#this made me defrost my blog

[effervescentvampire]

Have y'all seen the update of smeyer's website? Nobody seems to be talking about this? This quote down there is from her website:

It's not from ANY book she has released so far (as far as I know) and sound very much like something Jacob would say. I'm afraid this is a hint for an upcoming Jacob x Rasputin book Y'ALL I'M SCARED I HOPE IT'S NOT WHAT I THINK IT IS

[pedrito-friskito]

strawberry wine - joel miller x ofc!liv stone/fem!reader

during - part ten

series masterlist | main masterlist | read on ao3

your reunion comes with a price.

a/n: can’t stop won’t stop part today part tomorrow we are AMMMMMMMPED people. and this is the first official chapter with the use of Liv’s name! she will still be as nondescript as possible for now (this plot is ever-evolving) with sparse use of her name. but like I said in the announcement, if named OCs are not your thing, there’s no hard feelings here! also a bit of Joel x Tess starting in this part - I do want to say that there is ZERO hate on my end for their relationship, I love what they did/are doing in the show, but for the sake of the plot, they are not as established in this fic.

word count: 4.4k

warnings: MY BLOG IS 18+, MINORS DNI, angst, some questionable choices, drinking, Joel has a lot of feelings and doesn’t know how to express them.

✨follow @friskito-library for updates on new works/chapters✨

He can’t stop pacing.

His gut has been knotted with worry since Tommy disappeared into around the bend in the road. Tess has been watching him every since, from her spot perched atop a long defrosted freezer. She’s got her knees pulled up, legs bowed, arms wrapped around. Some kind of comfortable, he supposes.

Joel’s back hurts. It always has, and the end of the world certainly hasn’t put a stop to it. He rubs at his shoulder as he paces, fingers digging into his muscle. The gun holstered at his thigh feels heavier than normal, the knife on his belt even more so.

The gas station is a few miles out of the city. It made the most sense, stopping here for now. It was decent shelter, empty of Infected, good sight lines. The luckiest they’d been in a long time. Luckier still when they found a mostly-intact map of the state buried under a stack of cardboard inside the station’s store. Tommy was sure of the path, and while Joel was loathe to let his brother leave, he knew it was the best play. But that hasn’t stopped him from pacing the floor so long he’s actually worn the tiles clean.

“Would you sit down or something?” Tess quips, her voice exasperated. “You’re making me fucking nervous, pacing like that.”

He gives her a hard look, but relents, heads for one of the windows dotting front of the store. He crosses his arms over his chest, stares through the grimy glass. 

They found Tess just outside of Kentucky, nearly three years back. Her and her husband, Nate, were just trying to make their way, same as Joel and Tommy. After a close call with a horde of Infected, they’d joined up, more convinced that strength was in numbers than anything else.

Tess is strong, capable. She’s proved herself a hundred times over, by now, saved both Joel and Tommy’s lives more than Joel cares to count. He doesn’t like feeling like he owes anybody anything, but with her, it’s different.

And after Nate turned, it got…different, again.

He hadn’t meant for it to happen. She worked through her grief quietly, all too similar to himself. The name came up, and she shot it down. “I don’t need your fucking sympathy, Miller.”

Joel’s still holding onto you, in a way. It’s a spark that never truly goes out, a prick of warmth in his chest that he knows he has to keep small. It would burn its way straight through him if he let it get any bigger. He just…hopes you’re alive. That’s all he can allow himself to do.

But Tess, with her brash tone and her slim tolerance for bullshit, he can see the similarities, between you two. His mind wonders if you’d be friends, given the chance, and he has to force the thought from his head. There’s no guarantee you’re still in Boston, still breathing. There are not guarantees at all.

With Tess, it’s stress relief. He knows that. She knows that. The ground rules were laid out right from the first time. He hadn’t meant for it to happen, but it did, and…it felt good. A small comfort in a world that was still hellbent on ending him.

A small comfort. A small spark. That’s all he’ll allow himself.

That’s all he can live with.

+

“Joel’s alive.”

Your boots squeak on the kitchen floor. You stare at Tommy, open-mouthed, gaping like a damn fish.

“He’s…alive.” The truth tastes funny on your tongue. You say it again. “Joel’s alive.”

Tommy nods, and you pull him back against you, hugging him a second time, a nearly shouted oh my god falling from your lips as you collide again. He laughs, the sound like music to your ears, hugging you tighter still. “So are you, Liv,” he says, his voice low in your ear, cracking on your name, and you pull back again.

“Where is he?” you ask, gripping his shoulders. “Where have you been? How long, since you left Austin? Is Sarah with Joel? What’s…” The questions keep pouring out of you, something triggered in the back of your brain. You need to know everything; where they’ve been, what they’ve been doing, how they stayed alive all these years. You need to know.

Tommy lets go of you just enough to take your hand, but before he can get a word out, Deanna speaks. “Maybe you two should go downstairs,” she says, putting a soft hand on your shoulder. “Kiddos should get to bed soon, y’all should have your privacy.”

You nod, and Tommy follows suit. “Thank you, Deanna,” he says, catching her hand before she can walk away. “For everything.”

She smiles at him. “You’re welcome, Tommy.” Her eyes slide to you. “Go on, I’ll see you tomorrow.”

You just nod again, the questions still stalled on your tongue. Tommy follows you out of Deanna’s apartment, down the hallway to the stairs. You only hit the first landing before you can’t hold your tongue any longer. “How did you find me?”

“I asked around at the clinic, after I got through the gate,” he says, keeping pace with you as you head down the next flight of stairs. “Didn’t think FEDRA soldiers was a good place to start. The first nurse had no idea what I was on about, but another heard me say your name and pointed me in Deanna’s direction. Took a bit of interrogating at the business end of a shotgun to convince her I really knew you, but she warmed up to me in the end.”

“Shotgun?” you balk. You’ve told her a million times not to keep the thing around, in case FEDRA ever came knocking. (Pot calling the kettle black, you’re well aware…) But she’s insisted on keeping it strapped beneath the kitchen table ever since the mall. “That woman, I swear.”

“She had nothing but nice things to say about you,” he informs you, and you can’t help the grin that tugs at your mouth as you hit the second landing, pushing the door open that leads to the hallway. “Sounds like you’ve been making quite the living.”

“Doing what I can,” you reply, fishing your keys out of your pocket. “This is me.” You stop in front of your door, unlock it, push it open. “Not much, but it works.”

Tommy follows you in, shucks off his jacket. You do the same, hiding your bag beneath it on the hook. You point out the bathroom, offer him some water.

“Is this a cup of tea conversation,” you ask, handing him a water bottle, “or a something stronger kind of conversation?”

Tommy’s eyes widen. “You have something stronger?”

You tell him to sit, walk into the kitchen and shove the fridge to the side with a heave, revealing the hole you cracked into the drywall, stacked with bottles of liquor. “Pick your poison, Miller.”

He’s gaping at you. “You’re joking.”

“I’m serious,” you laugh, pushing a hand through your still-damp hair. “Lots of abandoned houses outside the wall, lots of rich people who left a lot of good shit behind.”

He points to one of the bottles, and you pull it out, set it on the counter, shove the fridge back into place. Mismatched glasses are laid out on the table, filled with two fingers of dark liquor, some barrel-aged whiskey you haven’t even tried yet.

“To you,” Tommy says, raising his glass to you, and your mouth twitches, the soft clink reaching your ears. The first sip burns, and you wince, setting the glass on the table. “Where do I start?”

“At the beginning, ideally,” you quip, and he laughs, draining his glass to nothing and reaching for the bottle.

“May I?”

“‘Course.”

Tommy has been with Joel the whole time. “I was in the truck with him, when he called you that night,” he says, and the memory makes your shoulder prickle. “When the phone cut out, I thought he was gonna put his fist through my damn dashboard.” He chuckles, but there’s no humour in it. “The plan has always been to come to Boston.” His dark eyes flick up to your face. “To find you. Or try to. After—” He stops, cuts himself short, empties his glass again.

“After what?” you prompt, reaching out and laying your hand on Tommy’s forearm. “Tommy, tell me. Please.”

“I was in jail, the night everything went down. Got into some stupid bar fight, didn’t realize until after that the guy was infected; tried to bite the fuckin’ waitress. But I called Joel, and he came to get me. We saw all kinds of weird shit happening in the city, heard weirder shit on the radio, then he called you. We went home, got Sarah, tried to get the hell out of dodge. We got stuck, in the city. Fuckin’ plane fell right out of the sky, crashed my truck.

“We got separated, for a while. I had to circle around, try to meet up with them again, and when I found them, Joel, he…” He trails off, his brow furrowing, eyes going shiny. “Sarah died. That night.” He sets the glass on the table, leans back in his chair. “She hurt her ankle, when the truck crashed, and Joel was carrying her. Found them at the bottom of a hill, fuckin’ soldier with a gun pointed right at Joel. He’d already fired at them and then I…I shot first.”

You plant your elbow on the table, cover your mouth with your hand. There are tears pouring down your cheeks, and you’re still holding Tommy’s arm. He covers your hand with his own.

“Joel was on the ground, hurt but okay, but Sarah, she…” His brow pinches, eyes wet. “Just like that, she was gone, and he…it broke him.”

Slowly, you pull your hand away from your mouth. You refill your glass, toss the entire thing back in one go. It burns like hell, but you barely notice it, wiping the tears from your face. “Tommy, where is he?”

“Gas station, maybe ten clicks outside the city. Cumberland Farms, or something like that.”

“I know it.”

He nods. “The plan was for me to come first, see if they’d let me in, figure out how easy or not it would be to get them in, since…”

“Since what?” you prompt, lifting a brow.

“We got kicked out of the last QZ we were in. Baltimore, before it fell. Tess, she—”

“Who’s Tess?”

He gives you the story; Tess Servopolous, badass extraordinaire, according to Tommy’s description. They’d joined up with her and her husband originally, but he’d been infected, and she’d been the one to put a bullet in him. Smart as hell, apparently with ideals similar to your own; Joel and Tess had been kicked out of Baltimore for smuggling, and the FEDRA soldiers in Baltimore were using exile as punishment. Tommy, refusing to leave his brother, had left of his own accord.

“So it’s just the two of them?” you ask, your brain churning, an idea already starting to form.

Tommy nods. “That’s it.”

You push back your chair, startling Tommy, who catches your arm.

“What are you doing?”

“Stay here,” you say, ignoring his question, grabbing a different — dry — jacket off the hook. Tommy gives you a hard look, crossing his arms over his chest. “Eat whatever you want, drink whatever you want. The bed’s not half bad.”

“Where are you going?” He gets to his feet. “I’m coming with you.”

“No,” you say quickly, shaking your head. “You just got here. You can’t get caught.”

“And you can?”

“I can get them in, but I have to go talk to someone first.”

“What about the curfew?” he asks. Your eyes dart to the clock on the wall; almost an hour past. “Liv, don’t—”

“It’ll be okay, Tommy,” you say, trying to muster up something resembling a smile. “I promise.”

+

You’re soaked again by the time you’re tapping on Nick’s window, perched precariously on the fire escape outside. McCoy was on the overnight patrol; you’d seen him halfway between your building and Nick’s. The city is dark, night taking hold, curfew emptying the streets and lighting windows, casting shadows onto the pavement. 

“What the fuck are you doing out here?” Nick says by way of hello, sliding the window open. You climb through immediately, shivering violently as the warmth of his apartment covers you. He tries to reach for you, but you step out of his grip, arms crossed over your chest.

“Are you working the gate tomorrow?” you ask, and he just stares at you, one brow raised. When he doesn’t answer right away, you ask again. “Nick, are you working the gate tomorrow?”

He’s looking at you like you’ve got three heads. “I am…why?”

“I need your help,” you say quickly, your knees knocking together as you shiver again. “I’m bringing two people through the gate tomorrow, and I need you to get them through, no matter what, no questions asked.”

Those blue eyes of his darken. “I can’t do that.”

“You can,” you insist, staring him down. “I know you can. I’ll…I’ll vouch for them, feed them with my own fucking ration cards until they can pull their own weight. They can sleep in my apartment, I don’t care. I just need them inside the QZ. Please.”

For a moment that feels like an hour, he just stares at you, mouth slightly parted, deep lines on his forehead. “Who is it?”

“Does it matter?”

Nick scoffs. “I guess not. But you…why can’t they just go through the gate like everyone else? Doesn’t matter what I do, if they’re infected, they’re not—”

“They’re not infected,” you tell him, cutting him off. “I’m not an idiot. That’s not the problem.”

“Then what…?”

“They were kicked out of Baltimore, before it fell. Which means they’re in the system, which means any other soldier would turn them away on the spot.”

He scrubs a hand over his face. “And you want me to just let them through? Why’d they get kicked out of Baltimore?” His expression changes, something like understanding, but you know before the words are out of his mouth that he’s wrong. “What kind of fucked up deal have you made, Liv?”

“I didn’t make a fucking deal,” you say, exasperation creeping into your tone. “I just…I need them inside, Nick. Please. I’ll do whatever you want me to. Throw me in lockup for a week, I don’t fucking care. Just get them inside. Please.”

After a moment, he replies. His face is a hard mask, thick arms crossed over his chest. “Not a week. Two days. You go in the moment they’re through the gate. It’ll have to be official shit, on your record, proof that you were in lockup when they were brought through. I swear to god, if they pull any shit, if anything traces back to—”

“It won’t, Nick,” you say, forcing yourself to relax, reaching out a putting a hand on his arm. “I promise.”

He narrows his eyes at you. “So says the smuggler.”

You crack a smile. “So you’ll do it?”

“Yeah,” he nods, almost rolling his eyes at you. “I’ll do it. You owe me. And you know I can’t protect you in lockup.”

“I know.”

You know you shouldn’t do it; in fact, everything in you screams in the opposite direction. But when he reaches out, grabs the zipper of your coat and hauls you close, you kiss him. It lingers, the feeling of his hands moving to your waist all too familiar, but the entire time, your mind is whirling.

Joel is alive.

+

You’re gone, as soon as the sun’s up.

Nick’s awake, pulling on his gear, as you’re doing the same, nursing the cup of good coffee he’d pushed into your hands almost the second you opened your eyes. You tried to wave it off, but he wouldn’t let you. “Drink it.”

You sink onto the edge of his bed as you tie up your boots. He’s watching you, pulling a clean t-shirt over his head, tightening his belt.

“How long will you be?”

“Five hours, maybe longer.” You get to your feet. “It’s a long trek.”

His brow twitches. “I don’t like this.” Nick steps towards you, and that little voice in you, the one that had screamed when he first kissed you last night, almost has you flinching away. He reaches out, swipes his thumb over your cheek, down and over your chin. “At least tell me who they are.”

“Does it matter?” you ask, echoing yourself from last night. “They’re survivors. They deserve a safe place, right?”

He drops his hand, crosses his arms over his chest. “Right.”

“I’ll bring them through the alley,” you tell him. “Same as yesterday. Then through the empty warehouse and to the gate.”

Nick just nods.

“I’ll see you later,” you say, grabbing your jacket, and you’re gone.

You take the same path you’d used the day before, stopping at one of your caches to grab the bat from where you’d stashed it, a backpack with supplies. Your adventuring gear.

Ten miles feels like twenty. The caffeine gives you a bit more pep in your step, and you’ve always travelled faster on your own, but you haven’t felt this antsy since outbreak day. Your heart hammers with every step, the bat a heavy weight at your back, hands curled around the straps of your backpack.

Joel is alive.

It pushes your feet faster, but makes the guilt rise in your stomach just as quick. You shouldn’t have let Nick take you to bed, shouldn’t be asking him for something like this, but there’s no one else you can ask. No one else you trust. 

The Joel you find now might be a completely different one. Tommy’s words ring out in your ears, when he’d told you about Sarah, about what happened that night.

“It broke him.”

Part of you has been broken since you left Austin. Maybe there’s a glimmer of hope somewhere in here, maybe you can put each other back together, live, survive.

Maybe.

The guilt simmers thickly. You should have told Nick who it was, who you wanted brought inside. But would his answer have been the same, if you admitted it? He’s pressed a bit, over the years, asking for tidbits of your past, trying to muddle your story together. You’ve stayed tight-lipped with him, but Deanna knows exactly how much gin to give you to loosen your lips, and you have no doubt she’s passed some information along. Not that you can blame her; she loves you both, and she’s still not sold on what you’re doing with Nick. 

“You’re gonna get that boy killed one of these days,” she said one night. A job went slightly awry and you came back with a black eye, the bat caked in Infected blood, Nick half carrying you up the stairs to Deanna’s place. “You can’t keep getting him involved.”

“I know.”

You did. You do. But life is about resources, now. It’s who you know, what you have, what information you can use against someone if you need to. It’s a lethal combination, in every sense, and that’s just behind the walls, never mind what lies beyond.

You know you shouldn’t use Nick. You know you’re just going to hurt him, at the end of the day, but it was never supposed to go this far. You know he feels more than you do, and part of you still wants to feel what he feels, to give him something in return for all these years but—

Joel is alive.

Broken or not, that changes everything.

As soon as Tommy said Cumberland Farms, you knew exactly where you were going. It’s a halfway point, of sorts. You’ve done a handful of deals there, have some supplies stashed beneath the tiles. It’s long deserted, looted to shit and half boarded up, but there’s usually something interesting lurking around.

But you’re definitely not expecting what you find.

There’s a truck at one of the gas pumps, the hood popped and the battery long gone. The door is cracked open, and when you get a little closer, you see them, standing in the window.

The woman — who you assume must be Tess — stands with her back to you, light-brown hair visible through the glass. There’s an arm slung around her waist, a hand fisted in the back of her jacket, and everything in you goes still.

Joel.

He’s standing in front of her, saying something, his lips forming words you can’t discern. Your mind is blank, taking in every detail you can, rebuilding the picture of him in your mind, a combination of your memory and your vision, the differences sussing themselves out.

He looks older. There’s a bit more grey in his beard than you remember, the lines on his forehead deeper. A ratty, camel-coloured jacket, a few buttons on the flannel he’s wearing undone. Tess puts her hand on his chest, his bare skin, and when she leans in, your heart drops into your stomach, knees nearly dropping out from under you.

They’re together.

Thanks for the fucking warning, Tommy.

It doesn’t matter, you tell yourself, tightening your grip on the bat, breathing slowly. It doesn’t matter. All that matters is that he’s alive.

Then Joel’s eyes flick up, staring straight through the glass. Straight at you.

You see it, on his lips.

“Liv?”

You’re frozen in place. The world has melted away completely. The bat falls out of your hands, the metal singing as it bounces off the pavement. He disappears from the window, Tess turning to see what he saw, and a moment later, he’s bounding through the door, bee-lining for you, nearly sprinting across the lot to where you’re standing. He’s saying your name like a prayer, over and over and over again.

He grabs you so hard your boots slide on the asphalt. The breath is knocked from your lungs, something hot and desperate making a home in your belly as he pulls you into him. You go willingly, throwing your arms around his middle as he wraps his around your shoulders. He’s solid against you, heartbeat hammering against your chest, as quick as your own. The scent of him is slightly different, more earthy, almost darker, but it’s still Joel.

He pulls back after a moment, holding you at arm’s length, one hand moving up to cup your cheek, eyes raking over every inch of you. “You’re alive,” he breathes out, a surprised laugh in his tone, and you just nod, the words refusing to leap off your tongue. Joel hugs you back against him. “You’re alive.”

You just nod, tears filling your eyes, holding him close, holding the back of his jacket in an iron grip. Please don’t make me let go, please don’t make me let go, please don’t make me—

Joel pulls back again, his brow pinched, confusion in his eyes. “How did you—”

“Tommy,” you answer quickly, moving your grip to his bicep as his grip your shoulders. “He’s in Boston, in the QZ. I left him at my place; I didn’t wanna take any chances.”

“He made it?” Joel asks, and you nod.

“Joel,” you say, your voice low, feeling a tear slip down your cheek as you say it. God, his name feels strange on your tongue. When was the last time you said it out loud? You squeeze his arm. “Tommy told me…” You pause, breathe deep. “About Sarah. Joel, I’m so sorry, I just—”

You regret the words, the second they’re out of your mouth.

It’s like a flip has been switched. He drops his hands, and his expression goes with them. You watch the mask fall into place, hard and unreadable, shutting you out in an instant. There’s suddenly three feet of space between you, and he turns away as Tess walks out of the gas station, calling his name.

“What’s going on?” she asks, confusion on her face, coming to a stop beside Joel. She juts her chin towards you. “Who’s this?”

“She’s…” Joel starts, but loses the words. He looks at you again, something you barely recognize in his eyes. Again, he turns away, hands on his hips, his back to you.

“I’m Liv,” you offer, holding your hand towards Tess. She stares at it for a second before taking it. “You must be Tess.”

“I am.”

“Tommy sent me,” you say, and that seems to soften her slightly. She’s pretty; big green eyes, pouty lips, tall, and she looks every bit the badass Tommy had described. “I’m an old friend.”

Her gaze slides to Joel, who has distanced himself further, putting even more space between you. Tess, thankfully, doesn’t do the same. “I gathered that.”

You push your tongue against your teeth, resisting the urge to yell at Joel. Why did you have to say it? Why couldn’t you have waited, maybe? At least got them into the QZ before you shattered whatever was still tethering you two together.

“How do you know each other?” Tess asks.

You search for the words. Do you give the truth, right off the bat? Has Joel ever mentioned you to her? Why did you have to say it? “It’s a long story,” you finally manage, eyes snagging on Joel’s back. The guilt you’d already felt over Nick has tripled, a solid lead weight in your stomach. “Doesn’t matter. We should get going.” Tess opens her mouth to protest, but you hold up a hand. “Tommy told me about Baltimore. It’s fine, I took care of it; you’ll get in, no problem.”

Joel whirls then, his eyes bright, jaw set. He’s angry. You almost flinch. “What did you do?”

“It’s nothing,” you reply quickly, your brows pulling down. Some fucking reunion. “Don’t worry about it.”

“What did you—” he starts again, taking another step, but Tess’s hand flashes out, smacking him in the chest, and he freezes.

“Relax, would you?” she nearly sneers, and you raise a brow. “She’s helping us.”

Joel stares at you. Long and hard, those dark eyes impossibly darker, making a chill snake down your spine. You barely recognize him. It doesn’t matter, you try to convince yourself, bending to pick up the bat. He’s alive, that’s all that matters. You knew things wouldn’t be the same. Things couldn’t be the same.

You look away from him, feeling his gaze follow you as you turn on your heel, heading back towards the road.

“Let’s go.”

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[kataraavatara]

do you hear the christmas bells ringing? it's getting colder, it's getting darker, mariah carey is defrosting as we speak...

it's secret santa time! now a little bird told me that you like neris and that you'll have either fanart or fanfic as a gift, is that right?

i suppose then my first question is what is it that made you pick neris as your preferred ship? what do you love about them and what is absolutely essential to you in the gift you'll receive?

xoxo gossip girl santa

I’m sorry this took so long to respond to, I got really sick!

What made me pick Neris as my preferred ship? Number one, I want her with someone who doesn’t mistreat her (I’m the ceo of the anti nessian tag, so that tag on my blog as well as the “carly’s pro nesta propaganda” and “anti cassian” tag might be helpful but I also don’t want you feel like I’m giving you required reading) and also because I think they have the shared experience of a mix people unfairly judging them and being rightfully angry when they do something wrong. And…Eris is hot, idk. I think he’s a better version of the “morally grey ruthless scheming dude who is secretly kind of a good person” than Rhysand is.

What do I love about them? I think they have great chemistry (as seen in the dance scene) and Eris is someone who can match Nesta in terms of emotional intelligence, and probably not berate her for not being “nice” enough all the time.

What’s absolutely essential? That they meet each other where they are, instead of trying to forcibly “fix” each other. I felt like a lot of silver flames was bludgeoning Nesta into an Inner Circle approved mold; what does Nesta want?

[man-i-love-folklore]

im still recovering from halloween, okay? let me breathe/j

personally christmas (as much as i love it when mariah defrosts) does not start for me until after thanksgiving. fall is my favorite season so i try to savor it as much as i can.

but trust me, when black friday comes around i am IN THE CHRISTMAS SPIRIT. and that will be reflected here, maybe with another blog retheme but definitely by streaming all i want for christmas is you.

thank you for dropping this in my asks, it actually made me crack up

[carolinanadeau]

In Praise of Sally Ann Howes

As I've made it one of the purposes of my blog to share photos and songs and general positivity about the wonderful English actress Sally Ann Howes, I thought I'd make a post to talk in much more detail about all the great things about her and why I adore her so much!

This classy English beauty possessed a highly expressive face and eyes, an astonishingly powerful soprano, a great sense of humor, and the world's most charming laugh. One thing I cannot stop saying about Sally Ann is that she did not and does not get nearly enough credit and recognition for her immense talent and prolific career, and it's precisely for that reason that I'm here to do my part in giving it to her!

This overlong rambling post is a combination of biographical information and my personal fawning over her performances... whatever I felt I most wanted to put out there in the world and what I'd like people less familiar with her to know.

Click on Keep Reading and I'll take you on a journey!

As she preferred to work on the stage and didn't really pursue a film career, the catalog of Sally Ann's work that can still be viewed today is unfortunately small - though you can find almost all of her early films on the internet if you look hard! In her early film days, mostly made before she was able to pursue her true passion of musical theatre, her extraordinary singing talents weren't utilized by the producers at all.

However, we were fortunately blessed with exactly one musical film role from her, and it's an iconic one: the aptly-named role of Truly Scrumptious in Chitty Chitty Bang Bang (1968), the golden-haired, golden-hearted candy heiress who falls in love with and eventually marries Dick van Dyke's character Caractacus Potts after joining him and his children on a madcap adventure. She's a sweet, intelligent ingenue with hidden depths and one of my favorite sorts of character arcs - the uptight, lonely woman who becomes more and more warm and open as she discovers newfound freedom and joy in life and falls in love.

There is something about Sally Ann that just glows in every scene of Chitty, and it's not only that bright blonde hair! The way she widens her eyes sometimes, the way she raises her eyebrows, her gentle and soft presence in the happiest scenes, and the particular airy lilt she has to her speaking voice are all so distinctive and appealing, and I can't take my eyes off her. And her smile! When I say she glows it's barely even a metaphor, the woman just emits light. 

(Funnily enough, I started to realize that many of the laudatory quotes I've found about her also refer to her in this way, like this quote from a 1965 TV Guide article, from playwright Sidney Kingsley: "She's luminous as an actress. I mean that literally. In Brigadoon she really lit up the stage.")

For me, I'm weak for any actress who can do the defrosted-ice-queen trope so incredibly well. Truly starts out as closed-off and prim, and nearly reverts to that state when she and Caractacus have a Big Misunderstanding near the end, but in the scenes where she's happy and carefree, the warmth just radiates off of her.

She also has the most adorable chemistry with Dick van Dyke in an annoyances-to-friends-to-lovers relationship that absolutely shaped my young brain. Whenever Sally Ann and Dick glance at each other, whether with irritation and frustration early in the film or with warmth and affection later on, their chemistry is obvious and natural, and there's so much expressed in each one of those glances. One has no difficulty believing that these characters are going to be very happily married.

(Here's a cute on-set interview where she talks about, among other things, how easily she and van Dyke clicked.)

While I acknowledge that the character of Caractacus Potts was absolutely originally planned to be an actual Englishman, Dick van Dyke played him with an American accent, and to me they will always be an adorable English-American couple. It's a whole part of the charm of this pairing to me!

Sally Ann also had a great relationship with child actors Adrian Hall and Heather Ripley who played Jeremy and Jemima Potts, and did her best to help make them more comfortable and happy during the many very long days on set. Having been a child film star herself, she knew a great deal about how difficult and alienating it could be. The genuine affection the three of them shared is obvious in their scenes together, especially in the extremely adorable "Truly Scrumptious" number, and it really makes the developing mother-child relationship between the characters so believable.

The beach scene, where so much of the relationship between Truly and Caractacus and the Potts children is developed, is incredibly cute and heartwarming, and a lot of that rides on Sally Ann's performance and how her previously prim-and-proper character shows herself to be warm and loving, once she (literally) lets her hair down. We've already seen how happy the Potts family is together; now we see how Truly fits in perfectly and makes them all even happier.

Look at her! Literally glowing!

(One thing I should mention: I think both the plot and the love story of CCBB are greatly improved if one just treats the "dream sequence" as real events, which was possibly the original intention anyway, so just note that is always the perspective I'm coming from here. It's the only way to make some things make sense and for the characters and their relationships to fully develop.)

"Lovely, Lonely Man" is Truly's big solo moment, and was probably the least comprehensible part of the movie to me as a kid (lol), but is now indisputably one of the very best parts to me as an adult. It's an exquisitely beautiful love song, especially the bridge, and I somehow love it more and more every time I rewatch it. Sally Ann's dreamy, graceful movements and the way the whole scene is shot make her look like a princess, and the slow build of the song is masterfully done. She has this distinctive crisp way of articulating her words while singing, especially the closing consonants like N and M, that I just love to listen to. The string section and the building countermelodies are so beautiful it makes me want to weep. Everyone involved in creating this scene and song deserved an award, I'm being so serious. While it's not the highest of soprano songs and doesn't fully show off Sally Ann's astonishing range, she shows an incredible amount of vocal control here through the many diminuendos and crescendos, and she's mesmerizing to watch and listen to. One of her "glowiest" scenes, for sure!

While I've seen people call this song irrelevant to the plot, I strongly disagree - the romance is part of the plot, of course, and while I didn't fully understand the meaning as a kid, this song establishes how much Truly's outlook on life and hopes for the future have already changed since meeting Caractacus, and how much happier she is with the poor Potts family than she's ever been in her life of luxury. Plus, now we know for certain that she's head over heels for Caractacus, but he doesn't know... increasing the dramatic irony of the pining and yearning to follow!

In the reprise of "Hushabye Mountain", which was sung in a much earlier scene by Dick van Dyke alone, Caractacus loses the will to continue the song because he's overwhelmed with emotion thinking of his children being held captive. Truly comes in to aid him with the final verse - another pivotal moment in the developing romance - and Sally Ann's singing here is nothing short of breathtaking.

And of course, I can't neglect to mention the "Doll on a Music Box" number, where Sally Ann, who was not a trained dancer and in fact considered herself to be "appalling" at it, performs an incredibly precise, incredibly impressive clockwork song-and-dance number while on a spinning turntable! She practiced it so well that she managed to successfully complete the shot in a single take, prompting the stage full of extras to burst into applause.

This is another important character moment for Truly, though it's disguised in a diegetic performance: though it's another thing that went over my head as a child who only got to see the movie once, the lyrics about being trapped up on a music box and longing to be freed by love pretty clearly symbolize how trapped the real Truly's high-society life makes her feel, and how she yearns to break free from class restrictions and live happily-ever-after with Caractacus, as it's only with him and his family that she really feels free.

Then there's that incredibly warm romantic look that Truly and Caractacus share at the end of the song when she silently acknowledges the love confession he's just made while singing in counterpoint with her, though they're still in a dangerous situation and can't give themselves away by appearing too human and breaking their disguises... sadly this vital moment is cut off on all the Youtube videos of the scene I can find, because none of the people who clipped it understand that that's the whole point of it all, apparently. But here's a gif!

The character of Truly doesn't exist at all in the original (quite different) book by James Bond author Ian Fleming - surprising, I know, given her name! - and, honestly, the fact that Truly and the romantic subplot of this movie exist are why it had such a strong impact on me as a child, and very much why I fell in love with it again as an adult. Even though the score is wonderful anyway and the story is charming and magical, I can confidently say that I would not have become as completely enchanted or had such a strong desire to revisit it again and again if there'd been no Truly and no love story. The fact that Sally Ann's performance makes Truly so loveable is, obviously, a pretty crucial factor there.

Sally Ann's delivery of "Well, Mr. Potts... now you'll have to marry me!" after Caractacus kisses Truly... that slide from prim mock-outrage to the playful, warm, you-can-hear-the-smile-in her-voice conclusion is flawless. Not even exaggerating when I say that this was the moment that made me into a hopeless romantic as a 9-year-old child. Sure, this wasn't the first movie I'd seen where two people fall in love and live happily ever after, but I distinctly remember that this was the first romance story that had me in a giggling, kicking-my-feet, "I ship it so hard" state of mind. And after revisiting it as an adult for the first time last year, I have confirmed that yes, child me already had great taste in fictional romances!

Oh, I could say so much about the difference in her body language between the two scenes where Caractacus carries Truly out of her car that's become stuck in a pond. The first time, Truly is affronted and extremely embarrassed by the situation, holding herself so stiffly and awkwardly to avoid an accidental embrace that she causes him to nearly lose his balance and drop her. The second time, when they're in love and they know it, she snuggles right up into his arms without hesitation and it's the cutest thing ever. Sally Ann was 5'6" but looks so tiny in that scene!

(And that kiss! Maybe I'm getting off-topic here in terms of strictly focusing on Sally Ann's contributions, because Dick van Dyke deserves tons of credit for making this kiss so good... but wow, the kiss. Several times I have called it "the Most Kiss they could have gotten away with in a children's movie." Again, giggling, kicking my feet etc.)

While Truly's costumes and hairstyling are rarely historically accurate (the film is set around 1910), the stylized nature of her fashion is iconic and memorable in itself. Sally Ann also completely pulls off playing a fresh-faced ingenue who is 12+ years younger than her actual age - and I do wonder if the aging-down of Sally Ann is at least part of the reason why Truly wears her hair loose throughout most of the movie! Either way, it works perfectly and I was shocked when I first learned how much older she was than her character. (If you watch her in The Admirable Crichton, where she is also in Edwardian costume and was closer to Truly's actual age, she really doesn't look all that much different. If anything, I think she looks even more glowingly beautiful in Chitty!)

Also, as for Truly wearing her hair down... it may just have been an intentionally anachronistic stylistic choice, but in-story, I think it actually contributes to her character by showing a willingness to flout convention and pursue whatever will make her happy instead of what's expected of her, which happens to be a key theme of her character arc.

Another thing that led me to adore Sally Ann as a person as I learned more about her over the last year: in the 1960s, she appeared as a panelist in quite a few episodes of the game show To Tell the Truth (as well as a few episodes of Password), and these can be found on Youtube. I really adore how her personality shines through - she's unfailingly bubbly, witty, self-deprecating, and a bit quirky. Just listening to her speak is a delight and she has one of the best laughs I've ever heard. Here is one of my favorite little moments that I clipped. 

By all accounts, she was a delightful person to know and work with, witty and clever, very professional, and very serious about her craft. She also always maintained a great affection for and pride in Chitty Chitty Bang Bang and her role as Truly, which is always a wonderful thing to know about an actor in a beloved role.

Another bonus: here is a super charming interview with her after a backstage disaster at What Makes Sammy Run? on Broadway.

She was also, along with Twiggy and Diahann Carroll (as Julia Baker), one of the first three celebrities to have her likeness made into a Barbie doll.

Two of her earlier films I recommend are the comedies Fools Rush In (1949) and The Admirable Crichton (1957), if you can find them (hint-hint, you can.) You may also be able to find the 1966 TV movie of her reprising her Tony-nominated role of Fiona in Brigadoon with Robert Goulet, and although I feel like the oddly close-up way the film was shot kinda does a disservice to the actors at times, it's still amazing to be able to see and hear her in a role she performed on Broadway.

Richard Rodgers once called Sally Ann "the greatest singer who ever sang on the American musical stage." Now, I don't quote this to claim this superlative as some kind of objective fact. If you know anything about me, I am very, very strongly opposed to pitting women against each other and all the Golden Age sopranos are absolute queens who deserve crowns, no matter how much mainstream success or present-day name-recognition they have/had. I just think it's phenomenal that she received such high praise from a man who worked with many of the best musical theatre singers who ever lived... and to think, many people today have never even heard her voice. Without her performance as Truly Scrumptious, it's possible almost nobody would in the future! I am so glad that Sally Ann's lasting legacy was ensured by such a beloved film role.

Sadly for us, many of the theatrical roles which she originated (and thus, for which cast albums featuring her exist) were in shows that either flopped quickly or at least did not enter the theatrical canon, so she never achieved the level of mainstream recognition she clearly deserves. But Sally Ann also played such legendary and challenging roles as Eliza Doolittle in My Fair Lady, Fiona MacLaren in Brigadoon (for which she received a Tony nomination), Maria Rainer von Trapp in The Sound of Music, Anna Leonowens in The King and I, and, much later, Desiree Armfeldt in A Little Night Music. She received great acclaim for all of these performances and, judging by what we know of her process on My Fair Lady, was excellent at making roles distinctly her own and never merely imitating another performer.

Even in her iconic original role of Truly Scrumptious, you don't get to hear the true full power of Sally Ann's extraordinary soprano. For that, I highly recommend listening to "Another Time, Another Place" from Kwamina (1961), and "Something to Live For" from What Makes Sammy Run? (1964). I'm always sad that we don't have any recordings of her in her "fiery" star turn as Eliza Doolittle in My Fair Lady, but you can at least hear her do a Cockney accent, be silly, and sing "With a Little Bit of Luck" with Bing Crosby here!

If it weren't for the enduring success of Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, few people might have even heard of Sally Ann Howes today, and that would be a terrible loss. I cannot overstate that I am so grateful that we all know who she is because she played this role and we get to see her give this radiant performance of a character that's all her own. Maybe this sounds strange, but I think the fact that this was Sally Ann's only musical film role (and the ONLY role most people will ever see her in) makes it even more precious, and makes everything she brings to the character that much more distinctive and unique and special.

Both for all of the talent and charm she brings to the role itself, and everything else that I and many other fans have been able to learn of so much of her otherwise-obscure work because of it, the world is incredibly lucky to have the lovely Sally Ann Howes immortalized as our Truly Scrumptious, and I wouldn't have it any other way 💖

[time-to-write-and-suffer]

WIP Intros

Here’s a list of all my current writing works-in-progress, under a cut so I can change the post as I inevitably drop some things and start others. If you don’t see a particular WIP here that you’ve seen me talk about, it’s probably because I either abandoned it for now/for good or I haven’t worked on it enough -- in general or recently -- to justify mentioning it.

All of my current projects are intended for adult audiences even though they’re rarely explicit.

Feel free to send me asks if you want to know more!

Faery WIP / The Overgrowth / These Dark and Lovely Woods

After her mother’s passing, Sidra Carver has become a shell of a person, living alone in the woods away from society. Her remaining joy is her stepsister, the kind and bright Sinéad, whose love keeps Sidra from losing herself to the forest. That changes when Sinéad is violently stolen by her own fiancé, the mysterious Lord Thorne. A spell forces everyone but Sidra to forget Sinéad’s very existence, making Sidra the only one willing and capable of traveling beyond the iron wall and into the dangerous lands of the fae. But two axes and a brutal temper won’t be enough to help Sidra deal with the prideful and vindictive fae without falling prey to their ruthless politics.To navigate their machinations without losing her life, Sidra needs help from one of their own. Enter Valerien, a gorgeous but unpleasant fae who binds Sidra with an oath in exchange for his aid. But what this promise entails, and why he’s forced to live isolated in a crumbling manor, remains a mystery. One thing is clear: Sidra and Valerien cannot stand each other. As they struggle to reconcile their differences — and similarities — their animosity threatens to tear the alliance apart, and doom Sinéad to a life of slavery in a court of beautiful vultures.

Genre: Dark fantasy, romance

Status: First book finished, outlining/drafting second book

Word count: 119k words (first book)

Style: Single first person POV, past tense

Inspiration/vibe: Howl’s Moving Castle but it has depression

Keywords: Slow-Burn, Teeth-Clenched Teamwork, Mayfly-December Romance, Belligirent Sexual Tension, Forbidden Romance, Fae, Loneliness, Curses, Interspecies Romance

Tag / Dedicated blog / Art / Masterpost / PowerPoint / Inspiration tag / Pinterest board

Elf Marriage WIP / Nettle and Song

To strengthen the new alliance between the nations of elves and humans, the elven prince Androel and the human not-quite-princess Theodosia are reluctantly convinced to marry. But their begrudging acceptance of their circumstances is not enough to make them like each other. Trust is difficult when they both carry a secret the other cannot know: Teddy is the champion of a goddess, made to suppress her magic lest she threaten her stepfather's rule, while Roel struggles with a desperate thirst for Teddy's blood.

Genre: High fantasy, romance, drama

Status: 1st draft in progress

Current word count: 38k

Style: Dual third person limited POV, past tense

Inspiration/vibe: If Pride and Prejudice was set in Middle Earth, and also there's sexy vampire elves

Keywords: Arranged Marriage, Marriage Before Romance, Slow-Burn, Elves, Interspecies Romance, Defrosting Ice King, Garden of Love, There Was Only One Bed, Royals Who Actually Do Something, Fluff, Angst, Healing from Trauma, Low Stakes

Tag

I also write a canon rewrite fic for The W@yhaven Chr0nicles, and a Tavstarion fic for BG3. If you want a link to those, send me a DM<3

[qgotfat]

Hey there big guy! Really enjoy your blog and I love how big, round, and squishy you are! Really inspires me to get fatter too lol

Also out of curiosity do you recommend gainer shakes or boost?

thank you so much for the kind words! i aim to inspire and that is lovely to hear always.

i can definitely say I enjoy both gainer shakes and boost/equivalents. my shakes are simply ice cream and half&half, but i often add a boost and some chocolate syrup.

if I have the choice, I'm always gonna prefer a milkshake made with defrosted ice cream. :)

[candyandmeat]

Repostober day 4!

This is fairly old! Made in 2020 :0 !

This was my attempt at making adventure time characters based of me, my current best friend at the time, and my brother. I even had ideas of what their introduction episodes could look like!

I don't remember where I kept the notes for them but here's what I remember...

:readmore:

My character would've have been found stalking the ruin of a bombed town. Anytime that they were seen would've been in shadows giving them a spooky mothman/boogie man vibe. Finn & Jake (or who ever is the protagonist of that episode) would be terrified of them until they took of their mask and stepped into light. Revealing that the bombed out town they stalk used to be their home and that bomb mutated them into being part moth. Since then they try to scavenge the town to save anything that's not totally destroyed

FB or "Frozen Boy" is just a normal human boy that was frozen for many years in a music shop. He struggles to remember his so for the time being he accepts the nickname "FB". I think Princess Bubblegum is the one who defrosts him to see what would happen and he does not react well the whole world being so different. Later on he might be seen having a job at the music shop Marceline visits that one time.

Fire is a cool uncle type character with a sentient fire guy chilling in his stomach area (that might also be him too?). I'm not quite sure how he came to be but I think his corpse many years after he dies becomes irradiated with fire magic and he kinda just rolls with it. I think he was supposed to be a cool parental figure like a uncle or an older cousin. Fire and "Mothman" would've have been siblings in this universe too but due to happenstance they don't know that each other is alive at first. There would be clues dropped here and there relating the 2 to the same things, maybe someone of the main cast could've figured it out.

That's all I remember so far, if I think about it anymore I would be making more stuff up. Thank you for reading this far :3

(Also, if you've seen this drawing before I originally posted this on my old side blog art account that is now called candybeforemeat!)

[withleeknow]

spring day and epiphany (my personal fave) are on today's microwave rotation 🌸 that translation- STOB IT ARE YOU TRYING TO HURT ME this is president jin running for his people HE'S TRULY THE BEST 🥺🥺

I'm so ready for yoonjin crumbs we've been STARVED I'll be waiting not-so-patiently like this: https://we.tl/t-osUYNLIg72

jimin really had the designated cuddly kitten agenda https://tinyurl.com/4t62xxub - doesn't it look like he gives the best hugs 🥺

lmao I'm WFH rn and the W in WFH is just a side thing today - I'm juggling bangtan reunion and enha's d2 in japan - in our drought of WWH-flying kisses, we'll just have to make do with some from our little rockstar ˙ᵕ˙ https://tinyurl.com/2s4t7bnm also if this ain't me every time we spam each other dopamine sources <3

P.S. I hopped over to your other blog THE OT7 HEADER PHOTO you work so fast it's so pretty:'))

P.P.S. your hinting at the defrosting of bangtan writings *cue: onigiri finding another rabbithole to leap into*

P.P.P.S. on the same wavelength - if you were to so kindly grace this blog with obs-esque mimo writing I would scream. then die. then scream some more. with love.

i know jin will just bother yoongi so much i hope we'll at least be fed with yoonjin selcas to sustain us until hobi comes home 😭

mimi is my healing angel, i just know a mimi hug will cure me 😭

man if i had known today was gonna be like this i would've booked today as my wfh day. but alas we're working from home tomorrow so at least i won't have to suffer the seokjin hug fest in the office 🫡

ohhh :((( our little rockstar indeed. he's adorable :((( and is it just me or does that angle make him look so much like mimo in that clip :o i love ping ponging dopamine with you onigiri it's the highlight of my day :(((

the ot7 pic is so precious to me i had to !!! my previous header i made after last year's festa so it felt like it was time for a change :') that is, until another ot7 pic drops when hobi comes back. i am so pumped to slowly make my way back to writing for the tannies again !!! i would be absolutely thrilled if you were to indulge my bangtan stuff too 🥹

i would be pretty excited to do an obs-esque thing for mimo over here 🥹 there is actually a mimo in obs (not really, i'm lying lol. there's a minho mention in one of the obs drabbles but i wasn't a skz stan then so i just picked a random name but look at the cosmic coincidence it turned out to be <3) so imagine if i wrote a spinoff for him 🤣

[runicaria]

⋆.ೃ࿔*:･✾ independent, highly selective & private celes chere of final fantasy vi.

exploring      the      themes      of      —        the   broken   ace,   the   tragic   rose,   spirit   as   pure   as   snow,   the   defrosting   ice   queen.  

content      of      a      dark      nature      will      be      present.        including      but      not   limited      to:        medical   &   magical   experimentation,   suicidal   ideation,   mental   instability,   genocide   &   imprisonment.   some   gore   mentions. 

verses. |

GUIDELINES && NOTES.

♦️ I suffer from a few health conditions which, oftentimes, leave me fatigued, anxious or in pain; please be patient with me and expect there to be times where I may seem completely absent. I am also quite the busy person. If I'm active and I have seemingly forgotten our thread, just give me a little nudge, okay? ( I also run other rp blogs && my muse may fluctuate ) .

♦️ OCs && crossovers are always welcome! verses will soon be available for many a fandom !

♦️ I often get overwhelmed sometimes && may disappear for a long time to focus on myself and those who are immediate in my life. I do apologize if I seem distant or don't answer messages. I'm terrible at keeping up with others but trust me, I like you very much.

♦️ i am always excited for a ship, though i do prefer chemistry first & foremost. any & all adult interactions must be discussed prior & for muns & muses over the ages of eighteen !!! if you have any ideas for a pre-established dynamic, then by all means let me know ! 

♦️ do not steal any of my headcanons, icons or edits.

♦️ PERSONALS NOT REBLOG MY HEADCANONS OR MY EDITS. THIS IS AN RP BLOG, I DONT WANT THEM OUT THERE. I work hard on them & I don’t tolerate that sort of thing.

♦️ i do practice formatting but please let me know if anything I write is too difficult to read.

♦️ i abhor anyone who supports homophobia, racism, incest, sexism, ped**os, or anything of the like. consider yourself immediately blocked if you come to my blog with that.

♦️ common sense and courtesy is expected here, thank you. and unless there is a user who is considered a danger to others and minors, I will not be participating in callout culture. i'm not here for interpersonal drama.

♦️ thank you for your time! i really look forward to writing and making friends with you and your muse! cheers!

[pachecodayanna]

English Project

Story: a description, involves a main character who pursues a specific, measurable goal that provides the audience with a means of gauging progress from the time the goal is made clear until the outcome of its pursuit is expressed clearly in terms of success or failure.

tale: is a narrative that is typically shorter than a story and often involves elements of folklore, mythology, or legend. It may be fictional or based on real events, and is often told to entertain or educate the audience.

Science Fiction: a form of fiction that draws imaginatively on scientific knowledge and speculation in its plot, setting, theme,etc.

I wake up at 6, and then get up five minutes later. However, for the first time, I fell down of bed. Consequently, I woke up saying, "What happened?, Maybe it was a nightmare, that happens to anyone."

I wanted to have breakfast in some restaurant, but I had no money. Therefore, I went to prepare breakfast. I defrosted a pizza and put it in the microwave. While waiting for it to be ready, I saw through the window how the sky was strange. On one side, it was sunny, and on the other side, it looked like a tornado was approaching. Perhaps it was the climate change that caused that sky to color.

While I was eating on the sofa, I turned on the TV to watch the news. There, they were reporting that the level of water had fallen off. As a result, I said, "It can't be!. Could it be that I am dreaming?" My brother Franklin woke up in a happy mood. Meanwhile, I was processing the information, so I dish up him a yogurt with fruit. Until our babysitter named Lucy arrived, she said people were like crazy because there was no water. For this reason , she told me, "We should get out of here!". Hearing this, my brother jokingly said, "To a magic world?" Being in his 20's, I did not find his comment funny, knowing the situation. Nevertheless, we could only do one thing to travel in time.

Therefore, my family kept a secret under the house, a lair. My parents were scientists and inventors persecuted by the FBI because they had built a time machine. Then, I had to tell the truth to my brother and our childhood nanny. As a result, we made the decision to travel from 2023 to 2000.

As soon as we arrived, we tried to warn people about the consequences in the future. So, I was able to have an appointment with the president. When we met and I explained the situation, he told me, "You are crazy." In response, I told him, "You will regret what you just told me." He called his guards, and until a community believed us, we did campaigns, surveys, everything.

Finally, we came back to the present knowing that there would be a change. Consequently, that is how we realized that not always the person we think will help us does, and that a small community can make a global change.

I used a website called Picsart to create this picture with artificial intelligence. To get this image I used the statement ''Siblings and babysitter hiding".

Rueff, R. (n. d.). The difference between a story and a tale | Discovering the soul of your story. https://soulofyourstory.com/the-difference-between-a-story-and-a tale/#:~:text=the%20other%20side.-,Simply%20put%2C%20a%20%22story%22%20involves%20a%20main%20character%20who,related%20to%20an%20overarching%20goal 

Manaher, S. (2023). Story vs Tale: Deciding Between Similar Terms. The Content Authority. https://thecontentauthority.com/blog/story-vs-tale

Science fiction Definition & Meaning | Dictionary.com. (2021). In Dictionary.com. https://www.dictionary.com/browse/science-fiction

[cate-blog222]

Cooking Adventures

Cooking is not as easy as it seems. Now that I live on my own and don’t have my parents or a meal plan to rely on, I’ve had to manage cooking on my own. Unfortunately for me, I have no idea how to do so. The other night I tried to cook fried rice with chicken. The first issue I had was that my chicken was frozen. This factor made my cooking endeavors last hours longer than expected. If you do not know, defrosting chicken can turn weird very fast. One moment I took the chicken out of the microwave and it was still frozen. The next moment I took it out and it was mildly cooked. As I continued cooking, I was terrified that I infected my whole apartment with salmonella. This led me to disinfect my entire kitchen and wash my hands at least twenty times. In conclusion, I decided that I will be eating exclusively Trader Joe's pre-cooked meals. In a future blog, I will review my meals and update my knowledge of cooking! 

[dinneratsheilas]

Chocolate, Whipped Cream, Raspberry Trifle (for Passover or anytime)

This yummy trifle I made for dessert for Passover did not start out as a trifle.

I had planned to make the Lighter-Than-Air Chocolate Cake, featured in this blog several times.  It requires three fairly thin 9-inch layers of a delicious light chocolate cake, separated with layers of homemade whipped cream, and a garnish of fresh raspberries and chocolate shavings on top.

I had planned to make the cake layers ahead which I often do if I’m entertaining  and have a lot of cooking to do. Most cake layers can be wrapped very well, if made in advance, and placed in the freezer until ready to defrost,  fill and frost.

However, the morning I baked the three cake layers, allowing them to cool as the recipe suggests in the pans on a rack, I discovered they appeared to be somewhat stuck in the pans when I went to take them out.

The pans had been well greased and bottoms lined with greased parchment as well.  I had loosened around the edges to insure they would not stick. In the past, they fell out of the pans fairly easily.  NOT THIS TIME.

After trying several more times to get them out I realized I just had to bang them hard to release them which meant  I literally had to let the chips, or shall I say  crumbs fall where they may.

Horrified and disappointed as I was, with 1 cake layer somewhat together but stuck to the parchment, and the other 2 in pieces of various sizes, I tasted the cake, which was delicious. 

I decided it was too good to throw away, froze it, pieces and all in zip-lock freezer bags, and figured I will reinvent this dessert somehow.

It didn’t take me long to think, TRIFLE!   I could incorporate all the parts of the original cake layered in my trifle dish. 

The morning of our Passover Seder, I defrosted the frozen cake pieces, cleaned the fresh raspberries, whipped up a good amount of cream with a bit of sugar and vanilla extract, and proceeded to build the trifle.

The cake pieces  may not have been as uniform as they should be in a trifle, but I had enough to arrange them in 3 layers with plenty of delicious creamy whipped cream between.  I also sprinkled raspberries atop each layer of whipped cream. 

I garnished the top layer of whipped cream, with more sweet red  raspberries,  bits of chocolate cake, and lots of shavings of delicious dark chocolate. 

Though not perfect in appearance, but also not bad, the taste was divine!  In fact the huge trifle disappeared fairly quickly.

I will be making this again, but hopefully next time the layers will come out easily. After having thought about why they didn’t, the only thing I can come up with is maybe I allowed them to stay too long in the pan after cooling.

In the end, what first appeared to be a disaster turned into a delicious mistake!

[bonniebird]

Evan x Reader  

Requested by Anon​

December event

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“Oh! I lost track of time. Buck is supposed to be introducing me to his sister today.” You said as you glanced at the clock. You’d been helping your friend write out her holiday cards having popped in to visit on your way by. 

“Oh! Good luck. Let me know how it goes.” She said. You promised you would as you grabbed at your things and then hurried to the door. It had been snowing most of the morning and there was a snowstorm alert on your weather app. Turning the handle on the door you frowned. It didn’t open.

“Did you lock the door?” You called out.

“Urm. I don’t think so. Let me check.” Your friend found her keys and checked the lock. She couldn’t get the key in the lock, to begin with. Crouching down with your phone in your hand you checked the lock using the phone's torch. 

“It's completely frozen!” You muttered. Your friend went to get a hairdryer to try and defrost the lock but found that just made it icier. Once that plan failed the two of you moved to the window. However as you both pulled up on it to open it, there was a massive cracking sound that seemed to rumble up the wall. Then several bits of the wall shot out. Your friend screamed as something pierced her arm. Hurrying you phoned 9-1-1.

“9-1-1. What’s your emergency?” A voice said over the phone.

"The door is frozen shut. We’re stuck." The voice began to give you slow instructions on what to do for your friend's arm and soon  “My friend. She’s really badly injured.” You said hurriedly. Soon there were men at the window. Hurrying over you waved. Pausing when you saw that it was Buck.

“The wall keeps creaking and part of it broke off.” You shouted through the window. Buck relayed the message and you watched them start to talk to each other before they hurried back with a large metal object to smash the door with. They hurried to check on your friend as soon as they were through the door. You recognised Bobby from when you’d dropped by the station to see Buck at the end of one of his shifts. 

“This wall. It’s not reinforced correctly. Does your friend own the house?” He asked you.

“No. Rents. The whole street is rented from the same person.” You explained. He and Buck inspected the wall and then there was a flurry of activity. Your friend was loaded off into an ambulance, you stayed behind to make sure that her house was secured and promised to meet her there. The whole street had to be evacuated and just as Buck led you out of the house the wall gave way and the front of her house toppled down.

“Just stay in the truck and away from the buildings.” Buck said as he hurried you along.

“But I could help!” You insisted.

“Help by staying there so I don’t have to worry about you.” Buck insisted. He left you sitting in the truck as more arrived. Police, a number of firetrucks and ambulances arrived. When Buck was done he went back to the station. You went with them. There wasn’t much you could do but gather a few items from your friends. When Buck was done he drove you to the hospital to visit your friend. 

Buck tags:

@lovelyy-moonlight @stellasblog @DeanWinchestersgirl87 @thekayarlene @linkpk88 @babypink224221 @lisainhell @spiderwebs-blog @gryffindorqueensworld @rockyrascal @twerp8999 @theletterhart @alexxavicry @daughterofthenight117 @sarcasm-n-insomnia @mrspeacem1nusone @ssa--holmes @supernatural-wolfie @tenaciousperfectionunknown @babygrinchsblog @alwaysadreamingoptimist @love1deandra @archaeologydigit @im-eating-rn @bucketbunny @littlefreakingfangirl @jayyeahthatsme @gatefleet @dontjudgeabookbythecover @Kaitieskidmore1 @readingbookelf @gatefleet

[probablyintensemuses]

What To Expect When You're Not Expecting. (1)

Chris Evans x Black (pregnant) Female Reader

Summary: It's no secret that Chris wants to be a daddy. He's said it in many different interviews and blogs before. He just never expected the mother of his child to be someone he didn't know, let alone fuck.

Warnings: 18+ angst, mentions of alcohol abuse and cheating/ malpractice.

Note: If this gets a few hits and is well received I can make it a mini series. If not I'll leave it one and done.

»»————««💌»»————««

a month prior

Chris was getting older, there was no denying that. He was forty and still hadn’t found the ‘one,’ yet. Every relationship he had entered seemed to go in the same pattern of amazing highs and devastating lows, them all resulting in a breakup. So after much thought, he found himself jerking off over a small test tube trapping his sample inside. Hoping one day, his true love will be in possession of it and they can begin his dream—a big happy Boston family.

“We’ve put your sample in the freezer and it won’t be defrosted until we get legal confirmation from you personally.” Dr. Perez said, standing from her desk.

Chris stood up as well, holding his hand out and clasping it onto hers with a firm shake. “Thank you so much. Hopefully, that day is soon.” He smiled.

“Hopefully.” She sighed, trying not to allow her mind to wander off onto the pages of her own tragic love life.

See, Dr. Eleanor Perez and her wife Kaitlyn Perez were at faults. No fault of her own, it’s just that her wife couldn’t stop fucking cheating. Kaitlyn didn’t even have the decency not to fuck her other partners in their shared bed at their Boston home. It was becoming unbearable for Eleanor, and the only thing that was making things tolerable was the euphoric feeling she got when she finished another bottle of wine each night.

Last night was Moscato, tonight—maybe Josh, Behringer even. Whether it was red or white she just wanted to feel nothing at the end of it.

Chris walked out of the doctor's office, twirling his car keys on his fingers and unlocking his Audi, diving right into the passenger's seat. He loved the stark contrast of Boston versus the restless cities like Atlanta and L.A. Everything about Boston made him feel nostalgic and grounded—and there’s no place he’d rather been.

Chris put his car and drive and pulled out of the facility, then his mind began to wander. He was forty now and any lover he pursued would reasonably be the same age. He selfishly wanted a big family but wasn’t willing to just shack up with anyone. Chris had the vision of a big bold primary-colored relationship that would sweep him off his feet and never put him down. And he just hadn’t found that yet.

Through extensive research, he found older pregnancies were risky and if done intentionally it is better to perform in the office. So he stored his sample—he just hoped he could put it to use soon because he was craving a simple life filled with simple love.

—two weeks later—

You’d never liked the doctor's office. You’d rather be in a prison cell with Pablo Escobar taking turns drinking toilet water than end up here. Everything from the nurses, needles, and the particularly clean environment sent shivers down your spine. You wanted nothing more than to be in and out.

But today you sucked it up for your once-a-year physical, which included a pap smear, a feeling you still hated even though you’d been getting it since you were eighteen. You sat in the waiting room clutching your jacket closer to your body as the Boston fall breeze blew inside behind people as they went in and out of the building.

“Geez.’ You blew into your hands. “You’d think this place could afford heating.” You rolled your eyes feeling your phone vibrate in your lap.

Msg from Vada🐣: How’s it going? You scared yet?

Msg from Y/N: Petrified. I’m cold too. 😔

Msg from Vada 🐣: Come to my place after, I’ll warm you up with hot cocoa.

You smiled as you bit your lip typing your message to Vada.

Msg from Y/N: Stop being a better best friend than me.

Msg from Vada 🐣: You know I love competition, Y/n. Call me when it’s over.

Msg from Y/n: shut up bitch.

Msg from Vada 🐣: Call me and then I will, jerk.

You laughed shoving your phone into your purse. Most days it felt like Vada was the best thing to happen to you. she was your best friend since childhood and nothing could break you two apart, she was always there for you. Sometimes too much that it was overbearing and bothersome but with some reflecting, you wouldn’t have it any other way with anyone else.

“Y/n Y/L/n.” A nurse called, peeking her head around a heavy wooden door.

You swallowed hard, holding tightly onto your purse. “That’s me.”

“We’re ready for you.” The nurse smiled, widening the door as you walked over.

“Right.” You mumbled underneath your breath, keeping your head down.

“Alright, just head over to room number five and Dr. Eleanor will be right in.” She smiled, her eyes were wrinkled in the corner.

“Okay.” You said just above a whisper, slipping into the room.

Once the door behind you shut you let out a loud groan slipping into the cheap pink examination gown they had laid out for you. Hearing the lab desk creak at the slightest touch you climbed up onto it laying backward and scrolling on your phone hoping to desperately dissipate from this place.

You settled into a comfortable position opening Google docs and returning to one of your students essays. You worked as a high school English teacher and last week you had assigned your students to compare a modern tale rather it be from literature or pop culture to the story of Frankenstein. 

You got an array of different essays, some being too bland to be the work of juniors and seniors and others making you cackle at the attempt. But one stood out in particular. Aria Evans—a junior in your A.P English class. She never seized to empress you and this essay comparing the tragic story of Joaquin Phoenix’s joker and Frankenstein almost had you falling off the lab desk at how compelling and complete it was.

Every claim had evidence to back it up, and the diction, boy was her diction strong. Her stance was firm and she supported it from thesis to conclusion.

“Wow,’ you gasped, almost laughing at how perfectly curated her work was.

“Ms. Y/n!” A voice spoke almost sending you into a frenzy.

“Huh?” You lifted up off the desk, completely unaware your doctor had been calling you for some time now.

“Am I,’ Dr. Eleanor coughed. “Am I interrupting something?” She slowly put on her gloves, her hand missing several times.

“Um, no. I’m sorry I was lost in my students work.” You said, biting your nails.

“Right.’ Dr. Eleanor slide over to you in her rolling chair. “Let’s get this show on the road.” She snapped her last glove on.

“Right.” You kissed your teeth together laying back down, hoping the process would be over shortly.

“That was quick,” Eleanor said, flicking at the syringe she held. 

“What was quick?” You said, trying your best to peak down at her but you couldn’t see past your spread legs.

“Just this whole process, I thought it would at least be a year—maybe longer.” She yawned.

You grunted at the feeling of the syringe entering you. “Yeah,’ you shifted uncomfortably. “Me too.” You rolled your eyes, hating every moment of this.

“All—all set.” She slurred slightly.

“That was fast.” You sat up, clutching your bare chest.

“Yeah.’ She sniffled, tossing her gloves out. “Life usually is.”

“Yeah.” You said, watching her slumped form as she grabbed the clipboard. “I’ll send your results at the end of the month.”

“What results?” You asked, furrowing your eyebrows together.

Dr. Eleanor laughed. Looking down at her clipboard and suddenly the world around her froze. Her heart began racing and her palms began to sweat. What had she just done?

“Your um, your, pap…pap smear—your pap smear results!” She blurted out louder than intended.

You took in Dr. Eleanor’s form. She did not look alright, her skin was red and almost looked hot to touch and she was sweating profusely.

“Um, oh alright.’ You said, skeptically. “Am I good to go?” You pointed at your folded clothes.

“Yep, I’ll see you in a year!” She waved, slamming the door behind her and running to the lady's room.

Once there she pulled out a sterile syringe and filled it with warm water and made her way to room six with shaky hands. She knew she needed to stop drinking before work—if she hadn’t Chris Evan's sample wouldn’t be walking out of here inside some random woman and she wouldn’t be about to inseminate a woman with warm water instead of her Husband Chris Ellison's sample.

She was just hoping faith was on her side, along with statistics. She knew you only had about a twenty percent chance of getting pregnant and you were young, only thirty years old so there was a chance your body would reject it and you’d take it as a heavy period. God she hoped with every drunk fiber in her bones that ended up being the case.

“Alright, Ellison family.” Her voice warbled. “Are you ready for your insemination?”

—about one month later—

You were not feeling well. Everything you ate you wanted to puke up, and you were seriously starting to regret ordering that sushi takeout last night.

“Never again.” You groaned into your hands.

As the bell rung your A.P English section for juniors started to pile in. You stood up and made your way to the printer gathering your papers as you felt something wet trickle down your face.

You wiped your hand over it pulling it down and taking a look. Sweat? You thought. Why were you sweating? And profusely. You shook it off just like you wanted to do your stomach ache—but that wouldn’t go away.

“Good morning amazing people!’ You greeted your class, getting grumbles or silence in response. You were used to it at this point. “I was thinking today we could go over some SAT techniques for the English portion. I know we aren’t even into our second semester yet, but it’s always good to prepare early, right.” You took a phone from your student Hunter's hand as you walked past.

“So firstly,’ you gaged as you tried to sit in your stool in front of the class. “What you should…what you should.’ You coughed, trying to shake off the dizzy feeling and ignore the floaters that covered your vision.

You stood up from the stool immediately feeling the blood rush from your brain to the bottom of your body leaving your top half numb as your vision was cut off by enormous floaters and you fell to the floor blackness surrounding you.

“Ms. Y/L/N!” Aria shouted, holding onto you as you were passed out on the floor. “Call the front desk!” Aria told her best friend Cayley.

—

You had woken up and immediately noise surrounded your ears. You were no longer in your class room, instead you were in a hospital bed with a bandage on your forehead. Fuck what happened? You thought.

“Y/n,” Vada said, walking into the room. “Thank god.” she hugged you.

You hugged her back. “What happened?” You groaned.

“You passed out at school girl.’ Vada rubbed your back slowly. “The doctors are running some tests right now.”

“Alright.’ Both you and Vada heard a voice come into the room.“Oh hello.’ The doctor said. “Y/n, how’s your head?”

“Um. Fine I guess. Is everything alright with me?” You asked nervously.

“I would say so.’ He rolled over to you. “Blood work is excellent, except one thing we picked up.”

“What, food poisoning?” You chuckled.

“No. Pregnancy.” He said.

“What?” You laughed.

Vada gasped, looking down at you with concern.

“I’m assuming you didn’t know.’ He began.

“Didn’t know what?’ His words echoed through your ears. “I’m not pregnant!” You pleaded, looking between him and Vada as tears began to rim your eyes.

“Blood test are usually extremely accurate, so I don’t see that being possible. If you need time to process, I understand.” He said.

“Time to process what! I’m not pregnant!” You yelled as your voiced cracked. “Do another test, now!” You demanded.

“The only other test we have is a urine test. Would you like that?” He rolled his eyes slightly.

“Yeah I would!” You spat

The doctor shook his head leaving the room. And just as he left the room fell into silence, before Sebastian spoke up.

“Are you seeing someone.” Vada pushed you and spoke barely above a whisper.

“What?” You turned and looked up at her.

Vada smacked her lips and tilted her head. "Are you fucking someone?" She bit her lip doing a weird thrusting motion with her hips.

You scoffed not here for her shenanigans, as a tear fell from your eye. “No, I’m not fucking anyone! Why would you—how could you ask me that!”

“I’m just wondering.” She held her hands up. “Sorry.” She felt bad.

“What the fuck is happening Vads.’ You whimpered into your hands. “I haven’t fucked anyone in months.”

Vada’s face softened as she grabbed your small hand into hers. Vada was also a single mother and had no intentions on letting you go through this alone. “Whatever it is,’ she swiped her thumb over the pad of your hand. “We will figure it out, together.” She smiled softly.

Just then the door swung open as the doctor walked in with two cups. One filled with water and the other empty and stick in his other hand.

“Alright, drink this and pee in this.” He handed you both cups.

“Right,’ you sighed, swallowing the water and getting up to go to the bathroom.

Once you finished peeing you sat back down and the doctor took your cup dipping the stick inside.

“Pink means pregnant.” He pulled the stick out and all you saw was hot pink.

“How?” Your voice cracked. “I haven’t had sex in..in months.”

"Are you sure about that?" The doctor said, leaning into you.

"If she said she's sure, she's sure, asshat." Vada’s nostrils flared.

"Vads." You said softly, grabbing her arm to calm her down. "I...I don't know how this is possible,' You struggled to keep the tears at bay. "I haven't done anything with anyone in so long."

"Maybe it's a medical miracle." You laughed wiping off your tears. "or a hormonal thing."

"Yes, pregnancy hormones.' The doctor said. "Look I can do two things for you, I can leave a message at your gynecologist's office and set you an appointment. And,' He dug into his white coat pocket. "I can give you these." He handed you a vile of two small white pills.

"What are these?" You sniffled.

"Pills to get rid of your miracle baby, if that's your choice." He explained. "You have a few weeks to think on it, Dr. Eleanor should be calling you in a few days."

He walked near the door holding onto the handle and letting his teeth sink into his bottom lip. "Congratulations."

your eyes remained moving rapidly as you try desperately to grapple with your reality. How could be pregnant, there must have been a mistake. Your eyes watered as another tear fell from your eyes.

"Y/n, what are you thinking?" Vada said softly.

"I—nothing.' Your mouth fell open. "I'm so confused."

Vada walked around sitting in front of you, looking deep into your eyes. "I'll support you, no matter what you want to do." she smiled.

You sighed, throwing yourself into her arms. Vada was always there for you and it made your cherish your friendship with her more. "I love you, Jerk." Your mumbled into her slender shoulders.

She hugged you back, pulling you closer to her and sticking her nose into your messy curls. "I love you more, bitch."

— two weeks later—

"Now, Mr. Evans I have requested you here to own up to my mistakes.' Dr. Eleanor said, wiping her clammy hands onto her slacks and avoiding Chris's intense blue eyes.

"What mistake, doc." Chris's leg bounced up and down as he grinned his teeth.

"About two months a go—I...I um,' She coughed. "Accidentally artificially inseminated a woman with your sperm." She spat out the truth.

Chris's ears began to ring and his eyes went wide. "What.' His voice cracked. "Did you just.' He paused, hyperventilating. "Fucking say."

Dr. Eleanor bit the inside of her lip squeezing her eyes shut, wishing it wasn't real. Wishing she hadn't been drunk or that she had payed more attention to her call sheet.

"In—initially I thought I had no reason to tell you. There was only a twenty percent chance she'd get pregnant.' She swallowed hard. "But she did, so."

Chris's back sunk into his seat as his nostrils flared. "She did what?" He knew what it was but he wanted her to say the words.

"She um.' Eleanor hung her head low. "She's pregnant."

Chris slapped his hand on the desk, standing from his seat. "who is she?" Dr. Eleanor jumped back. "Huh?" His Boston accent breaking through.

"I can't tell you that. Legally." Dr. Eleanors voice shook.

Chris rolled his eyes, his hands folding into a fist. "But you could legally get someone pregnant by my sperm! Someone I don't even know!' His blood began boiling by the second. "Someone I don't even trust, someone whose the very reason I came to you!" He yelled.

"You know what," He sucked in a deep breath. "We're done here." He walked towards the door. "You'll be hearing from my lawyers." He slammed the door behind himself.

"Stupid fuck." He spoke to himself as he pulled his phone to his ear. "Yeah, I need your help finding someone—but I don't know where to start."

It took a whole week for his team to find you but they did. Y/N Y/L/N. You were an English teacher at miller high school right here in Chris’s hometown. He had also found out you taught his niece Aria which didn’t help him. At all.

He’d wanted to approach you, get a feel for you. But what would he even say. ‘Hey I’m the guy your pregnant by.’

“We have to be smart about this Chris.’ His manager said to him, fluffing out his hair in the mirror. “You can’t just walk up to the girl and say ‘I’m your baby daddy, oh and by the way my name is Chris Evans and I’m a huge celebrity.” She flailed her arms about.

“I’m not gonna do that. I just want a conversation.” Chris said. “I want to talk to her, see if she’s even still pregnant.”

“And if she’s not?”

Chris sighed. “Then we put it behind us.”

His manager folded her arms, staring at him. “You want this baby, don’t you?” She asked.

“What I want, is to meet her.” Chris tapped danced around this question.

“And you will, just in the right way.’ She said. “I can’t have her leaking this to the press and spinning the story. We’ll right up a contract and give her some hush money.”

“Maybe she won’t say anything.” Chris gave you the benefit of doubt.

His manager scoffed. “Chris, baby. Do you realize who you are? You can look up your net worth online she’ll definitely talk.”

“Well how do I meet her?’ He sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. 

“We will find her and set up a meeting, if and only if she signs the contract.”

“And if she doesn’t?” Chris asked.

“Then I guess you won’t be a daddy, now will you.” She tapped his nose with her manicured finger tip.

Chris grabbed her arm. “You can’t do that, it’s not fair to me. or her.”

“Release my Prada.’ She said, feeling Chris loosen his grip. “I’m doing this for you, and your safety.”

“Is this what my protection is going to feel like, hm? Guilt.”

“Don’t worry, she’ll sign. I promise.”

—

The day had ended and it was a miserable one. You couldn’t keep anything down and your head pounded each time the bell rung. All you wanted to do was go home and kick your feet up and sip on some ginger tea.

You packed your bag slowly as a soft knock against your classroom door caught your attention. You turned around furrowing your eyebrows as a women in a pants suit and a man with a briefcase stood at the arch of your doorway.

“Can I help you?” You pushed a curl behind your ear.

“No, but we can help each other.” The woman spoke. “I’m particularly interested in you and the baby you’re carrying, and so is my client.”

You gasped, holding your stomach. “What—who, what do you want.” You said, shielding the thing you currently held in you stomach.

“My client wants to meet you, but I’m not letting that happen until you sign these papers.” She said with a straight face, putting a stack of papers and a pen in-front of you.

“Whose your client?’ You grumbled, looking at the papers.

“Sign and I’ll tell you.”

“Tell me and I’ll sign.”

She laughed, looking you up and down. “You’re a little minx, aren’t you?”

“Who is he?” You pressed further.

She looked down racking through the stack until she found her golden ticket. “Sign this and I’ll tell you, I promise.”

You looked her up and down not knowing if you should trust her. Whoever her client was he had to be big time, and you hoped he wasn’t a mafia boss. You took the pen in your hand hesitantly signing the dotted line.

“Good girl.’ She smiled. “Just letting you know that was an non disclosure agreement and if you speak anything of your pregnancy or who the father is we will hunt your ass down.’ She smiled. “And by we, I mean him.” She pointed to the large man besides her.

Your breathing hitched. “Who, is, he.” You said breathlessly.

“Ever heard of Chris Evans.”

Your eyes clutched together, the name was eerily familiar and you just wish you had a face to match.

“Um I think so, I’m just trying to recall what he looks like.” You said, pulling at your hair.

The woman looked you up and down, clearly not believing you had no clue who Chris was.

“I find that hard to believe.” She snorted. “Meet us at the address Saturday morning, he wants to meet you.”

You picked up the small piece of paper with an address on it. “Fuck.” You whispered.

What the hell were you in for. 

[hiddles-and-skittles]

Holiday Grump

Pairing: Bucky x fem!reader

Word Count: 664 

Summary: Bucky doesn’t do holidays, or so you thought. But hey, a grumpy super soldier might surprise you.

Warnings: None that I can think of! Pure fluff, tiny tiny angst if you squint (I think?)

Notes: Oh my gosh I have been DYING to make my stories more concise but I ramble so much. Mad respect for any of you that write those short and sweet drabbles. If y’all got any tips, let me know. Oh oh and @jobean12-blog I wrote our little black coffee mug into this! And the gift is based on something I saw when I was out with my friends a few days ago; it was in a claw machine and I really wanted it!

__________________________

“Mornin,' Buck!" A not-so-morning person sits at the kitchen table, acknowledging you with a grunt as he continues to sip his coffee. Bucky Barnes isn't fond of the holiday season, at least that's what you take from his grumpier than usual attitude. A few days ago you gifted him with a black coffee mug that read 'no' in white writing in hopes to spin him around on his feelings, and it worked...for about an hour. It all went downhill again afterwards. But still, you persevered in being cheery and trying to defrost his heart. He's been through enough in his life, no reason to make him feel bad about whatever he's going through now. A few more days pass and although you’ve greeted him at breakfast each time normally, you're starting to feel a little bummed you haven't made any progress with him. He sports the same coffee mug, however, so that's a win in your eyes! "Mornin', Bucky," you say, a little quieter than usual. His ear wiggles subtly at your tone, but you don't notice as you sit in front of him. Your phone hums softly and as you check the notification, Bucky steals a peek at your face, noting that your typical every day smile has dissipated. He takes a bated breath while you tap away on your keyboard, carefully watching for a reaction from you as he reaches for the seat beside him. A rummaging of paper causes you to look up, and his eyes immediately disconnect from yours. You go back to your phone, disregarding the sound. An audible exhale disrupts you once more, and your eyes land on a small gift box messily wrapped under Bucky's palm. His jaw is clenched and his gaze is cast downward to his hand. Your lips part in curiosity as you patiently await an explanation. He brings a now empty coffee mug to his lips and pretends to take a drink, buying himself more time to breathe. For what feels like the longest fake drink of his life, he finally sets the mug down, sliding the package to you. You lock your phone with a click and gently lay it down on the table, glancing between the box and Bucky, who refuses to look at you. A light pink dusting adorns his cheeks as you pick up the box and thumb over the toddler-like wrapping. You hold it in both of your hands, cherishing the fact that he's taken time to do something for you. It almost brings you to tears. You tear the paper and open the box to reveal a beautiful peacock necklace, its blue, green, purple, and silver gems glistening under the kitchen light. "Aww, Bucky..." you gasp as you inspect it. "How did you even...?" "You look at it every time we walk to the café," he says shyly, twiddling his thumbs. "You...noticed?" "Well, y-yeah." You spring from your seat and step over to him, wrapping your arms around his neck and shoulders to hug him to you. You give him one last firm squeeze and tenderly kiss his temple, his face turning a deep red at the gesture. "That was so, so sweet of you. Thank you, Bucky." Without moving from his seat he sheepishly embraces you back. Your face heats up at the position of his head being nuzzled into your chest, and you awkwardly scramble away from each other. "How about I get you some more coffee?" You quickly take his mug and don't even give him time to respond. "Sounds uh, sounds great," he stands up, slipping on a piece of discarded paper that fell on the floor. Much to his relief, he catches himself and you don't notice his clumsiness, too caught up in pouring the coffee. He leans on the chair for balance and you spin around, catching his pretty blue eyes checking you out. After you both lock eyes you both look away, blushing and smiling like a couple of idiots.  

***********************