#that combined w freezing frost and and snow

[mycomori]

just came to the realization that i am waking distance from a frozen winter ocean shore. like i could very easily live my dream death right here and now. i could lay down and freeze to death in the winter waters of the atlantic ocean. what’s stopping me?

[ashwayssunny]

macdennis prompts: - first kiss (very cliche but,,,) - the gang finds out 💕💕💕thank you

@bruisedandsweet here you go! thanks sm for requesting a prompt, i hope u like it 😌

1998. 

It was winter of that year, a particularly terrible winter that brought snow and winds that toppled half of South Philly’s power lines, snapped them in half like petty twigs. January had been mild enough to trick them, but February brought chaos with it, ensuring that the two of them were trapped in their apartment with no power until the plow trucks could get on the roads. Mac didn’t seem to mind. He’d constructed a light source of birthday candles from years’ past he’d found scavenging in their junk drawers. He made a mental note to visit a Bath and Body Works as soon as he could escape, sure that the light from a big three-wick candle, or any other light source, would be better than this. The birthday cake candles, however, were all they had. 

The gas heating kept them mildly warm, but the storm had weakened it, allowing the cold to creep in at the corners of their apartment and spread like fog. Dennis had grumbled that he had several heated blankets but no electricity to use them, and Mac held his tongue from replying that there were other methods of sharing heat. Instead, they sat in the middle of their still fairly empty living room, a thick quilted blanket from Dennis’s college dorm spread across both their shoulders, though they sat just far enough away to share heat without sharing skin. They faced the TV despite its uselessness and made room for the leftover bucket of fried chicken they brought home yesterday before the storm trapped them inside. Dennis found himself reaching for the remote every few moments or so before he remembered and folded his hands back in his lap to keep them from wandering. They sat in the dark like this quite often, he supposed, because they both liked to watch movies in the dark. Dennis had bought them a fancy new DVD player and a sloth of their shared favorite films, and it had become routine for them to come home from the bar – which they owned, he thought with a small thrill – and watch Predator. He wished they could do it now. 

Mac was speaking to him softly, strips of orange runaway light from the window laying like road lines across his smiling face. His eyes glittered in the darkness, and Dennis wondered what it was about this scenario that leant to such an expression. The tips of his fingers were far too chilled, and there was a dull thumping ache behind his left eye. Sugar and tequila, Mac tsked at him that morning. 

“… anyway, Dennis, I think a mechanical bull would be, like, a really cool way to get chicks into the bar, you know, and Charlie agrees with me –”

“A mechanical bull?” Dennis chuckled, tuning back in. 

“Yeah man, can you imagine how sweet it’d be to, like, have a bunch of chicks watch you conquer a bull? I mean, what could turn them on faster? That’s called primal arousal, dude.”

“Or it could be a total disaster,” Dennis retorted, “and then it’s a bunch of chicks watching you fall on your ass. Besides, I feel like mechanical bull upkeep isn’t cheap.”

“The thing will pay for itself, Dennis, I promise you.” Mac shifted, reaching down and grabbing a drumstick. They couldn’t warm them, of course, but Mac was enough of a savage to eat things cold on a regular basis. He brought it to his mouth and chomped intermittently, and Dennis had to look away. He hadn’t realized he’d been looking at Mac’s mouth. 

“I hope the storm lets up soon,” Dennis sighed, bringing the quilted blanket in closer to his chest. “I can’t deal with the no electricity thing much longer.”

“I’m sure the road people will be out in no time,” Mac said with total assurance, and Dennis smiled in spite of himself. The candlelight made him sleepy, and the shadows it cast on the wall made him want to dream. He wasn’t sure of the time; they hadn’t been able to move much more in on account of the bad weather, so their couches and various knick-knacks remained in storage. The frost had crusted so thickly on the window that morning that he feared they would have to pick it off to keep it from cracking the glass. Once they’d seen that, they settled in, playing board games, drinking, smoking a few joints, and repeating, until time was gone. “Mac,” Dennis said without meaning to.

“Mhm?”

“What time is it?”

“Uhhhh, I think it’s like two,” he said contentedly. Dennis noticed he’d scooted just a fraction of an inch closer. He didn’t mind. 

“Jesus,” Dennis said, glancing around the room. The candlelight didn’t reach the corners of the apartment, keeping them shrouded in darkness. If Dennis stared hard enough, he swore he could see movement. He completed the inch by moving just a fraction of a hair closer to Mac. 

“This place is really great,” Mac said, breaking the stillness.

“What do you mean?”

“I don’t know, just…” he trailed off, gesturing vaguely to the rest of their shared space. “I really like it here, you know? Good location, good price –”

“Not that you pay any of the rent,” Dennis interjected, though he was mostly joking. 

“Bro, don’t worry, I told you I’d get it to you! Once we install the mechanical bull…” Mac continued on, but Dennis found himself looking at his lips once more. It was innocent enough, he told himself. Mac was so warm beneath the blanket, radiating heat like an old furnace. In contrast, Dennis was cold most of the time, but Mac’s warmth was never far away. 

“I like it here, too.” Dennis said simply, pressing his shoulder to Mac’s with the lightest touch he could manage. When Mac didn’t flinch, he relaxed a little more, and his skin prickled at the points where their flesh made contact. 

Mac turned his body almost imperceptibly towards Dennis. “Are you cold, Den?” 

Dennis shrugged. “Always.”

Mac hesitated for just a second before reaching an arm around Dennis and drawing him in closer. Dennis could taste the thickness of the little space left between them like pea soup. Maybe just once, he thought, just to try. I won’t know if I never try, right? 

Mac’s eyes were round like the moon, candlelight dancing in his pupils, when Dennis leaned in, eyes drifting shut. Mac sucked in his breath, his heartbeat bursting into a sprint like a race horse fresh out of the gate. He felt outside of his body, watching Dennis inch closer until there was the faintest, softest brush of something –

Like the stab in his gut, Mac pulled back, releasing the breath he held in several shaky gasps. “W-Whoa, what –” 

Dennis blinked at him in genuine surprise for a moment before his face contorted into something more akin to scorn. “Well, I just –”

In an instant, the atmosphere was broken, and the meager candlelight served only to remind them that they were simply poor and not bohemian. Mac stuttered but could form no coherent thoughts, and Dennis felt heat rising to his cheeks from a growing pool of anger in his stomach. 

“I think I should go to bed,” was all Mac could muster, standing and shrugging the blanket off his shoulders. He avoided Dennis’s blue gaze, so piercing even in the dimness, and beelined for his room. “Goodnight, Den.” The door shut behind him as quickly as he’d said it, and Dennis sat in the living room with the blanket and the dark apartment making him feel like the smallest object in the world until dawn. 

2018. 

Dennis couldn’t believe how similar the scenario was. Same apartment, though by now it had been burned and rebuilt twice, stocked and restocked with everything they’d collected in twenty years of cohabitation. The South Philly power grid had once again been rendered inoperative by heavy snow, and they were forced once more to exist by candlelight, though this time Mac had plenty of large three-wick candles on hand. They’d been totally alone the first time, however, and Dennis wished that were the case when he began to hear the combined snoring of Dee, Charlie, and Frank in the other room sharing his bed. They’d all been drinking in Mac and Dennis’s apartment when the storm reached its zenith, and Mac threw a fit at the idea of them departing into such dangerous weather. He was their bodyguard, after all. Dennis had elected to sleep on the couch, but the combined snoring grated on his eardrums far too loudly to allow him any rest. 

In a true act of hypocrisy, Mac had ventured out into the storm to visit the corner store in the hopes that the owners’s commitment to staying open twenty-four hours, seven days a week, was steadfast. If this is gonna last all weekend, Mac had said to them, we’re gonna need beer. Lots of beer. Dennis and Charlie each thought about volunteering to accompany him until they caught sight of the nearly six inches of snow obscuring their view from the apartment windows. Charlie had gone to bed hours ago, however, and Mac hadn’t returned. 

Dennis pulled a blanket over his shoulders, propping his feet up on the coffee table. He closed his eyes, relishing the brief moments of silence, when the lock on the door began to rattle. Dennis’s eyes popped open as soon as Mac’s form appeared in the doorway, caked with snow and dripping but smiling all the same when he saw Dennis. 

“There you are,” Dennis said softly. “Tell me you got the beer.”

Triumphantly, Mac held up two plastic bags containing twelve packs. Dennis broke into a grin, though his chest began to tighten. Mac kicked off his shoes, shut the door, and plopped down next to Dennis on the couch. “You’re getting snow everywhere, asshole,” Dennis jabbed.

Mac ignored him, wiggling his way underneath Dennis’s blanket as if it were the most natural thing in the world for him to do. “Sorry, dude, I’m freezing. But at least we have beer.” Mac placed a twelve pack on the coffee table in front of them, removing two frosted cans and handing one to Dennis. They cracked the tabs open simultaneously, knocking back hearty swigs. Mac broke first, wiping his mouth on his sleeve and letting go of a small burp. Dennis finished his can in one impressive motion. Mac grinned at him, and Dennis thought it could’ve been twenty years ago. “Nice,” Mac said simply, and the warmth in his stomach began to spread. 

“Thanks, man,” he attempted to grin back. Mac was looking at him then, studying his face in a way that made Dennis uncomfortable. He squirmed a bit underneath the blanket, buzzing with a sort of energy whose origin he couldn’t place. “What?”

“You look tired, bro. Why aren’t you sleeping?”

“Do you not hear the monstrosity coming out of there?” Dennis jerked his finger in the direction of his bedroom. “Do you think I can sleep in that environment?” 

Mac shrugged, and Dennis knew it was because he was a heavy sleeper. He always had been, even in high school when he and Charlie would stay the night at Dennis’s house. Mac would melt like a heated metal into his bed, lost completely to the world despite the hell or high water that frequently broke the silence in Dennis’s home. Whether it was his parents fighting, Dee crying in her bedroom, or a combination of the two, Dennis could hear them through the walls as easily as if they were made of paper. But not Mac. Mac could sleep through anything. 

“You could… sleep in my bed,” Mac said measuredly, tasting each word as if he wanted everything to feel just right on his tongue. “If you want,” he added quickly, “you know, to escape the noise. I can take the couch. I know you can still hear it out here.” 

Dennis almost smiled, but the casually placed grimace he’d adopted as his neutral expression was difficult to move. “Maybe,” he conceded, suddenly aware of how tired he actually was. His eyes drooped, and blinking in the candlelight only made him want to sleep. Without warning, Mac’s hand was on his face, curving around his cheekbone so lightly, so gently, it could’ve been the touch of a spirit. Dennis’s eyes opened wider, but Mac’s were fixed on his mouth. Dennis’s mind went blank, his only thought being that it was okay, they were safe in their home, and no one was watching. He tried to place no meaning on the moment, vowing to omit it from his memory, when Mac’s lips finally touched his and neither of them pulled away. 

Mac’s skin was cold; Dennis shivered when they made contact, but Mac’s hand stayed firmly planted on his cheek. Dennis wondered how different their lives would be if this had happened twenty years earlier as it was meant to. Pushing that thought away, he curled his fingers into the hair at the nape of Mac’s neck and pushed them closer together, deepening the kiss. Mac’s lips were a bit salty, and both of their breaths tasted of beer, but Dennis didn’t find it unpleasant in the slightest. He even found himself beginning to smile into the kiss when an auditory gasp that belonged to neither of them nor a voyeuristic spirit broke their concentration.

They detached immediately, both their heads whipping in the direction of the noise. Frantically, their eyes searched the darkness until they made out the figure of Charlie leaning against the doorway of Dennis’s room. “Holy shit,” Charlie’s grin was big enough to make out the glint of individual teeth in the moonlight, and neither had time to say anything before he turned to the darkness of Dennis’s room and shouted, “Dee! Frank! Pay up, suckers, I was right!” 

[pocket-jihope]

Imagine: Snow Drifts

Jimin stomped his tiny booted foot through the frost covering the dead grass along their back door.

Crunch, crunch, crunch.

The more he stepped the louder the ice and snow was as he took off towards the crystal wonderland awaiting him. 

Jimin screamed as he flung his body into a snow drift, the soft poof! of freshly fallen snow cushioning his jacket-clad body as he tumbled through the cold, down a small hill, and into an even larger pile. He giggled as his face quickly reddened under the bite of snow trying to worm its way under his red scarf. Luckily, the wind had stopped before Hoseok suggested they go play outside or he’d be in trouble.

Who knew what kind of scary places a strong gust could carry a Small Folk to?

Hoseok’s yell bounced off the empty trees and frozen birdbath and over the granite gnome sitting in the corner of their barren garden before finally ringing in Jimin’s ear, the younger preparing himself by digging deeper in the snow hill.

“Jiminnie!” Hoseok cried as he looked for his boyfriend, confused by the endless plains of white around him. A Small could be anywhere in all of this. “Minnie?”

Jimin snickered into his mittened hand before using it to scrape an even deeper hole. Under the snow the light was filtered a blinding white-yellow and it was ten times as cold but Jimin didn’t care. He was going to build an igloo and live forever in it.

He just wished he had some heat to mold the ice walls more perfectly.

“Heat, you say?”

Jimin stopped squirming. “Uh...?”

“You really,” Hoseok huffed as he tunneled in beside his stock-still boyfriend, “should work on the whole talking to yourself thing, babe. It makes you a horrible hider.” His head popped through into the little dome space Jimin had managed to create, barely enough room for the both of them and quickly filling up with the combined puffs of their hot breaths. 

“W-Who said I was hiding?” Jimin stuttered out. “I’m obviously an iceman!” He fibbed, pushing Hoseok over while trying to dig more snow out around them.

“Ice man?” Hoseok barely flinched, not giving Jimin an inch, which the younger huffed at. “We can’t have that now, can we? My little Jiminnie will freeze! I have to warm his wittle cold heart.”

Jimin had just enough time to scrunch his face up in distaste and mild annoyance before Hoseok was tugging down Jimin’s red scarf, the cold really rushing in rough--

Before it was blocked by the warm caress of Hoseok’s lips on his.

“Let’s,” Hoseok whispered, his sweet breath against his cheek causing Jimin to shiver for a whole new reason, “build this igloo together, just you and me, shall we?”

Jimin held in a groan, knowing that the filtered light did nothing to hide his pink blush.

Hoseok sure knew how to bring the heat.

[passionate-baker]

Pantry Baking 101

Sweet friends, how are you?

Today marks day 34 of our social distancing efforts & I gotta be honest - it’s starting to get to me. I’m wavering just the tiniest little bit, but I can feel the effects a heck of a lot more in these strange times. I tackled my crumbling sanity the best way I know how: binge watching Gilmore Girls, video wine chats with my best gal pals, comfort reading, and baking. Honestly, it’s worked wonders. 

In case you’ve found yourself in a similar situation, I’ve decided to share a quick round-up of recipes already on the blog that can be made with a handful of staple ingredients. You know, so we can eat our feelings. 

Each of the recipes listed below have standard ingredients that I’m almost positive you have lurking in the back of your kitchen cupboards. 

Happy lockdown baking! 

1. S E A   S A L T   C H O C O L A T E   C H I P   C O O K I E S

Cookies are always a good idea, but these cookies are an excellent idea. I like to make up a giant batch, scoop them into balls & freeze for later. As long as you keep the freezer supply well stocked, a freshly baked cookie is only ever 16ish minutes away - a knowledge that is such a comfort during these strange times. 

2. F R E E Z E R   P I E : R O A S T E D   P E C A N   A P P L E   P I E   W I T H   C I N N A M O N   C R U M B L E

If you’re anything like me, you have at least two lots of frozen dough, three bags of miscellaneous frozen fruit, and one bag of frozen buttery crumble topping. Combine the lot, add some roasted nuts + warming spices, & bake a pie!

3. C O R N F L A K E   C A K E

If you’re looking for something that’s especially good to snack on, look no further. Our most recent creation, these babies tick allllll of my boxes for a quality snack: sweet, salty, crunchy, and covered in chocolate. Need I say more? 

4. E A S Y   C I N N A M O N   R O L L S

Baking bread is a seriously good way to relax and there are few things more satisfying to pull out of the oven than freshly baked cinnamon rolls. The good news: the rolls are finished off with a simple glaze, so no need to stress about securing cream cheese for a frosting. 

5. S N O W   D A Y   C H O C O L A T E   C A K E

Admittedly, the corona-lockdown isn’t the same as being snowed in, but the sentiment of this recipe is the same. This simple cake requires few ingredients and is perfect for those times when you simply need a big slice of chocolate cake. 

6. B U T T E R M I L K   S K I L L E T   C A K E

This is perhaps the most versatile cake to ever have emerged from my kitchen. In the above recipe it’s finished off with roasted strawberries - which you can totally do with berries from your freezer, defrosted - but it would be just as delicious donned with a simple lemon glaze or chocolate frosting.

7. B L A C K B E R R Y   P I E   B A R S 

Pie bars are super comforting & can be made with whatever fruit you have on hand - fresh or frozen! Our favourite version to date is without a doubt this blackberry one, it’s the perfect amount of sweet and tartness. The wonderful news is that any leftovers freeze so. well.

8. R A S P B E R R Y   &   S E A   S A L T   B R O W N I E S 

This is my second favourite brownie recipe - my first being this one here - and it is perfect for times like these because it is super economical with its use of eggs. Frozen berries can be subbed in if you don’t have any fresh, or forgo the berries altogether for a simpler version!

9. C H O C O L A T E   V E G A N   B A N A N A   B R E A D

This is an extra good banana bread recipe for quarantine times because it is egg-free. Don’t let the v-word put you off: it can easily be un-vegan-ed with the use of regular milk! The quality of the banana bread remains superb, I swear. 

10. L E M O N   &   P O P P Y S E E D   P A N C A K E S

A vintage passionate baker recipe, but an excellent recipe nevertheless. Make the whole batch if you have plenty of mouths to feed, or half it & freeze the leftovers for later. Win!