#also taking this pic made me realize my board was empty so i added the stickers LOL

[welcometocaritas]

‘if you love me, don’t let go...’

First chapter of my yumagna fic is out ladies and gentlebabies! 

Chapter: 1/6

Characters: Yumiko & Magna

Pairing: Yumagna

Fandom: The Walking Dead

Format: Multi-Chap

Summary:  At some point, you just have to let go - or so Yumiko keeps telling herself.There was never any letting go of Magna.

Links: A03, FF.NET

[watermark is from my instagram yumagnas.home don’t worry i didn’t steal the pic ;)]

 A/N: 

[The rape/non-con is there for Magna's cousin and it will only ever be in references I will not be writing anything detailed about it because I don't want to trigger anyone and this isn't the story for writing about something like that as I would not be able to give it the time and attention it deserves]

Small note: Magna's cousin is called Maisie in this and I've also given her a brother called Morgan.

y'all are going to hate me because yes, this is going to be over 20000 words about a single night. And probably not even the whole night. but there's also flashbacks so it's OK? In my defense, we've gotten very few conversations with these two so there was a lot to talk about. I can't be held responsible for my actions. blame the writers.

I’m honestly a little worried that I’m going to bore people to tears because there’s really no plot. It’s just yumagna being soft and finally sorting out their shit.

I'm also working on a short oneshot - for real this time it's actually going to be short - that's set in the indeterminate future after this. It's basically just going to be pure fluff which you should knew is unheard of - I never write fluff. So hopefully it's not terrible.

There be angst here, lots of angst, but also comfort - if you’re familiar with my writing that won’t be a surprise to you.

I don’t have much hope for canon so I decided to do what I could to fix the mess they made.

I normally wouldn’t reveal anything that’s going to happen in a fic but y’all have been tortured enough already so just know I will absolutely be getting these girls back together, it won’t take more than a night, but it will take about 20000 words. Most of the story is written out already I’m just doing post-edits so I’ll update daily :)

If things seem a little disjointed it’s because I wrote everything out of order and it’s been a bit of a struggle to get everything to fit into place. I also haven’t slept more than 1-4 hours a night for the past three weeks, have been getting constant migraines and blood sugar crashes so I’m gonna apologize right now if there are any mistakes. I’m super sorry.

This is for the yumagna fandom cos I wanted y'all to have something nice with everything that's going on. I would also like to give a special thanks to Abbey and Mina who acted as my sounding board throughout this whole thing and were very patient with me - love you guys :)

....

"If you love me, don't let go

Hold

Hold on

Hold on to me

'Cause I'm a little unsteady

A little unsteady . . . "

- Unsteady by X Ambassadors

. . .

Nightmares had always been an issue, though less so in recent years. Magna had gotten almost gotten used to having a full night's sleep, barring the occasional pillow snatch. Back before all this started, she'd been on medication for PTSD, but well, it was kind of hard to fill a prescription in the middle of the apocalypse - and, well, the apocalypse had only added to the previous need for said medication. At least she was in good company. These days, it was more of a surprise if someone wasn't experiencing some form of post-traumatic stress, and that was a somewhat odd reality to wake up in, day after day. For years, this thing had set her apart but now? Now it just made her like everyone else.

Miko had nightmares too.

It was what had led to them sharing a 'bed' in the first place, way before things between them moved beyond the confines of friendship. They'd fallen asleep by the fire one particularly cold night, curled around each other for warmth, and they hadn't awoken until morning.

It had been something of a revelation.

On Magna's end, she suspected it had had a lot to do with trust. She'd trusted Miko not to shove a shiv into her side or try to cop a feel whilst she slept, trusted her even more to have her back if things went south during the night. She'd been . . . safe. Magna wasn't used to people being safe - she wasn't quite sure what she offered Miko in return, though; maybe the same thing.

Of course, in many ways Yumiko wasn't safe. There was nothing safe about the way Magna felt about her. Or the way those feelings seemed to be returned. She knew Miko had had a girlfriend in college who cheated - and when the other woman had told her that, a vindictive part of her had hoped the bitch had been one of the many, many people to meet their end by sicko teeth. Miko had smacked her on the arm for that comment, exasperation tempered by fondness and reluctant amusement.

She'd realized in her time away, that this past hurt would have only sharpened Magna's betrayal. Trust was important to Miko - hell, it was important to Magna - and she had broken hers by lying, lying for years. She hadn't thought of it that way when she'd been doing it. The secret had weighed on her, yes, but she'd been viewing it from a place of hadn't really considered how it would hurt Miko, only what it would do to their relationship if it had ever come out, what it would do to her.

That, more than anything, had made her realize that Miko had been right to kick her out. More than right.

Which is why she could hardly believe that they were here now. That Miko was letting her head rest in her lap, that she had invited her to do so. Sitting back against a tree and patting her thigh with a small smile her way when Magna had gone to settle a short distance off. The way she had nearly fallen over herself to accept that invitation was almost embarrassing but she couldn't bring herself to feel self-conscious about it, or to second guess the action. They'd done this as friends too and she was glad it wasn't something she had sacrificed with their relationship.

She'd been attracted to Yumiko from the moment they met. It was hard not to be. She wasn't blind - hot lawyer lady in a suit, how could she not notice her in that way? The woman had entered into her dilapidated life with a sureness and determination that was hard to dismiss. Intelligent, strong, and fighting for her.

No one had ever fought for Magna. Not until Miko.

(really, she'd been screwed from the start)

Of course, the person Yumiko was fighting for was little more than an illusion. If Miko had only known the truth then . . .

She probably would have dropped her like a hot potato, just like everybody else. She probably would have been wise to.

Or maybe she wasn't giving Miko enough credit. After all, she was still here now. Carding her hand through Magna's hair in a soothing motion as she pretended to sleep - and Miko pretended to believe her. She knew the truth now, and still she kept close. Maybe they weren't together anymore but that had been as much Magna's choice as Miko's. She couldn't let herself get to that place again, where she was so terrified of losing something, she ended up destroying it.

  And God, Magna was so tired, so tired of being afraid, so tired of being angry.

Just so tired.

('I can't do this anymore.')

She needed a distance between them, even if she didn't want it. Romantic relationships had a tendency to blow up in her face. But friendships . . . well, they tended to be more reliable. After all, she had been friends with Miko for years and things only turned sour after they had crossed over the safety of that border into something more.

(things turned sour because you couldn't stand keeping it a secret from her anymore. The same thing would have happened if you'd still been only friends)

She shifted uncomfortably, remembering at the last second that she was supposed to be asleep. But Miko only stilled a moment before continuing with her motions, allowing the deception to maintain itself.

The relief passed her lips in a shaky exhale.

Magna couldn't bring herself to talk anymore. She was drained - both emotionally and physically - and the thought of pulling any more words out almost made her cry from exhaustion. And Miko seemed to sense that, almost as soon as Magna had first fallen silent. But then, she'd always been good at reading her.

She was observant. Like Connie.

Squeezing her eyes shut tighter, she immediately regretted the action. In the darkness, all she saw was her friend's face, disappearing into the crowd of sickos, possibly never to be seen again. Of course, Magna hadn't seen that at all. She'd kept her gaze ahead, too wary to look around and give away the disguise, but she had felt Connie's hand slip from hers, the ache of the empty space it left behind. Her imagination filled in the blanks now, even adding in a few colorful extras - wide eyes, a silent scream, falling beneath the weight of too many bodies, torn apart. Gone.

So many people were just . . . gone.

"Do you think she survived?" The words hung in the night air; foreign, distant. Magna blinked, unsure if they'd really come from her. She couldn't remember opening her mouth. But her tongue felt thick and heavy, her lips cracked, she could taste the metallic hint of blood caused by the effort.

Miko paused. Just a second, her fingers tangling in Magna's hair a little too tight, almost painful, then a breath, and she returned to smoothing it back. "You did."

"Barely. I was lucky."

"And there's no reason she won't be, too. Connie's smart, strong. She could make it."

Magna could think of a hundred reasons. A thousand.

Her stomach turned and she closed her eyes, opening them in a snap when Connie's face answered her. She trembled. "I should have stopped. I should have looked for her."

Miko didn't hesitate. "Then you'd be dead. Might even have gotten her killed as well. All for nothing."

At least, I wouldn 't be feeling like this.

Magna opened her mouth to argue but found that she didn't have the strength. She closed her eyes again, inhaling the scent of the woods, of the leaves and dirt beneath their bodies, of Miko. Especially Miko. "What the hell am I going to say to Kelly?"

If she wasn't dead.

What if they were the only ones left? Her and Miko. Bernie gone. Connie gone. Kelly gone. Luke gone. She'd failed to protect them. All of them.

And she'd thought she'd cried enough tears but her eyes burned and she rubbed at them fiercely, like there was dirt, like if she could just get it out the fire would vanish and she wouldn't crumble to ashes in its grip.

And there was Miko's voice, all at once gentle and firm, pulling her back. "She won't blame you. She knows you. You've always fought hard for us. As hard as you can. This just wasn't a situation in which you could."

Magna nearly scoffed.

No, she could have fought. But she'd gotten scared. She'd hesitated. She hated being fucking scared (small and shaking, hugging Morgan to her chest as Daddy's voice got loud, so loud, why was it so loud?). It was such a useless emotion. And now it had probably gotten Connie killed.

Miko tugged at her hair slightly, gentle but scolding. "Seriously, Magna. You couldn't have done anything. If anyone should be feeling guilty it's me."

Frowning, she turned her head in her grip to look up, a strand of hair snagged but she didn't mind the pain. "What are you talking about?"

But Miko shook her head, refusing to meet her gaze as she focused on raking her hands through Magna's hair, avoiding the knots with an ease born of years of practice. "I should have been there with you. I shouldn't have stayed behind that day."

And then you might be dead, too. Magna shuddered at the thought. Her worst fear, worse than Miko choosing to leave her, being taken from her. Forever.

And it wasn't even a what-if situation. It felt inevitable. This was the apocalypse: their expiration dates were always inching closer.

"I'm glad you did." Even though Magna couldn't see her face, she sensed her hurt, felt the flinch of her hand. "I couldn't lose you. Not like that."

Giving up on getting Miko to look at her, she settled back in her lap but kept her eyes open.

Yumiko's voice was caustic when she responded, fragile and harsh all at once. "I thought I lost you." The hand resumed its stroking, stiffer now, almost angry. "At least if I had been there I could have helped, and I would have known. I would have known if you were okay."

Not if you got out with Kelly.

But, no, Miko wouldn't have left them, wouldn't have left her. She would have seen her double back with Connie and gone after her too - like Magna, she was always watching. Maybe she would even have noticed and gone after Connie first - she was equally as protective of their group - and then Magna would have been the one left behind, to wonder, to fear.

Thinking about it, that probably would have driven her to punch Carol, too. Though her fuse had always been a lot shorter than Miko's.

Now, she snorted at the sudden memory. "I can't believe you punched Carol. I've never seen you like that." In a way, it had scared her. She was so used to Miko being the calm one, forever in control. She was the one who reined Magna in.

Okay, it had also been kind of hot. Even half-dead on her feet, she couldn't fail to notice that.

"To be honest, neither can I." There was a wry note to the older woman's tone, and Magna wondered if she was smiling, almost risked looking up again to find out. "I don't regret it, if that's what you're wondering."

"Not like you to kick a dog when it's down."

"Not like you to be so forgiving."

She scoffed. "I'm not. Connie's gone. Probably dead and she-" Magna swallowed, collecting herself. "I'm not forgiving. I just don't have the energy to be angry anymore."

"Well that's definitely not like you." Miko teased, hesitating for a moment before severity bled back into her tone. "Are you going to be okay?"

She closed her eyes, sighed. Why was she so good? "You don't have to worry about me, Miko."

Scoff. "Another lie. I found a grey hair the other day, thanks to you."

"Oh and it couldn't have possibly been the literal end of days that we're stuck in?"

"Have you met you?" Another tug at her hair, this time playful and, for a moment, Magna could breathe easier. "Seriously, though, are you going to be okay?"

For a moment.

She shifted, hair pulling painfully but that was almost welcome. "I'll be fine. I'll be a lot better once we find Kelly and Luke."

"And Connie."

"And Connie." She wished she could feel more hopeful on that front. Miko squeezed her shoulder and she relaxed slightly, trying to push the dark thoughts away for now. There'd been too many of them tonight already. There were always too many. But just for tonight she wanted to escape them, to hide away in Miko's lap and absorb every touch, every smell, every word . . . that she had come so close to never experiencing again.

. . .

"How can you lose me? You've owned me from the first moment I saw you."

― Dianna Hardy, Cry Of The Wolf

. . .

The full gravity of the world ending fell upon Yumiko within a matter of hours, there'd been no time to trivialize or hope. Right from the start, she'd felt the impact.

Her mother had been a doctor in the old world and she'd been working a shift at the hospital when the outbreak hit the city and surrounding areas. Yumiko's stomach still turned at the memory of calling her up from the safety of Magna's apartment, her eyes trained on the insanity playing out across every news station, her heart pounding as she pleaded, pleaded for the other woman to pick up, to be alright, to-

But the phone had rung and rung. One, two, twelve phone calls later and nothing.

----

Unable to sit and wait any longer, Yumiko swiped her abandoned keys off the table and marched towards the door, ready to drive over there right that second and  make  her mother okay. She was smart, her mother was smart, and resourceful, and she'd never stopped practicing krav maga - and Yumiko would definitely come to regret refusing all those classes the woman had tried to get her to enroll in growing up but she 'd been focused on her books and her studies and all her dreams for a future that fighting never entered into-

Her mother would be  fine .

But a hand grabbed hers - strong, nails almost biting into her skin - and pulled her back. "You can't go out there."

Magna.

At some point, she 'd forgotten the other woman was even there, just whose home she stood barricaded within.

"I have to get to the hospital, my mother she-"

"Yumiko, you saw the news - hell, you just almost got your face bitten off by one of those sickos - the world's fucking lost it. " Her face took on an expression of incredulity. "And you want to go to the fucking hospital? No, no way."

Yumiko clenched her jaw, trying not to snap. "She's my mother. I  need  to make sure she's okay."

"I know, OK? Trust me I get it but . . ." she took a breath, frustrated and Yumiko could detect an air of desperation in the way she closed her eyes, pressed her lips together. "But you just, you can't, okay? They said that part of the city is already overrun and it's a  hospital . The amount of people in there,  dying  people . . . it's a death trap."

Yumiko looked away, knowing she was right but unwilling to face it. It was her  mother .

For a spiteful moment, she wondered whether Magna really did  'get it'. As far as she knew, the other woman hadn't visited her own mother since she was a child. Yumiko didn't even know if she was still alive - or if Magna knew for that matter.

"Look, I . . . " Magna shook her head. "If I thought that it could work, that we'd be able to help, hell even be able to get  in  there, I would drive you myself."

"You don't have a license." She wasn 't sure why she said it, why out of all the things Magna was saying,  that  had stuck out the most. But it was the only thing she had the means to protest.

Magna huffed. "Fine, I'd let you drive but that-that's not the point. Miko, we don't even know how to kill these things. I stabbed that guy in the neck and he barely even flinched. The dead are eating people, I can't . . ." She shook her head, lost for words. "I can't protect you from that."

Yumiko cursed the way those words made her stomach flip -  not  the time. Her phone felt heavy in her pocket, useless, and her mind was a violent hellscape, tossing up image after image of all the situations that could be keeping her mother from answering but . . .

Fuck it.

She was right.

The world shook for a moment, shaky legs almost falling out from under her as she allowed herself to sink down onto the floor, hiding her head in her hands.  She was right . The darkness made everything still and she could imagine for a moment that this wasn't really happening, that it was just some big nightmare, that-

People were fucking  eating  people, for god's sakes.  Dead  people. How  could  this be real?

There was a pause, the sound of shuffling, and she felt a stiff form settle down beside her. Hesitantly, an arm came around her, too lose, too distant, but there. "I'm sorry."

Yumiko shook her head, forgetting entirely Magna's discomfort when it came to any kind of physical intimacy - hell, any kind of intimacy in general - and allowed herself to collapse. Falling into her, she buried her head in the other woman's chest, hands coming up to latch onto the fabric of her shirt, desperate for something, anything to hold onto.

Magna flinched and her body became like a rock, rebelling at every place of contact between them.

Remembering herself, Yumiko moved to withdraw, "Shit, sorry, I-" but the arm around her tightened, keeping her in place. Slowly, she felt the muscles against her force themselves to relax as that arm found a surer purchase, pulling her closer. After a moment, she felt the slight weight of a chin coming to rest on her head, a hand coming up to find one of hers. Disentangling Yumiko 's almost rabid hold, they wrapped around her and squeezed, held tight and this-

This was better.

"Stay."

She did.

. . .

"I am your friend. a soul for your soul. a place for your life. home. know this. sun or water. here or away. we are a lighthouse. we leave. and we stay."

― Nayyirah Waheed

. . .

Magna knew that Miko's upbringing had been a fair bit more stable than hers. Parents divorced at nine, yes, but that was terribly common wasn't it? (and neither of them had tried to shoot the other.) She'd graduated at the top of her class, whilst Magna had been kicked out of three schools for fighting before her aunt and uncle had given up and stopped sending her. It wasn't a huge loss. The only classes she'd been doing well in were art and P.E. And whilst she had missed those it was a relief to get away from the taunting students and judgmental teachers.

Considering her criminal record that kept her from working at anything other than a seedy truck stop with its overly handsy customers, that had probably worked out for the best. Good grades wouldn't have been of any help to her by then.

She still laughed sometimes at the memory of Miko popping by on her shifts, how out of place she'd looked, sitting on a rickety stool behind the counter whilst Magna tended customers, still dressed in a suit from work that never seemed to wrinkle.

The pair of them had garnered more than a few looks.

But Miko had been at ease with it, picking at her fries - the only food on the menu that would probably pass a health inspection - making small talk, interjecting with the occasional complaint about Jerry, the company vulture, who kept trying to steal her clients. Magna had been confused by the attention, wary even. She'd wondered if the lawyer checked up on all her former clients like this, or if she was just a special case. She hadn't asked - she hadn't wanted to know the answer, to face the inevitable 'yes'.

A part of her had wanted to scare her off, had hated the way she got instantly on edge as soon as she saw Miko's form enter in the door, the way she felt even worse when she watched her leave out it. But another, more secret part, had been starved for company; the kind that didn't make her want to punch someone, anyway. So she'd held her tongue, and slowly let down her defenses.

Until one night, a trucker had gone to bite a chunk out of Miko's face.

It had been her turn to work the truck stop diner connected to the store, and Yumiko had been leaning against the counter, nursing a cup of too-sweet hot chocolate and conversing with her between customers. She'd just glanced down at her phone after hearing a ping and Magna had looked up at the sound, glimpsed the man lumbering closer, closer - too close.

She'd never been so glad of the quick reflexes life had beaten into her, because in that moment she hadn't needed to think. She'd shoved Miko back, a little too forcefully since she ended up hitting the ground with a smack that made Magna wince - but it was enough.

Her hand had been grabbing the knife from beneath the bench before she even registered, her arm jolting with the shock of sinking it into flesh that gave way too easily as she leapt across the counter, blood spattering against her face in a terrible sort of deja vu, her stomach turning - fuck fuck fuck - but he didn't fall, didn't scream; and then she'd grabbed Miko, tugged her up and ran, ears howling with the sound of all hell breaking loose around them. The police sirens in her head hadn't been real, she'd known they weren't, they couldn't be, not this soon, but her heart pounded in her chest from more than just adrenaline and fuck-

She'd done it again.

And just when she was finally starting to get used to freedom.

She hadn't realized until later that night, hauled up in her apartment - it had been closest and neither of them had really wanted to be alone after that - and watching the actual End of Days unfold on international television, that it had been the first time they'd touched. Magna had always kept a certain level of distance and Miko had never tried to cross it. Not until later that night, when Magna had reached out to stop her from leaving, when she'd collapsed into her arms with an ease that made Magna want to run out the door instead . . . and later when Miko grabbed her hand as she was heading to bed. It was just a moment, just a brief squeeze accompanied by a weak but grateful smile - but Magna had felt her heart try to escape her chest at that smile, at that touch . . .

It had just been a push. Barely anything compared to getting someone out of jail at least twelve years - though more likely an entire lifetime - earlier than expected. Especially when she still hadn't known that the person she'd been fighting so hard to free wasn't nearly as innocent as she'd assumed.

Somehow, the most surprising event of the night, was that Magna hadn't minded the touch, hadn't pulled away. More shocking, she'd missed it when it was gone; had felt empty each time Miko left her grasp, yearning to reach out and-

And that was when Magna had known she was screwed.

Miko told her that she'd known the same thing sometime around the third day of planning their trial strategy.

Thirteen years later and they were still pretty screwed.

. . .

"I've spent much too long in the space between staying and letting go."

- Perry Poetry

 . . .

A/N: So this story has turned out to be a lot more Magna-centric then intended and that's not because I love Yumiko any less, I just find it easier to get inside the heads of characters like Magna. I'm used to writing somewhat dysfunctional people with more than a bit of trauma (probably cos I have a bit of trauma of my own lol). You know, the loveable walking disasters of the world. She might come off a bit ooc in this and that's partly because I'm still familiarizing myself with writing her and because she's a tad bit fragile after everything that's happened, which i think we all saw in last episode - Miko is also feeling pretty fragile for the same reason. Speaking of which. What. The. Fuck. It makes zero sense to me that these two would make up but still not get back together and I'm gonna sue the writers for torture if this keeps going on. So I had to write a fix-it fic. And I also felt like there was a lot these two still needed to talk about that I'm not entirely confident the show will ever address so voila a fic was made.

Also, just gonna note going forth that Magna’s own feelings about herself aren’t necessarily a reflection of my own feelings about her character. Girl’s got some insecurities to sort through. Likewise, her judgments - good and bad - about Yumiko aren’t necessarily true, either, for the same reason. It’s one of the causes for conflict in their relationship.

So there are probably two ways to look at how these two might have noticed they had feelings for each other: a) these two idiots have been in love for 13 years and were both too chicken and oblivious to do do anything about it, or b) their love developed slowly from the bonds of friendship over a very long time. I like both options but I decided to go with the former for this fic.

The series titles is from the song You by Keaton Henson. If you're familiar with the song - my Lost Girl buddies will be - don't worry nobody is going to die! that line just really fits them so much, and it's also about accepting the fact that you might lose the one you love but that doesn't mean you should be afraid of loving them or living your life.

. . .

OK, just gonna do a little shameless self-promotion, hope you don't mind :)

I made a yumagna vid so if you haven't seen it already and you're interested it's here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=grzrpr0QZEE (I'm gonna do more so if you want to stay in the loop subscribe to my youtube channel. I'll probs end up doing a short one for Unsteady because of this fic but I'm holding out till we get a yumagna hug)

I have an insta for yumagna called @yumagnas.home . my multifandom one is @bonnielextra (lots of awesome women that i make edits for just fyi) and my personal one is @cissyalice. Hit me up so I can follow some more yumagna stans!

My twitter is @bonnielextra and @welcometocaritas (for my edits). Currently just a lot of crying about yumagna on the first one.

And my tumblr is welcometocaritas. Obviously no pressure to look at any of these but I just thought I'd put them in just case :)

#yumagna #magniko #the walking dead #nadia hilker #eleanor matsuura #yumagna edit #yumagna fanfic #magna twd #yumiko #yumiko twd #mypost #My posts #myfic #my fic #my edit #myedit

[allyreactions]

BTS reacts to their idol girlfriend on tour and fainting on stage

pairing: bts x reader

warnings: idk if its right or not but just in case, know that it mentions skipping meals and not sleeping well, idk if its eating disorders or mental ilnesses but know that it mentions that, there’s no implied death tho one of them may seem to have but it’s not like that ok i explained too much

genre: angst

a/n: this may turn much darker than i thought omg im sorry

no gender neutral

~~~~~~~~

kim seokjin

He never liked the idea of you going on tour. He had been knowing about the shitty way your managers were treating you. He noticed how your members would always receive praises while you only received criticism, which made you work harder. This involved staying until late hours rehearsing, skipping meals and sleep time to work on your choreographies. He didn’t want you to leave to Europe, mostly because when you were at South Korea, he could always check on you and stay with you. But now you were far away. He spent every day nervous, alert of his phone in case you wanted or needed to talk to him. One day Namjoon told him he was overreacting, that you were fine, you had your members and that they would help you. This managed to calm him down, put his phone down and left it at home to enjoy the only free day they were given.

He came back home late at night, a small smile on his face, glad that he could spend a day with his donsaengs. When he grabbed his cellphone, his expression quite changed, “23 missed calls” could be read on the screen. He quickly calling the owner of the 23 missed calls, your best friend and unnie.

“Seokjin-ah, where have you been!? I tried reaching you all day!” she cried, voice almost audible

“What happened?” he asked, fear obvious in his voice

“It´s Y/N...she fainted on stage a-and...” she sobbed, while Seokjin’s held his breath “....she isn’t waking up”

His heart stopped.

min yoongi

It was a problem. Your weight had been dropping every month, making your boyfriend worried. And worst thing was, he couldn’t tell you anything. He had tried, more than he wanted to, but you just wouldn’t listen. This was your first year as an idol, your band debuted with success yet your managers weren’t happy with your body. That got to your head, and your diets were reduced to almost a plate per day. Yoongi was used to these starving diets, and knew that cheating them was the worst a female idol could do. So he focused on staying by your side, and help you sneak some snacks in while your managers weren’t present. But one day you announced him your band was going to South America as part of their tour. His concern grew, because he could follow you to Japan or China, but South America was too much. He just swallowed, nodded and prayed you would be ok.

He never stopped messaging you, every day checking in, seeing how you were doing. But suddenly, you stopped messaging. He glanced at the clock, 2pm. He remembered the 12 hours of difference, it had to be 2am for you. He was about to give up, and hope you were sleeping well, when a message entered his phone with a ‘pop’.

[2:08pm] Y/N: Suga are you there?

What? You never called him by his stage name, it cringed you. Why were you calling him Suga? He didn’t wait to reply.

[2:09pm] Yoongi: I’m here, what’s wrong?

He could feel it, something was wrong. His jaw dropped to the floor and an annoying knot appeared on his throat when he read the next message.

[2:11pm] Y/N: I’m Yoonho, me and the group are at the hospital, Y/N fainted, she’s way too pale and can barely move. You’re her emergency contact, right?

jung hoseok

“Babe, you’re barely awake” you laughed a bit, watching Hoseok on your Face Time trying to keep his eyes open.

“I’m here, I’m here jagi” he replied, trying to smile, but you were right. He could barely stay awake. He had spent all day checking on you, trying to see if you were fine.

You had been feeling quite bad these past days. You had been working on your first soloist album, and you had wasted long nights writing lyrics and composing melodies. It was driving you crazy, but you needed to get it done. You too were barely awake, but spending weeks staying up late at night made you control yourself, you knew how to pretend you were fine. Something your career as a Kpop idol also taught you.You managed to convince Hoseok to go to sleep, so you could get changed and go to the stage, it was another night of touring with your girlgroup. 

Hoseok woke up from what he liked calling a long nap to his phone ringing. Without thinking about it, assuming it was you, he picked up.

“Y/N~ jagi, I’m sorry I fell asleep” he spoke in his tired husky voice

“It’s not Y/N, Hoseok, I’m her manager” that made Hobi jump up and suddenly fully wake up.

“Why are you calling me from Y/N’s cellphone?” he didn’t measure his tone, too concerned to care

“Y/N fainted on stage, we had to carry her to backstage” he gulped, feeling tears on his eyes “She’s resting now but I supposed you should know” he added before hanging up, leaving Hoseok more concerned than he already was.

kim namjoon

He hadn’t been able to talk to you in days, and it was driving him crazy. I mean, you were at USA touring, he knew your schedules by memory, why could you never even message him? But, he had to understand. Your managers weren’t as easy on you as his were on him. So he had to stick to social media. Updates of you on Twitter were the only way he had to check on you. He knew you had been quite stressed lately, thanks to your tour. You would always skip meals and sleep less just to get it perfect, you were too scared to be judged by foreigners, so you had to get it right.

He was working on his studio, the beat mixer opened right next to Twitter, with your update fan account. He refreshed every minute, watching some videos fan were taking during the concert. He started noticing you were missing some moves, and look quite tired.He assumed it was the video, because you never acted lazy on stage. He continued refreshing, but nothing happened. No new videos, neither pics or tweets. Everything was too silent. That was until he refreshed one more time, and a long tweet appeared. He read it out loud, his voice lowering as he was reaching to the tweet’s end.

@Y/Nunnie tweeted: “Y/N’s body suddenly dropped to the floor. The music stopped and so did the other members, who then gatherend around her. Soonah (your leader) picked her up, with some help from staff members. The lights went off, and when they returned, the stage was empty, only one staff member remained, who stood in front of the mic and said: “due to health issues, Y/N won’t be able to continue the show, please understand”. I hope she’s fineee :’((” 

Joon stood there, trying to assimilate the situation, before going crazy...

park jimin

He was mad, and oh god you hated it when he was mad. When he was this mad, he wasn’t cute, no, he was scary.

“Y/N, you heard me, you aren’t going to that tour” he pointed at you, the ugliest frown formed on his face

“Jiminie, baby, even if I wanted to, you know I can’t say no! I signed a contract, I need to go!” you tried calming him down, but it was in vain.

“Look at you, Y/N, look at the bags under your eyes! They aren’t even letting you sleep! How do they expect you can perform? And abroad!”

“Well...” you started, not knowing how to answer, until you found the best way “...how did you do it when you just debuted?” you crossed your arms over your chest, and watched as Jimin relaxed a bit, knowing you were right “....could you talk back to your manager, refuse to perform? Baby..” you sighed and held his hands “...I’ll be fine, I promise you” you pecked his lips and left with a smile, not sure if you were gonna keep that promise.

And you didn’t, Jimin realized while was boarding a flight to Mexico, where you were currently touring. Not a long time ago, he received a message, written by your friend and sent through your phone.

“Jimin, Y/N just collapsed while performing her solo song, I know it’s much to ask but she really needs you. Could you come?”

kim taehyung

(ok i love this little ball of sunshine so much it breaks my heart he would be so sad if this happened)

He really wanted to go with you. He even insisted on asking your manager if he could join your tour. But no is no, and he had to stick to that, despite not agreeing. He not only was your number one fan and wanted to support his favorite person in the world, but he also wanted to have a close eye on you. You had been acting quite weird lately, arriving late at home, waking up too early, skipping some meals. He even caught you crying once, alone at the bathroom in the middle of the night. He was very worried, he knew your new comeback was bringing you a lot of stress, but what was worrying him the most was the fact that you weren’t talking to him about it. He understood that stress, but you still didn’t tell him anything. But he wasn’t a pushy boyfriend, he was going to wait for you to feel like talking about it.

In the mid time, and since he couldn’t join you on your tour, he decided to watch every live broadcast fans were doing during the concerts. He didn’t care about quality, as long as he could watch his girlfriend perform like the queen she is, he was happy.

He was locked inside his room, headphones on and Twitter opened, with the live broadcast of your show at Paris. He had a smile on his face, his favorite song was coming and he thought you always killed it in the dancing. He prepared himself for the performance of his life.

But his smile starting fading off when he saw you weren’t dancing, just walking around. He knew the performance by memory, and knew that during touring that choreography never changed. I mean, he has been watching every live broadcast, he knew the schedule by memory. He got near the computer, eager to find out what was wrong. The smile came back when he saw you joining your members on the choreo.

“Oh she was improvising” Tae said out loud, even giggling a bit.

When suddenly you stopped dancing and collapsed coldly to the floor. He held on to the chair’s arm, mouth wide open and eyes nailed on your motionless body. Your members gatherend around you and tried to wake you up. Fans started mumbling, while the music stopped all of a sudden. Since you weren’t waking up, a staff member came in running and picked your body up, carrying it to backstage as fast as he could. Your unnie followed behind, always having your back, and not intending to stop now.

Taehyung immediately grabbed his phone with shaky hands, trembling lips and  tears fiercely falling down.

jeon jungkook

Oh boy he understood every concern you had. Being both the maknaes of each of your groups, you both understood the hard work you had to do to show you were as capable and professional as your unnies or hyungs. So instead of telling you off whenever you practised too much, he would stay by your side, to teach you to recognize your body’s limits.

However you were quite new to the idol life, while Jungkook had his years at it. And now your first tour was coming and your worry grew. How were you going to go on your own without your boyfriend? Jungkook reassured you you could do it, you were strong enough to do it. With a little bit more of confidence thanks to your most beloved best friend and boyfriend, you left.

Little did you know, he was making you a surprise visit. Since you were touring at Africa, he could take a quick flight and susprise you. 

He was ready, bag on one hand, and plane ticket on the other.

“I’ll be fine, hyung!” he smiled as he spoke to Jin “...she doesn’t know I’m going, it will be awesome! If I need anything, I’ll call you” 

As he was listening to Seokjin, his phone started buzzing with another phone call.

“Sorry hyung, I have another another call, give me a second” as he handed the air flight assistant, he changed calls “..Hello?”

“Jungkook-ah? It’s Jaesung, Y/N’s manager. She...she um, she collapsed, we are attending her right now. Her unnie Mina told us we should call you, we believe that’s what Y/N would want”

His hands felt numb as a tear rolled down his cheek and his bag fell from his hand.

~~~~~~

OMG OK MY BEST REACTION SO FAR I LOVE IT HOPE U LIKE IT!

creds to owner of gifs

~Admin Anto

#allyreactions #admin anto #bts #bts reaction #bts reactions #bts imagine #bts imagines #jin #suga #jhope #rm #jimin #v #jungkook #seokjin #kim seokjin #yoongi #min yoongi #hoseok #jung hoseok #namjoon #kim namjoon #park jimin #kim taehyung #taehyung #jeon jungkook

[angel-scythe]

I need you : Chapter 9

Hi people !

Thanks again to be there! I hope you will love it! This is a short chapter where nothing big happen and still... !!

If you want to read it on ao3, smash my door |   °| or keep reading?

“I’m here since

8

Days”

 That was the little board in front of Niles was saying. The man was sat on the couch, sorting out the mail. His phone was just near the board. He glanced toward his room as he did so often. His room and then the whole apartment. That austerity started to really bother him. He tried to keep himself busy to stay in this reality. Gavin’s reality. But sometimes, like now, it became really hard.

Everything was pushing him to retreat on himself.

When he had realized that, at the moment where Gavin took out the trash, he had turned off the TV. He didn’t want to stay in front of TV, looking all the time the same documentary. When he was doing something, he wasn’t mopping on himself the problem? He wasn’t able to get up and busy him with anything… He could only do what was within reach.

And it was few things.

When the door opened, he tried to get up but as much he could push on his arms, he felt his legs really weak and let himself fall in the couch as soon as Gavin was in the house. He didn’t saw him but that was okay. The Android came to him and took the empty bowl of soup to bring it back to the kitchen.

“Tonight, I’ll prepare you another soup, you’ll love it, I think.”

“Tonight?”

Gavin looked toward Niles.

“Don’t you think eating more than one time a day wouldn’t be a good thing?”

“I don’t know, Gavin.”

“If you eat well, you’ll have more strength and you’ll be able to do more.”

“I’ve a bad appetite…” Niles remembered.

The Android turned his head and started to make the dishes. In fact, the man appreciated the other didn’t force him. He tried a bit but he wouldn’t do it again and again until he’ll yield.

Maybe in few days, he’ll be able to eat? But not now. Even though that should give him strength.

He could see progress and yet that was already a big change for him…

He wanted to do a lot of things but he also knew he should not hurry the things. He even looked for exercise to muscle his legs and be able to walk again without Gavin help. Though he’d  love to throw his arms around his neck any time.

“I’m a little robot, short and strong. Here are my handles, just turn me on. When I get all warmed up, watch me go. Sometimes fast and sometimes slow.”

That song…that soft song. He continued to whisper it, all the time. He did it when he was doing repetitive task, or when he was alone. He didn’t get the song though but still liked to hear Gavin sung it.

When the Android had finish to clean everything, he came in the living room and stretched himself. He still had his random uniform with white jacket and blue lighting. He came next to Niles.

“How is the mail?”

“Sort out.”

“Nice.”

Niles took his phone.

“Do you want to help me?”

“For what?”

“I’d like to bright this apartment. There is… nothing there…”

“Yay! That would be fun! First, you need a Hang in there cat poster.”

“Okay.” Niles gave him the phone. “Choose it.”

“Why?”

“You’re living there too so I think it will be nice if you decorate with me. And I’ve poor taste,” he added with a face.

“Do you think I’ve better taste?” he laughed.

“Yeah? You thought about the poster.”

Gavin nodded but for him, it was a joke.

“You don’t think about a thing? In movie you like for example? People you like?”

Nines thought about that. He couldn’t remember his mother decorating, in fact. Even in his childhood house it wasn’t really bright. The only thing a bit odd he could remember, it was the lot of flowers everywhere. She could take care of them for hours.

“I know what I want.”

“Yay?”

“Let’s take a pic’.”

“Of us?”

Niles nodded. He could upload the photo on one of his tablet and he’ll keep it activate to have the picture. He also could use another for one with him and Connor. Or use a program for the images to switch?

Gavin smiled. “You see, you’ve wonderful idea. I like that. I don’t often take a pic’ with someone but there, I’m really excited.”

“So… it happened?”

The Android glanced to him and shrugged, letting out a little ‘yay’.

“Let’s take that pic’. What do you want? We look like bitch? We’re silly? We’re serious? We’re cop! … No, not cop. Cop sucks. We can be cute also. You’re cute.” He tilted his head with a smile. “And sexy.”

“You’re beautiful.”

“Thanks!”

“Let’s take a pic’ that look like us. That’s what I’d like.”

“Then you must pass your arms around my neck!”

Niles pressed himself against him and passed an arm around his shoulders. Gavin hugged him back and when he started to take the pics, they were looking each other because… what looking else?

  Gavin stretched as the Human was looking furniture on his telephone. Except the poster and the photo, he hadn’t choice anything. He really wasn’t good at that. Each time, he asked to the Android his advices. But he couldn’t decide. Each time he looked all those things, that seemed useless for him, too bright? Too big? Too ridicule? And when he asked to Gavin his advice… He loved everything. More it was useless, bright, big and ridicule, more he loved. He seemed to think it was the point to decorating.

But he couldn’t. He needed something useful.

And he felt so stupid because he needed so much to have something useful when it wasn’t the point. For example, he even never had a coverlet.

“I can’t do that,” he finally gave up.

“Hang in there!” Gavin said, pushing him at the temple.

“Hm… Maybe.”

“Let’s try from somewhere else. What do you need?”

“I need…”

Niles groaned. He had everything he needed, of course. When he needed something, he bought it and there we are.

“Where did you live when you were cop?” he asked. “What did you have there?”

Gavin looked away and took the skirts of his hoodie to tug it.

Damn. He had made a mistake.

Once again.

“I lived at the Precinct. With the others Androids. We were supposed to be in Standby and used when they needed us…”

“But you…”

“I quickly stopped to go in Standby. But… I wasn’t a Deviant yet.”

Niles nodded. In fact, he didn’t know well the Androids. He had few cases but due to his mother’s relation with them, and Elijah Kamski, he didn’t really know what he should know about them. The most he knew, it was because of case he had with Connor.

That wasn’t much.

Gavin probably knew better than him if he was Deviant yet or not. Thought he’d said he was surely already since he stopped to do what he must do…

“Still, there was nothing there.”

“Then, you should definitely help me.”

“You only ask that because you don’t know what to do!”

“Just a bit.”

Gavin smiled to him. “You can’t fool me!” He bent over him and looked the phone.

Niles was looking for colorful pencil. Why not? It was a start.

“Hm… What room do you want change the most?” the Android asked.

The Human frowned. It was hard. Each room needed to be changed if you think about brightening everything. But he needed to do something important. He needed to change because he wanted to be able to face this world again. He felt so many strange things now. A second he felt he could do the difference, got up and just start to live again and the last one, everything was crumbling in the floor.

It was like trying to do a beautiful drawing with domino in the middle of the storm.

He couldn’t even figure out what drawing he wanted to do since the wind was so powerful.

Gavin stared him patiently, glancing sometime toward the window where you could see the snow. He even looked him as he was pushing back that hoodie. He wanted to rise and turn around the sofa to kiss that LED which never stopped changing its color. In a way, you could think this GV200 was weak but for Niles who never showed emotion because it was bad, that looked so powerful.

Sometimes, he was jealous of his brother because he had so much joy in his live. Each time he thought about him, there was a mix of powerful joy and awful sadness because he didn’t get why they were twin, raised in the same way and still…

“Can you sleep?”

“No. Only went to standby.”

“So you find no interest at sleeping?”

“It’s strange to explain. I can if I want and sometime, I even can… dream? I think?” He shrugged. “Never analyzed that.”

“What are you doing when I’m sleeping?”

Gavin shrugged. “Stuff.” He watched him. “What are you trying to ask?”

Niles sighed and looked his phone. In fact, the Android’s chin was almost on his shoulder and he could feel his warm. That pushed his heart to beat way faster.

“Don’t look at me like that, Niles Stern. I was a great Detective, you know. Dare to ask.”

“Will you say ‘yes’?” Niles said.

“It’s not the question I expected,” Gavin smiled.

“But if you say no…”

“You’re a tiny asshole.” Gavin looked him from toe to head. “You’re a big asshole! Even depress like you’re, you seem to be really skilled to have what you want? Seeing you in an interrogation room was probably really hot.”

“Never watched me doing that,” Niles replied. He sighed and his thumb pressed the screen, now black, of his phone. “Will you be okay… to sleep with me?”

“Yes.”

“Then…” Niles glanced toward his bedroom.

He never had needed a double bed, only a bed for him and nothing else. Yes, he had already brought partner there but he never intended to share the night with them as long as they had receive enough pleasure.

One time, Connor had been there and taunted him a bit because he wanted to sleep with him but except that, he really never had needed a bed for two.

Though he wasn’t sure he really needed one now. Being on Gavin was so good…

The GV200 was waiting for him to talk so he finished.

“We need to have a new bed.”

“Yeah! That’s the spirit! Take the most useless and ridicule one!”

Niles winced a bit. “Do you want? Maybe we could have something useful?”

“But not common. We will have a bedspread really zany.”

“Okay.”

Niles activated his phone and started to look. Gavin didn’t miss he wanted a coverlet with cat and he saw a lot very nice. This one with a bunch of cat, the other black with a white cat, this one with a big kitten. Or this one with “my place, cat’s place” with the cat’s place so big. What about the grumpy cat? The cat doing a fuck? So much! He could have chosen them all. And then, Niles found the ‘perfect one’, ‘really nice and zany’.

A white one with an effect like you had a cat sleeping in the edge of the cover.

“This one!”

“Damn you’re so cute,” Gavin said before kissing his cheek.

“You like it?” Niles asked.

“Yay! And for the bed?”

The man put this bedspread in the basket, knowing he’ll need some blankets and cover and maybe more pillow but first looked after a bed. He felt bold! Gavin was there and he was looking and he thought the quilt he had chosen was zany! He was doing well and he felt a bit of excitation. He couldn’t wait to try that and to send a pic to Connor. He will be so impress!

For the bed, he searched a lot.

He saw Gavin looking excited when they found a hamburger bed but he really couldn’t buy that. And that wouldn’t be cute with the bedspread! They find bed with soft curtains around and he liked that but it didn’t seem crazy enough. However, if he didn’t find a thing, that will be that.

They passed by high-tech and strange bed, even kid-bed like with the mattress in big boat or other strangeness like that.

It was hard because sometimes, it seemed like Gavin was really up for one but he couldn’t. Or it was way too expensive. For example, they both liked the one surrounded by woods but it was ten thousand dollars! Niles didn’t understand of that could work.

Some were funny thought. They laughed at the chocolate-bed and Gavin was really hyped by the big cat though that looked more like a joke than a bed. They found out a bed in a skull and Niles was a bit pleased but he could never sleep in that because it didn’t look comfy at all.

And there, he found something perfect!

“This one. What do you think about this one?”

It was an elevated bed but under it, there was a cupboard, some drawer and bookshelves.

Niles turned his head toward since Gavin hadn’t say a thing.

“It’s not good?”

Gavin bent on him and kissed him tenderly. “It’s perfect,” he said.

“You looked disappointed,” the man said, frowning.

Though, he had a tiny-tiny smile because of the kiss. It was just a peck, something quick but honestly? It was perfect and full of love.

“Absolutely not.” In fact, he was disappointed by himself.

That level of zany was sweet and perfect for Niles.

“Do you think you need something else for your room?”

“Blankets, pillows… What do you think else?”

Gavin shook his head.

“We don’t need to hurry up. This will be already awesome.”

“Okay,” Niles replied.

The GV200 watched him as he was looking for the materials they needed. Instead of white, maroon, black, grey, the Human went for color a bit brightly. He liked the blue-grey since few days and the light blue so he chose those tones.

“I’m really proud of you,” Gavin said softly to him.

And Niles’ heart shivered because… guess what? Except Connor, nobody never said that to him…

#it's on ao3 #gavin900 #reed900 #fanfiction #dbh #detroit become human #gavin reed #reverse au #Nines #RK900 #depression #hard themes

[rayadraws]

Hero FB adventures

This is the result of me, @jenny-opm, @shorthairsonic, @dibujos-de-la-orilla and @criscura talking about the concept of our boys (and their friends) using Facebook and what that might lead to... It led to a really fun discussion, so I’ve collected it as points here for anyone curious. It’s about 2.6k long so I’ll put it behind a Read More. Enjoy XD

Dr. Kuseno, being a technical genius, takes to Facebook like a duck to water, having no trouble navigating the site. However, he still acts like a stereotypical grandpa on there - when Genos posts a status along the lines of “Rainy day, perfect for a movie” Kuseno comments with “Indeed my boy, try not to catch a cold and send Saitama my regards. Kuseno.” He occasionally also teases Genos, such as sending him a photo of an electric whisk with the caption “your next upgrade is ready.” (In a misplaced attempt at being kind he tags Saitama in all ads for hair growth treatment he comes across… but at least he also tags him when he finds an unusually good sale)

It is actually thanks for a birthday post from Kuseno that Saitama learns when Genos’ birthday is the first time! He catches the borg sitting and smiling while looking a his phone, which is unusual - usually if he’s on the phone it's something from the HA, which normally has him frowning.

Neither Saitama nor Genos have a lot of friends on FB (to start with, at least). It’s mostly their closest friends such as King and Mumen. Genos also has Metal Bat added, who gives him (good natured) crap on near everything he posts.

Bang is the hopelessly confused Facebook grandpa, struggling to understand how it works. Poor Charanko does his best to help him… “How do I search here?” “You have to go to the search bar… No, that’s where you write your status” “My what?”

Once he does get the hang of it, Bang comments every time someone posts about themselves doing any sort of sporty activity with “Looking good! Ever think about coming by the dojo?” (It gets to the point that FB warns him for posting the same thing over and over and everyone is starting to suspect that his account has been hacked by a virus that just keeps promoting his dojo - poor Charanko is accused of setting it up)

Metal Bat SPAMS FB with videos of Zenko’s piano shows. Everyone knows about her recitals a week in advance because he keeps hyping it up. He also has a soft spot for posting glamour selfies.

Saitama posts a lot of blurry cat photos with no caption and sometimes food pictures. He posts at all kinds of random hours of the day, almost never answers anyone, his photos are low quality and he posts a lot of odd YouTube links.

Genos likes every photo of Saitama and uploads his own - somehow, Saitama always looks far less derpy in Genos’ photos (he’s studied all his best angles).

Genos has no shame and starts liking all photos of Saitama, going through every tag ever - meaning once in a while someone who went to high school with Saitama suddenly gets a like from Demon Cyborg on a photo taken 12 years ago. Unsurprisingly, people are SHOCKED at this and it takes them a while to figure out why - until they notice how he keeps tagging Saitama on his page. This is the only kind of interaction they get online with Demon Cyborg and people start tagging Saitama in photos in the hope of getting response from him. They slyly get photos of him in public and post and tag him in the hope of a response. As long as he’s awake (he’s a heavy sleeper) Genos likes them instantly, unknowingly rewarding his fans for their behaviour.

Genos never accepts friend requests from any non-heroes but Saitama sometimes does because “maybe that name’s familiar idk whatever” and some of Genos’ fangirls manage to befriend him on Facebook, consequently seeing his photos… causing them to just about spontaneously combust - “Did you SEE that photo of Demon Cyborg in an apron?!”

Genos notices this and tells Saitama that he is NOT to post his 124 bedhead pics of Genos to Facebook. Saitama forgets(?) and posts 53 of them anyway before he remembers he wasn’t supposed to. He tries to cheer Genos up - “But look at how many likes and shares they’re getting! This doesn’t even happen with the cat pictures!” Genos is not impressed to see his groggy-ass self on a million message boards (and tells Saitama that “...to be fair, Sensei, sometimes it’s hard to tell if they’re cat pictures.”)

Saitama is enjoying this game (not quite realizing the scope of this all) - sneaks a pair of cat ears on Genos, takes a photo and uploads, enjoying the storm afterwards.

Facebook suggests that Saitama upload a photo album that is just the same photo of Genos doing the dishes at slightly different angles and he’s like “why not” and posts that as well. This is followed up by a little video of him singing quietly and dancing a little while washing the dishes.

One day they come across a group of Demon Cyborg fans on the street who come up to them and ask if Genos could sign their photo books - they’ve printed a bunch of pictures from their FBs, full of like bedhead and apron pics (“Mr. Demon Cyborg sir I LOVED that video of you dancing with the mop!”). Genos can’t even process what’s happening and signs them with a stunned expression, while Sai takes one of the books, looking through it and pointing out his favourites. “Hey, I remember this one! Aw, dude, where’s this shirt? You look nice in it, I haven’t seen it in a while.” (“Mr Demon Cyborg I didn’t know you had feet slippers!” - a small part of Genos dies)

Saitama starts getting bombarded with requests on Facebook. “Get him sleeping!” “Get him laughing!” “Can you get him to pose in that white shirt, maybe with the ripped jeans?”

Saitama starts uploading little videos, such as himself telling Genos a bunch of puns as they go through a store. Eventually he figures out how to cut videos into clips and bombards Genos for two days to get “material”. It does get a bit overwhelming in the end however, so he tells the fans that he can’t take more pictures because his phone ran out of memory. To his despair, this leads to fans sending them shipments of memory cards, cameras and gift cards for even more stuff and it’s all very unnecessary. He even receives a brand new phone from “a fan”.

(The good side is, with all this training he is getting progressively better at taking pictures)

One day, the daily picture he uploads is very sad - just an empty chair with the caption “He’s at repairs” :(

Another day however, Saitama goes to upload a photo of Genos in his apron, but it’s… the wrong apron picture. He accidentally uploads a naughty pic, oops. It’s not the most obviously naughty one, not enough to get them banned from FB (and Genos has no nipples, anyway…) but it’s pretty obviously not meant for the public.

Genos is at first (rightfully) mad at Saitama… until they get like a million really nice apron lingerie sets in the mail. To get back at the other, he uploads a photo of a bare-chested Saitama - not at all prepared for the onslaught of “HOLY SHIT” responses, growing possessive instead of mad when the fans start screaming for more.

Saitama tries to take a good shot of himself but eventually Genos, even through being annoyed, takes the camera from him and gets a good picture. Fans ask for even more and a bewildered Saitama replies with “Um, sure?” uploading a half-naked bathroom selfie, where he’s still wet with a towel wrapped around himself. People go wild. (Genos can’t decide if he wants to delete the picture or share it so it’s on his wall as well. He is… conflicted.) (A less successful picture shows Saitama absolutely ripped, but unfortunately with a prominent double chin, like that time he played video games at the HA - selfies are hard…) (“Mr Saitama, can I request the ripped jeans again, but this time with you wearing them..?”

Unfortunately their shenanigans do not go unnoticed at they get called in to HA’s Public Relations for the umpteenth time. Their attempts at getting the heroes to take it down a few notches is made more difficult by them referring to Amai’s latest “I’m about to have sex” album cover as proof they aren’t out of line.

Amai Mask, in his defence, maintains that his pictures are “classy” and “done professionally”. Saitama responds with gesturing to a photo of Naked Apron Genos frying eggs - “This is classy!”. They continue with pointing out that more than likely, if they stopped, people would complain to the HA and they’d have to explain it was the HA who stopped them in the first place... (And really, the HA shouldn’t complain, Saitama and Genos are earning them so many donations….) "THEY CURED MY CANCER AND WATERED MY CROPS AND BLESSED MY CAT HERE'S MONEY" - “They did what now?!” - the HA representatives don’t even understand what this means but eventually lets it all slide. (The only one who understands the references is their intern managing the official HA twitter, but no one cares about their opinion…)

With all this material, Genos’ fan club is getting a lot more activity than Amai Mask’s, which doesn’t go unnoticed. Amai tries to upload “accidental photos” too in an attempt to become the centre of attention, but they are all obviously fake, such as “I woke up like this” pictures of him with perfect hair and makeup, nothing like Demon Cyborg’s messy hair and squinting eyes.

Amai tries again - “Oh no guys you won't believe this but, i was doing my make up right and omg my cat walked on top of my phone and took this photo of me lol” - someone digs up an old interview where Amai states that he’s allergic to cats (that someone is Genos). He also uploads a photo of a cup from Starbucks which has “To the prettiest guy I’ll see today” written on it and claims he got it (until someone points out that’s a photo from Google).

Meanwhile on Saitama’s FB page, a new video of an unaware Genos twitching in his sleep has just been uploaded, caption “look he’s dreaming shhh”

Saitama just happens to be awake late that evening and passes the time surfing FB, commenting “y’all never go to bed huh” when he sees the immediate responses - given how big Genos’ fanclub is, there’s always someone who’s awake. In fact, this video is more than likely to wake a number of fans up to scream over it. Saitama makes a little livestream showing off their cups as he brews himself some tea (“this is my cup. That one’s Genos’. We found it in a thrift store after he accidentally dropped the last one.” He finishes with showing Genos sleeping again and saying “see he’s sleeping now you all go to bed too”.

One day he posts a still picture of the sleeping borg, with the caption being just “I love him”.

It takes a while, but once the fans understand that their love is real and not changing, some of them start to (not always so) subtly suggest he should propose, such as tagging Saitama whenever a jewellery store has a good offer (they’ve picked up on his love for sales).

One day everything is quiet, then Saitama posts simply “He said yes” (or perhaps it’s just a picture of their hands wearing the rings) and FB EXPLODES. People ask for photos and Saitama replies with “All I got is him ugly crying oil everywhere” and the fans go “POST IT.”

After they’ve gotten engaged things get a bit more quiet, with Saitama just posting the occasional update like “he’s going to marry me” and “he’s going to be my husband”. “I want the date to be on his birthday but that’s too long of a wait” ,“he loves me”.

Fast-forward a bit. It’s been quiet for a while. Genos has barely posted anything but one day Saitama’s FB friends see that he’s been tagged in a picture that turns out to be a photo where Saitama appears to be passed out on the futon, drooling in his sleep and surrounded by empty pizza cartons. Caption “my husband to be”. (The picture completely blows up on FB)

Fans start speculating on their outfits, causing Saitama to sweat - he hadn’t planned that far ahead. He asks for suggestions and they end up covering the entire colour spectrum. He even enquires a little bit to hear if there’s anyone who’s a real actual wedding planner among their fans, it might work out…

In the end, they decide on a small private wedding, but Saitama does suggest he might be able to livestream it. He gives no date or anything to go by, however. In an attempt to keep it hidden, they end up hosting it at the dojo, hoping the stairs might also deter some potential invaders. (Bang is more than happy to host - maybe he can convince some people to join the dojo. The stairs aren’t a problem for the heroes, mostly - King does text Saitama with “I’m here can you pick me up” once he arrives at the bottom whereas Mumen handles them himself - but makes sure to arrive very early so he’ll have time for a shower before the ceremony. Saitama suddenly starts the livestream out of the blue on FB, writing “k its happenin!” and a bunch of fans tune in. (Hopefully Bang won’t hear about the livestream or he’ll start advertising on it, too…)

They get married!!

(Back to where we started - how does Kuseno react to all this FB shenanigans? Well, more than likely he doesn’t spend too much time on FB, but he does check periodically, probably catching at least a couple of the pictures of Genos sleeping and in his apron and whatnot. As always, he replies good naturedly - “glad you’re getting your rest son”.

Kuseno also has a habit of going full-on Geek and writing very long explanations regarding Genos’ body sometimes - such as explaining why he twitches in his sleep, or an explanation on how his cooling systems work in response to someone writing “WAAAHHH WHY IS HE SO COOOL” on one picture. Unfortunately, Kuseno doesn’t realize that his FB is set to friends only, so only Saitama and Genos see these comments…)

Bonus: Saitama occasionally tags Genos in pictures he takes of cheap bootleg Demon Cyborg merch he comes across, disappointing fans hoping to see a new photo of him, only to be met by his asymmetrical poorly painted face on an action figure. “It’s not even official merch…”

Saitama has a habit of buying the especially poorly made ones because “they’re funny”.

One fan asks one day if Demon Cyborg owns any merch and Sai uploads a photo of all the stuff he keeps in the apartment with the caption “And even more stuff at his docs”.

The fans are stunned - but some are also like “ok but where do I get these things?!”

"says he special ordered them or w/e" "oh this other one was from HA" "oh... he says it's out of stock" "he has the stock" ”Maybe if you ask him real nice. Doubt he’ll let go tho he only has like 278 of them” ”...he informs me he has 289”

The fans try to barter with Genos, such as offering to draw a NEW Caped Baldy posted in return for one of those charms. At this point Saitama is starting to wonder why he has to be the bridge between fans wanting Caped Baldy merch and Genos. Genos doesn’t seem to want to talk directly to his fans, but eventually agrees to use Saitama’s account, basically pretending to be him - the fans do eventually get their merch, but are confused as to why Saitama suddenly seems to turn a lot more serious and formal whenever it comes to merch talk (and is that 10 page terms of service really necessary?!) but at least in the end they get a super rare piece of merch not available anywhere else (because Genos bought them all).

#gosh #well there you have it #this was such a fun discussion I enjoyed it a lot XD <3333 #thanks guys you're the best #to anyone who read the whole thing (woah good job) I hope you liked it too! #all for fun ofc #genos #saitama #genosai #saigenos

[ozsaill]

Tanked: mixology woes aboard

The dull thud of your heart sinking at that horrifying moment when you realize what you just did and consequences will follow: we all dread it. It happens anyway. Cruising comes with higher highs, and lower lows… pouring the wrong stuff in your diesel tank is one of those lower points.

In mid-2012, Totem was being prepped to move after five months mostly at a dock and a year and a half in Australia. This was the first step to depart Australia: shifting from dockside liveaboard to river mooring before sailing north to Papua New Guinea and beyond. Wrapping up school (the kids’ first and only formal stretch of four-walls education as cruisers), untangling the threads that weave a life integrated to shoreside people and places, packing up for multiple months off the grid and away from stores… we were a little busy, a little distracted.

One of our last steps before kicking off the dock: top of the water tanks. From below deck I listened to liquid gurgling in from the deck fill, and then came the unfortunate cry: “ah, shit.” Jamie doesn’t swear lightly. It hit me even before he filled in the detail, as sound locations processed: the water hose had been in Totem’s diesel tank fill.

Whoops. We own it now!

Water in the diesel tank

I dashed up to the cockpit and we looked at each other, mouths agape. Jamie got that faraway look in his eyes, then headed up to tell the marina manager we’d be late departing…regrets to the boat they had waiting for our berth.

The entire contents of our diesel tank were decanted and filtered, and like bad wine on a tropical island, salvageable.

Jamie started by turning off the valve between the diesel tank and primary fuel filter and lining up jerry cans to decant. Our magical dock neighbors, a French/South African family on the Dean 44 Merlin, offered time and support to get it done. Petroleum and water don’t mix, but kids play always!

Greg helps his daughter, Clea, and Siobhan swing from the rigging aboard Merlin – Brisbane, 2012.

Greg brought over a diesel transfer pump they kept on Merlin which made the job far easier. Contaminated fuel was removed to jerry cans. At first we hoped that putting fuel through a funnel filter would remove the water – NOPE! Only trace amounts of water came out.

Borrowing Merlin’s transfer pump to return diesel to Totem’s primary tank

Enter our old friend, Gravity. Allowing the water to settle to the bottom (it’s heavier) of a jerry can, diesel on the top could be pumped into a clean jerry can. Rinse, repeat with a series of jerry cans until the entire contents were filtered. Ten gallons of water were ultimately removed.

Gas in the diesel tank

Jump ahead to yesterday around tea time. This was a call from Serendipity, but not about serendipity. Anchored off Antigua with guests arriving soon and plans to head for Barbuda, it was time to top up the diesel tank. With their permission, sharing the event in Kevin’s words as related in the closed Facebook group for coaching clients, Totem Raft-Up (self-named – the TRU Crew!).

TRU Crew comes through again! This post is at my pride’s expense, but I’m going to eat the proverbial crow and share. It’s long but there are some lessons here and recommended gear that saved my ass today and could save yours.

They say bad decisions happen when you are forced into a movement due to timelines like company coming. Looking back, I think it played a part in my stupidity today. We have guests arriving to Antigua tomorrow, and we want to take them up to Barbuda Wednesday. I spent some time the last few days getting the boat ready, and one last chore was to fuel up with diesel. We were happy in an anchorage, it was Callum’s birthday (our 8 year old), and Stephanie was busy making a cake and cleaning up for arriving guests. I had a few hours to kill so I decided instead of moving the boat to the marina I’d just bring 30 gal worth of diesel cans in and fill them, then transfer to that boat. It would save us some time in the morning from having to motor into the harbor to fuel up. No problems…

TRU crew in Barbuda: Steph & Kevin from Serendipity (Live the Voyage) at center, Dave & Marcie from Kairos5 at right.

Well, as this plan was finalized Steph had a good idea to bring extra gasoline to Barbuda. We carry 15 gallons on the rail, but there is no fuel in Barbuda, and with guests from home visiting for week, we plan to spend a lot of time in the dinghy (snorkeling, tubing, etc). So I grabbed an extra yellow jerry can, wrote “GAS” on it, and proceeded to shore….I’m sure you know where this is going.

When I got back I unloaded the fuel, and started to fuel pretty quickly. I was distracted as it was Cal’s bday and wanted to get going. I used a shaker siphon to fuel, which is handy on a boat. I started the siphon and quickly put 5 gallons of fuel into the boat. I started my second can, and then went to clean up the first can and when I grabbed it I saw “GAS” written on the back side of it. Holy shit, 5 gallons of gasoline into my diesel tank. I seriously looked like Jim Carey on Liar Liar kicking my own ass!

Lesson – if you use a yellow can to fill gasoline, mark the shit out of it! 

Here is how TRU saved my ass. Going back to the fall, I lost my engine due to debris that clogged the fuel line. I got it running, but after had my fuel polished. Jamie was awesome help with this, and even though I didn’t use his recommended “emergency” polisher, I took his advice and ordered some parts that you may not think to have on board. It takes two pieces of gear to polish your fuel in a pinch. First, a 12 volt transfer pump, and second, a funnel with a filter.

You could pull the fuel out of the tank and back in through the filter, removing debris. Well, I didn’t use the funnel today but damn did that fuel pump earn it’s keep.

I opened the tank through one of the access holes and removed 23 gallons of contaminated fuel. I then used this handy pump to get the rest. I was able to empty all but maybe a couple ounces out of the tank. I’m going to put a minimum of 40 gallons in the tank before I start the engine. That’s 5,120 ounces. Even if there is a quart of contaminated fuel, that’s only .6% and only a fraction of that is gasoline. I think I’ll be okay, but damn, what a dumb move!

I called Jamie during all of this and he talked me off the ledge. Thanks! So don’t be me and don’t let distractions mess you up!

Serendipity’s crew recovered quickly. It helps to know you’re far from the first, and other TRU chimed in with their (mis)adventures in fueling. I didn’t even get to bringing up the story about our own cruising mentors and the time they added diesel to the water tank… a step further in the levels of cruiser hell. Our highs are higher, but our lows can be lower!

Meanwhile, this is Serendipity’s recent view. The squall passed; it wasn’t such a bad day after all.

TRU Crew anchored off Barbuda: thanks to Stephanie at Live the Voyage for this pic!

Gear to consider

A few bits that clearly can be really useful… and for more than just these scenarios, where the wrong liquid ends up in a diesel tank.

Twelve-volt transfer pump.

This diesel transfer kit from Orion Motor Tech would serve both Totem and Serendipity’s uses. We purchased ours (similar to this model) just a few weeks after the water-into-diesel debacle in Australia from a cruiser unloading gear prior to selling their boat.

Other everyday cruising uses: our 12v transfer pump (see top two pics of Jamie using it) is currently loaned to another boat in the anchorage that needed to polish their fuel to try and remove a diesel bug (a microbial contamination gunking up their fuel, common enough a problem). It’s bailed us out from similar situations when we had a persistent diesel bug in Southeast Asia, and most recently helped polish dirty fuel we boarded at an outer island in the Bahamas.

Fuel filter.

Mr Funnel filters come in a range of sizes depending on how much fuel you’re running through them. We keep a small one for gas going into the dinghy and generator. And a large one for diesel. We also have a Baja filter, which haven’t been made for over a decade. Note that funnel filters remove debris and trace amounts of water (but not more).

Fuel is almost always filtered before it goes in our tanks. The only time we don’t filter is at a high-volume dock or place with a solid reputation. If there’s concern about fuel quality, we put some in a glass jar and wait a few minutes to see if there’s separation.

Siphon hose.

Self-priming hoses mean you don’t get your mouth involved in the siphoning process (yuck!). There are no fuel docks in most of the miles we’ve cruised; siphoning from jerry cans is a fact of life, and it’s good to be prepared.

Sponsorship/advertising note: we have zero association with these brands listed above. These recommendations do use Amazon’s affiliate program, so if you click through a product link and purchase something (anything) on Amazon, that slides some coin in our cruising kitty (thanks!).  I point it out since a couple of people have asked if we had sponsorship from any of products mentioned in our new tools on Totem article recently. Nope! No affiliation with them at all, just like these; we’re just sharing some kit that’s working well on board. Do we have sponsors? Yes, we do. It’s a very few, deliberately kept to the select products/services that we love can be genuinely enthusiastic about, and in limited number to avoid ever being taken as shills. For more information, see our Values Statement.

from Sailing Totem http://bit.ly/2ULe3Op via IFTTT

#IFTTT #Sailing Totem

[additionallysad]

Four Ways We Added Storage & Function To My Beloved Shed http://ift.tt/2n5wF8H

Last summer we bought a shed to alleviate some of our garage storage woes/messes (more on that here). It was love at first sight, but alas – it remained empty for months as I sat paralyzed, unable to pinpoint the “perfect” way to organize it. I didn’t want to let my baby down by not letting her live up to her full potential. Listeners of our podcast have heard me mention it time and time again (me saying the word “shed” might as well be a drinking game at this point). But once I let go of the idea of getting it perfect and just steered myself towards solving my storage problems one-by-one, we were finally able to help our empty shed fulfill its destiny become the storage workhorse I always knew it could be.

The reason I was having trouble getting started was because I couldn’t figure out how many functions I wanted to cram in there. Is it mostly workspace and tool storage? Do I put garden and outdoor tools in there too? And if so, how much space is all of that stuff gonna take up? I didn’t want to move so much in there that we couldn’t comfortably work, and I was getting nowhere trying to floor plan it. Ultimately I told myself: prioritize the functions you want it to serve & the problems you want it to solve – then just work down the list until it’s full enough. Whatever didn’t make it could just stay in the garage. Sounds simple, and it was. And it was actionable, so I was finally doing something.

Solution #1: Workbench & Pegboard

If nothing else, I wanted to add a work table. We had one in our last workshop, but for the last 3.5 years here we’ve just been working on the garage floor (#glamorous). Also, by shifting most of our woodworking to the shed, we’d no longer deal with having sawdust coating every last surface in the garage every time we cut something in there (the bikes, the kids’ scooters, the car, etc). So the very first thing I did was buy this workbench from Home Depot.

The price was right ($77!) and it is easily movable/collapsible, in case I want to arrange things differently down the line. That was another key to unlock my indecision: creating flexibility. It makes you worry a lot less if you know you can change or undo something down the line. But so far: no regrets. It’s been great and we like where we set it up: centered on the longest wall, right across from the doors. Consider it a focal point of sorts.

You can also see I bought some clear 12-gallon storage bins that fit nicely underneath it (like these), and discovered some pegboard panels leftover from our second book that would fit perfectly behind the bench once they were cut down and hung (see below). Booyah, free storage. My garage hoarding does pay off sometimes!

I loved having tools on pegboards in my old workshop. Call it cliché, but they really are a visually appealing and (more importantly) very functional way to store this kind of stuff. Plus, it’s a huuuuge improvement over where we’d been grabbing many of our tools lately: random drawers here and there, not to mention several “who-knows-what’s-in-the-bottom-of-that” bins that were never unpacked since we moved to this house back in 2013. We just sort of stirred them with our arms to find stuff. Like nail and screw soup.

By reusing my old pegboard hooks and clips (as well as referencing some of the old pics) I was able to get most of our small-to-medium sized tools organized there. I even used some of the space above the pegboards to stash sanding blocks, tubs of wood filler, and other un-hangables.

Most of what’s out here is stuff that we will primarily use in the shed (and we still have some duplicate screwdrivers and such in our kitchen for quick access). We also made a small picture-hanging box (sort of like a small tackle box that we filled with nails, ook hooks, screws, and anchors) which makes more sense to keep inside than out in the shed.

The clear storage bins underneath are sorted by project – tiling supplies in one, lawn irrigation stuff another, and painting stuff in a third. The fourth is still empty (room to grow!). And, although the clear bins aren’t as aesthetically pleasing as solid colored ones might be, I like that we can quickly see what’s inside without having to rely on labels (which I’ve found I rarely keep updated). Function over form in here, fo sho.

Solution #2: Scrap Wood Storage

One of the main contributors to our garage looking disgusting (besides the thin layer of sawdust on everything) was all the scrap wood strewn around. I refuse to show you a wide shot of our former garage grossness, but here are a couple of corners to give you a taste. There were plenty of contributors to the chaos, but the scrap wood was getting to the point where it was too hard to access or sift through, so I was rarely checking it thoroughly before starting a new project. It had officially become more refuse than resource.

So with my workspace set – I turned my attention to making sensible scrap wood storage in the shed. I started by hauling all of it OUT of the garage and INTO the shed (I also set a general rule for myself – once anything came into the shed, it didn’t get to go back to the garage). You can see here that I had amassed quite the diverse collection.

I turned to Pinterest for ideas for scrap wood storage or organizers, but most of what I saw was either very elaborate (it spins! it folds out! it makes coffee! – okay, maybe not that last one) or alarmingly tidy. Am I the only one with wood that doesn’t nicely match? So I decided to just improvise a bit. After all, my main goal was to put it all in one place, in a way that I could sort through it all without everything falling on me or my pocket sized wife (we might never find her). Oh, and I also wanted to use as much scrap wood as possible to actually build it. I had to grab a few new 2×4″s for enough stability, but I really resisted the urge to buy more lumber to corral my existing lumber.

Here’s where I ended up, and then I’ll show you how I got there. I realize all the wood-on-wood tones don’t make this super easy to decipher, but in person it’s gloriously simple.

To create the flat storage area at the base, I cut some 2 x 4″s into two matching boxes. My sizes were determined by the space where I was putting it (the corner beyond the side window), but you can adjust the lengths based on your needs.

I used my pocket hole jig to attach the pieces and form the two flat rectangles, and then broke out my nailer to secure some thin plywood scraps over the top to create the bottom platform.

Using more 2 x 4″s, I cut and screwed several short “posts” along the side and back edges of the bottom platform (again using pocket holes). The front stayed open so I could slide my pieces in that way.

Then I secured the other platform on top of the posts by screwing directly through it into each post.

Next I nailed a thicker 1/2″ piece of scrap plywood on top. The heftier top shelf not only added support to the structure, it also would better withstand the weight of all of the wood that would be resting on it eventually.

Then I cut 8 three-foot pieces of 2 x 4″ and used pocket holes to secure them to the base. I steadied each post and gave the whole structure more stability by nailing a frame around the top and bottom perimeter, leaving the top front open so I could easily lean pieces inside each open cubby. But the bottom front piece is important to keep the leaned wood from slipping out, so don’t leave that out.

You can also see from this angle that I added extra back & side pieces to the far right compartment (which would store the smallest pieces of wood) to keep things from falling through the sides. I also left a gap on the right side of the organizer where I could slide in large flat pieces against the wall.

Here’s that after again. It’s a bit fuller than I wish it was, but now that I can find pieces more easily than before (it’s all in one spot! it’s organized by length!) I’ve already found myself making fewer runs to the store and relying more on leftover scraps.

The only thing I might still add is a small basket or bucket mounted to the wall so I can toss in small leftover blocks of wood. I find those handy to have around for things like propping up an item that we’re painting or spray painting so it doesn’t get stuck to the tarp or cardboard underneath. Also, I clearly have a problem not throwing any wood away. The first step is admitting you have a problem.

Solution #3: Heavy Duty Shelving

Not only did I want to get some of our bigger tools (table saw, tile saw, wet vac, etc) out of the way in the garage – we also wanted to move those into the shed because that’s where many of them will actually get used! So next up on the to-do list was some heavy duty shelving. You know, something that would stand up to the weight of bigger tools (more than your typical plastic or wire garage shelf). Here’s where I ended up.

This is just on the left side of the same window that is to the left of the scrap wood holder, so this whole side of the shed is now maximized with storage. I was able to build the entire thing out of leftover plywood and new 2 x 4″ boards. I started by cutting 4 pairs of matching 2 x 4″s, measured to fill the wall between the corner and the window.

Using a level and a tape measure, I used long screws (into studs!) to hang one board from each pair against the wall. Your shelves are ultimately going to rest on top of these boards. You can see the spacing I chose below, but it’s really up to you – I would just warn against not leaving yourself enough TALL shelf space (the two lower shelves are so helpful for larger items).

Next – and this is going to sound weird – you loosely attach the other half of the each pair directly over the boards already in the wall, making sure to line everything up perfectly.

I used two screws per board, and you don’t have to drive your screws all the way in, just enough to hold everything together for the next few minutes. The attaching thing is just temporary.

Next, you’re going to add vertical 2 x 4″ supports that rest on the floor and are cut to go no higher than your top board. I started with three, but as you saw in the final photo – I ended up removing the middle post. You’ll want to screw these posts tightly into the outer horizontal pieces (make sure your screws aren’t so crazy long that they go into the back pieces too). And again, use your level to keep them straight.

Now you can remove those “temporary” screws and the whole front portion of your shelving system will pull away from the wall in one glorious piece. Sorry I don’t have a photo of this but it was like MAGIC. You’re basically cloning the back frame exactly so that when you pull it off the front frame, the horizontal shelf supports will be perfectly lined up. So then you just have to add some side pieces that will create the depth you need for the shelves and it all gets attached again.

When you’re done with that part – it should look a little something like this.

Next, I added some leftover 1/2″ plywood pieces to the top with nails. That’s when I realized it was feeling EXTREMELY steady and I could remove that middle post (which would ultimately make it easier to slide large objects onto the shelves).

I’ll admit I didn’t really “plan” what was going to fit on there when I built it, but it turned out to be great for lots of our boxed tools, random painting supplies, various saws, etc. This thing is so dang sturdy you could invite a few dozen kids to climb all over it. Or fill it with tons of heavy tools, which is what I did. Sorry, kids.

Ana White, who gave us the idea for this project, actually has a great video that shows this process in action (and on a much bigger scale!) in case you were wondering how to implement it for a space like a garage.

Solution #4: Small Part Organization

With most of my large and medium sized tools out of the garage and into the shed, I turned my attention to the tiny stuff: screws, nails, etc. The mason jars I had used on a shelf in my last workshop had been much less efficient in the drawers where they lived in this house’s garage. We couldn’t see what was in anything from above, so we were constantly lifting up jar after jar to find the right anchors or screws.

I brought all of the drawers into the shed so I could see my stash all in one place. Not knowing exactly how I’d divvy everything up, I bought three styles of small part organizers from the store (slide-out, tip-out, portable). They were each less than $20 (they’re just plastic) and offered slightly different size and configuration options (spoiler alert: I ended up returning the one laying on the floor because I just didn’t need it).

There’s not really any magic to how I sorted things, so I’ll spare you that part. I just kept screws near screws, nails near nails, etc. I didn’t label anything because, again, I’ve found that I don’t keep up with labels (or as I once heard someone say: “I’m a Millennial, I don’t like labels.“). The real magic here was taking the time to mount these on the wall.

They come with keyhole cut-outs on the back that make them ready-to-hang, so I found an otherwise pretty useless skinny section of the wall and hung them on top of one another. I’ll warn you that the plastic covers on the bottom one are a little janky. You can see I already chipped off the top corner of one, but it doesn’t really affect my day-to-day use of them.

I also like the small gray compartments because they can be removed all the way, so we can take the appropriate container of screws over to our workspace if need be.

What’s Next?

I wouldn’t call the shed “done” yet because the entire other wall across from my shelving & scrap storage is still basically empty – well, except for our miter saw, the stand for our wet saw, and some sawhorses. But I’m actually planning to keep it pretty empty for a little while. It’s not because our garage is suddenly perfect (it’s still far from presentable thanks to the future beach house furniture that’s slowly taking up residence there). No, it’s just that I’m finding it’s nice to have flexible work space in the shed, rather than cramming every corner with storage.

I probably will add a few other areas/functions sooner or later since there’s room, but I’m not in a rush. This has already solved a lot of our top priority problems in the garage (no more sawdust covering everything!), so the shed is definitely earning its keep. Especially considering I’ve basically only had to buy a workbench, some plastic containers, and a few 2 x 4″ boards to make it functional.

And the moral of the story? Doing something is better than doing nothing, even if it means you have to let go of making everything picture perfect and just focus on making it function – especially when it comes to hardworking spaces like a shed, garage, or even a mudroom. You don’t have to solve everything all at once, but even just by starting with something that’s flexible and not too expensive will help you find your momentum. In other words: carpe shed diem!

**This post contains affiliates**

The post Four Ways We Added Storage & Function To My Beloved Shed appeared first on Young House Love.

#additionally sad home renovations

[vincentbnaughton]

Four Ways We Added Storage & Function To My Beloved Shed

Last summer we bought a shed to alleviate some of our garage storage woes/messes (more on that here). It was love at first sight, but alas – it remained empty for months as I sat paralyzed, unable to pinpoint the “perfect” way to organize it. I didn’t want to let my baby down by not letting her live up to her full potential. Listeners of our podcast have heard me mention it time and time again (me saying the word “shed” might as well be a drinking game at this point). But once I let go of the idea of getting it perfect and just steered myself towards solving my storage problems one-by-one, we were finally able to help our empty shed fulfill its destiny become the storage workhorse I always knew it could be.

The reason I was having trouble getting started was because I couldn’t figure out how many functions I wanted to cram in there. Is it mostly workspace and tool storage? Do I put garden and outdoor tools in there too? And if so, how much space is all of that stuff gonna take up? I didn’t want to move so much in there that we couldn’t comfortably work, and I was getting nowhere trying to floor plan it. Ultimately I told myself: prioritize the functions you want it to serve & the problems you want it to solve – then just work down the list until it’s full enough. Whatever didn’t make it could just stay in the garage. Sounds simple, and it was. And it was actionable, so I was finally doing something.

Solution #1: Workbench & Pegboard

If nothing else, I wanted to add a work table. We had one in our last workshop, but for the last 3.5 years here we’ve just been working on the garage floor (#glamorous). Also, by shifting most of our woodworking to the shed, we’d no longer deal with having sawdust coating every last surface in the garage every time we cut something in there (the bikes, the kids’ scooters, the car, etc). So the very first thing I did was buy this workbench from Home Depot.

The price was right ($77!) and it is easily movable/collapsible, in case I want to arrange things differently down the line. That was another key to unlock my indecision: creating flexibility. It makes you worry a lot less if you know you can change or undo something down the line. But so far: no regrets. It’s been great and we like where we set it up: centered on the longest wall, right across from the doors. Consider it a focal point of sorts.

You can also see I bought some clear 12-gallon storage bins that fit nicely underneath it (like these), and discovered some pegboard panels leftover from our second book that would fit perfectly behind the bench once they were cut down and hung (see below). Booyah, free storage. My garage hoarding does pay off sometimes!

I loved having tools on pegboards in my old workshop. Call it cliché, but they really are a visually appealing and (more importantly) very functional way to store this kind of stuff. Plus, it’s a huuuuge improvement over where we’d been grabbing many of our tools lately: random drawers here and there, not to mention several “who-knows-what’s-in-the-bottom-of-that” bins that were never unpacked since we moved to this house back in 2013. We just sort of stirred them with our arms to find stuff. Like nail and screw soup.

By reusing my old pegboard hooks and clips (as well as referencing some of the old pics) I was able to get most of our small-to-medium sized tools organized there. I even used some of the space above the pegboards to stash sanding blocks, tubs of wood filler, and other un-hangables.

Most of what’s out here is stuff that we will primarily use in the shed (and we still have some duplicate screwdrivers and such in our kitchen for quick access). We also made a small picture-hanging box (sort of like a small tackle box that we filled with nails, ook hooks, screws, and anchors) which makes more sense to keep inside than out in the shed.

The clear storage bins underneath are sorted by project – tiling supplies in one, lawn irrigation stuff another, and painting stuff in a third. The fourth is still empty (room to grow!). And, although the clear bins aren’t as aesthetically pleasing as solid colored ones might be, I like that we can quickly see what’s inside without having to rely on labels (which I’ve found I rarely keep updated). Function over form in here, fo sho.

Solution #2: Scrap Wood Storage

One of the main contributors to our garage looking disgusting (besides the thin layer of sawdust on everything) was all the scrap wood strewn around. I refuse to show you a wide shot of our former garage grossness, but here are a couple of corners to give you a taste. There were plenty of contributors to the chaos, but the scrap wood was getting to the point where it was too hard to access or sift through, so I was rarely checking it thoroughly before starting a new project. It had officially become more refuse than resource.

So with my workspace set – I turned my attention to making sensible scrap wood storage in the shed. I started by hauling all of it OUT of the garage and INTO the shed (I also set a general rule for myself – once anything came into the shed, it didn’t get to go back to the garage). You can see here that I had amassed quite the diverse collection.

I turned to Pinterest for ideas for scrap wood storage or organizers, but most of what I saw was either very elaborate (it spins! it folds out! it makes coffee! – okay, maybe not that last one) or alarmingly tidy. Am I the only one with wood that doesn’t nicely match? So I decided to just improvise a bit. After all, my main goal was to put it all in one place, in a way that I could sort through it all without everything falling on me or my pocket sized wife (we might never find her). Oh, and I also wanted to use as much scrap wood as possible to actually build it. I had to grab a few new 2×4″s for enough stability, but I really resisted the urge to buy more lumber to corral my existing lumber.

Here’s where I ended up, and then I’ll show you how I got there. I realize all the wood-on-wood tones don’t make this super easy to decipher, but in person it’s gloriously simple.

To create the flat storage area at the base, I cut some 2 x 4″s into two matching boxes. My sizes were determined by the space where I was putting it (the corner beyond the side window), but you can adjust the lengths based on your needs.

I used my pocket hole jig to attach the pieces and form the two flat rectangles, and then broke out my nailer to secure some thin plywood scraps over the top to create the bottom platform.

Using more 2 x 4″s, I cut and screwed several short “posts” along the side and back edges of the bottom platform (again using pocket holes). The front stayed open so I could slide my pieces in that way.

Then I secured the other platform on top of the posts by screwing directly through it into each post.

Next I nailed a thicker 1/2″ piece of scrap plywood on top. The heftier top shelf not only added support to the structure, it also would better withstand the weight of all of the wood that would be resting on it eventually.

Then I cut 8 three-foot pieces of 2 x 4″ and used pocket holes to secure them to the base. I steadied each post and gave the whole structure more stability by nailing a frame around the top and bottom perimeter, leaving the top front open so I could easily lean pieces inside each open cubby. But the bottom front piece is important to keep the leaned wood from slipping out, so don’t leave that out.

You can also see from this angle that I added extra back & side pieces to the far right compartment (which would store the smallest pieces of wood) to keep things from falling through the sides. I also left a gap on the right side of the organizer where I could slide in large flat pieces against the wall.

Here’s that after again. It’s a bit fuller than I wish it was, but now that I can find pieces more easily than before (it’s all in one spot! it’s organized by length!) I’ve already found myself making fewer runs to the store and relying more on leftover scraps.

The only thing I might still add is a small basket or bucket mounted to the wall so I can toss in small leftover blocks of wood. I find those handy to have around for things like propping up an item that we’re painting or spray painting so it doesn’t get stuck to the tarp or cardboard underneath. Also, I clearly have a problem not throwing any wood away. The first step is admitting you have a problem.

Solution #3: Heavy Duty Shelving

Not only did I want to get some of our bigger tools (table saw, tile saw, wet vac, etc) out of the way in the garage – we also wanted to move those into the shed because that’s where many of them will actually get used! So next up on the to-do list was some heavy duty shelving. You know, something that would stand up to the weight of bigger tools (more than your typical plastic or wire garage shelf). Here’s where I ended up.

This is just on the left side of the same window that is to the left of the scrap wood holder, so this whole side of the shed is now maximized with storage. I was able to build the entire thing out of leftover plywood and new 2 x 4″ boards. I started by cutting 4 pairs of matching 2 x 4″s, measured to fill the wall between the corner and the window.

Using a level and a tape measure, I used long screws (into studs!) to hang one board from each pair against the wall. Your shelves are ultimately going to rest on top of these boards. You can see the spacing I chose below, but it’s really up to you – I would just warn against not leaving yourself enough TALL shelf space (the two lower shelves are so helpful for larger items).

Next – and this is going to sound weird – you loosely attach the other half of the each pair directly over the boards already in the wall, making sure to line everything up perfectly.

I used two screws per board, and you don’t have to drive your screws all the way in, just enough to hold everything together for the next few minutes. The attaching thing is just temporary.

Next, you’re going to add vertical 2 x 4″ supports that rest on the floor and are cut to go no higher than your top board. I started with three, but as you saw in the final photo – I ended up removing the middle post. You’ll want to screw these posts tightly into the outer horizontal pieces (make sure your screws aren’t so crazy long that they go into the back pieces too). And again, use your level to keep them straight.

Now you can remove those “temporary” screws and the whole front portion of your shelving system will pull away from the wall in one glorious piece. Sorry I don’t have a photo of this but it was like MAGIC. You’re basically cloning the back frame exactly so that when you pull it off the front frame, the horizontal shelf supports will be perfectly lined up. So then you just have to add some side pieces that will create the depth you need for the shelves and it all gets attached again.

When you’re done with that part – it should look a little something like this.

Next, I added some leftover 1/2″ plywood pieces to the top with nails. That’s when I realized it was feeling EXTREMELY steady and I could remove that middle post (which would ultimately make it easier to slide large objects onto the shelves).

I’ll admit I didn’t really “plan” what was going to fit on there when I built it, but it turned out to be great for lots of our boxed tools, random painting supplies, various saws, etc. This thing is so dang sturdy you could invite a few dozen kids to climb all over it. Or fill it with tons of heavy tools, which is what I did. Sorry, kids.

Ana White, who gave us the idea for this project, actually has a great video that shows this process in action (and on a much bigger scale!) in case you were wondering how to implement it for a space like a garage.

Solution #4: Small Part Organization

With most of my large and medium sized tools out of the garage and into the shed, I turned my attention to the tiny stuff: screws, nails, etc. The mason jars I had used on a shelf in my last workshop had been much less efficient in the drawers where they lived in this house’s garage. We couldn’t see what was in anything from above, so we were constantly lifting up jar after jar to find the right anchors or screws.

I brought all of the drawers into the shed so I could see my stash all in one place. Not knowing exactly how I’d divvy everything up, I bought three styles of small part organizers from the store (slide-out, tip-out, portable). They were each less than $20 (they’re just plastic) and offered slightly different size and configuration options (spoiler alert: I ended up returning the one laying on the floor because I just didn’t need it).

There’s not really any magic to how I sorted things, so I’ll spare you that part. I just kept screws near screws, nails near nails, etc. I didn’t label anything because, again, I’ve found that I don’t keep up with labels (or as I once heard someone say: “I’m a Millennial, I don’t like labels.“). The real magic here was taking the time to mount these on the wall.

They come with keyhole cut-outs on the back that make them ready-to-hang, so I found an otherwise pretty useless skinny section of the wall and hung them on top of one another. I’ll warn you that the plastic covers on the bottom one are a little janky. You can see I already chipped off the top corner of one, but it doesn’t really affect my day-to-day use of them.

I also like the small gray compartments because they can be removed all the way, so we can take the appropriate container of screws over to our workspace if need be.

What’s Next?

I wouldn’t call the shed “done” yet because the entire other wall across from my shelving & scrap storage is still basically empty – well, except for our miter saw, the stand for our wet saw, and some sawhorses. But I’m actually planning to keep it pretty empty for a little while. It’s not because our garage is suddenly perfect (it’s still far from presentable thanks to the future beach house furniture that’s slowly taking up residence there). No, it’s just that I’m finding it’s nice to have flexible work space in the shed, rather than cramming every corner with storage.

I probably will add a few other areas/functions sooner or later since there’s room, but I’m not in a rush. This has already solved a lot of our top priority problems in the garage (no more sawdust covering everything!), so the shed is definitely earning its keep. Especially considering I’ve basically only had to buy a workbench, some plastic containers, and a few 2 x 4″ boards to make it functional.

And the moral of the story? Doing something is better than doing nothing, even if it means you have to let go of making everything picture perfect and just focus on making it function – especially when it comes to hardworking spaces like a shed, garage, or even a mudroom. You don’t have to solve everything all at once, but even just by starting with something that’s flexible and not too expensive will help you find your momentum. In other words: carpe shed diem!

**This post contains affiliates**

The post Four Ways We Added Storage & Function To My Beloved Shed appeared first on Young House Love.

[vincentbnaughton]

Four Ways We Added Storage & Function To My Beloved Shed

Last summer we bought a shed to alleviate some of our garage storage woes/messes (more on that here). It was love at first sight, but alas – it remained empty for months as I sat paralyzed, unable to pinpoint the “perfect” way to organize it. I didn’t want to let my baby down by not letting her live up to her full potential. Listeners of our podcast have heard me mention it time and time again (me saying the word “shed” might as well be a drinking game at this point). But once I let go of the idea of getting it perfect and just steered myself towards solving my storage problems one-by-one, we were finally able to help our empty shed fulfill its destiny become the storage workhorse I always knew it could be.

The reason I was having trouble getting started was because I couldn’t figure out how many functions I wanted to cram in there. Is it mostly workspace and tool storage? Do I put garden and outdoor tools in there too? And if so, how much space is all of that stuff gonna take up? I didn’t want to move so much in there that we couldn’t comfortably work, and I was getting nowhere trying to floor plan it. Ultimately I told myself: prioritize the functions you want it to serve & the problems you want it to solve – then just work down the list until it’s full enough. Whatever didn’t make it could just stay in the garage. Sounds simple, and it was. And it was actionable, so I was finally doing something.

Solution #1: Workbench & Pegboard

If nothing else, I wanted to add a work table. We had one in our last workshop, but for the last 3.5 years here we’ve just been working on the garage floor (#glamorous). Also, by shifting most of our woodworking to the shed, we’d no longer deal with having sawdust coating every last surface in the garage every time we cut something in there (the bikes, the kids’ scooters, the car, etc). So the very first thing I did was buy this workbench from Home Depot.

The price was right ($77!) and it is easily movable/collapsible, in case I want to arrange things differently down the line. That was another key to unlock my indecision: creating flexibility. It makes you worry a lot less if you know you can change or undo something down the line. But so far: no regrets. It’s been great and we like where we set it up: centered on the longest wall, right across from the doors. Consider it a focal point of sorts.

You can also see I bought some clear 12-gallon storage bins that fit nicely underneath it (like these), and discovered some pegboard panels leftover from our second book that would fit perfectly behind the bench once they were cut down and hung (see below). Booyah, free storage. My garage hoarding does pay off sometimes!

I loved having tools on pegboards in my old workshop. Call it cliché, but they really are a visually appealing and (more importantly) very functional way to store this kind of stuff. Plus, it’s a huuuuge improvement over where we’d been grabbing many of our tools lately: random drawers here and there, not to mention several “who-knows-what’s-in-the-bottom-of-that” bins that were never unpacked since we moved to this house back in 2013. We just sort of stirred them with our arms to find stuff. Like nail and screw soup.

By reusing my old pegboard hooks and clips (as well as referencing some of the old pics) I was able to get most of our small-to-medium sized tools organized there. I even used some of the space above the pegboards to stash sanding blocks, tubs of wood filler, and other un-hangables.

Most of what’s out here is stuff that we will primarily use in the shed (and we still have some duplicate screwdrivers and such in our kitchen for quick access). We also made a small picture-hanging box (sort of like a small tackle box that we filled with nails, ook hooks, screws, and anchors) which makes more sense to keep inside than out in the shed.

The clear storage bins underneath are sorted by project – tiling supplies in one, lawn irrigation stuff another, and painting stuff in a third. The fourth is still empty (room to grow!). And, although the clear bins aren’t as aesthetically pleasing as solid colored ones might be, I like that we can quickly see what’s inside without having to rely on labels (which I’ve found I rarely keep updated). Function over form in here, fo sho.

Solution #2: Scrap Wood Storage

One of the main contributors to our garage looking disgusting (besides the thin layer of sawdust on everything) was all the scrap wood strewn around. I refuse to show you a wide shot of our former garage grossness, but here are a couple of corners to give you a taste. There were plenty of contributors to the chaos, but the scrap wood was getting to the point where it was too hard to access or sift through, so I was rarely checking it thoroughly before starting a new project. It had officially become more refuse than resource.

So with my workspace set – I turned my attention to making sensible scrap wood storage in the shed. I started by hauling all of it OUT of the garage and INTO the shed (I also set a general rule for myself – once anything came into the shed, it didn’t get to go back to the garage). You can see here that I had amassed quite the diverse collection.

I turned to Pinterest for ideas for scrap wood storage or organizers, but most of what I saw was either very elaborate (it spins! it folds out! it makes coffee! – okay, maybe not that last one) or alarmingly tidy. Am I the only one with wood that doesn’t nicely match? So I decided to just improvise a bit. After all, my main goal was to put it all in one place, in a way that I could sort through it all without everything falling on me or my pocket sized wife (we might never find her). Oh, and I also wanted to use as much scrap wood as possible to actually build it. I had to grab a few new 2×4″s for enough stability, but I really resisted the urge to buy more lumber to corral my existing lumber.

Here’s where I ended up, and then I’ll show you how I got there. I realize all the wood-on-wood tones don’t make this super easy to decipher, but in person it’s gloriously simple.

To create the flat storage area at the base, I cut some 2 x 4″s into two matching boxes. My sizes were determined by the space where I was putting it (the corner beyond the side window), but you can adjust the lengths based on your needs.

I used my pocket hole jig to attach the pieces and form the two flat rectangles, and then broke out my nailer to secure some thin plywood scraps over the top to create the bottom platform.

Using more 2 x 4″s, I cut and screwed several short “posts” along the side and back edges of the bottom platform (again using pocket holes). The front stayed open so I could slide my pieces in that way.

Then I secured the other platform on top of the posts by screwing directly through it into each post.

Next I nailed a thicker 1/2″ piece of scrap plywood on top. The heftier top shelf not only added support to the structure, it also would better withstand the weight of all of the wood that would be resting on it eventually.

Then I cut 8 three-foot pieces of 2 x 4″ and used pocket holes to secure them to the base. I steadied each post and gave the whole structure more stability by nailing a frame around the top and bottom perimeter, leaving the top front open so I could easily lean pieces inside each open cubby. But the bottom front piece is important to keep the leaned wood from slipping out, so don’t leave that out.

You can also see from this angle that I added extra back & side pieces to the far right compartment (which would store the smallest pieces of wood) to keep things from falling through the sides. I also left a gap on the right side of the organizer where I could slide in large flat pieces against the wall.

Here’s that after again. It’s a bit fuller than I wish it was, but now that I can find pieces more easily than before (it’s all in one spot! it’s organized by length!) I’ve already found myself making fewer runs to the store and relying more on leftover scraps.

The only thing I might still add is a small basket or bucket mounted to the wall so I can toss in small leftover blocks of wood. I find those handy to have around for things like propping up an item that we’re painting or spray painting so it doesn’t get stuck to the tarp or cardboard underneath. Also, I clearly have a problem not throwing any wood away. The first step is admitting you have a problem.

Solution #3: Heavy Duty Shelving

Not only did I want to get some of our bigger tools (table saw, tile saw, wet vac, etc) out of the way in the garage – we also wanted to move those into the shed because that’s where many of them will actually get used! So next up on the to-do list was some heavy duty shelving. You know, something that would stand up to the weight of bigger tools (more than your typical plastic or wire garage shelf). Here’s where I ended up.

This is just on the left side of the same window that is to the left of the scrap wood holder, so this whole side of the shed is now maximized with storage. I was able to build the entire thing out of leftover plywood and new 2 x 4″ boards. I started by cutting 4 pairs of matching 2 x 4″s, measured to fill the wall between the corner and the window.

Using a level and a tape measure, I used long screws (into studs!) to hang one board from each pair against the wall. Your shelves are ultimately going to rest on top of these boards. You can see the spacing I chose below, but it’s really up to you – I would just warn against not leaving yourself enough TALL shelf space (the two lower shelves are so helpful for larger items).

Next – and this is going to sound weird – you loosely attach the other half of the each pair directly over the boards already in the wall, making sure to line everything up perfectly.

I used two screws per board, and you don’t have to drive your screws all the way in, just enough to hold everything together for the next few minutes. The attaching thing is just temporary.

Next, you’re going to add vertical 2 x 4″ supports that rest on the floor and are cut to go no higher than your top board. I started with three, but as you saw in the final photo – I ended up removing the middle post. You’ll want to screw these posts tightly into the outer horizontal pieces (make sure your screws aren’t so crazy long that they go into the back pieces too). And again, use your level to keep them straight.

Now you can remove those “temporary” screws and the whole front portion of your shelving system will pull away from the wall in one glorious piece. Sorry I don’t have a photo of this but it was like MAGIC. You’re basically cloning the back frame exactly so that when you pull it off the front frame, the horizontal shelf supports will be perfectly lined up. So then you just have to add some side pieces that will create the depth you need for the shelves and it all gets attached again.

When you’re done with that part – it should look a little something like this.

Next, I added some leftover 1/2″ plywood pieces to the top with nails. That’s when I realized it was feeling EXTREMELY steady and I could remove that middle post (which would ultimately make it easier to slide large objects onto the shelves).

I’ll admit I didn’t really “plan” what was going to fit on there when I built it, but it turned out to be great for lots of our boxed tools, random painting supplies, various saws, etc. This thing is so dang sturdy you could invite a few dozen kids to climb all over it. Or fill it with tons of heavy tools, which is what I did. Sorry, kids.

Ana White, who gave us the idea for this project, actually has a great video that shows this process in action (and on a much bigger scale!) in case you were wondering how to implement it for a space like a garage.

Solution #4: Small Part Organization

With most of my large and medium sized tools out of the garage and into the shed, I turned my attention to the tiny stuff: screws, nails, etc. The mason jars I had used on a shelf in my last workshop had been much less efficient in the drawers where they lived in this house’s garage. We couldn’t see what was in anything from above, so we were constantly lifting up jar after jar to find the right anchors or screws.

I brought all of the drawers into the shed so I could see my stash all in one place. Not knowing exactly how I’d divvy everything up, I bought three styles of small part organizers from the store (slide-out, tip-out, portable). They were each less than $20 (they’re just plastic) and offered slightly different size and configuration options (spoiler alert: I ended up returning the one laying on the floor because I just didn’t need it).

There’s not really any magic to how I sorted things, so I’ll spare you that part. I just kept screws near screws, nails near nails, etc. I didn’t label anything because, again, I’ve found that I don’t keep up with labels (or as I once heard someone say: “I’m a Millennial, I don’t like labels.“). The real magic here was taking the time to mount these on the wall.

They come with keyhole cut-outs on the back that make them ready-to-hang, so I found an otherwise pretty useless skinny section of the wall and hung them on top of one another. I’ll warn you that the plastic covers on the bottom one are a little janky. You can see I already chipped off the top corner of one, but it doesn’t really affect my day-to-day use of them.

I also like the small gray compartments because they can be removed all the way, so we can take the appropriate container of screws over to our workspace if need be.

What’s Next?

I wouldn’t call the shed “done” yet because the entire other wall across from my shelving & scrap storage is still basically empty – well, except for our miter saw, the stand for our wet saw, and some sawhorses. But I’m actually planning to keep it pretty empty for a little while. It’s not because our garage is suddenly perfect (it’s still far from presentable thanks to the future beach house furniture that’s slowly taking up residence there). No, it’s just that I’m finding it’s nice to have flexible work space in the shed, rather than cramming every corner with storage.

I probably will add a few other areas/functions sooner or later since there’s room, but I’m not in a rush. This has already solved a lot of our top priority problems in the garage (no more sawdust covering everything!), so the shed is definitely earning its keep. Especially considering I’ve basically only had to buy a workbench, some plastic containers, and a few 2 x 4″ boards to make it functional.

And the moral of the story? Doing something is better than doing nothing, even if it means you have to let go of making everything picture perfect and just focus on making it function – especially when it comes to hardworking spaces like a shed, garage, or even a mudroom. You don’t have to solve everything all at once, but even just by starting with something that’s flexible and not too expensive will help you find your momentum. In other words: carpe shed diem!

**This post contains affiliates**

The post Four Ways We Added Storage & Function To My Beloved Shed appeared first on Young House Love.