#that next one to open looks like it's gonna have like. 1.5 green leaves. you better make some chlorophyll buddy!!!

[cantankerouscatfish]

a mimosa being silly. what good is a fully white limb!

[blueprint-han]

on top of the world ↠ hhj.

genre: royal au; fluff inspired by a fucking barbie movie leave me alone okay

⇥ warnings: if having a ballroom dance with hyunjin is a warning, then <3, district names are randomly chosen, not meant in reference to SKZ !!

wc: 1.5 K

⇥ disclaimer: this fiction does not aim to represent the activities of the real Hwang Hyunjin, nor does it represent JYPE in any form. Events are pure fiction. ♡

type: drabble.

taglist: @stayverse @districtninewriters @inkidz​ @sunoo-luvs 

part of: the url drabble game; requested by @tpwkjerii​ (requests for this are closed now!)

↯ note: dghwey i had literally no idea what to write for your url, so i searched up the full form of “tpwk” and ended up with “treat people with kindness”. I developed it into an idea i already had. Tell me if you like it <33 ⇥ dawn.☀️

↯ note 2: oh... i cannot... write fantasy for the life in me. ⇥ dawn.☀️

“Ladies, all in line.” The instructor clapped her hand, signaling all the princess and lady royals to line up in front of her. You quickly scrambled out of where you were seated, almost doubling over your heels as you tried to wobble your way to the line. 

Oh curse those heels. They were gonna be the reason you crashed headfirst into the floor one day, you were sure. They were those typical pointy, magenta colored pumps that only an expert in poise could pull of properly. Your uniform didn’t help either, layers and layers of clothing — topped of with a jacket, which meant you would be sweating buckets if it weren’t for the air conditioning.

Gosh, you hated being the princess and heir to the next throne. Why couldn’t you just lounge in the courtroom in your sweats and sneakers? They were more fashionable anyway. When your mom had told you that you were gonna attend “Royal Training School”, you’d pictured horse riding in the lush green stables, elegant dinners with rich silverware, and most of all — just having some time away from the royal castle, just having some time for yourself and having fun in that time.

Well, you were in for a huge mess.

It’d been only a week since you attended this place, and you hated it. The place woke you up at 5 a.m., shoved breakfast (which was mostly a piece of “high gluten” bread) to your hands and then took you ballroom dancing. So your day was terrible from the beginning already. There was no horseback riding, no sword fighting, because according to your parents — “princesses didn’t do fights”. Seemed superstitious to you, someone with a forward thinking mind, but what could you do?

Too dazed in your thoughts, your foot slipped and you lurched forward. You yelped loudly, but before you could catch the attention of the class or feel the polished marble against your face, a hand wrapped around your waist, ceasing your fall and holding you mid-air.

“You okay, princess?”

You snapped back into attention, eyes meeting with your classmates, all of them having a shocked look on their faces, and some of them anger. Turning around, you were surprised to gaze into hazel brown eyes that seemed to draw you in without reserve.

“Um..., princess?”

“Ah, yes!” You snapped out of it once again, straightening up as you smoothened the fabric of your shirt. “T-Thank you.” You took once glance at his face, and... wow. He was absolutely ethereal. His golden locks of hair fell perfectly over his temples, he adorned a majestic black suit and by just looking at him, he exuded confidence.

He giggled. “It’s alright, princess. Glad you aren’t hurt.”

“Oh, that-”

“Ahem!” The both of you looked to the side, noticing now how the entire class, along with the instructor were giving you snobby glares. “If you’re done chit chatting, can we start out class, Princess Y/N and Prince Hyunjin?”

Hyunjin. That was a pretty name.

You noticed that there was another line of men, wearing similar attire like Hyunjin, lined up in front of the princesses. “They must be from another academy,” Silent thoughts flooded your mind as you took your place, and your eyes went wide when you found yourself face to face with the Hyunjin guy again, though there was a reasonable distance between the both of you.

“Now, royals.” The instructor chimed, clacking her heels against the surface as she waltzed to the edge of the room. “You’ve been practicing ballroom dancing with yourselves for a while now, so The Head and me decided that it would be a good idea for you to get a little peek of what the actual thing looks like.” She said uninterestedly, picking at the underside of the nails as she started the music.

Immediately, slow, melodious music flooded through the speakers as you looked at one another. and then at the guy in front of you... err, Hyunjin. “You’ve already been partnered up, so get started.”

Your mouth dropped open a bit when you realised what the instructor’s statement meant, almost panicking when all the girls next to you bowed down gracefully, coaxing you to follow the same. Hyunjin did the signature “bow down and lend a hand” pose like his other classmates, and you hesitantly straightened up, lending a hand to him.

Immediately, just like how confident he looked, he pulled you close to himself, settling his hands on your hips as a smirk graced his features.

Ah... so he’d noticed you blushing.

You didn’t know why you were blushing in the first place. You’d never met this person before, but something about him just made the giddy schoolgirl in you bubble up to the surface. You shyly settled your hands on his shoulders, moving along to the beat with his motions... and silently praying your ant’s worth of dancing knowledge would not fuck this up.

“So, should we do the introductions?”

“What?” You asked, almost stumbling on your feet once again. You made a mental reminder to burn the current pair of heels you were sporting.

“Don’t you introduce yourself to the person you’re dancing with?” he heaved a laugh, almost melting at how adorably bashful you were getting in his hold. You were about to mumble a response, but then stopped, gathered your confidence, and smiled sweetly.

“Oh well then, I’m Princess Y/N from District 8; honor to meet you.” You said in a sing song voice, muffling a laugh as Hyunjin twirled you around in his hold and pulled you back. The velvet coat was soft under your touch, and for some odd reason, you wondered how his soft-lookin hair would feel under your palm.

“I’m Prince Hyunjin from District 10; equally honored to meet you,” He tilted his head to the side and you noticed him bite his lip for a second. Brushing it off, you continued swaying to the music, feeling slightly more at ease now.

“How’s school here, princess Y/N? You enjoying?” His tone was respectful, almost like he was talking to a friend he met after many years,

“Nah,” You rolled your eyes, making Hyunjin look at you like a confused puppy, waiting for you to explain. Hyunjin wasn’t used to someone hearing they disliked royal training, especially when he’d found it nothing but enjoying.

“It’s just the same old. “Oh go to ballroom, learn to balance books on your head, walk with grace, eat your food elegantly, dance again. sleep early!” Your voice was a hushed whisper, yet mocking. “You’d think that’s what I should’ve expected, but I wanted to learn sword fighting, horse riding, that kind of stuff. They barely let us outdoors here.” You tsked, watching as Hyunjin bit his lip again.

“What?” You asked, figuring that Hyunjin knew you’d noticed his action.

He chuckled. “Your stepping on my toes.”

“Oh crap I am?” You looed down, pulling your feet farther away from his as an apology crawled up your tongue, but before you could shoot it out, Hyunjin stopped you. “It’s okay.”

“Maybe I’ll step on yours and we’ll get even?” He winked, a smug look on is face as he waited for your reply. The music was basically forgotten at his point, both f you lost in a world where nobody else existed, just you, your thoughts, your words, and your giggles. You mirrored his playful expression. “I’d like to see you try.”

Hyunjin didn’t break eye contact, and you felt a small flutter in your chest when he did so. He lifted his foot, but you were too quick, you moved your foot away the moment he settled his own down, and then for revenge, you stepped on his foot once again.

“Ouch!” Hyunjin shrieked, and thanks to the loud music. no one could hear him. You hadn’t stomped too hard thankfully, but Hyunjin’s cute expression when he crinkled his nose sent you into a spiral of giggles.

“Hey! You’re supposed to treat people with kindness” He pouted, twirling you around once again as he led you to the next spot in the ballroom. Your feet basically slid around at this point, and you didn’t even mind your heels.

“Yeah? That’s what you get for trying to step on a princess’ toes.” You rested your head against his shoulder, muffling your giggles as well as calming your heart at the sudden sprut of confidence.

Hyunjin’s grip on your waist tightened, making you straighten up, faint heat dusting your cheeks. The dance was almost coming to an end, and you wished it could go on forever. You hadn’t had such fun in a while, but unfortunately, Hyunjin didn’t belong to this academy. Sadly, the dance would come to an end.

“Maybe I can teach you horse riding?” Hyunjin inquired, a curious glint in his eyes as he watched your reaction. You gasped in shock.

“Y-you’d be willing to do that?”

“Of course, if you’re up for it.”

“How will we even do that?”

“I mean, you can’t tell me you haven’t sneaked out of the premises at night.”

You remained silent.

“Thought so.” Hyunjin winked again. “So, what do you say?”

You twirled around one more time, moving slightly closer to him when you came back this time. The next moment, the music stopped, and you murmured to him with a smirk pulled at your lips.

“I’d be on top of the world.”

↯ note: 🕯️ ignore me this is just a small prayer that tumblr doesn’t make me battle the tags yet again 🕯️ may the tumblr gods be in my favor atleast this once ;-; 🕯️ ⇥ dawn.☀️

[diindjariin]

By the River (din djarin x reader)

Rating: If I’m going off of AO3 shit then this is t, but there is a tiny lil paragraph of imagined sexiness.

Word Count: 4.3k!

Excerpt:  “Maybe. But I must admit I’m worried. I care about you, is all.” You watch the water rather than watch him. His helmet reflects back at you from the surface of the water and you realize that you are doubly removed from him, by the helmet and through reflection. The thought is dizzying, but his touch is more so. Slowly, as if he’s afraid you’ll reject his touch, Mando leans toward you and gently tucks a lock of hair behind your ear. It forces you to look at him rather than the water. Your breath catches. Somewhere your brain supplies the thought that, if he were any other man, without a Beskar helmet covering his face, this would be the point that you close your eyes and allow him to kiss you. You do close your eyes, then; a relaxed smile falling over your lips. You can’t kiss him, but you can imagine it.

Other works in this series: a mandalorian hello and soft hands.

A/N: Idk if I need to preface my work with this warning anymore but uh........the screencap is a nightmare. sorry about that folks. Also, if you’ve been following this series (i.e. read the first two installments) this one takes place before part 2. Consider this... part 1.5. I couldn’t stop thinking about what episode 4 would be like with the reader character so... here we go. This also contains a very small portion of borrow dialogue from episode 4, and I’ve changed the way some things went down for the purpose of AU fiction. Enjoy!

Sorgan: no star port, no industrial centers, no population density. The perfect triad for a hiding spot for you, Mando, and the Child. At least, according to Mando it is. You aren’t much versed in the art of hiding and bounty hunting, but you know he is, so you trust his instincts. So: Sorgan.

           “I’m gonna go out there and I’m gonna look around,” the Mandalorian says, pulling his gloves over his hands. “do you want to come with me?”

           The question throws you and you’re quiet for so long that Mando turns to face you, lifting your chin with the tip of a gloved finger.

           “Is that…okay?” You ask, leaving your lips parted in confusion. Mando never asks you to explore a planet with him unless he’s been there before.  He’s very particular, usually rattling off some version of Stay with the kid until I know it’s safe, then disappearing for a few hours before returning with news of a room and food. But now…now he’s asking.

           “You’ll be with me,” he says simply, letting go of your chin and turning away to open the hatch. You follow mutely until you feel a tug on your dress and see the Child beneath you, one little green hand fisted in your dress, the other reaching up for you.

           “Can we bring him?” You ask, knowing he’ll probably say no. I can’t watch the both of you, you imagine him saying, or if something happens to us we can put him on lockdown. But he does nothing of the sort. He pauses, hands on his hips and head cocked slightly to the left, staring at the both of you. Then he says Okay so quiet that you aren’t sure you’ve heard it or if you’re imagining things. But he turns and begins walking away so you assume you’re meant to follow, picking the Child up and following him out the door.

Trouble finds you immediately, because it’s Mando, but you figure that, if anything, an ex-shock-trooper was a good person to get into trouble with. Better than Imperial, you rationalize. Cara Dune is dangerous and stunning in the way that Mando is: she radiates power, but she looks like she’s kind where it matters. It’s hard to be scared of her when she smirks and jokes and swings an arm over your shoulder at the village. You hadn’t realized how much you missed female company until you had it, and though Cara isn’t similar to the women you kept friendships with on your home planet, she still has a feminine energy that you’d sorely missed.

“So, Mando…” Cara says, watching him out of the corner of her eye. “He your bodyguard or something?” Your washing clothes in the river, Cara kneeling beside you. You’ve been in the village for a few days, Mando and Cara deciding how best to go about taking down an AT-ST. You turn to look behind you and find him leaning against a tree, arms and ankles crossed, staring in your direction. You raise a hand and wave at him. He waves back.

“Why do you think that?” you ask with a small smile. Cara huffs.

“He hovers. And stares. Guys don’t do that unless they’re watching for something.”

“He’s just protective,” you say, which doesn’t really answer Cara’s question of what you are to each other. “I’m his… babysitter.” The sound that comes from Cara’s mouth can only be described as a laugh and a choke.

“Whatever you say,” says the ex-shock-trooper, lifting herself up from her sitting position and brushing her knees. “Ah Mando, you can have my seat.” Then she disappears.

Mando takes the spot next to you, albeit closer than Cara was sitting. You pause in your work to look at him. He’s watching you, body leaning toward you. You have his full attention.

“Babysitter, huh?” He says, moving his arms so they rest on his knees, “Is that how you’d… describe us?” His voice comes out a bit muffled, sharp. He’s speaking through a smirk, you can tell. The knowledge of that makes you smile broadly. He’s teasing you.

“I don’t really know how I would describe us,” you say sincerely, setting your washing aside and turning your body to face his. “Babysitter isn’t wrong, necessarily.” He hums in response, low in his throat. You turn from him to look at the water, watch the ripples dance. It’s peaceful, birds chirping loudly from the branches of tall trees, a light breeze drifting by. It gathers enough force to lift your hair, causing a lock to fall from behind your ear into your face. “I’m worried. About the AT-ST,” you say, and you know you’ve caught him off guard when he sucks in a sharp breath.

“I’ve handled worse,” he says but you know in your heart this isn’t true. Mando wouldn’t suggest the village pick up and move for no good reason. If the original plan was to run, then that’s because it’s the smartest choice. Thinking about him going up against something that’s been known to kill hundreds of soldiers at once is terrifying. You know he’s strong, the strongest man you’ve ever known, but you worry.

“Maybe. But I must admit I’m worried. I care about you, is all.” You watch the water rather than watch him. His helmet reflects back at you from the surface of the water and you realize that you are doubly removed from him, by the helmet and through reflection. The thought is dizzying, but his touch is more so. Slowly, as if he’s afraid you’ll reject his touch, Mando leans toward you and gently tucks a lock of hair behind your ear. It forces you to look at him rather than the water. Your breath catches. Somewhere your brain supplies the thought that, if he were any other man, without a Beskar helmet covering his face, this would be the point that you close your eyes and allow him to kiss you. You do close your eyes, then; a relaxed smile falling over your lips. You can’t kiss him, but you can imagine it. With closed eyes, Mando’s shoulder touching yours, you can imagine him leaning into you, hand on your waist, lips on your –

You are, quite literally, splashed out of your thoughts with cold water. Your eyes shoot open as water drips from your hair into your eyes. Mando shakes his glove, which is soaked and dripping, over the river. You squeal.

Mando chuckles, which snaps you out of your daze and gives you the courage to give him a taste of his own medicine. Something sinister must pass over your eyes because Mando begins to rise, struggling to stand after sitting for so long.

“Oh no you don’t,” you say, sticking your entire forearm in the river and practically tossing water at him. You mostly get his legs as he stumbles backward, losing his balance and landing on his ass. That makes you laugh. You’re struggling to hold your giggles in, crawling over to the dazed Mandalorian. “Are you okay?” you ask, voice filled with mirth. He doesn’t respond, which makes you crawl closer, afraid he’s hit his head. “Mando?”

He reacts faster than you could have predicted, launching himself up, grabbing ahold of your waist, and lurching you into his arms. “What are you –“ as he makes his way to the water, you know his intention. “Wait, Mando, no! I’m sorry, okay!” Though you plead and beg your voice is full of humor, of longing. It would be very inconvenient to be soaking wet right now, but there are worse things. And you don’t mind being held by him. He carries you right to the edge, practically holding you over the water while you cling to him for dear life.

“Put me down, Mando!” You shout on the tail end of a laugh.

“Down? You sure?” He loosens his grip on you a bit, bringing you close to the water. The bottom of your dress touches the water. Your arms tighten around his neck. You burry your face there, too.

“If I go, you’re coming with me,” you threaten, squeezing his neck for good measure.

“I like those odds,” he assures you. Your eyes widen at that. Would he seriously jump in this river just to get you wet?

You don’t get to find out. Cara returns at that moment, blaster in hand. She startles when she sees the state the two of you are in, dripping water and giggling. You blush.

“The villagers are ready to learn to shoot. You gonna join us?”

“Yes,” he replies statically, immediately dropping you to your feet on the riverbank. He’s all business now, rolling his shoulders and turning to you, nodding at the clothes you’d been washing. “Leave that here. I want you to practice, too.” When he talks to you like that, all authoritarian like, what choice do you have?

You beat the AT-ST. And the rival village. You’d won at a cost but won all the same. It took a few days to clean up the mess but after a week it looked as though nothing violent or exciting had ever happened. Just a regular village on a small planet in the Outer Rim.

Weeks passed. The Child fell in love with the other children, the attention. You can tell in the widening of his eyes and the perk in his ears. He was happy here. So were you. But most importantly, so was Mando. You expected Cara to bolt after taking down the AT-ST but, to your astonishment, she stays. Her presence is an added bonus in your life, not just for yourself but for Mando, too. The two get along well together; there’s a bond between them that you figure comes with being a soldier and you relish in that fact; glad he’s found someone besides you that he’s comfortable sharing with.

           “So what’s with the flower?” Cara’s sitting back in a rocking chair on Omera’s porch, hands folded haphazardly over her chest. The Mandalorian stands, arms and ankles crossed, watching you play with the children.

           Mando doesn’t answer, head tilting down and toward her slightly as if he were confused by the meaning of her words. Cara rolls her eyes and waves her hand in your direction.

           “The girl. I get the kid, but… why the girl?” He returns to watching you, contemplating her words. You’re sitting on the ground, two children in your lap and a third next to you, playing with your hair. The Child wanders in aimless circles around you as you speak quietly to the children, a look of secrecy on your face. All at once the children’s eyes leap to the Mandalorian and giggle, immediately turning their faces into your shoulders when Mando catches them looking. You smile and laugh to yourself, looking up at the Mandalorian and smiling at him, wiggling your fingers. He doesn’t return the gesture, but he does nod his head to let you know he’s watching. “Are you two screwing or something?”

           Mando jumps a little and curses, whipping his head to face Cara.

           “No.” He says the words with an edge of finality, leaving no room open to pry. Cara does so anyway.

           “You’re telling me you don’t want to get to know that beautiful woman in more than one way?” Cara asks, eyebrows creeping into her hairline. “Because if it were me –”

           “Cara,” he says, and that makes her stop. His tone is… not warning, but it’s close. But when Cara turns to look at him, he isn’t looking back at her. He’s looking at you, and Cara can only guess the expression on his face under the Beskar helmet but she imagines that it’s longing.

           “Oh,” she says, nodding her head and taking a sip of spotchka so she doesn’t have to speak, “that’s – wow, okay.”

           “You can’t –” he starts to say, but Cara is already shaking her head and waving her hand at him.

           “I won’t,” she promises, and the conviction in her voice holds truth. Mando figures it’s a soldier thing, falling for someone in your platoon and keeping it a secret, for the good of the rebellion. He imagines Cara’s kept a lot of secrets like his in her lifetime and knows with certainty that she won’t repeat it. “But why can’t you?” The Mandalorian sighs, slow and deep, the sound tinny when filtered through the modulator.

           “My creed,” says the Mandalorian, and though it is a sufficient answer for him it is not for Cara Dune.

           “What do you mean?” she asks, brows furrowed. “What happens if you take that thing off? They come after you and kill you?”

           “No. You just can’t ever put it back on again.” Cara flounders, looking at the Mandalorian with a mixture of pity and awe.

           “That’s it? So you can slip off the helmet, settle down with a woman you obviously care about, and raise your kid here, sipping spotchka? Why the hell not?”

           The Mandalorian is silent for so long that Cara figures he isn’t going to respond, figures she’s pushed too hard and upset him. In reality, Mando plays her words over and over in his head, trying to find an answer. He watches you with the children, smiling and nodding and spinning. Your long dress sways with every movement, makes you look shorter. He knows the emotion desire, has felt it in his lifetime when looking at a dangerous woman with a blaster. When he sees you, though, he doesn’t want to fuck you, helmet digging into your shoulder, dress bunched up high on your thighs. He wants to lay you down gently on his cot, helmet long forgotten, and place gentle kisses on your collarbones. He wants to whisper naughty things in your ear, only after he’s told you how beautiful you look. He wants you to whimper and sigh and call him Din. He wants to make love to you, gently, slowly. He wants to love you. Why the hell not?

           “I… wouldn’t know how,” is his response, several minutes later. It’s not the response that Cara was expecting.

           “You have time,” she says, nodding at you and the Child. “You stay here, you’ve got all the time in the world. Your whole life, really.” Cara’s smile is playful, but when she turns to the Mandalorian his posture has gone stiff and his arms are crossed over his chest.

“I’m leaving,” he says quietly, so quiet that Cara almost misses it. “I don’t belong here. They do. Traveling with me, that’s not a life. That’s a sentence.” You’re standing now, wrangling the kids who are shouting Swimmy! Swimmy! As they strip their clothes and run toward the riverbank in their underwear. A male member of the village approaches you in small swim shorts, speaking quickly and excitedly. You nod and point your thumb back at the Mandalorian, which makes his shoulders and chest tighten impulsively. Cara’s eyes widen and her jaw drops slightly, but before she can comment you’re making your way over to the two of them, a spring in your step. You pull yourself up onto the porch and grab one of Mando’s hands.

           “Hey,” you say sweetly, voice dripping with honey. “Come swim with me.” Refusing is one of the hardest things he’s ever done, he imagines, but he soldiers through. He shakes his head once and taps his index finger against his helmet, deflating your spirit a bit, but you don’t let go of his hand.

           “Enjoy yourself,” he says softly, nods at the Child as well, “don’t let me slow you down.”

           “Never,” you reply, brushing your thumb over his gloved knuckles, “I’m sure you could outswim me, even with all that metal.”

           “Where you go, I’ll catch you,” he says and then recognizes the significance of his words but doesn’t take them back. He thinks how, this time tomorrow, he’ll be gone from this planet and you’ll be here with the kid, alone. He supposes he’s making himself into a liar, but even knowing that he’s leaving, he still finds the statement to be true.

           Your breath catches in your throat and you blush, cheeks and ears turning a ruddy pink. You figure if you’d touch them, your face would be warmer than the heat off the Sorgan sun. Needing a distraction from Mando’s heavy gaze, you turn to Cara.

           “What about you Cara? Interested in a swim?” Cara’s mouth is still ajar but once you give her your attention she snaps it closed.

           “I…” she says, elongating the sound “think I’ll sit this one out. But thanks.” Her smile is tight and forced but her care for you is genuine. You smile and nod, making to step down from the porch before you make a noise of remembrance in the back of your throat.

           “Mando,” you say sweetly, turning your back on him. You wrap your hair around your fist and pull it over your shoulder to expose your back. “Can you untie me, please?”

           Mando turns beat red under his helmet, stares at your back for much longer than is appropriate. Cara lets out a strangled sound in the back of her throat that he’s sure is a stifled laugh. Taking a deep breath, the Mandalorian reaches shaking hands up to the ties of your dress, slowly pulling apart the knots he’d made that morning. He remembers your bare shoulders and clavicles on display, hands holding up your dress just enough to cover your breasts, shrouded as they were in your undergarments. I thought I could tie it up myself, you’d said, giggling, would you help me?

           Now, you slip the fabric down your shoulders until it pools at your feet. You step out of the garment, flinging it over your shoulder. “If you change your mind, you know where I’ll be,” you say, flashing the two of them a smile before picking up the Child and following the villagers the short distance to the river. Mando watches you unabashedly, knowing you can’t tell, follows the line of your legs as they take you away from him. He catches Cara doing the same.

           “You’re gonna break her heart,” Cara says, shaking her head. “Maybe your own, too.”

 He eventually comes looking for you. It’s been hours, and most of the villagers have come back from the river with smiles and loose shoulders. Not you, though. Even the Child is here, playing with the other children under the watchful eye of Omera. He asks her about you and she smiles, points in the direction of the river. Where you go, I’ll catch you, he thinks as he makes his way through the forest. Then he sees you.

           You’re in your underthings, like before, but now they’re wet and cling to your figure like a second skin. He can see your nipples through the fabric. Your hair is wet and slicked back due to the water. He watches you do a lap from bank to bank, completely unaware of his presence until you see him and smile.

           “Mando!” you say happily, disbelief in your voice. “Come to join me?”

           “Come to check on you,” he says, making his way to the bank. He sits right on the edge, legs stretched out, leans back on his haunches, “you let the kid go off alone.”

           “He’s with Omera,” you say gently, “pretty safe to me. Unless you… disagree?” You’re sure his tone was calm but an apology sits on your tongue all the same. He shakes his head.

           “I don’t.”

           You nod at him, rest your chin on your arms, folded over the riverbank. You allow your eyes to close, exhausted from hours spent in the sun. It’s Mando’s company, really, that allows you to relax so easily, lulled into a trance by the energy his presence carries. It’s so… peaceful here; so different from what you’re used to. Your life with Mando wasn’t violent per say, but the affect Sorgan had on Mando was astonishing. His shoulders loosened more every day, he spoke to strangers more, he… put down roots. And you were setting yours, too.

           “Mando?” He doesn’t respond, but his head perking up lets you know he’s listening. “I really like it here.”

           “I know,” he says, and for some reason he sounds sad.

           “The Child likes it here. You do too, don’t you?”

           “I do.”

           “Could we…” you trail off, afraid that if you vocalize your desires they’ll slip through your grasp. You want so badly for him to set aside the life of a bounty hunter, to have the life you know he deserves. Bounty hunting might be the only life he knows, but maybe you can teach him something new. You reach your right hand up to grasp his forearm. “Could we stay here, do you think? You, me, the kid. You could start over, raise him. It would be… a good life. Wouldn’t it?” You’re staring into the slit of his helmet, like you always do when speaking to him, but in this moment it feels as though you can sense his eyes.

           “It would,” he says, voice full of longing. He shifts his hand so that he can grasp your arm, too, both of your holding onto the other’s forearm like a promise. He wants so desperately to tell you that you can, he will. He’s wanted this for so long that the possibility of it makes him stop. He doesn’t deserve this. But you do.

           And then comes the gunshot. It pierces through the air sharply, lodging itself into the water inches from your body. You yelp in surprise, not recognizing it for danger. Mando does.

           He doesn’t have his blaster. It’s the first thought that runs through his mind. In the weeks of peace he’s become soft, unaccustomed to danger. He’d left it behind with Cara, not thinking he’d need it. He doesn’t think much about his course of action, the only thoughts running through his head being no weapon. He has no way to fight off the attacker. So he does the only thing that makes sense: he jumps into the river, grabs the back of your head in one hand and your hip in the other, and plunges you both into the water. You have just enough time to suck in a lungful of air before he drags you both down.

           Two more bullets whiz into the water while the two of you hide, holding your breath. He’s got your body tucked into his, chests plastered together, your head under his chin. His grip is so tight it hurts, sure you’ll have finger-shaped bruises on your hip. Your lungs are burning in protest and you aren’t sure how much longer you can stay under for when Mando drags you both up for air again. His head snaps back and forth, looking for your assailant.

           “Hold your breath,” he says quickly, pulling you even tighter against him as he prepares to plunge you both back into the water when Cara Dune’s voice echoes across the forest.

           “Got him!” she cries. She sounds close and after a few seconds you can hear her running footsteps. “Mando? Where are you two?”

           “Here!” You call and cough, lungs sore. Mando immediately looks to you sharply.

           “Are you okay?” he asks, putting you at arm’s length so he can inspect you. You nod but the sensation makes you woozy. He helps lift you back into the bank but you don’t move, lying on your stomach instead. Mando lifts himself out of the water just as Cara makes her way to you.

           “You guys okay?” she asks once she’s close enough. You lift yourself up on your arms and nod, still struggling a bit for breath. Mando leans down to grab your arms, helping to hoist you to your feet. You’re mostly okay, but the movement makes you woozy. You lean against him, one hand on his shoulder for support.

           “Yes.” He says.

           “I found this,” she says, holding up a tracking fob. The sight of it has your heart sinking. “Who’s he tracking?”

           “The kid,” you say, sorrow in your voice.

           “Then they know he’s here.”

           “Yes,” Mando says.

           That’s that, really.

             The goodbyes are painful. You know you shouldn’t have, but you’d started to build a life here, on Sorgan. As you pack away your things you think of how, this time yesterday, everything was perfect. To think this hurts your heart, though, so you focus instead on the packing.

           “Are you sure you don’t want an escort?” Cara asks, all smiles and gentle teasing. You know what your answer would be, but it’s up to Mando.

           “I appreciate the offer,” he says, “but we’re gonna bypass the town and head right to the Razor Crest.” Cara nods.

           “Well then, until our paths cross,” she says, offering him her hand.

           “Until our paths cross,” he repeats, taking her hand in his. Now, Cara turns to you.

           “Look out for the bucket head,” she says with a smirk, “he seems a little in over his head.”

           “I will,” you say, voice so genuine that it catches you off guard. You surprise yourself even further when you grab a hold of the woman and bring her in for a hug. It’s a little rough with all her armor but soothes you all the same. “Take care of yourself, Cara.” She smiles and nods, looking a bit awkward, but pleased. Mando helps you onto the little carriage and then follows suit, sitting next to you. As it takes off and the villagers begin to wave in unison, a feeling of immense sadness begins to overtake you. You swallow thickly as your eyes begin to mist. Mando shifts and you feel his hand grab a hold of yours. You blink up at him, giving him a forced, wet smile. He squeezes your hand.

[hiddles-evans-hallucinations]

How Did We Get Here? - 5

Summary: The pictures of (Y/N) and Chris keeps on getting out in the media for the public eyes. The fans are going crazy, but as they tried their best to hide it and keep their relationship to themselves, their feelings to flaunt each other is bigger.

Pairing: Chris Evans x Famous Reader

Genre: Fluff

Warnings: AGE GAP 

Note: a sucker for a fluff and fanfics or imagine that makes me UWUUUUUU so imma push myself to write and smiling like an idiot the whole time for the last chapter!!! // Also using celebs paparazzi shoot’s pics bc it kinds of matches with the mood I’m going for. And for the last chapter I’m using dakota and jamie cause they’re really cute on and off set. HOPE YOU LIKE IT. 

*gifs and pics are not mine*

PART 1 - PART 2 - PART 3 - PART 4 

Chris and I had to fly separately to Italy for the premiere, I was there first as I was talking to Judd when I heard a loud scream from the fans. I look to my left and found Chris smiling (gif), escorted by two men in black suits. 

My face lights up when I see him, but apparently it looks like he already saw me first before I did. 

He looks so good. 

Chris waves to the screaming girls as he approaches me and swing me around. “Hi, handsome.” I whisper. 

He pulls away and take a look at me. I was wearing a black dress. Chris bites his lower lip as he checks me out. I pull out my tongue and scrunch my nose at him making him laugh. “So beautiful.” he said with a hand on his chest. 

“Don’t cry now.” I pat his shoulder making him laugh again. 

The fans were screaming as we talk to each to each other. “KISS!” one shouted and followed by another loud screaming from them. Chris and I laughed as we hug each other one more time. 

The premiere was like usual, we spend time sometimes together for a quick interview sometimes we do it alone. I spend most of the time talking to people, taking pictures with fr I was so tired and my feet hurts that when everything and everyone seems to forget about me and I’m glad, I ask Pammy to take me to the SUV in the parking lot to chill. 

The driver turn the AC on and leave me alone as I texted Chris. 

(Y/N): ‘I’m probably gonna go before you, my feet hurts so bad.’ 

As I lay my head back and put my phone on my stomach, just when I was about to shut my eyes, the door was open. “There you are.” Chris said as I smile tiredly at him. 

“I just texted you,” 

Chris pulls his phone out of his pocket. “You did, baby?” he checks his phone and nodded. “Oh yeah, you did. 

“How did you know I’m here?” 

“Pammy told me.” 

I nodded my head. “Right, she loves you that much, she’d spoil where I am hiding to you right away.” 

“Were you hiding from me?” 

I shook my head smiling goofily. “No.” 

He jumps into the seat next to me after calling the driver. 

I stay quiet  the whole ride, I didn’t even know where we’re going, we did make plans that we would stay together on tour since we didn’t have any other movies to shoot currently. Pammy told me that tomorrow or in 1.5-hous is Chris’ birthday, I have his presents in my suitcase just before I flew here. I had to double check to Wikipedia to make sure Pammy isn’t fucking with me. 

“Hey, did you booked the hotel already?” 

Chris turns to me, his eyes are tired, “Of course, booked it two-weeks ago.” I look at him surprised. 

“Really?” 

“Yeah, I wanted to spend my birthday with you.” 

I raise my brow at him with a smirk. “Oh... so you’re telling me tomorrow’s your birthday?” Chris smiles, amused. He slides his arms around my waist shifting me closer to him, I shyly place my head on his shoulder as he puts another arm on my stomach and rest his chin on my head. 

“Do I get a special treatment for my birthday?”

I chuckle. 

“Special treatment? You wish.” I huff. 

When we arrived, there’s no paparazzi, Chris let himself out first, and as I was putting my heels back on, Chris opens the door for me. I smiled at him, puckering my lips as he leans forward to kiss me quick. 

He grabs my heels and carry it for me. I just can’t stop looking at him and think of how lucky I am to have him. Chris is hands down the most kind and caring person I have ever met in my life and now me being with him, I just feel more and more lucky every day. 

“I need to go to the bathroom first, give me the spare key.” 

I was thinking if Chris went up first I can ask for a cake for him upstairs. But, of course, “No, baby, I’ll wait for you.” I can’t help but smile.

I look around if I can have the front office guy look at me. As the guy, take a glance at me, I gesture him to follow me. Chris was looking at his phone, so for now, I’m safe to make a plan. 

“Can I help you Miss?” 

“Could you please send a slice of cake to our room at 11:58 on the clock?” 

He looks back to Chris then to me. “Right, what kind do you want?” 

“What do you have?” 

“We have the cheesecake, red velvet, classic chocolate-” 

“Classic chocolate it is.” I said to him with a smile. “Thank you. And I need one candle, and also please don’t knock, at 11:58 I’ll be right out.” 

He smiles back at me as I make my way to Chris whose eyes wanders around the interior design with its historical pictures on the wall. 

We walk into our room with him still carrying my heels. I didn’t let go of his hand until he has to open the door. I’ve never felt like this before and it’s weird, I never dated guys who were older than me until Chris, but with him, my heart race like I’ve never been before and I feel safe and I never felt like this dating guys my age. 

I look at my phone it’s 15-minutes until his birthday, Chris took off his jacket and say, “I’m gonna go shower.” I nodded my head. “I’ll do it in the morning, I’m too tired.” He smiles and kiss my head. 

Every time he kisses me, or even just a peck on my forehead, it sends electricity through my veins. 

I take off my dress, grabbing one of his white t-shirt and put it on as I remove my makeup while he was in the shower. I check my phone once again, 5-minutes. 

Chris walk out wearing the bathrobe and threw himself to be, opening his arms wide for me as I jump next to him making him chuckle. 

I keep on counting the minute. 

“I’m gonna get a drink, do you want some?” 

“That’d be great, thank you, baby.” I peck him on the lips and make my way out to the door. 

The guy from the front office stood there with a slice of chocolate cake with the candle in it. I specifically ask for one candle, ha, because of course, who likes it when your candle drizzles down to your cake? Nobody. 

He lit it up for me as I walk slowly to the bed and sing, “Happy birthday to you..” 

He looks at me with the cutest reaction (gif). 

“Happy birthday dear Chris... Happy birthday to you.” 

I stood there for a second, biting my lower lip nervously at him as he stood up. Kissing me passionately before looking at the cake and back to me. “Make a wish.” I said. 

He shuts his eyes for a minute and blow the candle. 

“Thank you, (Y/N)..” 

“The surprise isn’t over yet!” I said handing him the cake and went to my suitcase to get his present. 

Chris placed the cake onto the table near us and open the present and pout in response of how cute it is. 

A matching sweater for him and Dodger, his got Dodger’s face on it and Dogder’s got Chris’ face. 

“Oh man... this is the cutest thing ever...” 

I look at him excitedly, I knew he’d like it because if my puppy’s still alive and someone give me those sweaters for my birthday, I would probably cry. 

“Thank you, I love it.” 

I kiss him once more. 

. . . . 

I took a shower when Chris was still asleep, and as I was having breakfast in the balcony looking at the view of Venice, I open Instagram and uploaded a picture of us together on set.

‘Happy birthday America’s ass @chrisevans there wouldn’t be Nala if Benji don’t exist. You are the reason many people smile today, including mine.’  

I smiled at the picture, it was the first time we had our kiss on set but many more off set. I put my phone and eat my breakfast with my feet up on the balcony wearing bathrobe and a towel wrapped around my head. 

A solid ten-minutes later, my phone didn’t stop buzzing from the notifications. I remember I turn off my notifications for Instagram. “What is going on..” I look it up and there was people tagging me in a photo by Chris. 

‘IS THAT @(Y/N/L/N)?!?!?!?! OMGGGGGGG!!!!’

‘Tell me that’s her and I’ll die happily’ 

‘Omg they’re spending his brithday together i can’t do it.’ 

‘ITS HEEEERRR!!!’ 

It’s a picture of me, right now. 

‘Buongiorno, Venice.’ 

I look back and find him leaning against the door looking at me. I blushed. 

“Good morning.” 

“Good morning, birthday boy.” 

Chris walks to me and kiss my cheeks. 

“You’re so sneaky.” 

He laughed, “You look so good baby, I can’t just do it!” he jokes making me laugh. 

“Shall we go for a date today?” he ask. 

I nodded. 

After we went for a brunch, we were standing outside of the restaurant looking at the view. Chris has his hand wrapped around my waist as we talk about how we’re going to work “us” out when our schedules are busy. 

“Well, you’re more famous than me so, I can make the time for you.” 

He pfft’ed me. “No, I’m not.” 

“Oh yes. I mean, aren’t we supposed to be ready if things doesn’t work out?” 

He stays silence.

“But, it sucks if I have to meet other people or see you with someone else and I have to adapt to someone new, I don’t think I want that anymore.” 

I nodded my head, I feel the same way, I know I might be younger than him but exchanging one man to another is never my style. I’m not saying I’m ready to get married but, it’s nice to just have one person for as long as you also want it. 

Meeting people constantly sucks, and I feel too comfortable with Chris that I know for sure I never felt anything like this before. 

“You’re right.” I said. 

Chris just looks at me and say, “Gosh, I love you.” 

My eyes widens in shock. 

“W-what?”

Chris’ face turns blue, even green and yellow looking at my reaction. “I’m sorry was that too soon?” 

I bit my lower lip, I am so nervous. 

We just stood there in silence, looking at other ways. I can feel tension between us in this silence, but I know I feel the same way. 

“Chris?” 

He turns to me. 

“I love you too.” 

His face lights up, the biggest smile I’ve seen. 

“You do?” 

I nodded my head as he grabs me by shirt closer to him and kisses me passionately. Deep and passionate, and we stay like that for as long as I wish it to be. 

And he said, it was easy to love me, but little did he know that it was easier to love him and it’s hard not to. 

I want time to stop ticking just for us. 

Articles about (Y/N) and Chris: 

‘Chris Evans and co star (Y/N/L/N) shares a passionate kiss in Italy!’  - X

‘It’s official! (Y/N/L/N) finally taking it to public with Chris Evans!’ - X

‘(Y/N/L/N) wishes Chris Evans on Instagram. The reason she smiles today!’ - X

‘Chris Evans take (Y/N/L/N) on  a romantic stroll in Italy holding hands.’  - X

. . . . .

@patzammit​ @joannaliceevans-fanficblog​

[collapsingintojupiter]

Sunshine and StormClouds: Chapter 12

Catch up:

Chapter 1  Chapter 1.5  Chapter 2  Chapter 3  Chapter 4  Chapter 5  Chapter 6  Chapter 7  Chapter 8  Chapter 9  Chapter 10   Chapter 11

___

*Cough* yeah it’s been awhile.

Characters: Roman, Logan, Virgil, Patton, Remy

Relationships: Analogical, mentioned Romile (Roman x Emile)

Warnings: (Very brief) alcohol mention, a little swearing, and...I don’t think anything else? This one’s pretty fluffy.

___

Remy was, in fact, quite jealous when he saw Virgil’s nails the next day.

“Gurl, where did you get these?” he demanded, grabbing Virgil’s hand and looking at the design with big eyes. “You have to tell me, c’mon!”

“Oh, it’s only from the best-ever stylist in town,” was Virgil’s answer. He sipped at his coffee and laughed at how Remy looked like he was going to implode, enjoying their banter a lot more than usual this time around. Patton tried Logan’s iced tea and made a face, drawing another laugh from him.

“Alright alright, I’ll tell you,” he conceded at last with another chuckle. Remy lit up at once.

“Yeah yeah, go on,” he said.

“So…it turns out our babysitter is also a blooming artist. He painted my nails for me last night, and a few of Patton’s too.”

As if it was his cue, Patton reached towards Remy with grabby-hands, showing off the blue on his left hand. Remy set his coffee down and took the boy, leaving Logan to finish off his iced tea while he processed the information.

“You’re kidding me,” he said after a minute, looking over Virgil’s nails again. “This is amazing, what even…”

“I know, right?”

“Well then,” Remy said as he handed Patton back to his father and finished off his drink. “Looks like I have a babysitter to catch.”

---

Roman wasn’t sure how to react when he found that he wouldn’t be walking home from school that day—Remy waited for him outside In his car, motioning him over as soon as he was out the door.

“How’s Emile?” he asked as soon as Roman opened the door. He blushed at that, climbing in and looking down at his shoes.

“He’s, um, he’s good,” he said quietly. Then he looked up. “Why are you picking me up? Do Virgil and Logan need me?” he frowned. “Is something wrong?”

“No, no!” Remy waved a hand and shook his head, a grin on his face and glitter in his eyes. “Nothing’s wrong, my boy. Aunty Remy just wants to spoil you a little, if you don’t mind?”

“Oh…okay.” Roman grinned. Being spoiled by Aunty Remy wasn’t something he was gonna pass up.

“Also…I have a favor to ask of you.” Roman raised an eyebrow in question at that.

“A favor?”

“Yeah, I hear that this town has a budding artist, is that right?” Roman’s eyes widened.

“You saw—”

“Yup! And I was so impressed, I thought I might ask if you’d be willing to do mine too? I’ll pay you, of course. And I’ll take you out to coffee again, cause Aunty Remy needs his caffeine…does that sound good to you?” Roman couldn’t help the smile that nearly split his face.

“Totally!”

...

Roman wasn’t quite sure why Remy called the drink “pumpkin-spiced seasonal depression,” because as far as he was concerned it was the most amazing thing in the world. Either way, he wasn’t complaining, and he smiled behind his drink while Remy shared with him all of the latest gossip he knew of.

Which there was a lot of, apparently.

“Now,” Remy said, setting down his coffee once he’d finished telling Roman about his old highschool friend Ashely’s divorce, “I know that you do your Chemistry homework with Logan, is that right? What do you say we drop in on him? I’ll order a pizza, and you can have dinner with us.”

“Wait, how’d you know Logan was helping me?” Roman asked, though he still hadn’t managed to banish the grin from his face. Remy winked at him. 

“He helped me through Chemistry too, you know. That big brain of his is the only reason I was able to pass.”

“Really? Virgil said he helped him too…”

“Yup! Ol’ Logan tutored a lot of people, and I personally thought he was a better teacher than all of the paid staff at that dumpster fire they called a school combined.” Roman laughed, and he only shrugged. “Hey, I’m telling it like it is. Now, let’s go give our dear friends a surprise visit, shall we?”

…

“Hello Roman, Remy tells me that you’re in need of further assistance on your Chemistry?”

Roman blinked at Mr.Sanders, while Remy laughed and pushed past him. “Now now, we have to feed the boy first. The pizza dude should be here in a few minutes, and then you can amaze him with your brilliance all you want.”

“You got a curfew at home, kid?” a third voice asked, and Roman glanced up as Virgil came into the hallway, Patton at his hip. Patton smiled happily, reaching for Roman with his little hands when he saw him.

“Ro!” he yelled.

Roman smiled at him, then looked to Virgil. “Uh, sort of, I just gotta be there before my mom goes to bed.”

“When is that, normally?” Logan asked. 

“Uh...around 10 sometimes, though sometimes it’s a lot later.” Roman shrugged. “It depends.”

Logan raised an eyebrow, but Virgil’s eyes held the same unsettling look of understanding they’d always had.

Remy was in the kitchen. 

“You should have seen how jealous he was when he saw my fingernails,” Virgil half-whispered to Roman with a grin. 

“He asked me to do his too,” Roman told him, also grinning.

“Ah, so that explains why I’m getting free pizza tonight. I owe you.”

“Virgil, please tell me you’re not only going to eat pizza.” The group started after Remy, Logan lecturing Virgil on his eating habits while the darker-eyed father half-listened to him with a tired but adoring grin. Roman carefully set his backpack down by the wall, grabbed his nail kit, and ran over to the table. Remy and Virgil were already helping little Patton get strapped into his high chair, and Logan had set out finding something "healthier” for his husband to eat. Remy grinned at Roman as he came in. 

“Ah, it’s our guest of honor!” he called. Virgil chuckled, then went to get something for Patton while Remy sat and Roman started pulling out colors and supplies. 

Lets see, Remy’s classy and fancy… Roman looked over Remy’s outfit, which was fashionable as always: a black trilby hat, sparkly earrings, shades, a gray scarf, and a fancy gray sweater to match with it. 

I have the perfect idea. 

Remy, for once, was quiet as Roman got to work, watching the boy with a look of curiosity and intrigue as he pulled out colors and brushes. He started with Remy’s index finger, painting it black before adding pale pink stripes to it. The next one was pink, with thin black stripes. Then Roman did another black one, this time with pink dots, followed by a pink one with black dots.

When he got to Remy’s thumbs Roman grinned really big, then pulled out the green nail polish. He carefully applied a layer of darker green paint; then, when it had dried, he pulled out the white, painting a tiny logo on top that could only resemble one thing:

“Oh my god it’s Starbucks!” Remy squealed, holding up his hands and gazing at Roman’s work with the biggest smile he’d ever seen. Remy gave Roman an excited thumbs-up, then ran into the living room to show Virgil. 

“Well, you’ve certainly made his day,” Logan mused from over by the counter with a small smile. 

“If you’d like, I can do yours too,” Roman offered automatically, then froze. 

Oh shit--

Logan raised an eyebrow, though instead of declining like he had expected, the teacher nodded after a short hesitation. 

“I suppose I can’t be the only one in this family without nail polish on me, can I?” he asked. To anyone else, his expression was quite unreadable--was that a smile or a frown? But Roman knew it, and he was shocked by it--the blue-tied father’s tone was amused, even happy. 

It made Roman feel warm inside. He smiled back at the teacher, then motioned for Logan to sit. He quickly pulled out several shades of blue, his cheeks burning as he listened to Virgil and Remy arguing in the living room over whose nailpolish was the best. Both were very adamant that is was theirs. Meanwhile, Patton contented himself with several toys that Logan had left with him in his high chair, and as they waited for the pizza Roman started to paint. 

Logan...the picture in his mind, unlike Virgil’s aura of stormclouds and rain, was almost calming in its own way. Logan was smart, but also kind, and when that combined with Patton’s aura of sunbeams and Virgil’s dark skies it painted a unique and beautiful picture that could be found nowhere else.

Roman realized, suddenly...he almost saw these people as family. 

Two fathers, a crazy aunt, and one sunray of a boy were more of a home to him than Roman had ever known before. Of course, he wasn’t homeless, and Roman knew that he was lucky he wasn’t, but his tired house that smelt of booze and hopelessness just wasn’t home in the way Virgil and Logan’s house was...

Roman didn’t know what he thought of that. He put his head down and went back to painting.

“There,” he said after a while, flashing Logan a big smile. “You like it?”

Logan didn’t answer him; he just stared. He held his hand up, then slowly rotated it, looking over the details on every finger with...that couldn’t be...admiration?

“Roman I…” Logan shook his head after a moment. “This is the most aesthetically pleasing thing I’ve ever seen before…”

Roman beamed. 

“You two are being awfully quiet in there,” came Virgil’s voice from the living room, followed by two sets of footsteps as the bickering pair made their way back to the kitchen. 

“oh damn gurl!” Remy shouted when he saw Logan holding up his hands, at the same time Virgil’s eyes widened considerably above the dark eyeshadow. 

“Language,” Logan said automatically, but he still had that quiet, soft smile on his face as Remy grabbed his hand to examine Roman’s work there. 

The index fingers of his hand were blue with stripes, just like Logan’s tie. Next was a tiny white brain icon on a dark blue background, followed by a delicately-done artwork of circuitry on his ring finger. The pinkies were both indigo-colored with white dots, and on his thumbs Roman had painted a tiny sun on one, and a little stormcloud on the other with backgrounds to match--Virgil and Patton. The sunshine and storm clouds.

“My students will be so jealous,” Logan remarked, and Virgil laughed. 

“Hell yeah they will!” 

Roman’s eyes widened when a $20 bill was slapped into his palms, looking up at Remy in shock. 

“Wh…”

Remy chuckled at his expression. “I promised to pay you, remember? You did a stunning job, my boy.”

“I am...also impressed,” Logan said. Virgil chuckled, nudging his shoulder as the doorbell rang.

“Pick your jaw up off the floor and go get the pizza,” he laughed. 

“Virgil, a human jaw can’t even...oh.’ Logan paused. “A joke. I get it.” He shook his head and started for the door, while the other two adults exchanged looks. 

“He ain’t been that blown over since he first saw your face,” Remy remarked, and Virgil smacked him. 

Logan came back a few minutes later with the pizza, and the four laughed and joked over dinner while Patton got to try his first (and last, Logan swore) piece of pizza. Roman was happy to note that he enjoyed it quite a bit. 

“He’s taking after you, kid,” Virgil said with a chuckle as Roman reached for his third slice. Roman froze, and the older man laughed. 

“Don’t worry, it’s a compliment,” Remy butted in, throwing a carrot at Virgil.

“I, for one, would love to see Patton grow to be as kind and hardworking as you are,” Logan stated, throwing a glare at Remy. 

Don’tcrydon’tcrydon’tcrydon’tcry…

Roman got up and ran into the bathroom.

Dammit.

He cried.

And it was the happiest cry he’d ever had.

[irisallenm]

No Easy Way Out — Izuku Midoriya x Fem!Reader

Chapter #03/25 — Single Parenting Masterlist

Words: +1.5 k.

Warnings: Cursing, rape, abuse, blood, and a lot of tears, I proofed read this at 3 am, so I’m sorry if there is a mistake.

Previous | Next

Being a single parent is not easy, and when the world hates Y/N it is only a matter of time for everything to collapse.

When your mother found out your pregnancy test things went straight to hell,  you are force, not only to leave the love of your life, but everything behind and now happiness will not be easy to achive. You are like cinderella before the magic, with more responsibilities and abuse of all kinds, and there is no ball in the small kingdom of the basement you live in, but some times there could be a glimpse of hope, one that calls you “Mommy”.

A/N: I can believed that we are going this fast! Also, my classes just got cancelled but all of my school work was put online, that means that my exams, that were for next week are going to happen and I’m scared. Also also, have you read a book with this same title? I loved it!

Keys to read:

Y/N: Your name.

L/N: Last name.

N/N: Nickname.

H/C: Hair color.

E/C: Eye color.

Taglist: @xoxo-dede​​ (Ask to be added!)

It was harder after Haru was born, the little and frail body of your child was something new for you, never have you ever have hold a baby in your arms and that being the first time was both amazing and scary. The small body and frail head made you nervous, the baby’s hands wrapped around your finger and his cries made you cry as well.

It was a boy, a beautiful baby boy and it looked like heaven had heard your prayers, his hair was dark green and covered with fluids, a glimpse of hope creeped at your heart, and as the time went by you realized that he was more like Izuku than anything, in body and attitude. It was as if the love of your life gave you a message, ‘One day we’ll be together again’.

The night after giving birth the man came down, you had given Haru a bath with warm water and now he was eating at your breast, his force making you hurt a little. But that was normal, right? And as you were making him burp, because you learned it on some video back at home, he opened the door.

‘What are you doing here?’ You were hiding your baby, scared of him.

‘Leave that thing there’, he pointed at Haru. ‘And come here now!’.

‘Wait, I need to—’

‘Shut the fuck up and bring your damn ass here’.

So you obeyed, taking your child to the little crib you had made out of cardboard boxes and old clothes lying around, fearing that at any moment he would grab your child and do something to him. And it was the hardest night so far in those months trapped down there, your body had just given birth, alone nonetheless, and it was horrifyingly painful, but him doing what he was doing reached a different level of pain.

How many time had it been after that? Ten times? Impossible, twenty? Perhaps, fifty? Maybe, a hundred? Probably. You were tired of him, you couldn’t take him anymore, literally. It pained your whole body, the rough sex, the spits, the slaps and the broken voice for telling him to stop. EVERY. SINGLE. TIME.

But he never did.

He enjoyed having the control of if.

When he was done he left, living your trembling body crying on the floor, your conscious fading as Haru started crying, just like you. You swallowed loudly and pushed yourself up, still crying and feeling his release slowly going down your legs, making you feel like trash, ashamed of everything that had happened. Before even cleaning yourself was Haru, who may be hungry or dirty, and holding him in your arms made you happy of not being alone.

His first smile made you cried and his firth word being “Mommy” told you that you were doing a good job, his first steps made your heart squish at the sight and his first loosen tooth made you wondered how much time had passed.

That man came every couple of days, when he was bored or when there were people around in the house. If more than a week had passed then the punishment and sex were harder and rougher, and you wanted to end everything, you were tired and the only human being keeping you alive was the boy at the other side of the door.

The guy who always kept you downstairs was there, having “fun” after more than a month away, and he was charging fuel because he had another long trip scheduled.

Your body was too accustomed to him that I hurted you.

Much more than normal, actually.

‘Wait!’ You exclaimed the moment the pain was unbearable, as if something inside you was twisting, breaking. ‘I can’t, not anymore. I— it hurts, please’.

‘Yeah, baby doll, let me fuck you to the point I’m breaking you from the inside out’. The man kept thrusting, harder and harder, feeling you tighter than usual. ‘Just like that, fuck you are so narrow, even after all this years’.

Years? Has it really being that long?

The tears fell out of your eyes. Your sobs sounding hard at his ears, just like he was pounding you, there was something wrong.

‘Shut up!’ But you couldn’t. ‘Let me enjoy this before my trip’.

And then a sound came from outside.

‘Mommy!’ The tiny little boy screamed from the outside. ‘Please, leave my mommy alone!’

He was knocking as hard as a 4-year-old kid could.

‘Tell that piece of shit to stop’, he slapped you, cracking open your lips as his hand traveled across your face. And with that you came back to your senses, ignoring the pain just to protected your only ray of hope. ‘I’m okay, sweetie, don—don’t worry’.

‘But!’ His japanese slipped out.

‘What did I told you, bitch!’ His hands traveled to your neck. ‘No fucking Chinese in this house!’

The voice of your child was muffled by the sound of him sobbing, in silence, hearing how he was harming you, and he knew he had done something he promised not to do.

‘I’m sorry, mommy’. He ran to the back of the stairs, covering his ears as the sound of his dear mother being hit resonates within the walls of the basement. ‘I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry’.

‘Fuck, I’m not in the mood anymore’. He let your throat go. ‘You better be prepared for next time, I’m sick of that useless child that if he gets me angry again—’

His hands traveled horizontally across his own neck, your loud coughs and gasps for air made him laugh. He took his thing out of you, just to notice something in it.

‘It won't— happen again’. Your words falling in deaf ears.

‘Bitch, what the fuck?!’ He grabbed your hair, giving you a new place to hurt. ‘Why didn’t you tell me you were on your period again? Ughh, disgusting, you better tell me next time or else…’

He grabbed one of your towels and cleaned himself, “my period? again?” you wondered. “I haven’t had my period since I got pregnant”. Your mind traveling along with your fingers, your fingers touching your privates and feeling them covered in what you thought was semen or some other stuff, but looking it up closed there was a lot of blood… and a lot of pain after that.

You grabbed the same towel that was on the floor and pressed it on to you, the sensation was sharp, acute, horrendous. It was almost impossible for you to sit, the pain was going everywhere and you were scared.

Where was Haru? He had to be somewhere, scared and hidden.

‘It’s okay baby, you can come out, he is not here anymore’. You said as you put on a set of baggy jeans that were yours the day you arrived and that after the pregnancy never entered your body correctly, not after the lack of food. Most of it going to your beautiful baby boy.

‘I’m sorry, mommy’ His eyes watered as if a hose was opened. ‘I’m— I’m so sorry’. You grabbed him on your arms, hugging him with delicacy, and patting his head.

‘Don’t worry, baby’. You cleaned his face with your own shirt. ‘Mommy is okay now, see?’

You looked him in the eyes, green to e/c, both hiding their panic. But everything was far from okay, and you had to do something before the man was back from who knows where.

It was as if you never tried to run away, in fact it was more that you could count with your fingers, but the last time you ended with a new black eye and a sprained ankle, not to mention that Haru got some bruises as well. And having him hurt was not a choice, but being threatened with killing him was something even more frightful that the rape itself.

So, without any other though in your head you grabbed the little stuff you had. Your papers, the note where you wrote Haru’s birthday and a bar of granola for him, the only left over of your food for the day.

‘What are you doing, mommy?’ He asked, looking around while your body crossed the room several times.

‘I need you to trust me, okay?’ You lowered yourself to his size. ‘It may be scary, but we need to keep going without looking back, no talking to anyone nor looking at them, do you understand?’

‘But why—’

‘Do you understand, baby?’

‘Yes, mommy’.

‘Good, because we are going to try and get out of here’.

‘What if he finds out? Like the other time?’ He started crying, and for a moment you could see ‘Zuzu’s face, the same one as that day. ‘What if he hurts mommy like all the other times?’

‘Listen here, sweetie’. You caught his hand on yours. ‘If we fail this time… things are gonna get harder, so we really need to leave’.

‘Okay, mommy, I trust you’.

And with that you ignored the pain in your body, grabbed a blanket in which you could put your child over your back, and looked over the window, searching for the car of the family living above you.

It was nowhere to be found.

There was no sounds upstairs.

So it was time for you two to run and escape, to try and find happiness and help, somewhere out of the basement that held you captive for all those years.

NEXT

[ladymelissaduthe]

Challenge #1.5

aka The Fic Where Arin Gets Stuck With Missy In An Inescapable Location (accidentally)

a/n: weirdly specific title, but It’ll make sense when I post Challenge 2, I promise AAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA This was a really fun RP and fic to write, though it was slightly difficult what with the lack of visual cues in terms of writing,,, that’s what happens when you set something in the dark. ANYWHOS, thank you Anna @arin-schreave​ for this RP and for running with my crackhead ideas NJKSDNDKJD Anywhos, hope you enjoy this funny little fic ,,, also I promise everything about the ring ™™™™ will be revealed soon SJKNDKJKD (2,684 words) 

For a place that was twenty times the size of my own home back in Orleans, I was running out of things I could do in the palace. I was so desperate, I was actually in the library of all places.

Sure, there were the regular Women’s Room lessons for the day but we usually ended whatever was the day’s lessons early. Against the usual urge to scroll through my phone, learning a Tiktok dance in a gown wasn’t exactly the easiest. Doing the renegade was going to wait for a more casual day in the palace.

So I was in the library, browsing the bookcases and jeopardizing my poor immune system to some allergic rhinitis around these books.

There were a few books with interesting titles: The Creativity Crisis, 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, Business Process Re-engineering in Illéa to name a few.

The title that catches my attention though had a green spine, lined with gold. Embroidery Patterns from America. Huh, you don’t hear that name everyday. I could check it out and show it to my maids. Maybe try it out and do them myself on a dress I have.

I reach up for the book, extending my arms above me. I lean against the case for some support as I reach for it. It seemed stuck on the shelf though, not seeming to fully budge out of its place.

I try to pull it again, suddenly feeling the case slide open. Huh?

The next thing I know, I’m on the ground of a dark hallway and hearing the case slide close behind me, and the light leave the entire space. Oh no.

Where was I?

Why was it so dark? Oh Gosh, the floor felt like it hasn’t seen a vacuum cleaner in a decade.

I couldn’t make out where I was exactly, but it was dusty and smelled like one of those old historical houses in Orleans tourists would visit all the time

I try to look around and feel for the way I came through.

“Hello!” my voice seems to echo in the space. Maybe if I kept on yelling someone could get me outta here. “Help!”

“Can anyone help me?!” I yell again, hoping someone passing by the case would hear me. I try banging against the wall, sounding almost hollow. It sounded like wood.

“Hello!” I call out again. Please someone GET ME OUT OF HERE.

I keep on trying to yell to get anyone to realize I was trapped here. Was this… a dungeon? Did the palace keep prisoners here? Oh Gosh, I was going to get stuck here. Questions later. I needed to get outta here.

A knock.

I’m saved! I could kiss whoever was going to get me out of here. Or not, cause that sounded like treason.

“Hello! Is someone else there?!” Please get me out of here ASAP, I’m pretty sure there are spiders here.

“This isn’t funny. I don’t care if Ayesha put you up to it, knock it off.”  

Are you flipping kidding me? Who the hell was Ayesha?

“Uh… I can’t quite knock it off!” I feel something crawl along my feet and like any normal person… I scream. “I REALLY DON’T LIKE IT IN HERE! PLEASE I JUST FELL THROUGH THE WALL!”

“Really the jig is up.” I hear shuffling from the other side. Did they really just???

“This ain’t no dance sweetheart! PLEASE JUST HELP ME GET OUTTA HERE! I THINK THERE ARE SpidE-ERS!” I feel something crawl across my feet and I pound my fist against the wall again, “THIS ISN’T A JOKE! HELP!”

Silence.

It was quiet from the other side. Did…. They…. Just…. Leave me here?

I bang my fists against the wall again. “Hello?! HELLO???? HELLOOOOOOO!!!”

Footsteps sound like they’re fading away. Oh no, I was going to be trapped here forever. I didn’t even write a will yet. Oh Gosh, I haven’t even gotten married yet. I was gonna get trapped in this weird dark hallway for the rest of my life.

No. If no one was going to get me out of here, I was going to get myself out of here. The way my voice echoed meant that I was in a huge space. Maybe if I just… walked down?

And get even more lost?

Maybe if I—

I jump at the sudden motion of the wall. The wall in front of me suddenly gives way and opens, LIGHT. I see light…

“Hello…?”

“Oh thank sweet baby Jesus,” I say walking towards the opening, towards the light…

… and Arin Schreave.

I pick up my jaw from the floor before I quickly try to push some of my hair behind my ears. Oh of all times, Arin Schreave had to see me covered in dust bunnies? Not cute… AT ALL.

“ah… hello!”

Oh wow. This looked more like a hallway with a little more light shined on it… still very dusty.

The prince takes another step into this hallway, until I see the door starting to close behind him. I feel myself jump at the sound of the door shutting. Once again, the room was blanketed in darkness.

“Shit.”

“Nonononono!” I run back to where the door was, looking for something, anything, to get us out of here. Come on. All the escape room games have some kind of button to press. Maybe the prince knew something.

“Do these not open from this side…” MANNERS. “… your highness?”

“Uh…” I hear a sigh come from my right. “There’s a button somewhere around here but I don’t quite remember where.” So he did know something.

I hear a couple of steps grow louder from the direction of his voice, until I feel myself stumble backward. Did he just run into me? I reach for the wall to keep myself from toppling over. Oh. There was a hand on my waist.

“Oof, uh, sorry.” I try to move closer to the wall to avoid bumping into him. Why did it suddenly get so hot? Must be my allergies.

“No, that was my fault.” I could start making out his silhouette, moving close to the wall too. The hand around my waist was gone too.

I clear my throat, and push some of my hair back. Oh of all people to have heard me, it had to be Arin Schreave.

“I suppose you were the one on the other side of the wall I was talking to?”

“Uh, yes… I was… sorry I didn’t believe you.”

I wring my hands. I wouldn’t have believed this happened if it didn’t happen to me. “Well… whatever Ayesha may have pulled on you before… it must have been pretty bad for you to be this skeptical…”

A sigh. “I’m used to it.”

Thank God I was an only child.

Prince Arin goes silent for a moment before he says, “Just give me a minute to think?”

“Alrighty.” I suck in a breath and nod, going a little further down the wall. He said that there was a button around here. Maybe I could find it here. I try to run my hand through the wall, looking for an imperfection, a bump that could trigger the door to open.

“I think there’s a button on one of the wall, down by the floor.” I hear the prince speak up. I guess I was sort of right.

“Why would you put a switch down by the floor?” I ask. Well, there was nothing else I could do but crouch down and start feeling for it close to the floor. Ugh, all I could feel was the material of my dress pool to the ground. I try to push it away to try and keep on searching the wall.

“Not the way I thought I’d be spending this afternoon.” I laugh to myself. This was ridiculous.

“Trust me, I definitely didn’t plan for this.” I hear a sigh, “It’s near the floor so it doesn’t accidentally get pushed. It’ll feel like a small hole…”

I shake my head, hands still gliding through the wall, “Reasonable, but this is already a secret passageway. Not many people would press a button accidentally.”

I sneeze, “Oh wait.”

A small laugh from my left. “It’s uh… from when the country had rebels and the last thing you’d want to do is open one of these on accident if you were trapped inside.”

“Were rebels that much of a problem for you to have constructed these?” It had to be around here close to the door. “If I were a button… where would I be…”

“According to the history books I’ve read, yes. They were. But as a kid we used these tunnels during games of hide and seek.”

“I can tell from the dust, ” I sneeze on my elbow, “bunnies, that it’s probably been a long time since you played games here.” ACHOO! “And it’s been a while since rebels have attacked too, I guess.”

“Over 50 years… but I wouldn’t trust the dust bunnies. They could be harboring anti-monarchy sentiments.”

“Ah yes, rebellious dust bunnies. Practically planning anarchy through allergies and sticking onto your clothes unnecessarily.” I shake my head. I can’t believe this was my first conversation with the prince after meeting him… in a DARK, dusty, old, probably abandoned secret tunnel. ROMANTIC.

“They’re sneaky little buggers that make terrible pets.” I hear some shuffling from his side until I feel something bump into me.

“OOF!” I sneeze again into my elbow, before shuffling away from him. Come on Prince Arin, let’s practice some spatial awareness. “I just wanted to see some embroidery patterns. Who rigs a book of embroidery patterns to trigger a weird door?”

I sneeze, sitting up on the heels of my feet. I hate having allergies.

“Someone who doesn’t think embroidery is interesting I’m guessing.”

I lift a shoulder up, “Fair.”

I shake my head before going back to the wall and try feeling it for the button again. “It’s still fun though. Embroidery, I mean.”

“I don’t know much about it honestly.” I hear a grunt come from Arin.

ACHOO. “Just a needle and a thread honestly. That’s what my mama used to tell me.” I fumble through the wall, still looking for the button. “She used to be a seamtress before she married my dad.”

“Aha”

I hear a click before the door seems to slide open. Light. FRESH AIR.

“Oh thank God.” I breathe out a sigh of relief. I immediately stand up, albeit a bit wobbly, before I offer my hand to Arin.

He doesn’t take my hand, instead standing on his own and brushing off the dust from his pants. I tuck my hand in my other, dusting myself too.

His eyes then set on me. Oh I must look horrible. Of all times, it had to be a time where I didn’t look cute.

“Oh um… you have a little something right here.” He gestures to his head.

UGHHHHHH

“Oh,” I pat my head for whatever was there. “You also have um… what is… that…” I peer closer. It didn’t look like a speck of dust, it looked like it was moving. It had… legs?

“It’S A SPIDER.”

“oh!” I watch him quickly brush the spider off, but I watch as he swats it and gets accidentally flung at me.

I do what a normal would do in this situation.

I shriek, but I quickly swat it off my dress to the ground and running the HELL away from it. I then hear a small clinking sound. “Oh no…”

I look down to my right hand. My ring. It was gone.

Arin’s eyes follow the noise, he himself following after it to investigate.

Now this was awkward. I follow after where the sound stopped, where Arin bends down to look for the source.

“Um… I got it.” He seems to have found it, picking it up and straightens.

I step up to him and hold my palm open, “T-thank you. I can take this now.”

Oh great Melissa. Sure, a ring wasn’t going to give him any war flashbacks at all… or worse… make him start asking questions about it.

Arin clears his throat as he hands the ring to me. “Well, that’s not something you’d want to lose.”

“Nope,” I take the ring and slip it back on my right index finger. Why did I get it resized? That was a stupid decision, now it was way too big for any of my fingers. “It’s my Grammy’s ring.” I laugh slightly before looking back to him.

He nods. “Ah well… Maybe you should have it resized so you don’t lose it. Rings like that tend to be sentimental.”

It was sentimental, and trust me, it already has been resized.

I clench my right hand, making sure it wouldn’t slip off again.

“It doesn’t normally fall off, at least not all the time.” I tilt my head. “And yes, this one is really sentimental to me.”

I couldn’t bear to part with this piece.

“I can see that. It reminds me of my mom’s old wedding ring.” Arin says, and I notice him swallow nervously. “I just mean it’s pretty.”

I take a moment to blink at the wedding ring remark.

“Actually,” I laugh slightly. “this was my Grammy’s wedding ring.”

Grandpa said he saved for an entire year to buy her this ring. Back then, things weren’t so easy for them or his orchard.

I lift a shoulder, continuing. “It was my mom’s, and then it was passed down to me.” It was a thin gold band surrounded with little diamonds. No big jewel or anything. Just tiny little diamonds. Grandpa had some taste. I scrunch up my nose and breathe out a laugh. “Thank you… for calling it pretty.”

“Of course.” He nods a bit awkwardly before glancing to the door. “Did you want to get our of here?”

Oh right, I almost forgot.

“Yes, please.” I lift my skirt to move quicker to the door before it closed in on us again. I wasn’t gonna stuck in that room again. “Thank you again for helping me.”

ACHOO!

“Sorry for not believing you…”

Arin seems to follow behind me. As we both get out of the room, he shuts the door behind us. Good. I never wanted to see that tunnel again. Ever.

I lift a shoulder, “Easy mistake, I probably would have freaked out if I heard a voice from the other side of the wall and not believe that there was a secret hallway over there.” I gesture my head to the bookcase.

“Just try not to do it again.” A small smile appears on his face. He should smile more. “The dust bunnies might not be as friendly next time.”

“I’m more worried about the spiders.” ACHOO! “Might wanna ask a couple of maids to maybe spruce it up a bit, maybe add some nice lighting, maybe an exit sign inside.”

I end up sneezing again, can’t helping but laugh at the situation.

“There’re actually lights in there…”

“That could have been useful a couple of minutes ago.” I chuckle before ACHOO! “Well, that… was an adventure, but I think I need a hot shower to wash that hallway off.” Or a bubble bath, a bubble bath seemed nice.

I give Arin a quick curtsy with a smile, “Thank you again for getting me outta there, your highness.”

In turn, he gives me a smile and a nod. “Of course.” He gives me a bow. That’s.. a first. “I hope the rest of your day is better.”

To be honest, this… was actually fun. It was nice to get to interact with Arin.

“Have a nice day!” I nod once with a smile and spin on my heel,  d lifting my skirt and heading straight to my room.

I had a feeling that things were going just fine with Arin. It was a start, that’s all I needed.

[chickennoodlesoupfortae]

BTS Reaction

A/N- Here’s a shorter more traditional reaction rather than the condensed one-shots that my reactions usually are. So I think that imagines are condensed one-shots and reactions are short bullet points. Someone tell me.

Summary- The member's reactions to there baby being born 

Word count- 1.5 k

Warnings- pure fluff 

Enjoy-

Jin

He would be scared beforehand

Mostly scared about the public's reaction

Would they like the baby?

Would it cause sales to go down?

He was a mess before but kept it inside so you wouldn’t feel worried or unloved

When he saw the baby it would all melt away every concern, doubt, and fear would vanish at the sight of his love and their baby

would hold your hand during birth and try his hardest not to faint

he would ugly sob when he first saw her covers in blood and crying

“it's ok that she's crying right?” he would ask you but the doctors

“completely normal a good sign”

He wouldn’t let go of the baby for at least a week

would be very scared of anyone holding the baby

“isn't she perfect?” is all that would come out of his mouth for months

a very protective parent in general

Yoongi

would act like he wasn't emotional in public but would be a mess at home

“what if the baby doesn't like me? what if I have to be gone for a long time?”

these would be the questions he bombarded you with everyday

“I’m sure they'll love you.”

when it was time to give birth he would be too scared to be in the same room

he ultimately went in with you

a lot of muffled gags

he would try to be the strongest one in the room holding it together

almost faints. twice

he would be extremely scared to hold the baby

would only hold him for three minutes at a time

wouldn't let anyone but you hold the baby without having a panic attack

“but what if they drop him? I don't think we should let him hold him.”

“but it's tae.”

would happen with every member

he would be a loving parent but very distant and from afar

Hoseok

he wouldn't be worried at all

super excited to dress the baby up

would go out and spend tens of thousands of dollars on cribs, strollers, and baby clothes

your house would look like a baby boutique by the end of eight months

would start getting anxious about parenting

“what if this is too much I don't want it to be spoiled?”

“it? and now you say that” you would open the door to the mini-mall you had going

he would relax a bit but the thoughts would be in the back of his mind

he would stop sharing his thoughts with you as to not get you to upset or anything

“what am I going to do” the ranting to the members would become constant and draining leading for them to come to you telling you what he had been saying

you went into labour when he was out of town

he would go full-on panic attack mode screaming at anyone and everyone that he needed to leave

would take the company jet leaving everyone without any way to go home

“I'm here. I'm here” would be crying

you hadn't started pushing or anything and we're only on bed rest

would swear he missed the birth of his child and be apologizing forever

he would want to hold the baby forever wouldn't let go

would show her off to everyone

would be a very lenient in general except when it came to social media and reporters

Namjoon

When he first found out he was ecstatic but that lasted for all of two minutes

Then came financing the baby

“You can’t plan it’s whole life out at two months prenatal.” you joked to him at one point

“LIES. You see here. I’m already at tenth grade.” he pointed at the whiteboard he bought for the exact purpose

He would want to tell everyone but it was too early on

Once you gave him the green light he would tell everyone he met

“Hey, my girls pregnant.” *to cashier at McDonald's*

He wouldn’t leave your side once you entered the last couple of weeks

He would do everything you asked of him

When it was time for the baby to come he would go into a super mode and wouldn’t freak out at all

After when you both were in the hospital and were safe he would begin to freak out

This would include pacing around, crying, intense laughing at nothing, and ranting

When the baby was coming he would go back into his no freaking out mode and tell you to breathe while holding your hand

“Breath in ...Breath out.”

“Shut up.” you would scream at him

Secretly he was doing it for himself.

He would be a very open-minded parent loving his child for who he was

He wouldn’t want anyone to have pictures of your baby

He would hide the baby’s face for months until a picture was leaked to which he responded with a tweet of his picture of your child and a legal note

Jimin

To say he was scared would be the understatement of the century

He would have a panic attack on the spot

A lot of tears and shouts but never because of you or at you

“How are we gonna do this? I’m always gone. What if it doesn’t love me? What will the media say?”

He didn’t want a child he would just be fearful of the baby’s lively hood

He wouldn’t allow anyone to say anything to anyone about your pregnancy claiming it was a private affair

Although this would make you feel bad you understood it was for the better

You both would choose to have the baby at home to decrease the risk of any security breaches or incidents that could bring harm to you or the baby.

It was only you and him and the baby for at least a week

Then he would muster up the strength with you to take all of you to see the members

You would all walk out in all black and masks

The baby’s car seat would be completely covered

He would get worried when he saw the headlines

‘BTS member Jimin seem for the first time in weeks leaving his apartment with girlfriend (y/n) and baby in hand?’

He would be a strict parent sheltering your child from the pressures of the media

Taehyung

Similar to Yoongi he would be terrified of the birth

Muffled gags and almost faints

“Breath in babe.” it was you saying this to him

You would have a relatively easy birth

He would post a picture of you and your baby the next day with your approval

Similar to Hoseok he would have a mini-mall going in your apartment

He would try his hardest not to spoil your daughter but would fail miserably

This baby had all the designer clothes.

You would tell him over and over again “She’ll only fit into these for two months.” you were usually holding a bag of clothes and sometimes toys to which you would say “She’s three months why does she need a talking cradle?”

It would almost always end with “This is thousands of dollars worth of garbage we don’t need! We should be donating this money to charity.”

So every time your daughter got new clothes a charity of choice would get a generous donation from an anonymous source

He would be a very switch parent

Sometimes very strict, other times a little too lenient

Jungkook

“A baby now?”

Regretted saying that the first time he found out

He was worried but he loved you and wanted to have a baby with you

He would also keep it a secret for a while until pictures leaked of you online showing a little

He would have big hit release a statement

He would become a little distant and this would cause a rift in your relationship

It would get to the point where you weren’t sleeping in the same room

This all changed when one of the members commented on the situation

“You shouldn’t remove yourself from her kookie. You’re not that type of guy at least I hope not.”

He would try his hardest to be there for you even though the whole situation made him scared because he would be so young when the baby came

You went into labour on a Saturday night and in the morning a sweet baby boy was born.

It was like he had an epiphany when he saw you giving birth to his child

He loved the baby more than anything he had ever loved before

He loved you a close second

When you both came home he would apologize and explain himself and promise to be there forever because he loved both of you. No matter how young the two of you were or what anyone said

A very playful parent to say the least.

A/N- Finding the gifs, editing, and hashtags take so long like at least an hour. I hope you enjoyed. Backstage love P3 is out on Friday and a blurb tomorrow!

[missguomeiyun]

Homecookings [March ed.]

How was everyone’s March 2020??!

Here’s mine: Started off the month with staycation, which I didn’t get a lot done (nowhere close to what I had planned) but at the same time, I got quite a lot done. I’m referring to a newly self-taught skill, which is ink painting. I busted out my ink block FINALLY. Those ones where you gotta swirl & melt it in a water reservoir. It’s super old-school & it’s how oriental ink painting is supposed to be done (the liquid ink bottles are modern-style). The ink block has been around for so long; & for the longest time, I didn’t want to start using it bcos I didn’t wanna ruin it lol I wanted to “save” it. But you know what? LET’S GET IT!!!! Every day, I worked on a painting, & I actually ended up with 10 in total. It wasn’t as hard as I thought; I tried different styles, & after 10, I think I have a good grasp of the technique!

^ Just sharing one :)

I rarely talk about current events on this blog bcos it’s a place for me to document my food adventures as well as travel-related (but mostly food-related) topics, with the rare appearance of Kpop/Kdrama talk. But things have been CRAZY in Alberta! With the COVID-19 ‘formally’ entering the province early March, & ppl hoarding things, to school closures & online classes.. . now semi-lockdown, where only essential service is open, etc.. . The province has, is, & will be going through a lot of changes, as a whole.

To say the ‘official entry’ hasn’t impacted me/my life at all is a lie, however, the impact has been very minimal. Since starting mid-March, there has been daily updates regarding the cases by our Chief Medical Officer of Health, Dr. Hinshaw. *My personal view only* Everyone’s situation is different, & I fortunately, am able to keep my lifestyle pretty much the same at this point. I’m a pretty big home-body to begin with, & as much as I love seeing my friends, I don’t see them that often anyway due to shift work *shrugs* so in terms of the practice of social distancing to my social life, in all honesty, not much impact. 

Well, what about my work?! Am I sent home to work???! No. Don’t wanna go into too much detail here, but I will share a little. As a medical laboratory technologist, PPE at work + hand-washing practice is “normal”, as in, there’s nothing to change about it. I may wash my hands more, but ppl that hang out with me know I sanitize/wash hands often anyway so. .. I’m still going to work as a regular full time, doing the things I do; we are an essential service & we gotta be open no matter what! The company has adopted some recommended guidelines put forth by Public Health, such as, “sick leaves” (+ follow up) have now expanded in definition, & staff gets mandatory temperature check at the entrance before we enter the facility. The biggest change at work has been the change in work volume - we are so used to busy, busy, busyyy & now it’s like “let me pick up the next phone call pls!”

Anyway, didn’t mean to start off with such a loooooong update ... Let’s start the real deal: homecookings this month!

Hmmm .. . what do you think I did with this?

^ KitKat-covered wafer rolls. I find milk chocolate reallllyyyy sweet so I melted some tiramisu KitKat with some brewed coffee (1. to de-sweeten, & 2. to make the mixture more runny). I crushed majority of the KitKat but I aimed to keep some wafers as large-ish pieces to fulfill texture-building. Then I poured the mixture on top, let cool, then cut into individual pieces.

^ I then up’ed my game, & nearly tripled the amount of coffee that I used the 1st time. The resulting melted KitKat + coffee mixture was very bitter - just the way I liked it. I didn’t use as much wafer rolls this time bcos I couldn’t; that’s all I had left in the house. But I had some chocolate mix left; thus I just scooped some over Oreo thins.

PS: Oreo thins wins!

PPS: For both experiments, I used half of the large KitKat bar! mmm.. coffee amount was pretty much YOLO-’d.

^ Kimchi + chicken mini tacos. Stir-fried up some chicken breast & cut up kimchi, & scooped on top of soft corn flour + wheat tortilla tacos. Added some mozza shreds & green onion after.

^ Another fusion soft taco, consisting of Costco fries & basa fish fillet that’s been cooked in pasta sauce. Decided to add some bacon ranch dressing as well. This was surprisingly a success! I’m not a huuuuge fan of fish, in general. I’ve never tried basa with tomato + herb pasta sauce. I was gonna eat the basa on its own like that, but then I thought, let’s fish taco-it! Got a nice crunch & softness of the basa in 1 bite :D

^ Beef + cabbage with flat rice vermicelli noodles. This is like my home-made bun bo hue but with a looooooot of cabbage bcos I love cabbage! I used the canned pho soup (diluted it with water), some fish sauce, & fire chicken sauce! Doesn’t look like much, but it was spicy!

^ baked salmon - used coarse sea salt, fresh ground black pepper, furikake, & white truffle olive oil. YUM!

^ another baked salmon. I know this probably sounds stupid, but I’m 100% transparent about it haha I have a foil sheet on my toaster oven tray, & I’m not a fan of changing it out every single time, so I’ve come to a consensus with myself that I’ll bake, but use some other dish as a vessel, instead of “baking” on a tray or pan. The last salmon, I used a white dish - it was SO hard to wash afterwards. So this time, I used one of these stainless steel dishes my mom has (& uses for steaming). It was less of a mess!

Anyway, what flavour is the salmon here? Salt, fresh ground pepper, garlic, & honey!

^ cheese tortellini with pan-seared chicken breast. I made the sauce using: milk, butter, salt, dried parsley, & 2 slices of Kraft mozza singles. Topped with more dried parsley & fresh ground black pepper. (Don’t worry! I had steamed broccoli on the side for my “greens” portion.)

^ Vegetarian bibimbap. The fried tofu was store-bought, but I cooked it in Korean soy sauce + sugar, so kind of like braised tofu. Mixed salad greens at the bottom, then rice, then the tofu; lastly, some sesame seeds + bibimbap paste.

^ Ramyeon with mixed greens + chicken breast. Gotta keep it healthy! haha you might find that this is weird - to put salad greens in soup. But let me tell you, use a small amount & try this the next time you buy these veggies. Like just try! If it fails & you don’t like it, you won’t waste too much of it. When you pour soup over it, the greens start to “cook” & decrease in size significantly. With these salad greens, this ‘sorta cooked but not cooked’ texture is another way I personally enjoy them.

A glass of milk.. . the base for dalgona “hot chocolate”. Do you think it worked or not?

I used 2 tbsp hot chocolate powder with 1.5 tbsp sugar & also 1.5 tbsp of warm water. I manually whisked for a loooooong time, but it didn’t really froth. It became more dense if anything. But anyhow, I ended up with a somewhat heavy product, but was able to *feel* there was some air in it. I went for it.. . scooped it on top of the milk.. . And.....

This happened! It did not build up on top, but settled nicely at the bottom lol. You try with hot chocolate powder & let me know if it worked for you or not! :P

^ Post-night shift brunch =] I try to eat somewhat cleaner when I’m on nights by doing less meat compared to my usual diet. I don’t know what it is. .. I just crave more vegetables + non-meats. So I made braised tofu (just soy sauce & sugar) & cabbage soup (seasoned with gochujang & salt, so it’s a little spicy). It looks really red but it’s actually very mild.

All in all, pls stay home if you can during this time. If the sacrifice isn’t done now, the result will be much more devastating later down the road.

Talk to you later~

[ayuyikes]

Hunting a Cryptid pt.1

Yeah so once upon a time I wrote a ModernCryptidAU for my ocs but lost motivation (and I recently found out that that fic is 1.5 years old) so I figured if I post a part I might have motivation to write again... So! Here comes!

There's this house standing on the very edge of the neighborhood. It is a tall, looming, dark victorian style house that had been renovated twice in the past decade. Closed off windows, torn burgundy curtains, the whole gothic horror package. And its owner never came out during the day.

Ayuya had set eyes on this house for some time, but after a bit of research, she was certain.

The guy living there had to be a vampire, no doubt.

The evidence was simple and undeniable.​

First off, he never came out during the day. Which was obviously mentioned before. Vampires burn in the light of the sun, so they have to make their move at night. And who, (after having camped out for nights at his house continuously falling asleep), was only ever seen outside at night? That guy.

Secondly, the house. Why would you move if you lived there already for hundreds of years? Plus the gothic horror obsession only added to it.

Third, and this only came to light after shadowing him one night, he avoided Italian restaurants like the plague. And why? Boom. Garlic.

She could think of more but it was all pointing to the same direction: she had to be dealing with a vampire. No other way around it. The evidence was all there.

So she went for the confrontation. To get the truth out of him.

And here she was, standing on his porch, looking up to the huge mansion that no doubt was the Vampire's Lair. It was day time, so she figured he wouldn't actually come out, but she needed to prove her point. And what better strategy then to attack when the enemy (hostility not yet proven at this point, though) was at his weakest.

Just in case she had brought some garlic with her in her purse, maybe she should consider bringing some holy symbol next time too?

If there will be a next time.

The door opened, she was hastily bracing herself. What if she got dragged in, before the sunlight could actually affect him? She was standing just inside shade. She didn't think this through. Too late, here comes.

In all her panic she almost didn't register the sleepy guy who opened the door for her. Six inches taller than her, in his (probably) pajama pants with a red bedhead and tired green eyes. They looked at her with a mixture of 'what do you want' and a 'it's too early for this' but after pulling herself together and mildly convincing he wasn't going to snatch her, she straightened her back and took a breath.

"Sir, I came here for a very special reason today-"

"If you're selling girl scout cookies," he muttered with a yawn, "then please be on your way, I'm not gonna buy any."

Thrown off, she tried to argue, respectfully. "I'm not selling any cookies, sir, I just want to ask of you-"

As if he was hit with a terrible headache, he hunched over as he laid his hands on her shoulders. "Please make it quick."

With newfound determination, she took a deep breath and asked. "Sir, are you a vampire?"

It was dead silent on his side. Nothing in his form betrayed any sign of denial or even surprise. Just. Blank.

Then he removed his hands from her and shut the door.

She heard him going up the stairs, grumbling."H-hey! Come back!" She cried, banging on the wooden door.

"There's no- you can't hide from the truth!"

"I can shut the door on it," he snarked back, obviously annoyed and distant. "Don't come back, and good night."

"Wh- But- I'll-" she knew that if she wanted an answer, she wasn't going to get a straight one now. "I'll be back! Mark my words!"

She forgot to register the fact he didn't flinch away from the direct sunlight that had hit his arms not even a moment ago.​

The next day, she was back again. This time more prepared. Prepping a persuasion speech and some sort of small interview in case he obliged counted as prepared. Plus the evidence will convince him to talk. No doubt about it.

Once again she knocked on his door. Was the fancy doorknob there two days ago or hadn't she noticed it before?

She went over her speech one more time in her head: how his house had gripped her curiosity and how she had spent over a week researching her suspicions. Intro. Evidence. Interview. Done.

The door was opened again, maybe because he can't see her standing here from any of his windows (thanks to the little roof right over his door), and one look he gave her before his face fell. "It's you."

Thank god he was wearing a shirt this time.

He was about to close the door on her when she grasped his arm. "Please, just hear me out for a moment-"

"Why would I even? Just leave me alone-"

He wiggled just outside of her grasp to close the door on her. Drat.

She had to think of something promising. Something to appeal to him, to keep his attention. But what?​

No use for a speech, this time she thought of something else.

She skipped knocking this time."Sir? Are you home? I brought something for negotiation...?"

It was a more cloudy day and she looked up at the eery lit windows. How can it already be this dark at three in the afternoon?

He opened a window. Success.

He rubbed his eyes and groggily spoke, "Why are you back?"

"I-" her voice wavered, and she fidgeted with her blonde hair. "I brought a peace offering? Maybe then you'd be willing to talk...?"

He squinted at her and pointed to the bag she was hiding behind her bag. "Please tell me you didn't bring any dead animals as 'peace offering'."

She shrunk a little, avoiding his gaze. "... I wasn't gonna let you suck my blood..." She muttered with a volume she hoped he wouldn't catch.

He rolled his eyes. "If you're gonna do shit like that at least bring something edible. And now leave me alone for a while, I'm trying to sleep."

Her eyes lit up a little. "How long do you normally sleep? A week? ... A month?"

He let out a deep sigh. "I'm too tired to be dealing with this bullshit," he grumbled when he moved his hand to the curtain to close it.

"... Alright. I'll just come back in a week," she decided out loud.

"Are you for fu-"

"I'll bring cookies! Till then!"

She didn't give him time to object before leaving the premises.​

Yeah, she had actually baked him cookies. She didn't know if he had a sweet tooth or whatever (can they even digest stuff like that?) but it's the thought that counts, right?

Most people - not sure if that included him - liked chocolate chip cookies, so she stuck with that.

And just in case vampires had a weird reaction to chocolate, she had gotten him gluten free coco cakes too. Can never be too careful.

A good fourth impression was important, right?

This time when she called, he didn't answer. Was he still asleep?

She decided to leave the cookies on the porch with a note, so he couldn't say she didn't keep her end of the bargain. A little note explaining she stopped by and after a little thinking she left her number on it as well. 'As long as a decade hadn't passed since this day, contacting me when you wake up is fine,' was about the gist of it.

She hoped she'd receive a text somewhere within the next year.​

Apparently she could already get a text within a few days.

It was short and to the point, no decoration added.

[Come next friday evening. Bring more cookies.]

At least he liked the cookies?​

There she was again. This time she went around dinner time instead of the early afternoon in the hope to find him in a better mood.

She had waited until friday to show up, like he asked had her to. Her end of the deal was done. Now it was time for some answers.

She had made another batch of the same types of cookies like last time. Better play it safe.

Though she wondered... He seriously invited her? After all the snark and the 'go away' and stuff?

... Were the cookies that good?

Maybe she did something that made him change his mind? But what?

Anyway, when she knocked on the door, he almost simultaneously opened it, as if he was waiting for her. He didn't speak a word, only gestured her in. He looked a lot less tired. That's good.

She let him guide her to the kitchen. The kitchen looked more modern than she had expected, especially since even the hall had been in the same gothic vibe as the house had looked like from outside. The kitchen was nice and cosy and clean (almost as if he never used it.... Suspicious...) and had a small table in the corner. She sat herself down on one of the wooden chairs and waited for him to join her. She put her bag on the table with her.

He poured both of them a cup of tea at the sink where he had already cooked some water (he seriously was waiting for her then?) and brought the mugs to the table, gesturing to the small box where he kept the flavors.

She stuck with red tea.

He picked a bag of black tea for himself and after dropping it in his mug he leaned with his chin on his hand, watching her for a moment.

"Well, here we are," he eventually blurted out.

She couldn't bring herself to speak. Did he call her here to answer her questions? Or did he just want to talk about something else?

"Listen, I know you've come here multiple times over 'vampire' business..." He started, straightening his back and running his hand through his hair. She just listened patiently. "I'm just- I was wondering why, I guess."

She found her voice again. "You mean, why I think you're a vampire?"

"I mean," he rest his elbows on the table again, "why are you so fixated on me being a vampire? Coming by for four days straight, even leaving cookies and a note - and were you honestly thinking I was gonna sleep for a /decade/?"

She took a hesitant sip. He resumed.

"I just- why are you-" he struggled with words for a second. "What are you trying to do? What do you want me to do?"

"Do you want me to tell you 'I'm a vampire' so you can just go on with your life or something? I mean," he folded his hands together, "just... Help me out here."

She looked at her glass for a moment. "I... I don't know. I mean, of course I'd wanna be right. I guess I'm just... Looking for validation here...?"

She looked him in the eye. "So, are you a vampire?"

"Short answer?" He asked before taking a sip. "No."

"But- the house-"

"Family heirloom."

"You only come out at night-"

"I'm a night guard. My sleep schedule is already royally fucked, okay."

"Haven't you like been sleeping for a few days?"

"Only for ten hours, and after that I saw your message and didn't know what to do about it for a while. So... Yeah."

"And you avoid garlic!"

"I do what now? Lady, I love garlic. I don't see how you got to that conclusion."

"But..." She hung her head right above the table. "But I was so certain..."

"Which is why I ask," he put his mug down with a thump, "whats with all the effort? The chance vampires actually exist is close to zero, you know."

"But-" she unconsciously felt herself lean forward, more towards him, "I just- I know there’s something out there- I want to believe in the extraordinary. I know there's at least something like that and I-“

She muttered something he couldn't quite catch.

"A bit louder for the people in the back, please," he ended up saying, stretching an arm while closing his eyes.

"... I just want to finally be right.”

His eyes shifted to her. Hers were trained on her mug, with her arms propped up on the table, looking pretty vulnerable. And he knew he had no real reason not to, but he felt guilty he'd been harsh the first time around.

Apparently he'd hit a nerve, damnit.

"Hey, uhh," he trailed off, not sure what to do with his arms. He was no good at this. He just patted her shoulder lightly. "Don't worry about this... Setback, okay? Sure, I wasn't exactly what you thought I'd be but... I'm sure next time will turn out better?"

He glanced at her face one more time and saw tears had started to form in her eyes. Yikes.

He was so not good at this.

"This was already my 'next time'..." She admitted before taking a sip. The way she drank that she should've been drinking tequila.

"C'mon it- it can't be that bad..." He trailed, his head running a thousand miles per hour. "You just gotta find another lead, right? Well, then we just gotta start looking."

She seemed to perk up at that. "You're gonna help me?" She asked, more surprised than anything else.

"Well, I owe you for the cookies, I guess." He shoved his chair back and dug in his drawers looking for a pen and some paper. "Okay, so who we got?"

She looked like she was in thought and mindlessly wiped her eyes. "W-well, that old man living on 11th has a weird obsession with dogs..."

He inwardly cheered when he finally found a worn notebook. "Okay, so we got a candidate for a werewolf, what else?"

He heard rustling in the back, with the soft crunching on cookies followed not long after. "Also... There's also this creep whom I always see leaving the hardware store with nothing but tape..."

He pretended to scribble while he kept searching for a pen. "So a serial kidnapper, good, and what about that doctor that got fired last week, living on whatsit uhh something avenue. You know, they had to keep him for a few days for being in 'suspicious condition' or something...?"

"I'm not sure," she said just when he had found a pen. "It could also be him not handling the situation well..."

"Yeah, but he's also a creep."

"True..."

He'd joined her at the table again, having quickly scribbled the three people down in bullet points, the doctor followed by a question mark.

"Well, that's three already and we're not even five minutes further. I'm sure you can do this. You just gotta hit it big once, you know," he said while he laid his hand on hers for a moment.

She flashed him a soft smile while his hand lingered. After a while he felt himself get more and more awkward so he cleared his throat and moved the hand through his hair. "So, uhh, got any more?"

They talked for a while about random people who seemed a little suspicious until they got totally off track and went from cars to dogs to eventually come back to vampires. By that time she had totally reverted from her previous meltdown and was now laughing to a lame snark he had made not even a moment before.

"I just-" she tried to talk through her giggles "I can't believe I thought you were a vampire. You're too much of a dork for the gloomy image."

"What," he gasped loudly, fake hurt. "Well excuse me for not being an uptight jerk!"

"Who said a vampire has to be a jerk?" She countered with laugh. "For all you know they're teddy bears."

"Oh yeah?” He snorted. “Maybe they’re not even what you think they’re like- what you’d call a vampire might not even be one at all!"

While he said it with a chuckle and a smile, after her initial laugh the question took her aback and she stared at him for a while. Her silence made him fall silent and he grabbed his mug for a drink but it was already empty.

"Uh... I mean..." the ongoing silence apparently made him nervous as he fidgeted with his cup, "I've had an ... interest in vampires some time ago and so I've read quite some stuff on them... but... I mean... the books on them are all speculation. What if they're not... What if they're completely the opposite of what you imagine them to be?"

He ended up looking her in the eye by the time he finished his last question, and every single bit of lightheartedness seemed to have evaporated from the room. He looked at her like he really wanted her to answer. So she thought about it, momentarily breaking eye contact. Would she be disappointed? No, of course not. It'll take time adjusting, sure, but...

"You know, I had envisioned you to be totally different," she started, searching for his eyes again. She flashed him a smile. "But I think like you better as you are right now."

A moment seemed to pass but when her words hit home he seemed to turn three shades of red and he coughed into his hand for diversion. She thought it was cute but her remark made the atmosphere a little tense so she added, "I think I'd be able to adapt to a not-so-regular vampire too, if one manages to show up."

They both resided in silence once more, although it was no longer awkward. It seemed to be filled with words unspoken, but it was broken just as fast as it appeared.

He had looked at the clock.

"It's already late, I'll walk you home," he said when he shoved his chair back. He took their empty cups back to the kitchen sink. "I don't think it's wise for a girl to still be out when it's this dark."

"I can handle myself just fine, thank you very much," she retorted, knowing full well he was right. She didn't know too much about this part of the neighborhood to feel completely safe.

"Well, if there really are 'vampires' roaming these streets," he said before turning around with what looks like a torn off wooden stick in his hand, "two are better than one, right?"

"What's that?"

"A stake...?" He answered sheepishly.

"Did you seriously break a wooden spoon for this," she asked with a hint of mockery in her voice.

"It was already broken, take it or leave it." He deadpanned.

"I don't think it's the right type of wood," she muttered.

"Welp," he threw it over his shoulder against the bin. "I'm still walking you home, I don't think refusing is a good idea."

He had already walked back into the hall, towards the coatrack and started putting on an army green jacket. She followed him into the hall, fumbling for the light switch and turning off the lights in the kitchen.

She then turned to him again. "I don't think we've actually introduced ourselves. I sure don't know your name."

He paused, then stuck out a hand. "Well, I'm Tiro. Not sure if I caught your name."

"Ayuya." She shook it. "I guess we did get a rough start."

"Well, don't ask me to 'start over', though. I won't forget you turning up at my door at my equivalent of 3 AM."

"In my defense, trying to make contact with a 'vampire' when he was at his weakest sounded like a good strategy to me."

"What kinda vampire would open his door with the sun all ablaze?"

"... Fair point."

He handed her an umbrella. "If the weather report is right, it's gonna rain sometime soon. You didn't bring a coat, so use it."

She eyed the umbrella, dumbfounded. "I uh... Thanks."

He slipped his keys in his pocket and proceeded to the door. Looking out, it was dark and cloudy like it would rain soon. He opened the door.

"Well, where to?"

She gave him short directions to her apartment complex and they started walking.

"So, uh," he tried to start a conversation after a while of silence, "How long have you lived here?"

"About..." she took a while to think, finger to her lip, "... six months now? I came here as soon as I found a job here. I had an apartment here already, but started actually living here when I transferred jobs."

"Then what do you do?"

"Oh I'm uhh," she seemed a bit abashed. "I'm a barista at the moment. It doesn't pay that bad, and the coworkers are nice," she rambled, missing his surprised look, "and, well, free coffee for me, I guess?"

"What place."

"Huh?"

"At which place you work?"

"At Hipster's Paradise, it's not that good-"

"No kidding! A friend of mine works there!"

"Really?" Her mind browsed through her colleagues' faces. "Who is it?"

"He's a blond guy named Lucas," he grinned with a fond look. "He's been my best friend since, what, middle school?"

"Oh!" Like a slot machine, her mind hit the guys portrait and a jingle played in her head. "Lucas! I know him! He's so nice! I always look forward to shifts with him!"

She eyed him for a little before saying, "Though... you were not exactly the image I had when Lucas talked about his 'friends'..."

She silently referred to his get-up. Lucas was a friendly and gentle guy, radiant smile, kind to even the rudest customers. Then there was mister red with his hair combed back, leather bracelet, army jacket and gothic horror house. Not to mention his moody first impression and vampire suspicions that were only cleared today. Kind of the prime example of what not to expect.

"And what exactly is wrong with me then?" He eyed her skeptically, stopping in his tracks.

"Nothing wrong, but you're just very different. At first glance, I mean."

He snorted and made a gesture to keep walking. "I guess I am."

"Well," she resumed, trying to make it sound a little better, "I guess as a person you would be one of the people he'd talk about. So which one are you, the moody workaholic or the stoic crossword puzzle solving man-child?"

She got a hearty laugh out of him. "Neither, but I do know who they are. They’re old friends of us. Lucas still talks with them over Skype."

She pouted when he said, "Well, next time he talks about me, don't worry, you'll know. Once you've seen me at my worst, I'm fairly easy to detect in stories."

"And your worst is...?" She asked, having a vague idea what it was.

"My morning mood."

"Noted," she said with a nod. She recognized the neighborhood; they were already close to her home.

"Wait, are you the coffee disaster guy?"

"Coffee disa- honestly, how did he tell that story? All I did was come in for coffee, and slightly tripped over the janitor on my way out. Big deal."

"You were holding like five liters of coffee."

"I had to bring for my coworkers too; lost a bet."

"You literally got coffee everywhere; even the ceiling."

"Well I'm sorry for existing. I had literally woken up five minutes before that alright cut me some slack."

She stifled a laugh. "I can't believe I thought the coffee disaster guy was a vampire."

"It's a small town; the odds were there," he said as if it was the biggest truth of the world.

"I can't believe I’m friends with the coffee disaster guy."

"Well excuse me for- friends?"

He stopped in his tracks, coincidentally just outside of her place. She turned more towards him, didn't bother hiding her confused look.

"Well, yes? I mean, this counts as friends, right? I had fun tonight, I believe you did too, so we're friends, right?"

He remained silent for a while. It felt off.

"... Did you have fun tonight?"

"Of course I did. Wouldn't've put up with you if I hadn't."

"Then... would you hate it to hang out again in the near future?"

"Don't think so."

"Then we're friends, right? We can hang out with Lucas and do something with the three of us. It sounds like it should be fun. I think Lucas would like it too."

He seemed like he had doubts. In what, exactly?

"You've already got my number. You're not obligated to anything; just hit me up when you feel like it, alright?"

She handed the umbrella back to him. "Thanks for walking me home, I think you'll need this one more than I will. And a good night."

She started heading for the stairs, feeling a little insecure. Were they not on the same page? Did she miss something?

Halfway up the stairs she felt her phone vibrate.

She went to look at the text she got on pretty much auto pilot.

[I'll be talking to you soon then.]

She read the contact’s name and she spun around, almost surprised to see him still at the bottom of the stairs, phone in hand. She read something playful on his face, with half a smirk he said, "No take backs."

She snorted. "It seems a little too late for that, doesn't it?"

They waved each other a good night and she headed inside, soon finding her apartment door and keys and making herself ready for a good night's sleep.

Tiro on the other hand was still outside her apartment building. Not exactly looking at it, just talking to himself.

"Hmmm alright. Not my smartest move. What am I gonna do now?"

He ruffled his own hair as to banish a thought. "Did I finally convince her I was nothing, and now we’re friends. Why couldn’t I just let myself get off the hook?!"

He just deeply sighed.

"Maybe it's alright. I mean, I think I can trust her. She seems alright."

He started walking in the opposite direction. "Well," he muttered, "out of everyone questioning my humanity she's the one I'd actually considered revealing myself to but..."

He furiously shook his head. "Oh, I don’t think she’d take kindly on me lying about it. Though I wasn't exactly wrong..."

He spotted an alley and after throwing glances around he headed in. He laid the umbrella on the ground. "Let's just hope she won't find out."

He took a deep breath and focussed. Focussed on the wind for a bit. Closed his eyes for a second. Then took his umbrella and took off, like a bat into gathering mists.

[kunwiginjanu]

Winter Chicken Pot Roast.

Hey everyone, I hope you are having an incredible day today. Today, I'm gonna show you how to prepare a distinctive dish, winter chicken pot roast. It is one of my favorites food recipes. For mine, I'm gonna make it a little bit tasty. This is gonna smell and look delicious.

Winter Chicken Pot Roast is one of the most well liked of current trending foods in the world. It's appreciated by millions every day. It's easy, it's quick, it tastes yummy. Winter Chicken Pot Roast is something which I have loved my whole life. They're fine and they look wonderful.

To get started with this particular recipe, we must prepare a few ingredients. You can have winter chicken pot roast using 19 ingredients and 10 steps. Here is how you can achieve that.

The ingredients needed to make Winter Chicken Pot Roast:

{Take 1.5 kg of Whole chicken with skin.

{Get 1 stem of Leeks (large cuts).

{Prepare medium 3-4 of Potatoes large cuts.

{Make ready 4 nos of Carrots split in two and cut in half.

{Take As required of Pumpkin cut into cubes 10-12 pieces.

{Get As required of Dill finely chopped for seasoning.

{Make ready As required of Rosemary for seasoning.

{Take 4 of Green onions cut in halves or rings.

{Get As required of Thyme for seasoning.

{Take 200 gms of Butter.

{Prepare 100 gms of Peas.

{Take 12-15 cloves of garlic crushed.

{Prepare 2 tbs of Mustard sauce.

{Make ready 5 tbsp of Olive oil.

{Make ready as per taste of Pepper.

{Get as per taste of Salt.

{Prepare 1 tbs of All spice mix(garam masala).

{Take 2 of Star Anise.

{Prepare 1 of Lemon.

Steps to make Winter Chicken Pot Roast:

Mix dill, thyme, and some rosemary with 100 gms butter and make a seasoning paste. You can add some pepper and salt to this mixture at this time. The butter after being mixed with these ingredients needs to be stuffed carefully under the skin on the breast side of the chicken..

Carefully marinate the rest of the chicken with a mixture of olive oil, mustard sauce, garam masala, thyme, rosemary and some oregano. You can add pepper and salt to your taste at this time..

Heat olive oil in a dutch oven pot to sear the chicken to seal in the flavours. This has to be done for 1 min each side starting with the breast on high flame..

After the skin has turned golden on each side, turn the heat to low while following the next steps..

Now remove the whole chicken and leave it aside on a plate and start layering the vegetables in the pot to create a base. Start with onions and potatoes. Now place the chicken carefully over the bed of onions and potatoes and place the rest of the vegetables around it and over it. This will include -garlic, carrots, leeks, pumpkin, peas, Star Anise,the rest of the potatoes, onions and the herbs for seasoning.

Preheat the oven to 180°C and use it in bake setting..

Remove the pot from the flame and add the leftover 100 gms of butter, sliced and evenly spread around the chicken and the veggies. Add some more seasoning if required and close the lid to continue cooking in the oven..

Bake for 90 min @180°c with lid closed and then for 15 min @200°c with lid open at the end. At this time, change settings to broil to brown the skin of the chicken..

After the cook, separate the chicken carefully from the veggies and plate it with a side of the veggies..

Drain the residual liquid onto a pan and bring it to a boil to reduce. This will serve as a gravy with the roast. Drizzle the gravy over the chicken and serve with your favourite sides..

So that is going to wrap it up with this special food winter chicken pot roast recipe. Thanks so much for reading. I am confident you will make this at home. There is gonna be more interesting food at home recipes coming up. Remember to save this page in your browser, and share it to your loved ones, friends and colleague. Thank you for reading. Go on get cooking!

[racingtoaredlight]

RTARL’s 2020 NFL Season Week 17 Extravapalooza

Well, here we are at the end of the most unique NFL season in memory. Was it the smartest idea in the world to stage an entire professional football season in the midst of a rampaging viral pandemic? No, it really wasn’t. But, somehow, the NFL managed to make it through the year without any outright disasters (sorry Broncos, having to start a practice squad WR at QB doesn’t really count), and they did it through the tried and true combination of blind luck and pure willful ignorance. Yay, I guess? I’m not going to pretend that I didn’t appreciate having games to watch, but the whole enterprise was downright impressive in its blatant disregard for common sense and social responsibility. That’s why it’s America’s game!

There’s still a fair amount of playoff-positioning to hash out this week, which always lends a nice bit of urgency to some of the proceedings. I’m far too lazy to go into those particular weeds myself, so I’ll just link you to someone else’s work if you want to study up on the various scenarios in play.

My picks are in BOLD, and the lines come to us courtesy of our friends at Vegas Insider. I use the “VI Consensus” line, which is the line that occurs most frequently across Vegas Insider’s list of sportsbooks. Your sportsbook of choice may offer a different number, and if you’d like my opinion on said number A) you are insane, and B) leave a comment below and I’ll try to answer at some point before things kickoff today.

EARLY GAMES

Baltimore Ravens (-14) at Cincinnati Bengals

If the Ravens win, they’re in the playoffs. The Bengals don’t have the horses to offer much resistance against a supremely motivated Ravens team. I will say that the most entertaining turn of events for someone with no dog in the fight would be for Baltimore to somehow lose this game, for the Browns to win, and for Ravens fans to have to sweat the result of the Colts/Jags game to see if they make the playoffs. Friend of the blog Fryan Turd would likely suffer a half-dozen heart attacks in this scenario.

Miami Dolphins at Buffalo Bills (-2)

I have no idea how important clinching the #2 seed in the AFC is to Buffalo, and if it’s not a big deal to them they may rest some guys for all or some of this game. The Dolphins will remain feisty to the very end, of that I’m certain.

Pittsburgh Steelers at Cleveland Browns (-9)

The Steelers are sitting a whole bunch of guys and the Browns are in the playoffs with a win. I will say that losing this game to Mason Rudolph and subsequently missing the postseason would be an incredibly Brownsy thing to do. 

Minnesota Vikings (-4) at Detroit Lions

Despite having nothing to play for and no reason to risk further punishment, Matthew Stafford is suiting up for this one. Dare I say that Stafford is...A GAMER? I do dare say it. I hope he whips ass and the Lions win in what could be his last home game in Detroit. I would sacrifice one of my siblings to get Stafford onto the Patriots this offseason, and also to get a larger share of my family estate.

New York Jets at New England Patriots (-3)

Oh man, this is not going to be a fun game to watch AT ALL. Sullen Bill Belichick, Broken Down Cam Newton, Traumatized Sam Darnold, Dead Man Walking Adam Gase--this game has way too many depressing ingredients, to say nothing of the very-likely-to-be atrocious quality of play. Let’s just move on.

Dallas Cowboys (-1.5) at New York Giants

This is essentially a playoff game, as each of these teams needs to win (and for Washington to lose) in order to clinch the shittiest division of all time. I’m taking Dallas here because they’ve been rolling in recent weeks and Daniel Jones isn’t close to 100% healthy, but what I want most is for the Giants to win, the Football Team to lose, and for us to get the hilarious spectacle of a 6-10 playoff team.

Atlanta Falcons at Tampa Bay Buccaneers (-7)

I’ve ridden with the Falcons all season, why stop now? 

[looks at season record] 

Okay, that might be a good reason to stop. BUT I AIN’T GONNA!

Hey, do you think Matt Ryan could end up on New England? He went to Boston College, right? What have I become, coveting other teams’ used goods? This is no way to live.

LATE GAMES

Green Bay Packers (-4) at Chicago Bears

I’m greatly enjoying the Trubiskaissance. The Bears making the playoffs would make for some tremendous restlessness and conflicting emotions among Bears fans, as a strong showing would likely mean that Mitchell and Matt Nagy will run it back next season. This would entertain me as a man who isn’t a Bears fan. 

Las Vegas Raiders (-2.5) at Denver Broncos

I truly have no opinions or thoughts on this particular contest. Oh wait, here’s one: fuck the Raiders for ruining so many of my picks. Here’s another: Do you think New England could trade for Derek Carr? HELP.

Jacksonville Jaguars at Indianapolis Colts (-14)

The Jags are quite possibly the most ready-to-start-their-vacation team in the league, and the Colts need to win this game to make the postseason. I’m bummed about how things turned out for my man Gardner Minshew this season in Jacksonville. I hope he’s able to continue his career with a franchise who appreciates his comedic potential more fully. You know who would love him? Famous mirth-merchant William Belichick.

Los Angeles Chargers (-4.5) at Kansas City Chiefs

Tremendous opportunity for Justin Herbert to pad his already fantastic rookie-year numbers against the K.C. JV team. The thing that makes me the most nervous about this pick is the possibility that Chargers Head Coach Anthony Lynn knows that this is his last game, and as a result will make sure to unveil his most breathtaking piece of clock-mismanagement performance art yet.

Arizona Cardinals (-3) at Los Angeles Rams

I can’t in good conscience get behind a team that intends to start John Wolford at QB, no matter how awesome their defense is. Then again, maybe if Sean McVay basically controls his movements Ratatouille-style the way he does with Jared Goff, he’ll be okay. If Arizona loses and misses the playoffs, Coach Handsome might experience the quickest progression of “This Guy Has No Idea What He’s Doing” to “This Guy Is A Genius Who Is Changing the Way Football Is Played” and back to “This Guy Is a Dipshit” of any coach I can remember.

Seattle Seahawks (-6.5) at San Francisco 49ers

The Seahawks continued there whole “now the defense is good, but the offense is kind of blah” thing last week in a 20-9 win over the Rams, and I see no reason to think things will change. The Niners finally got All-Pro TE George Kittle back from injury, but then immediately lost studly rookie WR Brandon Aiyuk. The injury gods have really had it in for them this season. Despite the brutal injury luck, San Fran has remained competitive all season, and I say they keep this one within a TD.

New Orleans Saints (-6) at Carolina Panthers

The Saints won’t have RBs Alvin Kamara, Latavius Murray, Dwayne Washington, or their fullback Michael Burton. They’ll also be without WR Michael Thomas once again. If I were Saints Head Coach Sean Payton, I’d start Taysom Hill at QB for this game so that he can use his legs to augment the severely diminished run-game, and also to give Drew Brees’ ribs more time to heal. I’d also be an insufferable dickhead. Well, more of one. Okay, I’d be the same, I’d just be addicted to pain pills. More addicted, I mean. I’m Sean Payton.

Tennessee Titans (-7) at Houston Texans

DeShaun Watson has been absurdly good this season, despite the total shitshow around him. He leads the league in Yards Per Attempt while also being third in the league in Completion Percentage at 70.1%. He’s not dinking and dunking his way to his eye-popping numbers. You’d think having a franchise QB in place would make this a primo job opening for potential head coaching candidates, but between the lack of high-end future draft picks and general ownership/executive ineptitude, it’s gotta give a desirable candidate pause. Yikes. Clearly, Houston should trade DeShaun Watson to New England. 

SNF: Washington Football Team (-3.5) at Philadelphia Eagles

The Eagles have nothing to play for and a bunch of key players are skipping tonight’s game. Among them are TE Dallas Goedert and RB Miles Sanders, which is going to make things extra tough for QB Jalen Hurts against Washington’s exceptionally nasty defense. The Football Team also has major injury questions, as QB Alex Smith, RB Antonio Gibson, and WR Terry McLaurin are all listed as Questionable. As of this writing, it looks like all three of them are going to play, but I have no clue how effective they’ll be. All of this uncertainty does not make for confident betting, imo.

Last Week’s Record: 4-7-1

Season Record: 99-112-8

[statusreview]

A Front Porch Makeover At The Duplex!

It feels like a while since you’ve seen the front of the duplex (I blame winter) but that’s going to change today. And let me tell you… THINGS HAVE TURNED A CORNER!

There’s no landscaping yet, the grass is patchy, and Sean the Contractor’s gigantic sign is still there…

… but boy oh boy is she lookin’ fynnnnnnnneee when we compare her to where we started:

All of the not original details came down – like the weird plastic wagon wheels and strange abacus trim that was added in the 70s, the plastic too-small shutters, the broken vinyl porch railing, all those satellite dishes, and the duct tape along the roofline. And we maintained or added back as much original charm as we could – like the metal porch roof, larger operable shutters, square porch columns, corbels along the roofline, wide brick steps, and those diamond windows that give me cartoon heart eyes.

We’ve already shared a lot of the big exterior decisions that we made as we went, like choosing our siding, roofing, and picking the color for the shutters, so today we’re gonna cover all of our front porch updates.

UGH BUT FIRST LET’S ADRESS THE ELEPHANT IN THE ROOM… or should I say the mouse on the porch?! Those tiny postage stamp doormats are so ridiculous I can’t even explain how I thought they were regular sized and then they turned out to be doormats for ants.

So yes, we’re getting bigger ones (they would DEFINITELY make Marlo cringe – Atlanta Housewives… Anyone? Bueller?). So let’s all try to look past those tiny little rectangles and appreciate some of the other stuff that’s giving me life. We have mailboxes! And house numbers! And lanterns to illuminate said house numbers! And composite decking (no rot! YAY!). We even have potted plants and teak benches! SOMEBODY HELP ME CALM DOWN.

We don’t have great before photos of just the front door area itself, but you can sort of see it (including the mismatched storm doors that we got rid of immediately) in the photo below.

But as artsy as John thought he was being with the “SOLD” sign in the foreground of that picture, it doesn’t really demonstrate how deteriorated the old porch had become.

The entire front porch was also so rotten when it came to the actual support beams and structure of it, that we had to tear it off of the house and rebuild it from scratch, being careful to maintain the original transom windows above the door.

Let’s just say that it feels like we have taken a very significant leap forward in the last year and a half.

After we ditched the mismatched storm doors we decided to embrace the original front doors (figuratively speaking, I didn’t actually hug them, but we LOVE them and wanted to save them). You actually have to get approval from the town’s historic review board to change the style of your doors, so we’re really glad we liked them from the get-go. At one point we considered painting them the same mint color as the shutters, but realized that color got a lot of “stage time” thanks to having so many front windows (and therefore, double the amount of shutters)… so we both thought it would be nice to introduce another tone or color on the doors.

Our next (and longest-standing) idea was to make them some sort of wood tone – just clear sealed or covered with a light stain. You know we LOVE AN ORIGINAL WOOD DOOR (we stripped & waxed all the interior doors at the pink house, and I can’t even tell you how happy we are with them). So we had our contractor strip and sand our duplex front doors to get them as raw looking as possible. Lead paint = we hired them to do it safely in their shop, and they stripped and sanded them as far back as they could without compromising their integrity (they’re thinner than standard doors that are made today, and they had a few cracks and repaired portions they didn’t want to make worse).

But even after we spent $400 to get the doors professionally stripped back as far as they could take them, we just couldn’t get them where they needed to be. From the street (and in the from-a-distance-photos we shared) they looked pretty cool, but up close you could see a lot of stubborn paint in the cracks and recesses that we just couldn’t remove – even after another pass at sanding.

And as you walked closer you could see other general jankiness – like a large crack and some glue bubbles that would be hard to disguise with sealer or stain alone.

We knew that we could still get a wood look using a dark gel stain,like we did over on the pink house. It’s got thicker coverage than a typical stain – almost like a paint – and that certainly would’ve helped hide some of the issues.

But once we installed the porch lights, mailboxes, house numbers and door handles, we both kept thinking…. what about a rich charcoal-y paint color? One that ties into that gorgeous metal roof above the porch? It just felt like a nice balance to the cheerful green shutters – sort of grounding and adding some nice contrast. It was also slightly comforting to notice that all of our other neighbors who have original doors have painted them too (they’re all 100+ years old so I think that’s the plight of being so worn down and in need of various repairs over the years – raw wood isn’t nearly as forgiving).

We’ve loved Sherwin-Williams Urbane Bronze ever since we used it our garage doors at home. It’s a really rich and layered color and we’ve always loved how it walks the line between a true black and a warm dark bronze-y brown tone – just like the tin roof we chose for the duplex!

Long story long, even though it was our lifelong (ok, yearlong) dream to leave these doors a light wood tone, we’ve mourned the loss of that idea and are IN LOVE with the final result. We both stepped back and thought: THE PAINT DID THESE DOORS A TON OF FAVORS!

Not only does it hide the cracks and glue bubbles along with all of those tricky paint remnants, it also looks great with the dark porch accents we added, like the operable shutters, the oversized porch lights, our wall mounted mailboxes, and our new house numbers. And the nice thing is that we were able to bring that wood tone in with other things, but more on that in a second.

As for installing the address numbers, they’re just simple off-the-shelf house numbers from Home Depot that can be mounted flush (like we did) or floating. They come with a template on the back of the package, so we trimmed the templates a bit so we could space them the way we wanted, and taped them to the siding exactly as we hoped they’d look in the end – being sure to triple check that they all had equal spacing, were all level, and were centered.

At one point we had planned to just get some subtle number decals to stick on the mailbox, but then we learned it was actually code that they were at least 4″ tall and “visible from the street” for emergency personnel. And by “learned,” I mean that we almost failed our final inspection because we hadn’t installed any yet, so we rushed to get them up and passed by the skin of our teeth (I would like to have a word with the inventor of that gross expression, btw).

Since we lost some of the warm wood tones in the doors, I brought them in with a few other things, like the basket-looking planters (they’re really a ceramic-like material), and the big teak benches on the far ends of the porch. And once we get bigger doormats (maybe a single long one that runs under both doors and up to each planter would be cool?) that’ll add more of that warmer tone to the mix.

Of course I have to shout out our go-to faux outdoor trees. They inject some much needed zero-maintenance greenery to the front porch. We’ve got the same type on the beach house front porch and the taller versions at home in Richmond. They’re awesome, so yes, we are now the proud owners of six of these babies. Please note that I didn’t floof these before the photos (yes, that’s a technical term), so their shape in the picture below bugs me to no end. They’ll be looking 100 when I get my new mats, landscape the front, and share the updated pics though – mark my words.

If you’re subscribed to our newsletter, you got a peek inside with the doors open last week. We painted the stair risers on each side the same color as the interior doors on that side (Sherwin Williams White Truffle on the left, and Sherwin Williams Oyster Bay on the right). I also really love that we didn’t do mint on the front doors because it’s a fun reveal to swing open the dark bronze doors and be greeted with a different happy & beachy color inside each one.

This is the before photo, which I now realize is funny because it’s almost like we switched sides – the greenish risers are now on the right, and the red/pink ones are on the left (we chose the colors for each side based on lighting and where they read the best – the pink tone read a little more gray and less pink on the right, so that’s how it ended up on the left).

So that wraps up the whole duplex porch update… but if you could kindly cross every last appendage that the groundhog was right in his call for an early spring, we’d really appreciate it. Because you know I can’t wait to get the front of the duplex landscaped and mulched and add a path to the back and plant grass and ALL THE THINGS! WITH ALL THE EXCLAMATION POINTS!!

We need to get this thing whipped into shape so we can get it all photographed and listed for rent thing spring (rentals will start this summer and it should hit Airbnb this April or so! AHHHHHH!). Oh yeah and we have to finish the inside. And the backyard. Details, details.

P.S. To see how we have fixed up this house over the past 1.5 years, there’s a whole category dedicated to duplex progress.

*This post contains affiliate links*

The post A Front Porch Makeover At The Duplex! appeared first on Young House Love.

A Front Porch Makeover At The Duplex! published first on https://ssmattress.tumblr.com/

[truereviewpage]

A Front Porch Makeover At The Duplex!

It feels like a while since you’ve seen the front of the duplex (I blame winter) but that’s going to change today. And let me tell you… THINGS HAVE TURNED A CORNER!

There’s no landscaping yet, the grass is patchy, and Sean the Contractor’s gigantic sign is still there…

… but boy oh boy is she lookin’ fynnnnnnnneee when we compare her to where we started:

All of the not original details came down – like the weird plastic wagon wheels and strange abacus trim that was added in the 70s, the plastic too-small shutters, the broken vinyl porch railing, all those satellite dishes, and the duct tape along the roofline. And we maintained or added back as much original charm as we could – like the metal porch roof, larger operable shutters, square porch columns, corbels along the roofline, wide brick steps, and those diamond windows that give me cartoon heart eyes.

We’ve already shared a lot of the big exterior decisions that we made as we went, like choosing our siding, roofing, and picking the color for the shutters, so today we’re gonna cover all of our front porch updates.

UGH BUT FIRST LET’S ADRESS THE ELEPHANT IN THE ROOM… or should I say the mouse on the porch?! Those tiny postage stamp doormats are so ridiculous I can’t even explain how I thought they were regular sized and then they turned out to be doormats for ants.

So yes, we’re getting bigger ones (they would DEFINITELY make Marlo cringe – Atlanta Housewives… Anyone? Bueller?). So let’s all try to look past those tiny little rectangles and appreciate some of the other stuff that’s giving me life. We have mailboxes! And house numbers! And lanterns to illuminate said house numbers! And composite decking (no rot! YAY!). We even have potted plants and teak benches! SOMEBODY HELP ME CALM DOWN.

We don’t have great before photos of just the front door area itself, but you can sort of see it (including the mismatched storm doors that we got rid of immediately) in the photo below.

But as artsy as John thought he was being with the “SOLD” sign in the foreground of that picture, it doesn’t really demonstrate how deteriorated the old porch had become.

The entire front porch was also so rotten when it came to the actual support beams and structure of it, that we had to tear it off of the house and rebuild it from scratch, being careful to maintain the original transom windows above the door.

Let’s just say that it feels like we have taken a very significant leap forward in the last year and a half.

After we ditched the mismatched storm doors we decided to embrace the original front doors (figuratively speaking, I didn’t actually hug them, but we LOVE them and wanted to save them). You actually have to get approval from the town’s historic review board to change the style of your doors, so we’re really glad we liked them from the get-go. At one point we considered painting them the same mint color as the shutters, but realized that color got a lot of “stage time” thanks to having so many front windows (and therefore, double the amount of shutters)… so we both thought it would be nice to introduce another tone or color on the doors.

Our next (and longest-standing) idea was to make them some sort of wood tone – just clear sealed or covered with a light stain. You know we LOVE AN ORIGINAL WOOD DOOR (we stripped & waxed all the interior doors at the pink house, and I can’t even tell you how happy we are with them). So we had our contractor strip and sand our duplex front doors to get them as raw looking as possible. Lead paint = we hired them to do it safely in their shop, and they stripped and sanded them as far back as they could without compromising their integrity (they’re thinner than standard doors that are made today, and they had a few cracks and repaired portions they didn’t want to make worse).

But even after we spent $400 to get the doors professionally stripped back as far as they could take them, we just couldn’t get them where they needed to be. From the street (and in the from-a-distance-photos we shared) they looked pretty cool, but up close you could see a lot of stubborn paint in the cracks and recesses that we just couldn’t remove – even after another pass at sanding.

And as you walked closer you could see other general jankiness – like a large crack and some glue bubbles that would be hard to disguise with sealer or stain alone.

We knew that we could still get a wood look using a dark gel stain,like we did over on the pink house. It’s got thicker coverage than a typical stain – almost like a paint – and that certainly would’ve helped hide some of the issues.

But once we installed the porch lights, mailboxes, house numbers and door handles, we both kept thinking…. what about a rich charcoal-y paint color? One that ties into that gorgeous metal roof above the porch? It just felt like a nice balance to the cheerful green shutters – sort of grounding and adding some nice contrast. It was also slightly comforting to notice that all of our other neighbors who have original doors have painted them too (they’re all 100+ years old so I think that’s the plight of being so worn down and in need of various repairs over the years – raw wood isn’t nearly as forgiving).

We’ve loved Sherwin-Williams Urbane Bronze ever since we used it our garage doors at home. It’s a really rich and layered color and we’ve always loved how it walks the line between a true black and a warm dark bronze-y brown tone – just like the tin roof we chose for the duplex!

Long story long, even though it was our lifelong (ok, yearlong) dream to leave these doors a light wood tone, we’ve mourned the loss of that idea and are IN LOVE with the final result. We both stepped back and thought: THE PAINT DID THESE DOORS A TON OF FAVORS!

Not only does it hide the cracks and glue bubbles along with all of those tricky paint remnants, it also looks great with the dark porch accents we added, like the operable shutters, the oversized porch lights, our wall mounted mailboxes, and our new house numbers. And the nice thing is that we were able to bring that wood tone in with other things, but more on that in a second.

As for installing the address numbers, they’re just simple off-the-shelf house numbers from Home Depot that can be mounted flush (like we did) or floating. They come with a template on the back of the package, so we trimmed the templates a bit so we could space them the way we wanted, and taped them to the siding exactly as we hoped they’d look in the end – being sure to triple check that they all had equal spacing, were all level, and were centered.

At one point we had planned to just get some subtle number decals to stick on the mailbox, but then we learned it was actually code that they were at least 4″ tall and “visible from the street” for emergency personnel. And by “learned,” I mean that we almost failed our final inspection because we hadn’t installed any yet, so we rushed to get them up and passed by the skin of our teeth (I would like to have a word with the inventor of that gross expression, btw).

Since we lost some of the warm wood tones in the doors, I brought them in with a few other things, like the basket-looking planters (they’re really a ceramic-like material), and the big teak benches on the far ends of the porch. And once we get bigger doormats (maybe a single long one that runs under both doors and up to each planter would be cool?) that’ll add more of that warmer tone to the mix.

Of course I have to shout out our go-to faux outdoor trees. They inject some much needed zero-maintenance greenery to the front porch. We’ve got the same type on the beach house front porch and the taller versions at home in Richmond. They’re awesome, so yes, we are now the proud owners of six of these babies. Please note that I didn’t floof these before the photos (yes, that’s a technical term), so their shape in the picture below bugs me to no end. They’ll be looking 100 when I get my new mats, landscape the front, and share the updated pics though – mark my words.

If you’re subscribed to our newsletter, you got a peek inside with the doors open last week. We painted the stair risers on each side the same color as the interior doors on that side (Sherwin Williams White Truffle on the left, and Sherwin Williams Oyster Bay on the right). I also really love that we didn’t do mint on the front doors because it’s a fun reveal to swing open the dark bronze doors and be greeted with a different happy & beachy color inside each one.

This is the before photo, which I now realize is funny because it’s almost like we switched sides – the greenish risers are now on the right, and the red/pink ones are on the left (we chose the colors for each side based on lighting and where they read the best – the pink tone read a little more gray and less pink on the right, so that’s how it ended up on the left).

So that wraps up the whole duplex porch update… but if you could kindly cross every last appendage that the groundhog was right in his call for an early spring, we’d really appreciate it. Because you know I can’t wait to get the front of the duplex landscaped and mulched and add a path to the back and plant grass and ALL THE THINGS! WITH ALL THE EXCLAMATION POINTS!!

We need to get this thing whipped into shape so we can get it all photographed and listed for rent thing spring (rentals will start this summer and it should hit Airbnb this April or so! AHHHHHH!). Oh yeah and we have to finish the inside. And the backyard. Details, details.

P.S. To see how we have fixed up this house over the past 1.5 years, there’s a whole category dedicated to duplex progress.

*This post contains affiliate links*

The post A Front Porch Makeover At The Duplex! appeared first on Young House Love.

A Front Porch Makeover At The Duplex! published first on https://aireloomreview.tumblr.com/

[endlessarchite]

A Front Porch Makeover At The Duplex!

It feels like a while since you’ve seen the front of the duplex (I blame winter) but that’s going to change today. And let me tell you… THINGS HAVE TURNED A CORNER!

There’s no landscaping yet, the grass is patchy, and Sean the Contractor’s gigantic sign is still there…

… but boy oh boy is she lookin’ fynnnnnnnneee when we compare her to where we started:

All of the not original details came down – like the weird plastic wagon wheels and strange abacus trim that was added in the 70s, the plastic too-small shutters, the broken vinyl porch railing, all those satellite dishes, and the duct tape along the roofline. And we maintained or added back as much original charm as we could – like the metal porch roof, larger operable shutters, square porch columns, corbels along the roofline, wide brick steps, and those diamond windows that give me cartoon heart eyes.

We’ve already shared a lot of the big exterior decisions that we made as we went, like choosing our siding, roofing, and picking the color for the shutters, so today we’re gonna cover all of our front porch updates.

UGH BUT FIRST LET’S ADRESS THE ELEPHANT IN THE ROOM… or should I say the mouse on the porch?! Those tiny postage stamp doormats are so ridiculous I can’t even explain how I thought they were regular sized and then they turned out to be doormats for ants.

So yes, we’re getting bigger ones (they would DEFINITELY make Marlo cringe – Atlanta Housewives… Anyone? Bueller?). So let’s all try to look past those tiny little rectangles and appreciate some of the other stuff that’s giving me life. We have mailboxes! And house numbers! And lanterns to illuminate said house numbers! And composite decking (no rot! YAY!). We even have potted plants and teak benches! SOMEBODY HELP ME CALM DOWN.

We don’t have great before photos of just the front door area itself, but you can sort of see it (including the mismatched storm doors that we got rid of immediately) in the photo below.

But as artsy as John thought he was being with the “SOLD” sign in the foreground of that picture, it doesn’t really demonstrate how deteriorated the old porch had become.

The entire front porch was also so rotten when it came to the actual support beams and structure of it, that we had to tear it off of the house and rebuild it from scratch, being careful to maintain the original transom windows above the door.

Let’s just say that it feels like we have taken a very significant leap forward in the last year and a half.

After we ditched the mismatched storm doors we decided to embrace the original front doors (figuratively speaking, I didn’t actually hug them, but we LOVE them and wanted to save them). You actually have to get approval from the town’s historic review board to change the style of your doors, so we’re really glad we liked them from the get-go. At one point we considered painting them the same mint color as the shutters, but realized that color got a lot of “stage time” thanks to having so many front windows (and therefore, double the amount of shutters)… so we both thought it would be nice to introduce another tone or color on the doors.

Our next (and longest-standing) idea was to make them some sort of wood tone – just clear sealed or covered with a light stain. You know we LOVE AN ORIGINAL WOOD DOOR (we stripped & waxed all the interior doors at the pink house, and I can’t even tell you how happy we are with them). So we had our contractor strip and sand our duplex front doors to get them as raw looking as possible. Lead paint = we hired them to do it safely in their shop, and they stripped and sanded them as far back as they could without compromising their integrity (they’re thinner than standard doors that are made today, and they had a few cracks and repaired portions they didn’t want to make worse).

But even after we spent $400 to get the doors professionally stripped back as far as they could take them, we just couldn’t get them where they needed to be. From the street (and in the from-a-distance-photos we shared) they looked pretty cool, but up close you could see a lot of stubborn paint in the cracks and recesses that we just couldn’t remove – even after another pass at sanding.

And as you walked closer you could see other general jankiness – like a large crack and some glue bubbles that would be hard to disguise with sealer or stain alone.

We knew that we could still get a wood look using a dark gel stain,like we did over on the pink house. It’s got thicker coverage than a typical stain – almost like a paint – and that certainly would’ve helped hide some of the issues.

But once we installed the porch lights, mailboxes, house numbers and door handles, we both kept thinking…. what about a rich charcoal-y paint color? One that ties into that gorgeous metal roof above the porch? It just felt like a nice balance to the cheerful green shutters – sort of grounding and adding some nice contrast. It was also slightly comforting to notice that all of our other neighbors who have original doors have painted them too (they’re all 100+ years old so I think that’s the plight of being so worn down and in need of various repairs over the years – raw wood isn’t nearly as forgiving).

We’ve loved Sherwin-Williams Urbane Bronze ever since we used it our garage doors at home. It’s a really rich and layered color and we’ve always loved how it walks the line between a true black and a warm dark bronze-y brown tone – just like the tin roof we chose for the duplex!

Long story long, even though it was our lifelong (ok, yearlong) dream to leave these doors a light wood tone, we’ve mourned the loss of that idea and are IN LOVE with the final result. We both stepped back and thought: THE PAINT DID THESE DOORS A TON OF FAVORS!

Not only does it hide the cracks and glue bubbles along with all of those tricky paint remnants, it also looks great with the dark porch accents we added, like the operable shutters, the oversized porch lights, our wall mounted mailboxes, and our new house numbers. And the nice thing is that we were able to bring that wood tone in with other things, but more on that in a second.

As for installing the address numbers, they’re just simple off-the-shelf house numbers from Home Depot that can be mounted flush (like we did) or floating. They come with a template on the back of the package, so we trimmed the templates a bit so we could space them the way we wanted, and taped them to the siding exactly as we hoped they’d look in the end – being sure to triple check that they all had equal spacing, were all level, and were centered.

At one point we had planned to just get some subtle number decals to stick on the mailbox, but then we learned it was actually code that they were at least 4″ tall and “visible from the street” for emergency personnel. And by “learned,” I mean that we almost failed our final inspection because we hadn’t installed any yet, so we rushed to get them up and passed by the skin of our teeth (I would like to have a word with the inventor of that gross expression, btw).

Since we lost some of the warm wood tones in the doors, I brought them in with a few other things, like the basket-looking planters (they’re really a ceramic-like material), and the big teak benches on the far ends of the porch. And once we get bigger doormats (maybe a single long one that runs under both doors and up to each planter would be cool?) that’ll add more of that warmer tone to the mix.

Of course I have to shout out our go-to faux outdoor trees. They inject some much needed zero-maintenance greenery to the front porch. We’ve got the same type on the beach house front porch and the taller versions at home in Richmond. They’re awesome, so yes, we are now the proud owners of six of these babies. Please note that I didn’t floof these before the photos (yes, that’s a technical term), so their shape in the picture below bugs me to no end. They’ll be looking 100 when I get my new mats, landscape the front, and share the updated pics though – mark my words.

If you’re subscribed to our newsletter, you got a peek inside with the doors open last week. We painted the stair risers on each side the same color as the interior doors on that side (Sherwin Williams White Truffle on the left, and Sherwin Williams Oyster Bay on the right). I also really love that we didn’t do mint on the front doors because it’s a fun reveal to swing open the dark bronze doors and be greeted with a different happy & beachy color inside each one.

This is the before photo, which I now realize is funny because it’s almost like we switched sides – the greenish risers are now on the right, and the red/pink ones are on the left (we chose the colors for each side based on lighting and where they read the best – the pink tone read a little more gray and less pink on the right, so that’s how it ended up on the left).

So that wraps up the whole duplex porch update… but if you could kindly cross every last appendage that the groundhog was right in his call for an early spring, we’d really appreciate it. Because you know I can’t wait to get the front of the duplex landscaped and mulched and add a path to the back and plant grass and ALL THE THINGS! WITH ALL THE EXCLAMATION POINTS!!

We need to get this thing whipped into shape so we can get it all photographed and listed for rent thing spring (rentals will start this summer and it should hit Airbnb this April or so! AHHHHHH!). Oh yeah and we have to finish the inside. And the backyard. Details, details.

P.S. To see how we have fixed up this house over the past 1.5 years, there’s a whole category dedicated to duplex progress.

*This post contains affiliate links*

The post A Front Porch Makeover At The Duplex! appeared first on Young House Love.

A Front Porch Makeover At The Duplex! published first on https://bakerskitchenslimited.tumblr.com/

[billydmacklin]

A Front Porch Makeover At The Duplex!

It feels like a while since you’ve seen the front of the duplex (I blame winter) but that’s going to change today. And let me tell you… THINGS HAVE TURNED A CORNER!

There’s no landscaping yet, the grass is patchy, and Sean the Contractor’s gigantic sign is still there…

… but boy oh boy is she lookin’ fynnnnnnnneee when we compare her to where we started:

All of the not original details came down – like the weird plastic wagon wheels and strange abacus trim that was added in the 70s, the plastic too-small shutters, the broken vinyl porch railing, all those satellite dishes, and the duct tape along the roofline. And we maintained or added back as much original charm as we could – like the metal porch roof, larger operable shutters, square porch columns, corbels along the roofline, wide brick steps, and those diamond windows that give me cartoon heart eyes.

We’ve already shared a lot of the big exterior decisions that we made as we went, like choosing our siding, roofing, and picking the color for the shutters, so today we’re gonna cover all of our front porch updates.

UGH BUT FIRST LET’S ADRESS THE ELEPHANT IN THE ROOM… or should I say the mouse on the porch?! Those tiny postage stamp doormats are so ridiculous I can’t even explain how I thought they were regular sized and then they turned out to be doormats for ants.

So yes, we’re getting bigger ones (they would DEFINITELY make Marlo cringe – Atlanta Housewives… Anyone? Bueller?). So let’s all try to look past those tiny little rectangles and appreciate some of the other stuff that’s giving me life. We have mailboxes! And house numbers! And lanterns to illuminate said house numbers! And composite decking (no rot! YAY!). We even have potted plants and teak benches! SOMEBODY HELP ME CALM DOWN.

We don’t have great before photos of just the front door area itself, but you can sort of see it (including the mismatched storm doors that we got rid of immediately) in the photo below.

But as artsy as John thought he was being with the “SOLD” sign in the foreground of that picture, it doesn’t really demonstrate how deteriorated the old porch had become.

The entire front porch was also so rotten when it came to the actual support beams and structure of it, that we had to tear it off of the house and rebuild it from scratch, being careful to maintain the original transom windows above the door.

Let’s just say that it feels like we have taken a very significant leap forward in the last year and a half.

After we ditched the mismatched storm doors we decided to embrace the original front doors (figuratively speaking, I didn’t actually hug them, but we LOVE them and wanted to save them). You actually have to get approval from the town’s historic review board to change the style of your doors, so we’re really glad we liked them from the get-go. At one point we considered painting them the same mint color as the shutters, but realized that color got a lot of “stage time” thanks to having so many front windows (and therefore, double the amount of shutters)… so we both thought it would be nice to introduce another tone or color on the doors.

Our next (and longest-standing) idea was to make them some sort of wood tone – just clear sealed or covered with a light stain. You know we LOVE AN ORIGINAL WOOD DOOR (we stripped & waxed all the interior doors at the pink house, and I can’t even tell you how happy we are with them). So we had our contractor strip and sand our duplex front doors to get them as raw looking as possible. Lead paint = we hired them to do it safely in their shop, and they stripped and sanded them as far back as they could without compromising their integrity (they’re thinner than standard doors that are made today, and they had a few cracks and repaired portions they didn’t want to make worse).

But even after we spent $400 to get the doors professionally stripped back as far as they could take them, we just couldn’t get them where they needed to be. From the street (and in the from-a-distance-photos we shared) they looked pretty cool, but up close you could see a lot of stubborn paint in the cracks and recesses that we just couldn’t remove – even after another pass at sanding.

And as you walked closer you could see other general jankiness – like a large crack and some glue bubbles that would be hard to disguise with sealer or stain alone.

We knew that we could still get a wood look using a dark gel stain,like we did over on the pink house. It’s got thicker coverage than a typical stain – almost like a paint – and that certainly would’ve helped hide some of the issues.

But once we installed the porch lights, mailboxes, house numbers and door handles, we both kept thinking…. what about a rich charcoal-y paint color? One that ties into that gorgeous metal roof above the porch? It just felt like a nice balance to the cheerful green shutters – sort of grounding and adding some nice contrast. It was also slightly comforting to notice that all of our other neighbors who have original doors have painted them too (they’re all 100+ years old so I think that’s the plight of being so worn down and in need of various repairs over the years – raw wood isn’t nearly as forgiving).

We’ve loved Sherwin-Williams Urbane Bronze ever since we used it our garage doors at home. It’s a really rich and layered color and we’ve always loved how it walks the line between a true black and a warm dark bronze-y brown tone – just like the tin roof we chose for the duplex!

Long story long, even though it was our lifelong (ok, yearlong) dream to leave these doors a light wood tone, we’ve mourned the loss of that idea and are IN LOVE with the final result. We both stepped back and thought: THE PAINT DID THESE DOORS A TON OF FAVORS!

Not only does it hide the cracks and glue bubbles along with all of those tricky paint remnants, it also looks great with the dark porch accents we added, like the operable shutters, the oversized porch lights, our wall mounted mailboxes, and our new house numbers. And the nice thing is that we were able to bring that wood tone in with other things, but more on that in a second.

As for installing the address numbers, they’re just simple off-the-shelf house numbers from Home Depot that can be mounted flush (like we did) or floating. They come with a template on the back of the package, so we trimmed the templates a bit so we could space them the way we wanted, and taped them to the siding exactly as we hoped they’d look in the end – being sure to triple check that they all had equal spacing, were all level, and were centered.

At one point we had planned to just get some subtle number decals to stick on the mailbox, but then we learned it was actually code that they were at least 4″ tall and “visible from the street” for emergency personnel. And by “learned,” I mean that we almost failed our final inspection because we hadn’t installed any yet, so we rushed to get them up and passed by the skin of our teeth (I would like to have a word with the inventor of that gross expression, btw).

Since we lost some of the warm wood tones in the doors, I brought them in with a few other things, like the basket-looking planters (they’re really a ceramic-like material), and the big teak benches on the far ends of the porch. And once we get bigger doormats (maybe a single long one that runs under both doors and up to each planter would be cool?) that’ll add more of that warmer tone to the mix.

Of course I have to shout out our go-to faux outdoor trees. They inject some much needed zero-maintenance greenery to the front porch. We’ve got the same type on the beach house front porch and the taller versions at home in Richmond. They’re awesome, so yes, we are now the proud owners of six of these babies. Please note that I didn’t floof these before the photos (yes, that’s a technical term), so their shape in the picture below bugs me to no end. They’ll be looking 100 when I get my new mats, landscape the front, and share the updated pics though – mark my words.

If you’re subscribed to our newsletter, you got a peek inside with the doors open last week. We painted the stair risers on each side the same color as the interior doors on that side (Sherwin Williams White Truffle on the left, and Sherwin Williams Oyster Bay on the right). I also really love that we didn’t do mint on the front doors because it’s a fun reveal to swing open the dark bronze doors and be greeted with a different happy & beachy color inside each one.

This is the before photo, which I now realize is funny because it’s almost like we switched sides – the greenish risers are now on the right, and the red/pink ones are on the left (we chose the colors for each side based on lighting and where they read the best – the pink tone read a little more gray and less pink on the right, so that’s how it ended up on the left).

So that wraps up the whole duplex porch update… but if you could kindly cross every last appendage that the groundhog was right in his call for an early spring, we’d really appreciate it. Because you know I can’t wait to get the front of the duplex landscaped and mulched and add a path to the back and plant grass and ALL THE THINGS! WITH ALL THE EXCLAMATION POINTS!!

We need to get this thing whipped into shape so we can get it all photographed and listed for rent thing spring (rentals will start this summer and it should hit Airbnb this April or so! AHHHHHH!). Oh yeah and we have to finish the inside. And the backyard. Details, details.

P.S. To see how we have fixed up this house over the past 1.5 years, there’s a whole category dedicated to duplex progress.

*This post contains affiliate links*

The post A Front Porch Makeover At The Duplex! appeared first on Young House Love.

A Front Porch Makeover At The Duplex! published first on https://carpetgurus.tumblr.com/