#while posting the 14th painting in two weeks

[mars101]

5 Reasons To Love Lee Juyeon

☆ PAIRING = juyeon x reader

☆ GENRE = established relationship, pure pure fluff, i love love so much :<

☆ WARNINGS = reader is shorter than juyeon, eating, one use of y/n (i tried not to use it for once :<), pet names included: sweetie/sweetheart (to reader) & hon/honey (to juyeon)

☆ WORD COUNT = 3k?? or 2.9k??? one of those

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★ SYNOPSIS = "What made you love me?" a question not usually asked when it's your eighth year together. but juyeon was just so curious, so here's five reasons why (and how) you fell in love with lee juyeon.

★ RELEASE DATE = 02.14.24

★ PLAYLIST = 💌

★ AUTHOR’S WELCOME = happeeee (late) juyeon day !!!! i love you juyeon ☹️☹️ ok now its happy valentines day !!! lolol i was supposed to post this for his birthday but it was still a wip 💀 so now happy vday juyeon !! ok bye enjoy this pls (NOT PROOFREAD OR BETA READ BTW)

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Date: Feb 14th, 2024

“What made you love me?”

Juyeon’s sudden question made you stop mid-bite into your food. His tone makes you think he's playing around but when you look up at his face, he has a serious but curious expression displayed.

“So suddenly? Uhm…”

His eyebrows raise in curiosity as he awaits the answer. Mouth parted while he nods gesturing you to go on.

“You're you.”

“Huh?”

“I love you because you're Lee Juyeon”

The male pouts as a blush paints his cheeks, “I wanted to hear specifics. Like, like… you know!”

You chuckle at your lover's reaction and caress his hand on the table. “I'll give you specifics then, alright?”

“More than alright”

“Hmm let's see…”

No.1: “Lee Juyeon is a caring man.”

Date: Feb 14th, 2019.

Valentine's Day 2019. The day you weren't able to go on the date the two of you had planned for weeks because you had a fever.

The two of you have been calling each other all day, hearing the sound of his voice made you feel better each second.

During the whole call you heard rustling in the background but decided not to comment on it until you heard him walk out his house and enter his car.

“Juyeon..? Where are you going?”

“….Nowhere.. where are YOU going…?”

Once he returns the question back to you, the two of you say nothing. The voice of Juyeon’s gps tells you everything you need to know as you hear it say your street name.

“Juyo.. You shouldn't come over, I don't want to get you sick”

“Who said I'm coming over? I'm not coming over, just going somewhere..” He continues to act clueless the whole car ride, dodging questions and comments as he makes his way to your house.

Even as you watch his car pull into the driveway next to your mom's car, Juyeon still tries to act like he isn't at your house.

“Sweetheart, I don't even get what you're saying. I'm at home, is there another handsome, tall, kind, sweet, and did I say handsome man you're seeing?”

The phone hangs up as the doorbell is rung. Outside the window, you can see Juyeon on the steps to the door. Red roses hidden poorly behind his back.

“Oh! Didn't think I'd be seeing you here hon”

“This is my house.”

You sigh as Juyeon happily skips his way into your house, ignoring the sniffles of your nose and coughs escaping your mouth. “Juyeon you really shouldn’t be here. Even if it’s Valentine’s Day.” Opposing to your words, you shut the front door behind you.

“But if I wasn’t here, how could’ve I brought you these flowers?” He pulls out two bouquets of roses from behind his back, “One’s for your mom, because she's so sweet for having to deal with me here everyday”

Juyeon opens his arms with a big smile, “A small cold isn't going to stop me from showing my love for you” Your engulfed in his hold as he rests his head atop yours. “Sadly, I don't think anything will stop you Juyo.”

“Nope!” He pulls his head away just to come back and plant a kiss on your forehead. “Whether you're healthy or sick, I'll always be here beside you.”

No.2: "Lee Juyeon is a romantic man."

Date: Feb 14th, 2021.

Everybody knows what happened this year, no need to explain it. Juyeon was thanking the gods for the fact that the year prior, he came up with the idea for the two of you to move in together.

But there was one problem this Valentine's Day. He couldn't go out to get flowers this year. To him, it's the most important part of the gift. He didn't need to go out to get your gift because he got it a year before. But the flowers! What's February 14th without the surplus of flowers in the air?

A day before Valentine's Day, Juyeon did the last thing he thought he would be doing. Googling last-minute gift ideas for Valentine's Day.

It took an hour for him to find something to replace the missing flowers and it was perfect. Especially since they were easy to personalize. He's lucky they're easy to make too as he finished them while you were sleeping and hid them in his bedside drawer.

“Good morning, Juyo Honey~ Happy Valentine's Day!” You softly kiss his cheek, and he rustled awake at the warm feeling.

He blinks his eyes open and squints as he takes in his surroundings. Once his eyes land on you, they widen, and a soft smile makes its way onto his face.

Juyeon’s hands lay on your cheeks as he brings you closer to him for a soft kiss. “Happy Valentine's Day, sweetheart. Sorry I didn't make you breakfast in bed this year, I stayed up making you something last night.” He yawns and does a big stretch.

“Hon, you don't have to apologize.. I'm happy just staying here with you for hours- Wait made? Don't tell me… You made another giant card filled with pictures and glitter??”

“No! Come on, sweetie, you know I try not to repeat gifts. It's something even better,” He turns to his bedside table and reaches into the bottom drawer to get the first gift for you.

A gasp leaves your mouth as you lay your eyes on a bundle of paper flowers made by the man next to you.

“Juyeon! What- I- When did you make these? And how long? Oh my” You sit up, and the bundle is placed on your lap.

“Made it last night after you fell asleep. Only took me about… three hours?”

“I fell asleep at ten… You stayed up till one to finish these?”

“Well yeah, I was missing only the flowers this year. I had to find a way to have them for the day.”

Your face drops at his words, “There’s more..?”

“We're baking a cake together, I got the ingredients delivered.” Juyeon pauses before glancing towards the closet door, a common spot for hiding gifts in the household. “And there's a giant card…”

“Oh no…”

“It's confetti, not glitter this time! So there's a difference!”

No.3: "Lee Juyeon only has eyes for you."

Date: Feb 14th, 2016.

”sent to lee juyeon”

”For: lee juyeon”

”can this go to juyeon?”

Your school was doing a cute Valentine's Day event, pay a dollar or two to send your crush or lover or friend a simple carnation rose. Seems cute on paper, doesn't it?

Yes... But all the work of delivering flowers on Valentine's Day is as stressful as staying in class for the whole day. Who knew flowers could start so much drama?

People coming to the busy student council room and yelling at you because their flower wasn't sent first, couples sending flowers to other people and confessions. Way too many confessions.

Someone at the center of a majority of these confessions is Lee Juyeon. Last year his friends, Younghoon and Hyunjae graduated so now it's like all the confessions piled onto him.

“Flower delivery!” You knock on the classroom door, and the teacher inside gasps at the amount of carnations you and your fellow council member were holding.

“Oh my! Is there one for every student? Why is there so much?”

“All for Juyeon.”

“Oh..”

“We'll be back here don't worry.”

Valentine's Day was never your favorite holiday, why show all your love for someone on one day when you can do it every day?

The door to the student council room slammed open before you could even touch it, another annoyed and entitled student bursts out. Your friends inside sigh at the outburst.

“Oh Y/n! There's something up with this one flower” Yunjin beckons you to the table with notes and letters. “Did you plan on confessing to Juyeon today? Because if so, you made a mistake on the form.”

“Confessing on Valentine's Day? I thought you knew me by now. Let me see this.” Before you can take a look at the note, it's snatched out of Yunjin's hand.

“Eric?!? What the??”

“Oh uhm… I'll go and deliver this flower, hold up.”

“But you're on writing duty! Your handwriting's the best-”

“There’s two piles done!”

Eric runs out the door with the note, grabbing a red carnation to complete the set.

“It's everyday with this kid.. Sorry Y/n but, do you think you can go and bring him back. Easy way to get a small break from delivering flowers”

Yunjin looks at you with a pleading look on her face, and you send a nod and a thumbs up her way as you head toward the door.

Luckily Eric didn't wander far and good thing his voice carries across the hallway as you were able to find him quickly. Oh! He's talking to Juyeon..

“Dude! You're lucky I got a hold of the note before they did-"

“Eric? You keep on running off. What's the excuse this time.”

“Uhhh….” Eric's like a deer caught by the headlights as he thinks about what to say, “This is my excuse” He pushes Juyeon towards you and runs back to the student council room.

“Hi..”

“Hi Juyeon, don't worry, all of your flowers were delivered. You don't have to go home with like three piles of flowers-”

“This is for you,” The boy in front of you holds out the red carnation. He looks away from you with blushing cheeks and shy eyes. “Happy Valentine's Day, Y/n.”

"What the fuck???"

After the initial shock fades away, you find yourself softly smiling at the surprising actions of Juyeon. Hands reach out towards the flower in his hands, “Happy Valentine's Day, Juyeon. Are you free after school?”

“What?!?” His head flinches to your direction and his eyes widen, “Me? I mean, I think so.”

“Juyeon, do you want to go out on a date with me?”

He's left speechless at your boldness, his face almost as red as the flower in your hand.

“Of course!”

No.4: "Lee Juyeon always knows what you need."

Date: Feb 14th, 2022.

“Are you sure you can drive yourself back home?”

“Yes, hon, I'm sure. And I'm already halfway there!”

“Okay okay, just making sure..”

You were currently on your way home from work. Yes, you were working on Valentine's Day, unfortunate, right? Plans had to be rescheduled due to the sudden schedule changes your boss made without warning.

A bouquet of roses rested in the passenger seat next to you. Waiting to be gifted to your lover, “Juyo, When I get home, do you think you can-” Through the phone, a loud crash is heard, followed by a faint ‘oh no!’, “Juyeon.. Are you okay?”

“Sweetheart.. Why are the suitcases on the highest point of the closet..?”

“Because we never go any…where….”

“Oops…” Juyeon hangs up the phone right as you pull up to the house. Your keys rattle in your hand as you unlock the door, roses in the other hand.

Juyeon is nonchalantly sitting on the couch like nothing happened, “Oh hey! How was work?” He gets up to embrace you and plant a kiss on your forehead.

“Hon you can't just ignore what you hinted at just now.”

“Hinted?? What did i hint at? Ha.. Oh, wait! What's that over there??” Juyeon points to a random object behind you, and foolishly, you turn. The bouquet is snatched out of your hand, and Juyeon bolts into the kitchen.

“Juyeon!-”

Laying across the kitchen table were rose petals. They formed a heart around an envelope and your passports. Inside the envelope was confetti and a printed out paper conforming the plane tickets of Juyeon and you to Italy.

“Don't worry, I contacted your boss for the days off. He's actually weirdly nice, asked me if I wanted a job.”

“You.. booked us a flight to Italy…”

“Yeah, sweetheart you've been working so hard these days. You were literally just on shift not even an hour ago, and it's Valentine's Day. My love needs a break, I know there's a bunch of stress bubbling inside that pretty head of yours.”

Juyeon pulls you closer to him, his hand stroking your head, “You've been doing so well, sweetie. I'm here whenever you need me.”

You bring your arms around his waist as you bury your head onto his body. “I don't know what I'd do without you, Juyo.. Every year, you always manage to show me up on Valentine's Day, though.”

“I think it's because I'm better, haha!”

“I'm throwing my luggage at you later.”

No.5: "Lee Juyeon loves you."

Date: Feb 14th, 2024.

“Why'd you ask me that question?”

Juyeon’s eyes start to waver across your face, his hands resting beside him as he leans back into his chair.

“No reason, it's just.. did you notice it yet? The flowers..”

Your eyes land on the flowers sitting on the side of your kitchen table. A mix of red and pink roses fill the vase. One flower sticks out from the rest, a red carnation.

A soft smile appears on your face, and fingers reach out to softly caress the flower. “The first flower you ever gave me.. How sweet” Your hand softly grabs a hold of the flower, pulling it out of the vase.

“No wait!-” Juyeon was cut off by the sound of something falling off the carnation's stem. His hands were quick to grab the object before you noticed what it was. “Uhm…”

“Juyeon… What fell from the stem?”

“What fell from what? Haha.. More like, what's that over there?!?”

“I'm not falling for that again.”

“Oh.”

Juyeon sighed and mumbled under his breath, “You know what, I was going to wait till after we finish eating, but why wait any longer.”

He stands up from his seat and makes his way around the table until he's right by you. The male grabs ahold of your hand as he takes a seat next to you. His lips softly make contact with your knuckles, and his eyes lock onto yours.

“Juyo..? What.. What is this..?”

“Something I've wanted for years, a romantic dinner in the house I share with the person I love the most.” Juyeon says with a soft smile, his thumb caressing your hand. “Can you believe it's already been eight years since I confessed to you?”

“Eight years already? That's so weird. It felt like only a few years ago. Maybe it's because when I'm with you, you always make me feel like a high school student with a crush.”

He chuckles at your words, “Valentine's Day has always been a special day for us, hasn't it? I can’t wait to spend more and more years with you.” Juyeon pushes himself off the chair and onto the ground on one knee.

“Your shoelaces are untied-”

“Juyeon I'm not wearing…shoes..”

Your words trail away from your mouth as Juyeon looks up at you and reveals the object he that hid from you, a ring. In his hands lay a sparkling and beautiful ring.

“What the fuck?? Juyeon?-”

“Ever since I met you in senior year, you've been the only person on my mind. My mornings start with you, my nights end with you, and my days are all about you.” His shaky hand comes back to your own, and he holds on tight.

“You are the light of my life, and I knew you were my one true love since you made that same reaction when I confessed to you. So… will you let me spend a lifetime with you by saying yes?”

By this point, both of your eyes are watery, but the love in each other's eyes is visible through the blury tears.

“Will you marry me?”

“Get out! Of course I will!!”

★☆★ AUTHOR'S GOODBYE = technically, its still valentines day… so i made it before the deadline hehe anyways thank you for reading i love yall and shout out to all the hotties out there mwah byebye

☆★☆ TAGLIST = @sanasour, @boomhoon, @loonaluvz, @deoboyznet

#deoboyznet #tbz imagines #tbz x reader #the boyz drabbles #the boyz imagines #the boyz x reader #juyeon x reader #lee juyeon x reader

[androidcharles]

Stickmin Fandom Secret Valentine's Info Post/Sign ups!

Check, check, this is androidcharles telling you guys about my new secret Valentine’s day event! A fandom I was once a part of did this a while back and I thought it was a pretty swanky idea, so I thought I’d host a secret Valentine’s myself. This’ll be the first Secret Santa thing that I’ve ever hosted, so please keep in mind I will make mistakes! Here’s a deep dive in the scheduled events I have lined up (psst, under the read more! ↓):

Jan 14th through 18th: Sign Ups! This will be the sign up period! Make sure you use the template below to submit an NON ANONYMOUS ASK to this blog stating your wishlist and such. DO NOT WORRY, NOTHING WILL BE POSTED, however if you’re still squeamish, I’ll be more then happy to accept DMs as well. Sign ups will end at 12 AM CST in my timezone on Jan 18th exactly. Keep in mind any applications that pop up after this period will not be accepted, so make sure to sign up quick!

Jan 18th and 19th: Match-ups! This is when you will be receiving your giftee! You have to keep in mind that this is ABSOLUTELY SECRET and you cannot tell anyone about it. You will receive a message through DM who your giftee is as well as their wishlist and any applicable refs as well. Also keep in mind your giftee is not the same as your gifter; your gifter will quite possibly be a completely different person!

Jan 19th through Feb 13th: Gift Preparation! You will have at least four weeks in this time period to prepare your gift and give it all you’ve got. Please make sure it’s at least a good quality gift! I’m not asking you to repaint the Sistine Chapel, but it would be incredibly discouraging if you gave a sloppy MS paint doodle gift while your giftee managed to pull out all the stops and give something truly spectacular to theirs.

Feb 14th through 22nd: Gift Giving! At this point in time, you will be receiving and giving gifts! You can post your gift to tumblr (or DM it if you want) to your secret Valentine! Make sure you a.) @ the person you’ll be giving the gift to if you do post it and b.) @ me as well so I can see that you have posted your gift!

Application Template (use this to apply please!):

Username: Since this is purely through asks (unless you’re dming this to me, but even then...) and through the chance you can’t use your main blog, please put the blog name you want to be @’d through here

What you will do: Any medium you’re good with (fan fic, fan art, animatic, ect)

What you won’t do: Any medium you’re not good with

Discomfort Corner: Anything that makes you uncomfy enough that you would rather not draw or write it, be it a certain ship, character, or scenario.

Blacklist: The username (or usernames) of people you would rather not a.) receive from or b.) gift to. Keep in mind I don’t know how big this event will be, but in the event that I do get a huge reception from it, it’s better to have this kind of failsafe in mind JIC so everyone is comfortable with participating in the event.

Your gift request: Basically, what you want! Make sure you read the rules first, then specify exactly what you want.

Will you be able to do multiple gifts?: In the event that people drop out due to real life stress or otherwise, it’s best to have at least one or two who are willing to give extra gifts. Of course, I will be volunteering as well, but if you can give an extra gift or two, please let me know. This is not obligatory, I won’t think less of you if you say no!

Anything else?: Where you put what you think doesn’t fit within the criteria of the previous choices.

Refs: Whether it be a preferred design for a character or an OC, it would be best if you put them here! Not a lot of people share your personal design hcs, so please make sure you specify them here!

Rules!

Make sure that you send an ask or DM the RQ to me! Follow the template exactly please!

Make sure your gift request is able to be easily followed! Here’s a couple of examples

Good Example: For my gift request, I would like anything with Henry! Be it something with him solo or just something related to Rosemin or Stickprice! I would prefer not to receive an animatic though, if that’s ok!

Bad Example: Draw my OC please! (doesn’t provide a clear ref but gives a ten mile long paragraph of what they look like)

This is a pretty obvious rule in hindsight, but please PLEASE do not request anything NSFW, gorey, anything to do with fetishes (feet, inflation, vore, ect). There are going to be minors participating in this event potentially, so we can’t have anything like that.

THIS SHOULD ALSO BE A GIVEN BUT PLEASE DO NOT USE YOUR GIFT AS A WAY TO “ROMANCE” YOUR GIFTEE! I understand that with themes of love and romance it’s kind of standard, but this is more of a gimmick for fun’s sake, not some kind of matchmaker service. It especially gets bad if the person you’re trying to romance is a MINOR! You will be blocked and barred from participating in future events if you do end up doing this.

Canon ages for characters and such are VERY loose here, so make sure you use the Discomfort Corner section VERY LIBERALLY. If there’s a certain ship that makes you uncomfy b/c of HC ages, please make sure you state it there. Keep in mind that I am VERY AWARE of canon familial relationships and I will not hesitate to kick you out of the event if you insist on requesting something that borders on incest. I’m also allowing for angst requests, so please make sure you state if you’re not comfortable with that as well!

If you change your username at any point during this event PLEASE LET ME KNOW! I do not want someone DMing me during the gifting saying they can’t find you because you changed your username! Keep me up to date on any username changes so I can let your gifter know who to @!

If you’re DMing your giftee, please let me know so I can check you off. And if possible, the giftee needs to provide proof that they have received the gift as well!

PLEASE DO NOT HARASS YOUR GIFTER AFTER YOU RECEIVE YOUR GIFT! This is supposed to be in good fun and if you aren’t satisfied with your gift, then being a little shit isn’t going to win you any favors. You will be barred from future events if you decide to be a sore giftee about your gift.

And last but not least, I am giving at least four weeks to prepare your gift. If this isn’t enough time for you, you have to drop out of the event for any reason, and you have other obligations that might get in the way of this, please let me know ahead of time so I can contact people who can do multiple gifts to get started on making another gift.

If you do have your gift ready, but you don’t know if you’ll be able to post within the time period given, I will allow you to post it early so you don’t have to worry about not meeting the deadline

And above all else, have fun with this! This isn’t meant to be some kind of test, I just want it to be a fun little gift giving event!

#the henry stickmin collection #secret valentine's #event time! #don't know what else to tag this as...

[coweye]

Commitment Issues - Part 7

Pairing: Benjamin Miller x Reader Words: 4.8k Summary: When you try and take your friends with benefits relationship to the next level, Benny’s response isn’t quite what you were expecting.

Hi all, as promised - here it is.

I firstly wanna thank you all for baring with me, writing has not been coming easily to me recently, but your messages and reblogs that kept coming even after I hadn't posted in a while bought a smile to my face each and every time x

This is the first of two parts that will finally bring this to fic to a close - I have no idea when the next will be out, but rest assured I am 500 words into it.

I hope you enjoy x

➢ fic masterpost

PREVIOUS PART

14th February 2022 - 26 Weeks Pregnant. 

“Push it in, Ben!” 

“There’s nothing to push - It’s in all the way!” 

“Seriously, Miller?!”

“You wanna do it?!” Benny huffed, holding out the extendable paint roller in hand as he tried to force the two pieces of the black shaft of the plastic pole together. 

“Stop pushing it so hard! You’re gonna break -” A harsh crack of plastic giving way sounded as Ben’s frustration crescendoed. “-It.” 

A sigh escaped you at the expense of the man who would be the father of your child as he threw the two pieces of the roller to the ground in frustration, ranting under his breath about it being a piece of crap. 

Neither one of you spoke for a moment, both still processing the loss of the specialist equipment that would allow you to reach the ridiculously high ceilings in your new bedroom. 

“Well… that was clearly your fault.” Benny snarked only half serious, as he leant back against the wall with a sigh and took a swig of his Yoohoo in defeat.  

The usual cooling beer was nowhere to be seen as alcohol was strictly off of the menu for the Miller-Y/L/N household in an unexpected yet hugely appreciated show of support from Benjamin. 

You couldn’t help yourself as your eyes traced the lines of his strong throat as he swallowed - after all, being considerate was sexy.

“In what fucking world was that my fault? - you’re the one that hulked it!” You scoffed. 

Benny advanced forward, a hand on his hip in faux annoyance, to where you lounged in a camping chair on the opposite side of the room, overseeing the painting operation. He snatched the untouched instructions from where they had been sandwiched between the arm of the chair and the side of your thigh. You tried not to focus on the clenching of your southern regions as his warm palm grazed the meat of your thigh. 

“Y/N! Seriously? Dude! It says goddamn twist!” Your brain scrambled for a defense but came up empty. 

How could you explain that your hormone addled brain had been too preoccupied appreciating the way his t-shirt strained against the muscle of his bicep as he tried to force the mismatched pieces together with sheer strength. 

Honestly, you weren't sure what size that man was buying but for the sake of your sanity you were this close to recommending he size-up. 

“Oh…” 

Benny simply shook his head with a snort and folded the thin instruction manual back up before he bopped your forehead with it. 

“I’ll see if Frankie has a ladder in his truck.” He turned on his heel with a grin to go find Catfish, who was no doubt painting or reassembling furniture in one of the rooms in your new home. 

It had been two months since the Christmas debacle and you were currently trying to find your sea legs in this unforgiving ocean that was your life. 

It was a delicate process, this co-parenting, but the two of you were nailing it.

Together you had decided to get a house near a good school that would become the neutral ground; the two of you were starting over for the sake of your daughter, so you’d agreed to go into this without any ugly preconceptions and all resentment put aside. 

Moving in together was a huge decision that had taken weeks to reach.

Every step of the way you had been terrified that at any moment Benny would turn heel and flee, though his resolve remained strong, in fact he was the one who had suggested it. 

I know! 

Mr I'm-not-looking-for-anything-serious-right-now, suggested you move and play house.

Well not quite, as the two of you had yet to discuss that side of your friendship. 

There was a ceasefire in action; a mutually beneficial truce that was admittedly fractured, neither one of you was brave enough to test the bounds and risk destroying the delicate ecosystem that had been created in the suburbs. This little girl was all that mattered.

The two of you had fallen back into step of your old friendship, only with significantly more longing looks, lingering touches and awkward silences… but sure, for the most part, totally nailing it.  

Who were you kidding? 

You were longing for his touch, every time he stroked your stomach and sang to his daughter, every time he drank a can of coke instead of a beer you were positively quaking with desire. 

Your hormones didn’t help but they couldn’t be entirely blamed. 

It felt like your life was coming together, like you could be a real family in this house. 

Hell, you could get rid of the other of the bedroom and have a nursery and wake up every morning to Benny peppering your neck with kisses as he breached your walls with slow sleepy morning sex. 

Benny was getting his shit together. He was almost unrecognizable as the man who had let you down nearly three months ago. 

He had accepted a job at the gym as a personal trainer - part-time, of course - which meant he had a steadier income to supplement his fights. 

Benny had become … consistent. 

He answered his phone when you needed him, he was less prone to flying off of the handle and he hadn’t run away from you in a 7/11 car park in like three whole months.

Hell, he had even started attending some sessions down at the VA with Will! Honestly - Fatherhood suited him. It was like the responsibility had given him something he’d been missing since returning home.

You also hadn’t been able to help noticing a deficit in women, perhaps it was naive to assume when you’d only lived together for the better part of an afternoon that you knew his business. Maybe it was blind hope, but the two of you had moments. 

Fleeting ones, but moments nonetheless!

Ones where he’d laugh a little harder at your joke than it really deserved or his hugs that lingered far too long when he’d leave your apartment - you swore he smelled your hair once.

You felt like the two of you were building to something, that you could see the light at the end of the tunnel, a real future for the three of you. 

Apparently by planning out the next ten years of yours and Ben’s life together you had tempted fate.

Your attention was drawn quite innocently to his phone which was nestled in the mesh cup holder of your camping chair for safekeeping whilst he painted. 

You’d swear in a court of law that you only glanced at the screen because you thought it was your own, however the message that flashed on the screen snuffed out the light in your daydreams.

‘JASMINE: Are we still on for later? ’

Oh. 

Huh.

Okay.

You weren’t sure of the myriad of emotions that powered through you in quick succession. 

Hurt, jealousy, anger; those were the easiest to pick out.

Logically, you had no claim to the man, you’d agreed to co-parent, nothing more. But the betrayal of the life that could’ve been was hard to stomach.

Unable to stop and not entirely sure it was your hormones at fault, your throat clenched and your eyes began watering. 

It was stupid, to be so broken up over what was essentially eye contact and accidental touches but, there it was. 

When Benny rounded the corner carrying a ladder to find your streaming eyes he unceremoniously laid it against the wall and fell to his knees before you.

“Darlin’ you thinking about the life insurance advert again?” one hand cradled your jaw whilst the other entwined your fingers with his as you fought every urge to pull away. “You know they’re just actors.” 

Just a few moments ago attention like this would’ve killed you dead, but now, it didn’t mean anything; he was your friend. 

He cared for you and your daughter, that’s all it was. 

You had talked the talk, now it was time to walk the walk. 

You’d be the best goddamn mother this kid could ask for and that would be enough, it had to be.

16th March 2022 -  31 weeks pregnant

Three months.

Three months of being treated like an invalid.

You weren’t allowed to lift anything deemed too heavy, you weren’t allowed to workout and god forbid you tried to put together some of the furniture for the nursery alone - hell, you were barely allowed to go to work. 

At Val’s misplaced insistence you’d been transferred to desk duty.

You may be thinking, gee, but Y/N what exactly does a school nurse on desk duty do? 

Well, she sits on her newly fat ass all day and logs every record of every menial accident to happen in this miserable place since 1965. 

Yup, that’s every single scraped knee or nose bleed in the past sixty years. 

You weren’t even half way through the 80’s after three whole weeks of this hell. 

The doctor had recommended taking it easy but you didn’t know if you had another two months like this left in you. 

Not to mention the Godforsaken hormones. 

They had been wreaking havoc ever since your second trimester, but somehow as the months progressed, they had doubled down as an apparent non-stop ache had taken up permanent residence between your thighs.

This kid was slowly killing you.

The ever present resentment flared as Val returned with your lemonade instead of an icy beer, though you accepted with thanks as the two of you relaxed on your new porch swing in your back garden. 

The sun had begun to set as the boys were up wing using the fancy new BBQ grill; a generous house-warming gift from the now absent Santiago.

The trio chuckled loudly at a remark you couldn’t quite catch from Catfish. Departing Will had made a retort as he came to join the two of you, a bowl of barbecued corn in hand as a peace offering. 

You’re somehow annoyed at Benny’s thoughtful anticipation of your never ending hunger. Logic was an old friend these days, hell, he was a penpal at this point.

All the same you took the corn with a grateful smile, taking a large bite of the buttery goodness as Ironhead sat with a groan as he made himself comfortable in the folding camp chair to your right.

“So, how's motherhood treating ya?” Will questioned with a deep chuckle at the filthy look you threw his way. 

“It fuckin’ sucks” You huffed inbetween bites of corn.

“Preach that shit.” Val joked as she raised her glass in toast.

“I’m hungry all the time, everything's swollen and beer! - I miss beer so much. I have a headache every other day and Will - I’m so sorry, but everything turns me on.” Will - to his credit merely snorted into his beer at your embarrassing monologue. “Val, I swear, I saw Frankie licking his fingers after chips earlier and I almost jumped him.” 

Val cackled at your confession. “Oh hon, you’re at the halfway point - a light breeze angled the right way will do that to you!”

“I can do something about one of those things… The food Y/N. The food.” Will held the bowl of corn up in surrender, looking terrified for a moment when your head had perked up at the implication. 

“What about Benny? Surely he’d be willing to… help you?” Val waggled her eyebrows, completely avoiding eye contact with Will as she conspired about his brothers sex life. 

You paused your nibbling on the near bare husk and placed it in the bowl Will currently gripped in defense of his virtue. 

He took a swig of his beer pretending to not be interested in your conversation, though you knew full well that man was the biggest gossip you knew, he was as eager for an update as Val. 

“Well, I asked him for some… relief but someone thinks that will open up a can of worms.” You grouch, your voice raised an octave or two into a distinctively whiney pitch as you imitate the father of your child. Will, in his defense, did attempt to hide his smirk though there was definitely some pride mixed in at the mention of his brother's restraint. You take a swig of your lemonade before continuing. “He doesn’t think we should smash just because of my hormones… might regret it after or some shit.”  

“... how can I possibly resist when she calls it ‘smashing’?” Benny questioned his own voice laced with sarcasm, as he joined the new trio with Catfish and baby Catfish on his heels both carrying plates of delicious food. 

“It’s beyond me.” Val chuckled in an attempt to diffuse, before she turned her gaze towards her child who was head of burger bun distribution. “One for your tia, please baby.”

Mariana grabbed you a plate and began preparing you a burger, dousing it in what you’d consider a confusing combo of far too little cheese and way too much ketchup, but you were eternally ravenous and not above eating it. 

“Mmmh… best burger maker ever! Thank you, beautiful.” You groan to the little girl as she grins proudly to her Dad who has joined you and Val on the swing. 

As she goes about her business filling both of her uncles plates you can’t help the pang of jealousy that fills your heart as you catch the couple in your peripheral.

Frankie had his arm wrapped around Val’s shoulder as she nestled her face into his neck. 

“Te extrañé, Cariño” She whispers, kissing him sweetly. 

Frankie chuckles at her words and takes her hand in his much larger one before placing a kiss on the back of it. He doesn’t relinquish his hold as everyone begins talking once again.It was simply a sweet interaction between a married couple, you can’t quite put a finger on why it makes your heart ache.

Your eyes caught Benny’s. His grin widened as you locked eyes before he noticed the pinch of flesh between your brows. 

The silent conversation began as Ben squinted in question before you managed to school your features and nod his way to let him know you're fine. 

He isn’t sold, you can tell that from the glances he threw your way for the ten minutes that followed. 

That message from the elusive Jasmine, still weighing heavy on your heart almost a month later.

There were days, like the one where you propositioned him that you’re happy to look past it, where the life you would build together would outlast anything, but then there are days when you hate him for it.

The ones where you didn’t trust him or yourself. 

You’d said goodbye to logic long ago - Emotion reigned here and she could be a cruel bitch when she wanted to be. 

20th April 2022 - 36 weeks 

“Step… step.. now to the left-”

“Oof!” You grunted as your nose met something that felt suspiciously like drywall.

“Your other left, sweetie.” Val corrected kindly, you couldn’t be sure as the blindfold currently compromised your vision but the distinct lilt that usually accompanied a smile filled her voice. 

Grunting you followed her instruction as her palm gripped yours, leading you another three paces.

If you were a betting woman you’d place good money that you were in Will’s house. The pleasant albeit overpowering scent of Teakwood and Tobacco made bile rise in the back of your throat, as it had done ever since the tiny squatter had taken up residence in your womb. 

“Right there, perfect... take it off!” Val instructed as she released your hand.

Hesitantly your own fingers rose, not quite sure what to expect - ‘A surprise’ was a broad construct after all. 

Unfortunately, you were pretty sure you knew what the surprise was - a puppy. 

Benny had been uncharacteristically absent all week and when he’d returned one afternoon after an ‘errand’, he’d shown you an instagram of a golden retriever named Bill, gushing over its cuteness. 

Whilst you could surely appreciate the cuteness, the question of what the hell were a couple with a new baby on the way were supposed to do with a godforsaken puppy weighed heavy on your mind. 

Though, when Val told you of your surprise you had simply resigned yourself to burn that bridge when you got to it.

Finally, you granted your eyes freedom and what was before them made them well of their own accord. 

In the place of a golden retriever puppy was every single person you loved in this world, stood before you with party hats and grins. 

“Surprise!” They cheered in unison. 

Benny stood in the middle of the crowd smiling, you had unconsciously searched him out before you began your scan of the lounge in Will’s home. The entirety of the bottom floor of Ironheads house had been outfitted in puce pink banners and balloons. ‘It’s a girl’ and ‘you go mama’ were the core slogans imprinted on the decorations.

The huge Y/F cake sat in the center of the buffet platter, though not to be outdone, the plates on the platter were filled with every last one of your cravings from the past eight months.  About 20 McDonald’s Double Cheeseburgers, peaches, corn, pickles, oreos and cookies - so many different varieties of cookies - you name it, it was there. 

Finally your breaking point came when your eyes caught your Mother and Father on the iPad. 

They had been facetimed from Y/H/T. 

Despite being unable to make it, Benny had made sure that they were included, of course he had. 

The pièce de résistance however, was the man currently holding the iPad up. 

Santiago Garcia; you hadn’t expected to see your flighty best friend until long after your baby was here.

It was all too much, the hormones, the lack of sleep, the thoughtfulness of the father of your child. 

You crumbled into tears and ugly tears at that. 

Thickly, they streamed down your cheeks. You looked up through the wall of hot salt water to find Benny in front of you cradling your jaw, he had gotten to you before even Val who had been at your side. 

“Oh, Babe… I’m sorry, is this not right?” Benny rambles, his nerves getting the better of him. His eyes are frantic as they beg for your forgiveness. “I’m still not completely sure what a baby shower is… we can redo it next-” 

You shut him up with a hug, one of those all encompassing ones which fix everything without words. All of the appreciation and unspoken feelings you had for the man went into this. 

Noone had ever done anything remotely close to this for you before.

Every inch of this party was perfect, because every aspect spoke about the details of your life he’d taken in and memorized. 

At that thought the tears somehow got worse. You were blubbering into his cream jumper, the one you had bought him for his birthday, that alone fueled the wail the left your chest. 

After a moment or two he pulled back, wiping under your eyes with napkins Catfish had discreetly shoved into his hand behind your back. 

“Good tears?”

With a nod and a snotty sniff you confirm. “Good tears.”

Finally you calm down enough for Benny to take your hand in his and refuse to relinquish his hold on it as you greet everyone. Your friends from work, Mr and Mrs Miller, of course - the Morales family and Santi.

Finally dropping his hold on you Ben watches as you embrace your best friend.

“Gordita! You’re sooo big now!” He laughed lifting you from the ground,  you didn’t need to see to know Ben would be cringing in fear for both you and your child. 

“Excuse me, la narizota?” You huffed once he had placed you back on the ground. His answering chuckle thundered throughout the room as he cradled his nose with narrowed eyes.

“It’s not that big.”

“Sure, and I’m not fat…” You smirk, looking down at your protruding belly and raising your eyebrows.

“La puta.” His eyes are narrowed and his voice low but it lacks any real venom.

“I missed you, Hermano.” The two of you embrace once more and even though Santi doesn’t say the words, the kiss on your forehead tells you all you need to know. 

“You’re gonna be a mama!” His voice is cheery as he pulls away before wrapping Ben in his own crushing hug.“And you Benjamin! You’re gonna be a papa!” 

The two men part with a manly pat on the back and Ben is back at your side wrapping a protective arm around your lower back. You lean into his hold, comforted by his familiar cologne and warm jumper. 

“What’s the little lady’s name gonna be?”

“We’re not telling.” Ben says quickly.

“It’s a surprise!” You say at the same time. “Some people are opinionated, and we want the name to be our choice.”

“Really?!” You hear from behind.

Seated on the couch Will leans an arm over the back of the sofa, twisting his torso to defend himself. “Just because I didn’t like the name Daisy?” Jen shoved his shoulder with narrowed eyes before he continued. “What?! It sounded like a damn cow…”

Wait... Jen? Jen was back? … holy shit she was brave returning after what had to be the awkwardest night of your life thus far.  Had you really been that self obsessed for the past four months that you hadn’t realized Will had reignited that old flame? 

You felt a spark of guilt, yet your respect for the woman overcame that as you apologized profusely for the whole awkward affair, with the promise that you’d give her a signal if anything was to break out tonight.

Jen had taken this in good humor and congratulated you on the baby, she had then forced Will to surrender their place on the sofa so that you could sit beside Mrs Miller comfortably with the 7 pound watermelon permanently strapped to your midsection. 

You liked her.

You hadn’t realized that your mother and Ben’s were currently deep in conversation, something about staying at their house when she came up for the birth, there was some vague planning about thanksgiving occurring that you weren’t privy to - though you were sure you’d get looped in eventually, or at least you hoped you would. 

Benny's mother was a gorgeous woman.

Though you’d expected nothing less, after all both her sons looked like they were created in a lab.  Her boys took after her in their coloring and her sharp features, in her youth you had no doubt she would’ve intimidated you despite her kind nature.

Grinning, she turned to you, before she raised her glasses from the gold string around her neck. She expertly flipped the camera after a moment or two on the iPad to show you off to your mother.

“Look Y/M/N, she’s absolutely glowing!” Mrs Miller complimented. You smile awkwardly, it has never been your strong suit taking praise, well from anyone but Benny. 

And that was a whole different kettle of fish, as the things that degenerate of a man praised you for were much more fun, but objectively not things one should be considering in the company of his mother. 

“Thank you.” You settle for instead.

You speak to the duo for a while, talking about the nursery, baby clothes and the bag you’ve packed for the hospital. That seemed enough to quell their need for information before the two of them begin gossiping.

These two women had yet to meet one another and yet, from what you’d heard, they were now thick as thieves. Phoning each other nearly every night, hell the two of them had become Facebook friends and you’re even pretty sure they meant to do it.   

Your eyes search the room for Benny as she resumes her conversation with your mother, and find his wide shoulders deep in conversation with Will and Jen. 

You’re tempted to thank the woman for birthing an adonis of a son, as she chit-chats to your mother. 

God, you’d love to rip that cable-knit jumper off of him and lick every muscle on that lean body.  

Embarrassingly your eyes must have been burning a hole through his spine as he turns for a moment to lock eyes with your own. 

You hold him in your gaze before he winks, the sonofabitch winks at you and turns back, chuckling at something one of them said.

You can’t quite come to terms with the fact your core is aching from that tiny non-interaction. 

The sex flashbacks had definitely gotten worse since you entered your third trimester. Your hormones were all over the place and it was only made so much worse as masturbation had become near impossible as maneuvering around the massive bump anchored to your front was a logistic challenge.

You had propositioned Benny more times than you could count, but somewhere along the road to fatherhood he had gained a moral fucking compass. 

He didn’t want to just have sex to have sex, he wanted it to mean something.

As neither one of you were willing to risk confessing to more than friendship, you had reached an impasse, where nobody was getting any. 

Well, You didn’t think he was getting any, atleast.

Bothered by this thought you went to stand. Went, being the operative word. 

Much like a ladybird stuck on its back you struggled to get adequate footing to propel yourself forward. 

A large tanned hand stretched out to offer you support, one you took gratefully. From above William Snr was smiling, a plate full of cake in one hand for his wife. 

“Thank you, the melon under my shirt makes things difficult."

He chuckled at your words, reminding you so much of Benny. “She’s half Miller. It’s in her blood to be difficult.

“You’re preaching to the choir here.” You hold your hands up in surrender smiling at the man before you.

He took your seat as you turned to seek out Ben, only to find him coming towards you with two slices of cake.

He tilted his head towards the back door, where the two of you now found yourself on the porch swing, the only smidgen of privacy you’d received since arriving at the party nearly 2 hours ago. 

“How’s the day going?”

“Amazing, Ben. Thank you.” You take a bite of cake and can’t stop the moan that leaves you. Unfortunately, you don’t see the way his eyes darken at the sound and the reminders it brings him - if you had, you’d have no doubt economized on that weakness.

“I wasn’t sure a baby shower was your thing and with the no drinking I wasn’t-” You’re not used to Benny being apprehensive. Well that’s not true, those few weeks that followed the break-up had been filled with it. Rather, you’re not used to Benny being insecure in himself, he was a fighter, all that bravado and confidence came hand in hand. It was breaking your heart to see it gone. 

So, you threw all caution to the wind. You said fuck it and gambled on yourself for once in your life.

Swallowing the cake in your mouth, you leaned forward, taking his jaw in your fingers, effectively shutting up his dithering monologue and joined your lips.

He breathed out heavily through his nose in shock at your sudden movement. 

At the lack of reciprocation you began to pull away, only to be followed as he dropped his cake to the seat next to him to grab your jaw. His thumb anchored by your ear as his mouth devoured your own. 

It was six month of pent up emotions breaking through that wall of denial. His tongue slid against yours tasting vaguely of vanilla and something that was distinctly Benny. Your own tongue joined the dance, fighting for dominance before you retreated and playfully bit his lip, gaining a groan from the father of your child.

The two of you pulled apart though your foreheads remained touching, both catching your breath. Neither one of you is sure of what to say to the other. 

Finally, you go to speak, however you’re swiftly cut off by his phone and the tinkering bells of Sencha. 

“Ignore it.” He whispers, closing his eyes and catching his breath. You rub your nose against his own which makes him smile.

As you go to join your lips, once again, you are cut off. 

He huffs pulling back. “Someone better be fucking dying.”

He reaches into his back pocket for his phone and looks at the name, with a sigh before he leans forward joining your lips in one final solid kiss. 

“It’s work…I’ll be right back, don’t move, okay?” You nod in agreement, mostly because you want more kisses.

As you run your fingers across your slightly inflamed lips you wish you didn’t hear the words that made the world around you crumble.

“Hey Jaz… Yeah sure, no… I guess I can talk… I’m... not that busy…”

next part

@sixshooter665 @queenie-b- @rambling-in-purple @anaaaispunk @miraclesabound @kravitzwhorehore @ahsokathearcher @xoxabs88xox @heresathreebee @psychadelichue @marauderskeeper @tanzthompsonn @mermaidxatxheart

#benny miller x y/n #benny miller x reader #ben miller x reader #garret hedlund #triple frontier fic #triple froniter #Benny Miller #Benjamin Miller #Ben Miller #triple frontier #triple frontier au #william ironhead miller #francisco catfish morales #santiago garcia #benjamin miller #oscar isaac #charlie hunnam #garrett hedlund #pedro pascal #triple frontier fanfiction #Commitment Issues #Spotify

[naoko-world]

1 year of Encanto: A summary!

I posted many things during this anniversary but I wanted to finish on a summary of this year for me related to Encanto!

November 24th

Off to the cinema with my best friend to watch Encanto, thinking it'll be shit at worst, or correct at best. First thing I posted about it when going out: "I just saw Encanto. It was very cool, with good songs and an old-fashioned but well-done story."

From that point I started listening to the songs everyday.

November 26th

I make my first analysis of the movie on a Discord server about Disney to say Bruno represent well the topic of the movie, what it is about.

December 18th

I realized I may have a crush on Bruno after spending two weeks downloading a lot of pictures and fanarts of him.

November 25th-December 26th

Harassing my best friend from Quebec into watching Encanto.

December 31st

Rewatching Encanto. I held a bit more than 1 month.

January 8th

I discover that fanfic on Wattpad making me discover Bruno x Reader fanfics can be actually be good with an interesting reader.

December-January-February

I slowly become active on Tumblr once again, attracted by Encanto posts. First I only check posts, then I started reblogging, before posting myself some things. My first reblog was about the triplets looking like their age, while my first post was about Bruno's fangirl, to say I already posted 4 chapters of it.

Around January

I probably I starts making memes and edits.

January 18th

I draw my first Encanto fanart, a drawing of Bruno.

January 23rd

After dreaming it for weeks and hesitating a lot to write it, I post my first Encanto fanfiction in french, then in english the day after after spending the day translating by hand and having it checked by my friend from Quebec before of how insecure I was about my english level.

February 14th

I spend my day reading Bruno Madrigal/reader fics and ends up getting depressed because I read one that gets me depressed when I compare mine to hers.

Probably around February

I become friend with @omgcheez make my first Encanto friend outside of this Discord server, and he becomes one of the persons I hold the most dear 💚

March 3rd

I write a dissertation about Bruno in French I decide to translate in english for Tumblr and will finally post on October 17th.

March 11th

I receive my Bruno ruana after ordering it on a cosplay website someone told me about! The first of a long collection of dolls, posters, cosplays, etc.

March 19th

I post my first Jared Bush tweet, about the triplets birthday!

March 26th

I post my first analysis, a short one comparing Bruno and Evil!Bruno!

March 28th

This Encanto animatic 💚

March 31st

This shot progression of the chase scene. 💚

April 10th

I decide to create my fanfic materlist and it encourages me to write my first Encanto drabble I posted on April 14th.

April 17th

I post for the first time one of the tweets of the account Best of Bruno on Twitter, after asking for permission of course.

April 22nd

I post for the first time some screenshots I took of Bruno.

April 25th

I gets a heart attack because a blog I loved a lot reblogged a ficlet of mine and I'm like "I'm not worthy!!!" (watching you @neon-green-eyes). Now we're friends though.

May 8th

I bought Clip paint studio and tries to draw again. First drawing I post on Tumblr.

June 4th

I edited Card Captor Sakura screenshots to replace Sakura and Tomoyo's heads by Bruno and Mirabel's, horrifying people.

June 16th

My first self-insert commission I asked to @kewkcommissions is finally finished!

July 3rd

It's my birthday. So I write a very self-indulgent ficlet with a reader supposed to be me celebrating her birthday with her boyfriend Bruno and the rest of the Madrigal family.

I gets some asks wishing me happy birthday too, which is touching me a lot!

July 18th

I find a very interesting post about a jewish view of Encanto, starting my interest in a Jewish Madrigals AU.

Then, I create my own private Encanto server under a friend's suggestion since I was hesitating to join one and which.

July 25th

Encanto milk day, launched by @breannasfluff! I write a Bruno/reader ficlet with Milkman Bruno, drink some milk, and write a post about milk related expressions in french, inspired by @lunaencantada's.

July 28th

Under @unskilled-dabbler, @lunaencantada and @mmollymercury weird suggestion that I should continue drawing, I decide to draw again and to show it on my blog so you can see how bad I am.

July-August

Kinshi decides to ask for commissions with only 5 slot. I'm sending her one, thinking I probably won't be chosen, then hyperventilate when she accepts my request. Once it's ready, I post it on Tumblr and use it as a profile picture.

August 14th

I finish my first DTIYS, @glitternightingale's that taught me things though I ended up panicking.

August 26th

I do better for @waitingonavision's DTIYS!

September 6th

OBB BRUNO 💚

October 1rst

I begin my participation to Encantober, starting my hell between Encantober, my fic for the Encanto Big bang, and finishing my Halloween fic.

October 26th

@aetherdecember is so awesome she proofread my huge Halloween fic. So I gift her one fanart of one of her fics!

October 29th

@dazeddoodles post a fanart of Madrigal triplets as the Sanderson sister and inspire me to write a ficlet for Halloween with this topic.

November 24th

Happy anniversary Encanto!

In the end, I watched Encanto 39 times during this entire year!

#encanto #encanto anniversary #anniversary #summary #summary of my encanto year #encanto 1rst year #encanto first year

[easthavenhq]

Welcome to East Haven's Annual 4th of July Carnival

Come one, come all down to Primrose Park for East Haven's Annual 4th of July Carnival! Starting June 30th and lasting until July 7th, head on down to enjoy games, food, and other entertainment including a BBQ contest and the main event: Fireworks! Entry is free while tickets for rides are sold at different stalls around the park and games and food sold individually. We hope to see you there and have a wonderful time!

More Info Below

Welcome to our fourth event! While the dates in game for the event are June 30th through July 7th, you will be able to write the event from June 30th until July 14th, giving you two full weeks of event fun! Normal threads do not have to be paused during this time, but we encourage new threads to be event related. We do ask, however, that any starters for the event be posted before the 7th, that way we don't have any starters posted towards the end of this event. Acceptances will be paused after Wednesday, June 28th so the next acceptance after that will be on July 15th. Activity check, however, will proceed as normal.

Below is a list of all the rides and games that will be in the park throughout the week while food vendors will be posted in our Discord under the vendors channel in the event category for owners to post or for anyone volunteering can put they are there as well. Volunteers can also work for the rides or games, just put them in the appropriate channels in the discord as well.

As for the BBQ contest, after this post, we will be posting information about it and you have from tonight until Friday, June 30th to submit your entries. Voting will take place from July 1st - July 3rd and winners will be posted on the 3rd. The in game date of the contest will be July 3rd.

Finally, there is going to be a plot drop for this event. It will involve character injuries and deal with fire, being trapped possibly on rides, and fireworks. If you have any triggers against any of it, you do not have to participate in the plot drop. We will be tagging everything, but want to make sure everyone is having fun and is comfortable with things. If you would like your character to be injured in a major or severe way, please message us with who and what you're comfortable with. All characters can have minor injuries like scrapes, bruises, or sprains, but anything major or severe need to be submitted to us. Whoever is injured will be randomly picked and any character who had a major injury in the Valentine's Day Plot Drop cannot have one in this one (example: Matt Wheeler had one last time, he cannot this time). Please reference this if you're unsure if you had one or not in it.

Reminder: Please do not post event threads until the announcement that the event has started has been posted on the main.

Now for a list of rides that will be present:

Bumper Cars

Carousel

Drop Tower

Ferris Wheel

Fireball

Fun House

Gravitron

Kiddie Coaster

Music Express

Octopus

Paratrooper

Plane Ride (kids)

Quad Runner (kids)

Roller Coaster

Scrambler

Super Slide

Swing Ride

Tilt-a-Whirl

And a list of other activities:

Ball in a Bucket - Throw a ball into a bucket! Get 3 balls in, win a small prize, 6 for a medium, and 10 for a large!

Balloon Pop - Pop the balloons with a dart! Get 4 and win a prize! Win three times to get a large prize!

Basketball - Use a standard size basketball and shoot it into the kid size hoop. Get 1 in for a small prize, 2 in for a medium prize and all 3 in for an extra large prize.

Duck Pond - Grab a duck from the "pond" and look at the number on the bottom of it. The number on the bottom corresponds with a prize!

Dunk Tank - Step right up to take a shot at the dunk take. Hit the target and send the person sitting in the tank into the water! Volunteers to sit in the dunk tank also welcome.

Face Painting - All welcome to get their face painted. There are many options from superheroes to animals. Paintings range from partial to full face.

Fishing - Use your fishing pole to go fishing! Cast out over the edge and wait for something to grab on to win a prize!

High Striker - Use the rubber mallet to see how strong you really are. The higher you hit the puck, the better the prize. Hit the bell on top for the ultimate prize.

Horse Race - Roll your ball into the holes to get your horse to the finish line. The red hole is to get your horse galloping, the blue will get your horse to trot and the yellow will keep your horse walking. First horse to the finish line wins!

Ladder Climb - Defy physics and climb this super twisty ladder to get the giant plush toy at the top!

Milk Bottle Toss - Use the three rubber balls to knock down milk bottles. Get one bottle down, win a small prize. Get two bottles down and win a medium prize. Knock all three down to get the biggest prize offered!

Ring Toss - Toss a total of five rings to try and land one on one of the bottles. A large prize is awarded for landing two or more rings and a small prize for landing one ring.

Skee-Ball - Go head to head with others to get the biggest score of the group to win a prize. A total of nine balls are given to roll up and get the biggest score.

Water Gun Race - Use precise aim to get your duck to the top first! The first person to get their duck to set off the winning bell wins a prize!

Whac-A-mole - Two people go head to head against each other. Strike the moles as fast as you can in twenty seconds as they pop up. The player with the least amount of moles left wins!

Graphic made on Canva

#easthavenevent #easthavenevent004

[umichenginabroad]

Sorrento Week 8: Pasta Making and Visiting Rome (again!)

Ciao!

I’m back with another blog post. I'm starting to wrap up my time here in Sorrento (only two weeks left), so this is my last planned weekend trip away.

On Tuesday night, I went to a pasta making class as part of Sant'Anna where we learned how to make Gnocchi alla sorrentina which is gnocchi with red sauce, mozzarella, and parmigiano. They had premade the sauce for us, but we got to make the actual Gnocchi. It was so cool to learn how to make a pasta I eat at least once a week and it's something I want to try to do when I get back to the US as it's actually a super simple process. The dish itself was absolutely incredible and some of the best Gnocchi I've had while I've been here.

Various photos from the Gnocchi making process including the amazing final product.

The Trevi Fountain doesn't lie because I headed back to Rome on Friday to meet up with my friend who goes to school in the Netherlands. That night we got Peruvian food for dinner and headed to the grocery store to grab some breakfast items. We then got up earlyish the next day so we could get to the Roman Forum when it opened. This was a fantastic idea because we got an amazing overlook all to ourselves and we got to see a lot of the Forum before it got too hot out. We grabbed a quick, cheap, and delicious pizza lunch nearby before heading to the Colosseum for out entry time slot.

Photos overlooking the Forum. The overlook was empty when we got there but later on we saw it was extremely crowded.

The Colosseum was so cool but very crowded. One of my favorite parts were the various models they had which showed how it changed over time as well as how the trap doors and stuff worked. It was so cool to see this famous monument up close and it fulfilled a childhood dream of mine. One thing I will say is that if you're planning to visit the Forum and Colosseum, you have to book tickets ahead of time and, unless you get there early, expect there to be crowds. Also bring plenty of water or a reusable water bottle because it gets hot walking around the monuments.

Various photos from around the Colosseum and the different levels you can go on. It was so crowded though with all the tour groups.

While I was in Rome, I hit three different museums, each of which were absolutely amazing. The first one was Basilica di San Clemente which is a 14th century church built on top of the ruins of an 8th century church built on top of the ruins of a 1st century AD roman temple and house. Although pictures aren't allowed inside the older layers, this museum really showed how Rome was built in layers over time and had some cool frescos. The next set of museums we went to were the Capitoline Museums which span two different palaces, are some of the oldest museums in the word, and are absolutely packed with ancient statues and monuments. It was so incredible to see all the stuff packed together and to see the famous She-Wolf statue. It was truly one of the best museums I've gone to this trip because it had a huge variety of stuff (renaissance paintings, sculptures, ceramics, you name it, they had it). The last museum we visited was the Museo Ebraico, the Jewish Museum, which discussed the history of the Jewish community in Rome. This museum was fascinating but also heartbreaking as you learned about all the discrimination they faced throughout the years. It included a tour of the Synagogue which was absolutely stunning inside and taught me a lot about Jewish customs and the lives of Jewish people within the historically very Catholic city of Rome.

14th Century part of the Basilica di San Clemente (Top Left), the synagogue attached to the Museo Ebraico (Top Right), Various sculpture rooms from the Capitoline Museums (bottom)

Overall, this trip to Rome was super fun! I really enjoyed getting to see all the museums and monuments I wanted to see last time but didn't get to. It definitely was super hot, so if you go in the summer bring plenty of water, sun screen, bug spray, and a hat to help beat the heat. Also Roman pizza, which is a type of flatbread, can be a super cheap meal and is very delicious. Literally every meal we ate out, we ate pizza and it was all super good. I do, however, prefer Neapolitan pizza because I love a simple Margherita pizza.

A view from the Capitoline Museums of the Forum and Colosseum (left) and one of the various delicious pizzas I ate in Rome (right)

Stay tuned because I have three field trips planned week so I will be very busy. Also it's my last weekend in Sorrento so I'm planning on seeing some sites around Naples this weekend as I procrastinate studying for my physics final.

Until next time, Ciao!

Reganne Watts

Aerospace Engineering

Engineering in Sorrento, Italy

#umichenginabroad #ipesummer23 #ipesorrento #regannewatts #italy

[dean-winchester-is-a-warrior]

Dear Fucking Diary: Entry the 8th - The Long Weekend

Pairings: Dean x Fem!OFC (Daisy)

Explicit 18 +/Warnings: None. Some kissing and implied smut. Brief mentions of an abusive relationship. Some angst. Lots of fluff.

Word Count: 4,358

DFD: Series Masterlist

Series Summary: I’ve been tasked with writing in this fucking diary like a some teenage girl. It sucks, but who else am I going to talk to about the incredible hottie who lives next door?

Chapter Summary: 8th Entry: Technically this is the 8th, 9th, 10th, 11th, 12th, 13th, and 14th entry. It was a tough weekend okay! But my week is looking up!

A/N:  This series has popped into my head from out of nowhere. It was supposed to be a whole other thing, but then it just morphed into this. (Cause I needed more series to work on! 🙄😄) Hope you like it, I should be releasing a new entry every few days, and I think there will be about 7 or 8 entries 9 or 10 entries 8 entries and an epilogue. The first entry is short and sweet, but most of the others will range between 1000 and 3000 5000 words. Thanks everyone!! 🥰

A/N 2: So, this is the final entry in this series, excluding the epilogue which I will post by the end of the week. I hope you enjoy it and the epilogue to come. It's possible I may write some drabbles about Dean and Daisy in the future. I like them. 😁

The awesome divider at the bottom is created by @talesmaniac89

So, it's Friday night, didn't hear from him all day. But I mean, that's normal, he had to work, I had to work. I JUST saw him this morning. I mean, whatever. It's fine. He'll probably text tomorrow. I'll write again later.

-

-

Saturday night now. I haven't talked to him since he dropped me off at my apartment yesterday morning. It's about ten o'clock. I'm going to bed now.

This is good, though, right? I mean, it's not like I want him to be all clingy or stalker-ish. I had enough of that crap with the previous asshole. So. No. This is good. No clinging, no demanding, no - anything.

-

-

So, I guess I have my answer

I guess I was just stupid

I feel like I'm gonna

I don't want to write about this.

-

-

But shit! Writing here has been really helpful so - what the hell!

It's like two in the morning. I couldn't sleep earlier, so I tried painting. I think I did some decent work actually. This latest painting is all sharp edges and shades of green. I can't imagine why. But I like it.

Anyway, about twenty minutes ago I heard loud banging and voices in the hall, coming from the direction of Dean's apartment. I told myself it was none of my business even as I was quietly opening my door and peeking out.

Dean was leaning against the wall while a tall, gorgeous, leggy blonde used his keys to open the door.

He was dressed nicely, in suit pants and a white dress shirt and tie. But the tie was loosened and his crisp, white, button down was all rumpled and only partially tucked in.

Did the blonde untuck it? I wondered.

Then he threw his arm around her shoulders and he seemed a little tipsy as he leaned in toward her.

"...just so beautiful." I could hear him say in the same awed voice he'd used with me.

He stumbled forward a little and the blonde giggled under his weight and pulled him into the apartment, shutting the door behind them.

And since then I've just been sitting here thinking what a fucking idiot I am.

I mean, mooning over him and telling myself I was in love, and thinking that maybe we had some kind of future.

I mean Jesus Christ, Daisy.

It wasn't like he hid things from me! I knew what kind of "dating life" he enjoyed. He didn't explicitly say,

"This is a one time thing."

because he probably assumed I would figure it out.

But no. Not me. Guy sleeps with me one time, and I get all swoony and romantic, and stupid. I blame you for that a little, DD. You might be making me think I'm an actual teenager again.

Well, in the real, adult world, hot guys fuck you and forget you. Fucking Lois. But she was probably right. Why would he stay with his frumpy, needy neighbor when he could move on to the next hot blonde.

I was a good time. That was it.

I don't wanna write anymore.

-

-

So, he called me yesterday which was Sunday, and texted too. The text just said:

Hey, hope your weekend's going good.

I didn't answer the phone or text back. I don't know what to say. He's probably just trying to ensure things aren't gonna be weird in the hallway from now on.

Or who knows, maybe he couldn't find the next blonde, or redhead, or whatever and just thought, well hell, easy access right next door.

Either way I'm taking off for Dr. Hailey's right away, she's making up our last missed appointment before I start work. I'm gonna tell her about everything and listen to her tell me how stupid it was to rush into something physical with someone.

It's not gonna be fun!

-

-

Well, it definitely wasn't fun, but it was really enlightening. I'm writing quick while I'm on my break at work.

So, basically when I told her about Dean and asked her what she thought, Dr. Hailey said this:

It was your choice to make, whether or not to pursue a sexual relationship with your neighbor, and I can't tell you whether it was a good choice or a bad one. It's not my place.

You're a grown woman and you are the only one who can know your body and your own sexual needs, therefore you have to take responsibility for your actions and decide what they mean for you.

If you feel like the night is a regret, figure out why you feel that way, and don't make the same mistake in the future. If you feel like you are satisfied that it was a good night, a good time with no future, then accept that and move on.

But if you believe that your feelings for him are more than physical, more than what can be explored and enjoyed in one night, then decide whether or not to pursue something further - whether that be an actual relationship, or simply a friends with benefits arrangement.

I couldn't believe my quiet, reserved, has to be in her mid-sixties, therapist actually told me friends with benefits was a viable option. I thought she was gonna be all judgey. Or tell me my choices were made by my hormones alone and were therefore, stupid.

I mean, not in so many words, of course, but you know, whatever that translates to in doctor-speak.

But if I'm being honest, (and I've certainly managed to be that, here in these pages) Dr. Hailey is pretty great, actually.

And completely right.

I need to stop acting like a petulant kid or some kind of woman who's been wronged. Dean didn't promise me anything; he doesn't owe me any kind of loyalty. We made absolutely no declarations of any kind and he's perfectly allowed to go out and bring home as many other women as he chooses.

I'll just invest in noise cancelling headphones. Or move out.

Shit. Okay, truth. It's gonna suck to see him waltzing in and out with all those lucky women.

Because even though he didn't make any promises that I can hold him to, I was so sure that our night together meant something more than just good sex. To both of us. I felt connected to him in a way I had never felt with anyone before.

But I was probably just being naïve.

And I was being a jerk not responding to his text. I mean, he was just trying to be friendly. Or, if he was reaching out to see if I'd be interested in round 2, could I really blame him? Maybe he's thinking about a friends with benefits thing too.

Here's the thing - I definitely want a round 2, but FFS, the first round sent me into three days of pouting and staring at my phone. I don't know if I could manage a friends with benefits thing because...I don't wanna be friends.

Oh shit! Don is scowling at me, my break's over!

-

-

Well, this day ended a hell of a lot better than it started. This might be a long entry, but well...

Okay, so, this evening I came home from work and Dean was standing by his door.

I smiled at him and he smiled back, both of us surprised and awkward.

"Hey." I said, as I moved passed him, walking toward my door.

"Hey, wait." He said and I stopped and faced him God, he looked fantastic. Unsurprisingly. He was wearing black jeans and a gray sweater. He looked so cozy I just wanted to snuggle him.

"I just..." He trailed off and then rubbed the back of his neck. "I called yesterday, I don't know if..."

Before he could finish what he was saying, the same blonde from Saturday night walked out of his apartment.

In spite of all my earlier plans to be totally cool with whatever Dean wanted to do - I was gonna be light and breezy - I felt a white hot jab of jealousy as I looked up into her beautiful face and bright smile.

"Oh, hi." She said, kindly. And I felt myself give an incredibly rigid smile back.

"Hi." I tried to unclench my jaw, but it didn't really work and the word still came out through gritted teeth.

Dean frowned a little and I kicked myself. Jesus, talk about NOT being cool.

I tried harder to unfreeze my smile.

Dean pointed toward me in introduction. "Jess, this is my neighbor Daisy. Daisy, this is my soon to be sister-in-law, Jessica."

His words took a second to penetrate my brain and I just repeated stupidly, "Sister-in-law?"

Dean smiled a little knowingly and nodded. "Yeah, they flew in Friday afternoon to celebrate the engagement. They've been staying with me."

Before he could continue a giant of a man came out of the apartment door carrying one suitcase and wheeling another.

"Jesus Jess," he said to his fiancé, "you should have brought another suitcase for all the crap you bought."

He noticed me then. "Oh, hi!"

Dean did the introductions again. "Sam, this is my neighbor, Daisy." He nodded at Sam. "And Daisy, this is my little brother, Sam."

Sam smiled deeply showing adorable dimples. "Oh, wow! You're Daisy?"

I nodded. "Oh, wow! You're his 'little' brother?" I asked with finger quotes.

They all chuckled.

"Yeah," Sam answered, "I outgrew the shrimp over here by the time I was sixteen."

Dean casually punched his brother in the arm and I winced at the force behind it but Sam just laughed.

"He's still sensitive about it." He smiled and I could see a hint of mischief enter his expression.

"It's so great to finally meet you. You're all we heard about all weekend."

Another, harder punch connected with Sam's arm but he continued without seeming to notice.

"We dragged him out for an impromptu celebration slash karaoke night on Saturday, but he was no fun cause all he kept talking about was his incredibly gorgeous neighbor he'd gone out with the other night."

Dean punched him again and Sam laughed.

Jess laughed gently too and also couldn't seem to stop herself from teasing her brother-in-law-to-be.

"Yes, just hours and hours of, 'You know, Daisy said this and Daisy said that.' and over and over again, 'God, she's so beautiful.' That's all he kept saying, all night." She lowered her voice to an approximation of Dean's deep tone. "Jess, seriously...just so beautiful."

Dean groaned. "Oh, come on, you're just being cruel 'cause you know I won't punch you."

I recognized the words I'd overheard on Saturday night and my heart leapt. He had been talking about me. I couldn't keep the smile from my face. Hell, I knew I was beaming, even if I was also blushing almost as brightly as Dean.

Jess smiled brightly at me and put a hand to her mouth like she was confiding a secret. "He was right, by the way. I think you two make an adorable couple."

Dean spoke loudly without looking at either Sam or Jess. "Okay, well, way you two go! Don't wanna miss your flight home."

They laughed at his none-too-subtle dismissal and Sam pulled him into a hug. Dean hugged him back, thumping him on the back, before turning to give Jess a decidedly gentler hug.

"Safe flight." He said squeezing Jess into his side and slapping Sam on the back again.

I waved to them both. "It was so nice to meet you. Congratulations!"

They waved and said their goodbyes and Dean and I were left standing awkwardly in the hall.

He smiled at me and nodded toward my apartment. "Could I, uh...could I come in for a minute?"

"Yeah." I hurried over to my door and let us both in to my apartment.

As I took off my coat, Dean approached my kitchen table and the painting I'd put there to dry. It was a kind of mountain landscape in a vaguely post-impressionist style.

It was also, all a reaction to him and what I felt about him while I was painting.

"Wow!" He said with genuine appreciation in his voice. "This is beautiful." He noticed the signature at the bottom, a little daisy flower.

His eyes were wide when he looked back at me. "You did this?"

I nodded, half wishing I'd put the thing in the closet with all my others. I'd never let anyone see my work and it felt a little like being naked in front of him again.

I'd painted and drawn when I was a kid and all through high school. But I stopped, writing it off as frivolous and not a viable career.

I'd only taken it up again after I left The Monster behind.

"Wow!" Dean shook his head again as he looked back at the painting, tilting his head.

"It's...I don't know...like something wild. It's almost angry, like the angles of the lines, but it's full of these calm, soothing colors too. That probably doesn't make any sense. It's just a really amazing combination."

I shook my head. "No, it makes sense. Do you know a lot about art?"

He smiled. "I know nothing about art." He said, repeating what I'd said about cars. "But I know it's pretty."

He shook his head. "No, beautiful."

I smiled, accepting his compliment without argument for the first time and congratulating myself on that. Dr. Hailey would be proud.

Thinking about her made me turn to sit on the couch and pat the spot beside me.

Dean walked over and sat down; each of us were turned toward each other, ready to talk.

I decided to dig right in and just go for it.

"So, I saw you and Jess in the hallway on Saturday night and I absolutely thought she was another hook-up and that's why I didn't answer the phone or text you back yesterday."

Dean just nodded and smiled. "Yeah, I figured that might be the case when you almost broke your jaw saying hi to her."

I closed my eyes and shook my head. "Look I'm really sorry about that, it was..."

Dean held up a hand. "No, wait. Can I go first?"

I shrugged and nodded. That was probably best since I still wasn't a hundred percent on what I was going to say to him.

Dean, I would like to be friends. NOPE

Dean, let's just leave the night behind us and go back to being neighbors. Double NOPE!!

Dean, would you be willing to try a friends with benefits arrangement? M'eh! Not really what I'm hoping for.

Oh, but also maybe I don't just wanna be friends, because I think I'm falling hopelessly in love with you and I'd kind of like to get married and have endless sex and lots of babies. You up for that? Fuck - this might be closest to the truth, but it might be a little too much after only one date.

Yeah, I figured it was smarter to let him go first.

"I wanted to call you. All day on Friday. Hell, all weekend. I picked up my phone constantly, I wrote and erased a dozen text messages. I knew I wanted to talk to you, I just had no idea what I wanted to say."

He took a deep breath and rubbed his hand down his face. "So, I don't date. I mean, I never really have. In high school, it was all about taking care of Sam, taking care of everything my Dad was too busy to manage.

I just didn't have time, or money for that matter, to date anyone. So I had a series of hookups, usually with slightly older college girls who weren't interested in anything long term either and were happy to take a goofy, horny teenager and help him learn a trick or two."

His smile turned sexy and I silently thanked those unnamed heroines for their service to the sisterhood. He had learned his lessons well.

"Even after high school finished, it was all about getting Sam into Stanford. I made sure I put in extra hours at the garage, worked two other jobs to try and pay for tutors and SAT prep courses, and to help add to what my Dad managed to squirrel away for Sam's tuition.

Again, I just didn't have time for anything serious or long-term. And by this point, I didn't see the need. I liked what I had."

He shrugged. "The sex was fun, easy, we made each other feel good for the night, occasionally two, but it was never anything more."

He frowned. "Sometimes, I thought about trying for something more, but most of the women I met weren't interested in something more either and I didn't know how to find what I wanted."

He scoffed. "Hell, I didn't even know what that was."

He looked at me and smiled, but there was trepidation in his voice and expression.

"And then I met you." He inched closer to me on the couch and I felt my pulse kick up a notch.

I was a little blown away by what he was saying and it was making me kind of sad for him.

It sounded lonely, like all his efforts and all his work had been for someone else. He hadn't allowed himself to spend any time thinking about what he wanted.

Like, he obviously didn't begrudge Sam his education and was clearly incredibly proud of him. But who was taking care of Dean? Where was his college tuition? Where were his helpers, his champions?

He took my hand in both of his, covering it completely. "I told you I wanted you from the first moment I saw you." He shrugged. "But that I was used to. I knew that feeling. That physical pull. Never this strong, maybe, but I knew how to handle it. Or figured I did, anyway."

He shook his head. "What I wasn't at all prepared for was how interested I became in you after we met for real. You banged on my wall and it was so funny to me, such a badass move - telling your jackass neighbor to shut the fuck up."

I blushed a little and ducked my head, remembering how embarrassed I'd been about that.

"Then I met you and you were this quiet, shy little thing. It was such a contrast and I was just so intrigued. Then we started hanging out and I saw that you were smart and funny, sarcastic, but genuine. You're real and kind and I just..."

He shook his head and chuckled. "I'd never met anyone besides Sam and Bobby that I felt so comfortable with, someone who just...I don't know...just fit."

He caught my gaze and I could see nervousness there. "I don't know, does that make any sense?"

I nodded. "Yes. Perfect sense." I whispered.

A little of the nervousness in his eyes dissipated. "And I didn't really know what to do with that. But it occurred to me that maybe we could actually just be friends. I'd never had many friends and never really any female friends, not close ones anyway.

So, I told myself sex was off the table so we could stay friends." He chuckled. "Except that did not work out the way I'd hoped."

He shifted closer and then pulled me into his lap. I wasn't about to complain.

"Because every time I was near you," he continued, his voice dipping low, "I found myself wanting you more and more, certainly more than anyone that came before you."

He took the opportunity to kiss me gently, mouth closed but warm, and I wasn't complaining about that either.

He placed soft kisses along my jaw before he pulled back; the heat in his gaze made my head fuzzy. I tried hard to focus on what he was saying.

"So, probably inevitably, Thursday night happened and it was so incredible." He closed his eyes and I felt like I was seeing the visions that were flashing behind his eyelids and it caused a riot of butterflies to take flight in my belly.

He opened his eyes and I saw worry mixed in with the heat. "So, all day Friday, I wanted to call you. I wanted to tell you that you were incredible, that I wanted..."

He was silent for a bit and then threw up his hands. "And that's why I never called you, because I had no idea what I wanted. I didn't want just a one night stand, had never wanted that with you, but it had become embarrassingly obvious that I couldn't just be friends with you either. So, what friends with benefits? Maybe, but..."

He stopped and shook his head and shrugged. I was struck by just how similar our thought processes had been over the weekend. We probably should have talked about this stuff before we slept together, or at least the morning after.

But hey, the pain and confusion had created a pretty piece of art. Just looking on the bright side.

"So, here I am," he said and he leaned his forehead against mine, "admitting that I have absolutely no idea what I'm doing. This is all brand new, uncharted territory for me. So, I'm asking for your help in figuring it out."

He cupped my cheek. "And I'm asking what you want."

I laughed. "I have absolutely no idea."

When he frowned at me I shook my head. "I've been having almost the exact same conversation with myself all weekend."

I sighed. "Look, I've dated more than you, sure, but I'm terrible at it. Previous boyfriends include," I started ticking them off on my fingers, "the guy who was dating me so he didn't have to pay rent, the guy who tried to convert me to some kind of cult, and then my...last boyfriend. We were..."

I trailed off and swallowed hard. I had never spoken to anyone outside of Dr. Hailey about my relationship with -

Keith. His name was Keith.

And he was not a monster, he was just a man. A selfish, narcissistic, power-hungry man, who used me to make himself feel strong and in control, and I didn't see the signs until it was too late.

No, that's wrong. I ignored the signs until I thought it was too late.

I never talk about him. I never even name him in my own head. But then I'd never shown anyone my art before either. Today was a day for firsts.

"I got out of a pretty bad relationship about a year ago. He was..."

I trailed off and couldn't think of how to explain him.

Dean's jaw was set and his gaze was intense as he looked at me. "He hurt you."

I shrugged. "Not physically."

"Hurt is hurt."

I nodded. "Yeah, it is. And he did hurt me, tried hard to break me. It took me a really long time to pull myself away from him. We were together about four years. Finally, little over a year ago, I managed to walk away from him, but it wasn't easy. And I'm just starting to remember who I am, what I look like out of his shadow."

I dashed away an unexpected tear and jutted out my chin. "And I like her. I like her a lot."

Dean ran his fingers across my cheekbone and tucked my hair behind my ear. "So do I."

I smiled and nodded. "My point being, that..." I chuckled. "I have no idea what I'm doing either. This is uncharted territory for me too. But..."

I shifted my position so I was straddling his lap and facing him. I had figured out what I wanted and I wasn't going to shy away from it. I heard Dr. Hailey's voice in my head telling me to take ownership of my life.

I still kind of hate that expressions like that are part of my vocabulary now. But hey, truth is truth and it was time for me to own my life.

I took his cheeks in my hands and took a breath. "It's gonna be new for both of us, and there's gonna probably be a learning curve, but I would really like to try. Try to see what comes of us dating. For real dating. Exclusively."

I was momentarily worried that I might be pushing too much too fast, but Dean's face broke into the wide, blinding smile that may end up being the death of me.

"Okay. Okay, yes. Let's do this." He kissed me, laughing, our teeth scraping against each other.

Eventually our laughter died down and the kiss turned carnal, deep. When I reached for the hem of the sweater he was wearing, he stilled my hands and grabbed on to my upper arms fiercely, pulling me close.

"I might be bad at this and I might screw up. But try not to be too mad at me, okay? I promise I'll be trying."

I nodded. "Me too."

His smile was sweet as he bent his head to give me a soft kiss on the forehead, like we were sealing a pact.

Then his smile became wicked and he whispered in my ear. "I also promise that every time I screw up I'll make it up to you in a very effective manner."

I shivered and climbed off his lap, pulling insistently on his arm. "Well, it never hurts to build up some brownie points ahead of time, you know."

He growled and leapt up, chasing my squealing form down my hallway.

That was about five hours ago and we basically didn't leave the bed all evening. Let me tell you that boy has wracked up some serious brownie points.

I'm scared, but so very excited, DD. I can't wait to write about what happens tomorrow and the next day and all the rest of the days.

Things look bright. I mean, really fucking bright.

Continue

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#spn fan fic series #dean winchester fan fic #dean x ofc #spn fan fic #dfd: entry the 8th - the long weekend

[hockeylvr59]

What Ifs, Part 3 || Jeff Skinner

Requested: [ ] yes [x] no

Authors Note: I’ve been trying to write this part for at least six months so it feels good to finally get it finished. Hope you’re ready for some fluffy Christmas content in April, and a boatload of sexual tension and some idiocy. Set Fri/Sat Dec. 13th/14th. See next post & 010 tag for Jeff’s apartment inspiration and the Christmas tree inspiration. 

For a quick recap: You met Jeff at a spillway in northern PA and met up with him at a beach in Erie a few days later. After that daily conversation ensued and he visited you to go to a college football game before you surprised him at a Pens/Sabres game he didn’t think you were coming to. He kissed you postgame and murmured that he would very much like to fuck you after you teased him as he headed to the team bus. 

Warnings: sexual tension ||  Word Count: 5,472

~~~~~~

Light snowflakes were falling, landing on your car’s windshield and then quickly melting. Christmas music played softly over the radio, while you followed your phone’s navigation through the streets of Buffalo, New York. There was just something about Christmastime that caused little bubbles of joy and excitement to course through your entire body. Those bubbles grew two sizes larger when you thought about the week ahead. 

It had been a month and a half since you’d seen Jeff in the bowels of PPG Paints Arena, had felt his arms wrapped around you, felt the press of his lips against yours. Since then, you hadn’t been able to get those brief moments out of your head. Though you talked with Jeff basically every day, and your conversations had become more intimate, you hadn’t talked about the fact that he’d kissed you and you certainly hadn’t talked about his declaration that he would indeed like to fuck you. Finally though, after a month and a half, you were less than 12 hours away from seeing him face-to-face once more. 

Pulling into his apartment’s parking garage, you gathered the trash you’d accumulated during the six-hour drive before climbing out of the car, stretching out your body. You’d finished your last final this morning and per Jeff’s request had immediately packed up before hitting the road. You’d be asleep when he got in from tonight’s road game, but when you woke he’d be there and that was more than enough motivation to not delay your trip until tomorrow. 

Throwing your trash into your purse to take inside, you gathered the rest of your bags and locked your car. Stepping into the apartment complex’s lobby, you stopped at the doorman/security officer’s desk. Two minutes later, you had a key in hand along with a note and were directed to press the button for the fifteenth floor in the elevator. Stepping off the elevator, you searched for the right apartment, stopping in front of it with a sigh. Setting your bag down, you fumbled with the key for a moment but as soon as the door swung open you couldn’t help but smile. Though it was clearly a bachelor’s apartment, the atmosphere was immediately calming, something you very much needed after a long day. 

Setting your bags down, you slipped your shoes off and made your way into the kitchen where you leaned yourself against the counter to read Jeff’s note. His scratchy script urged you to make yourself at home, rambled about how excited he was to see you, insisted that you use the money he’d left on the counter to order dinner, and left channel information for the television so that you could watch the game. Just above the scrawled Jeff, his final sentence brought a warm flush to your cheeks. 

The guest bedroom is all yours if you want...but I’d love nothing more than to come home to you in my bed. 

You’d shared a bed before, but that was prior to the not so innocent encounter you’d had in Pittsburgh. Still, something pushed you to carry your things down the hall, past what you assumed was the guest room and into what was clearly the master suite. Leaving them on the bed to deal with later, you returned to the main living space of the apartment, taking a few minutes just to wander around. Jeff had pictures of his family on shelves by the tv which was hung on the wall above a gas fireplace. Looking out the window, you could see the arena just a few blocks away and couldn’t help but laugh knowing Jeff hated long commutes. Turning back to the apartment’s interior, you noted that his large sofa looked warm and comfortable, and he certainly had a chef’s kitchen even if he was no chef. As promised, there were a pair of twenty-dollar bills tucked under a fruit bowl on the island and you decided maybe it was time for dinner since it was nearly seven o’clock. 

After searching for local restaurants you decided that game food sounded good and so you placed an order for chicken strips, mozzarella sticks, pretzel sticks, and deep-fried cheesecake for dessert.  Since Jeff had threatened you not to even think about paying for the food yourself you complied and noted that you were paying with cash. With food on its way, you moved to try and figure out Jeff’s tv, settling it onto the channel for the game, pregame programming already playing. 

It wasn’t long before Jeff’s face came across the screen and immediately your heart fluttered. It was silly because you watched Jeff’s games all the time (at least when they didn’t conflict with the Penguins), but for some reason watching it while sitting in Jeff’s apartment felt different. Just before puck drop, you got the alert that your food was downstairs so after slipping on some shoes, you grabbed the cash and key and made your way down to get it. 

With dinner spread out across the coffee table, you got yourself a glass of water and settled in on Jeff’s couch. About midway through the first period, he snuck the puck through the goalie’s legs and into the back of the net causing you to let out a cheer. Just before the end of the second, he buried another puck past the goalie to give the Sabres a two-goal lead. Watching Jeff play so well made a content smile settle onto your face as you cleaned up your leftovers and trash before snuggling under the blanket that was tossed over the back of the couch. With your eyes occasionally fluttering shut, you missed what preceded the tussle Jeff was currently in with a player on the opposing team. Immediately anxiety filled your body, but soon you watched as Jeff was led to the penalty box appearing no worse for wear as he continued to chatter away. 

By the time the game ended, you had already started to fall asleep on the couch, so you decided it was time to head to bed, tidying up before locking the front door and retreating to Jeff’s bedroom. There you changed into pajamas before setting your suitcase on a chair in the corner. Brushing your teeth and washing your face was all you needed to do in the bathroom and after plugging your phone in, you flipped off the lights and tugged the covers back climbing into bed. Soon, with your body sinking into the comfortable mattress, you were out like a light. 

___

“Shh, it’s just me…go back to sleep.” You heard whispered as you stirred. You had no idea what time it was, but as the bed shifted beside you, part of you realized that Jeff had arrived home. Unconsciously, you shifted toward him and a warm set of arms draped around your waist as you settled your head against his shoulder and dozed right back off. 

When you actually awoke, the room was filled with the faintest morning light. It was only then that you processed the fact that your entire body was tangled with Jeff’s, pressed tightly against him. Your head was still on his shoulder, your bodies touching from your chests to your hips, and your legs were entwined with his. Your mind raced to figure out how to best extract yourself when you felt Jeff’s chest vibrate under you. 

“Morning.” He murmured, his voice groggy. Lifting your head, you glanced up to see that his eyes were still filled with sleep and he had a sleepy smile on his face as he gazed right back down at you. 

“Morning…” You whispered back, shifting the hand that had been curled against Jeff’s chest to run through your hair. 

“Sorry if I woke you coming in last night…” Jeff said, yawning softly. 

“I don’t think you did…” You whispered. “I don’t actually remember you climbing into bed.” 

“Then it was just your body that noticed.” Jeff teased. “Because you shifted to cuddle me immediately.” A warmth crept over your cheeks but Jeff’s smile only grew, still lazy and soft due to the early morning hour. “Was kinda nice,” Jeff explained with a small shrug. “Told you I wasn’t going to complain if you chose my bed.” He continued, his lips dropping to press gently against your forehead. 

After stretching slightly, you finally dropped your arm back to Jeff’s torso, your fingers grazing against his abdomen. A low groan slipped from his lips and he moved his hand to lace his fingers with yours. 

“As much as I wanna stay here…” He mumbled. “Want you to keep touching me.” He added under his breath. “We should probably get up before I have an even bigger problem.” This time when your eyes met his, they were a shade darker than just a minute ago and your saliva caught in your throat at what he was implying. 

“Mmmm...yeah…” You agreed, working to extract your body from his. “I um...I’m gonna use the guest bathroom real quick...do you have stuff for breakfast in your fridge?” Jeff’s expression was unreadable as he watched you climb from bed, making your way towards the hallway door. 

“I’m sure we can find something.” 

___

By the time Jeff made his way out into the kitchen, you had managed to find a package of pancake mix and some bacon and eggs in his fridge and were hard at work making breakfast. Without saying a word, Jeff moved to start some coffee before taking over the skillet with the eggs from your hands. 

“Let me help.” He chided. With the two of you working side by side, it didn’t take long to have breakfast made and once it had been served onto plates, Jeff paused, pulling you into his arms. “I haven’t had a proper hug yet.” He explained, almost whiny about it. Settling your arms around his waist, you returned his hug, enjoying the feeling of his arms around you. “So glad you’re here.” Jeff declared, kissing your head once more before pulling away.

Settled at his kitchen island you ate breakfast in comfortable silence. When you were finished, Jeff took your dishes and loaded them into the dishwasher. As he did so your eyes raked over his body, dressed only in sweats and a t-shirt. He was so attractive that you had to force yourself to look away before he caught you staring. 

“So what’s the plan for today?” You murmured, not sure what exactly he had in mind since you’d let him plan pretty much everything. “Or I guess I should ask about today and the rest of this week?” You added, realizing that beyond the fact that he had one home and one away game, you had no idea what his schedule was like. 

Jeff turned to lean against the counter across from you as he responded, his smile bright and eyes twinkling. 

“I thought maybe today you could help me decorate?” He suggested. “We have the day off so I’m all yours. Then tomorrow we just have practice so I was thinking you could play tourist for a bit and then we could go out for dinner, maybe introduce you to Jack or some of the other guys.” After laying out his thoughts for weekend plans, Jeff paused for a moment to let you respond, and when you simply nodded he continued. “Monday we play at home, I already have your game ticket. Tuesday is a quick up and back to Toronto, we’re literally flying up in the morning and back after the game. I think a few of the guy’s girls are going if you have your passport on you and would be interested, but no pressure there if you want to stay here and veg for a day.” Warmth flooded through you at Jeff’s acknowledgement that this trip could be a lot and that if you needed some quiet time during it that was more than okay. At the same time though you couldn’t help but feel slightly overwhelmed at fact that he wanted you to meet his teammates and their significant others. 

Jeff pulled his lower lip between his teeth and his fingers rubbed at his neck before he spoke once more. “And then uh...Wednesday we have our team Christmas stuff, an official organization family skate in the morning and then Jack is hosting just the team and dates to his place for the evening…” 

“Oh uh…” You breathed, having no idea that all of that was going on while you’d be here. Sensing that your brain was spinning away from you, Jeff rounded the island. 

“But uh...we can talk about that later. I don’t have to go if you don’t want to. Let’s just see how things play out okay?” He offered and when his fingers laced with yours you found yourself nodding. “Good…” Jeff breathed. “I just want you to enjoy being here.” His concern, the way his eyes spilled over you, it all made you want to shiver in the best way. 

“So...decorating?” You mused, bringing your mind back to focus on the day ahead instead of dwelling on everything else and the weight all of it held. 

“Yep...go get dressed.” Jeff prodded, lifting you off of the stool with ease and placing you on your feet. His show of strength sent a spark through you and you nodded, retreating back to the bedroom to dig through your bag for clothes. Fifteen minutes later, you had pulled on a pair of jeans, a snuggly sweater, warm socks, and had done a really light coat of makeup before sliding into your tennis shoes and grabbing your coat. 

“Ready?” Jeff inquired from his spot on the couch in the living room. 

“Yep.” You replied, taking in Jeff’s similar outfit and the way it clung to his form. Sliding your phone into your pocket and grabbing your wallet, you followed him down to the garage, sliding into the passenger seat of his SUV with just a little help. Once he had pulled the car out onto the downtown Buffalo streets, his hand fell to rest over yours and you looked over at him, biting your lip at how natural the warmth of his palm felt. 

With Christmas music playing over his car’s speakers, the drive was quiet and almost a bit stifling. Then Jeff murmured once more that he was really glad you were here and the way he glanced over at you told you that he meant that with everything in him. 

“I’m glad I’m here too.” You replied, heart fluttering a bit no matter how much you tried to control it. Jeff drove out of the city and into the surrounding suburbs before pulling into the parking lot of a Walmart. When he parked, you climbed out, dropping down onto the pavement before meeting him at the rear of the vehicle. 

“And here I thought you were taking me somewhere more exciting than a Walmart.” You joked softly, bumping your shoulder into his arm. Jeff’s cheeks turned a little pink as he walked beside you into the store. 

“I figured we’d get the ornaments and garland and everything first and then head to the tree farm to pick the tree.” He explained rubbing the back of his neck. “I don’t really have any decorations here.” He mumbled under his breath causing you to look up at him curiously. “I’m fairly close to home, usually traveling, and haven’t really had a reason to decorate before.” He shrugged. You nodded, letting him grab a cart as you followed him into the store. In the back of your mind you couldn’t help but focus on his words though. Neither of the first two points had changed all that much so was the driving factor the third...and if so was that reason you? Though you wondered, you didn’t ask, instead just pushing it to the back of your mind once more. 

Being that it was already mid-December, the Christmas section of the store was fairly well decimated and you watched Jeff’s eyes go wide as if he didn’t expect that. Giggling to yourself, you moved over to the rack of tree lights which was mostly empty but still had a few boxes of both white and colored left. 

“What color lights do you prefer?” You asked him softly knowing that was as good a place as any to start. Jeff looked at you like he honestly had no idea so you grabbed the remaining few boxes of white lights, tossing them into the cart he was pushing. 

“I didn’t expect everything to be gone.” He whispered softly as he pushed the cart down the empty aisles. There was one container of white glass ornaments tucked onto the back of a shelf but otherwise there really wasn’t much of anything. 

“Jeff it’s mid-December.” You murmured back leaning against the cart. Sensing his distress you rested your hand over his. “Is there a Michael’s nearby?” You asked, pulling out your phone to check when he didn’t seem to know the answer. Finding one about fifteen minutes down the road, you grabbed the container of white balls since they’d go with anything, a box of ornament hooks, and you then urged Jeff to head to check out with your meager findings. 

Back at the car, you plugged the address into his GPS and squeezed his hand assuring him that Michael’s would have plenty of decorations left for him to choose from. It didn’t take long to drive to the craft store and when you led Jeff inside this time you couldn’t help but laugh at the expression on his face at seeing aisles upon aisles of Christmas and other decorations. Starting in the aisle full of ornaments, you asked him what he liked and what kind of aesthetic he wanted for his tree. 

For a moment he just looked back and forth like this was too many options before finally pointing to some wooden carved ornaments and how those looked kind of cool. Finally getting somewhere, you smiled and pulled a few of each design off the hooks setting them into the cart. After suggesting various colors of ornaments which received faces with varying degrees of dislike, you finally picked up a container of dark green balls and a pondering face crossed Jeff’s face. 

“Forest green with the white balls from Walmart and the wood?” You reminded him trying to get him to picture how it would all look together. 

“Do you think it would look good?” He asked and when you nodded he offered his hand out for the container to put it into the cart. Spotting a similar container that was just a little smaller with silver balls, you grabbed those as well putting them into the cart and shrugging at his questioning glance. 

“You need at least a little bit of sparkle. So just a little metallic.” You insisted. Deciding that should be sufficient ornament wise, you moved down the aisles to find something that would serve as a nice garland and fit with the aesthetic Jeff seemed to like. A few aisles over you found strings of wooden balls and you showed Jeff before adding them to the cart. Then you disappeared into the depths of the store before coming back with wide-width forest green velvet ribbon which would give the decorations just a little bit more depth. 

Jeff just watched you maneuver through the store before asking if you had everything you needed. For a moment you nodded but as you made your way to the check out, you spotted pine cones and added a container of those as well knowing that would be the perfect finishing touch. 

“Oh…we need a tree topper too.” You said, stopping out of nowhere right in front of the cart before tugging him off in the direction of the toppers before picking out a simple but pretty silver star to go on top. 

“Now are we done?” Jeff asked, though his expression was one of amusement not annoyance. Pausing for a moment to look over what was in the cart, you then nodded finally letting him go check out with all of your goodies. It was going to be a pretty tree, well once you actually picked out a tree. 

As Jeff unloaded the cart, you noticed that he had picked up a few small wreaths. One was just plain and you weren’t sure what he had in mind for that but the other was simple but pretty and perfect for a door and the command hook he unloaded alongside of it suggested that he’d thought the same thing. There was also a tree stand which was probably going to be helpful, and a white faux fur tree skirt. 

It didn’t take long for Jeff to pay for all of the decorations before grabbing the bags and guiding you back out into the cold weather to the car. Shivering slightly from the wind, you tugged your coat tighter around you as you climbed into the passenger seat again, reaching for the seatbelt. 

Within just a few minutes of Jeff starting the car though, you were warm from head to toe and you realised he’d turned the seat warmer on for you. While you were still in a fairly commercial neighborhood, Jeff pulled into a Starbucks drive-thru and ordered warm beverages for the next part of your day. From there he drove even further away from the city and you watched the northern New York countryside pass by your window unsure of whether the warmth you were feeling was solely emanating from the seat and beverage or from the way Jeff made you feel. 

As you drove farther into the countryside, a light snow covered the ground and trees making everything look that little bit prettier. Seeing the tree farm up ahead you couldn’t help but bounce a little in your seat because this was something you’d never done before. Your family has always had an artificial tree so you’ve never picked out a real one before. 

Following Jeff because he clearly knew what he was doing in this regard, you moved through the rows of trees behind him, eyes wide at just how many there were. 

“Have you seen any you’ve liked?” Jeff asked, popping up behind you somehow after a few minutes.” Jumping a little you smacked his arm gently for scaring you. 

“I don’t know what I’m supposed to be looking for…” You murmured. “It’s your tree.” You reminded, shrugging your shoulders after sticking your hands back in your pockets because it was cold. Jeff’s chuckle filled your ears and he reached to pull one of your hands out of your pocket, tucking it into his own as he led you down the row of trees pointing out a couple that he liked. Reading his body language, you urged him that the one he really liked but wouldn’t say so was the one and after that he handed you the keys, kissing your temple and telling you to go warm up while he got the tree paid for, cut down, and loaded up. 

From the car you watched as, with the help of the lot’s employee, Jeff loaded the tree up onto the top of the SUV and got it tied down. Soon after that you were off to head back into the city Jeff asking what you wanted for lunch since it was already that time of day. 

“I can just make something when we get back.” You assured him, not minding cooking for the two of you. Jeff murmured back that he didn’t invite you here to cook for him all week and you sighed softly replying that you didn’t come up expecting to not do anything all week either and that you could handle a few meals. A moment later he nodded, deciding that this wasn’t something worth going back and forth over and he turned his attention back to the road as the city loomed in front of you once more. 

Having reached the garage of his building once more, you moved to grab as many shopping bags as you could so that you could get them inside and ready to decorate the tree which you weren’t quite sure how Jeff was going to get inside and up to the fifteen floor as you had a feeling it was too tall for the elevator. 

You realized Jeff had come to this same conclusion moments after you did when he cursed under his breath. 

“Let me get all the breakable decorations upstairs and then I can come help you with the tree?” You suggested. Jeff seemed to agree but when you came back down, he was carrying the tree with the help of the building’s doorman, brushing off your help and just asking you to go wait on his floor to open the stairway door. 

Shaking your head to yourself, you took the elevator back up not envying the poor doorman helping Jeff to carry a tree up fifteen flights of stairs. At the top, you waited for them, holding the door up when they approached and then moving to hold the apartment door open as well before moving out of the way as they leaned the tree against a wall. While Jeff talked to him, you retreated into the kitchen to try and figure out what to make for lunch, deciding to make up a quick stir fry because that wouldn’t take long after defrosting some chicken in the microwave. 

You were grabbing some things from his freezer and searching for another pan when Jeff appeared behind you making you jump again. 

“You gotta stop that.” You chastised, looking over your shoulder at him. “And I hope you are going to do something nice for your poor doorman.” You added teasing, nodding when Jeff assured you that he was getting him game tickets and a signed jersey. When he asked if he could help you shook your head telling him that he should go figure out where he wanted to put the tree and get it set up so that you could start decorating after lunch. 

“Alright, just holler if you need something.” He agreed before moving back around the island to the living room leaving you to navigate his kitchen to make up a quick lunch. By the time you had all your ingredients ready, the chicken was defrosted and you put it into the pan with just a little bit of water to start cooking, adding in the vegetables shortly after that. When everything was looking good and ready, you added in the stirfry sauce and added the rice to the small pot of water you had brought to a boil. 

Within 20 minutes you were serving lunch onto plates and calling Jeff to come eat, laughing at how he was struggling with the tree. Moving to lend him an extra set of hands quickly, you managed to help him get the tree into the base and secured so that it would stand on its own. Repeating that food is ready, you smile at how flushed his cheeks are before moving back into the kitchen teasing that now you understand why he’s never decorated before. 

Getting ice from the icemaker you didn’t hear him say that he never had anyone worth decorating for, though those words would have brought tears to your eyes if you had. 

___

After lunch you let Jeff finish up the dishes while you worked on pulling all the decorations out of their bags. With everything laid out, you turned some Christmas music on from your phone to set the mood again. 

When Jeff came in he turned on his gas fireplace and taking a strand of lights you’d already plugged in and checked from you, he started to wrap the lights amongst the branches working his way from the bottom of the tree up. It was almost seamless, the rhythm you settled into with you checking the lights and unwinding them before Jeff took them to continue wrapping around the tree until it was fully lit once plugged in. 

“It already looks pretty.” You grinned signaling to him that he’d done good work with the lights. 

Jeff just smiled that bright smile back and you reached to open one of the containers of ornaments while also grabbing the box of hooks. Again, the two of you took turns putting hooks on the ornaments and handing them to each other, making sure that each color and type was dispersed evenly around the tree. As you hung one of the wooden ornaments toward the middle of the tree you felt Jeff press up behind you, hanging a silver ball above your head. The heat of his body made you shiver and as he pulled away his hand slid along your waist as he steadied himself. You didn’t say anything for a moment before asking him to hand you one of the green balls. 

Jeff pressed against you from behind twice more while tucking pinecones up into the branches of the tree and he slid against you while passing to grab the ribbon to drape around it. Each time he did so, a jolt sparked through your body, but that little voice in the back of your mind insisted that he didn’t mean it like that. Focusing on draping the wood garland so that it was spaced opposite the ribbon, you didn’t see Jeff’s eyes rake over your body or the way they softened as you hummed along to the Christmas carols. When everything was finally on the tree you reached to hand him the star to top it off insisting that he do it since it’s his tree. 

For a moment Jeff hesitated before he reached to set the star on top before stepping back to admire the tree with you for a moment before you shifted it back toward the wall and got it plugged in, adding water into the base now that it wasn’t going to be moved anymore. The final step was adding the skirt around the base which Jeff insisted you do since you were already down there with the water. Once that was done, you smiled at how pretty it looks and hugged him from the side declaring that it looked worthy of a magazine. 

Cleaning up the packaging, you watched as Jeff moved to hang the one wreath on his door while the other was placed under the fruit bowl in the center of his island with pinecones and a small green and white ornament tucked into it. 

“Good work Mr. Skinner.” You grinned, washing your hands from the pine so that any pollen didn’t irritate your eyes. “Your apartment is ready for Christmas now.” His dimple was showing and his eyes flashed with something you didn’t understand as you peeked over at him suggesting that they watch a Christmas movie since they were done decorating. 

Jeff agreed and you settled onto the couch handing him the remote as he pulled your feet into his lap before draping the throw blanket over your legs. After checking for your approval, he settled on Elf and you couldn’t help but smile as he quoted along to the movie. 

Pausing after one movie to order dinner in and eat, you settled back in, bellies full, this time putting on the first Santa Clause. Instead of sitting like you had before, this time you sat next to him, leaning into the same space. When his thumb dropped down to brush against your inner thigh part way through the movie you felt a buzz form low in your core that didn’t stem from the bottle of wine you’d shared with dinner. 

Jeff seemed to have no idea of what he was doing nor any idea the effect it was having on you. Yawning slightly, you murmured that you were going to go use his bathroom to shower if that was okay. You weren’t really paying attention to the movie anyway and you needed a moment to breathe. You’d thought that things with Jeff were different than they had been before Pittsburgh, but he hadn’t made a move or anything so maybe you were wrong. Either way there was no way you were going to stay sane with the pressure of his thumb against that part of your body. 

Tonight, when Jeff slid into bed beside you, you were going to keep some distance. As much as your body wanted to be close to his, it was for the best because there was no way you were going to make it through a week here with him if you didn’t, even if he was your best friend.

#jeff skinner imagine #Jeff Skinner #buffalo sabres #buffalo sabres imagine #nhl imagine #nhl imagines #hockey imagines #hockey imagine #bsabres #010

[greatworldwar2]

• Len Waters (Australian RAAF Pilot)  

Leonard Victor (Len) Waters was the first Aboriginal Australian military aviator, and the only one to serve as a fighter pilot in the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) during World War II.

The fourth of 11 children to Donald and Grace Waters, Len Waters was born at Euraba Mission, near Boomi in northern New South Wales on June 20th, 1924. He grew up at Nindigully, near St George, Queensland, and was educated to the seventh grade at Nindigilly State School. Hearing tales of pioneering aviators Charles Kingsford Smith, Amy Johnson, and Charles Lindbergh, and reading stories of Flash Gordon, and Buck Rogers, he had, as he put it, his "head in the clouds" from an early age. Waters left school when he was 14 to support his family, working alongside his father as a ring barker.

Although the military had officially barred or restricted the recruitment of Aborigines in earlier periods, these impediments were significantly relaxed after Japan entered World War II, and Australia came under direct attack for the first time. Waters volunteered for service in the RAAF on August 24th, 1942, at Brisbane, and was accepted. He began training as an aircraft mechanic, but later volunteered for flying service, and commenced initial training at Somers, Victoria, in December 1943. The aircrew interviewer thought he looked "a bit rough" but "should make a fighter". Waters believed his lack of education would be a disadvantage, and studied nights to make up for it. Keen to be a pilot, he was concerned that he would be allocated to duty as a wireless operator because he showed an aptitude for Morse transmission early on. He was also asked to imagine himself as the tail gunner in a Lancaster or Halifax heavy bomber, to which he replied, "I had a very disappointed look on my face, sir!" So convinced was he that he would not achieve his dream of becoming an aviator, Waters made three separate bets against himself being selected, and had to pay out £15 when he was nevertheless chosen.

Waters undertook his basic flight instruction at No. 1 Elementary Flying Training School in Narrandera, New South Wales, where he flew De Havilland Tiger Moths. He completed his training on CAC Wirraways and received his wings as a sergeant pilot at No. 5 Service Flying Training School in Uranquinty. Posted to No. 2 Operational Training Unit at Mildura, Victoria, he converted to P-40 Kittyhawk fighters. Once, while he was on leave, Waters was reportedly gaoled in Moree, New South Wales, for not carrying an identity card, which was one of the racially discriminatory institutions affecting Aborigines at the time. On November 14th, 1944, he was posted to No. 78 Squadron, a fighter unit based on the island of Noemfoor, off Dutch New Guinea. When he arrived, he was allocated a P-40 Kittyhawk. By chance, a previous pilot had nicknamed the plane "Black Magic" and painted those words on its nose. Waters found the name of his plane an amusing coincidence and chose to retain it.

By this stage of the war, Japanese aircraft were almost non-existent in the South West Pacific theatre; No. 78 Squadron's main role was ground attack, bombing and strafing enemy positions. Waters flew 95 sorties from Noemfoor, and later from the air bases at Morotai and Tarakan, in Borneo. During one mission, his aircraft was struck by a 37 mm cannon shell that embedded itself behind him in the cockpit without detonating. He flew for another two hours, with the possibility of the shell exploding at any time, a situation he likened to having a loaded gun against his head. "I'll tell you what", he said after returning to base, "that was the best landing I ever made". On January 1st, 1945, he was promoted to flight sergeant. By the end of the war, Waters was commanding operations which included commissioned officers. A colleague described him as a "gaunt, genial figure, humble despite his daring feats". One of Len Waters' brothers, Donald Edward Waters, had served as an infantryman with the Australian Army during the war. With the end of the Pacific War in September 1945, Len considered volunteering for the Australian component of the British Commonwealth Occupation Force in Japan, if his brother did also. Donald Waters declined at the time, so Len returned to Australia and left the air force with the rank of warrant officer on January 18th, 1946.

After returning to Australia, Waters attempted to start a regional airline serving South West Queensland. However, he was not able to secure finance or bureaucratic agreement. He reportedly wrote four letters seeking government approval, but never received a reply. He never flew a plane again. While racism in the military during World War II was considered to be minimal, Waters and other Aborigines who had served their country found that the skills they had acquired were not valued in peacetime. He wrote later that, having put off his uniform, he simply "returned to being a blackfellow". Four weeks after his discharge from the Air Force, Waters married Gladys Saunders, with whom he raised six children. He worked as an automotive mechanic, but was forced to cease by union rules, which required him to serve an apprenticeship. Waters was then briefly employed by a local council in Queensland as a road worker, before turning to sheep shearing, which took him away from his family to properties stretching from North Queensland to Victoria. Waters applied for housing commission accommodation and was allocated a house at Inala, Brisbane, in August 1956. He eventually bought the property and lived there for 33 years. He died on August 24th, 1993 at the age of 69 in Cunnamulla, and was buried in St George Cemetery.

In 1995, Waters was commemorated in several ways: Australia Post depicted his portrait on a stamp and that of his P-40 Kittyhawk fighter "Black Magic" on an aérogramme, as part of its Australia Remembers series; a brand of port was named after his personal Kittyhawk; Len Waters Place, a park in Inala, was opened; Moree Plains Shire Council dedicated Leonard Waters Park in Boggabilla, New South Wales; and Len Waters Street in Ngunnawal, Australian Capital Territory, was named after him. In 2003, Balonne Shire Council erected a monument to Waters and another local RAAF identity, Squadron Leader John Jackson, in St George. In 2011, the Sutherland Shire Council recognised Len Waters' memory and achievements by dedicating Len Waters Park, with a memorial plinth and plaque, at Timbrey Circuit, Barden Ridge, New South Wales.

#second world war #world war 2 #world war ii #ww2 #wwii #australian history #australian aboriginal history #indigenous people #indigenous people's day #military history #history #long post #british commonwealth #biography

[cherrynewsnetwork]

THIS JUST IN, FOLKS - 

The one and only Orchard Shore Boardwalk has invited us all to a sneak peek of the brand new stretch of sand that’s taking Cherry by storm: Carousel Cove! They promise Food, Games, and Fun in the Sun - but local protestor, Sylvia Salt has something more sinister to say on the matter at hand.  “It’s just despicable, you know?” Mrs. Salt scoffs, holding her homemade sign; ‘DOWN WITH HARGROVE, DOWN WITH ORCHARD SHORE!’ painted artfully across it’s surface. “Buying up the town, little by little; raising the prices on rent - tearing down our historic buildings! He says it’s all fun and games, but where does it stop?”  She - along with her daughter, active local protestor Sloane Salt - are two of the many locals intent on stopping the new Boardwalk expansion. Their protest began shortly before the controversial purchase of local landmark Motel Row - a row of motels built in the early 1920′s that used to overlook the beach - and it’s only been ramping up in steam since then.

As the citizens of Cherry know, we rely on tourism to keep those beloved Cherry Blossom’s coming in every year, but as Harvard Hargrove II - beloved Dean of Cherry Coastal University, and owner of the Boardwalk -  puts it, “How could expanding one of our greatest assets, our Historic Boardwalk, possibly be a bad thing for this town? Hargrove Incorporated is investing in Cherry; we are setting this little city up to weather any storm, and while people like Mrs. Salt may not be able to see that yet - I am confident that it’s only a matter of time until she and her lovely daughter begin to see things from our point of view.” 

While choosing sides between the ever growing lines between protestors and Beach-goers is a personal choice, the Cherry Times still welcomes you to celebrate along with the Orchard Shore Boardwalk - or join the protests! 

Orchard Shore Boardwalk’s ‘A Day in Carousel Cove,’ will serve as Cherry’s dash opening event! The Carnival will take place over the course of one day, although the event will stretch from this Saturday AUGUST 14th, until Thursday AUGUST 19th - ending in a series of plot events that will determine quite a few turns our little story will take! 

The dash opens tomorrow at 3pm CST, at which point a list of daily activities will be posted that your character’s can participate in! Also, keep Cherryusa’s open starter rule in mind! Everyone will be expected to post a starter for the opening event. This can be in para, or dash chat interaction, etc - it’s up to you! 

Also keep in mind that this event takes place one week after the events of Lux’s funeral! Everyone should be moved back to Cherry by this point. 

#cusaevent #cusaadmin

[i-am-just-a-kiddo]

rules: create your own post and tag 9 people to get to know better or catch up with

thank you for tagging me in this, @vishcount, eventhough we catch up every day basically 💞 i am tagging @cortue, @sassyassassy and @the-cloud-whisperer! no pressure in answering these questions to such detail, just do however you feel like. (ED) i’m sorry i forgot to tag @intyalote because i wish to know you better too! 

my ramblings under the cut: 

last song listened to:  Change (Feat. GRAY) (Prod. 코드 쿤스트 CODE KUNST) by Kid Millie

code kunst is one of my absolute favourite musical artists and i always discover new projects he was part of. this one is my recent favourite, i’ve just been listening to it up and down the past few weeks so my youtube shuffle automatically plays this.

last movie watched: The Yin Yang Master (2021) 

just like vishie, this was the last movie i watched and i think overall it was very fun? i found it very cute and entertaining in its world-building, as well as the visual design. also chen kun as qingming truly.....hits differently, wow. so it was hard to keep my cool about him because somehow he is way too stunning in my eyes. i also enjoyed the found family trope? it was very sweet. but as vishie noted too, the movie did not leave much place for the characters to develop properly so it would have deserved more time in that department. i was not that attached to any of them because the movie focused more on the plot happening than the character driven story. also funny how the yin yang master: dream of eternity was a wonderful gay feast while this movie just pulled the no homo card lol

currently reading: When The Light Of The World Was Subdued, Our Songs Came Through, A Norton Anthology of Native Nations Poetry (Ed. Joy Harjo, Leanne Howe, Jennifer Elise Foerster and more) 

i wished for this book for christmas and finally received it a few weeks ago. the past two years i’ve mostly been reading poetry (if you leave out readings for university) and i really want to educate myself on native cultures and their past. i think this is an amazing book that has a long introduction about its creation and the choices made on how the poems should be assembled. i love how so many different voices across geography, time and ages gets presented and i am excited to read more. apart from that, i am just waiting for uni taking up all my reading space again.

currently craving: a cold beer? 

since yesterday the weather has been so incredibly lovely and spring-like, i just want to go sit outside in the park or by the river and have a beer with someone. might do that tomorrow? i am feeling the holiday vibes. (also i am hungry so i should probably cook soon hmm)

current project: uni and fic ideas (and a fishtank?)

for uni i will need to hold a presentation about materiality in viennese modern designs during 1880-1930. i have this ceramic vessel by dagobert peche as my topic and i’m excited to dive into it because i am not well-versed in viennese art in general? and from what i’ve seen from his designs he took a lot of inspiration from japanese ceramics and chinese brush paintings which fits me past studies. also the question of materiality has never been the biggest focus in my studies so i am curious what will come of it, especially since our course leader wants to get us into the exhibition and hold the presentation in front of the actual object, which i have never done before (thanks covid).

i have some fic ideas which i want to get into but right now they are more vague concepts - i’ve been doing some research on korea during the 1880s-1890s for some very loosely dorian gray inspired au, but let’s see if this will take any reasonable shape. i’m also thinking about more wen ning & song lan content and maybe, possibly, some wen kexing character study? let’s see. am slowly getting back to writing and i am lowkey proud. 

and yes, i want to get a fishtank in our flat. i am so ready to have one again and my flatmates agreed so there is nothing standing in my way

current mood: tired but content

i overslept my first alarm today so i had a very stressful morning (it usually takes ages for me to get out of bed) and i did most of my first lecture but then decided to ditch it to hang out with my flatmates which was the best decision tbh. i also skipped the second lecture to hang out with them and go on a walk later to enjoy sunshine? so i think this day was very much successful on the social part. i even had ice cream. 

current wish: for my writing to return from war

i’ve lamented about this for the past few months on here, but it truly is weighing down my heart a lot. i just miss writing okay. i know i shouldn’t be hard on myself and accept that i need a break too, because indeed - i can’t force it and there is no need in beating myself up. but it still hurts because there is always something missing. i think the past two weeks i have been feeling a little bit more ready to return to it? though i truly need to be understanding with myself if it doesn’t work as i want it to. 

currently learning: materiality, persian book art and queer theory

as mentioned above, i have one course about materiality in arts, crafts and designs, focused on 1880-1930 vienna. i am also attending a lecture about persian book art from the 14th century onwards, though i have taken so many lectures with this professor already, i feel like he is repeating himself so much? i hope i will learn something new at least, so far it feels like i’m hearing the topics for the third time. and then i have a lecture about queer theory which is exactly my crowd - the people, the professor and the discussions give me so much and bring all these topics that i think about in my free time into a theoretical and scientific realm? so it’s nice to study these things in a systematic way - as systematic as it’s possible with a topic such as queer theory. this lecture just makes me feel seen and also allows me to get a broader sense of understanding how these studies developed.

something that makes you proud: my niemo oneshot  and my social activities

last week i wrote a short snippet for nie huaisang/mo xuanyu and it was the first time i had written in ages? so i feel very proud of it. and something i have been proud of lately is that i manage to be socially active a lot without feeling like all my energy has been sucked out of me? i am genuinly having fun being with people - of course it exhausts me a lot and i take breaks, but all in all it truly got easier socialising ever since i started taking my meds. my anxiety levels aren’t as high as they used to be and it helps me appreciate the presence of other people in a completely new way. this allows me not to feel like i am running away when i take time for myself. 

if you’ve read all of this, thank you! this was a fun little something 

#nice #i just came from a walk and thought yes #this is the perfect thing to do before i cook something #thank you for tagging me despite knowing most of it already lol #personal #tag game

[skgway]

1823 Aug., Fri. 29

6

10 55/60

Very comfortable bed, and slept well till 5 20/60, at which time it was raining heavily downstairs and in the stable at 7 1/4 everything ready, but it rained so much (began at 3 1/2 they said and was incessant till after 9) I determined to stay breakfast, and set off at 9 or 10 – 

Took upMog’s edition of Patterson’s roads published London 1822. Saw Shibden hall inserted according to the letter I wrote mentioning its situation – Then took up volume 1 Miss Benger’s life of Mary Queen of Scots and read the first 50 pages. 

Sat down to breakfast (boiled milk and hot rolls) at 8 1/2 – It just then occurred to me that the last time I was in this room (the ground floor parlour on the left entering the Bridgewater) was with M– [Mariana] on the night of the 9th of March 1816. 

A host of reflections crowded on me – I felt the tear starting and my heart grow sick. ‘How foolish,’ said I, then sank into the thought that my knowing her had perhaps been the ruin of my health and happiness. She has not the heart to suit me. Perhaps I should not be happy with [her], yet almost foolish, [w/c]ould not be so without. I had almost said, ‘Oh, that I had not a heart,’ but God be merciful to me a sinner, and enable me to fix it. Here alone true joys are to be found. 

How very little π [Mariana] guesses what passes within me. I do not blame her. Heaven has not given her that sweet sensibilit soul of the soul after which my spirit panteth, likes the hart after the water brook and than which nothing less can satisfy a romantic and the enthusiastic mind like mine. To π [Mariana], if I shewed myself more openly I should be an enigma. She could not understand. We have not much fellowship in feeling, yet am I attached to her. Alas, I see more and more plainly, too deeply for my own happiness. 

Were I to tell her the effect of this three step business, she could not comprehend it. She would think it perhaps unforgivingness of temper rather than that wound at heart which festers unseen. It has taught me that tho she loves me, it is without that beautiful romance of sentiment that all my soul desires. But mine are not affections to be returned in this world. Oh that I could turn them with virtuous enthusiasm to that being who gave them. 

O Mary, Mary! You have enticed me with the glimpse of happiness and my heart has pursued the ignis fatuus till retreat is impossible or vain – But no more –

Left Manchester at 9 25/60 (the roads very heavy with the rain) and stopt at the Wellington Inn, Rochdale, at 11 35/60 – Fair the 1st 7 miles but rained the last 4 (of the 11 Manchester to Rochdale) – Went into the stable for a minute or 2, then sat down and mused and wrote all the above of today which took me till 12 3/4 (Shibden). Took a little nap – Had ordered George to let us be off in 2 hours but he was out, and 25 minutes beyond his time, and we were not off till 2 –

From 2 55/60 to 3 1/2 walked, and made George lead Caradoc, from the mound and while rails across the valley (perhaps 1/2 mile on this side of Littlebro’) to the Inn at the top of Blackstone edge – Stopt there 5 minutes and gave Caradoc some oatmeal and water – Then pursued our journey, and got home in 3 3/4 hours at 5 3/4, i.e. just before it struck 6 by the kitchen clock –

It rained pretty smartly all the time we were at Rochdale till about the last 1/2 hour when it cleared up and we had no rain afterwards – A fine evening too – My father and Marian called after tea and staid about an hour –

Told my uncle and aunt Mr. Simmons thought he could cure me, but could answer for it better if I was in Manchester under his own eye for 2 or 3 weeks – My aunt wanted me to give up going to Scarbro’ and York, and go to Manchester immediately – This I, of course, decline, saying I may perhaps be able to do without going to M– [Mariana] at all –

Barometer at changeable or rather above Fahrenheit 57º at 9 p.m. at which hour came up to bed – Put by my things etc. and wrote the last 9 lines of today – 4 letters waited my arrival –

Nothing can be better done than the new road from Littlebro’ to the top of Blackstone edge – From the very foot of the hill to about 100 yards from the Inn at the top are 15 white-painted black-capped stone posts as guides, I suppose, when the road is covered with snow – They were 149 strides apart (supposing them to be as as they look, at equal distances) perhaps these 149 strides might be about 100 yards or not much more –

It was at the 14th stone that I met M– [Mariana] last Tuesday week – This struck me forcibly – I had been thinking of the thing before – Indeed not a day scarcely an hour has passed since it happened, without its occuring to me in 1 shape or other – Oh! that I could forget it altogether – But I know and feel this cannot be – My memory is too obstinate for me –

3 of the letters came yesterday from M– [Mariana] (York); from Miss Vallance (Sittingbourne) and from Radford the Tailor (“ 27 Piccadilly removed from 188 Fleet street London”) the other letter (from Radford acknowledging the receipt of the draft) came this morning –

M– [Mariana]’s letter (2 1/4 pages hurried) written the very day (Wednesday) my letter to her would get to Scarbro’, on which day she seems to have been setting off for that place, having waited to take her father and mother within the carriage Eliza and Lou on the box and the 2 little Whites and her and Watson her servants in a hack chaise – Mrs. B– [Belcombe] seized with Cholera morbus on Sunday “which alarmed us much for a few hours, but it soon subsided”.... “however she is quite well” – Dr. B– [Belcombe] 

“in very low spirits about himself and I really think there is much cause even now to feel alarmed about him – His mind seems to have suffered, and when there is anything to be done he seems quite bewildered” –

M – [Mariana] not quite so well as she was – The moorgame arrived safe on Sunday – Dr. B– [Belcombe] appeared pleased with the attention – M– [Mariana] was to have written on Tuesday “but Bell came over and nothing could be done” –

3 pages crossed and the ends from Miss V– [Vallance] I must write to her very soon – She says my last is dated 14 February –

“Does your remembrance of your confiding friend ever cross your mind? Has her fate ceased to interest? Is her form forgotten? Her faults and sorrows faded from from your heart?” …. 

I must write – She is still in a very bad state of health – Gives a high character of her brother William’s bride – vide the latter 1/2 the crossing of page 2 and the former 1/2 of page 1 vide page 2 

“Memory often carried me to Langton – and recalls our wandering to Birdsall, the wold etc. etc. ...... those steps so well remembered, so fondly recorded in my bosom”.... 

Flll [full] well i remember my style of conversations. Does she too? Is it not evident she will listen again and grant all I ask as before? – At page 3

 “I hope to see Langton at no very distant time and I hope most earnestly to see you there” –

Surely the crossing above referred intelli[gi]bly marks her preference towards me and might warrant my taking gently any liberties I chose. She says, or strongly insinuates, that she and I think and feel more in unison than I suppose. Surely this is no cold water on anything that has passed between us – I have always maintained a lady cannot love sufficiently a second time. It is respecting this she owns my opinion, “founded on a knowledge of human nature in general” but consider herself an exception –

Radford’s 1st letter is to acknowledge the receipt of my 1st…. 

“as our business is conducted solely on the principle of ready money we cannot send goods to strangers in the country without 1st receiving a remittance to amount of ordered goods” … 

Strangers is in the original, strange ladies in the country – Referred to their “order book” and found my measure etc. etc. I could not help laughing –

The 2nd letter a respectful acknowledgment of the draft – The coat to be sent by “the York coach that leaves the Golden and Saturday morning at six” that I am expected to have it early on Sunday morning –

vide line 23 the last page the weather, what kept me up so long etc. – E [two dots, treating venereal complaint] O [one dot, signifying little discharge] A lit[t]le not much –

[sideways in margin] Rochdale

#anne lister #anne lister code breaker #mariana lawton #shibden hall 1823 #mary vallance #langton hall

[brooklynmuseum]

Mini Art Lesson   Tuesday, April 21, 2020

This week, we're taking a closer look at the materials and design elements of this Wine Jar with Fish and Aquatic Plants, made in China during the fourteenth century. Children ages 2-6 can follow along with step-by-step instructions to learn about habitats while creating a home for their favorite animal. For children 7 and up, we'll explore chemical reactions by making our own watercolors and paining our own nature scenes! 

FOR AGES 2–6:   LET’S PLAY

Today, we’ll work on building a setting for animals with our family! Take a close look at Wine Jar with Fish and Aquatic Plants and discuss the concept of habitat and home. What do you notice about this animal’s habitat? Where do you think the fish’s home is?

Step 1: Find an old shoebox, small cardboard shipping box, or even a paper bag for your child to decorate. Grab any art materials like markers, paper, scissors, and glue or tape. Optional materials include, straws, popsicle sticks, or even pens or pencils!  

Step 2: With your child, decide what animal to put in your box and discuss the habitat you will create. You can create your own animal or get a stuffed animal! Feel free to also sketch out your design together. 

Step 3: Color the interior (and exterior if you’d like) in a way that reflects the habitat of your chosen animal. You can also tape on paper in different colors. 

If you have additional items, try to mix up the materials with other items around the house!

Step 4: If you’re using a stuffed animal, add your animal to the environment! Use your setting to create stories about your animals, and enjoy continuing to make stories in the days and weeks to come!

Bonus: If you’re making an animal puppet, cut out the sketch of your puppet, and use popsicle sticks, straws, or even pens to create your animal with tape! Hint: tape them from the top. 

Thank you to Filippa Christofalou and Orestis for working on this project! 

FOR AGES 7+:  LET’S CREATE

This jar was created with clay that was dug out of the earth and painted with glaze made by grinding down minerals. For our project, let’s also use some natural materials to make art materials of our own! 

You’ll need:

A pot

Water

Cabbage

Lemon

Baking powder

Step 1: With the help of a grown up, cut up the cabbage and boil it for 20-30 minutes until the water is reduced by about half.

Step 2: Drain the liquid and pour it into three separate containers. Then, add a few drops of lemon juice to one and two teaspoons of baking powder to the other. A chemical reaction causes the liquid to change colors!

Step 3: Let’s use our colorful liquid to do some watercolor painting! What things in nature inspire you? Let’s paint a scene that includes our favorite animals and plants.

Bonus: What other natural ingredients can you use to make paint? You can try coffee, tea, spinach, carrots, strawberries, and more. Experiment and make a rainbow!

FOR TEACHERS, CAREGIVERS, AND PARENTS  Access a free teaching guide to this collection highlight, featuring questions for viewing and other great activities and lessons.

We’ll be back next Tuesday with another Mini Art Lesson! In the meantime, let us know what your like to see or learn!

Posted by Tamar MacKay and Noé Gaytán Wine Jar with Fish and Aquatic Plants, 14th century. Porcelain with underglaze cobalt blue decoration. Brooklyn Museum, The William E. Hutchins Collection, Bequest of Augustus S. Hutchins, 52.87.1. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum)

#miniartlesson #art at home #museum from home #bkmeducation #art education #sculpture #earth day #brooklyn museum #brooklyn #museums #bkmasianart #chinese art #art lesson #miniartlessons

[into-control]

🌹 camren recap of 2019: part 1 (january - march)

(1) (2) (3) (4)

this post contains almost everything to do with camren in 2019*. it also includes things about their respective PRs from this year, when relevant, and a little bit of OT5 is sprinkled in as well. this year i am keeping things in chronological order unlike last year, and entries that take place over the course of multiple days will be grouped together according to the first day.

*disclaimer: some of these things very well may be coincidences, but are included anyways because we all love lauren and camila’s synchronicity.

without further adieu, let the games begin!

january 4th:

at the beginning of january, lauren went on a vacation to a resort in sedona, arizona. while it was mostly a trip dedicated to herself, it was highly speculated among the community that camila visited her. during this time, camila tweeted this, on the day she possibly returned home to miami:

what’s more is that during the entire duration of lauren’s stay in sedona, camila’s spotify activity (which at the time was always public) was set to private. on the day lauren returned (january 7th), so did the spotify activity:

january 5th:

lauren and camila were active on instagram at the same time:

(more of a sync moment)

january 6th:

dinah liked an instagram post with a peculiar caption:

january 7th:

about 12 hours after lauren posted a song on her story, camila listened to it on spotify:

on january 25th, lauren referenced the song again:

january 8th:

dinah reposted someone else’s post on her story where havana is playing in the background:

on the same day, lauren did an IG live where she told everyone she wrote more than that 2-3 years ago. previously lauren had lied about when she started writing music:

this can be further supported because in a story in 2017, lauren says she likes to write music in a bathroom.

january 11th:

in the instagram live to celebrate the release of more than that, lauren showed off the new earrings that were gifted to her on christmas. at first she simply said ‘baby’ got them for her, but then she panicked and clarified that person she was talking about is ty, and she looked disgusted to say it. link. because of this unneeded coverup, those earrings were likely from camila.

in other news, dinah liked something somewhat suggestive involving the sun and moon:

january 12th:

this is where camila’s lies began. in order to push the narrative that matthew was her first real relationship, on the anniversary of CAMILA, she said that the songs on the album were not based on real relationships:

we know that to be false for many reasons, but mainly because she said the exact opposite thing herself in her zach sang interview about a year earlier.

besides the anniversary of CAMILA, britney spears celebrated the 20th anniversary of baby one more time on the same day. lauren just so happened to follow her and like her post about it:

though a reach, it was speculated that this was a nod towards camila and not only britney.

january 15th:

lauren kind of shaded her label columbia by liking a post discussing how they don’t allow ‘risky’ material and that earl sweatshirt feels ‘free’ now that he isn’t signed to them:

that day, a low quality video of camila and matthew attempting to be affectionate in what looks to be a candid setting (which is isn’t) circulated:

the following day, lauren tweeted this, possibly directed at how inorganic PR relationships are:

january 17th

during the hilarity of the world record egg, jayecane on twitter gave themselves that display name, and camila followed them while they were obsessively spamming about lauren:

january 18th:

in an IG story about the more than that music video, the bad things music video was present in lauren’s suggestions:

taking youtube’s algorithm and bad things’ release date into consideration, this suggests that lauren frequently watches camila’s videos.

january 26th:

coincidence?

january 27th:

at 1:55pm EST, camila posted a video of a boy singing a song on her story, which included the lyrics “i’ll be right next to you”. link

exactly one minute later at 1:56pm, lauren posted this:

january 30th:

in her beats1 interview, lauren revealed that her and ty had spent three months apart in the spring/summer of 2018 when things got busy. however, lauren and ty were seen together at least once a month that year. creds to totallylost4you for compiling this evidence.

a slightly more fitting scenario would be lauren and camila being apart for three months at a time. the never be the same tour started in spring, and that, as well as the reputation stadium tour, carried on into the summer:

almost exactly three months after april 9th, camila had a week long break:

january 31st:

lauren told us to shut the fuck up:

same day, camila posted this to twitter and instagram:

about an hour later, lauren seemingly replied. as january was a rather quiet month for both girls, it felt less than coincidental for a lot of people:

on february 13th, lauren liked this post on instagram, which really sealed the deal:

this indirect went on to be a reference to dream of you off of romance.

february 8th:

camila listened to sweet disposition from one of her moon playlists:

february 10th (the GRAMMYs lightning round):

coincidence?

who are you talking about dinah?

dinah jane strikes again!

lauren’s turn now:

february 12th:

arturo sandoval, the trumpet player from the grammys havana performance, liked a camren post:

camila was on lauren’s IG feed (haha):

february 14th:

lauren put another tally on the prison wall. tara got fake internet mad.

perhaps the most amusing part of this day was that ‘lauren’ posted a video to her story identical to the one ty posted about 18 hours beforehand... in the middle of their dinner she was posting about. spoiler alert, someone accidentally posted the video that was only meant for ty to post on lauren’s story.

february 18/24th:

roses:

maybe a small coincidence:

camila’s got a ‘boyfriend’ anyway:

february 19th:

lauren and ty took a jarring picture at a party and lauren posted it on her story except it was the one where one of the owners of laurmilaupates photoshopped ty out of it:

february 21st:

lauren liked amber rose’s video of her son singing havana:

february 23rd:

lauren missed her banana-loving girlfriend:

february 24th:

camila took one of lauren’s books:

february 26th:

hello dinah:

march 2nd:

keep that fingernail trimmed camila:

march 3rd:

snippets of camila’s birthday post that stuck out (?!!!):

lauren loves camila to pisces pieces:

march 4th:

camila listened to sweet disposition again, this time on her ‘love’ playlist:

march 5th:

we see you lauren:

i know somebody with ocean eyes, camila...

march 13th:

shotty photoshop alert:

march 17/24th:

a little too in sync:

they might have also walked the same trail in LA:

march 28th:

alejandro sanz posted multiple teasers for mi persona favorita’s music video, but camila only liked the one featuring two women in a romantic relationship:

march 29th:

mike liked a video of someone painting lauren and mi persona favorita was playing in the background:

part 2

#2019 #recap

[omgreading]

2020 Goals Update #252-260: September 8th-16th

September 8th

Went to the library to renew books and pick up holds

Watched a few episodes of Big Brother 16

I did a small amount of tidying in my room

Read City of Lost Souls for 47m 10s and read 58 pages

Wrote a paragraph in my journal

Went to bed early because I felt bad

This day started off a week of me feeling awful. We went to the library at 11 AM and picked up our books off of hold and rechecked out the books I had run out of renewals on. I hate that I am getting slower with my reading right now. So many 30 minute days. I just don’t feel in the mood most of the time. We watched old episodes of Big Brother and then I went to bed around 7 PM.

September 9th

Watched Big Brother 16 with my mom for most of the day

Read City of Lost Souls for 1h 26m 34s and read 96 pages

Wrote a paragraph in my journal

Went to bed early, again

Yeah, another day of just chilling around. We watched Big Brother 16, and I got in my reading and called it quits early again because I didn’t feel good. 

September 10th

Got a few groceries in the morning

Spent most of the day in bed because I felt like garbage

Had supper

Watched the new episode of Big Brother 22 with my mom

Read City of Lost Souls for 30m and read 31 pages

Wrote a paragraph in my journal

We went to the grocery store around 10 AM and got a few groceries and something for dinner that night. I felt gross while we were out, so I went to bed and slept for most of the day. I think I have some kind of stomach virus. I got up for supper and then we watched the new BB episode and I got my reading in before going back to bed.

September 11th

Went to Wally World and got groceries

I made some cookies

Spent most of the day watching The Rookie with mom, we got way behind on season 2

Read City of Lost Souls for 1h 5m 16s and read 75 pages

Wrote a quarter of a page in my journal

We did our big grocery shopping trip and took our time getting everything. I made some cookies when I got home, and then we settled in on the couch and spent most of the afternoon and early evening watching The Rookie. 

September 12th

Got up around noon and started watching The Rookie again with my mom and spent most of the day doing that 

Read City of Lost Souls for 37m 39s and read 47 pages

Wrote a quarter of a page in my journal

Painted my nails

Just another chill day watching TV. It was fun to catch up on the show. It seriously has some super stressful moments, but it is so good. It’s also nice to take a break from watching reality tv. I got in my reading while my mom talked to my brother on the phone. After she went to bed, I got out all my nail stuff and got it set up for painting.

September 13th

Stayed up all night painting my nails while watching episodes from Lucifer S2. I kept messing up my nails and had to redo them.

Went to bed

Finished watching The Rookie S2 with my mom 

Finished watching Mrs. America with my mom

Read City of Lost Souls for 1h 41m 56s and read 123 pages, finishing the book

Wrote a quarter of a page in my journal

I had an emotional morning. I had to keep redoing my nails, and that was stressing me out, and then I got into a depression spiral and was upset for a bit, but I feel better now. I finally finished painting my nails and went to bed. We finished The Rookie and then finished Mrs. America. I got in my reading and then played on my computer for a bit.

September 14th

Watched a bunch of TikToks in the early AM

Started re-watching The Vampire Diaries

Went to bed at 4 AM

Got up at 10 AM and saw I had a message from my cousin Ginger. She wanted me to call her so we could motivate each other and clean together.

I did that, and we ended up talking via video-chat for about 5 hours

I did a load of laundry

Watched the new episode of Big Brother with my mom

Read Clockwork Princess for 1h 2m 35s and read 76 pages

Wrote half a page in my journal

I had posted some stressy and depressy feels on FB, so my cousin messaged me and said we could motivate each other. We talked for five hours throughout the day and did not get a lot done, but it was nice and I miss her so much, so I had fun. I did a load of laundry. I got in my reading in the evening before I went to bed. 

September 15th

Went out to breakfast with Mom

Went to the library to get our books from the holds list and pick up some more

Read Between the World and Me for 35m 29s and read 39 pages

Watched Big Brother 16 with my mom for a bit

Talked to Ginger on video-chat for a few hours

Wrote a quarter of a page in my journal

We went out for breakfast and then headed to the library. We went home and I talked to Ginger on video-chat off and on throughout the day for a few hours. Mom and I both had a copy of Between the World and Me, and we started it together. We both read for a little over 30 minutes and then watched TV when my Papa got home. Watched a live on TikTok for a few hours.

September 16th

Got up at 9 AM and talked to Ginger for an hour on video-chat

Went back to bed at 12 PM, got up at 4 PM and then went back to bed like 15 minutes later because I felt like crap

Got up at 7:30 PM and made supper

Talked to Ginger for two hours on video-chat

Read Between the World and Me for 30m and read 31 pages

Tidied up my desk

Wrote a quarter of a page in my journal

I felt like garbage all day, so I spent most of it in bed. I talked to Ginger on video-chat on and off today, and it was still a bunch of fun. I got in my reading and I am thinking about laying back down. I am going to do my very best to start posting these daily again. 

#booklr #bookblr #bibliophile #bookworm #bookish #2020goals #2020update #long post #the vampire diaries #tvd #big brother #lucifer #the rookie #mrs. america #clockwork princess #city of lost souls #between the world and me #omgposts #text

[catalinaroleplay]

Gender & Pronouns: Demi man, he/him or they/them

Date of Birth: February 14th, 1989 (31)

Place of Birth: Catalina Island, California

Neighborhood: Avalon

Length of Residency: Native — Returned January 2020

Occupation: Former Child Actor

Face Claim: Oliver Jackson-Cohen

BIOGRAPHY

TRIGGERS: Drug Use, Alcoholism, Violence, Rehab, Divorce.

From the moment Nath could think, he’d known himself to be something in between a shadow and a cloud. A constant ebb and flow between two states, he is neither a fully-formed being nor a person of his own, for his birth had been to plug the hole of whatever had been left behind of Audrey Edelstein’s heart. A life shrouded by the black cloak of death, the woman had nowhere else to give her love but inwards, and out of her projections, Nathaniel is born. 

A birth, marked by the death of others, he shoulders his mother’s pain. 

And life is a show for young Nathaniel , who’d always felt more comfortable wearing another’s skin than his own. A cry for help from a young wisp of a soul, ephemeral as a cloud of smoke, and Audrey, ever-encouraging towards her young child, mistakes his precocious ability to chameleon himself into an array of emotions as a want for something bigger. 

Nath likes it enough, of course. But what he likes even more is seeing his mother happy — it isn’t lost on them that she is alone, without a partner by her side. Hints of sadness, the lightest shades of doom coloring her face, all he wants is to see his mother smile. 

Bigger roles come, and so does the media, rabid for the next sweet thing to grace their screens. A rocket ship to fame and riches galore — what more could a young child want? But still far too young, Nath does not understand that all good things must always come at a price. 

Stardom is a deep hole, always starving, always wanting, and it eats Nath alive. Thrown into the pit with no lifeline, how is he expected to crawl his way out? Just fourteen and yet already reeking with desperation, Nath does not know who he is anymore — neither a man, nor a child; not a person, nor a boy. Applauded for a career he does not think he deserves, revered as a genius for feeling less and less like himself every day. If he cannot climb back up, there is nowhere to go but down. It isn’t long before everyone else catches on to the ever-building shit in his life threatening to overflow at any second. 

They call him every name in the book: a wild child, misguided teen, a privileged little fuck. All of it is right in some way, but any intention to stop is always met with another wall of insults by people who never bothered to understand. 

And yet, he supposes he deserves what happens next. The movie had been his last hope ( his mother’s last hope ) to solidify his place in this world. And it all ends with an ill-fated punch to his co-star’s face over an argument that he fails to even recall the next few days — a fight stemming from a drunken stupor, it is the last straw. Already sixteen and they send him away to an isolated treatment facility for three months. The last face he sees is of hers, tear-stricken and all-too regretful of his ( her ) choices.  A week of the goddamn shakes and sweats, but a lifetime of hunger for something that he can no longer touch. 

Nothing breaks as much as it crumbles over the course of two years. The calls stop coming, and he pulls away from his mother, arguments frequent more than ever and everything dries up like his resolve to climb back up to normalcy. How fickle of the world to think nothing of him, moving on like Nath had never existed in the first place. He doesn’t understand when his mother quietly suggests he find another path, doesn’t understand when he sees that his money is gone. Uncontrollable, spinning out into something, he feels his hand itch towards the bottle. 

The book becomes his anchor. A way to hang onto whatever little narrative he still has control over — he goes for the one thing that young Nath had been determined to protect: his mother. 

Ghostwritten by another, titled Rich Privileged F*ck, as an homage to his most notorious of nicknames, Nath finds the spotlight once more. Of course it’s the mother; it’s always the mother, leading their poor child down the wrong path. 

What comes after, is a blur. 

He is alone. Painfully, undeniably, wholly alone. A single pillar in a desert, he falls back to the devilish comforts of alcohol and everything else that could numb him from the pains of living. Always so sensitive, always so soft, but the world could not see it. After all, what faces the world is the picture of someone erratic and cold, without any regard for the charmed life he has been given — so what else is there to do? Walking into the dark is the easiest when everyone is guiding you from behind, so that is what he does. 

Washed-up, with royalties running thin, he is given one last chance. Ten years and nine different agents; ten years and countless of interviews done under the influence — a single person. A new agent. It is all that he needs. A person to believe that he can pull himself from the pit he dug for himself so long ago. They say to never put your sobriety on anyone else, but he gets better for them anyways. After all, they had their own demons to conquer, and there is no better way to overpower them side-by-side, with another. 

And yet — how can he save another when he can't even save himself?  

He lapses. And he lapses. And again and again until six hundred and some days pass and he is back in the pit. A hand is extended once more, before it is gone — and ironically enough, it is enough to push him into sobriety. 

At the end, Nath moves back to the island. Quiet and unassuming, he is assigned another agent — this time, they say, it’s his last. Nothing else to do but scrape up the remnants of his career, to sort through the rubble, to find out what they can salvage. 

If there is anything he has control over, it is his ability to capture media attention. His baggage is heavier and more visible than most, and his agent draws up a contract. A year-and-a-half of his life for a chance at forgiveness for what he has done. 

Eleanor Hirsch is in some ways, the exact opposite of him — though she’s had her fair share of media attention, her life is, for the most part, private. The vultures could speculate all they wanted, but they would never eat her alive like they’d done with him. 

So what better way to drum up publicity than to have them date? Ellie would receive a hefty amount of attention, all the while without sacrificing her personal life — only carefully crafted media posts and strategically placed paparazzi. And for himself, a renewed image painted in sobriety, approved by an award-winning actress to boot. 

Nath, as always, is indifferent. He will do it, because someone has told him to do it, and he will continue his career, because what other choice does he have? A chameleon, a trail of smoke, a puff of air — Nath knows everything in life is impermanent. 

Sometimes, when he sits by the beach, he wonders if he will blow away and become one with the wind.

PERSONALITY

Positive: Independent | Observant | Protective

Negative: Aloof | Possessive | Gullible 

Nathaniel Edelstein is portrayed by Say.

#oliver jackson cohen #drug use tw #alcoholism tw #violence tw #rehab tw #divorce tw #say