#Does Raven still have Crow's tapes?

[maramirror11]

Neon Wings

These are just my thoughts on this AMAZING series and I don't have someone to dump this so here we go.

Spoiler warning for both The Neon Barbarian and Neon Wings.

I've never done this and English grammar isn't my strong point.

I wasn't expecting a sequel for TNB. But the world was too interesting to not make more. So, I was surprised that NW went in a different direction. It's Raven's story and it SHOWS.

I love how the audience is able to witness Raven's past and compare it with the present.

I enjoy making the backstories of Listeners based on the little information we have. However, it feels different to just hear about their past from BE THERE to understand what they went through.

Because for me the two series are one big story. Of course, you can see one and not the other. Still, it hits different when you see both.

I like the idea of Crow not going back. It'll defeat the purpose of the story. (Don't get me wrong I LOVE CROW, I MISS HIM). Yet, if he comes back, it'll be awkward since Raven is different. Time has moved on and he will be stuck in the past again.

For me, Raven changes from being someone open to knowing new people to becoming this person with emotional walls. In both she's still kind and a badass, but it's different.

It took her TWO days to give Ivan the pie unlike with Crow that it took a few hours to invite him to her house.

One of my favorite parts of this series were the moments Raven had a panic attack. Sure, almost every video has loud banging or shooting noises.

But with these ones, you can FEEL how UNCOMFORTABLE she is. How there is nowhere to run, no way to get the sound quiet down. How the sirens and shooting noises never left her head as she just stayed there, incapable to do something.

The way music is used is another favorite part. Out of Touch means so much for her, both good and bad. I forgot the music was playing WHILE Crow was being shot.

That's why in her nightmare, after Ivan gets shot, it sounds a distorted version. It's the story repenting itself all over again.

Just for her to claim the song while they fight against Luke. Love the detail. The final song Chicago was *chef kiss*. It's a new song for a new life and it fits PERFECTLY.

ALSO, THE FIGHTING AND SOLO SCENES OMGGG. You KNOW what Raven does and what they do to her, from hand to hand combat to guns.

Also, there are many scenes where she doesn't interact with anyone and still understand what happened. Like when she goes back home from the incident and just drops to her couch/bed.

Lemme talk about Ivan. I was surprised with Ivan's attitude. He is always calm and never actually cursed. I thought that his reaction to Raven's old job was something he was OK with but couldn't participate.

He's so kind with everyone and his struggle NOT TO drop facts about the things he likes is relatable. HE'S SO AFFECTIONATE WITH RAVEN AND PALOMA, I LOVE HIM.

At the end, he curses and gives effective strategies to kill the other mercenaries. On top of that, he ended up shooting someone, so I think I didn’t give Ivan enough credit.

The fact that he has a kind heart, doesn't mean he's not brave enough to protect the ones he cares about. They became The Power Couple. Relationship Goals indeed.

It was a hard task to give Raven another love interest since Crow is so loved by the fans. And I admit it was handled very well. For both Crow and Michelle.

I appreciate how Michelle is not a competition. For me, she had the right to be upset at the beginning. It was a dangerous and new situation. She just wanted to protect her family.

Probably Ivan talked to her and explained the situation better, since Michelle doesn't blame Raven again at the end.

My question right now is, WHY Raven took Ivan with her??? He can't run and doesn't have that much experience in combat.

Maybe they felt safe with each other. I mean, Raven IS a mercenary and fought 3 armed guys alone. Also, why was she so open to listen to Luke? He knows most about Para M and would benefit from her death. I still need to give it more thought.

There are still some things that kept me thinking about the other stuff that weren't shown. One is that Danny is never brought up again. I understand that she was not as important as Crow in the story but STILL.

She died saving her identity from Louis and now Raven takes care of her cat. I just wonder if Danny was for Raven, another victim of the circumstances or they were friends.

Also, the disaster that created the super genits (i'm sorry if I wrote it wrong) is never brought up again. But I think it's because it takes place far away from the original incident. Something that is never stated as well, are Danny and Crow buried somewhere?.

Lastly, I always keep this writing advice in mind. Characters of a story can't be the same at the beginning and at the end. The scene that brought me that thought was when Raven got shot. I'm pretty sure she couldn't hear Crow's words before this moment.

Seeing him one last time and being in the situation she wanted for so long, it shows how much she grew. Raven from the beginning would've accepted to die.

But she couldn't, there was something worth living for. Raven had her closure with her past and now it's ready for the future. IT MADE ME EMOTIONAL 😭.

Now Raven can live her life again the way she wants. She leaves her old name and life behind. Not seeing the next sunrise but to enjoy it as well.

It's like those stories even if you get spoilers, it's not the same as experience it.

That's all.

[marisramblings]

You asked for some touchstarved requests so here I am! Can I get something fluffy with mhin where kuras mentions that tonight is mhins transformation night. So the mc heads over to mhins place with some pain meds/medical supplies to help with their monster transition. First, it starts with mhin being kinda aggressive due to their monster form but ultimately ends with them cuddling afterwards once their monster form realizes the mc isn't a threat.

Went a little overkill with the word count…hope you enjoy 😅

Mhin x reader (cw cursing)

“You want me to do what?”

Kuras bites his lip. “It’s an odd request, I acknowledge that. Normally, I would go, but the most recent soulless attack has created a higher demand for my services. You’re the only other person they’re comfortable with.”

“I understand that, but I’m still lost. You want me to visit Mhin and do what exactly?” The good doctor was light on the details. Why do they require a personal home visit? Why couldn’t a courier handle this?

Voices clamor behind the clinic door. Kuras looks between it and you, eyes almost anxious. You sigh again. He’s a friend. It grates on you to see him flustered. You are close with the soulless hunter but you’re careful about it. Skittish people bolt easily, and Mhin hasn’t deemed it suitable to tell you this secret.

“Fine.”

He smiles. “Thank you, and take this.” As reticent as he seemed before, Kuras doesn’t hesitate to shove an aid kit into your hands and you out the backdoor.

“Wait,” The door slams in your face before you finish. “where does Mhin live?” You peer at the kit in your hands and see a hand drawn map taped to it. You have a strong suspicion that you’ve been played.

“I better not get eaten.”

***

How should you approach this? Mhin doesn’t know that you’re coming and imagining how the freakishly strong mercenary will react to an uninvited guest is…unpleasant. You steel yourself and knock.

“Mhin, it’s Y/N. Kuras sent me.” You wait for a minute before knocking again. You step back as the door creaks open. You can barely make out their face, but what you see isn’t good. It’s gaunt and their eyes seem even more flat and lifeless.

“Bring it in then leave.”

Whatever quip you had ready dies on your tongue. They clearly aren’t well. You nod and enter.

“Is the table fine?” You turn and see them hunched over. “Mhin, what’s wrong?” You move to their side but they push you away.

“Get back. Don’t…don’t come near me.” They collapse to the floor.

You curse Kuras. “Fuck me. Mhin, hold on.” You dive for the kit you had abandoned and start digging through it. There’s a vial marked “pain relief” and you rush back to the hunter’s side.

“Here, drink.” You lift them into your lap, but they fight.

“Mhin, hold still.”

“G—go. Before I hurt—”

Your back hits the table knocking the breath from you. You scramble to your knees as a piercing wail fills the room. You blink the stars from your vision and gasp. This is why Kuras sent you?

What used to be Mhin shakes itself and stands. A crow? A raven? Whatever it is, it stands heads taller than you with wings that span the width of the room and human-like limbs with talons longer than knives. Before you can move, you’re knocked back and pinned against a wall. You’re surrounded by large feathers that gleam in the lowlight.

“Mhinnie?” Your voice breaks.

Crazed eyes blink at you. A razor sharp beak is a few inches from slicing clean through your skull. Through the fear you feel heartache. Is this why Mhin came to Eridia? Why they also sought entrance to the Senobium?

“Ah, Mhinnie.” Even if you could unwrap the bandages, do you want to add another curse?

If you’re going to be devoured, then Mhin should know you weren’t mad in your final moments. They’ll feel guilty enough anyway.

“It’s okay.”

You close your eyes and wait for pain, but Mhin gently nudges you instead. They even angle their beak to avoid cutting you.

“Huh?”

Their eyes are calmer now, almost aware. Still not them, but the air of danger has passed.

They settle against you and you carefully reach a hand into the feathers. You stroke them. “Aw, who’s a cutie?”

They give some kind of purr, a low sound you know means they’re comfortable. You squish their face and the sound grows louder. Seems like this form is separate from normal Mhin. You’re tempted to unleash every sappy thought you’ve had about them, but exercise restraint. Not content with your lack of attention, they lean more of their weight on you. You both sink to the floor near the kit. You reach for it, patting reassurance when they chirp.

You dig deeper and find books, blankets, and a bag of sweets? “Kuras, I will murder you.” You bandage your cuts and take out some cookies, giving one to Mhin and another to yourself.

Mhin wraps around acting like a makeshift pillow of sorts. They’re clearly unaware of what they’re doing in this form and the thought of the full face blush they’d have at this makes you smile. “At least you won’t know about the nickname, will you, Mhinnie?” you coo. A wing covers your body like a blanket and you settle in for the night.

[spideysneighbor]

Hello neighbor story rewrite and adding some changes to the game part 1

Disclaimer !! 

I will not add stuff from the books and hello neighbor 2 ,as well as characters from secret neighbor the only characters will be Mr.Peterson, Nicky Roth, Shadow man and the Peterson family,

I will only add stuff from the alphas and betas and not stuff that I made up in the story I already have a fanfiction for that ( hastag funny ) :/ there will only be past story elements as well as new scenes that will go with the story and I will keep the lesson or main conflict in hello neighbor Nicky will be different but not to point to where he a different character, there will be two endings as well as a secret ending, and that is what I hope you guys enjoy :)

Intro to the game

The game will start out like this you see the sign of raven brooks but after a few seconds you will see a yellow car drive by the car keeps driving until it comes out of the woods and then we see a town and then we see the car turn around the corner then we see Nicky point of view as he stops the car and looks at his old house we hear a sigh as he looks at it.

This is pretty much the Alpha 2 intro and to me this should of been the intro to game because it really gets into moving in before jumping into the action it goes through the same thing where we throw a rock at a crow and get a crow bar and get rid of the boards of our house then we open the door to our old house with the music in the background playing but when you go back to your car you get a cutscene where Nicky is looking at the collapse house across the street.

The collapse house is old and has fainted paint on it with rotten wood every where a chain fence surrounding the house and old rip up police tape around it with a sign said sold in the front yard Nicky only looks at the house but then he starts breathing a too fast there are voices and of screams and grunts and a scream for help that when you run into your house and closes the door your vision get all loopy as well as blurry then it shows you getting on to the couch as you curl up into a ball and then Nicky goes to sleep.

Act 1

As we sleep we are all of sudden shown the basement there a little knock on it but then we see bare traps in the hallway then we get another knock from the basement but it sounds loud then we see the front yard of the neighbor house then there is another knock on the door but it’s louder then we see a red key in a kids room then there is banging on the basement door and keeps going until we see a man standing in the door away of the front then there we flash to the basement with one final tiny knock to end it all.

we see Nicky wake up he rubs his eyes and does some stretches but we then see that Nicky is now a child instead of a adult we see that our room and house is now filled with furniture but there will be a single missing poster on your desk but then we go down stairs only to go outsides to play with a ball but when we are about to pick it up we get a cutscene to where there all of sudden a loud scream across the street we look to see Mr.Peterson running around the living room he looks out the window to check if there anyone looking but then we run towards something then the game shows you how to run and then you run to the house.

we then see us looking through the window to see Mr.Peterson closing the door and then locking the door there once again a scream we open the front door only for a hat rack to fall where Mr.Peterson hears it and runs to front door that when you hide in closet Mr.Peterson only looks around but then stops but then he turns to closet and walk away you get out of the closet and go to the basement door but when you are about to open it Mr.Peterson stops you and throws you out of the house and then Nicky quest to the basement begins.

so first off I wanted to change the start to the game cause I never really got on why they show us Nicky kicking a ball I mean I get it he a kid but still I didn’t really get it.

basically I want to change it up a bit and show Nicky moving in and experiencing his past trauma from even looking at the house cause it fits with adult nicky story to where he was traumatize as boy and then shows us on how he was traumatize and personally I love the old intro to where he moving in and it shows us the controls and then it turns to the action of sneaking into Mr. Peterson house.

One of the things that is a problem in hello neighbor is the fact we barely get information and when you do it usually when you get caught by Mr. Peterson which is well...not a good idea so what I want to do instead is that when you progress you get bits on what happen in the story by getting a cutscene example when you get the car key you open the trunk you see the cutscene of the car crash but this time you see a woman high heel you can see not only is this a way of showing progression in the story. 

Now when you get on the roof you see a familar looking doll with a bright bracelet on it’s wrist but when you think you can pick it up it falls down to the room below while you hear a tiny scream in the background.

you then get the key from the room except in the room there is a bunk bed with toys and stuff and the red window is all boarded up.

You then make it to the basement but when you do see shadows moving down while you hear crying and a shush the bottom but when you get down there a slam.

when you go through the basement you will find stuff like mattresses and shoes as well as a room where there are children's shoes and clothes and even food I think with the basement it will be more of what home alone neighbor mod basement even with Mr.Peterson jumping scaring you at points when you progress ( he won’t be roaming the basement like in the game ) but when you reach the final room you find a different missing poster next to the door then you go through to find Mr.Peterson behind you chasing you but this time you are able to escape him from running to the door and blocking it.

Nicky takes a deep breath and looks around to see a shadow of someone your size down a hall but you got limited time cause Mr. Peterson is breaking the door you run to it only to find a lock door with three locks someone grabs you from the behind and then it ends with a single shush. 

well that it for now what do you guys think about this rewrite on the story and scenes but I hope you guys liked it and happy mothers day :)

[tokoyami-squad]

My Real Quirk

Chapter One: It All Started Like This “How does quirk spell?” My kindergarten teacher asked scanning the room for students who raised their hands. No one did. I was doing my job, sulking in the corner, hoping the teacher won’t pick me. But there’s a thing called bad luck in this world. And I think it came to me. “Tokoyami, would you like to try?” The teacher came over to me and beckoned me to stand up and spell “quirk”. To be honest, spelling “quirk” is the easiest thing to do, I just don’t want to stand in front of the class and say something. Because one, I’ll be the odd one out, everyone’s still sitting on the play at while I’m standing up spelling something easy. Two, it’s embarrassing! I stood up slowly while the teacher stared at me eagerly. “Q-U-I-R-K,” I spelled. Suddenly, my stomach was gurgling, and I started to have a tummy ache. I clutched my stomach and tried really hard not to throw up. Then there was a black thing—a shadow dark coloured bird head thing flew out under my shirt and everyone in the classroom watched in awe. It started to grow as big as my size and hands flew out of my uniform. It immediately stopped hurting. “I’m Dark Shadow,” the “bird who appeared out of my tummy” introduced. He even got the same voice as me. “Oh, Tokoyami! This is your new quirk!” The teacher rejoiced and the other students admired Dark Shadow, leaving me yawning. That, is how I got my quirk. “Hey, Tokoyami! Interesting diary! Love your story bout’ your quirk!” Sero called when I was eating the juiciest apple ever. “ARE YOU IN MY ROOM?!” I yelled at Sero,”FUCK OFF MY DIARY!” I rushed to my dorm room and snatched my diary out of Sero’s hand. I pointed out to the door. “Get. Your. Ass. Out. Of. Here,” I tried to be calm and pushed Sero out of my room. Dark Shadow slammed the door behind me. “How dare that tape boy read my diary,” I whispered to Dark Shadow. He nodded. “Those were great times...you could’ve killed me if you didn’t come out earlier. I’ll die because my stomach hurts. I loved the day my quirk was here. I learnt so much about darkness, and gloomy places. Too bad your scared of lights. I always wanted to kill red-eye Bakugo.” Dark Shadow nodded again and forced a smile. Slowly, he slid back under my shirt. Like there was something he was hiding from me, something secret...something I didn’t know...something that would explain everything... The next day, I woke up because my stomach is aching. I even lost my appetite when I see my favourite fruit apples. But the strange thing is, Dark Shadow didn’t come out this morning to wake me up. He wakes me up every morning at 6 o’ clock. Not waking up at 6 is his pet peeve. He didn’t wake me today. “Dark Shadow!” I said. He flew slithered out slowly and gave a forceful thumbs up to me. His eyes flashed slightly orange and went back to yellow again. My tummy gurgled with pain. Just like the day I got my quirk. I barley survived today. I slept at class. I slept at Mic’s class. Mic with the loudest voice in the world. How the duck can I sleep with a person with a loud video in the same room as me? Then came Saturday, I immediately opened the door of my house and yelped,”Mom, my stomach hurts when Dark Shadow comes out! My parents walked down the stairs. My mom—with a quirk that could gather ravens or crows to attack people and help her with chores. Basically my mother is the boss of those birds. My dad—he can multiple his head into birds and the bird head’s necks are pretty long. They can see everything when they stretch their heads. They can even track where I am and spy on me. Oh yes, they can extend very, very long. “What did you say, Toko?” My mum asked. “My tummy hurts,” I growled. “Your-your-tummy hurts..?” My dad said like there was a killer behind me. “What it’s not a big deal, but every time my quirk comes out it freaking hurts. So is there anything it could apply to my tummy?” “Toko, wait a second. Mum and I have something very serious to talk about.” “I don’t know what’s so ‘serious’," I scoffed and stomped to my room.

I heard something. It’s like,”We need to tell the truth.”

What truth? They’re acting like Dark Shadow when I told him how happy I got the quirk. This, was indeed mysterious.

[heartshapedcreaturefromcriptoon]

Name: Moon or Rose, sometimes Luna to people who have known me for a long time

Zodiac Sign: Virgo

Height: I honestly can’t remember what they said last time they measured me an it wasn’t even “accurate” because slouching and hunching and scoliosis but my mother did it again when I was in bed and she had a tape measure and I’m 4′8 I think? :D

Languages: English

Nationality: Irish (American...Long Island)

Favorite Fruit: Rasberries, Strawberries, Pomegranate, Tomatos, Cherries

Favorite Sent: Roses, Fresh dirt, Gardens, plants and Flowers, any type of wood, rain, popcorn, Curry, (never actually tried but WANT TO) any type of hot beverage, any type of bake goods out the oven ..

Favorite colors: Black, purples and blues, ESPECIALLY the dark ones, any type greens ......... Also reds and pinks .......

Favorite Animal: Rat’s and rodents, always, ever since I was little ... Bats, Owls, bigger felines and canines (Lions, Tigers, Wolf’s, Etc.) Smaller Cats and Dogs, (Striped cats, fluffy cats, black cats, pit-bulls  and SPINX’S are my favorites cause those are the ones that I have expect for the last one) Frogs and toads too,... opossums,  chinchillas, squirrels, eye-eyes, pigs, rabbits, ravens, crows, in a certain way spiders, bees, moths, butterflies, fox’s, minks, lemurs....  skunks. flamingo’s, swans....lady bugs, crickets fireflies , goats....turtles, Gryphons ....(Far underrated and superior to dragons, this a fact not an opinion.)

And I’m about to admit this VERY, EXTREMELY begrudgingly and through my longest sigh ever but ... Deer? I just freaking. Wrote out an whole entire separate thing concerning my.... complicated perspective on deer and I had to copy and paste it into an entirely different document because I talked for way to long, but it’s gotten to the point where I have this desperate need to just ... vent of what this animal has become for me and what they mean to me, because this has currently became something that has made my heartache the more and more I’ve tried to pretend it does not effect me and I will say that it’s been a long time coming and as of recently I can no longer afford to avoid how much...So um. I’ve decided that this may be the year... That ...I am finally going to talk about this. Of course not like, right /now/ this minute ... But I will say in short that like, I live by a lot of deer and they’ve always been a part of my life for better or worse, and I could never really escape them or the part they’ve played in my life, hurting or healing, even if I wanted to. So, I say that, if I ever got the opportunity to observe one up close in my chair or feed a doe from my hand or hold a baby fawn or do anything like that with supervision in a moment, I totally would, in a heartbeat, without question. Even though from far away it hurts to think about the relationship I’ve had with them through who I was connected to. I refuse disrespect this animal just because someone who I loved who loved them hurt me once. Does that make sense? Sometimes.... Certain things that hurt you can also heal you. I’ve realized recently that I’m still not over how much I’ve been hurting. But that doesn’t mean that deer haven’t also, in their own way, been helping me heal. And I’m just thankful they exist for that because I’ve also learned through many narratives throughout the years, at in watching animation, how deer can have so many different sides to them and they don’t always have to be so interpreted as so “good” and “pure” and righteous and ...., ugh. As everyone projects to be, and I’ve always like to think that’s that’s helped keep a nuanced perspective of what’s happened to me throughout the years even as certain events were taking place and for that... I’ll always love and respect deer as an animal themself.  

As a character, trope though, I’ve always observed that they’ve always been these fucking, self important, entitled a-holes who always assume that they’re charming enough to deserve your time, and think they can just come and go in and out of your life as they please and are far too proud of themselves to admit  when they are wrong and will never apologize to you ever until they are pushed and until then, they just keep popping in and out of your life to vex and annoy you and ......

Mm.

Tastes like perspective.

Anyway, I’m writing something for later.

Maybe.

This is something I’ve been thinking about a lot.

First time sharing any inkling of my emotions about deer. 

I’m honestly so afraid about what this and the other post will entail for later, my other deer tail, if you will.

I’ll stop talking about deer before this gets weird.

You have no ideer......

Last pun until next post, promise.

Coffee, Tea or Hot Chocolate: My silly abled assistant worker got me addicted to coffee again before she had me institutionalized and soaking in my own piss for four days because she didn’t understand how hospitals worked, and then they cut her hours when she was about to abandon me in what was basically a nursing home for and after a month I started trying to explain to her and my caseworker that I wasn’t feeling very well and they basically laughed at me and told me I was dirty and so yeah I spent my 25th birthday in a nursing home with an infection that I didn’t know I had and then one of the staff yelled at me for allowing this nice hyper boy who lived there to help push my crappy black manual wheelchair (you know the one) and practically tossed me out of my wheelchair to get me to what she wanted and then accused me of soiling myself when she was removing my clothes for the shower when I was on the toilet and then started screaming at me again and accusing me of lying when I asked her why she thought I had an accident and then she slammed the door and abandoned me in the bathroom when I wouldn’t give her the answer that she wanted and then I had a breakdown ... So I decided to use my mom’s birthday as an excuse to come home and check what was going with me and get some real food and I told my assistant and my caseworker and they basically laughed at me and said was a bad idea and told me I was dirty again and then I was punished and taken home for being “rude” and “too emotional” but not before the assistant worker brought me some crappy bitter ass coffee flavored fudge when the rocky road was right next to it because she was some vegan ass “straight ally” one year younger then me with a 29 year old boyfriend millennial who “missed my birthday” and complained about how miserable I was and how wasn’t enjoying the pumpkin farm which she originally wasn’t even gonna take me through, because my caseworker insisted that she cancel plans and bring me back to the nursing home as punishment for calling my mother. So when she DID bring me back after arguing with me for being ungrateful enough to not enjoy a place that she didn’t even wanna take me, she left me parked on the living room carpet, instead of bringing back into the dining room where my laptop was set up, like she’d normally do, said “good luck with your mom”, and left. Then, it took me about an hour to wheel myself off of the carpet, find someone to help me to the bathroom, and get me the phone to call my mom back and tell her it was okay to pick me up.

I come home, discover I have a lump in my left breast which is benign but still hasn’t gone away, go to the doctor, and it turns out I had two infections. 

My mom seemed prepared to let me go back to the group home if I wanted to but after I told the doctor what happened with the staff worker the day after my birthday and the night before I called. The doctor told me that I wasn’t safe at the group home ether and ordered that I go back home with my mom and stay there.

So I’m back home now.

Two months. 

And of course my caseworker shit on me for THAT.

And of course she informed me that my assistant worker quit on me.

And I still haven’t spoken to my father since I’ve been back here.

And I still have the scar he gave me. 

And I’m still trying to ween myself off of coffee.

But before all of this my go to warm drinks were usual tea or hot chocolate. Sometimes hot chocolate with liquor.

My tongue went numb for a time because that was the first thing that I did non- stop each day for like four days after the day I finally finished my meds and my period hit immediately (which is already a whole other nightmare that I was dreading having to go through in a nursing home when everything already felt fucking inflamed and swollen and infected with already visible particles of dried up soap.... because.... it was ......) 

But like, yeah...... Tea and Hot Chocolate!  

Dream Trip: To have the opportunity to visit and interact with/get to know some queer cripple friends in person, and to visit my good friend @colorcinabrio in Mexico to travel round the world with them if ever given the chance! ❤

When Blog was created:

Somewhere around two years ago... I wanted to make blog that reflected my disability and really let me identify as a cripple and focused more focused more on cripple things and maybe make some cripple friends! ^ ^’  ❤

Last Movie Seen: That comes to mind that I actually enjoyed? The Favorite.

Favorite Holiday: I really love people’s birthday’s also and I always try and do something for my friends birthdays if I can! ^ ^  ❤

Songs on repeat: As of recently, ‘Fake Happy’, by Paramore.

 Tagged by @qjusttheletter

Tagging: @colorcinabrio @thetrainticket @finallyhaunted @thequantumqueer @rosered3 @isnezzed @purplepeoplelickingtruthpeddler @transplorer

Thank you so much for tagging me, Q! ^ ^’ ❤ I know it took a while to answer but as I said before I really did go on a deer tangent for a minute! ^ ^’ ❤ But being tagged by you brightened my day and  I know we don’t talk much directly but I really do think of you as a friend!!!! :D ❤ O.X

[caprithebunny]

The End Made a Beginning, Chapter 1

October 23, 2287 For a second time, I felt that unnatural chill withdraws from my body and discomfort as my lungs filled with air. My heart raced as I banged on my pod door. I don’t understand how or why I was being released, but that’s not what mattered. I clambered out, coughing as stale air filled my lungs. I lunged to Nate’s control stand, frantic to get his pod open. Surely what I had seen was a horrid, horrid dream. Nate and Shaun were fine and just simply… Frozen. But as the pod door lifted, and all I saw was the lifeless, frozen, alone body of my husband, reality hit me. My knees gave out from underneath me. For a long moment, all I could do was stare at his face. My eyes followed the burn along the left side of his face that spread to his shoulder. He was out on deployment and was hit with a Molotov cocktail. I looked to his coarse, auburn hair, and, even though I couldn’t see them, his forest green eyes. I memorized his face, before slowly, shakily reaching out and taking his wedding ring off. I stared at it in my hand, realizing what all of this meant. Finally, I stood. “I swear, Nate, I’ll find Shaun… And kill whoever did this.” My voice didn’t sound like my own. It sounded cold, harsh. I turned away and had started to walk down the walkway, away from Nate, away from the broken promise of a new life… When I looked back. One last time. And then, I walked out. Outside of Vault 111 As the platform shuddered to a stop, I gasped in lungfuls of fresh air, and looked around. All of the area looked… Dead. Skeletons littered the ground, the Vault-Tec vans’ paint had rusted away, and the windows were bashed in. I shifted the bag on my shoulder. I found it in the sleeping quarters and filled it with small things I thought would help: bullets, stimpacks, bandages. There wasn’t much left in the Vault… Other than the roaches. Seriously, fuck those roaches. I shivered, remembering how one had actually tried to run at me; luckily, I had thought to grab a security baton. Still doesn’t discount the really gross squishy-crunch the roaches made when hit. I also picked up a 10mm pistol, and managed to find a relatively intact holster. Found a still working Pip-Boy; while it was relatively heavy and bulky, I figured it’d be better off in my hands. I slowly stepped down from the platform, and decided to rummage through what was left of the supplies in the clearing. Turns out, there was still some untouched, or well, relatively untouched items. I managed to find quite a bit of food, some more 10mm ammo, and a few more stimpacks. I picked up a final can of Cram, and snorted. “Runs out in… never.” Chucking it into the backpack, I started for, well… home. I slowly set off back down the path to Sanctuary Hills, my breath catching as I came closer, the chilling butterflies in my stomach picking up in intensity. Not even the odd plant life could push any of it away; not the strange bell-shaped blue flowers, nor the blood-red water plants. As I stepped over boundary, into Sanctuary, I felt so sick I thought I might puke. I didn’t want to remember, I didn’t want to think anymore about what had happened. I had to stay focused; there was no time to grieve while Shaun was gone. But… The idea of crumbling kept nagging as I made my way down the street, to my house. There were tears pricking my eyes when I saw someone I didn’t think I’d even see again. “Codsworth!” ~ A while later, after catching up with Codsworth and explaining what had happened, he pointed me in the direction of Concord. While I had no hopes that Shaun would be there, maybe… Just maybe, there would be some answers. Some help in finding him. But before I even thought about heading out, I wanted to sleep. Just… Sleep. I stepped into my house, and a certain… emptiness. Loneliness and loss crept through me as I fell onto what remained of my couch: somehow, the world ended didn’t have an effect of it. As much as I would have preferred it, sleep didn’t come first; no, the tears did. But they brought sleep; an emotionally-exhausted, dreamless sleep. I woke up several hours later; it had been around late evening when I laid down. It was still rather dark outside, but the sky was beginning to appear lighter as I watched. However, I hadn’t woke up on my own accord; cooking food had tempted me into it. I sat up, stretched, and heard a holotape move in another small bag I had found while talking to Codsworth earlier. I lightly placed a hand over the bag; it was a tape Codsworth had given me, though it was meant to be a gift from Nate. I wasn’t ready to watch it yet. Thought, in the back of my mind, I wondered if I ever would. I stood up, and hobbled outside; apparently, sleeping oddly on your leg does you no favors. Codsworth had made a small fire in the middle of the street, upon which he had a skillet with slabs of Cram in. It honestly smelled delicious, especially since I felt I could eat four cans of said food and still have room for more. “Ah! Good morning, mum! I figured 210 years late to both dinner and breakfast would render one eager for food.” I chuckled, and dragged a chair from the kitchen outside to sit on. Suppose some refueling could not hurt. After eating, I finally headed on to Concord. It was very early morning, and I could hear ravens crowing in trees. They seemed to be the only ones there, unfortunately… As I passed over the bridge heading out of Sanctuary, I found a man dressed in shabby clothing, dead along side a grotesque-looking dog. As distasteful as it was, I picked up the tire iron from between them, and checked the man’s pockets, along with a duffle bag he’d appeared to have thrown near the suburb’s statue. Luckily, more bullets were there to find. I headed to the local Red Rocket, only to stop in my tracks. There was a dog, seemingly untouched by the radiation. He looked like he was waiting for someone or something, and before I could hide, the dog saw me. I froze, tire iron in hand, unsure of what to do. The dog barked, and cheerfully jogged over to me. When he reached me, he barked again, wagged his tail, and stretched. Figuring the dog was harmless, I slowly knelt and extended my hand to him. He licked my hand eagerly, before rubbing his face against my hand for pets. Laughing, I obliged him. “Friendly, huh? You wanna come with me, boy?” He barked again and danced around in a circle. Taking that as a yes, I went ahead and searched the Red Rocket for supplies. I know I’m on a time crunch, but any little thing that can aid me in my hunt for my son was something I needed. Suddenly, I heard angry barking from the dog and the sounds of something… bursting from the ground. Grabbing my gun, I ran outside to find overgrown naked mole rats. I had always thought they were rather ugly, even if they made good pets. These ones, though… They had large, bulging white eyes, wrinkly, furless pink skin with odd bubbling in patches, enormous, jagged, yellow teeth, and too-large claws, so their movements were even more uncoordinated. Thanking the practice sessions Nate had insisted on, I helped the dog dispatch them; still got a rather nasty bite on my leg, but nothing too serious. I cleaned it, wrapped it, and stimpack’d it, before heading on. A few minutes later, after killing two giant, skin-crawlingly disgusting mosquitoes, I was hiding behind a car as a mismatched group of men and women brought hell upon the old Museum. There was a black man in a very… 1700s-looking outfit. He was holding off the group, but only just. I had never killed someone, nor have I ever truly wanted to. But if I didn’t do something he’d be killed, and that’s not something I would be able to live with. An innocent person needing help, but me not giving it. So, I aimed from my hiding spot, and took aim at one of the farther off raiders.

[forbidden-creepypasta]

Some Tiny Treats

1. On certain nights, the mortician in the morgue locks his office door and spends the night praying. He shivers when the scraping noises pass by his door. He never looks for the bodies that disappear... 2. A woman, all in white, with black hair, is staring directly at you. You see that the crowd pushes around her, but her eyes never leave you. A pool of blood collects around one foot. When you run toward her, she vanishes as a truck passes in between you two. 3. Everytime you turn around, you notice that it takes everyone else half of a second to start to move. 4. Children chant a new rhyme as they play jumprope. "One for blood, two for stone. You never know, when you'll be bone. Three for fire, four for death. You never know, you'll loose your breath. Five for sin, Six to kill. You never know, what's under the hill." 5. Dogs stop barking as you walk by. They all stare at you. ALL of them. 6. You can hear a heartbeat. But, whose, you don't know. It grows faster over time. What happens when it stops? 7. After investigating a place where a murder had taken place, you find a simple audio tape. Playing the tape reveals it to be a typical mix tape made by the victim's lover. However, between one of the songs, a strange sound is heard. Repeated playing reveals that the sound changes each time it is played. Playing the sound backwards reveals it to be a chilling voice that says: "Four…" Playing it again results in "Three…" Again: "Two…" 9. You see blood fall onto the carpet. You look up. There is nothing on the ceiling. Examining the drops, you notice that they are still falling. But they are falling from a spot about chest high in the middle of the room...from thin air. 10. Upon waking, you look out your window. You notice that it seems that the tree in your yard is writhing...until it bursts into thousands of birds: ravens, crows, magpies. They have stripped the tree. It is now dead. 11. Cats begin bringing small creatures to leave on your porch. Then, the creatures begin to get bigger day by day, eventually bigger than a cat should be able to drag... 12. While wondering through the forest, one of the members of the group spots a small bag dangling from a tree branch. Inside the bag are several human fingernails and teeth. 13. You go to a bar to meet someone, you take him or her home for a one-night stand. You have a great night, and fall asleep next to them. When you wake up the next morning, you find yourself alone in bed; your lover's internal organs are stacked neatly at the foot of the bed. As you jump up, you see that on the pillow is written in blood the word "FORNICATE" across the pillows... As you turn to run out, the full length mirror in the door shows you that there's a red 'R' on your chest. 14. You're experiencing little deja vues. And they are from dreams you dream the night before. And they get longer, and clearer. 15. A stray black cat guards your back porch each night. You can hear it battle something big every night right after midnight. And each day it becomes weaker. Soon it will die... 16. Your partner talks in her sleep. Sometimes in murmer, sometimes very clear. She tells you about things, things which happend here, bad things. 17. You suffer from an itch on your back, a really feisty one. But you can't scratch now, not now. Later that day, the itch is still there you finally allow yourself to scratch. Your touching a moist soft spot. Before you know it, you're scratching your bones. 18. Your reflexion in the mirror in the morning, while you brush your teeth, does things slightly different. You brush up, it brushes down. 19. You're at work alone, when you suddenly hear the copy machine start up. You walk out to take a look at what's going on and see several copies filling the tray. Picking up one of the pieces of paper you discover that it is a copy of a picture depicting you sitting in your office chair, dead, with your eyes torn out and your throat cut. the others are the same picture, but taken from increasingly bizaar angles. There is no original picture in the copy machine. In fact, the machine has been out of toner for a week. 20. You start to leave work (alone again). As you walk out to your car, you hear a cat meow. Or was it a baby cry? Either way, it's gone now. As you continue toward your car. You hear it again. And then again. The source appears to be coming from the dumpster near your car. By this time the sound is constant and in fact has been joined by dozens more. Opening the dumpster lid and peering in you are confronted by the horrific image of dozens of dead babies in various states of decay writhing atop one another. When you slam the dumpster closed, the sound of the crying babies abruptly ends. If you look in again, the dumpster is normal. 21.You are eating an orange. After putting a section in your mouth you bite down on what feels like a seed, but it is peculiarly hard. Upon examination, it appears to be a small black gem stone. The next day, upon eating an apple you find a piece of rope. 22.While you're calling home to check your answering machine, someone picks up the other end. The voice sounds familiar and answers the phone with your name. After a short and angry conversation in which the person insists he is in fact the rightful tenant, you speed home. When you arrive, no one is there, but your phone starts ringing. You answer it, speak your name and begin an argument with the caller. 23.You have been unable to visit your grandmother's grave for some time now. Every time you do you can hear her pleading from beneath the ground, begging to be let out. She says she can't breathe and that shes scared. No one else can hear it. 24.You check your watch. The big hand is on the 4, the little hand is on the 1. You'll be late for work. At work, you find an email in your inbox. The sender is yourself. Puzzled, you open the e-mail you apparently sent to yourself. Inside is the message "the out for watch watch." You look at your watch. The little hand is on the 4, the big hand is on the 1. You look back at the screen. The fourth and first words have swapped places. "watch out for the watch." You look at your watch again. Your watch is digital. 25.While eating peanuts, you crack open one to find a very small piece of a torn photo. As you open more peanuts, you find more and more pieces. When you tape it all together, you see a photo of a large hole in the wall of your bedroom. 26.In the middle of a terrible thunderstorm, a small dark shape is visible from your window. Despite the pouring rain and the late hour, a bird is perched just within view. It could easily be some sort of statue, except for the occasional twitch of the head as it watches you with one eye, then the other. Closer observation with binoculars or the like reveals maggots dripping off its wings instead of rain. Running outside to investigate reveals no sign of its presence - not even remnants of its grisly sheddings... 27.A small red dot appears in the center of your vision, as time passes it grows larger and larger. Soon, it will be big enough to see the face inside.. 28.The lights in your hallway begin to flicker. When the light is on, you see nothing. But each time it goes out, you can make out the silhouette of a figure. Each time the light goes off, it gets closer. 29.You suddenly say out loud you wish you were dead. You do not understand why. 30.You bang and bang against the wall...you scream to be let out...you know they can hear you....you've heard the new baby crying...the new family arrive...just like the old family and the one before that...you've heard them making love...you've heard them laugh at the dinner table... They must have heard you banging and screaming...yelling and pleaing for help..the MUST have heard you...why don't they free you.... 31.You look into a large hanging photo of yourself. In the photo, you host a large, strange smile and eyes that seem to follow. There was never a photo hung on that wall. 32.While visiting a friend in the hospital, you overhear a woman crying in grief over a miscarriage. As you walk through the lonely halls of the hospital on your way out, you see a small trail of blood leading to a corner. For a split second, you can see the end of a severed umbilical cord being dragged around the corner. 33.I can see you. 34.Masks begin to talk to you. Some whisper, some scream, others giggle. But they all hate you. 35.You find yourself in the middle of an old, decrepit school. You dont know why you are here. As you walk through the dark halls, you notice all the lockers door's have been torn off except one. The one remaining locker with a door has a large padlock and chains on it. Behind it you hear something moan. 36.Only allow water to flow through the drains. Anything else will feed it. 37.you see a small glint in the shadows underneath your computer desk. It looks like something moist and glistening in what little light shines down there. You sit at your PC and turn it on. You do not see a start up screen. Instead, a single large eyeball in the center of the screen looks at you. As the eye fades, The words "Im Hungry." appear. 38.Everytime you blink, something moves. 39.Do not trust your eyes, they are against you. Go into the closet and shut the door. 40.Pray you fall asleep fast enough. You don't need to see it watching you from across your room.

by anonymous

[doomedandstoned]

The Fearsome Sounds of GRAJO!

Doomed & Stoned en España

~By Juan Antonio~

Let me introduce you to yet another band from my country. This time we’re going to talk about GRAJO.   It's a Spanish word that means "rook," "crow," or "raven" in English.   Grajo hails from Cordoba, Andalusia, in southern Spain.   It's a city best known as the world capital of flamenco, but is also proud home to some classic rock bands that have been influential here since the seventies.   Two, in particular, started it all: Mezquita and Medina Azahara.  Grajo was born from these ashes, with members coming and going for several years, until their lineup was finally cemented two years ago.   Having their own brand of spaced-out stoner-doom, Grajo were ready to go full force into the great unknown.

During the summer of 2015, Grajo recorded a two-song demo in order to find new members and it was at that moment that they discovered Liz.   After successfully collaborating with them in one of their songs, she joined the band on a permanent basis.   Take a listen to "Golden Cemetery."

Golden Cemetery (demo) by Grajo

So the four-piece was settled: Liz on vocals, Josef on guitar, Pistolo on bass, and Félix on drums.   They are well situated in the land of doom, with atmospheric passages based on monolithic riffs, topped by female melodies, and accented by nuances from space, stoner, and progressive rock.   Their music, as they stated themselves, is hard and slow, harmonic and hypnotic.

Grajo gained good reviews from their demo and decided to go further, entering La Mina Studio in Córdoba that autumn to record a split with fellow Spaniards Atavismo.   Released in 2016 on limited edition 7” vinyl and published by multiple labels (Nooirax Productions, Fuzz t-shirts, and La Choza de Doe), Feeding Our Demons was the official debut of the new line-up.   The name Grajo was steadily gaining more recognition in the heavy underground of Spain...and beyond.

Feeding Our Demons-Split 7 with Atavismo by Grajo

The spring of 2016 found Grajo busy yet again, entering the same studio and producing their proper debut, simply entitled Grajo.   Recorded and mixed in just four days, the album featured five tracks -- one of them a re-recorded version of "Golden Cemetery."   Once again, more slow and lengthy passages combined with nasty guitars and a pounding rhythm section.   The vocals here are just mesmerizing, all throughout the work.   The overall sound was much improved from former releases, so it’s clear the band was starting to find comfort in their own unique style.   If I were to choose a favorite track or two, I’d go for the powerful opener, "I Am The Sea," and then the closer, called "Imperium" -- a lengthy instrumental with an Arabic approach.   Grajo was released in May by DHU records (vinyl), Nooirax Productions (CD) and Abusive Noise Tapes (cassette).   The CD release contained an extra track, pulled from the 7” split.

Grajo by Grajo

Most recently, Grajo contributed to another split, this time sharing 7" vinyl with the band Orthodox from Seville.   "Black Thunder Witch" is the title track and plays out in much the same vein as the material on the album.   Noteworthy here is a spoken word passage with acoustical guitar that bridges the verses, ending with a delay-powered guitar solo.   Their usual artwork designer is Antonio Ramírez (also known as Mentes de ácido), if you want to take a look.

Grajo/Orthodox 7 by Grajo

What is in store for Grajo in the near future?   The band is presently preparing their second album, still waiting for a date to record.   Last but not least, Grajo will make their first international appearance at Into the Void Fest in The Netherlands this October.   The future seems bright for this band.   Don’t hesitate and check them out!

Follow The Band.

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[imakeficrequestsandthendisappear]

When You Say My Name CH7

Author: YoungDumbandFullofHeadcanons /https://imakeficrequestsandthendisappear.tumblr.com/

Summary: Being an Army brat means that every new town is a chance to start over. When the Criss family moves to Derry, Vicky Criss dies so Vic can start living.

Pre-IT (2017), AU: Trans!Vic Centric, Henry/Vic Slow burn

Angst  Fluff  More Angst  Smut  Even More Angst Playing fast and loose with the canon

Rating: Explicit

Archive Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence Major Character Death Rape/Non-Con Underage

Category: M/M

Fandoms: IT (2017) IT - Stephen King

Relationship: Henry Bowers/Victor Criss

Characters: Henry Bowers Victor Criss Patrick Hockstetter Reginald “Belch” Huggins Henry Bowers’s Gang (IT) Oscar “Butch” BowersThe Losers Club (IT) Pennywise (IT)

Language:English

Chapter 7: Henry Part 2

Summary: Henry can’t gather the air necessary to sob, so he just keeps sputtering and choking until his face turns red.

So Vic leans down and cages his arms around Henry’s head, blocking out the sound and light around him, intending on helping him breath threw the panic. But instead Henry reaches up, latches digging fingers into Vic’s sides, drags him down and screams into his chest.

March, 1986

Digging through the cupboard under the bathroom sink, Vic finally comes across the pink bag he hasn’t seen years. He unzips it and finds the contents to be exactly what he remembers always being it there. A roll of medical tape, a fatter roll of elastic gauze, tiny blister-sized invisible Band-Aids, disinfectant spray, and a host of other practical tools for on-the-spot medical treatment.

Vic dumps all the supplies into his backpack, because God knows he’s not bringing a fucking pink fanny-pack to school tomorrow.

Yesterday Henry walked around school with that limp in his left ankle more pronounced than ever. He still drug Vic around by the wrist, like always, but he was moving slowly and wincing every few steps, and when he tried to sit down his foot rolled under the pressure and he fell to the grass.

So today at lunch, as they sit in their hidden alcove beside the school building, Vic shows Henry how to tape and wrap his sprained ankle. Henry is ambivalent, or some cross between irate and panicked, about taking his shoe and sock off and rolling up his pant leg. Yes, the bruise is absolutely heinous, all green and purple and splotchy, but Vic doesn’t say anything about it to make Henry any more uncomfortable.

“How’d you learn this?” Henry asks as Vic makes sure the gauze aren’t too tight but will still support the weakened bones.

“Umm…” Vic stalls.

Don’t say it. Don’t tell Henry about dance class.

“…Like, sports and stuff.” He lies with a shrug.

Henry gives him a skeptical look, but otherwise drops the subject as he puts his shoe back on over the bandages.

Vic hasn’t been in a dance class since fourth grade. It was one of those extracurricular activities that Mom thought would be so much fun for her girls, but it turned out to be too much of a commitment and way too stressful and the bills had started to pile up. Plus, Vic’s hatred for ballet escalated to the point where he would purposefully land wrong on his feet, hoping he would break a bone and get to sit out. Hence the need for Mom to fill a fanny pack with medical tape and bandages, and of course it had to be pink.

Every day has gotten progressively better since he and Henry had started hanging out. The human contact seems to be putting some life back in them. Vic doesn’t feel as much like a ghost anymore. Henry looks a little less dead behind the eyes. The physical side hasn’t improved, both still came to school battle-worn and bloody, but being around each other gives them the chance to heal.

After their first conversation, Vic thought maybe things would just go back to the previous silent indifference they had had for one another. But the very next day after third period Henry walked right back up to Vic’s desk, grabbed him by the wrist, and led him outside again.

“Come on,” Henry says.

Vic doesn't even have to think twice.

The firm hold Henry takes on him is a little straining, and one time the hall was crowed so Henry pulled on his arm a little too hard, but every day it is a relief to feel that hand on his wrist. If Henry didn’t grab on and pull him around like that, Vic would be too afraid to follow him. Because, what if Henry got sick of him? What if he was too weird and Henry didn’t want him around? What if Henry started ignoring him? Like everyone ignores him. So Vic takes that painful grip as a sign that Henry does want to hang out with him and for once he feels wanted.

They keep tabs on each other’s new bruises and cuts, but they never talk about where they come from, because to say it aloud would mean having to face something both boys want to forget. Even only for a short time, they just want to pretend it isn’t happening.

“Where’d you move from?” Henry asks.

Vic huffs out a breath and considers the mental list.

“Connecticut, New York, Maryland, umm… Michigan for a little bit. Everywhere basically.”

Everywhere and nowhere.

“Why?” Henry seems genuinely curious, and there is a need for escape that makes him want to know about places outside of Derry. To know there’s a world beyond the town he’s trapped in.

“My dad’s in the army. We moved like every year.”

Henry regards him somberly, which seems strange to Vic because what he said didn’t seem particularly sad or anything. Moving is just what army families do.

But Henry is starting to realize that moving to a new place isn’t always an escape. Sometimes you can go everywhere in the world and still be trapped.

“My dad was in the marines,” Henry finally says, absently chewing on his thumb nail again.

And Vic starts to understand.

So they don’t talk about their bruises or their fathers, because the two subjects are essentially indivisible. But they find other things to talk about. Comic books, video games, movies, people at school they don’t like, some new trouble Henry got in, and the list goes on. And sometimes they don’t have to talk at all, they just like being around each other.

In the mornings Henry has started lifting his head from the desk when Vic would come to class, not as a proper greeting but just as a way of acknowledging his presence. If Gretta was being particularly annoying in Homeroom, and Gretta hates the both of them now, the boys give each other sneering side glances and roll their eyes. Vic would let Henry copy his answers, and they would get matching C-’s. If Ms. Donovan has caught on, she doesn’t do anything about it, because she’s just glad that there is some semblance of peace in the back of the classroom.

After a week had gone by, Vic walked into third period and went to sit down in his usual spot by the door. And then suddenly Henry was beside him.

“Vic.”

A thrilling shiver goes up his spine, but not the bad kind like when Vic hears Daddy’s voice down the hall. Something about hearing anybody say his name, especially Henry, sends a warm tingle through him like an electric current.

“Yeah?” He says, barely audible.

Henry just cocks his head to one side to gesture to the back of the class where he usually sits, and Vic follows him over.

And now they sit together in every class they share.

It took Vic a few days to realize that Henry doesn’t bring any lunch to school.

Vic pulls the paper bag out of his backpack, knowing that the tight knot in his gut is keeping his appetite at bay.

“Do you want some?” He gets up the nerve to say.

Because sometimes Henry is defensive about certain things and Vic doesn’t want to make him upset.

“No.” Henry says with a glare. So this is one of those things that set him off.

“I’m not gonna eat all of it, really.” Vic presses just a bit, cautious but well-meaning.

A few moments of silence pass, but finally Henry does take half the sandwich offered to him, and Vic decides to eat the other half to try and make Henry more comfortable.

As stubborn as he was before, Henry tears into the sandwich like he’s absolutely starving. And being around Henry eating makes it a little easier for Vic to swallow down a few bites.

Days later, they sit down and Henry pulls a lunch bag out of nowhere.

“Where’d you get that?” Vic asks, because he doesn’t believe for a second that Henry brought it from home.

“Don’t worry about it” Henry says as he rips it open, revealing a PB&J sandwich, a pack of Oreos, a bag of chips, and a half-dozen pixie sticks. “Fat-ass doesn’t need it anyway.”

And Vic does feel a twinge of guilt, but as Henry digs in Vic is reminded that he doesn’t get enough to eat as it is. One stolen lunch can’t hurt.

Despite his ravenous hunger, Henry makes Vic split all the junk food with him. And even though he didn’t think he was hungry, Vic feels marginally better after eating and doesn’t even get a stomach ache from all the sugar.

So Vic makes sure Henry has food to eat, and Henry makes sure Vic eats the food he has. And they don’t say it in so many words but that’s how they take care of each other.

Some people start to notice the two of them leashed to each other, but mostly it’s kids in their grade that know to stay away from Henry Bowers, so Vic doesn’t hear anything about it. The only person who really took issue with the situation was Vic’s sister.

A week ago Daphne pulled him aside while they were waiting for Mom to pick them.

”Who’s that boy you were with all day?” She asks with whispered malice.

He is frozen for a minute, because Daphne hasn’t spoken to him, at school or home, for weeks.

“Um- He’s just somebody I know from class.”

Vic doesn’t want to jinx things by calling Henry his friend yet, because he’s hasn’t really had one before and definitely never one that was another boy, so he doesn’t want to ruin it now.

Daphne gives him an accusing look, and Vic feels his resentment rise.

“You get to hang out with people,” He reminds her.

Daphne already has a bunch of other girls to sit with at lunch. Lucy has her friends come over after school sometimes. Sophie is on the phone with boys when she thinks no one is around. So why can’t Vic have one person to talk to?

“I heard that he steals stuff and beats up little kids for fun.” She accuses.

“Those are rumors.” Vic tries to shrug it off, even though he has heard those same rumors float around the halls.

“If Daddy finds out then-” She half-warns half-threatens.

“You’re not gonna tell him.” Vic cuts her off with a biting tone.

For a second she looks mad enough that she would, because Vic doesn’t ever stand up to her and she wants to assert her older-sibling authority. His resolve cracks a little at the thought.

“Daph, please don’t tell?” He tries to appease her. “We’re not doing anything wrong, Henry’s just someone from class.”

And finally she seems to relent, because she sees the marks on her (Sister’s? Brother’s? She doesn’t know what to think anymore) skin from his last run in with Daddy a few nights ago. Maybe it’s better if she doesn’t say anything about this after all. And if anyone finds out, she can just feign innocence to knowing about it.

“Fine.”

“Thanks,” Vic says, but Daphne has already turned away from him and is walking towards Mom’s car as it pulls up.

And so Daphne kept quiet about him and Henry, but she occasionally shoots him a concerned look from across the hall when she sees them together.

With the gauze on, Henry has an easier time getting through the rest of the day. It still seems like it hurts, but now he can walk a little faster and the ankle doesn’t roll when he has to put weight on it. In sixth period Vic reminds him to unwrap it to before bed and prop his leg up for the night. Then they part ways, Henry walks around behind the school and through the woods to get home, and Vic goes to wait for his mother.

The night passes without incident.

The next morning is Friday, and as Mom drives them to school she lets them know she has some errands to run this afternoon, so the kids have to walk home. Mom gives Sophie the spare key, and while the girls complain about the inconvenience (it’s not even that far of a walk, jeez) Vic sort of looks forward to not having to ride home with his sisters.

But when Vic walks into Homeroom, Henry’s not at his desk. Henry isn’t here at all. For a moment Vic just stands looking at their desks, feeling lost and overexposed as he sits down alone. His mind swings between two extremes for explanation. One terrifying possibility: Henry finally got sick of Vic following him like a shadow and maybe somehow figured out that Vic’s not normal and is so disgusted that won’t even show up to school. Or equally possible and but more terrifying: Henry was hurt so awfully bad that he couldn’t even come to school, because the worst beatings Vic gets every few weeks are what Henry gets everyday, so what happens if his skull cracks or his neck brakes or his lung is punctured and no one’s around to help him?

Vic drops his head to the desk, breathing heavy pants into his palms and trying to fight back the budding anxiety attack. Henry had a sprained ankle yesterday, so if his dad came after him, he wouldn’t be able to get away.

Then Henry appears in the doorway, hanging on the door jam and leaning into his right side. For a second he just stands there, and Vic wonders if he is really there, or if this is some anxiety driven hallucination. But Henry starts stumbling forward, looking like every step hurts him all over, and arms wrapped around his middle protectively and sliding across the wall to get to his desk. It takes him a long time to finally sit down, and the other kids around try not to gawk at him too conspicuously. One girl looks at his cringing, quaking form for a second to long and Henry growls at her.

Vic wants to jump up, help Henry sit down and check him over. Because whatever is wrong isn’t immediately visible, but is looks absolutely excruciating. But Vic is frozen because Henry looks feral, spine rigid, shoulders hunched, and the anger in his hooded eyes is burning like an inferno. Vic feels a mix of pain and sorrow and empathy, but also fear. Henry looks like a puppy that survived a dog fight, but came out wounded and ready to snap his jaws and bite.

Finally, after eons of painful staggering, Henry collapses into his seat and curls so far into himself that he almost disappears. The teacher doesn’t even look twice.

“Henry?” Vic whispers, lying his head on his desk to get closer to Henry’s level.

The boy doesn’t respond, but when Vic gets real close he can hear the wheezing shallow breaths Henry sucks in and heaves out. Vic reaches out as gently and slowly as he can and brushes the tips of his fingers over Henry’s shoulder blade, and Henry flinches and trembles violently at the contact, but he has no physical power to make the touch stop. Pulling his hand away quickly, Vic feels his stomach drop and his eyes prickle.

Both boys spend the class with their heads down. Vic tries to whisper to Henry every few minutes, but never gets a response. Henry just sinks further into himself.

By third period Henry still won’t talk, he doesn’t even move when the bell for lunch rings. So Vic takes the initiative to, as cautiously as he can, grab onto the sleeve of Henry’s sweatshirt and guide Henry up and out of the classroom. He sticks to a slow pace and they take frequent pauses so Henry can choke down some air, but they eventually make it to their spot. They sit down onto the cold grass as softly as possible, but Henry still winces.

The angry inferno in Henry’s eyes is dead now, just smoldering embers are left. Vic plants himself in front him, because as scared and anxious as he is, he resolves to help Henry through the pain.

“Henry, what happened? Where does it hurt?” Vic is still whispering even though they are far away from anybody else.

Henry makes a low, whining sound in the back of his throat before finally finding his voice.

“It’s nothing” He slurs softly, eyes drifting shut.

“No it’s not,” Vic says with a little too much force.

It’s not nothing. It’s never nothing. And it’s not fair, and it’s not right, that they always have to pretend it's nothing.

Henry flinches back but offers nothing else. He’s still holding his stomach, hunched over with arms crossed tight over his midsection.

Reaching over, Vic gently but firmly tugs Henry’s arms away and tries to pull up his shirt.

“Stop,” Henry rasps, tightening his arms.

But Vic keeps at it, more assertive this time.

“Stop it,” Henry bares his teeth and says a little louder.

Vic is undeterred, pushing him back aggressively to see what Henry’s trying to protect.

“Stop!” Henry screams this time, and in an instant swings up his arm and clocks Vic in the jaw with the side of his fist.

The impact hurts and it takes Vic back for a second, but instead of freezing and crumbling like when Daddy hits him, he feels a fire light in his veins. Vic pushes Henry onto his back, even as Henry throws more blows and tries to shove him away, so Vic pins his fists to the ground. Henry is undeniable bigger and stronger than Vic, but the pain he’s in makes him malleable to the hold.

Then the fight just drops out of Henry like he’s died on the spot. For a second Vic thinks the boy has passed out, but his eyes are open and moving. It just seems like Henry has left his body and his mind is off floating somewhere else.

The sight is unnerving but Vic pushes through and finally gets a look under Henry’s shirt.

Across the whole right side of his chest and ribs is a field of black and blue, and instead of swollen, the area looks sunken in on itself. Vic studies the injury, thinking through his mental catalogue of all the marks he’s seen on Henry. Punches leave dark round Dalmatian spots, impacts (like against the wall or to the ground) leave oblong marks on skin raised by bone that fade out. No this looks like Henry was already on the ground, curled into his side, as kick after kick after kick was laid into his ribs. Until they cracked. Until something broke. Until the bent bones pressed into his lung and made it difficult to breath.

Until Henry had to give in to the pain and float off from his body, like he’s doing now.

“Henry can you hear me?” Vic tries to bring him back.

He’s still limp and unmoving, but after a second his eyes focus again and he looks up at Vic. And then tears just start to overflow from his eyes.

“I’m not gonna hurt you,” Vic says softly, fingers running across the rib cage until he feels the one that dents inwards.

The tears are really coming now, in big fat streams that map out the curves of Henry’s face.

“I’m not gonna hurt you,” Vic says again, pulling his hands off Henry’s ribs.

Henry can’t gather the air necessary to sob, so he just keeps sputtering and choking until his face turns red.

So Vic leans down and cages his arms around Henry’s head, blocking out the sound and light around him, intending on helping him breath threw the panic. But instead Henry reaches up, latches digging fingers into Vic’s sides, drags him down and screams into his chest.

Tears soak into his shirt as Henry cries against him. For once Henry is feeling so overwhelmed but also just safe enough to let it out. The screaming continues, muffled enough by their closeness to not draw any attention, but the anger and the shame and the pain is still in every strain of his vocal cords. Vic just stays still, letting Henry hold on as tight as he needs despite the jabbing fingers in his sides.

The bell rings for fourth period and Vic just ignores it.

Finally the convulsions and screams die down, and Henry only stutters out a few sobs like a dying engine. Henry drops his arms and Vic slowly peels himself back from over the crying boy.

“Henr-” Vic starts, not having a real direction for his thoughts.

“I’m fine,” Henry says, or tries to say through hiccupping breaths, and he slowly sits up and winces in pain.

He’s wiping his eyes, shoulders hunched in and trying to put distance between him and Vic.

“Shut up,” Henry snaps, despite the fact Vic hasn’t said anything.

After a moment of averting eyes from each other and sitting in silence, Vic at last finds his voice again.

“Do you…” Vic pauses when Henry levels a dark glare at him, “…wanna stay at my house tonight?”

And Henry sits speechless for a moment, unbelieving and skeptical, but he nods slowly anyway.

Hours later, the walk home from school is slow and painful but Henry doesn’t complain about the ache. By the time they get to Vic’s house the girls have been home for a while, Daphne and Sophie upstairs, and Lucy already left to go hang out with friends. They don’t seem to care that Vic didn’t get home as promptly as they did, but at least they left the door unlocked for him.

Vic makes sure the ground floor is all empty as they come in, and then he leads Henry over to the couch and makes him sit. Henry is breathing through the pain, but the tears have stopped and he seems less tense than he was the whole day.

With Henry settled, Vic goes to the kitchen and fills a plastic bag with ice and comes back to the living room. Making him lie against the arm of the couch, Vic sets the ice as gently as he can against Henry’s side.

The two sit in silence for a while, letting the ice numb Henry’s side, and then Vic turns on the T.V. and flips through channels until he finds some action movie playing. Despite the explosions and gun shots coming through the T.V., a calm spell is cast across the room.

Henry is struck by how quiet it is, how safe he feels despite the pain and uncertainty. He reaches over and grabs Vic’s wrist, weaker than he does when pulling him around school, and just holds in the space between them. Vic doesn’t make a move towards or away, because he’s realizing that this is the only kind of contact Henry is comfortable with. And maybe Vic likes it too.

The movie ends and another starts up, so they just let it run and watch passively. Vic thanks God for when his sister’s don’t come downstairs all afternoon. They both start to sag from exhaustion, the day being both emotionally and physically straining, and they are almost dozing when Vic’s mother comes through the door.

“Oh!” She says in surprise, waking the boys fully.

Henry immediately drops his hold on Vic’s arm and tries to sit up, looking ready to bolt like a frightened animal.

For a moment Mom just stares at them, unbelieving that she somehow now has two boys in her home when a short time ago she had none.

“Hey Mom…” Vic tries to act normal, because they can’t just stare at each other like they can make the other disappear, “This, um… this is Henry. We have class together.”

And then they snap back to normal, or well, Henry drops his head to look at the floor, Vic sinks into himself, and Mom looks overwhelmed but willing to pretend like that everything is fine.

“A-alright. So were you doing homework together…?” She tries to justify to herself.

“Yeah,” Vic answers too quickly, because Henry’s never done homework in his life and they skipped two classes today so they could sit together outside.

“Mhmm,” Mom says, clearly not believing her own excuse, but not willing or able to start an argument about the real situation. She starts to walk towards the kitchen. “Henry, would you like to stay for dinner?”

Henry looks really uncomfortable with being spoke to, and he looks over to Vic in panic.

“Okay?” He says quietly.

So Mom goes into the kitchen without acknowledging Henry’s response, and after a second Vic follows her in.

“What are you doing!?!” she hisses at him in a hushed voice when they’re alone.

Vic is already prepared to counter.

“They have friends over all the time,” he whispers back, gesturing upstairs in reference to his sisters.

“This is different Victo-”

“Shhh!” Vic hushes her before she can say it.

Mom looks angry and tired and high-strung all at once, but her resolve is starting to crumble. Maybe the best thing to do is just tell the truth, because he’s tired of making up excuses.

“Mom, Henry…got hurt really bad,” He hopes she catches the meaning in his eyes. “He can’t go home right now.”

A film of shame overtakes her eyes, because she understands the intent and why Vic wants to help the other boy. Because no one is helping him.

“Your father can’t know.” She finally says in concession.

“I know.”

“Okay.”

“Thank you.”

“Mhm.”

And then the conversation is over. Vic goes back to the living room and sits beside Henry, who looks unsure and awkward all alone. As Mom makes dinner, Vic brushes the back of his hand against Henry’s as a silent reassurance, because with someone else around Henry won’t grab his wrist.

They get called in for dinner, as if Vic has ever been called to dinner in the last three months, and he and Henry stand and set aside the half melted ice pack. Henry silently refuses to let Vic help him to the kitchen, and his side must be numb by now because his steps are stiff but look less pained than before. Though when they sit at the table he does stutter out the smallest of strained gasps.

Mom dishes up their plates like she’s June fucking Cleaver, like she always does when company is over and she has to revert to a perfectly nice housewife. Sophie and Daphne come down and look at the boys at the table in surprise, but Mom gives them a warning look to stay quiet about it. Vic is content to ignore their probing glances so Henry follows suit. So all the kids sit in silence and eat. Henry seems to be holding himself back, because he’s picking at his food slowly but Vic knows he hasn’t had anything to eat all day. Or maybe eating with a cracked rib is more uncomfortable than hunger. Vic is eating at just the same slow pace, despite also not eating lunch today, until Henry gives him just the barest of looks and gestures to the food. So he starts eating a little faster just because Henry is concerned enough about him. And after a concerned look back, Henry obeys and eats a bit more off his plate.

But then Mom breaks their silent conversation.

“So Henry, have I met your mother yet? Is she in the PTA?” Mom says from the counter, where she’s not eating, just standing there and hovering.

Henry freezes and his shoulders stiffen.

“No.” He says quietly, unclear to which half of the question he is answering.

Vic shoots a glare at his mother. Like you even go to PTA meetings, don’t even pretend. But then he is slightly more distressed by Henry’s hand quivering as he stabs another bite.

“Oh. Well, what does your father do?” She keeps probing, like someone would poke at a bear in a cage.

Henry just sets the fork down before he can get it to his mouth, head dropping towards his lap.

Vic wants to throw his plate at his mother as hard as he can.

“My dad’s a cop.” Henry says with a shrug, and that brief description doesn’t say a thing about what his father does.

“Hmm.” Mom makes one of those conversation ending noises again.

If only the conversation hadn’t started at all.

Neither boy is interested in eating anymore.

“Mom, can we be excused?” Vic asks, hiding his disdain behind the facade of table manners.

She doesn’t really seem to care, responding with a wave of her hand as she tidies up the kitchen.

They leave their plates on the table but can’t get out of the room before Mom prods one more time.

“Do you need a ride home Henry?” She says, like she’s forgotten what Vic had told her earlier.

“No ma’am,” Henry says, standing behind Vic and trying to disappear into the wall. “I can walk.”

Coming back into the living room, Vic can feel Henry’s discomfort emanating off him, and he can hear his mom and sisters whispering to each other. Probably talking about them. Henry’s leaning into his side again as he grabs his backpack and goes towards the door. Vic reaches out and grabs his sleeve to stop him.

“Don’t I have to go?” Henry asks quietly, voice quivering just slightly like he’s on the edge of another breakdown.

Vic shakes his head, and motions for Henry to be silent. Grabbing both their backpacks, he leads Henry to the spare room down the hall. Setting their stuff down, Vic goes back into the living room and grabs some extra cushions and the throw blankets off the couch.

As he lays the cushions down Henry looks on confused. And Vic doesn’t really know what he’s doing either, because he’s never had a sleepover, and Henry doesn’t seem like he’s ever been to one, but this one is less about fun and more about safety.

The lie down in the quiet room, Henry’s just relieved that he can take the weight off his side and Vic is glad they are alone again. Henry pulls over his backpack and reveals that instead of textbooks Henry just brings a stack of comic books to school, so they spend a few hours switching issues back and forth and just enjoy being near each other in the small room.

The sun sets and the room is still warm from the last rays of sunlight. The dark, the quiet, the heat, the feeling of food in their stomachs, the safety they feel isolated off from the world, the comfort they get from each other, all finally outweigh the heavier traumas that they live with and both boys fall asleep.

They wake with a jolt about an hour later, because the front door opens loudly and heavy footsteps are coming towards the room and-

It’s okay, it’s just Daddy getting home.

Henry seems petrified still, but Vic slowly crawls over to the door and peeks under the gap between the door and the carpet. He watches his father’s shadow move across the floor, coming closer to the spare room before going up the stairs.

Vic gives Henry a relieved nod and they both relax and let out the breaths they’d been holding. Settling back down into their nest of blankets and cushions, it takes a little longer to get back into that peaceful headspace they had before, but finally they do fall back into that heavy dreamless sleep, lulled by the slowing beats of their hearts and the steady rhythm of each other’s breathing.

Woken at dawn by the front door opening and closing again as Daddy goes to work, Vic blinks slowly and it takes him a second to realize that Henry is awake too, and looking back at him. They just watch each other, all the internal walls down and insides vulnerable.

Henry reaches over in their trance, only an arm’s length away from Vic, and with only the slightest tremble and hesitation, he grabs Vic’s hand and laces their finger’s together. This isn’t a tight grip on a wrist, or a tugging hold on sweatshirt sleeve, this is real flesh to flesh hand holding. Henry squeezes just enough that Vic knows that this means thank you, but the affection is kind of overwhelming for both of them so they swiftly let go and pretend it didn’t happen.

Awake now, they sit up and Henry rolls form one hip to the other to test the pain in his ribs.

“How’s it feel?” Vic asks, wanting to feel the soft spot to check it over.

“Better,” Henry confirms honestly after a moment, so Vic resists his urge to touch.

They make their way into the dim living room, picking up the cushions and blankets and resetting them on the couch. Vic makes them bowls of cereal and they eat on the living room floor while watching Saturday morning cartoons. They don’t talk and the T.V. volume is on low, so not to wake anyone else in the house.

After a while they start to hear stirring upstairs. Henry checks the clock on the wall and confirms that his dad’s at work by now so he can go home. Vic wants to tell him to stay, but knows that he’s pushing his luck with Mom already.

So Henry grabs his bag and Vic walks with him to the front porch. The early spring morning is cold but the sun is shining bright in the blue sky. Henry steps out onto the porch and they give each other just the briefest of glances as he leaves, walking through the yard and down the side walk without looking back.

Vic watches him go from the door way, noticing that his steps still seem stilted but looks like he’s only in a moderate amount of pain compared to yesterday. Then he closes the door and wonders how he’s going to pretend everything is back to normal by Monday.

Notes: Link to AO3   http://archiveofourown.org/works/12399036/chapters/28570732

Me: I won't write an extra long chapter again.

Me to me: Add more stuff, make it even more gay.

So I know I said this was a slow burn but aren't they already the cutest little boyfriends ever!?!

Also if you haven't seen the video of logan thompson dancing to rihanna you are not living. look it up.

Required fanny pack reference: check (this fandom is so weird. i love it)

I hope I didn't keep ya'll waiting to long on this one, and I hope you like it. <3 <3 Pleaseessses leave me comments i live off them. it makes me so happy to hear from you guys. tell me what you think, tell me bout your day, tell me bout your it headcanons, call my mom a whore, literally anything. i love you all.

XOXO

YDFH

[ryancanedy]

Family-Friendly & Classic Halloween Décor

Danielle Driscoll of Finding Silver Pennies has always loved celebrating Halloween. As a part of the Halloween/Harvest Style Challenge, we sent Danielle classic Halloween décor and let her make it her own.

Read on to find out how Danielle achieved a classic Halloween look that is also family friendly.

Family-Friendly Halloween Décor

Halloween has always been my favorite holiday. When I was a little girl my mom used to make me the most elaborate costumes – a mermaid, a wicked witch with a green face mask (ouch! It tightened on my face as I trick or treated around the neighborhood), a bride, Michael Jackson. I was always so excited to get dressed up and go out that I didn’t even want to eat dinner.

Fast forward a few decades and I still feel exactly the same way about Halloween. It’s rubbed off on my boys. They love getting dressed up and decorating our home.

They played a huge role helping decorate our home in this challenge. In fact, our oldest drew the witch that we used to create the silhouette.

We live in a coastal town and everyone here is crazy for Halloween. The main street in the harbor is shut off to traffic and the merchants fling open their doors for early trick or treating. Once it gets dark, people come up our hill to continue Halloween!

For The Home Depot Halloween Style Challenge I knew I wanted to focus on classic Hallowee décor to go with our historic home. I also didn’t want to make it look too scary or gory.

When the surprise box from The Home Depot arrived, I was so excited because it came with amazingly realistic 36 in. LED Tombstone Assortment (Set of 4), a fog machine, fog machine liquid and a fog tube accessory kit.

My boys were so excited about the fog machine, as was I, because it instantly adds a creepy, Halloween vibe. We had so much fun playing with it and the gravestones. The gravestones light up, which is fun at night, too.

We got busy planning out our haunted front yard.

DIY Witch Silhouette

We created a witch based on our son’s sketch. In his sketch he included a cat and a cauldron.

Materials

¾-in. Plywood

Jigsaw

Rustoleum All Surface Satin Black with Paint and Primer

Step 1

First, sketch out some ideas on paper. We all were drawing witches and cats. Then we enlarged the sketch using a photocopier. In order to scale the drawing for a large silhouette we created a grid on the drawing.

Step 2

Second, enlarge the drawing onto plywood. We used pressure treated wood because we thought it would last longer in the elements. We used ¾-in. plywood because it’s sturdier. Create a grid on the plywood to match your grid on the paper. Draw image in chalk.

Step 3

Third, go over the chalk with a sharpie pen. Once you start cutting out the silhouette the motion of the saw might shake off your chalk. Sharpie is also easier to see while you’re cutting.

Step 4

Fourth, use a jigsaw cut out the silhouette.

Step 5

Fifth, paint the silhouette with black spray paint, we used Rustoleum’s All Surface Satin Black with Paint and Primer in one.  I love this spray paint because of the specialty designed nozzle – my finger doesn’t get tired and I don’t get paint all over my hands. Allow it to dry.

Step 6

Finally, build a support (see below for step-by-step instructions).

Isn’t she spooky! We love her nose!

How to Build a Support for the Witch

Step 1

First, create an L shape with two lengths of 2 x 4 connecting with a pocket hole, we used the Kreg Jig to create the pocket hole.

Step 2

Second, cut a length of 2 x 4 with 45° cuts at each end.

Step 3

Third, use pythagorus calculate to determine where the diagonal should go. Position = square root of (length of diagonal squared/2). This ensures that the L shape is square.

Step 4

Fourth, attach hinges to one side of the vertical of the L support, and then attach to the back of the witch. Ensure that the bottom of the support is square with the bottom of the witch.

Pro Tip: The best way to make sure of this is to run a square along the bottom of the witch, and up the back, then place the support along the square edge

Step 5

Finally, attach a hook to opposite side of the support. To make sure that it stays open, attach the eye to the back of the witch.

The fog machine adds to the effect as does the gravestones.

Next up we thought it would be fun to make paper lanterns to line our brick walkway to lead the way up to our front door. These were so easy to make and didn’t cost much at all.

DIY Paper Lanterns

The Home Depot has really cute Halloween stencils that are miniature and great for smaller projects. They’d be cute on treat bags for a halloween party, banners, pillows or lanterns as we created. I picked up some paper lunch bags to stencil.

Step 1

First, separate your stencils. Line up stencil on a bag. You can use tape to hold it in place, but I just held it with my finger.

Step 2

Second, use black paint. I stenciled the images onto the bags using a stencil brush.

Step 3

Pro Tip: Offload most of the paint onto a paper towel from your stencil brush before stenciling. This prevents paint bleeding under the stencil and you’ll get a crisp image.

Third, weigh the bags down with rocks or stones. We used beach rocks.

Step 4

Finally, place a faux tea light in each one. This is safer than real candles and can be used multiple times.

It’s more fun with a little ninja helper, too!

Here you can see the pretty lanterns lining our walkway to greet trick or treaters.

DIY Nature-Inspired Fall Wreath

The other DIY project we did was a wreath for the front door. I wanted to do something inspired by nature and I had a branch wreath down in the basement.

Step 1

First, use black spray paint (the same as you did for the witch) to give the natural twig wreath a spooky feel.

Step 2

Then, dismantle an ostrich duster to use the feathers for the wreath. I used one duster for this wreath. I applied the feathers using hot glue (be careful not to burn your hand).

Step 3

Finally, you can embellish your wreath. I like to keep things simple so I left it has it is, but you could stick on crows, bones, skulls or whatever you’d like to use.

Here is a closer look at the wreath.

Here it is on the door.

Front Door Spiders

You’ll notice we added some spiders to our door. We wanted to give the appearance of spiders crawling across it.

We used WallPOP’s little spiders. We stuck them to the door and painted the trim surrounding it. They were so easy to apply, remove and reposition where needed. This is a great job for little ones to help with. My little Conor (the ninja) loved helping put the spiders on.

I wish you could hear him giggling as he did it. It was so sweet.

Add More Halloween Décor

Here’s a look at our yard decorated for Halloween.

We added a bag of bones in front of the gravestones. This set was great and came with an assortment of may different kind of bones, even some dinosaur bones! The kids were excited about that. I think each set is different. This skeleton’s eyes light up and are so creepy. I’ll show you them lit up a bit later on.

Our front steps are decorated with pumpkins and some fun lanterns from The Home Depot. These LED lanterns are battery operated. They give a spooky look once lit. They also look cute during the day. We used ones with spiders and witches to match our DIY witch.

Ferns and potato vines in our planters add softness to the overall look.

Each fall we carve pumpkins, but if you’re very busy and have a lot going on, The Home Depot has a few already cut, like this one. It is easy to plug in and gave lots of light without the worry of candles.

I also placed a caged raven on an old vintage stool. He talks and is so life-like.

Final Reveal

We enjoyed celebrating Halloween a tad earlier this year. It made it twice as fun!

The fog machine really adds to the ambience. I have a feeling we’re going to be using it a lot leading up to Halloween.

Here’s a look at some nighttime shots our new Halloween décor lit up.

See how eerie it looks at night with the red eyes on the skeleton and gravestone.

Add a little fog.

And DIY lanterns to light the way to lots of treats!

We can’t wait for Halloween now that all our DIY is done! I hope this gave you a few ideas of fun ways you can make your front yard more festive with your kids.

A huge thank you to The Home Depot for inviting me to take part in the Style Challenge. I had so much fun with my boys creating a spooky and classic Halloween front porch. Happy Halloween, everyone!

For more DIY Halloween and harvest ideas, see other articles in our Halloween Style Challenge series, and follow our Halloween Style Challenge board on Pinterest.

Visit The Home Depot’s online Halloween Décor Department for everything you need to decorate your home for Halloween and fall. Check out other scary skeleton decorations at The Home Depot.

The post Family-Friendly & Classic Halloween Décor appeared first on The Home Depot Blog.

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[sherlocked-avenger]

Family-Friendly & Classic Halloween Décor

Danielle Driscoll of Finding Silver Pennies has always loved celebrating Halloween. As a part of the Halloween/Harvest Style Challenge, we sent Danielle classic Halloween décor and let her make it her own.

Read on to find out how Danielle achieved a classic Halloween look that is also family friendly.

Family-Friendly Halloween Décor

Halloween has always been my favorite holiday. When I was a little girl my mom used to make me the most elaborate costumes – a mermaid, a wicked witch with a green face mask (ouch! It tightened on my face as I trick or treated around the neighborhood), a bride, Michael Jackson. I was always so excited to get dressed up and go out that I didn’t even want to eat dinner.

Fast forward a few decades and I still feel exactly the same way about Halloween. It’s rubbed off on my boys. They love getting dressed up and decorating our home.

They played a huge role helping decorate our home in this challenge. In fact, our oldest drew the witch that we used to create the silhouette.

We live in a coastal town and everyone here is crazy for Halloween. The main street in the harbor is shut off to traffic and the merchants fling open their doors for early trick or treating. Once it gets dark, people come up our hill to continue Halloween!

For The Home Depot Halloween Style Challenge I knew I wanted to focus on classic Hallowee décor to go with our historic home. I also didn’t want to make it look too scary or gory.

When the surprise box from The Home Depot arrived, I was so excited because it came with amazingly realistic 36 in. LED Tombstone Assortment (Set of 4), a fog machine, fog machine liquid and a fog tube accessory kit.

My boys were so excited about the fog machine, as was I, because it instantly adds a creepy, Halloween vibe. We had so much fun playing with it and the gravestones. The gravestones light up, which is fun at night, too.

We got busy planning out our haunted front yard.

DIY Witch Silhouette

We created a witch based on our son’s sketch. In his sketch he included a cat and a cauldron.

Materials

¾-in. Plywood

Jigsaw

Rustoleum All Surface Satin Black with Paint and Primer

Step 1

First, sketch out some ideas on paper. We all were drawing witches and cats. Then we enlarged the sketch using a photocopier. In order to scale the drawing for a large silhouette we created a grid on the drawing.

Step 2

Second, enlarge the drawing onto plywood. We used pressure treated wood because we thought it would last longer in the elements. We used ¾-in. plywood because it’s sturdier. Create a grid on the plywood to match your grid on the paper. Draw image in chalk.

Step 3

Third, go over the chalk with a sharpie pen. Once you start cutting out the silhouette the motion of the saw might shake off your chalk. Sharpie is also easier to see while you’re cutting.

Step 4

Fourth, use a jigsaw cut out the silhouette.

Step 5

Fifth, paint the silhouette with black spray paint, we used Rustoleum’s All Surface Satin Black with Paint and Primer in one.  I love this spray paint because of the specialty designed nozzle – my finger doesn’t get tired and I don’t get paint all over my hands. Allow it to dry.

Step 6

Finally, build a support (see below for step-by-step instructions).

Isn’t she spooky! We love her nose!

How to Build a Support for the Witch

Step 1

First, create an L shape with two lengths of 2 x 4 connecting with a pocket hole, we used the Kreg Jig to create the pocket hole.

Step 2

Second, cut a length of 2 x 4 with 45° cuts at each end.

Step 3

Third, use pythagorus calculate to determine where the diagonal should go. Position = square root of (length of diagonal squared/2). This ensures that the L shape is square.

Step 4

Fourth, attach hinges to one side of the vertical of the L support, and then attach to the back of the witch. Ensure that the bottom of the support is square with the bottom of the witch.

Pro Tip: The best way to make sure of this is to run a square along the bottom of the witch, and up the back, then place the support along the square edge

Step 5

Finally, attach a hook to opposite side of the support. To make sure that it stays open, attach the eye to the back of the witch.

The fog machine adds to the effect as does the gravestones.

Next up we thought it would be fun to make paper lanterns to line our brick walkway to lead the way up to our front door. These were so easy to make and didn’t cost much at all.

DIY Paper Lanterns

The Home Depot has really cute Halloween stencils that are miniature and great for smaller projects. They’d be cute on treat bags for a halloween party, banners, pillows or lanterns as we created. I picked up some paper lunch bags to stencil.

Step 1

First, separate your stencils. Line up stencil on a bag. You can use tape to hold it in place, but I just held it with my finger.

Step 2

Second, use black paint. I stenciled the images onto the bags using a stencil brush.

Step 3

Pro Tip: Offload most of the paint onto a paper towel from your stencil brush before stenciling. This prevents paint bleeding under the stencil and you’ll get a crisp image.

Third, weigh the bags down with rocks or stones. We used beach rocks.

Step 4

Finally, place a faux tea light in each one. This is safer than real candles and can be used multiple times.

It’s more fun with a little ninja helper, too!

Here you can see the pretty lanterns lining our walkway to greet trick or treaters.

DIY Nature-Inspired Fall Wreath

The other DIY project we did was a wreath for the front door. I wanted to do something inspired by nature and I had a branch wreath down in the basement.

Step 1

First, use black spray paint (the same as you did for the witch) to give the natural twig wreath a spooky feel.

Step 2

Then, dismantle an ostrich duster to use the feathers for the wreath. I used one duster for this wreath. I applied the feathers using hot glue (be careful not to burn your hand).

Step 3

Finally, you can embellish your wreath. I like to keep things simple so I left it has it is, but you could stick on crows, bones, skulls or whatever you’d like to use.

Here is a closer look at the wreath.

Here it is on the door.

Front Door Spiders

You’ll notice we added some spiders to our door. We wanted to give the appearance of spiders crawling across it.

We used WallPOP’s little spiders. We stuck them to the door and painted the trim surrounding it. They were so easy to apply, remove and reposition where needed. This is a great job for little ones to help with. My little Conor (the ninja) loved helping put the spiders on.

I wish you could hear him giggling as he did it. It was so sweet.

Add More Halloween Décor

Here’s a look at our yard decorated for Halloween.

We added a bag of bones in front of the gravestones. This set was great and came with an assortment of may different kind of bones, even some dinosaur bones! The kids were excited about that. I think each set is different. This skeleton’s eyes light up and are so creepy. I’ll show you them lit up a bit later on.

Our front steps are decorated with pumpkins and some fun lanterns from The Home Depot. These LED lanterns are battery operated. They give a spooky look once lit. They also look cute during the day. We used ones with spiders and witches to match our DIY witch.

Ferns and potato vines in our planters add softness to the overall look.

Each fall we carve pumpkins, but if you’re very busy and have a lot going on, The Home Depot has a few already cut, like this one. It is easy to plug in and gave lots of light without the worry of candles.

I also placed a caged raven on an old vintage stool. He talks and is so life-like.

Final Reveal

We enjoyed celebrating Halloween a tad earlier this year. It made it twice as fun!

The fog machine really adds to the ambience. I have a feeling we’re going to be using it a lot leading up to Halloween.

Here’s a look at some nighttime shots our new Halloween décor lit up.

See how eerie it looks at night with the red eyes on the skeleton and gravestone.

Add a little fog.

And DIY lanterns to light the way to lots of treats!

We can’t wait for Halloween now that all our DIY is done! I hope this gave you a few ideas of fun ways you can make your front yard more festive with your kids.

A huge thank you to The Home Depot for inviting me to take part in the Style Challenge. I had so much fun with my boys creating a spooky and classic Halloween front porch. Happy Halloween, everyone!

For more DIY Halloween and harvest ideas, see other articles in our Halloween Style Challenge series, and follow our Halloween Style Challenge board on Pinterest.

Visit The Home Depot’s online Halloween Décor Department for everything you need to decorate your home for Halloween and fall. Check out other scary skeleton decorations at The Home Depot.

The post Family-Friendly & Classic Halloween Décor appeared first on The Home Depot Blog.

from garage2 http://ift.tt/2xuF25o via great info

[shiigreentii]

Family-Friendly & Classic Halloween Décor

Danielle Driscoll of Finding Silver Pennies has always loved celebrating Halloween. As a part of the Halloween/Harvest Style Challenge, we sent Danielle classic Halloween décor and let her make it her own.

Read on to find out how Danielle achieved a classic Halloween look that is also family friendly.

Family-Friendly Halloween Décor

Halloween has always been my favorite holiday. When I was a little girl my mom used to make me the most elaborate costumes – a mermaid, a wicked witch with a green face mask (ouch! It tightened on my face as I trick or treated around the neighborhood), a bride, Michael Jackson. I was always so excited to get dressed up and go out that I didn’t even want to eat dinner.

Fast forward a few decades and I still feel exactly the same way about Halloween. It’s rubbed off on my boys. They love getting dressed up and decorating our home.

They played a huge role helping decorate our home in this challenge. In fact, our oldest drew the witch that we used to create the silhouette.

We live in a coastal town and everyone here is crazy for Halloween. The main street in the harbor is shut off to traffic and the merchants fling open their doors for early trick or treating. Once it gets dark, people come up our hill to continue Halloween!

For The Home Depot Halloween Style Challenge I knew I wanted to focus on classic Hallowee décor to go with our historic home. I also didn’t want to make it look too scary or gory.

When the surprise box from The Home Depot arrived, I was so excited because it came with amazingly realistic 36 in. LED Tombstone Assortment (Set of 4), a fog machine, fog machine liquid and a fog tube accessory kit.

My boys were so excited about the fog machine, as was I, because it instantly adds a creepy, Halloween vibe. We had so much fun playing with it and the gravestones. The gravestones light up, which is fun at night, too.

We got busy planning out our haunted front yard.

DIY Witch Silhouette

We created a witch based on our son’s sketch. In his sketch he included a cat and a cauldron.

Materials

¾-in. Plywood

Jigsaw

Rustoleum All Surface Satin Black with Paint and Primer

Step 1

First, sketch out some ideas on paper. We all were drawing witches and cats. Then we enlarged the sketch using a photocopier. In order to scale the drawing for a large silhouette we created a grid on the drawing.

Step 2

Second, enlarge the drawing onto plywood. We used pressure treated wood because we thought it would last longer in the elements. We used ¾-in. plywood because it’s sturdier. Create a grid on the plywood to match your grid on the paper. Draw image in chalk.

Step 3

Third, go over the chalk with a sharpie pen. Once you start cutting out the silhouette the motion of the saw might shake off your chalk. Sharpie is also easier to see while you’re cutting.

Step 4

Fourth, use a jigsaw cut out the silhouette.

Step 5

Fifth, paint the silhouette with black spray paint, we used Rustoleum’s All Surface Satin Black with Paint and Primer in one.  I love this spray paint because of the specialty designed nozzle – my finger doesn’t get tired and I don’t get paint all over my hands. Allow it to dry.

Step 6

Finally, build a support (see below for step-by-step instructions).

Isn’t she spooky! We love her nose!

How to Build a Support for the Witch

Step 1

First, create an L shape with two lengths of 2 x 4 connecting with a pocket hole, we used the Kreg Jig to create the pocket hole.

Step 2

Second, cut a length of 2 x 4 with 45° cuts at each end.

Step 3

Third, use pythagorus calculate to determine where the diagonal should go. Position = square root of (length of diagonal squared/2). This ensures that the L shape is square.

Step 4

Fourth, attach hinges to one side of the vertical of the L support, and then attach to the back of the witch. Ensure that the bottom of the support is square with the bottom of the witch.

Pro Tip: The best way to make sure of this is to run a square along the bottom of the witch, and up the back, then place the support along the square edge

Step 5

Finally, attach a hook to opposite side of the support. To make sure that it stays open, attach the eye to the back of the witch.

The fog machine adds to the effect as does the gravestones.

Next up we thought it would be fun to make paper lanterns to line our brick walkway to lead the way up to our front door. These were so easy to make and didn’t cost much at all.

DIY Paper Lanterns

The Home Depot has really cute Halloween stencils that are miniature and great for smaller projects. They’d be cute on treat bags for a halloween party, banners, pillows or lanterns as we created. I picked up some paper lunch bags to stencil.

Step 1

First, separate your stencils. Line up stencil on a bag. You can use tape to hold it in place, but I just held it with my finger.

Step 2

Second, use black paint. I stenciled the images onto the bags using a stencil brush.

Step 3

Pro Tip: Offload most of the paint onto a paper towel from your stencil brush before stenciling. This prevents paint bleeding under the stencil and you’ll get a crisp image.

Third, weigh the bags down with rocks or stones. We used beach rocks.

Step 4

Finally, place a faux tea light in each one. This is safer than real candles and can be used multiple times.

It’s more fun with a little ninja helper, too!

Here you can see the pretty lanterns lining our walkway to greet trick or treaters.

DIY Nature-Inspired Fall Wreath

The other DIY project we did was a wreath for the front door. I wanted to do something inspired by nature and I had a branch wreath down in the basement.

Step 1

First, use black spray paint (the same as you did for the witch) to give the natural twig wreath a spooky feel.

Step 2

Then, dismantle an ostrich duster to use the feathers for the wreath. I used one duster for this wreath. I applied the feathers using hot glue (be careful not to burn your hand).

Step 3

Finally, you can embellish your wreath. I like to keep things simple so I left it has it is, but you could stick on crows, bones, skulls or whatever you’d like to use.

Here is a closer look at the wreath.

Here it is on the door.

Front Door Spiders

You’ll notice we added some spiders to our door. We wanted to give the appearance of spiders crawling across it.

We used WallPOP’s little spiders. We stuck them to the door and painted the trim surrounding it. They were so easy to apply, remove and reposition where needed. This is a great job for little ones to help with. My little Conor (the ninja) loved helping put the spiders on.

I wish you could hear him giggling as he did it. It was so sweet.

Add More Halloween Décor

Here’s a look at our yard decorated for Halloween.

We added a bag of bones in front of the gravestones. This set was great and came with an assortment of may different kind of bones, even some dinosaur bones! The kids were excited about that. I think each set is different. This skeleton’s eyes light up and are so creepy. I’ll show you them lit up a bit later on.

Our front steps are decorated with pumpkins and some fun lanterns from The Home Depot. These LED lanterns are battery operated. They give a spooky look once lit. They also look cute during the day. We used ones with spiders and witches to match our DIY witch.

Ferns and potato vines in our planters add softness to the overall look.

Each fall we carve pumpkins, but if you’re very busy and have a lot going on, The Home Depot has a few already cut, like this one. It is easy to plug in and gave lots of light without the worry of candles.

I also placed a caged raven on an old vintage stool. He talks and is so life-like.

Final Reveal

We enjoyed celebrating Halloween a tad earlier this year. It made it twice as fun!

The fog machine really adds to the ambience. I have a feeling we’re going to be using it a lot leading up to Halloween.

Here’s a look at some nighttime shots our new Halloween décor lit up.

See how eerie it looks at night with the red eyes on the skeleton and gravestone.

Add a little fog.

And DIY lanterns to light the way to lots of treats!

We can’t wait for Halloween now that all our DIY is done! I hope this gave you a few ideas of fun ways you can make your front yard more festive with your kids.

A huge thank you to The Home Depot for inviting me to take part in the Style Challenge. I had so much fun with my boys creating a spooky and classic Halloween front porch. Happy Halloween, everyone!

For more DIY Halloween and harvest ideas, see other articles in our Halloween Style Challenge series, and follow our Halloween Style Challenge board on Pinterest.

Visit The Home Depot’s online Halloween Décor Department for everything you need to decorate your home for Halloween and fall. Check out other scary skeleton decorations at The Home Depot.

The post Family-Friendly & Classic Halloween Décor appeared first on The Home Depot Blog.

from together1 http://ift.tt/2xuF25o via recommended

[chocdono]

Family-Friendly & Classic Halloween Décor

Danielle Driscoll of Finding Silver Pennies has always loved celebrating Halloween. As a part of the Halloween/Harvest Style Challenge, we sent Danielle classic Halloween décor and let her make it her own.

Read on to find out how Danielle achieved a classic Halloween look that is also family friendly.

Family-Friendly Halloween Décor

Halloween has always been my favorite holiday. When I was a little girl my mom used to make me the most elaborate costumes – a mermaid, a wicked witch with a green face mask (ouch! It tightened on my face as I trick or treated around the neighborhood), a bride, Michael Jackson. I was always so excited to get dressed up and go out that I didn’t even want to eat dinner.

Fast forward a few decades and I still feel exactly the same way about Halloween. It’s rubbed off on my boys. They love getting dressed up and decorating our home.

They played a huge role helping decorate our home in this challenge. In fact, our oldest drew the witch that we used to create the silhouette.

We live in a coastal town and everyone here is crazy for Halloween. The main street in the harbor is shut off to traffic and the merchants fling open their doors for early trick or treating. Once it gets dark, people come up our hill to continue Halloween!

For The Home Depot Halloween Style Challenge I knew I wanted to focus on classic Hallowee décor to go with our historic home. I also didn’t want to make it look too scary or gory.

When the surprise box from The Home Depot arrived, I was so excited because it came with amazingly realistic 36 in. LED Tombstone Assortment (Set of 4), a fog machine, fog machine liquid and a fog tube accessory kit.

My boys were so excited about the fog machine, as was I, because it instantly adds a creepy, Halloween vibe. We had so much fun playing with it and the gravestones. The gravestones light up, which is fun at night, too.

We got busy planning out our haunted front yard.

DIY Witch Silhouette

We created a witch based on our son’s sketch. In his sketch he included a cat and a cauldron.

Materials

¾-in. Plywood

Jigsaw

Rustoleum All Surface Satin Black with Paint and Primer

Step 1

First, sketch out some ideas on paper. We all were drawing witches and cats. Then we enlarged the sketch using a photocopier. In order to scale the drawing for a large silhouette we created a grid on the drawing.

Step 2

Second, enlarge the drawing onto plywood. We used pressure treated wood because we thought it would last longer in the elements. We used ¾-in. plywood because it’s sturdier. Create a grid on the plywood to match your grid on the paper. Draw image in chalk.

Step 3

Third, go over the chalk with a sharpie pen. Once you start cutting out the silhouette the motion of the saw might shake off your chalk. Sharpie is also easier to see while you’re cutting.

Step 4

Fourth, use a jigsaw cut out the silhouette.

Step 5

Fifth, paint the silhouette with black spray paint, we used Rustoleum’s All Surface Satin Black with Paint and Primer in one.  I love this spray paint because of the specialty designed nozzle – my finger doesn’t get tired and I don’t get paint all over my hands. Allow it to dry.

Step 6

Finally, build a support (see below for step-by-step instructions).

Isn’t she spooky! We love her nose!

How to Build a Support for the Witch

Step 1

First, create an L shape with two lengths of 2 x 4 connecting with a pocket hole, we used the Kreg Jig to create the pocket hole.

Step 2

Second, cut a length of 2 x 4 with 45° cuts at each end.

Step 3

Third, use pythagorus calculate to determine where the diagonal should go. Position = square root of (length of diagonal squared/2). This ensures that the L shape is square.

Step 4

Fourth, attach hinges to one side of the vertical of the L support, and then attach to the back of the witch. Ensure that the bottom of the support is square with the bottom of the witch.

Pro Tip: The best way to make sure of this is to run a square along the bottom of the witch, and up the back, then place the support along the square edge

Step 5

Finally, attach a hook to opposite side of the support. To make sure that it stays open, attach the eye to the back of the witch.

The fog machine adds to the effect as does the gravestones.

Next up we thought it would be fun to make paper lanterns to line our brick walkway to lead the way up to our front door. These were so easy to make and didn’t cost much at all.

DIY Paper Lanterns

The Home Depot has really cute Halloween stencils that are miniature and great for smaller projects. They’d be cute on treat bags for a halloween party, banners, pillows or lanterns as we created. I picked up some paper lunch bags to stencil.

Step 1

First, separate your stencils. Line up stencil on a bag. You can use tape to hold it in place, but I just held it with my finger.

Step 2

Second, use black paint. I stenciled the images onto the bags using a stencil brush.

Step 3

Pro Tip: Offload most of the paint onto a paper towel from your stencil brush before stenciling. This prevents paint bleeding under the stencil and you’ll get a crisp image.

Third, weigh the bags down with rocks or stones. We used beach rocks.

Step 4

Finally, place a faux tea light in each one. This is safer than real candles and can be used multiple times.

It’s more fun with a little ninja helper, too!

Here you can see the pretty lanterns lining our walkway to greet trick or treaters.

DIY Nature-Inspired Fall Wreath

The other DIY project we did was a wreath for the front door. I wanted to do something inspired by nature and I had a branch wreath down in the basement.

Step 1

First, use black spray paint (the same as you did for the witch) to give the natural twig wreath a spooky feel.

Step 2

Then, dismantle an ostrich duster to use the feathers for the wreath. I used one duster for this wreath. I applied the feathers using hot glue (be careful not to burn your hand).

Step 3

Finally, you can embellish your wreath. I like to keep things simple so I left it has it is, but you could stick on crows, bones, skulls or whatever you’d like to use.

Here is a closer look at the wreath.

Here it is on the door.

Front Door Spiders

You’ll notice we added some spiders to our door. We wanted to give the appearance of spiders crawling across it.

We used WallPOP’s little spiders. We stuck them to the door and painted the trim surrounding it. They were so easy to apply, remove and reposition where needed. This is a great job for little ones to help with. My little Conor (the ninja) loved helping put the spiders on.

I wish you could hear him giggling as he did it. It was so sweet.

Add More Halloween Décor

Here’s a look at our yard decorated for Halloween.

We added a bag of bones in front of the gravestones. This set was great and came with an assortment of may different kind of bones, even some dinosaur bones! The kids were excited about that. I think each set is different. This skeleton’s eyes light up and are so creepy. I’ll show you them lit up a bit later on.

Our front steps are decorated with pumpkins and some fun lanterns from The Home Depot. These LED lanterns are battery operated. They give a spooky look once lit. They also look cute during the day. We used ones with spiders and witches to match our DIY witch.

Ferns and potato vines in our planters add softness to the overall look.

Each fall we carve pumpkins, but if you’re very busy and have a lot going on, The Home Depot has a few already cut, like this one. It is easy to plug in and gave lots of light without the worry of candles.

I also placed a caged raven on an old vintage stool. He talks and is so life-like.

Final Reveal

We enjoyed celebrating Halloween a tad earlier this year. It made it twice as fun!

The fog machine really adds to the ambience. I have a feeling we’re going to be using it a lot leading up to Halloween.

Here’s a look at some nighttime shots our new Halloween décor lit up.

See how eerie it looks at night with the red eyes on the skeleton and gravestone.

Add a little fog.

And DIY lanterns to light the way to lots of treats!

We can’t wait for Halloween now that all our DIY is done! I hope this gave you a few ideas of fun ways you can make your front yard more festive with your kids.

A huge thank you to The Home Depot for inviting me to take part in the Style Challenge. I had so much fun with my boys creating a spooky and classic Halloween front porch. Happy Halloween, everyone!

For more DIY Halloween and harvest ideas, see other articles in our Halloween Style Challenge series, and follow our Halloween Style Challenge board on Pinterest.

Visit The Home Depot’s online Halloween Décor Department for everything you need to decorate your home for Halloween and fall. Check out other scary skeleton decorations at The Home Depot.

The post Family-Friendly & Classic Halloween Décor appeared first on The Home Depot Blog.

from mix1 http://ift.tt/2xuF25o via with this info

[dnodes18]

Family-Friendly & Classic Halloween Décor http://ift.tt/2xuF25o

Danielle Driscoll of Finding Silver Pennies has always loved celebrating Halloween. As a part of the Halloween/Harvest Style Challenge, we sent Danielle classic Halloween décor and let her make it her own.

Read on to find out how Danielle achieved a classic Halloween look that is also family friendly.

Family-Friendly Halloween Décor

Halloween has always been my favorite holiday. When I was a little girl my mom used to make me the most elaborate costumes – a mermaid, a wicked witch with a green face mask (ouch! It tightened on my face as I trick or treated around the neighborhood), a bride, Michael Jackson. I was always so excited to get dressed up and go out that I didn’t even want to eat dinner.

Fast forward a few decades and I still feel exactly the same way about Halloween. It’s rubbed off on my boys. They love getting dressed up and decorating our home.

They played a huge role helping decorate our home in this challenge. In fact, our oldest drew the witch that we used to create the silhouette.

We live in a coastal town and everyone here is crazy for Halloween. The main street in the harbor is shut off to traffic and the merchants fling open their doors for early trick or treating. Once it gets dark, people come up our hill to continue Halloween!

For The Home Depot Halloween Style Challenge I knew I wanted to focus on classic Hallowee décor to go with our historic home. I also didn’t want to make it look too scary or gory.

When the surprise box from The Home Depot arrived, I was so excited because it came with amazingly realistic 36 in. LED Tombstone Assortment (Set of 4), a fog machine, fog machine liquid and a fog tube accessory kit.

My boys were so excited about the fog machine, as was I, because it instantly adds a creepy, Halloween vibe. We had so much fun playing with it and the gravestones. The gravestones light up, which is fun at night, too.

We got busy planning out our haunted front yard.

DIY Witch Silhouette

We created a witch based on our son’s sketch. In his sketch he included a cat and a cauldron.

Materials

¾-in. Plywood

Jigsaw

Rustoleum All Surface Satin Black with Paint and Primer

Step 1

First, sketch out some ideas on paper. We all were drawing witches and cats. Then we enlarged the sketch using a photocopier. In order to scale the drawing for a large silhouette we created a grid on the drawing.

Step 2

Second, enlarge the drawing onto plywood. We used pressure treated wood because we thought it would last longer in the elements. We used ¾-in. plywood because it’s sturdier. Create a grid on the plywood to match your grid on the paper. Draw image in chalk.

Step 3

Third, go over the chalk with a sharpie pen. Once you start cutting out the silhouette the motion of the saw might shake off your chalk. Sharpie is also easier to see while you’re cutting.

Step 4

Fourth, use a jigsaw cut out the silhouette.

Step 5

Fifth, paint the silhouette with black spray paint, we used Rustoleum’s All Surface Satin Black with Paint and Primer in one.  I love this spray paint because of the specialty designed nozzle – my finger doesn’t get tired and I don’t get paint all over my hands. Allow it to dry.

Step 6

Finally, build a support (see below for step-by-step instructions).

Isn’t she spooky! We love her nose!

How to Build a Support for the Witch

Step 1

First, create an L shape with two lengths of 2 x 4 connecting with a pocket hole, we used the Kreg Jig to create the pocket hole.

Step 2

Second, cut a length of 2 x 4 with 45° cuts at each end.

Step 3

Third, use pythagorus calculate to determine where the diagonal should go. Position = square root of (length of diagonal squared/2). This ensures that the L shape is square.

Step 4

Fourth, attach hinges to one side of the vertical of the L support, and then attach to the back of the witch. Ensure that the bottom of the support is square with the bottom of the witch.

Pro Tip: The best way to make sure of this is to run a square along the bottom of the witch, and up the back, then place the support along the square edge

Step 5

Finally, attach a hook to opposite side of the support. To make sure that it stays open, attach the eye to the back of the witch.

The fog machine adds to the effect as does the gravestones.

Next up we thought it would be fun to make paper lanterns to line our brick walkway to lead the way up to our front door. These were so easy to make and didn’t cost much at all.

DIY Paper Lanterns

The Home Depot has really cute Halloween stencils that are miniature and great for smaller projects. They’d be cute on treat bags for a halloween party, banners, pillows or lanterns as we created. I picked up some paper lunch bags to stencil.

Step 1

First, separate your stencils. Line up stencil on a bag. You can use tape to hold it in place, but I just held it with my finger.

Step 2

Second, use black paint. I stenciled the images onto the bags using a stencil brush.

Step 3

Pro Tip: Offload most of the paint onto a paper towel from your stencil brush before stenciling. This prevents paint bleeding under the stencil and you’ll get a crisp image.

Third, weigh the bags down with rocks or stones. We used beach rocks.

Step 4

Finally, place a faux tea light in each one. This is safer than real candles and can be used multiple times.

It’s more fun with a little ninja helper, too!

Here you can see the pretty lanterns lining our walkway to greet trick or treaters.

DIY Nature-Inspired Fall Wreath

The other DIY project we did was a wreath for the front door. I wanted to do something inspired by nature and I had a branch wreath down in the basement.

Step 1

First, use black spray paint (the same as you did for the witch) to give the natural twig wreath a spooky feel.

Step 2

Then, dismantle an ostrich duster to use the feathers for the wreath. I used one duster for this wreath. I applied the feathers using hot glue (be careful not to burn your hand).

Step 3

Finally, you can embellish your wreath. I like to keep things simple so I left it has it is, but you could stick on crows, bones, skulls or whatever you’d like to use.

Here is a closer look at the wreath.

Here it is on the door.

Front Door Spiders

You’ll notice we added some spiders to our door. We wanted to give the appearance of spiders crawling across it.

We used WallPOP’s little spiders. We stuck them to the door and painted the trim surrounding it. They were so easy to apply, remove and reposition where needed. This is a great job for little ones to help with. My little Conor (the ninja) loved helping put the spiders on.

I wish you could hear him giggling as he did it. It was so sweet.

Add More Halloween Décor

Here’s a look at our yard decorated for Halloween.

We added a bag of bones in front of the gravestones. This set was great and came with an assortment of may different kind of bones, even some dinosaur bones! The kids were excited about that. I think each set is different. This skeleton’s eyes light up and are so creepy. I’ll show you them lit up a bit later on.

Our front steps are decorated with pumpkins and some fun lanterns from The Home Depot. These LED lanterns are battery operated. They give a spooky look once lit. They also look cute during the day. We used ones with spiders and witches to match our DIY witch.

Ferns and potato vines in our planters add softness to the overall look.

Each fall we carve pumpkins, but if you’re very busy and have a lot going on, The Home Depot has a few already cut, like this one. It is easy to plug in and gave lots of light without the worry of candles.

I also placed a caged raven on an old vintage stool. He talks and is so life-like.

Final Reveal

We enjoyed celebrating Halloween a tad earlier this year. It made it twice as fun!

The fog machine really adds to the ambience. I have a feeling we’re going to be using it a lot leading up to Halloween.

Here’s a look at some nighttime shots our new Halloween décor lit up.

See how eerie it looks at night with the red eyes on the skeleton and gravestone.

Add a little fog.

And DIY lanterns to light the way to lots of treats!

We can’t wait for Halloween now that all our DIY is done! I hope this gave you a few ideas of fun ways you can make your front yard more festive with your kids.

A huge thank you to The Home Depot for inviting me to take part in the Style Challenge. I had so much fun with my boys creating a spooky and classic Halloween front porch. Happy Halloween, everyone!

For more DIY Halloween and harvest ideas, see other articles in our Halloween Style Challenge series, and follow our Halloween Style Challenge board on Pinterest.

Visit The Home Depot’s online Halloween Décor Department for everything you need to decorate your home for Halloween and fall. Check out other scary skeleton decorations at The Home Depot.

The post Family-Friendly & Classic Halloween Décor appeared first on The Home Depot Blog.

Danielle Driscoll

[ddrkirbyisq]

Despite claiming that I would take it easy, I actually spent a good 12 hours at con today, getting there at around noon and not leaving until almost midnight (!).  I probably loitered around longer than I should have... I woke up after a pretty good night's sleep and after showering it took me about half an hour to do makeup and get ready for everything.  I don't really terribly mind it too much but doing that for 3 days in a row might end up being a pain.  If I'm not feeling into it I might dial it back and just do eyeliner only or something. I got to con at around noon and grabbed a pita sandwich from Pita Pit to eat for lunch.  This is only my second time eating food from there and I did a terrible job ordering from Pita Pit last year, but fortunately I did much better this year.  The sandwich ended up being pretty expensive ($8-10??) but was actually pretty darn tasty. I ran into Isabelle as soon as I got to con and we hung out for a while, perusing the Gaming Hall (which was the only thing open at the time) and wandering around a bit.  (Here I also discovered that we had TGM3 not TAP set up!)  At one point we went out to take some photos of me in my outfit because the weather was this gorgeous cloudy sky that felt and looked great, but as soon as we set foot outside the convention center the sun came out behind the clouds and ruined everything. orz  Maybe tomorrow... Eventually we joined up with Kotaro and made our way through the Artist Alley.  Around this time I had also ran into a bunch of other people, including Lann, Alex, and their friend, Bleu, and even Poochy.  Going through Artist Alley was pretty fun and I even picked up a new Journey print (which you can see later below).  I think I felt this last year too, but this year going through Artist Alley I definitely felt myself glossing over so many of the more "cheap" art styles and the only things that really stood out to me were the ones that had good composition or just....were good artistically, haha.  It was interesting for sure. Me and Kotaro also spent a good deal of time in the Gaming Hall today, which was great fun.  We played through the entirety of Metal Slug 5, which was pretty fun, though I'm not sure it was the funnest Metal Slug game I've played.  I don't think I've ever played 5 before, as most of the stuff seemed pretty unfamiliar, but I think by far my favorite is still 2 (or X), for a lot of reasons. I also stopped by the TGM3 machine to play a round of Master mode, where I got an S5 or something mediocre like that after dying at 6xx or something (eh), which was also when we ran into Allen!  After that, we went and played the most awesomest game ever -- Bishi Bashi!  It was even in English this time, which was neat, and made the roulette game MUCH easier.  We did not too bad and I actually made it to level 17 before dying to the always-ridiculously-hard Sushi game.  It was easier being in English, but....not by very much at all.  RIP. I also managed to get some relatively fun games of SF 3rd strike in against a Dudley player who beat me a bunch until I finally eked out a win.  My skills were definitely rusty and all, but it was a good time and we both enjoyed it quite a lot.  Me and Kotaro also played through most of this random shmup called Wyvern Wings, eventually deciding to leave it at the last level. We also made our way through Dealers' Hall where we basically just skimmed over a bunch of stuff but didn't buy anything. At this point we were getting pretty hungry so we met back up with Isabelle and Wendy (who had just arrived) to go grab dinner.  We ended up going to HoM Korean Kitchen, which was not the place I was thinking of at all but was actually very good!  After that nice dinner we headed back to con, said a brief hello to Jeremy, then went back into the gaming hall where I parted ways with Kotaro and met up with Eddie instead!  Me and Eddie made our way to the swap meet where we did a pretty efficient sweep of the place and I actually came back with a pretty reasonable amount of stuff!  I'll go through the items in the photos section below.  One notable thing was that at one point a manga set of Kokoro Connect caught my eye and I was contemplating whether to buy it or not -- at $2 per book, it was only $10 total, which wasn't very much at all!  I remember very much liking the premise of the show and how it started off but also remember not liking how it ended / the second half as much.  I decided to walk away from it, but ended up coming back.  Unfortunately either they had misspoke or I had misheard and it was actually $3 per book...so I said no.  $15 is still pretty darn cheap for 5 books to be honest, but eh...it wasn't a manga  I particularly wanted to have. After that we thought about heading home but instead decided to stop by the ballroom for B&W ball staff private lessons.  We both joined in on a WCS private....but it wasn't very useful as it wasn't actually a "private" as it was more of a small group lesson and we were way ahead of the rest of the group.  So me and Eddie just ended up working on some stuff by ourselves afterwards, which was good!  After that Eddie took off but I hung around with the WCS instructors to glean some extra knowledge (they recognized me!), and they worked with me individually on some things too!  One thing that I've definitely come to notice with WCS is that (like a lot of other things) it's taught in so many different ways by different teachers, and it's really up to you to figure out what to "believe" and what you think is "right".  I think it's good that I'm not entirely vested in WCS because I feel like I'd be a lot more frustrated by that if I were. Here's the photos I got from today!

Me getting ready to head out in the morning!  And sporting my new Journey messenger bag.

Made it to con!

Cute!

RWBY!

I caught this super cute Vanellope cosplayer, ahh!

This Toriel was super nice!  She asked for my photo and I didn't even realize who she was until afterwards.  She seemed super friendly >w<

Pepsi and Mountain Dew people...

I thought I recognized this somehow but apparently not; it was from some webcomic that I'm totally unfamiliar with.  But I think something about the raven beak design reminded me of something else, I'm not sure what though.  The crows from Monument Valley?  The Toringen from Yume Nikki?  I'm not sure...-something-...

Rose!

Wahhhh, definitely the highlight of all the cosplayers I saw today.  It's Reina from my favorite show, Hibike! Euphonium!  Wahhh~~

This guy was awesome.  From the Emperor's New Groove!

I ran into another Journeyer!  We stopped and had a bunch of photos taken, some with my hood and some without.  As you can see my hood sucks in comparison!  So I normally don't wear it =P  This person had a silk-looking scarf that was printed with patterns on it -- he told me he had just ordered it online.

 T-rex tries to play Para Para.

My haul for today!  (and probably basically my haul for con) The Pita-Ten art book was $10!  It was perfect because as the person was looking up the price I said to myself "hmm, I'll probably pay at most......$10 for this", and it turned out to be $10 =P  Yay Koge-Donbo art~ The Nanoha booklet and pencil/eraser/ruler set was just $1! The Sumikko Gurashi re-ment was $7...probably the most pricey thing that I got, but I feel like Sumikko Gurashi things make pretty good gifts ^^;.  Also I like them a lot now too. The 3 stationery sets were $1 each!  And the one in the little book-shaped container has a few different designs in it.  I always feel great taking other people's stationery off their hands because it's super cheap and I always get to tell the owners that they'll be put to good use :) The Hello Kitty.....thing....in the middle we have no idea what it is yet.  The Katakana says "Sanrio Chara 'Puchisurara'" which made no sense to me....or the other two people I asked, who verified that it does indeed say "Puchisurara".  Wat.  Well, in any case it was only $3, so I got it anyways. Also right above that is a Cinnamoroll tape dispenser, only $1! And the Journey print was my get from the Artist Alley -- $7 or $8 if I remember correctly.  It's a nice one, featuring a Scarf Jelly~ All in all not a bad day, though I probably stayed longer than I should have, and got pretty tired.  As always it was really great when people recognized and liked my costume. :) Tomorrow my goals are mostly to hang out with Angela and Lann, and also perhaps to set up some private melee time with Eddie.  And of course, after dinner, heading straight to Aivi & Surasshu's concert!  And heading home straight after that. Thinking of going to con around lunchtime again...should make sure that I get a good night's sleep still!