#napa ever after

[watchinghallmark]

Napa Ever After -

Pretty good! I enjoyed all the characters and the setting was beautiful. I thought some of the conflict was a little ridiculous given that she only lives 46 miles away. Even if she didn't want to take over the vineyard they could've made that work, you know? I thought it was a bit strange that we didn't get a kiss before jumping over a year to their wedding. I'm glad we got to see them get married at the vineyard but it didn't happen as I expected it to. It was cute that everyone was pushing Cassandra and Alec together and his daughter was very sweet. I loved the use of her mom's painting on the wine label too. I do take issue with her choice of footwear for like 90% of this movie though.

What'd you think of this one?

[hallmark-movie-fanatics]

Hallmark to Premiere Six Movies in August: See the Schedule (ET Exclusive)

Hallmark Channel will debut four original romances every Saturday for the month of August as part of its "Summer Nights" lineup, while Hallmark Movies & Mysteries will premiere two new movies, ET can exclusively reveal. Additionally, season 10 of the Erin Krakow-led When Calls the Heart will be underway with new episodes rolling out every Sunday on Hallmark Channel.

HALLMARK CHANNEL All premieres are at 8 p.m. ET/PT, unless otherwise noted.

Making Waves Starring: Holland Roden and Corey Cott Premieres: Saturday, Aug. 5 Music executive Amelia (Roden) goes to a festival on the Outer Banks to beat out the competition for an elusive new band and discovers that the group is fronted by Will (Cott), her childhood summer sweetheart. Over the course of the week, as Amelia tries to convince Will that her company is the better choice for his musical vision, she realizes there might be a conflict of interest…her feeling for him.

When Calls the Heart - Season 10, Episode 2: "Hope Springs Eternal" Starring: Erin Krakow, Pascale Hutton, Jack Wagner, Kavan Smith, Chris McNally, Kevin McGarry, Andrea Brooks, Martin Cummins, Kayla Wallace, Loretta Walsh, Viv Leacock, Amanda Wong, Johannah Newmarch, Natasha Burnett, Ben Rosenbaum, Hrothgar Mathews Premieres: Sunday, Aug. 6 at 9 p.m. ET/PT 

A Safari Romance Starring: Brittany Bristow and Andrew Walker Premieres: Saturday, Aug. 12 Megan (Bristow) is a research scientist living her dream in South Africa pursuing a Ph.D. in ethology, while working as a ranger on a nature reserve. When Tim (Walker), an American theme park designer arrives to capture footage for an immersive, safari-themed attraction, Megan serves as his guide. As they spend time together exploring the savanna to observe giraffes, elephants and lions in their natural habitats, romance develops. Knowing that Tim will soon return home, Megan is afraid of giving her heart to someone who lives half a world away.

When Calls the Heart - Season 10, Episode 3: "Oh, Baby" Premieres: Sunday, Aug. 13 at 9 p.m. ET/PT 

Never Too Late to Celebrate Starring: Alexa PenaVega, Carlos PenaVega and Sherry Miller Premieres: Saturday, Aug. 19 Camila’s (Alexa PenaVega) busy schedule at the dental practice where she works has left her exhausted and with little time for a life outside of her patient load. When she meets Javi (Carlos PenaVega), a substitute teacher at the school where Camila’s mother Sherri (Miller) works, she takes him up on his offer to join the Spanish class he teaches on the side so she can finally learn the language of her late father. Sparks fly as Javi helps Camila connect with her Mexican roots and, with her 30th birthday around the corner, Javi encourages Camila to mark this milestone with a “double quinceañera” to honor her Hispanic heritage. Not one for big parties, she’s hesitant at first but ultimately decides to take the plunge and celebrate in style.

When Calls the Heart - Season 10, Episode 4: "Great Expectations" Premieres: Sunday, Aug. 20 at 9 p.m. ET/PT

Napa Ever After Starring: Denise Boutté and Colin Lawrence Premieres: Saturday, Aug. 26 After inheriting her estranged grandmother’s winery in Napa Valley, Cassandra (Boutté), a high-powered attorney, takes a sabbatical from her job to renovate the property that was the source of the fractures within her family. With the help of handsome local Alec (Lawrence), she learns more about the grandmother she hardly knew and is able to reconcile the past, while finally opening herself up to a love like she’s never known.

When Calls the Heart - Season 10, Episode 5: "Life Is But a Dream" Premieres: Sunday, Aug. 27 at 9 p.m. ET/PT

HALLMARK MOVIES & MYSTERIES All premieres are at 9 p.m. ET/PT.

Big Sky River: The Bridal Path Starring: Emmanuelle Vaugier and Kavan Smith Premieres: Friday, Aug. 11 Tara (Vaugier), now settled in Montana and dating Cowboy Boone (Smith), works to bring their family lives together but tensions arise, as blending their families will be more of a challenge than anticipated.

The More Love Grows Starring: Rachel Boston and Warren Christie Premieres: Friday, Aug. 18 When Helen’s (Boston) husband unexpectedly asks for a separation just after they’ve dropped off their daughter at college, she struggles to navigate her newfound single status. Thanks to a stray dog who enters her life and the friendship of a helpful veterinarian (Christie), Helen rediscovers her strength and begins to forge a new path.

I'm leaving out the When Calls the Heart blurbs for episodes 2 through 5 because they are spoiler heavy, and for anybody who might not wanna know just a warning before you click this LINK too read the full article at ETOnline.

[ikemenomegas]

Megumi is not good at cooking. Not the way that Tsumiki is. He remembers how she used to stretch their meager meals. To this day, he cannot perfectly recreate the warm kakitamajiru she'd made, powdered ginger, thin sliced scallion, white pepper. But she always could. She tells him there's no secret ingredient, but there has to be, if only that it's his sister's hands which made it.

That is not to say he cannot cook. He's good at following recipes. Gojo's more than once ruffled his hair in the morning, thanking him for the leftovers in the fridge (and despite his denial Gojo-san is picky). But it's never the same.

At first, you'd thought it was some weird, chauvinistic holdover and had been fully prepared to absolutely tear into Gojo about it. Megumi's a bit embarrassed about that (one of the few almost-fights he'd witnessed between the two of you), but he exhales softly as you wrap an arm around his shoulders, patting his hair as he leans against you in the kitchen.

You now think that it's funny, but it's also cute because when Megumi really wants to eat something that tastes better than mine, he'll do literally everything up to and including prep, and also dishes after.

He's young with time to learn, but it's considerate while also being sad. You do appreciate it, but before you all moved to campus, Megumi kept his own room tidy, made plenty of his own meals, avoided asking to do any kind of extracurricular which could cost you and Gojo either time or money. It was difficult to teach him to be a child and you'd never quite managed it with either Megumi or Tsumiki - both of them resistant to being taken care of, both of them too early acquainted with the reality that some people read care and saw burden.

Megumi leans against your shoulder as you stroke his hair, fluffy soft, a smile on your lips as you wait for a couple tomatoes to blanch.

You don't tell him he didn't have. You grin, remembering the adorable little growl he'd made last time. It's good to see him being a bit of a brat, comfortable with it.

"Thanks," you say instead, and he leans heavier for a second before standing straight, freeing your arm to dish out the tomatoes into a bowl. He even takes them to the sink, peeling the loosened skin, the mealy inner portion getting under his nails.

You are so grateful that Megumi has already sliced up the onions and put them in water just how you like them.

You're slicing the tomatoes into wedges, Megumi standing back at your shoulder like him watching you do this for the seventh time will finally give him the answer, when you start talking.

"You know, my mom used to make this for me. They've got a garden." Lots of people in the countryside have gardens. "And we got tons of tomatoes every year. And it doesn't matter how many times I make it. I think hers will always be better."

Megumi looks from your hands to your face and then slowly back again as you scrape the cut half up onto the flat of the knife and into a bowl and then start on a new one.

"She says the same thing about her parents' food," you smile. "Her dad's gyoza. She's very sure that filling is better than anything she ever made for us growing up."

The look on your face is so soft it makes Megumi's face warm and something comfortable-uncomfortable wanted-unwanted twist in his stomach.

You nudge him. "Save about a few slices for the salad?"

He nods and gets you another bowl to set the sliced tomato aside.

You set about putting together the rest of the meal while he trails behind. Blanching thinly sliced beef, pointing out what needed to be mixed for a gingery vinaigrette, stir frying tomatoes, eggs, onions, chicken, lotus roots, napa, noodles...

He mumbles an apology when his stomach growls as he's setting out two places. It's an awful lot of food for a night when Gojo-san isn't coming around, maybe he just had big eyes when he was pulling everything out.

You just laugh. "It's almost done. You can start, don't wait."

But he does, carrying plates from the counter to the table for you and giving you such a puppyish stare when you don't sit down fast enough it makes you abandon wiping down a spot of flour to pull off your apron an sit across from him.

"itadakimasu," he murmurs, politely pressing his palms together as you do the same.

He closes his eyes a little longer than necessary to savor.

"Yours still tastes better."

If you could reach him, you're pretty sure you'd be happily making his hair even more of a mess than it already is right now. There's a secret, complicated look on your face, although he's sure it's mostly happy. And in the end you just say,

"Thanks, Megumi."

"Mm," he replies, holding out his bowl as you offer him another spoonful of noodles.

[shslbunnylover]

Could you do a chessy X reader where the reader is the ranch hand/horse caretaker for the vineyard and one day the reader has an accident with one of the horses and chessy is the only one around to save her? Fluff and angst would be perfect!

★ ★ ★ Kiss it better ★ ★ ★

Character: Chessy

Summary: When a particularly difficult to handle horse knocks you unconscious, Chessy can't help but fuss over you, leading to some new developments in your seemingly platonic relationship

Taglist: @inlovewithgreta @lilfartbox1

Trigger Warnings: Horse accident, blood, unconsciousness,

Genre: Hurt/Comfort

Author's Note: LET'S GO ANOTHER REQUEST DOWN!! >:3

Word Count: 3.23k

Working at the Parker Knoll Vineyard definitely had its upsides, great pay, working with your favorite animal all day, and the nice solitude that came with working alone on the long acres covered in grapevines (Seriously, this dude is loaded, how does he not have more hostlers??).

“Bye Chessy!” You heard a voice come out from the mansion, whom you assumed to be Annie by her British accent.

And there was your favorite part of working on the Parker Knoll. The housekeeper.

Chessy, to you at least, could be described as one of the most beautiful people you've ever met both inside and out.

No matter how much you'd try to deny yourself of your crush, it never seemed to work, and you'd always end up dreaming about the brunette.

“Alright, you four have fun!” You heard Chessy exclaim, waving the kids and their parents away as they walked out the door with their suitcases

You looked back at the mansion that was about an acre off from the area you were standing in before turning back, laughing to yourself as you saw Chessy chasing after the twins while their parents packed up.

Jesus Christ that woman was cute.

Turning back, you put the music back on your walkman before continuing your work on changing the horseshoes for Nick's steed.

You had been hired at the Parker Knoll Vineyard around 5 months after you graduated college with your bachelor equine degree, and when you moved to Napa, you began applying for as many jobs as possible.

When you found an advertisement in the paper for a job at a successful winery a few weeks later, specifically looking for a hostler and stable caretaker, you were overjoyed to find yourself beginning the application process.

Always being a horse person, you found your comfort in the stables of every ranch you had ever worked at starting in your mid-teens.

Sure they smelled like literal horse shit, but you loved to see how free spirited these creatures were. You were pretty much convinced that they were ethereal beings when they were left off the reins for a minute.

You had gotten into a few minor accidents in your early years of being an equestrian and a hostler (even though they weren't really minor and ended up with you getting a sprained ankle), but you'd learned from those mistakes, and now considered yourself well acquainted with the creatures you adored.

To you, finding your equestrian themed job at the Parker Knoll was the true start of your independent life, and you wouldn't have had it any other way.

“Where the hell did Nick put the horseshoes?” You looked around, attempting to find the object as Nick had rearranged the entire stable, leaving you confused as to where everything was.

You sighed, finally picking up the metal horseshoe to place them on the horse, who always gave you a pretty hard time when it came to changing his racing plates.

“Settle down boy…” You pet the much larger creature, trying to soothe the frazzled horse as you tried to pick up his leg.

The horse neighed violently, his tail swishing up and hitting you in the face.

You sighed, still trying to calm the creature.

“Come on sweetheart, I need you to work with me,” You cooed, petting the horse as you went to bend down.

But before you could even get fully to your position to change the plate, a hard force slammed straight into your face, knocking your body to the ground with a broken nose and definitely some other injuries.

You hit the ground, your breath being knocked out of you from the force of the creature's hoof shoving you to the dirty floor.

You cried out in pain louder than you thought, your body laying on the ground as your nose bled violently down your face. Your eyes began to go blurry, and you gripped the ground.

Your nails dug against the finished wood, your mind trying to fight the overcoming blacked out state. You had handled this before, you could do it again. It's not like this horse was pretty much 3 times your size. You could handle it.

Attempting to tilt your head up, a sharp pain shot through your body starting at your nose and spreading to the rest of your form.

“Fuck!” You cried, beginning to feel your body succumb to unconsciousness as the paralyzing feeling coursed through your blood and muscles, leaving you to pass out on the hay covered floor of the stables.

You weren't sure just how loud or for how long you'd cried out, but you knew it was loud enough for someone to hear, because just before you passed out, you saw a flash of brown and blue over your body before it all went black.

Chessy stood over you, freaking out as she propped your body up onto her own, her hand that wasn't holding your back up moving to hold your legs.

When she heard you scream from inside the house, she had dropped everything and ran to the stables to find you.

“Y/N??” She tried to wake you up, holding your nose with the sleeve of her jacket she had taken off to try and stop the bleeding. “Y/N wake up!” Chessy exclaimed, beginning to tear up as her breathing increased.

She already had shaky breathing from her running all the way to the stables from the house in less than 2 minutes, and now her upcoming panic attack over seeing you knocked out only caused her heart and breathing to race even more.

She moved her hand from under your legs and placed two fingers on your neck, a small cry of relief leaving her lips as she felt your pulse.

You laid in her arms, your body limp with shaky breathing, you looked so small in her arms even though she herself was smaller than you.

“Fucking Christ-” She held you tightly, hyperventilating beyond belief at the mere thought of losing you. God she couldn't lose you. “Stay with me sweetheart, please-”

She held you tightly in her arms, and it felt like her world was collapsing. She was terrified of losing the people she cared about, but if she lost you…she wouldn't know what to do with her life.

She loved you dearly, even if she didn't think you felt the same way.

Chessy scooped you up fully into her arms bridal style, and she kept trying to wake you up for a few solid minutes through choked out sobs.

When she saw your body begin to twitch, she stood up with you in her arms, making sure the horse was locked up before rushing you into the house.

A course of pain flushed through your body as you woke up, and a small grunt escaped your lips.

“Shit-” You grimaced, your hand sliding against the surface beneath you, your eyes widening when you felt the fabric of a bed instead of the furnished wood that you had collapsed onto.

You looked around, your eyes scanning your surroundings.

This wasn't your room.

“What the…where am I…?” You muttered, recognizing the land out the window, knowing you were back in the mansion, but where in it?

“Be careful sweetheart,” You saw Chessy immediately run in, her eyes red and puffy from what seemed like crying, she had a bottle of water in her hands with a corresponding bottle of medicine.

“Chessy?” You muttered, your head tilting to face her.

“Oh thank God you're awake,” Chessy sat on the bed, kissing your forehead before picking you up with surprisingly strong arms.

Your cheeks scattered a bright red, and you barely managed to stutter out a response.

“W-Where am I?”

Chessy propped you up onto by far the largest amount of pillows you had ever seen, allowing for your body to sink softly as if it was on a cloud.

“You're in my room, hon,” Chessy caressed your cheek. “I heard you scream and…” She trailed off, trying to remove the image of the person she cared about so much in that much pain out of her head. “I took you back to my room after I found you so I could take care of you,”

Your head turned to the right, and you noticed a whole tray of supplies on her nightstand, the books previously there now thrown onto the floor next to it.

The tray consisted of a fresh ice pack wrapped in a soft white towel for your nose, cotton balls to soak up the blood escaping your nostrils, band-aids for the scratches on your body you had suffered from the fall, and a bottle of cold water and some fruit in a bowl.

A small cold drop on your nose knocked you out of your small daze, and you realized that your nose wasn't in as much pain as before, which you realized was the case because Chessy had another towel-wrapped ice pack in your nose already.

“Chessy- You don't have to do all of this, I'm fine,” You murmured, still in a lot of pain and in no mood to actually stand up and protest, so you just let whatever the woman do what she wanted to your injured frame.

“No, you're injured, and you scared the shit out of me,” She shot a small glare, causing the blush on your cheeks to darken. “I'm taking care of you,”

You sighed, leaning your head back, too tired to fight.

“Fine…if you say so,” You grimaced.

Chessy’s glare softened, and she moved a few strands of hair away from your face and kissed your forehead.

“Oh hon, I'm so glad you're okay…I don't know what I would have done if I lost you,” The brunette sniffled, wiping her eyes with the non blood-covered sleeve of her jean jacket.

You blushed at her concern, your lips forming a small smile.

“I was going to be fine, just a little accident,” You chuckled.

Chessy frowned at you.

“Y/N, you were unconscious,” The shorter woman said sternly, pulling her glasses back on top of her head.

“I know- But I didn't die?” You attempted to assure her, cursing yourself when she only teared up more.

“I can't lose you sweetheart, I love you too much,” The brown eyed woman blushed, cupping your chin.

A small stutter escaped your lips at the mention of the word ‘love’.

“You're not losing me that quickly,” You chuckled, trying to dismiss the words that left Chessy's mouth.

Chessy smiled back at you.

“I know…” She chuckled, looking down at your form. “Oh hon, why don't I get you all cleaned up?” She cooed, placing a hand overtop of yours.

Your eyes widened, and you stuttered.

“H-Huh?”

“Can I change you out of these clothes hon?” The brunette asked.

“N-No, Chessy it's okay, I can go back to-”

You're cut off by Chessy crossing her arms and looking down at you with a raised eyebrow.

“That wasn't what I asked, I asked if I could change you into something comfortable,” She then put her hands on her hips.

You bit back a blush, and you simply nodded.

“Please…” You murmured.

Chessy smiled softly, walking out of the room and returning with one of her hoodies and pairs of sweatpants before stripping you of your uncomfortable riding gear.

Your cheeks heated up at the exposure of your skin, and you let out a sigh as Chessy took off your knee and elbow pads.

She looked at you with a smile, laughing at your relaxation.

“I knew you needed a break from the gear,” She chuckled, taking a few baby wipes and wiping down your body with them.

Your head leaned back, every muscle in your body relaxing at the touch of the wipe clearing off any sense of dirt.

“Thank you for this, Chess,” You hummed.

“Anything for you, baby,” The brunette smiled, placing her hoodie onto your body before sliding her sweatpants over your legs.

“Are you sure I'm not taking you away from your job?” You asked her, holding onto a pillow that was resting next to you.

“What do you mean sweetheart? I'm doing my job right now?” Chessy looked at you, taking her fingers and running her digits through your hair softly, taking it out of the ponytail it was in.

You chuckled.

“You're too good to me Chessy,”

“No I'm not, now be a good girl and stay still while I bandage you up, okay hon?” She instructed, beginning to apply some petroleum jelly onto the small scratches across your arms.

The nickname made something inside you flutter, and you immediately nodded, desperate to hear her praise you again. You just wanted to hear her want you.

“Good girl,” She repeated, rubbing in the jelly before taking the now lukewarm ice pack off of your nose and replacing it with the freshly cold one.

As she waited for the jelly to settle in, she wiped off the final remaining drops of blood off of your philtrum, tossing the last cotton ball away as the blood had finally dried up.

Another smile came back to your face as you heard her praise.

“Where did the Parker's all go?” You asked.

“They went up to that mountain cabin Nick just bought a few weeks ago, they'll be gone until around Wednesday,” Chessy replied.

“So…it's just us?” You asked.

“Us and Sammy,” She chuckled, hearing the dog bark downstairs.

“Speak of the devil,” You laughed. “I think he does need to be fed,” You checked the clock on her nightstand and saw it was Sammy's feeding time.

“You're right,” Chessy laughed, giving you a kiss on the forehead before standing up. “I will be right back, hon, and then I'll put the band-aids on now since the jelly will have settled.

You nodded at her, waving her off.

“Take your time, Chess,” You smiled.

Chessy quickly walked downstairs, and you could hear her playing with Sammy before the sound of his food bowl being filled with kibble filled your ears.

You laid in bed, waiting for the housekeeper’s return, nuzzling into her hoodie and engulfing your nose in her smell. Her hoodie smelled like fresh cinnamon and shampoo, matching the scent you had smelled when she had leaned in to kiss you on the forehead.

Her hoodie and sweatpants were warm, as if she had just gotten it out of the dryer, yet somehow it already smelled like her.

What Chessy knew that you didn't, however, was that she sprayed her perfume on the hoodie and sweatpants, secretly knowing just how much you adored her scent. I mean, she couldn't blame you, it was a nice perfume she wore, and when surrounded with literal horse shit all day, it wasn't hard to find a scent that you liked over that.

Chessy returned as you had your face buried in the hoodie, and she smiled as she closed the door.

“Aww…Sweetheart you look adorable…” The older woman cooed, kissing your forehead as she sat next to you on her bed.

She took your left arm, beginning to apply the bandages to your scratches.

You blushed at how warm and fuzzy the princess treatment you were receiving made you feel, and you laid your head on her shoulder.

“Your hoodie is so warm…” You smiled.

“I know hon, I took it out of the dryer just for you,” Chessy chuckled.

Of *course* she did. That's why you fell in love with her. She was the most considerate woman you had ever met, and she made you feel like a princess no matter how bad you were feeling that day.

“You're amazing, Chessy,” You laughed, looking at her as she finished with the first arm before moving to the next.

“Not as amazing as you, hon,” The older woman looked at you with the same pure adoration in her eyes she always showed to you every time she saw you.

When she finished with the other arm, you turned your body and cuddled into the older woman, your arms snaking around her waist as you clung to her.

“You're definitely more amazing than me,” You insisted, amused at the small banter you always ended up having on who was more amazing.

Chessy chuckled and took a bottle of water, putting it up to your lips, urging you to drink, which you did.

“Drink up sweetheart…” Chessy smiled, holding your chin up with her fingers as you drank it halfway.

When Chessy took the bottle away, she quickly replaced it with a granola bar she had opened, encouraging you to take small bites before placing the empty wrapper in the trash can before putting the other one next to the half-empty bottle of water.

“Why don't we watch some Clueless, huh? I want you to rest right here and I know that you like that movie,” The older woman suggested, scooping you up just a little and pulling you closer to her body.

“Really? You'd watch it with me?” You asked, smiling up at her with excited eyes, adjusting a bit as your body was still sore.

Chessy nodded.

“Of course, baby, hold on one second,” She picked up another instant ice pack and broke it in, placing two of them on separate sore spots of your body, a soft look in her eyes forming as she watched you relax from the ice packs soothing your pain.

“Thank you Chess…” You mumbled with a blush on your face.

“Anything for you, Y/N,” She hummed, putting on the movie and holding onto you gently.

You nuzzled into her chest as the intro to Clueless played in the background, but you were more focused on the woman holding you than the movie.

A few minutes passed and you thought about everything that had happened just in the span of two and a half hours. The accident sucked, definitely, but it resulted in you cuddling up with the woman you were so madly in love with, the same woman who you didn't know was madly in love with you too.

A sudden surge of confidence pulsed through your brain, and you pulled Chessy in for a sudden but short kiss on the lips.

“I love you, Chessy,” You blurted, sitting up a bit more now as you looked her dead in the eyes, waiting for her response.

Chessy looked at you in shock, and after a moment of silence she laughed softly.

‘Shit, I just messed it all up,’ You thought, your eyes widening in horror and pure embarrassment.

Before you could say anything however, your thoughts were very suddenly cut off by Chessy's lips on yours.

The kiss was much longer this time, and you broke away after what seemed like ages with your lips locked together.

“I love you too Y/N, since the first day I met you,” Chessy smiled, tears forming in her eyes.

You wiped her tears with her thumb.

“Do you want to be my girlfriend?” You asked with a shaky smile, your own tears starting to form

“More than anything, my love,” Chessy kissed you once again, pulling you into her body and meshing your forms together like puzzle pieces that were always destined to fit with one another, where she held you for the rest of the night.

If you enjoyed reading this, don't forget to like, reblog and comment! Thank you and you are loved <3

-Akira

[lovelylogans]

the parent trap

the masterpost

“So,” Remus says slowly. “If your Dad is my Dad…”

“...and your Pa is my Papa…”

Remus stares at the seam of the wedding photo, made whole again after more than a decade. His Pa, Patton, familiar with his cowboy-handsome, weather-beaten face and his dimpled grin and his big, calloused hand resting over his new husband’s, even if Remus has never seen him look this smitten ever. 

“And we’re both born on October 11… then, Roman. You and I are… like… brothers.”

And his Dad—Janus—smiling coyly, handsome in the way of magazine models, so completely a stranger to Remus with just this scrap of a photograph to serve as any way to know him, really know him. The way Roman knows him. The way Remus has been dying to know him all his life.

“Remus,” Roman breathes out, disbelieving. “We aren’t just brothers. We’re twins.”

Remus wonders, in a daze, if seeing the opposite life he could have had is as strange for Roman as it is for him… if they’d just been switched at birth, it’s the life Remus could have had, knowing his Dad instead of his Pa, but then…

But then it clicks.

“Roman,” he says, turning to grin at his brother—his brother! “I have a completely perfect, totally awesome idea!”

or: it's a parent trap AU for @tss-storytime with fanart by @tastic-in-its-finest!

warnings: pranks and practical jokes, smoking, drinking, brief mentions of underage drinking (in the context of a child trying a sip of wine), sibling rivalry and bonding, please let me know if i've missed any!

pairings: janus/patton, logan/virgil, brief patton/male oc

word count: 80k

notes: a few notes before we begin: first, thanks so much to morgan for their fanart for this fic!!! it's so cute, please like and reblog and do all that fun stuff!!! second, thanks to the folks over at the big bang for organizing this whole event—i know firsthand how complicated that can get, and you are so appreciated!!! this is technically a '90s au, but a '90s au in terms of the fashion and lack of social media/cell phones, not any of the homophobia. i hope you all enjoy!!!!

chapter one: prologue Across the world from each other, two very different families help two very similar boys pack their bags.

chapter two: welcome to camp walden! Welcome to what we like to think of as the most beautiful spot on God's green earth—Camp Walden.

chapter three: en garde The boys come to blows. (With practice épées, but in their minds, it’s equally as serious.)

chapter four: riposte The boys come to blows. (With words and stitching.)

chapter five: black card The boys come to blows. (With a temporary reversal of gravity, oodles of chocolate sauce, and finally, some semblance of adult interference.)

chapter six: isolation station The boys spend a great deal of their time considering coming to blows. Until suddenly, they don’t want to fight at all anymore.

chapter seven: operation augustus The realization of having an identical twin does quite a bit to spur some out-of-the-box levels of creativity.

chapter eight: let's get down to business! The boys begin to plot. Camp Walden trembles in fear.

chapter nine: to defeat… the family civil divisions of napa and london respectively! The boys plot. The world all over ought to be trembling in fear.

chapter ten: domine dirige nos Remus spends a great deal of time weighing the most British way to say hello. He’s going to have to repress throwing in a what’s all this then, guv’nor? the entire time.

chapter eleven: eureka! Roman spends a great deal of time weighing the most American way to say hello. He thinks he probably shouldn’t come right out of the gate with howdy, y’all!

chapter twelve: a wench in the works This absolutely was not in their multitude of blueprints!

chapter thirteen: riding is magic and friendship is power and love is everything to everyone Roman gets to meet his pony. He should, by all rights, be much more excited about it, but someone had to go and ruin it for him.

chapter fourteen: in which virgil attempts to hold a poker face (and fails miserably) Virgil curses being so observant.

chapter fifteen: all of my change spent on you Remus has a particularly fun run-in. Well. Fun for him.

chapter sixteen: so your sons have swapped places and are in foreign countries This particular subject was not covered in the parenting books.

chapter seventeen: hopped off the plane at lax with a dream of civil reconciliation with my ex-husband Remus plots. Grandfather aids and abets. Janus panics. Logan suffers them all.

chapter eighteen: small world and getting smaller Janus is officially the father of the two most troublesome twins in the galaxy.

chapter nineteen: you got me tripping, stumbling! sinking, fumbling! Patton makes a splash.

chapter twenty: the queen elizabeth the second the second The twins attempt to revive the past. The parents wish to change it.

chapter twenty-one: i said a boom chicka boom! Logan’s swept off his feet. As is Maddox, in an entirely different way.

chapter twenty-two: i said a boom GO TO YOUR ROOM The twins’ plots bear oh-so-satisfying fruit.

chapter twenty-three: where dreams have no end A hello, a goodbye.

chapter twenty-four: the concorde(ance) A goodbye, a hello.

chapter twenty-five: epilogue Two very similar boys help their two very different families assimilate into one.

[blog-name-idk]

The Plot Twist | 02

Written by @blog-name-idk and @eserethriddle

Summary: Once upon a time you would have jumped at the chance to live the idol girlfriend life. The cameras, the action, the whirlwind romance. But what was once a dream has now become your worst nightmare, and you fully intend to fight the universe as it repeatedly conspires to set you up with your seven perfectly good soulmates from Bangtan Sonyeondan.

In which we punt Y/N into all the fanfiction tropes and you do your feral best to subvert the love story.

Because nani the fuck, you are The Plot Twist.

Pairing: OT7 X Fem!Reader

Genre: Soulmate!AU, crack, humor, idol!AU, light angst, slow burn, romantic comedy, just a fun silly old time

Rating: 18+

┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈

Chapter 2: "Ahjussi, go back to MapleStory."

Life is truly unremarkable as a soulmate-less bachelorette.

Thankfully, none of the symptoms Junior Liaison Officer Choi Mijin mentioned to you have occurred – no bodily anomalies, no universal conspirations – and, on the way home from your parents’ place, you chide your anxious self for letting a thirty-minute phone call upturn the joyous revelries of turning twenty-five.

Though of course, even someone like you can see the grandeur behind it. The potential.

Soulmate. Not half of one’s heart, not ‘mi media naranja,’ but soulmate. Someone utmost, born from the same fabric of life – possibly indelicate, and not without flaws – but beautiful, blameless, and immaterially yours.

It’s great. Really great. But it’s daunting, too. There’s unprecedented pressure in that kind of ordeal, and… you like unremarkable. It’s safe. If you were ever going to be remarkable, it would be in ways you can directly control – like getting to the last floor of skull caverns or politely tearing incompetent coworkers to shreds when they challenge you.

But real life? Real personal relationships, with people that matter? That becomes a polynomial. There are too many variables outside of your ability to dictate, too much that could go wrong for you to spend too long mourning the absence of any soulmate symptoms. And anyway, your singularity isn’t your sob story – it’s your defense. Your most effective one.

You get back to your apartment at half past nine the following morning, heavy tupperwares of side dishes prepared by your mother hoisted in tow. At ease, you whistle a cheery tune as you get settled around your kitchenette, arranging each fully packed box amongst refrigerator shelves with care. You help yourself to an enticing pinch of putbaechu and decide to place its tupperware farther down the back.

Yes, that batch probably needed more time to ferment. After all, it’s impossible for napa cabbage kimchi to taste as sweet as cake.

┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈

In his black-and-white checkered pajamas, Jeon Jungkook happily devours the two-tier caramel-frosted cake for breakfast. Furthermore, because he is a considerate maknae, he leaves the vegan, calorie-measured miniature cake for the rest of his hyungs to share when they wake.

They really don't appreciate him enough.

An early riser, also still in pajamas, Kim Seokjin spots him and tuts. “Jungkook, that isn’t healthy.” When Jungkook suddenly spits out the forkful he’d just shoved into his mouth, the eldest grimaces and admonishes, “Yah! I taught you better than that! That is disgusting behavior.”

“You know what’s disgusting?” Jungkook retorts with a revolted scowl, pushing the offensive dessert box far away from his person, lest it insult him yet again. “Surprise vegan cake. I’m going to sleep, hyung. Good night.”

“You mean ‘good morning.’” Seokjin corrects, reaching for the coffee pot with a sigh. “Brat.”

┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈

During your afternoon gaming hours, your phone screen lights up with a notification. Your extended arm worms through sofa pillows to swipe and unlock it, and you instantly growl at the e-mail that greets you.

From: executive-offices@samsong.kr Recipients: yln.yfn@samsong.kr, lee.jaesung@samsong.kr Subject: Executive Meeting on Tuesday

Dear Associates,

We hope this e-mail finds you well.

In preparation for the upcoming work week, we would like to advise your stations re: the exploratory meeting with CEO Son Hyunsuk scheduled for this Thursday at 15:00 (KST) on external company collaborations.

We appreciate your confirmation upon receipt of this notice and bid you a happy weekend.

Regards, Samsong Executive Scheduling

“Jesus Kim Christ, it is a Sunday. This should be illegal,” you swear, placing down the handheld gaming console on the couch next to you and getting up to refill your glass of water instead. Unfortunately, on your return from your hydration quest, you bang your ankle on the leg of the coffee table.

"MotherFUCKER!" you curse, collapsing onto your sofa and cradling your leg for a full minute. After recovering, you pick your console back up.

Idly hovering on the gaming screen, Tom Nook stares up at you with a deadpan glare. You’d think his heavy-lidded, judgmental look was a reaction to your use of offensive language, but you roll your eyes at the prospect.

Tom Nook, the island racoon? A landlord. He can judge all he wants. He’s as evil as company capitalists come.

With somehow even less of a conscience.

┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈

“Ah one, ah two, ah five, six, seven, eight!”

Jung Hoseok snaps his fingers as he moves to the beat, flawlessly demonstrating the first few steps of the dance routine. Kim Taehyung watches him, crouched in front of the floor-to-ceiling mirrors like a religious student, except he’s also thinking, That is not how arithmetics works. This is why we are performers and not math teachers.

Hoseok seems to catch the faraway look in Taehyung’s expression, because his limbs freeze, dropping to a sudden stop, brown gaze slanting sharp and deadly. The other boys, sensing blood in the water, subtly shift away and try to look as focused as possible.

“What? Would you rather practice cartwheels with Jimin again?” Hoseok rumbles, hand on hip.

Yes…Taehyung laughs nervously. “No.”

Jimin shoots him a knowing look.

“You know,” Hoseok says, pointedly, brandishing his left leg, “I woke up with more bruises from you again. I couldn’t pair my tie-dye top with my denim shorts so now I’m stuck here practicing in my joggers with you instead of walking around Yongsan.”

You’re welcome, Yongsan, Taehyung thinks. Personally, he believes Hoseok’s fashion sense is something of a moving target.

Hit or miss. Miss a lot.

Oh well. Time to bring out the puppy eyes. “Hobi-hyung, can we start from the chorus instead?” He pouts, for cuteness excess.

“Fine!” the dance leader snaps, trying to mask the way the irritation ebbs out of his voice.

Taehyung suppresses a satisfied grin.

Yup. Works every time.

┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈

By the middle of the work week, Min Yoongi has barely scraped by to meet a hard production deadline. Gears still turning in his mind, day lapses into night, unnoticed in the dark haven of his studio. He leisurely strums his guitar for an hour, puts it down, and reaches to compose an accompanying melody with the use of the nearest piano.

Eventually, Yoongi turns off all his music equipment. In his mind, there’s an echo of a tune he can’t shake away. He can barely hear it himself – soft, feminine, slumberous – and he lays back with his eyes closed to savor the ghost of it instead.

He wants to commit it to memory. It’s something he’s never heard before.

┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈

Miles away, you feel pleasantly adrift. It's been months since you moved in, and you hadn’t been aware that your neighbors played music. In fact, the walls between apartment units are assuredly thick enough for all kinds of noises to filter through – a blessing when you get sniped by yet another rune bear.

You're also not really one to enjoy ambient noise outside of your control, but to your surprise, you don't mind this music at all.

It’s nice.

You tuck your knees to your chest and rest your body against the headboard of your bed, closing your eyes to listen. But it seems that the mysterious musician has gone to sleep for the night. Instead, the old made-up lullaby your mother used to sing to you when you were a child filters into your brain unbidden, and you smile at the memory. Within minutes, lightly humming to yourself, you let the notes overtake your thoughts and fall sound asleep.

┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈

Tonight, your dream plays like an old movie. Most of your dreams are like this, but here you feel like you exist in snippets – that you’re a passenger in someone else's skin. Like you’re standing at a different height, taller than reality. The colors seem to cling to the edges of your vision like haloed light through fogged glass when you move, leaving you half-sentient, fighting to see through the haze of your subconscious mind. Like you’re not you.

You wonder where you are. Who.

I want to do more, you hear yourself think in your dream. I want to be more.

You see your feet take you away from backrooms with white walls. Your heart’s near bursting and telling you how much of this it missed, telling you you're finally back where you belong.

This: before your very eyes, an ocean of twinkling violet.

There’s an overwhelming rush of love in your chest as a chant fills the air, expanding throughout your body until it's spilling from your eyes. You can feel the skin of your lips stretch into a smile.

Everything feels like a dream come true.

“I’m your hope!” you tell the roaring crowd.

┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈

Jung Hoseok bolts upright at exactly 6:15 AM.

Letting out a groan, he drops his face into his hands and croaks out, “What the fuck.”

“You okay, hyung?” Jungkook asks, getting ready to turn in for bed himself. It’s his fourth nocturnal day in a row.

Hoseok usually admonishes Jungkook for this kind of misbehavior, but right now he can’t muster enough indignation. It’s just–

“I had a dream. I was a MapleStory livestreamer and – I was really into it. But really? In this economy?” Hoseok continues to complain in his rough morning voice, “I don’t even game.”

Jungkook sniggers, hogging the blankets to himself. “That’s true. Maybe you traded dreams with Jin-hyung?”

Hoseok rubs the spot between his brows. Frowns. It's possible, Jin does love MapleStory. Though lately he's been on a weird arcade game kick despite Namjoon scolding him for being careless in public.

Appeased, he finds the spark to be a proper hyung to their precious maknae. “Don’t sleep at this time tomorrow, JK. If I catch you again, you’re dead at practice. Capisce?”

Jungkook nods a hundred times and buries himself under the sheets. Hobi might lack the broadness and mustache of the stereotypical Italian mobster, but he manages to exude a menacing aura all the same.

“Capeesh, hyung.”

Because he is not a MapleStory livestreamer, Jung Hoseok climbs out of bed at 6:30 in the morning. Because he has a bunch of back-breaking schedules to get to. It’s another Thursday.

No matter what, he’s going to survive. In this economy.

┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈

Thursday meetings are like Monday meetings but from the nine circles of hell combined.

You shuffle into the arcade with a slump in your shoulders but a fire in your heart. The last time you had a day this bad at work was the last time you had come here, to let out your inner rage on tiny dots and cute little ghosts.

You hadn't even realized it was an arcade at first – you had just found your feet moving automatically towards the storefront, as if inexplicably drawn. And as soon as you set foot inside, even before the odd smell of metal tokens that lingers even in arcades with balance cards, an immediate sense of peace washed over you. That this place was safe. That you could enter and put your everyday life and problems on pause for a short, sweet amount of time.

That feeling has remained with each visit, only growing stronger with your increasing familiarity with both the arcade and the elderly owner Lee-ssi, a friendly man who reminds you of your own grandfather.

You're sure that the worn down sight of you in your white blouse and black pencil skirt amidst the backdrop of the rowdy neon arcade is strange, but you figure if your colleagues can release their frustrations by throwing down in public establishments, so can you. In your own way.

The first and last time you went out with your coworkers, the guy from marketing tried to get you to come home with him. So you made up a liver disease to avoid being expected to drink with them again, and are now letting out your frustrations in a much healthier way: against some cocky kid who calls themselves "the Pacman God."

They are pretty good, you will admit.

Just not as good as you.

┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈

There are a few things that never fail to brighten Lee Seungwon's day. Getting to see the half-toothed smile on his baby grandson's face, making his son-in-law uncomfortable when his daughter isn't around, and –

"WHO. DID. THIS?!" Kim Seokjin demands, furiously pointing at the arcade machine standing innocently in the corner, taunting him.

Resisting the urge to laugh, Seungwon only sighs and crosses his arms, looking like he'd rather be anywhere else. Which is truly a front, because despite all the annoyances that come with running an arcade, he truly loves his job. He loves providing a space where kids can be kids, and the rare adult can relive the worry-free days of their youth.

"We respect the privacy of our clients, sir," he says politely, lips twitching at Seokjin's dramatic shriek of outrage. Seungwon has especially been looking forward to this particular adult's reaction upon finding his high score beaten by one of the newer regulars.

"Don't you remember who I am?!" the handsome man questions, and the storekeeper looks him up and down, once again unimpressed. Seokjin remembers he's ensconced in a bright pink hoodie and pink sweatpants, then gives a mental shrug.

Whatever. He looks good in everything.

"Yes. ‘Jin the Pacman God.’ Currently… number two in that game," the shopkeeper sneers as he insults the most handsome man in Korea – possibly the world. "Second to GoDsLaYeR_69." he adds, for good measure.

Seokjin gapes at the audacity of this mortal, his gamer rage only further activated by the offensive words that come out of Seungwon’s mouth next.

"Maybe you should go back," the shopkeeper suggests, inspecting his cuticles, "to MapleStory." After a pause, he puts the final nail in the coffin currently housing Seokjin's pride: "Ahjussi."

The Kim Seokjin, being called ahjussi by a man who looks older than Yoongi's soul?

That's it. That's fucking it.

With gurgling, unintelligible squawks of indignation, Seokjin pulls out his wallet and slaps his arcade card on the counter, followed by his black credit card.

"Load this up with 2,000,000W. Right now."

Lee Seungwon hides a smirk as he obeys.

It's just too easy.

┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈

It had been a rare occasion in which all of the boys’ evenings (and following mornings) had been free simultaneously, and Hoseok decided to celebrate this in a way so rarely possible for them to do together anymore: to find a noraebang and get absolutely wasted.

"How did I let you guys persuade me into doing this again?" Namjoon asks, blinking in a mixture of joy and consternation at the freshly inked, slightly inflamed 7 on his skin. He flexes the side of his leg and watches the clear bandage wrinkle and smooth at the motion.

"Friendship!" Taehyung announces happily, eyes alight as he sways ever so slightly in his chair. Jungkook and Jimin are fully knocked out on each of Taehyung’s shoulders, their demonic sides hidden by the angelic expressions on their sleeping faces.

"No," Yoongi corrects, revealing a bottle of Suntory whisky from god-knows-where. "This."

"Ah, yes!” Eyes bright with satisfaction, Namjoon’s dimples deepen, and Seokjin laughs at how childish Namjoon looks in his glee as he receives his prize and cradles it to his chest with utmost and deliberate regard. With his vision blurred from all of the alcohol, it almost looks like it's disappearing into the leader's ample bosom. “Sunny, my frieeeend!"

Yoongi nods at him, ten times too much, then glances at Taehyung as he narrowly avoids falling off his chair for the umpteenth time. “The infants are fading,” he mutters, “Let’s get them home.”

Twenty minutes later, Hoseok emerges behind a curtain with a brand new tattoo, ready to show it off and receive compliments for being brave and only screaming once.

Except he’s all alone in the waiting room.

He waits a single beat before looking around in confusion.

“Guys?”

┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈

You stumble through your doorway, confused by your body's decision to stop functioning properly. It had begun at the arcade, your normal precision and flawless execution apparently deciding to take its own mental health day and leaving you with slowing reflexes and sloppy reactions.

Finally, you decided to leave after realizing you'd been growling at the machine for the better part of an hour.

Well actually, Lee-ssi had kindly given you a bottle of water and suggested you take a break because you were scaring the kids. You decided to go home lest your happy place become tainted by the miasma of your god-slaying alter ego.

On the train, you nodded off and almost missed your stop – something that never happens. You tripped on your way off the train, and you had initially blamed it on being drowsy, but the trek from the station to your apartment did nothing to dispel your clumsiness.

If you didn't know any better, you would have thought you had gone drinking with your coworkers and were now stumbling home in a drunken haze. But you've been at the arcade since you left work, so that's impossible.

Maybe you're getting sick. That would explain the fogginess in your head, the sluggishness of your limbs.

Feeling under the weather, you spend the night in the dark of your bedroom. But then intense, prickling feelings bug you all over. Instead of the rest you hoped for, the hours are filled with tossing and turning, needle-points on your skin that fall just shy of being painful.

When you wake up, you find your skin tattooed seven different times with the number seven in seven different places.

Um.

What the fuck?

┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈

Masterlist | Next

[simonaniles]

Polyamory, cock cages, and a dog named Ruth Bader Ginsburg: please enjoy my latest literary shenanigans!

A GAY POLY ABSURDIST ROMANCE. For Absurdist Novelist Robert Lynch, moving to Napa Valley with his wealthy husband Henry was supposed to solve it all. Settle down, get over writer's block (and existential angst), and spurn the second seven year itch. Then the devastatingly gorgeous pool boy Evan Drake shows up, invading their bedroom, challenging Lynch's nihilism, and turning their idyllic getaway upside down forever. Who knew that the cure for a midlife crisis was adopting a twink?

"Napa Valley Heat" is a 22,000 word queer polyamorous erotic love story featuring age gaps, bdsm, steamy threesomes, and finding your happily ever after with a gold digger with a heart of gold.

[profoundbondfanfic]

Willow

Willow by thatpeculiarone (@imthatpeculiarone) Rating: Mature Word count: 71k

Castiel Novak had known Dean Winchester his entire life. Growing up together, the two friends' worlds revolved around one another, each of them looking forward to their annual summer get togethers at the Winchesters' farm and winery, located in the rolling hills of Napa, California. However, it only takes one night for seventeen years of friendship to all come crashing down. When Castiel confesses his feelings for Dean, his friend’s rancorous reaction sends him packing. Castiel leaves, and stays away for ten years. When Dean’s father John falls ill, Castiel begrudgingly visits the farm again for the first time in a decade. Castiel is nervous to relive that night. He is nervous to be back at a place that holds so many memories. He is nervous to see Dean for the first time in so long. While he grapples with his anger and hurt, he also has to grapple with the fact that the feelings he holds for Dean may still be there after all this time.

This fic, oh this fic… this fic had me in a chokehold from the start. If you want to feel all the emotions, if you’re looking to be transported into an alternate universe, if you want to cry, then I suggest this fic be read immediately. Told from Cas’s POV, we are right by Cas’s side as his heart gets broken into millions of pieces by the person he trusted most in the world and instantly, you’re invested. 

This is the point where I suggest grabbing a box of tissues. You’re going to need them. 

Willow takes us on a journey, ten years later, when Cas returns to the place that changed him, and the person responsible, while they’re both surrounded by their family and friends and in an impossible situation for all their pain and feelings to get worked out. On top of trying to find a way to forgive Dean, Cas is also struggling with his still lingering feelings for the guy, and pretty much everyone telling him that he wasn’t alone in them. 

This story deals with a lot of heavy themes and the author takes a lot of care to give warnings on every chapter and summaries as well at the end if a reader needs to skip certain things. Through all of it emerges a beautiful immersive story and a world that I instantly missed once I was done reading. I’d easily devour another 70k, just to read more about their ever after. For now, I’ll be satisfied adding it to my read-again list in the future, just to visit them one more time.

[ladylooch]

Heyyy, how you doing ??

B, did Connor and lio ever get yappy at each other on the ice, and then they had to go out together for dinner with lucie and sav. They started to be passive-aggressive at each other, and the ladies told them to cut it off ?

Or do they know how to separate things well ?

-👢

Outside of Connor's hit on Lio right after he was traded to the Rangers, they try to keep everything on the ice. But, Lio eventually has a rookie, Grant, that feels like a little brother to him ( post spiral Lio). Grant reminds Lio a lot of himself off the ice, and on the ice, he can get a little wild and mouthy. He naturally targets Connor a lot, which is fine, Connor can handle it. Until it starts to be about Lucie.

Then Connor gets upset because he feels like Lio is okay with Grant disrespecting his family.

Passive aggressive comments are being tossed from both sides of the booth at their late dinner together. Mack and David had been invited, but made a jumbled excuse about how they would LOVE to but already had plans for the night. Lucie and Savannah long ago drifted into their own conversation while taking sips of their wine, ignoring their husbands' behavior completely.

"We should go to Napa." Savannah says. "Leave the girls with these two and David, steal Mack, and drink our way through Napa until we are one with the tannins."

"I'm in." Lucie giggles, clinking their glasses together.

"I don't know, Luc. You probably can't leave the girls with me since I have such a lack of character." Connor rolls his eyes.

"I said HE had a lack of character. Not you." Connor glares.

Savannah and Lucie share an exaggerated eye roll of their own.

"Babe, can you just not?" Savannah pats her husband's thigh.

"I didn't do anything!" Lio insists. "He's the one-"

"Oh!?? I'm the one!?"

"Connor Wood, lower your voice." Lucie hisses.

"Baby, I'm not the one-"

"Both of you better knock it off." Lucie insists, crossing her arms across her chest. The table falls into an awkward silence. Their entrees aren't at the table yet, but both couples already wanna go home.

Connor, being the mature captain he is, clears his throat.

"Sorry. I broke our rule." Lio sighs in acceptance.

"I did too. I brought up the shoving and I shouldn't have. I'm sorry." Lio puts his fist out. Connor knocks his against it.

"They're bros again!" Savannah laughs.

"You know what we can all agree on tonight?" Lucie murmurs.

"Hm?" Connor asks her.

"That Mack and David are at home right now doing the nastiest shit to each other."

The whole table erupts with agreeing laughter.

"She's a pretzel tonight. Guaranteed." Savannah giggles gleefully. "Maybe I'll be later too."

"Mmm, my late night snack." Lio mumbles, then sinks his teeth into the side of her neck.

[andres-ortega]

227.

That is the number of people named “Portia Laurent” in the world. 

From behind a firewall, Andres looked deeply into the demographics of all two hundred and twenty seven of them. Elyse was asleep soundly in the next room over. Dre could hear her deep, peaceful breathing over the clicking of his keyboard. He refused to shut the door; to not have her in his direct line of sight. He’d always been overly attached but after recent events, he was downright possessive. 

Andres dragged his mouse over the list of Portia Laurents born in the 2000s and deleted them from his list. After doing some quick math, the 90s babies were gone next. Elyse was born in 1999, so it was likely her mother was born in the 1970s… but this was Bernard Wingard he was talking about, the sickest bastard he’s ever known. Dre decided to keep everyone from 1985 and back.

Andres deleted the plethora of names dated before Bernard was even born and finally settled on a manageable list of 31 women. The next way to narrow it down further were their passport and driver’s license photos. Young Elyse’s memory recalls a blonde haired woman with blue eyes who had an accent. Recent developments helped them discover she was a jewelry designer. 

Ironically enough, none of that mattered as much as the face staring back at him on the screen. Elyse’s face, only aged beautifully with fine lines around her eyes and smile. She had the same upturned upper lip and straight nose. It had to be her.

Andres spent the next hour digging into the woman’s past, using the tools Niko had equipped him with before he married Lenna and moved to North Carolina. It all added up. Her history basically stopped before the year Elyse was born. All that was left was a jewelry LLC and a home in Napa attached to her name. 

By now, the sun was rising and streaming warm light into their short term rental on Venice Beach. Elyse was a light sleeper and Dre heard her rustling from behind him. “Baby?” She called out, likely alarmed he wasn’t next to her. Standing stiffly from his desk, the tall man stalked into their room and climbed into bed next to the woman he loved.

Andres smiled as he took Elyse’s face into his hands, his thumbs brushing along her flushed cheeks that were still warm from sleep. “I think I found her, angel.” His voice was quiet but gruff. “I think I found your mother.”

[watchinghallmark]

Napa Ever After - August 26th on Hallmark Channel

After inheriting her estranged grandmother’s winery in Napa Valley, Cassandra, a high- powered attorney, takes a sabbatical from her job to renovate the property that was the source of the fractures within her family. With the help of handsome local Alec, she learns more about the grandmother she hardly knew and is able to reconcile the past, while finally opening herself up to a love like she’s never known. Starring Denise Boutté, Colin Lawrence and Tiffany Yvonne Cox.

[hallmark-movie-fanatics]

Napa Ever After

Premiering Saturday, August 26, 8pm/7c on the Hallmark Channel.

Starring Denise Boutté and Colin Lawrence.

A Mahogany film, part of Summer Nights.

[myloveforhergoeson]

ash's may 2024 reading round up

find all the books and fics i read this (more like last...) month under the cut with a link to the synopsis and my reviews/ratings attached :)

this is just for fun! i'm not a professional, i just like to read <3

booklist!

Wotakoi: Love is Hard for Otaku by Fujita

(no link to an official author website bc i couldn't find one, but i bought all six books at barnes and noble!)

• review: full disclosure, this is not my first time reading this six book manga series, nor will it be the last. it's one of my favorite stories of all time and i pick it up whenever i need some comfort or reassurance :) wotakoi is three interwoven stories about adults navigating the grown up world while still harboring a love for their favorite manga/anime/videogames and whatnot from their childhood; some are unashamed of this fact like the mmc hirotaka who is unabashedly consumed by his love of videogames, while others have had bad experiences with others after being "outed" for lack of a better term like his childhood best friend and eventual girlfriend fmc narumi who does everything to hide the fact she is a fujoshi mangaka and anime obsessed girlie! the two reconnect after many years of being apart by learning they were offered the same corporate job and rekindle their friendship --> relationship :) literally has me in tears i love childhood best friends soooooooo much. there, the two make friends with the other main couple, mmc kabakura (moderate otaku, loves anime) and fmc koyanagi (crossplayer otaku). later on in the series we also get to know hirotaka's little brother noya (non-otaku!!) strike up a friendship and eventual relationship with ko (a socially anxious videogame otaku). i think it's just such well written about adulthood and learning to be who you are without fear of judgement from others. hirotaka helps narumi work through her past fears and anxieties, discovering together they they are able to surround themselves with people who love them for who they are and share the same interests. i also really love that all three relationships are distinct from other other, one being a rekindling of an old friendship --> lovers, one being long established, and one being so fresh and brand new the two don't even realize they have feelings for each other!! i could go on and on about this series, but i always feel so warm and loved after reading it <3 literally could not recommend enough. and if you're not a big fan of manga, the story has a one season anime out too!

• rating: 5/5 times i was reminded i love my friends <3 one of my favorite manga series ever!!!

2. Unfortunately Yours by Tessa Bailey (18+!)

• review: ughghsuiohaiofaobfa tessa girl i love you soooooo much so much so much so much. but idk this one was just kind of mid. run of the mill story, not characters i was super interested it, but i enjoyed it nonetheless. if you read my april review, i read the first book in this duology, secretly yours, and i really loved it! this book was about julien's sister, natalie, and her somewhat enemies to lovers relationship with navy seal turned winemaker august. due to a series of unfortunate circumstances, natialie and august find themselves in need of lots of money very, very fast. the only issue is natalie's father is old school misogynist and won't release her trust fund until after she's married, and august can't receive a business loan until he's a well established member of the napa valley community and has at least one employee besides himself at his winery. the solution? a marriage of convenience, of course, until these two get exactly what they need from each other. the issue? they have a less than stellar past with each other and a whole boatload of assumptions about their partner they slowly learn to unravel and relearn throughout the story. now normally im a suckerrr for marriage of convenience but idk i just don't think i cared for the characters enough to super be into this one. probably my least favorite tessa bailey book honestly, out of six or seven i've read? not because the story was bad, i just don't really think enemies to lovers really works in modern settings. there were lots of good parts though! bailey is a master of 'he fell first' and it is very clear that even after their rocky start, august really cares for natalie. despite the relationship starting as a sham, he's a wonderful husband and looks out for her among the community members, and most importantly, her own family. they were pretty electric together but i think that's their only redeeming quality for me lol. so yeah, not my favorite from tessa bailey, but i had a good time reading it. worth the flip through to have read both books in the series <3

• review: 3/5 times i thought "really? all this for some wine?"

fic list!

fake fanfiction reader i didn't complete any of the stories i'm reading in may... but i have been really enjoying reading the assorted btr works of partiallypearl and ceruleanmusings :)) i've read far more this month than the last, so june's list will be far more coherent i promise!!

[kimyoonmiauthor]

The worst recipe for Kimchi I've ever seen.

So I'm a food nerd, if the love of Anthropology of food isn't self-evident enough in the 50 page doc on the history of food and food Anthropology based on Subsistence. lol

And I'm a super food nerd when it comes to kimchi. I've tried almost all the varieties of vegetables one can kimchi and learned their mush points. And this, by far is one of the worst recipes of kimchi I've ever, ever read. And being a food nerd, I'll break it down for you.

Don't worry, it's not made by a Korean--it's made by someone white, but I am Korean. And before someone chases me down, "You're an adoptee" I grew up in Korea for the first 5 years and have been tracking down Eomma's kimchi recipe after I semi-remembered the flavor. TT Covid stopped me from going overseas to test it out.

I know when you think of kimchi, you most likely think of the spicy cabbage variety, but I'll inform you that I've made a lot of types of kimchi. I made the Dae Jang Geum Kimchi after a lot of research and digging around. I made kimchi in plastic that never turned out well. I've taken out ingredients and put them back in. I've made kimchi out of different vegetables, and I famously got cited by my own city for making Eomma's kimchi, which BTW, has raw clams and mussels in it.

I've made monk Kimchi too, and gave those tips off to Maangchi.

I'm like kimchi geek over here. I can tell you all different facets of kimchi. Maybe because I tend to hyper focus on things, and I definitely hyperfocused on kimchi.

So I definitely can say the above is not kimchi.

Let's define Kimchi:

Kimchi is an aerobic lacto-fermetation process that is usually balanced with a protein in order to preserve mainly vegetables/vegetation, but sometimes seafood or other seafood matter.

Why is this not a kimchi?

1 Chinese cabbage

3 garlic cloves, crushed

2.5cm/1in piece ginger, grated

2 tbsp fish sauce (optional)

2 tbsp sriracha chilli sauce or chilli paste (see below)

1 tbsp golden caster sugar

3 tbsp rice vinegar

8 radishes, coarsely grated

2 carrots, cut into matchsticks or coarsely grated

4 spring onions, finely shredded

Chinese cabbage is not the same as napa. Chinese cabbage is longer than napa. Does it look similar, yes. Have I attempted to make kimchi out of it yes. Did it have the same properties? No.

But forgive the white person for not knowing that. Chinese cabbage has more water content than your average large head of Napa.

3 Garlic cloves is laughable. It won't preserve for a year like kimchi is supposed to.

1 thumb of ginger? No. No. No. That's not enough.

The fish sauce is not optional. You need that to even out the lactobacilli. If you're not going to use fish sauce, then up the protein content with barley. I really do swear after messing up kimchi on purpose the fish sauce does have a FUNCTION not just a taste.

BTW, more than fish sauce goes into kimchi, though. Usually depending on the region you might get shrimp paste, mussels, clams, crab, octopus, squid, oysters. These pretty much ceviche in the liquid over time.

My favorite is Eomma's recipe with katuggi. ^^;; But I suppose that would anger both my parents. Hers I'm fairly sure had mussels, clams and maybe crab? And yellow corvina fish sauce.

Anyway... Sriracha is made up of red jalapenos, which do not belong in kimchi. Kochu is special. BTW, this already has sugar in it. Kochu is designed to stain on purpose. See the slurry portion below.

golden caster sugar isn't something that came about until industrialization.

rice vinegar is a totally different process of fermentation than kimchi. It won't render the same results.

European radishes don't belong in kimchi. Have I tried it? Yes. Did I regret it? 100%. TT There isn't really a substitute for Mu. Daikon is a distant second. European radishes are when you're dying in a desert and there is a gun to your head to make the kimchi with them and you have no other choice. Get this: Koreans who moved to Brazil, rather cut out the radish component completely, use European cabbages than use European radish. It's just nasty to bite into as a kimchi. Mu has less water content and is far denser than your average daikon and definitely over European radish. I'd choose watermelon radish over European radishes. (Have I made that into kimchi? Yes.)

Carrots do sometimes go into kimchi, but I don't think that's why it's there. This is more a Jeolla thing though.

You're not supposed to shred green onion for any dish I know... and I'm thinking of things like pajeon and green onion soup. Where is the slurry? ALL Korean Kimchi has a slurry, if it has sweet rice flour, whole wheat flour or Barley flour. It has to have a slurry. The slurry has a function. It's there to make sure the ingredients distribute evenly.

Lactobacilli aren't going to act in ONE day. This brings the health benefits of kimchi.

The food science:

Since the majority of Korean fermentation lives on the wild side and likes things like air and sun, often the "weird" ingredients in kimchi that foreigners hate are there to MAKE SURE YOU DON'T DIE when you eat it. Stop trying to cut it out without understanding its function.

Got it? Now stop doing this crap and actually understand the food science of things like the anti-bacterial properties of garlic. How lacto fermentation is good for you, so you don't leave it out for only one day.

Koreans boast their heads off about the health benefits of kimchi as passed down from our ancestors for thousands of years. Why mess with a good thing without understanding why our ancestors made it that way?

[stastrodome]

Fun Facts. 100% verified.

The only movie Mother Teresa ever sat through was Agent Cody Banks.

To counter what he considered the “frivolity” of Mozart’s The Magic Flute, Johannes Brahms wrote The Practical Oboe.

The only city in America named after a character from a novel is Becky Bloomwood, Illinois.

Penelope Cruz won a special Golden Globe Award for her work in the Nespresso commercials.

Of all the celebrities who have retired to Napa Valley to start wineries, none produced a better product than Rue McLanahan’s Orange Zinfandel.

[bungerbooey]

wawa

wrote this at 4 in the morning , wawa

Think Tank pre- war names index for this story

Dr.Borous = Ivan

Dr.Dala = Kim

I was listening to the Wall-e soundtrack , rest in piss Olivia sorry bru u kinda die in this one lol

anyways . story below yay

She remembers the sound of dogs barking, as she pitter patters throughout the area of BIG MT that used to be her workplace, her home to some extent. This is also the same area where she met her lover, but at the same time lost her due to the wrath of time due and complications with BIG MT. Which resulted her in her getting kicked out, which sealed her faith to the wasteland outside.

Her baby and her monster.

She paused, frowned at that thought as the sounds of ,multiple cyberdogs howling filled the air. As if it was giving her warning that she doesn't belong here anymore, but to her it sounded like a sweet memory.. ..

"Damn it Ivan. I told you it was the last time we babysit Gabe for you, you know how my allergy's act up when I am around animals. ---"

She was interrupted by the whines and pleads of the man in front of him.

"Come on Ollie Pollie, just for tonight. I swear I trained him to behave much better than last time! Besides, don't you want the GREATEST AMERICAN DOG to BRING GREAT AMERICAN POWER to your humble home unlike RICHIE MARCUS..!"

"Fine, just for tonight. If it takes you to shut up."

To be honest, she was fond of Gabe, he was a good boy after all. He would never bite anyone right.? He would still remember her right.? Just like the others.

A sharp pain grew on her hand as she looked down, a bite. . . " How the hell did you fuck up cutting napa cabbage, Honey Bear. At least, your giving me free practice on treating wounds." " Kim said as she wraps a secure bandage around Olivia's Hand as she pressed a soft kiss against it.

She laughed softly.

"This is why you're the head of bio research at Big MT, you're the only trust worthy person can hold a scalpel without fucking up unlike the others."

Olivia mumbled as she smiled, returning a kiss on Kim's cheek.

.

.

Kim was gone, only to be replaced by the name Dala. And it seems that Olivia was gone was well in Dala's own little fucked up world. She felt something tackling her, as she fell onto the ground. The barking now close to her, and louder than ever. Looking up at the stars. . . .

Gabe was a much bigger than your average dog, but still acted like a puppy at heart as Olivia felt him jump on the sofa while she was cuddling with Kim. Olivia squealed as she felt Gabe lick her side of her cheek, her face now covered in slob.

"Damn it Gabe, I'm telling Ivan about this!!" She laughed as she felt Kim head lay on her shoulder as she chuckled softly, rolling her eyes.

"I'm definitely not kissing you tonight, if your covered in dog slobber, my love" She said , as the sound of "La Vie en Rose" filled the dimly lit room of their cozy home.

Even with all the tenson that the world held, even with the atomic bomb, even if she changed completely due to her survival, Olivia still loved her. Even if there was a possibly that Kim would never come back, nor she would remember their past relationship , or her marriage .. or anything. … . . . As the robots on the TV screen gotten closer to each other, simulating them almost kissing . Kim and Olivia's hands intertwined against each other simulating the same movements as in the movie as they leaned in, looking into each other eyes as they kissed. While "It Only Takes a Moment" was playing in the background of the scene , the lyrics sang through the air … . .

"And that is all, that loves about. And we'll recall, when time runs out… That it only, took a moment, to be loved… Whole… Life… Long."

Blood flowing through her side, as all the different animals and creatures began to surround her. Olivia smiled as she took her gloved hand off, holding her hand containing the wedding ring that was embedded into her skin thanks to the atomic explosion. She held her hand up to the sky as she closed her eyes. Imagining her and her lover dancing among the stars.

Dying in the hands of the place she once called home.