#grill is one of the best episodes ever of all time

[gulliesforever]

Did I mention Sale was a goose?

[multifandomsimagine]

Author's Note: It's still the 10th where I am but I know it's already the 11th where you are so, happy birthday to the best mutual ever ❤️

Imagine the guys making you breakfast for your birthday

— Birthday Present #1 for @cantstoptheimagines —

Of the three, Luke was definitely the worst cook in the group. For one, he had never really had to cook before when he was still living with his parents; they were the ones who made sure that he had a hearty breakfast and a filling dinner each day. If Luke had his way, he would live off of Hot Pockets and Tostino's, something quick and easy to make so he could spend more time on music.

Alex was a decent cook. While he wouldn't burn down the kitchen when making himself a bowl of cereal, all he could really do was make simple meals: a grilled cheese, an omelet, mac and cheese. Much like Luke, Alex's parents would cook his meals for him but he did have to rely on himself more after things got tense when he came out to them.

Compared to the other two, Reggie was basically Emeril Lagasse. With money being tight at home, he was left by himself as soon as he was able to operate the stove. His parents spent so much time working - and arguing - and Reggie was left to fend for himself when he got home from school. With spatula in hand and having watched every episode of How to Boil Water and Essence of Emeril, Reggie was a master in the kitchen.

It was why the trio had decided that Reggie would take the lead in your birthday breakfast with Alex as his sous chef and Luke as the kitchen porter though the best-laid plans often went astray with the group.

Though the guys know you're a heavy sleeper and never get out of bed before ten in the morning, they don't want to risk raising their voices on the off chance your birthday is the day you decided to be a light sleeper. However, it was really hard to remember to not yell when Alex or Reggie caught sight of Luke's "improvements."

"Why are the flames so high?" Alex whisper-shouted, barely remembering to lower his voice as he dropped the knife he was using to cut up some fruit to rush over to the stove, turning the dial from high to low.

Luke lets out an offended "Hey!" but the blond ignores him as he's quick to snatch the spatula from Luke and scoops up the pancake from the pan. He moves to drop it onto the stack of pancakes, dropping it into the stack of pancakes Luke had already made.

"Hey! I was doing a good job!" Luke huffs out, gesturing to the four pancakes on the plates.

This is when Reggie walks over, having finished plating the breakfast scramble he had been in charge of.

"I did everything that you guys told me." Luke begins to list off the steps on his fingers. "I put butter on the pan, ladled a spoonful of batter onto the pan, checked to see that the side was brown before flipping it over, and made sure the other side was brown too before plating them."

"Not everything," Alex countered. "The flames were too high. Why'd you raise the heat?"

"I wanted to help out with the other stuff so I raised it so the pancakes would cook faster."

Reggie grabs a fork from the utensil drawer and moves to the plate of pancakes, cutting a piece off from the top pancake. Instead of being met with the sight of a light fluffy interior, the trio watches as batter oozes out of the pancake.

Luke snatches the fork from the bassist's hand and begins cutting into the other pancakes. Except for the first pancake that Alex had made as an example for Luke, they all ooze out batter and the three are left to stare at half-cooked pancakes.

"The pan was too hot. The outside of the pancake cooked before the inside could." Reggie sighs. "And now we have gooey pancakes."

Alex picks up the bowl of batter and takes a look before letting out a groan. "And only enough batter for like one pancake." He shows the bowl to the others.

"We could make more, right?" Luke runs a hand through his hair.

Reggie shakes his head. "I used the last of the eggs for the scramble."

"So all we have right now is the breakfast scramble, a bowl of fruit, and a cup of juice."

Luke's eyes dart around the kitchen, trying to find a solution. His eyes light up when he spots the house keys and his wallet before maneuvering his way to them. "I can buy more. Daniella’s sells eggs, right?" He raises his wallet up. "We have like two hours before [Name] wakes up. I'll be back in like fifteen minutes. I won't be the reason she starts off her birthday without her favorite breakfast."

[romanarose]

Sicky Wicky

Frankie Morales x fem!reader

Join my taglist : Masterlist

Buy Me A Coffee : Kofi

Written for @strang3lov3. IDK if you're still sick but i wanted to just whip a lil thing up real fast for you. I hope you like Frankie, I saw you have him on your masterlist. I know Joel is our guy but as you know i decidedly don't write for him anymore so I hope this is okay <3 Frankie is my sweet soft baby

Summary: Just Frankie taking care of you while sick <3

Warnings: Some mild sex jokes

***

When entering the home he shared with you, Frankie avoid his usual "honey, I'm home!" routine, knowing when you don't feel good you like to nap on the couch a lot.

He slid his cowboy boots off, trying his best to not let the heels clomp on the wood floors but grumbling when his sock stepped in a pile of melting snow.

"Baby?" You call from the living room, and Frankie mumbles a swear.

Rounding the corner (with one wet sock) Frankie peaked at you. 'damp' was the first descriptor his head came up with, but he'd never tell you that.

"Hey baby, feeling any better?"

You give a little shrug. "Stopped puking, fevers pretty low now. I think I'll be okay tomorrow."

As much as he wanted to stay home with you and take care of you, unfortunately in this economy losing the hours for both of you wasn't ideal. Still, he'd managed to swing by during his break and check on you when you weren't answering his texts, only to find you fast asleep.

He checked your forehead, and yeah, just a little warm. That was good, you were on the mend.

"You think you can eat some tomato soup?"

You look up at him, tired eyes and- yeah, damp hair. Poor girl. "With grilled cheese pweeeeeeeeze?"

Francisco couldn't help but laugh a little. "the best damn grilled cheese ever. Only the best for my poor sicky wicky baby."

He did not disappoint. The bread was grilled with garlic butter, the good cheese and lots of it. The cheese pull on that beast was Instagram worthy, and he even garnished the tomato soup with parsley.

Mouth full, you look at Frankie's shit eating grin as he sat on the couch, your cold feet tucked under his butt. "You're awful proud of yourself, aren't you?"

"You're eating my food and moaning like that time you ate me ass, so yeah, feeling pretty good."

You wiggle your feet just to make him yelp, and have the first good laugh you've had since falling ill last night.

When the mutual laughter settles, the sounds of your favorite sitcom playing reruns on the TV echoing in the background, your voice fades into sincerity. "Thank you for taking care of me." You yawn, setting aside a plate that had not a crumb on it and a bowl licked clean.

Frankie runs your knee, a smile reaching up to his eyes in little crinkles. "Not a problem at all. You getting tired again."

"Yeah, wanna finish this episode though." You snuggle back down under the blankets, eyes dropping. You weren't making it through the episode.

"Okay." He pats your leg and grunts as he gets up. "i'm gonna get a load in the dishwasher while it finishes, then I'll carry your happy ass to bed, hows that?"

Another yawn. "Something somethin... I'll take your load.... something... in my..."

"dishwasher?"

"yeah I lost it."

"Good job baby." He pats your head as he walks around the couch, chuckling. "I'm sure it'll come to you."

"Uuhhhh you'll cum... into me?"

"Go to sleep!" Frankie calls over his shoulder. You're in the middle of arguing when you fall asleep again, tummy full, fighting off the last of your sickness.

***

Hope you all liked it! Been a hot minute since I wrote non-dark frankie!

Want some dark frankie? Want cute frankie smut? Want A dad!frankie series dealing with addiction?

thank you all for reading!!!! I might be MIA for a while, im going on a trip to get away and write this novel that was originally based off a fishben fish I wrote LOL, then Ill be online classes full time and, if i get this job i so desperatly want, working full time. I'm so broke it's so fucking bad I need this job ;-; so, prayers plz

HOPE YOUR FEELING BETTER BUG!!!

[ragnarockz]

Hey Beta, I’m having an exceptionally shit time of it lately — do you think you could present any Rio headcanons that might brighten it?? Thank you!! ❤️

I'm sorry you're having a rough time ❤ Hoping that you'll have some peace in your life, soon because hey! You deserve it! 🥺❤🧿

She loves to listen to music while she works; especially if she's at home going through paperwork at the kitchen table. Agnes has a radio with a cd player on the kitchen counter that Vidal uses frequently

She can go through half a box of tea if she wanted too; she'll finish a cup and make another one an hour later. She likes her mint and her chai tea 🍵 Agnes bought her a reusable mug that stays hot for long and can hold a HUGE amount of tea so she doesn't have to refill as often 🥺 It's also green (of course)

She'll find recipes and save them on her phone; anything that has to do with meat or grilling she sends to Agnes

She is someone who reads reviews before buying anything. Agnes will just go by word of mouth

While of course she does dress for herself and her own comfort; she does love dressing up FOR Agnes (and she thinks it's adorable when Agnes' brain short circuits after seeing the outfit she put together just for her)

Vidal is always teasing Agnes in some way, even if it's just sneaking a quick kiss on her cheek - she wants Agnes to know she's always loved and thought about, that what they have is special and theirs. She wants nothing more than for Agnes to always feel safe

It's rare for her and Agnes to fight but if it ever does go there; Vidal is always the person who will let Agnes 'go off'. She knows how much Agnes has bottled up over the years and she doesn't take any offense in Agnes having to scream or yell or swear - as long as it's not AT her and that it's not abusive (it never is obviously)

Just like Vidal finds tools and cables and wires all over the place from Agnes tinkering with things out in the shed, Agnes always finds gardening supplies. Gloves, clippers, seed packs, gardening books. In the summer months, it's more than likely Agnes will spot a pair of garden shears on Vidal's night table by their bed

Before Vidal came into Agnes' life, Agnes had one dying plant on a table. Now? Vidal has plants and flowers in almost every corner of their home. She'll start seedlings inside, take cutting and line them up on the kitchen windowsill to root

She loves watching nature docs and make Agnes watch them along with her (which usually ends up either Agnes being SUPER into the documentary or, distracting Vidal in the best way she knows how 👀)

Vidal can always remember her dreams and tells Agnes them every morning

If she starts a new TV show that's been out (all the episodes are available), she loves to space them out and watch them (Agnes loves to binge on the other hand)

Vidal loves watching movies at home but Agnes loves going to the movies so, she'll usually buy tickets for the two of them and drag Vidal out (Agnes will ALWAYS have to get snacks; even if they are overpriced 😂😭)

She frequents the library; going to get books on gardening. Dottie is always cautious whenever she sees Vidal; knowing that if Agnes is with her the library will NOT be quiet 😂

Vidal checking out books for Agnes under her account; mostly how-tos (fixing shit out in the shed/home repairs) and fishing guides/tips and tricks. Agnes does like a good murder mystery every once in a while but she's picky with them

[cloveroctobers]

BURN — DANTE TORRES: [Summer Writings]

A/N: Don’t fall over, yes this is a part two to one of my previous works which can be found here + we only saw a sprinkle of Mr. Bambi eyes since the last time I wrote the first piece because we clearly know who the show is catered to but we won’t go too deep on that lol.

🏷️: @darqchilddaydreamz

WARNINGS: Dante taking his job seriously, slight crossover with other shows such as: Chicago fire (character mentioned at best) + Abbott Elementary, language, she/reader now has a name for story purposes, mentions of addiction, mental health and drugs, slight plot with references to the final episodes of this last season, and me bringing you nothing but angst!

ོ༘₊⁺☀︎₊⁺⋆.˚ ོ༘₊⁺☀︎₊⁺⋆.˚ ོ༘₊⁺☀︎₊⁺⋆.˚ ོ༘₊⁺☀︎₊⁺⋆.˚ ོ༘₊⁺☀︎₊⁺⋆.˚ ོ༘₊⁺☀︎₊⁺⋆.˚ ོ༘

June’s air is a great contrast to what March once was. She can smell the grilling of food in the warm breeze as her face is turned towards the open passenger window and…shes hesitant. Which is a foreign feeling but it demanded to be felt. She can hear the squeal of laughter from children as they patter down the sidewalks, simply being children and that makes her heart swell to see they that still had their innocence.

There’s a mixture of Reggaeton and 2000’s r&b playing on different sides of the block and she’s reminiscent to many summer days on this same street as a teen, no JLO. Her fingertips are resting on the door handle, staring at the brick home and she knows she’s always welcome but things have been different since that night. It’s not like Dante would ever be nonexistent in her life, there was no timeline where she could imagine that happening but life really happened since then.

Dante went off and dug deeper into his case so communication was a bit tougher until it was all over. The only way she knew that was mainly from Momma Catalina who had called to chat with her, wondering when she was going to stop by (since the older woman missed her son’s friend’s pretty face—her words) and have dinner with the both of them soon because she also liked hearing the praises on her go to dish: Jocón from the younger woman. She also knew Dante’s case was over because the texts weren’t just a simple sentence and he would incorporate voice notes like he used to do. Yet the friends made no plans to come around despite being on each other’s minds. However she kept busy, like she always did when Dante got caught up in a case and she was a working woman herself, so she also knew how to keep her head on what she strived to do in life.

They were still parallel even if they weren’t face to face.

Now she has a case of her own, being brought in and working with forensics to figure out this new fatal strand that’s been killing kids as young as being in their preteens and may or may not have a connection to a serial killer as well. She already guessed that it did before a certain someone got in contact with her. It was heavy work and not typically the field she worked close with in years—since triggers were a thing—yet it was also the reason why she wanted to be a chemist. To make a loooong story short, she was to “blame” for her severely depressed mother’s addiction (granted her mother was now thirteen years sober) bringing opioids, unknowingly laced at the time, into the house with the intent to sell and also to try at just fourteen was the start of a lengthy journey. The reason she felt like she was to blame was her father not letting her forget it even now in her thirties. Which brings us to life in the now, being a “know-it-all,” chemist who always felt like she had a lot to prove.

Normally she did the basic boring tasks working with businesses and ensuring that their products were deemed safe for consumers rather than another serious level of crimes like murder, however she initially started out as a forensics chemist until she switched paths after it became too much on her mental. Her father felt that was a terrible decision, only thinking of the income rather than how that screwed with his daughter’s brain but she always learned how to take his words with a shard of glass. That’s right, glass. In spite of that anyone would be lying if they said she wasn’t one of the most well known in the city, going above and beyond—just behind the scenes now—to solve many cases. She preferred it that way, to herself, some may even say safe, being out of the way and she still got her thrill from figuring out what most couldn’t. And here she was over the last two weeks working this slowly building case, finding a balance of catering to her own self care by leaving the work solely behind at the lab and even engaging in a few more dates—just not with the salt and pepper haired SWAT member anymore.

Which didn’t turn sour, there was no need for that and she respected that Deacon also wanted to keep his mind on his work and his kids. He was still a good man in her eyes. Ultimately she knew that she didn’t see it working in the long run and that she didn’t have to take dating so seriously…at least that’s what she tried to tell herself.

“You seem stressed,” a voice says to her left, reminding her that she was in fact sitting beside another male that wasn’t her best friend, “you gotta roll that tension away, smell the lilacs, and then realize that there shouldn’t be any nerves right? You talk so highly about the guy…unless you want me come with?”

Immediately her eyes widen and she’s shaking her head, although the brunette means well she tells him, “no…I appreciate it though, Manny. it’s just the caffeine wearing off I guess. I’ll only be five to ten minutes tops, I need to get back home anyway and into a eucalyptus bath.”

Manny raises his brows, “a bath you say? You do know that it’s eighty degrees out here right?”

It was the woman’s turn to raise her own brows, silently challenging the man who breathes out a laugh with his signature wicked grin.

“Alright, alright.” Manny’s hands are raised in surrender, “I’m sensing hot showers are a thing too all year around? Which I don’t get if summer is here but if that’s your thing then I’ll accept it.”

“As you should.”

“I do.” He places a large hand against his chest still grinning, “there’s no static on my end.”

“Oh you’re such an east coaster,” she playfully rolls her eyes, “but you’re kinda great.”

“That’s what they tell me.” He winks as he reaches over to give her shoulder a light squeeze, “you’ll be fine out there I don’t doubt it. Now go and celebrate your best friend’s birthday and don’t forget the two slices of cake.”

She leans against the outside of the door, frowning at the man who shakes his head, “yeah that would be too much, considering we haven’t even met, right?”

She gives him a small smile in response and a point before she spins on her heels, taking the short walk towards the Torres’ household. Dante didn’t have much family here in Chicago, most being spread all over the globe, leaving it to always be just Catalina and Dante. From as long as she’s known the mother and son, Momma Catalina was always on the phone having long distance calls with family members but they seemed to be missing in action when she was being beat on nearly every day.

Moving along the side of the house towards the music and charcoal, her hands are behind her back as she nervously makes her way to the backyard. She likes to say it’s the social anxiety rather than seeing Dante but perhaps it was a mixture of both. Most of the faces are probably neighbors but it’s a nice crowd as she instantly spots the buzzed man up ahead, dressed in a short sleeve white loose fitting button up v-neck, tattoos on his arms are on full display, along with the chain that sways from his neck as he dumps chunks of ice into a cooler that Upton is holding open for him.

“Whaaat? Who let you out the cage? I thought they kept experiments locked down, Coty.” The voice of Atwater pulls her gaze to the man who’s smirking down at her with a beer in one hand.

Coty scoffed although there’s a smile on her lips, “You always know how to give the most warmest welcomes, Kev.”

He laughs as he swoops in with a side hug, “Well I had to say something with you sneaking in here like you about to steal something and roll out.”

“Not my style.”

“Yeah, just like you not interacting with nobody.”

“I just got here!”

Kevin nods his head letting the woman have that one before adding, “and how long do you plan on staying?”

“I haven’t decided yet.”

His round eyes give her a look of disbelief while she shields her eyes from his stare. Laughing to himself he taps her arm, “well in that case, I won’t hold you any longer to go talk to your boy. Just as a fair warning to you, don’t touch that potato salad. Somebody made it and it got peas, carrots, and I think I even saw some apples all up in it.”

Tilting your head to the side you say, “…sounds like a Russian salad.”

“A what?” Kevin cups a hand over his ear although he’s sure he’s heard Coty correctly.

She just smiles at him, giving his arm a squeeze before she turns to make her way to Dante, who is not where she’s last seen him. Coty pauses, scanning the backyard again and sends a wave to Burgess and Ruzek who are sitting thigh to thigh on the picnic bench with a face full of smiles. They echo a wave back in Coty’s direction before some hands plop down on her forearms.

“Seraphina, mija! You made it.” Momma Catalina greets before sinking into Coty’s frame.

She was a tiny woman who still managed to have the kindest of hearts given what she’s been through. Coty grips the woman back in a sweet embrace before they’re eye to eye again.

“Of course! Had to see the best lady in town,” Coty tells the cedar brown haired woman with a blunt bob full of ringlets.

Her grin reaches her summer green eyes which mirrors her son’s as she almost bounced on her toes, “that’s right! Didn’t know it had to take you forever and a day to come see about me.”

“I’m sorry about that…”

She blows a raspberry, “no need to dwell on that because I already know and all is forgiven now that you’re here! Let’s get you something to eat so you can enjoy the party.”

“Oh no, Momma Cat. I can’t stay.”

Her usual soft stare darkens for a moment and it’s actually scary to witness when you irk this pocket full of sunshine’s nerves, “you will stay, eat, and dance. You are family. Then you and my son will fix whatever this bullshit is.”

“Dante and I are fine.” It sounded weak coming from Coty’s lips but she knew she couldn’t fool Catalina. Momma Cat was the first to see something special between her son and Seraphina (even before Séan) before they ever did so hearing this felt like a big insult.

That’s when the woman shifts in her slippers, fists digging into her hips as she peers up at the woman in front of her, “Seraphina! do not lie to me in my own home, mija. I will not have it and you will do as I say.” Catalina clapped her hands as if she was dusting off Coty’s worries, although this was only adding to it.

Coty felt like she was being scolded and her own mother wasn’t even here! Sure she was grown and didn’t have to take being yelled at but she would never disrespect Catalina, especially when she’s done so much for her growing up and when her own parents didn’t want to be bothered with her when she was up to no good.

“Ma…is everything okay?” Dante’s quiet tone could be heard over the music, along with his body heat from behind the pair.

Coty can feel the hairs on the back of her neck stand up just from Dante speaking and she’s been sweating since she got out of Manny’s car.

Catalina flashes a smile at her son, reaching to cup his face as Coty steps to the side for the two to have their moment, “Everything’s perfect! Your best gift is here so enjoy it.”

She whispers the last part to him with a wink while Dante just scoffs with a shake of his head as he watches his mother start to dance with a neighbor on her way by. He turns to face his old friend and let’s out a sigh, “see what you started? I was expecting the dancing to start the moment I woke up but you seem to always bring it out of her.”

Momma Catalina came from a background of dancers and it was a dream that became distant once she gave birth to Dante and knew that passion wouldn’t pay the bills. Dante’s birth father passed when he was around six so everything really fell onto Catalina’s shoulders and seemed to keep piling up.

She was never regretful over how her life played out but rather thankful that Dante chose her to show her how to truly love. There was never sadness in her words when she showed the stack of photos of herself in her younger years and her joy shined whenever she still broke out into a move. In the end, you do what you have to do for family.

“Me?” Coty points to herself innocently although she’s not really at fault this time, “Maybe you should check if the Aguardiente is still available.”

Dante nods in realization, “you’re right…that could be it. I’ve been running around since this thing started so who knows how much is left and it’s supposed to be my day.”

“I thought you loved birthday’s?” Coty’s response is sarcastic, knowing just how much Dante dreaded his birthday but was right with Catalina in honoring your special day around the sun.

The look Dante sends his friend makes her snort out some laughter, “We still have six more hours at least.”

Letting out a low whistle, she lightly grips his shoulder, “you still have six hours. I can disappear with ease.”

Dante groans, “you’ll take me with you, won’t you?”

His light green’s were pleading as Coty slipped an arm across his waist, leaning into his shoulder, “stop being a little turd, have some more drinks and you’ll get through it.”

Dante grumbles, “I’ll remember that when it’s your birthday.”

“Uh…i’m going to Vegas.”

“When did we decide that?”

Coty lifts her head from his shoulder, “You should have gone to France with all this we talk.”

“Nah, not my vibe.” He says before peering down at her, “…thanks for coming. I was beginning to lose my mind.”

“Why?” Coty questions as she looks around at all the faces in the backyard, “You had the team here with you at least.”

“Yeah…but that’s not the same and you know it.” He honestly says as his eyes begins to trace over Coty’s features.

She couldn’t stomach the way he was looking at her and it made her guess how many drinks he’s had himself this evening. The amount of tenderness and care in his green hues was the same reason why they were in a constant battle in the first place.

“How’s Gloria?” Flies out of her mouth before she can even comprehend it.

Dante sharply inhales at this, looking elsewhere in slight annoyance before shrugging, “gone.”

“Gone where?”

“Can’t discuss that with you, Nina.” The way he’s the only one that uses her name this way, is enough to let her know that he means business.

Mostly everyone calls her by her last name: Coty, which she preferred (he’s not everyone) but he’s firm in his stance—closing himself off to that part of him and that’s not like Dante. Sure he’s not this open book by any means but it’s not like he has a piece of him that she hasn’t seen. That particular piece was still there but reopened by someone like Gloria. Someone that could bring out his skeletons and glamorize it to match her own pain. Coty knew Gloria was not the answer to whatever it is Dante was looking for and now that Gloria was suddenly gone, it will hold a weight he was willing to carry on his back—that he shouldn’t have to—but Coty was not willing to help him with that.

She said that months ago and she still meant that shit. She never wanted to pay for someone else’s mistakes. Coty knew how to love Dante but he wouldn’t let her, not in that way.

Only Dante and Gloria know what they’ve been up to since they decided to fuck around.

And perhaps they found out.

“…who’s this?” Dante suddenly lifted his chin, stepping forward a bit as Coty stood to the side of him.

Her eyes follow his line of sight to see Manny, searching around the backyard for her. Once he found her, he smiles, waving a bit before he starts making his way over. She deeply sighs as Dante sends a look her way, silently questioning her before the brunette gets closer.

“Hey, Having fun?”

Coty molds her lips together while Manny looks back and forth between the two, either oblivious to the tension or trying this best to ignore it.

“Phina-Mena, you left something—

Manny starts but Dante cuts him off, “sorry man, who are you?”

“Oh! How rude of me.” He frees one of his hands, “I’m Manny, friend of Seraphina’s. And you must be Dante! I’ve heard good things about you so it’s nice to finally meet you, bro.”

‘Finally?’ He cautiously puts his hand out to shake Manny’s but his eyes are hot on Seraphina’s who shifts on her feet, lightly swaying from one foot to the other.

“Can’t say the same…Nina hasn’t mentioned you at all.”

“Oh well…don’t worry about it, y’all been busy.” Manny shrugs it off, not the least bit phased.

Dante nods his head and folds his arms, “right but…I’ve got time now. So you said you’re Manny. What do you do Manny?”

“I proudly work for the Philadelphia school district and I’m just here for a conference but it also doesn’t hurt that I get to hang out with Phina-Mena!” He boasts as he sends finger-guns at Seraphina while Dante finds his personality to be a lot.

And that was saying enough since Seraphina was mostly introverted and easily got exhausted around people…except for him.

Dante rounds off another inquiry, “where did you two meet?”

She huffs but Dante ignores her, awaiting all the information he can get.

Manny talks with his hands, “Down at that bar with the sticky floors along with one of the floorboards being this naturally strange color of purple that takes up a good portion of the place? My apologies, I forgot the name.”

That gets Dante frowning as he casts a glance over at Seraphina who’s chewing on her bottom lip now, “A bar? You’re not really a bar kinda woman.”

Manny shrugs his shoulders, “eh…people can surprise you.”

“Did you go alone…were you alone?” The second half of that question is directed at Seraphina and now she was getting agitated, this Dante could tell as she side eyed him.

Manny also gazed at the woman, picking up on the tension now. “You know my dad was an officer too so this is feelin’ a little too familiar for me.”

“Really, what precinct?”

“Dante, cut the shit.” Coty bites but the buzzed haired man just blinks not missing a beat.

“It’s only right I get to know your new friend since he already seems to know so much about me.”

“Well not everything…” Manny laughs, trying to ease the heaviness in the air but Dante’s not backing off.

Dante was suspicious and his guard had to be up so he redirects the conversation back, “so you said you two met at the bar…I’m assuming the Violet Branch?”

“Yeah,” Manny snaps with amazement crossing his bearded face, “that’s right! You know the place?”

Dante hardened his stare as he turns his head to Seraphina, “uh huh. That’s Sarge’s spot.”

Manny turns his eyes into slits, “sarge? As in sergeant. Oh was that the guy you were—

“Manny!” Coty interjects, “I think this interrogation is over. Why don’t you go mingle with the rest for a little, while I finish talking to the birthday boy.”

“No, No.” Dante shakes his head, “Let him finish, Nina.”

Manny’s eyes are moving back and forth between the two who are holding each other’s stare, “oh…I see what’s happening here. I’m doing that thing where I’m talking too much. I’m just gonna leave this…on that lovely gift table over there.”

And with that Manny swiftly points and drags himself to the left where most of the party goers are eating or dancing.

“He’s…interesting.” Dante’s stare lingers on the man who quickly strikes up a conversation with one of his nosy neighbors.

Coty scoffs, “the hell is your problem?”

“I don’t have one.”

“So you think it’s cool that you just grilled into my friend like that?”

“Is that really all he is? Because you didn’t tell me about him at all.” Dante’s jaw is tight, almost like he’s irritated with the woman for leaving this out over a few phone calls and then also bringing him here to his house with no type of heads up.

She attempts to reason with him, “We just started being somewhat normal again, Tay.”

“That didn’t stop you from telling me about things ending with Deacon.”

“You asked. I didn’t just bring him up.”

“I see so that was your way of what? Being fair by bringing up Gloria? Why bring her up if you know that topic bothers you so much?” Dante searched Coty’s eyes, trying to understand what she was doing and up to although his gut was telling him everything he needed to know.

Coty furrows her brows, “Because I’m being a good friend and checking in on you since you know? I can’t exactly do that when you’re undercover.”

Dante rubs at his jaw, “I can’t say I fully believe that. I feel like this was a tactic to get me riled up because I developed a relationship with Gloria—as if I don’t already know who you’ve been around since you’re that important to me. First it was Deacon, then it was that firefighter Derek Gibson, and now this Manny guy? It’s a game for you and I don’t want to play.”

Coty laughs in shock as Dante walks away from her, “are you fucking serious? And then you’re gonna walk away from me after that?”

“Yup.” Dante says over his shoulder as he makes his way back to the cooler.

Coty isn’t having that as she charges after him, watching as he squats and begins searching through the ice. She desperately tries to keep her voice leveled but she can feel her skin getting hot and her eyes beginning to burn out of frustration.

“I don’t even want to know how you know about Derek ghosting me—

Dante looks up at her, “he didn’t ghost you, he checked himself into rehab. Stop selling yourself short.”

Her mouth can’t help but to drop open at that.

“Dante.”

“Yes?”

“You can’t go searching up every guy that I might want to give a chance…I shouldn’t even have to tell you that,” her frown is so deep that it should be permanent for the rest of this conversation, “and I wouldn’t just bring a random stranger to your house. I told him to wait in the car but I left your gift.”

Dante snickers and drops his head with a shake of his head, “that’s no better, Nina! You don’t know him and I don’t know him.”

“Well I’m getting to because that’s my choice! He doesn’t even live here and you’re acting like this. And you don’t have the right to get upset with who I spend time with while you do whatever the hell you want anyway, clearly.” Coty crosses her arms while Dante is upright now.

His heat is radiating again as he stands in front of Coty, “I know.”

“You know?”

“Yes and I wish I could say I’m sorry, as if that’ll ever be enough when I know it’ll never be especially when you’re the one who said you’re not over me.”

“That was how many weeks ago? I didn’t think you’d still be worrying about what was said when who knows what you’ve been up to with Gloria. You say a relationship but judging by the fresh burn mark on your neck, tells me it’s been anything but loving.”

Dante exhales, “stop.”

“Stop what? Caring?”

“No, stop trying to tell me you told me so.”

“I wouldn’t gloat yet I’m not sure what it is exactly you want from me, as your friend?” Coty quizzed him, “To stay by your side and just continue accepting everything for what it is? I did that before and now look where we are.”

Dante blinks, trying to get his thoughts together.

“She was wrong from the start and you knew that. And that burn is enough to remind you of that forever.”

“And what about me huh? What about what I’ve done to you all these years, those scars I gave to you and you still stayed while she had to leave. You don’t think I’m not dealing with all that?”

That alone leaves Coty stunned.

To know Dante from his late preteen years all throughout many phases of their lives to this point now, was so much at times that Dante knew just how much it stung. He couldn’t give Coty what she wanted and not in the way she wanted because of his own issues. If it stung for him, he had to know that it burned for his dear friend Seraphina Coty. He tried to be alone, almost begged Coty to get out of his life by the time they were eighteen but there was a constant need for their souls to be intertwined.

It felt like bleeding internally when they were apart but somehow they were still functioning. It’s been a minute since that damp spring day but the earth never stopped spinning. When the good was present, it felt like a summer sunrise compared to a fire tornado the two of them could unleash.

“I—

Coty starts but stomps against the grass, catches both of the two’s attention, revealing Kevin who’s appears to be getting off his phone, “My fault for breaking this up but Voight needs us.”

“Now?” Dante asks, practically forcing his eye contact to his team member.

“Pronto.”

Dante dips his head, his hand going out to gently touch Coty’s elbow, “Looks like I have to go.”

Kevin glances between the two before adding, “Uh, he needs all of us. Including Coty.”

Dante’s widens his eyes at this news and this confirms what his gut was saying all along when Manny dropped the crumbs. Coty was about to get wrapped up in the same danger she warned him about. He couldn’t say what he felt in that moment since time was always of the essence but he’s aware that Coty saw the eruption in his eyes just then.

She sparked the flame that Dante didn’t want to spread.

He wasn’t sure how he could protect her after this. His blood was boiling in the passenger side of Kevin’s car and he wanted nothing more than to tell Kevin to pull the car over and to leave Coty on the side of the road, sending a ride to bring her back home and away from it all like she conditioned herself to be.

Dante knew Seraphina like the ink on his back and with her stare burning into the back of his neck, eyes probably focused on his new mark, he peered over his shoulder at her, meeting her view and was aware that she always finished what she started, whether he liked it or not.

“Happy birthday,” she mouths to him with a small smile but it’s anything but comforting.

The glare on Dante’s face is evident as he turns back to face the front with a roll of his eyes, rubbing at the tightness in his jaw once more while slouching down in the passenger seat.

June’s air is a great contrast to what March once was.

ོ༘₊⁺☀︎₊⁺⋆.˚ ོ༘₊⁺☀︎₊⁺⋆.˚ ོ༘₊⁺☀︎₊⁺⋆.˚ ོ༘₊⁺☀︎₊⁺⋆.˚ ོ༘₊⁺☀︎₊⁺⋆.˚ ོ༘₊⁺☀︎₊⁺⋆.˚ ོ༘

-> Part Three!

[luv4estiebestie]

Is the grid a friend group?

Short answer; no. But we are here to analyze and discuss, so let's figure out why not and what else the grid can be described as.

In a friend group, you pretty much choose who's a part and who isn't, something that's not possible in F1 where team principals and other higher ups decide who is in the group and who is not. It's also too big to be a proper friend group and too forced.

If you want to describe the F1 grid, I would compare it to a class. It fits not only from the size, but also the set up; the people in a class cannot decide either who is in said group, instead they are forced to spend time with these people and there's smaller groups within. To strengthen the comparison, i'd argue the teammate lineups are similar to seating neighbors; a small bit of mutual liking is needed for things to work out but generally you can't really choose, at least I don't let my students choose.

This can also be used to talk about dynamics on the grid and I would assume makes it easier for some of you to understand that while they aren't necessarily close friends, they all know each other in some way because they are forced to.

I would like to make three examples though;

Oliver Bearman joining the grid and being supported by multiple experienced drivers makes sense, they’ve all been there and even if they aren’t in the same team or even close, they all made sure he felt welcomed and as a part of the group.

Lando Norris and Carlos Sainz becoming friends. Usually I am not a big fan of the assumption that everyone who are teammates are friends, just like how you aren't friends with everyone you ever sat next to but were just forced to talk because there was no one else. These two met each other like that though and became real friends like it sometimes is.

Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz, arguably the relationship why I've spent some time to even think about this. A lot of people claim their friendship is only PR, they are not friends and only talk for cameras, but i think it's more difficult than that. Unlike Sainz and Norris, they didn't hit it off instantly and became great friends, but I do still think that they talk, even if only because they are forced to spend time together in the garage. With Sainz leaving, it's interesting. Even if they weren't proper best friends the way Sainz and Norris were, it's still sad and weird to not be close to someone anymore.

Another thing that made this come up again was the recent grill the grid episode, where Norris didn't remember Ocon which proves my point that they aren't a friend group. There's videos of them talking, they know each other, but they are in completely different smaller friend groups on the grid. In the end it's not that deep, Norris forgetting Ocon isn't him bullying Ocon out but simply proves that they aren’t best friends.

It is important to mention though that I do not know these people and it's only observations and interpretations based on my own experiences with class and friendship dynamics. Like always, if someone disagrees or feels the need to share their opinion, I'm free to hear anyone out.

Also; drivers forgetting the names of other drivers they are supposed to be friends with isn’t that deep either. Today i accidentally called my best friend of seven years the name of my cat, it's really not that deep.

[oriley42]

long time reader, first time caller! i just read all of “adventures in polyamory” after watching approximately 3 episodes with amber in them, and it breaks my heart that you made me fall in love with her wilson-style (with reckless immediacy) while the way she’s depicted in the show is so…woman written in the 2000’s…so i’m here to shake a tin cup and ask for any amber headcanons you’d be willing to share

hello and welcome from KZ-HouseMD, the radio station for all your hatecrime-hits! ;) <3

loving Amber is so painful and so worth it; we will punch through the Noughties' misogyny together babes 🌈

headcanons and over-explanations ahoy!!

Amber's got a WASP-y background, and has spent her life both living up to and rejecting these standards. Unlike Wilson, who is delusionally attached to the idea of being Good and Normal but is unhappy living the reality, Amber recognizes that these concepts are absurd performances HOWEVER she logically recognizes that they come with benefits--and she wants those. "Love and respect" seemed impossible, because respect comes with being the best according to society's rules, and love couldn't survive that stifling environment. Now, she can hold on to the respect she craves: money enough to feel safe, wearing pearls and skirts to look proper and upper-middle-class femme, having a handsome-doctor-man-partner, an MD of her own + also still be herself, including un-ladylike cruelty, dishonesty, being part of House's chaotic evil orbit, sexual freedom, atheism, etc.

Amber has spent 110% of her life trying to get enough success to feel safe and stable and happy, so she hasn't developed interests and hobbies because who has time for that give me another coffee and another go at that medical text

Related: Amber hates everything about organized sports, but if she had the time and a friend (*cough* Thirteen) she could be one of those sapphics who gets incredibly obsessed with a women's soccer team or the WNBA

Also related: a sufficiently "productive" hobby I think she'd love is antiquing. Waking up at six AM to drive three hours and wait outside an estate sale and then barge in and make a grab for that antique bureau, fighting off old ladies and viciously snarling down the price--bloodsport for classy femmes!

Amber is a basic chocolate girlie. Caramel is a close follow-up. Vanilla is fine, and she'll pretend to like fancy amaretto or pistachio flavors etc but really she would prefer an Oreo. (Or two...) She will eat max veggies for Health tm and the spiciest food to prove she is Tough tm but really just wants a grilled cheese. A chicken nugget. A spaghetti. Food sensitivities + eating disorder, though she'll only barely cop to the latter, and will not be exploring the former thank you very much she's fine

Amber gets along well with older kids, where she can take on the role of Cool Babysitter, but I think she's secretly a little terrified of being left alone with the tiny incomprehensible, breakable ones, who don't follow the social contract yet and rely on her (!) for self preservation

Amber is naturally a night owl, but medical-land is all early bird, so she's mainly been sleep deprived for the last decade, since she refuses to have a 10 PM bedtime just because she has to get up at 5 AM to make her shift.

Amber's not that interested in fiction ("who has time for that in this reality?") but she ironically enjoys rom-coms for the absurdity, the laugh factor, and the easy comfort of a formula + unironically enjoys action movies because she likes seeing people get punched in the face repeatedly

Amber should take Taekwondo lessons so she can beat the ever-loving shit out of people for fun, and maybe she will after she realizes that the Lulu Lemons in her yoga classes are unbearable, and instead befriend some weirdos gathering at the local gym to spar (Wilson would think this is a great and very attractive idea, House would be annoyed+scared+horny because jesus now he has to wear an athletic cup full-time or she'll crush his nuts for target practice, won't she, c'mon Wilson it's not funny)

okay hitting the brakes here before this gets so long it demands a read-more! 😜 thanks for the ask <333

[zalrb]

PLL 3x24 Review - As Per Anon Request Maybe?

You know, it's almost comforting to see that after two weeks of not watching this show, when I come back for the finale, the first thing I see after the recap is Emily's face doing the thing.

she is consistently herself.

I was like, what does this shot remind me of? It's almost like a different show.

It reminds me of TSITP. That show must release me.

"You know how I feel about hope. It breeds eternal misery." Oh my GOD, Spencer is SO hilariously angsty. Peyton could almost take a few pointers, jesus christ.

Lucy has a specific way of speaking that I'm trying to describe.

Hey, Emily, remember when you killed someone in self-defence? I'm not strong like that. Lol OK Spencer.

Why is Hanna's hair the way that it is.

Mona is not in a hoodie but she is all in black. Does this count as part of the A uniform?

"I hate her." "Why?" "Because! She flirts with everyone but me." And they didn't make her bi? Did any of you see that "kiss your best friend" challenge and that girl kisses her best friend then continues dancing but her best friend just LOOKS at her, like the way that Nina looked at Paul that time,

for the rest of the video and the comments were all like oh I know that look, welcome! I swear to god if Mona kissed Hannah that would happen.

I hate everything about this man and this outfit is ridiculous. WHY.

He looks more smarmy than Chuck and that's difficult

JENNA. There has to be a blind joke this episode. There HAS to be.

Is this the episode they're trying to make us think he's A because his face is doing a lot

Gotta love the commitment this show has to impractical shoes

"We've been chasing after what we used to have" which is WHAT?

"If you're not happy anymore ... you know that's what matters most to me" Well, we sure as hell know it's not obeying the law. Or morality.

You can come back and work at a school with minors, where I, a minor, will also be, but it'll be fine because we're not currently in a "relationship" which then erases that you were ever involved with a minor!

Only very specific people can pull off an outfit like this and Aria is not one of them.

Oh, the way I'm laughing, this show is ridiculous

So, I totally forgot that Toby was supposed to be "dead" so when they reveal him I didn't even think of it as a reveal, I was just like oh yeah, Toby.

They're both being so monotone and it's like, how am I supposed to be invested in any of this?

Spencer kidnapping whatshisface is so batshit, I love it, because this is how unhinged DE should've been and PLL is doing it SO passively and doing it BETTER. And it's all for ... TOBY? IT'S JUST TOBY.

"But just so you know, TV rots your brain. It's your choice if you want to grow up to be stupid." Hanna would be me as a babysitter, I fear. And is there a reason why she can't just show him a picture of Mona on her phone and be like, "Did she kidnap you? No? Cool." And let that boy watch his cartoons.

Like you've traumatized this child for no reason, Hanna.

Remember that time there was a clairvoyant child?

Omggggggggggg GUYYYYYYYYYYYYYYS, TOBY AND SPENCER'S FINGERS TOUCHED WHEN HE GAVE HER A CUP OF TEA. omggggggggggggggggg the chemistryyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy. Not.

"You still don't trust me." WHY SHOULD SHE. You haven't explained anything and there is literally no reason why you couldn't have explained anything to her when she caught you. Instead you just ran away and let her cry at your apartment and then let you think you were dead. And I know it didn't have to be all that.

I can't take this seriously

Yes, yes, angsty sex and all he did was not have emotion in a room.

Hanna, stop trauma dumping on a seven-year-old.

Can I say how funny it is that they were quicker to believe that Spencer is a part of the A team than Toby being a part of the A team?

Can I also just say Hanna's indignation that Spencer kidnapped whatshisface is hilarious considering that she went behind Aria's back to grill him about A? All of you are using that kid.

Of COURSE it's Lana Del Rey. I am laughing SO hard. And it's Ride??? Ride for a sex scene. L O L. "You can be my full time daddy, white and gold" SERIOUSLY.

This is a really awkward way to kiss

like bring her TO you.

Every time they do the grab and kiss a part of me dies. And you're IN. SCHOOL. You're doing this AGAIN?

"And you've seen him?" Seen him? I've slept with him!

All of you looking from him to her and her to him as he teaches your class, HOW IS HE NOT IN PRISON.

"WE'RE ALL GOING TO DIIIIEEEEE." "MONA. SHUT UP."

So smoke inhalation isn't a thing.

This is actually weak finale. There wasn't a single blind joke.

[simmerdowndee]

THE GROVES “TEENAGE YEARS” EPISODE NINE [CAI] PART THREE

Once we left the park, Jordan took us to get some actual food at one of my favorite grills. While we ate, we talked about his schooling and my senior year.. It was like old times, and it made me really miss him. I don’t know why I broke up with him…. I should’ve been more patient. He clearly would’ve made time for me…. 

Once we left the grill, he wanted to do one more thing. We ended up at the carnival, where we had our first date… 

Jordan: I’m gonna go wash my hands, I’ll be right back.  Cai: I’ll be here…. 

As i’m sitting waiting for him, I became really sad. Why? Because he’s doing all this just because he wants to spend time with me and I broke up with him. I broke his heart and he still wants to spend time with me….. 

*Jordan comes back*

Jordan: Alright so you ready to - 

Jordan: Cai, baby what’s wrong?  Cai: Why don’t you hate me?  Jordan: What? 

Jordan: Hate you? I could never hate you. I love you.  Cai: What Jordan: I said I love you.  Cai: How can you still love me after I broke your heart?

Jordan: You’re my best friend, I’ll always love you. 

Cai: Why did you tell Ryan we were just close friends if you love me? Why didn’t you just tell him we dated? 

Jordan: Because I could see you liked him, and didn’t want to cause drama for you. Even if I didn’t get to be with you, I still wanted you to be happy. 

Jordan: And I wanted us to spend the weekend together to show you I love you and that I miss you, whether you’re my girlfriend or just my best friend.

I’m so selfish, oh my god. 

Cai *whining*: What if I want to be your girlfriend again? Can I be your girlfriend again??  Jordan: Well… see I dunno. I mean…. Cai: Oh…I shouldn’t have -  Jordan: I’m just kidding *Laughs* 

Oh my god he’s such a jerk. 

Jordan: There’s nothing more I want than for you to be my girlfriend again.

Cai: I love you Jordan. I love you so much. I’m sorry I broke up with you.  Jordan: It’s okay. I can understand why you chose to.  Cai: We’re never breaking up again. EVER. Jordan: *Laughs* 

Jordan: Good. How am I supposed to marry you one day if we break up? Cai: *Giggles* 

Jordan: Alright, you ready to have some fun?  Cai: Yes, boyfriend.  Jordan: You’re so cute. Let’s go. 

We spend the rest of the night at the carnival and then we head back home. I’m so happy I get to spend the rest of the weekend with him. I’m so happy we’re back together. I’m so happy!!

Oh shit, I just realized… Ryan…. 

[nancypullen]

Hump Day

We're just 71 days into 2025, and so far I'm not a fan. The world is a dumpster fire and our "leaders" are tossing gasoline on it. Staying uninformed is not an option, but a steady diet of doom and gloom is not healthy. I'm forever trying to strike a balance. Finding ways to distract myself usually involves making something, growing something, eating something, or my favorite - buying something. Unfortunately I'm boycotting both Target and Amazon, which is about as much fun as a bad rash. I get so many of my craft supplies through Amazon (less expensive and free shipping) and because of our location, loads of other things. I'd rather click "add to cart" on Amazon than drive the 30 minutes to a store in Easton. I also use Amazon to avoid extra purchases. For example, I love Mrs. Meyers Multi-Surface Cleaner (peony is my favorite).

I can order a couple bottles from Amazon and save about a buck. If I go into a store to buy it, I'll roam around and toss a few other things into my basket, maybe wander over to the toy section to see what's new for the grandgirl. So instead of spending $8 for two bottles I'd spend $58 on miscellaneous goods - some we need and some we don't. Right now I'm down to my last few squirts of my cleanser and my options are slim. Go to Target (won't), order from Amazon (won't), order from Walmart online (yuck), or subscribe to Grove and have to order stuff every month (won't). *sigh* I may have to give up my favorite, fragrant cleanser. Rats. I know, I know, first world problem. Not even worth writing about. Since I'm not buying anything, I'm focusing on the other three pillars of staying sane. Making stuff - Still cranking out everything from cards to birdhouses. Might be time to learn how to whittle or make soap. Growing stuff - I'm trying, good grief, am I trying. I have such plans for this spring and summer. I've got seed trays planted, a little greenhouse full of hopefuls, and the mister is putting together a raised bed for me. We have a dirt delivery tomorrow and I couldn't be more excited.

I've always loved gardening. I love watching the first green shoots pop up, I even love the weeding. I've done some of my best thinking on my knees in the dirt. The rewards are splendid, from picking sun-ripened tomatoes to filling the house with bouquets. I don't even mind sharing the bounty with local wildlife as long as they're not greedy. Am I jumping the gun? Probably. All I can tell you is that focusing on seeds and plants is keeping me out of handcuffs.

Moving on, last but certainly not least - eating stuff. I tend to fill my plate with high protein, high fiber choices, mostly lean meats, eggs, and veggies. My morning scramble is usually a couple of eggs and a 1/4 cup of cottage cheese whisked together with plenty of pepper. I start red onion and kale in a skillet...

and once the kale wilts and the onion is tender I pour in the egg mixture. YUM. Once it's in my bowl a good sprinkle of nutritional yeast gives it a cheesy flavor and another wallop of protein.

Yes, I do eat from my Halloween bowl every morning. It makes me happy, mind yo' business.

Today I had a taco salad for lunch - just greens, veggies, and avocado with some seasoned ground turkey on top. Tonight we're having salads topped with grilled chicken for dinner. That's why I don't feel one bit guilty for grabbing a mixing bowl and whipping up some lemon poppyseed muffins. Not going to lie, it was only because I've been dying to make something that worthy of a sprinkle of dried flowers. I recently watched every episode of With love, Meghan and her liberal use of dried flowers on everything from salted sea bass to homemade donuts inspired me. While I don't believe a donut has ever passed her lips, I'm a huge fan of making things pretty. Sign me up for the flower brigade! I baked the muffins, made a quick glaze, dunked the muffins in the glaze, and gave them a very light sprinkle of edible flowers.

Not princess-worthy, but it made me happy. That was the goal.

I failed to include what is probably my favorite distraction from the madness. Reading! Books are the most wonderful escape of all, and I've had my nose in books since I first made friends with the alphabet. I read fiction, non-fiction, memoirs, how-to, pretty much anything. Today I picked up a book I'd requested from my library and I'm already finding it fascinating.

Here's the blurb:

Eliot Stein has traveled the globe in search of remarkable people who are preserving some of our most extraordinary cultural rites. In Custodians of Wonder: Ancient Customs, Profound Traditions, and the Last People Keeping Them Alive, Stein introduces readers to a man saving the secret ingredient in Japan's 700-year-old original soy sauce recipe. In Italy, he learns how to make the world's rarest pasta from one of the only women alive who knows how to make it. And in India, he discovers a family rumored to make a mysterious metal mirror believed to reveal your truest self. From shadowing Scandinavia's last night watchman to meeting a 27th-generation West African griot to tracking down Cuba's last official cigar factory “readers” more than a century after they spearheaded the fight for Cuban independence, Stein uncovers an almost lost world. Climbing through Peru’s southern highlands, he encounters the last Inca bridge master who rebuilds a grass-woven bridge every year from the fabled Inca Road System. He befriends a British beekeeper who maintains a touching custom of "telling the bees" important news of the day. And he crunches through a German forest to find the official mailman of the only tree in the world with its own address – to which countless people from across the world have written in hopes of finding love. These are just some of the last custodians preserving age-old rites on the brink of disappearance against all odds. Let Eliot Stein introduce you to all of them. What an interesting read! Three other holds came in and I downloaded those as well, so I'm going to happily plow through them.

That last title could be considered a how-to book, I'll get back to you on that. I'd better read it before it's banned. There you have it, the ways I'm keeping my spirits afloat while the headlines give me every reason to dissolve into despair. I'm well aware that this is boring fodder, no one gives a flip about my scrambled eggs. I made a promise to myself to get back to writing, and this blog is a good place to blow the dust off my brain and practice. It's unfortunate that I have so little to write about, maybe the arrival of spring will provide topics. I'm being 100% honest when I say that tomorrow's dirt delivery is the most exciting thing on the calendar for March. You can expect a full report. Until then, chin up, my darling! Yes, so much is awful right now, but we must be joyful warriors. Feed your souls and make them strong.

Read a good book, eat a muffin, laugh with friends, grow flowers. That happiness is armor. Go out and spread love, they can't stop us. Sending loads of hugs. Stay safe, stay well, be kind to yourself. XOXO, Nancy

[inawickedlittletown]

Don't Make A Shadow Of Yourself (BuckTommy fic) - 8/12)

Summary: "A man who's pure of heart...may still become a wolf when the autumn moon is bright" - Howl (F+TM)

BuckTommy Werewolf AU. Throughout most of his adult life, Tommy had dealt with what he was. The duality of being a man and also an animal…a beast. Werewolves weren’t born, they were made. 

Words: 3,515

Read on Ao3

Chapter One - Chapter Two - Chapter Three

Chapter Four - Chapter Five - Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

-

Chapter Eight

Days later, Tommy was still a little dazed by his date with Evan. After dinner, they went to the movies. They’d wound up at one of those theaters that showed both the new releases and then older stuff. Tommy hadn’t looked up what was playing before the date, figuring that Evan could make the choice. So, when Tommy spotted You’ve Got Mail as an option, he almost let himself be disappointed that they probably wouldn’t be watching that, but then that was what Evan got them tickets for without even saying anything to him. 

“What?” Evan asked while they stood in line for popcorn. 

“I just — why did you pick that movie?” 

“Tom Hanks,” Evan said. “Well, and you told me you like romcoms. Not to mention it starts in fifteen minutes.” 

Tommy could have kissed him, especially because he’d noticed that three other movies were also starting around the same time. One of the Lord of the Rings movies, Inception, and a Marvel movie. Any of those would have been easy picks for Evan, but he’d gone with the romantic comedy all because of Tommy. 

Evan was just amazing and Tommy was replaying the way the date ended pretty much all the time in his head because it had ended with one of the best kisses that Tommy had ever had. Evan had just gone for it, his enthusiasm taking over and making the kiss just on the side of rough and deep and like Evan was making his best effort to devour Tommy entirely. To leave his mark behind. Tommy couldn’t wait to kiss him again. To see him again. 

If he’d thought that they texted constantly before, it increased after their date. 

Evan texted him all throughout his day out with his sister at the florist complete with pictures of the flowers they were considering. Evan texted him on his downtime on shift. Thoughts about a podcast episode that Tommy had told him to listen to, random facts that almost came out of nowhere. They didn’t talk about their date or the kisses they had shared so far, but Evan was flirty even over text and Tommy couldn’t help but flirt back. 

It was almost a whole week before Tommy got to see him again, but it was because the 118 was getting together at Hen and Karen’s house and somehow they decided to include Tommy. 

He arrived with a berry topped cheesecake in hand even though Hen had told him he didn’t need to bring anything. Karen opened the door. 

“Hey, come on in,” she said warmly. “Everyone’s outside. Buck hasn’t been cajoled into shifting yet, but it will happen with time so that’s always fun to watch.” 

Tommy didn’t know Karen all that well. He remembered meeting her back when he was still at the 118 and thinking that Hen had done well for herself. He knew Howie had been responsible for them getting together and — come to think of it — he was sort of responsible for him meeting Evan. 

Karen led him through the house. It was cozy and lived in. A family home. 

Athena and Hen were laughing at a table, the third chair seemingly Karen’s and a fourth pushed in. Bobby was once more behind the grill, apron on. His eyes searched for Evan, but he didn’t spot him. 

“Tommy’s here,” Karen announced. 

He got a chorus of hello’s. Tommy smiled and waved at everyone. 

“Where should I put this?” 

“Oh, right here is fine,” Hen said. 

He moved towards the table and Hen snatched the cheesecake from him and then motioned for him to take the fourth chair at the table. 

“Come sit with us. We can catch up.” 

“Can I get you a drink?” Karen offered. 

“Uh…just a beer is fine,” Tommy said. 

Karen smiled easily. “Coming right up.” 

They brought him right into their conversation, apparently a discussion about Evan’s attempts at getting Chim to allow him to plan a bachelor’s party for him. 

“Chim doesn’t want it, Athena,” Hen said. 

“I think Buck is just trying to show how much he appreciates Chim. Would it be so bad?” Athena asked. 

Hen let out a sigh. “It’s just adding one more thing that he doesn’t want.” 

“What does that mean?” Karen asked after placing Tommy’s beer in front of him and taking the remaining chair. 

“Well, the wedding was supposed to be small and now it’s become this whole thing,” Hen said. 

“Why is that?” Tommy asked. 

“Maddie’s parents.” 

Which meant Evan’s parents too. Evan had never once talked about or mentioned them, not that Tommy ever went into his own family. 

“What about them?” Tommy asked. 

“They offered to pay for the wedding,” Karen explained. “And since any wedding is gonna get expensive, Chim and Maddie decided to let them.”

“Things escalated from there,” Athena offered and from the way that her eyebrows raised Tommy could tell it hadn’t been in a good way. 

“Now,” Hen said, “the wedding is this big event. Maddie’s parents have invited some family friends and the guest list has gotten bigger than what either Maddie or Chim wanted. It’s been a bit stressful for them both.” 

“And now Buck wants to throw a bachelor’s party,” Karen said. “Well, maybe it won’t be a bad thing. What do you think, Tommy?” 

Tommy felt put on the spot. He ran a finger over the condensation on the beer bottle. “I guess if Howie is really opposed. But it could also be nice if the party isn’t something wild and crazy.” 

Hen hummed in response. 

“It also sounds like Evan is just trying to show Howie how much he welcomes him into the family,” Tommy added. 

The conversation shifted after that. Tommy was distracted, when he finally saw Evan. He seemed to be in the middle of a conversation with his sister. A serious one going by the way that they both looked more than a little agitated. 

“What’s going on over there?” Hen asked. 

“I don’t know,” Athena said. 

Tommy felt the strange pull to go to Evan and soothe him. It felt like the wolf wanting to break through. Instinct that didn’t make sense to Tommy in any way. He forced himself to stay put as Karen began discussing the newest thing at her job. 

“And how’s it been flying for air support?” Karen directed at him. 

“I love it,” Tommy said. 

“He’s pretty great at it too,” Hen added. 

Tommy looked down. “I do alright.” 

“Don’t sell yourself short, Kinard.” 

He told them a few stories from work and couldn’t deny how good it felt to be around people that understood him and knew a big part of him. Karen even asked about how he dealt with being a Werewolf and working air support. 

Athena in particular got a kick out of Tommy admitting that he pretended he was very superstitious about full moons. 

“That’s a new one. You’ll have to tell Bobby about that,” Hen said. 

“How, uh, how did you all find out about Buck?”

Buck had never told him, he realized, but he remembered how close Hen and Chim were by the time he left and how different things had started to seem when Bobby arrived, but it certainly hadn’t been like it was now. 

“He didn’t keep it hidden for long,” Hen said and she explained about the day she found out. 

“Of course it was to help someone out,” Tommy said. 

Hen nodded with a smile. “That’s our Buckaroo.” 

—

“No,” Buck said, shaking his head. “No. Maddie, tell them they can’t come a week early.” 

Maddie sighed. “It’s not like they’re going to listen to me. You know them, Buck. They weren’t asking as much as letting me know they were coming early.” 

“And where are they staying?” Buck asked. 

When Maddie had gotten the call, Buck had assumed it was something to do with the wedding. He hadn’t noticed it at first, the stress that Maddie was under. He’d known she was busy with wedding planning and to him it had just seemed like something good and happy. Maddie and Chim were finally getting married. 

Of course, it wasn’t as simple as that. Not when their parents got involved. 

After leaving home all those years ago, Buck hadn’t looked back. It went both ways in the sense that his parents never tried to reach out to him. Later he learned from Maddie that they had asked her if she knew about where he was and upon confirmation that Maddie knew he’d gone they’d just left it at that. Buck couldn’t pretend that it hadn’t hurt to know they didn’t care. It had made it easier to leave them behind, though. 

After he was bitten, that was when he was absolutely sure that he wouldn’t be talking to his parents any time soon. He didn’t even tell Maddie about his lycanthropy until she came out to California. It had been a real shock to her, but it wasn’t something that Buck was willing to hide when Maddie was right there in front of him. 

“Where are they staying, Maddie?” Buck asked. 

“I offered them the guest room at my house,” Maddie said. “I only thought they’d be here for the weekend.” 

Buck let out a breath. In truth he had no problem with his parents being around. He’d done alright the last time they came out, granted he’d been in a coma for a part of it. Still, he and Maddie had planned that out meticulously so they’d be gone before the full moon. It was the same reason that Maddie had picked out the day she did for the wedding, it was four days after the full moon which meant that if their parents were arriving a week beforehand they’d be there during the full moon. 

“Look, you’ll just have to be careful,” Maddie said. “I’ll tell them you’re working and keep them occupied with the wedding and Jee.” 

Buck let out a breath. “Yeah and then I’ll never hear the end of how I was so unhelpful during my own sister’s wedding.” 

Maddie looked frustrated. Annoyed with him even and he hated that, but he also knew that he was right and that things might go even worse. When it came down to it, Buck was the thing their parents hunted and they would hate him if they ever found out he was a Werewolf. A part of him even wondered if they might try to kill him. 

“I know you’re worried,” Maddie said. “And I’m sorry I’m bringing them back here again.” 

Buck sighed. He pulled her into a hug. “Just…I know you’re stressed but this will go so much worse if they figure out what I am. Even worse if they find out about Eddie. About Tommy.”

That made him tense up. What would they do to them…but no, Buck would keep his best friend and his — well, whatever he and Tommy were — he would keep them away from the Buckleys no matter what it took. 

“I know,” Maddie said. “I know. But you know we won’t let them do anything to any of you.”

He hugged Maddie and he watched her go to where Chim was sitting on a blanket on the grass with Jee and her toys. He could tell that Maddie was filling him in from the way that Chim tensed. The wedding was supposed to be happy and one of the best days for Maddie and Chim and it was slowly becoming something else instead. Buck didn’t want to add to the stress.

Walking towards Bobby, he spotted Tommy at the table. He hadn’t even known that he’d got there and his breath caught in his throat. Something inside him unfurled and he just…he let go because Tommy was just a few feet from him and already looking at him. Buck had never felt the way he felt about Tommy, not for anyone. 

“Buck? Are you alright?” Bobby asked. 

Buck turned to him at once. “I’m — yeah, I’m…turns out my parents are getting here earlier than we planned. They’ll be here during the full moon.” 

“They’re not going to find out, Buck,” Bobby said. “We’ll do anything we can to prevent that.” 

“I know,” Buck said. “I know. It’s just…” he trailed off. 

Bobby reached out, touching his shoulder. “It’ll be okay, Buck.”

He really really hoped so.

—

“What’s wrong?” Tommy didn’t get to ask until it was almost fully dark out. 

The whole day, he and Evan had wound up with other people between them. Tommy was happy to feel so included and to have more than just Evan as a reason to be there, but it almost felt like anytime he and Evan would get close someone would come along to start talking to one or both of them. 

“Wrong?” Evan asked. 

“Evan, something is bothering you.” 

Evan gave a short nod. “Turns out mine and Maddie’s parents are coming to stay the week before the wedding.”

Having gotten the sense that there was something up with Evan’s parents and going by this reaction, Tommy was even more sure there was something going on there that he didn’t know about. 

“Are you not okay with that?”

Evan chuckled. “Oh, I am definitely not okay with it. Maddie has a better relationship with them and they’re trying. You know, they helped them with the downpayment on the house and now they’re paying for the wedding, it’s all guilt money but it’s meant well.”

“And where do you fit in?” Tommy asked. 

“I fit in here,” Evan said. “With everyone here. There are some things that you can’t come back from.”

Maybe Evan wasn’t giving him a full detailed explanation, but Tommy understood. He understood better than most, so when he reached for Evan’s hand and Evan grasped it, he hoped to convey that understanding. Families were complicated. He hadn’t spoken to his in years. 

“We tried to plan it out so we could avoid the full moon,” Evan said. “Now they’ll be here during.” 

“They don’t know you’re a Werewolf,” Tommy said. 

Evan gave a nod. “I’m hoping they’ll never know.” And then he got really serious. He turned to stand directly in front of Tommy and grabbed his other hand. “Tommy, my parents…they can never know any of us are Werewolves.”

There was something there that Evan seemed to want to convey. He actually sounded kind of scared, which Tommy didn’t ever want to see on Evan again. 

“What’s…what’s going on, Evan?” 

Eddie, who had been convinced to shift into his wolf came running at them all of a sudden, bumping into Evan’s side and sending him right into Tommy, who grabbed hold of Evan. Evan leaned into him and fixed his arms to rest around Tommy’s waist and Eddie circled them, tail hitting their legs before he gave a wuff and left. 

“I think that’s Eddie asking why we’re both still on two legs,” Tommy said. 

Evan was still in his arms and Tommy pulled him in closer. Evan didn’t seem to mind. 

“Can I tell you later?” Evan asked. “It’s just—”

“Yes, Evan. Of course.”

He could feel the way that Evan relaxed and that was maybe concerning on its own. 

“Parents are complicated,” he said. “I get that. Are you gonna join Eddie?” 

“Only if you do it too?” Evan asked, smiling at him with just a touch of playfulness. 

In Tommy’s opinion, it was a bad idea to have three Werewolves in someone’s backyard, especially one that wasn’t all that big, but Evan was looking at him with so much hope that Tommy couldn’t have said no. He followed Evan to a spot around the house and they did quick work of their clothes. They walked out side by side and Tommy hadn’t been expecting that everyone was waiting for them. It made him self conscious and like he should just shift right back to human. 

Evan bumped his shoulder into his and when Hen approached, Evan put himself between them and Tommy watched as Hen pet Evan’s head and down his back. 

“Tommy,” she said, “you make a beautiful wolf.” 

He inched closer and her hand was hesitant when she touched him, but her fingers tangled in his fur gently and he could smell how happy and pleased she was. Howie approached them, Jee in his arms. Tommy had seen Evan and Eddie with the kids, but that didn’t mean that he wasn’t scared about interacting with them himself, especially Jee who was the youngest and smallest. But Howie brought her closer and Tommy held himself still as her little hands touched him, patting him. Her giggles and how she tried to wrap her tiny arms around him melted his heart. 

Tommy met all of them again as a wolf. Maddie pet his head and scratched his ears. Christopher threw his arms around Tommy’s neck and Karen ran her fingers through his fur, fixing anything that had gotten rumpled. They all smelled wonderful and welcoming, but Evan’s scent was what Tommy gravitated towards. 

He stuck by him, couldn’t help but want to be near Evan. Evan seemed to feel the same. 

Tommy had no idea how long they ran around as wolves. He’d never been petted or had so many different hands in his fur. He hadn’t known how good it would feel or how it would make him feel like he actually belonged there. He didn’t want to think of them as pack, they weren’t there yet, but the possibility was there. The acceptance was there. 

“Come over?” Evan asked when they were both getting re-dressed. 

Tommy slipped his shirt on and turned to find Evan leaning against the side of Hen and Karen’s house. 

He looked amazing. Hair mussed, his shirt a little wonky. Tommy crossed the distance between them and Evan just waited for him, head tilted up like he was waiting to see what Tommy would do. Tommy leaned in towards him, pressed his hands on the house on either side of Evan and gave Evan just about enough time to push him away before he kissed him. Evan kissed back at once, drew him in closer with hands that landed on Tommy’s hips. 

The kiss was hungry, it was passionate. Tommy could keep kissing him forever if he were allowed. 

The sound of something falling tore them apart and they turned to find Eddie. He was only in jeans, shirt held to his chest bunched up. His shoes were what had tumbled out of his arms.

“Sorry,” Eddie said. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to interrupt.”

Then, he picked up his shoes and backed away, but he looked way too pleased with himself.

When Tommy looked back at Evan, he was leaning back against the house, but when their eyes met he let out a laugh and then his arms were around Tommy and his face was pressed to the space between Tommy’s neck and shoulder, still laughing. 

“Evan, we should go out there,” Tommy said. 

“I’ve been trying to find a way to tell them. But that…that works.” 

Evan laughed again and Tommy joined him. They hadn’t had that discussion. They hadn’t really talked about anything because they had kissed a few times and gone on a single date and been too busy to do more than flirt over text. 

“Eddie isn’t going back there to tell everyone is he?” Tommy asked. 

“He won’t,” Evan said. “He was just going to be the hardest to tell. Might give me some grief, but I’m glad he knows.”

—

Buck didn’t hate that Eddie found out by seeing him and Tommy kissing. He just mostly thought it was funny and that it made things easier for him. It eased the conversation that he and Eddie would have about it later. When he and Tommy finally did get back, Eddie met his eyes only to shake his head and look away. Hen raised an eyebrow in his direction and there was a moment when Buck thought that maybe she knew what was going on too. Considering how he’d called her before the first date, there was more than enough reason for him to think Hen definitely could put it together. 

They all headed out around the same time, picking up after themselves so it wouldn’t all be up to Hen and Karen. 

Eddie walked out with him and Tommy. Chris walking just ahead of them. 

“I didn’t want to see it, but I approve,” Eddie said before he went to help Chris get into the car. 

“Oh. I’m — it’s new.” 

Eddie chuckled. “I figured, though I should have seen it coming. See you at work?” 

“Yeah. See you. Bye, Chris!” 

Chris waved at him. 

When he got back to Tommy, he grabbed his hand. Their fingers linked together and Buck loved the way their hands fit. He loved that Tommy’s hand was bigger than his, but that they still managed to fit together. Tommy pulled him towards him and then in the direction of Buck’s Jeep.

[ad-echo]

OFMD S2 FINALE

I'm going thtought the OFMD tag and everyone is shoked or upsed and im SO SUPRISED???

Everything that happened in the finale was laid out and forshawdowed previosly

Izzy’s death? Him not dying at the start, when he obviously should have, being called  ,,indesttructable little fucker” by Ed, having a redemption arc, even having the ,,last drink”. Very obvious from the start that this season was leading up to his death

Ed and Stede’s Inn?-  ,,S1-Blackbeard's Bar & Grill & Other Delicacies & Delights & Fishing Gear” and Ed saying hes an Inn keeper in the Gravy Basket and whole other thing about Ed wanting to leave piracy.

zheng joining the crew- very obviously they were hinting at polyam relationship or as ,,, split” for Jim/Archie and Olu/Zheng from the time we meet her, also them wanting to join her crew, its obvious they will be on one ship somehow.

Frenchie being the first mate (or Captain? now) when Izzy’s not capable, leading him being the new one

We didn't get the Black Pete/ Lucius wedding, so we got it now.

Spanish Jackie joing the crew was suprising but it does make sense since she paired up with Swede and all the crew got together again for one more rodeo

Buttons being a seagul not explained but still implied with him paying respects for Izzy

i understand the anger because it does feel a bit rushed. We had whole episode for Calypsos birthday but no proper mourning for Izzy or excitment for the wedding.

However the show did dot their i's and crossed their t's.

They left it at that, that if they don't get third season- it will be the end of the show, with Ed and Stede together living ,, happily ever after" , the crew all together prirating still over a other Captian, Izzy's story finally wrapped up with him dying and finaly having closure with Ed.

They left the storyline open for a new season, we could deffineltey get Ed and Stede missing the sea, and rejoining the crew to put the minor prince back to his place but i seriously doubt it.

I always imagined series ending as this. Always.

So the disapointment suprises me. I would loved if the finale was 1h long not just 30 minutes, cuz once again it did seem very rushed, but they did the best with what they had and i think thats enough.

[illarian-rambling]

For the suggestion prompt tag: a MG beach episode scene?

Lol, I'm glad to see this au catching on, I love it so much. I'll put it under the cut, and for spoiler reasons, everyone is just gonna be as they are in book one (or book two in Elsind and Avymere's case)

Hope you enjoy!

"I'm not going," Ivander told himself for the fifth time.

The detective peered out the window of his apartment. It was sunny outside - a rare sight for Unity - but not blazing hot. He could see families strolling about in their summertime best, pigeons bathing in puddles from last night's rain, and even the ferry boats seemed to chug along the canals in a merrier fashion than usual. Everyone was taking advantage of the perfect weather, it seemed.

Including his idiot acquaintances and those two Skysheerian oddities they'd dragged along on their vacation to Unity.

"Going to the beach?" Ivander snorted in disbelief as he limped away from the window and began to scrounge around his kitchen for any leftovers to make into breakfast. "Who the hell comes to Unity for the beaches?"

Yes, there were cleaner areas of the Gray Lake you could swim in, but generally, all Unitian citizens were drilled from a young age not to touch the polluted stuff. Ivander, like most of his city's people, couldn't so much as doggy paddle, despite his primary mode of transport being canal boats.

"And Mashal's even going? Good gods, I thought that man was smarter. ...Oh, nevermind."

What would he wear? Ivander winced as he took a bite of yesterday's pasta. Even that soft texture felt like broken glass on the inside of his half-flayed mouth when his medication hadn't taken full effect. He couldn't wear a suit to a beach. That was preposterous!

The only things in his closet that didn't fit that description was a pair of shorts he hadn't worn since his curse hadn't been so bad and a loose silk shirt he wore to bed when Ceyrel stayed over. That would leave far too much skin exposed. Ivander winced again at the thought of sand getting onto flayed patches of exposed flesh. He might be having a decent day with his pain level, but sand would put an end to such a thing with all possible speed.

"I could wear bandages maybe," he mused. "Oh, but that would be so embarrassing."

His illusion pin might’ve covered up his curse's true extent upon his skin, but it didn't cover anything placed onto his skin. Otherwise, he'd have been walking around in the illusion of being naked and no one wanted that. He usually wore bandages under his clothes to keep the blood off, yes, but it was a different thing entirely to walk around swaddled up like an Araunian mummy.

Ivander glanced outside his window once more. The city practically bloomed with the sun's light. Colors popped more vibrantly. Passersby laughed more loudly. He knew Astra had promised to save him a seat and a drink.

"I'm not going," he muttered.

○○○○

This is idiotic, what was I thinking?

Ivander tightened his grip on his cane as he sized up the stretch of sand between him and a circle of umbrellas several yards off. Even from here, he could pick up the scent of grilling meat.

He just had to make it across the sand wearing rain boots of all things.

Indeed, Ivander’s cheeks burned when he thought about just how ridiculously he was dressed. A pair of clunky rain boots had been all he could think of that wouldn't allow sand to get onto his feet. To match, he wore a pair of leather riding gloves. Between those and the cuffs of his shirt and shorts - which didn't look half bad as a pair, he had to admit - were wrapped many layers of bandages. To top it all off, he'd had Ceyrel run him a wide brimmed hat to keep the sun from scorching his pale complexion.

Taking a tentative step, Ivander grunted as the sand shifted under his foot and seemed to all but swallow the tip of his cane. A bolt of acid agony shot through his knee as he stumbled, just barely keeping his balance.

"Why did I ever agree to this nonsense," he hissed through clenched teeth.

But still, the sun was oh so warm, which made his dark apartment seem oh so cold. He could hear raucous conversation from the circle of umbrellas. It sounded like drinks had already been well circulated.

As Ivander took another off-balance step forward, the flash of bronze caught his eye, while the sound of jogging footsteps graced his ears.

"You made it!" Mashal waved as he called out. For some unaccountable reason, the earnest joy in the knight's voice brought a different kind of sting to Ivander’s aching eyes.

"I wouldn't say I've made it yet," the detective griped. "I could still turn around, march back home, and take off his ridiculous excuse for an outfit."

"Hey, you're not alone there." Mashal offered Ivander an arm to lean on as he shifted a leg to show off his own thick leather wrappings. "Sand and delicate, easily scratchable runes don't mix, or so I've been told."

Ivander gratefully took his friend's arm, wincing a bit at the press of sunwarmed bronze despite his relief. He didn't think he'd ever seen Mashal in something so revealing as a T-shirt. It seemed Ivander wasn't the only one taking risks today.

Slowly, the pair made their way over to where the rest of the group had set up. Ivander could see Astra in the midst of some wild and overblown story, arms waving dramatically. She wore quite the flattering bikini and seemed as if she'd been in the water already. Listening raptly was a young changeling in a floral sundress and an elf clutching a cocktail while clad in perhaps the most antiquated bathing suit Ivander had ever seen.

Those must be their Skysheerian friends. Oh gods, what were their names again?

"Hey there, sweetheart!" Astra called upon noticing them. "I saved you a mojito!"

"So considerate of you," Ivander answered. He breathed a sigh of relief upon finding the chair they'd left for him, complete with a cushion for his back. "Is it made with proper rum or some backwater hooch you cooked up on an engine block?"

"You'll just have to drink and find out." Astra grinned evily. "Hell, I'm surprised your pansy ass tastebuds can handle rum at all. I imagined they might up n' die without some piss dry, dinosaur vintage red wine."

Ivander sniffed delicately as he adjusted himself into a more comfortable position. "Not all of us have moonshine instead of blood, my dear."

But that only caused her grin to go all the wider. "Damn, I gotta remember that one. That's quality. Anyways, I was just tellin' Elsind and Avymere 'bout this time-"

Ivander sighed contentedly as the story played out, full of Astra’s usual grandiose descriptions and wild gestures. Off to the side, Mashal hummed to himself as he watched the grill, contentedly flipping a spatula from hand to hand. The Skysheerian pair, he couldn't say much of, but the changeling gasped excitedly at every turn of Astra’s story, while the elf nodded drowsily as they laid back in the sun.

His legs ached. They would ache even worse tomorrow and he could feel sand inching its insidious way past his bandages. Yet he was happy nonetheless. He had a life, didn't he? It might be a painful one, but he was still living it.

It was a good day, and even if stormclouds always lurked on the horizon, Ivander was determined to ignore them in favor of sitting in the sun a little while longer.

[lime1991]

My dsmp Tubbo and Tommy canons (I can do whatever I want and these are canon facts to me)

Tubbo:

-smoked cigarettes a lot during the Schlatt administration to get away from all of the… everything. Fundy was the one who started this for him.

-hates alcohol because of Schlatt and Wilbur. Before being part of Schlatt’s cabinet he had to deal with Wilbur being drunk and mentally ill too.

-is Wilbur’s adopted brother, calls Phil by his name instead of “dad” even though he was literally raised by him. Also doesn’t call Wilbur his brother unless it’s brought up in some way.

-Tommy is his best friend. He is Tommy’s favorite person. Their conversations are very monotone.

-has breathing problems due to smoking. Has tried to quit, but can’t. Instead smokes weed every so often because it’s better than nicotine.

-has bipolar disorder, when he’s manic he wakes up at 5 am and does yard work. When he’s depressed, he can’t get out of bed for days. He knows he’s bipolar, many people do, but it still was a reason his marriage fell apart (not his fault)

-he did not get custody of Michael when he and Ranboo divorced, because he didn’t fight for it because doesn’t think he can really raise a child with all his personal issues (in a “I would never have kids because I’m too mentally ill and traumatized” way)

-bonded with Quackity during the Schlatt administration, is maybe the only one who knows to what extent Quackity was fucked up by Schlatt. They have a weird relationship that’s similar to a mother and son. Don’t question it.

-I’m a fan of dadschlatt so in my brain Tubbo is Schlatt’s biological son, and they only find this out when they’re working together and Schlatt grills him on his family history and it strangely matches up with that one time Schlatt decided to leave the girl he accidentally impregnated and fully skip town. So when Schlatt and Quackity get married Quackity is basically Tubbo’s stepmom.

-he and Wilbur are like 12 years apart, when Fundy is born, Wilbur is 20. When Fundy and Tubbo meet for the first time, Fundy is 8 and Tubbo is 16. And, yes, Tubbo went to live with Wilbur when he turned 16 for reasons and was like “Wil who the fuck is this child” and Wilbur is like “oh that’s my daughter” ???

Tommy:

-trans girl.

-met Wilbur before she met Tubbo. They lived in the same place. When Tubbo went to live with Wilbur he was immediately bombarded by a strange hyperactive fifteen year old.

-Tommy’s parents left her. She didn’t believe that they did at first, but they did. (By the way I’ve decided L’Manburg was a commune) Because her parents have left her alone on the commune, she’s sort of raised by all of the adults and herself. This is how she knows Wilbur.

-has bpd and severe abandonment issues. Originally attached herself to Wilbur before meeting Tubbo and becoming close with him. During the Pogtopia era, Tommy goes insane and completely attaches herself to Wilbur again.

-When Wilbur dies during war, Tommy’s whole personality switches and instead of being majorly depressed she pretends that it didn’t happen and stays completely delusional for like a month.

-during Exile, she had time to think about herself and her identity and it’s when she comes out to herself as trans. Dream is also the first person she actually comes out to. And I can’t decide if Ghostbur is a hallucination or not, but Tommy doesn’t know either it’s ok.

-very delusional. Like, schizophrenic. Genuinely believed during Exile that Dream was her best friend and wasn’t like beating her and destroying her stuff every single day. Dream doesn’t understand if she’s being serious when she’s like “hi bestie” so he keeps doing worse and worse wondering how much it’ll take to break her.

-gets therapy and takes antipsychotics now. Always brings up the stories of the wildest delusional episodes she’s ever experienced. During exile she was certain she had like 5 girlfriends at once.

-when she ends up trapped in jail with Dream she almost kills herself before Dream does it for her. The pain of being trapped with him again was worse than emotional. Worse than ptsd.

-has complicated feelings towards Quackity, will never forget the time she watched him and Schlatt argue. She’d never heard a “loving couple” sound that angry before. Though she doesn’t know every little detail about the relationship.

[disneytva]

December 2023 Programming Highlights

Friday, Dec. 1 Original Series – Episode Premiere on Disney Channel and Disney Junior Mickey Mouse Funhouse “Santa’s Crash Landing” (2-23) (10:00-10:30 a.m. EST) When Santa crash lands in Funhouse Forest, Mickey, Minnie and the gang help him deliver presents to Majestica, Halloweenville and Winter Mountain. *Brock Powell (“Mickey Saves Christmas”) guest stars as Santa. TV-Y

Original Series – Episode Premiere on Disney Channel, Disney Junior and Disney XD Star Wars: Young Jedi Adventures “Life Day/Raxlo Strikes Back” (10:30-11:00 a.m. EST) “Life Day” – The Jedi help a Wookiee prepare for Life Day.

“Raxlo Strikes Back” – The younglings protect wellagrin eggs from Raxlo. TV-Y Original Series – Episode Premiere on Disney Channel and Disney XD The Ghost and Molly McGee “White Christmas/Perfect Day” (2-09) (8:00-8:30 p.m. EST) “White Christmas” – Scratch stresses about getting Molly the perfect gift, while Molly crafts a winter wonderland for the seniors.

“Perfect Day” – Determined to have the perfect day, Molly asks Scratch to cast a time-loop curse so she can fix every mistake when her day keeps going wrong. TV-Y7

Original Series – Episode Premiere on Disney Channel and Disney XD Hailey’s On It “We Wish You a Merry Chaos-mas” (1-20) (8:30-9:00 p.m. EST) When Hailey loses a mini reindeer, causing Christmas to not exist in the future, she must throw the best Oceanside Christmas Festival Ever to save all future Christmases. TV-Y7

Saturday, Dec. 2 Original Series – Episode Premiere on Disney Channel Hamster & Gretel “Flake It Till You Make It/Game Changer” (1-29) (10:00-11:00 a.m. EST) “Flake It Till You Make It” – Hamster and Gretel encounter a flaky villain who has the power to turn to flakes.

“Game Changer” – Fred, Kevin, Hiromi and Anthony compete in a video game tournament. TV-Y7

Friday, Dec. 8 Original Series – Episode Premiere on Disney Channel and Disney Junior Pupstruction “Sunniest Snow Day/When Pups Fly” (1-13) (8:00-8:30 a.m. EST) “Sunniest Snow Day” – Phinny and the crew work to give Bailey some snowy fun on a warm summer day.

“When Pups Fly” – Pupstruction builds a tower tall enough to see over the clouds by thinking outside the box. TV-Y

Original Series – Episode Premiere on Disney Channel and Disney Junior SuperKitties “Missing Hot Dog/Mysterious Magician” (1-24) (10:00-10:30 a.m. EST) “Missing Hot Dog” – When Amara brings a lost puppy to the Purr ‘N’ Play, Bitsy wonders if there will be enough attention for her.

“Mysterious Magician” – The SuperKitties must stop whoever stole Abraca Dan’s magic tricks. TV-Y

Original Series – Episode Premiere on Disney Channel, Disney Junior and Disney XD Star Wars: Young Jedi Adventures “Stuck in the Muck/Junkyard Sleepover” (12:30-1:00 p.m. EST) “Stuck in the Muck” – The Jedi respond to a distress call.

“Junkyard Sleepover” – The younglings investigate odd noises in the junkyard. TV-Y

Saturday, Dec. 9 Original Series – Episode Premiere on Disney Junior Alice’s Wonderland Bakery “A Hat-Bachi Hanukkah/A Snow-Drop Summer” (2-09) (7:15-7:45 a.m. EST) “A Hat-Bachi Hanukkah” – On Hanukkah, Hattie gets a hat-bachi grill, but he realizes he’s not a natural chef.

“A Snow-Drop Summer” – Alice and her friends get carried away making their own snow and must warm up Wonderland. TV-Y

Original Series – Season One Finale on Disney Channel Hamster & Gretel “Exclamation Strikes Back – Part I/Exclamation Strikes Back – Part II” (1-30) (10:00-11:00 a.m. EST) Professor Exclamation traps Hamster and Gretel and takes away their powers. TV-Y7

Friday, Dec. 15 Original Series – Episode Premiere on Disney Channel and Disney Junior Firebuds “Annie Spokely/Ingrid on Ice” (2-11) (12:00-12:30 p.m. EST) “Annie Spokely” – The Firebuds get a rescue call from an old western town. *Leisha Hailey (“American Dad!”) guest stars as Annie Spokely, Punkie Johnson (“Saturday Night Live”) as Cousin Fanny, and Ariel Winter (“Modern Family”) as Calamity Train.

“Ingrid on Ice” – The Firebuds help a young ice cream truck sell frozen treats on a cold day. TV-Y

[beachyserasims]

♡ Intimate Moments | Judi & Rowan | GENEVA ISLAND

Part 2 of 2

* Later, Rowan is grilling Chimichurri skewers while chatting with Judi. The sun has set and the stars are starting to shine*

J: [teasing] It’s only fair that you do the grilling and pull some of your weight around here, seeing as how I was the one catching all the fish [giggles] Don’t worry, one day I will teach you how to fish.

R: Wasn’t that your first time too?

*They laugh and sit at the table to enjoy their skewers while continuing to talk*

J: This is delicious Rowan! For someone who hates cooking, you sure are good at it… Man, it’s gonna be sooo hard to leave this place and go back to the real world… I still remember our first day at the villa.

R: It feels like it was only yesterday… I knew from the moment I met you at that pool that we would get along great.

J: Maybe a little too good on my part… But in my defense, you are hard to resist…

R: I feel the same about you Judi… and if we had met in real life before any of this, I would have been moving at the same speed as you did. But something about “finding love” seemed more serious to me… Like I should probably do my best to take things slow.

J: Not gonna lie, it definitely threw me off. It’s not very often that I get rejected, and hardly ever because the guy wants to go slow with me. It’s not really something I’ve ever done.

R: Well, why did you decide to stay coupled with me if you’re not used to going slow?

J: I guess in a way I felt the same as you. Coming here, I also knew I had to do something different. After all this, I have a career to start and a lot is expected of me. I’ve trained my whole life for that, which obviously took a tole on my childhood. So to make up for it, my personal life was a little… crazy. But I’m smart enough to know that I probably won’t be able to find a lasting relationship that way, and I wanted to give myself a real shot at that… Not that I was very good at it, I’m sorry again for all the mistakes I’ve made with you.

R: Thanks for sharing that with me Judi, it really helps me to understand you more when you are vulnerable with me. And of course I forgive you. No one is perfect, I’m just happy that you took that first step and tried with me.

J: I wouldn’t have wanted it to be with anyone else.

*They kiss*

The Start || Beginning of Episodes || Previous || Next