#i love baby cheesehead

[little-prontera]

character ramblings about baby cheese head, her prince, and what she truly wants under the cut cos I've been consumed KYAN☆

💕☘💌📍💐🌼💞🍰

diary ramble ✏

Anyhow, diary time! rp has been really fun! I used to be nervous since I didn't know anybody, but it turned out to be much more relaxed than I thought. Everyone is just very enthusiastic about their characters. I've found writing is a lot more fun when you're doing it with everyone. It's also interesting to watch the progression happen naturally. Nobody knows what will happen at the end of a story, and so I have no clue what the character will turn into.

When I began, I didn't have a clear idea of Raclette at all. I just knew she was a "pure-hearted maiden"; I knew she was a little dreamy and aesthetically fixated; I knew she had a fairytale like backstory and she was troubled by ghosts. She was originally supposed to be more floaty and mysterious but my own habits came through and she ended up as an overwhelming force of delusional princessy wonder ^^". I guess that's the kind of girl I like! But happily, with time, and with everyone, she grew and grew and I came to understand her.

1) How to be good 👑

Here are some established traits of cheesegirl:

1) She loves fairytales and will connect anything and everything in reality to them

2) She assumes automatically that everyone will understand what she's thinking/saying/doing

3) If she likes something, it is good and she won't let it go

4) If she doesn't like something, it's bad and she wants it eliminated

5) If something falls between "good" and "bad", she will be at a loss as to how to sort it and blank out

5) Her ideal is a Prince 💕

So the girl has a painfully black-and-white worldview. To Raclette, what she thinks and feels are real and factual-- not subjective and intangible. They are a reality of the world. So when something offers a little grey to her black-and-white bubble, she can't handle it at all. It doesn't abide by the laws of the world, so it doesn't exist.

But why are things divided so strictly?

Raclette, at some level, believes she is in the "good" catagory. Things that are beautiful, sweet, pretty and nice (it doesn't matter if the subject is actually any of these things, if it os labelled as such then it surely is). Any sort of complexity threatens her, suggesting that some part of her is wrong-- even the smallest bruise means the whole apple gets thrown away in her worldview. But at the same time that worldview MUST be enforced to protect her from everything "bad" aka things she just doesn't like. Things that are ugly or distasteful, but also things she doesn't understand or simply make her feel bad. She wants to be as far away from them as possible.

2) I could just eat you up! 🍨

Raclette wants to be beautiful inside and out, and how she aims to achieve this is by physically surrounding her with things she wants.

Cute things, pretty things, nice poetry, nice people, yummy sweets, lovely hats. They are all within reach, as long as you make an effort. And once she has her hands on it, she won't let it go. It's a part of her now. It's what makes her "good"!

But there are things she cannot take with her. Talk of the quality of character are rarely successful. Courage, intelligence, and creativity aren't things you can keep in jars. When meeting Voski the writer, so full of energy and knowlege, Raclette withers under her own lack of experience. The gap between the two in terms of character is too wide for her to cross.

Worst case was meeting Cinna, a perfectly nice gentleman who offered her genuine advice. She responded by asking him if she could straight up become his apprentice-- an effort to physically grasp something she admires-- and was (respectfully, understandably) rejected. What happened next wasn't good. She discarded all thought and acted on her instinct, which was to throw a sugar container right at him. Afterward, she didn't address the situation at all. She neither likes not dislikes Cinna, because Cinna does not fit her worldview while also not being incorrect in any way. Her mind knows this but her heart's wound is too deep, so he's a blank spot for her. He's just incompatible.

She hates things she can't hold, because they can never be a part of her. Like a fox scoffing at sour grapes.

3) The prince...💕

The so-called Prince is forever haunting Raclette. She sees him everywhere: In her books, in her dreams, in the people she meets, in her memory. He's less of a romantic prospect and more of a cure-all, a representative of someone who can get rid of everything she dislikes in this life. Bonus points if they're a little stern and go "tch!"

The Prince has never been real, so she overlays reality with fantasy so that the two are inextricable. If someone shows any sort of care for her, she declares it a "prince-like" action. If someone is so much as dressing nice, she becomes determined to mold them into a prince-like shape. She will make the world conform to her wishes. And while her wish is lofty, it is the only things she's ever wanted.

To Raclette, a prince is cool, handsome, round (?!), clever, beautiful, skilled, smart, will do everything she wants forever without protest, will protect her from things she doesn't like, will never be mean, and always smell good (important). By possessing the prince she will live a life of comfort but more importantly she will be "good" for owning him. They will remedy everything, past and future, if only they were to appear.

4) Real desire ✂️

So, where has he been all this time?

In some level, Raclette believes she is "good", because the alternative is realizing that she-- in her worldview-- is unsalvageable.

Raclette has been lonely since she could remember. She feels things stronger than everyone else, she doesn't understand why she does the things she does, she believes she's the only one who thinks this way. There's a mental block that prevents her from examining the cause any further, but at her core, she's deeply unsatisfied with herself and the gap between her and other people, fantasy and reality. The artificial sweetener is easy to find. But somebody who understands her feelings? That's much harder. Those feelings are bad. And she is good. So who is going to save her from that contradiction?

One day, Raclette met a real Prince. And she bit down as hard as she could.

Raclette never really wanted the Prince to save her. She wanys to get revenge in him for leaving her all alone. She wants to make him feel twice as bad as she feels-- it's his duty to bear the sorrows of the both of them. She can remain pure this way, and he can fix everything by being a canvas for her misery.

The girl speaks often of the macabre in a comically cheerful fashion because she truly does find it romantic. Her mind naturally heads in the direction of death. This is not to say that Raclette wishes to die because I don't think that's the case at all, but rather the idea that someone would go through something so extreme gives her catharsis. It makes sense to her, naturally, that something like double suicide would be functionally dreamy (ala romeo and juliet). In reality though, she would shove all the horrors onto somebody else. None of that nasty stuff can enter her bubble.

If she own the Prince, and she causes him pain, then she can experience the pain without being tainted. He really is a cure-all in the end...

the end oh my god 😪

auhhh I rambled on and on and on. It's really fun to think about how a character grows over time. As dreary as I've made it sound, I'm sure she'll be fine in the end. She's disillusioned with the Prince now, so I wonder what will happen next? Anyhow, she's really funny, even if this dreary post is on the serious side. It was just me working things out ^^"

[lilianade-comics]

I've been ruminating on possible names for the Vlad & Danielle equivalent of badger cereal for a while now. It's a bit difficult since Dani only has two canon appearances and Vlad nearly commits infanticide the second time, but you know how it is. I draw them a lot and it's high time we name the other flavor of "vlad is Not Parent Material but anything is possible through the power of aggressively ignoring canon 💕"

@maid-of-darkness09 commented on one of my posts and kindly suggested "Kit Cereal" because a baby badger is called a kit. This is frankly adorable and a pretty good suggestion and I like the idea of making the name slightly to the left of badger cereal.

In terms of a completely unique name, my own idea is:

Cheese Melt. Because Vlad is a cheesehead (derogatory) and Dani has a melting problem. Now that's a wholesome family dynamic if I've ever seen one 💕

If you've got other ideas, i'd love to hear em!!

[simgrump-main]

15 Questions for 15 Mutuals

Are you named after anyone? - I’m named after my grandma. :-)

When was the last time you cried? - Got a little teary watching a video of a guy who lost his three year old daughter in Hurricane Katrina. 

Do you have kids? - Fur babies only.

Do you use sarcasm a lot? - Not really.

What sports do you play/have you played? - People won’t consider it a sport, but I was in color guard in high school.

What’s the first thing you notice about other people? - How big they smile. 

Eye colour? - Dark Brown.

Scary movies or happy endings? - As much as I like scary movies, I really enjoy happy ending movies these days.

Any special talents? - Not really.

Where were you born? - Wisconsin. I’m a cheesehead for life.

What are your hobbies? - Gaming is my main hobby. I like writing too, but have kind of fallen off of that bandwagon.

Do you have any pets? - 2 dogs, 2 cats, a canary, a parakeet, and a chinchilla.

How tall are you? - 5′2″, shorties unite!

Fave subject in school? - I loved biology and environmental science

Dream job? - Something in video game development. I’d love to write stories for video games. 

Thanks for the tag @introvertedfox! 

Tagging anyone who wants to do this! I’m late to the party on this one!

[maybeimamuppet]

day 9: playing christmas music

day nine wowee!!! welcome to part shajsjsj of ezzy stretching the brief to its very limits.

and welcome to part sjsiwowowksidjej where their ages don’t matter!! cady is 24 and janis is 25. but do whatcha want.

enjoy!!

—————

“Whatcha doing?” Janis asks as she heads into the kitchen and finds Cady carefully prying some Pillsbury break and bake Christmas cookies off a tray to cool.

“Making snacks,” Cady says. Janis tries to steal one, earning herself a gentle whack. “Not for now. You’ll get as many as you want later.”

“I can’t even have one cookie?” Janis pouts. “One measly little cookie?”

“Fine, you can have one cookie,” Cady sighs. “Only one. We need them for later.”

“What is later?”

“Date night,” Cady hums, reaching for her wife. Janis comes over with half her stolen cookie in her mouth. Cady leans in and bites off the other half for herself, making Janis pout. Cady leans in again to kiss it away. Janis tastes like sugar cookies when she teasingly swipes her tongue against her lips. “Mmm.”

“You stole my cookie,” Janis continues pouting.  Cady kisses it away one more time and returns to her baking endeavors.

“You’ll get more later, my love. Go get ready.”

“Fineeeee.”

————-

Janis takes a shower and dons a casual, cozy outfit per Cady’s instructions. She’s still not totally sure what her wife is up to, but she’s always down for a date night. Especially featuring cookies.

“You ready, lovey?” Cady asks once Janis returns to the living room. Cady looks adorable in her fuzzy snowman sweater and beanie that she definitely stole from her wife. Janis makes her way over for a kiss and nods.

“Yeah. Where are we going?”

“We are going… nowhere. Well, nowhere specific. I just thought it’d be fun to drive around and look at all the decorations and listen to music and eat cookies.”

“Oh,” Janis chuckles. “That does sound nice.”

“Good,” Cady replies. “Let’s go, then.”

—-

“Oh, look at that one, Jay,” Cady says happily, pointing out her window at a house nearby. Janis squeezes her hand and looks.

“It’s pretty,” she agrees. “Wish we could do stuff like that.”

“We will one day,” Cady says. “Hopefully.”

“Hopefully,” Janis nods with a chuckle. “What do you think we’ll be up to in, like, five years? Five Christmases from now. Where do you want to be?”

“I don’t know,” Cady says quietly. “With you.”

“You little cheesehead,” Janis laughs. “That’s my plan too. But more details, come on.”

“Fine,” Cady huffs, pretending to be upset as Janis kisses her knuckles. “Uhm… I want you to be doing something you like for work that doesn’t stress you out as much as this job. And I want to be doing something useful. Hopefully I’m not still in school in five years.”

“That would be a definite plus,” Janis agrees. “But it’s okay if you are.”

Cady giggles and starts twisting Janis’ rings around her fingers. “I’ll try not to be. Anyway, um… we’ll still have Ellie. And maybe another cat, or a dog. I’d like a dog. And… um…”

“What?”

“Nothing.”

“No, what?” Janis insists. “We’re just hypothetical for now. We can talk about stuff more in detail to make sure we’re on the same page. But I want to hear everything you want us to have, Peanut.”

“Depending on when I graduate,” Cady begins with a deep breath. “I could maybe see us with a baby in five years.”

“Oh. Baby, why would you be so nervous to tell me that? We’ve talked about it before,” Janis says.

“Yeah, once,” Cady says. “And you didn’t seem into it.”

“In my defense, I had just recovered from a lot of drugs and broken my arm,” Janis chuckles. “I’m not not into it. I just… would have a lot of concerns about doing it now.”

“Oh. Like what?”

“Like I’m still a walking disaster,” Janis says immediately. “Can barely take care of myself.”

“You’re much better,” Cady says. “You haven’t had any incidents in a long time. And that would just make you the fun parent.”

“I guess. And you’d be there to stop me turning them into mini disasters,” Janis hums.

“Plural?”

“I don’t see why not,” Janis shrugs. “Start with one, though.”

“Of course,” Cady chuckles. “So, the only reason you’re worried about having kids is because you’re… accident prone?”

“Not the only reason, but the biggest one,” Janis agrees. “I just… I wanna give any kid we’d have the best life I can. And I don’t think I’m quite there yet. But maybe by the time you’re graduated I’ll feel different and we can talk about trying or adopting.”

Cady nods. “That works for me. I definitely don’t want a kid yet, I’m stressed enough already. And for what it’s worth, I think you’d be a wonderful mom. And I love you either way.”

“I love you too,” Janis says. “Holy shit, look ahead.”

“Wha-whoa.” Cady stutters. “That’s commitment.”

“Seriously,” Janis chuckles. Almost every square inch of property is covered in lights or inflatables or other decorations. “Power bills must be crazy.”

“There’s a whole bunch of them around town,” Cady says, showing Janis a map of houses that are presumably all decorated in a similar manner. “Ooh, they have their own radio station!”

“Huh,” Janis hums. “Well, looks like we’ll be here a while.”

Cady turns the radio on and tunes it to the listed station. She squeals happily when she sees that the lights are synchronized to the song. “That’s so cool!”

“Yeah. I wonder how long it takes them to set all of this up,” Janis says, grinning at her wife.

“Says here they start in October.”

“Then what do they do for Halloween?”

“I dunno,” Cady shrugs. “Maybe they do, like, a Nightmare Before Christmas kinda thing.”

“I guess that makes sense,” Janis chuckles. “Oh, new song.”

“This is my favorite one!” Cady squeals happily as Mele Kalikimaka starts playing. Janis smiles as she dances along as best she can in her seat and hums the tune.

“You’re so cute.”

“You’re cuter,” Cady retaliates. “Dance with me!”

Janis rolls her eyes and gives Cady her other hand, since they’re stuck behind at least twenty people who had a similar idea for how to spend the evening. Cady does a little shimmy with Janis and even throws in a little half spin, since she can’t turn all the way around while sitting down. Janis giggles at her as she winds up sort of pretzeled in between their four arms and peeks at her upside down. Cady smiles back and wriggles closer for a kiss.

“Oh, they’re moving again,” Cady says when she sees the cars in front of them begin to shuffle forwards. Janis regretfully takes her hand back and continues driving.

“Can I hijack this date a little?”

“Of course.”

Janis grins slightly mischievously and kisses Cady’s knuckles. “Then close your eyes.”

“Are you gonna murder me?”

“Are you gonna ask that every time I ask you to close your eyes?”

“Yep.”

“Then yeah.”

“Cool.”

——————

Janis regrets asking Cady to close her eyes for the surprise when they arrive at their destination and Cady is deeply asleep.

“I should have known,” she hums lovingly. She unbuckles her seatbelt and heads around to Cady’s side to wake her up. “Baaaaaby. Time to wake up.”

“Nooo,” Cady whines. Janis rolls her eyes and unbuckles Cady’s seatbelt for her before pulling her out of the car and into her arms. Cady whines again. “Mean to me.”

“You don’t want to keep date night going?”

Cady finally opens her eyes and begrudgingly looks around to see where she’s ended up. They’re in the parking lot at their favorite local park, with all the trees outlining it covered in beautiful white lights and snow. It is rather beautiful.

“I love you so much, Janis,” Cady murmurs, nuzzling into Janis’ warm neck. Janis adjusts her grip and kisses the little bits of Cady’s face she can reach.

“I love you too, Peanut,” she whispers. “More than anything.”

Cady hums happily and kisses Janis’ neck. “Why are we here?”

Janis sets Cady back on her feet and heads back to the car for a second, earning herself yet another whine from her wife. Cady brightens when she hears It’s Beginning to Look A Lot Like Christmas playing from the radio, just loud enough for them to hear without disturbing anyone else. Not that there’s anyone around to disturb.

“May I have this dance?” Janis purrs when she returns, reaching out a hand for her wife.

“No,” Cady replies, threading her arms around Janis’ waist. “This one’s mine.”

Janis laughs and wraps her arms around Cady’s neck, letting her lead for once. Cady presses closer and tips her face up, prompting Janis to tip hers down and press their foreheads together. Cady grins widely as she stares into Janis’ warm brown eyes.

They’re not dancing so much as holding each other and shuffling around slowly, but neither of them are about to question what they’re up to. All they care about is holding their love close and enjoying the crisp evening alone together.

They continue swaying and holding each other even as the song shifts to a more upbeat one. Neither of them notice, favoring focusing on their partner more. Cady slowly presses up on her tiptoes for a kiss and purrs contently when Janis reciprocates.

Snow begins to flutter down around them, leaving cold little kisses on their cheeks and noses before fading away into nothing. Janis and Cady still don’t care.

The real kisses they share will last them forever.

—————

ta daaaa!! hope you enjoyed!! see you tomorrow!!

[lonelypond]

Parent Trap, Ch. 8

NicoMaki, NozoEli, Love Live, 3K, 8/?

A chapter full of conversations.

And We Talk

Clack...clack, light but solid, bamboo striking bamboo, Nico sliding closer to Umi, the pace of her blows picking up, as Umi manuevered her sword to parry, easily absorbing the increasingly frantic energy Nico forced into each strike. Sensing Nico’s flagging stamina, Umi dropped to one knee, rising with a strike that forced Nico to block behind her, Umi’s blade sliding off, and Nico leaping into a overhand strike, which Umi parried and then forced Nico’s sword down.

“So are you going to tell me now why you’re paying me three times my normal rate to choreograph a fight scene for you.”

Nico stepped back, freeing her sword, then attacking again, sliding forward, dodging to the side, pushing back, but found Umi always there to calmly parry.

“It’s like a dance.” Nico struck Umi’s sword rapidly and repeatedly as she slid to the right, then pushed forward, Umi responding to each movement.

“Perhaps.” Umi held up a hand, “Let’s take a water break.”

“If you need one. Nico’s fine.”

Umi raised an eyebrow at the obvious sweat rolling down Nico’s face. Nico scowled as she swiped a forearm over her forehead. “It’s hot in here.”

“You were too hasty. I prefer to work at half speed to perfect techniques.”

“Nico needed a workout.”

Umi chuckled, “My training dummy rates are much cheaper than even my stunt choreography hourly.”

Nico grabbed her water bottle, “Ha! Nico will pay both.”

Umi watched, concerned. She didn’t know Nico that well, but something was obviously disturbing her. Nico sat on the bench, slumping forward, head hanging down, more than physical exhaustion weighting her.

“Hypothetically…” Nico began.

“Yes?”

“Let’s say you were a guy and you found out you had a child you didn’t know about.” Nico glanced up, her ruby eyes challenging Umi to flinch, but Umi remained solid. “What would you do?”

“Everything I could to help the mother.”

“Just like that.”

Umi shrugged, “If I had a child, I would have had a committed relationship with the mother of the child. If she chose not to include me at first, but then later reached out, that does nothing to change my responsibility as a parent or my affection as a…” Umi stumbled, Nico leaned forward, curious. Umi had always been almost prudish about her relationship with Kotori, “a former paramor.”

“No one night stands.”

“No.”

Nico raised her water bottle in a salute.

“Is this about Maki?”

“I thought you didn’t spend time on TWIG?”

“Kotori does.”

“Nico knew that. What does she think?”

“You never looked like you had baby weight. And she wants to design you a dress.”

“We’ll talk. And not hypothetically, like Nico’s question.”

Umi did a slow sword sequence as she considered how to continue the conversation. “What does this hypothetical guy want?”

“Romance, love, being there...the complete package. ” Nico was slumped again.

“Can’t Maki be part of the complete package?”

Nico glared. “It’s not that easy. Everything’s backwards. Nico’s backwards.”

Umi, not letting Nico look away, went through a series of movements that made Umi look like a river rolling along in its bed, graceful, surging, continuing. “Some things are just natural, Nico.”

“Not with everyone who has a phone and the TWIG app watching.”

Umi settled into ready pose. “So close the app. Step off the stage. Seize the opportunity.”

Nico had her sword in both hands, “Opportunity?”

“Yes.”

“Nico’s not sure. Last time Nico checked it was a locked door. No knocking. No open window. No welcome mat.”

“And you gave up?" Umi chuckled, "Doesn’t sound like Nico.”

“No.” Nico slid into attack position, shoulders squared. “It doesn’t.”

And the dance began.

###

Nico was showered, locked in the Ayase-Tojo spare room, and ready to get back into the conversation. Texting. Sexting. Remind Maki of the good things. The sexy things. The fun things. The Nico things.

N: Nico misses seeing your nightly pajama snaps.

M: Dia’s been throwing up all day.

So sexting out, sympathetic in. At least Maki was texting. And mentioning Dia instead of aggressively avoiding the name.

N: Can Nico help?

M: Don’t distract me while I’m trying to watch a using your washing machine tutorial. Laundry is not in the nanny’s job description.

N: You don’t know how to do laundry...it’s easy, open the lid, put the clothes in, put detergent somewhere, push a few buttons. Most laundry machines are super instructive.

M: I have to be careful. It’s Dia’s things. Mama didn’t pack enough for throwing up. And Dia threw up in the bag. She didn’t like the car ride. Or lunch.

N: Is she allergic to something? Are you keeping her hydrated?

M: I know how to take care of my daughter.

N: Right, Dr. Maki.

M: ಠಿ_ಠ

N: I’m sure the laundry will be fine. Text Nico sometime (ɔˆ ³(ˆ⌣ˆc)

M: (🖒^^)b

###

Maki had finally gotten Dia to sleep, put on some Chopin, and collapsed into the couch when there was a thud at the door. She pulled herself up by the couch arm to see Raye standing there, coat and hat on, headphones off for once, and her backpack on the floor.

“My ride’s here.” Raye announced.

“Your ride?”

“Dr. Nishikino agreed that I could take my month’s leave now.”

“What do you mean?” The panic in her own voice was grating.

Raye made a skutching noise, “I’m a live in nanny in Chicago, with a personal chef on call, not a Cheesehead hostage eating frozen pizza two meals a day.” An eyeroll and a gesture toward upstairs,”I said goodbye to Dia.”

“You can’t leave...I don’t…”

“You’ll be okay, Maki. You’re a mom. Moms know what to do.”

Was there some kind of Mom superpowers that kicked in when you were alone with your child? Maki had never been alone with Dia without someone in shouting distance. Everyone she trusted was five hours away.

###

#Nico was trending. Just #Nico, not #ThatKillerSmile. Pics of her and Umi sparring, Nico’s kiss on Umi’s cheek when she said goodbye...whoever took that had a top tier zoom lens. Influencers were reposting older pics.

Nico’s phone pinged. Tsubasa. Nico picked up.

“Hey, how’s the tour?”

“Finished. Back in Chicago. Throwing a rave Wednesday. Drop by.”

“Nico will be in bed by six. Shooting for the video the next day.”

“Too bad. You could have brought Maki and hung out with Honoka.”

“Oh, Honoka, huh?”

“Yeah, she’s great. We’re really having fun. And no pressure.”

“Good for you. But Maki’s in Wisconsin anyway. Staying away from snap crazy stalkers.”

“Oh.”

That was a tone.

“Oh?”

“That’s the other reason I called. Some PR firm offered A-Rise a lot of money to boost pics of you with anyone but Maki on TWIG.”

Nico felt her lip rise in a sneer as suspicions started to gather. “That’s why Nico’s trending.”

“Probably.”

“Do you know who?”

“I texted Cocoro their name. Turns out they represent, among other clients, the Nishikino Medical Group.”

A shrewd, calculated move. Nico was impressed. And livid. But red hot anger wouldn’t do her any good now. She needed to counter. Or ignore. But she definitely needed to make sure Maki wasn’t thinking she was out there swinging for new partners.

“Nico?”

“Sorry, Nico was thinking. Thanks for the heads up.”

“Anything I can do?”

“Cameo in That Killer Smile.”

“You got it. Just not too early in the day. But think about coming to the party. You need some fun too.”

“Maybe Nico will take a nap.”

“Not much else to do with Maki in Wisconsin. Bet you have some good visuals though.” Tsubaba's tone was a conspiracy invitation.

Nico's reply was curt. “We’re done.”

Tsubasa laughed as the call cut.

One, disrespectful. Two, Nico didn’t need to be reminded of how Maki blew everyone else off the hot curve. Nico had to scheme.

###

Lilo and Stitch for the fifth time that day. Maki was about to claw off her ears.

“NICO!”

The Nico cries had stopped until this last viewing. Maki could see Dia was getting tired and cranky. Maki was also getting tired and cranky. Maki checked the time. One a.m. She should have never let Nico get into the habit of singing Dia a lullaby over the phone.

“SING!”

“Nico’s asleep, bun.”

Dia jumped off the couch and raced to the door, “Nico!”

Repetitive firmness was a necessity with Dia. Never retreat from a decision. “It’s time for sleeping, Dia. Nico’s asleep. You should be asleep. Mama is tired.” Talking about herself in the third person. Sure sign of exhaustion. “C’mon, Dia, let’s get your pajamas on and put you in bed.”

“Tsuki!”

Tsuki had fallen behind the couch, Maki picked her up, and Dia ran to grab her, then screamed “Nico Nico Ni!” right in Maki’s face. It took all of Maki’s remaining self control not to react to the volume. She picked up Dia, did a quick visual check of Dia's clothes to make sure there weren’t any closures that might interfere with sleep, grabbed her laptop with her other hand, and marched upstairs. She put Dia down gently, taking extra care not to let her frustration turn into excess energy that would unsettle Dia further.

“Nico!” The demands were getting weaker, Dia would sleep soon if she didn’t kick into tantrum gear.

“We’re going to call her, bun. Just let Mama set this up.”

Maki flipped up her laptop, moved the EFF.org sticker, hit video call. Nico sounded sleepy and had some kind of green goop on her face. Maki just stared for a minute. Nico did the weirdest, cutest things.

“Maki? What’s wrong?”

Maki woke up from her imagining what it would be like to spend the night in Nico's arms, what the green goop would smell like. Avocado probably. “Sing to Dia.”

“What? Did something happened?” Wide awake Nico.

Maki could hear Dia pulling herself up on the crib rail, “NICO!”

“Hi Dia.” Nico waved.

“Look, just sing, make sure she doesn’t fall out of the crib, and text me if she’s not settling down.” Maki let her face relax, knowing she looked exhausted, “I just need a few minutes.”

“Okay, Nico’s on it”

Maki remembered the earlier part of the day. “No Elvis.”

“What?” Nico shook her head, sitting up, setting her phone on her nightstand, “Never mind, just text Nico sometime.”

“Okay.”

“Nico’s got this. Get some air.”

“Thank you.”

“Thanks for calling Nico. I missed seeing your face. Now go look at some stars.” Nico smiled. “Hi Dia. Your pretty mama is going to go look at stars and Nico’s going to teach you her new song.”

“Sing!”

“That’s right. You’re Nico’s first audience. So pay attention.”

Dia had settled back down. Maki put the laptop at a level where Dia could see Nico through the crib bars and as Nico started singing, backed quietly out of the room.

###

Stars. Inhale. Cold air. No sense of time passing. Maki half dozing, maybe actually asleep for an hour or two. Nico was keeping an eye on Dia. That was a calming thought. Was that good? Maki realized she only had vague panic flashes of her last IRL encounter with Nico, Eli calling and saying something about Nozomi and paperwork and then fear kicking in. Maki didn’t have the mental bandwidth for any news that might trigger another explosion of emotion so talking to Eli was going to have to be another day thing. She reached into her pocket for her phone, to check notifications. A message from her mother, probably about Raye; Eli, not going to deal with that now; and Honoka. Maki hit play.

“Hey, Maki! Tsubasa’s throwing a huge party and invited you and Nico. So you should really come. It’ll be so much fun. Tsubasa’s gonna have a private karaoke room, and an entire arcade and the best DJ in the world. We gotta hang out.”

Party? Why hadn’t Nico mentioned it? Maki flicked over to TWIG, searching #NICO...Nico kissing Umi on the cheek, Nico with her arms around a group of scantily dressed women, Nico at a concert, leaning down into the crowd, Nico writing her phone number on a barista’s stomach…

Maki hit call, “What the hell are you doing?’

Nico sounded sleepy. “Maki?!!?!”

“Yes, Maki, your girlfriend, not that that barista would know that when she called you.”

“What barista? Maki, what’s going on? I just got Dia to sleep. She’s so cute.”

“We got invited to a party and you didn’t tell me.”

“DId Tsubasa call you?” Nico’s question was sharp.

“No, Honoka.”

“Oh, that makes sense.”

“What do you mean?”

“Never mind. Tsubasa and Nico have different opinions on dating.”

“Does yours include giving random women your phone number. And why are you kissing Umi?”

“Slow down. Let Nico catch up.” A pause, “Dia’s still sleeping calmly. Nico does an excellent lullaby. Now what did you do?”

“Searched TWIG to see what you were up to.” Saying it out loud, Maki felt a bit sheepish.

“Cyber stalking Nico. Classy.” Nico hummed, obviously searching through pics. “The Umi kiss was friendly, the barista pic is Photoshopped, and Nico is at home in bed and has been since 7 p.m. getting her beauty sleep before a video shoot at 5 in the morning.” An inhale, “And why you’re seeing pics of Nico with everyone else in the universe is because your parents PR firm is paying influencers to flood the algorithim with pics of Nico and anyone but you.”

“They’re not.”

“They are. A-Rise got approached. Nico has receipts. I can forward you emails.”

Maki was silent.

“And the reason there aren’t pics of us is because you’re in Wisconsin at an undisclosed location because your parents think Nico is going to steal you.”

“I don’t care what my parents think.” Maki felt pressured, with a sudden urge to bolt for the woods.

“If that’s true then why are you in Wisconsin?” Nico sounded annoyed.

“Just shut up for a minute…”

Silence. Maki heard what she’d snapped at Nico echo.

“Good night, Maki.”

“Wait, Nico, I just…”

Call ended. Maki leaned forward, fingertips barely clinging to her phone. How did this work? How exactly did this happen? What had Eli said?

###

“Oh, hi, Maki…” Eli was on the couch, eating chocolate ice cream and watching a production of Swan Lake.

“Why did you call?”

“What did Nico tell you?”

“We're not talking about Nico, Eli.” Maki’s voice had no chill. “Paperwork. Nozomi. What did that mean?”

“Ummm…” No matter how much Eli had rehearsed this in her head, telling Maki was not easy. She glanced toward the door of the spare room. Nico had gone to bed hours ago because of an early set call. So no interruptions. “When I started working on the procedures, Nico was the first person I asked to help. Nico’s always the first person I ask when I need any kind of help. She’s amazing.”

Eli had expected some response from Maki, but no, just waiting, judging silence.

“Okay…” Eli coughed nervously, "So Nico donated eggs, but absolutely refused to be an anonymous donor. She wanted a family but not until she met someone she wanted to marry and was ready to stop touring as much as she had been. So I banked most of her eggs and used the rest in my early tests.”

“So Nico wasn’t just an anonymous donor?”

“No.” Eli laughed, “She was very clear about no little Nico’s running around without her knowing about it. She’s furious right now.”

Maki sounded angry. “How did it happen? Did it happen? Is Nico really Dia’s...”

Eli paused Swan Lake, and headed to the freezer to put the ice cream away. Melting chocolate all over the couch was too easy a tease target for Nozomi. “As far as I can unravel, when Nico came back for her ultrasound to make sure everything was okay after the donation, Nozomi was there and altered Nico’s paperwork. So Nico was in the system all the time, but you were the first and only to match.” Eli pondered whether or not making a pot of coffee would be worth it at this hour. She wasn’t sleeping. Not having Nozomi next to her was lonely. But Nozomi was still being infuriatingly disingenuous about the turmoil she’d thrown Nico and Maki and Dia into. “I’ve taken Nico off the donor list now that I know.”

“So it is true…” Maki’s voice was a low whisper, barely heard.

“I’m so sorry about this, Maki, but from what I can tell, Nico is your egg donor.”

And then the roar, “Why would Nozomi do that to Nico? To you? What the hell kind of friend alters your medical paperwork? What kind of wife...how can you...that’s so many kinds of illegal, unethical, just awful, Eli. Why would she do that?"

Eli winced. All of that was true. But she knew that Nozomi really believed she’d had Nico’s best interest at heart.

“I know, Maki. I’m trying to explain it to her, how I would feel if I had missed the twins’ first steps or when they said “Mama”...it’s still so amazing, Maki, to watch them be their own people, but you know that, and Nico missed so much of that with Dia and I’m heartbroken for her, I just can’t bear to think about it, but Nozomi really cares, I promise…”

Maki cut Eli off, voice in efficiency professional mode. “Is Nico okay?”

“I don’t know. She’s super busy. Super busy usually means stressed.” Eli rested her forehead on the refrigerator, “Are you okay?”

Maki made a huffing noise. “I have to go check on Dia.”

“Maki....”

And Eli was alone. Or maybe not.

“Better make that coffee, Eli-chi.” Eli turned, Nozomi stood in the archway, Eli’s robe wrapped around her. “I miss you. I haven’t been listening to what you've been trying to say. Help me fix this, my love.”

Eli was going to cry, Nozomi opened up her arms, and Eli rushed to be held, Nozomi’s fingers in her hair, Nozomi’s sweet, soft voice promising everything would work out.

A/N: Shakespeare season. How you?

[vivxwrites]

Mystery Girl

*not my gif*

Word Count: 1881

Summary: You and Carol have a secret relationship and the team wants to know who you’re dating.

Warnings: Some kissing, I think that’s it. Mistakes??

Pairing: Carol Danvers x Reader

A/N: This was requested by @im-so-done-42 and I hope you love it as much as I do. I had loads of fun writing it, sorry for the wait by the way :))

You hummed to yourself as you flipped the pancake in the skillet. Your thoughts trailed back to last night and a happy grin etched itself onto your face. As soon as everyone had gone to bed your girlfriend Carol snuck into your bedroom and the two of you spent the night cuddled up under your fluffy comforter. The two of you have been dating for three months now but you both agreed on keeping the relationship a secret, at least until you were sure that it would be a long-term thing.

“(Y/N)? Hello, Earth to (Y/N)!” You snapped out of your haze and found Clint waving a hand in front of your face.

“Shit.” You cursed when you saw that you had completely zoned out and burnt your pancakes. Not to mention that practically the whole team had made their way down to the kitchen and were staring at you. “Oh hey guys,” you greeted sheepishly.

“You’re being extra spacey today.” Tony narrowed his eyes at you and you did your best not to squirm under his gaze.

“No I’m not, I’m always this spacey.” You prayed that Tony hadn’t noticed your voice’s higher pitch and did your best to remain stoic under his watchful eye.

“Hey, keep those pancakes comin’, (Y/LN). You’ve still got the rest of us to feed,” Sam hollered from the table. While you would normally be annoyed at his words, this time you cheered internally for the change in subject and turned to continue making pancakes.

“I’m on to you (Y/N), and don’t you forget it.” Tony’s words made your whole body tense up. You snuck a glance at Carol and you saw her swallow nervously once she met your eyes. The silent conversation between the two of you would have gone completely unnoticed if it weren’t for one highly trained assassin.

Breakfast went down as it normally did after the interrogation, Sam and Bucky bickering and fighting over food while Clint scarfed down both of their portions. The look of horror in both of their eyes never got old.

Round two of Tony’s scrutiny happened when you were minding your own business and reading a book. Ok, maybe you weren’t reading a book, but there was a book in front of you. Instead your mind had drifted off to Carol and how beautiful she was. How her smile lit up the whole room and how her eyes always showed so much emotion. You were in the middle of replaying the sound of Carol’s laugh throughout your head when all of a sudden Tony crawled out from under the couch with a cry of “aha!”

You screamed and nearly tumbled off of the couch at his appearance. You clutched your chest in fear and scolded him, “What the hell is wrong with you!”

He hopped to his feet and raced around the common room. He pointed to you and stated, “You, my dear, have a crush.”

“What? Pfft I don’t have a crush.” You did your best to play it off but he saw right through you.

He gave you an incredulous look and continued his skipping around the various couches. This time he sang out the words, “(Y/N) has a crush! (Y/N) has a crush!”

You felt yourself panicking when Tony kept chanting those words over and over again, not wanting any other nosy avengers to start pestering you alongside him. “Shh, shut up Tony!”

“Nuh uh! Not unless you tell me who.” He practically giggled in glee as he kept frolicking all about. You swear that you even saw him clap his hands together like a seal.

You heard the footsteps of a few other avengers drawing nearer. Not wanting to see who they were, you hid your face in a pillow and groaned at Tony’s antics.

“Hey guys! Did you know that (Y/N) has a crush,” he practically screamed those words to the group and you felt yourself blush furiously. ‘At least he doesn’t know the truth,’ you thought.

“Alright Tony, leave the poor girl alone.” You sighed in relief at Natasha’s words, she was always a mediator.

Tony grumbled out a “party pooper” and begrudgingly shuffled away. You pulled your face out of the pillow and met Natasha’s gaze. She gave you a small smile and a pat on your back before she too left the room.

You were peacefully watching a movie with the majority of the team when Tony struck again. He smiled innocently and took a seat on the couch next to you, but you knew his intentions were more than likely nefarious. He sat and watched the movie for a good twenty minutes before he made his move. “(Y/N) has a crush.” He covered his words up with a cough and an apologetic smile. You had heard him loud and clear and sent him a wicked glare. He fought a smirk and remained silent for another ten minutes before he repeated his words. A few others glanced at him this time, to which he responded with, “Sorry team, I’ve got a little bug in my throat.” He muttered under his breath, “A love bug.”

The night continued with Tony’s nonsense and you felt your resolve crumbling all throughout the movie. It only took two more times for you to finally snap. “God dammit Stark! I don’t have a crush, ok? I’m dating someone. Are you happy now?”

Everyone fell silent at your exclamation. You felt several pairs of eyes on you and tears of embarrassment welled up in your eyes. You threw yourself off of the couch and fled to your bedroom.

Back in the common room everyone sat in tense, uncomfortable silence. Carol wanted to race after you but she feared that it would look too suspicious. She shifted uncomfortably in her seat and tried to keep her face from showing her concern. Tony sighed and made to move off his couch, “I didn’t mean to hurt the poor kid. Let me go after her.”

“Oh no you don’t Stark, you’ve done enough.” Natasha sent Tony a glare that made him stay put.

Carol felt her heart break a little when she realized that no one else seemed interested in making sure you were ok. She faked a yawn and stretched her arms above her head. “Well I’m headed to bed. Goodnight.” Various chimes of “goodnight” followed Carol’s statement and she walked off towards her room. When she made it far enough she changed course and made a beeline for your room instead.

She knocked softly on the door to alert you to her presence and slowly pushed it ajar. You were sitting on your bed with tear-stained cheeks when Carol rushed forward to sweep you into her arms. She whispered words of comfort and you clung to her body, grateful for its warmth.

“I’m sorry that Tony was bugging you all day, baby. I would’ve blasted him if I could.”

You let out a watery chuckle at her words. “You always know what to say to make me feel better.” She smiled softly at your statement.

Carol reached over to you and tucked your hair behind your ear. She cupped your cheek with one hand and your body leaned into her on its own accord. “That’s because I hate seeing your smiley face upset.” She placed a light kiss on your temple and you tucked your head under her chin. You snuggled further into her body and the two of you drifted off to sleep.

When you woke you were met with the sight of Carol’s infectious grin. You grumbled out, “How are you so happy in the morning?”

“It’s because I woke up next to you.” She finished her statement with a boop to your nose and you blushed heavily.

You gave her a happy grin, “ Cheesehead.” You saw the mischievous glint that showed up in her eyes but you were too late.

Before you could process what was happening Carol had straddled your hips and was gazing down at you. “You wanna take that back, babe?”

You shook your head and all of a sudden she started tickling you all over. You squealed in surprise and tried to wriggle away but she had you trapped under her weight. “Wait-Carol I take it back. I take it back!” You could barely talk due to the giggles that erupted from your throat.

Carol finally took mercy on you and flopped to the other side of the bed. She grinned at you as you attempted to catch your breath and once you did you grinned back. “I think I love you.” You panicked, that was definitely not supposed to come out.

Carol blinked at you in response, she was stunned speechless. You immediately thought the worst and babbled out an apology, “Oh god, I said that too soon didn’t I? It’s fine, just pretend you didn’t hear me because I certai-“ Carol cut you off with a single finger to your lips and your eyes widened in response.

“(Y/N). I think I love you too.” She spoke quickly and quietly and if you hadn’t been listening intently you would have missed it altogether.

“That’s great! You know, because I said I think I love you and you just said you think you love me, it all works out.” You blushed when you caught yourself rambling again. “So, should we tell the others? They already know I’m dating someone.”

“Oh don’t worry about the others, babe.” The glint in her eyes had returned, “You just leave them to me.”

You were sitting at the kitchen island picking at your cereal when you heard someone sit next to you. “So who’s the mystery guy?”

Clint, of course it was Clint. You put on a look of confusion, “Excuse me?”

“You know, the guy you’re dating? You did admit to it last night.”

“Yeah (Y/N), who is this mystery guy? Do we know him?” Great, now Sam was pestering you too.

You simply shrugged at their questions and went back to eating your cereal. You ignored the curious expressions that were on you and instead stared at your blurry reflection in the spoon.

When Tony showed up in the kitchen you avoided his eyes completely. You could feel him staring at you and you kept going about your business, just as you had done before.

You felt a tap on your shoulder and turned in the direction of it. When you saw that it was Carol you smiled, “Oh hey Carol, what’s u-“ Before you could finish talking she smashed her lips into yours. Your eyes fluttered closed at the feeling of her heated kiss and you melted right into it.

Carol pulled away with a loud pop and she smirked at the other occupants in the room. You could only let out a quiet, “Oh wow,” before the room boomed with multiple voices at the same time.

“What?!” That one was Sam.

“Girl, mystery girl.” There was Clint’s voice.

“I didn’t see that coming.” Pietro and Wanda at the same time, that was pretty cool to hear.

Tony didn’t even say anything, just gaped in shock.

Last but not least, Natasha’s voice echoed around the room, “I knew it.”

A/N: My laptop still hates me so please forgive anything that looks weird or any mistakes, I will fix them eventually. I hope you liked the fic!! Let me know if you did and also feel free to check out my other stuff. Oh and send in some requests, I’ll write almost anything. Thanks, Viv :)

[theyearoftheking]

Book 1: Carrie

I wish I could write you a melody so plain

That would save you, dear lady, from going insane

That would ease you and cool you and cease the pain

Of your useless and pointless knowledge...

-Bob Dylan

I first read Carrie seven years ago as part of the Rory Gilmore reading challenge (sense a trend yet?). Despite reading a handful of books in the challenge, I quickly gave up because the prospect of reading Finnegan’s Wake was just too much. Even as an English major, I just can’t stomach Joyce. But I digress, and promise to stick with this challenge until the bitter end. Besides, I have a blog. I’m obviously big time now.

Carrie was first published in 1974 and the overriding theme for me was relevance. What’s old is new again, human beings never really learn lessons and bullying is a tale as old as time. Let’s do a deep-ish dive, shall we?

The book opens with a pretty embarrassing scene set inside high school hell: the girl’s locker room. Carrie is showering after gym class, and gets her period for the first time, blood streaming down her legs. She’s scared as hell,and has no idea what’s happening, because she was raised by an evangelical crazy woman. Her classmates lose their shit, begin throwing menstrual products at her, and yelling, “plug it up!” 

So cringy. 

But on the bright side, this didn’t happen during the age of social media. This would have made Snapchat, Insta, TikTok, or whatever social media thing the kids are into. But you could still see it happening in 2020. Hell is other people, particularly high school girls of a certain bitchy persuasion. 

After this humiliating moment, Carrie heads home to lick her wounds, and wonder why her mother, Margaret, never talked to her about menstruation. Her mother informs her, “And God made Eve from the rib of Adam...Get up, woman. Let us get in and pray. Let’s us pray to Jesus for our woman-weak, wicked, sinning souls...” 

At this moment, my blood ran cold. This statement should sound like the ramblings of a crazy person. But instead it reminded me of another matriarch...

Yeah. Michelle Duggar of 19 Kids and Counting, and Counting On fame. Michelle with her crazy eyes and crunchy perm, who believes women shouldn’t be cutting their hair, wearing pants, or bikinis, or any article of clothing that might entice men to think wicked thoughts; because apparently women do nothing but illicit sinful thoughts in men. It would be funny, if it wasn’t for the legions of fans and multiple babies she and her evangelical brood keep popping out on their living room couches with alarming frequency. We won’t even get into the whole, “covering up the fact her son molested several of her daughters and brushed it under the rug, because... Jesus”. 

Shudder. 

After Carrie’s locker room situation, the school administrators try to punish several of the girls responsible for the tampons/pads attack. One of the ringleaders, Chris Hargensen is a right little bitch, and sends daddy into the principal’s office to plead on her behalf so she won’t miss prom. He and the principal get chippy with each other, and Mr. Hargensen says, “I don’t intend... to sit here and listen to a tissue of half-truths or your standard schoolmaster lecture, Mr. Grayle. I know my daughter well enough...”

This whole interaction between Mr. Hargensen and Principal Grayle cracked me up. Millennials (of which I am not) get a bad wrap for not being held accountable for anything. They are stereotyped as special snowflakes who need participation trophies, and their parents make excuses for all their bad behaviors. 

Bro. 

Tale as old as time. Need I remind you this book was published in 1974? 

Ok, Boomer?

The story progresses with Sue Snell, one of the ringleaders of the Plug It Up debacle feeling guilty for her actions, and convincing her boyfriend, Tommy Ross to ask Carrie to prom. Tommy loves Sue, and agrees to do it. Carrie sews herself a crushed velvet prom dress, her mom repeatedly calls her a slut, and Carrie ends up looking beautiful. I imagine it much like Rachel Leigh Cook’s “startling” transformation in She’s All That. 

 Tommy and Carrie go to prom, and he realizes she’s actually kinda pretty, which makes her worthy of his respect. The crushed velvet dress gets all the compliments, and the night doesn’t start out as a total disaster. Well, bitchy Chris Hargensen isn’t having it. She convinces Billy Nolan, her greaser boyfriend, to pull off some kind of spectacular prank at prom to put Carrie in her place and remind her of her station. 

Billy and his crew of greasers go to a local farm, kill two pigs, and collect the blood. Later on at prom when Carrie and Tommy are announced king and queen, Chris pulls the cord rigged to the buckets of pig blood, and douses them both. Carrie loses her shit, and uses her telekinetic powers (did I forget to mention that’s a thing she has?) to blow up the school, kill her classmates and destroy the lovely town of Chamberlain, Maine. After prom, she walks home, where Michelle Duggar, Mama White is waiting with a knife, and stabs Carrie in the chest. Carrie uses her powers to slow Michelle Duggar Mama White’s heart down, until she’s dead. Then (with the knife still stuck in her chest), Carrie heads back into town to finish her reign of terror and kill Chris and Billy. Then she dies. 

And they all lived happily ever after. Well, Sue Snell kind of does, since she’s one of the only ones to make it out alive. No good deed goes unpunished, am I right? 

A few notable, funny moments... 

1. Early on in the novel, a reference is made to a letter Michelle Duggar Mama White wrote to a friend in Kenosha, Wisconsin. How did Steve decide on Kenosha? Such a strange city in Wisconsin to choose... Did he look at a map and randomly pick a city? Had he made a stop at the Mars Cheese Castle once and it left an impression? Did he throw a dart at a map of Wisconsin? Does he know Kenosha doesn’t have an especially high evangelical population? So many questions. As a Sconnie Cheesehead Homer, I’ll be keeping a Wisconsin Mentions tally throughout the challenge. 

2. At one point in the novel, a fictitious scientific article compares the genetic-recessive characteristics of telekinesis to hemophilia. Hemophilia is referred to as, “King’s Evil”, I couldn’t help with wonder if Steve threw this fact in here just to use the term, “King’s Evil”. Random observation 

I enjoyed re-reading Carrie, and still find it relevant and timely. And I think it speaks to King’s talent as a writer that he’s able to create a character like Carrie, who blows up a whole damn town and kills almost everyone, and you still feel sorry for her. She’s not quite a villain, but she’s not far off. 

In summation:

Total King Wisconsin Mentions: 1

Dark Tower References: 0

Book Grade: B+

Now, time for Salem’s Lot. It’s been on my to-be-read list for quite a while, and I’m looking forward to diving into it. Be patient, it’s 700 pages, compared to Carrie’s 290. 

I should mention, I’m reading all of these books in actual BOOK form, no e-books. I find when I use my Kindle, I get distracted by marathon games of Candy Crush, and lose focus. But with an actual book? No candy to be crushed, no FB messages to check, no cute dog pictures to upload. 

Speaking of dogs, Steve has Molly, The Thing of Evil. I have Biscuit Beast the Beagle. 

You can see her handiwork here on a bookmark a friend was nice enough to bring back from The Stanley.

 Beagles... to know them is to love them. 

Until next time- long days and pleasant nights, readers!

Rebecca

[clouddywithachanceofanxiety]

How well do you know your significant other?

@sunraybabe

1. Name a food she won’t eat? Cheese, pickle pizza 😂

2. You go out to eat, what would she drink? Coke

3. What is her nickname for you?

Where do I start: angel, angel baby, baby, baby bear, cheesehead, babe, pretty much all the names in the book

4. What is something she likes to do? Read/Watch YouTube or Netflix

5. Where is her favorite store?

Barnes and Noble

6. When she is on the phone, who is she talking to? Me or her mom I assume idk

7. What are her favorite shows? Criminal Minds, Bones, Brooklyn Nine Nine

8. What would she never wear?

Anything with a sports logo

9. What’s her favorite food? Chipotle, steak, and chili

10. What is her favorite sport?

Swimming

11. What is something that you do that she wishes you didn’t?

Probably complain too much, even though she says I don’t 😂 and also how I treat myself

12. What could she do all day long and not get bored? Be with me ����, lmfao but also uhhh play chess and watch tv or movies or definitely reading

13. How does she like his coffee?

She doesn’t like coffee but she likes chai tea lattes with soy milk

14. How long have you been together?

1 yr and 2 mos to the day 🥰💋🌈

15. Post a picture of you two together.

How well do you know your significant other; Copy and paste and answer the questions... have fun!!!

@sunraybabe your turn babes 😘🥰💕🔥 I love youuuuuuuuuu

[firsttraintovictoriaville]

No oh my gosh no- THIS IS THE PUREST THING I HAVE EVER READ 

Cheddar is literally just a huge dog who think he’s a widdle baby (which he is but not in size) and Wisconsin is such a loving dad maybe too loving but the cuddles omg them in their matching cheesehead hats and Packers shirt watching the game while cuddling

Wisconsin drinking by the pool while watching Cheddar do his laps is the type of fluff that is needed in life, it’s the cutest little image, you just know Cheddar has the nicest pool setup courtesy of Wisconsin and his godfather 

I love Cheddar so much 1000/10 would cuddlee this lazy spoiled goodest boi to ever good 

I am still thinking of Cheddar with his emblazoned name tail sock just happily walking around and Sconnie lovingly adjusting it when it starts to slip.... Cheddar is so proud of his name and his tail sock

Yessss it would be so cute!

I'm already characterizing Cheddar as a wonderful but lazy boy. He does not like doing things and has already been spoiled by his loving but inexperienced gator father.

Since Wisconsin is a pretty cold place, cold-blooded Cheddar isn't going to be as active as a typical gator. His favorite activities include taking naps, going for light swims in his pool, napping under the sun, and napping after a meal.

When Wisconsin takes Cheddar for a walk, his son will decide mid-walk that he no longer wishes to walk and flops down on his belly. This doesn't mean that he wants to go home, it just means that he expects to be carried. Since Cheddar was so small, Wisconsin frequently indulged his boy by picking him up.

However, this habit of his hasn't changed as Cheddar grew up, so this means that he still expects Wisconsin to carry him when he's already ten feet long and hundreds of pounds. It's kind of like when huge dogs think they're still lap pup material, but cranked up to eleven. It doesn't help that Cheddar is quite assertive when he wants cuddles, the only thing he will exert a significant amount of effort for.

Wisconsin has still always indulged his wonderful son with these demands thanks to his immortality and the extra strength granted by his State Spirit. Although, Cheddar also expects the same treatment from the other states when Wisconsin needs someone to babysit his boy. It can be quite frightening when Cheddar is approaching and following you when you don't know what he wants, but he really only wants cuddles.

Wisconsin would ask any of the states for help babysitting Cheddar with two main exceptions, Illinois and Florida. Illinois is for obvious reasons, but while he may be Cheddar’s godfather from all the advice he’s given about raising a gator, Wisconsin doesn’t entirely trust Florida with babysitting Cheddar. He’s concerned about Florida being a bad influence on his good, sweet son.

Overall, Cheddar is a good boy who only wants to live a comfy life. Taking frequent naps and getting cuddles, he enjoys living with his loving father and observing with amusement the random clueless states that sometimes enter his life.

[loveinkfanfics]

13 and 6 for Juice, if it could be fluffy? If not I totally understand! 😊

Of course! This one got real nerdy, real fast! ;) Hopefully its fluffy enough for you!! :) 

She played with the well worn edge of the book, biting her lip as she looked from the creased and faded cover back to Juice’s face. “You sure you want to do this? I mean, you could just as easily watch the movies…”

He gave her a small smile as he sat up more on the bed and beckoning her closer. “Nope, I want the real deal. These books are important to you and I want to read them all,” he insisted, his smile growing bigger when she crawled in closer to him, settling between his legs. He pressed a kiss to the lightning bolt tattooed on the back of her neck. “Got to see where this tat came from.” 

She felt butterflies flutter in her stomach as his hands moved around her waist. Since the day she’d met him, Juice had been on her about what her different tattoos meant. Most of them weren’t too exciting, but she’d kept from telling him about the lightning tattoo as long as she could, afraid he’d drop her like a hot potato when he found out just how big of a nerd she was. The opposite happened, however. The moment she told him it was after Harry Potter, he’d confessed he’d never read the books or seen the movies, then insisted she read it to him. She ran her hand over the cover again and smiled a little as she looked up at him. “Don’t fall asleep.” 

Juice set his chin on her shoulder, squeezing her gently. “I won’t. Promise.” 

She cleared her throat, opening the book. “All right. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, Chapter One, The Boy Who Lived.”

She read until her throat felt sore and raw, taking a break for a sip of water. He took the book from her, kissing her shoulder. “So, if I had to pick a house for you, I think you’d be…Ravenclaw. ‘Cause you’re not only smart, you’re man’s greatest treasure.” 

“Cheesehead,” she said, elbowing him gently as she rolled her eyes. “You’d be Hufflepuff because you’re kind and loyal and an excellent finder.” 

He chuckled, rolling his eyes at her. “Whatever you say, expert. What about the other guys? Let’s do them.” 

She humored him for awhile, listening to him ramble about his brothers until she felt her own eyelids grow heavy. The combination of being in his arms paired with the low tone of his voice was slowly lulling her to sleep. He squeezed her again, and she woke up with start. “Shit! Sorry. What were we talking about again?” 

He laughed, kissing her shoulder again. “Don’t worry about it, sleepyhead,” he said, taking the book from her and opening it to where they’d left off. “Game for more? I want to know more about this Hogwarts shit.” 

“Oh I’m always ready for more,” she said snuggling in closer to him. Inside, she was excited to hear him read her all time favorite book to her. “You sure you can read?” 

He bit her shoulder playfully. “Yes, I can read. I did graduate from elementary school, thank you very much.” 

She put her hand over the words before tilting her head back to look up at him. “Do you actually like it though? Or are you just humoring me?” 

“I love everythin’ about it, baby. Love how important it is to you and the way your eyes light up when you talk about it. ‘specially love the way you read it. Sexy as hell.” 

 She laughed, kissing his jaw lovingly. It was in that moment, she realized something and knew she had to say it before the moment got away from her. “I love you,” she said for the first time in the few months they’d been together. “I really do.”

His responding grin could’ve lit up a dark room. “I love you too, beautiful,” he said as if it were the most natural thing in the world. “Now c’mon, let me read a little to you.”

Little bit fluffy and a lot nerdy. I don’t own SOA or Harry Potter, just in case. ;)  

[golfwi52]

Round 21 – The Walking Dad

Sheboygan Town and Country Golf Course, Sheboygan, WI 53083 Par 71, Blue Tees, 6,058 yards,  Berms and Pigeon Run Nines Sunday, May 21st, 2017, 12:55pm, start 63, end 56 degrees, 16 mph winds, cloudy

Argh, another weekend with an IT release and 600 emails to cleanup.  Living the dream, baby.   So I skipped a Saturday night with Lauren and stayed up cleaning up emails and babysitting a release until 1:30am.   When I awoke at 7am I checked on the release and everything looked ok.  But then around 9am things started to go south and I ended up on a painful incident call for a couple of hours.   I hate IT weekends like this.  Exhausted from little sleep and the incident call, I struggled to pull myself out of my recliner and headed 30 miles north to Sheboygan to play this week’s round.  A relatively short 30 minute highway drive which was nice for a change.

While the Sheboygan and Kohler area hosts several big time courses (Whistling Straits, Blackwolf Run, The Bull), I set my sights on a couple of the modest public courses.  I picked Sheboygan Town and Country over Riverdale since T&C looked more challenging, with plenty of water and a 27 hole layout.   T&C turned out to be a great pick as it provided an entertaining and well-manicured track along with very impressive restaurant and clubhouse facilities.  I hooked up with a local couple, Paul and Sue, and teed off from the back blue tees on the first hole of the Berms 9 around 1pm.  I was already exhausted, didn’t eat lunch, and there was a 16mph wind in play.  I played a safe 4-iron off the short par 4, 326 yard first and promptly hooked it into the woods to the left.  My new buddy Paul chided me for my wimpy “safe” strategy.  This could get ugly.

Paul and Sue from Sheboygan

Ok, so I parred the first by hitting a beauty of a 9 iron from the woods to the green and 2 putted.  I played from the long blue tees on the par 5 second while Paul stepped up to the whites to cut off 50 yards so that he had a chance at hitting the green in 2.  OK, now that’s wimpy in my book – right up there with taking mulligans.   Of course Paul got another laugh at me as I squarely hit trees on 3 consecutive shots as I tried to shortcut thru the left dogleg.   I ended up saving a little face by itching in from off the green to save a 7.  The windy roller-coaster front nine was scramble city – mixing bad and good shots to struggle to a 44.  From their cozy riding cart, Paul and Sue commented how impressed they were that I was walking 18 holes.  They can only ever last just 9 holes when they walk – which didn’t seem something they tried too often.  They were also surprised that I was close to 60, around 10 years older than them.   Yeah, take that, prototypical Wisconsin cheesehead golfing couple.   I am amazed at why more golfers don’t walk their rounds for the exercise.  The exercise is a huge part of why I’m out here playing for over 4 hours.  

Sue was a stitch to play with.  She could smack the ball a mile along with often duffing it just a few yards.  While she threw around the f-bomb frequently, she also smacked a couple of beastie pars along the way.  Sue’s game and golfing vocabulary reminded me of my partner Lauren, who I am still anxiously awaiting to join me golfing this year.   Lauren would absolutely hate playing crappy in front of others, especially strangers, to the point of avoiding golfing with others besides me.   One of my golf goals is to convince Lauren that she shouldn’t care about how she plays in front of others and that folks just enjoy her company and could care less about how she plays.  But Lauren is a perfectionist and a performer, dating back to her Pittsburgh ballet days, so I’m not holding out much hope on this goal.  I get to enjoy her company on the course so it’s still good for me. xxoo

Narrow fairway on #3 of the Pigeon Run nine

Karma must have heard the front nine comments about me walking 18 because I turned into an old zombie on the back nine.   While I love the challenge of playing sports while tired (e.g. soccer and tennis), playing golf tired is especially difficult and humbling.  The legs give out, the mind drifts, the driver accuracy goes south, approach shots slide left, and Alice starts putting for me.   This exhausting back nine reminded me of my visit to Tokyo 3 years ago to visit my first grandchild.   I’m normally a terrible sleeper on the road (actually anywhere) and during the exciting Tokyo trip my sleep depravation hit a new record.  My poor daughter and son-in-law must have thought I was a zombie from Mars on that trip.  I think I was my 2-month-old grandson’s mental equivalent for most of my visit.  Good practice though for my daughter for when she’ll need to take care of me right before I go into the home.  

Par 3 #9 on Pigeon Run.  Birdie time.

Final Score:  94 (44, 50).   3 pars, 1 birdie, 2 lost balls, playing time 3 hours and 35 minutes.   I stumbled to an awful 50 on the back nine, unable to hit a straight drive to save my life.  But Paul and Sue felt better about riding a cart and being 10 years younger than my aging bones, so at least all was back to normal in their golf world.   I did manage to sink a 25 foot putt to birdie the final hole so the round was not a total loss.  Now it’s time to hit the gym and range more often and focus on breaking 80 before the end of the year.  I’m tired of playing zombie golf…

[jenguerrero]

It’s cold outside! I’ve lived in Texas for 10 years now, but I grew up in Wisconsin, and chilly air is like Pavlov’s bell to this Cheesehead. I start craving melted cheese.

My favorite fondue method is a little unorthodox. Rather than heating wine and tossing corn starch coated cheese into the pool, I love to start by making a roux and building a lovely béchamel. The resulting texture is velvety. I like to use a combination of both milk and wine, like you would in a wine cream sauce. It’s a bit less boozy which is nice for family fondue night. This uber-garlicky fondue is just as nice for roasted veggies as it is for bread. Really. I know that that’s not generally true, but you need to trust me here.

It is of utmost importance that you cut the broccoli into bite-size pieces. Your guests will be armed with nothing but a fondue fork, and will not be singing your praises if you make them feel like a moose, trying to navigate a ginormous piece of broccoli into their mouth. Seriously. No one feels attractive with an overstuffed broccoli mouth. My husband, the physics major – I’ll call him Nerd Boy for my purposes here – would have you scale down the size of all objects to be dipped for a different reason. It increases the surface area that cheese can adhere to, resulting in a higher cheese to bread ratio.

Hope you love it! I’ll talk about my favorite cheese books and my favorite fondue pot after the recipe….

Jen’s Garlic and Basil Fondue

I get everything from the To Serve: section below prepped and ready for the oven before I get going with the fondue. 

1 cup whole milk 1 ¼ cups pinot grigio or chardonnay (Trader Joe’s $2 bottle is perfect here. Any white wine you wouldn’t mind in your glass will do here.) Warm in a small saucepan on low to use later. It will look weird. See pic below. Don’t worry.

6 Tablespoons butter, softened (preferred brand: Land O’ Lakes unsalted) 6 Tablespoons all-purpose flour (preferred brand: King Arthur) 4 cloves garlic, minced Stir together in a medium saucepan. Turn to medium. Once the butter is melted, whisk together for about 3 minutes, until it starts to color just slightly.

Slowly whisk in the milk and wine, and cook til it starts to thicken, about 3 minutes.

12 oz (about 3 cups) fontina, shredded (Delicious Italian cheese with a slightly nutty flavor) 12 oz (about 3 cups) butterkäse, shredded (Gorgeous buttery cheese from Wisconsin) 3 Tablespoons parmesan or romano (Don’t make yourself nuts if you can’t find these cheeses. They’re my favorite for this, but a nice Gouda or Monterey Jack would work well, too.) Add, 1 handful at a time, stirring until smooth and lovely, before moving onto the next handful.

1 small stem of Genovese basil, leaves only, minced Stir in and transfer to fondue pot.

To serve:

Heat the oven to 500°F. Grab two baking sheets. When they’re spread out, they roast instead of steaming. Veggies don’t like to be overcrowded.

Mushrooms 16 oz button or cremini (baby bella) mushrooms, just the end of the stem removed. These were big, so I halved them, but you don’t need to if they’re little. 3 T olive oil ½ t salt ¼ t pepper (or a few grinds) Toss with olive oil, salt and pepper, spread out on a baking sheet, and roast at 500°F for 15 minutes, stem side down, so any liquid released will stay on that baking sheet and not ooze up your lovely serving tray.

Broccoli 2 broccoli crowns, cut into bite-size florets 3 T olive oil ½ t salt ¼ t pepper (or a few grinds) It is of utmost importance that you cut the broccoli into bite-size pieces. Your guests will be armed with nothing but a fondue fork, and will not be singing your praises if you make them feel like a moose, trying to navigate a ginormous piece of broccoli into their mouth. Seriously. No one feels attractive with an overstuffed broccoli mouth. Okay, now that it’s properly cut up, toss it with olive oil, salt and pepper, spread out on a different baking sheet, and roast at 500°F for 10 minutes.

One loaf of crusty, fragrant, delicious bread, cut into about ¾ inch cubes. Not kidding. If you’re buying grocery store bread, smell it. Fragrance is flavor, my friends. 🙂

My Amazon Affiliate links for my cheesy favorites. A big thank you for using the links if you decide to make a purchase. I get a petite percentage that helps keep me in the kitchen.

Cuisinart CFO-3SS Electric Fondue Maker – I have several fondue pots, but this is my favorite. I like that it’s electric and I don’t have to deal with sternos, and worry about uneven heating and temperature regulation. This has a temp control dial, and heats beautifully. I turn the dial to 2 to keep a piping hot fondue nice and warm. The shape of it is fantastic. It’s wide and shallow. Traditional fondue works in either, but this increases visibility, and makes it possible to dip tortilla chips in for queso, which is really awkward in a traditional deep pot. The only head-scratcher with this is that they warn you not to use an extension cord. I don’t know about you, but I don’t have a power outlet in the middle of my table. I’m assuming that they just don’t want to be liable if someone trips, so I ignored them and pulled out my extension cord.

Dip Into Something Different: A Collection of Recipes from Our Fondue Pot to Yours – This is Melting Pot’s classic and creative fondue book.

                QUESO!: Regional Recipes for the World’s Favorite Chile-Cheese Dip – Killer Tex-Mex fondue book from Lisa Fain, author of Homesick Texan. I have another post reviewing that book with a recipe to try. Here’s the link. You should really make that. It’s delicious.

        The Mac + Cheese Cookbook: 50 Simple Recipes from Homeroom, America’s Favorite Mac and Cheese Restaurant – Best macaroni and cheese book in the whole wide world.

          I have a raclette that I adore, too. But I’ll talk to you about that next week. 🙂

Jen’s Garlic and Basil Fondue It’s cold outside! I’ve lived in Texas for 10 years now, but I grew up in Wisconsin, and chilly air is like Pavlov’s bell to this Cheesehead.

[junker-town]

Green Bay fan takes wife’s last name so he can be a Packer, too

A true cheesehead.

Imagine loving a football team so much you change your name to match it. That’s kind of what Ryan Holton-Murphy did when he married Marie Packer, by taking her last name.

Ryan Holton-Murphy and Marie Packer

The two got married June 17 in Chicago. The wedding’s theme was, of course, Packers. Holton-Murphy even wore a suit patterned with the GB logo for the reception, plus he put together most of the Packer-themed decorations.

Holton-Murphy is a diehard Green Bay fan, who grew up in Wisconsin and met his now-wife in Madison. According to ABC, Holton-Murphy didn’t believe Packer about her name when they first met in a karaoke bar, and made her show him two forms of ID and a credit card as proof.

Packer said she planned to keep her last name anyway, as she is a doctor. She told ABC when the two got engaged, “...I love that he wants to take it. ‘The Packer Family’ has a nice ring to it.”

Holton-Murphy proposed to Packer while wearing an Aaron Rodgers jersey, of course. The couple was at the Shedd Aquarium in Chicago and Holton-Murphy had a baby beluga whale swim up to Packer holding the ring while they were in a water tank.

Ryan Holton-Murphy and Marie Packer

Props to him for what must be some incredible planning skills! First, this crazy proposal, then he planned out most of the wedding decorations? Amazing.

Congratulations to the Packer family!

[sarahsrp]

problematic fave ~ lola && thomas

your fave is problematic: Lola Alvarez

she is a sweetheart so like, is she problematic? 

jk, she totally is…

kind of a man eater 

has zero regard for people’s relationships 

will flirt with just about every guy whether she is attracted to them or not 

lounges around a lot in just lingerie 

rarely has pants on when she’s in her dorm room 

likes to dye her hair whenever she gets really bored 

chews gum a lot

believes in a lot of her grandma’s superstitions

hates scary movies!!!! 

low key super competitive and will work to destroy you 

when she is wearing clothes, it’s usually something that shows off her legs, stomach and cleavage 

super impatient and will get huffy if you’re taking too long 

loves having her ego stroked 

will let everyone know she is a beauty pageant winner so that they don’t ever think they’re as pretty or prettier than her 

total girly girl that loves lace everything and getting her hair and nails done 

has never worked a day in her life and uses daddy’s credit card for everything 

doesn’t spread gossip around but likes to hear it because it’s fun, ok?

thinks 60 degrees is super cold 

will call all men things like cutie, handsome, babe and hon/honey because she can. she doesn’t care how well she knows them 

is very straight forward with people 

especially about the things she wants from them 

spends any free time she has tanning on the front yard 

partly because she wants a tan but also to show off her bod 

kind of likes going for the nerdier guys because she thinks they’re more of a challenge and more entertaining to flirt with 

she’s the baby of the family so she is used to getting her way and when she doesn’t, she might have a little fit over it 

your fave is problematic: Thomas Zhu

again, is a sweet heart so, can he be problematic?

i mean, a little…which is why i already have a handy dandy list

but let’s update it a little bit

likes to play along with bad ideas just for the hell of it 

will try to stop someone from doing those actual bad ideas though! 

will take pictures of you if you ever drunkenly pass out somewhere

will anonymously send those pictures to you to freak you out 

is that nerd cleaning up at parties that aren’t his…

has decided that all pictures taken of him will be pictures of him wearing a sheet/dressed as a ghost to super play along with the “lambda ghost” thing 

can easily live off of nothing but cereal 

determined to watch everything on netflix even though he barely has the time to watch 1 twenty minute episode of anything 

youtubes magic tricks to enhance his game 

can’t play any kind of card game

like he’s only ok at go fish 

which he calls gold fish no matter how many times he’s been corrected 

doesn’t drink alcohol but feels weird turning drinks down when his friends give them to him so he pretends to drink and pretends to get drunk to make them happy…

owns an alarming amount of flannel shirts 

definitely owns multiple cheesehead hats and will wear them whenever the Packers are on. 

[buddyrabrahams]

Ha Ha Clinton-Dix denies taking shots at Dom Capers

Green Bay Packers safety Ha Ha Clinton-Dix says he wasn’t taking shots at defensive coordinator Dom Capers when paying tribute to Sam Shields in an Instagram post.

On Thursday, Clinton-Dix posted a tribute to the recently-released Shields. The line that particularly caused buzz was the comment about how Clinton-Dix and Shields did “whatever Dom Capers called rather WE liked it or not.”

I only give respect when respect is due and Soulja ima miss ya. Thank you for showing me the game on the field and wit des Babies. Thank you for showing me what real is and being solid. Shields thank you for showing up every game and never complaining. Thank you for always stepping up to the plate at any giving time. Thank you for having my back. Thank you for lining up and playing whatever Dom capers called rather WE liked it or not you was all in. Thank you for being 1K and showing me what representing the G is all about and always remaining the same you told me stay down till my time came and it's here. I'll never look back or stoop down to fit in with nobody who ain't on my level I love you G dawg. As long as I'm in this league and you free up from the family and baby girls We hangin live the game you love through me. I'm gone get loose. God100 ENJOY YOUR DOWN TIME BRUDDA! BOUNCE BACK!!!! S A L U T E S O U L J A 37 Cheesehead 4eva thanks for paving the Way STICK. #Samshields37 #God100 #Cheesehead #Gopackgo #MIAMI #SOTAMADE #SPEEDKILLS #100 #BRUDDA4eva

A photo posted by Haha Clinton-Dix (@_ha21) on Feb 8, 2017 at 5:49pm PST

On Friday, Clinton-Dix sent out a series of tweets trying to clarify his remark.

All Bull about Dom. It was more for my teammates (coworkers) that complain about the play calling. Instead of just playing the call.

— Ha Ha Clinton-Dix (@haha_cd6) February 10, 2017

Dom capers play calling is Good enough We have to get the Play executed as a Defense this a business Im all in Wit Dom so miss me with that.

— Ha Ha Clinton-Dix (@haha_cd6) February 10, 2017

Ppl who don't know a lick about football just watch the game and shut the hell up. Ain't no sneak dissin wit me.

— Ha Ha Clinton-Dix (@haha_cd6) February 10, 2017

I'll never throw ppl under the bus I want everybody to get they crumbs in this game including coaches I ride with my entire Organization.

— Ha Ha Clinton-Dix (@haha_cd6) February 10, 2017

“Good enough” isn’t exactly a ringing endorsement either, but Clinton-Dix was pretty firm here. We wonder how he felt earlier in the season when the Packers were playing poorly and Capers was rumored to be a potential fall guy, though.

H/T PackersNews

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