#which do you prefer whiskey or scotch?

[sergioguymanproust]

Those of us who find a serious pleasure in in slowly sipping whiskey,bourbon or scotch from the highlands ,he,he,by looking at this pic will most certainly understand what happens when we drink these spirits and they so gleefully descend into our gut,and dance till our brain chimes in you fool you are marinating your innards ,hahaha. The long process of making these barrels is indeed a classic one and the burning will guarantee a tight fit,a strong seal.Suggesting that the acquired taste of a whiskey sitting in a barrel ageing is akin to burning in hell after seeing this pic,well ,I wouldn’t know my friends ,I guess if you are willing to drink whiskey in my mind is better said as being in heaven. Well, you choose your poison as some folks say,regardless of the place. In my humble opinion it is an acquired taste not meant for everyone, but never denied indeed.Words by Sergio GuymanProust.

[stararch4ngelqueen]

cute bath with jason, candles and bubbles and light music playing and he’s sitting behind you and giving you kisses as you just talk about eachothers days

—

Time Written - 10:50 p.m

—

“I saw somewhere that they sell these trays that hang on the tub, like hooking on the edges. You can use it to read your book inside. With a glass of wine or tea, or scotch too.”

Rough fingers along your back rolled any remaining knots in your muscles, calloused hands gently stroking along the junction of our shoulder and neck.

“Scotch?” Jason huffs in amusement. “C’mon, y’know I’m not a scotch guy.”

“Whiskey, bourbon. Whatever,” you giggle, leaning your head forward as you swipe along any stray wet hair, only to feel his fingers completely halt.

“You forgot my tastes??” Jason expressed with complete shock at this horrifying discovery. “Baby, I’m hurt.”

Any further giggling was unavoidable as you see his face; twisted into mock pain, his lips formed into a tragic quiver as he gives his version of puppy dog eyes.

“An’ here I was, so very very proud of myself to drive all across town to that lush store you like so much, All for the bath salts!” Vocally expressing his pain, he clutched his chest in one hand, dramatically swooping his damp curls back to dress his palm over his forehead.

“Oh my god, Jason!”

“And they weren’t even on sale!” Jason continues on, leaning his head back further with feigned agony. “I spent good money on my woman, an’ she forgets that I’m a bourbon man!”

“Jason stop it!” You turn yourself just a little more, both hands coming out of the milky waters to settle along his upper arms.

“I got you that bottle of Four Roses earlier, I know what my man loves.”

Jason smirks whilst withdrawing his hands from their prior positions. He can’t help but laugh a little himself, lowering one of his hands under water to rest along your hip.

“What I love is that pretty look on your face, Doll.” He pinches your chin with feather-like softness before kissing you.

Coming home to this everyday; you, was a gift.

Getting to spend every minute in your intoxicating presence. What drug or alcohol could be possibly infect himself with when his brain provided such ecstasy with one look at you?

The lights were dimmed, the water still clung to its toasty warmth. The milky waters seeping with sweet soap, pearlescent powders, crushed oats and herbal oils.

An exquisite tastes of both lavender and honey soothing elegance, bodies dripping in glittering gold.

In some cases, you didn’t wanna do anything sexual when Jason came home. This bath, for example, both of you were naked yes, but it was possible to not think such thoughts in a precarious state.

Your one and only was home safe and sound, You loved nothing more.

Jason was more than okay with that.

If you weren’t up to it, neither was he. Vice versa.

A perfect, consensual balance.

This was much better than a book, even better than a drink. The sleep he always got after these baths were heavenly, nearly slumbering like a baby each time.

“After the day I’ve had, I prefer this right here instead of a drink.” Jason re-swipes his soaking wet hair back along his head, growing slightly irritated from his dipping curls dripping onto his face.

“What a way with words, handsome.” You smile as you turn your body slightly, letting your upper half settle more comfortably against his. His hand settles along your back, running soothing circles against your glistening skin.

“Jason.”

“Hm?”

“If I did buy you that bath tray, would this mean you’d read to me in here?”

“Probably,” he replies, pondering over which book exactly. Also if he believes he could be comfortable enough with literature in the tub.

“Might as well do some skincare too,” you ponder over the idea, to Jason’s confusion.

“Like, some eye masks or something. Make it a spa day.”

Jason remained… intrigued, adamant. Only eye masks he’s seen you use were those glittery jelly ones you put under your eyes. He’s tried them once, per your request. They weren’t bad, but he didn’t understand the uses to this day.

“You’re just giving Dick more things to talk about.” Jason chuckles, his eyes closing as your hand readjusts his sopping wet, snowy curl out of his face.

“As if he needs to know what we do. This is our time, remember?”

“Mhm.” He leans close, pressing a kiss along your cheek before leaning just a little lower, leaving a softer peck underneath your ear.

“Our time.” He murmurs, feeling your head lean against his touches.

“The day I can dress you in a bright pink robe—“

“Babe no.” Oh boy. “C’mon—“

“-With feather lining and fuzzy slippers. You’d look adorable!” Your purposefully cheery accent had him groaning your name in false irritancy against your neck, rolling his eyes.

“There’s no deal you can make with me for that to happen, Princess.”

“I can be very persuasive, Mister Todd,” your tone drops from its cheerful tease into a more slow, much familiar tune he was well accustomed to.

His chest rumbles with amusement, teal eyes narrowing with interest in your statement. You’re really eager for him to do such? Now you piqued his interest.

“I’d like to see you try, pretty girl.”

[lisenberry]

WIP Wednesday Thoughts        

Working title:  There’s smoke seeping out of your bloody teeth (but you’re home somehow)

(From 28 by Zach Bryan)

Recovering Price x Recovering Reader

A/N: I have way too many WIPs at the moment, but this one came out of nowhere and I’m wondering if there’s something more here.

It’s a little darker than my usual, but somehow rides the line of more fluff than angst if you can bear with me through the backstory.  I’m also seeing a trend where I love to paint Price as a complete mess and struggling with himself.  I just know he has some Big Repressed Feelings buried deep in that broad chest.  Like, the Captain takes care of everyone else on missions but needs more help than he lets on in the real world.

CW:  Accidental overdose, Addiction/Recovery, Alcoholics/Narcotics Anonymous, a whiff of PTSD, single parent/recovering addict Reader, written with afab/fem reader in mind, but it came out fairly neutral. Overall heavy subject matter, but with some hope/humor to follow.

John fucked up.  He knows it, Kyle knows it.  And now Kate does, too.

He’d promised his sergeant that he’d lay off the whiskey, but he didn’t tell him about the pills.  The oxys and the benzos.  And sometimes, when things got really bad and he got in a little too deep, the ketamine and fentanyl. 

It was pure luck that Kyle found him.  That he was worried enough to kick the door in, strong enough to pull him out of the bathtub, and quick enough to do CPR until the ambulance arrived with the Narcan. 

He hadn’t meant to end it.  His life, that is.  Just the never-ending pressure in his brain.  The headaches, the sensitivity to light, everything being so bloody fucking loud.  Two decades of explosions, gunshots, and crashes had racked up on him, each one a tithe to be repaid down the line.  And it seemed they’d all come due at once.

In the aftermath, Kate had paid him a visit when he’d been ready to check himself out of the hospital, and she’d given him a directive.  It wasn’t even an ultimatum.  There was no other choice. 

Get help.

She wasn’t kicking him off the team.  She wasn’t even putting a note in his file.  The military wouldn’t know, other than an extended personal leave signed off on by high enough names no one would question it.  A 30-day stay in a doctor-supervised substance abuse treatment facility, and another 60 days at home with weekly check-ins.

Who he told other than Garrick would be up to him.

He agreed, of course.  It was his last chance to get his shit together, maybe even more than he deserved.  The look on Kyle’s face when he regained consciousness would be ingrained on his brain for the rest of his life.

“I always thought it’d be Ghost.  Never you, Captain.”  It wasn’t disappointment that clouded the kid’s eyes with tears, but fear.  That it could happen to any of them if they weren’t careful.  That the danger didn’t end when they came home.

Price hadn’t asked for help, but he knew when to take it.

Which is how he met you...

He tried to attend four to five meetings a week.  They were usually at night, after dark, when the urge to settle into his chair with a bottle of scotch and a few extra Percocets was all he could think about.  When the distractions of the day faded and he was alone with himself. 

If he could hold the urge at bay long enough, in the company of others, even if he just sat and listened, then it would pass like a mad dog thrown a bone.  And then he could go home in peace, until the dog came back around again.

In the beginning, he jumped around to a new meeting each night.  There was St. Stephen’s, St. Giles in the Fields, St. George’s, the Salvation Army, and the Tenant’s Hall.  Some were for beginners, and others just for men.  He didn’t want to become familiar with any particular one, preferring instead to lean on the Anonymous side of the program.

He sipped his tea and ate his biscuits, all from the back row.  Quietly reflecting on the opening speaker, and the stories of hope and struggle that followed.  At first, he found it hard to relate.  Kids who got hooked on drugs in school to escape from abusive parents, or former gang members and dealers looking to buy their way out of poverty and the system that abandoned them.

He’d been born into money, went to good schools.  His demon didn’t come at him until later.  It had taken its time and made roots into an already established foundation.  Like a parasite, it didn’t take him young, or weak.  It took him when he was at his strongest and broke him down from the inside out.  He was already infected long before he saw the signs.

He had no one else to blame, and didn’t think he’d find much sympathy from telling his story.  He didn’t want it, anyway.  He just needed to get through his 60 days and be back on a mission again.

But then one Friday evening, he walked into your regular 7pm meeting in the basement of an old church and everything changed... 

It was the best around, because they had a small children’s area in the next room, with a library and a sweet old nun who would read books and watch the kids for free.  It had become a local favorite for parents without childcare, and the group had grown as close as a family. 

There were a few of you who took the snack duty very seriously.  There were no stale, day-old donuts or flavorless boxed biscuits.  Instead, the spread was enough to rival the set of the Great British Baking Show.  Cakes and puddings, shortbreads and tartes.  The coffee was freshly brewed, not the cheap instant granules.

It had made you very protective, still always a little wary of newcomers, as against the spirit of the program as that was.  It had become your safe space.  Where you brought your children, and shared your biggest regrets and darkest moments.  And mainly because, despite the progress you’d made in your recovery, you’d never fully be able to trust again.  To look at another person and not see a potential threat. 

Outside the church, you knew where the dealers stood waiting to find you on an off day.  Where the pimps lingered in the dark alleys ready to meet you when you were broke and desperate.  They were the obstacles you could see.  Like a video game level you’d failed so many times you could jump and duck and kick your way a little further with each respawn.  You already knew there was a bad guy waiting on the other side of that door and all the tricks to avoid him.

It was harder to tell with the quiet, six-and-a-half-foot tall, bearded man in the beanie hat and combat boots slumped in the back row.  He’d popped up about a week ago, and always arrived exactly five minutes early.  He'd wait patiently until the snack line died down and load his plate before sitting in the same seat, closest to the door.

He hadn’t shared with the group yet, but offered a few pleasant nods and greetings to anyone who’d initiated a conversation.  It seemed rude not to reach out, if for no other reason than to gauge his intentions for yourself.  Was he here because he was serious about his addiction, or was someone forcing him to come?  Some set number of days on his coin before he’d be free from his sentence and never be heard from again.

It didn’t matter, and it wasn’t any of your business.   

But that didn’t stop you from looking over at him a few times during your share, only to find him paying close attention.  His serious features unreadable. Enough to make you stumble on your words and lose your train of thought.  Everyone there knew your story already and could probably recite it for you.  It just helped to recount the good parts, along with the bad.

“Did you make these?” he asked afterward, a rumbling voice breaking through your thoughts as you sat in a folding chair sipping the last of your coffee. 

He held up a half-eaten salted caramel chocolate chip blondie.

“Yes, those are mine,” you answered with what you hoped was a polite smile.

“I thought I saw you bring them last time I was here.  Fucking delicious.”  He popped the rest of it into his mouth, catching the crumbs with his thick dark beard.  “But your hair’s different, isn’t it?” he added, once he’d swallowed his bite.

You reflexively raised a hand to your head, remembering with a laugh the events of your day.  You’d nearly forgotten the fiasco at work a few hours before.

“I work at a training salon.  I let the students experiment on it when there aren’t enough dolls.”  You didn’t have time to fix it before you had to pick up your kids from their afterschool program.

“It’s green.”

“Very green, yes.”  You found yourself smiling again.  Before that, it’d been black with purple tips.  “Who knows what color it will be next time.”  You stood and folded up your chair.

And tried not to read into it as he took it from you promptly and stacked it over with the others.

“Reason enough to come back and find out, then,” he called over his shoulder.

And you didn’t miss when he stopped to grab the last blondie on his way out.

[tinykittendelusion]

Seventeen as different types of alcoholic beverages

a/n: I'm kinda craving alcohol plus i want to try soju so bad. Also I was too lazy to proofread this😭🤌🏻

triggers: Alcohol , Consumption of alcohol

Scoups - Champagne

Champagne is a sign of luxury. Honestly if anyone could afford drinking champagne everyday it's scoups. He is like the fun bubbly vibe of celebrating that champagne brings along with its quiet sense of luxury.

Jeonghan - Classic Gin Martinis

I see jeonghan preferring Classic Over dirty martinis. He just has that vibe. Plus Classic martini drinkers are mysterious, clever and know how to get your attention which is how I see jeonghan.

Joshua - Scotch

Now this man is outgoing and fun but he's also a classy laid back person. I feel scotch whiskey is that alcohol which is very good for just drinking neat or on rocks and having a conversation with someone you care about. And that is exactly the same vibes that Joshua gives.

Jun - Negroni

Hoshi - Tequila

Negroni people stick out in any crowd. They don't do it on purpose it's just who they are. Really funny and weird sense of humor. Also extremely excited to meet new people but shy.

Tequila is made for people who like letting loose on the dance floor It's for people who are already buzzing with too much energy. You live in the moment and celebrate everything whether good or bad.

Wonwoo - Brandy

Brandy drinkers are people who are very comfortable in their own skin. They enjoy just existing and are comfortable with having attention on themselves and not seeking it out. They have the aura which attracts attention.

Woozi - Absinthe

The naturally creative person. Absinthe drinkers look like they are always out there to look for inspiration and find their muse.They want to comfort people around them with their art.

Dokyeom - Vodka and Cranberry

Mingyu - Wine

Party Animals. Would sing till 3 am loudly People who live in the moment. Embarrassment is embarrassed by them. Also most likely to drink until they black out. Overall behave like they go to frat parties even after college.

Wine drinkers are fun people who like to live in the moment. They are sociable and enjoy stories more than they care to admit.Also not very good at hiding things especially after a few glasses of wine. Like the sophisticated air that wine brings.

Minghao - Cosmopolitan

The glamourous but bossy types. Really specific about certain things. Has an image in mind of who they want to be and would follow it dedicatedly. Likes relaxing and conversing more than partying but once they are drunk you see their wilder side. Become more talkative once drunk

Seungkwan - Espresso Martini

Vernon - Whiskey Sour

The energetic social butterflies who are determined to give their 100% in anything. Also most probably coffee addicts. Genuinely funny people.

Dino - Whiskey

People who drink whiskey sours normally have these complex but opposing personalities.While whiskey in general is the drink of the confident but if you drink whiskey in a cocktail form that means that you are more than what's on the surface.

Whiskey people are confident. They enjoy having a good time. They also enjoy entertaining others and just making sure everyone is having a good time. They also sometimes get carried away but also may even have the deepest conversation with you over alcohol.

a/n: alot of the information here is from various articles which referenced a study on people's personalities and the alcohol they consume. I also added my own thoughts too.

[idontknowreallywhy]

Resurface 35 - Reappraise

Story to date in order (Tumblr / AO3)

Previous chapter

ART!VIRGIL KLAXON

Perhaps if you hadn’t read them before these two chapters (here and here) may make more sense of what Virgil has been drawing.

And if you missed the wee!Earth&Sky flying machine adventure, that is contained in this one and this one.

But now, onwards! Virgy-boy still has some demons to exorcise and needs Scooter to help him. Points to whoever spots the cameo from an old friend 😈

💙💚💙💚💙💚💙💚💙💚💙💚💙💚💙💚

The view from Virgil’s balcony was very similar, but subtly different. They weren’t adjacent - both John’s often-empty and Dad’s always-empty room lay between - and the shift of a few metres to the left meant the light reflected off different facets of the damp rocks of Mateo and the shadows changed shape. The sea met the shore at a marginally different angle, the light refracting through the shallows and hitting the greener end of blue. Two of the trees visible from Scott’s were hidden by the curve of Roundhouse Peak.

Scott hadn’t noticed any of this before Virgil pointed it out. What he did know was that on his own the breeze was stronger and there was fractionally more sky. On a hot day he’d always advocate for the cooler, more exposed position. Where he could see as far as possible. Where he could breathe.

But on a cooler evening, there was something comforting about how the sun’s residual heat radiated from the stone and bathed Virgil’s preferred haven in a warm glow.

Virgil had added to the warmth that evening by opening a bottle of Scott’s favourite scotch which he’d clearly stashed away at some point. Had it been one of the others who produced such a thing, Scott would be waiting for ‘The Favour’ or ‘The Difficult Question’. In Gordon’s case, quite frequently ‘The Confession’.

Virgil, however, often just did it to be nice. And Virgil knew that, unlike Dad and himself, Scott preferred his liquor without rocks. He took another sip and rested his head back with a contented sigh, allowing the liquid to rest on his tongue.

“Scott?”

“Mmmmhmm?” The heat spread through his sinuses as he breathed over it.

“Can I ask you a favour?”

Oh!

The whiskey hit the back of Scott’s throat and his eyeballs burned. Virgil seemed hesitant which mean this was going to be important! He coughed and croaked out a hurried confirmation:

“Always.”

Virgil, staring out to sea, appeared not to notice his brother’s nasal passages vaporising which, again, indicated something was Up. Scott scrubbed at his eyes with a sleeve and with an iron will, forced himself to get a grip of his respiratory system. He was about to say something else encouraging when Virgil suddenly spun to face him and in a voice of utmost seriousness stated:

“It’s a weird one.”

Scott raised an amused eyebrow.

“I can do weird.”

“Would you wear it again?”

The other eyebrow joined it with vigour.

“Wear what? If you’re asking about Halloween and that cursed Superman costume, Alan beat you to it and it’s a hard no. I might be persuaded to consider Batman but only if you’re Robin.”

Virgil snorted and swirled the ice in his glass. The not ungenerous measure he’d poured himself having already disappeared.

“As you very well know I don’t do tights. Not after the Christmas debacle.”

“I think you made a lovely elf.”

“You’re deranged.”

“Yeah but you love me.”

Virgil threw an ice cube at his head before conceding: “I do. Yes.”

He then frowned.

“Scooter, are you CRYING?”

“Nope. No no I’m just… enjoying this with ALL my senses.” He raised the glass and winked.

Virgil narrowed his eyes as if invisibly scanning his brother, then with a quirk of an eyebrow seemed to conclude there was no sudden emotional devastation and released him from scrutiny. He looked back out towards Mateo and tracked the petrels swooping to and from their rocky nests.

Scott followed his line of sight and started a little. There was a small cave at the base of Mateo which was invisible from Scott’s balcony. How had he never seen that before? He was about to point it out when he realised he’d distracted Virgil from his question.

“If you didn’t mean Halloween… what are you asking?”

“Your uniform. The, uh, air force one.”

“Hell no. I’m planning to burn it. That’s not part of my life anymore.”

“That doesn’t sound very environmentally friendly…”

“Alright bury it then. Shred it and bury it. No… shred it, dissolve it in acid then bury it.”

Virgil blinked. “Have you been watching murder mystery reruns again?”

“They’re relaxing.”

“Riiiiiiight.” Despite the feigned disbelief, Scott knew that Virgil had been the one to add three hundred and thirty-six hours worth of ‘A Century of Detective Classics’ to the family server and he knew Virgil knew that he knew that he’d done it as a cunning way to tempt Scott into some downtime. Devious little brothers… who… needed reassuring, immediately.

“It hurt you so it’s got to die. Don’t worry. I don’t even want to touch it again. If Grandma hadn’t spirited it away somewhere to clean it would be gone already.”

“Oh.” Perhaps imbibing scotch straight into his brain had slowed him down, but Virgil didn’t seem as reassured as Scott had intended.

“Don’t you need it for Ash’s dinner? You should go to that, it’s important.”

“I’ll work something out.”

“Oh, ok.” Virgil went quiet again and Scott realised he’d given the wrong answer somehow but wasn’t quite sure how to change it.

“What’s on your mind, Virgil?”

He sighed and cracked his knuckles one by one, making Scott cringe.

“Would you… um, would you wear it once more if… I… for me to… uh…”

“For you?! But… I don’t understand! It made you so unwell? I thought you hated it?”

“I did. I do. But… I don’t want to carry that fear anymore, I can’t be scared of CLOTHES. It’s… I just can’t. It’s ridiculous. And, well… and I was thinking perhaps if I was prepared… if it wasn’t a surprise… it might… I might not react quite so badly? My last memory of it wouldn’t be… uh… so heavy? And maybe I could finish my book.”

“Your book?” Now Scott was really bewildered.

Virgil put down his glass and disappeared into his suite, returning swiftly with one of the large black ring-bound pads of thick art paper the like of which Scott had seen many times. This one was more battered than most and his little brother clutched it to his chest for a moment then cleared his throat awkwardly as he sat down.

“I found it when I was hunting for a sketch I wanted to work up for the exhibition next month. Some of them aren’t… very nice. I was going to just throw it away but Gordon thinks I should complete it… finish the story.”

“Gordon’s seen it?” Scott wasn’t actually jealous, he was relieved to discover - the little snakelike green monster’s appearance seemed to have been limited to the ‘other’ version of himself. But he found himself kind of intrigued that their fish brother was apparently giving art advice these days.

Virgil rolled his eyes and growled quietly. “You know what he’s like… I foolishly tried to hide it when he burst into the room and of course he noticed and he wouldn’t let up until I showed him.”

“May I see?”

Virgil chewed his lip and nodded. Scott shuffled his lounger closer such that they were shoulder to shoulder and felt his jaw drop as Virgil opened to the first page and he saw a vivid recreation in pastel of his toddler self proudly holding a tiny baby Virgil, Mom and Dad hovering in the background. The baby’s fingers were wrapped tightly around his thumb and Virgil had sketched several enlarged views of their chubby hands in pencil along the bottom.

He turned the pages slowly and Scott saw several scenes he definitely recognised from childhood photographs and some he thought must have come from Virgil’s memory. They paddled in a watercolour sea together, rode their bikes in oils, Scott dangled upside down from a charcoal tree with chalky Virgil underneath, arms stretched upwards. There was a cartoon school bus with a dimpled stickman waving from the window.

He smiled as he recognised the two of them with the flying machine on the roof, although he remembered it as much sturdier than the painting suggested. The faded but detailed cross-section taped in to the next double page disabused him of that impression. This one was covered in his own scrawly handwriting. Scott chuckled and raised a hand to the scar on his jaw.

“Oh DEAR, I’d thought it was a much better design than that!”

“Hmmmm.” Virgil rumbled “The basic concept was sound but the materials and our duct tape-biased construction methods left something to be desired and yeah… your “math” was a touch… shaky…”

Virgil smiled and turned over to another cross-section, only this time of a much more elegant design which was surrounded by small sketches of joints and diagrams showing balanced forces, each with the appropriate calculations painstakingly recorded in Virgil’s neat handwriting.

Scott gasped as he realised that this… this could work. Who was he kidding - it was Virgil’s design - of course it would work.

“You fixed it!”

“I did. I felt… bad that we never tried again and you didn’t get your moment.”

“My moment?! Virgil! I nearly killed us both!”

“You were only eleven.”

“Even so…” Scott tried very hard not to think of all the occasions since then when he hadn’t had ‘being only eleven’ as an excuse but the more he tried the more of them bubbled up in his memory like some kind of noxious gas polluting his only fresh water source. No. They were past this now… it was better. Things were changing. He was changing.

“I guess I had this idea that I could build it and if… if you ever came back…” he shook his head “it was just a silly…”

“No.” Scott interrupted, grabbing his arm and pressing his forehead into the side of Virgil’s head. “Not silly. Thoughtful. Ingenious. Seeing the potential in an idea and making it work? Very… YOU.”

Virgil gave a small smile and turned back to the book. Scott felt himself blush at page after page of sketches, all of himself - as a wide eyed child, a cocky teenager winking, a laughing adult flipping pancakes… even a few where he had apparently sprouted falcon wings, one where Virgil had them too.

Scott couldn’t imagine how many hours these must have taken to create

“When did you do all this?”

As soon as the words had left his mouth he knew it was a stupid question. Virgil shrugged and turned the page.

“When you were gone.”

Scott put his arm around Virgil’s shoulders and squeezed as he turned again, seemingly keen not to linger on any one image.

A blazing sun burned out of the page, the wall of colour marred only by a silhouette of the falcon-winged man, clearly falling, curled in on himself as the wings trailed limply behind, the dark shapes of lost feathers becoming larger and more detailed towards the top. No prizes for spotting the reference there. The real sun, heading swiftly towards the horizon seemed to lose most of its heat and a modern day Icarus-but-for-Many-Miraculous-Escapes wondered yet again how he could have been so blind.

If that one gave him a chill, the next made him shiver, the warmth from the whiskey had now entirely dissipated - a faint pencil outline Scott holding a heavily shadowed Virgil in his arms. Then… there was that same Air Force Grad photo, reproduced in a dozen different styles. The last one almost photo-realistic but crossed through in heavy red pen.

Virgil tried to skip several pages but Scott gently took his hand and turned back. He recognised the image of the crashing jet, over and over… pencil drawn, painted, scratched with a blade into a thick black layer of wax crayon. There followed a page solely of fire. Skeletal outlines of fighter jets. Storms. Crowds of agonised faces. An incredibly detailed map of Bereznik decorated with vicious-looking black insects.

The last few pages shocked Scott the most - all the pictures were drawn on scraps of paper, and then glued in. The largest was a drawing in black ballpoint pen of an almost unrecognisable bearded stranger in a hospital bed, covered in bandages and tubes. There were smaller pencil studies of bruised hands, a foot, an ear, eyebrows over sunken eye sockets, a nearly skeletal chin with a scar… his scar. Scott swallowed hard - he’d looked that bad?

One smaller image stood out as it had clearly been screwed into a ball before being flattened out to stick on to the page. Scott’s younger self winked and laughed up at him from behind the creases, one arm wrapped around a huge box of popcorn, the other hand reaching out of the page towards him. Virgil had clearly got hold of a blue ballpoint pen for this one and had skilfully used it to produce a rainbow’s worth of blue shades. The picture somehow gleamed at him and Scott felt the green serpent stir in his gut. He bit the side of his tongue and motioned for Virgil to turn over to the next.

The very last page contained only the sky in vivid shades of blue with light wisps of cloud: Virgil’s starting place.

Scott swallowed hard as he realised Gordon hadn’t been giving art advice at all.

“I put it away when dad brought you home.”

“It’s… Wow…”

“It was an outlet.”

“I’m sorry.”

“It wasn’t your fault, Scotty.”

“Not all of it. Some things though.”

He pulled his brother close again and planted a kiss in his hair.

“So how do you want to finish it?”

💚💙💚💙💚💙💚💙💚💙💚💙💚💙💚💙

Next chapter

[andavs]

Drinking Preferences in 9-1-1

Quick note: All of this is free from paid product placement because the show doesn’t have the characters interact with/drink real alcohol brands. They only use real brands for set dressing when they aren’t the focus and wouldn’t really be recognizable unless you already know that bottle/label.

So Maddie and Chimney have Grand Marnier and Monopolowa vodka (real brands) sitting out on a bar cart but the one bottle anyone interacts with is the fake brand of Glencallan scotch. The bar Chimney worked at was fully stocked with real brands of vodka (Deep Eddy, Stolichnaya, Tito's, Absolut) but no one actually touches them.

The fake prop brands fall into two categories: totally fake and generic, and lookalikes.

The totally fake brands are things like Glencallan scotch (a mashup of Glenlivet and Macallan) or the piscos behind the bar in Peru. Buck has Meichtry Draft beer in his fridge, which is a common prop beer that other shows use too, and a lot of characters in the show drink the generic Genuine beer.

The lookalikes are things like the beer Buck serves Connor that's called Cerveza Extra but it's written in a similar font to Corona Extra so to the passing glance, it’s recognizable to most people as a real brand they’re familiar with. When Buck and Hen are doing shots, the tequila is Carlos Medina Especial, made to look like Jose Cuervo. (Judging from the bottle shape and back label, Buck and Taylor were also doing shots of a different fake Jose Cuervo.)

Because they aren’t restrained by product placement, the show can give the characters their own drinking preferences instead of having them all drink the same brand with the clearly visible label conveniently turned towards the camera.

And because I was watching anyway, I kept track of how many times each character drinks what. (Scenes that show them drinking and what they're drinking, not counting up every drink they've had.)

So as of 6x12:

Chimney

Beer: 15 | Wine: 9 | Spirits: 4 | Cocktails: 0

Chimney seems to prefer beer, and he also drinks wine with Maddie pretty often. His go-to spirit appears to be tequila, but he also had scotch while his dad was visiting.

When he’s hanging out, he has a beer or two.

When he's misery-drinking, he has more than two, like when Albert first showed up or when he felt responsible for letting Shannon die.

When shit’s going down that he's not directly involved in, like when the Buckleys were coming or when Karen thought Hen was cheating again, he goes for tequila. It's a fake Don Julio called Señor Suertes.

But when things were really wrong, when Maddie first left and he was falling apart trying to figure out what happened to her, there was no evidence of him drinking at all. The entire apartment was covered in baby stuff.

Maddie

Beer: 2 | Wine: 18 | Spirits: 0 | Cocktails: 0

Maddie almost exclusively drinks wine, and in their new house, she and Chimney have a small, full wine rack on the counter.

She first drinks a beer after dispatch was taken hostage, when both Chim and Buck are also having beer but Josh is having wine. She seems to have another beer at May's graduation party, but everyone's drinks are in plastic cups and look more like juice than their usual prop beverages.

She stops drinking through all of s4 (pregnant) and doesn't seem to have another drink until the balcony with Buck at the end of s5.

Athena

Beer: 2 | Wine: 26 | Spirits: 4 | Cocktails: 3

Athena drinks the most out of the main characters.

She usually drinks wine, but she'll also go for something stronger, usually when she's out at a bar. She often has a glass of wine with dinner, and seems to favor having one after a rough day. After she slapped Harry, she drank a neat whiskey at home. She's added whiskey to her coffee twice.

But like Chimney, when she's spiraling and obsessively cleaning the entire house after realizing Hudson was in there touching their belongings, she was totally sober.

Bobby

Beer: 0 | Wine: 0 | Spirits: 3 | Cocktails: 0 | Club Soda: 2

Obviously Bobby doesn't drink, but when he was struggling with relapsing in Starting Over, he was holding the same prop Glencallan scotch that Chim has. When he did relapse in Worst Day Ever, he was drinking a fake Jack Daniels. In Point of Origin, he was drinking a generic vodka.

(Interesting that he chose a 35 year scotch, which is not cheap, when he previously drank Jack, which is about $25.)

When he's out with people who are drinking, he usually goes for club soda or water.

(The same scotch being used for Bobby, Chim, and Buck could be intentional, but this is also a common fake scotch brand used all over the place, so it could just be that they had it on hand.)

Hen

Beer: 9 | Wine: 11 | Spirits: 1 | Cocktails: 1

Hen is mostly seen drinking beer or wine; beer when she's out at a bar, and usually wine when she's at home or at Athena's. Hen and Karen have a full wine rack in their kitchen (added after s4), but clearly neither one of them will turn down tequila (I like to think it’s Chim’s influence).

Eddie

Beer: 13 | Wine: 5 | Spirits: 1 | Cocktails: 0

Eddie generally sticks to beer. He's also the one we see drink the least out of everyone who does drink, but Maddie's only one scene ahead of him.

We've seen him drink wine a few times (always red) and he also had a cognac or brandy at dinner with Shannon (judging by the type of glass). But when he's most comfortable and relaxed, having a drink with Buck or the team, he's drinking beer.

We don't see him drinking after a rough day unless he's talking things through with Buck over a beer. If he keeps anything beyond beer in his home, it’s kept out of sight. There was no visible alcohol in his house in Texas either.

Buck

Beer: 12 | Wine: 11 | Spirits: 6 | Cocktails: 2

Buck is pretty evenly split between beer and wine.

He worked as a bartender, but he doesn’t seem to have much interest in alcohol beyond having a drink with other people. This makes me think he wanted to bartend for the social aspect of it, not because he particularly cares about spirits or making cocktails.

Buck also doesn't seem to care about the quality of what he drinks. Chimney's go-to bottle is about $40-50, while Buck's doing shots of bottom shelf tequila with Taylor and Hen, and drinking a full pint glass of watery margarita with Lucy. (This man should stop drinking tequila.)

The first time the Buckleys all have dinner together, Phillip has scotch and Buck has wine, but the second and third times, Buck opts for scotch with his dad. These are the only times we've seen him drink scotch, so I assume he did because his dad did.

The only time we've seen Buck drink alone was while he was depressed after the blood clot, as there were a few empty beer bottles scattered around his kitchen when Eddie showed up, and he was sitting with an empty beer bottle when Eddie and Chris came by after the tsunami.

He has a small wine rack on the kitchen counter that has a few bottles in it, and occasionally there's a wine bottle grouped with the olive oil/other cooking bottles.

Random Observations:

Buck and Eddie didn't have a beer together on screen until 3x9, the Kitchen Scene.

Athena frequently drinks wine at Bobby's apartment in s2. They keep alcohol in their home (out of sight) and he has no problem pouring wine for others.

I'm pretty sure that the only time we saw Buck drink in all of s1 was (trying) to have a glass of wine on his date with Abby.

Hen and Athena almost always drink wine at each other's houses. I think they only had beers once.

Anyway, I think prop alcohol is really interesting and I have a passion for label design, and this is what I've chosen to do with that. Hopefully I didn't miss too much.

[captain-mj]

I want that OG Soapghost you told me about

Pretty pls?

Hell yeah!

Soap smiled. “I’m finally a Captain. You know that puts me above you right. Gotta follow my orders.”

Ghost chuckled under his breath. “Really? You think I’ll listen?” He was teasing, looking at from where he was sitting on Soap’s new desk. Soap had an office now which was all kinds of exciting. 

“I know you will.” Soap answered honestly. 

“Congratulations, Johnny.” Ghost said softly. “You deserve it.” 

Soap got the bottle of whiskey out, Scotch because it was his celebration after all, and fixed two glasses. “Yeah, shame I’m celebrating with Ghost though.” 

Ghost stiffened before sighing. “Johnny...”

“Simon.” Soap looked up at him. “First order. Take the mask off.” 

He held the drink between them, pinning Ghost down with a glare. It took a minute, but slowly, Ghost reached up and slid the mask off. And there was Simon. 

“Fucking hell, you’re gorgeous.”

“Fuck off.” Simon blushed and took the drink. “We’re not separate people ya know. You’re still celebrating with Ghost.”

“Yeah, but ya got my meaning. I much prefer seeing Simon’s bonnie face than Ghost’s mask.” Soap moved between Ghost’s legs, hand on one of his thighs. 

“You’re a captain now. Doesn’t that mean you’d be taking advantage of me?” Simon teased, a blush spreading across his face. 

“Aye. Maybe so. I don’t think you mind.” Soap kissed him softly, tracing the scars on his face. “Missed you.”

“I’ve been with you all day.”

“I missed how you are when we’re alone.”

Ghost suddenly jumped. “The door I didn’t-”

“Calm down, darling. I locked it. No one else is going to see you.” Soap reassured and slid his hands up, grabbing Ghost’s hips and then sliding along his stomach. “Like I’d let anyone. I’ll be like Athena and blind them for being so bold.”

Ghost laughed softly, head tilting back. Soap knew exactly how to get to him. He knew how to honey his words and strike the right chords. 

With a smooth motion, Soap had Ghost flat on his back on the desk, one of his legs pushed up to his chest. A thrill went up his spine at the knowledge that no one else could do this. If any of them tried, they’d be dead on the floor. Hell, any of them get close enough, they’d have a few extra holes in them. 

But John MacTavish could. Ghost blushed all pretty when he did. 

“Trying to christen your desk sir? Could’ve warned me.”

“Where’s the fun in that?” Soap kissed along his neck, marking the pale skin a deep shade of red and purple. He felt Ghost clawing at his back through his shirt and well that just wouldn’t do. 

Ghost whined when he pulled away but Soap pulled off his shirt and he quieted immediately, looking all over him like he was looking for wounds before relaxing and enjoying the sight. Soap flexed a little and Ghost’s thighs squeezed around him.

“Come on. Don’t have all night.” Ghost took off his clothes and undid his pants. He moved to try to bend over the desk and Soap just yanked him back, pinning him back down. “Aren’t you gonna...?”

“Wanna look at you first. Second order, take the rest of it off.” Soap so rarely got to see all of them and he was feeling lucky tonight. Apparently, he guessed right because Simon slowly undressed for him. 

There were so many scars. From torture, shrapnel, burns, and stray bullets that luckily didn’t end him. Soap loved every bit of it. Loved that Ghost’s stomach had a slight give, mostly because Soap had been getting on to him about eating. The tattoos that intertwined with them all. 

“Fucking hell...”

“It’s gruesome.” Simon mumbled. “Don’t know why you like staring.”

“You’re gorgeous. Bloody masterpiece.” Soap held him by his waist. “One day, I’ll convince you to let me draw you.”

“You have a snowball’s chance in hell.” Ghost gritted out, staring at the ceiling. Soap could tell it was getting to be too much so he finished undressing himself and started to kiss him again. Slowly, he started to relax again.

Johnny grabbed the lube and Simon spread his legs, hands reaching to grab the edge of the desk above his head. He made sure the lube was warm before gently pushing his fingers into him. Always two to start because Ghost loved the burn it caused. 

“Little bit masochistic ain’t ye?”

Simon flushed and pushed closer, trying to get them deeper. “Just a little. Fuck.” He closed his eyes as Soap drove his fingers in deeper, making sure he could take it with ease before pulling away. 

Soap held Ghost’s leg up, hand on one of his thighs to keep him steady. He watched him as he pushed in, forcing Simon to look at him. Those big brown eyes were misty and he was clearly trying to bite back a whimper. 

“Need a second?”

“Fuck off. I know you just ask to fuel your ego you prick.” Ghost spat at him before throwing his head back.

“If I don’t ask, you won’t tell me!” Soap laughed, rolling hips as he finally bottomed out. “Just want to make sure I’m taking care of you, Riley.”

Simon relaxed and moved to hold on to Soap’s arms instead, closing his eyes as Soap started to fuck him. “Hate that name.”

“One day, I’ll make you a MacTavish and you won’t have to use it anymore.” Soap mumbled against his ear, slamming into him to hear him muffle a scream.

“Really? Don’t see either of us as the marrying type.”

“I’ll make an honest man out of you. Promise.” Soap meant it, even they were just bantering. One day, he’d make Simon his. Maybe not legally since his lover was dead according to the law, but in every way he could. 

Simon stopped talking once Soap found his sweet spot, hitting it over and over again. Soap tried to be quiet, wanting to drink in every sound he could get from Simon. He really was stunning. Especially with all the scars. 

Soap sped up, finally getting Simon to stop bothering to muffle himself. Simon pulled him in closer until Soap crushed him against the desk. He kept kissing Soap desperately, shaking when he finally came. 

Soap smirked. “Didn’t even have to touch you that time. I’m getting better.” He thrust in a few more times before pulling out and coming over his chest.

Simon hummed in response and refused to move. Soap shook his head and found the rag he had brought in specifically for this. “You okay? Ya know I need you speaking.”

“I’m alright, sir.” Simon said softly, He held on to him, looking spent.

“Come on, love, let me get you to bed.”

“Yours.” Simon sat up, pulling his pants back on.

“Mine, of course. 

[jigensnacks]

okay okay hear me out

ima put this under a read more because i know there are people around who are generally uncomfortable with content relating to alcohol

but! I had a revelation about Jigen and his alcohol preferences.

Disclaimer, I am mildly tipsy as I am writing this. I may or may not get lost in my own thoughts, so please bear with me here, alright?

Content warnings: alcohol (of course), alcohol abuse, maybe more. I dunno at the moment.

Okay. Jigen's alcohol preferences.

At first I couldn't wrap my head around Jigen's appreciation of wine, like that guy's a borderline alcoholic with the way he drinks (which I extend into full-blown alcoholism in my writing, I'll get to this later on), he cannot possibly like wine, wine is weak, why would he even like the stuff?

I came at the issue from the point of view of someone who prefers liquor. Stuff like vodka, whiskey, borovička. You know, the heavy artillery. Poisons that dull the mind and destroy the liver.

But I've tried wine recently. Got the explanation of the ritual of wine-drinking.

And then it suddenly clicked.

Wine has its purpose in Jigen's toolkit of escapism. You have the cigarettes, a way to remind himself that he's not in danger, that he's out of the fight and just vibing, passing time, relaxing. Then there's scotch, the first-aid kit, when everything is too much and he's antsy and nervous and he needs to dull the edge. It's the painkiller, in a way. The glue to mend those invisible wounds, the cause and solution of all of world's problems.

And then there is wine.

It's not to be wielded like a sledgehamer known as liquor. Wine is a delicate tool, when liquor is too much, when he wants to relax, but he doesn't want to dull his senses too much. There aren't any demons to suffocate, he doesn't want to get drunk, his only intention is just to sit down, lean back, have a moment to himself.

To Jigen, wine is like classical music. It's not something to binge, but to immerse himself in, soak in it, have slow, ginger sips. Relish in the taste, the warmth. There's a reason the ancient Romans and Greeks had a god of wine.

Now, how does this tie to my 'Jigen is a barely functional alcoholic' headcanon?

It's the antithesis of liquor. Liquor is the main poison, Jigen pours it into himself to drown out the noise in his head, the lingering pains, to keep his limbs heavy and limp to keep himself from doing something worse. It's his salvation and his downfall, it frees the demons lurking in his mind, yet it keeps them docile, harmless. It allows his mind to swim along, face his fears, it frees his feelings... but it's also a pathway to destruction. With his thoughts and feelings freed comes a different danger - self-destruction. Liquor becomes not only the tool of healing, but one of destruction too. When a heist goes off the rails and they make it home, when the crushing weight of failure sets in and Lupin looks at him with a gaze full of apologies, that's when Jigen grabs his poison of choice and takes his anger out on himself. While Goemon subjects himself to gruelling training to make sure he doesn't fail again, Jigen instead drinks himself mute, lies on the ground staring emptily at the ceiling, reliving every past mistake. That's the start of the cycle, he falls into the drink, struggles to get out of it for months on end. Until his body starts showing the withdrawal symptoms when he's sobering up, the headaches, the feeling of a thousand ants marching all over his skin, the shadow people staring at him, the music plaing from the walls, the muffled conversations from other rooms that never happened, the way his hands shake...

Wine is a way for him to pace himself. His philosophy around wine is basically if someone drinks wine like liquor, there ain't no use hanging around them. Jigen doesn't want wine to become just another tool of thorough self-annihilation. Jigen sees wine as a way to regain control again. It's much weaker than liquor (if we ignore port wine, but I suspect he wouldn't like such wines), and, unlike the heavy artillery he relies on, wine has personality. While liquor is the path of scorched earth, wine is so much calmer. It has a soul, personality, it evolves like classical music. It has elaborate constructions, just swap the musical tones for taste ones.

He reaches for the wine when he doesn't want to fall into that horrible spiral.

Wine - along with food - marks the line between functionality and destruction.

Wine isn't something he can drink quickly. He tried, and found out it only makes him sick.

So he grabs a bottle of a four-year-old italian merlot. Pours himself a glass. Takes a sip. Feels the slight sourness at the back of his tongue. The woody tones playing at the rest of it. The sweetness at the very tip.

He stares down the beast. Sleeping, yet aware. And while he stays with the wine, it'll remain asleep.

I don't know where I was going with this. I blame the wine.

[dionysianfreak]

I saw a post by @evilios asking Apollon devotees if they play an instrument..... that got me thinking about how many of Dionysos's followers actually like alcohol. I've met both ends of the spectrum personally, from recovered addicts to those who drink daily. where do you fall ? <33

if you vote, please share ! <3

[zestyaahbutler]

Post some of your Arthur x Amulya headcanons, girl *cracks that whip*

Ack! As you wish homie

ARTHUR AND AMMY HEADCANONS

Amulya never really expected to fall for Arthur. As mentioned in the lore post, she never took Arthur’s incessant flirting seriously at first. It took a couple of tries for her to accept going on a date with him. She originally only thought of their relationship as a short fling on both of their ends.

Arthur did fall for her during their first chat but never thought about marriage till the final week of his trip. It was a last minute decision were he proposed to her in a pretty passionate way. He had taken her out for the entire day, shopping, food, and visiting anything that seemed interesting. That day he only asked that he was able to spoil her to which she finally accepted after pushing back on anything expensive. At the end he told her he wanted to give her that experience every day if it meant he’d have her by his side. Flattered, Ammy said that she loved the date but loved his company even more.

Arthur would ask her if she would like to go with him on his trip back to England to start their life together.

Ammy’s engagement ring was a sapphire ring. A big fancy ring because she’s the jewel of his eye and heart.

Arthur Hellsing is a chronic workaholic. One that looks as if he could never run out of energy till he lays his head down on his desk and is suddenly sleeping like he is about to hibernate for 5 months. Same with in the bed, he sleeps like a log. It’s rare that he lets himself rest. It’s something Ammy had to get used to but she does chastise him about overexerting himself.

Amulya sleeps very differently. She moves a ton in her sleep and wakes up with her hair fluffed up to high ends. Arthur always found it fun to wake to see her with her in the oddest positions, maybe even a limb sticking off the bed. He also definitely loved how her bed head made her look.

She actually pulled strings to take him on surprise vacations to get him away from work. She’d often visit him throughout the day to check on him. It always brightened his day to see her poke her head in. These breaks often lead to Arthur not being available for meetings or consulting over decisions because he became busy doing something else. (Ooh la la )

Arthur prefers drinking Chai tea over any other kind. He became so used to Amulya making it that it became almost routine to drink it. Otherwise he preferred a glass of whiskey/scotch much to his kidneys and her dismay.

Arthur was always very excited to celebrate her birthday. It usually came with a big party, all kinds of food, and likely a big vacation to another country. America, Japan, Brazil, Italy, and Turkey to name some.

Arthur is a big endorser of her fashion sense. He always encouraged her to pick out whatever she felt great in. He is an eccentric man who enjoys having his very happy wife in a funky pair of tights. She’d usually give him a small fashion show if she had gone out shopping when she gets home.

Arthur is little spoon. Big powerful military organization leader loves to be tenderly cuddled by his very short wife.

He also cannot handle spices very well. When Amulya does cook, she’ll usually make two batches, one normal one for herself and the other for Arthur that is very mild.

Despite her being mostly vegetarian, Arthur does eat meat around her. She doesn’t mind of course. Only when he has steak. Then she is side eyeing him. Even more when he teases her to try it.

Amulya put in a couch in Arthur’s office when Integra was a baby. She’d usually take Integra there to spend the day while Arthur worked.

NSFW

Ladies and gentlepeople, you already know their sex life was pretty damn alive. Arthur was very much the same as he was in his youth.

He is on the more vanilla side but still a passionate lover. They’re both very eager to please each other

Arthur has had her put on the female Hellsing uniform for him at least once. Plenty of other costumes too

[philtatosbuck]

Hi! Could you make a post of some headcannons on what alcohol the mikaelson siblings prefer to drink, and what they'd order at a bar if they weren't drinking for whatever reason - especially Elijah? we know damon drinks bourbon but i don't think anything is canon ab the mikaelsons and i was thinking ab that but i don't know anything ab alcoholic drinks and the culture around it lol bc no one really drinks in my part of the world so I'd appreciate it!

I,,, don't think I've ever done anything like this, but I can tell you what we've seen them drinking.

Freya went through a phase in which she regularly went out to bar parties after the Dahlia fiasco was done. She didn't have any favorites in particular but we do see her being very enthusiastic about Tequila. I believe she's also enjoyed her fair share of wine.

Finn, canonically, has only tried wine and tequila. I don't see him being much of a drinker, to be real with you.

Elijah has drank everything ranging from bourbon, to wine, to whiskey. If you ask me, he's a scotch kind of guy, but I don't think there's any canon basis to that. It's just me. I can also see him liking single malt whiskey in specific.

Klaus, I'm convinced he's tried every type of drink at least once. He seems, though, to most often have bourbon as well. I'm starting to think they just did not want to have to come up with that many different drinks. I will say that in my own personal opinion, Klaus would prefer stronger drinks, out of his entire family.

Kol doesn't seem like a big drinker to me. Like, he does, but only on occasions. Not casually. Wine type of guy when he has it. If offered, he'll accept other drinks, but meh.

Rebekah's a borderline alcoholic the way they have her drink but champagne and bourbon is the way to her heart, unfortunately.

[longbobmckenzie]

20 questions for fic writers

Thanks for the tag, @rebelrayne!

How many works do you have on ao3?

I've got 40 which is still wild to me

What's your total ao3 word count?

970,161 - I'm inching closer to the million word mark (and have the remaining 30k needed in my drafts just waiting to be published)

What fandoms do you write for?

Love Island the Game, and I'm working on my first oneshot for the Romance Club fandom (Song of the Crimson Nile)

Top five fics by kudos:

Whiskey & Scotch (it'll never be surpassed)

it's just a crush

Amelia Can't Win (the S6 effect, I still can't believe this one is top 3 already ahead of a few of my other chaptered fics)

not the only one

Convince Me (the only oneshot in my top 5, the effect of writing a smutty oneshot while season it's about is still ongoing)

Do you respond to comments?

Absolutely!

What is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

I have a few contenders here but I'm gonna go with anatomy of a heartbreak. it's literally in the title, so you were warned

What's the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

erm, most of them? some of them even end with a happy ending, if you know what I mean 😏

Serious answer though, probably it's just a crush, because not only did it end the misery I put my readers through (it's a slow, slow, slow burn, folks), but I think it's the only one of my fics that ends with a proposal (I think. I've written 40 of them, you can't expect me to remember them all, can you?)

Do you get hate on fics?

Yep, every time @mrsbsmooth reads one of my unfinished drafts and gets mad that it's not finished yet /j

But actually, surprisingly, no. Either I'm not relevant enough for the haters to notice me, or everyone's scared of me.

That or I don't write anything controversial enough to warrant strong opinions 🙃

Do you write smut?

Yes, although I hate myself every time because I suck at metaphors and pretty words and all the stuff that really elevates other writers' smut

Craziest crossover:

When the Dead Come Knocking is LITG x The Walking Dead

Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Not that I'm aware of, but I'd probably be more flattered than anything (nah probably not, I'd come after you with guns blazing)

Have you ever had a fic translated?

Nope

Have you ever co-written a fic before?

*sigh* I started a collab on a oneshot before but my cowriter ghosted the fandom. It was a Kassam x Felix undercover spy ETL with Chelsea as a crime boss and it would have been hilarious

All time favourite ship?

I mean, obviously Henrik/me. I mean, Henrik/MC. But if we're talking 2 LITG characters, then Henrik/Lucas is OTP

What's a wip you want to finish but doubt you ever will?

Technically this is not applicable - I have every intention of finishing my 3 active WIPs (Whiskey & Wildflowers, Amelia Can't Win, and Luc & Hen's Sexcellent Kinkventure), and I prefer not to start new chaptered fics until I finish other ones (which often means my fics are in the idea stage for literally years before I even start writing them).

That said, I have a few chaptered fic ideas in various stages of production that I'm not sure I'll end up writing. idk if those count as WIPs (one of them is half-outlined and I've jotted down a few paragraphs, but I have to rework it)

What are your writing strengths?

Honestly, I'm not entirely sure. I've been told I'm good at pacing, and I've been told I'm good at angst - but what strengths make me good at those things are, I don't really know.

Oh, wait. Spelling, grammar, and punctuation. I rock at those.

What are your writing weaknesses?

Dialogue, for one. My biggest struggle in all of my fics (and what I find extremely daunting when starting something new) is dialogue. I never know what my characters should talk about when it's not distinctly plot-related, especially group scenes. Some people are so good at writing fresh dialogue that just breathes so much life into the characters and displays their personality and keeps the reader engaged, and that's something I'd love to do better (both in fics and in real life, tbh - I'm a wallflower)

Secondly, character development. I've literally written over 500k words for one of my OCs, yet I hardly know who she is outside of the villa. I know her struggles and much of her backstory, but I don't know what her hobbies are, what gets her up in the morning, what she likes to eat, what she listens to, etc. I think this also plays a part in my dialogue struggles - it's hard to write characters if I don't know them

Third, and related to number two, is character arcs/relationship arcs. Sure, I can come up with a storyline and write it in such a way that it's enjoyable. But what makes a story extra compelling is the character arcs, watching the characters grow and learn things about themselves and seeing how that meshes with another character and their flaws/strengths and it all comes together like puzzle pieces. I'm not good at that, but I want to be

tl;dr - my biggest weakness is that I'm not Emily Henry

Thoughts on dialogue in another language?

My favourite love interests are Swedish and Portuguese 🤣 and yes, I love having them slip into their native tongues every once in awhile, or use terms of endearments, etc. I try to be as accurate as possible and give the readers a glossary (though sometimes I'm lazy with that), but it's also usually just little things that you can kind of tell what they're saying from the context

First fandom you wrote in?

Love Island the Game. Other than RC, it might be my last, too

Favourite fic you've written?

I hate this question 🤣 I have 40 fics and I love them all in their own way. It's like asking someone to pick their favourite child

tagging @eskiix, @lucas-koh, @squirrel-fund, mymindalwaysgoesblankwhentaggingpeople, sojustdoitifyoureinterested

[lemony-snickers]

For pillow fort friday<3

If I had to make you a drink I would do a simple whisky cocktail !  (I hope you like whiskey as much as Saya does—bc I know I do!)

-Whiskey on the rocks with a homemade spiced* honey syrup *(cinnamon, ginger, orange, honey+ water/sugar) -A dash of Orange bitters and a weee bit of fresh lemon juice—garnished with an orange wheel

You pick a movie/tv show/anime! (Or 5?) I could use a good rec! :)

good morning, kaz! i'm so sorry i missed this last night, i was busy singing my lungs out very poorly at karaoke, ahaha.

that cocktail sounds fantastic, i will take two, pls & thank you. whiskey (and scotch whisky particularly) is my preferred liquor most of the time, though gin does edge ahead a little bit in the summer when i enjoy a nice fizz with fresh fruit. that cocktail sounds perfectly up my alley! <3

let's see what i can do about recommendations below the cut because they got looonnnnggg (sorry)...

tv shows:

ted lasso. i was very late to this one, but just binged all three seasons and really enjoyed it. on apple.

BEEF. it's sooooooo goood and bizarre and wonderful in the worst (best) ways. on netflix.

trial & error. was an nbc comedy over too soon. on peacock, i think.

the river. likewise cancelled early, but it's horror on the amazon and i loved it a lot. idk where to find this one, but i'm sure it's streaming someplace as all things are these days.

not dead yet. which finished its first season recently is an easy watch & pretty funny. the MC is very relatable in an, "i am a mess" sort of way alsjdf;adfs. i think this is nbc, but i watched it on hulu.

movies:

everything everywhere all at once. i can't wait to watch this again. it was my first time in a non-socially distanced movie theatre post-quarantine and it was such a joy to hold my spouse's hand while i laughed my ass off and cried and yelled. love this fucking thing (as does everyone else, as they should).

you won't be alone. this is horror. body horror. it's pretty messy in parts but so so sooooooo soooooooooooooo good. it's also primarily in macedonian with subtitles and i'm not sure how hard it would be to track down.

the impostors. with stanley tucci and oliver platt is a comedy from my youth that i still think is one of the best of all time.

a goofy movie. idk, y'all, i just showed this to my spouse because it was referenced in an episode of atlanta (another great fucking tv show) and it's still just so funny and heartwarming and the music they made for powerline is so good.

spiderman: across the spider-verse. haven't even seen this yet but my god i want to so badly and i just know it's gonna be killer because the first one blew my mind.

anime (i'm probably not gonna come up with much here you haven't already seen or know about tbh but let's see):

blue period. especially as an artist, i think you might enjoy this one. i binged it in like a day and a half and thoroughly enjoyed it all very much. on netflix.

maid-sama! i actually enjoyed watching this anime so much that i then went back and read the whole manga because i needed to know how it ended. it was cute and expected and exactly the sort of low-stakes shojo i needed at the time.

ghost hunt!.i fucking love this little horror anime and am so disappointed it didn't get to go longer. there is a manga and also a light novel that are very worthwhile if you ever have the time.

i think three is all you're gonna get outta me for this category, but i hope something there sparks your fancy! thanks so much! <3

[saintjosie]

i appreciate youre dedication in returning to this post

i don’t get yore url

it’s like your scottish or irish or something?

or is it a reference?

is it like a reference to drinking and drinking culture and stereotypes about scottish and irish people?

irish whiskey is a joke and i can’t stand guinness as it is in america, but i’d love to try the authentic guinness in uk experience because i hear it’s something else. not going to the uk anytime soon as a trans person though.

scotch is sometimes good, i’m don’t have a preference for islay or highland in particular but like samplings from both styles

eye love both jura and dalmorez jura makes an excellent scotch with incredible value with the 10 year although i don’t think that the 12 year is worth the price hike, but the 18 definitely is.

dalmore also has an incredible value with the 12 yr, but the 15 year is really where it’s at.

i love parks and rec but lagavulin is basically undrinkable for me. anything too heavily smoky or peated is just a no.

aye prefer bourbon usually, neat ofc. i prefer cheaper bourbon with it’s sweetness and subtle spice over a scotch that tastes like chest hair and toxic masculinity.

four roses is a nice bourbon to stock that i can drink neat and have a pleasureable experience and also not feel bad for mixing into some coke.

basil hayden’s is the sweet spot for me, price for quality.

pappy van is absolutely incredible and worth the hype but not the difficulty obtaining it or the price tag.

if ewe want the pappy van experience without breaking the bank, weller and weller antique are made from the same distillery and mash but aren’t ridiculously overpriced. still rather hard to obtain now that people have caught on to how good it is and probably not worth the price second hand, but i’ll almost always pick up a bottle if i see one.

recently discovered jefferson ocean which is probably one of the most unique but also most enjoyable bourbons with some kind of gimmick, but the gimmick is that it’s aged in oak barrels at sea and it tastes like the ocean air in the best possible way. pricey, but worth an occasional splurge.

if im doing whiskey cocktails, i like to stock woodford reserve bc it’s a drinkable bourbon with a generic enough flavor profile that people are familiar with it but also enough depth to complement most classic whiskey cocktail combinations, bc let’s be honest, i’m not making cocktails unless i’m having friends over and they don’t care enough for the fancy shit.

honestly the best whiskey in my opinion overall comes from japan. the hibiki harmony is in my opinion, a masterpiece, and every time anyone i know flies international, i ask them to pick up a bottle from hibiki harmony master select because it’s just simply excellent elegance, and for some reason it’s only available at duty free stores. honestly a tragedy.

suntory is a nice basic whiskey with one of the cleanest profiles you can get in a whiskey, while still managing to be interesting.

not a fan of the nikka coffee grain personally but i can appreciate it’s uniqueness and complexity without loving it myself.

2/10 i don’t understand your url

reblog this with a note or tag and i’ll rate your user name with no filter or censorship

get ur ass roasted (or complemented) if u dare

[ocean9liquor]

Liquors You Need to Stock for a Home Bar That Leaves a Lasting Impression

If you like entertaining and hosting guests, having a well-stocked home bar would be a good idea. While doing so may sound simple, it is natural to need clarification after seeing the sheer number of options available at the Beach liquor store. Spirits can be expensive, and most people cannot afford to go out and buy fifteen or more bottles of liquor for their home bar. Hence, it is better to get the basis, which is mostly loved by all.  Here are a few key items you should get from a Wine store on beach to make amazing cocktails that impress your guests:

Gin: A versatile and quintessential cocktail spirit, gin has been beloved by people across generations. Its unique flavor profile makes it a key ingredient in some of the most iconic cocktails on the planet, from the classic martini and Negroni to the refreshing Gin and Tonic. A bottle of gin in your home bar will surely please your guests. Vodka: People who are particular about minding their calories or prefer a flavorless spirit should definitely have a quality bottle of vodka in their home bar. Much like Gin, Vodka lends itself to some iconic drinks, including a Cosmopolitan, a Kangaroo, a vodka martini Moscow Mule, or a White Russian.

Rum: Among the oldest known spirits, rum is a versatile addition to any home bar. Whether you prefer a clRumic mojito, a daiquiri, or a Piña colada, rum is the perfect base for these refreshing cocktails. You can even use whiRumrum to make drinks like Mai Tai or Cuba Libre, showcasing the adaRumbility of this spirit. The type of rum you choose largely depends on your preference, with many favoring dark rums for drinks like rum andRumke or Mai Tai.Bourbon: This widely popular whiskey is used in several amazing cocktails like an Old Fashioned, Mint Julep, or a Bourbon Smash.  Bourbon can provide comfort in the winter and be refreshing in the summer. It can additionally be enjoyed neat or on the rocks, so is always better to have a bottle at home.

Scotch whiskey: You should always try to have a bottle of Scotch whiskey at home. Trying out scotches from varied regions is a great way to diversify your liquor collection and discover new spirits and bottles.

After selecting the items you want, you can always seek online Liquor delivery in South Beach and have the bottles delivered to your doorstep.

[wilsonaron]

Sophistication in Stone: Why Soapstone Whiskey Glass Stand Out

Whiskey enthusiasts and connoisseurs understand the importance of the right glassware. While traditional glass and crystal have long dominated the market, a new contender is quietly making its mark: soapstone whiskey glasses. These unique vessels are not just functional but bring a touch of sophistication and class to the whiskey-drinking experience. In this article, we delve into the reasons why soapstone whiskey glass stand out and why they might just become your new favorite way to enjoy your favorite spirit.

1. Chill Without Dilution

One of the primary advantages of soapstone whiskey glasses is their ability to chill your drink without diluting it. Unlike ice, which melts and waters down your whiskey, soapstone retains cold temperatures without compromising the integrity of your drink. This is particularly beneficial for those who prefer their whiskey neat but still enjoy it chilled. Simply place the soapstone glass in the freezer for a few hours before use, and enjoy a perfectly cool sip every time.

2. Natural and Non-Toxic

Soapstone is a natural material, comprised mainly of talc and magnesium. It is non-porous and non-toxic, ensuring that no unwanted chemicals or flavors are introduced into your whiskey. This purity makes soapstone an ideal choice for those who are conscious about the materials they use and their impact on both health and the environment. Unlike some metal chillers, soapstone won’t react with your drink or alter its flavor profile.

3. Durability and Longevity

Whiskey glasses made from soapstone are remarkably durable. They are resistant to chips, cracks, and breaks, making them a long-lasting addition to your barware collection. Unlike delicate crystal glasses that can shatter with a single mishap, soapstone glasses can withstand the occasional bump or drop. This robustness ensures that they will be a staple in your whiskey-drinking ritual for years to come.

4. Aesthetic Appeal

Soapstone whiskey glasses exude a rustic yet refined aesthetic. The natural veining and coloration of the stone give each glass a unique appearance, making them as much a conversation piece as a functional item. Their smooth, matte finish adds a touch of elegance and sophistication to any setting, be it a casual get-together or a formal gathering. The tactile pleasure of holding a soapstone glass, with its cool and substantial feel, enhances the overall drinking experience.

5. Eco-Friendly Choice

Choosing soapstone whiskey glasses is an environmentally friendly decision. Soapstone is a sustainable material that is often sourced from quarries with minimal environmental impact. Furthermore, the durability of these glasses means less frequent replacements, reducing waste and the demand for new resources. By opting for soapstone, you are making a small but meaningful contribution to environmental conservation.

6. Versatility Beyond Whiskey

While soapstone whiskey glasses are designed with whiskey in mind, their versatility extends beyond just one type of drink. They are equally suitable for other spirits like bourbon, scotch, or even non-alcoholic beverages such as iced tea or lemonade. The insulating properties of soapstone make it an excellent choice for keeping a variety of drinks at the perfect temperature, hot or cold.

7. Unique Gift Idea

For the whiskey lover in your life, soapstone whiskey glasses make a thoughtful and unique gift. They are perfect for birthdays, anniversaries, or holidays, and their distinctiveness will be appreciated by anyone with a discerning taste. Pair them with a favorite bottle of whiskey, and you have a gift that is both practical and memorable.

8. Easy Maintenance

Maintaining soapstone whiskey glasses is straightforward. They do not require special cleaning solutions or procedures. Simply wash them with warm, soapy water and a soft cloth. Avoid using abrasive sponges or dishwashers, as these can damage the stone's surface. With minimal effort, your soapstone glasses will remain in pristine condition, ready to enhance your next drink.

Conclusion

Soapstone whiskey glass offers a unique blend of practicality and elegance that sets them apart from traditional glassware. Their ability to chill without diluting, coupled with their durability, aesthetic appeal, and eco-friendly nature, makes them a standout choice for whiskey enthusiasts. Whether for personal use or as a distinctive gift, soapstone whiskey glasses bring a touch of sophistication to every sip, elevating the simple act of drinking whiskey into an experience to be savored.

By incorporating these remarkable glasses into your barware collection, you not only enhance your drinking pleasure but also make a stylish statement. Discover the understated luxury and exceptional functionality of soapstone whiskey glasses, and let each drink you pour be a testament to your refined taste.