#broccoli fixtures

[novemberocean]

Hockey distribution system

I'm so confused why did u feel the need to say this to me

[ojcobsessed]

The British actor, who broke out in Netflix’s spooky anthology series from Mike Flanagan, speaks to Tom Murray about his thrilling new movie ‘Jackdaw’, his pride at appearing in ‘Hollyoaks’, and why he thinks he’s ‘too emotional’ to play 007.

Ihave this thing in my head,” Oliver Jackson-Cohen is telling me. “I don’t know where it comes from, but I am always convinced that everything I do is going to be s***. So I’m always pleasantly surprised that it’s not as s***ty as I think.”

The London-born actor really doesn’t need to be so anxious. Since landing his breakout role of heroin addict Luke Crain in Mike Flanagan’s Netflix anthology series The Haunting of Hill House in 2018, Jackson-Cohen has proven time and again his skill at playing damaged goods. Whether it’s his sociopathic turn as businessman Peter Quint in Flanagan’s sequel series The Haunting of Bly Manor (2020), or as Dakota Johnson’s terrifying boyfriend in The Lost Daughter (2021), or as Elisabeth Moss’s see-through ex in The Invisible Man (2020), Jackson-Cohen has cemented himself as one of Hollywood’s go-to baddies.

But in his latest film, the 37-year-old is taking a stab at being the hero... sort of. Jackdaw is set against a bleak, wintry North East of England, with Jackson-Cohen playing an ex-motocross champion and army veteran who commits a crime in the hopes of starting a new life for his family.

The actor is the first to admit that the Jackdaw script was “fairly straightforward” for the action-thriller genre: a criminal job goes awry, family member gets kidnapped, man must save kidnapped family member. But he says that the film’s director, first-timer Jamie Childs, wanted to prove that genre films like these don’t have to be the preserve of the US. “He wanted to make movies that would be made in America in the Nineties, but set in the North East,” Jackson-Cohen explains. “He wanted to really showcase that and show that we can make these sorts of high-concept movies on small budgets in the UK.”

There are blatant American influences on the film – it’s all synths, rain and neon, like it’s been put under an Instagram filter named “Blade Runner”. I tell Jackson-Cohen that his character in the film, Jack Dawson, feels like a mash-up of Ryan Gosling’s criminal characters in Drive (2011) and The Place Beyond the Pines (2012) – brooding, morally questionable types with good hearts at their core. “Yeah, like a Northern, poor man’s Ryan Gosling,” he jokes. “Listen, I’ll happily be a poor man’s Ryan Gosling for the rest of my life.”

Jackson-Cohen has a face that looks like it’s been carved by Bernini, so it’s no surprise to learn he originally found success as a model. On the day of our conversation, he’s wearing a frame-fitting black jumper; his stubble is grown out but perfectly manicured, as is his thick brown hair, which is styled into a messy quiff. A 2012 Harper’s Bazaar interview conducted at a London hotel noted a “perceptible thrill” that “rippled through the female staff” upon his arrival. His looks, accent and 6ft 3in height have also made him a perennial fixture in predictions for the next James Bond. But Jackson-Cohen is worried he’d be “too emotional” to play the part. “It’s such an iconic character, isn’t it?” he says. So if 007 producer Barbara Broccoli were to call, he’d send her to voicemail? “Of course not! No one’s gonna say no to Babs are they?”

If he does end up firing guns and sipping martinis for a few years, Jackson-Cohen would be the first Bond to have appeared in Hollyoaks, the teen soap infamous for its annual Hunks and Babes cast calendars. He booked a single-episode role on the show when he was 15 – his first acting gig. “I remember getting the phone call and being like: ‘This. Is. It,’” he says, grinning. “Walking into school the next day I was so full of myself.”

After training at London’s Youngblood Theatre Company and then the famed Lee Strasberg Institute in New York, he began booking supporting roles in a number of American films you probably don’t remember: the Dwayne Johnson clanger Faster (2010), Anna Faris’s What’s Your Number? (2011), or Going the Distance (2010), one of Drew Barrymore’s lesser romcoms. He’s spoken previously about the grand expectations he placed on his early film work, assuming they’d propel him into the big leagues. He was shattered when they didn’t, leading him to take a nine-month break from acting.

The Haunting of Hill House, in 2018, proved to be a turning point. It was a smash hit, earned him a rabid fanbase, and helped launch him into a particular kind of recognition – something he describes as “Netflix famous”. “It’s quite an interesting thing,” he says. “You’re the most famous person in the world for a while and then the next show comes along and that completely takes over.”

Regardless, the role was not without catharsis for him. He has spoken about how his own experience with childhood sexual abuse and PTSD influenced his take on the character. He first discussed it in 2017, during the #MeToo movement, writing on Instagram: “[I] have spent most of my life living with PTSD, pretending it didn’t happen, and now, trying to rebuild what was shattered. The thing about sexual abuse is that the moment it is done, however brief or however long, it changes the course of your life permanently.”

I ask him how the part impacted him, and for the first time in our conversation, the actor’s geniality falters and his face takes on a visible strain. “I think, if you speak to any of us from that cast, those characters meant so much to us because we put so much of ourselves into them,” he says. Flanagan, he says, was “incredibly collaborative” and “allowed me to just take the reins with it and left me alone to do that.” He also knows the part struck a chord with audiences. He remembers being approached by strangers in public who’d share their stories of addiction. “I think ultimately all of us feel incredibly proud that it hit a note with people and it allowed people to open up a discussion, to feel like they could talk about this stuff.”

As soon as Hill House was released, Jackson-Cohen says he was sent “a slew of horror scripts” that were “all the same thing, just a watered-down, less good versions [of the show]”. He names Ira Sachs’s raunchy gay drama Passages, Jonathan Glazer’s new Holocaust film Zone of Interest and Justine Triet’s awards season darling Anatomy of a Fall as films he’s admired from afar this past year. “I don’t think there’s a formula of: you work with this director and this writer and then, success. But I do think you reach a point where you’re like, ‘Oh I do actually want more out of this.’”

He knows, for instance, that he’s seen a certain way by casting directors. “I’ve played quite a lot of toxic men. But I’ve become fascinated with the question of, ‘how do we humanise these morally corrupt characters?’ There’s a challenge in that, which I think is quite fun. But, like anything, you go through periods where you like to play a certain thing and then it’s time to move on.”

So no more baddies? He weighs it up.

“I think I’ve played my fair share now.”

‘Jackdaw’ is in cinemas now.

[mxalmighty]

Since Leo came home;

I've panicked fully once already about potential shell rot. She was just shedding. Normally. =-=

I have poured literal hours into perfecting her basking spot, she was caught basking on it on her own for the first time today. Turns out the water was juuuuuust slightly warmer than the rocks I placed. A higher wattage heating bulb fixed it, though I had to swap the lamps and now I've got the uvb bulb in a normal light fixture which, feels, wrong.

This is after I had her out in the sun yesterday for fear she'd get behind on her health. Got some good pictures of her chillin' in the grass anyway.

Probably more handling than she cares for but I'd like her to be used to it for easier shell checks and relocations when needed.

Added a second filter bc the one I had wasn't cutting it with her shed.

Water change, water change, water change. The microbiome of the tank must be in shambles, even if the water levels test well despite.

Had to add more height to the tank walls. It's not pretty but at least she won't even try to climb out anymore.

There are still some fish in the tank. She's tried to eat all of them at least once. They swim circles around her in cruel mockery. The pleco continues to be unbothered by anything.

EAT. YOUR. GREENS. GDI. Like a child refusing broccoli, Leo continues to refuse leafy greens of any kind. She also thinks carrots LOOK tasty but taste awful, but she can be tricked with shaved carrots amongst a crushed pellet. Will be trying red leafy veggies next time I shop, will continue to try greens, thankfully she likes everything else so far- mealies are a vibe and blueberries are life itself. Must ration these carefully.

[steamexperts]

The Benefits of Steam Cleaning

Steam cleaners heat water to its boiling point and then suck the vapor up through a nozzle at high pressure. The hot vapor kills viruses, bacterias, molds, mildews and other nasty elements.

The only thing they require to work is pure, clean water. That means you can say goodbye to the dozen or more cleaning products that clutter your cabinets.

Eliminate Chemical Smells

Many cleaning products have strong chemical smells, which are not only unpleasant but can irritate some people. Using steam cleaners eliminates these chemical smells and is safer for children, pets and those with respiratory problems.

The heat of steam vapor penetrates surface pores and breaks down dirt, grime and pesky stains. When it comes to stubborn stains, pre-treating with a commercial degreaser can be helpful. The steam vapor then lifts and dissolves the stains without chemicals or harmful residue.

The steam also kills and eradicates mold spores and dust mites, which can cause allergies in some people. It's a simple and effective way to sanitize hard-to-clean areas, like mouldy tiles in bathrooms, crusted-on food on kitchen floors and bird or animal cages. Steam cleaning also eliminates lingering pet odors and can help kill fleas and their eggs as well. This is a great benefit to those with multiple pets who shed lots of hair. Getting rid of those odors helps to keep everyone healthy and happy!

Kills Bacteria

Steam cleaners heat water until it boils, then they push it out at high pressure as a steam vapor. The hot temperature of the steam kills germs, mold, mildew, and fleas on fabrics. It also works well to lift dirt and messes from surfaces.

Most pathogens (viruses, bacteria, etc) die at temperatures of 160oF or higher. Because steam cleaners use only water and hot steam, they can sanitize most surfaces.

However, you should not use a steam cleaner to clean delicate items such as lace, silk, some wood furniture, or electrical devices. Moisture left behind may attract mold and invite odors later. Additionally, steam can leave moisture on certain types of plastic or wooden materials, causing them to warp or rot. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends that you wash these items in hot water instead.

Kills Germs

Many people stocked up on bleach wipes and cleaning sprays during the pandemic, but can that stuff kill viruses? And what about steam experts cleaners? This alternative idea —that the vapor that cooks broccoli and gets wrinkles out of clothes can also disinfect surfaces—has been circulating for some time.

To make vapor steam, a steam cleaner heats water to its boiling point and then pushes it out at high pressure. The hot temperature of the vapor kills pathogens including bacteria, mold and mildew. The vapor penetrates cracks and crevices, killing germs that would otherwise be stuck in them.

It also kills airborne allergens like the waste matter from dust mites, our own dead skin cells and pollen spores. These microscopic sneeze triggers can lead to asthma, and regular steam cleaning can eliminate them for good.

Cleans Any Surface

With a steam cleaner, you can sanitize all kinds of surfaces with just water. This appliance works well on hard, impervious surfaces such as countertops and kitchen tables, floors made of vinyl, laminate, or polyurethane, and bathroom fixtures and tile. It’s also a good choice for removing grease and food residue from stovetops, ovens, and microwaves and for killing mold, mildew, and dust mites on rugs and upholstery.

The hot vapor molecules penetrate surface pores and quickly expand to force out dirt, grime, allergens, and pathogens. The result is a completely sanitized, deodorized, and hypoallergenic surface.

Commercial steam cleaning near me are a popular choice for restaurants, bars, hotels, and wineries. These devices provide a chemical-free way to keep high-traffic areas and the equipment that comes into contact with food or beverages perfectly clean so that industry standards can be met. They can also be used for rehydrating and revitalizing wine oak barrels and for detailing production equipment and supplies.

[il-gatto-fortunato]

Daisy doubles back and picks those cauliflower and broccoli seeds right the fuck back up, stuffing them into another pouch.  The actual hell is wrong with you, boy?  A good roasted head of cauliflower will make you forget all your troubles…

When she catches up to him, however, she lets out an audible, “Bluh,” physically recoiling from the gnome.  As she leans, peering down the aisle, she sees a whole array of them in various sizes, styles and colors.  None of them are really less any less horrible than the others.

“Uhf, I don’t know.  Before the Locust, I guess they had to go looking for things to inspire their nightmares.  Look, I think that one is supposed to be peeing.”

She nudges him as she crouches down to inspect a garden flag that reads Live, Laugh, Love in flowery script.  The actual fuck is that supposed to mean…?

“So, since you didn’t clarify, what is Damon’s favorite shop in the mall, exactly?”

-----

“Oh you’re funny now,” she laughs, falling into a comfortable stride alongside him.  “Right, right, I forgot that they installed some kind of humor module during your last system upgrade.  Still need to work out the bugs, I think.  Might want to talk to Baird about that.”

They follow the signs towards the pet store, although the nearer they get, the more Sorrow starts to wonder if that’s really the best idea.  This place was abandoned in a hurry… were they going to stumble upon rows of cages filled with little animals that starved to death, waiting for the people to return?  She’s not sure she’s ready for that, even after all the other atrocities they’ve seen.

Fortunately, there’s a very reassuring sign hung above the store’s entrance, visible long before they get to it:

GOING OUT OF BUSINESS!  75% OFF ALL REMAINING SUPPLIES AND FIXTURES.

“Oof, thank God,” she breathes out.  “Alright, let’s see what’s left.”  She glances briefly behind her, then adds, “...and if the rest of the peanut gallery hasn’t finished dicking around, by then, maybe you and I can just get this done ourselves.”

Closed RP | Gears of War (Shopping Mall)

@bigmouthgenius

It's a packed house: four pretty massive fucking Gears, and two decidedly smaller, squished in between them like sparrows between hawks. Sorrow has at least a few inches on Daisy, but even she looks positively dwarfed between Cole and Christie. "They're going to set us down at the edge of the sector," Sorrow announces into the radio. "I pushed all the information you'll need to your vembrace displays and datapads, but it's pretty straight forward. Explore the space, report back on what we find, set up the radio relay and power supply." Dom keys his radio earpiece, head shaking. "I can't help but feel like I know this place somehow. You said it's underground?" Sorrow nods to the affirmative, unconsciously reaching out to steady herself on Christine's armor like he's a bulkhead. The Raven banks down toward their landing site.

"Supposedly. Like a big empty void. The seismic studies couldn't get us any more detail than that. We don't have any data on the site prior to E-Day... it's been a graveyard for good long while." As the Raven descends, the earth swings into view below them through the open bay door. It's obvious there was seismic activity here at one point -- an entire city, an old city, razed to rubble in the era of the Pendulum Wars. The aircraft skim slow, rotors slicing up clouds of dust and grit as it touches down, and the pilot gives them a gesture to disembark. "This is it," his voice crackles in their ears. Sorrow looks dubious. "This is it? How the fuck are we supposed to get underground, dig?" "I dunno, you could try the doors?" Her head turns as she leans to peer around her partner, and beyond the cargo bay opening she sees exactly what the pilot is indicating: a set of crumbled concrete steps leading down into the rubble. At the bottom, three sets of frosted glass doors in sets of two, partially blocked from view by crumbled cinders and hastily barricaded with old waterlogged wooden boards. "Huh... I'll be damned." Daisy provides, "I guess that answers the question as to whether or not it's manmade."

[cinna-wanroll]

hello! bonfire and cider for the asks?

As far as food goes, I was a pretty picky child. I now enjoy an array of seafood, spicy foods, and many more vegetables. (I used to be a huge broccoli hater!)

My dream house is a modern polished wood cabin type home, open concept with lots of windows but a badass security system. Modern geometry for the lighting fixtures and angles, but for the furnishings completely ornate and old fashioned. A library of course. I would love an observatory or greenhouse.

Thanks for the ask Caroline! 😚

[amisbro]

Alright let’s talk about it again

So on twitter recently I saw someone talking about how UtaPri became “divided” as it were.  This is funny to me because of the fact that I literally made a post about this on here not that long ago and so I thought we would have this discussion again “Is the fandom actually divided?” I mean to a degree...yeah you can say that and I don’t like writing that but its something which is an unavoidable truth. The biggest reason for this is well...because HEAVENS has become a fixture in the series and I can guarantee you that if they hadn’t the fandom would have been a lot closer and more unified because you wouldn’t have the camps that want to see HEAVENS more involved in the franchise and those that have been pretty much indifferent to them as is.  This has caused a bigger clash than it should have because...a lot of the time now when things get announced you will more than likely start to see people go “Where’s HEAVENS?” And I mean look...I get why people get annoyed with this because you just want to enjoy the content without hearing this a lot.  I respect that actually but we still need to understand this: As long as HEAVENS is included in the series there will be people that want them included in more media beit an Anime season ,their own Stage , A VN etc etc etc so if you are sick of hearing it I do apologize but you have to understand that not REALLY getting the content that say a QN or a STARISH gets is pretty annoying.  I’m genuinely shocked that Broccoli included them in the Prince Cats line and more surprised that Int’l fans didn’t pitch a fit because of the fact that they are included on the announcement in the UtaPri twitter instead of...you know...on their OWN twitter?! Now if you think this is harsh cool...I get it but the thing is that ,when it comes to Shining Live, there are projects or songs that have had HEAVENS in them and then KLab doesn’t include (at the very least) the songs which is weird!  It’s almost like SL tries to write this Canon where HEAVENS doesn’t exist even though they have to promote a CD project that might have had songs for them IN IT! The PERFECT example is this: So we had the songs “SUPER STAR” “This Is...” and “GENESIS” (not the band but HEAVENS’ song) released and of course the big thing they did WAS...release the first two but...not include the third What happened? Well of course apparently people got irritated because of the fact that (I guess) people wanted the HEAVENS song to be included and the fans from the STARISH/QN contingent got annoyed with it.  I get it trust me and I respect that people got annoyed but what we need to also remember is that was literally a song included on ONE DISC!  It’s not like the song was a separate song (Like GIRA SEVEN and Secret Shangri-La were) but it was a song on one disc.  The song doesn’t get used and I guess that people were irritated. Now the argument that is always heard is “Well its called Shining Live” It is...and I wonder if we have started to see a drop off because of that branding? Like okay look..,we get that people will say that HEAVENS is “too new” or “They don’t have enough songs” but I would like to remind people that HEAVENS as a whole has been around since about 2013.  The original Incarnation debuted on 6/6/2013 so that is what we go by there.  Now if we go with the argument of “They don’t have enough songs” Well really who’s fault is that?  It’s clear that Broccoli spends a lot of time getting Agematsu to write songs and so forth for STARISH and QN so of course they have a lot more songs...when you literally have only one CD a year (Group CD kids) its harder to build up a catalog of songs for HEAVENS. But this goes into the whole thing about the fandom being “divided” YES the fandom has this problem and it won’t be going away anytime soon I’m afraid.  Literally it will go away when one of two things happens 1.  The series ends 2.  HEAVENS gets closer to proper representation in the franchise...if I am honest the former seems more likely It is also fascinating to see that its been...6 years since we had a proper VN for the franchise and if we remember the inclusion of HEAVENS in Dolce Vita was announced back in 2017 and if I remember the hype for their inclusions was about that of the “explosion” in the Omega/Moxley Barbed Wire match...in simpler terms it was basically sparklers!  Trust and believe though if that had been an announcement of a new STARISH VN there would have been hype for weeks about it! The problem here is that the fandom on the whole (Japanese and International) seems “Okay” with the concept of the two “Main groups” getting all the content while HEAVENS fans gets scraps.  Literally the frustration that has to be bottled up because fans of HEAVENS are basically told to “be quiet” is like the worst part of it.  It would be NICE if instead of that happening the fandom tried to get “close to equal treatment” for all three groups and then maybe this “division” I read about in a tweet would go away.  The problem is every time it feels like it could some drama starter has to take a blog post from here and remind people about the “NEXT DOOR Mess” (which I have moved past for the most part btw) and instead of moving the hell on and trying to welcome HEAVENS fans into the fold...that part doesn’t happen (or at the very least) not on the Int’l side.  It would be nice to not have to have drama and just have people enjoy the series and not have to have group chats on twitter that are basically “HEAVENS fans group chats”.  It would be nice instead to have GC where we can all chat about the series and things we are looking forward to (I ,for one, am looking forward to the next step of the “Road to 7th Stage” myself) but we have to get rid of the division.  Trust me when I tell you I don’t want to be talking about this again this time NEXT YEAR! Somehow we have to become a “Family” (or the closest thing to it) again and do I know how we are going to do that?  NOPE but I am open to suggestions. Here is something I feel I need to clear up Do I have my bias in the UtaPri series?  Yes and we know who it is Do I hate either of the other two groups?  No and if you honestly think that then that is a YOU problem! Do I still enjoy the series for what it is?  Yes of course but again I would be lying if I said that I didn’t have my group and I want the best for them.  Some might argue that is what is detracting for it and you know what?  You might be onto something but I am stubborn to a fault...I’m a Gemini so that is basically a given sadly. Let me end on this Am I excited for the next “Project” for UtaPri?  I’m more curious to understand what the hell it actually is! Am I excited for 7th stage?  I mean yeah since its been 4 years plus since we had one!  Like no joke the last time we had one TRUMP was in office!  Ponder that for a second.  Trump was in office and Brexit happened in the same year (I remember that too.  Watched it on facebook when they had the Leave/Remain vote). Am I excited to see the next “Pure HEAVENS” project down the line?  We shall see.  I’d prefer an actual Anime project but if they get something like whatever STARISH and QN will get then fine.  I just need to understand what the hell it is! You know what I am most excited for?  The day when we can stop being basically the “Shining Agency” camp and the “Raging Entertainment” (HEAVENS) camp and just be a family again...let’s try to get there and see what happens no? take it easy

[envyplays]

Pokemon Cafe Osaka

The Pokemon Cafe is a permanent fixture in the Daimaru shopping complex in Shinsaibashi Osaka. The cafe was only recently established on September 20th 2019 and will remain in Osaka for the foreseeable future.

This cafe tends to be extremely busy, especially among tourists, and as such requires a reservation ahead of time. I recommend booking this cafe several weeks ahead due to its popularity, especially if you're going on a weekend.

Next up let's take a look at the previous limited menu. This special menu is the 3rd iteration of a custom menu and is in celebration of the release of Pokemon Sword & Shield. This menu ran from March 3rd 2020 until May 29th 2020.

Pikachu's (Gigantamax version) mischievous taco rice. A filling plate of taco rice in the image of Gigantamax Eevee♪

Eevee's (Gigantamax version) cheerful hamburg stew plate. A filling stew plate in the image of Gigantamax Eevee♪

Woof♪ Again today, Yamper's excited Sandwich picnic plate. Again today, Yamper's excited Sandwich picnic plate♪ Enjoy a variety of foods with this Yamper inspired dish☆

Zigzagoon (Galar variant)'s Zig zag cookie tiramisu. Enjoy eating this zig zagged cookies and cream tiramisu in the shape of Galarian Zigzagoon☆

Ice-face Eiscue's jiggly panna cotta. It's Eiscue's jiggly panna cotta♪ If you eat away at the panna cotta carefully, you'll see...

This new menu also includes some new coasters and lunch mats featuring Galar Pokemon and Gigantamax Eevee & Pikachu, as well as a mystery coaster...

---

I visited this cafe twice during its run, first on March 20th 2020, and again on May 22nd 2020, in order to try as many of the menu items as I could.

The entry into this cafe is staggered, and they have a sign outside the entrance letting you know when its your turn to enter. Be sure to bring your phone with your reservation email number on it as the staff will ask for it as you enter.

The inside of the cafe is small, but full of charm. It's covered in Pokemon decorations, from framed artwork to locations in the corner set up for photo opportunities. To top it off, they played trailers for Pokemon Sword and Shield on TVs on the wall, as well as music over the speakers, giving a feeling of childish excitement for any Pokemon fan.

Because I went to the cafe during the outbreak of Corona virus, the cafe was extremely empty during my 2nd visit in May (There was only 3 people in the cafe during my timeslot). This made the experience more enjoyable for me, personally, and the best part was that they had placed Pokemon plush dolls on every other chair for social distancing purposes. It was as if you were enjoying your meal with a little Pokemon buddy!

As for what I ordered, during my first trip I got the following dishes:

First I ordered the Gigantamax Eevee plate. The neck floof was made from soft taco shell, underneath was a bowl of meat stew. The body and head was slices of bread, and it was garnished with roast potatoes, fresh cherry tomatoes and boiled broccoli. Unfortunately this dish wasn't for me, I didn't particularly enjoy the taste of the meat stew all that much, it was simply too plain and lacking in flavor. However the presentation was very cute and creative.

For dessert, I ordered the Galarian Zigzagoon cookie. This was a mix of cookie biscuit, cake, and cookies & cream cream. This was much more enjoyable as I'm a big fan of cookies & cream. It was almost too cute to eat! I very much enjoyed this dish.

And as for the drink, I picked the Articuno ice cream float. Simple but nice and refreshing!

As for my second visit, this time I went with the Gigantamax Pikachu dish. This dish was much more enjoyable, with a good amount of spice to the taco mince. Together with the refreshing salad and cheese, it was overall a nice dish. I also appreciate that they provide you with extra mince and meatballs, as there’s certainly not enough on the plate compared with the amount of rice!

For dessert I ordered the Eiscue dish. Once again the Pokemon cafe nails its dessert. With a moist sponge and a wonderful panna cotta, it was very enjoyable. And for a little surprise, there are two layers of panna cotta, removing the top layer reveals a little Noice Face made from white chocolate!

Lastly I picked the Zapdos drink this time, and once again it was just a general but refreshing drink.

Overall, I do believe that the Pokemon cafe is more focused on presentation rather than taste when it comes to their dishes unfortunately. But I have faith in their desserts, as from my current experience, those have both been the highlight of my experience.

Being in the cafe itself and experiencing that childhood excitement and love for Pokemon once again, however, makes it all worth the trip.

[judesaves]

it’s the middle of the night, but i’ll just plop down and say hello anyways! this here is my star-of-his-high-school-hockey-team-but-not-his-ahl-team, formally big fish in a huge ass pond, still-kinda-under-the-oppressive-influence-of-his-evangelical-dad hockey playing Good Boi Jude.

judah ‘jude’ ames (casey cott) who works as a cashier at the armory. he’s from thunder bay, ontario and lives in east vale. they’re ardent and optimistic but can also be vacuous and prudish. sometimes, they’re known as the sanctimonious.

my bio is super long so i apologize in advance, but here’s all you need to know abt judie the prudie!

full name / nicknames: Judah Seth Ames / Jude, Judie, J, the Bae From Thunder Bay age / date of birth: 27 / July 30th, 1992 place of birth: Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada previous residences / current residence: Sarnia, Ontario, Canada; Kitchener, Ontario, Canada; London, Ontario, Canada; Hershey, Pennsylvania; Chicago, Illinois; Des Moines, Iowa / Kingscrest, Colorado citizenship / ethnicity: Canadian (on a sports visa) / White (English, Danish, Dutch, German) religion: Lutheran socioeconomic status / political affiliation: Upper Class / Unaffiliated, but liberal leaning martial status: Single sexual & romantic orientation: heterosexual, hetero-romantic (he’s not questioned it, at the very least) education / occupation: high school graduate / cashier at The Armory

former teams / current team: Hershey Bears, Chicago Wolves, Iowa Wild / Kingscrest Knights position / shoots: Center / Right jersey number: #41 NHL draft: 79th overall, Washington Capitals professional playing career: 2010 – 2018

parents: Teresa Ames (mother), David Ames (father) siblings: Jared Ames (older brother by two years), Jacob Ames (younger brother by eleven years), Julianne Ames (younger sister by eleven years) offspring: none pets: family dog named Gretsky (German Shepherd), though he’s back in Thunder Bay

faceclaim: Casey Cott hair color / eye color: brown / pale green height / build: 5′11″ / athletic, muscular tattoos / piercings: none / none distinguishable features / scars: big lips, strong jawline / various bodily scars from hockey injuries over his lifetime dexterity: right handed known allergies: none visual impairment / hearing impairment: none / none nicotine use / drug use / alcohol use: no / no / socially

traits: confident, brawny, optimistic, playful, prudish, vacuous, arrogant, disapproving temperament: choleric alignment: lawful good enneagram: type one, the reformer mbti: ESTJ hogwarts house: gryffindor vice / virtue: pride / chastity likes / dislikes: hockey, the feeling of skates gliding on smooth ice, exercising, sleeping, cheesecake, snow, comedies, rules / montreal canadiens, partying, breaking his diet, the fear of never making it to the nhl, broccoli, phone calls from his father, westerns, soccer favorite media: to kill a mockingbird by harper lee (book), planes, trains, and automobiles (film), bob’s burgers (television show), tell her about it by billy joel (song) favorite color: blue 

hockey has been a part of judah’s life for longer than he can remember. his first memories include the freezing solidness of the ice, the snug feeling of skates on his feet, the weight of a helmet upon his head. jude grew up believing he was born to play hockey, and really, he wasn’t wrong. a complete natural, despite hating it the first time his parents put him on the ice. a tantrum ensued, even though jared, his older brother and jude’s personal childhood hero, promised him it wasn’t scary and he was safe; he wanted to do everything jared did, but he wasn’t ready yet.

hockey wasn’t the only thing he was scared of. his father, david, taught his sons about hell before they were old enough to understand the concept. he taught them about sins. how fornication would damn you, how adultery would greet you with the devil, how doing anything wrong would leave you burning in hell forever. the list of things that were wrong to do, however, got longer and longer as his children grew, until doing anything but praying or playing a sport would condemn his soul. jude never heard his father say it, but he felt he was doing something wrong, something sinful when he cried and plopped down on the ice that day, begging for his brother to pick him up and bring him off the slippery ice.

his soul was saved after he turned five, when he got tired of watching jared play and wanted to join his older brother in the rink. the second time he laced up a pair of skates, at the tender age of five, jude fell in love. he finally fulfilled his purpose, or rather realized it. still so young, the local mini mite league not much more than toddlers standing around on the ice as the coaches uselessly tried to direct them on wobbly skates, little jude became fascinated with the sport. watching it constantly on the television, attending all of his older brother’s games, wearing all the leafs apparel his parents bought for him. their summers spent on roller blades playing with a toy goal set in the driveway, their winters spent freezing in the stands or skating on razor sharp blades.

as the minor leagues started raising up with age, so did the level of skills needed to play, and jude quickly proved to be a natural. the way he glided effortlessly, the way he turned on the hairpin edge of blades with ease, the way he listened and adhered to direction like a loyal solider. judah had memorized the rule book from front to back by the time he was nine, could spout off any definition or recall the minutiae details of a rule his own coaches had mostly forgotten, to the point of annoyance for his teammates and coaching staff. anyone could see that jude was going places, they could tell jude was going to make it.

but he wasn’t going to go as far as jared. jude paled in comparison to his older brother. for every rule he could recite like a sermon or puck he could hit squarely into the net, jared was faster, harder, stronger, better. he lived in jared’s shadow and what a well-lived in shadow it was. it didn’t matter how good jude was when jared was there, it didn’t matter if jude was a good player when jared was great… for a time.

the ames family added two more children, a pair of twins. jacob and julianne came into the world when jude and jared were eleven and fourteen respectively. even with two new babies in the house, the two older ames brothers were never distracted from their shared sport. their mother the focus of the childrearing, their father focused on rearing his two sons into hockey prodigies. loyal servants to the church of god and gretzky, the ames boys were good, they were righteous, they were perfect. perfect, how that word seemed to follow them. perfect, that was the ultimate praise from their father, when they followed the letter of jesus or their coaches. the fear of disappointing their father was the fear of going to hell. they had to be the best, they had to be perfect, they had to be righteous if they were going to make it.

the foundation of their perfect little family started to crack once jude was headed into peewee. the pressure from their father a fixture that had known for their entire lives, the pressure that kept them perfect, jared finally bent underneath that weight. his playing, while always more fast-paced and fierce than jude’s, got sloppier and less dignified. his hits were less than clean, his gloves dropped more than they didn’t, his pucks still landed in the goals but their passes to get there were dangerous. if that didn’t piss off their father enough, jared would stay out later, would go to parties on school nights, would refuse to go to church. i’m the bad one now, judie, so you don’t have to be, jared whispered to him once on a drive back from practice but jude didn’t understand what his brother meant.

jude was never in danger of being the bad one. the meek one, yes, the quiet one or the shy one, but he was never bad. his behavior, his playing, it was barely less than perfect. as jared’s star started to diminish (in their father’s eyes, at least, since jared only got more popular at school the more he partied), focus started to turn on jude. david’s focus, namely. david started taking jude out for hot chocolate after practices, ice cream parlors after winning a game. david wouldn’t let jude end up like jared, he wouldn’t let jude go down the same road of sin his older brother walked down. jared was still a good player, yes, or rather he still played well, but he wasn’t perfect anymore. jared was getting worse, jude was only getting better.

even if jared proclaimed that he was willingly taking the heat off of jude, a rift started to grow between the two. people were starting to praise jude more, talk about him more, talk about how good he was getting. the shadow that jude lived in was starting to shift, others were starting to notice him. judah ames, just a boy of fourteen, was the one the parents of his teammates would point out, the one they’d beg their children to hang out with in case his discipline and skill would rub off on them. his thoughts were only occupied with hockey, every dream he had was just reliving old games or planning for future ones. everything related to it, no matter if he was looking for a connection or not. hockey was the only personality he had.

who could blame him, though? with the way his father yelled from the stands, often yelling louder than the coach. with the way his father dropped him off promptly before practice began and picked up him not a second after it ended. as the reins on jared were forcibly loosened, the reins tightened on jude and david promised himself and god that he’d never let judah seth ames go. they moved across ontario with every minor team jared or judah joined, though they always considered thunder bay to be their home. as jude became more disciplined, more refined in his playing, jared got worse, got messier, to the point that he was considered the goon of their team. the two ames boys, once both considered perfect, once identified by the order of their birth, were now classified by good or bad, clean or dirty, pure or sinful.

seventeen, the year in every hockey player’s life that things start to change. the nhl just a dream for them, it becomes more realized as the draft starts to tick down and loom over them. jared, playing badly and antics getting more dramatic as their father focused more on jude, felt his dream slipping from him fast. the scouts eyes, once glued to him at every game they attended, drifted to his little brother now. not even old enough to drink, jared ames was quickly becoming a has-been, before he ever really was something. the boy everyone thought was going to make it didn’t even make it to the draft. jared ames quit playing hockey at the age of nineteen.

judah wouldn’t end up like that, though. david ames promised that to his son and any other parent in the stands that still bothered to listen to his ramblings. judah ames was going to make it. he was perfection, on the ice and off it. most boys, even boys on the same team, were interested in girls, lots even had girlfriends. jude was interested, but he wasn’t allowed to be. boys like that were sinful, they were wrong, they were bad. jude wasn’t allowed a girlfriend, wasn’t even really allowed a friend. everything in his life revolved around hockey, even church as david led prayers for victory before every game. there wasn’t time to think about girls, to think about anything else. even studying was secondary, his grades were only required to be strong enough to let him play every game; the only part of his life that didn’t require perfection.

while jared struggled underneath the pressure, jude endured it, even flourished underneath it. an amazing player, not just in the way he shot and hit and skated, but in his attention to detail and rules. some even said he’d be the next sidney crosby, but jude wouldn’t let himself get intimidated by the comparison. he was good, but he wasn’t that good. he wasn’t perfect, not yet. the comparison he hated was the one to his brother, the older boys on the team that had played with jared before his retirement called jude ‘the replacement’. he hated that word, replacement, even more than the word perfect. his father didn’t help, telling him how he’s so much better than jared ever was, how jude was going to be the one to make it all the way to the top, like it was guaranteed.

the time for jude’s draft started nearing quickly as he entered his senior year of high school. the pressure from his father and his coaches got heavier as the date neared, even his brother (now living in an apartment back in thunder bay) contributing to the worry and excitement. always a dream of his, to make it to the majors, jude finally felt the cracking his brother before him felt. calm and collected on the ice, jude only felt anxiety when he left it every night. his dreams, usually filled with scenes of play, now only showed him a future where he’d end up exactly like jared. he had to make it to the nhl, he needed to make it there, he needed to be good, he needed to be perfect.

the draft finally only days away, jude worked tirelessly in the rink to keep his mind off of it. what if he didn’t get picked? what if he ended up like jared, not even making it to the draft? what if he hated the team he got picked for? oh god, what if he was drafted to montreal! his worries not helped by his father that only ever wanted to talk about the draft, jude spent those last few days wishing he never laced up his skates again that one winter day when he was five.

the draft came in a bubble of excitement and fear. finally the one thing he’d been waiting for his whole life was here. feeling like his stomach was going to cave in on itself, he nearly missed it when his name was finally called. the hershey bears, the ahl affliate of the washington capitals. not exactly what he wanted, preferring something in canada, but not too far from home and not too warm. in the end, jude was just excited to play the sport he loves. he was excited to make it to the draft, unlike his older brother. he was excited to be one step closer to the nhl. most of all, he was excited to be away from his father.

the excitement didn’t last long, however. well, it didn’t last forever. traded from the bears after a year, jude ended up being traded to the chicago wolves at the age of twenty two, settling in for most of his career in the minors. he was still a great player, but the professional leagues are all filled with great players, and he was already beginning to feel like an adult among children when his new teammates after every draft seemed to be getting younger and younger. by the time he was twenty five, jude knew he would likely never make it to the nhl, but he refused to acknowledge it. his father half-held belief in his son, and half-berated him for not yet making his nhl debut; every time they needed a spot filled for a game or two, they called someone else up, and jude had to explain to his father why exactly he wasn’t the best on his team, why the coaches didn’t notice him like they should’ve. the love of the game only carried him so far, and the yearning to be on a major professional team slowly turned to bitter regret. he couldn’t wonder why the ahl wasn’t enough for his father, why it’s not perfect, when he’s convinced of the same.

jude knew that if he wasn’t going to make it by now, he’d never make it to the nhl. traded after a few good years with the wolves, jude moved to iowa and played with the wild for only a season before he decided it was time to retire professionally. he was a star that had diminished, he was just another good player on an okay team, and soon he wouldn’t even be remembered by anyone. deciding not to renew his one year contract with the wild, jude went back to thunder bay, and quickly regretted moving back in with his parents on two fronts: he missed hockey, and he did not miss his father’s rants. 

while his father’s influence lessened from distance and time apart, it was back in full force once he was under their roof again. while he was no longer concerned about staying pure and righteous (partying with hockey players barely out of their teens tends to do that), the thoughts that he was wrong, dirty, sinful started to creep back in. he was not just dirty from the sin of the outside world, he was dirty, stained, a failure. jude was not perfect, never was. just another failure, like his brother jared before him, it was a different sensation to be jealous when he was moping on the couch and watching as his younger brother jacob gathered his equipment in his bag and their father lectured jake about his sloppy skating last practice. he has never missed the pressure from his father before, and he can only hope that jake doesn’t crack underneath the weight now that their father’s hopes and dreams are on him.

after six months of tolerating his father and drifting aimlessly, missing his sport and hating it at the same time, he began to wonder if it was too late to sign that contract with the wild again. he called his own coaches when he knew his father was at his brother’s practices, begged to be signed again, but they told him what they already knew: he was twenty six years old, practically geriatric. there likely wouldn’t be a professional team to sign him, but it didn’t mean he couldn’t still play his beloved (and loathed) sport, and maybe keep a bit of hope alive in his heart that he might, one day, still make it. everyone in the hockey community knows about kingscrest, colorado. it practically generated out ice sports stars as quickly as thunder bay did, and if there was any way he could possibly be scouted for one more final time, it was there. barely letting his parents in on his plan, lest they try to talk him out of it (or worse, support with oppressive enthusiasm), jude made his way to colorado, where he’s been for a year now. 

joining the knights, jude’s a mature player, and any hopes of being noticed or signed to any sort of professional team (god, how much he hated being in the minors, only to be begging christ to let him back on any team, even laval rocket) are kept secret and close to his heart. as far as his teammates know, he’s just an old guy enjoying the ice, reliving his glory days and being a stickler for the rules just as he did in peewee. the desire for perfection is something that he still feels, even if he tries everything in his power to avoid his father’s calls—lest he have to hear his father’s thoughts on the political landscape of america, despite being canadian, but jude already knows he’s not perfect. he knows that this is the end of the line, so he should milk it for everything it’s worth, but the thought of the future is even scarier. once he’s too old to play, his many injuries over the years finally catching up with his body, what else is there to do? once hockey’s gone, what will jude have left?

he’s not perfect, he’s not righteous, he’s not the next gretzky or crosby. but he did make it, even if it was not the nhl. he made it farther than his father or his older brother ever did. he’s free from his father, living by himself and by his own rules, playing the game he’s loved for twenty two years. shouldn’t that be good enough for him? shouldn’t that be perfect?

like every hockey player ever, hockey’s all he talks about. all he thinks about, really. like... constantly. i mean constantly. he really doesn’t have much of a personality outside of it, but it’s not really his fault bc he was taught to be like that by his father.

speaking of his dad. phew. major dad issues for this kid. the voice in his head is his father’s, not his own. has a lot of weird shame about the most random things, and some not-so-random things.

isn’t a virgin, but he acts like one, because he doesn’t want to seem dirty and #sinful, but he’s also just weird and awkward around women... and guys too. just everyone.

sweet but angsty. has a lot of regrets, but doesn’t like to talk about it much. hates being one of the older guys on the team, but he put himself there, and it’s like either be old af or not be on the team at all. doesn’t want to end up like his brother that quit just to sell cars back in the bay.

not actively religious, but still seems like a conservative good ol’ boy because he wears sweaters tucked in WITH a belt. not as innocent as he seems, but still pretty innocent and a little weird. wasn’t homeschooled but kinda seems like he was?

an encyclopedia of hockey rules and super annoying about it. will tattletale on you to the refs if he sees you Being Naughty on the ice, no matter what team you’re on. he’s good to have around if you wanna get an opposing player into the penalty box because if you alert him to it, he’ll go snitch immediately. love my goody two shoes!!

a sales associate at the armory, like half of the team. thinks it may make him look better to the coaches, but also just needs a job. his dad will only pay half, that’s right HALF!!, of his rent so jude works to catch up with that and have very little money on the side. whatever, he still gets to skate, so he should be happy. right? right?!

somewhat dumb, just because he was never encouraged to be smart by his father, just an obedient follower and an obsessive hockey player. can do simple math, but ask him about algebra and he’ll just get annoyed and walk away. 

wanted connections:

fellow teammates: jude plays for the knights, so gimme good friends and better enemies! people he’s competitive with, people he helps/mentors, people he straight up can’t stand or people that can’t stand him.

figure skating friends (and enemies): jude has never been the figure skating type, but he thinks its pretty cool that they can do spins and stuff. he respects the artistry, but still feels a sort of competitiveness with them just from the nature of being two ice sports. so give me friends that he can cheer on, enemies he can roll his eyes at, etc!

just friends in general: he’s a pretty sad boi and very earnest, so he needs someone to chat with! either it can be superficial or maybe they’re close confidants, up to you. :)

roommates: jude rents an apartment in east vale, and while he’s used to being such a canadian WASP, he’s somewhat cut off financially from his parents and needs someone around to help pay the bills. plus he gets lonely at night! can’t sleep in an empty house!!

ex-girlfriend(s): jude’s only been in town for a year and a few months, but that’s enough time to date around. likely this relationship didn’t work out because jude has a lot of hangups about relationships and shame, and his body/sex in general, but there are probably other factors such as that he’s really obsessive about hockey and actually really, really bitter deep down. 22+

[bowerykept]

hc’s of murphy living with @strategiic​ because i love aj and i think about these all the time

• murphy forces tim to let her pay him rent • she absolutely refuses to be a freeloader and doesn’t want it to seem like she’s using him or taking advantage of him or whatever • they settle on $150 a month because there’s NO WAY IN HELL she could possibly afford however much half of his insanely nice apartment is and she won’t let him accept anything less than that • that money always finds itself back to her, though • murphy is the one that takes care of a lot of grocery shopping • she learns to cook through youtube videos and the food channel • this way she knows that they’re both eating better than they used to • so, a ton more veggies because • ‘ tim you can’t live off of coffee and burgers and glazed donuts for fucks sake, eat a broccoli ’ • she also does quite a bit of cleaning up • murphy is a really neat person, and living in a really nice apartment just turns that up to 11 • if the two ever make a mess (which is every day) you can bet the apartment will be tidy before murphy goes to bed • and movie nights are a constant fixture • also game nights • tim is the reigning champ of CLUE, but murphy kicks ass at card games • tim learns the hard way that you can’t beat murphy at THREE CARD MONTE • on nights where they both work, they wait up for whoever gets in last • murphy will usually come back with some food from the pizzeria and they snack and talk (or don’t talk) about their night • they both have bad days or low energy days enough where they have routines for it depending on who needs it • when TIM needs it, murphy calls them both out of work and cooks a big breakfast • she builds them a fort out of couch cushions and blankets and they watch a lot of tv • it’s usually something light and that won’t make tim have to think too hard, but something that involves mysteries so murphy can ask questions and engage with tim • so mostly scooby-doo • but also peppering in buzzfeed unsolved because they both love those idiots • murph also lays on him a lot because it seems to comfort him • but when it’s MURPHY having a bad day, tim does nearly the same thing • calls them out of work, has murphy help him make breakfast so she can focus on something • all of the windows are open and murphy sits on the sill so she can feel like she’s out and up high even if she doesn’t have the energy to actually go out • and tim is right there with her • on days like this murphy really doesn’t like to be touched, but tim’s presence is necessary or else she gives in to the LONELINESS • they paint and draw a lot • murphy’s mixtapes are set up to play and tim lets her cheat at checkers

[georgianavanuatuy645-blog]

Apply These 5 Secret Techniques To Improve Health

Whatever the motive you’re seeking out methods to enhance your mood naturally, we get it. Winter is difficult and takes a toll on our frame and thoughts. We stay in an age wherein we're finally spotting the many factors that have an effect on our moods definitely and negatively. 

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If you surely can’t swing 15 min of daylight an afternoon, take into account supplementing with alternatives. Vitamin D supplements will help you attain your every day dose, together with compact fluorescent lightbulbs to actually brighten your day. These lighting fixtures mimic sunlight greater efficaciously than incandescents and paintings nicely in excessive visitors regions of your property just like the kitchen and dwelling spaces.

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If you aren’t keen at the duties of getting a pet, don't forget journeying with a friend who is. Take their dog for a walk, or sit internal and have a drink cozied up next to their fur toddler. Or take a trip to the nearby animal shelter in which you may volunteer or just visit with the animals.

#4: Take a Walk (Run, Lift, Climb, or Skip) You’ve probably heard it earlier than, however workout can improve signs of melancholy over time as well as improve your mood inside the short term. In truth, it’s one of the nice approaches to enhance your temper certainly because it’s positive results can last as long as 12 hours! Plus, it’s exceptional in your physical health as nicely! If you haven’t experienced those well-known feel-excellent endorphins from a killer workout, you'll love this short restoration temper booster. It’s only a remember of making your self do it.

If strolling isn’t your element, try a one-of-a-kind shape of exercise. Even a brisk walk is remarkable to your intellectual health (in particular in case you move outside). But maybe strive branching out to something new. Ever tried mountaineering? Kickboxing? Barre, aerial yoga, Krav Maga… the alternatives are endless. Anything that you can do for 30 minutes directly and helps you destroy a sweat at some point of as a minimum one phase of energetic pastime will do the trick.

#5: Improve Your Day-to-Day Lighting We talked in advance about your circadian rhythm. Lighting influences your alertness all through the day because it tells your frame whilst it need to be worn-out and while it have to paintings at full pace. Because of this, it’s vital that the lighting fixtures you encounter every day are optimized to maintain your circadian rhythm from turning into stressed. Lighting is an easy way to enhance your temper evidently, in addition to enhance different areas of your life like efficiency at paintings, rest at the quit of the day, productivity across the residence, etc.

[peridot-gladioli]

41 for the Drabble Challenge! :)

41. “Sorry isn’tgoing to help when I kick your ass”

Another future scene from this. 2927 words.

When Matt gets home, he can smell beef casserole cooking inthe oven and hear-feel-smell-sense Foggy and Evan sitting side-by-side on the couch playingsome computer game. He just stands there in the entry-way, out of sight—if notout of Evan’s sense range—and soaks in the feelings of home and family andhappy and blessed. His heart does something weird, biologically andanatomically improbable in his chest at the sheer domesticity. It’s everythinghe ever dreamed about when he was younger and never thought he’d have. Andalthough in an ideal world Elektra would be here too, he knows that even withher something would be missing without Foggy.

Also, Foggy and Evan both have the same approach togame-play: talking to their characters and moving the controllers and even theirwhole bodies as though playing on a Wii instead of Foggy’s ancient Nintendoconsole; leaning forward and sideways into moves so Matt fancies he can almostimagine what’s happening on-screen, as though anything they do other than button-mashingwill have an effect.

(Foggy takes the same approach to bowling, waving his armaround as though he can redirect the ball after he’s released it. Which remindsMatt they have to take Evan—and maybe a friend from school—bowling some timesoon. They’ve never done it: which means Evan’s never been, since—activity afteractivity—the Chaste apparently never took him out of the complex. And that’sjust criminal. Matt wants to prosecute. Or put Stick through a wall. Eitherwould do, but neither will happen.)

He sighs and goes in to the apartment proper, dropping hisbriefcase by the wall and stripping himself of suit-jacket and tie.

“Hey Dad!” Evan calls without moving his head from its fixturetowards the screen.

And there goes Matt’s heart again. He still isn’t sureexactly how acute Evans senses are because he never wants to test him the waysStick tested him, but he wonders ifEvan actually knows what it does to him every single time he hears thatappellation applied to him. “Hi guys. How were your days?

A grunt and a murmur answer him and Foggy mutters at Evan, “Ohno you don’t, you young scamp!”

“Is all your homework done, Ev?”

No answer.

“Evander?”

“Jeez Dad! Not now! Can’t you tell I’m busy? Yes! Busy beating Uncle Foggy!”

“Uh. No! No, no!” Keys mash and the game beeps wildly. “Ah-HA!There we go! Take THAT! Yes, Matt, all Evan’s homework is done, checked, and Itested him on his spellings and one of us can do it again when he goes to bed.How was your day?”

“Long.” Matt rubs at the tension at the back of his neck. “CanI go over some stuff with you after dinner?”

“What? Oh, yeah, sure. The Cheng restaurant case?”

“That and Jessica brought me photos for the bodega fire they’retrying to say was an insurance scam.”

“Jones brought you photographicevidence?”

“I think she thinks she’s being ironic.”

“Instead of just ableist.”

“YES!” Evan fist-pumps and the computer plays a tinnyvictory tune.

“Oh! Not fair! Your dad was distracting me.”

“Sor-ry!” Evan sing-songs, voice dripping insincerity. “Yousnooze you lose!”

“Sorry isn’t going to help when I kick your ass, you cheating-cheater-McCheaterson,”Foggy says, dropping his controller on the coffee table with a clatter andlunging at Evan, who does not try very hard to dodge. Matt senses the man grabthe boy and—if Evan’s shriek of laughter is anything to go by—flexes hisfingers in the twin ticklish spots just above Evans waist. The ones he shareswith Matt.

Even as he tries to hide his own laughter, Matt’s heart doesthe improbable thing again, as he remembers when Evan first moved in—God, wasit really just a couple of months ago?—and hadn’t known what a tickle-fight was,let alone the play-wrestling and rough-housing that were even familiar andautomatic to Matt from his dad, nomatter how normal had been recalibrated by the nuns and kids unsure how tointeract with the blind boy. Matt represses a shudder at the memory of histen-year-old self kinda sorta wanting Stick to adopt him. Apparently with theChaste every fight—even a child sparring—had been deadly serious. Almostliterally deadly, given Evans actual scars and the long list of stitches,broken bones and concussions recorded in the secret medical file Elektra hadkept.

“Dad! Help me! I’m being attacked!” The plea is underminedby Evan laughing almost too hard to talk.

Matt hides his own grin and says, as calmly as he can, “I’llgo and put the potatoes on, then, shall I?”

“Oh, yes please,” Foggy sounds pretty out-of-breath from hiscontinuing tussles with the squirming nine-year-old, “And maybe give somethought to broccoli, beans, or peas and do the veggies?”

“Will do.”

“Not broccoli!” Evan calls from somewhere under Foggy.

“Broccoli? Okay.”

“NOT broccoli! Please, Dad! Uncle Foggy, stop?”

Foggy immediately ceases and desists. Being who he is, there’sa safeword for play-fights. And being who he is, it’s uncle, to quote Foggy, “Like in West Side Story when best-buddiesRiff and Tony play-wrestle and “When he’s hollered, ‘Uncle,’ we’ll tear up thetown!” in the Jets song.” God, Matt lovesthis man.

Evan sits up, panting and rubbing his face, which is ahot-spot to Matt’s senses. Matt just wishes he could see his son’s red face and no-doubt impressively messy hair. (Thickfloofy hair which is a constant struggle to tame is another thing Evan seems tohave inherited from Matt.) Odd things that he just wants to see once so he canremember them—the sky, Elektra, Karen, Foggy—aside, Matt thought he hadlong-since accepted his blindness, but every day there are ten things aboutEvan he wishes he could see. If there’s one thing he wants from Heaven—doubtfulas it is he’ll ever get there—he hopes that somehow in the place where theblind will see he’ll be able to know all the faces and expressions and ages ofhis boy.

“Dad, please not broccoli.”

“It’s good for you.”

“It’s gross.”

Matt snorts. His dad had persuaded him to eat—and like—broccoli bysaying it was miniature trees and he could pretend to be a giant eating big ones.But tricks that worked on a pre-schooler cut no ice with a nine-year-old withsuper-senses. “Beans AND peas, then. Deal?” Given that there are tomatoes, mushrooms,onions, celery and carrots cooked in the casserole with the beef, side-vegetablesaren’t a big deal, but it’s the principle of Evan eating something green.

“Deal. IF Uncle Foggy does the mashed potatoes. Yes?”

Which means half-and-half and pretty much a whole stick ofbutter. Matt grimaces.

“No butter on the greens and I’ll keep some potatoes justplain boiled for you, Mr Murdock. Acceptable compromise all round?” Foggy holdshis hand out, palm down.

Matt laughs and slaps his hand on top. “Acceptable, Mr Nelson.Mr Matthews do you concur?”

Evan piles his hand on. “Deal.”

“Good.” Matt takes his hand back and heads towards thekitchen. “Wine, Foggy?”

“Mid-week?”

“Like I said, it’s been a long day.” He knows Foggy willread in both that Matt wants a drink and that he doesn’t plan on going outlater. Given the crime-spike at weekends—all those easily-targetable people onthe streets from theatres, restaurants and bars—in some ways it’s easier forMatt to have a drink and put his feet up on a weeknight.

“Can I have some?”

He turns back towards the living room.

One thing Matt finds himself missing about sight that henever thought about Before is the ability for two co-parents to communicatesilently. Foggy can see Matt’s pursed lips and raised eyebrows, but Foggy’sfacial expressions are a blank—senses or no—unless he narrates them. Or Matt istouching his face.

“We could let him have a sip from one of ours.”

Matt thinks about his dad allowing him—encouraging him—to takea swig of scotch to steady his nerves and hands. He thinks about trying to takea gulp from the Communion chalice. “We could.”

He worries. Is normalising alcohol detrimental for Evan; or,if he sees that it’s okay at home and not a Big Deal, will it not be thisforbidden temptation in a couple of years when the peer pressure starts? Matt’shad middle-schoolers whose voices had not even broken try to persuade the blindman they forgot their ID so could he take their crumpled dollar bills and coinsand get them a six-pack of beer, please. “A couple of sips.”

“Cool”

“Don’t tell Ms Milla or Ms Walters. You’ll get us introuble,” Foggy half-jokes.

“More trouble or less than if I told them Dad’s Daredevil?”Evan’s totally joking.

But it still makes Matt’s belly go cold with fear. Evan’snot his, not yet, not legally andirrevocably. His social worker, guardian ad litem and Family Court still standbetween them and permanency, thanks to Matt not knowing about Evan until afterElektra’s death, thanks to the Chaste putting forward people to dispute hisguardianship and custody claim. Matt himself has complicated matters by goingfor full parental and custodial rights instead of the mere guardianship inElektra’s will. He was revelling in his family a moment ago, but he can stillfuck this up. He can lose Evan a hell of a lot easier than if he were alreadyMatt’s legal child. Hell, even Foggy isn’t really his. Not to keep. To have andto hold. He knows Foggy would never just abandon Evan, but he might still meetsomeone with whom he wants permanency and marriage and his own kids.

“Hey now. Joking! Don’t go getting all broody on us Matty,or I’ll have to kick your ass.”

“I’d like to see you try.” His voice comes out all wrong.

“One—you can’t see jack-shit. Two,” Foggy holds up his handsand dramatically wiggles his fingers in the air, “I know Daredevil’s one trueweakness!”

“Dad!” Evan suddenly throws himself at Matt and wraps hisarms around Matt’s waist.

Matt hugs back; holds him tight.

“Dad I would never. I wouldn’t. I’m not going to jeopardise,”he says the word carefully, “things with the case. I want to stay here, withyou and Uncle Foggy, and I don’t want to go back there or end up in an orphanage. I’m not gonna be stupid and ruineverything.”

Shit. He’s made Evan anxious. Matt knows Stick’s most recentvisit—all threats and vague prophecies of doom—is still vivid in both, all,their minds. And the trouble with living with someone else with senses like hisis Evan is hypersensitive to mood and emotions. He soaks up other people’sfeelings from the chemicals their sweat releases in the air. Stupid of him tostress—panic—when Evan is around. “Sorry. I know. I know you wouldn’t. And wewouldn’t let it happen, kiddo.”

“Ms Walters says it’s her job to represent me and myinterests—and that means she tells people what I want. And I’ve told her. WhatI want is to live with you and Uncle Foggy and become a Murdock as soon as you’remy dad on paper as well as really. You know you’ll be allowed to change my namethen, right?”

“What?” That… that was new. “A Murdock? You want to changeyour name to Murdock?”

“Of course! Everyone I know has one of their parent’s last-namesor both. Mine’s random. I know it’s your first name and my mom did it becauseshe wasn’t really a Natchios and she had enemies and stuff. But it’s not afamily name. A belonging name. So… so I thought…” Evan is starting to lose the enthusiasmwith which he started and sounding increasingly unsure. “There was only you andyour dad and it’s not Uncle Foggy with the thousands of Nelsons. So I thoughtit would be… cool, I guess. Become a Murdock. Like you. Show I belong. Youknow? Is that… would that be okay?”

He… Evan, his kid, his son,actually sounds worried. Like there’s a chance Matt might say it isn’t okay.Which is bad. Worse, Matt can’t say anything.His throat has closed up and his eyes are pricking and burning with tears andhe has to take one hand off Evan and bring it up to hide his wobbling mouth andtrembling chin.

“Dad?”

Foggy comes over to them, puts one hand on Evan’s shoulderand the other on Matt’s and shakes Matt a little. “It’s okay buddy. It’s morethan okay that you want to be a Murdock. You’ve just made your dad happy-cry, that’show okay it is. You know what a great big softie he is.”

“But not a pussy. ‘Cause being soft doesn’t stop you beingtough. Right?”

“You said it kid.” The reassuring hand on his shouldershakes Matt again. “Now, I thought we were in the process of getting dinner ontrack so we can eat before Ev’s bedtime?”

Matt sniffs hard and manages to swallow. “Sorry.”

“Sorry isn’t going to cut it when I kick your ass, Dad. I’m starving and you’re not feeding me.Pretty sure that’s a dad-crime.”

Matt sneezes-laughs-coughs against the tears tickling theback of his nose and the emotion-choked throat, and takes off his glasses towipe away the tears. Then he pokes Evan in one of his ticklish spots. “I’mpretty sure you’re spending too much time with your Uncle Foggy. You’re indanger of turning into a brat. I thought we were having a moment.”

“We were but it’s over and I’m hungry.”

Matt crouches down until his head is level with his son’sand does his best to “look” him in the face. “Seriously, Evander Matthews,”(heignores the groan at the full-name-usage) “I love you and would be honoured tomake you a Murdock. The very second it’s legal, if that’s what you want. Butyour last-name doesn’t matter, Ev. Nothing can make you any more my son thanyou already are. Not even the court and the judge and the paperwork. You knowthat, right?”

“Well, duh. Though if we’re talking about it… I know EvanderHolyfield isn’t the boxer you would’ve named me after. Don’t know why Mom didit. If you’d named me? I’d be Jack, right? Like your dad? So I was thinking… Idon’t have a middle name.”

(Matt hears Foggy quietly slip past them to the kitchen.Just as well. They’ll never get dinner if Evan just keeps killing Matt likethis.) “God. Kid. I… Every time I think I love you as I much as I possibly can,you go and do something which doubles it.”

“That’s ‘cause love’s infinite.”

“Evan. God. You’re pretty damn amazing, you know that?”

“You’re not so bad yourself.” (He’s nine. He has to have gotthat expression from Foggy. It sure as hell wasn’t from Stick.) “And Dad? I love you too. I know I don’t… Like Uncle Foggysays love stuff all the time and I like it, but when I try to say it, itsounds stupid in my head and I can hearStick making fun of me. And I get embarrassed. But I do. Love you. Lots. Tons.Infinity.”

God. This kid, hiskid. He’s gonna kill him. Here lies Matthew Michael Murdock, died when hisheart exploded because his son is just that wonderful. Matt hugs Evan tohim, holds him as tight as he can, so tightly he’s worried he’ll hurt him, buthe can’t. He can’t let go. Thank you,God. Thank you that in spite of my sins, You have allowed me to have this. Ibeg you, don’t let me screw this up. Holy Mary, Mother of God, help me to beone half the parent this boy deserves. Mary, how did You feel when You foundout Who Your Son was? How did You have the grace to cope, because this humanboy makes me feel so unworthy. Help me.

“Okay, you two. I think that’s quite enough emotional crisesfor one evening.” Foggy is beside them and puts his arm around Matt’sshoulders. Matt stands, leaning into his friend, abruptly afraid that he’sgoing to end up on his butt.

“Uncle Foggy, I love you, too, you know.”

“And I love you.” He squeezes Matt’s shoulders and kisses the top of Evan’s head.

“I know. You’re always saying. Infinity, right?”

“Infinity and beyond”

Matt muffles his wet chuckle in Foggy’s shoulder. More thanever he needs that glass of wine.

Evan holds out one hand, thumb and pointer finger touchingto make a circle, like an okay-sign or zero. Foggy laughs and links his ownfinger-loop with it. It takes Matt a moment, but paired with the words, interconnecting circles, or loops. Matt knows that one. The infinity symbol.

Half-shy, afraid it might be just an Evan-and-Foggy thing, Matt holdsout his own finger loop. Both Foggyand Evan try to loop theirs with it. And Matt is swallowing tears. Again.

Foggy presses a kiss to Matt’s temple. “Love you too,Murdock. Though I’m gonna have to stop calling you that if there’s two of you.Could get confusing.”

“You can call us Murdock and Murdock Junior.” Evan pullsaway, leaving Matt and Foggy holding hands, and heads for the unit that holdsall their DVDs and Blu-Ray disks. “And now I wanna watch Toy Story again. Okay?”

[ineffablecolors]

I'm sending you 42. and 80. (because this gotta be funnnn) for the trope mash-up, but only as long as you don't forget that you also kinda promised to write the pregnant-neighbor-comes-begging-for-food thing. Because I won't forget about it. :)

The lovely @laschatzi is talking about this post. I cheated a little bit but I hope you’d like how because now we have

Hungry pregnant neighbour + The Big Damn Kiss + Green-Eyed Epiphany 

Family Recipe;  ~ 5, 500 words; FF.NET || AO3

previous: wilderness/survival + I Didn’t Mean To Turn You On &Detective AU  + Awful First Meeting

Killian is somewhatashamed to admit that he has become something of a take-out guy.

It’s just… it’s one ofthose things he never got back into after losing his hand. Like volleyball. Orplaying the guitar. Or arm wrestling Will. Or the black nail polish. Or goingto the beach. Or hitting on that cute girl at the bakery around the corner. Orgirls,period. Or basically anyone he didn’t already know before the accident.

But anyway. Cooking.He never got back into cooking. He was never all that good at it to begin withbut it gave him a funny sort of pride and he enjoyed it.

He enjoyed having togo to three different stores to manage to collect all the herbs and spices fora proper curry. And lying all his products out – basically filling everyavailable space and then having to push stuff around to have somewhere toactually cook. And chopping histomatoes really fine – concasse, was it? – and his onions not quite because hedid not enjoy crying over their massacred corpses. And – never to be revealedto another living soul – making a mini forest around his chopping board withthe broccoli and the cauliflower. And the whole kitchen smelling for two daysafter. And basically making a mess of every horizontal surface – and thevertical ones that one time when he was learning how to spin pizza dough.

Yeah, he enjoyed that.And then he didn’t. Couldn’t. Didn’t.

And now here he is,sipping his beer and scrolling down his take-out app as if he doesn’t knowhe’ll get the Chinese because he had pizza twice during the week and they’vetotally ruined the Mexican place and Liam says he is a masochist but he is nota ‘take-out sushi’ level of masochist.

He looks outside.Checks his watch. At least two more hours of solid daylight. He wasn’t evenhungry yet. He could get some tortilla chips to snack on while trying to see ifhis oven still works.

Really… what couldhappen?

///

Mrs Lucas has spoilther.

It is the only reasonEmma is even contemplating this. That and the fact that it smells really good.

And look here, Emma isnot one of those girls that needs to always get what she wants. She iscertainly not used to getting whatshe wants. It’s just… her baby doesn’t seem to have followed in her footsteps.

It might havesomething to do with said baby not even having feet to walk with yet. Or… shethinks – tries to remember what she’s been readying semi-obsessively and thenthrowing under the bed as if the books are judging her for her singleness andbrokenness and the general dinginess of her apartment – maybe it has feetalready?

They’re definitelyforming but definitely not usable hence no following in any footsteps anytimesoon. There. She’s leaving it at that. Maybe she’ll dig out that last book fromunder her bed tonight. After she has some dinner.

Which brings her rightback to the problem at hand.

She is pretty surethat 5C is one of those bachelors that live on beer, pizza and whatever elseyou can get delivered to your door; has a football or poker night with the guysevery month – see the football she is sure about ‘cause those walls are fuckingthin and those boys are fucking loud but she likes to imagine the pokeras well ever since she saw the guy in this super slick vest that she is sureonly people who can actually step into a casino and somehow manage to not look sleazy own; occasionally blaststoo loud music but not often enough to warrant a complaint; puts Netflix on loud enough and regularly enough that her brokeass is hoping she can keep up with the new season of Stranger Things simply bymoving her couch next to the wall his TV sits against; never brings girls backto his place.

Honestly, Emma is notjudging (or stalking – the walls are thin).She’d probably be giving 5C a run for his money on the easy single living, ifshe wasn’t pregnant and broke and grumpy half the time and hungry the otherhalf – which also makes her grumpy, and generally disillusioned with humanityand the world and the idea that one might actually be able to enjoy life andnot struggle through it at every step and did she mention broke? She is brokeand constantly hungry and constantly trying to fool her baby into thinking thathe likes overcooked pasta and whatever fruits are on sale this week.

He doesn’t. He likeswhatever 5C is cooking.

///

This was a disastrousidea. The kind of disastrous idea he hasn’t had since he was 4 years old andthought that if he puts snails on Liam’s bed they’d stay there and not like…make their way all over the room that Killianshared with Liam.

This is worse thansnails. This is a dozen utensils in the sink already – because of course hetosses a spoon in the sink the second after he has used it once, of course, why put it to the side and use it again when hehas to stir his unholy concoction, and half a dozen plates – one of those inpieces in a trash bag by the door because your one hand being a slippery one isnot the situation in which you want to be handling porcelain.

He has a sizeable cuton his big toe where he stepped on one of the pieces and his t-shirt issticking to his back from the effort of grinding bloody vegetable – Jesus, heused to run miles without breaking a sweat and now blasted carrots are gettingthe best of him, and all he has to show for all his work is what he hopes is apassable mince.

Now for the mash. Hestill has three limbs and 14 uninjured digits to go…

///

Look, Emma doesn’thave much but she has her pride, ok? And this kid growing inside her has madeher relinquish her hold on that enough to knock on Mrs Lucas’s door and ask herwhat it was she put in her cookies because apparently Emma – or someone else, was addicted to it nowand it was not cinnamon. And that hadtransitioned into Emma becoming almost a firm fixture at Granny’s on weekendsand then into Emma busting tables for a month until Granny gave her a nononsense look and told her she won’t be doing this in a few more months, andafter a week of asking and listening and string pulling and cookie bribing, shegot her a job at August’s bookstore even though he still grumbles that he doesn’tlike anyone else ordering his books.

And, yes, this allworked out pretty well but Mrs Lucas was the one that came to her door on her first week in thebuilding with a plate of those cookies that by this point Emma can barely lookat.

(It’s what she does.She falls in love with peanut butter and then eats so many PBJ sandwiches thatnow she almost gets sick at the mere sight of a jar on the counter. And shehears the The Kooks coming from 5C’s wall and goes on to listen to them onrepeat for two weeks. Mind you, not even everything but just Junk of the Heartbecause she is mental like that. And she starts Modern Family, when she stillhad a freaking Netflix account, and binges the whole damn thing in a couple ofweekends and a few late week nights.)

So, yeah, Emma mighthave some addictive tendencies – the legal kind, and some impulse controlissues.

But Emma would neveractually go to someone’s door – someone she has never exchanged a single wordwith despite sometimes hearing their voice float through her wall – and, yeah,he has a pretty voice but what’s that gonna do for her? shitty people can havegreat voices, she is sure – to ask them forthe love of all that is good and holy, what they are cooking because it smellsso fucking good and she has to know and she has to have something that at leastcomes close to it.

She’d never.

///

It’s in the oven. It’sover. Well, all he has to do now is make sure he doesn’t burn the damn thing toa crisp. But if he managed to put it together in the first place, for the firsttime tonight, Killian thinks he can maybe pull this off.

///

It got worse. Worse asin better. Fuck, it got so much better. And now her stomach is grumbling andshe has made for the door three times in the last five minutes and for thefirst time tonight Emma is coming to the horrible realization that she probablywon’t be able to survive this day with her dignity intact.

///

He is just about todig into his plate – fancy plate set and fancy napkins that he didn’t even knowhe owned and the second episode of American Gods queued up and-

There’s a knock on hisdoor.

Killian freezes withhis fork in the air, eyebrows bunching together. Who on earth? He knows hehasn’t invited any of the guys over and Liam knows better than to just drop infor an unexpected ‘we are going out and getting you someone to go home with’visit by this point.

He waits. Nothing.Maybe he imagined it?

///

“There, happy?”

Emma glances down ather slightly rounded stomach and tries on her best ‘mom look’. She thinksshe’ll definitely need to work on that one before the baby comes out because heis already too stubborn for her owngood.

She glances at thedoor with 5C on it one more time, raises her hand and then drops it again.

No. She knocked. Thisis a sign. For once the universe is sparing her the embarrassment and-

“Yes?”

No, of course, not.Why would the universe ever spare her anything?

///

She must be the onethat knocked. 5B. His sweatpants neighbour.

Killian tries not tofeel bad about the nickname. They’ve never been properly introduced and… well,he has mostly seen her back disappearing inside her apartment or her back goingdown the stairs with laundry or her back rushing below his window on a jog. Sohe’s never seen her in anything but sweatpants. He’s not judging. It’s just…the only thing he had to go on.

She is in sweatpantsnow as well but as he looks at her to ask what she needs, he is taken aback byher green eyes. He is taken aback by the sudden realization that his neighbouris this young and very pretty woman and her eyes are the kind of eyes you can’thelp but notice.

It’s… interesting. Hehas heard the soundtrack of her daily life through the wall they share for afew months now but somehow he never imagined the face and body that must gowith those sounds.

As he thinks his gazeslides down almost involuntary and he doesn’t know what catches his attentionmore: the fact that she is a few months pregnant or the fact that she came overbarefoot.

The latter is trulyendearing, the former a tad disheartening for some reason.

Not that he hasanything against kids. Or pregnant women. It’s just… it’s not every day yourealize your neighbour is a pretty girl about your age and currently standingat your doorstep. But he shouldn’t have just assumed and anyway he doesn’treally… that is… is she ever gonna say something?

///

“Lass?”

Emma shakes her head alittle and wants to slap herself back into reality. You know that space andtime continuum where she is not attaching thisman to every sound she has ever heard come through their wall.

(She is convinced heplays air guitar when blasting Bon Jovi hits and that his eyes blaze reallybright when he is swearing at something about “bloody this” and “bloody that”.)

“Umm, hi. Sorry. I…”

He raises an eyebrow.She doesn’t really appreciate the mix of amusement and expectation. Then again,she is standing on his doorstep. He probably has some right to expect anexplanation. Why on earth didn’t she rehearse what she’ll say if he opened thedoor?

“Did you needsomething?”

Fuck.

“I just… ummm, am I botheringyou?”

“Not at all, lass. But,to be frank, I’ll probably be more capable of answering truthfully, if you toldme what you are here for.”

The hell? Was hetalking like that on purpose?

“I-“

Come on, Emma, like aband aid, nowhere to go now unless you wanna be the weirdo asking for a cup offlour.

“What you arecooking?’

///

“Oh.”

Oh. Bloody hell.

Killian can feel hischeeks heating up and focuses half his attention on keeping his hand at hisside and not scratching his damn ear.

“I apologize. I didn’tconsider the smell might bother some-“

“No. No, no, no. Ilike it! So… I was wondering what it was.”

She likes it? Thattimid feeling of pride he felt when he took his dinner out of the over and it wasn’t burn to a crisp grows threetimes.

“It’s just ashepherd’s pie. Slightly altered recipe. My mum’s. Supposedly, probably muckedit up along the way and it’s twice altered now but yeah… Shepherd’s pie.”

“Oh.”

///

Great. She was hopingfor something along the lines of a lasagna. Then maaaybe she could’ve boughtsome frozen crappy version from the supermarket and tried to cheat her bodyinto thinking it was the real thing.

But no, of course,not. It had to be shepherd’s pie. Family recipe edition. Just her damn luck.

“Well, thanks. Andsorry! I was just… curious. Sorry to bother you.”

///

She turns to go andthis might have been the most bizarre conversation he’s had this month.Including that guy on the underground with the orange hair.

Did she just want toknow what the smell invading her home was? She did say she liked it. Maybe-

She is already half toher door so Killian just thinks to hell with it.

“Would you like some?”

He sees her stop deadin her tracks and cringes, hoping he isn’t now the biggest weirdo of her month.And not in a good way.

The blonde turnsaround and he knows the second he sees her face that she would indeed likesome. But Killian likes to think of himself as at least moderately intelligentso he keeps his smile to himself and instead prepares for the distrust in hereyes that is obviously warring with her appetite.

“Do you usually offerfood to unknown women who come knocking on your door?”

“I can’t say, you arethe first.”

He doesn’t actuallysee her cheeks change colour but then again he thinks it might be because shehas been blushing this entire time.

“I didn’t mean tobother-“

“It’s no bother, love.Truly. Now that I feel knowledgeable enough about your intensions to say so.”

She rolls her prettygreen eyes in a way that has his pulse speeding up a bit.

“Plus I just made adish more people share with a family of four. For myself. I think I can sparewhatever you can eat.”

It’s a gamble thatpays off when he sees her eyes blaze up and let’s himself grin at herteasingly.

“I’m sorry, was that achallenge to how much I can eat?”

He steps aside andwaves her in.

She only hesitates fora second.

///

OK, first of all, hisapartment is waaay better than hers like, both bigger and with more naturallight coming in but also simply more tidy and colour-coordinated. Also, ifpossible, it smells even better inside and Emma’s eyes immediately zero in onthe dish on the kitchen counter.

She hears 5C chucklebehind her and tries not to feel even more embarrassed. Her capacity for itmust be running out by this point. Thankfully, he doesn’t make a comment butjust moves around his kitchen island and takes out a plastic food container.IKEA guy. Cute.

It probably takes hera bit longer than it should – what with her still mostly trying to pretend sheis not hustling her nice and pretty neighbour for food – but eventually Emmanotices the peculiar way he moves around his kitchen and operates only with hisright hand. A quick inspection proves that it is because he simply has no leftone to assist him.

“No shit!”

The guy startles ather words and turns around and probably follows her gaze because in the nextmoment the limb is tucked slightly behind him and he is giving her a tensesmile.

“Shit, I’m afraid.”

She honest to Godcovers her mouth. Better late than never. Or not.

“Shit. I mean, sorry!Sorry. I wasn’t- I was just- you cook?!”

5C frowns at her as ifher person skills are something that would only befit a visiting alien. He’sgot her there.

“Sorry. Again. But,like, I can’t cook for shit even with two hands.”

To be fair, the crapproducts she can afford probably have something to do with it but Emma is gonnabe a single mom pretty soon and she is pretty sure that “to be fair”s won’t cutit when she has to cook for her kid.

But makes-food-that-smells-illegally-good-single-handedlyneighbour seems to relax a little.

Foot – partially outof mouth.

///

Killian tries to unbunchthe muscles in his neck and not keep his right side weirdly angled towards her.It’s fine. Really, it’s fine. She was bound to notice eventually.

“To be honest, this ismy first try in quite some time.”

“Seriously?”

“Indeed. So if you getfood poisoning or something, I’m not to be held accountable.”

The thought gives himpause and he turns to her with his eyebrows all drawn together and almostreluctant to hand her the container in his hand.

“Actually, are youallergic to anything? I mean… I don’t think there’s anything too weird in itand everything I used was fresh but-“

He can’t help butglance down at her stomach. Gods, she ispregnant, right? This will be just the kind of thing-

But the blonde’s handcomes up to her stomach and she smiles at him almost shyly and Killian breathesout a quiet sigh of relief.

“I’m sure it will befine. I mean, the things I’ve been feeding myself… I’m pretty sure someonemight get a bit of a shock from the home-cooked food but definitely not the badkind.”

He tries not tooveranalyze the “feeding myself” part and instead nods and finally hands thecontainer with half of his shepherd’s pie inside.

“Whoa. You really arechallenging me.”

He laughs and dips hishead to the side to admire the way her eyes widen a little.

“It should keep for acouple of days if you put it in the fridge. And you can always just feed it toSmee.”

“Smee?”

“Oh.”

His cold ring grazeshis earlobe and dammit, he forgot to watch out for the damn tick.

“I named the cat thatalways hangs around behind the building.”

“Oooh, ok. And hellno.”

She hugs the food toher chest almost protectively and Killian laughs again and bloody hell, is hecoming across too giggly or something? What else can he say? He-

“Well, I shouldprobably let you finally eat your dinner. Whatever you have left,” she beatshim to it and juts her thumb at the door and he can’t really do anything butnod.

///

She is alreadystepping outside, teeth embedded in her lip and what do you say to the cute neighbour that fed you dinner but not inthe date sense?

“Oh. I’m Emma, by theway. Emma Swan.”

His eyes light up andEmma finally gets to put a mark in the ‘didn’t fuck it up’ column.

“Pleasure to meet you,Swan. Killian Jones. Always at your service, though I must warn you, myculinary repertoire is quite limited.”

Killian Jones with thefancy words and delicious food. Fuck.

///

She uses her employeediscount on something other than baby books for the first time.

He finds the bookwaiting for him outside his door. The post-it note says “This is why peoplelike home-cooked food. Who knew.” And the book is Neil Gaiman’s Fragile Things and it takes him a momentto connect the dots and remember that he was watching Amarican Gods the othernight and, yeah, maybe it makes him feel kinda good that Emma Swan noticed andremembered that.

///

He tries some Mexicannext and it’s 100% because his favourite place has gone to crap and not at allbecause he once saw their delivery guy in front of 5B.

She opens the door andhis face is half-obscured by an IKEA container and he says it’s just a not sosubtle reminder that she hasn’t returned the other one yet and she pretends tobelieve him.

///

She reasons that youcan’t return food containers empty so she tries to bake muffins because muffinsare supposed to be easy.

He hears the firealarm and five second later he is banging on her door and having a veryflustered Emma Swan dragging him inside and pointing at her oven or what can beseen of it behind the cloud of smoke and explaining how it’s all his fault.

///

He’s been looking fora not food-related reason to knock on her door for a week and coming up emptyand he is damn rusty when it comes to talking to pretty girls but then againshe is pregnant and the fact that he didn’t see a naked man in the middle ofher kitchen the one time he was there for 10 minutes doesn’t mean anything somaybe that’s for the best.

She knocks on his doora day after Stranger Things comes out with three bags of popcorn, explainingthat only one of them is for him, obviously.

///

She lives to binge andyet here she is trying to stretch an 8-episode season over more than a week.

He honestly debatescalling Netflix and begging them to somehow somehowrelease more episodes of their damn show.

///

He has been thisscared exactly once in his entire life and that situation included headlightscoming straight at him.

She has a freakingstomach ache, probably from too much popcorn, and she is almost as embarrassedwhen she comes out of the doctor’s office as she was that first night sheknocked on his door but Killian doesn’t really seem to care how she is ok as long as she is.

///

She is scrollingthrough her Instagram at work and she is so bored and distracted that shealmost misses it but then she goes back and blinks and then goes to the accountto check this is not some sort of ridiculous surveillance thing or she doesn’teven know what – but sure enough, there – on @cutestparentstobe, is a pictureof her very pregnant self, eating ice-cream on the beach with one KillianJones.

He doesn’t know how heworms his way into a doctor’s appointment, he just knows that when the nursecalls him “daddy” Emma kinda sputters but doesn’t say anything to contradicther and he sure as hell keeps his trap shut and just smiles and nods when theygive him an ultrasound picture all for himself.

///

They’ve been doingwhatever they are doing for 4 freaking months and within the first couple ofweeks they were already using like only 30% of his couch for the both of themand in a month they started venturing outside the bubble of their apartmentsand Emma never thought she’d be thehand-holding type but yeah, they kinda hold hands all the time and they hug,like, every day and they text all the freaking time while they are at work andshe meets Liam when she is 7 months pregnant and convinced that he is gonnahate her on sight for saddling his little brother with herself and he doesn’treally but he also doesn’t seem to love her on sight and Killian is verypointedly unamused by the lukewarm reception but honestly, Emma is just glad tobe given a chance here, and he goes shopping for baby stuff she can barelyafford with her and then he goes shopping for baby stuff by himself and shegets kinda angry and they kinda break up or whatever at least twice, basicallyeach time Emma decides that this is ridiculous and he can’t just date a girlthat is having another guy’s baby and that’s twice the size she should be andthat he’s only known for a few months and one night Killian lines up fourfreaking shepherd’s pies outside her door and if she even keeps her door closedto that then she must be dead inthere and one night he lets it slip about these therapy sessions that he issupposed to go to but doesn’t and she basically makes an appointment for himand drags him out of the door and maybe threatens him with not coming to herdoctor’s appointments anymore, if he doesn’t go to his.

And through all that and then some, they never actuallykiss.

Sure he kisses hercheek when he wishes her goodnight and she kisses his head when he falls asleepon her during Lord of the Rings and he kisses her hand placatingly every timehe tries to dissuade her from helping him with dinner and she kisses hisforearm in the park that one time he freaks out on her because she is on hisleft side and goes to hold his arm and he kisses her stomach the first time shegrabs his hand and lets him feel the baby kicking but-

They’ve never properly kiss and it’s this lastfrontier and maybe he is waiting for her to cross it but she just can’t seem to.

And then she is givingbirth and he is there when she is givingbirth and they haven’t even kissed.

And then there’s Henryand they both kiss him plenty but-

///

they don’t kiss whenKillian refuses to hold her baby and she is hurt and offended and so confusedand kinda angry and then he says he can’t, he can’t hold him with one hand andshe is just sad and, yeah, maybe still kinda angry but also eerily calm as shebents Killian’s elbow and gives him the kind of look that makes him shut hismouth audibly and places her son in his arms

they don’t kiss whenKillian barges in on her breastfeeding and twirls around on the spot, slappinga hand over his face and sputtering apologies while all she can do is laugh andlaugh and tell him to stop acting like her tits are a big deal and make her acup of that crappy decaf coffee and he does and he also makes sure to look herdirectly in the eyes and then wink very poorly when he says that her tits are a big deal

they don’t kiss when Henrystarts teething and Emma is up at all hours of the night and she looks likefucking hell and Killian tells her so in no uncertain terms and basically,somehow, taking advantage of her sleep-deprived brain, manages to rope her intoa teeth-sharing plan which basically includes her passing half of her insomniaonto him and Emma can’t forgive him and at the same time can’t love him enoughand yeah, she loves him now and they’ve known each other for a year and they haven’t fucking kissed and what ever

///

they don’t kiss whenshe asks him if he thinks maybe, possibly Liam would like to meet Henry and allKillian can do is nod and swallow and start planning the kind of lecture he’llgive his brother, if he dares to voice any of his doubts about the soundness of the situation, but Liamseems to think that if his brother is spending half his day around a certainbaby – no matter whose it is – it probably isn’t a terrible idea for him tomeet said baby and Liam Jones may be a military man and he may have nevergotten over the fact that he didn’t manage to protect his little brother fromall the evils of the world and he may have been determined to give Emma Swan ahard time for even the slightest hint of her using Killian but he is also puttyin the hands of Henry Swan within 10 minutes

they don’t kiss thefirst time she uses the key to his apartment and sneaks into his bedroom in themiddle of the night – baby in her arms and her hair into the messiest bun thathas ever been twisted and her damn sweatpants and her eyes all puffy and herwhispered worries all about not being able to do it and being all alone and notbeing good enough and he just folds himself around both of them and tries tostart the process of getting each ridiculous notion out of her head

they don’t kiss when shetells Henry to spot throwing his food all over daddy and Killian just standsthere – carrot puree all over his t-shirt, and watches as she continueswhipping the eggs in front of her as if she didn’t just- and he loves them bothtoo damn much to point it out and risk having her take it back and bloody hell,he loves her now and they’ve been together for all intents and purposes forover a year now and they haven’t bloodykissed and good lord

///

She comes back fromthe store and heads directly to Killian’s apartment and tries to calculate ifshe and Henry are spending more time at her place or at his at this point. Butas soon as she opens the door and the smell hits her, her calculations are leftoutside in the cold and it’s all she can do not to moan out loud. Turns out itwasn’t just the little guy growing inside her that made her love Killian’spies.

She hears the lowmurmur of Killian’s voice and decides to tiptoe into the kitchen as quietly aspossible. She wants to look at them without giving her presence away just yet,when it’s just them.

And sure enough Henryis tucked into Killian’s left arm, his little fist twisted into the hair at theback of her boyfriend’s neck (god, he is not her freaking boyfriend, along withHenry in his arms he is her entire fucking universe).

She knows what theyare making already but she narrows her eyes as she realizes that she has neveractually seen Killian make his shepherd’spie.

“This is the only wayI can make your mom eat these, Henry.”

He twirls a broccoliin front of her son’s little nose and Emma rolls her eyes. Partially because it’strue and partially because the broccoli version is not her most favourite.

“When you are oldenough I’m gonna teach you how to make it on your own but for now I’ll justshow you how to make yourself a little forest.”

She honestly doesn’tknow if it’s the implication of years tocome in his promise, the fact that he says it so confidently, so easily,without any doubt, without any caveat of “if we are still together”, withoutany alternative in his mind. Or if it’s the fucking forest of broccoli that heis arranging around his chopping board like the most precious human being thathe is.

Emma honestly doesn’tknow. But she does drop the bag she is carrying on the floor and she crossesthe space between them in the time it takes Killian to turn around and open himmouth to greet her. And then she finally finallyfeels his lips under her own.

He tastes even betterthan his damn pie.

[caosemsaturno-blog]

Leading Tips And Advice To Take Care Of Your Eyes

The eyes with which you are born are the only eyes you have, so it is necessary that you take excellent care of them. If you neglect your eye care, you could experience several problems with your vision. For some excellent recommendations on taking care of your eyes, keep reading.

You probably already understand that there are numerous serious dangers related to cigarette smoking cigarettes. Several scientific research studies have actually revealed that the clients who did smoke were much more most likely to establish AMD than those who didn't smoke.

A wide-brimmed hat can be your best friend when outdoors, especially when the sun is shining. A hat uses a lot of protection for your face, consisting of areas like your eyelids where the sun can sneak in around the edges of glasses. Eyelids are fairly commonplace for cancer malignancy to develop, so conceal outdoors with a stylish hat whenever you can.

Ensure you always have sufficient lighting when you work or read

Your eyes will be straining all the time if you're attempting to see things without enough illumination in the space. Over time, this can cause severe damage. Increase your wattage or the number of lighting fixtures in any given room to resolve the issue.

If you're going out into strong sunlight for any length of time, make sure you wear a hat with a broad brim. Sunglasses to protect your eyes to a certain level, a cap will keep the sun out of them totally. Your eyelids can be especially susceptible to cancer malignancy, something that you can avoid simply by sporting a hat.

There are many associated health dangers, and your eye health is one of them. Eye problems plague those who have a smoking cigarettes history.

If you routinely use contacts, keep a pair of backup prescription eyeglasses. When experiencing inflammation in the eye, you ought to remove the connection and use a pair of prescription eyeglasses. Keeping a contact lens in your eye while the eye is irritated can turn this apparently small issue into something much bigger, such as a corneal ulcer.

When you are working on a project that requires cutting wood or other products, make sure to wear a set of goggles. As you are reducing, particles are flying into the air. If your eyes are not protected by safety glasses, a piece of material can zoom in and trigger inflammation or damage to your eyes.

Include as many vegetables and fruits as possible in your diet plan; especially, carrots and sweet potatoes which offer beta carotene (Vitamin A). Salmon is high in Omega 3's, and broccoli, brussels sprouts and bell peppers are excellent sources of Vitamin C. These antioxidants can assist prevent macular degeneration and blindness.

Also check out: eye LASIK surgery

Embrace an eye examination fairly typically

Some concerns might fly under the radar. Regular eye check-ups are best for this. Lots of conditions can be avoided with proper eye care.

If you are intending on staying outdoors for an extended period, wear a baseball hat or visor. This can avoid the sun's harmful rays from affecting your eyes and can lower any irritation that you feel. Also, your eyes will become less dry if you obstruct the sun from going into it.

Make sure to take in copious amounts of Vitamin A throughout the day. Vitamin A is excellent for assisting to lower the swelling and inflammation that you might feel, which can trigger dryness. Foods that have high sources of this vitamin include carrots, chicken, potatoes, spinach and sweet potatoes.

Your eyes are more most likely to be healthy if you get routine eye checkups. Keeping a close eye on them will assist your eye medical professional spot any potential issues at the start.

Now that you have read this advice, you need to understand why it is so essential to care for your eyes. If you neglect these tips, your vision might quickly get worse, and you could have other problems too. Make sure that you begin using this suggestion immediately to keep your eyesight healthy.

[umichenginabroad]

My first full day at INSA!

On Friday, I joined my INSA buddy for breakfast and boy was I glad that she had suggested we eat at 7:15am, the tiny eatery was empty enough that the two of us could go at a snail's pace so I could comfortably figure out how the breakfast line worked.

The options  were relatively basic, bread, plain yogurt, various little packets of jam and Nutella, and some fruit. There were also some drink dispensers, for hot drinks, milk, fruit juices, and ol' water. Speaking of water: while the tap is safe to drink and sinks are obviously everywhere, I noticed there was a distinct lack of drinking fountains on campus. I haven't seen /any/ in my time here.

After breakfast, I made a quick shopping trip to a store about 5 minutes away to grab some various items I'd need for the dorm (tissues, toilet paper,  dish sponges, etc).

I noticed cars parallel parked in between tree fixtures, which I guess is one way to prevent the problem of That One Guy who takes up two designated parking spots, and it also took us ages to find out where the store actually was.

The grocery store, Carrefour, also had these shopping carts/baskets/basket-carts, which were really convenient

We quickly scurried back to campus with an armful of items because there is a bag tax here--plastic bags cost an additional 5 centimes. Most of the people in the checkout line were quite prepared with bringing their own reusable bags or just simply using an empty backpack, and at around 10am, we began our tour of campus.

Not only were several buildings in the process of being renovated, but there was a bunch of construction along the roads, and preparations being made for a campus-wide event this weekend. It's almost like I never even left Ann Arbor 🙃 All of the buildings were of similar shapes and colors, with the main exception of a bright [Ross-]orange building that had a giant traffic cone in front of it.

there's a PokeStop for the cone in PokemonGo, and it’s dubbed the “VLC”, presumably in honor of the video streaming application 

Once our tour and brief orientation session wrapped up, a couple other exchange students and yours truly briefly went to a mall in Part-Dieu to do some shopping.

Lyon has been coined one of the smartest cities in France, and the way tech has been embedded into facets of everyday life, like this funky tram map, has been cool to see. Now if only our dorm could have WiFi...

There were a couple familiar stores, mostly those that sold cosmetics. I specifically saw Sephora, M.A.C., L'Occitane, The Body Shop and I smelled also found a Lush store. I stopped by a tiny food stand to grab a quick bite to eat, and I thought I held the conversation in decent French, but upon getting my card back from the cashier and receiving my food, she said "Thank you" in English, which caught me by surprise. I was genuinely worried that my French was so bad she resorted to using English. When I had paid for my groceries in the morning, the card reader initially had a display in French ("Insert/Tap your card", "please wait", etc.), but the "Remove card" message was in English. Maybe there's something embedded in my card that somehow affects the language of the card reader? And maybe that’s how she knew I wasn’t French...

In the afternoon, we had a cooking demonstration + apéro* planned from 2:30pm through about 8pm. An English teacher at INSA joined us for the spectacle in order to translate instructions and general comments that chef Dominique had made. We helped peel some asparagus, but after that point, chef Dominique and his assistants took care of the rest (with the exception of one student volunteer piping the whipped cream on the strawberries).

The menu for tonight consisted of:

cured ham, asparagus, and some very-well seasoned mayonnaise/hollandaise sauce

broccoli, small potato pancakes, and duck served with a vinegary-orange duck-based sauce

some cheese (I didn't take a picture of this, but I assure you, you will see a lot more photos of cheese)

freshly cut strawberries that were macerated with sugar

That was all happened Friday, and next up: Vieux Lyon (Old Lyon--a very beautiful, colorful, historic, and cobblestony part of Lyon about 20-25 minutes away from campus)

a+,

Christina

Computer Science

Entrepreneurship with INNOV@INSA

Lyon, France

Two fun facts because I forgot some in my last post, thanks for sticking around:

"prendre l'apéro" - "to have an aperitif" is the literal translation, where an "aperitif" would typically refer to a drink consumed before a meal, but this was a whole ordeal where we had some kir, savory finger food, and of course, the food that we watched the chefs prepare in the kitchen. It was delicious, so far, I've been fairly impressed with the food here, and Lyon is living up to its name as the gastronomic capital of France.

AND

Most, if not all, plastic water bottles I've seen with the smaller caps snap open/close, instead of being a screw top. This is supposedly an intentional design to prevent the caps from getting completely lost, and the Carrefour store also had several different kinds of recycling bins, including one dedicated to bottle caps. It’s interesting to see this much consideration toward bottle caps, now if only I could find a recycling bin on campus...😬

[jamesbvck]

lost & found | b. barnes | part five

Pairing: Bucky Barnes x Reader (AU, Bartender!Bucky) Summary: Being lost was something foreign to you. Beginning a new life was an uphill battle. Being found was a surprise, especially unexpectedly by a man his own questionable past. Word Count: 3k Warnings: fluff, mention of mental abuse, mention of drunk driving. A/N: Welcome to part five! Feedback? :)

MASTERLIST | TAG FORM

Mornings were always rough. You had never truly considered yourself a morning person, but you didn’t necessarily hate them either. You’d much rather stay curled up in bed with the blanket tucked under your chin and head nestled into the pillow. But alas, work called and it was time to get up for the day. Money was to be made and customers were to be served.

There was a bounce in your step as you hopped into the shower. The warm water dripped down your skin, as you hummed an old song. Corinne had taken notice of the change in your demeanour over the last week. She knew it was because of Bucky and whatever bond you had formed with him. While she was cautious, she had to admit it was nice to see you so happy. You deserved to be happy.

You arrived to work just as Wanda did, and the two of you exchanged a few words as you walked inside. You placed your belongings out the back, grabbed your waist apron, and headed out to do your routine tasks until customers trickled in. Idly you swept, humming again. Hayley, one of the new part-time girls that was recently hired, straightened up the stools and tables, giving them a wipe down. You liked her. She was funny and kind, a new friend.

“It’s really unfair.”

You glanced over at her, raising a brow. “What’s unfair?”

Hayley nonchantanty motioned to Bucky across the way. He was guiding an electrician taking a look at a few of the lighting fixtures that hadn’t been working properly. His long hair was tied up into a bun, and his strong arms were folded over his chest as he explained the situation to the older man. His navy blue three-quarter length shirt fit him just slightly too tightly.

“Someone call Calvin Klein and get that man an underwear campaign, stat!” Hayley sighed dreamily.

Your eyes stayed glued to Bucky for another moment. You felt captured under a spell. It wasn’t necessarily bad to think your boss was good looking. After all, he was your friend. You had hung out outside of work as friends, so it was cool. You texted, and maybe one time (two times) it was until three in the morning. Friends did that all the time. Totally cool.

“He’s single, right?”

“Uh,” you shrugged. “I don’t know.”

You fibbed.

Hayley began to ponder aloud. Your mind autoset into your own thoughts, curious to see if she was going to make a move, and worried that she actually would. Something twanged in the pit of your stomach thinking about it, and you knew it was not pleasant. Your grip around the broom grew tighter until you internally rationalized the situation. By the time you refocused, Hayley was with Bucky, the electrician gone to get some tools out of his truck.

Oh.

Again, you rationalized. Taking the broom and dustpan, you returned them to the storage closet. You were unable to keep a frown from forming and felt stupid for it. Truthfully, you didn’t even know what you wanted from Bucky. Friendship? Companionship? Guidance? The sense of hope that not all men were god awful? Maybe all of it wrapped together with a pretty bow? You shook your head, deciding you were being completely ridiculous. Nothing was owed to you, nor did you owe anyone anything. At least he was in your life.

Before leaving, you grabbed new fibre cloths from the shelving and a spray bottle of cleaning solution. You pulled the door shut, turning around to see Bucky looking at you with amused eyes. Your knees nearly buckled.

“Hi…?” you said, blinking at him.

“I was wondering how long you were going to stand in there for,” he spoke. “You okay?”

You nodded, regaining yourself to smile at him. “Little tired, but I’m fine.”

Bucky nodded too. “Good, that’s good. That’s great!”

You tilted your head, trying to not laugh at his apparent eagerness. He seemed chipper and in a bright mood. It was quite adorable to see. “Okay, well, I’m gonna go do some employee stuff.”

“I guess I’ll go do some boss stuff,” he replied. You slipped around him, brushing arms. You looked over your shoulder and caught Bucky’s eyes. Something in your chest swelled and you bit back a grin. These were murky waters and you knew not to swim in them, but damn, they were intriguing.

Clint sat at the bar for the majority of your shift. He was filled with stories, and spoke about his kids and his beautiful wife. You loved listening, but at the same time, your gaze kept travelling over to Bucky whenever he madea brief appearance. You couldn’t help it and it was dead obvious to Clint. He took a lengthy sip of his beer, setting the bottle down on the round coaster.

“You and Barnes, yeah, I could see it,” he commented. You scowled. “You keep making eyes at him.”

“I don’t make eyes, Clint.”

He leaned back in his chair. “Look, I really don’t give a shit. Like him, don’t like him. But life’s too short to hide behind what ifs and maybes. Don’t look now, but Barnes is staring at you, too. Trust me, he can be pretty stupid, so if you’re gonna move, move.”

You hadn’t expected this from Clint. He was encouraging and at the same time giving you life advice. Perhaps he was right, life was too short to be scared of something. You sighed, picking up his bottle to see there was barely any liquid left.

“Do you want another one?”

Clint checked the time. “Probably shouldn’t, gotta go pick up the kids from school.” He dug into his back pocket and retrieved some cash. “You coming to Stark’s party?”

“What party?” You took the money, exchanging it for his change. You didn’t even know Tony Stark. You only heard the guys talk about him every now and then, and your sister worked for his billion dollar company.

“Stark’s Annual Fourth of July Bash…” his voice trailed and his face contoured into something mischievous. “Why don’t you ask Barnes about it.”

“Clint.”

“What ifs and maybes,” he mused, waving as he left the bar.

It was noted that Clint and Sam were definitely the ones that gave people a hard time out of spite. You muttered to yourself, swiping the bottle and putting it in an empty beer case. You occupied yourself for the next hour until your shift ended.

Bucky was in his office, chair leaned back and his thumb scrolling through his phone. Quietly you approached the door way, bag over your shoulder as you leaned against the framing. He didn’t notice you to start, and that was perfectly fine. You liked watching his brows scrunch together and his eyes squint at his phone.

“You’re going to need glasses if you keep squinting.”

He looked over, lowering his phone to the desk. “Steve tells me that, too.”

“Well, he’s right.”

Bucky chuckled. “I’m glad you stopped in before you left, wanted to ask if you would like to get some food.”

Never in your life had you said no to food. It must have been a given, since you nodded rapidly and a wide grin spread across his face. He picked up his phone, tucked it into his pocket, and tidied up his desk before flicking off the light and locking the door. He caught Wanda before leaving and she was more than fine with locking up when it was closing time. Bucky led the way out.

“How do you feel about Chinese food?”

“I’m good with that,” you replied, following him down the street.

There was a place around the corner from Bucky’s studio apartment. It was small, and a little sketchy looking, but Bucky swore it was the best you were going to get in Brooklyn. You let him order whatever, you weren’t picky. You helped him carry the two full brown paper bags back to his place. He kicked off his boots and set the bag onto his coffee table.

“What do you want to drink?” Bucky asked.

“Water’s fine.”

This was the second time you were in his home. You examined it more. There was a long three seater couch and a matching armchair to the right of it. He had a TV console with a flat screen perched on top, and a few art pieces hung on the wall. His large bed sat back against a brick wall off to the west side near the wall of windows that let the light pour in. There were notebooks scattered around, some vinyls and a recorded player off to the side. It was a rather clean home.

You set down the bag and plopped yourself onto the floor, beginning to take things out. Bucky returned with plates and two glasses of water. “Are we going to eat on the floor?”

“Why not?” you smiled.

He got himself to the ground, letting you choose what you wanted first. “What’s this Stark Party?”

Bucky reached for the beef and broccoli, scooping some onto his plate. “Your sister didn’t tell you about it?”

“No, Clint mentioned it this afternoon but didn’t elaborate too much.”

“Tony has this party every year on the fourth. It’s kind of a big deal, I guess. I get dragged to it by Steve. It’s on his yacht.”

A yacht? You weren’t even sure why you were surprised. Of course a billionaire had a yacht and would invite people aboard to get drunk on. The idea seemed fascinating, though. Spending a holiday on a big boat, drinks, a view of the entire city and to end the night with fireworks. It was almost romantic, in a sense.

“Are you gonna go?” he asked.

“I don’t even know him,” you murmured. “That’d be weird if I just showed up.”

Bucky shook his head. “You know people he knows. You can be Corinne’s plus one.”

“I could be your plus one.”

The words slipped out of your mouth before you could process anything. It was really meant to be a joke. Realistically, you could have been Steve’s plus one, or even Sam’s. However, Bucky didn’t seem too fazed by it. He was spooning rice onto his plate and grabbing the mini soy sauce packets.

“You could,” he agreed a moment later. His eyes peeked through a few loose strands of hair that had gotten away from his messy bun. Thankfully, your words weren’t a total disaster.

I would, you thought.

Bucky had put on some music to fill in the gaps of silence while you ate. You weren’t too sure what it was, but it was soothing and had semblance to jazz. It felt like you were far away, lost in a small European town with cobblestones and beautiful buildings. You ate, briefly chatting but mainly listening to the record. Bucky packed away the leftovers, taking the plates to to the sink. You leaned back onto your hands, looking around. Your eyes landed on a framed picture of him, Steve, and Sam. It looked to be an older photo, Bucky had shorter hair and all of their faces were younger. It brought a smile to your lips. Bucky and Sam were laughing and Steve was trying not to crack a smile, but failing miserably.

“What’s this from?” You took the frame and showed it to Bucky.

“First Christmas while we were shipped out,” he replied. “Can’t remember the full context, but it had to have been making fun of old man Steven.”

You laughed quietly, turning the picture back to you. Bucky was slightly leaned over in the picture, smiling widely, and you swore you could hear his laughter. There were dog tags swinging from around his neck and his plain white t-shirt was ruffled.

“Can I ask you a question?”

“Sure.” Bucky dried his hands on a kitchen cloth, moving back to the living room.

Carefully you placed the frame back from where you got it, settling down on the rug again. “I’ve never seen you wear a t-shirt, or anything with shorter sleeves. Do you have something against them?” You attempted to play it lightly. Maybe he just didn’t like t-shirts. People went through clothing phases and that was fine. Maybe it wasn’t on trend for men’s clothing, you didn’t know.

Bucky shifted, stretching his legs out as he leaned against the couch. He was quiet, you waited.

“Well, I can tell you I do own t-shirts. I don’t discriminate,” the corner of his lip turned up for a half second. “A few years back I wasn’t great, you know, during that bad time I told you about. I made the really stupid decision of drinking and getting on my bike. Steve told me not to do it, I was too stubborn and angry at something, did it anyway. Didn’t even make it down the road before I got out of control, skidded along the pavement.”

Bucky held out his left arm and rolled up the sleeve as far as it could go. Along his biceps was scarring that went to his elbow. You shuffled yourself closer to get a clearer look. You couldn’t imagine how awful that must have been for him. You raised your hand and gently glided the tips of your fingers over some of the scar tissue. To you it didn’t look so bad, but to Bucky it was something that he had to deal with physically every day.

“I was in the hospital for a few days, had my license taken away for a bit. Probably was a blessing in disguise, I started to smarten up.” Bucky looked to you. “Maybe I’m ashamed. I don’t want strangers to look at me funny when I walk down the street.”

“Scars of our past redefine who we are, but we get to choose who we want to become,” you murmured, dropping your hand to your lap. “Trust me, I know all about that.”

You could see in Bucky he was curious about your words. Your fingers coiled into your palms, squeezing, then releasing. “His name was Brock,” you started. “He was my boyfriend, but he was also my worst nightmare. I thought everything that went wrong was my fault, only because he told me it was. I thought the reasons why he would yell at me, taunt me, mentally damage me were my fault. And I believed I deserved it.”

Bucky was at a loss for words. You fiddled with the hem of your shirt, avoiding eye contact as you spoke about all the tragedies and the downfall of your three year relationship with a monster. “Getting out was hard. I packed my bag but I was too afraid to leave, I was too afraid of the abandonment. I was too afraid of losing what I called ‘my person’. I thought he was that. But he wasn’t. Luckily Corinne was coming back home for a visit and she ripped me out of there without any barriers. I owe her so much.”

His hand reached out, and using his thumb, he swiped away a stray tear from your cheek that had fallen. You hadn’t even noticed.

“He can’t hurt you anymore,” Bucky said.

“I know,” you replied. “Restraining order is in full effect. But his words are still in my head. Some days are hard, some days are great. Today’s a good day.”

The jazz music had drifted off, the vinyl ending. Bucky subconsciously rubbed his blemished arm before slowly moving to his feet. He turned on the TV, handing you the remote to find something to watch on Netflix. He left to go change and you crawled your way up onto the couch, flicking through the title cards of the tv shows and movies. You put on a baking competition show, hoping Bucky wouldn’t mind too much.

He re-entered wearing grey sweatpants and a black t-shirt. It was true, he didn’t discriminate. It made you feel good, like maybe he trusted you enough to be himself, he didn’t need to hide his insecurity. He also didn’t seemed bothered by your tv selection; in fact, he was rather into it, making comments. The more episodes that rolled over into one another, the closer your body grew to Bucky’s. He was warm, a little squishy under all that toned muscle. Your eyes drooped, unwilling to stay awake to see who was making it to round three.

Upon awakening, the TV was turned off and there was a single light on. It was dark as your eyes adjusted. A blanket was draped over your body, a pillow under your head. You glanced around before reaching out to search for your phone. Time: 12:54AM. A silent yawn slipped from your mouth, and you sat up on the couch. Admittedly, you were slightly sad Bucky hadn’t been there with you. It didn’t take you long to see he was in his bed, turned onto his side with one arm hanging off the edge.

You had three options: the first, going home to your own bed (probably the best one not to worry Corinne), the second was laying back down on the comfy couch and drifting back off, and the third (and most appealing) was scooting in next to Bucky. Quickly, you opted for the third. Your feet padded against the floor to the open side of the bed, and you pulled back the blankets. For a split second, you hesitated, but your sleepy body ached for the comfort of a mattress instead. You settled yourself, leaving a gap between you and the sleeping man.

Bucky’s body shifted, rolling over to his other side. Clearly you weren’t as stealthy as you believed you were. One of his eyes popped open, looking at you in the dark.

“I can go,” you whispered.

Without warning, Bucky pulled you to himself, wrapping his arm securely around you. Immediately, you felt safe. Your entire body melted into his, and you tucked your head under his chin. His fingers rubbed a small section of your back, which lulled you right back into a deep slumber.

A perfect night’s rest.

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