just stop this ok? Let's have one last good night.' 

'You hurt me.' Jason sniffed, his anger being replaced by sadness. Matt's face fell as he saw Jason's lip quiver. 'You hurt me when you said you forgot about the kiss ok? You really fucking hurt me. And I didn't know how to tell you that so I just pretended not to care and I thought being an asshole would make it easier somehow.' Jason bit his bottom lip, desperate not to cry. Matt bit his bottom lip too. He hadn't meant to hurt Jason; that was the last thing he ever wanted to do. 

'Jason, I'm so sorry. I didn't mean it, I just panicked I guess.' He put his hands on Jason's shoulders as if he were afraid he would run away again. 'The truth is I freaked ok? That kiss it was...it was fucking incredible and that scared the shit out of me because I've never thought about another man in that way before. Especially not one who is such a good friend. It scared me how much I enjoyed it though, I didn't know how to process that.' 

'You...you enjoyed it?' Jason stuttered, seemingly a lot more sober. 

'I uhm...' Matt was going into panic mode again. He wasn't sure he'd meant to say that. Suddenly he let go of Jason and started running down the beach. 'Last one to the water buys gas all the way home!' He yelled over his shoulder. Jason just stared at the boy as he ran, kicking his shoes off. Matt was hard work sometimes. Matt stripped off his t-shirt and shorts as he ran and then he was crashing into the water. Jason slowly made his way across the sand to the water’s edge. He put his hands on his hips as he looked at Matt, waist deep in the sea.

'What are you doing?' Jason raised an eyebrow at him.

'Swimming, what does it look like?' 

'Why?' Jason shook his head.

'The waters lovely.' Matt smiled softly. Diversion tactic Jason thought. 

'Get out.' Jason told him sternly.

'No way!' 

'Matt come on.'

'Give me three good reasons why I should.'

'I'm not playing games Matt.' Jason sighed. This night was taking a strange turn.

'Give me three good reasons and I'll get out. But if you can't, you have to come in.' 

Jason rolled his eyes. Maybe if he just gave him the reasons then this would be over faster.

'Fine. 1 it's late and I'm tired but I can't very well leave you here. 2 I'm pretty sure it's dangerous to swim when you've been drinking. And 3...' Jason trailed off. The moonlight was illuminating Matt's wet, bare torso in the most perfect way. His eyes were shining. He was half naked and he was wet and Jason suddenly didn't think he wanted to come up with a third reason.

'Not got a third?' Matt smirked.

'No.' Jason croaked and then as though he were possessed he stripped down to his boxers and waded into the sea, his eyes locked on Matt's the whole time. He came close to the older boy, the water lapping around his hips. Matt was smiling at him as his eyes trailed down Jason's torso.

'When did you get your nipple pierced?' He asked, making Jason look down at his chest.

'I've had it done for years.' He shrugged. He saw Matt bite his lip. Matt came even closer to him and then his hand was on Jason's bun, pulling his hair band out and freeing his hair. 

'Better.' Matt smiled as Jason shook his hair out.

'You liked it when I kissed you. You said so yourself. You can't pretend you didn't say it.' Jason found himself blurting out. He saw Matt blush, he didn't think he'd ever see Matt blush.

'Yeah I did.' Matt whispered. 'But that scares me.'

'Just embrace the fear.' Jason smiled stepping even closer so their wet bodies were now touching. He could feel that Matt was hard. 'You want me, don't you Matt?' He breathed, Matt felt his hot breath on his face. He bit his lip and shyly nodded.

'More than I've ever wanted anyone in my entire life.' 

'Then show me. Show me how much you want me.' Jason challenged him and before he knew what was happening Matt closed his eyes, angled his head up a little and then his lips met Jason's. Jason pulled Matt close, wrapping his arms around the older boy’s neck. Matt held onto Jason's small waist. They were both hard and they could both feel the other's erection as the kiss grew heated. 

'Take me back to your room.' Matt panted into Jason's mouth.

'Are you sure?' 

'Yes, yes please god.' 

Jason didn't need asking twice. He kissed Matt one last time and then took hold of his hand. They waded out the sea and grabbed up their clothes running back to the hotel dripping wet and in their pants but neither of them cared. Once in Jason's room they fell to the bed, Matt on top. His lips were on Jason's straight away, picking right back up where they left off. Jason hooked his fingers in the waistband of Matt's pants and started peeling the wet material back from his skin. Matt sat back briefly so he could get them off and he helped Jason out of his too.

'I've never done this before Jason, you might need to help me out.' He told the younger boy as he started trailing kisses down his neck, making Jason gasp. 

'You said you'd done that with a girl though right?' Jason panted as Matt's lips moved lower. 

'Uhm well, kind of.' Matt sat back a little and Jason noticed he was blushing. 'We kind of tried but she said it hurt and it didn't really go very well.' 

'It's ok, I've had experience.' Jason chuckled. 'It's all about the preparation.' He pulled Matt down for another kiss to try and ease his nerves. He could tell the older boy was trying to ease himself into but he could also tell he was still nervous. 

'Matt?' Jason paused the kiss and stroked his cheek. 'Are you sure you want to do this? Because if you're unsure we don't have to.' God Jason didn't want to talk him out of this but he didn't want Matt to be uncomfortable. Matt silenced him with another kiss.

'I want this Jason. Trust me.' His hands were wandering down Jason's body, playing with his nipple ring, stroking his stomach. Jason wanted to take this slow and let Matt get used to what was happening. They made out for a long while, their hard dicks rubbing together as Jason couldn't stop himself rolling his hips every so often, desperate for as much contact as possible. Each time he did so Matt would gasp and moan into his mouth. Jason ran his hands over Matt's spine, gradually getting lower until he was cupping Matt's ass. He gave it a firm squeeze, he'd imagined hundreds of time what that ass would feel like and it didn't disappoint. Matt held Jason's face as their tongues danced together, finding a good rhythm. 

'I need you Jason.' Matt panted kissing his lips gently.

'Ok.' Jason croaked, starting to feel a little overwhelmed by what was happening. He excused himself to get up and rummage in his suitcase and he came back with a small bottle of lube of and a condom. Matt smirked as he laid on top of Jason and kissed him again.

'Carry those everywhere do you?' He teased making Jason blush.

'You can never be too prepared.' He instructed Matt to sit up so Jason could have some room. He didn't want to overwhelm Matt and have him attempt to open him up so he was going to open himself up. Matt knelt at the end of the bed and watched in awe as Jason slicked up his own his finger with the lube and then trailed them down his body and between his legs. He pressed his fingers to the outside of his hole and felt himself blushing.

'This feels weird having someone watching.' He bit his lip suddenly shy. Matt reached and stroked Jason's thigh. 

'Please? I want to watch.' He begged a little and that was all Jason needed to hear before he slid two fingers inside himself. He gasped and so did Matt just at the sight of it. Jason closed his eyes, he'd never done this in front of anyone before, this was the kind of thing he did behind closed doors and he felt a little awkward. He immediately started scissoring himself, he need Matt so badly and a part of him was worried that Matt might change his mind if this took too long. He was moaning softly and panting as he opened up his hole. As he inserted a third finger he felt a hand wrap around his shaft and his eyes shot open to see Matt slowly start pumping him, using his other hand to pump himself. 

'This is so fucking hot Jay.' Matt panted biting his bottom lip. Jason felt himself blushing and he also felt like his body was on fire. Between the feeling of his own fingers inside him and Matt's strong hand wrapped around his dick stroking him, Jason was a mess.

'I can't wait any longer Matt.' Jason told him desperately. He removed his fingers from his hole and pulled Matt down into a sloppy kiss. When Matt sat back Jason ripped open the condom wrapper and slowly slid it over Matt's length making the older boy gasp. Jason picked the lube back up and coated Matt's dick with the liquid before slathering some to the outside of his hole. He pulled Matt back down and kissed him more softly now.

'Are you ready?' Jason whispered.

'Fuck yes.' Matt said but the confidence was missing from his voice. He positioned himself so the head of his cock was pressing to the outside of Jason's hole and Jason wrapped his legs around his best friend’s waist. Matt took hold of Jason's hips and Jason swore he saw his hands were shaking. Matt swallowed hard and cautiously he started pushing inside Jason. Jason gasped at the sensation, he hadn't exactly been with a lot of men and Matt was pretty well hung. Matt gasped too as his dick disappeared inside Jason. He was so tight and warm it was almost enough to push him over the edge. He didn't move right away, he paused to get used to the sensation. Jason raised his hand and cupped Matt's face.

'Is everything ok?' He whispered, not being able to gauge what Matt was thinking. Matt bit his lip and nodded.

'You're just so fucking tight, I needed to compose myself so I didn't blow my load.' Matt blushed and Jason couldn't help but smile. He hooked his hand around the back of Matt's neck and pulled him close so he could attack his lips with a passionate kiss. 

'Whenever you're ready Matt, there's no rush.' He whispered and nibbled Matt's bottom lip lightly making the older boy hiss. He took a few deep breaths before he slowly started moving in and out. Both boys gasped simultaneously at the feeling. Matt gripped Jason's hips tightly and the younger boy arched his back to allow Matt's dick full access to his hole. His thrusts were slow at first as he got used to the feeling but it wasn't long before his lust took over and he picked up his pace. Jason moaned really deeply as Matt found his prostrate.

'Oh fuck Matt, yes right there!' He pulled him down for another kiss, it was messier this time as the pleasure washed over him. Matt continued to thrust in and out as Jason reached between their still damp bodies and wrapped his hand around his own dick and started pumping himself, trying to match Matt's thrusts. Matt continued tapping Jason's bundle of nerves and Jason's head was a mess. He used his free hand to reach around and grab Matt's ass firmly. Matt gasped loudly and bit Jason's neck.

'Fuck Jay, this is embarrassing but I'm gonna come soon.' He panted. 

'Me too.' Jason groaned, picking up his pace on his dick. Matt thrust harder a few more times before he couldn't take anymore and balls exploded and he moaned deeply as he came, harder than he ever had before. Jason kissed him again and it only took a few more pumps and Jason was coming too, covering them both in his load. Matt fell on top of him, not caring about Jason's come covering his body. He placed lethargic kisses on Jason's neck. He laid there until he caught his breath and then he slowly pulled out and disposed of the condom. He rolled onto his side and Jason rolled his head on the pillow to look at him.

'Are you ok?' Jason asked Matt softly, a little concerned about what happened now. Matt responded by stroking Jason's cheek and kissing him gently.

'I'm more than ok.' He smiled sleepily. Jason kissed him one more time before forcing himself up from the bed. Matt whimpered a little.

'Where are you going?' 

'I'll be two seconds.' Jason chuckled a little. He went to the bathroom, his legs shaking a little as he walked. That had been the most incredible orgasm he'd ever experienced. He grabbed some tissue and returned to the bed and wiped down Matt's stomach where Jason had covered him in come and then cleaned himself off too. Once he'd discarded the rubbish he settled back into the bed and Matt wrapped his strong arms around him. Jason sighed in content as he laid his head on Matt's chest and he felt Matt placing delicate kisses in his hair. Jason felt his eyes growing heavy. He had a small smile on his lips. He felt like he'd waited an eternity for this. He felt happy and safe in Matt's strong hold, maybe for the first time in his life. 

'Thank you.' He found himself whispering.

'For what?' Matt gave him a squeeze.

'For just being you.' Jason mumbled and then he fell into a deep and peaceful sleep.

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

 The next morning Jason awoke with a smile on his face. Last night had taken a completely unexpected turn and he still couldn't believe his luck. He rolled over in the bed and reached for Matt, maybe they could have a repeat performance of last night? But as Jason stretched his arm across the bed he was met by nothing but cold sheets. He blinked his eyes a few times as though he didn't believe the bed was really empty but it was. His heart immediately sank. The sheets were too cold for Matt to have just gone to the bathroom. He already knew. He should have probably known last night. This was a one night stand; a drunken hook up. He sat up in the bed feeling tears immediately begin to flood his eyes. How could he be so fucking stupid? The piece of paper on the bedside table caught his eye. His hand was shaking as he reached for it. The first tear fell when he saw what was scrawled on the note. It read: Sorry, M. That was it. He'd run out on him without so much as a word and he thought that was an acceptable note? Jason's sadness suddenly turned to anger. Was that all he was worth? Two fucking words, one of which wasn't even a word. He hadn't even been bothered to sign his name! Jason balled the paper up in his hand and let out a frustrated scream as he threw it across the room. He wiped his tears away on the duvet; he was too angry to cry. They were supposed to be best friends for fuck sake, did Matt not think Jason at least deserved an explanation? Sure it would hurt to hear Matt tell him it was a mistake and it shouldn't have happened but he would rather the truth than some half assed note and a disappearing act. He jumped out of bed and threw last night’s clothes back on that were on the bedroom floor. Then he grabbed his key and his phone and he marched from the room down the hall. He knocked on Matt's door heavily. 

'Matt you better answer this fucking door right now, or I swear to god-'

'Everything ok?' Bri emerged from the room next door, clearly hearing he commotion. Jason stopped banging on Matt's door.

'Do you know where Matt is?'

'He text Brian this morning and said he was going to be by the pool. What's going on Jason you look-?'

'Thanks.' Jason cut him off and he stormed away towards the pool.

 Matt was in just a pair of swimming trunks with his sunglasses over his eyes. He had a drink in his hand. Jake and Roxy were occupying the beds next to him. Jason marched over to him and stood right over Matt's bed. Matt groaned a little and lifted his sunglasses up.

'Morning.' He croaked, clearly ignoring Jason's demeanour. 

'We need to talk.' Jason clenched his jaw.

'Not now Jay, my head is banging.'

'Yes now.' Jason spat. He grabbed Matt's wrist and tugged him upwards and the older boy groaned. Jason dragged him away from their friends to a quieter spot on the other side of the pool.

'Sorry M? Really Matt? Fucking really?' Jason spat the second they were alone. Matt sighed and rolled his eyes.

'I'm not talking about this now Jason.' Matt ran his fingers through his hair.

'You fucking well are talking about this now. Listen to me for fuck sakes!' He shoved Matt's arm when Matt's eyes started glazing over telling Jason he'd switched off.

'No.' Matt suddenly spat. 'You listen to me. This is not the fucking time or place ok Jason? We are not getting into this now.'

'I don't fucking care Matt! We need to talk about this, this isn't ok!'

'Not now.' Matt clenched his jaw and spat the words so menacingly at Jason it made the younger boy a little scared. 'Just not fucking now.' The look in Matt's eyes wasn't a look Jason had seen on him before. It was anger mixed with something else. Hate maybe? Whatever it was it told Jason all he needed to know. Last night wasn't just a mistake to Matt; it had ruined their friendship. As Jason watched Matt skulk away back over to Jake and Roxy he knew this was it for them. In one night they had ruined everything. They weren't going to get passed this, or at least Matt wasn't. He was going to graduate soon and that was going to be the end of them. Jason felt his heart shatter into two at that moment. He'd lost the love of his life and his best friend in one fell swoop. Talk about a rough night. He felt tears forming in his eyes again as he pulled his cell phone from his pocket and made a call. It rang three times.

'Hi mom, it's me. Could I please borrow some money? I'm in Florida and I need a flight back to New York desperately.' He told her, trying to keep his tears at bay. All the while Matt's words kept swimming around his head. Not now. Just not fucking now.